Environment news

• Litter is present throughout the world's oceans: 1,220 species affected

  27-03-2017 20:06 via feedproxy.google.com
  Where is marine litter concentrated, and which species and ecosystems does it affect? Researchers at the Alfred Wegener Institute have for the first time compiled all scientific data published on marine litter in a single, comprehensive database, now accessible from the online portal AWI Litterbase (www.litterbase.org). Here, both the distribution of litter and its interactions with organisms are presented in global maps. In addition, the regularly updated datasets are fed into graphic analyses,
  
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• This is how green algae assemble their enzymes

  27-03-2017 19:48 via feedproxy.google.com
  For almost a decade, researchers from Bochum have been developing biotechnological methods for hydrogen production. Green algae might be the key.Researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum have analysed how green algae manufacture complex components of a hydrogen-producing enzyme. The enzyme, known as the hydrogenase, may be relevant for the biotechnological production of hydrogen.To date, little is known about the way organisms form this type of hydrogenases under natural conditions. Using nove
  
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• Farming becoming riskier under climate change

  27-03-2017 19:10 via feedproxy.google.com
  Scientists the world over are working to predict how climate change will affect our planet. It is an extremely complex puzzle with many moving parts, but a few patterns have been consistent, including the prediction that farming as we know it will become more difficult.Scientists infer the impact on agriculture based on predictions of rainfall, drought intensity, and weather volatility. Until now, however, the average farmer may not have been able to put predictions like these into practice. A n
  
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• Another Study Points to Climate Change's Direct Role in Fueling Extreme Weather

  27-03-2017 19:02 via feedproxy.google.com
  Climate change is impacting major air currents that control extreme weather events, helping to power natural disasters like heat waves, droughts, wildfires, and floods in North America, Europe, and Asia, according to a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports.
  
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• Murder in Pondoland: how a proposed mine brought conflict to South Africa

  27-03-2017 18:45 via theguardian.com
  
  The death of activist Sikhosiphi Rhadebe in the Eastern Cape has not stopped local communities opposing plans for a titanium mine that threatens important lands and a way of life, reports Yale Environment 360Environmentalists at risk: read parts one and two in this seriesThey called him “Bazooka” after his favourite soccer star. But Sikhosiphi Rhadebe’s real love was the magnificent coastal lands of South Africa’s Eastern Cape, where he chaired a community organisation ca
  
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• Survey: Renewables workforce concerned about future skills shortage

  27-03-2017 18:43
  
  A relatively young workforce in the renewables sector could create a future skills shortage unless mentoring and coaching is improved, while hiring managers across the energy sector are increasingly willing to recruit from other sectors to inspire "a new way of thinking" into companies.
  
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• Report: Businesses could be overpaying £500m on energy bills

  27-03-2017 18:32
  
  UK businesses could be losing out on more than £500m in inaccurate charges and miscalculated utility bills, according to new research.
  
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• Non-native species aren’t all vandals. It’s time to rebrand them | Patrick Barkham

  27-03-2017 18:30 via theguardian.com
  
  From ‘feral’ daffodils to grey squirrels, invasive species have a bad name, and some are strongly linked to extinction. But is that a reason to kill them?Sunrise, Golden Harvest, Cheerfulness, Magnificence, Soleil d’Or – the names of cultivated daffodil varieties are as evocative as the spring flowers themselves. But how do you feel about hefty suburban daffs in wild places? Britain has a native daffodil (my dad used to spend weeks in the woods studying this slender flowe
  
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• Let’s tackle Britain’s invasive species – just leave the daffodils alone | Patrick Barkham

  27-03-2017 18:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Not all non-native plants and animals are vandals, but there’s nothing wrong with controlling those linked to other species’ extinctionSunrise, Golden Harvest, Cheerfulness, Magnificence, Soleil d’Or – the names of cultivated daffodil varieties are as evocative as the spring flowers themselves. But how do you feel about hefty suburban daffs in wild places? Britain has a native daffodil (my dad used to spend weeks in the woods studying this slender flower), but many nature
  
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• Not the sunshine state: why is Florida so far behind with solar energy? – video

  27-03-2017 18:09 via theguardian.com
  
  Despite its Sunshine State moniker, Florida is barely harnessing its bountiful rays for energy, with the number of households getting solar panels not projected to squeak past 100 a year until 2021. Meanwhile, there’s a solar boom occurring in north-east states such as New York and out west in CaliforniaSunshine state shuns solar as overcast New York basks in clean energy boomContinue reading...
  
