Environment news

• Safe sex for seagulls? Why bird contraception plan in Worcester may not fly

  25-10-2024 17:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Councillor has reportedly suggested using pills to control gulls, but experts say it may not be ethical or practicalTheir brazen chip-snatching, swooping and aggressive squawking has earned seagulls a reputation as the scourge of seaside towns, terrorising unsuspecting tourists and enraging residents alike.And as the marauding birds have ventured inland and established urban colonies, towns have deployed spikes, netting and even birds of prey as deterrents. Now Worcester city councillors appear
  
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• ‘You don’t want to waste time on climate change’: TV weather’s big problem with the environmental crisis

  25-10-2024 16:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Lack of time, difficulties with scientific rigour, a disinterested public … television meteorologists open up about why they’re so quiet about the reasons for extreme conditionsWhy do TV and radio forecasts rarely contextualise extreme weather events in terms of the climate crisis? After all, the latest data suggests Britain is getting hotter, wetter and stormier. The number of “very hot days” of 30C or more, according to the Met Office’s latest climate report, has
  
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• Man who lost home to coastal erosion loses court case against UK government

  25-10-2024 12:52 via theguardian.com
  
  Kevin Jordan and two other claimants argued the country’s climate adaptation plans were insufficient and unlawfulAn East Anglian man who lost his home to coastal erosion has lost his high court challenge against the government’s climate adaptation plans.Kevin Jordan was one of three claimants who argued the government’s plans for adapting to the existing and predicted impacts of climate change, known as the National Adaptation Programme 3 (NAP3), were insufficient and unlawful.
  
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• ‘We have emotions too’: Climate scientists respond to attacks on objectivity

  25-10-2024 11:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Researchers criticised and gaslighted after sharing fears with Guardian say acknowledging feelings is critical to their workClimate scientists who were mocked and gaslighted after speaking up about their fears for the future have said acknowledging strong emotions is vital to their work.The researchers said these feelings should not be suppressed in an attempt to reach supposed objectivity. Seeing climate experts’ fears and opinions about the climate crisis as irrelevant suggests science i
  
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• Sliver of cool surface water 2mm deep helps oceans absorb CO2, say scientists

  25-10-2024 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Subtle temperature difference between ‘ocean skin’ and water beneath found to drive more CO2 absorptionA sliver of cool surface water less than 2mm deep helps oceans absorb carbon dioxide, a British-led team of scientists has established after months of voyages across the Atlantic painstakingly measuring gas and temperature levels.The subtle difference in temperature between the “ocean skin” and the layer of water beneath it creates an interface that leads to more CO2 bei
  
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• Cool surface water 2mm deep helps oceans absorb CO2, researchers find

  25-10-2024 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Subtle temperature difference between ‘ocean skin’ and water beneath it creates interface that leads to more CO2 absorption A sliver of cool surface water less than 2mm deep helps oceans absorb carbon dioxide, a British-led team of scientists has established after months of voyages across the Atlantic painstakingly measuring gas and temperature levels.The subtle difference in temperature between the “ocean skin” and the layer of water beneath it creates an interface that
  
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• Week in wildlife in pictures: jaguar cuddles, a supermarket cockatoo and a seal in Canary Wharf

  25-10-2024 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...
  
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• ‘Pole of Cold’: life in the coldest inhabited village on Earth – photo essay

  25-10-2024 08:00 via theguardian.com
  The Siberian republic of Sakha in the Russian far east is one the coldest inhabited regions in the world. The photojournalist Natalya Saprunova spent almost two months documenting the daily lives of the Evenki people in the community of OymyakonOymyakon in north-east Siberia is the coldest permanently inhabited place in the world. The village is located at the “Pole of Cold” on the left bank of the Indigirka River in Sakha, a republic in Russia’s far east, and is connected to o
  
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• Weatherwatch: Will new oilfields become stranded assets?

  25-10-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  With electric car demand soaring, peak oil may be near – and not a moment too soon for the climateOil states and companies such as BP, Shell and ExxonMobil are intent on exploiting new oilfields despite the clear evidence that the world is rapidly cruising through its carbon budget.However, investors should perhaps note that the International Energy Agency (IEA) is forecasting that peak oil is at hand. In other words, supply will soon outstrip demand, making investment in new oilfields unl
  
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• AstraZeneca ‘said it could cut UK jobs’ if biodiversity drug levy is introduced

  25-10-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Biotech giant’s alleged comments come as world leaders at Cop16 discuss how to share benefits from genetic code discoveries fairlyAstraZeneca has said it may cut jobs at its UK operation if the government enforces a global push to make companies share profits derived from nature’s genetic codes, multiple sources have told the Guardian.The alleged comments from the company came amid a concerted lobbying push by the pharmaceutical industry against the profit-sharing measures. Continue
  
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• Country diary: I’ve come to the woods, hungry for cheese snails | Claire Stares

  25-10-2024 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Buriton chalk pits, Hampshire: Deep in the vegetation, tucked away in the bark of a fallen tree, I find this elusive speciesMist hangs over the woodland, and the air is damp and heavy with the musky-sweet scent of rain-soaked soil and decay – perfect conditions for seeking out snails. However, despite being celebrated in a Portland stone sculpture at the start of the trail, my target species – the cheese snail (Helicodonta obvoluta) – has a reputation for being elusive.The natu
  
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