Environment news

• Weatherwatch: real-time maps of air pollution will soon make it easy to see where danger lies

  05-12-2017 22:30 via theguardian.com
  We cannot see the tiny deadly particles that are killing people – but new digital advances are about to change that, which may spark actionIn the days of London smogs it was possible to both see pollution and smell it. Now the deadliest particles are so small that it is hard for human senses to detect them, yet they are killing people just the same.Health professionals and environmental groups may complain, but the general public seems oblivious to the danger that is damaging the health of
  
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• Future of Adani coalmine hanging by a thread after Chinese banks back out

  05-12-2017 22:27 via theguardian.com
  Bob Carr says decision could be the end for controversial Carmichael project, adding: ‘It couldn’t have been more emphatic’Adani’s Carmichael coalmine project will not be funded by Chinese banks, the Chinese embassy has said, in a move some see as dooming the project, and potentially Adani’s operations in Australia.Bob Carr, the former New South Wales premier and former foreign minister, told the Guardian he had been lobbying Chinese businesses and government for th
  
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• Ryan Zinke recommends Trump shrink two more US national monuments

  05-12-2017 22:17 via theguardian.com
  Interior secretary aims to reduce Cascade-Siskiyou and Gold Butte monumentsZinke hits back at Patagonia after ad said ‘the president stole your land’Interior secretary Ryan Zinke has announced recommendations to shrink two more national monuments in the western US – Cascade-Siskiyou in Oregon and California, and Gold Butte in Nevada. Related: Trump slashes size of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase national monuments in UtahContinue reading...
  
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• Brexit is a chance to save our small farms | Letters

  05-12-2017 20:33 via theguardian.com
  A fifth of English farms have disappeared in the past 10 years. Farm size diversity is key to sustaining rural communities, writes Graeme WillisYour article (Clean, green New Zealand is a lie – and a warning for Britain’s countryside, 4 December) highlights the huge opportunity Brexit has presented us to create a new agriculture policy that will restore the natural environment, as well as help the farming industry to become more financially resilient and environmentally sustainable.
  
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• Turnbull’s department head says Tony Abbott damaged public service

  05-12-2017 20:00 via theguardian.com
  Martin Parkinson says Abbott sacked him for following legally mandated directions of Rudd and Gillard governmentsThe head of Malcolm Turnbull’s department says he has no “personal animus” towards Tony Abbott, but he says the former prime minister damaged the public service when he sacked him for following the legally mandated directions of the Rudd and Gillard governments.Martin Parkinson was sacked by Abbott from the Treasury department after he came to power in 2013, alongsid
  
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• NASA Gets a Final Look at Tropical Cyclone Ockhi's Rainfall

  05-12-2017 18:48 via feedproxy.google.com
  Tropical Cyclone Ockhi is quickly weakening in the Arabian Sea and is expected to dissipate on Dec. 6 when it makes landfall in northwestern India. The Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core satellite passed over Ockhi and looked at its rainfall as wind shear was affecting the storm.  
  
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• Working in the Cold

  05-12-2017 18:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  When it is cold in winter, cars tend to have starting problems. This is not much better with electric cars, which inevitably lose capacity of their rechargeable lithium-ion batteries at freezing temperatures. Now, Chinese scientists have offered a strategy to avoid plunging battery kinetics. In a study published in the journal Angewandte Chemie, they designed a battery system with a cold-enduring hard-carbon anode and a powerful lithium-rich cathode, with the important initial lithiation st
  
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• Beyond Wind Speed: A New Measure for Predicting Hurricane Impacts

  05-12-2017 18:24 via feedproxy.google.com
  Six major hurricanes that engulfed the Atlantic Basin in 2017 were a devastating reminder of the vulnerability of coastal communities, where more than half the U.S. population resides.
  
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• Study Finds Variation Within Species is a Critical Aspect of Biodiversity

  05-12-2017 18:12 via feedproxy.google.com
  Concerns about biodiversity tend to focus on the loss of species from ecosystems, but a new study suggests that the loss of variation within species can also have important ecological consequences.
  
