Environment news

• Australians hold values that are essentially leftwing. This week in politics proves it | Van Badham

  17-03-2017 22:00
  
  Despite decades of Tory propaganda and Labor’s neoliberal complicity, we consistently hate privatisation, value tax justice and are committed to fair payTo understand this bloody week in Australian politics is to keep one fact front of mind: the Coalition is down 55-45 in the polls against Labor and imaginary terrorist crises are no media match for the all-out, real-life energy wars erupting around a weak, embattled leader. The power shortages afflicting South Australia shot live sparks in
  
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• World's First Fluorescent Frog Found in the Amazon

  17-03-2017 21:43 via feedproxy.google.com
  Scientists have discovered the world’s first known naturally fluorescent amphibian — the South American polka-dot tree frog.
  
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• New UN Report Blames Pesticides for Food Insecurity

  17-03-2017 16:21 via feedproxy.google.com
  The United Nations says it’s time to overturn the myth that pesticides can feed the world and come up with better, safer ways of producing our food.
  
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• Wi-fi on rays of light: 100 times faster, and never overloaded

  17-03-2017 16:17 via feedproxy.google.com
  Slow wi-fi is a source of irritation that nearly everyone experiences. Wireless devices in the home consume ever more data, and it’s only growing, and congesting the wi-fi network. Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology have come up with a surprising solution: a wireless network based on harmless infrared rays. The capacity is not only huge (more than 40Gbit/s per ray) but also there is no need to share since every device gets its own ray of light. This was the subject for which
  
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• Skilled Workers More Prone to Mistakes When Interrupted

  17-03-2017 16:12 via feedproxy.google.com
  Expertise is clearly beneficial in the workplace, yet highly trained workers in some occupations could actually be at risk for making errors when interrupted, indicates a new study by two Michigan State University psychology researchers.
  
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• Emissions flat for third year running as economy boom continues

  17-03-2017 16:12
  
  The decoupling trend between economic activity and emissions continued for a third straight year, after the International Energy Agency (IEA) revealed that global energy-related carbon emissions remained flat in 2016.
  
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• Astronomers observe a dying red giant star's final act

  17-03-2017 16:06 via feedproxy.google.com
  Using a powerful telescope, scientists view spiral pattern of gaseous emissions around LL Pegasi and its companion star.
  
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• Birds, fluorescent frogs and Tasmania's glowing sea – green news roundup

  17-03-2017 16:02
  
  The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox Continue reading...
  
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• Stanford scientists reveal how grass developed a better way to breathe

  17-03-2017 16:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  Grasses are better able to withstand drought or high temperatures than many other plants in large part due to changes in their pores, called stomata. Stanford scientists have discovered how grasses produce these altered pores, which could someday lead to crops that can better survive climate change.
  
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• Peru floods kill 67 and spark criticism of country's climate change preparedness

  17-03-2017 15:57
  
  Devastating downpour, caused by high ocean temperatures, could not have been predicted, president said, months after state of emergency declared for wildfiresSixty-seven people have been killed and thousands more forced to evacuate by intense rains which damaged 115,000 homes and destroyed more than 100 bridges in Peru’s worst floods in recent memory.
  “We are confronting a serious climatic problem,” said Peru’s president, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, in a broadcast to the natio
  
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• Deadly flooding in Peru sparks criticism over climate change preparedness

  17-03-2017 15:57
  
  Devastating downpour, caused by high ocean temperatures, could not have been predicted, president said, as country reels from mudslides and destroyed homesAbnormally high ocean temperatures in the Pacific Ocean have been blamed for Peru’s worst floods in recent memory which killed 12 people, destroyed homes and swept away trucks and buses along the usually arid seaboard.The disaster caught the authorities by surprise and fuelled criticism that the country is ill-prepared for the growing ch
  
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• Why water splashes: new theory reveals secrets

  17-03-2017 15:52 via feedproxy.google.com
  New research from the University of Warwick generates fresh insight into how a raindrop or spilt coffee splashes.
  
