Environment news

• Dirty diesel: why ships are the worst offenders

  18-05-2017 22:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Ships belch out most of their sulphurous toxins far from land, but they could still be responsible for 60,000 deaths each yearIn all the controversy over toxic air pollution from diesel cars, little is heard of a worse source of pollution – shipping. Large ocean-going ships tend to use bunker fuel, the world’s dirtiest diesel fuel – a toxic, tar-like sludge that usually contains 3,500 times more sulphur than the diesel used for cars. And it’s also cheap. Shipping accounts
  
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• Cylindrical space for a crab to call home | Brief letters

  18-05-2017 20:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Brown hares and hunting | Water in Bagno Vignoni | 35mm film canisters | Letter from the Tories | Granny Seaside and Granny CatA repeal of the 2004 Hunting Act would accelerate the demise of our iconic brown hares, already listed in 2011 for potential extinction by 2050 (May pledges free vote on hunting, 10 May). One third of the hunts (with dogs) in England and Wales target these declining hares, not foxes. The act outlaws hare coursing, but a repeal would further encourage this intrusive and d
  
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• National Grid boss say Labour plan will stall green energy drive

  18-05-2017 20:15 via theguardian.com
  
  John Pettigrew claims switch to public ownership will disrupt transition to cleaner forms of energy
  Labour’s plan to take the National Grid back into public ownership would harm the UK’s switch to green energy, the grid’s chief executive has said. John Pettigrew said renationalisation was “the last thing the industry needs” as it invests to accommodate more wind and solar power on the UK’s power grids.“Clearly, on nationalisation, we do not think it is a
  
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• National Grid boss criticises Labour's plan for renationalisation

  18-05-2017 19:00 via theguardian.com
  
  John Pettigrew fears transition to greener energy usage could be harmed by taking grid back into public ownershipLabour’s plan to take National Grid back into public ownership would harm the UK’s switch to using more green energy, the grid’s chief executive has warned.John Pettigrew said that renationalisation was “the last thing the industry needs” as it invests to accommodate more wind and solar power on the UK’s power grids. Continue reading...
  
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• Climate change is turning Antarctica green, say researchers

  18-05-2017 18:00 via theguardian.com
  
  In the past 50 years the quantity and rate of plant growth has shot up, says study, suggesting further warming could lead to rapid ecosystem changesAntarctica may conjure up an image of a pristine white landscape, but researchers say climate change is turning the continent green.Scientists studying banks of moss in Antarctica have found that the quantity of moss, and the rate of plant growth, has shot up in the past 50 years, suggesting the continent may have a verdant future. Continue reading..
  
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• Trump 'can't escape climate change' impacts says Fiji PM

  18-05-2017 17:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Whether or not the US is involved in global talks, the US will also feel the impacts of climate change.
  
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• Nasa seeks experiment ideas for Europa lander

  18-05-2017 16:58 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Nasa is seeking the best ideas for experiments to fly on a mission that will land on Jupiter's moon Europa.
  
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• Sea level rise will double coastal flood risk worldwide

  18-05-2017 16:10 via theguardian.com
  
  Small but unstoppable increases will double frequency of extreme water levels with dire consequences, say scientistsSmall but inevitable rises in sea level will double the frequency of severe coastal flooding in most of the world with dire consequences for major cities that sit on coastlines, according to scientists.The research takes in to account the large waves and storm surges that can tip gradually rising sea levels over the edge of coastal defences. Lower latitudes will be first affected,
  
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• Tree clearing may have killed 180 koalas in Queensland in two years, says wildlife group

  18-05-2017 11:52 via theguardian.com
  
  World Wildlife Fund calls for public pressure on the Palaszczuk government to reduce habitat destructionTree clearing may have killed as many as 180 koalas in south-east Queensland in the two years after the former state government relaxed vegetation protection laws, according to an analysis by the World Wildlife Fund.The environmental group says a crisis gripping koala populations has its root in a surge in tree clearing given the political green light in both Queensland and New South Wales. Co
  
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• Product designers 'must reduce Pringles factor' to boost recycling

  18-05-2017 11:17 via theguardian.com
  
  Recycling Association chief cites crisp brand as one of worst examples of multiple materials being used in single productProduct designers need to retreat from “the Pringles factor” in order to make their packaging more recyclable, an environmental expert has said. Simon Ellin, the chief executive of the Recycling Association, which represents recyclers, pointed to the snack tube as a prime example of the failure to consider recycling in design – and listed a range of other off
  
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• Do sea monsters exist? Yes, but they go by another name … | Jules Howard