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• Hadrian's Wall joins forces with China's Great Wall to promote heritage sites

  05-12-2017 18:01 via theguardian.com
  ‘Wall to Wall’ project will see heritage experts from the UK and China work together to increase understanding of both sites and boost tourismOne is 13,171 miles long and, contrary to popular belief, cannot actually be seen from space. The other is 73 miles long and cannot be seen from Sunderland.But now the Great Wall of China is joining up with its much tinier British counterpart, Hadrian’s Wall, to encourage more tourism and increase the historical and cultural understanding
  
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• Big apples: unusual weather produces fruit twice the normal size

  05-12-2017 16:28 via theguardian.com
  Morrisons supermarket says the apples will be the biggest sold in living memoryA British supermarket is selling supersized Braeburn apples after unusual weather conditions in the spring produced a crop of giants.The latest frost for nearly 20 years in April meant fewer apples grew, with as much as 10% of the country’s Braeburn crop affected. However, farmers were surprised to find that the reduced crop had grown to more than twice the normal size and weight.Continue reading...
  
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• Superior hydrogen catalyst just grows that way

  05-12-2017 16:12 via feedproxy.google.com
  Replacing your everyday gas guzzler with a hydrogen fueled car could drastically reduce your carbon footprint. So why don’t we all make the switch?
  
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• Selling this cherished Arctic landscape to the highest bidder is a grievous mistake | Trip Van Noppen

  05-12-2017 15:55 via theguardian.com
  Part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the largest US wilderness, risks being transferred to the hands of the fossil fuel industry. Join the fight against this• Trip Van Noppen is president of Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law organizationThe Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is one of the last intact wild landscapes on Earth – and the largest wilderness left in the US. The 19.6m-acre swath of mountains and tundra is publicly owned and ecologically unique. Now, thanks to
  
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• Despite city tree benefits, Calif. urban canopy cover per capita lowest in U.S.

  05-12-2017 15:42 via feedproxy.google.com
  Trees in California communities are working overtime. From removing carbon dioxide and pollutants from the air, intercepting rainfall and increasing property values, California's 173.2 million city trees provide ecosystem services valued at $8.3 billion a year. However, according to a recent study, more benefits could be realized if the Golden State's urban forests didn't have the lowest canopy cover per capita in the nation.
  
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• Overuse of antibiotics in farming is a major new threat to human health, says UN

  05-12-2017 14:57 via theguardian.com
  Antibiotics that has spilled from farms into the natural environment may be a bigger factor in spreading resistance to life-saving drugs than previously thought, report saysThe overuse of antibiotics in farming has been highlighted as one of the biggest emerging threats to human health, spreading resistance to vital drugs and endangering millions of lives.Antibiotics used on farms can spill over into the surrounding environment, for instance through water run-off and slurry, according to a repor
  
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• Rising Waters: Can a Massive Barrier Save Venice from Drowning?

  05-12-2017 14:44 via feedproxy.google.com
  It’s tempting to believe that the devastating sequence of hurricanes in the Atlantic this year has blown in a new awareness of the risks of rising waters and increasingly powerful storms on our rapidly warming planet. In a rational world, the destruction wrought by these storms would inspire us to redouble our efforts to cut carbon pollution as quickly as possible and begin planning for an orderly retreat to higher ground. 
  
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• Remote northern Alberta community has UCalgary grad to thank for its solar energy project

  05-12-2017 14:14 via feedproxy.google.com
  How many solar panels does it take to cover the arena roof in Peavine Métis Settlement?It’s not exactly the kind of question Juan Pfeiffer was accustomed to answering over the course of earning two engineering degrees in his native Colombia, but it is precisely the question at the core of his capstone project for the Master of Science in Sustainable Energy Development (SEDV) program at the University of Calgary from which he has just graduated.
  
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• A new NOAA tool is helping to predict US droughts, global famine

  05-12-2017 14:14 via feedproxy.google.com
  Agriculture is the economic engine that powers the Great Plains, the vast stretch of treeless prairie that covers parts of 10 states – and where the next drought can appear with little warning.Now there’s a powerful new tool to help provide farmers and ranchers in the arid western United States critical early indications of oncoming droughts, and its name is EDDI.
  
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• Brands back MEP calls for global ban on animal testing in cosmetics

  05-12-2017 14:05
  The announcement that European Parliament will discuss the options for a global ban on animal testing in cosmetics has been welcomed by a host brands, including The Body Shop, which want an international convention on the global ban to be created.
  
