Environment news

• Ozone Pollution Connected to Cardiovascular Health

  17-07-2017 21:09 via feedproxy.google.com
  Exposure to ozone, long associated with impaired lung function, is also connected to health changes that can cause cardiovascular disease such as heart attack, high blood pressure and stroke, according to a new study of Chinese adults.These findings, by a team from Duke University, Tsinghua University, Duke Kunshan University and Peking University, appear in the July 17, 2017 edition of JAMA Internal Medicine.
  
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• Harnessing the right amount of sunshine

  17-07-2017 20:59 via feedproxy.google.com
  Photosynthesis, which allows energy from the sun to be converted into life-sustaining sugars, can also be hazardous to green plants. If they absorb too much sunlight, the extra energy destroys their tissue.To combat this, green plants have developed a defense mechanism known as photoprotection, which allows them to dissipate the extra energy. Researchers from MIT and the University of Verona have now discovered how the key protein in this process allows moss and green algae to protect themselves
  
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• Unbalanced wind farm planning exacerbates fluctuations

  17-07-2017 20:53 via feedproxy.google.com
  The expansion of renewable energy has been widely criticised for increasing weather-dependent fluctuations in European electricity generation. A new study shows that this is due less to the variability of weather than from a failure to consider the large-scale weather conditions across the whole continent: many European countries are unilaterally following national strategies to expand wind energy capacities without looking beyond their own backyard.It would be better, however, for individual co
  
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• Stronger winds heat up West Antarctic ice melt

  17-07-2017 20:39 via feedproxy.google.com
  New research published today in Nature Climate Change has revealed how strengthening winds on the opposite side of Antarctica, up to 6000kms away, drive the high rate of ice melt along the West Antarctic Peninsula.Researchers from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science found that the winds in East Antarctica can generate sea-level disturbances that propagate around the continent at almost 700 kilometers per hour via a type of ocean wave known as a Kelvin wave.
  
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• Diesel is now better than gas

  17-07-2017 20:30 via feedproxy.google.com
  Modern diesel cars emit less pollution generally than cars that run on gasoline, says a new six-nation study published today in Scientific Reports whose groundwork was laid in part by an American chemist now working at Université de Montréal.And since diesel is so much cleaner than before, environmental regulators should increasingly shift their focus to dirtier gasoline-powered cars and other sources of air pollution, says the UdeM scientist, Patrick Hayes.
  
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• US millionaire who learned the value of punctuation the hard way | Brief letters

  17-07-2017 20:19 via theguardian.com
  
  Punctuation | Solar-powered legs | Dogs and litter | Crossword themes | Puzzle changePunctuation is indeed important (Letters, 17 July). The story goes that an American millionaire’s wife, travelling through Europe, came across a beautiful diamond ring for sale for $1,000. She sent a telegram: “Can I buy?” “No price too high” came the reply. So she purchased the ring and her husband was furious. He had meant “No; price too high” – and it is said th
  
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• Oil Impairs Ability of Coral Reef Fish to Find Homes and Evade Predators

  17-07-2017 19:21 via feedproxy.google.com
  Just as one too many cocktails can lead a person to make bad choices, a few drops of oil can cause coral reef fish to make poor decisions, according to a paper published today in Nature Ecology & Evolution. A team of fisheries biologists led by Jacob Johansen and Andrew Esbaugh of The University of Texas Marine Science Institute have discovered that oil impacts the higher-order thinking of coral reef fish in a way that could prove dangerous for them—and for the cora
  
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• Rooftop concentrating photovoltaics win big over silicon in outdoor testing

  17-07-2017 19:14 via feedproxy.google.com
  A concentrating photovoltaic system with embedded microtracking can produce over 50 percent more energy per day than standard silicon solar cells in a head-to-head competition, according to a team of engineers who field tested a prototype unit over two sunny days last fall."Solar cells used to be expensive, but now they're getting really cheap," said Chris Giebink, Charles K. Etner Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering, Penn State. "As a result, the solar cell is no longer the domin
  
