Environment news

• Weatherwatch: La Niña strikes out on its forceful voyage round the globe

  16-11-2017 22:30 via theguardian.com
  Unusually cold patches of the Pacific ocean are again on the move, threatening to disrupt weather patterns worldwide A gigantic blob has surfaced in the Pacific, a monster of unusually cool water stretching out from South America across the equator. This is La Niña and it could send the world’s weather haywire over the next few months. Its impact could even be felt in Britain. Seven years ago one of the most powerful La Niñas on record led to catastrophic floods in Queensland
  
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• Lions next in line of fire as US rolls back curbs on African hunting trophies

  16-11-2017 20:19 via theguardian.com
  The Trump administration’s lifting of restrictions on importing elephant body parts from Zimbabwe and Zambia is not the last gift to hunting interestsHunting interests have scored a major victory with the Trump administration’s decision to allow Americans to bring home body parts of elephants shot for sport in Africa. Another totemic species now looks set to follow suit – lions.As the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) was announcing it was lifting a ban on the import of elepha
  
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• A mission for journalism in a time of crisis

  16-11-2017 20:00 via theguardian.com
  In a turbulent era, the media must define its values and principles, writes Guardian editor-in-chief Katharine Viner• ‘We need good journalism more than ever’‘No former period, in the history of our Country, has been marked by the agitation of questions of a more important character than those which are now claiming the attention of the public.” So began the announcement, nearly 200 years ago, of a brand-new newspaper to be published in Manchester, England, which pro
  
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• Trump sons' hunting in focus as US lifts import ban on African elephant trophies

  16-11-2017 19:46 via theguardian.com
  Obama administration imposed ban because of conservation concernsDonald Trump Jr and Eric Trump are enthusiastic big game huntersThe Trump administration’s decision to loosen restrictions around the import of elephant trophies from Zimbabwe and Zambia has turned attention back to the president’s family’s own connection to the controversial sport.Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump are prolific big game hunters and during the 2016 campaign, images re-emerged of the pair on a 2011 hun
  
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• Modern Air is a Little Too clean: The Rise of Air Pollution Denial

  16-11-2017 19:29 via feedproxy.google.com
  Despite report after report linking air pollution to deterioration of the lungs, heart and brain, Professor Robert Phalen believes the air is “too clean” for children.After all, everybody needs a bit of immune-system-boosting dirt in their lungs.“Modern air is a little too clean for optimum health,” he told the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), one of the world’s largest scientific societies, in 2012.
  
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• Blue Planet II episodes drowned out by music | Letters

  16-11-2017 19:20 via theguardian.com
  Eleanor Davison and Pat Brody are annoyed by the ‘intrusive’ music on David Attenborough’s new series, while George Pearce found the ‘pointless’ music score on the BBC’s adaptation of Howards End equally gallingI couldn’t agree more with Sam Wollaston (Last Night’s TV, G2, 13 November) about the intrusive background music in Blue Planet II. It is overbearing, annoying and insulting, as he says, though of course the photography is amazing. The next
  
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• Groundwater Depletion Could be Significant Source of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide

  16-11-2017 19:03 via feedproxy.google.com
  Humans may be adding large amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by using groundwater faster than it is replenished, according to new research. This process, known as groundwater depletion, releases a significant amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that has until now been overlooked by scientists in calculating carbon sources, according to the new study.
  
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• World’s biggest sovereign wealth fund proposes ditching oil and gas holdings

  16-11-2017 18:52 via theguardian.com
  Energy industry jolted by advice to Norwegian government from its central bank, which runs $1tn fundThe Norwegian central bank, which runs the country’s sovereign wealth fund – the world’s biggest – has told its government it should dump its shares in oil and gas companies, in a move that could have significant consequences for the sector.Norges Bank, the which manages Norway’s $1tn fund, said ministers should take the step to avoid the fund’s value being hit
  
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• Fears for Great Barrier Reef as deforestation surges in catchments

  16-11-2017 18:00 via theguardian.com
  Calls grow for the federal government to step in as erosion from intensified land clearing in Queensland threatens coralA deforestation surge in Queensland, which the latest government data suggests is about to accelerate dramatically, is heavily concentrated in catchments for the Great Barrier Reef, further undermining plans to improve reef water quality.The finding has renewed calls for the federal government to use its powers to assess the impact of clearing there until the Queensland governm
  
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• Climate Change Impacts Already Locked In – But The Worst Can Still Be Avoided

  16-11-2017 17:49 via feedproxy.google.com
  Some impacts of global warming – such as sea level rise and coastal flooding – are already locked in and unavoidable, according to a major research project. 
  
