Environment news

• Coral Reefs in the Gulf of Aqaba May Survive Global Warming, New Study Finds

  21-07-2017 23:30 via feedproxy.google.com
  Coral reefs in the Red Sea’s Gulf of Aqaba can resist rising water temperatures. If they survive local pollution, these corals may one day be used to re-seed parts of the world where reefs are dying. The scientists urge governments to protect the Gulf of Aqaba Reefs.Coral reefs are dying on a massive scale around the world, and global warming is driving this extinction. The planet’s largest reef, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, is currently experiencing enormous coral bleaching
  
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• Rare discovery of three new toad species in Nevada's Great Basin by College of Science

  21-07-2017 23:07 via feedproxy.google.com
  Three new species of toads have been discovered living in Nevada's Great Basin in an expansive survey of the 190,000 square mile ancient lake bottom. Discoveries of new amphibians are extremely rare in the United States with only three new frog species discovered since 1985 - and toad species are even more rare, with the last species discovered north of Mexico, the now extinct Wyoming toad, in 1968."We've found the toads in small, wet habitats surrounded by high-desert completely cut off from ot
  
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• Shifting storms to bring extreme waves, damage to once placid areas

  21-07-2017 22:49 via feedproxy.google.com
  The world’s most extensive study of a major storm front striking the coast has revealed a previously unrecognised danger from climate change: as storm patterns fluctuate, waterfront areas once thought safe are likely to be hammered and damaged as never before.The study, led by engineers at University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, was published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Scientific Reports.
  
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• GOES Satellite Sees Tropical Depression 09E Form

  21-07-2017 22:25 via feedproxy.google.com
  The Eastern Pacific Ocean has been recently generating a lot of tropical cyclones. Tropical Depression 09E just formed off the southern coast of Mexico and was captured in imagery from NOAA’s GOES-East satellite.Tropical Storm Fernanda has moved into the Central Pacific Ocean, while Tropical Storm Greg, which just absorbed the remnants of Tropical Depression 8E continues to strengthen in the Eastern Pacific.
  
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• NASA Notes 9th Northwestern Pacific Tropical Cyclone

  21-07-2017 22:18 via feedproxy.google.com
  The ninth tropical depression of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean has formed and developed into a tropical storm. Tropical Storm Kulap was spotted by NASA’s Terra satellite far to the west of Midway Island.
  
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• Rush Hour Pollution May Be More Dangerous Than You Think

  21-07-2017 21:51 via feedproxy.google.com
  The first in-car measurements of exposure to pollutants that cause oxidative stress during rush hour commutes has turned up potentially alarming results. The levels of some forms of harmful particulate matter inside car cabins was found to be twice as high as previously believed.Most traffic pollution sensors are placed on the ground alongside the road and take continuous samples for a 24-hour period. Exhaust composition, however, changes rapidly enough for drivers to experience different condit
  
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• Ultrathin device harvests electricity from human motion

  21-07-2017 21:36 via feedproxy.google.com
  Imagine slipping into a jacket, shirt or skirt that powers your cell phone, fitness tracker and other personal electronic devices as you walk, wave and even when you are sitting down.A new, ultrathin energy harvesting system developed at Vanderbilt University’s Nanomaterials and Energy Devices Laboratory has the potential to do just that. Based on battery technology and made from layers of black phosphorus that are only a few atoms thick, the new device generates small amounts of
  
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• Link identified between continental breakup, volcanic carbon emissions and evolution

  21-07-2017 21:32 via feedproxy.google.com
  Researchers have found that the formation and breakup of supercontinents over hundreds of millions of years controls volcanic carbon emissions. The results, reported in the journal Science, could lead to a reinterpretation of how the carbon cycle has evolved over Earth’s history, and how this has impacted the evolution of Earth’s habitability. 
  
