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Many botanists dispute idea of plant sentience, but study of climbing beans sows seed of doubt

They’ve provided us with companionship and purpose during the darkest days of lockdown, not to mention brightening our Instagram feeds. But the potted cacti, yucca, and swiss cheese plants we’ve welcomed into our homes are entirely passive houseguests. Aren’t they?

Research suggests that at least one type of plant – the french bean – may be more sentient than we give it credit for: namely, it may possess intent.

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Cities occupy just 3% of the Earth's surface, yet more than half the world's population live in urban environments. We need nation-wide plans to keep our cities cool so no one gets left behind. Mark Maund, Research Affiliate, School of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Newcastle Kim Maund, Discipline Head – Construction Management, School of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Newcastle Marcus Jefferies, Senior Lecturer School of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Newcastle SueAnne Ware, Professor and Head of School of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Newcastle Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

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The aerospace industry is testing models of radical looking aircraft, but will they ever make it into production?

WCI regulated entities shifted carbon allowances and offsets into compliance accounts during Q4 2020 ahead of California’s interim cap-and-trade true-up deadline, while the state moved nearly 23 million allowances into Allowance Price Containment Reserve (APCR) tiers, according to data published Thursday.

The Democratic Senate victories secured this week will enable US President-elect Joe Biden (D) to more easily reverse Trump-era environmental rollbacks, confirm political appointees, and advance green spending and infrastructure provisions, but the razor-thin majority in both Congressional chambers will still create hurdles to pass more aggressive federal climate legislation, experts told Carbon Pulse.

RGGI Allowance (RGA) prices surged to an all-time high on thin demand this week as Democrats secured a majority in the US Congress, while California Carbon Allowance (CCA) values inched slightly above the programme’s 2021 floor price.

Scottish farmers could lose £170m by 2025, with Welsh and Northern Irish ministers also critical of new regime

Farmers in the UK’s devolved administrations are facing substantial cuts to their income as a result of Brexit, which could imperil their ability to protect the countryside, ministers were warned on Thursday.

Fergus Ewing, Scotland’s cabinet secretary for the rural economy, told the Oxford Farming Conference that Scottish farmers would lose out to the tune of £170m between now and 2025, compared with the subsidies they could have expected under the EU’s common agricultural policy, which provided roughly £3bn a year across the UK.

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The government launches a public consultation on using gene editing to modify livestock and crops.

EUAs stormed to a new all-time high on Thursday, stretching Monday's record as energy markets also notched gains.

To support the expansion of the Environmental Markets side of the business, this position is responsible for supporting the development and management of Environmental market analysis activities for the Gazprom Marketing & Trading (GM&T) business in London. The role will be directly reporting into the Head of Fundamentals and Analytics.

If you’re feeling cooped up, defy the cold, head for your local park and marvel at the antics of gulls, starlings and fieldfares

I endured the first lockdown while living alone for a period in Spain. The virus was rampant in the country and measures to stop it were draconian. For nearly three months I lived in virtual confinement with the occasional visit to the corner shop being my only respite – my only chance to see people other than a rare visit from the postman. We were not even permitted to take exercise.

I was based in Mérida, a city in the south west. The front of my flat overlooked an incredibly ugly secondary school – out back on the terrace, the skyline was dominated by chimneys and satellite dishes. There was not a lick of green to be seen. As many will have experienced, it was a very tough time.

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Cattle can fertilise land but consumption of other meat, milk and eggs must fall by 50%

The UK’s beef herd could be at the heart of a sustainable farming system that tackles both the climate and wildlife crises while producing sufficient healthy food, according to a report.

However, production and consumption of other meat, milk and eggs would have to fall by half, and large forests of new trees would have to be planted, the analysis from the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission charity (FFCC) found.

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Carbon border taxes alone will not encourage poorer countries to meet climate goals

With the US president-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration promising a fresh, rational approach to climate change, now is an ideal time to make the case for a World Carbon Bank that would transfer and coordinate aid and technical assistance to help developing countries decarbonise. The proposed Green New Deal in the US and the European commission’s European Green Deal have laudable environmental goals but are too inward-looking. When an entire building is burning, to concentrate firefighting resources on one floor would only delay, not prevent, its destruction.

According to the International Energy Agency, almost all the net growth in carbon dioxide emissions over the next two decades will come from emerging markets. Although China recently pledged to achieve zero net emissions by 2060, it is sobering to consider that it accounts for half of the world’s coal output and half of its coal consumption.

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Climate disaster could be curtailed within a couple of decades if net zero emissions are reached, new study shows

The world may be barreling towards climate disaster but rapidly eliminating planet-heating emissions means global temperatures could stabilize within just a couple of decades, scientists say.

For many years it was assumed that further global heating would be locked in for generations even if emissions were rapidly cut. Climate models run by scientists on future temperatures were based on a certain carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere. If this remained at the current high level there would be runaway climate disaster, with temperatures continuing to rise even if emissions were reduced because of a lag time before greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere.

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Gideon Henderson says debate needed on GM crops and gene editing of plants and animals

Gideon Henderson, chief scientist at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, believes the time is ripe for a new public debate on biotechnology, the science of manipulating genes in crops and animals.

“The last time we had an extensive public discussion was in the 1990s,” he notes. Then, public outrage at the idea of ‘Frankenfoods’ centred on fears of what might result from newly available techniques that allowed the introduction of genes from one species into a completely different species. Lurid stories of tomatoes altered with fish genes grabbed the headlines.

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Far-right Trump supporters are afraid American democracy has been overturned by their left-leaning 'opponents', even as they themselves actively undermine liberal democratic values and institutions. Jordan McSwiney, PhD Candidate, University of Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The end of coal-fired generation in Australia is inevitable. But the federal government can do more to ensure an orderly transition to renewables – avoiding price spikes and supporting workers. Daniel D'Hotman, DPhil Candidate, University of Oxford Steven Hamilton, Visiting Fellow, Tax and Transfer Policy Institute, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

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The work on market reform by the ESB mostly illustrates the need for an even more forward looking structure for the future.

The post ESB’s market vision fall short of what’s needed for renewable grid appeared first on RenewEconomy.