Environment news

• How your clothes are poisoning our oceans and food supply

  20-06-2016 23:36 via theguardian.com
  
  New studies show that alarming numbers of tiny fibers from synthetic fabrics are making their way from your washing machine into aquatic animalsThe first time professor Sherri Mason cut open a Great Lakes fish, she was alarmed at what she found. Synthetic fibers were everywhere. Under a microscope, they seemed to be “weaving themselves into the gastrointestinal tract”. Though she had been studying aquatic pollution around the Great Lakes for several years, Mason, who works for the St
  
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• Global coral bleaching event expected to last through 2016

  20-06-2016 23:07
  
  HONOLULU (AP) — After the most powerful El Nino on record heated the world's oceans to never-before-seen levels, huge swaths of once vibrant coral reefs that were teeming with life are now stark white ghost towns disintegrating into the sea.
  
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• Coral bleaching event now biggest in history – and about to get worse

  20-06-2016 23:01 via theguardian.com
  
  US weather agency says bleaching is now the most widespread on record and is likely to continue for unprecedented third yearThe coral bleaching event sweeping the globe and destroying vast tracts of valuable coral reef is now officially the most widespread in recorded history, and is likely to continue for an unprecedented third year, according to the US weather agency. For the coming four months, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration says its forecasts show warm ocean temperatur
  
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• Climate change is bad for your kidneys

  20-06-2016 22:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Thousands of people labouring in hot temperatures have been succumbing to a deadly kidney disease, and as the planet warms, the problem is likely to spreadA mysterious and deadly kidney disease has been plaguing labourers in the sugar fields of Central America. In the past 20 years, some 20,000 workers have died of the disease, and the crisis has been growing worse. At first the epidemic was thought to be caused by chemicals such as pesticides, but the disease only affected labourers in coastal
  
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• China's plan to cut meat consumption by 50% cheered by climate campaigners

  20-06-2016 22:08 via theguardian.com
  
  New dietary guidelines could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1bn tonnes by 2030, and could lessen country’s problems with obesity and diabetesThe Chinese government has outlined a plan to reduce its citizens’ meat consumption by 50%, in a move that climate campaigners hope will provide major heft in the effort to avoid runaway global warming.
  New dietary guidelines drawn up by China’s health ministry recommend that the nation’s 1.3 billion population should consume bet
  
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• Great Barrier Reef: tourists will go elsewhere if bleaching continues – poll

  20-06-2016 22:07 via theguardian.com
  
  Survey shows a majority of Chinese tourists and about a third of US and UK visitors will travel to somewhere other than AustraliaIf the bleaching continues on the Great Barrier Reef, tourists say they will pack their bags and go elsewhere, taking with them an estimated $1bn a year and costing 10,000 jobs in regional Queensland, according to a new poll.The majority of Chinese tourists, and about a third of UK and US tourists, said if severe bleaching continues, and “some of the reef dies co
  
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• Oil up 3 percent as Brexit chances dim; gasoline surges too

  20-06-2016 21:54
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices rose 3 percent on Monday, settling higher for a second straight day, after polls showing a lower likelihood of Britain leaving the European Union while U.S. gasoline surged 5 percent in anticipation of peak summer driving demand. Data from market intelligence firm Genscape pointing to a drawdown of 568,213 barrels at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery base for U.S. crude futures in the week to June 17 was also supportive, said traders who saw the nu
  
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• Mass elephant relocation could save populations in parts of Africa

  20-06-2016 21:47 via theguardian.com
  
  Experts in Malawi will move 500 elephants 185 miles across the country to a sanctuary that will act as a ‘reservoir’Wildlife experts in Malawi will next month start moving up to 500 elephants to a sanctuary that they hope could eventually serve as a reservoir to restore some elephant populations in other parts of Africa where the threatened species has been heavily poached.The massive relocation, slated for completion next year, will involve darting the elephants from a helicopter, h
  
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• Researchers find better way to 'herd' electrons in solar fuel devices

  20-06-2016 21:23 via feedproxy.google.com
  Researchers at the University of British Columbia and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered a new way to optimize electron transfer in semi-conductors used in solar fuel solutions.The finding, published today in Nature Chemistry, could have a big impact on devices that convert sunlight into electricity and fuel.
  
