Environment news

• NASA Sees Development of Tropical Storm Jose

  05-09-2017 22:48 via feedproxy.google.com
  As Tropical Storm Jose was forming in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean, NASA's Aqua satellite analyzed its cloud top temperatures.The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Tropical Storm Jose as it was consolidating. AIRS analyzed the storm in infrared light providing scientists with temperature data and that's important when trying to understand how strong storms can be. The higher the cloud tops, the colder and the stronger they are. So infrared lig
  
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• Engineers develop tools to share power from renewable energy sources during outages

  05-09-2017 22:42 via feedproxy.google.com
  If you think you can use the solar panels on your roof to power your home during an outage, think again. During an outage, while your home remains connected to the grid, the devices that manage your solar panels are powered down for safety reasons. In other words, this permanent connection to the grid makes it impossible for homeowners to draw on power generated by their own renewable energy resources.
  
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• Longer, stronger summers in the Gulf of Maine

  05-09-2017 22:34 via feedproxy.google.com
  Summer is coming to the Gulf of Maine, longer and warmer than ever — as much as two months longer. That’s the message of a new research article by a team of scientists led by Andrew Thomas of the University of Maine School of Marine Sciences. The study, published in the journal Elementa, examined the seasonality of sea surface temperature trends along the northeast coast of the United States.For all but a small region immediately north of Cape Hatteras at the southern edge
  
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• Warming planet is hazard to fish through increased salinity and algal blooms

  05-09-2017 22:30 via theguardian.com
  Prymnesium parvum has wreaked calamitous damage on angling spots in Norfolk, making it an economic and environmental threatMany effects of global warming appear gradually but can cause sudden and devastating changes. A rise in sea levels is one; it makes estuaries and lagoons slightly more saline, which in the case of the Norfolk Broads, suddenly threatened a big attraction, angling.This is because tiny “golden” algae called Prymnesium parvum, which thrive in slightly saline or miner
  
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• Stanford professor tests a cooling system that works without electricity

  05-09-2017 22:25 via feedproxy.google.com
  It looks like a regular roof, but the top of the Packard Electrical Engineering Building at Stanford University has been the setting of many milestones in the development of an innovative cooling technology that could someday be part of our everyday lives. Since 2013, Shanhui Fan, professor of electrical engineering, and his students and research associates have employed this roof as a testbed for a high-tech mirror-like optical surface that could be the future of lower-energy air condition
  
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• The Guardian view on veganism: high in moral fibre | Editorial

  05-09-2017 20:31 via theguardian.com
  Vegans are often unfairly mocked. They should instead be praisedJeremy Corbyn is “going through the process” of eating more vegan food, he has said – he just has to bring himself to give up the brie, verboten under vegan rules, along with eggs, milk and everything animals produce. Later, as if fearful of a backlash, his spokesperson issued a statement denying he was vegan. But the Labour leader was right to be proud of his efforts. Vegans are often unreasonably mocked as do-goo
  
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• CSIRO a paid-up member of Minerals Council, which fights climate change action

  05-09-2017 20:00 via theguardian.com
  Science agency stands in contrast to Australia’s biggest polluter, AGL, which parted ways with MCA over climate change The Australian government’s science agency, the CSIRO, has paid tens of thousands of dollars to peak mining lobby group the Minerals Council of Australia, which fights against government action on climate change.The CSIRO has been listed as an “associate member” of the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) since at least 2004 and new documents obtained by t
  
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• Nasa shares video of Hurricane Irma viewed from space

  05-09-2017 19:59 via bbc.co.uk
  The Category 5 storm is making landfall over the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean.
  
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• Could switchgrass help China's air quality?

  05-09-2017 19:08 via feedproxy.google.com
  Researchers from the United States and China have proposed an idea that could improve China’s air quality, but they’re not atmospheric scientists. They’re agronomists.“China’s poor air quality is caused by a combination of coal burning and particulates from soil erosion. The Loess Plateau is the major source of erosion in China, and air quality there is just terrible. If erosion in the Loess Plateau can be improved, air quality will improve,” says D.K. Lee, an
  
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• A revolution in lithium-ion batteries is becoming more realistic

  05-09-2017 18:56 via feedproxy.google.com
  The modern world relies on portable electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, cameras or camcorders. Many of these devices are powered by lithium-ion batteries, which could be smaller, lighter, safer and more efficient if the liquid electrolytes they contain were replaced by solids. A promising candidate for a solid-state electrolyte is a new class of materials based on lithium compounds, presented by physicists from Switzerland and Poland.
  
