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Green concern over liquefied gas expansion plan - BBC  (Jul 1) |
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Jul 1 · One of Europe's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals has confirmed plans to expand capacity at its site after backing from investors. South Hook in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, processes about 20% of UK current demand for natural gas. But new research has revealed LNG's environmental costs, and Friends of the Earth Cymru are "very concerned". The Welsh government said it is developing Wales' pathway to a net zero system. South Hook has been importing liquefied gas from various parts of the world before turning it into gas and delivering it to homes since 2010. At the moment, the site can process about 15.6m tonnes of gas per ... Read more ... |
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Climate change is turbo-charging Somalia’s problems - but there's still hope - BBC  (Sep 17) |
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Sep 17 · Somalia may be one of the poorest countries in the world and beset by violence, but it is “fixable”, according to its top climate official. The country has been torn apart by more than 30 years of overlapping conflicts - including an Islamist insurgency, a civil war, and a series of regional and clan confrontations. Yet Abdihakim Ainte, the Somali prime minister’s climate advisor, still regards his country as “as story of potential - of promise”. What makes his optimism all the more surprising is the fact climate change is amplifying virtually all the challenges his country faces. One commentator described climate change as a “chaos multiplier”, because it ... Read more ... |
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Whistleblower testifies Titan sub tragedy was 'inevitable' - BBC  (Sep 17) |
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Sep 17 · A former employee of the company behind the doomed Titan submersible has told a public hearing he believed a safety incident was "inevitable" as the firm "bypassed" all standard rules. OceanGate's former operations director David Lochridge testified to US Coast Guard investigators that he had warned of potential safety problems before he was fired in 2018, but was ignored. Five people on board the Titan sub died when the experimental deep-sea craft imploded in June 2023 as it began a planned descent to the wreck of the Titanic. The public hearings began on Monday as part of a two-week inquiry by the US Coast Guard into the disaster. The investigation has been ... Read more ... |
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Climate a more fundamental threat than terror - Lammy - BBC  (Sep 17) |
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Sep 17 · The foreign secretary has said climate change is a more pervasive and fundamental threat than terrorism. In his maiden speech, 100 days after taking office, David Lammy said the climate issue, along with a decline in nature, would be "central to all the Foreign Office does". He also announced the government would launch a global initiative to accelerate the rollout of clean energy. But Mr Lammy warned the UK's previous funding commitments on the issue would have to be reviewed given the "dire" state of the country's finances. The foreign secretary made clear the government considered action on climate change and nature the focus of every department. Read more ... |
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Europe floods: Four die in Romania as heavy rain sweeps through central Europe - BBC  (Sep 13) |
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Sep 13 · Romania has set up displacement camps and launched rescue operations after floods killed at least four people and destroyed thousands of homes in the east of the country. Military boats and planes are being used to move people to safety, and Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has said the priority now is to prevent further loss of life. Recent days have seen torrential rain sweep through central and eastern Europe, swelling rivers and triggering flood warnings in the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary. The flood barriers in Czech capital Prague have been raised, while in parts of Poland residents have been evacuated. The four dead people were ... Read more ... |
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Coal mine plan quashed by High Court - BBC  (Sep 13) |
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Sep 13 · Plans to build the UK's first deep coal mine in more than 30 years have been quashed. At the High Court, judge Justice Holgate said environmental assumptions underpinning the development at Whitehaven in Cumbria was "legally flawed". The proposal by West Cumbria Mining (WCM) had received the go-ahead from the previous Conservative government in December 2022. Victoria Marson from Friends of the Earth said campaigners had won "a massive victory". WCM said it will "consider the implications" of the judgement before commenting further. Legal challenges were submitted by Friends of the Earth and South Lakes Action on Climate Change (SLACC), who claimed ... Read more ... |
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Mystery tremors were from massive nine-day tsunami - BBC  (Sep 12) |
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Sep 12 · A massive landslide in a Greenland fjord triggered a wave that “shook the Earth” for nine days. The seismic signal last September was picked up by sensors all over the world, leading scientists to investigate where it had come from. The landslide - a mountainside of rock that collapsed and carried glacial ice with it - triggered a 200m wave. That wave was then “trapped” in the narrow fjord - moving back and forth for nine days, generating the vibrations. Landslides like this, scientists say, are happening more frequently with climate change - as the glaciers that support Greenland's mountains melt. The results of the investigation into this event, ... Read more ... |