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• Cruel summer: how you should use today’s extra daylight – if you must

  20-06-2016 20:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Today is a once in a lifetime event: the longest day of the year, first day of summer and a full ‘strawberry’ moon – which means it’s time to go outsideStrawberry moon solstice: last seen during 1967’s summer of loveAs if today being Monday wasn’t bad enough, it’s also the longest day of the year. Now, if you’ve spent the last nine months shuttling between your office and your apartment glimpsing only a smidgeon of sunshine in between, all this ext
  
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• Lidl makes 'fruit and veg pledge' to back British farmers

  20-06-2016 19:03 via theguardian.com
  
  German discounter joins rival Aldi in signing up to farmers’ union-backed code that aims to boost profitability of suppliersLidl has become only the second grocer to sign up to a 12-month-old scheme to back British farmers by promising to buy more of their produce and offer long-term supply deals.The German discounter joins its close rival Aldi, which almost a year ago became the first retailer to sign up to the National Farmers Union-backed “fruit and veg pledge”, which aims t
  
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• Environmental activist murders set record as 2015 became deadliest year

  20-06-2016 18:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Global Witness says at least 185 activists were killed and anti-mining activities were the most deadly – with 42 deaths related to protestsAt least 185 environmental activists were killed last year, the highest annual death toll on record and close to a 60% increase on the previous year, according to a UK-based watchdog.
  Global Witness documented lethal attacks across 16 countries. Brazil was worst hit with 50 deaths, many of them killings of campaigners who were trying to combat illegal l
  
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• How early mammals evolved night vision to escape dinos

  20-06-2016 18:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Night-time vision evolved millions of years ago in early mammals, a study suggests.
  
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• Oil up more than 2 percent as Brexit chances dim, Cushing stock draw

  20-06-2016 17:53
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices rose more than 2 percent on Monday, a second straight day of gains, as polls showing a lower likelihood of Britain leaving the European Union weakened the dollar, boosting commodities priced in the U.S. currency. Data from market intelligence firm Genscape pointing to a drawdown of 568,213 barrels at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery base for U.S. crude futures in the week to June 17 also helped sentiment, said traders who saw the numbers. Three op
  
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• China to generate a quarter of electricity from wind power by 2030

  20-06-2016 17:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Report says figures could rise to nearly one-third with power sector reforms, making it the world wind energy leader by a large margin China is on track to generate more than a quarter of its electricity from wind power by 2030, and the figure could rise to nearly a third with power sector reforms, a new study has found.Within 14 years, more new generating capacity – mostly clean energy – will come online in China than currently exists in the whole of the US, further cementing the co
  
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• Project re-ignited

  20-06-2016 16:50 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Andy Green says a new source of funding means preparations to run the Bloodhound 1,000mph supersonic car in South Africa next year can resume.
  
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• German prosecutors investigate ex-VW chief over emissions scandal

  20-06-2016 16:44 via theguardian.com
  
  Braunschweig prosecutor’s office looking into Martin Winterkorn and another senior figure over suspected market manipulationGerman prosecutors are investigating the former Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn and another senior executive over suspected market manipulation in relation to the diesel emissions scandal.In a statement on Monday, the Braunschweig prosecutor’s office said the investigation centred on “sufficient real signs” that VW’s duty to disclo
  
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• Is biofuel production the long-term answer to enhancing food security?

  20-06-2016 15:19
  
  With the United Nations calling for countries to mobilise efforts to improve food and energy security, new research has suggested that an accelerated push to generate sustainably sourced biofuel could actually eradicate long-term hunger.
  
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• Solar PV recycling value could exceed $15bn by 2050

  20-06-2016 15:13
  
  End-of-life solar PV material recovery could be worth $15bn by 2050, if fully invested back into the economy, according to a report released today (20 June) by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
  
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• Methanol, a Building Block of Life, Found Around Newborn Star for 1st Time

  20-06-2016 13:56
  
  Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array(ALMA) in Chile spotted methanol in the dusty disk around a newborn star, marking the first time this carbon-containing organic molecule has been spotted in a planet-forming environment. "Methanol in gaseous form in the disk is an unambiguous indicator of rich organic chemical processes at an early stage of star and planet formation," study co-author Ryan Loomis, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mas
  
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• Saiga antelope numbers rise after mass die-off

  20-06-2016 13:46 via theguardian.com
  
  A recent aerial survey has revealed that the numbers of all three saiga populations in Kazakhstan are going up, Mongabay reportsLast year, catastrophe hit saiga antelopes in Kazakhstan. About 200,000 of these critically endangered antelopes died in Betpak-Dala in May, deeply worrying conservationists. The deaths, scientists eventually found, were most likely caused by bacterial infection.But there may be hope for these severely threatened migratory mammals. Continue reading...
  
