Environment news

• India Using Coal Tax Money to Fund Renewable Energy Projects

  22-02-2017 21:44 via feedproxy.google.com
  India has a goal of quadrupling the amount of electricity it generates from renewable sources to 175 gigawatts by 2022. 
  
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• Serendipity Uncovers Borophene's Potential

  22-02-2017 21:35 via feedproxy.google.com
  Almost one year ago, borophene didn’t even exist. Now, just months after a Northwestern Engineering and Argonne National Laboratory team discovered the material, another team led by Mark Hersam is already making strides toward understanding its complicated chemistry and realizing its electronic potential.
  
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• Trading off costs and benefits of Brexit and the EU | Letters

  22-02-2017 20:56
  
  Rafael Behr (The ‘left behind’ cliche is an excuse for political failure, 22 February) needs to go beyond castigating the complacency of the major parties with regard to their “safe” constituencies and voters. Yes, we do need to listen – but to which voices? There is a cacophony of reasons why people voted Brexit: poor job opportunities, ever weakening health provision, unaffordable housing, loss of sovereignty; no single cluster of these represents “the&rdquo
  
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• Bill Shorten to accuse Coalition of 'vandalism over pragmatism' on energy policy

  22-02-2017 20:11
  
  Opposition leader to dig in behind ETS and goal of sourcing 50% of electricity from renewables by 2030The Labor leader, Bill Shorten, will dig in behind his party’s goal of sourcing 50% of Australia’s electricity from renewables by 2030 and the party’s proposed emissions trading scheme, arguing they are vehicles to drive new investment in clean energy.Shorten will use a speech at Bloomberg in Sydney on Thursday to hit back against the prime minister’s recent intensificati
  
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• Tents set ablaze at North Dakota pipeline protest campsite – video

  22-02-2017 19:21
  
  Several fires were lit at the Dakota Access pipeline protest campsite in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, early Wednesday ahead of a deadline from authorities to abandon the area. For months, hundreds of Native Americans and environmental activists have occupied the site as they protest the pipeline’s construction, but Donald Trump has signed an executive order clearing the way for construction to move aheadPolice surround Standing Rock camps in push to evict remaining activistsContinue reading.
  
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• Seven Earth-sized planets found orbiting single star

  22-02-2017 19:16 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Seven planets orbiting a single star have been discovered in a solar system 40 light-years from Earth.
  
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• Star's seven Earth-sized worlds set record

  22-02-2017 19:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Astronomers have discovered seven Earth-sized planets orbiting a single star - a record number.
  
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• Cultivating cool-for-cash-crops

  22-02-2017 18:52 via feedproxy.google.com
  When deciding what crops to grow during a season, growers look at several factors. Do the crops have a good yield in their area? Does the area currently have the resources - usually water - to grow that crop? Will the crop give a return on the investment? And, what are the future effects that growing that crop might have on the grower’s fields?
  
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• Premature baby hippo saved by children’s hospital staff – video report

  22-02-2017 18:08
  
  Fiona, a prematurely-born Nile hippo calf, is making excellent progress at her home at The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden after the staff from a local children’s hospital stepped in to help. After her birth in January, Fiona wouldn’t take any milk, causing her to become severely dehydrated. The staff from the Vascular Access Team (VAT) from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital came to the zoo’s aid and administered specialist IVF equipment to help the little hippo surviv
  
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• Climate scientists face harassment, threats and fears of 'McCarthyist attacks'

  22-02-2017 17:56
  
  Researchers will have to deal with attacks from a range of powerful foes in the coming years – and for many, it has already startedA little less than seven years ago, the climate scientist Michael Mann ambled into his office at Penn State University with a wedge of mail tucked under his arm. As he tore into one of the envelopes, which was hand-addressed to him, white powder tumbled from the folds of the letter. Mann recoiled from the grainy plume and rushed to the bathroom to scrub his han
  
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• Most scientists 'can't replicate studies by their peers'

  22-02-2017 17:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Science is facing a "reproducibility crisis" as scientists fail to reproduce others' work, it is claimed.
  
