Environment news

• Living in Watersheds with More Trees Reduces Disease Risk

  11-10-2017 23:04 via feedproxy.google.com
  Diarrheal disease from contaminated water is the second leading cause of death among children under the age of five, claiming more than 360,000 lives annually. Now, a new study of children in 35 countries finds that those living in a watershed with more trees had a lower risk of contracting the illness.
  
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• Trump’s pro-coal agenda is a blow for clean air efforts at Texas' Big Bend park

  11-10-2017 19:34 via theguardian.com
  For decades the national park’s stunning vistas have been compromised by poor air quality, and prospects of improvement were derailed by Trump TuesdayBig Bend National Park is Texas at its most cinematic, with soaring, jagged forest peaks looming over vast desert lowlands, at once haughty and humble, prickly and pretty. It is also among the most remote places in the state.
  Even from Alpine, the town of 6,000 that is the main gateway to the park, it is more than an hour’s drive to one
  
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• Michael Fish would not dismiss great storm of 1987 today, says Met Office

  11-10-2017 19:10 via theguardian.com
  Better data, supercomputing, and clearer understanding of sting jet phenomenon mean 30 years later severe weather warnings would be issuedBlame the sting jet – not a plane, but a fearsome and poorly charted weather phenomenon. Add to that the unusual southerly winds and a once-in-200-years event.But though the weather conditions behind the great storm of 1987, the anniversary of which falls this weekend, may now be increasingly understood and analysed by the Met Office, the devastating eve
  
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• A shift to clean energy will come but politics remain vile until the next election | Simon Holmes à Court

  11-10-2017 19:00 via theguardian.com
  The Coalition is fighting battles against each other, the opposition, consumers, facts and future. It can’t end well for them or for usIn a mid-January op-ed, former prime minister Tony Abbott gushed about Australia’s bountiful “clean coal”. I fired off an email to Abbott’s office asking for more information about this promising new form of coal — I mean, if “clean coal” exists, all our problems are solved, right?After sending nine polite emails ov
  
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• Bycatch Responsible for Decline of New Zealand Sea Lion

  11-10-2017 18:22 via feedproxy.google.com
  Getting caught in fishing nets is a major cause of death for the increasingly endangered New Zealand sea lion, according to new research from the University of Otago, Massey University and the University of Toronto.
  
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• Government makes £557m available for new renewables projects

  11-10-2017 18:18
  The UK government has made up to £557 million available for "less established" renewables projects in a new set of Contracts for Difference (CfD) auctions planned for spring 2019.
  
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• Oxford aims to cut air pollution with car ban in zero emissions zone

  11-10-2017 18:10 via theguardian.com
  Oxford council will phase out polluting vehicles including taxis, cars and buses from city centre area in 2020Polluting vehicles could be banned from Oxford city centre under plans to bring in what officials believe would be the world’s first zero emissions zone. The proposals aim to slash air pollution in the historic university city, which has seen levels of the harmful pollutant nitrogen dioxide plateau above legal limits in some areas.Continue reading...
  
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• Elephants mourn. Dogs love. Why do we deny the feelings of other species?

  11-10-2017 17:00 via theguardian.com
  Scientists are discovering more and more about the internal lives of animals. But what does this mean for the way humans behave? Last week footage of five young elephants being captured in Zimbabwe to sell to zoos travelled round the world. Parks officials used helicopters to find the elephant families, shot sedatives into the young ones, then hazed away family members who came to the aid of the drugged young ones as they fell. The film, shared exclusively with the Guardian, showed the young cap
  
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• Solar Flux; From Bug to Feature

  11-10-2017 16:49 via feedproxy.google.com
  Excess solar flux could be harnessed and used to generate additional electricity at a tower CSP plant, by cladding part of the tower containing the receiver with photovoltaic (PV) panels, according to Sandia scientist Cliff Ho. He found that adding PV on the tower could generate over 10 MW, or 10% of the total capacity of a 100 MW CSP plant, using the same reflected sunlight off heliostats used to focus “suns” up onto the tower receiver for thermal solar generation.
  
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• Dual Project Supports Understanding of Climate Change and Astronomy

  11-10-2017 15:52 via feedproxy.google.com
  A team of researchers from across the country will work together to design a satellite instrument, which will sit on board the International Space Station (ISS). The technology will monitor the complex interaction between the Earth’s upper atmosphere and the climate, and could advance our understanding of earth observations and aeronomy. 
  
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• Tai Chi Holds Promise as Cardiac Rehab Exercise

  11-10-2017 15:48 via feedproxy.google.com
  The slow and gentle movements of Tai Chi hold promise as an alternative exercise option for patients who decline traditional cardiac rehabilitation, according to preliminary research in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.
  
