Environment news

• Sudden power price rises show need for climate policy certainty – report

  25-09-2016 23:55
  
  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 attachedHuge 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 new analysis by the Grattan Institute.When the short-term spot price of electricity spiked to its peak of $14,00
  
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• Climate change solutions: 65% want Australia to be world leader – study

  25-09-2016 23:51
  
  Climate Institute study also finds 77% of Australians believe climate change is happening, up from 64% four years agoPublic 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 see Australia lead the world in solutions, an increase from 52% in 2010-12 when the “carbon tax” debate was front and centre in politics. Continue reading
  
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• Autumn tints everywhere: Country diary 100 years ago

  25-09-2016 23:30
  
  Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 30 September, 1916Surrey, September 28
  Apples 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 drop on now littered leaves. The apples turn a richer colour, red streaked with yellow, on the face which fronts the west and south, and rich green underneath; a few butterflies ali
  
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• The die is cast for a wet and stormy winter

  25-09-2016 22:30
  
  Highly unusual behaviour in the upper atmosphere indicates that northern Europe may be in for another nasty winterWhat 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 something odd in high-level balloon wind measurements. Way up in the stratosphere – 16-50km above the equator – the balloon measurements revea
  
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• The Guardian view on an ivory ban: tusk trade rules need teeth | Editorial

  25-09-2016 20:56
  
  No markets in elephant ivory should be legalised. They would sustain demand and provide a cover for illegal trading and poachingThe illegal trade in endangered fauna and flora is the world’s fourth biggest, after the trades in drugs, counterfeit goods and people. The difference is that there is no shortage of the other three. Every 15 minutes, an elephant is killed by poachers. A third of Africa’s savannah elephants were slaughtered between 2007 and 2014. On current trends, by the ti
  
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• John Lane obituary

  25-09-2016 17:53
  
  My friend John Lane, who has died aged 85, was a dedicated racing cyclist, a scientist with a wide knowledge of insects and, in particular, an authority on mosquitoes.Son of Jack, a joiner, and Alice, John was born in Jersey, and was always proud to be a Jerseyman. As a boy, he was evacuated to Lancashire during the German occupation, then returned to his native island where he found work at the States Experimental Farm. He also began his cycling life with a previously banned local club. Cycling
  
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• The government wants more offshore fish farms, but no one is biting

  25-09-2016 16:00
  
  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 a lot. But it isn’t much to Don Kent, who says he can do better with just one fish farm. Continue reading...
  
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• New report confirms grim outlook for elephants

  25-09-2016 13:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Elephant populations in Africa have declined by around 111,000 over the past ten years according to a new study presented at the Cites meeting in South Africa.
  
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• China's colossal radio telescope begins testing

  25-09-2016 11:41 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The world's largest radio telescope has received its first signals from space and is now entering an intensive testing phase.
  
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• The eco guide to buying fish

  25-09-2016 07:00
  
  Seafood eco-labels are trustworthy – up to a pointMy favourite sideswipe at those who question the ethical provenance of all they consume is provided by the TV series Portlandia. Super-earnest couple Nance and Peter demand the life story of the chicken on a restaurant menu. Eventually they head for the farm to find out for themselves.I’m more laidback about fish, because I trust seafood eco-labels. Policing some 3m vessels across the globe is not easy but we have some accountability,
  
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• Fire breaks out on Pemex tanker in Gulf of Mexico, crew safe

  25-09-2016 05:21
  A fire broke out on an oil tanker of Mexican state oil company Pemex in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, forcing all the crew to be evacuated in the latest accident to plague the struggling firm. The blaze on the tanker "Burgos" occurred off the coast of Boca del Rio in Veracruz state and all the crew were safe, Pemex said in a tweet. Mexico's Navy said there were 31 crew members and that all had returned to port.
  
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• Poor food 'risks health of half the world'

  25-09-2016 03:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  As the population grows over the next 20 years half the world will be left malnourished, an independent panel of experts on food and agriculture warns.
  
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• Grand Canyon in blue

  25-09-2016 01:38 via bbc.co.uk
  
  President Barack Obama has created the first underwater national monument off the US east coast, protecting a vast ecosystem of canyons and extinct volcanoes. It is home to thousands of rare species, but is also a source of controversy.
  
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• How to encourage hedgehogs into your garden

  25-09-2016 01:34 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A hedgehog officer explains how to help hedgehogs in your garden
  
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• Gabon opposition leader rejects ruling upholding Bongo poll win

  25-09-2016 00:06
  By Edward McAllister and Gerauds Wilfried Obangome LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Gabon opposition leader Jean Ping on Saturday rejected what he said was an "unjust" ruling by the Constitutional Court which upheld the victory of President Ali Bongo in the Aug. 27 poll that he says was tarnished by fraud. The refusal by Ping, who says he won the presidential poll, to accept the court ruling raises the prospect of a potentially violent political crisis in the central African oil producer. The court had ag
  
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