Environment news

• Nebraska Approves Keystone XL, But Requires Different Route Through State

  20-11-2017 23:44 via feedproxy.google.com
  Nebraska regulators have given the final approval for the Keystone XL pipeline to run through their state, eliminating the last major regulatory obstacle preventing the completion of the 1,179-mile pipeline system that would help carry tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada to refineries in Texas.
  
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• Study Pinpoints Arctic Shorebird Decline

  20-11-2017 23:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  A new study co-authored by WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) addresses concerns over the many Arctic shorebird populations in precipitous decline. Evident from the study is that monitoring and protection of habitat where the birds breed, winter, and stopover is critical to their survival and to that of a global migration spectacle.
  
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• Autumn Budget preview: Five green policy hopes ahead of Philip Hammond's statement

  20-11-2017 21:00
  A new levy on plastic packaging? Higher taxes for diesel vehicles? Multi-million-pound spending on EV charging infrastructure? edie previews the green-related announcements likely to be included in the Autumn Budget on Wednesday (22 November).
  
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• Breakfast at Tiffany’s is off the menu for me because of its racial stereotyping | Letters

  20-11-2017 20:14 via theguardian.com
  Electric lorries | Mickey Rooney as Mr Yunioshi | Uber benchmark | Pre-latte days | Mispronouncing Italian | Theresa May’s church visitsDespite what Elon Musk says (Keep on trucking: a swipe at rail as Tesla unveils electric lorry, 18 November), there is still a crucial role for rail freight in transporting long-distance consumer and bulk traffic in a safer low-carbon way that reduces road congestion and road damage. Also, 136 lorry platoons already exist and are called freight trains. So,
  
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• Albatrosses hit by fishing and climate

  20-11-2017 20:10 via bbc.co.uk
  The spectacular albatrosses featured in the BBC's Blue Planet series have seen a big slump in numbers.
  
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• Bizarre shape of interstellar asteroid

  20-11-2017 19:53 via bbc.co.uk
  An asteroid that visited our Solar System from interstellar space is one of the most elongated celestial bodies known to science.
  
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• ESO Observations Show First Interstellar Asteroid is Like Nothing Seen Before

  20-11-2017 19:05 via feedproxy.google.com
  On 19 October 2017, the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope in Hawai`i picked up a faint point of light moving across the sky. It initially looked like a typical fast-moving small asteroid, but additional observations over the next couple of days allowed its orbit to be computed fairly accurately. The orbit calculations revealed beyond any doubt that this body did not originate from inside the Solar System, like all other asteroids or comets ever observed, but instead had come from inters
  
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• Previous Evidence of Water on Mars Now Identified as Grainflows

  20-11-2017 18:59 via feedproxy.google.com
  Dark features previously proposed as evidence for significant liquid water flowing on Mars have now been identified as granular flows, where sand and dust move rather than liquid water, according to a new article published in Nature Geoscience by the U.S. Geological Survey.
  
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• Thinking Big by Burning Small

  20-11-2017 18:52 via feedproxy.google.com
  A recent paper by scientists from Wits University in South Africa shows how creative fire management can increase habitat for wildebeest and other grazing animals in national parks.
  
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• Filling the Gap: High-latitude Volcanic Eruptions Also Have Global Impact

  20-11-2017 18:49 via feedproxy.google.com
  Volcanic eruptions always seize the attention of climate scientists, because the sulfate aerosols formed in the volcanic plumes may stay months to years in the stratosphere—the second layer of the Earth’s atmosphere—resulting in the increase of radiation reflection from the Sun back into space, and therefore cooling the Earth's lower atmosphere or troposphere in a long time period. It is traditionally believed that because of atmospheric circulation patterns, eruptions in the t
  
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• Exposure to benzene during pregnancy: a pilot study raises concerns in B.C.

  20-11-2017 18:42 via feedproxy.google.com
  Peace River Valley, in northeastern British Columbia, has become known in recent years as a place of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas – "fracking," as it's commonly called. What are the health impacts related to living near fracking sites where contaminants, including volatile organic compounds, are released? To try to answer that question, Élyse Caron-Beaudoin, a postdoctoral researcher at the Université de Montréal Public Health Research Institute, studied a grou
  
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• Reusing Waste Energy with 2D Electron Gas

  20-11-2017 18:37 via feedproxy.google.com
  Novel approach utilizes high mobility two-dimensional electron gas, boosting thermoelectric conversion efficiency.
  
