Environment news

• When flying to Mars is your day job

  17-08-2018 20:41 via bbc.co.uk
  Living on Mars time, landing nightmares and sometimes spreadsheets... a day in the life of a Nasa engineer.
  
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• Martian timesheet

  17-08-2018 20:41 via bbc.co.uk
  Living on Mars time, landing nightmares and sometimes spreadsheets... a day in the life of a Nasa engineer.
  
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• Blow for EPA as court blocks bid to slacken safety rules for chemical plants

  17-08-2018 18:45 via theguardian.com
  ‘Capricious’ EPA forbidden from delaying the enforcement of chemical safety rule drawn up by Obama administrationA federal court has blocked an attempt by the Trump administration to delay safety regulations for chemical plants – the latest in a string of recent legal setbacks for the administration in its attempts to reverse environmental standards. Related: Weedkiller found in wide range of breakfast foods aimed at childrenContinue reading...
  
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• Cradle to Cradle: C&A launches 'world's most circular' jeans

  17-08-2018 13:46
  Fashion retailer C&A has this week launched the world's first Gold level Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Certified jeans, and is now providing other clothing brands with the tools they need to produce equally sustainable denim garments.
  
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• How millions of miraculous trees are reining in the Sahara desert

  17-08-2018 13:15 via theguardian.com
  This week the Upside looks at a transformation of the environment in Africa, and other tales of hopeIs there any hope for the environment? We regularly get this question in emails from readers of this series. In the face of weekly stories on how humans have doomed our planet, some feel action is pointless. We’re certainly not here to distract from the scary news about our climate; it deserves everyone’s attention and we must make big changes now. But it’s arguable whether peopl
  
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• World is finally waking up to climate change, says 'hothouse Earth' author

  17-08-2018 12:29 via theguardian.com
  Report predicting spiralling global temperatures has been downloaded 270,000 times in just a few daysThe scorching temperatures and forest fires of this summer’s heatwave have finally stirred the world to face the onrushing threat of global warming, claims the climate scientist behind the recent “hothouse Earth” report.Following an unprecedented 270,000 downloads of his study, Johan Rockström, executive director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre, said he had not seen such
  
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• Older than dinosaurs: last South African coelacanths threatened by oil exploration

  17-08-2018 12:29 via theguardian.com
  Just 30 of the prehistoric fish known to exist, raising fears oil wells will push it to extinctionBright blue, older than dinosaurs and weighing as much as an average-sized man, coelacanths are the most endangered fish in South Africa and among the rarest in the world.Barely 30 of these critically-endangered fish are known to exist off the east coast of South Africa, raising concern that a new oil exploration venture in the area could jeopardise their future. Continue reading...
  
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• Urban oases: green roofs around the world – in pictures

  17-08-2018 12:02 via theguardian.com
  Green spaces have a demonstrable effect in mitigating the urban heat island effect, but with city space at a premium, developers are increasingly looking to the skies for a solution Continue reading...
  
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• Northern Powergrid begins next stage of £83m smart grid project

  17-08-2018 12:01
  Electrical distribution firm Northern Powergrid has begun work on the next phase of its £83m smart grid programme, which aims to future-proof its network in preparation for the rapid growth of low-carbon technologies.
  
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• US interior secretary's school friend crippling climate research, scientists say

  17-08-2018 12:00 via theguardian.com
  The Trump administration is requiring that some scientific funding undergo additional review by an adviser who was a high school football teammate of Ryan Zinke Prominent US climate scientists have told the Guardian that the Trump administration is holding up research funding as their projects undergo an unprecedented political review by the high school football teammate of the US interior secretary.The US interior department administers over $5.5bn in funding to external organizations, mostly f
  
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• US interior secretary's school friend blocking climate research, scientists say

  17-08-2018 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Trump administration forces some scientific funding to be reviewed by adviser who was high-school football teammate of Ryan Zinke Prominent US climate scientists have told the Guardian that the Trump administration is holding up research funding as their projects undergo an unprecedented political review by the high-school football teammate of the US interior secretary.The US interior department administers over $5.5bn in funding to external organizations, mostly for research, conservation and l
  
