Environment news

• Specieswatch: greater tussock-sedge – safe haven and playground

  23-01-2018 22:30 via theguardian.com
  The tall grass is perfect habitat for vulnerable aquatic speciesAs a child living deep in the country, the greater tussock sedge, Carex paniculata, provided me with both an adventure playground and a guarantee of getting muddy. This ancient grass, which grows in shallow bogs in pillars up to 1.5 metres high (4ft 11in) and about a metre (3ft 3in) across, often has colonies of 20 or 30 plants close together. The childhood game was to climb on top of one without getting your feet wet and jump from
  
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• 'Blended' finance is key to achieving global sustainability goals, says report

  23-01-2018 19:25 via theguardian.com
  Public and private sector funds must increasingly pool resources to finance larger global sustainability and climate change projects, a new study showsTackling climate change and achieving the world’s sustainable development goals will require publicly funded and private sector banks and institutions to be far more willing to join forces to provide “blended” finance to projects, according to a new study.Blended finance is the term given to the use of public or philanthropic cap
  
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• Antarctica's Weddell Sea 'deserves protected status'

  23-01-2018 19:01 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists dive into Antarctic waters to build the case for a vast new marine protected area.
  
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• Trump's tariffs on panels will cost US solar industry thousands of jobs

  23-01-2018 18:13 via theguardian.com
  Trump’s decision to impose a 30% tariff will cost the US around 23,000 jobs and risks slowing the growth of clean energy, advocates warnDonald Trump’s decision to impose a tariff on imported solar panels will cost the US solar industry about 23,000 jobs this year and risks slowing the growth of clean energy that would help address climate change, renewable energy advocates warned.Trump has imposed a 30% tariff on foreign-made solar cells and modules, with the White House expressing a
  
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• Gas field earthquakes put Netherlands’ biggest firms on extraction notice

  23-01-2018 16:48 via theguardian.com
  Government tells 200 companies they have four years to stop sourcing gas from Groningen field after increasingly significant earthquakes Two hundred of the Netherlands’ biggest companies have been told by their government to stop sourcing fuel from a major Dutch gas field within four years following a series of increasingly significant earthquakes.Extraction from the Groningen field, one of Europe’s richest sources of gas, is operated in a joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell and
  
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• Trump Administration's 'safeguard' tariff set to damage US solar sector

  23-01-2018 15:12
  President Donald Trump has moved to safeguard domestic solar manufacturers by placing a 30% tariff on imported solar modules, however critics believe that it will inadvertently stifle manufacturers that are unable to scale-up to cope with demand.
  
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• Use of Dirty Heating Oil in NYC Concentrated Uptown

  23-01-2018 15:11 via feedproxy.google.com
  Residential buildings in New York City that burn residual fuel oil were concentrated in Northern Manhattan and the Bronx, as of late 2015. Compared to cleaner heating sources such as natural gas, these dirty fuels produce high levels of particulate matter, exposure to which is linked to asthma, obesity, developmental delays, and other health problems.
  
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• New global registry of invasive species is 'milestone' in protecting biodiversity

  23-01-2018 15:00 via theguardian.com
  New catalogue is expected to stand alongside the red list as an international means to fight extinction, by helping to stop biological invasionsA world registry of invasive species has been launched amid concerns that governments are not doing enough to tackle the rising threat of globalisation to biodiversity.The new catalogue – unveiled in the journal Scientific Data on Tuesday – is expected to become a pillar of international efforts to fight extinction alongside the“red lis
  
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• Nappy libraries and glass milk bottles: past ideas for a plastic-free future | Lucy Siegle

  23-01-2018 14:56 via theguardian.com
  To emulate forward-thinking Penzance, now plastic-free, we should hark back to yesteryear. A few choice items could curb a ruinous plastic habitPlastic is firmly out of fashion, with everyone from the government to supermarkets pledging to reduce use and fight pollution. But turning the tide will require a herculean effort. The US shale gas boom means that the price of feedstock for the plastic industry has plummeted. Major chemical corporations have invested $180bn in new production facilities
  
