African elephant numbers plummet during 'worst decline in 25 years’
African elephant population has contracted by around 111,000 in the past decade as a result of poaching, study finds The number of African elephants dropped by about 111,000 in the past decade as a result of poaching, a report released at the Johannesburg conference on the wildlife trade has found. News of the worst drop […]
Support for renewable energy up, trust in political action down | John Connor
The scare campaign heydays are over. Support for action on climate change has rebounded to 2008 levels as frustration at the lack of political leadership grows If we were to try to repair the lost public trust in our political system, you may think that climate change and energy seem the most unlikely place to […]
Canada’s Great Bear forest comes under Commonwealth canopy
Prince William to announce addition of temperate rainforest to worldwide conservation network An unlikely alliance of the Queen, Prince William, the Labour MP Frank Field, Commonwealth countries and Canadian ecologists join forces today to protect one of the largest coastal temperate rainforests in the world: the Great Bear rainforest along the central and west coast […]
NSW floods: SES says worst is yet to come as Forbes' Lachlan river peaks
Bureau of Meteorology predicts ‘rolling cycle of flooding’ near Condobolin and Euabalong as river in Forbes surpasses level reached in 1990s floods Residents of central western New South Wales should expect “a long flood” over the next few weeks. The Lachlan river reached 10.65m at Forbes overnight, surpassing the 1990s floods, but the worst was […]
Sudden power price rises show need for climate policy certainty – report
In the wake of South Australian price rise, the Grattan Institute calls on governments to explain that the transition to renewables is coming, with costs attached Huge spikes in wholesale electricity prices in South Australia in July show stable, nationally consistent climate policy must urgently replace “unmanageable uncertainty” for energy market investors, according to a […]
Climate change solutions: 65% want Australia to be world leader – study
Climate Institute study also finds 77% of Australians believe climate change is happening, up from 64% four years ago Public support for Australia to be a world leader in climate change solutions has rebounded to its highest since the major political parties agreed on emissions trading, research shows. About 65% of the nation want to […]
Autumn tints everywhere: Country diary 100 years ago
Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 30 September, 1916 Surrey, September 28Apples still ripening in the orchard are frosted over these misty mornings, but the frost is so light that it runs to dew, and big drops are pendant on the fruit, the first rays of the sun glistening and beading them before they […]
The die is cast for a wet and stormy winter
Highly unusual behaviour in the upper atmosphere indicates that northern Europe may be in for another nasty winter What kinds of weather do the coming months hold? Highly unusual behaviour in the upper atmosphere indicates that northern Europe may be in for another stormy winter. The first sign appeared back in February, when scientists spotted […]
BP's plan to contain oil spill in Great Australian Bight labelled 'flimsy'
Wilderness Society says plan gives no clear indication where company would source equipment and people needed to contain a potential major spill BP’s publicly available plans to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight don’t give a clear indication of where it would get all the people, boats and aircraft needed to contain a […]
The government wants more offshore fish farms, but no one is biting
The US imports about 91% of its seafood, half of which is farmed in aquaculture facilities. Why is the US having a hard time kickstarting its own industry? Off the coast of San Diego, America’s eighth largest city, commercial fishermen harvest about 1,100 metric tons of seafood from the Pacific every year. That sounds like […]