Environment news

• Threatened species inquiry told public servants think Australia is failing

  06-09-2018 20:00 via theguardian.com
  Union tells Senate inquiry more than 90% of staff working with threatened species say Australia’s performance is poorThe Australian government is failing to meet its domestic and international obligations to protect threatened species and existing environment laws are inadequate, according to public servants working on endangered wildlife.The admissions are contained in a damning submission by the Community and Public Sector Union to a Senate inquiry investigating Australia’s high ra
  
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• Australia’s authority in Pacific 'being eroded by refusal to address climate change'

  06-09-2018 20:00 via theguardian.com
  Top climate scientist says leaders disenchanted with Australia’s promotion of coal and slowing down action on meeting Paris targetsAustralia’s regional authority and influence is being eroded by its refusal to address the threat climate change poses to many of its Pacific neighbours, according to a pre-eminent scientist.As part of the Pacific Islands Forum, Australia was a signatory to the Boe declaration in Nauru on Wednesday which said climate change represented “the single g
  
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• Mother and toddler critically injured after giraffe attack

  06-09-2018 19:40 via theguardian.com
  American scientist and three-year-old son trampled at wildlife reserve in South AfricaThe wife and child of a British scientist have been left critically injured after they were attacked by a giraffe at a wildlife reserve in South Africa.Katy Williams, a 35-year-old American, and her three-year-old son Finn are in a critical but stable condition. An operation was performed on Finn during the early hours of Tuesday to release pressure on his brain caused by injuries sustained in the incident. Con
  
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• Global soft drink firms back plan to eliminate packaging waste

  06-09-2018 19:30 via theguardian.com
  Industry makes biggest commitment yet to ending its use of throwaway plastic bottles Global soft drink companies have made their biggest commitment yet to eliminating the use of throwaway plastic bottles, in an action plan presented to parliament.In a report sponsored by the likes of Danone, Suntory and Nestlé, the companies give unequivocal backing to a government-implemented deposit and return scheme. Their ambition is for zero plastic packaging to be sent to landfill or escape into the
  
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• Most of countryside now devoid of hedgehogs, study finds

  06-09-2018 15:00 via theguardian.com
  Something ‘fundamentally wrong’ in rural landscape, scientists say, with numbers thought to have fallen 80% since 1950sA “perfect storm” of intensive farming and rising badger populations has left most of the countryside in England and Wales devoid of hedgehogs, according to the first systematic national survey.The research used footprints left by hedgehogs in special tunnels to reveal that they were living at just 20% of the 261 sites surveyed. Hedgehogs, which topped a
  
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• Food and drink giants back calls to eliminate plastic packaging waste by 2030

  06-09-2018 14:58
  Food and drinks firms such as Danone Waters and Lucozade Ribena Suntory have thrown their weight behind a study which calls for a zero-waste-to-landfill plastic packaging value chain by 2030.
  
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• Drinks giants back calls to eliminate plastic packaging waste by 2030

  06-09-2018 14:58
  Soft drinks firms such as Danone Waters and Lucozade Ribena Suntory have thrown their weight behind a study which calls for a zero-waste-to-landfill plastic packaging value chain by 2030.
  
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• Aeolus: Space laser starts chasing the wind

  06-09-2018 14:26 via bbc.co.uk
  The British-built Aeolus satellite begins firing its laser down on Earth to map the planet's winds.
  
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• Amey to work with prison to recycle more than 130,000 televisions annually

  06-09-2018 14:13
  Waste management firm Amey has formed a partnership with HMP Dovegate in a bid to recycle more than 130,000 televisions each year while reducing reoffending rates.
  
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• 'Twitter mining' for ants, spiders and birds

  06-09-2018 12:52 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists show how searching social media messages can reveal useful data on animal behaviour.
  
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• Burberry to stop burning unsold products as part of resource efficiency drive

  06-09-2018 09:58
  Luxury fashion brand Burberry has announced it will stop destroying products deemed unsaleable with immediate effect, just months after it was revealed that the brand had burned more than £28m worth of stock over the past 12 months.
  
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• 'Snap Packs' and greener ink: Carlsberg unveils new packaging solutions designed to reduce waste

  06-09-2018 09:01
  Danish brewer Carlsberg is set to reduce its global packaging waste by more than 1,200 tonnes annually, after launching new Snap Pack multi-packs for branded beers alongside a host of other closed-loop packaging renovations.
  
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• Carlsberg to replace plastic ring can holders with recyclable glue

  06-09-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Danish brewer will be the first to ditch pack rings in a move it says will reduce plastic by up to 76%Familiar plastic can holders used for lager and beer multipacks could be on their way out after global brewing giant Carlsberg revealed plans to replace them with recyclable glue.In a world first for the beer industry, the Danish brewer is phasing in a new “snap pack” which it claims will reduce the amount of plastic used in traditional multi-packs by as much as 76%. Continue reading
  
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• World's largest offshore windfarm opens off Cumbrian coast

  06-09-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Walney Extension will power 590,000 homes amid fears Brexit could stifle growthThe world’s biggest offshore windfarm has officially opened in the Irish Sea, amid warnings that Brexit could increase costs for future projects.Walney Extension, off the Cumbrian coast, spans an area the size of 20,000 football pitches and has a capacity of 659 megawatts, enough to power the equivalent of 590,000 homes. Continue reading...
  
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• Country diary: a close encounter with a wood mouse

  06-09-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Crook, Co Durham: The mouse took a while to find the hazelnuts I’d left out for it, approaching by a cautious, roundabout route before grabbing one and dashing to safetyI rarely see wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) in our garden, at best just catching a glimpse of one darting for cover after being disturbed among the flower pots.They mostly feed after dusk, so it has been a delight to watch one that’s regularly active in broad daylight. It has become gradually accustomed to my presenc
  
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• Bell Burnell: Physics star gives away £2.3m prize

  06-09-2018 06:10 via bbc.co.uk
  One of the UK's leading female scientists donates her £2.3m science prize to help more women, ethnic minority and refugee students to become physics researchers.
  
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• Australia tried to water down climate change resolution at Pacific Islands Forum: leader

  06-09-2018 04:20 via theguardian.com
  PM of Tuvalu said a country ‘starting with capital A’ wanted qualifications made to a communique on climate change and emissionsAustralia attempted to water down a resolution on climate change agreed by country representatives at the Pacific Islands Forum, a leader attending the event has claimed.Pacific leaders issued the Boe declaration on Wednesday night, calling climate change “the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the peoples of the Pacif
  
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• UK's largest fleet operators pledge to electrify portfolios by 2028

  06-09-2018 02:00
  Tesco and Network Rail are among a group of 16 major businesses and organisations that have today (6 September) committed to replace their van fleets with electric vehicles (EVs) by 2028.
  
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• The plastic smokers leave behind

  06-09-2018 01:31 via bbc.co.uk
  An activist hopes to pick up a million cigarette butts from his local beaches to draw attention to the plastic they contain.
  
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• Japan earthquake: landslide traps residents in homes

  06-09-2018 01:19 via theguardian.com
  Warning of aftershocks as 10 injured in 6.6 earthquake on northern island of Hokkaido A powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.6 left residents trapped inside their homes as a landslide blocked roads, engulfed buildings and led to widespread power cuts on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido in the early hours of Thursday.A landslide along a long ridge in the rural town of Atsumi could be seen in aerial footage from the public broadcaster NHK. About 10 people had been taken to hospital with inj
  
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