Environment news

• Sustainability Leaders Awards 2018: Winners revealed at glittering ceremony

  24-01-2018 23:31
  02, Adnams, Co-op and Royal Mail were among the big winners of edie's 2018 Sustainability Leaders Awards, announced at an awards ceremony in London on Wednesday evening (24 January).
  
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• Falcon Heavy: Big SpaceX rocket lights 27 engines

  24-01-2018 23:25 via bbc.co.uk
  US firm SpaceX conducts a key test ahead of the debut flight of its new rocket - the Falcon Heavy.
  
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• Weatherwatch: Frazil ice delivers slurpees to Nantucket

  24-01-2018 22:30 via theguardian.com
  Massachusetts enjoyed some extra crushed ice this month as a cold snap of -11C - and specific ocean movements - brought slush laden waves to the beachThe recent cold snap in the US produced some unusual weather phenomena, including waves of icy slush. Nicknamed “slurpee waves” after an American ice-slush fizzy drink, the waves were spotted in a bay in Nantucket, Massachusetts, early in January. The temperature had fallen to -11C (12.2F), well below the freezing point of sea water. Sm
  
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• Rise in severity of hottest days outpaces global average temperature increase

  24-01-2018 22:29 via feedproxy.google.com
  UCI study also finds megacities affected most by uptick in extreme-heat events
  
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• Sound waves 'can help' early tsunami detection

  24-01-2018 22:18 via bbc.co.uk
  People in high-risk tsunami areas could be helped by an alarm system devised by Cardiff scientists.
  
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• Less predictable precipitation

  24-01-2018 22:18 via feedproxy.google.com
  Waning influence of once-telling weather patterns altered by global warming skews projections.
  
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• The Big Picture of Great Lakes Mercury Pollution

  24-01-2018 20:52 via feedproxy.google.com
  Mercury is a widespread environmental toxicant and pollutant that travels up the food chain onto people's dinner plates. Although a global issue, mercury regulations vary worldwide. Depending on where one lives in relation to mercury emissions, regional remediation makes minimal impacts for local fish consumption advisories. This is particularly true in a sensitive landscape like Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where nearly 80 percent of inland lakes are impaired.
  
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• Hundreds of wildflower species found blooming in midwinter

  24-01-2018 20:07 via theguardian.com
  UK survey finds 532 types – far more than older textbooks suggest should be out
  It’s been said that spring is coloured by flowers, while the colour of winter is only in the imagination.Not so for intrepid botanists who discovered 532 species of wildflowers in bloom across Britain and Ireland around New Year’s Day. Continue reading...
  
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• Cloned monkeys: First primate clones are created in lab

  24-01-2018 19:48 via bbc.co.uk
  Two monkeys named Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua have become the first primates to be cloned.
  
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• How to escape from a lion or cheetah - the science

  24-01-2018 19:26 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists work out how prey can escape much faster predators when hunting in the African savannah.
  
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• Exposing UK government folly of investment in new nuclear | Letters

  24-01-2018 19:23 via theguardian.com
  A new-build programme would create an intolerable burden on communities into the far future, writes Andrew Blowers; while Rose Heaney wonders why our abundant renewable energy sources are being overlookedIn 1976, Lord Flowers pronounced that there should be no further commitment to nuclear energy unless it could be demonstrated that long-lived highly radioactive wastes could be safely contained for the indefinite future. Ever since, efforts to find a suitable site for a geological disposal facil
  
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• Donald Trump's 'hatred of sharks' benefits conservation charities

  24-01-2018 19:12 via bbc.co.uk
  Shark conservationists see donations rise after claims the US president hates the animals.
  
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• Big SpaceX rocket lights 27 engines

  24-01-2018 19:01 via bbc.co.uk
  US firm SpaceX conducts a key test ahead of the debut flight of its new rocket - the Falcon Heavy.
  
