Environment news

• Butterflywatch: sunny summer should have been favourable, but jury is still out

  30-10-2018 22:30 via theguardian.com
  Despite ideal butterfly weather in 2018, data suggests some species still face worrying declinesA coppery autumn has followed a superbly sunny summer. I’ve been admiring a late, great third generation of small coppers, some of which are huge, suggesting their caterpillars thrived earlier in the year.It is hard to declare 2018 a vintage butterfly year because the scientific data has not yet been crunched. In fact, the Big Butterfly Count suggests that this ideal butterfly weather only confi
  
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• WWF report: Mass wildlife loss caused by human consumption

  30-10-2018 19:31 via bbc.co.uk
  WWF blames "exploding consumption" for average losses of 60% in vertebrate populations since 1970.
  
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• Is planting trees the best thing you can do for your health and the planet?

  30-10-2018 19:30 via theguardian.com
  Prince Charles has said that all he really wants to do is plant trees. When I turned a patch of land into a wood, I learned how important this is‘What’s all this tree-planting for?” I was asked when I began writing about restoring a piece of land I had bought in Somerset as a wood-cum-orchard. The truth is, I just love trees. And I am not alone. “As I get older, all I really long for is to plant trees,” Prince Charles says in a forthcoming BBC documentary in which h
  
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• Election of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil threatens the planet | Letter

  30-10-2018 19:08 via theguardian.com
  Irreparable damage to the Amazon may irreversibly accelerate climate change, writes Esther Gillingham of CafodPresident-Elect Jair Bolsonaro’s mission to “change the destiny of Brazil” (Report, 29 October) looks set to abolish environmental protection and exacerbate the bloodshed linked to the unregulated exploitation of the Amazon.For a decade Brazil has been the most dangerous country in the world for environmental and land defenders. Courageous indigenous and rural landless
  
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• Grenfell council chief sorry for not acting on concerns about toxins

  30-10-2018 17:37 via theguardian.com
  Barry Quirk says further tests should have been ordered after contamination came to lightThe chief executive of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has apologised to the communities affected by the Grenfell Tower fire and said the authorities should have ordered more sweeping tests for potential contamination in the surrounding area months ago.Barry Quirk said he wished the council (RBKC) had acted in February when it was told of concerns about toxins found in preliminary tests on soil a
  
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• Latte levy: Was the Chancellor right to reject a tax on disposable cups?

  30-10-2018 16:02
  A major talking point of yesterday's Autumn Budget was the Chancellor's decision to rule out a latte levy on disposable cups. Here, edie investigates the extent to which such a proposal could have boosted the UK's coffers and helped policymakers drive a resource-efficient economy.
  
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• There are three options in tackling climate change. Only one will work | Mayer Hillman

  30-10-2018 15:58 via theguardian.com
  As the IPCC report shows, we have to cut out fossil fuels completely, or we will pass on a dying planet to our childrenThe world faces a near-impossible decision – one that is already determining the character and quality of the lives of the generations succeeding us.It is clear from the latestIPCC climate report that the first and only effective course, albeit a deeply unpopular one, would be to stop using any fossil fuels. The second is to voluntarily minimise their use as much as climat
  
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• edie's next 30-minute masterclass: How to engage with stakeholders on sustainability

  30-10-2018 15:51
  Sustainability professionals seeking to develop the skills needed to understand and engage with a range of stakeholders to optimise approaches to sustainability are invited to take part in a free, online masterclass taking place on Wednesday 28 November.
  
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• No picnic: Americans face encounters with black bears as population rebounds

  30-10-2018 15:38 via theguardian.com
  Largely relieved of pressure from deforestation and hunting, bears are increasingly coming into contact with peopleThe swift rebound of bear populations in the US is presenting a growing number of Americans with a major challenge – what to do about the enormous hirsute neighbors that are breaking into their homes, gorging on their food and guzzling their cans of soda?Black bears, largely relieved of pressure on their numbers from untrammeled deforestation and hunting, are increasingly comi
  
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• RemoveDebris: UK satellite tracks 'space junk'

  30-10-2018 13:57 via bbc.co.uk
  The British-led mission to test techniques to clear up space junk initiates its second experiment.
  
