Environment news

• Australia is Building a 1,250-Mile Highway for Electric Vehicles

  27-07-2017 23:54 via feedproxy.google.com
  Australia will install 18 electric vehicle fast-charging stations along a nearly 1,250-mile stretch of coastal highway in Queensland, creating one of the world’s longest EV roadways, Reuters reported. The network, which will cost $3 million to build and open within six months, will stretch from Cairns to Coolangatta and west to Toowoomba, running parallel to the Great Barrier Reef. The charging stations will power a vehicle in 30 minutes. Drivers will be able to charge their vehi
  
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• NASA-NOAA Satellite Spots Tropical Storm Nesat Being Sheared

  27-07-2017 23:45 via feedproxy.google.com
  NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured an image of Tropical Storm Nesat being affected by vertical wind shear as it parallels the east coast of the Philippines.On July 27, 2017 at 12:24 a.m. EDT (0424 UTC) the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite provided a visible-light image of Tropical Storm Nesat as it continued moving north in the Philippine Sea. The VIIRS image showed thunderstorms circling the low-level center and a band of
  
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• Projected Precipitation Increases Are Bad News for Water Quality

  27-07-2017 23:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  If climate change is not curbed, increased precipitation could substantially overload U.S. waterways with excess nitrogen, according to a new study from Carnegie’s Eva Sinha and Anna Michalak and Princeton University’s Venkatramani Balaji published by Science. Excess nutrient pollution increases the likelihood of events that severely impair water quality. The study found that impacts will be especially strong in the Midwest and Northeast.
  
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• Signal may be from first 'exomoon'

  27-07-2017 21:30 via bbc.co.uk
  Astronomers have discovered an object that could be the first known moon located beyond the Solar System.
  
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• Switch to electric vehicles will not be enough to give us clean air | Letters

  27-07-2017 19:35 via theguardian.com
  Readers respond to Britain’s latest clean air plan and the ban on all new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2040So, the government is committed to banning all diesel and petrol cars by 2040 (Report, 26 July). Has it considered the wider impacts?Power stations will face huge peak-time demand when drivers charge vehicles overnight. Can they cope? Will we face increased electricity charges? Continue reading...
  
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• Researchers develop model to predict and prevent power outages using big data

  27-07-2017 18:29 via feedproxy.google.com
  High-speed winds during a thunderstorm may cause trees around an electric grid to crash into the distribution system feeders causing an outage in that area. Currently, most utility companies diminish such accidents by scheduling regular tree-trimming operations. This effort is costly and is based on a rotational approach to different service areas, which may take months and sometimes years before all trees are trimmed.
  
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• Preterm Birth & Low Birth Weight Linked to Air Pollution Exposure Early in Pregnancy, Study Finds

  27-07-2017 18:25 via feedproxy.google.com
  Exposure to air pollution early in a pregnancy could increase risk for preterm birth and low birth weight, according to a study led by researchers at NYU School of Medicine, and published on July 27 in Environmental Health Perspectives.
  
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• Food banks respond to hunger needs in rural America

  27-07-2017 18:18 via feedproxy.google.com
  Many images of rural America are food-related—a freshly-baked apple pie cooling on the windowsill, a roadside produce stand brimming with sweet corn and tomatoes, or a Norman Rockwell print showing a family sitting down to dinner. But the reality is that many people in rural America face hunger and don’t always know where their next meal is coming from.
  
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• Glowing Tumor Technology Helps Surgeons Remove Hidden Cancer Cells

  27-07-2017 18:15 via feedproxy.google.com
  Surgeons were able to identify and remove a greater number of cancerous nodules from lung cancer patients when combining intraoperative molecular imaging (IMI) – through the use of a contrast agent that makes tumor cells glow during surgery – with preoperative positron emission tomography (PET) scans. The study from the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania (ACC) is the first to show how effective the combination of IMI with the tumor-glowing agent can be
  
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• Fracking drilling rig smuggled on site overnight to avoid protests

  27-07-2017 18:14 via theguardian.com
  Cuadrilla faces action for breaching planning permission after delivery to site near BlackpoolA company preparing to be the first to start large-scale UK fracking has breached its planning permission by delivering a drilling rig overnight, prompting the local authority to warn it is considering action against it.Cuadrilla said that around 30 trucks had made deliveries to its Preston New Road site near Blackpool at 4.45am on Thursday. It has permission to frack at the site later this year. Contin
  
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• Fracking drilling rig brought on site overnight 'to avoid protests'

  27-07-2017 18:14 via theguardian.com
  Cuadrilla faces action for breaching planning permission after delivery to site near BlackpoolA company preparing to be the first to start large-scale UK fracking has breached its planning permission by delivering a drilling rig overnight, prompting the local authority to warn it is considering action against it.Cuadrilla said that around 30 trucks had made deliveries to its Preston New Road site near Blackpool at 4.45am on Thursday. It has permission to frack at the site later this year. Contin
  
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• Biochar could clear the air in more ways than one

  27-07-2017 18:09 via feedproxy.google.com
  Biochar from recycled waste may both enhance crop growth and save health costs by helping clear the air of pollutants, according to Rice University researchers.
  
