Environment news

• Twin megastorms have scientists fearing this may be the new normal

  06-09-2017 20:45 via theguardian.com
  Destructive force of Irma and Harvey has Trump expressing awe, but those in power should focus on the environmental causesHurricane Irma: ‘superstorm’ heads to Florida – live
  One week after the record deluge in Texas, the biggest hurricane ever measured in the mid-Atlantic is tearing through the Caribbean.Hurricane Irma, a category-five storm, is destroying homes and threatening lives in the Leeward Islands with 185mph winds and 11ft coastal surges, and in the coming days it is
  
  Read more

• The Guardian view on plastic: learning to love it wisely | Editorial

  06-09-2017 20:39 via theguardian.com
  It chokes our oceans, is strewn across our landscapes, and is found in our drinking water. We do not need to stop using plastic, but to learn to value it more highlyOur love for plastic is all-consuming. It is the irresistible wonder material: mouldable, inert, light and highly versatile, used not just in toys and toothbrushes but in pacemakers, teabags and spaceships. But this is a paradoxical relationship, and not a healthy one: we rely on it too much and value it too little, regarding it as c
  
  Read more

• Climate change could wipe out a third of parasite species, study finds

  06-09-2017 20:08 via theguardian.com
  Parasites such as lice and fleas are crucial to ecosystems, scientists say, and extinctions could lead to unpredictable invasionsClimate change could wipe out a third of all parasite species on Earth, according to the most comprehensive analysis to date.Tapeworms, roundworms, ticks, lice and fleas are feared for the diseases they cause or carry, but scientists warn that they also play a vital role in ecosystems. Major extinctions among parasites could lead to unpredictable invasions of surviving
  
  Read more

• Greater gliders: fears of 'catastrophic' consequences from logging in Victoria

  06-09-2017 20:00 via theguardian.com
  Gliders listed as threatened by both state and federal governments, but they are not protected by legislationLogging has begun in trees inhabited by the threatened greater gliders in a forest also inhabited by Victoria’s faunal emblem, the threatened Leadbeater’s possum.Protections for the remaining Leadbeater’s possum population – believed to be fewer than 2,500 breeding individuals left in the wild – mean logging will be halted within 200m of known colonies. But n
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Six farmers shot dead over land rights battle in Peru

  06-09-2017 19:04 via theguardian.com
  The victims were targeted by a criminal gang who wanted to use their lands to grow lucrative palm oil, according to local indigenous leadersSix farmers have been shot dead by a criminal gang who wanted to seize their farms to muscle in on the lucrative palm oil trade, according to indigenous Amazon leaders in Peru.Local leaders in the central Amazon region of Ucayali say the victims were targeted last Friday because they had refused to give up their land.Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Huge Tunisian solar park hopes to provide Saharan power to Europe

  06-09-2017 19:03 via theguardian.com
  Developer TuNur has applied to build a 4.5GW plant in the Sahara and pipe enough electricity via submarine cables to power two million European homes An enormous solar park in the Sahara could soon be exporting electricity to Europe if Tunisia’s government approves an energy company’s request to build it.
  The 4.5GW mega-project planned by TuNur would pipe electricity to Malta, Italy and France using submarine cables in the grandest energy export project since the abandoned Desertec i
  
  Read more

• Parents face fines for driving children to school in push to curb pollution

  06-09-2017 18:35 via theguardian.com
  Many UK councils are planning to restrict parking and idling near school gates, with fines of up to £130 in some casesParents across the country face tough restrictions – and even fines – over driving their children to the school gates, in a push by councils on road safety and pollution.As the new academic year begins, a survey of councils shows many are enforcing laws preventing parking immediately outside the school gates, using CCTV cameras and mobile monitoring vehicles to
  
  Read more

• Hurricane Harvey Flooding Seen in New NASA Satellite Image

  06-09-2017 18:21 via feedproxy.google.com
  On Sept. 5, 2017, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft captured this image of the area around Bay City, Texas, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Houston. Hurricane Harvey caused extensive inland flooding, seen as dark blue areas where the water is relatively clear, and green-grey where the water carries sediment. The image covers an area of 32 by 65 miles (52 by 105 kilometers), and is centered at 29.2 degrees
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• NASA Looks at Hurricane Irma's Heat Engine

  06-09-2017 17:50 via feedproxy.google.com
  On September 5, 2017 at 1 p.m. EDT (1700 UTC) the radar on the Global Precipitation Measuring Mission (GPM) satellite captured a 3-D view of the heat engine inside of category-5 Hurricane Irma. Under the central ring of clouds that circles the eye, water that had evaporated from the ocean surface condenses, releases heat, and powers the circling winds of the hurricane. The radar on the GPM satellite is able to estimate how much water is falling as precipitation inside of the hurricane,
  
  Read more

• Unraveling a Major Cause of Sea Ice Retreat in the Arctic Ocean

  06-09-2017 17:04 via feedproxy.google.com
  Quantitative analysis has evidenced the acceleration system of melting ice: dark water surfaces absorb more heat than white ice surfaces, thus melting ice and making more water surfaces in the Arctic Ocean.
  
