Environment news

• Puerto Rico: Iconic Arecibo Observatory telescope collapses

  01-12-2020 22:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The telescope was used in decades of astronomical discoveries and as a backdrop for Hollywood films.
  
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• Next – a hedgehog snuffling! The lockdown lifeline capturing the sounds of Britain

  01-12-2020 18:12 via theguardian.com
  
  Streams trickling, owls hooting, churchbells ringing … Radio Lento, a kitchen-table podcast created by first-timers, has scored a lockdown hit by bringing the great outdoors indoors. We meet the teamAfter months of confinement and inactivity, you might think you know the sound of absolutely nothing happening. But Radio Lento is determined to prove you wrong. The weekly podcast, which is becoming something of a lockdown hit, plays unedited recordings of rural environments across the UK &nd
  
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• Wildflower meadows to line England's new roads in boost for biodiversity

  01-12-2020 16:43 via theguardian.com
  
  Highways England scheme to encourage species-rich grasslands could create hundreds of miles of rare habitats after decades of lossNative wildflower meadows will line the verges of all new large-scale road projects under an initiative by Highways England, the Guardian can reveal.Nodding blue harebells, clusters of yellow kidney vetch and flashes of bird’s-foot-trefoil could soon become the norm on stretches of the road network in England with the infrastructure provider committing to the cr
  
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• Wildflower meadows to line all major new UK roads in boost for biodiversity

  01-12-2020 16:43 via theguardian.com
  
  Highways England scheme to encourage species-rich grasslands could create hundreds of miles of rare habitats after decades of lossNative wildflower meadows will line the verges of all new large-scale road projects under an initiative by Highways England, the Guardian can reveal.Nodding blue harebells, clusters of yellow kidney vetch and flashes of bird’s-foot-trefoil could soon become the norm on stretches of the road network in England with the infrastructure provider committing to the cr
  
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• China's Chang'e-5 Moon mission probe touches down

  01-12-2020 16:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The robotic Chang'e-5 probe makes a picture-perfect soft landing on the lunar nearside.
  
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• No 10 accused of 'cavalier attitude' to UK's climate summit duties

  01-12-2020 14:32 via theguardian.com
  
  Boris Johnson’s advisers did not understand how vital UN Cop26 talks were, former minister tells MPsBoris Johnson’s team had a “cavalier attitude” to hosting a vital UN climate summit in the UK, taking the view “they could wing it with a few press releases and that would all be fine” rather than putting serious work into the talks, the sacked former minister originally in charge has said.Claire O’Neill was appointed by Johnson to head the Cop26 summit in
  
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• The Climate Group unites business giants in push for net-zero steel

  01-12-2020 13:38
  
  Multiplex Construction Europe and Grosvenor Britain & Ireland are among the members of a new business-led initiative designed to drive the net-zero transition in the global steel sector.
  
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• Former COP26 chair Claire O'Neill: UK falling behind on international climate engagement

  01-12-2020 13:02
  
  Former Energy Minister Claire O'Neill (nee Perry) has told MPs she is concerned that the UK Government is failing to engage policymakers from other nations on climate action ahead of COP26, risking an unjust global low-carbon transition.
  
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• 'Mock Cop26' activists vote on treaty ahead of 2021 climate summit

  01-12-2020 13:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Young people from 140 countries presented policies to UK climate action championYoung people from 140 countries who attended an online “mock Cop26” climate summit have presented a treaty of 18 policies to Nigel Topping, the UK’s high level climate action champion.After two weeks of negotiations, delegates from the international youth-led conference presented their formal treaty to Topping during the event’s closing ceremony on Tuesday, and called on world leaders to prior
  
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• UK imported 1m tonnes of soya with deforestation risk in 2019

  01-12-2020 12:58 via theguardian.com
  
  New analysis finds 40% was brought in without sourcing checks from Brazil, Argentina and ParaguayMore than 1m tonnes of soya used by UK livestock farmers to produce chicken and other food last year could be linked to deforestation, according to a new analysis.Large areas of forest in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay are being cleared to produce soya, which is then exported to the UK to be used by farmers, mainly to feed chickens and dairy cows. Continue reading...
  
