Environment news

• ‘There’s always hope’: John Kerry on Donald Trump, the US midterms and climate change – video

  16-11-2018 20:18
  John Kerry, the former US presidential candidate and secretary of state for the Obama administration, discusses his life and career with the Observer's chief political commentator, Andrew Rawnsley. Kerry reflects on his early memories, his role in the Vietnam war and what action needs to be taken to address the issues presented by climate change. Kerry told the live audience: 'We face several life-threatening challenges … if we don’t respond very quickly, we’re inviting catast
  
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• 'Sad surprise': Amazon fish contaminated by plastic particles

  16-11-2018 19:08
  Scientists in Brazil find first evidence of plastic pollution in Amazon basin freshwater fish Scientists have found the first evidence of plastic contamination in freshwater fish in the Amazon, highlighting the extent to which bags, bottles and other waste dumped in rivers is affecting the world’s wildlife.Tests on the stomach contents of fish in Brazil’s Xingu River, one of the major tributaries of the Amazon, revealed plastic particles in more than 80% of the species examined, incl
  
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• Serhii Plokhy: 'Chernobyl exposed Soviet secrecy'

  16-11-2018 17:30
  ‘I remember the horror,’ says Baillie Gifford non-fiction prize-winner, who lived through the 1986 nuclear disasterSerhii Plokhy, who on Wednesday won the Baillie Gifford non-fiction prize for Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy, always intended to write about the world’s worst nuclear disaster, not least because he lived through it. “I was there at the time,” he says of his days as a young university lecturer living 500km downstream from the explosion at the Ukrainian
  
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• Lancashire fracking has stopped since small earthquakes, say locals

  16-11-2018 16:49
  Cuadrilla won’t say if it has halted Preston New Road exploration, at cost of £94,000 a dayThe shale gas firm Cuadrilla has refused to confirm whether it has halted fracking after triggering a series of minor earthquakes near Blackpool, raising questions over the operation’s future prospects.Dozens of small tremors have been registered near the company’s Preston New Road site, after it started pumping high volumes of water underground in October to explore for gas. Contin
  
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• Kilogram gets a new definition

  16-11-2018 14:17 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists take the massive decision to change the definition of the kilogram.
  
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• Green energy subsidies fuel rise of Northern Ireland mega-farms

  16-11-2018 13:46
  Huge expansion of agri-food industry is harming environment, say investigatorsGreen energy subsidies are fuelling the rise of poultry mega-farms across Northern Ireland, with owners accused of contaminating sensitive habitats with emissions from chicken faeces.An alliance of agri-food companies enlisted the support of Northern Ireland politicians to unlock an estimated £800m in subsidies for contractors. This has paved the way for industry expansion at the expense of the environment, accor
  
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• Plastics Pact Roadmap unveiled as campaigners condemn high-street plastic action

  16-11-2018 13:26
  A roadmap to help UK businesses tackle the global plastic waste problem has been published, on the same day that research has claimed that British supermarkets are still not doing enough to reduce their plastic footprint.
  
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• Michael Gove set to remain as Defra Secretary

  16-11-2018 11:38
  Michael Gove will stay on at Defra after turning down the role of Brexit Secretary, according to reports.
  
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• Tesco and WWF aim to halve environment impact of UK shopping baskets

  16-11-2018 11:22
  Tesco and WWF have today (16 November) announced a four-year partnership which aims to deliver sustainable and healthy food, while halving the environmental impact of the average UK shopping basket.
  
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• Policies of China, Russia and Canada threaten 5C climate change, study finds

  16-11-2018 11:00
  Ranking of countries’ goals shows even EU on course for more than double safe level of warmingChina, Russia and Canada’s current climate policies would drive the world above a catastrophic 5C of warming, according to a study that ranks the climate goals of different countries.The US and Australia are only slightly behind with both pushing the global temperature rise dangerously over 4C above pre-industrial levels says the paper, while even the EU, which is usually seen as a climate l
  
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• Caribbean swamped by seaweed that smells like rotten eggs

  16-11-2018 10:26
  From Belize to Barbados, tourist beaches have been swamped by huge tides of foul-smelling sargassum – and climate change could make the problem worse“It was like something out of a science fiction movie,” says Barbara Hall from the office of the beachside hotel she runs in Placencia, southern Belize.“I woke up at 6am, looked out my window and realised we had a big problem. It was absolutely overwhelming.” Continue reading...
  
