Environment news

• The biggest Coalition conspiracy theory is climate change denial | Greg Jericho

  16-01-2021 20:00
  
  MPs’ unfounded claims about the US Capitol attack and Covid treatments pale next to the granddaddy of misinformationNasa announced this week that 2020 – a year which included a La Niña event normally associated with lower temperatures – was the hottest year on record. It was also the week in which the Morrison government used racist tropes to distract and excuse conspiracy statements made by its MPs. Related: 2020 was hottest year on record by narrow margin, Nasa saysCon
  
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• Carbon capture is vital to meeting climate goals, scientists tell green critics

  16-01-2021 18:36
  
  Supporters insist that storage technology is not a costly mistake but the best way for UK to cut emissions from heavy industryEngineers and geologists have strongly criticised green groups who last week claimed that carbon capture and storage schemes – for reducing fossil fuel emissions – are costly mistakes.The scientists insisted that such schemes are vital weapons in the battle against global heating and warn that failure to set up ways to trap carbon dioxide and store it undergro
  
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• 'My neighbourhood is being destroyed to pacify his supporters': the race to complete Trump's wall

  16-01-2021 13:00
  
  In his final months in office, Donald Trump has ramped up construction on his promised physical border between the US and Mexico – devastating wildlife habitats and increasing the migrant death toll
  At Sierra Vista Ranch in Arizona near the Mexican border, Troy McDaniel is warming up his helicopter. McDaniel, tall and slim in a tan jumpsuit, began taking flying lessons in the 80s, and has since logged 2,000 miles in the air. The helicopter, a cosy, two-seater Robinson R22 Alpha is consider
  
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• China plays rainmaker with modified drone flights

  16-01-2021 07:00
  
  Ganlin-1 could provide solid statistics on whether cloud seeding really worksWhile most countries have backed away from weather modification, China has embraced the concept and is stepping up efforts to create rain on demand. The China Meteorological Administration’s first purpose-built weather modification drone, the Ganlin-1, made its first flight last week.Ganlin, which means “sweet rain”, is part of a project launched in March 2019 to increase rain and snow in the Qilian mo
  
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• Country diary: blackbirds feast on the food of the gods

  16-01-2021 06:30
  
  Langstone, Hampshire: A rare sight in British gardens, persimmons have a waxy, smooth-skinned appearance of oversized tomatoes When my neighbour, a keen plantsman, moved out last winter, the landlord razed the garden, dismantling the vine-laden greenhouse, chainsawing the apple and acer trees, and ripping from the fence the tapestry of clematis, honeysuckle and rambling roses.The sole survivor was a scrubby persimmon. The tree existed in obscurity throughout spring and summer. But in autumn, it
  
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