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Right to Roam believes people should respectfully explore the land on their doorstep: after all, we pay subsidies for a lot of it

When the barbed-wire fence began to spread across the British countryside in the late 19th century, it was not met with equanimity. Huntsmen complained of terrible accidents resulting from their horses vaulting the unexpected wire, while members of the House of Lords railed that “nothing was more calculated to destroy the amenities of country life”. What reason was there, asked Lord Thring in 1893, “why a child wandering along the roadside picking cowslips and blackberries should be liable to have its hands lacerated and its clothes torn by these fences?”

Today, barbed wire is an accepted feature of the countryside; a misanthropic aberration faded into the background of daily life. It is the symbol of a sick culture that fetishises private property rights at the expense of all that is good, humane and beautiful. That’s why I and others have taken to mass trespass.

Jon Moses is a freelance writer and organiser for Right to Roam

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Slovakia’s only aluminium plant will close later this year due to soaring power prices, the company's operator announced Wednesday.

Measure will come into force from 24 August, affecting 15m customers in Thames Valley and London

Thames Water has announced a hosepipe ban across the south of England, which will affect 15 million of its customers.

The ban will come into force from 24 August, affecting people in London and the Thames Valley area.

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Australian oil and gas Santos company has made final investment decision on its Pikka project in Alaska, claiming the 80,000 barrels of oil per day development will be a “net zero project” backed by carbon credits.

Scott Morrison secretly assumed control of the resources portfolio, among others. Now a gas company wants one of his captain’s calls to be scrapped. Samantha Hepburn, Professor, Deakin Law School, Deakin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Much of Santos huge profit increase comes from war profiteering and exporting gas destined for the domestic market. Something must be done.

The post Santos windfall: Australia is swimming in subsidised gas and we’re giving it away appeared first on RenewEconomy.

All the talk of offshore wind and green hydrogen in Australia is hugely promising, but they won't get us to 80% renewable energy by 2030. So what will?

The post Who is going to make sure Australia can get to 80 pct renewables by 2030? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Two organic dairy farmers have slashed their energy costs by tens of thousands of dollars using renewable energy and equipment upgrades.

The post “At least they’ll have free power:” Renewables change future for organic dairy farm appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Pressure mounts on Labor to rule out the use of native forest biomass for renewable energy generation, just as it gains popularity as a replacement for coal.

The post “More emissions than coal:” Pressure mounts to rule out forest biomass appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Shanghai, Moscow and Tehran have the highest levels of NO2 pollution, according to the research

Cities in relatively prosperous countries are blighted by serious levels of air pollution from nitrogen dioxide, often without realising the extent of the problem, research has found.

Moscow is the world’s second worst city for nitrogen dioxide pollution, behind Shanghai in China, while St Petersburg takes fourth place. Other cities near Russia follow close behind, including Ashgabat, capital of Turkmenistan, and Minsk, capital of Belarus, at seventh and eighth place respectively, according to the research, published on Wednesday.

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Forests in Russia are most affected, as scientists warn of escape of huge quantities of buried carbon dioxide

The boreal forests in the far northern latitudes have suffered more tree cover loss owing to fire in the last decade than any other place on Earth, with Russia losing more trees to fire than any other country, data has shown.

The boreal region is a huge stretch of coniferous forests that encircles the northern hemisphere taking in parts of Scandinavia, Estonia, Lithuania, Russia, Alaska and Canada, among other countries.

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BlackRock's new battery storage company Akaysha is to test limits of battery storage market, and has an eye on other island grid markets in Asia.

The post BlackRock to push battery limits and new markets with eight hour storage and inertia appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Bid led by Atlassian co-founder and his wife gets nod from renewables and storage developer Genex Power after lifting its indicative offer.

The post Atlassian’s Farquhar gets nod from storage developer Genex with improved offer appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Harnessing natural insect power can, with proper management, have higher efficacy than resorting to harmful chemicals

Ants can be more effective than pesticides at helping farmers produce food, according to new research. They are better at killing pests, reducing plant damage and increasing crop yields, according to the first systematic review of ants’ contributions to crop production.

Ants are generalist predators and hunt pests that damage fruits, seeds and leaves, leading to a drop in crop yields. A greater diversity of ants generally provides more protection against a wider range of pests, the study found.

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A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

Offset standards body Verra published its VCS methodology for biochar Tuesday, outlining how emissions removals will be calculated using the increasingly popular carbon credit technique.

The government is in a row with the EU over the UK's membership of the €100bn Horizon research programme.

Traders have identified a roughly $2 range as to where the August WCI current vintage allowance auction will likely settle on Wednesday, with bullish market sentiment stemming from California Governor Gavin Newsom’s (D) ambitious climate plan running up against lighter speculator participation and a recent secondary market price leap.

Shifting to renewables means many more high voltage powerlines. But these powerlines are seeing strong pushback from farmers and rural communities. Are there any alternatives? Asma Aziz, Lecturer in Power Engineering, Edith Cowan University Iftekhar Ahmad, Associate Professor, Edith Cowan University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

When the pandemic hit, green space was there for us at a time when others weren’t or couldn’t be. Urban greening might be the solution to the ‘lonelygenic environment’ that our cities have created. Xiaoqi Feng, Associate Professor in Urban Health and Environment; NHMRC Career Development Fellow, UNSW Sydney Thomas Astell-Burt, Professor of Population Health and Environmental Data Science, NHMRC Boosting Dementia Research Leadership Fellow, University of Wollongong Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.