Environment news

• Pollutionwatch: let's rate exhaust fumes as also a lethal road risk

  21-06-2018 22:30 via theguardian.com
  Vision Zero is a plan that rejects road accident deaths as ‘acceptable’. Is it time we called for zero tolerance of deaths from traffic pollution?The programme Vision Zero refuses to view the continued deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents as an acceptable fact. Like safety in the workplace, risks need to be designed out of road systems, it says. The initiative, which began in Sweden in 1994, founded by the government and industries, is gaining ground with cities in the UK
  
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• Mystery extinct ape found in ancient Chinese tomb

  21-06-2018 22:30 via bbc.co.uk
  The discovery of a prehistoric pet gibbon suggests humans pushed apes to extinction far back in history.
  
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• Indigenous group hid more than $2m in payments from Adani mining giant

  21-06-2018 20:00 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: directors were paid cash for invalidated cultural assessments of Abbot PointA north Queensland Indigenous organisation kept secret more than $2m in payments by the Adani mining company, federal court documents show.Guardian Australia has obtained court documents that show the Kyburra Munda Yalga Aboriginal Corporation did not account for payments by Adani, then paid its own directors up to $1,000 a day cash-in-hand to conduct now-invalidated cultural heritage assessments for the India
  
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• Zigzag elm sawfly attacking trees in UK, warn experts

  21-06-2018 19:27 via theguardian.com
  Elm leaf-eating pest has gradually travelled across Europe from Japan, leaving mark reminiscent of that by Zorro’s sword
  A pest which leaves a signature trail of destruction on elm leaves reminiscent of the mark of the fictional sword-wielding hero Zorro appears to have arrived in the UK, experts have warned. The zigzag elm sawfly, originally found in Japan, feeds only on elm leaves and has been progressing steadily through Europe.Continue reading...
  
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• EXCLUSIVE: Ed Miliband pushes for net-zero emissions goal ahead of UN summit

  21-06-2018 19:23
  Ed Miliband has called on the UK Government to build momentum towards the next UN climate summit by enshrining a new net-zero emissions target for 2050.
  
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• Ed Miliband pushes for UK net-zero emissions goal before COP24

  21-06-2018 19:23
  EXCLUSIVE: Ed Miliband has called on the UK Government to build momentum towards the next UN climate summit by enshrining a new net-zero emissions target for 2050.
  
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• Ed Miliband pushes for net-zero emissions goal ahead of UN summit

  21-06-2018 19:23
  EXCLUSIVE: Ed Miliband has called on the UK Government to build momentum towards the next UN climate summit by enshrining a new net-zero emissions target for 2050.
  
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• Cocaine in rivers harming endangered eels, study finds

  21-06-2018 17:54 via theguardian.com
  Tests show drug causes eels to become hyperactive and damages their muscles, possibly hindering their ability to migrate For eels, the drugs don’t work. Tiny concentrations of cocaine flushed into rivers causes eels to become not only hyperactive but to suffer from muscle wastage, impaired gills and hormonal changes.The impact of traces of cocaine on the physiology of European eels could be hindering their epic migrations through the oceans to reproduce, according to researchers who examin
  
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• EU aims to increase 2030 carbon reduction target to 45%

  21-06-2018 17:25
  The European Union (EU) looks likely to increase its 2030 carbon reduction target by 5% following months of discussions amongst negotiators.
  
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• Iced coffee is ruining the environment – and your body

  21-06-2018 17:18 via theguardian.com
  From plastic straws to almond milk, the season of cold brews is officially ruining the planetIt’s iced coffee season – and this year, the coolest accessory to beat the heat and consume your caffeine conscientiously may well be an eco-friendly stainless steel straw.The single-use plastic straw, you’ve probably noticed, has become increasingly socially unacceptable. A number of cities around the world have banned or are considering banning the straws, and more and more companies
  
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• Koko: Gorilla who mastered sign language dies in California

  21-06-2018 17:03 via bbc.co.uk
  Koko is said to have been able to communicate thoughts and feelings using more than 1,000 hand signs.
  
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• Report: £340bn annual investment needed to meet UN's water targets

  21-06-2018 16:32
  Total worldwide investments into water infrastructure must reach £342bn ($449bn) each year between 2018 and 2030 if the globe is to meet the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for water and sanitation, a new report from Global Water Intelligence (GWI) has revealed.
  
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• David Attenborough launches wildlife fund for advertisers

  21-06-2018 15:34 via theguardian.com
  Firms signing up to Lion’s Share fund will give 0.5% of money spent on ad campaigns featuring animals to conservation schemesSir David Attenborough has said large corporations should donate to wildlife protection schemes every time they feature animals in their adverts.The veteran wildlife presenter has called on the advertising industry to do more to help the environment as he launched a new voluntary scheme designed to boost the income of animal charities.Continue reading...
  
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• On the Mission Possible sofa with Victoria Burrows, Martin Gettings & Dorothy Maxwell

  21-06-2018 14:20
  The fifth episode of our new sustainable business chat show sees World Green Building Council's project manager of Advancing Net Zero Victoria Burrows joined by Canary Wharf Group's head of sustainability Martin Gettings and House of Fraser's head of sustainability Dorothy Maxwell to discuss the built environment.
  
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• Malta's 'barbaric' finch traps ruled illegal by EU court

  21-06-2018 13:52 via theguardian.com
  Campaigners hail court verdict, which bans trapping of several species of the birdMalta has broken EU law by allowing the hunting and trapping of several finch species, the European court has ruled.The Mediterranean island will face potentially substantial fines unless it ends a derogation it introduced in 2014 allowing the songbirds to be captured. Continue reading...
  
