Environment news

• Antarctic sea ice shrinks to smallest ever extent

  14-02-2017 22:17
  
  Data contradicts climate change sceptics, who have pointed to earlier increases in areas of sea ice to support their viewsSea ice around Antarctica has shrunk to the smallest annual extent on record after years of resisting a trend of manmade global warming, preliminary US satellite data showed on Tuesday. Ice floating around the frozen continent usually melts to its smallest for the year towards the end of February, the southern hemisphere summer, before expanding again as the autumn chill sets
  
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• NASA Eyes the Heart of Tropical Cyclone Dineo on Valentine's Day

  14-02-2017 21:57 via feedproxy.google.com
  On Feb. 14, 2017 at 2:45 a.m. EST (0745 UTC) the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite captured a visible image Dineo that showed strong thunderstorms wrapping into and around the "heart" or center of the storm's low-level circulation. A thick band of powerful thunderstorms from the eastern quadrant wrapped south and west into the center.  
  
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• Long-lasting flow battery could run for more than a decade with minimum upkeep

  14-02-2017 21:44 via feedproxy.google.com
  Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have developed a new flow battery that stores energy in organic molecules dissolved in neutral pH water. This new chemistry allows for a non-toxic, non-corrosive battery with an exceptionally long lifetime and offers the potential to significantly decrease the costs of production.
  
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• The Most Remote Place on Earth is Also One of the Most Polluted

  14-02-2017 21:17 via feedproxy.google.com
  Scientists have discovered high levels of extremely toxic chemicals in the most remote place on earth — the 36,000-foot-deep Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean, according to new research published in the journal Natural Ecology and Evolution.Marine biologists used fish traps and robotic submarines to collect crustaceans from the trench’s seafloor and then measured the level of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in each specimen.
  
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• Sunlight or bacteria? Scientists investigate what breaks down permafrost carbon

  14-02-2017 20:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  A Florida State University researcher is delving into the complexities of exactly how permafrost thawing in the Earth’s most northern regions is cycling back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and further fueling climate change.Answer: It has a lot to do with tiny little bugs called microbes and little to do with sunlight.Assistant Professor of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science Robert Spencer and a team of researchers traveled to Siberia from 2012 to 2015 to better understand how tha
  
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• First live birth evidence in dinosaur relative

  14-02-2017 19:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists have uncovered the first evidence of live births in the group of animals that includes dinosaurs, crocodiles and birds.
  
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• Caroline Lucas’s error in voting to hold the EU referendum | Letters

  14-02-2017 19:20
  
  Caroline Lucas MP rightly points to “a cocktail of threats” to the environment from leaving the EU (A ‘green guarantee’ could stop Brexit ruining our environment, theguardian.com, 13 February). She neglects to mention her own role in bringing on these threats: the vote she cast to hold the EU referendum in the first place. In her statement to the Commons on 9 June 2015, when the EU referendum bill was under review, she pointed to the EU’s many environmental protecti
  
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• History sheds light on Amazon's rich tree diversity

  14-02-2017 18:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The rich, diverse communities of trees in the Amazon are the result of species spreading over the vast area over geological time, a study suggests.
  
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• From sea to plate: how plastic got into our fish

  14-02-2017 18:04
  
  Eight million tonnes of waste plastic ends up in the sea each year. Fish eat it - and then we do. How bad is it for us?It’s enough to make you cry over your moules frites. Scientists at Ghent University in Belgium recently calculated that shellfish lovers are eating up to 11,000 plastic fragments in their seafood each year. We absorb fewer than 1%, but they will still accumulate in the body over time. The findings affect all Europeans, but, as the most voracious consumers of mussels, the B
  
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• Toshiba crisis: unions urge government to 'get a grip' on nuclear policy

  14-02-2017 18:01
  
  Fresh concern about future of planned Moorside power station in Cumbria as Toshiba’s financial woes deepenUnions are urging the government to take back control of its nuclear strategy after Toshiba’s deepening financial crisis cast fresh doubt about its involvement in the planned Moorside power station in Cumbria.Justin Bowden, GMB’s national secretary for energy, described the situation as a “fiasco” after Japan’s Toshiba, the lead party behind Moorside, reve
  
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• Breathless in Bakersfield: is the worst air pollution in the US about to get worse?

  14-02-2017 18:00
  
  In California’s Central Valley emissions from oil refineries and agriculture make Bakersfield America’s most air-polluted city. Activists fear the Trump administration could undo small but steady improvementsThe bluffs on Panorama Road offer a wide view of the northern half of Bakersfield, which is one of the few major population centres in California’s Central Valley – perhaps the US’ leading agricultural motherlode.It’s a rare bird’s eye vantage point
  
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• Group of 'extinct' antelope released into wild in southern Sahara

  14-02-2017 17:59
  
  Conservationists hope second group of 14 scimitar-horned oryx bred in captivity will help repopulate original habitat in ChadA group of scimitar-horned oryx, an antelope declared extinct in the wild, have been reintroduced to their original home on the edge of the Sahara desert.Fourteen captive-bred animals were released in a remote area of Chad and joined a first group reintroduced in August 2016, conservationists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) said.Continue reading...
  
