Environment news

• Pollutionwatch: how lessons from 1920s were forgotten for 50 years

  13-08-2020 22:30 via theguardian.com
  
  A century ago John Switzer Owens discovered how far pollution could travel, but his research was ignoredIn August 1921, John Switzer Owens had a UK holiday. He went to Holme, Norfolk, and took his latest invention with him. Each day he took his device to the beach to sample the air. He also flung thistledown into the sky and noted its passage over the sand to understand where the wind came from.When the wind came from Germany’s industrial Ruhr, it became hazy and particle pollution soared.
  
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• Dire outlook for native freshwater fish with 22 species given less than 50% chance of survival

  13-08-2020 22:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Biggest threat is non-native fish, but study was conducted before summer bushfires impacted Australia’s riversFreshwater hell: scientists race to save endangered fish from bushfire ashSome 22 native freshwater fish have a 50/50 chance or worse of becoming extinct within two decades unless targeted action is taken to save them, according to new research.The most threatened fish is Victoria’s tiger-striped shaw galaxias which, experts concluded, had an 80% chance of being gone in 20 ye
  
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• Marine food webs could be radically altered by heating of oceans, scientists warn

  13-08-2020 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Temperature and CO2 changes reduce the numbers of some species and promote the growth of algae, University of Adelaide study finds Heating of the world’s oceans could radically reorganise marine food webs across the globe causing the numbers of some species to collapse while promoting the growth of algae, new research has warned.Healthy marine food webs that look like a pyramid, with smaller numbers of larger predatory species at the top and more abundant smaller organisms at the bottom, c
  
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• 'Crack on': Alok Sharma implores businesses to join £2bn Green Homes Grant

  13-08-2020 15:16
  
  Business Secretary Alok Sharma has called on tradespeople across the UK to access the Government's new £2bn Green Homes Grants scheme to mobilise efforts to improve the energy efficiency of the UK's housing stock.
  
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• Hydrogen deployment could deliver 75,000 jobs and £18bn boon for UK economy

  13-08-2020 14:28
  
  Utilising hydrogen production could generate £18bn for the UK economy and support more than 75,000 jobs over the next 15 years, according to a taskforce backed by the likes of Shell and BP.
  
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• Plagues of field mice decimating crops, say German farmers

  13-08-2020 14:23 via theguardian.com
  
  Estimated 300,000 acres stripped bare by rodents and now browning in heatwaveLarge swathes of Germany’s farmland are being decimated by plagues of field mice leading to significant crop loss, according to the country’s national farming association.In some parts of the country, a quarter of the arable land is afflicted, leading to calls for compensation as well as a relaxation on rules governing the use of pesticides. Continue reading...
  
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• Exposure to air pollution may increase risk of Covid death, major study says

  13-08-2020 14:02 via theguardian.com
  
  ONS finds single-unit increase in pollution exposure over long term may increase death rate by up to 6%Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageLong-term exposure to air pollution may increase the risk of death from Covid-19, according to a large study by the Office for National Statistics.It analysed more than 46,000 coronavirus deaths in England and showed that a small, single-unit increase in people’s exposure to small-particle pollution over the previous decade
  
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• Heatwaves bring Britain's coal-free run to an end

  13-08-2020 13:17
  
  Britain's run of more than 55 days without relying on coal for power came to an end this morning, with the National Grid firing up a coal-fired plant in Nottinghamshire to combat low energy output during the current heatwave.
  
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• Golden eagles breeding success at Scottish Highlands estate

  13-08-2020 12:45 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The raptors have bred on an estate in the Scottish Highlands for the first time in 40 years.
  
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• Ibstock to pilot net-zero factory

  13-08-2020 10:47
  
  Brick manufacturer Ibstock has announced plans to pilot at least one net-zero factory, with the company outlining its intention to set a net-zero carbon goal for its operations in the near future.
  
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• 3,000 sheep die after live exports rejected by Saudi Arabia

  13-08-2020 10:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Animals died of hunger and thirst after 58,000 returned to Sudan due to quarantine compromiseAround 3,000 sheep sent back from Saudi Arabia by ship to Sudan have died of hunger and thirst according to a Sudanese government minister. Some drowned on the voyage.Saudi Arabia returned 58,000 sheep to Sudan after finding out that quarantine procedures in Sudan had been compromised, leaving some animals without vaccination against diseases including Rift Valley fever. Continue reading...
  
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• Satellite photographs of the Mauritius oil spill - in pictures

  13-08-2020 09:23 via theguardian.com
  
  Satellite images of the MV Wakashio shipwreck off the south-east coast of Mauritius reveal the damage as the Japanese bulk carrier leaked an estimated 1,000 tonnes of oil. The ship, owned by Nagashiki Shipping and operated by Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd, struck a coral reef on 25 July and began leaking oil last week, raising fears of a major ecological crisis Continue reading...
  
