New peak may be challenged as early as Tuesday evening as mid-winter bites in Melbourne
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The wintry blast sweeping across eastern Australia has set a record for electricity demand in Victoria and propelled wind generation in New South Wales to new highs, with energy authorities preparing for another power peak on Tuesday evening.
Victoria broke a 17-year record for maximum winter electricity demand, with the tally reaching 8,612 megawatts at 6pm on Monday, the Australian Energy Market Operator said.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
07/16/2024 - 02:59
07/16/2024 - 02:30
Ofwat opens cases against Severn Trent and others, days after they faced criticism over huge bill rises
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The water regulator for England and Wales is taking action against four more water companies including Severn Trent and United Utilities over sewage spills, just days after being accused of showing “contempt” to customers over the latest water bill price rises.
Ofwat said it had served formal notices on Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, Hafren Dyfrdwy, Severn Trent and United Utilities asking them to provide evidence for its investigation into companies’ wastewater management in England and Wales.
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07/16/2024 - 01:00
From ‘sea carrots’ to the rubbery luga, Rodolfo Guzmán is on a mission to transform seaweed’s unique salty flavours into irresistible bites
Rodolfo Guzmán produces a carrot-shaped pod of algae from one of the packed shelves in his test kitchen in the Chilean capital, Santiago: “Put it on your tongue for five seconds,” he instructs. An explosion of salty flavour ensues.
“Imagine getting more kids to eat stuff like this!” he says, eagerly. “Instead of processed snacks like Pringles, they could eat something healthy and delicious from the sea.”
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07/16/2024 - 01:00
Savor, backed by Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates, says product has lower carbon footprint as it doesn’t need cows
Butter made from air instead of cows? A California-based startup claims to have worked out a complex process that eliminates the need for the animals while making its dairy-free alternative taste just as good.
Savor, backed by the Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates, has been experimenting with creating dairy-free alternatives to ice-cream, cheese, and milk by utilising a thermochemical process that allows it to build fat molecules, creating chains of carbon dioxide, hydrogen and oxygen. The company has now announced a new animal-free butter alternative.
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07/16/2024 - 00:03
Scientists believe the world’s rarest whale may have washed up on a New Zealand beach. Spade-toothed beaked whales have never been seen alive; beaked whales are believed to be exceptionally deep divers, spending their time far below the surface hunting squid and small fish. The specimen has been transported to cold storage and is awaiting examination. If confirmed to be a spade-tooth whale, it will be the first ever to be dissected by scientists.
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07/15/2024 - 23:11
Former NSW Liberal minister calls on renewables sector to ‘put your mouth where your money is’ in first speech as incoming Climate Change Authority chair
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The incoming Climate Change Authority chair Matt Kean has issued a call to arms for the clean energy industry to “enter the arena” and push back against vested interests seeking to erode public confidence in renewable energy.
Kean, a former energy minister in New South Wales and Liberal MP for another three weeks, told the Australian Clean Energy Summit 2024 in Sydney the industry had the science and the financial heft to counter the “propaganda” of vested fossil fuel interests.
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07/15/2024 - 21:40
Thirty-year-old airlifted from fishing vessel after coming into contact with venomous reptile
A man is recovering after being bitten by a sea snake on a fishing vessel off the coast of the Northern Territory.
The man, a fishing crew member in his 30s, was bitten on Monday morning while aboard the vessel in the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, near the border of the NT and Western Australia.
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07/15/2024 - 19:00
As part of the annual Beaker Street festival, a celebration of science and art in Tasmania, finalist images in the festival’s annual science photographic competition will be on show at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery from 6 August to 23 August
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07/15/2024 - 18:54
Conservationists link previous fishing trips to a population crash in stocks of extraordinary species
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A New Zealand super trawler has returned to Australia to target a threatened fish amid fears previous trips may be linked to a population crash.
Conservationists are disturbed by Australia’s decision to authorise the return of the Amaltal Explorer, a factory ship that will net orange roughy.
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07/15/2024 - 17:00
When I was in school, for a few weeks every year, caterpillars were the most exciting thing happening
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On the trunks of small magnolia trees, in the corner where a table leg meets a table top, on a low damp wall in the shade – here the hairy caterpillars gather together. They travel in long lines, they sleep as close to each other as possible (displaying, it is called in science, a high level of “gregariousness”), as though the scariest thing a predator might see is a cat’s disembodied tail or retched-up fur ball, or a too-small itchy blanket.
If you take a picture of a hairy caterpillar and put it on the internet, a stranger will tell you that you can safely touch it, while another will say you can’t under any circumstances. “What about that says, ‘Touch me’?” one person will ask. “People really need to get a grip,” another will write. “The caterpillars which are hazardous to touch are the hairy Marys, which have hollow hairs with venom. The hairy Marys are very obviously hairy.” This person sounds exactly like an older kid talking to a younger one.
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