The Guardian
New Zealand conservationists celebrate rare parrot breeding success
The kākāpō has had its most successful breeding season since conservation efforts rescued it from the brink of extinction in the 1970s
The world’s heaviest parrot, a critically endangered bird that only lives in a remote part of New Zealand, has had its most successful breeding season since conservation efforts began more than two decades ago.
Thirty-seven kākāpō chicks are currently surviving, providing a much-needed boost to the population of 123 adult kākāpō which live on predator-free islands.
Continue reading...Mourning Loomis Reef - the heart of the Great Barrier Reef's coral bleaching disaster
Corals on Loomis Reef are dying as one veteran scientist lets the “veil” of academia drop to reveal anger and frustration
Stretching for half a kilometre or so, Loomis Reef is the place where the alarm bells started going off.
Prof Justin Marshall has been diving this reef, about 270km north of Cairns, for 30 years. Right now he is, to say the least, angry.
Continue reading...More than 1,000 species have been moved due to human impact
Animals and plants are increasingly being ‘translocated’ from their native areas to survive effects of climate change, poaching and habitat loss, says top conservationist
More than 1,000 species have had to be relocated because of climate change, poaching and humans taking their habitat, according to a top conservationist.
Dr Axel Moehrenschlager said cases of “translocation”, such as India’s plan to relocate tigers to Cambodia or South Africa’s scheme to airlift rhinos to Australia, have increased exponentially in recent decades and will become more common due to human pressures driving species closer to extinction.
Continue reading...EU dropped climate policies after BP threat of oil industry 'exodus'
Oil giant warned industry would pull out of EU if laws to cut pollution and speed clean energy take up were passed, letter obtained by the Guardian reveals
The EU abandoned or weakened key proposals for new environmental protections after receiving a letter from a top BP executive which warned of an exodus of the oil industry from Europe if the proposals went ahead.
In the 10-page letter, the company predicted in 2013 that a mass industry flight would result if laws to regulate tar sands, cut power plant pollution and accelerate the uptake of renewable energy were passed, because of the extra costs and red tape they allegedly entailed.
Continue reading...More than half US population lives amid dangerous air pollution, report warns
American Lung Association’s ‘state of the air’ report finds 166 million Americans are living in unhealthy ozone or particle pollution with serious health risks
More than half of the US population lives amid potentially dangerous air pollution, with national efforts to improve air quality at risk of being reversed, a new report has warned.
A total of 166 million Americans live in areas that have unhealthy levels of either ozone or particle pollution, according to the American Lung Association, raising their risk of lung cancer, asthma attacks, heart disease, reproductive problems and other ailments.
Continue reading...Goldman prize winner: 'I will never be defeated by the mining companies'
Maxima Acuña de Chaupe has won a major environmental prize for defending her land from the biggest gold-mining project in South America
Environmental activism may not have been what Maxima Acuña de Chaupe had in mind when in 2011 she refused to sell her 60-acre plot of land to the biggest gold-mining project in South America.
She did not belong to any movement or organisation but she doggedly held on to her land in spite of her claims of beatings, death threats, intimidation and court proceedings, becoming a symbol of resistance in her native Peru and above all its northern region of Cajamarca which rejected the $4.8bn Conga gold mine after five demonstrators were killed in clashes with the police in 2012.
Continue reading...Tesco changes rules on Kenya green beans to cut food waste
Relaxing of specifications on fine green beans is expected to save more than 135 tonnes of edible crops being wasted each year, supermarket says
Tesco is to relax rules on fine green beans imported from Kenya in a move expected to save more than 135 tonnes of edible crops from going to waste every year.
The UK’s largest retailer said shoppers’ preoccupation with pre-prepared vegetables had meant that until recently growers were required to supply fine beans within a strictly specified size range, and then trim them of their “strings” before being packed and shipped to the UK.
Continue reading...Microplastics: which beauty brands are safe to use?
The tiny beads used in exfoliant scrubs and toothpastes are at various stages of being phased out by the industry. Until a blanket ban comes into force, here’s a handy list of popular brands to help you choose which to use and which to avoid
Last week, Greenpeace found that two-thirds of the British public it polled think plastic microbeads used in exfoliant toiletries should be banned.
The tiny beads - found in face and body scrubs and some toothpastes - are too small to be captured through existing wastewater treatment processes, and wash straight into the ocean where they harm fish and other sea life.
Continue reading...Florida wakes up to climate change
The city of Miami Beach is slowly disappearing under water. At the big high tides of the year the sea washes over the famous wide beach and floods many of the city streets and magnificent Art Deco buildings. And over the past decade the floods have been striking more frequently.
Most of the city sits just a few feet above sea level, built on a foundation of porous limestone, allowing the rising seas to seep into the city’s foundations, surge up through pipes and drains, encroaching on fresh water supplies and saturating infrastructure. The city is now investing in a $500m project to raise roads and a pumping system to hold back the floods.
Continue reading...Sir David MacKay obituary
Sir David MacKay, who has died of cancer aged 48, was a true polymath, a rare breed in today’s world, where the frontiers of scientific knowledge are increasingly remote and complex. It is a testament to David’s intellectual brilliance that he was able to contribute to advancing more than one of these frontiers during his short career.