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• Five park rangers killed in DRC in tragic weekend for wildlife defenders

  17-07-2017 19:13 via theguardian.com
  
  An ambush by local rebel forces led to five deaths in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, while another ranger died in VirungaFour Congolese park rangers and one porter have been killed in an ambush in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  A large group of journalists and park rangers were attacked on Friday 14 July in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve by an armed local rebel group. It is believed that the journalists – one from the US, two Dutch, and one Congolese – were covering a story a
  
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• Treated Fracking Wastewater Contaminated Watershed with Radium and Endocrine Disrupters, Study Finds

  17-07-2017 19:06 via feedproxy.google.com
  A study in the Marcellus Shale region of western Pennsylvania has shown that even after being treated, wastewater from hydraulic fracturing operations left significant contamination in a waterway downstream of treatment plants. Researchers from Penn State University, Colorado State University, and Dartmouth College studied sediments from Conemaugh River Lake — a dammed reservoir east of Pittsburgh — and found that they were contaminated with endocrine-disrupting chemic
  
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• My week without plastic: 'I found a toothbrush made of pig hair'

  17-07-2017 18:36 via theguardian.com
  
  We produce 300m tonnes of plastic a year – 5m tonnes of which ends up in the oceans. How easy is it to ditch the excess packaging and learn to love shampoo in solid bars?It’s in shampoo bottles, toothbrushes, clothes and biros. It’s even in teabags. Plastic is everywhere.In some cases this brings clear benefits – plastic has brought advances including domestic pipes, composite materials for lighter aircraft and wind-turbines, as well as blood bags – but, for consume
  
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• La empresa canadiense que extrae plata de unas colinas, y la gente que muere por intentar evitarlo

  17-07-2017 18:29 via theguardian.com
  
  En Guatemala está uno de los mayores depósitos de plata del mundo; a sus dueños canadienses les proporciona millones de dólares, pero para los campesinos locales pone en peligro sus tierras y, a veces, sus vidasLean esta historia en inglés A grandes profundidades, enterrado en las exuberantes colinas del sur de Guatemala, se encuentra un verdadero tesoro: toneladas de plata que forman uno de los mayores depósitos del mundo.Sin embargo, lo verdaderamente
  
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• Why Japan's Coastal Zones might be Disappearing due to Climate Change

  17-07-2017 18:17 via feedproxy.google.com
  Projections of Future Beach Loss in Japan Due to Sea-Level Rise and Uncertainties in Projected Beach Loss
  
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• Drifting Antarctic iceberg A-68 opens up clear water

  17-07-2017 18:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Satellite images show the colossal Larsen iceberg continuing to edge away from the White Continent.
  
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• Why the cheetah is a champion sprinter

  17-07-2017 17:07 via bbc.co.uk
  
  New research reveals why bigger is not always better in the animal world when it comes to speed.
  
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• Neoliberalism has conned us into fighting climate change as individuals | Martin Lukacs

  17-07-2017 16:56 via theguardian.com
  
  Stop obsessing with how personally green you live – and start collectively taking on corporate powerWould you advise someone to flap towels in a burning house? To bring a flyswatter to a gunfight? Yet the counsel we hear on climate change could scarcely be more out of sync with the nature of the crisis.The email in my inbox last week offered thirty suggestions to green my office space: use reusable pens, redecorate with light colours, stop using the elevator.Continue reading...
  
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• 'Close to the sheds, the smell is overpowering': inside a UK mega farm

  17-07-2017 16:18 via theguardian.com
  
  Each shed here contains 42,000 chickens. The conditions are all in line with government regulations, but there are around 17 birds per square metreIn a valley in rural Herefordshire, near the village of Kington, four industrial sheds lie partly covered in trees, with an apple orchard on the approach. From the top of the hill there is no odour, but nearer to the sheds – 100m long by 20m wide, with 42,000 chickens in each – the sweetish, sickly smell is overpowering. The broiler chicke
  
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• Have you been affected by mega farms in the UK?

