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Environmental records shattered as climate change 'plays out before us'
Temperatures, sea levels and carbon dioxide all hit milestones amid extreme weather in 2015, major international ‘state of the climate’ report finds
The world is careening towards an environment never experienced before by humans, with the temperature of the air and oceans breaking records, sea levels reaching historic highs and carbon dioxide surpassing a key milestone, a major international report has found.
Related: Anthrax outbreak triggered by climate change sickens dozens in Arctic Circle
Continue reading...The new green grid: utilities deploy ‘virtual power plants’
Yale Environment 360: By linking together networks of energy-efficient buildings, solar installations, and batteries, a growing number of companies in the US and Europe are helping utilities reduce energy demand at peak hours and supply targeted areas with renewably generated electricity
The tens of thousands of tons of natural gas that surged into the Southern California sky late last year were supposed to have fueled the region’s power plants and heated its homes. Instead, the massive leak at the Aliso Canyon storage site left California electricity providers racing to replace the lost supplies to avoid blackouts and recurring outages in the coming months.
But Los Angeles area utilities aren’t solely seeking more fossil fuels to fill the gap in natural gas. They are also turning to “virtual power plants”: sprawling networks of independent batteries, solar panels, and energy-efficient buildings that are tied together and remotely controlled by software and data systems. The goal of these virtual power plants is to collectively reduce customers’ energy demand at peak hours and provide renewable energy supplies in targeted areas. This would allow utilities to offset some of the needs for power from conventional sources and avoid disruption on the grid.
Continue reading...Leslie Jesch obituary
My father, Leslie Jesch, who has died aged 90, was a leading authority on the application of solar energy and a pioneer in the development of renewables internationally, and especially across Europe.
He was born László Jesch in Budapest, the son of László Jesch, an electrical engineer and college principal, and his wife Ilona (nee Láng), who before she married had supported her large family by making the popular Hungarian food tarhonya, a sort of egg-based pasta. From the Benedictine monks who educated him he developed a deep appreciation of European history and culture, and he learned several languages.
Continue reading...Raccoon, mongoose and cabbage among invasive species banned from UK
New EU regulation blacklists 37 non-native plant and animal species in a bid to tackle threats to native wildlife and economic losses
The north American raccoon, an Asian hornet and an American cabbage are among 37 invasive species that will be banned from being brought into the UK from Wednesday when a new EU regulation comes into effect.
The continent-wide rules now make it illegal to import, keep, breed or grow, transport, sell or use, or release into the environment without a permit the listed invasive, non-native plant and animal species. But the ban will no longer apply when then UK leaves the EU.
Continue reading...Farmers and migrant workers: how has Brexit affected you?
If you are a farmer or migrant worker employed on a farm we’d like to hear from you
We’re interested in hearing from farmers who are concerned about the effect losing season workers from Europe could have.
If you are a seasonal worker or a farmer who employs overseas workers we’d like to hear from you. How has Brexit affected you? If you have travelled from Europe to work on a farm in the UK we’d like to hear your experiences too. You can share your stories with us by filling in the form below. We’ll use some of your contributions in our ongoing reporting.
Continue reading...Research head urges UK to seize Brexit opportunity
UK's carbon footprint rises 3%
Greenhouse gas emissions increased slightly between 2012 and 2013, official figures show
The “carbon footprint” for the pollution caused by UK consumption has increased slightly, official figures show.
The amount of greenhouse gases linked to goods and services consumed by UK households, including emissions from the foreign manufacture of imported products, rose by 3% between 2012 and 2013, the most recent data shows.
Continue reading...Are local efforts to save coral reefs bound to fail?
Two recent reports on the state of the world’s coral reefs appear to contradict each other. But which is right?
Over the last six weeks, scientists have published two major reports on coral reef resilience that appear to contradict each other. The first - “Bright spots among the world’s coral reefs” was produced by 39 scientists led by Professor Josh Cinner of James Cook University in Australia and drew on data from 6000 reef surveys from all over the world. Cinner et al concluded that those reefs that were sustainably managed had a much better chance of withstanding bleaching impacts related to global warming and periodic climate events like El Niño. The second however suggested remote coral reefs not subject to human stressors like overfishing or pollution were faring no better than those close to populated areas and that ecosystems management made no real difference to the overall health of reefs. So which is right?
