Greens' want 1.2m households to install renewable energy storage
Energy spokesman Adam Bandt says program – estimated to cost $2.9bn – could be funded by scrapping concessions to fossil fuel-intensive industries The Greens want millions of households to install renewable energy storage units, saying battery storage could “revolutionise” Australia’s energy system. They have announced a five-year support package for 1.2m homes and 30,000 businesses, […]
Air pollution warnings issued as UK temperatures set to soar
Hot weekend means people with lung or heart problems should avoid outdoor strenuous activity, warns Defra The government has issued air pollution warnings as temperatures are set to climb towards 27C (more than 80F) in south-east England and the Midlands on Sunday. The warm weather, which threatens to be hotter than in parts of the […]
Florida's coral reefs rapidly 'wasting away' under stress of climate change
Accelerated acidification of coastal waters has brought about structural decline of only reef in continental US, initially pegged by scientists at around 2050 Florida’s coral reefs are disintegrating far more quickly than previously thought, with warming, acidifying oceans causing a “wasting away” of the coral structures that support an abundance of marine life, new research […]
Bristol mayoral hopefuls sling 'elite' jibes
In the run-up to the city polls incumbent George Ferguson and Labour’s Marvin Rees accuse one another of ‘establishment’ bias The two main candidates in the race to become mayor of Bristol – one of the key electoral tests for Labour on Thursday – have each claimed the other is the “establishment” figure. Marvin Rees, […]
David Attenborough at 90: a TV legend’s top 10 moments
As the wildlife presenter approaches his 90th birthday, we take a look at some of his most awe-inspiring work – from meeting a cannibal tribe to cuddling gorillas To celebrate Sir David Attenborough’s 90th birthday on 8 May, wildlife television producer Stephen Moss has chosen his top 10 TV moments featuring the great man. Enjoy. […]
Climate change, chaos and inexact computing
Perimeter Institute public lecture by Tim Palmer of Oxford University The May 2016 Perimeter Institute public lecture is this evening. Tim Palmer of Oxford University will take about climate change, and the computational techniques used to evaluate the predictability and dynamics of weather and climate. The lecture will be followed by a question-and-answer session, and […]
'We're like second-class citizens': Flint's struggle continues as Obama visits
As the water crisis enters its third year, the president is on his way to the city following a letter from an 8-year-old – but some say his visit is overdue Since 12-year-old Flint resident Jeremiah Loren contracted a debilitating bacterial infection that has rankled his stomach, his grades have dropped dramatically, he’s missed four […]
Leopards have lost 75% of their historical habitat
New research shows the big cats’ global range has shrunk by a shocking amount over the last 250 years The area of the world roamed by leopards has declined by three quarters over the last two and a half centuries, according to the most comprehensive effort yet to map the big cat. Researchers said they […]
BHP Billiton faces £30bn compensation claim over Brazil dam disaster
Mining subsidiary Samarco blamed for country’s worst environmental tragedy, which left 19 dead BHP Billiton and its partner Vale are facing a 155bn real (£30bn) claim from Brazilian prosecutors over a dam collapse last year at one of their iron ore mines, which killed 19 and left 700 homeless. Shares in the London-listed BHP plunged […]
Donald Trump's election would derail Paris climate deal, warns its architect
A climate change denier as US president would dramatically threaten global action to cut carbon emissions, says ex-French foreign minister Laurent Fabius The election of Donald Trump would derail the landmark agreement on climate change reached in Paris last December, the architect of the accord has warned. Trump is now virtually certain to be the […]