Environment news

• Vera Rubin, pioneering astronomer, dies at 88

  26-12-2016 22:50 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Astronomer Vera Rubin, whose pioneering work led to the theory of dark matter, dies at 88.
  
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• Cheetahs heading towards extinction as population crashes

  26-12-2016 21:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A new study estimates there are just 7,100 now left in the wild as they face growing conflict with humans.
  
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• Welcome to crocodile country: the remarkable comeback of Australia's Jaws of the north

  26-12-2016 20:12
  
  Calls for culls always surge after attacks by ‘salties’ but it’s their habitat not humans that will decide their numbersFor the people of Australia’s tropical north, a wary coexistence with crocodiles is a fact of life.Protected for more than four decades after being hunted to near extinction, the ancient reptile – on the credible numbers that are available – has staged a remarkable recovery. Continue reading...
  
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• Ash tree genome sequenced for first time

  26-12-2016 17:47 via bbc.co.uk
  
  UK scientists have decoded the genome of the ash in the fight against a devastating plant disease.
  
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• British ash trees may resist dieback disease, research reveals

  26-12-2016 17:00
  
  Ground-breaking genetic analysis shows native trees may be more resistant than Danish ones to the deadly fungus that has spread across EuropeBritish ash trees seem to have better resistance against a deadly fungus which is devastating trees across Europe, according to research which has decoded the DNA of the species for the first time.The ash dieback fungus has spread rapidly since it first arrived in England in 2012 and the latest data shows it is now found in more than half of the country. It
  
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• Unit of France's Total to invest $1 billion per year in Brazil - paper

  26-12-2016 13:32
  SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Total E&P do Brasil, the local unit of France's Total SA , plans annual investments of $1 billion (814.85 million pounds) in Latin America's largest economy, Maxime Rabilloud, who heads the Brazilian operation, told the Monday edition of Valor Econômico. The decision to expand operations in Brazil comes on the heels of Total agreeing to acquire assets worth $2.2 billion from Brazil's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA . ...
  
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• 'Cloud fishing' reels in precious water for villagers in rural Morocco | Celeste Hicks

  26-12-2016 10:00
  
  A fog harvesting project in an arid region of Morocco solves water stress and means women no longer have to fetch water, enabling them to train or learn“Everyone was leaving the village where I grew up, and it was all because of water,” says Jamila Bargach, whose village in rural Morocco has steadily emptied of people amid severe water stress.As in most of rural Morocco, climate change and population pressures have led to more unpredictable rainfall patterns and the depletion of natu
  
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• 'This is possible. We did it': the week Portugal ran on renewables

  26-12-2016 09:00
  
  Campaigners say the 107 hours when the country was powered by wind, sun and water show they can replace fossil fuels If you can keep your gaze off the hilltops, imagine away the pylons and forget the occasional tractor of an uncertain vintage coughing along the narrow roads, little appears to have changed in the valleys of north-eastern Portugal for decades, perhaps even centuries.The gnarled alvarinho vines have been relieved of their fruit to make vinho verde, an old woman in black herds her s
  
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• Victorian beach closed for four hours after repeated shark sightings

  26-12-2016 08:45
  
  Swimmers urged to stick to patrolled beaches after dozens of sharks were spotted on Christmas DayVictoria’s Fairhaven beach on the Great Ocean Road was closed for four hours on Monday after a shark sighting, adding to dozens of sightings on Christmas Day.Surf lifesavers called swimmers out of the water about 11am on Boxing Day. Continue reading...
  
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• China smog war moves to courts with range of crimes to widen

  26-12-2016 08:17
  By David Stanway SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's courts will widen the range of offences that constitute "environmental crimes" to make it easier to take legal action against polluters, a senior judiciary official told a news briefing on Monday. The new rules could allow prosecutors to take on persistent offenders in northern China's Hebei province, which was engulfed in heavy smog last week despite being on the front line of China's nearly three-year "war on pollution". Yan Maokun, head of a resea
  
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• Major flooding in UK now likely every year, warns lead climate adviser

  26-12-2016 08:00
  
  A year after severe floods in wake of Storm Desmond, John Krebs says ministers still have no coherent long-term plan to deal with itMajor flooding in the UK is now likely to happen every year but ministers still have no coherent long-term plan to deal with it, the government’s leading adviser on the impacts of climate change has warned.Boxing Day in 2015 saw severe floods sweep Lancashire and Yorkshire, just weeks after Storm Desmond swamped Cumbria and parts of Scotland and Wales. The flo
  
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• Seal to be set free after stroll through Tasmanian town

  26-12-2016 07:43
  
  The 200kg mammal had to be tranquillised after climbing on to a car in suburban LauncestonA giant fur seal that spent Boxing Day wandering suburban Tasmania’s streets will be released back into the wild.Police, and parks and sildlife officers spent much of Monday morning trying to capture the seal, which took a stroll along the streets in Newstead, Launceston – at one point managing to climb on to a car. Continue reading...
  
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• Away from roads, the winter river slinks

  26-12-2016 06:30
  
  River Welland, Lincolnshire This path alone is a find. It’s like walking through a ribcageFollowing the river, I got here. Not waterborne as I might have liked; it’s not a day for the canoe. Instead I looked at the map, for new places where the river touches the land. How many find country by looking near roads? But roads go where we wanted them to: the river goes where it has always gone.One place caught my eye, a place called Spring Woods. Not for spring like the season, but for a
  
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• Smog-hit China province surrounding Beijing says has learnt its lesson

  26-12-2016 05:08
  The heavily polluted northern Chinese province of Hebei, which surrounds the capital Beijing, said it will learn lessons from the smog that engulfed the region last week and step up efforts to clean the air. Hebei, home of seven of China's 10 smoggiest cities last year, has declared 2017 to be the "year of transformation and upgrading", the province said on its official website on Saturday (http://www.hebei.gov.cn). China has repeatedly vowed to curb pollution of its air, soil and water caused b
  
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• Festive selection

  26-12-2016 03:45 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A selection of the best science and environment reads this year.
  
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• Hopes for saving Scottish wildcat rest on captive breeding plan

  26-12-2016 01:01
  
  Conservationists say about 80 creatures in zoos and private collections hold key to re-establishment of the endangered speciesFewer than 100 Scottish wildcats are now believed to exist in the wild, say leading experts, with no evidence of any decent sized populations anywhere in the country.While it had been hoped up to 300 may still survive, recent extensive monitoring suggests a lower figure, with individuals or small groups clinging on in isolated and fragmented pockets.Continue reading...
  
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