Government to analyse potential benefits of new generation of reactors
Denmark is reconsidering its 40-year ban on nuclear power in a major policy shift for the renewables-heavy country.
The Danish government will analyse the potential benefits of a new generation of nuclear power technologies after banning traditional nuclear reactors in 1985, its energy minister said.
Continue reading...Karenia mikimotoi algae can suffocate fish, cause haemorrhaging and act as a neurotoxin, one expert says
More than 200 marine species, including deepwater sharks, leafy sea dragons and octopuses, have been killed by a toxic algal bloom that has been affecting South Australia’s coastline since March.
Nearly half (47%) of the dead species were ray-finned fish and a quarter (26%) were sharks and rays, according to OzFish analysis of 1,400 citizen scientist reports.
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Continue reading...Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns will be up against Zack Polanski, who is calling for ‘eco-populism’ mass movement
So here we are again. Much as was the case in 2021, the last time the Greens picked their leaders, members have a choice that could be broadly presented as the more sober, election-focused professionals versus insurgent activists.
On one side of the equation are Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns, both MPs, and in the case of Ramsay, already a co-leader. Four years ago, he and Carla Denyer saw off Amelia Womack and Tamsin Omond with a self-stated mission to change the party and win elections.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Decision on whether to work with turbine maker being overseen by ministers after British Steel rescue
Ministers are weighing up proposals for a Chinese company to supply wind turbines for a major offshore windfarm in the North Sea.
The government is in discussions with Green Volt North Sea over whether Mingyang, China’s biggest offshore wind company, should supply the wind turbines. Mingyang has emerged as the preferred manufacturer, but the company has sought advice from ministers on whether to proceed.
Continue reading...Workers at farm owned by UK’s biggest pig meat producer Cranswick filmed killing piglets by banned ‘blunt force trauma’
• Warning: graphic content
Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons have suspended supplies from a Lincolnshire pig farm linked to abuse against pigs.
Secretly filmed footage has shown farm workers at Northmoor Farm appearing to grab piglets by their hind legs and smashing them on to the hard floor – a banned method of killing known as blunt force trauma or “piglet thumping”.
Continue reading...The state government is aware of koala welfare problems but says it has ‘no cost-effective’ solutions
Thousands of koalas are being displaced each year as blue gum plantations are cut down in Victoria, worsening overcrowding in nearby forests and exacerbating the risk of injury and death during bushfires.
An estimated 42,500 koalas live in blue gum plantations in south-west Victoria, data shows. Between 8,000 and 10,000 hectares of plantation are harvested each year, making thousands of koalas homeless.
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Continue reading...Forestry Corporation says suggestion that it can be compared to a criminal bikie gang is ‘ridiculous’
A former magistrate and one of Australia’s most experienced scientists have launched an extraordinary attack on the New South Wales government’s logging agency, describing it as effectively a “criminal organisation” that should be shut down after a string of court convictions.
Prof David Heilpern, a NSW magistrate between 1998 and 2020 and now the dean of law at Southern Cross University, said the state’s Forestry Corporation should be “disbanded” as it was was no longer fit for purpose.
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Continue reading...Sap-sucking insects top list of queries to gardening charity after causing significant harm to plants
Aphids are plaguing gardeners this spring due to the warm weather, with higher numbers of the rose-killing bugs expected to thrive in the UK as a result of climate breakdown.
The sap-sucking insects have topped the ranking of gardener queries to the Royal Horticultural Society, with many of its 600,000 members having complained of dozens of aphids on their acers, roses and honeysuckle plants.
Continue reading...Healesville sanctuary releases 21 critically endangered birds in hopes a new wild population will thrive
For the first time in 42 years, critically endangered helmeted honeyeaters have returned to Cardinia in south-east Victoria, where they were found until the Ash Wednesday bushfires in 1983.
Helmeted honeyeaters are charismatic, energetic and curious, according to Dr Kim Miller, the manager of threatened species at Healesville sanctuary.
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Continue reading...US agency will no longer update major weather database in latest showing of Trump’s influence on climate resources
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) will no longer track the cost of climate crisis-fueled weather disasters, including floods, heatwaves, wildfires and more. It is the latest example of changes to the agency and the Trump administration limiting federal government resources on climate change.
Noaa falls under the US Department of Commerce and is tasked with daily weather forecasts, severe storm warnings and climate monitoring. It is also parent to the National Weather Service.
Continue reading...The University of Queensland system is intended to give policymakers idea of how species traverse the oceans and what it will take to save them
Off the east coast of Florida, female loggerhead turtles swim more than 1,000km north, hugging the edge of the continental shelf to get to feeding grounds.
Humpback whales move through Moreton Bay off the Brisbane coast in Australia, on their way to feed around the Balleny Islands more than 4,000km away off the Antarctic coastline, where wandering albatross circle above, travelling 1,000km a day.
