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RSA launches food and farming inquiry as it highlights small quantity of these crops grown in UK and picked by non-EU staff

The UK faces serious health implications if the government fails to agree a Brexit deal, finds a report that says of 35 portions of fruit and vegetables, a figure relating to the five-a-day recommendation for individuals, just one “portion” is grown in the UK and picked by British or non-EU workers.

The report, to mark the launch of a new RSA commission examining the impact of Brexit on food and farming, found that the five-a-day health target – which adds up to the 35 portions of fruit and vegetables a week – was overwhelmingly met by food grown in the EU or harvested by EU workers in the UK.

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Wenlock Edge, Shropshire Scratch-calls and white strobing underwings announce a flock of fieldfare in the abbey ruins

Yew berries glow brilliant red at the green edges of the tree’s inner darkness. It is five minutes to closing time when I slip into the Wenlock Priory ruins. Lawns have been freshly cut; towering stones radiate warmth on one of the last of the fine autumn days; no other feet tread the paths.

It is still bright as the church clock strikes five. Lime, hazel and beech have the smouldering brassy ochre of a slow autumn’s burn, only now reaching their peak. A large horse chestnut bough has been downed in a recent gale. Tall pines rise skyward like those marking drover roads in the hills. Where they end the sky is blue beyond smoky clouds.

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Billionaires get it. A million households get it. And so do thousands of businesses. So why does Australia's government - and its principal regulators - fail to understand that the way to a cheaper, cleaner and more reliable grid is with more renewables, not less.

Sudden jump in shipping rates from China to Australia is adding 20-30% to costs of suppliers to Australian wind and solar developments.

A web-based interactive map – dubbed the Uber of the electricity market - will help pave the way for a smart and renewable grid.

Fatal shark bites are very rare. But the stats do suggest that the likelihood of an attack proving fatal is higher in Australia - probably because our waters are home to the "big three" dangerous species. Blake Chapman, Adjunct Research Fellow, Science Communicator, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Human activity, along with a strong El Nino, drove 2016 greenhouse gas levels to new heights with an unprecedented jump in annual emissions.

The UK cities with atmospheres considered harmful to health by the WHO are revealed in a new report.

Scientists are now clearer on the freezing climate conditions that forced dinosaurs from the Earth.

Peruvian lawsuit in London claims Xstrata should be liable for alleged police violence against demonstrators near Tintaya mine

A UK-registered mining company, which is now part of Glencore, is facing claims in a London court that it hired security forces to mistreat environmental activists protesting about a copper mine in Peru.

Two demonstrators died and others were left with serious injuries following the confrontations which lasted for several days during May 2012 on a remote hillside in the Andes, the court has been told.

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Without "much stronger pledges" in 2020, the world is heading for at least three degrees of warming by 2100, according to the 2017 UN Emissions Gap report.

The fourth Aussie Backyard Bird Count, which has just finished, has some potentially worrying news about one of our best-loved species. Kerryn Herman, Research Ecologist, Deakin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Caritas says thousands face threats to their wellbeing, livelihoods and ‘their very existence’ due to rising sea levels

Pacific Islanders whose homes face eradication by rising sea levels have called on Australia to not fund the Adani Carmichael coalmine, as a new report reveals the worsening impact of climate change across Oceania.

Residents of the endangered islands have described their forced displacement as like “having your heart ripped out of your chest” as they called on the Australian government to do more to combat climate change.

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Algal blooms, hurricanes and volcano fields are among the images captured by Nasa and the ESA last month

A potentially harmful algal bloom covered more than 700 square miles in the western basin of Lake Erie in late September, turning the lake bright green and alarming residents and local officials. Blooms tend to thrive in Lake Erie during summer, sustained by warm water temperatures and nutrients from farm runoff. This year, the bloom had been ongoing since mid-July.

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Green MP Caroline Lucas criticises attempts by chemicals multinational Ineos to impose a sweeping injunction against anti-fracking campaigners

The chemicals multinational Ineos is facing criticism for seeking to curb democratic protests against fracking in a move described by Green MP Caroline Lucas as “extremely worrying”.

On Tuesday Ineos began its latest legal move to impose a sweeping injunction against all campaigners protesting over its fracking operations.

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The UK's Halley station will be mothballed again this year because of uncertainty over ice cracks.

Herring and haddock could also disappear by the turn of the century due to global warming, warn scientists.

Carbon cuts planned under the Paris accord still fall well short of what's needed, says the UN.

Report reveals large gap between government pledges and the reductions needed to prevent dangerous global warming

There is still a large gap between the pledges by governments to cut greenhouse gas emissions and the reductions scientists say are needed to avoid dangerous levels of climate change, the UN has said.

Current plans from national governments, and pledges made by private sector companies and local authorities across the world, would lead to temperature rises of as much as 3C or more by the end of this century, far outstripping the goal set under the 2015 Paris agreement to hold warming to 2C or less, which scientists say is the limit of safety.

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Global greenhouse gas levels have hit their highest point in at least 3 million years, according to new figures from the World Meteorological Organisation. Paul Fraser, Honorary Fellow, CSIRO Paul Krummel, Research Group Leader, CSIRO Zoe Loh, Research Scientist, CSIRO Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.