Environment news

• 100 years ago: woolly bear caterpillars obey the law

  03-09-2017 23:30 via theguardian.com
  Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 4 September 1917September 3
  “Woolly bears,” in a fearful hurry, race across the road; they look as if they meant business or feared the wheel of passing vehicle or heedless boot. But the caterpillar knows nothing of danger, but merely acts as heredity has taught it; it must obey laws or go under in the struggle. Most insects need a wide distribution, for too restricted a feeding area may bring famine or degeneration; in one or other
  
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• Greens warn Labor not to do clean energy deal that protects coal power

  03-09-2017 20:00 via theguardian.com
  Opposition told to be wary of doing a Finkel review deal with the Coalition that would prolong the life of coal plantsThe Greens are attempting to warn Labor off doing a deal with the Turnbull government on a new clean energy target, saying a Finkel handshake could trigger a “valley of death” for short-term investment in renewables, and lock in coal, rather than stranding it.With parliament due to resume on Monday, and with the Turnbull government inching closer to finally resolving
  
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• Freedom for Miss Simpson, the penguin found 2,000km from home

  03-09-2017 20:00 via theguardian.com
  A Snares penguin from islands south of New Zealand is found wounded on a Tasmanian beach. Nine months’ nursing later, she tastes the open sea againJust before dawn on a still morning in autumn a crowd of people gathers on a beach in southern Tasmania. They watch in tense silence as a small animal shuffles across the sand. This animal, a penguin, has been the focus of nine months of care, liaison and cooperation to get to this moment – she is being released and sent back out into her
  
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• Pollution levels in Bolivia plummet on nationwide car-free day

  03-09-2017 19:06 via theguardian.com
  Country wants to reclaim physical activity in age when young people are focused on computers, says government spokeswomanAir pollution levels have plunged in cities across Bolivia as the country marked a nationwide car-free day in which all non-emergency vehicles were banned from city streets.As Bolivia’s middle-class population has increased over the past 10 years so has the number of cars clogging city streets. The car-free event started 18 years ago in Cochabamba, one of Latin America&r
  
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• A two-headed turtle and Andrew Flintoff as Elvis: today's unmissable photos

  03-09-2017 14:27 via theguardian.com
  A selection of the day’s best images including wildfires in California and a marathon in a Norwegian national park Continue reading...
  
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• ISS crew return to Earth

  03-09-2017 10:38 via bbc.co.uk
  The three-person crew of Peggy Whitson, Jack Fischer and Fyodor Yurchikhin have landed safely in Kazakhstan.
  
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• Why birds have the edge over GPS navigation | Daniel Glaser

  03-09-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  How birds’ sight and sense of smell make their internal compass more accurate than technologyBy now most of us will have completed our annual migration. Unlike the birds, our ability to get there usually relies on a variety of navigational aids, often on our mobile phones.In both birds and phones, tiny accelerometers measure small movements and rotations to keep them orientated. They both use magnetometers to sense the earth’s magnetic field, but the birds have an additional trick &n
  
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• The eco guide to ocean waste

  03-09-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Plastic pollution in our seas is depressing – but there are imaginative moves afoot to address the problemI’ve been sceptical about the power of running shoes to affect global change. So naturally I had it in for UltraBoost Uncaged Parley, Adidas trainers that claim to make peace with the ocean. The shoe’s upper is created from plastic waste retrieved from a clean-up operation in the Maldives, and recycled polyester. But Adidas has committed to producing a million pairs of thes
  
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• Details of royalty deal for mega mine are still being negotiated with Adani, says Queensland

  03-09-2017 00:30 via theguardian.com
  Palaszczuk government and mining giant apparently at odds as Adani says ‘there are no ongoing negotiations’ on Carmichael schemeQueensland’s government says it is still negotiating with Adani over the details of its royalties agreement for its $16.5bn Carmichael mine, despite the deal being officially agreed months ago.Adani announced in May it had reached agreement with the government over royalty payments, after a more generous offer of concessions was scrapped amid internal
  
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