Around The Web

How have the changing seasons affected the wildlife near you?

What sort of wildlife will we all discover on our doorsteps this month? We’d like to see your photos of the April wildlife near you, whether you’re a novice spotter or have been out and about searching for creatures great and small for years.

Share your photos and videos with us and we’ll feature our favourites on the Guardian site. We also occasionally print readers’ best images in the Guardian newspaper and will let you know if your image should feature.

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Grid operator says Tesla big battery is faster and smarter than conventional turbines - and is also reducing prices.

Now there’s a handbook for that

Gallup released its annual survey on American perceptions about global warming last week, and the results were a bit discouraging. While 85–90% of Democrats are worried about global warming, realize humans are causing it, and are aware that most scientists agree on this, independents and Republicans are a different story. Only 35% of Republicans and 62% of independents realize humans are causing global warming (down from 40% and 70% last year, respectively), a similar number are worried about it, and only 42% of Republicans and 65% of independents are aware of the scientific consensus – also significantly down from last year’s Gallup poll.

The Trump administration’s polarizing stance on climate change is probably the main contributor to this decline in conservative acceptance of climate change realities. A recent study found evidence that “Americans may have formed their attitudes [on climate change] by using party elite cues” delivered via the media. In particular, the study found that Fox News “is consistently more partisan than other [news] outlets” and has incorporated politicians into the majority of its climate segments.

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EU carbon prices fell below €13 on Thursday as another lacklustre auction failed to tempt traders into betting on a quick rebound.

Highly critical study warns projections used by the organisation tasked with leading the switch to clean energy remain skewed towards oil and gas and may break climate targets of Paris agreement

The global shift from fossil fuels to renewables is being undermined by the very organisation that ought to be leading the charge, according to a scathing new critique of the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Governments across the world rely on IEA projections to set energy policies, but the agency’s figures – which are influenced by the oil industry – are pushing them off track to reach the targets of the Paris climate agreement, says the report.

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Tongan Olympian Pita Taufatofua lends his voice to the climate discussion.

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

The sperm whale may be one of the most successful animals in the ocean, boasting a global distribution that survived the toll of the 20th century, when whaling factory fleets took three million great whales from the seas. Now a newly identified population in the Indian Ocean is attracting the attention of scientists, conservationists – and soon, tourists, too. How will this whale weather the new storm of attention? Underwater photographer Andrew Sutton gained special access to the gentle giants that swim around the island of Sri Lanka. Words by author Philip Hoare

Every March, vast numbers of sperm whales gather in the deep waters north-west of Sri Lanka. Andrew Sutton’s photographs are vivid evidence of a little-known population – all the more surprising since sperm whales are the largest active predators on the planet with males reaching nearly 20m (65ft) in length. As natural submarines, they shut down all their organs except for their heart and brain, and using their muscular tails are able to dive for up to a mile, spending up to two hours feeding on squid.

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Scientists find an estimated 30% drop in plastic bags on the seabed in the same timeframe as charges were introduced in European countries

A big drop in plastic bags found in the seas around Britain has been credited to the introduction of charges for plastic bags across Europe.

Ireland and Denmark were the first two countries to bring in levies for plastic bags from shops in 2003, followed by slew of other European countries. England was the last UK nation to introduce one, in 2015.

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Documents show more than half a million pounds has been spent on failed court actions against clean air campaigners in less than 12 months

The UK government has spent more than half a million pounds on failed legal battles against clean air campaigners, according to newly released documents that underline the cost of weak action on pollution.

The figures – obtained under a freedom of information request by the Labour party – show repeated court defeats are hurting taxpayers in addition to the growing health impact of air pollution, which kills as many as 40,000 people a year.

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Wolsingham, Weardale: swelling buds signal the hydraulic forces that have been building inside trees

The dead leaf on the sycamore stump opened its wings and revealed itself to be a comma butterfly (Polygonia c-album). Their orange pattern was a little worn after a long winter’s hibernation, but still glowed like hot embers in the spring sunshine.

As I watched, it dipped its proboscis into a river of leaking sap, trickling down a leafless, broken twig. It had found a convenient nectar substitute and showed no inclination to fly away. With few wild flowers out, this was most likely the best energy source available. The twig must have been leaking for several days; some sap had solidified into a white crust, but still it trickled downwards and dripped on to the soil.

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In the aftermath of fires or logging, conservation needs to focus on recovering the health of the remaining vegetation, not just the size of the forest or woodland. Ayesha Tulloch, DECRA Research Fellow, University of Sydney David Lindenmayer, Professor, The Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University Hugh Possingham, Professor, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

New target equates to an effective level of rooftop solar PV installations of 1140MW in 2018 plus approximately 67,000 solar hot water systems.

ACT says it won't be bullied on the NEG by Coalition. “We need to get a good outcome, not just any old outcome," it says - just as the Coalition's hard right warns against any slippage in the NEG's proposed stifling of renewables.

Science, culture and storytelling ...with the spice added. We're back and weekly in 2018.

SunSPoT, a new online platform that can be used to calculate the solar power potential of any rooftop – home, business, factory or school – to be launched today in Sydney at UNSW.

Rooftop solar installation boom continues in March, and total for first quarter is more than one third more than the previous record as households and business respond to soaring grid prices.

Genex looks to add 150MW of wind to its solar and pumped hydro project, creating the "holy grail" of a major renewable energy project with reliable, dispatchable power - and a lot cheaper than coal.

Genex looks to add 150MW of wind to its solar and pumped hydro project, creating the "holy grail" of a major renewable energy project with reliable, dispatchable power - and a lot cheaper than coal.

Australia’s first chauffeur-driven Tesla service, Evoke, has surpassed more than one million kilometres of zero-emission motoring by transporting passengers in its electric vehicles.