Environment news

• Endangered North Atlantic right whales produce most calves since 2015

  03-04-2021 18:47
  
  Scientists caution high death rate is outpacing birthsPopulation of whales estimated at around 360North Atlantic right whales gave birth over the winter in greater numbers than scientists have seen since 2015, an encouraging sign for researchers who became alarmed three years ago when the critically endangered species produced no known offspring at all.Related: The new humpback? Calf sighting sparks hope for imperilled right whaleContinue reading...
  
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• Wally the Walrus: Fears for safety as Tenby tourists get 'too close'

  03-04-2021 16:35 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Conservationists urge Tenby tourists to enjoy the stray mammal's temporary visit "from a distance".
  
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• The dirty secret of so-called 'fossil-fuel free' buildings

  03-04-2021 14:00
  
  The ‘embodied carbon’ in the building of glass and steel blocks makes them anything but greenHanging plants smother the walls of a new office block proposed for Salford, giving it the look of something from an abandoned post-Covid city, reclaimed by nature. The ivy-covered tower, designed by Make Architects, has been trumpeted as “fossil-fuel free”, set to run on 100% renewable energy and reach net zero operational carbon, with tenants enjoying the “biophilic”
  
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• Tor de force: how to enjoy the brooding beauty of Dartmoor Devon

  03-04-2021 12:00
  
  It took our writer seven years to grasp the subtle drama of south Devon’s national park. As he prepares to leave the area, he shares some local knowledge and his favourite spotsWilliam Crossing wrote more than 15 books about Dartmoor, with titles including Amid Devonia’s Alps, The Land of Stream and Tor, and Tales of the Dartmoor Pixies. Needless to say, he adored the place. Born in Plymouth in 1847, Crossing lived in the villages of South Brent, Brentor and Mary Tavy, and over five
  
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• The hottest literary travel destinations (to visit when lockdown ends)

  03-04-2021 12:00
  
  From George Orwell’s Isle of Jura to Willa Cather’s Nebraskan frontier … with travel restricted to the imagination, Henry Eliot picks the most memorable and beautiful literary locationsAs a child I once found a set of old photographs of my home, with unknown people posing. I stood in the exact same spots, imagining a shiver of communication. I have since had the same experience standing in Virginia Woolf’s writing lodge at Monk’s House, or surveying the fields of W
  
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• Wind ... or worse: was pilot error to blame for the Suez blockage?

  03-04-2021 11:36
  
  Most marine accidents involve human error, but the real story of how Ever Given came to block global shipping is not so easily explained awayThe trouble started at 5:17am. Ever Given, an Ultra Large Container Vessel (ULCV) loaded with 20,000 containers, had set off up the Suez canal a quarter of an hour earlier from the south, in the bay of Suez.This is how the canal works: ships anchor the night before and wait to set off early the following morning – one convoy southbound from Port Said
  
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• Early cherry blossoms in Washington DC point to climate crisis

  03-04-2021 11:00
  
  Unusually warm weather accelerated bloom cycle of mall’s 3,800 cherry treesSpring has sprung in America’s capital, bringing with it a resplendent bloom of white and pink cherry blossoms that is one of the city’s grandest annual traditions.But this year, as Washington DC’s residents embrace a relative return to normal after a tumultuous year marked by the coronavirus and civil unrest, the earlier-than-anticipated bloom may point to yet another looming crisis: climate chang
  
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• Early bloom of cherry blossoms in Washington DC point to climate crisis

  03-04-2021 11:00
  
  Unusually warm weather accelerated the bloom cycle of the mall’s 3,800 cherry trees, causing them to pop days ahead of scheduleSpring has sprung in America’s capital, bringing with it a resplendent bloom of white and pink cherry blossoms that is one of the city’s grandest annual traditions.But this year, as Washington DC’s residents embrace a relative return to normal after a tumultuous year marked by the coronavirus and civil unrest, the earlier-than-anticipated bloom ma
  
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• Meet the Briton leading a Tesla rival who wants to save the planet

  03-04-2021 09:00
  
  Peter Rawlinson says Lucid, which is about to list for $24bn, has drawn interest from big carmakersThe Lucid Motors boss Peter Rawlinson is fluent in the language of the new breed of electric carmaker: he wants to save the planet and he wants to do it fast.The California carmaker is only starting production of its hotly anticipated first model in the second half of this year but it has quickly come to be seen as one of the leaders in the pack of would-be rivals to Tesla. A recent $24bn (£1
  
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• China sandstorms highlight threat of climate crisis

  03-04-2021 09:00
  
  Experts say extreme weather including droughts will become more common as planet heats
  Recent sandstorms that shrouded Beijing in a post-apocalyptic orange haze and intensive droughts in other parts of the country are bringing into stark relief the challenges China faces from rising temperatures induced by the climate crisis.The widespread sandstorms that pelted the capital and spread as far as central China for several days in mid-March and again at the end of the month were brought on by lower
  
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• Five great new green innovations – from pop-up rodent tents to tyre dust traps

  03-04-2021 08:30
  
  The Earth Optimism 2021 summit is showcasing practical conservation solutions. We look at the ways technology is making a difference Collaboration is key to developing new ideas, and scaling those solutions up is essential for making good progress in any field. This week, Earth Optimism 2021, a global summit hosted online until 4 April by Cambridge Conservation Initiative, has been showcasing conservation innovations to help wildlife and nature.The Cambridge conference is part of the Earth Optim
  
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• Mustard gas among toxic waste in Wales' old landfill sites

  03-04-2021 08:08 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Environmental campaigners dub the 1,572 locations across Wales "ticking time bombs".
  
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• ‘They don’t belong in a concrete shed’ – cows still happiest outside

  03-04-2021 08:00
  
  While modern indoor farms aim to recreate outdoor life minus its hazards, scientists say having a choice may be best for animals’ wellbeingIt’s springtime in the UK and hundreds of thousands of cows are being let outside for the first time since the onset of winter. Social media is full of videos of the animals joyfully jumping and galloping as they rush through farm gates into grassy fields.It’s always a great day when our Mixed Breed Herd of Dairy Cows come skipping back out
  
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• Arctic lightning strikes more likely as temperatures rise

  03-04-2021 07:00
  
  Research reveals lightning strikes in Arctic region tripled in summer months from 2010 to 2020Being struck by lightning is not something people tend to worry about in the Arctic. Encountering a polar bear or being caught in a snowstorm are more pressing concerns. But new data shows that rising temperatures in the Arctic have significantly increased the probability of thunderstorms bubbling up, particularly during the summer months.Researchers used the World Wide Lightning Location Network to mo
  
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• Country diary: mining bees are getting down to business

  03-04-2021 06:30
  
  Airedale, West Yorkshire: In my local park, between the roots of a horse chestnut, an early mining bee community is beginning to thriveBumblebees have begun to bong off the kitchen window. It’s bee season, or something like it, and as spring creeps slowly northward there are about 270 species gearing up to demonstrate just how many ways there are of being a bee. Of those, about 250 are solitary bees: most make their nests in the ground; some find homes higher up, usually in old beetle burr
  
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• World’s largest ocean monitoring system BRUVS launched

  03-04-2021 01:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Marine scientist Professor Jessica Meeuwig on her hopes for a new ocean monitoring system.
  
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