Environment news

• Macron awards US scientists grants to move to France in defiance of Trump

  11-12-2017 22:16 via theguardian.com
  France’s president awards millions of euros to 18 American scientists to relocate in effort to counter Donald Trump on the climate change frontEighteen climate scientists from the US and elsewhere have hit the jackpot as France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, awarded them millions of euros in grants to relocate to France for the rest of Donald Trump’s presidential term.The “Make Our Planet Great Again” grants – a nod to Trump’s “Make America Great Ag
  
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• Final call for public sector professionals to take 'state of sustainability' survey

  11-12-2017 20:01
  Sustainability professionals, CSR experts and energy managers working within Britain's public sector have just one week left to take part in a short survey which will help to inform edie's next insight report looking at the sustainability challenges and opportunities facing the sector.
  
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• Pacific 'baby island' is natural lab to study Mars

  11-12-2017 19:12 via bbc.co.uk
  A newly emerged volcanic island will help trace the Red Planet's water history and the search for life.
  
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• US flood risk 'severely underestimated'

  11-12-2017 19:04 via bbc.co.uk
  More than three times as many Americans are at risk of having their homes flooded than federal maps show.
  
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• Troubled Papua New Guinea deep-sea mine faces environmental challenge

  11-12-2017 18:00 via theguardian.com
  Community groups accuse PNG government of keeping documents for its approval under wrapsA controversial experimental deep-sea mine is being challenged in court by environmental groups who have accused the Papua New Guinea government of withholding key documents about its approval.Nautilus Minerals Inc, a Canada-based company primarily owned by Russian and Omani mining firms, wants to extract gold and copper deposits from 1.6km below the surface of the Bismarck Sea, using a seabed mining techniqu
  
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• Global warming will weaken wind power, study predicts

  11-12-2017 17:00 via theguardian.com
  Wind farms are key to tackling climate change but warming will significantly cut wind power across US and UK, though Australia will see winds strengthenWind farms are key to tackling climate change but warming will significantly cut the power of the wind across northern mid-latitudes, including the US, the UK and the Mediterranean, according to new research. However, some places, including eastern Australia, will see winds pick up.The research is the first global study to project the impact of t
  
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• Exposure to Air Pollution Just Before or After Conception Raises Risk of Birth Defects

  11-12-2017 16:37 via feedproxy.google.com
  Women exposed to air pollution just prior to conception or during the first month of pregnancy face an increased risk of their children being born with birth defects, such as cleft lip or palate or abnormal hearts.
  
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• The world's youngest island

  11-12-2017 16:04 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists think Hunga Tunga Hunga Ha'apai might hold clues on where to look for life on Mars.
  
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• Irish DNA map reveals history's imprint

  11-12-2017 16:01 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists have unveiled a detailed genetic map of Ireland, revealing subtle DNA differences that may reflect historic events.
  
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• Huntington’s breakthrough may stop disease

  11-12-2017 14:34 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists say it could be the biggest breakthrough in neurodegenerative diseases for 50 years.
  
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• ‘Tsunami of data’ could consume one fifth of global electricity by 2025

  11-12-2017 14:27 via theguardian.com
  Billions of internet-connected devices could produce 3.5% of global emissions within 10 years and 14% by 2040, according to new research, reports Climate Home NewsThe communications industry could use 20% of all the world’s electricity by 2025, hampering attempts to meet climate change targets and straining grids as demand by power-hungry server farms storing digital data from billions of smartphones, tablets and internet-connected devices grows exponentially.The industry has long argued t
  
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• Tory MPs bombard social media with pro-environmental messages after Blue Planet II

  11-12-2017 13:22 via theguardian.com
  Coordinated social media strategy saw Conservatives post preprepared graphics about the government’s environmental policiesAfter a number of viral headlines last month incorrectly claimed that Tory MPs had voted that animals weren’t sentient and don’t feel pain, Conservative MPs wanted social media users to be left in no doubt where they stood on marine conservation issues.As the final episode of the BBC’s Blue Planet II finished on Sunday evening, MP after MP went on Twi
  
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• No more green rhetoric. A sustainable future is vital and possible

  11-12-2017 13:16 via theguardian.com
  Climate change is at the heart of Labour’s industrial strategy, which means investing in green tech and renewable energy, and divesting from fossil fuelsThe climate crisis is the most significant issue facing humanity. Natural disasters are already displacing entire communities. More intense droughts are leading to unprecedented levels of food insecurity and hunger across the globe. This summer saw hurricanes, floods and fires affect hundreds of millions of people from India to Niger, Hait
  
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• Schneider Electric joins RE100 and EP100 initiatives

  11-12-2017 13:14
  Energy and automation company Schneider Electric has signed up to the Climate Group's RE100 initiative to source renewable energy and the EP100 initiative to double energy productivity by 2030.
  
