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MIT researchers turn waste gas into liquid fuel
Successful trial at a pilot plant in China using bacteria to convert exhaust emissions to oil will now be tested at a larger scale
Turning the emissions of power stations, steel mills and garbage dumps into liquid fuels has been demonstrated by MIT researchers using engineered microbes.
The process has been successfully trialled at a pilot plant in China and a much bigger facility is now planned.
Continue reading...Octopus dubbed Casper the friendly ghost could be new species
Small, ghostly-white octopus was found in the deep sea off Hawaii and has been likened to the beloved cartoon character
Scientists say they have discovered what might be a new species of octopus while searching the Pacific Ocean floor near the Hawaiian Islands.
On 27 February, a team found a small light-coloured octopus at a depth of about 2.5 miles.
Continue reading...Roman fort, wolves and bears lost to time
High in the Cambrian mountains of mid Wales, perched on a slope above the chaotically youthful river Afon Tarenig, the bleak aspect of the Roman fort at Cae Gaer speaks of military expediency and urgent purpose.
In the sunshine of early spring it looks almost serene. But to a newly arrived legionary, in the depths of winter, immersed in an alien landscape still home to wolves and bears, it must have felt like the edge of the world.
Continue reading...Oregon becomes first state to pass law to completely eliminate coal-fired power
- Coal currently provides a third of the state’s electricity supply
- State also aims to double amount of renewable energy produced by 2050
Oregon has become the first US state to pass laws to rid itself of coal, committing to eliminate the use of coal-fired power by 2035 and to double the amount of renewable energy in the state by 2040.
Legislation passed by the state’s assembly, which will need to be signed into law by Governor Kate Brown, will transition Oregon away from coal, which currently provides around a third of the state’s electricity supply.
Continue reading...Yellowstone grizzly bears face end of endangered species protection
US federal government says recovery of national park population to more than 700 is a ‘historic success’ but conservationists say move is premature
The federal government is proposing to strip endangered species protections from Yellowstone’s famed grizzly bears, with officials claiming a “historic success” in the recovery of the bear population.
Related: Rangers catch grizzly bear suspected in Yellowstone hiker death
Continue reading...US agency reaches 'holy grail' of battery storage sought by Elon Musk and Gates
Breakthrough in next generation of storage batteries could transform the US electrical grid within five to 10 years, says research agency, Arpa-E
A US government agency says it has attained the “holy grail” of energy – the next-generation system of battery storage, that has has been hotly pursued by the likes of Bill Gates and Elon Musk.
Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (Arpa-E) – a branch of the Department of Energy – says it achieved its breakthrough technology in seven years.
Continue reading...New satellite mapping a 'game changer' against illegal logging
System that provides hard evidence of logging crimes in almost real time gives new hope of combating tropical deforestation
Taken from outer space, the satellite images show illegal loggers cutting a road into a protected area in Peru, part of a criminal enterprise attempting to steal millions of dollars worth of ecological resources.
With the launch of a new satellite mapping system on Wednesday, governments and environmentalists will have access to hard evidence of these types of crimes almost in real time as part of a push by scientists to improve monitoring of tropical deforestation.
Continue reading...Smallest of giant flowers ‘accidentally’ discovered in the Philippines
On Luzon Island, scientists have accidentally discovered the smallest of the giant Rafflesia flowers, a species that may be critically endangered, reports Mongabay
In the rainforests of southeastern Asia, a parasitic plant called Rafflesia produces the world’s largest flowers. Some Rafflesia flowers, for instance, can be a meter and a half in diameter, and can weigh up to 22 pounds (or 10 kilograms). These flowers, called “corpse flower” locally, often smell like rotting flesh.
Now, on Luzon Island in the Phillipines, a team of scientists have discovered the smallest of these giant flowers.
Continue reading...Alarm over lead found in drinking water at US schools
In the wake of the Flint water crisis several schools have shut off their drinking water due to high levels of lead, raising the question: ‘How big is this issue?’
Several schools across the US have either discovered or acted upon evidence of high levels of lead in their drinking water in the wake of the crisis in Flint, Michigan, with one leading expert warning the cases could mark “the tip of the iceberg”.
