Environment news

• Republican-led committee says Russia funded 'useful idiot' environmentalists

  02-03-2018 22:37
  House lawmakers say Russia backed Dakota Access pipeline protesters and supported them on social media, but evidence is thinA powerful US congressional committee has alleged that Russia financed major environmental organizations and used social media to support opponents of the Dakota Access pipeline, fracking and fossil fuels.
  The Republican-controlled committee claimed in a new report that the Kremlin is attempting to make “‘useful idiots’ of unwitting environmental groups an
  
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• Republican-led committee says Dakota pipeline protesters had Russian backing

  02-03-2018 22:37
  House lawmakers say Russia helped fund environmentalists and supported them on social media, but evidence is thinA powerful US congressional committee has alleged that Russia financed major environmental organizations and used social media to support opponents of the Dakota Access pipeline, fracking and fossil fuels.
  The Republican-controlled committee claimed in a new report that the Kremlin is attempting to make “‘useful idiots’ of unwitting environmental groups and activists
  
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• Embrace 'ugly' fruit and compost: cutting back on food waste

  02-03-2018 22:13
  Australians discard $8bn worth of edible food each year, wasting resources and creating methane. Our new series Life Swaps looks at ways to reduce your food footprintImagine filling five shopping bags with fresh fruit and veggies, paying for the lot and then dumping one entire bulging bag in the bin. Sounds crazy? That’s the reality of how much food Australians waste – up to 20% of everything we buy, according to FoodWise.
  The $8bn worth of edible food we collectively turf each year
  
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• DNA sheds light on settlement of Pacific

  02-03-2018 21:42 via bbc.co.uk
  Two genetic studies shed light on the epic journeys that led to the settlement of the vast Pacific region by humans.
  
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• Storm Emma: Weather causes accident and strands trains

  02-03-2018 20:18 via bbc.co.uk
  Storm Emma combined with snow has been causing havoc across the UK.
  
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• Arctic spring is starting 16 days earlier than a decade ago, study shows

  02-03-2018 16:49
  Climate change is causing the season to start comparatively earlier the further north you go, say scientistsThe Arctic spring is arriving 16 days earlier than it did a decade ago, according to a new study which shows climate change is shifting the season earlier more dramatically the further north you go.The research, published on Friday in the journal Scientific Reports, comes amid growing concern about the warming of Greenland, Siberia, Alaska and other far northern regions, which have recentl
  
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• Blacktip sharks in sharp decline off Florida coast – and Trump's not helping

  02-03-2018 16:00
  If the trend continues, researchers warn, the migration of blacktip sharks could grind to a halt because of the rapidly warming ocean Blacktip sharks that journey down the Florida coast have declined in number so sharplythat researchers warn one of the largest migrations in US waters could grind to a halt because of the rapidly warming ocean. Continue reading...
  
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• Largest population of penguins found in Antarctic Peninsula

  02-03-2018 12:02 via bbc.co.uk
  Over 1.5m penguins, the largest population on the Antarctic Peninsula, has been found on the Danger Islands.
  
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• In doomed Alaska town, hunters turn to drones and caribou as sea ice melts

  02-03-2018 12:00
  Climate change is forcing indigenous people to find new ways to survive as a remote village of 600 grapples with rapid erosionAt the edge of an imperiled Alaska town, Dennis Davis sent a drone over a patchwork of ice covering the Chukchi Sea.“Some people think it’s a toy, but a lot of people know that it’s an actual tool,” he said of the $5,000, microwave-sized machine with a camera mounted to a carbon fiber frame. As snowmachines zoomed past, Davis, 39, a resident and fo
  
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• Mission to giant A-68 berg thwarted by sea-ice

  02-03-2018 11:57 via bbc.co.uk
  The UK-led expedition to the waters around the world's biggest iceberg is forced to turn around.
  
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• Penguin super-colony spotted from space

  02-03-2018 11:03 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists stumble across a huge group of previously unknown Adélie penguins on the Antarctic Peninsula.
  
