Environment news

• Australia had third-hottest year ever in 2017, weather bureau says

  09-01-2018 22:40 via theguardian.com
  Bureau says despite the lack of El Niño, Queensland and New South Wales experienced their hottest year on recordQueensland and New South Wales experienced their warmest years on record in 2017 as the trend of warmer than average temperatures across Australia continued, the Bureau of Meteorology said.The bureau’s annual climate statement released on Wednesday revealed 2017 was Australia’s third-hottest year on record, with the annual national mean temperature 0.95C above the av
  
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• Weatherwatch: can we keep the lights on when the wind fails to blow?

  09-01-2018 22:30 via theguardian.com
  The UK now has more offshore wind power capacity than any other country – but we need a plan B for ultra-cold winters with soaring energy demandsLast year was one of the greenest for power in the UK. Nearly one-third of all electricity came from renewable sources, and wind and solar provided more power than coal on 315 days of the year. Rapid growth in both solar and wind (the UK now has more offshore wind power capacity than any other country in the world) has enabled the UK to achieve th
  
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• How Bioluminescent Deep Sea Creatures Are Helping Us in the Fight Against Cancer

  09-01-2018 21:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  A team of scientists at the Keck School of Medicine of USC is looking to some deep sea dwellers to create a better way to develop cancer-fighting therapies. Harnessing the power of the enzymes that give these marine animals the ability to glow, the team created a test that makes it easy for researchers to see whether a therapy is having its intended effect — killing cancer cells. The results of their study were published in Scientific Reports Jan. 9.
  
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• Kenyan Innovation Takes Plastic Bags Out of Forestry

  09-01-2018 21:29 via feedproxy.google.com
  Plastic bags are known for their environmental impact. They slowly release toxic chemicals once in the soil, for instance, and find their way into the guts of animals that often choke and die as a result.
  
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• Planets Around Other Stars Are Like Peas in a Pod

  09-01-2018 21:25 via feedproxy.google.com
  An international research team led by Université de Montréal astrophysicist Lauren Weiss has discovered that exoplanets orbiting the same star tend to have similar sizes and a regular orbital spacing. This pattern, revealed by new W. M. Keck Observatory observations of planetary systems discovered by the Kepler Telescope, could suggest that most planetary systems have a different formation history than the solar system.
  
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• Climate Change Drives Collapse in Marine Food Webs

  09-01-2018 21:21 via feedproxy.google.com
  University of Adelaide scientists have demonstrated how climate change can drive the collapse of marine “food webs”.
  
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• Tropical Cyclone Irving Appears Elongated in NASA Imagery

  09-01-2018 21:16 via feedproxy.google.com
  NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Tropical Cyclone Irving and found wind shear was stretching the storm out.
  
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• How North Carolina's alligators are surviving the cold snap

  09-01-2018 21:16 via bbc.co.uk
  The reptiles employ a clever trick when the water they live in freezes over
  
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• NASA Sees Tropical Cyclone Ava Fizzling South of Madagascar

  09-01-2018 21:12 via feedproxy.google.com
  NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed over the Southern Indian Ocean and captured a visible image of Tropical Cyclone Ava as it continued to move away from southeastern Madagascar and weaken.
  
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• The Guardian view on the future of fracking: keep it in the ground | Editorial

  09-01-2018 20:30 via theguardian.com
  The rewards are uncertain and time limited. Massive investment in a short-lived fuel may not make business senseJust a few short years ago, fracking – the underground extraction of gas from rock – was to revolutionise Britain’s energy production as it has transformed it in the US. Under David Cameron and George Osborne, it was to produce the fuel that would build a bridge from the high-carbon past to the no-carbon future. Just 18 months after the two leading politicians of thei
  
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• Development for the north? Let them eat wood | Letters

  09-01-2018 20:27 via theguardian.com
  Readers respond to the government’s pledge of £5.7m towards the creation of a northern forest stretching from Liverpool to Hull, and to a report on agroforestryThe government’s tossing a few million towards a grand £500m “northern forest” (Government pledges £5.7m for northern forest, 8 January) is an example of the puny tokenism operating today, where acts of vandalism against our precious environment, such as HS2, can be so casually “offset&rdquo
  
