Predator fish gobbled twice as many smaller fish when motor boats were nearby, according to first research to show noise pollution directly impacts fish survivalA “cloak of noise” produced by motor boats is making small fish easy prey for predators, according to the first study to show noise pollution in the seas can have a direct impact on fish survival.The research, on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, showed predator fish gobbled up twice as many prey when motor boats were nearby, compared to when the natural noises of the reef were the only sound. Continue reading...

Workers at a San Diego restaurant got a shock when they found a hungry and disgruntled sea lion pup sitting at a booth in their restaurant. The pup, who was very underweight, had been sitting at the booth all night. The sea lion was rescued by SeaWorld staff who said sea lions had been looking for higher ground due to recent weather events Continue reading...

Former senior CSIRO climate scientist explains climate models in Australia were not being used to ‘prove’ climate change. That had happened long agoDr Penny Whetton had spent 25 years working on climate change modelling for Australia’s premier science agency, but in 2014 it was time to go.“I could see the writing on the wall,” says Whetton, who put up her hand to take a redundancy package in October 2014. Continue reading...

More than one in 20 people in the UK has type 2 diabetes, with consumption of sugary drinks proven to be a direct cause. Failing to tax them is irresponsibleWhile education remains a crucial factor in ensuring people maintain healthy diets, our latest research shows this alone is not enough: healthy eating is too difficult for typical British families. Too many factors – including an imbalance in the price of healthy and unhealthy food – push our behaviour in the wrong direction. Voluntary industry initiatives have not achieved enough and our food system needs a major overhaul to make healthy eating easier for everyone. The proposed, and often misunderstood, sugar tax has a role to play in this.First, what would be taxed? After all, sugar appears in many foods, including many that are good for us, like fruit. The calls for a sugar tax are actually very specific: it should be a tax on soft drinks with added sugar – the largest source of sugar in our children’s diets. Continue reading...

Bishop Auckland, Co Durham It’s as if giant hands twisted the trunk, the tree acquiring the youthful exuberance of a swirling flamenco skirtThis market town, whose fortune waxed and waned with that of the coal industry, is soon to become an international centre for Spanish art. For 250 years Auckland Castle, formerly the palace of the bishops of Durham, has been home to paintings by the Spanish artist Francisco de Zurbarán.By 2018 Zurbarán’s works will be joined by those of compatriots Dalí, El Greco and Velázquez, in an ambitious new gallery in the market square.

The debate about helmet use is too often toxic, puts off new riders and obscures more important issues, argues the founder of VulpineLet me begin with a story.Last night I walked into a pub and spotted a guy with two empty pint glasses in front of him. He had a lovely fresh third pint poised at his trembling lips. Fantastic, just what I was looking for. Continue reading...

Briefings spark speculation company might abandon plans for mine altogether amid move into solar projects worth US$16bnAdani has frozen its investment in Australia’s largest proposed coalmine until world coal prices show a clear recovery, its executives have indicated in stock analyst briefings in India.The briefings even gave rise to speculation that Adani Enterprises, which has previously flagged spending $4.1bn on the Carmichael mine in north Queensland, might abandon its plans for the mine altogether amid a huge move by the company into solar energy. Continue reading...

The biggest source of climate pollution dropped to 34% of US electricity generation and co-author of a new report says: ‘These are permanent changes’America’s use of coal for electricity dropped to its lowest point in the historical record in 2015, delivering a new blow to an industry already in painful decline.

Luke Downes captured this footage of ‘Snapper Jr’ casually floating towards swimmers at Kewarra beach near Cairns. While filming, Downes offered the crocodile a friendly greeting, but Snapper Jr didn’t stick around for long. Never fear, a wildlife expert has claimed that there are worse things in the water to worry about in that part of the world, like box jellyfish, which are capable of killing a person in under five minutes Continue reading...

Redundancies part of strategy to increase collaboration with industry and boost commercialisation, agency chief saysUp to 350 positions at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation will be made redundant, with its climate research divisions to bear the brunt of the job losses.The chief executive of the national science agency, Larry Marshall, said the redundancies were in line with CSIRO’s 2020 strategy to increase collaboration with industry and boost commercialisation of science. Continue reading...

Energy company cites low oil prices for decision to cease exploration and wind down or sell its gas fields, with CSG opponents calling the move a well-earned victoryAGL is pulling out of coal seam gas in Australia, ceasing its exploration and winding down or selling its operational gas fields.

Experts say fires like those that continue to ravage Tasmanian forests, and look set to burn for days or weeks to come, could be the ‘new normal’A national inquiry into the fires devastating world heritage forests in Tasmania is urgently needed, say conservationists and academics. The call comes as experts say fires like those could be the new normal.The Australian Conservation Foundation has called for the public inquiry as dozens of fires continue to ravage the world heritage forests and look set to burn for days or weeks to come. Continue reading...

