Environment news

• Government sets aside £60m to fight scourge of plastic waste

  14-04-2018 23:30 via theguardian.com
  Fund to be split into three pots to tackle ocean pollution, research and waste managementThe government has earmarked £61.4m from the public purse to fight the rising tide of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans.Theresa May announced the fund ahead of the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in London next week. Continue reading...
  
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• British farmers in turmoil as delayed spring plays havoc with growing season

  14-04-2018 21:26 via theguardian.com
  A combination of the beast from the east and a dismal bank holiday weekend has put the nation’s crops on holdLast year, asparagus growers were harvesting as early as 8 April. This spring, they are not expecting to harvest their open-field crop until the last week of April – a week later than the official start of the season, St George’s Day, 23 April. Welcome to just one of the consequences of Britain’s disastrously delayed spring.“We have had a very challenging tim
  
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• Smart systems key to future of cheaper and cleaner energy supply

  14-04-2018 16:59 via theguardian.com
  With news that utility bills are on the rise, experts say technology will revolutionise both consumer use and generation of powerThe home of the future looks an increasingly attractive place to live this week, after millions of households received the unwelcome news that their energy bills were going up again.Switching supplier is one quick fix to rising bills. But in the long run, industry players say the answers may lie in a coming revolution in how we use energy in our homes, turning them int
  
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• 'Suddenly my eyes and throat started burning': what caused Birling Gap's toxic cloud?

  14-04-2018 10:00 via theguardian.com
  Last August, holidaymakers in East Sussex fell ill after a poisonous yellow cloud spread across the sky. What was it, and where did it come from?Mark Sawyer has worked for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution for nearly 30 years, and since 2001 he’s been the full-time coxswain at the Eastbourne lifeboat station. Shortly after 5pm on the Sunday of a bank holiday weekend last August, he received a report from the coastguard in Southampton about an incident at a beach seven miles west of h
  
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• Tougher MOT tests from May will put diesel drivers in the firing line

  14-04-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  A raft of strict checks will lead to more cars failing, with tougher emission measures likely to catch out diesel vehiclesA tough new MOT testing system for 30m cars on Britain’s roads starts on 20 May – threatening expensive bills for many diesel drivers and chaos at MOT centres as fears grow that new emissions testing equipment will not be ready on time.The old-style “pass or fail” test is being replaced with a new MOT system that will classify faults as minor, maj
  
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• Country diary: close encounters with our most exciting raptor

  14-04-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Dolbenmaen, Gwynedd: As a climber, I’d often pass within metres of the peregrine falcons on the cliff face, harsh chattering between the pair echoing from the rock wallsThe huge dolerite cliff at the head of the valley glows in afternoon light. A pale green algal cast accentuates white streaks and fresh spatterings. This is peregrine and raven territory, the latter maintaining a respectful distance from the former. They’ve been present here for at least 50 years. I first saw the falc
  
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