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• NUS campaigner Robbie Young: students, lay down your straws

  11-10-2017 15:48 via theguardian.com
  The NUS vice president wants university unions and young people to play their part in reducing plastic wasteRobbie Young has had enough.“We’re surrounded by plastic straws. 500 million of them are used and discarded every day in the United States alone, with fatal consequences for the wildlife that swallows them. As young people we have a responsibility to do something about that.”Continue reading...
  
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• Scientists Develop Tool Which Can Predict Coastal Erosion and Recovery in Extreme Storms

  11-10-2017 15:42 via feedproxy.google.com
  The damage caused to beaches by extreme storms on exposed energetic coastlines and the rate at which they recover can now be accurately predicted thanks to new research led by the University of Plymouth.
  
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• Asteroid close approach to test warning systems

  11-10-2017 15:30 via bbc.co.uk
  A house-sized asteroid is set to pass close to the Earth allowing scientists to rehearse future strike threats.
  
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• Best way to save the caribou? Look at white-tailed deer and moose

  11-10-2017 15:26 via feedproxy.google.com
  The most effective way to save North America’s dwindling caribou herds is to keep numbers of invading prey animals—like deer and moose—low, according to a new UAlberta research study.“Prey like moose and deer are expanding in numbers and range because of logging and climate change,” said Robert Serrouya, a postdoctoral fellow in biological sciences professor Stan Boutin’s lab.
  
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• CDP: Huge leap in multinationals adopting internal carbon price

  11-10-2017 15:17
  A new CDP report has highlighted an 8-fold increase in the number of large multinational factoring an internal carbon price into business strategies over the past four years.
  
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• The Seabin: the debris-sucking saviour of the oceans

  11-10-2017 15:06 via theguardian.com
  This new device literally sucks rubbish from the water’s surface, and it’s starting with Portsmouth harbourName: The Seabin.Age: Brand new. Continue reading...
  
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• Claire Perry: Clean Growth Strategy will set 'decarbonisation pathway' across UK economy

  11-10-2017 13:41
  The Government's long-anticipated Clean Growth Strategy launches tomorrow (12 October), and the Minister of State for Climate Change Claire Perry has vowed to "march on a decarbonisation pathway" across the entire UK economy to meet national carbon commitments.
  
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• New M&S menswear suit crafted with recycled wool

  11-10-2017 13:39
  Marks & Spencer (M&S) has launched a new menswear wool blend suit made with 55% recycled wool, which includes materials donated in-store by its customers.
  
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• Coffee shops not doing enough to combat huge increase in waste cups

  11-10-2017 12:49 via theguardian.com
  Just 1% of the 2.5bn disposable cups thrown away each year in the UK are recycled, committee of MPs is toldCoffee shops are not doing enough to deal with the billions of disposable cups that are thrown away in the UK each year, an influential committee of MPs has been told.The environment audit committee heard that the phenomenal growth of on-the-go coffee meant that 2.5bn disposable cups are thrown away annually in the UK, a number expected to rise to about 3bn by 2025. Only 1% are recycled.Con
  
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• UK stabilises top 10 ranking for renewable attractiveness

  11-10-2017 12:43
  The UK has cemented its position in the top 10 rankings of the world's most attractive countries for renewable energy investment, with China claiming top spot.
  
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• 2017 on course to be deadliest on record for land defenders

  11-10-2017 12:35 via theguardian.com
  Deaths of environmental activists locked in conflict with mining, logging and agricultural companies across three continents has passed 150The number of people killed this year while defending their community’s land, natural resources or wildlife has passed 150 – meaning 2017 is on course to be the deadliest year on record.Environmental activists, wildlife rangers and indigenous leaders are locked in fierce conflicts with mining, logging and agricultural companies in hundreds of plac
  
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• How stop jackdaws ruin russet crop | Notes and queries

  11-10-2017 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 conceptsThis year we have had a big problem with jackdaws spoiling our apples: they have taken a peck from so much of our fruit that it has ruined a good crop of russets. We never used to have jackdaws round here, but they moved in a few years ago and are now a serious pest – they rival the magpies. Does anyone know why jackdaws arrived her
  
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• How can we stop jackdaws ruining our russet crop | Notes and queries

  11-10-2017 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 conceptsThis year we have had a big problem with jackdaws spoiling our apples: they have taken a peck from so much of our fruit that it has ruined a good crop of russets. We never used to have jackdaws round here, but they moved in a few years ago and are now a serious pest – they rival the magpies. Does anyone know why jackdaws arrived her
  
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• Fukushima evacuee to tell UN that Japan violated human rights

  11-10-2017 12:27 via theguardian.com
  Mitsuko Sonoda will say evacuees face financial hardship and are being forced to return to homes they believe are unsafeA nuclear evacuee from Fukushima will claim Japan’s government has violated the human rights of people who fled their homes after the 2011 nuclear disaster, in testimony before the UN in Geneva this week.Mitsuko Sonoda, who voluntarily left her village with her husband and their 10-year-old son days after three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant went in
  
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• Despite Trump, American companies are still investing in renewable energy | John Abraham

  11-10-2017 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Surveyed corporations stated that Trump’s election had no impact on their decision to buy renewable energy
  After the election of Donald Trump, many of us in the climate and energy fields were rightfully fearful. What would happen to international agreements to cut greenhouse gases? What would happen to funding for climate research? What would happen to the green energy revolution?In most instances, Trump is worse than we could have imagined. But in one special area, Trump may not matter. T
  
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• edie roundtable: Driving renewables through the supply chain

  11-10-2017 10:15
  Sustainability and energy management experts from some of the world's biggest businesses recently gathered in London for an exclusive roundtable hosted by edie and Smartest Energy, to explore how companies can reach out to supply chains to improve carbon performance.
  
