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artanddesign/2024/nov/29/floods-in-valencia-spain-then-and-now-in-pictures | Floods in Valencia, Spain: then and now – in pictures | The worst floods to hit Spain in decades on 29 October killed at least 230 people, covered towns in mud and debris, destroyed bridges, roads and rail lines and submerged cars, mainly in the eastern region of Valencia. A report from Spain’s Higher Council of Colleges of Architects said “the degree of destruction and ruin was historic” in the Valencia region, where 80 towns were deluged by torrential rain. A street in the village of Sedavi A church in Paiporta Railway tracks in Sedavi A street in Paiporta Railway tracks in Sedavi A street in Paiporta A highway in Horno de Alcedo A street in Sedavi A street in Paiporta A street in Paiporta | ['artanddesign/series/photography-then-and-now', 'world/spain', 'world/europe-news', 'world/world', 'environment/flooding', 'type/article', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-pictures-guardian-news'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2024-11-29T14:36:28Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2016/dec/31/humpback-whale-new-york-city-east-river | Whale spotted in New York's East river thought to be a humpback | A large whale, believed to be a humpback, was spotted in the East river in New York City on Saturday. The New York police department’s special operations division posted a photo of the sighting on its Twitter account, with the message that “even the wildlife want to ring in” the new year in New York. US coast guard petty officer Frank Iannazzo-Simmons told the Associated Press those in his office had not seen the whale, but said that based on the photos it appeared to be a humpback. The whale was seen swimming along the shores of Manhattan’s Upper East Side, close to Gracie Mansion, the official residence of Mayor Bill de Blasio. Paul Sieswerda, a retired marine biologist who leads the New York-based volunteer marine wildlife tracking group Gotham Whale, told the Guardian: “It’s uncommon for whales to be around this late in the season, and even more unusual for them to be in the harbor. “Humpbacks would normally be heading for the warm waters of the Dominican Republic.” This has been an exceptional year for whale sightings in the harbor and in the waters off Long Island, Sieswerda said. The first sighting in the river came in April, and a humpback whale was spotted in the East river last month. Another humpack took up residence in the Hudson river and was seen above the George Washington bridge, which connects New York and New Jersey at the north-west tip of Manhattan. That whale became known as “0055” or “Gotham”. “We followed that whale for a number of days,” said Sieswerda, 74, who was previously a curator at the New England and New York aquariums. “It was last seen in early December in the ocean. We’re quite sure that it was lunge-feeding on the menhaden.” There is no reason to think the New Years Eve whale is disorientated, Sieswerda said, as the population of menhaden, a bait fish, has been in increasing in recent years, bringing more whales into the area. Gotham Whale has documented 20 individual whales in the city this year, bring the number documented since 2011 to 50. “We know that the menhaden population has increased and we think that’s because the total allowable catch has been restricted,” said Sieswerda. “We’re working hard to convince the authorities to maintain that limit. We’re encouraging people to support current limits on the menhaden catch.” Whale sightings in and around New York trigger an automatic advisory from the US coast guard and a National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) warning for local boat traffic to slow down. Such a restriction was issued after the Gracie Mansion sighting, with Iannazzo-Simmons saying river users should “let the whale be the whale”. Noaa whale-watching guidelines say no large whale should be intentionally approached within 100ft. By law, endangered North Atlantic right whales cannot be approached within 1,500ft. “It is illegal to interrupt any marine mammal’s natural behavior,” the guidelines say. “If your behavior changes their behavior, back away!” The East river where the likely humpback was spotted has shorelines in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx. It is in fact not a river but a tidal salt estuary, connecting Upper New York Bay to the Long Island Sound. Like the Hudson, it has become considerably cleaner in recent years, as the polluting effects of New York’s industrial and maritime heyday have receded. Two years ago, Sieswerda discussed with the Guardian increased sightings around New York City of whales and other large marine creatures, including seals and great white sharks. “The river used to bring nothing but pollution but in the last five years or so there is cleaner water, more nutrients and less garbage,” he said, adding: “My boat captain says New York is the new Cape Cod.” | ['environment/whales', 'environment/cetaceans', 'environment/environment', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/wildlife', 'us-news/new-york', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/edwardhelmore', 'profile/martin-pengelly', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news'] | environment/marine-life | BIODIVERSITY | 2016-12-31T19:49:20Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
money/blog/2015/nov/14/solar-power-feed-in-tariffs-cut | Cuts to feed-in tariffs won’t stop solar’s eventual rise | It was right of the government to offer generous subsidies to the first households installing roof-top solar electricity panels. Yes, the beneficiaries were wealthier households with up to £20,000 to spare. But it kick-started explosive growth in the industry which helped to push down the cost of later installations, now on around 655,000 roofs across the UK. The government was also right to slash the tariffs paid to householders from 41.6p a unit of electricity back in 2010 to just 12.5p today, as the price of installation fell to just £6,000 or £7,000. Even at 12.5p it looks too generous; why should lower income households have to subsidise, through higher electricity bills, the better off? Renters could not benefit while homeowners could. Some estimates put the cost at around £6 on everyone’s bill. But the government’s expected cut to tariffs in January – reducing payments by 89% – will kill roof-top solar almost overnight. As we report this week, there is a rush to install before the deadline, but after that the lights go out. The subsidies, so despised by climate change deniers, have driven market innovation and price cuts. They are a mostly decent example of how government intervention can spur efficiency and job creation, outweighing the regrettably large number of dodgy double glazing-style sales tactics subsidies also triggered. Even London mayor Boris Johnson says he is “very concerned”, with warnings that up to 20,000 jobs could go in the next few months. What is odd is that we were on the path to zero subsidy anyway. The fast-falling cost of production (after all, the panels are basically made of sand) plus more efficient installation suggests that within a decade or so they could be self financing. Instead, we’ll see installation grind to a halt and British firms go bust. The government counters that the runaway £1.5bn overspend on subsidies has to be reined in, and that its plans to cut payouts “will keep bills as low as possible for hardworking families”. Yet it soon emerged that the planned cuts to subsidies for solar would only net between £40m and £100m by 2020, the equivalent of between 50p and £1.20 a year off the average electricity bill, not £6, according to government background documents. Compare that to the lengths the government will go to underwrite nuclear power projects and encourage fracking in national parks. Cut the subsidy, by all means. Halve it, even. Set a date for its complete removal. The industry will innovate and survive. But slicing it by 87% in one go is plain absurd. The axe falls just as solar is winning support from the unlikeliest of sources. This week the chief investment officer of one of the world’s biggest asset management companies gave a striking prediction, but I can’t name him as it was an off-the-record conversation. Shareholders of the major oil companies are expecting the price of crude to rebound from its current $45-a-barrel level back towards its former $100+ level. They blame the Saudis for pumping oil and forcing the price down to kill off competition from America’s giant fracking fields. But he thinks the game is up for both. Solar power, he reckons, will eventually become so cheap that, coupled with improved battery technology, it will push the price of oil down even further. He is no environmentalist or supporter of the Guardian’s Keep it in the ground campaign, but his cold financial calculation is that the oil companies will be left with stranded assets – which is why they are pumping as much as they can now, even at a low price, to avoid being left with near-worthless stock. Solar is the future, yet the government appears determined to throw it into the industrial dustbin. | ['money/series/onreflection', 'environment/solarpower', 'money/energy', 'money/blog', 'money/money', 'tone/comment', 'environment/energy', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'money/consumer-affairs', 'money/household-bills', 'business/energy-industry', 'technology/energy', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'profile/patrickcollinson', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/money'] | environment/renewableenergy | ENERGY | 2015-11-14T07:00:11Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2009/aug/02/throwing-salad-away | Lucy Siegle on our year-round salad habit and its consequences | What passes for a no-brainer in public health circles doesn't always add up ecologically. For example, the dietary recommendation to eat three portions of oily fish per week - we manage one-third of this - seems audacious when you consider that, even on current consumption levels, industrial fishing has depleted stocks by 90% since 1950. In the process we plunder the protein source of communities in South East Asia by effectively stealing their fish. The fruit-and-veg escalator (the idea that society incrementally increases its consumption) has sacred-cow status. However, scientists from Reading University recently tested it, concluding that we'd need 100,000 more polytunnels across the UK to support a national 5-a-day habit. Cue many "healthy eating alters landscape" headlines. Actually we've already altered the landscape. In Kent, Thanet Earth - the UK's largest greenhouse project - will cover an area the size of 75 football pitches when complete. It's already producing 2.5m tomatoes a week - a fraction of supermarket sales. True, Thanet Earth saves emissions on Dutch imports - and its waste heat is used to supply nearby houses - but this area formerly grew cauliflowers, in soil, in season. As consumers we've jettisoned brassicas in favour of year-round salad vegetables. Big mistake. As Tristram Stuart points out in his bin odyssey Waste (£9.99, Penguin) tomatoes offer rubbish calorific value compared to the energy needed to grow them - the energy that goes into growing the 61,300 tonnes of edible tomatoes that we throw into bins in the UK every year is equal to the amount it would take to grow enough wheat to feed 105 million worldwide. Of the most popular 5-a-day contributors - bananas, fruit juice and salad - there's one carbon-intensive product (juice) and two bin favourites; for every serving of salad eaten in the UK, two are chucked away. All of this is compounded by our trade deficit in fruit. Only 10% of the fruit consumed in the UK is actually from here. That's a lot of carbon. No wonder only 2.8% of us actually bother to eat 5-a-day - we've probably decided it's not worth the hassle. Well, given the compelling health evidence, it is worth it - but don't allow the 5-a-day maxim to become a Trojan horse for watery, nutritionally limp imports and GM trials in the UK. Local, seasonal produce is key to food security as well as nutrition. Rather than pre-packaged fruit juices as part of your 5-a-day, try wild fermentation, for example (wildfermentation.com). Allotments are a great resource, although amazingly, some local authorities balk at the sale of allotment surplus (organiclea.org.uk/sellingallotmentproduce.pdf is a helpful guide). Not all produce can be indigenous - but we can do better than 60%. So eat your greens, but don't get led up the garden path. lucy.siegle@observer.co.uk | ['environment/series/ask-leo-lucy', 'environment/waste', 'environment/ethical-living', 'environment/environment', 'food/food', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'environment/food', 'environment/green-living-blog', 'type/article', 'profile/lucysiegle'] | environment/waste | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2009-08-01T23:01:00Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2023/mar/09/chancellor-jeremy-hunt-6bn-year-uk-homes-energy-efficient | Hunt urged to commit extra £6bn a year to making UK homes energy efficient | A coalition of charities and campaigners have demanded the chancellor funnel more funds into making Britain’s leaky housing stock energy efficient at next week’s budget to help cut bills and protect the environment. In a letter to Jeremy Hunt, more than 20 organisations asked the government to set aside at least £6bn a year over the next decade to support an acceleration in insulating home and installations of heat pumps. The coalition, which includes the charities National Energy Action, Age UK and Greenpeace UK, said Hunt needed to kickstart a renewed drive to improve efficiency to “insulate the whole country against energy price shocks”. The surge in wholesale gas prices, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, has led to soaring energy bills and pushed two million more people into fuel poverty. Campaigners said ensuring heat was not lost through poorly insulated housing would cut domestic costs and reduce emissions. Housing is directly responsible for about 14% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. In the letter, seen by the Guardian, the groups said about 7 million UK households were experiencing “preventable fuel poverty” and that reducing the reliance on gas could help drive down inflation. In his autumn statement in November, Hunt pledged to spend £6.6bn during this parliament on energy efficiency, and announced a further £6bn of funding from 2025, “doubling annual investment”. However, the groups called on the government to commit to spending at least £6bn annually to help upgrade homes, and improve training and supply chains to support the rollout of heat pumps. They want the chancellor to set aside in next week’s budget an initial £5bn for home insulation and £3bn for the installation