Environment news

• Norway leads way on electric cars: 'it’s part of a green taxation shift'

  25-12-2017 15:42 via theguardian.com
  Nearly a third of all new cars sold in the country this year will be plug-in models and experts expect that share to skyrocketWhile tourists explore Oslo’s history in the grounds of the centuries-old Akershus fortress, below their feet is a harbinger of the city’s future.Here in the catacombs sit scores of Teslas, Nissan Leafs and BMW i3s, plugged into the charging points of the world’s largest public garage for electric cars. Continue reading...
  
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• UK fracking to begin in earnest in 2018 after tough year for industry

  25-12-2017 15:00 via theguardian.com
  Firms leading UK push for shale gas say ‘we will see results next year’ after 12 months of opposition, protests and a ban in ScotlandBritish shale gas companies have said domestic fracking will finally begin in earnest in 2018, after another year passed without serious progress amid strong opposition.Industry figures said next year would be crucial for the sector, as companies start the process of hydraulic fracturing to extract gas trapped underground in shale rock.Continue reading.
  
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• UK frackers are running out of time

  25-12-2017 15:00 via theguardian.com
  Binding carbon commitments and the falling cost of renewables could prove a perfect storm for investorsThe UK’s shale gas industry is in a race against time to establish itself before climate change regulations shut it down. As its stands, the frackers are off the pace. With no wells yet tested for gas flow, the industry does not yet know if large-scale production is possible or what the cost of the gas will be, and it won’t know until 2020 at best. Protests and planning problems hav
  
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• Fracking to begin in earnest in 2018 after tough year for industry

  25-12-2017 15:00 via theguardian.com
  Firms leading UK push for shale gas say ‘we will see results next year’ after 12 months of opposition, protests and a ban in ScotlandBritish shale gas companies have said domestic fracking will finally begin in earnest in 2018, after another year passed without serious progress amid strong opposition.Industry figures said next year would be crucial for the sector, as companies start the process of hydraulic fracturing to extract gas trapped underground in shale rock.Continue reading.
  
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• Electric and plug-in hybrid cars whiz past 3m mark worldwide

  25-12-2017 14:29 via theguardian.com
  Rapid growth is due to falling battery costs, government incentives and car makers competing to build new modelsThe number of fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars on the world’s roads has passed the 3m mark, as manufacturers ramp up their plans for mass production of battery-powered vehicles.Related: Norway leads way on electric cars: 'it’s part of a green taxation shift'Continue reading...
  
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• Electric and plug-in hybrid cars whiz passed 3m mark worldwide

  25-12-2017 14:29 via theguardian.com
  Rapid growth is due to falling battery costs, government incentives and car makers competing to build new modelsThe number of fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars on the world’s roads has passed the 3m mark, as manufacturers ramp up their plans for mass production of battery-powered vehicles. Industry watchers said the milestone was passed in November, with the growth rate indicating that electric car sales are now running at around 1m a year. The rapid growth is being driven by governme
  
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• When butterflies aplenty hatched on the TV set | Brief letters

  25-12-2017 12:57 via theguardian.com
  Butterflies | The light in Kirkcudbright | Nempnett ThrubwellGeorge Monbiot’s memory (Our selective blindness is lethal the living world, 20 December) is indeed bittersweet. As a boy I also recall summertime nettlebeds thickly hanging with the black caterpillars of peacocks and small tortoiseshells. We used to gather them and then watch them pupate and hatch on the top of our television set (a somewhat bulkier item in the late 1960s). I don’t recall seeing such butterfly fecundity fo
  
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• The year's top development stories: 2017 in review

  25-12-2017 12:00 via theguardian.com
  As Donald Trump cut funding for family planning and people from east Africa to Yemen went hungry, peace finally gained a foothold in ColombiaThe year began with the inauguration of Donald Trump and the reinstatement of the “global gag rule”, or Mexico City policy, which banned US federal funding for NGOs in countries that provide abortion services or advocacy. Continue reading...
  
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• 'Job done'

  25-12-2017 01:58 via bbc.co.uk
  World land-speed record-holder Andy Green reflects on the past 12 months' achievements in developing the Bloodhound supersonic car.
  
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• Eight amazing science stories of 2017

  25-12-2017 01:25 via bbc.co.uk
  BBC News looks back on eight of the biggest science and environment stories of 2017.
  
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