Environment news

• Some chemicals in smoke may be even more dangerous than previously thought

  01-12-2017 21:06 via feedproxy.google.com
  It’s no surprise that chemicals in smoke cause cancer, but a new study published in the Archives of Toxicology shows that some chemicals in cigarette smoke and industrial processes may be more dangerous than previously thought. Though most “low molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons” (LMW PAHs) have not been shown to cause cancer alone, the study shows that in common combinations, these chemicals can help to spark the disease.
  
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• 3D-printed minifactories

  01-12-2017 20:45 via feedproxy.google.com
  There will soon be nothing that cannot be produced with 3D printing. However, the materials used for this process are still “dead matter” such as plastics or metals.
  
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• Genes Found in Drought-Resistant Plants Could Accelerate Evolution of Water-Use Efficient Crops

  01-12-2017 18:28 via feedproxy.google.com
  Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have identified a common set of genes that enable different drought-resistant plants to survive in semi-arid conditions, which could play a significant role in bioengineering and creating energy crops that are tolerant to water deficits.
  
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• Gravity signals rapidly show true size of giant quakes

  01-12-2017 18:21 via bbc.co.uk
  Researchers develop a new speedy approach to estimate the true size of very large earthquakes.
  
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• Electric cars already cheaper to own and run than petrol or diesel – study

  01-12-2017 18:00 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: Pure electric cars cost less over four years than petrol or diesel cars in the UK, US and Japan, researchers say, but China is set to lead the marketElectric cars are already cheaper to own and run than petrol or diesel cars in the UK, US and Japan, new research shows.The lower cost is a key factor driving the rapid rise in electric car sales now underway, say the researchers. At the moment the cost is partly because of government support, but electric cars are expected to become the
  
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• Increased Vegetation Boosts Rainfall in the Sahel, Researchers Find

  01-12-2017 17:49 via feedproxy.google.com
  Droughts can grip the vast Sahel region of Africa for decades, dramatically altering the border where forest and savannahs give way to the Sahara Desert. Predicting those droughts is vital, but hard.
  
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• NASA's GPM Satellite Observes Tropical Cyclone Dahlia and Landslide Potential

  01-12-2017 17:46 via feedproxy.google.com
  On Nov. 29 Tropical Cyclone Dahlia became the first tropical cyclone of the 2017-2018 Southwest Indian Ocean season. The Global Precipitation Measurement Mission or GPM core satellite provided forecasters with a look inside the clouds and into the rate rain was falling. Heavy rainfall has created the potential for landslides and NASA analyzed areas that may be subject.
  
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• NASA Sees Ockhi Strengthening Off Southwestern Coast of India

  01-12-2017 17:44 via feedproxy.google.com
  When NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Tropical Storm Ockhi, it measured cloud top temperatures that showed strongest storms were off the coast of southwestern India. Infrared data showed Ockhi intensifing into a typhoon.
  
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• Belowground Fungal Interactions with Trees in Forests Help Explain Non-native Plant Invasions

  01-12-2017 17:34 via feedproxy.google.com
  New research published by a team of scientists from the USDA Forest Service and Purdue University suggests that tiny soil fungi that help and are helped by trees may influence a forest’s vulnerability to invasion by non-native plants.
  
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• Top US firms including Walmart and Ford oppose Trump on climate change

  01-12-2017 17:32 via theguardian.com
  Big businesses appear at Miami summit to show progress on sustainability‘We’ve been working on this for a long time, prior to this administration’Since taking office, Donald Trump has pulled the United States out of the Paris climate agreement, rolled back numerous protections against environmental pollution and espoused coal as the fuel of the future, all in the name of job creation and ending what he sees as the “theft of American prosperity”. Related: 'Buried in
  
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• Sea Level Rise Threatens Tens of Thousands of U.S. Historic Sites

  01-12-2017 17:32 via feedproxy.google.com
  An estimated 13,000 historic sites could be lost or damaged in the southeastern United States with just 3 feet of sea level rise, according to a new study by a team of archaeologists published in the journal PLOS One. More than 32,000 sites would be at risk if sea levels rise 15 feet.
  
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• To Drop CO2 Emissions, Look to Local Transportation and Housing

  01-12-2017 17:16 via feedproxy.google.com
  Worldwide, the United States is one of the biggest greenhouse gas emitters. The Obama administration began efforts to drop those numbers by increasing vehicle fuel economy standards in 2011 and with its Clean Power Plan proposals in 2015.
  
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• Harmful Effects of Being Overweight Underestimated

  01-12-2017 17:09 via feedproxy.google.com
  The harmful effects of being overweight have been underestimated, according to a new study that analysed body mass index (BMI), health and mortality data in around 60,000 parents and their children, to establish how obesity actually influences risk of death. The University of Bristol study is published today in the International Journal of Epidemiology today [Friday 1 December].
  