of heat pumps. A report by a House of Lords committee last month found a £450m boiler upgrade scheme for England and Wales was failing to deliver. Areeba Hamid, the joint executive director of Greenpeace UK, said: “This country is on its knees. High inflation, a shrinking economy and an energy crisis that has forced a quarter of all households into fuel poverty. “Insulation and heat pumps could be the silver bullet the government so desperately needs right now, but only if the chancellor delivers the investment required to get our homes off gas for good. “This isn’t just about insulating homes, but by doing so, the government will also insulate the whole country against energy price shocks that have rocked the economy like the one we’re experiencing now.” Recent research by the thinktank Cambridge Econometrics found adopting energy -efficiency measures and low-carbon household heating could lead to a £6.8bn increase in gross domestic product by 2030. The government is also under pressure to improve the quality of housing after the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who was killed by mould in a social housing flat in Rochdale in 2020. Campaigners have called for private housing landlords to be held to new energy efficiency standards for social housing brought in after the toddler’s death. “Awaab’s law” will set deadlines for social landlords in England and Wales to tackle reported hazards. A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: “We’ll continue to support households even as the milder weather kicks in, with the energy price guarantee set to save the average household £1,000 up to June. At the same time, we’re spending billions to boost the energy efficiency of homes – which has seen 145,000 households move out of fuel poverty.” | ['environment/energyefficiency', 'politics/jeremy-hunt', 'society/housing', 'uk-news/budget-2023', 'environment/energy', 'business/energy-industry', 'environment/environment', 'society/society', 'business/business', 'campaign/email/business-today', 'politics/taxandspending', 'politics/politics', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'uk/budget', 'profile/alex-lawson', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business'] | environment/energy | ENERGY | 2023-03-09T06:00:05Z | true | ENERGY |
technology/2017/sep/12/samsung-galaxy-note-foldable-screen-2018-smartphones | Samsung plans to sell a Galaxy Note with a foldable screen in 2018 | Samsung is aiming to launch a Note smartphone with a screen that folds next year, which would likely be the first available to feature such an innovation. Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung’s mobile business, said the company is setting its eyes on 2018 to release a smartphone using its bendable OLED screen technology, but he said there are several hurdles it has to overcome, leaving room to push back the release if those problems are not solved. Koh said: “As the head of the business, I can say our current goal is next year. When we can overcome some problems for sure, we will launch the product.” Analysts said mass-producing a foldable phone with top tech features and a thin body will take time. Koh did not elaborate what the problems facing consumerisation of the foldable screen technology were. When Samsung will release its first foldable phone, previously dubbed the “Galaxy X”, has been a question in the market since Samsung first showcased a flexible display prototype called Youm in 2013. For at least the past two years, there have been rumours that Samsung is close to showing off its first folding smartphones. South Korean rival LG gained patents for a foldable tablet and displayed a working concept device earlier this year that could fold to create a phone-shaped device or unfold to create a much larger tablet. Chinese rival Lenovo showed off a similar 7.8in foldable tablet device, the Folio, which converts into a device with a 5.5in screen. But neither LG nor Lenovo publicly stated a timeframe for a consumer release of a foldable product. Samsung has used its bendable screen technology in a variety of smartphones and televisions to create curved displays displays for its Galaxy S and Galaxy Note devices and curved TVs. It also sold a large, 78in TV that could convert from curved to flat and back again by bending the screen at the edges. For years the idea of a device that could be both a tablet and a smartphone, altering its form to serve the user best at different times, has been the holy grail of technology. While the screen technology has been in place to enable it for several years, at least in prototype form, longevity of the displays and the inflexibility of other necessary components has held the concept back from the market. Analysts are sceptical the technology can be perfected in a short space of time, but science fiction, including the recent HBO series Westworld, has shown how well the concept could work should the technology be ironed out. Samsung Galaxy Note 8 review: a greatest hits package from the godfather of phablets | ['technology/samsung', 'technology/smartphones', 'technology/technology', 'technology/gadgets', 'technology/mobilephones', 'technology/telecoms', 'technology/computing', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/samuel-gibbs', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-technology'] | technology/gadgets | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2017-09-12T11:12:04Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2015/apr/20/humpback-whales-noaa-population-segments-endangered-list | Humpback whales, endangered no more? Most may be removed from list | Most of the world’s humpback whales could soon be taken off the endangered species list. On Monday, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) proposed that humpbacks be split into 14 population segments, allowing for 10 populations to be removed from the endangered list. Two of the other four populations would be listed as threatened, and only the humpbacks of the Arabian Sea and north-west Africa would remain listed as endangered. The other 10 populations would still be protected under the US Marine Mammal Protection Act. Currently, all humpback whales are listed as endangered. “As we learn more about the species – and realize the populations are largely independent of each other – managing them separately allows us to focus protection on the animals that need it the most,” Eileen Sobeck, assistant NOAA administrator for fisheries, said in a statement. The proposal is likely to face opposition from conservationists. One, Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director and senior biologist for Whale and Dolphin Conservation North America, said the proposal was premature. “Humpbacks are a really complicated species to really review for declaring these distinct population segments,” she told the Guardian on Monday. “They are highly migratory in most places, but not everywhere.” According to Jennifer Kennedy, executive director of Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation, even if a particular population seems to be doing well, there are other problems to consider, including entanglement and boat accidents. “We could be having as many if not more animals getting entangled each year than can reproduce,” said Asmutis-Silvia, who said the humpback population off the coast of New England could be losing 3% a year to entanglement, while about 15% of such whales had been hit by a boat. “It’s not so simple as drawing a line and saying: ‘They belong to this population and there’s a lot of them so we are going to take them off the list’,” Asmutis-Silvia said. The proposal is now open to a 90-day public comment period. “They are certainly going to get a lot of feedback from us,” said Asmutis-Silvia, adding that the public should be interested in this issue as humpback whales play an important role in both the ecosystem and the local economy. “They have an economic value. Internationally, they are probably the No 1 species targeted by whale watching,” she said. “So, there’s a vested interest in making sure that these populations are maintained and healthy.” | ['environment/whales', 'environment/cetaceans', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/environment', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/jana-kasperkevic'] | environment/cetaceans | BIODIVERSITY | 2015-04-20T19:57:42Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
global-development/2024/mar/01/air-pollution-kills-7-million-a-year-global-fund-calls-acc | Calls for a global fund to tackle air pollution, killer of 7m a year | Seven million people die each year from illnesses attributable to air pollution, yet it has never had global recognition in the same way as Aids, tuberculosis and malaria, and now there are growing calls from the health sector for that to change. Relative to other health issues that have access to billion-dollar global funds, air pollution has a far greater health impact, said Christa Hasenkopf, the director of clean air programmes at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (Epic). Pollution contributes to millions of deaths every year from conditions such as heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer or pneumonia. That exceeds the 630,000 who died of Aids in 2022, the 608,000 malaria deaths in the same year and even the 1 million who die annually as a result of diarrhoea. Sunil Dahiya, a south Asia analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, said: “It’s a slow poison; you slowly move towards death and, because of the slow nature of this pandemic, we globally have not been able to respond to it the way we should.” Less than 1% of international development finance and philanthropic funding goes towards air pollution, according to the Clean Air Fund. Chad, Iraq and Pakistan are the top three most-polluted countries. “Nobody is saying stop funding work on malaria and tuberculosis and fund work on air pollution instead, but what we are saying is that if you address air pollution, you’re going to reduce multiple non-communicable diseases (NCDs),” said Sean Maguire, the director of strategic partnerships at the fund. Like similar mechanisms, a global fund for air pollution could operate on a replenishment basis, suggested Hasenkopf, financed by governments and donors. The focus, said Diane Archer, asenior research fellow at the Stockholm Environment Institute, should be on reducing air pollutants in lower and middle-income countries and improving response to NCD symptoms. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, sees life expectancy reduced by an estimated three years as a result of poor quality air. Paulson Kasereka Isevulambire, of the African Research Centre on Air Quality and Climate, who is researching the link between NCDs and pollution in DRC, said greater recognition of the issue was needed. “Like the approach which has been applied for Aids, malaria and TB – and has been successful – that can also be the case for a global fund for air pollution,” he said. Not everyone is in favour. Peter Baker, the deputy director of the global health policy programme at the Center for Global Development, a nonprofit thinktank in the US, said so many emerging global funds make it “administratively hard” for governments. He suggested the issue cuts across transport, energy and infrastructure. With other disease areas, it can be a case of providing medication or bednets, but with air pollution and NCDs, the solution lies in changes “that it would be hard for a single global fund to manage”, he said. Epic plans to launch a fund later this year to focus on data gaps. According to OpenAQ, just 38% of countries share real-time air quality data, so policymakers don’t have the evidence they need. Raising an annual $4m-$8m (£3.2m-£6.3m) from donors would make “a huge dent” in changing that, Hasenkopf said, adding that open data allows better-informed interventions. “This silent killer is there and the community is unaware of what is happening, including all the health effects it is causing, but also decision-makers don’t have evidence-based data and information for them to take action,” Isevulambire said. Liz Arnanz, a policy manager at the NCD Alliance, said: “Current climate financing targets are still falling short and NCDs are chronically underfunded, so greater investment coherence is needed to ensure both agendas are driven forward.” | ['global-development/series/a-common-condition', 'environment/air-pollution', 'global-development/global-development', 'society/aids-and-hiv', 'world/malaria', 'society/tuberculosis', 'world/world', 'society/philanthropy', 'global-development/aid', 'environment/environment', 'society/health', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/root-rebecca', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/global-development'] | environment/air-pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2024-03-01T08:00:50Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