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• Mexico City's vertical gardens: seeds of change or cynical greenwashing?

  30-10-2018 13:00 via theguardian.com
  The smog-filled city’s flyovers are newly adorned with climbing plants – but critics say the ‘Via Verde’ is a cynical attempt to double-down on car usageAs Mexico City wakes up on any given weekday, most of its citizens participate in a familiar, survival-of-the-fittest routine: commuting in the car-dependent megapolis. It is one of honking, tire-screeching, yelling chilango curses out of sedan windows and, more recently, glimpsing occasional plants among the sea of grey
  
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• Top European firms warned over lobbying against stronger climate policy

  30-10-2018 11:42
  A group of investors worth $2trn has urged 55 major European businesses to review their relationships with organisations with lobbying practices "inconsistent" with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
  
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• In numbers: The growing consumer demand for corporate transparency

  30-10-2018 11:27
  The Consumer Goods Forum and social change agency Futerra surveyed more than 3,600 consumers on the importance of purpose-led brands and transparency surrounding environmental, social and ethical issues. Here, edie rounds up the key facts and figures.
  
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• Parker Solar Probe: Nasa's Sun mission smashes records

  30-10-2018 10:58 via bbc.co.uk
  America's audacious mission to "touch the Sun" has now got nearer to our star than any previous human-made object.
  
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• Global hunger for soybeans 'destroying Brazil's Cerrado savanna'

  30-10-2018 10:26 via bbc.co.uk
  Brazil's highly biodiverse Cerrado is being destroyed for soybean production, conservationists say.
  
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• Atmospheric autumnal scenes – in pictures

  30-10-2018 09:00 via theguardian.com
  As the leaves began falling from the trees, photographer David Levene took his son Solly around London to capture autumn in all its glory Continue reading...
  
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• 'We've never seen this': massive Canadian glaciers shrinking rapidly

  30-10-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Glaciers in the Yukon territory are retreating even faster than expected in a warming climate, scientists warnScientists in Canada have warned that massive glaciers in the Yukon territory are shrinking even faster than would be expected from a warming climate – and bringing dramatic changes to the region.After a string of recent reports chronicling the demise of the ice fields, researchers hope that greater awareness will help the public better understand the rapid pace of climate change.
  
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• Tasmanian heritage forests at risk of 'catastrophic' bushfires, study finds

  30-10-2018 07:25 via theguardian.com
  Researchers say amount of vegetation burnt by fires caused by lightning strikes rose dramatically this centuryThe amount of vegetation burnt by fires caused by lightning strikes in Tasmania’s world heritage area has increased dramatically this century, according to new research led by the University of Tasmania.The study, published this month in the academic journal Fire, warns the state’s heritage forests face rising threats because of the tendency toward drier summers and that the
  
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• Are we wrong to assume fish can't feel pain?

  30-10-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  We like to think fish have no feelings. And yet the idea that they have both memory and a capacity for suffering is gaining ground among scientists. By Carl Safina• More from this series: Animals FarmedI have cast my rod into the tidal current flowing around Montauk Point in New York and my lure is chugging across the surface when a bluefish swirls and fails to grab it. There is a heavier swirl. On a third appearance, the fish grabs. The hook pierces. The fish swims one way and abruptly cha
  
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• The unseen driver behind the migrant caravan: climate change

  30-10-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  While violence and poverty have been cited as the reasons for the exodus, experts say the big picture is that changing climate is forcing farmers off their land – and it’s likely to get worseThousands of Central American migrants trudging through Mexico towards the US have regularly been described as either fleeing gang violence or extreme poverty.But another crucial driving factor behind the migrant caravan has been harder to grasp: climate change. Continue reading...
  
