Environment news

• Australia's carbon emissions rise in off-season for first time in a decade

  07-06-2017 22:09
  
  Exclusive: On the eve of the long-awaited Finkel review, analysis shows Australia’s emissions rose sharply in the first quarter of 2017Australia’s carbon emissions jumped at the start of 2017, the first time they have risen in the first few months of a year for more than a decade, according to projections produced exclusively for the Guardian.Emissions in the first three months of the year normally drop compared with the previous quarter, driven by seasonal factors and holidays. But
  
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• In Utah, federal land opponent reverses stance on drilling near Zion national park

  07-06-2017 21:51
  
  In a change of tone, Utah governor Gary Herbert has backpedaled and asked the federal government not to allow oil and gas drilling around the famous parkWhen Utah governor Gary Herbert changed his mind last week and decided oil and gas companies should not be allowed to drill near Zion national park, it seemed like a remarkable change of tone.The Republican has been a staunch advocate for rolling back public land protections and had earlier endorsed the idea of drilling near the 229 sq mile park
  
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• In Utah, federal land opponent reverses position on drilling near Zion

  07-06-2017 21:51
  
  In a change of tone, Utah governor Gary Herbert has backpedaled and asked the federal government not to allow oil and gas drilling around the famous parkWhen Utah governor Gary Herbert changed his mind last week and decided oil and gas companies should not be allowed to drill near Zion national park, it seemed like like a remarkable change of tone.The Republican has been a staunch advocate for rolling back public land protections and had earlier endorsed the idea of drilling near the 229 sq mile
  
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• Lib Dems are best for the environment | Letters

  07-06-2017 20:06
  
  James Cameron and 21 other leading green business owners and environmentalists on why they are backing the Liberal Democrats in the UK general election. Plus Hugh Burkhardt gives you his guide to tactical votingThe environment has been shut out of this election. Economic growth has provided the world with abundant food, medicine, energy and raw materials. However, unmanaged it is destroying the ecosystem, wiping out fauna, flora, forests and seas. An ecological meltdown will cause economic ruin
  
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• Thank you: with your help, we raised $50,000 to cover America's public lands

  07-06-2017 19:38
  
  In just 31 hours, Guardian US exceeded its target to support a new series on the threat to America’s public lands. We’d like to thank you for your generositySee more of our coverage on public landsWe would like to extend a huge thank you to the more than 1,000 Guardian readers who made contributions to support This Land is Your Land, our series on the threat to America’s public lands. We launched our fundraising campaign on Monday morning, and hit our $50,000 goal at 1pm Tuesda
  
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• Winds of change: gusts across Europe help set renewable power record

  07-06-2017 19:12
  
  Nuclear, wind and solar power in UK generate more electricity than gas and coal combined for first time ever
  The windy weather across Europe in the past 24 hours may have been a curse for summer picnics, but it has set records for renewable power.Related: 'Spectacular' drop in renewable energy costs leads to record global boostContinue reading...
  
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• 'First of our kind' found in Morocco

  07-06-2017 19:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Fossils of modern humans uncovered in north Africa are at least 300,000 years old.
  
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• Whiskey, with a peacock chaser: bird smashes up US liquor store – video

  07-06-2017 18:57
  
  A peacock which found its way into a Californian liquor store causes hundreds of dollars of damage before an animal control officer and the store manager are able to capture it Continue reading...
  
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• How can humans and elephants better coexist?

  07-06-2017 16:18
  
  The human-elephant conflict plays a huge role in the rapid decline elephant numbers. A panel of experts share ideas on how to mitigate this problemWe need conservation (not just fighting the illegal wildlife trade which has captured the limelight more recently) to be far higher up the political agenda. For example, we in the UK could be much more effectively linking overseas aid (budget of £12bn this year) to poverty relief, sustainable development and environmental protection, ecosystem s
  
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• Electric cars accelerate past 2m mark globally

  07-06-2017 15:06
  
  China, US and Europe accounted for more than 90% of electric vehicle sales last year with decreasing costs driving demandThe number of electric cars in the world accelerated past the 2m barrier last year, as prices fell and manufacturers launched new models.The number of battery-powered vehicles numbered just hundreds globally in 2005 and passed the 1m milestone in 2015, but sales jumped 60% in 2016.Continue reading...
  
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• Rare US floods to become the norm if emissions aren't cut, study warns

  07-06-2017 13:10
  
  Princeton-Rutgers study finds sharp increase in risk of frequent deluges‘Many cities are behind the eight-ball in terms of preparing for flooding’US coastal areas are set to be deluged by far more frequent and severe flooding events if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t slashed, with rare floods becoming the norm for places such as New York City, Seattle and San Diego, new research has found. Related: Climate change progress at Trump's EPA is grinding to a halt, workers revealCont
  
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• Paris pollution victim sues France for bad air

  07-06-2017 11:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Parisian Clotilde Nonnez has lived in the capital for 30 years and has seen her health deteriorate.
  
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• Tony Abbott warns against low emissions target ahead of Finkel review

  07-06-2017 11:03
  
  Former PM says he is concerned by reports that Finkel review is aiming towards 70% renewables by 2030Tony Abbott has fired a public warning shot ahead of Friday’s release of the Finkel review, declaring it would be a “big mistake” for the government to adopt a low emissions target which knocked out new high-efficiency coal-fired power stations.
  The former prime minister used a radio interview on 2GB on Wednesday afternoon to add his dissenting voice to commentary already expres
  
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• British ice station on the move

  07-06-2017 09:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Halley VI Research Station was moved more than 20km across the ice sheet.
  