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• UN commits to stop ocean plastic waste

  05-12-2017 13:53 via bbc.co.uk
  Nations will resolve to end plastic pollution in our seas, but their agreement has no timetable.
  
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• Penzance wins first plastic-free status award to help clean up beaches

  05-12-2017 13:30 via theguardian.com
  Surfers Against Sewage charity lauds town after community beach cleans and businesses reduce single-use plasticsA Cornish town has become the first community in the UK to be awarded “plastic-free” status after dozens of residents and business people backed a grassroots scheme aimed at helping clean up oceans and beaches.As part of a campaign being run by the marine conservation charity Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), Penzance has been given “plastic-free coastlines approved&rdquo
  
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• Hinkley Point's Cardiff Bay toxic mud claim 'alarmist'

  05-12-2017 13:26 via bbc.co.uk
  300,000 tonnes of mud from Hinkley Point C is due to be dumped in the sea off Cardiff Bay.
  
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• Red list: thousands of species at risk of extinction due to human activity

  05-12-2017 11:56 via theguardian.com
  Unsustainable farming, fishing and climate change has intensified the struggle for survival among vulnerable animals and crops, says IUCN at the release of its latest list of endangered species Thousands of animal species are at critical risk of going extinct due to unsustainable farming and fishing methods and climate change, a conservation group has warned as it released the latest red list of endangered species.In a rare piece of good news, the International Union for Conservation of Nature [
  
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• London and Bengaluru lead global air quality initiative

  05-12-2017 11:46
  The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has today (5 December) announced that the English capital will team with the Indian city of Bengaluru to spearhead a partnership to take air pollution in cities across the globe.
  
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• Pizza night aboard the International Space Station

  05-12-2017 11:44 via bbc.co.uk
  Crew members aboard the International Space Station are treated to a special meal.
  
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• Brexit poses huge risk to Britain's food standards, report says

  05-12-2017 11:20 via theguardian.com
  Rush to secure trade deals could lead to a lowering of standards and poorer quality food in supermarketsBrexit poses huge risks to food standards in the UK and will have “seismic implications” for its food and farming systems, according to a new report.Author Dan Crossley, executive director of the Food Ethics Council, said that the UK faced a stark choice between promoting a high quality, ethical and sustainable system and “a race to the bottom” driven by a desire to sec
  
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• France tops global food sustainability index

  05-12-2017 10:47
  France has topped the rankings of an index which compares major countries on their actions to deliver food sustainability, thanks to its robust approach on food waste and agriculture.
  
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• Smog Day rings out a warning: 18,000 people die every day from air pollution | Andrew Simms

  05-12-2017 10:00 via theguardian.com
  London’s Great Smog began 65 years ago today and changed how we look at air pollution. Yet the air above the UK still hasn’t clearedAn estimated 18,000 people die every day worldwide as a result of air pollution. The great majority of the world’s population breathe air that does not meet World Health Organization guidelines. Air pollution has become so bad that it’s said we now have a “fifth season”: this time of year, when lethal smogs envelop some of the mos
  
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• 65 years on from the Great Smog nothing has changed. We're still choking | Andrew Simms

  05-12-2017 10:00 via theguardian.com
  The anniversary of Smog Day rings out a grim warning: 18,000 people still die every day from air pollution. Laws must be updatedAn estimated 18,000 people die every day worldwide as a result of air pollution. The great majority of the world’s population breathe air that does not meet World Health Organization guidelines. Air pollution has become so bad that it’s said we now have a “fifth season”: this time of year, when lethal smogs envelop some of the most populated part
  
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• 65 years on from London's Great Smog nothing has changed. We're still choking | Andrew Simms

  05-12-2017 10:00 via theguardian.com
  The anniversary of Smog Day rings out a grim warning: 18,000 people still die every day from air pollution. Laws must be updatedAn estimated 18,000 people die every day worldwide as a result of air pollution. The great majority of the world’s population breathe air that does not meet World Health Organization guidelines. Air pollution has become so bad that it’s said we now have a “fifth season”: this time of year, when lethal smogs envelop some of the most populated part
  
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• Australia's frog count: App calls on citizen scientists

  05-12-2017 09:25 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists hope the public will help them record the sounds of the amphibians via an app.
  
