Scientists say government’s approach to emissions cutting is ‘high risk’ and reliant on ‘immature technologies’
New Zealand’s ambitious plan to reach net zero emissions by 2050 is at risk of being derailed, as the government backslides on climate policies, new figures show.
In 2019, the Labour government passed landmark climate legislation, committing the nation to reducing its carbon emissions to net zero by 2050 and meeting its commitments under the Paris climate accords. It requires future governments to detail how New Zealand will meet its greenhouse gas targets on the way to a carbon-neutral future.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
07/18/2024 - 00:00
07/17/2024 - 19:00
Those pushing the nuclear option are making some questionable claims about the capacity of renewable energy
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Advocacy for the Coalition’s hopes to build nuclear power plants is increasingly coming with large side-orders of misinformation, not just on the speed or costs of nuclear but on renewables.
Dr Adi Paterson, the chair of the Nuclear for Australia advocacy group, has taken to attacking the credentials of CSIRO experts while going hyperbolic with his rhetoric.
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07/17/2024 - 15:24
The most threatened reef fishes are also the most overlooked by scientists and the general public. Scientists measured the level of human interest in 2,408 species of marine reef fish and found that the attention of the scientific community is attracted by the commercial value more than the ecological value of the fishes. The public, on the other hand, is primarily influenced by the aesthetic characteristics of certain species, such as the red lionfish (Pterois volitans) and the mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus).
07/17/2024 - 13:00
Snakebites, the ‘deadliest of neglected tropical diseases’, often impact rural communities the most but a new study offers hope
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A commonly used blood thinner can be used as an antidote to cobra venom, an international study has found, research that a Queensland expert has called “really exciting”.
In the study, published in the Journal of Science Translational Medicine on Thursday, Prof Nicholas Casewell described snakebites as the “deadliest of neglected tropical diseases, with its burden landing overwhelmingly on rural communities in low and middle income countries”.
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07/17/2024 - 12:12
Fourteen attorneys general petition federal emergency officials as millions in US under excessive heat advisories
Fourteen state attorneys general are urging the federal government to declare extreme heat and wildfire smoke major disasters. The petition comes as millions of people in the south and north-east face excessive heat advisories, and large swaths of the western US and Canada battle ongoing wildfires.
“The likelihood of high-severity extreme heat and wildfire smoke events is increasing due in part to climate change,” wrote the Arizona attorney general, Kris Mayes, in a letter submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday. “We urge Fema to update its regulations to prepare for this hotter, smokier future.”
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07/17/2024 - 11:11
New research has examined the fossil record going back 66 million years and tracked changes to mammalian ecosystems and species diversity on the North American continent.
07/17/2024 - 11:09
Researchers have analysed data from 127 studies to reveal 'thresholds' for when logged rainforests lose the ability to sustain themselves. The results could widen the scope of which forests are considered 'worth' conserving, but also show how much logging degrades forests beyond the point of no return.
07/17/2024 - 11:00
Three restaurant owners share their experiences feeding people – and leveraging their positions to tell humanizing stories
As some of the most visible Palestinian establishments in American cultural life, Palestinian restaurants have found themselves thrust into the spotlight in a new way over the last nine months of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
Some have rejoiced at finally being able to list themselves on Google as Palestinian, as opposed to the more vague Middle Eastern or Mediterranean, and found a new customer base in the form of people looking to demonstrate their solidarity. Others have found themselves suddenly flooded with one-star reviews designed to tank their online rankings, been robbed, or even received death threats for putting their Palestinian identities on display.
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07/17/2024 - 10:00
Illuminated signs have increased nocturnal artificial light and are detrimental to the city’s liveability and sustainability, a review has found
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Large digital billboards could be turned off late at night under a proposal by Melbourne city council to crack down on light pollution and reduce its health and environmental impacts.
A review, commissioned by the council, recommended the introduction of a curfew for illuminated signs above ground level.
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07/17/2024 - 09:30
There are fewer than 400 of critically endangered species left and sighting gives ‘glimmer of hope’
A critically endangered North Atlantic right whale has been spotted off the coast of Ireland for the first time in more than a century.
Holidaymaker Adrian Maguire, from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, glimpsed the large, dark body of the whale on the surface of the water while out fishing for mackerel.
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