Environment news

• Pollutionwatch: Cold snap worsens particle load of air

  15-03-2018 22:30
  Particle pollution increases as the wind slows down and chilly weather prompts the lighting of more wood firesThe last days of the “beast from the east” cold spell caused air pollution problems across large parts of the UK, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Within the UK particle pollution reached between five and 10 on the UK government’s 10-point scale over parts of south Wales and areas of England south of a Merseyside to Tyneside line, except the far south-west.Pollutio
  
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• The Guardian view on air pollution: moral pusillanimity, political ineptitude | Editorial

  15-03-2018 19:50
  Michael Gove, the environment secretary, has willed the ends to tackle air pollution but he’s unable to will the meansBritain needs to do more to clean up its dirty air as it is a “major public health scandal”. So says the environment secretary Michael Gove. He’s right. The government has been taken to court and lost three times; we finally have a minister committing to a clean air strategy that restricts diesel use “to ensure our air is properly breathable&rdq
  
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• Changing environment influenced human evolution

  15-03-2018 19:11 via bbc.co.uk
  New evidence from Kenya suggests that local climate change drove early human innovation.
  
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• Kangaroo film is shocking and gruesome – but is the analysis sound?

  15-03-2018 18:00
  The makers of Kangaroo: A Love-Hate Story knew their documentary was going be controversial, just not this controversialThe film begins late at night, with scuzzy, clandestinely shot black and white footage capturing kangaroos being hunted and killed. Later, we see emotive images of the animals majestically hopping across a sun-kissed landscape, contrasted with subsequent, horrific images of their body parts and mangled corpses strewn across bloodied land – the aftermath of a gruesome and
  
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• Endangered sharks, dolphins and rays killed by shark net trial

  15-03-2018 18:00
  Only one target shark caught in NSW nets in two months, while 55 other marine creatures killed or trappedShark nets on the New South Wales north coast have caught just a single target shark in the past two months, while continuing to trap or kill dolphins, turtles, and protected marine life. A single bull shark was caught in the nets around Ballina in January and February, while 55 other animals were either killed or trapped.Continue reading...
  
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• Awkward questions about biodiversity | Letters

  15-03-2018 17:41
  Academics and environmental campaigners from the Beyond Extinction Economics (BEE) network say challenging questions about confronting the risk to global biodiversity were left unanswered by a recent Guardian briefing articleDamian Carrington are to be congratulated on a wide-ranging and informative article on the urgency and scale of the current global threat to biodiversity and the Guardian (What is biodiversity and why does it matter to us?, theguardian.com, 12 March). However, we of the
  
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• New oil threat looms over England's national park land, campaigners warn

  15-03-2018 17:21
  More than 71,000 hectares of protected countryside in the south-east face risk of drilling
  More than 70,000 hectares (177,000 acres) of protected countryside, including national park land, in the south-east of England are at risk from a new wave of oil drilling, environmental campaigners have warned.Under threat are areas of outstanding natural beauty in the Weald, which runs between the north and south downs, and the South Downs national park, Greenpeace said. Continue reading...
  
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• MPs demand change over Government's 'box-ticking' air quality plan

  15-03-2018 17:08
  An unprecedented new report complied by four MP committees has accused the Government of viewing air quality as a "box-ticking exercise" and has called for a new Clean Air Act to be introduced.
  
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• It's 50 years since climate change was first seen. Now time is running out | Richard Wiles

  15-03-2018 15:47
  Making up for years of delay and denial will not be easy, nor will it be cheap. Climate polluters must be held accountableFifty years ago, the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) delivered a report titled Sources, Abundance, and Fate of Gaseous Atmospheric Polluters to the American Petroleum Institute (API), a trade association for the fossil fuel industry.The report, unearthed by researchers at the Center for International Environmental Law, is one of the earliest attempts by the industry to grap
  
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• UK's largest EV charging site installation powers logistics fleet

  15-03-2018 13:27
  A leading electric vehicle charging manufacturer has completed the UK's largest single-site charge point installation at a logistics depot in London.
  
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• London to pilot water bottle refill scheme to slash plastic waste

  15-03-2018 12:23
  Major firms including Costa Coffee, Leon and Whole Foods will offer tap water refills across London stores as part of a pilot scheme to slash single-use plastic bottles in the capital.
  
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• Who owns water? The US landowners putting barbed wire across rivers

  15-03-2018 11:00
  New Mexico is a battleground in the fight over once public waterways, sparking fears it could set a national precedentAs Scott Carpenter and a few friends paddled down the Pecos river in New Mexico last May, taking advantage of spring run-off, the lead boater yelled out and made a swirling hand motion over his head in the universal signal to pull over to shore. The paddlers eddied out in time to avoid running straight through three strings of barbed wire obstructing the river. Swinging in the wi
  
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• Sheffield MPs urge council to pause tree felling

  15-03-2018 10:43
  Protests continue to grow over controversial PFI contract that has resulted in thousands of trees being cut downTwo Labour MPs in Sheffield have called on the city’s Labour-run council to pause tree felling in the city, as protests grow over a controversial road maintenance contract that has resulted in thousands of trees being cut down and replaced with saplings. Related: For the chop: the battle to save Sheffield’s treesContinue reading...
  
