Environment news

• Antarctica: plastic contamination reaches Earth's last wilderness

  06-06-2018 22:00
  Traces of microplastics and hazardous chemicals found in majority of snow and ice samples taken earlier this yearPlastic and traces of hazardous chemicals have been found in Antarctica, one of the world’s last great wildernesses, according to a new study.Researchers spent three months taking water and snow samples from remote areas of the continent earlier this year.Continue reading...
  
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• Spanish astronaut Pedro Duque joins government as science minister

  06-06-2018 19:36 via bbc.co.uk
  He will join a cabinet appointed by the new PM where at least half of the ministers will be women.
  
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• Morris cars are lefty, not Brexity icons | Brief letters

  06-06-2018 19:25
  Iconic cars | Decline of wildlife | Roma culture | Cross v crucifixA shame the Morris Traveller is depicted as a backward-looking little Englander icon (Cartoon, 5 June). Could we enjoy a more positive image recalling its development during the war years as a modest people’s car, with socialist values attached? The Minor enjoyed popularity as district nurse, police and disabled transport before being co-opted by the green left cohort in later years. Yours, a remain-voting, liberal-left, fo
  
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• Pollution hits fungi that nourish trees - study

  06-06-2018 19:16 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists say pollution could have unpredictable effects on Europe's forests by damaging fungi.
  
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• Has US physics lab found a new particle?

  06-06-2018 18:07 via bbc.co.uk
  Results from the MiniBooNE physics experiment suggest a particle known as the sterile neutrino might have been found.
  
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• Underreporting of toxic waste at hog farms prompts inquiry

  06-06-2018 17:46
  Testing of 55 North Carolina lagoons showed large discrepancies in levels of key pollutants compared to what was self-reportedAuthorities in North Carolina have launched an investigation into widespread underreporting of dangerous toxins in dozens of feces-filled cesspools on giant hog farms that dot the eastern part of the state.Testing of 55 waste lagoons at 35 hog-raising operations by regulators showed large discrepancies in levels of key pollutants compared with what was self-reported to th
  
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• Flooding from high tides has doubled in the US in just 30 years

  06-06-2018 17:44
  Shoreline communities may be inundated in the next two years as ocean levels rise amid serious climate change concernsThe frequency of coastal flooding from high tides has doubled in the US in just 30 years, with communities near shorelines warned that the next two years are set to be punctuated by particularly severe inundations, as ocean levels continue to rise amid serious global climate change concerns. Related: Man missing after Maryland flash flood was helping woman rescue her catContinue
  
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• Astronaut Pedro Duque named Spain's science minister

  06-06-2018 17:27 via bbc.co.uk
  He will join a cabinet appointed by the new PM where at least half of the ministers will be women.
  
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• European astronaut set to command ISS launches on Soyuz

  06-06-2018 14:44 via bbc.co.uk
  The next European commander of the International Space Station has just blasted off into orbit.
  
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• Gove 'prepared to make concessions' on Brexit environment controls

  06-06-2018 14:18
  Environment secretary suggests he is ready to accept ‘constructive’ alternative after Lords defeatMichael Gove has won a significant victory over the Treasury after the chancellor, Philip Hammond, had blocked his plans for replacing EU environmental protections after Brexit.In a demonstration of the government’s readiness to make concessions to get the EU withdrawal bill on the statute book before the summit at the end of June, the environment secretary has indicated he intends
  
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• John McDonnell joins Tory rebels to oppose Heathrow third runway

  06-06-2018 14:01
  Shadow chancellor hopes to help persuade undecided MPs to vote against expansion plan John McDonnell has joined Conservative rebels against Heathrow’s third runway to attempt to persuade MPs who may still have reservations about the project to vote against it. Continue reading...
  
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• World's first liquid air energy storage facility launches in Bury

  06-06-2018 13:13
  The world's first grid-scale liquid air energy storage (LAES) facility opened in Bury on Tuesday (5 June) in a move that could stimulate the market for long-duration energy storage technologies.
  
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• California Governor challenges major businesses to report on climate impact

  06-06-2018 13:13
  The likes of Amazon, Facebook and Caterpillar have been challenged to measure their climate impact by California's Governor Jerry Brown.
  
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• European Commission seeks to boost space spending

  06-06-2018 12:53 via bbc.co.uk
  The European Commission wants to expand its space activities, and will set up a new agency to support them.
  
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• Quorn moves to eliminate black plastics from packaging supply chain

  06-06-2018 12:29
  Vegetarian food brand Quorn Foods is switching almost 300 tonnes of hard-to-recycle black plastic packaging to clear, recyclable alternatives, at a cost to the company, to reduce the amount of plastic waste it produces.
  
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• Switching to electric vehicles: edie launches free business guide

  06-06-2018 12:27
  Organisations looking to deploy electric vehicles (EVs) in their fleet now have access to a comprehensive guide which breaks down all of the key information required to successfully make the EV transition.
  
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• Taking place next month: edie's webinar on harnessing the electric vehicle revolution

  06-06-2018 12:23
  Taking place on Wednesday July 4, this one-hour webinar will explore how businesses across the country are embracing the unstoppable rise of electric vehicles to reduce emissions, incentivise employees and cut costs.
  
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• edie's next webinar to focus on harnessing the electric vehicle revolution

  06-06-2018 12:23
  Taking place on Wednesday July 4, an exclusive one-hour webinar discussion will explore how businesses across the country are embracing the unstoppable rise of electric vehicles to reduce emissions, incentivise employees and cut costs.
  
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• Shunning Britain

  06-06-2018 11:38 via bbc.co.uk
  British farmers say they are facing a shortage of workers to pick fruit and vegetables as recruitment companies say they can't find enough to fill vacancies.
  
