Blue & Green Daily: Thursday 28 August headlines

Blue & Green Daily finds and summarises the top sustainability stories around the web every morning. We start with our own picks from Blue & Green Tomorrow.

If public votes for policies, not personalities, Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage could lose

Scottish referendum: Business coalition speaks out against independence

IPCC: climate change is man-made and potentially irreversible

Wildlife needs half the planet to avoid ‘biological holocaust’

Pope Francis urged to divest Vatican from fossil fuels

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28 August headlines

UK’s winter flood strengthen belief humans causing climate change – poll

More than a quarter of people say UK’s winter floods strengthened their belief in human-induced climate change, a survey has found. Half the people polled for the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) said widespread flooding in early 2014 made them more convinced the climate was changing. Guardian.

Yale committee won’t endorse divesting from fossil fuels

A Yale University committee declined to recommend that the Ivy League school sell its investments in fossil-fuel companies, defying pressure from students. Instead, the Committee on Investor Responsibility adopted shareholder proxy voting guidelines on climate change. Bloomberg.

Big power out, solar in: UBS urges investors to join renewables revolution

Big power stations in Europe could be redundant within 10-20 years as electric cars, cheaper batteries and new solar technologies transform the way electricity is generated, stored and distributed, say analysts at the world’s largest private bank. In a briefing paper sent to clients and investors this week UBS bank argues that large-scale, centralised power stations will soon become extinct because they are too big and inflexible. Guardian.

Bankers complain about being held responsible

Top bankers have complained that the City watchdog is over-using its powers to force managers to take responsibility for improvements it wants financial firms to make. The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) practitioner panel – made up of senior figures from the financial-services industry – says it is “concerned” at the increasing use of the power known as an “attestation”. Independent.

Mount Everest mountaineers told to recycle waste

Hundreds of mountaineers from all over the world attempt to climb Mount Everest and other Himalayan peaks in Nepal. But activists say over the decades tonnes of disposed tents, spent oxygen cylinders and discarded food containers and bottles have been left behind by various teams in the pristine snow clad mountains. BBC.

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Interesting picks

5 reasons why crowdfunding is the next big investment trend – Forbes

Scientists go beyond science to explain their climate terror – National Journal

Do dams destroy rivers? – Guardian

Opinion: building a sustainable future – the compact between business and society – Inter Press Service

Photo: Sanja gjenero via Freeimages