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• Pesticides, throwaway fashion and the lobster with a Pepsi 'tattoo' – green news roundup

  01-12-2017 16:44 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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• Windows of Opportunity: Solar Cell with Improved Transparency

  01-12-2017 15:51 via feedproxy.google.com
  Tokyo - Roof-mounted solar panels are an increasingly common sight in many places. As a source of cheap, clean electricity, their advantages are obvious. However, most solar panels are opaque, and therefore cannot be placed over windows. Now, researchers at The University of Tokyo's Institute of Industrial Science (IIS) have made developments in the design of transparent solar materials.
  
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• What's in the water? Research takes aim at chemicals that may harm fertility (and that's not all)

  01-12-2017 14:20 via feedproxy.google.com
  Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are associated with a number of possible health issues.EDCs are mostly produced by humans. They’re found in all sorts of things from pesticides and herbicides, and from cropland and livestock waste effluents and municipal and industrial waste to personal care products.
  
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• How barley is expected to benefit from climate change

  01-12-2017 14:20 via feedproxy.google.com
  Alberta’s most important feed crop for beef production will benefit from warmer temperatures and increased humidity, and so will the beef industry, new University of Alberta research shows.In an agro-hydrological model combining nine different climate change models and 18 future scenarios, watershed scientist Monireh Faramarzi and post-doctoral fellow Badrul Masud along with other collaborators looked ahead to 2064 to assess the water footprint related to barley and the beef industry.
  
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• Bike lanes don't clog up our roads, they keep London moving

  01-12-2017 13:20 via theguardian.com
  Protected cycle lanes are one of the best ways to reduce congestion in London, carrying up to five times as many people per hour as a main road, a new report showsCongestion isn’t exactly the most fashionable political topic of our times, but it is a problem that threatens London’s status as a well-functioning, competitive global city. Businesses need to be able to make and receive reliable deliveries, Londoners need to be able to get to work on time, and tourists – almost 20 m
  
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• New Sentinel satellite tracks dirty air

  01-12-2017 13:19 via bbc.co.uk
  A UK-Dutch-built Earth observing spacecraft shows its promise with some stunning images of pollution.
  
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• ACE to be merged into ADE

  01-12-2017 09:30
  The Association for the Conservation of Energy (ACE) is to be merged into the Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE).
  
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• Six million tonnes of waste could be 'left without a home' by 2030

  01-12-2017 09:21
  The UK is likely to be left six million tonnes short of waste treatment capacity by 2030, according to a stark report which lays bare the "critical lack" of infrastructure to treat the nation's waste.
  
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• 'Zero tolerance' plan eyed for plastic pollution

  01-12-2017 08:56 via bbc.co.uk
  A plan to drastically cut plastic pollution of the oceans may be agreed at a UN summit.
  
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• Airbus, Rolls Royce and Siemens aim for electric plane lift-off by 2020

  01-12-2017 08:46
  Airbus, Rolls Royce and Siemens have teamed up to develop a hybrid-electric plane which the group hopes will be ready to fly in 2020.
  
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• Timberland and Vans owner VF signs up to fur free coalition

  01-12-2017 08:20
  The owner of Timberland and The North Face has joined a coalition of retailers which have committed to use fur free products.
  
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• Capturing ecology 2017 photo competition - winners in pictures

  01-12-2017 07:01 via theguardian.com
  The British Ecological Society has announced the winners of its annual photography competition, Capturing Ecology. Taken by international ecologists and students, the winning images will be exhibited at the society’s joint annual meeting in Ghent in December Continue reading...
  
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• Country diary: a vertical timeline is clearly visible in the cliffs

  01-12-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Walton on the Naze, Essex The iron-rich, sandy layer of the Red Crag, laid down by a cool sea, is rich in marine fossils.I walk past the arcades and beach cafes. The smell of vinegar on chips is sharp in my nose and makes my mouth water but I haven’t come to Walton on the Naze for seaside snacks. Higher ground is visible beyond the beach, partly shrouded in mist, and I strike out towards it. Continue reading...
  
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• Sicilians take aim at oil 'monster' they blame for children's birth defects

  01-12-2017 06:00 via theguardian.com
  Italy’s biggest oil firm is accused of polluting an area where experts found more toxic substance than water in the sea Everyone in the Sicilian town of Gela knows someone who has been hit by the health crisis that has gripped the town for decades.Mortality rates are higher than elsewhere on the island, and the town has an unusually high rate of birth defects, including the highest rate in the world of a rare urethra disorder. Continue reading...
  
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• Land of the birds: why Australia has the world's greatest diversity of avian life

  01-12-2017 03:05 via theguardian.com
  Australia is home to one in 10 of the world’s unique bird species – and most of the world’s birds can trace their lineage to the continent • Vote in the Australian bird of the YearIf you live in Australia, you may not realise how unique and special the birds around you are. Our continent was perhaps the most important for the evolution of modern birds, with a majority of the world’s species tracing their ancestry here.Long ecologically adrift as an island continent,
  
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• Unesco adds Sir Isaac Newton's papers to world register

  01-12-2017 01:45 via bbc.co.uk
  Sir Isaac Newton's papers and personal accounts are added to a Unesco register of globally important documents.
  
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