Environment news

• John Kerry: World far off track to stop worst effects of climate change

  14-09-2018 22:49 via theguardian.com
  International action is slowing, former secretary of state and leaders of island nations warned at a California climate summitThe world is far off track to avoid the worst of climate change, leaders of island nations and former US secretary of state John Kerry warned at a California summit meant to highlight efforts to limit greenhouse gases.“I am going to tell the truth, and the truth is we are not anywhere near where we need to be with respect to the overall challenge of climate change,&
  
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• California to launch its 'own damn satellite' to track greenhouse gases

  14-09-2018 22:49 via theguardian.com
  Announcement at climate summit comes after former US secretary of state John Kerry warns that international action is slowingCalifornia is set to launch a satellite to track greenhouse gases, as former US Secretary of State John Kerry and island nation leaders warned that the world is far off course to avoid the worst effects of rising temperatures.Gov. Jerry Brown announced plans for the satellite on the last day of a climate change summit hosted by San Francisco, in a final rebuke to President
  
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• Scott Morrison needs a plan to cut emissions but all he has is a fairytale | Katharine Murphy

  14-09-2018 22:00 via theguardian.com
  The deep feelings brigade is unlikely to permit any action on climate change, and that will cost the Coalition politically“It all starts as a bit of a fairytale,” the chief scientist, Alan Finkel told a room full of renewable energy types in Canberra this week. “Once upon a time there was an independent review into the national energy market.”Finkel did conduct that review at the behest of Malcolm Turnbull and the states when the objective was to fix the problems that hav
  
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• Two councils warned after failing to meet air pollution deadline

  14-09-2018 19:26 via theguardian.com
  Government criticised after alerting Southampton and Derby to ‘serious consequences’The government has warned two councils of “serious consequences” after they failed to meet the deadline for dealing with air pollution.In 2015, five local authorities with some of the worst pollution outside London – Derby, Southampton, Leeds, Nottingham and Birmingham – were ordered to produce proposals to tackle air pollution by 15 September. Continue reading...
  
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• ICESat: Space laser to get unprecedented view of Earth's ice

  14-09-2018 17:59 via bbc.co.uk
  The US space agency is due to launch a laser to assess the impact of climate change on the poles.
  
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• Intensive farming 'least bad option' for food and environment

  14-09-2018 17:58 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists say that high-yield farming may be the best way to meet demand for food while conserving biodiversity.
  
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• Japan's attempt to overturn commercial whaling ban fails

  14-09-2018 17:47 via theguardian.com
  Anti-whaling nations defeat proposals that would have allowed for the return of huntsAn attempt to overturn the decades-old global ban on commercial whaling has failed, to the relief of conservationists.Anti-whaling nations defeated by a decisive margin proposals from the Japanese government that would have allowed for the return of whale hunts. Continue reading...
  
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• Europe's farmers on red alert as deadly African swine fever spreads to Belgium

  14-09-2018 16:52 via theguardian.com
  Calls for a mass cull of wild boars to protect pork industry after disease is found in two animals in GaumeAn outbreak of African swine fever terrorising pig farmers in Europe has dramatically escalated with the confirmation that the deadly infectious disease has spread to Belgium.The discovery of the highly contagious disease in two wild boars found dead near the town of Étalle, in Gaume, has sparked calls for a mass cull of that species to protect western Europe’s pork industry. C
  
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• Record numbers expected for annual British beach clean

  14-09-2018 14:20 via theguardian.com
  Thousands of volunteers will help remove plastic and other litter from beaches this weekendRecord numbers of volunteers are anticipated this weekend to help clear litter from the UK’s beaches, in the 25th annual Great British Beach Clean organised by a leading marine charity.The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has been running the four-day beach cleaning event for the last 24 years and expects the 2018 event to beat all previous records. Originally a modest citizen science project, it ha
  
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• Science-based targets driving corporate climate commitments to new heights

  14-09-2018 14:15
  More than 130 corporates have committed to set science-based emissions reduction targets in line with the 2C trajectory outlined in the Paris Agreement this year, covering one-eighth of total market capitalisation.
  
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• Virgin Atlantic to trial low-carbon 'recycled' jet fuel from next month

  14-09-2018 13:31
  Virgin Atlantic has announced that it will use an innovative low-carbon jet fuel made from recycled waste gases to power one of its London to Florida flights in October.
  
