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Sam Gyimah is new science minister
Great Barrier Reef: Warmer seas 'turning turtles female'
Pollution hotspots revealed: Check your area
Brexit bill may have broken international environment law, says UN
Exclusive: compliance committee considers complaint alleging government breached Aarhus convention by not consulting public over withdrawal bill
The British government may have breached a major “environmental democracy” law by failing to consult the public when drawing up Brexit legislation.
A UN-backed committee has confirmed it is considering a complaint from Friends of the Earth that the government’s EU withdrawal bill breached the Aarhus convention, which requires public consultation on any new environmental law.
Continue reading...End signalled for European Ariane 5 rocket
Paraguay lagoon sees giant lily pads return
ISS: Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai worried by growth spurt
Heat-stressed koalas hosed down in Australia – video
Volunteers from the Help Save the Wildlife and Bushlands in Campbelltown organisation hose down heat stressed koala bears in the searing Australian heat. Temperatures have reached 47C causing exhaustion and dehydration
Continue reading...The 'imminent mini ice age' myth is back, and it's still wrong | Dana Nuccitelli
We can’t accurately predict solar activity, and a quiet solar cycle would have a small impact on Earth’s climate anyway
Roughly every two years we’re treated to headlines repeating the myth that Earth is headed for an imminent “mini ice age.” It happened in 2013, 2015, and again just recently at the tail end of 2017.
This time around, the myth appears to have been sparked by a Sky News interview with Northumbria University mathematics professor Valentina Zharkova. The story was quickly echoed by the Daily Mail, International Business Times, Sputnik News, Metro, Tru News, and others. Zharkova was also behind the ‘mini ice age’ stories in 2015, based on her research predicting that the sun will soon enter a quiet phase.
Continue reading...Marine wildlife charities' worries over management plan
Wildlife photographer of the year people's choice award - in pictures
The Natural History Museum has chosen 24 of the best images from its Wildlife photographer of the year competition shortlist. Members of the public can vote for their favourite by 5 February 2018.
Country diary: self-sufficient ponies open up the wetlands for wildlife
Waltham Brooks, West Sussex A burst of loud, profane whistles announce the presence of a Cetti’s warbler, darting through the rushes in search of food
The early morning rain has lifted but there is still damp in the air. Konik ponies watch me between their mouthfuls of grass as I make my slow way through the dark, water-logged mud. The small, brown horses – descendants of the wild Tarpans that once roamed Europe – are a hardy, self-sufficient breed, perfectly adapted to grazing wetlands. They are used increasingly by conservation bodies in the UK, as here by the Sussex Wildlife Trust, to control young trees, shrubs and plants that would otherwise grow and dominate habitat like this. The ponies’ grazing clears channels and pools, opens up patches of grass, and creates new opportunities for diverse species of plants, insects, birds and animals to thrive.
Related: Hoof hardy in the snow
Continue reading...Plastic microbeads ban enters force in UK
Manufacturing ban means the tiny beads which harm marine life can no longer be used in cosmetics and personal care products
Plastic microbeads can no longer be used in cosmetics and personal care products in the UK, after a long-promised ban came into effect on Tuesday. The ban initially bars the manufacture of such products and a ban on sales will follow in July.
Thousands of tonnes of plastic microbeads from products such as exfoliating face scrubs and toothpastes wash into the sea every year, where they harm wildlife and can ultimately be eaten by people. The UK government first pledged to ban plastic microbeads in September 2016, following a US ban in 2015.
Continue reading...BBC's Antiques Roadshow to review ivory objects policy
Higher electricity bills if Snowy 2.0 hydro not built, says Frydenberg
Despite costing up to $4.5bn, the feasibility study for ‘Australia’s biggest battery’ finds it would still be economically viable
Australians would pay more for electricity and have more volatile supply if the Snowy 2.0 pumped hydropower project is not built, Josh Frydenberg has said.
The energy and environment minister has strongly argued for the necessity of the scheme in an opinion piece for the Australian Financial Review, despite the feasibility study revealing that its estimated cost had blown out by more than $2bn to between $3.8bn and $4.5bn.
Continue reading...Energy agency rejects Trump plan to prop up coal and nuclear power plants
The unexpected decision by the Republican-controlled body is a blow to the president’s high-profile mission to revive the struggling US coal industry
An independent energy agency on Monday rejected a Trump administration plan to bolster coal-fired and nuclear power plants with subsidies, dealing a blow to the president’s high-profile mission to revive the struggling coal industry.
The decision by the Republican-controlled Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) was unexpected and comes amid repeated promises by Trump to rejuvenate coal as the nation’s top power source. The industry has been besieged by multiple bankruptcies and a steady loss of market share as natural gas and renewable energy have flourished.
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