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• Spiral of doom: hotter world increases cattle methane emissions

  27-03-2017 17:33 via feedproxy.google.com
  A vicious cycle of climate change, cattle diet and rising methane has been revealed in a new scientific study: as temperatures rise, forage plants get tougher and harder to digest, and cause more methane to be produced in bovine stomachs. And with cattle numbers rising and methane 85 times more powerful a greenhouse gas over 20 years, that spells trouble.
  
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• Extreme weather events linked to climate change impact on the jet stream

  27-03-2017 17:17 via feedproxy.google.com
  Unprecedented summer warmth and flooding, forest fires, drought and torrential rain — extreme weather events are occurring more and more often, but now an international team of climate scientists has found a connection between many extreme weather events and the impact climate change is having on the jet stream.
  
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• Desperately wanted: python hunters to tackle Florida's unwelcome intruder

  27-03-2017 17:13 via theguardian.com
  
  Since Burmese pythons found their way into the wild in the 80s, they have decimated native wildlife. Now 150,000 could be lurking in the state’s waterwaysBill Booth struggles to recall the last time he saw a raccoon, a fox or a rabbit on one of his frequent hunting excursions deep into the swamps of the Florida Everglades. An outdoorsman all his life, he knows as well as anyone how the native wildlife once abundant across the vast wilderness has been all but wiped out by an invasion of a d
  
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• Rising Flood Insurance Costs a Growing Burden to Communities and Homeowners in New York City

  27-03-2017 17:10 via feedproxy.google.com
  Flood insurance is already difficult to afford for many homeowners in New York City, and the situation will only worsen as flood maps are revised to reflect current risk and if the federal government continues to move toward risk-based rates, according to a first-of-its-kind study by the RAND Corporation.
  
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• EU greenlights Dow-DuPont mega-merger raising food security fears

  27-03-2017 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Green groups say $130bn merger signals lack of choice for farmers who need more seed diversity to adapt to changing climate The EU has approved a $130bn mega-merger between Dow and DuPont, heralding a new round of agribusiness takeovers that environmentalists fear will endanger the future of sustainable food production.Brussels is widely expected to clear another hookup between Syngenta and ChemChina in the next two weeks, with notification of a marriage between Monsanto and Bayer expected later
  
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• Northern oceans pumped CO2 into the atmosphere

  27-03-2017 16:48 via feedproxy.google.com
  At the same time the pH of the surface waters in these oceans decreased, making them more acidic. Both of these findings imply changes in ocean circulation and primary productivity as a result of natural climate changes of the time. The findings were recently published in Nature Communications.Oceans changed functionToday the cold Arctic and Nordic Seas are especially efficient areas for uptake of CO2 from the atmosphere. The oceans have been capable of mitigating some of the incr
  
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• 12 ways to turn water from waste to resource

  27-03-2017 16:30 via theguardian.com
  
  As 80% of the world’s wastewater flows untreated into the environment, we asked an expert panel to discuss how to promote water reuseThe main message we should give is that proper reuse can save money and generate income, and is good for the environment. In the Netherlands, there is now a wastewater plant that actually generates energy. As a sector we need to highlight such examples, provide technical options and work with the public to raise their awareness about the danger to their healt
  
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• Are Devon’s road-wrecking badgers a match for the German cows who blew up a barn?

  27-03-2017 16:21 via theguardian.com
  
  Badger tunnels under a road in Braunton have been blamed for a road collapsing. They’ve got some work to do before they belong in this rogue’s gallery of chaos-causing creaturesWe are destroying their homes and their kin so it was, perhaps, only a matter of time before the animals started fighting back. Until evolution gives them opposable thumbs, they have to use whatever nature has equipped them with. In the case of badgers, this means digging. Perhaps sickened by the numbers kille
  
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• NOAA study shows as US drilling surged, methane emissions didn't

  27-03-2017 15:37 via feedproxy.google.com
  A new NOAA study shows that methane emissions from the United States did not grow significantly from 2000 to 2013 and are not likely to have been an important driver of the increase in atmospheric methane levels observed worldwide after 2007, as other studies have suggested.
  
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• Mars and Sainsbury's look to packaging to reduce consumer food waste

  27-03-2017 14:54
  
  New technologies and improved dialogue with consumers has seen brands and retailers turn to packaging in order to reduce food waste, although companies still need to dispel myths that packaging is "evil".
  
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• Empty reservoirs, dry rivers, thirsty cities – and our water reserves are running out | Yasmin Siddiqi

  27-03-2017 14:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Aquifers, the world’s reserve water tank, are running dry. It’s not easy, but we can work out how much groundwater is left, and how it’s being usedWe live on a parched planet. Farmers till arid pastureland and policymakers fret over empty reservoirs, dry rivers and thirsty cities. And that only scratches the surface – literally – of the world’s water problem. Subterranean aquifers, the world’s reserve water tank, are also running dry. The consequences co
  
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• The Crown Estate signs up to Circular Economy 100 platform

  27-03-2017 14:29
  
  Property giant The Crown Estate has today (27 March) become the latest corporate member of the Circular Economy 100 (CE100), the innovation platform launched by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to accelerate circular economy ambitions.
  