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• New EPA head Scott Pruitt's emails reveal close ties with fossil fuel interests

  22-02-2017 17:47
  
  Documents suggest former Oklahoma AG followed lobby group’s guidance on challenging environmental regulations, and put letterhead to oil firm complaints more than onceThe close relationship between Scott Pruitt, the new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and fossil fuel interests including the billionaire Koch brothers has been highlighted in more than 7,500 emails and other records released by the Oklahoma attorney general’s office on Wednesday.
  The documents show
  
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• Plane flies along Antarctica's giant Larsen crack

  22-02-2017 17:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  New video is released of the Antarctic ice crack that promises to produce a giant berg.
  
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• Dream of energy-collecting windows is one step closer to reality

  22-02-2017 16:55 via feedproxy.google.com
  Discovery could lower cost and expand possibilities for building-integrated solar energy collectionResearchers at the University of Minnesota and University of Milano-Bicocca are bringing the dream of windows that can efficiently collect solar energy one step closer to reality thanks to high tech silicon nanoparticles.The researchers developed technology to embed the silicon nanoparticles into what they call efficient luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs). These LSCs are the key element of wind
  
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• Only 14% of plastics are recycled – can tech innovation tackle the rest?

  22-02-2017 16:44
  
  A new group of companies is innovating on the problem of plastics recycling by tackling everything from styrofoam to Ziploc bagsThe world recycles just 14% of the plastic packaging it uses. Even worse: 8m tons of plastic, much of it packaging, ends up in the oceans each year, where sea life and birds die from eating it or getting entangled in it. Some of the plastics will also bind with industrial chemicals that have polluted oceans for decades, raising concerns that toxins can make their way in
  
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• OFFSHORE WIND PUSH

  22-02-2017 16:29 via feedproxy.google.com
  Researchers show US grid can handle more offshore wind power, cutting pollution and power costsInjecting large amounts of offshore wind power into the U.S. electrical grid is manageable, will cut electricity costs, and will reduce pollution compared to current fossil fuel sources, according to researchers from the University of Delaware and Princeton University who have completed a first-of-its-kind simulation with the electric power industry.
  
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• Greener UK coalition launches Brexit environmental manifesto

  22-02-2017 16:19
  
  A coalition of green groups including Friends of the Earth (FoE), Greenpeace and WWF has today (22 February) launched a green policy manifesto which outlines the opportunities to maintain and enhance the UK's environment post-Brexit.
  
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• EU set to ban raw ivory exports from July

  22-02-2017 15:54
  
  Exclusive: Leaked documents indicate that the European Union is now preparing a full ban of raw ivoryThe EU is set to ban raw ivory exports from 1 July as it struggles to deal with what was almost certainly another record year of ivory seizures across the continent in 2016.Europe sells more raw and carved ivory to the world than anywhere else, feeding a seemingly insatiable appetite for elephant tusks in China and east Asia.Continue reading...
  
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• Transforming restaurant waste into fuel

  22-02-2017 14:16 via feedproxy.google.com
  When most people look at discarded vegetable oil—browned and gritty from frying food—they likely see nothing more than waste.But to Ajay Dalai, a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, the cooking process creates a byproduct that has newfound potential as a source of fuel and biolubricant. 
  
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• The invisible clean-up crew: Engineering microbial cultures to destroy pollutants

  22-02-2017 13:59 via feedproxy.google.com
  University of Toronto engineering professor Elizabeth Edwards is internationally recognized for using biotechnology to clean up industrial solvents in soil and groundwater. Her technique earned her the prestigious Killam Prize in 2016 and has already been used to restore more than 500 sites around the world.
  
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• Green campaigners welcome Coca-Cola U-turn on bottle and can recycling scheme

  22-02-2017 13:36
  
  Environmentalists hail ‘landmark moment’ as world’s biggest soft drinks company agrees to set up pilot scheme in ScotlandCoca-Cola has announced it supports testing a deposit return service for drinks cans and bottles, in a major coup for environment and anti-waste campaigners.Coca-Cola executives told an event in Edinburgh on Tuesday evening they agreed with campaigners who are pressing the Scottish government to set up a bottle return pilot scheme to cut waste and pollution,
  
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• Tim Farron: It's time for a green industrial revolution

  22-02-2017 13:27
  
  Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron has called on the UK Government to spur a new "industrial revolution" of clean technology to help the country reduce net emissions by 100% by 2050.
  
