Environment news

• Study negates concerns regarding radioactivity in migratory seafood

  30-08-2017 23:23 via feedproxy.google.com
  When the Fukushima power plant released large quantities of radioactive materials into nearby coastal waters following Japan’s massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami, it raised concerns as to whether eating contaminated seafood might impair human health—not just locally but across the Pacific.A new study by an international research team shows that those concerns can now be laid to rest, at least for consumption of meat from migratory marine predators such as tuna, swordfish, and sharks
  
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• First cancer 'living drug' gets go-ahead

  30-08-2017 20:47 via bbc.co.uk
  US authorities approve a treatment which re-designs a patient's own immune system to attack cancer.
  
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• Brazilian court blocks abolition of vast Amazon reserve

  30-08-2017 20:35 via theguardian.com
  Judge says president Michel Temer went beyond his authority in issuing decree to dissolve Renca, after fury from activistsA Brazilian court has blocked an attempt by the president, Michel Temer, to open up swaths of the Amazon forest to mining companies after an outcry by environmental campaigners and climate activists.The federal judge Rolando Valcir Spanholo said the president went beyond his authority in issuing a decree to abolish Renca, an area of 46,000 sq km (17,760 sq miles) that has bee
  
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• Volcanic eruptions triggered global warming 56m years ago, study reveals

  30-08-2017 20:34 via theguardian.com
  Scientists say one of the most rapid periods of warming in Earth’s history was due to gradual release of CO2, warning current levels of emissions were even higher A dramatic period of global warming 56 million years ago that saw temperatures climb by up to five degrees and triggered extinctions of marine organisms was down to volcanic eruptions, researchers have revealed, in a study they say offers insights into the scale and possible impact of global warming today.One of the most rapid pe
  
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• Another 1,000 badgers to be killed in Somerset and Gloucestershire

  30-08-2017 20:27 via theguardian.com
  Critics say authorisation of supplementary culls shows the programme, which began four years ago, is not workingAnother 1,000 badgers are set to be killed this autumn and winter in the two UK counties where the controversial cull began four years ago. Natural England confirmed on Wednesday that supplementary culls had been authorised in Gloucestershire and Somerset.Continue reading...
  
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• Why less coverage of floods in South Asia? | Letters

  30-08-2017 20:01 via theguardian.com
  Are American lives simply worth more, wonder Lynne Edwards, Peter Williams, and Susan Howe. Plus letters from Bob Pike and Sheila RigbyWhile I have the greatest sympathy for those who have lost friends, family, pets or property in the Texas floods (Report, 30 August), I am disgusted at the relative number of column inches and amounts of airtime devoted to its coverage. During precisely the same period huge areas of Bangladesh, Nepal and India are suffering an even greater catastrophe, with 1,200
  
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• States powering ahead on climate targets despite federal inaction, report shows

  30-08-2017 20:00 via theguardian.com
  After being criticised by Canberra, South Australia is leading the race, with ACT and Tasmania close behind, says Climate CouncilAustralian states and territories are powering ahead, developing policies that will meet the federal government’s internationally agreed greenhouse gas emission targets, with South Australia, the ACT and Tasmania leading the race.Despite being chastised by the federal government for unilateral action, South Australia is leading the race, with the ACT and Tasmania
  
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• In an era of unwelcome climate records Hurricane Harvey won't be the last

  30-08-2017 19:08 via theguardian.com
  From the US to India and China, human impact on the climate is likely to have made droughts and storms more severe – and the trend is only set to continueThe 17tn US gallons of rain (roughly 26m Olympic swimming pools) dumped on Texas by Hurricane Harvey has set a new high for a tropical system in the US, but it is unlikely to last long as rising man-made emissions push the global climate deeper into uncharted territory.Images of flooded streets in Texas are mirrored by scenes of inundated
  
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• Brazil court blocks Amazon mining decree

  30-08-2017 19:06 via bbc.co.uk
  The order prevents the government from exploiting a protected area bigger than Denmark.
  
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• Researchers tackle methane emissions with gas-guzzling bacteria

  30-08-2017 18:54 via feedproxy.google.com
  An international research team co-led by a Monash biologist has shown that methane-oxidising bacteria – key organisms responsible for greenhouse gas mitigation – are more flexible and resilient than previously thought.Soil bacteria that oxidise methane (methanotrophs) are globally important in capturing methane before it enters the atmosphere, and we now know that they can consume hydrogen gas to enhance their growth and survival.
  
