Environment news

• Changes to flight paths could reduce aircraft effect on climate

  23-03-2017 22:30
  
  Small alterations to routing, which would add about 1% to airlines’ operating costs, could have significant resultsSmall tweaks to flight paths could reduce the effects that aircraft have on climate by as much as 10%, a new study shows. For a roughly 1% increase in operating costs, airlines could make significant climate change cuts by optimising their routes according to the weather, time of day and time of year.Aircraft affect Earth’s climate by emitting greenhouse gases, and creat
  
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• Rice U. refines filters for greener natural gas

  23-03-2017 21:37 via feedproxy.google.com
  Natural gas producers want to draw all the methane they can from a well while sequestering as much carbon dioxide as possible, and could use filters that optimize either carbon capture or methane flow. No single filter will do both, but thanks to Rice University scientists, they now know how to fine-tune sorbents for their needs.Subtle adjustments in the manufacture of a polymer-based carbon sorbent make it the best-known material either for capturing the greenhouse gas or balancing carbon captu
  
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• Sea Ice Extent Sinks to Record Lows at Both Poles

  23-03-2017 21:17 via feedproxy.google.com
  Arctic sea ice appears to have reached on March 7 a record low wintertime maximum extent, according to scientists at NASA and the NASA-supported National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado. And on the opposite side of the planet, on March 3 sea ice around Antarctica hit its lowest extent ever recorded by satellites at the end of summer in the Southern Hemisphere, a surprising turn of events after decades of moderate sea ice expansion.On Feb. 13, the combined Arctic and Antarct
  
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• Corals Die as Global Warming Collides with Local Weather in the South China Sea

  23-03-2017 20:45 via feedproxy.google.com
  In the South China Sea, a 2°C rise in the sea surface temperature in June 2015 was amplified to produce a 6°C rise on Dongsha Atoll, a shallow coral reef ecosystem, killing approximately 40 percent of the resident coral community within weeks, according to a study published in Scientific Reports this week.Wind and waves churn the sea, flushing shallow-water coral reefs with seawater from the open ocean to help them stay cool. But according to new research from the Woods Hole Oc
  
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• Google Street View Cars Are Now Helping to Track Methane Leaks

  23-03-2017 20:32 via feedproxy.google.com
  Google Street View cars have driven millions of miles across the globe, capturing 360-degree images of roadways and communities on all seven continents. Now, scientists and environmentalists are teaming up to add pollution trackers to the vehicles so they can monitor natural gas leaks as they drive.The new project, detailed this week in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, is being led by researchers at Colorado State University, the Environmental Defense Fu
  
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• Kaikoura: 'Most complex quake ever studied'

  23-03-2017 20:14 via bbc.co.uk
  
  2016's big quake in New Zealand will likely prompt a rethink about how such events are expected to behave.
  
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• Wastewater cleaned thanks to a new adsorbent material made from fruit peels

  23-03-2017 20:13 via feedproxy.google.com
  Researchers from the University of Granada (UGR), and from the Center for Electrochemical Research and Technological Development (Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo Tecnológico en Electroquímica, CIDETEQ) and the Center of Engineering and Industrial Development (Centro de Ingeniería y Desarrollo Industrial, CIDESI), both in Mexico, have developed a process that allows to clean waters containing heavy metals and organic compounds considered pollutants, usin
  
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• Climate Change and an "Overlooked" Nutrient: Silica

  23-03-2017 20:03 via feedproxy.google.com
  Among ecologists, carbon gets all the glory. Scientists examine its critical role in plant growth and decay, they chart its contributions to greenhouse gases, and they measure its sequestration in earth, sea, and sky.Often overlooked in all this research is the humble element silicon, or “silica,” as it’s called when found in nature. If ecologists (or biologists or biogeochemists) think of silica at all, they regard it as a bit player, a ho-hum component of rocks and sand.
  
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• ‘Moore’s law’ for carbon would defeat global warming

  23-03-2017 19:00
  
  A plan to halve carbon emissions every decade, while green energy continues to double every five years, provides a simple but rigorous roadmap to tackle climate change, scientists sayA new “carbon law”, modelled on Moore’s law in computing, has been proposed as a roadmap for beating climate change. It sees carbon emissions halving every decade, while green energy continues to double every five years.The carbon law’s proponents are senior climate-change scientists and they
  
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• Northumbrian and Anglian team up for water retail market

  23-03-2017 18:21
  
  With just over a week to go until the non-household water retail market opens, Anglian Water Business (AWB) and NWG Business have teamed up to create a new retailer of water and wastewater services in England and Scotland.
  
