Environment news

• The Dangers Behind Fast Food Packaging

  08-02-2017 23:56 via feedproxy.google.com
  We’ve all known for a long time that eating fast food is bad for you. It’s greasy, fatty, high in sodium and the calorie count is obscene. Now comes news that even the packaging that food comes in might be dangerous to your health.A new study found dangerous chemical compounds in almost half of the 400 fast food containers it tested from 27 fast food franchises. Packaging tested in this study came from the Big Four: McDonald’s, Chipotle Mexican Grill, S
  
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• Without records, weather historians turn to contemporary accounts

  08-02-2017 22:30
  
  Complete weather records only started in 1911 but, in the accounts of the times, two winters stand out as really extreme – 1683/84 and 1739/40
  In the hit parade of cold winters, 1962/63 and 1946/47 vie for the title of the worst winter of the 20th century. But when we talk about the worst winter ever, we have a problem. Records for the UK as a whole have only been kept since 1911, though temperature records for central England do go back to the 1650s. So, we mostly rely on contemporary acc
  
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• Geochemist Breathes New Life into “Great Oxidation Event”

  08-02-2017 21:37 via feedproxy.google.com
  A researcher in the College of Arts and Sciences is providing fresh insights into the “Great Oxidation Event” (GOE), in which oxygen first appeared in the Earth’s atmosphere more than 2.3 billion years ago. 
  
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• NASA Finds Planets of Red Dwarf Stars May Face Oxygen Loss in Habitable Zones

  08-02-2017 21:33 via feedproxy.google.com
  The search for life beyond Earth starts in habitable zones, the regions around stars where conditions could potentially allow liquid water – which is essential for life as we know it – to pool on a planet’s surface. New NASA research suggests some of these zones might not actually be able to support life due to frequent stellar eruptions – which spew huge amounts of stellar material and radiation out into space – from young red dwarf stars.
  
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• Israel finds cave said to have contained Dead Sea scrolls

  08-02-2017 20:58
  JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's Hebrew University says archaeologists have found a cave that once contained Dead Sea scrolls.
  
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• Oil prices edge up on short covering; gasoline jumps

  08-02-2017 20:16
  By Devika Krishna Kumar NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices gained slightly on Wednesday as investors covered short positions after a rise in U.S. crude inventories was not as massive as many had feared, while gasoline futures jumped nearly 4 percent after a surprise decline in inventories of the fuel. U.S. crude stocks rose by 13.8 million barrels in the week to Feb. 3 as refineries cut output, while gasoline stocks decreased, the Energy Information Administration said. The surge in crude stocks di
  
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• Supermarkets' waste sugar to help feed bees

  08-02-2017 20:08
  
  Tesco’s waste sugar goes to Cornish apiculture scheme as honey bees go short of nectar and rely on keepers’ winter syrup Waste sugar routinely thrown away by supermarkets is being collected to help feed stricken bees in Britain struggling to get enough nectar to feed themselves. In the first UK trial of its kind, discarded sugar from split bags rated no longer fit for human consumption, along with surpluses from in-store bakeries, is being shipped from Tesco stores in Cornwall and De
  
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• Svalbard's electric power could come from hydrogen

  08-02-2017 20:06 via feedproxy.google.com
  The energy supply to Longyearbyen, midway between continental Norway and the North Pole, is a hot topic in the climate debate.Longyearbyen is the largest settlement and the administrative centre of Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. Today, Longyearbyen obtains its electric power and district heating from its coal power plant, the only one in Norway.
  
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• Powershop reveals cash for renewable projects from customers who paid more

  08-02-2017 20:01
  
  Energy retailer raised $100,000 from customers, which will be given out as grants to community-owned energy projectsAmid fresh attacks on renewable energy targets from the federal government and large energy retailer ERM Power, smaller electricity retailer Powershop has raised $100,000 from its customers to be given out as grants to 10 community-owned projects around the country.Three months ago Powershop launched the Your Community Energy initiative, where they gave customers the opportunity to
  
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• Recycling yogurt waste to produce electricity, nutrients and more dairy foods

  08-02-2017 19:47 via feedproxy.google.com
  America’s appetite for Greek yogurt has skyrocketed over the past decade. But for every container of Greek yogurt consumed, you could fill two or three more with the acid whey it produces. The cover story in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, takes a look at the interesting ways scientists are making use of the byproduct.
  
