Environment news

• From coffee cup solutions to Tesla launches: edie's top 10 sustainability stories of 2017

  19-12-2017 21:46
  The year has thrown up some truly memorable sustainability success stories from across the world. Here, edie has rounded up 10 of the best stories of 2017.
  
  Read more

• Probing Air Pollution with Laser Sensors

  19-12-2017 20:22 via feedproxy.google.com
  Mark Zondlo, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Princeton University and its Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, develops tools to measure air pollution in more sophisticated and nimble ways than previously possible.His specially engineered laser sensors and drones help reveal the impact of greenhouse gases and air pollutants on the climate, where pollutants come from, and how clouds of air pollution — such as smog — form. The
  
  Read more

• Tenants lose out after landlord pressure halves UK home insulation cap

  19-12-2017 18:54
  Plan to make landlords improve draughtiest homes and boost energy efficiency for hundreds of thousands of tenants lay in tatters, say criticsTenants face missing out on energy bill savings after the government caved in to landlords’ demands by lowering a cap on the costs they face to upgrade Britain’s draughtiest homes.Landlords must improve the energy efficiency of F- and G-rated homes from next April under new regulations designed to protect vulnerable tenants and cut carbon emissi
  
  Read more

• Queensland farmer fined and ordered to restore cleared native vegetation

  19-12-2017 18:00
  Although the landholder had a clearing permit, 132 hectares was cleared outside of the approved areaA Queensland farmer has been fined and ordered to restore native vegetation he cleared on his property, despite a significant media campaign from the farmer, lobby groups and conservative politicians, all claiming the farmer had done nothing wrong.In November, the Guardian reported on allegations that the owners of Wombinoo, south-west of Cairns, had illegally cleared 60 hectares of native trees.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Critics pooh-pooh use of spikes in trees to protect cars from birds

  19-12-2017 17:06
  Bristol council says it cannot intervene after spikes fixed to branches of trees on private property to prevent bird messSpikes have been fixed to trees in a leafy neighbourhood of Bristol in an attempt to prevent birds perching there and creating a mess on residents’ cars.The spikes, of the sort normally seen on the ledges of buildings to ward off pigeons, have been spotted on trees in Clifton, near the wildlife-rich Downs and the Avon gorge.Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Bird spikes in Bristol trees to protect cars cause dismay

  19-12-2017 17:06
  Spikes were fixed to branches to tackle bird mess problem, and council says it cannot intervene as trees are on private propertySpikes have been fixed to trees in a leafy neighbourhood of Bristol in an attempt to prevent birds from perching there and creating a mess on residents’ cars.The spikes, of the sort normally seen on the ledges of buildings to ward off pigeons, have been spotted on trees in Clifton, near the wildlife-rich Downs and the Avon gorge.Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Heat from below Pacific Ocean fuels Yellowstone, study finds

  19-12-2017 15:58 via feedproxy.google.com
  Recent stories in the national media are magnifying fears of a catastrophic eruption of the Yellowstone volcanic area, but scientists remain uncertain about the likelihood of such an event. To better understand the region’s subsurface geology, University of Illinois geologists have rewound and played back a portion of its geologic history, finding that Yellowstone volcanism is far more complex and dynamic than previously thought.
  
  Read more

• Carbon Loophole: Why Is Wood Burning Counted as Green Energy?

  19-12-2017 15:51 via feedproxy.google.com
  It was once one of Europe’s largest coal-burning power stations. Now, after replacing coal in its boilers with wood pellets shipped from the U.S. South, the Drax Power Station in Britain claims to be the largest carbon-saving project in Europe. About 23 million tons of carbon dioxide goes up its stacks each year. But because new trees will be planted in the cut forests, the company says the Drax plant is carbon-neutral.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Volcanic simulation teaches Earth Sciences students crisis management skills

  19-12-2017 14:42 via feedproxy.google.com
  Imagine a scenario where a volcano is about to erupt and you are responsible for deciding what to do next. Who should be alerted and who needs to be evacuated? Where and when might lava start flowing? How dangerous will the gas and ash emissions be?This is what Earth Sciences 421 students experienced during a five-hour volcano simulation exercise in early December.
  
  Read more

• Mapping frog genome is huge leap in identifying environmental contaminant effects on thyroid system

  19-12-2017 14:42 via feedproxy.google.com
  A University of Victoria molecular biologist has gained new insights into how environmental contaminants may disrupt thyroid systems, discovered while assembling the genome of the North American bullfrog.Caren Helbing’s findings could help explain the mechanisms of early development and metamorphosis, as well as how environmental contaminants cause thyroid-related diseases and malfunctions.
  
  Read more

• Scientists Discover Unexpected Side Effect to Cleaning Up Urban Air

  19-12-2017 14:36 via feedproxy.google.com
  An imbalance between the trends in two common air pollutants is unexpectedly triggering the creation of a class of airborne organic compounds not usually found in the atmosphere over urban areas of North America, according to a new study from Caltech.
  
  Read more

• Burning wood instead of coal in power stations makes sense if it's waste wood

  19-12-2017 13:55
  The environmentalist and advisor to Drax power station, Tony Juniper, says the wood used to create energy can be coppice thinnings and waste material Last week, a group of respected scientists wrote to the Guardian to argue that using wood to generate electricity in place of coal is not a solution to climate change. Their critique pointed to a “carbon debt” arising from the years between using a tree for fuel and new one growing. They gave the impression that forests are being cleare
  
  Read more

• What can we learn from China's launch of the world's largest carbon market?

