Environment news

• We love birds more than we think we do – video

  08-12-2017 23:49 via theguardian.com
  Michael Shiels, supervisor of the bird department at Taronga zoo says birds are an integral part of Australian life. Shiels is unable to give a single answer to Guardian Australia's bird of the year poll, but believes all Australians love birds, even if they don't know it. The poll closes today at midnight• Share your best – or most underwhelming – Australian bird pictures Continue reading...
  
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• Feed the birds: stop the demonising and tell us how to do it properly

  08-12-2017 23:28 via theguardian.com
  It’s maligned in Australia but if some simple rules are observed, bird feeding is a great way to connect with the wild worldVote in the Australian bird of the year poll 2017There’s a sulphur-crested cockatoo that visits my balcony daily. She lives in a hollow tree nearby, and every day at around 7.30am, she flutters up to the railing outside the living room windows of my third-floor apartment. She lets out a polite, low croak to let me know she’s there, and I come out and give
  
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• Share your best Australian bird pictures for bird of the year 2017

  08-12-2017 23:27 via theguardian.com
  We’d like to see your best – or indeed most underwhelming – bird images of the year, whether or not the subject features on our shortlist
  As we prepare to reveal the winner of the Australian bird of the year 2017, we want to see your best (or your most underwhelming) photos of Australian birds. Whether it’s a hi-res calendar worthy masterpiece, or the quick out-of-focus snap on your phone, share your Australian native bird images, videos and stories with us, and we’
  
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• Extreme fieldwork, drones, climate modeling yield new insights about Greenland's melting ice sheet

  08-12-2017 23:14 via feedproxy.google.com
  A new UCLA-led study reinforces the importance of collaboration in assessing the effects of climate change.The research, published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, offers new insights about previously unknown factors affecting Greenland’s melting ice sheet, and it could ultimately help scientists more accurately predict how the phenomenon could cause sea levels to rise.
  
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• Give us a better buzz, say British beekeepers | Letters

  08-12-2017 20:05 via theguardian.com
  Nicky Smith and Simon Cavill take issue with an earlier letter to the GuardianTim Evans (Letters, 7 December) has put a bee in my bonnet, saying that the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) frowns on the pioneering spirit of beekeepers. What unfair words!I help the BBKA run a scheme called Adopt a Beehive, for members of the public to learn about beekeeping and support honeybees. They can adopt a beehive from one of 10 regions in the UK, each with a BBKA beekeeper who reports on the progress o
  
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• The Guardian view on plastic bottles: make water available on tap | Editorial

  08-12-2017 20:00 via theguardian.com
  Thankfully the campaign to cut our plastic habit by making free fresh water widely available is gathering momentumLike a wave building far out at sea, the momentum behind universally available cool fresh water is growing steadily. It is driven by the realisation that the world’s plastic habit must be broken, quickly. It’s reckoned that a million plastic bottles are bought worldwide every minute; the meaning of this number is best expressed in the images of mountains of litter made of
  
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• Lendlease named UK's most sustainable housebuilder

  08-12-2017 19:14
  International property group Lendlease has been ranked the most sustainable residential developer by the NextGeneration initiative.
  
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• Tony Whitten obituary

  08-12-2017 18:54 via theguardian.com
  Passionate advocate for some of the world’s least-known creatures and for new approaches to wildlife conservationTony Whitten, who has died aged 64 in a cycling accident, was an inspirational figure in global conservation circles thanks to his collaboration with religious groups and his passionate advocacy for some of the world’s least-known creatures. Like the snails, beetles and mites that he championed, Whitten was never a household name, but his influence as a mentor and explorer
  
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• Transformation to wind and solar could be achieved with low indirect greenhouse gas emissions

  08-12-2017 17:43 via feedproxy.google.com
  Different low carbon technologies from wind or solar energy to fossil carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) differ greatly when it comes to indirect greenhouse gas emissions in their life cycle. This is the result of a comprehensive new study conducted by an international team of scientists that is now published in the journal Nature Energy. Unlike what some critics argue, the researchers not only found that wind and solar energy belong to the more favorable when it comes to life-cycle emission
  
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• Guanidinium stabilizes perovskite solar cells at 19% efficiency

  08-12-2017 17:39 via feedproxy.google.com
  With the power-conversion efficiency of silicon solar cells plateauing around 25%, perovskites are now ideally placed to become the market’s next generation of photovoltaics. In particular, organic-inorganic lead halide perovskites offer manufacturing versatility that can potentially translate into much higher efficiency: studies have already shown photovoltaic performances above 20% across different solar cell architectures built with simple and low-cost processes.
  
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• Nuclear fusion, endangered species and orangutan selfies – green news roundup

  08-12-2017 16:39 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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• Device makes power conversion more efficient

  08-12-2017 15:55 via feedproxy.google.com
  Power electronics, which do things like modify voltages or convert between direct and alternating current, are everywhere. They’re in the power bricks we use to charge our portable devices; they’re in the battery packs of electric cars; and they’re in the power grid itself, where they mediate between high-voltage transmission lines and the lower voltages of household electrical sockets.
  
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• Why are California’s wildfires so out of control? – video explainer

  08-12-2017 15:18 via theguardian.com
  The state of California has faced a number of powerful wildfires this year, some of them covering thousands of acres and destroying hundreds of homes. Fire services are struggling to bring them under control. But what’s making them so ferocious? Why are ferocious wildfires plaguing southern California?Continue reading...
  