  Read more

• Cloud Formation Suppressed by Biogenic Organic Emissions

  06-09-2017 17:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  Researchers have found evidence that near-ground biogenic emissions of organics suppress cloud formation in cool-temperate forests in autumn, providing clues to how global warming will affect cloud formation and the overall climate.
  
  Read more

• Research Dog Helps Scientists Save Endangered Carnivores

  06-09-2017 16:28 via feedproxy.google.com
  Scat-sniffing research dogs are helping scientists map out a plan to save reclusive jaguars, pumas, bush dogs and other endangered carnivores in the increasingly fragmented forests of northeastern Argentina, according to a new study from Washington University in St. Louis.
  
  Read more

• Why US Battery Startups Fail -- And How to Fix It

  06-09-2017 16:08 via feedproxy.google.com
  Better batteries are critical to the world’s clean energy future. More economical and efficient batteries would help to solve many of our planet’s energy challenges, paving the way towards long-range electric vehicles to help reduce our reliance on fossil fuels as well as advancing renewable energy production by resolving intermittency problems. However, the scientific research needed to bring the necessary advances in materials to market in the US remains a formidable challenge. Hur
  
  Read more

• Mars counters Trump's climate stance with $1bn sustainability plan

  06-09-2017 15:48 via theguardian.com
  Confectionery firm also launches M&Ms renewable energy campaign as part of a growing corporate backlash against the US’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate dealThe corporate backlash is growing against Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, with Mars launching a $1bn sustainability plan and an M&M’s campaign centred on renewable energy. It is the latest climate move by the family owned firm, which emerged as a vocal critic of the US president&rs
  
  Read more

• Two-pilot glider team sets altitude record

  06-09-2017 15:37 via bbc.co.uk
  The unique Perlan 2 glider reaches over 54,000ft in the skies above Argentina.
  
  Read more

• Firebricks offer low-cost storage for carbon-free energy

  06-09-2017 15:24 via feedproxy.google.com
  Firebricks, designed to withstand high heat, have been part of our technological arsenal for at least three millennia, since the era of the Hittites. Now, a proposal from MIT researchers shows this ancient invention could play a key role in enabling the world to switch away from fossil fuels and rely instead on carbon-free energy sources.
  
  Read more

• Rohingya refugees and a not-so-secret squirrel – today's unmissable pictures

  06-09-2017 15:17 via theguardian.com
  A selection of the day’s best images including refugees from Myanmar, baby Cheetah’s and an arctic surferContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• No ice to break

  06-09-2017 15:08 via feedproxy.google.com
  Our research cruise is being conducted this year from the Coast Guard Cutter Healy, the newest and most technologically advanced icebreaker in the U.S. fleet.  The Healy was built down around the humid bayous of New Orleans, but was designed to conquer Arctic sea ice.  The boat is a behemoth at 420 feet long and has made its way to the North Pole on several occasions, taking thousands of scientists into the Arctic to collect data that has transformed our understanding of the region.
  
  Read more

• Key site for endangered nightingales saved from development

  06-09-2017 15:02 via theguardian.com
  Planning application for 5,000 houses in Kent is withdrawn following a long campaign but wildlife site remains at risk from future developments One of the best sites in England for endangered nightingales will not be covered in 5,000 new houses after a long campaign by environmental charities.The planning application to build on the former Ministry of Defence site of Lodge Hill, Kent, has been withdrawn ahead of a public inquiry into the controversial development. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Ministers want 'ambitious' post-Brexit research deal

  06-09-2017 14:52 via bbc.co.uk
  Options for collaboration between research communities post-Brexit will be set out in a government paper.
  
  Read more

• We are living on a plastic planet. What does it mean for our health?