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• CO2 emissions stay same for third year in row – despite global economy growing

  17-03-2017 15:25
  
  International Energy Agency report puts halt in emissions from energy down to growth in renewable power Carbon dioxide emissions from energy have not increased for three years in a row even as the global economy grew, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.Global emissions from the energy sector were 32.1bn tonnes in 2016, the same as the previous two years, while the economy grew 3.1%, the organisation said. Continue reading...
  
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• Baby pygmy hippo in debut splash

  17-03-2017 14:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Taronga Zoo's baby pygmy hippopotamus - the first born in seven years - has made its first public appearance.
  
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• Agricultural research looks at dugouts as absorbing carbon dioxide

  17-03-2017 14:09 via feedproxy.google.com
  Three researchers at the University of Regina have been awarded a provincial research grant to study the role of agricultural dugouts in greenhouse gas capture.Dr. Kerri Finlay, Dr. Peter Leavitt, Dr. Gavin Simpson of the biology department, along with Dr. Helen Baulch of the University of Saskatchewan, were recently awarded $255,030 from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture's Agriculture Development Fund.
  
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• Wild Birds an Unlikely Source of Costly Poultry Disease

  17-03-2017 13:54 via feedproxy.google.com
  Wild ducks and shorebirds do not appear to carry Newcastle disease viruses that sicken or kill poultry, according to a new study led by the U.S. Geological Survey.
  
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• Arctic expeditions and stars collide to create 'quietly powerful' show

  17-03-2017 12:42
  
  Artist Siobhan McDonald named UN Climate Action Programme’s first artist of the week with ‘beautiful and intelligent’ mixed media exhibition CrystallineBarely 24 hours after the word had got out, Siobhan McDonald was sitting at a sunny Paris café terrace last Saturday still coming to grips with having just been named the UN Climate Action Programme’s first artist of the week in its new #Art4Climate series.“The first I knew about it was when I opened my comput
  
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• Can dolphins reveal why whales strand?

  17-03-2017 12:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Researchers in the US are working with dolphins in an effort to work out why closely related whale species in the wild strand themselves on land.
  
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• Access to drinking water around the world – in five infographics

  17-03-2017 11:39
  
  Billions of people have gained access to clean and safe drinking water since 1990, but data show that huge inequalities remainHow many people have access to clean and safe water? Where do they get it from, and how much do they pay for it? A new report by the World Health Organisation/Unicef Joint Monitoring Programmedelves into data on drinking water from the last 17 years to give a detailed view of the state of access to drinking water today.It also examines how the current situation matches up
  
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• Etna escape: 'Pelted with the deadly, hot debris'

  17-03-2017 11:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Science correspondent Rebecca Morelle describes her violent encounter with Europe's most active volcano.
  
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• Etna escape: 'Pelted with hot debris'

  17-03-2017 11:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Science correspondent Rebecca Morelle describes her violent encounter with Europe's most active volcano.
  
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• Japanese government liable for negligence in Fukushima disaster

  17-03-2017 11:25
  
  Court rules government should have used regulatory powers to force nuclear plant’s operator to take preventive measuresA court in Japan has ruled that negligence by the state contributed to the triple meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March 2011 and awarded significant damages to evacuees.Although courts have awarded damages arising from the disaster in other cases, Friday’s ruling is the first time the government has been held liable. Continue reading...
  
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• Device promises injections without needles

  17-03-2017 10:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A computerised system for injecting medicine without using needles has won an innovation award at the South by SouthWest Interactive technology conference in Austin, Texas.
  
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• Major firms commit to ending deforestation in cocoa supply chains

  17-03-2017 10:03
  
  Senior executives from 12 leading coca and chocolate companies, including Mars, Mondelēz International and Nestlé, have heeded the advice of the Prince of Wales and agreed to end deforestation in the global cocoa supply chain.
  
