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The week in wildlife – in pictures
Bison, bluebells, bumble bees and beavers are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world
Continue reading...From heatwaves to hurricanes, floods to famine: seven climate change hotspots
Global warming will not affect everyone equally. Here we look at seven key regions to see how each is tackling the consequences of climate change
It could have been the edge of the Sahara or even Death Valley, but it was the remains of a large orchard in the hills above the city of Murcia in southern Spain last year. The soil had broken down into fine white, lifeless sand, and a landscape of rock and dying orange and lemon trees stretched into the distance.
A long drought, the second in a few years, had devastated the harvest after city authorities had restricted water supplies and farmers were protesting in the street. It was a foretaste of what may happen if temperatures in the Mediterranean basin continue to rise and desertification grows.
Continue reading...Latest diesel car models remain highly polluting, tests show
Six new vehicles including Land Rover and Suzuki are adding to air pollution crisis, despite stricter rules coming in months
The latest diesel car models are failing to meet pollution limits when on the road, just three months ahead of stricter new tests, independent tests have found. Results show that none of six new 2017 diesel cars met the EU standard for toxic nitrogen oxides (NOx) pollution in real-world driving.
The updated Equa Index, produced by the testing firm Emissions Analytics, shows that 86% of all diesel models put on to the British market since the 2015 Volkswagen emissions scandal failed to meet the official limit on the road, with 15% producing at least eight times more NOx emissions.
Continue reading...Exxon, Stephen Hawking, greens, and Reagan’s advisors agree on a carbon tax | Dana Nuccitelli
Nearly everyone other than science-denying Republican Party leaders understands the importance of a carbon pollution tax
What do ExxonMobil, Stephen Hawking, the Nature Conservancy, and Ronald Reagan’s Secretary of Treasury and Chief of Staff have in common? All have signed on as founding members to the Climate Leadership Council, which has met with the White House to propose a revenue-neutral carbon tax policy.
The group started with impeccable conservative credentials, bringing on cabinet members from the last three Republican presidential administrations (Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush, and George W Bush): two former Secretaries of State, two former Secretaries of Treasury, and two former chairmen of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors. It was founded by Ted Halstead, who explained the group’s proposed policy in a TED talk:
Continue reading...Splish splashing spinning gorilla
The long-jump prize goes to … the froghopper
Fermyn Woods, Northamptonshire Hard to spot, sitting still under a leaf, these bugs on the move are jumping champions
As the morning sun heats the still woodland air the rides fizz with the sounds of flying insects: bumblebees buzz between bramble blossom and clover heads, a myriad of small flies zips through the air, and longhorn beetles whir and clatter around the dog roses.
Each species has its own habits and lifecycle that together constitute the intricate web of life in this ancient wood.
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