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• Satellites spy Antarctic 'upside-down ice canyon'

  11-10-2017 10:03 via bbc.co.uk
  An Antarctic ice shelf is shown to have a deep gorge cut in its underside by warm ocean water.
  
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• Renault's new smartphone app enables EV owners to source renewables from the grid

  11-10-2017 09:12
  French car manufacturer Renault will launch a smart phone app that enables electric vehicle (EV) owners to map charging times to benefit from renewable energy and lower electricity consumption prices.
  
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• Plastic bottle deposit return scheme could save England's councils £35m a year

  11-10-2017 07:30 via theguardian.com
  Cash-strapped councils would save money thanks to reduced littering and landfill charges as well as having less recycling bins to collect, says reportCouncils across England could save up to £35m every year if the government introduces a deposit return scheme [DRS] for plastic bottles and other drinks containers, according to a new report.Earlier this month environment secretary Michael Gove told the Conservative party conference that he would work with the industry to see how the scheme m
  
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• Country diary: bats hunt by the light of the silvery harvest moon

  11-10-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Wenlock Edge, Shropshire Seen through the shaggy boughs of an old larch, the full moon had the strange allure that moths and wanderers knowA streetlight in the lane enamelled hollies with a sodium glow and sucked the colour from the leaves of other trees. The church bell rang eight or maybe nine; there was a soughing through the limes.Suddenly, I felt a tiny sonic boom and the draught of a bat’s wing close to my ear. It was like a tap on the shoulder, not a shock so much as a greeting but,
  
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• Sewage plants are leaking millions of tiny plastic beads into Britain's seas

  11-10-2017 06:01 via theguardian.com
  The plastic beads used for filtering sewage are hard to spot and pose a risk to wildlife, according to a new reportSewage plants are contributing to plastic pollution in the oceans with millions of tiny beads spilling into the seas around the UK, according to a new report.Dozens of UK wastewater treatment plants use tiny plastic pellets, known as Bio-Beads, to filter chemical and organic contaminants from sewage, according to a study from the Cornish Plastic Pollution Coalition (CPPC). Continue
  
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• World will need 'carbon sucking' technology by 2030s, scientists warn

  11-10-2017 04:03 via theguardian.com
  New methods to capture and store emissions, such as planting more forests and pumping carbon underground, are currently costly and need testingAs efforts to cut planet-warming emissions fall short, large-scale projects to suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere will be needed by the 2030s to hold the line against climate change, scientists have said.Many new technologies that aim to capture and store carbon emissions, thereby delivering “negative emissions”, are costly, controversi
  
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• 'Climate change is real': energy minister hits out at Tony Abbott

  11-10-2017 02:24 via theguardian.com
  Josh Frydenberg brings up former PM’s own record in response to Liberal colleague’s provocative speech to a group of climate-change scepticsThe energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, has slapped down Tony Abbott and other conservative rebels, declaring that climate change is real and that waswhy Abbott agreed to join the Paris international climate agreement when he was prime minister.
  Asked about Abbott’s provocative speech to a group of climate-change sceptics in London questionin
  
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• Mass extinctions 'offer cautionary tale'

  11-10-2017 01:36 via bbc.co.uk
  Past mass extinctions have the potential to guide modern conservation efforts, say scientists.
  
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• Watchdog slams nuclear cleanup contract that cost public £122m

  11-10-2017 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Contract to dispose of material from 12 sites went ‘wrong on a fundamental level’ and led to multimillion pound payoutsThe government agency responsible for mishandling a major nuclear cleanup contract – costing the state more than £122m – has been severely criticised by Whitehall’s spending watchdog.A National Audit Office inquiry into a bungled £6.2bn contract to dispose of material from 12 different nuclear sites has questioned whether the Nuclear Dec
  
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• Fatbergs: 90% of London restaurants are contributing to problem

  11-10-2017 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Oil and food scraps are finding their way into pipes and drains as majority of eateries have no grease trapsThe vast majority of London restaurants and takeaways are responsible for feeding the fatbergs that are choking the capital’s sewers, according to survey findings that Thames Water called “staggering”.Ninety per cent of eateries in London are contributing to the problem by failing to install grease traps, the report found. As a result, grease, oil and food scraps washed o
  
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