Environment news

• Humans just 0.01% of all life but have destroyed 83% of wild mammals – study

  21-05-2018 21:00
  Groundbreaking assessment of all life on Earth reveals humanity’s surprisingly tiny part in it as well as our disproportionate impactHumankind is revealed as simultaneously insignificant and utterly dominant in the grand scheme of life on Earth by a groundbreaking new assessment of all life on the planet.The world’s 7.6 billion people represent just 0.01% of all living things, according to the study. Yet since the dawn of civilisation, humanity has caused the loss of 83% of all wild
  
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• Human race just 0.01% of all life but has eradicated most other living things

  21-05-2018 21:00
  Groundbreaking assessment of all life on Earth reveals humanity’s surprisingly tiny part in it as well as our disproportionate impactHumankind is revealed as simultaneously insignificant and utterly dominant in the grand scheme of life on Earth by a groundbreaking new assessment of all life on the planet.The world’s 7.6 billion people represent just 0.01% of all living things, according to the study. Yet since the dawn of civilisation, humanity has caused the loss of 83% of all wild
  
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• Human race just 0.01% of all life but has destroyed over 80% of wild mammals – study

  21-05-2018 21:00
  Groundbreaking assessment of all life on Earth reveals humanity’s surprisingly tiny part in it as well as our disproportionate impactHumankind is revealed as simultaneously insignificant and utterly dominant in the grand scheme of life on Earth by a groundbreaking new assessment of all life on the planet.The world’s 7.6 billion people represent just 0.01% of all living things, according to the study. Yet since the dawn of civilisation, humanity has caused the loss of 83% of all wild
  
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• The big Republican science quiz: how much don't you know?

  21-05-2018 20:56
  Take our quiz and see if you know more about political faux pas than some politicians seem to know about scienceThis week the GOP reminded us once again just how much they champion science. First Mo Brooks, a congressman from Alabama, pondered whether rocks falling into the ocean could be causing rising sea levels at a hearing of the House science, space and technology committee. Then Bill Gates revealed that president Trump asked him if HIV and HPV were the same same thing.
  Brooks and Trump are
  
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• An insect you may not want to be kind to | Brief letters

  21-05-2018 19:42
  Clothes moths | Salvator Mundi | The Four Counties Ring | Liam Rosenior | Roman AbramovichOh no: an article about how we can be kind to insects (G2, 21 May). Does this go for clothes moths too? They have just eaten through my only ever cashmere sweater. When he sees them, my husband says: “It’s no use killing them – I should torture them and ask where they are coming from.” The Indian tapestry, I suspect. What do they eat in the wild? Is our house “the wild&rdq
  
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• PM will pay to have 'full association' with EU research

  21-05-2018 17:55 via bbc.co.uk
  The Prime Minister makes the strongest commitment yet to "fully associate" the UK with the EU's £68bn research programme post-Brexit.
  
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• The ethics of wearing feathers: it's not just live-plucking that's a problem

  21-05-2018 16:56
  They are fluttering down catwalks and even appeared at the royal wedding, but for some activists all feathers are stolen property – whether or not they involve crueltyThe red carpet has been a hotbed of sartorial protest this year, with influential attenders opting to express their politics through their wardrobe. But as many celebrities scambled for the moral high ground, some controversial guests slipped under the radar. They go by a few names – marabou, ostrich, peacock – an
  
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• Ebola outbreak: Experimental vaccinations begin in DR Congo

  21-05-2018 16:05 via bbc.co.uk
  Some 4,000 vaccines are being used to try to stop an outbreak that has killed at least 26 people.
  
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• China launch will prep for Moon landing

  21-05-2018 15:12 via bbc.co.uk
  China has launched a relay satellite to prepare for a Moon rover mission planned for later in the year.
  
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• A baby elephant surprised zoo keepers

  21-05-2018 14:58 via bbc.co.uk
  A baby elephant surprised zoo keepers after being born to a mum whose pregnancy they thought had failed.
  
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• Tesco to axe 'confusing' best before dates on its fruit and vegetables

  21-05-2018 14:44
  Scores of retailer’s own-brand items will have no date label in drive to reduce food waste
  Tesco will scrap “confusing” best before dates on nearly 70 fresh fruit and vegetable products in its latest move to reduce food waste.
  Shoppers will no longer find date labels on some of the retailer’s own-brand apples, potatoes, tomatoes, lemons and onions, which it hopes will prevent them from being thrown away while still edible. Continue reading...
  
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• Green Alliance: Government's 2042 plastic waste ban 'hopeless'

  21-05-2018 14:14
  EXCLUSIVE: The Government should seek to bring forward its 2042 deadline to ban all avoidable plastic waste by "at least" 10 years, according to environmental group the Green Alliance.
  
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• 'Permanent' interstellar visitor found

  21-05-2018 14:11 via bbc.co.uk
  An asteroid from beyond our Solar System has been orbiting near Jupiter for billions of years, scientists say.
  
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• Princes commits to make bottles with 50% recycled plastic

  21-05-2018 13:41
  Consumer goods giant Princes has pledged to increase the proportion of post-consumer recycled (PCR) content in its plastic soft drink and oil bottles to more than 50% within four months, as part of an ongoing goal of using 100% PCR plastic in all its packaging.
  
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• Packaging industry calls for policy reform to boost plastics recycling

  21-05-2018 13:41
  A host of UK packaging organisations have called for more recycling collection points, tax reliefs for recycled content and a universal list of acceptable materials as part of a desired regulation reform to make it easier for consumers to recycle packaging waste.
  