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• Royal Society Publishing Photography competition 2017 - in pictures

  05-12-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  The Royal Society’s annual contest celebrates the power of photography to communicate science, and the role great images play in making science accessible to a wide audience. This year the competition has proved more popular than ever, attracting more than 1,100 entries.Continue reading...
  
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• Report: Corporate action on SDGs stalling two years on

  05-12-2017 09:00
  The global business community has slowed momentum on adopting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) over the past 12 months, according to alarming new research.
  
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• IUCN Red List: Wild crops listed as threatened

  05-12-2017 08:08 via bbc.co.uk
  Wild relatives of modern crops deemed crucial for food security are threatened with extinction.
  
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• Climate change is radically reshuffling UK bird species, report finds

  05-12-2017 08:01 via theguardian.com
  New migrants are arriving while rising temperatures drive others away, and egg laying is taking place earlier in the yearClimate change is radically reshuffling Britain’s birds, with some species disappearing while new migrants are settling. Timings are being reset too, with egg laying getting earlier in the year, while autumn departures for warmer climes are delayed by up to a month.The State of the UK’s Birds report for 2017, published on Tuesday, reveals the profound impact of glo
  
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• 'They're just not very British': will cities finally splash out on water fountains?

  05-12-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  An exclusive Guardian investigation into water fountains across Britain reveals a shocking lack of alternatives to plastic bottles – but could change be coming?Michael Gove has suggested water fountains to combat the tide of plastic produced in Britain. Sadiq Khan wants drinking points to dot the London landscape. Twice in the same week, two of the most powerful environmental decision-makers in the UK have offered the same antidote to the country’s plastic addiction: don’t re-b
  
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• Oceans under greatest threat in history, warns Sir David Attenborough

  05-12-2017 07:30 via theguardian.com
  Blue Planet 2 producers say final episode lays bare shocking damage humanity is wreaking in the seas, from climate change to plastic pollution to noiseThe world’s oceans are under the greatest threat in history, according to Sir David Attenborough. The seas are a vital part of the global ecosystem, leaving the future of all life on Earth dependent on humanity’s actions, he says.Attenborough will issue the warning in the final episode of the Blue Planet 2 series, which details the dam
  
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• The west can’t fix the climate crisis. Asia will have to do it | Chandran Nair

  05-12-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  The future is about resources, not technology. The planet really needs developing nations to get it rightThe climate change talks in Bonn have now wrapped up with little firm action. Next year they move to Poland. But whatever is discussed or agreed in European cities over the coming years, the answers to climate change will not come from the west (beyond a few technological tweaks), but Asia. Related: ‘Planet at a crossroads’: climate summit makes progress but leaves much to doConti
  
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• Country diary: this bird could be spooked by its own shadow

  05-12-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Rockland Broad, Norfolk The water rail’s distressed call tells you everything about its solitary life buried in deepest coverAs the light falls in my neighouring parish and the mercury drops, so the bird sounds acquire extra layers of intensity. I’m thinking of the hysterical chinking of blackbirds in the ivy and the disembodied sharp pitt notes of Cetti’s warblers. Most evocative of all, however, are the water rails.Related to the moorhen and coot, this arch introvert is long-
  
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• Trump slashes size of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase national monuments in Utah

  05-12-2017 02:34 via theguardian.com
  President signs two proclamations slashing protections for Utah monuments, representing a triumph for fossil fuel industries, ranchers and RepublicansDonald Trump was widely condemned on Monday for drastically shrinking two national monuments, representing the biggest elimination of public lands protection in US history.Related: 'We'll see the battle lines': Trump faced by Native American alliance over Bears EarsContinue reading...
  
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• How UK's birds are being affected by a changing climate

  05-12-2017 01:13 via bbc.co.uk
  Migratory birds are arriving in the UK earlier each spring and leaving later each autumn, a study shows.
  
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• Ocean plastic a 'planetary crisis' - UN

  05-12-2017 01:10 via bbc.co.uk
  Life in the seas risks irreparable damage from the ever-increasing tide of plastic waste, the UN's head of oceans has warned.
  
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