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• Two become one: two raven lineages merge in 'speciation reversal'

  02-03-2018 11:00
  After up to two million years of separate evolution, two types of common raven have been ‘caught in the act’ of consolidation, say scientistsSpeciation, where one species diverges into two, is a well-known concept in the theory of evolution. But a new study based on almost 20 years of research has revealed that “speciation reversal”, the merging of two previously distinct lineages, may also play an important role.Scientists have discovered that two lineages of common rave
  
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• 'Mega-colonies' of 1.5 million penguins discovered in Antarctica

  02-03-2018 11:00
  The discovery shows the remote area is a vital refuge for wildlife from climate change and overfishing and should be protected by a new reserve, say scientistsHuge “mega-colonies” of penguins have been discovered near the Antarctic peninsula, hosting more than 1.5 million birds. Researchers say it shows the area is a vital refuge from climate change and human activities and should be protected by a vast new marine wildlife reserve currently under consideration.
  The huge numbers of Ad
  
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• L'Oreal signs landfill gas deal to achieve carbon neutrality in US

  02-03-2018 10:04
  Global cosmetic firm L'Oréal intends to reach carbon neutrality across all of its US-based manufacturing and distribution facilities, after signing a deal to procure renewable natural gas (RNG) from a landfill site in Kentucky.
  
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• We must honour lost land defenders by fighting the system which killed them

  02-03-2018 09:33
  Two more defenders in Latin America have lost their lives challenging their country’s economic growth model which prizes profit at all costAs the Guardian and Global Witness revealed that almost four environmental defenders were murdered every week in 2017, War on Want learned of two more killings through our Latin American partner organisations. On 24 January, Márcio “Marcinho” Matos, involved in the fight for rights of landless peasants in Bahia in north-east Brazil, w
  
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• First plant-based plastic Lego pieces to go on sale

  02-03-2018 09:32
  The first Lego pieces made from plant-based plastic sourced from sugar cane will go on sale this year, the company has announced.
  
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• Visa pledges to use 100% renewable electricity by 2019

  02-03-2018 08:35
  Digital payments multinational Visa has become the latest firm to join The Climate Group's RE100 project with a pledge to use 100% renewable across its operations by 2019.
  
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• How America's clean coal dream unravelled

  02-03-2018 08:00
  Exclusive: Kemper power plant promised to be a world leader in ‘clean coal’ technology but Guardian reporting found evidence top executives knew of construction problems and design flaws years before the scheme collapsedHigh above the red dirt and evergreen trees of Kemper County, Mississippi, gleams a 15-story monolith of pipes surrounded by a town-sized array of steel towers and white buildings. The hi-tech industrial site juts out of the surrounding forest, its sharp silhouette ou
  
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• Honda to play central role in V2G demonstrator project

  02-03-2018 08:00
  Car giant Honda has teamed up with other firms, local bodies and academic institutions for a new project that aims to demonstrate the business case for Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technologies across the UK.
  
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• Bosses at world's most ambitious clean coal plant kept problems secret for years

  02-03-2018 08:00
  Disclosure regarding the $7.5bn Kemper plant in Mississippi throws further cloud over promise of clean coal energyExecutives at the world’s most ambitious “clean coal” plant knew for years about serious design flaws and budget problems but sought to withhold key information from regulators before their plans collapsed, according to documents obtained by the Guardian.The Kemper plant in Mississippi – held up as the global model for a new generation of “clean coal&rdq
  
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• Air pollution: England’s chief medical officer calls for focus on health threat

  02-03-2018 07:30
  Dame Sally Davies says issue is not just environmental and calls on UK government to bring in tougher standards to tackle toxic air England’s chief medical officer is calling on the government to do more to reduce air pollution by introducing stringent new national standards to reduce the threat to human health.Dame Sally Davies says pollution must be seen as a public health issue and not just an environmental concern. She recommends the government bring in tougher standards to cut air pol
  
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• First sustainable Lego pieces to go on sale

  02-03-2018 07:01
  Range including leaves, bushes and trees made entirely from plant-based plastic sourced from sugar cane will be available later this yearThe first Lego pieces made from plant-based plastic sourced from sugar cane will go on sale this year, the company has announced.The 85-year-old Danish toymaker said production has begun on a range of Lego botanical elements or pieces such as leaves, bushes and trees, made entirely from plant-based plastic. They will start appearing in Lego box sets with bricks
  
