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environment/2018/apr/05/air-pollution-uk-governments-failed-legal-battles-cost-taxpayers-500m
|
Air pollution: UK government's failed legal battles cost taxpayers £500,000
|
The UK government has spent more than half a million pounds on failed legal battles against clean air campaigners, according to newly released documents that underline the cost of weak action on pollution. The figures – obtained under a freedom of information request by the Labour party – show repeated court defeats are hurting taxpayers in addition to the growing health impact of air pollution, which kills as many as 40,000 people a year. In February, the environmental law organisation ClientEarth successfully challenged the government’s efforts to deal with roadside nitrogen dioxide. The government incurred costs of £148,135 and was ordered to pay ClientEarth’s costs up to £35,000, the documents show. The judge ruled the government’s 2017 air quality plan so poor as to be unlawful. This was the third case against ClientEarth in less than 12 months. In a ruling last July, the government incurred £60,582 in costs. Last April, it ran up a court bill of £14,796 and was ordered to pay the environment group’s costs of £11,000. In parliamentary questions last June, the government revealed it had already spent £310,000 in court battles against ClientEarth. With the total now more than £500,000, the Labour party accused the government of squandering money and time in dealing with the pollution crisis. “This Tory government has had to be dragged through the courts every step of the way and have wasted hundreds of thousands of taxpayers’ money fighting losing cases instead of taking action,” shadow environment secretary Sue Hayman said. ClientEarth echoed the criticism of the government. “Its decision to fight ClientEarth in court rather than cleaning up our air is baffling, and it is now eight years late to meet legal pollution limits,” said the group’s chief executive, James Thornton. “The government’s continued failure to act on air pollution damages people’s health and puts lives at risk across the UK. It’s time to quit these costly delays and start cleaning up our air.” The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs defended the legal costs, noting that the government had a partial success in the most recent case. “We have already delivered significant improvements in air quality since 2010 and it was right to defend our position in court. The judge dismissed two of the three complaints in the latest case and found that our approach to areas with major air quality problems is ‘sensible, rational and lawful’,” said a Defra spokesperson. “We will continue to implement our £3.5bn plan and work with local authorities to reduce emissions and improve air quality.”
|
['environment/air-pollution', 'environment/environment', 'environment/pollution', 'uk/uk', 'politics/politics', 'politics/conservatives', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/jonathanwatts', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment']
|
environment/pollution
|
POLLUTION_AND_WASTE
|
2018-04-05T05:00:39Z
| true
|
POLLUTION_AND_WASTE
|
environment/2023/feb/16/australia-green-hydrogen-support-us-middle-east
|
Australia warned it could lose out to ‘huge and aggressive’ green hydrogen support in US and Middle East
|
Australia’s natural renewable energy advantage in the race to create a green hydrogen industry is at risk of being overwhelmed by “huge and aggressive” policy support in the US and the Middle East, according to Fortescue Future Industries’ Guy Debelle. Debelle, formerly FFI’s chief financial officer and now serving as a director, said the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act was mostly aimed at accelerating decarbonisation and was “one of the largest pieces of industrial policy we’ve ever seen”. Without a formal spending cap, it could eventually top $US1trillion ($1.44tn). “It’s not just money,” Debelle told a gathering of business economists in Sydney on Wednesday. “It’s actually people, it’s expertise and knowhow, which [are] migrating to the US.” Oil-rich Middle Eastern nations had also “seen the writing on the wall” of a shift off fossil fuels and were pouring resources and making land available for firms to tap renewable energy resources and develop a hydrogen sector. “There’s a risk that, despite Australia’s great comparative advantages in green energy, the US and the Middle East are going to eat our lunch,” Debelle, who was also formerly a deputy governor of the Reserve Bank, said. Many nations are investing heavily in hydrogen as an alternative fuel to oil, gas and coal. Debelle said the US spending had the potential to lower the cost of making hydrogen from $6/kilogram to $2.50/kg. That would be comparable to fossil fuels. One outcome for Australia, if governments didn’t provide “a more targeted response”, was that markets to the north such as Japan and South Korea – which had relatively poor renewable energy resources – would be snapped up by the US or other rivals. “I’m really concerned that we are missing out on a huge opportunity,” he said. Debelle also warned Australian businesses to focus on reducing their greenhouse gas emissions directly, rather than relying on buying carbon offsets to try to cancel them out. Those “misaligned decarbonisation incentives” could leave firms vulnerable to higher costs as carbon credits “will get more expensive”, he said. Future market restrictions, such as from the European Union, could also leave them vulnerable if they had not cut emissions. “I’m concerned about people waiting for long … and that means we don’t get the nascent industry off the ground here,” Debelle said, adding he could foresee companies scrambling to find alternatives “but the solutions take three or four years to build”. In Australia, scale could determine which localities succeeded in fostering a hydrogen industry. Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia were more likely to have the size for exports, given their solar and wind resources. States such as NSW, though, had the scope to supply local industries. Fortescue Future Industries, for instance, was working with AGL Energy to repurpose its Liddell coal-fired power station after it shuts completely by April. “The grid’s already set up,” Debelle said, explaining the Hunter Valley plant’s appeal. Paul Barrett, chief executive for Hysata, a company developing electrolysis cells based on University of Wollongong research, said the US support included $US1bn for hydrogen electroliser production in an infrastructure bill. “We could really be left behind in the race to net zero” emissions by 2050, he said. Still, with ample renewable energy and land, a long coastline and access to key minerals from iron ore to lithium, Australia was well-placed to be competitive. “We truly are the lucky country,” Barrett said. Hysata, meanwhile, was “ahead of plans” reported by Guardian Australia last year in its bid to produce electrolysis with a 95% efficiency. The devices use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The company is able to produce a kilogram with 41.5 kilowatt-hours of electricity, about 20% better than the industry standard of about 52KWh/kg, Barrett said.
|
['environment/hydrogen-power', 'australia-news/energy-australia', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/energy', 'environment/environment', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'campaign/email/afternoon-update', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/peter-hannam', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news']
|
environment/energy
|
ENERGY
|
2023-02-16T01:02:48Z
| true
|
ENERGY
|
business/2018/aug/13/australia-urged-to-restrict-monsantos-roundup-after-us-court-rules-it-caused-cancer
|
Australia urged to restrict Monsanto's Roundup after US court rules it caused cancer
|
Greenpeace has called on the Australian government to suspend the sale of the weedkiller Roundup after a US court ruled it had caused the terminal cancer of an American man. On Friday, the San Francisco superior court of California ruled that Roundup caused school groundskeeper Dewayne Johnson to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma – a fatal blood cell cancer. The jury also found that manufacturer Monsanto “knew for decades” the product was potentially dangerous, and acted “with malice or oppression” by failing to warn Johnson of the risks. The weedkiller is widely available in Australian supermarkets and hardware stores, and Greenpeace said the government must now take “urgent action” to restrict it. The active chemical in Roundup – glyphosate – was classified as “probably carcinogenic” in 2015 by the World Health Organisation. It is still approved for use in Australia, and is the most commonly used herbicide in the world. Monsanto’s vice president, Scott Partridge, has insisted that Roundup is safe, saying on Friday that the “verdict doesn’t change the four-plus decades of safe use and science behind the product”. A spokeswoman for Monsanto in Australia told Guardian Australia: “The US Environmental Protection Agency and regulatory authorities around the world, including Australia, support the fact that glyphosate does not cause cancer.” But Greenpeace said the federal government should suspend the use of glyphosate until more studies were conducted. “We need to be urgently exercising the precautionary principle,” said Jamie Hanson, Greenpeace’s head of campaigns. “Use of this dangerous product should be severely restricted. “Roundup is widely available for sale in Australia ... potentially exposing millions of people to its harmful effects. This case is only the first of hundreds that have been filed in the US claiming Roundup causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma. We have no idea how far this will spread and how many more are to come.” The UK hardware chain Homebase announced it would review its sale of Roundup in the wake of the court decision. But Bunnings Warehouse in Australia said it had not removed Roundup because it was still classified safe by the government regulator. “We follow advice from Australia’s chemical regulator, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, for this product,” Clive Duncan, Bunnings’s director of marketing and merchandise, said. “We take customer and team member welfare extremely seriously and strongly recommend users read and follow the directions and recommendations listed on the labels and packaging.” The chief executive of Cancer Council Australia, Professor Sanchia Aranda, said Roundup posed no threat to “mum-and-dad gardeners” as long as they took precautions. “This risk is only classified for people who use it in the workplace on a regular basis,” she said. “There is no evidence there is a danger to mum-and-dad gardeners, or kids who play in parks where Roundup is being sprayed. “[Wear] protective clothing to stop it getting on your skin – it doesn’t need to be industrial protection – just make sure your arms and legs are covered. Wear a mask so you don’t inhale it.” But she said this advice would change if Monsanto was hiding more information about Roundup. “The most concerning thing is the suggestion that they are holding any information back. We want to emphasise that if there is other information that Monsanto have, that they must be transparent. We have zero tolerance for companies who protect their shareholders over the public.” The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority confirmed the court decision would not change Roundup’s status in Australia. “The APVMA is aware of the decision in the Californian superior court,” a spokesman said. “Glyphosate is registered for use in Australia and APVMA approved products containing glyphosate can continue to be used safely according to label directions.” Monsanto said it intenedd to appeal against the decision in the US. Shares in an Australian maker of a similar product, Nufarm Ltd, fell 17% after the weekend’s decision, hitting a two-year low.
|
['business/monsanto', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/greenpeace', 'society/cancer', 'australia-news/health', 'environment/environment', 'society/health', 'australia-news/business-australia', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/naaman-zhou', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news']
|
environment/greenpeace
|
CLIMATE_ACTIVISM
|
2018-08-13T06:01:00Z
| true
|
CLIMATE_ACTIVISM
|
uk/2010/mar/18/firm-bribes-banned-chemical-tetraethyl
|
Chemical firm Innospec admits bribing foreign officials
|
A multinational firm today admitted paying bribes to foreign officials to boost sales of a chemical that is too poisonous to be sold to the general public in Britain. Cheshire-based Innospec also admitted making corrupt payments to Indonesian officials to stop the dangerous chemical being outlawed in the country. In a co-ordinated and ground-breaking prosecution by the Serious Fraud Office and the US government, the firm also admitted paying kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's former regime and was tonight fined $25m by an American court. Innospec, at its Ellesmere Port factory, is understood to be the world's only remaining manufacturer of tetraethyl lead (TEL), a compound used in leaded petrol to make engines run more smoothly. However it is known to be highly poisonous to humans, in particular stunting the mental development of children. Today, Andrew Mitchell QC, for the SFO, told Southwark crown court in London that the use of TEL in cars had begun to be phased out in America in the 1970s "due to health and environmental concerns" and had "mostly ceased" in Europe by 2000. Innospec concentrated its efforts on a small number of developing countries. Mitchell said that "despite worldwide environmental and health pressure to change to unleaded fuel" Innospec used middlemen to pay bribes of up to $17m to "sweeten" Indonesian government officials between 1999 and 2006. These bribes secured orders worth $170m. Indonesia had intended to phase out TEL and leaded fuel from 1999 but Innospec set up a slush fund to bribe officials to block legislative change until 2006 and prolong its sales there, Mitchell said. Nicholas Purnell QC, for Innospec, told the court that the US-owned firm had undergone a "sea-change" and come clean and reformed itself. It is the first time the British and American governments have secured in court a global deal to settle foreign bribery prosecutions of a British company. Lord Justice Thomas said today he would fix the fine next week.
|
['uk/uk', 'world/world', 'environment/corporatesocialresponsibility', 'world/indonesia', 'world/asia-pacific', 'type/article', 'profile/robevans']
|
environment/corporatesocialresponsibility
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
2010-03-18T20:01:47Z
| true
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
media/pda/2008/apr/18/guardianviralvideochart62
|
Guardian Viral Video Chart
|
You'd be forgiven for not having heard of Tricia Walsh Smith. Until last Thursday, she was a little-known playwright but now - she's "that woman that ranted about her divorce on YouTube". There's several million and a tidy New York apartment at stake in her imminent divorce from theatre mogul Philip Smith. Her rather disturbing six-minute rant gives us a tour of the apartment, a few tears moments and a delightful insight into what her husband allegedly left behind in the apartment: condoms, Viagra and porn. Far too much information. I'm not sure Smith's video will have done her much good; certainly the legal consensus seems to be that it won't have helped her case. But if she'd been a bit more savvy, she could've tried to make a few bucks from the 2.3m (and growing) views by signing up for YouTube's ad programme. That way at least she'll have something in the bank if the whole divorce thing doesn't work out. "Nasty evil stepdaughter": Tricia's probably not on her Christmas card list anymore For a bit of Friday feel-good we've got a delightful Discovery Channel ident, this classic does-he-or-does-he and the lovingly compiled Engineers guide to cats during which several of them are played like violins. So you mean cats have a purpose, after all? The cherry on this week's viral video cake has to be Tom Cruise's ex-friend Jason Beghe. He has apparently seen the light and ditched the whole Scientology cult thing: "Scientology is destructive and a rip off... If it's for real, then something is fucked up." And what's this? Charlie's not in the top twenty this week? Well that's not right. Let's watch it again anyway. Guardian Viral Video Chart compiled by viralvideochart.com. 1 Stupid internal Microsoft Vista SP1 video Takes corporate motivational video to a whole new level of dire. And just think, Yahoos - this, soon, could be yours! 2 Tricia Walsh Smith From the Heather Mills school of classy divorces. 3 Madonna: Message to YouTube Thoughts from 'Our Glorious Leader' on the set of her new video. 4 Bosnia and Back Again, starring Senator Hillary Clinton: trailer Probably not paid for by Hillary Clinton For President. 5 Discovery Channel: I love the World Ha! Eat your heart out Channel 4 idents. 6 American Idol - David Cook: Always Be My Baby I think this is popular because people think he's good, but I can't be sure. 7 Condi must go! Should Condoleezza Rice face the chop over waterboarding? 8 Laker Kobe Bryant attempts massive stunt - and succeeds! Real? The basketball star plays with an Aston Martin. Do not try this at home! 9 New features in Google Earth 4.3 Street view, uber-zoom and sunset views in the latest version of Google's mapping tool. 10 An engineer's guide to cats One for the cat people. 11 Bush to Pope: 'Awesome speech your Holiness' Bush gaffe number 41, 992. 12 Erykah Badu The insider's guide to getting on the music industry. 13 Scientology: Jason Beghe interview tease He has seen the light. 14 Sporting 5-3 Benfica (1/2 Taça de Portugal 16.04.2008) Highlight from the Portuguese Cup semi-final.= 15 Mario theme played with radio-controlled car and bottles This takes boredom to a whole new level. 16 Music Idol 2 Bulgaria: Without you (fake english) So who is this 'Ken Lee' anyway? 17 Tokio Hotel TV [Episode 22] NYC Part 2 Teeny emo band that makes the girls squeal. (Anyone over 18 will just feed old, though.) 18 Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (super trailer) Some anti-Darwin nonsense. 19 Sony: Foam City Sony's latest traffic-stopping ad: foamy Friday in Miami. 20 Poak Chops The poak chops are the bits you have to shake. This is so much better than all those glossy R&B videos. And I have a sneaking suspicion that the facilitator is packing a little more poak than the other dancers... Source: Viral Video Chart. Compiled from data gathered at 21:00 on 17 April 2008. The Weekly Viral Video Chart is currently based on a count of the embedded videos and links on approximately two million blogs.
|
['media/pda', 'technology/series/viralvideochart', 'media/digital-media', 'media/media', 'technology/digitalvideo', 'technology/internet', 'technology/technology', 'tone/blog', 'media/media-blog', 'type/article', 'profile/jemimakiss']
|
technology/digitalvideo
|
UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE
|
2008-04-18T06:00:20Z
| true
|
UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE
|
world/2010/jul/29/al-qaida-9-11-attack-kabul
|
Al-Qaida 'planned 9/11 style attack on Kabul'
|
It may be one of the more audacious terrorist plots to be hatched in Afghanistan, but it was certainly not the most original. The same al-Qaida masterminds behind 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington planned to commit a similar attack in the capital of the country that once harboured them, according to a file among US military intelligence documents published this week by the WikiLeaks website. Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaida's second in command, is said to have given the order for a team of 22 to board one or more planes at Kabul airport, hijack the aircraft and steer them toward a number of "important objectives". The targets were to include Hamid Karzai's presidential palace, Nato headquarters, the British and US embassies and the Ariana hotel – the whole which the CIA rented and used as its station in Kabul. The details of the plot have emerged as the leak of secret intelligence continues to create controversy in Kabul and Washington owing to the large number of references alleging that Pakistan's spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), supported the Taliban in Afghanistan. Karzai today told reporters that Islamabad was the source of the conflict in his country, and called on his western allies to "destroy" the Taliban's sanctuaries inside Pakistan. It was a striking return to the sort of anti-Pakistani rhetoric that he, who has sought better relations with Islamabad, has refrained from for many months. Karzai also criticised the publication of files naming Afghan informers as "extremely irresponsible and shocking", echoing widespread fears that their lives are now at risk from Taliban reprisals. Several logs published by Wikileaks have been found to contain information about local intelligence sources including names, locations and even grid references. The three news organisations which published reports based on the Afghan war logs this week, the Guardian, the New York Times and Der Spiegel, took care not to publish any material that would identify informers or otherwise put troops at risk. The report on the alleged hijack plot, recorded by intelligence officers on 23 March 2009, highlights the mixed quality of western intelligence, particularly the large number of "threat reports" fed to coalition forces each day – there are almost 2,500 for Kabul alone in the five-year period covered by the logs. On the one hand the airline plot report is detailed, naming a number of conspirators, including Afghan or Pakistani generals and a pilot from the Afghan national carrier, who were allegedly involved in providing the hijackers fake IDs and "facilitating anti-coalition training". Whereas the 9/11 hijackers went to flight schools in Arizona and Florida, the Kabul plotters were due to receive flying lessons at a "private air club in Karachi". Apparently their ideological indoctrination had already begun as they attended a madrasa in Khukitan, in Pakistan's Swat valley. All 22 were al-Qaida members and included Arabs, Pakistanis, Chechens and Uzbeks with fake Afghan IDs, the report claims. At an unspecified date they would enter Afghanistan and try to obtain Russian, Chinese and Iranian visas to allow them to fly to those countries. "During the flight they will hijack the plane and conduct attacks in Kabul," said the report. Although it is categorised as a "C3", meaning the source is regarded as "fairly reliable" and the information is "possibly true", the report is imprecise, both referring to a single plane being hijacked and to a number of different "attacks" against various targets. Iran's Fars news agency reported that an attempted hijack of an Ariana aircraft by a lone hijacker was foiled in May. Even if the intelligence report referred to a serious plot it seems very unlikely to have succeeded. A 9/11-style attack would be ruled out by the fact that only a couple of commercial flights take off from Kabul every hour, and there are no direct flights to China or Russia. Kabul airport is also an exceptionally difficult place from which to hijack planes, with some of the most stringent security procedures in the world. It is normal for passengers to have their bags searched twice and to be frisked four times, with varying degrees of effectiveness, before they reach check-in – there's another frisk and bag check before getting onto the plane. • This article was amended on 30 July 2010. The original referred to a "loan hijacker". This has been corrected.
|
['world/al-qaida', 'world/afghanistan', 'world/pakistan', 'us-news/us-military', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/world', 'tone/news', 'world/the-war-logs', 'world/war-logs', 'type/article', 'profile/jon-boone', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international']
|
world/the-war-logs
|
UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE
|
2010-07-29T19:53:43Z
| true
|
UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE
|
commentisfree/2023/may/31/for-some-us-residents-it-is-now-impossible-to-get-home-insurance-and-all-because-of-the-climate-crisis
|
If being unable to insure your home isn’t a wake-up call about climate crisis, I don’t know what is | Arwa Mahdawi
|
Insurance company documents aren’t exactly renowned for being riveting reading. This week, however, State Farm, the largest insurance firm in the US by premium volume, came out with an eyeball-grabbing update: it has stopped accepting new homeowner insurance applications in California. In a statement, the company said the decision was based on the heightened risk of natural disasters, such as wildfires, along with historic increases in construction costs. This news didn’t come out of nowhere. Last year, two large insurance firms in California ended their coverage for some multimillion-dollar houses in wildfire-prone areas. “We cannot charge an adequate price for the risk,” one insurance company CEO explained in an earnings call. But the scope of this announcement seems unprecedented. The US’s biggest insurer halting new policies in the US’s most populous state? A state with a population of nearly 40 million suddenly having its home insurance options curtailed because insurance companies know that extreme weather is only getting worse and more expensive? If this doesn’t serve as a wake-up call about the climate crisis, I don’t know what will. Melting ice caps may be abstract enough to ignore, but plummeting house prices have a way of getting people’s attention. House prices haven’t plummeted yet, of course. Quite the opposite: California is an incredibly expensive place to live. But if you can’t get insurance, it’s almost impossible to get a mortgage. This makes it harder to sell your house and will make prices go down. The writing is on the wall, as insurance companies are well aware. • Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist
|
['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'us-news/california', 'business/insurance', 'world/wildfires', 'environment/environment', 'money/homeinsurance', 'type/article', 'tone/comment', 'profile/arwa-mahdawi', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/g2', 'theguardian/g2/features', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-g2-features', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-g2-production']
|
world/wildfires
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
2023-05-31T06:00:18Z
| true
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
world/2009/mar/03/sri-lanka-cricket-attack-eyewitness
|
Sri Lankan cricketers recount Pakistan terror attack
|
Eyewitnesses, including the captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team, Mahela Jayawardene, today described the terrifying moments when the team bus came under attack en route to the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore, Pakistan. "The bus came under attack as we were driving to the stadium, the gunmen targeted the wheels of the bus first and then the bus," Jayawardene told Cricinfo. "We all dived to the floor to take cover. About five players have been injured and also Paul Farbrace [a member of the support staff], but most of the injuries appear to be minor at this stage and caused by debris." Jayawardene was slightly injured in the foot. The Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara told Pakistan's Geo TV: "Many players were injured. The third umpire was also hit by shrapnel. This incident is unfortunate. I don't regret coming to Pakistan but I regret the incident. I would just like to go back home and be safe with my family. I had shrapnel inside my shoulder, [Sri Lankan bowler] Ajantha [Mendis] had some in his scalp and he also had a thigh injury. We are fine now. We are all out of danger now. I am very happy that I am safe." Nadeem Ghauri, the TV umpire, told Geo TV: "When the bus reached Liberty Market, we heard gunshots. We hid under the seats. The driver got shot and died on the spot. The firing continued. The other umpire, Ahsan Raza, was also shot. The police managed to get us to the airport." The former England all-rounder Dominic Cork spoke of his shock following the attack. Cork, who was in the stadium to perform commentary work for Pakistan TV, told Sky Sports News: "The Sri Lankan players are quite shocked. They all fell to the floor of the team bus when the attack happened. "Some of them have wounds but I think most of them are superficial wounds. I have spoken to [Kumar] Sangakkara, he has a shrapnel wound in his right shoulder. The team are sitting in the changing room watching local TV. They are waiting for helicopters to arrive to take them to a local army base and wait for a connecting flight to Abu Dhabi." Cork had spoken to match official and former England opener Chris Broad, who was in one of the vehicles attacked just 100 metres from the stadium. "He said it was the most frightening experience of his life," said Cork. "Their driver was shot and they had to ask a policeman to drive them to the stadium." Ghauri, who witnessed the attack, was quoted by the Associated Press as saying: "The firing started at about 0840 [0340 GMT] and it continued for 15 minutes. Our driver was hit, and he was injured." Ahmed Ali, a local shopkeeper, told Reuters: "It was a very heavy firing and I heard at least two explosions." A Lahore police officer, Haji Habib Rehman, told Geo TV that "there were around 12 terrorists, they were wearing masks, they came by rickshaw according to our information. And they tried to attack the Sri Lankan team. The police put up a lot of resistance and I am proud of my policemen," he said. A driver of one of the vehicles in the attacked convoy told Pakistan's private Express news station that a man fired a rocket towards their van and then someone threw a grenade, but the weapons missed their vehicle.
|
['world/sri-lanka-cricket-team-attack', 'world/pakistan', 'world/srilanka', 'sport/sri-lanka-cricket-team', 'world/world', 'sport/cricket', 'sport/sport', 'tone/news', 'world/south-and-central-asia', 'type/article', 'profile/alexandratopping']
|
world/sri-lanka-cricket-team-attack
|
UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE
|
2009-03-03T09:16:38Z
| true
|
UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE
|
us-news/2015/jul/04/california-drought-fireworks-cancelled-independence-day
|
Independence Day fireworks doused by lack of water in California drought
|
On Saturday, some drought-stricken areas in California were faced with celebrating the Fourth of July without the traditional fireworks. With efforts to reduce water consumption under way and extreme drought drying out nearby land, many areas not only cancelled official firework displays but also sought to crack down on residents seeking to set off their own. “There’s two really big family events, and that’s Fourth of July fireworks and Santa Claus,” Rick Kitson, public affairs director of the city of Cupertino, told KPIX 5. “We hate losing fireworks.” Cupertino’s annual $75,000 Fourth of July firework display requires about 100,000 gallons of water to be sprayed on the school sports fields from which it is launched, to prevent damage to the synthetic turf. “Everyone felt very uncomfortable about that,” Kitson said in an interview with the New York Times. “That seemed to be not quite defensible. Adding insult to injury, [the water] was all perfectly drinkable.” Cupertino was not the only Californian town going without fireworks, and drought was not the only reason. In Cambria, officials were concerned about fire. “I received the application to do the fireworks show, and it just didn’t make any sense at all,” said Mark Miller, the local fire chief. “There’s no way we could justify having fireworks. This is a cute little town with a big, ugly fire problem right now.” In Fairfield, city officials closed the parks on Independence Day. “It’s starting to dry out and because we are a heavy, gusty, windy area, it tends to dry out the fuels a lot faster than other areas,” said deputy fire chief Jorge Merodio. Concerned officials determined that individual fireworks used by residents could spark a fire. Bass Lake and Don Pedro Lake also cancelled their fireworks. In Santa Clara, officials decided to hold property owners accountable for any fireworks discharged on their property. First-time offenders would face a $350 fine; a second offense would cost $700 and a third $1,000. Property owners who were not aware their properties were being used to launch fireworks would get away with a warning. “As we head into the fourth summer of a severe drought, it is more important than ever that everyone use an abundance of caution to avoid sparking a fire,” said Ken Pimlott, director of California department of forestry and fire protection. “Here in California, we have a zero tolerance for the use and sale of illegal fireworks.” State fire marshal Tonya Hoover said: “Last year alone there were over 300 fires sparked by fireworks ... We want everyone to enjoy their celebrations in a safe and legal manner.”
|
['us-news/california', 'us-news/california-drought', 'environment/drought', 'environment/water', 'environment/environment', 'us-news/us-news', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/jana-kasperkevic']
|
environment/drought
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
2015-07-04T22:02:48Z
| true
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
environment/2018/may/27/britain-follow-european-ban-single-use-plastic
|
Gove urged to follow Europe with ban on single-use plastic
|
The EU is to ban plastic straws, stirrers, cutlery, cotton buds and balloon sticks in a bid to tackle the rising tide of plastic waste, a move that has prompted urgent calls for the environment secretary, Michael Gove, to guarantee that the UK will follow Brussels’ lead after Brexit. The restrictions on “single-use” plastic will be launched on Monday by the European commission as part of its plan to ensure that 55% of all plastic is recycled by 2030. About 80-85% of all litter in the oceans is plastic, and half of that is made up of throw-away items such as plastic straws. A leaked draft of the commission’s proposals spells out a step-change in the bloc’s attitude to plastic waste. But it is likely to come too late to be part of the bulk of EU legislation due to be transposed into UK law. The draft document, to be unveiled by commission vice-president Frans Timmermans, states: “Single-use plastic products for which suitable and more sustainable alternatives are readily available should no longer be placed on the union market to limit their impact on the environment.” The plastic items targeted by the ban are cotton buds (except for swabs for medical purposes), forks, knives, spoons, chopsticks, plates, straws, beverage stirrers and sticks for balloons. Where there are no readily available alternatives, such as plastic fast-food containers, the EU says member states must respect a “polluter pays” principle. Companies making such items will have to cover the costs of waste management and the clean-up of marine waste, along with measures to raise awareness to prevent and reduce such litter. EU countries will also have to achieve a significant reduction in the use of such containers and throw-away cups within six years of the proposal being written into national law. The EU would like member states to use deposit schemes to ensure that 90% of plastic bottles are collected separately by 2025. Caroline Lucas MP, co-leader of the Green party, has called on Gove to meet the EU’s standards on plastic waste after Brexit. Gove had a public Twitter spat with Timmermans earlier this year after claiming that EU legislation might get in the way of a UK ban on plastic straws. Lucas told the Observer: “Once again the EU is way ahead of the UK when it comes to the pace and direction of protecting our environment. We all know that single-use plastic needs to be eradicated but all we’ve got from this government is a vague promise of action on ‘unavoidable’ waste by the end of 2042. “If Brexit goes ahead, we need clarity and certainty that our environment will not be sold down the river and that means a watchdog with real teeth. That’s how to help ensure Britain outside of the EU doesn’t slide back into its old reputation as the dirty man of Europe.” ClientEarth chemicals lawyer Alice Bernard said: “These measures are essential to stop our wasteful use of plastics and an important first step to tackle plastic pollution. We hope the next steps will be addressing the issue of dangerous chemicals in plastics – such as bisphenols.” Last week the United Nations warned that Britain’s reputation was at risk over plans for a new post-Brexit environmental watchdog which would not have the power to take the government to court. Despite Gove’s promise of a “green Brexit”, the Treasury is said to have resisted giving the new watchdog the same powers as the European commission because of the potential impact on post-Brexit growth. Earlier this month the UK and five other nations were referred to the European court of justice for failing to tackle illegal levels of air pollution. The ECJ has the power to impose large fines. Bas Eickhout, the Dutch Green MEP, said: “Whether the deal will be concluded before or after Brexit remains to be seen. But given the urgency of tackling our plastic waste problem, I expect the UK to implement this policy anyway. Theresa May already showed she is happy to implement EU plastic policies when she proudly presented her policies against single-use plastic bags, so I expect she won’t do any less on all single-use plastic policies.” The EU first outlined its intention to ban straws as part of a wider strategy in January ahead of the publication of draft legislation expected on Monday. In April, Gove announced a consultation, rather than draft legislation, adding that he was unsure of the legal basis of such a ban. A government spokesman said, however, that they believed the UK was leading the way. He said: “The UK set an example with our proposals earlier this year to ban plastic straws, cotton buds and stirrers and it’s good to see the EU following our lead.“While we want to see a reduction much more quickly than the 6 years proposed for some products and want to see other European nations follow our ban on plastic micro-beads, any action to reduce plastic waste is of course welcome.“As we deliver a Green Brexit, the UK will continue to show global leadership in setting even higher environmental standards.”
|
['environment/plastic', 'environment/pollution', 'world/eu', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'profile/daniel-boffey', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/news', 'theobserver/news/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/observer-main']
|
environment/plastic
|
POLLUTION_AND_WASTE
|
2018-05-27T04:59:16Z
| true
|
POLLUTION_AND_WASTE
|
environment/2022/jan/03/country-diary-on-this-hazy-morning-the-distant-hills-are-barely-visible
|
Country diary: On this hazy morning, the distant hills are barely visible
|
Ahead of me at the far end of the path, just where it drops into the next valley, the wind has corralled a drift of dry leaves between the hedgerows. It fills the space behind the gate almost ankle deep, so that opening it sweeps a quadrant clear to mark my passage. The air is still and cold, the grass fringed with lines of frost, distant sounds seem unusually close at hand. Ivy weaves across the bank below the beech wood, bright green against the dead brash of the woodland floor, with early light reflecting from the glossy cuticles of the leaves. I pause and look eastwards along the valley of the Afon Rheidol. A few sheep look up from the pasture before realising I’m not carrying anything remotely edible – certainly not a rattling bag of grass nuts – and return to their stolid routine. A thin mist hangs between the trees that mark the course of the river, fading into the veil of haze which softens the distant hills. The sun has finally climbed above the horizon, but is still low in the sky – and a single red kite beats across the hillside in its search for breakfast. At the end of each pass the kite makes a sharp right-hand turn, the sun lighting up the russet of its underside as it wheels around. After the recent storms I’m relieved to see an old friend has survived. An ancient tree, split by time and weather into multiple trunks, and with an almost fractal crown, stands resolutely at the end of the hedgerow. Sheltered from the north and west by the steep hillside, only a scattering of twigs have fallen since I was last here, so the outline of the tree against the light retains its barely balanced complexity. I wander on down the lane under the bare chestnut trees, looking across at the field where gorse has begun to invade the lightly grazed pasture. Even at the turning of the year the gorse is, as usual, in flower – a scattering of yellow gently lit by the milky sunshine. • Country Diary is on Twitter at @gdncountrydiary
|
['environment/series/country-diary', 'uk/ruralaffairs', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'environment/forests', 'environment/birds', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/john-gilbey', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers']
|
environment/forests
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
2022-01-03T05:30:37Z
| true
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
environment/2009/mar/18/kingsnorth-protest
|
Letter: Our actions allowed protest to go ahead
|
While most of those attending the climate camp protest were clearly well-intentioned and law-abiding (Report, 10 March), it was clear that a minority were committed to closing down Kingsnorth power station with the attendant risk to life and loss of power to 300,000 people. It was difficult to balance the interests of protesters with the plant operator Eon and the local community, but much of the expense arose from our efforts to let the demonstration proceed. The camp was an illegal mass trespass on fields that expelled the tenant farmer and his sheep. We could have sought immediate repossession of the land and stopped the camp there and then, but did not in order to support the right to protest. It was the police who facilitated a water supply to the camp and who put in place a traffic management plan that maintained access to the site. It was clear from the start that some items taken there were for criminal purposes, including grappling hooks, climbing equipment, bolt cutters and a range of locks and bolts. By seizing such items, we could let the protest proceed, more confident that the power station could operate safe from attack. It is better to prevent criminality than to deal with its consequences. I believe the policing operation was a great success. We facilitated a protest camp and march, we only arrested 100 people and nobody was seriously injured or hurt, though 120 protestors were rescued from the River Medway. Kent police's policy has always been to be transparent in everything we do and this is why we voluntarily referred the matter to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Allyn Thomas Assistant chief constable, Kent
|
['environment/kingsnorth', 'environment/activism', 'environment/environment', 'uk/police', 'politics/politics', 'type/article', 'tone/letters', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/editorialsandreply']
|
environment/activism
|
CLIMATE_ACTIVISM
|
2009-03-18T00:01:00Z
| true
|
CLIMATE_ACTIVISM
|
environment/2020/jun/04/how-football-fans-barbecues-choked-chilean-capital
|
Pollutionwatch: how football fans' barbecues choked Chilean capital
|
We are told we in England can now invite a limited number of guests for barbecues as lockdown restrictions are eased. There is little UK data on what this might mean for air pollution, but we do have evidence from Santiago, Chile. Between 2014 and 2016 the Chilean capital experienced record-breaking pollution events. Emergency traffic restrictions were imposed but the particle pollution quickly disappeared on its own. There was no unusual weather and no smoke from distant wildfires. Analysis of pollution ratios ruled out traffic and industry. The cause was a mystery. Then researchers checked sport schedules. The pollution peaked whenever the Chilean national football team played and people did not have work on the following day. The peaks could even be linked to the kick-off times. But they were not due to fans travelling to the stadium, they were caused by those who stayed at home. A survey before the final of the 2015 Copa América estimated that 29% of Santiago’s inhabitants planned a barbecue – around 100,000 fires lit at once. Many English councils have already asked people to refrain from bonfires and barbecues to prevent smoke from entering the homes of vulnerable neighbours. We are all mindful of 2-metre physical distancing, but the smoke from your barbecue will travel a lot further.
|
['environment/series/pollutionwatch', 'environment/pollution', 'environment/air-pollution', 'environment/environment', 'world/chile', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/gary-fuller', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-weather']
|
environment/pollution
|
POLLUTION_AND_WASTE
|
2020-06-04T20:30:02Z
| true
|
POLLUTION_AND_WASTE
|
environment/2022/aug/22/discovered-in-the-deep-the-worm-that-eats-bones-osedax
|
Discovered in the deep: the worm that eats bones
|
The deep sea is home to a group of animals that look like tiny plants. They have no mouths, no stomachs and no anuses. They live inside a tube with a feathery red plume sticking out of one end and a clump of roots at the other. Deep-sea scientists first identified them in 2002, growing like a shaggy carpet on a whale skeleton they encountered by chance, nearly 3,000 metres deep in Monterey Bay, California. A deep-diving robot brought up samples which revealed these were not plants but worms that eat bones, now officially called Osedax – the bone-devourers in Latin. Once scientists knew how to look for them, the search for bone-eating worms – also known as zombie worms – began in earnest. Teams dragged dead, beached whales offshore and sank them into the deep. Landing devices deliver parcels of animal bones to the seabed – pigs, cows, turkeys – then retrieve them months or years later to see what has infested them. “Basically, wherever we put bones, we find [the worms],” says Greg Rouse from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego, and one of the team who found and described Osedax. More than 30 species from around the world have so far been found. There’s the bone-eating snot flower, Osedax mucofloris, first found off Sweden. Osedax fenrisi was discovered near a hydrothermal vent at a depth of more than 2,000 metres in the Arctic, and named in 2020 after the Norse god Loki’s son, Fenris the wolf. The bone-eating worm ranges in size from the length of a little finger to smaller than an eyelash. Those visible to the naked eye are usually females. Males are mostly tiny and don’t eat bones. They live in “harems” of tens or hundreds inside a female’s mucous tube, and wait for her eggs to emerge so they can immediately fertilise them. All the energy these diminutive males get comes from their mothers via their egg yolks. Once they have run down that energy store, they die. “We called them kamikaze males,” says Robert Vrijenhoek, retired evolutionary biologist from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, California, who was also part of the original Osedax-finding team. One species, Osedax priapus, does things differently. Rouse and his colleagues named it after the ancient Greek fertility god, as depicted in erotic frescoes. These males are a similar size to the females and have a long, extensible trunk which they use to reach across the bone. “I call this roaming the bone,” says Rouse. When they find females, these males deliver sperm stored inside their head. To feed, Osedax etch holes in bones by producing acid in the same way that humans produce stomach acid. Palaeontologists, in a quest to discover when Osedax worms evolved, have found telltale holes punched in the fossilised bones of a 100-million-year-old plesiosaur, one of the giant marine reptiles that once roamed the ocean. Genetic studies back up the theory that Osedax have been around since at least the Cretaceous period, long before there were whale skeletons around to feast on. Despite all the new species being found, nobody has yet tracked down any Osedax larvae. It’s not clear how the worms find bones. It is believed they may drift around until they locate a skeleton, perhaps guided by chemicals wafting through the water. Studies of Osedax DNA indicate that these worms live in huge, interconnected populations, possibly making stepping stones of whale skeletons and other large vertebrates stripped bare by scavengers. “Osedax probably just hop, skip and jump all the way across the ocean,” says Vrijenhoek.
