Environment news

• Peter Beard: reckless playboy photographer whose life was as wild as his work | Sean O'Hagan

  20-04-2020 18:35
  
  He got trampled by elephants, swam in crocodile-infested waters and was painted by Francis Bacon – while making images revealing man’s plunder of the natural worldThe American writer Bob Colacello once described the young Peter Beard, who has died aged 82, as “half-Tarzan, half-Byron”, neatly encapsulating the larger-than-life charisma of an artist whose reputation for adventure and excess often overshadowed his creative talent. As a 2007 Vanity Fair profile put it: &ldqu
  
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• Six key areas of focus for sustainability professionals during lockdown

  20-04-2020 18:30
  
  It's been almost a month since the UK Government introduced lockdown measures in response to Covid-19 and has since announced a further three-week extension to social distancing. As such, edie offers some best-practice advice for sustainability professionals to keep focusing on the climate battle during the pandemic.
  
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• Starlink space display 'set to continue all week'

  20-04-2020 18:19 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The 60 Starlink satellites launched by Elon Musk's SpaceX firm appear in a line crossing the night sky.
  
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• A touch of class in Middlesbrough accents | Brief letters

  20-04-2020 18:15
  
  Covid-19 tests | Birdsong | Middlesbrough variations | Ministerial grammar | War metaphorsWe arrived back at Heathrow from New Zealand last week, on flights from Auckland. We exited the airport with no checks or testing. Can someone please explain how this reduces the spread of Covid-19? All arrivals in New Zealand are quarantined in hotels for 14 days at the government’s expense. What price Mr Hancock’s 100,000 tests at the end of April?
  Martin Hesse
  London• In the West Midland
  
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• 'Alien comet' visitor has weird composition

  20-04-2020 17:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The first known comet to visit us from another star system has an unusual make-up.
  
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• 'Horrible hybrids': the plastic products that give recyclers nightmares

  20-04-2020 17:22
  
  From singing birthday cards to baby food pouches, a growing trend of mixing materials is making recycling even harderThe cheerful, singing voice inside your musical “Happy Birthday” card is enough to strike horror in the heart of your local recycler.The musical cards, which play a recording when opened, look like plain cardboard, making them easy to accidentally throw in the recycling bin. But experts say the insides are laced with cheap electronics and toxic batteries – making
  
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• Air pollution may be ‘key contributor’ to Covid-19 deaths – study

  20-04-2020 14:17
  
  Research shows almost 80% of deaths across four countries were in most polluted regionsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageHigh levels of air pollution may be “one of the most important contributors” to deaths from Covid-19, according to research.The analysis shows that 78% of the coronavirus deaths occurred in just five out of 66 administrative regions studied in Italy, Spain, France and Germany, and that these five regions were the most polluted. Conti
  
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• Air pollution linked to raised Covid-19 death risk

  20-04-2020 14:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The World Health Organization warns high air pollution could be a risk factor for severe Covid-19 cases.
  
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• 'No way food safety not compromised': US regulation rollbacks during Covid-19 criticised

  20-04-2020 13:43
  
  Major pork plant closed after hundreds of workers contract coronavirus, while speeding up of poultry production lines raises concerns over standards
  Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe US government is accelerating controversial regulatory rollbacks to speed up production at meat plants, as companies express growing alarm at the impact of Covid-19 on their operations.Last week Smithfield shut down one of the largest pork plants in the country after hundreds of e
  
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• Coronavirus: Banning cars made easier to aid social distancing

  20-04-2020 13:21 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Councils in England can now ban cars from streets more easily to allow space for social distancing.
  
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• IRENA: Renewables transition to boost global economy by $98trn

  20-04-2020 13:12
  
  With the global economy set to slump to its lowest output for more than a century, nations can spur a global economic recovery by delivering a renewables-based energy transformation that could boost cumulative global GDP gains by more than $98trn compared to a 'business-as-usual' trajectory.
  
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• Green energy could drive Covid-19 recovery with $100tn boost

  20-04-2020 12:41
  
  Speeding up investment could deliver huge gains to global GDP by 2050 while tackling climate emergency, says reportCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageRenewable energy could power an economic recovery from Covid-19 by spurring global GDP gains of almost $100tn (£80tn) between now and 2050, according to a report.The International Renewable Energy Agency found that accelerating investment in renewable energy could generate huge economic benefits while helping to
  
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• Will climate change end waterfront living? Not if you can afford it

  20-04-2020 12:15
  
  Developers are creating waterfront homes in Boston with innovative seawall defences but is this a model for other cities? Or a sign of climate gentrification? Boston has endured several tumultuous eras, from being the birthplace of the American revolution to its seesawing fortunes as power and influence was wrested away by other US cities.Now Boston faces its most existential threat yet – the rising seas. Continue reading...
  
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• The climate crisis will deepen coronavirus. A green stimulus plan can tackle both | Daniel Aldana Cohen, Daniel Kammen

  20-04-2020 12:15
  
  The convergence of the climate and coronavirus crisis will be catastrophic. Now is the time to deploy a green stimulus
  The Covid-19 epidemic is ravaging our tattered healthcare system and shredding our economy. In the past month, over 22 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits, compounding the fear that unemployment could breach 32% absent massive public action. This is an unmitigated human disaster, recalling the horrors of the Great Depression. And it gets worse. We’re also fac
  
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• 'Of course it could happen again': experts say little has changed since Deepwater Horizon

  20-04-2020 12:00
  
  The danger of deepwater oil operations, combined with the loosening of Obama-era rules, mean the risk of a repeat disaster is highA massive deepwater oil spill is nearly as likely today as it was in 2010, experts warn, 10 years after the disastrous explosion of BP’s rig in the Gulf of Mexico that caused an environmental catastrophe.The blowout killed 11 workers and spewed 4m barrels of petroleum into the ocean for 87 days before it could be capped, devastating marine life and polluting 1,3
  
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• Evian achieves carbon neutral certification globally

  20-04-2020 11:49
  
  Danone-owned bottled water brand Evian has confirmed it has achieved carbon neutral certification across all the countries where the brand operates, following efforts to improve the efficiency of facilities and logistics and reducing lifecycle emissions of its bottles.
  
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• Coronavirus lockdown boosts numbers of Thailand's rare sea turtles

  20-04-2020 11:48
  
  Largest number of nests of leatherbacks found in two decades as beaches emptiedCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThailand has discovered the largest number of nests of rare leatherback sea turtles in two decades on beaches bereft of tourists because of the coronavirus pandemic, environmentalists say.From wild boars strolling through the Israeli city of Haifa to deer venturing into London suburbs, lockdowns are drawing wildlife into many emptied areas. Continue rea
  
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• Honda expands European electric vehicle battery recycling initiative

  20-04-2020 11:20
  
  Honda is extending a European battery recycling initiative to ensure the collection and reuse of old batteries from the carmaker's hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs) and give them a second life as stationary storage assets.
  
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• #SustyTalk: BT & Landsec directors on achieving a sustainable recovery from Covid-19

  20-04-2020 10:30
  
  This special edition of edie's #SustyTalk interviews with sustainability leaders connects BT's reporting & insight director Richard Marsh with Landsec's corporate affairs and sustainability director Caroline Hill - to discuss where sustainability and CSR sits in the UK's coronavirus recovery discussions.
  
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• Coronavirus: Sir John Houghton dies of suspected Covid-19

  20-04-2020 09:40 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Sir John Houghton, who accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, died on Wednesday aged 88.
  
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• Coronavirus: Plasma treatment to be trialled

  20-04-2020 04:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The hope is blood from coronavirus survivors could treat hospital patients ill with Covid-19.
  
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