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• Norfolk playing catch-up in the anti-littering stakes | Brief letters

  21-07-2017 19:10 via theguardian.com
  First-class degrees | Female saints | Rambutan | Tennis and nationality | Sheep v giant hogweed | LitterGosh! How clever we have all become. Fifty years ago, only the top 2% of the population went to university and about 10% of them got firsts, so 0.2% of the population. Now, 30% go to uni, and 25% of them get firsts (Number of UK degree students receiving firsts soars, theguardian.com, 20 July), making 7.5% of the population. The universities say there is no grade inflation so we must be more t
  
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• Mega farms, palm oil and plastic pollution – green news roundup

  21-07-2017 18:04 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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• Sparkling springs aid quest for underground heat

  21-07-2017 17:11 via feedproxy.google.com
  Analysis of natural sparkling mineral water has given scientists valuable clues on how to locate hot water springs.
  
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• Scientists Uncover Biogeochemical Controls on Occurrence and Distribution of PACs in Coals

  21-07-2017 16:56 via feedproxy.google.com
  The organic matter in coal contains polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) of varying quantities in diverse soluble and insoluble forms. PACs in coal are of special interest for organic geochemical studies as they have been successfully used as biological marker compounds (biomarkers) and indicators of thermal maturity.However, challenges exist when applying PACs in understanding the organic geochemistry of coal. For example, what are the sources of PACs in coals? How do they transform d
  
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• Michael Gove’s green dream: like Brexit, the reality awaits

  21-07-2017 16:39 via theguardian.com
  Gove’s vision for the environment is undoubtedly ambitious but it is at odds with much government action – making it real will be a gargantuan taskWho knew? Environment secretary Michael Gove, arch Brexiter and seen just months ago grinning and thumbs up in eco-villain Donald Trump’s lair, turns out to be – in words, at least – a deep green.
  His first major speech railed against “corporate greed and devil-take-the-hindmost individualism”, “extracti
  
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• Mountain glaciers recharge vital aquifers

  21-07-2017 16:03 via feedproxy.google.com
  Small mountain glaciers play a big role in recharging vital aquifers and in keeping rivers flowing during the winter, according to a new study published in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.The study also suggests that the accelerated melting of mountain glaciers in recent decades may explain a phenomenon that has long puzzled scientists — why Arctic and sub-Arctic rivers have increased their water flow during the winter even without a correlative in
  
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• Power shift: University of Toronto researcher applies AI to monitor city's electrical grid

  21-07-2017 15:12 via feedproxy.google.com
  From indoor lighting to outdoor street lamps, our world is made brighter by artificial light. But the light that we perceive to be constant, actually fluctuates.A University of Toronto computer scientist and researchers from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology are studying electrical grids for cities, creating a camera that records the city's lights at a slower speed to get more accurate readings of changing voltages at particular locations.
  
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• Experimental model predicted tornado's path hours, not minutes, before it formed

  21-07-2017 15:12 via feedproxy.google.com
  As severe weather brewed in the Texas panhandle late in the afternoon of May 16,  NOAA National Weather Service forecasters alerted residents in parts of western Oklahoma about the potential for large hail and damaging tornadoes that evening, particularly in the area around Elk City.Ninety minutes later, a dangerous, rain-wrapped EF-2 tornado struck the small town: It killed one, injured eight, and destroyed about 200 homes and more than 30 businesses.
  
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• Monsoon Storms Fewer but More Extreme

  21-07-2017 15:11 via feedproxy.google.com
  Monsoon season now brings more extreme wind and rain to central and southwestern Arizona than in the past, according to new research led by the University of Arizona.Although there are now fewer storms, the largest monsoon thunderstorms bring heavier rain and stronger winds than did the monsoon storms of 60 years ago, the scientists report.
  
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• Pepsico, Unilever and Nestlé accused of complicity in illegal rainforest destruction

  21-07-2017 15:07 via theguardian.com
  Palm oil plantations on illegally deforested land in Sumatra – home to elephants, orangutans and tigers – have allegedly been used to supply scores of household brands, says new reportPepsico, Unilever and Nestlé have been accused of complicity in the destruction of Sumatra’s last tract of rainforest shared by elephants, orangutans, rhinos, and tigers together in one ecosystem.Plantations built on deforested land have allegedly been used to supply palm oil to scores of h
  
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• Cross-party group of MPs call on Gove to adopt clean air bill

  21-07-2017 14:18 via theguardian.com
  Sixty-five MPs have written to the environment secretary urging him to include the measures in his new strategy to tackle the air pollution crisisA cross party group of MPs is calling on Michael Gove to adopt a clean air bill in his new strategy to tackle the crisis of air pollution in the UK.Sixty five MPs have written to the environment secretary as he prepares to address the most pressing issue in his intray – a demand by judges for a new air quality strategy by 31 July to cut illegal l
  
