Environment news

• Trump Tower rally demands divestment ahead of decision on Paris climate deal

  09-05-2017 23:25 via theguardian.com
  
  Environmental activists seek to use Trump’s cabinet of fossil fuel millionaires to pressure New York City pension funds to divestEnvironmental activists held a rally inside Trump Tower in New York City on Tuesday, ahead of an expected decision from the president on whether to leave the Paris climate change agreement.About 90 people gathered in a public garden on the fifth floor of Donald Trump’s building in midtown Manhattan to encourage the New York City government to divest its pen
  
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• The Lake District as a world heritage site? What a disaster that would be | George Monbiot

  09-05-2017 20:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Britain’s greatest national park is a sheepwrecked monument to subsidised overgrazing and ecological destructionIf this bid for power succeeds, the consequences for Britain will be irreversible. It will privilege special interests over the public good, shut out the voices of opposition and damage the fabric of the nation, perhaps indefinitely. No, I’m not writing about the election. In the next few weeks Unesco, the United Nations cultural organisation, will decide whether or not to
  
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• Fatal consequences of a lack of regulation | Letters

  09-05-2017 20:25 via theguardian.com
  
  Pollution and climate change are election issues, write Professor Steve Tombs and Geoff NaylorThe government attributes 40-50,000 premature deaths each year to the effects of airborne pollution; there are some 1 million cases of foodborne illness, which result in 20,000 hospital admissions and 500 deaths a year; and up to 50,000 people die each year as a result of injuries or health problems originating in the workplace (Enemies of the state: the 40-year Tory project to shrink public services, G
  
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• Tunnel holding radioactive waste partially collapses in Washington state

  09-05-2017 20:23 via theguardian.com
  
  Emergency declared at Hanford nuclear reservation in state’s south-east
  No one injured and officials detect no release of radiationA portion of a storage tunnel that contains rail cars full of radioactive waste collapsed Tuesday morning, forcing an emergency declaration at the Hanford nuclear reservation in south-eastern Washington state.Officials detected no release of radiation and no workers were injured, said Randy Bradbury, a spokesman for the Washington state department of ecology. C
  
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• Climate change laws exceed 1,200 worldwide, finds LSE study

  09-05-2017 18:41 via theguardian.com
  
  Legislation is ‘cause for optimism’ as big body of laws is hard to reverse Nations around the world have adopted more than 1,200 laws to curb climate change, up from about 60 two decades ago, a sign of widening efforts to limit rising temperatures, according to a new study.“Most countries have a legal basis on which future action can be built,” said Patricia Espinosa, the UN’s climate change chief, at an international meeting on climate change in Bonn, Germany. Cont
  
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• Barack Obama: 'I made climate change a top priority' – video

  09-05-2017 18:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Speaking at a global food convention in Milan on Tuesday, the former US president says he prioritised climate change while in office because it would be the issue that ‘defines the contours of this century more dramatically than any other’. His comments come as the Trump administration decides whether to keep the US in the Paris climate agreementTrump aides postpone meeting as clashes over Paris climate deal continueContinue reading...
  
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• Biomass crop acts as refuge for brown hare - scientists

  09-05-2017 17:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An exotic grass planted as a biomass crop could be a valuable habitat for the brown hare, scientists say.
  
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• What will happen to farmers like me when Brexit turns our industry upside down? | Edward Barker

  09-05-2017 16:47 via theguardian.com
  
  Uncertainty seems the only thing we can be sure of after 25 years of EU regulation. But this could also be an opportunity to make decisions for ourselvesI manage a mixed 500 hectare farm in Northamptonshire growing cereals, and supporting a beef and sheep enterprise. As the weeks went by during the Brexit referendum campaign, it became clear that the plight of British agriculture was something of a footnote, occasionally referenced by remain and leave politicians as a means of supporting their v
  
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• Are companies ready to rethink the way they do business? – open thread

  09-05-2017 15:20 via theguardian.com
  
  As we kick off a series looking at how business can embrace sustainability, particularly renewables and the circular economy, tell us what you think we should be coveringWith millions dying prematurely every year due to air pollution, species becoming critically endangered as a result of hunting and deforestation, and water shortages emerging across whole regions of the world, the question of how companies can integrate sustainability into business strategy and investment decisions is more urgen
  
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• What is the best antidote for a jellyfish sting? (Clue: it's not urine)

  09-05-2017 15:18 via theguardian.com
  
  A new study of the man o’ war jellyfish found popular remedies like lemon juice and shaving foam make stings worse. Vinegar followed by heat is most effectiveWhat should you do if a jellyfish stings you? Scientists have found that applying vinegar is the best solution, and that popular remedies including urine, lemon juice, and shaving foam could make the situation worse.A recent study in Toxins, which investigated the efficacy of various remedies for stings from the Portuguese man o&rsquo
  
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• Donald Trump's closest advisers clash over fate of Paris climate deal

