Environment news

• Specieswatch: European hornets visit our pond in the heatwave

  24-07-2018 22:30 via theguardian.com
  European hornets have moved north with climate change, but are generally less aggressive than common waspsIn a drought, all sorts of wildlife gets attracted to a garden pond since there are few other sources of water nearby. Regular visitors are wasps, the largest of which is the European hornet, Vespa crabro, which dwarfs common wasps because it is twice the size, at 25mm long. According to the experts it is less aggressive than the common wasp, but carries a substantial sting – so requir
  
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• (Voracious consumption) x (rising population) = planetary crisis | Letters

  24-07-2018 19:31 via theguardian.com
  Marcus Nield of the UN’s Climate Change Adaptation Unit says blaming China for is a case of ‘yellow peril’ hysteria, while Robin Maynard highlights the key role of population in depleting resourcesBlaming China for climate change is a clearcut case of “yellow peril” hysteria (Letters, 12 July). On average, a person in China consumes less than half of the emissions of a person in the US (7.2 tonnes per capita annually compared with 16.5 tonnes). So why all the f
  
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• Greek wildfires: dry winter and strong winds led to tinderbox conditions

  24-07-2018 18:35 via theguardian.com
  Experts call for better forest management and focus on prevention after blaze that killed more than 70 peopleAn unusually dry winter, with less than average rainfall interspersed with localised flooding in some areas, is emerging as a major contributing factor to the wildfires that are ravaging the mainland of Greece.
  Lack of the expected steady rainfall in the winter months meant groundwater sources failed to recharge and left vegetation unable to recover fully from the high temperatures of the
  
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• Cuadrilla gets go-ahead to start fracking at Lancashire site

  24-07-2018 17:45 via theguardian.com
  Energy minister issues first permit since new regulatory regime introducedShale gas firm Cuadrilla has been given the green light by the government to start fracking at a well in Lancashire, after the energy minister issued the first fracking permit since a new regulatory regime was introduced.Fracking is expected to begin in late August or early September at the Preston New Road site, between Blackpool and Preston, which has been the focus of 18 months of protests since work on the site started
  
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• China fossil tells new supercontinent story

  24-07-2018 17:00 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists have uncovered a new dinosaur in China... and it's older than expected.
  
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• Why is Europe going through a heatwave?

  24-07-2018 16:38 via theguardian.com
  As record temperatures wreak havoc across the northern hemisphere scientists explain why this ‘extreme’ weather may soon be the normWhy is it so hot?Partly, it’s just the luck of the weather. The jet stream, the west-to-east winds that play a big role in determining Europe’s weather, has been further north than usual for about two months.Continue reading...
  
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• Meet the inspiring, hopeful women fighting for climate justice | Maeve Higgins

  24-07-2018 15:39 via theguardian.com
  I’m a comedian. Working on a podcast with the ex-president of Ireland I learned how women around the world are working to save the planet – and unlearned my ‘west knows best’ attitudeIn March this year I started to care about the planet. Like, in a big way. Before that, I fretted about it and treated it like an extremely beautiful but very sick creature I was afraid to get too attached to. If you want to know how my change of heart started, I’ll tell you the same th
  
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• Capital goods sector primed to capitalise on low-carbon transition, says CDP

  24-07-2018 13:12
  The capital goods sector is on the "verge of a low-carbon industrial revolution" with numerous high-profile companies urged to turn to microgrids, energy storage and hybrid renewables to lower emissions and capture new economic opportunities, a new report has found.
  
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• 'The US government has checked out on renewables': can cities fill the gap?

  24-07-2018 13:00 via theguardian.com
  Burlington, the first US city to run entirely on clean power, is inspiring other cities to make progress on climate changeBurlington in Vermont has already given the world Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and provided the political launchpad for Bernie Sanders. Now the city’s successful switch to 100% renewable electricity is spurring US mayors to fill the gaping void on climate change action left by the Trump administration.
  Burlington didn’t make a fuss when it switched on a new h
  
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• Beavers released in Forest of Dean as solution to flooding

  24-07-2018 12:30 via theguardian.com
  Hope is that pair of beavers build dams that help hold back water and improve biodiversityFour hundred years after the beaver was hunted to extinction in the UK, two of the mammals are being reintroduced on to government land in an English forest as part of a scheme to assess whether they could be a solution to flooding. Two Eurasian beavers were being released on Tuesday into their new lodge within a large penned-off section of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire.Continue reading...
  
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• Rare coral found off the west coast of Ireland

  24-07-2018 11:46 via bbc.co.uk
  Rare coral has been found in a deep sea research mission off the west coast of Ireland.
  