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• Europe poised for total ban on bee-harming pesticides

  23-03-2017 17:20
  
  Exclusive: Draft regulations seen by the Guardian reveal the European commission wants to prohibit the insecticides that cause ‘acute risks to bees’ The world’s most widely used insecticides would be banned from all fields across Europe under draft regulations from the European commission, seen by the Guardian.
  The documents are the first indication that the powerful commission wants a complete ban and cite “high acute risks to bees”. A ban could be in place this ye
  
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• Rick Perry ‘deeply troubled’ by election of gay Texas A&M student president

  23-03-2017 17:12
  
  The energy secretary weighed in on the election at his alma mater in an opinion piece this week, implying voters were intimidated by ‘quest for diversity’During his time as Texas governor, Rick Perry sought to crack down on electoral misconduct despite scant evidence it was a problem. Now in Washington as Donald Trump’s energy secretary, the former Republican presidential candidate is keeping up his interest in the topic. He has written an article casting doubt on the process t
  
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• Hammerson launches all-encompassing Net Positive strategy

  23-03-2017 17:06
  
  Retail property specialist Hammerson has become the first firm in its sector to launch a pan-European Net Positive strategy covering carbon, resource use and water consumption across internal and tenant operations.
  
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• Fruit-shaped sensor 'can improve freshness'

  23-03-2017 17:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The sensor comes in orange, apple, banana and mango varieties and alerts to cooling problems.
  
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• Q&A: Forests soak up greenhouse gases, so how do we ensure their protection?

  23-03-2017 16:53
  
  Join a panel of experts from 2-4.30pm on Thursday 30 March to discuss the resources needed to fight deforestation
  Every year, 18 million hectares of tropical forest – an area the size of England and Wales – are cut down, releasing millions of tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. In just 40 years, possibly 1bn hectares, the equivalent of Europe, has gone.Trees soak up carbon dioxide so when they are gone the gas lingers in the atmosphere, leading to temperature rises and clim
  
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• Global CO2 Levels Stay Flat for a Third Year

  23-03-2017 15:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  Data shows that global CO2 emissions have remained roughly the same for the third year in a row. Although that’s good news for the fight against climate change, it’s important to put this data in perspective. 
  
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• Northern Lights: Large-Scale Solar Power is Spreading Across the U.S.

  23-03-2017 14:52 via feedproxy.google.com
  Once largely confined to the sunny Southwest, utility-scale solar power plants are now being built everywhere from Minnesota to Alabama to Maine. Aided by plunging costs and improving technologies, these facilities are expected to provide a big boost to U.S. solar energy production.
  
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• Can UK plc set the pace on energy?

  23-03-2017 14:24
  
  As faith in government continues to nosedive and with the triple threat of rising prices, interruption to energy supply and climate change, edie asks, is it going to be up to UK business to solve the energy crisis and keep the lights on?
  
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• Share your photos of these newly recognised cloud formations

  23-03-2017 13:36
  
  As the International Cloud Atlas adds 11 “new” formations, including wave-like clouds known as asperitas, we’d like to see your pictures from around the world
  Wave-like clouds long seen but never officially categorised in English-language meteorological circles now have their place in the International Cloud Atlas. Related: Stunning 'new' cloud formations captured in updated atlas – in picturesContinue reading...
  
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• Stunning 'new' cloud formations captured in updated atlas – in pictures

  23-03-2017 13:35
  
  Roll clouds and wave-like asperitas are among the additions to the new digital International Cloud Atlas, that dates back to the 19th century. It features hundreds of images captured by meteorologists and cloud lovers from around the worldHave you seen any of the “new” cloud formations?
  Continue reading...
  
