Environment news

• Surprising Discovery Could Lead to Better Batteries

  12-01-2018 20:30 via feedproxy.google.com
  A collaboration led by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory has observed an unexpected phenomenon in lithium-ion batteries—the most common type of battery used to power cell phones and electric cars. As a model battery generated electric current, the scientists witnessed the concentration of lithium inside individual nanoparticles reverse at a certain point, instead of constantly increasing. This discovery, which was published on January
  
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• Great Barrier Reef tourism spokesman attacks scientist over slump in visitors

  12-01-2018 20:00 via theguardian.com
  Col McKenzie calls on government to stop funding work of Terry Hughes, saying tourists ‘won’t do long-haul trips when they think the reef is dead’A Queensland tourism representative has called one of the Great Barrier Reef’s leading researchers “a dick”, blaming the professor for a downturn in tourism growth at the state’s greatest natural asset.Col McKenzie, the head of the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators, a group that represents more than
  
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• A hollow ring to Theresa May’s pledge on plastics | Letters

  12-01-2018 19:25 via theguardian.com
  Theresa May’s new green strategy lacks regulatory bite, says Ray Georgeson, and, according to Maureen Evershed, is short on humility. Stephen Sibbald reckons an important problem has been ignored, while Peter Hames and Ros Cayton suggest ways to stamp out non-biodegradable coffee cupsIan Paul (Letters, 12 January), referring to plastics recycling, asks: “Surely we should urge government and private industry to build and develop plants to deal with the problem now, before we are knee-
  
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• Can Muesli Help Against Arthritis?

  12-01-2018 18:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  It is well known that healthy eating increases our general sense of wellbeing. Researchers at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) have now discovered that a fibre-rich diet can have a positive influence on chronic inflammatory joint diseases, leading to stronger bones. 
  
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• New Study From the University of Halle: How Climate Change Alters Plant Growth

  12-01-2018 17:58 via feedproxy.google.com
  Global warming affects more than just plant biodiversity - it even alters the way plants grow. A team of researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) joined forces with the Leibniz Institute for Plant Biochemistry (IPB) to discover which molecular processes are involved in plant growth. In the current edition of the internationally renowned journal "Current Biology", the group presents its latest findings on the mechanism controlling growth at high temperatures. In the future t
  
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• The Negative Impact of Climate Change on Freshwater Bodies

  12-01-2018 17:56 via feedproxy.google.com
  A lot of research is being conducted into the acidification of the world’s oceans. A recent study has proved that freshwater bodies are likewise affected. Rising carbon dioxide levels could upset the balance of species.
  
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• The Blue Planet effect: why marine biology courses are booming

  12-01-2018 17:53 via theguardian.com
  Thanks in part to the BBC wildlife series, there has been a sea change in the popularity of marine biology courses and the study of the world’s oceansWhen she was just 12 years old, an impressionable Cathy Lucas, now associate professor in marine biology at the University of Southampton, met Sir David Attenborough. He’d come to talk to students about his 1979 landmark wildlife series Life on Earth. “I thrust him my copy of his book to sign. He inspired me to go on and study zoo
  
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• As Cli­mate is Warm­ing Up, More Bird Nests Are Des­troyed in Finnish Farm­land

  12-01-2018 17:52 via feedproxy.google.com
  Finnish farmers are adapting to the warming climate by anticipating the time when they sow their fields in the spring. At the same time, birds have also advanced the time of breeding as the spring temperatures are becoming milder in response to climate change.
  
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• How Far to the Nearest City? Global Map of Travel Time to Cities Published

  12-01-2018 17:47 via feedproxy.google.com
  While people live within one hour of a city in over 90% of cases in high-income countries - concentrated in Europe and North America - for low-income countries concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, the figure is 50.9%.
  
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• Restaurant, Bar Smoking Bans Impact Smoking Behaviors, Especially for the Highly Educated

  12-01-2018 17:04 via feedproxy.google.com
  Smoking risk drops significantly in college graduates when they live near areas that completely banned smoking in bars and restaurants, according to a new Drexel University study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
  
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• Surprise: A Virus-Like Protein Is Important for Cognition and Memory

  12-01-2018 16:59 via feedproxy.google.com
  A protein involved in cognition and storing long-term memories looks and acts like a protein from viruses. The protein, called Arc, has properties similar to those that viruses use for infecting host cells, and originated from a chance evolutionary event that occurred hundreds of millions of years ago.
  
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• Species identification in the water bottle

  12-01-2018 16:52 via feedproxy.google.com
  Environmental DNA analysis makes it possible to detect water organisms without having to capture them first. For the first time, a team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) systematically investigated the effect of various environmental factors on environmental DNA analyses. By doing so, the researchers have made an important step towards the standardized application of this method for the monitoring of water bodies.
  
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• Thinking outside the box on climate mitigation

  12-01-2018 16:31 via feedproxy.google.com
  In a new commentary in the journal Nature Climate Change, IIASA researchers argue that a broader range of scenarios is needed to support international policymakers in the target of limiting climate change to under 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and to avoid potential negative environmental and social consequences of carbon dioxide removal on a massive scale. 
  
