Environment news

• Scientists find some fish can ‘recognise themselves’ in mirror

  07-02-2019 20:00
  Wrasse passes intelligence test in disputed study, challenging ‘vacant’ reputation of fishThey are often said to have a three-second memory, but the brain power of fish has been considerably underestimated, according to scientists who found some fish can recognise themselves in the mirror. Related: Talking animals: we aren’t the only species capable of speech …Continue reading...
  
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• 'Time bomb' warning on mining dam disasters

  07-02-2019 18:22 via bbc.co.uk
  The catastrophic collapse of a dam at a mine in Brazil has exposed a darker side of an industry that the world depends on.
  
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• Plastic waste: UK should not pass buck to world's poorest, say MPs

  07-02-2019 16:30
  UK must deal with plastic waste on its own soil, says group calling for export banA cross-party group of MPs is calling for a ban on the export of plastic waste over concerns the UK is passing the buck to the world’s poorest people to clean up its rubbish.MPs have tabled an early day motion to highlight growing concerns first raised by the National Audit Office that millions of tonnes of plastic waste sent abroad for recycling may be being dumped in landfill. Continue reading...
  
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• Gove chooses WWF's Tony Juniper as preferred Natural England Chair candidate

  07-02-2019 16:19
  Environment secretary Michael Gove has named WWF UK's executive director for advocacy and campaigns Tony Juniper as the Government's preferred candidate for the Natural England Chair position.
  
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• Hundreds of EU stakeholders call for a 'common food policy'

  07-02-2019 15:44
  A coalition of 400 agriculture-related EU stakeholders, convened by the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food), has mapped out a new governance architecture for food systems in a bid to create sustainable food systems under a 'Common Food Policy'.
  
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• Japan sets date for asteroid 'rock grab'

  07-02-2019 15:12 via bbc.co.uk
  The Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa 2 will attempt to collect a sample of soil and rock from an asteroid on 22 February, the country's space agency says.
  
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• Carlsberg progressing towards carbon-neutral status

  07-02-2019 14:20
  Onsite renewable arrays and low-carbon packaging innovations have helped Carlsberg to achieve a 20% reduction in its relative carbon emissions since 2015, as it strives to become a 'net-zero' carbon business by 2030.
  
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• One of UK's last coal power stations to close due to rising costs

  07-02-2019 13:50
  Closure of Cottam plant in Nottinghamshire likely to lead to more than 150 job cutsOne of the UK’s last seven coal power stations will close this year after half a century of generating electricity, as the polluting fuel continues its rapid decline in the energy mix. Continue reading...
  
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• Climate change: 'Future proofing' forests to protect orangutans

  07-02-2019 13:36 via bbc.co.uk
  A study has identified trees and plants that are resilient to climate change and support orangutans.
  
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• Mike Barry: Five steps to go from good to GREAT sustainability leadership

  07-02-2019 13:23
  EXCLUSIVE: Speaking on-stage at the Sustainability Leaders Forum in London yesterday (6 February), Marks & Spencer's (M&S) director of sustainable business Mike Barry offered up his five key steps that all sustainability professionals should embrace to become "great leaders".
  
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• Green New Deal: Ocasio-Cortez unveils bold plan to fight climate change

  07-02-2019 13:18
  Blueprint for a carbon-neutral economy has been embraced by prominent Democrats and evokes FDR’s famous legacyAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez is releasing a broad outline of a vision for the Green New Deal, a plan to battle economic and racial injustice while also fighting climate change.The new congresswoman’s blueprint, to be made public today, does not set a date for phasing out fossil fuels. But it does aim to develop a carbon-neutral economy in 10 years, which would require huge stride
  
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• Fracking firms denied permission to relax earthquake rules

  07-02-2019 11:58
  Cuadrilla and Ineos say strict regulations around earthquakes hinder their workThe government has rejected pleas by fracking companies to review strict rules around earthquakes caused by their operations, in a major blow that could spell the end for Britain’s nascent shale industry.Cuadrilla complained on Wednesday that it had only been able to frack a tiny section of its well near Blackpool last autumn because of the limits, and warned it would not be able to undertake commercial fracking
  
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• The Franklin rover

  07-02-2019 11:56 via bbc.co.uk
  The rover Europe sends to Mars in 2020 to look for life will carry the name of an unsung hero of DNA discovery.
  
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• Rosalind Franklin: Mars rover named after DNA pioneer

  07-02-2019 11:56 via bbc.co.uk
  The rover Europe sends to Mars in 2020 to look for life will carry the name of an unsung hero of DNA discovery.
  
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• Brexit could be good for UK environment, says top government adviser

  07-02-2019 10:11
  Dieter Helm says withdrawal from common agricultural policy could safeguard natural worldBritain’s withdrawal from the EU’s common agricultural policy (CAP) provides one of the few bright spots of Brexit, and if replaced with new legislation could help to restore some of the country’s degraded natural environment, one of the government’s leading economic advisers has said.Dieter Helm, professor of energy policy at Oxford University, told the Guardian: “If there was
  
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• Sustainability Leaders Awards 2019: Winners revealed at glittering ceremony in London

  07-02-2019 10:05
  Ikea, Landsec, Heathrow Airport and PepsiCo were among the big winners of edie's 2019 Sustainability Leaders Awards, announced at an awards ceremony in London on Wednesday evening (6 February).
  
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• From a ramshackle slum farm, young people are feeding Nairobi’s hungry | Naomi Larrson

  07-02-2019 08:30
  On a tiny urban smallholding in Kenya, the Huruma Town Youth Group tend goats and chickens and grow vegetables – sharing their bounty with the community’s most vulnerable In a space of less than an eighth of an acre in Huruma, a small informal settlement in north-east Nairobi, is a tiny farm housing 19 goats and 286 birds – chickens, doves and guineafowl.Pens and cages have been cobbled together with discarded wood and corrugated iron. Goats hop from a pen curious to see their
  
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• UK worst offender in Europe for electronic waste exports – report

  07-02-2019 07:00
  Electronic waste hazardous due to toxic parts was tracked to developing countriesThe UK is the worst offender in Europe for illegally exporting toxic electronic waste to developing countries, according to a two-year investigation that tracked shipments from 10 European countries.The investigation by the environmental watchdog the Basel Action Network (BAN) put GPS trackers on 314 units of computers, LCD monitors and printers placed in recycling facilities in 10 countries. Researchers mapped what
  
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• 'The gates of hell'

  07-02-2019 01:07 via bbc.co.uk
  Ten years ago, the nation had its worst-ever bushfire disaster - and it has left a profound legacy.
  
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• Sustainability Leaders Awards 2019: Winners revealed at illustrious ceremony

  07-02-2019 00:05
  Ikea, Landsec and PepsiCo were among the big winners of edie's 2019 Sustainability Leaders Awards, announced at an awards ceremony in London on Wednesday evening (6 February).
  
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