Environment news

• Pollutionwatch: petrol, not diesel, is less polluting in the short term

  29-03-2018 22:30 via theguardian.com
  A decline in the number of diesel cars would not jeopardise CO2 targets – in fact it would make them cheaper to achieveThe UK Society of Motor Manufacturers blamed February’s rise in the average new-car CO2 emissions on an “anti-diesel agenda [that] has set back progress on climate change”. Petrol v diesel cars is often presented as a trade-off between health-harming air pollution and climate-harmful CO2. Diesel cars do more miles to the litre than petrol, but this exagge
  
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• Ways to step up the fight against global antimicrobial resistance | Letters

  29-03-2018 19:02 via theguardian.com
  Decision-makers must acknowledge the pivotal role that water, sanitation and hygiene play in preventing infection, writes WaterAid’s Margaret Batty. Meanwhile Matt Ball of the The Good Food Institute says moving to plant-based and clean meat is the best thing we can do to avoid pandemics of antibiotic-resistant superbugsWith drug-resistant infections now causing the deaths of half a million people a year, access to clean water and decent sanitation has never been more vital in the race to
  
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• EPA accused of urging staff to downplay climate change after memo leaks

  29-03-2018 18:22 via theguardian.com
  Scientists say an internal Environmental Protection Agency document encourages the use of misleading statements about scientific certaintyScientists have accused the US Environmental Protection Agency of distributing misleading statements about climate change, following the leaking of an internal email advising agency staff to downplay the certainty of the science.The email, sent to EPA communications staff by Joel Scheraga, senior climate adaptation adviser to the agency administrator, Scott Pr
  
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• Curious cheetah clambers into safari jeep – video

  29-03-2018 17:42 via theguardian.com
  A cheetah climbed into a safari jeep and spent 10 minutes sniffing around the vehicle and the tourists it was carrying before moving on. The encounter was filmed by Peter Heistein while on the Grand Ruaha Safari in Tanzania.  Continue reading...
  
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• Alarmed conservationists call for urgent action to fix 'America's wildlife crisis'

  29-03-2018 17:00 via theguardian.com
  One-third of species are vulnerable to extinction, a crisis ravaging swaths of creatures, conservationists say in call to fund recovery plans An extinction crisis is rippling though America’s wildlife, with scores of species at risk of being wiped out unless recovery plans start to receive sufficient funding, conservationists have warned. Continue reading...
  
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• Wind and solar make more electricity than nuclear for first time in UK

  29-03-2018 16:36 via theguardian.com
  In 2017 Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions also fell 3% as coal use dropped and renewables climbedWindfarms and solar panels produced more electricity than the UK’s eight nuclear power stations for the first time at the end of last year, official figures show.Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions also continued to fall, dropping 3% in 2017, as coal use fell and the use of renewables climbed. Continue reading...
  
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• Scientists explain the sound of knuckle cracking

  29-03-2018 15:09 via bbc.co.uk
  What's behind the snapping sound when we crack our knuckles? Scientists have the answer.
  
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• David Cameron laments 'painfully slow' fracking progress in UK

  29-03-2018 14:53 via theguardian.com
  He blames green campaigners for delays, but believes industry will eventually take off in UKDavid Cameron has told US oil executives of his frustration that the UK has failed to embrace fracking despite his best efforts, and hit out at green groups for being “absolutely obsessed” with blocking new fossil fuel extraction.His bullish pro-fracking comments at a US oil industry event this week came almost 12 years since Britain’s former prime minister hugged a husky to burnish his
  
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• 'But will it cut waste?': reader concerns about bottle deposit scheme

  29-03-2018 14:16 via theguardian.com
  From potential issues of capacity to accessibility, readers share their concerns on the reality of recycling using deposit return schemesCash in exchange for returning a used drinks container sounds like a good idea, but how much of an impact will it have in our fight against reducing waste?
  On Tuesday the government unveiled a bottle and can deposit scheme covering glass, metal and plastic drinks containers in England. By returning bottles and cans consumers will receive a small cash sum, howev
  
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• EDF to invest €8bn in energy storage leadership bid

  29-03-2018 14:02
  EDF has turned its focus to the global energy storage market with a goal to develop 10GW storage around the world by 2035.
  
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• Up close: The moment a cheetah joined a safari

  29-03-2018 13:50 via bbc.co.uk
  Britton Hayes was on safari with his step uncle in Tanzania when a cheetah entered the vehicle.
  
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• Telling litterers to change is a waste of time. Here’s another solution | Ros Coward

  29-03-2018 13:44 via theguardian.com
  Instead of trying to change people’s behaviour, the problem needs to be tackled at source – that means a zero-waste societyIt’s spring, time to enjoy the countryside and experience the restorative powers of nature. But be warned. These days you are more likely to get depressed and angry at the sight of other people’s rubbish, from casual litter to deliberate fly-tipping.While littering of the oceans is now at the forefront of public concern, general littering of the count
  
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• Sustainability a competitive advantage for business, says Nespresso boss

  29-03-2018 12:06
  EXCLUSIVE: Businesses aiming to become sustainability leaders cannot ignore approaches to communication in an age where consumers and stakeholders are actively engaged on corporate approaches to societal and environmental needs, the chief executive of Nespresso has claimed.
  
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• Green Finance Taskforce outlines UK clean investment to-do list

  29-03-2018 12:06
  The Government's green finance advisers have put forward a ten-point list of investment guidelines which they believe would accelerate the UK's global low-carbon leadership credentials.
  
