Environment news

• Trump's environmental rollback rolls on

  06-12-2018 22:54 via bbc.co.uk
  The administration plans to open protected lands for drilling and lift curbs on carbon emissions.
  
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• Pollutionwatch: remembering world's deadly smogs

  06-12-2018 22:30 via theguardian.com
  There are memorials in Belgium and the US – but London chooses not to mark the deadliest of allEarly winter was the time for smog in the UK. Most of the deadly smogs in London and Glasgow happened during November and December, but these were not unique to the UK. In Liège in Belgium’s Meuse valley, you can find a small statue dedicated to those who died in a winter smog in 1930. Smoke was trapped in the valley for five days. Hundreds of people experienced breathing problems an
  
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• Trump rolls back climate change rule that restricted new coal plants

  06-12-2018 20:49 via theguardian.com
  EPA says change to require efficiency efforts instead of carbon capture will encourage ‘clean coal’ in the US and worldwideThe Trump administration is rolling back a climate change regulation that restricted new coal plants.The change is mostly symbolic – but nevertheless sends a strong signal. Companies in the US are not building plants that burn coal because burning natural gas is cheaper and creates less pollution. Renewable power has also eaten into coal’s market shar
  
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• Trump administration plans to weaken protections for sage grouse

  06-12-2018 20:18 via theguardian.com
  Under the new plan, the sage grouse’s protected area would shrink by about 9m acres to span just 1.8m acresThe Trump administration has unveiled plans to weaken environmental protections for sprawling areas of the western US considered important habitat for the sage grouse, a chicken-like bird known for its flamboyant courtship displays.The proposals, put forward by the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM), essentially dismantle much of a landmark 2015 compromise struck between states,
  
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• Cop24 Covered: Days 3-4 Business action and food fights

  06-12-2018 20:04
  edie has launched a new series of podcast episodes which will round-up all of the key developments and major announcements for businesses, in under 10 minutes. The second episode features an exclusive interview with 3M's chief sustainability officer.
  
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• The 'great dying': rapid warming caused largest extinction event ever, report says

  06-12-2018 20:00 via theguardian.com
  Up to 96% of all marine species and more than two-thirds of terrestrial species perished 252m years agoRapid global warming caused the largest extinction event in the Earth’s history, which wiped out the vast majority of marine and terrestrial animals on the planet, scientists have found. Related: Save millions of lives by tackling climate change, says WHOContinue reading...
  
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• Compared to the threat of climate change, Brexit is a distraction | Letters

  06-12-2018 19:07 via theguardian.com
  Readers respond to David Attenborough’s warning of the collapse of civilisation at the UN’s climate change conferenceFor an organisation that ran the inspiring “Keep it in the ground” campaign, it was a shame you didn’t make David Attenborough’s warning about the collapse of civilisation (Report, 4 December) the lead story on your front page. To have no mention anywhere of the 12 years we (at best) have to make any difference is a shocking omission. Climate ch
  
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• Bird photo of the year 2018: your chance to vote for the winner

  06-12-2018 18:00 via theguardian.com
  The only poll that matters – bird of the year – will return early in 2019. In the mean time you can vote for the people’s choice in the BirdLife Australia Photography awards• Magpie edges out ibis to win bird of the year 2017Continue reading...
  
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• Cargo ship diverts to rescue yachtswoman sailing solo round globe

  06-12-2018 17:08 via theguardian.com
  Hong Kong vessel could reach Susie Goodall, injured when boat overturned in Southern Ocean storm, on FridayA delicate and potentially hazardous rescue operation has begun to pluck a British solo yachtswoman from the storm-tossed Southern Ocean after her boat was wrecked during a round-the-world race.Susie Goodall, at 29 the youngest competitor, and the only woman in the 30,000-mile Golden Globe Race, was injured when her yacht overturned. The boat lost its mast and flooded while 2,000 miles west
  
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• 3M commits to design all new products with 'built-in' sustainability value

  06-12-2018 13:41
  Multinational consumer goods, healthcare and industry firm 3M has today (6 December) unveiled a new requirement for all products it releases from January 2019 to be designed with "sustainability value" built in.
  
