Environment news

• Earliest galaxies found 'on our cosmic doorstep'

  16-08-2018 23:09 via bbc.co.uk
  Some of the earliest galaxies to form in the Universe are sitting on our cosmic doorstep, a study says.
  
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• Most-polluting wood burner fuels due to get the chop

  16-08-2018 20:08
  Environment secretary Michael Gove to banish house coal to curb harmful emissionsMichael Gove, the environment secretary, is due to confirm plans to ban the sale of the most-polluting fuels for domestic wood burners in an attempt to cut harmful emissions.The sale of traditional house coal will be phased out under proposals set out in the government’s draft clean air strategy in May, which are expected to be confirmed by Gove’s department on Friday. Continue reading...
  
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• Wheat gene map to help 'feed the world'

  16-08-2018 20:00 via bbc.co.uk
  Researchers are set to develop higher yield wheat varieties requiring less water after making a gene map.
  
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• How wheat gene map could help 'feed world'

  16-08-2018 20:00 via bbc.co.uk
  Researchers are set to develop higher yield wheat varieties requiring less water after making a gene map.
  
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• Innovation required to spur cargo shipping sector towards 2050 emission reduction targets

  16-08-2018 16:01
  Despite recent progress towards decarbonisation by the world's leading maritime shipping companies, the sector is in need of innovation to spur it towards the International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) 2050 target of halving CO2 emissions from 2008 levels.
  
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• Cargo shipping off course to reaching 2050 emission reduction targets

  16-08-2018 16:01
  Despite recent progress towards decarbonisation by the world's leading maritime shipping companies, the sector is still set to miss the International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) 2050 target of halving CO2 emissions from 2008 levels.
  
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• UK government drops fracking question from public attitude tracker

  16-08-2018 15:26
  First fracking operation in seven years set to begin despite low public supportThe government has stopped asking the British public whether they are for or against fracking for shale gas just weeks before the first fracking operation in seven years is due to start.The number of people against extracting shale gas has outweighed those in favour since 2015, and the latest polling by officials found 32% opposed with just 18% in support. Continue reading...
  
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• Air pollution: London mayor backs new inquest into girl's asthma death

  16-08-2018 13:38
  Khan writes to attorney general over girl who died during spikes in nitrogen dioxideThe mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has written to the attorney general asking him to back a new inquest into the death of a nine-year-old girl whose severe asthma attacks coincided with spikes in air pollution.The mother of Ella Kissi-Debrah has fought a long campaign to highlight the role she believes illegal air pollution played in her daughter’s death in 2013. Continue reading...
  
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• Reebok launches bio-based shoe made from corn and cotton

  16-08-2018 11:55
  Sportswear manufacturer Reebok has created its first sports shoe made with 75% plant-based fibres, as it strives to source more sustainable materials for inclusion in its products.
  
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• Bid to limit commercial fishing in marine parks defeated by Coalition

  16-08-2018 09:41
  Government and Senate crossbench combine to reject Greens and Labor motions to disallow controversial management plans A push by the Greens and Labor to tighten the protection of fisheries in Australia’s marine parks has failed for the second time.The parties had vowed to reject controversial management plans for the parks proposed by the Turnbull government. But on Thursday the Senate crossbench combined with the Coalition to defeat disallowance motions on the basis that the parks would t
  
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• Hanson says Anning speech went too far, but wants ban on Muslim immigration – as it happened

  16-08-2018 09:25
  Pauline Hanson wants five-year ban and a plebiscite on Muslim immigration to Australia 8.25am BST On that note, we will also adjourn until Monday.This first week back went for eternities. Whole civilisations rose and fell while we were locked in this building. I never thought I would be so happy to return to talking energy policy deadlocks. 8.12am BST From Tony Burke’s office:The Australian Parliament has just locked in the largest removal of area under conservation in history. Continue re
  
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• On patrol with the wildlife rangers of Chinko – photo essay

  16-08-2018 09:00
  Rangers in this Central African Republic nature reserve face an array of dangers in their bid to protect a rich variety of speciesDeep in the heart of Africa, a dedicated group of rangers patrol the Chinko nature reserve. In baking equatorial heat, they are weighed down with body armour and camouflage fatigues. Beads of sweat run down their faces; mosquitos whine. The men keep watch over a vast patchwork of savanna and rainforest in the Central African Republic – a country mired in civil s
  
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• Fat-biking: the miracle solution to cycling on sand

  16-08-2018 08:30
  Peter Kimpton finds a bike that’s perfect for riding on the beach and explores the Glamorgan coast near PorthcawlSmooth tarmac to rough, potholed roads, gravel tracks to mountain paths, cyclists encounter good and bad surfaces, but rarely do we ride on sand. Most bikes would get stuck and seize up in seconds. Beaches may be free of traffic, but they are the last place you think of for a bike ride. Yet a fat-bike defies the laws of traction and discomfort, and allows you to explore thousand
  
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• Brazil: murder of indigenous leader highlights threat to way of life

  16-08-2018 08:30
  Jorginho Guajajara’s killing is believed by members of his tribe to be the result of conflict with loggers in their Amazon territoryIndigenous people in the Brazilian Amazon are mourning the murder of a community leader who campaigned to protect the forest from logging amid escalating violence in the region.Jorginho Guajajara, a cacique, or leader, of the Guajajara people, was found dead near a river in the city of Arame, Maranhão state, at the weekend. Continue reading...
  
