Environment news

• Extreme droughts in central Europe likely to increase sevenfold

  06-08-2020 17:00
  
  Researchers say moderate reductions in CO2 emissions could halve their likelihoodExtreme droughts are likely to become much more frequent across central Europe, and if global greenhouse gas emissions rise strongly they could happen seven times more often, new research has shown.The area of crops likely to be affected by drought is also set to increase, and under sharply rising CO2 levels would nearly double in central Europe in the second half of this century, to more than 40m hectares (154,440
  
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• Greenest team on the greenest grid: Can carbon-neutral racing energise the climate debate?

  06-08-2020 15:02
  
  EXCLUSIVE: With Formula E team Envision Virgin Racing confirming that it has achieved carbon-neutral status, the company's managing director Sylvain Filippi believes the sport can use its platform to showcase "exciting" low-carbon solutions to inspire a broad audience.
  
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• In tackling the global climate crisis, doom and optimism are both dangerous | Zeke Hausfather and Richard Betts

  06-08-2020 14:31
  
  Overheated polemics won’t solve this emergency – and the apocalypse is a needlessly high bar for actionProtesters march in the streets in an “extinction rebellion” against the climate crisis, with some (but not all) of their leaders claiming that climate tipping points could kill billions in the coming decades. Others dismiss the importance or reality of the crisis, while new books loudly proclaim “apocalypse never” and “false alarm”.The popular di
  
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• Government faces backlash over 'zero-carbon-ready' homes proposal

  06-08-2020 13:19
  
  Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has today unveiled new proposals to streamline the planning process for housebuilders, in a bid to deliver homes that are "zero carbon ready", but environmental groups have warned that the shake-up to planning could neglect the natural environment.
  
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• Nautical not nice: how fibreglass boats have become a global pollution problem

  06-08-2020 12:32
  
  Fibreglass fuelled a boating boom. But now dumped and ageing craft are breaking up, releasing toxins and microplastics across the worldWhere do old boats go to die? The cynical answer is they are put on eBay for a few pennies in the hope they become some other ignorant dreamer’s problem.As a marine biologist, I am increasingly aware that the casual disposal of boats made out of fibreglass is harming our coastal marine life. The problem of end-of-life boat management and disposal has gone g
  
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• #SustyTalk: ITV's Julia Giannini on science-based targets, supply chains and disclosure

  06-08-2020 12:26
  
  edie's #SustyTalk interview series continues with content editor Matt Mace discussing ITV's new science-based carbon targets with the company's senior manager of Social Purpose Julia Giannini.
  
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• 'They just pull up everything!' Chinese fleet raises fears for Galápagos sea life

  06-08-2020 11:30
  
  A vast fishing armada off Ecuador’s biodiverse Pacific islands has stirred alarm over ‘indiscriminate’ fishing practicesJonathan Green had been tracking a whale shark named Hope across the eastern Pacific for 280 days when the satellite transmissions from a GPS tag on her dorsal fin abruptly stopped.It was not unusual for the GPS signal to go silent, even for weeks at a time, said Green, a scientist who has been studying the world’s largest fish for three decades in the u
  
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• Get to grips with Scope 3 emissions using edie's new Explains guide for businesses

  06-08-2020 11:27
  
  edie has published a new explains guide, detailing everything businesses need to know to measure and act on scope 3 emissions.
  
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• HelloFresh to offset entire carbon footprint

  06-08-2020 10:17
  
  Meal kit provider HelloFresh has announced its intention to offset 100% of carbon emissions from internal operations and offices, corporate travel and deliveries.
  
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• Government urged to ramp up hydrogen spending through national strategy

  06-08-2020 09:56
  
  The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) had called on the Government to implement a Hydrogen Strategy to assist in decarbonising carbon-intensive sectors, in the same week that the National Grid announced plans to build a new hydrogen testing facility.
  
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• 'Paradise island' hosts untold botanical treasures

  06-08-2020 08:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The first checklist of plants found on the tropical island of New Guinea reveals incredible plant diversity.
  
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• England's first wild beavers for 400 years allowed to live on River Otter

  06-08-2020 07:00
  
  Family of reestablished colony legally sanctioned to remain in east Devon habitat The first beavers to live wild in Britain for centuries are to be allowed to remain in their new home on the River Otter in east Devon after a five-year reintroduction trial.The government gave permission on Thursday for the reestablished colony to remain in the area, the first wild breeding of beavers in 400 years and the first legally sanctioned reintroduction of an extinct native mammal to England. Continue read
  
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• Country diary: even the dowdiest day-flying moths deserve a closer look

  06-08-2020 06:30
  
  Langstone, Hampshire: Garden tigers and hummingbird hawkmoths are spectacular, but there are gems among the smaller species tooThere are significantly more species of day-flying moths in the UK than there are butterflies – over twice as many large “macro moths”, plus a number of smaller, harder to identify “micro” species – but they are often overlooked in favour of their more familiar cousins.It’s impossible to ignore the hummingbird hawkmoth darting ba
  
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• Beaver families win legal 'right to remain'

  06-08-2020 06:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Fifteen beaver families have been given a permanent home on the River Otter in East Devon.
  
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