Environment news

• Single-use plastics could be banned in England next year

  18-04-2018 23:30
  Consultation to start later this year as Theresa May continues drive against plastic wasteCotton buds, plastic drinking straws and other single-use plastics could be banned from sale in England next year in the next phase of the campaign to try to halt the pollution of the world’s rivers and oceans.Theresa May hopes to use the announcement to encourage the Commonwealth heads of government to join the fight as the meeting opens formally on Thursday. “The Commonwealth is a unique organ
  
  Read more

• Cotton buds and plastic straws could be banned in England next year

  18-04-2018 23:30
  Consultation to start later this year as Theresa May continues drive against single-use plastic wasteCotton buds, plastic drinking straws and other single-use plastics could be banned from sale in England next year in the next phase of the campaign to try to halt the pollution of the world’s rivers and oceans.Theresa May hopes to use the announcement to encourage the Commonwealth heads of government to join the fight as the meeting opens formally on Thursday. “The Commonwealth is a u
  
  Read more

• Americans waste 150,000 tons of food each day – equal to a pound per person

  18-04-2018 20:05
  Research shows people with healthy diets rich in fruit and vegetables are the most wasteful and calls for better education for consumersAmericans waste about a pound of food per person each day, with people who have healthier diets rich in fruit and vegetables the most wasteful, research has found. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Labor states 'won't compromise' on renewable targets as energy fight looms

  18-04-2018 20:00
  Victoria’s energy minister warns Canberra ‘we’ve got thresholds’ ahead of meeting on proposed national energy guarantee• Sign up to receive the top stories every morningThe Labor states will seek a watertight undertaking that their renewable energy schemes and targets will remain undisturbed by the Turnbull government’s proposed national energy guarantee at a critical meeting on Friday.The Victorian energy minister, Lily D’Ambrosio, told Guardian Australi
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Great Barrier Reef: 30% of coral died in 'catastrophic' 2016 heatwave

  18-04-2018 20:00
  Report chronicles ‘mass mortality’, the extent and severity of which has shocked scientists• Sign up to receive the top stories every morningScientists have chronicled the “mass mortality” of corals on the Great Barrier Reef, in a new report that says 30% of the reef’s corals died in a catastrophic nine-month marine heatwave.The study, published in Nature and led by Prof Terry Hughes, the director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, examined
  
  Read more

• Heatwaves 'cook' Great Barrier Reef corals

  18-04-2018 19:12 via bbc.co.uk
  Recurring spells of ocean warming impact the diversity of coral reef communities.
  
  Read more

• Stella McCartney: ‘Only 1% of clothing is recycled. What are we doing?’

  18-04-2018 19:08
  The designer’s ethical stance made her a style outsider – but now the industry is finally catching up. Ahead of a new V&A show, she talks about reclaiming her name, the joy of nature and the trouble with fast fashionStella McCartney is a designer, a businesswoman and an environmental activist, but of the three, she says, fashion will always come first. “It has to, you see. Because the only way for me to start the conversation I want to start is by making a product that you
  
  Read more

• Keeping livers 'alive' boosts transplant success, trial finds

  18-04-2018 18:59 via bbc.co.uk
  The alternative to ice involves pumping livers with blood, nutrients and medicines while in a machine.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• A millennial’s guide to the great outdoors

  18-04-2018 16:35
  They may be duff at identifying birds and flowers, but some young people are at least showing an interest. So here are our tips for experiencing the best of British nature
  If, like me, you are a fiftysomething trying to cope with the modern world, you will be pleased to hear that millennials are struggling, too. As well as being unable to do mental arithmetic, ironing and spelling, they are also – according to a recent Bupa survey – unable to identify birds and wild flowers.Despite t
  
  Read more

• Clean energy projects stifled by Tory reforms, says Labour

  18-04-2018 16:14
  ‘Outrageous financial demands will have serious repercussions across the renewables sector’Labour has accused the government of holding back clean energy projects in the UK by allowing energy networks to impose “outrageous” charges on renewables developers.This week, two of the six companies that run the country’s local electricity grids began making green energy firms pay for an estimate of how much it will cost to connect their solar and windfarms.Continue reading
  
  Read more

• Take a gander: Dutch motorists urged to watch out for breeding geese

  18-04-2018 16:09
  Hundreds of geese spotted in grasslands around roads in east Netherlands, with some birds swooping into paths of vehiclesThe emergence of the Netherlands as the most popular place in Europe for geese has prompted an urgent call for Dutch drivers to watch out for hundreds of birds breeding on the grassy junctions and motorways verges.More than 500,000 geese are in the country in the warmer months, and 2.5 million overwinter there, amounting to a 95% increase on the numbers counted in the 1960s. C
  
  Read more

• Take a gander: Dutch drivers warned over boom in geese population

  18-04-2018 16:09
  Hundreds of geese spotted in grasslands around roads in east Netherlands, with some birds swooping into paths of vehiclesThe emergence of the Netherlands as the most popular place in Europe for geese has prompted an urgent call for Dutch drivers to watch out for hundreds of birds breeding on the grassy junctions and motorways verges.More than 500,000 geese are in the country in the warmer months, and 2.5 million overwinter there, amounting to a 95% increase on the numbers counted in the 1960s. C
  
  Read more

• Chemical attack

  18-04-2018 15:22 via bbc.co.uk
  Experts describe the challenges facing those investigating an alleged chemical attack in Syria.
  
