Environment news

• The Chipping Norton challenge for driverless cars | Brief letters

  24-11-2017 19:39 via theguardian.com
  Alternatives to glitter | Driverless cars | Insects and birdsI am pleased that nurseries are considering the impact of materials they use in creative activities (A green guide to glitter alternatives, G2, 20 November). The staff of the nursery school where I was headteacher for 10 years would be appalled at the suggestion that edible material such as cereals or pulses could be used as an alternative. We thought that allowing children to play with food that would be lifesaving for children suffer
  
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• New Delhi Smog 'Rivals 1952 London'

  24-11-2017 18:35 via feedproxy.google.com
  Pollution levels in the Indian capital this month have rivalled 1952 London, when smog killed around 4,000 people, pollution experts say. 
  
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• NUS Scientists Develop Artificial Photosynthesis Device for Greener Ethylene Production

  24-11-2017 16:49 via feedproxy.google.com
  A team of scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has developed a prototype device that mimics natural photosynthesis to produce ethylene gas using only sunlight, water and carbon dioxide. The novel method, which produces ethylene at room temperature and pressure using benign chemicals, could be scaled up to provide a more eco-friendly and sustainable alternative to the current method of ethylene production.  
  
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• Scientists Discover Systems of Change Behind Everything from Climate to Health

  24-11-2017 16:45 via feedproxy.google.com
  A new field of science is being developed by Lancaster researchers who are discovering the underlying mechanisms of interaction behind everything from the human body to climate change.
  
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• Earth-Air Heat Exchanger Best Way to Protect Farm Animals in Livestock Buildings Against the Effects of Climate Change

  24-11-2017 16:42 via feedproxy.google.com
  Without countermeasures, climate change will negatively impact animals in pig and poultry production. Beside the health and wellbeing of the animals, heat stress also affects performance and, as a result, profitability. As the animals are predominantly kept in confined livestock buildings equipped with mechanical ventilation systems, researchers at Vetmeduni Vienna examined the inlet air temperature of several air cooling systems. The best solution, they found, is the use of the earth for heat s
  
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• Flies more germ-laden than suspected

  24-11-2017 16:29 via bbc.co.uk
  Flies' disease-carrying potential may be greater than previously thought, say US researchers.
  
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• Illegal logging, Autumn budget key points, and consumer waste – green news roundup

  24-11-2017 15:35 via theguardian.com
  The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox Continue reading...
  
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• Teaching KITT to drive in the rain

  24-11-2017 15:07 via feedproxy.google.com
  In 1982, when David Hasselhoff jumped into KITT, a super-advanced Pontiac Trans Am that could drive itself, it was obvious Knight Rider was pure TV science fiction. But nowadays, with companies investing millions in autonomous vehicle research, could KITT be just around the corner?The technology behind self-driving cars is advancing at an incredible pace, with companies like General Motors, Google, Tesla and Uber testing cars in San Francisco, Phoenix and Boston. And the idea of robo-cars is ver
  
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• Correctly Used Neonics Do Not Adversely Affect Honeybee Colonies, New Research Finds

  24-11-2017 15:07 via feedproxy.google.com
  The three most widely used neonicotinoid pesticides for flowering crops pose no risk to honeybee colonies when used correctly as seed treatments, according to new studies by University of Guelph researchers.Amid mounting controversy over use of neonicotinoids (neonics) and declining bee populations, a new analysis by U of G scientists of previously unpublished studies and reports commissioned by agri-chemical companies Bayer and Syngenta – as well as published papers from the scientific li
  
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• Amazon tribe saves plant lore with ‘healing forests’ and encyclopedia

  24-11-2017 13:40 via theguardian.com
  In a bid to safeguard knowledge the Matsés in Peru have been planting “medicinal agroforestry” plots and written a 1,044-page two-volume book.The seven indigenous Matsés elders were slowly meandering through the forest. They were explaining how different trees and plants are used for medicinal purposes, exchanging stories about how they had acquired their extraordinary knowledge and put it to good use. There were memories of an encounter with a jaguar and someone’
  
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• Black Friday to cause spikes in air pollution and plastic waste, warn environmentalists

  24-11-2017 12:50 via theguardian.com
  The shopping frenzy will see 82,000 diesel delivery vans on UK streets, with plastic toys and electronic goods among the most popular purchasesThe online shopping frenzy of the Black Friday weekend will see 82,000 diesel vans and trucks on UK roads, raising concerns of air pollution spikes on residential streets as more than £7bn of purchases are delivered.In the UK online shoppers are expected to spend up to £1.35bn today alone, according to analysts at IMRG, the UK’s online r
  
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• Fairtrade: Competition law hinders food supply chain sustainability

  24-11-2017 11:54
  New research from the Fairtrade Foundation reveals that businesses are wary of working with rivals to strengthen supply chains as they fear falling foul of competition law.
  
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• Experience: I am a kayaktivist

  24-11-2017 11:00 via theguardian.com
  It can be dangerous – we get close to moving supertankers. Then there’s the worry about how private security will reactMy first political epiphany concerned the world trade protests in 1999. I was 17 and had a feeling globalisation was a good thing – until I realised it was about money and economics, not people and culture; so in the early 2000s I joined some anti-globalisation protests in Quebec.Several years later, I heard about kayaktivism. I’d kayaked before, and been
  
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• Carlsberg unveils first carbon-neutral brewery

  24-11-2017 10:15
  Beverage giant Carlsberg has launched its first brewery with zero-carbon emissions, as part of the Danish firm's overarching pledge to achieve carbon-neutral status by 2030.
  
