Environment news

• Mount Mayon: Philippines volcano spews out lava

  16-01-2018 20:33 via bbc.co.uk
  Volcanologists say a "hazardous explosion" could be imminent, as thousands flee the area around Mount Mayon in the Philippines.
  
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• Natural gas has role in UK energy mix | Letters

  16-01-2018 18:15 via theguardian.com
  40% of UK primary energy was derived from natural gas in 2016, a 50% increase from 1990, writes Ken CroninYour editorial (Fracking’s day may have passed, 10 January) was keen to downplay the role of onshore gas in the UK’s future energy mix, and was deeply concerning. Natural gas has a role to play for many decades, and this is backed up by the National Grid, the government and other forecasters. 40% of UK primary energy was derived from natural gas in 2016, a 50% increase from 1990.
  
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• Ban heavy fuel use in sensitive waters | Letters

  16-01-2018 18:15 via theguardian.com
  If spilled, heavy fuel oil would remain for long periods and could spread widely if entrained in moving ice, writes Sue LibensonThe stricken tanker now sunk offshore of Shanghai should give pause to all with concern for the ocean, especially those who depend on sensitive, remote waters such as the Arctic. The tanker’s cargo of light fuel burned for a week, but response crews have voiced concerns about the heavy fuel oil or bunker fuel that powered the tanker. Heavy fuel is the dirtiest oil
  
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• Wasatch Front Inversions Could Cause More Than 200 Cases of Pneumonia Each Year

  16-01-2018 18:05 via feedproxy.google.com
  Air pollution trapped along the Wasatch Front by winter inversions are estimated to send more than 200 people to the emergency room with pneumonia each year, according to a study by University of Utah Health and Intermountain Healthcare. Bad air quality especially erodes the health of adults over age 65, a population particularly vulnerable to the effects of pneumonia.
  
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• Qantas worst airline operating across Pacific for CO2 emissions, analysis reveals

  16-01-2018 18:00 via theguardian.com
  Qantas used the two most fuel-intensive aircraft and carried the most empty seats of any transpacific airlineQantas emits more carbon dioxide per passenger-kilometre than any other airline operating across the Pacific, according to an analysis by the International Council on Clean Transportation, the group that exposed the Volkswagen emissions scandal in 2014.For each kilometre Qantas transports a passenger across the Pacific, it uses 64% more fuel than the two most fuel-efficient airlines opera
  
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• European parliament votes to end electric pulse fishing

  16-01-2018 17:37 via theguardian.com
  Campaigners hail movement towards prohibiting the controversial practice but warn other measures will leave European waters in a worse state The European Union’s parliament has voted to prohibit the controversial practice of electrical pulse fishing within EU waters, to the approval of some groups of small-scale fishermen and green campaigners.However, a series of other measures designed to prevent overfishing and preserve the marine environment were voted down. Campaigners say the rejecti
  
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• BP's Deepwater Horizon bill tops $65bn

  16-01-2018 17:16 via theguardian.com
  Oil giant now winding down payouts from 2010 disaster with 99% of 390,000 claims processedBP will have spent more than $65bn (£47bn) in compensation for the Deepwater Horizon disaster by the end of last year, but said it is finally winding down the last few hundred outstanding claims.The British oil giant announced on Tuesday it will be hit by a $1.7bn charge in the last quarter of 2017 for court-ordered payments resulting from the oil spill eight years ago, which was the worst in US histo
  
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• Salmon fishing season opens on Scotland's river Tay – in pictures

  16-01-2018 17:06 via theguardian.com
  The opening ceremony organised by the Tay District Salmon Fisheries Board and the Perthshire Chamber of Commerce took place at Meikleour, by Kinclaven Bridge. Photographer Murdo MacLeod went along to witness the ceremony and the first casts Continue reading...
  
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• When pests graze certain potatoes, yields double

  16-01-2018 16:50 via feedproxy.google.com
  When some Colombian potato varieties are lightly grazed by a pest, the plants respond by growing larger tubers, at times doubling their yields. Although many types of plants can repair pest damage while maintaining productivity, it’s rare to find species that actually overcompensate and increase productivity.
  
