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Natimuk pre-schoolers go bush for outdoor kinder; Miriwoong man David Newry goes searching for native bananas; an Irish lass swaps Belfast for an outback pub; and we go to an alpaca handling school.

The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox

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No seeds were lost but the ability of the rock vault to provide failsafe protection against all disasters is now threatened by climate change

It was designed as an impregnable deep-freeze to protect the world’s most precious seeds from any global disaster and ensure humanity’s food supply forever. But the Global Seed Vault, buried in a mountain deep inside the Arctic circle, has been breached after global warming produced extraordinary temperatures over the winter, sending meltwater gushing into the entrance tunnel.

The vault is on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen and contains almost a million packets of seeds, each a variety of an important food crop. When it was opened in 2008, the deep permafrost through which the vault was sunk was expected to provide “failsafe” protection against “the challenge of natural or man-made disasters”.

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The conflict between humans and elephants for space and resources is driving the rapid decline of elephant populations. Join us on Wednesday 24 May from 1-2.30pm BST to discuss how elephants and humans can live together

This week an elderly man was killed by a wild elephant in central India as he picked tendu leaves in the Surajpur forest. A few days earlier, a father and his son were injured after two elephants wandered into their house in Tamil Nadu. As human populations grow and communities live in closer proximity to elephants, one of the world’s most unique and beautiful animals can become the most dangerous.

But human development is also contributing to the severe decline in elephant populations. Across Asia and Africa, elephants’ natural habitats are being destroyed by rapid urbanisation and industrial and agricultural expansion.

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Tasmanian devils, a Saimaa ringed seal and a white wolf are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world

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Locals say sheep on Agios Efstratios are starving as so much plant life is being devoured by swarms.

Shutting down wind farms when birds pass over is one of the methods being tested to save migrating species.

People have to grasp how climate change impacts them, and we need to value environmentally sound behavior

We know humans are causing climate change. That is a fact that has been known for well over 100 years. We also know that there will be significant social and economic costs from the effects. In fact, the effects are already appearing in the form of more extreme weather, rising sea levels, ocean acidification, and so on.

So why haven’t humans done much about the problem? Answering that question may be more challenging than the basic science of a changing climate. Fortunately, a new review just out in Science helps us with this question. Lead author, Dr. Elise Amel, a colleague of mine, completed the review with colleagues Drs. Christie Manning, Britain Scott, and Susan Koger. Rather than focusing solely on the problems with communicating the science of climate change, this work takes a wider view on the hurdles that get in the way of meaningful action.

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The vast reserves of methane hydrates under the bottom of the sea could be key to future energy needs.

Zafer Kizilkaya's conservation work saved a whole Turkish community and despite resistance his fish model is being widely adopted. He has just been awarded the 2017 Whitley Gold Award.

The company reported a leak from a well off the coast of Western Australia to Nopsema last year, and says there was no lasting impact on the environment

Woodside Petroleum has confirmed it was behind an oil spill off the coast of Western Australia that was kept secret by the regulator for more than a year.

The company said on Friday that it reported a leak from a well in the Cossack field on the North West Shelf to the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (Nopsema) in April 2016.

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Government may justify delisting the threatened species or order a cull despite its treaty obligations, senator says

A scientific study of great white shark numbers could be used by the government to justify delisting the species as threatened or ordering a cull despite international treaty obligations, the Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson has warned.

Whish-Wilson, who is chairing a committee inquiring into shark mitigation and deterrence, has accused the Liberals of politicising recent deaths in Western Australia, including that of 17-year old Laeticia Brouwer through their calls to end protection of great whites.

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Milldale, Derbyshire The adult whirred downstream. The juvenile, sat still for a bit, gaped, grew restless, then launched itself into the stream

The grassy east bank of the river Dove below the packhorse bridge at Milldale, in the Peak District, is popular with picnickers and we had to drift downstream to find a little space. Once prone, bagel in hand, I half dozed, half watched insects forming clouds over the river, catching sunlight like chaff.

But then I snapped awake as I realised I was being watched. A rich brown eye glistened as it fixed on mine from no more than three metres away – a juvenile dipper clamped to a broken branch jammed in the rocks, deep in shadow, breaking the flow of water.

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We deserve better leaders. If the incumbency is not prepared to act on Adani, the community need to take matters into their own hands.

WIRSOL opens office in Sydney and plans to expand its activities.

In what's being called a "breakthrough moment", AEMO and ARENA team up to provide 100MW demand response capacity to meet next summer's critical peaks. The program will focus on technologies like solar and storage in a way previously ignored by policy makers.