|
['environment/series/discovered-in-the-deep', 'environment/series/seascape-the-state-of-our-oceans', 'environment/environment', 'environment/oceans', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/wildlife', 'global-development/global-development', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/helen-scales', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/global-development']
|
environment/series/seascape-the-state-of-our-oceans
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
2022-08-22T05:00:29Z
| true
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
environment/2011/aug/02/carbon-emission-emails-computing-garric
|
Web surfing, email and memory downloads take an environmental toll
|
How much energy does an email take? What about a text message? How much power is needed to keep a mobile device roaming and ready for instant Wi-Fi duty? With 1.5 billion people using the internet daily, it's clear that everyday actions such as surfing the web, sending emails and downloading and sharing documents have a planetary impact. A report prepared for the European commission in 2008 by BIO Intelligence Service, an environmental assessment agency, found that the use of such technologies contributes 2% to European greenhouse gases. And that figure is set to double by 2020 if lifestyles don't change. Curious about this environmental impact, the French environment and energy agency Ademe made its own assessment of technology use, including email, web searches and document transmission using USB flash drives. Consider email. In 2009, an estimated 247bn emails were sent around the world daily, a number that's expected to rise to somewhere near 500bn within three years. In France, for example, someone working in a company that employs 100 people receives an average of 58 emails a day and sends an average of 33. Taking an average email size of 1MB, the base figure (possibly excessive) used in its calculations, Ademe estimated that professional emails generate an astonishing 13.6 tonnes of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gas emissions a year, or 136kg per employee. That's equivalent to about 13 return journeys from Paris to New York. Why is there such a high carbon impact? It's all because of the energy required by computers to send and receive email – including the centres that store and process the data – as well as the energy required to make the electronic components. But Ademe offered some hope. The environmental impact can be substantially reduced if an email is sent to fewer recipients, the agency found. By adding 10 addressees, greenhouse gas emissions increased fourfold. However, removing one addressee for each email resulted in a 6g CO2 equivalent gain, or 44kg per year, per employee. "A 10% reduction in emails that copy a manager or a colleague in a company of 100 employees saves approximately one tonne of CO2 equivalent over the year," Ademe said. That increases exponentially with the size of the emails. Storing emails and attachments on a server may be convenient, but it takes an environmental toll. The longer the email is retained, the greater its impact on the climate, Ademe found. Printing, too, creates problems. A 10% reduction in printing saves five tonnes of CO2 equivalent over a year. Non-colour printing and double-sided printing also help to reduce the impact. When it comes to the web, how we love to browse. According to Médiamétrie Institute, a media monitoring organisation, the average French web user conducts 2.66 internet searches a day, or 949 a year. But browsing is polluting since the servers that undertake these searches use electricity, generate heat, and must be kept cool. Ademe says that using a search engine to obtain information generates about 10kg of CO2 equivalent per web user, per year. So how can the impact of browsing be reduced? Some suggestions include using precise keywords, directly pasting a URL into a web browser, and saving frequently used sites as favourites or bookmarks. Such steps can save each of us about 5kg of CO2 equivalent annually. Finally, little research has been done into USB flashcards – those tiny sticks that make carrying masses of information so very convenient. A flashcard's manufacture is the most polluting aspect of its lifecycle, using energy, water and rare metals. Transmitting the documents housed on such cards also comes at a cost. In the case of a file handed out to 1,000 people at a conference, for example, the emissions are equivalent to an 80km car journey. This article originally appeared in Le Monde
|
['environment/carbon-emissions', 'environment/carbonfootprints', 'technology/technology', 'technology/computing', 'world/european-commission', 'world/france', 'tone/features', 'type/article', 'profile/audrey-garric']
|
environment/carbonfootprints
|
EMISSIONS
|
2011-08-02T12:59:01Z
| true
|
EMISSIONS
|
environment/2017/oct/04/revealed-every-londoner-breathing-dangerous-levels-of-toxic-air-particle
|
Revealed: every Londoner breathing dangerous levels of toxic air particle
|
The scale of London’s air pollution crisis was laid bare on Wednesday, with new figures showing that every person in the capital is breathing air that exceeds global guidelines for one of the most dangerous toxic particles. The research, based on the latest updated London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory, shows that every area in the capital exceeds World Health Organisation (WHO) limits for a damaging type of particle known as PM2.5. It also found that 7.9 million Londoners – nearly 95% of the capital’s population – live in areas that exceed the limit by 50% or more. In central London the average annual levels are almost double the WHO limit of 10 µg/m3. The findings, described as “sickening” by London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, have serious health implications – especially for children – with both short- and long-term exposure to these particulates increasing the likelihood of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Health experts say that young people exposed to these toxic pollutants are more likely to grow up with reduced lung function and develop asthma. Khan said: “It’s sickening to know that not a single area of London meets World Health Organisation health standards, but even worse than that, nearly 95% of the capital is exceeding these guidelines by at least 50%.” London is widely recognised as the worst area for air pollution in the UK, although there is growing evidence that dangerously polluted air is damaging people’s health in towns and cities across the country. Khan added: “We should be ashamed that our young people – the next generation of Londoners – are being exposed to these tiny particles of toxic dust that are seriously damaging their lungs and shortening their life expectancy. I understand this is really difficult for Londoners, but that’s why I felt it was so important that I made this information public so people really understand the scale of the challenge we face in London.” The mayor’s office said approximately half of PM2.5 in London is from sources outside the city. However, the main sources of PM2.5 emissions in London are from tyre and brake wear, construction and wood burning. Last week Khan unveiled plans to limit the use of wood-burning stoves in the capital from 2025 and tighten up regulations to make sure all new stoves from 2022 are as clean as possible. He has also set out a range of plans to tackle pollution from diesel cars in the capital. The first stage, the new T-Charge, which will charge older, more polluting vehicles entering central London, starts later this month. The figures were revealed as it emerged that the government has failed to bring down the number of regions across the UK with illegal levels of air pollution despite being ordered to by the courts. According to figures submitted by ministers to the European Commission, 37 out of 43 zones across the UK are still in breach of pollution limits – the same number as in 2015 – despite the government being under a supreme court order to bring pollution down as soon as possible. Clean air campaigners criticised the government’s inaction and welcomed Khan’s plans, which include the introduction of an ultra low emission zone in 2019. But they called on the mayor to take more urgent, immediate action in light of the scale of the crisis. Paul Morozzo, a clean air campaigner at Greenpeace, said: “London air isn’t safe to breathe. Every person in London is affected by this crisis – old or young, healthy or ill. The air you breathe in London is putting your health at risk now and in the future, whether you realise it or not. “Restricting diesel will make a big difference to both PM and nitrogen oxide air pollution in London, which is why the mayor has no choice but to get tough on cleaning up our roads.” Dr Penny Woods, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, said: “Quite frankly, this research beggars belief and is deeply concerning for every Londoner. Toxic air is poisoning our children, making existing lung conditions worse, such as asthma. The mayor cannot solve this public health crisis without government support. We urgently need changes to taxation for new diesel vehicles and a diesel scrappage scheme.” Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green party, said: “The mayor needs to decide whether he is going to commit to take the air pollution epidemic seriously or not. And that means making the right choices over the big polluting decisions. Creating pollution with one hand and then trying to waft it away with the other is no solution. “The mayor can’t credibly claim to be tackling London’s dirty air when he is actively contributing to it by building the Silvertown tunnel, backing City airport expansion and failing to bring in a moratorium on waste incineration.” The mayor released the latest findings on Wednesday morning as he signed London up to the Breathe Life coalition organised by the WHO, the body UN Environment and the Climate & Clean Air Coalition, at the Child Health Initiative conference at City Hall. The initiative aims to connect similar world cities, combine expertise, share best practice and work together to improve air quality. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director-general, welcomed London’s support and Khan’s measures aimed at tackling air pollution. “To ensure good health, every person must be able to breathe clean air no matter where they live. London’s plan to clean up their air means millions of people will be able to walk to work and walk their children to school without worrying about whether the air is going to make them sick. More cities around the world must also follow suit.”
|
['environment/air-pollution', 'environment/pollution', 'uk/london', 'society/health', 'society/asthma', 'cities/cities', 'environment/environment', 'society/society', 'uk/uk', 'society/children', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/matthewtaylor', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment']
|
environment/air-pollution
|
POLLUTION_AND_WASTE
|
2017-10-04T15:31:29Z
| true
|
POLLUTION_AND_WASTE
|
business/2018/jun/10/deterring-onshore-windfarms-means-higher-energy-bills-lord-deben
|
Deterring onshore windfarms means higher energy bills – Lord Deben
|
Ministers must come clean to households about the higher energy bills they face if the UK continues to deter new onshore windfarms, the government’s top climate change adviser has said. Lord Deben, the chair of the committee on climate change (CCC), said there was no logical argument against onshore wind turbines in the parts of the UK that want them. The Conservative peer said the technology was the cheapest form of electricity generation and he hoped the government would rethink its opposition to subsidies to it. The government ended subsidies for the windfarms in 2015 but the energy minister Claire Perry has recently said she is “looking carefully” at a U-turn for windfarms built in Wales and Scotland. Last week, the government gave its backing to windfarms on remote islands, such as the Isle of Lewis. Deben told the Guardian: “There is no doubt, and I feel very strongly about it, that onshore wind is the cheapest form of electricity. If the Scots want to have it, on which basis should we say they shouldn’t have it?” Advocates believe onshore windfarms could be built for subsidies guaranteeing prices as low as £50 per megawatt hour – below the average £62.14 awarded to the latest offshore windfarms and far lower than the £92.50 for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. The payments are a top-up on the wholesale electricity price of around £45/MWh, with the difference paid by householders through their energy bills. Hinkley alone is expected to add £10-15 to annual bills by 2030. “If you don’t build onshore wind, the government has to say how much of an extra cost this is to the public,” said Deben. The CCC advises the government on how to meet its legally binding climate targets. Deben, who as the Conservative MP John Gummer was the environment secretary from 1993 and 1997, added that the government has to make “major changes” to meet its carbon targets for 2025 and 2030, implying that a shift on onshore wind could be one of those. Big British, German and Spanish energy companies have been lobbying the government for a shift on onshore wind. Keith Anderson, the chief executive of ScottishPower, said it was “completely bonkers” that the windfarms were ineligible for subsidies, given they were low cost and low carbon. “2018 has to be the year we secure the future of onshore wind,” he told a recent industry event. Millions of households have seen their energy bills rise in the past few weeks. All of the big six suppliers have increased their prices, blaming government policy costs such as the clean energy subsidies, along with rising wholesale costs. Deben also issued a challenge to housebuilders to make new homes more efficient, saying they had to face up to the “social inequity” of future generations facing unnecessarily high energy bills. “Energy efficiency is a social issue. No house should be built to condemn people in the future to having to pay a great deal for their energy,” he said. He backed better enforcement of building regulations, saying local authorities did not have the resources to check new homes properly. The peer also called on mortgage lenders to begin tying the energy efficiency of properties to the amount buyers can borrow, an idea being given a trial in Wales. His comments were echoed this week by the CCC’s chief executive, Chris Stark, who tweeted that it was “daft that we don’t give greater priority to household energy efficiency”. Deben still feels new nuclear power is needed as part of the UK’s efforts to cut carbon emissions. However, he said new technology and the falling costs of renewables meant the challenge of ensuring energy security was not as great as in the past. “The government has got to recognise that keeping the lights on, which is its first worry, is much easier than thought because you can get a huge amount of energy from offshore wind, smart grids and short-term battery storage.” A spokesperson at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said: “The government does not believe that new large-scale onshore wind power is right for England but it could be right for other areas, where local public support exists.”
|
['business/energy-industry', 'business/business', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/energy', 'environment/windpower', 'type/article', 'uk/uk', 'money/energy', 'money/consumer-affairs', 'money/money', 'money/household-bills', 'politics/politics', 'tone/news', 'profile/adam-vaughan', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business']
|
environment/windpower
|
ENERGY
|
2018-06-10T12:31:12Z
| true
|
ENERGY
|
uk/2008/jul/01/monarchy.carbonemissions
|
Royal budget: Converted plonk for the Aston Martin steers Charles towards a greener lifestyle
|
Prince Charles only gets round to driving his beloved 38-year-old Aston Martin a couple of hundred miles a year, but as he tootles round the roads of Gloucestershire, critics may be reassured to learn that he doesn't have a tiger in his tank but converted plonk. And what's more, patriotically, it's English plonk. That his car has been converted to run on bioethanol, made from surplus wine, was one of the minor examples of Charles's green credentials touted in the annual review of his income and activities published yesterday. What's more, all the prince's other cars - Jaguars, an Audi and a Range Rover - have been converted to run on used cooking fat. The full-colour 60-page annual report - which contains 43 pictures of the prince and the Duchess of Cornwall in its first 40 pages - lists a catalogue of green measures adopted by Charles and his staff to burnish his environmental credentials: from woodchip boilers installed in his homes at Highgrove, Gloucestershire, and Birkhall, Scotland, to rainwater used to flush toilets attached to Highgrove's Orchard Room, where the prince meets the public during receptions. Bicycles have been provided for staff at St James's Palace in London. Even the cows on his Home Farm estate near Highgrove are playing their part. Sir Michael Peat, Charles's principal private secretary, announced: "Our animals release less methane because they have better feed and eat more grass." The report claims the prince's household reduced its carbon footprint by 18% last year after switching to green electricity supplies and restricting travel and more than exceeded its target of reducing emissions by 12.5% by 2012. It has now revised that figure to 25% over the same period. The review states: "When their royal highnesses are travelling in the UK, the aim is to reduce emissions through the greater use of cars, trains and turbo-prop aircraft and, where practical and possible, of scheduled flights." Peat disclosed that the prince used scheduled rail services twice last year, though he travelled by the royal train - which costs more than £26,000 every time it leaves the sidings - on 13 occasions. In that context, officials were stung by last week's assertion in the royal household's accounts that the prince had hired a yacht for three days at a cost of £210,000 during a tour of the Caribbean. The yacht was actually hired for 11 days, they said. In all, £23,000 was spent in purchasing carbon offsets, part of a budget of nearly £600,000 spent on sustainability measures. Less trumpeted in the annual review was the information that the prince's income from the Duchy of Cornwall, which pays for most of his official duties, rose by 7% to £16.3m last year. The prince paid tax at 40% on his income, after allowances and expenses, amounting to £3.4m. The review points out that corporation tax is not paid on duchy revenues as it is not a company. The estate, originally created in 1337 by Edward III to provide income for his son, the Black Prince, stretches over 54,521 hectares in 23 counties, with a capital account value of £647m, an 8% increase due to rising land prices. The review says the prince's responsibilities include "promoting and protecting national traditions, virtues and excellence", including supporting rural communities and promoting greater tolerance and understanding between faiths and communities. It adds: "HRH often acts as a catalyst for facilitating debate and change through contacts with government ministers and other people of influence and by giving speeches and writing articles." It states that he undertook 609 official engagements, including 77 overseas. The prince wrote more than 2,000 letters, the duchess 1,400 and they jointly wrote 13. The household has the equivalent of 146.5 full-time staff, 35.5 of whom are personal servants, gardeners and farm workers. The review stresses the prince's charitable work, claiming he helped his charities directly or indirectly to raise £122m last year and emphasises other initiatives ranging from his project to halt the destruction of rainforests to his campaign to buy Dumfries House, an 18th-century country home in Ayrshire, for the nation. In the yard of St James's Palace yesterday stood rows of 4x4s and other large cars, but Peat insisted the staff were taking the prince's environmental concerns seriously: "We have quite a lot of people cycling to work. I used to be the only person using a bicycle but now it's an absolute cavalry charge each morning." Prince's annual review · £122m raised for charity initiatives such as rainforest conservation · Prince Charles wrote more than 2,000 letters. The Duchess wrote 1,400 · £160,000 was spent on measures to increase the sustainability of the estates · After allowances and expenses, the prince paid £3.4m in taxes · Aston Martin converted to use bioethanol, made from surplus wine · The Duchy of Cornwall has a capital account value of £647m, providing an income of £16.3m · Prince Charles took more scheduled flights but used the royal train 13 times - at a cost of £26,000 each time · Cows on the Home Farm estate are given grass and feed which ensures they emit less methane
|
['uk/monarchy', 'environment/ethical-living', 'environment/carbonfootprints', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'uk/prince-charles', 'type/article', 'profile/stephenbates', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/topstories']
|
environment/carbonfootprints
|
EMISSIONS
|
2008-06-30T23:01:00Z
| true
|
EMISSIONS
|
sustainable-business/banking-money-spends-night-growth-profit-social
|
'Do you know where your money spends the night?'
|
"Do you know where your money spends the night?" It's not a typical question for a banker. But then Vince Siciliano is not your typical banker. His next gambit is equally unconventional: imagine your dollar bill is a magic carpet and you could travel on it around the world to see where your dollars are invested. "Would you be proud?" For Siciliano, chief executive of the "planet-smart" New Resource Bank, personal and business banking is all about "joining up the dots". As a former Bank of America employee, he knows very well that customers' cash "is not down in a vault; it's out there doing something." The governing focus of San Francisco-based New Resource Bank is to ensure that this "something" leaves the world a better place, not a basket case. As such, it channels its lending and other banking services in four specific areas: clean tech, "green" products, eco real estate and any other businesses run on clear sustainability principles. The bank counts "a couple of hundred" non-profits on its books as well. Conscious capitalism So what's its angle? Or what's its "niche", as bankers like to say? It's a legitimate question – and one that a semi-skeptical Siciliano was himself asking when he went for interview five years ago. A self-confessed "accidental banker" (he studied biology at Stanford and has a Masters degree in environmental planning), he claims never to have heard of "values-based banking" before, despite a long career in finance. "Many banks are organised just for sale. They say they are going to be a community bank that's got various good values," he notes. But then a bigger bank comes along, snaps them up and those values evaporate. Siciliano insists New Resource Bank is different. His motivation and that of his 40 or so colleagues is clear: they hope to build nothing less than a "more conscious capitalism". That starts with debunking the belief "that the invisible hand will optimise all good", he says. It also relies on eschewing the notion that "values-based" business (be it business or any other kind of enterprise) equates to philanthropy. "No margins, no mission" runs one of his oft-used adages. Profitability has to be a long-term game, however. Siciliano has little time for exacting quarterly earning targets. Instead, New Resource Bank looks for companies that are "good bets" for the future. In practice, that means firms with solid financials and strong sustainability credentials combined. "When you take a long-term perspective and you manage yourself not just for financial but community and environmental returns, that becomes a very resilient business and a profitable business over the long-term," says Siciliano. Its client list includes the likes of organic cheese maker Cowgirl Creamery, eco coffee and tea supplier Equator, and artisan pottery manufacturer Heath Ceramics, among many others. Long-term mission The bank's long-term strategy makes for a slow burner, yet, with $220m in investment capital, its problem loan ratio is "extremely low" and its cost of funds are "very modest". Yes, the bank took a nosedive during the 2008 financial crisis, but profitability "is beginning to increase" again, Siciliano states. Without the support of its financiers, however, New Resource Bank couldn't hope to do what it does. Not all the bank's early investors fully grasped the implications of the bank's "mission and message". So when profits slid, some "rethinking" ensued for some. As a result, the bank's investors are now "pretty clear" what it stands for. Among that grouping is a number of influential ethical investors, including Portland-based Portfolio 21, Triodos Bank of The Netherlands and Al Gore's Generation Investment Management. Part of New Resource Bank's clarity of mission means turning down loans that are too small or too risky. Unlike mainstream banks, however, it always explains its rationale. "We would say, 'Look, this is how we see your business,'" Siciliano says. "'These are your strengths and weaknesses. Here's someone else you can talk to, or this is what it would take for us.'" On the flip side, when New Resource Bank does take on a client, it does so wholeheartedly. The picture Siciliano draws is one of serious hands-on involvement: offering advice on business planning, granting them access to its client network, even counseling business owners on their "life strategies". In a way, this style of "relationship" banking harks back to a bygone age when banks existed to serve their clients, not vice versa. But values-led bankers such as Siciliano are very much future-focused too. And it's a future in which growth and profitability, "essential" though they are, become "means goals, not end goals". A means to what? "More sustainable communities." Siciliano has to admit that his colleagues in traditional banks still scratch their heads when they hear him talk: "The idea that a bank should look beyond just financial returns and try and play a role in building a different kind of economy is foreign to their thinking." Foreign perhaps, but far from bonkers. Dollar-shaped magic carpets are bonkers. Values-led banking, in contrast, is very real and – as New Resource Bank shows – entirely credible. New Resource Bank is one of the small businesses (10-49 employees) nominated in the 'B Corp Best for the World 2014' list of sustainable enterprises
|
['sustainable-business/sustainable-business', 'tone/interview', 'sustainable-business/ethics', 'business/business', 'environment/corporatesocialresponsibility', 'type/article', 'sustainable-business/series/values-business', 'profile/oliver-balch']
|
environment/corporatesocialresponsibility
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
2014-05-20T11:45:00Z
| true
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
environment/2014/dec/15/us-india-joint-climate-change-action
|
US and India to announce joint climate change action during Obama visit
|
America and India will unveil joint efforts to fight climate change when Barack Obama visits New Delhi next month, as the US tries to keep up the momentum of international negotiations. Obama’s visit – on the back of the United Nations talks in Lima – is seen as a key moment to persuade one of the world’s biggest carbon polluters to step up its efforts to fight climate change. After China and the US, India is the world’s third largest producer of the greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change – although it is responsible for only about 6% of such emissions globally. During the visit, Obama and the prime minister, Narendra Modi, are expected to unveil a number of modest initiatives to expand research and access to clean energy technologies. The announcement in the works for Obama’s visit to Delhi will be modest in scale – nowhere near last month’s milestone agreement between the US and China to cut their carbon pollution. “I am expecting a useful meeting but we don’t have anything in the works of the kind that we were involved with in China,” Todd Stern, the State Department climate change envoy, said. But the visit still represents a key moment as major economies begin to deliver on the promises made in Lima to fight climate change. Under the deal, all countries are expected to announce by 31 March emissions reductions targets and other actions to fight climate change. With China already agreeing to cut its carbon pollution, and South Korea and Latin American countries paying into a climate fund for poor countries, the new all-inclusive nature of the Lima deal has put India under a spotlight. “Are we expecting from India too much and leaving the polluters without any accountability?” the environment, forest and climate change minister, Prakash Javadekar, said. “This is a big thing that developing countries are doing.” India is already understood to be working on its targets for the United Nations, but it will not put forward those numbers until June, Javadekar said. However, he added that India would make ambitious efforts. “We are doing very aggressive actions on our own. So we would like to put them on record and on public domain,” he said. Indian newspapers reported earlier this month that Modi was working to announce an “aspirational” year for peaking emissions ahead of Obama’s visit. Javadekar pushed back on that idea – and on the entire notion that India should be required to peak its emissions at all, arguing that its emissions still represented only a fraction of China’s. But he said that India was stepping up its efforts to deal with climate change, and was increasing its targets for expanding solar power and energy efficiency. “In the next two years, there will be major changes,” he said. He said Modi would press Obama to set up a global clean energy research consortium or make funds available for licences for clean energy technologies, perhaps from international climate finance. “They can compensate from Green Climate Fund to their companies,” Javadekar said. “Why should companies profit from disaster?”
|
['environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'us-news/us-foreign-policy', 'world/india', 'environment/cop-20-un-climate-change-conference-lima', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/suzannegoldenberg']
|
environment/cop-20-un-climate-change-conference-lima
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
2014-12-15T17:36:21Z
| true
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
environment/2014/may/23/fracking-compensation-increase-quell-opposition
|
Fracking compensation to be increased
|
The amount of compensation made available to communities affected by fracking is to be increased in an attempt to counter opposition, the government is to say. The news comes as a report is due to be published estimating that several billion barrels of oil lie in shale rocks beneath southern England. Ministers will say an average of £800,000 in additional payments will be provided to communities affected by fracking. The announcement shows that the government accepts it must reach out to communities angered by its plan to deny homeowners the right to use trespass laws to contest fracking developments. The Department for Energy and Climate Change will announce a new payment of about £20,000 for each lateral well at fracking sites. The average site will have 10 wells, each with four lateral wells, making the average total £800,000. The payments are on top of the existing compensation system, under which communities are to be given a lump sum of £100,000 when a test well is fracked, plus 1% of revenues. In a study due to be published on Friday, the British Geological Survey (BGS) is expected to say there are large shale gas reserves in Kent, Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire. But according to reports, the BGS will say it remains to be seen whether extracting them is economically viable. David Cameron is an avid supporter of fracking for shale gas. Ministers claim the process could bring down energy bills and create thousands of jobs. Environmental activists are bitterly opposed to the technique, which they say can cause small earthquakes and pollute water supplies, and which they believe will accelerate climate change. Cameron has said fracking would be "good for our country" and has blamed a lack of understanding of the process for some of the opposition. The government is preparing to introduce changes to the trespass laws that would make it easier to begin fracking. A government figure insisted that local people would still be consulted, but that a few objectors would not be able to stand in the way, according to the Times. The source said: "If planning permission is granted above ground, we cannot allow a small number of people to delay the agreed development by trying to wrap the pipes in reams of red tape below ground." Tom Greatrex, the shadow energy minister, told the Daily Telegraph: "The timing of these announcements will strike many people as cynically and deliberately driven for a day when focus will be on election performance, and ahead of the count of the European elections." The BGS has already found large reserves of shale gas in northern England but has now completed a months-long survey of the south.
|
['environment/fracking', 'environment/energy', 'technology/energy', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'profile/nicholaswatt', 'profile/kevin-rawlinson', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/topstories']
|
environment/fracking
|
ENERGY
|
2014-05-22T23:21:44Z
| true
|
ENERGY
|
world/2021/jun/04/ancient-tsunami-could-have-wiped-out-scottish-cities-today-study-finds
|
Ancient tsunami could have wiped out Scottish cities today, study finds
|
Towns and cities across Scotland would be devastated if the country’s coastline was hit by a tsunami of the kind that happened 8,200 years ago, according to an academics’ study. While about 370 miles of Scotland’s northern and eastern coastline were affected when the Storegga tsunami struck, the study suggests a modern-day disaster of the same magnitude would have worse consequences. The researchers at the universities of Sheffield, St Andrews and York attributed this to denser human populations and higher sea levels that could potentially destroy seafront and port areas of Arbroath, Stonehaven, Aberdeen, Inverness and Wick, all of which have significant built-up areas less than 10 metres above sea level and directly face the sea. The study which maps the impact of the ancient tsunami for the first time, used modelling to estimate how far the wave would have travelled inland. The estimates suggest the water could have encroached up to 18 miles inland. That distance today would probably leave a town such as Montrose, which overlooks a tidal lagoon and has a population of 12,000, completely devastated. The Storegga tsunami, considered the largest natural disaster to have happened in the UK in the last 11,000 years, was triggered by submarine landslides in the Norwegian sea. The displaced water is believed to have inundated Doggerland, a land bridge that linked Britain, Denmark and the Netherlands across what is now the southern North Sea. The tsunami would have had a catastrophic impact on the Mesolithic populations of the time. Luminescence dating, which measures the energy emitted after an object has been exposed to daylight, was used in the research to assess sediment and deposits from the tsunami. By dating sediment deposits at Maryton, Aberdeenshire, the researchers were able to determine the date, number and relative power of the waves. Similar deposits have been studied all along the eastern and northern coastline of Scotland, from around Berwick-upon-Tweed to Loch Eriboll, in Sutherland, as well as along the Norwegian coast north of Bergan, and by Shetland and the Faroe Islands. Mark Bateman, professor of geography at the University of Sheffield and the report’s lead author, said: “Although the Storegga tsunami has been known about for years, this is the first time we have been able to model how far inland from Scotland’s coastline the tsunami wave travelled, by analysing the soil deposits left by the wave over 8,000 years ago. Though there is no similar threat from [the direction of] Norway today, the UK could still be at risk from flooding events from potential volcanic eruptions around the world, such as those predicted in the Canary Islands. “These [eruptions] would cause a similar resulting tsunami wave due to the amount of material that would be displaced by the volcano. These models give us a unique window into the past to see how the country was, and could again be, affected.”
|
['world/tsunamis', 'world/extreme-weather', 'world/volcanoes', 'uk/scotland', 'science/geology', 'science/geography', 'world/natural--disasters', 'education/academics', 'uk/uk', 'science/science', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/libbybrooks', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news']
|
world/tsunamis
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
2021-06-04T05:00:30Z
| true
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
tv-and-radio/2024/apr/17/our-living-world-review-cate-blanchett-netflix
|
Our Living World review – Cate Blanchett’s nature show is a rare ray of hope
|
Our Living World begins with a cheesy inspirational quote: “Realise that everything connects to everything else.” Leonardo da Vinci said that, possibly. Soon, this nature series has glowing blue lines running across the screen, and Cate Blanchett on the voiceover, authoritatively announcing that the planet’s species are dependent on each other in ways we cannot immediately see and might not have imagined. It sounds as if this programme thinks it has discovered the concept of ecosystems, and across four episodes it makes repeated use of the same trick: it shows us one animal or plant, then shocks us with how that one helps another. Gradually, however, the show builds this into a powerful lecture on the climate crisis, conservation and, in particular, the importance of small gestures and how they can have larger effects down the line. In an age when we urgently need to act but the task of maintaining a survivable planet can seem too big for an individual to contemplate, let alone tackle, it’s a valuable lesson. We start with a rhinoceros commuting through a Nepalese town in rush hour, padding along the tarmac, unconcerned by the traffic or the delighted locals wielding smartphone video-cameras. Humans have built over his natural route from one feeding ground to another. But this is not, on the whole, a show about our species encroaching on the natural world. It’s about how delicate that world is, such that the tiniest infringements can be deadly – and reversing those abuses could be priceless. We move to the Arctic, where we watch reindeer being stalked by wolves. The wolves’ attentions force the herd to stay on the move, we are told. This means they graze over a wider area. That means there is a larger blanket of uninterrupted snow, and that in turn means the top of the Earth has a bigger reflective panel on its roof to disperse the heat of the sun. In the sea nearby, the water beginning to freeze is part of a system of ocean currents and temperature movements that manifests on the coast of Africa as a storm, leading to nitrate-heavy rain falling and revitalising the dry savannah. In the watering hole that results, a family of hippos frolic to Austin Powers lounge jazz. Another hippo tries to muscle in; the elder male fights him off; the cool jazz plays again. We’ve gone from hungry wolves to angry hippos, both cute sequences that could appear in any wildlife documentary. When the rains abate, elephants pick at dry, dead trees, leaving logs on the ground that help to start bushfires, the smoke from which eventually causes phosphorus to nourish the Amazon rainforest, where a brazil nut tree relies on orchids, bees and toothy rodents to flourish. And so it goes on, with Blanchett’s narration playfully anthropomorphising the participants: “He’ll only live for a year,” she says of a hatching cuttlefish, “so he seems determined to learn as much as he can, as fast as he can.” When the script requires her to arch an eyebrow, you bet she’s going to arch it. “Hares,” it is drily observed, “rarely die of old age.” The chase between hare and hawk is one of those sequences that elite wildlife programmes spend six months trying to capture, and the last five minutes of those shows is usually devoted to boasting about how they pulled it off. Our Living World isn’t quite at that level: it evidently didn’t get much good footage of claws scraping on fur, so it just edits together some shots of the two animals on their own. Those hares, though, sprinting around the forest between the Cascade Mountains in Oregon, are the harbinger of the closing two episodes’ dread warning. They moult and turn white in winter, which is increasingly a bad idea since there’s not as much snow as there once was: their technique of standing still and blending in with the bright whiteness when a bird of prey flies overhead is no longer a goer. The hawks will get them all soon enough. Having made sure we understand the butterfly effect of any interference in ancient cyclical processes, Our Living World is ready to appeal for help. We have been shown how nature can adapt and survive: spawning salmon, finding that their journey upstream has had a road built across it with SUVs speeding through the shallow water, have resolved to take their chances and swim across the tarmac. If they can do that, we can get involved in rewilding, in conservational initiatives, in the little things to which anyone can contribute. The enormity of the climate emergency and the scale of the crime we’ve committed is left for other programmes to measure: here instead is a dappled ray of hope, and a reminder that we’re all in this together. • Our Living World is on Netflix.
|
['tv-and-radio/documentary', 'tv-and-radio/series/tv-review', 'tv-and-radio/tv-and-radio', 'culture/culture', 'campaign/email/whats-on', 'culture/television', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/environment', 'environment/wildlife', 'type/article', 'tone/reviews', 'profile/jack-seale', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-culture', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-g2-production']
|
environment/wildlife
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
2024-04-17T14:16:39Z
| true
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
sport/2023/jul/31/new-zealand-wales-grace-nweke-knee-injury-netball-world-cup
|
New Zealand win but lose Nweke while England march on at Netball World Cup
|
New Zealand posted a defiant 83-34 victory against Wales on Monday against the grim backdrop that they will be without shooter Grace Nweke for the rest of the tournament. The 21-year-old was ruled out before the game with an injury. A key pillar in the Silver Ferns’ title defence, doubts over Nweke’s fitness had circled after she gingerly limped off the court during New Zealand’s 80-19 win over Singapore on Sunday. News then followed that Nweke would sit out the game against Wales before a statement confirmed she had sustained a partial tear in her patella tendon, ending her tournament. Stepping into her stead will be reserve shooter Tiana Metuarau, who hit the court for her first World Cup minutes during the third quarter against Wales once the hooting partnership of Ameliaranne Ekenasio and Maia Wilson had been given time to consolidate. With the Ferns 54-20 up after a barnstorming first half, Metuarua picked up where the others left off. Flashing her playmaking abilities she finished with 10 feeds and four goals from five attempts. The Ferns combined for 19 gains keeping Wales to single digits in three of the four quarters. If there was one message to be taken from the game it was beware the wounded Kiwi. Their head coach, Noeline Taura, said the team would be able to overcome the loss of Nweke as they defend the title won in Liverpool in 2019. “I don’t believe it is a blow [to title aspriations],” she said. “If anything it’s forced the issue to start to consolidate faster. When you look at the numbers Maia and Meels [Ekenasion], it’s probably the best half that we’ve had. “What we’ve always known is that we can’t rely on one person. We’ve got to make sure we have players that can play multiple positions but also players that can do their own job. “I’m a bit of a spiritual person. Sometimes I think the pathway has been set. It’s up to us to decide which path we want to take and in the event of, whether we win or lose, we’re proud of what we do. That’s always been our mantra. Things like this galvanises teams so we’re just putting our head down working and seeing what happens.” As the Ferns navigated their post-Nweke world,Australia’s Diamonds cracked on with their riotous run, beating Scotland 77-37. The fourth game in four days called for a fourth starting combination as the Diamonds coach, Stacey Marinkovich, quietly went about her own game of tournament chess. A tight turnaround between Australia’s domestic league ending and the World Cup start, resting legs and solidifying combinations have all been given as reasons for switching things around, but also it all is undoubtedly a strategy of keeping the opposition on the court, and those watching off it, guessing. The Diamonds’ new arrangement maintained their usual sparkle. A statement 21-9 opener, followed by a 22-8 second quarter, showed no leniency to their opponents who were on the court 15 hours before against England. The injection of shooter Emma Barrie after half-time, as it had against the Roses, had an immediate effect with Scotland able to go goal-for-goal with Australia for most of the 15. But the Diamonds found their feet again in the fourth, powered by mid-courter Jamie-Lee Price, who did a mountain of work in attack and defence for her second most valued player award of the tournament. “We started really well,” Marinkovich said “It’s getting to that point where you’re really looking for growth and execution but you’ve also got to celebrate the wins. We’ve had some big scoring margins and we’ve rotated. We’ve used the variety and the depth that we’ve got and people are getting out of there and performing.” Marinkovich expressed her regret at Nweke’s injury, but underlined the fact the holders are serious contenders: “I know Noeline would have planned A to Z, as we do. You have to select and make sure you’ve got all bases covered so we are gutted for Grace. It’s really tough, particularly in the World Cup, but I also know New Zealand is a classy outfit and I don’t think that allows anyone to take their foot off the pedal.” England sail past Tonga “Great energy” was the key ingredient in England’s 72-46 victory against the World Cup debutants Tonga according to Jess Thirlby, as the Roses clinched their first win in the tournament’s crossover stage. “The bar’s gone up but I think our best today is the best we’ve seen from us,” the England coach said after the Roses extended their unbeaten run to four games in Cape Town. Following the pattern that has emerged from the Roses’ previous pool games, the opening frame was hard-fought. Early intercepts by Funmi Fadoju and Imogen Allison gave the Roses a 19-13 lead. The second quarter was much more one-sided with Fadoju and Allison continuing in full flight even as the former Silver Ferns player Cat Tuivaiti was injected into the game to buoy Tonga. Their impact, plus Helen Housby and Eleanor Cardwell swapping shooter bibs, helped the Roses stamp their authority – keeping their opponents to a single-digit score at the close of the half. Urged on by a chorus of Tongan voices, the Tala returned from the break inspired. Making the most of England adjusting to a new rotation from the bench, Tonga took the Roses to task, going goal-for-goal in stages. Hulita Veve seemed to have the number of Jade Clarke, picking up two intercepts as Tonga matched England for gains. Undeterred by the testing 16-14 quarter, Thirlby gave the full 12 squad a turn on court. Through Layla Guscoth’s four gains, England found the burners they needed to close out the win. There will be no rest for the Roses as they go again for their fifth game in five days against Fiji.
|
['sport/netball', 'sport/new-zealand-netball-team', 'sport/australia-netball-team--diamonds-', 'sport/england-netball-team', 'sport/australia-sport', 'campaign/email/the-recap', 'sport/sport', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/chloe-merrell', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/sport', 'theguardian/sport/news', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-sport']
|
sport/england-netball-team
|
UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE
|
2023-07-31T22:51:07Z
| true
|
UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE
|
environment/2008/oct/22/woodland-forest-uk-environment-habitats
|
Going, going ... Britain's vanishing woodland
|
Ancient woodland in Britain is being felled at a rate even faster than the Amazonian rainforest, according to research by the Woodland Trust. It shows that almost half of all woods in the UK that are more than 400 years old have been lost in the past 80 years and more than 600 ancient woods are now threatened by new roads, electricity pylons, housing, and airport expansion. The report comes as the government prepares to sign a compulsory purchase order to buy several acres of Two Mile Wood outside Weymouth to build a bypass. This remnant of ancient forest, known for its association with Thomas Hardy, is one of Britain's finest bluebell woods and is full of old beech, oak and hornbeam trees. In Essex, a new runway at Stansted airport would destroy five ancient woods and damage many more. "Ancient woodland, designated as over 400 years old in England, is the UK's equivalent of rainforest. It is irreplaceable," said Ed Pomfret, campaigns director of the trust. "It's our most valuable space for wildlife, and home to rare and threatened species. Once these woods have gone, they will never come back. They are historical treasure troves." The rate of loss of ancient woodland is one of the fastest in the world and compares unfavourably with the Amazon. Studies suggest that the Amazon has lost 15% of its area in the past 30 years and perhaps just 2% in the previous several thousand years. Pomfret appealed to the government for better protection of the remaining woods. "If these woods were buildings they would be protected to the highest grading." The report says that in the last decade 26,000 hectares of ancient woodland in the UK has come under threat. Overall, only 308,000 hectares survive in Britain. Few woods are larger than 20 hectares. Nearly half of those threatened are in the south-east, with more than 30 in East Sussex. There are 243 threatened by road schemes, 216 by power lines, 106 by housing, 61 by quarrying and 45 by airport expansion.
|
['environment/forests', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/endangered-habitats', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/johnvidal', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews']
|
environment/endangered-habitats
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
2008-10-21T23:01:00Z
| true
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
environment/2011/mar/12/nuclear-safety-worries-spread-europe
|
Nuclear safety worries spread to Europe
|
Tens of thousands of people have taken part in an anti-nuclear demonstration in southern Germany. The demonstration had been planned for some time, but after the news of Japan's nuclear emergency, organisers were overwhelmed by crowds of around 50,000 people who turned up. The demonstrators, who stretched in a 45km chain from Neckarwestheim power plant to the city of Stuttgart, were demanding that the German government move away from nuclear power. Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has extended the lifespan of Germany's nuclear power plants, summoned senior cabinet ministers to an emergency meeting. The Japanese radiation leak comes at a difficult time for Merkel, whose conservatives face three state elections in March where worries over nuclear safety could rally her opponents. The opposition Social Democrats and Greens have called for change and claim several German nuclear plants could not withstand a direct hit by an aircraft or an earthquake. "We cannot master nature, nature rules us," said Renate Kuenast, the Greens' parliamentary leader. The government's decision last year to keep Germany's 17 nuclear plants running for about 12 years beyond their original shutdown date has weighed on the popularity of Merkel's coalition. In Italy a senior government politician said the earthquake would not change plans to move ahead with a new nuclear power scheme. Italy is the only G8 industrialised nation that does not produce nuclear power, but prime minister Silvio Berlusconi wants to generate a quarter of the country's electricity from nuclear in the future. Italy is also at high risk of suffering natural disasters, mainly due to earthquakes. "The position remains what it is, you can't keep changing it," Fabrizio Cicchitto, leader of Berlusconi's PDL party in the lower house told reporters. "It's not just recently that we have energy problems," he said. In the UK the energy secretary Chris Huhne said the government was monitoring the nuclear situation in Japan. "It's too early to say what the cause was, let alone what the implications are. We are working extremely closely with the IAEA to establish what has happened. Safety is the number one priority for the nuclear industry." Privately, many in government and the private energy sector in the UK are worried that the raising of the spectre of nuclear disaster will have implications for the coalition's huge building programme for ten new power stations to replace the UK's ageing reactors. The accident in Japan comes days after the Navy admitted the reactors on British submarines are 'significantly below benchmarked good practice', and weeks before the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, which will push fears over nuclear safety back to the forefront of the minds of the British public. Jan Beranek, head of Greenpeace International Nuclear Campaign, asked for the construction project to be scrapped in the wake of the Japanese earthquake. "Governments should invest in renewable energy resources that are not only environmentally sound but also affordable and reliable," he said.