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• Wild Sri Lankan elephants retreat from sound of Asian honey bees

  23-01-2018 14:10 via feedproxy.google.com
  Playbacks have been used for many years to explore the behavioural responses of African elephants to a suspected natural threat. However, the research published in Current Biology, is the first time this technique has been used to record how Asian elephants react to the sound of bees.The study, led by Dr Lucy King, a Research Associate with the Department of Zoology at Oxford University and head of the Human-Elephant Co-Existence Program for Save the Elephants, showed that Asian elephants respon
  
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• Researchers reveal how microbes cope in phosphorus-deficient tropical soil

  23-01-2018 14:10 via feedproxy.google.com
  A team led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has uncovered how certain soil microbes cope in a phosphorus-poor environment to survive in a tropical ecosystem. Their novel approach could be applied in other ecosystems to study various nutrient limitations and inform agriculture and terrestrial biosphere modeling.
  
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• Breathtaking Visions of Earth: Outdoor Photographer of the Year

  23-01-2018 14:00 via theguardian.com
  The Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition has announced its category winners. The competition, now in its seventh year, celebrates the work of image makers and offers an insight into the landscapes, wildlife and nature of the planet and the adventures to be found on itThe overall winner and runner-up will be announced at the Photography Show in Birmingham on 17 MarchContinue reading...
  
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• UK green protections at 'high risk' post-Brexit

  23-01-2018 13:27
  Key areas of UK environmental policy such as air quality, chemicals and waste are at "high risk" of being less protected after Britain's departure from the EU, a coalition of green groups has warned.
  
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• The human-elephant conflict in India's tea state Assam

  23-01-2018 12:43 via bbc.co.uk
  How expanding tea plantations in India's Assam state are putting humans in conflict with elephants.
  
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• Trump imposes steep tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machines

  23-01-2018 11:52 via theguardian.com
  Restrictions aim to boost US manufacturing, but critics warn they will slow shift to renewable energy and increase consumer costsThe US president, Donald Trump, has announced steep tariffs on imported washing machines and solar panels, giving a boost to Whirlpool Corp and dealing a setback to the renewable energy industry in the first of several potential trade restrictions. The decisions in the two “Section 201” safeguard cases followed findings by the US International Trade Commiss
  
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• 'Probably the best job for the world': Carlsberg launches young scientists community

  23-01-2018 11:51
  Global brewer Carlsberg is seeking to create a community of young scientists to develop new projects and set industry standards for science-based and sustainability-driven research that will help the company deliver its CSR strategy.
  
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• Renewed calls for UK to tackle toxic air ahead of high court hearing

  23-01-2018 11:28 via theguardian.com
  A coalition of experts is asking the government to bring in a new Clean Air Act as ministers prepare to defend current plans in court this weekThe government is coming under renewed pressure to introduce a new Clean Air Act to tackle the UK’s toxic levels of air pollution.Ministers are due back in the high court later this week to defend their current plans which have previously been ruled so poor that they are illegal. Continue reading...
  
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• Circular economy takes centre stage in Davos

  23-01-2018 11:28
  Plastic waste is high on the agenda in Davos this week, with a host of corporate giants including L'Oréal, Mars and Unilever making commitments on their approach to packaging.
  
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• Circular economy takes centre stage at Davos

  23-01-2018 11:28
  Plastic waste is high on the agenda in Davos this week, with a host of corporate giants including L'Oréal, Mars and Unilever making commitments on their approach to packaging.
  
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• Japan to replace whaling mother ship in sign hunts will go on

  23-01-2018 11:09 via theguardian.com
  Officials say they need a faster ship to evade anti-whaling activistsJapan is to defy Australia and other nations with plans to replace its whaling fleet’s ageing mother ship, showing its determination to continue its annual expeditions to the Southern Ocean.
  The country’s fisheries agency is planning to replace the 30-year-old Nisshin Maru with either a new ship or a refitted one bought overseas, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun. Continue reading...
  
