Environment news

• Weatherwatch: storm waves that can roll great slabs of rock

  05-02-2018 22:30 via theguardian.com
  Boulders the size of houses and weighing 100 tonnes or more had been lifted up and bulldozed along cliff topsWinter storms battering the British Isles are more powerful than often assumed. The stormy winter of 2013-14 along the west coast of Ireland produced waves so powerful they tore great slabs of rock out of coastlines and shoved them inland. Among those boulders was a 620-tonne colossus, equivalent to more than three blue whales, which was shoved several feet inshore, setting a new world re
  
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• Two men jailed for badger-baiting in Wales

  05-02-2018 18:45 via theguardian.com
  Huntsman David Thomas sentenced to 22 weeks and accomplice to 20 in case RSPCA says shows animal cruelty is rifeAn experienced huntsman has been jailed after being caught badger-baiting on remote farmland in north Wales. RSPCA inspectors and police also found two foxes in a cage next to a pack of dogs on the farm, a meeting place for the Dwyryd Hunt, and believe they were going to be released for dogs to attack. The RSPCA said the case showed that badger-baiting, which has been banned since 1835
  
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• 'Everything is made into a political issue': rethinking Australia's environmental laws

  05-02-2018 18:00 via theguardian.com
  Public should be given a greater say on development plans, experts sayEnvironmental lawyers and academics have called for a comprehensive rethink on how Australia’s natural landscapes are protected, warning that short-term politics is infecting decision-making and suggesting that the public be given a greater say on development plans. The Australian Panel of Experts on Environmental Law has launched a blueprint for a new generation of environment laws and the creation of independent agenci
  
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• Huntsman jailed for badger-baiting in Wales

  05-02-2018 17:34 via theguardian.com
  David Thomas sentenced to 22 weeks in case that RSPCA says shows badger persecution is rifeAn experienced huntsman has been jailed after being caught badger-baiting on remote farmland in north Wales. RSPCA inspectors and police also found two foxes in a cage next to a pack of dogs on the farm, a meeting place for the Dwyryd Hunt, and believe they were going to be released for dogs to attack. Continue reading...
  
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• Asda joins wave of supermarkets pledging to cut plastic waste

  05-02-2018 17:24 via theguardian.com
  Series of measures includes reducing plastic in its own-brand packaging by 10% – but does not go as far as cutting it out altogetherAsda has become the latest supermarket to join the war against plastic by pledging to reduce it “wherever” it can, including slashing the amount in its own-brand packaging by 10% in the next 12 months.
  In a series of measures, Asda promised to scrap 5p carrier bags in all stores by the end of the year, switch 2.4m plastic straws used in its cafes t
  
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• 'Extraordinary' fossil sheds light on origins of spiders

  05-02-2018 17:03 via bbc.co.uk
  A fossil preserved in amber for 100 million years is shaking up ideas about the evolution of spiders.
  
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• Plastics now a 'competitive issue' for business, CIWM chief warns

  05-02-2018 15:27
  EXCLUSIVE: Eliminating unnecessary uses of plastic from production and supply chains is quickly becoming a "competitive issue" for businesses, with the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management's (CIWM) chief executive Dr Colin Church urging companies not to wait for legislation.
  
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• What the saviour of London’s pigeons taught me about the problem with plastic

  05-02-2018 14:17 via theguardian.com
  Decades ago, the late writer and critic Naomi Lewis spent hours on the streets rescuing birds tangled in nylon thread. She should have been a warning sign of the horrors to comeNot knowing what to do with myself and my bad temper in my 30s, I went to a creative writing class at City Lit, a London-based adult-education college. The teacher looked odd – about 70, she was always dressed in black, her hair was grey and a little wild and she seemed to have dusted her face in flour, some of whic
  
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• General Electric targets giant Midlands battery storage system

  05-02-2018 12:55
  General Electric (GE) is targeting a portion of the UK's growing battery storage market, after partnering with London energy firm Arenko to create one of the UK's largest fully-integrate battery storage solutions.
  
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• British universities show commitment to 'safeguard the climate'

  05-02-2018 12:15
  The University for the Creative Arts (UCA) has reportedly reduced its carbon footprint by more than a third, while the University of Bristol has divested all investments in carbon-intensive sectors.
  
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• Flybe claims top spot for noise and emissions performance at Heathrow Airport

  05-02-2018 12:02
  Europe's largest regional airline Flybe has achieved top ranking in Heathrow Airport's league table on aircraft operating performance for noise and emissions, after debuting in 29th place in summer 2017.
  
