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Amelia Alexa All our talents increase in the using, and the every faculty, both good and bad, strengthen by exerci

A man whose clifftop home was demolished amid fears of erosion is part of a legal challenge into the government's climat...
12/04/2024

A man whose clifftop home was demolished amid fears of erosion is part of a legal challenge into the government's climate change plan.

Kevin Jordan's home is one of a number recently demolished during winter storms in Hemsby, Norfolk.

A High Court judge has ordered a judicial review of the National Adaption Plan following a case led by Friends of the Earth.

The two-day hearing will take place 18-19 June.

The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be 'extremely active' according to early forecasts by meteorologists a...
05/04/2024

The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be 'extremely active' according to early forecasts by meteorologists at Colorado State University.

It could be one of most intense on record with up to 23 named storms predicted.

An extremely warm Atlantic and the expected La Niña climate pattern are factors behind the alarming forecast.

The season starts on 1 June and runs until 30 November.

Colorado State University are the first organisation to issue a seasonal forecast for the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season.

Experts there predict up to 23 named storms, 11 of which are expected to become hurricanes and five major hurricanes.

The long-term average is 14 storms, 7 hurricanes and 3 major hurricanes.

There has never been a forecast in April for such an active season.

The meteorologists are confident because of "how hurricane-favourable the large-scale conditions appear to be".

Those conditions are the much warmer than average Atlantic sea surface temperatures and a transition from the current El Niño climate pattern to La Niña later this year.

Projects to restore wildlife habitats in the New Forest have been given more than £1m of government funding.The Species ...
19/03/2024

Projects to restore wildlife habitats in the New Forest have been given more than £1m of government funding.

The Species Survival Fund grant is to help halt species decline and restore habitats in the national park.

It will allow work to enhance 250 hectares (600 acres) of land across 25 sites to benefit species, including pine marten and great crested newt.

National Park Authority (NPA) chair David Bence said the forest was the "last stronghold" for some species.

Woodland, boggy mires, heathland, meadow, wetlands and streams are expected to be improved, while new ponds, wetlands and meadows will be created.

As well as practical work, teams will also carry out surveys, advise landowners and run guided walks.

The conservation work is aimed at improving the connections between the New Forest's protected central core with the areas around it so species can spread out further.

The first phase of a plan to reduce flood risk for thousands of homes and businesses has been completed.The Preston and ...
19/03/2024

The first phase of a plan to reduce flood risk for thousands of homes and businesses has been completed.

The Preston and South Ribble Flood Risk Management scheme is a £54.7m project to upgrade 3.1 miles (5km) of flood defences on the River Ribble, including new walls with glass panels and embankments.

Work at Broadgate Gardens in Preston completes phase 1A of the scheme along Broadgate on the north side of the river.

When construction is complete, about 5,000 properties will be better protected from flooding between Broadgate and Higher Walton.

A Church of England decision to promote biodiversity on its land sends a "very important message", a bishop has said.The...
07/03/2024

A Church of England decision to promote biodiversity on its land sends a "very important message", a bishop has said.

The Bishop of Norwich, the Right Reverend Graham Usher, said the Church had a "prophetic voice to the whole world".

Bishop Usher said the Church could not expect others to enhance biodiversity if it did not do the same.

He was speaking to the BBC after the Church's General Synod backed measures to promote biodiversity on Church land.

Bishop Usher told BBC Radio Norfolk: "If we are not getting our house in order why we expect anyone else to?

"So, to look at how we reduce our carbon emissions, to look at how we enhance biodiversity on our land, sends a very powerful message."

The world's most vulnerable migratory species face an increasing risk of extinction, a landmark UN report warns.From tur...
26/02/2024

The world's most vulnerable migratory species face an increasing risk of extinction, a landmark UN report warns.

From turtle doves to green turtles, from the European eel to the African penguin, migratory species are the great explorers of the animal kingdom.

They play an essential role in protecting the Earth's habitats by transferring nutrients, pollinating and maintaining woodlands.

But decades of exploitation has left "species on the edge of extinction".

More than 40 years ago, many of the world's nations signed an agreement to protect the world's migrating species, known as the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS).