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• We know polluting cars are killing us. So why do we put up with it? | Abi Wilkinson

  11-12-2017 13:09 via theguardian.com
  The evidence of the damage air pollution does is undisputed. We should come to see car journeys as a last resortIf petrol and diesel vehicles were invented today, what possible justification would there be for allowing unchecked ownership? Knowing all we do about the damage wrought by burning fossil fuels – both to our immediate health and to the long-term viability of our habitat – it would seem an act of obscene, destructive decadence. The idea of driving a monstrous, tank-like 4x4
  
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• Report calls for UK Government to devolve carbon budgets to regional levels

  11-12-2017 12:50
  The UK Government has been urged to devolve national carbon budgets down to regional levels in order to create socioeconomic benefits that can be captured by promoting low-carbon job growth across specific areas of the UK, a new report has suggested.
  
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• In the shadow of Brazil's Belo Monte dam, the homes battling a tide of sewage | Ciro Barros and Iuri Barcelos

  11-12-2017 12:25 via theguardian.com
  Residents living near the world’s fourth largest hydroelectric power plant say it has made their houses prone to floods of waste water, with dengue fever rifeA line on the wall of Carlos Alves Moraes’ house shows the highwater mark of the flood which hit his neighbourhood in August. Houses near the lagoon are built on stilts to protect against seasonal rains, but now, because of the dam, they are prone to flooding throughout the year, he says.“We spent 17 days in August living
  
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• Citu aims to 'disrupt' the construction industry with low-carbon housing scheme

  11-12-2017 12:10
  Urban developer Citu has unveiled the first glimpses of a timber-framed housing system that is up to ten times more energy efficient than standard UK homes, with production practices also able to reduce the carbon footprint of construction by 24,000 tonnes annually.
  
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• Citu aims to 'disrupt' construction industry with low-carbon housing scheme

  11-12-2017 12:10
  Urban developer Citu has unveiled the first glimpses of a timber-framed housing system that is up to ten times more energy efficient than standard UK homes, with production practices also able to reduce the carbon footprint of construction by 24,000 tonnes annually.
  
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• California's hellish fires: a visit from the Ghost of Christmas Future | Dana Nuccitelli

  11-12-2017 12:00 via theguardian.com
  California is burning in December. Climate scientists predicted global warming will make Christmas wildfires more commonplace.
  In Charles Dicken’s ‘A Christmas Carol,’ the Ghost of Christmas Future appears to Ebenezer Scrooge to show what will happen if he doesn’t change his greedy, selfish life. California’s record wildfires are similarly giving us a glimpse of our future hellish climate if we continue with our current behavior.Continue reading...
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn backs divestment pledge, as business CFOs call for disclosure drive

  11-12-2017 11:35
  A group of 100 MPS, including Labour's Jeremy Corbyn and the Green Party's Caroline Lucas, have called for a £612m pension fund to divest from fossil fuels, while leading chief financial officers have endorsed the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.
  
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• Corbyn backs MP pension divestment as business leaders call for improved climate disclosure

  11-12-2017 11:35
  A group of 100 MPS, including Labour's Jeremy Corbyn and the the Green Party's Caroline Lucas, have called for a £612m pension fund to divest from fossil fuels, while leading chief financial officers have endorsed the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.
  
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• Heathrow to install rapid charge points for electric black cabs

  11-12-2017 11:03
  Heathrow Airport has revealed that it is actively collaborating with Transport for London to install seven rapid charging points for electric taxis by the end of this month, with the airport also announcing the delivery of its 50th electric vehicle (EV).
  
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• Poem of the week: Microbial Museum by Maya Chowdhry

  11-12-2017 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Finding the poetry in scientific vocabulary, this work is alive to the marvels of its discoveries as well as the ecological peril it reportsMicrobial Museum
  April ship sets sail, sea freezes ripples, leaves Rothera
  behind. One hundred and fifty thousand years of snowfall inContinue reading...
  
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• Why did climate scientists emit 30,000 tonnes of C02 this weekend? | Peter Kalmus

  11-12-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Around 25,000 of my colleagues flew to a conference, leaving a colossal carbon footprint in their wake. This makes our warnings less credible to the public
  This weekend, 25,000 Earth, Sun, and planetary scientists from across the US and abroad flew to New Orleans for the annual American Geophysical Union’s Fall Meeting. These scientists study the impact global warming is having on Earth. Unfortunately, their air travel to and from the meeting will contribute to that warming by emitting aro
  
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• Meat tax ‘inevitable’ to beat climate and health crises, says report

  11-12-2017 07:30 via theguardian.com
  ‘Sin taxes’ to reverse the rapid global growth in meat eating are likely in five to 10 years, according to a report for investors managing over $4tn“Sin taxes” on meat to reduce its huge impact on climate change and human health look inevitable, according to analysts for investors managing over $4tn of assets.
  The global livestock industry causes 15% of all global greenhouse gas emissions and meat consumption is rising around the world, but dangerous climate change cannot
  
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• Mass starvation is humanity’s fate if we keep flogging the land to death | George Monbiot

  11-12-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  The Earth cannot accommodate our need and greed for food. We must change our diet before it’s too lateBrexit; the crushing of democracy by billionaires; the next financial crash; a rogue US president: none of them keeps me awake at night. This is not because I don’t care – I care very much. It’s only because I have a bigger question on my mind. Where is all the food going to come from?By the middle of this century there will be two or three billion more peo
  