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• Virgin Atlantic to showcase low-carbon 'recycled' jet fuel next month

  14-09-2018 13:31
  Virgin Atlantic has announced that it will use an innovative low-carbon jet fuel made from recycled waste gases to power one of its London to Florida flights in October.
  
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• 29 UK businesses highlighted on Dow Jones Sustainability Indices

  14-09-2018 13:15
  The global 2018 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices has named 29 UK businesses as sustainability leaders, adding alcoholic beverage giant Diageo and removing Samsung Electronics from its rankings.
  
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• Cities lead the way on curbing carbon emissions

  14-09-2018 13:04 via bbc.co.uk
  Twenty-seven leading cities see their greenhouse gas emissions peak and decline over the past five years.
  
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• Big-name businesses pledge to help make London world's 'greenest city'

  14-09-2018 12:34
  A group of 11 businesses including Tesco, Siemens, Landsec and Sky have pledged to source 100% renewable power for their London facilities by 2020 in support of London Mayor Sadiq Khan's recently announced plans to make the capital the "greenest" city in the world by 2050.
  
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• Trump condemned over plans to allow drilling near national parks

  14-09-2018 12:00 via theguardian.com
  President’s ‘energy first’ agenda means vast tracts of public land up for sale – without proper consultation, critics sayDemocrats and conservatives alike are decrying moves by the Trump administration to permit oil and gas drilling near national parks and in wildlife migration corridors, and charge that the public is not being adequately consulted.Officials from the US interior department are pursuing an “energy first” agenda, and some 2.9m acres are up for l
  
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• Green tech task force launched to improve resource efficiency of UK businesses

  14-09-2018 11:29
  Think tank Green Alliance has launched a new green technology task force in a bid to encourage the development of innovations which will improve resource efficiency in the UK's manufacturing sector, which could unlock up to £10bn in profit in the process.
  
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• Salford scientists show how cars could power your home

  14-09-2018 10:11 via bbc.co.uk
  The electric cars with stored power that could be transferred to a dwelling.
  
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• Fjords, ferries and forks: cycling the Haute Route Norway

  14-09-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Tackling a tough, three-day course around Stavanger, Peter Kimpton battles the elements to discover a stunning landscape that involves as much water as land Garlanded with wispy clouds, jagged mountains rise sharply above glassy lakes, reflected to sky with such perfection you are almost dizzy with how upside down it all appears. Or is that a mirage – from exhaustion? From the moment 250 cyclists clattered nervously, like skinny, helmeted warriors on to a ferry at 6.45am to battle through
  
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• Whaling vote: Australia tells Japan it has lost argument for killings

  14-09-2018 06:02 via theguardian.com
  Country’s commissioner makes impassioned case against a business that no longer has a ‘social licence’There is no longer a “social licence” for countries to kill whales for profit, Australia has told the International Whaling Commission in Brazil.In an impassioned intervention, Australia’s IWC commissioner, Dr Nick Gales, told the key meeting that Japan’s proposal to lift a 30-year ban on commercial whaling was a “business proposition” that A
  
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• One dog off the leash could be the end of a nesting shorebird | Anna Sublet

  14-09-2018 04:04 via theguardian.com
  How hard is it for humans with dogs to share the environment respectfully, when the survival of a species might be at stake?“Are you aware of the birds? The birds nesting?” I ask the couple, as they walk along the shoreline towards me with their two dogs off-lead. The bloke growls at me, “Our dogs are under effective control,” as one dog lollops off, zigzagging its way into the sand dunes. The small hooded plover nesting boxes are lined up at the beach, past the high wate
  
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• Ig Nobel win for kidney stone removing roller-coaster

  14-09-2018 02:04 via bbc.co.uk
  It's a scream: Riding on some types of roller-coaster is an effective way of removing kidney stones.
  
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• Golden solar 'sandwiches' and flying electric taxis: The best green innovations of the week

  14-09-2018 02:01
  A number of eye-catching and potentially transformational innovations have emerged that could help businesses and nations accelerate the transition to a low-carbon, resource-efficient economy. Here, edie rounds-up six of the best.
  
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• Thousands of protesters challenge Democratic governor at climate summit

  14-09-2018 00:01 via theguardian.com
  Activists attempted to barricade entrance at the summit and criticized Jerry Brown for allowing over 20,000 drilling operations
  California’s status as a progressive bastion on climate change action has been challenged by activists who attempted to barricade the way to a major summit in San Francisco and decried the oil and gas drilling they say is blighting the health of low-income and minority communities. Related: Climate change activists defy Trump’s inaction with their own summit
  
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