Environment news

• Renewables forecast to halve wholesale energy prices over four years

  29-08-2018 20:00 via theguardian.com
  Analysis shows 7,200MW of renewables added to grid after closures of coal-fired plants While the Morrison government has identified lowering power prices as a key early priority, a new analysis says wholesale prices will almost halve over the next four years because of the technology many Coalition conservatives oppose – renewables.The latest renewable energy index compiled by Green Energy Markets confirms analysis by the Energy Security Board that wholesale electricity prices are on the w
  
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• Fish populations could rise in warming climate with better management

  29-08-2018 20:00 via theguardian.com
  Study finds potential for fisheries to benefit in future - as long as warming can be kept in checkBetter management of fisheries and fishing rights around the world could increase profits and leave more fish in the sea as long as measures to meet climate obligations are taken, new research has found.Even if temperatures rise by as much as 4C above pre-industrial levels – in the upper range of current forecasts – the damaging effects on fishing can be reduced through improving how sto
  
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• Fish populations could rise even with extreme climate change, study shows

  29-08-2018 20:00 via theguardian.com
  With better management of fishing, global catches could increase even if temperatures rise by as much as 4C, say scientistsBetter management of fishing rights around the world would increase catches even if climate change takes hold, new research has found, ahead of key negotiations on fishing at the UN next week.Even if temperatures rise by as much as 4C above pre-industrial levels – in the upper range of current forecasts – the damaging effects on fishing can be contained through i
  
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• This summer I treated children choking on air pollution. We have to act – now | Guddi Singh

  29-08-2018 19:09 via theguardian.com
  This is a public health crisis. We doctors want to see diesel cars phased out, investment in clean air zones, and moreA study published this week shows that air pollution has an alarming effect on our cognitive abilities. Shocking as this conclusion 1is in itself, the report joins a long list of research linking toxic air to serious health problems, and demonstrates the devastating consequences air pollution has on people living in towns and cities across the UK.As a doctor working in A&E, I
  
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• Chasing quakes with machine learning

  29-08-2018 19:01 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists have used a neural network to determine the pattern of earthquake aftershocks
  
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• Return of strip-field farming creates haven for rare species in south Wales

  29-08-2018 19:00 via theguardian.com
  National Trust trial of 13th century method used until 1940s transforms stretch of Gower peninsula coastA pioneering farming project using field management techniques dating back to the 13th century has transformed a stretch of coast into a haven for endangered animals, birds, insects and wildflowers.The experimental return to “strip-field farming” close to the spectacular Rhossili Bay on the Gower peninsula in south Wales is being credited with a threefold increase in the number of
  
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• California moves towards 100% carbon-free electricity after landmark vote

  29-08-2018 18:10 via theguardian.com
  Legislators vote for complete shift to clean energy by 2045
  Bill heads to state senate and then to Governor Jerry BrownCalifornia has given fossil fuel-derived energy a hefty shove towards obsolescence after legislators voted to require that 100% of the state’s electricity come from carbon-free sources.The bill, which will need to be approved by the state senate and Governor Jerry Brown, will require a complete shift to clean energy such as solar and wind by 2045. It would also demand that
  
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• What did the dolphin say to the porpoise?

  29-08-2018 18:08 via bbc.co.uk
  A dolphin in the Firth of Clyde may be exchanging messages with porpoises.
  
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• The France v Britain scallop war goes much deeper than Brexit with nets | John Lichfield

  29-08-2018 17:00 via theguardian.com
  The Channel clashes dredge up historic and environmental issues – and reverse our usual fury about the ‘pillaging’ of British fishForty French fishing boats attack five British boats in the Channel. Stones and smoke bombs are thrown. Rude words are exchanged in two languages. The British retreat. Related: UK defends scallop boats after clashes with French vesselsContinue reading...
  
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• Adani Group files plea in India high court to stall fraud investigation

  29-08-2018 15:42 via theguardian.com
  The mining conglomerate is asking the court to quash a request to produce information regarding its coal imports from IndonesiaMining conglomerate the Adani Group is trying to prevent Indian authorities from accessing its business records as part of an investigation into an alleged $4bn fraud by power companies.Related: Adani: Indigenous group loses bid to block Carmichael coalmineContinue reading...
  
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• Macron has lost a minister. Has he lost credibility on the environment too? | Pauline Bock

  29-08-2018 14:27 via theguardian.com
  Nicolas Hulot’s shock resignation is a heavy blow for the French president. He can save face – but he needs to actNo one knew Nicolas Hulot, the French environment minister, was about to resign when he went on a radio breakfast show yesterday morning – not even himself. But as the live discussion unfolded, focusing on his government’s failures on climate change, it became clear that Hulot had reached a decision.“I can’t lie to myself any more,” he said.
  
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• Speaker line-up confirmed for edie's green buildings webinar

  29-08-2018 13:36
  Sustainability and energy representatives from the UK Green Building Council (UK GBC), InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Landsec and EDF Energy are all set to feature in a live edie webinar focused on green buildings, taking place 27 September.
  
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• California commits to 100% renewable energy by 2045

  29-08-2018 13:28
  The California Assembly has passed a bill that commits the state to transition to a 100% renewable energy grid by 2045, making it the largest economy in the world to have made such a pledge.
  
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• Do you have expertise in the rising impact of air pollution?

