Feed aggregator

Pond snails use things like rocks or the side of their aquarium as their bed, attaching themselves while they sleep. This might not seem very relaxing but their shells do hang away from their body. John Lesku, PhD, Senior Lecturer in Sleep Ecophysiology, La Trobe University Anne Aulsebrook, PhD candidate, University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Scientists and economists issue urgent warning that $4bn plan is not improving basin health

A group of prominent scientists and economists has issued a stark warning to the nation’s politicians: the Murray-Darling basin plan is failing to achieve environmental goals and is a “gross waste” of money.

The group of seven economists and five scientists with deep expertise in the river are meeting on Monday morning in Adelaide to issue what they are calling the Murray-Darling declaration.

Continue reading...

It’s a simple idea: strip CO2 from the air and use it to produce carbon-neutral fuel. But can it work on an industrial scale?

It’s nothing much to look at, but the tangle of pipes, pumps, tanks, reactors, chimneys and ducts on a messy industrial estate outside the logging town of Squamish in western Canada could just provide the fix to stop the world tipping into runaway climate change and substitute dwindling supplies of conventional fuel.

It could also make Harvard superstar physicist David Keith, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and oil sands magnate Norman Murray Edwards more money than they could ever dream of.

Continue reading...

South Australia unveils plans to build 250MW "virtual power plant", linking household rooftop solar and battery storage, in what it says will be world's biggest. It will involve 50,000 homes, each with 5kW rooftop solar and a Tesla Powerwall 2.

Concessional $900m loan cannot proceed without Queensland government approval, Karen Andrews says

The Adani Carmichael coalmine will not receive federal funding from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility for a vital rail line, a Turnbull government minister has said.

The announcement by Karen Andrews on Sunday is a major blow to Adani, which has sought a $900m concessional loan for rail to link the Carmichael mine to port – and could spell the end of the project entirely if it can’t secure private finance.

Continue reading...

