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Giraffes facing extinction, warn experts – video report
The giraffe is at risk of extinction after a large decline in numbers over the past 30 years, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which released its latest ‘red list’ of threatened species on Thursday. The eastern gorilla and whale shark are also deemed at high risk
Continue reading...Dieselgate: EC begins legal action against UK and other EU nations
Germany and Spain among those accused of failing to set up penalty systems to deter violations of emissions law
The European commission has started legal action against the UK and six other EU states for failing to act against car emissions cheating in the wake of the “dieselgate” scandal.
VW was forced to recall nearly half a million cars from the US market last year after it was revealed that the company had used sophisticated “defeat devices” to game emissions tests. Other manufacturers have also used techniques to give lower emissions readings in lab tests than in real world driving.
Continue reading...Report helps scientists communicate how global warming is worsening natural disasters | John Abraham
A new article helps scientists communicate how humans are intensifying extreme weather clearly and accurately
Climate scientists have done a great job winning the scientific arguments about climate change. To be clear about what I mean, we have done a very good job investigating whether or not the Earth’s climate is changing (it is), what is causing the change (humans), how much will it change in the future, and what will be the impacts.
There are no longer any reputable scientists who disagree with the principle view of that human emissions will cause climate change that will lead to societal and human losses (they already are). So, I use the term “win” here not to indicate it was a battle of “us” versus “them”. Rather, I mean “win” in that we have faithfully followed the scientific method, explored alternative hypotheses, checked and rechecked our work, and have come to a truth that is unassailable. We’ve done our job.
Continue reading...Why electric cars are only as clean as their power supply
Experts argue whether electric cars are worse for the environment than gas guzzlers once the manufacturing process and batteries are taken into account
Jorge Cruz has just finished his overnight shift stacking shelves at Whole Foods in Los Altos, California, and is waiting at the bus stop outside. Like much of Silicon Valley, there’s a regular flow of Tesla, BMW, Nissan and Google electric cars that cruise past from their nearby headquarters, and Cruz rather likes them.
“I really wouldn’t mind having an electric car,” he says, though his first choice is probably a Honda or an Acura. Regardless, for now, he rides the bus. “I need to save up for a car,” he explains.
Continue reading...Satellite Eye on Earth: November 2016 – in pictures
Ancient water channels in Morocco, declining Arctic sea ice and the US-Mexico border were among the images captured by European Space Agency and Nasa satellites last month
A bank of clouds covers East Java to the west, with a bright sun overhead casting shadows from the clouds along the ocean surface. Sunglint, an optical effect caused by the reflection of sunlight off the water surface directly back at the satellite sensor, exposes the waves created by the movement of currents in the ocean water. Internal waves are generated when the interface between layers is disturbed, such as when tidal flow passes over rough ocean floors, ridges, or other obstacles. The Lombok Strait, a relatively narrow passageway between Bali (west) and Lombok (east), allows flow of water from the Pacific Ocean into the Indian Ocean. The bottom of the strait is complex and rough, consisting of two main channels, one shallow and one deep. Because of the variation in water movement due to the complexity of the channels and ocean interface, the tides in the strait have a complex rhythm but tend to combine about every 14 days to create an exceptionally strong tidal flow. It is the combination of rough topography, strong tidal currents, and stratified water from the ocean exchange that makes the Lombok Strait famous for the generation of intensive internal waves.
Continue reading...Finkel report critical of government climate policy
Venomous fire ants a 'real and present danger' to Australian lives, warns report
Independent review shared with agriculture ministers in May calls for an urgent $38m eradication of invasive insects
Aggressive, venomous red fire ants have the potential to be a threat in even Australia’s biggest cities and require a multimillion-dollar, 10-year program to wipe them out before it’s too late, agriculture ministers were warned in May.
An independent review into the ant, which is of South American extraction, prepared for a meeting of federal state and territory agriculture ministers in May but made public this week through the Senate, calls for a doubling of funding to $38m a year for 10 years to eliminate the scourge for good.
Continue reading...Giraffe facing extinction after devastating decline, experts warn
Latest update to the red list of threatened species shows world’s tallest animal is on the brink, but some good news for Madgascan freshwater fish
The world’s tallest animal is at risk of extinction after suffering a devastating decline in numbers, with 40% of giraffes lost in the last 30 years, according to the latest “red list” analysis.
The authoritative list, compiled by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has also added over 700 newly recognised bird species, but 13 of these are already extinct.
Continue reading...Skylarks change their tune for frosty dogfight
Sandy, Bedfordshire The birds’ summer song has become a spit of rage, broken chirrups rendered to our ears as “get lost!”
The skylark’s summer song is reduced in winter to spits of rage, each broken chirrup rendered to human ears as “get lost!” or something far ruder. Such angry chatter broke the stillness of a recent frost-becalmed morning in the fields. The strident cries told of an aerial dogfight.
Related: David Adam on the decline of Britain's skylarks and other bird species
Continue reading...Fire ants could become Australia's worst pest, experts warn
Why power prices higher without a carbon price
Solar buzz: QUT team inspired by fly’s eye to boost solar cell efficiency
Finkel review criticises climate policy chaos and points to need for emissions trading
Exclusive: Report warns investment in electricity has stalled, and existing policies won’t allow Australia to meet its Paris target
Australia’s chief scientist, Alan Finkel, has said investment in the electricity sector has stalled because of “policy instability and uncertainty” – and he’s warned that current federal climate policy settings will not allow Australia to meet its emissions reduction targets under the Paris agreement.
In a 58-page report that has been circulated before Friday’s Council of Australian Governments meeting between the prime minister and the premiers, Finkel has also given implicit endorsement to an emissions intensity trading scheme for the electricity industry to help manage the transition to lower-emissions energy sources.
Continue reading...Gutless and the dumb: Conservatives push up electricity prices
Trump to tap climate-denying EPA opponent … to head the EPA
RES, Lloyds consider 100MW battery storage plant in South Australia
Orangutan stuns zookeepers by becoming pregnant while on the pill
Adelaide zoo is hoping to support 34-year-old orangutan Karta through her pregnancy as she has lost six infants in the past
A Sumatran orangutan at Adelaide zoo has fallen pregnant, despite being on contraceptives.
Karta the 34-year-old orangutan is due early in 2017. Jodie Ellen, a senior primate keeper, announced the “exciting but nerve-wracking” news on the zoo’s Facebook page. “It wasn’t a planned pregnancy,” she said. “Mother Nature actually intervened.”
Continue reading...Gas plants, not wind, may have been at fault in South Australia blackout
AEMO says gas plants may be “stranded” by falling renewables, storage prices
Updated names for 7 species (3 birds, 4 plants) in the list of threatened species under the EPBC Act
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