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• Shell opens its first UK hydrogen refuelling station

  22-02-2017 13:27
  
  Oil giant Shell has today (22 February) launched its first fully-branded hydrogen refuelling station in the UK, with plans already in place to open two more stations in 2017.
  
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• US has provided $315m in financing to supplier of mines accused of slave labor

  22-02-2017 13:00
  
  Between 2007 and 2015, Export-Import Bank provided 48 insurance policies to Connell Company to work with mining companies in seven African countriesAn obscure US government agency has provided $315m in taxpayer-supported financing over the past decade to a company that has supplied equipment to African mines accused of slave labor, human rights violations and environmental destruction.Between 2007 and 2015, the US Export-Import Bank provided 48 insurance policies to the New Jersey-headquartered
  
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• UK and EU pledge £170m in aid to combat famine in South Sudan

  22-02-2017 12:29
  
  Funding response follows UN warnings that 40% of South Sudan’s population are in urgent need, with people already dying from hungerAid for South Sudan totalling £170m has been announced by the UK government and the EU following the declaration of the world’s first famine since 2011.The pledges came after warnings by the UN that about 40% of South Sudan’s population are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance and that people are already dying from hunger caused by famine
  
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• EU and UK united in effort to combat famine in South Sudan

  22-02-2017 12:29
  
  Funding response follows UN warnings that 40% of South Sudan’s population are in urgent need, with people already dying from hungerNew and existing funds provided by the EU and the UK government will be made available to South Sudan following the declaration of famine in the country. The UN has warned that about 40% of South Sudan’s population are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance and that people are already dying from hunger caused by famine in parts of the country.Continue
  
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• Sainsbury's becomes first retailer to commit to 100% plastic-free cotton buds

  22-02-2017 12:25
  
  Sainsbury's has today (22 February) become the first British retailer to publicly commit to the complete removal of plastic from its cotton buds, as the supermarket group aims to replace the current sticks with a fully biodegradable option by the end of 2017.
  
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• Satellite Eye on Earth January 2017 – in pictures

  22-02-2017 12:06
  
  A sacred Tibetan lake, a crack in the Antarctic ice shelf and deforestation in Cambodia are among images captured by Nasa and the ESA this monthYamzho Yumco (Sacred Swan) Lake is one of the three largest sacred lakes in Tibet. It is surrounded by snow-capped mountains and is highly crenellated with many bays and inlets. The lake is home to the Samding monastery which is headed by a female reincarnation, Samding Dorje Phagmo. The image covers an area of 49.8km by 60km. Aster images map and monito
  
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• What steps must be taken now to achieve the Paris Agreement?

  22-02-2017 12:00
  
  A sustained low-carbon shift in energy production, transportation and land use are some of the most important actions required to keep global governments and businesses on track with the targets set out in the Paris Agreement, NewClimate Institute policy analyst and edie Live speaker Sebastian Sterl has said.
  
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• Trump can save his presidency with a great deal to save the climate | Dana Nuccitelli

  22-02-2017 12:00
  
  Donald Trump is a deal maker, and there’s a great deal to be made on climate change
  A month into his presidency, Donald Trump already has a minus-8 job approval rating (43% approve, 51% disapprove). Congress has a minus-50 approval rating, and the Republican Party has a minus-14 favorability rating. All are facing widespread protests, marches, and public resistance. Hundreds of concerned constituents have been showing up to town hall events held by Republican Congressmen, like this one wit
  
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• 'This building is its own power plant': your stories of renewables in the city

  22-02-2017 10:42
  
  From New York to Frankfurt, readers shared their experiences of renewable energy projects in cities around the worldWhat next for renewables in cities? – the expert viewI was invited to take photos on the roof of Portsmouth city council. Most of the roof is covered in solar panels.Sent via GuardianWitness By Paul Watt10 February 2017, 14:10 Continue reading...
  
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• US children's hospital helps save life of baby hippo

  22-02-2017 09:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Doctors from a children's hospital have saved the life of a premature baby hippo.
  
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• What next for renewables in cities? – the expert view

  22-02-2017 09:03
  
  A complex range of factors is shaping how and why cities adopt renewable energy, from costs to the need for stable power supplies
  As renewable energy projects are rolled out in cities around the world, we spoke to companies and organisations working in the sector to find out what’s happening and what to expect. Here’s what they said. Continue reading...
  
