Environment news

• High-energy 'ghost particles' absorbed by Earth

  22-11-2017 20:15 via bbc.co.uk
  Neutrinos are famous for travelling through solid objects, but they don't go through everything, a study shows.
  
  Read more

• Energy From Electric Cars Could Power Our Lives – But Only If We Improve The System

  22-11-2017 20:06 via feedproxy.google.com
  Power stored in electric cars could be sent back to the grid – thereby supporting the grid and acting as a potential storage for clean energy – but it will only be economically viable if we upgrade the system first. In a new paper in Energy Policy, two scientists show how their seemingly contradictory findings actually point to the same outcome and recommendations: that pumping energy back into the grid using today’s technology can damage car batteries, but with
  
  Read more

• NASA Views Severe Rain Storms Over Western Saudi Arabia

  22-11-2017 20:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  As intense rain storms moved into Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Nov. 21, NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement Mission or GPM core satellite analyzed the severe storms.
  
  Read more

• Light pollution: Night being lost in many countries

  22-11-2017 20:00 via bbc.co.uk
  Much of the world is "losing the night" as artificial light becomes brighter and more widespread, say scientists.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Satellite Shows Storms on Both U.S. Coasts for Thanksgiving Travelers

  22-11-2017 19:59 via feedproxy.google.com
  Satellites are keeping an eye on the U.S. and NOAA’s GOES East satellite showed two storm systems for pre-Thanksgiving travelers on Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2017. One system was exiting the northeastern U.S. while the other was affecting the Pacific Northwest.
  
  Read more

• Do Birdsong and Human Speech Share Biological Roots?

  22-11-2017 19:56 via feedproxy.google.com
  Do songbirds and humans have common biological hardwiring that shapes how they produce and perceive sounds?
  
  Read more

• Methane Bubbles Are Effect and Cause of Rise in Temperature

  22-11-2017 19:53 via feedproxy.google.com
  "Never before have such unequivocal, strong relationships between temperature and emissions of methane bubbles been shown on such a wide, continent-spanning scale.", says biologist Sarian Kosten of Radboud University.
  
  Read more

• The Genome of Leishmania Reveals How This Parasite Adapts to Environmental Changes

  22-11-2017 19:47 via feedproxy.google.com
  Leishmaniasis is an important human and veterinary disease caused by Leishmania parasites that affect 12 million people in over 98 endemic countries. The disease is now emerging in Europe due to climate change and massive population displacement. The parasite is known to rapidly adapt to novel environments with important consequences for disease outcome. It has therefore been recognized as an emerging public health threat for the EU.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Reducing Phosphorus Runoff

  22-11-2017 19:42 via feedproxy.google.com
  Throughout the United States, toxic algal blooms are wreaking havoc on bodies of water, causing pollution and having harmful effects on people, fish and marine mammals.
  
  Read more

• Ribbed Mussels Could Help Improve Urban Water Quality

  22-11-2017 19:36 via feedproxy.google.com
  Ribbed mussels can remove nitrogen and other excess nutrients from an urban estuary and could help improve water quality in other urban and coastal locations, according to a study in New York City’s Bronx River. The findings, published in Environmental Science and Technology, are part of long-term efforts to improve water quality in the Bronx River Estuary.
  
  Read more

• Treasury backs electric cars but makes limited moves on diesel

  22-11-2017 18:30 via theguardian.com
  Funds set aside for national charging network and tech research, but lack of scrappage scheme disappointsElectric cars have received a funding boost with the government earmarking £340m for a national charging network and subsidies for vehicle purchases.However, further budget backing for greener vehicles was limited to a small rise in vehicle excise duty for new diesel cars that fail to meet rigorous emissions standards – disappointing campaigners who had hoped for a rise in fuel du
  
  Read more

• Plague reached Europe by Stone Age

  22-11-2017 18:11 via bbc.co.uk
  Plague was present in Europe during the late Stone Age, according to a study of ancient remains.
  
