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Rockefeller family charity to withdraw all investments in fossil fuel companies

The Guardian - Thu, 2016-03-24 07:39

Started by John D Rockefeller – who made his fortune from oil – the fund singled out ExxonMobil, calling the world’s largest oil company ‘morally reprehensible’

A charitable fund of the Rockefeller family – who are sitting on a multibillion-dollar oil fortune – has said it will withdraw all its investments from fossil fuel companies.

The Rockefeller Family Fund, a charity set up in 1967 by descendants of John D Rockefeller, said on Wednesday that it would divest from all fossil fuel holdings “as quickly as possible”.

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Dyson developing an electric car, according to government documents

The Guardian - Thu, 2016-03-24 03:59

The company last year refused to confirm they were working on a green vehicle, but a government plan on infrastructure suggests they are

Dyson is developing an electric car at its headquarters in Wiltshire with help from public money, according to government documents.

The company, which makes a range of products that utilise the sort of highly efficient motors needed for an electric car such as vacuum cleaners, hand dryers and bladeless fans, last year refused to rule out rumours it was building one.

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Michael Sheen and Massive Attack members support Welsh anti-fracking film

The Guardian - Thu, 2016-03-24 00:42

Welsh actor narrates A River documentary highlighting risk of river pollution from shale gas drilling in Pontrhydyfen village, Richard Burton’s birthplace

The actor Michael Sheen has given his support to an anti-fracking film opposing shale gas drilling in the Welsh village of Pontrhydyfen, Richard Burton’s birth place.

Sheen narrates the documentary A River, which is soundtracked by original music from Robert Del Naja and Euan Dickinson of Massive Attack, and warns of a pollution risk to the river Afan from potential fracking in the area.

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The small fish with a big personality: Study reveals unique blenny behaviour – in pictures

The Guardian - Wed, 2016-03-23 20:23

The discovery of unique face markings on individual blennies enabled underwater photographer Paul Naylor to gain new insights into the secret world of these charismatic UK fish

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Female hybrid fish grows male sex organs and gives birth

ABC Science - Wed, 2016-03-23 13:10
MUM AND DAD: A female tropical fish bred in a UK university has developed a male sex organ, fertilised her own eggs and given birth in a rare case of self breeding in vertebrates.

Clean Energy Innovation Fund

Department of the Environment - Wed, 2016-03-23 12:10
The Australian Government is establishing a $1 billion Clean Energy Innovation Fund to support emerging technologies make the leap from demonstration to commercial deployment. This will drive innovation and create the jobs of the future, while...
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Accuracy of criminal identification may be reduced if all witnesses agree

ABC Science - Wed, 2016-03-23 11:03
PARADOX OF UNANIMITY: As the number of witnesses who identify the same suspect gets larger, the probability of correctly identifying a criminal decreases, suggests a new Australian study.

National eNews - positive & negative of sustainability, NFCRC, Awards/conferences/consultations open

Newsletters National - Tue, 2016-03-22 18:00
National eNews - positive & negative of sustainability, NFCRC, Awards/conferences/consultations open
Categories: Newsletters National

Carbon emissions rate 'highest in 66 million years'

ABC Science - Tue, 2016-03-22 13:13
RAPID RELEASE: The rate of carbon emissions is higher than at any time in fossil records stretching back 66 million years to the end of the age of the dinosaurs, according to a new study

Anti-gravity dream may take off

ABC Science - Tue, 2016-03-22 12:40
GREAT MOMENTS IN SCIENCE: The genius of Albert Einstein lead us to gravitational waves - maybe someday another genius will work out how to make them, says Dr Karl.

Astronomers see supernova shockwave for first time

ABC Science - Tue, 2016-03-22 08:27
EXPLODING STAR: The shockwave generated by the explosion of an ageing giant star has been observed by an international team of astronomers.

Eat less meat to avoid dangerous global warming, scientists say

The Guardian - Tue, 2016-03-22 05:00

Research led by Oxford Martin School finds widespread adoption of vegetarian diet would cut food-related emissions by 63% and make people healthier too

Growing food for the world’s burgeoning population is likely to send greenhouse gas emissions over the threshold of safety, unless more is done to cut meat consumption, a new report has found.

