Environment news

• Meniscus-Assisted Technique Produces High Efficiency Perovskite PV Films

  07-07-2017 23:24 via feedproxy.google.com
  A new low-temperature solution printing technique allows fabrication of high-efficiency perovskite solar cells with large crystals intended to minimize current-robbing grain boundaries. The meniscus-assisted solution printing (MASP) technique boosts power conversion efficiencies to nearly 20 percent by controlling crystal size and orientation.
  
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• Plastic free July: cutting down single use plastics is easier than it seems

  07-07-2017 23:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Plastic seems inescapable but there are easy ways like quitting junk food, carrying your own cutlery and using up leftovers that will make a differenceBy now, we all know the horrors of plastic. The way it hangs around without biodegrading for centuries, the way it’s clogging the stomachs of birds, how it creates islands in the ocean for marine life to get stuck in, how it pollutes our riverways and motorways as non-biodegradable rubbish.
  Yet it’s everywhere. If you want a takeaway c
  
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• Elon Musk's big battery brings reality crashing into a post-truth world | Tim Hollo

  07-07-2017 23:00 via theguardian.com
  
  For months, politicians and fossil fuel industry have lied about the viability of renewables. Now Tesla’s big battery in South Australia will prove them wrong • Tesla to build world’s biggest lithium ion battery in South AustraliaElon Musk’s agreement to build the world’s largest battery for South Australia isn’t just an extraordinary technological breakthrough that signs coal’s death warrant. It’s potentially a game changer in the way we do politic
  
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• Murder most foul: polluted Indian river reported dead despite 'living entity' status

  07-07-2017 19:16 via theguardian.com
  
  After the Yamuna river, a tributary to the Ganges, was granted the accolade, it made sense for activists to tell police that somebody had killed itOne morning in late March, Brij Khandelwal called the Agra police to report an attempted murder.Days before, the high court in India’s Uttarakhand state had issued a landmark judgment declaring the Yamuna river – and another of India’s holiest waterways, the Ganges – “living entities”. Continue reading...
  
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• Hedgehogs at risk from food scarcity, habitat loss and badgers

  07-07-2017 19:10 via theguardian.com
  
  Experts say hedgehogs face crisis in towns and countryside, as RSPB records fewer sightings of the animals for third year in a rowDuring the day they curl up in nests of shredded paper but when night falls those that are well enough scurry and snuffle around the old fish boxes that serve as their temporary homes. These hedgehogs at the RSPCA’s West Hatch animal centre in Somerset have had a tough time of it. Some have tangled with dogs, strimmers, bonfires, fruit netting or vehicles; other
  
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• Stephen Tindale obituary

  07-07-2017 18:53 via theguardian.com
  
  Environment adviser to Labour who headed Greenpeace for five years but later broke with many of its positionsThe environmentalist Stephen Tindale, who has died aged 54, was an influential backroom figure in the Labour party who became executive director of Greenpeace UK. His brand of environmentalism was driven by his socialist principles. He was international in outlook, pragmatic about what could be achieved politically, and technologically optimistic. He was successful as a leader, first in g
  
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• Greenland's summer ocean bloom likely fueled by iron

  07-07-2017 18:33 via feedproxy.google.com
  Iron-rich meltwater from Greenland’s glaciers are helping fuel a summer bloom of phytoplankton.
  
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• Rewilding, climate scepticism and G20 – green news roundup

  07-07-2017 18:10 via theguardian.com
  
  The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox Continue reading...
  
