ABC Environment

The Latrobe Valley’s vast deposit of brown coal acts as a blanket over a rich source of geothermal heat. Being close to the surface makes it an ideal resource for generating electricity.

The internet thinks that Quokkas are the happiest animals in the world, but what's the real life of a quokka like?

A week in the social media feed of ecologist Euan Ritchie.

The New South Wales government is proposing controversial shark nets on the state's north coast.

The 2016 Congress of the International Water Association meets in Brisbane this week.

The world's oceans are under enormous pressure from human impacts—things like offshore oil drilling, over-fishing, climate change, and pollution. Underwater photographer Thomas Peschak has witnessed the most pristine—and most damaged—of those environments.

BP has announced it will scrap its $1.4 billion oil and gas drilling program in the Great Australian Bight, off the coast of South Australia.

Global oil giant BP has announced it will cease controversial exploration off the coast of South Australia.

Seabirds rely on their nostrils to guide them across the world’s oceans for years at a time. 

There will be no federal commitment to a post-2020 renewable energy target or an energy intensity scheme to close coal fired power stations until a 'critical' review in 2017, Josh Frydenberg says.

Renewable energy is cheap and good for consumers, but Australia needs to 'incentivise' gas and develop a plan for an 'orderly exit from coal', says SA Treasurer.

The historical representation of pre-colonial indigenous life. Is the widely taught perspective as accurate as we think?

'Smart solar' systems with battery storage can help stabilise the grid and add to energy security, according to major US solar energy company Enphase. But there's a looming problem with so-called 'dumb solar' systems that have already been installed in Australia, which will increasingly fail or underperform over the coming decade.

'We need to pay for betterment. To build things back bigger, higher, stronger, so that they're not washed away next time', the ANU's Dr Jamie Pittock says.

If there was an Ark for Australia's most endangered species, what animals and plants would get a berth?

A new social enterprise is helping renters, low income earners and Indigenous communities transition to solar power.​

The CEOs of Australia's four largest banks are heading to Canberra this week to appear before the House of Representatives economics committee.

Fossil-based liquid fuels will eventually be replaced. Hydrogen is a strong contender.  It can be produced from water, using renewable electricity, then transported replacing petrol or natural gas.

An ocean that is starved of iron is like a garden without fertiliser: there will be no photosynthesis and no phytoplankton blooms. And phytoplankton blooms could have an impact on the earth's climate future.

The Wrap is RN Drive's summary of the biggest stories of the week, plus some you may have missed.