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• Under-occupation plays a key role in the housing crisis | Letters

  05-09-2017 18:51 via theguardian.com
  Add to the top council tax bands to boost effective use of our housing stock, writes David RenshawYour letter writers on the housing shortage (5 September) neglect a key point – under-occupation of the existing stock. I sympathise with the nimbys’ desire to keep the green belt from urban sprawl, but this can only be done if they are prepared to occupy less space when occasion demands (ie in later life). Only a reset of the council tax bands, punitively progressive at the top end to d
  
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• Merkel under pressure to tackle toxic smog as German election nears

  05-09-2017 18:05 via theguardian.com
  Chancellor doubles funds set aside to improve air quality to avert court-enforced diesel ban and backlash from motoristsWith less than three weeks until the German elections, pressure is mounting on Angela Merkel to tackle the deadly smog in a large number of cities or face a court-enforced diesel ban and backlash from millions of motorists faced with plummeting resale values.More than 90 cities with excessive levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution could potentially outlaw diesel cars from their c
  
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• Shock lobster: ghostly, translucent crustacean caught off Maine coast

  05-09-2017 17:51 via theguardian.com
  Fisherman Alex Todd had to release the lobster as it had a notched tail, indicating it was a female potentially carrying eggs, but it was caught againIn a lobster-fishing career spanning more than 40 years, Maine resident Alex Todd thought he had seen it all. Then, last month, he hauled in a white, almost translucent crustacean which he called “by far the weirdest one I’ve caught”. Related: Consider the rare split-colored lobster: unusual catch turns up in MaineContinue reading
  
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• A race against time: Saving the North Atlantic right whale

  05-09-2017 16:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  In June 2017, three critically endangered North Atlantic right whale carcasses were spotted floating in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In the weeks that followed the number of dead right whales rose to 10, while three more were found entangled alive in fishing gear. (The total number of deaths may be as high as 12.)For a species with approximately 500 surviving animals in the world, this was a crisis — an unprecedented die-off signalling a troubled outlook for the species.
  
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• Energy regulators tell Coalition to create reserve of emergency power

  05-09-2017 16:00 via theguardian.com
  Australian Energy Market Operator advice is to hold a reverse auction, then pass costs on to consumers to help prevent blackoutsEnergy regulators want to create a new strategic reserve mechanism to ensure there is enough dispatchable power available for emergencies, like heatwaves and storms – and are proposing a reverse auction system to bring sufficient back-up power into the grid.The recommendations are contained in a new report from the Australian Energy Market Operator to the Turnbull
  
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• Lentils: 'First UK commercial crop' harvested

  05-09-2017 12:43 via bbc.co.uk
  A supplier is working with farms in Hertfordshire, Hampshire, Suffolk, Sussex and Wiltshire.
  
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• Denying Hurricane Harvey’s climate links only worsens future suffering | Dana Nuccitelli

  05-09-2017 12:00 via theguardian.com
  The variables in the climate change formula are mitigation, adaptation, and suffering. Denying the problem loads up on the suffering.Human-caused climate change amplified the damages and suffering associated with Hurricane Harvey in several different ways. First, sea level rise caused by global warming increased the storm surge and therefore the coastal inundation and flooding from the storm. Second, the warmer atmosphere holds more water vapor, which intensifies extreme precipitation events lik
  
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• Cruise ships showed contempt for customers by breaking clean air pledge, report says

  05-09-2017 11:00 via theguardian.com
  German environment group says industry has not tried to cut pollution over the past year and reneged on a promise to install soot filtersThe world’s cruise ships have done virtually nothing to reduce their pollution over the past year, with some still emitting as much particulate matter as 1m cars a day, a report says.The annual survey of 63 ships, conducted by the German environment group Nabu, refused to recommend a single one for adequately reducing its environmental impact in 2017. Con
  
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• Renewables helping secure electricity but undersupply risk in short term, report says

  05-09-2017 09:04 via theguardian.com
  Energy Market Operator report comes as Coalition seeks to extend life of Australia’s oldest coal power plant, LiddellAustralia’s Energy Market Operator says the introduction of more renewable energy is helping secure Australia’s electricity grid but that “new approaches” will be needed to avoid blackouts in coming years.The report comes as the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, confirms the government is seeking to extend the life of Australia’s oldest coal pow
  
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• Scientists and astronauts join forces to create world's deepest coral farm

  05-09-2017 08:42 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists from Florida International University have teamed up with Nasa to create the world's deepest coral farm in an effort to tackle the decline of coral reefs.
  
