Latest green news
Carbon price's health bonanza
Fiona Armstrong Opinion The birth of Australia's carbon price legislation is predictably being heralded by the chorus of criticism that has accompanied its gestation, despite the early distribution of handouts as the government attempts to buy its way through the noise.
Perpetrators will not pay for crimes against planet
Gwynne Dyer Opinion Our leaders have washed their hands of the threats to the Earth, GWYNNE DYER writes
Carbon pricing spurs business on
Adam Morton Businesses directly affected take steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a survey of senior executives.
Green groups hold their bottle on deposit scheme
Toppy Chanthavong You could soon get 10c a pop for every aluminium can and plastic or glass bottle you recycle - if state and national environmental groups get their way.
Southern Light: Images from Antarctica
1:30am Photographer David Neilson took six trips to Antarctica to capture the beauty of the southernmost continent.
Cold snap to continue until Thursday
Tom Gillespie Brisbane is set for more cold and wet days for most of the working week, with the city shivering to below-average temperatures.
One man to make environmental call on Browse
Rania Spooner Controversial Browse gas hub environmental verdict to be made by one man after revelations that all others on the EPA board have conflicts of interest.
World loses species with death of tortoise Lonesome George
Lonesome George has died, leaving the world one species poorer.
The big questions about the upcoming carbon tax
Adam Morton 1. What difference will the carbon scheme make when households and businesses are getting so much compensation?
Baby rhino brings hope for species
A CRITICALLY endangered Sumatran rhinoceros has been born at an Indonesian sanctuary, the fourth birth in captivity in more than a century, boosting survival hopes for the species.
Carbon countdown: the big questions answered
Adam Morton Opinion We answer five of the big questions surrounding the carbon tax.
Disappointing end to Rio summit
Lenore Taylor Julia Gillard has insisted the Rio sustainable development summit made some progress, as world leaders wavered between bemoaning its wishy washy agreement and trying to put a brave face on the outcome.
Mine giant signs $315m deal to build wind farms
Lenore Taylor in Rio De Janeiro AUSTRALIAN renewable energy company Pacific Hydro has signed a $315 million joint venture with Brazilian mining giant Vale to build two wind farms in the country's north-east.
New chief to rule on coal seam gas issues
Josephine Tovey THE state government will appoint a new special commissioner to oversee coal seam gas exploration on agricultural land and will end the royalty exemptions for gas companies as part of a suite of new policies to be announced today.
Urban noise has birds in a twitter
DEBORAH SMITH YOU could call it the city slickers' accent of the bird world.
In the shadows of Rio, progress slips through
LENORE TAYLOR Brazil's population has increased 50 million since 1992, but still no consensus on how to handle environmental consequences of economic growth.
Opinion
Code of conduct ducks protections for farmed birds
Dana Campbell An investigation into duck farming by ABC TV's 7.30 that aired on Tuesday night further highlights the entrenched cruelty in factory farming practices and the need for greater transparency for consumers.
Research steams into a new age
ANDREW DARBY Australia's first CSIRO research ship capable of extended ocean voyages and carrying dozens of scientists is taking shape in Singapore.
Homes evacuated as floodwaters rise
Megan Levy Floodwaters are expected to start receding in areas south-east of Melbourne this afternoon following a day of drenching rain that has forced emergency crews to warn residents in scores of homes to evacuat
Climate warrior battles the sceptics
Lawrence Money Anna Rose believes the truth of climate change has been manipulated by vested interests.
Brown back to his roots on rescue mission
Adam Morton Former Greens leader Bob Brown pledges to campaign to save endangered Leadbeater's possum.
High-power panel to put emissions on target
DAVID WROE 'Reserve Bank for climate change' to help set Australia's greenhouse gas and renewable energy targets.
PM to push for green goals in Rio
LENORE TAYLOR Julia Gillard to push for clear standards on the sustainable use of food, water and energy.
It was a dark and stormy day
Nathan Partenza It was the shortest day of the year and also the coldest June day in almost two decades.
Gillard keen to support sustainable development
Lenore Taylor JULIA GILLARD will throw Australia's weight behind the push for new ''sustainable development goals'' which will set clear standards on nations' sustainable use of food, water and energy, when she addresses almost 100 world leaders at the Rio Conference .
Big dump of snow over ski-fields
STEVE JACOBS The Australian ski-fields are being covered with the biggest dump of fresh snow this season.
Rare white Dreamworld tiger dies at 17
BRIDIE JABOUR The ashes of Dreamworld's original white tiger will be buried at the theme park's Tiger Island after he put down by vets yesterday.
Parks shooting bill passes NSW upper house
Legislation allowing shooting in NSW national parks and reserves has cleared its first hurdle after upper house MPs passed it by 20 votes to 17.
Budding new position and bloom with a view
Julie Power WHEN Ken Boundy, the new chairman of the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, was a boy, his father would drill him on the botanical names of plants.
World leaders' Rio accord is epic failure, says Greenpeace
Lenore Taylor NEGOTIATORS in Rio de Janeiro have claimed success after finalising a statement to be issued by more than 100 world leaders who arrive in the Brazilian city over the next few days.