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• China builds world's most powerful computer

  20-06-2016 13:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The 93 petaflop Sunway TaihuLight in China has topped a newly published list of supercomputers.
  
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• Meet Maxwell, the electric plane from NASA set to shake-up the aviation industry

  20-06-2016 13:45
  
  US space agency NASA has unveiled a new experimental aircraft that harnesses 14 electric motors along uniquely-designed wings to replace traditional gas-fuelled piston engines, in an attempt to sever the aviation sector's dependence on fossil fuels.
  
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• Three environmental activists killed each week in 2015

  20-06-2016 13:33 via theguardian.com
  
  Global Witness figures show last year was the deadliest for environment and land campaigners since 2002 Three environmental activists were killed per week last year, murdered defending land rights and the environment from mining, dam projects and logging, a campaign group said on Monday.In 16 countries surveyed in a report by Global Witness, 185 activists were killed, making 2015 the deadliest year for environment and land campaigners since 2002.Continue reading...
  
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• Solar Impulse 2 begins transatlantic stretch of global journey

  20-06-2016 12:53 via theguardian.com
  
  Solar-powered plane sets off from JFK airport on the transatlantic leg of its record-breaking flight to promote renewable energyThe sun-powered Solar Impulse 2 aircraft set off from New York’s JFK airport early on Monday, embarking on the transatlantic leg of its record-breaking flight around the world to promote renewable energy.The flight, piloted by Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard, is expected to take about 90 hours - during which Piccard will only take short naps - before landing at
  
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• Scottish Government invests £1.5m in offshore wind

  20-06-2016 12:45
  
  The Scottish Government has announced it will provide £1.5m in investments to the offshore wind sector to increase innovation, reduce costs and encourage additional funding.
  
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• Indonesia vows to stand firm after skirmishes with Chinese ships

  20-06-2016 12:22
  By Kanupriya Kapoor and John Chalmers JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia is determined to assert its exclusive right to a corner of the South China Sea where there has been a run of skirmishes between Indonesian navy ships and Chinese vessels, the vice-president said on Monday. Jusuf Kalla told Reuters that Indonesia would send a message to Beijing demanding that it respect the Southeast Asian nation's sovereignty over waters around the Natuna Islands. Indonesia's navy responded that it had fired war
  
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• New methods are improving ocean and climate measurements | John Abraham

  20-06-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Improvements to ocean temperature measurements are making good measurements greatI have often said that global warming is really ocean warming. As humans add more heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere, it causes the Earth to gain energy. Almost all of that energy ends up in the oceans. So, if you want to know how fast the Earth is warming, you have to measure how fast the oceans are heating up.Sounds easy enough at first, but when we recognize that the oceans are vast (and deep) we can appreciat
  
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• BP approves investment in Egypt gas field 15 months after discovery

  20-06-2016 11:52
  British oil major BP has approved investment in the first phase of developing the large Atoll gas field offshore Egypt, only 15 months after it first announced its discovery. BP, which declined to give an investment figure for the project, said the field was on track to deliver its first gas in the first half of 2018, set to pump 300 million cubic feet a day of gas to the Egyptian market. BP decided in November to fast-track the development of Atoll, estimated to contain 1.5 trillion cubic feet
  
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• Oil rallies as fears over Brexit abate

  20-06-2016 10:59
  By Amanda Cooper LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rallied on Monday, lifted by a wave of investor confidence and a weaker dollar after polls showed a diminishing chance that Britain may vote to leave the European Union later this week. Three opinion polls ahead of Thursday's vote showed the 'Remain' camp recovering some momentum, although the overall picture remained one of an evenly split electorate. Perceived safe havens such as gold , the U.S. dollar , German bonds and the Swiss franc came under pressu
  
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• Solar Impulse sets off on 90-hour Atlantic crossing

  20-06-2016 10:47 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Solar Impulse 2 sets off from New York to cross the Atlantic, one of the toughest stages of its attempt to fly around the globe using solar energy.
  
