Environment news

• Weatherwatch: climate change and overfishing bring explosion of jellyfish

  07-11-2017 22:30 via theguardian.com
  Warmer and more acid seas cause huge blooms of jellyfish, but scientists are working on ways to convert them into something usefulThe combination of climate change and overfishing is causing a population explosion in jellyfish. Since there are fewer fish to eat them, they appear off the British coast in vast swarms. This is a threat to nuclear power stations – because they can block the intake of cooling water – and to fish farms, where thousands get caught in the netting, sometimes
  
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• Powering Saturn's Active Ocean Moon

  07-11-2017 19:10 via feedproxy.google.com
  Heat from friction could power hydrothermal activity on Saturn's moon Enceladus for billions of years if the moon has a highly porous core, according to a new modeling study by European and U.S. researchers working on NASA's Cassini mission.The study, published today in the journal Nature Astronomy, helps resolve a question scientist have grappled with for a decade:  Where does the energy to power the extraordinary geologic activity on Enceladus come from?
  
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• Study: Serving Water With School Lunches Could Prevent Child, Adult Obesity

  07-11-2017 18:13 via feedproxy.google.com
  Encouraging children to drink plain water with their school lunches could prevent more than half a million youths in the U.S. from becoming overweight or obese, and trim the medical costs and indirect societal costs associated with these problems by more than $13 billion, a new study suggests.
  
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• Use of Glow Sticks in Traps Greatly Increases Amphibian Captures in Study

  07-11-2017 18:06 via feedproxy.google.com
  With amphibian populations declining around the world and funds to find the causes scarce, a team of Penn State researchers has shown that an unorthodox tactic will make it easier and therefore less expensive to capture adult salamanders and frogs.
  
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• First Coast-To-Coast Land Motion Map of Scotland Derived from Satellite Radar Images

  07-11-2017 18:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  The first country-wide map of relative land motion has been created by a team at the University of Nottingham.
  
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• BHP opposes Minerals Council of Australia's war on activist rights

  07-11-2017 18:00 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: Miner separates itself from call for environmental groups to be restricted to using 10% of funding for advocacyBHP has said it will not support the Minerals Council’s bid to strip environmental groups of their ability to advocate for policy change.The surprising move comes amid increasing pressure on Australia’s biggest miner to distance itself from the Minerals Council, which has taken a hardline position against any form of credible action on climate change. The governme
  
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• Osaka University Chemists Unlock the Potential of Fluoroalkenes

  07-11-2017 17:35 via feedproxy.google.com
  One of the strongest chemical bonds in organic chemistry is formed between carbon and fluorine, giving unique properties to chemical compounds featuring this group. Pharmaceutical researchers are very interested in carbon-fluorine bond containing molecules because of the way they mimic certain behaviors of biological compounds. However, the strength of the carbon-fluorine bond makes it difficult to remove and replace fluorine atoms in a molecule, greatly limiting the structures and types of chem
  
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• Farmers must stop antibiotics use in animals due to human health risk, warns WHO

  07-11-2017 17:26 via theguardian.com
  Overuse of antibiotics in animals is contributing to growing drug resistance in humans with serious health implications, says global health bodyFarmers must be prevented from using powerful antibiotics on animals reared for food, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned, because of the serious risks to human health that result.New guidelines from the global body suggest farmers should stop using any antibiotics routinely to promote growth and prevent disease in animals that are otherwise h
  
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• Why plants form sprouts in the dark

  07-11-2017 17:21 via feedproxy.google.com
  Exposed to light, plants turn green and form leaves. Not so in the dark. A signal responsible for this phenomenon has now been decoded.
  
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• Food and drink industry lobbied against tougher waste policy, FOI reveals

  07-11-2017 17:16
  Trade bodies representing brands such as Sainsbury's, Tesco and Coca-Cola have lobbied the Government to oppose deposit return schemes and new EU proposals designed to boost recycling.
  
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• Cities Can Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions Far Beyond Their Urban Borders

  07-11-2017 17:16 via feedproxy.google.com
  Greenhouse gas emissions caused by urban households’ purchases of goods and services from beyond city limits are much bigger than previously thought. These upstream emissions may occur anywhere in the world and are roughly equal in size to the total emissions originating from a city’s own territory, a new study shows. This is not bad news but in fact offers local policy-makers more leverage to tackle climate change, the authors argue in view of the UN climate summit COP23 that just s
  
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• Biological Consequences of Climate Change on Epidemics May Be Scale-dependent

  07-11-2017 17:13 via feedproxy.google.com
  Conventional thinking holds that current climate warming will increase the prevalence and transmission of disease. 
  
