Environment news

• More than 14m tonnes of plastic believed to be at the bottom of the ocean

  05-10-2020 21:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Thirty times more plastic on ocean floor than surface, analysis suggests, but more trapped on land than seaAt least 14m tonnes of plastic pieces less than 5mm wide are likely sitting at the bottom of the world’s oceans, according to an estimate based on new research.Analysis of ocean sediments from as deep as 3km suggests there could be more than 30 times as much plastic at the bottom of the world’s ocean than there is floating at the surface. Continue reading...
  
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• Dexamethasone, remdesivir, Regeneron: Trump's Covid treatment explained

  05-10-2020 19:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The US president has been given a number of different medicines to attack coronavirus and calm the immune system. What are they, and why is he taking them?
  
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• #SustyTalk: Multiplex's Joshua Davies on a green recovery for construction

  05-10-2020 17:14
  
  edie's #SustyTalk interview series continues with Multiplex Europe's sustainability manager Joshua Davies outlining how UK and EU policymakers can help the construction sector decarbonise as it recovers from Covid-19.
  
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• Decoy turtle eggs put in nests to track illegal trade in Costa Rica

  05-10-2020 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Quarter of fakes were stolen with some eggs tracked from thief to trafficker to consumerDecoy eggs made by a 3D-printer and fitted with satellite tags have been placed in sea turtle nests on beaches in Costa Rica to track the illegal trade of their eggs.A quarter of the fake eggs put among 101 turtle nests on four beaches in Costa Rica were stolen, with some eggs successfully tracked as they moved from thief to trafficker to consumer. Continue reading...
  
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• Global energy storage capacity to grow by one-third every year to 2030, report

  05-10-2020 16:45
  
  Following a 17% drop in deployments in 2020, the global energy storage sector is set to boom with capacity growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31% through to 2030.
  
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• Greenpeace drops 1.5-ton rock outside Defra HQ in fishing protest

  05-10-2020 16:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Fiona Banner artwork is part of group’s direct action campaign against illegal North Sea fishingSecurity had been told to expect an artwork for the secretary of state at 9am. Perhaps they were not expecting it to be an enormous chunk of granite painted with squid ink and so heavy it will need a crane to remove.The artist Fiona Banner and a team from Greenpeace deposited the 1.5-ton artwork outside the Westminster offices of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on
  
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• River pollution leads to Welsh demand for halt to intensive poultry units

  05-10-2020 15:26 via theguardian.com
  
  ‘Pea soup’ algal blooms in River Wye cited as example of damage to habitats as coalition calls for moratorium on planning permissionAs rivers in Wales deteriorate and fill with pollution, a coalition of groups has called for a moratorium on planning approval for new intensive poultry units in Powys.The demand follows similar moves in other parts in the world, particularly the US, which has seen a growing number of calls for moratoriums on intensive farming systems. Continue reading..
  
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• River pollution leads to Welsh demand for halt to intensive chicken farms

  05-10-2020 15:26 via theguardian.com
  
  ‘Pea soup’ algal blooms in River Wye cited as example of damage to habitats as coalition calls for moratorium on planning permissionAs rivers in Wales deteriorate and fill with pollution, a coalition of groups has called for a moratorium on planning approval for new intensive poultry units in Powys.The demand follows similar moves in other parts in the world, particularly the US, which has seen a growing number of calls for moratoriums on intensive farming systems. Continue reading..
  
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• Total to increase annual renewables investments to $3bn by 2030

  05-10-2020 15:05
  
  French oil & gas major Total has pledged to increase its annual investments in renewables by 50% by 2030, against the $2bn allocated in 2019, as it strives to meet a 2050 net-zero target.
  