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• Box caterpillar and fuchsia mite top UK garden pests list

  02-03-2018 07:01
  The Royal Horticultural Society also warns that a ‘game-changing’ bacterial disease called xylella poses a very serious danger to UK plants and treesThe box tree caterpillar and fuchsia gall mite will continue their march across British gardens in 2018, experts warn, after the fast-spreading bugs topped the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) pest list for 2017.The RHS also warned that a “game-changing” bacterial disease called xylella, which is devastating parts of
  
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• Country diary: a red tyrant thrashing straw for thatching

  02-03-2018 06:30
  Chideock, Dorset: It takes five workers eight hours to thrash three acres worth of wheat reed. That’s enough to thatch the average 30-foot cottageThe smell strikes you first. A mealy odour, dry and tickly, of clean straw and grain. Beneath it, a hint of juiciness, from bruised ears of wheat beaten to release their kernels. Seeds shaken free leap and bounce into the waiting trailer. Some will be sown for next year’s crop; the rest go for cattle feed.Continue reading...
  
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• Panel to study impact of coalmining on Sydney drinking water

  02-03-2018 03:44
  Environmental groups welcome move but want freeze on mining expansion until review is finalCoalmining in Sydney’s drinking water catchment will be scrutinised by water experts, the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment has announced.Enviroment groups, which have been warning for years of the impact of coalmining on drinking water welcomed the move but called for a moratorium on any expansion of mining activity until the conclusion of the review. Continue reading...
  
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• Diabetes is actually five separate diseases, research suggests

  02-03-2018 01:46 via bbc.co.uk
  Scandinavian researchers say a new classification would mean better treatment for patients.
  
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• Richest UK households 'should pay more to fund clean energy'

  02-03-2018 01:01
  Government-funded researchers urge change in way clean energy is funded to reduce burden on poorest householdsThe richest households should pay £410 a year more towards supporting energy subsidies for wind farms, solar rooftops and home insulation schemes, government-funded researchers have urged.The UK Energy Research Centre (Ukerc) said that shifting environmental and social levies off electricity bills and instead loading them on to general taxation would reduce the cost of energy for m
  
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• Plastic-free aisles and seaweed sachets: Six brand new business plans to tackle plastic waste

  02-03-2018 01:01
  The war on plastic waste rages on, but this week was a bit different, with numerous companies stepping into to the spotlight to shed light on a range of solutions. edie brings them all together under one innovation round-up.
  
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• Rio Tinto faces $84bn shareholder revolt over membership of Minerals Council

  02-03-2018 01:00
  Global shareholders file motion calling for rethink on membership of coal lobby groupsThe voice of Australia’s coal lobby is under renewed threat as the country’s second biggest miner, Rio Tinto, faces a shareholder revolt over its membership of lobby groups including the Minerals Council of Australia and the role it plays in Australia’s climate and energy debate.Global investors worth $84bn have joined together to file a shareholder motion calling on Rio Tinto to rethink its m
  
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• Maules Creek offsets still not secured, five years after land clearing approved

  02-03-2018 00:45
  Whitehaven Coal receives second extension while it continues to bulldoze critically endangered NSW forest to make way for mineFive years after the controversial Maules Creek coalmine in north-east New South Wales was given approval to clear critically endangered native ecosystems, Whitehaven Coal has still not secured the biodiversity offsets demanded by the federal government, receiving a second extension in February.The delay has led opponents to call for offsets – intended to make up fo
  
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• Maules Creek land clearing continues despite lack of required offsets

  02-03-2018 00:45
  Whitehaven Coal receives second extension while it continues to bulldoze critically endangered NSW forest to make way for mineFive years after the controversial Maules Creek coalmine in north-east New South Wales was given approval to clear critically endangered native ecosystems, Whitehaven Coal has still not secured the biodiversity offsets demanded by the federal government, receiving a second extension in February.The delay has led opponents to call for offsets – intended to make up fo
  
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