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• NASA Calculated Heavy Rainfall Leading to California Mudslides

  12-01-2018 15:12 via feedproxy.google.com
  Winter rains falling on recently burned ground triggered deadly mudslides in Santa Barbara County, California on January 9. NASA calculated the amount of rain fall between January 8 and 10, 2018 and calculated the potential for landslides.
  
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• Citizen science bags five-planet haul

  12-01-2018 14:51 via bbc.co.uk
  Astronomy enthusiasts help to confirm the existence of a five-planet system orbiting a far-off star.
  
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• Norway backs EU fishing policies remaining during Brexit transition

  12-01-2018 14:38 via theguardian.com
  North Sea curbs to last at least 21 months despite Michael Gove’s suggestion Britain would take back control of its watersThe EU’s insistence that quotas under the common fisheries policy for the seas around the UK will remain in force during a Brexit transition period has been backed up by the Norwegian government, dealing a fresh blow for Downing Street.Pers Sandberg, the Norwegian fisheries minister, said he expected talks between the EU, UK and Norway over fishing rights to be co
  
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• Airing dirty laundry: Students develop new way to measure plastics released in environment while washing clothes

  12-01-2018 14:23 via feedproxy.google.com
  Two undergraduate students researching pollution have helped develop a new way to measure how much plastic is released into the environment from laundering clothes – which may be contributing to plastic pollution choking the world's oceans.
  
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• Scotland pledges to ban plastic cotton buds

  12-01-2018 13:57
  Scotland has unveiled plans to become the first UK country to ban the sale and manufacture of plastic stemmed cotton buds, in its latest bid to tackle marine plastics pollution.
  
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• 25-year Environment Plan: Seven key talking points for sustainability professionals

  12-01-2018 13:18
  With the dust settled on the launch of the Government's plan to improve the environment over a generation, edie has taken a look at seven key measures that could have the biggest impact on those in the sustainability and energy management community.
  
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• Seven steps to success: edie launches the smarter sustainability reporting handbook

  12-01-2018 12:24
  With more stakeholders, staff and consumers demanding knowledge and information on corporate commitments, edie has published a handbook to help create an engaging and informative sustainability report.
  
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• Green bonds market reached record heights in 2017

  12-01-2018 11:24
  The green bonds market grew by a staggering 78% between 2016 and 2017, with national and institutional investors funnelling more than $150bn into low-carbon projects.
  
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• Tesco supports deposit return scheme for plastic packaging

  12-01-2018 10:01
  Following Theresa May's declaration that all avoidable plastic waste will be eliminated in the next 25 years, UK supermarket retailer Tesco has announced its support for a "cost-effective" deposit return scheme on packaging.
  
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• UK satellite to make movies from space

  12-01-2018 08:21 via bbc.co.uk
  The spacecraft paves the way to a constellation collecting full-colour, hi-def video of Earth.
  
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• Country diary: a marsh harrier causes havoc among the wildfowl

  12-01-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Farlington Marshes, Hampshire: Thousands of waders and other birds exploded into flight, blossoming across the sky like fireworks
  As I raised my binoculars to scan the reed bed for bearded tits, a stocky, chocolate-brown bird of prey lazily flapped across my field of vision. “Marsh harrier!” I exclaimed as it drifted a few metres above the fronded stems, its wings held in a characteristic shallow V. The harrier was silhouetted against the setting sun but, as it pirouetted around, its
  
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• Huge black hole blasts out 'double burp'

  12-01-2018 03:29 via bbc.co.uk
  A massive black hole is seen to eject streams of high-energy particles after bingeing on hot gas.
  
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• Conservationists decry NSW shark net trial after protected species caught and killed

  12-01-2018 03:13 via theguardian.com
  One bull shark caught during November and December period along with marine turtles and rays New South Wales shark nets caught just one targeted shark but continued to kill protected species this summer, a result environmentalists have described as “unfathomable”.
  Figures released this week from a trial of shark nets on northern NSW’s beaches show they have caught a single bull shark in November and December.Continue reading...
  
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• A plastic-free high street by 2042?

  12-01-2018 02:42 via bbc.co.uk
  Many high street stores use plastic to protect their fruit and vegetables.
  
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• Brown snake bite kills man who tried to defend dog

  12-01-2018 01:23 via theguardian.com
  Despite administration of antivenom, 24-year-old died within an hour of being bitten on the finger in NSW backyard A man is dead after he was bitten by a brown snake while trying to help his dog in the north-west of New South Wales.
  The 24-year-old was rushed to hospital by a family member but died within an hour of being bitten on the finger in a backyard in Tamworth on Wednesday night. Continue reading...
  
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• Thirsty city

  12-01-2018 01:04 via bbc.co.uk
  With water usage and droughts across the globe rising, the race is on to manage water more efficiently.
  
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• Food waste Tinder and 3D plastic décor: the best green innovations of the week

  12-01-2018 01:01
  In a week that set out the next 25 years of the UK's environmental legislation, edie rounds up the low-carbon and resource-efficient innovations that could shape the future.
  
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