Environment news

• Martin Rowson on Theresa May's education and energy policy – cartoon

  07-08-2016 23:25 via theguardian.com
  
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• Pollutants react in sunshine to form more pollutants

  07-08-2016 22:30 via theguardian.com
  
  There’s more to summer smog than traffic, heating and industry. Hydrocarbons are chemically reactive and can form thousands of other pollutantsThe contribution of diesel exhaust to summer smog has been a topic of hot debate over the last six years. Not all air pollution comes directly from sources such as traffic, heating and industry. Pollutants are also created from chemical reactions in the atmosphere. This is especially true in summer when stronger sunlight provides extra energy to dri
  
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• U.S. finds unapproved emissions software in VW Audi engines - Bild am Sonntag

  07-08-2016 20:21
  U.S. authorities have found three unapproved software programmes in 3.0 litre diesel engines made by Volkswagen's Audi unit, German weekly Bild am Sonntag reported, without saying where it had obtained the information. The software allowed the turbocharged direct injection (TDI) engines used in Audi's Q7, Porsche's Cayenne and VW's Touareg models to shut down emissions control systems after about 22 minutes, the paper said. Volkswagen has admitted it cheated on U.S. diesel emissions tests for ye
  
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• Roadside flowers hit hard by council cuts | Letters

  07-08-2016 20:05 via theguardian.com
  
  As Patrick Barkham says (Postcards from the hedge, 2 August) austerity is responsible for wild roadsides. But this is only partly so. Plantlife has for years campaigned for roadside verges to be left uncut until flowers have dropped their seeds, which can be as late as August or September. One cut can be ideal, with the proviso that visibility is maintained for road users. Dorset county council is following such guidelines and is experimenting with stripping topsoil to reduce fertility and intro
  
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• U.S. finds unapproved emissions software in Volkswagen Audi engines - Bild am Sonntag

  07-08-2016 19:13
  U.S. authorities have found three unapproved software programmes in 3.0 litre diesel engines made by Volkswagen's Audi unit, German weekly Bild am Sonntag reported, without saying where it had obtained the information. The software allowed the turbocharged direct injection (TDI) engines used in Audi's Q7, Porsche's Cayenne and VW's Touareg models to shut down emissions control systems after about 22 minutes, the paper said. Volkswagen has admitted it cheated on U.S. diesel emissions tests for ye
  
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• Chinese firm with military ties invited to bid for role in UK's nuclear future

  07-08-2016 16:31 via theguardian.com
  
  China National Nuclear Corporation on government list of preferred bidders for development funding for next-generation modular reactorsA controversial Chinese company has been selected to bid for millions of pounds of public money in a UK government competition to develop mini nuclear power stations.The China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) features twice in a government list of 33 projects and companies deemed eligible to compete for a share in up to £250m to develop so-called small m
  
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• Great white shark feasts on minke whale carcass in Massachusetts – video

  07-08-2016 16:20 via theguardian.com
  
  Researchers from the Centre for Coastal Studies (CCS) catch on camera a great white shark feasting on the carcass of a minke whale this week. The sighting is a sign of a resurgence of the species along the north-eastern US Atlantic coast, and led to three popular tourist beaches being temporarily closedGreat white shark feast caught on film points to population rebound in USContinue reading...
  
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• Trying to bribe public to accept fracking won't work, say campaigners

  07-08-2016 15:49 via theguardian.com
  
  Greenpeace accuses Theresa May of wanting to ‘silence concerns with a wad of cash’ as Labour and Green party join attack Environmental campaigners have accused the government of trying to bribe the public to accept fracking, after Theresa May unveiled plans to give households cash payments worth thousands of pounds if shale drilling occurs in their areas.
  The prime minister personally intervened with proposals for households to get direct cash handouts in areas where fracking takes p
  
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• Harry Titcombe obituary

  07-08-2016 15:29 via theguardian.com
  
  Wildlife artist and illustrator known for his vibrant depictions of birdsHarry Titcombe, who has died aged 82, was a wildlife artist and illustrator who had a special affection for birds. Much of his output was for the Central Office of Information, the government’s marketing and public information agency from 1946 until 2011, though he also did much work for publishers of reference works in the 1970s and 80s.Born and bred in Romford, Essex, Harry lived there for most of his life, close to
  
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• Great white shark feast caught on film points to population rebound in US

  07-08-2016 12:30 via theguardian.com
  
  A resurgence of gray seals, a favorite food, has been credited for the shark’s comeback on the Atlantic coast – but sighting have lead to beach closures Researchers in Massachusetts this week captured footage of a great white shark feasting on a minke whale carcass, off the coast of Cape Cod. The sighting led to the temporary and precautionary closure of three popular tourist beaches. Related: Monster shark fishing tournaments face growing pressure to reformContinue reading...
  
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• China launches first mobile telecoms satellite from Beijing

  07-08-2016 09:39 via bbc.co.uk
  
  China launched its first mobile telecommunications satellite, to establish a network serving large swathes of the world.
  
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• One Nation's Malcolm Roberts denies being 'sovereign citizen' and urges change to race law

  07-08-2016 02:20 via theguardian.com
  
  Senator accuses Greg Hunt of introducing a carbon tax and says there’s no empirical evidence carbon dioxide causes global warmingThe newly elected One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts has denied he is a “sovereign citizen” in response to revelations he wrote Julia Gillard a letter demanding to be exempted from the carbon tax.In a joint interview with his fellow crossbench senator David Leyonhjelm on the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday, Roberts also accused the former envir
  
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• Local people to get cash payments from fracking

  07-08-2016 01:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Theresa May rewrites the rules so that private individuals will directly benefitThe prime minister has intervened to allow people who live near sites used for shale gas exploration to be given cash payments so that they benefit from the developments.In rewriting George Osborne’s plans, Theresa May has ensured local people can share in proceeds from fracking projects. Previous proposals for the Shale Wealth Fund only included cash for community trusts and councils. Continue reading...
  
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• How millions of trees brought a broken landscape back to life

  07-08-2016 01:04 via theguardian.com
  
  After 25 years, the decision to site the National Forest amid derelict coal and quarry workings has borne spectacular fruitTwenty-five years ago, the Midlands villages of Moira, Donisthorpe and Overseal overlooked a gruesome landscape. The communities were surrounded by opencast mines, old clay quarries, spoil heaps, derelict coal workings, polluted waterways and all the other ecological wreckage of heavy industry.The air smelt and tasted unpleasant and the land was poisoned. There were next to
  
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• Britain is hastening the extinction of the African elephant | Jonathan Baillie

  07-08-2016 01:02 via theguardian.com
  
  In 20 years, African elephants will be extinct if the UK doesn’t join the US and China in clamping down on the domestic ivory marketWhen we think about extinct animals, we look to history books and fairytales. The dodo. The woolly mammoth. The sabre-toothed cat. Yet extinction remains a very real threat today. The future of the African elephant is at stake and urgent action is needed to stop it being added to the list of extinct species. The UK government must end the domestic market in iv
  
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