Lead Story
Renewables overtake coal for the first time on a monthly basis in Australia's main electricity grid
Renewable energy -- a combination of solar, wind, hydro and biomass -- generated 8.48 terawatt-hours in September, claiming a record 48.8% share of generation in Australia's National Electricity Market and edging out coal's 47.6% share for the first time on a monthly basis. Victoria produced its lowest amount of coal power since the market's creation in 1998, while Tasmania set a wind-generation record, with the Cattle Hill wind farm delivering a monthly capacity factor of 67.9% -- higher than many coal generators -- marking a symbolic turning point in the country's energy transition.
Read more →Lead Story
Renewables overtake coal for the first time on a monthly basis in Australia's main electricity grid
Renewable energy -- a combination of solar, wind, hydro and biomass -- generated 8.48 terawatt-hours in September, claiming a record 48.8% share of generation in Australia's National Electricity Market and edging out coal's 47.6% share for the first time on a monthly basis. Victoria produced its lowest amount of coal power since the market's creation in 1998, while Tasmania set a wind-generation record, with the Cattle Hill wind farm delivering a monthly capacity factor of 67.9% -- higher than many coal generators -- marking a symbolic turning point in the country's energy transition.
World's largest population of critically endangered kākāriki karaka soars to nearly 300 birds in Nelson sanctuary
A joint annual survey at Brook Waimārama Sanctuary near Nelson, New Zealand counted close to 300 kākāriki karaka (orange-fronted parakeets) on September 17 -- almost 100 more than the previous year's tally and enough to confirm the sanctuary now holds the world's largest population of the critically endangered species. Recovery programme lead Wayne Beggs called the jump a strong indicator of continued population growth for a bird once reduced to only a few hundred individuals in the wild.
Read more →World's largest population of critically endangered kākāriki karaka soars to nearly 300 birds in Nelson sanctuary
A joint annual survey at Brook Waimārama Sanctuary near Nelson, New Zealand counted close to 300 kākāriki karaka (orange-fronted parakeets) on September 17 -- almost 100 more than the previous year's tally and enough to confirm the sanctuary now holds the world's largest population of the critically endangered species. Recovery programme lead Wayne Beggs called the jump a strong indicator of continued population growth for a bird once reduced to only a few hundred individuals in the wild.
Predator control drives rats and stoats to near-undetectable levels across 74,000 hectares of Kahurangi National Park
The Department of Conservation announced on September 15 that a predator control operation across the Cobb Valley and Wharepapa/Mount Arthur area of Kahurangi National Park -- covering roughly 73,846 hectares -- has pushed rodent and stoat numbers to almost undetectable levels. Friends of Flora volunteers checked 1,342 trap boxes across the Flora area and found just a single rat, caught in a toxin exclusion zone around a hut, while tracking tunnels placed across the wider operation area recorded no rodent footprints at all, protecting one of the region's key biodiversity hotspots ahead of the breeding season.
Read more →Predator control drives rats and stoats to near-undetectable levels across 74,000 hectares of Kahurangi National Park
The Department of Conservation announced on September 15 that a predator control operation across the Cobb Valley and Wharepapa/Mount Arthur area of Kahurangi National Park -- covering roughly 73,846 hectares -- has pushed rodent and stoat numbers to almost undetectable levels. Friends of Flora volunteers checked 1,342 trap boxes across the Flora area and found just a single rat, caught in a toxin exclusion zone around a hut, while tracking tunnels placed across the wider operation area recorded no rodent footprints at all, protecting one of the region's key biodiversity hotspots ahead of the breeding season.
Antarctic ozone hole shrinks for second year running as Kigali Amendment marks a decade of progress
The World Meteorological Organization reports that the 2025 Antarctic ozone hole was among the smallest since the early 1990s, the second consecutive year it has fallen significantly below the 1990-2010 average, with WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo calling it "an environmental success story." The milestone coincides with the 10th anniversary of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which brought ozone-damaging hydrofluorocarbons under treaty control; the WMO now projects the ozone layer will return to 1980 levels globally by about 2040, with China alone reporting it has eliminated some 720,000 tonnes of ozone-depleting substances since 1991.
Read more →Antarctic ozone hole shrinks for second year running as Kigali Amendment marks a decade of progress
The World Meteorological Organization reports that the 2025 Antarctic ozone hole was among the smallest since the early 1990s, the second consecutive year it has fallen significantly below the 1990-2010 average, with WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo calling it "an environmental success story." The milestone coincides with the 10th anniversary of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which brought ozone-damaging hydrofluorocarbons under treaty control; the WMO now projects the ozone layer will return to 1980 levels globally by about 2040, with China alone reporting it has eliminated some 720,000 tonnes of ozone-depleting substances since 1991.
FDA approves first targeted therapy nearly doubling survival in metastatic pancreatic cancer
The FDA approved Revolution Medicines' Rasonque (daraxonrasib) on August 26 as the first-in-class targeted therapy for adults with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma, a cancer that kills seven of eight patients within five years. In the trial supporting approval, patients taking Rasonque had a median overall survival of 13.2 months, compared with 6.7 months on standard chemotherapy -- a 60% reduction in the risk of death -- marking what oncologists called a long-awaited advance for one of the deadliest common cancers.
Read more →FDA approves first targeted therapy nearly doubling survival in metastatic pancreatic cancer
The FDA approved Revolution Medicines' Rasonque (daraxonrasib) on August 26 as the first-in-class targeted therapy for adults with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma, a cancer that kills seven of eight patients within five years. In the trial supporting approval, patients taking Rasonque had a median overall survival of 13.2 months, compared with 6.7 months on standard chemotherapy -- a 60% reduction in the risk of death -- marking what oncologists called a long-awaited advance for one of the deadliest common cancers.