Environment news

• World weatherwatch: Iberia's terral blows in with oppressive heat

  15-08-2018 22:30 via theguardian.com
  Hot dry air from Africa nudged up the mercury and then came flash floods and thunderstormsIn the first week of August the heatwave conditions in Iberia broke up. Described in Spain as a terral wind, such oppressive heatwaves occur when hot, dry, air advances from north Africa. There was speculation that maximum temperature records could be broken, perhaps reaching 48C (118.4F) inland. But the mercury only reached a peak of 45.4C, in Évora, Portugal.The relief from the heat was partly than
  
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• New pesticides 'may have risks for bees'

  15-08-2018 19:46 via bbc.co.uk
  Attempts to find a new generation of pesticides to replace neonicotinoids have been dealt a potential blow.
  
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• European Investment Bank Group halves emissions intensity as staff numbers increase

  15-08-2018 17:54
  The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group has announced that it has halved its emissions intensity over the past decade, despite staff numbers increasing more than two-fold over the ten-year period.
  
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• Pine marten spotted in Kielder forest for first time in 90 years

  15-08-2018 17:02 via theguardian.com
  Fearsome predator was extinct in England but Scottish relatives have crossed the border and set up home in NorthumberlandThe pine marten, a fearsome but diminutive predator driven to extinction in England, has returned to the country’s largest forest for the first time since 1926.Stills and video from a camera trap have recorded a mature pine marten devouring peanut butter put out for red squirrels at a secret location in Kielder forest, Northumberland. Continue reading...
  
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• Star Trek saga casts new Spock actor Ethan Peck

  15-08-2018 16:49 via bbc.co.uk
  How will Ethan Peck compare to Leonard Nimoy and other actors who've played the pointy-eared science officer?
  
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• Greene King saving more than 600,000 pints of water daily since water retail switch

  15-08-2018 16:11
  Pub chain and brewer Greene King has revealed that it is saving more than 600,000 pints of water each day since obtaining a self-supply licence to deliver its own water and wastewater services last year.
  
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• Badger campaigners lose high court battle to limit cull

  15-08-2018 15:44 via theguardian.com
  Wildlife campaigner Tom Langton claims the culls themselves risk making bovine TB epidemic worse Badger culling will be extended across England on an open-ended basis, conservationists have warned, after the high court rejected a challenge to the legality of the government’s policy.Licences to allow badger culling to continue in particular areas beyond a four-year period are legal, ruled Mr Justice Cranston, rejecting a challenge brought by the independent ecologist Tom Langton. Continue r
  
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• Mystery Russian satellite's behaviour raises alarm in US

  15-08-2018 14:05 via bbc.co.uk
  Official says "there is no way to verify" what object is and whether or not it may pose a danger.
  
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• Footage suggests basking sharks use Scottish seas for courtship

  15-08-2018 13:57 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists collected footage showing basking sharks being "sociable" with each other off the coast of Mull.
  
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• The £1bn opportunity: How new Government funding could spur the low-carbon transition

  15-08-2018 13:22
  After the Government announced that it will pour £1bn of funding into innovative research and development projects across the UK, edie explores five areas of the green economy which could use a funding boost if the nation is to reach future carbon targets.
  
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• London City Corporation launches capital's low-emission parking tariff

  15-08-2018 12:57
  The City of London Corporation has announced that it will launch what it claims is the capital's first "environmentally-friendly" parking tariff, offering discounted parking rates for electric vehicle (EV) and hybrid drivers in a bid to incentivise sustainable travel.
  
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• Humans are pushing the Earth closer to a climate cliff | John Abraham

  15-08-2018 12:00 via theguardian.com
  A new study examines potential climate feedbacks that could push Earth into a ‘hothouse’ state
  A new paper, just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has received a lot of media attention. The attention is justified because the paper paints a very grim picture of the climate and what humans may be doing to it. In particular, the authors of this study tried to determine the trajectory that the Earth is on so we can predict what the future climate will be.Th
  
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• Nutria: the rodent wreaking havoc on California's landscape – video

  15-08-2018 11:25 via theguardian.com
  The rapid influx of these beaver-like rodents has decimated parts of the Californian wetlands. They were introduced to the US for the fur trade and now share wetland areas with some of the west coast’s most endangered species. The California department of fish and wildlife has compared the threat of their presence to that of wildfiresCalifornia v nutria: state seeks to eradicate scourge of giant rodents Continue reading...
  
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• UN Global Compact: Corporates must stop 'cherry-picking' the SDGs

  15-08-2018 11:11
  EXCLUSIVE: Large businesses will soon risk losing investor interest and stakeholder trust unless they stop "cherry-picking" which of the United Nation's (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) they report on and omitting negative impacts from their sustainability reports.
  
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• ACE UK partners with Cornwall Council to boost beverage carton recycling rates

  15-08-2018 11:04
  The Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE UK) has partnered with Cornwall Council to open a set of new recycling banks for food and drink cartons and paper coffee cups across the region, in a bid to boost recycling rates for the items.
  