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• Falcon 9 rocket guides itself to sea

  06-12-2018 13:36 via bbc.co.uk
  The rocket had a hydraulic problem on its way back to Earth.
  
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• ETI: Local planning key to limiting cost of decarbonising the UK

  06-12-2018 13:08
  Local energy planning will be key to minimising the costs of decarbonisation, according to new study commissioned by the Energy Technologies Institute.
  
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• World's biggest container shipper commits to carbon neutrality by 2050

  06-12-2018 12:41
  Danish container shipping giant Maersk has pledged to become a carbon-neutral business by 2050 - the first commitment of its kind from the global maritime shipping sector.
  
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• The weedkiller in our food is killing us | Erin Brockovich

  06-12-2018 11:30 via theguardian.com
  Growing research show that glyphosate, one of the most widely used herbicides in the US, causes cancer On a recent Saturday afternoon, in an estuary near Tampa Bay, Florida, I watched airboats move up and down the river banks, spraying massive plumes of weedkiller on to the vegetation. The state of Florida was trying to control and kill off scores of plant species. Nearby, children were lying out in the sun, though they knew better than to swim in the water, which has recently been blooming with
  
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• Thanks for the vegan idioms, Peta, but there are bigger fish to fry | Jessica Brown

  06-12-2018 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Trying to enforce non-meaty alternatives to phrases like ‘bring home the bacon’ will only harm the veganism causeIn 1801, Vice Admiral Nelson is said to have deliberately raised his telescope to his blind eye and insisted he couldn’t see a sign from his superior telling him to withdraw from the Battle of Copenhagen. This is where the phrase “turn a blind eye” is said to have originated. However, future idioms may not have such a colourful story of origin, thanks to
  
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• Wales pledges to phase-out fossil fuels in favour of renewables

  06-12-2018 09:53
  The Welsh Government has committed to phase out the continued extraction and use of fossil fuels, including those obtained by fracking, as it strives to reduce national carbon emissions by 80% by 2050, against a 2011 baseline.
  
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• Wales pledges phase-out fossil fuels in favour of renewables

  06-12-2018 09:53
  The Welsh Government has committed to phase out the continued extraction and use of fossil fuels, including those obtained by fracking, as it strives to reduce national carbon emissions by 80% by 2050, against a 2011 baseline.
  
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• Climate change made UK heatwave 30 times more likely – Met Office

  06-12-2018 07:15 via theguardian.com
  Global warming is harming people’s lives and humanity will not be able to cope, say scientistsThe sweltering heat that hit the UK this summer was made 30 times more likely by human-caused climate change, a Met Office analysis has found.Scientists said the research showed global warming was already harming people’s lives and was not only a future threat. Continue reading...
  
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• Country diary: a chainsaw massacre in the alder woods

  06-12-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Witton-le-Wear, County Durham: This tangle of gnarled trees has a hint of the Florida Everglades about it, with mossy, fallen trunks sinking back into the oozeOn an overcast, drizzly afternoon at Durham Wildlife Trust’s Low Barns nature reserve, alder (Alnus incana) provided the brightest splash of colour in the landscape.A tree had been felled and sawn into logs. Chainsaw wounds on this species can look like a massacre, because soon after the timber is cut, it turns a lurid shade of red,
  
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• Climate change: Warming made UK heatwave 30 times more likely

  06-12-2018 01:16 via bbc.co.uk
  Rising global temperatures have massively boosted the chances of summer heatwaves in the UK, says a study.
  
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• Friskier frogs: endangered species gets a sex appeal boost

  06-12-2018 00:00 via theguardian.com
  Australian researchers have a new way to increase desire in the northern corroboree frogAustralian researchers are applying a sex hormone to the skin of the critically endangered northern corroboree frog in a world-first treatment to encourage females to accept less desirable mates in captivity.A trial conducted by the University of Wollongong and Taronga zoo found that, by administering the hormone to both a male and female frog before pairing them off, researchers could increase the chance tha
  
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