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• Galactic David and Goliath

  27-07-2017 18:06 via feedproxy.google.com
  The gravitational dance between two galaxies in our local neighbourhood has led to intriguing visual features in both as witnessed in this new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image. The tiny NGC 1510 and its colossal neighbour NGC 1512 are at the beginning of a lengthy merger, a crucial process in galaxy evolution. Despite its diminutive size, NGC 1510 has had a significant effect on NGC 1512’s structure and amount of star formation.
  
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• Climate change to push Ethiopian coffee farming uphill

  27-07-2017 18:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  Relocating coffee areas, along with forestation and forest conservation, to higher altitudes to cope with climate change could increase Ethiopia‘s coffee farming area fourfold, a study predicts.
  
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• 'There's no sport in that': trophy hunters and the masters of the universe

  27-07-2017 17:00 via theguardian.com
  Modern trophy hunters can shoot animals via the internet - but they argue that it is all conservation. The killing of Xanda - Cecil the Lion’s son - has sparked debate about what hunting really meansThey’re known as canned hunts; captive mammal hunting ranches in the US which offer the chance to shoot a zebra or antelope or even a lion for several thousand dollars. The animals are fenced in and often unafraid of humans so the kills are easy, to the extent that some venues even provid
  
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• At this rate the only whales left for us to wonder at will be in museums | Philip Hoare

  27-07-2017 16:49 via theguardian.com
  When great whales are dying in numbers not seen since hunting’s heyday, naming the Natural History Museum’s new exhibit Hope seems a forlorn gesture• Philip Hoare is an author and natural historianHope, the name given to the Natural History Museum’s newly articulated blue whale, diving over visitors in a sublime spectacle, is already starting to look like a forlorn gesture. Last week, shortly after the exquisitely beautiful specimen was unveiled with determined optimism by
  
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• Heavy metals in water meet their match

  27-07-2017 15:46 via feedproxy.google.com
  Carbon nanotubes immobilized in a tuft of quartz fiber have the power to remove toxic heavy metals from water, according to researchers at Rice University.Prize-winning filters produced in the lab of Rice chemist Andrew Barron by then-high school student and lead author Perry Alagappan absorb more than 99 percent of metals from samples laden with cadmium, cobalt, copper, mercury, nickel and lead. Once saturated, the filters can be washed with a mild household chemical like vinegar and
  
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• Scientists develop new supplement that can repair, rejuvenate muscles in older adults

  27-07-2017 15:28 via feedproxy.google.com
  Whey protein supplements aren’t just for gym buffs according to new research from McMaster University. When taken on a regular basis, a combination of these and other ingredients in a ready-to-drink formula have been found to greatly improve the physical strength of a growing cohort: senior citizens.The deterioration of muscle mass and strength that is a normal part of aging –known as sarcopenia—can increase the risk for falls, metabolic disorders and the need for assisted livi
  
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• Cave bacteria: A window to the past, even to distant worlds

  27-07-2017 15:27 via feedproxy.google.com
  Each time she looks through a microscope to better understand cave bacteria, Richenda McFarlane may also be staring at life that’s centuries old or perhaps even something from another planets.She’s getting to play researcher, time traveler and astronaut all at the same time.
  
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• Satellite Eye on Earth: June 2017 – in pictures

  27-07-2017 15:18 via theguardian.com
  Patagonia’s icefields, Australia’s changing tides, and volcanic activity in Alaska are among the images captured by Nasa and the ESA this month Alaska’s remote Bogoslof Island volcano erupted in a series of explosions starting in December 2016, triggering the highest aviation alert as it shot ash plumes at least 35,000ft into the atmosphere. By monitoring the volcano via satellite and seismologic data, scientists can provide a warning of when further eruptions could pose a risk
  
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• England and Wales record warmest winter since 1910

  27-07-2017 14:44 via theguardian.com
  Met Office figures for 2016 also show long-term decrease in amount of frost, while last winter was the second wettest on record across the countryThe winter of 2016 was the warmest for England and Wales in records that stretch back to 1910, the Met Office’s annual State of the UK Climate report revealed on Thursday.The average temperature from December 2015 to February 2016 was more than 2C above the long-term average across the southern half of the UK. The report also found that, over the
  
