Environment news

• Plastic garbage patch: Medical tests 'inspired me to investigate'

  25-06-2018 23:22 via bbc.co.uk
  An all-women expedition sets out to gather scientific data on the world's largest accumulation of marine plastic.
  
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• MPs back Heathrow third runway project as Johnson faces criticism

  25-06-2018 23:16 via theguardian.com
  Plan passes with majority of 296 but foreign secretary was flying back from AfghanistanBoris Johnson has faced sharp criticism from fellow Conservative MPs over his decision to miss Monday night’s crunch vote on Heathrow expansion by flying out of the country on an official visit to Afghanistan.The foreign secretary claimed that resigning over his opposition to the £14bn project, which the Commons backed on Monday night by 415 votes to 119 – a majority of 296, would achieve &ld
  
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• Weatherwatch: California's clearer skies raise fire risk

  25-06-2018 22:30 via theguardian.com
  Cloud cover is plummeting on the state’s south coast, leading to drier vegetation and greater threat of wildfireThe Golden State is in danger of becoming the “Cinder State”. New research reveals that cloud cover is plummeting in southern coastal California, increasing the chances of bigger and more intense wildfires. Related: California burning: life among the wildfiresContinue reading...
  
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• Meet the 'forgotten' Victorian astronomer Annie Maunder

  25-06-2018 20:53 via bbc.co.uk
  A state-of-the-art telescope is named after Annie Maunder, a Victorian pioneer of space photography.
  
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• Government rejects plan for £1.3bn tidal lagoon in Swansea

  25-06-2018 20:06 via theguardian.com
  Ministers say project is too expensive but decision sparks widespread criticismThe government has rejected plans for a £1.3bn tidal lagoon in Swansea Bay, dashing industry hopes of Britain leading development of a new source of renewable energy and sparking widespread criticism.Ministers said the project, which would have been subsidised through household energy bills for decades, was too expensive compared with alternatives such as offshore windfarms and nuclear power. Continue reading...
  
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• Waste crisis: where's your recycling going now?

  25-06-2018 20:00 via theguardian.com
  China’s limits on contamination levels have sparked a recycling industry crisis. What are local and state governments doing to solve the problem?“Did you put the recycling out?”It’s a phrase regularly recited in millions of households across Australia, followed by a hollow rumble as the yellow-lidded wheelie bin is hauled to the curb. It’s a ritual that, in one form or another, takes place in more than 90% of Australian homes.Continue reading...
  
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• Where have all the butterflies gone? | Brief letters

  25-06-2018 19:15 via theguardian.com
  Disappearing butterflies | Patriarchy and religion | Protesting Trump | Getaways in a Morris Minor | IkeaI don’t know whether to be happy or sad. No cabbage white butterfly caterpillars chomping through my veg is great, but where have all the butterflies gone (Letters, passim)? Not only have I not seen a single cabbage white butterfly this year but no red admirals, no peacocks and no tortoiseshells. Very worrying.
  Peter Hanson
  Exeter• As she dissected the subtle and not so subtle
  
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• Wildfire spreads across Northern California

  25-06-2018 19:11 via bbc.co.uk
  Hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes as firefighters battle the blazes.
  
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• UK's forgotten woman astronomer honoured

  25-06-2018 19:11 via bbc.co.uk
  The Royal Observatory Greenwich is to start serious study of the sky again with a facility named after astronomer Annie Maunder.
  
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• Red deer on the Isle of Rum – in pictures

  25-06-2018 18:23 via theguardian.com
  A team of six scientists has descended on Rum, a small island in the Inner Hebrides on the west coast of Scotland, to catch red deer calves. During the month-long initiative, overseen by the Isle of Rum Red Deer Project, newborns will be tagged so data can be gathered on them over the course of their lifetimes. The island is home to hundreds of deer and about only 30 people, all of whom live in Kinloch village on the east coast Continue reading...
  
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• Bird family tree shaken by discovery of feathered fossil

  25-06-2018 17:58 via bbc.co.uk
  A beautifully preserved fossil bird from 52 million years ago is shaking up the family tree of the birds.
  