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• Friends of the furze-pig: RSPCA urges public to be 'hedgehog-aware'

  07-07-2017 17:36 via theguardian.com
  
  Simple home measures can help hedgehogs, say experts, as they suffer from a collapse in invertebrates to eat, habitat loss and bullying by badgers During the day they curl up in nests of shredded paper but when night falls those that are well enough scurry and snuffle around the old fish boxes that serve as their temporary homes. These hedgehogs at the RSPCA’s West Hatch animal centre in Somerset have had a tough time of it. Some have tangled with dogs, strimmers, bonfires, fruit netting o
  
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• UK to fund research into letting electric cars return power to grid

  07-07-2017 17:22 via theguardian.com
  
  Vehicle-to-grid technology could help meet demand for electricity at peak times, with owners paid in money or free parkingThe UK plans to invest millions of pounds to explore how the batteries in thousands of electric cars could help the power grid and drive take-up of the cleaner vehicles.British businesses will be able to bid for £20m of government funding for undertaking research and trials of vehicle-to-grid technology, which officials believe holds “enormous potential” ben
  
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• Plastic bottle battle: members respond to our new environment series

  07-07-2017 17:16 via theguardian.com
  
  The Guardian’s Bottling It series is shining a light on the problem of what to do with the 1m plastic drinking bottles produced every minute. Your replies were thoughtful and inspiringWe often hear from members about our environment reporting – you tell us that you value it and would like us to increase our focus in this area. So we were interested in hearing your views on our Bottling It series, which asks who is responsible for the world’s plastic binge, and how we might solv
  
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• Sucking Up Spilt Oil

  07-07-2017 16:50 via feedproxy.google.com
  Spilt crude oil has repeatedly polluted and even destroyed marine ecosystems. An effective measure would be to remove spilt oil slicks by absorption into a separable solid phase. As Indian scientists now report in the journal Angewandte Chemie, congelation of the oil to a rigid gel within impregnated cellulose and scooping the particles out is possible.
  
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• Lynx could return to Britain this year after absence of 1,300 years

  07-07-2017 16:39 via theguardian.com
  
  Six of the secretive cats could be released in Northumberland’s Kielder forest if an application by the Lynx UK Trust is approvedAfter an absence of 1,300 years, the lynx could be back in UK forests by the end of 2017. The Lynx UK Trust has announced it will apply for a trial reintroduction for six lynx into the Kielder forest, Northumberland, following a two-year consultation process with local stakeholders.The secretive cat can grow to 1.5m in length and feeds almost exclusively by ambus
  
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• 'Escape from a crazy world': why people value America's public lands

  07-07-2017 16:36 via theguardian.com
  
  We asked readers to share their experiences and memories from the public lands of America that are, for now, preserved for all AmericansHelp support the Guardian’s coverage of the government’s public land sell-offThe outlook for America’s public lands is shifting, with Congress looking to transfer large swaths of federal land over to states in a move that could diminish access and result in a sell-off to private interests. Related: Campaign against Trump’s threat to US na
  
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• Recruiting Manganese to Upgrade Carbon Dioxide

  07-07-2017 16:26 via feedproxy.google.com
  Carbon dioxide (CO2) is known as a greenhouse gas and plays an essential role in climate change; it is no wonder scientists have been looking for solutions to prevent its release in the environment. However, as a cheap, readily available and non-toxic carbon source, in the past few years there have been efforts to turn carbon dioxide into valuable wares, or ‘value-added’ products.
  
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• Threatened US national monuments you have to see – in pictures

  07-07-2017 15:09 via theguardian.com
  
  America the beautiful … it’s a land of dramatic – and protected – scenery but, with 27 national monuments’ status under review, change may be coming. Here, are 22 of the threatened mainland sites‘Escape from a crazy world’: why people value America’s public landsContinue reading...
  
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• US trying to water down G20 text on lowering emissions, warn charities

  07-07-2017 14:21 via theguardian.com
  
  Donald Trump wants to remove wording from a draft communique that would commit the US to an agreed international approach on reducing fossil fuel emissions, it has been suggestedDonald Trump is trying to water down the wording of a G20 draft communique about lowering fossil fuel emissions, it has been suggested.The section, seen by the Guardian, took note of the US decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement on climate change, but added: “The United States affirms its strong commitment t
  
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• US trying to water down G20 text on lowering emissions, say charities

