Environment news

• Will Sonny Perdue, Trump's agriculture pick, stand up for the little guy? Don't bank on it

  25-04-2017 23:58 via theguardian.com
  
  In November, America’s beleaguered rural citizens voted against the status quo – but that’s exactly what Trump’s new agriculture secretary looks set to ensureDonald Trump owes his election in no small part to the support of farm country. But since entering office, almost all his actions and pronouncements have betrayed an abysmal understanding of farm and rural concerns. No surprise, then, that food and farm advocates have looked eagerly to Sonny Perdue, who was sworn in
  
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• Primitive human 'lived much more recently'

  25-04-2017 22:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Homo naledi could be from just 200,000 years ago, not three million, a study suggests.
  
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• Most global investors recognise financial risk of climate change, report finds

  25-04-2017 22:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Global index reveals 60% of asset owners are now taking some action, but warns there is still ‘enormous resistance’ to managing climate riskFor the first time a majority of global investor heavyweights recognise the financial risks of climate change, according to the results of a major global index rating how investors manage such risks.But despite the advances, the Asset Owner Disclosure Project chairman, John Hewson, has warned there is still an “enormous resistance” to
  
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• Plastic-eating bugs? It’s a great story – but there’s a sting in the tail | Philip Ball

  25-04-2017 20:41 via theguardian.com
  
  Breeding wax moth caterpillars to devour our waste sounds good. But they would attack bee colonies too, and ultimately put crops at riskCaterpillars that can munch up plastic bags have just been identified, fuelling excited speculation that this could one day eliminate global pollution from plastic waste. The chance discovery, initially made by a scientist and amateur beekeeper whose plastic bag had been eaten through by the moth caterpillars, was reported this week by researchers at Cambridge U
  
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• Premature lambs kept alive in 'plastic bag' womb

  25-04-2017 19:14 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists were able to keep premature lambs alive for a month using an artificial "plastic bag" womb.
  
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• Family tree of dogs reveals secret history of canines

  25-04-2017 18:16 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The largest family tree of dog ever assembled shows how dogs evolved into more than 150 modern breeds.
  
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• Tories 'on very dodgy ground' over delay of air pollution plan, say experts

  25-04-2017 18:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Constitutional experts say government is on ‘very dodgy ground’ claiming election purdah forces it to postpone publishing pollution strategyThe government’s attempt to delay publishing its air pollution strategy because of the election is “dishonest” and leaves ministers on “very dodgy ground”, according to constitutional experts.The government had been under a court direction to produce tougher draft measures to tackle illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide
  
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• ISO 20400: New standard launched to support sustainable procurement

  25-04-2017 17:23
  
  Organisations looking to integrate sustainability into procurement processes can now adopt the world's first international standard for sustainable procurement, which aims to increase supply chain transparency.
  
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• The Stonehenge tunnel: ‘A monstrous act of desecration is brewing’

  25-04-2017 16:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Planners claim that a dual carriageway under the prehistoric monument will ease congestion. But campaigners warn that it will have a disastrous impact on one of the world’s most fascinating landmarksSolstice Park is “a strategically located development opportunity”. That’s what its promotional blurb says, anyway – but put more prosaically, it is a clump of offices, distribution centres and retail and hospitality businesses on the A303, just under 10 miles from Salis
  
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• London launches support scheme for circular economy transition

  25-04-2017 15:19
  
  A new business support programme which aims to help SMEs in London adopt and scale-up resource-efficient business models has been launched today (25 April).
  
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• Report: Halving global emissions by 2040 achievable if businesses act now

  25-04-2017 15:17
  
  Businesses must act now to halve global emissions by 2040 and "set the stage" for further reductions required in the second half of the century, according to new research from a diverse group of investors, companies and NGOs.
  
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• A government of death is plundering our ancient Munduruku lands. Help us stop it

  25-04-2017 15:05 via theguardian.com
  
  As the UN forum on indigenous issues meets in New York, we, the Munduruku people of Brazil, demand an end to the destruction of our territoryWe, the Munduruku people, send our thoughts and words to you who live far away. We echo the cry for help from our mother, the forest, and from all the indigenous peoples in Brazil.Our home of Mundurukânia and all 13,000 of our people are threatened by the Brazilian government’s plans to build more than 40 hydroelectric dams in the Tapajós
  
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• Iceberg 'doodles'

  25-04-2017 13:42 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists publish a new atlas of the poles, detailing the sometimes strange shapes on the ocean floor.
  
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• London ranked second for low-emission transport transition

  25-04-2017 13:40
  
  London has been ranked second for cities leading the push to decarbonise its transport sector, making it a "likely candidate" to become the world's first zero-emissions city, according to a new report.
  
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• Why does this rhino have 24-hour security?

  25-04-2017 13:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Sudan is a the northern white rhino, and the last chance for the survival of his species.
  
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• High court orders UK government to explain clean air plan delay

  25-04-2017 13:12 via theguardian.com
  
  Critics say air pollution issue is public health and not political issue and ministers must defend delay in high courtThe government has been ordered back to the high court to explain its last-minute bid to delay publication of the UK’s clean air plan.Politicians and environmental groups had complained that ministers were “hiding behind the election” after they said they could not publish the proposals because of election purdah. Continue reading...
  
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• Speaker line-up confirmed for edie's sustainability reporting webinar

  25-04-2017 13:05
  
  Sustainability representatives from Gatwick Airport, Dell and Asia Pulp & Paper are among the expert speakers that will feature in next week's live webinar on maximising the value of reporting.
  