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• Fog, smog and eco-drag: these climate change dramas are a breath of fresh air

  07-11-2017 17:12 via theguardian.com
  From cabaret to a witty teenage odyssey, the Shoot the Breeze festival at Camden People’s theatre considers global warming and pollution in striking styleWas Shakespeare a chronicler of climate-change disaster? A Midsummer Night’s Dream presents nature in crisis, brought about by the disruptions of the fairy and human worlds. In Joe Hill-Gibbins’ glumly dark revival at the Young Vic this year, the stage was covered in mud, suggesting not only how relationships get bogged down b
  
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• Why the Post-Paris Climate Challenge Is Even Harder Than We Thought

  07-11-2017 16:59 via feedproxy.google.com
  Climate negotiators gathering in Germany this week are still flush with the success of the Paris Agreement two years ago. But as they begin assembling a rule book for ensuring that the national pledges made in Paris are fulfilled, there comes a hard dose of reality. Those pledges, which constrain greenhouse gas emissions from now to 2030, will only deliver a third of the cuts needed to put the world on track to keep warming below the promised 2 degrees Celsius.
  
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• Blue Planet II is the perfect tonic as the world turns into a horror show | Stuart Heritage

  07-11-2017 16:49 via theguardian.com
  The BBC’s wildlife sequel has it all – profundity, wonder and trippy visuals. But crucially, it transports viewers to a tranquil place untouched by the awfulness above the oceanOf course Blue Planet II is the year’s most watched TV show. That was always going to be the case. Half of Bake Off’s audience naffed off the instant it left the BBC. This year’s Strictly has been hamstrung by its colossal shrug of a lineup, while X Factor – never the most placid watch
  
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• Paris climate accord: Syria 'to sign up', isolating US

  07-11-2017 16:45 via bbc.co.uk
  The reported move will leave the US as the only country now outside or opposed to the climate deal.
  
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• Relocating bus stops would cut riders' pollution exposure, UCLA study finds

  07-11-2017 15:51 via feedproxy.google.com
  oving bus stops away from intersections would substantially reduce the amount of pollution bus riders are exposed to, UCLA scientists report today in the journal Environmental Pollution.Research has shown that in many cities in the United States and internationally, bus riders frequently spend 15 to 25 minutes or more each way waiting for a bus.
  
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• Big Meat and Big Dairy's climate emissions put Exxon Mobil to shame | Juliette Majot and Devlin Kuyek

  07-11-2017 15:44 via theguardian.com
  It is time to stop the dairy and meat giants from destroying the climate and shift our support to making our small farmers, herders and ranchers resilientDid you know that three meat companies - JBS, Cargill and Tyson - are estimated to have emitted more greenhouse gases last year than all of France and nearly as much as some of the biggest oil companies like Exxon, BP and Shell?Few meat and dairy companies calculate or publish their climate emissions. So for the first time ever, we have estimat
  
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• Delhi smog declared public health emergency – video

  07-11-2017 15:25 via theguardian.com
  A public health emergency has been declared in Delhi as a choking blanket of smog descended on one of the world’s most polluted capital cities.The declaration from the Indian Medical Association came as the US embassy website said levels of the fine pollutants known as PM2.5 that are most harmful to health reached 703 on the air quality index – well over double the threshold of 300 that authorities class as hazardousDelhi doctors declare pollution emergency as smog chokes city C
  
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• Syria signs Paris climate agreement and leaves US isolated

  07-11-2017 15:23 via theguardian.com
  Syria’s decision means America will be the only country outside the landmark deal if it follows through with Donald Trump’s vow to leaveSyria has decided to sign the Paris agreement on climate change, the world’s final functioning state to do so. The surprise decision, taken amid a brutal civil war in the country, will leave the US as the only country outside the agreement if it follows through on President Donald Trump’s vow to leave.The landmark 2015 agreement requires
  
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• What are your experiences of Delhi's pollution crisis?

  07-11-2017 14:27 via theguardian.com
  Heavy smog has led doctors to declare a state of emergency in one of India’s largest cities
  A public health emergency has been declared in Delhi as a choking blanket of smog descended on the world’s most polluted capital city.“We have declared a state of public health emergency in Delhi since pollution is at an alarming level,” Krishan Kumar Aggarwal, head of the Indian Medical Association, told AFP. Continue reading...
  
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• UK government sued for third time over deadly air pollution

  07-11-2017 14:00 via theguardian.com
  Ministers accused of ‘stubborn failure’ to tackle widespread and illegal levels of air pollution, which cause 40,000 early deaths every yearThe UK government is being sued for a third time over the widespread illegal levels of air pollution, which cause 40,000 early deaths every year.Environmental lawyers ClientEarth have already defeated ministers twice in court, forcing a new pollution plan to be drawn up in July. But ClientEarth believes even the latest strategy does not meet the
  
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• Ministers offer 'scant detail' on post-Brexit green policy, MPs warn

  07-11-2017 13:39
  The Government has faced criticism for providing "scant detail" on areas relating to post-Brexit energy and climate change policy, such as the UK's role in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).
  
