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Staying below dangerous climate thresholds requires a carbon pollution price much higher than the federal estimate

The ‘social cost of carbon’ is an estimate of how much carbon pollution costs society via climate damages, and can also be considered the optimal carbon tax price. The US federal estimate ($37 per ton of carbon dioxide pollution) underpins at least 150 regulations across various federal agencies, and has thus become a prime target in the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back Obama’s climate policies.

Yesterday, the House Subcommittees on Environment and Oversight held a hearing on the social cost of carbon. The Republican Congressmen and their witnesses argued the federal estimate is too high, but a majority of economists think it’s too low. Not surprisingly, the Republican witnesses have been heavily funded by the fossil fuel industry. They made two main arguments: 1) that the $37 estimate should be based on domestic, not global climate impacts, and 2) that the government should have used a higher discount rate, which would result in a lower estimate.

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Lasers reveal invisible details of the shape of a feathered dinosaur that lived 160 million years ago.

Every day, the sun kickstarts mini power plants in about 942,000 homes around America. We are of course talking about solar energy – and in 2017, it’s never been cheaper to invest in it for your home. The Guardian looks at key tips for installing solar panels and why now is the time to switch

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A new species of midge has been discovered but there is no need to reach for the insect repellent.

This year’s theme is Grow-Conserve and entries will be on show in Somerset House, London, from 9 to 28 March. Winners will be announced on 8 March

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SDCL claims government has not sought value for money for taxpayer in choice of Australian bank Macquarie

A last-ditch attempt has been made to derail the government’s controversial sale of the Green Investment Bank to the Australian investment bank Macquarie.

Sustainable Development Capital (SDCL), a rival bidder for the bank, said it was launching a legal challenge to the government’s decision to select Macquarie as its preferred bidder for the £2bn deal.

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Wenlock Edge Daisy – daes eage, day’s-eye – a wonderfully simple poetry that has become a complicated symbolic chain-link of love, innocence and death

Hazel catkins are limp, in a still brightness they hang fire, waiting. After the thrashing they got from Storm Doris it’s a wonder they survived, let alone have any pollen left, but from woods and hedges, unimpeded by leaves, the magic dust cloud drifts for wider fertilisation. The pollen record found in peat bogs shows an expansion of hazel during the Mesolithic, 11,000 – 6,000 years ago and the speculation is that travelling people transported hazel nuts, so that now, catkins dangle from here to the Caucasus and Algeria.

Related: Country diary: Wenlock Edge: The lesser celandine, the voice of spring

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Analysis shows steady warming in the Pacific Ocean and that Australia could be in for a warmer and drier year

Australia could be heading into another El Niño year according to new analysis by the Bureau of Meteorology, which found the chance Australia would be affected by the phenomenon in 2017 had increased to 50%.

Six of the eight models used by Australian climatologists to predict El Niño and La Niña events indicate the El Niño threshold could be reached by July, while seven indicate a steady warming in the Pacific Ocean over the next six months.

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Impact of decision of some liable parties to pay penalty rather than meet RET obligation felt in February – although the extent of this was lost in subsequent political volatility. Meanwhile, project commitments continue to flow.

Coal generator proposal asking CEFC for finance would provide power to Galilee Basin coal projects owned by Clive Palmer, Gina Rinehart, and Adani, and bury Co2 in "un-mineable" part of same coal province. Meanwhile, emissions rise and Coalition links with fossil fuel lobby deepen.

Battery storage prices are trending downward as newcomers to the Australian market follow the Tesla Powerwall 2 to lower and lower price points.

Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Infrastructure Capital Group (ICG) and the Energy Infrastructure Trust (EIT) on the successful acquisition of the Bald Hills Wind Farm.

Kagoshima Prefecture-based project is scheduled for installation in Q3 2017 as part of Japan’s popular Excess Energy Purchasing Scheme and Feed-in Tariff

EV rental company launches sharing plan where owners of Tesla and other EVs can help pay off their investments or simply share the love of EV driving.

In an 11th-hour deal, Opal Solar has secured prime real-estate on the jerseys of NRL premiers the Cronulla Sharks as their 2017 Naming Rights Partner.

Spain reboots its renewable energy program, while India has said the country will double the installed capacity in solar parks to 40 gigawatts.

Engie & Schneider Electric have signed a MoU to explore and deploy new digital solutions for operational efficiency of renewable assets.

Australian specialist infrastructure fund manager Infrastructure Capital Group (ICG) has acquired Bald Hills Wind Farm from Mitsui & Co.

China is now well past its 2013 coal peak, while the utilization rate for coal-fired generators declined to 47.5% - an all time low.

Radio signals from tags are helping hunters and harming conservation, warn scientists.