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• Big move

  07-06-2017 09:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The permanent reoccupation of the UK's Halley station depends on how an ice crack develops.
  
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• Party on the helipad! My day sipping champagne with the superyacht set

  07-06-2017 09:00
  
  Basketball courts, recording studios, deep-sea submarines, helipad party decks … our writer gets a taste of the latest must-have accessories in superyacht designA £30,000 bottle of limited-edition Hennessy cognac stands in a corner of the Saatchi Gallery, guarded by a pair of burly bouncers, while guests admire leather-clad bicycles, models of personal submarines, and undulating “wall features” carved from gigantic blocks of marble, according to the designs of Zaha Hadid
  
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• Demand for elephant skin, trunk and penis drives rapid rise in poaching in Myanmar

  07-06-2017 08:21
  
  A growth in demand for elephant parts to be used in traditional medicine in Asia means the number of elephants being killed in Myanmar is rising
  Case files and laminated photos of poachers spill out of captain Than Naing’s folder. As the chief of police in Okekan township, one of Myanmar’s recent poaching hotspots, he is trying to track down the men who have killed at least three elephants in the area over the past year. So far, he has arrested 11 people suspected of having assisted
  
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• Mizen to Malin by bike in six days – Ireland's Land's End to John O'Groats

  07-06-2017 08:15
  
  Mizen Head to Malin Head is a 510-mile trip that takes in the breathtaking Maumturk Mountains, the empty beaches of Cork and Kerry, and the wilderness of the BurrenSend anyone to the west coast of Ireland and they will fall in love with it at some point. For me it was at a junction in Maum, County Galway, where I had stopped to take a photo of a signpost but ended up having my breath taken away by the Maumturk Mountains in all their pastoral, sunlit glory. Continue reading...
  
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• Australians want government to focus on renewables even if it costs more: poll

  07-06-2017 07:36
  
  Lowy Institute polling also finds 57% of people consider climate change to be a ‘critical threat’ The vast majority of Australians want the government to focus on renewable energy, even if that means more money needs to be spent on making the system reliable, according to polling by the Lowy Institute. Of 1,200 adults polled in March, 81% agreed with the statement: “The government should focus on renewables, even if this means we may need to invest more in infrastructure to mak
  
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• The Greens would ditch Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant | Damian Carrington

  07-06-2017 07:00
  
  Guardian experts give their view on the main parties’ public service manifesto pledges. Here, our environment editor looks at energy, pollution and recycling
  • Denis Campbell on health
  • David Brindle on social care
  • Patrick Butler on social security
  • Dawn Foster on housing
  • Anna Bawden on local government
  • Frances Ryan on disability
  • Alan Travis on criminal justice and immigration
  • Jane Dudman on the civil service
  • Scotland, Wales and No
  
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• Crocodile captures soar in Darwin as wet season boosts waterways

  07-06-2017 06:50
  
  66% spike in captures as bumper wet season connects major river systems in Northern Territory, allowed deadly reptiles to move around more freelyThe number of crocodiles caught in the Top End has soared after Territorians endured the third wettest wet season on record.There’s been a 66% spike in crocodile captures around Darwin and Katherine in the past year, the NT Parks and Wildlife Commission says.Continue reading...
  
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• The footballer hoverfly is a little fist of bling

  07-06-2017 06:30
  
  Wenlock Edge, Shropshire The stripy sun fly joins the summer swarm of insects to the opening of the festival of flowers The sun fly alights on a bramble leaf and alters its position as if by the clockwise clicks of an invisible dial. Gold on black, black on gold, it radiates. The sun fly is one of the syrphid flies, a hoverfly of rough flowery places such as this verge of a long-abandoned railway line through the woods. It’s a chunky little fist of bling, folding up a cut-glass wingspan of
  
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• China and California sign deal to work on climate change without Trump

  07-06-2017 04:24
  
  Governor Jerry Brown says president’s decision to pull the US out of the Paris agreement will be only a temporary setbackChina and California have signed an agreement to work together on reducing emissions, as the state’s governor warned that “disaster still looms” without urgent action on climate change.The governor of California, Jerry Brown, spoke to reporters at an international clean energy conference in Beijing about Donald Trump’s decision to pull the US out
  
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• Call of the wild? Environmentalists livid over cellphone plan for national park

  07-06-2017 02:33
  
  The famous Mount Rainier has prepared an environmental assessment to allow Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T to extend coverage, but some aren’t happy about itThey already paved Paradise and put up a parking lot. Now the famous site on the south slope of Mount Rainier National Park’s 14,410ft-tall volcano could be wired for cellular service.The park, which encompasses 230,000 acres of the Cascades mountain range in Washington state, has prepared an environmental assessment for a propos
  
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• Study casts doubt on the idea of 'big fluffy T. rex'

  07-06-2017 01:16 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Evidence suggests the dinosaur had scales rather than feathers or fluff, as some have speculated.
  
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• 'Spectacular' drop in renewable energy costs leads to record global boost

  07-06-2017 00:30
  
  Falling solar and wind prices have led to new power deals across the world despite investment in renewables fallingRenewable energy capacity around the world was boosted by a record amount in 2016 and delivered at a markedly lower cost, according to new global data – although the total financial investment in renewables actually fell.The greater “bang-for-buck” resulted from plummeting prices for solar and wind power and led to new power deals in countries including Denmark, Eg
  
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