The Guardian
Overfishing of North Sea may reduce after MEPs vote on fishing quotas
Defra welcomes European vote which aims to secure long-term sustainability of North Sea fish stocks
The European parliament has voted on a series of measures likely to reduce overfishing in the North Sea which will affect the UK’s fishing fleet until Brexit takes effect and potentially beyond.
The vote ensures that there will be limits to fishing quotas so that they cannot exceed levels regarded as sustainable by scientists. The outcome had been in doubt as MEPs voted on Thursday, but several amendments aimed at watering down the proposals were rejected.
Continue reading...The idea that climate scientists are in it for the cash has deep ideological roots
Author and academic Nancy MacLean says cynicism about the motives of public servants, including government-backed climate scientists, can be traced to a group of neoliberals and their ‘toxic’ ideas
You’ll have heard that line of argument about cancer scientists, right?
The one where they’re just in it for the government grant money and that they don’t really want to find a cure, because if they did they’d be out of a job?
Continue reading...On the vastness of the moor a stumpy gritstone shows the way
Redmires, Sheffield Scored by wind and rain there is something square-jawed about the stone known as Stump John
The Head Stone stands, like a muted version of Easter Island’s moai, on grouse moors west of Sheffield, looking down on traffic hurrying along the A57. A fractured block of gritstone seamed and scored by wind and rain, there is something square-jawed about it, although it has other names: Stump John, for John Priestley of Overstones Farm, a place literally “over stones”, on the far side of Stanage; and Cock Crowing Stone, possibly for the male grouse that advertise their wares from its summit.
Related: Farewell to an ancient landmark
Continue reading...Miner supplying Mt Piper power station seeks urgent hearing over invalid licence
Centennial Coal, whose licence was ruled invalid after its Springvale mine was found to be polluting Sydney’s water, wants matter resolved in two weeks
The miner that supplies Energy Australia’s Mount Piper coal power station with coal has sought an urgently expedited court hearing to establish how it can continue to operate without a valid licence.
But Centennial Coal did so without making a formal application for an early hearing and without evidence supporting the need for it, leaving the judge appearing sceptical of the claim.
Continue reading...EU report on weedkiller safety copied text from Monsanto study
Exclusive: EU’s food safety watchdog recommended that glyphosate was safe but pages of report were identical to application from pesticide maker
The European food safety authority (Efsa) based a recommendation that a chemical linked to cancer was safe for public use on an EU report that copied and pasted analyses from a Monsanto study, the Guardian can reveal.
Glyphosate is the core ingredient in Monsanto’s $4.75bn (£3.5bn) a year RoundUp weedkiller brand and a battle over its relicensing has split EU countries, with a final decision on its authorisation expected in early November.
Continue reading...US people of color still more likely to be exposed to pollution than white people
New federal government-funded study finds exposure to a key air pollutant is significantly influenced by race, far more than by income, age or education
People of color are still far more likely to suffer from harmful air pollution than white people across the US and this disparity has barely improved in recent years, despite overall improvements in air quality, a new federal government-funded study has found.
Related: London’s black communities disproportionately exposed to air pollution – study
Continue reading...The role of renewables in the UK energy mix | Letters
Your excellent editorial on the reducing cost of offshore wind power (13 September) is timely in identifying the increasingly futile case for new nuclear build. It does, however, repeat the fallacy that nuclear power “is a zero-carbon technology”. The carbon emissions involved in building such immense structures, in mining and transporting uranium, and in the transport, reprocessing and storage of waste, contribute to a considerable carbon burden. Estimates vary considerably, but studies suggest that the emissions from nuclear generation could be one-10th of those of fossil fuels, but twice those of wind power.
Furthermore, the need for a continuous supply is of only limited use when consumption patterns become distorted by, for example, the increased need to charge electric vehicles overnight, as your leader identifies. What is needed now, alongside continued investment in the latest generation of renewable production, is increased investment into a wide range of storage technologies, and further research and investment into the production of renewable heat.
Continue reading...MPs to reopen inquiry into plastic bottle use
New inquiry will look into the viability of deposit schemes and taxes as ways to reduce impact of plastic waste on the environment
MPs are to mount a new inquiry into plastic bottles amid growing calls for a deposit scheme to reduce the impact of plastic waste in the ocean.
The investigation will also examine whether charges or taxes should be put on single-use plastic bottles and takeaway coffee cups to reduce their contribution to litter.
Continue reading...Strange eel: mystery of the Texas eyeless sea beast solved
Scary-looking fish found on a Texas beach after Hurricane Harvey is identified as a fangtooth snake-eel with the help of social media
The mystery of an eyeless fanged sea monster washed ashore by Hurricane Harvey has been solved by social media.
Preeti Desai, a science communicator, found the sinister-looking fish on a beach in Texas City after the storm, and asked Twitter users to help identify it.
Continue reading...Once-common ash trees and antelope added to red list of endangered species – in pictures
North American ash trees, that face extinction due to an invasive beetle, and African antelope join the latest IUCN list that includes 25,000 species at risk of extinction
Continue reading...Red list: ash trees and antelopes on the brink of extinction
Scientists warn once-common species are disappearing faster than they can be counted as North America’s ash trees join IUCN’s list of endangered species due to threat of an invasive beetle
Native ash trees, abundant across North America, are on the brink of extinction as an invasive beetle ravages forests, according to the new red list of threatened species from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The list now includes more than 25,000 species at risk of extinction and the scientists warn that species, such as the American ashes and five African antelopes, that were thought to be safe, are now disappearing faster than they can be counted.
