Environment news

• Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing – a comic reflection on life, mortality and tench

  20-06-2018 23:32
  The two funnymen bond by the river as they recuperate from heart operations and contemplate life without biscuitsI remember it well. Staring at – practically hypnotised by – the float, a little orange stick in the water, willing it to twitch. And then, when it does, that magical moment, not quite believing it. Did it really happen, or did I imagine it? It twitches again, bobs down and goes under. You pick up the rod and strike. Yes! Resistance, a connection via a thin nylon thread to
  
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• The gene-edited pigs immune to lung disease

  20-06-2018 19:30 via bbc.co.uk
  Pigs in Scotland have had their genes altered so they are now immune to a deadly respiratory disease.
  
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• Scientists genetically engineer pigs immune to costly disease

  20-06-2018 19:00
  Gene-editing technology could be propelled into commercial farms within five yearsScientists have genetically engineered pigs to be immune to one of the world’s most costly animal diseases, in an advance that could propel gene-editing technology into commercial farms within five years.The trial, led by the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute, showed that the pigs were completely immune to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), a disease that is endemic across th
  
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• Gene-edited farm animals are on their way

  20-06-2018 19:00 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists create pigs that are immune to one of the world's costliest livestock diseases.
  
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• Shetland scallop fishery retains eco label despite dredging protests

  20-06-2018 18:34
  Review rejects conservation groups’ complaints that use of dredging gear damages seabedA scallop fishery in Shetland has retained its coveted eco label after an independent review rejected allegations that it damaged the marine environment.The marine conservation charity Open Seas and the National Trust for Scotland protested that the fishery’s use of dredging gear to harvest scallops caused unjustifiable damage to the seabed and other marine species. Continue reading...
  
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• Aggregate Industries to reap rewards from AI-powered flexible energy platform

  20-06-2018 18:13
  Heavy building materials firm Aggregate Industries is set to cut its annual electricity bills and energy intensity by 10% after installing an energy flexibility platform powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
  
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• Five things you probably didn't know about the UK's renewable export market

  20-06-2018 16:46
  As a new report reveals that the UK's marine and wind energy companies exported goods and services to an impressive 44 countries across the globe last year, edie rounds up some of the key trends in the UK's renewable imports and exports.
  
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• Astronauts eject UK-led space junk demo mission

  20-06-2018 15:50 via bbc.co.uk
  The RemoveDebris satellite will trial technologies for snaring broken hardware drifting in orbit.
  
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• The Body Shop exploring 'back-up plans' to help reach energy targets

  20-06-2018 14:37
  EXCLUSIVE: The Body Shop has introduced a new energy saving guide and is considering a carbon offset scheme as a "back-up plan" to meet its 2020 sustainability targets, following slow progress on its renewable power, energy efficiency and packaging innovation aims.
  
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• A world without puffins? The uncertain fate of the much-loved seabirds

  20-06-2018 14:00
  On the small Welsh island of Skomer, puffin numbers are booming. But in former strongholds in Scotland, Norway and Iceland, the picture is ever more worryingBryony Baker lies spreadeagled at the edge of a cliff and reaches her hand deep into a hole in the ground that is almost entirely hidden beneath a clump of grass. She pushes futher in and her arm disappears up to the shoulder. It is a little like watching a vet getting up close and personal with a labouring cow. “Ouch!” she excla
  
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• Be the change: Businesses make bold sustainability commitments to achieve Mission Possible

  20-06-2018 12:53
  More than 100 new green business commitments have been made by a spread of sustainability, energy and resource efficiency professionals as part of edie's Mission Possible campaign, with other organisations now being called upon to follow suit.
  
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• London Mayor to create Europe's largest electric bus fleet

  20-06-2018 12:05
  The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has ordered 68 fully-electric double-decker buses in a bid to create the largest fleet of its kind in Europe.
  
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• How one man died so a whale might live

  20-06-2018 12:00
  Humans have spent more than 10 centuries emptying the ocean of some of its most extraordinary animals. Today, a coalition of scientists and fishermen are trying to turn the tide – and learning that conservation is much harder than destruction Continue reading...
  
