Environment news

• Grow your own and forage: eat better without costing the earth

  02-02-2018 22:18 via theguardian.com
  Food production and waste has a major impact. Our new series Life Swaps looks at how to live more sustainably, starting with better food choicesSitting down to lunch or dinner may not feel like an act of environmental destruction, yet all that eating isn’t doing the planet many favours. Vast quantities of water, chemicals, fuel and other resources are splurged on food production and transport, and then we devour only a fraction of that output. Each year, Aussie consumers turf around 3.1m t
  
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• Government's SDG implementation 'a total fail', says EAC chair

  02-02-2018 17:42
  The UK Government's attempts at addressing and implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been labelled "a total fail" by the chair of the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) Mary Creagh.
  
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• Mayan surprise

  02-02-2018 17:33 via bbc.co.uk
  Latest technology reveals a network of more than 60,000 structures under Guatemala's jungle.
  
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• Design call for 'solar sentinel' mission

  02-02-2018 17:24 via bbc.co.uk
  The UK will play a leading role in developing a spacecraft to warn of solar storms.
  
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• Blue Planet gives super-rich their new toys – submersibles

  02-02-2018 17:24 via theguardian.com
  World’s ultra-rich are buying subs for up to £30m to indulge in deep ocean exploring A new toy has surfaced on the must-have list of leisure options for the world’s billionaire class: private submersibles they can use to explore the oceans – or even use as James Bond-style means of escape if their superyacht should come under attack.The global super-rich last year bought about 30 submersibles – with price tags of up to £30m – according to manufacturer Tr
  
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• Green Brexit is impossible to guarantee, say Tory MEPs

  02-02-2018 16:42 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: Leaked document says it will be impossible to ensure current environmental and food safety standards are kept in Britain or the EUConservative MEPs have said Brexit will make it “impossible” to guarantee that current environmental standards can be maintained in Britain or the EU. A leaked document seen by the Guardian also calls for “the closest possible working relationship” between the EU and UK after Brexit, and for a “no regression clause” in fu
  
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• Green Brexit is impossible to guarantee, EU is warned

  02-02-2018 16:42 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: Leaked paper from group representing Tory MEPs says it will be impossible to ensure current standards are kept in Britain or EUThe European Conservative and Reformist group which represents Conservative MEPs has has said Brexit will make it “impossible” to guarantee that current environmental standards can be maintained in Britain or the EU. A leaked document seen by the Guardian also calls for “the closest possible working relationship” between the EU and UK a
  
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• Capacity Market Auction: 'Bizarre' Government policies blocking renewables funding

  02-02-2018 16:22
  The provisional results of the latest Capacity Market Auction were released by National Trust today (2 February), leading to the closure on a coal-fired power plant and concerns from the renewables sector that clean technologies are being blocked from finance.
  
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• Bones clue to 'lost' Viking army which made England

  02-02-2018 15:40 via bbc.co.uk
  New analysis suggests part of a nation-changing army of Vikings was buried in a town churchyard.
  
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• Are we stuck with plastic drinking straws?

  02-02-2018 15:30 via bbc.co.uk
  A leading maker of straws says greener alternatives are too costly and their development has stalled.
  
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• Fossil from south Wales named as new reptile species

  02-02-2018 15:20 via bbc.co.uk
  The ancient animal would have shared its home with dinosaurs, say Bristol researchers.
  
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• Astronaut Thomas Pesquet: ‘Earth is just a big spaceship with a crew. It needs looking after’

  02-02-2018 14:49 via theguardian.com
  A stint in space showed the ESA astronaut Earth’s fragility – and convinced him international cooperation is urgently neededAs divisions between them widen on Earth, space must be where countries show they can work together for a common good, France’s best-known astronaut has said in a powerful plea for international cooperation beyond the final frontier.“From up there, the Earth seems so small, so tiny, so … the same,” said Thomas Pesquet, who spent 196 days
  
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• Ex-BT chief Niall Dunne on a mission to create the 'Tesla of plastics'

  02-02-2018 12:39
  BT's former chief sustainability officer Niall Dunne is determined to use his role as the new chief executive of plastic producers Polymateria to "redesign the rules of an entire industry" and create practical solutions that can eliminate plastic pollution.
  
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• Former national monuments shrunk by Trump to be opened for mining claims

  02-02-2018 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Presidential order reduced protections for land once part of Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monumentsHundreds of thousands of acres of land that were part of two US national monuments shrunk by Donald Trump are being opened Friday to mining claims for uranium and other minerals.It is a symbolic step in a broader conflict over the fate of America’s public lands, on which Trump hopes to encourage greater access for extractive industries. Continue reading...
  
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• Almost four environmental defenders a week killed in 2017

  02-02-2018 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: 197 people killed last year for defending land, wildlife or natural resources, new Global Witness data reveals. In recording every defender’s death, the Guardian hopes to raise awareness of the deadly struggle on the environmental frontlineThe slaughter of people defending their land or environment continued unabated in 2017, with new research showing almost four people a week were killed worldwide in struggles against mines, plantations, poachers and infrastructure projects.
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• New Zealand gannet 'no mates Nigel' dies alongside fake partner

  02-02-2018 11:50 via bbc.co.uk
  The lonely bird died beside a concrete bird replica he had courted - and nested with - for years.
  
