Environment news

• Birdwatch: purple sandpiper snatches a snooze in Somerset

  30-01-2018 22:30 via theguardian.com
  By the tidal waters of a lowland river it’s a thrill to spot this Arctic breeding shorebird – even if, for this bird, sleep is on the scheduleThe birds were so well camouflaged I almost didn’t see them. A dozen waders, perched on a rocky outcrop alongside the River Parrett, Somerset, at high tide, the water lapping at their feet. Most were turnstones, whose faded tortoiseshell plumage blended in surprisingly well with the rocks. A couple of dunlins, too, the ubiquitous small wa
  
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• The make-up artist making designs with dead insects

  30-01-2018 22:19 via bbc.co.uk
  Jasmine Ahumada, from California, attaches spiders and bees to her face to create her distinctive looks.
  
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• RSPB Minsmere winter starling murmuration

  30-01-2018 21:26 via bbc.co.uk
  Starlings take to the skies to create a spectacular aerial ballet before settling on roost.
  
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• Jon Castle obituary

  30-01-2018 18:49 via theguardian.com
  Captain of the Rainbow Warrior who led many of Greenpeace’s most dramatic marine campaignsThe seaman Jon Castle, who has died of cancer aged 67, led many of Greenpeace’s most dramatic marine campaigns, including the occupation of the Brent Spar oil platform and the opposition to nuclear testing.After 25 years with Greenpeace he turned his skills to wider humanitarian causes, including rescuing refugees in the Mediterranean and sailing to the Chagos Islands in protest at the British r
  
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• Labor branches push for new environment act and independent watchdog

  30-01-2018 18:00 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: ALP’s internal advocacy group wants sweeping reforms to protect natural heritage to be adopted as policy at next conferenceBill Shorten is facing rising internal pressure to make the environment central to Labor’s election pitch after 250 ALP branches passed a motion calling for strong new national laws and an independent agency akin to a “Reserve Bank for environmental management”.Branches from every state and territory have backed a campaign by the Labor envi
  
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• Sustainable Business Covered podcast: We're back and at the Sustainability Leaders Forum (Part One)

  30-01-2018 17:59
  After a short winter break, edie's Sustainable Business Covered podcast returns to bring you a two-part episode featuring a range of interviews from speakers and delegates and the Sustainability Leaders Forum.
  
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• UK given days to show it will comply with EU air quality laws

  30-01-2018 17:00 via theguardian.com
  UK and eight other states will need to take drastic measures on illegal air pollution to avoid court referrals next week, says EUThe EU has given Britain and eight other states until next Friday to show how they will comply with EU air pollution laws or face the European Court of Justice.The ultimatum came as London reached its legal air pollution limit for 2018 in just the year’s first month, and could lead to heavy fines being imposed on the UK even after Brexit. Continue reading...
  
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• Scrutiny over wood and coal fires in UK homes

  30-01-2018 16:35 via bbc.co.uk
  Burning wood and coal in people's homes will come under scrutiny as part of a government drive to improve air pollution.
  
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• BP to install charging points for electric cars at UK petrol stations

  30-01-2018 16:07 via theguardian.com
  Further indication that oil firms are planning for growth of battery-powered vehicle marketBP will add rapid charging points for electric cars at its UK petrol stations within the next two months, in the latest sign of an oil giant adapting to the rapid growth of battery-powered cars. The British oil firm’s venture arm has invested $5m (£3.5m) in the US firm Freewire Technologies, which will provide motorbike-sized charging units at forecourts to top up cars in half an hour. Continue
  
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• Gone fishin': decorator crabs use other species as fishing rods, study reveals

  30-01-2018 16:04 via theguardian.com
  A researcher’s diving holiday lead to a startling discovery of never-before-seen behaviour: crabs using hydrozoans as fishing hooksEvery night as the sun goes down, on the coral reefs of the Red Sea small, delicate and slightly fuzzy-looking crabs work their way through the maze of coral. They take up stations atop the corals’ outermost structures, exposing themselves to the current in the plankton-rich waters. These are decorator crabs, of the genus Achaeus, known for their peculiar
  
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• It's the small things that matter – when insects shaped today's natural world

  30-01-2018 14:09 via feedproxy.google.com
  Insects that play an essential role in moulding ecosystems may have begun their rise to prominence earlier than previously thought, shedding new light on how the world became modern. That is the finding of a new paper published by an international team of researchers led by Simon Fraser University's Bruce Archibald who is also a research associate at the Royal BC Museum.
  
