Environment news

• Drone footage shows significant land clearing in Queensland – video

  01-08-2016 23:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Exclusive: Drone footage and satellite imagery collected by WWF shows what it says is the clearing of thousands of hectares of native vegetation on one property in central Queensland, Corntop. The state is considering tightening native vegetation laws but many farmers, including the owners of Corntop, have been vocal in their opposition Continue reading...
  
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• Nigeria resumes cash pay-offs to former militants in oil hub-oil official

  01-08-2016 22:45
  By Felix Onuah ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's government has resumed cash payments for former militants in the restive Niger Delta, an official said on Monday, in a bid to end a wave a wave of militant attacks on oil and gas facilities. In February, Nigeria stopped the payments for former militants who agreed under a 2009 amnesty to stop blowing up crude pipelines in exchange for cash, the official said. The government says it has been holding talks with militants they suspect of being behind a rec
  
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• Why bigger is better, for a Scottish wren

  01-08-2016 22:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Research has found that even though northern populations of the birds faced up to 70% more frost days than southern ones, they were more resilientBergmann’s rule is usually applied to mammals. Widely distributed species like deer or bear will have larger specimens in colder climes and animals get smaller the warmer the winters.Karl Bergmann, who described this theory in 1847, said the reason appears to be that larger body mass provides greater protection against heat loss in the winter and
  
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• Anthrax outbreak triggered by climate change sickens dozens in Arctic Circle

  01-08-2016 22:12 via theguardian.com
  
  Seventy-two nomadic herders, including 41 children, were hospitalised in far north Russia after the region began experiencing abnormally high temperaturesA 12-year-old boy in the far north of Russia has died in an outbreak of anthrax that experts believe was triggered when unusually warm weather caused the release of the bacteria.The boy was one of 72 nomadic herders, including 41 children, hospitalised in the town of Salekhard in the Arctic Circle, after reindeer began dying en masse from anthr
  
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• Anthrax outbreak triggered by climate change kills boy in Arctic Circle

  01-08-2016 22:12 via theguardian.com
  
  Seventy-two nomadic herders, including 41 children, were hospitalised in far north Russia after the region began experiencing abnormally high temperaturesA 12-year-old boy in the far north of Russia has died in an outbreak of anthrax that experts believe was triggered when unusually warm weather caused the release of the bacteria.The boy was one of 72 nomadic herders, including 41 children, hospitalised in the town of Salekhard in the Arctic Circle, after reindeer began dying en masse from anthr
  
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• Factbox - Planned Chinese investment in nuclear power in Britain

  01-08-2016 21:50
  French utility EDF and its Chinese partner China General Nuclear Corporation (CGN) agreed last year to make a series of investments in nuclear power generation in Britain. Hinkley C, which would be the first building of a nuclear plant in Britain for decades, has been thrown into doubt by a surprise decision by the British government to review the project, just hours after the board of EDF voted to proceed with it. New British Prime Minister Theresa May was concerned about the security implicati
  
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• Astronaut-Aquanauts: 50 People Have Now Orbited Earth and Lived Undersea

  01-08-2016 21:13
  
  Reid Wiseman is back on the surface of the Earth. A NASA astronaut since 2009, Wiseman logged 165 days on the International Space Station two years ago. "Proud to be the 50th human who has orbited Earth and lived under the sea," Wiseman wrote on Twitter.
  
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• U.S. crude breaks below $40 as oil ends down 4 percent on glut

  01-08-2016 20:55
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. crude tumbled below $40 per barrel on Monday for the first time since April, as oil prices settled down nearly 4 percent on heightened worries of a crude glut despite peak summer fuel demand. A 15-percent slump in U.S. crude prices in July, the worst monthly loss in a year, also triggered liquidation as trading began for August. Monday's slide in crude prices also came after Marathon Petroleum unexpectedly shut its lone crude unit and an associated un
  
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• Shifty shades of grey (and yellow) wagtails | Brief letters

  01-08-2016 20:22 via theguardian.com
  
  Women reclaiming the streets | Benefits of livestreaming arts performances | Bird identification | Donald Trump’s ‘sacrifice’I was surprised that Lauren Elkin’s article (Reclaim the streets, Review, 30 July) about women walking and exploring city streets did not mention Rebecca Solnit. The article also prompted a memory of Michael Dibdin’s novel Vendetta, set in Italy, in which he wrote: “The men, old and young, massed in groups, using the public spaces as an
  