  Read more

• Energy ministers urged to avoid 'unacceptable' emissions reduction target

  22-11-2017 18:00 via theguardian.com
  Open letter from business leaders, academics, economists and investors calls for more ambitious reduction targetsAustralian state and federal energy ministers have been urged to set a more ambitious emissions reduction target in any potential national energy guarantee in an open letter signed by prominent pro-renewables business leaders, academics, economists and investors.The letter comes ahead of a Commonwealth Heads of Government (Coag) energy council meeting on Friday, in which the energy mi
  
  Read more

• No subsidies for green power projects before 2025, says UK Treasury

  22-11-2017 17:48 via theguardian.com
  Government accused of ‘turning their back on renewables’ after saying there will be no more money for new low-carbon leviesCompanies hoping to build new windfarms, solar plants and tidal lagoons, have been dealt a blow after the government said there would be no new subsidies for clean power projects until 2025 at the earliest.The Treasury said it had taken the decision to “protect” consumers, because households and businesses were facing an annual cost of about £9b
  
  Read more

• Record numbers of rare migrant dragonflies spotted in the UK

  22-11-2017 17:36 via theguardian.com
  Conservationists believe global warming could be partly responsible for the influx of species such as the scarlet darter that have been seen this yearRecord numbers of rare migrant dragonflies have been spotted in the UK this year, according to an analysis by volunteers from the Migrant Dragonfly Project.
  The study recorded the first confirmed UK sighting of the scarlet darter for 13 years, at Longham Lakes in Dorset. It is only the eighth time this species has been spotted in Britain. Continue
  
  Read more

• Research money central to Budget

  22-11-2017 17:06 via bbc.co.uk
  The Chancellor Philip Hammond has made investment in research the centrepiece of his budget.
  
  Read more

• 'Looting' spree threatens wildlife and forests across eastern Europe

  22-11-2017 17:00 via theguardian.com
  UN report warns crimes such as logging and poaching are putting ‘high pressure’ on ecosystems in 15 countries in the Danube-Carpathian region
  An environmental “looting” spree is threatening biodiversity and pristine forests across 15 countries in central and eastern Europe, the UN has warned.Environmental crimes such as illegal logging, fishing, poaching and the caviar black market are putting “high pressure” on ecosystems in the Danube-Carpathian region, acco
  
  Read more

• New nuclear power cannot rival windfarms on price, energy boss says

  22-11-2017 16:37 via theguardian.com
  Innogy Renewables chief claims future reactors will not be competitive as offshore windfarms become even cheaper New nuclear power stations in the UK can no longer compete with windfarms on price, according to the boss of a German energy company’s green power arm.Hans Bunting, the chief operating officer of Innogy Renewables, part of the company that owns the UK energy supplier npower, said offshore windfarms had become mainstream and were destined to become even cheaper because of new, bi
  
  Read more

• Climate Change Models of Bird Impacts Pass the Test

  22-11-2017 15:53 via feedproxy.google.com
  A major study looking at changes in where UK birds have been found over the past 40 years has validated the latest climate change models being used to forecast impacts on birds and other animals.
  
  Read more

• Picture It: Your Environment photo competition - in pictures

  22-11-2017 15:31 via theguardian.com
  The Picture It competition organised by the Natural Environment Research Council (Nerc) asked budding photographers to explore how they interacted with or were inspired by the environment in everyday life.Visitors to Nerc’s UnEarthed showcase in Edinburgh last weekend were asked to pick the winners from nine shortlisted images and more than 1,000 entries. The winners from the three categories will be invited to the official naming of Nerc’s new polar research vessel, the RRS Sir Davi
  
  Read more

• The Social Cost of Carbon Doubles

  22-11-2017 15:29 via feedproxy.google.com
  The “social cost of carbon” — an influential figure used by policymakers to weigh the value of efforts that reduce greenhouse gas emissions — is outdated and underestimated. Updated estimates focused on the agricultural sector alone more than double the social cost of carbon, according to analysis from the University of California, Davis, and Purdue University.
  
  Read more

• Budget 2017: Chancellor takes action on clean air, electric vehicles and plastic waste

  22-11-2017 14:55
  Chancellor Philip Hammond has today pledged to build an economy "fit for the future" by announcing new air quality funding, tax incentives for electric cars, and a commitment to tackle plastic waste in his 2017 Autumn Budget.
  
  Read more

• Budget 2017: Chancellor takes action on air quality, electric vehicles and plastic waste

  22-11-2017 14:55
  Chancellor Philip Hammond has today pledged to build an economy "fit for the future" by announcing new air quality funding, tax incentives for electric cars, and measures to combat plastic waste in his 2017 Autumn Budget.
  
