Environment news

• Liberal MP Craig Kelly calls Frydenberg emissions deal a 'double-edged sword'

  26-07-2018 20:00
  Minister told states target could be reviewed, but backbencher warns they may not like the resultDissident Liberal MP Craig Kelly has declared the energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, is taking a risk by offering the states a review of the government’s proposed emissions reduction target for electricity.With the national energy guarantee heading for a make-or-break meeting in early August, Frydenberg this week offered an olive branch, telling state energy ministers the Neg’s 26% emissio
  
  Read more

• The Guardian view on the heatwave: our climate is endangered | Editorial

  26-07-2018 19:42
  Adapting to hotter temperatures is sensible – but ignoring their causes is dangerousThe NHS is experiencing a “summer crisis”, with increased emergency admissions and uncomfortable conditions in buildings not equipped for the heat, while the Met Office has warned that the UK temperature record of 38.5C could be broken on Friday. Authorities in Greece are dealing with the aftermath of devastating wildfires that killed at least 85 people, while efforts to control blazes in Sweden
  
  Read more

• Lions attack sole rhino survivor of bungled Kenyan park relocation

  26-07-2018 18:37
  Ten black rhinos died last month in Tsavo East park due to conservation officers’ negligenceThe only rhino to survive a bungled relocation to a Kenyan wildlife park has been attacked by lions, Kenya’s tourism minister, Najib Balala, has said. Ten out of 11 black rhinos died last month in their new home in Tsavo East national park after being moved by the state wildlife service, prompting protests from conservation groups around the world. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Farmers across UK braced for heavy rain and thunderstorms

  26-07-2018 18:29
  Sudden weather change after weeks of drought could cause flooding and crop damageFarmers across many parts of the UK are bracing themselves for thunderstorms and outbursts of heavy rain after weeks of drought and high temperatures.The sudden change in the weather, expected to affect eastern areas hardest but spreading to the north and Midlands over Friday, is likely to cause problems of flooding and potential crop damage. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Why is it so hot? – video explainer

  26-07-2018 18:24
  As the northern hemisphere endures record-breaking temperatures, scientists and meteorologists are looking at the possible causes. Climate change is partly responsible, but the summer has also featured unusual jet stream activity, which is bringing the subtropical heat north • UK ‘woefully unprepared’ for deadly heatwaves, warn MPsContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• China's long game to dominate nuclear power relies on the UK

  26-07-2018 17:53
  Technology developed at Hinkley Point could be used in future facilities all over the worldChina wants to become a global leader in nuclear power and the UK is crucial to realising its ambitions.While other countries have scaled back on atomic energy in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, state-backed Chinese companies benefit from the fact that China is still relying on nuclear energy to reach the country’s low-carbon goals.Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Ocean wilderness 'disappearing' globally

  26-07-2018 17:00 via bbc.co.uk
  Researchers have found that only 13% of the world's oceans remain mostly undisturbed by humans.
  
  Read more

• Just 13% of global oceans undamaged by humanity, research reveals

  26-07-2018 17:00
  The remaining wilderness areas, mostly in the remote Pacific and at the poles, need urgent protection from fishing and pollution, scientists sayJust 13% of the world’s oceans remain untouched by the damaging impacts of humanity, the first systematic analysis has revealed. Outside the remotest areas of the Pacific and the poles, virtually no ocean is left harbouring naturally high levels of marine wildlife.Huge fishing fleets, global shipping and pollution running off the land are combining
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Almost all world’s oceans damaged by human impact, study finds

  26-07-2018 17:00
  The remaining wilderness areas, mostly in the remote Pacific and at the poles, need urgent protection from fishing and pollution, scientists sayJust 13% of the world’s oceans remain untouched by the damaging impacts of humanity, the first systematic analysis has revealed. Outside the remotest areas of the Pacific and the poles, virtually no ocean is left harbouring naturally high levels of marine wildlife.Huge fishing fleets, global shipping and pollution running off the land are combining
  
  Read more

• UK university accused of giving platform to Nord Stream 2 lobbyist

  26-07-2018 14:18
  King’s College London ‘lending appearance of neutrality’ to businessman with energy linksOne of the UK’s most prestigious universities is facing allegations that it is providing a platform for lobbying on behalf of the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline project between Germany and Russia.The German watchdog LobbyControl has accused King’s College London of lending an appearance of neutrality to a former German MP whose company has commercial contracts with Nord St
  
  Read more

• Wind power drives UK renewables to 30% share of electricity mix

  26-07-2018 14:12
  Almost 30% of the UK's electricity in 2017 was generated from renewables, nearly a 5% increase on the previous year, as increased solar and wind installations continue to decarbonise the UK's energy and electricity mix.
  