Related: 'It's all just poison now': Flint reels as families struggle through water crisis
Continue reading...Tiger country? Scientists uncover wild surprises in tribal Bangladesh
Partnering with indigenous groups, conservationists discover a wealth of wildlife in Bangladesh’s most remote region. Including maybe, just maybe, tigers
The locals said there were tigers in the forest. They also said there were sun bear, gaur, dhole and clouded leopard. Few took note, but it turned out, not surprisingly, that locals were right. Conservationists surveying the super-remote, little-known Chittagong Hills Tract region of Bangladesh have taken the country’s first ever photos of sun bear and gaur. And last month they discovered a 13-centimetre pugmark (or pawprint) of a feline, which experts believe is a tiger.
“Despite the tremendous challenges [facing] the natural heritage of Bangladesh – all hope is not lost yet,” said Shahriar Caesar Rahman, the co-founder of the new group, Creative Conservation Alliance (CCA). Rahman and his group, which organized the wildlife survey that employed camera traps, have been working in the Chittagong Hills Tract region for five years by partnering with the local tribes and securing support from Bangladesh’s forest department.
Continue reading...Release of Sensitive Ecological Species Data Access and Management Policy
World's biggest floating solar farm powers up outside London
Five years in planning and due to be finished in early March, more than 23,000 solar panels will be floated on the Queen Elizabeth II reservoir near Heathrow and used to generate power for local water treatment plants
On a vast manmade lake on the outskirts of London, work is nearing completion on what will soon be Europe’s largest floating solar power farm – and will briefly be the world’s biggest.
But few are likely to see the 23,000 solar panels on the Queen Elizabeth II reservoir at Walton-on-Thames, which is invisible to all but Heathrow passengers and a few flats in neighbouring estates.
Continue reading...Former Tepco bosses charged Fukushima meltdown
First criminal action to be taken after 2011 disaster, in which three nuclear reactors went into meltdown after earthquake
Three former executives from Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) have been charged with contributing to deaths and injuries stemming from the triple meltdown in 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Their indictment on Monday marks the start of the first criminal action to be taken in connection with the disaster, which forced the evacuation of 160,000 residents, many of whom are still unable to return to their homes.
Continue reading...Republican candidates' calls to scrap EPA met with skepticism by experts
Trump claims he would dismantle agency but law experts say that would be nigh impossible: ‘I wouldn’t dignify it with a serious reply. Maybe “grow up”’
Amid prolonged bickering with his rivals, Donald Trump outlined a fairly radical proposal during Thursday’s Republican debate: to scrap the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Related: First EPA chief accuses Republicans of ignoring science for political gain
Continue reading...LA gas leak: worst in US history spewed as much pollution as 600,000 cars
Emissions from Aliso Canyon leak, which took 112 days to plug, totalled 97,100 tonnes of methane – equal to annual output of a medium-sized EU country
A natural gas leak in the mountains above Los Angeles was one of the worst accidental discharges of greenhouse gases in US history. A new study shows the months-long disaster resulted in 97,100 metric tonnes of methane being dumped into the atmosphere.
Related: SoCalGas pleads not guilty to criminal charges in massive natural gas leak case
Continue reading...Social media helps fuel China's illegal craze for 'thumb monkeys'
Year of the monkey has sparked a trend for pygmy marmosets, the world’s smallest monkey, as pets. But conservationists warn the animals rarely survive in captivity, reports Mongabay
The “year of the monkey” dawned recently in China – and with it, a trendy new exotic pet. Pygmy marmosets are all the rage among China’s wealthy elite, who are forgoing legality and snapping up baby monkeys at around $4,500 (£3,200) each. The internet has exploded with photos of the so-called “thumb monkeys,” while conservationists and primate scientists are lamenting the situation.
Weighing in at just over 100 grams (equivalent to about 20 US nickels), pygmy marmosets (Cebuella pygmaea) are the world’s smallest monkeys. They’re native to the rainforests of South America’s western Amazon Basin, where they live in small groups of around a dozen individuals. They aren’t considered threatened because of their large range and relative prevalence, but they are in decline, according to the IUCN, primarily due to the pet trade.