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• WWF report warns annihilation of wildlife threatens civilisation – video

  30-10-2018 05:55 via theguardian.com
  The 2018 Living Planet report from the WWF has found that a shocking 60% of the earth's  mammals, birds, fish and reptiles have been lost  since 1970.  The findings have led the world’s foremost experts to warn that the annihilation of wildlife is now an emergency that threatens civilisation.• Humanity has wiped out 60% of animals since 1970, major report finds Continue reading...
  
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• Rhino horn: Alarm as China eases 25-year ban on rhino and tiger parts

  30-10-2018 05:29 via bbc.co.uk
  Experts worry this will increase demand for the animals and jeopardise efforts to protect them.
  
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• Is Australia on the verge of having too much solar energy? | Tristan Edis

  30-10-2018 02:56 via theguardian.com
  Solar will represent a very substantial part of our power supply, but we’re hardly at risk of generating too much. Here’s whyOver the last few weeks there have been a number of reports in the media that Australia is on the verge of hitting too much solar energy.This includes claims by some electricity generators that we are heading towards a “solar peak” – a point at which “there is no point in putting any more solar power into the system” because it wil
  
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• 'Worst year' for Horsey seals injured by rubbish

  30-10-2018 02:14 via bbc.co.uk
  The animals have been getting fishing nets stuck to them or rings trapped on their necks.
  
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• Chocolate: Origins of delicacy pushed back in time

  30-10-2018 01:37 via bbc.co.uk
  The delights of chocolate were first discovered in the Amazon rainforest about 5,000 years ago.
  
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• Tesco and Nestlé pledge to tackle impact of abandoned plastic fishing gear

  30-10-2018 01:01
  Supermarket giant Tesco and consumer goods firm Nestlé have today (30 October) joined a coalition of businesses, non-profits and public sector bodies which have pledged to tackle the 640,000 tonnes of fishing gear abandoned in the world's oceans each year.
  
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• Humanity has wiped out 60% of animals since 1970, major report finds

  30-10-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  The huge loss is a tragedy in itself but also threatens the survival of civilisation, say the world’s leading scientists Humanity has wiped out 60% of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles since 1970, leading the world’s foremost experts to warn that the annihilation of wildlife is now an emergency that threatens civilisation.The new estimate of the massacre of wildlife is made in a major report produced by WWF and involving 59 scientists from across the globe. It finds that the vast and
  
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• Humanity has wiped out 60% of animal populations since 1970, report finds

  30-10-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  The huge loss is a tragedy in itself but also threatens the survival of civilisation, say the world’s leading scientists Humanity has wiped out 60% of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles since 1970, leading the world’s foremost experts to warn that the annihilation of wildlife is now an emergency that threatens civilisation.The new estimate of the massacre of wildlife is made in a major report produced by WWF and involving 59 scientists from across the globe. It finds that the vast and
  
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• Brecon project gives water vole a fighting chance

  30-10-2018 01:00 via bbc.co.uk
  A Powys captive breeding project aims to give water voles a fighting chance of a revival.
  
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• Australia's east coast named as 'deforestation front' in WWF Living Planet report

  30-10-2018 01:00 via theguardian.com
  Assessment underscores threat to koalas and other native speciesAustralia’s east coast has been compared to the Amazon as a “deforestation front” in a new global report by the World Wide Fund for Nature that underscores the threat to populations of koalas and other native species.The Living Planet report, produced by WWF every second year for the past 20 years, says global populations of vertebrate species have declined 60% since 1970. But koala numbers have disappeared at a mu
  
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• Venice flooded by high tide – in pictures

  30-10-2018 00:29 via theguardian.com
  The ‘acqua alta’ created havoc in Venice, as schools and hospitals were closed and citizens were advised against leaving their homes. The flooding, caused by a convergence of high tides and a strong sirocco wind, reached around 156cm on MondayThree-quarters of Venice flooded by exceptional high tide Continue reading...
  
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