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• First monkey clones created in Chinese laboratory

  24-01-2018 18:19 via bbc.co.uk
  Two monkeys cloned using the 'Dolly the Sheep' technique could bring the world a step closer to human cloning.
  
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• 'Disco ball' put into space from NZ

  24-01-2018 18:14 via bbc.co.uk
  US start-up Rocket Lab says its recent launch put a reflective sphere in orbit.
  
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• Wind and solar success shows spirit of Snowy resides with renewable energy | Tristan Edis

  24-01-2018 18:00 via theguardian.com
  Instead of saying we can’t do it, imagine if our leaders, like those behind Snowy Hydro, showed how great things can be doneWhen Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced he wanted to massively expand the Snowy Hydro-Electric Scheme, he was on a political winner.
  The Snowy Hydro Scheme is an icon in Australia’s history, driven by leaders across both Labor and Liberal Governments. For many Australians it is a symbol of what we’re capable of achieving as a country when we put our
  
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• Stuck in first gear: how Australia's electric car revolution stalled

  24-01-2018 18:00 via theguardian.com
  As sceptics fretted over price, range and lack of charging stations, Australia was overtaken by the rest of the world. Now policymakers are being urged to jumpstart the industryIn Elizabeth in South Australia, they stood in a huge line, only three months ago, and spelled out HOLDEN for the helicopters. Thirteen weeks later, after the plant closed and the last car rolled away, the talk began of rejuvenation, a new owner and the promise of the electric.The proposal, from the British billionaire Sa
  
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• Scottish railway lines hit by flooding and landslides

  24-01-2018 17:55 via theguardian.com
  Glasgow to Edinburgh route among those affected as Met Office forecasts winds of up to 90mphThe Edinburgh to Glasgow railway line and five others in Scotland have been affected by landslides and flooding, leading to delays and cancellations.Landslides took place on Wednesday along two commuter lines, including the main route between Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh, plus Glasgow Central to Carlisle and the Newcastle line via Dumfries.Continue reading...
  
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• Local people tackle tide of beach plastic in Mumbai

  24-01-2018 17:54 via theguardian.com
  Clean-up has collected more than 12,000 tonnes of plastic since 2015 A beach in Mumbai is looking much cleaner thanks to the efforts of local people to remove a tide of plastic waste that appears on the shore.
  A regular group of people, including children, use equipment donated by Bollywood stars to scour a 3km stretch of Versova beach every weekend, and have collected more than 12,000 tonnes of plastic since 2015. Continue reading...
  
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• UW Researcher Leads Study of First Quantifiable Observation of Cloud Seeding

  24-01-2018 17:49 via feedproxy.google.com
  A University of Wyoming researcher contributed to a paper that demonstrated, for the first time, direct observation of cloud seeding -- from the growth of the ice crystals through the processes that occur in the clouds to the eventual fallout of the ice crystals that become snow -- and how the impacts could be quantified.
  
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• Budweiser launches renewables label to celebrate 100% clean energy commitment

  24-01-2018 17:28
  Global brewers Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) is placing a renewable electricity label on any Budweiser beer that has been brewed using 100% renewable electricity, as part of a communications push to educate consumers on the firm's sustainability strategy.
  
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• Vaccines not protecting farmed fish from disease

  24-01-2018 17:21 via feedproxy.google.com
  The vaccines used by commercial fish farmers are not protecting fish from disease, according to a new study.The study was compiled by researchers at the University of Waterloo, the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaiso and Chile’s University of Valparaiso. It showed vaccinated fish tend to show more symptoms when contracting diseases, with the health impacts and ultimately deaths occurring as if they’d never received a vaccine.
  
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• Cougars Officially Declared Extinct in Eastern U.S., Removed from Endangered Species List

  24-01-2018 17:10 via feedproxy.google.com
  Eastern cougars once roamed every U.S. state east of the Mississippi, but it has been eight decades since the last confirmed sighting of the animal. Now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has officially declared the subspecies extinct and removed it from the U.S. endangered species list.
  
