Environment news

• Specieswatch: conservation effort is under way to save our mountain hares

  24-04-2018 22:30 via theguardian.com
  Spring is risky for mountain hares; to avoid predators, they have to time their change from white to brown carefullyBritain’s mountain hare Lepus timidus should presently be turning from white to grey-brown with a blue tinge as the breeding season starts. Spring is a dangerous time; the snow disappears and adults need to blend in to avoid hungry eagles or a fox. Unlike brown hares and rabbits the mountain hare is a true native species, but is increasingly threatened by climate change as it
  
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• Fancy a French farm for free?

  24-04-2018 21:47 via bbc.co.uk
  This Brittany farm could be available to someone who will preserve its traditional methods.
  
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• What future for British fishing? | Letters

  24-04-2018 19:12 via theguardian.com
  We can take back control of our waters, writes Bertie Armstrong, while Steve Peak laments the Tories’ broken promisesWe agree with Polly Toynbee that fishing is “deep-dyed in the national identity” (Opinion, 23 April). The UK is in the middle of some of the best fishing grounds in the world. Where she is wrong is in making two assertions: firstly, that taking back control of our waters “is not going to happen, because it can’t”; and secondly, that the pro
  
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• GM plant tech boosts malaria drug yield

  24-04-2018 18:57 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists have modified a plant's genes to make it produce high levels of a key malaria drug, potentially helping meet the large global demand.
  
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• Dame Daphne Sheldrick obituary

  24-04-2018 18:53 via theguardian.com
  Renowned conservationist dedicated to saving orphaned elephants and releasing them back into the wildElephant babies like coconut oil. This discovery has saved the life of hundreds of orphaned, unweaned elephants, left behind when their mothers were killed, victims of the ivory wars that have catastrophically reduced elephant populations across Africa.The discovery came after two decades of efforts by the renowned conservationist Daphne Sheldrick, who has died aged 83. She devoted most of her li
  
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• Why there are more gym supplements in a London fatberg than cocaine and MDMA

  24-04-2018 18:20 via theguardian.com
  Substances used to aid muscle-building and weight loss made up more than half of the pharmaceuticals found in the capital’s sewers. What does this tell us about modern life?Along with the flushed debris and the thriving bacteria – the wet wipes, condoms, and sanitary towels; the listeria and E coli – that have congealed within the giant fatbergs in the sewers under central London, are chemicals found in banned gym supplements. In fact, they were discovered in greater quantities
  
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• Record concentration of microplastics found in Arctic

  24-04-2018 17:09 via bbc.co.uk
  Discovery prompts fear that melting ice will allow more plastic to be released back into the oceans.
  
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• Record levels of plastic discovered in Arctic sea ice

  24-04-2018 17:00 via theguardian.com
  Samples taken from five locations found concentrations of more than 12,000 microplastic particles per litre of sea iceScientists have found a record amount of plastic trapped in Arctic sea ice, raising concern about the impact on marine life and human health.Up to 12,000 pieces of microplastic particles were found per litre of sea ice in core samples taken from five regions on trips to the Arctic Ocean – as many as three times higher than levels in previous studies. Continue reading...
  
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• BP chief urges Cambridge University to keep fossil fuel investments

  24-04-2018 16:53 via theguardian.com
  Bob Dudley faces criticism for calling for university to ‘come to its senses’ over divestmentBP’s chief executive has come under fire from campaigners after he urged Cambridge University not to drop its fossil fuel investments.Bob Dudley was greeted with laughter when he told an industry conference on Tuesday: “We donate and do lots of research at Cambridge so I hope they come to their senses on this.” Continue reading...
  
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• How to revive drowsy bees

  24-04-2018 15:50 via bbc.co.uk
  A vet gives advice on how to assist dehydrated bumblebees emerging from hibernation.
  
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• Boston Tea Party becomes first coffee chain to ban all disposable cups

  24-04-2018 13:29
  UK-based Boston Tea Party (BTP) will become the first coffee chain to implement an outright ban on disposable, paper-based coffee cups, with consumers having to purchase or loan reusable cups from 1 June 2018.
  