  07-07-2017 14:21 via theguardian.com
  
  Donald Trump wants to remove wording from a draft communique that would commit the US to agreed reductions of fossil fuel emissions, it is claimedDonald Trump is being accused of trying to water down the wording of a G20 draft communique about climate change, with US and EU officials expected to clash over the issue in talks expected to stretch through the night.One section of the draft, seen by the Guardian, took note of the US decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement on climate change, bu
  
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• Plastic bottles and waste: share your photos and stories

  07-07-2017 14:17 via theguardian.com
  
  As global sales of plastic drinking bottles approach half a trillion a year, share your stories and photos of the environmental implications of plastic waste
  The world is bingeing on plastic. A million plastic bottles are bought every minute, and that figure is set to increase another 20% by 2021. More than half a trillion will be sold annually by the end of the decade. Related: A million bottles a minute: world's plastic binge 'as dangerous as climate change'Continue reading...
  
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• Stephen Hawking's daughter Lucy: 'You could ask my dad any question'

  07-07-2017 12:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Lucy Hawking describes her famous scientist father being asked - what happens if you fall into a black hole?
  
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• Hawking's daughter: 'You could ask dad any question'

  07-07-2017 12:46 via bbc.co.uk
  Lucy Hawking describes her famous scientist father being asked - what happens if you fall into a black hole?
  
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• Puffins of the Inner Hebrides – a photo essay

  07-07-2017 12:44 via theguardian.com
  
  Photographer Murdo MacLeod travelled on a converted fishing boat to the Treshnish Isles and Staffa in the Inner Hebrides to admire puffin breeding colonies, where the birds nest in burrows on the edge of cliffsIn Scotland, the much-loved puffin – or fachach in Gaelic – nests on the Treshnish Isles and Staffa in the Inner Hebrides. Outside of the breeding season they spend most of their lives at sea, resting on the waves when not swimming.This distinctive seabird, famous for its stout
  
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• The Yamuna, India's most polluted river – video

  07-07-2017 12:21 via theguardian.com
  
  Guardian India correspondent Michael Safi takes a journey along the Yamuna river. Stretching 855 miles (1,375km) across the north of the country, at its source in the Himalayas its water is crystal clear. However, once it streams through New Delhi, it turns into one of the filthiest rivers in the world. Rapid urbanisation is partly to blame, but so is lax enforcement of laws against illegal dumping Continue reading...
  
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• Murder most foul: polluted Indian river given 'living entity' status but reported dead

  07-07-2017 12:21 via theguardian.com
  
  After the Yamuna river, a tributary to the Ganges, was granted the accolade, it made sense for activists to tell police that somebody had killed itOne morning in late March, Brij Khandelwal called the Agra police to report an attempted murder.Days before, the high court in India’s Uttarakhand state had issued a landmark judgment declaring the Yamuna river – and another of India’s holiest waterways, the Ganges – “living entities”. Continue reading...
  
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• Failure of China's 'straddling bus' shows there's no magic bullet for traffic woes

  07-07-2017 11:23 via theguardian.com
  
  The bus lies rusting and 32 people have been arrested. Futuristic transport technology makes great headlines but is not the solution to China’s problemsThe plan always seemed a bit too good – or at least too brilliantly weird – to be true. Last year footage and reports about China’s “straddling bus”, a bizarre vehicle that appeared to glide over traffic on roads, went viral and was touted as a solution to the country’s traffic congestion problems.
  Now th
  
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• Merkel’s climate mission at the G20

  07-07-2017 11:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Germany is battling to stop the US undermining a united front on climate change at the G20 summit.
  