Single-Column Responsive Email Template SENG QLD Newsletter - February 2018 Welcome to Newsletter Number 70 Dear SENG Qld members and friends, We hope that you enjoyed a safe and merry Christmas and wish you all the best for this exciting new year. We plan to begin the year well with the SENG 2018 Season Launch, a social event held at a boutique bar, Green Beacon in Teneriffe, on the 20th February from 6pm. Please come along and join the SENG committee members and friends, as we plan the Society's year ahead and enjoy each other's company. This month’s newsletter includes: 2018 SENG Networking Event Other Events Interesting Snippets Open for comment David's Blog As always, we welcome input from members regarding topics or speakers of interest. Please contact one of the Qld committee members, or consider coming along to a committee meeting, held at Engineering House prior to each of our technical seminars. We hope to see you there! Sustainable Engineering Society Qld Branch Engineers Australia. SENG 2018 Season Launch Date: Tuesday 20th February Time: 6:00 - 7:30pm Presenter: SENG QLD committee Venue: Green Beacon, 26 Helen St, TENERIFFE Cost: Free This social event will include drinks and networking where we will discuss the future direction of SENG. There will be a presentation by a current member and we will also be inviting people to join the committee. Purchase your own drinks, nibbles will be provided. Please find more details and register your attendance here. Other Events Paul Hawken - Solutions to Reverse Global Warming - 15th February 2018 A public forum is being hosted by the University of Queensland's Global Change Institute (GCI), at 6:15pm on the 15th February at the Global Change Institute, UQ. Paul Hawken, author and activist, has founded successful, ecologically-conscious businesses, and consulted with heads of state and CEOs on economic development, industrial ecology, and environmental policy. Paul will open the forum, presenting from his latest book , Drawdown, which maps, measures, models and describes the most substantive current solutions to global warming, while describing each solution's history, carbon impact, economics, mechanics and more. After the presentation, Paul Hawken will be joined by GCI's Prof. Ove Hoegh-Guldberg on stage for a 20-minute Q&A session with audience members. Register your attendance here. We hope to see you there. The 10th International Conference on Water Sensitive Urban Design & Hydropolis 2018 being held in Perth next month, focussing upon creating water sensitive communities. This event aims to challenge delegates’ thinking and knowledge, and expand their views on what represents urban water management best practice and its vital role in developing our future communities. The program includes three days of technical presentations with a number of excellent keynote speakers and range of oral sessions covering both peer reviewed and non-peer reviewed papers. A formal conference dinner will be held on 14 February 2018 where Engineers Australia and Stormwater WA Industry Awards winners will be announced, alongside some light entertainment. Ticket sales close 11 February. National Power Network presentation - 3:00 - 4:30pm on 14th February, the Qld Chapter of Engineers Australia's Electric Energy Society of Australia (EESA) will be hosting a presentation by their National President, Robert Barr AM. Robert will discuss the National Power Network (NPN), give an expert summary of the Finkel Plan, analyse market changes from power plant closures, and discuss Finkel Plan adjustments to encourage despatchable energy generation whilst integrating future renewables. Register here for a fascinating and insightful presentation. Interesting Snippets For your interest, horror and amusement. SENG makes no claims regarding the accuracy or currency of these items, but always seeks authoritative sources. - Ecosia is an internet search engine that plants trees when your brows. It is a free browser extension. It is also a certified benefit corporation, CO2-neutral, financially transparent social business that donates 80% of its profits to non-profit conservation groups, particularly targeting tree planting. - Volunteering for Clean Up Australia Day 2018 is a great event not to be missed. You can volunteer for a cleanup site near you, register your own site, or become a business supporter, sponsor or make a donation to help keep Australia clean with community spirit. - Utilities can now deploy an amazing Smart Water Meter system with unrestricted access using Telstra’s Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) Network. The NB-IoT network uses innovative ultrasonic, intelligent water meters to provide remote online meter readings that will not only save millions of dollars in manual water meter reading costs, but also save many millions of litres of precious town water by identifying leaks immediately. Great stuff! - Local government climate change survey results now available - A collaboration between Beyond Zero Emissions, ICLEI Oceania, and Ironbark Sustainability has released a preliminary report outlining findings from " the most comprehensive local government and climate change survey in Australian history". It presents interesting findings about Australian Councils' culture and practice regarding carbon emission targets. It also investigates Councils' intent, policies, monitoring and actions for climate change response, within their operations as well as the communities they govern. Read the Preliminary Report here. - Click here for an interesting quick article myth-busting five common negative accussations against renewable energy. Make sure you view the links to some fantastic and authoritative renewable energy initiatives. - Phosphorous pollution is a global issue - Global human activity emitted 1.47 million tons of phosphorus per year into the world's major freshwater basins. Studies have found that this loading exceeds the capacity of freshwater bodies utilised by 90% of the population, and there's usually not enough water to assimilate the excess phospohorous, or there's too much pollution to assimilate. Sustainably-engineered solutions for addressing phosphorous pollution are needed urgently. Read more about this recent research here. - Rain gardens, vertical landscapes and hybrid systems - Respected academic and engineer, Ana Demetic, has utilised her urban water management expertise to engineer vegetated water filters used within rain gardens, vertical landscapes and hybrid systems. These filters are designed to utilise nitrogen, phosphorous and other nutrients from grey water during dry spells, to better reduce, reuse and recycle water throughout the year. More details. - Plastic clean up - #Breakfreefromplastic are a global NGO who recently organised a series of coastal cleanups around the world. They determined the greatest polluters by analysing the waste they found and have started a class action lawsuit against to hold the perpetrating corporations accountable for the environmental damage their products are causing. Nestle were #1. Watch a short video here and find out more details here. - Energy effecient recycling process - Nanoengineers have created an energy-efficient recycling process that restores used lithum ion baterry cathodes, capable of equal charge time, battery lifetime and storage capacity. Get more details here. - BHP may leave the MIneral Counsil of Australia due to climate change policies - BHP has given the Minerals Council of Australia notice to acknowledge climate change and prioritise emission-reduction from coal-fired power plants over short-term profit gains, or lose their annual $2m lobby fund. The times they are a-changing.. Read the full article here. - Electricity from sun light - UK researchers have made exciting developments with microbial biophotovoltaics (BPV), which uses the photosyntheitic processes of cyanobacteria and algae, to produce electricity from sunlight. Using ink containing live cyanobacteria in an inkjet printer on paper with carbon nanotubes, this process has strongly increased the new technology's economic viability. Possible applications include biodegradable wallpaper that is a solar cell, bio-battery and environmental sensor. - Wastewater treatment break through - Singapore National University scientists have developed a method that can remove up to 99% of organic compounds found in various types of industrial wastewater, with other applications in electronics, pharmaceutical, agricultural, and heavy manufacturing industries. This normally difficult, expensive and waste-producing process, can now be performed using minimal electricity as a reagent for purification, generating no secondary waste. Active electrodes generate hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals that react with the complex organic compounds in the water and work to continuously break them down, eventually producing water and carbon dioxide. Find out more here. Awards and Open for Comment - QLD DEHP ask for comment on end of waste codes - The Qld Government's Department of Environment and Heriatage Protection are inviting submissions for waste producers to register waste that may be used as a sustainable and environmentally-safe resource, to apply to develop an end of waste code. Notice inviting comment for end of waste codes regarding fertiliser wash water, and oyster shells have recently been released. Press the hyperlinks to read the draft codes and see here for more details. - Greenfield open cut coal mine project EIS open for comment. The project is 170 kilometres (km) west of Rockhampton and 100km east of Emerald in Central Queensland, has been formally proposed. Walton Coal Pty Ltd plan to extract between 1.9 – 2.2 million tonnes of exported metallurgical coal each year for eight years. The draft Terms of Reference for the Environmental Impact Statement is available for public review and comment until 26th February 2018. Press here to find out how to send comments to the The EIS Coordinator (Walton Coal Project), care of the Chief Executive Department of Environment and Science. - Petition to enact legistlation to ban new investments in coal - Sign the petition here for the Queensland Government to enact legislation banning all new investment in coal, oil, and gas projects within Queensland, that contribute to global warming. Moment for Action Sign the petition David's Blog Keep up to date by reading David's Blog on the SENG website. Log in using your to post comments or questions. Join the conversation on our LinkedIn group page If you have an idea to share, an issue you would like feedback on, or just want to follow the conversation, click here to join the group. If you can't view this email click here to view online Click here to unsubscribe from this newsletter