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• Achieving a sustainable future: Speaker line-up confirmed for Mission Possible webinar

  24-04-2018 12:00
  The mission, should we choose to accept it: achieving a low-carbon, resource-efficient industrial revolution. As we gear up for edie Live 2018, this webinar will hear from experts from Kingfisher and the William Jackson Food Group that are scaling-up effort and innovation across all areas of sustainable development to make this Mission Possible.
  
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• Commonwealth to 'pursue' 1.5C Paris goal

  24-04-2018 11:32
  The 53 member states of the Commonwealth have agreed to renew commitments to the Paris Agreement that would "pursue" efforts to limit temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
  
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• UK runs without coal power for three days in a row

  24-04-2018 11:12 via theguardian.com
  Demand lower following recent warm weather, making it easier for gas, renewables and nuclear to cover UK’s needsThe UK has been powered without coal for three days in a row, setting a new record and underlining the polluting fuel’s rapid decline.Coal has historically been at the cornerstone of the UK’s electricity mix, but last year saw the first 24-hour period that the the country ran without the fuel since the 19th century. Continue reading...
  
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• Warmshowers: why free hospitality for bike tourists is a priceless experience | Joshua Cunningham

  24-04-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  The global network of 85,000 members runs on goodwill and a ‘pay it forward’ philosophy, allowing riders to navigate the lonely and sometimes testing side of cycle touring and connect with kindred spiritsImagine you’re nearing the end of another long day in the saddle, partway through your latest cycling tour. Your panniers feel heavy and your tyres sticky as you drag your bike over the final climb of the day. You pull your map out and wrestle with the foreign characters on the
  
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• Hard Brexit would mean more and cheaper British fish – but there's a catch

  24-04-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: Taking back control of UK waters would lower the price of British-caught fish, new analysis shows – but most of the fish we eat is importedA hard Brexit that banned EU fishermen from UK waters would lead to many more fish being landed by British boats and a corresponding drop in prices, according to new economic analysis.But there’s a catch. Two-thirds of the fish UK consumers eat are imported from overseas, and the costs of those would rise, due to the trade barriers resu
  
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• £10m a year needed to ensure England's soil is fit for farming, report warns

  24-04-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Soil erosion and water pollution caused by poor farming practices mean land could become too poor to sustain food crops by the end of the centuryEngland must invest £10m a year to ensure its soil is productive enough to continue to grow food by the end of the century, a new report warns.Continue reading...
  
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• Country diary: the buzz of springtime

  24-04-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Ferry Meadows, Peterborough: The sun is shining and tiny furrow bees join other species feeding on pollen and nectar
  Spring arrives on many small wings. During the winter insects could be accused of having resorted to being life in the undergrowth, but the freezing easterlies have passed and the gentle warmth of the sun releases the bees and flies from their deep slumbers to again become life in the air. Related: Ferry Meadows, Peterborough: Floodplains that should remain just thatContinue readi
  
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• Michael Morpurgo, Quentin Blake and Jacqueline Wilson join Authors4Oceans

  24-04-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  A campaign to prevent the pollution of the Earth’s oceans with plastic, begun by Lauren St John, now has 50 children’s writers involvedFifty children’s authors, including Michael Morpurgo, Quentin Blake and Jacqueline Wilson, have come together to call on the book trade to ditch plastic and help save the oceans.The Authors4Oceans campaign wascreated by the award-winning novelist Lauren St John, whose children’s books include the eco-adventure Dolphin Song and the forthcom
  
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• Fatberg 'autopsy' reveals growing health threat to Londoners

  24-04-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Potentially deadly bacteria thriving in huge clots of waste in sewers, Channel 4 study showsFatbergs, the congealed mass of fat and discarded items that are increasingly blocking Britain’s sewers, are the consequence of the plastic crisis in Britain and contain potentially deadly antibiotic-resistant bacteria, tests show.A study by Channel 4 in conjunction with Thames Water has analysed the contents of one supersize fatberg discovered underneath the streets of South Bank in central London.
  
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