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• Naomi Klein: 'Trump is more like the schlock doctrine' – video

  07-07-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Naomi Klein tells Owen Jones that Donald Trump’s administration is using a ‘new formula’ for pushing through its agenda. Rather than the disaster capitalism she outlined in her book The Shock Doctrine, Klein says the Republican party is using Donald Trump’s ‘mental instability, out-of-control ego and general man-babyness’ to distract from their policies, which are ‘savaging’ environmental standards and already-inadequate financial regulationsAn ext
  
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• Government held back greenhouse gas emission data for more than a month

  07-07-2017 07:46 via theguardian.com
  
  The quietly released details confirm previous analysis done for the Guardian, which revealed a bigger rise in emissions than projectedAustralia’s official greenhouse gas data, showing a continued increase in emissions, was quietly published on a government website on Friday, after internal government correspondence showed it had been held back from release for more than a month.The figures broadly confirm independent analysis done exclusively for Guardian Australia by consultants at NDEVR
  
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• How climate scepticism turned into something more dangerous

  07-07-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Doubts about the science are being replaced by doubts about the motives of scientists and their political supporters. Once this kind of cynicism takes hold, is there any hope for the truth? By David RuncimanLast month Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord. For his supporters, it provided evidence, at last, that the president is a man of his word. He may not have kept many campaign promises, but he kept this one. For his numerous critics
  
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• Elon Musk announces Tesla's plan to build world's biggest lithium ion battery in South Australia – video

  07-07-2017 06:40 via theguardian.com
  
  The billionaire founder of Tesla announces the building of the 129MWh battery to store renewable energy in South Australia, and confirms his pledge to deliver it within 100 days or it will be free. Musk tells reporters the project will not be without technical challenges, given it will be the largest battery installation in the world ‘by a significant margin’ Continue reading...
  
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• The first butterfly of the day is the rare wood white

  07-07-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Meeth Quarry, Devon I’m prepared for disappointment. Then the sun works its magic, teasing winged life from the undergrowthThe entrance is easy to miss: an understated wooden sign roughly halfway along the main road traversing Devon north to south. From the turning beside an abandoned rail station a quiet lane that once shuddered under the weight of heavy diggers leads to a car park at Meeth Quarry where I join 20 or so Devon Wildlife Trust members for a field trip.While the others may hav
  
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• Texas companies penalized in less than 3% of illegal air pollution cases – report

  07-07-2017 06:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Figure underscores need for federal oversight as the Trump administration seeks to slash the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget and roll back rulesTexas companies involved in illegal air pollution releases were penalized by the state in fewer than 3% of all cases,according to a new report.The figure underscores the need for strong federal oversight in a period when the Trump administration is seeking to slash the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget and roll back rules, sai
  
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• Tesla to build world's biggest lithium ion battery in South Australia

  07-07-2017 05:42 via theguardian.com
  
  Elon Musk’s company Tesla will partner with French utility Neoen to deliver the lithium ion battery designed to improve the security of electricity networkElon Musk, the billionaire founder of Tesla, will build the world’s largest lithium ion battery to store renewable energy in South Australia in partnership with French energy utility Neoen.The 129MWh battery, which is paired with a wind farm, is designed to improve the security of electricity supplies across South Australia. Contin
  
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• 'Limitless applications': the 'magic powder' that could prevent future crises

  07-07-2017 02:41 via theguardian.com
  
  Metal organic frameworks could solve everything from water shortages to rotting food. Now Australian scientists have found a way to commercialise it It sounds like a distant dystopian crisis: a world where global food and water supply chains buckle under the strain of overpopulation and climate change, before being contaminated by weapons of mass destruction unleashed in a desperate fight for access to what little is left.While the crisis may not be as unrealistic or far away as it seems, scient
  
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• UW oceanography senior finds plastic microfibers are common on Puget Sound beaches

  07-07-2017 00:44 via feedproxy.google.com
  As the infamous floating “garbage patch” churns up bits of plastic in the tropical Pacific Ocean, a University of Washington undergraduate has discovered a related problem much closer to home: nearly invisible bits of plastic on Puget Sound beaches.As a year-long project toward a UW bachelor’s degree, the oceanography major visited 12 beaches around Puget Sound to tally the number of microplastics, generally classified as fragments between 0.3 and 5 millimeters (1/100 to 1/5 of
  
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