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['environment/nuclearpower', 'environment/energy', 'environment/environment', 'world/europe-news', 'world/world', 'politics/politics', 'uk/uk', 'business/energy-industry', 'business/business', 'technology/energy', 'technology/technology', 'world/angela-merkel', 'politics/chrishuhne', 'type/article', 'profile/tracymcveigh']
|
environment/nuclearpower
|
ENERGY
|
2011-03-12T23:53:53Z
| true
|
ENERGY
|
sport/2023/jun/27/azeem-rafiq-hails-bravery-report-discrimination-english-cricket
|
Ben Stokes ‘deeply sorry’ to hear of cricket discrimination detailed in report
|
The England men’s captain Ben Stokes says he is “deeply sorry” to those who have experienced racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination in cricket – and acknowledged that the game needs to become more inclusive and diverse. Stokes said he had not yet had time to read the damning 317-page Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket report, which found that racism was “entrenched” in the sport, and that women are treated as “subordinate” to men, but promised that England’s players would do all they could to ensure that cricket was “a sport for everyone.” On the eve of the second Test against Australia, Stokes read from a prepared statement to acknowledge the commission’s findings. “To the people involved in the game who have been made to feel unwelcome or unaccepted in the past, I am deeply sorry to hear of your experiences,” he said. “Cricket is a game that needs to celebrate diversity on all fronts because without diversity, this game would not be where it is today. “As a sport, we need to learn from past mistakes and do all we can to make people feel safe and be themselves at every level,” he added. “I have been an England player since 2011 and I feel very fortunate to have been a part of some incredibly diverse teams and love how everyone has a different story to tell. “We must go further and be more inclusive and diverse because the game I love – and millions worldwide love – should be enjoyed without fear of discrimination or judgment whether that be due to your upbringing, race or gender.” The report, based on evidence from more than 4,000 people across recreational and professional cricket, was also critical of how elitist the sport is. However Stokes said that his journey through the game showed that wasn’t always the case. “Everyone has a different story to tell,” he said. “I am Ben Stokes, born in New Zealand, a state-educated pupil who dropped out of school at 16 with one GCSE in PE. I needed help with the spelling and grammar in this speech and I am currently sitting here as the England men’s Test captain. “It is clear there is so much more the game has to do and as players we really want to be a part of that to ensure this is truly a sport for everyone.” The former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq, whose testimony to the DCMS select committee highlighted the extent of racism in the sport, praised the bravery of those who had spoken to the ICEC commission. “It doesn’t matter how you speak or where you speak, any sort of decision to speak and contribute to such a huge issue within our society, within our game, takes a lot of courage. I obviously don’t know each and every one of these people [but] I’m just incredibly proud of that bravery.” The England and Wales Cricket Board is now considering the 44 recommendations made by the ICEC, and has pledged to give its response within three months. However, the report’s author, Cindy Butts, said the testimonies the ICEC had heard were “absolutely horrific” and showed “the culture in cricket is rotten”. “We heard of women being constantly stereotyped, demeaned, facing predatory behaviour,” said Butts. “We heard from a Muslim former player who had to endure the indignity of his teammates laughing and joking about one of the players using the prayer mat to clean up after sex.” Stephen Vaughan, the chief executive of Yorkshire, acknowledged that the ICEC report made for “difficult reading” but said it was needed to shine a light on the game. “The game in itself, and not just cricket but other sports, will have to face up to the fact that there have been historic, endemic issues – not just about race but misogyny, disability and gender,” he said. “Whilst it is difficult, it is a real watershed moment for all of us. People are going to have to have a look in the mirror, sit down with the ECB and we have got three months.” He added: “I imagine the ECB are going to be pushing an open door on this because people realise transformational change is needed.” Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson said the document made “for difficult reading” and he believed that “sport must be open to everyone”. Ministers will “speak to” the ECB to discuss the findings of its report further and ensure lessons are learned, No 10 said. “There is no place for racism discrimination, bullying or harassment, in sport nor indeed in wider society” and the report’s findings will be reviewed in detail “to establish what lessons can be learned”, the spokesperson said.
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['sport/cricket', 'sport/azeem-rafiq', 'sport/ecb', 'sport/sport', 'campaign/email/the-spin', 'sport/ben-stokes', 'sport/england-cricket-team', 'world/race', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/seaningle', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/sport', 'theguardian/sport/news', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-sport']
|
sport/ecb
|
UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE
|
2023-06-27T15:24:04Z
| true
|
UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE
|
us-news/2021/jul/21/couple-gender-reveal-party-wildfire-charged
|
California couple whose gender-reveal party sparked a wildfire charged with 30 crimes
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A California couple has been criminally charged for their role in igniting last year’s destructive El Dorado wildfire after they used a pyrotechnic device during a gender-reveal party. The blaze torched close to 23,000 acres (9,300 hectares), destroyed five homes and 15 other buildings, and claimed the life of a firefighter, Charlie Morton. Refugio Manuel Jimenez Jr and Angela Renee Jimenez were indicted for 30 crimes including involuntary manslaughter, said Jason Anderson, the San Bernardino county district attorney, during a press conference. The couple pleaded not guilty and were released to await their court date. “You’re obviously dealing with lost lives, you’re dealing with injured lives, and you’re dealing with people’s residences that were burned and their land that was burned,” Anderson said. “That encompasses a lot of, not only emotion, but damage, both financially and psychologically.” The charges, which were based on 34 witness testimonies given to a grand jury, along with 434 exhibits presented, include one felony count of involuntary manslaughter, three felony counts of recklessly causing a fire with great bodily injury, four felony counts of recklessly causing a fire to inhabited structures and 22 misdemeanor counts of recklessly causing fire to property of another. Along with the destroyed homes and structures, four additional residences were damaged and there were 13 injuries. Morton, who was 39 years old when he was killed, was a 14-year veteran firefighter with the San Bernardino national forest service, and served as part of an elite team that deploys across the US to fight wildland fires. “He’s fighting a fire that was started because of a smoke bomb,” Anderson said of Morton’s death. “That’s the only reason he’s there.” The fire season last year set new records in the state for the expansive area that burned, with more than 4.2m acres (1.7m hectares) scorched by more than 9,900 fires across California. The El Dorado fire erupted on 5 September 2020 in San Bernardino county and burned for the next 23 days. The day the couple allegedly used a smoke bomb to reveal the gender of their soon-to-be-born baby, temperatures were scorching, 15 to 20 degrees above normal for the region, officials reported. That week Los Angeles county saw record high temperatures of 121F (49C) according to the US National Weather Service. A news release issued by Cal Fire three days later noted that the gender-reveal pyrotechnic device had ignited the blaze. “Cal Fire reminds the public that with the dry conditions and critical fire weather, it doesn’t take much to start a wildfire,” the agency said. “Those responsible for starting fires due to negligence or illegal activity can be held financially and criminally responsible.” Gender-reveal parties, when expecting parents attempt to use a stunt to creatively share whether their baby will be a boy or girl, are a recent trend popularized through social media, but this isn’t the first time accidents have happened. As the Guardian reported last year, an Arizona fire was sparked in 2017 after an off-duty US border patrol agent shot at an explosive that sent blue smoke into the air to dramatically announce that his baby would be born as a boy. Two years later, a woman was killed in Iowa when a gender-reveal device exploded, and a plane crashed in Texas that was supposed to dump 350 gallons of pink water. Gender reveals have been growingly called into question, and not just for their potential to cause catastrophes. One of the pioneers who helped popularize the practice after baking a cake with pink icing inside in 2008, has come to regret her role. “It started to take a turn,” Jenna Karvunidis told the Guardian in 2019 mentioning the incident that sparked the Arizona fire. “Then I started to realize that non-binary people and trans people were feeling affected by this, and I started to feel bad that I had released something bad into the world.”
|
['us-news/california', 'world/wildfires', 'us-news/us-crime', 'law/law-us', 'us-news/us-news', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/gabrielle-canon', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/west-coast-news']
|
world/wildfires
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
2021-07-21T18:46:09Z
| true
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
commentisfree/2016/dec/23/amazon-tribe-no-contact-outside-world-last-ricardo-stuckert
|
This Amazon tribe lived without the outside world. They may be the last | Dan Collyns
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The remarkable photos taken by Ricardo Stuckert of an uncontacted Amazon tribe reminded me of my own experience with the indigenous people of nearby Peru. “The Nomole are here, they’ve come. The Nomole,” were the hushed whispers I heard outside my tent as I was roused from my dawn slumber. Nomole was a term meaning brothers which I had heard many times in the last few days, at once embracing and familial yet also uttered with apprehensive concern. With a jolt of adrenaline I pulled on some trousers and stumbled out into the open and jogged to the edge of a riverside bluff and gazed out. As the morning mist rose like steam off the Manu national park forest, 11 matchstick figures had emerged from the foliage and were walking out over a rock-strewn strand some 200m away across the turbulent Upper Madre de Dios river. To me it could have been a scene from the dawn of mankind. I felt I was looking at humanity, stripped down in all its primitive magnificence, and it was humbling. Men, women, one pregnant, one with an infant, and children, naked and unarmed strode over the rocks and began to call out, beckoning to special protection agents employed by Peru’s culture ministry on our side of the river bank. It was Romel Ponciano, whom they called Yotlotle (which means giant river otter in their language), they were calling for. Having seen one of these exuberant Amazonians I had to admit the anthropomorphic resemblance was uncanny and even funny. Portly and affable, Ponciano, an indigenous Yine leader, had a gentle air and exuded calm. He had had more than 20 encounters with the Mashco-Piro tribe and understands about 80% of their language. Such meetings can be dangerous, even deadly, but as children rode piggy-back on Ponciano’s back and he gave his T-shirt to one of the men to wear it was clear I was beholding a friendly exchange as timeless and quintessentially human as any. Peru’s official policy of “no contact”, adopted in 2006, remains unchanged with respect to the 14 or 15 tribes living in isolation within its boundaries. Luís Felipe Torres, an anthropologist with the Madre de Dios region’s isolated tribes team, explained that an exception was made in the case of this particular group of Mashco-Piro because they were actively seeking contact with the outside world, exposing themselves to grave danger. While the Mashco-Piro are at a turning point in what increasingly seems an inexorable route towards contact, Peru’s culture minister is trying to cushion them from the illnesses that could lay waste to their population, the unscrupulous people who might enslave or exploit them and the missionaries who want to save their souls. The tribe portrayed in Stuckert’s pictures, not far across the Peruvian border in the Brazilian state of Acre, are not yet at that stage. They continue to appear to want to shun the outside world, just as they thrive, hunt game and farm. Yet as illegal gold mining continues to decimate swaths of rainforest in south-eastern Peru and local authorities illegally build roads which deliberately cut through national parks and isolated indigenous reserves, the living space for these isolated people who know no national boundaries is ever diminishing. Those people who still name themselves after the flora and fauna of the forest, who I came to know from the other side of a river bank, may be the last of their generation.
|
['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'tone/comment', 'world/indigenous-peoples', 'world/world', 'environment/amazon-rainforest', 'environment/deforestation', 'environment/forests', 'environment/environment', 'world/peru', 'world/americas', 'world/brazil', 'environment/conservation', 'type/article', 'profile/dan-collyns', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-opinion']
|
environment/forests
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
2016-12-23T17:18:01Z
| true
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
environment/blog/2009/dec/15/copenhagen-diary-day-six
|
Copenhagen diary: Obama upset the Norwegians, and now it's the Danes
|
Returning the snub Is Barack Obama making a habit of spurning Scandinavian royals? The president caused some annoyance to Norwegians last week when he turned down lunch with the king after picking up his Nobel prize. Apparently lunch with the monarch is part of the ritual for Nobel laureates. In a poll in Norway's VG tabloid, 44% of Norwegians said they thought Obama was rude to cancel the scheduled lunch with King Harald. Opposition politicians accused the president of being disrespectful. Now it appears it's the Danes' turn. Unlike Gordon Brown – who is arriving today – and other world leaders who will begin flying in tomorrow, Obama will not be at the gala dinner on Thursday hosted by Denmark's Queen Margrethe. The president is not scheduled to arrive until Friday morning, and will spend only a few hours on the ground before flying out again. Then again, Obama might not have the fondest memories of Copenhagen. He and his wife made a spur-of-the-moment decision to come to Copenhagen to help push Chicago's case for hosting the Olympic Games earlier this year. America was eliminated in the first round. Charming whiff in the air The Obama administration is continuing its full-on charm offensive today, hoping to distract the international community from the failure of Congress to pass a climate change law and look elsewhere for evidence of intent to act on global warming. At the conference, the agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack, is scheduled to talk up a deal with dairy farmers on curbing methane emissions – ie cow farts. Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, has a piece in the International Herald Tribune, called "The US is on Board". She does the now familiar rundown of the Obama administration's actions on the environment, and its efforts to reverse the George Bush era of denial and obstruction. "So there should be no doubt about our commitment," she writes. Clinton also promises generous aid and technological support for developing countries. But, despite the sugar coating, the rapidly emerging economies will find a sting. She is insisting on a monitoring regime to ensure that countries do indeed cut their greenhouse gas emissions as promised. That is contentious for countries such as India and China. Whiskey inventive Hard-pressed negotiators have been running on coffee during their late night sessions in Copenhagen this week, but the first minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, offered a fresh beverage today: a bottled of specially distilled 2020 whiskey that is 42% proof. The strength of the alcohol is determined by Scotland's emission reduction target - one of the most ambitious in the world - but Salmon said state leaders would only get a bottle if they delivered comparably bold pledges. "Every world leader who commits to ambitious target will get to 42% proof. Those who water down their target will get watered down whiskey," he said. Asked if President Obama - who has pledged 17% by 2020 - deserved a bottle, the Scottish leader answered: "Not at the current level. " Going nowhere Guardian columnist Fred Pearce was one of more than 1,000 would-be delegates who failed even to get within the perimeter fence of the Bella centre yesterday: "I joined the line at 9am. It moved along and stopped at about 1.30. Then nobody was let in till 5, when they took about a dozen journalists. No UN person appeared at all between 2.15 and 4.30 – and then only to tell us there was a delay. Only members of national delegations and those with diplomatic passports were let in. Nobody, police or UN, ever explained to us what the problem was. We had only rumours. Was the conference overfull? Had the cameras at registration broken down? I met people who started queueing at 7am. The temperatures were at freezing. No food or water was provided, though there were some toilets. It was a disgrace. I've seen nothing like it. And now we have to start again from scratch. We were quiet and peaceful today. But that could change!" Top-down solution The mood is turning ugly in the NGO ranks, too, as the legions of groups get their marching orders. Today and tomorrow 7,000 observers, as they are called, will be allowed in the Bella Centre. On Thursday the allocation will be reduced to 1,000, and on Friday when the world leaders do their thing, only 90 will be allowed in. There is likely to be a riot here, as it dawns on people that leadership means excluding the public and there will be more US marines than all global civil society. In it together But at least friendship is breaking out between some ministers. Archbishop Tutu – who came up with best line of the conference at the weekend when he simply told rich countries to "pay up" – was speaking yesterday at a Christian Aid event. The UK climate and energy secretary, Ed Miliband, was invited along with the Indian environment minister, Jairam Ramesh. Such is the fevered pace of negotiations and the secrecy that surrounds some of them, every minute counts. This might explain why it seems that the two ministers accepted the invite – on the condition that they could sit next to each other.
|
['environment/blog', 'environment/copenhagen', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'tone/blog', 'tone/comment', 'environment/global-climate-talks', 'type/article', 'profile/johnvidal', 'profile/suzannegoldenberg', 'profile/jonathanwatts']
|
environment/global-climate-talks
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
2009-12-15T11:43:07Z
| true
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
commentisfree/2007/may/28/afewhoursbeforei
|
I'm not climate change's Billy Graham
|
I think I might have cracked it. Ever since I started giving lectures on man-made climate change, I've been troubled by the question of how to answer people who don't and won't believe it is happening. You can tell them that almost all climate scientists believe it is taking place. But climate scientists are part of the conspiracy. You can explain that almost all peer-reviewed scientific papers on the subject accept it. But how does that help if they believe the Daily Mail is the font of all wisdom? You can point out that the effort to dissuade people that climate change is real has been sponsored by fossil fuel companies. In response - and in marvellous contradiction of their professed suspicion of scientists - they then point to the handful of climatologists who have not been sponsored by the oil industry who say that it isn't happening. You can argue that they are cherry-picking their experts and their data, but unless they have an understanding of the scientific process, they don't see what's wrong with that. At my talk last night, a man in the audience informed me that a belief in climate change is a religion, and that I am its Billy Graham. He pointed out that temperatures on Mars have risen: could that be because of all the people driving their SUVs there? Well full marks for originality: I haven't heard that one more than 100 times since the Martian data was published. But instead of trying to argue with him, this time I asked a question: what would it take to convince you that manmade climate change is taking place? "Nothing", he said. "The climate has always changed. This is just another natural cycle." "So even if every scientist of every kind and every persuasion agreed that manmade climate change is happening, you would still place your own opinion above theirs?" "Yes." This, I suspect, must now be the position of most of those who still deny that man-made climate change is happening: that there is nothing - no evidence, however compelling, no scientific consensus, however robust - that could persuade them of the opposite case. Could there be a better definition of religion?
|
['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'tone/comment', 'books/guardian-hay-festival', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'culture/festivals', 'books/books', 'culture/culture', 'commentisfree/cif-green', 'environment/climate-change-scepticism', 'books/hayfestival2007', 'type/article', 'profile/georgemonbiot']
|
environment/climate-change-scepticism
|
CLIMATE_DENIAL
|
2007-05-28T07:00:55Z
| true
|
CLIMATE_DENIAL
|
sustainable-business/2015/mar/25/sustainability-eco-green-natural-buzzwords-greenwashing
|
'Sustainability': is it a dirty word?
|
Whether it’s through overuse or greenwashing, terms like “eco” and “green” often seem to elicit eye-rolling and sighing from a wide swath of the sustainability community. Distaste for those terms may be about the only thing on which some environmentalists and climate-change deniers can agree. Is “sustainability” going the way of eco and green? And are any words fit to describe the environmental and social movement going forward? We asked readers to weigh in on Twitter and in a Guardian poll. After the dust settled, the only thing clear from all the tweets and votes is that opinions vary – broadly. The GreenShows called sustainability “a fan favorite”. Trafford GasMaskBoy also likes sustainability, along with “healthy”, “viable”, “progressive” and “future-friendly”. Meanwhile, Dan Saccardi says the word “ecoefficiency” gets to him “because it settles for marginal/intenisty gains rather than substantial impact”. And Bryony Cunningham isn’t keen on “social licence to operate” because, as she puts it, the phrase “sounds James Bond-y and not concise when really just about reputation”. Colin Josef Rice included “green” in his list of words – along with “natural” and “innovative” – that he hates. But the word was one of the faves – along with “renewable”, “ethical” and “upcycled” – for the folks at Blue Patch. Other words tweeters suggested include: purpose,ethical, ecochic, considerate, thoughtful, off-setting, a version of “Roi” (return on investment), securing the future, minimal throughout, no growth and creative stabilization. Even the hashtag for this discussion – #sustywords – generated its own raves and flames. Is susty “a dire word” that’s “never going to happen”, as Imogen Birt claims, or will it be “the buzzword of 2014” as Daniel G Nemet predicts? Dafna Nudelman tweeted that “susty” is “the worst of all”, while la leaf responded: “i love susty – like sassy and lusty rolled up into one!” Check out more of the discussion – including photos, Facebook posts and interviews – in the roundup below. This article was originally published 18 October 2013. It was republished 24 March 2015 to restore content that was lost when it was switched to the new web design. Amy DuFault is a writer and sustainable fashion consultant. In addition to being a former co-owner of an eco-boutique and a rep for sustainable designers, she coaches the sustainable fashion community. Jennifer Kho is the US editor for Guardian Sustainable Business. The sustainable living hub is funded by Unilever. All content is editorially independent except for pieces labelled brought to you by. Find out more here.
|
['sustainable-business/series/sustainable-living', 'sustainable-business/sustainable-business', 'sustainable-business/communication', 'sustainable-business/brand', 'environment/environment', 'business/business', 'environment/corporatesocialresponsibility', 'business/ethicalbusiness', 'sustainable-business/series/marketing-and-sustainability', 'type/article', 'tone/blog', 'fashion/sustainable-fashion', 'profile/amy-dufault', 'profile/jennifer-kho']
|
environment/corporatesocialresponsibility
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
2015-03-25T11:33:17Z
| true
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
environment/blog/2013/jan/08/meteorology-bold-leadership-trust
|
Meteorology needs bold leadership to build public trust in climate research | Bob Ward
|
Climate researchers have suffered from a very severe loss of public confidence and trust in their competence and integrity over the last three years. Meteorologists now have an opportunity to repair the damage and to restore the role of the profession in the democratic processes of public debate and policy-making. A YouGov poll carried out on 3-4 December 2009 (a couple of weeks after the "climategate" emails first appeared online) found that only 41% of the public agreed that, in general, they trust climate scientists to tell the truth about global warming. Recent surveys have found no significant improvement in public trust. A poll carried out in 2011 showed that only 38% of the public trusted climate scientists to tell the truth about climate change. It has been the accusations of incompetence, misconduct and a lack of transparency that have probably dealt the biggest blows to public trust in climate researchers. They have been matched by a decline in the quantity and quality of UK national media coverage of climate change. So if meteorologists wish to serve the public interest by playing a more integral role in the process of debate and policymaking, they need to: • Engage the public more effectively through direct and indirect methods • Learn more about the information needs of the public (ie through two-way communication) • Improve the explanation and presentation to public audiences of challenging concepts such as risk and uncertainty • Implement a strategy for improving the reputation of the meteorology profession for trustworthiness, particularly in terms of transparency • Increase efforts to influence the narratives on climate change that are being promoted by the media • Deal more effectively with criticisms of, and attacks on, mainstream climate research • Engage policy-makers at international, national and local levels more effectively through direct and indirect methods The first step is for the meteorology profession to draw a line under "climategate". Rather than responding robustly to the allegations of incompetence and misconduct by strenuously defending the integrity of the profession, many meteorologists have apparently decided to withdraw from the public debate, perhaps understandably fearful of becoming targets of "sceptic" attacks. Instead they have hoped a series of official inquiries would set the record straight. But even though a number of separate reviews cleared the scientists at the centre of the "climategate" scandal of fiddling their results, they also criticised standards of transparency. This will require greater leadership than has so far been shown by and within the key meteorological institutions, with the major public funder of climate researchers in the UK, the Natural Environment Research Council, having been largely silent and invisible on these crucial matters. So there is now an opportunity for the Royal Meteorological Society to step forward, and demonstrate the leadership that the profession so badly needs. Largely as a response to "climategate, the Royal Society launched an initiative on "science as an open enterprise". The primary recommendation of its report, published in June 2012, was: "Scientists should communicate the data they collect and the models they create, to allow free and open access, and in ways that are intelligible, assessable and usable for other specialists in the same or linked fields wherever they are in the world. Where data justify it, scientists should make them available in an appropriate data repository. Where possible, communication with a wider public audience should be made a priority, and particularly so in areas where openness is in the public interest." So there is now an opportunity for the Royal Meteorological Society to initiate a debate among its members about how the Royal Society's report can be taken forward, seeking to make the meteorology profession a beacon of best practice in openness and transparency. Not only could the society become the catalyst for transforming the meteorology profession from laggards into leaders on transparency, but it could also promote an increase in the quality and quantity of proactive engagement with the public, directly and through the media. Public engagement can seem a time-consuming process, and understandably is regarded by many meteorologists as difficult, messy, and largely unrewarded by their employers and funders. It can seem far safer to reach out through one-way communication activities, such as newspaper articles, websites and public lectures. But the society could champion the benefits of developing a sustained two-way dialogue, which will not only facilitate the exchange of views and information between the public and meteorologists, but will also build greater confidence and trust. The meteorology profession desperately needs bold and decisive leadership to help it to earn public trust and confidence and to face up to the many challenges arising from its high public profile. Surely it is time for the Royal Meteorological Society to step forward and take on this role? • Bob Ward is policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at London School of Economics and Political Science. This is an abridged version of an article that appears in the January 2013 issue of Weather, the official magazine of the Royal Meteorological Society.
|
['environment/blog', 'science/meteorology', 'science/science', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'environment/climate-change-scepticism', 'tone/blog', 'type/article', 'profile/bob-ward']
|
environment/climate-change-scepticism
|
CLIMATE_DENIAL
|
2013-01-08T15:10:17Z
| true
|
CLIMATE_DENIAL
|
uk-news/2019/aug/15/arron-banks-jokes-about-greta-thunberg-and-freak-yachting-accidents
|
Arron Banks jokes about Greta Thunberg and 'freak yachting accidents'
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Arron Banks has been criticised after he appeared to wish harm upon Greta Thunberg as the 16-year-old activist set sail across the Atlantic on a two-week voyage in a zero-carbon yacht. The controversial Brexit backer warned the teenager that “freak yachting accidents do happen in August” as he responded to a tweet by Green party MP Caroline Lucas who said Thunberg was carrying “the vital message to the UN that time is running out to address the climate emergency”. His comments sparked outrage among MPs, celebrities and academics, but he defended the remark in a series of late-night tweets on Wednesday in which he accused “lefties” of having no sense of humour. Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi was among the first to rebuke the former Ukip donor and pay tribute to the work Thunberg has done to raise awareness around the impending ecological crisis. “I think it is absolutely disgraceful that a man like Banks can take to Twitter to slag off a 16-year-old girl,” she told the Guardian. “The great work that Greta has done to put climate change at the top of the political world’s agenda, mobilising and inspiring young people and our future generations is priceless. “This is a man who funded Brexit lies, lives a life of excess and chooses to wish an accident on Greta Thunberg. It’s an absolute disgrace, his tweet should be reported as a hate crime.” She said Banks should have “opened his wallet and offered to pay for the journey for Greta. The sewer he chooses to swim in is not one which we should have to expose our children to.” Prof Tanja Bueltmann, founder of campaign group EU Citizens’ Champion, said Banks had “invoked the drowning of a child” for his own amusement. “Verbal attacks on Greta Thunberg have been coming from many different people for quite some time. Their common characteristic? Most of them are white middle-aged men from the right of the political spectrum. “As if the tweet itself wasn’t horrendous enough already, Banks’s explanation for it is that he invoked the drowning of a child for fun because he enjoys watching outrage. I cannot think of anything lower than that.” Actor Amanda Abbington tweeted: “You’re wishing a potentially fatal accident onto a sixteen year old girl, why..?” Earlier, she wrote: “If you are a grown up, fully-fledged adult and you are mocking this young girl for trying to save the planet then I genuinely feel sorry for you. I also think you are incredibly cruel, vicious and ignorant.” In response to a tweet which drew his attention to the fact she is a child, Banks replied: “Quite and one being used. Obviously I don’t hope she encounters a freak yachting accident! I just enjoy watching the ludicrous tweeter mob following the next outrage.” Later, replying to a tweet which said he had “finally showed his true colours”, he said: “It was a joke .. you lefties have no sense of humour.” • This article was amended on 13 September 2019 to correct wording of a link to a related story stating that the yacht was solar-powered. The yacht was mainly powered by wind.
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['uk-news/arron-banks', 'environment/greta-thunberg', 'environment/environment', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'technology/twitter', 'technology/internet', 'media/media', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/mattha-busby', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-foreign']
|
environment/greta-thunberg
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CLIMATE_ACTIVISM
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2019-08-14T23:57:40Z
| true
|
CLIMATE_ACTIVISM
|
environment/2017/sep/26/sixth-mass-extinction-of-wildlife-also-threatens-global-food-supplies
|
Sixth mass extinction of wildlife also threatens global food supplies
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The sixth mass extinction of global wildlife already under way is seriously threatening the world’s food supplies, according to experts. “Huge proportions of the plant and animal species that form the foundation of our food supply are just as endangered [as wildlife] and are getting almost no attention,” said Ann Tutwiler, director general of Bioversity International, a research group that published a new report on Tuesday. “If there is one thing we cannot allow to become extinct, it is the species that provide the food that sustains each and every one of the seven billion people on our planet,” she said in an article for the Guardian. “This ‘agrobiodiversity’ is a precious resource that we are losing, and yet it can also help solve or mitigate many challenges the world is facing. It has a critical yet overlooked role in helping us improve global nutrition, reduce our impact on the environment and adapt to climate change.” Three-quarters of the world’s food today comes from just 12 crops and five animal species and this leaves supplies very vulnerable to disease and pests that can sweep through large areas of monocultures, as happened in the Irish potato famine when a million people starved to death. Reliance on only a few strains also means the world’s fast changing climate will cut yields just as the demand from a growing global population is rising. There are tens of thousands of wild or rarely cultivated species that could provide a richly varied range of nutritious foods, resistant to disease and tolerant of the changing environment. But the destruction of wild areas, pollution and overhunting has started a mass extinction of species on Earth. The focus to date has been on wild animals – half of which have been lost in the last 40 years – but the new report reveals that the same pressures are endangering humanity’s food supply, with at least 1,000 cultivated species already endangered. Tutwiler said saving the world’s agrobiodiversity is also vital in tackling the number one cause of human death and disability in the world – poor diet, which includes both too much and too little food. “We are not winning the battle against obesity and undernutrition,” she said. “Poor diets are in large part because we have very unified diets based on a narrow set of commodities and we are not consuming enough diversity.” The new report sets out how both governments and companies can protect, enhance and use the huge variety of little-known food crops. It highlights examples including the gac, a fiery red fruit from Vietnam, and the orange-fleshed Asupina banana. Both have extremely high levels of beta-carotene that the body converts to vitamin A and could help the many millions of people suffering deficiency of that vitamin. Quinoa has become popular in some rich nations but only a few of the thousands of varieties native to South America are cultivated. The report shows how support has enabled farmers in Peru to grow a tough, nutritious variety that will protect them from future diseases or extreme weather. Mainstream crops can also benefit from diversity and earlier in 2017 in Ethiopia researchers found two varieties of durum wheat that produce excellent yields even in dry areas. Fish diversity is also very valuable, with a local Bangladeshi species now shown to be extremely nutritious. “Food biodiversity is full of superfoods but perhaps even more important is the fact these foods are also readily available and adapted to local farming conditions,” said Tutwiler. Bioversity International is working with both companies and governments to ramp up investment in agrobiodiversity. The supermarket Sainsbury’s is one, and its head of agriculture, Beth Hart, said: “The world is changing – global warming, extreme weather and volatile prices are making it harder for farmers and growers to produce the foods our customers love. Which is why we are committed to working with our suppliers, farmers and growers around the world to optimise the health benefits, address the impact and biodiversity of these products and secure a sustainable supply.” Pierfrancesco Sacco, Italy’s permanent representative to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, said: “The latest OECD report rates Italy third lowest in the world for levels of obesity after Japan and Korea. Is it a coincidence that all three countries have long traditions of healthy diets based on local food biodiversity, short food supply chains and celebration of local varieties and dishes?” He said finding and cultivating a wider range of food is the key: “Unlike conserving pandas or rhinos, the more you use agrobiodiversity and the more you eat it, the better you conserve it.”
