Environment news

• Banning bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides should be just the start | Letters

  15-11-2017 20:18 via theguardian.com
  Peter Melchett of the Soil Association bemoans the power held by the chemical industry; Huw Jones writes that agricultural policy needs expert understanding, not just political opportunism; plus letters from Deb Nicholson, Graeme Taylor and Bruce FriedrichIt’s great that Michael Gove has accepted the overwhelming scientific evidence that neonicotinoids are killing bees, other insects and birds, although it is a sad commentary on how safety decisions on pesticides have been taken up to now
  
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• Pacific Island Countries Could Lose 50-80% of Fish in Local Waters Under Climate Change

  15-11-2017 19:27 via feedproxy.google.com
  Many Pacific Island nations will lose 50 to 80 percent of marine species in their waters by the end of the 21st century if climate change continues unchecked, finds a new Nippon Foundation-Nereus Program study published in Marine Policy. This area of the ocean is projected to be the most severely impacted by aspects of climate change.
  
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• Study Finds People with Certain Blood Types Have Increased Risks of Heart Attack During Periods of High Air Pollution

  15-11-2017 19:13 via feedproxy.google.com
  Individuals who have A, B, or AB blood types have an elevated risk of having a heart attack during periods of significant air pollution, compared to those with the O blood type, according to new research from the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute and Brigham Young University.The new study is unique in that it links increased risk of heart attack associated with small particulate pollution to increased risk of heart attack for people with certain blood types who have coronary artery di
  
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• Climate change will determine humanity's destiny, says Angela Merkel

  15-11-2017 19:12 via theguardian.com
  German chancellor, UN secretary general, Emmanuel Macron and others urge world’s leaders to succeed in their negotiations in Bonn“Climate change is an issue determining our destiny as mankind – it will determine the wellbeing of all of us,” the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has told the world’s nations gathered at a climate summit.The delegates heard a series of strong political messages on Wednesday, urging them to use the final two days of the summit to comple
  
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• Europe steps in to cover US shortfall in funding climate science

  15-11-2017 19:11 via bbc.co.uk
  French and UK governments say they will make up for any shortfall in funding for a global science body.
  
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• SSTL to build Canadian satellite constellation

  15-11-2017 19:05 via bbc.co.uk
  Vancouver-based UrtheCast contracts UK firm SSTL to build a series of satellites to image Earth every day.
  
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• Michael Proctor obituary

  15-11-2017 18:55 via theguardian.com
  Botanist and ecologist who aimed to increase our understanding of the plants and natural landscapes around usMichael Proctor, who has died aged 88, was a leading botanist and ecologist who specialised in the study of natural vegetation and the British flora. His studies of rock roses and his scientific portraits of Malham Tarn, the Burren in western Ireland, and the bogs and oakwoods on Dartmoor are regarded as classics of postwar ecological research. With his lifelong friend Peter Yeo, he wrote
  
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• Amazon's Recovery Limited by Climate Change

  15-11-2017 18:20 via feedproxy.google.com
  Deforested areas of the Amazon Basin have a limited ability to recover because of recent changes in climate, a study shows.
  
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• Bananapocalypse: genetic modification may save $12bn industry

  15-11-2017 18:00 via theguardian.com
  Researchers in Queensland modify Cavendish bananas to protect them from devastating Panama disease fungusA multibillion-dollar banana industry at risk of a deadly disease could be saved by genetic modification that created a line of bananas resistant to Fusarium wilt tropical race 4, also known as Panama disease.Researchers at Queensland University of Technology genetically modified Cavendish bananas using a gene found in a south-east Asian banana subspecies that naturally displayed resistance.
  
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• Scripps Scientists Use Photomosaic Technology to Find Order in the Chaos of Coral Reefs

  15-11-2017 17:47 via feedproxy.google.com
  In a study published recently in Coral Reefs, scientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego created and analyzed detailed photomosaics of the coral reef at Palmyra Atoll, and made surprising discoveries around coral spatial ecology. The scientists, led by graduate student Clinton Edwards, canvassed more than 17,000 square feet of reef, and 44,008 coral colonies, taking more than 39,000 images that were then stitched together to create 3D photomosaics that encompassed t
  
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• Low dose, constant drip: Pharmaceuticals & personal care products impact aquatic life

  15-11-2017 17:41 via feedproxy.google.com
  Traditional toxicity testing underestimates the risk that pharmaceutical and personal care product pollution poses to freshwater ecosystems. Criteria that account for ecological disruption – not just organism death – are needed to protect surface waters, which are under pressure from a growing population and escalating synthetic chemical use. So reports a new study published this week in Elementa.
  
