Noise
Wind farms to pay fee and will be regulated for noise
Sean Nicholls, Ben Cubby LARGE wind farms will be licensed and their noise emissions regulated by the Environment Protection Authority under a plan to treat them as potential polluters like other industries.
Wind industry rejects calls for stiffer noise controls
Wind farms don’t need further rules about noise levels because the existing regulations are among the toughest in the world, a Senate hearing has been told.
Scepticism over Hazzard's audit of wind farm noise
Josephine Tovey THE state government will conduct a six-month noise audit at three wind farms, despite protests from the industry and opposition that doing so is unnecessary and a waste of taxpayer money.
Ignore carbon tax noise: Garnaut
Daniel Hurst The federal government's economic adviser on climate change has urged the community not to judge the controversial carbon tax proposal until all details are on the table.
Swarmageddon to hit US after cicadas awake
The US east coast is bracing for a cacophonous summer as hordes of flying insects emerge for a once-in-a-generation phenomenon popularly known as "Swarmageddon".
Companies face uncertainty over wind farm rules
Peter Hannam As much as $3 billion in wind farm investments may be diverted elsewhere as the state government dithers over guidelines and reporting procedures, developers and suppliers say.
I love them, but we can't have them everywhere: Premier on wind farms
Tom Arup Premier Denis Napthine has declared his personal love for wind turbines, but says his government's restrictions to where they can be built won't change.
Tiny Bulga wins day against mining Goliath
Ben Cubby, Sam Rigney The tiny NSW town of Bulga has won a three-year battle against mining giant Rio Tinto when a court overturned a state government-endorsed decision to allow it to dig an open-cut coalmine next to the...
Meteor shower over Russia sees meteorites hit Earth
More than 500 people were injured when a meteorite shot across the sky and exploded over central Russia on Friday, sending fireballs crashing to Earth, shattering windows and damaging buildings.
Red alert: the town predicting the weather
Peter Hannam An outback town meaning 'place of little water' is being watched closely by experts tracking Australia's record-breaking heatwave.
High drama: Qantas python's flying circus
Eamonn Duff QANTAS had its very own dramatic 'snakes on a plane' episode on Thursday when a three-metre python joined passengers onboard an early morning flight bound for Papua New Guinea.
Stranded whales break free from Hudson Bay ice
The dozen trapped orcas swam free after changing weather conditions cracked the sea ice in northern Canada
Dead in the water: O'Farrell buries coal seam gas plans
Sean Nicholls THE NSW government has caved in to community and political pressure over coal seam gas, announcing a ban on all activity within two kilometres of residential areas and industry clusters, such as...
Five degrees hotter?
Adam Morton, Ben Cubby, Tom Arup and Nicky Phillips The average global temperature, for night and day, is now 19 degrees. If that doesn't sound much, consider it this way: an average day on Earth is 35 per cent hotter than it was during the 20th...
Obama serious on climate change, out-going EPA chief says
The departing chief of the US Environmental Protection Agency, Lisa P. Jackson, says she cringes whenever she is asked if President Barack Obama is truly serious about confronting climate change.
Burke blocks push for Ningaloo oil exploration
Tom Arup A proposal to explore for oil and gas next to the World Heritage protected Ningaloo Reef has been blocked under national environment law.
Leviathan: how Sandy links to a warming planet
Paul McGeough THIS one is bigger than Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm, more complex than the notion that the flapping of a butterfly's wings in the Amazon might cause a storm in New York's Central Park.
Ecuador's bold idea now as endangered as Eden's wildlife
Jonathan Watts In their first hour in Yasuni's Amazonian forest, many people will see more creatures than they have in their lives, including some that have yet to be documented by science.
Shell loses Arctic drilling race - for now
Shell's offshore drillers have lost their race with the Arctic winter and abandoned hope of striking oil this year but will drill wells before the ice closes in to prepare for a 2013 search for the...
Joint operation launched to protect migrating whales
Tony Bartlett A national operation to guard the welfare of migrating humpback whales has kicked off, with around 17,000 of the animals expected to migrate along Australia’s east coast in the next few months.
