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Tag: Environment

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Mystery bird illness investigated after German blue tit deaths

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More than 11,000 cases of dead and sick birds reported in past fortnight Thousands of blue tits have been found sick or dead in Germany, prompting an investigation by conservation groups and scientists. More than 11,000 cases of dead and sick birds, mostly blue tits, have been can be spotted all year round in the UK, with the exception of some Scottish islands. According to NABU, symptoms of the diseased birds include breathing problems, no longer taking food and making no attempt to escape when approached by people. The group…

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‘No way food safety not compromised’: US regulation rollbacks during Covid-19 criticised

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Major pork plant closed after hundreds of workers contract coronavirus, while speeding up of poultry production lines raises concerns over standards The US government is accelerating controversial regulatory rollbacks to speed up production at meat plants, as companies express growing alarm at the impact of Covid-19 on their operations. Last week Smithfield represents 45% of US pork production is said it was critical for the meat industry to continue to operate unabated. Now it has emerged that as a wave of plants announced by the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS)…

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Fast Nanoscale Movies Shed Light on a Solar Cell Mystery

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The perovskite solar cell is a photovoltaic wunderkind. Only a decade old, this next-generation solar technology is already hitting efficiency milestones that took conventional silicon solar cells nearly half a century to achieve. The cells are made from a class of materials called perovskite whose properties enable thin, flexible solar cells that can be printed like ink on the cheap. In principle, perovskite cells could turn everything into a solar panel—your car, your windows, even your clothes. But before perovskite can dethrone silicon as the king of solar semiconductors, researchers…

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Did RuPaul just announce he has a fracking empire on his ranch?

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The host of RuPauls Drag Race revealed recently that he leases the mineral rights of the 60,000 acres he owns in Wyoming to oil companies RuPaul, of the beloved RuPauls Drag Race television show, said in a recent interview that he leases the mineral and water rights of his land in Wyoming to oil companies. In an interview with NPRs Terry Gross on her show Fresh Air (the irony), Gross asked RuPaul about the 60 acres of land he owns in Wyoming. Oh, no, no no. No, no, no. Sixty…

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Minamata review Johnny Depp attempts redemption in heartfelt look at disaster that struck Japanese town

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Johnny Depp plays real-life US photojournalist W Eugene Smith who travels to cover the story of mercury poisoning that caused horrendous disfigurements Minamata is not a masterpiece and there are one or two cliches here about western saviours and boozy, difficult, passionate journalists who occupy the perennial Venn diagram overlap between integrity and alcoholism. This movies producer-star Johnny Depp has form on this score, with his W Eugene Smith whose glory days were in the second world war and the decades following, working for Life magazine in that now-forgotten era…

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Colorado River flow shrinks from climate crisis, risking severe water shortages

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Millions of people rely on the 1,450-mile waterway as increasing periods of drought and rising temperatures reduce flow of river The flow of the Colorado River is dwindling due to the impacts of global heating, risking severe water shortages for the millions of people who rely upon one of Americas most storied waterways, researchers have found. Increasing periods of drought and rising temperatures have been shrinking the flow of the Colorado in recent years and scientists have now developed a model to better understand how the climate crisis is fundamentally…

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Patagonia now makes one of its most popular bags entirely from recycled material

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Patagonia is a brand millions of us love. They make some of the very best quality clothing and gear for outdoor enthusiasts and their brand has become a powerful fashion statement over the years. They also put their money behind their values, like when the company’s CEO announced they were donating the entire proceeds from the Trump tax cut to groups that are working to combat climate change. Much like Adidas did with their incredible shoes made from recycled ocean plastic, Patagonia has transformed its popular line of Black Hole…

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Vivian Suter: the rainforest-dwelling artist who paints with fish glue, dogs and mud

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She was ignored for decades, but now Suter has been rediscovered as a pioneering eco-artist. We meet her, and her 97-year-old collagist mum, in the wilds of Guatemala A large dog romps across a blue and white canvas, leaving a trail of brown paw prints. Oh well, shrugs Vivian Suter. Theyre part of the work now. I dont think anyone will mind. I realise Bonzo one of three Alsatian crossbreeds that shadow the artist wherever she goes in her Guatemalan home has just put the finishing touches to an artwork…

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From renewables to Netflix: the 15 super-trends that defined the 2010s

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It was the decade of austerity, fracking, populism and internet lies. But not everything about the 2010s was terrible The plastics backlash Garbage, including plastic waste, is seen at the beach in Costa del Este, Panama City. Photograph: Luis Acosta/AFP via Getty Images It was once the height of metropolitan chic: the dash into Starbucks for a skinny decaf caramel latte en route for work, the takeaway cup a mark of upward mobility. Those were the days of Sex and the City, when the culture of doing everything on the…

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Australia experiences hottest day on record and its worst ever spring bushfire danger

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Tuesdays average maximum 0f 40.9C was Australias hottest ever and follows the driest and second warmest spring on record Australia has just experienced its hottest day on record and its worst spring on record for dangerous bushfire weather, according to data released by the Bureau of Meteorology. Preliminary analysis suggested that Tuesday was the hottest day on record for Australia, with an average maximum across the country of 40.9C. The temperature beat the previous 40.3C set on 7 January 2013, in a record going back to 1910. Confirming the unprecedented…

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