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['environment/food', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/farming', 'environment/plants', 'environment/biodiversity', 'environment/environment', 'science/extinct-wildlife', 'environment/wildlife', 'society/health', 'world/world', 'science/science', 'society/society', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/damiancarrington', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment']
|
science/extinct-wildlife
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
2017-09-26T10:23:03Z
| true
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
world/2008/sep/05/naturaldisasters.usa
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Storm watch along east coast of US
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Tropical storm warnings were extended along the US Atlantic coast today with states from Georgia to New Jersey braced for severe weather, including a potential hurricane. Weather forecasters warned that tropical storm Hanna, which killed at least 137 people in Haiti, could become a hurricane before its expected arrival on US shores today. Tropical storm warnings are in effect from Altamaha Sound in Georgia north to Chincoteague, Virginia, just south of Maryland state. A tropical storm watch is in effect for areas between Chincoteague and Sandy Hook, New Jersey, including Washington. A tropical storm warning means tropical storm conditions are expected within 24 hours. A watch means they are expected within 36 hours. A hurricane watch remains in effect for Edisto Beach, South Carolina, to the Outer Banks of North Carolina near the Virginia border. As of 5am EDT (9am BST), Hanna had maximum sustained winds near 65mph and was centred about 430 miles south of Wilmington, North Carolina. The storm was accelerating and moving north-west at 20mph. Some south-eastern states declared an emergency and officials urged residents to head inland. Emergency planners are monitoring hurricane Ike, which weakened to a category 3 storm early today but was still considered dangerous by the US national hurricane centre. The federal emergency management agency (Fema) is sending hundreds of truckloads of meals, water and other supplies to the east coast and leaving resources on the gulf coast in case Ike heads there. "Ike looks like it's a very, very dangerous storm," said the Fema administrator, David Paulison. Haiti's government more than doubled Hanna's death toll yesterday to 137. It killed 80 people in the flooded region of Gonaives and 22 in areas immediately surrounding the port, according to the ministry of the interior and the civil protection department. Thousands of people on the island are homeless and agriculture and transport networks have been washed away, prompting calls for emergency international aid. Haiti, vulnerable because of its flimsy dwellings and soil erosion, has been the worst affected area of the Caribbean and US gulf coast. Parts of Cuba have been devastated. Fidel Castro compared the impact to a nuclear attack. The wave of storms began three weeks ago with tropical storm Fay, followed last week by hurricane Gustav, which killed dozens.
|
['world/natural-disasters', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/world', 'world/hurricanes', 'type/article', 'profile/davidbatty']
|
world/hurricanes
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
2008-09-05T12:27:23Z
| true
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
global-development-professionals-network/2015/jan/20/how-to-encourage-investment-in-africas-energy-sector
|
How to encourage investment in Africa's energy sector
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Prioritise the energy sector: Political will goes beyond campaign speeches and rhetoric, governments need to figure out how to fund this sector. They need to look at public private partnerships (PPP), accessing international capital and debt capital markets, foreign parternships such as Power Africa and also tapping into the diaspora. Jacqueline Musiitwa, founder, Hoja Law Group, Kigali, Rwanda @nubiancounsel Approach it from all angles: There is no monopoly on the way to develop power infrastructure. It can vary from off-grid to mini-grids to on-grid, from small-scale to large-scale, from government-owned, to private-sector, to community-owned. Oliver Johnson, research fellow in sustainable energy, Stockholm Environment Institute, Nairobi, Kenya @SEIresearch Don’t neglect existing power plants: It can cost less to upgrade and refurbish existing, inefficient and “dirty” power plants [than build new ones]. Showing you have the capacity to strengthen existing infrastructure will build investors’ confidence for bigger projects. Christina Ulardic, head of market development Africa Swiss Re Corporate Solutions Zurich, Switzerland, @SwissRe_CS Support intra-regional trade: Currently trade between African countries is very low - an estimated 10-12% of the continent’s total trade. Over 80% of Africa’s exports are shipped overseas, mainly to the EU, China and the US. But we can’t discuss increasing intra-African trade before we discuss restrictive immigration policies. Christina Ulardic Reduce the red tape at borders: For trade facilitation, governments need to update their valuation of goods so that essential items, such as generators, don’t get stuck in customs. Preclearance of goods is essential. Andrew Herscowitz, coordinator, President Obama’s Power Africa and Trade Africa initiatives, Power Africa, Washington DC, @aherscowitz Tell more positive stories: African governments and media need to be more proactive in sharing their successes in energy and development. These need to be backed up with data on returns, challenges that are surmountable and also demonstrate impact for competitiveness and inclusive development. Jacqueline Musiitwa Strengthen project management: Currently many African governments have poor project appraisal systems, a high degree of informality and an absence of effective management. They are also often subject to undue political influence for personal or political gain. Where this occurs there is a high risk for potential corruption and mismanagement and it will dissuade the private sector from investing in this market. John Hawkings, programme manager, Construction Transparency (Cost), London, UK, @costransparency Ask potential investors what the obstacles are: We ask our partners what the critical barriers are that hinder your project or prevent your investment. We then try to work with the partner government to focus on resolving that particular issue. Once that barrier is broken down for one deal, it opens the door for others. Andrew Herscowitz Encourage financing of PPP projects: Governments need to develop capacity, firstly to meet equity and debt financing needed by infrastructure projects, and secondly, to effectively manage the PPP process. The Henri Konan Bédié Bridge in Abidjan was the result of an excellent partnership between the state and private capital because every stakeholder took on and managed their share of risk. Professor John C. Anyanwu, lead research economist, African Development Bank, Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire @jcanyanwu Tap into the diaspora: Not enough governments look at their own citizens and diaspora to fund large projects. Apart from offering incentives to come home and provide much needed skills, diaspora bonds - government bonds targeted at a country’s diaspora - are a useful instrument. John Anyanwu Use early investments to illustrate that projects are viable: Better preparation is key for leveraging private capital as financiers are often reluctant to invest when projects are still in their high-risk initial stages. Lida Fitts, regional director (acting), Sub-Saharan Africa, U.S. Trade and Development Agency, Washington, DC, USA @ustda Don’t compromise on quality: The most qualified bidder must win the bid and price alone shouldn’t be selling point. As we are seeing with many of the new roads in the region, cheap is expensive in the long run because roads get potholes after a rain season or two. Jacqueline Musiitwa Push for open contracting: This would help with transparency of the contracting process. If the public were privy to deal information, it would ensure greater accountability and push governments to ensure that winners of bids adhere to struck construction timelines. Jacqueline Musiitwa Create cost-reflective tariffs: The tariff should compensate the investor for the cost of construction, maintenance and the cost of fuel. This is crucial to keep the investor on board for the whole of the project’s life. David Humphrey, global head power and infrastructure, Standard Bank, Johannesburg, South Africa Demand change: Transparency on its own is insufficient. It really requires the local media and civil society to use that information to demand change such as in Ethiopia and Malawi. John Hawkings Read the full Q&A here. Join our community of development professionals and humanitarians. Follow@GuardianGDP on Twitter.
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['global-development-professionals-network/series/powering-africa', 'working-in-development/working-in-development', 'global-development-professionals-network/series/best-bits', 'world/africa', 'environment/energy', 'business/energy-industry', 'environment/hydropower', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/oil', 'business/oil', 'environment/solarpower', 'business/commodities', 'type/article', 'profile/rachel-banning-lover']
|
environment/solarpower
|
ENERGY
|
2015-01-20T16:48:36Z
| true
|
ENERGY
|
world/article/2024/jul/06/tropical-storm-beryl-hurricane-texas
|
Tropical Storm Beryl smashes through Caribbean and heads for Texas coast
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Tropical Storm Beryl, which has already smashed its way across the Caribbean as a hurricane before slamming into the Yucatán peninsula, is intensifying once again and expected to make landfall as a hurricane for the third time along the Texas coast. The powerful hurricane – Beryl is the earliest category 5 hurricane on record – was by early Saturday approximately 495 miles (797km) south-east of Corpus Christi, Texas. The storm is forecast to turn toward the north-west later Saturday and then north/north-westward by Sunday night. Beryl currently contains maximum sustained winds near 60mph with tropical-storm-force winds extending outward up to 105 miles from the center. By the time it reaches Texas early Monday, it is anticipated to have re-intensified to a category 1 hurricane, though the National Weather Service has advised residents to prepare for the stronger category 2. “Still some uncertainty with the exact strength and track Beryl will take, but an eastward trend in the guidance continues,” the advisory states, warning of “an increasing risk of damaging hurricane-force winds and life-threatening storm surge”. Beryl made landfall in Grenada’s Carriacou island as a category 4 hurricane on Monday, before hitting St Vincent and the Grenadines, flattening buildings and killing at least six people. Managers on the private island of Mustique, also in Beryl’s path, said: “The Grenadines have been badly hit. Union Island has been rendered completely uninhabitable and thousands of men, woman and children are currently being relocated in order to give them access to shelter, food and water.” The statement said there had been “significant superficial damage” to Mustique bit that “the island’s core infrastructure is intact” and its planes were being used to ferry supplies to worse-hit islands and assist with the evacuation of people from Union. The Associated Press reported that on the tiny island of Mayreau, home to 360 people and one of the smallest inhabited islands of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Beryl had ripped roofs off schools, crumbled homes and stripped trees of almost every leaf on the 0.46 sq miles (1.2 sq km). “Everything was flying all over the place,” Mayreau resident James Alexander said in recalling the storm. “I saw a tank full of water lifted up and swirl in the air.” Beryl later intensified to a category 5 storm, its rapid strengthening astonishing experts. The storm passed south of Jamaica before travelling, as a category 5 storm, to hit Tulum on the Yucatán peninsula of Mexico on Friday as a category 2 hurricane. The storm toppled trees but caused no injuries or deaths before weakening to a tropical storm as it moved across the peninsula. “It is recommendable that people get to higher ground, shelters or the homes of friends or family elsewhere,” Mexico president Andrés Manuel López Obrador said before Beryl hit. “Don’t hesitate, material possessions can be replaced,” he added. With Beryl again re-intensifying, the former hurricane is expected to conclude its 3,000-mile journey somewhere along the lower or middle Texas coast, where it will drop 5–10ins of rain and could produce a few tropical tornadoes around Houston.
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['world/hurricanes', 'world/caribbean', 'world/mexico', 'world/jamaica', 'us-news/texas', 'world/grenada', 'world/extreme-weather', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/americas', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/edwardhelmore', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news']
|
world/hurricanes
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
2024-07-06T18:33:40Z
| true
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
science/2021/sep/24/people-in-99-countries-take-part-in-global-climate-strike
|
Global climate strike: thousands join coordinated action across world
|
Hundreds of thousands of people in 99 countries have taken part in a coordinated global climate strike demanding urgent action to tackle the ecological crisis. The strike on Friday, the first worldwide climate action since the coronavirus pandemic hit, is taking place weeks before the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow, UK. In Germany, two days before the country’s general election, Greta Thunberg told a crowd of more than 100,000 people that “no political party” was doing enough. The Swedish activist, whose solo strike in 2018 inspired the global Fridays for Future movement, told cheering supporters they needed to keep up the pressure on Germany’s political leaders past election day. “Yes, we must vote, you must vote, but remember that voting only will not be enough. We must keep going into the streets,” she said. Organisers of the global event said there were protests in more than 1,800 towns and cities around the world with large events in Europe, Africa and North and South America. In Mexico protesters assembled in front of the National Palace in Mexico City to demand that the state oil company Pemex present a plan to decarbonise, while in Bangladesh activists demanded the scrapping of planned new coal and gas power stations. In South Africa demonstrations took place in 12 cities as part of a three-day strike to demand the government oversees a just transition from fossil fuels. In London protesters gathered outside parliament to hear speakers call on the UK government to do more to meet its climate goals. Large demonstrations were also expected in Canada, Brazil and Argentina. Earlier this year the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said the world’s carbon emissions must fall by half by 2030 to keep global heating below 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, the limit countries agreed to strive for in 2015 in Paris. But the UN reported on 17 September that current pledges from countries would lead to a 16% rise in the next decade. There have been some positive moves in recent days, with China saying it will end its financing for highly polluting coal-fired power stations abroad – though not at home – and the US doubling its climate finance to vulnerable nations. This funding helps rich countries move towards delivery of the $100bn (£73bn) a year promised a decade ago, which is seen as critical for the success of Cop26.
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['environment/activism', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'world/world', 'environment/greta-thunberg', 'world/protest', 'world/germany', 'uk/uk', 'world/mexico', 'world/bangladesh', 'world/southafrica', 'world/canada', 'world/brazil', 'world/argentina', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/matthewtaylor', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment']
|
environment/activism
|
CLIMATE_ACTIVISM
|
2021-09-24T15:02:04Z
| true
|
CLIMATE_ACTIVISM
|
football/2013/oct/03/basel-greenpeace-protest-champions-league
|
Basel charged by Uefa over Greenpeace protest at Champions League game
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Uefa has opened disciplinary proceedings against Basel after their Champions League defeat by Schalke at St Jakob-Park on Tuesday was interrupted when Greenpeace protesters dropped down on ropes from the stadium roof and unfurled a banner objecting to a sponsor, Gazprom. Uefa's control and disciplinary body will deal with the case during its next meeting on 17 October and Basel, who lost the match 1-0, have been charged with insufficient organisation of the match. Uefa rules state that "clubs are responsible for order and security both inside and around the stadium before, during and after matches" and it will be up to Basel to prove they have not been negligent in any way in the organisation of the match. The club could face a fine as a result of the disruption caused by Greenpeace, whose protest came in front of the watching Uefa president, Michel Platini. Gazprom is a sponsor of the Champions League and Schalke. Two weeks ago Russian authorities detained 30 members of the pressure group who were aboard an icebreaker, the Arctic Sunrise, when they broke up attempts to scale an offshore oil platform run by the state-run Gazprom. All 30 have been remanded in custody for two months. Play was halted for around five minutes in Switzerland, where four protesters wearing orange boiler suits and helmets descended slowly on ropes which they had dropped from the roof after a few minutes of play. The banners said "Gazprom, don't foul the Arctic" and "Free the Arctic 30" and had Greenpeace written at the bottom. The protesters then hauled themselves back on to the roof while officials watched from the touchline and the match continued.
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['football/basel', 'football/uefa', 'football/championsleague', 'football/football', 'sport/sport', 'environment/greenpeace', 'world/switzerland', 'world/russia', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'profile/jacob-steinberg']
|
environment/greenpeace
|
CLIMATE_ACTIVISM
|
2013-10-03T13:29:51Z
| true
|
CLIMATE_ACTIVISM
|
world/2021/sep/01/spains-energy-cooperatives-lead-charge-to-exploit-solar-power
|
Spain’s energy cooperatives lead charge to exploit solar power
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Spain’s growing energy cooperative movement has received a boost after the government announced that some of the latest allocation of renewable energy will be in small lots, rather than large tranches that only big energy companies can afford. The move signals a change of attitude after successive governments have given in to the demands of the power giants. It comes as cooperatives in rural and urban areas are trying to break free from the major electricity suppliers that have exploited high demand during the recent heatwave to push prices up to record levels. Cristina Alonso, energy spokeswoman for Friends of the Earth, welcomed the government’s apparent change of heart as “a favourable measure – but not one that actually promotes energy communities because it doesn’t define what they are. These need to be defined as democratic and genuinely autonomous.” Solar installation has accelerated rapidly since the abolition in 2018 of the so-called “sunshine tax”. The rightwing government imposed this on self-sufficient consumers in 2015 for, in effect, depriving power companies of income. Consumers were also obliged to give their surplus energy to the grid free of charge. With no oil or gas and not much coal, sunshine is Spain’s greatest energy resource, and yet it remains underexploited. According to the Spanish Electric Network, in 2020 renewables accounted for 43.6% of energy production of which only 6.1% came from solar power, with the bulk coming from wind (21.7%) and nuclear (22.2%). Germany has three times as much installed solar power as Spain even though it had about 1,896 hours of sunshine in 2020, compared with almost 3,000 hours in Spain. In countries where most people live in single-family dwellings, any individual can generally decide to install solar panels. In Spain, however, 66.5% of the population live in apartment blocks, usually a mix of owner-occupiers and tenants, so the situation is more complex. To get around the problem of trying to get everyone to agree to invest in renewable energy for a multi-occupied building, one solution is to install solar panels on the roofs of public buildings such as schools, as well as factories and warehouses, that can supply electricity to neighbouring homes and businesses. The NGO Sustainability Observatory has proposed a rooftop campaign that would produce 15,400GWh, enough for 7.5 million people, on an investment that it says would be recoverable within six years. This is what Athletic Bilbao football club is offering its neighbours. When the club built a new stadium in 2013, it installed 300 solar panels and through its offshoot Tekathletic supplies electricity to 200 homes and businesses within a 500-metre radius at prices 25% below the going rate. Something similar is happening in Zaragoza, where the NGO Ecodes has teamed up with the power company EDP and the local authority to initiate the Solar Neighbourhood project. EDP has supplied and installed solar panels on the roofs of two municipal sports centres, each of which generates 50kWp, enough to supply 200 homes and businesses in the vicinity. Cecilia Foronda, the head of energy at Ecodes, explains that participants in the scheme do not pay up front for the installation, in recognition that people who are not homeowners are not motivated to invest. Participants pay a monthly quota of €6.90 (£5.90), which goes to repay the cost of the installation, and enjoy electricity prices that are about 30% cheaper than the market rate. The quota is waived for those least able to pay. Foronda says Ecodes is seeking European funding in order to replicate the scheme in six other Zaragoza neighbourhoods. Meanwhile, Som Energia (We Are Energy), which was founded in Girona in north-east Spain in 2010 and claims to be Europe’s oldest energy cooperative, has about 70,000 members. The co-op, which is run democratically, acts as an umbrella for smaller co-ops across the country, says Albert Banal-Estanol, its president. Members pay a €100 joining fee that is later reimbursed. When individuals want to install solar panels on their homes, Som Energia encourages them to form a local cooperative and then buy in bulk as it is not only cheaper but creates an energy community that in turn helps spread the word about self-sufficiency. “Last year we had a project that cost around €5m and we asked members to contribute, money that would be paid back from the income we get from selling excess electricity to the grid,” says Banal-Estanol. “We set a deadline of 15 days but we raised it all in one day.” “We want to extend this model but at the same time we’re not obsessed with growth,” he says. “We just want to see renewables grow.” Now that the big power companies can no longer rely on the government to stymie the spread of the cooperative movement, they are getting in on the act, offering to fund rooftop installations for communities in order to hang on to their customers. A genuine energy community, Alonso says, has social and environmental objectives, as well as economic ones. If it’s simply a case of a company supplying electricity from renewable sources “the company still owns the installation, you have a contract with them, and the only difference is the electricity comes from solar panels.” “The big power companies are reconfiguring themselves from selling electricity to selling services,” says Foronda. “But we need to ensure that energy self-sufficiency is in the hands of citizens because it empowers them.”
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['world/spain', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/solarpower', 'environment/energy', 'environment/environment', 'world/europe-news', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'tone/news', 'profile/stephen-burgen', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment']
|
environment/energy
|
ENERGY
|
2021-09-01T08:57:39Z
| true
|
ENERGY
|
business/2021/may/24/businesses-unlock-uk-growth-green-exports-cbi
|
UK businesses can unlock growth with green exports, says CBI
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British businesses have the opportunity to create 240,000 low-carbon jobs and boost green exports by billions of pounds to radically transform the UK economy over the next decade, the CBI has said. The UK’s foremost business lobby group said businesses across the country stood to gain from an “early mover advantage” by leading a campaign to decarbonise the global economy to avoid a climate meltdown. Calling on companies to “seize the moment” amid demands for radical economic reforms after the Covid-19 pandemic, it said decarbonisation, innovation, growing trade and levelling-up Britain’s lopsided regional economy could unlock commercial growth opportunities worth £700bn by 2030. Publishing a report into how businesses could help transform the economy over the next decade, it said the UK was at a turning point. Failure to adapt would lead to exacerbating the pre-pandemic trends of low productivity and heightened social divisions that plagued Britain after the 2008 financial crisis, it said. According to the study, UK firms could boost low-carbon exports to the EU, including opportunities to grow electric vehicle and battery sales by £18bn over the next decade. It said a net 240,000 jobs could be created, including in cities and towns outside London and the south-east to help “level up” regional economies across the country. Tony Danker, director general of the CBI, said businesses needed to work with trade unions, civil society and the government to cut carbon emissions to unlock the UK’s growth potential. “We may disagree on detail but not on the need to align around this vision and these principles,” he said. “Decarbonising our economy is a planetary imperative, we can use our transition to net zero to create green jobs, to find sustainable solutions and sell them to the rest of the world.” The intervention from the CBI comes as a report by academics from Imperial College London for the energy firm Drax issued a “weather warning” for Britain’s electricity grid, saying further investment was required to improve the mix of renewable energy production in case of periods of little wind. The report said the UK experienced its longest spell of low wind output in more than a decade during the first three months of this year. The authors said output from the country’s 24.4GW fleet of wind turbines fell to as low as 0.6GW on 3 March – in contrast with the 18.1GW delivered later that month. Between 26 February and 8 March – a total of 11 days – the capacity of the national wind turbine fleet did not go above 20%. Grid operators had to call on gas-fired units to generate power to plug the gap, with every gigawatt of falling wind output being replaced by 0.84GW of gas, thereby harming Britain’s carbon-cutting ambitions, said the report. “Britain’s ever-changing weather could put its landmark net-zero climate target at risk and become a threat to the power grid’s security unless policymakers take action,” it claimed. However, perhaps illustrating the authors’ point about the UK’s fast-changing weather, the powerful gusts that have been buffeting Britain in recent days may lead many people to conclude that low wind output is certainly not a problem right now. The blustery weather has helped the country reach a new all-time high for electricity generated from wind turbines. A record was set in the early hours of Friday 21 May for the share of wind power in the generation mix, with wind providing nearly two-thirds of Britain’s electricity, according to provisional data from National Grid.
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['business/cbi', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'business/business', 'uk/uk', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/energy', 'business/energy-industry', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/richard-partington', 'profile/rupertjones', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business']
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environment/renewableenergy
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ENERGY
|
2021-05-23T23:01:42Z
| true
|
ENERGY
|
environment/2017/apr/04/denmark-josh-frydenberg-wind-energy-potential-qanda
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We can't be Denmark: Josh Frydenberg plays down wind energy potential on Q&A
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Josh Frydenberg has pointed to South Australia’s intermittent power issues as evidence that the rest of the country is not ready to transition out of fossil fuels, calling the state Australia’s “great experiment”. The minister for the environment and energy appeared alongside Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the chief executive of Save the Children International and the former prime minister of Denmark, on the Q&A panel on Monday night. Denmark derives 57% of its electricity from renewable sources – 43% from wind. Asked whether Australia could reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, Frydenberg said the transition was under way. He said there was no shortage of wind or sun in Australia but its geographical remoteness meant it could not be connected to other countries in the way Denmark was. He said producing similar figures for wind for Australia was “probably not going to be when I’m the energy minister, but it will be in time very high levels of renewable penetration into the grid”. Frydenberg pointed to South Australia as evidence of how far renewable sources had to go before they could be relied upon. “They’ve been the big experiment, not just in Australia, but for much of the world. “One of the challenges they’ve faced is on one day wind has provided 100% of the power for SA and on another day 0%. That’s a level of intermittency which is very hard to deal with … so it’s an engineering challenge.” Thorning-Schmidt agreed that a “good mix” of energies was crucial for easing the transition to renewables, but said it took a “big, conscious effort” for Denmark to get to that stage. “If you think it through in a good way, it is possible. It does require investment. And often investment will require political will.” Labor’s human services spokeswoman, Linda Burney, agreed political will was lacking. She was scathing about the treasurer Scott Morrison’s coal stunt in parliament, calling it “one of the most ridiculous things” she had seen since becoming an MP. “It seems like it’s almost back to the future and coal is king again. And it was pure politics.” Paul Kelly, the editor-at-large of the Australian, said investors would be put off the renewables sector while opposing parties had such different policies on the issue. “We’ve got to make the transition in terms of emission reductions, according to our commitments under the Paris accords. We have to try and do it in a way that doesn’t do too much damage to the economy … and we’ve got to ensure the system doesn’t falter, that we don’t have the sort of blackouts which we’ve been having in South Australia.” But politicking and investment aside, Thorning-Schmidt argued, the transition had to happen because of the threat of climate change. “Climate change is actually real. It’s happening … We’re seeing unprecedented numbers of refugees as it is; we will have to add to that climate refugees. So I don’t think any of us can back out of this discussion. “This is a real issue and no one can solve this alone. But every country can play its part.” Asked by the host, Tony Jones, whether she was making an argument against coal, she replied: “Renewable energy is not coal.” Muhammad Yunus, the Bangladeshi Nobel peace laureate and micro-financing pioneer, echoed Thorning-Schmidt when he said Australia’s transition from fossil fuels depended on “the strength of the commitment” to renewables. “That determines everything else. If you’re not quite sure how far we want to go, how quickly we want to go, then we’ll never get there. It has to be very clear this is what we’ll do: we’ll forget about fossil fuels and everything else.” Once the objective was clear, he said, the necessary technology would follow, pointing to the uptake of solar energy in Bangladesh. Yunus founded the grassroots Grameen Bank, which has 9 million borrowers, to combat poverty through micro-loans. He said growing inequality in wealth distribution was “a ticking time bomb”, linking it to Brexit in the UK and the election of Donald Trump in the US. “One per cent of the population of the whole world own 99% of the wealth of the entire world … That’s not sustainable society. You can’t watch people get everything on the top and everyone else is not getting anything. The feeling passes on to politics, passes on to society, and now our politics is blaming each other.” Thorning-Schmidt criticised Australia’s foreign aid contribution as inadequate in response to Frydenberg’s argument it was the 12th-highest of OECD countries. “I’m a foreigner and I shouldn’t be telling Australia what Australia should be doing,” she said. “I know how annoying it is when someone comes in and raises their finger. “The only thing I can say is when your development budget is at an all-time low, which it is right now, it feels like Australia is not taking its place in the world.” In response, Frydenberg accused the former foreign minister Kevin Rudd of acting with “ulterior motives” in directing Australia’s foreign aid towards Africa. He said the budget had not been reduced but “refocused” towards the Pacific. The foreign minister, Julie Bishop, was committed to exploring partnerships with the private sector, he said. Frydenberg was invited to be a panellist at the last minute, after the cancellation of the anti-Islam activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s lecture tour of Australia. She cited a number of reasons, among them “organisational failures” by the Australian company behind the tour and “security concerns”. The energy minister said it was “very regrettable” that people had sought to prevent her from speaking in Australia, and linked her views to the debate about the 18C legislation: “I see her as the enemy of intolerance … I think we must protect and promote freedom of speech.”
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['environment/renewableenergy', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'australia-news/australian-politics', 'australia-news/josh-frydenberg', 'world/muhammad-yunus', 'australia-news/q-a', 'environment/environment', 'environment/windpower', 'australia-news/south-australia', 'environment/energy', 'world/denmark', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/elle-hunt', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news']
|
environment/windpower
|
ENERGY
|
2017-04-03T21:03:12Z
| true
|
ENERGY
|
uk-news/2022/feb/14/cps-challenges-hs2-euston-tunnellers-trespass-acquittal
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Euston tunnellers’ court victory at risk as CPS seeks to overturn verdict
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The Crown Prosecution Service has launched a high court challenge to the decision by a judge last year to let the Euston tunnellers walk free after their trial. The highly unusual move, which seeks a judicial review of the decision to dismiss charges against six HS2 protesters who spent a month in tunnel in front of Euston train station, has led to claims by environmental activists that the CPS is interfering with the right to protest non-violently about the climate emergency. Charges of aggravated trespass were dismissed last October by district judge Susan Williams. Now the CPS has started judicial review proceedings against the decision. The case was heard at Highbury Corner magistrates court in north London. A spokesperson for HS2 Rebellion expressed alarm at the CPS’s decision. They said: “In the wake of the government’s policing bill, the decision to review the Euston tunnel case is another ominous attack on our right to protest. This protest was peaceful and proportionate and raised awareness of the unjustifiable cost of HS2 to the environment and to taxpayers.” At the time of the dismissal of charges last year an HS2 spokesperson said they were “bitterly disappointed” with the outcome of the case. The protesters dug a 100ft tunnel network secretly over a period of months and stored up enough food and water supplies to last throughout the subterranean protest. During the tunnel occupation they spent much of their time digging and shoring up the structure they had created. Williams dismissed the charges against the protesters on the basis that HS2 was not carrying out any construction work on the site at the time the charges were levelled against them. Instead, their aim was to clear the site of protesters and then begin the construction work. She said in court: “There is no evidence of any constructor or construction taking place on the land at that time.” The subterranean environmental protest is thought to be one of the longest in UK protest history. The court heard that the disruption to HS2’s work at the Euston site cost about £3.5m. There were nine activists involved in the tunnel protest, ranging in age from 16 to 48. Two aged under-18 were not charged and a third activist was unwell and unable to attend the court hearing. The environmental activists staged their protest because they believe that the HS2 project is causing environmental damage, including to 108 ancient woodlands. HS2 disputes this and says that according to its assessments, 43 of the country’s 52,000 ancient woodlands will be affected by HS2’s route between London and Crewe, with 80% of the total area of these remaining untouched, meaning just 0.005% of ancient woodland will be lost, a fraction of losses from comparable road projects. While the protesters celebrated “a victory for the right to protest” following last October’s court case they are now facing a new threat from the decision by the Crown Prosecution Service to get their acquittal judicially reviewed. Simon Natas of ITN Solicitors who acted for the Euston tunnel protesters at their trial, said: “My clients were engaged in peaceful, environmental protest. Our view is that they were acquitted entirely properly and that the reasoning of the district judge in the case was unimpeachable. We are surprised that the CPS is challenging that decision and I fully expect that their application will be contested.” A CPS spokesperson said: “We have applied for permission to seek a judicial review into the decision to dismiss charges against six HS2 protesters in October. Our written application will be considered by a judge. If it is granted a full hearing will take place before the high court.” Labour peer Shami Chakrabarti, previously director of Liberty, said: “A wise CPS would be slow to use public funds to judicially review inconvenient court decisions, not least when the policing of protest has become so politicised and judicial review put beyond the reach of ordinary citizens. “Court decisions, like protests, can be annoying to those in authority, but the ‘one law for them’ approach is exploding public trust in criminal justice. Prosecutors are supposed to be servants of the public and our courts. Maybe they should prioritise bringing sex offenders to justice and winning back the confidence of women and girls?”
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['uk/hs2', 'uk/rail-transport', 'uk/transport', 'uk/uk', 'environment/extinction-rebellion', 'environment/environment', 'uk/ukcrime', 'law/crown-prosecution-service', 'law/law', 'type/article', 'profile/dianetaylor', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news']
|
environment/extinction-rebellion
|
CLIMATE_ACTIVISM
|
2022-02-14T17:08:38Z
| true
|
CLIMATE_ACTIVISM
|
lifeandstyle/2011/oct/16/ofm-awards-2011-tristram-stuart
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Observer Food Monthly Awards 2011 Outstanding Contribution Award: Tristram Stuart
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Tristram Stuart's social conscience was already at work aged 10, when he wrote to McDonald's saying he was going to stop eating its burgers unless it changed its packaging to something more friendly to the environment. A month later, a letter came back saying it had indeed been changed: "It was obviously a total coincidence," Stuart says with a wry smile, "but I thought, 'Wow! I've done it!' It probably gave me a delusionary conviction that individuals can change the world. I still suffer from that!" Now 33, he is a renowned campaigner on the impact of food production. Two years ago, he published the acclaimed Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal. Before that book, the Cambridge graduate might have been regarded as a maverick or, at worst, irresponsible by the food industry. Now, his campaign "has a place at the table". As for his OFM award, he says it provides yet another weapon in his war against waste. ''It makes a difference in terms of what I can achieve and that is brilliant." His arguments are simple: we buy too much and waste too much. Supermarkets overstock and we overbuy. Therefore, by forcing up prices of wheat on the world food market, we are literally taking food from the starving. Stuart has an array of alarming statistics: UK consumers waste around 25% of their food shopping and if you put into the equation food waste from shops, restaurants, producers and so on, the UK wastes up to a half of everything it has. All of this could lift 113 million starving people out of hunger. But the answer, Stuart argues, is not to send leftovers to Africa or Asia, but rather to stop overproducing, thus avoiding such surplus in the first place as well as reducing the carbon footprint and halting the destruction of forests as a way of extending the agricultural frontier. After Waste, the UN asked him to produce a report, although his packed schedule has thus far got in the way. There's also the success of Feeding the 5,000, where that number of people had a free lunch in Trafalgar Square on food that would otherwise have gone to waste. The event has been copied around the world and another is planned in London on 18 November. This year, he received a $100,000 international environmental award, the Sophie Prize. As a schoolboy in Sevenoaks, Kent, he would hang around the canteen, collecting the wasted food for his pigs: "It's where my whole obsession with waste started." Today, Stuart is preparing to write another book, and although this year he left the Sussex countryside for Hackney, London, he insists his interests remain pretty much as they were when he was 10. He has an allotment near his home; and while there are no pigs, he has moved his bees to the city, which he says drove them crazy with delight. He still picks mushrooms and fruit and kills wild animals. Not many wild rabbits in Hackney, though, I tell him. He laughs: "Oh you'd be surprised what I can find."
|
['food/observer-food-monthly-awards-2011', 'food/food', 'environment/waste', 'environment/food', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'tone/features', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'profile/louisecarpenter', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/foodmonthly', 'theobserver/foodmonthly/features']
|
environment/waste
|
POLLUTION_AND_WASTE
|
2011-10-15T23:05:00Z
| true
|
POLLUTION_AND_WASTE
|
technology/2016/jun/20/tesla-model-s-electric-car-floats-water-boat-elon-musk
|
Tesla Model S floats well enough to act as a boat, according to Elon Musk
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There’s a common misconception that electric vehicles don’t like water any more than gas guzzlers, but apparently that isn’t true. It turns out if you find yourself flooded, a Tesla Model S can float and effectively drive on water. Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s tweet about the car floating well was prompted by the release of a video showing a man driving his Model S, seemingly unscathed, through a flooded tunnel in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The car quite literally floats while its gas-powered brethren become stranded and sink. The car appears to power through the water using the thrust of the wheels turning in the water, as the bow wave laps over the car’s bonnet. The idea of a Tesla working on water may not be new to Musk. One of Tesla’s Easter Eggs for the Model S is the ability to swap the image of the car for James Bond’s submersible Lotus Esprit, called Wet Nellie, when in the suspension settings menu. That’s where the fun stops, though, it isn’t a license to drive headlong off a pier into the sea. Most internal combustion engine cars are sunk in water when the exhaust becomes flooded, which is why serious off-roaders have big exhaust scoops leading to the roof. Electric cars don’t suffer from that particular issue, but how the rest of the car will react is unknown. Chargers, châteaux and the Channel Tunnel: can you really do a driving holiday in a Tesla? Elon Musk: ‘Chances are we’re all living in a simulation’
|
['technology/tesla', 'technology/gadgets', 'technology/technology', 'environment/electric-cars', 'technology/motoring', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/samuel-gibbs', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-technology']
|
technology/gadgets
|
UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE
|
2016-06-20T10:08:42Z
| true
|
UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE
|
environment/2002/sep/04/energy.renewableenergy
|
BP Solar cells energise rival TXU
|
BP Solar has won its largest British contract to date to provide 90,000 photovoltaic cells to rival energy company TXU for what is billed as the largest solar electricity scheme of its type in Europe. The £1.5m deal will provide 10% of electrity required at a new European headquarters under construction in Ipswich, Suffolk. The solar panels are being integrated into both the roof and the walls and will have capacity to generate 200KW of electricity. The panels will be fitted alongside energy saving devices such as two 50,000 litre tanks under the floor of the building which catch rainwater for flushing toilets and other services. TXU's £35m building is meant to underline the US company's growing commitment to renewable energy projects. TXU has become a leading provider of gas and electricity since it took over Eastern Electricity and is pushing ahead with large wind projects in the Solway Firth, Cambridgeshire and Spain. BP Solar said it was the biggest individual contract won in Britain but would not confirm the £1.5m value put on it by TXU. Separately, BP announced a big gas find in Trinidad and Tobago.
|
['environment/energy', 'business/business', 'environment/environment', 'environment/solarpower', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'business/bp', 'environment/green-economy', 'type/article', 'profile/terrymacalister']
|
environment/solarpower
|
ENERGY
|
2002-09-04T14:36:55Z
| true
|
ENERGY
|
commentisfree/2016/dec/19/tree-of-the-year-britain-natural-world
|
Our trees are now a growth industry | Patrick Barkham
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He’s charismatic, muscular and simply would not be moved: the star of Saturday night TV was not Ore Oduba or Len Goodman, but the Brimmon oak. As the Strictly Come Dancing final was taking place on the BBC, over on Channel 4, Father Ted actor Ardal O’Hanlon pottered around Britain in search of the remarkable trees shortlisted for the Woodland Trust’s Tree of the Year competition. O’Hanlon’s casting implies that giving prizes to trees is a marginal interest, but TOTY is growing vigorously and he extracted some quirky comedy from proceedings. “Can I sample your juice?” he asked a Bramley apple seller in the Nottinghamshire town where this cooking apple tree was accidentally born. But TOTY also showed how individual trees become central, celebrated members of our communities – revered elders that cause us to give thanks for life on earth. There’s Old Knobbley in Essex; the Ding Dong tree in a Scottish playground, around which three generations of children have played a unique game of “it”; and the Bicycle tree in the Trossachs, which swallowed a bike. According to local legend, a young man leaned his bike against the tree for a blacksmith to repair, went off to the first world war and never returned to reclaim it. A fable for our times is the UK’s winning tree: the Brimmon oak in Powys. Generations of local farmer Mervyn Jones’s family have treasured this stout-trunked sentinel; a portrait of his forebears’ wedding in 1901 was taken in front of it. The Brimmon oak was in fact due to be destroyed by a new bypass – until it was spotted by Rob McBride, an enthusiast known as “the tree hunter”, who identifies ancient trees. He launched a campaign, and earlier this year the Welsh assembly announced it would realign the bypass around the tree. So what will 31st-century archeologists make of the remnants of a road that bent around an ancient tree? Did 21st-century society worship trees? Not exactly, but in an era of environmental devastation our awareness of something mightier than ourselves is a heartening sign of our better nature. Benefits for badgers? An ad break during TOTY showed a real-life badger nosing around a coffee machine as part of the John Lewis Christmas ad campaign. This is bitterly ironic timing since the government has just announced the slaughter of 10,866 badgers in the three months to October – almost certainly a more intensive killing spree than at any moment in the long and vexed history of humans and badgers in Britain. I vacillate between welcoming any onscreen depiction of nature, and wishing that animals were somehow copyrighted so that they could benefit from our exploitation. John Lewis is giving money to the Wildlife Trusts as a “thanks for the animals” but it could go further and refuse to stock produce sourced from pro-badger cull farms. This year I’m buying Christmas gifts from Lush – one company that has the guts to campaign against the badger cull. Parakeets go wild Mr Brown, the last echo parakeet outside Mauritius, has died at the wildlife park founded by Gerald Durrell in Jersey. This is a cause for celebration, not mourning. Echo parakeets were virtually extinct – down to fewer than a dozen wild birds in 1986 – until they were championed by Durrell. After intensive conservation efforts in Mauritius, there are now more than 600 echo parakeets in the wild – so no need for a zoo population any more.