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• Flying cameras can spot lethal disease sweeping through world's olive groves

  25-06-2018 17:00 via theguardian.com
  Fast-spreading Xylella fastidiosa is devastating species from citrus to oak trees, but can now be detected from the airA devastating and fast-spreading infection killing olive trees and grapevines around the world can now be detected from the air, long before symptoms are visible to the human eye.The new technique offers hope in the battle against one of the world’s most dangerous plant pathogens, which can infect some 350 different species, including citrus and almond trees, as well as oa
  
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• Morrisons' paper bag switch is bad for global warming, say critics

  25-06-2018 15:31 via theguardian.com
  Production and disposal of paper bags has greater climate impact than plastic, says Environment AgencyExperts have criticised Morrisons’ decision to switch from plastic to paper bags for fruit and vegetables, branding it a retrograde step for efforts to tackle climate change.This week the supermarket ditched transparent plastic bags in favour of recyclable paper ones, in a move it said was prompted by customers’ worries over pollution. But the step is likely to have unintended conseq
  
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• Johnson criticised over decision to miss crunch Heathrow vote

  25-06-2018 15:10 via theguardian.com
  Fellow Tory MPs say foreign secretary should resign over opposition to third runway
  Boris Johnson is facing growing criticism from fellow Conservative MPs over his decision to miss Monday night’s crunch vote on Heathrow despite his claim that resigning over his opposition to a third runway would achieve “absolutely nothing”.The foreign secretary, who is on a visit to Afghanistan, said he would continue to oppose the £14bn third runway with his ministerial colleagues behin
  
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• HP used eight million 'ocean-bound' plastic bottles in products last year

  25-06-2018 15:00
  Hewlett-Packard (HP) has revealed that it has diverted 170 tonnes of plastic from the oceans over the past 12 months, after pledging to recycle "ocean-bound" plastic bottles for use in its range of ink cartridges.
  
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• Tobacco farm in Malawi: the families toiling in the fields

  25-06-2018 13:54 via theguardian.com
  Life as tenant farmers in Kasungu, northern Malawi, can be a struggle for families trapped in poverty, who feel forced to rely on their children’s help, impacting schooling. Photography by David Levene Continue reading...
  
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• Heathrow airport: how MPs are likely to vote on the third runway

  25-06-2018 13:14 via theguardian.com
  The positions of parties and key players before the Commons vote on expansionOn Monday evening MPs will vote on whether or not Heathrow airport should have a third runway. It is a deeply factious issue and, not unexpectedly, the divisions are complex. Continue reading...
  
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• M&S, Sainsbury's and Tesco team up on closed-loop solution for black plastics

  25-06-2018 13:07
  Supermarket giants Tesco, Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer (M&S) have collaborated to introduce a solution for hard-to-recycle black plastic that places recycled content into food-grade packaging.
  
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• UK to host new Green Finance Institute

  25-06-2018 12:35
  The Government will fund a new Green Finance Institute alongside the City of London Corporation to "champion sustainable finance" in the UK and abroad.
  
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• Mumbai bans plastic bags and bottles

  25-06-2018 12:14 via theguardian.com
  Indian city to fine or jail residents caught using single-use plasticsMumbai has the become the largest Indian city to ban single-use plastics, with residents caught using plastic bags, cups or bottles to face penalties of up to 25,000 rupees (£276) and three months in jail from Monday.
  Council inspectors in navy blue jackets have been posted across the city to catch businesses or residents still using plastic bags. Penalties have already kicked in for businesses and several, reportedly in
  
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• Morrisons rolls out paper bags in produce aisles to cut plastic waste

  25-06-2018 12:06
  Supermarket chain Morrisons has announced that it will stop offering single-use plastic bags in its fruit and vegetable aisles, in a bid to cut its plastic output by 150 million bags each year.
  
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• 30 years later, deniers are still lying about Hansen’s amazing global warming prediction | Dana Nuccitelli

  25-06-2018 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Koch paychecks seem to be strong motivators to lie30 years ago, James Hansen testified to Congress about the dangers of human-caused climate change. In his testimony, Hansen showed the results of his 1988 study using a climate model to project future global warming under three possible scenarios, ranging from ‘business as usual’ heavy pollution in his Scenario A to ‘draconian emissions cuts’ in Scenario C, with a moderate Scenario B in between.Changes in the human effects
  
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• China dwarfs Europe on EV investments, figures show

  25-06-2018 11:34
  European carmakers have invested seven times more in electric vehicle production lines in China than at home, according to industry figures collected by Transport & Environment (T&E), a green campaign group.
  
