The country needs more gas in the short term because of our sluggish transition to renewables – but at worst the shortfall may lead to some rationing
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The gas industry has been unleashing a firehose of rhetoric over concerns Australia could suffer a shortage of gas.
In a series of articles in the Australian newspaper under the banner “Gas Crisis”, industry figures and the Coalition’s energy spokesperson, Ted O’Brien, claim a shortage is going to “destroy” the economy, cause a “crippling energy crisis” and have Australians suffering the ignominy of “cold showers”.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
08/28/2024 - 10:00
08/28/2024 - 09:00
Windell Curole built a vast levee to protect his district from disappearing into the ocean – despite federal resistance to his plan. Had he listened to officials, he says, ‘we wouldn’t have a community’
On 29 August 2021, as Hurricane Ida made landfall on Louisiana’s Gulf coast, 69-year-old Windell Curole sought refuge with others at the three-story Lady of the Sea hospital in Galliano, located 90 minutes south-west of New Orleans.
As Curole looked out the window, watching Ida’s rain hammer the grass, a question tormented him: would the levees that encircled his community be tall enough to hold back the water that was surging toward them?
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08/28/2024 - 08:00
Food prices have increased 22% in last four years and people are feeling the pinch. Readers share their strategies to cope
Back in 2019, $100 worth of groceries may have lasted a week for a household of two. Today, that same $100 will probably only buy enough groceries to stretch for a couple of days.
In the last four years, food prices have increased a whopping 22%, and consumers are feeling the pinch.
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08/28/2024 - 07:26
Toymaker hopes to bring down oil-based plastic it uses by paying up to 70% more for certified renewable resin to encourage production
Lego plans to make half the plastic in its bricks from renewable or recycled material rather than fossil fuels by 2026, in its latest effort to ensure its toys are more environmentally friendly.
The Danish company last year ditched efforts to make bricks entirely from recycled bottles because of cost and production issues. At the moment, 22% of the material in its colourful bricks is not made from fossil fuels.
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08/28/2024 - 06:00
We want to hear from people across the US who have been affected by the volatility of the home insurance market
We know the industry is in an enormous state of flux amid the climate crisis and increasingly severe wildfires, floods, hurricanes and other natural disasters. Companies have been raising premiums, cancelling or refusing to issue policies, and pulling out of entire markets. The Guardian US has reported on the crippling effects for homeowners in Florida, California, Louisiana and beyond.
We want to hear from people from all parts of the country caught up in this. Have you lost your policy, and what did you do? Has the cost of insurance influenced where you chose to live or your decision to buy a home? Have you been forced to recover from a natural disaster without insurance? Tell us your story.
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08/28/2024 - 06:00
Records of Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz instill hope that progress under Biden could be extended
Public health advocates are optimistic that a Kamala Harris win in the November presidential election in the US would lead to further regulation of PFAS toxic “forever chemicals”, on which the Biden administration has already taken unprecedented regulatory action.
In part that is based on past actions. Last year, Harris’s running mate, the Minnesota governor, Tim Walz, signed bold legislation prohibiting the use of toxic PFAS across a range of common consumer goods from menstrual products to food packaging – a measure that is considered by public health advocates to be among the “strongest bans in the world”.
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08/28/2024 - 05:31
Reusable varieties unlikely to dent environmental impact of e-cigarette waste, even as they curb battery waste
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Vape products redesigned to avoid a legislative crackdown on single-use devices may do little to dent the environmental scourge of e-cigarette waste, experts have warned.
Manufacturers have been evolving their products after the UK government introduced a ban on disposables, due to come into force in April 2025.
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08/28/2024 - 05:24
Companies need regulator go-ahead on significant increases or they will not be able to aid plan, says Water UK
Labour’s key housebuilding target will not be met if water companies are blocked from significantly increasing bills, the leader of an industry group has said.
The government has promised to build 1.5m homes during this parliament as a central pillar to its plans to end the housing crisis.
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08/28/2024 - 03:55
Carmaker increases portfolio to 14 and will also launch challenge in large and luxury vehicle sectors
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The carmaker Hyundai has said that it will double the range of its hybrid car models amid a wider slump in consumer demand for “pure” electric vehicles.
Hyundai, which is increasing the number of hybrid vehicles in its portfolio to 14, also plans to move beyond making compact and mid-size electric vehicles (EVs) and challenge in the large and luxury vehicle sectors.
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08/28/2024 - 03:40
Experts say trend is because of failure by successive governments to approve releases despite promises
“Beaver bombing”, covertly releasing beavers into the countryside, is increasing in England because successive governments have not fulfilled promises to permit some planned wild releases, conservationists are warning.
Beavers now live freely on river systems across swaths of southern England, and conservationists are calling on Labour to allow official releases of free-living beavers and produce a national strategy to maximise the biodiversity and flood alleviation benefits delivered by the industrious mammals.
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