As Ed Davey arrives in his new job, former Lib Dem leader says party must not yield to Tories on the environment

Former Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell has warned that his party's credibility will be severely damaged if it bows to Tory pressure to downgrade green policies following Chris Huhne's resignation as energy secretary.

With many rightwing Conservatives arguing that investment in the green agenda is an unaffordable luxury for a country on the brink of double dip recession, Campbell said it was now vital that Huhne's successor Ed Davey stood his ground. Echoing concerns among many grassroots Lib Dems that the coalition will fail to live up to David Cameron's pledge that it would be the "greenest government ever", Campbell told the Observer his party could not afford more accusations of broken promises.

"Liberal Democrat voters, and in particular Lib Dem activists, will not be content if there is any rowing back on the green agenda," he said. "Commitment to the environment has an iconic place in the Lib Dem approach and if we were seen to water that down, publicly and privately, things could get very tough."

Huhne, one of the Lib Dems' toughest operators who was prepared to make enemies in the cabinet to get his way, resigned as energy secretary to mount a "robust defence" of claims that he persuaded his then wife to take his penalty points for a speeding offence in 2003. The MP for Eastleigh, Hampshire, and his ex-wife Vicky Pryce, who faces a related charge, will appear before Westminster magistrates on 16 February. The charge carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Environmentalists expressed dismay at the loss of what Greenpeace called, "a vocal advocate for the green agenda in a government whose green credentials are looking more than a little tarnished".

Huhne was furious when chancellor George Osborne suggested in his autumn statement last November that the government could not afford to pursue certain Lib Dem green policies during economic hard times.

"We are not going to save the planet by shutting down our steel mills, aluminium smelters and paper manufacturers," the chancellor said. "All we will be doing is exporting valuable jobs out of Britain."

Davey, 46, the former consumer affairs minister, who has had a relatively low profile career in the party, will join Nick Clegg at an event which officials insisted will demonstrate their determination to keep green policies at the top of the government's agenda.

Clegg is due to give a major speech on the environment within weeks, before Osborne's next budget on 29 March. Lib Dem sources said Davey, Clegg and others would be working on ideas on how to raise money to pay for more tax cuts for low earners through pollution taxes, most probably on aviation.

Davey said he was "particularly conscious of the impact on consumers' households across the country of high energy bills". He made clear he would continue with Huhne's plans to increase the number of wind farms and "a green economy where there's lots of green jobs to help growth in our economy".

He added: "I am determined to work to follow on Chris's priorities, the Liberal Democrats' priorities, the coalition government's priorities and make them my priorities."

Dredging a channel in Falmouth Bay could create jobs and bring more tourists. But the dispute will test European rules to protect ecosystems

Falmouth Bay is one of England's finest stretches of marine habitat, with a profusion of creeks that penetrate deep into the heart of the Cornish countryside, and oak woods covering the coastline. It is a distinctive, unspoiled landscape, protected by strict environmental legislation and enjoyed by thousands of tourists every summer.

But the tranquillity of Falmouth could soon be disrupted. A controversial plan to dredge a channel through part of the bay to open up the port to giant cruise ships has caused consternation among conservationists. They say the proposal could devastate the bay, in particular its beds of maerl, a coral-like algae that provides homes for a variety of sea creatures that includes crabs and scallops. This view has been backed by the Marine Management Organisation which has so far blocked the dredging plan.

The plan's supporters continue to press for action, however. They say dredging will cause little environmental damage and is crucial to a £100m port development for Falmouth that will bring hundreds of jobs to the south-west, a region badly hit by the recession. And the group has powerful backing.

In November the chancellor, George Osborne, picked on the refusal to give the go-ahead to the Falmouth project as an example of the "gold-plating of EU rules on things like habitats" that was placing ridiculous costs on British business. He urged the project's approval and set up a government review of how EU directives on habitats and birds are being applied in England. Its specific remit is to reduce environmental "burdens on business". Many conservationists fear this review, to be published in March, could lead to a dangerous relaxation of rules governing EU protection of other UK habitats.

The bid to dredge Falmouth Bay is, therefore, being watched closely. "If this project is allowed to go ahead, that could set an appalling precedent for all the other protected sites we have in the UK," said Tom Hardy, a marine conservation officer with the Cornwall Wildlife Trust which opposes the Falmouth dredging plan. "Britain's marine environment is woefully poorly protected as it is. This could open it up to all sorts of new developments justified on economic needs. It is very worrying."

Other concerned groups include the RSPB which says that slackening the rules protecting Falmouth Bay could lead to other destructive projects being approved. These include plans to develop the Humber Estuary, build an island airport in the Thames and construct a tidal barrage power plant in the Severn.

Those who back the Falmouth development plan insist the environmental issues raised by the plan have no implications for the rest of the UK. "The harbour waters in Falmouth are slowly silting up," said Captain Mark Sansom, the Falmouth Harbour Master, who has led the port development plan.

"At present, the waters there are about 5m deep at low tide. We want to dredge to make a channel that is 8.5m deep. That would allow really big cruise ships to moor at our docks. Passengers could disembark easily and enjoy trips to Land's End, Padstow and the Eden Project. Cruise companies are keen to add Falmouth to their list of UK destinations. It would be good for business in Cornwall. In addition, big ships would be able to get into our repair yards. Again that would be good for the local economy."

Last year, about 22,000 passengers – from small to medium-sized cruise ships that can still get into Falmouth docks – visited the town. Some took coach tours to other Cornish destinations. Others thronged to visit shops selling local art and tourist goods. "If we can get the really big cruise ships in then we will get 100,000 a year into the town," added Sansom. "Many of these visitors will be German or American tourists with a lot of money to spend."

Dredging the harbour will also be accompanied by new dock construction and the building of a marina at Falmouth, according to the development plan. However, its backers insist that these other proposals depend completely on the deepening of the harbour waters. "This project could bring up to 800 extra jobs to Falmouth and also protect the 450 existing jobs here," added Sansom.

The project's key drawback lies with the fact that the proposed channel cuts through some of the bay's maerl beds. "Maerl is a form of seaweed that dies, calcifies and forms layers that have nooks and hollows in which all sorts of sea creatures – including juvenile fish and shellfish – make their homes," said Hardy. "It is an extremely important habitat and an economically valuable one. These beds are nurseries for crabs and scallops, for example."

The maerl beds at Falmouth were a key factor in designating the bay a Special Area of Conservation under the EU Habitats Directive. As a result, when Falmouth Harbour Commissioners applied to dredge the channel they were turned down by the Marine Management Organisation – even though the new channel would affect only 2% of the bay's maerl beds. The decision dismayed many local businessmen.

"The environmental consequences have, to date, been the only ones considered by decision makers. That upsets me," said Pete Fraser, owner of Falmouth's Harbour Lights fish and chip restaurant. "We live in extremely challenging economic times, and the proposed dredging would be a massive boost to the struggling Cornish economy."

Others disagree. "The material dredged up to make the channel would be dumped in another part of Falmouth Bay, right on top of one of our best fishing grounds," said fisherman Chris Bean. "We get lots of really good quality cod, haddock, whiting and pollock there. The bay's fishing grounds would be ruined if dredging went ahead."

At present, the channel plan remains on hold. However, a project by Plymouth University scientists – set to begin in April – will attempt to discover if the harbour's maerl beds could be relocated in the bay without causing major disruption to the sea creatures who make homes in them. If the plan is feasible, the MMO could very well relent and approve the project. However, if the maerl relocation plan is rated a non-starter by the scientists, then the project will remain on hold – until the habitat directives review is completed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

By slackening how the EU habitat directive is implemented, and giving business more influence over the outcome, the goverment could allow the Falmouth dredging – and many other projects – to proceed. "This could be the thin end of the wedge," added Tom Hardy. "It won't just be Falmouth dock development that gets the go-ahead but a lot of other unpleasant projects."

Unscrupulous firms are cashing in on confusion over feed-in tariffs for green electricity

Is the roof-top solar panel industry nice, green and eco-cuddly – or no better than a bunch of double-glazing sales sharks? This week a colleague received a call from a solar panel company promising that after the industry's court victory against the government, she could now pick up the juicy 43.3p per kWh feed-in tariff for generating electricity. She was told it made installing a system on her south-facing roof a no-brainer, it was money for old rope.

New adverts all over Google say much the same. "The government has lost!" the ads scream. The 43.3p rate is back, and if you rush in now, you can beat the 3 March deadline and earn a guaranteed 43.3p a unit on your surplus electricity for the next 25 years. If that were true it would indeed be a no-brainer. The price of panels has fallen dramatically, and you don't have to be a bright spark to work out that 43.3p a unit makes a lot of financial sense if you have the right sort of roof.

Trouble is, the high court "victory" does not guarantee that someone signing up now (and spending upwards of £10,000) will ever see 43.3p a unit for the electricity they generate. Chris Huhne, energy minister at the time, said the government will appeal to the supreme court. All we know is that someone rushing through an installation now may pick up 43.3p a unit. Or they may not. The only guarantee is that you'll pick up 21p a unit between 3 and 31 March. After that nothing is certain.

Cathy Debenham, who runs the independent YouGen website on which consumers post their experience of installers, says the companies telling consumers they are guaranteed a 43.3p rate are "despicable". The adverts are inaccurate and irresponsible and full of "false facts", she says. At least she's doing something about it; she has persuaded the biggest online sites in the industry to blacklist the cowboy solar companies that are exploiting confusion. "We know there are lots of excellent solar PV installers giving realistic information, and we want to make sure that it is their voices that are heard during this period of uncertainty, not the cowboys'," she says.

Count yourself lucky if you got the 43.3p. By the time the government slashed them, the feed-in tariffs were excessively generous. In effect, the subsidy came from ordinary households passed on to well-off homeowners with nice large roofs. That's partly because the cost of panels dropped faster than expected. The government had every duty to act, even if it went about it in a clunky way.

Does a tariff of 21p kill the industry stone dead? Not really. Debenham sees a future for the industry serving motivated individuals with a long-term view, and who are rather less greedy than the fly-by-night installers demanding super-returns. "I actually think it's a good thing that it's not silly money anymore," she says.

Some subsidy was necessary to the industry in its early stages, but tapering it is also essential.

Guardian Money was at the forefront in telling readers just how financially attractive the feed-in tariffs were. When the fog clears, and we have a better understanding of future tariffs, we will run our analysis again. But one thing is certain – the days of easy money are over.

