Environment news

• Carbon dioxide from ships at sea to be regulated for first time

  13-04-2018 19:22 via theguardian.com
  Shipping firms to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 as part of historic agreementCarbon dioxide from ships at sea will be regulated for the first time following a historic agreement reached after two weeks of detailed talks in London.Shipping companies will halve their greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 under the plan, brokered by the International Maritime Organization and binding across its 170 member states. Continue reading...
  
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• Make half of world more nature-friendly by 2050, urges UN biodiversity chief

  13-04-2018 18:54 via theguardian.com
  Call by Cristiana Pașca Palmer comes ahead of a major biodiversity conference in Beijing in 2020At least half of the world should be made more nature-friendly by 2050 to ensure the wellbeing of humanity, according to the UN chief leading efforts to create a new global pact on biodiversity.The call to strengthen the world’s life support system comes ahead of a major conference in Beijing in 2020 that many hope will be the biodiversity equivalent of the Paris climate agreement. Continue
  
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• Animals' popularity 'a disadvantage'

  13-04-2018 18:42 via bbc.co.uk
  A new study shows that some species may become victims of their own prestige.
  
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• Indigenous environmental campaigner killed by Myanmar government

  13-04-2018 17:26 via theguardian.com
  Karen state activists mourning community leader Saw O Moo, who campaigned to protect a local forest and for residents’ land rightsIndigenous activists in Myanmar’s Karen state are mourning the killing of a community leader who campaigned for a peace park to protect a local forest and its residents’ land rights.Saw O Moo was ambushed by government troops on 5 April as he was riding a motorbike with a soldier from the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), a rebel group that is f
  
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• Avoid Gulf stream disruption at all costs, scientists warn

  13-04-2018 15:49 via theguardian.com
  How close the world is to a catastrophic collapse of giant ocean currents is unknown, making halting global warming more critical than ever, scientists saySerious disruption to the Gulf Stream ocean currents that are crucial in controlling global climate must be avoided “at all costs”, senior scientists have warned. The alert follows the revelation this week that the system is at its weakest ever recorded.Past collapses of the giant network have seen some of the most extreme impacts
  
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• Co-op hits emissions target three years early

  13-04-2018 15:48
  Co-op has reduced its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 54% against a 2006 baseline, the company's latest CSR report has revealed.
  
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• Jaguar Land Rover to cut 1,000 jobs after 'slump due to Brexit'

  13-04-2018 15:28 via theguardian.com
  Carmaker blames job losses in West Midlands on sales drop, confusion over diesel engines and uncertainty over Brexit
  Jaguar Land Rover is to cut 1,000 jobs in the West Midlands, blaming a slump in car sales due to uncertainty over Brexit and the future of diesel vehicles.Britain’s biggest carmaker will cut 1,000 temporary contract workers at its plant in Solihull, which builds Range Rovers and the Land Rover Discovery SUV. The factory employs 10,000 workers, including 2,000 contract staff.
  
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• MPs to pressure government on backing for Swansea tidal lagoon project

  13-04-2018 14:35 via theguardian.com
  Committees seek clarity on indecision over taxpayer support and price guarantees for flagship tidal clean energy scheme to harness tide power
  MPs are to press ministers on why they have left investors hanging in limbo over taxpayer support for a pioneering £1.3bn tidal lagoon in Swansea.
  The business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) committee and Welsh affairs committee will call on government to explain why no decision has been forthcoming on the flagship scheme. The government has
  
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• Consumer demand for transparency to disrupt food sector, report finds

  13-04-2018 14:04
  Public trust in the food sector has eroded to an "all-time low", with a new report commissioned by premium food supplier Cranswick warning that heightened consumer demand for increased transparency looks set to disrupt the sector.
  
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• Have you changed your opinion on climate change? Share your experiences

  13-04-2018 13:26 via theguardian.com
  We’d like to hear from people who have crossed from one side of the debate to the other
  A heated debate among evangelicals is taking place across the US, with some Christians protesting in the name of protecting the Earth and others not seeing it as existing at all.Evangelicals have traditionally been the bedrock of conservative US politics, including on climate change, but some are taking action. One group has even built a chapel in the way of an oil pipeline and a radical pastor has enco
  
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• The Climate and the Cross: US evangelical Christians tussle with climate change

  13-04-2018 13:00 via theguardian.com
  An internal battle is simmering among evangelicals in the US over whether climate change is a call to protect the Earth, the work of God to be welcomed, or does not exist at all.
  Evangelicals have traditionally been the bedrock of conservative US politics, including on climate change. But a heated debate is taking place across the country, with some Christians protesting in the name of protecting the Earth, seeing it as a duty to be done in God’s name. One group has even built a chapel in
  
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• Mike Pompeo is a disaster for the planet. Why do Democrats back him? | Sarah Meyerhoff

  13-04-2018 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Pompeo is extreme in his denial of climate change. We must pressure Democrats who have backed him to change course“Ignorant, dangerous, and absolutely unbelievable.” This is how Mike Pompeo, then the nominee for CIA director, described the idea that climate change threatens our nation’s security in his 2017 Senate confirmation hearings. It’s also how our generation and many to come will remember any senator who votes to confirm Pompeo as our next secretary of state.Donald
  
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• Spikes in air pollution can heighten risk of chest infections, research suggests

  13-04-2018 11:55 via theguardian.com
  Study of PM2.5 levels in Utah suggests increase in diagnoses of viral infections such as bronchitis follows even brief upticks in pollutionEven short-term increases in air pollution are linked to a higher risk of developing viral chest infections that turn into conditions such as bronchiolitis, new research suggests.The study, carried out by scientists in the US, looked at levels of tiny particles in the air known as PM2.5s across eight locations along the Wasatch Front in Utah, including Salt L
  
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• World's largest brewer develops greener way to put bubbles in beer

  13-04-2018 10:45
  The world's largest brewer is rolling out what it claims is a greener way to put bubbles in beer and reduce its CO2 emissions by 5%.
  
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• Just Eat rolls out discounts on low-carbon deliveries for restaurant partners

  13-04-2018 10:45
  Just Eat are rolling out discounts on low-carbon vehicles and renewable energy contracts to encourage its 28,500 restaurant partners to lower emissions across the UK.
  
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• Intelligent highways and underground bins: the best green innovations of the week

  13-04-2018 10:02
  A number of eye-catching and potentially transformational innovations have emerged that could help businesses and nations deliver on resource efficiency, low-carbon transitions and combat climate change. Here, edie rounds-up six of the best.
  
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• Country diary: quiet eye of the urban storm

  13-04-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Gosforth Park nature reserve, Newcastle: Among the calling of birds and the swishing of reeds, only the sound of an ice-cream van reminds me how close to the city I amAs soon as we enter the wood, the noise of traffic seems to recede, replaced by a feeling of calm. Our focus shifts to take in birdsong, the drumming of a woodpecker, the rustle of dry leaves. Gosforth Park nature reserve is a retreat from busyness, the quiet eye of the storm. With access restricted to members of the Natural Histor
  
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• Using cute animals in pop culture makes public think they're not endangered – study

  13-04-2018 02:38 via theguardian.com
  Proliferation of giraffes, lions, tigers and elephants in toy shops and films creates ‘virtual population’ and skews our perceptionAnimals such as elephants, tigers, lions and panda bears are everywhere in movies, books and toy stores. But their wide pop culture presence skews public perception of how endangered these animals really are, researchers say.Online surveys, zoo websites, animated films and school questionnaires were scoured by US and French researchers for the study, publ
  
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