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"THE frequency of tropical cyclones is at its lowest level in 1500 years in Western Australia and the lowest in 550 years in Queensland, a team of researchers has found. The new study also shows the number of cyclones lashing Australia has dropped greatly since the industrial revolution, suggesting that global warming might be causing a decline in the extreme events sooner than expected. A team of scientists led by Jordahna Haig, of James Cook University in Queensland, will publish their results in the British journal Nature today"

"The UN claims climate change is 'almost definitely' caused by humans, and now Google Earth users can see the impact they are supposed to have made to temperature changes in their local area. Climate researchers at the University of East Anglia have added the world's temperature records as a layer on the mapping service. It lets users zoom into 6,000 global weather stations and see monthly, seasonal and annual temperature changes dating back to 1850."

"There is no reliable or consistent evidence that proximity to wind farms or wind farm noise directly causes health effects. That's the finding of the National Health and Medical Research Council's (NHMRC) much-anticipated draft systematic review of the evidence on wind farms and human health, released yesterday. This report takes the number of reviews published on the issue since 2003 to 20. And all have reached the same broad conclusions."

Citing studies linking soda to obesity, a state lawmaker and medical experts proposed a first-in-the-nation bill Thursday that would require sugary drinks sold in California to have health warning labels similar to those on packs of cigarettes. State Sen. Bill Monning (D-Carmel) and the California Medical Assn. said the legislation is necessary because research links sugary drink consumption to skyrocketing rates of diabetes, tooth decay and obesity.

"In 2011, when ProPublica first reported on the different health problems afflicting people living near gas drilling operations, only a handful of health studies had been published.  Three years later, the science is far from settled, but there is a growing body of research to consider."

"New figures from the Clean Energy Regulator show Hoppers Crossing, followed by Werribee and Cranbourne, are the top three suburbs by solar kilowatt capacity installed. The latest data debunks the widely circulating myth that solar power is a feel-good hobby for wealthy environmentalists. Advertisement And a new report by Roy Morgan Research shows that home solar is continuing to grow in popularity, despite cuts to incentives such as the feed-in tariff for selling solar-generated electricity back to the grid."

"For the first time ever, today's energy system can be experienced within a browser game. In POWER MATRIX Game you build your city and supply it with the perfect energy mix. If you turn out to be a good power manager, your city will be wealthy and grow in a clean environment. Install assets, trade power within your community, do research for new technologies, and make your way up in the POWER MATRIX Game global ranking."

"Australia's natural resources are reaching a crisis point as they struggle to support and sustain our lifestyles. But while degradation of these systems continues, research suggests the level of concern for the environment is falling. So could encouraging some national pride in our natural resources help improve the environment's outlook?"

"Okay, sure, not literally every 4 minutes. However, solar systems are now being installed at the rate of 360 solar systems per day, according to GTM Research. That's 1 every 4 minutes if you average it out over a 24 hour day. Really, it's more than that because, I assume, most solar systems aren't being installed outside of normal working hours."

"Researchers at Stanford University have found a way to harvest considerable amounts of electricity from an unlikely source: poop. In a paper published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Xing Xie and his team of engineers describe a "microbial battery" capable of generating electricity from naturally occurring sewage bacteria."

"For the first time, researchers have put together all the climate data they have (from ice cores, coral, sediment drilling) into one chart that shows the "global temperature reconstruction for the last 11,000 years":"

"Community renewable energy has significant political and economic benefits, but is often hindered by five major barriers. Watch this vividly illustrated presentation to learn how communities can overcome the barriers and advance more local renewable energy. ILSR Senior Researcher John Farrell gave this presentation as part of a Sustainable Economies Law Center webinar on April 30, 2013."

"Since the Waubra wind farm started generating power in 2009, the town has acquired a dubious reputation: the so-called `Waubra Disease' is now known internationally. But how much sense does it make? Whilst there's a small number of complainants among the population of 500, there are also 30 families hosting turbines on their land as well as many turbine neighbours -- including community leaders - who live happily with the turbines. Neil Barrett has been researching the Waubra situation for the past year. Whilst his attempts so far to understand the issues raised by complainants have been unsuccessful, it has become clear to him that the apparent good health and well-being of the turbine hosts and most of their neighbours deserves to be more widely known. "

"Researchers at the University of Alberta are developing a new kind of silicon-free, spray-on solar cell, which promises to be much cheaper than more conventional solar cells. The solar cells are flexible enough to roll up and use in such things as window blinds, according to CBC. They can even be applied using spray coaters used for the touching-up of automotive paint."

"Innovation in solar, wind and other renewable power is booming worldwide, especially in China, and is now eclipsing that in fossil fuels - an about-face that occurred in just one generation, new research shows."

"The Carbon Capture and Sequestration Technologies Program at MIT conducts research into technologies to capture, utilize, and store CO2 from large stationary sources. Initiated in 1989, our program is internationally recognized as a leader in this field. A major component of the program is the Carbon Sequestration Initiative, an industrial consortium launched in July 2000."

"Food manufacturers could be facing their tobacco moment as growing consumer awareness on well-being turns towards commodities such as sugar, a global report says. The report on sugar, compiled by the Credit Suisse Research Institute, highlights the need for the food and beverage industry to tackle the focus on obesity head-on by joining a diversification into new healthier products."

"The cooling of eastern Pacific Ocean waters has been counteracting the warming effect of greenhouse gases. Our research, released today in Nature, shows this natural variability in ocean cycles is responsible for the "hiatus" in global warming over the last ten years or so."

"This smart garden uses cutting-edge research in plant biology for higher yields, faster growth and more nutritious produce. It provides plants with the perfect amount of water, light and nutrients at up to 80 percent less than the cost to set up a comparable hydroponic or aeroponic system. It features professionally selected seeds that grow in the nanotech Smart Soil growth medium, ultra-efficient grow lights and electronic precision irrigation (EPI) that makes it possible to use up to 95% less water than traditional farming methods."

"The RA is a multidisciplinary research group that explores the dynamics of complex adaptive systems."