Environment news

• Balsam, a handsome but greedy weed: Country diary 100 years ago

  28-08-2016 23:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 4 September 1916Kew Gardens, September 3
  On a sunny day among gorse bushes, when the wind has fallen, you can hear the seed-pods of the gorse bursting all around you. Lying in a hammock near the Alströmerias in the garden you can hear the same sharp snap as the hard covering explodes and the seeds are projected far and wide. This method of distributing seeds is common to a good many plants. A correspondent from Whalley Range writes of the b
  
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• Nasa ends year-long Mars simulation on Hawaii

  28-08-2016 23:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A team of six people complete a Nasa-funded Mars simulation in Hawaii, after living in a dome in near isolation for a year.
  
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• All is not pristine in New Zealand

  28-08-2016 22:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Cities in the Land of the Long White Cloud suffer from pollution caused by the wood fires, that provide most of the domestic heating in poorly insulated housesMost images of New Zealand show a pristine environment of great beauty. It therefore comes as a surprise that airborne particle pollution in many towns is above World Health Organisation guidelines. This is not due to the diesel cars that confound efforts to manage air pollution in Europe, or the density of cities and industry that contrib
  
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• Guardian-reading fans of Mrs Brown’s Boys? There are at least two of them | Brief letters

  28-08-2016 20:29 via theguardian.com
  
  History of fostering | ‘Moist’ is a winning word | Bertolt Brecht v Brendan O’Carroll | Wrens’ braveryYour article (Barnardo’s reveals stories of Britain’s first foster children, August 26) gives a misleading impression of the origin of fostering, or “boarding out” as it was then more usually known. The practice dates back to at least the 18th century, when it was in use in Ireland and Scotland. Gilbert’s Act of 1782 sanctioned its use for&nb
  
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• EU's Sentinel satellites dissect Italian quake

  28-08-2016 20:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Europe’s Sentinel radar satellites map Italy's Apennine mountains, revealing the scale of ground movement in Wednesday's big earthquake.
  
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• Qatar to levy airport tax on passengers

  28-08-2016 19:21
  Qatar's government will levy a new airport tax on passengers from Tuesday as the country seeks new revenue streams amid falling oil prices. Every passenger leaving Qatar from Doha's Hamad International Airport, including transit passengers, will be charged 35 riyals (7.10 pounds) for using airport facilities, according to a statement by the airport.
  
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• Record tourism in national parks comes with increasing threats – antsy humans

  28-08-2016 18:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Yellowstone and other major parks grappling with illegal camping, vandalism, theft of resources, wildlife harassment and other misbehavior from visitorsOn the edge of a meadow in Yellowstone National Park, tourist John Gleason crept through the grass, four small children close behind, inching toward a bull elk with antlers like small trees.“They’re going to give me a heart attack,” said Gleason’s mother-in-law, Barbara Henry, as the group came within about a dozen yards o
  
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• Qatar to levy airport tax on passengers - circular

  28-08-2016 17:00
  Qatar's government will levy a new airport tax on passengers from Tuesday, according to a circular to travel agents, as the country seeks new revenue streams amid falling oil prices. Every passenger leaving Qatar from Doha's Hamad International Airport, including transit passengers, will be charged 35 riyals (7.10 pounds) for using airport facilities, Qatar Airways advised local travel agents in the circular seen by Reuters. A Qatar Airways and a Qatar government spokesperson were not immediatel
  
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• FSA: 4,000 major breaches of animal welfare laws at UK abattoirs in two years

  28-08-2016 16:29 via theguardian.com
  
  Data released by food watchdog reveals incidences of chickens being boiled alive and animals suffocating or freezing to death in trucksThere were more than 4,000 severe breaches of animal welfare regulations over the past two years at British slaughterhouses, according to data released by the government’s food watchdog under freedom of information laws.The data, comprising reports by vets and hygiene inspectors, details instances of needless pain and distress that include chickens being bo
  
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• FSA: 4,000 breaches of animal welfare laws at UK abattoirs in two years

  28-08-2016 16:29 via theguardian.com
  
  Data released by the food watchdog reveals thousands of animals are being subjected to avoidable suffering at slaughterhousesThere were more than 4,000 severe breaches of animal welfare regulations over the past two years at British slaughterhouses, according to data released by the government’s food watchdog under freedom of information laws.The reports by vets and hygiene inspectors detail instances of needless pain and distress that include chickens being boiled alive and trucks of anim
  
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• Rare blue whales spotted off New England coast in 'unheard of' event

  28-08-2016 14:57 via theguardian.com
  
  ‘We’ve never seen two together,’ says co-founder of marine conservationThe whales are the largest creatures on earthTwo blue whales have been seen off the New England coast, in a rare sighting of the largest creatures on earth.Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conversation cofounder Dianna Schulte told WMUR-TV she was working aboard the Granite State off the coast of Rye Harbor, New Hampshire, on Friday when she spotted the whales. Continue reading...
  
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• Hinkley Point: EDF boss calls on government to look at 'bigger picture'

  28-08-2016 14:18 via theguardian.com
  
  Vincent de Rivaz has called for £18bn nuclear project to be approved after it was delayed unexpectedly by Theresa MayThe head of the energy company behind the Hinkley Point C nuclear reactors has called on the government to authorise the project after its approval was unexpectedly delayed last month.Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Vincent de Rivaz, the chief executive of EDF Energy, said critics of the planned Somerset reactors risked “losing sight of bigger picture by overlooking t
  
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• EDF chief urges Britain to give go-ahead to nuclear plant

  28-08-2016 13:50
  The head of EDF Energy has urged the British government to approve the Hinkley Point C nuclear power project, an explicit appeal by the French energy giant ahead of a decision due within weeks. Prime Minister Theresa May intervened last month to delay the 18 billion pound project, just hours after it was approved by EDF's board, former cabinet colleague Vince Cable said. Cable said May was concerned about China's involvement, particularly in terms of national security.
  
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• The eco guide to gold

  28-08-2016 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  More nuggets of info on the stuff our Olympics medals were made ofPerhaps it’s all those Olympic medals, but our small preview of Fairtrade gold wedding bands from Argos several weeks ago has led to a rush of queries about clean gold. So here are some further nuggets.Be led by the UK’s pioneer jewellery activists. Greg Valerio and cred- jewellery.com have fought to make the supply chain transparent. Critically, they have also put ethical gold into jewellery so we can buy it. Meanwhil
  
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• Venezuela, Iran seeking consensus to stabilise oil markets

  28-08-2016 02:44
  CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela and Iran continue to seek consensus on ways to stabilise oil markets and strengthen OPEC, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Saturday, following a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. "We continue to build common ground and a new consensus on stabilizing oil markets, strengthening industries, strengthening OPEC," Maduro said in a ceremony broadcast on state television. He said Venezuela's oil minister and foreign minister would make a
  
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