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• Going underground: inside the world of the mole-catchers – podcast

  27-03-2017 13:33 via theguardian.com
  
  A bitter battle is raging within the mole-catching community over the kindest way to carry out their deadly work• Read the text versionContinue reading...
  
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• AkzoNobel commits to carbon neutrality by 2050

  27-03-2017 12:58
  
  AkzoNobel has today (27 March) become the first paint and coatings manufacturer to pledge to become carbon neutral and use 100% renewable energy by 2050.
  
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• Climate change: ‘human fingerprint’ found on global extreme weather

  27-03-2017 12:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Global warming makes temperature patterns that cause heatwaves, droughts and floods across Europe, north America and Asia more likely, scientists findThe fingerprint of human-caused climate change has been found on heatwaves, droughts and floods across the world, according to scientists.The discovery indicates that the impacts of global warming are already being felt by society and adds further urgency to the need to cut carbon emissions. A key factor is the fast-melting Arctic, which is now str
  
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• PBS is the only network reporting on climate change. Trump wants to cut it | Dana Nuccitelli

  27-03-2017 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  During a record-breaking hot presidential election year, American news networks failed to report on climate change
  Media Matters for America has published its annual review of American evening newscast climate coverage for 2016, and the results are stunning:In 2016, evening newscasts and Sunday shows on ABC, CBS, and NBC, as well as Fox Broadcast Co.’s Fox News Sunday, collectively decreased their total coverage of climate change by 66 percent compared to 2015 Continue reading...
  
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• Aviva chief: It's time to make sustainability a competitive sport

  27-03-2017 11:45
  
  Sustainability should be treated as a competitive sport, driven by public league tables on corporate climate performance to incentivise businesses to strive towards industry climate leadership, Aviva's chief executive has said.
  
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• Leaked paper exposes EU countries' abuse of climate loophole

  27-03-2017 11:30
  
  European Union countries exploited loopholes in United Nations forestry rules to pocket carbon credits worth €600 million and the equivalent of global-warming emissions from 114 million cars.
  
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• UK nuclear decommissioning debacle costs government nearly £100m

  27-03-2017 11:22 via theguardian.com
  
  Business secretary orders inquiry into flawed tendering process for dismantling old reactors at 12 sites as US firms get paid for out of court settlement
  The government has been forced to pay nearly £100m in a settlement with two US companies for mishandling the way it awarded a £6.1bn nuclear decommissioning deal.Ministers have ordered an inquiry headed by the former boss of National Grid to find out why the procurement process was so flawed. Labour said the payout showed “dra
  
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• Kimberley fossil tracks are Australia's 'Jurassic Park'

  27-03-2017 11:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists describe a remarkable collection of dinosaur tracks on beaches in Western Australia.
  
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• Planet Nine: Astronomers want help from amateur stargazers

  27-03-2017 10:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An Australian university has asked amateur stargazers to help find a possible ninth planet.
  
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• Senior ministers at odds over readiness of new coal-fired power stations

  27-03-2017 09:53 via theguardian.com
  
  Matt Canavan says new station could be built within three years but Josh Frydenberg says any ‘clean coal’ initiative is ‘a long way off’Senior Turnbull government ministers are publicly at odds over the timing of new investment in coal-fired power – with the resources minister suggesting Asian and domestic investors “are very interested” and could build a plant within three years, and the energy minister arguing any investment would be “a long way
  
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• Top US coal boss Robert Murray: 'We do not have a climate change problem'

  27-03-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The founder and chief executive of Murray Energy supports Donald Trump’s move to roll back Obama’s clean power plan but cautions the president to pump the brakes on talk of bringing back mining jobsAmerica’s biggest coal boss is hopeful that his industry will soon be freed of “fraudulent” green legislation that has hampered his industry, but warned Donald Trump to “temper” expectations about a boom in mining jobs.
  Robert Murray, founder and chief executi
  
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• Top US coal boss Robert Murray: Trump 'can't bring mining jobs back'

  27-03-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The founder and chief executive of Murray Energy supports Donald Trump’s move to roll back Obama’s clean power plan but cautions the president to go easy on talk of a jobs revivalAmerica’s biggest coal boss is hopeful that his industry will soon be freed of “fraudulent” green legislation that has hampered his industry, but warned Donald Trump to “temper” expectations about a boom in mining jobs.
  Robert Murray, founder and chief executive of Murray Energy
  
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• Sunshine state shuns solar as overcast New York basks in clean energy boom

  27-03-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Despite its natural advantages, disincentives mean Florida has few solar panels but the Empire state’s policies have boosted installed solar capacity by 800%If you were to fly a camera-laden drone several hundred feet above Pani Herath’s house in south Miami, Florida, it would become clear his rooftop is an oddity compared with virtually all of his neighbors. Despite living in a part of the world that bakes in the sun throughout the year, just a few thousand people across Florida, su
  
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• Hyperreal visions of the world's most northerly town – in pictures

  27-03-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  In her series This Is Not Real Life, photographer Dominika Gesicka celebrates the stark beauty of the Svalbard archipelago Continue reading...
  