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• Scientists Discover 18 New Spider-Hunting Pelican Spiders in Madagascar

  16-01-2018 16:28 via feedproxy.google.com
  In 1854, a curious-looking spider was found preserved in 50 million-year-old amber. With an elongated neck-like structure and long mouthparts that protruded from the “head” like an angled beak, the arachnid bore a striking resemblance to a tiny pelican. A few decades later when living pelican spiders were discovered in Madagascar, arachnologists learned that their behavior is as unusual as their appearance, but because these spiders live in remote parts of the world they remained lar
  
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• Biologists' new peptide could fight many cancers

  16-01-2018 16:22 via feedproxy.google.com
  MIT biologists have designed a new peptide that can disrupt a key protein that many types of cancers, including some forms of lymphoma, leukemia, and breast cancer, need to survive.
  
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• EU declares war on plastic waste

  16-01-2018 15:32 via theguardian.com
  Brussels targets single-use plastics in an urgent clean-up plan that aims to make all packaging reusable or recyclable by 2030 The EU is waging war against plastic waste as part of an urgent plan to clean up Europe’s act and ensure that every piece of packaging on the continent is reusable or recyclable by 2030.Following China’s decision to ban imports of foreign recyclable material, Brussels on Tuesday launched a plastics strategy designed to change minds in Europe, potentially tax
  
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• Asthma Costs the U.S. Economy More than $80 Billion Per Year

  16-01-2018 15:19 via feedproxy.google.com
  Asthma costs the U.S. economy more than $80 billion annually in medical expenses, missed work and school days and deaths, according to new research published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society. 
  
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• Warming Signs: How Diminished Snow Cover Puts Species in Peril

  16-01-2018 15:18 via feedproxy.google.com
  The wolverine is highly adapted to life in a snowy world. It has thick fur and snowshoe-like feet, and it dens high in the mountains as a way to avoid predators that aren’t as nimble in deep snow and to provide its kits with insulation from the bitter high-elevation cold.
  
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• Math Can Predict How Cancer Cells Evolve

  16-01-2018 15:12 via feedproxy.google.com
  Applied mathematics can be a powerful tool in helping predict the genesis and evolution of different types of cancers, a study from the University of Waterloo has found.
  
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• Shale gas is one of the least sustainable ways to produce electricity

  16-01-2018 14:36 via feedproxy.google.com
  Shale gas is one of least sustainable options for producing electricity, according to new research from The University of Manchester.The major study, which is the first of its kind, considered environmental, economic and social sustainability of shale gas in the UK and compared it to other electricity generating options. These were coal, nuclear, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), solar photovoltaics (PV), wind, hydro and biomass.
  
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• Northern corn leaf blight genes identified in new study

  16-01-2018 14:36 via feedproxy.google.com
  Midwestern corn growers know the symptoms of northern corn leaf blight all too well: greenish-gray lesions on the leaves that can add up to major yield losses if not detected and treated early. Resistance genes have been identified in corn, but the fungal disease has found ways to sneak around corn’s defenses. Now, researchers have figured out how the fungus is outsmarting corn, and they may be able to use this information to help corn fight back.“We were looking for genes in the fun
  
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• UK green energy investment halves after policy changes

  16-01-2018 14:35 via theguardian.com
  Investment in green energy fell 56% in UK in 2017 – biggest fall of any country – after ‘stop-start’ support from governmentInvestment in clean energy plunged further in Britain than in any other country last year because of government policy changes, new figures show.The amount companies spent on green energy in the UK rose during the years of the coalition government (2010-2015) but has now fallen for two years in a row under the Conservatives, according to analysis by
  
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• Bacon with banned additive among risks of US-UK trade deal

  16-01-2018 13:26 via theguardian.com
  Soil Association issues top 10 food safety concerns posed by a transatlantic free-trade dealThe sale of US bacon produced with additives strong enough to cripple pigs, chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef, have been listed by campaigners as three of the top 10 food safety risks posed by a US free-trade deal.Use of the pork additive ractopamine alongside the more publicised controversial practice of washing chicken in chlorine or feeding cattle growth hormones have been highlighted in a repor
  
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• UK food and drink industry halves emissions

  16-01-2018 12:12
  Coca-Cola, Mars and Mondelez are among a group of major food and drink manufacturers that have reduced carbon emissions by 51% against a 1990 baseline.
  