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• On the Mission Possible sofa Victoria Burrows, Martin Gettings & Dorothy Maxwell

  21-06-2018 13:50
  The fifth episode of our new sustainable business chat show sees World Green Building Council's project manager of Advancing Net Zero Victoria Burrows joined by Canary Wharf Group's head of sustainability Martin Gettings and House of Fraser's head of sustainability Dorothy Maxwell to discuss the built environment.
  
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• Saving Britain's swifts - in pictures

  21-06-2018 13:18 via theguardian.com
  Swifts are one of the most recognisable birds of summer, returning to the UK to breed in early May each year. But in the last 20 years, the breeding population has halved, with a lack of nest sites and declining insects among the causes. This week marks the first UK Swift Awareness week, which aims to highlight the plight of swifts and the rescue efforts to save them
  Why we should care about the vanishing of the swifts Continue reading...
  
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• CityTrees and electric bin lorries: the best green innovations for Clean Air Day

  21-06-2018 13:18
  To mark Clean Air Day (21 June), edie has rounded up some of the ground-breaking innovations being explored by companies across the globe as we look to tackle the dangers of air pollution.
  
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• 'Washing is a privilege': life on the frontline of India's water crisis

  21-06-2018 12:08 via theguardian.com
  By 2030 the nation will have access to half the water it needs. The city of Shimla has already run outWash your clothes, or flush the toilet? Until last month, Ranjana Sharma had never considered the question. Then she arrived home one night to find her sister filling buckets.The hot season has occasionally caused brief water shortages in Shimla, the former summer capital of the British Raj. But for an unprecedented 15 days in May and June, most taps in the Indian Himalayan town ran completely d
  
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• Shell joins Carbon Trust programme to drive lower offshore wind costs

  21-06-2018 12:02
  Shell Global Solutions International BV, the technical services and technologies arm of oil and gas giant Shell, has today (June 21) announced that it has joined a Carbon Trust programme aimed at overcoming market barriers to offshore wind deployment.
  
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• Some rare good climate news: the fossil fuel industry is weaker than ever | Bill McKibben

  21-06-2018 12:00 via theguardian.com
  From Wall Street to the pope, many increasingly see fossil fuels as anything but a sure bet. That gives us reason to hopeIf you’re looking for good news on the climate front, don’t look to the Antarctic. Last week’s spate of studies documenting that its melt rates had tripled is precisely the kind of data that underscores the almost impossible urgency of the moment.And don’t look to Washington DC, where the unlikely survival of the EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt, continu
  
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• Tourism preventing Kenya's cheetahs from raising young, study finds

  21-06-2018 11:10 via theguardian.com
  Research in Maasai Mara linked areas with high density of vehicles to lower numbers of cubs raised to independenceHigh levels of tourism can lead to a dramatic reduction in the number of cheetahs able to raise their young to independence, new research has found.A study in Kenya’s Maasai Mara savannah found that in areas with a high density of tourist vehicles, the average number of cubs a mother cheetah raised to independence was just 0.2 cubs per litter – less than a tenth of the 2.
  
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• The 'Baby' that ushered in modern computer age

  21-06-2018 09:33 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists are celebrating the birth 70 years ago of a machine that kick-started the modern computer age.
  
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• 'Time running out' for UK parks, government told

  21-06-2018 08:01 via theguardian.com
  Coalition of environmental groups put forward Charter for Parks as ‘crisis point’ declared following years of budget cutsA coalition of countryside groups and environmentalists are calling on the government to protect the UK’s parks and green spaces which are at “crisis point” following years of swingeing budget cuts.The group has today put forward a “Charter for Parks”which calls on ministers in England, Wales and Scotland to make it a legal requirement
  
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• UK gardeners urged to build ponds as sightings of frogs and toads dry up

  21-06-2018 07:28 via theguardian.com
  Sightings of toads have fallen by nearly a third and frogs by 17% since 2014, RSPB survey findsPeople with gardens are being urged to create simple ponds or areas of long grass because sightings of frogs and toads in gardens are drying up.Reports of toads in gardens have fallen by nearly a third since 2014, while sightings of frogs have dropped by 17% over the same period, according to the Big Garden Birdwatch, the RSPB’s wildlife survey. Continue reading...
  
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• Millions of British children breathing toxic air, Unicef warns

  21-06-2018 07:01 via theguardian.com
  More than 4.5m affected, says UN group, while tests suggest children’s shorter height increases exposure on busy roadsMore than 4.5 million children in the UK are growing up in areas with toxic levels of air pollution, the UN children’s organisation Unicef has warned.Tests suggesting that children walking along busy roads are exposed to a third more air pollution than adults, as their shorter height places them close to passing car exhausts, were also released on Thursday. Continue r
  
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• Country diary: the glorious fauna of a north Pennine meadow

  21-06-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Mickleton, Teesdale: Flowering grasses are an ethereal presence, graceful and constantly moving
  At the eastern end of the viaduct that carries the Tees railway path across the River Lune there is a hay meadow that starts to flaunt its charms in spring, with a display of starry white meadow saxifrage. Continue reading...
  
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• Deeply dippy

  21-06-2018 02:43 via bbc.co.uk
  Dippy the diplodocus is proving a huge draw on its UK-wide tour. Why are some people so fascinated with dinosaurs?
  
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