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• Underwater photographer of the year 2017 winners – in pictures

  14-02-2017 17:42
  
  French photographer Gabriel Barathieu has been named this year’s winner for his ‘balletic, malevolent’ dancing octopus, while British winner Nick Blake captured a lone diver among the otherworldly sunbeams of a Mexican cave Continue reading...
  
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• El Niño resulted in unprecedented erosion of the Pacific coastline, according to research

  14-02-2017 17:39 via feedproxy.google.com
  Last winter’s El Niño might have felt weak to residents of Southern California, but it was in fact one of the most powerful climate events of the past 145 years.
  
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• Study prompts rethink on fighting infections

  14-02-2017 17:06 via feedproxy.google.com
  Fresh insights into how immune cells are regulated could signal a new approach to tackling infections.
  
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• Important to maintain a diversity of habitats in the sea

  14-02-2017 16:58 via feedproxy.google.com
  Researchers from University of Gothenburg and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) show that both species diversity and habitat diversity are critical to understand the functioning of ecosystems.
  
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• Genes in albino orchids may hold clues to parasitic mechanism used by non-photosynthetic plants

  14-02-2017 16:49 via feedproxy.google.com
  How do plants give up photosynthesis and become parasites? A research team in Japan are using comprehensive analysis of gene expression in albino and green orchids to investigate the evolution of parasitic plant.
  
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• SFU technology puts 'touch' into long-distance relationships

  14-02-2017 16:46 via feedproxy.google.com
  Long-distance couples can share a walk, watch movies together, and even give each other a massage, using new technologies being developed in Carman Neustaedter’s Simon Fraser University lab. 
  
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• The mystery of the whoop whooping bee

  14-02-2017 15:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists think they have found the explanation behind sounds generated by bees
  
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• New coalition calls for 'fair and ambitious' Clean Air Act

  14-02-2017 15:27
  
  A coalition of green groups including ClientEarth, Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth (FoE) has launched today (15 February) to encourage the UK Government to take "urgent action" on air pollution through the creation of a new Clean Air Act.
  
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• Climate change impact on mammals and birds greatly 'under-estimated'

  14-02-2017 15:03 via feedproxy.google.com
  An international study published today involving University of Queensland research has found large numbers of threatened species have already been affected by climate change. Associate Professor James Watson of UQ’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the Wildlife Conservation Society said the team of international researchers found alarming evidence of responses to recent climate changes in almost 700 birds and mammal species.“There
  
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• Stanford researchers measure African farm yields using high-resolution satellites

  14-02-2017 14:42 via feedproxy.google.com
  Stanford researchers have developed a new way to estimate crop yields from space, using high-resolution photos snapped by a new wave of compact satellites.The approach, detailed in the Feb. 13 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could help estimate agricultural productivity and test intervention strategies in poor regions of the world where data are currently extremely scarce.
  
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• Descent into a Frozen Underworld

  14-02-2017 14:38 via feedproxy.google.com
  Mt. Erebus is at the end of our world -- and offers a portal to another.It's our planet's southernmost active volcano, reaching 12,448 feet (3,794 meters) above Ross Island in Antarctica. Temperatures at the surface are well below freezing most of the year, but that doesn't stop visits from scientists: Erebus is also one of the few volcanoes in the world with an exposed lava lake. You can peer over the lip of its main crater and stare straight into it.
  
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• From disruptors to established leaders: Britain's sharing economy set for 60% upsurge in 2017

  14-02-2017 13:25
  
  Sales generated by the UK's five biggest sharing economy sectors could grow by as much as £8bn this year, driven by an increasingly digitally literate and entrepreneurial population, according to new predictions from professional services firm PwC.
  
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• Survey reveals 'discernible shift' towards public acceptance of climate change

  14-02-2017 13:10
  
  A rising majority of British adults understand that climate change is real and is primarily caused by human activity, according to a new survey published by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU).
  
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• Parks are a huge asset, and we need to value them for the 21st century | Alison Benjamin

  14-02-2017 12:59
  
  Our green spaces are shrinking, despite all the benefits they give us. If we want to save them, we need to value the ecosystem and health and wellbeing services they offerSheffield city council’s balance sheet shows its parks as a £16m liability. Traditional accountancy methods focus on a park’s saleable value, or its operational costs associated with maintenance. So England’s 27,000 parks are considered as financial liabilities rather than the amazing asset to our health
  
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• Air pollution masks – fashion's next statement?

  14-02-2017 11:03
  
  Face masks are already a common sight in Asia. Now, as air pollution worsens, designers are targeting city dwellers in Europe and the US with pricier products The intersect between fashion and practicality is not always the most compelling. But given that air pollution is the world’s largest single environmental health risk it seems inevitable they will come to influence each another.Yesterday saw the launch of M90, an “urban breathing mask” created by the Swedish company Airin
  
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• UK must play 'careful game' to balance green policy and new trade deals

  14-02-2017 10:53
  
  EXCLUSIVE: In its pursuit of new trade deals post-Brexit, the UK must be careful that product and resource standards don't handicap businesses from exporting back into Europe, the chair of the EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee has warned.
  
