Environment news

• ‘Breathtaking’: what Joe Biden’s sweeping climate plan means for Scott Morrison

  29-01-2021 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  As the US president vows to push the rest of the world to do more on climate change, the prime minister will face increasing pressure to measure upWhen John Kerry, the United States’ new special presidential envoy for climate, stepped up to speak to the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday he had Australia on his mind.The former secretary of state had been struck by an article in the New York Times by the author Michael Benson that described satellite images of the “flame vorte
  
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• HS2 protesters say conditions in Euston tunnel are deteriorating

  29-01-2021 18:07 via theguardian.com
  
  Activists tell of oxygen shortage, five internal collapses and an influx of liquid mud at London siteEnvironmental protesters inside the tunnel close to Euston station in London say conditions are deteriorating with a shortage of oxygen, five internal tunnel collapses and an influx of liquid mud.One activist issued an urgent appeal for help just after 4pm on Friday from inside the tunnel, saying things were getting worse very quickly. Continue reading...
  
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• #SustyTalk​: The WBA's Dan Neale on delivering social transformation

  29-01-2021 16:01
  
  edie's #SustyTalk interview series continues with an exclusive talk with the World Benchmarking Alliance's (WBA) social transformation lead Dan Neale.
  
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• Controversy over new UK regulation to protect peatland

  29-01-2021 15:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Rules will prevent some burning and could help Britain reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050Regulations are to be brought in to prevent the burning of heather and other vegetation in a move to better protect peatlands.The protection for blanket bog habitats has been welcomed as vital for globally important land, but criticised by some environmental groups. Continue reading...
  
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• Controversy over new regulations to protect English peatland

  29-01-2021 15:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Rules will prevent some burning and could help UK reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050Regulations are to be brought in to prevent the burning of heather and other vegetation in a move to better protect England’s peatlands.The protection for blanket bog habitats has been welcomed as vital for globally important land, but criticised by some environmental groups. Continue reading...
  
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• Packaging giant Mondi targets 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable products by 2025

  29-01-2021 13:28
  
  As part of a new sustainability strategy which it claims is aligned with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), one of the world's biggest packaging and paper companies has pledged to phase-out products that can't be recycled, reused or composted.
  
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• Dog attacks on livestock increased in lockdown, say farmers

  29-01-2021 13:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Incidents such as killing of 50 pregnant ewes caused by owners unaware of threat posed by petsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageA series of horrific attacks by dogs on livestock is a consequence of lockdown and more people walking in the countryside who are oblivious to the threat posed by out-of-control pets, according to farmers.Earlier this month, 50 pregnant ewes and their unborn lambs were killed in Monmouthshire when a dog forced them into a corner against a
  
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• Microsoft turns to Climeworks to deliver carbon capture techology

  29-01-2021 12:41
  
  Microsoft has turned to Climeworks' carbon dioxide removal technology as one of the key measures that will help with a mission to reach negative emissions by 2030 and remove the company's historic emissions by 2050.
  
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• Governments urged to accelerate circular economy transition through green recovery plans

  29-01-2021 12:02
  
  As nations continue to deliver their strategies for the economic recovery from Covid-19, they must better embed measures to improve resource efficiency, recycling, reuse and nature restoration, according to a major new policy briefing.
  
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• General Motors aims to become carbon neutral by 2040

  29-01-2021 10:55
  
  General Motors (GM) will target carbon neutrality across its operations and products globally by 2040, while also committing to set science-based targets that would deliver net-zero emissions ten years later.
  
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• Government unveils £85m package to support low-carbon aviation innovations

  29-01-2021 10:36
  
  Projects developing hydrogen and fully electrified aircraft have secured multi-million-pound funding pots from the UK Government, in the hopes of the nation hosting zero-emission flights by 2023.
  
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• Greenwash: 40% of websites 'misleading' consumers on environmental credentials

  29-01-2021 10:03
  
  An annual sweep of corporate websites has found that four in ten are providing information on environmental criteria that could be considered misleading and potentially breaking consumer laws.
  
