Environment news

• Dinosaur sported 'bandit mask'

  26-10-2017 20:11 via bbc.co.uk
  A dinosaur from China had a "bandit mask" pattern in the feather on its faces, fossil analysis has shown.
  
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• Frydenberg says government will further reduce emissions to meet Paris target

  26-10-2017 19:00 via theguardian.com
  Energy minister says he expects the states to act in the national interest and sign on to national energy guaranteeThe energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, says he expects the states to sign on to the national energy guarantee, despite the current pushback, and that the government will pursue further emissions reductions in other parts of the economy as part of meeting the Paris target.In an interview with Guardian Australia’s Australian Politics Live podcast, Frydenberg said he expected stat
  
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• Urban heat and cool island effects controlled by agriculture and irrigation

  26-10-2017 18:39 via feedproxy.google.com
  As Earth’s climate continues to warm, the urban heat island effect raises concerns that city-dwellers will suffer more heat stress than their rural counterparts. However, new research suggests that some cities actually experience a cooling effect. More than 60 percent of urban areas in India experience a day-time cooling effect, according to the study, which was published in Scientific Reports. The cooling effect has been observed in the past, but this paper is the first to direc
  
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• Bloodhound car tested ahead of 1,000mph record attempt

  26-10-2017 18:07 via bbc.co.uk
  The 'world's fastest car' goes through its first public tests ahead of a land speed record attempt.
  
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• Renewable heat legislation delays a 'significant threat' to UK's climate change goals

  26-10-2017 17:01
  Fresh delays to the reform of renewable heat policy have been described by green groups as a "significant threat" to the UK's long-term climate ambitions.
  
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• New technology capable of converting waste into bio-energy coming to University of Alberta

  26-10-2017 15:13 via feedproxy.google.com
  A shipping container-sized pilot plant that can process a variety of wastes into valuable biofuels will be shipped from Germany to Edmonton thanks to a new future energy research collaboration between the University of Alberta and Germany’s Fraunhofer Society.The plant, known as Biobattery, uses thermo-catalytic reforming (TCR) technology developed by Fraunhofer bioengineering researcher Andreas Hornung to process a variety of wastes into three valuable products––bio-oil, char
  
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• Deadly lead: How lead poisoning affected the Roman Empire

  26-10-2017 15:13 via feedproxy.google.com
  McMaster researchers are investigating how lead poisoning affected human health in the Roman Empire.The research, jointly led by Tracy Prowse, an associate professor in McMaster's Department of Anthropology and Professor Maureen Carroll from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Archaeology, is the first study to investigate lead production and use in the Roman Empire, using archaeological and skeletal evidence from a specific site in Roman Italy.
  
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• Bloodhound supersonic carries out first public runs

  26-10-2017 14:55 via bbc.co.uk
  The British-led Bloodhound vehicle carries out some slow-speed trials in Newquay, Cornwall.
  
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• Best photos of the day: persimmon harvest and young tigers playing

  26-10-2017 14:46 via theguardian.com
  The Guardian’s picture editors bring you a selection of photo highlights from around the world including colourful water lilies in Bangladesh, horses playing in a Hamburg zoo and the Hermitage bathed in red in St PetersburgContinue reading...
  
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• Top firms act on deforestation as UK urged not to 'turn a blind eye'

  26-10-2017 13:34
  A pioneering study has illustrated the overseas impact of UK imports on forests, wildfire and nature, as a host of global firms make pledges to help prevent deforestation in Brazil's tropical savanna.
  
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• Sea levels to rise 1.3m unless coal power ends by 2050, report says

  26-10-2017 13:00 via theguardian.com
  University of Melbourne paper combines latest understanding on Antarctica and current emissions projection scenariosCoastal cities around the world could be devastated by 1.3m of sea level rise this century unless coal-generated electricity is virtually eliminated by 2050, according to a new paper that combines the latest understanding of Antarctica’s contribution to sea level rise and the latest emissions projection scenarios.It confirms again that significant sea level rise is inevitable
  
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• Ciwem environmental photographer of the year 2017 winners – in pictures

  26-10-2017 12:34 via theguardian.com
  The winner of the 10th annual environmental photographer of the year competition is Quoc Nguyen Linh Vinh, from Vietnam, for his poignant image of a young girl and her mother, surrounded by filth, danger and pollution, making their living by collecting waste Continue reading...
  
