XPost: alt.global-warming   
      
   First UK homes with hydrogen boilers and hobs to be built by April   
   Jillian Ambrose, The Guardian   
   Two properties with boilers and hobs that run purely on hydrogen fuel   
   will be built in Gateshead in April, the Guardian reports. The outlet   
   adds that "as part of its plan to cut the carbon emissions from UK   
   homes", the govt hopes to create a "hydrogen town" by the end of   
   the decade. BBC News reports that the project has secured a grant of   
   £250,000 from the govt's Hy4Heat Innovation   
   programme. BusinessGreen reports that the show-homes will open to the   
   public in April 2021 and notes in a separate piece that "hydrogen   
   emits nothing but steam when burned, making it a much cleaner   
   alternative to gas". On this note, the Financial Times reports that   
   "Luxembourg has joined the hunt for fossil-free technologies for   
   hydrogen production". Meanwhile, BusinessGreen reports that the UK   
   "saw clean power sources overtake fossil fuels on Britain's grid for   
   the first time in 2020" and the Economist, in a feature, reports that   
   Britain has "reduced its carbon emissions more than any other rich   
   country" since 1990 - largely due to the elimination of coal-burning   
   power stations. A further BusinessGreen piece reports on an interim   
   report from the Treasury published in Dec, noting that "hard won   
   credibility can be quickly lost, as the recent approval of a new coal   
   mine in Cumbria illustrates". In other news, the i newspaper reports   
   that green groups have warned the environment secretary in a letter   
   that 70% of upland peat in England could be destroyed, despite a   
   strategy announced last month to "clamp down" on the burning of   
   "carbon-rich peat".   
   In Scottish news, the Times reports that the environment secretary is   
   "pretty confident" that Scotland can meet its target of a 75%   
   emissions reduction by 2030. The outlet notes that the Committee on   
   Climate Change recommended a 70% emissions cut and that CCC chief   
   executive Chris Stark "told MSPs there are concerns over whether   
   targets on cutting emissions can be met". Meanwhile, a separate piece   
   in the Times reports that "a Scottish built tidal energy turbine has   
   been successfully deployed in Japanese waters", as part of a pilot   
   project. Politico runs a story entitled, "Boris Johnson and Nicola   
   Sturgeon's green beauty contest", reporting that Johnson will not want   
   to be "out-greened" at the COP26 summit in Glasgow this year, but that   
   "denying Sturgeon a platform would risk an ugly political row".   
      
   --   
   WHO confirms dramatic fall in new COVID-19 cases globally   
   ABC News, 15 Feb 2021 20:33Z   
   The World Health Organization says there has been a significant fall in the   
   number of new coronavirus cases being reported globally as vaccine rollouts   
   continue, while Melbourne is waking up to day 4 of its "circut-breaker"   
   lockdown.   
      
   Homeless to be evicted from hotel because WA Government won't pay, owner says   
   ABC News, 16 Feb 2021 05:46Z   
   A group of homeless people, including children and pregnant women, are set   
   to be evicted from a Perth hotel because the owner says the WA Government   
   has reneged on its promise to foot the bill -- but the govt disputes   
   it made the bookings.   
      
   Ross River virus infections reach record levels in NSW   
   ABC North Coast, 16 Feb 2021 05:45Z   
   Three months ago Graeme Stuart was playing golf, paddling a dragon boat and   
   loving life as a grey nomad. Now, thanks to the debilitating virus, even   
   simple tasks are sometimes beyond him.   
      
   [Compounding!]   
   Why is the power still out? ERCOT and CenterPoint explain outage   
   KHOU.com, 15 Feb 2021 20:41Z   
   Those in Houston and other parts of TX started experiencing power outages   
   as the grid was put under stress due to Arctic weather.   
      
     Frozen Wind Farms Are Just a Small Piece of TX's Power Woes   
     Yahoo Finance, 16 Feb 2021 01:41Z   
     (Bloomberg). Don't point too many fingers at TX wind turbines, because   
     they're not the main reason broad swaths of the state have been plunged into   
   ...   
      
   City of Abilene: 2-3 hours of water left; Eliminate all non-essential use   
   immediately   
   KTXS, 16 Feb 2021 0:40Z   
   The City of Abilene said water customers have 2 to 3 hours of treated   
   water capacity remaining at current consumption levels. "Immediate   
   curtailment of ...   
      
   Scientists say Jupiter was responsible for the asteroid that killed the   
   dinosaurs   
   The Next Web, 15 Feb 2021 22:37Z   
   One of the galaxy's oldest whodunits may have finally been solved thanks   
   to some simulation-powered super sleuthing from Harvard University.   
   In this case, we ...   
      
   CO2 dip may have helped dinosaurs walk from South America to Greenland   
   Phys.org, 15 Feb 2021 20:37Z   
   A new paper refines estimates of when herbivorous dinosaurs must have   
   traversed North America on a northerly trek to reach Greenland, and points   
   out an ...   
      
   Planet Nine Might Be a Giant Illusion, Scientists Say, And Here's Why   
   ScienceAlert, 15 Feb 2021 22:23Z   
   A hypothetical mystery planet thought to be responsible for strange orbits   
   in the outer Solar System just got dealt one of its biggest blows yet.   
      
   Light used to detect quantum information stored in 100,000 nuclear quantum bits   
   Phys.org, 15 Feb 2021 16:20Z   
   Researchers have found a way to use light and a single electron to   
   communicate with a cloud of quantum bits and sense their behavior, making it   
   possible to ...   
      
   'Probably the biggest bribe ever given': The woman who exposed Putin   
   ABC/Foreign Correspondent, 15 Feb 2021 19:30Z   
   She's a thorn in the side of Russia's strongman President. Maria Pevchikh   
   claims her latest expose confirms Vladimir Putin is secretly "the richest   
   person in the world".   
      
   [Belated:]   
   UK introduces Australian-style hotel quarantine. But one perk for guests   
   could be 'very risky'   
   ABC News, 15 Feb 2021 20:27Z   
   Nearly a year after the coronavirus pandemic began, the UK has introduced an   
   Australian-style hotel quarantine system, but with some major differences.   
      
   Calls for dedicated quarantine facility for Victoria, with Avalon Airport   
   exploring options   
   ABC News, 15 Feb 2021 19:28Z   
   Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton says it would be "fantastic" if Victoria   
   had a stand-alone hotel quarantine facility like Howard Springs, as Avalon   
   Airport is mooted as a regional site for a hotel quarantine new facility.   
      
     Travellers at Holiday Inn 'hot hotel' to be transferred after water damage   
     ABC News, 15 Feb 2021 20:54Z   
     Residents at the Holiday Inn on Flinders Lane, a quarantine hotel   
     specifically for COVID-positive patients, will be transferred to another   
     facility after water damage over the weekend.   
      
   How mental health services funded during the pandemic could be Australia's   
   missing link   
   ABC News, 15 Feb 2021 20:27Z   
   In Victoria, 15 dedicated mental health clinics were set up last year as a   
   response to the pandemic. Advocates say these clinics can save lives and   
   transform a 'broken' system, but need to be funded beyond the promised 12   
   months.   
      
   'False and fake' $36m tourism plan for North Stradbroke Island wasted on   
   controversial projects, locals say   
   ABC News, 15 Feb 2021 20:26Z   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)