  09-05-2017 13:23 via theguardian.com
  
  President promises decision on US involvement before this month’s G7 summit, but the debate reveals deep divisions within his core teamSupport the Guardian’s climate change reporting: make a contribution now
  Donald Trump’s advisers have postponed another meeting on whether the US should remain in the Paris climate agreement, amid growing nervousness from businesses and other countries over a potential withdrawal.A gathering of Trump’s top advisers was set to take place on
  
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• How 80 forgotten 1930s cycleways could transform UK cycling

  09-05-2017 12:18 via theguardian.com
  
  Between 1934 and 1940 the UK built 280 miles of cycle paths with Dutch guidance. A Kickstarter campaign to rescue these lost cycle paths needs supportIn September 2012 the Google Street View car drove slowly along a road in Twickenham, London. It had to reverse when the driver found three wooden bollards blocking its way. The road was not a road at all, it was a cycleway. A cycleway built in – wait for it – 1937.Originally surfaced with red concrete, the cycleway has faded to light p
  
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• Amazing haul of ancient human finds unveiled

  09-05-2017 10:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Yet more remains are presented of the extraordinary naledi people who appeared to cache their dead.
  
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• H&M pledges to double energy productivity by 2030

  09-05-2017 09:15
  
  Clothing retail giant H&M has this week become the first international fashion retailer to sign up to The Climate Group's EP100 campaign, pledging to double its energy productivity within the next 13 years.
  
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• Philips: Smart lighting systems can champion the circular economy

  09-05-2017 09:12
  
  EXCLUSIVE: Connected lighting systems can act as the "backbone" of the smart buildings transition to promote resource and energy efficiency, the senior director of sustainability at Philips has said.
  
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• Dubai goes to the dogs: city's expat culture leads to surge in abandoned pets

  09-05-2017 08:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Expats constitute 90% of the population of Dubai, and when they move on they often leave everything behind – including their temporary petsCharlie was kept in a cage for most of his short life; he was suffering from dehydration and a severe lung infection when he was handed to an animal rescue group in Dubai. Charlie is a two-year-old Yorkshire terrier – a breed that sells for up to 10,000 Arab Emirates Dirham (£2,130) in local pet shops. He was surrendered by his owners’
  
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• The Bornean orangutan's world – in pictures

  09-05-2017 08:05 via theguardian.com
  
  The critically endangered orangutan is under threat from hunting and habitat deforestation. A new book, The Orangutan’s World, is a photographic celebration of this great ape and its rainforest home in southern Borneo Continue reading...
  
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• Birdsong warms a frosty Sussex morning

  09-05-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Waltham Brooks, West Sussex The golden reed along the river’s edge vibrates with the pulsing, chattering songs of the warblersIt’s a cold morning, and a glistening coating of frost clings to the green surfaces of the vegetation that is still in the shade. The sun is reaching through the trees, and plumes of mist rise from the river’s surface as it warms.The golden reed along the river’s edge vibrates with the pulsing, chattering songs of reed warblers and sedge warblers &
  
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• Full tilt: giant offshore wind farm opens in North Sea

  09-05-2017 03:14 via theguardian.com
  
  Gemini windpark off the coast of the Netherlands will eventually meet the energy needs of about 1.5 million people, according to its ownersDutch officials have opened what is being billed as one of the world’s largest offshore wind farms, with 150 turbines spinning far out in the North Sea.
  Over the next 15 years the Gemini windpark, which lies some 85km (53 miles) off the northern coast of the Netherlands, will meet the energy needs of about 1.5 million people. Continue reading...
  
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• Australia doesn't need Adani's Carmichael coalmine, Westpac chief says

  09-05-2017 02:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Defending decision not to finance mine, Brian Hartzer says coal needed for economy to 2050 can be met by existing mines The Adani Carmichael coalmine is not needed to support the economy, the Westpac chief executive has said in defence of his bank’s decision not to finance the mine.On Radio National on Tuesday, Brian Hartzer said Westpac’s decision to set a climate policy, which in effect rules out financing the Adani Carmichael coalmine, was based on its acceptance that climate chan
  
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• B&Q to stop selling plants grown with bee-harming pesticides

  09-05-2017 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Friends of the Earth urges other retailers to follow suit after studies show damaging effects of neonicotinoids on beesAll flowering plants sold by B&Q are to be grown without using pesticides that are harmful to bees, the retailer has announced.Aseries of scientific studies have shown that bees are exposed to neonicotinoid pesticides in fields and suffer serious harm from the doses they receive. The European commission has drawn up draft legislation to ban the pesticides, citing “high
  
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• Coffee order: would you like environmental sustainability with that?

  09-05-2017 00:41 via theguardian.com
  
  Our daily brew is creating an environmental disaster, but social enterprises are coming up with new ideas for cups, pods and coffee grinds
  It’s one of our favourite habits, but those who enjoy a daily cup of coffee may not be aware of its very significant downside. Each year billions of non-biodegradable coffee cups, lids and disposable pods pile up in landfill, creating a growing environmental issue. Australians use an estimated one billion disposable coffee cups annually, but these cups
  
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