Environment news

• Birdwatch: seasonal flow in a farewell call and dusky drapes

  10-07-2018 22:30 via theguardian.com
  It’s mid-summer yet the cuckoo’s adieu and spotted redshank’s dark plumage hint at autumnIt may be the hottest, driest, summer since 1976 but on the first day of July I said goodbye to spring and greeted the coming of autumn, within a few short hours. The farewell to spring came in the form of a calling cuckoo at the RSPB’s flagship Ham Wall reserve in Somerset.Continue reading...
  
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• Threatened species: nine mammals and mountain mistfrog could join extinction list

  10-07-2018 20:00 via theguardian.com
  Number of extinct species on EPBC fauna list will rise by almost 20% if species added to listTen species could soon be added to Australia’s list of extinct fauna, including a Queensland frog that was last seen in 1990.The federal government’s scientific advisory body is assessing whether to add nine mammals and the mountain mistfrog to its list of native animal species considered extinct under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. Continue reading...
  
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• Electricity prices: ACCC calls for new powers to fix ‘market manipulation’

  10-07-2018 20:00 via theguardian.com
  Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says energy market ‘unacceptable and unsustainable’Consumers could save hundreds of dollars a year on their power bills if legal changes boosted competition among electricity wholesalers and retailers, the competition watchdog has said.A report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, to be released on Wednesday, calls for new powers for the Australian Energy Regulator to target “market manipulation” and a reset
  
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• Ivory art is elephant in the room for MPs | Letters

  10-07-2018 18:57 via theguardian.com
  MPs debating the ivory bill must distinguish between the illegal market and the legitimate sale of significant works of art, says Martin Levy. Cecilia Grayson draws parallels between the ivory trade and the food industryFiona Harvey reports that, despite restrictions in place since 1989, illegal ivory is being sold across Europe (Report, 10 July). Nothing more clearly demonstrates the significance of the widely welcomed ivory bill currently passing though parliament.  However, the impressio
  
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• Tesla to open Shanghai electric car factory, doubling its production

  10-07-2018 18:51 via theguardian.com
  Elon Musk says first facility outside the US will build 500,000 cars a yearTesla is to open a new electric car production plant in Shanghai, its first outside the US, chief executive Elon Musk said from the city on Tuesday.The new auto plant is slated to produce 500,000 cars a year, taking Tesla’s total global manufacturing capacity to 1m vehicles a year. Most automotive factories are tooled to produce 200,000 to 300,000 vehicles a year. Continue reading...
  
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• Business giants launch new natural capital metric

  10-07-2018 16:11
  A global network of big-name companies including Mars, Asda and Primark have today (July 11) unveiled a new set of metrics to help other organisations identify, measure, and value impacts and dependencies on natural assets, raw materials and natural infrastructure.
  
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• Cool down nuclear plan because renewables are better bet, says NIC

  10-07-2018 15:59
  Government advisers have told ministers to back only a single new nuclear power station after Hinkley Point C in the next few years, because renewable energy sources could prove a safer investment.
  
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• Air pollution linked to spikes in hospital and GP visits

  10-07-2018 15:41 via theguardian.com
  Study shows poor air quality leads to health problems and ‘should serve as a warning’ Air pollution leads to spikes in health problems and drives up hospital admissions and visits to the GP, according to a new study.The report proves an “absolutely clear” link between poor air quality and health problems and researchers said it should serve as a warning to politicians about the serious impacts of toxic air on public health. Continue reading...
  
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• Israeli unmanned spacecraft to land on Moon in 2019

  10-07-2018 15:02 via bbc.co.uk
  It will be the first privately-funded unmanned spacecraft to land on the lunar surface.
  
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• Israeli space probe to land on Moon in 2019

  10-07-2018 15:02 via bbc.co.uk
  It will be the first privately-funded space probe to land on the lunar surface.
  
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• 'Sir David Attenborough' ready for big splash

  10-07-2018 14:27 via bbc.co.uk
  The UK's new £200m polar research ship is on the slipway ready to go in the River Mersey.
  
