Environment news

• Greens electric car push: end sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030

  12-03-2018 22:43 via theguardian.com
  Tax on luxury fossil fuel cars to fund expansion of Australia’s charging networkThe Greens have proposed introducing mandatory fuel efficiency standards, ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, and imposing a four-year 17% tax on luxury petrol and diesel cars as part of an electric vehicle policy announced on Tuesday.Under the proposal Australia would adopt a mandatory fuel efficiency standard of 105g of CO2 a kilometre by 2022, three years earlier than a proposal being cons
  
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• Microplastics are 'littering' riverbeds

  12-03-2018 21:18 via bbc.co.uk
  The BBC's Victoria Gill looks under the microscope to discover the microplastics lurking in our waters.
  
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• The Guardian view on nuclear fusion: a moment of truth | Editorial

  12-03-2018 19:24 via theguardian.com
  Until recently the attractions and drawbacks of nuclear fusion reactors were largely theoretical. Within a decade this will not be the caseOne of the cliches of nuclear power research is that a commercial fusion reactor is only ever a few decades away – and always will be. So claims that the technology is on the “brink of being realised” by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a private company should be viewed sceptically. The MIT-led team say they have
  
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• Animals farmed: non-stun killing, trade wars and the Red Tractor row

  12-03-2018 17:24 via theguardian.com
  Welcome to our monthly roundup of the biggest issues in farming and food production. We’ll gather together the must-read reports from around the web and pass on recommendations from readersFish welfare continues to rise up the international agenda. A report this week from the European commission on fish slaughter methods concluded that this was a matter best left to national states. But according to the Eurogroup for Animals, the EC is flouting an earlier legal commitment to produce standa
  
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• Microplastic pollution in oceans is far worse than feared, say scientists

  12-03-2018 17:00 via theguardian.com
  A study reveals highest microplastic pollution levels ever recorded in a river in Manchester, UK and shows that billions of particles flooded into the sea from rivers in the area in just one yearThe number of tiny plastic pieces polluting the world’s oceans is vastly greater than thought, new research indicates.The work reveals the highest microplastic pollution yet discovered anywhere in the world in a river near Manchester in the UK. It also shows that the major floods in the area in 201
  
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• Report: Political clarity key to unlocking 'enormous' UK green investment opportunities

  12-03-2018 16:57
  The UK can "reap enormous opportunities" by strengthening private financial investment into green infrastructure and projects, with a new Aldersgate Group report noting the "urgent" need for political clarity to unlock more revenue streams.
  
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• Eon to acquire Innogy from RWE in strategic renewables deal

  12-03-2018 16:20
  Eon is set to acquire Innogy from RWE, in a far-reaching asset swap that will see Eon concentrate on retail and networks, while RWE focuses on renewables and other forms of generation.
  
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• Veolia opens 'world-first' closed-loop glass recycling facility

  12-03-2018 14:36
  A new £10m high-tech recycling facility which turns glass into insulation has been hailed as a "real boost for the UK's circular economy".
  
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• Norfolk snowy owl attracts Harry Potter fans and birdwatchers

  12-03-2018 14:26 via bbc.co.uk
  A snowy owl, one of which stars in the Harry Potter films, brings in visitors to bird reserves.
  
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• UK 'space drones' look to Proton rocket ride

  12-03-2018 14:19 via bbc.co.uk
  UK-headquartered start-up Effective Space aims to put up its first satellite servicing "drones" in 2020.
  
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• Burning coal may have caused Earth’s worst mass extinction | Dana Nuccitelli

  12-03-2018 11:00 via theguardian.com
  New geological research from Utah suggests the end-Permian extinction was mainly caused by burning coal, ignited by magma
  Earth has so far gone through five mass extinction events – scientists are worried we’re on course to trigger a sixth – and the deadliest one happened 252 million years ago at the end of the Permian geologic period. In this event, coined “the Great Dying,” over 90% of marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrate species went extinct. It took
  
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• What is biodiversity and why does it matter to us?

