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British flower power: how home-grown blooms can compete with cheap imports

The Guardian - Sat, 2016-06-11 17:00

The UK spends more than £2bn on cut flowers per year, but around 90% are imported. Now a new breed of growers are determined to grab more of that market, by persuading the public that local and seasonal are the ways to go

Georgie Newbery sometimes has to dodge a hunting barn owl when she rises at 5am to harvest flowers on her seven-acre plot near Wincanton in Somerset. Picking sweet rocket, foxgloves and cornflowers as dawn light streaks over the fields may sound idyllic, but grabbing a cup of tea on a late-May afternoon after despatching her exclusively British-grown posies and bouquets, Newbery laughs at the thought. “If you imagine it’s all standing around in a flower garden with a Roberts radio and a robin singing, you couldn’t be more wrong,” she says, possibly a little tartly.

Related: Is crowdfunding the future of horticulture?

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Tackling pollution: Beijing's electric bikes and buses - in pictures

The Guardian - Sat, 2016-06-11 17:00

Vehicles are the source of a third of the air pollution in the Chinese capital, which restricts their use during episodes of heavy smog. Electric cars, buses, scooters and bicycles offer an alternative, cleaner form of transport

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The humble daisy brings a smile to my face

The Guardian - Sat, 2016-06-11 14:30

South Uist The plant’s uses are many, but the sight of a sunlit field full of daisies is perhaps what we should value most

Daisies are one of our best known and most widely distributed wildflowers, and maybe this is why we sometimes pass them by with barely a second glance. This morning, though, they have stopped me in my tracks and brought a smile to my face.

They line the edge of the path, spangle the open grassland, and have so thoroughly covered one fenced pasture that almost all signs of grass have vanished beneath a blanket of white. In the warm sunshine each and every one turns a bright and open face skywards, a response that gave them their name “day’s eye”.

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The changing world of power generation and consumption

ABC Environment - Sat, 2016-06-11 12:05
Batteries, microgrids, and the possibility of self-sufficiency are now real options for individual households, and in some cases, whole towns.
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Nobel prize winners warn leaving EU poses 'risk' to science

BBC - Sat, 2016-06-11 12:01
A group of 13 Nobel prize-winning scientists warn leaving the EU poses a "key risk" to British science.
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Flying for your life: China's new great wall

ABC Environment - Sat, 2016-06-11 10:30
Australia's migratory shorebirds have just flown 5,000 kilometres northward to stopover in the Yellow Sea. What will they find when they arrive?
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Ellen DeGeneres bewildered at backlash to her Great Barrier Reef request

The Guardian - Sat, 2016-06-11 09:26

Comedian says she put out an announcement because of the need to protect oceans and the reef, and cannot understand what the fuss is all about

The US talkshow queen Ellen DeGeneres is bewildered her call to protect the Great Barrier Reef has sparked a backlash in Australia.

DeGeneres made headlines earlier in the week with the release of a video public service announcement as part of the Remember the Reef campaign.

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Extraterrestrial honour for UK astronaut Tim Peake

BBC - Sat, 2016-06-11 07:30
Astronaut Tim Peake is recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.
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Country Breakfast Features Sat 11

ABC Environment - Sat, 2016-06-11 06:45
From satellites giving information about soil quality to robotic fruit monitoring and water quality sensors for oysters - agricultural technology is being taken up at a rapid rate among Australia's farmers.
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Light pollution 'affects 80% of global population'

BBC - Sat, 2016-06-11 04:08
More than 80% of the world's population lives under light-polluted skies, a study suggests.
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Light pollution atlas shows areas of Earth that cannot see the stars – video

The Guardian - Sat, 2016-06-11 04:00

A team of scientists at the National Centers for Environmental Information in Boulder, Colorado have produced a digital atlas of the Earth that shows the levels of light pollution. The atlas makes use of low-light imaging now available from the NOAA/NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite, calibrated by thousands of ground observations. Light pollution is so severe in some parts of the world that a third of human beings cannot see the Milky Way

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Microbeads, Great Barrier Reef and CO2 turned to stone – green news roundup

The Guardian - Sat, 2016-06-11 00:08

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

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Brexit would worsen UK's air pollution crisis, say experts

The Guardian - Fri, 2016-06-10 23:59

A poll of environmental professionals showed most think the UK benefits from EU air pollution rules

The UK’s air pollution crisis would get worse if the country votes to leave the European Union, according to a new poll of environment professionals.

The UK already has levels of air pollution above legal EU limits in many cities, resulting in 40,000 early deaths a year, while ministers are currently lobbying in Brussels against lower air pollution limits.

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The week in wildlife – in pictures

The Guardian - Fri, 2016-06-10 23:00

Tibetan antelopes, tussling Indian rat snakes and Europe’s last primeval forest are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world

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Paris floods made almost twice as likely by climate change, say scientists

The Guardian - Fri, 2016-06-10 21:06

Manmade global warming greatly increased the risk of extreme rain affecting the French capital, analysis shows

The Paris floods, that saw extreme rainfall swell the river Seine to its highest level in decades, were made almost twice as likely because of the manmade emissions driving global warming, scientists have found.

A three-day period of heavy rain at the end of May saw tens of thousands of people evacuated across France, and the capital’s normally busy river closed to traffic because the water levels were so high under bridges. As artworks in the Louvre were moved to safety and Paris’s cobbled walkways were submerged, the French president, François Hollande, blamed the floods on climate change.

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Yorkshire fracking approval may be unlawful, campaigners say

The Guardian - Fri, 2016-06-10 20:39

Decision to allow shale gas tests in village of Kirby Misperton could be challenged in court, Friends of the Earth says

Anti-fracking campaigners have claimed that a decision to allow energy companies to drill for shale gas in Yorkshire could be challenged in court.

The fracking firm Third Energy was given permission last month to carry out test drilling at a site in Kirby Misperton in Rydale, North Yorkshire, even after locals opposed the application.

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Suncatcher: the road to a solar powered global transport network – video

The Guardian - Fri, 2016-06-10 20:37

The world is covered in more than 40m miles of road networks. What if this network could act like solar panels, and what if we could power our vehicles with the energy generated by this? In 2009, these questions formed the beginning of a vision for the future for Sten De Wit at the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research in Delft, whose ideas are being put into practice with SolaRoad

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Climate scientists have warned us of coral bleaching for years. It's here | John Abraham

The Guardian - Fri, 2016-06-10 20:00

Coral bleaching is becoming an increasingly frequent and severe problem in a hotter world

Readers may have noticed that it’s been about a month since my last article. In recent weeks I presented guest articles in place of my own pieces. The reason for my absence was due to the adoption I was finalizing in the USA (my second successful adoption!). Anyone who has adopted a child can attest to the time and travel requirements. I intend that this article marks my return to near weekly posting and I thank my readers for their patience.

Coral reefs are important for the health of the ocean biosystem; they support and harbor a high density of diverse organisms. While there are reefs located in many locations around the world, people often think first about the Great Barrier Reef off the Australian coast. It is known for its size and beauty; it brings travelers close to nature.

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Petra, Jordan: Huge monument found 'hiding in plain sight'

BBC - Fri, 2016-06-10 19:47
Archaeologists using satellite imagery discover a huge, ceremonial monument at the Petra World Heritage site in southern Jordan.
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Hummingbird moths colonise UK

BBC - Fri, 2016-06-10 17:45
A hummingbird-like moth may have colonised the UK, according to conservationists.
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