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['commentisfree/series/notebook', 'environment/forests', 'commentisfree/commentisfree', 'tone/comment', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'profile/patrickbarkham', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/commentanddebate', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-opinion']
|
environment/forests
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
2016-12-19T17:32:50Z
| true
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
environment/2021/jan/27/uk-mayors-boris-johnson-tougher-air-pollution-targets
|
UK mayors urge Boris Johnson to commit to tougher air pollution targets
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City mayors representing more than 17 million people across the UK are urging Boris Johnson to commit to tougher air pollution targets after the inquest into the death of nine-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah. The cross-party group, including the Labour mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and the Conservative mayor of the West of England combined authority, Tim Bowles, have signed a joint letter along with city leaders from Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and the North of Tyne to urge Boris Johnson to enshrine in law a commitment to achieve World Health Organization air pollution guidelines by 2030. Ella’s mother, Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, signed the letter after a coroner ruled that illegal levels of air pollution had caused the death of her daughter in 2013. She called on the prime minister to act immediately to protect the lives and wellbeing of other young people across the country. “We need to take action now which will have long-term benefits,” she said. “People act as though we have time – we don’t have time because children are continuing to actually die.” The letter, which has also been signed by a range of business leaders, is calling for a £1.5bn boost to government spending on measures to improve air quality across the UK and for WHO targets to be included in the delayed environment bill. According to research by UK100, a group of more than 100 local authorities that coordinated the letter, the money could fund the removal of nearly half a million of the most polluting cars and vans from the road and incentivise people into cleaner vehicles, public transport, cycling and walking. Polly Billington, Director of UK100, said: “We cannot wait any longer to prevent more tragic deaths like Ella’s. Forty-thousand people die prematurely in the UK every year from air pollution. We need to act with the fierce urgency of now, not just to serve Ella’s memory, but to prevent more needless loss of life.” A growing body of research underlines the devastating impact air pollution – both indoors and outdoors – is having on the nation’s health. Recent studies suggest it may be damaging every organ in the body, with effects including heart and lung disease, diabetes, dementia, reduced intelligence and increased depression. Children and unborn babies may suffer the most. Earlier this week it was revealed that small increases in air pollution are linked to an increased risk of irreversible sight loss from age-related macular degeneration. Another recent report revealed that home wood burners triple the level of harmful particulates inside the home as well as creating dangerous levels of pollution in the surrounding neighbourhood. More than a third of local authorities in the UK have areas where the level of PM2.5 – one of the most dangerous toxic particles – exceeds World Health Organization limits. Research from 2017 showed that every borough in London exceeded WHO limits. In the letter the city leaders call for a clear post-Brexit commitment to WHO air pollution targets in the delayed environment bill. Campaigners and regional leaders fear that, without a cast-iron guarantee from government, environmental protections may be watered down now that Britain has left the EU and that progress on tackling air pollution could be jeopardised. Khan said Ella’s death must be a turning point in a national effort to clean up the UK’s air. The mayor of London said: “Including WHO recommended limits in the environment bill will be one of the most effective ways of ensuring other families do not have to suffer the same heartbreak as Ella’s have … Ministers must now learn the lessons from the coroner’s conclusion in Ella’s case and do more to tackle the deadly scourge of air pollution in London and across the country.” Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, said air pollution was an injustice that hit the poorest hardest, contributing to at least 1,200 deaths a year in his region. Burnham said Greater Manchester had a comprehensive package of measures including the largest clean air zone outside London to tackle the issues, but added: “We need concrete commitment from national government to provide sufficient funds to support those vehicle owners, many of whom live in the communities most affected, who have made previous vehicle choices in good faith.”
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['environment/air-pollution', 'environment/pollution', 'politics/boris-johnson', 'world/world-health-organization', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'society/health', 'politics/politics', 'society/society', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/matthewtaylor', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news']
|
environment/air-pollution
|
POLLUTION_AND_WASTE
|
2021-01-27T06:21:39Z
| true
|
POLLUTION_AND_WASTE
|
sustainable-business/eu-sustainable-fishing-illegal-unreported
|
EU efforts to promote sustainable fishing struggle to catch illegal imports
|
In March, the EU took unprecedented steps in its fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Using its common fisheries policy, the union blacklisted Belize, Cambodia and Guinea-Conakry for not being tough enough on this issue. Fisheries and vessels carrying flags from these countries can no longer export their fish to the EU. "Europe is the largest importer of fish in the world and currently IUU fishing amounts to at least 15% of fish caught globally," says European commissioner for maritime affairs Maria Damanaki. "We will no longer tolerate it." Her argument is persuasive: the estimated cost of IUU seafood in the EU is €10bn a year. IUU fishing has a negative impact on the world's fisheries, over half of which are nearing capacity, according to WWF. As such the EU must act beyond its borders – but therein lies the problem. "There are many ways around such bans," says Cheryl Dahle, co-founder of American seafood consultancy Future of Fish. "Vessels can transfer IUU fishing shipments in international waters, or even sail under a flag that they've bought from another country. However the main problem is that IUU fishing is still being handled as a compliance issue rather than a business challenge." Such sentiments demonstrate the complexity of this intractable problem, into which individual governments can only intervene so far, and where even the fishing industry itself is struggling to reform. One answer has been to promote best practice, an approach taken by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), a fishing NGO based in London, which issues internationally recognised certificates to commend sustainable fishing. "Our motivation is to reward sustainable fishing and to use market pressure to promote it," says spokesperson James Simpson. "If fisheries want to receive one of our certificates – and many major retailers require this – they are assessed on their stock levels, their environmental impact, and their ability to manage change. If they pass they are either given a conditional or an unconditional certificate, the former of which will then stipulate mandatory improvements meaning that, when consumers buy MSC-certified seafood, they're helping to better the industry." Simpson notes that of the 200 MSC-certified fisheries, just 20 passed without conditions. However, he admits that the very nature of the MSC-certification scheme means it cannot directly tackle illegal or unreported fishing. Stefano Mariana, professor in conservation genetics at the University of Salford, thinks more can be done. "A more unilteral approach is needed," he says. "NGOs have an important role but they can only certify so many fisheries, and therefore the EU's ban on certain countries is welcomed. However more needs to be achieved at the consumer end to prevent contraband seafood being mislabelled and sold as legal produce." Mariana was recently involved in the FishPopTrace project, an EU-backed enterprise providing further research into the use of DNA testing to show whether or not the fish that enters the EU has come from sustainable sources. "The DNA testing technology we use is currently not cheap enough to be used everywhere. But that's changing and I anticipate that in the future it will be common practice. Ultimately even DNA testing isn't a solution in itself, but a tool that can help us detect if a seafood product is what it says it is," he says. Dahle agrees with Mariana, adding that government penalties should be imposed on retailers that stock mislabelled fish from IUU sources. This may be one effective solution, but it is unlikely that many industry members would lobby in support of such punitive measures. Nonetheless, Dahle believes that the impetus for change has to come from the business itself. "If every fishery were to adopt sound traceability methods through DNA testing and auditing, not only would there be less of a problem, but businesses would make more money," she says. "Of course, there could also be a better form of real-time response to instances of IUU by authorities, but this can be difficult to implement." While the universal application of traceability methods seems some years out of reach, the EU's rigorous approach to boycotting offending nations is set to continue. Damanaki announced recently that she is set to "issue warnings against a number of Pacific states". Last year she found sufficient reason to hand out warnings to Panama, Fiji, Togo, Sri Lanka and Vanuatu. When compared with the indecisiveness of the fishing industry, the pan-European response is unwavering. However, in taking this stance, the EU is also risking penalising poorer nations and exacerbating the conditions within which people turn to criminal activity such as piracy and illegal fishing for a livelihood. Without a more co-ordinated approach by governments, NGOs and business leaders, this issue will not go away. The supply chain hub is funded by the Fairtrade Foundation. All content is editorially independent except for pieces labelled as advertising features. Find out more here. Join the community of sustainability professionals and experts. Become a GSB member to get more stories like this direct to your inbox.
|
['sustainable-business/sustainable-business', 'world/eu', 'environment/fishing', 'environment/sustainable-development', 'tone/features', 'business/ethicalbusiness', 'environment/corporatesocialresponsibility', 'type/article', 'sustainable-business/series/supply-chain', 'profile/huw-nesbitt']
|
environment/sustainable-development
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
2014-06-09T11:00:00Z
| true
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
environment/2009/dec/03/carbon-offset-projects-climate-change
|
Rich nations to offset emissions with birth control
|
Consumers in the developed world are to be offered a radical method of offsetting their carbon emissions in an ambitious attempt to tackle climate change - by paying for contraception measures in poorer countries to curb the rapidly growing global population. The scheme - set up by an organisation backed by Sir David Attenborough, the former diplomat Sir Crispin Tickell and green figureheads such as Jonathon Porritt and James Lovelock - argues that family planning is the most effective way to reduce the likelihood of catastrophic global warming. Optimum Population Trust (Opt) stresses that birth control will be provided only to those who have no access to it, and only unwanted births would be avoided. Opt estimates that 80 million pregnancies each year are unwanted. The cost-benefit analysis commissioned by the trust claims that family planning is the cheapest way to reduce carbon emissions. Every £4 spent on contraception, it says, saves one tonne of CO2 being added to global warming, but a similar reduction in emissions would require an £8 investment in tree planting, £15 in wind power, £31 in solar energy and £56 in hybrid vehicle technology. Calculations based on the trust's figures show the 10 tonnes emitted by a return flight from London to Sydney would be offset by enabling the avoidance of one unwanted birth in a country such as Kenya. Such action not only cuts emissions but reduces the number of people who will fall victim to climate change, it says. "The scheme, called PopOffsets, understands the connection [between population increase and climate change]," says the trust director Roger Martin. "It offers a practical and sensible response. For the first time ever individuals, companies and organisations will have the opportunity to offset their carbon voluntarily by supporting projects to provide family planning services where there is currently unmet demand." In papers released with the launch of the offset scheme, the trust claims that reducing CO 2 by 34 gigatonnes would cost about $220bn with family planning, but more than $1tn with low carbon technologies. The 34 gigatonnes is roughly what the world emits in a year, and would be achieved by cutting the projected global population in 2050 by 500 million. The world's population, presently 6.8 billion, is increasing by nearly 84 million a year. The growth is equivalent to a new country the size of Germany each year, or a city the size of Birmingham every week. It is expected by the UN to peak at about 9 billion people in 2050. By this time, UN scientists say global carbon emissions must have reduced by at least 80% to avoid dangerous rises in temperature, meaning the carbon footprint of each citizen in 2050 will have to be very low. "The current level of human population growth is unsustainable and places acute pressure on global resources. Human activity is exacerbating global warming, and higher population levels inevitably mean higher emissions and more climate change victims," said Martin. The giant carbon footprints of developed countries mean prevented births will save far more carbon than those in developing nations. However, some development groups opposed the plan. "We are keen that any money raised [from offsets] help the poorest who are most vulnerable to climate change. [But] it would be misleading if it was spent in this way. It should go to [immediate] things like disaster risk reduction, food security and water," said Paul Cook, advocacy director of Tearfund, a faith-based development group. Population control is highly contentious in rich and poor countries alike Some, such as Jonathon Porritt, the former Sustainable Development Commission chair, have said promotion of reproductive health is one of the most progressive forms of intervention. "Had there been no 'one child family' policy in China there would now have been 400 million additional Chinese citizens," he has said. But other thinkers, such as the Guardian columnist George Monbiot, say global population increase pales into insignificance when compared with the effect of increased consumption and economic growth.
|
['environment/carbon-offset-projects', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'environment/travel-and-transport', 'world/population', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'tone/news', 'global-development/maternal-health', 'global-development/global-development', 'type/article', 'profile/johnvidal']
|
environment/carbon-offset-projects
|
EMISSIONS
|
2009-12-03T09:51:57Z
| true
|
EMISSIONS
|
us-news/2018/jan/10/new-york-city-plans-to-divest-5bn-from-fossil-fuels-and-sue-oil-companies
|
New York City plans to divest $5bn from fossil fuels and sue oil companies
|
New York City is seeking to lead the assault on climate change and the Trump administration with a plan to divest $5bn from fossil fuels and sue the world’s most powerful oil companies over their contribution to dangerous global warming. City officials have set a goal of divesting New York’s $189bn pension funds from fossil fuel companies within five years in what they say would be “among the most significant divestment efforts in the world to date”. Currently, New York City’s five pension funds have about $5bn in fossil fuel investments. New York state has already announced it is exploring how to divest from fossil fuels. “New York City is standing up for future generations by becoming the first major US city to divest our pension funds from fossil fuels,” said Bill de Blasio, New York’s mayor. “At the same time, we’re bringing the fight against climate change straight to the fossil fuel companies that knew about its effects and intentionally misled the public to protect their profits. As climate change continues to worsen, it’s up to the fossil fuel companies whose greed put us in this position to shoulder the cost of making New York safer and more resilient.” De Blasio said that the city is taking the five fossil fuel firms – BP, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Shell – to federal court due to their contribution to climate change. Court documents state that New York has suffered from flooding and erosion due to climate change and because of looming future threats it is seeking to “shift the costs of protecting the city from climate change impacts back on to the companies that have done nearly all they could to create this existential threat”. The court filing claims that just 100 fossil fuel producers are responsible for nearly two-thirds of all greenhouse gas emissions since the industrial revolution, with the five targeted companies the largest contributors. The case will also point to evidence that firms such as Exxon knew of the impact of climate change for decades, only to downplay and even deny this in public. New York’s attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, is investigating Exxon over this alleged deception. New York was badly rattled by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and faces costs escalating into the tens of billions of dollars in order to protect low-lying areas such as lower Manhattan and the area around JFK airport from being inundated by further severe storms fueled by rising sea levels and atmospheric warming. De Blasio’s office said climate change is “perhaps the toughest challenge New York City will face in the coming decades”. New York’s lawsuit echoes a similar effort on the west coast, where two California counties and a city are suing 37 fossil fuel companies for knowingly emitting dangerous levels of greenhouse gases. One of those firms, Exxon, has complained that it has been targeted by a “collection of special interests and opportunistic politicians” as part of a “conspiracy” to force the company to comply with various political objectives. The legal action and the divestment draw perhaps the starkest dividing line yet between New York and the Trump administration on climate change. Under Trump, the federal government has attempted the withdraw the US from the Paris climate accords, tear up Barack Obama’s signature climate policies and open up vast areas of America’s land and waters to coal, oil and gas interests. De Blasio and the city comptroller, Scott Stringer, have come under pressure for several years from activists to rid New York’s pension funds of any link to fossil fuels, with some environmentalists claiming the city has been too slow to use its clout to tackle climate change. Stringer admitted the divestment will be “complex” and will take some time but said the city’s pension funds could promote sustainability while also protecting the retirement of teachers, police officers and other city workers. “New York City today becomes a capital of the fight against climate change on this planet,” said Bill McKibben, co-founder of climate group 350.org. “With its communities exceptionally vulnerable to a rising sea, the city is showing the spirit for which it’s famous – it’s not pretending that working with the fossil fuel companies will somehow save the day, but instead standing up to them, in the financial markets and in court.” Christiana Figueres, former UN climate chief and architect of the Paris climate agreement, added: “The exponential transition toward a fossil-fuel-free economy is unstoppable and local governments have a critical role to play. There is no time to lose. “It’s therefore extremely encouraging to see NYC step up today.” New York joins cities such as Washington DC and Cape Town in divesting, along with universities such as Stanford in California and Oxford in the UK. The Rockefeller Brothers Fund, notable for its links to the past oil wealth of John D Rockefeller, has also sought to divest.
|
['us-news/new-york', 'environment/fossil-fuel-divestment', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'us-news/us-news', 'environment/environment', 'business/business', 'business/exxonmobil', 'business/bp', 'business/chevron', 'business/royaldutchshell', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/oliver-milman', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news']
|
environment/fossil-fuel-divestment
|
CLIMATE_ACTIVISM
|
2018-01-10T18:35:49Z
| true
|
CLIMATE_ACTIVISM
|
business/2019/nov/11/ba-to-review-fuel-tankering-after-panorama-revelations
|
BA to review 'fuel tankering' after Panorama revelations
|
British Airways has pledged to review its practice of making aircraft carry tonnes of excess fuel to avoid filling up at destination airports, which saves money but drives up CO2 emissions. Willie Walsh, chief executive of BA’s parent company IAG, admitted that using the method – called “fuel tankering” within the industry – was “maybe the wrong thing to do” despite the financial incentive behind the practice, because of its environmental impact. Critics said the widespread use of fuel tankering called into question airlines’ commitment to reducing their impact on the environment. The information of excess fuel carriage came from a BA insider during a BBC Panorama investigation. IAG recently tried to burnish its environmental credentials with a commitment to become the first airline group worldwide to commit to net zero emissions by 2050. However, documents seen by the BBC showed a recent BA flight to Italy took on board nearly three tonnes of extra fuel: a cost saving of just £40 but which meant an additional 600kg of CO2 was emitted. Speaking to analysts last week, Walsh said BA often did fuel tankering in order to save money, citing the example of Glasgow airport where jet fuel is 25% more expensive than at Heathrow. However, Walsh said BA was now considering its position on the practice. “We continue to do tankering today. We’re challenging that, we’re asking ourselves whether this is sustainable, and whether we should be pricing in the environmental impact of that. “Clearly the financial savings incentivise us to do tankering. But maybe that’s the wrong thing to do.” BA said that its fuel tankering generated 18,000 tonnes of additional CO2 per year – less than 0.1% of its overall emissions – and that it accounted for 2% of tankering in Europe. A report from Eurocontrol, which coordinates air traffic control for Europe, estimated that airlines save a total €265m (£229m) a year through using the practice within Europe – but at the cost of an additional 901,000 tonnes of CO2. John Sauven, Greenpeace UK’s executive director said it was a “classic example of a company putting profit before planet … they’ll happily pour extra fuel on the fire for a small boost to their profit margin.” Meanwhile, a climate expert described a carbon offsetting scheme offered to customers by Ryanair as “woefully inadequate”. Passengers can pay a voluntary €1 donation when booking. Simon Lewis, professor of global change science at University College London, said that tree planting schemes funded by Ryanair in Ireland and Portugal would offset just 0.01% of the airline’s emissions. He said: “To me, that’s a green gimmick.” Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s chief executive, told Panorama: “From little acorns grow mighty trees.”
|
['business/britishairways', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'business/theairlineindustry', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'type/article', 'business/business', 'business/travelleisure', 'uk/uk', 'media/bbc', 'environment/environment', 'environment/carbon-offset-projects', 'uk/transport', 'tone/news', 'profile/gwyntopham', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business']
|
environment/carbon-emissions
|
EMISSIONS
|
2019-11-11T00:01:53Z
| true
|
EMISSIONS
|
environment/2009/apr/14/global-warming-target-2c
|
World will not meet 2C warming target, climate change experts agree
|
Almost nine out of 10 climate scientists do not believe political efforts to restrict global warming to 2C will succeed, a Guardian poll reveals today. An average rise of 4-5C by the end of this century is more likely, they say, given soaring carbon emissions and political constraints. Such a change would disrupt food and water supplies, exterminate thousands of species of plants and animals and trigger massive sea level rises that would swamp the homes of hundreds of millions of people. The poll of those who follow global warming most closely exposes a widening gulf between political rhetoric and scientific opinions on climate change. While policymakers and campaigners focus on the 2C target, 86% of the experts told the survey they did not think it would be achieved. A continued focus on an unrealistic 2C rise, which the EU defines as dangerous, could even undermine essential efforts to adapt to inevitable higher temperature rises in the coming decades, they warned. The survey follows a scientific conference last month in Copenhagen, where a series of studies were presented that suggested global warming could strike harder and faster than realised. The Guardian contacted all 1,756 people who registered to attend the conference and asked for their opinions on the likely course of global warming. Of 261 experts who responded, 200 were researchers in climate science and related fields. The rest were drawn from industry or worked in areas such as economics and social and political science. The 261 respondents represented 26 countries and included dozens of senior figures, including laboratory directors, heads of university departments and authors of the 2007 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The poll asked the experts whether the 2C target could still be achieved, and whether they thought that it would be met: 60% of respondents argued that, in theory, it was still technically and economically possible to meet the target, which represents an average global warming of 2C since the industrial revolution. The world has already warmed by about 0.8C since then, and another 0.5C or so is inevitable over coming decades given past greenhouse gas emissions. But 39% said the 2C target was impossible. The poll comes as UN negotiations to agree a new global treaty to regulate carbon pollution gather pace in advance of a key meeting in Copenhagen in December. Officials will try to agree a successor to the Kyoto protocol, the first phase of which expires in 2012. The 2C target is unlikely to feature in a new treaty, but most of the carbon cuts proposed for rich countries are based on it. Bob Watson, chief scientist to Defra, told the Guardian last year that the world needed to focus on the 2C target, but should also prepare for a possible 4C rise. Asked what temperature rise was most likely, 84 of the 182 specialists (46%) who answered the question said it would reach 3-4C by the end of the century; 47 (26%) suggested a rise of 2-3C, while a handful said 6C or more. While 24 experts predicted a catastrophic rise of 4-5C, just 18 thought it would stay at 2C or under. Some of those surveyed who said the 2C target would be met confessed they did so more out of hope rather than belief. "As a mother of young children I choose to believe this, and work hard toward it," one said. "This optimism is not primarily due to scientific facts, but to hope," said another. Some said they thought geoengineering measures, such as seeding the ocean with iron to encourage plankton growth, would help meet the target. Many of the experts stressed that an inability to hit the 2C target did not mean that efforts to tackle global warming should be abandoned, but that the emphasis is now on damage limitation.
|
['environment/climate-crisis', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'environment/copenhagen', 'environment/ipcc', 'environment/environment', 'science/science', 'environment/green-politics', 'politics/politics', 'uk/uk', 'world/world', 'tone/news', 'environment/global-climate-talks', 'environment/rajendra-pachauri', 'type/article', 'profile/davidadam', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/topstories']
|
environment/ipcc
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
2009-04-13T23:01:00Z
| true
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
world/2007/feb/02/greenpolitics.ipcc
|
Q&A: The IPCC report on global warming
|
The report the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published today in Paris was almost three years in the making. It is the first volume of three, which will be drawn together later in the year to make the fourth of the IPCC's assessments. The authors have reached some pretty depressing conclusions: that human activity has contributed to climate change, and that even if we change our behaviour today, the planet will become a more dangerous place. What is the background to the report? The UN's Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organisation established the IPCC in 1988. It does not do its own research, but rather assesses published data to provide regular updates on the state of our knowledge about climate change. It last published an assessment in September 2001. On April 6, the IPCC will report on the impact of climate change and the adaptation and vulnerability of people and wildlife; and on May 4, it will report on potential ways to mitigate the problem. Work on the three reports began in November 2003, with the creation of three working parties. It will finish in November this year, when the IPCC will collate its findings into a single publication. The IPCC Fourth Assessment report will be released in time for key UN climate talks in Indonesia in December. Who wrote it? The report has around 130 lead authors, including meteorologists and climatologists from across the world. The three reports will bring together the work of hundreds of scientists. More than 800 scientists have contributed, and more than 450 lead authors from more than 130 countries have been involved. At least 2,500 expert reviewers have looked over, and commented on, the draft versions. The IPCC is an intergovernmental body, and its reports are reviewed by governments as well as experts. They were given the opportunity to comment on drafts of the report, and the lead authors will have taken into account their contributions when putting together the final version. What does it say? Emissions of greenhouse gases are expected to further change the climate over the next 100 years, it says. As a result, sea levels will rise over the century by around half a metre, snow will disappear from all but the highest mountains, deserts will spread, oceans will become acidic, leading to the destruction of coral reefs, and deadly heatwaves will become more prevalent. While it predicts severe melting of Arctic ice this century, and of the Greenland ice sheet over the next few hundred years, it suggests the much colder Antarctic ice sheet will grow with increased snowfall, offsetting about 0.1 metres of sea-level rise by 2100. A big rise in sea levels would be catastrophic, with millions of people forced to leave their homes, particularly those living in tropical, low-lying areas. This will create waves of immigrants into countries that may struggle to cope with the influx. Crucially, the report points out that a lag in the global climate system means average temperatures will continue to rise by 0.1C a decade even if all sources of emissions were frozen today. And it says forests, oceans and soil will become less able to absorb carbon dioxide, which could contribute another 1.2C of warming by the end of the century. In total, world temperatures are likely to rise by 3C by 2100, but they could increase by as much as 5.8C. Does everyone agree? Not entirely. Those who dispute climate change is happening are unlikely to be swayed. After all, the last IPCC report, in 2001, reached similar conclusions about our role in climate change. And even some of the scientists who agree there are problems will disagree with the IPCC. Because it is the fruit of collaboration, the report will be more conservative than some scientists would like. For example, the prediction of a 3C rise in temperatures over the next 100 years is far lower than the 11C some studies suggest. Some scientists have already disputed the report's suggestion that the Antarctic will be unaffected by the rise in global temperatures. They say temperatures are already rising in the region and report the loss of huge chunks of the Antarctic shelf. What happens next? Negotiations on a new international treaty to cut greenhouse gas emissions are currently stalled, and the IPCC chairman, Rajendra Pachauri, has said he hopes the report will provoke change. He told Reuters: "I hope this report will shock people, governments, into taking more serious action, as you really can't get a more authentic and a more credible piece of scientific work." In the UK, Tony Blair has outlined his intention to persuade the US, India, China and Brazil to sign up to a framework to come into effect when agreements made under the Kyoto protocol end, in 2012. The report may help him make his case at the G8 summit in June. Failing that, the UN climate talks in Indonesia in December will provide another chance for the world's governments to make progress on plans to cut emissions.
|
['environment/ipcc', 'world/world', 'environment/green-politics', 'politics/politics', 'uk/uk', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'tone/resource', 'type/article', 'profile/davidadam', 'profile/hilaryosborne']
|
environment/ipcc
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
2007-02-02T19:15:00Z
| true
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
environment/2016/jun/21/great-barrier-reef-tourists-will-go-elsewhere-if-bleaching-continues-poll
|
Great Barrier Reef: tourists will go elsewhere if bleaching continues – poll
|
If the bleaching continues on the Great Barrier Reef, tourists say they will pack their bags and go elsewhere, taking with them an estimated $1bn a year and costing 10,000 jobs in regional Queensland, according to a new poll. The majority of Chinese tourists, and about a third of UK and US tourists, said if severe bleaching continues, and “some of the reef dies completely,” they would be more likely to visit somewhere other than Australia, according to the online polling of more than 4,000 people commissioned by the Australia Institute If they did visit Australia, 63% of Chinese, 42% of US and 37% of UK tourists said they’d visit somewhere other than the Great Barrier Reef. Similarly, 37% of Australian tourists said the same thing. Among the international tourists, 63% said they had heard about the bleaching but most still thought the reef was in good shape. While 53% of Australians thought the reef was in poor or very poor condition, only 14% of Chinese tourists did. Meanwhile, 33% of US and 43% of UK tourists thought the reef was in poor or very poor condition. If bleaching continued, and the surveys accurately reflected what tourists would do, the Australia Institute calculated it would mean the regions adjacent to the reef would miss out on more than one million tourists a year – almost a third of the total numbers. This could mean losses of $931m, leading to 10,0000 job losses, the report authors found. “While there has been lots of talk about the potential tourism impacts of coral bleaching, this is the first time anyone has gone to our key tourism markets and asked them what they might do if we aren’t able to better protect the reef,” said the executive director of the Australia Institute, Ben Oquist. “The Chinese market is particularly sensitive, with 55% more likely to visit another country. Among Chinese people who travel regularly, this rate is even higher, up to 65%. Chinese tourists are attracted by Australia’s relatively clean environment, so they respond strongly to changes in that perception.” In 2016, 93% of individual reefs along the Great Barrier Reef experienced bleaching and 22% of the coral died. It was the worst bleaching event in the reef’s history. Scientists found it was virtually impossible without climate change, and the conditions that caused it would be average within 20 years. The Guardian revealed in May that the Australian government was so concerned about how climate change’s impact the reef could hit tourism that it intervened to have every mention of Australia and the reef scrubbed from a Unesco report. Similarly, when the government agencies revealed that 22% of the reef had died, they released the figures with a press release that focused on dispelling perceived exaggerations of the damage, and on the ability of coral to recover, rather than on the magnitude of the environmental disaster. Oquist said the government needed to take serious action on climate change and stop new coalmines if it want to protect the reef. “Fortunately, the Queensland economy is modern and diverse,” Oquist said. “Four in five people work in service industries, while only 1% work in the coal industry. Policies such as a moratorium on new coalmines can be implemented with a minimal effect on the Queensland economy.”
|
['environment/great-barrier-reef', 'australia-news/queensland', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/coral', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/environment', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/michael-slezak', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news']
|
environment/marine-life
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
2016-06-20T20:07:53Z
| true
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
environment/shortcuts/2019/aug/20/why-carbon-offsetting-is-not-the-panacea-harry-and-meghan-might-think-it-is
|
Why carbon offsetting is not the panacea Harry and Meghan might think it is
|
Elton John has attacked the criticism of the use of private jets by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – reportedly four journeys in 11 days – by saying he not only paid for the plane, but also paid to offset its giant carbon emissions. “We ensured their flight was carbon neutral,” he tweeted. The world of carbon offsetting flights – where you can pay to have the equivalent of your emissions “cancelled out” by projects that lower or remove emissions, such as reforestation or renewable energy – is not clearcut. While some argue it is better than doing nothing, others say it allows frequent flyers to assuage their guilt and the aviation industry to grow. “The idea that you can fly ‘carbon neutral’ is very misleading,” says Roger Tyers, a research fellow at the University of Southampton, who studies attitudes to offsetting and recently made a work trip to China by train. “A plane that flies today emits carbon today. It’s very hard to know how fast an offset can remove that amount of carbon from the atmosphere.” It is possible to be appalled by the tone of the attacks on the couple, on Meghan especially, while wondering if the pair couldn’t have made better choices, given their influence and professed concern about the climate crisis. And where is the comparable fuss about the use in the past year of chartered planes by Prince Charles, who recently said global leaders must act within the next 18 months to avert climate catastrophe? In the past year, the royal family’s emissions from “business travel” have doubled. All of us need to rethink our consumption of flights, not simply try to buy our way out with offsetting. Offsetting, says Tyers, is better than it was about a decade ago “when you had lots of stories about the money getting lost in the world of carbon finance. It’s much tighter now and money generally does go to [things like] reforestation projects.” However, he says, “it is questionable whether it will deliver what we need within the timescale necessary. And the cultural signal that it gives off – that you can have your cake and eat it – is problematic.”
|
['environment/carbon-offset-projects', 'environment/carbonfootprints', 'environment/carbon-capture-and-storage', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'tone/features', 'news/shortcuts', 'music/elton-john', 'uk-news/meghan-duchess-of-sussex', 'uk/prince-harry', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'profile/eminesaner', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/g2', 'theguardian/g2/features', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-g2-features']
|
environment/carbon-capture-and-storage
|
EMISSIONS
|
2019-08-20T15:04:59Z
| true
|
EMISSIONS
|
commentisfree/2022/nov/28/the-guardian-view-on-the-tory-energy-rebellion-get-rid-of-the-onshore-wind-ban
|
The Guardian view on the Tory energy rebellion: get rid of the onshore wind ban | Editorial
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The lesson from the parable of onshore wind is that Rishi Sunak lacks authority, credibility or identifiable policies in key areas. He appears to have few core beliefs that he is willing to stand up for, and looks increasingly vulnerable to determined groups of rebels on his own backbenches. By backing down over an effective ban on land-based windmills, he has U-turned twice in less than a week on the levelling up and regeneration bill. Last Tuesday’s volte-face came after dozens of Tory MPs threatened to defy him over housebuilding targets. His reversal over wind power on Monday came after his predecessors Boris Johnson and Liz Truss united against him. The block on building land-based windfarms in England is absurd. Wind is bringing down the cost of bills as UK households face the biggest cost of living rise in a generation. It helps reduce carbon emissions and dependence on foreign energy imports. Polling suggests onshore wind turbines to be popular with the general public – with no loss in support from those living close to the whoosh of the blade. Yet during the Tory leadership election campaign in the summer, which he lost to Ms Truss, Mr Sunak pledged to keep the ban on onshore windfarms because of the “distress and disruption” they could cause to local residents. Mr Sunak’s policy then was about telling the mostly elderly, southern, male Tory party members what they wanted to hear. YouGov in July suggested only 4% of them thought net zero should be a priority. Once in office, and facing a revolt of cabinet ministers as well as backbenchers, Mr Sunak has decided to relax the ban – but not by much. The prime minister seems likely to install a restrictive planning regime that risks blocking green energy developments and keeping bills high. The onshore windfarm ban survives somewhat intact because of the vexed politics of the English right. Conservative activists and Tory MPs are concerned about being outflanked by rightwing populists who trade in climate denialism and are attached to a turbine-free landscape. This anxiety is heightened by reports that Nigel Farage, who is agitating for a referendum on net zero, is eyeing up a return to frontline politics. With Mr Sunak in charge, Britain ends up in hock to his party’s worst instincts. Labour’s Ed Miliband is right to call for the scrapping of the onshore wind ban completely. The country has suffered because successive Conservative governments have “cut the green crap” over the past decade. An analysis by Carbon Brief shows that almost all of the energy requirement from the UK’s net import of Russian gas in 2021 could have been met if the country had continued to add land-based wind turbines at historical rates. The problem with Mr Sunak is that he does not have an agenda that chimes with British public opinion. The prime minister’s strategy is to muddle through and hope for the best. Britain is in the midst of multiple crises. Mr Sunak has only been in Downing Street for a month but he has already exposed how that approach has reached its limits at the heart of government.
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['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'environment/windpower', 'politics/rishi-sunak', 'politics/politics', 'uk/uk', 'politics/conservatives', 'politics/boris-johnson', 'politics/liz-truss', 'type/article', 'tone/editorials', 'tone/comment', 'profile/editorial', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/opinion', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers']
|
environment/windpower
|
ENERGY
|
2022-11-28T19:02:47Z
| true
|
ENERGY
|
environment/2014/jun/23/greenpeace-defends-top-executive-flying-to-work
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Greenpeace defends top executive flying to work
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The head of Greenpeace UK has defended the need for one of the environmental group's top executives to fly to work several times a month, and apologised to supporters for a mistake that saw a member of its finance team lose £3m on currency markets. Responding to fresh revelations in the Guardian that the organisation's finance team is in disarray, and that Pascal Husting, Greenpeace's international programme director, flies several times a month from his home in Luxembourg to offices in Amsterdam, John Sauven wrote in a blogpost: "as for Pascal’s air travel. Well it’s a really tough one. Was it the right decision to allow him to use air travel to try to balance his job with the needs of his family for a while?" He added: "For me, it feels like it gets to the heart of a really big question. What kind of compromises do you make in your efforts to try to make the world a better place? "I think there is a line there. Honesty and integrity to the values that are at the heart of the good you’re trying to do in the world cannot be allowed to slip away. For what it’s worth, I don’t think we’ve crossed that line here at Greenpeace." Sauven, the executive director of Greenpeace UK, also addressed internal disquiet over a restructuring that has seen staff moved from Dutch wages in Amsterdam to lower, regional wages around the world. "That’s a pretty hard thing to do and get perfectly right, especially when people’s jobs are involved. Perhaps there are things that could have been done better or differently to communicate better about the planned change and help it happen more smoothly." On the issue of Greenpeace International's handling of its £58m budget, he apologised to supporters and said improvements had been made. "There’s now a new head of finance, and we’ve put checks in place so that it can never happen again."
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['environment/greenpeace', 'environment/environment', 'environment/travel-and-transport', 'environment/activism', 'world/world', 'world/netherlands', 'world/europe-news', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/adam-vaughan']
|
environment/activism
|
CLIMATE_ACTIVISM
|
2014-06-23T13:41:47Z
| true
|
CLIMATE_ACTIVISM
|
business/2023/jan/30/eu-plans-to-loosen-state-aid-rules-renewables-investment-tax-credits-biden-green-subsidy
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EU plans to loosen state aid rules to boost renewables investment
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The EU is stepping up its green subsidy race with the US through plans to loosen state aid rules on tax credits for renewable energy projects. European policymakers have been under pressure to respond to the US president Joe Biden’s $369bn (£298bn) Inflation Reduction Act, which aims to encourage renewables investment in everything from electric cars to wind turbines. The European Commission plans to loosen state aid rules to enable investment into production facilities in green industries, according to draft plans. EU member states are divided over whether to introduce the new rules and how long for, according to the Financial Times, which first reported the plans. The draft proposals reportedly suggest some of a €800bn (£705bn) Covid-19 recovery fund could be redirected towards tax credits. “The provisions on tax benefits would enable member states to align their national fiscal incentives on a common scheme, and thereby offer greater transparency and predictability to businesses across the EU,” the draft said. Europe’s energy system has been under intense scrutiny since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Moscow’s subsequent throttling of gas supplies into Europe. Brussels intends to set new targets for green industrial capacity and simplify the approval process for renewables projects. It plans to increase the level at which deals are scrutinised by the commission under state aid rules. Biden’s new rules, introduced last autumn, have reinvigorated the renewables market in the US, leading to a wave of new projects. The president hailed the legislation as “the biggest step forward on climate ever” on signing the bill last year. It has been estimated that the legislation could reduce US emissions by about 40% by 2030, compared with 2005 levels, bringing Biden close to the goal of cutting US emissions in half by the end of the decade. Companies, investors and politicians have called for Europe and the UK to follow suit, with Jozef Síkela, the Czech minister of industry and trade, equating the US programme with “doping in sport”. In Britain, ministers have been accused of discouraging renewables investment by extending a windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas firms to electricity generators, including wind and solar projects on older contracts. Chris Hewett, the chief executive of the industry body Solar Energy UK, has accused the government of offering more generous tax terms to oil and gas projects and “tilting the playing field against renewables”. Meanwhile, the shadow climate change secretary, Ed Miliband has said a Labour government would form an “anti-Opec” alliance of countries dedicated to renewables, to bring down energy prices and promote clean technology. On Monday, the oil and gas company BP said global carbon emissions were expected to fall quicker than it had previously expected as a result of the war in Ukraine and Biden’s efforts to encourage green investment.
