Feed aggregator

Habitat of creature, sometimes known as Scotch halibut or woof in chip shops, has been depleted by trawling

In the north of England, Atlantic wolffish, Anarhichas lupus, is offered as fillets in fish and chip shops where it might be called Scotch halibut, Scarborough woof or simply woof. You are unlikely to have seen it whole since the fish has large teeth and an off-putting ferocious appearance that accounts for its common name. It can grow 1.5 metres (5ft) long. Its powerful jaws are used for crunching up shellfish, sea urchins and starfish. Despite the fearsome appearance wolffish are shy and will hide if approached by divers.

Unusually for fish, both male and female are conscientious parents, spending months guarding the patch of seabed containing their eggs against predators.

Students stage week-long occupation in protest against university’s £12m investment

The University of Manchester has said it will review its £12m investment in fossil fuel firms after a seven-day protest by students who threatened to go on hunger strike.

Students from the protest group People and Planet had occupied one of the university’s buildings for the past week in a demonstration against its multimillion-pound investment in fossil fuel companies.

Hans-Werner Sinn’s opinion piece on whether electric cars are as climate friendly as they seem generated a good deal of controversy. William Todts, executive director of Transport & Environment, gives his response

Hans-Werner Sinn is quite the character. This German economics professor’s writings range from the Greek crisis to migration, to German energy policy.

Recently he has discovered a new passion: electric vehicles. Back in April Sinn published a paper claiming electric cars were worse than diesel. The study was roundly criticised for being misleading. Even Germany’s largest carmaker VW felt compelled to publicly contradict the report days after its publication, giving a rare glimpse of its own lifecycle analysis based on company-specific data that shows Volkswagen EVs are better than their diesels.

The U.N. Environment Program has released its annual Emissions Gap Report. NPR's Rachel Martin talks to international climate policy expert Elliot Diringer about the findings.

A United Nations report warns that greenhouse gas emissions from the world's largest economies must drop dramatically in the next decade to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change.

(Image credit: Esteban Felix/AP)

Anthony Albanese asks PM why the emissions reduction minister is still on his frontbench. All the day’s events, live

4.49am GMT

Anthony Albanese and Mark Butler will hold a press conference in a couple of minutes - it’s in the Opposition leader’s courtyard, which is Labor’s most serious press conference spot

4.29am GMT

As the frontbench of the government moves out, Scott Morrison reaches across and pats Angus Taylor on the back.

But he does it just inside the door, where it starts to go dark.

Maximum penalties in the tens of thousands of dollars apply for using routes that are closed to contain dieback disease

A hiker in New Zealand has become the first to be charged with walking on closed tracks in the Waitakere ranges, violating a ban put in place to stop the devastating spread of a fungal disease called kauri dieback.

Potential fines of tens of thousands of dollars apply for repeatedly using the tracks, which are closed to the public to let the forest recover from a disease that kills the majority of kauri trees it infects.

Senate inquiry told that misrepresentation and selective use of science is dangerous

Australia’s peak scientific institution has told an inquiry into the reliability of Great Barrier Reef science that it is “greatly concerned” over a trend to cherrypick and misrepresent scientific evidence.

In a submission to a Senate inquiry, the Australian Academy of Science’s president, Prof John Shine, wrote that selective use of science and misrepresentations were “dangerous” and would lead to “poor outcomes”.

More efficient lightbulbs are cheaper and longer-lasting than ever. But while that's good for consumers, it can be tough for an industry that's also facing shifting regulations.

(Image credit: Jeff Brady/NPR)

Four decades of near-uninterrupted growth stoked global climate crisis

The world’s use of coal-fired electricity is on track for its biggest annual fall on record this year after more than four decades of near-uninterrupted growth that has stoked the global climate crisis.

Data shows that coal-fired electricity is expected to fall by 3% in 2019, or more than the combined coal generation in Germany, Spain and the UK last year and could help stall the world’s rising carbon emissions this year.

Revealed: records show law enforcement has called demonstrators possible ‘domestic terrorism’ threats

US law enforcement officials preparing for fresh Keystone XL pipeline protests have privately discussed tactics to stop activists “by any means” and have labeled demonstrators potential “domestic terrorism” threats, records reveal.

Internal government documents seen by the Guardian show that police and local authorities in Montana and the surrounding region have been preparing a coordinated response in the event of a new wave of protests opposing the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, which would carry crude oil from Canada to Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska.

Some projections say that by 2040 the Arctic Ocean may see its first ice-free summer in modern history. That means mixed emotions for young scientists seeing the ice for the first time.

(Image credit: Ravenna Koenig/NPR)

EVs produce more CO2 than say diesel – it’s just they emit via the power plant not the exhaust pipe

• Response: Yes, electric vehicles really are better than fossil fuel burners

Germany’s automobile industry is its most important industrial sector. But it is in crisis, and not only because it is experiencing the effects of a recession brought on by Volkswagen’s cheating on emissions standards, which sent consumers elsewhere. The sector is also facing the existential threat of exceedingly strict European Union emissions requirements, which are only seemingly grounded in environmental policy.

The EU clearly overstepped the mark with the carbon dioxide regulation that went into effect on 17 April 2019. From 2030 onwards, European carmakers must have achieved average vehicle emissions of just 59 grams of CO2 per km, which corresponds to fuel consumption of 2.2 litres of diesel equivalent per 100 km (107 miles per gallon). This simply will not be possible.

Demonstrators chant ‘Venice resist’ amid anger over waves caused by ocean liners and flawed flood-proofing project

Thousands of Venetians have taken to the streets to protest over frequent flooding and the impact of giant cruise ships.

In heavy rain between 2,000 and 3,000 people answered the call of environmental groups and a collective opposed to the ships. Critics say the waves cruise ships create are eroding Venice’s foundations.

Young Arctic researchers get their first glimpse of sea ice — and reflect on how the ice caps may melt away over the course of their careers.

The game was delayed for about an hour Saturday when students stormed the field after half-time calling on the universities to divest their multi-million dollar endowments from fossil fuels companies.

(Image credit: Jimmy Golen/AP)

Emergency services search for missing people as Europe hit by mudslides and floods

At least two people were killed in France and a landslide collapsed a stretch of elevated highway in Italy, leaving cars perched on a precipice, as heavy rains pounded the region over the weekend, trapping travellers, downing trees and triggering mudslides and floods in parts of both countries.

A 30-metre (100ft) section of highway along a viaduct near the flooded coastal city of Savona collapsed on Sunday. In an aerial video taken by firefighters, cars and one truck could be seen stopped perilously close to the point where the raised part of the A6 highway plunged on to a wooded area of the Liguria region.

Renewable energy giant says it expects Tories to reverse their block on onshore generation

ScottishPower has begun plans for a major expansion of onshore windfarm projects across Scotland in anticipation of a government U-turn on support for wind power projects.

The renewable energy arm of the big six power supplier has already considered almost 100 sites for a new generation of windfarm, using a smaller number of more powerful wind turbines to generate clean electricity. Most of the sites are in Scotland, but the company is also considering plots in Ireland.