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• UK must be ready for rise of electric vehicles, says ABB chief

  09-01-2018 19:45 via theguardian.com
  Charging point manufacturer’s CEO warns that UK power grid needs to handle expected 9m electric vehicles by 2030The UK should speed up preparations for the rise of electric vehicles, according to the chief executive of ABB, the world’s largest supplier of fast-charging points.Speaking as the Switzerland-based engineering firm became the first official sponsor of the electric street racing series Formula E, Ulrich Spiesshofer predicted a flood of consumer take-up of plug-in cars. Cont
  
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• Sam Gyimah is new science minister

  09-01-2018 18:32 via bbc.co.uk
  Who is the new man in charge of higher education in England?
  
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• Work underway for England's 'largest' district ground source system

  09-01-2018 17:36
  Developers have secured a contract to deliver England's 'biggest shared ground loop heat pump system', which is expected to reduce the energy bills of local residents by up to 50%.
  
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• In urban streams, pharmaceutical pollution is driving microbial resistance

  09-01-2018 17:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  Resilient bacteria might help streams but could threaten human health(Millbrook, NY) In urban streams, persistent pharmaceutical pollution can cause aquatic microbial communities to become resistant to drugs. So reports a new study published today in the journal Ecosphere. Emma Rosi, an aquatic ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and lead author on the study explains, "Wastewater treatment facilities are not equipped to remove many pharmaceutical compounds. We were int
  
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• Great Barrier Reef: Warmer seas 'turning turtles female'

  09-01-2018 16:30 via bbc.co.uk
  Green sea turtles' gender is temperature dependent and there are now too many females.
  
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• Transparency, Trump and tipping points: The key trends that could define sustainability in 2018

  09-01-2018 16:28
  The green economy in 2018 will likely be shaped by a corporate drive to increase disclosure, a "tipping point" for major clean technologies, and a pendulum swing in global sustainability leadership towards the developing world.
  
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• Sun, Wind, and Power Trading

  09-01-2018 16:17 via feedproxy.google.com
  Our power grid works at a frequency of 50 hertz – usually generated by turbines, for example in hydro- or coal power plants, which rotate at a speed of 50 revolutions per second. "When a consumer uses more electrical energy from the power grid, the grid frequency drops slightly before an increased energy feed-in re-establishes the original frequency," explains Benjamin Schäfer from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS) in Göttingen and lead author of
  
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• Fracking firm gets green light to test for oil at Balcombe … again

  09-01-2018 15:58 via theguardian.com
  Approval by West Sussex council comes as another shale company plans a legal challenge against Scotland’s fracking ban
  Fracking firm Cuadrilla has been given the go-ahead to explore for oil near a West Sussex village that was the site of the UK’s biggest anti-fracking protests.The approval came as another shale company said it was planning a legal challenge against Scotland’s fracking ban. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘A different dimension of loss’: inside the great insect die-off – podcast

  09-01-2018 15:54 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• Read the text version here Continue reading...
  
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• Brexit bill may have broken international environment law, says UN

  09-01-2018 14:56 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: compliance committee considers complaint alleging government breached Aarhus convention by not consulting public over withdrawal billThe British government may have breached a major “environmental democracy” law by failing to consult the public when drawing up Brexit legislation.
  A UN-backed committee has confirmed it is considering a complaint from Friends of the Earth that the government’s EU withdrawal bill breached the Aarhus convention, which requires public con
  
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• Frog genome mapping sheds new light on environmental contaminants

  09-01-2018 14:24 via feedproxy.google.com
  A University of Victoria molecular biologist has gained new insights into how environmental contaminants may disrupt thyroid systems. The discovery was made while assembling the genome of the North American bullfrog.Caren Helbing’s findings could help explain the mechanisms of early development, as well as how environmental contaminants cause thyroidrelated diseases and malfunctions.
  