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• Hidden lakes drain below West Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier

  08-02-2017 19:46 via feedproxy.google.com
  Thwaites Glacier on the edge of West Antarctica is one of the planet’s fastest-moving glaciers. Research shows that it is sliding unstoppably into the ocean, mainly due to warmer seawater lapping at its underside.But the details of its collapse remain uncertain. The details are necessary to provide a timeline for when to expect 2 feet of global sea level rise, and when this glacier’s loss will help destabilize the much larger West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Recent efforts have used satelli
  
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• Canada's TMX seeks part of Saudi Aramco listing

  08-02-2017 19:43
  By Alastair Sharp and John Tilak TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto Stock Exchange owner TMX Group Ltd said on Wednesday it was pitching the energy-rich bourse to "Saudi officials of significant influence" to bring at least part of the kingdom's massive Saudi Aramco [IPO-ARMO.SE] public listing to Canada. Saudi Arabia expects to value the state-owned oil producer at a minimum of $2 trillion, in what could be the world's biggest initial public offering (IPO), the centrepiece of a plan to transform the S
  
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• Italy prosecutors ask Eni CEO to be sent to trial over Nigeria - sources

  08-02-2017 19:36
  Italian prosecutors have asked for the CEO of state-controlled oil major Eni , Claudio Descalzi, to stand trial over alleged corruption in Nigeria, judicial sources said on Wednesday. The prosecutors also asked for 10 other people, including former Eni CEO Paolo Scaroni, to be sent for trial along with the Eni and Royal Dutch Shell companies, the sources said.
  
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• Quinoa genome could see 'super-food' prices tumble

  08-02-2017 19:15 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists say that decoding the quinoa genome could cut the cost of this nutritious but underutilised crop.
  
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• Case Western Reserve University researcher discovers fish uses sneaking behavior as stealth mating strategy

  08-02-2017 19:14 via feedproxy.google.com
  Humans aren’t the only species that resort to a little subterfugeWhile a dominant male fish from northern Mexico mates with a female, a small fella bides his time in the offing. Suddenly, the little guy darts in ahead of Mr. Big and plants his seeds on freshly laid eggs.
  
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• FTSE steadies as housebuilders offset weaker commodities

  08-02-2017 18:38
  By Kit Rees and Atul Prakash LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top share index steadied on Wednesday, underperforming European peers, as a drop in energy stock prices prompted by oil price weakness offset a rally led by housing stocks. Housebuilder Redrow was among the biggest gainers on the FTSE 250, up 4 percent after posting a rise in first half profit. "We have had a BUY recommendation on (Redrow) for a while and we stick with that both for absolute potential gain and also as part of our wider vi
  
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• Republican elders call for new national carbon tax to replace federal regulations

  08-02-2017 17:50
  
  GOP elder statesmen urge Donald Trump’s administration to impose a ‘free market, limited government’ response to rising global temperaturesA group of senior Republicans will meet with White House officials on Wednesday to call for a new national carbon tax to replace federal regulations as a way to combat climate change.
  The GOP elder statesmen – which include former secretaries of state James Baker and George Shultz, and ex-treasury secretary Hank Paulson – will ur
  
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• Oil prices rise on short covering, gasoline strength

  08-02-2017 17:42
  By Devika Krishna Kumar NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Wednesday as investors covered short positions when a big rise in U.S crude inventories was not as massive as many had feared, and as gasoline futures got a boost from a surprise decline in inventories of the fuel. U.S. crude stocks rose 13.8 million barrels in the last week as refineries cut output, while gasoline stocks decreased, the Energy Information Administration said. "A lot of the downside was already priced in," said Rob H
  
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• NREL Research Pinpoints Promise of Polycrystalline Perovskites

  08-02-2017 17:25 via feedproxy.google.com
  A team of scientists from the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) determined that surface recombination limits the performance of polycrystalline perovskite solar cells.Considerable research into perovskites at NREL and elsewhere has proved the material's effectiveness at converting sunlight into electricity, routinely topping 20 percent efficiency. The sunlight creates mobile electrons whose movement generates the power but upon encountering defects can slip into a n
  
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• Drought identified as key to severity of West Nile virus epidemics