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• March against madness - denial has pushed scientists out to the streets | Dana Nuccitelli

  25-04-2017 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  America’s leaders are playing Russian roulette with our futureThis past weekend, hundreds of thousands of people in the US and around the world marched in support of science. Next weekend, the People’s Climate March will follow.Redglass Pictures and StarTalk Radio created a short film in which the brilliant scientist and communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson – though not specifically talking about the science marches – perfectly articulated the motivations behind them. Continu
  
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• March against madness - denial has pushed scientists out into the streets | Dana Nuccitelli

  25-04-2017 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  America’s leaders are playing Russian roulette with our futureThis past weekend, hundreds of thousands of people in the US and around the world marched in support of science. Next weekend, the People’s Climate March will follow.Redglass Pictures and StarTalk Radio created a short film in which the brilliant scientist and communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson – though not specifically talking about the science marches – perfectly articulated the motivations behind them. Continu
  
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• Two wildlife rangers killed by poachers in DRC

  25-04-2017 11:54 via theguardian.com
  
  Joël Meriko Ari and Gerome Bolimola Afokao discovered a group of men with a freshly slaughtered elephant carcass. The rangers leave behind 11 childrenElephant poachers have killed two wildlife rangers in a shootout in Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), reports African Parks, a not-for-profit conservation group that manages 10 protected areas across Africa in partnership with governments and local communities.While out patrolling on 11 April, ranger Joë
  
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• Driverless pods plot new course to overtake humans

  25-04-2017 09:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Autonomous cars used at Heathrow and being trialled in south-east London now beg the question - should humans be banned from driving?In a little over two years, a fleet of driverless cars will make its way from Oxford to London, completing the entire journey from start to finish without human intervention, including on urban streets and motorways.Organisers of the government-backed project, announced on Monday, still expect to have a human in the driving seat. But as the cars communicate, update
  
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• 'World's oldest fungus' raises evolution questions

  25-04-2017 08:59 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Fossils found in rock from beneath the sea may be the oldest known fungi by one to two billion years.
  
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• 10 emperor penguin facts for World Penguin Day – in pictures

  25-04-2017 08:13 via theguardian.com
  
  Emperor penguins are perfectly adapted to survive harsh Antarctic conditions but their habitat is threatened due to climate change. To celebrate World Penguin Day, the WWF has chosen its top 10 emperor penguin facts Continue reading...
  
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• Tory windfarm policy threatens cheap energy in UK, commission finds

  25-04-2017 07:19 via theguardian.com
  
  Wind is ‘increasingly the cheapest form of electricity’, says industry group, urging Tories to reassess ban on subsidised onshore windfarmsConservative opposition to windfarms risks the UK missing out on one of the cheapest sources of electricity, according to the head of a Shell-funded industry group. Adair Turner, chair of the Energy Transitions Commission, said wind and solar power costs had fallen dramatically globally and urged the government to rethink its ban on subsidised ons
  
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• Tory windfarm policy endangers cheap energy in UK, commission finds

  25-04-2017 07:19 via theguardian.com
  
  Shell-sponsored group says wind is ‘increasingly the cheapest form of electricity’ and urges Tories to review ban on subsidised onshore windfarmsConservative opposition to windfarms risks the UK missing out on one of the cheapest sources of electricity, according to the head of a Shell-funded industry group. Adair Turner, chair of the Energy Transitions Commission, said wind and solar power costs had fallen dramatically globally and urged the government to rethink its ban on subsidis
  
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• Ruffled feathers at the windswept tarn

  25-04-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Tindale Tarn, Cumbria A flock of sand martins skim the choppy water and tufted duck bob on the dark grey waterBuffeted sideways by the gale, we descend to Tindale Tarn, a small lake in the RSPB reserve of Geltsdale. Skylarks spring up from rough pasture around the stony track to sing shrill and sweet as piccolos in a stormy sky. This land, once mined for coal and lead, is an important breeding area for upland birds; curlew, redshank and lapwing call as we huddle in the open-sided hide by the tar
  
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• Can plastic roads help save the planet?

  25-04-2017 02:11 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A start-up company is persuading local councils in the UK to turn local plastic waste into roads.
  
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• Plastic-eating worms could help wage war on waste

  25-04-2017 02:09 via theguardian.com
  
  Wax moth larvae are usually bred as fish bait, but a chance discovery has revealed their taste for plastic – which could be used to beat polluting plasticFor caterpillars that are bred as premium fish bait, it must rank as a better life. Rather than dangling on the end of a hook and wondering what comes next, the grubs are set to join the war on plastic waste.The larvae of wax moths are sold as delicious snacks for chub, carp and catfish, but in the wild the worms live on beeswax, making t
  
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• Brexit university ‘brain drain’ warning

  25-04-2017 01:54 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Academic staff from EU countries should be urgently guaranteed a right to stay, say MPs.
  
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• Machine learning

  25-04-2017 01:52 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Many people are unsure about what machine learning is, but the chances are they are using it every day.
  
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• Conservationists call for moratorium on logging to save endangered Leadbeater’s possum

  25-04-2017 00:16 via theguardian.com
  
  Victorian government asked to ‘completely prohibit logging’ on more than 100,000 hectares of the state’s mountain ash forestConservationists have called for a moratorium on logging more than 100,000 hectares of Victoria’s remaining native forest estate to protect the critically endangered Leadbeater’s possum.
  Environmental Justice Australia, acting on behalf of volunteer organisation Friends of the Leadbeater’s Possum, wrote to the Victorian environment minist
  
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