Environment news

• NASA Researchers Share Perspective on Key Elements of Ozone Layer Recovery

  14-12-2017 21:45 via feedproxy.google.com
  Each year, ozone-depleting compounds in the upper atmosphere destroy the protective ozone layer, and in particular above Antarctica. The ozone layer acts as Earth's sunscreen by absorbing harmful ultraviolet radiation from incoming sunlight that can cause skin cancer and damage plants, among other harmful effects to life on Earth. While these different compounds each release either reactive chlorine or bromine, the two active ozone-destroying ingredients, during a series of chemical reactions, t
  
  Read more

• Geminid meteor shower dazzles over northern hemisphere

  14-12-2017 20:39 via bbc.co.uk
  If you missed the annual Geminid meteor shower, cameras captured the celestial display over China.
  
  Read more

• Star system has record eight exoplanets

  14-12-2017 19:27 via bbc.co.uk
  Nasa finds a distant star circled by eight planets, equal to the complement in our own Solar System.
  
  Read more

• Neonicotinoids at 'chronic levels' in UK rivers, study finds

  14-12-2017 19:27 via bbc.co.uk
  Neonicotinoids have increasingly been linked to problems in bee populations.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• The 2017 comedy wildlife photography awards

  14-12-2017 19:11 via theguardian.com
  Out of 3,500 entries from across the world, this year’s funny winners include a laughing dormouse, a shocked seal, and bears caught in the act Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• 5 Animals Who Love the Cold

  14-12-2017 17:56 via feedproxy.google.com
  As temperatures drop, most creatures retreat to hunker down or hibernate.
  
  Read more

• Melting of East Antarctic Ice Sheet Could Cripple Major U.S. Cities

  14-12-2017 16:18 via feedproxy.google.com
  The world’s largest ice sheet may be less stable than previously thought, posing an even greater threat to Florida’s coastline. The first-ever marine geologic survey of East Antarctica’s Sabrina Coast, published this week in Nature, concludes that some regions of the massive East Antarctic Ice Sheet have been sensitive to climate change for millions of years. Much like the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, this region of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet is grounded below sea
  
  Read more

• Rooftop wiretap aims to learn what crows gossip about at dusk

  14-12-2017 14:16 via feedproxy.google.com
  What are crows saying when their loud cawing fills a dark winter’s evening? Despite the inescapable ruckus, nobody knows for sure. Birds congregate daily before and after sleep, and they make some noise, but what might be happening in those brains is a mystery.Curious about these raucous exchanges, researchers at the University of Washington Bothell are listening in. They are placing equipment on the roof of their building — a meeting place for some of the thousands of crows that sle
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• 60 million-year-old meteorite impact found on Skye

  14-12-2017 13:37 via bbc.co.uk
  Geologists made the discovery while exploring volcanic rocks near Broadford.
  
  Read more

• Plans for major nuclear power station in Wales win green light

  14-12-2017 13:07 via theguardian.com
  Office for Nuclear Regulation approves design for new reactor at Horizon Nuclear Power’s plant at Wylfa, AngleseyPlans for a major new nuclear power station in Wales have taken a crucial step forward as UK regulators approved the project.The Office for Nuclear Regulation gave the green light on Thursday for the Japanese reactor design for Horizon Nuclear Power’s plant at Wylfa, marking the end of a five-year regulatory process. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• EU must not burn the world's forests for 'renewable' energy

  14-12-2017 13:01 via theguardian.com
  A flaw in Europe’s clean energy plan allows fuel from felled trees to qualify as renewable energy when in fact this would accelerate climate change and devastate forestsThe European Union is moving to enact a directive to double Europe’s current renewable energy by 2030. This is admirable, but a critical flaw in the present version would accelerate climate change, allowing countries, power plants and factories to claim that cutting down trees and burning them for energy fully qualifi
  