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• Toshiba fuels fear of crisis after delaying earnings report

  14-02-2017 10:00
  
  Shares plunge 8% after Japanese giant says it is ‘not ready’ to release details about US nuclear subsidiary WestinghouseToshiba has unexpectedly delayed the release of a key earnings report and details of its rumoured withdrawal from overseas nuclear projects – including one in the UK – amid reports that it could suffer net losses of 500 billion yen ($4.4bn).The delay sent shares in the Japanese conglomerate down by 8% in Tokyo, and added to speculation that its financial
  
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• Toshiba delays earnings and writedown report, fuelling fears of crisis

  14-02-2017 09:26
  
  Shares off 8% after company says it is ‘not ready’ to release details about US nuclear subsidiary WestinghouseToshiba has unexpectedly delayed the release of a key earnings report and details of its rumoured withdrawal from overseas nuclear projects – including one in the UK – amid reports that it could suffer net losses of 500 billion yen ($4.4bn).The delay sent shares in the Japanese conglomerate down by 8% in Tokyo, and added to speculation that its financial woes coul
  
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• 65% of British public support new Clean Air Act, says survey

  14-02-2017 08:01
  
  Exclusive: Research also found 58% believe current levels of air pollution in UK are harmful or very harmful to healthMore than half of the British public believe air pollution levels across the UK are damaging to their health and almost two-thirds back proposals for new laws to tackle the issue, according to research.Canvassing the views of 1,670 adults, the survey found that 58% believed the current levels of air pollution in the UK to be either harmful or very harmful to health, a figure that
  
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• Are you at risk? How pollution increases your chance of death – interactive

  14-02-2017 08:00
  
  Greenpeace has calculated the increased risk of death at varying levels of air pollution in 3,000 cities around the world – by combining risk analysis from the IHME’s Global Burden of Disease project with annual average background levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5s) from the WHO Continue reading...
  
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• Adani threatens to sue activist group if supporters infiltrate coal project

  14-02-2017 06:54
  
  Owner of proposed Carmichael coalmine say they’ll take ‘all steps available’ if supporters of Galilee Blockade obtain confidential information from companyAdani has threatened legal action against an activist group that is encouraging its supporters to infiltrate the miner by signing up for jobs with its proposed Queensland mining project.A law firm acting for Adani wrote to the Galilee Blockade on Tuesday to signal it would take “all steps available to it” should t
  
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• Birds of prey lock in combat

  14-02-2017 06:30
  
  South Downs, West Sussex The buzzard raises its wings and lifts its talons up towards the kite, which responds and the two clashDark shadows tumble across the hillside. The clouds are being hurried along by the wind, and the rain is subsiding. A chattering flock of linnets bounces from hedge to hedge, across the shining, wet chalk track in front of me. In the middle of the field is a brown shape, like a large mound of mud. It shifts its position every few minutes. Looking through binoculars, I s
  
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• Energy Australia boss says she fears bill shock for customers after heatwave

  14-02-2017 01:54
  
  ‘They are going to get a surprise and I am worried about them,’ says Catherine Tanna, joining push for transition to renewablesThe boss of one of Australia’s largest energy suppliers says she is worried about customers’ power bills after the latest heatwave in the country’s south-east.Energy Australia’s managing director, Catherine Tanna, has joined the push for a transition to newer forms of energy, saying bipartisanship is needed to draw up a national energy
  
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• Report: Enforcement mechanisms 'critical' for post-Brexit environmental prosperity

  14-02-2017 01:01
  
  Introducing and transposing key environmental legislation that enforces political stability once the UK leaves the European Union (EU) will be "critical" to ensuring investor confidence, a new report from a House of Lords Committee has claimed.
  
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• Toshiba to confirm cessation of new nuclear projects outside Japan

  14-02-2017 00:43
  
  In a blow to plans for a new UK power station, the Japanese firm’s expected announcement comes after review of overseas investmentsToshiba is expected to confirm that it is withdrawing from new nuclear projects outside Japan, dealing a blow to plans for a new power station in the UK.Related: Brexit will delay new British nuclear power stations, warn expertsContinue reading...
  
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• 'Extraordinary' levels of pollutants found in 10km deep Mariana trench

  14-02-2017 00:33
  
  Presence of manmade chemicals in most remote place on planet shows nowhere is safe from human impact, say scientistsScientists have discovered “extraordinary” levels of toxic pollution in the most remote and inaccessible place on the planet – the 10km deep Mariana trench in the Pacific Ocean.Small crustaceans that live in the pitch-black waters of the trench, captured by a robotic submarine, were contaminated with 50 times more toxic chemicals than crabs that survive in heavily
  
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• Marine bacteria produce an environmentally important molecule with links to climate

  14-02-2017 00:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  Scientists from the University of East Anglia and Ocean University China have discovered that tiny marine bacteria can synthesise one of the Earth’s most abundant sulfur molecules, which affects atmospheric chemistry and potentially climate.This molecule, dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) is an important nutrient for marine microorganisms and is the major precursor for the climate-cooling gas, dimethyl sulfide (DMS).
  
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