  Read more

• Balkan dam projects could result in loss of one in 10 European fish species

  18-04-2018 15:07
  Exclusive: Plans for a network of hydropower plants in three countries would cause ‘chain reaction’ for endangered species, report warnsNearly one in 10 of Europe’s fish species will be pushed to the brink of extinction by a constellation of hydropower plants planned in the western Balkans, new research has found. Eleven endemic species would be wiped out, seven more would be critically endangered, four types of sturgeon would be devastated and the number of endangered species
  
  Read more

• Aldi tops UK supermarkets for sustainable seafood products

  18-04-2018 14:42
  Aldi has edged out Sainsbury's and Lidl in offering the largest amount of sustainable seafood to UK customers, according to new findings from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).
  
  Read more

• VIDEO: How BT is achieving a sustainable future for energy

  18-04-2018 14:40
  This new series of video interviews showcases the sustainability superheroes who are achieving 'Mission Possible' for their business. Here, BT's head of sustainable business Gabrielle Ginérexplains how the telecoms business is working to achieve a sustainable future for its energy.
  
  Read more

• This is Mission Possible: How BT is achieving a sustainable future for energy

  18-04-2018 14:40
  This new series of video interviews showcases the sustainability superheroes who are achieving 'Mission Possible' for their business. Here, BT's head of sustainable business Gabrielle Ginérexplains how the telecoms business is working to achieve a sustainable future for its energy.
  
  Read more

• Skye salmon farms approved despite warnings of 'irrecoverable damage'

  18-04-2018 14:25
  Two new island fish farms given the go-ahead in spite of Scottish parliamentary report warning of possible environmental impactsTwo new salmon farms are to be built off the Scottish island of Skye after receiving permission from the Highland council, despite opposition from residents over the possible environmental impacts and a lack of guarantees the farms will remain organic.The two sites on the north-east of the island are among the first to be approved since MSPs warned that the continued ex
  
  Read more

• EXCLUSIVE: Costa aims to lead industry transformation with pledge to recycle half a billion coffee cups

  18-04-2018 13:59
  Costa Coffee's energy & environment manager Oliver Rosevear has said the retailer wants to drive cross-industry collaboration on coffee cup recycling, as it today (18 April) makes a bold commitment to recycle the equivalent of its entire annual sales of takeaway cups - at a financial cost to the business.
  
  Read more

• Costa aims to lead industry transformation with pledge to recycle half a billion coffee cups

  18-04-2018 13:59
  EXCLUSIVE: Costa Coffee's energy & environment manager Oliver Rosevear has expressed a desire to drive cross-industry collaboration on coffee cup recycling, as the retailer today (18 April) makes a bold commitment to recycle the equivalent of its entire annual sales of takeaway cups - at a financial cost to the business.
  
  Read more

• Iceland sets target of 191 kills as country resumes whaling

  18-04-2018 13:05
  Authorities grant whalers a quota to hunt the endangered fin whale this summer after a two-year pauseIcelandic fishermen will resume their hunt for the endangered fin whale this year after a two-year pause and have set a target of 191 kills for the season.An apparent loosening of Japanese regulations on Icelandic exports had made the resumption of the hunting commercially viable again, the country’s only fin whaling company, Hvalur, announced. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Scientists unveil 10,000 sq ft model of Mississippi delta to help save coastline

  18-04-2018 13:00
  At twice the size of a regulation basketball court, the enormous replica will be used to work out an ambitious water-diversion plan
  Scientists working to stop rising seawater damaging the fragile ecosystems of the Louisiana coastline have unveiled a massive new weapon: an enormous replica of the lower Mississippi delta.At some 10,800 sq ft, the model is more than twice the size of a regulation basketball court. Housed at Louisiana State University’s center for river studies, the “Low
  
  Read more

• Glacier loss is accelerating because of global warming | John Abraham

  18-04-2018 12:00
  As climate scientists predicted, glaciers are vanishing due to rapidly warming temperatures.
  With global warming, we can make predictions and then take measurements to test those predictions. One prediction (a pretty obvious one) is that a warmer world will have less snow and ice. In particular, areas that have year-round ice and snow will start to melt. Alpine glaciers are large bodies of ice that can be formed high in mountains, typically in bowls called cirques. The ice slowly flows downwards
  
  Read more

• Costa Coffee vows 'cup recycling revolution'

  18-04-2018 10:03 via bbc.co.uk
  The UK's biggest coffee chain says it will recycle as many disposable cups as it sells by 2020.
  