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• Researchers Use Wild Rice to Predict Health of Minnesota Lakes and Streams

  24-01-2018 15:49 via feedproxy.google.com
  By studying wild rice in lakes and streams, a team of researchers led by the University of Minnesota has discovered that sulfate in waterways is converted into toxic levels of sulfide and increases other harmful elements. This includes methylmercury, the only form of mercury that contaminates fish.
  
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• Tracking Wastewater's Path to Wells, Groundwater

  24-01-2018 15:46 via feedproxy.google.com
  We often “flush it and forget it” when it comes to waste from toilets and sinks. However, it’s important to be able to track this wastewater to ensure it doesn’t end up in unwanted places. A group of Canadian scientists has found an unlikely solution.
  
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• Biosensor Promises Early Malaria Diagnosis

  24-01-2018 15:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  A strip of chromatography paper similar to that used in rapid pregnancy tests is the basis of a bio-sensor for detecting malaria that has been developed by Brazilian researchers.
  
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• Saving Sharks With Trees: Researchers Aim To Save Key Branches Of Shark And Ray Tree Of Life

  24-01-2018 15:36 via feedproxy.google.com
  To shine light on and conserve rare shark, ray, and chimaera species (chondrichthyans), SFU researchers have developed a fully-resolved family tree and ranked every species according to the unique evolutionary history they account for.
  
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• Stanford Researcher: Interacting Antarctic Glaciers May Cause Faster Melt and Sea Level Contributions

  24-01-2018 15:33 via feedproxy.google.com
  A new study shows that a large and potentially unstable Antarctic glacier may be melting farther inland than previously thought and that this melting could affect the stability of another large glacier nearby – an important finding for understanding and projecting ice sheet contributions to sea-level rise.
  
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• NTAs: David Attenborough on Blue Planet II's Impact

  24-01-2018 14:56 via bbc.co.uk
  Sir David Attenborough's impassioned speech at the NTAs was all about protecting "our beautiful world".
  
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• Python owner was killed by his 8ft-long pet, coroner rules

  24-01-2018 13:07 via theguardian.com
  Dan Brandon kept 10 snakes and 12 tarantulas in his bedroom and was said to be responsible ownerA lover of exotic animals died of asphyxia after his 8ft long pet African rock python called Tiny wrapped itself around him, a coroner has ruled.
  Dan Brandon was found dead by his mother, Babs, in his bedroom in Hampshire, with the python concealed close by. Continue reading...
  
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• World's first electric container barges to sail from European ports this summer

  24-01-2018 12:56 via theguardian.com
  Dubbed the ‘Tesla of the canals’, the unmanned vessels will operate on Dutch and Belgian waterways, vastly reducing diesel vehicles and emissionsThe world’s first fully electric, emission-free and potentially crewless container barges are to operate from the ports of Antwerp, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam from this summer.The vessels, designed to fit beneath bridges as they transport their goods around the inland waterways of Belgium and the Netherlands, are expected to vastly reduc
  
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• Paris on flooding alert as rising Seine causes travel disruption

  24-01-2018 12:06 via theguardian.com
  Galleries consider moving works of art as water levels approach highest mark in over a century Parisians have been warned to stay away from the river Seine as it continues to rise, flooding surrounding roads and causing disruption to the city’s transport network.As water levels increased on Wednesday, the capital’s authorities said the river could pass the 6.10-metre (20ft) level of 2016, the highest in over a century and more than four metres above its normal height. Continue readin
  
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• Remote Amazon tribe hit by mercury crisis, leaked report says

  24-01-2018 11:09 via theguardian.com
  Peru’s Health Ministry found shocking contamination among the Nahua, but hasn’t published its full reportAn indigenous people living in one of the remotest parts of the Peruvian Amazon has been struck by a mystery mercury epidemic, according to an unpublished Health Ministry report dated 2015 and 2017 seen by the Guardian.The Nahua only entered into sustained contact with “outsiders” in the mid-1980s, which led to almost 50% of the population dying mainly from respiratory
  