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• The Hydroponic, Robotic Future of Farming in Greenhouses

  20-11-2017 18:31 via feedproxy.google.com
  When you think of automation, you probably think of the assembly line, a dramatic dance of robot arms with nary a human laborer in sight. But that’s child’s play. The grandest, most disruptive automation revolution has played out in agriculture. First with horses and plows, and eventually with burly combines—technologies that have made farming exponentially cheaper and more productive. Just consider that in 1790, farmers made up 90 percent of the US workforce. In 2012, it
  
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• As Oceans Warm, the World's Kelp Forests Begin to Disappear

  20-11-2017 18:26 via feedproxy.google.com
  A steady increase in ocean temperatures — nearly 3 degrees Fahrenheit in recent decades — was all it took to doom the once-luxuriant giant kelp forests of eastern Australia and Tasmania: Thick canopies that once covered much of the region’s coastal sea surface have wilted in intolerably warm and nutrient-poor water. Then, a warm-water sea urchin species moved in. Voracious grazers, the invaders have mowed down much of the remaining vegetation and, over vast areas, have for
  
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• NASA Spots Tropical Depression Kirogi Dissipating

  20-11-2017 17:50 via feedproxy.google.com
  Tropical Depression Kirogi made landfall in southeastern Vietnam on Nov. 19 and NASA's Aqua satellite passed over the storm as it was dissipating over land.  
  
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• Nebraska regulators approve Keystone XL pipeline route

  20-11-2017 17:19 via theguardian.com
  Pipeline plan clears last major regulatory hurdle after vote in Nebraska, but legal challenges and protest likely to follow A panel of Nebraska regulators have voted narrowly in favor of allowing the Keystone XL pipeline to follow a path through the state, removing the last major regulatory hurdle for the controversial project. The Nebraska Public Service Commission voted 3-2 to approve a permit for the pipeline, which will stretch for 1,200 miles and carry up to 830,000 barrels of oil a day. Th
  
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• How to repair our environment, one species at a time | Patrick Barkham

  20-11-2017 16:51 via theguardian.com
  Bringing back rare beetles and butterflies might sound self-indulgent, but it proves that individuals can make an impactThe swelteringly hot summer of 1976 was the last gasp for the chequered skipper, a dynamic little butterfly that once buzzed along the rides of the ancient royal hunting forest of Rockingham. Related: Funding boost to help save England's rarest species from extinctionContinue reading...
  
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• Blue Planet II: what have we learned so far?

  20-11-2017 16:50 via theguardian.com
  The documentary’s marvels are not just new to television – many are new to science as well. From hyper-intelligent fish to the origin of life itself, we round up the series’s biggest discoveries It is testament to the number of spectacles packed into Blue Planet II that the strategic change of gender a giant wrasse is – scientifically speaking, at least – one of the least remarkable. Changing gender, or sequential hermaphroditism, is a fact of life for more than 400
  
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• How the SDGs can create a framework to fix a 'broken' agriculture sector

  20-11-2017 15:54
  Businesses must collaborate to create global platforms that can fix a "completely broken" agriculture system in a way that improves land management and farming practices that can drag smallholders out of poverty.
  
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• Maps reveal landscape beneath Antarctica's weak underbelly

  20-11-2017 15:39 via feedproxy.google.com
  A UK team of researchers has produced high-resolution maps of the bed beneath a major glacier in West Antarctica, which will help them predict future sea-level rise from this region. Radar surveys of the land beneath Pine Island Glacier have revealed a diverse landscape under the ice with some surprises. The results are published today (20 November 2017) in the journal Nature Communications.
  
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• E-bikes: time to saddle up with low-cost energy and no sweat?

  20-11-2017 15:06 via theguardian.com
  E-bikes are well-established in some EU countries, but how about the UK? Old-school cyclist Peter Kimpton tries a new model to see if he’d be tempted to swap“E-bikes are fantastic. I use them all the time. You can take the kids up mountains. You can arrive in your good clothes at a meeting. It’s so easy.” Who said this? Surprisingly, it was none other than Fabian Cancellara, perhaps the greatest ever road time-trial rider. He made similar remarks during a Q&A at the r
  
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• Five ways Tesla's new models can revolutionise the EV market

  20-11-2017 14:21
  Elon Musk's surprise double reveal of a new Tesla supercar and electric semi-truck made waves over the weekend. Here, edie examines how the models could transform the EV sector in the years ahead.
  
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• Study looks at why ring-tailed lemurs raise a stink when they flirt with potential mates

  20-11-2017 14:15 via feedproxy.google.com
  A University of Toronto study finds that a unique ritual performed by male ring-tailed lemurs may come at a significant physical cost, but it likely helps their chances in securing a mate.Ring-tailed lemurs are Strepsirrhines, a sub-order of primates who share a common ancestor with humans. They are very social animals, living in large groups with females dominating the group. Like other lemurs, they huddle in large groups in order to keep warm and maintain social bonds, with lower ranking
  
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• A civil rights 'emergency': justice, clean water and air in the age of Trump

  20-11-2017 13:00 via theguardian.com
  There is a growing urgency around the struggle for environmental justice as the Trump administration peels away rules designed to protect clean air and water, say political leaders, academics and activistsThe Trump administration’s dismantling of environmental regulations has intensified a growing civil rights battle over the deadly burden of pollution on minorities and low income people.Black, Latino and disadvantaged people have long been disproportionately afflicted by toxins from indus
  
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• A civil rights 'emergency': justice, clean air and water in the age of Trump

  20-11-2017 13:00 via theguardian.com
  The Trump administration is peeling away rules designed to protect clean air and water, fueling a growing urgency around the struggle for environmental justice, say political leaders, academics and activists The Trump administration’s dismantling of environmental regulations has intensified a growing civil rights battle over the deadly burden of pollution on minorities and low-income people.Black, Latino and disadvantaged people have long been disproportionately afflicted by toxins from in
  
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• European memory champion reveals winning trick

  20-11-2017 12:25 via bbc.co.uk
  Simon Reinhard mastered the Method of Loci to become a European memory champion.
  