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• Who’s driving the future of conservation? Ordinary people | Fiona Gell

  02-02-2018 11:36 via theguardian.com
  From the BBC’s Winterwatch to scuba divers discovering a submerged ancient forest, citizen scientists are the futureCitizen science has become something of a buzzword, but it’s nothing new. Before science became professionalised in the 19th century, amateur naturalists were collecting information and helping us understand the natural world. And it wasn’t just country vicars; Mary Anning, the daughter of a poor cabinet-maker, spent decades discovering fossils in the cliffs at Ly
  
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• Yorkshire coal plant to close with loss of 200 jobs

  02-02-2018 11:25 via theguardian.com
  Eggborough’s failure to get capacity market contract proved final straw for power stationA major coal power station in Yorkshire will close at the end of September after it failed to secure a government subsidy to provide backup power next winter. Continue reading...
  
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• Yorkshire coal plant to close with loss of 130 jobs

  02-02-2018 11:25 via theguardian.com
  Eggborough’s failure to get capacity market contract proved final straw for power stationA major coal power station in Yorkshire will close at the end of September after it failed to secure a government subsidy to provide backup power next winter. Continue reading...
  
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• Ørsted chief calls for 'high pace' climate and SDG action

  02-02-2018 11:21
  Danish energy giant Ørsted's chief executive has highlighted the severe threats of climate change and the unique opportunities of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the company's latest sustainability report, which outlined the company's transition away from fossil fuels.
  
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• Nigel the lonely gannet surrounded by concrete birds on Mana Island – video

  02-02-2018 10:38 via theguardian.com
  Nigel the lonely gannet, who spent much of his time surrounded by concrete birds on Mana island, has died. Conservation officers lured Nigel to the island off New Zealand with the imitation gannets in the hope of encouraging a colony to settle on the reserveNigel the lonely gannet dies as he lived, surrounded by concrete birdsContinue reading...
  
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• Volcanic eruptions in Guatemala captured in time-lapse video

  02-02-2018 10:33 via bbc.co.uk
  Volcan de Fuego sent ash over a mile into the sky.
  
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• January becomes hottest month ever recorded in New Zealand

  02-02-2018 07:44 via theguardian.com
  Average temperature for the month was 20.3C, more than three degrees higher than normalJanuary was the hottest month ever recorded in New Zealand, according to figures released on Friday, and experts say climate change is one factor.Related: Met Office warns of global temperature rise exceeding 1.5C limitContinue reading...
  
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• In pursuit of the tortoise smugglers

  02-02-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Stuffed in suitcases or strapped to passengers’ bodies, more and more rare species are finding their way on to the black market. But a radical new wave of wildlife detectives is on the case. By Rowan Moore GeretyIn February 2016, Richard Lewis, a wildlife conservationist working in Madagascar, was contacted by a veterinary clinic with an unusual request. “Someone went to a vet and said: ‘Can you take a microchip out of a ploughshare?’” Lewis recalled. “So they
  
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• Country diary: where sparrows go when they vanish at dusk

  02-02-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Caistor St Edmund, Norfolk: Trying to find enough shelter to keep warm and conserve energy without increasing the risk of attack is a juggling act for a small birdThe torchlight cut through the dark, searching the canopy of a tall cedar as it swayed in the last gusts of the storm. A splash of white 15 metres up caught my attention: bird droppings, bright against the dark bark. Just above it, a wood pigeon was resting cosily against a jackdaw. A cock pheasant turned its head to observe me, that r
  
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• Brazil's Pantanal - the world's biggest wetland: in pictures

  02-02-2018 06:00 via theguardian.com
  To celebrate World Wetland day, WWF is highlighting its work in the Pantanal, the world’s biggest wetland. This pristine environment in South America supports a rich variety of wildlife and plants, while its enormous water reserves are vital for the 8 million people who depend on the Pantanal’s fresh water, fish, climate control and tourism. Continue reading...
  
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• Nigel the lonely gannet dies as he lived, surrounded by concrete birds

  02-02-2018 05:47 via theguardian.com
  New Zealand conservationists mourn loss of celebrated bird that was lured by replica gannets in the hope of establishing a breeding colonyIf there is such a thing as a tragic life for a bird, then the life of Nigel “no mates”, a New Zealand gannet, probably fits that bill.Nigel lived for years on his own on uninhabited Mana Island off the north of the country, surrounded by concrete replica gannets. Continue reading...
  
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• Mind control

  02-02-2018 01:05 via bbc.co.uk
  Controlling machines using thought can be used in medicine, gaming, transport and many other sectors.
  
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• VW scandal: emissions cheats could face criminal charges

  02-02-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Transport minister unveils new measures allowing government to prosecute carmakersCarmakers who cheat emissions rules with illegal devices could face unlimited fines and criminal charges for deceiving environmental tests under new measures set to be introduced in the wake of the Volkswagen scandal.
  The transport minister, Jesse Norman, launched a consultation on Friday to outline the crackdown, although any law will not be retrospective so could not be used to target Volkswagen. Continue reading
  
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• Mustard jet fuel and edible beer packaging: the best green innovations of the week

  02-02-2018 01:01
  In a week of welcome business advances for the green economy, edie rounds up the low-carbon and resource-efficient innovations that could shape the future.
  
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