Environment news

• Climate crisis making autumn leaves fall earlier, study finds

  26-11-2020 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Report suggests tree growth will not store nearly as much carbon as scientists hopedGlobal heating appears to be making trees drop their leaves earlier, according to new research, confounding the idea that warmer temperatures delay the onset of autumn.The finding is important because trees draw huge amounts of carbon dioxide from the air and therefore play a key role in managing the climate. Continue reading...
  
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• EU to ban use of lead shot by wetland bird hunters

  26-11-2020 19:13 via theguardian.com
  
  Regulation will help prevent deaths of 1m waterbirds by lead poisoning every year Lead shot is to be banned from all wetlands in the European Union, in a decision that is expected to pave the way for phasing out all toxic ammunition.The European parliament voted against objections lodged by far-right parties, allowing the European commission to introduce the new regulations by the end of the year. Continue reading...
  
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• What does the green recovery mean for Black Friday?

  26-11-2020 17:03
  
  After a month of lockdown restrictions, many UK retailers are looking forward to Black Friday to boost profits. But with consumers increasingly prioritising purpose and sustainability, and with the green recovery movement gaining traction, what will the sales event look like in 2020 and beyond?
  
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• More than 3 billion people affected by water shortages, data shows

  26-11-2020 15:18 via theguardian.com
  
  UN warns about consequences of not conserving water and tackling climate crisis
  Water shortages are now affecting more than 3 billion people around the world, as the amount of fresh water available for each person has plunged by a fifth over two decades, data has shown.About 1.5 billion people are suffering severe water scarcity or even drought, as a combination of climate breakdown, rising demand and poor management has made agriculture increasingly difficult across swathes of the globe. Contin
  
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• Going for green: how to shop more ethically on Black Friday – in pictures

  26-11-2020 13:53 via theguardian.com
  
  From donating to charity, choosing sustainability over discounts or sidestepping the sales altogether, these labels are part of a burgeoning movement rethinking the consumer event Continue reading...
  
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• MPs set out vision for net-zero Northern Powerhouse

  26-11-2020 13:02
  
  Conservative MPs representing the North of England believe that the Government's Ten Point Plan and the net-zero target can contribute to a levelling up agenda that would create thousands of green jobs in the North.
  
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• CDP: Food giants are greenwashing, not addressing their climate impact

  26-11-2020 11:19
  
  While many major food brands are launching "green" or plant-based products, less than two in ten are measuring and disclosing emissions from their supply chains - which are likely to be the most-emitting parts of their business.
  
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• Business leaders and politicians call for ban on non-food plastic sachets

  26-11-2020 11:13
  
  Businesses, academics and politicians have united to call for urgent action to eliminate the use of non-food plastic sachets, warning that the world is set to consumer one trillion of them by 2030.
  
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• Survey: Just 1 in 10 businesses have backed up net-zero ambitions with science-based targets

  26-11-2020 10:44
  
  While the number of businesses setting net-zero commitments has grown rapidly in recent months, just 10% of firms have set interim science-based emissions targets to ensure they're aligning with climate science.
  
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• Government 'must hold businesses like Apple and Amazon to account over e-waste'

  26-11-2020 08:46
  
  Electronics brands and online retailers have been "dodging responsibility" for their e-waste impacts - and new laws could help stop them from producing tech that is hard to repair or recycle.
  
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• Cooling La Niña may not save Great Barrier Reef from mass coral bleaching, experts warn

  26-11-2020 08:36 via theguardian.com
  
  With the world 1C warmer, modelling shows there is still a risk of corals bleaching from heat stress this summerA global weather phenomenon that would typically keep ocean temperatures lower across the Great Barrier Reef may not be enough to stop another mass coral bleaching this coming summer, according to the marine park’s chief scientist.Global heating now meant the risk of corals bleaching from heat stress was present even in a summer influenced by the La Niña climate phenomenon
  
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• If bugs escape I'm a Celebrity 'they could cause severe problems', says Chris Packham

  26-11-2020 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Springwatch presenter adds to warnings of threat to Welsh countryside if non-native species get outParts of the Welsh countryside could become permanently damaged if creatures used in I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! escape, conservationists have warned, amid growing calls to ban the use of live animals on the show.North Wales police said it had advised the ITV show on “set management and biosecurity” following fears cockroaches, whip scorpions, mealworms and crayfi
  
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• Charmed in lockdown: garden birds by Denis Thorpe – in pictures

  26-11-2020 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The former Guardian photographer Denis Thorpe, 88, has been shielding at home in Stockport for most of the year and taking pictures of his garden and its visitors. The images are to be published in a book, Birds in my Lockdown GardenGuardian Print Shop: Denis ThorpeI’ve spent most of my working life photographing people and places. Usually on film in glorious black and white. Being locked down has forced me to take a closer look at my surroundings.When I was away on assignments, my wife fo
  
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• 'You have stolen our forest': rights of Baka people in the Congo ignored

  26-11-2020 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Indigenous group plead for help after being targeted by government ecoguards supported by the WWFJosi Emerson, president of the Baka pygmy village of Seh in the Congolese rainforest, was working in his field in June 2018 when he heard vehicles and shouts. Ecoguards, dressed in paramilitary uniforms and carrying guns, had arrived in Jeeps.Emerson rushed home but it was too late. The guards, employed by the Congolese government to stop poaching and supported by international conservation group the
  
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• ‘Large-scale human rights violations’ taint Congo national park project

  26-11-2020 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Conservation groups proposing a protected area in the river basin accused of ignoring the interests of the Baka people
  Report clears WWF of complicity in violent abuses by conservation rangersJosi Emerson, president of the Baka pygmy village of Seh in the Congolese rainforest, was working in his field in June 2018 when he heard vehicles and shouts. Forest rangers, known as ecoguards, dressed in paramilitary uniforms and carrying guns, had arrived in Jeeps.Emerson rushed home but it was too late.
  
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• Campaigners call for UK and EU bans on plastic 'sample' sachets

  26-11-2020 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Personal and home care sectors use an estimated 122bn sachets a year and few are recycledEnvironmental campaigners have joined forces with politicians and business leaders in demanding urgent action to tackle the distribution of billions of plastic “personal care” sachets.In an open letter published online, a coalition called A Plastic Planet is calling for so-called “sample” sachets – which can contain products such as detergent, shower gel or perfume – to be
  
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• 'All we could do was run': the strange story of Gerald, the turkey who terrorized a city

  26-11-2020 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  When the bird who dominated Oakland’s rose garden turned violent, the question of his fate caused ‘rifts that will never heal’The turkey locked eyes with her from across the park.Like many Oaklanders, sixteen-year-old Jojo Thompson had heard plenty of stories about Gerald, the “feisty” turkey harassing visitors in the city’s rose garden. But before visiting the seven-acre public park with a friend on a recent October afternoon, she thought the tales had been e
  
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• Country diary: a mast year for the mighty oak

  26-11-2020 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Old Sulehay, Northamptonshire: Acorns the size of artillery shells lie strewn underneath the autumnal foliageThe eastern entrance to Old Sulehay forest is roofed by great oaks, still canopied with autumnal foliage, in contrast to the bare ash, hazel and field maple. The ground underneath crunches with a layer of swollen acorns. There are more than I can ever recall seeing – a magnificent acorn bounty repeated in reports from across England. And the size of them! More like artillery shells
  
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• Sky invests in 151 electric vans as part of net-zero ambition

  26-11-2020 01:01
  
  Sky is integrating more than 150 Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vans (PHEVs) into its UK fleet, as part of its bid to become a net-zero business by 2030.
  
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