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• Kerala floods: death toll reaches 164 in worst monsoon in nearly a century

  17-08-2018 11:56 via theguardian.com
  ‘Extremely grave’ situation in southern Indian state as more than 150,000 people displaced from their homesThe death toll from floods in the southern Indian state of Kerala has jumped to 164 and could grow further, with more rain predicted and thousands of people still awaiting rescue.Roads are damaged, mobile phone networks are down, an international airport has been closed and more than 150,000 people have been left homeless after unusually heavy rain this month caused the most dam
  
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• 'Heads above the parapet': Corporates urged to raise ambitions on renewables

  17-08-2018 10:12
  The Climate Group and CDP are urging corporates to go further than setting 100% renewable electricity commitments - and to bring deadlines for such targets forward - if they wish to drive the clean energy transition for the benefit of the business community.
  
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• E.ON launches renewable energy tariff offering '850 free miles' to EV drivers

  17-08-2018 09:15
  Energy giant E.ON has become the latest electricity supplier to launch a renewable energy tariff aimed at electric vehicle (EV) drivers, offering customers who charge their vehicles at home a £30 discount on their annual bill.
  
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• 'This summer doesn't belong in Scandinavia': your stories of heat around the world

  17-08-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  From Hawaii to the Netherlands and France to South Korea readers have shared their reactions to recent record temperaturesIn mid-July last year, Haythem Ayari, a 23-year-old engineering student in Nabeul, coastal Tunisia, caught a bus to travel the 10km to university. The vehicle, already overloaded with passengers, was caught in gridlocked traffic and sat static for nearly an hour. There was a heatwave, with a temperature of about 38C (100F) outside; inside the bus it was 42C (108F). “At
  
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• Stone-stacking: cool for Instagram, cruel for the environment | Patrick Barkham

  17-08-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  From Orkney to Australia, adventure tourism and social media are turning a benign impulse into a plague on the natural worldThey stand by the sea at Lindisfarne. You’ll find them in the glens of Skye, in Slovenian gorges, on the peaks of Chamonix, Barbadian beaches, American national parks and Australian creeks. Stacks of stones, miniature monuments made by enraptured visitors and photographed for posterity are tiny tributes to human industry, our desire to make a mark, and our deep love o
  
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• Waves of rubbish inundate Manila – video

  17-08-2018 06:35 via theguardian.com
  Waves of rubbish have washed into Manila Bay and nearby areas after heavy rain burst dams and rivers, washing the city’s rubbish out to sea. Residents of the Philippines’ capital have been attempting to clear the tonnes of plastic and styrofoam debris in what is turning into a monumental task Continue reading...
  
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• Shark nets to be removed from all NSW north coast beaches

  17-08-2018 06:21 via theguardian.com
  Minister says nets will stay between Newcastle and Wollongong but be removed further north after trialThere are calls for shark nets to be pulled from all New South Wales beaches after the state government announced it was removing the controversial mesh on the north coast following public opposition.On Friday the state primary industries minister, Niall Blair, said locals were unhappy about recent trials of the nets, which had proved to be less effective at catching target sharks and harmed mor
  
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• Turnbull loyalists call out colleagues for 'hyperventilating' over energy policy

  17-08-2018 05:56 via theguardian.com
  Christopher Pyne sounds warning shot to conservatives as Peter Dutton declines to publicly support the NegMalcolm Turnbull’s lieutenants have rallied around his leadership as the energy debate continues to destabilise the government and eyes turn to the home affairs minister, Peter Dutton.A week of internal brawling about the national energy guarantee has seen Tony Abbott escalate his attacks on the policy, and Dutton – while holding the line on the policy – has publicly articu
  
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• Edible straws and ultra-fast EV chargers: the best green innovations of the week

  17-08-2018 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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• Floating farm

  17-08-2018 01:20 via bbc.co.uk
  An offshore dairy farm aims to help Rotterdam produce its own food more sustainably.
  
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