France's new energy minister says nuclear industry business model belongs to the past. His appointment expected to hasten transition away towards renewables.

Queensland enjoys favourable sunshine hours that support both domestic and large-scale solar assets - but what about wind?

The federal government recently announced that it is giving recycling company ResourceCo a loan of A$30 million to build two waste-to-fuel plants producing “solid waste fuel”.

Waste-to-energy is an important part of the waste industry in Europe. Significant demand for heat means efficient and tightly controlled waste incinerators are common. However, Australia lacks an established market, with low levels of community acceptance and no clear government policy encouraging its uptake.

But the federal announcement, coupled with an uptake in state funding, a New South Wales parliamentary inquiry and several new projects in the pipeline, signals a growing interest in waste-to-energy and waste-to-fuels.

But what is solid waste fuel, and where does it fit in a sustainable future for Australian waste management?

What are solid waste fuels?

Australians are becoming more wasteful. The amount of rubbish we produce is growing more rapidly than both our population and our economy.

Recycling has been the main approach for recovering resources and reducing landfill over the past 20 years, but a lot more needs to be done.

One part of the solution is “waste-to-energy”: using a range of thermal or biological processes, the energy embedded in waste is captured, making it available for the direct generation of heat and electricity, or for solid fuel production (also known as “processed engineered fuel”).

Briquettes or fuel pellets can be made out of paper, plastic, wood waste or textiles. Dario Sabljak/shutterstock

Waste-to-fuel plants produce fuels from the combustible (energy-rich) materials found in waste from households and industry. Suitable materials include non-recyclable papers, plastics, wood waste and textiles. All of these typically end up in landfill.

These materials are preferably sourced from existing recycling facilities, which currently have to throw out contaminated matter that can’t be recycled.

Solid waste fuels are produced to specified qualities by different treatment methods. These include drying, shredding, and compressing into briquettes or fuel pellets. Fuels can be specifically tailored for ease of transportation and for different uses where industrial heat is required. This make them suitable alternatives to fossil fuels.

What are solid waste fuels used for?

As a replacement for coal and gas, solid waste fuel can be burned to generate electricity with a smaller carbon footprint than fossil fuels.

In addition to the power sector, other industries requiring high-temperature heat use solid waste fuels – for example, in cement works in Australia and around the world. There may also be scope to expand their use to other energy-intensive industries, such as metals recycling and manufacturing industrial chemical products.

Fuel pellets made from waste can be burned for energy. tchara/shutterstock What are the key benefits?

The primary environmental benefit of solid waste fuel comes from the reductions in landfill emissions and fossil fuel use.

Biodegradable carbon sources decompose in landfill, creating methane. This is a greenhouse gas with a warming potential 25 times that of carbon dioxide. Technology already exist for capturing and converting landfill gases to energy, but waste-to-fuel is a complementary measure that limits landfill in the first instance.

Waste-derived fuel can also have a smaller carbon footprint than fossil fuels. This depends on the carbon content of the fuel, and whether it is derived from biological sources (such as paper, wood or natural fibres). Even though carbon dioxide is emitted when the fuel is burned, this is partly offset by the carbon dioxide captured by the plants that produced the materials in the first place.

In these cases, solid waste fuels are eligible for renewable energy certificates. More advanced closed-loop concepts achieve even better carbon balances by capturing the carbon dioxide released when the fuel is used. This can used for other processes that require carbon dioxide as an input, such as growing fruit and vegetables.

Further environmental benefits can come from the management of problem wastes such as treated timbers, car tyres, and e-plastics. Converting them into fuel prevents the leaching of harmful substances into the environment, and other potential problems.

Arma banchang/shutterstock What are the challenges?

Communities are legitimately concerned about energy recovery from waste owing to public health risks. Without appropriate emission control, burning solid fuel can release nitrous oxides, sulphur dioxides, particulate matter and other harmful pollutants. But, with solid regulation and the best available pollution-control technology, these emissions can be managed.

The recycling industry is also worried that energy recovery has the potential to undermine existing recycling by diverting waste flows. Famously, solid waste fuel is so important to Sweden it actually imports garbage from other European countries.

These challenges point to the importance of investing in the appropriate infrastructure at the right size, and creating regulations that balance the needs of existing recycling processes. With careful planning, waste-to-fuel can be an important part of a broad strategy for transitioning towards a zero-landfill future.

Nick Florin receives funding from CSIRO and Federal and State government agencies.

Ben Madden receives funding from Federal and State government agencies

Most of the gas that is ‘cheap’ to extract has been or is being extracted, so ensuring more supply won't bring the price of gas down.