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Stop building near the Clyde estuary, flood researchers warn

Stop building near the Clyde estuary, flood researchers warn

Times8 hours ago

Plans for new buildings on the low-lying banks of the River Clyde must be halted because they cannot be defended from worsening flooding, scientists have warned.
Some prime real estate in the west of Scotland — such as land around Glasgow airport — will be put at risk from rising sea levels, experts have previously said.
Now a major study has found that the measures proposed to mitigate this threat, including re-creating 'soft' natural environments such as wetlands and salt marshes to slow down and absorb flood waters, will not be enough to save swathes of the area.
Academics from Glasgow University said that avoiding future development 'in the tidal floodplains of large estuaries is the best means of minimising future flood risk in a rapidly warming world'. They said this applied to the UK as well around the world.

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Stop building near the Clyde estuary, flood researchers warn
Stop building near the Clyde estuary, flood researchers warn

Times

time8 hours ago

  • Times

Stop building near the Clyde estuary, flood researchers warn

Plans for new buildings on the low-lying banks of the River Clyde must be halted because they cannot be defended from worsening flooding, scientists have warned. Some prime real estate in the west of Scotland — such as land around Glasgow airport — will be put at risk from rising sea levels, experts have previously said. Now a major study has found that the measures proposed to mitigate this threat, including re-creating 'soft' natural environments such as wetlands and salt marshes to slow down and absorb flood waters, will not be enough to save swathes of the area. Academics from Glasgow University said that avoiding future development 'in the tidal floodplains of large estuaries is the best means of minimising future flood risk in a rapidly warming world'. They said this applied to the UK as well around the world.

Meta removes scientist's Facebook page after discussion about tornadoes and climate change, he claims
Meta removes scientist's Facebook page after discussion about tornadoes and climate change, he claims

The Independent

time12 hours ago

  • The Independent

Meta removes scientist's Facebook page after discussion about tornadoes and climate change, he claims

A scientist claimed a Missouri weather Facebook page he ran was removed by Meta after there was a discussion about tornadoes and climate change. Professor Anthony Lupo, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Missouri, was debating with a Facebook user on the Midwest Missouri Weather page he ran on the platform for more than five years. The pair were discussing the state's busy tornado season and the possible impacts of the weather phenomenon La Nina or climate change, he told The College Fix. Shortly after the exchange, Lupo's personal account was locked and when he regained access on June 8, he discovered 'the weather page was gone.' He described the discussion as mildly 'combative' but not overtly hostile in an interview with the college outlet. The other user argued that the busy tornado season was linked to climate change, not La Nina, as the professor posted. The scholar said that Meta did not give him a reason for removing the page. He added that he only had circumstantial evidence and reasoned that the page could have been taken down for other reasons. The Independent has contacted Meta for comment. Lupo said his page shared weather forecasts and summaries of the climate in Missouri. 'Occasionally, when I've done that, I got messages about violating community standards,' Lupo told The Fix. He said these instances were 'just summarizing numbers.' 'I would get this warning that your post may violate community standards and that would appear on the page itself for a short time,' he added. Experts warned that climate misinformation could spread far rapidly since Meta decided to bring in X-style community notes and remove its third-party fact-checking. It comes as Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg has implemented policy shifts that are more closely aligned with President Donald Trump since he was elected. 'The trend is towards living in a world where there basically are no facts. This is just sort of another step down the road,' Andrew Dessler, a climate scientist, previously told Politico. In April 2024, Meta blocked links on all of its platforms to a piece criticizing the company's alleged suppression of climate change content. Meta said it occurred due to a 'security error.'

New hope for ash trees ‘evolving resistance to deadly disease'
New hope for ash trees ‘evolving resistance to deadly disease'

Telegraph

time15 hours ago

  • Telegraph

New hope for ash trees ‘evolving resistance to deadly disease'

Ash trees are finally mounting a fightback against ash dieback disease, a study has found. The fungal infection has devastated UK ash populations since it arrived on British shores more than a decade ago, with experts warning it could wipe out the species. A study by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and Queen Mary, University of London tracked how the disease was affecting an ancient woodland in Surrey. Ash dieback has ravaged the Marden Park wood since 2012 with the majority of trees being infected. Dieback causes blackened leaves, stunted growth and shrivelled roots. But a comparison of the health and genes of trees that matured before 2012 against recent saplings discovered evolution in action, which is making young trees more resilient. The modern plants had different variations of almost 8,000 genes, accrued by natural selection, which made them more robust, scientists found. A population's range of genes emerges naturally and randomly, but only those that are advantageous survive long enough to reproduce. Over several generations, genes that make an organism vulnerable die out, and advantageous genes and traits persist in the population. The new study found that this process weeded out almost a third of the newest ash trees, leaving the 69 per cent that were genetically better able to withstand ash dieback. The end result is that current juvenile ash trees in this woodland are better able to combat and less likely to die from the disease. Glimmer of hope against extinction This offers a glimmer of hope that the British native ash tree, known as Fraxinus excelsior, will not go extinct as some experts had feared. Ash dieback is caused by the fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus and arrived in Britain from Asia in 2012, prompting an emergency Cobra meeting. British ash trees are uniquely vulnerable to the disease, which does not harm other ash species, including those found on mainland Europe. The disease has since wreaked havoc across the British countryside, leaving behind skeletal remains of dying ash trees. Previous predictions estimated that up to 85 per cent of ash trees in the UK would succumb to the disease, with none displaying complete immunity. They say it also demonstrates this process works even when a certain trait, such as disease protection, is created by lots of different genes, and not just a single chunk of DNA. Dr Carey Metheringham, whose PhD research included the study, said: 'Thanks to natural selection, future generations of ash should have a better chance of withstanding infection.' But she also warned that while natural selection is showing signs of an ash fightback, it may not be enough on its own to overcome the dieback threat. Evolution may not be enough 'Natural selection alone may not be enough to produce fully resistant trees,' Ms Metheringham added. 'The existing genetic variation in the ash population may be too low, and as the trees become scarcer, the rate of selection could slow. ' Human intervention, such as selective breeding and the protection of young trees from deer grazing, may be required to accelerate evolutionary change.' Additional steps could be needed to prevent ash from facing the same extinction threat as the elm tree, which is being decimated by Dutch elm disease. The study was largely funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which is also leading other work to try and help the ash tree. The new study is published in the journal Science.

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