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• 'Barnacled angels': the whales of Stellwagen Bank – a photo essay

  20-06-2018 11:29
  Off the tip of Cape Cod, pods of humpbacks return every summer to feed. For the past 18 years, Philip Hoare has been joining them to witness this incredible displayAt the tip of Cape Cod, a sandy spit reaches out into the Atlantic, like an arm, towards a vast underwater plateau where humpbacks gather each summer to feed. This is the US marine sanctuary of Stellwagen Bank, where for the past three weeks I’ve been a guest on the Dolphin Fleet whalewatch boats, working out of Provincetown.Con
  
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• Tony Abbott signals he'll cross the floor to vote against Turnbull's energy plan

  20-06-2018 11:08
  Former PM could join Craig Kelly, who has also threatened to oppose national energy guaranteeThe former prime minister Tony Abbott has flagged crossing the floor to oppose the national energy guarantee, joining fellow conservative Craig Kelly, who telegraphed a similar threat three weeks ago in an interview with Guardian Australia.
  Conservative critics of the policy are attempting to ratchet up internal pressure on the energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, before a critical meeting with his state an
  
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• Energy industry growing nervous over 'Brexit fog'

  20-06-2018 10:26
  Uncertainty surrounding Brexit is a mounting concern for the energy industry, according to a new report by the Energy Institute.
  
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• 'The entire habitat is gone': Hawaii's natural wonders claimed by lava

  20-06-2018 10:00
  The Kilauea eruption has wiped out rare sites and whole ecosystems. As the island mourns a tragedy, it also accepts the brutal cycle of nature
  In Puna, the area of Hawaii island that’s been hardest hit by the Kilauea volcano eruption, those who lived nearest to the lava flows watched the forest around their homes begin to die first. They said the fruit trees, flowers and ferns began turning brown, languishing in the noxious, sulfur-dioxide-filled air. Then the lava came. Now large swaths o
  
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• Welcome to Brumbria: should the West Midlands become a national park?

  20-06-2018 08:15
  Could a plan to turn the West Midlands into a national park transform the Black Country’s unlovely reputation, asks Wolverhampton native Stuart Jeffries “I think we have an extraordinary landscape here waiting to be discovered by millions,” says landscape architect Kathryn Moore, unrolling a jauntily coloured map of her visionary new park in a Birmingham City University office. The professor isn’t talking about of Cumbria, Umbria, Snowdonia or Amazonia. She’s talkin
  
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• More tigers live in US back yards than in the wild. Is this a catastrophe?

  20-06-2018 08:00
  It is easier to buy a tiger in some states than to adopt a rescue dog – and only 6% of the animals are housed in approved facilities. This is bad for the big cats – and for humansAccording to estimates, the population of tigers in people’s back gardens in the US outnumbers those in the wild. Seven thousand of the big cats live in US captivity, whereas, despite increases, there are as few as 3,890 wild tigers worldwide. Most of the captive animals are kept in unregulated conditi
  
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• How can you support farmers who are using fewer antibiotics?

  20-06-2018 08:00
  There are limited opportunities to support farmers who are using less, so the most important thing is to make your voice heard Diversion tactics: how big pharma is muddying the waters on animal antibiotics
  How much does big pharma make from animal antibiotics?
  Farm antibiotic use rarely features on food labels or marketing in the UK, so it’s very hard for shoppers to know how to support farmers who are using less. For whole meat and butchered cuts, there are some rules of thumb for the con
  
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• Cross-party MPs say government is dragging feet on air pollution

  20-06-2018 07:30
  Calls by joint inquiry to bring forward UK car sales ban have been resisted by governmentThe government has been accused of dragging its feet on air quality improvements by a cross-party group of MPs.A partnership of four committees said serious concerns remained about the UK’s commitment to cutting pollution and its impact on public health.Continue reading...
  
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• Would you give up having children to save the planet? Meet the couples who have

  20-06-2018 07:00
  The environmental toll of having even one child is enormous - 58.6 tonnes of carbon each year. So is going child-free the answer to our climate crisis?Gwynn Mackellen was 26 when she decided to get sterilised. It took the recycling consultant, who is based in California five years to find an appropriate doctor under the public health plan she was on, but she was determined. In 2012, she succeeded. “I always knew I didn’t want kids, for environmental reasons,” she says.“I
  
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• Senate to probe Great Barrier Reef grant of $444m to small charity

  20-06-2018 06:12
  Inquiry will look at what the Great Barrier Reef Foundation is capable of deliveringA parliamentary inquiry will examine how a $444m grant for work on the Great Barrier Reef was awarded to a small not-for-profit charity, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, with no competitive tender process.Labor, Greens and crossbench senators have backed the inquiry, which was moved by a Greens senator, Peter Whish-Wilson. Continue reading...
  
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• Wolves in France: Farmers fear attacks

  20-06-2018 01:03 via bbc.co.uk
  One mayor says children under 10 years old should not walk alone, in case of an attack.
  
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