  06-09-2017 13:09 via theguardian.com
  New studies reveal that tiny plastic fibres are everywhere, not just in our oceans but on land too. Now we urgently need to find out how they enter our food, air and tap water and what the effects are on all of us Sometimes a single revelation opens our eyes to a whole new view of the world. The contamination of tap water around the world with microplastics, exposed on Wednesday in the Guardian, unmasks Earth as a planet pervasively polluted with plastic. What that means for the seven billion pe
  
  Read more

• Just how heavy could rain become in the warming world?

  06-09-2017 12:30 via theguardian.com
  The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific conceptsOn a very wet day we can expect 1-2 inches of rain to fall in the UK, perhaps double that in extreme conditions. But as Hurricane Harvey and other storms have shown, in warmer climes prolonged rainfall can be many times heavier. So in a warming world, just how heavy could rain become?Jon Lucas, Bath Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Households 'need help to get warmer home'

  06-09-2017 08:36 via bbc.co.uk
  England’s householders get a raw deal over insulating their homes to save on energy bills, researchers say.
  
  Read more

• Upto 381 new species discovered in the Amazon – in pictures

  06-09-2017 08:21 via theguardian.com
  A strong-beaked bird named after Barack Obama, a fire-tailed titi monkey and a new pink river dolphin are among species recorded by the Living Amazon Initiative of the WWF NetworkContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• Up to 381 new species discovered in the Amazon – in pictures

  06-09-2017 08:21 via theguardian.com
  A strong-beaked bird named after Barack Obama, a fire-tailed titi monkey and a new pink river dolphin are among species recorded by the Living Amazon Initiative of the WWF NetworkContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• Meteor bursting into flames caught on camera.

  06-09-2017 07:51 via bbc.co.uk
  A home security camera caught the moment a meteor over Canada burst into flames.
  
  Read more

• Better energy efficiency measures could cut UK costs by £7.5bn

  06-09-2017 07:45 via theguardian.com
  Government must incentivise households to make energy saving improvements to improve air quality and warm homesMore efficient use of energy in the UK would save as much power as could be generated by six new nuclear reactors and shave £7.5bn from energy costs, experts have calculated.But to achieve such savings would require substantial changes to government policy because there are few incentives for households to carry out the necessary measures, such as insulation, which can take 20 yea
  
  Read more

• Plucky duck: highest-flying fowl's Himalayan exploits revealed

  06-09-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Scientists have tracked the ruddy shelduck to 6,800 metres, making it the first duck known to fly at extreme high altitudes A high-flying species of duck reaches altitudes of up to 6,800 metres (22,000ft) to cross the Himalayas, research from a British university has revealed.Scientists from the University of Exeter used satellite tracking to find out how ruddy shelducks – which are a similar size to mallards – find their way through the mountain range.Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Barnaby Joyce: 'We have to keep Liddell power station going' – video

  06-09-2017 06:45 via theguardian.com
  Deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce speaks to reporters in Canberra on AGL’s plan to close its Liddell power station in 2022 Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Bid to rescue Ben Nevis weather data

  06-09-2017 05:33 via bbc.co.uk
  Help is sought to digitise a unique set of records gathered on top of the UK's highest mountain.
  
  Read more

• Swansea Uni study: African wild dogs 'sneeze to vote'

  06-09-2017 02:15 via bbc.co.uk
  The animals hold "social rallies" and choose when to hunt via a sneezing ballot, a study finds.
  
  Read more

• Life after Earth

  06-09-2017 01:44 via bbc.co.uk
  In September 1991, eight scientists sealed themselves inside a giant greenhouse for two years. Linda Leigh was one of them.
  
  Read more

• Plastic fibres found in tap water around the world, study reveals

  06-09-2017 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: Tests show billions of people globally are drinking water contaminated by plastic particles, with 83% of samples found to be pollutedMicroplastic contamination has been found in tap water in countries around the world, leading to calls from scientists for urgent research on the implications for health.Scores of tap water samples from more than a dozen nations were analysed by scientists for an investigation by Orb Media, who shared the findings with the Guardian. Overall, 83% of the s
  
  Read more

• We're not buying the line that fracking brings wealth and opportunities to our communities | Que Nakamarra Kenny

  06-09-2017 00:46 via theguardian.com
  We need our mob working arm-in-arm with non-Indigenous people across the Northern Territory to stand up against fracking. It’s not safe, not trusted and not wantedThere has been a lot of talk from both the Northern Territory and federal governments recently about the rivers of royalties, jobs and other benefits they claim will come from opening up the Territory to vast new shale fracking gas fields.This has seen 83% of the Territory’s landmass swallowed by shale gas exploration appli
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!