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• What China's plan for net-zero emissions by 2060 means for the climate | Barbara Finamore

  05-10-2020 14:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Though the country is a huge polluter, it leads the world in the clean technologies that could make this feasibleWhen I first moved to China in 1990, winter meant coal. The moment Beijing turned on the municipal heating system, our faces would become covered with soot. People stockpiled loose coal in huge piles outside their homes for heating and cooking. I could see the smokestacks of four large coal power plants and the country’s largest steel mill in the distance. China’s addictio
  
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• CDP: Paris Agreement alignment could cut climate change costs by two-thirds

  05-10-2020 13:46
  
  The mean damage costs of climate change will reach $5.4trn annually by 2070 and "spiral" to up to $31trn per year by 2200 if the global temperature rise hits 4.4C by the end of this century - which it will unless 'business-as-usual' is transformed.
  
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• Beirut blast was 'historically' powerful

  05-10-2020 13:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The port area of Beirut was destroyed by one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions in history.
  
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• Israel moves to ban 'immoral' animal fur trade

  05-10-2020 13:24 via bbc.co.uk
  
  New regulations would make it the first country in the world to outlaw selling fur for fashion
  
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• Aldersgate Group: 'Urgent decisions' needed to join up UK's net-zero policy framework

  05-10-2020 12:47
  
  The UK Government must use its Covid-19 recovery planning to ensure that sector-specific challenges and loopholes on the road to net-zero by 2050 are addressed and must not permit any further postponements to key policy decisions, a major new Aldersgate Group report has concluded.
  
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• Nobel Prize for Medicine goes to Hepatitis C discovery

  05-10-2020 12:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The virus is a major cause of liver cancer and can lead to people needing a liver transplant.
  
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• Tasmanian Devils reintroduced into Australian wild

  05-10-2020 11:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Its thought the mammals, classified as endangered, were wiped out on the mainland by dingoes.
  
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• Plans to halt deforestation not strong enough, Tesco, Nestle and Nandos tell UK Government

  05-10-2020 11:34
  
  McDonald's, Nandos, Nestle, Mondelez and all of the UK's 'big seven' supermarkets have urged the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) to bolster its proposed legislation for tackling deforestation in supply chains.
  
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• Plans to halt supply chain deforestation not strong enough, Tesco, Nestle and Nandos tell UK Government

  05-10-2020 11:01
  
  McDonald's, Nandos, Nestle, Mondelez and all of the UK's 'big seven' supermarkets have urged the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) to bolster its proposed legislation for tackling deforestation in supply chains.
  
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• Amazon near tipping point of switching from rainforest to savannah – study

  05-10-2020 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Climate crisis and logging is leading to shift from canopy rainforest to open grassland
  Much of the Amazon could be on the verge of losing its distinct nature and switching from a closed canopy rainforest to an open savannah with far fewer trees as a result of the climate crisis, researchers have warned.Rainforests are highly sensitive to changes in rainfall and moisture levels, and fires and prolonged droughts can result in areas losing trees and shifting to a savannah-like mix of woodland and
  
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• 3,000 articles, 100m readers: a year of our best environment journalism

  05-10-2020 10:00 via theguardian.com
  
  With a piece of environmental journalism published every three hours, the Guardian is a leading voice in the fight to save the planetSupport Guardian journalism today, by making a single or recurring contribution, or subscribingSince the Guardian pledged a year ago to give the climate crisis even greater priority, we have published a piece of environmental journalism on average every three hours. Greenhouse gas emissions, heatwaves, wildfires, melting polar ice, floods, droughts, the annihilatio
  
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• McDonald's among food firms urging tougher deforestation rules

  05-10-2020 09:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Unilever and Tesco also say a new law should apply to all deforestation, whether legal or illegal.
  
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• The Guardian’s environment pledge

  05-10-2020 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Last year, we vowed to prioritise climate journalism and cutting our own emissions. So much for promises: how are we actually doing this?
  In 2019, the Guardian made a pledge in service of the planet. We declared that the escalating climate crisis was the defining issue of our lifetime, and that quality, trustworthy reporting on the environment was an important tool to confront it. We promised to provide journalism that shows leadership, urgency, authority and gives the climate emergency the sust
  
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• The Guardian's climate promise: we will keep raising the alarm