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• Top ivory investigator murdered in Kenya

  05-02-2018 11:49 via theguardian.com
  Esmond Bradley Martin, whose groundbreaking investigations helped the fight against elephant poaching, died after being stabbed at home in NairobiA well-known American ivory-trade investigator, who pioneered efforts to combat elephant and rhino poaching, has been killed in his home in Nairobi, prompting an outpouring of shock and revulsion across the conservation world.Esmond Bradley Martin, 75, died after being stabbed in his house in the Nairobi suburb of Langata on Sunday. His wife, Chryssee
  
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• Leading ivory trade investigator killed in Kenya

  05-02-2018 11:49 via theguardian.com
  Esmond Martin, whose groundbreaking investigations contributed to the fight against elephant poaching, died after being stabbed at his home in Nairobi A world-renowned ivory investigator whose detailed reports contributed to the fight against elephant poaching and the illegal wildlife trade has been killed at his home in Kenya, police said on Monday.Esmond Martin, 75, died after being stabbed at his house in the Nairobi suburb of Langata on Sunday afternoon. Continue reading...
  
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• Big business, not taxpayers, should pay to clean up plastic waste | Geraint Davies

  05-02-2018 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Plastic is destroying our oceans, yet big corporations are still being given money to produce cheap plastic. It’s time for polluters to pay for the damage they causeA six-year-old boy, Harrison Forsyth, provided us with a much needed wake-up call last week. He called on the boss of Aldi to protect our oceans: “Dear boss of Aldi, I have watched this programme called Blue Planet 2 and I have seen that the plastic in the sea is making the animals sick and die. Continue reading...
  
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• Labor weighs Adani options as Canavan says Australia needs to 'get these jobs going'

  05-02-2018 08:57 via theguardian.com
  Coalition pressures Queensland government to back Aurizon proposal to build rail linkLabor has inched closer to resolving its stance on the controversial Adani coalmine as the federal resources minister, Matt Canavan, declared he was looking at alternatives to open up the Queensland coal basin and “get these jobs going”.
  With federal parliament resuming for the new political year on Monday, the shadow cabinet was expected to discuss policy options on Adani after the Labor leader, Bil
  
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• Why are politicians getting away with bike lane claims based on hearsay? | Laura Laker

  05-02-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Peers use evidence-free anecdotes and cabbie hearsay to claim cycle lanes cause congestion – shouldn’t we demand a higher standard?House of Lords peers criticised for ‘propagating bike lane myths’A number of peers have attempted to defend unsubstantiated claims that cycle lanes cause congestion and air pollution, apparently echoing anecdotal evidence from their own observations, taxi drivers and the rightwing press. These claims tend to go unchallenged and are allowed to
  
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• House of Lords peers criticised for 'propagating bike lane myths'

  05-02-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Cycling groups condemn evidence-free arguments that segregated lanes cause congestion and worsen pollution
  • Why are politicians getting away with bike lane claims based on hearsay?Cycling organisations have condemned members of the House of Lords, including Prof Robert Winston, for propagating the “myth” that separated bike lanes cause congestion and worsen pollution, saying there is no evidence it happens.Accusing the peers of making arguments based on “anecdote experien
  
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• Whale and shark species at increasing risk from microplastic pollution – study

  05-02-2018 07:01 via theguardian.com
  Large filter feeders, such as baleen whales and basking sharks, could be particularly at risk from ingesting the tiny plastic particles, say scientists
  Whales, some sharks and other marine species such as rays are increasingly at risk from microplastics in the oceans, a new study suggests. Continue reading...
  
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• Country diary 1918: spring-like weather stirs the blood

  05-02-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  5 February 1918 The sap is running, forcing on new life. In the withy bed the hares in couples, weeks before their proverbial date for madness, dodge round the clumps, while a ‘joyous clamour’ rises from the mereThe gay cock chaffinch, in smart, nuptial garments, rattles out repeated challenges to a distant rival, who strives to answer in as sprightly terms; it began to sing here three days ago at least. The blackbird this morning pipes airs and variations with such skill and finish
  
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• People have been leaving their marks on these rocks since the bronze age

  05-02-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Ilkley, West Yorkshire: The Cow and the Calf have become monuments to our longing to anchor ourselves in the world
  On the horizons surrounding Wharfedale, snow, sky and space are warring in spectacular ways; white clouds roll over the white moors like billows of steam, vaporising the distinction between both, and the sun occasionally provides episodes of dazzling icy brightness. Winter’s sorcery has turned Rombald’s Moor into a convincing impression of blizzard-swept Arctic tundra a
  
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• Plastic pollution: Scientists' plea on threat to ocean giants

  05-02-2018 06:01 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists call for monitoring of plastic pollution risks to whales, sharks and rays that strain water to feed.
  
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• Australians to pay up to $430 more under uncompetitive gas market, analysis says

  05-02-2018 01:07 via theguardian.com
  Inflated gas prices will keep driving up electricity bills, especially on east coast, McKell Institute saysHouseholds on the east coast will pay as much as $430 more for electricity by the end of 2019 owing to uncompetitive gas prices, a new McKell Institute report has warned.The report commissioned by the Australian Workers’ Union says the federal government’s “piecemeal” approach to inflated wholesale prices does not go far enough to restrain prices. Continue reading...
  
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