Environment news

• 'We don't have time to lose': plans for coral ark to help save the world's reefs

  28-10-2020 17:30 via theguardian.com
  
  The Biobank is an ambitious scheme to house 800 corals in a purpose-built facility in Port DouglasA Noah’s ark-like plan to house hundreds of the world’s most at-risk coral species at a publicly accessible bank next to the Great Barrier Reef could prove an important part of long-term coral conservation, marine biologists say.The Living Coral Biobank, labelled a “coral ark” by its proponents, would serve as a technologically advanced facility where 800 different types of h
  
  Read more

• Queensland election's 'parallel with Warringah': why independent Claire Richardson could topple LNP incumbent

  28-10-2020 17:30 via theguardian.com
  
  A controversial $1.3bn project brings together angry voters from across the political spectrum in Mark Robinson’s electorate of OodgerooThis week residents in Cleveland, a bayside community south of Brisbane, received a letterbox flyer from their local MP, the ultraconservative Liberal National Mark Robinson, talking up his environmental credentials.All things being equal, the election campaign in Robinson’s safe seat of Oodgeroo would be a foregone conclusion. The born-again evangel
  
  Read more

• Amazon removes 'eco' badge from flushable wipes and Donald Trump toilet paper

  28-10-2020 17:17 via theguardian.com
  
  Environmental campaigners raise concerns over sustainability of some eco-friendly itemsDisposable nappies, cotton buds , pet food and novelty Donald Trump toilet paper were among the products on sale on Amazon’s new eco-friendly section of its website, prompting concerns about the sustainability of some of the products on offer.The world’s biggest online retailer launched the new section of the website on Tuesday in the UK and Europe with more than 40,000 items on the new platform ch
  
  Read more

• Climate change: China's forest carbon uptake 'underestimated'

  28-10-2020 17:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists put new numbers of Chinese trees' ability to pull carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Deluged by floods, America’s ‘oldest city' struggles to save landmarks from climate crisis

  28-10-2020 16:05 via theguardian.com
  
  St Augustine, Florida, was founded in 1564 by Spanish explorers. Flooding has been a threat for centuries and is worsening with rising tidesThe holiday season in St Augustine, Florida, is approaching, and residents are looking ahead to the annual Nights of Lights festival – a months-long tradition that sees millions of white lights strung along every corner of the city’s historic downtown.But an old enemy is rearing its head: the sea. Increasingly, residents have to wear rain boots j
  
  Read more

• Dirty pretty things: air pollution in art from JMW Turner to today

  28-10-2020 15:44 via theguardian.com
  
  Born just before the steam engine was invented, Turner gloried in the smog and grime of the industrial revolution – but today’s artists reveal the damage emissions causeOn 10 April 1815, the Tambora volcano in Indonesia erupted with colossal force. The largest volcanic eruption of the last 10,000 years sent, more than 36 cubic miles worth of shattered rock into the atmosphere. Average temperatures dropped worldwide, turning 1816 into the “year without a summer”.Because po
  
  Read more

• Banks and agribusiness linked to biodiversity loss

  28-10-2020 11:36
  
  Some of the world's largest banks have been linked to industries that are causing mass deforestation and biodiversity loss, with some in the finance sector providing loans and underwriting worth more than $2.6trn to climate-wrecking initiatives.
  
  Read more

• Scientists discover 500 metre-tall skyscraper coral reef at Australia's Great Barrier Reef

  28-10-2020 11:22 via theguardian.com
  
  The detached reef, taller than the Empire State Building, was discovered at the northern end of the Great Barrier Reef off Cape York in QueenslandAustralian scientists have discovered a detached reef more than 500 metres high – taller than the Empire State Building – at the northern end of the Great Barrier Reef.The “blade-like” vertical reef about 130km off Cape York, Australia’s north-eastern tip, was found during a 3D seabed mapping exercise conducted from a ship
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Great Barrier Reef: Scientists find reef taller than Empire State Building

  28-10-2020 11:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Standing 500m (1,640ft) tall, the "blade-like" reef was found off Australia's far north.
  
  Read more

• Hubbub and Coca-Cola launch on-street recycling scheme in Dublin

  28-10-2020 11:00
  
  Environmental charity Hubbub and the Coca-Cola Foundation have launched a new on-street recycling initiative in Dublin, to increase public awareness and use of recycling infrastructure.
  
  Read more

• Net-zero by 2050: South Korea to enshrine new climate target in law

  28-10-2020 10:45
  
  South Korean President Moon Jae-in has declared that the country will achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, bringing its climate commitments in line with the likes of the UK and Japan.
  
