Trick or treat for polar bears

NATALIE BOCHENSKI Special Halloween snacks and over one tonne of ice was delivered to Seaworld’s Polar Bear Shores on Thursday, just so its cutest resident could enjoy a day trick-or-treating.

Global warming likely to 'energise' El Nino effect, research shows

PETER HANNAM Australia may face more intense and frequent bouts of extreme weather in the future as global warming "energises" the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the dominant climate system over the Pacific, according to an Australian-led team of researchers.

Melbourne Cup frost forecast after October weather extremes

HAMISH BOLAND-RUDDER Look out tomato growers - Canberra could be heading for a rare, potentially record-breaking frost on Melbourne Cup Day, after an October of extremes.

Puppy pound photos to make you paws

JILLIAN MCHUGH A sick eight-week-old puppy was the inspiring force behind a project to keep WA animal shelters on their feet.

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Carbon target of 5% 'inadequate'

Tom Allard, Peter Hannam Much deeper reductions in Australia's carbon emissions are not only justified and desirable, but also eminently affordable, a report by the government's independent climate adviser has found.

Hunt orders inquiry over reef business links

JONATHAN SWAN Environment Minister Greg Hunt has ordered an 'immediate' inquiry into the agency charged with protecting the Great Barrier Reef, after revelations that board members held interests in companies that could benefit from expanding coal and gas production near the reef.

Authority seeks deeper cut to emissions

Tom Allard, Peter Hannam Much deeper reductions in Australia's carbon emissions are not only justified and desirable, but also eminently affordable, a report by the government's independent climate adviser has found.

Deeper emission cuts no 'pie in the sky', says former RBA governor Bernie Fraser

PETER HANNAM Bernie Fraser's seven-year stint as former Reserve Bank governor would have left him with precise analytic skills and a thick hide.

Dead birds 'not just a freak event'

DEBORAH GOUGH Muttonbirds are dying in their thousands nearly every year and much more frequently than ever before, washing up on the coast from Coffs Harbour to Tasmania.

Climate change report shows holes in Australian debate

ADAM MORTON When historians have their say on this period in Australian politics, the Climate Change Authority report published on Wednesday could make a handy shorthand - a simple illustration to underline the yawning gap between the rhetoric of the public debate and the underlying facts.

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Emissions target inadequate, says Climate Change Authority

PETER HANNAM Australia's greenhouse gas reduction target of 5 per cent this decade is inadequate and should be increased to at least 15 per cent, according to the agency set up to advise the government on climate change policy.

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SES cleans up after wild winds wreak havoc

MEGAN LEVY NSW is mopping up after another extreme weather event, with roofs torn of homes and one woman struck by lightning as severe thunderstorms and gale-force winds tore across a large part of the state.

Coalition gets new choice on emissions

Tom Allard, Peter Hannam A report by the Climate Change Authority will provide government with a series of options to lift Australia's bipartisan goal of reducing emissions by 5 per cent by 2020 but the government's policy is not to endorse any increase.

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Six injured as storms, wind lash the state

LUCY CARROLL Six people were injured, including a woman hit by lightning, as severe thunderstorms and gale-force winds hit a large part of NSW on Tuesday.

Fish stocks improve, but some species struggle

ANDREW DARBY Australian fishers are edging closer to sustainability, but a handful of wild stocks are still being damaged, according to a federal government report.

Wild weather lashes Sydney, NSW

LUCY CARROLL Six people have been injured, including a woman hit by lightning, as severe thunderstorms and gale-force winds hit a large swathe of NSW on Tuesday.

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Second line of storms hits Brisbane

NATALIE BOCHENSKI Tuesday's storms may have missed most of Brisbane, but they were by no means a fizzer, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

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Western Australia shark mystery sparks bigger questions over ocean predators

What creature would be able to chase down and devour a 500 kilogram great white shark on the sea floor off Western Australia?

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Brisbane storm warning: city 'in the firing line'

NATALIE BOCHENSKI Severe storms are drawing closer to Brisbane, with three cells in a line towards Logan, the Gold Coast and the New South Wales border.

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Smoke joins fog to make for a turgid Tuesday

PETER HANNAM Sydney's air pollution levels have again soared, this time from a combination of fog and smoke from the on-going bushfires.

The toxic lake that preserves animals' bodies

Max Ehrenfreund Near an unusual volcano in Tanzania is a shallow lake that preserves the bodies of dead animals, encrusting them in salt.

Giant beach ball bounces around London during St Jude's Day storm

Central London is not only being battered by a once-in-a-decade storm. It's also being menaced by a giant, rampaging beach ball.

Whale freed from nets off Gold Coast

MARISSA CALLIGEROS Rescuers free a baby whale from shark nets off the Gold Coast.

European ministers push for tougher EU climate goals

Thirteen European environment ministers urged the European Union on Monday to adopt ambitious energy and climate goals for 2030 or risk falling behind the rest of the world.

The Grounds pets Kevin Bacon and Bradley the lamb found in country Victoria

MEGAN LEVY Three weeks after a pet pig and lamb were stolen from their home at a Sydney cafe during a midnight raid, the animals have turned up more than 500 kilometres away at an animal sanctuary in country Victoria.

WA's bushfire-proof housing project that's designed to be burnt

MICHAEL HOPKIN Ian Weir isn’t the first West Australian ever to buy a plot of bushland and build a cabin or two. But he might be the first who is actively hoping his buildings get hit by the full force of a bushfire.