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• MPs warn of 'poisonous air' emergency costing £20bn a year

  15-03-2018 10:02 via bbc.co.uk
  Petrol and diesel cars must be phased out earlier than the 2040 target, Commons committees say.
  
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• Hawking's warnings: His predictions

  15-03-2018 08:26 via bbc.co.uk
  How Stephen Hawking used his recognition to highlight challenges and existential threats for humanity.
  
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• What to do with those divested billions? The only way is ethics

  15-03-2018 08:00
  Investment in companies that do ‘good’ is soaring, but are firms changing the way they do business as a result?Divestment has become a trillion-dollar topic in recent years – boycotting companies considered harmful has never been more popular: Israeli exporters, arms makers, and fossil fuel producers, among others. Across the world more than 800 institutions, with total investments valued at $6tn, have committed to divest from fossil fuels. Continue reading...
  
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• Camera attached to a minke whale captures rare footage – video

  15-03-2018 07:26
  For the first time ever, scientists in Antarctica have attached a camera to a minke – one of the most poorly understood of all the whale species.  The camera (attached with suction cups) slid down the side of the animal – but stayed attached – providing remarkable video of the way it feeds. Continue reading...
  
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• UK car industry must pay up for toxic air 'catastrophe', super-inquiry finds

  15-03-2018 07:01
  Unprecedented joint inquiry by four committees of MPs demands polluters pay for air pollution causing ‘national health emergency’The car industry must pay millions of pounds towards solving the UK’s toxic air crisis under the “polluter pays” principle, according to an unprecedented joint inquiry by four committees of MPs.The MPs call the poisonous air that causes 40,000 early deaths a year a “national health emergency” and are scathing about the governme
  
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• Eat herring and mackerel to support UK after Brexit, urges charity

  15-03-2018 07:01
  Good Fish Guide calls for consumers to move away from cod, haddock, salmon and prawns in favour of more sustainable choicesLess popular species such as dab, hake, herring and mackerel should be Britons’ fish supper of choice in order to support the UK fishing industry and help the seas, a conservation charity has recommended.The Marine Conservation Society wants consumers to wean themselves off the “big five” staples – cod, haddock, salmon, prawns and tuna – in favo
  
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• London trials free water bottle refills in bid to cut plastic waste

  15-03-2018 07:00
  Tate Modern and Costa Coffee among outlets offering free tap water in five areas of the capitalThe National Theatre and Tate Modern are to join an initiative offering people free tap water refills as part of the mayor of London’s plans to reduce purchases of single-use plastic bottles in the capital.
  Shops and businesses including Costa Coffee and Leon have also signed up to the trial scheme, which will involve more than 65 outlets in five areas of London.Continue reading...
  
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• Can we fix it? The repair cafes waging war on throwaway culture

  15-03-2018 07:00
  When fixing items is actively discouraged by manufacturers, recycling becomes a political act, say Repair Cafe volunteersA vacuum cleaner, a hair straightener, a laptop, Christmas lights, an e-reader, a blender, a kettle, two bags, a pair of jeans, a remote-control helicopter, a spoon, a dining-room chair, a lamp and hair clippers. All broken.It sounds like a pile of things that you’d stick in boxes and take to the tip. In fact, it’s a list of things mended in a single afternoon by B
  
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• Country diary: this landscape has little to offer a shy fieldfare

  15-03-2018 06:30
  Crook, County Durham: starving birds lose their inhibitions if apples are available in gardensThe steep climb from the start of the Deerness Valley Way follows the route of an old rope-worked incline where, a century ago, a stationary engine on the hilltop hauled railway wagons up from Bankfoot coke works. Today it was hard work hauling ourselves up the hill, with every footstep sinking into thawing snow that was still knee-deep in places. Continue reading...
  
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• WHO launches health review after microplastics found in 90% of bottled water

  15-03-2018 02:46
  Researchers find levels of plastic fibres in popular bottled water brands could be twice as high as those found in tap waterThe World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced a review into the potential risks of plastic in drinking water after a new analysis of some of the world’s most popular bottled water brands found that more than 90% contained tiny pieces of plastic. A previous study also found high levels of microplastics in tap water.In the new study, analysis of 259 bottles from 19
  
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• Microplastics found in more than 90% of bottled water, study says

  15-03-2018 02:46
  Researchers find levels of plastic fibres in popular bottled water brands could be twice as high as those found in tap waterA new analysis of some of the world’s most popular bottled water brands says more than 90% contain tiny pieces of plastic.Analysis of 259 bottles from 19 locations in nine countries across 11 different brands found an average of 325 plastic particles for every litre of water being sold. Continue reading...
  
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• If business leaders want to regain our trust, they must act upon climate risk | Ian Dunlop

  15-03-2018 00:29
  Empty rhetoric from corporates is not enough as climate change is accelerating far faster than expected
  Business leaders seem astonished that community trust in their activities is at an all-time low, trending toward the bottom of the barrel inhabited by politicians. To the corporate leader dedicated to the capitalist, market economy success story of the last 50 years, that attitude is no doubt incomprehensible and downright ungrateful. Related: Arctic warming: scientists alarmed by 'crazy' temp
  
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