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AEMO announces Drew Clarke as new Chair of its Board
Country diary: stalking red deer on the fringes of the city
Big Moor, Derbyshire The stag ignores the passing lorries but isn’t ready for a photographic closeup
Running south from the old Barbrook reservoir, I found myself struggling against the strong south-westerly that had kept temperatures unusually high for several days and delayed wintering thrushes returning to the moors. The arrival of fieldfares and redwings is always sparkling compensation for the gloomy approach of winter but I would have to wait a little longer. At least the sun was out, turning the sprung shoulders of a kestrel to a vibrant caramel as it quartered the brook below me.
Almost as I reached the Baslow road the sunlight picked out a red deer stag standing tall some distance away, antlers raised, breath steaming from its flared nostrils. At the same time I caught sight of another beast advancing towards the stag with an enormous-lensed camera held to his eye.
Continue reading...Burdekin Hydro plans powering ahead
Turnbull to rely on state schemes he once rubbished as reckless
Kidston pumped hydro storage capacity to be boosted by 25%
Charts of the week: Busting electricity market myths
BNEF says NEG could deliver 42% renewables by 2030, same as Finkel
Renewables will give more people access to electricity than coal, says IEA
Video: Jeff Bezos at 300 feet, launches Amazon’s biggest wind farm
Tell your pollution story – in pictures
National Geographic’s #TellYourPollutionStory asks readers to share their images to shed light on new evidence that pollution – air, water, soil and workplace – is the leading cause of death in the world
Global pollution kills millions and threatens 'survival of human societies'
Landmark study finds toxic air, water, soils and workplaces kill at least 9m people and cost trillions of dollars every year
Pollution kills at least nine million people and costs trillions of dollars every year, according to the most comprehensive global analysis to date, which warns the crisis “threatens the continuing survival of human societies”.
Toxic air, water, soils and workplaces are responsible for the diseases that kill one in every six people around the world, the landmark report found, and the true total could be millions higher because the impact of many pollutants are poorly understood. The deaths attributed to pollution are triple those from Aids, malaria and tuberculosis combined.
Continue reading...British birds evolve bigger beaks to use garden feeders
Researchers say UK’s enthusiasm for bird feeders compared with mainland Europe responsible for increase in beak length
The reason some birds in Britain have evolved bigger beaks over the past 40 years may be down to the country’s enthusiasm for feeding them in their gardens, researchers have said.
The report published on Thursday in the US journal Science compared beak length among great tits in Britain and the Netherlands, where bird feeders are less common.
Continue reading...Swift parrots need protection from sugar gliders, but that's not enough
Queensland councils to pay at least $31m for Adani coalmine airstrip
Townsville and Rockhampton councils may pay millions more if company’s bid to sew up deal with traditional owners fails
Two local councils are paying $31m to build an airstrip for Adani’s Queensland coalmine – and could fork out millions more if the energy giant’s bid to sew up a deal with traditional owners hits a stumbling block.
Townsville and Rockhampton councils last week announced they would spend $15.5m each on the airport – hundreds of kilometres away – in a deal to secure Adani’s guarantee of 2,200 construction jobs for their residents.
Continue reading...Your best pictures of insects around the world
After a new study showed an alarming decline in insect populations we asked you to share your pictures of the creatures, in celebration of all they do for global ecosystems. Here are some of our favourites
A brief history of the Earth's CO2
Share your pictures of insects around the world
A new study finds alarming decline in insect numbers – we’d like your help celebrating what these creatures do for life on earth
A dramatic plunge in insect numbers reported in a new study has led scientists to predict what they are calling “ecological Armageddon”.
Three-quarters of flying insects in nature reserves across Germany have vanished in 25 years, the study says, with serious implications for all life on Earth.
Continue reading...Research Filter: Farting shellfish, bugs and vitamin K
Alarm over decline in flying insects
Amazing mini animals – in pictures
David Yeo’s photography places naturally small species alongside animals that have been selectively bred to be tiny and cute, opening a troubling ethical debate
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