Feed aggregator

Accelerating retreat of glaciers in Lombardy and Trentino Alto-Aldige reveals preserved history of ‘White War’

The soldiers dug the wooden barracks into a cave on the top of Mount Scorluzzo, a 3,095-metre (10154ft) peak overlooking the Stelvio pass. For the next three-and-a-half years, the cramped, humid space was home to about 20 men from the Austro-Hungarian army as they fought against Italian troops in what became known as the White War, a battle waged across treacherous and bitterly cold Alpine terrain during the first world war.

Fought mainly in the Alps of the Lombardy region of Italy and the Dolomites in Trentino Alto-Adige, the White War was a period of history frozen in time until the 1990s, when global warming started to reveal an assortment of perfectly preserved relics – weapons, sledges, letters, diaries and, as the retreat of glaciers hastened, the bodies of soldiers.

Continue reading...

My must-watch show is Sweden’s riveting spring moose migration, a natural drama full of atavistic pleasures

Appointment viewing is a different prospect in Sweden. The nation is not glued to AC-12 interviews with an officer one rank superior. Instead, each spring for the past three years, the state broadcaster Sveriges Television has filmed 24/7 coverage of migrating moose (also known as European elk). The Great Elk Trek is another Nordic slow TV sensation, following on from Norway’s train journey to the Arctic Circle, Knitting and Firewood (12 hours of stacking and burning, watched by more than a million viewers).

The annual spring migration involves the moose herd having to swim across the Ångermanälven river. They are in no hurry – this is slow TV, after all - and will not cross until the last ice on the shore has melted. This means the livestream often offers up an hour or two of a single moose chewing meditatively, warm breath vapour dissipating gradually in the forest chill, or just standing looking at the river. That is a best-case scenario. “I’m watching the monitors right now and there is absolutely nothing happening,” said presenter Anders Lundin, who was interviewed about the trek in its first year. Most of the time you get a delightful, entirely moose-free landscape.

Continue reading...

Australia can expect days of 100 per cent renewables with increasing regularity, as market share of wind and solar grows, ESB chair says.

The post Australia could reach 75 pct renewables before things get tricky, Schott says appeared first on RenewEconomy.

At current rates of emissions cuts, Australia won’t reach net-zero emissions for at least another 200 years.

The post Video: Can Australia meet its climate goals? Not at this rate appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Longstanding mystery solved after solar-powered research drone washed up on a Victorian beach after contact was lost for 18 months.

The post Solar research drone washes ashore on Victorian beach after 18-month voyage appeared first on RenewEconomy.

When Antarctica's land-based ice melts, the land bounces up slightly as the weight of the ice lifts. This affects sea levels across the world, but not enough to offset sea-level rise. Robert McLachlan, Professor in Applied Mathematics, Massey University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The tiny creatures are the ‘unsung heroes’ that keep soils healthy and underpin all life on land

Pesticides are causing widespread damage to the tiny creatures that keep soils healthy and underpin all life on land, according to the first comprehensive review of the issue.

The researchers found the measured impacts of farm chemicals on earthworms, beetles, springtails and other organisms were overwhelmingly negative. Other scientists said the findings were alarming, given the importance of these “unsung heroes”.

Continue reading...

Other nations have acknowledged the demise of coal, and it’s time Australia caught up.

The post Paying Australia’s coal-fired power stations to stay open longer is bad for consumers and the planet appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Toronto based Amp Energy unveils plans for $2 billion green hydrogen play, snapping up three big solar and battery projects in South Australia.

The post Amp makes massive South Australia solar, battery, green hydrogen play appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The public consultation period for assessment for export accreditation will be open until COB 3 June 2021.

Networks make final pitch for new transmission link seen as crucial for South Australia to reach net 100 per cent renewables, and for NSW to exit coal.

The post Final pitch made for new transmission link critical for major wind, solar projects appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The phasing out of single-use plastics gathers pace with big companies adopting alternatives.

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

Voluntary emissions reduction (VER) prices trended down this week outside of nature-based offerings, while participants reported few direct pricing or liquidity impacts from Verra’s recent guidance to not require corresponding adjustments for voluntary carbon market (VCM) transfers.

EnergyAustralia to build the country's first "green hydrogen" capable gas generator in NSW, helping fill market gap created by closure of Liddell.

The post EnergyAustralia to build first “green hydrogen” gas generator in NSW appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Colombian President Ivan Duque Marquez asked Congress to withdraw a tax reform package on Sunday that included a revision to the country’s roughly $5/tonne CO2 levy after protests against other aspects of the proposal left several dead.

Human farts and sneezes can be big — so imagine the size if they came from the world's biggest animals? Vanessa Pirotta, Wildlife scientist, Macquarie University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

A Houston-based environmental trader has joined the New York-based financial firm Hartree Partners, Carbon Pulse has learned.

The US EPA put forth a rulemaking on Monday to implement bipartisan climate legislation passed last year, with the draft regulation to reduce potent HFC gases through an allowance trading system for regulated entities.

Environmental Protection Agency proposes rule to cut production and import of HFCs in the US by 85% over the next 15 years

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has moved to restrict the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), extremely powerful planet-heating gases found in refrigerators and air conditioning units that are the target of an international push for phasing out.

In the first move by Joe Biden’s administration to directly cut a greenhouse gas, the EPA has proposed a rule to drastically reduce the production and import of HFCs in the US by 85% over the next 15 years. The step is a significant one as Biden seeks to cut total US emissions in half by the end of the decade.

Continue reading...