Just as it seemed that spring had arrived early, a cruel Siberian freeze has blown in and left wildlife in a state of confusion. Balmy temperatures in January were a wake-up call for many creatures, with reports of frogspawn in the West Country and West Wales, and sightings of ladybirds over southern England, even though ladybirds are supposed to spend the winter dormant in dense vegetation or bark crevices. A few butterflies have also been flitting around, particularly red admirals and peacocks, and even red-tailed bumblebees have buzzed around, identified by the red tail poking out from their big hairy bodies.

Some hibernating mammals also broke cover and started foraging. Small hedgehogs were seen wandering around, although their larger, older fellows have stayed hibernating. A few bats also took wing in brief forays before they returned to their roosts and sank back into hibernation. But there are serious risks to breaking hibernation this early, because it uses up valuable energy reserves before there is much food to find. And now the weather has turned cold, these early risers face being seriously weakened by the time the proper spring arrives.

Not all our mammals hibernate, though. Bloodcurdling noises are increasingly heard in towns and cities at night. They are the mating calls of foxes – the male fox makes short, sharp barks and are answered by the eerie scream of the vixen when she is ready to mate.

The hype over suspected big cats at Woodchester Park reveals how we all need some wilderness in our tidy, civilised lives

Last month, samples were taken from a dead deer at Woodchester Park near Stroud, in the hope that the DNA would prove to be evidence of a big cat. The media got busy. The "Beast of Stroud," said the Mirror, while the Sun announced "Big cat has eaten three wallabies" a few miles from the dead deer. This week it was reported by the evolutionary geneticist who tested the samples that the deer was actually done to death by a not very alien fox. If you're disappointed, maybe you can do something with the notion of wild wallabies bouncing dangerously around the Cotswolds.

I don't think the English try hard enough. In Scotland they have thick-necked Nessie occasionally popping up from the prehistoric depths of her loch. The Indonesians knew about their nine-foot Komodo dragon long before it was first officially sighted in 1910. Canada has the hairy sasquatch, whose 24- by eight-inch paw prints regularly make the news. The Norwegians have their giant super-squid, the kraken, with tentacles large and powerful enough to crush a ship. And the English have … a big cat somewhere near Stroud. Our hankering for a wild, mysterious beast in our civilised midst is pretty suburban, although it gets a little more exciting when people likely to benefit from the PR describe them as "puma- or panther-type cats, even if they do add that they're talking quite small pumas or panthers".

There are so many believers in beasts in Bodmin or Stroud and other places, that the super-pussies have their own acronym: ABCs, emphasising that these alien big cats are from a long-ago time when nature ran wild, men draped in animal skins risked their lives to bring home the warthog, and Stroud was merely a glimmer in the Creator's eye. A little danger is important. The National Trust has issued a warning: "If anyone does see a big cat in the wild they are advised to stay composed and back away." Our atavistic longings are nicely encouraged by this. In spite of the paradox of a National Trust whose job it is to keep carefully managed nature showrooms neatly in the right places, their language encourages the idea of the wild. And we want the idea of wilderness and whatever it might once have harboured – just a little, and, when it comes to big cats, more of a sighting than a close encounter.

David Attenborough's nature epics have fed our need to feel that something is lurking in the shrubbery. Those bits at the end, showing how the filming was done, are becoming more interesting than the main show. The camera people look like old-fashioned heroes, albeit with incredibly intricate technology, who brave injury, death and even madness to get naturalistic-seeming pictures of exotic creatures and extreme landscapes most of us are unlikely to confront. Even if you spend an hour and a half every morning commuting from Stroud to London, you can dream. In fact, you'd better dream. And even if you're never going to explore a scorpion-infested bat cave in Borneo, or battle with a sabre-toothed tiger back in the mists of time, why not wonder about big cats camouflaged in the passing landscape?

Doubtless there are evolutionary psychologists who would claim that we are the carriers of genes adapted to staying alert for wild beasts jumping out at us, and that our regular sightings and belief in big cats are just Darwinian anachronisms. Freudians will know exactly what part of the family romance those wild cats really represent, while Jungians might suppose that the cats are just rather restrained English versions of the archetypal Other. All are probably true enough. In our tidy, civilised lives we still have space for Conrad's "the horror, the horror" and Henry James's "beast in the jungle", which turn out to be the terror and thrill we feel at the potential of our own murky interiors.

Jenny Diski is the author of What I Don't Know About Animals

New Quay, Ceredigion: You call this winter? With the predominantly yellow palette – hawkweed, tormentil, dandelion, ragwort, buttercups even – it glows like the sun

The headlands stretch out into the bay like so many huge, recumbent beasts. From the cliff-top path heading south I search among all these shades and striations in the grey for familiar forms from Cardigan Island almost to Ynys Enlli in the clearing sky over my right shoulder. There are robins jousting in song from among coconut-scented flowers of gorse. Stray flowers of thrift and campion have somehow survived winter-long. Dinas Head and Ynys Ddewi loom vague in a far distance. Down among striped currents, shoals of bladderwrack show shadowy maroon through thick sea green. Pennyroyal and young green nettle shoots add their quota of colour to a predominantly yellow palette: hawkweed, tormentil, dandelion, ragwort, buttercups even, and so much gorse.

You call this winter? It glows like the sun. There are goldcrests among the teasels, their sibilant calls counterpointing, enlivening, a soft hush of waves below. Sudden thumping timpani as one roller explodes into a rock crevice far beneath, then these frenetic little birds once again take up their lisping theme. A pale wash of cinnamon-inflected light suffuses the sky. Right across the great bay from Lleyn to Pembroke, the water's silvered and shimmering. From the high lookout bench I watch cormorants scud low across the water, and a plump seal rolls with the wave-swell beneath the cliffs.

How can it feel so quiet when, as the ear attunes, there is so much of natural sound to register? As if to answer the query ghosting through my mind, here comes a presence entirely silent, gliding by. It's a fulmar, buoyant and graceful in its flight, unafraid. It harmonises so sweetly with a breath of a breeze off the land, the merest disturbance of air rippling it on its way. Old sea-hands thought them souls of dead sailors, so light do they hang on the wind.

Lib Dem leader voices approval of new energy secretary after strong record at Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Ed Davey confides on his website that it was his strong views on the environment that first pushed him towards being politically active, so it seems fitting that he now joins the cabinet as the new secretary of state for energy and climate change.

His promotion will be seen as a reward for what is widely viewed as doing a good job at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills where he had responsibility for Royal Mail privatisation, employment relations, consumer policy and competition rules. Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, described Davey as "the right man" to take up from where Chris Huhne had left off.

Davey, who originally foresaw his career prospects being in journalism or as an agricultural economist, has come a long way since he became MP for Kingston and Surbiton in 1997 after three recounts.

He has held a series of frontbench roles under different Lib Dem leaders. He was the chair of campaigns and communications after Clegg was elected party leader and was shadow foreign affairs spokesman before the 2010 general election.

The 46-year-old married father of one grew up in Nottingham and lived with his maternal grandparents after both his parents died – his solicitor father when he was four and his mother, a teacher, when he was 15.

He went to Oxford University, where he gained a first-class degree in philosophy, politics and economics, graduating in 1988 and joining the Lib Dems as an adviser six months later. He would leave four years later to to work as a management consultant until he became an MP.

Before becoming an MP Davey received awards from the Royal Humane Society and the chief constable of the British Transport police in 1994 for rescuing a woman from the path of an oncoming train at Clapham Junction. He speaks French, Spanish and German, and supports Notts County FC.

The worldwide rise in rhino poaching is forcing zoos and safari parks in Britain to adopt costly security measures

Opening the door to the animal house, passing a rhino on the way and patting the giraffe inside, Sarah Forsyth points out small white boxes that dot the walls. "Everywhere you look there's a detector or a motion sensor," she says, chuckling in front of one that presented the security firm with a peculiarly zoo-specific problem. "These are the ones the giraffe were licking."

She can laugh about it now, but two months ago, when Colchester zoo decided to put in place the £300,000 alarm system, Forsyth's overriding emotions were panic and disbelief.

As curator of the resident rhinos – five southern whites – she is responsible for their care and protection. So when the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) warned all zoos and safari parks that poachers could be targeting the animals for their horn, she was understandably appalled.

"Just the thought of coming in one morning and finding that was more than we could bear to think about, let alone actually facing the reality," she says, as Flossie, Otto, Emily, Cynthia and Zamba kick up dust in the winter sunshine. "After all these years, how can things be getting worse rather than better?"

The NWCU's warning – described by its head, Detective Inspector Brian Stuart, as "appropriate and proportionate" given the intelligence – followed months of mounting concern worldwide over the rise in rhino poaching, fuelled by a rumour that horn could cure cancer. Not only were European museums and zoos being robbed of their horns, but live rhinos in Africa and south-east Asia were being killed or maimed at a dizzying rate.

In 2007, an estimated 13 rhinos were killed in South Africa. Last year, the toll was at least 443. Both the Javan rhino in Vietnam and the western black in West Africa were declared extinct.

According to the police, the threat has become so acute that even live animals in UK captivity are at risk of attack. The fear is that organised criminals could imitate their counterparts in Africa by shooting rhinos with a tranquilliser gun and chainsawing off their horns down to the skull – a bloody and brutal process that usually proves fatal.

"It just goes to show how crazy the demand is," says Neil D'Cruze, of the World Society for the Protection of Animals. "Natural resources have been depleted to the point where they're having to look elsewhere to obtain it." Despite having no proven medicinal properties, rhino horn is now being sold on the global black market for as much as $65,000 a kilogram (£41,000). It is, Stuart says, a "commodity with an ever-rising price".

Dominated by serious organised crime, the illegal trade in wildlife is an increasingly complex and sophisticated black market, says D'Cruze. Rhino horn is the must-have derivative for consumers in parts of Asia and beyond, but those who police the trade in Britain see everything from tortoises to tiger bone, birds of prey to bear bile, for sale.

"As far as the endangered species trade is concerned, most people know about it but they think it's something that happens in Africa or Asia," says Sergeant Ian Knox, of the Metropolitan police wildlife crime unit. "What they don't realise is that because it's a trade there's a supply end and a demand end."

Jewellery made from elephant ivory; birds of prey exchanging hands for £50,000; leopard bone sold as an ingredient in traditional medicine: all of these have been reported to police in the UK in recent years, and all are signs of a booming trade.