  Read more

• Rangers’ lives would be put at risk if Trump reverses elephant trophy ban

  22-11-2017 14:31 via theguardian.com
  More than a thousand rangers have been killed while protecting elephants – and a corrupted legal market, operating for a few wealthy clients, exacerbates that risk Related: Trump postpones decision on allowing import of elephant parts The announcement that the Trump administration is considering overturning the US ban on elephant trophy imports from Zambia and Zimbabwe is one that directly threatens the lives of African park rangers who are tasked with protecting elephants and their ecosys
  
  Read more

• Scientific team selected to conduct independent abundance estimate of red snapper in Gulf of Mexico

  22-11-2017 14:09 via feedproxy.google.com
  A team of university and government scientists, selected by an expert review panel convened by the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, will conduct an independent study to estimate the number of red snapper in the U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico.“American communities across the Gulf of Mexico depend on their access to, as well as the long term sustainability of, red snapper,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “I look forward to the insights this project will provi
  
  Read more

• Budget 2017: Live green business reaction

  22-11-2017 14:00
  Did Philip Hammond pull any big green surprises out of his little red box today? Or were key sustainability issues once again placed on the back-burner in the Chancellor's Autumn Budget? Here's the live action and green business reaction, as it comes in...
  
  Read more

• How dinosaur scales became bird feathers

  22-11-2017 13:57 via bbc.co.uk
  The genes that caused scales to become feathers in the early ancestors of birds have been found by US scientists.
  
  Read more

• Clean Growth Strategy 'flexibilities' could put Paris goals at risk

  22-11-2017 13:41
  The aspirations of the Clean Growth Strategy have been praised as a "step in the right direction" by green economy experts, but concerns have been raised that the Government's willingness to rely on banking and borrowing from carbon budgets could put the goals of the Paris Agreement at risk.
  
  Read more

• Autumn Budget 2017: Live green business reaction

  22-11-2017 12:30
  Did Philip Hammond pull any big green surprises out of his little red box today? Or were key sustainability issues once again be placed on the back-burner in the Chancellor's Autumn Budget? Here's the live action and green business reaction, as it comes in...
  
  Read more

• Work in the public sector? Take edie's 5-minute 'state of sustainability' survey

  22-11-2017 12:01
  Sustainability professionals, CSR experts and energy managers working within Britain's public sector are invited to take part in a short survey which will help to inform edie's next insight report into the sustainability challenges and opportunities facing the sector.
  
  Read more

• Water firms backtrack on admissions that they use divining rods

  22-11-2017 11:22 via theguardian.com
  Some blame rogue engineers for continuing to use practice dismissed as witchcraft to find leaksWater firms have hastily distanced themselves from their own admissions that they use divining rods to detect leaks amid widespread alarm at publicly listed companies using witchcraft. Ten of the 12 water companies in the UK told the science blogger Sally Le Page, via Twitter, that they use the practice of water dowsing despite the lack of scientific evidence for its effectiveness. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Nissan starts construction on largest community solar roof in the Netherlands

  22-11-2017 10:35
  Electric vehicle (EV) pioneer Nissan has begun construction on the largest collective solar roof in the Netherlands, which will provide enough renewable electricity to power 900 homes once it is completed in May 2018.
  
  Read more

• Renewables will drive 'steep decline' in wholesale electricity price in Australia – report

  22-11-2017 09:56 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: Frontier Economics’ modelling commissioned by government says 6,000MW of renewable capacity entering market will reduce prices in 2018-20Modelling commissioned by the Turnbull government as part of its efforts to back in the national energy guarantee says renewables will drive the first wave of price reductions under the policy. It also floats substantial regulatory intervention to stop the electricity market becoming even more concentrated.
  The work by Frontier Economics, obtai
  
  Read more

• How the brown bear became public enemy number one in rural Romania

  22-11-2017 08:30 via theguardian.com
  Despite a national hunting ban, the attitude to bears has become increasingly hostile, with some remote villagers taking matters into their own handsHigh up in the Carpathian mountains, a forest guard named Csaba Demeter was leaving the woods one evening early this summer when a brown bear attacked him from behind. It pinned him to the ground, sunk its teeth into his limbs and tore deep lacerations into his back with its claws. Demeter pulled his coat over his head and played dead, holding his b
  
  Read more

• Poor sperm quality linked to air pollution

  22-11-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Study finds ‘strong association’ between high levels of fine particulate matter and abnormal sperm shape - but impact on wider fertility remains unclearHigh levels of air pollution are associated with poor sperm quality and could be partly responsible for the sharp drop in male fertility, according to a new study.A team of scientists, led by researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, studied the sperm of nearly 6,500 men and found a “strong association” between
  
