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How did the 20th century fur and skin trade impact Brazil's Amazon?
Scientists find that commercial hunting caused “basin-wide collapse” among aquatic species
Scientists have conducted what they call the first systematic, historical account of the impacts on the Amazon basin of the 20th century international trade in furs and skins. The conclusion: “basin-wide population collapse” for aquatic species, but much greater resilience shown by terrestrial species.
The study focuses on four states in Brazil - Acre, Amazonas, Rondonia and Roraima - and draws on a wide range of historical records including those belonging to the Amazonas state government and the concession owner of the Manaus port. It was published in Science Advances in late 2016, but is reported now to mark UN World Wildlife Day. Here are 10 of the most fascinating - and sometimes horrifying - take-aways:
Continue reading...A Big Country
'Just racist': EPA cuts will hit black and Hispanic communities the hardest
Proposal would remove environmental justice office, tasked with bridging gap in pollution in black, Hispanic and low-income areas and wealthier white ones
Planned cuts at the Environmental Protection Agency are set to fall heaviest upon communities of color across the US that already suffer disproportionately from toxic pollution, green groups have warned.
Related: New EPA head Scott Pruitt's emails reveal close ties with fossil fuel interests
Continue reading...Shell's climate film, air pollution and hedgehogs – green news roundup
The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox
Continue reading...Maldives plan to embrace mass tourism sparks criticism and outrage
The new government plans to relocate residents to larger atolls – leaving small islands ripe for development. It says these super resorts, not solar power, will create the money needed to adapt to climate change
When Mohamed Nasheed, the young, first democratically elected president of the Maldives, said in 2008 that he was seeking to buy a new homeland to save his people from being inundated by rising sea levels, it made the country of 1,200 coral islands the moral leader in the UN climate talks and helped persuade rich countries to act.
This week the Maldives, under new president Abdulla Yameen, apparently changed environmental tack, saying that mass tourism and mega-developments rather than solar power and carbon neutrality would enable it to adapt itself to climate change and give its young population hope for the future.
The week in wildlife – in pictures
Poison arrow frogs, a Steller sea lion and a chameleon are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world
Continue reading...Ancient skulls give clues to China human history
Can trees cut air pollution?
What's lurking in the pool?
Omega-3 oils could tackle damage caused by air pollution, research shows
Exclusive New research indicates the benefits of eating omega-3 fatty acids, but also that pollution particles can penetrate the lungs into many organs, including testicles
Supplements of healthy fats could be an immediate way of cutting the harm caused to billions around the world by air pollution, according to emerging research.
However, the research also shows air pollution particles can penetrate through the lungs of lab animals into many major organs, including the brain and testicles. This raises the possibility that the health damage caused by toxic air is even greater than currently known.
Continue reading...Send us your tips for reducing food packaging waste
Guardian Cook is looking to source tips on keeping food packaging waste to a minimum. Share yours via GuardianWitness
For Cook’s green issue next week, we’re asking: how do you keep your use of food packaging to a minimum?
Related: Modern life is rubbish: we don't need all this packaging
Continue reading...Scientists create 'artificial embryos'
Laxton kites claw back their heritage
Laxton, Northamptonshire The red kite thrives, and surely there’s no other prodigal English species that brings such pleasure
Kites soar and circle above the small limestone village mentioned in the Domesday book but rebuilt a little over 200 years ago to a design by Humphry Repton. There is a substantial red kite roost near the village, and 40 of them bring the sky to life with their twists and turns, tails contorting and long wings clawing the air.
Related: Red kites exported after success of reintroduction programme in Britain
Continue reading...Wind, solar to fill grid services as incumbents cash in while they can
Australian regulators warned they could cripple battery storage industry
'Clean coal', CCS and CSG will not save fossil fuels – their game is up | Ian Dunlop
As the Finkel review submission deadline arrives it’s time to accept the inevitable and fix the shambles that is our energy policy
Every few years the fossil fuel industry pressures politicians to force “clean coal”, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and more recently coal seam gas (CSG) on an increasingly sceptical community to justify its continued expansion.
This cycle started with the promotion of Adani’s massive Carmichael coalmine in Queensland, for coal export to India. The South Australian blackout followed last September when violent storms blew down transmission towers, prompting instant federal government accusations that excessive reliance on renewable energy was the cause, despite clear advice to the contrary. This also prompted a review of the energy system, led by Dr Alan Finkel, with final submissions due on Friday.
Continue reading...Museums Victoria to slash energy costs by one-third with co-gen, efficiency
Wind and solar: A comparison of Denmark & South Australia
Graph of the Day: Big solar nears 100GW of installed capacity
Amazon forest 'shaped by pre-Columbian indigenous peoples'
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