Environment news

• ‘Deeply concerning’: government consultant made millions from NSW environmental offsets

  27-04-2021 19:30
  
  Exclusive: an environmental consultant who profited from a $40m environmental offset deal with governments has benefitted from other lucrative taxpayer-funded dealsAn environmental consultant who holds interests in a property that made more than $40m selling conservation offsets to governments is part of a consortium that has made tens of millions of dollars more, Guardian Australia can reveal.Steven House is a former director of Eco Logical Australia, a firm that advised governments on major pr
  
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• A singing fish: it glows s green during courtship and looks like Boris Johnson’s hardship face | Helen Sullivan

  27-04-2021 19:30
  
  People were uncertain the fish existed, until citizen scientists made an underwater recording
  If, at midnight, you stick your oar into the water of the lagoon near Kallady Bridge in Batticaloa, on Sri Lanka’s east coast, you might hear fish sing. It sounds, according to Prince Casinader, who was a former local MP moonlighting as a journalist, “like a man idly playing on the keys of a piano. Bass notes and treble notes. Or like someone rubbing a finger around the rim of a wet wine gla
  
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• A singing fish: it glows green during courtship and looks like Boris Johnson’s hardship face | Helen Sullivan

  27-04-2021 19:30
  
  People were uncertain the fish existed, until citizen scientists made an underwater recording
  If, at midnight, you stick your oar into the water of the lagoon near Kallady Bridge in Batticaloa, on Sri Lanka’s east coast, you might hear fish sing. It sounds, according to Prince Casinader, who was a former local MP moonlighting as a journalist, “like a man idly playing on the keys of a piano. Bass notes and treble notes. Or like someone rubbing a finger around the rim of a wet wine gla
  
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• ‘Not anti-beef but pro-planet’: recipe website reveals it secretly took cows off the menu

  27-04-2021 15:24
  
  Food website Epicurious has announced that it won’t run beef recipes any more as part of a shift towards sustainable consumptionThe food website Epicurious will no longer feature beef in its recipes, in an effort to help drive more sustainable consumption.The decision to cut cows from the menu was announced on Monday, but the organisation is confident readers will not miss the meat – because it actually made the change a year ago and has not published a beef recipe since. Continue re
  
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• ‘Time to shake things up’: music industry confronts climate crisis as gigs resume

  27-04-2021 15:00
  
  Huge concerts and nonstop touring mean the music business is in dire need of reform. Performers have begun to lead – but can their industry reshape itself as the world reopens?Before the pandemic struck, it wasn’t uncommon for DJs to fly between three European cities in a weekend. The carbon footprint of globetrotting tours was massive. Festivals and gigs were criticised for the levels of waste they created. Streaming services, requiring ever more processing power, have had a burgeon
  
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• Timberland, Vans, The North Face to develop regenerative rubber supply chain

  27-04-2021 14:22
  
  The VF Corporation, which owns brands such as Timberland, Vans and The North Face, is partnering with a Thailand-based design consultancy to create the fashion industry's first regenerative rubber supply system.
  
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• New homes in poorer areas of England and Wales face undue flood risk

  27-04-2021 14:09
  
  Study shows climate breakdown will affect houses built in disadvantaged neighbourhoods disproportionatelyA disproportionate number of homes built in disadvantaged neighbourhoods over the past decade will end up in high flood-risk areas as a result of climate breakdown, a study has revealed.According to a report from the Grantham Research Institute, without further action the share of homes built between 2008 and 2018 that will be considered at high risk of flooding by the 2050s is expected to in
  
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• Bee population steady in Dutch cities thanks to pollinator strategy

  27-04-2021 13:52
  
  Scheme involving ‘ bee hotels’ and ‘bee stops’ reaps rewards as census shows no strong decline in urban population Bee hotels, bee stops and a honey highway are some of the components of a national pollinator strategy that the Dutch are crediting with keeping their urban bee population steady in recent years, after a period of worrying decline.Last week, more than 11,000 people from across the Netherlands participated in a bee counting exercise as part of the fourth editi
  
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• Can we create a climate-resistant coffee in time? – podcast

  27-04-2021 13:02
  
  Worldwide, we drink around 2bn cups of coffee every day. But as coffee plants come under pressure from the climate crisis, sustaining this habit will be increasingly challenging. Recently, a new study provided a glimmer of hope: a climate-resistant coffee plant just as tasty as arabica. Patrick Greenfield asks Dr Aaron Davis about his work tracking it down, and speaks to Dr Matthew Reynolds about developing climate-resistant cropsContinue reading...
  
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• AECOM to become a net-zero business by 2030

  27-04-2021 12:47
  
  Consultancy AECOM has committed to delivering net-zero operations this year and a net-zero value chain by 2030, as part of a sweeping new ESG strategy.
  
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• UK's food and drink sector targets net-zero emissions by 2040

  27-04-2021 12:14
  
  The Food and Drink Federation (FDF), which represents more than 300 companies, has today (27 April) unveiled an ambition on behalf of the sector to reach net-zero emissions by 2040.
  