On the contrary, Stuart says, the anecdotal evidence from abroad would suggest a rise in reported crime – although that could be down to greater public awareness and more concerted law enforcement, he adds.

Despite its size, many feel the illegal trade is not getting the attention or resources it deserves. "I don't think it's given enough prominence," says Stephanie Sanderson, of Chester zoo. "I don't think the general public realise how important it is and what the consequences are."

Sanderson says the issue has led her and her colleagues to believe that "a number of our species" – not just rhinos – are under threat. A man once tried to smuggle out a parrot, she recalls.

The issue of resources came to a crunch in London last year when it emerged that cuts were threatening the Met's specialist unit, which had only three members of staff as it was.

Warning that the illegal trade could flourish in London without the wildlife crime unit, the World Society for the Protection of Animals stepped forward with a "significant" sum of money that enabled Knox to expand his unit.

D'Cruze says the predicament was symptomatic of the prevailing attitude towards wildlife crime police. "The fact is that at the moment – and this isn't to do a disservice to the unit; I think this applies to all [wildlife crime] enforcement agencies throughout the world – they're seen as the Mulder and Scully of the police department," he says.

Knox and Stuart vigorously reject this claim; the latter insists that the NWCU has "had nothing but support".

But Stuart agrees there remains a perception of "high profit, low risk". The maximum sentence for trying to export a rhino horn out of the UK is seven years under the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979. "Balance that up," Stuart says, with a case reported this week of three rhino poachers sentenced to 25 years in jail in South Africa.

In the paddock at Colchester, rhino calf Zamba drinks alongside his mother, Cynthia. His existence is testament to the battle being fought to save the species. The two-year-old was born through artificial insemination in 2009, the first in the UK. Months earlier his father Simba's horns were stolen after he died of natural causes. The poacher, Donald Allison, from Preston, was caught trying to smuggle them through Manchester airport on his way to China.

The shock of that incident, Forsyth says, made Colchester even more determined to act. "It was bad enough to lose a horn off an animal that was already dead," she says. "But to do it to an animal that's alive – we can't even risk it."

He must get to grips with energy suppliers and green campaigners – but the toughest challenge for the new climate and energy secretary is likely to come from cabinet colleagues

Ed Davey, the new secretary of state for energy and climate change, faces a daunting in-tray of policies that will create battles with industry, electricity consumers, anxious renewable energy investors and green campaigners – but the toughest challenge of all is likely to come from his cabinet colleagues.

Chris Huhne was one of the few heavyweight champions of the green agenda within the coalition government. His departure sparked immediate fears that without him, the voices within cabinet - and among the Tory rank-and-file - that have been calling ever more loudly for a watering down of environmental policies will prevail. Those calls have been led by George Osborne, the chancellor, who vowed the UK would do no more than the minimum to meet environmental goals, and could revise current targets downwards.

Andrew Simms, fellow at the New Economics Foundation, urged: "Davey must face down the economic and environmental self-defeating destructiveness of the Treasury, which is preventing the UK from becoming a world leader [in green industries]."

Matthew Spencer, director of the Green Alliance, said it was time for David Cameron and Nick Clegg to speak up: "This creates a moment for the prime minister and deputy prime minister to assert their ownership of the green economy, and for the new secretary of state to build a broader coalition for action across government. It's important that the top tier of government speak publicly to correct the misunderstanding that the leadership are giving up on this agenda."

Speaking in Westminster today, Davey said: "I've now got to take up the challenges, the challenge of climate change, of energy security and I'm particularly conscious of the impact on consumer households across the country of high energy bills."

He added: "I want us to have a green economy where there's lots of green jobs to help grow our economy."

Here are the key policies in Davey's in-tray:

Energy bills

The government's ability to influence bills, which have soared on the back of international fossil fuel prices, relies mainly on attempts to bully and shame the big six suppliers. Its answer has been to bring forward a new flagship policy, the "green deal", for cutting consumer charges by encouraging insulation and other low-carbon home improvements. The bad news is the green deal is in trouble, as several analyses show its appeal is likely to be limited when it launches this autumn.

Renewable energy

Subsidies for renewable energy are under fierce attack, from free-market thinktanks and sections of the rightwing media. The government was humiliated when it tried to cut feed-in tariffs for small-scale renewables, in a hasty move that judges ruled unlawful, and that stirred up turmoil and job losses among solar companies. But the promise of hundreds of thousands of green jobs, billions of pounds in investment, and meeting our EU obligations on renewable generation all hang on a strong showing of government support for the sector.

New nuclear power

For Liberal Democrats, nuclear power is always a tricky issue. Huhne tried to finesse his party's long-standing opposition to new reactors with Tory enthusiasm for them by pledging that they would receive no public subsidy. Critics pointed out that policies to aid "low-carbon" generation would also provide financial support to nuclear. As nuclear projects inch forward, Davey will have to walk a similar tightrope.

Fourth carbon budget

Under pressure on his green credentials, Cameron agreed last summer to carbon-cutting targets for the UK that will be some of the most stringent in the world when they take effect in the 2020s. Osborne wants to review them within two years. This will be a key test for Davey - if he is still around by then.

International

The next two years will see some of the toughest negotiations over climate change within the European Union and globally in the long-running United Nations talks. In Brussels, member states must thrash out the next set of renewable energy and carbon targets by the end of 2014. Under the UN, countries have committed to forge a new global climate change treaty by the end of 2015. Both these punishing forums require a combination of high statesmanship and low guile. Huhne was widely praised for his skilful performances - Davey will have a tough act to follow.

Chris Huhne has resigned from the cabinet after being charged with perverting the course of justice. He remains an MP and will fight to clear his name after allegations surfaced that he asked his former wife to claim responsibility for breaking the speed limit on his behalf.

In the studio to discuss the implications: political columnist Michael White and environment reporter Fiona Harvey.

David Cameron resisted the temptation for a wider reshuffle, but Edward Davey of the Liberal Democrats replaces Huhne at the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

You can listen to the Thursday's full edition of Politics Weekly on bankers, Europe and the French presidential election here.

University cites its First Amendment commitment in supporting its climate scientist Michael Mann's right to give lecture

In an uncharacteristically angry post at the New York Times's Dot Earth blog, Andy Revkin has hit out at a "shameful attack on free speech". It relates to a Facebook campaign which is calling on Pennsylvania State University to "disinvite" Professor Michael E. Mann, the director of its Earth System Science Center, from giving a lecture next week entitled: "Confronting the Climate Change Challenge."

The Facebook campaign has been initiated by a seemingly conjoined group called the Common Sense Movement/Secure Energy for America Political Action Committee. Brad Johnson at ThinkProgress has investigated the people behind it and describes it as a "coal-industry astroturf group". Here's a video from the Common Sense Movement's "I Am Coal" campaign, which gives an insight into its worldview...

The group argues on its page:

At a time when Penn State should be doing everything possible to regain its status as a bastion of truth and integrity, the last thing they should be doing is supporting someone of such questionable ethics and motives with our tax dollars.
There is no place for this brand of extreme political activism, disguised as academics, at Penn State now or in the future. University leadership should be ashamed for continuing to provide Mann with such high visibility – at our expense.

Revkin is particularly angry – quite rightly - at the group's templated letter it is asking supporters to send to "daily newspapers near you", which includes the accusation that Mann, one of the world's most high-profile climate scientists whose private emails were among those illegally released online in 2009, is "conspiring with his left-wing cronies to intimidate and silence those who would dare to question his intentions".

Revkin even took to Facebook himself, posting: "Antidemocratic, hateful, and coal-backed smear campaign against a scientist I've sometimes disagreed with but who has every right to state his case at Penn State or anywhere else."

The efforts of those behind the campaign of intimidation against Penn State appear to have come to nothing, though. Common sense (of the real variety) reigns, as a spokesman has just confirmed to me:

Penn State has a deep and profound commitment to the First Amendment and the principles of free speech and expression. Our role as a university is to serve as a marketplace of ideas and by allowing this talk we are protecting the civil liberties of our students, faculty and staff. There are no plans to cancel his speaking engagement.
Michael Mann's research has undergone several rigorous national reviews and investigations and in each case his work has been upheld.
In 2011, the National Science Foundation completed a review and upheld Mann's work. The NSF review was the second major investigation at the national level of his controversial research into climate change. In 2006 the National Academy of Sciences completed an inquiry into Mann's findings at the request of Congress. Again, his research was confirmed.
In 2010, Penn State conducted its own four-month investigation into allegations of research misconduct against Mann and a panel of five University faculty members from various fields determined that the scientist violated no professional standards in the course of his work.

The spokesman added that such a lecture would typically attract 300-400 people. On the question of security, he said: "We evaluate every event on campus from a security perspective and will determine if additional steps are warranted."

He added: "We have received only a handful of comments [about the lecture], and the majority of those are supporting free speech."

The US has produced Tour de France winners and world champions in the past. But where is the next Lance Armstrong?

When I was first getting into cycle sport, in the late 1980s, there was only one story. And that was Greg LeMond's.

First, in 1986, he became the first American to win the Tour de France – deposing France's combative five-time winner Bernard Hinault. The following year, he nearly died after being shot in a hunting accident in California. To this day, he still has lead pellets in his body the surgeons couldn't get out. A stellar career was written off, but in one of the greatest comeback stories of any sport, LeMond returned to form and won the 1989 Tour on the final stage and by a record-breakingly close margin of 8 seconds. He returned to win the 1990 Tour, too, before running into the era of blood-doping EPO and finding that too many of his mere-mortal adversaries were riding like supermen.

And then, ten years later, it was another American – Lance Armstrong – who dominated the sport as no other champion had before, winning seven consecutive Tours de France. And, of course, his comeback story – recovery from near-fatal testicular cancer – even trumped LeMond's. Some of the shine has come off Armstrong's achievements latterly – with the testimony of former team-mates alleging doping inside his US Postal team – but not that much: Armstrong's "I've never tested positive" denials are enough for the legions of his fans.

But here we are, into a new decade, and while cycling may be a cleaner sport, we hope, it lacks giants; there is no game-changing, epoch-making American titan of the stature of LeMond or Armstrong. And specifically, there is no obvious heir to that very US-specific tradition of a world-beating cyclist with as much talent for PR and marketing as for pedalling over the Alps.

