Environment news

• Owls brave the trenches in search of mice: Country diary 100 years ago

  08-01-2017 23:30
  
  Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 9 January 1917 Several correspondents in France have referred to the owls which find the trenches such profitable mouseries that they hunt by day. The latest note on the subject comes from one of our south coast camps, where a light brown owl – probably a barn owl – found daylight sport anything but peaceful. The lads who were watching it were not the trouble, but a number of gulls resented its presence, “and flew excitedly aro
  
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• How different cities responded to December's winter smog

  08-01-2017 22:30
  
  Paris introduced free public transport; Madrid restricted cars; Londoners were advised to take less exerciseWinter smog returned to our cities in December. Modern smog is less visible than Victorian pea-soupers but a thin brown layer could be seen on the horizon as still weather trapped the air pollution.Paris had ten days of smog at the start of the month; the worst pollution for a decade. Emergency actions to reduce the health impacts included free public transport, reduced traffic speeds, lor
  
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• Bang go the banjos for Trump’s inauguration | Brief letters

  08-01-2017 20:27
  
  Dueling Banjos | Michelle Obama | Trump and Putin | Singular vegetables | Iceberg areas | San SerriffeThe generally astute Marina Hyde betrays a lacuna in her usually sound musical knowledge in suggesting that the player on Dueling Banjos might be booked for Trump’s inaugural (6 January). That musician was Eric Weissberg who, like myself, attended The Little Red School House in Greenwich Village where all us little reds went. Unless he has completely shed the politics that obtained in our
  
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• How colour-changing cats might warn future humans of radioactive waste

  08-01-2017 17:30
  
  As the UK gets ready to build more nuclear plants, scientists are looking for new ways to tell our distant descendants where we’ve buried our sludge
  Plans for a new fleet of UK nuclear power plants are under way. Last month, for example, Hitachi and the Japanese government confirmed a plan to construct 5.4 gigawatts of generating capacity at UK sites. But what about the waste? And what happens when, in thousands of years, our descendants – who may not read any current human language
  
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• Paris mayor unveils plan ​to restrict traffic and pedestrianise city centre

  08-01-2017 15:34
  
  Anne Hidalgo says she wants to cut the number of private cars in French capital by half as part of campaign to tackle pollutionThe mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, has unveiled plans to restrict traffic in the French capital and pedestrianise the city centre in an attempt to halve the number of private cars on the roads.The move comes as arguments continue over the closure of roads along the Seine last summer and other traffic reduction measures introduced after dangerous spikes in pollution led to
  
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• Will new FDA rules curb the rise of antibiotic-resistant superbugs?

  08-01-2017 14:30
  
  The meat industry is facing mounting pressure to phase out antibiotic use. Here, we trace how a widespread use of those drugs can be bad for public health
  New federal rules went into effect last week that ban the use of antibiotics to help livestock gain weight, a practice that leads to antibiotic-resistant bacteria that pose health threats to humans. Meat producers will also need a veterinary prescription to use these drugs for other purposes such as treating or preventing disease.The new rules
  
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• Will new FDA rules curb antibiotic use in farm animals and the rise of superbugs?

  08-01-2017 14:30
  
  The meat industry is facing mounting pressure to phase out antibiotic use. Here, we trace how a widespread use of those drugs can be bad for public health
  New federal rules went into effect last week that ban the use of antibiotics to help livestock gain weight, a practice that leads to antibiotic-resistant bacteria that pose health threats to humans. Meat producers will also need a veterinary prescription to use these drugs for other purposes such as treating or preventing disease.The new rules
  
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• Will new FDA rules curb antibiotic use in farm animals?

  08-01-2017 14:30
  
  The meat industry is facing mounting pressure to phase out antibiotic use. Here, we trace how a widespread use of those drugs can be bad for public health
  New federal rules went into effect last week that ban the use of antibiotics to help livestock gain weight, a practice that leads to antibiotic-resistant bacteria that pose health threats to humans. Meat producers will also need a veterinary prescription to use these drugs for other purposes such as treating or preventing disease.The new rules
  
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• Thawing Arctic is turning oceans into graveyards

  08-01-2017 09:00
  
  Nasa research shows that ice-free summers are now imminent, posing a peril to us allSomething is happening to the floating sea ice of the Arctic, other than the well-documented retreat in its surface coverage each summer. Scientists are finding that Arctic sea ice is getting younger and thinner, which is set to continue in March, when US research reveals the winter maximum, and September, when it reveals the summer minimum, making it more vulnerable to a catastrophic and unprecedented break-up.N
  
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• The eco guide to taking action in 2017

  08-01-2017 07:00
  
  All too often environmentalism is about stopping doing something, but maybe it’s time to be more active and start doing something instead?I wonder if Nike would loan me its famous brand slogan as a motto this year. After all, Just Do It is much more motivating than Just Don’t Do It – the traditional ethical living response…Until now. Who can fail to be cheered by the way the Divest movement has just done it? Starting only four years ago with a smattering of universities,
  
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• As British tourists take to the seas, giant cruise ships spread pollution misery

  08-01-2017 01:05
  
  More sea trade has helped the economy in Southampton but fears are rising over the damage to air qualityFrom the upstairs windows in Colin MacQueen’s house there isn’t a view of the sea but he can clearly see the ships. Docked in the port, less than half a mile away, they tower over the roofs of flats and houses. “They are colossal,” he said. “These cruise liners are much bigger than the container ships. They use as much fuel as whole towns.”The view is pretty
  
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• How warming seas are forcing fish to seek new waters

  08-01-2017 01:01
  
  Rising sea temperatures are pushing shoals hundreds of miles from native groundsScottish fishermen have uncovered an intriguing way to supplement their income: they have added squid to the menu of marine creatures they regularly pull from the sea. A species normally associated with the warmth of the Mediterranean, rather than the freezing north, may seem an odd addition to their usual catches of cod and haddock. Nevertheless, squid has become a nice little earner for fishing boats from Aberdeen
  
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