Environment news

• Kinder Morgan pipeline: Al Gore joins fight to block 'destructive' project

  11-05-2018 23:44 via theguardian.com
  Gore says pipeline expansion in Canada ‘would be a step backward in our efforts to solve the climate crisis’Al Gore has thrown his support behind opponents of a contentious Canadian pipeline project and condemned the planned expansion as federal officials in Canada scramble to ensure it goes ahead.“The Kinder Morgan pipeline carrying dirty tar sands oil would be a step backward in our efforts to solve the climate crisis,” Gore tweeted on Thursday. Continue reading...
  
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• SpaceX flies 'lessons learned' rocket

  11-05-2018 23:10 via bbc.co.uk
  The California rocket company SpaceX conducts what is arguably its most important launch to date.
  
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• Algae causes glowing aqua waves in San Diego – video

  11-05-2018 22:52 via theguardian.com
  A bloom of bioluminescent phytoplankton has dazzled San Diego residents as the abundance of the algae along the coats lights up the water.The bloom was cause by a red tide, resulting in a higher level than normal of the plankton in the water. When the small organisms are disturbed, they let off light, making them more visible. 
  Red tides can be dangerous as the explosion of algae can release an excess of toxins into the air and water, but most are dispersed by currents and wind before they
  
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• 'Incredible' bioluminescence gives California coastline an eerie blue glow

  11-05-2018 22:10 via theguardian.com
  An usual algal bloom, known as a red tide, has drawn many to the beach in the hopes of witnessing the stunning spectacleA dense bloom of bioluminescent algae off the coast of southern California has lit up the Pacific Ocean with an eerie and fantastical neon blue glow, sending photographers and spectators to the beach at night in hopes of witnessing the natural phenomenon. The algal bloom, also known as a red tide, was observed this week lighting up the waves along a 15-mile stretch of coastline
  
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• Al Gore joins fight to block ‘destructive’ Kinder Morgan oil pipeline

  11-05-2018 20:44 via theguardian.com
  Gore says pipeline expansion in Canada ‘would be a step backward in our efforts to solve the climate crisis’Al Gore has thrown his support behind opponents of a contentious Canadian pipeline project and condemned the planned expansion as federal officials in Canada scramble to ensure it goes ahead.“The Kinder Morgan pipeline carrying dirty tar sands oil would be a step backward in our efforts to solve the climate crisis,” Gore tweeted on Thursday. Continue reading...
  
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• Gardeners trying to out-think squirrels | Letters

  11-05-2018 18:00 via theguardian.com
  Readers respond to a report that squirrels are stealing millions of pounds of bird seed a yearI hate to pour cold water on Prof Mark Fellowes’ solution to squirrels raiding bird feeders (Nifty raids of grey, 10 May) but after years of being outwitted by these cunning pests, we finally bought a spring-loaded feeder. For a few weeks we had the satisfaction of seeing frustrated squirrels trying to fathom the mechanism and failing. Then one day it vanished. We searched high and low but eventua
  
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• Top rock climbers head to Washington to push for public lands protection

  11-05-2018 16:53 via theguardian.com
  In 62 separate meetings, 13 teams of athletes and advocates made their ask of politicians: protect public lands by supporting fundingAlex Honnold was stuck in traffic. The world’s most renowned rock climber was due on Capitol Hill for a US Senate reception with other top climbers from around the country, who had descended en masse on Washington to lobby for greater protections for public lands.Continue reading...
  
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• From babies' bums to fatbergs: how we fell out of love with wet wipes

  11-05-2018 16:35 via theguardian.com
  The handy nappy-bag staple is now found everywhere from cosmetics counters to NHS hospitals – and they are increasingly clogging rivers and putting wildlife at risk. But how can we wean ourselves off them?
  On the eighth-floor isolation ward of London’s University College Hospital, nurses have two lines of defence against the spread of life-threatening diseases. First are the airtight double lobbies in every room. Second – and, arguably, more importantly – are the disinfec
  
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• Mayor Sadiq Khan unveils goals to make London world's 'greenest city'

  11-05-2018 15:30
  The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced plans to make the capital the "greenest" city in the world by 2050, with a series of targets put in place to improve air quality, boost renewables investments and halve food waste.
  
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• Contribute to a Guardian podcast that asks 'Should we all be vegan?'

  11-05-2018 14:43 via theguardian.com
  In our next We Need to Talk About podcast, we’ll consider the key questions in adopting a plant-based lifestyle. What are your views?Supporters’ voices are essential to our monthly podcast, We Need to Talk About…, whether our subject matter is Brexit, nationalism or the environment. In our next podcast, we’ll consider the rise of veganism as a lifestyle choice – why are so many are opting to go vegan, and what are the implications for society?Since Guardian columni
  
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• Red squirrels 'may have introduced' leprosy to Britain

  11-05-2018 13:53 via bbc.co.uk
  The discovery supports the theory that squirrels may have spread the disease in medieval Europe.
  
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• Local council issues tree preservation orders to stop Network Rail felling

  11-05-2018 13:50 via theguardian.com
  Bromley Council has taken steps to protect a group of mature trackside trees that are likely to be targeted in the rail operator’s plans to fell all ‘leaf-fall’ species A local authority has imposed preservation orders on trees growing on Network Rail land to stop them being felled by the operator.Bromley Council said on Friday it had issued two tree preservation orders (TPO) on a group of mature oaks, sycamores and ash trees which grow alongside the railway – many of whi
  
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• UK space needs 'bold national plan'

  11-05-2018 13:37 via bbc.co.uk
  Report: A long-term national programme is required to unlock the UK space sector's full potential.
  
