ENVIRONMENT

Despite the threat of a $1.1 million fine from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), some Aussie entities continue to gouge residents by blaming the two-week-old carbon tax for large increase in prices.

Marine scientists from different parts of the world meeting in Cairns this week are urging the Gillard government to step up protection of the Great Barrier Reef.

The first week of the implementation of the controversial carbon tax ended with an announcement by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) that it investigated and sanctioned two solar panel producers.

While the Opposition, the New South Wales government and some businesses such as bakery chain Brumby's are blaming the carbon tax for rise in prices, Australia's retail industry is rejoicing because the carbon compensation caused the sector's growth rate to hit a two-year high.

In spite of promises by Coalition leader Tony Abbott to repeal the carbon tax if the Opposition wins in the 2013 election, big polluters in Australia believe otherwise.

Australian bakery chain Brumby's apologised on Wednesday after being caught by regulators attempting to make more dough by blaming the carbon tax for price increases. Brumby's parent company, Retail Food Group Limited, apologised for the unacceptable error of judgment.

The carbon tax, despite the support by some large Australian businesses, continues to be the favourite whipping boy of the Opposition and even some state governments.

This morning, several days after the first shocking reports of a young graduate student being attacked and seriously injured by chimpanzees at a sanctuary in South Africa, the story remains at the top of the news around the world. This morning I counted 1,321 stories from just the last 24 hours.

The New Zealand earthquake Tuesday night was the biggest hit the northern part of the country “in a long time,” but the impact had been limited due to depth and distance offshore.

Scientists who are studying the Higgs boson hinted that they are getting closer to discovering the last piece of Higgs boson. The Higgs boson discovery would mean that they are closing in to one of the most important scientific discoveries of the last century.

On the second day of the implementation of the controversial carbon tax, the Labor-led government of Australia scored three points against the Opposition after three major Aussie companies aired their support for the measure.

Like what it has done to the Australian Parliament, the carbon tax has also divided Aussies as groups both opposed and favoured the $23 per tonne carbon price which started to be collected Sunday, July 1.

Divers and explorers of the UFO Baltic Sea claims that all of their electric equipments were disabled whenever they try to approach the UFO Baltic sea location. Most of their electric equipments were not working when they try to get a closer look of the said object.

A question if due process was followed was the basis in the Western Australian government's halt of the release of the Environmental Protection Authority's (EPA) approval of the $40-billion James Price Point gas project.

As the D day for the carbon tax fast approaches with less than one week to its implementation, the debate between pro- and anti-carbon tax groups as well as strategies to back or oppose the measure are becoming more intense.

Long after the extinction of dinosaurs, a giant toothed bird soared across the Australian skies, according to scientists.

What are the proper limits of religious freedom? Marianne Thieme, leader of the Party for the Animals in the Netherlands, offers this answer: "Religious freedom stops where human or animal suffering begins.

BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) is making Western Australian history by moving headquarters to Brookfield Place Tower. With 3,000 BHP employees, the relocation is the state's largest office transfer in its history.

A global economy that supports healthier environment will be the wave of the future, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said on Friday, which in turn would eradicate poverty and generate more employment opportunities at the same time.

Adorable Aussie Cody Simpson has girls around the globe in full-on swoon as they scramble to grab his new EP, Preview to Paradise, today and catch him on tour with Big Time Rush this summer. But who's really got him good? His dog, Buddy.

British animal protection organization Viva says the opening ceremony at the Olympic Games will be "wrong on so many levels."

It may have been one of the longest relationships on record. But two Giant Turtles at the Austrian Zoo have fallen out of love and are making it clear they want to go their separate ways.

Although the Tuesday temblor that shook Victoria was the biggest earthquake to rock the state in three decades, the buildings suffered only superficial damage. A construction expert explained the strength of Victoria buildings to changes in building regulations in the aftermath of the magnitude 5.6 earthquake in Newcastle in 1989 that killed 13 people.

Cracks are showing on the Coalition climate change stand as the party's support for the 20 per cent Renewable Energy Target (RET) was questioned by backbenchers.

The Aussies got #Melbquake and #earthquake trending on Twitter following the Melbourne earthquake around 8:55 Tuesday night. Australians are relieved to know that the quake did not result in any major damages or injuries. The Aussies are now moving on to the humorous side of the news.

The Melbourne earthquake Tuesday night, the most massive tremor felt in Victoria in over a century, is described by scientists to be large and shallow, as it was very close to the surface of the earth.

Platypuses on the Australian mainland and in Tasmania are fighting fit but those on small islands are at high risk of being wiped out from disease, according to a University of Sydney study.

Australian politicians are again playing the blame game just barely two weeks to the collection of the carbon tax on July 1. Coalition Senator George Brandis on Tuesday pointed to the carbon prices as the reason behind Fairfax Media's woes.

The Gillard government has pruned to 294 the number of entities that it would collect the carbon tax beginning July 1. The list includes 34 local councils with landfill sites or produce natural gas.