Labor warns Coalition not to change land access rights over CSG mining
Shadow resources spokesman Gary Gray says ‘states make decisions as to how mineral wealth is allocated’ Labor resources spokesman Gary Gray has warned the Coalition not to “interrupt” the historic constitutional relationship between the commonwealth and the states by changing the land access rights between farmers and mining companies. Energy minister Josh Frydenberg has promised […]
Not quite as good as hoped for
Fickle, unpredictable and not-quite-as-good-as-hoped for – it’s been a typical British summer and a typically topsy-turvy butterfly season. The year began brightly with large numbers of overwintering brimstones, but the next generation didn’t make its presence felt in midsummer. It is a bit of a mystery why so few peacocks emerged, because their caterpillars were […]
Bolivia plans to build $300m nuclear complex with research reactor
President Evo Morales reassured public that controversial project, which will use Russian technology and help from Argentina, will not harm environment Bolivia has announced plans to build a $300m nuclear complex, including a research reactor, with Russian technology and help from Argentina. President Evo Morales told reporters the center will include a cyclotron for radiopharmaeuticals, […]
Deforestation 'may have started west Africa's Ebola outbreak'
Environment ministers from all over the world attend one-day conference on deforestation and climate change in London Deforestation may have triggered the recent Ebola outbreak in west Africa, France’s environment minister Ségolène Royal told a London summit hosted by the Prince of Wales ahead of next month’s Cop21 conference. Addressing the British energy and climate […]
Prince Charles calls for focus on deforestation ahead of Paris climate talks
The Prince of Wales says forests are key to combating global warming as he confirms he will attend next month’s crucial summit The Prince of Wales has said tackling deforestation will be central to combating global warming as he confirmed he will attend next month’s crucial climate change summit. World leaders will gather in Paris […]
Environmentalists appeal to Spanish parties ahead of December elections
Spanish NGOs, incensed at the controversial ‘sun tax’ that charges citizens for creating their own energy, have called for a new ‘vice-presidency’ on sustainability, reports El Pais The five main green organisations operating in Spain have launched an environmental appeal to political parties in the run-up to December’s general elections. Friends of the Earth, Ecologists […]
Record hole in ozone layer 'no cause for alarm'
UN weather and climate agency says hole over Antarctica is larger due to colder stratosphere but will shrink again The UN’s weather and climate agency said on Thursday there was no cause for alarm about a record-size hole this month in the ozone layer which shields life on Earth from the Sun, as it should […]
Scorchers v cycle haters: how Victorian cyclists were also vilified in the press
You might think the discussion of cycling in an era before cars were on the roads would be less judgmental – history shows us that is not the case “The past is a foreign country: they cycle differently there”. Such an assumption is often close to the surface in any complaint about the activities of […]
How Tanzania plans to light up a million homes with solar power
In a country where only 40% of people have access to grid electricity, the government is looking to sunshine to power health centres and homes Before solar panels were installed at Masaki village’s only health centre, doctors, nurses and midwives had to use dim flashlights or the glow from their cellphones to deliver babies and […]
French wine industry's love affair with pesticides blamed for worker health problems
A growing number of lawsuits in France have begun to expose the serious risk faced by those working on non-organic vineyards Wenny Tari knows a thing or two about wine. She and her husband Gabriel have been making it since 1982, when they inherited a vineyard in France’s picturesque Languedoc region in the south of […]