Environment news

• WA Labor on defensive as consumer watchdog backs electricity privatisation

  07-03-2017 21:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Mark McGowan says he disagrees with competition watchdog assessment that electricity bills will fall if 51% of Western Power is sold under LiberalsWestern Australia Labor’s aggressive campaign against the Barnett government’s planned privatisation of Western Power is on shaky ground five days out from the election after the competition tsar said it would lead to lower prices.The Labor leader, Mark McGowan, said he disagreed with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chai
  
  Read more

• WA Labor on defensive after ACCC backs electricity privatisation

  07-03-2017 21:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Mark McGowan says he disagrees with competition watchdog that electricity bills will fall 51% if Western Power sold under LiberalsWestern Australia Labor’s aggressive campaign against the Barnett government’s planned privatisation of Western Power is on shaky ground five days out from the election after the competition tsar said it would lead to lower prices.The Labor leader, Mark McGowan, said he disagreed with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman, Rod Sims, w
  
  Read more

• A light rain can spread soil bacteria far and wide, study finds

  07-03-2017 20:26 via feedproxy.google.com
  A good rain can have a cleansing effect on the land. But an MIT study published today in Nature Communications reports that, under just the right conditions, rain can also be a means of spreading bacteria.
  
  Read more

• NASA Sees Powerful Tropical Cyclone Enawo Make Landfall in Madagascar

  07-03-2017 20:21 via feedproxy.google.com
  Tropical Cyclone Enawo was battering the northeastern region of Madagascar when NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed overhead on March 7. Enawo strengthened to the equivalent of a Category 4 or major hurricane and made landfall.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Future climate change will affect plants and soil differently

  07-03-2017 20:16 via feedproxy.google.com
  A new European study has found that soil carbon loss is more sensitive to climate change compared to carbon taken up by plants. In drier regions, soil carbon loss decreased but in wetter regions soil carbon loss increased. This could result in a positive feedback to the atmosphere leading to an additional increase of atmospheric CO2 levels.
  
  Read more

• High number of deaths from heart disease, stroke and diabetes linked to diet

  07-03-2017 20:08 via feedproxy.google.com
  WHAT: Nearly half of all deaths in the United States in 2012 that were caused by cardiometabolic diseases, including heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes, have been linked to substandard eating habits, according to a study published in the March 7 issue of JAMA and funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health.
  
  Read more

• First Dog on the Moon goes to south-west Tasmania (and totally freaks out)

  07-03-2017 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A happy confluence of things has meant this part of the world is just crap enough to keep people away. Just kidding, it’s actually unspeakably beautifulI went to south-west Tasmania and totally freaked out. Oh my goodness – simply one of the most beautiful, haunting, weirdy landscapes I have ever had the good fortune to go and look at. The Port Davey marine reserve is huge, three times the size of Sydney Harbour and that is just the wet bits. The landscape is dominated by numerous ri
  
  Read more

• Traveling droughts bring new possibilities for prediction

  07-03-2017 19:42 via feedproxy.google.com
  A small subset of the most intense droughts move across continents in predictable patterns, according a new study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters by researchers in Austria and the United States. The study could help improve projections of future drought, allowing for more effective planning.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• How decking drove wildlife from the city | Letters

  07-03-2017 19:42 via theguardian.com
  
  Patrick Barkham’s remarks on garden decking and wildlife loss (Notebook, 7 March) chime with research we undertook on the changes to garden vegetation in London over an eight-year period. We found that between 1998-99 and 2006-07, 3,000 hectares of vegetation disappeared from gardens, replaced by hard standing and decking. This loss, equivalent to 2.5 Hyde Parks each year, was compounded by the loss of 1m trees from gardens.  This period of change coincided with Ground Force’s t
  
  Read more

• Free-range cows are a modern invention | Letters

  07-03-2017 19:42 via theguardian.com
  
  The overarching assumption in Joanna Blythman’s anthropomorphic article on “free range” milk (1 March) is that it’s better for cows to graze on pasture than be kept, milked and fed in a closed environment.That grazing is more “natural” (and so better) is a silly assumption. None of our domesticated beasts have led a “natural” life for thousands of years now and are evolved into creatures that are as dependent on us and our care as we are on them. I
  
  Read more

• New Research Shows Crude Oil Chemicals Move and Change More Quickly than EPA Standards