  29-08-2018 13:21 via theguardian.com
  Whether a doctor, an expert in the field of air pollution, or someone who has a medical condition directly linked to it, we want to hear from youA new study links pervasive air pollution directly to a reduction in intelligence, with experts saying that the average impact is equivalent to losing a years’ education. The recent death of Ella Kissi-Debrah was linked directly to air pollution, with Professor Stephen Holgate, a leading air expert having said on record: “there is a real pro
  
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• Facebook pledges to source 100% renewable energy by 2020

  29-08-2018 12:35
  Social media giant Facebook has committed to source 100% renewable energy for its operations by 2020, after reaching its 2018 renewables target one year early.
  
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• Global warming is intensifying El Niño weather | John Abraham

  29-08-2018 12:00 via theguardian.com
  A new study finds that weather associated with El Niño events is becoming more severe
  As humans put more and more heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere, the Earth warms. And the warming is causing changes that might surprise us. Not only is the warming causing long-term trends in heat, sea level rise, ice loss, etc.; it’s also making our weather more variable. It’s making otherwise natural cycles of weather more powerful.Perhaps the most important natural fluctuation in the
  
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• Carmakers' gaming of emissions tests 'cost drivers £136bn

  29-08-2018 11:53
  Drivers in Europe have paid €150bn more on fuel than they would have if their vehicles had performed as well on-the-road as in official laboratory-based tests, according to a new report.
  
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• World Water Week: Seven ways businesses are progressing water stewardship

  29-08-2018 11:38
  As research released for World Water Week (August 26 -31) reveals that the number of large companies pledging to measure, manage and report their water risks has doubled over the last three years, edie rounds up seven ways that the business community is progressing water stewardship efforts worldwide.
  
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• 2018 Wildscreen Photo Story Panda Awards nominations list – in pictures

  29-08-2018 08:30 via theguardian.com
  The new award celebrates wildlife photo stories and their role in raising awareness about and protecting the natural world. The winners will be announced at Bristol’s Wildscreen Festival and showcased in a free exhibition from 12 Oct to 8 Nov Continue reading...
  
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• Climate change making drought worse, says farmers federation chief

  29-08-2018 08:28 via theguardian.com
  Fiona Simson says people have been tiptoeing around the subject for too long and it is time for a national strategyThe president of the National Farmers Federation, Fiona Simson, has declared that climate change is making drought worse in Australia and says tiptoeing around the subject does not do regional communities any good.“It is the effect of climate change we need to be aware of that makes the impacts of a drought even worse,” she told the National Press Club. Continue reading.
  
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• Climate change making drought worse, farmers' federation chief says

  29-08-2018 08:28 via theguardian.com
  Fiona Simson says people have been tiptoeing around the subject for too long and it is time for a national strategyThe president of the National Farmers’ Federation, Fiona Simson, has declared that climate change is making drought worse in Australia and says tiptoeing around the subject does not do regional communities any good.“It is the effect of climate change we need to be aware of that makes the impacts of a drought even worse,” she told the National Press Club. Continue r
  
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• Fireball caught on camera over Perth

  29-08-2018 07:28 via bbc.co.uk
  A fireball - believed to be a meteor - has lit up the sky near Perth in Western Australia.
  
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• Carmakers’ gaming of emissions tests ‘costing drivers billions’

  29-08-2018 07:01 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: On-the-road fuel efficiency is far lower than in lab tests, pushing up costs and CO2 emissions, research showsDrivers in Europe have paid €150bn more on fuel than they would have if their vehicles had performed as well on-the-road as in official laboratory-based tests, according to a new report.Car companies have legally gamed official tests of fuel economy for many years by, for example, using very hard tyres during tests or taking out equipment to make cars lighter. The gap bet
  
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• Ukip MEP sparks outrage with report denying human role in climate change

  29-08-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Report blames climate change on cosmic ray fluctuations and sunspot activity, drawing derision from climate scientistsA European parliament report that blames climate change on cosmic ray fluctuations, sunspots and planetary gravitational pulls, is so hackneyed and ill-informed it would “make the dinosaurs blush,” climate scientists say.The non-binding opinion written by Ukip MEP, John Stuart Agnew, has shocked EU lawmakers for its dismissal of climate science – and the support
  
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• Turnbull could be forced to front Senate inquiry to explain $444m reef grant

  29-08-2018 03:44 via theguardian.com
  Labor and Greens say former PM could ‘put to bed’ why government money was given to private charity Malcolm Turnbull could be compelled to appear at a Senate inquiry examining the government’s $443.8m grant to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation under a Labor and Greens push.Although MPs cannot be compelled to answer questions in Senate committees, Turnbull’s decision to resign as member for Wentworth on Friday means he could be forced to front the inquiry examining the gra
  
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• Goats 'drawn to happy human faces'

  29-08-2018 02:03 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists find that goats are drawn to humans with happy facial expressions.
  
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• 'Like nicotine': Bees develop preference for pesticides, study shows

  29-08-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Insects’ acquired taste for pesticide-laced food is similar to nicotine addiction in smokers, say scientistsBumblebees acquire a taste for pesticide-laced food that can be compared to nicotine addiction in smokers, say scientists. The more of the nicotine-like chemicals they consume, the more they appear to want, a study has shown.Continue reading...
  
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