Local councillor says federal Labor should not be ‘plonking giant batteries in public parks’ though no other council has refused development applications in the state
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The Brisbane city council has stymied a federal government renewable energy scheme by denying three development applications for community batteries the size of a fridge due to loss of green space.
The PowerShaper XL batteries, which range in capacity between 90kW and 180kWh, are about the size of an NBN or traffic signal box – or a fridge.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
03/29/2025 - 14:00
03/29/2025 - 10:00
In a city where surfing is a way of life, the wait to get back in the water has been agonizing. But new research offers a glimmer of hope
Alex Sinunu was used to surfing three or four times a week in Santa Monica Bay – after all, the beach was just a mile from his home and he could ride his bike there with his board. But ever since the megafires that swept through neighboring Pacific Palisades in early January, the ocean has been filled with ash, debris – and endless questions.
The massive blaze consumed thousands of homes and other structures, many of them on the edge of the Pacific coastline. Subsequent rainstorms sent tons of debris washing into the ocean, turned the water brown and raised fears about the toxins that could be coming from all the charred remains of buildings and cars – including asbestos, lithium-ion batteries and plastics.
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03/29/2025 - 05:18
This immense worm moves slowly and gracefully underground and can grow to the length of an outstretched arm
More fantastic invertebrate nominations here
The giant Gippsland earthworm already has an upbeat campaign song.
“I am a real worm, I am an actual worm,” bangs the chorus of Doctor Worm, a late-90s novelty hit by the American indie rock band They Might Be Giants.
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03/28/2025 - 23:00
npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 29 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s44183-025-00107-8
Understanding fishers’ wellbeing through participatory processes in fisheries management
03/28/2025 - 11:10
Environmentalists call bid to skirt UN treaty ‘reckless’ amid fears that mining will cause irreversible loss of biodiversity
A Canadian deep-sea mining firm has revealed it has been negotiating with the Trump administration to bypass a UN treaty and potentially gain authorisation from the US to mine in international waters.
The revelation has stunned environmentalists, who condemned the move as “reckless” and a “slap in the face for multilateralism”.
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03/28/2025 - 10:25
Why do some plants thrive in specific regions but not in others? A study explores the factors shaping plant distributions and how these patterns have changed over millions of years. Analyzing nearly 270,000 seed plant species worldwide, the research highlights the roles of environmental conditions and dispersal barriers in influencing global plant diversity.
03/28/2025 - 09:00
Body representing the gas industry says Peter Dutton’s plan is a ‘damaging market intervention that will drive away investment’
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Energy experts have expressed doubts the Coalition’s plans to force gas producers to sell more of the fossil fuel domestically could bring down prices or ease supply pressures, saying the move could also push up greenhouse gas emissions.
In his budget-reply speech, delivered only 12 hours before Anthony Albanese announced a federal election for 3 May, the Coalition leader, Peter Dutton, said that, if elected, his government would deliver an “east coast gas reservation”.
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03/28/2025 - 06:00
California Forever is back with a proposal that has some on board: using the land it owns to create a shipbuilding hub
In 2023, a group called California Forever, funded by Silicon Valley billionaires, introduced a splashy proposal to build a new city on tens of thousands acres of farmland it had acquired north-east of San Francisco.
Residents and officials of Solano county, where the city would sit, were frustrated by what they saw as a lack of local input and concerned about wealthy outsiders with big plans to reshape their region. After months of extensive news coverage and efforts to woo over local leaders, California Forever changed track: withdrawing a ballot measure that would have fast-tracked the plans and instead seeking approval through standard county processes.
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03/28/2025 - 05:00
Greenpeace lost – not because it did something wrong but because it was denied a fair trial
The stunning $667m verdict against Greenpeace last week is a direct attack on the climate movement, Indigenous peoples and the first amendment.
The North Dakota case is so deeply flawed – at its core, the trial was really about crushing dissent – that I believe there is a good chance it will be reversed on appeal and ultimately backfire against the Energy Transfer pipeline company.
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03/28/2025 - 03:00
The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world
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