Environment News
King’s Cross developer defends use of facial recognition
Image copyright Getty Images The developer behind a 67-acre site in the King’s Cross area of central London has defended its use of facial recognition technology. Under data protection laws, firms must provide clear evidence that there is a need to record and use people’s images. A spokeswoman said the tool was used to “ensure …
Environmentalists warn Trump ‘weakening’ endangered species protections
Image copyright Getty Images The US federal government has announced an overhaul of the way it enforces the Endangered Species Act, a law credited with preventing countless extinctions. Trump officials say the new plan will reduce regulations, but environmental groups warn it will “crash a bulldozer” through the landmark 1973 legislation. The plan removes automatic …
Beetles threaten Yorkshire’s purple heather moorland
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The four-month grouse shooting season started on 12 August It is feared Yorkshire’s moorland could lose its distinctive purple heather due to swarms of beetles. The heather beetle has been blamed for moorland turning from purple to shades of orange and brown. The insects have thrived after the “Beast …
Grouse shooting: Labour calls for review amid habitat concerns
Image copyright PA Media Labour has called for a review of grouse shooting, saying it damages important natural habitats. The four-month grouse shooting season begins on Monday – the Glorious Twelfth – and sees shooters head to moors in Scotland and northern England. Labour said there are “viable alternatives”, like simulated shooting. The government said …
Is this the world’s most sustainable building?
Image caption Mr van Erven says the money saved by the environmental measures means they will pay for themselves The UK government is not doing enough to encourage companies to be more sustainable, the business lobby group CBI has told the Victoria Derbyshire programme. What can be learned from the world’s most sustainable industrial building …
Giant Lowestoft street art paintings to celebrate wildlife
The latest mural aimed at “bringing wildlife” into a town has been revealed. Street artist ATM painted a kingfisher on the wall of a hairdressers in Lowestoft, Suffolk. It is the London-based artist’s third mural in the area and is part of a Suffolk Wildlife Trust graffiti trail. The project is to help celebrate the …
Engineers design flat pack self-watering plant pot
Image copyright POTR Pots Image caption The pots are claimed to have a much-reduced impact on the environment Two Scottish design engineers are preparing to a launch a flat pack self-watering plant pot. Andrew Flynn and Martin Keane believe their design will have a carbon footprint significantly lower than traditional flower pots delivered as gifts. …
‘We moved to the forest to fight climate change’
Janne Utriainen, his wife and four daughters are tackling climate change in their own way: they’ve moved to a remote location in northern Lapland where they live off the land: they fish, hunt, pick berries, keep sheep and chickens and grow some vegetables. Janne believes that climate change is caused by overconsumption – so in …
Carlton Marshes expansion ‘could protect homes from flooding’
Image caption Carlton Marshes, near Lowestoft, has been expanded as part of a £5m project A newly-expanded 1,000-acre (404-hectare) wildlife reserve backed by Sir David Attenborough could reduce the flooding risk to nearby homes. Suffolk Wildlife Trust has spent £5m adding 484 acres (196 hectares) to its Carlton Marshes reserve near Lowestoft, Suffolk. It said …
Iceye satellites return super-sharp radar images
Image copyright Iceye Image caption A container terminal near Port Harcourt, Nigeria: detail under a metre across is visible to the radar Finnish space start-up Iceye has once again given an impressive demonstration of its novel technology’s capabilities. The company’s radar satellites are now returning sub-1m resolution images of the Earth’s surface. This level of …
