Environment news

• European colonization of Americas killed so many it cooled Earth's climate

  31-01-2019 19:07
  Research finds killing of native people indirectly contributed to a colder period by causing deaths of around 56 million by 1600European colonization of the Americas resulted in the killing of so many native people that it transformed the environment and caused the Earth’s climate to cool down, new research has found.Settlers killed off huge numbers of people in conflicts and also by spreading disease, which reduced the indigenous population by 90% in the century following Christopher Colu
  
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• US academics feel the invisible hand of politicians and big agriculture

  31-01-2019 18:40
  As universities rely more on industry for funds, researchers taking a stand on health or environment say they’re sidelinedIn a windowless conference room epidemiologist Steve Wing was frantically blacking out chunks of his own research.Wing had been working on a study looking into the impacts of industrial-scale hog operations on health for the University of North Carolina. But the state’s Pork Council had caught wind of the research, and filed a Freedom of Information Act Request (F
  
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• Shell's green energy plan and edie's Plastics Hub: The sustainability success stories of January 2019

  31-01-2019 18:40
  As the first month of 2019 comes to a close, edie rounds up some of the most-read sustainability stories and standout pieces of content from the past 31 days - from Shell's decision to boost its investment in low-carbon technologies, to the launch of edie's own Mission Possible Plastics Hub.
  
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• First CDP climate-related investment fund launched

  31-01-2019 13:53
  CDP has today (31 January) co-launched an equity fund dedicated to investing in companies that best manage risks associated with climate change.
  
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• Government launches new funding measures to target energy storage and AI innovations

  31-01-2019 12:41
  The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has announced a range of new funding measures aimed at uncovering cost-competitive energy storage technologies and using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to tackle food waste.
  
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• Industrial fishing ushers the albatross closer to extinction, say researchers

  31-01-2019 12:21
  Satellite data suggests protection measures are being ignored as huge fishing lines snare endangered seabirdsIndustrial fishing vessels that accidentally kill tens of thousands of albatrosses each year routinely ignore regulations designed to save the birds from extinction, according to research.Using satellite data, investigators found that vessels employing longline fishing techniques showed a “low level of compliance” with measures to reduce albatross deaths. Continue reading...
  
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• Calls for review of UK's 2050 climate target rejected by Court of Appeals

  31-01-2019 11:44
  An appeal to bring forward the UK's current climate commitments to align with scientific research on the necessity to limit average global warming to 1.5C has been rejected by the Court of Appeals.
  
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• Shark on UK plates highlights trade in endangered species

  31-01-2019 11:11 via bbc.co.uk
  You could be unwittingly eating sharks that are on the brink of extinction, a study suggests.
  
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• UK fish and chip shops are selling endangered sharks, DNA tests prove

  31-01-2019 11:00
  People buying generic fish such as rock could in fact be eating a range of shark speciesFish and chip shops and fishmongers are selling endangered sharks to an unwitting public, according to researchers who used DNA barcoding to identify species on sale.Most chip shop fish sold under generic names such as huss, rock, flake and rock salmon turned out to be spiny dogfish, a shark species classified as endangered in Europe by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s red list.
  
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• Microplastics found in every marine mammal surveyed in UK study

  31-01-2019 11:00
  Stranded porpoises, dolphins and seals had average of 5.5 particles in their gutsMicroplastics are being widely ingested by Britain’s marine mammals, scientists say, with samples found in every animal examined in a study.The research on 50 stranded creatures including porpoises, dolphins, grey seals and a pygmy sperm whale is the most comprehensive analysis of microplastics in the digestive tracts of both wild cetaceans and seals. Continue reading...
  
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• Scotland's first coffee cup recycling scheme launched in Glasgow

  31-01-2019 09:55
  Environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful has launched what it claims is the nation's first coffee cup recycling initiative in Glasgow, where 95 million disposable cups are used annually.
  
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• The UK's nature in crisis - in pictures

  31-01-2019 09:00
  These photos were commissioned in light of shocking statistics that came out in WWF’s Living Planet report, which found 60% of wildlife has disappeared globally since the 1970s – with the UK being one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world – in 189th place out of 218 countries. More than one in seven native species face extinction and more than half (56%) are in decline. This includes species such as the hedgehog, whose numbers have fallen by half in the UK since 20
  
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• Uncaged: saving China's wild birds from the poachers' nets – video

  31-01-2019 08:00
  Bird poaching – for meat or for the pet trade – has
  become a silent epidemic across China, resulting in the deaths of
  tens of thousands of migratory birds each year. Gu Xuan, a young conservationist, is determined to break this cycle of death and
  destruction, and set the birds free Continue reading...
  
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• Uncaged: saving China's songbirds from the poachers' nets – video

  31-01-2019 08:00
  Bird poaching – for meat or for the pet trade – has
  become a silent epidemic across China, resulting in the deaths of
  tens of thousands of migratory birds each year. Gu Xuan, a young conservationist, is determined to break this cycle of death and
  destruction, and set the birds free Continue reading...
  
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• America colonisation ‘cooled Earth's climate’

  31-01-2019 07:44 via bbc.co.uk
  European settlement of the Americas killed so many people, it disturbed Earth's climate.
  
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• Business models for UK fashion industry unsustainable, MPs warn

  31-01-2019 01:01
  The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has today (31 January) criticised major fashion retailers, including Sports Direct, Amazon and Missguided, for "failing to take action" to protect workers and promote environmental sustainability.
  
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