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• How the Coalition is using clean energy financing as an election slush fund

  20-06-2016 10:13 via theguardian.com
  
  Some in the sector fear the government is trying to defund the Clean Energy Finance Corporation by stealth. The truth may be a little more mundaneAfter trying in vain to dismantle the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the Coalition is now using Labor’s $10bn financing scheme as an election slush fund, throwing its money at the Great Barrier Reef, at “smart cities” and even at the steel industry in South Australia.These announcements left some clean energy sector experts crying
  
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• Businesses urged to combat water scarcity and become 'stewards of limited resources'

  20-06-2016 09:00
  
  Businesses have been warned that in order to thrive in a low-carbon future they must first "navigate a mosaic of global realities", that has seen water scarcity hit a variety of regions and threaten to destabilise infrastructure, extractives and agriculture.
  
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• Scientists battle to save world's coral reefs

  20-06-2016 08:56
  
  HONOLULU (AP) — After the most powerful El Nino on record heated the world's oceans to never-before-seen levels, huge swaths of once vibrant coral reefs that were teeming with life are now stark white ghost towns disintegrating into the sea.
  
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• Shot in the dark: the animals who shun sunlight – in pictures

  20-06-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  From deep inside caves to the bottom of the ocean, wildlife photographer Danté Fenolio seeks out the creatures that don’t want to be found Continue reading...
  
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• Oil extends gains as Brexit fears ease

  20-06-2016 07:22
  By Aaron Sheldrick TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil extended gains in Asian trading on Monday as a weaker dollar and easing worries over Britain's possible exit from the European Union helped support crude prices. London Brent crude for August delivery was up 48 cents at $49.65 a barrel by 0455 GMT, after settling up $1.98, or 4.2 percent, at $49.17 on Friday. "With Brexit dominating the market headlines, it might be moves in the U.S. dollar that drive the oil market at least until we get that out of the w
  
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• A scorpion that breathes through its bum

  20-06-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Saxlingham Nethergate, Norfolk Known as “toe-biters”, the water scorpion will pinch unsuspecting paddlers, while preferring small fish, tadpoles and other pond insectsI reach into the tepid, brackish pond, right up to my shoulder. My daughter crouches next to me, hoping I will find her a pond snail shell. Eventually, in the squishy mud, I discover an uninhabited one. It’s small and a little cracked but beautifully whirled. Now we part the duckweed with nets, swishing in a figur
  
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• Mars' 100% renewables pledge: a cause for celebrations?

  20-06-2016 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The switch to renewables by Mars and other companies is welcome, but building clean power facilities on-site should be the ultimate goalOn a beautiful barren stretch of the Scottish Highlands, just south of Inverness, spin 20 brand new 3,300-kilowatt wind turbines. The second these industrial-scale turbines came on stream last month, all Mars UK’s factories and offices became immediately zero carbon. The US confectionary giant negotiated with the UK arm of Eneco, the Dutch utility behind t
  
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• Oil extends gains, up 0.6 percent, as Brexit fears ease

  20-06-2016 01:08
  Oil prices extended gains on Monday as a weaker dollar and easing worries over Britain's possible exit from the European Union helped buy back the commodity after six straight days of declines. London Brent crude for August delivery was up 29 cents at $49.46 a barrel by 2238 GMT on Sunday, after settling up $1.98, or 4.2 percent, at $49.17 on Friday.
  
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• European commission warned of car emissions test cheating, five years before VW scandal

  20-06-2016 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Documents seen by Guardian show that the commission’s in-house science service told it in 2010 that tests had uncovered what researchers suspected to be a ‘defeat device’The European commission was warned by its own experts that a car maker was suspected of cheating emissions tests five years before the VW emissions scandal.A documents cache seen by the Guardian show that the commission’s in-house science service told it in 2010 that tests had uncovered what researchers s
  
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• Cambridge University rejects calls to divest from fossil fuels

  20-06-2016 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Working group on investment responsibility argues it is better to keep investments in oil and gas companies, rather than divest £5.9bn endowmentThe University of Cambridge has rejected calls to divest its £5.9bn endowment from fossil fuels, as students, academics and the former archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams have called for.In a report on Friday, the university ruled out future investments in coal and tar sands, although it currently has no direct holdings in either, and onl
  
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• Three dead, 45 injured as labour union clashes with police in Mexico

  20-06-2016 00:58
  A violent clash between members of a dissident teachers' union and police in southern Mexico on Sunday has left three dead and 45 injured, as law enforcement attempts to dislodge the protesters from blocking a local highway. Mexico's National Security Commission, or CNS, reported that 21 federal and state police were among the wounded. The federal police have escorted 120 tanker trucks carrying chemical waste from the nearby Salina Cruz refinery, owned and operated by state-owned oil company Pem
  
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