Environment news

• Scott Pruitt's new EPA deputy could surpass boss in scrapping protections

  08-05-2018 23:25
  If scandals oust Pruitt, Andrew Wheeler is an ex-coal industry lobbyist pledged to end the ‘pure hell’ of Obama regulationsIf the extraordinary barrage of ethical scandals buffeting Scott Pruitt finally dislodges him as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, a reassuringly familiar figure to Republicans will take over and probably continue much of Pruitt’s controversial work to scale back environmental protections.
  Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist, was conf
  
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• Birdwatch: cirl bunting's recovery is sign of hope

  08-05-2018 22:30
  After nearly becoming extinct in Britain, the cirl bunting has bounced back, thanks to joint efforts by RSPB and farmersFew British birds have enjoyed such mixed fortunes as the cirl bunting, Emberiza cirlus. Discovered by my ornithological hero George Montagu in 1800, near his Devon home, it extended its range across much of southern Britain, before going into sharp retreat in the 1970s.By 1989 there were just 120 pairs – all but two in south Devon. Then, thanks to the RSPB, and especiall
  
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• Worries mount over waste incineration as 'renewable energy'

  08-05-2018 18:34
  A coalition of green NGOs and industries in the business of recycling, chemicals, forestry and the bio-based economy wrote to policymakers on Thursday (3 May), urging them to prevent incineration of unrecyclable waste from being counted as renewable energy.
  
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• Wales unveils ambition to become world's first 'refill nation'

  08-05-2018 18:34
  The Welsh Government has today (8 May) outlined the country's plan to become the world's first 'refill nation', where access to drinking water in public places is universal.
  
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• Allianz pledges to stop insuring coal plants as pressure mounts on insurance industry

  08-05-2018 15:39
  Financial services firm Allianz has set a target to eliminate its insurance coverage for coal, amid heightened pressure on the industry to end its support for the fossil fuel.
  
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• Spider trained to jump on demand

  08-05-2018 14:42 via bbc.co.uk
  This is a regal jumping spider, and there are no prizes for guessing what it's good at.
  
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• Heathrow to host 200-strong electric Jaguar I-Pace fleet

  08-05-2018 13:42
  Heathrow has signed a deal that will see 200 Jaguar all-electric I-Pace vehicles made available to passengers travelling to and from the Airport.
  
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• World's largest brewer orders 800 hydrogen-electric trucks

  08-05-2018 12:41
  Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) has ordered 800 zero-emission, hydrogen-electric semi-trucks as part of its bid to run its entire fleet of long-haul trucks on clean energy by 2025.
  
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• Wet wipes could face wipe-out in plastic clean-up

  08-05-2018 12:07 via bbc.co.uk
  The government says it plans to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste, including wet wipes.
  
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• Lava swallows car in Hawaii

  08-05-2018 11:20 via bbc.co.uk
  The Kilauea volcano in Hawaii started erupting on May 3 and has so far destroyed 26 homes.
  
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• How a spider jumps on its prey - science has the answer

  08-05-2018 11:00 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists hope to learn how to build tiny jumping robots - by studying an extraordinary spider.
  
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• Country diary: the marshes are alive with the sound of birdsong

  08-05-2018 09:41
  Waltham Brooks, West Sussex: Newcomers are adding their voices to the morning chorus, alert to the emerging insects
  The wind is brisk and cold, but the rain has stopped, the morning mist is dispersing and the sun is breaking through the cloud. My boots sink into mud and waterlogged grass with every step. I have to leap across submerged ditches and pools to avoid wading up to my calves through the water.Continue reading...
  
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• 'Our land is our home': Canadians build tiny homes in bid to thwart pipeline

  08-05-2018 08:30
  Much of Kinder Morgan pipeline’s proposed route lies within Secwepemc territory, and locals describe their fightback as ‘a matter of life and death’In the heart of the Canadian province of British Columbia, dozens of activists have been gathering to saw lumber, raise walls and install windows. By the time their work is done, 10 tiny homes will have been built – all in the name of thwarting a pipeline. Continue reading...
  
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• How the chicken nugget became the true symbol of our era

  08-05-2018 07:00
  This is what happens when you turn the natural world into a profit-making machine. By Raj Patel and Jason W MooreThe most telling symbol of the modern era isn’t the automobile or the smartphone. It’s the chicken nugget. Chicken is already the most popular meat in the US, and is projected to be the planet’s favourite flesh by 2020. Future civilisations will find traces of humankind’s 50 billion bird-a-year habit in the fossil record, a marker for what we now call the Anthr
  
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• Irwins thank Russell Crowe and John Oliver for koala chlamydia clinic – video

  08-05-2018 05:07
  Terri, Bindi and Robert Irwin thank Russell Crowe for donating money from his 'divorce auction' to the Australia Zoo wildlife hospital to treat chlamydia in koalas. The ward has been named after John Oliver, who bought a number of items from Crowe’s auction, including paying AU$7,000 for the jockstrap the actor wore in the film Cinderella Man Continue reading...
  
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• Sea giants do battle

  08-05-2018 01:23 via bbc.co.uk
  As demand for natural gas continues to surge, huge extraction vessels are about to go into action.
  
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• Source public sector food from UK post-Brexit, farmers say

  08-05-2018 01:01
  NHS, schools, government and other services should use UK ingredients for food wherever possible, according to proposalsFood procured for Britain’s public sector after Brexit should be sourced from the UK wherever possible, the biggest farming organisation has said.Promised sweeping reforms of food and farming have been cast by ministers as a flagship policy that will unlock some of the biggest potential benefits from Brexit. But farmers fear they will lose the £3bn-a-year taxpayer s
  
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