  08-02-2017 16:53 via feedproxy.google.com
  A study led by UC Santa Cruz researchers has found that drought dramatically increases the severity of West Nile virus epidemics in the United States, although populations affected by large outbreaks acquire immunity that limits the size of subsequent epidemics.The study, published February 8 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, involved researchers from UC Santa Cruz, Stanford University, and the New York State Department of Health. They analyzed 15 years of data on human West Nile
  
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• Massive ancient undersea landslide discovered off Great Barrier Reef

  08-02-2017 16:39
  
  Scientists were amazed to find remains of 300,000-year-old sediment slip while conducting 3D mapping of deep sea floorEvidence of a massive undersea landslide that took place more than 300,000 years ago has been discovered off the Great Barrier Reef.
  Scientists discovered remains of the slip off Innisfail on Australia’s north Queensland coast.Continue reading...
  
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• Ancient undersea landslide discovered in Australia

  08-02-2017 15:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists say the collapse next to the Great Barrier Reef dates back more than 300,000 years.
  
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• TMX in talks to bring Saudi Aramco listing to Toronto

  08-02-2017 15:39
  TMX Group , owner of the Toronto Stock Exchange, said on Wednesday that it is in talks with Saudi Arabia over the possibility of Saudi Aramco [IPO-ARMO.SE] listing in Canada. The IPO, which Saudi officials expect to value the oil producer at a minimum of $2 trillion, is the centrepiece of a Saudi Arabian government plan to transform the economy by attracting foreign investment and diversifying away from oil. TMX said the talks were part of efforts by a consortium of representatives from across C
  
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• Elephants in crisis: MPs accuse government and Europe of dragging their feet over ivory ban

  08-02-2017 15:29
  
  ‘This is the last chance saloon,’ say politicians and campaigners pushing for urgent action
  The UK and EU, the world’s largest exporters of legal ivory, have been accused of not doing enough to save Africa’s fast disappearing elephant populations.“This is the last chance saloon to save elephants,” said UK Labour MP Justin Madders at a meeting at Westminster Hall on Monday where more than 30 MPs on both sides of the chamber debated a public petition of 107,000
  
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• Boutique bank Moelis wins advisory role for mammoth Saudi IPO

  08-02-2017 15:17
  By Lauren Hirsch, Clara Denina and Hadeel Al Sayegh NEW YORK/LONDON/DUBAI (Reuters) - Boutique investment bank Moelis & Co has been chosen as an adviser by Saudi Aramco [IPO-ARMO.SE] on its plans for what is expected to be the world's biggest initial public share offer, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The IPO, which Saudi officials expect to value the oil producer at a minimum of $2 trillion (£1.59 trillion), is the centrepiece of a Saudi Arabian government plan to trans
  
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• Scotland's renewable energy schemes 'crippled' by business rates revaluation

  08-02-2017 14:52
  
  Small Scottish renewable energy schemes could be faced with new business rates of up to 650%, rousing fears that future investment into renewables could be stunted in the country.
  
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• Does Brexit offer a 'golden opportunity' to pursue EU ETS alternatives?

  08-02-2017 14:30
  
  With MPs set to vote on the final amendments of the bill to withdraw the country from the European Union (EU), the debate surrounding the UK's future involvement in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) has intensified this week with a lively debate in Parliament.
  
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• University of Toronto scientist says diesel trains may expose passengers to exhaust

  08-02-2017 14:29 via feedproxy.google.com
  A new U of T study finds that diesel trains may expose passengers to elevated levels of certain pollutants, especially if they are sitting directly behind the locomotive.
  
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• Global bee expert sheds light on new research from Australia

  08-02-2017 14:20 via feedproxy.google.com
  York University biologist and bee expert, Professor Amro Zayed, continues to produce and publish original research of global importance. This time, he has contributed a news and views article in Nature (November 2016) that puts into context the work of an Australian researcher who discovered how natural selection allows an invader bee population to overcome the genetic odds stacked against it. The study, led by Professor Rosalyn Gloag of the University of Sydney, New South Wales, examined t
  
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• Shell submits plan for dismantling Brent North Sea production platforms

  08-02-2017 13:51
  Royal Dutch Shell has submitted a plan to the British government for dismantling its Brent North Sea production platforms, a turning point for the UK oil industry as operators face the huge challenge of gradually abandoning depleted fields after 40 years of production. Shell on Wednesday lodged the plans for decommissioning production at the huge Brent field, which lends its name to the globally traded benchmark crude oil grade and which has produced over 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent sinc
  
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• Data linking death with air pollution inconclusive, says Indian minister