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• Cape Town told to cut water use or face losing supply by 12 April

  24-01-2018 10:40 via theguardian.com
  Residents will have to queue at standpipes for daily rations unless they drastically reduce consumption People living in Cape Town have been warned that they face losing piped water to their homes within two months if they do not implement drastic measures to counter the effects of the worst drought for almost century to hit South Africa’s second city.Local authorities have warned the city’s four million residents that if consumption reductions are not achieved by “Day Zero&rdq
  
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• Businesses accelerate progress towards 100% renewables

  24-01-2018 09:15
  Renewables are becoming the energy source of choice for corporate electricity users, according to a new report by The Climate Group published in Davos on Tuesday (23 January), which shows a growing number of multinationals lining up to meet 100% of their power needs from green power.
  
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• Donald Trump's tariffs on panels will cost US solar industry thousands of jobs

  24-01-2018 08:33 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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• Tasmania: new find of extremely rare red handfish doubles population to 80

  24-01-2018 07:27 via theguardian.com
  Team of divers spent two days searching a reef, and hope more red handfish will be foundDivers in Tasmania have discovered a new population of red handfish, doubling the known population of the elusive and extremely rare fish and raising hopes that more may be found.Until last week the remaining population of red handfish, Thymichthys politus, was believed to be confined to one 50m long reef in Frederick Henry Bay near Hobart in south-east Tasmania. Continue reading...
  
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• UK opposes strong EU recycling targets despite plastics pledge

  24-01-2018 07:01 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: government accused of hypocrisy as documents show opposition to urban waste planThe UK government is opposing strong new recycling targets across the EU despite its recent pledge to develop “ambitious new future targets and milestones”, confidential documents have revealed.
  A 25-year environment plan was launched earlier in January by the prime minister, Theresa May, who particularly focused on cutting plastic pollution. The plan, aimed partly at wooing younger voters, say
  
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• Is this the end of civilisation? We could take a different path | George Monbiot

  24-01-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Environmental breakdown, coupled with the self-destructive behaviour of governments, has set us on a road to ruin. And we’re blocking off all means of escapeIt’s a good question, but it seems too narrow: “Is western civilisation on the brink of collapse?” the lead article in this week’s New Scientist asks. The answer is, probably. But why just western? Yes, certain western governments are engaged in a frenzy of self-destruction. In an age of phenomenal complexity an
  
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• Country diary: birds heard but not seen in this glowing glade

  24-01-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Wenlock Edge, Shropshire: The sounds of blue tits, great tits and long-tailed tits were sharp and clear like the clinking of a bag of marbles The glade filled with sunlight. It settled like physical stuff, a dusting of the inner circle and its enclosing trees with emerald snow. The green was made by sunlight on moss, on thorn branches, and across the flat ground with mossy stones and the first bristles of dog’s mercury pushing through. Outside the circle was a dark thicket of ash and hazel
  
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• Murky world of 'science' journals a new frontier for climate deniers | Graham Readfearn

  24-01-2018 01:38 via theguardian.com
  Deniers have found a platform in emerging publications that publish without rigorous reviewThere’s a new scientific journal you might not have heard of called the International Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences. It says it “supports scientist who sweats for the real innovation & discovery”.
  If that’s a little too sweaty for you, then how about another new journal, also called the International Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences? Continue reading...
  
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• National Trust to create UK sanctuary for endangered butterfly

  24-01-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Heddon Valley in Devon to be haven for high brown fritillary, supported by lottery funding A beautiful wooded valley on the Devon coast is to be the focus of a project to save the UK’s most endangered butterfly – the high brown fritillary.Conservationists believe changes to woodland management, such as the abandonment of coppicing, and climate change have contributed to the steep decline of the large, powerful, fast-flying butterfly over the last 50 years.Continue reading...
  
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