Environment news

• Surge in marine refuges brings world close to protected areas goal

  19-11-2018 19:28 via theguardian.com
  Reserves cover more than five times area of US, says report, but enforcement is often poorA record surge in the creation of marine protected areas has taken the international community close to its goal of creating nature refuges on 17% of the world’s land and 10% of seas by 2020, according to a new UN report.Protected regions now cover more than five times the territory of the US, but the authors said this good news was often undermined by poor enforcement. Some reserves are little more t
  
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• Nasa 2020 robot rover to target Jezero 'lake' crater

  19-11-2018 18:57 via bbc.co.uk
  America's next robot rover will be sent to a 50km-wide depression that once had water running through it.
  
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• Essential reading on climate change | Letters

  19-11-2018 18:44 via theguardian.com
  George Monbiot and Keith Kahn-Harris are thought-provoking, says Penelope Maclachlan, while Peter Wheeler believes natural climate solutions are the way forwardGeorge Monbiot’s observations (The Earth is in a death spiral. The only hope is radical action, 14 November) are well worth reading and thought-provoking. At one point he writes: “Academics, afraid to upset their funders, have bitten their lips.”There are exceptions. Keith Kahn-Harris’s book Denial: The Unspeakable
  
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• Top filmmakers back penguin intervention on Attenborough show

  19-11-2018 18:41 via theguardian.com
  Wildlife documentary experts defend crew’s decision to help trapped birdsLeading wildlife camera operators and filmmakers have defended the film crew on David Attenborough’s latest BBC series over their decision to break with convention and intervene to save a group of penguins that had become trapped in a ravine.Nature filmmakers are discouraged from intervening in the events they are attempting to capture on film. While the general principle is to avoid interfering with the natural
  
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• Importing gas to replace domestic supply could push emissions up 20%, AGL says

  19-11-2018 18:00 via theguardian.com
  Energy company says importing LNG will firm up renewable energy projects but critics say gas is already more expensive than clean alternativesControversial plans to import liquefied natural gas into Australia to fill a shortfall as domestic gas is exported to Asia would significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions, AGL has conceded. Energy companies have proposed four LNG import terminals for the east coast to ensure gas supply and ease high prices. The imported natural gas would effectively
  
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• Dead fish to power cruise ships

  19-11-2018 16:19 via theguardian.com
  Norwegian company to fuel liners with biogas made from leftovers of fish processingWaste fish parts will be used to power ships in a new initiative to use green energy for polluting cruise liners.The leftovers of fish processed for food and mixed with other organic waste will be used to generate biogas, which will then be liquefied and used in place of fossil fuels by the expedition cruise line Hurtigruten. Continue reading...
  
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• 'Far too slow': MPs investigate UK's energy efficiency progress

  19-11-2018 16:15
  MPs have launched an inquiry which will examine the Government's approach to improve the energy efficiency of buildings in the UK, with current progress deemed as "far too slow"".
  
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• Attenborough’s suffering penguin mothers had me in blizzards of tears | Suzanne Moore

  19-11-2018 16:08 via theguardian.com
  I know I should be thinking of the polar ice caps melting on Dynasties, but it was the birds huddling together that got meAfter Louis Theroux’s documentary on assisted dying, there was a helpline number to call. He had dealt sensitively with the dying and those who wanted to. But I was already wrung out as I had watched Dynasties, the David Attenborough series. It was about penguins – and I needed a helpline. It was gruelling stuff, unbearable in places. People with cancer choosing t
  
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• Wombat poop: Scientists reveal mystery behind cube-shaped droppings

  19-11-2018 15:34 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists discover how the marsupials are the only known species producing cube-shaped faeces.
  
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• Climate change: Report raises new optimism over industry

  19-11-2018 15:02 via bbc.co.uk
  Cutting emissions from heavy industry would generate savings and boost economic growth, commission argues.
  
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• Attenborough agreed with decision to save penguins' lives

  19-11-2018 14:39 via bbc.co.uk
  The Dynasties crew took a rare decision to intervene when a group of stranded emperor penguins faced death.
  
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• Edible insects

  19-11-2018 14:22 via bbc.co.uk
  Sainsbury's is the first UK supermarket to stock edible insects - but just how tasty are they?
  
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• UK industry to make new 'Hotbirds'

  19-11-2018 14:12 via bbc.co.uk
  British industry will build new spacecraft for telecoms operator Eutelsat's flagship TV distribution network.
  