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• Naomi Klein: how power profits from disaster – podcast

  21-07-2017 13:00 via theguardian.com
  After a crisis, private contractors move in and suck up funding for work done badly, if at all – then those billions get cut from government budgets. Like Grenfell Tower, Hurricane Katrina revealed a disdain for the poor• Read the text version hereSubscribe via Audioboom, iTunes, Soundcloud, Mixcloud, Acast & Sticher and join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter Continue reading...
  
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• It’s fish and chips night – but can we eat cod with a clear conscience? | Callum Roberts

  21-07-2017 12:23 via theguardian.com
  
  While we can celebrate the North Sea cod’s revival we can only achieve sustainability with fishing methods that are less destructive to the ecosystem• Callum Roberts is professor of marine conservation at the University of YorkNews that North Sea cod has made a comeback has been welcomed by fishermen, environmentalists and fish and chip lovers. After decades of overfishing, cod reached its nadir in 2006. By then, stocks were less than a fifth of levels seen in the early 1970s, and onl
  
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• Michael Gove 'deeply regrets' Trump's approach to Paris climate agreement

  21-07-2017 11:51 via theguardian.com
  
  In first speech since cabinet return, environment secretary says he hopes US president will have a change of heartMichael Gove has said he “deeply regrets” Donald Trump’s approach to the Paris agreement on climate change and hopes the president will have a change of heart, in his first speech since returning to the cabinet.The environment secretary said international cooperation was crucial to resolve the problem of climate change and that the “world’s second bigges
  
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• Farm subsidies 'must be earned' - Michael Gove

  21-07-2017 11:41 via bbc.co.uk
  Environment Secretary Michael Gove plans to pay farmers for protecting the environment and creating rural jobs.
  
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• Undercover police target London drivers who pass too close to cyclists

  21-07-2017 11:11 via theguardian.com
  
  Drivers who fail to give cyclists enough space when overtaking will be pulled over, and officers will explain how to overtake cyclists safelyLondon’s police force has launched a new initiative to tackle drivers who pass cyclists too closely, using plain clothes officers.From Friday, the Space for Cyclists initiative will be carried out by UK’s only cycle-mounted police command, the Met’s cycle safety team, after months spent adapting the tactic for London’s roads from a W
  
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• Growth and Form by D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson review – centenary of a Darwin-challenging classic

  21-07-2017 09:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Honeycombs, snail shells, a tiger’s stripes … The celebrated study of how physical forces and mathematical laws affect natural selection has just been reissuedAsked to name the most significant book about biology ever written in English, most biologists would opt for Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. How about the second most significant book? After 1917, when it was published, the answer would unhesitatingly have been D’Arcy Thompson’s On Growth and Form.
  
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• Farm subsidies 'must be earned' - Gove

  21-07-2017 07:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Environment Secretary Michael Gove plans to pay farmers for protecting the environment and creating rural jobs.
  
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• Organic forces take over Brontë's land of secrets

  21-07-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  North Lees, Derbyshire The site of the old smelting works felt wholly reclaimed, and as the rain ended the air filled with insects and soon after wrensThe rain started as I crossed the pasture above North Lees Hall, the model, it is widely accepted, for Thornfield Hall in Charlotte Brontë’s novel Jane Eyre. It’s a house the author visited more than once, staying with her friend Ellen Nussey in nearby Hathersage, and the intertwining of the names – thorn being an anagram of
  
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• Australia's marine parks face cuts to protected areas

  21-07-2017 06:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Big reductions in no-take marine protected areas are being considered, going beyond those recommended by an earlier federal government review Australia’s marine protected areas look set to be slashed by the federal government – plans have been announced for cuts that go beyond those recommended by a review commissioned by the previous Abbott government.Draft management plans released by the Director of National Parks on Friday propose that large areas of Queensland’s Coral Sea,
  
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• Moon dust bag sold for $1.8m at New York auction

  21-07-2017 00:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The bag was used by astronaut Neil Armstrong to collect the first ever samples of the Moon in 1969.
  
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