Today we are looking at some of the environmental issues facing the nation and how lucky we are to have Greg Hunt as our environment minister

• Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are published
• Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints

Continue reading…
Source: Guardian Environment

Scientists agree that aircraft pollution affects surface temperatures, but some people believe they have a darker side

A sky crisscrossed with contrails from high-flying aircraft is a familiar sight in Britain and North America. Depending on the weather conditions these can merge into a blanket of high cloud that at times can be dense enough to blot out the sun.

Understanding exactly what this does to the climate is still work in progress, but it’s generally agreed that in these areas where the aircraft are constantly pouring out pollution the contrails make the nights warmer by acting as a blanket and the days cooler by reflecting sunlight back into space. Some studies suggest that over 30 years, these contrails will raise average surface temperature by as much as 1C, a serious magnification of global warming.

Continue reading…
Source: Guardian Environment

A calf that two men picked up in their SUV because they thought it was ‘freezing’ was put to sleep after it was rejected by its herd upon returning

A newborn bison calf that was picked up and put into the back of car because someone thought it was cold has had to be euthanized, prompting the National Parks Service to criticize a spate of “inappropriate, dangerous and illegal behavior” by visitors to Yellowstone.

Last week two visitors, reportedly a man and his son, were admonished by Yellowstone rangers after they picked up a baby bison and placed it into the back of their SUV. The bison was driven to a ranger due to concerns that the animal was cold.

Continue reading…
Source: Guardian Environment

A Japanese footwear designer, Roderick Pieters, has worked together with fashion brand Proef to create a glueless shoe. The pairs of easy-to-assemble footwear are put together using rope and are designed to address challenges in the fashion industry’s current production and distribution methods, instead creating a product that can be easily disassembled and repaired by its owner. 

Pieters and Proef created the footwear using a thin nylon rope, which pulls together a rubber sole with leather upper and insoles, it can all be easily assembled by hand, and each part can be replaced independently with various style and colour options. An carefully designed indented edge in the sole hides the rope and also prevents it from being torn.

Source: Roderick Pieters’ Loper shoes are assembled with rope rather than glue

This initiative was also covered in our most recent Circulate on Fridays. Get a round-up of some of the best and strangest stories every week.

The post Designer Creates Glueless Shoe appeared first on Circulate.

Source: Circulate News RSS

Around 9.3 million women use tampons in the UK, but we don’t often speak about how we dispose of them

“Everyone knows that horror story of wrapping a tampon up in toilet roll and trying to smuggle it out your friend’s bathroom,” says Martha Silcott, inventor of Fab Little Bag, a biodegradable bag designed to make it easier for women to bin their tampons.

Silcott, a former City worker turned entrepreneur, surveyed hundreds of women and girls before launching her product on something we don’t usually talk about: the monthly, often messy matter of getting rid of used tampons. She found 40% chose to bin, 60% were flushers.

Continue reading…
Source: Guardian Environment

Statoil granted seabed lease to develop floating windfarm 15 miles off the coast of Peterhead that is expected to be operational by the end of 2017

The world’s largest floating windfarm is set to be built off the coast of Scotland after its developers were granted a seabed lease on Monday.

Statoil, the Norwegian energy company, expects to have five 6MW turbines bobbing in the North Sea and generating electricity by the end of 2017. The company has already operated a single turbine off Norway.

Continue reading…
Source: Guardian Environment

Images of the devastated Canadian city show just how destructive fire can be to urban populations. But the risk is greatest in informal settlements, where high population density and low-grade construction can be a deadly combination

With patches of lawn on fire in the front yards of his neighbourhood’s suburban homes and flames rising up the trees at the back, Jared Sabovitch frantically got into his car and began driving away from his home in Fort McMurray, Alberta, the Canadian city recently overtaken by wildfires.

“Hasty exit,” he said as he drove, the phone in his hand recording a video he would later post to Instagram. “That might have been the last time I ever saw my house, right there.”

Continue reading…
Source: Guardian Environment

These beautiful images were captured by participants of last year’s event, when thousands recorded more than 100,000 bees to help raise awareness of the threat to Britain’s 250 species of bee. Those taking part in this week’s count can send their photos using a free app

Continue reading…
Source: Guardian Environment

Smart leak detection and reusing stormwater to reduce urban heat are discussed at this year’s OzWater as cities prepare for climate change

For the international water industry delegates descending upon Melbourne last week, in the leadup to OzWater 16, it must have seemed they had arrived in the wrong place.

The torrential rain and flash floods inundating the city appeared at odds with Australia’s billing as the driest inhabited continent in the world, and certainly made for an unlikely setting to host a conference focusing on sustainability in a future of increasingly scarce water supplies.

Continue reading…
Source: Guardian Environment