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The great gene editing debate: can it be safe and ethical? - BBC  (Sep 10) |
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Sep 10 · There’s nothing new about genetic engineering. By cross-breeding plants and animals, our Stone Age ancestors realised they could boost the amount of food they produced. Modern genetics has enabled scientists to do much more: to make precise, targeted changes to the DNA of organisms in a lab. And that, they claim, will lead to new, more productive, disease-resistant crops and animals. The science is still in its infancy, but gene-edited foods are already on the shelves in Japan: tomatoes rich in a chemical that supposedly promotes calmness; red sea bream with extra edible flesh; and puffer fish that grow more quickly. In the US, too, firms are developing ... Read more ... |
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Which rural area will take the UK’s nuclear waste? - BBC  (Sep 8) |
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Sep 8 · A repeating tone - blip, blip, blip - is the audible reminder that we are in one of the most hazardous nuclear sites in the world: Sellafield. That sound - pulsing from speakers inside the cavernous fuel-handling plant - is a signal that everything is functioning as it should. That is comforting because Sellafield, in Cumbria, is the temporary home to the vast majority of the UK’s radioactive nuclear waste, as well as the world’s largest stockpile of plutonium. That waste is the product of reactions that drive the UK’s nuclear power stations and it is highly radioactive. It releases energy that can penetrate and damage the cells in our bodies, and "it remains ... Read more ... |
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Nine offshore wind farm projects awarded in UK auction - BBC  (Sep 3) |
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Sep 3 · A total of nine offshore wind farm contracts have been awarded by the government after last year's auction failed to attract any bidders at all. The contracts are part of a wider slate of green energy projects that also include tidal and solar power, and will provide enough electricity to fuel the equivalent of 11 million UK homes, the government said. However, while the new offshore wind projects have been broadly welcomed, some experts questioned whether they would generate enough capacity to meet renewable energy targets set for 2030. Households are also facing higher energy bills later this year, with a typical bill to rise by 10%. On Tuesday, a ... Read more ... |
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Five seabirds added to UK red list of most concern - BBC  (Sep 2) |
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Sep 2 · Five seabird species have been added to the UK red list of birds at most need of conservation, joining others such as the puffin. The new entries include the Arctic tern, known for its incredible migration, the great skua, or pirate of the sea, and two types of gull. The UK is known for its colonies of seabirds nesting in huge numbers on cliffs - but populations are plummeting amid a host of pressures, from climate change to a lack of food. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is calling for urgent government action to address "this dire situation". "As an island nation, it is perhaps not surprising that we are globally important for seabird ... Read more ... |
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Will sustainable aviation fuels take off? - BBC  (Aug 29) |
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Aug 29 · In a building on the edge of a business park outside Sheffield, researcher Ihab Ahmed is preparing to fire up a small jet engine. Originally used as an auxiliary power unit for a commercial airliner, it has been turned into a testbed for new fuels developed in a laboratory next door. The arrangement is a centrepiece of Sheffield University’s Sustainable Fuels Innovation Centre (SAF-IC), a research facility set up to allow synthetic fuels to be prepared and evaluated on a small scale, before being put into large scale production. On a bank of computer screens in a nearby control room, Ihab can monitor the engine as it starts with a burst of flame and powers ... Read more ... |
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'Windiest part of the UK' could power nearly 500,000 homes - BBC  (Aug 28) |
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Aug 28 · Power is flowing from the Shetland Isles to mainland Britain for the first time as the UK's most productive onshore windfarm comes on stream. SSE says its 103-turbine project, known as Viking, can generate 443 megawatts (MW) of electricity, enough to power nearly 500,000 homes. Shetland is the windiest part of the UK, which means it will be rare for the turbines, which reach a massive 155m at their tip, not to be spinning. Chief executive Alistair Phillips-Davies told BBC News a "significant acceleration" in renewable energy infrastructure is now urgently needed if the UK is to meet its climate change targets. "We need to do a lot more of these projects, ... Read more ... |
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Ancient ocean of magma found on Moon south pole - BBC  (Aug 21) |
