Environment news

• Preserving coral reefs needs new technologies

  29-09-2017 23:37 via feedproxy.google.com
  New technological interventions are needed to save coral reefs under climate change.
  
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• NASA Infrared Imagery Shows Wind Shear Affecting Tropical Storm Maria

  29-09-2017 22:23 via feedproxy.google.com
  Tropical Storm Maria is now caught up in the Westerlies and is being affected by wind shear that is elongating the storm. Infrared imagery from NASA’s Aqua satellite revealed that Maria’s strongest storms were east of the tropical cyclone’s center because of westerly wind shear.
  
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• Antarctica: Return of the Weddell Polynya supports Kiel Climate Model

  29-09-2017 22:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  Currently, winter has still a firm grip on Antarctica. At this time of the year, the Weddell Sea usually is covered with a thick layer of sea ice. In spite of the icy temperatures in the region, satellite images depict a large ice-free area in the middle of the ice cover. The area of the hole in the ice is larger than The Netherlands and it fascinates climate and polar researchers worldwide. Scientists from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel are closely monitoring the developmen
  
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• Climate's Effects on Flowers Critical for Bumble Bees

  29-09-2017 21:52 via feedproxy.google.com
  In a study that shows the importance of climate change on critical pollinators, North Carolina State University researchers found that earlier and longer flowering seasons can have poor effects on the bumble bees that rely on these flowers to live and thrive.
  
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• World-First Optical Fiber Laser Promises To Revolutionise Detection Of Gases

  29-09-2017 21:46 via feedproxy.google.com
  An international research group, led by Macquarie University scientists, has developed a world-first optical fiber technology which can help detect a wide range of gases with unprecedented sensitivity, with potential applications ranging from breath analysis to air-quality monitoring. The discovery, which has been published in the journal Optica, outlines the development of an optical fiber device which encompasses an invisible infrared laser coupled to an ultra-broadband supercontinuum gen
  
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• NASA Satellite Highlights Burn Scars in British Columbia

  29-09-2017 21:43 via feedproxy.google.com
  This past summer Canada has been plagued with huge forest fires that have spanned most of the provinces.  British Columbia has been particularly hard hit with large portions of the landscape being decimated by fire.  In these satellite images taken by the NASA'S Aqua satellite, both the natural color and false color burn scars of left by fires can be seen.  In the natural color image it is difficult to make out the burn scars.  The false color easily identifies areas whe
  
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• NASA Sees a Weaker Hurricane Lee Headed to the U.K.

  29-09-2017 21:21 via feedproxy.google.com
  NASA and NOAA satellite imagery show Hurricane Lee has been on a weakening trend as wind shear is battering the storm. The National Hurricane Center expects Lee to weaken quickly and its remnants to bring gusty winds to Ireland and the United Kingdom over the weekend of Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.
  
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• Helium in coal seams may aid safe gas extraction

  29-09-2017 21:18 via feedproxy.google.com
  Natural deposits of helium gas – best known for its use in party balloons – could help aid the safe production of shale or coal gas, research suggests.
  
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• Study Finds Tropical Forests Are No Longer Carbon Sinks

  29-09-2017 21:14 via feedproxy.google.com
  Tropical forests have long been considered one of the world’s most important tools in combating climate change, their fast-growing trees and rich soils sucking millions of tons of carbon out of the atmosphere every year. But a new study says these forests have switched from being carbon sinks to sources of carbon, releasing an estimated 425 million tons of CO2 each year, more than the annual emissions from U.S. cars and trucks combined.
  
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• The Guardian view on food standards: the cost of competition | Editorial

  29-09-2017 20:43 via theguardian.com
  Look away now: an investigation into one food processor might put you off your next chicken mealFor almost every meat eater, chicken is the great standby. Every day, more than 2 million birds are consumed: spiced up as drumsticks or curry-sauced thighs or succulently ham-wrapped breasts. But there is perhaps no other area of food production where what we eat has become so distant from what happens to it on the way to the plate. It is not a process for the faint-hearted: and as an investigation b
  
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• Delving deeper into the BBC’s idea of impartiality | Letters

  29-09-2017 19:28 via theguardian.com
  Readers respond to Nick Robinson’s recent Guardian article about the mainstream media winning back trustNick Robinson’s article asserting that Nigel Lawson should be corrected but not silenced by the BBC on climate change (Silencing the disagreeable won’t work. Put them on air, 28 September) suggests that he and his colleagues are still ignoring the potential harm caused by the broadcast of misinformation to their audiences. Lord Lawson has a track record of misleading the publ
  
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• Groceries code adjudicator deserves more power | Letters

  29-09-2017 19:24 via theguardian.com
  Christine Tacon’s firm hand is bringing results but many farmers still fall foul of unfair practice, say Kerry McCarthy MP, Lindsey Macdonald of NFU Scotland and 11 other signatoriesFarmers at home and those in developing countries are waiting with bated breath for the government to rule on expanding the role of the groceries code adjudicator, Christine Tacon. Ms Tacon has wielded her ombudsman role to impose sanctions on supermarkets for failures to play fair with suppliers – and he
  
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• Bloodhound supersonic car fires up Eurofighter engine

  29-09-2017 19:07 via bbc.co.uk
  The British-led project to build a 1,000mph car reaches a key milestone in its development.
  
