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Rare brown bear dies in Italy capture operation
The best and worst space films, according to Nasa
Country diary: a dead newt marks the end of the line
Marshwood Vale, Dorset: ‘Askers’, great crested newts, used to be common here but the number of suitable breeding pools has more than halved
It’s the yellow that catches my eye. Bright egg-yolk splotched with black warts, glistening against wet asphalt. Long, striped toes. A forearm flung out, fingers drooping, thumb hanging down, elegant as a lady offering her hand for a kiss. A great crested newt, Triturus cristatus, squashed.
The pattern of pulping suggests a big, ridged tyre, probably a tractor. The driver would never have seen it in the dark, perched up high on his plastic seat, roaring up the lane to feed the heifers, one last job before turning in.
Continue reading...Things that go grunt in the night
Camels dominate and destroy desert water holes
Denial a coping mechanism for climate change
People using fly-tipping firms face crackdown
Measures would demand ‘all reasonable measures’ are taken to ensure handlers are licensed
People who have their rubbish dumped illegally could face fines of up to £400, even if they do not personally engage in fly-tipping, under proposals being considered by ministers.
The measures are aimed at tackling people who charge householders to take away their rubbish and then dump it illegally. They build on existing powers to issue on-the-spot fines to save the hefty court costs often involved in pursuing offenders.
Continue reading...A Big Country 21 April 2018
CP Daily: Friday April 20, 2018
EU Market: EUAs falter on weaker auction for a 6.4% weekly loss
EU member states near 90% completion rate for 2018 free allowance allocations
What steps can the UK take to reach net zero emissions by 2050?
The government has pledged to review its long-term climate targets. Renewable energy, housing and and transport are just some areas where new policies could cut emissions fast
More wind farms, solar power and electric cars: these are likely to be the future of the UK, under government plans announced this week to seek a zero-carbon economy in the next 30 years.
Some of the less obvious effects could be just as transformative, however, involving innovations such as smart houses and smart roads, widespread changes to the countryside wrought by new tree-planting and new farming practices designed to conserve soils.
Continue reading...Food waste, caribou crisis and an accidental plastics breakthrough – green news roundup
The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox
Continue reading...When a carbon price of $100/t isn’t enough: California’s farming emissions dilemma
ANALYSIS: Depoliticisation crucial to preserving cap-and-trade, safeguarding climate investments in Ontario
The week in wildlife – in pictures
A newly hatched turtle, a roaming peacock and egrets in China are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world
Continue reading...Scientists discover protein behind motor neurone disease
CN Markets: Pilot market data for week ending Apr. 20, 2018
ExoMars: Getting ready to drive on the Red Planet
Mallorca's scenic roads, designed for early motorists, are a cyclist's dream
Former pro-cyclist Doug Petty has been bringing cyclists to the Balearic island for more than 50 years to ride the famous hairpin bends on its spectacular mountain roads
Mallorca attracts more than 200,000 roadies a year. Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome are usually credited for popularising winter riding on this Spanish Balearic island, but it’s two others who really put the island on the cycling map, one of them quite literally.
1950s pro cyclist Doug Petty has been bringing cyclists to Mallorca every year for 51 years, and he’s been able to keep them coming because of the lure of two twisting roads built in the late-1920s by local engineer Antoni Parietti, who built the snaking carreteres to attract motor tourists. Sports car drivers still head to the Coll dels Reis and the Cap de Formentor mountain road, but the majority of those now skimming Parietti’s curves are pedal powered.
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