  17-07-2017 16:09 via theguardian.com
  
  Whether you are concerned about the welfare of animals or the businesses of small farmers, we’d like to hear from you
  The rise in mega farms, which can house thousands of animals indoors, has caused concern among farmers and residents.Key issues in intensive livestock farming include the lack of accountability, noise and smell as well as the way the farms are industrialising and transforming the countryside. Whether you’re involved in the planning process, work at a mega farm, or liv
  
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• UK has nearly 800 livestock mega farms, investigation reveals

  17-07-2017 16:07 via theguardian.com
  
  Exclusive: US-style intensive factory farming of poultry, pigs and cattle is sweeping across the British countryside – raising concerns over animal crueltyHow have you been affected?
  Nearly every county in England has at least one industrial-scale livestock farm, with close to 800 US-style mega farms operating across the UK, new research reveals.
  The increase in mega farms – which critics describe as “cruel and unnecessary” – is part of a 26% rise in intensive facto
  
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• New model projects an increase in dust storms in the US

  17-07-2017 15:46 via feedproxy.google.com
  Could the storms that once engulfed the Great Plains in clouds of black dust in the 1930’s once again wreak havoc in the U.S.? A new statistical model developed by researchers at Princeton University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts that climate change will amplify dust activity in parts of the U.S. in the latter half of the 21st century, which may lead to the increased frequency of spectacular dust storms that have far-reaching impacts on p
  
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• Hawaiian Birds Rapidly Colonize Young Restoration Forest

  17-07-2017 15:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  Forest birds on the island of Hawaii are responding positively to being restored in one of the largest, ongoing reforestation projects at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge, according to a new study released July 10 in the journal Restoration Ecology.Serving as pollinators and seed dispersers, birds have an important role in ecosystem function and their presence in restoration areas can be a measure of success for conservation efforts.
  
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• Newquay is go!

  17-07-2017 14:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  World Land Speed record holder Andy Green looks forward to the first, low-speed runs of the Bloodhound supersonic car.
  
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• Scientists marvel at creatures' 'precise' body clock

  17-07-2017 13:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists studied zooplankton found in a Scottish loch to better understand their behaviour.
  
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• Surrendering to fear brought us climate change denial and President Trump | John Abraham

  17-07-2017 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  I propose that people take indefensible positions like climate denial and Trump support simply out of fear
  This story picks up where an earlier post left off a few weeks ago. Then, I discussed some of the political realities associated with inaction on climate change. In that post, I said I would revisit the question of why so many people deny the evidence of a changing climate. Now is the time for that discussion.What continually befuddles people who work on climate change is the vehement and i
  
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• In the Grand Canyon, uranium mining threatens a tribe's survival

  17-07-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The Havasupai are attempting to fight back against the operation of a uranium mine that they say could contaminate their sole water sourceEd Tilousi knelt down next to the crystal-clear turquoise creek. The only sounds were the gurgling of the current and the sawing of cicadas in a pecan nut tree as the hot sun made the red rock canyon walls towering above him glow.Downstream, the creek becomes a 100ft-high waterfall, tumbling into a brilliant blue pool then making more cascades before it emptie
  
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• Helpless blob of jelly is a formidable predator

  17-07-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Sandsend, North Yorkshire It’s not a jellyfish but a ctenophore, one of a group thought to be more than 500m years oldClose to dead calm on the Yorkshire hem of the North Sea today. The waves are barely 10cm high and the water is so clear that, standing knee-deep between each half-hearted surge, I can see sand grains shifting on the bottom.Related: Signal crayfish – invader, cannibal, survivorContinue reading...
  
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• Will wildcat lynx be reintroduced to the UK?

  17-07-2017 06:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The wildcat could be reintroduced into the UK for the first time in 1,300 years.
  
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