uk-news/undercover-with-paul-lewis-and-rob-evans/2014/jun/27/undercover-police-and-policing-police-and-crime-commissioners | Further headaches for police chiefs as more activists' convictions could be quashed | Guardian Undercover Blog | Another strand of the police's long-running undercover infiltration of political groups appears to be slowly unravelling. Yesterday, Theresa May, the home secretary, unveiled the scope of an independent review. (See here for the announcement, with coverage here in the Guardian and here by the BBC). It will examine whether more campaigners have been unjustly convicted because crucial evidence gathered by undercover police may have been concealed from their trials. Potentially this could lead to a significant number of convictions being overturned. This latest review will be led by Mark Ellison, the QC who concluded in March that Scotland Yard's undercover unit, the Special Demonstration Squad, had spied on the family of murdered teenager, Stephen Lawrence. This new review by Ellison has an interesting genesis. While Ellison was examining claims surrounding the Lawrence controversy, he seems to have come across other things that left him concerned. Although expressed in lawyerly tones, it is striking that he seems to have gone out of his way to make public his concerns and flag them up to the home secretary. To her credit, May responded by asking Ellison to start this new review. The concerns are described in the report he produced in March into the Lawrence controversy (see pages 274/5 here) in what he politely calls a "postscript on undercover policing". Ellison describes how the police enveloped the undercover infiltration in an 'extraordinary level of secrecy' to prevent it being exposed. Blaming not just the SDS but the 'wider' Metropolitan Police, he says that the undercover police operated as if they were exempted from the legal rules requiring them to disclose evidence to ensure fair trials. He says that undercover officers in the SDS - 'shrouded in almost total secrecy' - used their fake identities when they appeared in court. (For one alleged instance of this sort, involving SDS spy Jim Boyling in a prosecution of pro-cycling protesters, see this and this). Ellison also says that on occasions, the SDS knew that evidence advanced by prosecutors against campaigners was false, but did nothing. He suggests that police have concealed evidence that could have helped to acquit campaigners or shown that "the undercover officer had encouraged the alleged criminal activity of others". How many campaigners will have their convictions eventually overturned is difficult to predict at this time. The clearest clue to the scale of possible concealment comes from the second report published by Mick Creedon, the Derbyshire Chief Constable running the police's internal investigation into the undercover infiltration of political groups, in March this year. (Incidentally, it is one of the few findings of any worth in a generally shabby report). Creedon says (on page 49 here) that so far, he had identified 24 SDS undercover officers who were arrested while they pretended to be campaigners, some more than once, during the 40 years of the unit's operations (1968 to 2008). He also says that 10 undercover officers are known to have given evidence in court using their fake identities. So far, the authorities have not disclosed any more details. There has however been an admission from one SDS undercover officer, Bob Lambert, who infiltrated environmental and animal rights campaigners in the 1980s. In an interview with Channel 4 News last year, he said he was arrested 'four or five' times while undercover and in 1986 he appeared in a magistrates court charged with a 'minor public order offence'. He added he had to appear in court using his alter ego – rather than his real name – in order to 'maintain cover'. The scope of Elllison's review is wider than expected. It will focus not only on the SDS, but also the National Public Order Intelligence Unit which was set up in I999 to run undercover officers in political groups. Green MP Caroline Lucas, one of the few politicians to try and hold the undercover police to account, had lobbied May to ensure that the Ellison review examined the NPOIU as well as the SDS. Ellison's pro-active reaction stands in contrast to others in authority, who have previously appeared to have been either obstructive or complacent. The first wave of campaigners to have their convictions quashed came in 2011. The unmasking of NPOIU undercover officer Mark Kennedy by activists led to revelations that police and prosecutors had withheld evidence of his infiltration from 26 campaigners who planned to occupy Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station. Twenty had their convictions quashed, and the prosecutions of another six were dropped. The second wave came this year when senior judges overturned the convictions of 29 environmental protesters who had blocked a train carrying coal from going into the Drax power station in North Yorkshire. Again vital evidence gathered by Kennedy had been hidden from their trial, either by police or prosecutors. Evidence of this concealment had been brought to light by activists and their lawyers. They argued that this was a systemic problem as there must have been many other prosecutions of activists in which key evidence gathered by undercover officers had been hidden. But the authorities, including in particular the former Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, rejected their claims, maintaining that the cases involving involving Kennedy's evidence were simply isolated instances. | ['uk/undercover-with-paul-lewis-and-rob-evans', 'tone/blog', 'uk/undercover-police-and-policing', 'uk/police-and-crime-commissioners', 'uk/ukcrime', 'uk/metropolitan-police', 'world/surveillance', 'world/espionage', 'environment/activism', 'uk/mark-kennedy', 'uk/peter-francis', 'law/law', 'politics/theresamay', 'politics/caroline-lucas', 'uk/lawrence', 'world/race', 'world/bernard-hogan-howe', 'uk/uk', 'uk/uk-uncut', 'world/protest', 'type/article', 'profile/robevans'] | environment/activism | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2014-06-27T12:03:18Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
news/2024/oct/24/weatherwatch-on-the-brink-of-overshooting-the-15c-climate-target | Weatherwatch: On the brink of overshooting the 1.5C climate target | In 2015, world leaders in Paris put great hope in keeping the rise in average global temperatures at or below 1.5C. But global temperatures continue rising relentlessly. The world is now on the brink of overshooting the 1.5C target, and then – what? The hope was to stop pumping out CO2 and also remove it from the atmosphere to avoid a cataclysm, but that would need 400 gigatonnes of CO2 to be removed by 2100, using new and as yet untested technology on a vast and economical scale. A recent report shows that even temporarily overshooting 1.5C will still allow climate change to build up over the next several decades. And that means severe storms, intense heatwaves, deluges of rain and many other disastrous outcomes will carry on increasing. Even assuming carbon can be removed on a gigantic scale, impacts such as a total collapse of the Greenland ice sheet, melting permafrost, dieback of the Amazon rainforest, and rising sea levels may all reach the point of no return. Keeping 1.5C in check was an overconfident target, but the longer the world spends in overshoot, the greater the risk of inflicting vast damage across the globe. | ['news/series/weatherwatch', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/jeremy-plester', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-weather'] | news/series/weatherwatch | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2024-10-24T05:00:01Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
business/2023/apr/11/worlds-deepest-offshore-wind-turbine-scottish-coast-sse-seagreen | World’s deepest offshore wind turbine installed off Scottish coast | The world’s deepest offshore wind turbine has been installed almost 17 miles off the coast of Angus as part of Scotland’s biggest offshore windfarm. The Scottish energy company SSE installed the 2,000-tonne turbine foundation at a depth of more than 58 metres (192ft) in the early hours of Easter Sunday as part of the £3bn Seagreen offshore windfarm, which it is developing in partnership with the French oil supermajor TotalEnergies. The record-breaking foundation will be Seagreen’s 112th turbine, of a total of 114; the project will power the equivalent of 1.6m homes. The 1GW windfarm began generating electricity in August last year and will be fully operational by the summer. Alistair Phillips-Davies, the SSE chief executive, said the installation was a significant step towards completing the project and also showed how the company has been able to “innovate and push the boundaries of technology to power change”. The Seagreen windfarm is part of SSE’s plan to invest £12.5bn by 2026 in projects that can accelerate the UK’s path towards becoming a net zero economy. By the end of the decade SSE, which is developing the world’s largest offshore windfarm at Dogger Bank in the North Sea, plans to invest a total of £24bn in the UK alone. SSE is one of the UK’s biggest renewable energy generators, but has raised its full-year profit forecasts twice for the financial year ending 31 March thanks to the lucrative revenues earned by its gas power plants. “The UK has established itself as the world leader on offshore wind and SSE Renewables is building more offshore wind than anyone on the planet,” Phillips-Davies said. “But we want to do more and now is the time to accelerate if we are to achieve the UK’s target of 50GW of offshore wind by 2030.” Graham Stuart, the minister of state for energy security and net zero, added: “This is another terrific milestone for both Scotland and the UK’s world-leading offshore wind industry. As I saw first-hand last week, Seagreen is making history with the world’s deepest wind turbine foundation which, once operational, will play an invaluable role in powering more of Britain from Britain.” SSE was once one of the UK’s biggest domestic energy suppliers but the company sold its household retail business to Ovo Energy in a £500m deal so it could focus on developing renewable power projects. • This article was amended on 13 April 2023. An earlier version referred to the French oil company TotalEnergies as “Total”, which was the company’s name prior to 2021. | ['business/energy-industry', 'business/scottishandsouthernenergy', 'business/utilities', 'business/business', 'campaign/email/business-today', 'uk/scotland', 'uk/uk', 'environment/windpower', 'environment/energy', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/jillian-ambrose', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business'] | environment/energy | ENERGY | 2023-04-11T14:32:49Z | true | ENERGY |
business/2009/mar/08/wind-farms-seek-state-funding | Wind farms seek state aid to keep moving | Britain's wind industry is calling for government support to shield it from the falling pound and ensure existing wind farm projects go ahead. The British Wind Energy Association is to submit a list of demands ahead of next month's budget calling for government loan guarantees and other measures amid City forecasts that the global wind industry is heading for a 20% decline this year. The UK sector has won a deeper level of subsidies to make the recently launched third round of offshore wind licensing more attractive, but argues wider action is still required to save existing schemes. Adam Bruce, chairman of the BWEA, said urgent action was required: "If this [downturn] had happened two years ago it might have killed the industry. It is much more robust now, but clearly there are schemes that are under threat unless help can be obtained." The BWEA says it cannot confirm what kind of help it wants from ministers because this is still being worked out, but loan guarantees and specific aid from the European Investment Bank might be in the mix. The industry says it would also like some short-term financial support similar to what the government is providing for the private finance initiative (PFI). A key difficulty faced by British wind farm developers is that all turbines are imported when the value of the pound is very low against the dollar and euro. Vestas, Britain's biggest turbine maker, ships equipment from Denmark, pushing up the relative cost for UK wind developers. The irony, Bruce says, is that in 2003 Vestas set up a turbine factory at Machrihanish, Scotland, only to close it down last year with the loss of 92 jobs because it said there was too little demand. Faced with these problems, the Royal Bank of Scotland and other leading backers of British wind farms have been pulling in their horns over project financing. Centrica, the owner of British Gas and one of the biggest investors in wind with a £4bn programme, has already sounded the alarm over the perilous economics of the industry. The company said late last year that soaring costs, coupled with the rise in the cost of financing, meant that "we need to revisit all our numbers to ensure that our projects are economic before we give them the go-ahead". Alternative energy analysts at HSBC expect the industry to shrink by 20% this year although they are still hopeful that economic stimulus measures in Britain, the US and China will trigger some kind of bounce back in the second half of 2009. BP and Shell shook confidence in the UK industry when they abandoned all plans for developing wind farms in Britain last year in favour of the US, where the tax treatment – and planning regime – is considered far more favourable. The exit of Shell was a particular blow because it was backing the world's biggest offshore wind farm, the London Array, off Kent. | ['business/business', 'business/financial-crisis', 'environment/windpower', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'business/recession', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'profile/terrymacalister'] | environment/windpower | ENERGY | 2009-03-08T18:19:32Z | true | ENERGY |
global-development/2022/aug/17/pakistan-floods-kill-580-and-bring-misery-to-millions | Pakistan floods kill 580 and bring misery to millions | More than 580 people have died and thousands have lost their homes across Pakistan as torrential rains batter the country. An estimated 1 million have been affected by heavy rainfall, flash floods and landslides since July as Pakistan endured more than 60% of its normal total monsoon rainfall in three weeks. Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh provinces have been the worst affected, with heavy rainfall predicted across Pakistan until Friday. At least one man was killed in Karachi on Tuesday as non-stop rains hit Pakistan’s largest city for two consecutive days. More than 40 people have died in Karachi due to heavy rains since July. Approximately 200 people have died in Balochistan – Pakistan’s biggest and poorest province – which is suffering its worst floods in more than 30 years. The National Disaster Management Authority said the province had received 305% more rain than the annual average. Eighteen of Balochistan’s 26 districts have been declared “calamity-hit” by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority. People have been forced to abandon their homes as crops and livestock were washed away across the province. Hundreds of miles of road have been damaged, making areas inaccessible to emergency services. More than 570 schools have been destroyed, and cholera cases have been reported. Mohammed Safar’s farm in Lasbela, Balochistan, was washed away when the rains came at on 12 July. It was 9am, and he and his family had to run for higher ground. “If it had flooded at any other time, we might have been washed away like plates in my kitchen. I have lost my home, crops and everything in this flood.” Safar, 55, said the government gave him a tent, but nothing else. “We are getting food and other help from volunteers or NGOs. The government has left us all alone. The heavy rain has started since the weekend, and I fear this will take us away,” he said. Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif has visited the region twice this month. He said: “We are doing our best to provide for extensive relief and rehabilitation of flood victims.” The chief minister of Balochistan, Qudoos Bezinjo, has appealed for more support from the federal government and from international donors. Jam Kamal, former chief minister and MP from Lasbela, said he had seen little or no government resources on the ground. “There was no pre-arrangement to deal with the flood, despite Met Office warnings. The provincial government has failed badly. If there were no volunteers helping the victims, more people would have died of hunger.” “No one has seen such rains in their lifetime,” he said. Dr Pervaiz Amir, former member of the national taskforce on climate change, said the flooding was “overwhelming”. | ['global-development/global-development', 'world/natural--disasters', 'world/pakistan', 'world/south-and-central-asia', 'world/world', 'environment/flooding', 'environment/environment', 'world/extreme-weather', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/shah-meer-baloch', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/global-development'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2022-08-17T05:00:07Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
