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Wenlock Edge, Shropshire: The one-step-forward-two-steps-back dance between winter and spring had time yet but many of the animals and plants had not

Overnight snow left anonymous gifts. Frost and a chill wind through the trees hardened what remained of the snowfall as the weather moved on, to leave a scattering of unopened envelopes. Snow on fungi: there was something very symbolic about these two kinds of ephemeral structures. The Armilaria fungi living in the rotten stump of a tree may have been what killed it. The fruiting bodies of russet flesh that bloomed from fibrous mycelium, forming a circuit between tree cells and a kind of organic afterlife in the soil, were now holding a frozen package of snow.

After days of sogginess with bright moments, the return of snow felt revenant. It was too clear and pure, even in its fleetingness. In Among the Summer Snows, Christopher Nicholson talked about the literary obsession with the whiteness of snow and quoted Shakespeare when Juliet declares that Romeo “wilt lie upon the wings of night/ Whiter than new snow on a raven’s back”. Love transcends death, or something.

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The problem in Australia's energy market is that – uniquely in the world – we have separate rule making and operating statutory bodies. Only one of them is based in reality.

Equis Energy to begin construction of 127MW solar farm in South Australia, and looks to add 111MW stage 2 and 100MWh of battery storage.

The brain cells are working overtime at the headquarters of network owners, grid operators, generators, and regulators. Thanks to battery storage, Australia's electricity grid is about to make the leap from analogue to digital, and everyone is scrambling to keep up.

UN draft report says missing 1.5C warming target will multiply hunger, migration and conflict, but staying under will require unprecedented global cooperation.

Carnegie Clean Energy subsidiary Energy Made Clean wins tender to build 5MW solar farm on former rubbish dump, in the former coal hub of Newcastle.

The state government refuses to provide an environmental licence to allow New Hope to expand mining to the Darling Downs

The Queensland government has accepted a landmark land and environment court ruling from last year and refused to provide an environmental licence to the New Acland coalmine extension.

Following the longest case in the court’s history, a judge last year recommended against New Hope’s plans to expand the mine into prime agricultural land on Queensland’s Darling Downs, primarily over concerns about impacts on groundwater supplies, but also on air quality and noise.

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Perth, unlike Cape Town, faces no prospect of its tapwater running out. But other problems lurk beneath the surface, as the city's drying climate puts increasing pressure on irrigation and wetlands. Don McFarlane, Adjunct professor, University of Western Australia Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

After some regulatory and technical hurdles, 120MW Yarranlea Solar Farm will go ahead under new owners, Risen Energy.

First Solar bid for solar and storage peaking power plant in Arizona beats out "cheap" gas and sets new milestone for dispatchable renewables.

Development of Australia’s first straw-fuelled power plant is a step closer with the Yorke Biomass Energy project receiving a $476,000 funding grant from the South Australian Government.

Tesla urges energy market rule maker to catch up with speed and versatility of battery storage, both big and small.

New report links the growing global demand for cocoa to deforestation in Asia and Africa

A box of chocolates may not be the most environmentally friendly way to show your love this Valentine’s Day, a report published today claims.

The cocoa in chocolate products is probably driving deforestation across the globe, according to new research by the environmental campaigning organisation Mighty Earth.

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If there was a prize for most unsuitable British bird name, grey wagtail would win hands down

My heart sinks as I hear for the umpteenth time “I’ve just seen a yellow wagtail” and I explain that, although the bird was indeed a wagtail, and did sport a flash of lemon-yellow beneath the tail, it was in fact a grey wagtail.

I reflect, not for the first time, that if there was a prize for most unsuitable British bird name, the grey wagtail would win hands down.

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The move comes after the 'shocking' scale of plastic waste featured on the Blue Planet II series.

Decision follows the corporation’s landmark series Blue Planet II, which highlighted plastic pollution in the oceans

The BBC will ban single-use plastics from its operations by 2020, in the wake of its landmark series Blue Planet II which highlighted plastic pollution in the oceans.

Plastic cups and cutlery will be removed across BBC sites by the end of 2018, ending the use of around 2m plastic cups used by visitors and staff each year, the corporation said.

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Cells continue to function even after an individual dies, a discovery that could be developed into a forensic tool.

The government is providing $237m to projects it says will benefit threatened species – yet there is little chance the species actually occur at those sites

• ‘A national disgrace’: Australia’s extinction crisis is unfolding in plain sight
  

The Polly Woodside, a three-masted historic cargo ship built in 1885, is a prominent feature of Melbourne’s south wharf. It’s a site for tour groups, birthday parties, and an event known as pirate day held on the first Sunday of every month.

According to the federal government, the vessel has also been the location for some of its $255m worth of work protecting threatened species since the appointment of Australia’s first threatened species commissioner in 2014.

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You can't see through the murky water of the Brisbane River, but when you have an underwater microphone you can listen to the life below.

Research shows drones can deliver certain items faster and with less environmental impact than trucks – but there are drawbacks

Drones invoke varying perceptions, from fun gadget to fly in the park to deadly military weapons. In the future, they may even be viewed as a handy tool in the battle to fight climate change.

Greenhouse gas emissions from the transport of goods could be cut if drones replace trucks in some instances, researchers have found, providing an environmental edge to the push by companies such as Amazon and Google to expand drone deliveries.

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