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• VistaJet targets carbon neutrality by 2025 as British Airways owner ups sustainable aviation fuel

  27-04-2021 11:48
  
  Private flight firm VistaJet has committed to reaching carbon neutrality by 2025, by reducing emissions and then offsetting, in the same week that International Airlines Group (IAG) set new sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) targets.
  
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• UK Government urged to accelerate ocean protection in COP26 plans

  27-04-2021 11:48
  
  Major UK nature charities including WWF and RSPB have unveiled plans to assess the UK Government's measures to conserve and restore marine habitats this year, urging Ministers to take action ahead of COP26 this November.
  
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• Thousands of barrels of toxic DDT found dumped in California ocean

  27-04-2021 11:44
  
  Extent of possible toxic waste site near Catalina Island ‘staggering’, says chief scientist on sea survey
  Marine scientists say they have found what they believe to be as many as 25,000 barrels possibly containing DDT dumped off the southern California coast near Catalina Island, where a massive underwater toxic waste site dating back to the second world war has long been suspected.The 27,345 “barrel-like’” images were captured by researchers at the University of Ca
  
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• Thousands of barrels of suspected toxic DDT found dumped in California ocean

  27-04-2021 11:44
  
  Extent of possible toxic waste site near Catalina Island ‘staggering’, says chief scientist on sea survey
  Marine scientists say they have found what they believe to be as many as 25,000 barrels possibly containing DDT dumped off the southern California coast near Catalina Island, where a massive underwater toxic waste site dating back to the second world war has long been suspected.The 27,345 “barrel-like’” images were captured by researchers at the University of Ca
  
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• Global alliance for phasing out coal not fit for purpose, says NGO

  27-04-2021 10:53
  
  Powering Past Coal Alliance accused of failing to follow up on pledges as many countries expand use of coalAn attempt by the UK government to encourage countries and businesses around the world to quit coal for power generation is failing to make an impact, and in danger of being used as “greenwash”, an assessment has found.The Powering Past Coal Alliance, led by the UK and Canada, with 111 members including 24 governments, local governments and businesses, is a key plank of Boris Jo
  
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• Ibstock outlines steps to create world's first net-zero carbon brick factory

  27-04-2021 10:36
  
  Brick manufacturer Ibstock has chosen its Atlas facility in the West Midlands as the location for what it claims will be the world's net-zero carbon brick factory.
  
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• Six top tips for developing a leading business biodiversity strategy

  27-04-2021 10:12
  
  Biodiversity is steadily rising up the business agenda in the run-up to COP26. But how can the private sector go beyond greenwashing to deliver meaningful, engaging, science-based strategies?
  
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• Regulators missing pollution’s effect on marine life, study finds

  27-04-2021 09:00
  
  Chemicals and plastics, not just overfishing, threaten aquatic food chain with ‘disaster’, report warns
  Increasing chemical and plastic pollution are “significant” contributors to the decline of fish and other aquatic organisms, yet their impact is being missed by regulators, according to a report by environmentalists.The report, Aquatic Pollutants in Oceans and Fisheries, by the International Pollutants Elimination Network and the National Toxics Network, draws together
  
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• How a hi-tech search for Genghis Khan is helping polar bears

  27-04-2021 08:00
  
  Researchers are going on a bear hunt, using AI and radar to spot dens and track the threatened Arctic predatorsGenghis Khan got his dying wish: despite attempts by archaeologists and scientists to find the Mongolian ruler’s final resting place, the location remains a secret 800 years after his death. The search for his tomb, though, has inspired an innovative project that could help protect polar bears.“I randomly tuned into the radio one night and heard an expert talking about the u
  
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• Dearth from above: aerial images of a vanishing America – in pictures

  27-04-2021 08:00
  
  From abandoned car plants to poisoned and dried-out lakes, Travis Fox’s bird’s eye views of the US capture the nation’s terrifying pace of changeContinue reading...
  
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• Dearth from above: aerial images of a vanishing America

  27-04-2021 08:00
  
  From abandoned car plants to poisoned and dried-out lakes, Travis Fox’s bird’s eye views of the US capture the nation’s terrifying pace of changeContinue reading...
  
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• Country diary: across the hillsides of heather, the fallen parachutes of spiders

  27-04-2021 06:30
  
  Blencathra, Lake District: Ballooning is an extremely effective dispersal method, despite its high mortality rateIt is a perfect day to be an aeronaut in the Lake District: bright and beautiful but with a steady breeze. A paraglider is spiralling high over the Vale of Keswick, well above the height of the felltops. A slight haze blurs the more distant fells into blue silhouettes, but on a clearer day, the views at that altitude could stretch from the Mournes to the mouth of the Tyne.We crunch up
  
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• April’s ‘pink’ supermoon across the world – in pictures

  27-04-2021 06:22
  
  The moon is just about as close as it gets to Earth on its orbit, creating a spectacular sightContinue reading...
  
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• Electric cars: What will happen to all the dead batteries?

  27-04-2021 01:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  In the next 10 years millions of old electric car batteries will need to be recycled or discarded.
  
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