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• Secret videos reveal workers beating sheep on English and Scottish farms

  16-11-2018 09:00
  Wool-shearing footage, filmed by campaigners on 49 farms, appears to show animals being kicked, slapped and beaten with metal clippers Footage which appears to show sheep being kicked, beaten and abused during wool-shearing on English and Scottish farms has been released by animal rights activists.Peta Asia carried out an undercover investigation over the summer in the British sheep shearing industry. The 18 minutes of footage released yesterday is part of a wider investigation, in which Peta do
  
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• Gulls! Gulls! Gulls! How the seaside birds took over urban Britain

  16-11-2018 08:00
  In the last 30 years, gulls have come among us as never before. But is their moment coming to an end as we tackle our waste problem?When was the last day you didn’t see a gull? Throughout Britain we ordinarily cross paths with these birds more often than with any other wild creature. They are hard to avoid. In the last 30 years – the lifespan of a large gull – they have come among us as never before. Though still popularly regarded as seagulls, many have moved inland, far from
  
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• Energy company takes stance against Trump effort to rollback mercury rule

  16-11-2018 07:00
  Multi-billion dollar company Exelon argues that weakening the emissions rule would kill jobs and waste billions in investmentsA leading US energy company is lobbying against the Trump administration’s move to rollback a major Obama-era environmental regulation, arguing that weakening a rule on mercury emissions would potentially kill jobs across the south and waste billions of dollars of investment.Exelon, one of the largest producers of electricity in the US, has also argued to the Enviro
  
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• Australia's most polluting industries are almost all in poor areas – report

  16-11-2018 04:57
  Hunter and Latrobe valleys lead the list of polluted postcodes in survey by Australian Conservation FoundationAlmost all of Australia’s most polluting industries are located in low-income areas, according to new research by the Australian Conservation Foundation.The report looks at pollution from emitters including coal-fired power stations as well as mining, refineries and manufacturing and finds the country’s five most polluted areas are the Hunter Valley in NSW, the Latrobe Valley
  
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• San Francisco: schools and cable cars to close over smoke from Camp fire

  16-11-2018 03:05
  Thursday saw air pollution levels climb to unhealthy levels, making San Francisco’s air worst in the worldSchools in the San Francisco Bay Area have been cancelled for Friday and residents warned to stay inside as smoke descends from wildfires hundreds of miles away, producing air quality levels worse than notoriously polluted cities in India and China.“The Camp fire in Butte county generated a tremendous amount of smoke,” said Kristine Roselius, a spokeswoman for the Bay Area
  
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• Underwriting coal power exposes taxpayers to billions, industry group says

  16-11-2018 02:50
  Ai Group expresses significant concern with the Morrison government’s controversial plan to underwrite new power generationA leading business group has expressed significant concern with the Morrison government’s controversial plan to underwrite new power generation, noting it could leave taxpayers exposed to liabilities “with a net present value of billions of dollars”.The Ai Group has used its submission to flag major problems with the proposal, ranging from its “
  
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• Dr persistence

  16-11-2018 02:00 via bbc.co.uk
  Sophia Jex-Blake was a pioneer of women's education on her way to be Scotland's first female doctor.
  
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• 'Miniature suns'

  16-11-2018 01:07 via bbc.co.uk
  Is much-heralded nuclear fusion finally ready to fulfil its promise of abundant energy for all?
  
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• Tesco and WWF to 'halve environmental impact' of UK groceries

  16-11-2018 01:01
  UK’s largest retailer falls short of removing palm oil from own-brand foods in sustainability driveTesco and WWF have announced they are to collaborate on a long-running sustainable food effort, pledging to halve the environmental impact of the average UK shopping basket within 12 months.The four-year partnership between the UK’s largest retailer and one of the world’s leading environmental organisations is believed to be the first of its kind. They hope its scale will help dri
  
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• Tesco and WWF bid to 'halve environmental impact' of UK groceries

  16-11-2018 01:01
  UK’s largest retailer falls short of removing palm oil from own-brand foods in sustainability driveTesco and WWF have announced they are to collaborate on a long-running sustainable food effort, pledging to establish a measure to halve the environmental impact of the average UK shopping basket within 12 months.The four-year partnership between the UK’s largest retailer and one of the world’s leading environmental organisations is believed to be the first of its kind. They hope
  
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• Solar-powered TVs and plastic-busting boats: The best green innovations of the week

  16-11-2018 01:01
  A number of eye-catching and potentially transformational innovations have emerged that could help businesses and nations deliver on resource efficiency, low-carbon transitions and combat climate change. Here, edie rounds-up six of the best.
  
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