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['business/energy-industry', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'world/european-commission', 'world/eu', 'world/europe-news', 'environment/energy', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'business/business', 'campaign/email/business-today', 'us-news/us-news', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/alex-lawson', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business']
|
environment/renewableenergy
|
ENERGY
|
2023-01-30T15:02:24Z
| true
|
ENERGY
|
world/2007/nov/21/usa.uk
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Water park planned for Arizona desert
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The city of Phoenix in Arizona sits in the middle of a desert that for the past 11 years has been suffering a punishing drought. Temperatures in the city rose above 43C (110F) for a record 30 days this year and water levels in the rivers that supply its 1.5 million people with drinking water are at near-record lows. A perfect spot then to build what is described as a "year-round watersports paradise", in which visitors will be able to revel in whatever watery pastime takes their fancy. Scuba diving? No problem. White water rafting? Step this way to the largest man-made white water channel in the world. Surfing your thing? Then come barrel under perfect 12ft waves. The businessmen behind Waveyard say they plan to recreate the seascape of Indonesia or Hawaii in an area that has just eight inches of rainfall a year. They have earmarked a site about 15 miles outside Phoenix on 125 acres of land that normally supports nothing but saguaro cacti and creosote bushes and that is 200 miles from the nearest beach. Jerry Hug, one of the brains behind the project, summed up its simple concept. Watersports such as snorkeling, canoeing and boogie-boarding have "traditionally been delivered in the back country in nature's environment. We are bringing that into an urban environment." To relocate nature's environment into the city will require an initial 189m litres of water to fill the facilities, and then up to 380m litres a year to replenish them allowing for spillage and evaporation. The developers think the cost in water will be more than compensated for by the attraction of what they call the "lost coast", which will provide the ultimate day at the beach. Its publicity reads: "Lie on our white sand, rent a beach chair, ride a boogie board, build a massive sand castle. The Lost Coast will deliver the beach, the waves and the coastal lifestyle." Residents in the nearest town of Mesa voted earlier this month by two to one to support the project, won over by promises of 7,500 new jobs. Opposition to the proposals in the area has been muted. But the long-term wisdom of creating a massive waterpark in the middle of a desert may yet be doubted. Last year Arizona had a record dry winter. Snowpacks on its mountain ranges - essential once they melt for replenishing the state's sophisticated system of underground reservoirs - were unusually thin. The current report for Arizona shows more than half the state, including the Phoenix area, in the moderate to extreme drought zone. Rita Maguire, a water expert who has advised Waveyard on water supplies for the development, told Associated Press that she had come round to the idea. "Initially, the reaction is: 'Oh my. Is this an appropriate use of water in a desert'? But recreation is a very important part of a community." She added that the project would not use more water than a golf course, which sounds reassuring, until you learn that the Arizonan desert is already pockmarked with 402 golf courses.
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['world/world', 'us-news/us-news', 'uk/uk', 'environment/drought', 'environment/environment', 'travel/travel', 'travel/usa', 'environment/deserts', 'us-news/arizona', 'us-news/phoenix', 'travel/arizona', 'type/article', 'profile/edpilkington', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international']
|
environment/drought
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
2007-11-21T00:03:19Z
| true
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
global-development/2012/jun/21/rio20-outcome-focal-point-frustration
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Rio+20 outcome a focal point for frustration among campaigners
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Father Benedict Ayodi, from Nairobi, Kenya, is in Rio to talk about the importance of God's creation, which he says should not be sold off to the highest bidder. Ayodi, along with a team of people from the NGO Franciscans International, has been attending the People's summit, the alternative gathering to the UN conference on sustainable development, taking place about an hour's drive away (on a good day). But on a drizzly Wednesday afternoon, he is waving his flag among the crowd of marchers inching their way through the streets of central Rio. "We advocate the values of creation and respect for all life and ecosystems," says Ayodi. "We're not happy with the way corporations are taking everything and forgetting about people, especially the marginalised in society." Ayodi, dressed in a brown friars' habit, is not happy about the Rio+20 draft outcome document produced on Tuesday. "The language is vague, it's not really addressing the issues, there is nothing concrete," he says. "We need concrete ideas and targets that address the real issues. It is supposed to be a follow-up from Rio in 92, but it's not. It's throwing up ideas that don't really add up to anything that addresses the current issues we have." Thousands of people turned up to the loud, brightly coloured mass mobilisation march. Drums reverberated, tambourines were shaken, inflatable globes were held aloft and bounced off people's hands, and someone with a megaphone shouted messages and chants from the top of a bus, drawing a cheer whenever capitalism was mentioned. The marchers had walked from the People's summit in the Flamengo region of the city, working their way up to Candelária in Centro. After pausing in the square, the marchers turned the corner into a road that appeared to epitomise a lot of what the crowds were campaigning against. Both sides of the road were lined with shiny, high-rise buildings that would not look out of place on Wall Street; it was odd seeing a dozen people from an indigenous group standing in front of a building called Manhattan Tower. Pick an issue and a cause and, chances are, an activist or campaigning group was on the march fighting for it. At times, when the music got a little louder, there was a hint of the carnival atmosphere for which Brazil is famous. But the overriding emotion among the people I spoke to was a sense of disappointment that the Rio+20 conference had failed to advance the cause of sustainable development. "I really do think there is a disconnect between the conference and the People's summit," says Regine Marton, from Brazil, who was holding one end of a long banner promoting the work of the Brazilian Women's Articulation, a feminist group that fights for the rights of all women. Marton says she's not optimistic anything radical will come out of the conference because, ultimately, to bring about real change you have to "break capitalism". "It's difficult to say what we're achieving as we know the [outcome] document is already written," she adds. "But we're here to listen, to make constructive manifestos with other movements. We hope at least we can bring our issues and somehow people can listen and change a little bit." Nawaal Domingo, a researcher for the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance in South Africa, is marching because the outcome of Rio+20 will affect her future. The 23-year-old – one of 25 young people from Latin America, Asia and Africa brought to Rio by Terre des Hommes, a Switzerland-based organisation that promotes the rights of young people – is demonstrating to "promote the voices of the youth". "I would like the leaders to listen to the youth," she says. "It's about our future and we should have a say in this. They shouldn't discuss things about us, without us." Danuta Sacher, chairwoman of Terres des Hommes' executive board, says ecological destruction affects children twice: first, because of the lower standard of living they may experience due to the excessive use of pesticides in rural areas, for instance, or the impact of a mining company working close by; second, because they will inherit the mess we leave. Sacher and her organisation and partners pushed unsuccessfully to get the appointment of an ombudsman to safeguard the rights of young people included in the Rio outcome document. "This has been deleted from the declaration," she says. "Now there's only a weak reference that the secretary general should make a report to consider the rights of future generations. I was really disappointed by the final document. It's a formal draft, but everyone knows this is it. Shame on governments." However, Saher says the roadmap to produce sustainable development goals by 2015, and mention of 2014 as the deadline to review the financial system for development, give her and her team enough to work on. "It's an invitation to rebuild the architecture of development co-operation, to design new goals and instruments and organise finance," she says. "We will be sure to be there to give our input. We will make sure the voices of the youth will be heard."
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['global-development/global-development', 'environment/rio-20-earth-summit', 'global-development/environmental-sustainability', 'global-development/future-of-development', 'environment/global-climate-talks', 'environment/sustainable-development', 'environment/environment', 'world/brazil', 'world/world', 'tone/features', 'type/article', 'profile/lizford']
|
environment/global-climate-talks
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
2012-06-21T13:08:26Z
| true
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
environment/2016/mar/02/good-energy-promises-uks-first-subsidy-free-windfarm
|
Good Energy promises UK's first subsidy-free windfarm
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The UK’s first onshore windfarm to be built without government subsidy is now under planning in Cornwall, to be financed in part by the local community. The Big Field windfarm, near Bude, will consist of 11 turbines, none of more than 125m in height to the tip of the blade, and provide electricity for 22,000 homes. Its backers hope it will point the way to further such projects, after the damages to the onshore wind industry caused by the reversal of policy on government support for clean energy. Likely to cost about £30m to build and install, Big Field is planned by the green power company Good Energy. While other wind and solar farms have been cancelled or left in limbo by the government’s scrapping of incentives for onshore wind, the company decided instead to try to raise funds locally to support the installation. An initial application for planning permission for the turbines was filed under the previous subsidy regime. However, that was blocked, and with the withdrawal of government support for onshore wind, the plan looked at an end. Good Energy revived its prospects with a new project that would use the same number of turbines, of the same size, but with 50% more generation capability, because of changes to the turbine technology. The revised scheme will only go ahead if planning permission is granted, but the company is hopeful that the support of local residents in agreeing to co-finance the project will help to tip the balance. The inquiry will start in April and, if the green light is given, the windfarm could be operational in 2018. Bill Andrews, who lives close to the site, said: “This is a very welcome development. A lot of my neighbours already support this wind farm, and giving local people the chance to invest in the project would mean the community will see even more of the benefit.” The abrupt alterations to government support for wind and solar energy have caused severe disruption in the UK’s renewable energy industries. Thousands of jobs have been lost, companies forced to close, projects mothballed or abandoned, and future developments left in doubt. Onshore wind technology has tumbled in price in recent years, a factor the government used to justify its withdrawal of support, but the economics of energy generation are complex. Ministers have also introduced new rules to make it more difficult to construct renewable energy projects, and increased subsidies to the fossil fuel industries through the “capacity market”. Juliet Davenport, chief executive of Good Energy, said: “The benefits of the Big Field wind farm are too great for it not to go ahead just because subsidies are being withdrawn. Being community-owned will ensure that the economic benefit of the wind farm can be retained locally and re-invested in Cornwall.” Good Energy said it was too early to decide how much of its own money and how much the local community would be expected to put into the project, or what returns investors could expect. However, if successful, it hopes this could provide a new blueprint for small onshore wind farms.
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['environment/windpower', 'environment/environment', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/energy', 'uk/uk', 'business/business', 'business/energy-industry', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/fiona-harvey']
|
environment/windpower
|
ENERGY
|
2016-03-02T16:55:19Z
| true
|
ENERGY
|
travel/2019/oct/01/volunteering-kent-organic-farm-wwoof-sustainability
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A weekend break on an organic farm in Kent
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As dusk fell, firelight spilled from the windows of the farmhouse and the hens trooped single file up a sloping branch to roost in the leafy canopy overhead. They woke me at dawn the next day, landing like ripe pears on the roof of the rickety caravan where I slept under two duvets and in a sleeping bag, hat and gloves. As an unpaid volunteer agricultural worker escaping from my London bubble, it was time to pull on my wellies and yomp across a muddy paddock to feed pigs. That was 6am on a freezing morning 18 months ago, and right from the start I was hooked. Burscombe Cliff Farm lies down a steep muddy lane on the side of a wooded escarpment in the Weald of Kent, at medieval Egerton village, near Ashford, just an hour down the M20 from my home. It has been welcoming “Wwoofers” for nearly 30 years, since the original Working Weekends on Organic Farms movement (now called World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, but still Wwoof) was founded in 1971. People of all ages and nationalities have fed the livestock, dug the veg patch, walked the young bulls and bunked down in the farm’s ancient caravans. Unlike me, most arrive by train or bike. But I got to go home piled high with fresh local produce and bags of compost. Our host is seventysomething former doctor Hilary Jones, who breeds award-winning Blonde d’Aquitaine cattle, gentle creatures the size of small elephants. She has been committed to sustainability since before ecotourism was a thing. A faded sticker – Nuclear Power No Thanks – reveals the remains of an old van once used to get to an Aldermaston march in a heap of brambles beyond her back door. For relaxation, Jones dyes and spins the wool from her sheep – in weld yellow, rose madder pink and indigo blue, and the bright orange she presses from onion skins. Nothing is wasted here. Everything is mended or repurposed. There is wifi, but no TV, just BBC Radio 3 and intelligent engaged chat to the click of knitting needles or the soothing clunk of the spinning wheel. The UK has more than 550 Wwoof hosts, dedicated organic farmers and smallholders promoting awareness of ecological management of our landscapes and wildlife by offering visitors bed, board and hands-on experience in exchange for six hours’ labour a day. There are also around 4,000 registered UK Wwoofers. In the 18 months I have been coming here, I have delivered lambs (“We are a grandmother”), groomed the prize bull, scythed a field, mended the greenhouse and learned to eat pigs whose ears I have scratched. It hasn’t turned me vegetarian, but I treat meat with more respect and buy less of it. Wwoofing this way, with regular return visits, is like walking into The Archers. I get updates on the fight to save the local shop and the library van, and chat to everyone from the artist neighbours in the cottage across the fields to the shepherd managing a large conventional flock on the next farm, the tractor man trying to set up his own decorating business, the veg box grower and passing hikers out enjoying the countryside. There are at least three regular Wwoofers at Burscombe Cliff: a teacher, a writer and a journalist. We could visit other farms and Wwoof in other countries – there are 132 member countries to choose from, and Australia, New Zealand and the US each has several thousand hosts – but we like it here, taking mini-breaks from our city lives, filling our lungs with fresh air and swinging our shoulders. Last week I popped back for a happy afternoon up a ladder in the orchard, picking apples. In the next weeks the cows will start coming in from the fields for calving, and the ram will go out to the ewes on 5 November for lambing in early April. In between, there are fences to mend, medlars to pick, broad beans and onion sets to plant, and above all logs to chop for the hungry Rayburn stove. There’s always plenty to do and winter is coming. • Find out more at wwoof.net. Produce from Burscombe Cliff Farm can be bought at farmers’ markets in London and Kent such as in Peckham, Eltham, Wye and Whitstable Looking for a holiday with a difference? Browse Guardian Holidays to see a range of fantastic trips
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['travel/kent', 'travel/travel', 'travel/green', 'travel/volunteering', 'travel/uk', 'environment/farming', 'travel/england', 'tone/features', 'type/article', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/travel', 'theguardian/travel/travel', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-travel']
|
environment/farming
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
2019-10-01T05:30:33Z
| true
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
fashion/2023/jan/09/the-four-minute-shower-how-to-wash-to-save-money-water-and-stay-stink-free
|
The four-minute shower: how to wash to save money, water – and stay stink-free
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Name: The four-minute shower. Age: Over before you know it. Appearance: Hot rain in a box. Four minutes isn’t really a shower, is it? More a brief interval of dampness. Nevertheless, that is the recommended duration for 2023. Why? Is there a drought on? No, it’s January, and raining everywhere. What’s this about then? It’s about money. The cost of hot water has risen dramatically, and is set to rise again in the coming year. As a consequence, showers are getting expensive. In that case I’ll have a bath instead. At least then I can linger. Well, obviously you don’t want to do that. According to Yorkshire Water the annual cost of having baths rose from £303.70 in 2021 to £542.88 in 2022. Yikes. And it could rise to as much as £1,023.00 when energy tariffs increase in April. Is a short shower really that much cheaper? The average bath uses about 80 litres of water. Over the course of four minutes a normal shower head produces about 36 litres. Less hot water also means fewer carbon emissions. I see. So, showers are better than baths for both the environment and my pocketbook. Case closed, debate ended. Thank you. Hang on, it’s not quite that simple. How could it possibly be more complicated? A normal shower dispenses between nine and 10 litres per minute, but a power shower can use up to 20 litres, about the same as a bath over four minutes Even so, as long as I stick to four minutes I’ll be fine. Unfortunately, studies have shown that people routinely misreport how much time they spend in the shower. Really? How do scientists measure such lying? In one study, participants kept a shower diary while a device monitored the actual water flow. It found that people spent eight minutes in the shower on average, even when they imagined they were in and out in five. And an eight-minute power shower would be equivalent to … Up to two full baths. So as usual, the real answer is: we’re screwed either way. Don’t give up – companies including Wessex Water offer free timers to get you out of the shower after four minutes. Great, thanks. Or have you considered a cold shower in the morning? It’s meant to boost alertness, mental health and your immune system. Can I stay in for longer than four minutes? Trust me, you won’t want to. Do say: “These days I use a leave-in conditioner, as well as leave-in shampoo, and leave-on soap.” Don’t say: “It’s OK, because I bring the dishes in the bath with me.”
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['fashion/beauty', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'news/series/pass-notes', 'environment/energy', 'money/money', 'society/hygiene', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/g2', 'theguardian/g2/features', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-g2-features', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-g2-production']
|
environment/energy
|
ENERGY
|
2023-01-09T16:05:54Z
| true
|
ENERGY
|
world/2018/oct/02/terrawatch-why-did-the-quake-in-sulawesi-cause-palu-tsunami
|
Terrawatch: why did the quake in Sulawesi cause a tsunami?
|
Indonesia is no stranger to destructive earthquakes and tsunamis, but what was surprising about the devastating, magnitude 7.5 quake that shook the island of Sulawesi last Friday was the size of the tsunami that followed. About 30 minutes after the quake, six metre-high (nearly 20ft) waves surged through the coastal resort of Palu, destroying buildings and killing hundreds of people. Most tsunami-generating earthquakes in this region emerge from movement on the Sunda “megathrust” fault where the Indo-Australian plate dives down underneath the Eurasian plate. Violent vertical motion caused by thrust quakes can displace a huge volume of seawater, setting off a high-speed tsunami wave. However, the recent Sulawesi quake occurred on a “strike-slip” fault, meaning the plates lurched horizontally past each other and shouldn’t have displaced much water. So what caused the tsunami? One possibility is that the quake triggered an underwater landslide, which would have displaced water and created a tsunami wave. Alternatively, if the rupture occurred on a steeply sloping region of the seafloor, the horizontal motion could have pushed seawater in front of the slope. And almost certainly the tsunami was magnified by the narrow shape of the bay, with the wave energy focused by the coastline as it rolled towards Palu.
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['world/indonesia-tsunami', 'world/earthquakes', 'world/indonesia', 'world/asia-pacific', 'world/world', 'science/geology', 'science/series/terrawatch', 'world/natural-disasters', 'science/science', 'type/article', 'environment/environment', 'tone/features', 'profile/kate-ravilious', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-weather']
|
world/indonesia-tsunami
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
2018-10-02T20:30:34Z
| true
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
environment/2019/jun/28/california-mussels-cooked-heat
|
Heatwave cooks mussels in their shells on California shore
|
In all her years working at Bodega Bay, the marine reserve research coordinator Jackie Sones had never seen anything like it: scores of dead mussels on the rocks, their shells gaping and scorched, their meats thoroughly cooked. A record-breaking June heatwave apparently caused the largest die-off of mussels in at least 15 years at Bodega Head, a small headland on the northern California bay. And Sones received reports from other researchers of similar mass mussel deaths at various beaches across roughly 140 miles (225km) of coastline. While the people who flocked to the Pacific to enjoy a rare 80F (27C) beach day soaked up the sun, so did the mussel beds – where the rock-bound mollusks could have been experiencing temperatures above 100F at low tide, literally roasting in their shells. Sones expects the die-off to affect the rest of the seashore ecosystem. “Mussels are known as a foundation species. The equivalent are the trees in a forest – they provide shelter and habitat for a lot of animals, so when you impact that core habitat it ripples throughout the rest of the system,” said Sones. “I would expect that this actually impacted the entire region, it’s just that you would have to have people out there to document it to know,” said Sones. Years of research into ocean health has focused on rising water temperatures and the effects of acidification on marine life. Kelp and coral are suffering in warmer waters, starfish are melting, and shellfish are breaking down. But there is less data on the impacts of these kinds of one-off extreme weather events in the open coastal air. The Northeastern University marine ecologist Brian Helmuth designed a robot mussel that can measure and log temperatures as the animal would experience them. “We no longer think of climate change in the future when we do this kind of forecasting work,” Helmuth told BayNature, which first reported the cooked mussels phenomenon. “It’s how do you prepare for it now.” The University of British Columbia biologist Christopher Harley documented a similar event at Bodega Head in 2004, but he and Sones believe this one was probably bigger. “These events are definitely becoming more frequent, and more severe,” said Harley, citing diminishing mussel beds along the west coast, up to British Columbia. “Mussels are one of the canaries in the coal mine for climate change, only this canary provides food and habitat for hundreds of other species.”
|
['environment/marine-life', 'environment/environment', 'us-news/california', 'us-news/us-news', 'environment/wildlife', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/susie-cagle', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/west-coast-news']
|
environment/marine-life
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
2019-06-29T05:00:42Z
| true
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
sport/2019/jul/18/england-south-africa-netball-world-cup-match-report
|
Netball World Cup: Guthrie inspires England to key win over South Africa
|
A touch of ballet came to the Liverpool stage last night as England showed off some serious style to beat South Africa 58-47. Goalshooter Jo Harten hailed one of her side’s “best performances in the last two years” as they finished top of their group and set up a semi-final against New Zealand on Saturday. After some workmanlike performances, England seemed to raise their game against what Harten described as their bogey team. “Whenever we come up against them they take it down to the wire,” said Harten, who had tasted defeat against South Africa in January’s Quad series. “We were really nervous going into that one.” The pre-show butterflies worked. Under the mesmeric marshalling of centre Serena Guthrie, England established an 11-goal lead by half-time. The Proteas were not helped by the fact that the only person who might have been able to combat Guthrie – their own captain, Bongiwe Msomi – turned her ankle and hobbled off court after 11 minutes. Karla Pretorius and Phumza Maweni, who play alongside each other in the Australian Superleague, were supposed to be the strongest defence pairing that England’s attack had yet faced. But they had no answer to the dance that unfolded in front of them from the sixth minute, when a rebound off the baseline parlayed the ball back to Harten, who sent in a long-range shot that screamed confidence. Three more unanswered goals followed from her pas de deux in the D with Helen Housby, and by the end of the first quarter, England had scored 19. The last was a piece of almost ridiculous flair from Harten, who received a long ball on the edge of the circle and plunged it towards the net with one leg cocked coquettishly behind her. In the centre of the court, Guthrie exchanged long balls with Chelsea Pitman, their clean, clear arcs overwhelming the South Africa midquarters. There was something fun, almost flirty, about the way the ball kept making its way back to the England net. It had little interest in the other end, and when it did make an occasional appearance, South Africa’s own attack looked rattled. Maryka Holtzhauzen finished the first half with five misses from her nine attempts, while Geva Mentor and Eboni Usoro-Brown doubled down on Potgieter to keep her contained. South Africa returned stronger after the break, and England – who had previously not conceded a single quarter in the tournament – were even outscored 17-15 in the final 15 minutes. But at no point in the second half were the Proteas closer than nine goals in what coach Tracey Neville described as a “clinical” display and what Harten’s shooting alter ego, Housby, simply called “having fun”. England’s upcoming semi-final opponents New Zealand finished runners up in their own group, after they suffered defeat to Australia by a single goal in a stunning morning game. The Silver Ferns had fought back from a six-goal half-time deficit – but Israel Folau could only watch from the stands with everyone else as his wife Maria, New Zealand’s go-to pressure shooter, skimmed the rim with her last-second attempt to draw level. It was the World Cup’s best day of drama, which included Northern Ireland’s first ever victory against Barbados. After the high paced first half ended 23-23, captain Caroline O’Hanlon – who took hits to every part of her body, including her face – inspired her troops and even a late wobble as Barbados halved their six-goal lead with three minutes to play could not deny Northern Ireland their 46-43 win, or the reward of a place in the 9th/10th place play-off. Scotland were only a single goal from meeting them in that fixture, after their thriller against Trinidad and Tobago ended in the first draw of the tournament. Forty-five minutes of see-sawing scoreline climaxed in a frenetic final five minutes, Ellie Barrie levelling the scores with a shot that reached the net after the hooter sounded. With the two teams finishing Group G on equal footing, a lower goal average means Scotland now play Barbados for the 11th-12th placing.
|
['sport/netball-world-cup-2019', 'sport/england-netball-team', 'sport/netball', 'sport/sport', 'tone/matchreports', 'type/article', 'profile/emmajohn', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/sport', 'theguardian/sport/news', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-sport']
|
sport/england-netball-team
|
UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE
|
2019-07-18T21:11:09Z
| true
|
UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE
|
travel/2009/may/19/sizewell-suffolk-travel-nuclear-power
|
Barton's Britain: Sizewell
|
The wind charges in from the North Sea, shakes the hedgerows, jostles the cow parsley and the bright yellow gorse. Above us, the fizz and drone of electricity cables that score the morning's pale blue sky. Ahead stands Sizewell nuclear power station, its huge white dome and buff-coloured concrete block dominating the horizon. Sizewell is made up of two nuclear power stations; Sizewell A, begun in 1961, ceased operational use in December 2006 and is now in the process of being decommissioned. Sizewell B is the UK's newest nuclear reactor, and was completed in 1995. Since French energy company EDF bought British Energy, plans are under way for Sizewell C, a decision that has proved controversial. A long, smooth road leads to the power plant. Signs slow the speed limit to 20mph, direct deliveries to Sizewell A and Sizewell B, and bring a caution: "You are entering a nuclear licensed site." In the surrounding fields are signs of activity: yellow Buckhurst diggers, coils of black tubing, and along with the banks of white-blossomed trees, the birds swooping low, singing high and giddy, bringing a sense of something new, something just begun. Sizewell village is little more than a short run of houses. There is a small cluster of camper vans, a knot of fishing huts. The Vulcan Inn is quiet this lunchtime, save for a couple discussing their memories of the Queen's coronation; from the pub window is a view of workers making their way back up the road to the plant. Down on the front, the beach cafe is closed, though the car park is busy with dog-walkers and day-trippers. There is a salmon-pink house, a blue Subaru, a red telephone box. Sunshine warms the quiet road and a blue-flowered buddleja frames a view of Sizewell's white dome. Ian Smith leans over his garden wall. A building surveyor, he moved here two years ago from Hertfordshire. "It was a random choice, literally just a pin in the map," he says. "I'd never been to Suffolk before I moved here." The power plant did not concern him. "I didn't think twice about it; the plant just sits there, it doesn't do anything. And I've the beach on the doorstep, the dog is happy, and you can do what you like, especially in the winter, there's hardly anybody here then." The relationship between the locals and the power plant is amicable, Smith says. "They're very good about keeping us informed; there are regular meetings and they write to us." Most of Sizewell's houses are now holiday homes, he adds. There are just three permanent residents in the village: Smith, his neighbour Brian, and the publican. The locals, he says, do not object to the plant, or to the proposed new reactor. "Just about everyone is employed there in one capacity or another," he explains. A few weeks ago, a group of anti-nuclear protesters descended on Sizewell. "They hung around here for about an hour then went and camped on the beach," says Smith. "It was supposed to commemorate 25 years since the Chernobyl disaster I think. Most of them weren't old enough to remember Chernobyl. It was all a bit lacklustre." Towards the beach the grass grows coarse, bleached by the sea and riddled with rabbit holes. Small boats are piled on the rise before the shore, painted in faded blues and peeling whites, their names daubed in black: The Hannah Jayne, the Phoenix, Segui. On the shingle sits a child's red spade, curls of dried seaweed, bursts of white foam. Today the waves are brownish-grey monsters, rearing and bucking against the land. There comes the constant roar of the wind, the boom of the sea, and the air tastes cool and honeyish. The cars in the car park, the benches on the seafront, the houses, the boats, all stand with their backs to the power plant, their faces turned towards the sea. But in this twitching, turning landscape, the plant offers a strange, steady presence; there on the hill, gazing down over Suffolk's rich green fields, looking out across the muddy North Sea, a block of grey concrete and a white balloon, peeping through the hedgerows.
|
['travel/series/bartons-britain', 'travel/suffolk', 'travel/uk', 'travel/travel', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'environment/environment', 'tone/features', 'travel/england', 'type/article', 'profile/laurabarton', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/g2', 'theguardian/g2/features']
|
environment/nuclearpower
|
ENERGY
|
2009-05-18T23:01:00Z
| true
|
ENERGY
|
education/2014/may/07/what-big-data-tells-about-language
|
How big data is changing how we study languages
|
Do women really talk more than men? How does disfluency vary with sex and age? Do young people really use "Yeah no" more than older people, and what do they mean by it? Have sentences in formal written English become shorter and simpler over the past few hundred years? Using available digital resources, we can get answers to questions like these in just a few minutes. From the perspective of a linguist, today's vast archives of digital text and speech, along with new analysis techniques and inexpensive computation, look like a wonderful new scientific instrument, a modern equivalent of the 17th century invention of the telescope and microscope. We can now observe linguistic patterns in space, time, and cultural context, on a scale three to six orders of magnitude greater than in the past, and simultaneously in much greater detail than before. Of course, our observations may not be correct or general, because they depend on counting things in specific datasets with specific characteristics. But the same problem exists even more seriously for the answers we get from any other methods. And as long as we have data from a variety of different settings – personal conversations and broadcast interviews and classroom discussions and so on – it's easy to check the generality of our results. At least, it's easy if all that digital data is accessible. Luckily, we now have access to quite a bit of relevant linguistic data. This is partly because so much of our communication is now mediated by networked digital computing devices. But it's also because shared linguistic datasets played a central and critical role in the research behind the linguistic technology, science, and scholarship that we have today. This has resulted in several important consequences for science and the humanities. The most important being that we now have algorithms for the automatic analysis of text and speech, algorithms that can be applied to the even larger digital archives now emerging. And another important outcome has been to underline the value of reproducible research on accessible data. When research datasets are available, there's more research because barriers to entry are lowered. When research datasets are shared, the research is better, because results can be replicated, and algorithms and theories can be compared. In addition, shared datasets are typically much bigger and more expensive than any individual researcher's time and money would permit. And when datasets are associated with well-defined research questions, the whole field gets better, because the people who work on the "common tasks" form a community of practice within which ideas and tools circulate rapidly. This is not a new set of ideas. European civilisation made an analogous set of discoveries in the 16th century, when the invention of the printing press, and its use to disseminate translations of the bible into the languages of everyday life, transformed European society. Literacy, education, and scholarship spread to a much larger portion of the population, and improved in quality as well as quantity along the way. Unfortunately, the great majority of relevant material remains locked up because of legitimate concerns about privacy and intellectual property, as well as less laudable interests in exclusive access to publicly funded data. There is a growing trend to find ways to overcome these barriers, protecting privacy and property while rewarding sharing rather than hoarding. Some outward signs of this intellectual trend can be seen in the Royal Society's Science as an Open Enterprise report, and the US Office of Science and Technology Policy memo on Increasing Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research. We might call this process the data reformation, since it emphasises the spread of unmediated access to the primary material needed to discover truth. More familiar names for the trend are the open data and reproducible research movements. Under whatever name, this trend is making increasing amounts of digital data – including speech and language data – accessible to many researchers worldwide. Mark Liberman is a professor of linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania. He will be speaking at a British Academy and Philological Society panel discussion on Language, Linguistics and the Data Explosion on Friday 9 May at 4.15pm at the British Academy.
|
['education/series/the-case-for-language-learning', 'education/languages', 'science/language', 'education/education', 'tone/blog', 'technology/big-data', 'type/article']
|
technology/big-data
|
UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE
|
2014-05-07T14:36:55Z
| true
|
UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE
|
environment/2021/dec/17/how-much-indoor-air-pollution-do-we-produce-when-we-take-a-shower
|
How much indoor air pollution do we produce when we take a shower?
|
Many of us will find soaps, aftershave, perfumes and pampering products among our Christmas presents. While most news articles on indoor air pollution tend to focus on candles, the air pollution effects of the products that we use in homes are far wider. The fossil-fuel derived chemicals that evaporate from printing inks, adhesives, coatings, cleaning agents and personal care products are now dominating the pollutants that form ozone in summer smogs and some types of particle pollution; exceeding the effects of emissions from traffic. The PhD student Amber Yeoman has been studying the air pollution produced when we take a shower. Building a shower in the laboratory was not practical, so instead Yeoman and her team relocated their equipment next to a shower room in the University of York. Sample pipes were installed in the shower room itself. Volunteers were each given the same supermarket products and asked to shower; starting with face washing and shower gel, followed by shampoo, conditioner, moisturiser and then aerosol deodorant. One by one, volatile organic compounds were measured by Yeoman’s equipment. Highly reactive limonene came mainly from the citrus smelling shampoo, benzyl alcohol from the conditioner and ethanol from the moisturiser. This was different for each person and those people that rinsed for longer produced fewer emissions. Other chemicals were seen too, possibly linked to laundry products used to wash each volunteer’s towel (they brought their own) or their clothes. In other experiments, Yeoman’s equipment found that products worn by other researchers affected the air in her laboratory. New attention is being paid to these products because of the cumulative impact of the emissions from our homes and the way they react together to form harmful air pollution. Control of air pollution that forms from personal care products will not be easy. The first step will be to make manufactures responsible for the pollution from the products they sell. Switching to non-aerosol products would be another simple change. It is clear from Yeoman’s work that any product labelling would have to reflect real-world use and also the fate of these chemicals in our drains and river systems. Yeoman said: “Air quality labels would help communicate the possible negative impacts to consumers and it could well encourage manufacturers to change their products to attract health-conscious buyers. Cleanliness has also been equated with the presence of perfume, rather than the absence of malodour. Changing this mindset has altered my personal buying habits toward fragrance-free products.”
|
['environment/series/pollutionwatch', 'environment/environment', 'environment/pollution', 'environment/air-pollution', 'fashion/beauty', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/gary-fuller', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-weather']
|
environment/air-pollution
|
POLLUTION_AND_WASTE
|
2021-12-17T06:00:20Z
| true
|
POLLUTION_AND_WASTE
|
environment/2018/may/18/princes-sets-50-recycling-target-for-plastic-bottles
|
Princes sets 50% recycling target for plastic bottles
|
A major producer of plastic bottles in the UK is to increase its recycled content to more than 50% within four months. Princes, which produces 7% of plastic bottles used in the UK, says it has started the process to increase the amount of recycled plastic in all its bottles and will finish by September. The company is a major producer of plastic bottles for drinks and oils, averaging 900m plastic bottles each year for its own brand and other retailers in the UK. David McDiarmid, corporate relations director for Princes, said: “We want to increase the recycled content of all the plastic we use and have been working for some time to implement 51% RPET [recycled plastic]. “This is a significant step for not only ourselves, but the wider grocery industry too as we will reach millions of households through our supply of brands and customer own-brand soft drinks and oils.” McDiarmid said the company wanted to commit to 100% recycled plastic in all its products “as soon as we can”. The company said it was sourcing recycled material from a UK supplier. Major producers of plastic bottles have traditionally lagged behind “green” companies in the drive to use more recycled plastic. The Belgian company Ecover rolled out a 100% recycled plastic washing-up bottle earlier this year. The company has pledged to have 100% recycled plastic in all its household products by 2020. On Tuesday, Iceland became one of the first supermarkets to announce it was to use a new labelling system to allow consumers to avoid plastic packaging. It is hoped the new plastic-free “trust mark”, launched by the campaign group A Plastic Planet, will be prominently displayed on food and drink products, and will be taken up by other major supermarkets. As well as items obviously wrapped in plastic, scores of everyday products – from tinned beans to tea bags – have some plastic in their packaging. Plastic pollution is now so widespread that it has been found in tap water, fish and sea salt – with unknown consequences for human health. Earlier this year the Guardian revealed that supermarkets are responsible for 1m tonnes of plastic waste a year.
|
['environment/plastic', 'business/fooddrinks', 'environment/recycling', 'business/business', 'environment/environment', 'environment/waste', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'profile/sandralaville', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment']
|
environment/waste
|
POLLUTION_AND_WASTE
|
2018-05-18T05:00:52Z
| true
|
POLLUTION_AND_WASTE
|
environment/2017/may/05/air-pollution-plan-sacrificing-the-nations-health-to-save-an-election-campaign
|
Air pollution plan: sacrificing the nation's health to save an election campaign
|
For seven years, people in Britain have been forced to hold their breath and wait for a comprehensive plan to tackle the nation’s toxic air crisis. After a series of humiliating defeats in the courts, Friday’s government plan was meant to finally deliver. But instead ministers hit the brakes and slammed the policy into reverse – the farcical new strategy has even less detail than the one already ruled illegal. What was the impassable roadblock in the way of finally starting to cut the 23,000 early deaths diesel pollution causes every year? Nothing but pure political expediency. The only sure way to bring the toxic nitrogen dioxide spewed out by dirty diesel vehicles down to legal levels is to keep them out of cities and towns. The law demands the fastest possible action, which means deterring polluting drivers with charges – as will happen in London. But backing new taxes on drivers in the heat of an election campaign promises a political car crash, so ministers have simply swerved and crashed into the nation’s health instead. The most shocking aspect is that buried in the documents are candid admissions that the crisis is the “largest environmental threat to public health in the UK” and that it is a “direct result” of car makers gaming emissions tests for years, so that their vehicles pump out far more pollution on the road than in the official lab tests. Ministers even say: “We will continue to press car manufacturers to develop options for recalling existing vehicles to improve their real world emissions performance.” But unlike in Germany and France, the government’s pressing of car makers has driven precisely zero action. Rather than tackle air pollution head on, the government has passed the buck to local authorities, daring them to impose the needed charges instead and face the electoral consequences. Ministers suggest councils should penalise any diesel cars more than two years old – most of them – but lack the courage of their convictions. In place of meaningful action, the government’s plan suggests gimmicks such as removing speed bumps and re-phasing traffic lights, measures as likely to increase traffic and emissions as to cut them. One of the few good parts of the new plan is funds to clean up older buses, lorries and taxis but even this is old money, already announced in the budget. The much vaunted scrappage scheme is mentioned only as a possibility and even then would only cover 0.1% of all diesel cars. The new plan will leave the nation gasping for years to come and it seems likely that ClientEarth, the lawyers who have twice had the government’s plans declared illegal, will return to the courts for a third time. The government is likely to view its manoeuvring as a political success, having buried its feeble plan under the local election results. The government’s cynical calculus is that diesel drivers are more of a political force to be feared than people angry about the health damage being caused to them and their children.
