Environment news

• Curbs on fuel pollution ruled out in favour of cheaper options

  26-01-2018 22:00 via theguardian.com
  Environment department says it will no longer consider changes that would provide greatest health benefitMoves to introduce stringent regulations for Australian fuels have been excluded from the government’s most recent consultation paper in favour of cheaper options that would result in more damage to the environment and public health.The Ministerial Forum on Vehicle Emissions is considering changes that would reduce emissions from motor vehicles, including regulations that would improve
  
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• The Scent of the City

  26-01-2018 21:37 via feedproxy.google.com
  Emissions of volatile organic compounds higher than previously assumed.In the scientific journal PNAS, researchers from Innsbruck, Austria, present the world's first chemical fingerprint of urban emission sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Accordingly, the abatement strategy for organic solvents is having an effect in Europe. At the same time, the data suggest that the total amount of man-made VOCs globally is likely to be significantly higher than previously assumed.
  
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• New study reveals how icy surface ponds on Himalayan glaciers influence water flow

  26-01-2018 18:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  The flow of water that supports hydro-electric and irrigation infrastructure in the mountain regions of Nepal and India is regulated by hundreds of large icy ponds on the surface of some of the world’s highest glaciers, scientists have revealed.
  
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• Century of data shows sea-level rise shifting tides in Delaware, Chesapeake bays

  26-01-2018 18:39 via feedproxy.google.com
  The warming climate is expected to affect coastal regions worldwide as glaciers and ice sheets melt, raising sea level globally.
  
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• Research Finds Link Between Rainfall and Ocean Circulation in Past and Present

  26-01-2018 18:33 via feedproxy.google.com
  Research conducted at The University of Texas at Austin has found that changes in ocean currents in the Atlantic Ocean influence rainfall in the Western Hemisphere, and that these two systems have been linked for thousands of years.
  
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• Reducing Regulatory Burdens: EPA withdraws “once in always in” policy for major sources under Clean Air Act

  26-01-2018 18:31 via feedproxy.google.com
  Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a guidance memorandum withdrawing the “once in always in” policy for the classification of major sources of hazardous air pollutants under section 112 of the Clean Air Act.
  
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• In 2017, the oceans were by far the hottest ever recorded | John Abraham

  26-01-2018 16:43 via theguardian.com
  The second-hottest year recorded at Earth’s surface was the hottest in its oceans
  Among scientists who work on climate change, perhaps the most anticipated information each year is how much the Earth has warmed. That information can only come from the oceans, because almost all heat is stored there. If you want to understand global warming, you need to first understand ocean warming.This isn’t to say other measurements are not also important. For instance, measurements of the air tem
  
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• Air pollution linked to ‘extremely high mortality’ in people with mental disorders

  26-01-2018 16:31 via theguardian.com
  A major study in Hong Kong shows the risk of death rises sharply on hazy days, when air pollution is much worseThe risk of death for people with mental and behavioural disorders rises sharply on days when air pollution reaches toxic peaks, a major study in Hong Kong has found.
  Researchers analysed a decade of death statistics and revealed a strong link, with the mortality risk rising 16% on the first day of haze and 27% on the second day compared to normal days. If the haze was accompanied by hi
  
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• Harmless or vicious hunter? The uneasy return of Europe's wolves

  26-01-2018 16:25 via theguardian.com
  This winter the first wolf in 100 years arrived in Belgium, completing the animals’ return to mainland Europe. But can Europeans relearn how to live alongside the predators?To some it is a roe deer that eats meat: an adaptable animal capable of living peaceably alongside humans. To others it is a demonic killing machine that ruins farmers – and whose presence is a symbol of the city’s contempt for rural life.The wolf is on the rise in Europe. This winter it finally reconquered
  
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• Research Finds Discrepancies Between Satellite and Global Model Estimates of Land Water Storage

  26-01-2018 15:44 via feedproxy.google.com
  Research led by The University of Texas at Austin has found that calculations of water storage in many river basins from commonly used global computer models differ markedly from independent storage estimates from GRACE satellites.
  
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• From environmental specialist to CEO: E.ON boss reflects on a remarkable sustainability journey

  26-01-2018 15:06
  EXCLUSIVE: Michael Lewis explains how his rise to the top at E.ON has intertwined with the company's transition from a fossil fuel-based power generator to a provider of sustainable energy solutions.
  
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• From environmental expert to CEO: E.ON boss reflects on a remarkable sustainability journey

  26-01-2018 15:06
  EXCLUSIVE: Michael Lewis explains how his rise to the top at E.ON has intertwined with the company's transition from a fossil fuel-based power generator to a provider of sustainable energy solutions.
  