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• Minister responds to fears over GIB restructuring

  17-03-2017 09:00
  
  Business and energy minister Nick Hurd has written to the head of the Environmental Audit Committee to respond to concerns over the restructuring of the Green Investment Bank ahead of its sale.
  
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• 'Narcissistic' bird wins internet fans in Australia

  17-03-2017 08:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A bird that watched its own reflection for hours becomes the subject of internet fun.
  
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• Rare plant sparks legal action against Sydney development

  17-03-2017 08:33
  
  Hibbertia fumana, thought to have been extinct for 200 years, has been rediscovered in Sydney’s westA newly rediscovered rare plant – thought to have become extinct almost 200 years ago – has sparked a legal action in Sydney’s west against a development that threatens the flower’s only known location.About 370 specimens of Hibbertia fumana – a small flowering shrub endemic to Sydney – were found on the grounds of the proposed 83-hectare Simta Moorebank t
  
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• Plant thought extinct for 200 years sparks legal action against Sydney development

  17-03-2017 08:33
  
  New South Wales environmental defenders office takes action against developers of freight terminal after the shrub hibbertia fumana found on siteA newly rediscovered rare plant – thought to have become extinct almost 200 years ago – has sparked a legal action in Sydney’s west against a development that threatens the flower’s only known location.About 370 specimens of Hibbertia fumana – a small flowering shrub endemic to Sydney – were found on the grounds of th
  
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• Nine London boroughs selected to champion food waste awareness

  17-03-2017 08:00
  
  The London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB) has unveiled the nine London boroughs that will task hospitality and food service businesses and households to reduce food waste, promote sustainable eat and improve recycling of unavoidable waste.
  
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• Copulating seahorses and a lavish snail ballet: the underwater wonders of Jean Painlevé

  17-03-2017 08:00
  
  They may have infuriated the censor, but these beautiful films and photographs of cavorting creatures caused a sensation in the 30s. As Ikon’s new exhibition shows, they have been overlooked for too longSee more of Jean Painlevé’s marine lifeIn the course of his lifetime, the aquatic French film-maker Jean Painlevé hung out with Man Ray and Alexander Calder, showed his work in galleries alongside the surrealists, and inspired George Balanchine to choreograph a lobster b
  
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• Claws! The underwater world of Jean Painlevé – in pictures

  17-03-2017 08:00
  
  The nose of a shrimp, the spines of a seahorse, the claws of a crab: Jean Painlevé’s camera captured them all – and turned them into massive, monstrous, mysterious works that caused a sensation in the 1930s. Now the aquatic explorer, famed for his films of copulating seahorses and dancing snails, is receiving his first solo UK show, at Birmingham’s Ikon gallery Continue reading...
  
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• Kakadu aerial cull kills more than 6,000 horses, buffalo and pigs

  17-03-2017 07:48
  
  Number of feral animals in Australia’s largest national park has risen to more than 30,000, manager saysMore than 6,000 wild horses, buffalo, pigs and donkeys have been killed in Kakadu national park as part of a new feral animal management plan negotiated with traditional owners.
  The cull, conducted by helicopter shooters over 24 days, destroyed 3,654 horses, 1,965 buffalo, 294 pigs and a small number of donkeys. Continue reading...
  
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• Dabchick antics enliven a futile vole quest

  17-03-2017 06:30
  
  Cromford, Derbyshire The towpath is popular with Derbyshire folk making their version of the passeggiata, often with dogs, and the water vole is easily spookedWilliam Jessop was a generous man, always ready to give a fellow engineer a leg up. Building the Cromford canal, in the Derbyshire Dales, he hired Benjamin Outram, the son of a local investor, as his assistant. Their great work terminates at Cromford Wharf, once a harbinger of the industrial revolution, now dozing in the evening sunshine,
  
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• Ian Chappell stands by Adani mine letter despite being called 'elitist' by Coalition MP

