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"Dr Becky" receives thousands of views on her YouTube channel, which answers questions about the Universe.

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

A group of Tokelauan artists have brought to life their Pacific nation's impending climate disaster in a stage production currently playing at Sydney's Belvoir Theatre.

California regulator ARB should not endorse its Tropical Forest Standard (TFS) next month because sector-based REDD offsets lack environmental and social integrity and fail to address the root causes of deforestation, a state senator said, potentially opening a bicameral rift over the already divisive issue.

California regulator ARB dished out over 3.1 million California Carbon Offsets (CCOs) this week in the second largest issuance of 2019, as the number of credits without invalidation periods climbed by over 10%.

Airservices Australia is refusing to obey a State Government order to erect warning signs at a popular fishing spot contaminated with the toxic chemical PFAS.

NZ Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters discusses New Zealand's position on calls from Pacific nations for Australia to take stronger climate action.

Dream Chaser will launch into orbit on the future Vulcan rocket for re-supply flights to the space station.

Only experienced mountaineers should be climbing the world's highest peak, a Nepali panel recommends.

Scientists have found that particles of plastic are falling out of the sky with snow in the Arctic.

Even in the Arctic, microscopic particles of plastic are falling out of the sky with snow, a study has found.

Discovery of pollution in snowfall from the Arctic to the Alps leads to call for urgent research on potential human health impacts

Abundant levels of microplastic pollution have been found in snow from the Arctic to the Alps, according to a study that has prompted scientists to warn of significant contamination of the atmosphere and demand urgent research into the potential health impacts on people.

Snow captures particles from the air as it falls and samples from ice floes on the ocean between Greenland and Svalbard contained an average of 1,760 microplastic particles per litre, the research found. Even more – 24,600 per litre on average – were found at European locations. The work shows transport by winds is a key factor in microplastics contamination across the globe.

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Climate activist begins voyage from Plymouth to Trump’s US with father and two-man crew

On white-crested swells under leaden skies, the teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg has set sail from Plymouth on arguably her most daunting challenge yet.

A two-week crossing of the Atlantic during hurricane season in a solar-powered yacht is the first obstacle, but it is unlikely to be the toughest in an odyssey through the Americas over many months.

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Bristol Museum to highlight biodiversity crisis after children demand true stories of exhibits

One of Britain’s largest natural history collections is to shroud its exhibits of extinct and endangered species in black mourning veils to highlight the global biodiversity crisis.

Related: Trump officials weaken protections for animals near extinction

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The teenage climate change activist is waved off by supporters as she sets sail from the UK.

Researchers say boom in shale oil and gas major contributor to climate emergency

The boom in the US shale gas and oil may have ignited a significant global spike in methane emissions blamed for accelerating the pace of the climate crisis, according to research.

Scientists at Cornell University have found the “chemical fingerprints” of the rising global methane levels point to shale oil and shale gas as the probable source.

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People urged to check for the bloom which can cause swimmers rashes and fever and prove fatal to dogs.

California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) futures contracts saw renewed activity this week as participants looked to move positions further out on the curve, ending a recent lull.

As England’s pheasant egg imports double in three years, campaigners condemn lack of laws regulating rearing and breeding for shooting industry

Pheasants whose chicks are destined to be shot in the UK are having their septums pierced in order to attach plastic masks to their beaks, according to an undercover film released by activists this week. The method of restraint is illegal in the UK.

The video, shot on a farm in Poland, also appears to show the birds being fitted with “breeding aids” and confined in small boxes to repetitively mate. The farm exports ready-to-hatch eggs to the UK for eventual shooting. Animal rights campaigners renewed calls for an end to the “factory farming” of game birds.

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EUAs slipped back below €27 early on Wednesday in volatile trade as a weak auction and bearish economic data dented sentiment.