A widespread switch to vegetarianism would cut emissions by nearly two-thirds, it said.

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Proposal to grant Multiple Use Consignment Authorities for the import of perishable goods under exceptional circumstances

Department of the Environment - Mon, 2016-03-21 09:35
Invitation to comment on Proposal to grant Multiple Use Consignment Authorities (multiple-use permits) for the import of perishable goods under the exceptional circumstances provision of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act...
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By rejecting $1bn for a pipeline, a First Nation has put Trudeau's climate plan on trial

The Guardian - Mon, 2016-03-21 04:20

Canada’s Lax Kw’alaams show us how we can be saved: by loving the natural world and local living economies more than mere money and profit

Everything has a price. Everyone can be bought. We assume this principle is endemic to modern life — and that accepting it is most obvious to the impoverished. Except all over the world, people are defying it for a greater cause. That courage may be even more contagious.

It has been in full supply in north-west Canada, where an oil giant is aiming to construct one of the country’s biggest fossil fuel developments: a pipeline to ship liquified natural gas (LNG) out of British Colombia. To export it overseas via tankers, Malaysian-owned Petronas must first win approval for a multi-billion dollar terminal on the coast.

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Environmental Risk Assessment seminar, 22 March

Newsletters VIC - Sun, 2016-03-20 14:15
Environmental Risk Assessment seminar, 22 March
Categories: Newsletters VIC

Waste, buildings, consumption, and your chance for $250,000 in funding

Newsletters S.A. - Sun, 2016-03-20 13:25
Waste, buildings, consumption, and your chance for $250,000 in funding
Categories: Newsletters S.A.

'A tipping point': record number of Americans see global warming as threat

The Guardian - Sat, 2016-03-19 04:05

New polling data shows that public concern about climate change is at a new high, as the US emerges from its warmest-ever winter

A record number of Americans believe global warming will pose a threat to their way of life, new polling data shows, amid strengthening public acceptance that rising temperatures are being driven by human activity.

Related: February breaks global temperature records by 'shocking' amount

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Five ways to power the UK that are far better than Hinkley Point

The Guardian - Fri, 2016-03-18 21:00

These alternatives to the troubled planned nuclear plant will be faster to build and cheaper for energy consumers, say experts

The planned £18bn nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset are derided by critics as “one of the worst deals ever” for Britain, but defended as crucial to the UK’s energy policy by the government.

Recent resignations and financial warnings have knocked confidence in the Hinkley C deal, raising the question of whether clean energy alternatives could plug the gap. The fast-changing economics of the energy world, with renewables and other clean technologies falling in cost, indicate they can. The alternatives also look faster to build – it would take a decade to get Hinkley into operation – and cheaper for consumers, who ultimately foot the bills.

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Worst Mediterranean drought in 900 years has human fingerprints all over it | John Abraham

The Guardian - Fri, 2016-03-18 20:00

A new study shows that the current Mediterranean drought is likely the worst in 900 years, probably due to human-caused intensification

In a warming world, we expect to see increases in some extreme weather events. The science is pretty clear that in some parts of the world, drought and heat waves have and will continue to increase. In other areas, more severe storms along with precipitation and flooding have increased. Drought, heat waves, and floods are examples of changes to weather and climate patterns that will have costs for human society.

It’s tricky to discern not only whether past extreme weather have changed, but also whether human-caused global warming is a factor. Scientists need high-quality records that go back many decades to see if there is any trend towards increasing or decreasing extreme weather. But weather is quite variable. We can see a rise or fall in extreme weather events with no apparent cause, human or natural.

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Pluto may have an underground ocean

ABC Science - Fri, 2016-03-18 17:54
WATER WORLD?: Internal heating, fuelled by the natural decay of radioactive elements in Pluto's rocks and other sources, likely keeps an ocean of ammonia-rich water liquid beneath the dwarf planet's frozen surface, new data suggests.

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