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• The sky is the limit: Five inspiring messages from the 2018 edie Sustainability Leaders Forum

  30-01-2018 13:56
  After a fascinating two days of inspiration, insight and expertise, edie looks back at some of the most inspirational messages taken away from 2018 edie Sustainability Leaders Forum.
  
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• London reaches legal air pollution limit just one month into the new year

  30-01-2018 13:18 via theguardian.com
  Timing is a significant improvement, due in part to mayor’s measures, but campaigners say national government must ‘get a grip’ on toxic air Air pollution in London has reached the legal limit for the whole of 2018 less than a month into the year, prompting calls for the government to “get a grip and show they’re serious about protecting health”. Toxic air has been at illegal levels in the capital and most urban areas in the UK since 2010 and results in around
  
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• Nissan sheds light on 'world first' vehicle-to-grid project

  30-01-2018 13:12
  Nissan has revealed that its vehicle-to-grid (V2G) demonstrator project will target 1000 installations over the next three years, as the car giant aims to help make the UK grid "more sustainable and more stable".
  
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• UK electricity use falls – as rest of EU rises

  30-01-2018 12:28 via theguardian.com
  Slowing economy, mild weather and energy-efficient appliances among possible reasons for declineThe UK was the only country in the EU to reduce its electricity consumption last year, with power use growing or stable across the rest of the bloc’s 28 member states.Britain’s appetite for power has been waning for more than a decade as industrial activity declined and businesses and households opted for more energy efficient lighting and appliances. Continue reading...
  
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• Gove criticised for lack of post-Brexit fishing industry plans

  30-01-2018 12:18 via theguardian.com
  UK environment secretary urged by Dutch counterpart to set out proposals The Dutch government has called on Michael Gove to provide a clear vision for the European fishing industry for when the UK leaves the EU’s common fisheries policy, amid growing insecurity in communities on both sides of the Channel.Carola Schouten, the Netherlands’ fisheries minister, said her country’s fleet, one of the largest in the EU, needed certainty about the future, but that she had yet to see any
  
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• Dutch urge Gove to spell out post-Brexit fishing industry plans

  30-01-2018 12:18 via theguardian.com
  UK environment secretary told by Dutch fisheries minister to set out proposals after department missed Christmas white paper deadlineThe Dutch government has called on Michael Gove to provide a clear vision for the European fishing industry for when the UK leaves the EU’s common fisheries policy, amid growing insecurity in communities on both sides of the Channel.Carola Schouten, the Netherlands’ fisheries minister, said her country’s fleet, one of the largest in the EU, needed
  
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• Communicating the science is the next step in the evolution of the UN climate panel | Adam Corner

  30-01-2018 12:00 via theguardian.com
  The IPCC is taking guidance on how to communicate its crucial findings beyond speciality scientific and policy circlesThe remit of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is one of the more complicated jigsaw puzzles in the world.Since 1988, it has overseen thousands of scientists pulling together tens of thousands of academic papers on atmospheric physics, meteorology, geography, marine science, economics, land-use and much more. A multi-layered process of expert assessment takes p
  
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• How Trump's cuts to public lands threaten future dinosaur discoveries

  30-01-2018 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Researchers have made remarkable finds at sites such as Grand Staircase-Escalante, which the administration has shrunkThe paleontologist Rob Gay wasn’t expecting to find anything significant that day. He and a few of his students were scouting in the southeast Utah badlands in summer 2016 when they came across a hillside littered with hundreds of bones. Scattered haphazardly and protruding from the earth, they were the remains of of prehistoric reptiles that lived 220m years ago, at the sa
  
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• UK electricity use is falling – and no one knows why

  30-01-2018 10:29 via theguardian.com
  Slowing economy, mild weather and low number of electric cars among reasons suggested for divergence from rest of EUThe UK was the only country in the EU to reduce its electricity consumption last year, with power use growing or stable across the rest of the bloc’s 28 member states.Britain’s appetite for power has been waning for more than a decade as industrial activity declined and businesses and households opted for more energy efficient lighting and appliances. Continue reading..
  