  08-02-2017 13:46
  
  Environment minister Anil Madhav Dave overlooks Greenpeace research stating 1.2m Indians die each year from airborne pollutantsIndia’s environment minister has been accused of playing down the health risks of the country’s extremely polluted air by claiming, contrary to research, that there is no conclusive data available linking “death exclusively with air pollution”.The environmental group Greenpeace released a report in January citing Global Burden of Disease (GBD) res
  
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• The Sustainable Business Covered podcast: Episode 20 - A day in the life of sustainability leaders

  08-02-2017 13:11
  
  Join edie's senior reporter Matt Mace for an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour of our recent Sustainability Leaders Forum and Awards, including an array of inspiring and insightful discussions with expert speakers and award-winners.
  
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• Cod in a cold climate – in pictures

  08-02-2017 12:46
  
  Fish is Norway’s most valuable export, more so than its vast oil fields. Two-thirds of UK cod comes from the Barents Sea. As the climate changes and the sea grows warmer the fish move north, and so, too, do the fishermen Continue reading...
  
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• Boutique bank Moelis wins advisory role for mammoth Saudi Aramco IPO

  08-02-2017 12:27
  By Lauren Hirsch, Clara Denina and Hadeel Al Sayegh NEW YORK/LONDON/DUBAI (Reuters) - New York-based boutique investment bank Moelis & Co has been chosen as an adviser by Saudi Aramco [IPO-ARMO.SE] on its plans for what is expected to be the world's biggest initial public share offer, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The IPO, which officials expect to value the oil producer at a minimum of $2 trillion, is the centrepiece of a Saudi Arabian government plan to transform the econo
  
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• Data inconclusive linking death and air pollution, says Indian minister

  08-02-2017 12:12
  
  Environment minister Anil Madhav Dave overlooks Greenpeace research stating 1.2m Indians die each year from airborne pollutantsIndia’s environment minister has been accused of playing down the health risks of the country’s extremely polluted air by claiming, contrary to research, that there is no conclusive data available linking “death exclusively with air pollution”.The environmental group Greenpeace released a report in January citing Global Burden of Disease (GBD) res
  
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• FTSE steadies as stronger miners offset weaker oils

  08-02-2017 11:43
  By Atul Prakash LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top share index steadied on Wednesday, underperforming European peers, with a drop in energy stocks on the back of weaker oil prices offsetting a mining sector rally. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was flat in percentage terms at 7,188.20 points by 1006 GMT, after closing marginally higher in the previous session. In contrast, the pan-European STOXX 600 index was trading 0.6 percent higher. Rio Tinto rose 1.8 percent after the world's No. ...
  
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• Coal phase-out sees UK emissions tumble by 4%

  08-02-2017 11:26
  
  A fall in coal use, and subsequent rise in renewables and nuclear electricity sources, has been listed as a prime driver in the UK registering a 4% decline in carbon emissions in 2015, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed.
  
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• Face of Orkney's St Magnus reconstructed

  08-02-2017 10:50 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A facial reconstruction has been made of Orkney's St Magnus by a forensic artist to help mark the 900th anniversary of his death.
  
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• Tullow falls to third annual loss on more exploration write-offs

  08-02-2017 10:48
  By Karolin Schaps LONDON (Reuters) - Tullow Oil missed forecasts to fall to a third consecutive annual loss on Wednesday as it wrote off more of its Africa-focused exploration business, sending its shares lower. Tullow, whose founder and long-serving chief executive Aidan Heavey will hand over to Chief Operating Officer Paul McDade in April, was hit hard by the collapse in oil prices in 2014 just as it was investing heavily in its flagship TEN oil project off Ghana. It took gross exploration wri
  
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• Microbead ban should include all products washed down the drain, say campaigners

  08-02-2017 10:38
  
  A proposed government ban on the tiny plastic beads that pollute the ocean should be extended to include items such as make-up, sunscreen and cleaning products Plans to ban tiny pieces of plastic that pollute the ocean should be extended to more products that people commonly wash down the drain, campaigners urged.
  The government has proposed banning the sale and manufacture of products containing plastics known as microbeads that they classify as “rinse-off” items, such as shower gel
  
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• Oil prices fall on bloated U.S. fuel inventories, stalling China demand

