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700 million plastic bottles: we worked out how much microplastic is in Queensland’s Moreton Bay

The Conversation - Tue, 2024-10-08 15:30
How much microplastic does a city produce? To find out, we looked at Brisbane’s Moreton Bay, where microplastics build up without being washed away Elvis Okoffo, PhD candidate in Environmental Science, The University of Queensland Alistair Grinham, Honorary Associate Professor in Civil Engineering, The University of Queensland Ben Tscharke, Research fellow, Analytical Chemistry, The University of Queensland Helen Bostock, Associate Professor in Marine Geology, The University of Queensland Kevin Thomas, Professor of Environmental Health, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
Categories: Around The Web

Australia will protect a vast swathe of the Southern Ocean, but squanders the chance to show global leadership

The Conversation - Tue, 2024-10-08 15:23
Protections for the Heard and McDonald islands, one of Australia’s wildest and most remote areas, don’t go far enough Andrew J Constable, Adviser, Antarctica and Marine Systems, Science & Policy, University of Tasmania Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
Categories: Around The Web

My pilgrimage to the vanishing Sphinx snow patch

BBC - Tue, 2024-10-08 15:16
The Sphinx, a patch of snow thought to be the longest-lasting in the UK, has melted for the fourth consecutive year.
Categories: Around The Web

Britons urged to dig out unwanted electricals to tackle copper shortage

The Guardian - Tue, 2024-10-08 15:01

Items such as cables and old tech could contain £266m worth of metal vital for decarbonisation drive, study finds

Scientists have called for people to go “urban mining” after a study revealed that old cables, phone chargers and other unused electrical goods thrown away or stored in cupboards or drawers could stave off a looming shortage of copper.

The research found that in the UK there are approximately 823m unused or broken tech items hiding in “drawers of doom” containing as much as 38,449 tonnes of copper – including 627m cables – enough to provide 30% of the copper needed for the UK’s planned transition to a decarbonised electricity grid by 2030.

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Categories: Around The Web

Tiny parasitic wasp helps save one of world’s rarest birds from extinction

The Guardian - Tue, 2024-10-08 15:00

Wasps released on Nightingale Island have protected Wilkins’ bunting by halting spread of mould-causing insects

A tiny parasitic wasp has given a lifeline to one of the world’s rarest bird species by killing off an invasive insect that was threatening its survival.

The Wilkins’ bunting lives on Nightingale Island, part of the Tristan da Cunha group; the world’s most remote inhabited archipelago. It eats the fruit of the Phylica arborea, the island’s only native tree.

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Categories: Around The Web

More than 6 mln ha of forests lost last year raise concerns over 2030 global targets, report says

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2024-10-08 14:01
Global deforestation rates are on the rise despite international high-level commitments towards 2030, with a loss of over 6 million hectares of forests only in 2023, according to an annual assessment released Tuesday.
Categories: Around The Web

Deforestation ‘roaring back’ despite 140-country vow to end destruction

The Guardian - Tue, 2024-10-08 14:01

Demand for beef, soy, palm oil and nickel hindering efforts to halt demolition by 2030, global report finds

The destruction of global forests increased in 2023, and is higher than when 140 countries promised three years ago to halt deforestation by the end of the decade, an analysis shows.

The rising demolition of the forests puts ambitions to halt the climate crisis and stem the huge worldwide losses of wildlife even further from reach, the researchers warn.

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Lab-grown meat could be sold in UK in next few years, says food regulator

The Guardian - Tue, 2024-10-08 14:00

Food Standards Agency says applications for cultivated steak, chicken and foie gras have already been submitted

Cell-cultivated meat could be on sale in the UK within a few years, the food regulator has said, with applications for lab-grown steak, beef, chicken and foie gras already submitted, while another 15 applications are expected in the next two years.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) was awarded £1.6m of government funding on Tuesday to develop an efficient safety assessment process for the novel foods. It said the UK was an attractive market as it had a high number of vegans, vegetarians and flexitarians, a higher openness to new foods than many other European countries and a large financial sector to back startup companies.

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Categories: Around The Web

Australia expands ocean protection as first Global Nature Positive Summit kicks off

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2024-10-08 11:34
The Australian government has expanded its protected waters, claiming it now protects more waters than any other nation on earth, it said as host of the first Global Nature Positive Summit in Sydney.
Categories: Around The Web

EU nations urged to allocate ETS revenues towards climate goals

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2024-10-08 10:17
The European Union should invest earnings from the carbon market more efficiently towards climate goals, according to a collective call.
Categories: Around The Web

Manawanui sinking: an expert explains why a speedy cleanup will be crucial – and the main challenges ahead

The Conversation - Tue, 2024-10-08 10:10
Damage from the loss of a New Zealand naval ship in Samoa can be limited if salvage and cleanup crews move fast. But the depth at which the ship now lies will be a challenge. Christopher Battershill, Professor in Coastal Science, University of Waikato Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
Categories: Around The Web

RGGI Market: RGAs slip further towards 2025 CCR

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2024-10-08 10:09
RGGI Allowances (RGA) in the secondary market continued their descent over the week as prices adjusted in response to programme updates from the administrator, with traders largely projecting the 2025 Cost Containment Reserve (CCR) value as the near-term level of support.
Categories: Around The Web

US EPA’s own data negates power plant rules’ CCS feasibility -intervenor briefs SCOTUS

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2024-10-08 09:26
An intervenor on behalf of one of the US states enjoined in an emergency petition to stay the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) power plant rules drew the attention of the Supreme Court to analyses from the agency showing carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology limitations.
Categories: Around The Web

85% of banks worldwide still open to financing new coal -report

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2024-10-08 09:01
Some 85% of banks are open to financing new coal projects, and only 8% of banks are committed to ending project financing of new oil and gas fields, according to research published on Tuesday.
Categories: Around The Web

My pilgrimage to the vanishing Sphinx snow patch

BBC - Tue, 2024-10-08 08:00
The Sphinx, a patch of snow thought to be the longest-lasting in the UK, has melted for the fourth consecutive year.
Categories: Around The Web

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