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• Survey: UK banks could lose millions of customers unless they get tougher on climate

  29-01-2021 08:56
  
  A survey of more than 2,000 bank customers in the UK has found that more than one in ten would switch banks if they thought their choice of company was investing heavily in fossil fuels. The impact could be significant for big high-street brands, that could lose millions of customers each.
  
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• Tweeting appreciation: bird-watching groups take flight in lockdown

  29-01-2021 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Memberships soar as poll finds two-thirds of UK public sooth Covid anxiety by listening to birdsong Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageGrassroots bird-watching and gardening groups have seen an influx of new members during the pandemic, which has reignited a British love-affair for birds and their song.“People have loved watching birds in the garden and it’s one of the great solaces of nature,” says Fran Halsall, founder of Sheffield’s Wildl
  
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• Eyes wide for the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch – a photo essay

  29-01-2021 07:30 via theguardian.com
  
  The UK’s largest citizen science project runs from 29-31 January with more people than ever expected to take part thanks to birdwatching’s lockdown boomFor much of the past 12 months, while we haven’t been able to venture further than the local park or the end of our garden path, many of us have taken vicarious pleasure in following the flight paths of migrating birds, which are still free to spread their wings. The Arctic tern, for example, makes a UK stopover on its annual mi
  
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• 'Tipping point': why Swampy thinks HS2 tunnel protest can change climate fight

  29-01-2021 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Exclusive: veteran activist part of group who dug and occupied tunnels under square near Euston station The environmental activist Dan Hooper, known as Swampy, has said he believes the tunnel protest under way outside Euston station in central London could be “the tipping point” in the climate emergency battle, in an exclusive interview with the Guardian.Hooper is one of a group of activists who have dug and inhabited a network of tunnels outside the station in one of the busiest par
  
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• Swampy is back, in the protest tunnels under Euston

  29-01-2021 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Exclusive: famous Newbury activist is part of the HS2 demonstration, which he views as a potential ‘tipping point’ The environmental activist Dan Hooper, known as Swampy, has said he believes the tunnel protest under way outside Euston station in central London could be “the tipping point” in the climate emergency battle, in an exclusive interview with the Guardian.Hooper is one of a group of activists who have dug and inhabited a network of tunnels outside the station in
  
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• She survived in the wild against all odds. I took her class to learn how

  29-01-2021 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Woniya Thibeault, the runner up on Netflix’s Alone, is offering an eight-week survival course, teaching more than how to skin a deer and tie a knot Left to fend for herself on Arctic land, with only 10 pieces of gear – among them a sleeping bag, a pot, and a bow and arrows – Woniya Thibeault didn’t just want to survive. She wanted to find joy in the process of surviving.Scattered miles apart in the same rugged wilderness were nine other contestants looking to outlast one
  
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• Pollutionwatch: how smart braking could help cut electric car emissions

  29-01-2021 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Extra battery weight of electric cars means ways must be found to cut particulate emissionsYou would think that battery electric cars, having no exhaust pipes, would emit less air pollution than diesel and petrol vehicles. A controversial study in 2016 said particle pollution from electric cars would be worse. Due to battery weight, electric cars are about 200-300kg heavier than comparable-size cars that burn oil-based fuel. More weight means more particle pollution from the wear of brakes, tyre
  
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• Country diary: small birds forage for food in the damp branches

  29-01-2021 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Pulborough Brooks, West Sussex: A nuthatch lurches along the bough of an oak, looking for insects and grubsThe morning air is cold and grey with moisture. Rain patters on the soft, brown leaves and muddy paths between the trees. The woods and heathland seem silent at first, but when I stop and listen, I hear the soft whistles and seeps of small birds – great tits, blue tits, long-tailed tits, goldcrests – roaming through the branches above, looking for food. Four squirrels chase each
  
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• Alpine plants face extinction as melting glaciers force them higher, warns study

  29-01-2021 06:15 via theguardian.com
  
  ‘Escalator to extinction’ means aggressive species will eventually take over, threatening the entire mountain ecosystem
  Alpine flowers could go extinct after glaciers disappear as more competitive species colonise terrain higher up the mountain, new research has warned.Glaciers are retreating at historically unprecedented rates, exposing new land for plants to grow, which benefits delicate alpine species in the short term. However, these early pioneers – some of which are endem
  
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