  07-03-2017 19:29 via feedproxy.google.com
  The Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, lists about 65 chemicals as “toxic pollutants” under the Clean Water Act, 16 of which are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. LSU Department of Environmental Sciences doctoral candidate Parichehr Saranjampour conducted research on a chemical class of PAHs that is not on the EPA’s list — Dibenzothiophene, or DBT. DBT and its three related chemical compounds contain sulfur that is found in crude oil. Saranjampour studied h
  
  Read more

• "Black swan" events strike animal populations

  07-03-2017 18:32 via feedproxy.google.com
  Black swan events are rare and surprising occurrences that happen without notice and often wreak havoc on society. The metaphor has been used to describe banking collapses, devastating earthquakes and other major surprises in financial, social and natural systems.A new analysis by the University of Washington and Simon Fraser University is the first to document that black swan events also occur in animal populations and usually manifest as massive, unexpected die-offs. The results were
  
  Read more

• Australia must put a price on carbon, say institutional investors

  07-03-2017 18:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Move needed to drive orderly transition to low-emissions power sources, Investor Group on Climate Change says The Turnbull government needs to put a price on carbon to unlock new investment in the electricity sector and drive an orderly transition to low-emissions power sources, according to the Investor Group on Climate Change.
  The group, which represents major institutional investors in Australia and New Zealand, has used its submission to the Finkel review to argue that the government’s
  
  Read more

• Accounting for Extreme Rainfall

  07-03-2017 18:15 via feedproxy.google.com
  A University of Connecticut climate scientist has confirmed that more intense and more frequent severe rainstorms will likely continue as temperatures rise due to global warming, despite some observations that seem to suggest otherwise.In a research paper appearing this week in Nature Climate Change, UConn civil and environmental engineering professor Guiling Wang explains that data showing the intensity of severe rainstorms declining after temperatures reach a certain t
  
  Read more

• H&M supply factory in Myanmar damaged in violent labour protest

  07-03-2017 17:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Workers destroy production line of Yangon factory making clothes for the Swedish fashion chain, in month-long dispute over conditions and benefits Workers demanding better conditions and benefits have destroyed the production line of a Chinese-owned factory in Myanmar making clothes for Swedish fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz, in one of the most violent labour disputes in the country in years.The month-old dispute, which also saw managers attacked, highlights the need for Aung San Suu Kyi&
  
  Read more

• Chemical pollution in China: which metal poses the greatest risk to the Bohai region's freshwater ecosystem?

  07-03-2017 17:34 via feedproxy.google.com
  Professor Andrew Johnson and Dr Monika Jürgens, Environmental Scientists at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, contributed to a recent study looking at which metal presents the greatest risk to the freshwater ecosystem in the Bohai region of China. They explain more:Thanks to support from the Natural Environment Research Council Newton Fund, the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) has been collaborating with the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, in Beijing, China sin
  
  Read more

• Rhino shot dead by poachers at French zoo

  07-03-2017 16:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Horn removed from four-year-old Vince in ‘act of extreme violence’, says park director Poachers have broken into a French zoo, killing a four-year-old white rhinoceros and sawing off its horn.Keepers found the dead animal, named Vince, in the African enclosure of the zoo at Thoiry, west of Paris, on Tuesday morning. It had been shot in the head and its large horn removed with a chainsaw. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• E.ON customers to pay extra £97 a year after 8.8% price rise

  07-03-2017 16:32 via theguardian.com
  
  German firm blames increase, which affects 2.5 million customers, on rising cost of government renewable schemesAbout 2.5 million E.ON customers will pay an extra £97 a year on energy bills in what consumer groups have branded a “monstrous” and “crippling” blow for householders.The company’s 8.8% price rise for customers on a dual-fuel standard tariff from the end of next month is the second highest increase among several announced recently by rivals, includin
  
  Read more

• Decking seemed a great idea in the 90s. But so did Tony Blair | Patrick Barkham

  07-03-2017 15:19 via theguardian.com
  
  Alan Titchmarsh regrets his role in popularising the wooden abominations – graves for generations of garden animals. But in decay there is an upsideDecking is like Tony Blair; widely embraced in the 1990s, now an embarrassing legacy of the bad old days. And neither look as splendid as they once did. Decking hasn’t simply decayed into a mildewed death-trap, it’s accused of being plundered from rainforests to smother gardens where butterflies, hedgehogs and songbirds once flouris
  
  Read more

• Brexit putting British scientists at risk of becoming bit-part players, warns report

