environment news
Space cookies: First food baked in space by astronauts
Image copyright NASA Image caption Tests are being carried out to determine whether the cookies are safe to eat Chocolate chip cookies have become the first food to be baked in space in a first-of-its-kind experiment. Astronauts baked the cookies in a special zero-gravity oven at the International Space Station (ISS) last month. Sealed in …
Wales a haven for wildlife – but for how long?
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Elk, wolves, wild boar, lynx, brown bear and auroch once inhabited Wales but are now extinct From slugs to spiders and bees to bottlenose dolphins – Wales is proving a haven for many species. Its varied landscape and mild climate make Wales among Europe’s “best wildlife-watching secrets”, according to …
Sir David Attenborough says fixed-term parliaments lead to lack of climate focus
Image copyright PA Media The UK’s fixed-term parliaments could see politicians failing to prioritise climate change, veteran naturalist Sir David Attenborough has suggested. He told the first citizens’ assembly on climate having a five-year government leads to a lack of long-term planning. The 110-strong assembly in Birmingham will meet over four weekends to examine options …
Mummy returns: Voice of 3,000-year-old Egyptian priest brought to life
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media captionListen to a short clip of Nesyamun’s voice, which has been reproduced as a vowel-like sound Scientists have fulfilled a mummified Egyptian priest’s wish for life after death – by replicating his voice with artificial vocal cords. Nesyamun’s voice has been reproduced as a vowel-like sound that …
Canadian start-up GHGSat to make global methane map
Image caption The visualisation will render methane at a resolution of 2km per pixel A Canadian start-up, GHGSat, is promising to release a high-resolution map of methane in Earth’s atmosphere by the year’s end. The company has one spacecraft in orbit currently to monitor the trace gas. Another two are expected to go up in …
Climate change: ‘We’re not perfect’, says Marion Cotillard on Antarctica trip
Actor Marion Cotillard has travelled to Antarctica with Greenpeace to learn about how climate change, plastic waste and industrial fishing are damaging wildlife. “As pristine as it looks, even a remote place like this one is impacted by harmful human activities,” she said. Speaking to the Victoria Derbyshire programme during her trip, she explained what …
What does Trump actually believe on climate change?
US President Donald Trump’s position on climate change has been in the spotlight again, after he criticised “prophets of doom” at the World Economic Forum in Davos. At the event, which had sustainability as its main theme, and activist Greta Thunberg as its star guest, Mr Trump dismissed “alarmists” who wanted to “control every aspect …
Cut meat and dairy intake ‘by a fifth’, report urges
People should cut the amount of beef, lamb and dairy produce they eat by a fifth to combat climate change, a report says. It says public bodies should lead the way by offering plant-based options with all meals. But it says if people don’t cut consumption willingly, taxes on meat and dairy might be needed. …
Sizewell: RSPB Minsmere nature reserve fears ‘environmental impact’ on wildlife
Image copyright Steve Everett Image caption RSPB Minsmere are worried about the environmental impact of a new nuclear power station A nature reserve says it is worried for the future of its wildlife if a new nuclear power station goes ahead. RSPB Minsmere in Suffolk, which neighbours the proposed Sizewell C plant, said it was …
Earth’s oldest asteroid impact ‘may have ended ice age’
Image copyright INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION Image caption An image of the Yarrabubba area taken from the International Space Station Scientists have identified the world’s oldest asteroid crater in Australia, adding it may explain how the planet was lifted from an ice age. The asteroid hit Yarrabubba in Western Australia about 2.2 billion years ago – …
