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My friend Don Hinrichsen, who has died aged 72 after suffering from kidney cancer, was an environmental journalist and author.

In the 1980s he was editor-in-chief both of Ambio, a journal of the human environment published by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and then editor of the World Resources Report, published by the World Resources Institute in collaboration with the World Bank and the UN.

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Ecologist and herpetologist who did much to pioneer the conservation of terrestrial species in Wales

The ecologist Liz Howe, who has died aged 59 from cancer, helped produce a modern environmental Domesday Book – Habitats of Wales: A Comprehensive Field Survey, 1979-1997. For 10 years from 1987 she managed a series of survey teams that mapped vegetation across lowland landscapes, complementing similar work in upland areas. Since its publication in 2010, the resulting volume has provided a foundation stone on which to base conservation management, its value as a stable evidence base growing with the passage of time.

The survey information collected under Liz’s watch has proved essential in assessing the conservation value of particular areas and how they can be managed, as well as a basis for identifying potential sites of special scientific interest. It has also helped to define tracts of land that are suitable for public access under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act.

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Experts warn numbers are collapsing as 300,000 are killed for sport every year

The nation’s deep affection for the hare, once a common sight in fields, is recorded in prose, pub names and poetry. Writers including Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll and Ted Hughes have paid tribute to the UK’s fastest land mammal, while any English county will boast at least one pub with the word hare in its name. But now a failure to revive numbers after a century of decline from an estimated four million to under 800,000 has triggered moves to protect hares during their breeding season.

Former agriculture minister George Eustice is introducing a private member’s bill that would make it illegal to shoot hares from February to September. “England and Wales are among the few remaining European countries that do not have a modern close season on shooting hares during their breeding season, which is a terrible oversight,” Eustice said.

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Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young says most South Australians do not want oil drilling in Great Australian Bight

Hundreds of people have gathered on an Adelaide beach to protest against Norwegian energy giant Equinor’s plans to drill in the Great Australian Bight.

Attending the Hands Across the Sand protest, Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says the majority of South Australians don’t want any oil drilling in the Great Australian Bight.

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Water and air pollution and deforestation are pushing the natural world to the brink.

Recycling has become so expensive that some cities have suspended their programmes.

In times gone by we used animals as an indicator of danger. Dogs warned us of predators and unfamiliar people.  Fish showed the water was clean and birds indicated air quality.

Dawn chorus day is a good time to celebrate the benefits to mental and physical health of birdsong – and fight for beloved species facing extinction

When I hear the first willow warbler of the spring, the first cuckoo, or the first booming bittern on my local patch, I feel an enormous sense of comfort and satisfaction. As the poet Ted Hughes wrote about the annual return of swifts, “They’ve made it again, which shows that the globe’s still working…”

It’s International Dawn Chorus day on Sunday 6 May, and this year the RSPB has released a single of birdsong (currentlyat number 11 in the charts) as part of a campaign to draw attention to the dire situation facing British birdlife. Populations of once-common species such as the house sparrow, starling and swift are falling fast, while the nightingale, turtle dove and grey partridge are rapidly sliding towards extinction in Britain.

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Parents fear lack of pollution regulation on Southall brownfield site is putting children’s health at risk

The right primary school for three-year-old Ranjan should have been an obvious choice. His grandparents live a short walk from the nearest one, on their road in Southall, west London, and enrolling him there would make life easy for the family. But they are so worried about the “petrol-like” odour from a nearby building site that in September Ranjan will travel to a school more than two miles away.

“He has been so sick for the past year – coughing and with a runny nose – that we worry being near the smell all day would make him ill,” said Ajaib Flora, his grandfather.

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In Chile the beloved native bee is venerated as carrying the spirit of the dead, but its numbers are dwindling as farmers use imported species infected with parasites to pollinate crops

The first time José Montalava saw the world’s largest bumblebee he was six years old and visiting his grandfather’s house in rural Chile. “It was in the tomato patch, a huge, loud, fluffy orange thing buzzing around. I remember trying to grab it, but it kept getting away, although it looked too heavy to fly,” he recalls.

During Montalava’s childhood, these giant golden bumblebees (Bombus dahlbomii) – which can measure up to 40mm and have been dubbed “flying mice” – were a common sight in the town where he grew up in central Chile. “It’s such a striking, charismatic, colourful bumblebee that used to herald spring,” says the 36-year-old entomologist. “Now it’s totally disappeared from my hometown and many other areas.”

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Nasa sends an instrument to the International Space Station to track carbon dioxide on Earth.

Lucy the blue tit is being live-streamed on YouTube after her bird box was connected to the web.

Brendan May describes how the people’s voice is now cutting through.

Hyundai unveils new all-electric Ioniq with 38kWh battery and a slightly longer driving range. But hasn't yet revealed the new price.

The post Hyundai Ioniq EV headed Australia’s way – with enhanced range appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Last-ditch plea from Clean Energy Council to delay and reconsider a Queensland big solar rule change that threatens to cripple the state’s booming commercial sector.

The post Call for rethink as Queensland solar rule change deadline looms appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Vmoto strikes deal with Italian motorbike mainstay to become manufacturer and distributor for specially branded electric two-wheeler under Ducati name.

The post Australia’s Vmoto teams with Ducati to make electric two-wheeler appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Leaked images show interior of BMW's all-electric 600km range i4, which is planned for production by the German carmaker in 2021.

The post Sneak peak at BMW i4 electric car, with 600km range appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Deforestation caused by palm oil cultivation is pushing orangutans closer to farmers who see them as pests.

Scientists in the Antarctic are monitoring seal poo to keep track of what's happening in the environment.

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.