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• Hanson says Anning speech went too far, but wants ban on Muslim immigration – politics live

  16-08-2018 08:29
  Pauline Hanson wants five-year ban and a plebiscite on Muslim immigration to Australia 7.10am BST6.41am BST Revenge porn legislation is almost a reality. From Michelle Rowland’s office:Three years after Labor first introduced a Private Members’ Bill to criminalise image-based abuse, the Enhancing Online Safety (Non-consensual Sharing of Intimate Images) Bill 2017, introducing both civil and criminal offences, has finally passed the House of Representatives.Continue reading...
  
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• The Meg jumps the shark: an action film that delivers a message

  16-08-2018 08:00
  Sure, Jason Statham gets to battle a man-eating monster – but his movie also packs warnings about ecological destruction
  When the trailer for Jon Turteltaub’s The Meg first dropped, it was met with excitement from those wanting a blockbuster B-movie with Jason Statham punching sharks in the face. Now that The Meg is out, we can see that there’s more: its message about the environment and what we are doing to the world’s shark population.In The Meg, scientists discover an
  
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• The Meg: it's got shark-punching, but it's also got a message about the environment. Yes, really

  16-08-2018 08:00
  Sure, Jason Statham gets to battle a man-eating monster – but his movie also packs warnings about ecological destructionWARNING: This article contains minor spoilers
  When the trailer for Jon Turteltaub’s The Meg first dropped, it was met with excitement from those wanting a blockbuster B-movie with Jason Statham punching sharks in the face. Now that The Meg is out, we can see that there’s more: its message about the environment and what we are doing to the world’s shark p
  
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• Weedkiller found in wide range of breakfast foods aimed at children

  16-08-2018 07:00
  Cancer-linked herbicide, sold as Roundup by Monsanto, present in 45 products including granola, snack bars and CheeriosSignificant levels of the weedkilling chemical glyphosate have been found in an array of popular breakfast cereals, oats and snack bars marketed to US children, a new study has found.Tests revealed glyphosate, the active ingredient in the popular weedkiller brand Roundup, present in all but two of the 45 oat-derived products that were sampled by the Environmental Working Group,
  
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• Capitalism can crack climate change. But only if it takes risks | Larry Elliott

  16-08-2018 07:00
  Anglo-Saxon capitalism’s drive to maximise profits in the short term won’t save the planet. Perhaps the Chinese model can?This summer’s heatwave has provided a glimpse of the future, and it is not a pretty one. On current trends, the years to come will see rising temperatures, droughts, a fight to feed a growing population, and a race against time to reduce dependency on fossil fuels.The struggle to combat climate change brings out the best and worst of capitalism. Decarbonisat
  
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• 'Not under investigation': Michaelia Cash denies being interviewed by AFP – politics live

  16-08-2018 06:54
  Jobs minister says she is ‘not a party to those proceedings’. All the day’s events, live 5.54am BST Bill Shorten to Malcolm Turnbull:Wages growth has never been lower than under any other Prime Minister. Australians are struggling with cost of living, with their out-of-pocket health costs going up and up, out-of-pocket child-care cost is increasing for at least one in four Australian families, and of course power bills are going up and up. Why does everything under this prime m
  
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• Country diary: a blackbird entranced by the sun

  16-08-2018 06:30
  Crook, Co Durham: Do the birds spread their wings out in the heat to shake off lice, boost oil secretion, or simply revel in the rays?I guessed that the intermittent rustling sound under the beech hedge was a blackbird foraging, even before the culprit emerged, maniacally hurling dead leaves to left and right in a vain search for worms. During the hot weather earthworms have burrowed deep and curled up in underground chambers to escape the drought; there hasn’t been enough rain to coax the
  
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• Sydney rock oysters getting smaller as oceans become more acidic

  16-08-2018 05:02
  NSW oysters are shrinking and fewer in number, and academics fear the cause is climate changeThe famous Sydney rock oyster is shrinking as oceans become more acidic, new research has found.In news that will rock seafood lovers, a study released overnight by academics in the UK found oysters in New South Wales have become smaller and fewer in number because of coastal acidification. Continue reading...
  
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• Ancient Egyptian mummification 'recipe' revealed

  16-08-2018 03:01 via bbc.co.uk
  Forensic examination of a mummy shows the original ancient Egyptian embalming recipe, scientists say.
  
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• Peter Dutton tries to fix Ashmore Reef status affecting 1,600 asylum cases – politics live

  16-08-2018 03:00
  Malcolm Turnbull faces another day of internal sniping on the Neg, while Scott Morrison focuses on getting company tax cuts through the Senate. All the day’s events, live 1.58am BST And an update on that legislation I pointed you to a few posts down:BREAKING: Whiplash as cruelty returns to Parl. Day after parl applauds opposing discriminatory migration policy, Lab joins Libs to overturn court decision & RETROSPECTIVELY justify locking people up, stopping up to 1600 ppl seeking asylum.
  
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• New pesticides may harm bees as much as existing ones – study

  16-08-2018 02:02
  Ability of bumblebees to reproduce, and rate at which colonies grow, compromised by new sulfoximine-based insecticidesA new class of pesticides positioned to replace neonicotinoids may be just as harmful to crop-pollinating bees, researchers have warned.In experiments, the ability of bumblebees to reproduce, and the rate at which their colonies grow, were both compromised by the new sulfoximine-based insecticides, they reported in the journal Nature. Continue reading...
  
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• Energy dissenters dog Coalition as company tax moves back to spotlight – politics live

  16-08-2018 00:50
  Malcolm Turnbull faces another day of internal sniping on the Neg, while Scott Morrison focuses on getting company tax cuts through the Senate. All the day’s events, live 11.50pm BST After getting up a Senate inquiry into JobActive yesterday, which after Labor and the government both opposed, should have been defeated on the numbers, but no one actually asked for a division, so it passed on the voices, the Greens are now attempting to hold an inquiry into the “avoidable deaths”
  
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