Environment news

• 100 years ago: Otter braves the snow in search of breakfast

  05-02-2017 23:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 9 February 1917An alder, its roots undermined by the current just below a bend, fell some years ago and formed a dam across the stream; below the obstacle the silt collected until a long, narrow, sandy islet was formed. On this the snow now lies, a white patch in midstream, and across its narrowest neck is a line of footprints – the “seals” of an otter. I noticed them first last Sunday, immediately after the fall; the otter had
  
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• Rare 'cave squeaker' frog seen in Zimbabwe for first time in 55 years

  05-02-2017 19:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Team of researchers discover three of the frogs once listed as possibly extinct in first reported sighting since 1962A rare frog that had not been seen in decades has been found in Zimbabwe, researchers have said.The Artholeptis troglodytes, also known as the “cave squeaker” because of its preferred habitat, was discovered in 1962, but there were no reported sightings since then. An international red list of threatened species tagged the frog as critically endangered and possibly ext
  
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• Return of Zimbabwe's cave squeaker as rare frog found fifty years on

  05-02-2017 18:58 via theguardian.com
  
  Team of researchers discover three of the frogs once listed as possibly extinct in first reported sighting since 1962Researchers in Zimbabwe say they have found a rare frog that hasn’t been seen in decades.The Artholeptis troglodytes, also known as the “cave squeaker” because of its preferred habitat, was discovered in 1962 but there were no reported sightings of the elusive amphibian after that. An international red list of threatened species tagged them as critically endanger
  
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• Mail on Sunday launches the first salvo in the latest war against climate scientists | John Abraham

  05-02-2017 17:54 via theguardian.com
  
  David Rose penned an attack described by expert as “so wrong it’s hard to know where to start”In this new political era, climate scientists and their science are under attack. The attack is from multiple fronts, from threats to pull funding of the important instruments they use to measure climate change, to slashing their salaries and jobs. But there is a real fear of renewed personal attacks, and it appears those fears are now being realized. What the attackers do is identify
  
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• After the Women's March: six mass US demonstrations to join this spring

  05-02-2017 16:33 via theguardian.com
  
  Organizers across the US are riding the momentum of the post-inauguration march to mobilize in solidarity with scientists, immigrants, LGBT people and moreHope your feet aren’t sore yet, because come spring, thereare major nationwide marches planned for nearly every weekend.After the success of the Women’s March on Washington, activists are preparing for mass mobilizations throughout the year.Continue reading...
  
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• Is America's most common pesticide responsible for killing our bees?

  05-02-2017 15:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A growing body of studies shows that neonics threaten the health of honey bees, but some argue there’s not enough evidence to justify an outright banThe most widely used class of insecticides in the world is facing a slow death. Called neonicotinoids, or neonics, these bug killers have long been used to coat seeds or treat millions of acres of farmland in the US. Research showing that they sicken or kill bees and other pollinators has already prompted the European Union to temporary ban se
  
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• Bawdsey Radar Station set for restoration in 80th year

  05-02-2017 11:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Work to preserve the crumbling birthplace of radar is to get under way later this year.
  
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• Norfolk beach rhino fossil revealed by storm surge

  05-02-2017 11:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The rhino found on a Norfolk beach dates back about 700,000 years.
  
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• Fields of gold: the best of Britain’s wild meadows

  05-02-2017 08:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Many of the UK’s pastures have been lost to industrial farming, but pockets of verdant, vibrant land still brim with life, colour and noiseMeadows sing of the unfurling of spring and the bounty of late summer, reawakening the childlike sense of wonderment in each of us. To take a walk in a wild flower meadow is to experience the enchantment of nature. Knee-high native knapweeds, ox-eye daisies, buttercups and bloody cranesbill dance among feathered grasses. Meaadow browns and hoverflies cr
  
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• From wallabies to exploding beetles: where to find Britain’s most fantastic beasts

  05-02-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  It may not be a tropical paradise, but the UK is home to plenty of weird and wonderful creatures all the same. Here are five of the strangestThe beasts of Britain do not have much going for them. For starters, there aren’t many of them, a historic legacy of the Ice Age and Britain’s island status, which prevented many plants, insects and mammals from colonising when the ice retreated. Britain exists at a northerly latitude, so its species cannot luxuriate in a tropical paradise with
  
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• Energy customers locked into a costly scheme who have no right to switch

  05-02-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  District Heating is heralded as the way to a greener future. But, Anna Tims reports, it’s beenrolled out withoutany regulationEnergy customers who find themselves paying over the odds for their heating can simply switch to a cheaper deal. But there’s a hidden, but rapidly growing, number who estimate they’re paying up to three times more than the expected price… but don’t have the right to switch. In most cases, they are stuck with the same supplier for 25 years or
  
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• The eco guide to good plastic

  05-02-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Ellen MacArthur and the New Plastic Economy initiative are determined to make a real difference in tackling the terrible problem of our plastic-polluted oceansLast summer Adidas released a good-looking trainer with uppers made using plastic recovered from the ocean. Everyone was very excited, but my response was: “That’s not the most efficient way of cleaning up the ocean.”Small bits of plastic packaging such as lids, sachets and films pose the biggest nightmare Continue readin
  
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