Environment news

• Giant iceberg A68a prangs seabed and loses corner

  17-12-2020 22:35 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The huge iceberg clips the seafloor off South Georgia island and knocks off a sizeable fragment.
  
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• Clean air zones to tackle traffic pollution delayed or on hold

  17-12-2020 19:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Local authorities deferring schemes to reduce toxic emissions as calls rise to put WHO targets into UK lawMeasures to tackle illegal air pollution, which kills tens of thousands of people a year in the UK, are being delayed or shelved despite growing evidence of the health risks.Several local authorities have deferred or put a hold on the introduction of clean air zones, which are designed to reduce toxic air from traffic in town and city centres. Continue reading...
  
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• Floating 'mini-nukes' could power countries by 2025, says startup

  17-12-2020 19:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Dutch company plans to fit ships with small nuclear reactors to send energy to developing countriesFloating barges fitted with advanced nuclear reactors could begin powering developing nations by the mid-2020s, according to a Danish startup company.Seaborg Technologies believes it can make cheap nuclear electricity a viable alternative to fossil fuels across the developing world as soon as 2025. Continue reading...
  
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• Survey: Three-quarters of UK businesses turning to sustainability to bounce back from Covid-19

  17-12-2020 18:26
  
  A survey of 1,000 UK businesses has found that more than three-quarters are planning to increase their sustainability focus in 2021, as part of their plans to financially recover from Covid-19.
  
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• Air pollution death ruling: What comes next?

  17-12-2020 17:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A girl who died in 2013 has had air pollution listed as a cause of death; what are the implications?
  
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• Ivory: Elephant decline revealed by shipwreck cargo

  17-12-2020 17:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A forensic examination of the cargo reveals the devastation of populations caused by the trade.
  
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• Josef Aschbacher to be next European Space Agency boss

  17-12-2020 16:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  One task for the Austrian will be managing the interests of EU and non-EU states, such as the UK.
  
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• Josef Aschbacher to be new European Space Agency boss

  17-12-2020 16:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  One task for the Austrian will be managing the interests of EU and non-EU states, such as the UK.
  
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• Net-zero impact on UK economy to be 'relatively small', Treasury finds

  17-12-2020 16:50
  
  The HM Treasury has published a final report in the build-up to a Net-Zero Spending Review, claiming that the transition to meeting the UK's long-term climate goals could deliver "slightly positive or slightly negative" economic growth for the UK, depending on how decisive policy action is.
  
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• EU set to miss targets on sustainability after agreeing fishing quotas

  17-12-2020 14:54 via theguardian.com
  
  Member states blame uncertainty over Brexit as reason for breach of next year’s limitsFish populations will continue to be over-exploited in EU waters, partly as a result of Brexit, after a decision on next year’s fishing quotas among EU countries fell well short of scientific advice.Fishing limits are set to exceed scientific advice for about a third of EU fish stocks, after EU ministers met on Thursday morning, with EU member states citing the uncertainty regarding fishing rights a
  
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• I breathe the same polluted air that Ella Kissi-Debrah did. Change must be her legacy | Anjali Raman-Middleton

  17-12-2020 13:34 via theguardian.com
  
  For the first time, air pollution has been recognised as a cause of death. The dangers are known, and people of colour are most at riskI live less than five minutes from the road that killed Ella Kissi-Debrah. Like so many in our community, I spend much of my life near the South Circular, a major road that runs through south London, whether I’m walking to the train station or catching a bus, and I can often hear the traffic. In a landmark ruling, Ella has now become the first person in the
  
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• Zalando discloses environmental impacts key private label suppliers

  17-12-2020 13:12
  
  Online fashion retailer Zalando has disclosed the environmental and social impacts of all of its Tier 1 private fashion label suppliers, and is expecting brand partners to have full transparency of their key suppliers also.
  
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• Zalando completes brand assessments as part of environmental disclosure drive

  17-12-2020 13:12
  
  Online fashion retailer Zalando has disclosed its Tier 1 private fashion label suppliers in an efforts to drive transparency across the value chain, and is expecting brand partners to gain a full understanding of their key suppliers also.
  
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• The poison found in everyone, even unborn babies – and who is responsible for it | Rob Bilott

  17-12-2020 12:16 via theguardian.com
  
  Chemicals called PFAS and PFOS – known as forever chemicals – are in the blood of virtually every person on the planet. And they will only accumulateImagine that a small group of people coordinated the intentional manufacture and release of a lethal poison – and imagine they knew this poison had special properties that meant, once released into the world, it would be inevitable that it would make its way into the blood of virtually every person on the planet, even babies in the
  
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• IBM to launch new data platform to map plastics waste

  17-12-2020 11:50
  
  IBM has partnered with the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) on a new data platform to help track plastic waste and recovery globally.
  
