Environment
Giant panda’s habitat ‘threatened by grazing livestock’
The giant panda's future is being threatened by hungry horses and cows, reveals new research. More than a third of the panda's habitat in China's Wanglang National Nature Reserve has been damaged by grazing livestock, suggests the study. The destruction of the habitat coincides with a nine-fold increase in livestock numbers within the park over the past 15 years, according top findings by Chinese and American scientists. Study leader Doctor Binbin Li, assistant professor at Duke Kunshan University's Environmental Research...
More beavers are set to be released into the wild in Scotland
More beavers are set to be released into the wild in Scotland in an attempt to give the current small population a better chance of survival. A small number of Norwegian beavers were introduced to a mid-Argyll forest in 2009 to ensure their progress could be monitored through the Scottish Beaver Trial. But now up to 28 additional Eurasian beavers will be released in Knapdale Forest over the next three years thanks to a new licence granted by Scottish Natural...
Britain needs to fix its ‘broken food system’ and make farming fit for future, says report
New report launched today at the Conservative Party Conference calls for a shake-up of UK agriculture as the country prepares to leave the European Union and the Common Agricultural Policy. The Grow Green II report, written by the New Economics Foundation and commissioned by The Vegan Society, declares that the UK’s food system is fundamentally broken, environmentally unsustainable and unhealthy. The New Economics Foundation claims a shift to plant protein as a substitute for animal protein is “desperately needed” and...
Scotland’s longest lasting patch of snow melted this weekend
Britain has lost its longest-lasting patch of snow for the first time in over a decade - an event which has happened only six times in the past 300 years. The patch at Garbh Choire Mor on Braeriach in the Scottish Cairngorms, nicknamed the Sphinx, disappeared over the weekend. The snow on the UK's third-highest mountain had remained in place ever since 2006. The last snow patch(L) on Garbh Choire Mor on Braeriach in the Cairngorms on August 27 2017....
15 tonnes of plastic waste retrieved from ‘pristine’ waters off Russian coast
A large plastic pollution clean up has collected 15 tonnes of plastic off the coast of the Russian Arctic Ocean in a single day. The shocking discovery, made on the coast and sea off Murmansk, North East Russia, which was previously considered to be one of the globe's most pristine bodies of water, has heightened existing fears as to the impact of manmade pollution on the world's oceans. In response to the worrying findings, a new organisation The Slava Foundation...
World’s botanic gardens contain a third of all known plants
The world's botanic gardens contain a third of all known plants - housing almost half those in danger of being wiped out, according to new research. At least 30 per cent are conserved outside their original ecosystem in these floral paradises. And they include 41 per cent of all those classed as "threatened." Scientist warn a fifth of the earth's plant diversity is threatened with extinction but the gardens could provide a safe refuge to help reestablish lost species in...
Homeowner stunned when she spotted an ‘extinct’ bird – in her back garden
A Cotswold homeowner was stunned when she spotted an 'extinct' bird - in her back garden. The Lady Amherst pheasant was introduced to the UK from China in the 19th Century but there have been no reported sightings since March 2015. But Angela King was amazed to spot one of the birds strolling across her lawn in Crudwell, Wilts. She said: "When I saw it, I called for my husband to come and look too as I knew no one...
Ugly fish in Plymouth’s waters that’s sparked a multi-million ‘black gold rush’
British fishermen are enjoying a 'black gold rush' as demand for cuttlefish hits all time high thanks to soaring demand from abroad - while it is virtually ignored as 'too ugly' to eat here. Fishermen from across the UK are flocking to the South West to land the inky mollusc - which is related to the squid - in record numbers. They are taking advantage of the lack of quotas with 100 tonnes being landed by just five or six...
Greenpeace activists have taken over a ship full of VW cars & won’t leave until cars sent back to Germany
Greenpeace activists have boarded a 24,000-tonne ship carrying Volkswagen diesel cars to the UK – and say they won’t leave until the vehicles are returned to Germany. The campaigners used kayaks and boats to approach the boat in the Thames Estuary, before climbing on-board at 8.30am this morning. Greenpeace volunteers in kayaks and boats board a 23,498-tonne ship on a major import route bringing Volkswagen diesel cars into the UK. The clean air campaigners draw up alongside the huge car...