Environment news

• Labour wants green energy to power most UK homes by 2030

  24-09-2018 23:00
  Party committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero by middle of the centuryAlmost all of Britain’s homes and businesses would be powered by wind, solar and nuclear power by 2030, under bold new green energy plans being outlined by Labour.Rebecca Long-Bailey, the shadow business secretary, will declare on Tuesday that the party is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero by the middle of the century. The UK’s current goal is an 80% cut by 2050. Continue reading
  
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• Monsanto's global weedkiller harms honeybees, research finds

  24-09-2018 21:00
  Glyphosate – the most used pesticide ever – damages the good bacteria in honeybee guts, making them more prone to deadly infectionsThe world’s most used weedkiller damages the beneficial bacteria in the guts of honeybees and makes them more prone to deadly infections, new research has found.Previous studies have shown that pesticides such as neonicotinoids cause harm to bees, whose pollination is vital to about three-quarters of all food crops. Glyphosate, manufactured by Monsa
  
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• 'Whitewash': US oil and gas lobbyists try to discredit Australian seismic research

  24-09-2018 20:00
  Australian scientists find seismic surveys can harm marine life, but industry lobby groups claim research is ‘seriously flawed’Some of the world’s biggest energy companies are lining up to defend their widely used offshore exploration technique from the conclusions of a small group of Australian scientists, who say the seismic surveys can kill zooplankton and harm invertebrates.The American Petroleum Institute and the International Association of Geophysical Contractors have be
  
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• These MDMA octopuses show how much animals and humans have in common | Peter Godfrey-Smith

  24-09-2018 18:03
  Our species might have diverged 500 million years ago, but octopuses on ecstasy behave just as people do in many waysThe last week has been a notable one for our understanding of animal life, thanks to two very different research papers appearing within a couple of days of each other. One continued a tradition of surprises from the octopus – and generated headlines around the world. Scientists Eric Edsinger and Gül Dölen gave octopuses the “party drug” MDMA, or ecstas
  
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• Drugged-up octopuses show how close animals and humans really are | Peter Godfrey-Smith

  24-09-2018 18:03
  Our species might have diverged 500 million years ago, but octopuses on ecstasy behave just as people doThe last week has been a notable one for our understanding of animal life, thanks to two very different research papers appearing within a couple of days of each other. One continued a tradition of surprises from the octopus – and generated headlines around the world. Scientists Eric Edsinger and Gül Dölen gave octopuses the “party drug” MDMA, or ecstasy, and found
  
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• Gene editing wipes out mosquitoes in the lab

  24-09-2018 17:57 via bbc.co.uk
  Researchers have used gene editing to completely eliminate populations of mosquitoes in the lab.
  
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• The World Benchmarking Alliance launches to rank businesses on SDGs

  24-09-2018 17:29
  A global multi-stakeholder initiative has been launched to measure and incentivise business efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  
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• Police consider drones to monitor badger cull protesters

  24-09-2018 15:55
  Devon and Cornwall police warn activists as cull zone is massively expandedPolice have warned badger cull protesters that they may use drones to try to keep order in the far south-west of England following heightened tensions between activists and officers.In an email to protesters seen by the Guardian, a Devon and Cornwall officer said the force would consider using drones “where intelligence dictates”. Continue reading...
  
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• Report: UK manufacturers could save £540m through clean technologies

  24-09-2018 15:25
  New technologies such as battery storage and solar could "inspire a new industrial revolution" and save the manufacturing sector at least £540m on its energy bills.
  
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• Heathrow Airport launches peatland restoration project to offset emissions

  24-09-2018 13:43
  Heathrow Airport has invested almost £100,000 into a peatland restoration project near Salford, in a move that will push the airport towards its carbon-neutrality aim by offsetting the carbon emissions of almost 64,000 passenger flights to New York.
  
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• Co-op switches to compostable bags as it pledges to eliminate single-use plastics

  24-09-2018 13:19
  The Co-op has revealed it will swap around 60 million plastic carrier bags with compostable alternatives that can be used as food waste caddy liners, as part of a wider goal to "remove" single-use plastics from its product offerings.
  
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• New study reconciles a dispute about how fast global warming will happen | Dana Nuccitelli

  24-09-2018 12:00
  Unfortunately, mainstream climate scientists are still right, and we’re running out of time to avoid dangerous global warmingWe’re currently on pace to double the carbon dioxide-equivalent (including other greenhouse gases) in the atmosphere by around mid-century.  Since the late 1800s scientists have been trying to answer the question, how much global warming will that cause?In 1979, top climate scientists led by Jule Charney published a report estimating that if we double the
  
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• Where should you move to save yourself from climate change?