“Coral reef degradation is not correlated with local human population density,” by Professor John Bruno and co-author Abel Valdivia of the University of North Carolina was published on 20 July. It suggests that contrary to prevailing scientific opinion, local pressures do not act synchronously with global stressors (most notably warming) and that their impact on reefs is negligible. According to Valdivia “Widespread arguments that coral reef degradation is mostly caused by local factors are unsupported. We found the problem is better explained by global impacts such as climate change.”
Continue reading...Mark Rylance heads list of artists calling for end to BP cultural sponsorship
Oscar-winning actor among 214 signatories of an open letter demanding cancellation of oil firm’s new five-year arts sponsorship deal
Hundreds of figures in the arts and science, including Oscar-winning actor Mark Rylance, artist Conrad Atkinson, composer Matthew Herbert and author Naomi Klein, have called for BP’s new five-year sponsorship deals with some of Britain’s leading cultural institutions to be cancelled.
Rylance, who is the former artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe theatre and star of Steven Spielberg’s new film The BFG, heads a list of 214 signatories to a letter in the Times claiming that BP uses art sponsorship to help develop its interests in oil extraction, which must be reduced to avoid rapid climate change.
Continue reading...Will driverless cars rule the road by 2030?
Giant sinkhole takes huge chunk of Australian back yard – video
Dramatic footage from Channel Nine shows a widening sinkhole swallowing a good portion of a back yard in Ipswich, Queensland. The house is owned by a retired couple. A century-old mine shaft has been blamed for the sudden emergence of a six- to eight-metre hole filled with water. The mayor of Ipswich, Paul Pisasale, told AAP he had assured Lyn and Ray McKay that their house would not disappear overnight and engineers were confident of fixing the sinkhole. ‘It’s an exploratory shaft that goes down about 100 metres and there’s no need to panic about a neighbourhood falling in, and we will take all the steps to get Lyn and Ray back in their house’
• The science behind sinkholes: terrifying and relatively unpredictable incidents
Continue reading...South Australia takes on networks over soaring grid charges
Better than money – yellow-rattle's priceless gifts
Blackwater Carr, Norfolk If not wealth for cuckoos, the flowers are indisputable riches for bumblebees
As I write I have a small canvas bag of yellow-rattle seed on my desk. It bulges now like a full purse and the disk-like flattened seeds jangle a little like cash when shuggled about. In fact, if I bought it commercially, it would be the equivalent of £30, which is not bad for two hours’ work.
I find it intriguing to discover how a suite of old names once did link yellow-rattle to manmade coin. In Somerset Rhinanthus minor was known simply as “money” and in Leicestershire as “money-grass”. I love most, however, a wry Lanarkshire coinage: “gowk’s sixpences” – “cuckoo’s sixpences”. It was probably intended to suggest the idea of fool’s gold, but for me it carries a different set of associations.
Continue reading...Mushroom handplanes and wooden surfboards: the surf companies tackling ocean waste – gallery
Ocean waste is a serious problem for companies emotionally and physically connected to the sea, but that connection also gives them a strong incentive to find solutions, said the founder of outdoor clothing company Finisterre in a recent Guardian debate. Here we profile some of the companies doing just that
Continue reading...Have we massively underestimated the battery storage market?
Household battery storage costs: So near and yet so far
UN tries to hide involvement in deleting Australia from its climate report
Federal environment department says Unesco sought and was granted heavy redactions in freedom of information documents
The United Nations has tried to cover up its involvement in the Australian government’s successful attempt to have all mentions of the country removed from a report on climate change and world heritage sites, freedom of information documents show.
In May, Unesco published a report with the UN’s environment program, Unep, and the Union of Concerned Scientists about the impact of climate change on world heritage sites, which were also major tourist attractions.
Continue reading...Tesla, SolarCity closer to creating solar, storage, EV powerhouse
Big coal generators still fear renewables, despite gas boost
Energy companies are dead already, they just haven’t realised it
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