Environment news

• 'Shocking' levels of PCB chemicals in UK killer whale Lulu

  02-05-2017 19:07 via bbc.co.uk
  
  One of the UK's last killer whales, which was found dead last year, had some of the highest levels of a toxic pollutant ever recorded.
  
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• UK killer whale died with extreme levels of toxic pollutants

  02-05-2017 19:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Adult whale Lulu was one of UK’s last resident pod and had never produced a calf, signalling pollutants in her blubber cause infertilityOne of the highest concentrations of toxic pollutants ever recorded in a marine mammal has been revealed in a Scottish killer whale that died in 2016.The adult whale, known as Lulu, was a member of the UK’s last resident pod and a postmortem also showed she had never produced a calf. The pollutants, called PCBs, are known to cause infertility and the
  
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• Seals are deafened in noisy shipping lanes, say scientists

  02-05-2017 18:36 via theguardian.com
  
  Urbanisation of marine environment impacts on seal hearing and is comparable to noise pollution of inner cities
  Seals are being temporarily deafened by underwater noise in the UK’s busy shipping lanes, a new study suggests. Researchers compared the experience of the seals to that of people living amid the din of inner cities. Dr Esther Jones, an ecologist from the University of St Andrews, said: “Like humans living in busy, noisy cities, some seals live in areas where there is a lot
  
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• Report: England loses £600m a year on waste crime

  02-05-2017 18:31
  
  England is losing out on £604m a year due to the damage caused by illegal waste operators on the legitimate waste industry, new research has found.
  
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• IOI commits to 'best-practice' peatland and deforestation plans

  02-05-2017 17:31
  
  One of the world's biggest palm oil suppliers has committed to address deforestation and exploitation in its supply chain, which had caused major brands to cancel contracts with the firm.
  
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• Antarctic iceberg crack develops fork

  02-05-2017 17:08 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The fissure that will lead to the breakaway of one of the largest bergs ever seen has a new branch.
  
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• Nuclear industry warns UK must avoid 'cliff edge' over Brexit

  02-05-2017 16:44 via theguardian.com
  
  Leaving Euratom treaty without new deals would have dramatic impact on Hinkley Point C and other stations, says NIAThe UK nuclear industry has issued its strongest warning yet to ministers on the problems it faces if the government is unable to strike new international atomic power deals during Brexit talks.Failure to put in place alternative arrangements to replace the existing European nuclear treaty, Euratom, which the UK is quitting as part of the article 50 process, would have a “dram
  
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• Wildlife on your doorstep: share your May photos

  02-05-2017 16:30 via theguardian.com
  
  May brings the joys of spring for the northern hemisphere while winter is a step closer for the southern hemisphere. We’d like to see your wildlife photosClick here to see photographs shared so far
  Whether you are in the northern hemisphere where creatures are enjoying spring, or you’re in southern climes edging closer to winter, May, which brings change, is a great time for wildlife photography. Related: Corvids build castles in the skyContinue reading...
  
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• 'Lego block' buildings: Adaptability essential for building stock to combat climate change

  02-05-2017 15:39
  
  The impacts of climate change are exasperating the living conditions of humans, forcing them to be adaptable, a trait that should be mirrored in the global building stock.
  
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• Ministers will not appeal pollution ruling

  02-05-2017 15:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The UK Government has decided not to appeal against the High Court's rejection of a bid to delay publication of its draft plan to tackle illegal levels of air pollution.
  
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• Support the Guardian's fearless reporting on climate change and the environment

  02-05-2017 14:09 via theguardian.com
  
  The Guardian has expanded its global environment desk with three new appointments Support our coverage by becoming a member or making a one-time contribution today
  Last November, the Guardian environment columnist Bill McKibbenmade the grim prediction that the “damage from the US election would be measured in geologic time”.One hundred days and counting into Trump’s presidency, there’s little reason for optimism. The former CEO Of ExxonMobil is our secretary of state. The
  
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• Support the Guardian's climate change reporting: make a contribution now

  02-05-2017 14:09 via theguardian.com
  
  The Guardian has expanded its global environment desk with three new appointments Support our coverage by becoming a member or making a one-time contribution today
  Read our recent environmental coverageLast November, the Guardian environment columnist Bill McKibbenmade the grim prediction that the “damage from the US election would be measured in geologic time”.One hundred days and counting into Trump’s presidency, there’s little reason for optimism. The former CEO Of Exx
  
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• Make a contribution now: help the Guardian expand its climate change desk

  02-05-2017 14:09 via theguardian.com
  
  The Guardian has expanded its global environment desk with three new appointments Support our coverage by becoming a member or making a one-time contribution today
  Read our recent environmental coverageLast November, the Guardian environment columnist Bill McKibbenmade the grim prediction that the “damage from the US election would be measured in geologic time”.One hundred days and counting into Trump’s presidency, there’s little reason for optimism. The former CEO Of Exx
  
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• Food waste: Ambitious national reduction target needed, MPs say

  02-05-2017 13:48
  
  A national food waste reduction target and greater transparency from retailers are among the steps required to reduce UK food waste levels, according to a group of MPs who claim the issue is costing the average British citizen £200 per year.
  
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• UK government agrees to publish air pollution strategy in next week

  02-05-2017 13:30 via theguardian.com
  
  No 10 will not challenge high court judgment, which rejected ministers’ efforts to keep policy secret until after electionA draft plan to tackle air pollution will finally be published within the next week, after No 10 said it would not challenge a court ruling forcing the government to release information before the election.Theresa May’s official spokesman said the government would not appeal against the high court judgment, which rejected attempts by ministers to keep the policy u
  
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• Sustaining the thrill: How Merlin Entertainments is conjuring up big carbon cuts

  02-05-2017 13:20
  
  EXCLUSIVE: International theme park operator Merlin Entertainments has achieved almost half a million pounds in energy savings over the past two years following the deployment of 'sustainability champions' across the business to drive behaviour change.
  
