Feed aggregator
Oil giant unit wins contract to build first big battery in New Zealand
First big battery in New Zealand will be built by a unit of French oil giant Total and promises a quick return on investment.
The post Oil giant unit wins contract to build first big battery in New Zealand appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Can humanity's new giant leap into space succeed?
South Australia may lead world in wind and solar, but leaky buildings will cause problems
Wind, solar and storage cannot address the energy transition cost-effectively without fixing thermally poor buildings and replacing inefficient electric appliances and gas.
The post South Australia may lead world in wind and solar, but leaky buildings will cause problems appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Birdsong isn't just competition for mates or territory. Zebra finches sing to bond
Meet te mokomoko a Tohu: a new species of New Zealand gecko hidden in plain sight
Paint firm fined after toxic chemical released into Devon river
One sample taken close to the plant contained 80,000 times the safe level of banned substance TBT
A large marine paint-making company has been fined £650,000 after a highly toxic banned chemical was washed out from a holding tank into a “pristine” river in south-west England.
International Paint Ltd “utterly failed” to control a substance called TBT that it had stored at its mothballed plant on the banks of the Yealm in Devon, a judge concluded.
Continue reading...WEF principles on biodiversity market challenge area-based credits
Salmon deaths on Scotland’s fish farms double – but are jellyfish to blame?
Marine farmers point finger at jellyfish swarms but campaigners call for boycott to curb ‘ever-worsening problem’ of overcrowding
Salmon deaths on fish farms in Scotland nearly doubled last year, official figures show, owing to growing levels of disease, parasites and jellyfish blooms. Campaigners have blamed overcrowding and called for a boycott.
Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) data shows that nearly 15m salmon mortalities were reported by farms in Scotland from January to November 2022, the latest data available, compared with 8.58m in all of 2021 and 5.81m in 2020.
Continue reading...Mass crab die-off: scientists say ‘we weren’t questioned’ for crucial report
A review panel on the 2021 Teesside eco-disaster is due to send its findings to ministers this week, but evidence from academics may not be given full weight
Scientists who led research into the mystery deaths of thousands of crabs and lobsters along England’s north-east coast say they have been asked no questions by the panel investigating the disaster.
The expert review panel has also been excluded from examining government processes as part of its inquiry, despite widespread scrutiny of the official explanation for the deaths, the Observer understands.
Continue reading...‘Something beautiful has been taken away’: campaigners vow to fight ban on Dartmoor camping
A judge’s decision making it unlawful to pitch a tent on the moors without the landowner’s permission is set to spark a wave of right-to-roam protests
Standing at the summit of Hound Tor, wind whistling, ponies grazing nearby and the greens and browns of Dartmoor visible through the filter of the wet mist, the imposing facade of the high court could not feel more distant.
But on Saturday morning, carrying his backpack containing his tent, a rubbish bin, trowel and cooking equipment, Mark Hayhurst, 43, came here to mourn a ruling by the court on Friday that made it unlawful to wild camp on the land without permission.
Continue reading...Summer holidays see people queuing to charge electric cars for first time in Australia
‘I am not minimising the frustration … but this will allow us to do congestion modelling with real-life data to tell us where we should upgrade,’ Evie Networks boss says
- Follow our Australia news live blog for the latest updates
- Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast
Australians are familiar with holiday frustrations: queues at theme parks, traffic jams at the beach, competition for Boxing Day bargains. But this year, some discovered a new source of stress: delays when charging their electric cars.
Queues at some charging stations in the week after Christmas saw drivers forced to wait up to 90 minutes to get back on the road.
Continue reading...Biodiversity: Fungi are 'underloved and understudied'
The man who first discovered plastic in the ocean
Household solar boom back on track after severe weather and supply disruptions lead to 14% drop in capacity
December 2022 was third-busiest month on record for solar panel installation partly driven by spiking electricity prices
When record rainfall caused flooding in south-east Queensland last February, Steve McLean’s solar installers were kept off roofs, blowing a $60,000 hole in his firm’s budget and setting back what might have been another record year for his business.
“If we didn’t do a system for five weeks, you can imagine that no one else did … We got absolutely smashed in February and March,” McLean, the owner of Gold Coast Solar Systems, said. “If you take that number out of the marketplace, well, that was disastrous.”
Continue reading...Revealed: ministers sought Charles’s consent to pass conservation laws affecting his business
The government wrote to the then Prince of Wales in 2019, seeking approval for legislation that had implications for his estates
The government asked King Charles for permission to pass its post-Brexit “world-leading” Environment Act because laws requiring landowners to enhance conservation could affect his business interests.
Environment minister Rebecca Pow wrote to the then Prince of Wales in 2019 to ask if he would accept section seven of the environment bill, which became law in November 2021.
Continue reading...Greta Thunberg calls for protest against expansion of German coalmine
Climate activist also denounced ‘police violence’ against campaigners at the abandoned village of Lützerath
Greta Thunberg is calling for people to join her in a protest against the expansion of a coalmine that will demolish a small German village, denouncing “police violence” against environmental campaigners resisting the demolition.
“Germany is really embarrassing itself right now,” the climate activist said during her visit to the abandoned village of Lützerath, ahead of a planned protest on Saturday.
Continue reading...'Oh you're thirsty': hot koala approaches humans for water – video
Photographer Tracey Nearmy spotted this koala climbing down a tree in South Australia's Adelaide Hills on a hot Saturday when temperatures reached 35-40C. After giving the thirsty marsupial a drink, Nearmy and her friend alerted staff at the nearby Carrick Hill historic house who often leave water at the base of the trees for the local koala colony. They said they would take a bucket of water up to this one in case it needed more to drink
Continue reading...UK private renters could save billions if energy efficiency minimum is raised
Bill payers stand to collectively save billions if minimum standard raised to a C rating, research suggests
Raising the minimum standard of energy efficiency to a C rating for privately rented homes would save bill payers about £570 a year, research has found.
This would amount to annual savings totalling £1.75bn across the UK, according to the thinktank E3G in a report called Cutting Energy Bills and Raising Standards for Private Renters.
Continue reading...October start set for ban in England of single-use plastic tableware
Sale by retailers and food outlets in England of single-use plastic tableware to be banned but not ‘shelf-ready pre-packaged food’ containers
Single-use plastic plates, cutlery and a range of other items will be banned in England from October, to curb their “devastating” impact on the environment, the government has confirmed.
The Department for the Environment said the ban will also cover single-use plastic bowls, trays and certain types of polystyrene cups and food containers.
Continue reading...CP Daily: Friday January 13, 2023
Pages
