Around The Web

After water restrictions and emergency infrastructure, the final drought strategy is sheer perseverance

People have started visiting the outback town of Pooncarie just to see a place that’s running dry.

Josh Sheard, the publican at the Pooncarie hotel, says the remote town in far south-west New South Wales needs the attention.

Continue reading...

The World Solar Challenge, celebrated biennially since 1987, saw teams from around the world set off from Darwin on a 3,000km race to Adelaide by solar-powered car. Belgian team Agoria took first place this year after Dutch rivals Vattenfall caught fire 250km from the finish line

Continue reading...

For young Extinction Rebellion members, there is an urgency they say others struggle to fully grasp

When five members of Extinction Rebellion’s youth faction climbed on top of the entrance to YouTube’s HQ on Wednesday, they were protesting against a problem that has particular relevance for their generation.

In a letter to the company, they demanded that YouTube changes what the group claims is its disproportionate platforming of climate denial, on a site which is the most watched platform for 16-24-year-olds.

Continue reading...

Guardian travel editor Andy Pietrasik explains how a flexitarian approach can enable us to enjoy exploring the planet without increasing our carbon footprint

• Support Guardian journalism today, by making a one-off or recurring contribution, or subscribing

We recently published a guide to Helsinki in which we gave details of how to get there and back without flying. In the comments below the article, a reader wrote: “I think you have to concede that it’s a little disingenuous to pretend that people will be going to Helsinki by train and boat … very few will be willing to allocate six days of the holiday just for the journey. It’s simply not a practical suggestion.”

The rise of low-cost flights over the past 20 or so years means we have become so accustomed to flying everywhere for our holidays and short breaks that the idea of taking so long over a journey has become unthinkable. We expect to maximise our time in a location and minimise our time in transit. But maybe that has to change.

Continue reading...

Strengthening public order laws could be ‘shocking assault on right to protest’, warn civil rights lawyers

• Letter: Extinction Rebellion’s right to protest must be respected

Government and police have held talks to strengthen public order laws to allow a tougher crackdown on future Extinction Rebellion (XR) climate demonstrations in what civil rights lawyers warn would be a “a shocking assault on the right to protest.”

The move, which comes as XR’s two-week “uprising” drew to a close on Friday, follows widespread criticism of the Metropolitan police after officers implemented a city wide ban on the protests earlier this week.

Continue reading...

A new $35 million Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence will be based at The University of Newcastle and will develop new efficiencies to the mining industry.

A large aquifer in Victoria's Latrobe Valley could support whole industries and recreational facilities.

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

At 16, MiMi Aung travelled alone to the US for an education. Now she's a project lead on Nasa's Mars mission.

What's the best way to travel tens of kilometres over uneven terrain in hot sun and stuffy humidity, where brown snakes and water buffalo roam the roads?

The UK will update its Paris Agreement pledge early next year and is seeking the EU to follow in step or slightly later in encouraging other nations to act, UK climate minister Ian Duncan said Friday.

A UK-assembled European spacecraft aims to take the closest ever pictures and movies of the Sun.

This week we take a look at drought across the Nullarbor. Western Australian communities and farmers are also struggling with dry conditions, but some are reluctant to speak about it because of the dire situation in the east. And we take a look at the battle for water underneath our feet.

Front-year EU carbon futures are likely to expire near €25 or €30 in mid-December, based on signals from the EUA options market, according to a veteran trader.

Leila Jeffreys’ ethereal images required 300 budgies, 20kg of birdseed and painting the birds’ toenails

–

Growing up in India to an Indian mother and Anglo-Australian father, the artist Leila Jeffreys found herself drawn to the myriad rainbow-coloured birds.

“I was a real dreamer,” she recalls over tea in Sydney, where she lives with her husband, son and dog, Ronnie Barker. “We travelled a lot and I never really knew the names of the places we went to. But if there was an animal or a bird I just zoned in. I imagined their stories and their lives. I always saw them and I saw their characters.”

Continue reading...

It startled the cows, intrigued the locals and excited scientists around the world. Fifty years on, the Murchison meteorite still defines a town and yields new discoveries every year.

Competitors' bankruptcy proposal for Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) would funnel nearly $29 billion through two stock offerings to help cover the embattled California utility’s wildfire liabilities, according to a filing by bondholders and fire victims on Thursday.

Campaigners and MPs condemn the ban of Extinction Rebellion across London, while Keith Flett writes that historically protest has always included disruptive elements. Plus letters from Marilyn Mason, Richard Terry, Declan O’Neill, Jackie Ambrose and Peter B Baker

Thursday was not an easy day to be a member of Extinction Rebellion (Movement split over tactics as travellers turn on activist who disrupted rail travel, 18 October). As families involved in the movement, we feel that now is not the time to condone or condemn, but to recognise and reflect on the very human desperation that has driven thousands of citizens to commit acts of nonviolent civil disobedience.

Despite more than 1,600 arrests over the last two weeks, the government is yet to respond with a clear plan of action to tackle the climate and ecological emergency. While we sound the alarm louder and louder, the government remains silent.

Continue reading...

A climate change activist dressed as Boris Johnson has scaled the scaffolding surrounding London's Big Ben. The man was filmed standing on netting which was hung off the clock tower's frame on Friday afternoon. As he balanced on the edge of the landmark, he revealed two banners which read 'No pride on a dead planet' and 'Citizens Assembly'. According to Extinction Rebellion's Facebook page, the protester is 43-year-old tree surgeon Ben Atkinson.

• Extinction Rebellion activist climbs Big Ben in climate protest
  
• Brexit: Labour to back rebel Tory bid to force Johnson to demand extension – live news
  

Continue reading...

Discovery of whale’s body near Gravesend follows death of young humpback this month

A second whale has been found dead in the Thames less than two weeks after a humpback nicknamed Hessy died near the same stretch of water.

The Port of London Authority confirmed the suspected fin whale was discovered in the river at Denton, near Gravesend, on Friday morning.

Continue reading...