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Shut old nuclear reactors, says unprecedented alliance of EU cities
Communities and campaigners in Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg lobby for closure of two ageing 40-year old Belgian nuclear reactors close to borders
An unprecedented alliance of 30 major cities and districts from three countries has joined forces to try to shut down two ageing Belgian nuclear reactors close to their borders.
Cologne and Dusseldorf in Germany, Luxembourg City and Maastricht in the Netherlands are among the cities co-funding a lawsuit to close one reactor – Tihange 2 – and calling on the European commission to prepare a separate case at the European court of justice.
Continue reading...Pregnant T. rex dinosaur found
Southern right whale study quantifies impact of whaling in NZ
Record-breaking temperatures 'have robbed the Arctic of its winter'
Fort Yukon has recorded Alaska’s coldest ever temperatures but this winter temperatures have been much warmer than usual, leading to dangerously thin ice
This year’s record-breaking temperatures have robbed the Arctic of its winter, sending snowmobilers plunging through thin ice into freezing rivers and forcing deliveries of snow to the starting line of Alaska’s legendary Iditarod dogsledding race.
Last month’s high temperatures – up to 16C (29F) above normal in some parts of the Arctic – flummoxed scientists, and are redefining life in the Arctic, especially for the indigenous people who live close to the land.
Continue reading...Louisiana's vanishing island: the climate 'refugees' resettling for $52m
Isle de Jean Charles has lost 98% of its land and most of its population to rising sea levels – but as remaining residents consider relocation, what happens next is a test case to address resettlement needs
Wenceslaus Billiot, an 88-year-old native of Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, remembers growing up on a much different island than the two-mile sliver of his ancestral home that remains today.
“When I was a kid I used to do trapping in the back,” he said, gesturing towards the back of the small, one-story house that stands elevated on stilts to escape the floods that roll in from the bayou after nearly every storm. “You could walk for a long time. Now, nothing but water.”
Continue reading...Recovery Plan for Three Handfish Species
Carbon sinks less likely to 'bite back', according to new research
A brief history of gravitational waves
Blue-green algae and Commonwealth Environmental Water
T-rex's tiny ancestor could hold clue to predator's dominance
Rare 'fairy circles' discovered in outback Australia
What happens in our brains when we hallucinate?
York to replace Foss flood defence pumps after Boxing Day failure
Environment Agency says eight pumps capable of handling 30% more water to be installed along river as part of £13m project
The Environment Agency has said it intends to replace all water pumps around York months after the failure of one led to flooding in large swaths of the city.
Eight pumps capable of dealing with 30% more water are to be installed over the next 20 months, the agency said.
Continue reading...Call for pollution tax on sales of new diesel cars in Britain
An £800 tax would fund old diesel scrappage, encourage move to low-emission vehicles and reduce air pollution, according to Policy Exchange thinktank
An £800 pollution tax should be put on sales of new diesel cars, with the proceeds used for a scrappage scheme for older diesels, according to the thinktank Policy Exchange.
The move, proposed ahead of George Osborne’s budget on 16 March, would encourage motorists to move towards lower emission vehicles and significantly reduce air pollution, according to the thinktank, which is close to Osborne. The idea is also backed by the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and an influential committee of MPs.
Continue reading...Rare wildlife discovered in biggest nature survey along Britain's coast
Wildlife ‘firsts’ include Norfolk’s only sighting of a Balearic shearwater and a beetle not seen in Northern Ireland for more than 100 years
The biggest survey to date of nature along Britain’s coastline has uncovered a host of “wildlife firsts”.
More than 3,400 species were recorded at 25 National Trust locations along the coastline of England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the charity’s largest ever wildlife survey. A handful have either been seen in a new habitat for the first time or “rediscovered” after going unseen for many years.
Five years on, cleanup of Fukushima's reactors remains a distant goal
Removal of nuclear fuel from power plant that suffered triple meltdown following 2011 tsunami could take 40 years or more
In the chaotic two years after its name became forever associated with nuclear disaster, the Fukushima Daiichi power plant “resembled a field hospital”, according to the man who is now in charge of the most daunting task the nuclear industry has ever faced: removing hundreds of tons of melted fuel from the plant’s stricken reactors.
“Now it really does feel like the situation is settling down and we can look ahead,” said Naohiro Masuda, head of decommissioning at the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco).
Continue reading...Draft ERF method: Community Buildings
Draft ERF method: Community Buildings
Newly discovered plastic-eating bacterium can break down PET
Fat under the collarbone may protect against diabetes
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