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$3.5bn project sent to local council for approval, which company insists is ‘absolutely a normal process’

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Conservationists claim a company owned by Clive Palmer is trying to sidestep conventional approval processes for a proposed coal-fired power station in central Queensland.

Waratah Coal, a subsidiary of Palmer’s Mineralogy, has gone to the Barcaldine regional council seeking approval to build the new power plant.

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A cold winter, a windless summer, and boom in business have combined to create an energy crisis that is hitting particularly hard in the UK. The Guardian’s energy correspondent Jillian Ambrose explains how it happened – and what it will mean for people

The gas crisis that has plunged the UK’s energy system into chaos took everybody by surprise – but in retrospect, the chain of events that led us here started almost a year ago. First, a particularly cold winter meant many people turned the heating up. Then factories and businesses started to turn up production as the economy emerged from the pandemic. Russia reduced its supplies to Europe. A windless summer reduced renewable input to the grid. And on top of all that, a fire in Kent shut down a vital power cable connecting Britain to mainland Europe.

The resulting crisis is likely to increase bills for months to come and put the wider economy under serious pressure – but most of us understand little about the system that gets power to our homes, or how changes in supply find their way to our bills. In this episode, Guardian energy correspondent Jillian Ambrose explains the origins of the crisis to Michael Safi and explores what it has revealed about the weaknesses in the UK’s power system, how they can be fixed – and how serious the impact will be on ordinary people.

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Sadiq Khan to warn time is running out to tackle emergency as he puts pressure on UK government to act

A fifth of London’s schools are now susceptible to flooding and millions of people living in the capital are at “high risk” of suffering from the effects of the climate crisis, according to analysis from City Hall, as Sadiq Khan warns time is running out to tackle the issue.

In a speech on Thursday, the London mayor is due to pile pressure on the UK government to ensure bold action is taken when it hosts world leaders for Cop26 in Glasgow in two months’ time, and add that without a significant commitment there will be “catastrophic” impacts on the environment and air quality.

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Moving water from my creek tanks to my greenhouse tanks.  By gravity, the flow rate is about a gallon a minute.  The two greenhouse tanks I am topping off need about 1,400 gallons each.  I get 1,500 gallons per inch of rain off the greenhouse roof, but I can pump 3,000 gallons out of the creek after a fast 1/2" of rain so it is good to have some room in the creek tanks in case that happens again this year. It would be nice to top off all the tanks for a change as it has been 2 years since that has happened.  Total rainfall so far for 2021 is 5.71".  Last year I only got 1.95".  76,83,64,0,B  

Attributed to climate change, Brazil's historic drought is devastating its coffee farmers, who's crops supply much of the world.

South Texas is the one place in the U.S. where ocelots breed in the wild. After the death of a male, scientists tried something novel: artificial insemination from a wild ocelot into one at a zoo.

China was lender of last resort for overseas governments seeking finance for coal projects

Xi Jinping’s announcement that China will stop funding overseas coal projects could buy the world about three more months in the race to keep global heating to a relatively safe level of 1.5C, experts say.

Although the impact will depend on implementation, China’s declaration should also help to kill off coal, which has been humanity’s primary power source for most of the last 200 years.

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City of Nelson welcomes arrival of migratory bird after 10,000km of non-stop flight from the Arctic

Thousands of migrating birds have been welcomed back to New Zealand to the sound of cathedral bells, after making one of the longest avian migration flights in the world.

Eastern bar-tail godwits, or kuaka in Māori, landed on Motueka sandspit at the top of the South Island on Tuesday, where they rested following the 10,000km (6,200 miles) non-stop flight from the Arctic, RNZ reported.

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Birds, and perhaps other animals too, benefitted from a respite in human activity in North America, research suggests

The shutdown of traveling and socializing during the Covid-19 pandemic last year brought severe dislocation to many people, but if you were a bird during this time it was highly appealing, new research has found.

The distribution of 80% of studied bird species in North America changed during pandemic lockdowns last year, the study found, with most of these species increasing in abundance in and around urban areas that fell unusually quiet due to a sudden drop in traffic.

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George Eustice says government must give financial aid to fertiliser firm CF Industries for three weeks

Food producers have warned a surge in the price of carbon dioxide will force up prices for shoppers despite the government agreeing to spend millions of pounds on bailing out a private US firm that supplies gas to the industry.