sport/2021/jun/07/sports-minister-oliver-dowden-says-ecb-over-the-top-to-suspend-ollie-robinson-england-cricket | Boris Johnson joins Oliver Dowden in ECB criticism over Ollie Robinson | The prime minister, Boris Johnson, and the sports minister, Oliver Dowden, have both criticised the England and Wales Cricket Board’s decision to suspend the bowler Ollie Robinson from international cricket while it conducts an investigation into historic offensive tweets published in 2012 and 2013, with Dowden insisting the move was “over the top”. Robinson excelled on debut in England’s first Test against New Zealand, which ended in a draw on Sunday, taking seven wickets and scoring 42 in the first innings, a total bettered only by the centurion Rory Burns. His performance was all the more impressive for having been played out amid the controversy caused by the tweets, which were rediscovered and widely distributed as play progressed on the opening day. His suspension was announced on Sunday night, ruling him out of the second match which starts in Birmingham on Thursday, and potentially beyond. “Ollie Robinson’s tweets were offensive and wrong,” Dowden tweeted. “They are also a decade old and written by a teenager. The teenager is now a man and has rightly apologised. The ECB has gone over the top by suspending him and should think again.” A spokesperson for the prime minister made clear that “the PM is supportive” of Dowden’s stance. “As he set out, these were comments made more than a decade ago written by someone as a teenager and for which they’ve rightly apologised,” they said. The spokesperson also refused to criticise those fans of England’s football team who have booed the players for taking the knee before recent friendlies, insisting that “he respects the rights of those who want to peacefully protest in this way”. Dowden, the secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, has been a critic of many of the repercussions of the Black Lives Matter protests last year, particularly the removal of statues of slave traders, and wrote to publicly funded museums last year to make clear that he expected their “approach to issues of contested heritage to be consistent with the government’s position”. He also disagreed with the BBC’s decision to remove from its iPlayer streaming service the comedy show Little Britain, of which the creators David Walliams and Matt Lucas have apologised for their portrayal of black and other ethnic characters. On Sunday Chris Silverwood, England’s head coach, said the controversy had been “a stark reminder of the responsibilities that we hold”, and that it was impossible to dismiss the tweets simply because of the time that has passed since their publication. “We are in that position now [of being in the public eye],” he said. There might be further embarrassment ahead for Silverwood and his charges, with Wisden publishing an anonymised racially offensive tweet sent by a member of the current England team when they were 16. “We all get things wrong at times,” Silverwood said. “It’s what we do and how we act. The will as professional cricketers and staff is to make it an inclusive environment. We need to learn how to do that, and make this game available to everybody.” It was Silverwood who had to inform Robinson, as he left the field last Wednesday, of the unintended impact his tweets had made. He said the 27-year-old had been “devastated, embarrassed, and very remorseful”. “It was very disappointing,” Silverwood said. “What should have been one of the greatest days of Ollie’s career didn’t end up well for him. It was disappointing for the group. He showed a lot of remorse, he apologised publicly, he apologised to the dressing room. I think it’s been a really big learning for him. The big thing for us all is education.” Test cricketer Michael Carberry, who played six matches for England between 2010 and 2014, criticised the politicians’ intervention. “I think Oliver Dowden needs to come and spend a day with me and live a day in my shoes, and a day in the shoes of most BAME community people, and actually speak from a place of facts and reason,” he told Sky Sports News. Carberry, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, said: “I don’t believe this is a problem where you can rehabilitate someone. If it was down to me Ollie Robinson would not be playing Test cricket. Robinson spoke about educating himself, but what is he talking about? I would be very interested to know. I am a black man and I have never needed any education to speak to my white friends.” Robinson’s suspension will continue until a disciplinary investigation has been concluded, though he remains free to play for Sussex. There is still uncertainty over who should be doing the investigating, which depends on the player’s contractual status when the tweets were published: if he was contracted to Kent, his first county side, the Cricket Discipline Commission will become involved, and if he was out of contract it will remain in the hands of the ECB’s integrity department. | ['sport/england-cricket-team', 'politics/oliver-dowden', 'sport/ecb', 'sport/england-v-new-zealand-2021', 'world/race', 'sport/cricket', 'sport/sport', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/simonburnton', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/topstories', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-sport'] | sport/ecb | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2021-06-07T17:30:44Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2020/jan/16/the-war-on-plastic-wont-be-easily-won | The war on plastic won’t be easily won | Letters | I am delighted to see John Vidal explaining that there’s no way of making current levels of consumption “environmentally friendly” (The solution to the plastic waste crisis? It’s not recycling, Journal, 15 January). But I am alarmed when he says: “Can consumption ever be contained? Easily.” It will not be easy. It is simply wishful thinking to say that “we can learn to just say no to buying ever more new stuff”. We are comprehensively addicted to our consumerist lifestyles; the western economic model is fundamentally predicated on consumerism; and, while the machinery of power will tolerate the sorts of marginal changes mentioned by Vidal, it will fiercely resist anything on the scale required if we are to seriously address our social and environmental crises. I suggested in my 2016 book Bad Habits, Hard Choices that a possible solution is what I called SmartVAT. Using the obesity crisis as an example, I propose that we should increase the price of harmful products by using a higher rate of VAT, and decrease the price of helpful or “good” products through negative VAT. I present evidence that, suitably designed and presented, this approach would be considered fair by the British public, and could be fiscally neutral to the exchequer. In his 2017 book Heat, Greed and Human Need, Prof Ian Gough suggests that SmartVAT could provide an important transitional process towards a more sustainable economy. In the end, a sustainable economy will come into being if we, as consumers, demand it. But we will need help to get there. “Just say no” is not, and never has been, enough. David Fell London • John Vidal is right to say there is no way of making our current levels of consumption environmentally friendly. However, our report is not simply promoting recycling and an end to consumer confusion. While recycling will certainly form part of a sustainable system, it wasn’t the main focus of this research. Instead, we show that companies in the grocery sector – under pressure from the public and in the absence of government leadership – run the risk of simply replacing plastic with other single-use materials. We call for solutions that “address the systemic problems of our throwaway society, to avoid the risk of simply substituting current environmental problems with new ones”. Vidal argues for more reuse. The final sections of our report outline how such systems are making inroads and companies are considering how to incorporate more refill models into their operations. This is cause for hope in the battle against throwaway living. Single-use culture is now such a part of everyday life that it will take a huge joint effort to break it, from government, producers, retailers, recyclers, the media and consumers. We believe that the first step should be to consider all materials we use, not just plastic. Libby Peake Green Alliance • I am just home from two days’ emergency care in the NHS, full of gratitude and admiration for people working there. But it seems modern medicine is built on single-use plastic. What is the cost, in money and to the environment, of the production and disposal of it all? It is clearly taken for granted, as workers and patients ask no questions about it. Do we all assume there is no alternative? Yet John Vidal says, rightly, that we must stop building these mountains. Haddon Willmer Leeds • Here in Birmingham we now have two The Clean Kilo shops where you go with your own containers and/or bags, weigh these empty, then fill and weigh them. The shops have a large range of dry goods, cleaning materials, herbs and spices, a selection of sweets, savoury products and locally grown vegetables. The friendly staff stand ready to help people if necessary. Most of the products sold are organic. Their motto is “refuse, reduce, reuse”, with recycle as an inferior option. We need more The Clean Kilo shops and plastic-free aisles in supermarkets. This is surely part of the solution. Wiebina Heesterman Birmingham • John Vidal’s piece claims that excess consumption and disposal of goods of any kind is a more important consideration than the choice of materials (paper plastic or glass) that the consumed goods should be made of. I agree, but his suggestions on how to contain consumption ignore an important fact: local governments subsidise waste. The amount of waste your household produces does not make a difference in your taxes. People who produce less waste are paying for the more wasteful households. Jose Roberto Senna São José dos Campos, Brazil • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters • Do you have a photo you’d like to share with Guardian readers? Click here to upload it and we’ll publish the best submissions in the letters spread of our print edition | ['environment/plastic', 'environment/recycling', 'environment/ethical-living', 'environment/waste', 'environment/environment', 'society/nhs', 'society/health', 'society/society', 'tone/letters', 'uk/birmingham', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/plastic | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2020-01-16T17:30:31Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
uk-news/2014/feb/15/two-die-storms-batter-southern-uk | Three people killed as storms continue to batter southern UK | Three people have died as strong winds, heavy rain and huge waves battered southern Britain overnight, aggravating the problems already caused by widespread storms and flooding. A cruise ship passenger died after 80mph winds whipped up freak waves in the English Channel and a woman was killed when part of a building collapsed on to a car in central London. Bob Thomas, 77, died in hospital on Friday night. He was gathering hens at his home in Caethro, Caernarfon, when a tree fell and hit him. More than 30 people had to be rescued by emergency services and the army from a seafront restaurant in Milford on Sea, Hampshire, after wind-blown shingle shattered windows and the sea flooded it. Lymington coastguard, fire services and the army rescued 32 people from the Marine Restaurant in Milford on Sea, Hampshire, at 10pm on Friday, evacuating them in an army vehicle. Hampshire police said there were no serious injuries. A 35ft wide and 20ft deep sinkhole opened near housing in Hemel Hempstead on Saturday morning. Police evacuated residents while engineers tried to prop-up adjacent buildings. There is major disruption across Britain's road and rail networks, with hundreds of trees uprooted across roads and rail tracks. Many train services have been cancelled. The Environment Agency and emergency services continue to battle with the latest instalment of the worst winter storms in living memory. Sixteen severe flood warnings are in place, issued for coastal communities from Cornwall to Hampshire, Gloucester and the Thames Valley, where rivers remain at their highest levels for decades. Communities across the country have been using sandbags and makeshift barriers to protect their homes and businesses from the floodwaters. On Friday the Duke of Cambridge and his brother, Prince Harry, joined in the emergency relief as they helped fill sandbags in Datchet, Berkshire. The Queen also offered assistance to farmers in Somerset. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "The Queen is supporting Somerset farmers affected by the flooding on the Somerset Levels by contributing feed and bedding from the royal farms at Windsor." Forecasters are warning of more heavy rainf and gale-force winds on Saturday. Between 10mm and 20mm (0.4in - 0.8in) of rain is forecast to fall on southern England, while the south-west and south Wales could get up to 40mm (1.6in), the Met Office said. Winds have wrought fresh havoc, with gusts of up to 80mph hitting exposed parts of the south coast. In central London, a woman died and three other people were injured when the fascia of a building collapsed on to a car opposite Holborn underground station at 11.05pm on Friday, the Metropolitan police said. Firefighters freed the driver – a 49-year-old woman, later named by police as Julie Sillitoe – and a 25-year-old man who was trapped in the back seat, but Sillitoe, a minicab driver, died at the scene. Next of kin have been informed. The man suffered leg injuries, and he and a 24-year-old woman, who managed to free herself from the rear of the car, were taken to hospital with non life-threatening injuries. A fourth person, believed to be a male passerby, was also injured and taken to hospital, London ambulance service said. A further 10 people were evacuated from nearby buildings as a precaution. An 85-year-old man died on Friday after the 22,000-tonne Marco Polo cruise ship was hit by a freak wave in the English Channel. Water crashed through a window, injuring a number of people. The man was airlifted off the vessel along with a woman in her 70s, but later died. A number of other passengers received minor injuries and were treated on board. Waves of up to 10 metres reportedly threatened to cut off Portland in Dorset, while people in Portsmouth have been receiving hoax calls calling for them to evacuate their homes amid flooding fears, Hampshire police said. Trees are reported to have fallen on trains near Mottingham in south-east London, and near Winterslow in Wiltshire, but no one was hurt in either episode. All train services west of Plymouth have been cancelled, while a landslide near Redhill has hit the line south of the capital. South West Trains has cancelled nearly all of its services until it is safe for them to run, while First Great Western is advising passengers not to travel and has speed restrictions of 50mph across most of its network. According to the Energy Networks Association almost 450,000 homes and businesses suffered power cuts overnight. Of these, 310,000 had power restored overnight but there were still 141,822 cut off on Saturday morning. Almost 900,000 properties have suffered power cuts this week. Meanwhile, two walkers who went missing on the UK's highest peak in poor weather conditions have been found safe. A search was launched on Friday after the pair became disorientated at the summit of Ben Nevis in the Highlands. Police Scotland confirmed that the walkers have been traced "safe and well". | ['uk/weather', 'environment/flooding', 'world/natural-disasters', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'society/emergency-services', 'society/society', 'society/emergencyplanning', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'profile/kevin-rawlinson'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2014-02-15T16:47:00Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