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• Species in the North are More Vulnerable to Climate Change

  16-11-2017 17:45 via feedproxy.google.com
  Acclimation means the ability of both animals and plants to adjust their physiology when it gets hotter or colder. In this way, individual organs are able to interact effectively and various processes in the body function optimally in varying conditions.
  
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• New Research Could Predict La Niña Drought Years in Advance

  16-11-2017 17:41 via feedproxy.google.com
  Two new studies from The University of Texas at Austin have significantly improved scientists’ ability to predict the strength and duration of droughts caused by La Niña – a recurrent cooling pattern in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Their findings, which predict that the current La Niña is likely to stretch into a second year, could help scientists know years in advance how a particular La Niña event is expected to evolve.
  
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• UK government '10 years late' on air quality targets

  16-11-2017 17:29 via theguardian.com
  Report from the National Audit Office finds overall improvement in air quality but does not expect to meet EU targets until 2021The government will be more than a decade late in meeting EU targets on air quality, a report from the National Audit Office (NAO) has revealed.The cost of health impacts from air pollution, including fine particulate matter and nitrogen oxides, is estimated at £20bn. Nearly 30,000 deaths were thought to be caused in 2008 by fine particulate matter pollution, some
  
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• 'Modern air is too clean': the rise of air pollution denial

  16-11-2017 16:41 via theguardian.com
  US sceptics are questioning the science behind air pollution and mortality, a trend that is starting to appear in countries where the air is much more toxic Despite report after report linking air pollution to deterioration of the lungs, heart and brain, Prof Robert Phalen believes the air is “too clean” for children.After all, everybody needs a bit of immune-system-boosting dirt in their lungs. Continue reading...
  
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• Businesses must 'unleash' potential of IoT and connectivity for sustainable future

  16-11-2017 16:30
  Data integration, transparency tracking and cross-sector collaboration are some of the areas where business leaders believe the Internet of Things (IoT) and connectivity can drive a sustainable future.
  
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• UK and Canada lead global alliance against coal

  16-11-2017 16:29 via bbc.co.uk
  A significant group of nations take a stand against using coal for electricity generation at UN climate talks.
  
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• Colombia zoo gives trafficked elephant root canal surgery

  16-11-2017 16:10 via bbc.co.uk
  The procedure took 30 people three hours to complete. Tantor had been rescued from a ranch in Colombia.
  
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• 'Political watershed' as 19 countries pledge to phase out coal

  16-11-2017 15:53 via theguardian.com
  New alliance launched at Bonn climate talks hopes to signal the end of the dirtiest fossil fuel that kills 800,000 people a year with air pollutionA new alliance of 19 nations committed to quickly phasing out coal has been launched at the UN climate summit in Bonn, Germany. It was greeted as a “political watershed”, signalling the end of the dirtiest fossil fuel that currently provides 40% of global electricity.New pledges were made on Thursday by Mexico, New Zealand, Denmark and Ang
  
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• US to allow imports of elephant trophies from Zimbabwe

  16-11-2017 15:06 via theguardian.com
  Campaigners fear move by Trump administration will damage global efforts to end the ivory trade Donald Trump’s administration plans to allow imports of elephant trophies from Zimbabwe into the US – a move campaigners fear could damage global momentum on ending the ivory trade.In 2014, US big game hunters killing elephants in Zimbabwe were banned from bringing their trophies home, on the basis that the country had failed to show that it was taking elephant management seriously.Continu
  
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• 'Routine' detection of space ripples

  16-11-2017 13:54 via bbc.co.uk
  Laser labs sense black holes merging at a distance of about a billion light-years from Earth.
  
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• Formula One fridge technology to drive energy savings for Sainsbury's

  16-11-2017 13:13
  Sainsbury's will become the first UK supermarket to rollout an F1 inspired fridge technology which is expected to drastically reduce the energy needed for cooling.
  
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• Orcas vs great white sharks: in a battle of the apex predators who wins?

  16-11-2017 12:12 via theguardian.com
  It’s difficult to imagine the voracious and predatory great white shark as prey. Could orcas really be overpowering them and removing their livers?The great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias, is considered the most voracious apex predator in temperate marine ecosystems worldwide, playing a key role in controlling ecosystem dynamics.As a result, it is difficult to imagine a great white as prey. And yet, earlier this year the carcasses of five great whites washed ashore along South Africa&
  
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• UK surges into top 10 low-carbon electricity rankings

  16-11-2017 11:56
  Britain has for the first time entered the top 10 rankings of a league table which compares large and industrialised countries on the carbon content of power supplies.
  