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• Hubble scores unique close-up view of distant galaxy

  16-01-2018 11:58 via bbc.co.uk
  The Hubble telescope has scored an unprecedented close-up view of one of the Universe's oldest galaxies.
  
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• Jordan urged to end animal mistreatment at Petra site

  16-01-2018 11:35 via bbc.co.uk
  Donkeys, horses and camels are beaten and forced to carry tourists in extreme heat, a group says.
  
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• VF Corporation exploring servitisation to champion circular economy

  16-01-2018 11:32
  EXCLUSIVE: Global clothing giant VF Corporation is exploring rental and service-based business models to promote the circular economy to its consumers, as the company pushes ahead with a new corporate strategy that commits to science-based targets and 100% renewable electricity.
  
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• Iceland pledges to remove plastic from own-brand packaging by 2023

  16-01-2018 11:10
  Frozen food giant Iceland has committed to become the world's first major retailer to remove plastic packaging from its own brand products by 2023.
  
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• Could biodiversity destruction lead to a global tipping point?

  16-01-2018 09:43 via theguardian.com
  We are destroying the world’s biodiversity. Yet debate has erupted over just what this means for the planet – and us.
  Just over 250 million years ago, the planet suffered what may be described as its greatest holocaust: ninety-six percent of marine genera (plural of genus) and seventy percent of land vertebrate vanished for good. Even insects suffered a mass extinction – the only time before or since. Entire classes of animals – like trilobites – went out like a mat
  
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• 'The feeling of freedom': empowering Berlin's refugee women through cycling

  16-01-2018 09:30 via theguardian.com
  When NGO Bikeygees set out to teach female refugees how to ride a bike they were shocked by the demand. Now hundreds have benefitted from the scheme Emily is a 21-year-old Afghan refugee living in Berlin, and her best experience in Germany so far has been, without a doubt, learning to ride a bike.Continue reading...
  
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• Adidas teams up with fashion innovation accelerator

  16-01-2018 08:45
  Adidas has joined forces with global initiative Fashion for Good to accelerate sustainable innovation in the apparel supply chain.
  
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• Figures indicate London's air quality woes are easing

  16-01-2018 08:31
  For the first time since modern records began, London has entered the third week of January without breaching legal limits for toxic NO2 air pollution.
  
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• Ford receives 'hypocrisy award' despite $11bn EV rollout

  16-01-2018 08:15
  Ford has announced it is going "all in" on the electric vehicle (EV) market with an $11bn plan to rollout 40 new vehicles, but that hasn't stopped Greenpeace for delivering a "2018 Hypocrisy Award" to the carmaker for an alleged stance on fuel efficiency standards.
  
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• East China Sea oil tanker disaster: what it means for the environment

  16-01-2018 07:38 via theguardian.com
  Ship was carrying 136,000 tons of oil that now threatens to pollute some of China’s most important fishing watersThe Iranian oil tanker Sanchi sank off the coast of Shanghai on Sunday, after a week of burning and sending plumes of smoke hundreds of metres into the air. Only three bodies of the 32 sailors were recovered. The ship was carrying 136,000 tons, or about 1 million barrels, of oil, that now threatens to pollute some of China’s most important fishing waters.Continue reading..
  
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• Country diary: the deadly beauty of spider silk

  16-01-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Wolsingham, Weardale: In the fog every surviving thread was spangled with water droplets, sparkling as the sun broke throughSwirling fog plays tricks. As we crossed an open field the silhouette of an oak loomed, with a glimmer of pale yellow light cradled in its branches, before it dissolved back into the clammy miasma.We had descended from the high fells, from clear blue sky and crystal-clear views into a monochrome lake of valley fog, cold grey vapour trapped by warmer air above. It thickened
  
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• Wallaby gives police slip on Sydney Bridge

  16-01-2018 04:02 via bbc.co.uk
  The unusual sight of a wallaby bounding across the Sydney Harbour Bridge has surprised early-morning motorists.
  
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• Iceland supermarket vows to eliminate plastic on all own-branded products

  16-01-2018 00:49 via theguardian.com
  Retailer outlines five-year aim to replace all plastic packaging with trays made of paper and pulpIceland has become the first major retailer to commit to eliminate plastic packaging for all its own-brand products. The supermarket chain, which specialises in frozen food, said it would go plastic-free within five years to help end the “scourge” of plastic pollution.Continue reading...
  
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