news/2011/mar/14/weatherwatch-dew-alchemy-magic | Weatherwatch: The magical properties of dew | Dew, which is water from the air condensing on cool surfaces such as grass .was once accorded magical properties. The 1816 Encyclopaedia Britannica said it was "fluid of the purest and most translucid nature. According to vulgar persuasion [it can] remove all spots and stains and impart to the skin the bloom and freshness of virgin beauty." It was also supposed to extend human life, and the encyclopaedia attributed the longevity and robust health of mountaineers, when compared to that of inhabitants of the plains, to frequent exposure to dew. The entry claimed that in the past alchemists had said dew was capable of dissolving gold and had "some virtue in correcting any disposition to corpulence. The ladies of those days, anxious to preserve their fine forms, procured this celestial wash, by exposing clothes or fleeces of wool to humifaction of the night." Grasshoppers, which people then believed fed wholly on dew, "owed their lean features to such a spare diet." By 1824 science had learned a lot about how dew was formed and Britannica amended its entry. This has not prevented many beauty products perpetuating ancient beliefs by using the word dew in their descriptions and labels. In dry countries dew is now a valuable resource, collected from the air at night on nets to provide drinking water and irrigate crops. Scientists have been analysing dew to see if it contains fewer pollutants than rain, but its properties are very similar. | ['news/series/weatherwatch', 'tone/features', 'type/article', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2'] | news/series/weatherwatch | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2011-03-14T00:05:13Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
sport/2023/oct/07/wales-georgia-rugby-world-cup-match-report | Rees-Zammit hat-trick sinks Georgia but Wales rue Faletau’s broken arm | Rees Lightning blasted to the rescue of Wales as they ended up topping their group in style, but at a cost with their No 8 Taulupe Faletau out of the World Cup with a broken arm. A hat-trick by Louis Rees-Zammit ensured there was no repeat of last year’s defeat at the hands of Georgia, who pulled back to within five points with 10 minutes to go. At that point the pace of Rees-Zammit, scoring the second and third tries in his first hat-trick for Wales by following up kicks ahead, ensured there would be no shock in Nantes. Unbeaten Wales, with 19 out of a possible 20 points, will face either Argentina or Japan in the quarter-finals next weekend – a very winnable route to a third semi-final under Warren Gatland. It is a considerable turnaround from the depths of the last Six Nations with Gatland believing his players both deserve to get more credit and can also improve. The victory came after another early disruption, with Gareth Anscombe pulling out during the warm-up with a groin injury. Sam Costelow, one of the players who experienced the loss to Georgia last year, replaced him. It all means Gatland’s squad can be fascinated observers as Argentina and Japan face off . “That will be a very tight game, they have different styles,” Gatland said. “It was a tough game today. Georgia are a good side who have been up at half-time in a couple of their games, but we got the job done, which is really pleasing. Toby has broken his arm so he is out. We will assess Gareth Anscombe over the next 72 hours after he pulled his groin very high up. “We will look at a replacement for Faletau, whether that is a loose-forward or there are players in the backs after today’s game we may want to cover.” Wales had revenge on their mind with last year’s shock 13-12 defeat in Cardiff fresh in the memory but only a handful of their players here had first-hand experience of that day. Wales had another reason to be wary with Nantes being the venue of one of their most notorious World Cup failures, losing to Fiji in 2007. Although Georgia have not repeated their 2022 form in this World Cup, they travelled here with great confidence, which they showed in the opening exchanges. It was a trademark turnover for flanker Tommy Reffell that set up the position inside the Georgian 22 which led to the first try for Wales; a lineout and then a series of drives to the line and prop Tomas Francis charged over from short range. A few minutes later, another penalty kick to the corner let the backs take over, with full-back Liam Williams waltzing over. Costelow converted both and then added a penalty to increase Welsh comfort levels. That stung Georgia into action and they nearly went over breaking free from a lineout drive, but the ball was kept alive for captain and centre Merab Sharikadze to stretch out to the line to score his side’s first try, converted by Luka Matkava. That gave Georgia – in their final game of the competition after losses to Australia and Fiji and a draw with Portugal – the confidence to start the second half strongly after bolstering the front row at half-time, but a loose pass went to George North and the Wales centre was able to put Rees-Zammit clear for a 60-yard run to the line. Costelow added the straightforward conversion and Bread of Heaven replaced the techno-pop blaring round the Stade de la Beaujoire. However, the Georgia changes, four of the front five within a few minutes of half-time, meant they got the upper hand up front and forced Wales to also change their whole front row. Georgia’s right-wing Akaki Tabutsadze was just squeezed out in the corner by some desperate defence. The replacement hooker Vano Karkadze barged his way over from close range to keep things interesting. That was followed by a moment of magic by Davit Niniashvili, running a try in from 40 yards with a dive over the line that was every bit as extravagant as the break itself. It was the pace of Rees-Zammit that eased Welsh nerves. He was the first person to reach a Liam Williams chip ahead when Wales kept the ball in hand. That was followed by a mass brawl that led to Taine Basham and Niniashvili receiving yellow cards. The final quarter featured closing tries by Rees-Zammit and North that put an unfair gloss on the scoreline. | ['sport/rugby-world-cup-2023', 'sport/wales-rugby-union-team', 'sport/georgia-rugby-union-team', 'sport/rugby-world-cup', 'sport/rugby-union', 'sport/sport', 'campaign/email/the-breakdown', 'type/article', 'tone/matchreports', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/sport', 'theobserver/sport/news', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-sport'] | sport/wales-rugby-union-team | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2023-10-07T15:10:57Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
technology/audio/2008/mar/18/tech.weekly.podcast | Tech Weekly podcast: Feargal Sharkey on music rights and BBC iPlayer | Aleks Krotoski is your host for the latest Tech Weekly. Joining her in the studio is Charles Arthur and Bobbie Johnson - and this week they bring you a rock legend - Feargal Sharkey. He's now chief executive of British Music Rights, and last week told the Internet Service Providers Association that the music industry is ready for change. He stepped back from the BPI's comments which featured on Tech Weekly three weeks ago which suggested internet access should be cut to those who share files. Feargal is more optimistic, looking for a new business model that works for all parties. Anthony Rose is the man who is in charge of the BBC's iPlayer, and he spoke to us on the day that the corporation released an update to it's system which allows the iPhone and iPod Touch to access TV programmes. However, the system has since been hacked - allowing Mac and Linux users access to DRM free downloads for the first time. Bobbie finds out why the BBC chose to move the iPlayer onto the two mobile devices next despite continuing controversy over the lack of official access on non-Windows systems, and he asks how those plans are going. We look at AOL's acquisition of Bebo, and Manhunt 2 finally receiving a release in the news as well as your comments from the blogs. Don't forget to: • Post a message on the programme's blog • Tell us what you think at tech@guardian.co.uk • Join our Facebook group | ['technology/technology', 'media/digital-media', 'technology/digital-music-and-audio', 'technology/internet', 'technology/piracy', 'media/socialnetworking', 'technology/bebo', 'media/mediabusiness', 'business/technology', 'media/bbc', 'technology/digitalvideo', 'technology/apple', 'technology/television', 'technology/aol', 'technology/web20', 'technology/series/techweekly', 'music/downloads', 'business/musicindustry', 'technology/startups', 'business/business', 'tone/interview', 'tone/news', 'media/media', 'media/iplayer', 'music/music', 'culture/culture', 'music/feargal-sharkey', 'media/online-tv', 'law/law', 'type/podcast', 'type/audio'] | technology/digitalvideo | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2008-03-18T11:37:00Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/planet-oz/2015/dec/10/paris-climate-talks-ready-to-exorcise-the-ghosts-of-copenhagens-failure | Paris climate talks ready to exorcise the ghosts of Copenhagen's failure | We appear to have reached that predictable point in the major Paris climate talks where the idea that the efforts of more than 190 countries will all to come to nothing becomes too enticing for some. Overnight, stories have emerged of “red lines” being drawn by certain negotiating blocs, particularly around the way richer countries can support poorer countries through cash and collaboration to adapt to climate change. But the final 48 hours of UN climate talks tend to fall into this almost dream like state, where almost anything seems possible. Conflicting stories, rumours, press releases and a never-ending stream of briefing sessions has journalists and campaigners swarming through the halls and corridors at Le Bourget. It seems that the ghost of the failure of Copenhagen still haunts some. But old hands of the UN climate process have been explaining how in Paris, progress made so far is incomparable to the horrors of Copenhagen in 2009. One observer said that at this same stage in Denmark, the process had broken down entirely. Now in Paris, the key goals to keep global warming well below 2C and map an escape route from the fossil fuel era are firmly placed in the key negotiating document. But the talk of divisions between rich and poor countries are as old as the United Nations process themselves and are entirely predictable. Indeed, the entire point of the negotiations – known as the Conference of the Parties (COP) - is to find compromises that all the countries here in Paris can sign up to. Mohamed Adow, Senior Climate Advisor at Christian Aid, told a packed press conference on Thursday morning that “there will be a deal”. “We are closer now than we have been at any other COP,” he said. “The sticky issues have to be dealt with, but having the text that we have now is actually progress if you know the history of these multi-lateral negotiations.” Negotiators worked through the night on Wednesday into Thursday on the multiple streams of the text that at some point in the next 48 hours or so should become the Paris Accord (or whatever the title ends up being). The chances of failure diminish even further when you consider that every country here – almost bar none – have been falling over themselves to praise the French leadership of the talks and their management of the process. Michael Jacobs, a former senior advisor to the UK government who was part of that country’s delegation at Copenhagen, said: “At this stage in Copenhagen we had stopped talking and the process had pretty much broken down - completely. That’s clearly not the case and it’s not the case by a very long way.” But this is not to say that there aren’t real issues still to be negotiated, but the risk appears not be that the Paris process will break down with no global deal, but that the deal will be too weak. But already, it is important to remember that more than 170 countries in all corners of the globe have already made pledge that have been handed in to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – the overarching convention under which everything else shelters. Everyone who is part of the Paris talks here knows that those pledges – known as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions – are not enough to keep global temperatures and the myriad other impacts at anything near manageable levels for the majority of the world’s population. Current estimates are that those pledges, if left unchanged, would lead the world to a 2.7C of warming which many, many scientists consider to be incompatible with the idea of a prosperous future for the world. So one of those “red lines” surrounds a part of the deal known as the “ratcheting mechanism” where countries revisit their pledges every five years to turn that 2.7C closer to 1.5C. Adow said: “For this deal to be revolutionary, then it has to be evolutionary.” Liz Gallagher, Climate Diplomacy Programme Leader at consultancy E3G, said: “It is not just about those plans, but the integrity of them and being able to verify them and report on them.” She said in some cases, talk of “red lines” was “posturing”. “It’s the drama of the situation,” she said. “But what the facilitators here behind closed doors actually say is that they can move on some of those issues.” And the chances of Paris failing? “Slim – very slim,” she said. Maybe talk of failure comes from the prospect of being able to watch schadenfreude on a planetary scale, forgetting that we’d all be victims. | ['environment/planet-oz', 'environment/environment', 'environment/cop-21-un-climate-change-conference-paris', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/global-climate-talks', 'type/article', 'profile/graham-readfearn'] | environment/cop-21-un-climate-change-conference-paris | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2015-12-10T12:12:23Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