  Read more

• Meteorite diamonds 'came from lost planet'

  18-04-2018 09:11 via bbc.co.uk
  The space rock that exploded in 2008 seems to have come from the early Solar System.
  
  Read more

• Aldi named as best British supermarket for sustainable fish

  18-04-2018 08:01
  Some 79% of seafood range is sustainable, according to survey which shows supermarkets are selling more ‘blue label’ products than ever The discount grocer Aldi has been named the best British high street supermarket for sustainable fish, according to a new league table.Some 79% of the seafood range stocked by the fast-growing German discounter is certified sustainable, the annual survey from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) found. This year’s results also show that superma
  
  Read more

• The Commonwealth can kickstart a global offensive on climate change | Jacinda Ardern

  18-04-2018 08:00
  The task ahead is immense, but New Zealanders know it can be achieved. We have a proud history of this kind of leadershipLeaders of Commonwealth nations are meeting in London this week instead of the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu because things did not go according to plan. In 2015, cyclone Pam roared across Vanuatu, knocking out power, crippling water systems and levelling homes, schools and churches.In only 24 hours, the storm dashed the island nation’s hopes of hosting the Commonwealt
  
  Read more

• Top scientist leaves Iran after crackdown on environmentalists

  18-04-2018 07:01
  Kaveh Madani had been seen as symbol of Rouhani government’s attempt to reverse brain drainA top Iranian environmental scientist wooed by Hassan Rouhani’s administration to return home from the UK has left Iran amid a crackdown on environmentalists and pressure from hardliners. Kaveh Madani had been persuaded to leave his position at Imperial College London last year to serve as the deputy head of Iran’s environment department. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Costa Coffee to recycle equivalent of all its takeaway cups each year

  18-04-2018 07:01
  UK’s largest coffee shop chain has pledged to recycle up to 500m cups a year by 2020 – a fifth of the total used in the country The UK’s largest coffee chain is to become the first to commit to recycling the same volume of takeaway cups used by its customers every year in a bid to stop hundreds of millions needlessly ending up in landfill.Costa Coffee has pledged to recycle up to 500m coffee cups a year by 2020 – the equivalent of its entire annual use of takeaway cups an
  
  Read more

• Destroying the world's natural heritage: 'Komodo is reaching a tipping point'

  18-04-2018 06:00
  The Indonesian national park boasts some of the world’s best dive sites and spectacular marine life, but illegal fishing and unsustainable tourism is threatening its Unesco statusIt was the unusual thrashing on the water that caught their attention. As those onboard the dive boat in Indonesia’s Komodo national park drew closer, it became clear it was a green turtle entangled in rubbish and thick fishing net.The divers managed to lift it out of the water, cut the blue bind from its sh
  
  Read more

• Great Australian Bight deserves world heritage protection – Greens

  18-04-2018 05:51
  Party announces it will campaign for application to be made to Unesco in bid to stop drillingThe Greens have launched a campaign to give the Great Australian Bight world heritage protection – but such a move would need the government’s support.The party announced on Wednesday it would campaign for an application to be made to the Unesco to place the bight on the world heritage list.Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Deep-sea mining possibly as damaging as land mining, lawyers say

  18-04-2018 05:02
  Environmental and legal groups warn of potential huge effects on Indigenous people and the environment• Sign up to receive the top stories in Australia every day at noon The “new global gold rush” over deep-sea mining holds the same potential pitfalls as previous resource scrambles, with environmental and social impacts ignored and the rights of Indigenous people marginalised, a paper in the Harvard Law Review has warned.A framework for deep-sea mining – where polymetallic
  
  Read more

• Scientists explain how plastic-eating enzyme can help fight pollution – video

  18-04-2018 04:27
  Scientists in Britain and the US say they have engineered an enzyme that eats plastic, a breakthrough that could help in the fight against pollution. The enzyme is able to digest polyethylene terephthalate, or PET. The team from the University of Portsmouth and the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory hope to one day produce the enzyme on an industrial scale Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Will China beat the world to nuclear fusion and clean energy?

  18-04-2018 02:53 via bbc.co.uk
  China's nuclear fusion research might put the country at the fore of future clean energy solutions.
  
  Read more

• Plankton named after Attenborough series

  18-04-2018 02:26 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists at University College London (UCL) bestowed the honour on Sir David Attenborough and the documentary team.
  
  Read more

• Blue Planet: Plankton named after David Attenborough series

  18-04-2018 02:26 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists at University College London (UCL) decide to honour Sir David Attenborough and the team.
  
  Read more

• Costa Coffee vows to boost cup recycling

  18-04-2018 01:00 via bbc.co.uk
  The UK's biggest coffee chain says it will recycle as many disposable cups as it sells by 2020.
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!