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A Big Country September 24, 2016
Andrew Veitch obituary
Andrew Veitch, who has died aged 70, was one of those journalists with a sustained talent for self-invention: a talent driven by enthusiasm, curiosity and a generous sense of responsibility. It took him to Channel 4 News as science correspondent, covering health and environment stories, as well as the occasional international crisis, and then from 2003 to BBC World, working as a freelance producer, writer and presenter of documentaries made by Rockhopper Productions.
However, Andy started in print, joining the Guardian in 1971. He became a subeditor in the features department – taking the reporter’s typewritten prose and the photographer’s printed pictures and composing them into finished newspaper pages to be steered through a complex process of hot metal production – but metamorphosed into a medical correspondent.
Continue reading...Wildlife trade summit is a 'do or die' moment for endangered animals
Conservationists urge countries to give imperilled species the highest level of protection at the global Cites summit opening on Saturday to prevent them becoming extinct in the wild
A global wildlife summit opening on Saturday is a “do or die” moment for endangered animals around the world, say conservationists, from iconic species such as elephants and lions to lesser known, but equally troubled, creatures such as devil rays and the psychedelic rock gecko.
The summit in Johannesburg brings together 181 nations to crack down on wildlife trafficking, currently a $20bn-a-year criminal enterprise, and to ensure the legal trade in food, skins, pets and traditional remedies does not threaten the survival of species. The member nations of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) will vote on proposals to toughen or loosen trade bans and regulations for over 500 species.
Continue reading...Skeleton find could rewrite Roman history
The week in wildlife – in pictures
A dozing brown bear, hungry badger and a very hairy caterpillar are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world
Continue reading...Dutch parliament votes to close down country's coal industry
Non-binding vote for 55% cut in CO2 emissions will require closure of remaining five plants and ensure country meets its Paris climate commitments
The Dutch parliament has voted for a 55% cut in CO2 emissions by 2030, which would require the closure of all the country’s coal-fired power plants.
The unexpected vote on Thursday night by 77 to 72 would bring the Netherlands clearly into line with the Paris climate agreement, with some of the most ambitious climate policies in Europe.
Continue reading...Existing coal, oil and gas fields will blow carbon budget – study
Expansion of fossil fuel extraction amounts to ‘climate denial’, says thinktank Oil Change International, but observers argue some additional oil and gas could be safe. Climate Home reports
The world’s working coal mines and oil and gas fields contain enough carbon to push the world beyond the threshold for catastrophic climate change, according to a report released on Thursday.
If all the existing fuel were to be burned, projects currently operating or under construction could be expected to release 942Gt CO2, said the report by US-based thinktank Oil Change International (OCI).
Continue reading...Ivory crackdown, Greenland ice loss and Asian hornets – 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...Norway's wolf cull pits sheep farmers against conservationists
Norway’s recent decision to destroy 70% of its tiny endangered population of wolves shocked conservationists worldwide and saw 35,000 sign a local petition. But in a region dominated by sheep farming support for the cull runs deep
Conservation groups worldwide were astonished to hear of the recent, unprecedented decision to destroy 70% of the Norway’s tiny and endangered population of 68 wolves, the biggest cull for almost a century.
But not everyone in Norway is behind the plan. The wildlife protection group Predator Alliance Norway, for example, has campaign posters that talk of wolves as essential for nature, and a tourist attraction for Norway.
Continue reading...An indigenous community's battle to save their home in the Amazon – in pictures
There are currently over 60 major hydroelectric dam projects in the Amazon. The third largest project is the Belo Monte on the Xingu River, Brazil, which has already displaced 20,000 indigenous and riverine people. Aaron Vincent Elkaim documents the story of the Munduruku tribe, who are fighting against the industrialisation of this region
Continue reading...Terns flee warming temperatures in epic migration north to Alaska
Researchers on north-west coast of Alaska startled to discover Caspian terns an incredible 1,000 miles further north than species had been previously recorded
Eyebrows would be raised if American crocodiles, found on the southern tip of Florida, decided to relocate to New York’s Fifth Avenue or Moroccan camels suddenly joined the tourist throng outside Buckingham Palace in London. Yet this is the scale of species shift that appears to be under way in Alaska.
In July, researchers in Cape Krusenstern national monument on the north-west coast of Alaska were startled to discover a nest containing Caspian terns on the gravelly beach of a lagoon. The birds were an incredible 1,000 miles further north than the species had been previously recorded.
Continue reading...Ratifiying the Paris agreement will be a major step but must be the first of many
Making the accord legally binding is not enough to guarantee the world keeps warming within agreed limits. That will take much more - not least ending our reliance on fossil fuels
In a rare show of international unity, more than 30 countries this week declared their plans to translate into national laws the Paris agreement on climate change.
As a result, by the end of this year, or soon after, the accord should come into effect and become binding under international law.
Continue reading...My Feed: @Twitchathon
Bird flu poses threat to penguins - scientists
In the service of the queen, hornets hunt day and night
Marshwood Vale, Dorset Workers grab their prey in flight, and dismember it, discarding all but the meaty thorax before returning to the nest
On the way upstairs, I hear a deep, droning buzz, loud as a distant engine. Then the sound of crashing as something collides weightily with the lampshade. Sudden silence. Where has it gone? Ah, there she is, resting on the wall by the bed, banded abdomen poised and pulsing, brown legs spread, one antenna delicately patting the wallpaper. Vespa crabro vexator, the European hornet subspecies found south of a line running from the Severn to the Wash.
Unlike bees and wasps, hornets fly both day and night, preying on moths and insects. They are attracted to light and, if we leave the bedroom window open on warm autumn evenings, they tumble inside. We have to turn off the exterior sensor-activated security light completely, otherwise it will be on all night as they dive-bomb the bulb, their bright bodies illuminated gold like sparks from a bonfire.
Continue reading...Incumbents erect another barrier to solar, storage and shared energy
Apple aims to buy McLaren Technology Group, Financial Times report claims
Australians waste $10bn of food a year and Gen Y is largely to blame, says report
Survey finds households wasting up to $1,100 of food each year with problem worst in capital cities
Australians waste $10bn of food annually with “excitable” Generation Y consumers the worst offenders, according to a new report.
The RaboDirect Financial Health Barometer 2016 Food and Farming Report found that households wasted up to $1,100 worth of food each year, or 14% of their weekly groceries, with one in four Gen Y consumers saying they threw out up to 20% of their weekly groceries.
Continue reading...Big W.A. blackout can’t be blamed on renewables, doesn’t make headlines
Seeds and water attract backyard birds
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