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• EXCLUSIVE: Lidl challenges 'misconceptions' of discount retail in sustainability report debut

  08-12-2017 14:35
  Lidl has strived to "challenge any misconceptions" about the relationship between sustainability and discount business models in the retailer's first ever CSR report, which outlines ambitious targets in areas such as food waste and responsible sourcing.
  
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• Stopping the next wave of invasive species in Saskatchewan lakes

  08-12-2017 14:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  Invasive species continue to be a critical threat to freshwater ecosystems in Saskatchewan and across North America.But the species that have yet to enter Saskatchewan waters might be of greatest concern.
  
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• Scientists Home in on Causes of High Radium Levels in Key Midwestern Aquifer

  08-12-2017 14:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  Oxygen levels, dissolved minerals among factors responsible for high concentrations of radium in untreated water from aquifer that underlies six statesU.S. Geological Survey scientists have shed new light on processes that happen deep underground.
  
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• EXCLUSIVE: Lidl 'challenging misconceptions' with first ever sustainability report

  08-12-2017 13:35
  Lidl has strived to "challenge any misconceptions" about the relationship between sustainability and its discount business model in the retailer's first ever CSR report, which outlines ambitious targets in areas such as food waste and responsible sourcing.
  
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• Ski resort will devastate Unesco world heritage site in Bulgaria, says WWF

  08-12-2017 12:12 via theguardian.com
  Expansion of budget ski resort Bansko into Pirin national park will be disastrous for centuries-old forests home to brown bears and wolvesA budget ski resort expansion is poised to carve 333km of new slopes and 113km of ski lifts through a Unesco world heritage site of “outstanding universal value”, according to documents obtained by WWF in a lawsuit.The 400sq km Pirin national park in Bulgaria is one of Europe’s best preserved homes for large mammals such as brown bears and wo
  
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• Well-designed green regulations support business growth, study finds

  08-12-2017 11:03
  The economic benefits of strong environmental regulations far outweigh the associated compliance costs, a new report from the Aldersgate Group has concluded.
  
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• 'People seem happier': how planting trees changed lives in a former coal community

  08-12-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  The National Forest has not only transformed an industrial landscape, it has given people a new sense of belonging and wellbeing, created jobs and boosted wildlife – benefits that could be replicated across the country Former miner Graham Knight puts his cup of tea down on the cafe table and looks out through the large glass windows. Trees frame every view; a small herd of cows meander through a copse of silver birch towards a distance lake. Continue reading...
  
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• Hubbub's Community Fridge Network secures funding for national expansion

  08-12-2017 08:12
  Environmental charity Hubbub's Community Fridge project to reduce the amount of food waste generated in the UK looks set for a national expansion, after the charity secured £160,000 in National Lottery funding.
  
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• ‘Death spiral’: half of Europe’s coal plants are losing money

  08-12-2017 08:01 via theguardian.com
  Air pollution and climate change policies are pushing coal-fired electricity stations to the brink, says a new report. Closing them would avoid €22bn in losses by 2030More than half of the European Union’s 619 coal-fired power stations are losing money, according to a new report. As a result, the industry’s slow plans for shutdowns will lead to €22bn in losses by 2030 if the EU fulfils its pledge to tackle climate change, the report warns.
  Stricter air pollution rules and h
  
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• Country diary: squirrel antics brighten up the bleak wintry days

  08-12-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Langstone, Hampshire Grey squirrels begin mating in mid-December, but here the males’ chittering pursuit started weeks ago
  On bleak, damp days when the trees are devoid of birdlife, I can always rely on grey squirrels to bring a smile to my face. Rain or shine, they come tumbling through the bare winter branches like a troop of circus acrobats, walking the tightrope of my washing line and swinging from my bird feeders as though they are performing on the flying trapeze. Continue reading...
  
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• Malawi suffers blackouts as drought exposes 98% reliance on hydro power

  08-12-2017 03:47 via theguardian.com
  Shire river, which generates almost all of the country’s power, has fallen to critical levels, leaving major cities strugglingLarge parts of Malawi have been plunged into darkness as water levels at the country’s main hydro power plant fell to critical levels due to a severe drought, according to its electricity company.The impoverished southern African country which relies on hydroelectricity has been hit by intermitted blackouts since last year, but the outages have recently worsen
  
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• Water costs in Australia to double within 20 years, report claims

  08-12-2017 02:28 via theguardian.com
  Infrastructure Australia says governments should privatise state-owned metropolitan water utility businessesAustralians can expect to pay double for their water supply within 20 years unless there are big reforms, a report from Infrastructure Australia says.It says a lack of investment in ageing infrastructure, population growth in urban centres and climate change will play a part in pushing up prices. Continue reading...
  
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• Feathers and flight: birds in Australian fashion

  08-12-2017 01:24 via theguardian.com
  From Florence Broadhurst to Romance Was Born, Australian designers have long looked to birds for design inspirationContinue reading...
  
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• Nestlé to redistribute site-level food waste set aside for animal feed

  08-12-2017 01:08
  A new initiative from Nestlé and food redistribution organisation Company Shop could increase the amount of food redistributed from UK operations by two million meals annually, by using site assessments to reduce waste at its source.
  
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