  08-02-2017 09:05
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices dropped on Wednesday to extend falls from the previous day, as a massive increase in U.S. fuel inventories and a slump in Chinese demand implied that global crude markets remain oversupplied despite OPEC-led efforts to cut output. International Brent crude futures were trading at 54.70 per barrel at 0758 GMT, down 35 cents, or 0.64 percent, from their previous close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $51.68 a barrel, down 49 cen
  
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• Qatar says oil market can cope with higher shale output

  08-02-2017 08:55
  Higher oil prices may boost shale oil production but the global oil market can accommodate this as demand remains healthy, Qatar's energy minister said on Wednesday. "The market is gradually accommodating for shale oil as well as shale gas - the demand is healthy. With that continuous demand increase I think all available oils are going to be accommodated," Mohammed al-Sada told Reuters in Doha.
  
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• Tullow in the red for third year on further exploration write-offs

  08-02-2017 08:26
  Africa-focused Tullow Oil reported a loss for a third consecutive year in 2016 after it was forced to write off further exploration costs, the company said on Wednesday. The oil and gas producer reported a full-year operating loss of $754.7 million, down from a loss of $1.09 billion in 2015 but bigger than analyst estimates for a $639.4 million loss, mainly due to gross exploration write offs of $723 million.
  
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• Ikea launches kitchen range made from recycled plastic bottles

  08-02-2017 08:20
  
  The world's biggest furniture retailer Ikea has launched a new range of kitchen fronts made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles and reclaimed wood, eliminatingthe need for virgin oil-based plastics in the range.
  
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• Lack of transparency over green energy subsidies 'shambolic', say MPs

  08-02-2017 08:01
  
  Government criticised for failing to keep consumers updated as overspend on renewables is forecast to push up bills MPs have criticised ministers for their “shambolic” failure to regularly spell out the impact of government green policies on household energy bills.The Commons public accounts committee said the government had missed its commitment to publishing annual reports on how consumer bills were affected by subsidies to support solar and wind power.Continue reading...
  
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• Angolan rebels call on oil region to boycott election

  08-02-2017 07:23
  Separatist rebels have called on Angola's oil region to boycott parliamentary elections in August that are likely to be the most closely watched in decades as President Jose Eduardo dos Santos ends 38 years in power. The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC), which fought a low-level insurgency for four decades in the thin enclave sandwiched between Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo, said it would not participate in a "foreign" election. "The FLEC does no
  
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• Carmichael mine jobs need 212 times the subsidies of renewables, says study

  08-02-2017 07:19
  
  Federal funding for Adani project amounts to $683,060 a job, compared with $3,219 a worker in Queensland’s clean energy sector, 350.org saysClean energy projects in Queensland are already on track to create more employment than Australia’s largest proposed coalmine, which if funded federally would cost taxpayers 212 times more per job, according to new study.Federal government agencies are investing $71.4m in seven solar farms and a wind farm in Queensland, which are set to deliver a
  
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• Carmichael mine jobs need '21 times the subsidies' of renewables, says lobby group

  08-02-2017 07:19
  
  Federal funding for Adani project amounts to $683,060 a job, compared with $32,191 a worker in Queensland’s clean energy sector, 350.org says Clean energy projects in Queensland are already on track to create more employment than Australia’s largest proposed coalmine, which if funded federally would cost taxpayers 21 times more per job, according to new study.Federal government agencies are investing $71.4m in seven solar farms and a windfarm in Queensland, which are set to deliver a
  
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• Stonehenge tunnel: heritage groups warn over ancient barrow

  08-02-2017 07:00
  
  Historic England, Heritage England and the National Trust say western end is too close to important neolithic tombsThe Stonehenge tunnel scheme has suffered a setback after three influential heritage organisations closely involved in the ancient site and the surrounding landscape raised concerns over a crucial aspect of the government’s preferred route.Historic England, English Heritage and the National Trust all said they backed the idea of a tunnel for the busy A303, which would remove t
  
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• There's nothing dull about dunnocks

  08-02-2017 06:30
  
  Wenlock Edge With its riotous sex life and quick, edgy, movements, the hedge sparrow is like a little ticking bombTseep! The hedge sparrow will not break loose from the gravity of the hedge. Hedge is home: a four-dimensional forest that travels through a landscape beset by dangerous space, and provides for a kind of dwelling that supports a very particular society. This tiny passerine is also called a dunnock – literally, little brown bird – an anonymous, blended-in, could-be-anythin
  
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