Environment news

• Malcolm Turnbull talks up coal in Delhi, despite India's aim to stop imports

  10-04-2017 22:24
  
  Glut in Indian coal market, plans to phase out imports and lower than forecast energy demands cast doubt on future for exports from proposed Adani mineMalcolm Turnbull is adamant that Australian coal will play “a very big role” in powering India’s future despite a glut in the local market and clear signals from Delhi that it aims to eliminate imports of the fossil fuel as soon as possible.The prime minister touched down in New Delhi on Monday for his first official visit to the
  
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• Ancient walker

  10-04-2017 20:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  It's not a household name, but an ancient amphibian found in the Scottish borders fills a crucial period in the evolutionary record.
  
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• Poultry in England allowed outside as anti-bird flu measures relaxed

  10-04-2017 18:54 via bbc.co.uk
  
  They had been kept indoors to protect them from an infectious strain of bird flu.
  
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• Scrapping speed bumps is a ludicrous 'solution' to air pollution

  10-04-2017 17:32
  
  It wouldn’t work, and our roads would become even more dangerous. Why is the government wasting time considering it?My small residential street in south-east London, like many similar roads, has speed bumps. They’re not very pretty, and drivers tend to accelerate between them, slowing at the last moment to cross each hump with a thwack of the suspension.So, why not get rid of them, as is reportedly being mooted by some in government, who seemingly believe smoother driving is the pain
  
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• Water retail competition: Thousands of business water customers switch in week one

  10-04-2017 16:32
  
  A total of 8,876 premises have switched water retailer in the first week of the competitive market. This includes approximately 7,500 customers which chose to pre-switch before market opening.
  
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• Riversimple success: Hydrogen carmaker exceeds £1m crowdfunding target

  10-04-2017 16:17
  
  The world's only independent hydrogen fuel cell vehicle manufacturer, Welsh firm Riversimple, has exceeded its crowdfunding target of £1m which will enable the UK trial of innovative and affordable hydrogen cars.
  
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• Thousands of business water customers switch in week one

  10-04-2017 15:45
  
  A total of 8,876 premises have switched water retailer in the first week of the competitive market. This includes approximately 7,500 customers which chose to pre-switch before market opening.
  
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• Scotland viewed as ideal location for closed-loop CO2 market

  10-04-2017 14:10
  
  As Scottish energy ministers meet with UK Energy Secretary Greg Clark to discuss "back-tracked" support for Scottish Islands renewables projects worth £2.5bn, a new report has claimed that re-using carbon dioxide could create a £500m market for Scotland.
  
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• New fiver is not so indestructible - if you know how

  10-04-2017 13:31 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A Nottingham chemistry professor takes a hammer to the tough new plastic fiver.
  
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• Yes, we’re letting diesel cars choke our kids. Here’s how we got in this mess | Iain Reeve

  10-04-2017 13:30
  
  Diesel vehicles are the new enemy, because they’re so bad for the air we breathe. But not so long ago, politicians were urging us to buy them“You told us to buy diesels!”These days the average diesel driver is not a happy camper. Hot on the heels of Volkswagens being fitted with a hidden cheat code, we now have the government telling us diesels are not a green choice after all. Sadiq Khan, London’s mayor, is blaming diesel cars for poor air quality in the capital and call
  
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• Litter Strategy for England: 'Far-reaching' campaign or 'inadequate life-jacket'?

  10-04-2017 13:09
  
  Businesses and non-profits have welcomed the UK Government's new Litter Strategy for England as a "sustained national behavioural change campaign", although concerns remain over the available budget to facilitate it.
  
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• Largest UK energy storage portfolio to come online in 2018

  10-04-2017 12:43
  
  The largest portfolio of energy storage in the UK is set to be up and running by the end of next year, as renewable energy provider Anesco has announced proposals to bring 185MW of energy onto the grid.
  