David latterly achieved cult status among climate and energy aficionados following the publication of Sustainable Energy: Without the Hot Air (2008), initially self-published using £10,000 of David’s own money and offered – as were all his works – simultaneously free for download on his website. Described as a “tour de force” by the Economist magazine and lauded by Bill Gates as “one of the best books on energy that has been written”, within two years it had sold 40,000 copies and been downloaded nearly half a million times.
Continue reading...More than 1,000 diesel cars caught without pollution filter, figures show
Government urged to crack down on rogue practice of garages removing compulsory diesel particulate filters from vehicles
More than a thousand diesel cars have been caught without an essential pollution filter that traps deadly particles, according to government figures. But experts warn the rogue practice of removing the filters, which contributes to air pollution-related deaths, could be far more widespread.
Almost 29,000 people die prematurely each year in the UK owing to particle pollution, causing £15bn in health costs. Since 2009 diesel particulate filters (DPFs) have been compulsory in new diesel cars. But, particularly for cars driven in cities, the DPFs can become clogged and cause breakdowns.
Continue reading...RRS Boaty McBoatface wins poll to name £200m polar research vessel – video explainer
The Natural Environment Research Council have conducted a poll to help decide the name of its new £200m polar research vessel and the winning name is – RRS Boaty McBoatface – receiving 124,109 votes. Four times more than RRS Poppy-Mai, which came in second place. Despite the overwhelming result of the poll, the NERC are unlikely to use the winning name. The government says it wants a name that ‘reflects the serious nature of the science it will be doing’
Continue reading...Boaty McBoatface wins poll to name polar research vessel
NERC chief has final say and faces dilemma between credibility of the organisation and burden of public opinion
Latest: Boaty McBoatface may not be name of new polar research vessel
Forget the EU referendum. The major test of modern democracy has fallen into the hands of the Natural Environment Research Council – over the naming of a boat.
As the polls finally closed for the naming of its new polar research ship, the NERC confirmed that the votes were overwhelmingly in favour of RRS Boaty McBoatface.
Continue reading...Australian night parrot legend lives on but bird remains as elusive as ever
Conservationists are putting fragments of information together to learn more about this enigmatic winged creature that only three living people have seen
Somewhere here among the red-dirt channel country of south-west Queensland is a bird that was, until recently, literally a legend.
Continue reading...Clouds gather over solar power after golden years of success
After a day in which Britain generated more power from the sun than from coal for the first time, the industry should be rejoicing. But the mood is fearful
Given that the government is determined to avoid playing a financial role in the planned new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point, it is perhaps surprising that it is involved in the UK’s largest solar array.
The 70-megawatt Lyneham photovoltaic farm – big enough to provide light and heat to 20,000 homes – is located at a former RAF base in Wiltshire owned and rented out by the Ministry of Defence.
Continue reading...March temperature smashes 100-year global record
Average global temperature was 1.07C hotter - beating last month’s previous record increase
The global temperature in March has shattered a century-long record and by the greatest margin yet seen for any month.
February was far above the long-term average globally, driven largely by climate change, and was described by scientists as a “shocker” and signalling “a kind of climate emergency”. But data released by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) shows that March was even hotter.
Continue reading...Climate change: website reveals which homes will be swamped by rising sea levels
Coastal Risk Australia combines Google Maps with detailed tide and elevation data, as well as future sea level rise projections
For the first time, Australians can see on a map how rising sea levels will affect their house just by typing their address into a website. And they’ll soon be able to get an estimate of how much climate change will affect their property prices and insurance premiums, too.
Launched on Friday, the website Coastal Risk Australia takes Google Maps and combines it with detailed tide and elevation data, as well as future sea level rise projections, allowing users to see whether their house or suburb will be inundated.
Continue reading...England's last golden eagle feared dead
Wildlife experts say the bird likely died of natural causes after they fail to spot him at his usual haunts in the Lake District
England’s only resident golden eagle is likely to have died after failing to appear this spring, wildlife experts fear.
The bird, which has been a resident at Riggindale near Haweswater, Cumbria, since 2001, has not seen by RSPB staff since last November, and would normally be seen at this time of year building a nest and displaying to attract a mate.
Continue reading...It’s settled: 90–100% of climate experts agree on human-caused global warming | Dana Nuccitelli
All-star team with authors of seven previous climate consensus studies collaborate to debunk the ‘no consensus’ myth once and for all
There is an overwhelming expert scientific consensus on human-caused global warming.
Authors of seven previous climate consensus studies — including Naomi Oreskes, Peter Doran, William Anderegg, Bart Verheggen, Ed Maibach, J. Stuart Carlton, John Cook, myself, and six of our colleagues — have co-authored a new paper that should settle this question once and for all. The two key conclusions from the paper are:
Continue reading...£500,000 tree-planting project helped Yorkshire town miss winter floods
Slowing the Flow scheme, which saw 40,000 trees planted, reduced peak river flow by 20%, after 50mm of rain fell in 36 hours
Tree planting and other natural approaches have prevented flooding at Pickering in North Yorkshire over Christmas, at a time when heavy rainfall caused devastating flooding across the region.
An analysis of the Slowing the Flow scheme published on Wednesday concludes that the measures reduced peak river flow by 15-20% at a time when 50mm of rain fell on sodden ground in 36 hours. The scheme was set up in 2009 after the town had suffered four serious floods in 10 years, with the flooding in 2007 estimated to have caused about £7m of damage.
Continue reading...