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• After April’s March for Science, what should come next for anti-Trump scientists?

  22-02-2017 09:00
  
  If scientists want to effectively counter the Trump administration, they should expand their political toolkits. They need clever use of counter-propaganda, evidence-based alternative policies and political representation. It would surprise very few if surveys revealed that the vast majority of scientists and academics find the U.S. presidency of Donald Trump abhorrent. After all, the scientific community shares values that are clearly not held by the Trump Administration and its supporters: amo
  
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• After April’s March for Science, what next for anti-Trump scientists?

  22-02-2017 09:00
  
  To counter Trump’s administration, scientists need counter-propaganda, evidence-based alternative policies and political representationIt would surprise very few if surveys revealed that the vast majority of scientists and academics find the US presidency of Donald Trump abhorrent. After all, the scientific community shares values that are clearly not held by the Trump administration and its supporters: among them, the importance of diversity and the crucial role of evidence in the process
  
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• Australian coal 'risks being caught out' by Trump climate U-turn

  22-02-2017 08:24
  
  The president could spring a surprise with a carbon price, making renewables cheaper, US Republican warns Fossil fuel industries in Australia could be left behind by improvements in renewables and the possibility Donald Trump changes tack on a carbon tax, a former US Republican congressman has warned.In a speech to the National Press Club on Wednesday, Bob Inglis, a conservative advocate for private sector action on climate change, called for the United States to take unilateral action by imposi
  
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• A tale of four skulls: what human bones reveal about cities

  22-02-2017 08:00
  
  Has the great urbanisation of our species over the last 5,000 years been good for humanity or bad? It’s a story that can be told by examining ancient skeletons – which reveal incredible dangers, but also point to a bright futureThe UN human settlements programme predicts that homo sapiens will soon be a majority urban species: 60% of humans will live in cities by 2030. More than 10 millennia of adaptations have gone into changing our lives from free-range to metropolitan. Yet in evol
  
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• Snowdrops: something at last to cheer about

  22-02-2017 06:30
  
  Wenlock Edge In anonymous hedges and woods, snowdrops have become a kind of spontaneous festival all over the countrySnowdrops and mild weather – is this spring? Something disturbed a crow in the darkness. The bird flew from trees behind the abbey ruins, skirting copse and hedge down the lane to the edge of town with its going-to-work traffic and lights switching on under rooftops. The crow called out before first light, before even the robins stirred, intent on raising the alarm by itself
  
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• Plastic from tyres 'major source' of ocean pollution

  22-02-2017 05:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Particles of debris from car tyres are ending up in the ocean as "plastic soup", a conservationist group warns.
  
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• David v Goliath: how self-funded eco documentaries are taking the fight to the masses

  22-02-2017 04:17
  
  The activist film-makers behind Our Power and The Bentley Effect struggled for funding but hope to unite communitiesIt looks like something out of a Hollywood disaster movie. A blanket of smouldering fire stretches across hundreds of hectares, the landscape burning red and blood orange, showering acrid ash and smoke onto surrounding towns. This is what happens when a bushfire combines with a coal mine.
  Or maybe the Hazelwood open cut mine fire looked worse than a disaster movie - like a vision o
  
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• Farmers fear SA blackouts being used to push through 850-well coal seam gas project

  22-02-2017 03:43
  
  Santos says the proposed Narrabri gas project could supply up to 50% of New South Wales’ gas needsA group of New South Wales farmers fear that the federal and state governments are using the South Australian blackouts to push through a controversial 850-well coal seam gas project in the north-west of the state.The NSW government released the environmental impact statement (EIS) on Tuesday for the Narrabri coal seam gas project, weeks after Malcolm Turnbull raised the possibility of a domes
  
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• Australian termites followed similar evolutionary path to humans, study finds

  22-02-2017 02:33
  
  DNA sequencing shows insects crossed oceans then migrated from treetops to the ground to adapt to ancient climate changeA new paper shows that the ancient ancestors of termites found in northern Australia crossed vast distances over oceans, and then followed an evolutionary path similar to humans, migrating from tree-tops to the ground.Mounds sometimes reaching as high as eight metres and housing millions of individual insects are seen in the Northern Territory, Western Australia and far north Q
  
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