I'm having a hard time explaining this to myself. Cycling is booming in the US, just as it is in most of Europe. The sport is healthy and competitive, with steady growth in participation: in 2010, the governing body, USA Cycling, issued just under 70,000 racing licenses, which represented a 63% increase since just 2002.

Of course, there is up-and-coming talent – though even the most ardent American patriot might have to admit that there isn't the slew of exciting new riders coming through as there is in the UK, thanks to Olympic track success, smart Team GB management and the heavy investment of Sky. Taking a non-scientific approach, I canvassed some of my NYC team-mates.

The two names that consistently cropped up were Tejay van Garderen (yes, his name sounds Dutch, but he's American) and Taylor Phinney.

Van Garderen is only 23, but has already notched up some impressive results in his first couple of years as a pro. My buddy Kyle sent me the link to this recent article, in which US veteran pro (and former Armstrong team-mate) George Hincapie praises van Garderen's potential. When Hincapie says such things, it's worth sitting up and taking note, but – and this is a big "but" – the pro peloton is full of riders for whom great things were once predicted but who delivered less.

Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton were both once touted as the Next Great American Cyclist; both riders' careers effectively ended with ignominious doping bans. Levi Leipheimer's record is unblemished in that regard and is certainly full of impressive palmares. Despite great promise, though, he has only once troubled the podium in the Tour de France (3rd, in 2007).

As for Taylor Phinney, he emerged as a track pursuiter – not unlike Bradley Wiggins. So, he has shown great ability as a prologue time trialist and clearly has a "big engine" – twice winning the Under-23 version of the Paris-Roubaix (arguably, the toughest one-day race in the calendar). But it's a long way from there to winning the premier three-week stage race, and a big adjustment simply to riding in the professional peloton – as Phinney himself attests, having eloquently blogged one of his more gruelling experiences of last season.

I asked Bill Strickland, who is editor at large of Bicycling Magazine and author of Tour de Lance, for a casting vote. Phinney is an exciting prospect, he says, but still an unknown quantity. Van Garderen has a form book we can read:

"Tejay is more of the Euro-style neo-pro, where there's just not that much acclimitization to those increased demands that needs to happen. Like you see [22-year-old Slovak rider] Peter Sagan or Baby VDB [Belgian pro Jurgen Van Den Broeck], they look already at home in the pack, look like they're already hunting, instead of trying to figure out if they belong. Tejay has that sense about him."

But as we gear up for another season, in an Olympic year, who have we missed? Have you spotted the heir to Lance?

What should the Occupy movement do, after the occupations? The author and activist joined us for a live webchat

In her column earlier this week, author and activist Naomi Wolf wrote about her hopes and fears for the Occupy movement, now that it has been evicted from most of its visible manifestations:

"Occupy – a movement I love and respect, and which represents our last best hope – also fills me with distress because of how difficult it is for a movement committed to "no spokespeople" to get their message out."

She suggests that there are valuable lessons to be learned from a series of powerful documentaries, recently screened at the Sundance Film Festival, about protest movements of the recent past. Her conclusion is that for Occupy to keep its momentum now, it can no longer afford to be such an amorphous, anarchic movement. In effect, it needs to get organised, in more conventional campaigning ways.

Media exposure, a clear message, smart soundbites, clearly stated demands, and, most importantly, tasked, empowered negotiators working on the inside in concert with mass disrupters applying pressure from without – this equals political life.

Do you agree this is the way forward for Occupy? Has its moment already passed – if so, what has it achieved? How do you see its future?

The webchat is now at an end, but commenting will remain open to discuss issues raised. Thanks for your interest and participation.

luigivampa asks:

What do you think about the lack of cooperation between the American centred Occupy movement and the European/global Take The Square and Democracia Real Ya networks? (As exemplified by the recent OWS plan for a 'global strike' on the 1st May despite TTS' plan for the same action on the 15th May). Do you think the message of "real democracy now" of the DRY/Indignados movement has been lost in the Americocentric Occupy movement?

Naomi Wolf responds:

I think that this was probably due to people working two jobs, being overscheduled etc rather than any strategy.But it certainly goes to the need for a good strong global Occupy communications hub. We are also really in a media bubble here and miss a lot of globali nformation. I have heard a rumor of new global Occupy communications hubs being created and promise to report as they emerge.

RicardoFloresMagon asks:

Why do you want to turn Occupy into a same-same safe liberal professionalized and institutional political movement?

Naomi Wolf responds:

Well, if this is the impression you have of what I am saying either I was not clear enough or you may be misreading me. Act Up was NOT SAFE.They were highly confrontaional, they did things like lie down in churches and shout 'murderer' -- they threw the ASHES of their loved ones over the White House fence and brought a DEAD leader in his COFFIN to the republican campaign headquarters. They were radical and cnfrontational but they were also highly organized and on message and did not see a problem with talking to the media to get their message across. Gandhi too was radical, MLK too -- same thing.

Also: if I urgently (to the point of being annoying) keep pleading with Occupy (and ding what I can in postingmedia training, going to ZuccottiPark to give media training etc) to addmessaging, any number of spokespeople (it can be zillions!) and agenda items (they can change!) to their practice, it is because I do not believe we have the luxury of time for the movement to'find its feet'or even maybe behave in ways that might be most comfortable for it. I believe the powers that be will start cracking down in ways we cannot even imagine even in advanced democracies -- they will use baton rounds on Occupy London they have PROMISED, and those killed people in Northern Ireland -- and that in ourlimited time to act to stabilize democracy and get the people's voices heard, we have to take drastic action that may not be comfortable for everyone but that history shows WORKS. I aldso disagree that clear messaging is 'liberal', MLK is the most lucid writer and speaker in US history.

bastiat90 asks:

The top 1% pay just under 40% of all federal taxes, and the top 10% pay 70% of them. In Britain, the top 1% pays 25% (with a higher tax rate) and the top 10% pays 50%. Why does Occupy think that the rich do not pay their fair share when the tax and spend system of government is almost exclusively reliant on the rich to fund social welfare programmes? I know it's pointless to have cake and not eat it, but aren't you guilty of trying to?

Naomi Wolf responds:

Well you are leavig out an im[ortant part of the math, which is the amount of wealth the one per cent own -- in the US thetop ten per cent own the MAJORITY of the wealth. So the issues is proportionate taxation. Also cporporations in the US and I believe increasingly the UK are as I wrote cycling their profits offshore, perfectly legally, so that corporations like GE and FedEx that make vast profits pay often zero or less than one per cent.

Rochester8 asks:

Naomi, thinking especially of the States, Canada, and Europe, are there any organizations (e.g., faith-based organizations or NGOs) that you believe might serve as powerful allies for the various "Occupy" movements; in particular, for helping to communicate key messages?

Naomi Wolf responds:

Great question. I think radical Christians and Catholics are naturals -- liberationn theology is right up there with this message -- but many Tea Partiers and Libertarians are also worried about liberty issues and crackdowns on constututional rights -- the beauty of liberty and economic justice movement is that it can have alliances across -political segments if only we learn the power of coalition-building --ie tea patrtietrs and Occupy can unite today to push backagainst the NDAA (whic gives the US the right to detain people forever) but don't have to agree down the line on other issues....

Longrigg asks:

Does Ms. Wolf think that it'd be a good idea for one of the key questions that the Occupy Movement to ask more focefully is whether, on a finite planet, the goal of society (both left and right) should be continued economic growth?

Naomi Wolf responds:

I think they (like any citizen) should ask whatever they wish but THAT is a radical and crucial question in my opinion. And even MORE than most needs good explainers.

LakerFan asks:

Seems that OWS is embracing some rather no-traditional and novel foundations. This is a great departure from more traditional Youth Movements, yet retains the same fervor and purpose. I find it very unique. Are the traditional (nee Victorian) ideas of Social Change Through the Guidance of Leadership no longer relevant?

Naomi Wolf responds:

great question again, but ;et me be super clear because I think this is ahard paradigm to wrap our brains around collectively. The top-down 'leader and strategy' is DEAD. But the new world requires that EVERYONE be a leader, ready to speak and write and lobby, and you can have a movement with a million leaders but a voting process that lets everyone have input into then ADOPT a clear agenda that changes over time according to new input. You can get there through majority voting not consensus. That is not top-down strategy it is democracy.

TiredOfGames asks:

I think the occupy movement should support candidates from parties other than the two headed corporate duopoly of Dems/Repubs. Just by getting them more coverage, wouldn't that create more options going forward for real change? For example: I'd like to see the Justice Party's Rocky Anderson and the Green Party's Dr. Jill Stein included in the Presidential debates. How could we make that happen, and how can occupy help gain positive attention for new parties/candidates that aren't bought and sold by the one percent?

Naomi Wolf responds:

So here we see that as we discuss this, GREAT agenda items get brought forward. Great thinnking: so they might say 'you start it'. If you wanted to push a third party candidate the best way is tofollow the steps in the last section of Give Me Liberty (my publishers released it for free on PDF): you would register voters, build support and write op eds for the media. Re press attention the best thing is to BE the media -- write press releases, write op eds and blogs, post your own campaign commercials -- social media (till it is outlawed very soon, judging from recentlegislation like Acta) make that easy. Or run yourself! GML shows you how.

SpinDoctor13 asks:

A more general question: you mention wealth, and the fact it is poorly distributed. The distribution bit is hard to argue but at a high level how do you tax wealth? It really isn't a simple question to answer.

Naomi Wolf responds:

Hm. well wealthy people earn lots of their income on capital gains, which are taxed less than the wages that most working people earn. That seems unfair to me. Romney paid I think ten per cent on his millions cause of this, but i as a self-employed person with way less money am taxed at a much higher rate. Some people in the US call for a flat tax for this reason. These are all worth discussing but a movement like occupy ideally can make real space for real discussio -- these options are off the tanble now because of corporate influence on most media and politicians.

JKMarsters asks:

One of the main problems Occupy faces is public perception. On forums, discussion threads, even radio shows, the main image of Occupy appears to be that they're a bunch of unwashed, lazy benefit scroungers and trustafarians.

This image, of course, is not correct and slightly unfair, but so long as the general public believe this to be the truth, it's easy to not take the movement seriously.

With that in mind, should one of the first steps forward be to show the public that Occupiers come from all different backgrounds, cultures, ages, and different levels of education and employment?