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• Can green mortgages help the European Union reach climate and building targets?

  26-10-2017 12:25
  New reports provided by the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) have outlined how an "energy-efficient mortgage" could provide the ideal financial instrument to improve the energy performance of Europe's existing housing stock.
  
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• Revealed: oil giants pay billions less tax in Canada than abroad

  26-10-2017 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Data shows companies made much higher payments to developing countries in 2016 than to Canadian, provincial governmentsCanada taxes its oil and gas companies at a fraction of the rate they are taxed abroad, including by countries ranked among the world’s most corrupt, according to an analysis of public data by the Guardian.The low rate that oil companies pay in Canada represents billions of dollars in potential revenue lost, which an industry expert who looked at the data says is a worryin
  
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• Fit UK fishing boats with monitoring technology after Brexit, campaigners urge

  26-10-2017 11:36 via theguardian.com
  The EU currently sets fishing catch limits in order to maintain fish stocks. The WWF is concerned that poor management post-Brexit could result in over-fishingAll of the UK’s fishing fleet should be fitted with electronic monitoring technology after Brexit in order to protect fish stocks from poor management and potentially illegal landings of fish, campaigners have urged.Remote monitoring technology, including closed circuit television, is now widely available for fishing vessels, but is
  
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• Study identifies sheer scale of opportunity for Scottish bioeconomy

  26-10-2017 10:35
  A new report has highlighted the "huge opportunities" for 27 million tonnes of biomaterial such as food waste, by-products and agricultural residues to add value to Scotland's economy.
  
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• Alan Finkel disputes figures used by supporters of coal power

  26-10-2017 09:29 via theguardian.com
  Chief scientist says far fewer coal-fired power stations being planned around the world than previously projectedThe chief scientist, Alan Finkel, has challenged figures used by supporters of coal-fired power stations in a Senate estimates hearing.Liberal senator Ian Macdonald suggested there were more than 600 coal plants under way around the world, which would undermine any emissions reduction achieved by Australia. Continue reading...
  
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• Coca-Cola applies for water self-supply licence

  26-10-2017 09:16
  Multinational bottling firm Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) has redoubled its water stewardship commitment by applying for a self-supply water and sewerage retail licence.
  
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• Australian ministers write to China to confirm approval of Carmichael mine

  26-10-2017 08:41 via theguardian.com
  Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade secretary says Adani may have requested letter to help secure Chinese fundingSenior Turnbull government ministers have written a formal letter to China’s government to confirm that the controversial Adani Carmichael coal project in Queensland has passed all necessary environmental approvals.Frances Adamson, the secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, told senators on Thursday that Adani may have requested the letter to help it secur
  
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• Ancient skull 'oldest tsunami victim'

  26-10-2017 08:34 via bbc.co.uk
  The person is likely to have died in Papua New Guinea about 6,000 years ago, scientists say.
  
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• Country diary: in the slow lane of an old Roman road

  26-10-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  A14, Huntingdonshire: Taken at a chariot’s pace the highway reveals its pockets of wilderness and unexpected beautyTwo thousand years after the Romans cut an urban vein through rural Huntingdonshire, naming it Via Devana (Chester Street), the road is scheduled to shift its course. I decided to follow the old highway at a chariot’s pace, stopping often to seek out the oddities and glimpses of character you invariably find in the slow lane.My first layby, outside Godmanchester, was jam
  
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• How the river Ganges was taken to London

  26-10-2017 02:54 via bbc.co.uk
  Neil MacGregor explains how an extraordinary journey was made possible by the largest silver objects ever produced.
  
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• National Park Service wants to sharply raise entry fees at most popular parks

  26-10-2017 00:11 via theguardian.com
  Visitors to popular parks, including Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Zion, could see fees double or triple to address backlog of maintenance and infrastructure costs
  The National Park Service is considering a steep increase in entrance fees at 17 of its most popular parks, mostly in the American west, to address a backlog of maintenance and infrastructure projects.Visitors to the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Zion and other national parks would be charged $70 per vehicle, up from the fee of $3
  
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