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• Rugeley coal plant to be transformed into a sustainable village

  19-11-2018 14:01 via theguardian.com
  Energy firm plans to build 2,000 homes powered by solar panels on the Staffordshire siteAn old coal power station is set to be transformed into a “sustainable village” of 2,000 homes powered by solar panels, in the biggest redevelopment yet of a former UK power plant.French firm Engie said it had decided against selling off the Rugeley site in Staffordshire and would instead build super efficient houses on the 139-hectare site as part of its bid to “move beyond energy”. C
  
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• National Trust criticised after hiring marksman to cull wild boar at Stourhead estate

  19-11-2018 13:00 via theguardian.com
  Animals to be removed from Stourhead estate after complaints from ‘intimidated’ visitorsThe National Trust has been criticised for planning to cull wild boar at its Stourhead estate in Wiltshire. Related: Wild boar gives British ambassador to Austria a scareContinue reading...
  
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• London Mayor launches five new low-emission bus zones across capital

  19-11-2018 12:44
  Saqid Khan has unveiled five new Low Emission Bus Zones (LEBZs) across London, in a drive to tackle the city's air pollution problem.
  
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• Religious leaders urge Theresa May to appoint dedicated SDG minister

  19-11-2018 12:07
  Leaders within the UK's six most predominant religions have urged Prime Minister Theresa May to bolster the Government's action plans for achieving the aims of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), after a recent report revealed that the nation is delivering on less than a quarter of its SDG targets.
  
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• Sainsbury's becomes first UK supermarket to launch edible insect range

  19-11-2018 11:33
  Supermarket giant Sainsbury's has today (19 November) unveiled plans to stock a range of edible insects in its stores, as customer demand for sustainable protein sources grows.
  
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• Volume-based renewable auctions needed to meet emissions targets

  19-11-2018 11:19
  Contracts for Difference (CfD) auctions must be reformed to fill a looming hole in the UK's carbon budgets, Cornwall Insight has argued in a new report.
  
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• Gruesome discovery of Czech tiger farm exposes illegal trade in heart of Europe

  19-11-2018 10:57 via theguardian.com
  Gruesome haul of fresh pelts and rotting remains marks the end of a five-year probe into an international crime ring, that authorities fear points to a wider problem in EuropeThe first thing that hit the inspectors was the smell. It was a sweltering midsummer day in Prague, and they had just opened an unplugged freezer filled with the rotting remains of tigers, lions and cougars. Pavla Rihova, the lead environmental inspector on the scene, said she had never seen anything like it.“I have b
  
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• Smart meter installations 'need to hit 30 a minute'

  19-11-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Energy firms set to miss government deadline for rolloutEnergy suppliers need to triple smart meter installation rates to complete a national rollout by 2020, according to the consumer champion Which?Large suppliers would have to install 30 meters every minute, every day, for the next two years, to meet the government deadline. Continue reading...
  
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• National Trust has £30m invested in fossil fuels

  19-11-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: investments in oil, gas and mining companies held indirectly via portfolio fundThe National Trust has invested tens of millions of pounds in oil, gas and mining firms – despite the conservation charity pledging to cut down its own use of fossil fuels and warning about the impact of climate change.An investigation by the Guardian has found that the trust – which aims to “nurse the environment back to health” – has more than £30m of investments in oil
  
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• National Trust has £30m fossil fuel fund

  19-11-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: investments in oil, gas and mining companies held indirectly via portfolio fundThe National Trust has invested tens of millions of pounds in oil, gas and mining firms – despite the conservation charity pledging to cut down its own use of fossil fuels and warning about the impact of climate change.An investigation by the Guardian has found that the trust – which aims to “nurse the environment back to health’ – has more than £30m of investments in oil
  
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• Victoria's forestry fight: how the election is raising the environmental stakes

  19-11-2018 03:09 via theguardian.com
  Major parties want ‘sustainable logging’ in native forests, but experts warn of ‘endgame’ for endangered species and drinking waterTo understand the campaign to save Victoria’s old growth forests, ecologist David Lindenmayer says, you just need to turn on a tap in Melbourne.Forget about the critically endangered Leadbeater’s possum, a species in which Lindenmayer is a global expert, or the vulnerable greater glider. Forget, too, about the carbon value of the m
  
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• UK energy revolution risks creating a 'two-tier' economy

  19-11-2018 01:02
  The UK's transition to a low-carbon economy is masking stark regional divides, according to new research, with regions such as the North of England and East Midlands being left behind.
  
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• UK energy revolution creating a 'two-tier' economy

  19-11-2018 01:02
  The UK's transition to a low-carbon economy is masking stark regional divides, according to new research, with regions such as the North of England and East Midlands being left behind.
  
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