Now, a first global assessment has been undertaken looking at the numbers and health of these animals.

Of the 1,189 species assessed, the researchers found one in five are threatened with extinction. For some species the situation is much worse - 97% of fish listed under the convention are at risk.

Amy Fraenkel, the UN Executive Secretary to the convention, told the BBC: "There has been a lack of attention for migratory species and if we don't succeed in turning this around, we will see extinction. There are species that are already on the edge".

The report's overwhelming conclusion is that the decline is driven by human activity - excessive hunting and killing of animals, habitat destruction, climate change and the expansion of towns and cities bringing noise and light pollution.

Dr Rob Cooke, an ecological modeller at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, said the report shows: "Migratory species face a cocktail of threats because they are moving through different habitats".

Tech giant Google is backing a satellite project due to launch in March which will collect data about methane levels aro...
15/02/2024

Tech giant Google is backing a satellite project due to launch in March which will collect data about methane levels around the world.

The new satellite will orbit 300 miles about the Earth, 15 times per day.

Methane gas is believed by scientists to be a major contributor to global warming, because it traps in heat.

A lot of methane is produced by farming and waste disposal, but the Google project will focus on methane emissions at oil and gas plants.

Firms extracting oil and gas regularly burn or vent methane.

The new project is a collaboration between Google and the Environmental Defense Fund, a non-profit global climate group.

The data captured by the satellite will be processed by the tech giant's artificial intelligence tools and used to generate a methane map aimed at identifying methane leaks on oil and gas infrastructure around the world.

But the firm said if it identified a significant leak it would not specifically notify the company which owned the infrastructure responsible for it.

"Our job is to make information available," it said, adding that governments and regulators would be among those with access to it and it would be for them to force any changes."

This year, straw from Lithuania will envelop a building in the quiet town of Todmorden, West Yorkshire.Barbara Jones and...
02/02/2024

This year, straw from Lithuania will envelop a building in the quiet town of Todmorden, West Yorkshire.

Barbara Jones and her colleagues at Todmorden Learning Centre and Community Hub have hatched a plan to clad the college, built in the 1950s, in more than 1,600 sq metres of straw-stuffed panels - to better insulate it.

"We're going to make it a showcase," says Ms Jones, an expert on natural building materials.

The panels will be supplied by EcoCocon, a Slovakian firm that has appointed Ms Jones as one of its technical sales consultants. Each timber-framed panel is around 400mm thick and contains a mass of chopped straw - essentially, a slightly more high-tech version of the simple straw bales that have been used by some eco-friendly builders for decades.

Such solutions have been around for years and other firms are selling similar products, but, with rising demand for insulation and sustainability, EcoCocon is now targeting larger-scale projects. The question is whether straw, a millennia-old building material, can scale up to meet 21st Century ambitions.

In panel systems, relatively short pieces of straw are packed together at just the right density, about 110 kg per metre cubed, so that the volume of air inside creates an insulating effect. Ms Jones says this also protects against fire. Loose straw, in contrast, is notoriously flammable.

Climate change could be making butterflies less spotty, according to researchers.Scientists at the University of Exeter ...
22/01/2024

Climate change could be making butterflies less spotty, according to researchers.

Scientists at the University of Exeter have been studying the effects of temperature on the wing markings of female meadow brown butterflies.

They found females that developed at 11C (52F) had six spots on average, while those developing at 15C (59F) had just three.

They said this challenged long-held views about butterfly spot numbers.

'Adapting camouflage'
Professor Richard ffrench-Constant, from the Centre for Ecology and Conservation on Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall, said: "Meadow Browns always have large 'eyespots' on their forewings, probably for startling predators.

"They also have smaller spots on their hindwings, probably useful for camouflage when the butterfly is at rest.

"Our findings show that fewer of these hindwing spots appear when females experience higher temperatures during their pupal stage.

"This suggests the butterflies adapt their camouflage based on the conditions.

"For example, with fewer spots they may be harder to spot on dry, brown grass that would be more common in hot weather."

The researchers said they were predicting that spotting would decrease year-on-year as the climate warmed.

Professor ffrench-Constant added: "This is an unexpected consequence of climate change.

"We tend to think about species moving north, rather than changing appearance."

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