George Eustice, the environment secretary, said financial support would be available for three weeks to restart production at the Teesside factory of CF Fertilisers, a company that supplies food-grade CO2 as a byproduct to food and packaging firms.

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Gas projects must be halted if the Northern Territory government cannot meet promise to fully offset emissions, scientists say

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More than 60 leading climate scientists have issued a dire warning over the plan to frack the Beetaloo Basin, saying it must be halted if the Northern Territory government cannot meet a promise to fully offset emissions.

The Morrison government is using $50m in grants to incentivise gas exploration in the Beetaloo Basin as part of its gas-led recovery, and the Northern Territory government has already provided one gas company, Empire Energy, with partial approval to begin works in the area.

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Or you for 10, if you keep it as a pet

A garden snail is eating your roses. “Little snail / Dreaming you go / Weather and rose / Is all you know,” wrote Langston Hughes. It is night time, the snail’s time, after dew or rain – when the snail is happiest, because the conditions are optimal for slime-walkers.

The snail is blind. It knows the rose only by its smell and soft petals. You think you can hear the rasping of tiny teeth: scraping, scraping away at your roses. The snail is deaf: it does not hear your complaints. It could terrorise you for five years – or 10, if you chose to keep it as a pet.

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Former Coalition frontbencher says it would be madness to rule out a conversation when there could be opportunities for regional Australia

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The former federal frontbencher Darren Chester has declared the National party needs to have a “credible policy” on emissions reduction and sustainability which includes an aspirational target of net zero by 2050.

Chester’s intervention, which follows public positioning by metropolitan Liberals this week, comes ahead of a speech the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, will make to business leaders on Friday highlighting changing dynamics in global capital markets and problems associated with carbon risk.

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One-off levy is among options on the table, business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng tells MPs

Companies that stand to make significant profits from record energy market prices could face a windfall tax to help ease the burden on household bills, the business secretary has suggested.

Kwasi Kwarteng told MPs on Wednesday the government was considering “all options”, including looking at the Spanish government’s plan for a €3bn (£2.58bn) windfall tax on generators and energy traders that stand to gain from the energy crisis while homes and suppliers struggle.

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Xi Jinping’s promise reflects growing awareness of the climate crisis in China and falling renewable prices

The pledge by China’s president, Xi Jinping, on Tuesday to cease building new coal-fired power projects outside the country will be welcome news to environmentalists around the world. It came on the anniversary of Xi’s unilateral pledge for China to reach carbon neutrality by 2060. Last year Xi also promised that Chinese emissions would peak by 2030.

“China will step up support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy, and will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad,” Xi said in a pre-recorded video address at the annual UN general assembly.

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Level for the most damaging tiny particles is halved, reflecting new evidence of deadly harm

The World Health Organization has cut its recommended limits for air pollution and urged nations to tackle dirty air and save millions of lives.

In the first update for 16 years, the guideline limit for the most damaging pollution – tiny particles from burning fossil fuels – has been halved. The new limit for nitrogen dioxide (NO2), mainly produced by diesel engines, is now 75% lower.

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Entergy failed to rebuild a stronger system after hurricanes repeatedly damaged its electric grid. Then Hurricane Ida knocked out power for more than a week in the middle of a heat wave.

(Image credit: Kathleen Flynn for ProPublica)

The Australian prime minister and US president also discussed repairing ties with Europe in their first one-on-one meeting

Scott Morrison insists Australia and the US are on the same page on climate policy after his first one-on-one meeting with Joe Biden, as the US president presses “every nation” to cut emissions faster.

The Australian prime minister and Biden also spoke about repairing ties with Europe, after their new submarine deal – also involving the UK – infuriated France and put a cloud over EU free trade agreement negotiations.

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Experts welcome Xi Jinping’s announcement at UN as hugely influential, but concerns remain over domestic emissions

Experts and activists have welcomed Xi Jinping’s announcement China is to end involvement in coal-fired power stations overseas but called for more detail and clarity on how it will be translated into reality.

The declaration, which came in a pre-recorded address to the UN general assembly, followed the US president, Joe Biden, saying it would double climate funding for developing nations.

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