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Aug 21 · The Moon’s south pole was once covered in an ocean of liquid molten rock, according to scientists. The findings back up a theory that magma formed the Moon's surface around 4.5 billion years ago. Remnants of the ocean were found by India’s historic Chandrayaan-3 mission that landed on the south pole last August. The mission explored this isolated and mysterious area where no craft had ever landed before. The findings help back up an idea called the Lunar Magma Ocean theory about how the Moon formed. Scientists think that when the Moon formed 4.5 billion years ago, it began to cool and a lighter mineral called ferroan anorthosite floated to the ... Read more ... |
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Drone swarms could stop wildfires, researchers say - BBC  (Aug 19) |
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Aug 19 · Drones could soon be working together in swarms to put out flames before they become wildfires, UK researchers hope. A team of firefighters, scientists and engineers are working on a project they say will allow swarms of up to 30 autonomous planes to spot and extinguish fires by working collectively using artificial intelligence. Drones piloted by people are already used in firefighting, for example to detect hidden blazes and assess safety risks. The drones that researchers want to eventually use for firefighting are large twin-engined aircraft with a wingspan of 9.5m (31ft) and large water-carrying capacity. The BBC was invited to an airfield in Cornwall to ... Read more ... |
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Why the skies turned red over the UK this weekend - BBC  (Aug 18) |
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Aug 18 · Smoke from wildfires across the Atlantic has brought spectacular vivid colours to sunsets and sunrises across the UK this weekend. Fires have blazed across North America this summer, and smoke particles have been carried by the jet stream to the skies above the British Isles. The unusual hues should continue until Monday, when more unsettled weather will begin to disperse the smoke in the upper atmosphere. But skywatchers could also be in for a treat on Monday night, when a rare blue supermoon appears above the UK. A jet stream is a high altitude current of air that occurs when warmer air from the south meets cooler air from the north, and is responsible for ... Read more ... |
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Despair as the sea slowly swallows a Kenyan beauty spot - BBC  (Aug 13) |
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Aug 13 · When Roberto Macri built his luxury hotel in the Kenyan coastal village of Kipini, it was about 100m (330ft) away from the beautiful waters of the Indian Ocean. For nearly two decades his business thrived as tourists arrived in droves to enjoy the pristine beach and sunny weather. The Tana Lodge Hotel, which was built on top of sand dunes, offered a spectacular view of the ocean. But in 2014 people started to notice a change. The sea level had begun to rise and within five years, the hotel's nine guest cottages had been swallowed by the sea - one after the other. "The ocean changed steadily and started encroaching the hotel. The last standing cottage was ... Read more ... |
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Two polar bears kill Canadian worker in rare attack - BBC  (Aug 13) |
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Aug 13 · Two polar bears killed a worker at a remote Arctic radar station in Canada's northern Nunavut territory, prompting an investigation into the rare fatal attack. The employee, who has not been named, was working for Nasittuq Corporation - a logistics company which operates radar defence sites on behalf of the Canadian government. Other workers responded to the scene and killed one of the bears, the company said in a statement. "We are working closely with local authorities and regulatory agencies to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident," the company said. "The safety and well-being of our employees is our ... Read more ... |
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Reservoir of liquid water found deep in Martian rocks - BBC  (Aug 12) |
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Aug 12 · Scientists have discovered a reservoir of liquid water on Mars - deep in the rocky outer crust of the planet. The findings come from a new analysis of data from Nasa’s Mars Insight Lander, which touched down on the planet back in 2018. The lander carried a seismometer, which recorded four years' of vibrations - Mars quakes - from deep inside the Red Planet. Analysing those quakes - and exactly how the planet moves - revealed "seismic signals" of liquid water. While there is water frozen at the Martian poles and evidence of vapour in the atmosphere, this is the first time liquid water has been found on the planet. The findings are published in the ... Read more ... |
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Down into the ocean's 'twilight zone' with Boaty McBoatface - BBC  (Aug 9) |
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Aug 9 · Battling choppy waves and high winds, three engineers pulled ashore a yellow submarine in Scotland this week. With sheets of water pouring from its body, the UK’s most famous robot - Boaty McBoatface - was winched up after 55 days at sea. “It’s a bit slimy, and ocean smells have seeped in. There’s a few things growing on it,” says Rob Templeton, now dismantling the 3.6m robot in Leverburgh, on the Isle of Harris. Boaty has completed a more-than-2,000km scientific odyssey from Iceland that could change what we know about the pace of climate change. It was hunting for marine snow - “poo, basically” in the words of one researcher. This refers to tiny particles ... Read more ... |
