Environment news

• Brazil's new foreign minister believes climate change is a Marxist plot

  15-11-2018 18:13 via theguardian.com
  Ernesto Araujo has called climate science ‘dogma’ and bemoaned the ‘criminalisation’ of red meat, oil and heterosexual sexBrazil’s president-elect Jair Bolsonaro has chosen a new foreign minister who believes climate change is part of a plot by “cultural Marxists” to stifle western economies and promote the growth of China.Ernesto Araujo – until now a mid-ranking official who blogs about the “criminalisation” of red meat, oil and hetero
  
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• Extreme heat and drought could cause summer blackouts, energy market operator says

  15-11-2018 18:00 via theguardian.com
  Heatwaves can limit generator capacity and lead to equipment failures, Aemo warnsExtreme weather over summer could reduce the output of coal, gas and hydro power generators and cause problems with the reliability of electricity supply, according to the Australian Energy Market Operator.While there has been extensive political debate in Australia about the reliability of various forms of energy supply, the market operator will make the point on Friday that extreme weather imposes significant stre
  
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• Reports: Michael Gove offered Brexit Secretary job

  15-11-2018 16:58
  Michael Gove is said to be mulling over a decision to accept the role of Brexit Secretary, amid concerns that Theresa May is facing an "exodus" of Ministers from the Cabinet.
  
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• Reports: Michael Gove considering Brexit Secretary job

  15-11-2018 16:58
  Michael Gove is said to be mulling over a decision to accept the role of Brexit Secretary, amid concerns that Theresa May is facing an "exodus" of Ministers from the Cabinet.
  
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• Spain targets 100% renewable power by 2050

  15-11-2018 16:28
  Spain's government has published a new climate plan that targets a 100% renewable energy electricity system by 2050, with goals that outstrip those adopted by the EU and a ban on new gas and oil exploration.
  
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• UK's backup power subsidies are illegal, European court rules

  15-11-2018 13:59 via theguardian.com
  Surprise judgment means government must halt capacity market schemeThe UK’s scheme for ensuring power supplies during the winter months has been suspended after a ruling by the European court of justice that it constitutes illegal state aid.Payments under the £1bn capacity market scheme will be halted until the government can win permission from the European commission to restart it. Continue reading...
  
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• The Empire of the Eagle: the world's most graceful bird – in pictures

  15-11-2018 13:51 via theguardian.com
  A new book by Mike Unwin and David Tipling celebrates the world’s 68 eagle species in all their magnificence and beguiling diversity Continue reading...
  
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• Pukka Herbs joins select group of businesses to have 1.5C science-based target approved

  15-11-2018 13:31
  Organic herbal tea producer Pukka Herbs has become the smallest UK company to have its science-based targets approved, putting it on a trajectory to reduce emissions in line with a 1.5C future.
  
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• Climate change: Worries over CO2 emissions from intensifying wildfires

  15-11-2018 13:18 via bbc.co.uk
  Rising numbers of extreme wildfires could result in a significant increase in CO₂ emissions, scientists have warned.
  
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• Big Oil v the planet is the fight of our lives. Democrats must choose a side | David Sirota

  15-11-2018 12:00 via theguardian.com
  The industry has political supremacy even in left-leaning states, but immediate action can hold off an environmental state of emergencyThe world’s leading scientists issued a report warning of total planetary dystopia unless we take immediate steps to seriously reduce carbon emissions. Then, oil and gas corporations dumped millions of dollars into the 2018 elections to defeat the major initiatives that could have slightly reduced fossil fuel use.Though you may not know it from the cable TV
  
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• Businesses accelerate progress towards renewables in drive for 1.5C world

  15-11-2018 10:41
  Last year marked a "dramatic upsurge" in corporate demand for renewable energy, according to new research by The Climate Group, which suggests that many big-name businesses are exploring alignment with a 1.5C trajectory.
  
