Environment news

• Monarch butterflies struggle against snowstorm in Mexico – video

  15-03-2016 23:47 via theguardian.com
  Thousands of monarch butterflies migrate to Mexico for the winter each year, to find refuge from the cold weather in the country’s pine forests. But last week a rare snowstorm interrupted their sleep as freezing winds blew the butterflies out of their safe colonies, grouped together in the trees, and deposited many of them across the forest floor where they are at risk of freezing to death while still in hibernation. The species itself is not at risk but, as this film project by Univision
  
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• Caffeine hit: what happens to Britain's 3bn empty coffee cups?

  15-03-2016 20:07 via theguardian.com
  
  Britons drink more than 8m takeaway coffees every day – then throw away the cups. Why are so few recycled?The paper coffee cup is one of modern life’s consumer conundrums. It is ubiquitous, yet coveted, pricey yet just about affordable. It confers status in a world where you need to be busy to be important, while telling everyone you had time to wait in line while the beans were ground and the milk was steamed. And now there is one more contradiction to add to the list, because the p
  
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• The Guardian view on February’s record warmth: nasty weather for the time of year | Editorial

  15-03-2016 20:03 via theguardian.com
  
  Amid the pressing demands of immediate political crises it is easy to forget the long-term changes in the climate. But no country, least of all the UK, can afford to“Normally I don’t comment on individual months,” tweeted Gavin Schmidt of Nasa on Sunday. “Too much weather, not enough climate. But last month was special.” And so it was: February’s global surface temperature was 1.35C warmer than the average temperature for the month between 1951-1980, a bigger
  
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• Prince William unveils transport crackdown on illegal wildlife trafficking

  15-03-2016 19:58
  Prince William has teamed up with the global transportation industry to develop a crackdown on illegal wildlife-trafficking routes. The industry has agreed a declaration that will be signed by around 40 airlines, shipping, port and customs agencies and conservation charities at Buckingham Palace on 15 March. The Duke of Cambridge toured DP World at London Gateway port on 14 March, to see the scale of the task involved in stopping traffickers exploiting global transport routes to smuggle poached
  
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• As climate change heats up, Arctic residents struggle to keep their homes

  15-03-2016 19:56 via theguardian.com
  
  Globals warming has brought many issues to the far north, but rising sea levels are now threatening homes and contributing to housing shortages. Designers are now attempting to save a way of life with novel housing in the coldest regionsIn the spring, after the permafrost thaws and the ground settles, Wilson Andrew Sr takes a wrench to the metal pilings that hold up the foundation of his house in Atmautluak, Alaska, and makes it level again. He cranks the screws until the foundation flattens out
  
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• Obama bans oil drilling along Atlantic seaboard

  15-03-2016 19:46 via theguardian.com
  
  Environmental groups call president’s reversal an outsize victory after backlash from communities that fear Gulf of Mexico rig disaster could happen againThe Obama administration abandoned its plan for oil and gas drilling in Atlantic waters on Tuesday, after strong opposition from the Pentagon and coastal communities.The announcement from Sally Jewell, the interior secretary, to bar drilling across the length of the mid-Atlantic seaboard reverses Obama’s decision just a year ago to
  
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• Bread is off the menu – so what should we feed the ducks now?

  15-03-2016 18:51 via theguardian.com
  
  Breadcrumbs are officially bad for the nation’s waterfowl, so, armed with kale, seeds and grapes, we find out what’s good for the goose (as well as the duck and the coot)It’s not just a canard. The Canal and River Trust’s campaign to stop people feeding ducks bread is working – with the organisation reporting a reduction of about 80,000 loaves being chucked in the water in the past 12 months. This is good because bread leads to overpopulation, spreads disease if it&
  
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• Record-breaking temperatures 'have robbed the Arctic of its winter'

  15-03-2016 18:48 via theguardian.com
  
  Fort Yukon has recorded Alaska’s coldest ever temperatures but this winter temperatures have been much warmer than usual, leading to dangerously thin iceThis year’s record-breaking temperatures have robbed the Arctic of its winter, sending snowmobilers plunging through thin ice into freezing rivers and forcing deliveries of snow to the starting line of Alaska’s legendary Iditarod dogsledding race.Last month’s high temperatures – up to 16C (29F) above normal in some
  
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• Oil down 3 percent on technical pressure, U.S. stockpile worry

  15-03-2016 17:24
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil fell 3 percent on Tuesday, extending losses for a second straight day, as market participants cited technical resistance after prices ran above $40 a barrel and worry that U.S. crude stockpiles had continued to rise despite falling production. Uncertainty over how the Federal Reserve will word its policy statement on Wednesday also fed jitters in financial markets despite expectations the U.S. central bank will signal a slower pace of interest rate hik
  
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• Obama U-turn on Atlantic drilling

  15-03-2016 16:58
  
  President Barack Obama's administration on Tuesday signaled it was jettisoning plans to open swathes of the western Atlantic Ocean to oil and gas drilling, a U-turn that delighted environmentalist groups.
  