  Read more

• Living alongside elephants: a study of human and animal habitats

  14-12-2017 12:12 via theguardian.com
  A new book commissioned by David Attenborough’s charity, The World Land Trust, documents life on the small and important elephant corridor which allows the animals to cross safely between ranges in Kerala, IndiaContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• Research shows that certain facts can still change conservatives’ minds | Dana Nuccitelli

  14-12-2017 12:00 via theguardian.com
  But it’s political corruption, not public opinion that’s blocking American climate policyThere’s a debate between social scientists about whether climate change facts can change peoples’ minds or just polarize them further. For example, conservatives who are more scientifically literate are less worried about global warming. In essence, education arms them with the tools to more easily reject evidence and information that conflicts with their ideological beliefs. This has
  
  Read more

• 'Some don’t have bodies to bury’: My journey back to Dominica after the hurricane - video

  14-12-2017 11:00 via theguardian.com
  This year the Caribbean experienced its most destructive hurricane season in decades. While large countries dominated the headlines, the small island nation of Dominica suffered the worst devastation it has ever seen. Josh Toussaint-Strauss visits his family in the country and asks, with next year forecast to be worse, how Dominicans see their future Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• No bodies to bury: pain and trauma after the hurricane in Dominica - video

  14-12-2017 11:00 via theguardian.com
  This year the Caribbean experienced its most destructive hurricane season in decades. While large countries dominated the headlines, the small island nation of Dominica suffered the worst devastation it has ever seen. Josh Toussaint-Strauss visits his family in the country and asks, with next year forecast to be worse, how Dominicans see their future Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• After years of toxic oil spills, indigenous Peruvians use tech to fight back

  14-12-2017 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Fidel Sandi’s Achuar community has been plagued with oil contamination for decades – but he is now able to collect and gather evidence for his claimsArmed with territorial knowledge, rubber boots, smartphones and drones, indigenous Amazonians in Peru are doing what state and private oil companies have long failed to do: report oil spills that have been polluting their corner of the rainforest for decades.Fidel Sandi, 33, a leader in the indigenous Achuar community of San Cristobal, p
  
  Read more

• Ford extends diesel scrappage scheme

  14-12-2017 10:18
  Ford has announced that it is extending a scrappage scheme for older, more polluting vehicles to the first quarter of 2018, citing positive feedback from customers as the primary reason for the extension.
  
  Read more

• Report: UK jewellers 'must do more' to combat potential human rights abuses

  14-12-2017 09:15
  The billion-pound jewellery industry is still "tainted" by hidden cases of human rights abuses and modern slavery, with a new report urging large UK brands to increase reporting responsibilities to ensure supply chains are fully-mapped and audited.
  
  Read more

• Living alongside elephants: A Study of Human and Animal Habitats – in pictures

  14-12-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  A new book commissioned by David Attenborough’s charity, The World Land Trust, documents life on the small and important elephant corridor which allows the animals to cross safely between ranges in Kerala, IndiaContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• World Bank, major businesses and nations unite against coal funding

  14-12-2017 08:20
  The One Planet Summit in Paris has signalled the beginning of the end for the coal industry, after the World Bank, numerous financial institutions and a group of nations and major businesses all pledged to phase out fossil fuel funding and use.
  
  Read more

• Long-term policies can help business capture €324bn circular economy opportunity

  14-12-2017 08:15
  A new report has called on European Union (EU) institutions to promote resource efficiency beyond the completion of the Circular Economy Package, by learning from best practice scenarios that could add €324bn to the EU's economy by 2030.
  