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Coalmine saga was epic mismanagement, says report - BBC  (Aug 7) |
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Aug 7 · Oversight of what was the UK's largest opencast coalmine has been described as a case of "epic mismanagement" with "heart-rending" impacts for people affected. A Senedd committee warned of a "permanent scar" above Merthyr Tydfil if the vast Ffos-y-Fran site was not fully restored. Its report includes stinging criticism of the mine's operator and said the Welsh government and other authorities failed to act on previous warnings over the site's future. The Welsh government said it would consider the committee's recommendations. Mining firm Merthyr (South Wales) Limited said it had recently held a "constructive" meeting with all relevant ... Read more ... |
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400-year record heat threat to Great Barrier Reef - BBC  (Aug 7) |
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Aug 7 · A study of samples taken from inside the bodies of centuries-old coral has revealed the threat climate change now poses to the Great Barrier Reef. Extreme heat has already caused five mass bleaching events in the past nine years alone. Writing in the journal Nature, the scientists behind the study say increased temperatures, driven by climate change, now pose an “existential threat” to this natural wonder of the world. “The science tells us that the Great Barrier Reef is in danger - and we should be guided by the science,” Prof Helen McGregor, from the University of Wollongong, told BBC News. The new evidence comes from within the coral itself. Over ... Read more ... |
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World's biggest iceberg spins in ocean trap - BBC  (Aug 3) |
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Aug 3 · Something remarkable has happened to A23a, the world's biggest iceberg. For months now it has been spinning on the spot just north of Antarctica when really it should be racing along with Earth's most powerful ocean current. Scientists say the frozen block, which is more than twice the size of Greater London, has been captured on top of a huge rotating cylinder of water. It's a phenomenon oceanographers call a Taylor Column - and it's possible A23a might not escape its jailer for years. "Usually you think of icebergs as being transient things; they fragment and melt away. But not this one," observed polar expert Prof Mark ... Read more ... |
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Government sets record budget for green energy auction - BBC  (Jul 30) |
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Jul 30 · The government is set to significantly raise the budget for this year's renewable energy auction, following calls from industry for more support. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband will announce on Wednesday that the budget will be increased to £1.5bn, up by £500m from last year. The majority of the funding will be available to develop offshore wind power, which the Labour government says it wants to quadruple by 2030. The extra money has been broadly welcomed by the renewables industry, but there are warnings that without other changes, any new projects may not be delivered in time. The government holds an auction each year to encourage companies to bid to ... Read more ... |
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UK getting more hot and more wet days – Met Office - BBC  (Jul 24) |
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Jul 24 · Climate change is dramatically increasing the frequency of extreme high temperatures in the UK, new Met Office analysis has confirmed. Its annual State of the Climate report says data from 2023 shows the country is experiencing significantly more really hot days. Its observations suggest there has been an increase in the number of really wet days too, such as the prolonged and heavy rain Storm Babet brought to wide areas of the country in October last year. The report finds the UK is also seeing a 40% increase in the number of what the Met Office describes as “pleasant” days - those with temperatures of 20C or more – and has become 9% sunnier over the last few decades. Read more ... |
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Oxygen discovery defies knowledge of the deep ocean - BBC  (Jul 22) |
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Jul 22 · Scientists have discovered “dark oxygen” being produced in the deep ocean, apparently by lumps of metal on the seafloor. About half the oxygen we breathe comes from the ocean. But, before this discovery, it was understood that it was made by marine plants photosynthesising - something that requires sunlight. Here, at depths of 5km, where no sunlight can penetrate, the oxygen appears to be produced by naturally occurring metallic “nodules” which split seawater - H2O - into hydrogen and oxygen. Several mining companies have plans to collect these nodules, which marine scientists fear could disrupt the newly discovered process - and damage any marine life that depends ... Read more ... |
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UK coal mine fights for future in court - BBC  (Jul 18) |
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Jul 18 · The company planning to build a new coal mine in Whitehaven, Cumbria has fought its case in court, saying it can and will build a “unique” net zero mine. The High Court hearing in London is the first test of a major ruling in June that raised doubts that any new fossil fuel project could be approved in the UK. The head of the mining company sat side-by-side in court with the climate campaigners that want to stop him opening the UK’s first deep coal mine in 30 years. The judge will give a decision in the coming weeks. Approval for the mine - which aims to produce coking coal for use in steel manufacturing - was granted in 2022 by the last ... Read more ... |