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• Trump Presidency “opens door” to planet-hacking geoengineer experiments

  27-03-2017 07:05 via theguardian.com
  
  As geoengineer advocates enter Trump administration, plans advance to spray sun-reflecting chemicals into atmosphere Harvard engineers who launched the world’s biggest solar geoengineering research program may get a dangerous boost from Donald Trump, environmental organizations are warning.
  Under the Trump administration, enthusiasm appears to be growing for the controversial technology of solar geo-engineering, which aims to spray sulphate particles into the atmosphere to reflect the sun&
  
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• The blackbird hour, when the hedgerows thrill with song

  27-03-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Marshwood Vale, Dorset It’s gentle at first, a fine drizzle of notes, and then the volume swells and they warble full-throatedlyMid-afternoon on a still, overcast day that feels as if the air will thicken into rain. Clusters of slim, pale, wild daffodils light the under-storey of the roadside hedge, still bare and broken from its winter flailing. In the Victorian language of flowers, they represented hope, folly and unrequited love. Lower down, the bank is patched with early dog violets, t
  
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• Barnaby Joyce wants Australia's Leadbeater's possum off endangered list to boost logging

  27-03-2017 05:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Deputy prime minister calls for critically endangered status to be downgraded to try to save Victorian logging jobsBarnaby Joyce is pushing for the conservation status of the critically endangered Leadbeater’s possum to be downgraded to open up areas of protected forests in Victoria for logging, in an effort to save 250 jobs at the Heyfield sawmill.Joyce wrote to Victorian premier Daniel Andrews on Sunday criticising the decision to reduce the sawlog quota offered to Heyfield mill operator
  
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• New Zealand anger as pristine lakes tapped for bottled water market

  27-03-2017 03:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Residents and greens groups demand action to stop plan to plunder natural resources by companies that pay next to nothing to remove waterA plan to extract millions of litres of water out of a Unesco world heritage site, send it by pipe to the coast and ship it to foreign markets for bottling has ignited a campaign over water resources in New Zealand.An export company is proposing to collect 800m litres a month of the “untapped” glacial waters of Lake Greaney and Lake Minim Mere, moun
  
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• There is no gas crisis in Australia, but there is an attack on our natural assets

  27-03-2017 02:54 via theguardian.com
  
  Governments are using the confected gas crisis to push destructive projects like the Pilliga gas project on communities that don’t want themIt’s ludicrous to say there is a gas crisis in Australia when we are set to overtake Qatar to become the world’s biggest gas producer. Australia has plenty of gas to meet our needs and the world has three times as much fossil fuel reserves that can be used to keep global temperature rises below 2C.We have so much gas that we export most of
  
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• In the battle for the planet's climate future, Australia's Adani mine is the line in the sand | Bill McKibben

  27-03-2017 02:22 via theguardian.com
  
  Australians must decide whether they continue to support coal or whether the future is renewable. Without a doubt, Malcolm Turnbull will be left on the losing sideThere is nowhere else on the planet right now where the dichotomy between two potential futures – one where we address the climate change crisis, one where we ignore this momentous threat and continue with business as usual – is playing out in such a dramatic and explosive way as Australia.In the US, Donald Trump is decimat
  
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• Testing for 'defectives'

  27-03-2017 01:54 via bbc.co.uk
  
  After years of protest, the University of Melbourne has removed the name of a controversial figure.
  
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• 'Fake research' comes under scrutiny

  27-03-2017 01:41 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The scale of "fake research" in the UK appears to have been underestimated, a BBC investigation suggests.
  
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• Why I decided to write a novel about catastrophic climate change for teenagers | James Bradley

  27-03-2017 01:23 via theguardian.com
  
  The Silent Invasion is set in the age of environmental apocalypse, where even the landscape is frightening. But writing about climate change matters – most of all for those who will inherit the world A couple of weeks ago, my Facebook feed was invaded by spectral images of the ocean off Tasmania’s north-west coast, its waters lit up by the blue glow of phosphorescent plankton. The images were beautiful, haunting, but also ominous, because the organism involved – the dinoflagell
  
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