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Citizen science bags five-planet haul
Norway backs EU fishing policies remaining during Brexit transition
North Sea curbs to last at least 21 months despite Michael Gove’s suggestion Britain would take back control of its waters
The EU’s insistence that quotas under the common fisheries policy for the seas around the UK will remain in force during a Brexit transition period has been backed up by the Norwegian government, dealing a fresh blow for Downing Street.
Pers Sandberg, the Norwegian fisheries minister, said he expected talks between the EU, UK and Norway over fishing rights to be complex and likely to conclude at the end of a transition period.
Continue reading...UK satellite to make movies from space
Country diary: a marsh harrier causes havoc among the wildfowl
Farlington Marshes, Hampshire: Thousands of waders and other birds exploded into flight, blossoming across the sky like fireworks
As I raised my binoculars to scan the reed bed for bearded tits, a stocky, chocolate-brown bird of prey lazily flapped across my field of vision. “Marsh harrier!” I exclaimed as it drifted a few metres above the fronded stems, its wings held in a characteristic shallow V. The harrier was silhouetted against the setting sun but, as it pirouetted around, its pale-coloured crown flared gold in the late afternoon light.
Marsh harriers were once widespread in Britain but, by the early 1970s, persecution and habitat loss saw the population dwindle to a single breeding pair. Thanks to a reduction in pesticide use and efforts to improve and expand their preferred wetland habitat, this number has risen to about 400 pairs.
Continue reading...Home biogas: turning food waste into renewable energy
Huge black hole blasts out 'double burp'
Conservationists decry NSW shark net trial after protected species caught and killed
One bull shark caught during November and December period along with marine turtles and rays
New South Wales shark nets caught just one targeted shark but continued to kill protected species this summer, a result environmentalists have described as “unfathomable”.
Figures released this week from a trial of shark nets on northern NSW’s beaches show they have caught a single bull shark in November and December.
Continue reading...A plastic-free high street by 2042?
Brown snake bite kills man who tried to defend dog
Despite administration of antivenom, 24-year-old died within an hour of being bitten on the finger in NSW backyard
A man is dead after he was bitten by a brown snake while trying to help his dog in the north-west of New South Wales.
The 24-year-old was rushed to hospital by a family member but died within an hour of being bitten on the finger in a backyard in Tamworth on Wednesday night.
Continue reading...Thirsty city
Sustainable shopping: is it possible to fly sustainably?
UK’s wasted chances to recycle and renew | Letters
In view of the appalling revelations that the UK has been shipping vast quantities of plastic to China for many years (Editorial, 8 January), would it not be a good idea to have the UK lead once more in something and have genuine recycling plants set up here in the country? I mean genuine plants to process plastic from the UK and the rest of Europe, not just depots for onward reselling as seems to have been the case.
There are initiatives to use such waste plastic in innovative ways. For example there is a small startup company in Scotland, MacRebur, developing ways to reduce the amount of toxic bitumen in asphalt by substituting a proportion of waste plastic into the mix. Surely we should urge government and private industry to build and develop plants to deal with the problem now, before we are knee-deep in bottles?
Ian Paul
York
Trust’s critics can’t see the wood for the trees | Letters
The response in your letters section to the northern forest raised some useful points (Development for the north? Let them eat wood, 9 January). However, drawing parallels between the Woodland Trust’s native woodland policy and xenophobia demonstrates ignorance of the ecology and the conservation of semi-natural woodlands. Britain’s native woodlands are so diverse because of the association and dependency of species that have co-evolved over several thousand years.
The accusation that we create “plantations of birch and rowan and field maple, producing scrub rather than woodland” couldn’t be further from the truth (and, by the way, scrub habitat has huge conservation value). We use local tree and shrub species to create diverse, functioning and resilient habitats for biodiversity and local communities.
Continue reading...How green are the Tories?
Priest to chain herself to tree at Euston in protest against HS2 felling plans
Residents say they have been pushed into taking direct action to save the 200 trees around train station in central London
A priest is to chain herself to a tree outside Euston station in central London in a protest against the felling of more than 200 trees around the station to make way for the HS2 rail line.
Dozens of giant London plane trees in Euston Square Gardens are among those earmarked to be cut down to provide temporary sites for construction vehicles and a taxi rank displaced by work at the station.
Continue reading...It's an environmentalist's dream – but will May's green plan ever be reality?
The PM has finally made the environment a priority. But past double-dealing damages confidence in the government’s eco plan proposals
The government’s new 25-year plan conjures up an environmentalist’s dream, from huge new nature reserves to protecting our long-neglected but life-giving soils. The nation’s beleaguered wildlife, toxic urban air and polluted waters certainly need it.
The question is whether turning the plan into reality will become a political nightmare when confronted with vested interests or lack of Treasury funds. Such ghouls have shattered far less ambitious goals in the past.
Continue reading...Government indecision leaves £1.3bn Welsh tidal lagoon project in limbo
Tory politician Charles Hendry, in independent review, says he’s hopeful Swansea will receive backing for plan
Plans for a £1.3bn tidal power lagoon in Swansea could still be backed by ministers despite government indecision on whether to support it, according to the author of an independent review on the project.
Charles Hendry, a Conservative politician and former energy minister, enthusiastically supported the scheme a year ago as a source of clean power and UK jobs.
Continue reading...UK retailers see rise in sales of reusable coffee cups
Home and kitchenware shops report growth in sales of portable mugs as government hints at a tax on disposable cups
Sales of reusable coffee cups are soaring in the UK, retailers are reporting, as the government hints at a tax on disposable cups.
Argos, which is part of the Sainsbury’s Group, said it had sold 537% more portable cups in December 2017 than the same month the previous year. Meanwhile, kitchenware chain Lakeland reported an increase in sales of more than 100% month-on-month, homeware company Robert Dyas reported a 50% lift year-on-year.
Continue reading...Theresa May defends 'long-term' plastic waste plan
Conservatives' 25-year green plan: main points at a glance
Moves to cut plastic, create a new environmental watchdog and boost wildlife habitats are among the new measures
One of the most heavily trailed announcements is the end of an exemption for small shops from England’s 5p plastic bag charge. The loophole was an anomaly compared with similar schemes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It was also imposed against the wishes of corner shop owners at the time, with three small business trade associations opposing being exempted on the grounds it would be confusing for customers. “Its abolition is long overdue,” said Mary Creagh, chair of the environmental audit committee of MPs. The change will affect 3.4bn bags handed out at about 200,000 stores each year.
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