The Guardian
CSIRO breeds spotted handfish to save species from extinction
Fish, which is endemic to Tasmania, was the first Australian marine animal to be listed as critically endangered
Scientists have begun a captive breeding program for the spotted handfish, 11 years after it became the first Australian marine animal to be listed as critically endangered.
Endemic to Tasmania, the spotted handfish or Brachionichthys hirsutus looks like a tadpole in the late stages of development, with a fin atop its head to lure unsuspecting prey and the sour expression of a British bulldog.
Continue reading...The night heron: at home on the Somerset Levels
Devastated land, scarred by peat digging, has been transformed into suitable habitats for birds unfamiliar to the UK
The news that night herons had bred in Britain for the first time barely registered on the ornithological Richter scale. Perhaps this was because it happened on the Somerset Levels, the UK’s new hotspot for long-legged wading birds.
Over the past couple of decades, first little egret, then little bittern, great white and cattle egrets, and now night herons, have flown across the Channel. Many ended up on the Somerset Levels, liked what they saw, and settled down here. Meanwhile, bitterns came over from East Anglia, while cranes were given a helping hand from us, via a reintroduction scheme. Now that we can see five or six of these exotic newcomers in a day, we have become rather blase about them.
Continue reading...How palm trees stand tall in the face of a hurricane
As Hurricane Irma battered the Caribbean, trees aerodynamically adapted to strong winds stood firm
When Storm Aileen ripped across the UK last week the worst of the winds brought down trees, snapped off branches and shredded leaves, made worse because the trees were in full leaf and caught the wind like a sail. Compare that with the palm trees that stood up to Hurricane Irma’s immensely stronger winds, which would have torn British trees to shreds. The palm trees simply bent over at crazy angles and then bounced back again.
Related: Scaling up our response to super-hurricanes
Continue reading...Top Trump officials signal US could stay in Paris climate agreement
Secretary of state Rex Tillerson and national security adviser HR McMaster both indicated the US is open to negotiations on staying in the accord
Senior Trump administration officials on Sunday signalled a further softening of America’s resolve to leave the Paris climate accord, amid signs that the issue will be discussed at the United Nations general assembly in New York this week.
Secretary of state Rex Tillerson and national security adviser HR McMaster both indicated that the US is open to negotiations on staying in the landmark international agreement to limit mankind’s role in global warming.
Continue reading...How regulators could kill off Australia's water recycling industry
A world-leading system in Sydney’s Central Park precinct helps residents reuse up to 97% of their water. But a pricing change threatens future schemes
In the basement of a Sydney housing development is the world’s largest water recycling plant in a residential building.
Normal apartments put more than 90% of the water they consume back into the sewer. But thanks to the recycling plant, units in Central Park, built on the site of the old Carlton brewery close to the CBD, return just 3%.
Continue reading...Beware nuclear industry’s fake news on being emissions free | Letters
I wholeheartedly agree with much of your editorial (14 September), as the economics of new nuclear is weaker than ever at a time when renewables are coming in cheaper year on year. You point out the crisis in the funding of renewables and we could not agree more. The UK desperately needs to reboot financial support for decentralised energy in order to maximise long-term benefits for all. Councils, in particular, are calling for the restoration of feed-in tariffs and other support that has been instrumental in the creation of innovative, local, low-carbon energy schemes, Passivhaus-accredited buildings, and energy efficiency programmes for dealing with the scourge of fuel poverty.
While the dramatic cost reductions in offshore wind are to be welcomed, it has to be joined with renewed support for decentralised energy projects, approval for tidal energy schemes and the resumption of support for solar and onshore wind. The government must see that the energy landscape has changed dramatically. An energy review and reboot is urgently required.
Cllr David Blackburn
Vice-chair, UK and Ireland Nuclear Free Authorities
Agriculture holds the key to unlocking Africa’s vast economic potential | Letters
Only the final paragraph in your article on cocoa farming causing deforestation in Ivory Coast (Forests pay price for world’s taste for cocoa, 14 September) mentioned the most fundamental thing – the farmer’s livelihood, or lack of it. The low value of his (or more likely her) crop is undoubtedly the cause of this problem. But cocoa farming could also provide the solution.
Recently, I was in Ivory Coast for the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) in Abidjan. It united many different parties – governments, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), private sector agribusiness like Syngenta, Bayer and OCP, Rabobank and the World Bank, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. They are united in one firm belief: that agriculture holds the key to unlocking Africa’s economic potential – 41 million smallholders on a fertile continent that grows every crop imaginable.
Continue reading...Press regulator censures Mail on Sunday for global warming claims
Mail on Sunday criticised by Ipso for article claiming global warming data had been exaggerated to win Paris climate change agreement
Claims in the Mail on Sunday that global warming data had been exaggerated in order to secure the Paris climate change agreement have been criticised by the UK’s press regulator.
The Independent Press Standards Organisation censured the newspaper for publishing a story in early February that was flawed in key aspects. The news story suggested that data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), one of the world’s gold-standard sources of weather and climate research, had been treated in such a way as to suggest greater warming than had really occurred.
Continue reading...Nancy Hatch Dupree obituary
Nancy Hatch Dupree, who has died aged 89, was an American archivist, writer and champion of Afghanistan’s culture and its people, who defied communists, fundamentalists, warlords and foreign invaders over nearly five decades in Kabul.