  17-03-2017 06:04
  
  Adani ‘categorically’ rejects letter signed by 91 prominent Australians as protesters confront Queensland premier during tour of Adani’s Indian HQCricket great Ian Chappell has stood by his opposition to the Adani mine proposal as part of a group of prominent Australians branded “elitist wankers” by a federal government MP and “a very small group of misled people” by the Indian miner.Chappell said it was “worthwhile” if joining his brother Gr
  
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• Seawater could provide the solution to South Australia's power woes

  17-03-2017 04:48
  
  The state lacks the rainfall, rivers and mountains to run a conventional hydro system, but the ocean could step inThe federal government has announced a $2 billion plan to expand the iconic Snowy Hydro scheme. It will carry out a feasibility study into the idea of adding “pumped hydro” storage capacity, which it says could power up to 500,000 homes.Hydro is one of the oldest and most mature electricity generation technologies. And pumped hydro storage – in which water is pumped
  
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• Pressure mounts on Finkel energy review to consider price on carbon

  17-03-2017 03:06
  
  Business and interest groups that called for carbon tax to be dumped three years ago now urge panel to recommend market mechanism to price emissionsThe Liberal New South Wales government, major energy users, manufacturers and businesses including BHP Billiton have urged the Finkel review of the electricity market to consider a price on carbon or a market mechanism.The submissions, released on Friday, add further pressure on the review to recommend a market mechanism to price greenhouse gas emiss
  
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• Black tide

  17-03-2017 02:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Fifty years ago, the supertanker the SS Torrey Canyon hit rocks off the coast of Cornwall, spilling more than 100,000 tonnes of crude oil. But it was the clear-up operation that led to the real environmental disaster.
  
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• Barnaby Joyce says states should follow South Australia on coal seam gas

  17-03-2017 02:21
  
  Deputy prime minister wants bans lifted on exploration and development, and royalties paid to landholdersThe Nationals leader, Barnaby Joyce, has called for states to lift the bans on coal seam gas and has urged them to follow South Australia’s plan to pay royalties as compensation to landholders. The deputy prime minister, who is also the minister for agriculture, said lifting the gas bans should not occur on a carte blanche basis because of the need to protect prime agricultural land and
  
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• White House calls climate change funding 'a waste of your money' – video

  17-03-2017 01:46
  
  The administration has unveiled President Donald Trump’s first budget, including a proposed 31% cut in funding to the Environmental Protection Agency. The cuts would remove funding for the Clean Power Plan and scrap all climate change research programs and partnerships. White House budget director Mick Mulvaney confirmed on Thursday that the new administration had no interest in funding to combat climate change, saying: ‘We’re not spending money on that any more. We consider th
  
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• Peru flooding: woman scrambles out of vast mudslide – video

  17-03-2017 01:37
  
  A woman stumbles across rafts of debris to make it to safety after being caught in a huge mudslide that crashed through the outskirts of Lima. Media reports in Peru said Evangelina Chamorro Díaz, 32, escaped without serious injury. “She is a little confused, but she is very well and will recover because she is a warrior and thank God nothing serious happened,” health minister Patricia Garcia said after visiting Díaz on Thursday. Several days of unusually heavy rains hav
  
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• Haddock from UK waters removed from sustainable seafood list

  17-03-2017 01:01
  
  MCS takes some haddock fisheries off green list – but Scottish fishermen accuse it of ‘dressing advocacy up as science’It is among the most popular fish in the UK, but haddock may soon be off the menu in some fish and chip shops because of dwindling stocks. Haddock from three North Sea and west of Scotland fisheries have been removed from the Marine Conservation Society recommended “green” list of fish to eat, after stocks fell below the acceptable levels in 2016.Co
  
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• Scientists play 'geological genealogy'

  17-03-2017 00:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Researchers trace the parental history of Canadian rocks to a time just after Earth's formation.
  
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