|
['environment/pollution', 'society/health', 'society/society', 'environment/environment', 'politics/conservatives', 'politics/politics', 'type/article', 'tone/analysis', 'environment/air-pollution', 'profile/damiancarrington', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/topstories', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment']
|
environment/pollution
|
POLLUTION_AND_WASTE
|
2017-05-05T16:26:42Z
| true
|
POLLUTION_AND_WASTE
|
politics/2014/dec/02/john-crace-sketch-danny-alexander-house-building-flooding
|
Diggers to the ready for Danny’s delivery as he goes for confusion
|
Trying to head off any accusations of electioneering, then deciding that confusion is his best option, Danny Alexander says: “The timing is what the timing is. As a country we need to think about the number of houses as a country.” As chief secretary to the Treasury, Alexander was at the Institution of Civil Engineers to announce the national infrastructure plan 2014 for Britain. It hadn’t been going terribly well ever since ICE’s director general, Nick Baveystock, had referred to this being the fifth iteration of the NIP, as he ergonomically referred to the government’s plan in his introduction. That isn’t the kind of reminder a Cabinet minister finds helpful when trying to present old projects as new initiatives. “It’s not new money or old money,” Alexander said in a sentence that he didn’t get round to completing when he noticed that one of his special advisers had written “It’s Monopoly money!” in the margin of the text. That may well have been the only bit of his speech he had read. Perhaps he felt he had remembered it all from last year, or maybe it was the knowledge that no amount of money spent on flood defences in Lib Dem marginals could stop his party being washed away next May. Either way, Alexander appeared disengaged and stumbled through the announcement with all the enthusiasm of the walking dead. He began with “infrastructure is a long word that doesn’t necessarily mean a lot to many people”, before reading out a dictionary definition of infrastructure to a bemused audience of policy wonks and engineering company bosses whose main specialism – apart from hoovering up government very-long-word-infrastructure contracts – is talking wonkese with very long words. The longer and more obscure the words used, the bigger the contract. Amazingly, the dictionary turned out to be the high point of Alexander’s speech. “Integral, pivotal and huge,” he said, turning to words not often used by a Lib Dem politician. “A relentless focus on delivery … electricity grid flexibility … direct government home building.” This last announcement sounded suspiciously close to a Soviet model, but Alexander assured everyone that George Osborne was on side with it – so it could just have been his pitch for a job in the next government as chief estate agent. The chief secretary wasn’t so good on numbers, which some might consider a disadvantage working at the Treasury. “We need 300,000 new homes,” he continued. “ Some say 250,000. Others say 220,000.” What’s 80,000 homes between friends? On the deficit he argued that there was still a third to a quarter of austerity to go. How about a half, someone asked. Alexander shrugged. Maybe yes, maybe no. “I know that Paul will talk about this at greater length.” And how. This was Paul Deighton or, since last year Lord Deighton, commercial secretary to the Treasury, a man not given to self doubt or to using one word if 10 will do. He is a man who doesn’t have breakfast: he has morning calorific objectives. “I believe in three things,” he said, waving his arm triumphantly, “Delivery, delivery and delivery. And I am not complacent.” So far he had only delivered delivery and delivery and he was happy to admit there was more delivery to be delivered. “There are diggers on the ground within the funding envelope,” he continued. “Improving pipeline visibility … reversing the tide of underinvestment … massive execution responsibility.” Maybe China, Saudi Arabia or the US could help with that last bit. Throughout this Alexander stared dead-eyed in to the abyss of hyperactive acronyms before unexpectedly smiling at someone in the audience. It looked every bit as though he’d just collected on a bet he’d made on the amount of self promoting jargon Deighton would squeeze in. His smile was soon gone. “I know that Danny is always looking for more things to do,” Deighton declared. Alexander zoned out again, all too aware that, come May, he’d probably be looking for even more things to do.
|
['politics/danny-alexander', 'society/housing', 'society/communities', 'society/society', 'business/housingmarket', 'business/realestate', 'business/business', 'politics/liberaldemocrats', 'politics/politics', 'environment/flooding', 'environment/environment', 'politics/georgeosborne', 'uk/uk', 'tone/news', 'tone/analysis', 'politics/series/the-politics-sketch', 'type/article', 'profile/johncrace', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/topstories']
|
environment/flooding
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
2014-12-02T20:23:14Z
| true
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
sport/2023/feb/16/wrpa-wru-and-regions-wales-crisis-deepens-strike-threat
|
Gatland would not support Wales players if they strike for England fixture
|
Warren Gatland has said he would not support his Wales players should they carry out a threat of strike action when England are due to visit Cardiff in the Six Nations a week on Saturday. A dispute between the players and the governing body intensified on Tuesday when the Welsh Rugby Players’ Association (WRPA) raised the possibility of an unprecedented strike in protest at the proposed six-year deal between the regions and the Welsh Rugby Union. The new contractual arrangement would mean players’ basic wages being reduced and the introduction of a new bonus structure, but the players are determined not to accept the terms. On Wednesday the Professional Rugby Board (PRB) said there is no room for negotiation, prompting an angry response from the WRPA. A deadline of 28 February – three days after the encounter against England – has been set for the deal to be finalised. But after the players accepted a 20% wage reduction during the Covid-19 pandemic, it seems unlikely they will agree to a further cut. Asked if he would support a player strike, Gatland said: “No. I completely support the stance they are taking, in terms of wanting to get some resolution about the issues they have. But there is a lot more involved, a lot of things at stake, in terms of ensuring that that fixture does take place … I am supportive of the players and the things they are trying to do. My role is just trying to prepare the team for next week.” In a clear sign of the disillusionment among Wales players the former captain, Alun Wyn Jones, refused to speak to media at the team’s base near Cardiff until cameras filming a Netflix documentary had been removed. Jones said a strike was “the very last option” but that players feel “boxed in” by the proposal and restrictions that come with it. Regulations state that players who sign for clubs outside Wales are eligible for national selection only if they have won more than 60 caps, which significantly limits options for younger players. “This was supposed to be sorted a long time ago,” he said. “It is disappointing that we are 20 years into regional rugby and it’s the same things that have come around again.” On the possibility of a player strike, he said: “It’s hard to deny, but it’s the very last option. Ultimately, if you treat people badly for long enough, you get to where we find ourselves. We realise what we do, and how fortunate we are to do it, but if this was any other line of work or any other industry … you’d get the same reaction.” On whether he feels regret and sadness at the situation having deteriorated to such an extent, he said: “Very much so. But you don’t want to see players in their early 20s not knowing where their career is going to go. You’re almost boxed in as a player with no option, which isn’t ideal for anyone.” The pressure is on to resolve the dispute before next week’s Six Nations match, particularly in view of the revenue generated for the union. On how a strike may be averted, Jones said: “We want a voice as well and a discussion about scrapping the 60-cap rule. We are well aware there are rebalances that need to be made financially, but again, it comes down to players being boxed in.” Gatland, who rejoined Wales as head coach in December after the dismissal of Wayne Pivac with less than a year to prepare for the World Cup in France, said: “The players have been great in the last few days. They have got a separate issue they want sorted, but when it’s come to the rugby they have been fantastic, the way they have prepared. “It’s a little disingenuous to say the players are being paid too much. I don’t see how it’s a fault of theirs. We’ve been overspending in Wales for a number of years and some of the regions are in financial difficulty.”
|
['sport/wales-rugby-union-team', 'sport/welsh-rugby-union', 'sport/warren-gatland', 'sport/rugby-union', 'sport/sport', 'campaign/email/the-breakdown', 'sport/sixnations', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/luke-mclaughlin', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/sport', 'theguardian/sport/news', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-sport']
|
sport/wales-rugby-union-team
|
UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE
|
2023-02-16T13:41:01Z
| true
|
UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE
|
environment/2015/jul/20/arctic-sea-ice-volume-showed-strong-recovery-in-2013
|
Arctic sea ice volume showed strong recovery in 2013
|
Ice in the Arctic staged a surprise revival in 2013, bucking the long-term trend of decline, according to the first analysis of the entire ice cap’s volume. The revival was the result of cooler temperatures that year and suggests that, if global warming was curbed, the Arctic might recover more rapidly than previously thought. The shrinking Arctic ice cap is one of the best known impacts of climate change. The indication that it could be reversible is rare good news for a region where climate change has driven up temperatures far faster than the global average. The extent of Arctic ice has shrunk by 40% since the late 1970s, when satellite measurements began. But getting comprehensive data on the thickness of the ice, rather than just its area, was difficult until the European Space Agency launched the Cryosat satellite in 2010. The satellite’s 88 million measurements, analysed in Nature Geoscience, show that from 2010-12 the Arctic ice volume fell by 14%, in step with the warming trend of the last few decades. But in 2013, the ice volume jumped up by 41%. “It’s fair to say that none of us were really expecting that,” said Rachel Tilling, at University College London and who led the study. But she dismissed the idea of a wider recovery of the ice cap, saying that climate change is still driving average temperatures up, despite significant variation from one year to the next. “It was a cold year – that happens.” In fact, while colder than recent years, the temperature in 2013 would have been regarded as normal as recently as the late 1990s. “This allowed thick sea ice to persist northwest of Greenland because there were fewer days when it could melt,” said Tilling. The research is significant as it shows the Arctic ice cap may be more resilient than expected. Tilling said: “You see Arctic sea ice as dwindling and in decline, but then there is a cold year and you get some of the ice back. It shows there is hope for Arctic sea ice, if you can turn the clock back to colder temperatures, which would need huge reductions in carbon emissions.” In 2014, the melting trend continued with a fall of 6% in volume compared to 2013. The latest data on the extent of Arctic ice, from the US National Snow and Ice Data Center, shows that the cap in June was the third smallest recorded by satellite measurements. The NSIDC warned that: “Persistently warm conditions and increased melting late in June may have set the stage for rapid ice loss in the coming weeks.” Scientists usually consider a few decades of data is required to assess climate trends. “You can’t look at the long term trend with only five years of data, which is why we can’t talk about an Arctic recovery,” said Tilling. She is concerned that Cryosat-2 data collection is set to stop after just seven years: “We need Arctic-wide thickness measurements of the ice, but Cryosat is only commissioned until 2017.” Co-author Professor Andy Shepherd, also at UCL said: “Understanding what controls the amount of Arctic sea ice takes us one step closer to making reliable predictions of how long it will last, which is important because it is a key component of Earth’s climate system.”
|
['environment/sea-ice', 'world/arctic', 'environment/poles', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'science/science', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/damiancarrington', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews']
|
environment/sea-ice
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
2015-07-20T15:00:00Z
| true
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
environment/2017/nov/09/giant-solar-power-plant-uk-biggest-north-kent-coast-subsidy-free-power-station-faversham
|
UK's biggest solar farm planned for Kent coast
|
An enormous solar power station is planned for the north Kent coast that would be the UK’s biggest and dwarf existing solar farms, providing a significant boost to an industry that has stalled since ministers halted subsidies 18 months ago. Cleve Hill, a mile from the historic town of Faversham, would have five times the capacity of the UK’s current largest solar farm and provide enough power for around 110,000 households if it comes online in 2020 as proposed. Developers Hive Energy and Wirsol Energy hope to lay solar panels across 890 acres (365 hectares) – equal to more than 400 football pitches – of farmland near the village of Graveney. The companies think that falling technology costs and the economies of scale from supersizing the solar farm mean it will work without subsidies. Only one big subsidy-free solar farm has been built since support was axed by the government in 2016, near Flitwick in Bedfordshire, but that was an extension to an existing solar farm built using earlier subsidies. Hugh Brennan of Hive Energy said: “The Cleve Hill solar park is a pioneering scheme that aims to optimise the technological developments in solar energy.” A consultation has begun and letters sent out to residents ahead of local meetings in December, with the project’s backers stressing they are aware of the site’s importance for wildlife. The area’s salt marshes and mudflats are used by migrating birds including marsh harriers and lapwing. Readers will also know the marshes as similar to the nearby childhood home of Pip in Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations. One resident said he was in favour of renewable energy but there were concerns locally over the sheer scale of the project. Adrian Oliver, owner of the Freewheel cycling cafe in Graveney, said: “I think people are worried about the scale of it, and the infrastructure [roads] impact as it gets built. “I don’t think anyone is anti the fact that it is a brilliant energy source. I’m broadly for it as long it’s done well and doesn’t disturb the wildlife.” He added that the area had experienced some traffic during the building of a substation for the world’s biggest offshore windfarm, the London Array. The proposed solar farm would connect up to the substation. Cleve Hill’s backers said public rights of way that run across the site would not be affected, and footpaths would not be permanently closed. They also promise to limit any impact on wildlife, with a proposal to establish a mitigation area for birds. The Kent Wildlife Trust said its main concern was about the impact on birds that live on its nature reserve adjacent to the site. Brent geese from the reserve, for example, sometimes rest up on the farmland. “The scale is unprecedented. We have a lot of questions,” said Greg Hitchcock, the conservation officer at the trust. The RSPB said it was examining the plans and that it was too early to comment. One green group welcomed the solar farm but said that its enormous size showed government policy meant that community-backed solar plants were being “frozen out”. Max Wakefield, lead campaigner at climate charity 10:10, said: “It’s a real ray of sunshine to see such ambitious clean energy projects emerging in the UK despite the policy obstacles. But the scale this project has had to adopt in order to be commercially viable is also a warning.” The Solar Trade Association echoed that view. “Government policy of excluding solar from clean power auctions is driving larger projects in a bid to get the economics to work,” said a spokeswoman. Cleve Hill could have a capacity of as much as 350MW, though its backers said the final size had not been decided. The scale means the project will need to gain approval from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. A medium-sized conventional power plant would generate around 1,000MW. Britain’s biggest existing solar farm is at Lyneham in Wiltshire. It produces 69MW and is owned by the government. There are also several around the 50-60MW mark. However, most of the UK’s solar farms are relatively small, and only around 80 can generate more than 20MW. • Follow Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk, or sign up to the daily Business Today email here.
|
['environment/solarpower', 'environment/energy', 'environment/environment', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'business/business', 'politics/politics', 'uk/uk', 'technology/technology', 'business/energy-industry', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/adam-vaughan', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business']
|
environment/solarpower
|
ENERGY
|
2017-11-09T15:55:03Z
| true
|
ENERGY
|
world/2016/jun/02/deaths-as-flash-floods-hit-france-germany-and-austria
|
Europe floods: Seine could peak at 6.5 metres as Louvre closes doors
|
Flood waters flowing through Paris have swelled the river Seine to 6 metres above its normal level, with a peak level of up to 6.5 metres expected later on Friday, as the Louvre museum closed its doors to the public to allow priceless artworks to be moved up from its basement. After days of torrential rains, the French government has issued an orange alert for central Paris. The river’s record high was 8.6 metres during the devastating floods of 1910. Officials at the Louvre said about 250,000 artworks were located in flood-risk areas, mostly in basement storerooms. The art was hastily being moved upstairs, a move officials described as precautionary. “I am really sorry, but we’re closed today,” a Louvre employee told visitors. “We have to evacuate masterpieces from the basement.” Both the Louvre and, on the opposite bank of the Seine, the Musée d’Orsay, which holds the world’s greatest collection of impressionist masterpieces, have detailed emergency flooding plans. Both museums organised drills this year to deal with floods. In an alert scenario, the Louvre has 72 hours and the Musée d’Orsay 96 hours to get works held in their underground reserves to safety. In one such exercise in March, the Louvre evacuated the whole of the underground section of its new Islamic art galleries in a day. The museum, which has vast underground stores, said it is equipped with anti-flooding pumps and watertight doors. A week of storms has killed at least 12 people across northern Europe, submerged streets, closed schools and left many stranded on rooftops. Ten people have died in Germany and six days of heavy rain in France forced the evacuation of thousands in riverside towns south of Paris and in the Loire valley. The body of an 86-year-old woman was found in her flooded house in Souppes-sur-Loing in central France, where some towns have been hit by the worst flooding in more than 100 years. A man on horseback died after he was swept away in a swollen river in Evry-Gregy-sur-Yerre, south-east of Paris. The French environment minister, Ségolène Royal, said she feared more bodies would be found as waters recede in French villages. In the small town of Montargis, the water had risen so high that only the roofs of cars could be seen above the surface along the high street. Rescue workers have responded to about 10,000 calls and evacuated more than 5,000 people since last weekend. A “natural disaster” will be formally declared next week for the most affected areas, President François Hollande has said. People in Nemours were evacuated after the Loing river burst its banks and submerged the high street. Rescuers had to use dinghies to reach stranded residents in streets turned into rivers. “In 60 years of living here I have never seen this,” said Sylvette Gounaud, a shopworker. “The centre of town is totally underwater, all the shops are destroyed.” In southern Germany, dangerously swollen rivers have severely damaged Bavarian towns. Six people have been killed in and around Simbach am Inn, including three women from the same family – a mother, grandmother and daughter – who had been trapped in their house. Two other elderly people were found dead in their homes, and a woman’s body was discovered caught on a tree trunk in the neighbouring town of Julbach, police said. The force of the water upended cars and washed away parts of the streets; a thick layer of mud was left throughout the town by the subsiding water. Huge piles of wood and rubbish deposited by the torrent were visible next to badly damaged homes and offices. Earlier this week, four people had been killed in the southern Baden-Württemberg region. A further two people have died in flooding in eastern Romania, including a man who was ripped from his bicycle by a torrent of water in the eastern village of Ruginesti. The outbreak of severe weather began at the weekend with lightning strikes that left several people, including children, injured in Paris and western Germany. Forecasters in France and Germany have warned of more downpours over the next 24 hours.
|
['world/natural-disasters', 'world/europe-news', 'world/germany', 'world/france', 'world/austria', 'environment/flooding', 'world/world', 'world/paris', 'environment/environment', 'cities/cities', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/angeliquechrisafis', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-foreign']
|
environment/flooding
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
2016-06-03T12:51:15Z
| true
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
us-news/2014/nov/05/-sp-stormproofing-the-city-new-york-hurricane-sandy-natural-disasters
|
Is New York City ready for future natural disasters? Join our investigation
|
Exactly two years ago, swaths of New York were in darkness – recovering from a natural disaster for which the city was indisputably unprepared. In the week following hurricane Sandy’s October visit in 2012, lower Manhattanites sat in blacked-out apartments with no running water. The city’s largest hospitals sat useless, their patients relocated. Engineers were pumping water out of subway and road tunnels throughout the city, though its salt had already destroyed power systems and begun corroding infrastructure. Gas station lines were long and unmoving. Families mourned 44 deaths, and millions of residents looked helplessly at $50bn-plus in damage the storm had caused – including thousands of homes and cars destroyed from floods, winds and subsequent fires. It felt, at the time, truly irreparable. I often find myself wondering: when the next big storm comes and goes, will things will be any different? There are people whose job it is to make sure New York City is protected from future natural disasters. But they don’t all have the same boss or work in the same agency. They’re not a team with a captain, exactly, but something closer to a network – a makeshift coalition of stormproofers. Some are public employees who report to the mayor. Some are private firms that design flood banks and seawalls. Others are high-priced consultants that the city pays for a gameplan. For these people, it’s about the future: part of their job is to anticipate – and plan for – tomorrow’s problems. Are they working harder now than they were before Sandy? Welcome to our Guardian series, in which I will interview the people working to Stormproof the City. I’m not approaching this as an expert in emergency preparedness but as a city dweller trying to make sense of the system that’s supposed to protect me and millions of others from the next big storm. Each interview will inform the next, like a web or a chain. I’m starting with three simple questions, which I’ll address in each interview: Can it be done? (To what extent can you really storm-proof a city as large and complex as New York?) How much more prepared are we now than we were in 2012? What keeps you up at night? You can read my first interview, with climate scientist Klaus H Jacob, here. You can choose from all the other interviews in the headline. Over time, these conversations will start to reveal the complex, often invisible network of institutions, people and technologies that protect us. The graphic you see at the top visualizes the main players as I understand them now. The graphic has been slowly shifting over time as the nuances of the network become more clear. Slowly, together, as we find out how safe we really are, we’ll be able to most accurately map the system of players who know that best. If you want to follow along on this journey, subscribe to the series below. I’ll send each new installment directly to your inbox. If you you’re an expert in this topic and think there’s something I should know or someone I should interview, contribute your knowledge below. I may contact you to discuss further and/or include your insight in my reporting. We’re in this together.
|
['us-news/series/stormproofing-the-city', 'us-news/hurricane-sandy', 'us-news/new-york', 'world/hurricanes', 'world/natural-disasters', 'us-news/us-news', 'cities/cities', 'cities/series/resilient-cities', 'world/world', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/blog', 'profile/lilah-raptopoulos']
|
us-news/hurricane-sandy
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
2014-11-05T14:48:31Z
| true
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
business/2014/oct/13/edf-nuclear-deal-fair-balanced-hinkley-point
|
EDF nuclear deal is fair and balanced | @guardianletters
|
Dale Vince of Ecotricity is wrong to suggest that end-of-life costs for Hinkley Point C will be an economic burden on the UK (Report, 13 October). These costs are already included as part of the agreements reached with government, and we will make full provision for them as the station generates electricity during its 60-year life. There is no hidden cost when the station closes. Investment in nuclear energy is needed as part of a balanced mix of low-carbon energies, including wind power. It is cost-competitive with all these forms of energy and offers customer savings compared with other low-carbon choices. Consumers will pay nothing until the power station is in operation, and EDF and its construction partners bear the risk of delivering the project on time and on budget. The arrangements have been subject to intense review over a number of years and were then subject to European commission scrutiny for a further year. This has been a careful and measured process. Last week’s approval from the commission demonstrates that agreements between the government and EDF are fair and balanced for consumers and investors alike. Paul Spence Director of strategy and corporate affairs, EDF Energy
|
['business/edf', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'environment/energy', 'environment/environment', 'money/energy', 'money/consumer-affairs', 'money/household-bills', 'money/money', 'business/business', 'politics/taxandspending', 'politics/politics', 'theguardian/mainsection/editorialsandreply', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'tone/letters', 'type/article', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/editorialsandreply']
|
environment/nuclearpower
|
ENERGY
|
2014-10-13T19:10:43Z
| true
|
ENERGY
|
uk-news/2022/apr/17/double-summer-time-minister-urged-put-uk-clocks-forward-ease-cost-of-living-crisis-john-lee
|
Lib Dem peer calls for ‘double summer time’ to ease cost of living crisis
|
Ministers are facing calls to put British clocks forward by an extra hour to Central European Time to help ease the cost of living crisis. The Liberal Democrat peer John Lee said moving to Paris time would help reduce household bills as it would maximise daylight in the evenings. Lord Lee said the government should look seriously at “double summer time” as inflation reaches the highest level in 30 years and energy bills continue to soar. “It’s a serious, long-term issue for a sizeable proportion of the population and I think the government should look very seriously at it,” he said. “Double summer time would be relatively cheap, it wouldn’t really cost the government anything of significance as far as I’m aware.” Lee, the president of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions and a former tourism minister, said he would question the government about its position on double summer time when the House of Lords returns from recess later this month. Such a move would set British clocks two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time during the summer months and one hour ahead in winter, as in continental nations including France, Spain and Italy. The last time the clocks were changed to save on energy was during the second world war, but times went back to normal after the war. The concept of British summer time was established in the UK in 1916 after campaigning by William Willett, a great-great-grandfather of Coldplay’s Chris Martin. Willett had observed with dismay during pre-dawn horse rides through London how many Britons slept through a large portion of a summer’s day. Campaigners have estimated that extending daylight hours further would save each household 152 hours’ worth of electricity each year, as most people wake up after sunrise for most of the year and use artificial light in their homes in the evenings. Supporters say people would enjoy an extra hour of light for an additional 11 months of the year, whereas an extra hour of morning darkness would have to be endured only during the winter months. There have been several attempts by MPs to advocate a change in daylight saving time in recent decades, most recently in 2010 with the 10:10 campaign. A 1993 study by the Policy Studies Institute estimated that the change would save more than £260m in electricity bills even then. However, the government told MPs on the energy and climate change committee in 2010 that the effects were “likely to be small in magnitude, and may even be uncertain in direction”. The greatest opposition has historically come from farmers in Scotland, who would have to work in darkness for much of the morning. However, their opposition appears to have softened thanks to modern advances in farming. The National Farmers Union of Scotland said it was “open to further independent analysis”. The idea of adopting the same time as France, Spain and Italy may, however, raise eyebrows among some Eurosceptic Conservative backbenchers now the UK has left the EU. Lee, a former Tory MP, said: “I think it would be frankly very silly if they kicked it into touch purely because it’s something that happens more in continental Europe. I can’t believe they would be that selfish or narrow to adopt that approach.”
|
['uk/uk', 'business/cost-of-living-crisis', 'uk/scotland', 'world/eu', 'environment/farming', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/josh-halliday', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news']
|
environment/farming
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
2022-04-17T14:14:52Z
| true
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
environment/2023/sep/09/country-diary-this-is-prime-wild-country-and-should-remain-so
|
Country diary: This is prime wild country – and should remain so | Jim Perrin
|
To gain the high points of Fforest Clud (Radnor Forest), you start from New Radnor and head through the afforested Mutton Dingle, an appropriate name for a landscape feature in a region where sheep far outnumber people. The track leads into and eventually out of extensive spruce plantation. Conifers thin as you climb, giving way to native oak, birch, alder, hawthorn and ash. New growth on the dancing larches is brilliantly green. Long-tailed tits dart continually among the trees, still seeking moss with which to line their marvellously woven nests for rearing late broods. Verges are starred and spangled with tormentil and hawkweed. Green flowers of wood spurge glow against their older foliage; gorse blooms among tree-shadow. It’s that final phase of yellow flowering season. Soon you debouch on to grassland below the fine conical hill of Whimble. Stow your rucksack here and plod unencumbered to the fine bronze age tumulus atop its summit – a magnificent viewpoint. Across the glacial overflow channel of Whinyard Gap, which once carved off Whimble from its parent massif, you can pick out all the features of one of the finest hill groups in the Marches. But it’s to be marred. Bute Energy is planning an enormous wind factory here. Access roads will be scoured across Fforest Clud’s smooth flanks. Thirty-six 220-metre wind turbines are planned across the summit ridges. Each demands more than 2,000 tonnes of concrete, pylons and power lines. Hundreds of acres of solar panels could also adorn the hillsides. Extensive peat deposits – environmentally crucial, and unlike anything I’ve come across outside Black Hill, Kinder and Bleaklow – will be disturbed. Affective value of this magnificent hill dome will be lost for ever. In principle, I ardently support renewable energy. But the UK has a dwindling stock of prime wild country, and this kind of industrial-scale onshore project will mean yet more of it is lost, for ever. Please think again, Bute. The push for net zero does not have to mean losing that which is infinitely precious, wild and fine. This is not nimbyism. It is heartfelt concern for what, once gone, cannot be replaced. We’ve made that mistake too many times, and the whole nation suffered. • Country diary is on Twitter at @gdncountrydiary
|
['environment/series/country-diary', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/environment', 'uk/ruralaffairs', 'uk/uk', 'environment/energy', 'lifeandstyle/walking', 'uk/wales', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/jim-perrin', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers']
|
environment/renewableenergy
|
ENERGY
|
2023-09-09T04:30:13Z
| true
|
ENERGY
|
education/2014/aug/19/greenpeace-calls-sydney-university-dump-maules-creek-mine-stock
|
Greenpeace calls on Sydney University to dump Maules Creek mine stock
|
The University of Sydney has been accused of breaking its own environmental policies by investing $1m in the company behind the controversial Maules Creek mine. Greenpeace said Dr Michael Spence, vice-chancellor of the University of Sydney, had confirmed that 0.1% of the university’s long-term investment fund was used for Whitehaven Coal shares. Whitehaven oversees the Maules Creek mine, a project that which will involve the flattening of rare box gum woodland in the Leard State Forest in northern New South Wales. Protesters have repeatedly clashed with police at the mine site, with opponents of the project claiming it will endanger more than 30 threatened species, suck up valuable water resources and trigger a significant output of carbon emissions. Greenpeace said the University of Sydney should sever its links to Whitehaven. The environmental group claimed the university was in breach of its own investment and environmental policies, which state it will “manage the activities over which it has control and which impact upon the environment in accordance with the principles of ecological sustainability”. David Ritter, chief executive of Greenpeace Australia, said the University of Sydney was out of step with public opinion. “This mine does not have any social licence, by any reasonable understanding of the term,” he told Guardian Australia. “When you have a proud history like the University of Sydney, you really don’t want to be involved in something like this. “We are talking about a mine that is directly responsible for the destruction of a critically endangered ecosystem. I don’t understand how you can have principles of ecological sustainability and then be involved in a project of such destruction.” Ritter said Greenpeace and other climate change activist groups were increasingly looking at whether universities and other institutions invested in fossil fuels. In May, prominent US university Stanford divested from coal companies, in a move seen as a major victory for a worldwide campaign to compel businesses to cut their ties to fossil fuel. The movement is still in its infancy in Australia. The Australian National University has previously responded to pressure to sell its fossil fuel interests, only to subsequently reinvest in a gas operation. “It’s clear which direction this is all heading,” Ritter said. “Universities should be at the forefront rather than have to play an embarrassing catch-up later on. Investments like these are bad for the climate and bad for communities, it should be a no-brainer.” A Sydney University spokeswoman said it “takes its environmental and social responsibilities seriously”. “Of the university’s five Australian equities managers, only one holds Whitehaven Coal Limited,” she said. “The holding represents less than 0.1% of the university’s total long-term investment funds. “The university works closely with its external fund managers to ensure the highest environmental, social and governance standards are met. “While we believe the university’s investment strategy is well placed to ensure the development of environmental and socially sustainable investments, our portfolio is under constant review to ensure our social, environmental and governance responsibilities are balanced with our responsibilities to students, staff and donors.”
|
['education/higher-education', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/environment', 'environment/greenpeace', 'environment/activism', 'type/article', 'profile/oliver-milman']
|
environment/greenpeace
|
CLIMATE_ACTIVISM
|
2014-08-19T04:54:09Z
| true
|
CLIMATE_ACTIVISM
|
environment/2021/nov/09/changes-behaviour-tackle-climate-crisis-patrick-vallance-cop26
|
Changes in behaviour needed to tackle climate crisis, says UK chief scientist
|
Changes in behaviour are needed to tackle the climate emergency, the UK’s chief scientific adviser has said at the Cop26 summit. Sir Patrick Vallance said behaviour change was starting to happen but needed to go further and said he cycled to work, ate less meat and had taken the train to the climate summit in Glasgow. He also said the climate crisis was a far bigger problem than coronavirus and would kill more people if immediate changes were not made. Canada’s chief scientific adviser, Mona Nemer, said there would need to be a “profound behavioural and cultural change in terms of our relation to the Earth”. Systemic changes are widely acknowledged as necessary to end fossil fuel burning and halt global heating, for example by switching to renewable electricity. But the role of individual behaviour is more controversial, with most politicians shying away from encouraging less meat-eating or flying. The UK government recently published a study proposing taxes on high-carbon food and a reduction in frequent flying, but then swiftly withdrew it, saying: “We have no plans whatsoever to dictate consumer behaviour in this way.” Cutting meat consumption in rich nations is vital to fighting the climate crisis, scientists have said. “Behavioural change is part of [climate action],” said Vallance. “Some of that comes down to what we do as individuals, and some of it is what needs to happen to make things easier for us, because we can’t assume that there’s going to be dramatic personal behaviour change unless we can make some way of making that easier, so that the green choice is actually easy choice. “I cycle to work, I eat less meat than I used to and I came here by train,” he said. “I think [behaviour change] is starting. Is it where it needs to be yet? Probably not and I think there’s more to go. But I think there’s a willingness and an engagement taking place that is going to be important.” Science has been very good at detecting the changes in climate, Vallance said. “Where we have to go now is to move from diagnosis to treatment. Science is going to be crucially important, of course, for innovation, technology, and research and development to implement and scale up the technologies that we need and it’s going to be important for the behavioural sciences and the other sciences crucial to actually make this work,” he said. Vallance also told the BBC on Tuesday that the climate crisis was a far bigger problem than Covid. He said that, while the pandemic had been awful, Covid might be a two- to four-year problem, rather than a 50- to 100-year problem that could be “really, really damaging”. He stressed that people should not rely on science and technology alone to halt climate breakdown. “In the pandemic it took a concerted worldwide effort to come up with vaccines, drug treatment [and] understanding what behavioural change is necessary – the same is true for climate.” Nemer said: “Science will be an absolutely essential part of the solution, both the technology but also the behaviour aspect. We’re going to have to have a profound behavioural and cultural change in terms of our relation to the Earth, our relation to consumption, our relation to transport, etc, and that’s something that is extremely challenging.” But Vallance said there was a lot of hope that the climate emergency could be ended. “The technologies we need are either here or are in development. If we implemented them now and scaled up, a lot of change then takes place in terms of climate emissions. The second reason for hope is we’ve got a whole generation that’s absolutely determined to do that. So there’s behaviour change already happening right across the globe. And the third thing is that I think some of the commitments at [Cop26] are going to make a difference in terms of getting people together.”
|
['environment/cop26-glasgow-climate-change-conference-2021', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/meat-industry', 'environment/environment', 'uk-news/patrick-vallance', 'uk/uk', 'world/canada', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/damiancarrington', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment']
|
environment/cop26-glasgow-climate-change-conference-2021
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
2021-11-09T11:10:25Z
| true
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
travel/2002/jul/05/onyourbikepedalpower.cyclingholidays
|
Perth to Cawdor
|
A helpful dot matrix sign on a dual carriageway north of Perth advises road users, in French, to drive on the left. This was a timely reminder, 700 miles into my trip, and a convention I continued to observe. Perth and Kinross is Britain's biggest raspberry and strawberry growing area, and just north of Rattray I stocked up at a roadside stall where a Dutch coach party were downing soft fruit and beer as if there were no tomorrow. Also in Rattray I visited McDonald's cheese shop, the only place in the UK that imports whole Swiss gruyeres the size of bicycle wheels. When the proprietors heard I was heading for John O'Groats they gave me a vast wedge of cheese that sustained me through some unspeakable mountain torments in the days to come. Perth is known as the gateway to the Highlands, and for some days the size of the hills had been gradually creeping up towards 2000ft. I rode along the Glenshee Valley, gasping at the imposing peaks on either side of the path and giving thanks that, unlike the Cornish, the Scots had built their roads around and between the mountains rather than over them. At which point, inevitably, the path headed straight up the so-called Devil's Elbow to the Cairnwell ski resort: an endless, grinding, head-throbbing ascent that tested the lower reaches of my gearbox to their full capacity. This was the start of three agonising days of toil through the barren terrain of the Grampians. For miles on end there is nothing but crag after mountainous crag, and moorland plateaux so bleak that in places even the sheep have fled and the heather has died. The views are stupendous though, and I had plenty of time to admire them. I hadn't expected to be challenging for the queen of the mountains crown, but it was galling to see the odometer regularly registering a speed of 0 mph as I crawled uphill. Happily, what goes up must come down, and the climbs were rewarded with several hurtling, teeth-clattering descents. And talking of teeth-clattering, the Grampians experience was a chilly one, with driving headwinds (an unwritten law of cycling dictates that you'll never get blown up a hill) and, on occasion, horizontal hail. My ride up Britain's highest main road, the A93, took me to the Lecht ski resort at 2090ft. The temperature at the top of the chairlift was a nippy -8C with wind chill, which was not much fun in a pair of Lycra tights. Then, on what should have been a swooshing 1000ft descent into Tomintoul, the highest village in the Highlands, the headwind was so vicious that I had to pedal full tilt to keep moving. Funnily enough I didn't see many other cyclists on this section, but passing motorists gave encouraging waves and smiles in the way that only those in warm, dry cars can. My B&B host in Tomintoul was a larger than life kilted Highlander called Mr Cameron, who has on display in his kitchen the sword one of his ancestors carried at Culloden. Unsurprisingly, he's never had a guest leave without paying. Tomintoul is in the Glenlivet estate in the heart of malt whisky country, and I felt better after an evening in the pub thawing out with a few wee drams. In the midst of this mountain wilderness is Balmoral, the Queen's favourite summer holiday destination, on a lush river setting just east of Braemar. I popped in to say hello, but Her Maj wasn't expected until August and the tawdry little exhibition of frocks and photos in the ballroom - the only part of the castle open to the public - left me wishing I hadn't bothered. The steep climbs ended and the whisky distilleries continued at Grantown on Spey, where I watched locally fished salmon being smoked, briefly glimpsed the sun and saw my first red deer - one of the estimated 350,000 that roam Scotland's forests and hills. However, nature still had one little surprise in store for me: a 20-mile slog in a freezing hurricane across exposed moorland stretched flat as a pancake as far as the rain-lashed eye can see. The intermittent Wimbledon coverage I picked up on my miniature radio, meanwhile, waxed lyrical about the heatwave England was enjoying. Pah. Attempting to look on the bright side as I ate a soggy picnic in the frankly inadequate shelter of a yellow shrub, I reminded myself that wearing every stitch of clothing I'd packed did make my panniers somewhat lighter. Kirkton of Barevan, which I'd picked at random as a suitable overnight stop, turned out to be a single (non B&B) house rather than the bustling village I'd envisaged, so I spent the night in Cawdor, laying my personal Grampian ghosts to rest a stone's throw from the haunted castle of Macbeth fame.
|
['travel/onyourbikepedalpower', 'travel/cyclingholidays', 'travel/travel', 'type/article']
|
travel/onyourbikepedalpower
|
UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE
|
2002-07-05T17:29:29Z
| true
|
UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE
|
environment/2016/dec/29/christmas-day-2016-renewable-energy-uk-green-electricity
|
Christmas Day 2016 sets new UK record for renewable energy use
|
Christmas Day was the greenest on record for energy generation, according to the power group Drax. The company said more than 40% of the electricity generated on the day came from renewable sources, the highest ever. It compared with 25% on Christmas Day in 2015, and 12% in 2012. Andy Koss, chief executive of Drax Power, said: “These Christmas figures show that the UK energy system really is changing. Renewables are increasingly vital to the UK’s energy mix as we decarbonise and move away from coal.” Figures produced by Electric Insights and commissioned by Drax showed that three-quarters of renewable energy produced on Christmas Day came from wind turbines. Drax is Britain’s largest coal power producer but it is in the process of converting its facility to using biomass. Koss said the company provided 20% of the UK’s renewable power in the first half of 2016. “It’s important to have the right mix of energy generation to ensure we are decarbonising, whilst also keeping the lights on and the costs down,” he said. Earlier this month Drax said it was bidding to buy business energy provider Opus Energy and four gas stations as part of the move away from coal. If the £340m deal goes ahead, it would create Britain’s fifth-biggest business energy retailer in combination with Drax’s existing Haven Power customers.