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• US FDA declares genetically modified pork 'safe to eat'

  17-12-2020 11:13 via theguardian.com
  
  Developer says it plans to focus on using pig organs for human transplant rather than selling for meatGenetically modified (GM) pigs have been approved for food and medical use in the US, drawing mixed reactions. The pigs are only the second GM animal to be approved for food after GM salmon in 2015.The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week approved the GM pigs, which have been engineered to eliminate alpha-gal, a sugar found in pigs that can cause allergic reactions.
  The FDA said it wa
  
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• Kingfisher partners with Rainforest Alliance on 'forest positive' commitment

  17-12-2020 11:11
  
  B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher has announced a new partnership with the Rainforest Alliance that will help the corporate become "forest negative" by 2025.
  
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• 'World's ugliest orchid' tops list of new discoveries

  17-12-2020 10:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists find 156 new plants and fungi, including six new species of toadstool in British woodlands.
  
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• Willow tit becomes Britain's fastest declining resident bird, survey finds

  17-12-2020 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Numbers of the diminutive tit, a subspecies unique to the UK, have plummeted by 94% since 1970The willow tit has become Britain’s fastest declining resident bird, and one of half a dozen imperilled woodland species, according to the definitive survey of the country’s birds.Numbers of the diminutive tit, a subspecies unique to the UK, have plummeted by 94% since 1970, and by a third since 2008. Continue reading...
  
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• Showy orchids to scaly desert dwellers – Kew presents 'new' species

  17-12-2020 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Botanists list plants newly discovered or named by scientists in 2020RBG Kew selects 10 of 156 species officially named this yearThe ugliest orchid in the world, a toadstool found at Heathrow airport, UK, and a potential food source from Peru, among showstoppers on list Orchids account for more than a third of the newly named species Concerns that several of these rare species, already threatened by habitat clearance, face extinction Continue reading...
  
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• ‘Ugliest orchid in the world’ among 2020's new plant discoveries

  17-12-2020 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Kew Gardens botanists also named a new toadstool found at Heathrow airport and a bizarre scaly shrub from NamibiaThe “ugliest orchid in the world”, a toadstool discovered at Heathrow airport, and a bizarre scaly shrub have topped a list of new species named by scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and their collaborators in 2020.The researchers said the 156 new plants and fungi highlighted the amazing diversity of species that remain to be found, with the potential to provid
  
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• Ella Kissi-Debrah's mother calls for Clean Air Act in wake of landmark ruling

  17-12-2020 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Campaigners urge action after a coroner rules air pollution contributed to her daughter’s deathThe mother of Ella Kissi-Debrah called for her legacy to be the passing of a new clean air act to force the government in the UK to clean up the environment for future generations of children.Rosamund Kissi-Debrah spoke after a coroner ruled that illegal levels of air pollution, predominantly from traffic, had caused the death of her nine year old daughter in south London in February 2013. Contin
  
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• Country diary: yellow gorse reflects brilliance among the withered bracken

  17-12-2020 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Kit Hill, Cornwall: The setting sun fills the south flank of the hill with golden colour – a gift for lingering walkersOverlooking an expanse of darkening land, the south flank of Kit Hill catches light from the declining sun, now sinking towards far-off St Austell Bay. At the end of this unusually clear and sunny afternoon, dog walkers linger in the unexpected warmth, protected from the cold wind as they stroll along the trampled muddy path that glints with sparkles of granite. On either
  
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• Why should we listen to birds? (part two) – podcast

  17-12-2020 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  In this second episode of our Age of Extinction takeover, Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield explore how human noise is affecting birds, and what listening to birdsong can tell us about biodiversity Continue reading...
  
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• China biodegradable plastics 'failing to solve pollution crisis'

  17-12-2020 03:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  China's increase in biodegradables is outpacing its ability to degrade plastic, warns Greenpeace.
  
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• Aerial vision captures extent of flooding in northern NSW – video

  17-12-2020 02:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Footage captured by the New South Wales State Emergency Service shows the wide impact of flooding on the region after parts of Australia's east coast were hit by heavy rain. Wild weather has battered NSW and southern Queensland, with severe thunderstorms and flash flooding hitting hard. The SES has attended thousands of jobs since the downpours began on SaturdayMan killed in Queensland flood waters as wild weather leaves NSW reeling Continue reading...
  
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• Dancing starling spectacle caused power cuts in Scottish village

  17-12-2020 01:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Engineers investigating the unexplained outages found they were caused by murmurations of starlings.
  
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• Starlings' aerial antics behind mystery of Scots' power outages

  17-12-2020 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Walk at dusk reveals murmurations bouncing networks’ electricity cables and switching off the lightsThe mystery surrounding a string of unexplained power cuts across a small town in Scotland has been solved after video footage revealed the culprits – starlings dancing on power lines.The birds’ murmurations are thought to be behind the baffling spate of evening blackouts in Airth, their combined mass bouncing the overhead electricity lines and causing the power to trip. Continue
  
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