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Treasurer says government does not intend to ‘reduce emissions at the expense of people’s power bills’

Josh Frydenberg has played down the need for a significant shift in the Morrison government’s stance on climate change before the next federal election after the strong protest vote in the seat of Wentworth.

The treasurer and former energy and environment minister Josh Frydenberg told Sky News on Sunday people in Sydney’s eastern suburbs were concerned about climate change, but he said the government did not intend to “reduce emissions at the expense of people’s power bills”.

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Last batch of 50 more silver crosses ready for finishing and immediate shipping.  Due to high demand, I suggest you order soon.  I won't be making any more this year.  54,63,59, .55",B

Fish eaters advised to ‘Say No’ due to environmental concerns surrounding Tasmania’s salmon farming industry

It’s one of Australia’s – and the world’s – favourite fish but Tasmanian Atlantic salmon should be off the menu for now, according to the Australian Marine Conservation Society, publishers of Australia’s independent sustainable seafood guide.

On Wednesday, the AMCS downgraded the farmed fish’s rating from an amber “Think Twice” to a red “Say No” due to ongoing environmental concerns. The previous review was in 2015.

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According to one website, at least 300 people are still unaccounted for on the Florida panhandle in the wake of Hurricane Michael.

(Image credit: David Goldman/AP)

The World Bank predicts climate change may displace 143 million people by 2050. Environmental shifts have caused migration on smaller scales throughout the history of North America, historians say.

(Image credit: Dorothea Lange/AP)

Kate Marvel, a climate scientist at Columbia University and NASA, talks to NPR's Scott Simon about her fairy tale on climate change and reads passages from the story.

One tremor was magnitude 0.3, the level beyond which experts say fracking has to proceed with caution

A series of small earthquakes have been detected in Lancashire close to the site where fracking operations began this week.

The British Geological Survey (BGS), which provides impartial advice on environmental processes, recorded four tremors in the vicinity of the energy firm Cuadrilla’s site on Preston New Road near Blackpool on Friday.

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Scheme launched by ethical investment platform Abundance offers 12% interest

A “green” investment that pays 12% interest and involves putting your money into a major tidal energy project was launched this week.

But that high rate indicates this is a great deal riskier than putting your money into a high street savings account, with no compensation if things go wrong. So this is not one for the risk-averse.

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Home to 11,000 airmen and their families, the base sustained catastrophic damage when Hurricane Michael came through Florida earlier this month. Residents don't know if they will ever go back.

(Image credit: Kelly Walker/U.S. Air Force)

Chinese ban on waste imports is significantly affecting UK councils’ ability to collect and recycle plastic

Major problems in the plastic recycling industry are costing local councils in England up to £500,000 extra a year, as they struggle to deal with the continuing fallout from import bans imposed by countries who are no longer able to take the UK’s waste.

A survey by the Local Government Association (LGA) revealed nearly half of councils who responded (52) say China’s ban is having a significant impact on their ability to collect and recycle plastic, due to rising costs. Fourteen councils across the country say their recycling costs have increased by an average of half a million pounds a year, in part because of rising processing charges per tonne.

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Council in Kent told that disturbing the whale would breach wildlife law

It has attracted plenty of spectators during its stay. But Benny the lost beluga whale, who took up residence in the Thames last month, may end up leaving the crowds disappointed after it was announced that a fireworks display would have to be postponed to protect him.

About 15,000 people were expected to gather for the annual bonfire night celebrations in Gravesend, Kent, on 2 November to see a display set off from a barge on the river.

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President will sign memo directing agencies to review standards that conservatives argue are keeping water from farmers

The Trump administration is wading into California’s “water wars” on behalf of embattled Republicans and agricultural interests weeks before the November midterm elections.

Donald Trump signed a memo on Friday directing agencies to review and revise or rescind environmental standards that conservatives argue are keeping water from flowing to farmers in the Central Valley. He is also setting deadlines for biological assessments of regional projects.

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Big six firm to focus exclusively on renewables, adding solar power to its windfarms

Scottish Power, one of Britain’s biggest energy companies, has said it will invest in solar power for the first time as part of its move away from fossil fuels.

The big six firm sold off its last gas-fired power stations to Drax Group this week to focus exclusively on renewables, which today consists of onshore and offshore windfarms.

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In sun, sea and sand, Kirk Lombard teaches people how to responsibly fish and forage for dinner along the Northern California coast.

(Image credit: NPR)

World body urges Conservative government to ‘step up and show leadership’ on the air pollution crisis

The UK government is putting the health of millions of its citizens at risk by failing to tackle the country’s air pollution crisis, according the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights and the environment.

David Boyd said people’s right to breathe clean air was being violated in the UK and warned the crisis was responsible for up to 50,000 deaths – and devastating the lives of “many millions” more in towns and cities across the country.

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A 1,000-metre spider web and a hellbender devouring a snake are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world

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Research forecasts Iowa corn yields could drop in half within the next half-century thanks to extreme weather – yet it’s not part of the political conversation

Farmers around here are itching to go after that amber wave of soya beans, but there was that 5in rain a couple of weeks ago and then a 7in rain, and it drives even the retired guys batty.

Those beans aren’t worth much at the elevator thanks to a Trump trade war with China, but they’re worth even less getting wet feet in a pond that was a field which the glacier made a prairie bog some 14,000 years ago – until we came along and drained it.

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Photographer Christopher Thomond has been documenting protests over fracking in the north of England since 2011

After years of protest, hyperbole and delays, fracking has returned to the UK. After seeing off a last-minute legal challenge, shale gas firm Cuadrilla began fracking near Blackpool on Monday.

The drive to extract gas from the rocks beneath the UK has catalysed the environmental movement in recent years, uniting concerned local residents and climate campaigners.

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Exclusive: Watchdog examining claims plastic waste is not being recycled but left to leak into rivers and oceans

The plastics recycling industry is facing an investigation into suspected widespread abuse and fraud within the export system amid warnings the world is about to close the door on UK packaging waste, the Guardian has learned.

The Environment Agency (EA) has set up a team of investigators, including three retired police officers, in an attempt to deal with complaints that organised criminals and firms are abusing the system.

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