  Read more

• edie launches new report detailing how the hospitality sector can achieve a green recovery

  28-10-2020 10:10
  
  edie has launched its latest sector insight report, examining how the hospitality and leisure sector can build back better from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic by focusing on low-carbon strategies as part of a green recovery.
  
  Read more

• Net-Zero November: edie's bumper month of content and events kicks off next week

  28-10-2020 08:59
  
  Spearheaded by edie's flagship Net-Zero Live virtual event, edie is gearing up for a bumper month of content designed to help businesses raise their sustainability ambitions and accelerate climate action – all of which starts next Monday (2 November).
  
  Read more

• The world's banks must start to value nature and stop paying for its destruction

  28-10-2020 08:30 via theguardian.com
  
  As a new report spells out how financial institutions contribute to biodiversity loss, the clamour is growing for a new approachThe scientific community has long been unequivocal about biodiversity destruction. Last month, the UN reported that the world had failed to meet fully any of the 2020 Aichi bioiversity targets that countries agreed with fanfare in 2010, even as it found that biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate, and the pressures driving this decline are intensifying.This
  
  Read more

• Exclusive: livestock ships twice as likely to be lost as cargo vessels

  28-10-2020 07:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Billion-dollar export trade puts lives of animals and crew at greater risk of ‘total loss’ through faulty design and inexperience Ships carrying live animals are at least twice as likely to suffer a “total loss” from sinking or grounding as standard cargo vessels, the Guardian has found. In the past year alone there have been two disasters involving animals in transit. Last November, at least 14,000 sheep drowned after the Queen Hind capsized en route to Saudi Arabia from
  
  Read more

• 500m 'skyscraper' coral reef discovered off Cape York – video

  28-10-2020 07:07 via theguardian.com
  
  Australian scientists have discovered a massive detached coral reef just off Cape York on the Great Barrier Reef that’s taller than the Empire State Building. The 500m high reef was discovered while a team from James Cook University were mapping the northern Great Barrier Reef seabed.Scientists discover 500 metre-tall skyscraper reef at Australia's Great Barrier Reef Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• All wrapped up: the 10 things you need to know before buying a duvet coat

  28-10-2020 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  From fillings to fastenings, here’s how to stay cosy and cocooned this winter – while also looking stylishFew garments will make you feel as if you are being spooned by a considerate lover. Enter the duvet coat, a long, puffer-style cocoon that is more than a jacket. Soft and padded, cosy and water-resistant, it is a place to hide in plain sight, a sanctuary against the world and the weather.With so many of us unable to socialise indoors, these coats have become a topic of fevered di
  
  Read more

• Country dairy: ‘Uh-whah. Uh-whah,’ gasps the mystery noise maker

  28-10-2020 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Sandy, Bedfordshire: Where was the creature that made these sounds? Its breaths were all-pervading, as if they emanated from the sky itself
  All through the night, rain had swept in on a strong southerly. Daybreak brought the stillness of mist and a slap in the face. Banks of fog lingered over the open fields, even though a stiff breeze whistled at them to disperse. It smacked my cheeks, chasing through the wood to my left, stirring up a gossip in the leaves. As its speed rose and fell almost imp
  
  Read more

• Unilever expects to double use of recycled plastics in next 12 months

  28-10-2020 01:01
  
  Unilever has confirmed that 10% of its plastic footprint now consists of post-consumer recycled plastic (PCR), as the company pushes ahead to meet a target of halving the use of virgin plastic.
  
  Read more

• Banks lent $2.6tn linked to ecosystem and wildlife destruction in 2019 – report

  28-10-2020 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Lack of policies regulating impact on natural world means finance industry effectively bankrolling biodiversity loss, analysis findsThe world’s largest investment banks provided more than $2.6tn (£1.9tn) of financing linked to the destruction of ecosystems and wildlife last year, according to a new report.Led by Wall Street giants Bank of America, Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase, 50 top investment banks provided financial services to sectors driving mass extinctions and biodiversity lo
  
  Read more

• Banks lent £1.9tn linked to ecosystem and wildlife destruction in 2019 – report

  28-10-2020 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Lack of policies regulating impact on natural world means finance industry effectively bankrolling biodiversity loss, analysis findsThe world’s largest investment banks provided more than $2.6tn (£1.9tn) of financing linked to the destruction of ecosystems and wildlife last year, according to a new report.Led by Wall Street giants Bank of America, Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase, 50 top investment banks provided financial services to sectors driving mass extinctions and biodiversity lo
  
  Read more

• 'Climate Pledge Friendly': Amazon opens virtual aisle for more sustainable products

  28-10-2020 00:01
  
  Amazon has become the latest retailer to signpost more sustainable products, launching a 'Climate Pledge Friendly' filter for shoppers in Europe.
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!