Environment news

• Daylight penetrates deep recesses of the woods: Country diary 100 years ago

  23-10-2016 23:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 27 October 1916Surrey, October 27
  Things change more rapidly in their appearance now in one day than they did in two a fortnight ago, but this is seen mostly in the valleys and the greater woods which border the streams. Under the trees you walk ankle deep in fallen leaves, thick-stemmed sycamore and chestnut, that are heavy enough to impede your way; beech in heaps in the remoter parts where a few squirrels, almost disdaining at first to move,
  
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• A handsome pest with a taste for aromatic plants

  23-10-2016 22:30 via theguardian.com
  
  The rosemary beetle arrived in Britain over twenty years ago, and is chewing its way through our culinary favourites – heading north at an alarming rateIf you discover your favourite aromatic plants and herbs are looking chewed this autumn the culprit is almost certainly the rosemary beetle (Chrysolina Americana), an unwelcome new addition to the UK’s gardens – thanks to climate change.Despite its name, Americana, its original home is the Mediterranean and North Africa, but the
  
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• Saudi King, Venezuelan president discuss oil market stability

  23-10-2016 21:14
  The king of Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, met Venezuela's president on Sunday in Riyadh and discussed ways to stabilise global oil prices, state news SPA reported. King Salman and President Maduro "reviewed areas of bilateral cooperation... and the latest developments including cooperation for the stability of oil markets," SPA said. Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said earlier on Sunday that the views of the kingdom and Russia, the world's top oil producer, on th
  
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• The Guardian view on climate change: good news – but not yet good enough | Editorial

  23-10-2016 20:42 via theguardian.com
  
  Eleven of the last 12 months have been the hottest on record. Though progress on cutting carbon emissions is encouraging, more must be doneThe Montreal protocol is the most successful environmental treaty in history, and arguably one of the most successful of any international pact. It phased out the gases that were destroying the ozone layer, averting potential catastrophe and healing the hole that human activities had opened in our protective layer. Unfortunately, it had a side-effect overlook
  
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• Airport expansion’s disastrous effects, near and far | Letters

  23-10-2016 20:35 via theguardian.com
  
  The government’s decision to greenlight aviation expansion (Chris Grayling: decision on airport expansion to be made on Tuesday, theguardian.com, 23 October) is a predictable failure, but not an acceptable one. With the scrapping of vital decarbonisation policies and funding, the UK is already way off-track to meet our climate change commitments. The impacts of any new runway will be devastating to people’s lives and to the planet. Locally it will see the demolition of hundreds of ho
  
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• Why charity shops don’t take magazines | Letters

  23-10-2016 20:33 via theguardian.com
  
  I am sorry that Patrick Russell (Letters, 22 October) was upset that his local Oxfam shop would not take his National Geographic magazines. After 10 years in an Oxfam bookshop I can tell him that this is because they are completely worthless, as are most magazines, in that nobody will buy them. There are a exceptions such as a Strand Magazine with a Sherlock Holmes story, but they are few and far between. A quick phone call would have saved him a journey – the shop would likely have a
  
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• Two Pakistan coast guard killed in Pakistan's key CPEC port district

  23-10-2016 19:20
  By Gul Yusufzai QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Two Pakistan Coast Guard officers were gunned down in the southwestern province of Balochistan on Sunday in a district that is key to a Chinese-funded transport and energy project opposed by separatist militants, police said. No one had claimed responsibility for the attack in the port district of Gwadar by late Sunday night. It was not clear whether the attack was connected to the port or the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)project
  
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• Chris Grayling: decision on airport expansion to be made on Tuesday

  23-10-2016 18:11 via theguardian.com
  
  Transport secretary denies government has already decided which plan it will back in choice between Heathrow or GatwickThe government’s decision over which London airport expansion scheme it will finally choose is expected to come on Tuesday, after the transport secretary, Chris Grayling, said the decision would be made at a cabinet committee meeting that day.Grayling said that the government had still not decided which option to choose and would make the final decision on the day. He is e
  
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• We sent a vegetarian to see if meatless burgers can convert carnivores

  23-10-2016 15:59 via theguardian.com
  
  The Impossible Burger is making a big impression on foodies, chefs and vegetarians, but can it find its way onto the McDonald’s menu?I hold the burger with both hands and bring it, somewhat trepidatiously, to my mouth. I commit myself to at least one bite. As I close my eyes and chew, some long dormant receptor in my mind comes alive and for a split second it’s 1986 again and I am eating a hamburger at a family cookout in Chicago.This is the first time I’ve eaten meat in 30 yea
  
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• Saudi's Falih says views closer with Russia on oil market

  23-10-2016 15:25
  Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Sunday the points of view between the kingdom and Russia, the world's top oil producer, on the need to stabilize the market "are getting closer." "Saudi Arabia has started to play an important role to coordinate between Russia ... and OPEC, specifically the Gulf countries," Falih said in a news conference with his Russian and Qatari counterparts in Riyadh. "We have managed today... through a common meeting to reach a common notion to what we
  
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• Decision on airport expansion to be made on Tuesday, says Grayling – video

  23-10-2016 13:56 via theguardian.com
  
  Transport secretary Chris Grayling denies government has already decided which plan to back at Heathrow or Gatwick, during an appearance at BBC1’s Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, adding that a decision will be made on Tuesday during a cabinet committee meeting. The committee will meet amid predictions that the government has already opted to push for expansion at HeathrowRead: Chris Grayling: decision on airport expansion to be made on TuesdayContinue reading...
  