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• Fracking firm gets green light to drill for oil at Balcombe … again

  09-01-2018 14:06 via theguardian.com
  West Sussex council to let Cuadrilla test oil volumes at existing well which ignited mass anti-fracking protests in 2013Fracking firm Cuadrilla has been given the go-ahead to explore for oil near a West Sussex village that was the site of the UK’s biggest anti-fracking protests.Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a way of extracting natural gas from shale rock formations that are often deep underground. It involves pumping water, chemicals and usually sand underground at high pressure to
  
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• End signalled for European Ariane 5 rocket

  09-01-2018 13:57 via bbc.co.uk
  A final batch order is raised for the Ariane 5 - the workhorse European rocket of the last 20 years.
  
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• Paraguay lagoon sees giant lily pads return

  09-01-2018 13:37 via bbc.co.uk
  Tourists are flocking to see the giant water lilies, which locals had thought were extinct.
  
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• ISS: Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai worried by growth spurt

  09-01-2018 13:22 via bbc.co.uk
  Norishige Kanai says he is worried he will not be able fit in his Soyuz seat for the return to Earth.
  
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• Taking the lead on energy: Latest edie guide showcases 10 business examples of low-carbon innovation

  09-01-2018 13:20
  Organisations looking to revamp their energy management approach in 2018 can take inspiration from edie's new best-practice report which rounds up 10 shining examples of businesses that are driving the energy transition.
  
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• Heat-stressed koalas hosed down in Australia – video

  09-01-2018 12:40 via theguardian.com
  Volunteers from the Help Save the Wildlife and Bushlands in Campbelltown organisation hose down heat stressed koala bears in the searing Australian heat. Temperatures have reached 47C causing exhaustion and dehydration Hundreds of flying foxes die in searing Australian heat Continue reading...
  
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• Hundreds of flying foxes die in searing Australian heat

  09-01-2018 12:14 via theguardian.com
  More than 400 animals have died in one colony alone as temperatures soar above 47C, causing exhaustion and dehydration A colony of flying foxes has been nearly wiped out by extreme heat in the Campbelltown suburb of Sydney, according to environmentalists.The Help Save the Wildlife and Bushlands in Campbelltown campaign posted a series of images to Facebook showing the corpses of the animals lying in the ground, apparently after they had died from dehydration in the soaring temperatures. The grou
  
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• The 'imminent mini ice age' myth is back, and it's still wrong | Dana Nuccitelli

  09-01-2018 12:00 via theguardian.com
  We can’t accurately predict solar activity, and a quiet solar cycle would have a small impact on Earth’s climate anyway
  Roughly every two years we’re treated to headlines repeating the myth that Earth is headed for an imminent “mini ice age.” It happened in 2013, 2015, and again just recently at the tail end of 2017.This time around, the myth appears to have been sparked by a Sky News interview with Northumbria University mathematics professor Valentina Zharkova. Th
  
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• Roadchef switches water supplier to drive efficiency improvements

  09-01-2018 10:03
  Motorway services operator Roadchef has switched water and wastewater supply for all 27 of its sites in England to Wave.
  
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• Roadchef awards Wave three-year water contract

  09-01-2018 10:03
  Motorway services operator Roadchef has switched water and wastewater supply for all 27 of its sites in England to Wave.
  
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• Reshuffle: Greg Clark keeps top BEIS role as Claire Perry gains cabinet spot

  09-01-2018 09:48
  Greg Clark has held onto his role as BEIS Secretary in the cabinet reshuffle after widespread speculation about his future, while his colleague Claire Perry has gained a promotion within the department.
  
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• Marine wildlife charities' worries over management plan

  09-01-2018 07:56 via bbc.co.uk
  Several years in the making, it sets out how seas should be used and protected in the next 20 years.
  
