Environment news

• Deadly wildfires blaze across California amid fears that 'the worst is yet to come'

  27-07-2018 21:45 via theguardian.com
  At least three dead and thousands evacuated as officials worry potentially devastating fire season has only just begunAt least three people have died and thousands have been evacuated in California as eight active wildfires continue to burn across the state. More than 3,000 firefighters have been deployed to contain the flames, and the destruction is expected to worsen throughout the weekend as high temperatures and dry conditions inhibit efforts.The state governor, Jerry Brown, has declared a s
  
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• Lunar eclipse: Century's longest 'blood moon' under way

  27-07-2018 21:21 via bbc.co.uk
  During this total eclipse, Earth's natural satellite will turn a striking shade of red or ruddy brown.
  
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• Extreme global weather is 'the face of climate change' says leading scientist

  27-07-2018 19:02 via theguardian.com
  Prof Michael Mann declares the impacts of global warming are now ‘playing out in real-time’ • Heatwave made more than twice as likely by climate change, scientists findThe extreme heatwaves and wildfires wreaking havoc around the globe are “the face of climate change”, one of the world’s leading climate scientists has declared, with the impacts of global warming now “playing out in real time”.
  Climate change has long been predicted to increase extre
  
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• UK heatwave: Britain facing thunderstorms and travel woes – live

  27-07-2018 17:57 via theguardian.com
  Concerns over health as sweltering heat set to continue despite storm forecastsThunderstorms may cloud blood moonShare your heatwave photos, videos and stories with us 4.57pm BST Rainfall has hit London. The Met office predicts it will be a humid evening in the capital and for the rest of the South East of England, with outbreaks of heavy, thundery rain, locally torrential.4.51pm BST Thanassis Ksaksiris, 45, a farmer and trader in Athens, spoke to Guardian Cities about the sweltering heat there.
  
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• Unions say action needed to protect UK workers in heatwave

  27-07-2018 17:08 via theguardian.com
  Warning of intolerable conditions as hospitals report rise in number of A&E visitsTrade unions have warned of intolerable working conditions for workers caused by extreme temperatures in Britain this summer, as some NHS hospitals report record numbers of people attending A&E because of the heat.The TUC said action was needed to protect workers from health risks posed by the abnormally high temperatures, as the mercury hit 34.1C in Norfolk on Friday, after Thursday’s year-high of 35
  
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• Petrichor: why does rain smell so good?

  27-07-2018 16:42 via bbc.co.uk
  There's some chemistry to the pleasant smell of rain after a long, dry spell.
  
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• UK heatwave: stormy weather ahead after hottest day of the year – live

  27-07-2018 15:30 via theguardian.com
  Concerns over health as sweltering heat set to continue despite storm forecastsIs the extreme weather linked to climate change? Post your questions for our reporter Adam Vaughan, live here from 2pmThunderstorms may cloud blood moonShare your heatwave photos, videos and stories with us 2.25pm BST Next up: should we unplug all our appliances in a thunderstorm, like those forecast for parts of the country today? Is it really necessary to disconnect all electrical appliances?... On my Nan's farm we
  
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• Fewer children walk or cycle to school despite air pollution fears

  27-07-2018 15:13 via theguardian.com
  The government’s latest National Travel Survey reveals that more parents are using cars for school run amid mounting evidence of health harms The proportion of parents who drive their children to school rather than walk or cycle is on the rise despite growing concerns about the impact of air pollution on young people’s health.New figures from the government’s National Travel Survey show that the percentage of primary school children who walk or cycle in England fell from 53% to
  
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• Maximising the power of onsite solar: edie launches free guide for businesses

  27-07-2018 15:10
  Organisations seeking to capitalise on the sustainability benefits offered by onsite solar now have access to a new edie Explains guide which breaks down everything you need to know about deploying solar solutions across business facilities.
  
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• Climate change driven by humans made heatwave 'twice as likely'

  27-07-2018 13:05 via bbc.co.uk
  The Europe-wide heatwave is an unambiguous signal of climate change, say researchers.
  
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• Heatwave made more than twice as likely by climate change, scientists find

  27-07-2018 13:01 via theguardian.com
  Fingerprints of global warming clear, they say, after comparing northern Europe’s scorching summer with records and computer modelsUK heatwave: stormy weather ahead after hottest day of the year – live
  The heatwave searing northern Europe was made more than twice as likely by climate change, according to a rapid assessment by scientists.
  The result is preliminary but they say the signal of climate change is “unambiguous”. Scientists have long predicted that global warming
  
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• Waitrose spearheads low-emission gas refuelling trials

  27-07-2018 11:29
  Waitrose is to take part in a year-long trial examining how compressed natural gas (CNG) can help reduce road transport emissions, utilising a new renewable biomethane refuelling station in Northampton to ensure supply of the low-carbon fuel.
  
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• Starbucks' nationwide 5p cup charge to fund Hubbub's waste-cleaning boat

  27-07-2018 10:47
  Starbucks has this week introduced its 5p paper cup charge to all 950 UK stores, with the proceeds of the charge to be used by environmental charity Hubbub to fund a plastic boat set to clean up waste in the Thames.
  
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• London's Tory mayoral candidates are stuck in the past on cycling

  27-07-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  When the free-market case for bike infrastructure is so clear, why won’t Conservative candidates embrace it?Among his many claims to political prominence, both good and bad, Boris Johnson was notable as a Conservative who built a lot of bike lanes fairly quickly (at least in the end). Similarly, much of New York City’s bike renaissance was launched by Michael Bloomberg, the three-term mayor who, as a billionaire media tycoon and Republican, had more in common with most Bond villains
  
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• Country diary: a change in the ecological weather

  27-07-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  High Fields, Stoney Middleton, Derbyshire: These exhausted hay meadows, now owned by the National Trust, are on the way to being restoredClimbing up from the top of Coombs Dale, I turn up a rough road known as Black Harry Lane. I don’t know the origins of the name; my hunch would be that it’s related to the region’s distant lead-mining past. There was an 18th-century highwayman called Black Harry, who was gibbeted nearby, but he was named after the packhorse road, not the other
  
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• Lunar eclipse: Skygazers await century's longest 'blood moon'

  27-07-2018 06:23 via bbc.co.uk
  During this total eclipse, Earth's natural satellite will turn a striking shade of red or ruddy brown.
  
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• Recycled corals reefs and flying Rolls Royce vehicles: the best green innovations of the week

  27-07-2018 02:01
  A number of eye-catching and potentially transformational innovations have emerged that could help businesses and nations deliver on resource efficiency, low-carbon transitions and combat climate change. Here, edie rounds-up six of the best.
  
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• Science behind the blood moon

  27-07-2018 01:33 via bbc.co.uk
  Friday night's lunar eclipse will last longer than any in the 21st Century.
  
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