THE WIDESPREAD USE of tongue-ties in horse racing in Australia has recently come under fire. Proponents of the tongue-tie – a strap that immobilises a horse’s tongue – argue that it prevents breathing issues during races, increasing performance and improves the rider’s control of the horse. Over 20% of Australian horses race
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Bad and ugly bank investments and the good of a renewed economy
Two hundred people stand to lose their jobs when the Northern power station is closed down in May. Photograph: Michael Hall/Getty Images Prestige Two stories that emerged in March starkly illustrate the dangers of the old energy economy and what, with a bit of vision and commitment, the future could hold. In
Save the Planet – eat less beef and dairy?
Forget solar panels and wind farms for a minute, could a country meet its climate target by dramatically reducing beef and dairy consumption? They certainly seem to think so in Europe. Emissions from agricultural production currently account for about 25 percent of European greenhouse gas emissions. Researchers in Sweden suggest that agricultural
NSW legislation aims to stop freedom of assembly and speech against fossil fuel extraction on public or private land
Louise Somerville from the Knitting Nannas New legislation that has passed both houses of the NSW parliament ( with the help of the Shooters and Fishers and Fred Nile) allows draconian fines and jail terms to be levied against citizens who partake in peaceful and (until now) lawful protests particularly aimed
A tale of two Hunts: Greg, Jen and an awkward family Christmas
China’s fossil fuel transformation places axe over controversial Shenhua coal mine in New England
The politically toxic proposed coal mine at the centre of the election battle between Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and Tony Windsor appears doomed after its Chinese owner outlined an accelerated transformation plan away from mining into cleaner electricity generation. China Shenhua, which owns the contentious Shenhua-Watermark project on the NSW
Investment in renewables is beginning to flow again
Infigen Energy CEO, Miles George, stated that investment in new renewable energy projects is beginning to ramp up. It appears that the energy market itself is largely responsible, and rising spot and forward prices for renewable energy are creating incentives for new builds. There has been a big change in attitude
Tasmania’s bushfires: a human-made calamity on par with the razing of Palmyra’s temples
Before the inferno: giant cushion plants beneath ancient pencil pines in the Walls of Jerusalem national park. Photograph: Ashley Whitworth/Alamy As 1,000-year-old trees turn to ash and dried-out peat bogs burn, the devastation of these precious plains is a harbinger of a warmer, far less wonderful world. It is a three-hour, thigh-torturing
US blocks India’s solar power plan
Sun-tracking discs at a vast solar thermal power plant in Rajasthan, India. Image: Brahma Kumaris via Flickr World trade regulations have been invoked by the US to challenge India’s ambitious programme to expand massively its renewable energy capacity and provide local jobs. LONDON, 27 February, 2016 – India has been told that
Australia’s biggest banks pump billions into fossil fuels despite climate pledges
Coal stockpiles at the Port of Newcastle. Banks’ continued lending to the industry showed they were ‘desperate’, said Julien Vincent of Market Forces. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images Amid dire warnings for the future of coal, the lenders signed off on $5.5bn worth of deals for the sector in 2015, according to