Environment news

• Butterflywatch: bug hunters – tread softly, for you tread on our home

  28-09-2018 22:30 via theguardian.com
  It’s been a good summer for black hairstreaks, but the feet of too many enthusiasts can cause damage to the wildlife they come to seeThe damage caused when hundreds of twitchers trample a fragile nature reserve to bag a photograph of a rare bird is relatively well-known. Butterfly watchers are considered a more genteel breed. Wading through a wildflower meadow in pursuit of butterflies is a supreme summertime pleasure. When one person does it, the flowers spring back within hours. Unfortun
  
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• Melting Arctic ice opens new route from Europe to east Asia

  28-09-2018 19:02 via theguardian.com
  A Danish ship has successfully completed a trial voyage through the Russian ArcticA Danish-flagged cargo ship has successfully passed through the Russian Arctic, in a trial voyage showing that melting sea ice could potentially open a new trade route from Europe to east Asia.The Venta Maersk made the journey as a one-off trial, said Palle Laursen, the chief technical officer of A.P. Moller-Maersk, the world’s biggest shipping group. Continue reading...
  
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• UK's children denied basic human right to clean air, says Unicef

  28-09-2018 17:46 via theguardian.com
  Young people face a long term ‘health crisis’ unless the government acts to clean up pollution, says children’s charityChildren in the UK are being denied their basic human right to breathe clean air and facing a long term “health crisis” because of the toxic fumes they breathe on their way to and from school, according to leading children’s charity Unicef.The organisation, which campaigns on children’s rights and wellbeing around the world, described th
  
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• Beluga fever is tinged with sorrow for whale-watchers on Thames

  28-09-2018 17:37 via theguardian.com
  The thrill of a once-in-a-lifetime sighting mingles with a fear that this story may not end wellGrant Hazlehurst, a civil servant from Bromley, Kent has seen many whales. “Fin, sperm, Cuvier’s beaked, True’s beaked, sei, long-fin pilot …” most of them from his regular jaunts on a car ferry in the Bay of Biscay. “But I never thought I would see a beluga, not in the Thames,” he said. “So, I’m hoping.”So were the two dozen or so others wh
  
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• Plastics, Pledge Walls the potential 'death' of CSR: Top 10 sustainability stories of September 2018

  28-09-2018 15:46
  Another month has passed which means it's time to remind ourselves of September's most-read sustainability stories and standout pieces of content from September - from massive plastic phase-outs and circular economy masterclasses to new supply chain commitments and a discussion about the future of CSR.
  
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• Pledge Walls, plastics solutions and the death of CSR: Top 10 sustainability stories of September 2018

  28-09-2018 14:46
  As the evenings get darker earlier, we take a look back at September's biggest sustainability stories in this round-up - covering massive plastic phase-outs, a new place to commit to sustainability and the potential death of CSR.
  
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• UK government urged not to bury nuclear waste under national parks

  28-09-2018 14:18 via theguardian.com
  Conservation groups speak out as fears grow of Lake District being eyed as possible siteThe National Trust and 18 other conservation groups have urged ministers to rule out burying nuclear waste below national parks as fears grow that the Lake District is being eyed as a potential site.In January, the government restarted its attempt to find a community willing to host such a facility after a previous search collapsed five years ago. Ministers have refused to exclude national parks from the proc
  
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• A giant crawling brain: the jaw-dropping world of termites – podcast

  28-09-2018 13:00 via theguardian.com
  At least half of termite studies used to be about how to kill them. But science is discovering their extraordinary usefulnessRead the text version hereContinue reading...
  
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• Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions climb again amid climate policy vacuum

  28-09-2018 10:59 via theguardian.com
  Climate Analytics says that on current trends, emissions will race way past the Paris agreement targetAustralia’s greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, fuelled by the expansion in gas exports and production, according to new figures published by the Department of Environment and Energy.The government quietly published its quarterly emissions figures on Friday afternoon, a public holiday in Victoria and the day of the release of the interim royal commission report into the banking sect
  
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• The World Bank launches $1bn energy storage programme for developing nations

  28-09-2018 10:54
  The World Bank has launched a first-of-its-kind $1bn funding programme to fast-track deployment of battery storage projects in developing countries, to 'close the gap' on efforts to transition to cleaner energy sources.
  
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• The World Bank launched $1bn energy storage programme for developing nations

  28-09-2018 10:54
  The World Bank has launched a first-of-its-kind $1bn funding programme to fast-track deployment of battery storage projects in developing countries, to 'close the gap' on efforts to transition to cleaner energy sources.
  
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• Who is Elon Musk?

  28-09-2018 10:08 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Meet the man who inspired Robert Downey Jr's take on Iron Man.
  
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• SpaceX entrepreneur: Who is Elon Musk?

  28-09-2018 10:08 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Meet the man who inspired Robert Downey Jr's take on Iron Man.
  
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• Introducing the Mission Possible Pledge Wall: YOUR place to showcase new sustainability commitments

  28-09-2018 09:32
  Developed in association with the UK Government's Green GB Week, edie's Mission Possible Pledge Wall has launched this week, offering sustainability, energy and resource professionals the opportunity to broadcast bold new pledges to achieve a sustainable future for their business.
  
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• Swarm alert: Slovenia's 'rapid bee response' team in action

  28-09-2018 08:15 via theguardian.com
  One in 200 Slovenians is a beekeeper, and they’re fighting the decline of bees worldwide with an unprecedented programme – to make Ljubljana the world’s most bee-friendly capitalA storm is coming over the green hills that surround Ljubljana and it is making the bees anxious. Normally, urban beekeeper Gorazd Trušnovec would call it a day when the weather starts to turn. Instead, he is up a ladder, 12 metres (40 feet) above a city road, facing a squirming mass of bees in a
  
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• Life is sweet: on the hunt with Slovenia's 'rapid response' beekeeper unit

  28-09-2018 08:15 via theguardian.com
  One in 200 Slovenians is a beekeeper, and they’re fighting the decline of bees worldwide with an unprecedented programme – to make Ljubljana the world’s most bee-friendly capitalA storm is coming over the green hills that surround Ljubljana and it is making the bees anxious. Normally, urban beekeeper Gorazd Trušnovec would call it a day when the weather starts to turn. Instead, he is up a ladder, 12 metres (40 feet) above a city road, facing a squirming mass of bees in a
  
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• Tawny owl decline: Public urged to record 'twit-twoos'

  28-09-2018 03:37 via bbc.co.uk
  Volunteers are urged to make a weekly record of the Tawny owl's distinctive hoot, as numbers fall.
  
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• Solar window cells and 100-year heat pumps: the best innovations for World Green Building Week

  28-09-2018 02:01
  To mark World Green Building Week, edie has re-focused its usual green innovations of the week series to deliver six of the best solutions to help decarbonise the built environment.
  
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• Pollution threatens future of killer whales

  28-09-2018 01:47 via bbc.co.uk
  Orcas are in deep trouble because of persistent chemical pollution in the environment, researchers say.
  
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