  Read more

• In 10 years time trains could be solar powered

  14-12-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  A technique has been devised that allows electricity to flow directly from solar panels to electrified train tracks to the trains themselves making solar powered trains more feasible than ever before
  Last week, my 10:10 colleague Leo Murray co-authored a new report on solar-powered trains with Nathaniel Bottrell, an electrical engineer at Imperial College.It’s exciting stuff. We think solar could power 20% of the Merseyrail network in Liverpool, as well as 15% of commuter routes in Kent, S
  
  Read more

• Fueling dissent: how the oil industry set out to undercut clean air

  14-12-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  After casting doubt on climate change for decades, skeptic consultants have turned their attention to air pollution
  On sunny days, when his classmates run out to play, Gabriel Rosales heads to the school nurse for a dose of Albuterol.The fine mist opens his airways, relaxing the muscles in his chest. Without it, recess could leave the nine-year-old gasping for breath. He gets a second dose at the end of the day before heading home from St John Bosco Elementary School, in San Antonio, Texas. Cont
  
  Read more

• The 50 best TV shows of 2017: No 4 Blue Planet II

  14-12-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  This majestic ocean tour was not only gorgeous viewing, but brought scientific discovery and a timely reminder of ecological fragilityTop TV of 2017 - our pick of the best in one placeWith Blue Planet II, Sir David Attenborough captivated audiences once again and helped the BBC grab more viewers than Strictly, Simon Cowell doling out stink or indeed any other TV show in the UK. And all with the magic of the natural world. Four years in the making, and 16 years on from his original series, this l
  
  Read more

• The 50 best shows of 2017: No 4 Blue Planet II

  14-12-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  This majestic ocean tour was not only gorgeous viewing, but brought scientific discovery and a timely reminder of ecological fragilityWith Blue Planet II, Sir David Attenborough captivated audiences once again and helped the BBC grab more viewers than Strictly, Simon Cowell doling out stink or indeed any other TV show in the UK. And all with the magic of the natural world. Four years in the making, and 16 years on from his original series, this latest seven-episode tour of the oceans came comple
  
  Read more

• Size does matter: wine glasses are seven times larger than they used to be

  14-12-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  In the 1700s the average-sized wine glass could hold just 66ml of the tipple. Today it’s not unusual to be handed a glass that holds almost half a litreOur Georgian and Victorian ancestors may have enjoyed a Christmas tipple but – judging by the size of the glasses they used – they probably drank less wine than we do today.Scientists at the University of Cambridge have found that the capacity of wine glasses has ballooned nearly seven-fold over the past 300 years, rising most s
  
  Read more

• ‘A different dimension of loss’: inside the great insect die-off

  14-12-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Scientists have identified 2 million species of living things. No one knows how many more are out there, and tens of thousands may be vanishing before we have even had a chance to encounter them. By Jacob MikanowskiThe Earth is ridiculously, burstingly full of life. Four billion years after the appearance of the first microbes, 400m years after the emergence of the first life on land, 200,000 years after humans arrived on this planet, 5,000 years (give or take) after God bid
  
  Read more

• Country diary: mistletoe decorates a lime with its pearly berries

  14-12-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Sandy, Bedfordshire Up in the crown of the tree, a mistle thrush gave a rattling call, as if exerting its planter’s rightsUnder the unkind umbrella of a spreading oak, a stunted horse chestnut tree had received a white feather. Dropped from a dove, it had landed on a big brown bud as sticky as a toffee apple. The winter elements had then set to work, soaking and battering the kiss-curl of down into limpness, laying it out in the bud’s protective goo and soiling it with dust, seeds an
  
  Read more

• National Australia Bank stops all lending for new thermal coal projects

  14-12-2017 03:57 via theguardian.com
  Move makes NAB the first major Australian bank to phase out support for industry but it will continue to finance projects already on its booksNational Australia Bank says it will halt all lending for new thermal coal mining projects, becoming the first major Australian bank to phase out support of thermal coal mining.While the bank will continue providing finance for coal projects already on its books, NAB said an orderly transition to a low-carbon Australia was critical for the economy and for
  
  Read more

• Hurricane Harvey rainfall 'weighed 127bn tonnes'

  14-12-2017 01:57 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists established how much rain fell by measuring how much the Earth compressed during the storm.
  
  Read more

• How Greenland would look without its ice sheet

  14-12-2017 01:52 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists stitch together decades of survey data to reveal a hidden world of mountains and canyons.
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!