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• Researchers Raise Public Health Concerns About Off-Road Vehicles and Inhalation of Asbestos

  30-08-2017 18:46 via feedproxy.google.com
  Preventing injuries may not be the only reason children shouldn’t use off-road vehicles (ORVs).In a new study, public health scientists raise concerns that people who use ORVs in many regions of the country may face exposure to hazardous mineral fibers. These include naturally occurring asbestos and erionite – an asbestos-like material that occurs in sedimentary rocks of the western United States.Most of the deposits are located along the Appalachian Mountains and ranges in the West
  
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• ‘It's very, very, very unsanitary’: Texas shelter is flooded – video

  30-08-2017 18:43 via theguardian.com
  Beulah Johnson, an evacuee, films the inside of a shelter in Texas that has been overwhelmed by water in the wake of tropical storm Harvey, forcing about 100 weary people to retreat to bleacher seats with their belongings. Marcus McLellan of Jefferson County sheriff’s office said on Wednesday that the Bowers Civic Center in Port Arthur had been inundated overnight, owing to rainfall and an overflowing canal nearbyTropical storm Harvey – live updates
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• ‘It's very, very, very unsanitary’: Houston shelter is flooded – video

  30-08-2017 18:43 via theguardian.com
  Beulah Johnson, an evacuee, films the inside of a shelter in Houston that has been overwhelmed by water in the wake of tropical storm Harvey, forcing about 100 weary people to retreat to bleacher seats with their belongings. Marcus McLellan of Jefferson County sheriff’s office said on Wednesday that the Bowers Civic Center in Port Arthur had been inundated overnight, owing to rainfall and an overflowing canal nearbyTropical storm Harvey – live updates
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• Javid 'misunderstood planning policies' in approving fracking site, court hears

  30-08-2017 15:55 via theguardian.com
  Campaigners urge court of appeal to overturn communities secretary’s decision to allow Cuadrilla to drill in Lancashire The communities secretary, Sajid Javid, “misunderstood key local and national planning policies” when he gave the green light to fracking in Lancashire, campaigners have told the court of appeal.Leading judges were urged on Wednesday to overturn a government decision to approve a fracking site at Preston New Road in Lancashire. Continue reading...
  
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• The science behind Houston’s fire ant flotillas – video

  30-08-2017 13:44 via theguardian.com
  Houston has experienced an unexpected side-effect of the floods that have hit the Texan city – floating islands made up of thousands of venomous fire ants. The naturally aggressive ants are able to survive the rising water by forming rafts with their own bodies, and can survive for weeks before breaking up
  Flotillas of fire ants add new layer of horror to post-Harvey flood havoc
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• How Houston's fire ants are forming rafts to escape the flooding – video

  30-08-2017 13:44 via theguardian.com
  Houston has experienced an unexpected side-effect of the floods that have hit the Texan city – floating islands made up of thousands of venomous fire ants. The naturally aggressive ants are able to survive the rising water by forming rafts with their own bodies, and can survive for weeks before breaking upFlotillas of fire ants add new layer of horror to post-Harvey flood havoc Continue reading...
  
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• Third WWII bomb found in Bristol channel near Hinkley Point

  30-08-2017 13:37 via theguardian.com
  Half-mile exclusion zone set up near nuclear plants after third unexploded device discovered in as many weeksA half-mile (1km) exclusion zone has been set up in the Bristol channel near the Hinkley Point nuclear power stations after a third unexploded second world war bomb was discovered in as many weeks.Bomb disposal experts will carry out a controlled explosion on the 250lb (113kg) ordnance on Wednesday, two miles north-west of the power plants.Continue reading...
  
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• Floods paralyse Mumbai as India and region are hit by heaviest rains in years

  30-08-2017 11:44 via theguardian.com
  More than 1,200 people have been killed in India, Nepal and Bangladesh and millions forced from their homes Heavy monsoon rains have brought Mumbai to a halt for a second day as the worst floods to strike south Asia in years continued to exact a deadly toll. More than 1,200 people have died across India, Bangladesh and Nepal as a result of flooding. At least six people, including two toddlers, were among the victims in and around India’s financial capital.Continue reading...
  