  05-10-2020 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Global heating is the emergency of our times. So we are taking action to confront itRead the Guardian’s climate pledgeSupport Guardian journalism today, by making a single or recurring contribution, or subscribingThe global climate crisis is the emergency of our times. Amid all the fear and sadness of 2020, it remains the overwhelming long-term threat to our planet and to everyone’s health and security.That is why we promise to keep reporting on it, raising the alarm and investigatin
  
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• Six steps we are taking to confront the climate crisis

  05-10-2020 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Last year, we vowed to prioritise climate journalism and cutting our own emissions. So much for promises: how are we actually doing this?
  In 2019, the Guardian made a pledge in service of the planet. We declared that the escalating climate crisis was the defining issue of our lifetime, and that quality, trustworthy reporting on the environment was an important tool to confront it. We promised to provide journalism that shows leadership, urgency, authority and gives the climate emergency the sust
  
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• Our world is facing irreversible destruction – and still there's no urgency in Australian climate policy | Lenore Taylor

  05-10-2020 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The Guardian is prioritising the environment both in editorial and commercial decisions. We know the situation is dire but that the worst can yet be averted
  For Australians, the national trauma of fires burning through 18 million hectares of bushland earlier this year is raw and ongoing. But since then the US west coast and Siberia have also burned. China, Bangladesh, India and parts of Africa have suffered catastrophic flooding. Death Valley recorded possibly the highest ever temperature on Ear
  
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• How the Guardian plans to reach net zero emissions by 2030

  05-10-2020 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Since we launched our climate pledge last year, we have been working hard to make it a realitySupport Guardian journalism today, by making a single or recurring contribution, or subscribingLast year was the easy bit – we made a lot of promises to reduce our carbon footprint and become a more sustainable business. Since then we have been trying to figure out how to make good on these commitments. While Guardian journalism remains our best tool for confronting the climate emergency, we are d
  
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• Global heating: the vital statistics from a warming world

  05-10-2020 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  As the climate crisis intensifies, we publish a regularly updating dashboard of key indicators measuring the health of the planet Continue reading...
  
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• Papillon the bear: how the 'escape genius' sparked a national debate in Italy

  05-10-2020 07:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Once one of Europe’s ‘most wanted’ wild animals, the now incarcerated bear has become symbolic of the conflict over the reintroduction of large predatorsThe prisoner is in a cage measuring two by six metres, surrounded by three 7,000-volt electric fences, a four-metre-high barrier, CCTV and a number of rangers. From afar, the structure resembles a maximum-security prison or even the T rex enclosure in Jurassic Park. The inmate is not, however, an oversized reptile or a Sicilian
  
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• Opulent colour in a Surrey wood: Country diary, 9 October 1920

  05-10-2020 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  9 October 1920 There is colour everywhere, from the glittering leaves to the cloud of blue and grey, white or red as wood pigeons float down to feedSurrey
  Our woods are opulent; colour everywhere, from ground spread over with bracken standing almost breast-high and of mellow brown to the yellow tops of the tallest elms, whose leaves glitter when they are shaken by the flight or pitch of immense flocks of starlings going and returning nearly the whole day. On the bare ground under edible-chestnut
  
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• Country diary: the vanguard from Svalbard

  05-10-2020 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Caerlaverock, Dumfries and Galloway: Barnacle geese take off in a clatter of wings and yapping calls, swirling over the merseThey returned in record-equalling time: 28 barnacle geese, dropping out of the sky on 16 September, to the merse (the Scottish word for salt marsh) at Caerlaverock. As the geese came down, the Norwegian flag was raised on the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust reserve, a celebration for their safe return and the changing season. Autumn, on the shores of the Solway Firth, arrive
  
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• Tasmanian devils released into sanctuary north of Sydney in step towards 'rewilding'

  05-10-2020 05:00 via theguardian.com
  
  If the 30 animals thrive in the predator-free area in the Barrington Tops, it could be a step towards reintroduction on Australia’s mainlandConservationists working with disease-free Tasmanian devils have taken the next step in what they hope will be a “rewilding” project that could eventually see the species reintroduced to the Australian mainland.About 30 devils, free of devil facial tumour disease, have been released into a 500ha, predator-free sanctuary in the Barrington To
  
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