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Richard Di Natale resigns as leader of Australian Greens, Bandt to contest leadership
Richard Di Natale resigns after five years as leader of the Australian Greens as Bandt indicates leadership ambitions.
The post Richard Di Natale resigns as leader of Australian Greens, Bandt to contest leadership appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Morrison’s refusal to move on climate, and the “prosperity doctrine”
Morrison's refusal to act on climate may not just be due to the denialists and the fossil fuel lobby that surround him, it's also guided by the "prosperity doctrine" of his pentecostal church.
The post Morrison’s refusal to move on climate, and the “prosperity doctrine” appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Port of Newcastle partners with Greenfleet to offset carbon emissions
Port of Newcastle has offset carbon emissions from all corporate flights as part of efforts to reduce its impact on the environment and create a more sustainable port.
The post Port of Newcastle partners with Greenfleet to offset carbon emissions appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Koala 'massacre': animals reported starving or dead after plantation logging
Victorian environment minister ‘appalled’ by allegations and her department is investigating
An investigation is under way into the alleged killing and starvation of koalas in south-west Victoria after several animals were put into veterinary care on Friday.
The environmental group Friends of the Earth said a koala “massacre” had occurred during the logging of a bluegum plantation near Cape Bridgewater.
Continue reading...New CEO appointed for Energy Queensland
Experienced energy industry executive Rod Duke is the new chief of publicly-owned Energy Queensland, parent company of Energex and Ergon.
The post New CEO appointed for Energy Queensland appeared first on RenewEconomy.
The medieval knight who went into space
Cycling through Europe's deadliest air
Newcastle University films grey seals clapping underwater
Host UK 'does not have clear vision' for last-ditch climate talks
Campaigners are increasingly concerned country lacks clear strategy for Glasgow summit
Developing countries and climate campaigners are growing increasingly concerned that the UK lacks a clear strategy for hosting vital UN talks on the climate crisis, amid fears of a conflict of interest in government between seeking post-Brexit trade deals and a global climate settlement.
Boris Johnson will lead prominent British figures from climate science, business and economics to launch the UK’s strategy for the conference, known as COP26, on Tuesday. The talks, to take place in Glasgow this November, are widely seen as the last realistic chance for countries to pledge the stiff cuts needed in greenhouse gases to stave off climate breakdown.
Continue reading...UK wildlife at risk due to regulatory gaps created by Brexit, says report
Hedgehogs, dragonflies and bees among species in danger as critics claim proposed agriculture bill does not go far enough
Hedgehogs, dragonflies and bees are among wildlife at risk due to big gaps in environmental protections following the UK’s departure from the EU, according to a new report.
Commissioned by The Wildlife Trusts, The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and WWF, the study claims the UK faces losing regulations preventing hedgerows being cut during the nesting season and vital buffer strips from being ploughed or sprayed with pesticides.
Continue reading...Why sushi could be the solution to a sea urchin invasion
The ravenous creatures are destroying vast swaths of kelp forests, which are crucial for carbon storage. Is the answer staring us in the plate?
Eating as much sushi as humanly possible seems an unlikely way to help save the planet. But one company is hoping fine diners from London to LA to Tokyo will devour enough uni sushi – sea urchin roe – to help restore the planet’s kelp forests.
From the North Sea to Tasmania, large parts of these underwater carbon stores – crucial for biodiversity – have vanished, leaving vast “urchin barrens” on the sea floor in their place. In Norway, the expanses of bizarre, prickly orbs are green. In California, they are purple. But wherever the urchins linger, the problems are the same.
Continue reading...US and EU laws show Australia's Right to Repair moment is well overdue
Wild grey seal caught ‘clapping’ on camera for the first time
The sound resembles ‘shotgun-like cracks’ and attracts potential mates
A wild grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) has been caught “clapping” on camera for the first time, making sounds that resemble “shotgun-like cracks”.
The large male was filmed striking its flippers together off the coast of the Farne Islands, near Northumberland, during the breeding season in 2017.
Continue reading...Somalia declares emergency over locust swarms
'It is devastating': UK farmers despair as sheep thefts soar
Animals worth £3m were stolen from Britain’s farms in 2019, but farmers are fighting back
Sheep farmer Mark Candy did not realise at first that he had been targeted by rustlers. His Romney ewes graze among trees and rough ground on a Wiltshire country estate, and it was not obvious at first that some were missing.
“Then I sensed that something wasn’t quite right,” said Candy, whose family have farmed in the area for five generations. “I did a rough count and it became clear many of them had gone.”
Continue reading...Koalas found dead on Australia logging plantation
South Australia to be energy island for two weeks, four wind farms sidelined
Tornado that tore down six transmission lines to leave South Australia islanded for a week, and four wind farms sidelined, as AEMO praised for keeping lights on in extreme conditions.
The post South Australia to be energy island for two weeks, four wind farms sidelined appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Inside the hidden 'power tunnels' of London
Solar Orbiter completes preparation for launch
'It was like a movie': the high school students who uncovered a toxic waste scandal
In the 90s, an inspirational teacher and his students uncovered corruption and illegal dumping in their backyard. Nearly 30 years on, is Middletown still at risk?
In the summer of 1991, Middletown high school, roughly 70 miles north of Manhattan in New York’s verdant Orange County, acquired a handful of video cameras. The goal was to train the school’s teenage students in film-making and media production, using local subjects as a starting point – perhaps a documentary about the city’s sports teams or an amateur talkshow. Instead, under the tutelage of Middletown high’s popular English teacher, Fred Isseks, a rowdy and diverse group of teenagers organised themselves into an investigative journalism unit.
Officially, Isseks’ class was open only to the school’s oldest students, aged 16 to 18 – but, unofficially, it welcomed everyone. Kids not even enrolled in the course joined Isseks’ students in shooting short films. The teenagers alternated between grungy early-90s flannel and choker necklaces and awkward attempts at business attire as they honed their reporting skills. They invited local representatives into the school’s new media studio for a political debate, and covered topics such as the city’s curfew for teens. One former student joked to me that the class became a surreal mix of “rap videos and corrupt politicians”.
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