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• England records its hottest ever decade

  27-07-2017 13:34 via theguardian.com
  World’s longest-running temperature series, based in central England, shows the last 10 years were the hottest since records began 350 years ago The world’s longest-running temperature series, based in England, has revealed that the last decade was the hottest ever recorded in its 350 year history.
  The data, released by the Met Office on Thursday, covers the area stretching between Lancashire, London and Bristol. Climate change driven by carbon emissions from human activities is driv
  
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• A profile of award-winning climate scientist Kevin Trenberth | John Abraham

  27-07-2017 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Kevin Trenberth - recent award winner - is one of the world’s foremost climate scientists
  The American Geophysical Union - the pre-eminent organization of Earth scientists - presents annual awards to celebrate the achievements of scientists. The awards, which are often named after famous historical scientists, reflect the contributions to science in the area of the award namesake. With the 2017 award winners just announced, it’s appropriate to showcase one of the winners here.The 201
  
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• Lapland zoo polar bears enjoy snow gift

  27-07-2017 09:11 via bbc.co.uk
  Christmas has come early for Lapland zoo polar bears with snow in July.
  
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• Top tips for RideLondon, the capital's cycling marathon

  27-07-2017 08:10 via theguardian.com
  Here’s how to prepare for the 100-mile cycling event ...Shortly before 6am on Sunday, the first of about 25,000 intrepid cyclists will set off from the Olympic Park in east London on a 100-mile trip through the capital and into the hills of Surrey, finishing on the Mall.It is the fifth year of an event which has so far lived up to its billing of a London marathon for two wheels, part of a wider and much-enjoyed weekend of cycling activities in the capital, which has now spawned similar eve
  
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• Queensland to build one of the world's longest electric vehicle highways

  27-07-2017 07:48 via theguardian.com
  The route, which will span 2,000km from Cairns to Coolangatta and west to Toowoomba, within six months will offer drivers 18 free recharging stations Queensland will have a 2,000km network of electric vehicle charging stations that make up one of the world’s longest electric vehicle highways within six months.The state government announced on Thursday it would build an 18-station network stretching along Queensland’s east coast from Cairns to Coolangatta and west to Toowoomba. Contin
  
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• Where global warming gets real: inside Nasa’s mission to the north pole

  27-07-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  For 10 years, Nasa has been flying over the ice caps to chart their retreat. This data is an invaluable record of climate change. But does anyone care? By Avi SteinbergFrom the window of a Nasa aircraft flying over the Arctic, looking down on the ice sheet that covers most of Greenland, it’s easy to see why it is so hard to describe climate change. The scale of polar ice, so dramatic and so clear from a plane flying at 450 metres (1,500ft) – high enough to appreciate the scope of the
  
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• Watching ice melt: inside Nasa’s mission to the north pole

  27-07-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  For 10 years, Nasa has been flying over the ice caps to chart their retreat. This data is an invaluable record of climate change. But does anyone care? By Avi SteinbergFrom the window of a Nasa aircraft flying over the Arctic, looking down on the ice sheet that covers most of Greenland, it’s easy to see why it is so hard to describe climate change. The scale of polar ice, so dramatic and so clear from a plane flying at 450 metres (1,500ft) – high enough to appreciate the scope of the
  
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• A beast of an airship follows us down to the pub

  27-07-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Sandy, Bedfordshire The Airlander 10 is a 92-metre hybrid airship-plane, full of helium and personalityHalf an hour after appearing high over our washing line a giant followed us down to the pub. The church bells next door rang eight, the air was mosquito-still and then an all-consuming bass rumble filled the sky. A puffed up grey cloud three times the length of a blue whale came overhead. People sitting at the neighbouring table glanced up, then went back to their drinks. Continue reading...
  
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• Renewables to replace gas as SA's main electricity source within a decade

  27-07-2017 03:11 via theguardian.com
  Assuming renewables projects proceed, 67% of state’s capacity will be provided by renewable generation by 2025, analysts sayRenewables and battery storage will replace gas as South Australia’s main source of electricity within eight years, according to industry analysts.The state’s energy transition could be a “leading case study on managing a power system in transition for other mature markets to follow”, says a report by Wood Mackenzie.Continue reading...
  
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• Gas to be replaced as South Australia's main electricity source within decade, analysts say

  27-07-2017 03:11 via theguardian.com
  Assuming renewables projects proceed, 67% of state’s capacity will be provided by renewable generation by 2025Renewables and battery storage will replace gas as South Australia’s main source of electricity within eight years, according to industry analysts.The state’s energy transition could be a “leading case study on managing a power system in transition for other mature markets to follow”, says a report by Wood Mackenzie.Continue reading...
  
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