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• National party comments on drought and climate 'a disservice' to farmers

  06-06-2018 10:38
  The majority of farmers and National party voters say they are ‘increasingly frustrated’ at the lack of action on climate change at a federal levelFarmers have challenged National party claims that conditions in drought-stricken regions in eastern Australia should not be politicised by attributing them to climate change.Farmer and former Nationals leader John Anderson said this week that while the drought was the worst he had experienced, it was not unprecedented. Continue reading...
  
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• Farmers challenge Nationals' claim drought unrelated to climate change

  06-06-2018 10:38
  Farmers and National party voters say they are ‘increasingly frustrated’ at the lack of action on climate change Farmers have challenged National party claims that conditions in drought-stricken regions in eastern Australia should not be politicised by attributing them to climate change.Farmer and former Nationals leader John Anderson said this week that while the drought was the worst he had experienced, it was not unprecedented. Continue reading...
  
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• Queensland ministers will be targeted if state funds roads for Adani, warn activists

  06-06-2018 08:17
  If Labor decides to finance infrastructure for the Carmichael mine, it would be a betrayal of trust and break a key election promise, say anti-coal protestersActivists say they will relaunch a disruption campaign targeting Queensland government ministers and MPs after reports the government has considered financing road upgrades required for access to Adani’s Carmichael coalmine.The ABC reports that documents, obtained under right-to-information laws by the consultancy Energy and Resource
  
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• I climbed Everest expecting a rubbish dump but what I found surprised me | Ben Fogle

  06-06-2018 08:00
  A huge clean-up is returning the world’s highest mountain to its former gloryJust over two weeks ago I was standing on the roof of the world, both figuratively and literally. I was 8,848 metres up on the summit of Mount Everest. It was the culmination of many years’ hard work, and the realisation of a childhood dream.I have been overwhelmed by the tide of goodwill and support but one thing has become increasingly apparent. In many people’s minds, Everest has lost her crown. She
  
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• Ben Fogle: I climbed Everest expecting a rubbish dump but what I found surprised me

  06-06-2018 08:00
  A huge clean-up is returning the world’s highest mountain to its former gloryJust over two weeks ago I was standing on the roof of the world, both figuratively and literally. I was 8,848 metres up on the summit of Mount Everest. It was the culmination of many years’ hard work, and the realisation of a childhood dream.I have been overwhelmed by the tide of goodwill and support but one thing has become increasingly apparent. In many people’s minds, Everest has lost her crown. She
  
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• 'Impossible-to-cheat' emissions tests show almost all new diesels still dirty

  06-06-2018 07:30
  Other new research shows diesel vehicles cause 88% of the £6bn annual damage to people’s health from car and van exhaust in the UKEmissions tests that are impossible for carmakers to cheat show that almost all diesel car models launched in Europe since the “dieselgate” scandal remain highly polluting.The test uses a beam of light to analyse the exhaust plume of a car as it passes and automatic number plate recognition to link the measurement to a specific model. More than
  
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• Government promises profitable farming post-Brexit

  06-06-2018 07:30
  Farmers concerned by Michael Gove’s recent environmental overtures welcome Defra vowThe government will take steps to ensure farms can operate profitably after Brexit, the environment secretary has insisted, as MPs challenged ministers to keep taxpayer funding for agriculture after EU subsidies are withdrawn.Michael Gove said food production was at the heart of British farming. He told the all-party parliamentary environment group: “It would be impossible to sustain everything we val
  
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• Summer in the city: what to wear this June – in pictures

  06-06-2018 07:00
  Whether you are at work or running errands, stay on top of your style game as the temperature soars with these five outfits Continue reading...
  
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• Country diary: butterflies instinctively make chemistry sexy

  06-06-2018 06:30
  Wyre Forest, Worcestershire: The male pearl-bordered fritillaries were laying pheromone trails low along the trackThe amber flicker materialised in air so saturated that it steamed through the trees, sauna hot. The orange light became two, spinning around each other only a metre above the ride, knotting and unknotting in the air. These were small pearl-bordered fritillary butterflies, Boloria selene, males in a dogfight over territory. After each skirmish they separated, flying low in opposite d
  
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• How the world’s first habitable 3D printed houses are made – video

  06-06-2018 06:00
  Eindhoven in the Netherlands is set to become the first district in the world to have habitable homes, made with a 3D printer. Houses have been made with 3D printers before but none has been fit for people to live in. The Dutch team behind the innovation hope the system will revolutionise the construction industry with far more energy-efficient, eco-friendly homes   Continue reading...
  
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• Take a look inside the world's largest legal cannabis farm

  06-06-2018 01:45 via bbc.co.uk
  Canada is on the verge of legalising marijuana for recreational use. The BBC visited a huge cannabis farm in British Columbia, which the operators say is the world's largest.
  
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• Coles and Woolworths’ plastic bag ban and the choices that remain

  06-06-2018 01:00
  What is and isn’t being phased out?And how effective will the new policy be? By the end of June, most of Australia’s major supermarkets will have stopped handing out single-use plastic bags. Woolworths, Coles and the Queensland government are all phasing out lightweight shopping bags, potentially preventing billions of bags from finding their way into landfill or oceans.Continue reading...
  
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• Pumped hydro projects unveiled as Tasmania bids to be 'battery of the nation'

  06-06-2018 00:22
  State and federal governments to confirm that 14 lake sites have beenearmarked Pumped hydro projects generating energy at twice the scale of the much-vaunted Snowy 2.0 scheme will be identified across Tasmania on Wednesday, with modelling suggesting the proposal could deliver thousands of jobs between now and 2028.The Turnbull and Hodgman governments will confirm that 14 pumped hydro sites have been earmarked across the state with a combined potential generation capacity of up to 4,800 megawatts
  
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