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• FIREBIRD II and NASA Mission Locate Whistling Space Electrons' Origins

  15-11-2017 17:36 via feedproxy.google.com
  Scientists have long known that solar-energized particles trapped around the planet are sometimes scattered into Earth’s upper atmosphere where they can contribute to beautiful auroral displays. Yet for decades, no one has known exactly what is responsible for hurling these energetic electrons on their way. Recently, two spacecraft found themselves at just the right places at the right time to witness first hand both the impulsive electron loss and its cause.
  
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• How to Keep Cows Happy

  15-11-2017 17:33 via feedproxy.google.com
  Corrals are used on livestock farms around the world to round up the animals when they need to be weighed or vaccinated. New research now shows that removing splashes of colors, shadows or water puddles from corrals, keeping noise levels down and not using dogs and electric prods can dramatically reduce the stress cattle experience. Maria Lúcia Pereira Lima of the Instituto de Zootecnia Sertãozinho in Brazil is the lead author of this study in Springer’s journal&nbs
  
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• Artificial sweeteners in groundwater indicate contamination from septic systems

  15-11-2017 17:30 via feedproxy.google.com
  The presence of artificial sweeteners in rural groundwater shows evidence for contamination by local septic system wastewater, researchers from the University of Waterloo have found.
  
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• Off Track: How Storms Will Veer in a Warmer World

  15-11-2017 17:29 via feedproxy.google.com
  Under global climate change, the Earth’s climatic zones will shift toward the poles. This is not just a future prediction; it is a trend that has already been observed in the past decades. The dry, semi-arid regions are expanding into higher latitudes, and temperate, rainy regions are migrating poleward. In a paper that that was recently published in Nature Geoscience, Weizmann Institute of Science researchers provide new insight into this phenomenon by discovering that mid-latitude s
  
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• Indigenous groups win greater climate recognition at Bonn summit

  15-11-2017 17:11 via theguardian.com
  World governments have acknowledged for the first time that ‘first peoples’ can play a leadership role in protecting forests and limiting global warmingIndigenous groups claimed a victory at the UN climate talks in Bonn on Wednesday as governments acknowledged for the first time that they can play a leadership role in protecting forests and keeping global temperatures at a safe level.Long marginalised and often criminalised in their home countries, the “first peoples” &nd
  
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• Solar Power Rapidly Expands, But So Does Oil Use, in New World Energy Outlook

  15-11-2017 16:37 via feedproxy.google.com
  Solar power will surge globally in the coming decades, but oil demand will also continue to grow, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency.
  
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• India to introduce clean fuels faster to combat Delhi smog crisis

  15-11-2017 15:59 via theguardian.com
  Measures to slash vehicle emissions to come in two years earlier than planned in effort to reduce air pollution in capital
  Measures aimed at slashing vehicle emissions will be introduced two years early, the Indian government has announced in its first major policy response to the Delhi smog crisis.As the haze improved slightly on Wednesday – albeit to levels still considered “very poor” – the Indian petroleum ministry said it would introduce Bharat VI fuels from April ne
  
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• Bigotry against indigenous people means we're missing a trick on climate change

  15-11-2017 15:54 via theguardian.com
  Traditional farming strategies could protect humanity against global warming and prevent deadly wildfires. Yet scientists seem determined to ignore them Prejudice against indigenous people is visible and ingrained in cultures everywhere, from US football team names (the Washington Redskins for example) to Hindu folk tales where the forest peoples are rakshasas, or demons. But it’s arguable that these prejudices also influence our science and policy. Take, for example, the specialised metho
  
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• In Drive to Cut Emissions, Germany Confronts Its Car Culture

  15-11-2017 15:19 via feedproxy.google.com
  Germans like to think of themselves as the most environmentally friendly people on earth. They see their sophisticated recycling programs, their love of forests, and, most recently, the country’s drive to replace both nuclear and coal-fired power production with renewable sources — the so-called Energiewende, or “energy turn” — as evidence of their strong environmental consciousness, especially compared to top polluters like the United States and China.
  
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• Mutated frog gene repels predators

  15-11-2017 14:17 via feedproxy.google.com
  Post-doctoral researcher Andrés Posso-Terranova and his former supervisor José Andrés have found evidence that a single gene called MC1R controls the deep black color on the skin of these poisonous frogs. The researchers have found that the disruption of the gene is responsible for the black blobs and stripes. Their results have been published this week in the international journal Evolution.
  
