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Chemical pollution from M6 lorry fire thought to be behind mass fish deaths
Environment Agency found about 150 dead fish in the river Penk and more in the river Sow, near Stafford – identifying the tarmac-melting fire as the likely cause
A lorry fire that shut a motorway for 16 hours after it melted the road is believed to be responsible for killing more than 100 fish in nearby rivers, the Environment Agency has said.
Tests are being carried out by environmental officers, with the agency saying the fire caused chemicals to seep into the watercourses. Around 150 fish were found dead at the river Penk near Stafford, while there were further reports of dead fish at the river Sow.
Beware permitting fracking, says farmer who allowed coal methane borehole
Paul Hickson says when he signed access agreement he had no idea of physical or psychological impact that gas drilling could have on him and his family
A farmer who gave an energy company permission to dig a test borehole for coal bed methane gas out of a sense of national duty has warned other landowners not to allow fracking and other unconventional gas exploration companies on their land.
The potential of gas drilling to pollute water courses and the effect it could have on the value of farmland left Paul Hickson and his family stressed for years and no wealthier, he said.
Continue reading...Britain's first 'energy positive' house opens in Wales
Powered by the sun, this low cost three-bedroom house is the first in the country to produce and sell more energy than it uses
Britain’s first low cost ‘energy positive’ house, which can generate more electricity than its occupants will use, opens on Thursday despite George Osborne axing plans to make housebuilders meet tough low carbon housing targets from next year.
The modest three-bedroom house built in just 16 weeks on an industrial estate outside Bridgend in Wales cost just £125,000 to build and, said its Cardiff University designers, will let occupants use the sun to pay the rent.
Continue reading...Threatened species strategy
ExxonMobil gave millions to climate-denying lawmakers despite pledge
Under pressure from shareholders, company promised eight years ago to stop funding climate denial – but financial and tax records tell a different story
ExxonMobil gave more than $2.3m to members of Congress and a corporate lobbying group that deny climate change and block efforts to fight climate change – eight years after pledging to stop its funding of climate denial, the Guardian has learned.
Climate denial – from Republicans in Congress and lobby groups operating at the state level – is seen as a major obstacle to US and global efforts to fight climate change, closing off the possibility of federal and state regulations cutting greenhouse gas emissions and the ability to plan for a future of sea-level rise and extreme weather.
Continue reading...Nearly 9,500 people die each year in London because of air pollution – study
Counting impact of toxic gas NO2 for the first time suggests more than twice as many people as previously thought die prematurely from pollution in UK capital
Nearly 9,500 people die early each year in London due to long-term exposure to air pollution, more than twice as many as previously thought, according to new research.
The premature deaths are due to two key pollutants, fine particulates known as PM2.5s and the toxic gas nitrogen dioxide (NO2), according to a study carried out by researchers at King’s College London.
15 species that should be brought back to rewild Britain
From wolves to grey whales and lynxes, plans are afoot to introduce some iconic species back into the countryside and UK waters
A new national organisation called Rewilding Britain launches on Wednesday with the aim of reversing centuries of ecological damage by returning species and habitats to the British countryside that have been absent for decades and sometimes much longer. In the process it hopes to recharge the natural world with wonder and help people to reconnect with it. Here are some of the species that have been lost to our countryside but may yet return:
Continue reading...Invitation to comment on species listing assessment
Threatened Species Strategy Action Plan 2015-16 - 20 birds by 2020
Vivienne Westwood launches celebrity Arctic campaign
Andy Gotts has photographed almost 60 celebrities wearing the Save the Arctic T-shirt designed by fashion icon and activist Dame Vivienne Westwood, in a project that has taken 18 months. Here are more than a few of his pictures
Continue reading...Six species listed under the EPBC Act
Queensland Fin Fish (Stout Whiting) Trawl Fishery
Queensland River and Inshore Beam Trawl Fishery
Threatened Species Strategy Action Plan 2015-16 - 20 mammals by 2020
Program released, early-bird registrations close soon. Charlie Hargroves and carbon.
Wind power generates 140% of Denmark's electricity demand
Unusually high winds allowed Denmark to meet all of its electricity needs – with plenty to spare for Germany, Norway and Sweden too
So much power was produced by Denmark’s windfarms on Thursday that the country was able to meet its domestic electricity demand and export power to Norway, Germany and Sweden.
On an unusually windy day, Denmark found itself producing 116% of its national electricity needs from wind turbines yesterday evening. By 3am on Friday, when electricity demand dropped, that figure had risen to 140%.
Continue reading...Scientists predict huge sea level rise even if we limit climate change
Study of past sea level changes shows coastal communities may face rises of at least six metres even if we limit global warming to 2C, reports Climate Central
Even if world manages to limit global warming to 2C — the target number for current climate negotiations — sea levels may still rise at least 6 meters (20 ft) above their current heights, radically reshaping the world’s coastline and affecting millions in the process.
That finding comes from a new paper published on Thursday in Science that shows how high sea levels rose the last time carbon dioxide levels were this high.
Continue reading...Proposal to streamline wildlife trade regulation
Exxon knew of climate change in 1981, email says – but it funded deniers for 27 more years
A newly unearthed missive from Lenny Bernstein, a climate expert with the oil firm for 30 years, shows concerns over high presence of carbon dioxide in enormous gas field in south-east Asia factored into decision not to tap it
ExxonMobil, the world’s biggest oil company, knew as early as 1981 of climate change – seven years before it became a public issue, according to a newly discovered email from one of the firm’s own scientists. Despite this the firm spent millions over the next 27 years to promote climate denial.
The email from Exxon’s in-house climate expert provides evidence the company was aware of the connection between fossil fuels and climate change, and the potential for carbon-cutting regulations that could hurt its bottom line, over a generation ago – factoring that knowledge into its decision about an enormous gas field in south-east Asia. The field, off the coast of Indonesia, would have been the single largest source of global warming pollution at the time.
Continue reading...Threatened Australian wildlife at grave risk from habitat loss, study finds
Habitat loss is seen as the primary threat to at-risk species but recovery plans avoid addressing it and governments have entrenched the extinction process
Successive Australian governments have failed to protect the habitat of the country’s most endangered creatures, with 90% of the 120 most endangered animals having no safeguards to prevent the loss of their homes, a new study has found.
An analysis by environmental groups of the official recovery plans for Australia’s endangered wildlife has discovered that just 12 of the 120 most endangered animals were covered by plans that placed limits on the future loss of their habitat.
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