Environment news

• Terrawatch: scientists turn to drones to find raw materials

  03-04-2018 22:30 via theguardian.com
  In Germany, scientists are using drones equipped with sensors to locate metals needed for wind turbines and solar panelsWe know that renewable energy can help the world to wean itself off fossil fuels, but keeping up with green-energy demand is creating another problem. Countries such as Germany, which has committed itself to a low-carbon future, are finding themselves short of the raw materials required to manufacture wind turbines and solar panels. In particular, metals such as copper, cobalt,
  
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• Flood warnings issued across UK as river levels rise after wet Easter

  03-04-2018 21:07 via theguardian.com
  West Midlands and Wiltshire are among worst affected, while Cam and Ouse are higher than usualFlood warnings are in place across the country after the wet Easter weather caused many rivers to overflow their banks.Wide parts of the UK were affected by rain and snow over the bank holiday weekend, sparking a rise in water levels. Continue reading...
  
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• Coal-fired power stations caused surge in airborne mercury pollution, study finds

  03-04-2018 20:05 via theguardian.com
  Survey says airborne mercury pollution from stations in Victoria’s Latrobe valley increased 37% in just 12 monthsAirborne mercury pollution from coal-fired power stations in Victoria’s Latrobe valley increased 37% in just 12 months, according to an annual national survey of toxic emissions.The mercury output from Loy Yang B power station alone more than doubled to 831kg in 2016-2017, an increase of 123% over five years.Continue reading...
  
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• Martin Rowson on Michael Gove banning ivory sales – cartoon

  03-04-2018 19:35 via theguardian.com
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• National parks to rethink plan to hike entrance fees after widespread anger

  03-04-2018 19:24 via theguardian.com
  Public comment period saw more than 100,000 messages, many condemning proposal to raise fees as high as $70The Department of the Interior said on Tuesday that it planned to revise a controversial proposal to drastically increase entrance fees at some of the most popular national parks in the country. The interior department press secretary, Heather Swift, said the Trump administration decided to rethink its proposal after Americans flooded the National Park Service (NPS) with more than 100,000 c
  
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• Conservationists use astronomy software to save species

  03-04-2018 19:17 via bbc.co.uk
  Researchers use astronomical techniques used to study distant stars to survey endangered species.
  
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• Ikea, Unilever and Tesla leading on climate policy, report finds

  03-04-2018 15:03
  Tesla, Apple, Ikea and Unilever are amongst the highest-performing companies advocating for strong and ambitious policies that aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new report from non-profit InfluenceMap.
  
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• Ikea, Unilever and Tesla 'leaders' on corporate policy advocacy, report finds

  03-04-2018 15:03
  Tesla, Apple, Ikea and Unilever are amongst the highest-performing companies advocating for strong and ambitious policies that aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new report from non-profit InfluenceMap.
  
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• Fracking firm says first horizontal well at Lancashire is complete

  03-04-2018 14:21 via theguardian.com
  Protesters mock announcement by Cuadrilla as they start three-month protest at Lancashire siteThe first large-scale fracking in Britain has moved a step closer after an energy firm said it had completed drilling the UK’s first horizontal well at a site in Lancashire.Cuadrilla said the development was a “major milestone” towards the first shale gas exploration in the UK since 2011, when work was halted after it triggered a minor earthquake. The company said it hoped to begin fra
  
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• edie readers: take the 'Mission Possible' sustainability survey

  03-04-2018 13:49
  Sustainability, energy and environment professionals and experts have just one week left to take part in a short survey which will help inform a major new report investigating business progress towards a sustainable future.
  
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• Cross-sector electric vehicle project targets energy-neutral office buildings

  03-04-2018 13:15
  Companies from the energy, transport and technology sectors have joined forces to explore how electric vehicles (EVs) can facilitate energy storage solutions that link up to onsite renewable installations and building energy management systems (BEMS) on office buildings.
  
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• Only revolutionary new laws can stop Brexit harming the environment | Michael Jacobs

  03-04-2018 12:30 via theguardian.com
  Michael Gove has promised an independent watchdog but not what is required – legally enforceable targetsAs the EU withdrawal bill inches its way through parliament, the environmental implications of Brexit are being revealed. Leaving the European Union could be the single most environmentally damaging act taken by government in the past half-century.Almost all this country’s environmental policy derives from our membership of the EU. Across the full range of issues – air and wa
  
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• Antarctica 'gives ground to the ocean'

  03-04-2018 12:08 via bbc.co.uk
  The White Continent is surrendering ocean floor as the undersides of its glaciers are melted.
  
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• Scientists examine threats to food security if we meet the Paris climate targets | John Abraham

  03-04-2018 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Even with aggressive climate policies to limit global warming, food security in some areas will be threatened
  We have delayed action for so long on handling climate change, we now can no longer can “will it happen?” Rather we have to ask “how bad will it be?” and “what can be done about it?” As our society thinks about what we should do to reduce our carbon pollution and the consequences of electing science-denying politicians, scientists are actively studying
  
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• Co-op unveils 50% recycled plastic bottles for own-brand water

  03-04-2018 11:28
  The Cop-op has announced that all of its own-brand water bottles will be switched to contain 50% recycled plastic, as part of a plan to "test the water" on how shoppers will react to a change in design.
  
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• Country diary: spring's dramatic upwelling of life

  03-04-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Claxton, Norfolk: The birds, wildflowers and insects burst into action; it’s what the great environmentalist Roger Deakin called ‘opening time in nature’s great saloon’At last those winter rains have ended and the sun shone here for two full days. Suddenly it is time for cock pheasants, flushed crimson with testosterone, to fight long tail-twisting battles; for wild violets to flower quietly over our meadow-lawn; for goldfinches to strip spider thread from the back wall t
  
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• 'Send in the drones' to protect soil

  03-04-2018 01:37 via bbc.co.uk
  Drones should be used to locate and penalise farmers who let soil run off their fields, a report will say.
  
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• Dinosaur tracks on Skye 'globally important'

  03-04-2018 01:19 via bbc.co.uk
  Researchers find that the footprints belonged to sauropods and therapods from the Middle Jurassic period.
  
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• UK to tighten laws on 'abhorrent' ivory trade

  03-04-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Defra consultation on proposals received more than 70,000 responses, 88% in favourA UK ban on ivory sales, which the government claims will be the toughest in Europe and one of the strictest in the world, is to be introduced after the proposals were overwhelmingly backed in a public consultation. The ban makes exemptions only for musical instruments containing a small percentage of ivory, some antiques, and museum objects. Continue reading...
  
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• Coalition backbenchers unite to lobby for coal under banner of Monash Forum

  03-04-2018 00:57 via theguardian.com
  Tony Abbott, Eric Abetz, Kevin Andrews and George Christensen among named members of new forum that claims 20 MPsA group of 20 Coalition backbench MPs have put their name to a manifesto warning against the “demonisation” of coal, the Liberal MP Craig Kelly has revealed.Kelly – the chairman of the government’s backbench committee on the environment and energy – confirmed the existence of the Monash Forum, which supports the use of coal-fired power. Continue reading..
  
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• EPA announces easing of car and truck emissions standards

  03-04-2018 00:41 via theguardian.com
  Agency says Barack Obama’s timeline set standards ‘too high’ in move that could lead to legal showdown with CaliforniaUS environmental regulators announced on Monday they would ease emissions standards for cars and trucks, saying that a timeline put in place by Barack Obama was not appropriate and set standards “too high”.The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it had completed a review that would affect vehicles for model years 2022-25 but it did not provide
  
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