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Make electricity cheaper to boost heat pumps - climate advisers - BBC  (Jul 17) |
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Jul 17 · Taxes on electricity should be shifted to gas so that people feel more benefit from using green technologies like heat pumps in their homes, the government's climate advisers say. The Climate Change Committee (CCC) says the change would mean consumers seeing clearer benefits from switching away from gas boilers, which emit CO2 and are a major cause of climate change. The Committee also wants the new government to reverse the steps taken by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to slow down carbon cutting plans. The CCC says the UK is in danger of missing a 2030 climate target, which is seen as a critical step on the road to net-zero emissions by ... Read more ... |
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Secret 'sky island' rainforest saved by new discoveries - BBC  (Jul 15) |
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Jul 15 · Perched on a remote mountain top and surrounded by lowlands, Mabu is what's known as a "sky island" and is the largest rainforest in southern Africa. BBC environment correspondent Jonah Fisher went to Mabu with a team of scientists who have discovered dozens of new species there, helping to convince Mozambique to protect it. “Let me get my magic spoon,” Dr Gimo Daniel says with a smile. It’s hard to imagine anyone taking more delight in their work than the 36-year-old Mozambican beetle expert. We’re crouched around a small hole in the dirt not far from our camp in the centre of Mabu forest. Dr Daniel’s mission, like that of almost everyone on our expedition, ... Read more ... |
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Net zero: Majority of homes need heat pumps, says Welsh government - BBC  (Jul 15) |
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Jul 15 · Heat pumps will need to be installed in the vast majority of Welsh homes to meet climate targets, the Welsh government has said. However, the government's new heat strategy stops short of saying if or when oil and gas boilers will be banned, acknowledging the switch was still "beyond the means" of many. It said it would focus on making it easier to opt for the greener tech with financial incentives and changes to planning rules, among other things. Heating accounts for 50% of energy use in Wales, 75% of which is generated by burning oil and gas, releasing planet-warming carbon emissions. Ministers say they are unlikely to support the use of hydrogen as ... Read more ... |
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Shackleton's Endurance ship gets extra protection - BBC  (Jul 9) |
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Jul 9 · A protection perimeter drawn around Endurance, one of the world's greatest shipwrecks, is being widened from a radius of 500m to 1,500m. The extended zone will further limit activities close to the vessel, which sank in 1915 during an ill-fated Antarctic expedition led by celebrated polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton. The measure is part of a newly published conservation management plan (CMP). Already, no-one should retrieve or even touch objects in the protected zone. Everything must be left in situ. The perimeter update is a recognition that debris from Endurance - including crew belongings - may be strewn across a larger area of ocean floor ... Read more ... |
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Smelly planet 'reeks of rotten eggs' - BBC  (Jul 8) |
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Jul 8 · A faraway planet known for its dire weather also whiffs of rotten eggs, according to a new study. Scientists studied the atmosphere of HD 189733 b, which has scorching temperatures and precipitation akin to raining glass, using data from the James Webb Space Telescope. Hydrogen sulphide, which also exists on Jupiter, makes up most of HD 189733 b's atmosphere, and emits a bit of a pong, according to researchers. The gas is also emitted during farts. Finding it here is one of the first detections of hydrogen sulphide on an exoplanet - or planet outside of our solar system. "So, if your nose could work at 1000C ... the atmosphere would smell like rotten ... Read more ... |
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No, UK weather is not being manipulated - BBC  (Jul 3) |
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Jul 3 · June's weather may have felt erratic at times - but for some social media users, there was nothing random about it. They wrongly blamed it on "weather manipulation" and "geoengineering". Others accused weather presenters of "hiding the truth" from the public. Much of June experienced temperatures about 2C (3.6F) lower than average, due to colder air coming from the Arctic. That was reversed in the last week of the month as warmer air moved in, bringing the UK temperature closer to normal, but still 0.4C colder than average. Combined with one of the wettest winters in recent years, this has left many wondering what is going on with the British ... Read more ... |
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Hurricane Beryl: Record-breaking sign of warming world - BBC  (Jul 3) |
