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The 'human sensor' making Manchester's air pollution visible

The Guardian - Thu, 2016-07-28 22:38

The hi-tech illuminated costumes worn by media artist Kasia Molga reveal changes in urban air pollution and bring together art and science

Heads turn when media artist Kasia Molga and her performers walk the streets of Manchester. When they near buses belching diesel fumes, their futuristic capes and masks turn a bright red. Near a park they go green. Depending on the traffic pollution levels in the northern industrial city, their clothing pulses, flashes and changes colour from purple through to white.

Molga calls herself a “human sensor”. She has linked with atmospheric scientists at King’s College London to develop clothing that reacts to the minute particles (PM2.5s) emitted mainly by diesel engines.

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Categories: Around The Web

PM wants positive outcome for science in Brexit talks

BBC - Thu, 2016-07-28 22:21
The Prime Minister has said that she wants to ensure a positive outcome for science in negotiations to leave the European Union.
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People run from floods in Nepal – video

The Guardian - Thu, 2016-07-28 20:35

Amateur video shot on Tuesday shows floods in Butwal, a village in the the Rupandehi district of Nepal, after flash floods and landslides swept through villages, killing at least 58 people over two days. In Butwal, local residents run away as torrential floodwaters overflow the riverbank and break a flood defence wall

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Elephant killings in Africa 'stabilise' but threat continues

BBC - Thu, 2016-07-28 19:09
The rapid growth in the illegal killing of African elephants seen since 2006 seems to have stabilised and may be decreasing.
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Biodiversity greater inside Earth's protected areas, study finds

The Guardian - Thu, 2016-07-28 19:04

Scientists show for the first time that there are 15% more individual plants and animals and 11% more species inside terrestrial conservation zones

Biodiversity is greater inside the world’s protected areas, scientists have been able to show for the first time.

There are 15% more individual plants and animals and 11% more species inside than outside protected areas, according to the largest analysis of biodiversity in terrestrial globally protected areas to date.

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Rhinoceros calf responds to his name – video

The Guardian - Thu, 2016-07-28 18:06

Warren, a rhinoceros calf, responds to being called while on a walk with his carers at the Meyersdal Nature Estate in South Africa on Monday. Warren comes running back after being called by name and also accompanies some dogs on a trip around the sanctuary. The Meyersdal Nature Estate is run by Working with Rhinos, a charity dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating rhinoceros and indigenous wildlife from the area

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Butterflies: a feast for more than eyes

The Guardian - Thu, 2016-07-28 14:30

Sandy, Bedfordshire What are they tasting, and what makes them dab their egg on one particular leaf above all others?

Day by day, summer has been eating its way through the nasturtium at the back door. Over the past fortnight, I have conducted my own leafwatch. Victorian naturalists used systematic, meticulous, studies to gain insights: I’m looking in my lunch break. Even so, during these half-hour snatches, I’ve discovered a tiny something that contradicts an authoritative textbook.

We call them cabbage whites, the butterflies with a taste for brassicas, but these insects have a fondness for nasturtiums too. One flits over the fence and breaks its zigzag course through the garden to home in. It circles and lands on leaf after leaf, wings whipped into a frenzy at the point of exact touchdown.

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ScienceTalk: Jupiter's hot spot and the relationship between campfires and tuberculosis

ABC Environment - Thu, 2016-07-28 14:06
ABC Science journalist Bernie Hobbs takes us through the latest stories - in this case how fire that brought warmth and comfort to early humans may also have triggered the emergence of deadly tuberculosis and how Jupiter's Great Red 'Hot Spot' may explain atmospheric mystery.
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National eNews - Do we need emergency action on climate?

Newsletters National - Thu, 2016-07-28 12:50
National eNews - Do we need emergency action on climate?
Categories: Newsletters National

Great Barrier Reef oil spill: foreign ship faces prosecution after 12-month hunt

The Guardian - Thu, 2016-07-28 12:38

Queensland authorities say they have identified the vessel that spilled up to 15 tonnes of oil off Cape Upstart in July 2015

An unnamed foreign ship faces prosecution over an oil spill on the Great Barrier Reef after a 12-month investigation by Queensland government agencies.

Maritime investigators claim they have identified the vessel that spilled up to 15 tonnes of oil in reef waters off Cape Upstart in July 2015, which washed up on mainland beaches and islands north of Townsville and triggered a response costing $1.5m.

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NSW solar bonus scheme ends this year: what are your options?

RenewEconomy - Thu, 2016-07-28 12:24
As NSW’s relatively generous solar rates come to a close, 150,000-odd solar homes are looking to make the transition as painless as possible. So what are your options? We break them down for you.
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Installation begins on 500kW solar array for Canberra Hospital

RenewEconomy - Thu, 2016-07-28 12:16
ACT govt-funded installation of 500kW solar array is underway at Canberra Hospital, part of project that will save it $490,000 by 2017-18.
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All the smart people are on our side, we just need a majority

RenewEconomy - Thu, 2016-07-28 12:01
The overall tone of Clean Energy Summit is much more upbeat than last year, and it appears that the political resistance to renewables is fading.
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Australia’s renewable energy policy is short sighted and creating problems

RenewEconomy - Thu, 2016-07-28 11:48
BNEF and Clean Energy Regulator warn renewables market headed for shortfall, RET policy has "fundamental holes in it.”
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Solar Impulse’s biggest legacy will be in your home – not in the skies

RenewEconomy - Thu, 2016-07-28 11:43
After 12 years of planning and testing, Solar Impulse has finally completed its epic voyage around the world – all without using a single drop of fuel.
Categories: Around The Web

Watch out for virtual utilities, virtual power plants

RenewEconomy - Thu, 2016-07-28 11:22
Startups are figuring out ways to beat incumbents in their own game. Virtual power plants may be the answer.
Categories: Around The Web

Energy minister right on renewables and climate, wrong on gas

RenewEconomy - Thu, 2016-07-28 11:03
Josh Frydenberg's apparent shift in thinking on renewables is welcome, but his call to end moratoriums on unconventional gas is profoundly out of step.
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BuildingIQ acquires core technology from CSIRO

RenewEconomy - Thu, 2016-07-28 10:08
New technology subsystems enrich 5i energy intelligence platform with real-time, dynamic, human comfort sensing to add how “we feel” to big data analysis.
Categories: Around The Web

Great Red 'Hot Spot' may explain the Jupiter's atmospheric mystery

ABC Science - Thu, 2016-07-28 09:33
JOVIAN HEAT: The howling turbulence of Jupiter's Great Red Spot may be superheating the upper atmosphere above the storm, researchers say.
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Frydenberg says renewables not to blame for South Australia energy “crisis”

RenewEconomy - Thu, 2016-07-28 09:09
Josh Frydenberg says wind and solar not to blame for recent price spikes, noting that price volatility is "not a new thing". But while he accepts coal is in decline, his messaging was mixed, and wants more gas into the electricity system.
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