Environment news

• England's pollution levels soared during August heatwave

  27-08-2020 22:30
  
  Cocktail of toxins formed over most of England, reaching level seven on 10-point warning systemKing George II is said to have described the British summer as, “three fine days and a thunderstorm”. Today, in our climate changed times, a few hot days, a smog alert and flash flooding would be more accurate.In August’s weeklong heatwave, strong sunlight caused a cocktail of air pollution to form over most of England, reaching level seven on the government’s 10-point warning s
  
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• Glue bird traps: Macron suspends use amid EU row

  27-08-2020 19:08 via bbc.co.uk
  
  President Emmanuel Macron orders an end to the much-criticised method for catching songbirds.
  
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• Scottish nuclear power station to shut down early after reactor problems

  27-08-2020 16:23
  
  Exclusive: EDF Energy to close Hunterston next year after spending £200m on repairsHunterston nuclear power station, one of the UK’s oldest remaining nuclear plants, is to close down earlier than expected next year after encountering a series of safety-critical problems in its reactors.Industry sources have told the Guardian that EDF Energy, the state-owned French operator of Hunterston, decided at a board meeting on Thursday afternoon that it would shut the site down in 2021, at lea
  
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• UK Government halves offshore wind cost forecasts

  27-08-2020 14:27
  
  The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has slashed its forecasts for offshore wind energy costs through to 2030 by more than half, in the first update to predictions since 2016.
  
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• Ed Davey: Former Energy and Climate Change Secretary appointed Liberal Democrat leader

  27-08-2020 13:41
  
  Ed Davey MP, who served as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change under David Cameron's government, has been elected as the Liberal Democrat party's new leader.
  
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• HSBC signs up for new $1bn natural capital investment fund

  27-08-2020 12:42
  
  HSBC has partnered with Pollination to launch what it is describing as the first large-scale investment fund focused solely on nature conservation and restoration.
  
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• India coronavirus: Covid strikes remote Greater Andamanese tribe

  27-08-2020 12:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  There are just 53 members of the Greater Andamanese tribe left- 10 have contracted the virus.
  
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• UK's largest pension schemes set for mandatory climate risk reporting

  27-08-2020 11:38
  
  UK pension schemes will be mandated to disclose the climate-related risks posed to assets in their portfolios by the end of 2022, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has said.
  
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• Is my neighbourhood poisoning me? Living in the shadow of a gasworks redevelopment – video

  27-08-2020 10:58
  
  Since 2016 residents in Southall have questioned whether the gases released from the redevelopment of an old gasworks site could be damaging their health. We followed them for a year as they grow their campaign group, question the authorities and demand to know if the increased air pollution from the site could have put them at greater risk during the coronavirus pandemicLondoners claim toxic air from gasworks damaging their healthContinue reading...
  
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• Is my neighbourhood poisoning me? Living in the shadow of a gasworks redevelopment

  27-08-2020 10:58
  
  Since 2016 residents in Southall have questioned whether the gases released from the redevelopment of an old gasworks site could be damaging their health. We followed them for a year as they grow their campaign group, question the authorities and demand to know if the increased air pollution from the site could have put them at greater risk during the coronavirus pandemicLondoners claim toxic air from gasworks damaging their healthContinue reading...
  
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• Londoners claim toxic air from gasworks damaging their health

  27-08-2020 10:57
  
  Southall residents link redeveloped site to poor health, but developer says it complies with regulationsResidents in Southall are calling on the government to urgently investigate the health impact of the redevelopment of an old gasworks in light of research suggesting the mainly south Asian community is highly susceptible to air pollution.For a year the Guardian has followed the Clean Air for Southall and Hayes (Cash) campaign as they demanded answers from Ealing council, statutory bodies and s
  
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• Littering unpunished by many councils in England and Wales

  27-08-2020 10:55
  
  Campaigners call for penalties to rise to £1,000 after FOI data reveals lack of punitive actionMost councils issue less than one fine a week to litterers, according to data obtained via freedom of information rules, with one in six issuing no fines at all across a year.Enforcement varied widely, with a handful of the councils in England and Wales issuing more than 100 a week. Continue reading...
  
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• The little-known inhabitants of the Alhambra palace

  27-08-2020 08:45
  
  Its stunning Moorish architecture makes the Spanish monument one of the world’s most visited. But photographer Ugo Mellone found the resident amphibians just as fascinatingThe Alhambra, which sits on a hill in Granada, Andalucía, is the only preserved palatine city of the Islamic period and a Unesco world heritage site. Once the residence of the Nasrid sultans, it is one of the most visited national monuments in the world.Continue reading...
  
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• The amphibians of Alhambra – a photo essay

  27-08-2020 08:45
  
  Its stunning Moorish architecture makes the Spanish monument one of the world’s most visited. But photographer Ugo Mellone found the resident frogs, toads and newts just as fascinatingThe Alhambra, which sits on a hill in Granada, Andalucía, is the only preserved palatine city of the Islamic period and a Unesco world heritage site. Once the residence of the Nasrid sultans, it is one of the most visited national monuments in the world.Continue reading...
  
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• Underwing and a prayer: Moth Night spotters hope for a flash of fuchsia

  27-08-2020 08:00
  
  Three-night event aims to track creatures’ climate-driven spread into new parts of UKPeople are being invited to help track the spread of a moth that often hides its hindwings of dazzling fuchsia beneath a dowdy brown “overcoat”.The dark crimson underwing has enjoyed an “amazing” August, according to experts, appearing in many new locations, including the first ever recorded sighting in Wales. Continue reading...
  
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• Covid-19: Five ways to avoid catching the virus indoors

  27-08-2020 04:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Good ventilation could be key to avoiding coronavirus this autumn as people spend more time indoors.
  
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• Report: Global fashion sector will emit double its Paris Agreement limit by 2030

  27-08-2020 02:02
  
  The global fashion sector is currently generating more emissions each year than the UK, Germany and France combined, and will fail to align with the Paris Agreement without transformational change over the next decade.
  
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• Rowley Shoals: The bleached Australian reef and a Covid challenge

  27-08-2020 01:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  When coral bleaching was suspected in a pristine reef, scientists turned to some unlikely surveyors.
  
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