Environment news

• Birdwatch: white storks return to UK after 600-year absence

  11-08-2020 22:30
  
  Scheme in West Sussex leads to first chicks of the species hatching in the wild since the 15th centuryThe sound was both primeval yet utterly fresh and new: a time-travelling throwback to the middle ages; yet, at the same time, a portent of a brighter future for our rural landscape.Like a rapid burst of machine-gun fire, the bill-clapping of a white stork is – in nature’s terms – simply a signal that the bird is displaying to its mate. But for me, it also has a deep cultural re
  
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• National Infrastructure Commission: Renewables could meet two-thirds of UK's energy demand by 2030

  11-08-2020 18:24
  
  The National Infrastructure Commission has stated that up to 65% of the UK's energy demand could be met by renewable generation within a decade - increasing the proportion from 50% in previous forecasts to account for falling costs.
  
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• Powerhouses: nanotechnology turns bricks into batteries

  11-08-2020 17:00
  
  Research could pave way for cheap supercapacitor storage of renewable energyThe humble house brick has been turned into a battery that can store electricity, raising the possibility that buildings could one day become literal powerhouses.The new technology exploits the porous nature of fired red bricks by filling the pores with tiny nanofibres of a conducting plastic that can store charge. The first bricks store enough electricity to power small lights. But if their capacity can be increased, th
  
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• Purpose-led business 'key' to green Covid-19 recovery, say top CEOs

  11-08-2020 16:37
  
  The chief executives of Danone, L'Oreal and Philips are among the signatories of a new open letter calling for the creation of an economic system that "puts purpose first, so our planet and society can thrive", through Covid-19 recovery efforts.
  
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• You have pesticides in your body. But an organic diet can reduce them by 70% | Kendra Klein and Anna Lappe

  11-08-2020 16:03
  
  A new study shows that US families consume cancer-linked glyphosate in their food. The good news: going organic rapidly reduces levels
  Never before have we sprayed so much of a chemical on our food, on our yards, on our children’s playgrounds. So it’s no surprise that Roundup – the world’s most widely used weedkiller – shows up in our bodies. What is perhaps surprising is how easy it is to get it out. A new peer-reviewed study, co-authored by one of us, studied pest
  
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• 'As the tundra burns, we cannot afford climate silence': a letter from the Arctic | Victoria Herrmann

  11-08-2020 14:34
  
  I study the Arctic. The decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord is reprehensible – but we can’t give up hope
  When you stand facing an exposed edge of permafrost, you can feel it from a distance.It emanates a cold that tugs on every one of your senses. Permanently bound by ice year after year, the frozen soil is packed with carcasses of woolly mammoths and ancient ferns. They’re unable to decompose at such low temperatures, so they stay preserved in perpetuity –
  
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• Geothermal mines, low-carbon transport and floating wind projects bag Government R&D funding

  11-08-2020 14:10
  
  The Government has awarded R&D funding packages to a string of projects which could assist the transition to net-zero, including floating wind farms in the South West, innovative heat recovery systems in Glasgow and a low-carbon transport cluster in the Midlands.
  
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• Diageo celebrates halving emissions since 2007

  11-08-2020 13:58
  
  Beverage giant Diageo has exceeded a 2020 sustainability target of halving its direct operations since 2007, after investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency.
  
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• Stranded dolphin rescued in Cornwall after five-hour operation

  11-08-2020 13:38
  
  Animal stuck in shallow water at creek in Helford estuary is released back into the seaA stranded dolphin has been saved after a five-hour rescue operation in Cornwall.The mammal was stuck in shallow water at Mawgan Creek in the Helford estuary, near Helston, an area well known for being a stranding trap for dolphins with many tidal muddy creeks.Continue reading...
  
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• Milne Ice Shelf: Satellites capture Arctic ice split

  11-08-2020 13:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Planet Earth-observation company releases new imagery of Canada's broken Milne Ice Shelf.
  
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• Diageo celebrates halving emissions since 2015

  11-08-2020 13:06
  
  Beverage giant Diageo has exceeded a 2020 sustainability target of halving its direct operations within five years, after investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency.
  
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• New platform to help corporates forge circular economy partnerships

  11-08-2020 10:50
  
  Environmental NGO BVRio has launched a new online platform connecting circular economy projects with corporates and impact investors, whose aim is to help small programmes scale-up and large organisations put sufficient finance behind their resource goals.
  
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• Country diary: crickets in the bushes, staring eyes in the water

  11-08-2020 06:30
  
  Waltham Brooks, West Sussex: Alarm calls identify me as the intruder hereToday seems to be the day of the gatekeepers. Dozens of the bright, coppery-brown butterflies are fluttering around, rising above the lush green grasses and bushes, buffeted by the breeze in the afternoon sunshine. There’s an oppressive wall of sound – a cacophony of grasshoppers and crickets – although, in spite of searching the noisiest plants, I find many grasshoppers but no crickets. Easier to spot is
  
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