Environment news

• SLS: Nasa assembles twin boosters for its 'megarocket'

  09-03-2021 20:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The space agency has completed the assembly of two boosters for its "megarocket", the SLS.
  
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• Retailers join calls for ‘urgent’ action to restrict harmful tuna fishing methods

  09-03-2021 14:58 via theguardian.com
  
  ‘Fish aggregating devices’ have been linked to depletion of yellowfin populations and increased bycatch in the Indian OceanGlobal condemnation is growing at the increasingly widespread use of harmful “fish aggregating devices” (FADs) in the fishing industry, as retailers including Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer and the German chain Edeka joined calls for restrictions.A letter signed by more than 100 NGOs, retailers and artisanal fisheries urges this week’s m
  
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• Microsoft-led team retracts quantum 'breakthrough'

  09-03-2021 13:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The team believed they had found evidence of particles useful to developing quantum computing.
  
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• New report details how businesses can help deliver clean water and sanitation post-Covid-19

  09-03-2021 13:32
  
  edie has launched its latest SDG Spotlight report, looking at how businesses can transform to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) post-lockdown, with the latest focusing on Goal 6: Clean Water & Sanitation.
  
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• US urged to cut 50% of emissions by 2030 to spur other countries to action

  09-03-2021 13:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Biden administration is set to unveil a new greenhouse gas reduction target at a climate meeting on 22 April, Earth DayThe US needs to commit to slashing its planet-heating emissions by at least half by the end of the decade to address the climate crisis and spur other countries to greater action, a coalition of American environmental groups has urged.Joe Biden’s administration is set to unveil a new national emissions reduction target at a climate meeting it has convened with other major
  
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• It's unavoidable: we must ban fossil fuels to save our planet. Here's how we do it | Roland Geyer

  09-03-2021 12:16 via theguardian.com
  
  Twice before, humanity has mitigated severe global environmental threats. In both cases we did this not with ‘cap and trade’ systems, taxes, or offsets, but with bansTime is running out to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and avoid catastrophic climate change. The 2018 special report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) “suggests a remaining budget of about 420 Gigatonnes (Gt) of CO2 for a two-thirds chance of limiting warming to 1.5°C.” The cl
  
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• 'Climate conflict': 4 in 5 UK bank directors have connections to high-emitting corporates

  09-03-2021 11:32
  
  An analysis of the activities of directors at the UK's biggest banks has revealed that almost 80% have close ties to corporates in industries linked to climate change and pollution - which could undermine their net-zero commitments.
  
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• China’s appetite for meat fades as vegan revolution takes hold

  09-03-2021 11:07 via theguardian.com
  
  Concerns over carbon emissions and food crises are fuelling a move away from meat consumption as a symbol of wealth
  The window of a KFC in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou hosts the image of a familiar mound of golden nuggets. But this overflowing bucket sporting Colonel Sanders’ smiling face is slightly different. The bucket is green and the nuggets within it are completely meat free.Over the last couple of years, after many years of rising meat consumption by China’s expanding
  
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• Unilever Beauty & Personal Care targets 1.5 million hectares of nature conservation by 2030

  09-03-2021 10:45
  
  Unilever's Beauty & Personal Care arm, which owns brands like Dove and Vaseline, has committed to conserving and restoring 1.5 million hectares of habitat by 2030 as part of a new sustainability strategy.
  
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• Tourists flock to Kazakh glaciers – in pictures

  09-03-2021 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Prevented from travelling abroad by the Covid pandemic, locals are instead visiting the magnificent glaciers of the Tian Shan mountain range near Kazakhstan’s biggest city, Almaty Continue reading...
  
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• There will never be a cuttlefish in the cabinet – and that makes me sad | Emma Beddington

  09-03-2021 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Octopuses and their relatives are remarkably clever and controlled. How many of our top politicians can say the same?Back in the gentler days of the internet, before it was just bots and people shouting at tea, I had a blog, and through it, occasional exchanges with a woman I described as my “cephalopod correspondent”. She would write, sharing interesting titbits about squid behaviour, cuttlefish news and, once, a picture of “an Octopus cyanea on a penny”.I think of her o
  
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• Inaction leaves world playing ‘Russian roulette’ with pandemics, say experts

  09-03-2021 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  New coalition calls on governments to tackle root cause of emerging infections – the destruction of natureCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageGovernments must fill a major gap in post-Covid recovery plans with action on the root cause of pandemics – the destruction of nature – a new coalition of health and environment groups has warned.Crucial investments and actions are missing, the Preventing Pandemics at the Source coalition said, leaving the wo
  
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• Why the tiny copepod is an unsung climate hero

  09-03-2021 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The shrimp-like creatures lock up carbon from phytoplankton, keeping it out of the atmosphere Copepods are unsung heroes in the Earth’s climate. These are tiny shrimp-like creatures, about as small as the tip of a needle, and there are vast numbers of them in the oceans, some of the most abundant creatures on the planet. They’ve been called the wildebeest of the seas because for such small creatures they migrate great distances to forage for food each day, coming near the sea surface
  
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• France underestimated impact of nuclear tests in French Polynesia

  09-03-2021 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Groundbreaking new analysis could allow more than 100,000 people to claim compensationFrance has consistently underestimated the devastating impact of its nuclear tests in French Polynesia in the 1960s and 70s, according to groundbreaking new research that could allow more than 100,000 people to claim compensation.France conducted 193 nuclear tests from 1966 to 1996 at Moruroa and Fangataufa atolls in French Polynesia, including 41 atmospheric tests until 1974 that exposed the local population,
  
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• Vast majority of sharks caught in Great Barrier Reef drum lines died, despite tribunal's orders

  09-03-2021 06:52 via theguardian.com
  
  Humane Society International, which won legal action against Queensland government last year, says 80% of sharks caught are still dyingAlmost 80% of sharks caught on drum lines in the Great Barrier Reef marine park last year died despite the Queensland government being told to try harder to eliminate deaths under its shark control program.The Humane Society International (HSI) has analysed the latest drum-line data and says the government is not even close to achieving the non-lethal program the
  
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• Country diary: a dusk walk full of primroses and birdsong

  09-03-2021 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Billingshurst, West Sussex: In this wood at the top of a muddy hill, there is life up in the trees and pushing through the leaf litterOn the outside edges of the wood, grey willow branches are bristling with furry, silver catkins. These catkins are the male flowers, and, when ready, will rely on the breeze to carry pollen to the female catkins on separate trees. This avoids self-fertilisation and ensures that the willows’ genes are spread to different plants to help the population stay div
  
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• Mind your head: scientists discover incredible self-decapitating sea slug – video

  09-03-2021 02:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Researchers at Japan’s Nara Women’s University have discovered a new trait exhibited by the sacoglossan sea slug – it has the ability to decapitate itself, then regrow its body. The process, from shedding all of itself below the neck to regrowing a new body, takes less than a month, in an extreme example of a process known as autotomyKeep your head: the self-decapitating sea slugs that regrow their bodies – hearts and all Continue reading...
  
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• Coronavirus: Divers find Philippine reef covered with single-use face masks

  09-03-2021 01:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Divers in the Philippines find personal protective equipment (PPE) among rubbish on a coral reef.
  
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