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Continue reading...Study finds human-caused climate change made four-day rainfall across central Mississippi valley 40% more likely
The four-day historic storm that caused death and destruction across the central Mississippi valley in early April was made significantly more likely and more severe by burning fossil fuels, rapid analysis by a coalition of leading climate scientists has found.
Record quantities of rain were dumped across eight southern and midwestern states between 3 and 6 April, causing widespread catastrophic flooding that killed at least 15 people, inundated crops, wrecked homes, swept away vehicles and caused power outages for hundreds of thousands of households.
Continue reading...First stage of initiative will introduce ‘keystone’ species to beaver enclosures in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire
Elk could return to the UK after 3,000 years under plans by the Wildlife Trusts to reintroduce the “keystone” species into Britain’s landscapes.
The Derbyshire Wildlife Trust wants to introduce elk into two existing beaver enclosures in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, with the hope of demonstrating that the large semiaquatic deer should be released to roam free in the wild.
Continue reading...Trials will test ways to block sunlight and slow climate crisis that threatens to trigger catastrophic tipping points
Real-world geoengineering experiments spanning the globe from the Arctic to the Great Barrier Reef are being funded by the UK government. They will test sun-reflecting particles in the stratosphere, brightening reflective clouds using sprays of seawater and pumping water on to sea ice to thicken it.
Getting this “critical missing scientific data” is vital with the Earth nearing several catastrophic climate tipping points, said the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria), the government agency backing the plan. If demonstrated to be safe, geoengineering could temporarily cool the planet and give more time to tackle the root cause of the climate crisis: the burning of fossil fuels.
Continue reading...Kangaroo Island mayor also notes a silky coat on the dog, while Kangala Wildlife Rescue says ‘possums or cats out there were grooming her’
As Valerie is reunited with her owners, mystery remains over how the miniature dachshund braved more than 500 days in Kangaroo Island’s rugged wilderness only to emerge healthy, happy – and larger than before.
Valerie captured the world’s attention when she was spotted 529 days after going missing on the South Australian island, with people worldwide avidly following the story of her capture.
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Continue reading...Horsham local Glenn Coffey says he witnessed large numbers of sick birds falling out of trees and drowning in Wimmera river
Victoria’s conservation regulator has launched an investigation into the suspected fatal poisoning of 300 little corellas in Horsham, in the state’s north-west.
The incident, which began on Tuesday last week, has killed hundreds of protected birds in a popular park near the Wimmera river, just south of the city centre.
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Continue reading...Researchers call for urgent action as fragments of plastic found in human brains and pollute food, water and air
The UK is falling behind on international efforts to tackle microplastics, scientists have said, as the pollutants continue to infiltrate food, ecosystems and human bodies.
The tiny fragments of plastic have been found in human testicles and brains, and they burrow into plants, inhibiting their ability to photosynthesise. The impact on human health is largely unknown, but they have been linked to strokes and heart attacks.
Continue reading...Professionals call for a fundamental transition including controlling flight numbers
The aviation industry is “failing dramatically” in its efforts to tackle its role in the climate crisis, according to a newly formed group of aviation professionals.
They say they are torn between their passion for flying and their concern for the planet and are calling for a fundamental transition of the industry, including controlling flight numbers.
Continue reading...Government response comes amid outrage over the murder of the men who had been held captive for more than a week
Peru’s president, Dina Boluarte, has suspended gold mining and announced a 12-hour curfew in Pataz, in the northern region, after criminals kidnapped and killed 13 gold mine workers.
A Peruvian gold mining company La Poderosa said on Sunday that the bodies of 13 contract workers from a local firm had been found by police inside one of the mine’s tunnels.
Continue reading...Severe thunderstorms around Delhi cause seven deaths, with western Europe also hit by stormy conditions
Residents of Delhi and surrounding areas woke last week to severe thunderstorms with intense rainfall, large hailstones and squally winds. The storms arrived in the early hours of the night, lasting six hours before easing by about 8.30am on Friday morning. At Safdarjung, the primary weather station in Delhi, 77mm of rain was recorded, the majority of which, 60mm, fell within the first three hours. The event itself was the second highest 24-hour rainfall total in Delhi during May since 1901. The deluge of rain led to flash flooding, felled trees, widespread disruption and claimed seven lives.
Further sharp showers are forecast across India this week, alongside thunderstorms across western and central parts where relatively cooler air will become situated aloft through the course of Monday and promote convection. Some forecast models show the potential for thunderstorms to produce very heavy rainfall, particularly in Gujarat and south-west Rajasthan, until Thursday. However, due to the nature of thunderstorm formation, the exact intensity can be difficult to forecast days ahead, and often still proves too tricky to predict on the day. So the conditions in Delhi on Friday morning may not have been a one-off.
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