  12-03-2018 10:33 via theguardian.com
  
  The air you breathe, the water you drink and the food you eat all rely on biodiversity, but right now it is in crisis – because of us. What does this mean for our future and can we stop it? What is biodiversity?It is the variety of life on Earth, in all its forms and all its interactions. If that sounds bewilderingly broad, that’s because it is. Biodiversity is the most complex feature of our planet and it is the most vital. “Without biodiversity, there is no future for humanit
  
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• Feed the birds, but be aware of risks, say wildlife experts

  12-03-2018 10:01 via bbc.co.uk
  Wild birds may catch and spread diseases as they gather to feed in gardens, say scientists.
  
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• Country diary: the first farmers did not go in for squared-off plots

  12-03-2018 09:14 via theguardian.com
  Chew Valley, Somerset: these unruly fields are what we call ‘ancient countryside’ and its pattern may go back to neolithic timesWhen we first visited Folly Farm some 30 years ago this 250-acre plot was up for sale. Gates were hanging from their hinges, the hedges were rampant and the pastures were waist-deep in flowers; the 20th century did not appear to have happened yet, nor even the 19th. These unruly fields were carved from the land, not drawn by a ruler – the first farmers
  
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• Saving the yellow-eyed penguin – a photo essay

  12-03-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Photographer Murdo Macleod visits New Zealand’s South Island where conservationists are seeking to protect the endangered yellow-eyed penguin from predation, disease and habitat destructionAt the end of the day, having avoided being bitten on the flipper by a barracouta or chewed by a shark, a shy yellow-eyed penguin prepares to come ashore and make its bed in the bush. Emerging from the surf, he scans the apparently empty sandy strip with his beady eye for signs of danger. Though he is a
  
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• Garden bird feeders help spread disease among wild birds

  12-03-2018 07:01 via theguardian.com
  Some previously rare illnesses are becoming epidemics in some bird populations, scientists sayGarden bird feeders are contributing to the spread of serious diseases among wild birds, scientists have warned, causing previously rare illnesses to become epidemics in some populations.Poor garden feeder hygiene, droppings accumulations and stale food are promoting the transmission of illnesses between garden birds as the animals repeatedly congregate in the same location, coming into contact with spe
  
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• Saving the albatross: 'The war is against plastic and they are casualties on the frontline'

  12-03-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Following his shocking photographs of dead albatross chicks and the diet of plastic that killed them, Chris Jordan’s new film is a call to action to repair our broken relationship with planet EarthWe are living in a plastic age and the solutions may seem glaringly obvious, so why aren’t all 7.6 billion of us already doing things differently? Shocking statistics don’t guarantee effective change. So what’s the alternative? American photographer and filmmaker Chris Jordan be
  
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• Krill found to break down microplastics – but it won't save the oceans

  12-03-2018 06:06 via theguardian.com
  Digestion of plastic into much smaller fragments ‘doesn’t necessarily help pollution’, Australian researchers sayA world-first study by Australian researchers has found that krill can digest certain forms of microplastic into smaller – but no less pervasive – fragments.The study, published in Nature Communications journal on Friday, found that Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, can break down 31.5 micron polyethylene balls into fragments less than one micron in dia
  
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• Climate change is a disaster foretold, just like the first world war | Jeff Sparrow

  12-03-2018 02:02 via theguardian.com
  The warnings about an unfolding climate catastrophe are getting more desperate, yet the march to destruction continues“The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our life-time.”The mournful remark supposedly made by foreign secretary Sir Edward Grey at dusk on 3 August 1914 referred to Britain’s imminent entry into the first world war. But the sentiment captures something of our own moment, in the midst of an intensifying campaign against nature
  
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• Can Queensland Labor end broadscale land clearing, as promised?

  12-03-2018 00:58 via theguardian.com
  Green groups welcome proposed changes to land-clearing law but there are still reasons to doubt they are enough to halt the crisisLast week, the Queensland government tabled a highly anticipated bill seeking to implement its promise to “end broadscale clearing in Queensland”.Queensland is responsible for more tree clearing than the rest of the country combined, so making good on that promise would go a long way to halting Australia’s growing land clearing crisis. Continue readi
  
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