Her most important legacy is an archive documenting some of the darkest periods of Afghan history: turbulent years of civil war and Taliban rule that many would happily have let slide into obscurity. The documents are housed in the Afghanistan Centre at Kabul University, established in 2006 and one of the city’s most impressive post-Taliban buildings, inspired by traditional architecture and a reflection of Nancy and her husband Louis Dupree’s love of Afghan culture.
Continue reading...The 'miracle pill': how cycling could save the NHS
Cycling can make people healthy and live longer, and cut public health costs, so why can’t it be prescribed to the nation?
Imagine if a team of scientists devised a drug which massively reduced people’s chances of developing cancer or heart disease, cutting their overall likelihood of dying early by 40%. This would be front page news worldwide, a Nobel prize as good as in the post.
That drug is already here, albeit administered in a slightly different way: it’s called cycling to work. One of the more puzzling political questions is why it is so rarely prescribed on a population-wide level.
Continue reading...The eco guide to ancient grains
Selective breeding gives the highest yield, but potentially at a price. It’s time to go back to our roots
If you find the whole business of organic too tame, there’s always landrace crops, which are positively subversive. Landrace crop varieties (sometimes known as folk crops) are ancient versions of the standardised crops we rely on today. Genetically variable, these biodiverse cultivars are allowed to grow at will and to cross pollinate. Farmers collect the seeds from successful crops and these become the parents of next year’s varieties. Simple.
If this sounds primitive (it is in fact Neolithic), it makes much more sense than modern agriculture, which is reliant on selective breeds that are addicted to fertilisers. The idea is that the selective breeds give the highest yield when conditions are good. This is a terrible strategy in an era of climate change when conditions are not ideal. Modern agriculture has wiped out almost all original genetic diversity. Ancient cultivars of wheat are used for straw or shoved into seed banks. Proponents of the Real Green Movement want them released into the soil.
Continue reading...Meet the latest recruit to the UK flood defence team: the beaver
Beavers could be put to work building dams to stop a village from flooding in the Forest of Dean, in what would be the first such scheme on government land.
The Forestry Commission has been an enthusiastic advocate for the release of a family of beavers into a large fenced area surrounding Greathough brook above the village of Lydbrook, on land owned by the commission.
Continue reading...Paws for thought: drivers warned to look out for animal stowaways
Warning comes after koala found clinging to axle of vehicle in Australia and three kittens survive 311-mile trip from Netherlands to UK under car bonnet
Motorists are being urged to be vigilant after two reports of animals becoming trapped under vehicles on opposite sides of the world.
In Australia, a koala survived a 16km (10 mile) trip clinging to the axle of a four-wheel drive vehicle before the driver stopped and heard the cries of the traumatised animal.
Continue reading...Chris Boardman: 'Energy gel? I'd rather have a sandwich'
The former cycling world champion and Manchester’s first walking and cycling commissioner on riding safely, favourite rides and why he won’t use Strava
So, you’re the first cycling and walking commissioner for Greater Manchester. How come?
Because Andy Burnham [the mayor of Greater Manchester] phoned and asked me. I was quite taken aback, because do I have any qualifications? No. But I was taken with his enthusiasm. From the first few seconds it was pretty scary because I have been on the other side of the fence campaigning and lobbying [as British Cycling’s policy advisor] and saying what should be done, and then someone else says “go on, then” – you’re in a difficult position if you don’t want to be a hypocrite.
Continue reading...Nine of the best bikes for all budgets
Whether you’re commuting, touring or competing we’ve sourced the perfect bikes, from entry-level through mid-range to high spec
6KU Detroit, £325
UK legal claims grow over exposure at work to toxic diesel fumes
Unions warn effects of exposure to diesel pollution is ticking time bomb for business, likening situation to ‘early days of asbestos’
Legal claims over exposure to diesel exhaust fumes at work are growing as unions warn toxic air in the workplace is a ticking time bomb on a par with asbestos.
Royal Mail and at least one local authority are among major employers who are being sued over their alleged failure to protect staff from the damaging health effects of diesel pollution from vehicles. More cases are lined up, according to lawyers and unions involved in supporting workers.
Continue reading...Gear up: 10 of the best pieces of cycle clothing and accessories for men – in pictures
From tops with sweat wicking, to jeans with extra stretch and shorts with reinforcement, we pick the best pieces for cyclists who don’t relish arriving to work crumpled, clammy – or in Lycra
• link here to gallery of women’s clothes
Continue reading...Ride in style: our pick of women's cycling fashion – in pictures
Increasingly, cycle brands are speeding beyond traditional performance wear into clothes that look everyday but have technical tweaks for riding. Tops are sweat wicking, jeans have extra stretch and shorts are reinforced around the inner thigh, and they look good too
• See our pick of men’s clothes and accessories
Continue reading...UK's largest 'disco soup' attracts 1,000 people to London market
Hundreds of volunteers gather to prepare soup as part of global movement to inspire action against food waste
Visitors to a community food market and bar in south London on Friday were presented with an unusual combination of pleasures: a soup disco.
Volunteers and customers at Mercato Metropolitano in Elephant and Castle gathered to chop vegetables and tear basil leaves from their stalks while professional chefs directed them and DJs from the nightclub Ministry of Sound spun records in the background.
Continue reading...The week in wildlife – in pictures
Rescued Sumatran orangutans, a stranded manatee, and brown bears near Ljubljana, Slovenia, are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world
Continue reading...