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• Banning bikes from Oxford Street is a disaster for London cycling

  07-11-2017 12:37 via theguardian.com
  Plans to pedestrianise one of the capital’s busiest cycling roads send the troubling message that cyclists and pedestrians can’t co-exist in an 80ft-wide streetSadiq Khan’s proposal to ban cyclists from Oxford Street, published on Monday, is an unqualified disaster for cycling in London, perhaps the single biggest blow it has suffered in years. And he’s sending an even more dangerous signal to the rest of the country.More than 2,000 cyclists a day, according to Department
  
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• The British Wildlife Photography awards 2017 - in pictures

  07-11-2017 11:55 via theguardian.com
  Daniel Trim’s airport-roosting pied wagtail has won the 2017 competition, which celebrates the work of amateur and professional photographers and the beauty and diversity of British wildlife. Winning images are chosen from thousands of entries, including film and junior categories.More than 100 images are on show at the Mall Galleries in London, before touring nationally, and a book of the images is also available Continue reading...
  
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• Coca-Cola bolsters sustainability targets for Western Europe

  07-11-2017 10:15
  Coca-Cola's continental divisions have teamed up to deliver a new sustainability plan for Western Europe, with a range of targets including plans to halve direct carbon emissions and use packaging that is recyclable or reusable by 2025.
  
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• Delhi doctors declare pollution emergency as smog chokes city

  07-11-2017 09:46 via theguardian.com
  Levels of the most dangerous PM2.5 fine pollutants are off the scale in some areas of India’s capital A public health emergency has been declared in Delhi as a choking blanket of smog descended on the world’s most polluted capital city.The declaration from the Indian Medical Association (IMA) came as the US embassy website said levels of the fine pollutants known as PM2.5 that are most harmful to health reached 703 micrograms per cubic metre – well over double the threshold of
  
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• Carbon price among policy wishlist issued by businesses at COP23

  07-11-2017 09:40
  Members of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), including the chief executives of more than 200 international businesses, have called for governments to collaborate with the private sector to set meaningful carbon prices and improve climate resilience.
  
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• Business focus on water management reaching 'record levels', says CDP

  07-11-2017 08:15
  The number of big businesses investing in water security has reached "record levels", with new analysis from CDP finding that more than $23bn has been invested in 2017 as some companies place an "internal price on water" to justify funding decisions.
  
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• Church of England should lead on climate change by divesting from ExxonMobil | Letter

  07-11-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Anglican clergy, including five bishops, broadcaster Richard Coles and Olivia Graham, call on the church to support the aims of the Paris climate agreement by divesting from fossil fuel companiesAs Church of England clergy, we have a strong interest in the ethics of investments made by the Church Commissioners and the Church of England Pensions Board on our behalf.This week, governments from around the world will meet in Bonn for the next round of UN climate talks. The Paris climate change agree
  
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• Bishops urge Church of England to divest from ExxonMobil over climate change

  07-11-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Group says church should show ‘moral leadership’ in light of claims that the oil giant misled the public over the risks of global warmingThe Church of England should “show moral leadership” and immediately sell its investments in the oil giant ExxonMobil, according to a group of bishops and other clergy.
  ExxonMobil is accused of misleading the public for decades over the dangers of climate change – the oil company denies the allegations – and has funded climat
  
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• Natural gas emissions will blow Europe's carbon budget at current levels

  07-11-2017 07:30 via theguardian.com
  Governments have been underestimating methane emissions from gas and must phase out the fossil fuel, along with coal and oil, by 2035 to keep within Paris climate targets, a major study shows Governments have drastically underestimated methane emissions from natural gas and will miss the Paris agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 2C unless they urgently scale down its use, a major new study has found. Continue reading...
  
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• Country diary: angling spot regular with a taste for unwanted catch

  07-11-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Rockland St Mary, Norfolk The fisherman rewarded the well-fed and fearless heron – a regular at the angling spot – with a small perch
  There were two catchers of fish at the water’s edge. There was the old boy who told me he had been coming here for 50 years and then there was the grey heron that has acquired a deep familiarity with people. I often it see as I drive through the neighbouring village of Bramerton, where it stands by the pond right at the roadside. Today, it was on
  
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• Fossil of 'our earliest ancestors' found in Dorset

  07-11-2017 03:28 via bbc.co.uk
  Teeth of the oldest mammals related to humans have been discovered on the Jurassic coast of Dorset.
  
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• Gibbons saved from pet trade have baby

  07-11-2017 02:57 via bbc.co.uk
  Rescued pet apes in Indonesia are being returned to the wild, but traders are still "flouting the law".
  
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• Endangered apes saved from pet trade

  07-11-2017 02:57 via bbc.co.uk
  Rescued pet apes in Indonesia are being returned to the wild, but traders are still "flouting the law".
  
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• Gibbons rescued from pet trade have baby in the wild

  07-11-2017 02:10 via bbc.co.uk
  A gibbon is the first of its species born in the wild to parents rescued from the illegal pet trade.
  
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• Human-elephant conflict destroying lives in India

  07-11-2017 01:36 via bbc.co.uk
  Elephants are looking for food in villages in India's forests, with deadly consequences.
  
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