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• Brazil's oil sale plans undermine its role at Bonn

  15-11-2017 14:05 via theguardian.com
  Nation criticised for racing to exploit oil reserves, with huge subsidies proposed for the industry that run counter to its progressive stance at the talks and climate commitmentsBrazil is planning a fire-sale of its oil resources before shrinking global carbon budgets push down demand and prices, environmental groups have warned.The focus of concern is a government proposal for up to $300bn in tax relief to companies that develop offshore oilfields that opponents claim would use up 7% of humani
  
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• Brazil's oil sale plans prompt fears of global fossil fuel extraction race

  15-11-2017 14:05 via theguardian.com
  Government proposal to give tax relief for offshore oil would increase emissions and contradicts the nation’s progressive stance in Bonn Brazil is planning a fire-sale of its oil resources before shrinking global carbon budgets push down demand and prices, environmental groups have warned.The focus of concern is a government proposal for up to $300bn in tax relief to companies that develop offshore oilfields that opponents claim would use up 7% of humanity’s emission budget if global
  
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• Nearby planet is 'excellent' target in search for life

  15-11-2017 14:04 via bbc.co.uk
  Astronomers have found a cool, Earth-sized planet that's relatively close to our Solar System.
  
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• Nearby planet is a target in search for life

  15-11-2017 14:04 via bbc.co.uk
  Astronomers have found a cool, Earth-sized planet that's relatively close to our Solar System.
  
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• Housebuilders 'cheating the public' over energy efficiency standards, claims Lord Deben

  15-11-2017 13:34
  Some of the biggest UK private housebuilding firms have faced criticism from the Chairman of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) for delivering new homes that allegedly fail to meet energy efficiency standards.
  
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• Plastics found in stomachs of deepest sea creatures

  15-11-2017 13:14 via theguardian.com
  ‘Very worrying finding’ from nearly 11km deep confirms fears that synthetic fibres have contaminated the most remote places on EarthShare your photos and stories of how you are avoiding plasticAnimals from the deepest places on Earth have been found with plastic in their stomachs, confirming fears that manmade fibres have contaminated the most remote places on the planet. The study, led by academics at Newcastle University, found animals from trenches across the Pacific Ocean were co
  
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• 'It has no protections': scientists fight for wildfire-burned land amid logging threat

  15-11-2017 13:00 via theguardian.com
  The US cashes in on timber from ‘devastated’ areas – but the land is actually ‘the rarest and most biodiverse habitat in the Sierra Nevadas’, says an expert Less than a mile from Yosemite national park, Chad Hanson is wading through a sea of knee-high conifers that have burst from the ashes of the vast 2013 Rim fire. The US Forest Service essentially says the baby trees don’t exist. The agency says that “catastrophic” fires have “devastated&r
  
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• Microsoft shoots for Paris Agreement with 75% emissions reduction goal

  15-11-2017 12:22
  Microsoft has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030, in a move that will align the technology company's decarbonisation strategy with the 2C pathway target of the Paris Agreement.
  
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• Demand response: edie relaunches free business guide

  15-11-2017 12:18
  Organisations with an interest in using demand response to manage energy use now have access to an updated 'edie Explains' guide which breaks down all of the key information required to deploy the technology.
  
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• Nearby planet is a target for life

  15-11-2017 12:00 via bbc.co.uk
  Astronomers have found an Earth-sized planet with mild temperatures that's also relatively close to our Solar System.
  
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• An Inconvenient Sequel – the science, history, and politics of climate change | John Abraham

  15-11-2017 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Al Gore’s new film is worth watching
  Al Gore’s new movie ‘An Inconvenient Sequel’ is, in some ways, similar to his groundbreaking Inconvenient Truth project, but different in other ways. Those key differences are why I recommend you watch it. This movie successfully accomplishes a number of interweaving tasks. First, it gives some of the science of climate change. Gore gets his science right. I remember his first movie, which I thought was more steeped in science and data
  
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• Blockchain start-up unveils plastic offset scheme

  15-11-2017 11:30
  A technology start-up has launched a new initiative for companies and families to calculate and offset annual "plastic footprints" by purchasing credits that support global projects that tackle plastic pollution.
  
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• World Energy Outlook: Seven key trends shaping the low-carbon economy

  15-11-2017 10:22
  A rising electrification of energy, rapid deployment of renewable energy sources, and a steady decline of the coal industry are all predicted as major shifts in the global energy scene over the next 25 years in the International Energy Association's (IEA) annual flagship publication.
  
