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Committee says UK should reduce use of plastics rather than replace it with other materials

Compostable and biodegradable plastics could add to marine pollution because there is no infrastructure in place to make sure they break down correctly, a committee of MPs has warned.

The use of alternatives to plastic are being adopted by many food and drink companies, takeaway coffee venues, cafes and retailers. But experts giving evidence to MPs on the environment, food and rural affairs committee said the infrastructure required to deal with the new packaging was not in place and there was a lack of consumer understanding about these alternatives.

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New discussion paper from Total Environment Centre and Renew argues small-scale generation, supported by local storage and microgrids can increase network resilience.

The post How local energy can boost Australia’s climate change resilience appeared first on RenewEconomy.

CSIRO partnership with Japan's Piotrek aims to produce Australian-developed high energy, solid-state batteries for the electric vehicle market within five years.

The post CSIRO to co-develop high energy, highly safe EV batteries appeared first on RenewEconomy.

As Australia's installed wind capacity rises, wind farms generating more than brown coal plants will happen reasonably often. And this dynamic is only heading in one direction.

The post Wind overtaking brown coal is only a matter of time appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Climate denial is making a strong comeback in Scott Morrison's Coalition. So much so that it seems to be having an impact on the other side of politics.

The post Coalition returns to climate denial roots as Morrison dodges UN summit appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australia's top scientist Alan Finkel says too many poor quality research papers are being published in Australia, and the system may inadvertently encourage academics to behave badly. Alan Finkel, Australia’s Chief Scientist, Office of the Chief Scientist Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Calls for world-class recycling systems to replace current one, which makes just $4m a year due to contamination in co-mingled recycling bins

If Australia treated recycling waste like iron ore or coal the nation could be $300m better off each year, a report has found.

Instead, Australia makes just $4m a year from recycling due to high levels of contamination in co-mingled recycling bins.

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Scores of fires are raging across Australia's east coast, and the fire season has only just begun.

Finding could have implications for farming - as worms are vital part of farmland ecosystem

Worms fail to thrive in earth containing microplastics, new research has shown, adding to the growing body of evidence of impacts from the increasingly widespread contaminants on the natural world.

The rosy-tipped earthworm, Aporrectodea rosea, is one of the most common found in farmland in temperate regions. Scientists found that worms placed in soil loaded with high density polyethylene (HDPE) – a common plastic used for bags and bottles – for 30 days lost about 3% of their body weight, compared with a control sample of similar worms placed in similar soil without HDPE, which put on 5% in body weight over the same period.

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The ship is believed to be a cargo vessel sunk by a submarine during World War Two.

The approaching high-speed trials will help validate the assumptions that went into building the world's fastest car.

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

You can't run a modern, vibrant Australian or NSW economy on a fleet of clapped-out 40 and then 50-year-old coal generators.

The post Why pay thermal generators to stay online? It’s totally nuts appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Market participants do not see any near-term implications from PG&E's proposed restructuring plan, but the embattled utility could create bullish pressure for CCAs once it exits bankruptcy in mid-2020.

Switzerland and the EU remain on track to implement their ETS linking agreement in early 2020, though there may be a delay in the actual physical connection between the carbon markets, sources said.

California has awarded nearly 1 million new offset credits across two protocols in its latest issuance round, while the regulator minted fewer credits with reduced invalidation risk, according to data released Wednesday.

We all know that climate change is hurting the Great Barrier Reef. But scores of other less-publicised threats also threaten the future of the natural wonder. Jon C. Day, PSM, Post-career PhD candidate, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University Scott Heron, Senior Lecturer, James Cook University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Two embryos have been created in an attempt to rescue northern white rhinos

Scientists have successfully created two embryos of the near-extinct northern white rhino in a landmark effort to save the species.

The international team of researchers and conservationists drew on IVF procedures to create the embryos from fresh eggs collected from the two remaining female rhinos and frozen sperm from dead males.

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Astronomers discover water in the atmosphere of a "habitable" planet orbiting a distant star.

Ministers approve culling in 11 new areas, with 64,000 animals likely to be killed this autumn

The controversial badger cull in England has been expanded to an “unimaginable scale”, according to a leading expert who warned the government is paying far too little attention to the transmission of tuberculosis between cattle when they are traded.

Ministers approved culling in 11 new areas on Wednesday, taking the total to 43. Up to 64,000 animals are likely to be killed this autumn, up from a maximum of 42,000 last year.

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