environment

Royal children speak together for the first time in video

The video, shared to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's official Instagram, shows Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte and Prince George asking veteran broadcaster and natural historian Sir David Attenborough questions about the environment.

It's believed to be the first time the children have spoken together on camera.

"We've got some questions for you, @DavidAttenborough," the post says.

In the video, Prince George asks Attenborough which animal he thinks will next become extinct.

What sort of future are we creating?

The photo is one of the finalist images selected for the Natural History Museum's Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, now in its 53rd year.

After the announcement, expedition leader and underwater photographer Justin Hofman shared the photo on Instagram, saying he wished it "did not exist".

"Now that it does, I want everyone to see it," he wrote.

Environment photo competition winners receive prizes

At a ceremony in Nuku’alofa yesterday, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change and Communications, Paula Ma’u presented prizes and certificates to the winners of the R2R/Environment Photo Competition.

The winners were selected from entries submitted through the R2R Facebook Page during the 2017 Environment Week celebrations and through the month of June to July.

Litterati: Can a digital landfill rid the world of litter?

A resounding yes comes from the community of Litterati, an app that asks users to identify, photograph and geotag individual pieces of trash before disposing of them.

It's a simple enough idea: crowdsourcing data that could help stop litter from being created in the first place.

So far, Litterati has cataloged over 750,000 pieces of litter from 114 countries, with hundreds being added every day.

GEF meeting discusses strategies to advance common goals

Speaking at the opening ceremony, chief guest and the Acting Minister responsible for Environment and Climate Change (MEIDECC), Lord Ma’afu urged everyone to be “frank, constructive and reflective of the approach for future programs and activities”.

“I cannot stress enough the need to ensure that your deliberations and exchanges deliver concrete and tangible outcomes that will advance our common, regional agenda and individual island needs,” said Lord Ma’afu.

Indoor plants don't just look nice — they bring health benefits, too

The quarter-acre dream is fast disappearing and larger blocks and family gardens along with it.

As more people move from country areas to the city and as land to build homes near the city centre becomes scarce, we're getting further and further away from nature. It turns out this isn't great for our health.

The change in urban environments because of development, associated with a rapid increase in chronic disease, is a global phenomenon in developed countries.

Australia supermarkets to tackle plastic bags

South Australia, ACT, the Northern Territory and Tasmania have already implemented state-wide bans, and Queensland plans to do so next year.

Woolworths yesterday announced its decision to phase out the bags, by June 30 next year.

Instead it would offer more durable, re-usable plastic bags at a cost of 15 cents, as well as multi-use hessian bags.

Studies have shown however that some types of reusable bag are not environmentally friendly in comparison unless they have been used 50, or even 100 times.

Fiji plastic bag surcharge welcomed

The Ministry of Fisheries and Forests said the association would introduce a 10 cent surcharge for single use plastic bags at 75 service stations from next month.

Scientists have invented environmentally-friendly microbeads

Microbeads are tiny balls found in bathroom products like shower gels, shaving foams and face scrubs.

They are controversial because they can end up in the sea and can be harmful to fish and birds.

But now, a team from Bath University says it has created biodegradable microbeads by using material which breaks down easily.

Fishing lines killing hundreds of seabirds

Figures from the 2015-16 fishing year show 140 birds were caught on surface longlines on those commercial boats being observed by government monitors.

For that year only 320,000 of the total 2,355,000 hooks were monitored.