Continue reading...Cyclist set to finish record-breaking 'around the world in 80 days' cycle a day early
British athlete Mark Beaumont is expected to complete his world tour on Monday after 79 days in the saddle, smashing the previous record of 123 days
Endurance cyclist Mark Beaumont is expected to arrive in Paris on Monday 18 September, 79 days after setting off on his attempt to cycle around the world in 80 days.
The Guardian joined Beaumont in Lisbon on Wednesday, where he arrived on an overnight flight from Halifax in Canada to start the final leg of his record-breaking challenge. Despite cycling an average of 240 miles over 16 hours every day since 2 July, he looked fresh and sounded upbeat as we ticked off more miles on our way to the Spanish border. Yet he admitted the ride has taken its toll on him, both mentally and physically.
Continue reading...Shark hunt: Sea Shepherd activists bring Timor-Leste police to Chinese-owned boat
Environmental activist group says it is detaining vessels for Timorese police after Chinese-owned fleet allegedly targeted sharks
The ocean activist group Sea Shepherd says it has delivered armed Timor-Leste police on to a Chinese-owned fishing vessel in a dawn raid and is detaining the vessels for the police after it was found targeting sharks.
Following a two-week hunt for the Pingtan Marine Enterprises fleet, the Sea Shepherd boat M/Y Ocean Warrior found the vessels 150km south of Timor-Leste, allegedly fishing with gill nets anchored to the bottom of the sea, which would suggest they were targeting bottom-dwellers such as sharks.
Continue reading...Exodus begins as swifts muster for migration
Sandy, Bedfordshire A leave-taking of Britain is playing out in the skies as swifts and martins fuel up for their epic journey
Through these last weeks of summer, the autumn migration has played out in the skies, though it goes largely unnoticed by most below. A trickle of an exodus began over the bank holiday with three dark specks, way, way up in the blue. Specks, yes, but you could see, from the wings curved like taut bows, that they were unmistakably swifts.
Hatched on northern ledges they had become citizens of heaven. They deviated on insect-chasing sallies in all directions, but were overall tracking south-west.
Continue reading...Rare white giraffes spotted in Kenya conservation area
A pair of giraffes with leucism, a condition that inhibits pigmentation in skin cells, have been filmed by conservationists for the first time
A pair of rare white giraffes have been spotted in Kenya, to the delight of local residents and conservationists.
The reticulated giraffes, a mother and child, suffer from a genetic condition called leucism, which inhibits pigmentation in skin cells. Unlike albinism, animals with leucism continue to produce dark pigment in their soft tissue, which explains the white giraffes’ dark eyes and other colouring.
Continue reading...Asia's glaciers to shrink by a third by 2100, threatening water supply of millions
High mountains of Asia hold biggest store of frozen water outside the poles and feed many of the world’s great rivers, including the Ganges
Asia’s mountain glaciers will lose at least a third of their mass through global warming by the century’s end, with dire consequences for millions of people who rely on them for fresh water, researchers have said.
This is a best-case scenario, based on the assumption that the world manages to limit average global warming to 1.5C (2.7F) over pre-industrial levels, a team wrote in the journal Nature.
Continue reading...New 'real world' diesel tests fail to prevent rush hour pollution peak
Exclusive: new tests are intended to close loopholes but cars can still emit excess fumes in slow traffic, data shows
New “real world” emissions tests fail to prevent high levels of pollution from diesel cars during rush hour, according to new data.
Diesel vehicles are the main cause of the UK’s widespread levels of illegal air pollution, with the VW cheating scandal exposing the fact that virtually all diesel cars emitted far more toxic fumes than in official laboratory based tests. Since 1 September, new models must now be tested on real roads, but the new data shows even this does not prevent high levels of fumes in slow traffic, when pollution is at its worst for drivers and other road users.
Continue reading...End the secrecy over badger cull zones | Letters
Thousands more badgers are to be killed in new and extended government-licensed control zones (Huge rise in badger culling will see up to 33,500 animals shot, 12 September).
The government believes badger killing will eliminate bovine tuberculosis but won’t publish details of the zones, arguing public safety might be compromised. However, much of the killing takes place on land to which the citizen has some access. Disclosure would equip citizens to make informed judgments about their safety and that of their pets and about whether the shooting and trapping in their own backyard is legal or not. They could then engage in legitimate protest about the systematic killing of our native wildlife – in short, ensuring licence holders and the government can be held to account.
Continue reading...Flannels not fatbergs! The eco-friendly alternatives to wet wipes
Images of melting icebergs have long proved inspirational to environmentalists and politicians seeking to mitigate the threat of man-made climate change. So why is it that images of giant fatbergs clogging our sewers can’t seem to stop people flushing wet wipes down the loo?
These fatty underground tumours, comprised largely of wipes, nappies and cooking grease, have proliferated, backing up plumbing systems as far afield as New York City, San Francisco and Sydney. This month, a 130-tonne fatberg stretching the length of two football pitches was revealed during a routine inspection of the ageing sewage pipes beneath Whitechapel, in east London. Weighing about the same as a medium-sized jetliner, the fatberg is among the largest ever found and, left unchecked, could have sent a deluge of raw sewage on to the streets of London. Thames Water’s sewer chief Matt Rimmer described it as “a total monster” that would take three weeks to clear with shovels and high-powered water jets.
Continue reading...London's most polluted schools to be given air-quality audits
Mayor Sadiq Khan announces first 50 schools to undergo audits to help identify measures to minimise the impact of pollution on children
The most polluted schools in London are to be audited as part of the mayor’s drive to clean up toxic air across the capital.
Earlier this year a Guardian investigation revealed that hundreds of thousands of children are being exposed to illegal levels of damaging air pollution from diesel vehicles at schools and nurseries.
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