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• Global climate action must be gender equal | Hilda Heine

  15-11-2017 10:00 via theguardian.com
  Women bear the heaviest brunt of global warming, and are less empowered to contribute to solutions. A new action plan agreed at the Bonn climate talks aims to reverse this inequality, writes Hilda Heine, Marshall Islands presidentThe women of the Marshall Islands and the Pacific have been fighting colonialism and injustice for a long time. They bore the brunt of the long term effects of nuclear testing, and women leaders like Lijon Eknilang and Darlene Keju-Johnson brought these issues to the in
  
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• Animals Strike Curious Poses by Elena Passarello review – brilliant essays on immortal beasts

  15-11-2017 10:00 via theguardian.com
  The meanings of Dürer’s rhino, Mozart’s starling, Darwin’s tortoise and others explored with wild imagination and pyrotechnic proseElena Passarello starts this extraordinary book with the image of Yuka, a woolly mammoth chiselled from the softening permafrost by Siberian tusk hunters in 2010. First a rounded hoof comes into view, then a hollowed-out eye and finally the flank still bearing evidence of the gash that must have done for young Yuka – she was no
  
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• Growing number of global insurance firms divesting from fossil fuels

  15-11-2017 09:01 via theguardian.com
  Report shows around £15bn of assets worldwide have been shifted away from coal companies in the past two years as concern over climate risk risesA growing number of insurance companies increasingly affected by the consequences of climate change are selling holdings in coal companies and refusing to underwrite their operations.About £15bn has been divested in the past two years, according to a new report that rates the world’s leading insurers’ efforts to distance themselv
  
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• UK ratifies the Kigali amendment on HFCs

  15-11-2017 08:15
  The UK has become one of the first nations to ratify the landmark Kigali Agreement to phase down harmful hydrofluorocarbon greenhouse gases (HFCs) commonly found in appliances such as air conditioning units and refrigerators.
  
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• Into the woods: trees in photography

  15-11-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Trees have been a source of inspiration to photographers all over the world, from the earliest practitioners to the present day, as botanical subjects and poetic symbols. Featuring photographs by celebrated artists such as Ansel Adams, Alfred Stieglitz and Agnes Warburg, an exhibition at the V&A draws on works from the collections of the museum and the Royal Photographic SocietyInto the Woods: Trees in Photography, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 18 November 2017–22 April 2018
  Co
  
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• Country diary: drizzle only makes the bracken more vivid

  15-11-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  North Devon and beyond Roaring deer and singing wrens, mossy scree and ferny oaks, the swish of the sea and other snapshots of a 100-mile walkThe sight and sound of sea accompanies half our 100-mile walk from Braunton Great Field almost to Taunton, south of the Quantocks. From the coastal path, distant views of Lundy give way to those of south Wales, sometimes catching light from the lowering sun, but more often masked in cloud. Low tide reveals shining sand at Saunton; a swimmer heads for flat
  
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• NSW ombudsman releases damning report on water administration

  15-11-2017 05:50 via theguardian.com
  Ombudsman reveals three previous reports provided to NSW government were buriedThe NSW ombudsman has released a damning report into maladministration of the state’s water portfolio, revealing that three previous reports provided to the government were buried.The ombudsman has taken the unusual step of lodging a special report directly with the NSW parliament, in a bid to expose what it describes as “serious system failures” in the management of the state’s water policy. C
  
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• Logging in native forests: court to hear challenge to historic 'peace deal'

  15-11-2017 03:12 via theguardian.com
  Green groups are basing challenge on claim that Victorian forestry agreement is not being adhered toExemptions allowing logging to occur in Australia’s native forests without approval under federal environmental law are being challenged in court as lawyers claim the agreements creating them are not being adhered to in an area of Victoria.The case, brought by Environmental Justice Australia (EJA) on behalf of Friends of Leadbeater’s Possum, could have national implications, with other
  
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• Logging in Leadbeater's possum habitat challenged in court

  15-11-2017 03:12 via theguardian.com
  Green groups are basing challenge on claim that Victorian forestry agreement is not being adhered toExemptions allowing logging to occur in Australia’s native forests without approval under federal environmental law are being challenged in court as lawyers claim the agreements creating them are not being adhered to in an area of Victoria.The case, brought by Environmental Justice Australia (EJA) on behalf of Friends of Leadbeater’s Possum, could have national implications, with other
  
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• Climate's magic rabbit: Pulling CO2 out of thin air

  15-11-2017 02:02 via bbc.co.uk
  Can technology to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere really help prevent dangerous climate change?
  
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• Trump team looks for alternative approaches to Paris pact

  15-11-2017 01:32 via bbc.co.uk
  President Trump's climate adviser says that the US is looking to revive Bush-era climate forum.
  
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• 'Climate change is bad...it affects everything'

  15-11-2017 01:11 via bbc.co.uk
  People in Vunidogoloa had to move 2km (1.24m) inland, and say climate change is to blame.
  
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• Green planet

  15-11-2017 01:07 via bbc.co.uk
  The United Arab Emirates' space research is turning to growing food on Mars.
  
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• Press print

  15-11-2017 01:02 via bbc.co.uk
  The Swedish hi-tech firm at the forefront of using 3D printing to create human ears, noses and other body parts.
  
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