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How Japan is making 1 million tonnes of radioactive water safe – video
Since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, more than 1m tonnes of radioactive water has been building up at the power plant in central Japan. Soon the plant will run out of space to store the water, which is a big problem. The plan at the moment is to dump it all in the sea. So how do you go about making 1m tonnes of radioactive water, safe to drink?
Continue reading...Victoria’s electric vehicle tax faces high court challenge
Case, launched by two Melbourne EV drivers, will argue the levy is unconstitutional and ‘similar to the GST which is a commonwealth tax’
Two electric vehicle drivers have launched a high court challenge to Victoria’s electric vehicle tax, arguing the levy is unconstitutional.
The challenge was filed on Thursday by Equity Generation Lawyers, the legal firm that represented eight teenagers in a federal court case that found the federal environment minister, Sussan Ley, had a duty to protect young people from the climate crisis.
Continue reading...Taiwan’s CPC signs carbon neutral gas supply deal with industrial giant
Battery storage will force us to rethink network tariffs and structures
Last mile networks are much more valuable than our biggest generators. We need to rethink pricing and regulations to get the best out of distributed energy.
The post Battery storage will force us to rethink network tariffs and structures appeared first on RenewEconomy.
China’s Chongqing launches carbon offset scheme
Your gas stove is leaking air pollution inside your own home. Go electric | Brady Seals
Gas stoves can produce air pollution levels indoors that would be illegal outside
I traveled around the developing world for more than a decade seeing and studying first-hand the damage that wood and charcoal do to the lungs of people – mostly women and children – who use it for cooking. Nearly half the world’s population cooks with solid fuels, and I was proud of my work to bring cleaner options and help prevent pneumonia, lung disease and other effects of breathing in smoke on a daily basis.
And when I got home from these trips, I would turn on my gas stove to cook meals – never once guessing that the invisible gas piped into my house, and its similarly invisible emissions, were also harmful.
Continue reading...Production of forever chemicals emits potent greenhouse gases, analysis finds
EPA data reveals that one of America’s biggest PFAS-making plants is second largest polluter of highly damaging HCFC-22 gas
A new analysis of Environmental Protection Agency data has revealed that PFAS chemicals – often known as “forever chemicals” due to their longevity in the environment – are contributing to the climate crisis as their production involves the emission of potent greenhouse gases.
In recent years, an ever-expanding body of scientific research has shown that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are among the most toxic substances widely used in consumer products.
Continue reading...Exxon helped cause the climate crisis. It’s time they owned up | Mark Hertsgaard
The Cop26 climate summit will be an opportunity to put fossil fuel companies on trial through the court of public opinion
Fossil fuel companies bear as much responsibility as governments do for humanity’s climate predicament – and for finding a way out. Our planetary house is on fire, and these companies have literally supplied the fuel. Worse, they lied about it for decades to blunt public awareness and policy reform.
There’s no better time for ExxonMobil and other petroleum giants to be held accountable than at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow in November. The Glasgow summit is more than just another international meeting. It is the last chance for world leaders to limit future temperature rise to an amount that civilization can survive. Doing so, scientists say, will require a rapid, global decline in oil, gas and coal burning.
Continue reading...Al Gore-backed data project finds oil and gas emissions may be double estimates
Environment Agency must do more to protect boy, 5, from landfill fumes, rules court
Doctors say Mathew Richards’ life expectancy has been shortened due to exposure to hydrogen sulphide fumes
The high court has ruled the Environment Agency must do more to protect a five-year-old boy from landfill fumes which doctors say are shortening his life expectancy.
In a judicial review, brought on behalf of Mathew Richards, lawyers argued his respiratory health problems were being worsened by fumes from a landfill site near his home in Silverdale, near Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Continue reading...Greenpeace sounds greenwash alarm over Australian net zero claims
Children already have the facts. Now they need the tools to fix the climate crisis
A recent poll has shown that young people are justifiably anxious about the future of the planet, but also hopeful
There was a rare nugget of hope in the assorted news and polling on the climate crisis last week: 18- to 24-year-olds in Britain are the most optimistic that the planet is still salvageable, with 73% agreeing with the statement presented by YouGov: “We are still able to avoid the worst effects of climate change, but it would need a drastic change in the steps taken to tackle it, and fast.” Only two-thirds of older cohorts held the same view.
Young people’s positive outlook stands in contrast to the actual state of the environment, to which they are extremely attuned: sure enough, the under-30s are much more worried about the climate than any other generation. While, overall, the differences don’t look stark – three-quarters of the young versus two-thirds of those over 65 fall under the umbrella “worried” – twice as many young people as any other cohort described themselves as “very worried”. We should note one quirk of the fieldwork: “very” was the strongest word in the poll. Who knows what depths of anxiety would have been uncovered if the poll had included “extremely worried” or “climbing the wall”. This generation, lacking a retiree’s capacity for denial, has the clearest sense of what its crisis-ridden future might look like. So these young people have to believe that environmental collapse can be averted. The alternative is despair.
Continue reading...Hillston Solar farm secures financing to go ahead in NSW
It's tough out there, but the proposed 120MW Hillston Solar Farm in the Riverina region has successfully raised the necessary funds to move forward.
The post Hillston Solar farm secures financing to go ahead in NSW appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Kew Gardens: Royal Botanic Gardens breaks record for largest plant collection
French energy giant EDF chases big solar play in Hunter Valley coal region
French energy giant EDF in major solar play in the Hunter Valley, signs MOU with local coal mining company.
The post French energy giant EDF chases big solar play in Hunter Valley coal region appeared first on RenewEconomy.
“Missing markets”: Why energy storage projects are being sidelined in Australia
ESB chief Kerry Schott plays down concerns around proposed 'capacity mechanism' telling forum its not designed to keep coal operating.
The post “Missing markets”: Why energy storage projects are being sidelined in Australia appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Taylor tightens rules for rooftop solar industry, hands sheriff’s badge to CER
Australia’s rooftop solar industry is bracing for a major regulatory overhaul, including on how companies and equipment qualify for the national rebate scheme.
The post Taylor tightens rules for rooftop solar industry, hands sheriff’s badge to CER appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Fleet charging infrastructure has become a new revenue frontier
There is still significant potential for more charging infrastructure, with the growing need, presenting a compelling business case for charging stations as a new revenue stream.
The post Fleet charging infrastructure has become a new revenue frontier appeared first on RenewEconomy.
EnergyAustralia calls for partners for what could be country’s biggest battery
EnergyAustralia seeks a partner for the massive Wooreen big battery in Victoria, part of its plans to replace the Yallourn brown coal generator.
The post EnergyAustralia calls for partners for what could be country’s biggest battery appeared first on RenewEconomy.