Environment news

• Country diary 1968: a meeting with the bracken-red fox

  07-01-2018 23:30 via theguardian.com
  8 January 1968 The fox was completely absorbed in its own affairs and very catlike in its stance, it stood motionless and its sharp nose pointed at a tuft of winter-pale grassKESWICK: The first week of the new year often brings strange weather as if it is undecided as to which season it belongs to and one milder morning lately, with soft clouds resting on the snowy fells, there was a smell of growing things in the air. It was an indefinable smell – not the flowering witch hazel, the swelli
  
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• Pollutionwatch: reducing sulphur emissions saves lives – and forests

  07-01-2018 22:30 via theguardian.com
  We used to worry more about acid rain than about climate change. It took years but the agreements made in the Gothenburg Protocol have made a differenceToday we focus our concern on climate change, but 40 years ago it was acid rain and forest die-back that dominated our air and environment debate. In 1977, a new measurement programme showed that the sulphur landing in Scandinavia was far greater than the countries were producing. Industrial coal burning and westerly winds meant that the UK was E
  
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• Agricultural policy under Michael Gove | Letters

  07-01-2018 20:17 via theguardian.com
  Allan Buckwell says British farmers are not ‘subsidised’, Jane Mardell and Richard Middleton fear that only the rich will be able to buy British-grown food, and Vanessa Griffiths and Kate Ashbrook see hope in public access to landPlease don’t use the word “subsidy” for payments to farmers who manage land for biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides (Report, 3 January). A subsidy is generally considered a temporary assistance and often comes with an undert
  
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• Mesmerised by the mole that dug up my garden | Letters

  07-01-2018 20:15 via theguardian.com
  A blackbird would stand beside it, taking the worms and insects dislodged, recalls Sallie BedfordWe had a mole a few years ago that made 17 molehills on our back lawn in as many days (Country diary, 4 January). I watched from the kitchen window each morning as the new hill was being excavated, the earth moving with clumps falling away. A blackbird would stand beside it, watching carefully and taking the worms and insects dislodged – fascinating! This was another wild creature to add to our
  
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• The Guardian view on recycling: throwaway economy is not cost-free | Editorial

  07-01-2018 20:01 via theguardian.com
  Use less, re-use, recycle. Three steps to saving the planetTake-out coffee and bottled water symbolise both the luxury and the waste of the early 21st century. They represent the throwaway world, the always-on culture, the low-pay, low-skill jobs. They reflect our catastrophic disregard of the consequences of our choices for the world around us.It is now a week since China implemented tight new controls on the kind of waste it will take for recycling. Although the UK is not the worst offend
  
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• Ineos 'misled' public over fracking in Sherwood Forest

  07-01-2018 16:55 via theguardian.com
  Company got permission for seismic surveys in sensitive areas despite claiming it would exclude them One of Britain’s top fracking firms has been accused of misleading the public over its intent to explore for shale gas in a protected area of ancient woodland in Sherwood Forest.Ineos, a UK-based petrochemicals firm, has said publicly it would exclude sensitive areas of the legendary home of Robin Hood from its seismic surveys. Continue reading...
  
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• Government pledges £5.7m to develop new northern forest

  07-01-2018 12:13 via theguardian.com
  Plan to plant 50m trees along 120-mile stretch of land next to M62 to provide new habitat for wildlife as well as manage flood riskThe government has pledged £5.7m to kickstart the creation of a new northern forest which would stretch from Liverpool to Hull.The plans, which are being led by the Woodland Trust, include the planting of 50m new trees along a 120-mile stretch of land running next to the M62. The project is expected to cost £500m over 25 years, with the remaining money be
  
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• Oil tanker on fire and 32 crew missing after collision off China's coast

  07-01-2018 09:07 via theguardian.com
  China and South Korea mount search operation for crew of Iranian tanker spilling oil east of Shanghai after collision with Hong Kong freighterThirty-two people, mostly Iranians, were missing after an oil tanker collided with a cargo ship off China’s eastern coast, authorities said on Sunday.
  The missing – 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis – were all from the Iranian tanker Sanchi, which was carrying 136,000 tonnes of oil condensate. It spilled oil and was floating while still on
  
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• Murky defence of diesel does Britain’s troubled motor industry no credit

  07-01-2018 07:59 via theguardian.com
  The emissions scandal has damaged public trust in carmakers. It is time for them to be transparent and honest about the challenges they now faceThe end-of-year sales figures have confirmed what had been becoming clear through 2017 for the UK’s car industry: its austerity-defying, unique-in-Europe, five-year boom has well and truly ended. By December, a whopping 14% fewer cars were being sold than at the same time a year ago.As a barometer of economic and consumer confidence, as well as a p
  
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• Northern Forest: Plan to plant 'ribbon of woodland' across England

  07-01-2018 07:04 via bbc.co.uk
  'Ribbon of woodland' will be planted, but critics say other projects are destroying ancient forests.
  
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• The eco guide to pensions

  07-01-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Vast amounts are paid into Britain’s pensions schemes and, sadly, much of it still goes into supporting fossil fuelsI have great hopes for earth defending activism this year. And one of the most exciting opportunities involves pensions. Huh? OK, pension schemes and auto enrolment do not immediately shout “riveting”, but it is time to follow the money.The lion’s share of that giant pot flows in the direction of oil and gas companies Continue reading...
  
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• 'Pioneer' astronaut John Young dies

  07-01-2018 02:51 via bbc.co.uk
  US astronaut John Young, who flew to the moon twice and commanded the first ever space shuttle mission, has died aged 87, Nasa said.
  
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• Pressure grows for UK to bring in blanket ban on ivory trade

  07-01-2018 01:05 via theguardian.com
  Consultation by the government shows huge public support for ending all salesEnvironmental campaigners believe that public pressure is finally about to force the environment secretary, Michael Gove, to introduce a blanket ban on the commercial trade in ivory in the UK.A consultation on what form a proposed ban should take has just closed, and the government says it will give its response soon. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which is overseeing the consultation, said ther
  
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