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• T-Mobile targets $100m energy cost savings through RE100 commitment

  30-01-2018 09:49
  Telecoms firm T-Mobile has signified an intention to source 100% renewable electricity by 2021, in a move that will see the company save around $100m in energy costs and join the Climate Group's RE100 initiative.
  
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• Single-use plastic bags ban under scrutiny as shoppers switch and ditch reusables

  30-01-2018 07:42 via theguardian.com
  Australian states with bans in place see rise in consumers and retailers resorting to thicker bags to escape the ruleShoppers in states that have banned single-use shopping bags are reportedly buying reusable plastic bags then throwing them away.The Australian Capital Territory requested an investigation into the use of thicker plastic bags last month, after reports that retailers and consumers had simply switched their plastic bag consumption to thicker bags to escape the ban.Continue reading..
  
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• Victoria's blackouts, Hazelwood's closure and the search for someone to blame

  30-01-2018 07:16 via theguardian.com
  The blackouts appear to have been caused by fuses blowing in substations rather than being a problem with supplyBlackouts in Victoria this week caused by substation malfunctions have spawned a plethora of responses, many attempting to pin the blame on either a lack of coal or too much renewable energy. One national newspaper has argued that the focus on substations was a “smokescreen” to hide what it identified as the real cause – Victoria’s moratorium on gas exploration.
  
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• London schools to be alerted on high air pollution days

  30-01-2018 07:01 via theguardian.com
  Schools will receive an alert every time air pollution is high enough to pose an acute health risk, under new plans announced by Sadiq KhanSchools in London will receive an alert every time air pollution in the capital is set to pose an acute risk to health as part of a renewed push to highlight the scale of the capital’s toxic pollution crisis.Air pollution causes 40,000-50,000 early deaths a year in the UK – more than 9,000 in London – and the young are particularly vulnerabl
  
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• Can Sri Lanka's elephants and humans learn to live together? – in pictures

  30-01-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  On this small, densely populated island, clashes between elephants and humans are rapidly increasing. Rangers and villagers are working to find ways to avoid the conflict and the devastating, at times deadly, impacts on both sides Continue reading...
  
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• Qantas uses mustard seeds in first ever biofuel flight between Australia and US

  30-01-2018 06:34 via theguardian.com
  Blended fuel powers 15-hour Boeing Dreamliner 787-9 flight between LA and Melbourne, reducing carbon emissions by 7% A Qantas plane powered partly by mustard seeds has become the world’s first biofuel flight between Australia and the United States, after landing in Melbourne on Tuesday. The 15-hour flight used a blended fuel that was 10% derived from the brassica carinata, an industrial type of mustard seed that functions as a fallow crop – meaning it can be grown by farmers in betwe
  
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• Pollution in London higher than during the Great Smog – archive, 30 January 1959

  30-01-2018 06:00 via theguardian.com
  30 January 1959: Conditions described as “very grim” by the AA, with visibility in south-east London varying between nil and ten yardsFog stretched last night from the Home Counties westwards into Devon and South Wales and northwards through the Midlands and East Anglia up to Yorkshire. It is expected to persist to-day. Related: How the Guardian reported on London's Great Smog of 1952Continue reading...
  
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• New study examines the causes and consequences of the 2015 Wimberley floods

  30-01-2018 03:43 via feedproxy.google.com
  A new study by Chad Furl, postdoctoral research associate, and Hatim Sharif, professor of civil and environmental engineering at The University of Texas at San Antonio, delves into the 2015 Wimberley, Texas floods that destroyed 350 homes and claimed 13 lives. Furl and Sharif researched the factors that led to the catastrophic flooding and shed light on new ways people in flood-prone areas can protect against future tragedies.
  
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• New Zealand heatwave sparks health alerts and scramble for fans

  30-01-2018 02:10 via theguardian.com
  Temperatures forecast to hit 40C as even prime minister Jacinda Ardern struggles to keep coolA week-long heatwave has floored New Zealand, breaking temperature records across the country and causing a nationwide shortage of fans.Temperatures have soared above 37C (98.6F) in parts of the South Island, with records broken in Dunedin, Wanaka, Christchurch and many other cities and towns. Continue reading...
  
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• Robo news

  30-01-2018 01:05 via bbc.co.uk
  As more media outlets use automated algorithms to write news stories, are journalists doomed?
  
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