  07-03-2017 15:03 via theguardian.com
  
  Participation in prestigious projects ranging from an Antarctic mission to a major satellite programme is now in doubt, a report from Prospect findsBritish scientists risk being reduced to bit-part players in some of the most ambitious projects of the next decade, a report has warned.The findings by the union Prospect on the implications of Brexit for science highlight a number of prestigious projects where British participation is now in doubt. These include a planned Antarctic mission to drill
  
  Read more

• USGS Finds Elevated Levels of Arsenic, Radon, Methane in Some Private Wells in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania

  07-03-2017 14:32 via feedproxy.google.com
  Tests of 75 private drinking water wells in Lycoming County, in north-central Pennsylvania, found water from most of the sampled wells contained concentrations of radon that exceeded a proposed, nonbinding health standard for drinking water. Smaller percentages of the wells contained concentrations of arsenic or methane that exceed existing drinking water standards.
  
  Read more

• Solar power growth leaps by 50% worldwide thanks to US and China

  07-03-2017 14:00 via theguardian.com
  
  UK leads Europe for solar growth despite drop in installations after government cut subsidiesThe amount of solar power added worldwide soared by some 50% last year because of a sun rush in the US and China, new figures show.New solar photovoltaic capacity installed in 2016 reached more than 76 gigawatts, a dramatic increase on the 50GW installed the year before. China and the US led the surge, with both countries almost doubling the amount of solar they added in 2015, according to data compiled
  
  Read more

• Barcelona to ban old cars from roads to tackle air pollution

  07-03-2017 13:43 via theguardian.com
  
  Motorists will be prohibited from driving vehicles older than 20 years on weekdays from 2019 in effort to cut emissionsBarcelona will ban cars that are older than 20 years from the roads during the week to cut traffic emissions by 30% over 15 years.The measure – a joint initiative between the city council, the Catalan government and other metropolitan bodies – will come into force on 1 January 2019 and will cover Barcelona and the 39 surrounding municipalities. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Carbon Trust forms partnership to reduce climate impact of livestock

  07-03-2017 12:58
  
  The Carbon Trust has struck a deal with World Bank Group member International Finance Corporation (IFC) to enhance productivity and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the livestock supply chain.
  
  Read more

• Pollution responsible for quarter of deaths of young children, says WHO

  07-03-2017 12:43 via theguardian.com
  
  Toxic air, unsafe water and and lack of sanitation cause the deaths of 1.7 million under-fives every yearPollution is responsible for one in four deaths among all children under five, according to new World Health Organisation reports, with toxic air, unsafe water, and and lack of sanitation the leading causes.The reports found polluted environments cause the deaths of 1.7 million children every year, but that many of the deaths could be prevented by interventions already known to work, such as
  
  Read more

• Europe's first large-scale battery factory hopes to emulate Tesla's Gigafactory

  07-03-2017 12:35
  
  Former Tesla executives have unveiled plans to build the largest European battery factory in Sweden, with an ultimate aim to rival the expected output of Tesla's US-based Gigafactory by 2024.
  
  Read more

• ESOS: Companies still non-compliant as Environment Agency turns to enforcement action

  07-03-2017 12:00
  
  EXCLUSIVE: Compliance rates for the Government's Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) are below expected levels, with hundreds or possibly thousands of qualifying organisations still unaccounted for almost a year after the final deadline.
  
  Read more

• ESOS: 30% of firms remain non-compliant a year on from deadline

  07-03-2017 12:00
  EXCLUSIVE: Compliance rates for the Government's Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) are below expected levels, with thousands of qualifying organisations still unaccounted for almost a year after the final deadline.
  
  Read more

• Arid land to a fertile Eden: permaculture lessons from Portugal

  07-03-2017 10:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Tamera’s ecology experts transformed an area at risk of desertification – and say they can do the same anywhere in the worldThe land undulates upwards into gentle hills, cradling nooks of fertile terraces growing sweetcorn, sunflowers and tomatoes, before rolling down into tranquil lakes. It looks like a natural Edenic paradise on earth. But 20 years ago this land was arid and barren, and farming was a struggle.The land is called Tamera, the name given to these 330 acres in southern
  
  Read more

• Zero-emission London taxis road tested in the Arctic Circle

  07-03-2017 09:59
  
  London Taxis have swapped the busy streets of England's capital for the icy conditions of the Arctic Circle, in order to monitor performance of new electric-engine versions of the vehicle.
  