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• Drax launches Europe's first bioenergy carbon capture project

  21-05-2018 13:41
  Energy group Drax has announced today (21 May) that it will lead the first bioenergy carbon capture and storage (BECCS) project in Europe during a trial of new technology at its north Yorkshire power station.
  
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• National Beekeeping Centre Wales, Conwy: ‘Connect kids with ecology – because the bees need us’ – review

  21-05-2018 13:30
  A free attraction in glorious countryside that teaches children about the importance of honeybees – with the chance to try lots of local honeys This low-key and friendly visitor centre is a champion for Welsh honeybees, which are increasingly under threat from climate change and loss of wild flower meadows. It raises visitors’ awareness of environmental issues and illustrates the 4,000-year history of beekeeping and honey-making, from the ancient Egyptians via the Romans. A Hive Aid
  
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• Yuval Noah Harari: Brexit will not halt drive to 'human unification'

  21-05-2018 12:19
  New book by bestselling historian argues global challenges will make nations ever more interdependentBrexit could prove to be a mere bump on the road toward “human unification”, according to a new book by bestselling historian Yuval Noah Harari, which warns politicians against becoming distracted by the rise of nationalism in the world.The Israeli academic, whose first book, Sapiens, became a surprise publishing sensation by charting the rise of the human species, turns his attention
  
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• Yes, EVs are green and global warming is raising sea levels | Dana Nuccitelli

  21-05-2018 12:00
  Republicans paid by the fossil fuel industry deny these realities
  Last week, the House Science, Space and Technology Committee held yet another climate science hearing similar to those from April 2017, February 2017, January 2016, May 2015, June 2014, December 2013, and so on. It seems as though disputing established climate science is House Republicans’ favorite hobby. This time, it was Philip Duffy’s turn to spend two hours playing whack-a-mole with the committee Republicans’
  
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• Kilauea: What happens when lava meets the sea

  21-05-2018 11:05 via bbc.co.uk
  BBC correspondent Chris Buckler explains what happens when lava flow meets the sea.
  
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• Could illegal mines in Ghana lead to an increase in chocolate prices?

  21-05-2018 10:30 via bbc.co.uk
  There's a warning that cocoa plantations in Ghana are being turned into illegal gold mines.
  
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• No tender process for $444m Great Barrier Reef grant, Senate hearing told

  21-05-2018 09:29
  Department says it approached the non-profit group just weeks before the budget and had still not signed an agreement
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  The government approached a non-profit group that will receive a record grant for reef protection only a few weeks before it announced the deal in the federal budget. Continue reading...
  
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• Drax power station to lead fresh carbon capture trial

  21-05-2018 07:30
  Biomass-burning unit at facility will be fitted with pioneering technology that aims to cut emissionsDrax Group will lead a £400,000 trial to capture and store carbon at its north Yorkshire power station in an attempt to kickstart a technology that has repeatedly failed to get off the ground in the UK.The company was part of earlier efforts to build a £1bn prototype carbon capture coal plant, but pulled out in 2015 after it missed out on renewable energy subsidies. Now the firm will
  
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• Clean-air campaigners call for ban on school run to cut pollution

  21-05-2018 07:01
  Government urged to take steps to reduce the impact of toxic air on vulnerable children Clean-air campaigners have written to the government calling for a ban on parents driving their children to school in an attempt to cut down on toxic levels of air pollution.
  Environmental groups and medics warn that pollution from the school run is having a serious impact on young people’s health.Continue reading...
  
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• Nuzzle a panda, kiss a lioness: Jane Goodall takes us on her wildest adventure yet

  21-05-2018 07:00
  The wildlife legend wants to take the whole world on safari. As her stunning new VR film series launches, she talks about firing up David Attenborough – and explains why Andy Serkis was ‘fantastic’ as an ape ‘Amazing!” gasps Jane Goodall, as she tilts her head in all directions, oblivious to the outside world. Goodall is the primatologist who changed our understanding of nature by recording chimpanzees using tools, a skill previously thought to separate humans from
  
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• Country diary: adders find their place in the Scottish sun

  21-05-2018 06:30
  Aigas, Highlands: Emerging from hibernation, these snakes seek out a warming rock to get energised for the hunt aheadWarmth is what it takes, that’s all. Every spring that first burst of sun in clear skies brings our adders back to life. In common with most other reptiles the world over, Vipera berus has to warm up. They are cold-blooded and have been hibernating underground for more than six months. Their metabolism will have all but closed down. They need to fire it up again. Related: Wh
  
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• University fires controversial marine scientist for alleged conduct breaches

  21-05-2018 06:00
  Peter Ridd fired after ignoring previous warnings from James Cook UniversitySign up to receive the top stories in Australia every day at noonA controversial Australian marine scientist who rejects research showing major human-caused impacts on the Great Barrier Reef has been fired from Queensland’s James Cook University for alleged multiple breaches of its code of conduct.
  Peter Ridd was fired on 2 May, according to the termination letter posted on Ridd’s website, after ignoring prev
  
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• Seeds of hope: The gardens springing up in refugee camps

  21-05-2018 01:27 via bbc.co.uk
  The gardens giving hope and a sense of belonging to Syrian refugees in Iraq.
  
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• Seeds of hope

  21-05-2018 01:27 via bbc.co.uk
  The gardens giving hope and a sense of belonging to Syrian refugees in Iraq.
  
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• The 'day spa' for pregnant sharks

  21-05-2018 01:16 via bbc.co.uk
  Visit the 'day spa' where pregnant dusky sharks treat themselves to a warm bath
  
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• UK's clean car goal 'not ambitious enough'

  21-05-2018 01:07 via bbc.co.uk
  An industry expert says petrol and diesel cars should be banned by 2030 or 2035, not 2040.
  
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