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• First batteries installed for Isles of Scilly smart storage project

  24-07-2018 11:14
  A £10.8m smart energy project testing how solar power, smart heating and electric vehicles (EVs) can be used to improve the energy system on the Isles of Scilly had its first set of storage batteries installed on Tuesday (24 July).
  
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• Trump officials may allow 'shaker machines' to search arctic refuge for oil

  24-07-2018 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Seismic testing plan would cause irreparable harm to Alaska national wildlife refuge, biologists sayThe Trump administration has announced it is considering a proposal to conduct seismic testing for oil and gas in the Arctic national wildlife refuge, the largest such preserve in the US.If the plan moves forward, vehicles with “shakers” – diesel-powered equipment that sends tremors through the landscape – will be deployed along Alaska’s northern coastal plain in an e
  
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• Report: UK product imports fuelling modern slavery at home and abroad

  24-07-2018 10:55
  The UK purchased almost £14bn worth of products that were produced through forced labour last year, while 136,000 people living in modern slavery are now located in the UK, according to a new report.
  
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• MPs insist new post-Brexit green watchdog must have legal powers

  24-07-2018 10:05
  The Government should create legally-binding targets for environmental issues that can be scrutinised by a new independent oversight body, MPs have claimed.
  
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• Just Eat trials seaweed sachets as alternative to single-use plastics

  24-07-2018 09:12
  Online food ordering firm Just Eat has commenced a trial of compostable sachets made from seaweed, as part of an effort to reduce the amount of plastic used by its UK restaurant partners.
  
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• Architects of energy policy tell states they can sign up without endorsing targets

  24-07-2018 08:14 via theguardian.com
  Board urges states and territories to end energy wars without giving ground on emissionsThe architects of the national energy guarantee have told state governments they can sign on to the policy mechanism without endorsing the Turnbull government’s low emissions reduction target – potentially opening the way for a compromise at a make or break meeting in August.A final policy paper circulated to the states and territories ahead of the looming meeting, seen by Guardian Australia, appe
  
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• Architects of energy policy tell states they can sign up even if they don't agree with emissions targets

  24-07-2018 08:14 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: Board urges states and territories to end energy wars without giving ground on emissionsThe architects of the national energy guarantee have told state governments they can sign on to the policy mechanism without endorsing the Turnbull government’s low emissions reduction target. The Energy Security Board intervention in the fraught debate is an attempt to open the way for a compromise at a make-or-break meeting in August.A final policy paper circulated to the states and territo
  
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• Mary Robinson launches new feminist fight against climate change

  24-07-2018 07:30 via theguardian.com
  Former Irish president’s initiative kicks off with podcasts pairing her with comedian Maeve HigginsWomen around the world who are leading the fight against climate damage are to be highlighted by Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and UN high commissioner, in the hopes of building a new global movement that will create “a feminist solution for climate change”.Perhaps more revolutionary still, the new initiative is light-hearted in tone, optimistic in outlook and present
  
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• Post-Brexit green watchdog must have teeth, MPs demand

  24-07-2018 07:01 via theguardian.com
  Committee says body that takes on environment oversight role needs powers to hold government to accountA new environmental watchdog with powers to hold the government to account must be set up after Brexit to ensure protections are kept in place, an influential group of MPs has said.The environmental audit committee (EAC) on Tuesday also called for targets on air, water, soil, biodiversity and other issues to be legally binding and subject to five-yearly reports, in a similar way to the carbon b
  
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• Country diary: hopes pinned on a butterfly's wings

  24-07-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Goss Moor, Cornwall: Despite the abundance of natural beauty, the moor’s ecology is declining – and battle has been joined to remedy thatWhere tin-rich mud was once dredged, gems now flutter and jet-black beetles burrow, but something is not right and these jewels are in peril.Goss Moor is part of the largest mire complex in south-west England, with lakes, peaty bogs, fen areas, lots of sallow scrub and the meanderings of the headwaters of the River Fal. There is an abundance of natu
  
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• Monsanto's 'cancer-causing' weedkiller destroyed my life, dying man tells court

  24-07-2018 02:38 via theguardian.com
  Testifying in landmark trial, former school groundskeeper describes suffering allegedly caused by company’s chemicalsDewayne Johnson said that if he had known what he knew now about Roundup weedkiller, “I would’ve never sprayed that product on school grounds ... if I knew it would cause harm ... It’s unethical.”Johnson, a former school groundskeeper in northern California who is terminally ill, was testifying Monday in his landmark suit against Monsanto about the ca
  
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