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• Revealed: UK imported 1m tonnes of soya with deforestation risk in 2019

  01-12-2020 12:58 via theguardian.com
  
  Following Guardian investigation, analysis finds 40% was brought in without sourcing checks from Brazil, Argentina and ParaguayMore than 1m tonnes of soya used by UK livestock farmers to produce chicken and other food last year could be linked to deforestation, according to a new analysis.Large areas of forest in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay are being cleared to produce soya, which is then exported to the UK to be used by farmers, mainly to feed chickens and dairy cows. Continue reading...
  
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• Electric vehicle revolution: Government creates Zero-Emission Vehicle Transition Council

  01-12-2020 11:28
  
  The UK Government has set up a new coalition of international ministers and car sector representatives, to support the global transition and its own ban on new petrol and diesel car sales from 2030.
  
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• Business giants urge Boris Johnson to target 70% emissions cut for 2030

  01-12-2020 11:04
  
  More than 75 major businesses have penned an open letter to Boris Johnson calling for an "ambitious", legally-binding, interim climate target to support the transition to net-zero by 2050.
  
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• Business giants urge Boris Johnson to confirm 2030 climate target

  01-12-2020 11:04
  
  More than 75 major businesses have penned an open letter to Boris Johnson calling for an "ambitious", legally-binding, interim climate target to support the transition to net-zero by 2050.
  
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• Wildlife photographer of the year 2020: people's choice – in pictures

  01-12-2020 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Now in its 56th year, the wildlife photographer of the year showcases the world’s best nature photography. The competition is run by the Natural History Museum in London and the exhibition there runs until 4 July 2021.This year’s competition attracted more than 50,000 entries from professionals and amateurs across the world. Voting for the Lumix people’s choice award is open until 2pm on Tuesday 2 February Continue reading...
  
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• Owls of delight! How online birdwatching became my lockdown treat | Emma Beddington

  01-12-2020 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  I have become obsessed with bird matters, especially the antics of Rocky, Barry and co in New York CityBirdwatching has been a Covid success story: sales of feeders have soared and birdwatchers broke a world record for the most birds observed during Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s “Global Big Day” in May.I like watching Small Brown Bird One and Small Brown Bird Two argue over mealworms in my yard until Large Grey Rat appears to settle the squabble, but I am too lazy to make a real
  
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• TV tonight: Alec Baldwin wades into some muddy American waters

  01-12-2020 07:10 via theguardian.com
  
  The Hollywood actor narrates Flint, the story of a polluted US river. Plus: how Amazon took over the world. Here’s what to watch this evening Continue reading...
  
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• UK climate targets too low, economists say

  01-12-2020 07:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The prime minister's recent climate plan won’t do enough to curb UK emissions, an analysis says.
  
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• Farm animals antibiotics data raises post-Brexit trade fears

  01-12-2020 06:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Use of antibiotics on farms in US and Canada about five times the UK level, says reportThe overuse of antibiotics on farm animals is rife in some of the key countries with which the UK is hoping to strike a post-Brexit trade deal, a new report shows, raising fears that future deals will jeopardise public health and British farming.The US, Australia, New Zealand and Canada all allow farmers to feed antibiotics routinely to livestock to make them grow faster, and in the US and Canada farm antibiot
  
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• Country diary: the shy side of our cheeky sparrows

  01-12-2020 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Claxton, Norfolk: House sparrows may have earned a reputation for audacity, but they’re also cautious and camera-shyIt’s a customary ritual at ours to take out the previous night’s scraps to feed the sparrows. Brown and anonymous in plumage they may be, but the birds are also invariably invisible at the hedge bottom, where they maintain a perpetual, self-absorbed palaver.The amusing process usually goes something like this: the mere sound of the door sparks a lull in proceeding
  
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• Australian scientists map millions of galaxies with new telescope

  01-12-2020 03:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A powerful telescope in Australia gives a glimpse of three million galaxies in record time.
  
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• Climate change: Temperature analysis shows UN goals 'within reach'

  01-12-2020 02:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Moves by China, along with the election of Joe Biden, make temperature targets more achievable.
  
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