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• Epic India leopard rescue photo wins award five years later

  16-11-2017 11:56 via bbc.co.uk
  In a rare instance, Indian villagers and forest officers worked together for hours to save the animal
  
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• Britain got its way in the EU when it mattered – I know, I was there | John Gummer

  16-11-2017 11:31 via theguardian.com
  We are unravelling the greatest peacetime project of our lives because Brexiteers insist we’ve lost control. But it’s simply not true• John Gummer served as environment secretary in John Major’s Conservative government between 1993 and 1997A continuing refrain of the Brexiteers is that Britain has always lost out to the rest of Europe in negotiations. This derives partly from the way successive governments have portrayed the EU as a battleground in which there is room only
  
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• First gene-editing in human body attempt

  16-11-2017 10:40 via bbc.co.uk
  Gene-editing has been attempted on cells inside a patient, in a world first by doctors in California.
  
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• Nicholas Stern: ministers must pass 'Trump test' at Bonn climate talks

  16-11-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Leading climate economist says world leaders must move forward without the US on crucial issues in the closing days of the UN summitMinisters from governments around the world meeting in Bonn for the final days of the UN climate talks must prove they can pass “the Trump test” by moving on without the US on issues crucial to combating global warming, a leading climate economist has said.
  “It’s about getting on with it,” Lord Nicholas Stern told the Guardian. “T
  
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• Queenslanders support Labor promise to veto loan to Adani, poll says

  16-11-2017 07:12 via theguardian.com
  More than 61% say they think the LNP should follow Labor and also promise to stop Adani getting government loanA majority of Queenslanders support premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s promise to veto a potential federal government loan for the Adani coal project, according to polling by the Australia Institute ahead of the state election.The finding supports evidence from interviews with voters with some who are strongly in favour of the mine itself opposed to it being subsidised by the governm
  
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• Trophy review – stomach-turning doc takes aim at big-game hunters

  16-11-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  The macabre ultra-luxury sport of ‘canned’ trophy hunting in Africa comes under unflinching scrutiny in a documentary to make your blood boilTrophy is a documentary about the highly commodified and macabre ultra-luxury sport of “canned” trophy hunting, in which legally restricted big-game hunting events in various African states are auctioned off for colossal sums to rich people, often from the United States. These smug types want to play at being the great white hunter b
  
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• Country diary: hand-chiselled headstones speak in rural accents

  16-11-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Hamsterley, Weardale, Durham As the centuries passed, the memorials in the village churchyard became more formal and decorative, less idiosyncratic
  There has been a place of worship on this spot since 1180 but no one seems to know why St James’ church was founded on this hillside half a mile from the village.“Man fleeth as it were a passing shadow,” cautions the sundial above the porch. Perhaps the grandeur of the rising sun, as I watched it lifting deep shadows from the valley
  
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• Singapore welcomes rare blue macaw parrots

  16-11-2017 02:39 via bbc.co.uk
  Singapore and Brazil are working together to bring two blue macaw species back from near-extinction.
  
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• Commonwealth Bank says its lending for coal will continue to decline

  16-11-2017 02:39 via theguardian.com
  Analysts say a test of the bank’s withdrawal from coal will come when Adani’s Abbot Point terminal comes up for refinancingThe Commonwealth Bank has told its shareholders to expect its support of the coal industry to decline as it helps finance the transition to a low-carbon economy, indicating the bank is unlikely to lend to new large coal projects.Ahead of its AGM on Thursday, the bank posted the speech of its chairwoman, Catherine Livingstone, to the ASX. In it she said climate ch
  
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• Dead whale washes up on Rio de Janeiro’s Ipanema beach

  16-11-2017 02:31 via theguardian.com
  Beachgoers have been warned to stay away from 25-tonne humpbackA dead humpback whale has washed up on the shores of Rio de Janeiro’s Ipanema beach.Biologist Rafael Carvalho said on Wednesday the whale appeared to have been dead for a few days. Its body was decomposing and giving off a strong smell. Continue reading...
  
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• Nasa forecast: Which cities will flood as ice melts?

  16-11-2017 01:45 via bbc.co.uk
  A forecasting tool reveals which cities will be affected as different portions of the ice sheet melt, say scientists.
  
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• Which cities could suffer as ice melts?

  16-11-2017 01:27 via bbc.co.uk
  A forecasting tool reveals which cities will be affected as different portions of the ice sheet melt, say scientists.
  
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• Morrisons to sell 'wonky' pomegranates to meet rising demand

  16-11-2017 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Fruit will come in different sizes and have blemishes but will cost 30p, compared to average 74p in UK supermarkets A UK supermarket is to be the first to sell misshapen or “wonky” pomegranates, in order to keep prices down in the face of surging demand from consumers.Packs of four will be sold in Morrisons for £1.20 – equivalent to 30p per fruit – when the average price of a pomegranate in UK supermarkets is 74p. Continue reading...
  
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