Environment news

• North Atlantic right whales may face extinction after no new births recorded

  26-02-2018 22:04 via theguardian.com
  Declining fertility and rising mortality, exacerbated by fishing industry, prompts experts to warn whales could be extinct by 2040
  The dwindling North Atlantic right whale population is on track to finish its breeding season without any new births, prompting experts to warn again that without human intervention, the species will face extinction.
  Scientists observing the whale community off the US east coast have not recorded a single mother-calf pair this winter. Last year saw a record number of
  
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• King penguins face warming challenge

  26-02-2018 20:32 via bbc.co.uk
  Climate change could drive most of the birds' global population from their current nesting islands.
  
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• Energy storage leap could slash electric car charging times

  26-02-2018 18:32 via theguardian.com
  Development of new material for supercapacitors has potential to raise range to that of petrol carsResearchers have claimed a breakthrough in energy storage technology that could enable electric cars to be driven as far as petrol and diesel vehicles, and recharge in minutes rather than hours.Teams from Bristol University and Surrey University developed a next-generation material for supercapacitors, which store electric charge and can be replenished faster than normal batteries. Continue reading
  
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• UK farmers won't lower standards post-Brexit, says new NFU head

  26-02-2018 18:10 via theguardian.com
  Minette Batters, the National Farmers’ Union’s new president, says good quality, safe food is ‘a public right’ and staying part of a customs union is vitalBritish farmers will not accept lower welfare and hygiene standards under any post-Brexit trade deals, and will fight to remain as part of a customs union, the new president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has pledged.Minette Batters, the first woman to head the powerful farmers’ lobby since its foundat
  
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• NSW ombudsman investigating WaterNSW over misleading data

  26-02-2018 18:00 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: Watchdog’s new report will say agency’s prosecutions and compliance statistics were seriously overstatedThe New South Wales ombudsman is investigating whether WaterNSW – the body responsible for compliance with the state’s water laws – has misled it when it provided data last year on the number of prosecutions and enforcement actions it had taken in the 15 months prior. The ombudsman confirmed a second special report will be tabled in the first week of Ma
  
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• Antarctica's king penguins 'could disappear' by the end of the century

  26-02-2018 17:40 via theguardian.com
  Climate change and overfishing could push the region’s king penguin populations to the brink of extinction, a new study showsRising temperatures and overfishing in the pristine waters around the Antarctic could see king penguin populations pushed to the brink of extinction by the end of the century, according to a new study.The report, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, found that as global warming transforms the environment in the world’s last great wilderness 70% of ki
  
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• Brussels to make public transport free on high air pollution days

  26-02-2018 17:11 via theguardian.com
  The new rules will also see car speed limits cut and wood-burning stoves banned in a drive to improve air quality in the cityBrussels has moved to make the city’s public transport and bike share system free on the smoggiest days in a bid to drive down pollution levels and meet EU air quality directives.After two consecutive days of high particulate matter (PM) levels – defined as surpassing an average of 51-70 micrograms per cubic metre of air – buses, trams and metros would ha
  
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• Government 'dragging its feet' over plastic bottle scheme, say MPs

  26-02-2018 14:10 via theguardian.com
  A deposit return scheme to tackle the billions of bottles not recycled every year is being kicked into the long grass, say MPsThe government is “dragging its feet” on introducing a deposit return scheme to cut the billions of plastic bottles not recycled every year, according to a committee of MPs.The Environment Audit Committee (EAC) called for a deposit return scheme (DRS) in a report in December, in which a small deposit is paid when purchasing a bottle and then returned when the
  
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• Harrogate Water bottles to contain 50% recycled content

  26-02-2018 13:33
  Britain's oldest water brand, Harrogate Water, has stepped up its plastic efforts with the announcement that all products will contain 50% recycled content from April 2018.
  
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• Government 'dragging its feet' over deposit return scheme for plastics, MPs claim

  26-02-2018 13:22
  The UK Government is exploring how changes to packaging producer responsibilities and a deposit return scheme for plastic bottles and containers would be implemented in the UK, but the lack of action has been described as "unacceptable" by the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC).
  
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• Dozens of public lands advocates say Trump administration 'shut them out'

  26-02-2018 13:00 via theguardian.com
  Groups comprised of ranchers, hunters and conservationists say interior secretary Ryan Zinke has stonewalled them
  The Trump administration has angered ranchers, hunters, fishermen and conservationists across the US who complain they are being shut out of a federal advisory process designed to steer the management of cherished public lands.
  Many of the dozens of public advisory boards have been stonewalled by the department of interior since the president put Ryan Zinke at the helm of the agency.
  