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• Detroit incinerator is hotspot for health problems, environmentalists claim

  23-10-2016 13:30 via theguardian.com
  
  The country’s biggest trash-burning facility has been issued with a notice to sue, with local residents complaining of the bad smell and pollution it producesAt the intersection of two highways just outside downtown Detroit, a hulking relic of the city’s past looms over the skyline: the largest municipal trash incinerator in the US. It’s a facility that has raised concerns of nearby residents since its construction in the 1980s.And some days, it stinks. Continue reading...
  
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• Flotsam and fashion: recycler of 'ghost' fishing nets makes marine litter trendy

  23-10-2016 13:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Last year a company set up by an Italian former scuba recycled more than 5,000 tons of discarded nets into nylon for apparel brands including SpeedoThe oceans are choked with discarded fishing nets, or ghost nets, that are estimated to kill 300,000 whales, dolphins and seals each year. It’s a grotesque and avoidable toll on nature, and one that Giulio Bonazzi, CEO of Aquafil, hopes to reduce using an unlikely ally – fashion.The Italian firm is pioneering the use of “ghost&rdquo
  
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• Saudi Arabia looks to Russia to boost non-OPEC cooperation

  23-10-2016 12:30
  By Rania El Gamal and Reem Shamseddine RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Sunday he had invited his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak to meet Gulf Arab energy ministers in Riyadh as part of efforts to cooperate with non-OPEC members to stabilise the oil market. "Russia is one of the world's biggest oil producers ... and is one of the influential parties in the stability of the oil market," Falih said at the opening session of the six-member Gulf Cooperati
  
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• Can’t we agree to just not have Heathrow at all? | David Mitchell

  23-10-2016 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Given that climate change is apparently still happening, quibbling over a new runway raises a more obvious question…Is climate change still happening? You don’t hear so much about it, do you? It’s like the Doctor Who reboot – I presume it’s still going on, but it’s struggling to stay in the headlines. These days it’s all Bake Off, Trump, Isis and Poldark.It must still be happening, because if it had stopped we would definitely have heard – yo
  
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• Retro-electric: making petrol-guzzling cars eco-friendly

  23-10-2016 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  An estimated 30,000 old petrol cars have been given a new lease of life by small businesses and amateurs around the worldBig breakthroughs in battery technology have raised hopes the electric car can transform the auto industry and set us free from fossil fuel dependence.Some small businesses are determined to make sure the electric revolution is as environmentally friendly as possible. And their vision of the future relies on repackaging the past.Continue reading...
  
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• Foreign invaders infiltrate Britain’s ancient woodlands

  23-10-2016 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Trees are coming under attack from beetles and moths that are infesting imported timberIn July 2013, a large, strangely shaped beetle emerged from the fabric of a wooden chair that had just been bought in the UK. The inch-long creature had developed inside the chair’s wooden frame before it ate its way to the surface and burst through the seat’s plastic covering – much to the alarm of its purchaser. Crucially, the furniture had been made in, and imported from, China.Analysis by
  
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• Ecuador’s Yasuni park: where oil vies with tourism for the rainforest

  23-10-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The Sani people face a choice between encouraging ecotourism to their rainforest – one of the world’s most biodiverse – and allowing in the oil companiesFernando was sitting on his veranda listening to the whoops and whistles of the jungle. Our visit was a surprise, but the old man was soon answering my questions, keen to talk.“I arrived here in about 1960,” he told me. “A group of us came to start a new life. Hunting was easy. The animals were almost tame. We
  
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• The eco guide to televisions

  23-10-2016 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  How highly should we rate the energy ratings?It’s not very rock’n’roll, but I’ve always loved an energy rating. A third of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions come from Energy Using Products (EUPs) in offices and industry and also, significantly, in our own homes, too. The ones we control can really help to reduce that percentage, so choosing the best energy-rated model makes sense.EU energy labels give us an easy way to power down. Regulated by European law, they can
  
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• Josh Frydenberg to work with Port Melville operators over struck-down approval

  23-10-2016 04:41 via theguardian.com
  
  Environment and energy minister drawn into controversial Northern Territory development after approval without environmental assessment was overturnedThe federal environment and energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, will work with the operators of a controversial oil and gas port after a court overturned a decision to approve it without an environmental impact assessment.However it is unlikely the project will undergo the long called-for assessment but rather an earlier departmental investigation wo
  
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