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• 大象2.0：留住珍贵的象群集体记忆

  30-08-2017 11:00 via theguardian.com
  每头大象都是巨大的象群数据库和信息网络的一个神秘入口，让我们守护这份自然的奇迹。Elephant 2.0. - nature’s invisible information architecture
  大象有着一 副如此悲伤的面孔，&
  
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• Conservative groups shrug off link between tropical storm Harvey and climate change

  30-08-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Myron Ebell, who headed the EPA’s transition team when Trump became president, said the last decade has been a period of ‘low hurricane activity’Conservative groups with close links to the Trump administration have sought to ridicule the link between climate change and events such as tropical storm Harvey, amid warnings from scientists that storms are being exacerbated by warming temperatures.Harvey, which smashed into the Texas coast on Friday, rapidly developed into a Categor
  
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• Coalition's Finkel response won't rule out new coal power stations, PM says

  30-08-2017 08:50 via theguardian.com
  After meeting with energy chiefs, Malcolm Turnbull says the Coalition will not set a clean energy target to exclude coalMalcolm Turnbull has signalled the government’s eventual response to the Finkel review will not create any barriers to building new coal-fired power stations, as he secured additional undertakings from energy retailers to be more transparent with customers.
  After a meeting with energy retailers in Sydney on Wednesday, the prime minister was asked whether a clean energy ta
  
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• Mumbai paralysed by floods as India and region hit by heaviest monsoon rains in years

  30-08-2017 08:26 via theguardian.com
  More than 1,000 people killed in India, Nepal and Bangladesh in recent weeks and millions forced from their homes Heavy monsoon rains have brought India’s financial capital to a halt, with authorities struggling to evacuate people with the scheduled high tide adding to the chaos.Incessant rain flooded several parts of Mumbai on Tuesday and paralysed train services used by millions of commuters daily, with many stranded at stations and hundreds of others walking home through waist-deep wate
  
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• Cassini hints at young age for Saturn's rings

  30-08-2017 07:27 via bbc.co.uk
  New data gathered by the Cassini probe suggests Saturn's icy bands formed relatively recently.
  
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• New energy in a land of clay, tin and ancient trails

  30-08-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  St Dennis, Cornwall From the moss-coated fort, spoil heaps dominate the view but close by sits the waste energy plant and a bog has become a nature reserveFrom the ancient vantage point of Carne Hill, china-clay works dominate the landscape with vegetated spoil heaps, older conical tips and the whiteness of an open-cast pit at Fraddon. The curved roofs and twin stacks of the Cornwall Energy Recovery Centre are close by, and lower down, to the north, rows of pylons slung with cables stretch along
  
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• churchyard encircled by sycamore and oak country diary

  30-08-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  St Dennis, Cornwall From the moss-coated fort, spoil heaps dominate the view but close by sits the waste energy plant and a bog has become a nature reserveFrom the ancient vantage point of Carne Hill, china-clay works dominate the landscape with vegetated spoil heaps, older conical tips and the whiteness of an open-cast pit at Fraddon. The curved roofs and twin stacks of the Cornwall Energy Recovery Centre are close by, and lower down, to the north, rows of pylons slung with cables stretch along
  
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• Flotillas of fire ants add new layer of horror to post-Harvey flood havoc

  30-08-2017 06:18 via theguardian.com
  Images of ants swarming together in ‘rafts’ and riding on top of floodwaters alarm TexansThere is a new threat to the millions of people in Texas affected by ex-hurricane Harvey: large “rafts” of fire ants that have been spotted floating in floodwaters. Displaced by record flooding, the insects have responded by creating rafts built on top of dead ants to stay on the top of water and keep dry.Continue reading...
  
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• Tourists doubting value of trip to Great Barrier Reef, dive operator tells inquiry

  30-08-2017 01:09 via theguardian.com
  ‘Last-chance tourism’ spurs on other visitors but there has been lull in bookings after coral bleaching, senators toldOverseas tourists have begun to doubt the value of a trip to the ailing Great Barrier Reef and it is getting increasingly difficult to “show people what they expect to see”, a dive operator has told a federal Senate inquiry.A Port Douglas operator, John Edmondson, said “last-chance tourism” was spurring on other visitors but there had been a &l
  
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