Australian:
Original post by miscellaneous

Australian: THE Clouter household in Perth’s southern suburbs has seven airconditioners, two hot-water units, and electricity bills that regularly top $400 a quarter. "We are high energy users because of our needs," miner Eddie Clouter said yesterday. But Mr Clouter and his wife, Carolyn, worry about the impact they and their five children […]

Australian: THE cost to Australian households would be almost identical under the ambitious and the less ambitious global emission reduction scenarios investigated by Ross Garnaut, Treasury modelling in the final report reveals. Conservationists seized on the results to argue that the Government should push for a more ambitious scheme, which provided a far higher […]

Australian: THE economic impact of climate change cannot be ignored, Kevin Rudd said yesterday, as he dismissed suggestions the global econmic crisis could derail efforts to reduce carbon emissions. "Climate change is there with a huge impending economic cost for us all," the Prime Minister said before the release of Ross Garnaut’s final report. […]

Australian: AUSTRALIANS should replace beef and lamb on the dinner table with kangaroo to fight climate change, Kevin Rudd’s chief climate change adviser says. Professor Ross Garnaut has suggested in his final report on climate change that the nation’s farmers should switch to the low-emission meat. He also suggests Australian families should give […]

Guardian: When it comes to climate change, the scientific evidence has to be at the core of any decision-making. Governments need to understand the consequences of choosing particular targets, but they also need to understand what will happen if targets are missed or if they cannot be agreed on by all countries. Failures could have […]

Guardian: A revolutionary plan to produce green fuel from the jatropha plant has passed a major test by delivering its first shipments. D1 Oils, the British company behind the scheme, says it is well on the way to reaching its target of producing 1,000 tonnes of crude jatropha oil by December. "We are pleased […]

Guardian: The Amazonian rain forest burns as a result of fires started by farmers in Rondonia state, Brazil Photo: Stephen Ferry/Getty Brazil’s new environment minister, Carlos Minc, announced this week that he will be pressing for criminal charges against 100 of the worst individuals or companies responsible for most of the deforestation since 2005. […]

Guardian: The Republican Sarah Palin and her officials in the Alaskan state government drew on the work of at least six scientists known to be sceptical about the dangers and causes of global warming, to back efforts to stop polar bears being protected as an endangered species, the Guardian can disclose. Some of the scientists […]

Guardian: We now have only 98 months before the world enters a new, more perilous phase of global warming, and that’s if we are lucky. Glaciers around the world may be increasing their rate of retreat, but something else is also beginning to move. When was the last time you can recall a former American […]

Guardian: Just 12 months ago, eco-towns were at the forefront of the government’s plans to build more new homes and reduce carbon emissions. But now, with the credit crunch biting hard and the housing market in real trouble, their future direction looks uncertain. Ministers should shift their green focus to existing buildings — both residential […]

Business Green: New European Union rules governing the design and disposal of batteries finally came into effect last week, heralding restrictions on the toxic contents of batteries sold in the region. Directive 2006/66/EC regulates the amount of mercury in batteries to 0.0005 per cent by weight, and also prohibits the sale of portable batteries […]

Reuters: Australian scientists set sail later this week on a voyage that could lead to better data from the Southern Ocean, which plays a major role in acting as a brake on climate change. Oceans absorb vast amounts of carbon dioxide and the Southern Ocean between Australia and Antarctica plays the greatest role of […]

Guardian: Britain must "hold fast" to its green agenda despite the economic crisis, the shadow environment secretary insisted today. Citing the current global economic problems reverberating in Britain, Peter Ainsworth told delegates at the Conservative conference in Birmingham that efforts to tackle the financial meltdown had to go hand in hand with tough commitments […]

Reuters: Wind turbines do not drive birds from surrounding areas, British researchers said on Wednesday, in findings which could make it easier to build more wind farms. Conservation groups have raised fears that large birds could get caught in the turbines and that the structures could disturb other species. But scientists found only […]