us-news/2015/may/27/texas-heavy-rains-potential-flooding-people-missing | At least 19 dead in Texas and Oklahoma floods as more rain threatens region | At least 19 people have died since the weekend during torrential downpours in Texas and Oklahoma as parts of the deluged region brace for another dangerous turn, with forecasters warning of the potential for flash flooding from storms that could bring as much as 3 more inches of rain. Numerous people remain missing in Texas after storms swept away homes, submerged roadways and stranded drivers during the Memorial Day weekend. Flood waters in many areas had briefly receded on Tuesday following fair, sunny weather, but with scattered overnight showers and predictions of more flash flooding, officials and forecasters are warning residents to stay off the roads and remain vigilant. “A lot of folks drove their car into high water and had to abandon those vehicles,” Houston mayor Annise Parker said at a news conference. At least four people died in Houston, where storms led to about 1,000 calls for help. Two of the dead in Houston were found in their cars and another two were found in a bayou. Parker said at least 4,000 residential properties have been damaged in the city. The Oklahoma medical examiner’s office said six people died in weather-related incidents over the holiday weekend in the state. Though Parker said parts of the city were unscathed, more than 1,000 vehicles were submerged in the Houston floods and people took instead to bicycles, kayaks and surfboards to navigate water-covered streets. Flash flood warnings are in place until mid-morning in parts of Texas, including Liberty, Harris, Waller, Montgomery and Chambers counties, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters predict waterlogged Houston will be pummeled by more rains in excess of 3in on Wednesday morning. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and the communities that have been affected by some of these devastating, record-breaking floods,” President Barack Obama said on Tuesday. Obama pledged to provide federal assistance to the damaged region. Prompted by the threat of more storms, Texas governor Greg Abbott on Tuesday night extended an emergency disaster declaration to 24 counties in Texas. Abbott has declared a state of emergency in at least 40 counties. The declaration allows the state to use all resources “reasonably necessary to cope with this disaster”. “It’s devastating to see what I saw on the Blanco river when this tidal wave of water just swept away neighborhoods,” Abbott said, referring to a disaster area in central Texas. Houston residents are being asked to avoid unnecessary travel in areas of high water, and areas impacted by the storms. Houston resident Dutch Small, 40, climbed on to the roof of his car when the water came up to his knees inside his vehicle and was eventually rescued by a passing tow truck driver. “It happened so fast. Every person that died in the flooding, I know what was going through their minds. They didn’t measure the threat accurately. They were like me,” Small said. The National Weather Service issued tornado and thunderstorm watches for later on Tuesday and said more rain was expected this week in Texas and Oklahoma. More than 200 flights had been cancelled by early Tuesday evening at airports in Houston and Dallas, some of the nation’s busiest, as blocked roads made it difficult for workers to get to their jobs. A sinkhole closed a runway at Dallas/Fort Worth international airport. Roughly 100,000 customers lost power throughout the state after the storm due to high winds and rising waters that snapped power poles. In Houston about 11in (28cm) of rain fell on Monday, while parts of Austin were hit by as much as 7in. Helicopter crews in both cities plucked to safety people who had been stranded in cars and on top of buildings. | ['us-news/texas', 'us-news/houston', 'world/natural-disasters', 'us-news/us-news', 'environment/flooding', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/lauren-gambino'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2015-05-27T13:34:01Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2008/jun/02/recycling.waste | Packaging helps supermarkets bag top spots in green poll | High-profile green advertising campaigns by supermarkets appear to be paying off with five of the country's biggest grocers coming out top in a survey of the most environmentally friendly brands. Campaigns to discourage plastic bag use and an emphasis on less packaging helped Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda take five of the top six places in a survey of 1,500 people. For the second year running, the cosmetics retailer Body Shop took the top spot in the poll by Landor, Cohn & Wolfe and PSB - marketing consultancies owned by the media group WPP. The rest of the top 10 is made up of the soaps firm Dove, the internet giant Google, the Co-operative Bank and the utility company E.ON. Several supermarkets featured in last year's top 10, but they have moved up the rankings this year. "The British public have clearly responded positively to initiatives such as Marks & Spencer's widely publicised Plan A campaign and most recently its move to charge for plastic bags," said Phil Gandy, a consultant at Landor. Although media reports on supermarkets often focus on issues such as food miles, the poll showed that consumers were more interested in smaller, more tangible challenges, Gandy said. "People look for practical, substantive examples of action that they can relate to." People are less concerned about global issues such as climate change, he said, and respond most to "down-to-earth language about what affects me", such as initiatives around waste, pollution and recycling. When asked to name the most important green issue today, 24% of respondents said waste generated by individuals or corporations, up from 11% last year. But global warming lost ground. In 2007 it was the top green issue for 40% of respondents. This year only 15% put it first. Despite responding well to ad campaigns, consumers still feel supermarkets could do more. Some 94% said products, especially food, were overpackaged. Gandy said: "There is a direct correlation between being more green and people wanting to buy more from you." | ['environment/recycling', 'environment/waste', 'environment/pollution', 'business/supermarkets', 'business/ethicalbusiness', 'environment/ethical-living', 'business/business', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'profile/katieallen', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3'] | environment/recycling | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2008-06-01T23:01:00Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2022/oct/15/young-country-diary-1032-conkers-from-my-uncles-garden | Young country diary: 1,032 conkers from my uncle’s garden | John | This year I have started to collect conkers. My uncle in Kent has two huge conker trees in his garden. When we visited his cottage from Bury St Edmunds, I started collecting at once – I got roughly 200 to 300! Later on, with Mum’s help, I collected lots more. Then my uncle taught me how to play conkers. In these paragraphs you will find more information about horse chestnuts. You might call them native trees, but really they come Greece and Turkey and other countries in that area. They were imported in the 1500s. Also, many conker trees suffer from bleeding canker. This blocks up the tree veins, causing certain death. It can be dangerous for people as well, not because we get infected, but because dead branches can fall down without warning. Conker trees also get attacked by the leaf miner moth, although it doesn’t kill them, it just makes the leaves fall too early. My uncle’s trees are infested with their larvae but they still have lots of conkers. Conker trees are fabulous trees. They grow quite quickly to about 40 metres and live for roughly 300 years. The ones in my uncle’s garden gave me 1,032 conkers. They’re about 100 years old and the best conker trees ever. John, 10 • Read today’s other YCD, by Joseph, 11: “Grandma’s favourite walk was to see the herons” | ['environment/series/young-country-diary', 'environment/series/country-diary', 'environment/autumn', 'environment/environment', 'uk/ruralaffairs', 'uk/uk', 'environment/forests', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/forests | BIODIVERSITY | 2022-10-15T10:01:03Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
commentisfree/2021/nov/11/climate-refugees-far-right-crisis | Failing to plan for climate refugees hands a cheap victory to the far right | Zoe Williams | As scientists wrestle to predict the true impact and legacy of Cop26, one speech, given at a rally organised by Global Justice Now, insisted upon a perspective not data-driven but moral. Lumumba Di-Aping, a South Sudanese diplomat and former chief negotiator for the G77, said: “The first resolution that should be agreed in Glasgow is for annex I polluters to grant the citizens of small island developing states the right to immigration.” It was a tactful way of putting it: annex I nations are those with special financial responsibilities in tackling the climate crisis. They have these special responsibilities because their early industrialisation created so much of the carbon burden. A more pugilistic diplomat might have said “the people who created this disaster have to offer sanctuary to those displaced by it”, but then, he wouldn’t be a diplomat. Di-Aping went on to note article 3 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.” “Small island states,” he concluded, “should not be drowned alive like Zealandia.” This is where what Greta Thunberg calls the “blah blah blah” of international treaty-making – its high-flown and occasionally inspiring rhetoric – meets reality. It is established, year after year, that no nation can fight climate change alone. Cooperation across the globe is summoned and celebrated, and it is often explicit, whether in imperialist-paternalistic terms (“those with the broadest shoulders must bear the most weight”) or liberal postcolonial ones (“those who made this mess must clear it up”), that such cooperation is not possible unless industrialised nations accept their responsibility towards industrialising ones. Yet there is an enduring coyness and a lot of needless sophistry around the nature of that responsibility. The impact of the climate emergency will make human life impossible. Whether through floods, bushfires, unliveable temperatures, crop failures, all of the above or something unforeseen, the end result will be that swathes of land can no longer support human life. So the first and arguably only point of mutuality is, where are those displaced people going to live? Nations, in the end, can devise net-zero targets on their own. Cooperation may be helpful, from a trade or research perspective, in the development of new technologies, but only in the matter of climate refugees is it actually essential. As old debates around the climate crisis and whether or not it is anthropogenic give way to consensus, new ambiguities and uncertainties are constructed around refugees: can they really be called the victims of environmental degradation? We will grapple with any other explanation – they’re actually economic migrants, or they’re the victims of civil strife, or they fell foul of a dictatorship, the one-bad-man theory of geopolitics – rather than trace these proximal causes back to their roots. Most political efforts, currently, are geared towards building a positive picture of a sustainable future; the alternative is despair or denial, neither of which are generative forces for change. A coherent, practical plan detailing the probable scale of displacement and figuring out a just distribution of the climate diaspora will look radical and unsettling. One group is extremely comfortable on that territory, however: the far right. Steve Bannon sent a chill down the spine in 2015 when he talked about a “Camp of the Saints-type invasion into … Europe”. He made the reference again and again, until finally onlookers were forced to read the source: Jean Raspail’s racist novel of 1973, which one contemporary reviewer called “a major event … in much the same sense that Mein Kampf was a major event”. The title comes from a passage in the Book of Revelation about the coming apocalypse – civilisation collapses when the hordes arrive from the four corners of the Earth to “surround the camp of the saints and the beloved city” – and Raspail took up the idea; it was inevitable, he said, that “numberless disinherited people of the south would set sail one day for this opulent shore”. Through Bannon and others, this idea has replicated, mutated and engulfed others, to become the “great replacement theory” of white supremacists, which Paul Mason describes in his recent book How to Stop Fascism as the toxic political view that “immigration constitutes a ‘genocide’ of the white race”. Feminists help it along by depressing the birth-rate, and cultural Marxists bring the mood music, by supporting both migrants and feminists. Other far-right movements are sucked into the vortex of this wild but coherent theory, and yet more are spawned or shaped by it: the cosmic right (embodied in Jake Angeli, the QAnon figure in the animal-skin cap who stormed the Capitol in January, then went on hunger strike in prison because the food wasn’t organic), or the eco-minded white supremacists who make this explicit – you can be a humanitarian or an environmentalist. Choose one. As fanciful and irrational as many far-right arguments are, they have a rat-like cunning. They find these spaces that are untenanted by mainstream debate – there will be climate refugees and they must be accommodated – and they run riot in them. Nations who ignore Lumumba Di-Aping aren’t doing anything to avert the consequences he describes: their silence merely creates an open goal for the professed enemies of a peaceful and prosperous future. Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'environment/cop26-glasgow-climate-change-conference-2021', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'world/refugees', 'world/world', 'environment/environment', 'world/far-right', 'type/article', 'tone/comment', 'profile/zoewilliams', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-opinion'] | environment/cop26-glasgow-climate-change-conference-2021 | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2021-11-11T08:00:01Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
