Government says links with China are vital after Hinkley Point warning
Spokeswoman confirms UK commitment to ‘strong relationship’ after Chinese official says relations are at ‘critical juncture’ The government has emphasised its determination to retain positive economic links with China after Beijing’s ambassador warned that cancelling the Hinkley Point C nuclear project could jeopardise relations. Liu Xiaoming used an article in the Financial Times on Tuesday […]
Why the EU is right to oppose a global ivory ban | Colman O’Criodain
Controversial proposals ahead of this year’s global wildlife trade summit threaten to fuel a divisive debate and divert attention away from the real measures needed to tackle the illegal ivory trade Anyone paying even cursory attention to wildlife stories in recent years would have heard all about Africa’s elephant poaching crisis. And with good reason. […]
Belarus under fire for 'dangerous errors' at nuclear plant
Neighbouring countries denounce ‘Soviet-style secrecy’ over accidents during energy site’s construction, RFE/RL reports Thirty years after world’s worst nuclear accident at Chernobyl, Belarus, which saw a quarter of its territory contaminated in the disaster, is building its first energy plant powered by the atom. However a series of mishaps at the site in Astravets are […]
Greenpeace sounds alarm over China's long-distance fishing fleet
The government is subsidising an industry that is growing rapidly, fishing in waters as far away as South America and Antarctica China’s vast, long-distance fishing industry has expanded to more than 10 times the size of America’s and its growth is depleting fisheries and creating conflicts, according to a Greenpeace report. From 2012 to 2014, […]
Nobody can buy the silence of a climate spinning out of control | Caroline Lucas
Attempts by ministers to bribe local people who oppose fracking is an insult to those who have fought hard to protect the environment The government’s reckless pursuit of fracking has reached new lows with the announcement that ministers will attempt to buy off widespread community opposition to the controversial new fossil fuel source through the […]
Mike Baird says another bidder for Ausgrid will emerge if sale to Chinese company rejected
Premier says national security a matter for federal government after Scott Morrison’s comments on sale of electricity distributor The New South Wales premier, Mike Baird, says if the federal government knocks back the sale of the state electricity distributor Ausgrid to a Chinese company another bidder will step in. Baird told reporters on Tuesday national […]
BMC Ecology Image competition 2016 – the winners in pictures
A Kalahari desert sunrise and a wren’s nest under a bike seat are among the winning images in the scientific journal’s annual competition, which showcases biodiversity, natural beauty and biological interactions photographed by ecologists Continue reading… Source: Guardian Environment
The first slim flocks of starlings gather by a muddy river
Waltham Brooks, West Sussex Now breeding has finished, the numbers of starlings gathering together are building up again, and will rise into the thousands in the coming months The river Arun has slowed almost to a stop, the bare strip of dried earth along the bank betraying the low water level. Large bunches of dark […]
Why Malcolm Roberts' demand for 'empirical evidence' on climate change is misleading
Scientist and Nobel prize-winner Peter Doherty says new One Nation senator ‘has no understanding of how science works’ Across Australia, climate science denialists are beside themselves with glee at the voting into office of one of their own. Late last week, the Australian Electoral Commission confirmed that Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party had snagged Queensland’s […]
Australian research produces DNA test to help save rare largetooth sawfish
Scientists in Queensland develop an environmental DNA test to help make habitats easier to identify Australian scientists have developed a cutting-edge test that could give the endangered largetooth sawfish a better chance of survival. Researchers working from James Cook University in Queensland, have found a way to reliably test large bodies of water for the […]