Australian researchers have announced the first mammalian species to have been driven extinct by man-made climate change, with the loss of a rodent known as the Bramble Cay melomys, also known as the mosaic-tailed rat. First documented in 1845, this species was found only on the Great Barrier Reef’s Bramble Cay, a tiny coral cay with an average area of only 8.9-acres (3.62-hectares). The creatures have not been seen since 2009, and a recent attempt to search for individuals came up empty-handed.
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A great deal of the carbon dioxide that our industry produces can be extracted at the source before it gets into the atmosphere, where it would otherwise act as a greenhouse gas, trapping solar radiation before it can radiate back out into space. While the gas can be trapped, storage becomes an issue, especially given the sheer tonnage that is emitted by power plants and factories across the globe. But a new process may allow CO2 to be processed into solid rocks, made up of stable compounds that won’t enter the atmosphere.
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A new report from the U.K’s Guardian newspaper has unveiled that Peabody Energy, the U.S.’s largest coal producer, was actively funding over two dozen groups that advocated a policy of climate change denial, including various trade associations, corporate lobby groups, and conservative think-tanks. While long suspected by environmental groups, Peabody’s role in climate change denial was uncovered when the company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in April.

“These groups collectively are the heart and soul of climate denial,” says Climate Investigation Center founder Kert Davies, referring to the groups funded by the coal giant. “It’s the broadest list I have seen of one company funding so many nodes in the denial machine.”
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