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• Australia's east and south faces bad bushfire season after warm, dry winter

  05-09-2017 08:35 via theguardian.com
  Weather experts and rural fire services warn of elevated fire risk in areas of Queensland, NSW, Victoria and SAMost of the east coast and parts of South Australia are at high risk of bushfire after one of the warmest, driest winters on record, a national conference has warned.Populated areas of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia have been marked “red” in the 2017 Southern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook. Continue reading...
  
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• Should vegans eat palm oil?

  05-09-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  The ubiquitous vegetable oil is plant-based so fits with a vegan diet, but its production can harm rainforests and biodiversityAs marketing slogans go, NotFrom.com offers something aspirational. Stacked on the virtual shelves of this new online vegan supermarket are row upon row of “animal and planet cruelty free” products.Only it’s not quite that simple. Yes, all of the products are plant-based and free from animal inputs. But, beyond this the line between what is and isn&rsqu
  
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• Free school fruit contains multiple pesticides, UK report shows

  05-09-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Government experts say adverse health effects are unlikely, but campaigners argue the primary school scheme should switch to organic as a precautionThe free fruit and vegetables provided by the government to millions of young schoolchildren usually contain the residues of multiple pesticides, according to official tests collated in a new report. In the last decade, residues of of 123 pesticides were found, while apples and bananas given out recently in schools contained more residues than those
  
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• Free school fruit contains multiple pesticides, report shows

  05-09-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Government experts say adverse health effects are unlikely, but campaigners argue the primary school scheme should switch to organic as a precautionThe free fruit and vegetables provided by the government to millions of young schoolchildren usually contain the residues of multiple pesticides, according to official tests collated in a new report. In the last decade, residues of of 123 pesticides were found, while apples and bananas given out recently in schools contained more residues than those
  
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• Assault by midges is the price you pay for this shimmering landscape

  05-09-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Abriachan, Highlands In places, the canopy of thistle, ling, scabious and soft rush was sunk in a near-weightless empire of silkAside from the slurry of S-sounds tipped out by a roadside burn, there was nothing at this spot but the early morning hush of the moor. Yet the silence seemed only to emphasise all the internal noise generated in me by an assault from midges. They started as a loose-meshed veil about my hands and face but soon thickened into a maddening private halo.They particularly wa
  
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• Peppa Pig 'spiders can't hurt you' episode pulled off air in Australia – again

  05-09-2017 04:42 via theguardian.com
  Episode aired on pay TV after earlier being deemed inappropriate for audiences in Australia, home to dangerous spidersA controversial episode of Peppa Pig has been pulled off the air in Australia for a second time, after complaints it told children to pick up and play with dangerous spiders. Mister Skinny Legs, a 2004 episode of the popular children’s show, was removed from online publication by the national public broadcaster, the ABC, in 2012 for sending the “inappropriate” m
  
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• Northern lights linked to North Sea whale strandings

  05-09-2017 01:27 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists connect the solar storms behind the Aurora Borealis to the deaths of 29 whales in the North Sea.
  
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• How to create a digital copy of dinosaur fossils

  05-09-2017 01:19 via bbc.co.uk
  Palaeontologists are turning to technology to preserve dinosaur fossils.
  
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• Voyager 1 at 40: Scientists 'amazed' 1970s space probe still works

  05-09-2017 01:15 via bbc.co.uk
  The Voyager 1 space probe was launched 40 years ago and continues to send back data from interstellar space.
  
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• Scotland plans deposit return scheme for bottles and cans

  05-09-2017 01:03 via theguardian.com
  Under the programme, based on schemes in Scandinavia, customers would pay a surcharge that would be reimbursed when they return to the shopThe Scottish government is planning to introduce a deposit return scheme for bottles and cans.Customers would pay a surcharge when purchasing bottles or cans under the programme, which will be refunded when they return them to a shop.Continue reading...
  
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