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• Why graduates of a top Canadian university are returning their diplomas | Martin Lukacs

  15-03-2016 16:48 via theguardian.com
  
  Until it divests from fossil fuels, McGill is betting its prestige on preparing youth for the world while betting its dollars on making it uninhabitableStudents have tried petitions, research briefs, faculty letters, camping for a week on campus. But for a university that considers itself the Harvard of the north, McGill’s administrators have shown little readiness to listen to reason. Or to heed the weather: February was the hottest month in a century by a “stunning” margin, a
  
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• The Kazakh eagle hunters of Mongolia, in pictures

  15-03-2016 16:35
  
  In pics: The ancient tradition of hunting with golden eagles.
  
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• Stop Spain's strawberry growers sucking key wetland dry, say supermarkets

  15-03-2016 16:13 via theguardian.com
  
  M&S and Unilever among companies demanding urgent action over unsustainable water usage destroying ecosystem in Doñana region A consortium of high-profile supermarkets and food companies is demanding urgent action to stop unsustainable water usage among Spanish strawberry growers.
  Companies including Sainsbury’s, M&S, Unilever and Coca-Cola claim current practices will lead to severe environmental damage to fragile ecosystems. Related: Spain's wetlands wonder is under threat
  
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• Scotland urged to adopt more ambitious carbon emissions target

  15-03-2016 16:11 via theguardian.com
  
  UK Committee on Climate Change says Holyrood should aim to reduce greenhouse gases by 61% over next 14 yearsScottish ministers should aim to cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by a challenging but achievable 61% by 2030, an influential advisory committee has recommended.The UK Committee on Climate Change (UKCCC) said that cutting emissions that deeply would mirror the Scottish parliament’s existing goal of reducing emissions by 42% by 2020: both targets would outstrip the UK
  
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• Hugh's war on waste: Coffee companies targeted over 'misleading' single-use cups

  15-03-2016 16:01
  
  Celebrity TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has called on major coffee companies Costa and Starbucks to 'wake up and smell the waste', after accusing them of misleading the public over recyclable, single-use cups.
  
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• Shipping companies join Prince William bid to shut wildlife trafficking routes

  15-03-2016 16:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Prince William-led initiative to be signed by 40 organisations, including port operators and transport groups to curb $19bn illegal poaching tradeThe world’s largest shipping and airline companies, port operators and transport groups will commit on Tuesday to trying to shut down the main international wildlife trafficking routes.
  The initiative, to be signed by 40 organisations, is led by Prince William and backed by the world’s largest conservation groups including Conservation Inte
  
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• Climate watchdog hails Scotland as Britain's low-carbon leader

  15-03-2016 15:49
  
  Scotland's "vibrant renewable sector" and "bold policy approaches" will take the country beyond the UK's ambition on climate change and help deliver a 61% reduction in emissions by 2030 from 1990 levels, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has said today (15 March).
  
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• Oil prices ease over uncertain supply picture

  15-03-2016 15:00
  By Amanda Cooper LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell for a second day on Tuesday, as concerns emerged that a six-week rally may have fizzled after OPEC doused hopes for a speedy erosion of a global overhang of unwanted crude. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said on Monday demand for its crude would be less than previously thought in 2016 as supply from rivals proves more resilient to low prices, increasing excess supply in the market. ...
  
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• Recycled water may be a solution to the California drought

  15-03-2016 14:37 via feedproxy.google.com
  The severity and impact of the drought remains top-of-mind among Californians. They are eager for long-term solutions that can help the state to achieve a water-secure future.  California residents are overwhelmingly supportive of using treated wastewater, or recycled water, in their everyday lives, according to a statewide survey released today by Xylem Inc. The survey found that 76 percent of respondents believe recycled water should be used as a long-term solution for managing water
  
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• Marine reserve status for whole Arctic region is best way to protect it

  15-03-2016 14:21 via theguardian.com
  
  The question that the scientists at the Institute of Marine Research in Norway have to answer is why it would not be in the best interests of the whole area to have marine reserve status as its default position (Targeted marine protection provides best hope for the Arctic, Letters, theguardian.com, 11 March)?This would mean that no fishing could take place (be licensed) unless that proposal to fish could prove that it was not injurious. This is exactly what all other human marine activities have
  
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• Louisiana's vanishing island: the climate 'refugees' resettling for $52m

  15-03-2016 13:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Isle de Jean Charles has lost 98% of its land and most of its population to rising sea levels – but as remaining residents consider relocation, what happens next is a test case to address resettlement needs Wenceslaus Billiot, an 88-year-old native of Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, remembers growing up on a much different island than the two-mile sliver of his ancestral home that remains today.“When I was a kid I used to do trapping in the back,” he said, gesturing towards th
  
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• Sponge cuts oil spill clean-up cost

  15-03-2016 13:22 via feedproxy.google.com
  A simple but super-absorbent artificial sponge could lower the cost of cleaning up crude oil spills in developing countries.A team of researchers, based at the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa, found that simple sponges made from polyurethane foam soaked up oil spills better than more expensive sponges treated with nanoparticles.
  