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• Yorkshire Dales expand into Lancashire in national parks land grab

  01-08-2016 19:43 via theguardian.com
  
  Extension seen by some as further erosion of Red rose county by white, with fears larger protected area may create pitfalls for farmers and landownersIt is more than 500 years since the House of Lancaster won the ultimate battle of the Wars of the Roses, but the Yorkies have finally wrought their revenge. On Monday, despite protests by farmers in the red rose county, a lovely little corner of Lancashire found itself subsumed by the Yorkshire Dales, after the national park increased in size by 24
  
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• Luc Hoffmann obituary

  01-08-2016 18:58 via theguardian.com
  
  One of the greats of 20th-century nature conservation who was a co-founder of the World Wildlife FundLuc Hoffmann, who has died aged 93, was one of the last surviving greats of 20th-century nature conservation. As co-founder of the World Wildlife Fund, along with men such as Julian Huxley, Peter Scott and Max Nicholson, he helped turn conservation from a parochial, insular pursuit into a truly international movement.In the era following the end of the second world war, which saw an unprecedented
  
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• U.S. crude breaks below $40/bbl as oil slumps 4 percent on glut worry

  01-08-2016 18:56
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. crude tumbled below $40 per barrel for the first time since April as oil prices fell nearly 4 percent on Monday on heightened worries of an oil glut after a survey suggested OPEC output reached record highs last month. A Reuters survey on Friday found that output from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries likely rose in July to its highest in recent history as Iraq pumped more and Nigeria squeezed out additional crude exports despite m
  
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• Former Defra director announced as new CIWM chief executive

  01-08-2016 18:54
  
  The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) has announced today (1 August) that the ex-director of environmental quality at Defra, Colin Church, will be replacing outgoing chief executive Steve Lee in October.
  
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• Help the birds – resist the tyranny of the tidy hedge | Patrick Barkham

  01-08-2016 18:44 via theguardian.com
  
  Though farmers are annoyed by the environment department’s hedge-cutting restrictions, they help our later-nesting birdsMy garden hedge is full of empty nests. The blackbirds have fledged, twice, and so have the dunnocks. Successfully fending off sparrowhawks and cats, their exhausted parents are now enjoying a well-earned holiday. In the fields beyond our home, though, parents still slave away, feeding baby bullfinches, linnets and yellowhammers tucked in the hedges that grace our country
  
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• BEIS confirms ministerial make-up and key responsibilities

  01-08-2016 18:25
  
  The newly-formed Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has today (1 August) unveiled its full list of ministerial responsibilities, weeks after replacing DECC in Prime Minister Theresa May's Government reshuffle.
  
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• Hinkley Point: China warns UK not to drive away investors

  01-08-2016 18:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Warning comes as China’s official news agency questions reasons for delay in approving plans for new nuclear plantTheresa May has been warned by China not to risk driving away Chinese investors as the country’s official news agency questioned the British government’s delay in approving the controversial new Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant.Xinhua news agency said China understood and respected Britain’s requirement for more time to think about the deal, but it dismisse
  
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• Oil down 3 percent on worry over OPEC output, U.S. rig count

  01-08-2016 17:57
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell more than 3 percent on Monday, with U.S. crude hitting April lows, weighed by a survey showing output in OPEC reached record highs last month amid the biggest addition of U.S. oil rigs in two years. Production in July by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries likely rose to its highest in recent history, a Reuters survey found on Friday, as Iraq pumped more and Nigeria squeezed out additional crude exports despite militant at
  
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• BEIS confirms new ministerial make-up and key responsibilities

  01-08-2016 17:51
  
  The newly-formed Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has today (1 August) unveiled its full list of ministerial responsibilities, weeks after replacing DECC in Prime Minister Theresa May's Government reshuffle.
  
