australia

BP Abandons Drilling in the Great Australian Bight

BP Abandons Drilling in the Great Australian Bight

By Andy Rowell Conservationists and environmentalists in Australia are celebrating a major victory after the oil giant BP announced that it is abandoning its hugely controversial plans to drill for oil and gas in the Great Australian Bight. The area, which is off the country’s southern coast, is a marine park and home to one […]

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    Scientists Confirm Burning Fossil Fuels Significantly Worsens Australian Drought

    Scientists Confirm Burning Fossil Fuels Significantly Worsens Australian Drought

    American scientists have just confirmed that parts of Australia are being slowly parched because of greenhouse gas emissions, which means that the long-term decline in rainfall over south and south-west Australia is a consequence of fossil fuel burning and depletion of the ozone layer by human activity. Southern Australia has been experiencing declining rainfall since […]

    Global Energy Markets Reach Tipping Point Giving Renewables an Edge

    Global Energy Markets Reach Tipping Point Giving Renewables an Edge

    Global energy markets are reaching a tipping point. A pathway has opened for climate progress, but only if governments, business and public recognize and exploit the opportunity. For the first time, a large fraction of the world’s fossil fuels could be replaced at a lower cost by clean energy, with today’s renewable technologies and prices. […]

    Australian Supreme Court Rules Against Organic Farmer in GE Contamination Suit

    Australian Supreme Court Rules Against Organic Farmer in GE Contamination Suit

    The global fight to establish better protections from genetic contamination caused by genetically engineered (GE) crops suffered a legal setback in Australia this week. A ruling of the Supreme Court of Western Australia found that farmer Steve Marsh could not seek compensation after losing his organic certification as a result of a neighbor’s GE crops contaminating his organic […]

    Report Rules Out Industry Myth That Coal Will Alleviate Poverty in the Developing World

    Report Rules Out Industry Myth That Coal Will Alleviate Poverty in the Developing World

    As the end of coal continues to loom larger on the horizon, a new report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) has blown trench-sized holes in the industry’s latest attempt to talk up its future, dismissing the myth of coal alleviating poverty in the developing world. The report makes it clear that renewable energy projects are far better investments […]

    Australians Divest From the ‘Big Four’ Banks That Fund Fossil Fuel Projects

    Australians Divest From the ‘Big Four’ Banks That Fund Fossil Fuel Projects

    Today and tomorrow hundreds of customers with Australia’s Big Four Banks will close their accounts in a statement against the banks’ investments in new coal and gas projects. These customers will be taking part in Australia’s first “National Days of Divestment Action” organized by Market Forces and 350.org Australia. Below, a slideshow of the first […]

    Drop in Demand From China Threatens Australian Coal Mining Projects

    Drop in Demand From China Threatens Australian Coal Mining Projects

    Major Australian coal projects risk losing value due to falling demand from China, where leaders are increasingly concerned about growing public anger over severe air pollution, a new analysis from Oxford University has found. Australia’s coal investments, like this open pit mine in Victoria, risk becoming stranded if China implements new energy policies. Photo credit: Marcus Wong […]

    Fossil Fuel Industry Continues to Squash Renewable Energy Age

    Fossil Fuel Industry Continues to Squash Renewable Energy Age

    TomDispatch By Michael T. Klare When it comes to energy and economics in the climate-change era, nothing is what it seems. Most of us believe (or want to believe) that the second carbon era, the Age of Oil, will soon be superseded by the Age of Renewables, just as oil had long since superseded the […]

    Gasland II: From Broken Promises to Renewable Solutions

    Gasland II: From Broken Promises to Renewable Solutions

    Sometimes people tell me, “If you cover fracking, you really need to see that film—that film, what’s it called?” “Gasland?” I’ll offer helpfully. “Yes, that’s it.” It kind of charms me that people less immersed in this issue, than many folks I know, would imagine that I could cover the topic without knowing the film […]