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Graceful quick-step of the grey wagtail

Trawsfynydd, Gwynedd, Wales They are constantly in motion, dancing out of the gorge in undulating flight

Pont y Llyn Du on the Afon Gain, in the lonely moors east of Trawsfynydd, above the old gold mines at Gwynfynydd, is one of those places at which you’d never arrive except by design. It’s one of my favourite haunts in the Welsh hills.

The peaty hill stream rushes down through a miniature rocky gorge under the old humped bridge to debouch into a round pool of amber depth, encircled by green pastures. You can traverse through on rock ledges beneath the arch, plunge into the pool if you’re hardy and of the “wild swimming” persuasion. What most appeals to me are the spirits of the place.

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Source: Guardian Environment

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Transforming the bush: robots, drones and cows that milk themselves | Paul Daley

Rural Australia is being progressively hollowed out of its people. Will it be reduced to a vast mechanised place of scant human habitation?

These cows are in no hurry. Each just meanders to the dairy, all rolling hindquarters, swishing tails and loping heads, the blue-black and tan Rorschach ink-blot patching of their hides vivid against the washed-out Australian summer light. They stop as they please along the way. Chew cud. Moo. Drop pats. Moo again. They nudge the soft earth or a companion before snorting and continuing on up through the paddocks to the shed.

It’s milking time – just as it’s always milking time in this dairy for about 360 Friesians at Camden, where the outer orbit of Sydney gives way to the gentle rise that becomes the southern highlands. These cows are not held to the human clock and milked according to the dairy farmer’s traditionally antisocial (for both people and cows) timetable, at the crack of dawn and again at dusk. And they don’t have to line up for hours, either, cramped in a race, their udders bursting, in order for a dairy worker to quickly wash their teats, apply the suction cups, extract their milk, disinfect and send them on their way.

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Source: Guardian Environment

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Greens to spend $265m on community-owned renewable energy projects

Four-year package, to be announced by Adam Bandt on Saturday, will allow the ventures to generate tax-free profits from the electricity created

The Greens will announce that they will spend $265.2m on community-owned renewable energy projects, including allowing these to generate tax-free profits from the electricity created.

The Greens energy spokesman, Adam Bandt, will announce the four-year package on Saturday in North Fitzroy at an apartment block seeking to establish a community-owned renewable project.

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Source: Guardian Environment

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Train carrying oil derails near Oregon's Columbia river gorge

Eight cars derailed 70 miles east of Portland on Friday, sending plumes of black smoke into the sky and forcing roads to close and schools to evacuate

A train towing cars full of oil derailed on Friday in Oregon’s scenic Columbia river gorge, sparking a fire that sent a plume of black smoke high into the sky.

The accident happened around noon near the town of Mosier, about 70 miles east of Portland. It involved eight cars filled with oil, and one was burning, said Ken Armstrong, state forestry department spokesman. There were no fatalities or injuries.

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Source: Guardian Environment

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Value of eco crimes soars by 26% with devastating impacts on natural world

Environmental crime is now the world’s fourth biggest crime and is a growing threat to security and natural resources, say UN and Interpol

The value of the black market industry behind crimes such as ivory smuggling, illegal logging and toxic waste dumping has jumped by 26% since 2014 to between $91bn (£62bn) and $258bn, according to an assessment by the UN and Interpol.

Environmental crime is now the world’s fourth largest illicit enterprise after drug smuggling, counterfeiting and human trafficking and has outstripped the illegal trade in small arms.

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Source: Guardian Environment

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Men who picked up Yellowstone bison: 'We didn't have the heart to leave it'

A Canadian man and his son loaded a Yellowstone bison calf into their vehicle because they thought it was an abandoned newborn, they said in an interview

A Canadian man and his son loaded a Yellowstone national park bison calf into their vehicle last month because they thought it was an abandoned newborn that would die without their help, the men said in their first interview since park officials had to euthanize the animal.

The calf was killed because it couldn’t be reunited with its herd after being handled by Shamash Kassam of Quebec, Canada, and his son, Shakeel Kassam, on 9 May, park officials said.

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Source: Guardian Environment

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EU dilutes proposal to halve air pollution deaths after UK lobbying

If implemented, weakened proposal means 14,000 people could die prematurely across Europe each year from 2030

EU states have agreed to water down a proposed law aimed at halving the number of deaths from air pollution within 15 years, after intense lobbying from the UK that cross-party MEPs have condemned as “appalling”.

Some 14,000 people will die prematurely every year across Europe from 2030 as a result, if the weakened proposal is implemented, according to figures cited by the environment commissioner, Karmenu Vella.

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Source: Guardian Environment

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Saudi Arabia's Uber venture: a case of if you can't beat 'em, join 'em

Global firms are investing in startups threatening to shake up motoring because they know self-driving cars are the future

The global automotive industry and the oil majors are not known for meekly rolling over when a competitor comes along – from General Motors’ involvement in killing public transport in Los Angeles in the 1940s to Shell lobbying to undermine EU renewables targets in more recent years.

But recently, the world has started to see a new side to the sector: “If you can’t beat them, join them; and if you can’t join them, buy them out.”

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Source: Guardian Environment

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Simon Ingram and Fiona Reynolds on our natural landscapes – books podcast

Simon Ingram tackles the forbidding rock face of the mountaineering memoir, while Fiona Reynolds mounts a passionate plea for the defence of our natural landscape

From Beinn Dearg to Ben Nevis, Simon Ingram’s The Sunset and the Sea: A View of 16 British Mountains takes us on a journey over sixteen of Britain’s most evocative mountainous landscapes. He talked about his motivation for climbing, the history of our national parks, and how he drew upon the history, mythology, weather and tales of endeavour that surround these mountains to write his book.

After 11 years as Director General of the National Trust, Fiona Reynolds work continues in her new book The Fight for Beauty, where she argues that beauty is an essential element of all our lives, and needs protecting. She talked about how the Industrial Revolution invaded the countryside, how campaigners resisted that advance, and how the idea of beauty can support public policy.

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Source: Guardian Environment

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'There's something terrifying about it': rise of the river Seine

As roads and cobbled walkways are submerged by floods, life goes on in Paris and beyond

“Incredible, that’s all I can say,” muttered Catherine, a publishing editor, as she stared dumbfounded at the river water that had entirely swallowed up the busy road running along the banks of the Seine near her Paris apartment.

Roads and picturesque cobbled walkways in the French capital have disappeared entirely, submerged by a vast expanse of brown river water carrying an unusual assortment of debris including logs, big wooden planks and a metal sign from a boat-club in its angry, swirling current.

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Source: Guardian Environment

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