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Whale killed by cruise ship near New York amid upsurge in cetacean strikes

The Guardian - Sat, 2014-05-24 23:13

• Sei whale carcass dragged into Hudson River
• Strike is third in north-east waters in recent weeks

A cruise ship heading for New York this month struck and killed a whale and dragged it into the Hudson River, part of a higher-than-usual rate of strikes along the eastern seaboard for this time of year, a federal agency said.

There were three whale strikes recently, including one in which a cruise ship hit a sei whale and did not discover it until it reached port, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

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Fracking in Tunbridge Wells: 'Where is it going to stop?'

The Guardian - Sat, 2014-05-24 01:51

Residents in the Kent Weald react with mixture of fear and enthusiasm to news of shale oil reserves and plans to change the law to allowing fracking without clearance

Residents of Kent have reacted angrily to a government announcement that fracking companies will no longer need to ask permission before drilling beneath their homes.

In Tunbridge Wells, Sue Reddick, a local housekeeper, said she was shocked to learn the government was preparing to amend trespass laws to allow companies to operate beneath homes without first asking the owner’s permission.

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Sloth baby surprises keepers at London zoo

The Guardian - Fri, 2014-05-23 19:22
Two-toed sloths can take up to decade to bond and breed, but 'sneaky' Marilyn and Leander needed just six months to mate

A pair of sloths have speeded up their usual slow courtship to produce London zoo's first baby sloth – to the surprise of their keepers.

Keepers at London zoo were shocked to discover two-toed sloth Marilyn was pregnant as they were unaware she had mated with male partner Leander, who arrived from Germany in 2012 to be paired with her.

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Meet the top 10 newly discovered species of 2014

The Guardian - Fri, 2014-05-23 03:00
Experts pick most striking creatures – including a carnivorous raccoon – from over 18,000 species identified in the last year

• See a gallery of top 10 species here

A tree-living raccoon from the cloud forests of the Andes, a sea anenome that burrows into Antarctic glaciers and ultra-hardy bacteria that thrive in supposedly sterile clean rooms are all among the top 10 newly discovered species of 2014.

The list, as selected by an international panel of experts from the 18,000 new species revealed in the last 12 months, aims to highlight the undiscovered richness of life on Earth at a time when human activities are driving species extinct at a rate unprecedented since a giant meteorite strike wiped out the dinosaurs.

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New issue of the ecological communities newsletter available

Department of the Environment - Thu, 2014-05-22 18:12
Issue 18 of Communities for Communities is now available
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Western Australian Beche-de-mer Fishery

Department of the Environment - Thu, 2014-05-22 16:12
Agency application on ecological sustainability - comments close 23 June 2014
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Return of the European bison

The Guardian - Wed, 2014-05-21 16:10

Europe's largest beast is to roam the forests of Romania after 200 years. Adam Vaughan witnesses the buzz as a herd of 17 is released in the Carpathian mountains

The crowd surges forward against the barrier, cameraphones are held aloft, children are hoisted on to shoulders. The celebrities, the first European bison about to set their hooves in this remote Romanian valley in the southern Carpathian mountains for two centuries, wait in the shadows of a huge trailer.

The forest, already home to bears and packs of wolves, is the final destination for 17 of Europe's largest land mammal, some of whom have been travelling hitched to lorries for five days from as far as Sweden. It will be their first time out of captivity.

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Landmark sites in the US at risk from climate change – in pictures

The Guardian - Wed, 2014-05-21 03:23

From Statue of Liberty to Fort Monroe, a string of national monuments and heritage sites are becoming vulnerable to rising seas, floods and wildfires according to a report from the Union of Concerned Scientists

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Leave seashells on the seashore or risk damaging ecosystem, says study

The Guardian - Mon, 2014-05-19 23:47
Beachcombers and beach cleaning equipment reduce shell numbers and endanger some organisms

You might think twice next time you snag a seashell from the beach and drop it into your pocket: you might be altering the seaside environment.

