Latest environment news
Great Barrier Reef 'has fried' in worst bleaching event
7:34 AM The worst coral bleaching event on record is destroying the most pristine part of the Great Barrier Reef in a "slow-motion train wreck", a reef expert has warned.
Has Victoria's moment in the sun finally arrived?
![Phil Galloway, managing director of Syncline Energy, has big plans to bring solar energy to Bannerton in Victoria and ...](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/r/s/l/q/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnrs6l.11u395.png/1459136476553.jpg)
Tom Arup Phil Galloway stands in an open field between vast stretches of almond trees. The empty land is marginal and the sun above it bright.
The heat is on as record temperatures spark fears for future
![Each of the past 10 months has been a record for global surface temperatures, a US agency says.](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/h/3/w/h/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnl7do.11u395.png/1458894788535.jpg)
Peter Hannam The recent spike in global temperatures have brought a two-degree warming world a bit closer, placing in sharper focus what needs to be done to avoid dangerous climate change.
Cans, bottles, now shells? Mussel recycling gives Port Phillip a boost
![At the Little Creatures brewery in Geelong the restaurant is recycling the used mussel shells for use in a project to ...](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/r/q/e/4/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnr1g7.11u395.png/1459132749120.jpg)
Tom Arup These days bottles, cans, newspapers, printer cartridges, even mobile phones, can be recycled. Now it seems shells can be added to the list.
New CSIRO document reveals scale of planned cuts to climate programs
![Larry Marshall, chief executive of CSIRO, is trying to shed 350 jobs, including many climate researchers.](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/j/4/y/r/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnodtg.11u395.png/1458688232568.jpg)
Peter Hannam One of CSIRO's main climate science units planned to slash four out of five researchers, all but eliminating its monitoring and climate modelling research, a new document reveals.
'Really good beach days' ahead after record hot March
![Melburnians have been advised to think twice about a Labour Day dip with all but two of Port Phillip Bay's 36 monitored ...](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/2/7/b/4/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnu7me.png/1459316192460.jpg)
Peter Hannam 4:36 PM Don't put away those beach towels just yet - there's more warm weather on the way that might lure you back to the beach.
Transport for NSW puts brakes on Voiceless kangaroo bus ad campaign
![Animal protection institute Voiceless' campaign challenging Australians to consider the fate of kangaroos.](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/t/w/d/s/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gntwuq.png/1459310533800.jpg)
Steve Jacobs 3:02 PM The government agency vetoed a bus advertising campaign without seeing the ads, says Voiceless.
Scientists investigate the weird genetics of bat wings
![A southern bent-wing bat in flight.](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/s/o/o/c/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnsnnf.png/1459197131340.jpg)
Leigh Cowart 11:45 PM A bat in flight is a marvelous sight – but we don't really know how they got their wings.
Qld lists contaminated defence base as investigation continues
![Queensland Health has advised Oakey residents not to eat eggs or drink milk from animals raised within the contamination ...](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/y/j/p/g/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnrtjq.png/1459071180516.jpg)
Amy Remeikis Queensland acts as investigations into contamination stemming from chemicals used on defence sites continues.
Baby wombat's miraculous survival
![Volunteer wildlife carer Lindy Butcher cares for a baby wombat, Jack](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/p/f/q/6/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnpmhd.png/1459120818078.jpg)
Clare Sibthorpe He survived the force of a car, a brain injury, a misaligned spine and severe shock, all while weighing just 400 grams.
Rain threatens Easter Sunday lunches
![The rains are coming to put an end to the fine Easter weather.](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/m/u/j/7/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnrpnz.png/1459025798069.jpg)
Eryk Bagshaw Rain will threaten Easter Sunday lunches around Sydney on Sunday, as the long-weekend's run of perfect weather looks to come to an end.
Easter no excuse for ignoring dogs' fatal chocolate threat
![Veterinary surgeon Amanda Nott with her colleague's 8-year-old whippet Tilda, who was saved from a likely lethal amount ...](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/q/w/8/t/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnqila.png/1458977819086.jpg)
Matthew Raggatt Lauren Grey had done almost everything right – the 200 grams of dark chocolate was inside its own bag, inside a bigger shopping bag, stored one metre off the ground in a wardrobe in her bedroom.
Court rules Japanese aquarium had no right to stop Australian activist from entering
![An albino dolphin swims in a tank at the Taiji Whale Museum.](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/r/d/b/z/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnrdbl.png/1458914550084.jpg)
Activist says she hopes the win will help get the albino dolphin Angel out of her 'tiny tank'.
Hazard reduction burns harm wildlife
![The ANU's Dr Annabel Smith has found current approaches to controlled hazard-reduction burns could have adverse effects ...](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/q/i/w/g/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnq1p4.png/1458892224048.jpg)
Clare Sibthorpe An 11-year study has found burns to protect humans could be stopping our four-legged friends from making babies.
Wind farm commissioner insists he's providing good value for taxpayers
![The national wind farm commissioner, Andrew Dyer.](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/n/1/e/g/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnl6du.png/1458862405488.jpg)
Tom Arup Australia's wind farm commissioner insists taxpayers are getting good value for money out of his $200,000 a year salary.