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• Caribbean island launches plan to remove invasive rats and goats

  01-08-2016 17:51 via theguardian.com
  
  Mongabay: Redonda’s invasive black rats and long-horned goats have transformed the once-forested island into a ‘moonscape’, conservationists sayThe remote Caribbean island of Redonda, part of Antigua and Barbuda, is home to numerous species of plants and animals found nowhere else on earth. It is also home to invasive black rats and non-native goats that are wiping out the island’s native, rare wildlife, conservationists say.To help the island’s flora and fauna, the
  
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• Nationwide rewarded with Carbon Trust Triple Standard after exceeding sustainability targets

  01-08-2016 17:46
  
  The world's largest building society, Nationwide, has become the first high street financial services provider in the UK to achieve triple re-certification to the Carbon Trust Standards for its "holistic approach" to managing carbon, water and waste.
  
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• Some fish tackle ocean global warming by pretending it's night

  01-08-2016 17:24
  By Alister Doyle OSLO (Reuters) - Some fish may cope with the changing chemistry of the oceans linked to global warming by permanently setting their body defenses to night-time levels, the time of day when they find sea water least hospitable, a study said on Monday. Man-made carbon dioxide, released into the air by burning fossil fuels, forms a weak acid when mixed with water that can harm marine life in what is likely to be a worsening effect of global warming this century. Fish adjust their b
  
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• Energy efficiency would be cheaper than Hinkley

  01-08-2016 16:38
  
  Installing energy efficiency could be £12 billion cheaper than the construction of the Hinkley Point C new nuclear power plant.
  
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• French inquiry confirms widespread irregularities in diesel emissions data

  01-08-2016 16:37 via theguardian.com
  
  10-month investigation finds a large number of diesel cars emit much higher levels of pollution than their manufacturers claimFrench investigators have found a large number of diesel cars emit much higher levels of pollution than their European manufacturers claim.The claims were revealed by France’s environment ministry after a 10-month investigation ordered following the “Dieselgate” scandal over Volkswagen’s use of software to cheat emissions tests.Continue reading...
  
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• UK resists Chinese pressure over nuclear deal but still wants close ties

  01-08-2016 16:22
  By William James and Ben Blanchard LONDON/BEIJING (Reuters) - Britain said on Monday that it wanted closer ties with China but resisted pressure from Beijing to sign off on a $24 billion nuclear power project that was delayed at the last minute by Prime Minister Theresa May. May's decision to review the building of Britain's first nuclear plant in decades has raised concerns that her government could take a sterner view of Chinese investment, potentially souring ties with the world's second larg
  
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• 'Hacking nerves can control disease'

  01-08-2016 16:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Controlling human nerve cells with electricity could treat a range of disease including type-2 diabetes, a new company says.
  
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• Unique 3D Views of Alaskan Forest Captured with Laser Scanner

  01-08-2016 16:05
  
  Scientists are zeroing in on a slice of forest in Alaska, using a powerful laser scanner to probe the area and produce unique 3D views of the trees that call the forest home. Earlier this month, scientists working on NASA’s ABoVE field campaign performed ground surveys of a birch forest in the Tanana Valley of interior Alaska. The ground surveys complement data collected in 2014 using the so-called G-LiHT airborne imager, which produces views that can't be achieved using satellite ima
  
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• Dartmoor lynx returned to zoo after weeks on run

  01-08-2016 15:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A lynx that escaped from Dartmoor Zoo is back in his pen after more than three weeks on the run.
  
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• City of London puts the brakes on new diesel vehicle purchases

  01-08-2016 15:13 via theguardian.com
  
  BusinessGreen: Public authority says it will no longer buy new diesel vehicles when older models need replacingThe City of London Corporation has banned the purchase or hire of diesel vehicles for its business.The public authority, which has a fleet of more than 300 vehicles, announced on Friday it will now no longer lease or purchase diesel models when older models need replacing. Continue reading...
  
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• Angolan rebels claim more casualties in oil-rich Cabinda

  01-08-2016 14:34
  Two rebels and 17 Angolan soldiers were killed in two incidents in the oil-producing province of Cabinda at the weekend, the separatist Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC) said on Monday. On Friday the government also did not respond to a FLEC claim that nine Angolan soldiers had been killed in the region. The latest clashes broke out on Saturday and Sunday near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, FLEC said in a statement.
  