No wonder things stalled in this environment
LENORE TAYLOR WHEN the nations of the world gather to discuss the environment, there is almost nothing they can't disagree upon. So they end up agreeing on very little.
Goats remember kids' voices after 12 months
Mother goats can remember their kids' voices more than a year after they have been separated, a study has found.
Get ready for a wild night
Nathan Partenza Brace yourself for a wild night, with damaging winds tipped to bring down trees.
Melbourne's mini meerkats to meet the public
Kylie Northover Already one of Melbourne Zoo's top attractions, the resident meerkat family has recently increased - in both bodies and cuteness factor - by five.
Sydney wakes to bitterly cold morning
STEVE JACOBS Residents across south-eastern Australia have woken to a bitterly cold morning with frost biting hard across the region.
Creatures of the night
Matthew Higgins The club strip on Northbourne? Well, that's one strand in Canberra's nightlife. But it's not the one I'm talking about. Mine is somewhat quieter, just a tad more discreet and definitely one that won't give you a hangover.
Solar panels linked to lower power usage
Adam Morton Schemes encouraging people to install solar panels and save energy have cut household power consumption and will restrict the pace at which electricity bills increase in coming years.
Honey war sting feared in beehive poisonings
Stephanie Gardiner DETECTIVES on the NSW south coast are investigating the possibility of vicious rivalry in the honey industry after a massive and deliberate chemical attack on hundreds of beehives.
Snakes alive - if only he'd been seeing double
DEBORAH SMITH CAPTURING the Holy Grail of Australian reptiles turned out to be something of an anti-climax for Gavin Bedford.
Beekeepers stung by poison
Christopher Knaus South coast beekeepers are reeling from the senseless destruction of hundreds of hives across the region yesterday.
Thousands of bees killed as 750 hives poisoned
Stephanie Gardiner Hundreds of beehives on the NSW south coast have been sprayed with poison, with a major honey producer left devastated and a harvest ruined.
Entangled whale search underway
The Department of Environment and Conservation is searching for an entangled whale that was spotted south of West Beach, near Esperance, yesterday.
Sea Shepherd offers to police Coral Sea
Anti-whaling crusaders Sea Shepherd have offered to help the Australian government police a proposed marine park in the Coral Sea against illegal fishing.
Carbon shown to rise as trees replace tundra
BEN CUBBY In a surprise finding, researchers have shown that as trees start to grow closer to the North Pole, replacing once-barren tundra, they release more greenhouse gases than they absorb.
Obesity a threat to food security
Scientists say that overweight people are a threat to future food security.
Zookeeper killed in wolf attack
A zookeeper has died after being attacked by wolves in their enclosure in Sweden's largest zoo, various media outlets report.
Antarctica must go on heritage list - Coalition
Andrew Darby THE Coalition has put its weight behind the world heritage listing of Antarctica, giving a fillip to an environmental cause sharply dividing polar experts.
Arctic plant growth 'could speed up global warming'
BEN CUBBY As trees start to grow closer to the North Pole they release more greenhouse gases than they absorb, research shows.
Coalition backs heritage Antarctica
ANDREW DARBY The Coalition puts its weight behind the world heritage listing of Antarctica, a boost for an environmental cause sharply dividing polar experts.
Horseriders' proposed return to well-worn paths splits opinion
Debra Jopson ''MINIMAL, minimal'' is how Richard Smallwood describes the impact horses will have on the environment if the NSW Coalition honours its signed pledge to open up wilderness areas to riders.
O'Farrell's 10% of parks for hunting is 40% of total area
Josephine Tovey ALMOST 40 per cent of NSW's national parks, including several containing World Heritage areas, are on the list provided by the Premier, Barry O'Farrell, as being under consideration for feral animal hunting, and green groups fear more will be added.
State spurns green summit
Tom Arup Victoria spurns the chance to host a once-in-a-decade international conservation conference, allowing the New South Wales Coalition to sweep in and take the event.
Evicted bats spread their wings
Jim O'Rourke FLYING FOXES driven from Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens have spread as far as Bundaberg to the north and Pambula to the south, according to data from satellite tracking devices strapped around their necks.
Months of rain stays mainly on the plain
Phillip Thomson, Scott Hannaford FROM the Federal Highway it looks like little more than a distant shimmer of silver on a vast empty plain. But it is from the air that Lake George, just north of Canberra, reveals its secret.
Is the drover's day done?
Daniel Lewis An unlikely coalition of farmers and greenies is fighting to save the historic stock routes of NSW from abolition.
Murray-Darling budget slashed
Heath Aston, James Robertson THE agency responsible for the rescue plan for the Murray-Darling river system will be forced to cut staff after the NSW government reduced the national body's funding by millions of dollars.
Sydney snares park conservation event
HEATH ASTON SYDNEY will host a conservation conference, to be announced just weeks after the state government opened 79 national parks to hunting of feral pests.
Pesticide found near drinking water dam
Stephen Cauchi Pesticides have been found near a reservoir that feeds Melbourne's drinking water supply.
Coal hard light of day for dud scheme
LENORE TAYLOR Kevin Rudd's decision to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on technology to capture and store carbon has failed to deliver.
Coal hard light of day for dud scheme
LENORE TAYLOR Kevin Rudd's decision to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on technology to capture and store carbon has failed to deliver.