|
['business/draxgroup', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/windpower', 'business/business', 'environment/energy', 'business/energy-industry', 'environment/environment', 'education/universityofgreenwich', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/angela-monaghan', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business']
|
environment/renewableenergy
|
ENERGY
|
2016-12-29T17:49:46Z
| true
|
ENERGY
|
world/2012/oct/29/hurricane-sandy-hms-bounty-crew
|
HMS Bounty: missing crew member of replica tall ship recovered from sea
|
One of two missing crew members from the replica tall ship HMS Bounty has been recovered hours after the US coastguard rescued 14 of her colleagues following a decision to abandon the vessel in the path of hurricane Sandy. Claudene Christian, 42, was said to have been unresponsive when located by a helicopter crew off the North Carolina coast and was taken to hospital while the search continued for the captain of the ship, Robin Walbridge, 63. Helicopters were used to pluck crew members from life rafts after they abandoned the ship at about 5am local time on Monday when it began taking on water about 90 miles southeast of Hatteras, North Carolina. The three-mast, 180ft ship, built for the 1962 movie Mutiny on the Bounty, was lost in the rough seas about 160 miles from the storm's eye. "It is under water. The mast of the ship is still protruding from the water," coastguard spokesman chief Nyx Cangemi said, relaying eyewitness reports from the search and rescue team. As the 16 crew members were abandoning the Bounty wearing cold-water survival suits and life jackets, the final three on board were washed overboard, Cangemi said. One of them was pulled on to a life raft but the other two remained at sea, he said. The 14 were rescued from two 25-person lifeboats with canopies, the US Coast Guard said. Crews aboard a C-130 Hercules airplane and another helicopter were searching for the two missing crew members, and a two coastguard cutters were on the way to assist them, Cangemi said. Captain Walbridge's work on the on the Bounty for 17 years had been his passion, according to his wife, Claudia McCann. "He's the best captain in the industry," McCann said. "There are not too many captains that can sail that kind of ship [a square-rigger]." The captain was the last to leave the ship, wearing red survival gear, she said. "That's the image I have in my head. I'm sure he made sure his crew were all tucked in their life boats before he got off the ship," McCann said. The first of two MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters arrived on the scene at about 6:30am and hoisted five people to safety, and a second helicopter arrived and rescued nine people, the coastguard said. The ship was on its way from New London, Connecticut, to St Petersburg, Florida, said Tracie Simonin, director of the HMS Bounty Organization LLC. She said she was unsure how the captain attempted to navigate the storm. The vessel was believed to be taking on water and was without propulsion, stuck in 40mph winds and 18ft seas, the coastguard said. The original Bounty, a British transport vessel, gained infamy for a mutiny in Tahiti in 1789.
|
['us-news/hurricane-sandy', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/natural-disasters', 'world/hurricanes', 'world/world', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'profile/benquinn']
|
us-news/hurricane-sandy
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
2012-10-30T08:09:00Z
| true
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
world/2021/jul/05/tropical-storm-elsa-cuba-florida-evacuations
|
Tropical Storm Elsa makes landfall in Cuba after 180,000 evacuated
|
Tropical Storm Elsa made landfall in Cuba on Monday, after 180,000 people were evacuated from southern regions amid fears of heavy flooding. The storm swept over western Cuba near Havana with strong rain and winds, and forecasters said it would move on to the Florida Keys on Tuesday and Florida’s central Gulf coast by Wednesday. The storm was passing over mainly rural areas to the east of Havana after making landfall near Ciénega de Zapata, a natural park with few inhabitants. By evening, Elsa had maximum sustained winds of 50mph (85km/h). Its core was about 30 miles (30 kilometers) east of Havana and was moving to the north-west at 13mph (20km/h). “The wind is blowing hard and there is a lot of rain. Some water is getting under the door of my house. In the yard the level is high, but it did not get into the house,” Lazaro Ramón Sosa, a craftsman and photographer who lives in the Zapata Swamp, told the Associated Press by telephone. Sosa said he saw some avocado trees fall nearby. Havana was expected to miss the brunt of the storm. Elsa was expected to bring tropical storm conditions to Florida, where Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 15 counties, including Miami-Dade county, where the partially collapsed Champlain Towers condominium was demolished with explosives on Sunday night. Elsa is the earliest fifth-named storm on record and also broke the record as the tropic’s fastest-moving hurricane, clocking in at 31mph on Saturday morning, Brian McNoldy, a hurricane researcher at the University of Miami, told the Associated Press. But the storm was downgraded from hurricane strength after it passed over Haiti and as of Monday morning had maximum wind speeds of 65mph. Among the hardest-hit areas was Barbados, where more than 1,100 people reported damaged houses, including 62 homes that collapsed. The storm killed one person in St Lucia; in the Dominican Republic, a 15-year-old boy and a 75-year-old woman died after walls collapsed on them. In Haiti, three people had been injured by downed trees. The storm could strengthen slightly as it approaches Florida, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. “Some slight weakening is likely while Elsa crosses west-central Cuba today. Restrengthening over the Gulf of Mexico is likely to be limited,” forecasters wrote in the 11am advisory on Monday. Elsa is projected to move westwards, reducing the threat for south Florida, including most of the lower Florida Keys. That shift, according to the Miami Herald, makes it more likely to land early on Wednesday around Florida’s Horseshoe Beach, north of the Suwannee River, and close to the Florida Panhandle. While south Florida is out of “the cone of uncertainty”, gusty winds and heavy rain are still possible through Wednesday as the storm moves up the state’s west coast. Miami, a focus of concern as rescue workers continue their search for unaccounted-for victims of the Surfside collapse, is likely to experience peak winds of 25mph at midday on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. The Associated Press contributed to this report
|
['world/natural--disasters', 'world/hurricanes', 'world/cuba', 'world/extreme-weather', 'us-news/florida', 'world/americas', 'world/world', 'us-news/us-news', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/edwardhelmore', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news']
|
world/hurricanes
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
2021-07-05T19:01:47Z
| true
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
business/2022/jun/24/not-just-any-building-why-plans-for-ms-flagship-store-hit-a-raw-nerve
|
Not just any building: why plans for the M&S flagship store hit a raw nerve
|
Margaret Thatcher was effusive as she admired a £200 cashmere sweater. “That’s lovely. Now that is what I call an investment,” she remarked. The then prime minister was visiting Marks & Spencer’s newly extended store at Marble Arch in 1987 as shoppers readied for Christmas. Thatcher was flanked by Lord Rayner, the retailer’s chairman, as she spent almost two hours touring the store, meeting staff, greeting customers and choosing a few items. More than three decades later, relations between the high street stalwart and the current Conservative regime are far less cordial, as a row over the same shop on London’s Oxford Street threatens to become a cause célèbre in the battle over the shape of redevelopments and the fate of Britain’s high streets. This week Michael Gove, the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, ordered a public inquiry into the plan to demolish and rebuild the flagship store on the most famous of Britain’s high streets. Campaigners argue the project would release 40,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere, while M&S says that government intervention into its “significant investment in one of our most iconic shopping locations” could have “a chilling effect for regeneration programmes across the country”. Sacha Berendji, the M&S property director, pointed to Oxford Street’s struggles to fill empty shops as big retailers have stepped away, saying Gove “appears to prefer a proliferation of stores hawking counterfeit goods to a gold-standard retail-led regeneration of the nation’s favourite high street”. M&S has refurbished other stores – such as Cheltenham and Chelmsford – but says rejigging the existing Marble Arch shop, created over decades from a merger of three no longer suitable buildings, some of which contain asbestos, is not viable. The retailer argues that any significant redevelopment of the existing building would involve creating additional carbon emissions without delivering as many benefits of its new building. Its planned development is set to use 25% less energy than the existing site – benefits its designers Pilbrow + Partners argue will last a century – with a maximum carbon payback of 17 years and potentially less than 10. That argument won over Westminster council’s planning authorities, while the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, opted not to intervene over the M&S application, consideringit in line with the capital’s planning strategy. With high streets around the country needing redevelopment to suit modern demands while the climate crisis intensifies, the debate over whether troubled buildings should be refurbished or redeveloped will only become more heated. Will Hurst, the managing editor of the Architects’ Journal, which backed a letter calling on Gove to intervene in M&S’s Oxford Street plans, has been raising awareness of the carbon footprint of new-builds via its Retro First campaign. He says three-quarters of local authorities have now declared a climate emergency but “many of them haven’t got to grips when it comes to planning and development”. He says more than a third of the lifetime emissions of a typical office block and more than half that of residential buildings are used up in construction, so for councils with such environmental concerns it will become “nonsensical to keep waving proposals through” on new-builds. “People are starting to realise the impact of reuse on a huge scale, like construction, because they understand it on the small scale,” he says. “They are looking at buying secondhand clothes or realising they shouldn’t change their smartphone every six months.” Nicholas Boys Smith, the director of the thinktank Create Streets, says: “Clearly the expectation of the public and the political process is moving. Change is on the way without a shadow of a doubt.” With carbon concerns rising up the agenda, he says there will be “some inconsistency” in decision making and some councils and developers will be caught out. The M&S plans may have attracted national attention, but similar projects nearby, such as the demolition and redevelopment of a House of Fraser store in Victoria, have seemingly been waved through without much drama. An entire town centre is scheduled to be hit by the wrecking ball in Cumbernauld in Scotland, as is a former Debenhams in Torquay, Devon, while there are battles over plans to knock down a Debenhams in Taunton. An application to raze another in Harrogate has recently been withdrawn. On Oxford Street alone, some stores have already been demolished and rebuilt. However, the former Debenhams, House of Fraser, Next and Topshop stores are all being refitted rather than razed. Outside London, there are numerous examples of building rejigs including the Jenners building in Edinburgh and the Hammonds of Hull food hall which was created within a former House of Fraser. Melanie Leech, the chief executive of the British Property Federation, says developers are “already embracing the circular economy and responding to the market demand for more sustainable buildings”. She called on the government to do more to accelerate progress including planning reforms to prioritise the reuse of buildings and a VAT exemption for refurbishment works. In Westminster, there may yet be a change of tack on M&S’s project after the Conservative administration was pushed out by Labour in recent council elections for the first time since its creation in 1964. Geoff Barraclough, a councillor responsible for planning, said: “The council is serious about reducing the environmental impact of new development by emphasising the benefits of retrofitting over demolition.” He welcomed Gove’s intervention, saying “all the issues raised by this case can be rigorously tested”. Henrietta Billings, the director of Save Britain’s Heritage, adds: “There are plenty of examples where you can, with a bit of imagination, revise existing buildings without having to knock them down. “We have got to get to a point where demolishing buildings unnecessarily is unacceptable because of the environmental costs – where [demolition] is the last resort rather than the first resort.”
|
['business/marksspencer', 'business/commercial-property', 'business/retail', 'business/realestate', 'business/business', 'environment/carbonfootprints', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'business/construction', 'uk/uk', 'politics/planning', 'uk/london', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/sarahbutler', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business']
|
environment/carbon-emissions
|
EMISSIONS
|
2022-06-24T13:45:12Z
| true
|
EMISSIONS
|
commentisfree/2008/dec/12/climate-change-poznan
|
Andy Atkins: At Poznan, the UK must show real leadership on climate change
|
Here at the United Nations climate talks in Poland, the world has gathered to thrash out a plan to stop climate change devastating our planet. The talks are an important stepping stone towards a crucial new international agreement on climate change, due to be sewn up in Copenhagen next year. The science is clear about what needs to happen – rich countries must cut their emissions by 40% by 2020. This must be met with real cuts at home – not by buying chunks of overseas forests to offset our emissions. And good news is that investing in renewable energy and cutting energy waste here in the UK will create jobs and exciting new business opportunities. At the same time, industrialised countries must provide finance to poorer nations – to enable them to build green sustainable economies too and cope with the increased storms, floods, droughts and famines that they face as climate change takes hold. This is truly an investment worth making – if we don't act now, climate change is just going to get worse and more expensive. But with not long to go, the talks in Poland are moving at snail's pace and it's becoming clear that they are the victim of the world's most dangerous diary clash. In parallel to the UN climate conference, the European Union is deep in discussion and its own plans for climate and energy are up in the air. So here in Poland Europe has very little to say, even though up to now it has claimed to be a world leader on climate change. And to make matters worse, news is trickling through from Brussels that Europe is even watering down previous commitments it made to take action to tackle climate change. The climate change minister, Ed Miliband, is now in Poland, and it's an opportunity for him to show real leadership on the issue. He must commit the UK to slashing its own greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2020 – and show that the UK is willing to put cash on the table for poorer countries. In the absence of any leadership from Europe, the UK must get these climate talks moving. The stakes are high – failure to get a fair and effective deal on climate next year will increase even further the chances of the world tipping into catastrophic climate change.
|
['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'tone/comment', 'environment/poznan', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'commentisfree/cif-green', 'environment/global-climate-talks', 'type/article', 'profile/andy-atkins']
|
environment/global-climate-talks
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
2008-12-12T16:00:00Z
| true
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
global-development-professionals-network/2014/may/09/climate-change-yeb-sano-fasting-campaign
|
#fastfortheclimate: gimmick or powerful climate change campaign?
|
When we think of hunger strikes historical figures tend to come to mind: Gandhi, the suffragettes, Irish republican Bobby Sands. But what would it look like if we transplanted this established form of protest into the digital age? The recent fast for the climate campaign may give us a starting point. The campaign has drawn its inspiration from Philippines climate change commissioner Yeb Sano's 13-day hunger strike at the post-Typhoon Haiyan's COP19. This individual protest has grown into an active social media campaign for climate change action. Faith groups, environmental NGOs, youth groups and grassroots organisations from across the globe are congregating around the hashtag #fastfortheclimate to call for a collective fast at the start of every month. Sano, who following COP19 has become the unofficial face of the movement, describes it as "a spontaneous global phenomenon". "Since my original fast it has snowballed into #fastfortheclimate. The social media campaign is now moving into a new era of more organised collaboration among the participating organisations. This month we launched an online platform." Sano recognises that the campaign has yet to see concrete results, but argues that it is not just another voice in the awareness-raising chorus. "Fast for the climate has done what we have found difficult to do in the past decade – which is to unify the voices of civil society. The organisations collaborating in this movement represent a very broad spectrum of views and voices." This achievement may have something to do with the emotive language of the campaign. When questioned on its aims and impact, Sano speaks in terms of a "planetary awakening" and LWF Youth, an active supporter of the movement, describes it as an example of "spiritual solidarity". The campaign is not only going for the hearts and minds of the public, but seeking engagement on a deeper level. Sano sees fasting as the most effective means of achieving this. "Fasting is one of the most powerful means of peaceful action to drive change. It is both a symbolic and active form of transformational change. People fast become agents of change and instruments of justice." So how should we evaluate this type of campaigning and what should we anticipate as its outcome? Can a spiritual awakening that hangs on a hashtag be anything more than a gimmick? And will the virtual unity created by these individual commitments lead to any tangible progress? While Sano is mindful of the ethics behind heartstrings campaigning, for him it's important not to lose sight of emotional engagement as a trigger for understanding and for action. The crucial thing is to "make people believe in the story before it is too late", says Sano. "Climate change has always been esoteric for many and has had its own set of technical jargon that only climate negotiators seem to comprehend. The speech I delivered on behalf of my country in the face of Haiyan gave climate change a human dimension." Sano recognises that his advocacy has been given extra gravitas by his nationality. "A message is always made more effective by a credible messenger. A country that sits high in the rankings of climate risk, such as the Philippines, sits on a moral high ground, and puts you in a unique position to negotiate. People search for leaders, and leaders who weep with their people send a very powerful image." If campaigns are best judged on their results rather than the medium of the message, then it is too early to deliver a verdict on #fastfortheclimate. While a growing and diverse movement, it remains to be seen how long it will be able to sustain its momentum. The jury is also out on whether this campaign is a gimmick or has any real power. Perhaps this is a false dichotomy and #fastfortheclimate can be both. Perhaps it also depends how far Sano's original message will be hijacked by international NGOs. What is clear, though, is that campaign's progression very much depends on Sano, as a 'voice of the victims'. Read more stories like this: • Typhoon Haiyan was just the start – prepare for an ever stormier future • Top 10: climate change campaigns • Climate change laws: time to act on the IPCC report? Join the community of global development professionals and experts. Become a GDPN member to get more stories like this direct to your inbox
|
['working-in-development/working-in-development', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'global-development-professionals-network/policy-advocacy', 'global-development-professionals-network/communications', 'environment/global-climate-talks', 'environment/cop-19-un-climate-change-conference-warsaw', 'type/article', 'global-development-professionals-network/series/climate-change', 'profile/holly-young']
|
environment/global-climate-talks
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
2014-05-09T12:11:08Z
| true
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
global-development/2012/jun/15/rio20-voice-manzini-swaziland
|
Rio+20: A voice from Manzini, Swaziland
|
If you look at the millennium development goals not one of them is unaffected by climate change. When I was growing up, the summer rains in Manicaland would start in August or September and end in April. Now the rains come in November or December. They are very heavy and they end around February. My parents have not had a maize harvest for five years. They are only managing to grow groundnuts and millet now. When boreholes dry up around October, you start to have sanitation issues, like cholera or diarrhoea. When rivers dry up because the rains are late, livestock die and children are kept out of school. In rural Zimbabwe people pay school expenses – fees, books and uniforms – by selling their cattle. When families have no cattle, children are kept out of school. This aggravates the Aids situation because teenage girls hang around the shops and have sex with strangers for $10. That is when they get HIV. You cannot address sustainable development or start talking about solar energy until people have something to eat. That is why HIV educators in Zimbabwe now travel with the people handing out food aid. They say "now you have food, let us talk about condoms or about the importance of diet when taking your anti-retrovirals".
|
['global-development/environmental-sustainability', 'global-development/global-development', 'environment/rio-20-earth-summit', 'environment/global-climate-talks', 'environment/sustainable-development', 'environment/environment', 'tone/interview', 'global-development/series/global-development-voices', 'society/aids-and-hiv', 'type/article']
|
environment/global-climate-talks
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
2012-06-15T09:26:57Z
| true
|
CLIMATE_POLICY
|
lifeandstyle/2022/sep/30/experience-i-guard-the-amazon-rainforest
|
Experience: I guard the Amazon rainforest
|
My family have lived in our indigenous territory for generations; the Maranhão region of northern Brazil is my ancestral home. For centuries, across 400,000 hectares of land, my people – the Guajajara – have preserved our traditions and the natural world there, looking after the Amazon rainforest, the scrublands and hills. Our traditions help us sustain the environment, and in return nature provides for us: trees give us food and medicine, we hunt animals, water sustains all life. Our community of 15,000 Indigenous people inherited our rituals and customs from those who went before us. Also passed down to us, however, was the need to fight. Since 1500, when the Portuguese arrived (uninvited, of course) to our country, our land has been under constant attack. As a child, my grandfather explained all this to me. A warrior of the forest, he understood the grave dangers people and the planet faced. He’s no longer with us, but I continue his legacy. Because in recent decades, the threat and violence has got worse. Our environment is being destroyed for capitalist greed and gain. Around us is illegal logging, hunting and mining, the poisoning of soil and water by businesses, deforestation and local communities being displaced. Invasions of our lands and massacres of our people are common. In 2007, one of our tribal leaders, Tomé Guajajara, was killed in his village during an armed invasion by loggers. It made us realise we needed to formalise our fight. In 2012, we found 72 illegal entry points in our territory which needed closing. In 2013, we formalised our efforts, founding the Guardians of the Forest. Since then, six Guardians have been killed, most recently Janildo Guajajara who was shot dead last month. We are local people taking matters into our own hands to protect ourselves and our land. For me, there was no question I would be part of this resistance. I’ve witnessed these murders of close relatives, friends and neighbours. Not a single killer has been put behind bars. Those who perpetrate this violence – and the authorities that are complicit – show a total disregard for our way of life. When we see an illegal camp or identify a new incursion, we Guardians have an advantage. Our knowledge of the forest runs far deeper than theirs. Our networks coordinate, study the area, and prepare to act. We are defending ourselves and our territory, yes, but that involves fighting back. We look for the best way to approach while minimising the risks to our safety. We agree on tactics, then surround the camps, and destroy their huts and equipment. We dismantle their trucks, and burn their tractors. They are left with no choice but to go packing. All we want is to preserve our land and to protect ourselves. Our enemies want us dead. They have pistols and automatics, weapons far more deadly than our bows and arrows and a few hunting rifles. And they show little regard for the authorities or the law. And who can blame them? We send so much information to the government, but they never take notice. We can’t trust the environment agency, the military or the police to do anything. In our view, they’re all complicit in these crimes – they have the power to act, but they refuse. And European countries send money in international aid. It’s simply corrupt. Our resistance is working. Today there are only five illegal entry points into our land. We need the world to listen; to see the violence against us and say “no more”. But this struggle extends beyond our territory’s borders – it’s about the future of our shared planet, and the natural world surviving. It’s about your grandchildren and mine having a chance at a future. The environment is being destroyed: food and water will be more scarce, disasters more frequent, temperatures rising even higher. I have no option but to act: my life – and the lives of those in my family – depend on it. But in all honesty, that’s true of every person on this planet. Survival International has been supporting the Guardians’ work. • As told to Michael Segalov Do you have an experience to share? Email experience@theguardian.com
|
['lifeandstyle/series/experience', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'environment/amazon-rainforest', 'campaign/email/inside-saturday', 'environment/environment', 'environment/forests', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/saturday', 'theguardian/saturday/cuttings', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/saturday-magazine']
|
environment/forests
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
2022-09-30T09:00:34Z
| true
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
business/2006/nov/14/nuclearindustry.nuclearpower
|
Nuclear safety fears amid talk of huge payoffs for senior staff
|
Redundancies among top staff at British Nuclear Group - including the chief executive Lawrie Haynes - have raised fears about a brain drain that could hit safety. The departures, resulting from the government's plan to break up the state-owned group and sell to the private sector, promise to trigger huge payoffs for some. BNG said it "cannot comment" but well-placed sources outside of the company said Mr Haynes and others were negotiating departure packages that could be as high as £1m in the case of the chief executive. The planned exit of Mr Haynes comes a few months after the resignation of Dipesh Shah, chief executive of another government-owned nuclear group, the UK Atomic Energy Authority. Greenpeace expressed alarm at the leeching away of vital skills from inside an industry that oversees some of the United Kingdom's 's most sensitive atomic sites, including the huge Sellafield complex. "I worry that the exit of people such as Lawrie Haynes sends a bad message to others and that we will also see the end of managers and scientists whose knowledge forms the backbone of safety at Sellafield and elsewhere," said Jean McSorely, a nuclear spokeswoman for Greenpeace. Mr Haynes, who joined BNG in 2001 from the Highways Agency, earns about £500,000 a year and is on a one-year contract, which includes bonus payments for events such as the sell-off or break-up of BNG. He originally wanted BNG to be kept together as one entity but the board of its parent company British Nuclear Fuels Ltd eventually decided it should be broken up into its constituent parts. He has been on the BNFL board since August last year, giving him access to bonuses for wider sell-offs such as the design and engineering group Westinghouse. Ian Jackson, who runs a nuclear consulting company, said he was "not surprised" at Mr Haynes' planned departure and said he should have little problem finding a new post. About 15,000 staff work at BNG and some have expressed great concern about the future of their pensions as the restructuring of the company takes shape. A strike ballot organised by the Prospect union over the issue is on hold while further talks take place with BNG's Sellafield management.
|
['business/business', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'profile/terrymacalister']
|
environment/nuclearpower
|
ENERGY
|
2006-11-14T00:20:26Z
| true
|
ENERGY
|
uk/2009/apr/23/budget-2009-greenhouse-gas-cuts-environment
|
Budget 2009: Greenhouse gas emissions cuts promised
|
The government promised to cut greenhouse gases by 34% in just over a decade in a bold effort to transform the way the UK economy works. Chancellor Alistair Darling intends to reach the ambitious target by using so-called "carbon budgets", which fix binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions over five-year periods. The 34% target is in line with the advice of the government's watchdog, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC). "This represents a step change in the UK ambition on climate change," said the budget report. The reduction would not include the purchase of carbon credits created from cuts made in other countries, but the report said these "offsets" could be a "fallback option", adding that the target cut would be higher if there were "satisfactory" global agreement on cutting emissions. But it stopped short of committing to the higher 42% cut recommended by the CCC in those circumstances. The announcement makes Britain the first country to set legally binding targets. While welcoming the move, environmental campaigners warned not enough was being done. Friends of the Earth, the charity that led a mass public campaign for the Climate Change Act, which created the targets, said the 34% cut was no longer enough. "Setting the first ever carbon budgets is a ground-breaking step - but the government has ignored the latest advice from leading climate scientists and set targets that are completely inadequate," said Andy Atkins, the organisation's executive director. "A 42% cut by 2020 is the minimum required." There was also widespread criticism that the budget did not include enough money for renewable power generation, or energy efficiency for homes and other buildings. The budget also promised up to four "demonstration" projects for carbon capture and storage for coal and gas power plants, and £60m of new spending on research and development of the unproven technology, but critics said these partial capture schemes would not be enough if the government went ahead with plans for up to eight new coal-fired stations.
|
['uk/budget', 'environment/environment', 'environment/carbon-capture-and-storage', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'environment/carbonfootprints', 'environment/carbon-offset-projects', 'uk/uk', 'tone/news', 'uk/budget-2009', 'type/article', 'profile/juliettejowit', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/budget-2009', 'theguardian/budget-2009/budget-2009']
|
environment/carbonfootprints
|
EMISSIONS
|
2009-04-22T23:01:00Z
| true
|
EMISSIONS
|
environment/2021/may/30/recycling-textile-waste-a-solution-exists-we-cant-go-backwards
|
Recycling textile waste: ‘A solution exists, we can’t go backwards’
|
An Australian startup working on a process to recycle textiles by turning worn-out fabric into raw materials says it has funding to build a world-first commercial-scale plant in Queensland. The federal government held a first national roundtable on textile waste on Wednesday – recognition of a piling-up problem that results in Australians discarding an estimated 780,000 tonnes of textile waste each year, according to a 2020 national waste report. The problem is exacerbated by the lack of an effective recycling process. Studies show many large-scale garment recycling systems provide negligible benefits and can be as environmentally harmful as producing raw fabrics. BlockTexx, an Australian company that has developed its process with researchers at the Queensland University of Technology, hopes it can help “close the loop” by diverting textiles from landfill, and at the same time replacing virgin material. The company’s founders, Graham Ross and Adrian Jones, say the technology has been refined during the pandemic and they now have the $5.5m investment needed to build a first large-scale facility at Logan, south of Brisbane. Ross and Jones – both veterans of the clothing and fashion industry – say they have enough supply and demand to expand, before the first plant has been built. “From this original idea we always knew we were early to the market, but also a lot of technical barriers we need to overcome,” Ross said. “We always seem to talk about textile waste. We always think about how can we take that and turn that into a valuable product. “The byproduct is we’re solving environmental issues.” Alice Payne, an associate professor at QUT and the program leader at the centre for a waste free world, said problems with textile waste have been accelerated since the 1980s by global trade policies. Lowered tariffs encouraged more imports. Cheaper fabrics allowed the phenomenon of “fast fashion” to flourish. “Clothes are cheaper than ever – it’s possible to buy more and more,” Payne said. “In parallel we’ve seen this stark rise in consumption of synthetic fibres. They’re low cost, they have an ease of consumption compared to natural fibres. “When you blend a synthetic fibre with a natural fibre you create a monstrous hybrid. The common problem with all attempts at recycling is the more mixed material you have, the more problem you have reusing those resources.” The process developed by BlockTexx and QUT researchers – called “separation of fabric technology” – is noteworthy because it is designed to handle hybrid fabrics. It turns cotton to cellulose and polyester to flake for industrial uses like injection moulding. Their aim for the first plant is to recycle about 10,000 tonnes a year by the end of 2022 – initially focusing mostly on commercial fabrics, including old towels and sheets from hotels and hospitals. Ross said that after two years of lab testing, they were comfortable they could commercialise the process, and that it was producing raw recycled materials of very high quality. “We’ve now got a product where we can consistently compare our product to virgin material,” he said. The company would begin to recycle post-consumer waste when it scales up capacity. Plans have been drawn up for a 40,000-tonne plant. BlockTexx envisages licensing its technology on a global scale. “[The size of the first plant] is significant, but equally only a drop in the ocean of the amount of textiles going to landfill,” Ross said. “This is definitely a global model. The world has a textile problem. Our solution needs to go to the problem, because we can’t bring the problem to the solution. “We see ourselves as a technology company. We already have several large waste and textile companies around the world saying this is really interesting. “The other smart thing about our model is that it’s very modular – it can be run on a small scale and we can expand it.” Jones said: “Whatever happens from now, because a solution exists, we can’t go backwards. “I’m not trying to say that from tomorrow we’re not going to put textiles into landfill, we’re not going to export textile waste. “But we’ve now got the opportunity to do something. It really does move the discussion from the art of the possible to the art of the practical and that’s really important in this space.”
|
['environment/recycling', 'environment/environment', 'environment/waste', 'technology/technology', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'type/article', 'profile/ben-smee', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news']
|
environment/waste
|
POLLUTION_AND_WASTE
|
2021-05-29T20:00:35Z
| true
|
POLLUTION_AND_WASTE
|
food/2018/aug/18/waste-not-broad-beans-pods
|
Eating broad beans the right way – pods and all
|
Taste is largely cultural and learned through our experiences – for example, depending on where you grew up, you might have eaten Frosties for breakfast or fermented fish. But bitter flavours are good for us: they aid digestion and add a depth of flavour to food. For this reason, I never peel broad beans (even later in summer, when they grow large and bitter); this also saves both unnecessary waste and preparation time. They work well in stews, pilafs and other robust dishes, adding complexity and flavour. While researching for my last book, The Natural Cook, I was surprised to find that even the pods are edible, and if anything, taste better than the beans. Chop them up and add to a stew, or turn them into today’s lovely fried snack. Just remember that older pods are fibrous, a bit like artichoke leaves, so discard the chewy core once you’ve devoured the flesh. If you grow your own beans, you can also eat the small leaves: steam or wilt them much as you would spinach. You can also use the flowers to perk up your salads. Fried broad bean pods Take a handful of empty broad bean pods (use the beans in another dish). In a bowl, season two tablespoons of flour with salt, pepper and a teaspoon each of cumin and coriander, then toss the pods in the mix. Heat 1cm frying oil in a saucepan, drop in one piece of floured broad bean pod, and when it bubbles and rises to the surface, add the rest of the pods. Fry until golden brown, turning to make sure they’re evenly cooked, remove and serve with yoghurt and herbs.
|
['food/series/waste-not', 'food/food', 'tone/recipes', 'tone/features', 'environment/food-waste', 'environment/environment', 'food/vegetables', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'environment/waste', 'type/article', 'profile/tom-hunt', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/feast', 'theguardian/feast/feast', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/feast']
|
environment/waste
|
POLLUTION_AND_WASTE
|
2018-08-18T05:00:42Z
| true
|
POLLUTION_AND_WASTE
|
environment/2018/sep/22/great-barrier-reef-marine-park-authority-director-quits-over-potential-conflict-of-interest
|
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority director quits over potential conflict of interest
|
A board director of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has resigned following reports of a potential conflict of interest over the allocation of publicly-funded contracts to control crown-of-thorns starfish. Margie McKenzie told the environment minister, Melissa Price, of her plan to resign late last week over “perceived concerns of a conflict of interest”. It followed reports by the ABC that McKenzie’s diving company Gempearl, which she owns with husband Col McKenzie, was subcontracted to perform crown-of-thorns starfish removal work by two not-for-profit companies. The authority spent more than $20m in taxpayer money on the pest control program. The not-for-profit agencies were selected through a tender process. Col McKenzie is the executive director and company secretary on one of the winning agencies, the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators, and is a board member on the other, the Reef and Rainforest Research Centre. Margie McKenzie declared her interest in Gempearl to the marine park authority in 2015, two years after joining the board, and told the ABC she had left the room during any discussions about crown-of-thorns starfish. In a statement, Price said she was examining the authority’s governance structures before proposed changes to its governing legislation, which stem from an independent review of the authority released by the federal government last year. “It is extremely important that real or perceived conflicts of interest are declared and managed appropriately,” she said. “Due to concerns about perceived conflicts of interest, Ms McKenzie has advised she will tender her resignation to the governor general.” Guardian Australia has contacted McKenzie for comment. Price said managing crown-of-thorns starfish, which prey on coral, was “critically important”. She supported a statement made by the authority on Wednesday, which said it did not have the power to make procurement or funding decisions related to the crown-of-thorns starfish control program. “My department, with the authority, is examining the adequacy of the processes the authority has in place for managing conflicts of interest, and whether those processes will be adequate for managing conflicts when the authority’s new legislated board arrangements take effect in the coming months,” she said. The independent governance review made 24 recommendations, including separating the roles of chairperson and CEO, ensuring the chairperson is independent of any interests on the reef, and changing the authority’s governing legislation to ensure that board members are not also the member of a governing body of any relevant group in order to reduce the potential for conflict of interest. The Great Barrier Reef Amendment (Authority Governance and Other Matters) Act 2018 passed parliament in February, but the schedule governing conflict of interest will not take effect until March 2019. The Australian Conservation Foundation chief executive, Kelly O’Shanassy, said the legislated governance reforms should be enacted “straightaway”. “The Great Barrier Reef must be managed properly for all Australians and for the fundamental ecological health of this amazing ecosystem,” she said.
|
['environment/great-barrier-reef', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/environment', 'australia-news/australian-politics', 'environment/marine-life', 'type/article', 'profile/calla-wahlquist', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news']
|
environment/great-barrier-reef
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
2018-09-22T02:09:07Z
| true
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
news/2020/aug/14/weatherwatch-megaripples-the-winds-of-mars-can-move-the-desert
|
Weatherwatch: the winds of Mars can move
|
The Red planet is windier than we thought. The movement of “megaripples” in Martian desert sands reveals that powerful winds do occur, and that Mars has a more dynamic atmosphere than previously assumed. Megaripples are features of deserts on both Earth and Mars. These larger waveforms (up to tens of metres across) have courser grains of sand at their crest and migrate more slowly than their smaller cousins, requiring stronger winds to shift the larger sand grains. Until recently scientists had considered the megaripples on Mars to be stationary – a relic of Mars’s more geologically active past. But high resolution images gathered by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter since 2006, show Martian megaripples moving up to 1.2m over five Martian years – just over twice as fast as our hair grows. The atmosphere on Mars is 100 times less dense than Earth’s and many had assumed that this thin atmosphere would make it impossible to whip up winds capable of moving the hefty sand grains that sit at the crest of megaripples. However, the latest findings (published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets) record the stately march of massive Martian megaripples (up to 35m apart), opening up new questions about the weather on Mars.
|
['news/series/weatherwatch', 'science/mars', 'environment/deserts', 'science/meteorology', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/kate-ravilious', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-weather']
|
news/series/weatherwatch
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
2020-08-14T20:30:23Z
| true
|
EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS
|
environment/2022/aug/26/doug-moller-obituary
|
Doug Moller obituary
|
Few people are mythologised in their own lifetime, but Doug Moller, the self-styled King and Lord of the Roaches, who has died aged 89, became so among the townsfolk of Leek and the neighbouring districts. Beneath a wooded ridge of millstone grit called the Roaches in the Staffordshire moorlands is a tiny and primitive castellated dwelling, Rock Hall, built in 1862 as the gamekeeper’s cottage on Swythamley estate. Doug lived there with his wife, Anne, in frugal simplicity for more than a decade. Both were lovers of nature. They talked to passing birds and fed the feral wallabies that had escaped decades earlier from the estate and survived on the moors. But far from the country idyll imagined by the pair when they moved in, they found themselves in a busy outdoor recreational beauty spot. Doug was initially frustrated at the close proximity of weekend climbers and walkers, and on one occasion brandished his felling axe as a warning gesture. After this he wrote to the Leek Post and Times, and to Downing Street and Buckingham Palace, to enlist understanding and support, eventually writing a book, The Wars of the Roaches, which was published in 1991. Thus, hearsay and legend took root. Doug was born in Liverpool. He had four brothers and two sisters but, after his father’s death, they were split up and Doug lived in an orphanage in Durham with his brother Fred throughout his early childhood. By the late 1940s Doug was employed as a labourer on local farms, coalmines and in a shipyard, before enlisting with the Royal Engineers to serve in Kenya. When his tour was complete he stayed in Africa for several years working on railway construction gangs in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. In July 1969 Doug, back in the UK, married Anne, and they moved from Liverpool to the Clwyd valley. They purchased Rock Hall in 1978, expecting to refurbish its interior, but soon realised the cost was beyond their means, which left them to dwell within its cold rock walls, bare earth floor and cave-like cavities without sanitation or power. They took spring water in buckets from beneath a nearby boulder and shopped for food in Leek market, with help from the local postman. As time went on Doug transformed into a friend of the rock-climbing community, which is how I got to know him. He gave advice on the technical skills required to ascend the cliffs safely, and collected up tourists’ litter to “keep his garden clean”. However, one winter, Doug began gathering wood from surrounding trees and fell into dispute with the estate owners, the Peak District National Park Authority. Michael Dower, the visionary director and chief executive of the authority in the early 90s, invited Doug for lunch to discuss his plight. At Doug’s request, beans on toast was served and an amicable solution was secured. Rock Hall was turned into simple bunkhouse accommodation under the management of the British Mountaineering Council. Doug and Anne were given tenancy of a refurbished remote cottage at Knotbury End for a peppercorn rent. As a gesture to Doug’s style, the couple made their final departure from Rock Hall in a white Rolls-Royce. They lived at peace with the surrounding nature, within sound of the snipe and the tumbling River Dane, at Knotbury Farm Cottage from 1989. Anne died in 2003. Doug remained at the cottage for the rest of his life, journeying once a week by bus to Leek to visit the market and to meet friends, who numbered in their hundreds.
|
['environment/national-parks', 'environment/wildlife', 'theguardian/series/otherlives', 'type/article', 'tone/obituaries', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/obituaries', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-obituaries']
|
environment/wildlife
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
2022-08-26T16:44:40Z
| true
|
BIODIVERSITY
|
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