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• Let there be light: Germans switch on 'largest artificial sun'

  23-03-2017 13:19
  
  Scientists hope experiment, which can generate temperatures of around 3,500C, will help to develop carbon-neutral fuelGerman scientists are switching on “the world’s largest artificial sun” in the hope that intense light sources can be used to generate climate-friendly fuel.The Synlight experiment in Jülich, about 19 miles west of Cologne, consists 149 souped-up film projector spotlights and produces light about 10,000 times the intensity of natural sunlight on Earth.Conti
  
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• Search for a star: where is Sirocco, rare parrot and comedy genius? | Helen Pilcher

  23-03-2017 12:03
  
  This kākāpō’s life is like that of a rock’n’roll legend, including a sex scandal with a BBC presenter. But on his 20th birthday, he’s nowhere to be seenThis week, I learned that Sirocco – media superstar, comedy legend and one of the world’s rarest parrots - has gone missing. The young male kākāpō, who lives wild on a remote New Zealand island, evaded a recent search by scientists who wanted to capture him for a routine health che
  
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• Study: Backing fossil fuels is economically and politically irresponsible

  23-03-2017 10:07
  
  A shift away from fossil fuels to renewables is needed at international level if the targets of the Paris climate deal are to be met. The Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue wants to set an example by bringing plenty new to the table.
  
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• AkzoNobel generates $3bn in fuel savings for the shipping industry

  23-03-2017 09:39
  
  An innovative range of biocide-free marine coatings has enabled shipping vessels to achieve fuel savings totalling $3bn since the technology was first introduced 21 year ago.
  
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• Dinosaur crater's clue to origin of life

  23-03-2017 08:58 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The crater made by the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs reveals clues to the origins of life on Earth.
  
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• Battle cry: Where should the War on Waste go next?

  23-03-2017 08:15
  
  With edie's month of editorial content tailored to resource efficiency now in full swing, we highlight six areas where the influential 'War on Waste' circular economy campaign series should head next.
  
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• Two quit Australian climate authority blaming government 'extremists'

  23-03-2017 07:30
  
  John Quiggin and Danny Price resign over Coalition’s ‘rightwing anti-science activists’ and climate change political point-scoringTwo members of the Climate Change Authority have resigned, with one accusing the government of being beholden to rightwing, anti-science “extremists” in its own party and in the media.John Quiggin told Guardian Australia he informed the federal minister for environment and energy, Josh Frydenberg, of his resignation on Thursday. It follow
  
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• Night parrot sighting confirmed in Western Australia for first time in 100 years

  23-03-2017 06:46
  
  Birdwatchers ‘elated’ after snapping photo of the endangered species in state’s arid interior in discovery that could significantly impact on mining developments A night parrot has been photographed in Western Australia, adding another twist to the mysterious history of the species that was presumed extinct until it was rediscovered in Queensland four years ago.It is the first verified sighting of the bird in WA for almost 100 years and follows a history of unverified sightings
  
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• Prickly nettles made pliant for the pot

  23-03-2017 06:30
  
  Sandy, Bedfordshire Tiny spears pierce my trousers and the skin of my knee, releasing toxins that tingle with fiery heatUnder a hawthorn hedge and all along the bank grows one of Britain’s most feared and reviled plants. I kneel down before it and feel its power. Its hairs, just a few millimetres long and looking like icicle spears, have pierced both my trousers and the skin of my knee, releasing toxins that tingle with fiery heat. Even so, I reach out to grasp one of these plants between
  
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• 'New' wave-like cloud finally wins official recognition

  23-03-2017 02:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The new clouds include the rare, wave-like asperitas, after a long campaign by skywatchers.
  
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• More than half Australian snake bite deaths since 2000 occurred at victim’s home

  23-03-2017 01:41
  
  Almost three-quarters of the 35 victims were male, and 20% were bitten while trying to pick up or kill snakeMore than half of the deaths caused by snake bites in Australia since 2000 have occurred in or around the victim’s home, a nationwide review has found.The coronial-based retrospective study of fatalities from January 2000 to December 2016 found that, of the 35 deaths recorded by the National Coronial Information Service, 16 were a direct result of the bite.Continue reading...
  
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• How an obscure seed is helping to save the elephant

  23-03-2017 01:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A look at how the seed of a South American tree is increasingly being used as an alternative to ivory.
  
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• Maine lawmaker seeks discrimination protection for climate change deniers

  23-03-2017 00:24
  
  State representative introduced a bill that would limit the state attorney general’s ability to investigate or prosecute people based on their political speechMaine laws protect people from discrimination based on factors such as race, disabilities and sexual orientation, and a Republican lawmaker wants to add a person’s beliefs about climate change to that list.State representative Larry Lockman has introduced a bill that would limit the state attorney general’s ability to inv
  
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