Wanted: Britain's shiniest grass
The future viability of solar panels could rest not so much on our number of sunshine hours, but instead on finding shinier grass to make the most of new 'bi-facial' panels capable of harvesting sunlight from above and below.
Lightsource BP, a subsidiary of BP which focuses on solar energy, has been working with seed growers in Norfolk to find the shiniest possible varieties, following a promising test on the lush green grassland of Northern Ireland.
'What we don’t know at this stage is whether the best grass will prove to be a wide-blade cattle-grazing grass or a finer golf course variety,' says Chris Buckland, the company's technical director.
This video will make you wonder how anyone ever survives a lightning strike
The boat's owner, Drew Plominski, had been prepping the craft for a year to take part in an ocean race. Needless to say, he's now had to pull out.
Add indoor air pollution to the list of things that keep you up at night
You know how the room feels so much better when you let in some fresh air? It turns out that's because of all the people around you breathing too much. 'CO2 in bedrooms and offices may affect cognition and cause kidney and bone problems,' reports The Guardian, as they discuss research from a team led by Dr Michael Hernke of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Offices, classrooms, trains, planes and bedrooms all reach the 1,000 parts per million concentration where trouble could start, apparently.
'Traditionally, the team say, it had been thought that CO2 levels would need to reach a very high concentration of at least 5,000 parts per million (ppm) before they would affect human health. But a growing body of research suggests CO2 levels as low as 1,000ppm could cause health problems, even if exposure only lasts for a few hours.'
Stat of the Day
80,000
The number of rivets which had to be replaced in the Super Submarine Spitfire currently being prepared for a round-the-world trip to mark the 80th anniversary of the world's most famous fighter plane. Work on the plane — which has been done out in all-silver — is progressing well, though engineers are currently having trouble working out how to fit the iPad and USB charger ports which will be used for navigation.
The barbecue that burned down a nature reserve
The Bournemouth Echo reports that a disposable barbecue is the most likely cuprit for the blaze at Alder Hills Nature Reserve. Experts say the damage is so bad that the reserve could take 20 years to recover.
And finally... If you're going to almost drown while on holiday, try to do it when a swimming world champion is on the same beach
Italian swimming star Filippo Magnini — twice a world champion, and an Olympic bronze medallist — rescued a man from drowning this week while on holiday in Sardinia with his girlfriend. One of Magnini's fellow sun-worshippers, Andrea Benedetto, apparently got into trouble at Cala Sinzias, and found himself being hailed out of the water by the 37-year-old.
'I just did what I had to,' the swimmer told Italian sports newspaper Corriere dello Sport.
'The bather was in a lot of trouble: he was quite frightened, he was really stuck and had swallowed some seawater.
'When I reached him he wasn't even able to speak, and it wasn't easy to lift him on to the raft, so we laid him on an airbed that some other bathers had nearby.'
Country Life Today: The astonishingly simple solution to making our canals litter-free and beautiful
Today we look at why our canals have become rivers of plastic, but it needn't be that way; the scrapping
Country Life Today: The 'simply appalling' realities of inheriting an enormous country estate
This morning's news round-up offers a warning to be careful what you wish for, cheers for a school nurturing its
Country Life Today: Scottish paradise seeks teachers for school with six children
If you're looking for a place to start a new life, this morning's news round-up has the answer.
Country Life Today: The man who tried to buy a field, and accidentally ended up with a 13th century castle
This morning's news round-up looks at what must be one of the most extraordinary boundary mix-ups in history, finds out
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Nature and nurture in the gardens of Bramham ParkTim Richardson looks at the innovative and superbly maintained 18th-century landscape garden of Bramham Park in West Yorkshire, home of Nick and Rachel Lane Fox. Photographs by Paul Highnam.
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If the future of Ferrari is electric vehicles, then it is our future tooIt's widely believed that Ferrari will unveil its first electric car this year. It's the signal that the internal combustion era is coming to an end.
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The brilliant tractor tribute to the NHS from a group of Warwickshire farmersPeople around Britain have been paying tribute to the efforts of our NHS workers at the time of the coronavirus pandemic — but few have been as creative and clever as this one.
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London's iconic red bus at risk and 6,000 year old chewing gum gives clues into our DNA historyCuts to industry subsidies and an increase in fares has left bus use at its lowest point ever, while DNA extracted from ancient 'chewing gum' allows scientists to decipher the genetic code of a Stone Age woman.
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90-million-year-old 'swimming dinosaur' skeleton found by dogs out walking in Somerset, and the nonchalant moths who don't bother fleeing enemiesA superbly intact dinosaur skeleton — described as being 'museum quality' — has been discovered on a beach in Somerset.
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Battle to ban 4x4s from the idyllic Lake District spot bequeathed by Beatrix Potter, eagle fights octopus and the 'snail's pace' climate talksThis morning we look at Little Langdale's fight for peace, reflect on the climate change talks in Madrid and discover the soundtrack for Brexit.
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Country Life Today: How Greta Thunberg shifted the dial on climate change — and the backlash shows just how muchThis morning we ponder whether Greta Thunberg is the Joan of Arc for the environmental movement, look at a key election — one from 19 years ago — and ponder the marvel of 'dad tidying'.
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Country Life Today: Great news for those who love our great country pubs — the years of decline are overThere is a great sign of health in the pub industry, we look back at Edward VIII's abdication message and fret about Greenland's melting ice.
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Country Life Today: Spain accused of being 'a deplorable choice' for UN climate conferenceA no-holds-barred assault on the Spanish fishing industry, Banksy raising awareness of the homeless and the woes of the Christmas jumper are in today's news round-up.
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Country Life Today: 'This is perhaps the ultimate wake-up call from the uncontrolled experiment humanity is unleashing on the world’s oceans'In today's round up, we examine why oxygen loss is putting oceans at risk, discover that action to cut air pollution brings almost immediate benefits to human health and find out which bird's arrival marks the start of winter in Gloucestershire.