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• California v nutria: state seeks to eradicate scourge of giant rodents

  15-08-2018 11:00 via theguardian.com
  As the dog-sized creatures destroy wetlands and dig through levees, officials have a goal: total exterminationThe call came from a wildlife trapper working in the wetlands of central California.“I think I caught a nutria,” the man said. Continue reading...
  
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• Josh Frydenberg under pressure over $444m reef foundation grant – as it happened

  15-08-2018 10:47 via theguardian.com
  Labor pursues environment minister over grant to private foundation and fallout continues from Fraser Anning’s ‘final solution’ speech. All the day’s events, live• Fraser Anning calls for ‘final solution’ on immigration• Exclusive: Centrelink trial bypasses safeguard for mentally ill 10.11am BST Postscript The Senate has voted on David Leyonhjelm’s bill to restore the territories’ rights to legislate for euthanasia and it has been voted d
  
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• Josh Frydenberg under pressure over $444m reef foundation grant – politics live

  15-08-2018 08:50 via theguardian.com
  Labor pursues environment minister over grant to private foundation and fallout continues from Fraser Anning’s ‘final solution’ speech. All the day’s events, live• Fraser Anning calls for ‘final solution’ on immigration• Exclusive: Centrelink trial bypasses safeguard for mentally ill 7.50am BST The numbers on the euthanasia legislation in the Senate seems pretty touch and go at the moment.Peter Georgiou announced this morning he would be voting &lsqu
  
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• What would a heat-proof city look like?

  15-08-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Cities are already up to 10C hotter than surrounding areas. As temperatures rise, here are four ways to cool cities down – saving both lives and energyIf you’ve felt uncomfortably hot in a city this summer, chances are it’s not just because of the weather. Look around any urban centre and you’ll see the built environment itself exacerbates summer temperatures.Vehicles stuck in traffic emitting heat. Airconditioners pumping waste heat into the air. Concrete and asphalt acr
  
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• Country diary: mine stacks punctuate the landscape

  15-08-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Botallack, Tin Coast, Cornwall: Today this once industrious land is deserted apart from a few curious visitors, keen to see the Poldark family mineAbove the summer-blue sea, mine stacks, ruined engine houses, and the 1980s head-frame above Allen Shaft punctuate the landscape. From Botallack’s restored count house (the accounts office), which provides refreshments and a repeating video about the Poldark TV series (this is the site of the “Wheal Leisure” family mine), a volunteer
  
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• Bob Katter says he supports Fraser Anning's speech '1,000%' – politics live

  15-08-2018 05:54 via theguardian.com
  Pauline Hanson says she’s ‘appalled’ by ‘final solution’ speech as crossbencher doubles down on his words. All the day’s events, liveFraser Anning calls for ‘final solution’ on immigrationExclusive: Centrelink trial bypasses safeguard for mentally ill 4.54am BST Moving across to the chamber, where the Members’ 90 seconds statements are on....And Nicolle Flint has the floor. 4.47am BST And the national energy guarantee negotiations are still t
  
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• Hot weather reveals hidden history to archaeologists

  15-08-2018 05:44 via bbc.co.uk
  The UK heatwave has been good for aerial archaeologists spotting hidden treasures in the dry fields.
  
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• Pauline Hanson says Fraser Anning's speech left her 'appalled' – politics live

  15-08-2018 03:04 via theguardian.com
  One Nation leader says senators who shook Anning’s hand were ‘gutless’ as crossbencher doubles down on controversial maiden speech. All the days events, liveFraser Anning calls for ‘final solution’ on immigrationExclusive: Centrelink trial bypasses safeguard for mentally ill 2.04am BST Labor did not support the Greens censure motion in the Senate. Here is what Penny Wong had to say when speaking on why:Can I thank all senators for their contribution to this debate.
  
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• How the humble cabbage can stop cancers

  15-08-2018 02:22 via bbc.co.uk
  Researchers reveal how chemicals in some vegetables can prevent bowel cancer.
  
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• UK archaeology sites made visible in heatwave – pictures

  15-08-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Scorching summer reveals hidden sites, including neolithic monumentsHeatwave reveals lost UK archaeological sites Continue reading...
  
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• Fraser Anning refuses to apologise for 'final solution' immigration reference – politics live

  15-08-2018 00:49 via theguardian.com
  Crossbencher doubles down on controversial maiden speech as Josh Frydenberg concedes the government doesn’t have the numbers in the Senate to pass its energy policy if Labor says no. All the days events, liveFraser Anning calls for ‘final solution’ on immigrationExclusive: Centrelink trial bypasses safeguard for mentally ill 11.49pm BST David Leyonhjelm gave his views this morning:It is an over reaction to a term which has multiple meanings. Nobody owns the term “final so
  
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