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Frydenberg: what the deal with Xenophon means for energy policy

ABC Environment - Tue, 2017-04-04 18:15
Nick Xenophon got plenty out of the government on energy policy, but will any of it make a difference?
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Dolphins 'shake and toss' octopus prey, research finds

BBC - Tue, 2017-04-04 17:41
The predators use elaborate techniques to prepare octopuses for consumption, researchers say.
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Diesel cars: 'It turns out we were wrong'

BBC - Tue, 2017-04-04 17:24
A new plan to tackle pollution in London
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Flood defence plans heavily favour London and south-east

The Guardian - Tue, 2017-04-04 16:15

Exclusive: new analysis indicates south will get significantly more funding per capita than elsewhere, in part because of higher property prices

The government’s planned spending on flood defences heavily favours London and the south-east of England, according to a new analysis, with spending per person up to 13 times higher than in other regions.

The recently published plans set out spending to 2021 and, for major projects, beyond that date. By far the largest projects are those for the Thames estuary, leading to 60% of the planned spending going to London and south-east, home to 32% of England’s population.

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Green groups condemn UN plan to use $136m from climate fund for large dams

The Guardian - Tue, 2017-04-04 15:00

Activists warn of serious environmental consequences for UN-backed hydro projects in Nepal, Tajikistan and the Solomon Islands

Plans to earmark more than $136m (£109m) of UN money for large dam projects in Nepal, Tajikistan and the Solomon Islands have been angrily condemned by activists, who have warned the projects could have serious environmental consequences.

The UN’s green climate fund was set up during the Paris climate agreement to mobilise $100bn a year by 2020 for poor countries looking for innovative and transformational projects.

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Five things we learned from the Big Solar conference

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2017-04-04 14:31
Day 2 of the Large-Scale Solar 2017 conference in Sydney saw some interesting themes emerge. Here are five of them...
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Amphibian icons of prodigious procreation

The Guardian - Tue, 2017-04-04 14:30

Buxton, Derbyshire What compels our imagination is the sheer drive of frogs and toads to get to the spawning ponds

What is it about frogs and toads that has made them such classic icons of sexual reproduction? It cannot be timing, because their breeding is often over before the other elements of high spring – flowers, bees, birdsong, sunshine – are in full flood. Frogs will gather at the spawning pond when the starlit nights are frosted and the vegetation rimed in white.

Nor can it be that frogs or toads flesh out the dawn chorus. I have often found that frogs are most vocal on late-winter nights, and the little burp of toads, which is more creak than croak, is so quiet one has to strain to pick it out. The soft, even, purring of frogs is sweeter but, as one herpetologist noted, a pondful of thousands in full throat was completely inaudible just 50m away.

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Graph of Day: Most rooftop solar in Queensland now gets low “retail” tariff

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2017-04-04 14:20
Rooftop solar capacity in Queensland receiving state's now defunct premium FiT of 44c/kWh has been overtaken by the total of rooftop solar receiving retail rate.
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“Get used to it”: We’re switching from “baseload” to a smart grid

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2017-04-04 14:02
"Get used it". That was the simple message to energy incumbents highlighting rapidly changing "energy paradigm" in Australia and across the world from baseload power to "flexible generation".
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Arrival of big solar puts renewable energy target back on track

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2017-04-04 14:01
Clean Energy Regulator says Australia on track to meet 2020 RET, driven by large-scale solar boom.
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Renewable certificate prices fall despite looming shortfall

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2017-04-04 13:50
Renewable certificate prices fall despite looming shortfall, as some suggest retailers may choose to pay penalty price rather than make new investments.
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Musk taunts short sellers after Tesla surges, overtakes Ford in market value

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2017-04-04 12:06
Musk taunts short sellers after Tesla stock surges and overtakes Ford Motor Co in market value.
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Renewables experts advise Infigen Energy on the development of the 113MW Bodangora Wind Farm

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2017-04-04 11:18
Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Infigen Energy on the development of the Bodangora Wind Farm near Wellington in New South Wales.
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CEFC achieves $150m milestone in energy efficiency finance for 1,000 small business projects

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2017-04-04 11:02
The CEFC has financed more than 1,000 specialist energy efficiency projects undertaken by a broad range of small businesses, topping $150 million in CEFC investment.
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Most energy experts say 100% renewables is feasible, realistic

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2017-04-04 10:21
Report finds 71% of the experts consider global transition to 100% renewables both feasible and realistic.
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Brenda the Civil Disobedience Penguin v the Adani mine. Democracy is fatally compromised! | First Dog on the Moon

The Guardian - Tue, 2017-04-04 08:53

This terrible mine is much more than the sum of its poisonous venal parts. It represents the searing contempt in which voters are held

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Former Danish PM says investment is key to developing renewable energy – video

The Guardian - Tue, 2017-04-04 08:51

Helle Thorning-Schmidt, appearing on the ABC’s Q&A, says every country needs to determine the right mix of energy sources for its requirements, but the important thing is investment, planning and political will. She says Denmark started investing in its renewables strategy 30 years ago and now makes more from the export of related technology than from its traditional agricultural sector

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Ceredigion TB fears over 'thriving' wild red deer

BBC - Tue, 2017-04-04 07:55
Fears are raised TB could be linked to growing numbers of red deer running wild in parts of rural Wales.
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We can't be Denmark: Josh Frydenberg plays down wind energy potential on Q&A

The Guardian - Tue, 2017-04-04 07:03

Energy minister says Australia’s remoteness means it cannot match European countries yet in producing electricity from renewables

Josh Frydenberg has pointed to South Australia’s intermittent power issues as evidence that the rest of the country is not ready to transition out of fossil fuels, calling the state Australia’s “great experiment”.

The minister for the environment and energy appeared alongside Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the chief executive of Save the Children International and the former prime minister of Denmark, on the Q&A panel on Monday night.

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Is consciousness just an illusion?

BBC - Tue, 2017-04-04 06:47
Cognitive scientist Daniel Dennett believes the human brain might not be that special.
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