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• Cameroon palm oil campaigner arrested in crackdown on activists

  29-09-2017 19:03 via theguardian.com
  Nasako Besingi has been jailed after opposing a US-funded palm-oil plantation and supporters say this is linked to Cameroon’s ‘anglophone crisis’A prominent campaigner against palm oil plantations has been arrested amid a growing crackdown on environmental and human rights activists in Cameroon, according to local lawyers and NGOs.Nasako Besingi, who has led opposition to a US-funded 73,000 hectare farm in a biodiverse rainforest, is among more than 100 individuals who have bee
  
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• Bioreactors on a chip renew promises for algal biofuels

  29-09-2017 17:49 via feedproxy.google.com
  For over a decade, companies have promised a future of renewable fuel from algae. Investors interested in moving the world away from fossil fuel have contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to the effort, and with good reason. Algae replicate quickly, requiring little more than water and sunlight to accumulate to massive amounts, which then convert atmospheric CO2 into lipids (oils) that can be harvested and readily processed into biodiesel.
  
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• Ban wood-burning stoves? Not in my back flue! | Deborah Orr

  29-09-2017 17:07 via theguardian.com
  Sadiq Khan says he wants to address London’s polluted air. Has he not considered the effect on our hygge?First they came for the free plastic carrier bags. We applauded. Then they came for the cheap taxi rides back to the ’burbs. We yelled, “Bravo!” Now they have come for the wood-burning stoves. At last, the metropolitan elite is moved to say: “No. Enough. Not in my back flue.” Related: Air pollution: Sadiq Khan calls for ban on wood-burning stovesContinue re
  
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• Food security, giant rats and carbon emissions – green news roundup

  29-09-2017 16:48 via theguardian.com
  The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox Continue reading...
  
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• Wood-burning stove ban will not be enforced against householders

  29-09-2017 16:29 via theguardian.com
  Focus of London mayor’s proposed ban will be on educating owners not to burn wood during bad air quality episodes
  Sadiq Khan’s proposed ban on wood-burning stoves in the most-polluted areas of London will not be enforced against householders and will only be in operation at certain times of the year.Under the mayor of London’s plans, the stoves would be occasionally banned from use in zones in the capital from 2025 and UK-wide laws blocking the sale of all but the newest, clean
  
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• Iconic kiwi could be extinct in 50 years

  29-09-2017 16:07 via bbc.co.uk
  New Zealand's forest used to be home to millions of kiwi. Now there are only 68,000 left.
  
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• Selfies, storage and tiny nuclear bunkers: alternative uses for your wood-burner

  29-09-2017 15:21 via theguardian.com
  Sadiq Khan wants to reduce air pollution – and one of the worst offenders is the wood-fired stove. But is there any other use for your Scandi-inspired heater?In a blow targeted straight at the city’s middle-class heart, Sadiq Khan is trying to ban some wood-burning stoves from London. To reduce air pollution, he is seeking powers to prohibit the burning of wood in any areas that suffer from poor air quality. However, there are 1.5m wood-burning stoves in the UK, and that number is in
  
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• Peak contamination levels from Fukushima off North America now known

  29-09-2017 15:08 via feedproxy.google.com
  For the first time since 2011, peak contamination levels in Pacific Canadian waters from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster are known, says a University of Victoria scientist who has been monitoring levels since the meltdown of three reactors at the plant.
  
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• 'Our desire for goods is at the heart of this': Why Bruce Parry wants us all to live more sustainably

  29-09-2017 14:03 via theguardian.com
  In his new documentary, the explorer joins Borneo’s Penan tribe to see what the world’s indigenous people can teach us about our own survival and that of the planetTawai: A Voice from the Forest review – earnest odyssey to the heart of BorneoBruce Parry has made a career out of going native. The Royal Marine-turned-celebrity explorer may not yet be as fully-fledged an institution as David Attenborough, but if the British public were to nominate anyone to paddle up a crocodile-i
  
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• Elon Musk: Rockets will fly people from city to city in minutes

  29-09-2017 13:49 via bbc.co.uk
  The entrepreneur says his new rocket could fly people from London to New York in 29 minutes.
  
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• The portable science kit entrepreneur

  29-09-2017 13:46 via bbc.co.uk
  Creator of ChemStart, Bathabile Mpofu, takes hands-on scientific experiments into schools in South Africa.
  