Banks of batteries and other technologies could lower energy bills and help renewable power, says energy storage industry as it gears up for bumper year“It doesn’t always rain when you need water, so we have reservoirs - but we don’t have the same system for electricity,” says Jill Cainey, director of the UK’s Electricity Storage Network.But that may change in 2016, with industry figures predicting a breakthrough year for a technology not only seen as vital to the large-scale rollout of renewable energy, but also offering the prospect of lowering customers’ energy bills. Continue reading...

Safari Club International draws hunters to Las Vegas for four-day convention billed as the ‘Ultimate Hunters’ Market’ – highlighted by auction of animal huntsThe world’s largest trophy hunting club was on the defensive at its giant annual auction in Las Vegas as animal rights advocates and conservation experts traveled from across the globe to condemn the industry that killed Cecil, one of Africa’s most famous lions.The Safari Club International on Wednesday kicked off its elaborate four-day convention and “Ultimate Hunters’ Market” inside the Mandalay Bay luxury hotel and casino – drawing 25,000 people to the members-only show. In ballrooms and convention halls with signs describing the event as the “THE BIGGEST THE BEST”, hunters mingled with outfitters, gun makers, booking agents, taxidermists and other industry representatives and enthusiasts. Continue reading...

The US dairy industry is outlining ways ranchers and producers can reduce their environmental impact. But do the new guidelines go far enough?Brian Medeiros generally keeps the operation at Medeiros & Son simple and traditional. The Central California farm’s 2,500 cows get milked three times a day and the resulting milk is shipped to area processors and turned into cheese and butter.

From museums to civil service jobs, the attitudes that could doom the powerhouse idea are on display. To signal real change, London must now get behind proper flood defences for the northNortherners like to think of themselves as down-to-earth sorts. Few go in for the invective of the Bradford balladeer, Justin Sullivan, who denounced a “land of gold and poison” 200 miles to the south. But events are conspiring to encourage such judgments. After the Conservative win last year, a northern powercut first paused and then slowed to a crawl the electrification of transpennine rail. Severe Christmas flooding left drenched northern communities feeling that a distant government was slower to act than it might have been if the waters had been rising in Barnes. And this week comes news that the 400,000-object collection of the Royal Photography Society is to be pulled out of the National Media Museum in Bradford, and shunted down to the V&A in London.The sense of a regional divide is heightening even as a powerful chancellor ramps up his “northern powerhouse” talk, an irony underlined last week when the lead department in the powerhouse project announced it was closing its biggest office outside of London, with the loss of hundreds of Sheffield jobs. It is tempting to dismiss George Osborne’s whole scheme as empty rhetoric – tempting, but too hasty. For considerable real powers will soon pass into the hands of the new metro mayors. The chancellor has forged impressive cross-party alliances with experienced local politicians in Manchester and Sheffield who would not rush to sign deals that gave them responsibility for nothing but cuts. These local leaders grasp the progressive potential in taking charge of business, transport and skills, and they grasp, too, that it is no good decrying an overmighty capital while also expecting that same capital to fix every last regional problem. Continue reading...

Sir Andrew Witty is hoping to hold off calls for the company to break up – strong 2015 sales won’t have done his case any harmGlaxoSmithKline’s chief executive, Sir Andrew Witty, won’t easily silence the calls for a breakup of the out-of-fashion pharmaceuticals, vaccines and toothpaste giant – but the company’s decent finish to 2015 should buy him some time to move at his own pace.Underlying earnings per share of 75.7p for 2015 didn’t cover the 80p dividend, but the reinvention of GSK was always going to be the work of several years. Witty was able to promise that new pharma products, meaning those launched over the past three years, will achieve £6bn of sales in 2018, two years ahead of the original target. Breo, the drug that will lead the defence of the respiratory territory when fading blockbuster Advair is hit by generic competition in the US, has overcome its slow start. So far, so good. Continue reading...

‘We all let the people of Flint down,’ authorities tells Congress in hearing that also highlights flawed water testing practices that persist in other major US citiesThe Environmental Protection Agency warned of an unfolding toxic water crisis in Flint but was “met with resistance” by Michigan authorities, a fiery congressional hearing into the city’s public health disaster has heard.

A ground-breaking series of programmes on Kenyan TV is set to transform public attitudes toward wildlife conservationAfrica’s unique wildlife heritage attracts millions of tourists to the continent and contributes enormously to the economy. It is a tragic irony that this wildlife remains unknown to the majority of Africans.

Outdoor learning isn’t just the preserve of rural schools. These simple ideas will help you incorporate outdoor learning in a concrete jungleWhether it’s hunting for minibeasts in the playing fields or reading a book under a tree, the positive impact of outdoor learning on young people’s achievement and development is widely acknowledged.But what do you do if your school isn’t blessed with acres of green space? From making the most of your playground to venturing further afield, we’ve gathered five tips to help urban schools feel the benefits of taking learning outside. Continue reading...