  Read more

• Einstein theory passes black hole test

  26-07-2018 14:07 via bbc.co.uk
  The black hole at the centre of our galaxy has helped astronomers confirm a key prediction of Albert Einstein's ideas.
  
  Read more

• Laos villages submerged after dam collapse – video

  26-07-2018 13:25
  The devastation continues after a hydropower dam collapsed in Laos, where 26 people have reportedly died and more than 100 are missing.  The floodwaters have also poured into neighbouring Cambodia, forcing thousands of people to evacuate Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• These six species are about to be sacrificed for the oil and gas industry

  26-07-2018 13:00
  Republican-led changes to the Endangered Species Act put plants and animals across America at risk. Here are the ones you should be most concerned aboutRepublicans in the western United States have been trying to whittle away the Endangered Species Act (ESA) since Donald Trump took office, and their efforts reached a crescendo last week with help from the White House. The Trump administration has proposed significant changes to its enforcement of the bedrock environmental law. Under the new rule
  
  Read more

• Toyota to operate autonomous, zero-emission vehicles at 2020 Olympic Games

  26-07-2018 12:34
  Toyota will provide more than 3,000 passenger vehicles for use at the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo and will use the events to showcase its latest innovations in zero-emissions and autonomous vehicles.
  
  Read more

• Canary Wharf Group commits to becoming world's first plastic-free commercial centre

  26-07-2018 10:23
  Canary Wharf Group (CWG) has pledged to become a plastic-free community across its 16.5 million sq. ft London real estate, in a bid to help businesses and the wider community reduce the amount of single-use plastics in circulation.
  
  Read more

• Regular heatwaves 'will kill thousands'

  26-07-2018 09:14 via bbc.co.uk
  The current hot conditions could become the new normal for British summers within 30 years, MPs say.
  
  Read more

• UK ‘woefully unprepared’ for deadly heatwaves, warn MPs

  26-07-2018 07:01
  There is little government action to ensure homes, hospitals, schools and transport can deal with extreme heat, say MPs, with heat deaths set to triple as climate change bites furtherThe UK is “woefully unprepared” for deadly heatwaves, according to a cross-party committee of MPs, with the government ignoring warnings from its official climate change adviser.One in five homes dangerously overheats during heatwaves today, the MPs found, while on the hottest day of 2016 alone there wer
  
  Read more

• Country diary: horseflies are a biting scourge throughout the land

  26-07-2018 06:30
  Sandy, Bedfordshire: As with mosquitoes, the female is deadlier than the male, seeking a meal of animal blood so that she can grow her eggsMany a fly has landed on my bare limbs this long summer, stretching out its minesweeper mouthparts to dab at my skin for something edible. Not thinking too hard about where those dirty feet have been, I tolerate them pattering about, sucking up, until the tickling sensation gets too much, and I shake them off. What I worry about is the flies that don’t
  
  Read more

• Cover-up: Jakarta hides foul river with giant net before Asian Games

  26-07-2018 04:01
  Authorities install mesh net to hide sight and smell of Sentiong River from athletesThe Jakarta city government has come under fire for buying a giant nylon net to cover up a polluted and foul-smelling river weeks before the Indonesian capital hosts the 2018 Asian Games.The Sentiong River, which twists alongside the athletes’ village in Kemayoran in central Jakarta, is so polluted it is known by locals as kali item or the black river.Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• This is the story of how Australia went to war with emus and lost | First Dog on the Moon

  26-07-2018 03:19
  When 20,000 emus arrived in Campion, Western Australia in 1932, local farmers requested help from the military. Here’s what happened nextSign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are publishedGet all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• What is the national energy guarantee and why is it taking so long?

  26-07-2018 01:55
  It’s crunch time for Turnbull’s big policy. Katharine Murphy looks at whether it’s likely to be worth the procedural painIt’s the energy policy debate that has lumbered on for months without resolution. With a make-or-break meeting looming in August on the Turnbull government’s national energy guarantee, it’s time to ask, what is this policy, and is it worth the pain of trying to get it implemented?Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• UK heatwave 2018: Why is it so hot?

  26-07-2018 01:01 via bbc.co.uk
  Want to know why you've had weeks of sleepless nights? The BBC's Science editor looks at the cause of our numerous heatwaves.
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!