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UK offshore wind power falls below £100/MWh 4 Years ahead of schedule
Menai the rare Olive Ridley turtle's scan is 'good news'
EPA staff experiencing stress and fears Trump will suppress climate science
Environmental Protection Agency spokesman says employees are anxious after Trump team placed a hold on the release of work and edited website
Fears that Donald Trump’s presidency will suppress climate science at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are causing widespread unease, with a spokesman for the administration admitting staff are experiencing “tension and stress” over the transition.
Related: Standing Rock Sioux tribe says Trump is breaking law with Dakota Access order
Continue reading...Martin Alder obituary
My friend Martin Alder, who has died aged 69 from an embolism, was a driving force in building the renewable energy industry in Britain.
Martin led the renewable energy committee of the Association of Electricity Producers from 1992 until 2014, by which time it had become Energy UK. He also served as the association’s vice-chair, supporting renewable energy interests on the board alongside representatives from the largest British electricity companies. He steered this broad church of member companies towards policies that have increased the proportion of UK electricity provided from renewable energy from 2% in 1992 to more than 25% today.
Continue reading...Margaret Bowdery obituary
The name of my friend, Margaret Bowdery, who has died aged 83, will be forever linked with the public footpaths of east Berkshire.
When she moved to Maidenhead in 1964 the paths were in a dire state. An officer from the former Berkshire county council told her that they were not needed and should not be maintained. Margaret was indignant and swiftly called a public meeting to form the East Berkshire Ramblers’ Group, with herself as footpath secretary.
Continue reading...Human-pig 'chimera embryos' detailed
Doomsday clock moves closer to apocalypse
Two wildlife rangers shot dead in Catalonia
Accused has ‘no memory’ of shotgun killings in Spanish olive grove
Two forest rangers have been shot dead in the Spanish region of Catalonia after approaching a hunter reportedly carrying an unlicensed shotgun.
The rangers, who worked for the region’s agriculture department, were on a routine mission on Saturday when they met a hunter in an olive grove and asked to see his firearms licence, according to Roger Cole, from the International Rangers Federation.
Continue reading...We may be closer than we thought to dangerous climate thresholds | John Abraham
A new study identifies an extra 0.1°C of human-caused warming
We don’t want the Earth to warm more than 1.5–2°C (2.7-3.6°F) compared to the pre-industrial climate. These targets are not magical; they are expert judgements about what it takes to avoid some of the more serious effects of climate change. We know the seas will rise (they already are). We know droughts and flooding will get more severe (they already are). We know there will be more heat waves, more intense storms, and ocean acidification (all happening now). We cannot stop some of the changes. But if we keep climate change to these limits, we think we can avoid the worst effects.
Where did these targets come from? Well, I mentioned that they are expert judgements but they are based on science. For instance, we can look into the deep past using ice cores, sediment records, and other tools to see how the past climate changed. We can also look into the future with computer models to predict how the future climate will evolve. Through these tools we can get a sense of how large the impact is if temperatures rise.
Continue reading...Tim Peake's capsule goes on display at Science Museum
Emeritus Professor Alan Mackay-Sim honoured for stem cell research
Tim Peake's capsule goes on display at Science Museum
Makhado mine: flashpoint for tensions over South Africa's pro-coal policies
A campaign by locals and farming businesses to halt a large opencast mine highlights a far wider conflict over South Africa’s continued addiction to coal
On the horizon are the mountains, verdant rainforest on their well-watered, shaded southern slopes and arid scrub on the dry reverse slopes. Then there is the plain, studded with baobab trees and outcrops. Finally there is the river Limpopo. Beyond is another country: troubled, restive Zimbabwe.
But here in the far north-east of South Africa, there is tension, too. In the Soutpansberg range and on the flat lands beyond, an improbable coalition of local farmers, villagers, big agricultural businessmen and activists are fighting to halt the development of a large opencast mine which, they say, would cause massive harm to the region.