Naomi Wolf responds:

Hooray for this great question too! In an electronic world appearance affects reality and yes this 'image'is not ideal. That is why if you have hundreds or thousands of trained spokepeople we will see -- the housewife, the military guy, the retiredperson etc etc and the scruffy hippie...the face of everyone. But also the civil rights movement told marchers to wear suits and the ladies dresses, gloves and hats for a reason -- it is important to communicate respect for the chance to protest and respect for the chance to speak to one's fellow citizens. People can be "themselves"while still presentig themselves in a way that does not let their opponents write them off. Act Up often wore suits when they disrupted FDA hearings and it was a better visual than torn jeans.

jannerick asks:

I totally agree that Occupy needs clearer messaging to win over non-protesters. I read on wikipedia that the founders wanted it to be the Tobin tax. I don't think that goes very far... what do you think this message might be? Higher taxation? How do you get around the political challenges of this?

Naomi Wolf responds:

I would not want to dictate -- but again let's look at Act Up. They constantly changed their messaging and agenda to address what was nbeeded -- more drug trials, better care for people with AIDS, cheaper drugs in Africa, etc etc etc. But AIDS was theeir umbrella. Occupy's "Umbrella" seems to be inequality and corporate overweening influence society -- I would hope adding freedom is a natural. So week by week they should be --at a local and also a national and international level -- chossing ONE item to address with ONE concrete goal and creating actions to demand it and raise its profile.

akamai42 asks:

Naomi, for those Americans who grasp the magnitude of danger to freedom our current path holds but feel powerless to stop it, please advise. What action steps can we take, especially those with no physical Occupation to seek out, or finding the movement too slow to respond with the necessary outcry?

Also, some have argued that extreme stances taken by Occupy alienate would-be members. The city of Oakland has called for other Occupy groups to denounce Oakland Occupy as inappropriately violent after clashes with police. Is this an appropriate request or would this push the movement in the wrong direction?

Naomi Wolf responds:

Yet another imortant question. It is CRUCIAL for any citizen movement to renounce violence and you can be sure that violence is used against movements. Violence is always counterprodiuctive. The best thing you can do is ORGANIZE -- become a 'democracy team' -- register voters and put pressure on your representatives'district rep (ask for a meeting) to push back on liberty issues and you will get out the vote (in congressional elections which everyone ignores) or promise to take your list elsewhere (politely) ifnot. These have to be registered vioters who vote in congresisonal elections -- they know. This way you become a democracy 'power user'and my campaign mentor Curtis Ellis says that this gives any citizen the power of a lobbyist. THEN you have to make it fun -- have amonthly pot luck for your registered voters to plan the next meeting and what you will demand -- because movements burn out without community and fun -- i love the slogan give me bread but give me roses.

Final word from Naomi:

Thank you all so much for this great discussion! I have heard on my FB page, while we were talking, from Occupies reporting that they are well-attended and well-organized in various cities around the world – so I will ask them to send me op eds about their agendas and their actions and I will shine the light I can on them periodically! Thank you again.

Squabbles at a 'vulture restaurant', a rescued orangutan and her baby and wintry scenes are among the pick of this week's images from the natural world

Increase of 52% to $10.3bn in 2011 was based on strong solar performance

India's transformation into a cleantech powerhouse moved up a gear in 2011 when it racked up investments of $10.3bn in the sector, a growth rate of 52 per cent year on year that dwarfed the rest of the world's significant economies.

Solar investments led the growth with a seven-fold increase in funding, from $0.6bn in 2010 to $4.2bn in 2011, just below the $4.6bn invested in wind during the year, according to figures released yesterday by analysts Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).

A record 2,827MW of wind energy capacity was added in 2011, which kept India third behind China and the US in terms of new installations. BNEF said a further 2,500MW to 3,200MW could be added in 2012.

Grid-connected solar also saw a substantial increase, up from 18MW in 2010 to an estimated 277MW by the end of 2011, while another 500MW to 750MW of solar projects could be added in the coming year.

Asset financing for utility-scale projects remains the main type of clean energy investment in India, with $9.5bn in 2011, BNEF said. Venture capital and private equity investment made a strong comeback with $425m invested in 2011, more than four times the 2010 figure, but equity raising via the public markets was only $201m compared with a record $735m in 2010, when the Indian stock market was at its all-time high.

"There was concern at the beginning of last year that increasing lending rates might hit investment," said Ashish Sethia, head of India research at BNEF, in a statement. "The surge in installation of renewable energy shows it is becoming cost competitive and scalable."

BNEF expects India to exceed the target of adding 12.4GW of grid-connected renewable energy during its 11th five-year plan, running from April 2007 to March 2012, and is likely to bring 14.2GW of capacity online.

However, Sethia said that if the targets are to be met, the country needs to improve the grid to handle increasing amounts of renewable energy, as well as ensuring renewable purchase obligations are enforced and project developers are paid on time for the power they produce.

But India still has significant scope for growth as it only accounts for four per cent of global investment in clean energy.

"India's record performance in 2011, and the momentum it is carrying into 2012, is one of the bright spots in the clean energy firmament," concluded BNEF chief executive Michael Liebreich.

"With support mechanisms falling away in the US, the ongoing financial crisis in Europe and China already going flat out, it is gratifying to see some of the world's other major potential markets coming alive."

The official police inspectorate criticised the covert infiltration of political groups this week, but it was probably a disaster waiting to happen for some years

So at last a key report into the undercover policing controversy was published this week. Dennis O'Connor, the head of the body inspecting the police, finally produced his delayed report yesterday after cancelling its publication at the last minute in the autumn.

Here was our take on O'Connor's report - we wrote that the clandestine operation that secretly deployed police spies in political groups for 40 years was severely criticised by the inspectorate which recommended a tightening up of the controls on such undercover operations.

We also reported on how Mark Kennedy, the spy at the centre of the controversy, was beaten up by his own police colleagues and how he was criticised by O'Connor.

The report has been written by an establishment figure, but given that, it is striking how he criticises the covert operation to infiltrate political campaigns. O'Connor concluded, for instance, that the undercover deployments were weakly controlled and led to "disproportionate intrusion" into the lives of the activists.

History tells us that any state operation which is hidden behind years of secrecy will almost inevitably lead to abuses. The controversy which has erupted over the past 12 months was probably a disaster waiting to happen for some years. As it happened, it was Kennedy who brought it to a head, but we understand that he was not the first of these undercover police officers to go out of control or awol.

O'Connor says that in future, these undercover deployments should be approved beforehand by an outside organisation, the Office of the Surveillance Commissioners.

Potentially this could mean that there will be fewer deployments in protest groups as police chiefs will have to justify them to some-one outside their cosy circle. Only time will tell.

O'Connor's report had little to say on one of the most explosive aspects of the controversy - undercover officers sleeping with, and even having children, with the activists they have been sent to spy on.

This was criticised by the eight women who have started legal action against police chiefs. They say that they were duped into forming long-term loving relationships with undercover policemen and suffered intense emotional trauma and pain.

In a statement, the eight said : "This report misses an opportunity to clearly and unequivocally outlaw any undercover operative from entering into and maintaining a long term intimate relationships whilst undercover".

"It is of concern that whilst the report recognises the psychological harm that may be caused to the police officer,

no mention is made of the harm they cause to the women with whom they enter such a relationship which is potentially far more serious. There can be no justification for such relationships and for the outrageous state intrusion on the privacy of those concerned nor for the serious emotional and psychological damage caused".

O'Connor criticised Kennedy on a series of counts, particularly for defying his instructions from his supervisors. Kennedy rejected the criticism, telling the BBC that he was "outraged" at the claim that he had not obeyed orders.

Evidence gathered by one of prince's charities hailed as rare piece of good news for world's dwindling fish stocks

Proof that sustainably managed fisheries can deliver higher profits as well as environmental benefits was presented on Friday by the Prince of Wales. The report by one of his charities was hailed as a rare piece of good news amid what is usually an unremittingly gloomy outlook for the world's dwindling fish stocks.

Prince Charles told an audience at Fishmongers' Hall in London: "The story today need no longer be one of doom and gloom and inevitable decline, but one that harbours the possibility of generating more value from a strongly performing natural asset. This potential can only be tapped if we manage it well."

He said the evidence gathered by his International Sustainability Unit (ISU), which examined 50 sustainably managed fisheries around the world, showed that improved fisheries management was "actually be more profitable than perennially succumbing to the temptation of maximising short term income while deferring the costs until later".

He quoted an estimate from the World Bank that if all fisheries around the world were better managed, they would be worth $50bn a year more than their current total contribution of $274bn to global GDP. But the number of fisheries that are subject to a sustainable management programme are still a minority, and global fish stocks are falling fast. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, at least a third are now overexploited, depleted or recovering from depletion, and this figure is rising.

The study found many examples of responsibly managed stocks bringing benefits to local people. For instance, in the Pacific halibut fishery, the introduction of a catch-sharing system lengthened the fishing season and consequently increased the value of fish sold from $1 to $7 per pound. The Ben Tre clam fishery in Vietnam, after improving its governance, now supports 13,000 households, compared to 9,000 in 2007. The report also found that the hilsa shad fishery in Bangladesh could be worth nearly US$260m more annually if improved, and that recovering the bluefin tuna fishery in the north-east Atlantic could produce gains of US$510m per year.

The ISU found that in sustainably managed fisheries, declining stocks were revived by putting in place controls to regulate fishermen, including restrictions on when and where they could fish and what kind of nets and boats to use. The authors said that some of the key ways to improve the management of fish stocks were to change the economics of fishing through rewarding positive behaviour by the fleets, and to look at the health of the species being netted in the context of the whole marine ecosystem, which would include the health of other species in the food chain, and pollution from chemicals, agriculture or other human causes.

They made several recommendations for improving fisheries management, including: collecting better scientific data on fish stocks and the impact of fishing on the whole marine ecosystem; identifying more examples of good management; developing mechanisms to finance the wider adoption of good management techniques; involving the private sector with more fisheries improvement projects.

But the prince warned that action must be taken urgently to ensure that more of the world's key fisheries are subject to good management - otherwise, he said, the current rapid decline of fish stocks would become irreversible.

"Despite the current vulnerable state of global fisheries, if managed properly with a focus on the resilience of the marine ecosystem as a whole, our seas could still provide us with the opportunity to continue harvesting seafood long into the future at similar, or perhaps even higher, volumes than at present," he said.

