Environment news

• Hundreds of elephants found dead in Botswana

  01-07-2020 22:36 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Some 350 elephant carcasses have been spotted in Botswana's Okavango Delta since May.
  
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• Core of a gas planet seen for the first time

  01-07-2020 17:45 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Astronomers have found a previously unseen type of object circling a distant star.
  
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• Europe losing forest to harvesting at alarming rate, data suggests

  01-07-2020 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Rise in harvesting could affect ability to combat climate crisis due to carbon absorption capacity reducingEurope has lost a vastly increased area of forest to harvesting in recent years, data suggests, reducing the continent’s carbon absorption capacity and possibly indicating wider problems with the EU’s attempts to combat the climate crisis.Many of the EU’s forests – which account for about 38% of its land surface area – are managed for timber production, and thu
  
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• Reannounced and reheated: Johnson's 'new deal' plans fall short in every way | Miatta Fahnbulleh

  01-07-2020 16:51 via theguardian.com
  
  The paltry £5bn pledged bears no comparison to Roosevelt’s programme. Britain needs far more ambitious, green investmentCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coveragePrime minister Boris Johnson’s speech promised to “build, build, build” as he invoked the spirit of Franklin Roosevelt, but his plans fell far short of matching the US president’s legacy. The pandemic has shone a spotlight on Britain’s longstanding problems. Vital frontli
  
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• 'Green Swan' observatories and Europe's biggest electric plane: The best green innovations of the month

  01-07-2020 16:05
  
  Every month, numerous eye-catching and potentially transformational innovations are being developed to help businesses and nations turn their green ambitions into actions. Here, we round up six of the best from June 2020.
  
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• Exclusive: water firms dumped raw sewage into England's rivers 200,000 times in 2019

  01-07-2020 16:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Untreated effluent flowed into waterways for more than 1.5m hours, data showsEngland’s privatised water firms paid £57bn in dividends since 1991Water companies in England discharged raw sewage into rivers on more than 200,000 occasions last year, according to data obtained by the Guardian.The analysis reveals untreated human waste was released into streams and rivers for more than 1.5m hours in 2019. Continue reading...
  
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• Exclusive: water firms discharged raw sewage into England's rivers 200,000 times in 2019

  01-07-2020 16:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Untreated effluent flowed into waterways for more than 1.5m hours, data showsEngland’s privatised water firms paid £57bn in dividends since 1991Water companies in England discharged raw sewage into rivers on more than 200,000 occasions last year, according to data obtained by the Guardian.The analysis reveals untreated human waste was released into streams and rivers for more than 1.5m hours in 2019. Continue reading...
  
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• Hundreds of elephants dead in mysterious mass die-off

  01-07-2020 15:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Botswana’s government is yet to test the remains of the dead animals in what has been described as a ‘conservation disaster’More than 350 elephants have died in northern Botswana in a mysterious mass die-off described by scientists as a “conservation disaster”.A cluster of elephant deaths was first reported in the Okavango Delta in early May, with 169 individuals dead by the end of the month. By mid June, the number had more than doubled, with 70% of the deaths clus
  
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• Copernicus Sentinels: UK industry loses out in European satellite bids

  01-07-2020 15:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  British firms fail to win leading roles in the expansion of the Copernicus Earth observation project.
  
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• Air pollution likely to make coronavirus worse, say UK government advisers

  01-07-2020 15:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Experts say further investigation of link is urgently required and may be relevant to managing pandemic Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageAir pollution is likely to be increasing the number and severity of Covid-19 infections, according to the UK government’s expert advisers.In a report published on Wednesday, the experts said further investigation of the link between dirty air and the coronavirus pandemic was “urgently required” and may be relev
  
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• Air pollution likely to make coronavirus worse, say UK experts

  01-07-2020 15:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Government advisers call for urgent investigation of link between dirty air and pandemicCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageAir pollution is likely to be increasing the number and severity of Covid-19 infections, according to the UK government’s expert advisers.In a report published on Wednesday, the experts said further investigation of the link between dirty air and the coronavirus pandemic was “urgently required” and may be relevant to how the p
  
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• Government plans new office to attract scientists to UK

  01-07-2020 14:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The government says it wants to make immigration "easy and quick" for researchers and innovators.
  