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• Homebase pledges ban on bee-harming chemicals amid green group pressure

  20-11-2017 12:18
  Retail giant Homebase has committed to phase out toxic pesticides from its garden plant range after months of heavy pressure from green campaigners.
  
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• Antarctic glacier's rough belly exposed

  20-11-2017 12:11 via bbc.co.uk
  The melting glacier contributing most to sea-level rise currently may be more resilient than previously recognised.
  
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• London buses to be powered by waste coffee grounds

  20-11-2017 12:04
  London buses will soon transport people around the capital using a fuel partly derived from waste coffee grounds, after Royal Dutch Shell and Bio-bean agreed a deal with Transport for London (TfL).
  
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• Keystone XL pipeline decision: what's at stake and what comes next?

  20-11-2017 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Nebraska regulators will decide Monday on the last major regulatory hurdle facing the project. Here’s what you need to knowNebraska regulators are expected to decide Monday whether to approve or deny an in-state route for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. It’s the last major regulatory hurdle facing project operator TransCanada Corp.The Nebraska public service commission’s ruling is on the Nebraska route TransCanada has proposed to complete the $8bn,179-mile pipeline to delive
  
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• Battered by extreme weather, Americans are more worried about climate change | Dana Nuccitelli

  20-11-2017 12:00 via theguardian.com
  After months of intense hurricanes, heat waves, and droughts, a survey finds a record number of Americans worried about climate changeThe latest climate change survey from Yale and George Mason Universities is out, and it shows that Americans are still poorly-informed about the causes of global warming. Only 54% understand that it’s mostly human-caused, while 33% incorrectly believe global warming is due mainly to natural factors.In fact, a new study published in Nature Scientific Reports
  
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• A gold star for the nurseries that have stopped being glitter bugs | Jules Howard

  20-11-2017 11:00 via theguardian.com
  As well as polluting our seas with microplastics, the devilish dandruff turns up all over my house and about my person – I applaud those schools banning itWhat will the rocks record about the lives we lead? What might a future palaeontologist, human or otherwise, make of the structures that will come to signify these moments in which you and I live our lives? They will notice extinctions, of course. Fossils of mammals’ tusks and horns will abound in the rocks, only to disappear when
  
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• Climate finance, the sticking point in COP23

  20-11-2017 10:56
  Rich countries had pledged to raise $100 billion each year in climate finance for developing countries by 2020. As of September 2017, they had pledged just $10.3 billion. And the question of who should pay remains unanswered.
  
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• Reduce, reuse, reboot: why electronic recycling must up its game

  20-11-2017 07:05 via theguardian.com
  With global e-waste projected to hit 50m tonnes next year, consumers need to put pressure on technology firms to make their products more repairableTech powers many things, including cognitive dissonance. A few years ago I was travelling through Agbogbloshie, the commercial district in Accra, known as a graveyard for electronic waste, a hotspot for digital dumping. I tutted and shook my head in sorrow as I surveyed the charred keyboards and plumes of toxic computer smoke wafting across the lands
  
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• We're so lucky to share Australia with a stunning array of birds | Sean Dooley

  20-11-2017 03:04 via theguardian.com
  Australia has some of the most glorious birds on the planet. Our shortlist of 50 birds includes truly spectacular ones. Which one should be number one?The recently released The Australian Bird Guide (CSIRO Publishing) chronicles a whopping 927 species seen in Australia since 1940. About 160 are considered vagrants – birds that have accidentally arrived here, blown off course or, in the case of North American migratory shorebirds, literally taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque – and vast
  
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• What is Australia's favourite bird? Have your say in the Guardian's 2017 poll

  20-11-2017 02:53 via theguardian.com
  In a new poll, run in conjunction with BirdLife Australia, we want you to tell us your best-loved native bird• Vote here for Australia’s bird of the year 2017 Birds. From the glorious king parrot to the much-maligned white ibis, Australians are passionate about them.But is there one bird that reigns supreme in the hearts and minds of the public? Continue reading...
  
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• Australian bird of the year 2017: vote for your favourite

  20-11-2017 02:53 via theguardian.com
  From the promiscuous willy wagtail to the magnificent but slightly terrifying cassowary, Australia has an abundance of wonderful native birds. Vote here to determine the bird of the year 2017. A shortlist of 51 species has been selected – if your favourite is not included, you can add it. The poll is open until 9 December. You only get one vote – use it wisely. • Photographs and descriptions courtesy Sean Dooley and BirdLife Australia. Continue reading...
  
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