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• Climate scientists debate a flaw in the Paris climate agreement | Dana Nuccitelli

  29-03-2018 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Ultimately the only thing that matters: we need to cut carbon pollution as much as possible, as fast as possibleIn September 2017, a team led by the University of Exeter’s Richard Millar published a paper in Nature Geoscience, which was widely reported as suggesting that the Paris climate agreement’s aspirational goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial temperatures is still technically within our reach. Many other climate scientists were skeptical of this re
  
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• McDonald's unveils plan to phase-out plastic straws

  29-03-2018 11:00
  McDonald's will start phasing out plastic straws from UK restaurants from May, with the fast food giant ready to trial paper and biodegradable alternatives in response to consumer demand.
  
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• What the tourists did to paradise – in pictures

  29-03-2018 10:56 via theguardian.com
  Thomas Egli’s parents honeymooned on Gili Trawangan, a beautiful island in the Indonesian archipelago. Three decades later, the Swiss photographer went to see it for himself – and found it buckling under the weight of tourism Continue reading...
  
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• Easter sustainability: Chocolate firms urged to become 'good eggs' for green business

  29-03-2018 10:18
  Chocolate companies still have "a huge amount of work to do" in implementing truly sustainable policies, with some doing much better than others, the Washington-based NGO Mighty Earth concluded in a consumer guide ranking chocolate producers on their sustainability leadership.
  
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• Chocolate firms still long way off from sustainable policies

  29-03-2018 10:18
  Chocolate companies still have "a huge amount of work to do" in implementing truly sustainable policies, with some doing much better than others, the Washington-based NGO Mighty Earth concluded in a consumer guide ranking chocolate producers, published a few days ahead of Easter.
  
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• The Islands and the Whales review – a community poisoned

  29-03-2018 10:00 via theguardian.com
  Pamela Anderson’s appearance in this sombre documentary on hunting in the Faroe Islands is almost the least surreal thing in it
  “In the past, nature was a giant, and humans were so small. Now it’s the other way around.” The speaker is a Faroe Islander in Mike Day’s sombre, poignant, almost funereal film about a growing crisis in the way of life being pursued in that wild and beautiful archipelago 200 miles off the coast of Scotland. (The Faroe Islands are a self-gov
  
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• Why is the UK government so infatuated with nuclear power?

  29-03-2018 09:00 via theguardian.com
  As the nuclear option looks less and less sensible, it becomes harder to explain Whitehall’s enthusiasm. Might it be to do with the military?Against a worldwide background of declining fortunes for nuclear power, UK policy enthusiasm continues to intensify. Already pursuing one of the most ambitious nuclear new-build agendas in the world, Britain is seeking to buck 50 years of experience to develop an entirely new and untested design of small modular reactors (SMRs). In 2016, then energy a
  
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• UK reverses opposition to tough EU recycling targets

  29-03-2018 07:30 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: Ministers will now back a target of 65% by 2035, meaning ambitious rhetoric is being supported by firm action, say expertsThe UK has reversed its opposition to tough EU recycling targets and will now back a goal of recycling two-thirds of urban waste by 2035, the Guardian has learned. The nation’s recycling rate has stalled and it is set to miss its current target of 50% by 2020.
  The prime minister, Theresa May, and environment secretary, Michael Gove, have both made high-profil
  
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• 'We were trying not to get hit by their tails' – how I filmed the Faroe whale hunt

  29-03-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Whale hunts in the Faroes cause global outrage. But Mike Day spent four years filming – and getting to know – the islanders. He uncovered a far more complex storyIf outsiders are dimly aware of an archipelago of 18 islands in the North Atlantic they probably picture the Faroes’ spectacular peaks or horrifying blood-red bays. The islanders’ annual slaughter of pilot whales, driven by flotillas of small boats on to the beach, is virtually the only occasion when the lives of
  
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• The Joy of Frogs: a 360 film about the mating season – video

  29-03-2018 06:00 via theguardian.com
  Every spring, ponds around the UK start stirring and frogs come out of their winter slumber to mate. Here's a unique perspective on an event that’s been happening since the age of the dinosaurs Continue reading...
  
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• The Joy of Frogs: a 360 film about the mating season

  29-03-2018 06:00 via theguardian.com
  *To watch the 360 video, click this link*Every spring, ponds around the UK start stirring and frogs come out of their winter slumber to mate. Here's a unique perspective on an event that’s been happening since the age of the dinosaursViewers watching this video on Google Chrome may need to update their browser. Continue reading...
  
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• Australia's emissions rise again in 2017, putting Paris targets in doubt

  29-03-2018 05:05 via theguardian.com
  Excluding unreliable land-use data, 2017 greenhouse emissions were again highest on recordAustralia’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2017 were again the highest on record when unreliable data from sectors including land clearing and forestry are excluded, according to consultants NDEVR Environmental.Even including land clearing, overall emissions show a continued rising trend, which began in about 2011, putting Australia’s commitment under the Paris agreement further out of reach. Conti
  
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• Labor vows 'full scientific assessment' of logging agreements

  29-03-2018 02:26 via theguardian.com
  Assessment to include climate science and threatened species impacts, ministers say Federal Labor is promising to revisit and fix any logging agreements with state governments that are not based on “proper, independent and full scientific assessments”.In a pledge that could have implications for the rollover of nine agreements due to expire in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia over the next three years, the shadow minister for agriculture, Joel Fitzgibbon, and shadow mi
  
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• Elephant dung paper and 'Farming Trees': the best green innovations of the week

  29-03-2018 02:01
  From smart bins that handle recycling to sturdy paper made from elephant faeces, this week's innovation round-up covers six unique products or systems that can help deliver a low-carbon, resource-efficient world.
  
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