Boduan, Pwllheli: A woodland burial reminds us that nature is the mirror and foundation for every resurrection myth

My dear old friend loved birds. They brought her joy. I’d spent many peaceful hours in her garden room, keeping her company, watching the nuthatches, woodpeckers, goldfinches and siskins at her bird table during these recent years of illness patiently borne. She died in the last minutes of the old year, at the age of 88. A woodland burial was arranged at Boduan Sanctuary. Waxy-white clumps of snowdrops reflected in the hearse’s paintwork as she left her home for the last time.

At the sanctuary wood’s car park we lifted her into a sturdy rustic cart with iron-rimmed wheels. On the narrow path into the wood, one of these ran over my foot. I imagined the quip this lively, humorous woman would have lanced my way, and changed position to push from the back. We held straps to lower her into the grave, and as we did so the sun’s barred rays threaded through the trees, traversed her wicker coffin, and illuminated the moss and the pale trunks of the silver birches.

Continue reading...

Latest technology reveals a network of more than 60,000 structures under Guatemala's jungle.

The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox

Continue reading...

The UK will play a leading role in developing a spacecraft to warn of solar storms.

Exclusive: Leaked document says it will be impossible to ensure current environmental and food safety standards are kept in Britain or the EU

Conservative MEPs have said Brexit will make it “impossible” to guarantee that current environmental standards can be maintained in Britain or the EU.

A leaked document seen by the Guardian also calls for “the closest possible working relationship” between the EU and UK after Brexit, and for a “no regression clause” in future British trade deals.

Continue reading...

New analysis suggests part of a nation-changing army of Vikings was buried in a town churchyard.

A leading maker of straws says greener alternatives are too costly and their development has stalled.

The ancient animal would have shared its home with dinosaurs, say Bristol researchers.

Golden monkeys, whooper swans and a giant tortoise are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world

Continue reading...

Exclusive: 197 people killed last year for defending land, wildlife or natural resources, new data reveals. In recording every defender’s death, the Guardian hopes to raise awareness of the deadly struggle on the environmental frontline

The slaughter of people defending their land or environment continued unabated in 2017, with new research showing almost four people a week were killed worldwide in struggles against mines, plantations, poachers and infrastructure projects.

The toll of 197 in 2017 – which has risen fourfold since it was first compiled in 2002 – underscores the violence on the frontiers of a global economy driven by expansion and consumption.

Continue reading...

Presidential order reduced protections for land once part of Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments

Hundreds of thousands of acres of land that were part of two US national monuments shrunk by Donald Trump are being opened Friday to mining claims for uranium and other minerals.

It is a symbolic step in a broader conflict over the fate of America’s public lands, on which Trump hopes to encourage greater access for extractive industries.

Continue reading...

The lonely bird died beside a concrete bird replica he had courted - and nested with - for years.

Nigel the lonely gannet, who spent much of his time surrounded by concrete birds on Mana island, has died. Conservation officers lured Nigel to the island off New Zealand with the imitation gannets in the hope of encouraging a colony to settle on the reserve

• Nigel the lonely gannet dies as he lived, surrounded by concrete birds
  

Continue reading...

Volcan de Fuego sent ash over a mile into the sky.