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• I shut down an oil pipeline – because climate change is a ticking bomb | Emily Johnston

  24-11-2017 10:00 via theguardian.com
  Normal methods of political action and protest are simply not working. If we don’t reduce emissions boldly and fast, that’s genocide
  A little over a year ago, four friends and I shut down all five pipelines carrying tar sands crude oil into the United States by using emergency shut-off valves. As recent months have made clear, climate change is not only an imminent threat; it is an existing catastrophe. It’s going to get worse, and tar sands oil—the dirtiest oil on Earth&
  
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• New high-speed trains go slow on provision for cyclists

  24-11-2017 08:43 via theguardian.com
  The new service by Great Western Railway has reduced bike space, a troublesome booking system and fails to meet the needs of disabled, elderly or less mobile cyclistsGreat Western Railway’s (GWR) new high-speed Intercity Express trains made headlines last month with their gaffe-filled launch that saw new trains temporarily taken out of service after several on-board malfunctions, on a service that arrived 41 minutes late, with the transport secretary on board. There could be more bad news
  
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• UPS trials sustainable delivery system in London

  24-11-2017 08:21
  Delivery firm UP is testing a delivery system which sees a power-assisted trailer make last mile deliveries in central London in a bid to reduce congestion and emissions.
  
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• Blood flows and rivers run dry as Honduras prepares to go to the polls – in pictures

  24-11-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  With the country poised for Sunday’s elections, the murder of environmentalists in Honduras is being directly linked with water and food shortages, violence and migration. Photographer Sean Hawkey visited what has become a frontline of climate change conflict Continue reading...
  
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• Country diary: the remains of harlequin ladybirds suggest predation by a rodent

  24-11-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Cavenham Heath, Suffolk The woodland reveals beetles both common and rare, and a surprising pile of ladybird wingsBlue sky, still air and the winter sun have lifted the heavy overnight frost. Cavenham Heath contains one of the largest blocks of heathland and acid grassland in the south-west Breckland, but the path from the car park starts in a predominantly birch woodland. Tearing a weathered birch polypore (Fomitopsis betulina) from a standing trunk, I fumble through its white flesh. It is shot
  
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• Queensland farmers suspected to have defied tree clearing controls in 'deforestation frenzy'

  24-11-2017 04:13 via theguardian.com
  Native vegetation was home to several threatened species and was in a Great Barrier Reef catchmentQueensland farmers are suspected of having defied rare federal government intervention and cleared a large swath of land without commonwealth approval, according to conservationists.The native vegetation was in a reef catchment, meaning the clearing could worsen pollution on the Great Barrier Reef. Government-commissioned studies show it provided habitat to several threatened species. Continue readi
  
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• Alleged illegal land clearing in reef catchment – video

  24-11-2017 04:12 via theguardian.com
  Drone footage shows the aftermath of allegedly unlawful clearing, about 70km south-west of Cairns. The area is thought to be habitat for several threatened species, and is in a reef catchment, meaning the clearing could worsen water quality on the embattled Great Barrier Reef. Continue reading...
  
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• South Australia and ACT outvoted on national energy guarantee

  24-11-2017 03:12 via theguardian.com
  Government secures agreement to continue work on its proposed mechanism without direct comparison with alternative schemesThe government has secured agreement for further work to be carried out on the national energy guarantee despite resistance from South Australia and the ACT.
  As flagged by Guardian Australia on Thursday, some of the Labor states wanted a detailed comparison with alternatives such as the chief scientist’s clean energy target and an emissions intensity trading scheme. Con
  
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• Further work agreed on energy guarantee despite resistant states

  24-11-2017 03:12 via theguardian.com
  SA and ACT want a comparison with alternatives but the commonwealth secures agreement to continue without itThe government has secured agreement for further work to be carried out on the national energy guarantee despite resistance from South Australia and the ACT.
  As flagged by Guardian Australia on Thursday, some of the Labor states wanted a detailed comparison with alternatives such as the chief scientist’s clean energy target and an emissions intensity trading scheme. Continue reading.
  
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• Black Friday: An ideal selling point for sustainability-conscious retailers?

  24-11-2017 02:00
  Black Friday, which has since birthed its tech-savvy offspring Cyber Monday, is upon us again, but while retailers attend to whip up a frenzy to boost sales some companies are using the commercial event to highlight their commitments to sustainability.
  
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• Nasa timelapse paints 'most complete picture of life' to date

  24-11-2017 01:59 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists call the new timelapse video the "most complete global picture of life on Earth to date".
  
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• Avatar therapy 'reduces power of schizophrenia voices'

  24-11-2017 01:53 via bbc.co.uk
  Patients became less distressed and heard voices less often compared with those who had counselling.
  
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• The government's white paper clings to the past as the rest of the world moves on | Tony Milne

  24-11-2017 01:19 via theguardian.com
  Instead of imagining the kind of world we want to live in and the role Australia could play in it, the foreign policy paper paints a bleak picture for our future
  There are moments in history that come to define the world changing. After years or even decades of doing things a certain way, suddenly, everything changes. We look back, often in bemusement, shame or anger, and wonder how people accepted a certain way of doing things. Changes once fiercely resisted become archaic: corporal punishment
  
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• Biological houses and closed-loop plastic cups: the best green innovations of the week

  24-11-2017 01:01
  In a week dominated by the UK Autumn Budget, edie rounds up the low-carbon and resource-efficient innovations that could help lower the costs of the green economy transition.
  
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