  Read more

• Sentinel-2B satellite launched to photograph Earth

  07-03-2017 09:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Sentinel-2B spacecraft will take pictures to help create a complete map of Earth.
  
  Read more

• Report: Tackling food waste offers 'triple win' for businesses to accelerate economic growth

  07-03-2017 08:00
  
  Company efforts to tackled food waste can generate a "triple win" for the economy, food security and the environment while also generating financial returns of around $14 for every $1 spent on mitigation.
  
  Read more

• Famine warning signs were clear – so why are 20 million lives now at risk? | Kevin Watkins

  07-03-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  South Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria and Yemen are on the brink of catastrophe, thanks to conflict, drought, and a shocking failure in our international responseThis year could be the most deadly from famine in three decades. The lives of more than 20 million people are at risk in four countries. Large areas of South Sudan have already been declared a famine zone. Five years after a famine that claimed a quarter-of-a-million lives, Somalia is back on the brink of catastrophe: 6 million people are in ne
  
  Read more

• UN experts denounce 'myth' pesticides are necessary to feed the world

  07-03-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Report warns of catastrophic consequences and blames manufacturers for ‘systematic denial of harms’ and ‘aggressive, unethical marketing tactics’The idea that pesticides are essential to feed a fast-growing global population is a myth, according to UN food and pollution experts.A new report, being presented to the UN human rights council on Wednesday, is severely critical of the global corporations that manufacture pesticides, accusing them of the “systematic denial
  
  Read more

• Patagonia and The North Face: saving the world – one puffer jacket at a time

  07-03-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The retail giants are not only competing to sell outdoor gear – they are rivals in the contest to sell the thrill of the wilderness to the urban massesOn the night of his 30th birthday, after a few drinks, Dean Karnazes decided that he would celebrate by running all the way from San Francisco down the coast to the town of Half Moon Bay, a distance of 30 miles. So began a career as an endurance runner. He has run 50 marathons in 50 consecutive days in all 50 states, and taken part in such e
  
  Read more

• 'Parched' Chinese city plans to pump water from Russian lake via 1,000km pipeline

  07-03-2017 06:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Urban planners in Lanzhou have drawn up proposals to pipe water into the chronically dry region from Siberia’s Lake Baikal.China is reportedly considering plans to build a 1,000km (620 mile) pipeline to pump water all the way from Siberia to its drought-stricken northwest.
  According to reports in the Chinese media, urban planners in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province, have drawn up proposals to pipe water into the chronically parched region from Russia’s Lake Baikal, the deepest
  
  Read more

• Peregrines in tandem trigger a fear flock

  07-03-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Claxton, Norfolk Wigeon boil up from the pools and the white lines across the males’ wings flash in the grey waves of their panicI am in heaven in recent days. Buckenham marshes, across the river, is a mosaic of temporary splashes and mud-edged pools and, from the Yare’s raised bank, I can see how it’s smothered in late-winter pre-migration waders and wildfowl. All the flocking thousands are in turn the trigger for the presence of harriers and peregrines.
  While the former circl
  
  Read more

• Energy executives say gas market – not windfarms – to blame for South Australia's woes

  07-03-2017 05:11 via theguardian.com
  
  Main problem afflicting country’s grid is the lack of clear policy direction from Canberra, witnesses tell Senate inquirySenior executives from AGL Energy have given evidence that the main issue causing problems with reliable energy supply in South Australia is “dysfunction” in the gas market – not too many windfarms making the grid unreliable.
  Executives from AGL told a Senate inquiry in Melbourne on Tuesday they would like to build a new gas-fired power station in South
  
  Read more

• Sentinel satellite launched to picture Planet Earth

  07-03-2017 03:58 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A key spacecraft in Europe's new multi-billion-euro Earth observation programme blasts into orbit.
  
  Read more

• Five ways to avoid breathing polluted air

  07-03-2017 01:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Simple tips to avoid inhaling air from traffic and other common sources of pollution.
  
  Read more

• Budget 2017 preview: Seven green policy hopes for Philip Hammond's Spring Budget

  07-03-2017 01:01
  
  As Chancellor Philip Hammond prepares to deliver his first - and last - Spring Budget on Wednesday (8 March), edie rounds up the key environmental issues that the sustainability community will hope are included in the Government's spending plans.
  
  Read more

• Satao, one of the last 'giant tusker' elephants, killed in Kenya

  07-03-2017 00:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  There are fewer than 30 such animals left in Africa after Satao II was apparently shot.
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!