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• Co-op to trial reverse vending for plastic bottles at UK festivals

  11-05-2018 13:11
  Co-op will become the first retailer in the UK to use reverse vending machines as part of a deposit return scheme from plastic containers, with trials set to take place at pop-up stores across UK festivals this summer.
  
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• Sellafield faces huge fine over worker's exposure to radiation

  11-05-2018 13:00 via theguardian.com
  Nuclear regulator prosecutes waste firm after injury leaves employee open to exposure
  Britain’s biggest nuclear waste storage and reprocessing site is facing a potential multimillion-pound fine after an employee was exposed to dangerously high levels of radiation.The nuclear regulator said its investigation had led it to prosecute Cumbria-based Sellafield Ltd, which handles the waste from the UK’s nuclear power stations as well as spent fuel from Japan and the US. Continue reading...
  
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• Apple partners with mining firms on zero-carbon aluminium smelting

  11-05-2018 11:03
  Technology giant Apple has announced a new partnership with industrial firms Alcoa Corporation and Rio Tinto Aluminium to accelerate commercialisation of new technology that eliminates all greenhouse gas emissions from the smelting process of aluminium.
  
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• Experience: I have been stung by 150 species of insect

  11-05-2018 10:59 via theguardian.com
  In my job, I have been stung countless times. But nothing comes close to the pain bull ants inflictI carried out my first experiment with a stinging insect when I was seven, picking a honey bee off a dandelion and placing it on the arm of my teacher. My hypothesis was that it might sting her, and it turned out to be correct, much to her dismay.Where I grew up, in the Appalachian area of the north-east US, we had lots of honey bees and wasps of various sorts. As a kid, I was stung by virtually al
  
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• Massive wave is southern hemisphere record, scientists believe

  11-05-2018 08:30 via bbc.co.uk
  The 23.8m (78ft) swell is the largest ever recorded below the equator, New Zealand scientists say.
  
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• They're out to get you: study finds cyclists face paranoia about drivers

  11-05-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Study finds that 70% of London cyclists believe drivers mean them harm. But is it mainly the fault of the road system?As a cyclist in a busy urban environment, it can seem that some drivers are out to get you. And now a new study has concluded that for many bike riders, this is only too true: a sense of paranoia is a clinical reality.The research led by Lyn Ellet, a clinical psychology academic at Royal Holloway, University of London, studied 323 cyclists in London aged between 18-66, and used a
  
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• Sharks groove to the sound of jazz – video

  11-05-2018 07:58 via theguardian.com
  Researchers at Sydney’s Macquarie University discover sharks can recognise jazz music, but struggle to differentiate between styles of music. Continue reading...
  
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• The guerilla cyclists solving urban problems | Kieran Smith

  11-05-2018 07:30 via theguardian.com
  From pop-up bike lanes to painted potholes, here are the imaginative ways frustrated cyclists are taking action to create a safer environmentAcross the world, transport planning and infrastructure tends to favour the car, and facilities for cyclists and pedestrians are an afterthought. In response, frustrated urban cyclists have thrown caution to the wind and written their own will into the fabric of the city, overturning the dominance of the car and creating a safer environment for cycling in i
  
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• Hurricane season may be even worse in 2018 after a harrowing 2017

  11-05-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  The initial forecasts of an above-average season for hurricanes, beginning on 1 June, follow a punishing spate of storms last yearThe US may have to brace itself for another harrowing spate of hurricanes this year, with forecasts of an active 2018 season coming amid new research that shows powerful Atlantic storms are intensifying far more rapidly than they did 30 years ago. Related: 'We've been forgotten': Hurricane Harvey and the long path to recoveryContinue reading...
  
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• The supermarket revolution – archive, 11 May 1959

  11-05-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  11 May 1959: How to prepack highly perishable foodstuffs in an attractive, modern pack is a difficult challenge for retailersPrepacked groceries have been known to us for a number of years, but I well remember, as a very young man in the food trade, their introduction! This brought an outcry, and the trade was told “You will never be successful; you will price yourself out of the market.” But they lived, became a success, and have increased their scope. With this success in mind and
  
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• Country diary: a trapped hunter, rescued and returned to the wild

  11-05-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Allendale, Northumberland: Barn owls can starve in snowy winters; it may be that the injury saved her lifeIt was on Boxing Day that the two boys found her. A flash of cream among field rushes, she had a wing caught in a fence and was flapping wildly to break free. A female barn owl. They carried her to a garden shed, leaving water and a pheasant carcass from which she ate. Clearly hungry, she must have been trapped for some time. With no obvious sign of wound, they followed the video on the Barn
  
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• Linc Energy fined $4.5m for pollution amounting to 'ecological vandalism'

  11-05-2018 06:10 via theguardian.com
  Prosecution seen as key test of Queensland’s ability to hold mining companies to accountSign up to receive the top stories in Australia every day at noonThe failed Queensland energy company Linc Energy has been slapped with one of the state’s largest environmental fines and ordered to pay $4.5m for contaminating farmland in the state’s western downs.Judge Michael Shanahan said the company’s actions amounted to “ecological vandalism”.But questions remain about
  
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• Closed-loop nappies and bio-microbeads: the best green innovations of the week

  11-05-2018 02:02
  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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• Red tide: Electric blue waves wash California shore

  11-05-2018 01:10 via bbc.co.uk
  Glowing blue algae have transformed California's coast.
  
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• Origins of amphibian-killing fungus uncovered

  11-05-2018 00:09 via bbc.co.uk
  A deadly fungus that has devastated amphibian populations worldwide probably originated in East Asia, new research suggests.
  
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