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• Country diary: even reduced to bare bones the bat's magic remains

  11-12-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Welburn, North Yorkshire With a tiny paintbrush and tweezers I salvage a skeleton: the tiny skull, the whisker-fine finger bonesI found it at the top of the field in July, after the barley harvest. A little body, wings folded and face scrunched. It was snagged on a scaffold of stubble like a miniature sky burial, overlooking a vista it must have known well until the previous night, when, somehow, all its knowing became nothing. Reflexively, I picked it up. In my hand, with its sky-tickling energ
  
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• 'Not ashamed': dolphin hunters of Taiji break silence over film The Cove

  11-12-2017 05:32 via theguardian.com
  Members of the tiny Japanese community, which was vilified in the 2009 documentary, speak to the Guardian about fishing and their way of lifeTaiji is still in darkness when a dozen men gather at the quayside and warm themselves over a brazier. While the rest of the town sleeps, they sip from cans of hot coffee, smoke cigarettes and talk in hushed tones.As soon as the sun edges above the peninsula, they take to their boats, steering out to sea in formation in search of their prey: the dolphin.Con
  
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• Bird keepers at Sydney's Taronga zoo name their favourite Australian birds – video

  11-12-2017 05:00 via theguardian.com
  As the result of the bird of the year poll is made public, Taronga keepers Brendan Host, Lille Madden, Ashleigh Page, Mark Domenici, Leanne Golebiowski and Michael Shiels select their favourites Continue reading...
  
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• North Atlantic right whales on the brink of extinction, officials say

  11-12-2017 01:56 via theguardian.com
  Fishing nets and lack of food blamed for pushing number of the world’s most endangered marine animal to just 450Officials with the US federal government say it is time to consider the possibility that endangered right whales could become extinct unless new steps are taken to protect them.North Atlantic right whales are among the rarest marine mammals in the world, and they have endured a deadly year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has said there are only about 450 of t
  
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• Mt Hope installed as 'UK's highest peak'

  11-12-2017 01:42 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists re-measure the tallest mountains in the Antarctic territory claimed by Britain.
  
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• Conspiracy theories and celebrity endorsements: how bird of the year played out online

  11-12-2017 01:31 via theguardian.com
  The white ibis provoked strong feelings on Twitter throughout the three-week campaign, and the result was never going to please everyoneThe three-week campaign to select Australia’s bird of the year has been bitterly fought out on social media, and Monday’s result provoked another round of celebration and recriminations.Swooping in with an incredible 19,926 votes, of a total of almost 150,000, the Australian magpie took the title, having quietly gained ground over the white ibis (19,
  
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• Wales is second best household waste recycler in the world

  11-12-2017 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Eco-friendly policies place country second to Germany but England lags far behind other countries according to new researchWales ranks second in the world for recycling household waste but England lags far behind other European countries, according to new research.Policies brought in by the Welsh government and a target to be zero waste by 2050 have driven the country up the league table to come in just under Germany. With recycling rates of 63.8% for municipal solid waste, which includes househ
  
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• Energy firms say price cap on bills could hit UK roll-out of smart meters

  11-12-2017 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Big six also warn investment in energy sector is in jeopardy if firms are not allowed to challenge level at which bills are cappedTheresa May’s price cap on energy bills risks damaging her government’s hopes of installing millions more smart meters in homes, two of the UK’s biggest energy companies have warned.Giving evidence before the business, energy and industrial strategy committee , British Gas owner Centrica said: “We believe the price cap will damage the rollout o
  
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• Magpie edges out white ibis and kookaburra as Australian bird of the year

  11-12-2017 00:54 via theguardian.com
  Top three birds all backed by more than 10,000 votes in Guardian Australia and BirdLife Australia poll that attracted 150,000 votes
  • Australian bird of the year results – as it happenedThe Australian magpie has been crowned Australian bird of the year for 2017, upsetting the early favourite, the white ibis, and winning 13.3% of the vote.The magpie received 19,926 votes, followed by the Australian white ibis with 19,083 votes and the laughing kookaburra with 10,953 votes.Continue read
  
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• Magpie wins Australian bird of the year poll – as it happened

  11-12-2017 00:40 via theguardian.com
  Australian magpie pips the ibis and laughing kookaburra in the Guardian Australia/BirdLife Australia poll after weeks of controversy, a powerful owl voting hack and a strong #teambinchicken social media push11.28pm GMTThere is a magpie carolling outside my window, calling time on our live coverage of the 2017 Australian bird of the year vote. Thank you so much for your enthusiastic campaigning for our avian friends. We really do have an astonishing variety of birds in Australia and we should cel
  
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• Magpies: how I learnt to grudgingly admire – and then love – the bird of the year | Paul Daley

  11-12-2017 00:30 via theguardian.com
  They’re feared for their fierce protection of sovereignty and dive-bombing trespassers, but all is forgiven listening to a pair magpies warbling in a gumtree
  Anodyne eastern suburbs Melbourne seemed less dangerous than any other place in the world when I was a primary school kid.There was the creek with its tadpoles, turtles and occasional foxes. There was, inevitably, a local haunted house. And there was the path. Continue reading...
  
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