His call was echoed by David Nussbaum, chief executive of the conservation group WWF-UK, who said: "We share the view of the problem and the collaborative, science-based approach to finding solutions that will protect the marine environment and ensure long-term sustainability for those whose livelihoods are dependent on it. To minimise the danger of catastrophic collapse of fisheries, we must look beyond short-term gains for some to the long-term interests of all. We should ask ourselves, 'if fisheries and marine ecosystems face collapse in the same way as the banking system did, who will bail out the oceans?' "

The ISU report, entitled Towards Global Sustainable Fisheries: The Opportunity for Transition, was the result of two years of consultation with the public, private, scientific and NGO sectors.

Pointing out the similarities (and differences) between slavery and the use of fossil fuels can help us engage with climate change in a new way

In 2005, while teaching history at a French university, I was struck by the general disbelief among students that rational and sensitive human beings could ever hold others in bondage. Slavery was so obviously evil that slave-holders could only have been barbarians. My students could not entertain the idea that some slave-owners could have been genuinely blind to the harm they were doing.

At the same time, I was reading a book on climate change which noted how today's machinery – almost exclusively powered by fossil fuels like coal and oil – does the same work that used to be done by slaves and servants. "Energy slaves" now do our laundry, cook our food, transport us, entertain us, and do most of the hard work needed for our survival.

Intriguing similarities between slavery and our current dependence on fossil-fuel-powered machines struck me: both perform roughly the same functions in society (doing the hard and dirty work that no one wants to do), both were considered for a long time to be acceptable by the majority and both came to be increasingly challenged as the harm they caused became more visible.

The history of slavery and its abolition shows how blurred the frontier between what is considered good and evil can be, and how quickly it can shift. We have a mental image of slave-owners as cruel, sadistic, inhuman brutes, and forget too easily the ordinariness of slave ownership throughout the world. To many, slavery seemed normal and indispensable. In the US, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson owned slaves. Lifestyles and healthy incomes were predicated upon it, just as we today depend on oil. Similarly, many slave-owners lived with the impression that they were decent people.

Obviously, there are differences between the use of slaves and of fossil fuels. Fundamentally, slavery is a crime against humanity. Fossil fuel use is not a moral evil, but burning coal or oil contributes to global warming, already causing widespread harm: it now directly or indirectly kills 150,000 people per year according to a 2004 World Health Organisation study. States and energy companies' lust for oil also leads to wars and the toppling of democratically elected governments. Our addiction to fossil fuel is increasingly destructive.

Unlike the harm caused by slavery, the harm in the use of fossil fuels is of course indirect, long range, even unintended. It seems at first glance to be a fundamentally different kind of harm, and the unintended consequences of ongoing use of fossil fuels have only recently become understood. Initially, their use was seen as positive and progressive. But now that we know the consequences, and continue, globally, to increase emission levels, how can we still consider these consequences "unintended"?

Consumers of goods made by slaves or absentee plantation owners who lived in Britain in the 18th century also benefited from the slave system without maintaining direct connections to it. Those beneficiaries can certainly be said to have committed a morally comparable sort of human transgression to that of people who benefit from fossil fuels today.

Why is all of this relevant for climate change policy? Our contemporary economies have become extremely dependent on fossil fuels, just as slave societies were dependent on their slaves – indeed far more than the latter ever were. As one scholar remarked: "That US Congressmen tend to rationalise fossil fuel use despite climate risks to future generations just as southern congressmen rationalised slavery despite ideals of equality is perhaps unsurprising."

It should thus come as no surprise that there is so much resistance to climate science. Our societies, like slave-owning societies, have a vested interest in ignoring the scientific consensus. Pointing out the similarities between slavery and the use of fossil fuels can help us engage with the issue in a new way, and convince us to act, as no one envisages comfortably being compared with a slave-owner.

Furthermore, because of the striking similarities between the use of slaves and of fossil fuels, policymakers can find inspiration from the campaigns to abolish slavery and use them to tackle global warming. For example, the history of the abolition of slavery, in the UK at least, suggests that an incremental approach and the development of compromises worked better at moving the cause forward than hardline stances.

The evidence also implies that slavery came to be challenged and finally abolished when people became aware of an alternative. This alternative – steam power – was of course a great moral improvement until we came to know the consequences of fossil fuel consumption. This, in turn, suggests that we will restrain our use of fossil fuels if we can favour a new energy transition and find clean sources of energy – and that we should concentrate our efforts on developing "green" technologies at the same time as reducing our consumption of fossil fuels.

If we do not change, the human family will pay heavily for the consequences of our reckless activity. Moreover, future generations will look back at us and wonder how our civilisation could have been so backward and have lived in such appalling moral blindness. Will the next generation have any awareness that industrialised societies had mitigating circumstances? Probably not. They are more likely to curse us for the irreparable damage we have done to the planet. Surely, they will say, we were a barbarian people.

• Jean-François Mouhot is a visiting researcher at Georgetown University. He is the author of Past Connections and Present Similarities in Slave Ownership and Fossil Fuel Usage, published in the journal Climatic Change, and the book Des Esclaves Energétiques: Réflexions sur le Changement Climatique.

The worst spate of dolphin strandings in a decade will be brought to the attention of Congress

Scientists in Cape Cod are trying to determine what is causing dolphins to swim dangerously close to shore, with more than 100 becoming stranded in the last three weeks.

Members of Congress are due to be briefed on Friday about the strandings, the worst such event in more than a decade. Volunteers are maintaining coastal vigils and trying to get the animals back to sea.

"What is different about this particular event is that instead of having one discrete event, it is this string of ongoing strandings that started on 12 January and is just continuing," said Katie Moore, who manages marine mammal rescue operations for the International Fund for Animal Welfare. "It's day after day after day."

Moore is due to brief members of Congress on the strandings, which have been concentrated along a 25-mile stretch of coast that runs between the towns of Dennis and Wellfleet in Massachusetts.

It's not unheard of for dolphins to swim too close to shore, said Teri Rowles, who heads the marine mammals division of NOAA, the government agency that monitors oceans. "The Cape Cod area is a hot spot for mass strandings," she said.

But it's rare for such events to be confined to a single species – the common dolphin, in this case – and it was the worst such stranding since 1998.

Of the 111 that have come ashore, 81 were found dead, or died soon after they were stranded. Rescue workers, trundling along through the muck with specially adjusted stretchers, have eventually been able to return 30 surviving dolphins to the sea, Moore said.

But they remain baffled as to what caused the animals to swim so dangerously close to shore. Theories include the dolphins being lost, confused by changing tides or potentially diseased.

"In the ones we are finding alive, we are not seeing any consistent diseases or anything indicating a pattern as to why they might be stranding," said Moore. The dolphins were male and female, young and fullgrown. Most appeared healthy, although lab tests are still being processed.

There have been no severe winter storms: as in much of the north-east, the weather has been unusually warm for this time of year.

But Rowles suggested the animals could have become confused by changes in water temperature or tides that led them into Cape Cod Bay, or by the irregular features of the coastline.

There is also the possibility the dolphins could have been victims of their own natural sociability, simply following one another to their doom.

"These are very intelligent animals with very large brains, but there is something about the way they bond to one another," Moore said.

Those strong bonds serve the dolphins well in the wild. When they get into trouble, the dolphins stick together. But Moore added that social cohesion could sometimes be deadly. "That bond becomes a liability when they get into shallow water, and that may be why they mass strand."

Walkers in Tarkine rainforest will help scientists track endangered marsupial by collecting data from motion-sensitive cameras

Walkers are joining forces with conservationists to help bring the Tasmanian devil back from the brink of extinction. In a unique tourism experiment, guests on guided walks through Tasmania's remote Tarkine rainforest will help scientists track local populations of the Australian island state's most iconic creature by collecting data from 45 motion-sensing cameras set up along the trails.

The world's largest surviving carnivorous marsupial is endemic to Tasmania, and the pristine wilderness in the island's north-west corner is one of the last areas to remain untouched by an aggressive facial cancer that has obliterated overall devil numbers by more than 80% over 15 years. The size of a small dog with powerful jaws, the animal was thought to live only in dry, coastal or open woodland. But the discovery of a thriving and disease-free population in Tarkine's dense rainforest offers scientists a valuable new opportunity to study their behaviour in the wild and develop a better understanding of how the disease is spread.

"Contrary to common assumption, we've known for years that there are devils living in rainforest, and now we've got the proof," said Mark Davis, owner of Tarkine Trails, whose guides retrieved the first two months' worth of images from the cameras, which they'll continue to service with memory cards and batteries throughout the year. "Every single camera we placed caught images of devils and not one has displayed signs of the facial tumour disease, which is a huge relief. Along with our walkers, our guides act as field researchers where it has previously been too expensive to conduct research."

The decade-long Tarkine Devil Project is being funded by the Tasmanian government as part of a broader rescue programme begun in 2003 that includes captive breeding of immune animals, habitat management and laboratory research into the disease. First identified in 1996, Devil facial tumour disease causes growths around the mouth that hinder the animal from feeding, so it eventually starves to death. The mysterious and rare form of contagious cancer is thought to spread through the devils biting each other while squabbling for food.

Until the late 1990s, Tasmanian devils were commonly found all over the island. But the illegal introduction of the red fox, increased road traffic accidents and the rapid spread of facial cancer have seen its numbers plummet to just 10,000, with the species being declared in 2008 as endangered. Once seen as a threat to livestock and prized for its pelt, only official protection in 1941 stopped the devil from being hunted to extinction – a fate that had already befallen its close relative the Tasmanian tiger (or thylacine) in 1936.

Energy and climate change secretary has faced a turbulent scene since taking over

Soaring energy bills, falling investment in green energy, rising fuel poverty, the impact of the Fukushima nuclear accident, fractious climate change negotiations, veiled attacks from the chancellor – even without the tumult in his personal life, Chris Huhne has faced a turbulent scene since taking over as energy and climate change secretary, one of the most senior cabinet roles taken by the junior partners in the coalition.

But Huhne won plaudits from many in the green movement who saw him fight for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) against sceptics in the Treasury and secure vital funds for key projects despite dismal government finances.

"Most greens think he has done well," said Lady Worthington, a labour peer and environmental campaigner. "He has held his own in the battles against the Treasury, secured funding for renewable heat and the green investment bank, and he has been very approachable, which is a good thing in a cabinet minister."