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• From the climate crisis to Covid-19: can journalism focus on the stories that matter? | Mark Hertsgaard and Kyle Pope

  01-07-2020 14:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Newsrooms should know: the disaster is here. It is raging now. Our job is to cover it with the urgency it deservesTo hear many journalists tell it, the spring of 2020 has brought a series of extraordinary revelations. Look at what the nation has learned: that our healthcare system was not remotely up to the challenge of a deadly pandemic. That our economic safety net was largely non-existent. That our vulnerability to disease and death was directly tied to our race and where we live. That our po
  
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• Coronavirus: Immunity may be more widespread than tests suggest

  01-07-2020 13:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A Swedish study found twice as many people had protective T-cells as tested positive for antibodies.
  
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• Lucozade Ribena Suntory targets net-zero value chain by 2050

  01-07-2020 13:32
  
  Beverage giant Lucozade Ribena Suntory (LRS) has pledged to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its entire multinational value chain by mid-century.
  
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• Equinor to deliver world's largest at-scale hydrogen from carbon capture plant in Hull

  01-07-2020 12:57
  
  Equinor has unveiled plans to develop the world's largest plant capable of converting natural gas to hydrogen in combination with carbon capture and storage (CCUS), as part of the zero-carbon industrial hub located in the Humber region.
  
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• CORSIA: UN agrees to airlines' Covid-19 pleas on offsetting scheme

  01-07-2020 11:51
  
  The UN's International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has agreed to change some facets its global carbon offsetting scheme, after airlines requested more leeway to weather the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
  
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• Shell predicts $22bn hit for oil and gas assets as BP sells petrochemicals arm

  01-07-2020 11:34
  
  Shell has unveiled plans to underwrite the value of its oil and gas portfolio by up to $22bn (£17.7bn) due to the energy demand slump caused by Covid-19, in the same week that BP has struck a $5bn (£4bn) deal to sell off its petrochemicals business.
  
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• Revealed: Covid-19 outbreaks at meat-processing plants in US being kept quiet

  01-07-2020 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Testing has found positive cases at North Carolina facilities, but officials refuse to release the informationA chicken processing facility in western North Carolina reportedly underwent widespread testing for Covid-19 in early June.Workers at the plant were scared. Several employees had already tested positive and the company, Case Farms – which has been repeatedly condemned for animal treatment and workers’ rights violations – was not providing proper protective equipment. Co
  
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• Revealed: Covid-19 outbreaks at meat-processing plants are being kept quiet

  01-07-2020 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Testing has found positive cases at North Carolina facilities, but officials refuse to release the informationA chicken processing facility in western North Carolina reportedly underwent widespread testing for Covid-19 in early June.Workers at the plant were scared. Several employees had already tested positive and the company, Case Farms – which has been repeatedly condemned for animal treatment and workers’ rights violations – was not providing proper protective equipment. Co
  
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• CORSIA: UN caves to airlines' Covid-19 pleas on offsetting scheme

  01-07-2020 10:59
  
  The UN's International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has agreed to change some facets its global carbon offsetting scheme, after airlines requested more leeway to weather the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
  
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• O2 to install PPE recycling boxes in stores

  01-07-2020 09:28
  
  Telecoms giant O2 will begin collecting used personal protective equipment (PPE) at UK stores this month, as part of a new partnership with Terracycle.
  
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• Is the hydrogen tech 'revolution' hope or hype?

  01-07-2020 05:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Can hydrogen - a relatively clean source of fuel - help power the economy of the future?
  
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• British meat giants adopt net-zero vision as investors warn of $11bn carbon tax bill for global meat sector

  01-07-2020 02:02
  
  Businesses representing 80% of the UK's meat sector have vowed to slash emissions and waste on a "farm-to-fork" basis, as investors have made fresh pleas for the global meat industry to accelerate decarbonisation efforts.
  
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