Environment news

• It's not perfect but implementing Murray-Darling plan in full can work | Jamie Pittock

  05-04-2018 20:00 via theguardian.com
  Rivers will be lost, Indigenous communities and pastoral and tourism industries affected if not enough water is returned
  The latest proposal to cut 605bn litres of water from flowing down the Murray-Darling river system will test the nation’s faith in water reform.Transparency, accountability, trust: these have sadly gone missing from the nation’s plan for the health of the river system. Allegations of water theft, inequity for downstream communities and poor governance have all shak
  
  Read more

• AGL hits back at Barnaby Joyce claim it is 'shorting' the energy market

  05-04-2018 20:00 via theguardian.com
  ‘It is not possible to short a market by giving seven years’ notice of closure,’ company says as dispute over Liddell power station flares upAGL Energy has categorically rejected arguments from the Turnbull government that it is abusing its market power, saying if it wanted to benefit commercially from the closure of the Liddell power plant it would have shuttered the facility with no warning.An AGL spokesman hit back at an accusation from the former deputy prime minister and N
  
  Read more

• The Guardian view on Antarctica: the worrying retreat of the ice | Editorial

  05-04-2018 19:22 via theguardian.com
  The only thing more frightening than an advancing glacier may be one that is shrinking and raising sea levels round the worldBoth the north pole and the south pole are situated in the middle of huge ice deserts which are melting around the edges under the influence of human activity. The difference that matters between them is that the ice of the Arctic floats: if it melted nothing much would happen to aggregate sea levels. The ice of Antarctica, like that of Greenland, rests on land. If it all
  
  Read more

• The wheel turns for the Rolling Stones’ butterflies | Brief letters

  05-04-2018 18:41 via theguardian.com
  Emmanuel Macron | Butterfly Conservation | Country diary magic | Porton Down | Football fansWhy is Emmanuel Macron always described as a “centrist” in the Guardian (Strike chaos sets rail workers on collision course with Macron, 4 April)? He is hellbent on reducing employment rights and taking on the unions. He may be young and his party new on the political scene, but he is a conservative. Why not describe him as such?
  Martin Childs
  London• As the Rolling Stones are tourin
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Final call for edie readers to take the 'Mission Possible' sustainability survey

  05-04-2018 16:44
  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.
  
  Read more

• Plastic bag litter falls in UK seas

  05-04-2018 16:17 via bbc.co.uk
  A study of litter in UK seas shows the number of plastic bags has fallen, amid a rise in other types of plastic rubbish.
  
  Read more

• Bollywood star Salman Khan sentenced to five years for killing antelopes

  05-04-2018 14:48 via theguardian.com
  Actor says he will appeal sentence following conviction for poaching blackbucks in 1998The Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has been sentenced to five years in jail for poaching a protected species of Indian antelope, in the latest twist to an off-screen life almost as dramatic as the epics he has starred in.A court in Rajasthan state on Thursday found Khan, one of the world’s best-paid actors, guilty of illegally hunting the two blackbucks from his car window while filming in Jodhpur in 19
  
  Read more

• How Icebreaker's first transparency report aims to disrupt the outdoor apparel industry

  05-04-2018 13:39
  A New Zealand-based outdoor apparel company's attempt to disrupt the industry by reducing plastic synthetics has been highlighted through its first Transparency report, which provides complete disclosure into supply chain contracts, living wage commitments and edible packaging innovations.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Climate change threatens rare British orchid that tricks bees into mating

  05-04-2018 13:37 via theguardian.com
  Researchers find that warmer temperatures are upsetting the seasonal relationship between the early spider orchid and pollinating bees It is one of the most cunning and elaborate reproductive deceits: the early spider orchid (Ophrys sphegodes) wafts a floral bouquet into the air that mimics the irresistible scent of a virgin female solitary mining bee, tricking gullible male bees into attempting intercourse with several flowers, thereby ensuring the plant’s pollination.But the sexual succe
  
  Read more

• Space muscles study to use tiny worms

  05-04-2018 12:50 via bbc.co.uk
  The worms are being used because they have a similar muscle structure to humans.
  