  24-09-2018 10:00
  Heatwaves, hurricanes and floods will make some places in the US inhospitable
  Climate change is fueling heatwaves, hurricanes and floods, gradually making certain places in the US challenging, if not outright miserable, to live in.Scientists, and some members of the public, are starting to question where in the US will remain comfortable to call home. Continue reading...
  
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• Where should you move to avoid climate change misery?

  24-09-2018 10:00
  Heatwaves, hurricanes and floods will make some places in the US inhospitable
  Climate change is fueling heatwaves, hurricanes and floods, gradually making certain places in the US challenging, if not outright miserable, to live in.Scientists, and some members of the public, are starting to question where in the US will remain comfortable to call home. Continue reading...
  
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• 'We're moving to higher ground': America's era of climate mass migration is here

  24-09-2018 10:00
  By the end of this century, sea level rises alone could displace 13m people. Many states will have to grapple with hordes of residents seeking dry ground. But, as one expert says, ‘No state is unaffected by this’After her house flooded for the third year in a row, Elizabeth Boineau was ready to flee. She packed her possessions into dozens of boxes, tried not to think of the mold and mildew-covered furniture and retreated to a second-floor condo that should be beyond the reach of poun
  
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• It's spring, the whole garden is going bananas! | First Dog on the Moon

  24-09-2018 09:56
  We have found 15 different kinds of daffodil. Every shrub and branch is stuffed with chirping horny idiotsSign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are publishedGet all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints Continue reading...
  
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• Ebb and flow: Britain's tidal coastline – in pictures

  24-09-2018 08:30
  Photographers David Levene and Christopher Thomond picked spots around Britain’s coastline at high and low tideThe tide is a long wave. The vertical movement of water pulled by a constellation of air pressure, wind, topography, the sun and the elliptical orbit of the moon is rarely visible to the naked eye. Instead we see the impact of this irrepressible force on our coastline roughly every six hours, when the tide is high and when it is low.The British coast has some of the mightiest tide
  
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• Scotland needs tougher policies to meet CO2 targets, say experts

  24-09-2018 08:01
  Nicola Sturgeon told more vigorous action needed to achieve post-2020 emissions targetNicola Sturgeon’s government needs much tougher policies on cutting emissions from Scotland’s roads and farms to meet its ambitious CO2 reduction targets, experts have warned.The UK government’s committee on climate change (CCC) said the Scottish National party government was well on track to hit its 2020 target to cut emissions by 56%, reducing them faster than the UK as a whole. However, tha
  
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• Fears grow for small tortoiseshell butterfly as decline continues

  24-09-2018 08:01
  Big Butterfly Count records worst summer ever for the species, despite the heatwave providing a boost to most othersFears are growing for the small tortoiseshell butterfly after this once-common garden insect continued its baffling decline despite the hot summer proving a boon to most species.The small tortoiseshell suffered its worst summer in the history of the Big Butterfly Count with sightings falling by 32% compared with last year, according to the charity Butterfly Conservation. Continue r
  
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• A brutal business: alleged beatings and abuse on UK pig farms | Harriet Grant

  24-09-2018 08:00
  A Guardian investigation has uncovered claims of violence on a Lincolnshire farm. The owners deny this, and have launched an inquiry. But do working conditions in this intensive industry bring a risk of mistreatment of livestock?One morning in May, Matthew’s phone beeped. “Watch Sky News now. Pigs!” The footage was brutal; farm-workers kicking pigs in the face and head, jabbing them with pitchforks and laughing as they slammed a gate on to an animal’s head.The owners of t
  
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• Pollution pushes Mongolia's herders to reconsider city life

  24-09-2018 02:29
  Bright lights of Ulaanbaatar have been overshadowed by smog worse than Beijing, prompting calls to modernise countryside so millions can return More than a decade ago, Darii Garam, 76, moved to Ulaanbaatar with her children so they could go to school and find work beyond herding animals in the countryside. Now, the pollution, set to worsen in the approaching winter, is getting to her.“Even just going outside for a second, opening your door, your home fills with smoke, your clothes, everyth
  
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• edie partners with BEIS to drive climate action through Green GB Week

  24-09-2018 02:03
  EXCLUSIVE: edie has agreed a new partnership with the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to encourage businesses to seize the opportunities of sustainability and clean growth during Green GB Week (15-19 October 2018).
  
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• Celebrating World Green Building Week: Live edie webinar takes place on THURSDAY

  24-09-2018 02:01
  Representatives from the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC), InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Landsec and EDF Energy will be discussing how businesses can make 'net-zero' buildings the new normal in a live edie webinar on Thursday (27 September).
  
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