  19-12-2017 13:42
  China has today (19 December) signalled its intent to address climate change with the launch of the world's largest carbon market.
  
  Read more

• edie's big fat sustainability quiz of the year 2017

  19-12-2017 13:00
  When was Earth Overshoot Day? Which city pledged to introduce the world's first zero-emission zone? And just how cheap has offshore wind become? Take edie's 2017 sustainability quiz of the year to test your knowledge on some of the biggest moments in the global sustainability agenda over the past 12 months.
  
  Read more

• Glow in the dark sharks: new species discovered in Hawaii – and it glows

  19-12-2017 12:42
  Light emitted by a new species of lanternshark, Etmopterus lailae, is camouflage and helps them to hunt, communicate and find partners. But how does it work?Earlier this year a new species of deep water shark, Etmopterus lailae, was discovered in waters surrounding the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean.Measurements of external features, teeth, vertebrae and intestines, along with specific external markings and patterns confirmed that it was indeed a new species – a member
  
  Read more

• China aims to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions through trading scheme

  19-12-2017 12:23
  Heavily polluting power plants across China will now have to choose between paying for their emissions or cleaning up their actThe world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, China, has launched the world’s biggest ever mechanism to reduce carbon, in the form of an emissions trading system.China’s top governmental bodies on Tuesday gave their approval to plans for a carbon trading system that will initially cover the country’s heavily polluting power generation plants, t
  
  Read more

• The best green innovations of 2017: VOTE for your favourite

  19-12-2017 11:03
  From flying taxis and autonomous trains to origami clothing and insect burgers, edie rounds up 10 of the best green innovations of 2017 - but which is your favourite?
  
  Read more

• Michael Gove ‘haunted’ by plastic pollution seen in Blue Planet II

  19-12-2017 10:57
  Environment secretary’s action plan, due in new year, may include plastic bottle deposit scheme and standardised recycling policyCutting plastic pollution is the focus of a series of proposals being considered by the UK environment secretary, Michael Gove, who has said he was “haunted” by images of the damage done to the world’s oceans shown in David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II TV series.
  The government is due to announce a 25-year plan to improve the UK’s e
  
  Read more

• EU ministers stumble towards joint position on future energy laws

  19-12-2017 10:34
  Energy ministers on Monday (18 December) took well over 15 hours to agree common positions on four clean energy draft pieces of EU legislation ahead of a final round of talks in 2018 with the European Parliament and Commission.
  
  Read more

• Clearing of 70 trees on Melbourne road for train station an ‘absolute tragedy’

  19-12-2017 07:44
  St Kilda Road trees range from elms planted in late 19th century to London Plane trees planted in 1960sThe decision to cut down 70 trees lining St Kilda Road in Melbourne to make way for a new train station is “an absolute tragedy”, opponents have said.The trees range in age from elms planted in the late 19th century to London Plane trees planted in the 1960s.Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Country diary: the omnivorous blackbird shares a taste for blood

  19-12-2017 06:30
  Rockland St Mary, Norfolk This adaptable bird feeds on fruit, insects, worms – and sometimes something even more substantialThe raised track by this broad is bordered by a sallow thicket that overtops a network of intertidal creeks. To compensate for the subterranean shadows, you have to cowl your eyes and cup your ears to detect any secret occupant. Usually this is little more than a moorhen but, now and then, it is something finer, such as a feeding woodcock. Fixing the whereabouts of an
  
  Read more

• Trump drops climate change from US national security strategy

  19-12-2017 05:06
  President outlined new approach in unprecedented White House speechObama administration added climate to list of threats to US interestsThe Trump administration has dropped climate change from a list of global threats in a new national security strategy the president unveiled on Monday.Related: Trump says he is not planning to fire Mueller as Republican attacks increaseContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• BHP could end $2m membership of minerals council over policy differences

  19-12-2017 03:26
  BHP notes Minerals Council of Australia favours energy reliability and affordability over emissions goalsAustralia’s biggest miner, BHP, has put the Minerals Council of Australia on notice, threatening to cancel its almost $2m yearly membership if it does not cease campaigning on climate and energy issues.
  The warning came in BHP’s review of industry associations, in which it lists the ways BHP’s position differs from that of the MCA. BHP also considers its membership of 20 oth
  
  Read more

• Checkmate: how do climate science deniers' predictions stack up?

  19-12-2017 02:18
  The years 2017, 2016 and 2015 will make up the three hottest years on record for the planet. But there’s no convincing some peopleWhen the global temperature readings are in for 2017, it’s going to be a very hard sell for climate-science deniers: 2017 will likely be ranked either side of 2015 as the second or third hottest year on record, with 2016 still in top spot. The hottest five-year period recorded in the modern era will be the one we’ve just had. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Crocodile lizard is one of 115 new species found in Greater Mekong

  19-12-2017 01:01
  Three mammals, 11 amphibians, two fish, 11 reptiles and 88 plants were discovered by scientists in 2016, says WWFA snail-eating turtle found in a food market and a bat with a horseshoe-shaped face are among 115 new species discovered in the Greater Mekong region.A report from the conservation charity WWF reveals that three new mammals, 11 amphibians, two fish, 11 reptiles and 88 plants were found by scientists in Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand and Vietnam in 2016.Continue reading...
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!