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• Elon Musk sells his solar power company to his own electric car company

  01-08-2016 14:18 via theguardian.com
  
  Musk describes the sale of SolarCity to Tesla Motors for $2.6bn as a ‘no-brainer’, as companies expect to save $150m in first year of mergerElon Musk’s electric vehicle company, Tesla Motors, has bought Elon Musk’s solar power company, SolarCity, in an all-stock transaction worth $2.6bn (£2bn), the companies have confirmed.The new firm sees Tesla emphasise its battery power storage technology as a natural fit to SolarCity’s solar generation. Musk called the me
  
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• Oil falls as oversupply weighs

  01-08-2016 14:07
  By Nina Chestney LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Monday, reversing earlier gains, as increases in OPEC production and U.S. oil rig additions continued to weigh on the market. Brent crude was down $0.37 at $43.16 a barrel at 1200 GMT from the previous settlement, after reaching an intra-day high of $43.85 in earlier trade. It is negative because rebalancing takes longer than some market participants thought before," said Eugen Weinberg at Commerzbank.
  
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• Carrier bag charge sees usage plummet by 6.5 billion

  01-08-2016 13:24
  
  The number of plastic shopping bags handed out by retailers in England has dropped from seven billion to just over half a billion within six months, following the introduction of the 5p carrier bag charge last October.
  
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• Simple Exoplanet Calculation Describes Alien Atmospheres in a Flash

  01-08-2016 13:20
  
  A new mathematical formula predicts the ratio of particular molecules in the atmospheres of far-off planets, letting researchers more easily tell when something unusual is happening there. The new method is tailor-made to predict the ratios of nine important atmospheric molecules built from carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, so researchers can quickly learn what combination of molecules should be found on a high-temperature planet without using complicated simulations. The first hint of life
  
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• World weather: 2016's early record heat gives way to heavy rains

  01-08-2016 12:55 via theguardian.com
  
  The record-breaking heat of the first six months has turned to severe seasonal flooding across Asia in one of the strongest monsoon seasons in many years The record-breaking worldwide heat of the first six months of 2016 has turned to abnormally severe seasonal flooding across Asia with hundreds of people dying in China, India, Nepal and Pakistan and millions forced from their homes. In India, the Brahmaputra river, which is fed by Himalayan snowmelt and monsoon rains, has burst its banks in man
  
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• Planned Chinese investment in nuclear power in Britain

  01-08-2016 12:37
  French utility EDF and its Chinese partner China General Nuclear Corporation (CGN) agreed last year to make a series of investments in nuclear power generation in Britain. Hinkley C, which would be the first building of a nuclear plant in Britain for decades, has been thrown into doubt by a surprise decision by the British government to review the project, just hours after the board of EDF voted to proceed with it. New British Prime Minister Theresa May was concerned about the security implicati
  
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• Banking Britain's brains: The story of a scientific resource

  01-08-2016 12:34 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Researchers and donors tell the story of how your brain tissue can help with medical research.
  
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• Banking brains

  01-08-2016 12:34 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Researchers and donors tell the story of how your brain tissue can help with medical research.
  
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• Dissecting brains for medical research

  01-08-2016 12:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Dr Laura Palmer shows us what happens inside a brain bank and and explains why such donations are vital.
  
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• A climate scientist and economist made big bucks betting on global warming | Dana Nuccitelli

  01-08-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Chris Hope and James Annan took £2,000 from two GWPF advisors who were foolish enough to bet against global warming
  Climate scientist James Annan and climate economist Chris Hope made a nice sum this year for a bet they made on global warming in 2008. As Hope tells the story:The record warmth of 2015 just made me £1,334 richer. While the extra cash is a nice bonus, it sadly demonstrates that the atmospheric dice remain loaded towards increasing climate change.So, how did I turn incre
  
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• Scotland ranks second in Western European greenhouse gas reductions

  01-08-2016 11:59
  
  Over the last 25 years, only Sweden has achieved bigger greenhouse gas emissions reduction levels than Scotland across Western Europe, the Scottish Government revealed on Sunday (31 July).
  
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• Oil falls as oversupply still weighs on market

  01-08-2016 11:24
  By Nina Chestney LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell on Monday morning, reversing earlier gains, as increases in OPEC production and U.S. oil rig additions continued to weigh on the market. Brent crude was down $0.44 at $43.09 a barrel at 0854 GMT from the previous settlement, after reaching an intra-day high of $43.85 in earlier trade. It is negative because rebalancing takes longer than some market participants thought before," said Eugen Weinberg at Commerzbank.
  