music/2008/jun/08/glastonbury.festivals | Hello Glastonbury! Are you ready to rock and recycle? | This year's festivals are set to be the greenest yet as events promoters and the music industry sign up to environmentally friendly initiatives. Biodegradable tent pegs, reusable beer cups, solar-powered stages and car-share schemes are some of the measures being introduced. A report into the UK music industry's greenhouse gas emissions found that live events were responsible for 75 per cent of the industry's carbon footprint and festival organisers are hoping this year's eco-measures will help. When Lily Allen pulled out of headlining this weekend's Isle of Wight festival, organiser John Giddings used her performance fee to make the event more ethical. The initiatives include a number of generators being run on recycled cooking oil from local businesses, aluminium cans from the three-day event being given to a local school to sell for profit to fund an educational trip, and a wildlife campaign Give Bees A Chance to mark a commitment to help research into the plight of the honey bee (the Isle of Wight is one of the most important bee habitats in the UK). Latitude Festival (17-20 July) boasts the world's first fuel-cell powered festival stage and offers reusable beer cups. Organisers at the Glastonbury Festival, which has long embraced the eco-lifestyle, have launched the 'Love the Farm - Leave No Trace' initiative this year, which includes giving out free, biodegradable potato-starch tent pegs to campers and ensuring all food outlets use wooden instead of plastic cutlery and cups made of compostable material. The ever-popular 'green police' will also return. They patrol in comedy costume and encourage festival-goers to respect the environment and not, as the Glastonbury website puts it, 'piss in the streams'. Dance festival Creamfields has signed up with the car-share website liftshare.com to encourage festival-goers to travel together, and is giving discarded tents to charity. Even organisers of the Reading and Leeds festivals have worked out measures appropriate for the rock fans who attend over August bank holiday weekend: anyone handing in three bags of rubbish will receive a token for a free can of beer and if you return your drink cup rather than hurling it at the stage, you get a 10p refund. Alison Tickell, director of Julie's Bicycle, a not-for-profit organisation which finds ways to reduce the UK music industry's greenhouse gas emissions, says the push to eco-friendliness has come from within the business. 'What's interesting is that rather than an industry being led by consumer demands which is the usual way change takes place, the industry itself is saying we have to do something. That gives these initiatives a degree of integrity that is quite unusual. Competitors are pitching in together - and coalesce in a quiet way to find solutions. There is a profound engagement with the issue rather than a marketing initiative.' A recent survey by A Greener Festival, a not-for-profit organisation which is establishing a benchmark eco-award for festivals based on carbon footprint, waste, recycling and environmental impact, bears out the fact that this is not a purely customer-driven initiative. Ben Challis of the organisation says: 'When asked if they would recycle, 25 per cent of festival-goers said no. They don't care at all. You only have to go to a festival to see that's true. Some people leave no trace whatsoever packing up, but they'll be next to someone who leaves behind a bombsite, with broken tents, discarded armchairs and bin liners. Festival organisers can only do so much. If the audience won't engage, it's difficult.' The research - a survey conducted by Buckinghamshire New University using interviews with 1,407 festivalgoers across Europe - also found that only 27 per cent thought that environmentally friendly practices were important when choosing which event to attend; and that, although 48 per cent said they would pay more for greener events, 65 per cent would still go to an event where their favourite band was playing, even if it was not environmentally friendly. But festival organisers are still trying. The greener festival award is only in its second year, but Challis says that three times as many UK festivals have applied - rising from 10 to 30. The organisation has also been asked to evaluate festivals in America and Australia. James Dunlop, a 24-year-old entrepreneur who is launching the eco-friendly Myhab, a two-person tent made of recycled, waterproof cardboard and plastic, says that attitudes are changing. 'I spoke to organisers and festival-goers about the challenges, and the one thing that kept coming up was discarded tents. I want to provide a product that would deter that waste. I think that as a generation we're realising that we can do better. At these events, there's a captive audience and it's an opportunity to educate people about the environment.' What's in for 2008 Fashion Straw Stetsons have hidden festival hair for far too long. Headscarves worn à la Amy Winehouse are already common in clubs and will be as ubiquitous as veggie burgers this year. Last year's short shorts will undoubtedly be updated by 2008's surprise fashion hit, the rompersuit. Music Jay-Z sparked this year's festivalgate about the suitability of a rap act for Saturday night at Glastonbury. Jay-Z said: 'I've never been involved in anything this controversial.' His appearances at Glastonbury and the O2 Wireless Festival will be the talking points of the season. Peculiar pursuits Festivals are outdoing themselves with the range of odd activities on offer this year. The Secret Garden Party in Cambridgeshire is advertising snail racing. The Zoo Thousand festival in July is to be held at Port Lympne wild animal park in Kent and will offer safaris for festivalgoers to meet snakes, tarantulas and zebra mice. Ever greener Look out for car-share schemes, bio-degradable tent pegs and the Myhab, pictured, which is a sturdy two-person tent made of recycled, waterproof cardboard and plastic. | ['music/glastonbury', 'music/music', 'culture/festivals', 'environment/waste', 'environment/pollution', 'environment/recycling', 'environment/environment', 'culture/culture', 'travel/travel', 'travel/festivals', 'travel/green', 'music/popandrock', 'music/glastonbury2008', 'type/article', 'profile/alicefisher', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/news', 'theobserver/news/uknews'] | environment/recycling | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2008-06-07T23:02:33Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/may/23/oil-sands-oilandgascompanies | Secretary Clinton, please call time on the Keystone Kochs | Robert Greenwald | A battle is raging in the US over whether we use our resources to benefit the haves or to protect those who don't have as much as the most wealthy among us. We see this where tax cuts for the millionaires are required in order to continue giving unemployment benefits to the out-of-work. It took place around the attempt to reform Wall Street. We see it in cuts to education, and attempts to bust unions. The latest battle over whom our country chooses to protect goes straight to the heartland, in the form of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, currently under review by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The proposed Keystone XL pipeline deals with what is called "dirty oil" tar sands. Tar sands production carbon dioxide emissions are three times higher that those of conventional oil. The amount of oil Keystone XL would carry is equal to the pollution level of adding six million new cars to our roads. Tar sands mining operations involve a vast drilling infrastructure, open pit mines, and toxic wasteland ponds up to three miles wide. The extraction process involves strip-mining and drilling that injects steam into the ground to melt the tar-like crude oil from the sand and requires a massive amount of energy and water. In addition to pollution and harm to the environment, Keystone XL directly puts at risk the land of families across a full stretch of our country. The pipeline would cross through six states and several major rivers, in addition to the Ogallala aquifer, which supplies clean water to two million Americans. The present Keystone pipeline has already experienced seven leaks, making the question when, not if, Keystone XL will also have a disastrous spill. As if all of that wasn't reason enough to call this a bad idea, Keystone XL is actually expected – by its operating company's own admission – to raise the prices of oil in the Midwest, and not bring it down in the rest of the country. Whenever such a harmful project is en route to approval, it needs to be asked who stands to benefit from it. Unsurprisingly, two of the key people best placed to benefit from this pipeline are the Koch brothers. As David Sassoon of Solve Climate reports, via ClimateProgress: "The Keystone XL pipeline, awaiting a thumbs up or down on a presidential permit, would increase the import of heavy oil from Canada's oil sands to the US by as much as 510,000 barrels a day, if it gets built. … A SolveClimate News analysis, based on publicly available records, shows that Koch Industries is already responsible for close to 25% of the oil sands crude that is imported into the United States, and is well-positioned to benefit from increasing Canadian oil imports. "A Koch Industries operation in Calgary, Alberta, called Flint Hills Resources Canada LP, supplies about 250,000 barrels of tar sands oil a day to a heavy oil refinery in Minnesota, also owned by the Koch brothers. Flint Hills Resources Canada also operates a crude oil terminal in Hardisty, Alberta, the starting point of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline." Keystone XL is only the latest political fight where the Koch brothers hope to keep secret their involvement and financial interest. And now they're going after Midwest land, the property passed down through generations of family, and the safety of our drinking water and air. This Monday, the House energy and commerce committee Republicans held a hearing on the pipeline, in an attempt to push through approval even more quickly than the present process allows. This act of political theatre is another attempt by conservatives to push through the pipeline's approval, against the wishes of American homeowners, farmers and ranchers. Those in the pipeline's path have criticised the rushed nature of the state department's review process for approving the pipeline. Hearings have not been held on the department's latest draft analysis. Just last week, environmental and ethics groups sued the state department to gain access to possible communications between a lobbyist for Keystone XL and the state department. The TransCanada lobbyist in question is Paul Elliott, who formerly worked as the national deputy director for Secretary Clinton's presidential campaign. The state department initially refused to fulfill a freedom of information request concerning his role; while reversing that decision, they have still delayed releasing the information since. What happens next rests with Secretary of State Clinton, who has said that a final decision will be made on Keystone XL by the end of 2011. Brave New Foundation has made the above video to raise attention about the issue. We need to keep the pressure on and get the word out. Secretary of State Clinton, the country is watching: please say no to the Koch brothers and big oil, and protect the livelihoods and interests of ordinary Americans who can't afford lobbyists. | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'environment/environment', 'environment/oil-sands', 'business/oilandgascompanies', 'business/oil', 'environment/oil-spills', 'us-news/hillary-clinton', 'us-news/usdomesticpolicy', 'world/canada', 'us-news/us-foreign-policy', 'tone/comment', 'us-news/us-news', 'us-news/us-congress', 'us-news/republicans', 'world/americas', 'us-news/koch-brothers', 'environment/keystone-xl-pipeline', 'type/article', 'profile/robert-greenwald'] | environment/oil-sands | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2011-05-23T18:53:00Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
global-development/2023/nov/17/solar-energy-could-power-all-health-facilities-in-poorer-countries-and-save-lives-experts-say | Solar energy could power all health facilities in poorer countries and save lives, experts say | All healthcare facilities in poorer countries could be electrified using solar energy within five years for less than $5bn, putting an end to the risk of life from power outages, experts will argue at Cop28 this month. “I would like the international community to commit to a deadline and funding to electrify all healthcare facilities,” said Salvatore Vinci, an adviser on sustainable energy at the World Health Organization and a member of its Cop28 delegation. “We have solutions now that were not available 10 years ago – there is no reason why babies should be dying today because there is not electricity to power their incubators. “It’s a low-hanging fruit. There is nothing stopping us,” he said. About 1 billion people around the world do not have access to a healthcare facility with a stable electricity connection, including 433 million in low-income countries who rely on facilities with no electricity at all, according to the WHO’s Energising Health: Accelerating Electricity Access in Healthcare Facilities report, which was published in January, and co-authored by Vinci. Electricity is the lifeblood of a functioning healthcare facility, not only powering devices such as ventilators and cardiac monitors, but providing basics amenities such as lighting. Without these basic facilities, even routine conditions can be deadly or lead to complications. Healthcare facilities in countries vulnerable to the impact of extreme weather events will often experience outages because of storms and flooding. “We don’t know how many people die each year because of power outages. Nobody puts ‘power outage’ as a cause of death on a death certificate,” said Hippolite Amadi, bioengineering professor at Imperial College London. “As we speak, patients in low- and middle-income countries are dying due to power outages and poor lighting. They’re dying because their life-support machines were switched off, or because they have been given the wrong medication by staff who cannot see what they are doing, or because the surgeon working in the dark made a mistake.” While lack of lighting puts maternal and surgery patients at the biggest immediate risk, an unreliable energy source makes long-term treatments, such as kidney dialysis, untenable. As the burden