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Powershop signs huge deal for solar, wind projects – “stunned” by low prices
The era of nuclear decommissioning
Dying in agony
Space shuttle Columbia's final mission
Surfers Against Sewage urge MPs to make parliament plastic-free
Campaigners ask Westminster to ‘drive war on plastic waste’ and Prince Charles calls for action
Campaigners are demanding that the UK parliament cuts its use of throwaway plastics, as new figures show the Westminster estate purchased more than 2m plastic straws, bottled drinks, plastic-lined coffee cups, food sachets and cutlery items last year.
Freedom of information requests submitted by Surfers Against Sewage show that hundreds of thousands of items of plastic cutlery, more than a million takeaway coffee cups and nearly 22,000 plastic straws were used last year in the Commons and Lords.
Continue reading...Blue Planet gift from Theresa May to remind Beijing of plastic waste
Boxset comes with message from David Attenborough as PM hopes for China’s help to cut pollution
Theresa May will present Xi Jinping with a Blue Planet boxset when the two meet in Beijing on Thursday, but the Chinese president may have already seen the BBC series – considering its huge popularity in his country.
The seven-part series was watched by millions across the globe, and proved especially popular in China where an estimated 26 million people saw the first episode and approximately 100 million watched the second online, resulting in the country’s internet slowing to glacial pace.
Luxembourg PM watches GovSat-1 space launch
Chris Packham memoir voted UK's favourite piece of nature writing
Naturalist describes accolade as ‘Boaty McBoatface in book form’ after Fingers in the Sparkle Jar beats Wind in the Willows and The Peregrine
When academics asked readers to vote for Britain’s favourite piece of nature writing, they probably didn’t expect a celebrity memoir about Asperger’s to trounce otters, badgers and peregrines.
But Chris Packham has seen off famous poets and naturalists such as John Clare, Kathleen Jamie and Gilbert White, as well as much-loved children’s classics The Wind in the Willows and Tarka the Otter, to top the online poll organised by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
Continue reading...Global use of mosquito nets for fishing 'endangering humans and wildlife'
Study warns that use of anti-malarial nets may reduce people’s protection and affect fish stocks, and calls for urgent research into potential impacts
Anti-malarial mosquito nets are being used to catch fish around the world, according to the first global survey, risking harm to people and fish stocks.
More research is urgently needed to assess these impacts, say the scientists, but they also caution that the draconian bans on mosquito net fishing seen in some countries may cause more harm than good, particularly where people rely on the fish caught to survive.
Continue reading...Hong Kong bans ivory trade in 'historic' vote
The 'super blue blood Moon' across the world
Forests fall, animals die, desert looms: Uganda's burning problem – in pictures
Charcoal is an integral part of everyday life in Uganda, where most people rely on some form of wood fuel to cook or boil water. For many, the sale of trees also provides a valuable income. Yet this levelling of the landscape, which causes loss of habitat for wildlife and leads to climate change, is unsustainable
All photographs by Jennifer Huxta
Continue reading...Hong Kong votes to ban domestic ivory sales
Lawmakers overwhelmingly vote for the bill to abolish trade by 2021, which will shut down a massive ivory market and throw a ‘lifeline’ to elephants
Hong Kong has voted to ban ivory sales in a landmark move to end the infamous trade in the city.
Lawmakers overwhelmingly voted for Wednesday’s bill, which will abolish the trade by 2021, following China’s complete ban on ivory sales that went into effect at the end of last year.
Continue reading...Cambodian forest defenders killed after confronting illegal loggers
Three-person team reported to have been attacked by government forces while patrolling in the Keo Seima wildlife conservation sanctuary
Soldiers in an area of north-eastern Cambodia where illicit logging and smuggling are rife are reported to have killed a forest protection ranger, a military police officer and a conservation worker in apparent retaliation for their seizure of equipment from illegal loggers, officials have said.
Keo Sopheak, a senior environmental official in Mondulkiri province, said the three-person team was attacked late Tuesday afternoon after patrolling in the Keo Seima wildlife conservation sanctuary. He said the dead civilian was a Cambodian employee of the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society.
Continue reading...Killer whale says 'hello'
Cryonics: Your body preserved for future revival?
Australian trees 'sweat' to survive extreme heatwaves, researchers reveal
Climate experiment shows trees release water but stop absorbing carbon in extreme heat
Australian researchers growing trees in climate change conditions have found the leaves “sweat” to survive extreme heatwaves.
The year-long experiment showed that trees continue to release water through their leaves as an evaporative cooling system during periods of extreme heat, despite the carbon-fixing process of photosynthesis grinding to a halt.
Continue reading...Terry the green sea turtle practises for release by swimming with predators – video
Footage taken at the Sealife Melbourne aquarium shows a green sea turtle that was rescued from a beach on the Mornington peninsula swimming laps alongside predators to prepare for his release into the wild. Terry the turtle has a phalanx of divers to act as bodyguards for his first foray into the tank
Continue reading...Stripes of wildflowers across farm fields could cut pesticide spraying
The stripy fields have been planted across England as part of a trial to boost the natural predators of pests that attack cereal crops
Long strips of bright wildflowers are being planted through crop fields to boost the natural predators of pests and potentially cut pesticide spraying.
The strips were planted on 15 large arable farms in central and eastern England last autumn and will be monitored for five years, as part of a trial run by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH).
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