Japan's whaling fleet returns from Antarctic hunt with 333 whales
![The Japanese whaling fleet operating in the Southern Ocean in 2013.](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/q/r/s/x/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnqrrf.png/1459219314319.jpg)
Japan's whaling fleet returned on Thursday from its Antarctic hunt after a year-long suspension with a take of more than 300 whales, including pregnant females.
Ten things you should not feed your dog
![Vet Dr Cherlene Lee and her dogs, (black dog) Obi-Wan-Kenobi and Siao Chuwho has twice needed treatment after eating ...](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/q/0/v/r/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnmy61.png/1458782816553.jpg)
Kim Arlington It's a time of year kids love: Hunting down chocolate Easter eggs. But for your pooch, it can be fatal.
Have you seen this quoll?
![An eastern quoll put on a show for the cameras when it was released at Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary by Meegan ...](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/7/v/l/e/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnq08s.png/1458887084067.jpg)
Katie Burgess Having arrived only a few weeks ago, a number of quolls have already escaped.
Prime suspect in koala's murder had the means and motive
![A koala living at the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens, named Killarney, died on March 3 after it's believed the ...](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/p/y/6/k/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnpy6y.png/1458768275456.jpg)
Ian Lovett The murder was grisly. A koala disappeared from the Los Angeles Zoo one night this month. Its body, mangled and bloody, was found the next morning on a nearby hillside.
Plenty sleight of hand in Malcolm Turnbull's clean power play
![The government has announced a new clean energy innovation fund, but will cut money for renewable energy elsewhere.](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/l/i/g/7/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnpn7j.png/1458774712645.jpg)
Tom Arup Whatever they are paying the spinners in the Turnbull government it is not enough.
'Stupid' omission from water inquiry
!["Reckless and stupid": Jeremy Buckingham says climate change should be front and centre of the investigation.](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/5/t/8/x/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnp1t0.png/1458724460190.jpg)
Peter Hannam The Coalition and Shooters and Fishers joined forces to keep two words quiet in the terms of a water inquiry.
Activists stop traffic to scale Coke sign
![Greenpeace protestors on top of the Coca Cola sign in Kings Cross waiting to drop a banner criticising the Coca Cola ...](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/o/z/r/k/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gniuyt.png/1458714849461.jpg)
Lucy Cormack Two Greenpeace activists have been arrested after causing a road closure when they attempted to cover the Kings Cross Coca-Cola sign with a banner calling on the NSW government to reject an industry-backed container deposit scheme supported by Coca-Cola Amatil.
Stop CSIRO cuts until after election: Labor
![Labor Senator Kim Carr has demanded the government delay CSIRO cuts until after the election.](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/2/0/h/z/m/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnp1ws.png/1458706241439.jpg)
Adam Morton and Tom Arup Labor has demanded the government stop the CSIRO axing 350 science jobs until after the election, and pledged to investigate the management and culture of the century-old organisation if it wins power.
Green power projects to falter under Coalition plan, critics say
![Green power advocates are concerned any merger between the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and ARENA will mean only ...](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/2/r/2/8/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnooqi.png/1458697593953.jpg)
Nicole Hasham New ideas and innovation in renewable energy may "wither" if the Turnbull government forces vulnerable new ventures to borrow funds rather than receive grants, green power advocates say.
Canberra blanketed by smog
![A hazy start in Canberra, 23 March 2016](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/p/1/y/m/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnozqe.png/1458689872256.jpg)
Katie Burgess Flights in and out of Canberra delayed after smoke and fog blanketed the capital.
PM's green shift defies Abbott claim of no change
![Family feud Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott.](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/o/2/s/5/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnoc4k.png/1459215132134.jpg)
Mark Kenny Malcolm Turnbull has added to the growing differences between his administration and the previous Abbott government by reversing Coalition hostility to forward-leaning climate change policy through the creation of a new $1 billion clean energy innovation fund.
$3.3m study is 'money down the drain'
![National health research body says more study is needed into windfarms.](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/j/7/v/v/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnnzhe.png/1458664634152.jpg)
Peter Hannam A leading public health researcher says a study to investigate the effects of wind farms on human health is a waste of time and money.
Environmentalists call for coal mines to 'pay to pollute'
![Environmentalists are calling for the NSW government to include coal mining in its "pay to pollute" scheme.](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/z/0/s/q/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnod10.png/1458682613501.jpg)
Anne Davies Environmentalists are calling for the NSW government to include coal mining in its "pay to pollute" scheme after analysis revealed the industry is responsible for high levels of pollutants in the waterways including arsenic, lead, and selenium.
Wet and mild Easter long weekend
![Charlie was unimpressed with the weather during the Royal Easter Show last year.](/web/20160330062229im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/o/6/x/v/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gno3nv.png/1458624929741.jpg)
Peter Hannam A senior forecaster with the Bureau of Meteorology says Easter holidaymakers can expect showers and sun over the long weekend break.