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• Cassini ran through the 'big empty'

  02-05-2017 13:16 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Nasa says its Saturn probe encountered very few particles in its dive inside the rings last week.
  
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• Fossil sheds light on 'Jurassic Park' dinosaurs

  02-05-2017 13:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A fossil kept in storage in a museum for decades turns out to that of a new species, say researchers.
  
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• Hydrogen gas grid for Leeds moves a step closer

  02-05-2017 12:42
  
  Plans to convert the gas grid in Leeds to run entirely on hydrogen have moved a step closer to becoming reality after Northern Gas Networks opened an office in the city dedicated to the endeavor.
  
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• Climate contrarians want to endanger the EPA climate endangerment finding | Dana Nuccitelli

  02-05-2017 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A terrible new white paper tries to make the case that carbon pollution isn’t dangerousAlthough Trump’s EPA administrator Scott Pruitt has been among the biggest proponents of withdrawing America from the Paris climate agreement (using bogus ‘blame China’ arguments to make his case), climate deniers have been unhappy with him. That’s because Pruitt doesn’t want to challenge EPA’s carbon pollution endangerment finding – he thinks it would be a lost
  
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• 7 wildlife products to avoid buying when travelling abroad

  02-05-2017 11:03 via theguardian.com
  
  Tourists frequently and unknowingly return from their holidays with souvenirs that are illegal to bring into the US. Here are some items to avoid on your travels and why Continue reading...
  
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• Keystone XL: fear and enthusiasm fill the plains of eastern Montana – video

  02-05-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  After Trump’s revival of the pipeline project, some communities along its route are preparing to fight back while others see a promise kept by the US president to ‘make America great again’. The Guardian drove along the proposed route of the pipeline through three red states – Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska – to hear what those who will be affected have to say about it Continue reading...
  
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• Plastic bottles are a recycling disaster. Coca-Cola should have known better | Bart Elmore

  02-05-2017 08:30 via theguardian.com
  
  The drinks company junked its re-use system. Now the oceans are full of rubbish, will it clean up its act?The Coca-Cola Company produced more than 100bn plastic bottles in 2016, Greenpeace claimed last month. This is troubling news, considering how much of the waste ends up outside plastic recycling systems. Separately it has been estimated that, on current trends, by 2050 the plastic in our oceans may weigh more than all the fish.In this debate about waste, Coca-Cola has long been the target of
  
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• Rhône glacier installation by Noémie Goudal – in pictures

  02-05-2017 08:05 via theguardian.com
  
  The Rhône glacier in the Swiss Alps is shrinking due to climate change. Artist Noémie Goudal produced and photographed an installation of the changing landscape for Project Pressure Continue reading...
  
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• Exotic pet therapy?

  02-05-2017 07:11 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A group in Ontario are using animals like capybaras and kinkajous to reduce stress.
  
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• Police and courts fail cyclists over road safety, says cross-party inquiry

  02-05-2017 07:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Dangerous drivers are increasingly likely to escape prosecution and more people plead exceptional hardship to avoid banPolicing and the justice system are too often failing cyclists, making the roads too dangerous for people to ride on them, and then not properly prosecuting or banning motorists who commit offences, a cross-party group of MPs and peers has warned.Dangerous drivers are increasingly likely to be permitted by courts to stay behind the wheel, the report found, with the number of dri
  
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• Where oil rigs go to die

  02-05-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  When a drilling platform is scheduled for destruction, it must go on a thousand-mile final journey to the breaker’s yard. As one rig proved when it crashed on to the rocks of a remote Scottish island, this is always a risky businessIt was night, stormy, and the oil rig Transocean Winner was somewhere in the North Atlantic on 7 August 2016 when her tow-line broke. No crew members were on board. The rig was being dragged by a tugboat called Forward, the tethered vessels charting a course out
  
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• Corvids build castles in the sky

  02-05-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Claxton, Norfolk Once the nest building instinct has been unleashed it is remarkable how lavish their designs can beIt is wonderful to walk down the lane on to the marsh and see how, despite April’s refrigerated interlude, spring is building still. In some cases, this is literally true, not just the hawthorn hedges, which are fattening up with fresh leaves and blossom, but also the jackdaws, whichjourney back and forth with great gobbets of moss and cattle hair in their beaks. Some are so
  
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• Secrets of tea plant revealed by science

  02-05-2017 03:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Botanists unlock the genetic workings of the tea plant, in a move that could improve flavour.
  
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• British territories' environment 'at risk'

  02-05-2017 02:36 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Overseas territories' ministers say Brexit is distracting the government from environmental issues.
  
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• Britain's energy supply is in jeopardy after Brexit, warn MPs

  02-05-2017 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Business committee says leaving EU means exiting European atomic power treaty, which could ‘threaten power supplies’The future of Britain’s power supply has been jeopardised by Brexit and the government must act urgently to ensure nuclear power stations stay open, MPs have warned.The influential business, energy and industrial strategy committee said that any gap between the UK leaving a European atomic power treaty and entering into secure alternative deals would “severe
  
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• Rescuing a relic: battle to save the red-finned blue-eye from a modern invader

  02-05-2017 00:37 via theguardian.com
  
  Bush Heritage Australia will try to replicate the tiny outback fish’s natural spring habitat in the hope of thwarting its nemesisIn a tiny patch of the Australian outback, a living link to a continent’s ancient past is holding out against a modern day-invader.Just. Continue reading...
  
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