Feed aggregator

Balkan countries unite in a war on waste

The Guardian - Wed, 2016-08-24 18:51

Trash activists from former war-torn countries formed some of the world’s largest cross-border civic movements against rubbish and pollution

Balkan countries once divided by war, nationalism and religion have been quietly uniting to confront a common foe: rubbish.

Under the rubric of the Let’s Do It campaign, Albanian and Kosovar activists jointly cleared their border area and the polluted Lake Vermica last April, in a Wombles-style campaign that has involved more than 5% of Albania’s population, and 7% of Kosovo’s.

Continue reading...
Categories: Around The Web

Yuval Noah Harari: "We are probably one of the last generations of Homo sapiens."

BBC - Wed, 2016-08-24 18:09
Historian and author of the international bestseller Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Yuval Noah Harari speaks about the future of humanity.
Categories: Around The Web

The best and worst of worlds in my Kenya

The Guardian - Wed, 2016-08-24 16:41

Paula Kahumbu: When will we learn that wildlife conservation is part of wealth creation and not an obstacle to it?

Three days spent in Samburu Reserve to celebrate World Elephants Day with 91 children from Kenya’s poor neighbourhoods, slums and rural areas were probably the most moving experience of my life.

A team of staff, interns and volunteers from my NGO WildlifeDirect put on an ambitious three-day programme of discovery, play and learning for the children. The children experienced a real safari, in a four-wheeled-drive vehicle. They camped for the first time in their lives. They met wild animals in the wilderness of Samburu, and talked to rangers and scientists involved in wildlife conservation.

Continue reading...
Categories: Around The Web

China unveils 2020 Mars mission probe and rover

BBC - Wed, 2016-08-24 14:43
China gives the world a first glimpse of the space probe and rover it plans to use in its first mission to Mars in 2020.
Categories: Around The Web

Young rabbit considers us as a threat

The Guardian - Wed, 2016-08-24 14:30

Wenlock Edge The rabbit we watched watching us was taking its sentry duty seriously, and had the makings of a dominant adult – if it survived long enough

All ear and eye, the rabbit was as alert as an exclamation mark. It remained still and watchful, as if it thought it was invisible when in fact its attention was so intense it seemed as obvious as a warning beacon in an otherwise languid August afternoon.

The young rabbit was assessing the distance of this particular threat – two people and a dog – the distance to the burrow in the hedge, an escape route across the field, the position of the other rabbits, other potential threats from land and sky.

Continue reading...
Categories: Around The Web

Mojo agrees with AGL – Disruptors set to take their business

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2016-08-24 14:23
Mojo today said it agreed with AGL Energy Chief’s Executive’s comment that the big retailers take their loyal customers for granted and are vulnerable to disruptors.
Categories: Around The Web

Labor ready to sacrifice ARENA for medal in budget Olympics

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2016-08-24 14:17
In a decision that will rank top of the Stupid List, Labor appears to have accepted Coalition plans to strip $1bn from ARENA.
Categories: Around The Web

New transmission line will open up wind farm opportunities

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2016-08-24 14:08
Spark Infrastructure has first hand experience of the impact that renewables have on the wires and poles business and the opportunities and challenges that presents.
Categories: Around The Web

UNHCR's 'Blue Dot' hubs

The Guardian - Wed, 2016-08-24 14:01

In response to the increasing number of women and children fleeing the war in Syria, UNHCR has set up a number of special support centres, also known as “Blue Dot” hubs, along the route through Greece and the Western Balkans specifically catering to their needs.

Continue reading...
Categories: Around The Web

Five years to zero emissions – Australia’s climate reality check

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2016-08-24 13:45
If Australia fails to move on its climate policies, it may have no choice but to cut emissions to zero within five years to meet its share of the global effort to avoid a climate crisis. But it's not something that policy makers want to admit.
Categories: Around The Web

Investors controlling $13tn call on G20 leaders to ratify Paris climate agreement

The Guardian - Wed, 2016-08-24 13:34

Investors say countries that move first will attract investments and call for regulators to force disclosure of climate-related risks

A group of 130 institutions that control US$13tn of investments have called on G20 nations to ratify the Paris agreement this year and accelerate investment in clean energy and forced disclosure of climate-related financial risk.

Countries that ratified the Paris agreement early would benefit from better policy certainty and would attract investment in low-carbon technology, the signatories said in a letter before the G20 heads of government meeting in September.

Continue reading...
Categories: Around The Web

Tesla Model X arrives in Australia, with news of bigger battery

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2016-08-24 13:32
Tesla's safe yet sexy "family car", the Model X SUV, has arrived in Australia, alongside news of a bigger battery pack and more ludicrous speeds.
Categories: Around The Web

Tesla claims world’s fastest car* with new 100kWh battery pack

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2016-08-24 13:20
Tesla confirms 100kWh battery pack available for Model X and Model S, offering more ludicrous 0-100km/h times at "obviously more expensive" price.
Categories: Around The Web

Australia needs to cut emissions by 65% by 2030 to meet Paris target

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2016-08-24 11:12
New research suggests that limiting global warming to 1.5℃ rather than letting it reach 2℃ could make a significant difference to the severity of extreme weather events in Australia, and could make all the difference for the Great Barrier Reef.
Categories: Around The Web

Solar PV strikes new record low in Chile, first US offshore wind farm completed

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2016-08-24 10:44
The solar PV cost reduction spiral reached its lowest point yet at an auction in Chile last week, where a Spanish developer won contracts to sell power from a solar plant high in the Andes for $29.10/MWh.
Categories: Around The Web

Depression: A revolution in treatment?

BBC - Wed, 2016-08-24 10:43
Can treating the immune system lead to a revolution in treating depression?
Categories: Around The Web

Seals help show how Antarctica's melting ice shelves affect the deep ocean

ABC Science - Wed, 2016-08-24 10:38
SEAL SCIENCE: A group of elephant seals in Antarctica has helped show how freshwater from melting ice shelves affects a key part of the engine that drives the circulation of the world's oceans.
Categories: Around The Web

Perfume traces could help to solve crimes

BBC - Wed, 2016-08-24 09:48
Detecting traces of perfume could help in the fight against crime, a study suggests
Categories: Around The Web

MPs call for ban on plastic microbeads

BBC - Wed, 2016-08-24 09:48
A worldwide ban on plastic microbeads in cosmetics should be imposed as soon as possible, MPs demand.
Categories: Around The Web

Microplastics should be banned in cosmetics to save oceans, MPs say

The Guardian - Wed, 2016-08-24 09:01

Environmental audit committee calls for ban after hearing that microbeads harm marine life and enter the food chain

Cosmetics companies must be banned from using plastic microbeads in scrubs, toothpaste and beauty products because of the marine pollution they are causing, say a group of MPs.

Members of the environmental audit committee have called for a ban within 18 months after hearing that trillions of tiny pieces of plastic are accumulating in the world’s oceans, lakes and estuaries, harming marine life and entering the food chain. About 86 tonnes of microplastics are released into the environment every year in the UK from facial exfoliants alone, they were told.

Continue reading...
Categories: Around The Web

Pages

Subscribe to Sustainable Engineering Society aggregator