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• From environmental expert to CEO: E.ON boss Michael Lewis reflects on his remarkable sustainability journey

  26-01-2018 15:06
  EXCLUSIVE: Michael Lewis explains how his rise to the top at E.ON has intertwined with the company's transition from a fossil fuel-based power generator to a provider of sustainable energy solutions.
  
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• Mission Possible: 8 charts that show how business leaders are building a sustainable future

  26-01-2018 14:43
  Hundreds of sustainability professionals gathered in London for edie's Sustainability Leaders Forum this week. Throughout the two-day event delegates were asked to reflect on their thoughts on key drivers, and the results show that a sustainable future is possible.
  
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• How drones are being used to protect the Amazon's dolphins

  26-01-2018 14:19 via theguardian.com
  Drone footage is building up the missing data on dolphin populations that is crucial to ensuring their protection and long-term survivalThe drone is hovering above the Amazon river, but its battery is running low. André Coelho, the chief pilot, steers it back to safety with skills perfected by playing video games. Long hours practising on Need for Speed have become a surprising asset in the effort to conserve the dolphins that live in the river.Marcelo Oliveira, a conservation specialist
  
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• 'Still fighting': Africatown, site of last US slave shipment, sues over pollution

  26-01-2018 12:00 via theguardian.com
  In 1860 the last, illegal, shipment of slaves to the US landed in this part of Alabama. Now hundreds of the largely African American residents are suing an industrial plant claiming it released toxic chemicals linked to cancerFrom the front seat of his truck, Joe Womack points out the site where the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to enter the US, landed in 1860, 52 years after it outlawed the international slave trade. Related: A civil rights 'emergency': justice, clean air and water in the
  
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• PwC sets carbon reduction and business growth targets

  26-01-2018 11:08
  Professional services firm PwC has targeted a 40% reduction in carbon emissions and a switch to 100% renewable electricity while continuing to expand its business.
  
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• University of Cambridge installs 1,500 solar panels at new district

  26-01-2018 11:06
  Almost 1,500 solar panels have been installed at the University of Cambridge's new 150-hectare district, with the array expected to slash energy usage by more than 298MWh a year.
  
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• Unilever to increase sustainable palm oil production in Indonesia

  26-01-2018 09:59
  Global consumer goods firm Unilever has struck a deal with a government-owned palm oil plantation firm in Indonesia to create a support framework that enables local mills and smallholders to produce palm oil according to standards of no deforestation and no peatland deterioration.
  
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• Small birds expected to bounce back in annual UK count

  26-01-2018 07:01 via theguardian.com
  RSPB says successful breeding season and kind weather could see many species faring well in this year’s Big Garden BirdwatchBlue tits, great tits, greenfinches and chaffinches are set to bounce back into British gardens this winter after a successful breeding season and “relatively kind” conditions.More than half a million people are expected to spend an hour this weekend spotting birds and other wildlife in the 39th year of the Big Garden Birdwatch, the world’s biggest w
  
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• Country diary: snow has drained the forest of colour

  26-01-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Glapthorn Cow Pastures, Northamptonshire: The naked winter wood seems vast and empty, silent but for the thick patter of melt dropsSnow, an inch or two, but a broken layer, mainly because the chill wind has plastered vertically. Swirling flurries fall still, but as the afternoon progresses, snow shifts into sleet, then freezing rain. A flock of 100 fieldfare hunt in an empty sheep pasture, scrutinising the half-buried sward for morsels of invertebrate food. Their backs dip and hunch above the sn
  
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• A third of coral reefs 'entangled with plastic'

  26-01-2018 01:49 via bbc.co.uk
  Plastic is one of the biggest risks to the future of coral reefs after ocean warming, say scientists.
  
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• Ariane rocket suffers rare launch anomaly

  26-01-2018 01:42 via bbc.co.uk
  Europe's normally highly dependable rocket, the Ariane 5, loses contact as it flies skyward.
  
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• Transparent solar cells and hydrogen bikes: the best green innovations of the week

  26-01-2018 01:01
  In a week where the circular economy was front and centre of global discussions, edie rounds up the low-carbon and resource-efficient innovations that could shape the future.
  
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• Museum of Natural History urged to cut ties with 'anti-science propagandist' Rebekah Mercer

  26-01-2018 01:00 via theguardian.com
  More than 100 scientists have urged the museum to sever its ties with Mercer, one of Donald Trump’s top donorsThe American Museum of Natural History is under pressure to sever its ties to Rebekah Mercer, one of Donald Trump’s top donors who has used her family’s fortune to fund groups that seek to undermine scientists’ work on climate change.More than 200 scientists have put their names to a letter that urges the museum to “end ties to anti-science propagandists and
  
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• Ariane rocket suffers rare failure

  26-01-2018 00:57 via bbc.co.uk
  Europe's normally highly dependable rocket, the Ariane 5, has had an anomaly during its latest launch.
  
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