Around The Web
Online dating: Aim high, keep it brief, and be patient
Reflecting sun's rays would cause crops to fail, scientists warn
Research shows geoengineering method intended to combat climate change would have adverse effect on agriculture
Proposals to combat climate change by reflecting the sun’s rays back into space would cause widespread crop failure, cancelling out any benefits to farming from the reduction in warming, according to new research.
By examining the effects of volcanic eruptions on agriculture – which has a similar effect to proposed artificial methods of scattering solar radiation through aerosols – scientists have concluded that such methods could have unintended consequences.
Continue reading...EU Market: EUAs fade as falling energy prices weigh
Why stealthy viruses are making you ill
German emitters raise CO2 price expectations as EUA values surge
China’s coal rebound continues while ETS, climate policy get stuck
Washington's last chance to save the endangered orcas – but is it too late?
Tragic event of grieving mother carrying dead calf for days sparks renewed effort to save killer whales as they fight for survival
Seattle’s orcas are dying. That they are dying publicly and painfully may save them.
First was Tahlequah’s calf. Born on 24 July, she died minutes later. Tahlequah buoyed her for a week before mother and calf disappeared.
Continue reading...'Firenado' spotted in Leicestershire by firefighters – video
Leicestershire fire and rescue service have captured spectacular footage of an unusual occurrence while tackling a plastic pallet blaze at the Ravensbourn plastics factory in Woodville, near Swadlincote. Fire tornadoes – also known as fire whirls – happen when cool air combines with hot air above to create a swirling effect
Continue reading...Firefighters battle to contain historic California blaze as political tensions rise
Distrust in government mingles with fears for cannabis industry while fires spread across hundreds of square miles
Haze from the largest fire in California history filled the air near the town of Clearlake on Tuesday as Jim Steele, a local supervisor, drove his pickup truck through a landscape of smoldering hillsides and charred trees to check on the homes of citizens in his district.
Related: Largest wildfire in California's history expected to burn for rest of August
Continue reading...Josh Frydenberg hits out at states resisting the National Energy Guarantee
Victoria refuses to sign onto National Energy Guarantee at COAG
After devastating earthquakes, Indonesia must embrace radical change
First UK-grown chia seeds to go on sale this week
The popularity of plant-based diets has created huge demand for the oil-rich seeds, prompting a farm in Essex to plant a crop
The first UK-grown chia seeds go on sale this week, as demand for the plant native to the Americas is fuelled by the explosion in the popularity of plant-based diets.
The company Hodmedod, pioneers of British-grown pulses, grains and seeds, has been working with farmers Peter and Andrew Fairs, of Great Tey in Essex, to bring the new British crop to market.
The era of megafires: the crisis facing California and what will happen next
Three scientists explain the unprecedented danger facing the western US and call for new solutions to a growing threat
California is no stranger to fire. The temperate winters and reliably dry summers that make the Golden state such an attractive place to live are the same conditions that make this region among the most flammable places on Earth.
But even for a region accustomed to fire, the continuing wildfire siege has proven unprecedented. Although it is only early August, numerous very large, fast-moving, and exceptionally intense fires have already burned vast swaths of land throughout the state – consuming hundreds of thousands of acres and thousands of homes and claiming at least nine lives, including four firefighters. State and national firefighting resources are stretched to their limits; choking smoke inundated the state capital of Sacramento; and much of Yosemite national park is closed indefinitely.
Continue reading...