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• Government cautiously optimistic on Heathrow vote, says Grayling

  25-06-2018 10:33 via theguardian.com
  Transport secretary claims strong support across political spectrum for third runway The government is “cautiously optimistic” about winning a key parliamentary vote on the expansion of Heathrow airport, the transport secretary, Chris Grayling, has said, defending the controversial idea as being good for the whole of the UK.The Conservatives, who have a three-line whip in place for their MPs, are likely to get significant Labour support in the vote on Monday after Unite called for La
  
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• UK Power Networks to host UK's first 'virtual' solar power station

  25-06-2018 10:13
  The UK's largest electricity distributor has unveiled its plan to create the nation's first "virtual" solar power station by the end of the year, using PV panels on the rooftops of its London customers' homes.
  
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• Record emissions keep Australia on path to missing Paris target

  25-06-2018 08:33 via theguardian.com
  Annual carbon emissions, excluding unreliable data, higher than ever, data showsAustralia’s emissions over the past year were again the highest on record when unreliable data from land use and forestry sectors are excluded, according to new data from NDEVR Environmental.If the country’s greenhouse gas emissions continue on their current trajectory, Australia will miss its Paris target by a billion tonnes of CO2, which is equal to about two years of Australia’s entire national e
  
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• Brexit allows us to have a national debate about healthy farming | Catherine Broomfield

  25-06-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  We all have a vested interest in how we balance the need for food with preserving the natural world. It’s too important to leave to farmers onlyEven for those who do not share the Brexiteers’ lust for life unshackled from Europe, there is, as with any divorce, something enticing; a frisson of illicit excitement in the prospect of once again being single.Reasons for the breakup are many, but the common agricultural policy must be near the top of the list. For 40 years Britain has been
  
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• Baffled by the flight of the dragonfly - Country diary archive, 25 June 1918

  25-06-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  25 June 1918 Without apparent effort they dash with incredible speed to one side or the other, or even backwards or forwardsSlim-bodied, brilliantly blue dragonflies dart above the waterside vegetation, then suddenly stop themselves and cling to an upright stem, wings extended wide, long legs clasping with angled “elbows.” They do not dash themselves against the plant they aim for. Poised in the air as if suspended are the buzzing hover-flies, their wings moving so rapidly that we on
  
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• Coalition dissidents demand national energy guarantee meeting be open to all

  25-06-2018 06:48 via theguardian.com
  Craig Kelly wants meeting for business leaders to be open to all MPs ahead of expected party-room protestsThe energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, is being lobbied to open a private meeting of the government’s backbench energy committee to all comers ahead of more protests about the national energy guarantee expected in the Coalition party room on Tuesday.Frydenberg has organised a delegation of business leaders to address a special meeting of the Coalition backbench committee on energy and t
  
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• Toronto pay-what-you-can store aims to tackle landfills and hunger

  25-06-2018 06:00 via theguardian.com
  Initiative aims to reduce dumping of ‘waste’ and sell it at prices set by buyersIn a bright, airy Toronto market, the shelves are laden with everything from organic produce to pre-made meals and pet food. What shoppers won’t find, however, is price tags. In what is believed to be a North American first, everything in this grocery store is pay-what-you-can.The new store aims to tackle food insecurity and wastage by pitting the two issues against each other, said Jagger Gordon, t
  
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• Ofgem appoints economist Martin Cave as chairman

  25-06-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Decision comes as regulator prepares to impose price cap on energy billsA champion of price caps and a critic of suppliers’ behaviour has been chosen to lead the UK’s energy regulator, Ofgem. In an effort to toughen up the watchdog, which has been criticised for being soft on energy firms, regulatory economist Martin Cave has been selected as the regulator’s new chair just months before it is due to impose a price cap on energy bills. Continue reading...
  
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