Continue reading...Breeze transforms a thinly seeded field into a rippling upland river
Sandy, Bedfordshire Nothing seemed to have changed here in months. The stubble of skeleton stems appeared not so much dormant as dead
On one side of a straight farm track, winter held about 2.5m plants in a state of suspense. The land had been tilled and drilled in November, and vestigial warmth in the soil had tempted the first narrow leaves to rise 10cm high in a matter of days. Two months – and numerous visits– later, there was still a green baize, but the leaves stood no taller.
My Scots-Irish ancestor was a coulter, a maker of plough blades. He might have marvelled at the idea of winter wheat. Here was a crop that sprouted in autumn, then needed months in the outdoor fridge to trigger further growth. And it would have its heads up even before spring arrived. I had paced out the length and breadth of this field to estimate this colossal number of plants. Surely here was a miracle – a plant that could grow, slow, then throw out ears of corn under the warming sun of spring?
Continue reading...Conservationists crowdfund drones to capture land clearing
Wilderness Society has funds to launch SkyScout craft in Queensland and NSW – and wants a third for Western Australia
Conservationists are raising funds to launch a drone program across three Australian states, aiming to catch farmers conducting broadscale clearing and to share the images with the world.
Continue reading...Iowa oil spill underscores pipeline risks day after Trump revives major projects
Rupture of 138,600 gallons is ‘not a major disaster’ but environmental advocates say it highlights their fears about the Keystone XL and Dakota Access projects
Just a day after Donald Trump signed executive orders to revive the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipeline projects, a pipeline rupture spilled 138,600 gallons of diesel fuel in northern Iowa.
Magellan Midstream Partners, an Oklahoma company with more than 10,000 miles of oil and ammonium pipeline, acknowledged that the spill began Wednesday morning in Worth County, Iowa, and said it was “unsure of the cause of the incident at this time”.
Continue reading...City of London launches challenge to boost coffee cup recycling
Square Mile teams up with Network Rail, coffee chains and employers in effort to prevent 5m cups a year ending up in landfill
A scheme to boost disposable coffee cup recycling has been launched in the City of London in an attempt to prevent 5m cups a year from the Square Mile ending up in landfill.
The City of London Corporation, in conjunction with Network Rail, coffee chains and some employers, are introducing dedicated coffee cup recycling facilities in offices, shops and streets.
Continue reading...Trump administration: EPA studies, data must undergo political review before release
Review extended to content on agency’s website, including details of scientific evidence of climate change and that manmade carbon emissions are to blame
The Trump administration is mandating that any studies or data from scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency undergo review by political appointees before they can be released to the public.
The communications director for Donald Trump’s transition team at the EPA, Doug Ericksen, said on Wednesday the review also extends to content on the federal agency’s website, including details of scientific evidence showing that the Earth’s climate is warming and manmade carbon emissions are to blame.
Continue reading...National Park Service climate change Twitter campaign spreads to other parks
A day after three climate-related tweets sent out by Badlands National Park were deleted, other park accounts have sent out tweets that appear to defy Trump
The National Park Service employees’ Twitter campaign against Donald Trump spread to other parks on Wednesday, with tweets on climate change and a reminder that Japanese Americans were forcibly interned in camps and parks during the second world war.
A day after three climate-related tweets sent out by Badlands National Park were deleted, other park accounts have sent out tweets that appear to defy Trump. One, by Redwood national park in California, notes that redwood groves are nature’s number one carbon sink, which capture greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming.
Continue reading...Throw a veggie pattie on the barbie this Australia Day
And not a steak in sight. Veggie BBQ image from www.shutterstock.comSausages, hamburger patties, lamb chops and T-bone steak. There is nothing like the traditional barbecue on Australia Day.
But like a piece of bone inconveniently lodged between our teeth, a small but growing segment of our society – vegans – question the ethical side of the Aussie BBQ tradition.