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• On the Mission Possible sofa with the ECIU's Richard Black and RSPB's Melanie Coath

  10-07-2018 14:09
  The seventh episode of our new sustainable business chat show sees the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit's (ECIU) director Richard Black joined by RSPB's senior climate change policy officer Melanie Coath to discuss whether legislation is enabling or hindering the uptake of renewables in the UK.
  
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• Starbucks to introduce 5p paper cup charge across all UK stores

  10-07-2018 13:36
  Starbucks will add a 5p surcharge to paper cups in its 950 stores across the UK later this month, as well as vowing to eliminate single-use plastic straws from its global operations by 2020.
  
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• Starbucks introduces 'latte levy' of 5p on single-use paper cups

  10-07-2018 12:32 via theguardian.com
  Coffee giant first in UK to add charge in bid to cut overuse of 2.5bn disposable cups a yearStarbucks is the first UK coffee chain to introduce a national “latte levy” - a 5p charge on single-use paper coffee cups - in a bid to reduce the overuse and waste of 2.5bn disposable cups every year.Following the success of a three-month trial in London, the chain said it would roll out the charge to all of its 950 stores in the UK from 26 July. Continue reading...
  
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• Tetra Pak half way to sourcing 100% renewable electricity

  10-07-2018 11:56
  Packaging giant Tetra Pak has this week revealed that it now sources half of the electricity needed to power its global operations from renewables, putting it on track to meet its target of sourcing 100% green electricity by 2030.
  
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• Illegal ivory found on sale in 10 European countries

  10-07-2018 07:30 via theguardian.com
  Europe must increase efforts to investigate and control the ivory trade, say campaignersIllegal ivory has been found on sale in 10 European countries, contravening international efforts to cut down on the trade which campaigners say encourages the poaching of elephants. Continue reading...
  
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• Country diary: summer breezes across the South Downs

  10-07-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Harting Down, West Sussex: Bees and black-veined marble white butterflies float from flower to flower, as skylarks trill above and a meadow pipit parachutes down into the grass Continue reading...
  
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• Nestlé products removed from Melbourne zoos over palm oil

  10-07-2018 04:17 via theguardian.com
  Zoos Victoria made the decision after Nestlé lost its sustainable certificationProducts from the food and drink giant Nestlé will no longer be stocked at the stores and food carts at Melbourne and Werribee zoos.Zoos Victoria made the decision after the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) suspended Nestlé’s membership when the company failed to submit a 2016 progress report, and its 2017 report lacked a timetable for producing or buying certified sustainable palm
  
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• Fossil of 'first giant' dinosaur discovered in Argentina

  10-07-2018 01:36 via bbc.co.uk
  Discovery of "first giant" shows how and when dinosaurs grew to such massive proportions.
  
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• Legal EU ivory sales 'condemn elephants'

  10-07-2018 01:13 via bbc.co.uk
  Campaigners find many legally sold antique ivory trinkets in Europe come from recently killed elephants.
  
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• What is Novichok?

  10-07-2018 01:08 via bbc.co.uk
  Laura Foster explains how the Novichok nerve agent works and what to do if you think you've been exposed to it.
  
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• Salisbury poisoning: What is Novichok?

  10-07-2018 01:08 via bbc.co.uk
  Laura Foster explains how the Novichok nerve agent works and what to do if you think you've been exposed to it.
  
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• Cool down nuclear plan because renewables are better bet, ministers told

  10-07-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Government advisers say UK should back just one more new nuclear power station in the next few yearsGovernment advisers have told ministers to back only a single new nuclear power station after Hinkley Point C in the next few years, because renewable energy sources could prove a safer investment.The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) said the government should cool down plans for a nuclear new build programme that envisage as many as six plants being built.Continue reading...
  
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• Krill companies limit Antarctic fishing

  10-07-2018 00:26 via bbc.co.uk
  The overwhelming majority of krill companies are to stop fishing in vast areas of the Antarctic Peninsula.
  
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