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• Country diary: self-sufficient ponies open up the wetlands for wildlife

  09-01-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Waltham Brooks, West Sussex A burst of loud, profane whistles announce the presence of a Cetti’s warbler, darting through the rushes in search of foodThe early morning rain has lifted but there is still damp in the air. Konik ponies watch me between their mouthfuls of grass as I make my slow way through the dark, water-logged mud. The small, brown horses – descendants of the wild Tarpans that once roamed Europe – are a hardy, self-sufficient breed, perfectly adapted to grazing
  
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• Plastic microbeads ban enters force in UK

  09-01-2018 06:01 via theguardian.com
  Manufacturing ban means the tiny beads which harm marine life can no longer be used in cosmetics and personal care products Plastic microbeads can no longer be used in cosmetics and personal care products in the UK, after a long-promised ban came into effect on Tuesday. The ban initially bars the manufacture of such products and a ban on sales will follow in July.Thousands of tonnes of plastic microbeads from products such as exfoliating face scrubs and toothpastes wash into the sea every year,
  
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• BBC's Antiques Roadshow to review ivory objects policy

  09-01-2018 05:57 via bbc.co.uk
  BBC to review policy of allowing ivory items on the show amid criticism from a wildlife campaigner.
  
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• Daylight robbery: thieves steal chunk of China's new solar highway

  09-01-2018 05:21 via theguardian.com
  Panels which lie under transparent concrete are dug up in what is believed to be a case of technology theftThieves in China have vandalised a newly opened solar highway, less than a week after the road was christened with much fanfare.
  The one-kilometre stretch of road in the eastern city of Jinan consists of solar panels under a layer of transparent concrete, allowing cars to drive over the photovoltaic cells.Continue reading...
  
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• Australia's healthcare system contributing to 7% of nation's carbon footprint

  09-01-2018 05:00 via theguardian.com
  Study prompts calls for more energy-efficient hospitals and for doctors to use general anaesthetic alternatives to gasesAustralia’s healthcare system is contributing more than 7% of the nation’s carbon footprint, with hospitals and pharmaceutical companies forming the bulk of health-related emissions, an analysis led by the University of Sydney has found.The findings, published in the international medical journal the Lancet on Tuesday, have prompted the climate lobby group Doctors f
  
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• Higher electricity bills if Snowy 2.0 hydro not built, says Frydenberg

  09-01-2018 03:25 via theguardian.com
  Despite costing up to $4.5bn, the feasibility study for ‘Australia’s biggest battery’ finds it would still be economically viable
  Australians would pay more for electricity and have more volatile supply if the Snowy 2.0 pumped hydropower project is not built, Josh Frydenberg has said.The energy and environment minister has strongly argued for the necessity of the scheme in an opinion piece for the Australian Financial Review, despite the feasibility study revealing that its est
  
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• Energy agency rejects Trump plan to prop up coal and nuclear power plants

  09-01-2018 02:18 via theguardian.com
  The unexpected decision by the Republican-controlled body is a blow to the president’s high-profile mission to revive the struggling US coal industryAn independent energy agency on Monday rejected a Trump administration plan to bolster coal-fired and nuclear power plants with subsidies, dealing a blow to the president’s high-profile mission to revive the struggling coal industry.The decision by the Republican-controlled Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) was unexpected and c
  
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• BBC considers whether to stop showing ivory on Antiques Roadshow

  09-01-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Programme accused of being out of touch after China bans all trade in ivory and UK looks to tightening existing legislation The BBC is considering whether to stop showing ivory on the Antiques Roadshow as the government looks to a total ban on the material’s sale in the UK.China has already outlawed all trade in ivory and the UK government is consulting on whether to follow suit as attempts to stop the poaching of elephants increase around the world.Continue reading...
  
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• Australia's emissions record is terrible. It's time for this government to stop pretending | Greg Jericho

  09-01-2018 00:49 via theguardian.com
  In case you missed it, the latest greenhouse gas emissions data was released just before Christmas. It’s badIn the week before Christmas the government yet again released its latest data on greenhouse gas emissions in the hope they would be missed amid other news and the nearing festivities. As we start the new year let us revisit the data and highlight just how terrible the government’s record on emission reduction has been.The news that the temperature in Penrith reached 47.3C on S
  
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