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• Record global temperatures are shocking — and yet we don't respond seriously

  15-03-2016 13:18 via theguardian.com
  
  We treat climate change records as we treat new fashions, phones or films. But we seem unable to understand that we are driving such changes And another one bites the dust. The year 2014 was the warmest ever recorded by humans. Then 2015 was warmer still. January 2016 broke the record for the largest monthly temperature anomaly. Then came last month.February didn’t break climate change records – it obliterated them. Regions of the Arctic were were more than 16C warmer than normal &nd
  
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• Green Party targets zero-emission vehicles to tackle London's air quality crisis

  15-03-2016 12:03
  
  "Half-hearted" efforts to tackle air pollution in London would be replaced with a fully-integrated, zero-emission fleet of public transport vehicles and elevated congestion charges if the Green Party's Mayoral candidate Sian Berry is able to realise her capital-wide vision.
  
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• Pictures of the day: 15th March 2016

  15-03-2016 11:26
  
  Today: Shapeshifting dogs, playful squirrels and a mermaid underwater
  
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• Suspected militants stage attack near key east Libya oil field - officials

  15-03-2016 11:11
  By Ayman al-Warfalli BENGHAZI (Reuters) - Suspected Islamic State militants staged an attack on a water plant about 80km (50 miles) from the major Sarir oil field in eastern Libya late on Monday, plant officials and an oil facilities guard said. Any threat to the Sarir area would cause particular alarm because more than half of Libya's remaining oil production comes from the region. No group immediately claimed the attack, but Islamic State fighters have previously targeted oil installations in
  
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• Supermarkets pledge to cut food waste 20% by 2025

  15-03-2016 10:52 via theguardian.com
  
  Local authorities and retailers including Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco sign voluntary Courtauld 2025 agreement to reduce food and drink wasteBritain’s leading supermarkets have pledged to drive down food and drink waste by a fifth within the next decade. Retailers including Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons are backing a voluntary agreement, which also targets a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions created by the food and drink industry.Continue reading...
  
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• Joe Hockey on CSIRO cuts: former treasurer's letter to the New York Times dissected

  15-03-2016 08:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Australia’s ambassador to the US defends criticism of his country’s climate stance in an editorial – but how do the points he makes stack up?Australia’s former treasurer Joe Hockey has weighed into the debate about cuts to climate research at CSIRO, by writing a letter to the New York Times.
  In February, CSIRO chief executive Larry Marshall announced the agency would halve its commitment to climate change modelling and measurement. Continue reading...
  
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• UK pledges 'zero carbon' climate laws

  15-03-2016 08:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Climate laws will be tightened to cut carbon emissions effectively to zero, the government says.
  
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• Getting people cycling on residential streets needs more than 20mph limits

  15-03-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Having slower traffic where people live is a start. But to really boost cycling we need less traffic – and that means curbing rat runsSpeed limits of 20mph are being seen increasingly on residential streets, and they’re popular: recent Department of Transport research showed 73% of people are in favour. Campaigning from groups like 20’s Plenty for Us and Living Streets has paid off, with support growing significantly. Slower speeds are necessary to reduce injuries. But even if
  
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• Four companies charged following Hazelwood mine fire investigation

  15-03-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Victoria’s Environment Protection Authority alleges La Trobe Valley residents were exposed to toxic carbon monoxideVictoria’s Environment Protection Authority has charged four companies with air pollution offences following a comprehensive investigation into the devastating Hazelwood mine fire which occurred in February 2014 and burned for 45 days.Related: Hazelwood mine manager charged with 10 offences over 2014 Morwell fireContinue reading...
  
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• Illegal fishing worth $600m in the Pacific amounts to 'daylight robbery'

  15-03-2016 07:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Calls for better policing of the industry as report finds licensed fishing vessels are responsible for majority of the illegal catchIllegal fishing in the Pacific Ocean is costing more than $600m a year and is mainly being carried out by legally licensed fishing vessels, a report has found. The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency released the 100-page report, which is the first in-depth attempt to investigate, quantify and place a monetary value on the illegal, unreported and unregulated fish
  
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• Obama to kill off Arctic oil drilling

  15-03-2016 06:50 via theguardian.com
  
  President also expected to protect large areas of Atlantic coast after backlash from communities that fear Gulf of Mexico rig disaster could happen againThe Obama administration is expected to put virtually all of the Arctic and much of the Atlantic off limits for oil and gas drilling until 2022 in a decision that could be announced as early as Tuesday.Related: Obama administration blocks new oil drilling in the ArcticContinue reading...
  