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• Satellite photographs of the Mauritius oil spill

  13-08-2020 09:23 via theguardian.com
  
  Satellite images of the MV Wakashio shipwreck off the south-east coast of Mauritius reveal the damage as the Japanese bulk carrier leaked an estimated 1,000 tonnes of oil. The ship, owned by Nagashiki Shipping and operated by Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd, struck a coral reef on 25 July and began leaking oil last week, raising fears of a major ecological crisis Continue reading...
  
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• Anheuser-Busch to run 180 trucks on renewable natural gas

  13-08-2020 09:01
  
  US brewer Anheuser-Busch is planning to convert more than 180 of its trucks to "renewable natural gas" (RNG), a move that is expected to reduce emissions by 70% compared to using conventional diesel.
  
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• MPs outline support for 'all-in' deposit return system

  13-08-2020 08:38
  
  A group of 20 MPs have signed a motion calling for all materials to be covered by a UK deposit return scheme for cups, bottles and containers to boost recycling rates.
  
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• Supertrawlers ramp up activity in UK protected waters during lockdown

  13-08-2020 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Fishing time in first half of 2020 almost double that in whole of last year, Greenpeace saysSupertrawlers vastly stepped up their fishing in the UK’s protected waters during the coronavirus lockdown earlier this year, while most of the UK’s smaller vessels were confined to port.The amount of time supertrawlers spent fishing in marine protected areas in the first half of this year was nearly double that spent in the waters in the whole of last year, according to a Greenpeace investiga
  
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• Handmade nest lures golden eagles back to Highlands estate

  13-08-2020 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Pair fledge first chick in Dundreggan for 40 years in eyrie built by conservationistA nest of arm-sized sticks built on a precipitous crag by an octogenarian conservationist dangling from a rope has enticed a pair of golden eagles back to the Highlands of Scotland.The eyrie handmade by Roy Dennis, a renowned conservationist who has masterminded the revival of endangered species across Britain, helped the eagles successfully fledge the first chick on Trees for Life’s Dundreggan estate in 40
  
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• Brazil experiences worst start to Amazon fire season for 10 years

  13-08-2020 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Over 10,000 blazes seen so far in August, with response of President Bolsonaro condemned as ineffectiveThe Amazon has seen the worst start to the fire season in a decade, with 10,136 fires spotted in the first 10 days of August, a 17% rise on last year.Analysis of Brazilian government figures by Greenpeace showed fires increasing by 81% in federal reserves compared with the same period last year. Coming a year after soaring Amazon fires caused an international crisis, the new figures raised fear
  
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• Large blue butterfly returns to Cotswolds site for first time in 150 years

  13-08-2020 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Painstaking conservation effort to accommodate insect’s complex lifecycle pays offThe biggest reintroduction to date of the large blue has led to the rare butterfly flying on a Cotswold hillside where it has not been seen for 150 years.About 750 butterflies emerged on to Rodborough Common in Gloucestershire this summer after 1,100 larvae were released last autumn following five years of innovative grassland management to create optimum habitat. Continue reading...
  
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• Large blue butterfly flutters in Cotswolds for first time in 150 years

  13-08-2020 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Painstaking conservation effort to accommodate insect’s complex lifecycle pays offThe biggest reintroduction to date of the large blue has led to the rare butterfly flying on a Cotswold hillside where it has not been seen for 150 years.About 750 butterflies emerged on to Rodborough Common in Gloucestershire this summer after 1,100 larvae were released last autumn following five years of innovative grassland management to create optimum habitat. Continue reading...
  
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• Country diary: tiny toads star in their own fast-forward evolution movie

  13-08-2020 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Wenlock Edge, Shropshire: The action is on the ground, with hundreds of toadlets scurrying along the dark, damp trackA mild southerly breeze, overcast, rain spitting into the leathery green of the dog-days – toad weather. The old railway line that runs down Wenlock Edge through Northway Wood cuts across the steep scarp slope. On an evening like this it is a quiet place. It hasn’t seen a train since the early sixties and has been used for taking out timber and walking since then, but
  
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• Bus garage in London now hosting 'world's largest' V2G trial

  13-08-2020 02:02
  
  A bus garage in North London has been fitted with vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology and 100 buses adapted for bi-directional charging, as part of what is being described as the largest project of its kind in the world.
  
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• Why the Mauritius oil spill is so serious

  13-08-2020 01:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The location of the Mauritian oil spill means the environmental consequences could be long-lasting.
  
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• What Europe's cities are doing to handle heatwaves

  13-08-2020 01:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  As London swelters, we look at how urban areas can adapt to deal with higher temperatures.
  
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