Environment news

• Spring-flowering trees in full bloom: Country diary 100 years ago

  01-05-2016 23:30
  
  Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 6 May 1916Surrey, May 4
  Late spring and early summer have come together. On the border of the heath the blackthorns are still covered with bloom - yellowing, it is true, and often shaken to the ground by light breeze; but, opposite, the hawthorn blossom has opened fresh and white, and it fills the air with its strong scent. The trees, nearly all of them, can scarcely ever before have borne more flowers than this year. When a shower came last eve
  
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• Gold-mining in Peru: forests razed, millions lost, virgins auctioned

  01-05-2016 23:06
  
  Reports of operations in the River Santiago basin raise concerns about potentially devastating social and environmental impactsThree people in a motorised canoe on the mighty River Santiago in Peru’s northern Amazon some weeks ago saw something deeply alarming. It was one dredge and between 15 and 20 men mining for gold up one left-bank tributary.Two of the people in the canoe were consultants for Lima-based NGO DAR, which has dubbed the River Santiago Peru’s “last frontier&rdq
  
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• Bill Shorten memoir sets out Labor leader's manifesto in book similar to Battlelines

  01-05-2016 22:15
  
  ‘Real leadership shows that consensus and negotiation is a sign of strength, not weakness,’ opposition leader writes in part-memoir part-manifesto Bill Shorten has released his own part-memoir part-manifesto, a book casting his life, career and policies for government as part of Labor’s centrist reforming tradition and in the mould of Bob Hawke’s consensus-driven leadership style.
  Published Monday as an ebook and next week as a paperback, For The Common Good: Reflections
  
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• Roaring rescue: circus lions begin new life in African bush – video

  01-05-2016 16:57
  
  Thirty-three lions rescued from circuses in South America arrive at a big cat sanctuary in South Africa. The lions are seen roaring and playing with each other as they’re freed into nature for the first time. They were rescued from circuses in Peru and Colombia and have been resettled in an private estate in Limpopo province Continue reading...
  
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• How well do you know British wildlife?

  01-05-2016 16:55
  
  Test your pawprint identification skills and your knowledge of native species with our nature quizWhich of the following animal paw prints belong to a fox?abcdWhich of these edible plants isn't associated with the seashore?SamphireSea PeaThree-cornered leekSea BeetWhich is the odd one out and why?Agaricus xanthodermus, yellow stainerBoletus edulis, the penny bunAgaricus arvensis, the horse mushroomCalvatia gigantea, the giant puffballWhat animal's scientific name is Cupido minimus?Red foxEuropea
  
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• A sustainable fishing experiment in the Pacific – in pictures

  01-05-2016 16:00
  
  We go behind the scenes on a tuna fishing expedition in Palau, an island nation in the western Pacific, where researchers from The Nature Conservancy test a number of sustainable fishing practices that could reduce bycatch – the unwanted fish and other marine creatures caught during commercial fishing – while keeping the fishing business lucrativeOff the hook: can a new study in the Pacific reel in unsustainable fishing?Continue reading...
  
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• IEA chief says oil price bottoming depends on global growth

  01-05-2016 10:36
  By Osamu Tsukimori KITAKYUSHU, Japan (Reuters) - International Energy Agency (IEA) chief Fatih Birol said on Sunday that oil prices may have bottomed out, providing that the health of the global economy does not pose a concern. Oil prices hit 2016 highs on Friday with Brent crude reaching $48.50 (33.19 pounds) a barrel on optimism that a global oil glut will ease. A decline in non-OPEC production amounting to more than 700,000 barrels per day this year, and production outages such as in Nigeria
  
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• The eco guide to cruises | Lucy Siegle

  01-05-2016 07:00
  
  Before you embark on a cruise, there are serious ethical questions to ask…Ahoy, my ageing hearties. Increasing numbers of mega liners are being built. These monster ships can carry, entertain and feed 5,000 passengers at a time. Meanwhile research from Tourism Concern shows that the older vessels are responsible for 36 times as many greenhouse gas emissions per passenger kilometre than Eurostar and three and a half times more than a long-haul flight. And this is just the start of a long e
  
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• Australia commits $15m in bid to eradicate carp using herpes virus

  01-05-2016 06:23
  
  Coalition government announces budget funds for national plan to control Australia’s worst freshwater feral pest Tuesday’s federal budget will include funding for a $15m for a national carp control plan in an attempt to eradicate Australia’s worst freshwater feral pest, the government announced on Sunday.The plan includes the staged release of the carp-specific herpes virus in the Murray-Darling basin. CSIRO scientists have been testing the virus in Australian native fish speci
  
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• Mane event: 33 lions flown home after rescue from life in the circus

  01-05-2016 01:25
  
  Big cats arrive in South Africa, where sanctuary beckons, after having suffered cruel treatment in Colombia and PeruThe roars of lions filled the cargo section of Johannesburg’s main international airport on Saturday evening as 33 lions rescued from South American circuses landed in South Africa.The animals will now be released into a bush sanctuary for big cats. Continue reading...
  
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