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Jul 3 · Hurricane Beryl is wreaking havoc in parts of the Caribbean – and putting the role of climate change under the spotlight. With maximum sustained wind speeds of more than 160mph (257km/h), it became the earliest category five Atlantic hurricane in records going back around 100 years. In fact, there has only been one previous recorded case of a category five Atlantic hurricane in July – Hurricane Emily, on 16 July 2005. The causes of individual storms are complex, making it difficult to fully attribute specific cases to climate change. But exceptionally high sea surface temperatures are seen as a key reason why Hurricane Beryl has been so ... Read more ... |
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Arctic 'dirty fuel' ban for ships comes into force - BBC  (Jun 30) |
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Jun 30 · A ban on the dirtiest and most climate-damaging fuel for ships has come into effect in Arctic waters. Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) is a tar-like, thick but relatively cheap oil that is widely used in shipping around the world, especially tankers. However, HFO is particularly damaging in the Arctic, where the black carbon it emits when burned speeds up the melting of snow and ice. Campaigners say the ban, while welcome, will make little immediate impact as a series of loopholes will allow the vast majority of ships to use the fuel until 2029. Produced from the waste left over in oil refining, HFO poses a huge threat to the oceans in general but to the Arctic in ... Read more ... |
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Landmark ruling could threaten future UK oil drilling - BBC  (Jun 20) |
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Jun 20 · The Supreme Court has ruled a local council should have considered the full climate impact of burning oil from new wells - a landmark decision which could put future UK oil and gas projects in question. Under planning law the assumption has always been that only the impacts from constructing the wells and not the use of the final oil products should be considered. The case brought against Surrey County Council by Sarah Finch, on behalf of campaigners could threaten new UK fossil fuels projects. The council said it believed at the time it had followed planning law. The Supreme Court judges did not rule that Surrey County Council should reject the proposal for ... Read more ... |
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Drones reveal Antarctic whale 'acrobatics' - BBC  (Jun 14) |
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Jun 14 · Footage of humpback whales captured by drones has revealed how the animals manoeuvre their whole bodies when they feed. As BBC News filmed with scientists in the Antarctic Peninsula, one whale used its four-metre-long fin to sweep a net of bubbles around its prey and trap them, known as "bubble-netting". "The flick of that of that flipper really shows how adaptable, how creative, these animals can be," said Dr Ari Friedlaender from the University of California Santa Cruz. Humpbacks are "much more acrobatic" than other similarly sized whales, Dr Friedlaender said. The wildlife charity WWF’s global whales expert, Chris Johnson, said the solo whale we watched ... Read more ... |
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Explorer Shackleton's last ship found on ocean floor - BBC  (Jun 12) |
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Jun 12 · Wreck hunters have found the ship on which the famous polar explorer Ernest Shackleton made his final voyage. The vessel, called "Quest", has been located on the seafloor off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. Shackleton suffered a fatal heart attack on board on 5 January 1922 while trying to reach the Antarctic. And although Quest continued in service until it sank in 1962, the earlier link with the explorer gives it great historic significance. The British-Irish adventurer is celebrated for his exploits in Antarctica at a time when very few people had visited the frozen wilderness. "His final voyage kind of ended that Heroic Age of Exploration, of ... Read more ... |
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Nasa 'Earthrise' astronaut dies at 90 in plane crash - BBC  (Jun 7) |
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Jun 7 · Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders, who snapped one of the most famous photographs taken in outer space, has died in a plane crash at the age of 90. Officials say a small aircraft he was flying crashed into the sea off Washington state. Anders' son Greg confirmed that his father's body was recovered on Friday afternoon. "The family is devastated. He was a great pilot. He will be missed," a statement from the family reads. Anders - who was a lunar module pilot on the Apollo 8 mission - took the iconic Earthrise photograph, one of the most memorable and inspirational images of Earth from space. Taken on Christmas Eve during the 1968 mission, the ... Read more ... |
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Crossbows and eerie silences – following Antarctic whales for climate change clues - BBC  (Jun 7) |
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Jun 7 · Inside the bodies of humpback whales are clues about how climate change is transforming Antarctica. Our BBC science team crossed the Southern Ocean, with the researchers, on a mission to follow and study the giant whales of this remote, frozen wilderness. At 03:00 in the morning there is an almighty crash. Every drawer in our cabin is flung open and contents hurled against the wall. We hit a 12-metre wave. I’m not a seafarer; this is alarming, but apparently not unusual on the Drake Passage - the stretch of the notoriously rough Southern Ocean we are on. We’re aboard a 200-passenger tourist ship, with a team of wildlife scientists, on our way to the Antarctic ... Read more ... |
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