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• Most UK parents back air pollution exclusion zones around schools

  26-02-2018 12:55 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: 60% of parents want traffic to be diverted away from schools at peak times to protect children’s health, a new study showsThe majority of UK parents back the introduction of “pollution exclusion zones” outside schools amid growing concern that illegal levels of air pollution are doing long term damage to hundreds of thousands of young people.A new study published on Monday by environmental law organisation ClientEarth reveals that 60% of parents want traffic diverted
  
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• NAO: Renewable Heat Incentive has not achieved value for money

  26-02-2018 12:31
  The UK Government's Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme has "not achieved value for money", according to the National Audit Office (NAO).
  
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• Starbucks trials 5p paper cup charge

  26-02-2018 11:13
  Starbucks has today (26 February) announced a 5p surcharge trial on paper cups in select London stores in a bid to help reduce waste and encourage the uptake of reusable cups.
  
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• Arctic stronghold of world's seeds reaches one million mark

  26-02-2018 10:08 via bbc.co.uk
  The frozen vault storing the world's precious seeds is about to reach the one million mark for donations.
  
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• Claims ship restoration was protecting threatened species an error, senators told

  26-02-2018 10:06 via theguardian.com
  Estimates committee hears ‘administrative errors’ meant wrong name was listed in documentFederal government claims that funding a series of heritage works – including conserving a historic cargo ship and restoring stones at Old Melbourne Gaol – was protecting threatened species came about as result of an administrative error, a Senate estimates hearing has been told.As part of the Our Wide Brown Land series, Guardian Australia revealed that the federal environment departm
  
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• Starbucks trials 5p takeaway cup charge in attempt to cut waste

  26-02-2018 08:26 via theguardian.com
  People buying hot drinks in cardboard cups in 35 London branches will pay ‘latte levy’Starbucks will be the first UK coffee chain to trial a “latte levy” – a 5p charge on takeaway coffee cups – under plans that aim to reduce the overuse and waste of 2.5bn disposable cups every year.In the latest offensive in the war against plastic waste, the chain said it hoped the move, starting on Monday, would help change behaviour and encourage customers to switch to reus
  
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• UK's small abattoirs struggle as profit margins are squeezed

  26-02-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Demand for locally sourced meat may be high but suppliers face uncertain regulatory and economic environmentLocally sourced meat, one of the cornerstones of modern sustainable eating, may soon be out of reach for consumers across the UK as large numbers of small suppliers are forced to close down.Seeking out local meat, vegetables and other food products is increasingly embraced as part of a healthier diet that reduces environmental impact, allows clear traceability and improves farm welfare. Co
  
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• Fracking – the reality, the risksand what the future holds

  26-02-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Fracking has been hailed as an energy miracle in the US, yet globally it faces blocks and even bans. Adam Vaughan explains what it is and why it is so controversialWhat is fracking?
  Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking as it is better known, is a method of extracting oil and gas trapped in shale and other rock formations.The modern version involves pumping large amounts of water down a well at high pressure, along with sand and chemicals that make up a tiny fraction of the volume. Together, this &l
  
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• Country diary: a strange magic in the dell of the valley of the elves

  26-02-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Elveden, Suffolk: Dell is a folky term – a word in the minds of Milton and Tolkien, of outlawed church groups gathered for moonlit worship, of children seeking fairiesThe word “dell” is pure, earthy English. From it we have acquired dale, a valley. But as grand as it has developed, the meaning of this Old English word remains as it was, a wooded hollow – somehow over time engendering an intimacy and aura benignly Arcadian in feel. Dells have a strange magic through litera
  
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• The battle over big salmon: industry at a crossroads as Tasmania votes

  26-02-2018 03:49 via theguardian.com
  The state’s biggest primary industry is tallying the loss of hundreds of thousands of fish Salmon farming has not inspired much consensus in Tasmania of late but this much is clear: Macquarie Harbour – a vast, isolated inlet on the state’s west coast that is home to several industrial fish pens – is in a bad way. As the state rolls towards an election on 3 March, its biggest primary industry is tallying the loss of hundreds of thousands of fish that have died prematurely
  
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• Animal antibiotics reduced in bid to tackle superbugs

  26-02-2018 01:24 via bbc.co.uk
  Vets and medical staff teaming up to reduce antibiotic use on farms.
  
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• Water vole areas in England and Wales fall by 30% in a decade

  26-02-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Species remains UK’s fastest declining mammal despite large reintroduction programmeThe number of areas where water voles are found across England and Wales has fallen by almost a third in 10 years, research has found. The species, which provided the model for the much-loved character Ratty in The Wind of the Willows, has suffered catastrophic declines over several decades and is the UK’s fastest declining mammal.Continue reading...
  
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