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• Why there’s no such thing as a perfect vegan

  15-11-2018 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Almost everything we eat involves some kind of animal suffering – but we can do our best to minimise itEight years on, veganism still has me scratching my head. My commitment hasn’t wavered, but the questions surrounding what is and isn’t vegan continue to plague me on a weekly (and sometimes daily) basis. While many assume veganism is strictly about refusing to use animal products, for most vegans it is also about living a life that excludes all forms of animal exploitation. A
  
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• EU approves more ambitious renewables target, commits to palm oil phase-out

  15-11-2018 08:44
  The European Parliament has voted to approve a set of new clean energy laws for 2030, outlining plans to increase the bloc's use of renewable energy and ban the sale of high-emission biofuels made from palm and soybean oil.
  
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• Supermarkets still produce thousands of tonnes of plastic bags

  15-11-2018 08:01 via theguardian.com
  Greenpeace says retailers failing to take responsibility for reducing footprint Big supermarkets are producing billions of single-use plastic bags each year despite charges that are designed to reduce their use by the public.The UK’s 10 leading supermarkets, including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Morrisons, Waitrose, Co-op and Aldi, continue to put plastic bags into their shops three years after the introduction of 5p charges under EU law. Continue reading...
  
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• 'It was a gem': idyllic mobile home community scorched by wildfire

  15-11-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Neighbors in the tiny Seminole Springs are banding together in the aftermath of California’s deadly wildfires
  Rodger Kelly had been up through the night, watching the orange glow emanating from the hillside above his home of 30 years.The Seminole Springs mobile home park, a co-op of 215 small lakeside homes tucked into the canyon between Malibu and Agoura Hills, was on the warpath of the most destructive fire to ever hit Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Continue reading...
  
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• Inventors of spinning wind turbine win James Dyson award

  15-11-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Lancaster students win £30,000 prize for O-Wind turbine after scooping UK equivalent A spinning turbine that can capture wind travelling in any direction and could transform how consumers generate electricity in cities has won its inventors a prestigious international award and £30,000 prize.Nicolas Orellana, 36, and Yaseen Noorani, 24, MSc students at Lancaster University, scooped the James Dyson award for their O-Wind Turbine, which – in a technological first – takes ad
  
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• Country diary: the dry summer has left fish dangerously exposed

  15-11-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Tunstall valley, Weardale: Streams have become mere trickles and a third of the reservoir is still mud
  Six months ago, when I stood on this bridge over Waskerley beck, which flows from the head of the Tunstall valley, the reservoir that it supplies was brimful. A rapid thaw after late heavy snowfall, followed by torrential rain, had left a pair of great-crested grebes piling up water weeds in a desperate attempt to keep their nest site above rising flood water. Continue reading...
  
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• 'Cut lamb and beef' to fight climate change

  15-11-2018 02:22 via bbc.co.uk
  The number of sheep and cattle in the UK should be reduced to help combat climate change, a report says.
  
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• Climate change: Report says 'cut lamb and beef'

  15-11-2018 02:22 via bbc.co.uk
  The number of sheep and cattle in the UK should be reduced to help combat climate change, a report says.
  
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• Tree planting in UK 'must double to tackle climate change'

  15-11-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Government advisers call for radical changes, including turning farmland into forestsTree planting must double by 2020 as part of radical changes to land use in the UK, according to the government’s advisers on climate change.New forests would lock up carbon but also help to limit the more frequent floods expected with global warming. Continue reading...
  
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• 'Fundamental' agriculture reforms needed for UK to reach carbon neutrality, says CCC

  15-11-2018 01:01
  The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has today (15 November) urged ministers to implement policies that will "fundamentally reform" the way in which the UK's land is used, in order to create carbon sinks and accelerate progress towards carbon neutrality.
  
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• Diesel pollution stunts children’s lung growth, London study shows

  15-11-2018 00:30 via theguardian.com
  Major research also shows charging polluting trucks had no effect on healthPollution from diesel vehicles is stunting the growth of children’s lungs, leaving them damaged for life, a major study has found.The research, conducted with more than 2,000 school children in London, is the first such study in a city where diesel pollution is a significant factor, and has implications for cities around the world. It also showed that charges to deter polluting trucks from entering the city did redu
  
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