  18-05-2017 09:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Nothing fires up a media storm like a sighting of a dead sea monster no one can identify. However much scientists shout ‘It’s a whale!’I don’t want to spoil it for you, but I guess I’ll have to. It was a whale that washed up on the Indonesian island of Seram late last week. It was never a sea monster, no matter how hard we all tried to believe or hope it might be. Although the species of whale remains unknown (DNA analysis should solve that problem in time), the big
  
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• Less than 1% of surplus food from farms and manufacturers used to feed hungry

  18-05-2017 07:31 via theguardian.com
  
  A tiny proportion of excess food is being sent to charities and is instead ending up in landfill or left to rot, figures showLess than 1% of edible surplus food produced by UK manufacturers and farms is being sent to charities to help feed the hungry, according to new figures.
  Vegetables that are perfectly edible are being left to rot in the fields, and other foods not sold to retailers are put into anaerobic digestion or sent straight to landfill, the UK’s largest redistribution charity F
  
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• Plant hunters discovered 1,700 new species last year

  18-05-2017 07:01 via theguardian.com
  
  From a Turkish parsnip to Madagascar coffee beans and roses in China, the discoveries offer the prospect of better crops, medicinal uses and new garden displaysFrom new parsnips and herbs to begonias and roses, the world’s plant hunters discovered more than 1,700 new species last year, offering the prospect of better crops and new colours and scents in the garden.The State of the World’s Plants report, led by scientists at the Royal Botanical Garden Kew in the UK and published on Thu
  
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• New types of coffee, parsnips and roses among 1,700 plants discovered last year

  18-05-2017 07:01 via theguardian.com
  
  From a new variety of Turkish parsnip to Madagascar coffee beans, the discoveries offer the prospect of better crops, medicinal uses and new garden displaysFrom new parsnips and herbs to begonias and roses, the world’s plant hunters discovered more than 1,700 new species last year, offering the prospect of better crops and new colours and scents in the garden.The State of the World’s Plants report, led by scientists at the Royal Botanical Garden Kew in the UK and published on Thursda
  
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• Toxin-tolerant plants take root in colliery's spoil tips

  18-05-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Middlehope Moor, Weardale Miners who left waste rock beside the burn created a perfect habitat for the spring sandwortOn a grey day in a tree-less landscape, buffeted by a bone-chilling north-easterly wind, only the calls of curlews and oystercatchers that had returned here to breed suggested this must be spring.But when we reached the stony, undulating, ground near the entrance to the “governor and company’s level”, a mine tunnel driven into a hillside almost two centuries ago
  
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• Recycling body criticises Pringles and Lucozade packaging

  18-05-2017 05:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The packaging for Pringles and Lucozade Sport are among the most difficult to recycle, a trade body says.
  
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• Adani offered $320m deferment of Carmichael coal export royalties

  18-05-2017 04:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Queensland premier will neither confirm nor deny deal under which full royalties due would only be paid in later yearsThe Queensland government has reportedly offered Adani a royalties pause worth up to $320m as the company decides whether to proceed with its Carmichael mine project.The deal, in which Adani would pay a discounted $2m a year on exported coal in the mine’s early years, could be signed this week and has concerned some senior Labor figures, the ABC has reported. Continue readi
  
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• Treasure trove of new plant discoveries revealed

  18-05-2017 03:50 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Almost 2,000 plants new to science have been identified in the past year, but many are at risk.
  
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• Recycling nightmares - but can packaging be improved?

  18-05-2017 01:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Much of the packaging we put in the recycling bin ends up in landfills, but a design competition backed by Prince Charles is aiming to tackle the issue.
  
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• VW emissions: bosses face investigation over claims they misled investors

  18-05-2017 00:33 via theguardian.com
  
  Matthias Müller and predecessor accused of knowingly keeping information from shareholders about financial consequences of testing scandal
  The Volkswagen chief executive and his predecessor are facing an investigation by German authorities into whether they misled investors by not releasing information about the company’s cheating on diesel emissions tests soon enough.
  Prosecutors in Stuttgart yesterday formally launched their case against Matthias Müller and his predecessor Mart
  
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• Australian oil well leaked into ocean for months – but spill kept secret

  18-05-2017 00:33 via theguardian.com
  
  Offshore oil and gas regulator says there was a 10,500-litre spill in April 2016 but refuses to reveal where it occurred or company responsibleAn offshore oil and gas well in Australia leaked oil continuously into the ocean for two months in 2016, releasing an estimated 10,500 litres. But the spill was never made public by the regulator and details about the well, its whereabouts and operator remain secret.In its annual offshore performance report released this week, the National Offshore Petrol
  
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