  Read more

• Air pollution linked to poor sperm quality

  22-11-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Study finds ‘strong association’ between high levels of fine particulate matter and abnormal sperm shape - but impact on wider fertility remains unclearHigh levels of air pollution are associated with poor sperm quality and could be partly responsible for the sharp drop in male fertility, according to a new study.A team of scientists, led by researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, studied the sperm of nearly 6,500 men and found a “strong association” between
  
  Read more

• Too right it's Black Friday: our relentless consumption is trashing the planet | George Monbiot

  22-11-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Growth must go on – it’s the political imperative everywhere, and it’s destroying the Earth. But there’s no way of greening it, so we need a new systemEveryone wants everything – how is that going to work? The promise of economic growth is that the poor can live like the rich and the rich can live like the oligarchs. But already we are bursting through the physical limits of the planet that sustains us. Climate breakdown, soil loss, the collapse of habitats and spec
  
  Read more

• Black Friday is right: our relentless consumption is trashing the planet | George Monbiot

  22-11-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Growth must go on – it’s the political imperative everywhere, and it’s destroying the Earth. But there’s no way of greening it, so we need a new systemEveryone wants everything – how is that going to work? The promise of economic growth is that the poor can live like the rich and the rich can live like the oligarchs. But already we are bursting through the physical limits of the planet that sustains us. Climate breakdown, soil loss, the collapse of habitats and spec
  
  Read more

• Country diary: a curious tower sends me over the edge

  22-11-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Wenlock Edge, Shropshire It couldn’t be the power-station chimney, it was in the wrong place. And it was too late in the year to be a stack of hayAs the match-flare of a November afternoon dimmed in the trees, I caught a glimpse of a tower. Peering through hazel branches I could make out a tall structure that looked like the power-station chimney – except that was north and this was west. It could have been a stack of hay bales, but harvest was over long ago. Curious to discover what
  
  Read more

• Australian bird of the year survey: new poll ruffles feathers in Canberra

  22-11-2017 06:17 via theguardian.com
  Bill Shorten gives emu a leg up, Malcolm Turnbull takes flight and Scott Ludlam offers shock support for ibis • Vote now for your favourite Australian birdForget Bennelong or New England, the battle for Australia’s favourite bird is on. As the inaugural bird of the year poll launched on Monday, the nation’s celebrities, political leaders and media outlets immediately began their campaigns. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• The Queensland election's renewables versus coal debate isn't about jobs. It's a culture war | John Quiggin

  22-11-2017 04:44 via theguardian.com
  Since environmentalists support renewable energy, conservatives must oppose it. But they are delaying the inevitable
  Of the issues in the Queensland election campaign, proposals for new investment in electricity generation stand out among the sharpest division. Labor and the Greens want more renewables, while the Liberal National party and One Nation are pushing for a new coal-fired power station.The disputes are not over the desirability of public ownership (both sides support it). Nor are they
  
  Read more

• Danone invests in firm selling bottled water from ocean floor

  22-11-2017 02:08 via theguardian.com
  Water comes from a deep ocean current off the coast of Hawaii and is desalinated using reverse osmosisEvian and Volvic owner Danone has put money into a Hawaiian bottled water from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, showing the depths multinationals will now go to in the quest for more revenue. The investment in Kona Deep, for an undisclosed sum, is the fifth in a year for Danone Manifesto Ventures, a fund the French food giant set up last year to invest in entrepreneurial companies, which are eat
  
  Read more

• UK judges to get scientific guides

  22-11-2017 01:45 via bbc.co.uk
  A Supreme Court judge launches the first of a series of scientific guides for the UK judiciary.
  
  Read more

• Seeds hold hidden treasures for future food

  22-11-2017 01:41 via bbc.co.uk
  More than 70,000 seeds have been sent from Kew's Millennium Seed Bank to Lebanon, for vital crop research.
  
  Read more

• Hinkley Point C subsidy has dealt consumers 'a bad hand', say MPs

  22-11-2017 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Government accused of failing billpayers by agreeing to fixed price for 35-year contract that will cost £30bnMPs have accused the government of failing to protect consumers over the price it has promised to pay for power from the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant.The Commons public accounts committee said the subsidy contract for Hinkley Point C, agreed in 2016 after years of delays, would hit poorest households hardest. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Looking for cures

  22-11-2017 00:11 via bbc.co.uk
  The biohacker movement wants to cure disease without the help of government or big companies
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!