They ask: why is it that we continue to eat meat and animal products (such as milk and eggs), when we know (no matter how much we try not to know) how many of these products arrive on our table?
While there have been many improvements in farm animal welfare and food labelling, there are still many concerns.
Why vegan?Veganism is a response to the ethical problems created by these industries, which treat animals as nothing more than raw material to be processed into food. The principles of veganism advocate the exclusion of “…flesh, fish, fowl, eggs, honey and animals’ milk, butter, and cheese” from our diet, and aim to “abolish man’s dependence on animals – and to create - a more reasonable and humane order of society”.
Despite the clear moral appeal to veganism, however, the number of vegans in Western societies remains low. Vegans constitute only 1-2% of Americans, 5% of Israelis, 2% of British and 1% of Australians. Why is this so?
In her book Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows (2011) Melanie Joy, a US psychologist and vegan activist, provides an answer to this question.
Joy claims that despite having an affection for animals, people consume meat because they have a mental disconnect between eating meat and killing animals; an ingrained belief that meat consumption is normal, natural and necessary; and cognitive distortions that perceive animals as lacking any individuality or personality.
Melanie Joy’s TED Talk on veganism. You don’t have to go vegan to save the planetSo how can we break down these cognitive distortions and engage in more ethical consumption practices?
In her recent TED Talk, Joy suggests that the solution ultimately lies in normalising veganism.
We agree with this, and additionally suggest that partial solutions can help many people gradually reach this goal over time. Here are four practical strategies that people can adopt to become more ethical consumers in their journey towards veganism:
Reduce the volume of all foods we consume daily. Although this strategy is not about directly cutting meat and dairy intake, it offers a way we can indirectly reduce intake by simply consuming less food.
This might seem like a trivial solution, but with over 60% of Australians found to be obese or overweight, it is clear that most of us consume more food than we need.
Ironically, some of us even consume extra food to fuel intense workout programs or exercise boot camps. Why not achieve similar health outcomes by simply having a lighter lunch or following a simpler exercise regime?
In fact, research suggests that the benefits of calorie restriction diets partially parallel those of intense fitness programs, in terms of muscle function, life extension and general health.
Choose ethical food. There has been a marked increase in the availability of “credence foods”. This includes plant-based, vegan options, but also animal-based products with higher welfare standards.
The strategy of choosing credence food decreases our demand from factory farms and moves us to a more ethical position.
For instance, we can select pastured eggs over battery or barn eggs, or organic, free-range meat products over cheaper, factory-farmed products. While credence products are more expensive, they become more affordable when we reduce animal products in our diets.
Become a vegetarian. Vegetarianism is essentially the midway point on the veganism journey – excluding meat consumption, but allowing dairy and eggs. This is a particularly good option for many people who still struggle to find worthy cheese substitutes.
Nevertheless, vegetarianism alone will not solve our environmental concerns, nor alleviate animal suffering.
Fortunately, innovation is lifting the game of vegan cheese, and providing a more compelling reason to gradually stop using dairy products altogether.
Bring some vegan into your life. Some of us associate adopting veganism with a leap of faith, and need more confidence before committing fully to its doctrine. We can shift toward a vegan diet by weaving it partially into our lives – in other words, becoming “part-time vegans”.
For instance, we can choose one or two of our daily meals to be vegan and then eat whatever we want for the rest (aligning with Mark Bittman’s “vegan before 6pm” idea), or participate in the “veganuary” or “Meatless Monday” programs.
No matter which strategy we choose, the act of opting for a strategy is in itself a huge step forward. Why not start by throwing a veggie pattie on the barbie this Australia Day?
Ozgur Dedehayir works for QUT. He receives funding from the Institute for Future Environments (QUT).
Carol Richards receives funding from the Institute for Future Environments (QUT), the Australian Research Council and The Norwegian Research Council.
Peter O'Connor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond the academic appointment above.
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