It may be the spirtual home of Priscilla and Mad Max, but Australia’s first heritage-listed city is reimagining its future post mining and shifting its focus to renewable energy with large-scale wind and solar farms

• Transforming waste into a cleaner Cowra

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

The adder (Vipera berus) is Britain’s only venomous snake. An adder bite can be very painful and cause a nasty inflammation. The males emerge from hibernation as early as February but do little until early April when the females come out

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

Residents ‘dismayed’ after judges uphold decision to approve Cuadrilla shale gas operation in Fylde

Lancashire residents fighting to block a fracking site have said they are “truly dismayed” after losing a high court legal challenge.

The Preston New Road Action Group and Gayzer Frackman, a professional clown, had applied for a judicial review of the government’s decision to approve Cuadrilla drilling for shale gas in Fylde. The group had argued five points of law had been breached.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

The demise of Davie Bell memorial race has led to a fitting tribute to the legendary Scottish cyclist

The loss of a once popular road race from the UK cycling calendar is never a good thing, but a unique legacy has emerged from the ashes of one event in Scotland.

The demise of the Davie Bell Memorial Race in 2015 – a National ‘A’ event which had been running since 1966 – prompted the organiser to look for other ways to promote cycling.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

This spiralling, three-dimensional coral maze is bleached for the second year in a row, but it can recover – if we act immediately

And so it begins: the end of days. The Great Barrier Reef is bleaching for the second year in a row and now, according to the results of helicopter surveys released on Monday, it is the middle part (all 300 miles-plus of it) that is suffering the awful reef stress that comes courtesy of a warming ocean.

Related: Australia’s politicians have betrayed the Great Barrier Reef and only the people can save it | David Ritter

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

Call for Palaszczuk government to allow crocodile-hunting safaris in far north Queensland follows string of recent attacks

Queensland’s Katter Australian party MPs are threatening to block the upcoming state budget, unless the Palaszczuk government culls crocodiles.

The Mount Isa MP, Robbie Katter, said he and fellow KAP MP Shane Knuth will block the budget unless the government supports their legislation to establish crocodile safaris in far north Queensland, along with other management strategies.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

What if the solution to Australia’s high energy prices is not more coal and gas, nor even another emissions reduction scheme, but energy auctions?

Australia finds itself in an extraordinary, almost comical position. On the promise from Tony Abbott that we would become a low cost energy superpower, we abolished the carbon price and rolled back the renewable energy target by a fifth. And now we find ourselves with some of the highest wholesale electricity prices in the world, about double what they were when the carbon price was in place.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

Company should not receive $900m loan for rail line because it claims project is viable without it, shadow minister for resources says

Adani should not receive a $900m concessional loan for a rail line from its proposed Carmichael mine because the company claims the project is commercially viable without taxpayer funds, Jason Clare has said.

Speaking on Radio National on Wednesday, the shadow resources and northern Australia minister said it would be “terrific” if the project went ahead and created jobs but it should “stand on its own two feet”.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

Australia’s Climate Council is calling for further action to protect the world’s coral reefs. It has released a report putting the value of the marine environments at an astounding $1tn based on the estimated 500 million people they support in 50 countries. Damage to coral caused by warming oceans threatens tourism and other industries

• Loss of coral reefs caused by rising sea temperatures could cost $1tn globally

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Source: Guardian Climate Change