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• We are all at risk from poisonous mercury. It's time to take action

  29-09-2017 13:18 via theguardian.com
  Mercury is found in household items from beauty products to electronics, and even in food. Without proper safeguards our health is in dangerMercury is far more pervasive than most people realise, and we have no idea how many people are at risk. It can be found in everything from mascara and dental amalgam to thermometers and skin whitening creams – and that’s before it reaches the food chain. There is no safe level of exposure, and everyone is at risk when mercury is released without
  
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• Methane emissions from cattle are 11% higher than estimated

  29-09-2017 12:23 via theguardian.com
  Bigger livestock in larger numbers in more regions has led to methane in the air climbing faster than predicted due to ‘out-of-date data’Emissions of the greenhouse gas methane from livestock are larger than previously thought, posing an additional challenge in the fight to curb global warming, scientists have said. Revised calculations of methane produced per head of cattle show that global livestock emissions in 2011 were 11% higher than estimates based on data from the UN’s
  
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• Smokejumpers: life as an elite US Forest Service firefighter

  29-09-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  The elite USFS firefighters parachute into remote areas to combat wildfires, landing in the forest and working with airdropped equipment, often remaining there for days. Photographer Cole Barash joined the men and women protecting the national parks for his new book Continue reading...
  
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• Record forest fires in Brazil linked to deforestation and other human activity

  29-09-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  September saw more fires than any month on record, as experts say uptick is due to expansion of agriculture and reduction of oversight and surveillanceBrazil has seen more forest fires in September than in any single month since records began, and authorities have warned that 2017 could surpass the worst year on record if action is not taken soon.Experts say that the blazes are almost exclusively due to human activity, and they attribute the uptick to the expansion of agriculture and a reduction
  
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• Brazil's worst month ever for forest fires blamed on human activity

  29-09-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  September saw more fires than any month on record, as experts say uptick is due to expansion of agriculture and reduction of oversight and surveillanceBrazil has seen more forest fires in September than in any single month since records began, and authorities have warned that 2017 could surpass the worst year on record if action is not taken soon.Experts say that the blazes are almost exclusively due to human activity, and they attribute the uptick to the expansion of agriculture and a reduction
  
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• Russia With Simon Reeve review – reindeer herders, endangered tigers ... and spies

  29-09-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Unwanted interest from the FSB turns dog mushing, ice-road trucking and a tour of yurts and into something meatier – Tinker Tailor Soldier SimonNice Simon Reeve is travelling across Russia. From east to west, like the sun, though that hardly makes an appearance above the horizon here in Kamchatka in early spring. Russia With Simon Reeve (BBC2) it’s called, though perhaps Russia With Simon Reeve and the FSB might have been a better title, the FSB being what used to be to be the KGB, o
  
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• Country diary: the house party's over for our wood mice

  29-09-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Welburn, North Yorkshire Neighbourly etiquette precludes releasing our captives near another house, and compassion compels me to avoid roadsWhile we were on holiday recently, our home became the venue for an unsanctioned party. It probably started with one or two acquaintances, a few nibbles. But word got around, as it does. The first we knew of the ensuing orgy was the smell in the kitchen, the ureic perma-damp stink I associate with concrete-floored public toilets.Our house is highly permeable
  
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• Tsunami drives species 'army' across Pacific to US coast

  29-09-2017 03:44 via bbc.co.uk
  Hundreds of Japanese species have been found on US coasts, swept there by the deadly 2011 tsunami.
  
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• Air pollution: Sadiq Khan calls for ban on wood-burning stoves

  29-09-2017 02:08 via theguardian.com
  London mayor cites figures showing that the home stoves, used in 16% of households, produce up to a third of all the capital’s fine-particle pollution
  Wood-burning stoves could be banned in some areas to combat air pollution under proposals by the London mayor, Sadiq Khan. Khan has written to Michael Gove, the environment secretary, to request extra powers to improve air quality in the capital, including measures to tackle solid-fuel burning and construction pollution. The proposed measure
  
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• Antarctica: the wind sublimates snowflakes

  29-09-2017 00:52 via feedproxy.google.com
  Researchers have observed and characterized a weather process that was not previously known to occur in Antarctica's coastal regions. It turns out that the katabatic winds that blow from the interior to the margins of the continent reduce the amount of precipitation (mainly snowfall) -- which is a key factor in the formation of the ice cap. By forming a very dry layer of air in the first kilometer or so of atmosphere, the winds turn the falling snowflakes during their fall directly from their so
  
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• Hundreds of Species Hitched a Ride Across the Pacific Aboard 2011 Tsunami Debris

  29-09-2017 00:44 via feedproxy.google.com
  When a magnitude 9 earthquake shook the western Pacific Ocean floor and sent a tsunami crashing into Japan in 2011, millions of pieces of debris — from docks and fishing boats to plastic pollution — were swept out to sea. Now, a new studyfinds that nearly 300 species hitchhiked aboard that debris across the Pacific and were scattered along the west coast of North America.
  
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• NASA Finds Hurricane Lee's Strength Shift

  29-09-2017 00:35 via feedproxy.google.com
  Hurricane Lee began weakening as NASA's Aqua satellite passed overhead and collected temperature information. Satellite data showed that Lee's strongest side was south of its center.
  
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