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• Two-thirds of Great Barrier Reef damaged

  10-04-2017 11:52 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists say coral bleaching has damaged the World Heritage site for two years in a row
  
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• UK leads G7 on 'decoupling' emissions reduction from wealth creation

  10-04-2017 11:44
  
  The UK has been more successful than any other G7 nation at decoupling emissions growth from that of the economy over the past 25 years, according to a new report.
  
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• Labor says ageing coal-fired power stations need 'orderly' retirement plan

  10-04-2017 10:06
  
  Opposition says Turnbull government must not fund new coal-fired power plants because they are not value for moneyLabor is calling on the Turnbull government to create a national framework for the “orderly exit” of ageing power stations, with a transition plan for thousands of workers who will lose their jobs from station closures in coming years.It also says the Turnbull government must stop funding new coal-fired power plants because commonwealth funding does not represent value fo
  
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• Abbot Point coal port spill causes 'massive contamination' of Queensland wetland

  10-04-2017 07:53
  
  Expert says sensitive Caley Valley wetlands blackened by coal-laden water from Adani’s nearby port after rain from Cyclone DebbieCoal dust released from Adani’s Queensland coal port after Cyclone Debbie appears to have caused “massive contamination” of sensitive wetlands, an academic expert says.A vast swathe of the Caley Valley wetlands has been blackened by coal-laden water released from nearby Abbot Point port after Debbie’s torrential rains inundated its coal st
  
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• Year 2 are making a bug hotel

  10-04-2017 06:30
  
  Willaston, Cheshire Sorting through the bits and bobs, gathering leaf litter and twigs, they work in harmony like antsThere is a frisson of excitement, giggles and whispers, as the seven-year-olds file out of the school building, clutching bamboo canes and tiles, bits of corrugated cardboard and roofing felt, along with broken terracotta crocks. Today Year 2 are making a bug hotel. A great way of recycling and giving homes to all kinds of creepy crawlies, their teacher had explained earlier in t
  
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• People who blame sickness on windfarms 'may be bypassing doctor'

  10-04-2017 04:15
  
  Windfarm commissioner’s first report says complainants may fail to seek medical advice ‘due to the possibly incorrect assumption’ that nearby turbines are to blameThe office of the national windfarm commissioner is concerned people are not going to the doctor because they are incorrectly attributing symptoms of illness to windfarms.Commissioner Andrew Dyer published his first report to the Australian parliament on 31 March which revealed the office had received 90 complaint bet
  
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• How did the Great Barrier Reef reach 'terminal stage'? – video explainer

  10-04-2017 03:44
  
  Back-to-back severe bleaching events, caused by warming oceans, have affected two-thirds of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, new aerial surveys have found. Climate change is not the only challenge – runoff-affected water quality, reef-killing crown of thorns starfish and the destruction of Cyclone Debbie also threaten the reef’s health. Scientists are warning that Australia has little time left to act on climate change and save the world’s largest living structure.• S
  
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• Damage to Great Barrier Reef 'unprecedented'

  10-04-2017 02:59 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Coral bleaching has hit two-thirds of Australia's Great Barrier Reef within two years, surveys show.
  
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• Hot apartments: 'If we need air conditioning, we've designed it wrong'

  10-04-2017 02:18
  
  Heatwaves could be deadly for many Australian apartment dwellers if the grid fails, so architects are coming up with ways to manage temperatures passivelyIt was one of the most extreme heatwaves in south-eastern Australian history. During late January and early February 2009, temperature records were toppled across Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. Then, on 7 February, 24 of Victoria’s 35 long-term stations recorded record high temperatures: Melbourne reached 46.4C while Hopetoun bro
  
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• Diesel cars can improve air quality, claims motor industry group

  10-04-2017 01:01
  
  Car makers’ group SMMT claims latest vehicles are the ‘cleanest ever’ and vital in fight against climate changeCar manufacturers have hit back atthe recent spate of negative comments about diesel vehicles, saying that the latest incarnations are “the cleanest in history” and “light years away from their older counterparts”.The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said diesel cars could play an important role in helping improve air quality in
  
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