Environment news

• From drones to genomics, science can help fight extinction: that work must begin at Cop16 | Angela McLean

  21-10-2024 17:30 via theguardian.com
  
  As nations meet in Colombia to confront species and ecosystem loss, the onus is on the global north to put science and collaboration at the heart of the issueAngela McLean is chief scientific adviser to the UK governmentBiodiversity, the incredible variety of life on Earth, is the backbone of the ecosystems that allow life on this planet to flourish. From the rich soil that nurtures our food and stores our carbon, to the green spaces that improve our mental health, biodiversity is an unsung hero
  
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• ‘I’m not voting for either’: fracking’s return stirs fury in Pennsylvania town whose water turned toxic

  21-10-2024 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The small town of Dimock saw its water become brown, undrinkable, even flammable – and its residents are still feeling the effectsFracking has burst back on to the national stage in the US presidential election contest for the must-win swing state of Pennsylvania. But for one town in this state that saw its water become mud-brown, undrinkable and even flammable 15 years ago, the specter of fracking never went away.Residents in Dimock, a rural town of around 1,200 people in north-east Penns
  
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• Cop16 at a glance: the big issues that will define talks at Colombia’s UN summit

  21-10-2024 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Delegates from 196 countries are discussing progress in preserving biodiversity. So what are the sticking points?Every two years, leaders from around the world gather to discuss the state of life on Earth, negotiating agreements to preserve biodiversity and stop the destruction of nature. This week, representatives of 196 countries are gathering in Cali, Colombia, for the 16th UN Conference of the Parties summit (Cop16).It is the first biodiversity-focused meeting since 2022, when governments st
  
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• We were left out in the cold over a faulty heat pump installation

  21-10-2024 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Trying to get some redress from green energy installers when things go wrong is a long, hard slogTwo years ago I signed a £14,409 contract for a heat pump installation and paid the deposit. Three weeks after the pump was fitted, the company that installed it, Omni Heat and Power, went into liquidation. It had been due to return to repair damage to the pump’s casing, and I had not yet paid the balance. I paid the pump manufacturer Grant Engineering UK to do the repairs and, as I
  
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• UK rivers contain ‘cocktail of chemicals and stimulants’ endangering aquatic life

  21-10-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Exclusive: Researchers find 61% of fresh waters in the UK contain high levels of phosphate and nitrateThe UK’s rivers contain a cocktail of chemicals and stimulants including caffeine, antidepressants and painkillers from water company sewage releases, polluting freshwaters at levels which can pose a risk to aquatic life, testing has found.Results from three days of testing in rivers by 4,531 volunteers for the environmental research group Earthwatch showed that, in addition to the chemica
  
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• Humanity is on the verge of ‘shattering Earth’s natural limits’, say experts in biodiversity warning

  21-10-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  As the Cop16 conference begins, scientists and academics say human activity has pushed the world into a danger zoneHumanity is “on the precipice” of shattering Earth’s limits, and will suffer huge costs if we fail to act on biodiversity loss, experts warn. This week, world leaders meet in Cali, Colombia, for the Cop16 UN biodiversity conference to discuss action on the global crisis. As they prepare for negotiations, scientists and experts around the world have warned that the
  
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• Country diary: The last warm day of the year, and the woodland is changing | Kate Blincoe

  21-10-2024 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Caistor St Edmund, Norfolk: Above, the canopy is opening up, letting the light in; below, fungus is beginning to sprout from the dark soilA snake swishes across the lane in front of me. Moving like nothing else does, a glitch in the matrix. It’s a small, slender grass snake, dark olive with a pale yellow collar. It vanishes in seconds into a hole in the bank.There’s motion in the warm air today, the sunshine bringing a burst of autumnal energy. It’s a pleasure to
  
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