Environment news

• Pollutionwatch: hitting home, the everyday chemicals that boost the smogs

  19-07-2018 22:30
  Households as well as factories in the UK are pushing volatile chemicals into the air, helping to create those long-lasting hazesThe recent hot weather has allowed us to enjoy life outdoors – afternoons in the park, evenings in the garden – but it comes with a downside. Summer smog has enveloped the UK, with southern England the worst affected. In south-east England air pollution was moderate or high on the government’s information system for 17 consecutive days. This was the l
  
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• Plastic bags that biodegrade to nothing?

  19-07-2018 22:22 via bbc.co.uk
  It sounds like the perfect solution, but critics say it failed their test.
  
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• Rising global meat consumption 'will devastate environment'

  19-07-2018 20:00
  Analysis suggests eating of meat will climb steeply and play significant role in increasing carbon emissions and reducing biodiversityRising global meat consumption is likely to have a devastating environmental impact, scientists have warned.A new major analysis suggests meat consumption is set to climb steeply as the world population increases along with average individual income, and could play a significant role in increasing carbon emissions and reducing biodiversity. Continue reading...
  
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• Life after coal: the South Australian city leading the way

  19-07-2018 20:00
  It was a coal town, predicted to be wiped out by the closure of two ageing power plants. Now Port Augusta has 13 renewable projects in trainThe largest solar farm in the southern hemisphere lies on arid land at the foot of the Flinders Ranges, more than 300km north of Adelaide. If that sounds remote, it doesn’t do justice to how removed local residents feel from what currently qualifies as debate in Canberra.As government MPs and national newspapers thundered over whether taxpayers should
  
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• Coalition’s national energy guarantee predicted to drive up power prices

  19-07-2018 20:00
  New modelling forecasts Labor’s 45% target will force down Australian prices but government’s 26% will not A national energy guarantee with a more ambitious emissions reduction target of 45% by 2030 would lead to power prices falling over the life of the scheme in contrast to the Turnbull government’s proposal, according to new modelling.With the Neg bound for a make-or-break meeting in August, the new number crunching by the respected energy analysts RepuTex, funded by Greenpe
  
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• Subsidies for new household solar panels to end next year

  19-07-2018 18:23
  Renewable energy installations will no longer benefit from feed-in tariff, ministers confirmThe renewables industry and green groups have accused ministers of striking a major blow against household solar power after the government said a green energy subsidy scheme would end next year without a replacement.The closure of the feed-in tariff (FIT) to new applicants from next April marks the final chapter for the scheme, which has encouraged more than 800,000 households to install solar panels sin
  
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• Baby snake 'frozen in time' gives insight into lost world

  19-07-2018 16:07 via bbc.co.uk
  The fossil of a prehistoric snake that lived alongside the dinosaurs has been found entombed in amber.
  
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• Slowing Gulf Stream current to boost warming for 20 years

  19-07-2018 14:01 via bbc.co.uk
  The Atlantic system that warms the UK is slowing down but this may cause even more heating.
  
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• University of Bristol trials gamification in staff behaviour change scheme

  19-07-2018 12:28
  The University of Bristol has launched an employee engagement scheme to encourage staff to improve sustainability and wellbeing both on campus and at home.
  
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• Theresa May confirms UK will publish an Environment Bill

  19-07-2018 12:28
  Theresa May has announced that the Government will introduce a new Environmental Bill that incorporates measures on air quality among a range of issues.
  
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• Two halves of Attenborough polar ship joined together

  19-07-2018 12:17 via bbc.co.uk
  Engineers at Cammell Laird shipyard add the top six decks to the hull of the UK's new polar ship.
  
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• Can ditching meat and dairy open up new taste sensations? My week as a foodie vegan

  19-07-2018 12:00
  My first attempt at veganism left me living on chips. This time, Zoe Williams explores a whole new world of culinary possibilities, from vegan cheese to falafel koftesI’m going to describe the process of making vegan cheese. Later, I’ll tell you how popular veganism is, how it’s the dietary habit of the age, how all its staples and hangouts have changed and how to cook a vegan dinner for omnivores in a way that won’t leave them feeling shortchanged on deliciousness or sti
  
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• Asda joins Microfibre Consortium to reduce environmental impact of clothing

  19-07-2018 11:50
  UK supermarket Asda has joined a consortium aimed at understanding how microfibre shedding occurs, in order to implement projects aimed at reducing how much volume seeps into the ocean.
  
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• Theresa May announces new environment bill

  19-07-2018 11:11 via bbc.co.uk
  PM commits to laws that will ensure environmental protection improves - but not everyone is convinced.
  
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• CCS plants to be operational by mid-2020s, says taskforce

  19-07-2018 10:04
  At least two CCS (carbon capture storage) plants should be up and running by the mid-2020s, the government has been told by the force that it established to spur the development of the technology.
  
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• Liverpool to use blockchain technology to become world's first climate-positive city

  19-07-2018 08:01
  Liverpool City Council has announced a new partnership with a blockchain platform company to offset more than 110% of its carbon emissions, with the city announcing its bid to become the world's first climate-positive city by the end of 2020.
  
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• One-third of UK supermarket plastic is not easily recyclable, analysis shows

  19-07-2018 07:30
  Morrisons leads league table of supermarkets analysed for the proportion of their packaging that can be recycledAlmost a third of plastic packaging used by UK supermarkets is either non-recyclable through standard collection schemes or difficult to recycle, according to a new analysis by a consumer group.Which? is urging the government to introduce compulsory “clear and simple” recycling labelling on all plastic packaging as its new research reveals “huge inconsistencies”
  
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• Sydney waste-power incinerator blocked over air quality fears

  19-07-2018 06:58
  Planning commission finds ‘uncertainty’ around the massive project’s emissions A plan for a massive waste-to-energy incinerator in western Sydney has been blocked, after the New South Wales Independent Planning Commission ruled there was “uncertainty” over human health and environmental impacts.The plant – the largest planned in the southern hemisphere – would have burned 552,500 tonnes of waste every year, generating enough electricity to power 100,000
  
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• Country diary: carp find their quarry but become easy prey in the shallows

  19-07-2018 06:30
  Stanhope, Weardale: A watchful heron awaits his moment as the fish introduced to this former industrial landscape gorge on a rich supply of damselfly nymphsIn the heat of yet another cloudless summer afternoon the still air in Ashes quarry wobbled in the heat haze. Blasting, hewing and hauling of limestone ended here 60 years ago. Since then nature has reclaimed this peaceful mile-long scar in the fellside; today the loudest sound came from chirruping grasshoppers. The prolonged drought is unlik
  
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• Antarctic seabed site gets protection after reporter's submarine trip

  19-07-2018 01:31 via bbc.co.uk
  Video of a seabed filmed by a BBC journalist has helped the area get special protection.
  
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• Antarctic seabed gets protection after reporter's submarine trip

  19-07-2018 01:31 via bbc.co.uk
  Video of a seabed filmed by a BBC journalist has helped the area get special protection.
  
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