Continue reading...New online application form for permits to import and export wildlife and wildlife products
No fin whales to be hunted in Iceland this summer
Director of country’s biggest whaling company says his fleet will not be hunting this season because of problems exporting the meat to Japan
Conservationists are hopeful that an end to commercial whaling in Iceland has moved one step closer following media reports that no fin whales will be hunted there this summer.
Kristjan Loftsson, the director of Iceland’s largest whaling company, told daily newspaper Morgunbladid on Wednesday that Hvalur HF would not be sending out vessels to slaughter the endangered whales this season because of difficulties exporting the meat to the Japanese market.
Continue reading...Queensland solar homes are using more grid electricity than non-solar, says Energex boss
Head of state-owned power distributor says solar households in the south-east previously cut grid consumption but ‘don’t worry so much about their bill now’
Solar-powered homes in south-east Queensland, which boasts the world’s highest concentration of rooftop panels, have begun consuming on average more electricity from the grid than those without solar, the network operator has found.
Terry Effeney, the chief executive of state-owned power distributor Energex, said the trend – which belied the “green agenda” presumed to drive those customers – was among the challenges facing a region that nevertheless stood the best chance globally of making solar the cornerstone of its electricity network.
Continue reading...Would British farmers be better off in or out of the EU?
Environment department ministers are at odds over whether a Brexit would be good for farmers, who receive roughly £2.5-3bn a year in EU subsidies
A battle for the Tory heartlands of the UK countryside has broken out within the government’s ministerial ranks, as David Cameron’s farming minister has defied his boss to urge farmers to vote to leave the EU.
George Eustice, the farming minister, told the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) annual conference on Wednesday that they would be better off out of the EU. “We would do far better as a country if we ended the supremacy of Europe and shaped new fresh-thinking policies that really deliver for our agriculture,” he said.
“The truth of the matter is that if we left the EU there would be an £18bn a year dividend, so could we find the money to spend £2bn a year on farming and the environment? Of course we could. Would we? Without a shadow of a doubt.”
His appeal for exit was a very public breaking of ranks with the secretary of state for environment, farming and rural affairs, Liz Truss. She addressed the conference on Tuesday with a plea to farmers to stay within the EU, calling an exit “a leap into the dark” at a time when farmers are already hard-pressed.
She told the conference: “By voting to remain we can work within a reformed EU to reduce bureaucracy and secure further reform while still enjoying the significant benefits of the single market, which gives us access to 500m consumers. At a time of severe price volatility and global market uncertainty, it would be wrong to take a leap into the dark. The years of complication and risk caused by negotiating withdrawal would be a distraction.”
At stake, for farmers, is the roughly £2.5 to £3bn a year - varying according to the euro exchange rate - that farmers receive from Brussels. This is paid on the basis of the area of land they farm, and efforts they make to improve the environment, for instance by maintaining habitats for wildlife. Farmers also benefit from access to the EU market, which accounts for more than half of all British food and farming exports, amounting to more than £11bn a year.
Despite Eustice’s assurances, it is unclear that a Conservative government after a Brexit would divert similar levels of taxpayer funding to farmers, and neither the prime minister, David Cameron, nor Truss has made such promises.
Such a measure would be deeply controversial, particularly as current subsidies tend to favour the biggest and richest landowners. To put the money in context, the NHS budget boost in the last review was £3.8bn.
Many farmers argue that the benefit from the EU’s subsidy rarely reaches them, in any case: supermarkets factor in the expected income in their calculations of what to pay their suppliers.
The NFU has been carefully neutral on the issue, but did include in its information pack for the 1,400 farmers attending its conference a comparison of the £153 a year paid by the UK per person into the EU with more than £106 per citizen a year from Norway “with no influence” because Norway is not a member. Norway is frequently cited as an alternative model by those favouring an exit.
For the Tory party, farmers and rural communities have always been a bedrock of support. Few rural constituencies outside Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and a few in the south-west of England vote anything but Conservative. But some farmers feel that they have been taken for granted, while buffeted by the forces of international trade. Farmgate prices for produce such as milk, wheat and pigs have plummeted by more than a third in the last year.
Farming votes in the referendum are up for grabs as never before. When the Guardian questioned farmers at the conference on whether they would prefer to remain in or leave, there was a clear split, with a substantial number opting to leave.
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