  Read more

• American conservatives are still clueless about the 97% expert climate consensus | Dana Nuccitelli

  05-04-2018 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Now there’s a handbook for that
  Gallup released its annual survey on American perceptions about global warming last week, and the results were a bit discouraging. While 85–90% of Democrats are worried about global warming, realize humans are causing it, and are aware that most scientists agree on this, independents and Republicans are a different story. Only 35% of Republicans and 62% of independents realize humans are causing global warming (down from 40% and 70% last year, respecti
  
  Read more

• Bollywood star Salman Khan jailed for killing rare antelopes

  05-04-2018 11:44 via theguardian.com
  Actor sentenced to five years in prison following conviction for poaching blackbucks in 1998The Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has been jailed for five years for poaching a protected species of Indian antelope.A court in Rajasthan state on Thursday found Khan, one of the world’s best-paid actors, guilty of illegally hunting the two blackbucks from his car window while filming in Jodhpur in 1998. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• IEA accused of undermining global shift from fossil fuels

  05-04-2018 11:43 via theguardian.com
  Highly critical study warns projections used by the organisation tasked with leading the switch to clean energy remain skewed towards oil and gas and may break climate targets of Paris agreementThe global shift from fossil fuels to renewables is being undermined by the very organisation that ought to be leading the charge, according to a scathing new critique of the International Energy Agency (IEA).Governments across the world rely on IEA projections to set energy policies, but the agency&rsquo
  
  Read more

• Hershey commits £355m to supply chain sustainability

  05-04-2018 11:22
  Global confectionery company Hershey has committed $500m (£355m) to tackling child labour and links to deforestation in its supply chains, as part of a comprehensive new sustainability strategy.
  
  Read more

• Bollywood star Salman Khan faces jail for killing rare antelopes

  05-04-2018 10:25 via theguardian.com
  Actor could be sentenced to six years in prison after conviction for poaching blackbucks in 1998The Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has been jailed for five years for poaching a protected species of Indian antelope.A court in Rajasthan state on Thursday found Khan, one of the world’s best-paid actors, guilty of illegally hunting the two blackbucks from his car window while filming in Jodhpur in 1998. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Underwater with Sri Lanka's sperm whales – in pictures

  05-04-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  The sperm whale may be one of the most successful animals in the ocean, boasting a global distribution that survived the toll of the 20th century, when whaling factory fleets took three million great whales from the seas. Now a newly identified population in the Indian Ocean is attracting the attention of scientists, conservationists – and soon, tourists, too. How will this whale weather the new storm of attention? Underwater photographer Andrew Sutton gained special access to the gentle g
  
  Read more

• Scientists suggest a giant sunshade in the sky could solve global warming

  05-04-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Scholars from developing countries call for greater say in solar geoengineering research, arguing poor nations have most at stakeIt sounds like the stuff of science fiction: the creation, using balloons or jets, of a manmade atmospheric sunshade to shield the most vulnerable countries in the global south against the worst effects of global warming. But amid mounting interest in “solar geoengineering” – not least among western universities – a group of scientists from deve
  
  Read more

• Drop in plastic bags littering British seas linked to introduction of 5p charge

  05-04-2018 07:30 via theguardian.com
  Scientists find an estimated 30% drop in plastic bags on the seabed in the same timeframe as charges were introduced in European countriesA big drop in plastic bags found in the seas around Britain has been credited to the introduction of charges for plastic bags across Europe.Ireland and Denmark were the first two countries to bring in levies for plastic bags from shops in 2003, followed by slew of other European countries. England was the last UK nation to introduce one, in 2015. Continue read
  
  Read more

• Air pollution: UK government's failed legal battles cost taxpayers £500m

  05-04-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Documents show more than half a million pounds has been spent on failed court actions against clean air campaigners in less than 12 monthsThe UK government has spent more than half a million pounds on failed legal battles against clean air campaigners, according to newly released documents that underline the cost of weak action on pollution.The figures – obtained under a freedom of information request by the Labour party – show repeated court defeats are hurting taxpayers in addition
  
  Read more

• Air pollution: UK government's failed legal battles cost taxpayers £500,000

  05-04-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Documents show more than half a million pounds has been spent on failed court actions against clean air campaigners in less than 12 monthsThe UK government has spent more than half a million pounds on failed legal battles against clean air campaigners, according to newly released documents that underline the cost of weak action on pollution.The figures – obtained under a freedom of information request by the Labour party – show repeated court defeats are hurting taxpayers in addition
  
  Read more

• Country diary: the sap also rises, drips from wounds and gives nourishment

  05-04-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Wolsingham, Weardale: swelling buds signal the hydraulic forces that have been building inside trees
  The dead leaf on the sycamore stump opened its wings and revealed itself to be a comma butterfly (Polygonia c-album). Their orange pattern was a little worn after a long winter’s hibernation, but still glowed like hot embers in the spring sunshine.As I watched, it dipped its proboscis into a river of leaking sap, trickling down a leafless, broken twig. It had found a convenient nectar subst
  
  Read more

• Trash Robot cleans up Chicago River's rubbish

  05-04-2018 01:24 via bbc.co.uk
  The robot connects to the internet so web users can control it and donate to pay maintenance costs.
  
  Read more

• Russians protest over 'toxic' landfill near Moscow

  05-04-2018 01:01 via bbc.co.uk
  The Russian capital has no recycling programme and its expanding rubbish landfills are causing health problems.
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!