In a study more than 30 years in the making, researchers have found that the removal of shells from beaches could damage ecosystems and endanger organisms that rely on shells for their survival.

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Winner of the 2014 Sharon Sullivan National Heritage award announced

Department of the Environment - Mon, 2014-05-19 13:49
Australian Heritage Council today announced this year’s recipient of the Sharon Sullivan National Heritage Award.
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Review of the Water Act 2007

Department of the Environment - Fri, 2014-05-16 17:14
The overarching focus of the Review is to consider whether the Water Act is delivering on its objectives effectively and with the minimum necessary regulatory burden imposed on the water industry, water managers and irrigators. Submissions close Friday 4 July 2014.
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NGER (Measurement) Amendment Determination 2014

Department of the Environment - Fri, 2014-05-16 17:11
National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (Measurement) Amendment Determination 2014 - consultation draft - Comments close 5 June 2014
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NGER (Measurement) Amendment Determination 2014

Department of the Environment - Fri, 2014-05-16 17:11
National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (Measurement) Amendment Determination 2014 - consultation draft - Comments close 5 June 2014
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Carbon Farming Initiative - Application to vary methodology determination

Department of the Environment - Fri, 2014-05-16 14:50
Application to vary methodology determination Native forest protection (Avoided deforestation) - comments close 25 June 2014
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National Waste Policy Implementation Report 2012 and 2013

Department of the Environment - Thu, 2014-05-15 16:18
The National Waste Policy Implementation Report 2012 and 2013 sets out progress against the National Waste Policy’s five-year implementation plan.
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Notice of intention to vary the Ambient Air Quality NEPM

Department of the Environment - Wed, 2014-05-14 14:17
On 29 April 2014, Ministers signalled their intention to vary the National Environment Protection (Ambient Air Quality) Measure for particles reflecting the latest scientific understanding on health risks arising from particle pollution. The...
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Portfolio Budget Statements 2014-15

Department of the Environment - Tue, 2014-05-13 20:20
The Environment Portfolio Budget Statements for 2014-15 were released on May 13 2014.
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Public consultation: draft approval bilateral agreement between the Commonwealth and Queensland

Department of the Environment - Tue, 2014-05-13 19:16
The Department is seeking public comment on a draft assessment bilateral agreement with the Queensland. Comments close 13 June 2014.
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Traces of cocaine in our tap water don't prove we have a problem

The Guardian - Tue, 2014-05-13 01:37
The cocaine byproduct is just one of the many traces of pharmaceutical compounds and other contaminants found in our water – and new contaminants are discovered all the time. But should we really be worried?

According to various headlines this weekend, we Brits use so much cocaine that traces of the drug have been found in our water supply. A study by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) aimed at assessing the danger from pharmaceutical compounds in drinking water revealed that even after intensive purification treatment, minute quantities of benzoylecgonine – the metabolised form of cocaine – were found at four sites in Britain. So are we a nation of coke-heads? And does the presence of something related to a class-A drug in the water we drink actually matter?

The answer to the first question, says Sue Pennison of DWI, the independent body that ensures the water companies supply water fit to drink, is not clear. Benzoylecgonine, she notes, "is also an ingredient in a popular muscle-rub, and there's no way of telling which it came from".

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Honeybees abandoning hives and dying due to insecticide use, research finds

The Guardian - Sat, 2014-05-10 01:45
Harvard study shows neonicotionoids are devastating colonies by triggerring colony collapse disorder

The mysterious vanishing of honeybees from hives can be directly linked to insectcide use, according to new research from Harvard University. The scientists showed that exposure to two neonicotinoids, the world's most widely used class of insecticide, lead to half the colonies studied dying, while none of the untreated colonies saw their bees disappear.

"We demonstrated that neonicotinoids are highly likely to be responsible for triggering 'colony collapse disorder' in honeybee hives that were healthy prior to the arrival of winter," said Chensheng Lu, an expert on environmental exposure biology at Harvard School of Public Health and who led the work.

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