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• Hinkley Point: China warns UK not to drive away would-be investors

  01-08-2016 11:07 via theguardian.com
  
  Warning comes as China’s official news agency questions reasons for delay in approving plans for new nuclear power plantTheresa May has been warned by China not to risk driving away Chinese investors as the country’s official news agency questioned the British government’s delay in approving the controversial new Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant.Xinhua news agency said China understood and respected Britain’s requirement for more time to think about the deal, but it di
  
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• China warns UK over 'suspicious approach' to Hinkley Point deal

  01-08-2016 11:07 via theguardian.com
  
  Britain needs to be more open to outside investment after the Brexit vote, China saysChina has warned Britain that it cannot risk driving away Chinese investors as the country’s official news agency questioned the UK government’s postponement of approval for the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant. Theresa May, the prime minister, is understood to be concerned about the security implications of a planned Chinese investment in Hinkley and has delayed giving the £18bn project the g
  
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• Cold spring delays British blackberry crop

  01-08-2016 10:41 via theguardian.com
  
  Citizen science survey has received only 31 reports of first ripe blackberries around the country so farBlackberry crumble is not on the menu yet as a cold spring has delayed the ripening of the traditional British fruit, wildlife experts said.The Woodland Trust has only received 31 reports of ripe blackberries so far to its Nature’s Calendar survey, in which members of the public record the signs of the changing seasons. Continue reading...
  
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• China calls for British nuclear project to proceed

  01-08-2016 10:35
  By Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Monday called for Britain to proceed with a nuclear power plant project partly invested in by a Chinese firm, saying the project had firm support from London, after Britain's new government said it would review it again. The plan by France's EDF to build two reactors with financial backing from a Chinese state-owned company, China General Nuclear Power Corp, was championed by Prime Minister Theresa May's predecessor, David Cameron, as a sign of Brita
  
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• Oil rises after month of steady decline but oversupply still weighs

  01-08-2016 09:04
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil rose on Monday, driven by new orders as traders staked out positions at the start of the new month, but the market remains dogged by a crude glut, a flood of refined products, and an economic slowdown. Brent crude was at $43.74 per barrel at 0650 GMT, up 21 cents from its last close in July, when it lost 12 percent over the month. "Oil prices rose on the day but appear vulnerable to concerns of oversupply," ANZ bank said, with traders pointing to an
  
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• Court rules in Santos's favour over coal seam gas water treatment plant in Pilliga

  01-08-2016 08:43 via theguardian.com
  
  CSG opponents handed legal setback as land and environment court decides plant does not need a separate approvalOpponents of coal seam gas in New South Wales have had a setback, as a court ruled Santos’s CSG wastewater treatment plant near the Pilliga state forest did not need to undergo a full environmental impact statement.Justice Timothy Moore of the NSW land and environment court ruled the treatment plant was part of its wider coal seam gas exploration, and so did not require its own a
  
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• Five thoughts on the 2016 Ride London

  01-08-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  How some crashes are caused by idiocy, and why it’s the family cycling event which is the most important one. Ride London, the capital’s weekend of cycle events – now expanded to three days – is in its fourth year. And for another time, I’ve taken part in what is officially called the Ride London Surrey 100, a vast, 100-mile closed-roads sportive, which this year saw up to 27,000 people take part.As is also traditional for the Bike Blog, below are my instant (I&rsqu
  
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• MH370 was flown into water, says Canadian air crash expert

  01-08-2016 07:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  One of the world's leading air crash investigators tells Australian TV he believes Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was deliberately flown into the sea.
  
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• Britons urged to help chart spread of thriving butterfly species

  01-08-2016 07:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Campaign asks wildlife enthusiasts to visit local woodland to record number of speckled woods and other butterflies Wildlife lovers are being asked to spend 15 minutes in a wood this week to chart the spread of the speckled wood (Pararge aegeria), Britain’s most successful butterfly.The speckled wood is one of a handful of species that appear to be benefitting from climate change, recently colonising East Anglia, the Midlands and much of northern England, increasing in abundance by 84% ove
  
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