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• Jaguar Land Rover cuts UK production amid Brexit and diesel uncertainty

  23-01-2018 11:06
  Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) looks set to cut vehicle production of certain models, citing uncertainty surrounding Brexit and an increase in diesel taxation as primary reasons for the decision.
  
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• Off-peak charging vital for electric car power supply, experts say

  23-01-2018 09:08 via theguardian.com
  UK energy system can cope with rise of battery-powered vehicles if 4-6pm slot avoided, says reportThe UK energy system will be able to cope with the extra demand caused by the uptake of millions of electric cars, provided drivers shift their charging to off-peak times, according to new research.The number of battery-powered cars on Britain’s roads will grow from around 120,000 today to 10m by 2035 and pass the 17m mark five years later, predicted Aurora Energy Research. Continue reading...
  
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• Why the climate of Game of Thrones is about more than the arrival of winter

  23-01-2018 09:00 via theguardian.com
  We modelled the climate for George RR Martin’s series for fun, but there’s a serious side to predicting weather for a fictional worldFor fans disappointed that the next series of Game of Thrones won’t be on our screens until 2019, here’s some food for thought: an attack on Westeros would be most likely to come from the south in winter and north in summer, according to a climate model of the world of Game of Thrones.Furthermore, the model also sheds light on many mysteries
  
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• New fountains and bottle-refill points to tackle London's plastic waste

  23-01-2018 07:01 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: Mayor of London announces scheme to reduce packaging waste and improve access to tap waterA new network of drinking fountains and bottle-refill points is set to be rolled out across London this year as part of a plan to reduce the amount of waste created by single-use plastic, the Guardian has learned. Twenty new drinking fountains will be installed across London in a pilot scheme starting this summer, while a bottle-refill initiative, in which businesses make tap water available to t
  
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• Satellite Eye on Earth: November and December 2017 - in pictures

  23-01-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Winter solstice, night lights and interesting islands are among the images captured by Nasa and the ESA last monthDust blowing out of the Copper River valley on Alaska’s south coast. The dust plume was likely comprised of fine-grained loess, which was formed as glacial ice moved over the area and ground the underlying rock into a powder. Dust storms in southern Alaska generally occur in late autumn, when river levels are relatively low, snow has not yet fallen, and the layers of dried, loe
  
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• Woolworths to stop selling pesticide linked to global bee decline

  23-01-2018 06:48 via theguardian.com
  Australian grocery giant will join Bunnings to withdraw Yates Confidor from saleWoolworths in Australia has joined a growing list of companies to stop supplying a controversial pesticide linked to global declines in bee populations.On Tuesday the grocery giant announced it would join Bunnings in pulling Yates Confidor, a class of pesticide which some international studies have found damage the survival of honeybee colonies.Continue reading...
  
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• Country diary: clear skies where lead mines once spewed out fumes

  23-01-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Allendale chimneys, Northumberland: The flue lines from the smelter in the valley can still be seen, bulging like veins across the frosty peatlandHigh above Allendale on this frost-sparkling January day, two stone chimneys reach up into a clear blue sky. Built in the 19th century, they exhaled fumes from horizontal flues that ran from a lead smelter more than two miles below on the valley floor. The flue lines can still be seen, bulging like veins across the fields. In places they have collapsed
  
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• Minerals Council steps up coal advocacy despite BHP call for neutrality

  23-01-2018 05:46 via theguardian.com
  MCA publicises report asking governments to commit similar resources to carbon capture and storage as to renewablesThe Minerals Council of Australia has stepped up its advocacy for coal power in spite of its biggest member, BHP, saying it will leave the group unless it shifts its stance to become technology-neutral.On Tuesday the MCA publicised a report by the Coal Industry Advisory Board that called for governments to commit similar resources to carbon capture and storage as they do to renewabl
  
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