Earthwire Environmental News Portal
The latest environmental news from the UK, brought to you by UNEP/GRID-Arendal.
Updated: 13 hours 34 min ago
Female cyclists expose sexist idiots online
I've had my top pulled down when I've stopped at traffic lights and been asked if I put in as much effort in the bedroom - but at least I can deal with it on my blog, 101 Wankers? Wanted: top women cyclists (to look pretty)? I love cycling in a summer dress but it has its embarrassing pitfallsI beli
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Country diary: The Burren, Ireland
I sat on a rock on our local beach watching the pure white-edged waves slip nearer on the advancing tide. Farther out on a rock waiting for his meal was one of our resident herons. Suddenly the long beak stabbed downwards. Immediately, a seagull swooped and there was an altercation, each trying to g
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What happened to the seals?
Dozens of dead seals have washed up in Scotland with strange spiral wounds. What could be the culprit?It's a mammalian mystery that would baffle even Sherlock Holmes: the unexplained deaths of dozens of seals, found washed-up off the coasts of Norfolk, St Andrews and the Firths of Forth and Tay
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Scientists dispute White House claim that spilled BP oil has vanished
? US government challenged over claims oil has evaporated? Tests show oil is affecting phytoplankton and staying on seabedThe White House is facing a growing challenge to its claim that most of the oil from the Deepwater disaster has disappeared from the Gulf of Mexico, as at least two independent t
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Scientists create new biofuel from by-products of whisky production
Edinburgh Napier University has filed a patent for the product, which can be used in ordinary cars without any special adaptions.
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Scottish scientists develop whisky biofuel
By-products from distilling process could be used to power cars and even aviation, according to researchers in EdinburghIt gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "one for the road". Whisky, the spirit that powers the Scottish economy, is being used to develop a new biofuel which could be available
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Short-termism fails the environment
As seen in the current cuts, the environment always goes to the bottom of the priority pile in a war of political expediencyIs the coalition government now demoting the environment in light of its spending cuts? After a string of headlines over the past few days, it would appear so.First we learned
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Proof that God is a cyclist
LA's mayor is the latest convert to cycle advocacy, but which other cities - and people ? are most in need of change?You might think that Los Angeles, the city that has spent a century being defined and shaped by the car, would be an unfriendly place for cycling.You would be right. But proof that Go
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Country diary: Cornwall
Hoverflies, bumblebees and metallic green flies swarm around the pink flowers of hebe and marjoram in the early sun, soon joined by butterflies. Red admirals which were out of sight in the gloom of yesterday now swoop aggressively between buddleias, chasing off peacock, fritillary, brimstone, comma
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Micro pig farm gets ad ban for pet that's not so wee wee wee
Cambridgeshire-based breeder made false claims its pigs would remain pint-sized, ASA rulesMicro pigs may be the £700 accessory du jour for celebrities including Victoria and David Beckham, but there is a catch: they may not remain micro. An advertisement from a leading breeder has been banned after
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Brian Myerson blocks D1 Oils takeover by Mission NewEnergy
? Controversial investor uses 27% stake to defy board ? Brian Myerson previously lobbied to sell off biofuels firmThe froideur between Brian Myerson, the controversial financier, and the board of D1 Oils dropped another few degrees today after he blocked a potential takeover of the ailing business b
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Resolving the paradox of the Antarctic sea ice
While Arctic sea ice has been diminishing in recent decades, the Antarctic sea ice extent has been increasing slightly. Researchers provide an explanation for the seeming paradox of increasing Antarctic sea ice in a warming climate.
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Massive coral mortality following bleaching in Indonesia
Initial field observations indicate that a dramatic rise in the surface temperature in Indonesian waters has resulted in a large-scale bleaching event that has devastated coral populations.
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Growing on Derelict Land - Healthy Food Needs Healthy Soil
LGA has called for cash raised from landfill to go towards creating allotments.
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Land use Figures Show Increased Garden Grabbing
New figures reveal extent of 'garden grabbing'
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Rwanda harnesses lake's volcanic gases
Project could power Rwanda for decades, while reducing risk of disaster for 2 million people living alongside 'exploding lake'It's dusk on Lake Kivu and the fishermen sing while paddling out in their catamarans, three canoes secured together with long wooden poles. As the twin volcanoes on the far s
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'Protect nature for economic security'
Ahmed Djoghlaf says nations risk economic collapse and loss of culture if it does not protect the natural world? 'Crown jewels' of Britain's landscape could be sold off? Plan to sell off nature reserves risks 'austerity countryside'Britain and other countries face a collapse of their economies and l
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Is it OK to use a butterfly net?
If we are to better conserve butterfly populations, should children be encouraged once again to use nets to catch specimens for study? Or is there a better alternative?Chasing butterflies net-in-hand is absent from the portfolio of activities promoted by wildlife and conservation groups in their eff
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There will be no nuclear renaissance
Nuclear energy is not on the rise - the hard facts point to a continuing, slow phase-out around the worldRepeatedly in recent years there have been calls for a revival of nuclear power. Yet that renaissance never seems to come.Of the more than 200 countries in the world, only 30 use nuclear power.
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Wanted: top women cyclists (to look pretty)
The Tour of Britain is looking for 'presentation hostesses' to kiss winning riders at this year's race - and organisers insist there is nothing patronising about the £50-a-day jobHappy news for women looking to break into the male dominated world of cycle racing: the Tour of Britain, our island's hu
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