Two years after Morwell was blanketed in smoke from the Hazelwood fire, environmental charges have been laid against the mine’s operators. But the process should be more open and democratic - and quicker.
South Africa has made promises to decarbonise but is hugely reliable on coal - so this is difficult.
Shutterstock
More than half of the remaining habitat for Queensland’s southern black-throated finches is potentially subject to mining development. If these mines go ahead, it will be bad news for these birds.
The U.S. oil industry is in the doldrums, but there’s not much the next (or current) president can do about it.
www.shutterstock.com
Do fossil fuels need saving from efforts to combat climate change? The Australian government seems to think so, but that sort of thinking is out of date.
Titanium ore can be used to develop lithium ion batteries and supercapacitors, which can aid South Africa’s energy problems.
Shutterstock
Noelle Eckley Selin, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Amanda Giang, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Politicians rail against the EPA, but economic analysis shows the health benefits of mercury controls – including both higher IQ and heart health – are worth billions of dollars a year.
A golden-tailed gecko – one of the inhabitants of the Brigalow Belt.
Eric Vanderduys
How do you balance coal and conservation? New research from Queensland hints at an answer.
Prime Minister Bob Hawke opening the General Assembly of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Perth, November 1990.
National Archives of Australia
The National Archives of Australia today released selected federal cabinet records for 1990 and 1991. They reveal intense battles over Australia’s domestic climate targets and, above all, a palpable determination that Australia not damage its coal revenue.
Activists want the Carmichael mine stopped. But what does the law say?
While low emissions technology might help coal, there are plenty of other energy sources competing in the post-Paris climate race.
Coal image from www.shutterstock.com
Despite robust global economic growth over the past two years, worldwide carbon emissions from fossil fuels grew very little in 2014, and might even fall this year.
Renewable sources of energy are already more cost-competitive than coal-fired power plants with carbon capture.
rpeschetz/flickr
New analysis reveals carbon capture at coal power plants is significantly more expensive than thought, making renewables and natural gas power generation more attractive.
Gas is the solution to some but not all our problems.
magnascan