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Storm death toll rises to 13 in Europe

The death toll from a severe storm that ripped across Britain and onto mainland Europe has risen to 13, with the UK and Germany hit the hardest.

Scientists drill for answers in Antarctica

NICKY PHILLIPS Australia will lead a mission to the heart of Antarctica this summer to drill several ice cores that will be used to fill gaps in scientist's understanding of recent climate records.

Antarctic drilling project to get to core issues of climate change

NICKY PHILLIPS Australia will lead a mission to the heart of Antarctica this summer to drill several ice cores that will be used to fill gaps in scientist's understanding of recent climate records.

Antarctic marine reserves in trouble

ANDREW DARBY The Federal Government is backing away from a plan for a giant Antarctic marine reserve system in the face of international opposition.

Severe storm predicted to hit Brisbane

Kim Stephen Batten down the hatches, October's first decent storm is heading Brisbane's way.

'Black frosts' add to weird October weather

PETER HANNAM This spring's abnormal weather patterns have taken a toll on the state's agricultural sector with rare outbreaks of so-called “black frost” costing millions of dollars in lost produce.

Heavy showers overnight in Sydney trigger flash floods

PETER HANNAM The heaviest rainfall over Sydney in at least six weeks has triggered flash floods, blocked roads and forced traffic diversions.

Big emissions savings available on the home front

Gerard Wynn Taxpayer- or consumer-funded incentive programmes to push all private homeowners in Britain and the US to improve energy efficiency are likely to produce savings in energy bills that far exceed their cost, besides cutting carbon emissions.

UK braces for St Jude, a hurricane-force storm packing winds up to 130km/h

Cassandra Vinograd As winds pick up, Britain is preparing for a major storm - dubbed St Jude officially and Stormageddon on social networks - to cause havoc.

Electricity industry must open its eyes to benefits of homes installing solar panels

Rob Stokes Solar panels are revolutionising the Australian electricity market. The pace of change is faster than official projections, and the effects on customers and energy companies are profound and irreversible.

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More thought for animals than children

Kim Arlington, Heath Gilmore, Rachel Browne Emergency planning in Australia makes far more detailed provisions for managing animals than it does for the needs of children, a report has found.

Leaking toxic sludge report kept quiet by chemical giant

Natalie O'Brien Chemical giant Orica has tried to keep secret a potentially damaging report into whether the dangerous metal mercury might have been leaking off site from its former chlor-alkali plant, which operated at the Botany Industrial Park for almost 60 years.

Oil slick danger from tyres in fire

PETER HANNAM An official crackdown has begun on the illegal storage and disposal of tyres in NSW - about a week too late to prevent a huge toxic fire and oil slick in Sydney's south-west.

Bigger carbon cuts needed, report says

ADAM MORTON The gap between climate change commitments and what scientists say is necessary is underlined in a new report that estimates Australia would need to make emissions cuts of at least 27 per cent by 2020 and 82 per cent cut by 2030 to play its part in averting global warming.

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Poachers, conservation groups in a high-tech arms race

Jason Bittel Chemical weapons, cyber attacks, and DNA analysis: the war between conservationists and poachers has never been more high tech.

Health problems soar due to bushfires

Rachel Browne, Heath Gilmore Emergency treatments for breathing problems have risen sharply due to the significant air pollution resulting from bushfire smoke.

Rural homeowners need more power to prevent losses, state MP warns

HEATH GILMORE Homeowners in high-risk bushfire areas face higher insurance premiums if they are prevented from establishing buffer zones between their property and surrounding bush, the Blue Mountains State MP has warned.

It's a stud's life

Their racing days might be over, but champion stallions can still earn millions, writes Grant Doyle.

A coral concert

Jennifer Moran The Great Barrier Reef teems with colour, drama and human stories.

With that buzz in the air, it's beginning to sound like Christmas

Kim Arlington They sound like shady underworld figures - masked devil, razor grinder, black prince - and their sound has been ringing out early this season.

Lucky country

Damien Murphy The fire threat was ''as bad as it gets''. Soaring temperatures and fierce winds were preceded by an unusually warm and dry winter. But the damage was relatively contained so what went right?

When it comes to global warming, no country is an island

PETER HANNAM Because Australia's weather is so variable, linking disasters to climate change will be a hard sell.

Climate debate must stick to the science: professor

HEATH ASTON The author of a report that lays bare the connection between climate change and extreme bushfires has expressed his ''frustration'' with Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Environment Minister Greg Hunt for their refusal to accept scientific consensus on climate change.

Climate change means more severe fires: CFA

Josh Gordon and Richard Willingham Victoria's Country Fire Authority is predicting larger and more severe fires because of climate change, warning emergency service workers will have less time to recover and prepare from one disaster to the next.

Bushfire smoke sends pollution levels skyward again

PETER HANNAM Sydneysiders can expect another day of high smog levels as smoke from nearby bushfires blankets the city.

Alarming US map of Australian bushfires explained

American network NBC has been ridiculed on the web this week for graphically misrepresenting the bushfires in Australia, but it turns out they weren't as wrong as it seemed.

Barry O'Farrell to speak with Tony Abbott after army starts bushfire

DAVID WROE NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell says he wants to discuss possible compensation for victims of the State Mine bushfire with Prime Minister Tony Abbott after Defence admitted starting the fire.

Swan River dolphins feeding near toxic sediment from Elizabeth Quay

Narelle Towie Swan River dolphins are using a dredging barrier that contains contaminated sediment from Elizabeth Quay digging works to capture fish.

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