Andrew Raingold, of the Aldersgate Group of businesses with an interest in greening the economy, said: "His biggest success has been winning the argument with cabinet colleagues on the fourth carbon budget [which strengthened the UK's carbon-cutting targets up to 2027], demonstrating that ambitious carbon cuts through the 2020s can benefit both the environment and the economy. He has also managed to get major concessions from the Treasury regarding the green investment bank, ensuring that it will have £3bn in initial funding in spite of severe fiscal constraints."

Huhne has also won plaudits for his performances abroad, both in Europe, where he has attempted to build a coalition of member states to push for tougher EU-wide carbon targets, and in the long-running international climate change negotiations where he helped to broker a surprise global deal at the end of last year's talks in Durban.

Margaret Ounsley, head of public affairs at WWF-UK, said: "Chris Huhne understands the very complex issue of climate change, and his negotiating skills were key in helping to get the climate change talks back on track."

Some of the problems Huhne has faced were not of his making – energy bills rose largely on the back of international gas prices, the Fukushima accident sent the global nuclear industry into a spin, and outright hostility to green policies from the rightwing media was stoked by the chancellor's public statements scorning green taxes.

But there have also been several own goals: Decc pursued a damaging policy U-turn over renewable energy through the courts, to be defeated when its slashing of feed-in tariffs for solar power was ruled unlawful, and the "green deal" policy to encourage the take-up of insulation and other low-carbon technologies has been derided by many experts as too weak.

Andrew Simms, fellow at the New Economics Foundation, said: "A major failure was allowing George Osborne to set such a medieval tone for environmental policy, possibly the most regressive proclamation by such a senior figure for decades. The green deal is pitifully small, and Huhne must take some responsibility for the feed-in tariffs fiasco."

Clare McNeil, senior research fellow at IPPR, added: "Energy market reform was a big missed opportunity, as he could have taken a much firmer stance on the issue of competition [among the big six energy suppliers]."

Craig Bennett, director of policy at Friends of the Earth, said: "Leaving consumers to compare energy tariffs as a way to tackle soaring bills is woefully inadequate. What we really need is decisive action from government to get us off the hook of expensive fossil fuels and invest in clean British energy instead."

It was not just solar power businesses, complaining of thousands of jobs lost and millions of pounds of investment forgone when the feed-in tariffs were slashed last year, who criticised Decc under Huhne's leadership. His push for a toughening of the EU emissions-cutting target, from 20% to 30% by 2020, drew the ire of some, and the government angered many companies when it reformed a key policy, the carbon reduction commitment, so that the money raised from it flowed to the Treasury rather than returning to businesses.

Praise from some sections of business was lukewarm. Neil Bentley, deputy director general of the CBI employers' organisation, said: "Chris Huhne has led some significant long-term policies to help shift the UK to a low-carbon economy, such as the green deal and reform of the electricity markets. But other short-term decisions, like those on the carbon reduction commitment and solar feed-in tariffs, have caused greater uncertainty among businesses and investors."

David Porter of the Association of Electricity Producers added: "At first I was concerned about his past position on nuclear power [which the Lib Dems opposed before the coalition], but in office he seemed to cope with that and help bring [nuclear power] forward."

But Gareth Stacey, of manufacturers' organisation EEF, said Decc under Huhne was "very interested in working together with industries and manufacturers in partnership to achieve its aims", which he said was positive. He said: "What we'd like to see is Decc taking a more strategic approach to further developing the policies within its portfolio rather than use a sticking-plaster approach."

Huhne's successor cannot expect a much easier ride. Probably the biggest difficulty Ed Davey will face is the increasingly vociferous campaigning from sections of the media and free-market thinktanks against policies to encourage green growth, such as renewable energy subsidies and levies on carbon. Claims that green taxes could add thousands of pounds to energy bills by 2020 were refuted by the government, which argues that its analysis shows rising oil and gas prices will mean consumers see a net gain.

But Simon Less, head of environment and energy at the thinktank Policy Exchange, laid out his challenge for the new minister. "Huhne oversaw the dismantling of the competitive electricity market – a UK policy success emulated across the world – through the ill-thought-through electricity market reform and failed to challenge Labour's hugely and unnecessarily expensive approach to reducing carbon emissions through an excessive focus on deploying very high cost renewable technologies (offshore wind), squandering resources which could be much better spent delivering lower cost short-term carbon reduction and doing more to stimulate low-carbon innovation for the longer term," he said.

"The next secretary of state for energy comes in time to alter course to reshape energy policy [by] reining back unnecessary costs while delivering more to mitigate climate change, and stopping the slide back to a risky and costly world of central planning the electricity system."

• This article was amended on Saturday 4 february 2012. We initally stated Clare McNeil was talking about "electricity market reform" when she actually said "energy market reform". This has been corrected.

Heavy summer rainfall has hit eastern Australia, causing flooding and severe weather warnings in northern New South Wales and Queensland. Thousands have been forced from their homes by the floodwaters or evacuated with assistance from the emergency services as heavy rainfall is set to continue

Experts say farmers have begun mowing down wildlife-rich pastures so that they can continue to claim European subsidies

Farmers are being encouraged to plough up some of the most quintessential English landscapes so that they can continue to claim European subsidies, experts have warned.

Wildlife-rich pastures – which have made famous the New Forest clearings, the South Downs, the Cotswolds and the Chilterns – are under threat after the EU proposed rule changes to the common agricultural policy.

Experts have warned that to escape the penalties, farmers are already mowing down the grassland ahead of the 2014 deadline for registering their permanent pasture - in case they want to plant them later.

Many such fields will be "improved" grasslands - actually monocultures with little natural value. But an estimated 100,000 hectares remain that are rich in different plants and fungi, and teeming with bees, moths and butterflies - the result of more than 6,000 years of traditional farming practices and modern conservation.

"Our real worry is that this will drive a period of significant grassland loss through ploughing," said Miles King, director of conservation for the Grasslands Trust. "We don't mind particularly if intensive agricultural grassland is converted to arable. However, the loss of unimproved or semi-improved grassland is very serious. There's so little of it left: every single bit really matters now. It's like somebody bulldozing a medieval church to put in a housing estate: these are as much a part of our heritage as any church or work of art."

So far the trust has only heard reports of important grasslands ploughed up last summer, soon after the reform proposals were leaked. However land agents and farming meetings are reported to be discussing the need to act before the deadline.

"You may want to keep your grassland area to a minimum between now and 2014, or ensure that grassland is rotated before the five-year point, to prevent it becoming permanent pasture and landlords should also give consideration to what their tenants are doing," Sarah Macdonald-Smith of property company Strutt & Parker told the Guardian.

Concern about the incentive for farmers to act soon has also prompted warnings from the environment secretary, Caroline Spelman, and NFU president, Peter Kendall.

Talking to MPs on the environment, food and rural affairs select committee in January, Spelman said she had warned the EU environment commissioner, Janez Potočnik, of one of the "unintended consequences" of the rule changes: "You might find yourself as a farmer ploughing up high-value permanent grassland."

At a recent farming conference, Kendall urged farmers not to be "frightened them into ploughing up permanent pasture", adding there was "everything to play for" as farmers lobby to revise the proposals.

At least six women held in capital over demonstration calling for promised housing and compensation after spate of land grabs

Cambodian authorities have arrested at least six protesters in an on-going dispute over forced evictions in Phnom Penh, that saw two of the female demonstrators tear off their shirts in a rare act of defiance in this modest society.

The protesters were calling for promised housing and compensation, as well as the release of eight detainees who were arrested after a violent forced eviction on 3 January, when some 300 families were forced from their settlement at Borei Keila neighbourhood.

The protest on Wednesday turned violent after the district governor, Sok Sambath, ordered security forces to arrest the 50-odd female protesters assembled outside City Hall using "five [security guards or police] to each woman", the Phnom Penh Post reported.

Guards then restrained the women, some of whom were frail and elderly, and dragged them to a municipal police truck, according to the newspaper.

"In spite of a crackdown from the police, we will keep protesting until we receive a proper resolution from the municipal authority," said evictee Chum Ghan.

More than 400,000 Cambodians have been affected by land grabs and evictions since 2003, according to the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defence of Human Rights (Licadho), which works in 12 provinces across half the country. Last year saw an unprecedented increase in land disputes, the group said, with an additional 11,000 families affected.

Land ownership was abolished under the Communist reign of the Khmer Rouge (1974-79), leaving millions of Cambodians without title deeds – and therefore vulnerable to domestic and foreign land grabs, as well as agriculture, mining and real estate projects.

In 2003, roughly 1,770 families living in the downtown slum of Borei Keila came to a land-sharing agreement with construction firm Phan Imex, which would see the firm construct 10 buildings on-site to house the families. In return, residents would allow the corporation to commercially develop the remaining 2.6 hectares of land.

But Phan Imex constructed only eight of the 10 buildings and in January moved in with over 100 armed state forces, guards and workers to disperse the remaining 300 families, who say they received no warnings and were unable to remove their belongings before the demolition began. Live ammunition and tear gas were fired at the residents and at least 12 were injured, according to Licadho.

January's eviction at Borei Keila follows the high-profile case of last year's forced removal of 10,000 residents of Boeung Kak lake, who were moved to build luxury flats and high-end shops for the developing firm, Shukaku, owned by a senator from the ruling Cambodian People's party. In a rare move, the World Bank froze its loans to Cambodia in response.

Wednesday's violence is yet another example of a continuing crackdown on protesters over land grabs, Licadho says, and presents a worrying trend.

"These recent incidents are symptoms of an accelerating breakdown in Cambodian society," said Licadho president Pung Chhiv Kek in a statement. "At the moment, it is largely the rural poor who are feeling the brunt. But land grabbing can only be pushed so far before it consumes the society as a whole.

"This is bad not only for ordinary Cambodians, but also for investors and others who are ostensibly benefiting from land redistribution."

Heathland, West Sussex: A woodlark drips notes in a tuneful cascade: lilu-lilu-lilu-lilu-lilu. It sings again and again, subtly varying its soft yodel, and another woodlark answers

It is just after dawn and the tall pines cast long, black lines of shadow across the open heath. Footpath pools are frozen, decorated with fine, feather-like creases formed in the ice overnight. At the edges of the heath, in the dense woods, woodpeckers drum and a song thrush carefully, deliberately, repeats its short phrases, as if practising for a music lesson. A carpet of curled brown fronds – the emaciated corpses of ferns – awaits resurrection in the spring. The dark brown heather, too, seems dead but, looking closely, there are signs of life: tiny, pale cream petals sprout on the stems.