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• Welcome return of a persecuted raptor

  15-03-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Claxton, Norfolk Such was the persecution of buzzards by pheasant-killing folk that until 1994 I’d never seen one in NorfolkMy guess is that on most days in the last 5,000 years, buzzards have been commonplace over our village. Yet such was the relatively recent persecution of them by pheasant-killing folk that until 1994 I’d never seen one at all in Norfolk. And it was only this century that I found them breeding locally. Now I spot them routinely from the office, and 10 d
  
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• Environmental risks killing 12.6 million people, WHO study says

  15-03-2016 06:01 via theguardian.com
  
  One in four deaths avoidable as enviornmental factors contribute to over 100 diseases, with air pollution responsible for 25% of strokes and 19% of cancersNearly one in four deaths are linked to unhealthy environments and are avoidable, a new World Health Organisation study – the first major assessment of environmental risk since 2006 – has shown.It suggests environmental risks now contribute to more than 100 of the world’s most dangerous diseases, injuries, and kills 12.6 mill
  
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• Brazil's Lula likely to take cabinet position - source

  15-03-2016 05:04
  By Caroline Stauffer and Lisandra Paraguassu SAO PAULO/BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will likely accept a position in President Dilma Rousseff's cabinet but plans to travel to Brasilia on Tuesday to discuss his options with her in person, a source said on Monday. Brazil's top three papers also reported late on Monday that Lula was expected to accept a ministerial position in the coming days, after a crusading federal judge was given jurisdiction to rule
  
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• Renewable energy jobs fall by 27% in four years

  15-03-2016 04:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Latest ABS figures show job decline in renewable energy industry, with consumer groups blaming government for the loss of 5,100 full-time jobsMore than a quarter of the jobs in the renewable energy industry have disappeared since 2011, with a continued decline in the latest figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.The clean energy industry, consumer groups and conservationists all blamed federal government actions, like reviewing the renewable energy target and maintaining the pol
  
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• Millions in US at risk from rising seas: study

  15-03-2016 03:12
  
  Rising sea levels driven by climate change could upend the lives of more than 13 million Americans by the end of the century, according to a study released Monday.
  
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• Oil prices rise slightly as oversupply concerns mount again

  15-03-2016 02:04
  Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Tuesday, coming off six day lows reached the session before, as concerns that a six-week market recovery has gone beyond the fundamentals of oversupply start to take hold. Saudi Arabia kept its crude oil production steady in February at just above 10 million barrels per day (bpd), suggesting the world's biggest oil exporter is keeping to a preliminary deal with other producers to freeze output. Saudi Arabia and non-OPEC member Russia, the world's two large
  
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• Malcolm Turnbull risks Australia's economy with inaction on climate change

  15-03-2016 01:51 via theguardian.com
  
  He may not want to confront climate-change deniers in his party, but it’s time for the prime minister to seize the low-carbon agenda for the opportunity it is Even for a sympathetic observer from the UK, the politics of climate change in Australia is, to say the least, vexatious. But it’s now entering a more critical phase than ever before. The mismatch between the conclusions of the Paris agreement in December last year and the failure of Australia’s political establishment to
  
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• Suspected militants stage attack near key oil field in eastern Libya - guard

  15-03-2016 01:37
  Suspected Islamic State militants staged an attack on a power and water plant about 80km (50 miles) from the major Sarir oil field in eastern Libya late on Monday, an oil facilities guard said. Any threat to the Sarir area would cause particular alarm because more than half of Libya's remaining oil production comes from the region. No group immediately claimed the attack, but Islamic State fighters have previously targeted against oil installations in Libya, stepping up their campaign against ex
  
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• 10 years to save £20bn: WRAP unveils revamped Courtauld Commitment 'to transform food industry'

  15-03-2016 01:02
  
  The Government's Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) is today (15 March) urging Britain's food and drink firms to pledge major reductions in food waste and carbon emissions - which could deliver £20bn in savings for the UK economy - through its pioneering new Courtald Commitment 2025.
  
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• Brazil court sends Lula charges to Petrobras judge

  15-03-2016 00:09
  By Caroline Stauffer and Lisandra Paraguassu SAO PAULO/BRASILIA (Reuters) - Any decision to arrest Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will be made by Federal Judge Sergio Moro, who oversees a sweeping investigation into kickbacks at state-run oil firm Petrobras and approved the detention of dozens of senior executives, a Sao Paulo court ruled on Monday. State prosecutors in Sao Paulo filed for the arrest of Lula last week after charging him with money laundering for concealing o
  
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