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"Frequent releases" of sewage create microplastic hotspots in UK rivers.

Research says discharge of untreated sewage and wastewater during dry spells to blame

Water companies are causing high levels of microplastic contamination in UK rivers by discharging untreated sewage and wastewater into the water system, new research reveals.

As pressure builds on water companies, the Environment Agency and ministers to tackle the way water firms release untreated effluent into rivers, scientists have for the first time linked the practice to microplastic pollution.

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The Smart Energy Conference shone a bright light how technologies such as solar, storage, hydrogen and EVs are transforming our economy.

The post Video: Changing the world with solar, batteries and EVs appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Undocumented immigrants are doing the backbreaking farm work that keeps the US food system running but struggle to feed their families

Photographs by Encarni Pindado

In the piercing midday heat of southern Texas, farmhand Linda Villarreal moves methodically to weed row after row of parsley, rising only occasionally to stretch her achy back and nibble on sugary biscuits she keeps in her pockets. In the distance, a green and white border patrol truck drives along the levy beside the towering steel border wall.

For this backbreaking work, Villareal is paid $7.25 per hour, the federal minimum wage since 2009, with no benefits. She takes home between $300 and $400 a week depending on the amount of orders from the bodegas – packaging warehouses which supply the country’s supermarkets with fruits and vegetables harvested by crews of undocumented mostly Mexican farmworkers.

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Poison promoted by NSW government to fight eastern Australia plague stays in mice after death and can ‘accumulate up through the food chain’

Leading rodent experts say they “aren’t convinced” a new poison spruiked by the New South Wales government as “napalm” for mice will significantly impact the state’s plague, and warn it comes at a vastly higher risk of killing native and domestic animals.

Rodents are still running rampant across large tracts of inland NSW and southern Queensland, costing some farmers more than $100,000 in destroyed crops and damage to stored hay and grain. Cases of leptospirosis – a potentially deadly disease that can transfer from mice to humans – have almost doubled in Queensland this year, with health authorities citing the increased rodent numbers as a possible cause.

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Giles Parkinson & David Leitch discuss Day 1 of the 2021 Smart Energy Conference in Sydney. Stay tuned for our wrap of Day 2.

The post Video: Smart Energy Conference Wrap – Day 1 appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Environmental Impact Statement for the gas plant proposed for the NSW Hunter region by Angus Taylor reveals it would run for 6 months on diesel, before switching to mostly gas.

The post Taylor’s Kurri Kurri “gas” plant to run on dirty diesel first appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Tilt Renewables says it wanted to be a trailblazer, but found that rules make it too difficult to add battery storage to an existing wind farm.

The post “I don’t get it:” Why an old wind farm is unable to add a new big battery appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Toxic chemicals known as PFAS found in all 50 samples tested at levels nearly 2,000 times what is considered safe in drinking water

A new study that checked American women’s breast milk for PFAS contamination detected the toxic chemical in all 50 samples tested, and at levels nearly 2,000 times higher than the level some public health advocates advise is safe for drinking water.

The findings “are cause for concern” and highlight a potential threat to newborns’ health, the study’s authors say.

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The Victorian government will consider mixing carbon-free green hydrogen with natural gas to reduce dependence on gas for heating and cooking.

The post Victoria considers pumping green hydrogen into gas mains appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The Morrison government could have backed Australia's clean energy sector to create jobs and stimulate the post-pandemic economy. Instead, it's sending the nation on a fool's errand. John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

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

The initial decision made by Tesla in March to accept bitcoin caused an outcry from environmentalists.

Tilt suffers from low wind conditions and low prices, and is still battling to get its biggest wind farm to operate at full capacity.

The post Low wind, low prices and connection delays crimp Tilt profits appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Chris Bowen says Coalition's antipathy to renewables is based on prejudice rather than ideology, and raises concerns about solar tax.

The post “It is just prejudice against clean energy”: Bowen slams Coalition hostility to renewables appeared first on RenewEconomy.

California grid operator hails milestone of 95 per cent renewables in the state's grid as an "incredible accomplishment".

The post “Incredible:” California grid hits record high of 95% renewable energy appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The Victorian government has signed up to a certification scheme that prevents fossil fuel hydrogen from be able to claim it is a zero carbon energy.

The post Victoria government backs standards to blacklist fossil fuel hydrogen appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The real success of the National Recovery and Resilience Agency will be not only in what it does, but in how it carries out its work, in the relationships it forges, and in the trust it gains. Mark Duckworth, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies, Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University, Deakin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The role is as an Originator for Carbon Markets within the Global Environmental Products Trading Business (EPTB). Reporting into the RTL for Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) and working closely with the Carbon Markets Trading team you will support the identification, delivery and ongoing management of deals across the European Emissions market (EU-ETS), as well as the wider European energy complex (Coal, Power & Gas) and other Environmental Product markets as they mature.

The vaquita marina in Mexico is threatened by a clash of interests between fishing and conservation.