A sweet lilting song drifts through the cold air. Perched right at the top of one of the spindly pines that stand out in the middle of the heath is a small, sandy brown bird – a woodlark. Pure notes drip in a tuneful cascade: lilu-lilu-lilu-lilu-lilu. It sings again and again, subtly varying its soft yodel, and another woodlark answers, both welcoming the early morning sun. The duet is a duel, albeit extremely civilised, an early precursor to the territorial battles to come. Each winter the birds disperse, but not far, often feeding on nearby stubble fields, before returning in February to sing and display.

Now red-listed, woodlarks declined by about 50% across the country in the past 25 years, because of the loss of and changes to the bird's habitat and winter feeding fields and harsh winters. Woodlarks mostly favour freshly cleared heathland or forest, moving to more suitable areas after four or five years as the vegetation matures again. The bird's recent resurgence on these greens and heathlands and elsewhere is thanks to constant conservation work (by the National Trust here) to maintain its preferred habitat, which benefits other local wildlife.

Four woodlarks are singing today. As I walk back into the dark woods, their plaintive songs continue to ring out – a promise of the spring to come.

Egypt – Children Of The Revolution | New Girl | The Cutty Sark | How The Brits Rocked America: Go West | Storm Chasers | Stella

Egypt – Children Of The Revolution
7pm, BBC2

It is almost the first anniversary of the demonstrations in Egypt that toppled president Hosni Mubarak, and it's still unclear quite what the legacy of the Arab spring will be. The military government has been sluggish over moves towards democracy, with the result that protesters have returned to Tahrir Square. But there are differing visions of what Egypt should become, as this documentary looking at the aspirations of three revolutionaries shows. Martin Skegg

New Girl
8.30pm, Channel 4

Since we're up to episode five, we'll presume you're already in the "Zooey's surprisingly charming" camp. And this week you'll find her more adorable than ever as she helps her beautiful friend Cece through a tough break-up ("Yeah, he seemed like a really nice … European DJ with a face tattoo"). When Cece comes to stay, she finally opens the can of Ross and Rachel worms – does housemate Nick have a soft spot for Jess? Let the "will they/won't they?" games commence. Clare Considine

The Cutty Sark
9pm, BBC2

If the Cutty Sark were a reality TV hopeful, it'd be fair to say she'd had a rollercoaster of a journey. But she's not. She's the world's last tea clipper, and a national treasure. This documentary charts the globetrotter's history and survival against the odds, with unique access to the conservation project to return her to glory. Work began in 2006, but months later the ship was nearly destroyed by fire. It's taken a mix of traditional skills and pioneering techniques to get her where she is today, and the final spruce-up should leave her lifted into air and surrounded by glass and steel. Hannah Verdier

How The Brits Rocked America: Go West
9pm, BBC4

In the early 1970s, it wasn't a question of whether or not British bands were big in America; it was simply a question of figuring out who was biggest. We're talking about the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and their very heavy friends: legendary shows, with legendary excess to match. The second part of this very good series is all about economies of scale: stack the gigs high, sell 'em cheap, then get on the private jet with your sinister entourage. A tale of decadence, yes, but also of great music. John Robinson

Storm Chasers
9pm, Discovery

With all-American (or perhaps simply just made up) names such as Reed Timmer, the "extreme meteorologists" of Storm Chasers name their teams Dominator and Twistex, shout phrases like "Maxed out" and scream "OH MY GAD!" over Blink-182-esque metal. It's gilding the lily a bit, as the severe weather they are running after in the name of over-zealous measuring is quite dramatic enough. Last year in Mississippi, there were some insanely powerful tornados, and these overgrown fratboys in armoured cars were driving into them. Ben Arnold

Stella
9pm, Sky1

Stella psyches herself up for her date with Sean but is terrified of him seeing her in the buff. Big Alan still thinks he's in with a chance and hopes to woo her at the rugby. Meanwhile, her brother Dai goes to pieces when the benefits office questions his disability payments, and a letter arrives from Canada with life-changing news for Luke. But the plot is mildly diverting background for Ruth Jones's performance and able support from Elizabeth Berrington and Owen Teale. If it was in any doubt, the show has second series written all over it. Julia Raeside

Punxsutawney Phil got the glory of the day, but several fellow groundhogs had something else to say – er, see – about winter

How much winter would a woodchuck wish for if a woodchuck could wish for winter? Depends on which one you asked.

Groundhog Day is here, and while Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney Phil, well, hogs the spotlight, other prominent whistle-pigs rejected his prediction of six more wintry weeks.

It would appear there is dissent in the ranks, a groundhog groundswell against Phil. Not only did Staten Island Chuck, with whom the Guardian landed an exclusive interview yesterday, foresee a foreshortened season, but Buckeye Chuck of Marion, Ohio, Connecticut's Chuckles, Chicago's Woodstock Willie and Georgia's General Beauregard Lee, have all predicted a short winter.

The trend even extended to frostier climes north of the border: Canada's Wiarton Willie, who hails from the town of South Bruce Peninsula, has also predicted an early spring, as has Nova Scotia's meteorological marvel, Shubenacadie Sam.

Of course, a small camp of prophetic rodents did agree with old Phil. Quarryville, Pennsylvania's Octoraro Orphie, and Malverne, New York's groundhog, Malverne Mel, both saw their shadows.

Meterological afficianados and experts agree that this winter has been unusually mild, however, which of the furry forecasters are correct remains to be seen.

The Staten Island zoo explains that the accuracy of Chuck's prediction will be determined by how many days are atypically warm for winter – usually when it cracks 40F.

At this morning's event, Chuck made his predictions in the company of New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, with whom he is reputed to maintain a rather tense relationship – the feisty marmot bit Mayor Mike in 2009, a fact proudly on display on Chuck's Twitter page.

At today's event the mayor warned that he is prepared to strike back if necessary. "If I got bit again, I have actually promised my girlfriend I would bite back," he said, sporting a massive pair of protective gloves.

But Chuck could be the most shrewd political foe the mayor has encountered in years. In his poem A Drumlin Woodchuck, Robert Frost wrote:

With those in mind at my back
I can sit forth exposed to attack
As one who shrewdly pretends
That he and the world are friends.

At a hearing in the select committee for environmental audit the environment secretary, Caroline Spelman, would not comment on a proposal to slash environmental regulations from 1,000 pages to 50

Groundhogs like Punxsutawney Phil and Staten Island Chuck don't have a great track record for accurate weather prediction. See how we figured it out

• Get the data

Groundhog day is celebrated today. On this day the length of the rest of winter is said to be predicted by how a groundhog behaves when it rears its sleepy head from its burrow. If the groundhog leaves the burrow it signifies that winter will end soon. If the groundhog goes back into its burrow then it predicts that winter will continue for another six weeks.

This begs the question: how well have groundhogs predicted the weather in the past? To answer this we delve into history to see how groundhogs have behaved on the 2nd of February.

We have taken the behaviour of groundhogs for years going back to 1999. We have used this to calculate the modal behaviour of the groundhogs, that is effectively the 'groundhog consensus' on the matter of winter each year.

Now for the tricky part: how do we measure if the winter ended or continued for six weeks? We have taken snow cover in North America for February of every year to 1999, but this alone does not tell us if the groundhog was right about winter ending. To work this out we need to know how snowy a given February was relative to an average February. We calculated the mean average snowfall for a February in North America using data from the last 10 years, then we subtracted this average from the snowcover for the particular year. This gives us an indication of the severity of the winter for that year relative to the other years.

The conclusion of our little study is that groundhogs have only predicted the length of winter correctly three times in the last 10 years.

There are lots of details we've skipped over to get this result. For example the groundhog's predictive skills could be regionally based, and so predicting the winter for the entire of North America is just not fair on the little guy.

It is clear that there is scope for further investigation. Here is the full data including the names of all the groundhogs that have taken part.

Data summary

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• DATA: download the full spreadsheet

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Karl Rove's political action committee releases advert attacking administration for funding collapsed solar panel company

US Republicans are deploying a $100m election spending machine to savage Barack Obama's green agenda, with Karl Rove's political action committee releasing a new advert attacking the administration for funding a collapsed solar panel company.

The latest ad buy this week raises Republican spending on adverts attacking Obama's support for Solyndra to more than $9m (£5.7m), with the election still nine months away.

Republicans hope to frame the election in November as a choice between the environment and jobs. Obama, for his part, has offered a mixed response to the attacks, highlighting his energy strategy and taking out his own ads on Solyndra.

Last week Obama made a pitch for clean energy investment during his state of the union address, and on Wednesday the interior secretary, Ken Salazar, announced the development of four new areas for offshore windfarms along the mid-Atlantic coast.

Salazar said the initiative would clear the way for developing offshore windfarms in Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and Delaware. "The federal government is now fast-tracking forward," said Maryland's Democrat governor, Martin O'Malley.

To date the main exhibits for the Republicans' new election strategy are ad buys from Rove's Crossroads GPS political action committee, including $500,000 this week, and a bigger barrage from Americans for Prosperity, which is tied to the billionaire Koch brothers. Between them, the two groups raised $100m last year.

Since late last year, Americans for Prosperity has spent $8.4m on television ads in battleground states such as Michigan and Ohio, attacking the collapse of Solyndra into bankruptcy as "Obama's green giveaway".

Republican presidential candidates have also criticised Obama for rejecting the Keystone tar sands pipeline, with the frontrunner, Mitt Romney, accusing the president of "crony capitalism".

In this week's 35-second ad from Rove's Pac, Obama is accused of using government funds to reward campaign donors. "He gave his political backers billions, a big government fiasco infused with politics at every level," a female narrator says. "Laid-off worker: forgotten. Typical Washington. Tell President Obama we need jobs not more inside deals."

Republicans in the House of Representatives have spent months investigating loan guarantees given to Solyndra, subpoenaing the White House to turn over tens of thousands of pages of documents.

They have uncovered no evidence of corruption to date. However, Obama has been hurt by the release of emails from officials expressing doubts about Solyndra's financial health before the loan.

Crossroads hopes to pick up on that unease in its ad campaign, according to a strategy memo from the Pac's president, Steven Law. "Advocates on the centre-right need to engage that debate in both moral and economic terms, showing that Obama's Washington is an unfair place, and less of Obama's invasive, free-spending and chronically politicised government is the solution," Law said in the memo.

There are signs that the Obama camp is concerned. His re-election campaign put out its first television ad last week, responding to the attacks on Solyndra.