of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) rises in the global south, the strain on poorly electrified facilities will increase. In Central African Republic – the African country whose citizens are most likely to die prematurely from an NCD – more than 60% of healthcare facilities report having no access to electricity. “The best surgeon in the world cannot do good work if he cannot see what he is doing,” said Emmanuel Makasa, an orthopaedic surgeon in Zambia, who at times has had to work using a torch or the light from his mobile phone. “You would never ask a tailor to work in the dark, why would you expect it from a doctor?” In Zambia, 60% of the rural population do not have access to a healthcare facility with electricity, according to the government, and even in large hospitals connected to the national grid the electricity supply is temperamental, said Makasa. “Sometimes the lights in the operating theatre switch off without warning, and that means that ventilators and life-support machines switch off too,” he said. Recently, he purchased a surgical headlight produced by an international organisation, Lifebox. “It means we go into surgery with less worries, there is nothing worse than losing a patient or getting a bad surgery outcome due to a power cut. “In Africa, we’re always looking for innovations. We wonder how we live in a land of sunlight, a potential energy source, and we still have these problems,” Makasa said. “We live in a land of plenty, but we are starving.” Amadi worked to electrify maternal healthcare centres in Nigeria’s Niger state as early as 2009. In October, his solar-powered neonatal ventilator won a prestigious Nigerian award and earned praise from the president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for “keeping Nigerian children alive”. “Before we implemented the solar energy system the mortality rate in [one of our hospitals] was between 35 and 45 per 1,000 deliveries [of babies],” said Mohammed Gana of Niger state’s health ministry, a former colleague of Amadi. “Now we’re hovering between 10 and 15.” Niger state’s health ministry is aiming to electrify all its healthcare facilities using solar energy within the next year. “In the last 10 years the cost of photovoltaic modules has decreased by 90%, and the cost of batteries has decreased by 60% on average,” said Vinci. “We can go and deploy a cost-effective and reliable solar energy system at a facility in a matter of a few days. We don’t need to wait any more.” | ['global-development/global-development', 'global-development/global-health', 'environment/energy', 'global-development/access-to-energy', 'world/africa', 'society/health', 'environment/solarpower', 'environment/environment', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'world/world', 'technology/technology', 'society/hospitals', 'society/society', 'global-development/series/health-and-climate', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/weronika-strzyzynska', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/global-development'] | environment/solarpower | ENERGY | 2023-11-17T06:00:36Z | true | ENERGY |
uk/the-northerner/2012/dec/24/christmas-hat-millinery-diy-recycling | Turn your copy of the Guardian into a stylish Christmas hat | Sue Carter is a Yorkshire milliner with a handy line in 'reclamation hats' which have all the virtues appropriate to a time of recession. She knows how to make delightful confections out of felt, gauze and other conventional materials, and has the qualifications to prove it. But just now, she prefers a different approach. The Guardian's Saturday listings Guide, for instance. Anyone working with fabric has a natural eye for dimensions and measurements and Carter saw the potential of the Guide's size straight away. She says: I wanted to make some gift boxes out of something cheap and the magazine looked just right. I started folding - first halfway and then making a square - and, hey presto, it was just right. Here's the result, but boxes were only the start. Hats and fascinators are Carter's main business in her studio at the encouragingly-named Radiant Works in Huddersfield, an engineering factory now used by artists. She started looking at her daily paper with original but cheap party headgear in mind. An eight-point star created from interlocking Guide pages became a theme, attached with split-pins and other devices to an ever-increasing range of bowl shapes, discs and cones. A bit dunce-y, this one on the left maybe; or does it put you in mind of Harry Potter and wizardry? Carter's different takes led to 1920s angled hats with a slender spire of folded Guardian standing in for the traditional feather. And a whole cluster of stars on either a simple head-shaped base or a delicate support for a fascinator. The sort of thing that Minerva McGonagall might wear to enliven staff meetings at Hogwart's. Carter reckons that turning Guardians into hats is something that everyone can have a go at - though bear in mind that she has two gold medals from City and Guilds. She went to Buckingham Palace for the award ceremony in one of her button berets, which attracted approving comments from the Duke of Edinburgh. She's also spread the message through initiatives such as North Yorkshire county council's Chose 2 Reuse show in Harrogate last year. Letting your imagination rip is the key, she says. Her classes at Leeds College of Art and Kirklees College in Huddersfield encourage students to think of all manner of hat-making materials, and a similarly infinite range of patterns and shapes to go with them. One of her own recent collections, shown at Stockport's hat museum the Hat Works, was entirely based on chocolates and other sweeties. Carter's work can next be see at the the Hat Works' Redesigning Fashion exhibition, whose theme - 'make do and mend' hats from the 1940s - chimes nicely with re-using the Guardian and anything else in current austere times. This final picture is of a hat she'll be showing there. As for us, and you; here's what to do. If you've time over the holiday, take up the Carter challenge and make your own Guardian Christmas hat. Then email the Northerner a picture of the finished masterpiece - to northerner @guardian.co.uk. We'll ask Sue to judge the best for us to use in a picture gallery in the New Year. She can be contacted for commissions or other info on suej.carter@virgin.net Merry Christmas! | ['uk/the-northerner', 'tone/blog', 'fashion/fashion', 'fashion/fashion-blog', 'lifeandstyle/christmas', 'environment/recycling', 'type/article', 'profile/martinwainwright'] | environment/recycling | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2012-12-24T08:00:00Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
australia-news/2023/nov/15/liberal-senate-hopeful-accused-of-putting-politics-above-facts-by-opposing-llawara-windfarm | Liberal Senate hopeful accused of putting politics above facts by opposing Illawarra windfarm | Liberal Senate hopeful Andrew Constance has been accused of putting his political ambitions ahead of “sound policy based on facts” after he backed opponents of a proposed offshore wind farm zone in New South Wales’ Illawarra region. Constance, a former NSW cabinet minister, told a public meeting on Monday that the federal government needed to put the brakes on plans to create an offshore wind zone between Wollongong and Gerringong. The zone is one of six offshore wind zone areas announced by the Albanese government. The debate over offshore wind energy in NSW has been mired in misinformation, with prominent claims that the turbines kill whales, following similar claims in the US. Scientists have said these claims were not backed by evidence. The event in the Illawarra was attended by about 80 people and featured speakers from the anti-windfarm coalition and a local lobster farmer. It was the last meeting before community submissions for the proposed windfarm zone close on Wednesday. Several speakers raised the potential impact on migratory birds and whales. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Constance told the audience he doubted the viability of offshore wind farms in the area due to inflation and supply constraints, and raised concerns about their impact on the environment and tourism. “We are right to expect our government to do its homework first,” he said. Constance, a moderate Liberal, is running for a vacant Senate spot following the resignation of the former foreign affairs minister Marise Payne. The spot is expected to be decided later this month. “If I’m successful, I can back you,” Constance told the audience, later urging them to vote Liberal. Constance told the Illawarra meeting people were entitled to ask “some pretty fundamental questions” about the environmental impact of the Illawarra proposal. “I understand the stress and concern about the whale migration,” he said. Peter Dutton and longtime renewable energy opponent Barnaby Joyce have also expressed opposition to offshore wind farms. Joyce told a rally in Port Stephens last month that support for renewable energy was a cult and urged the crowd to fight back. The independent MP Zali Steggall, who has been advocating for changes enforcing truth in political advertising, said Constance appeared to be motivated by winning a Senate seat. “Clearly, it shows this is about politics and political ambition to get elected rather than sound policy based on facts,” she said. Steggall said the environmental impact of offshore wind farms had “to be weighed against the overall benefits in our transition to renewable energy and to move away from fossil fuels”. “The environmental impact is far greater if we continue burning fossil fuel than if we have minimal environmental impact by localised projects, like offshore wind,” she said. In response to Steggall’s comments, Constance said: “I look forward to seeing Zali Steggall call for an additional zone off Manly in light of her confidence in Bowen’s so called open and transparent processes.” Constance echoed other speaker’s concerns during the meeting that the government had not provided enough information. “[Climate change and energy minister] Chris Bowen is making it up as he goes along, quite frankly,” Constance said. “Countries around the world are only starting to look at floating wind turbine technology and for Minister Bowen to do zones without any evidence base for the Illawarra and Hunter, in light of the unique features of our coast, is grossly irresponsible,” he later told Guardian Australia. Towards the end of the two-hour meeting, an audience member asked whether the speakers were equally concerned about the impact of climate change on marine life. The person asking the question was heckled, with one audience member shouting “you greenies are killing the environment”. Another said: “I’m not concerned about climate change.” Amanda De Lore, a speaker at the event and one of the founders of the anti-offshore wind coalition, said “we’re all very concerned about the environment and we know about climate change”, but suggested the offshore wind zone was a more immediate concern. “This is something that’s going to impact on us not in 30 years, it’s coming soon.” Constance acknowledged climate change was already happening, referring to his experience during the Black Summer bushfires, and said innovation was needed. “There is no doubt there is a change in the environment,” he said. “We should be looking at this whole issue differently, it shouldn’t be dividing us.” • This article was corrected on 15 November 2023 to clarify that the Liberal party organised the public meeting and the Coalition Against Offshore Wind was an invited guest. | ['australia-news/new-south-wales', 'environment/windpower', 'environment/environment', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'australia-news/new-south-wales-politics', 'australia-news/liberal-party', 'campaign/email/afternoon-update', 'environment/energy', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/jordyn-beazley', 'profile/sarah-basford-canales', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/windpower | ENERGY | 2023-11-15T00:44:29Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/article/2024/sep/09/country-diary-a-day-of-shock-and-ore-down-in-the-ravine | Country diary: A day of shock and ore down in the ravine | Susie White | The rocky ravine, with its bluffs and tumbled boulders, is more dry desert than a slice through the green North Pennines. Its stream, shrunk to a few languid pools, has become an orange-stained barranco that we pick our way along. This is the Nent River, and the last time I was here it was to walk – and crawl – deep into the passages of the abandoned lead mine. Nenthead was a major centre of lead mining in the 18th and 19th centuries, and the area round the mines and Smelt Mill is heaped with substantial dumps of spoil, long studied for its minerals and fossils. The upheaval from the workings also revealed a complex geology. I’ve joined the earth sciences group of the Natural History Society of Northumbria for a walk led by the geologist Karl Egeland-Eriksen and Brenda Turnbull. Winter spates brought down a mass of material and, with so little water in the burn, it’s possible to search the actual river bed. There are lumps of ore minerals dug from higher up the valley at the Smallcleugh Mine: there’s galena, the ore of lead, and sphalerite, known as “blackjack”, an ore of zinc. Visible in a limestone boulder is a fossilised brachiopod, Gigantoproductus, a sea creature that had two hard shells, not hinged like cockles and mussels but cupped inside each other. I pick up a chunk containing coral and am awed by the unfathomable timespan. A scramble up the slope takes us to an outcrop of the Great Limestone formed more than 300m years ago and a geological feature throughout much of northern England. Fossil-rich beds of colonial coral – like the piece I found in the river – alternate with layers of stone. A wavy undulation is the finest exposure of the Chaetetes Band anywhere: layers of the sclerosponge Chaetetes depressus once formed thin lacy mats on the sea floor and its mesh is studded with shells and crinoids, their life position frozen in stone. It’s the Great Limestone that also forms the Nent River waterfall. Today it’s just a trickle across slabs of rock, orange-stained from iron deposits. The pool beneath is punctuated by jagged rusty pipes, its depths both fascinating and forbidding like the altered landscape that surrounds it. • Country diary is on Twitter/X at @gdncountrydiary • Under the Changing Skies: The Best of the Guardian’s Country Diary, 2018-2024 (Guardian Faber) is published on 26 September; pre-order now at the guardianbookshop.com and get a 20% discount | ['environment/series/country-diary', 'business/mining', 'environment/mountains', 'science/geology', 'environment/mining', 'environment/environment', 'uk/ruralaffairs', 'uk/uk', 'uk-news/cumbria', 'lifeandstyle/walking', 'lifeandstyle/hobbies', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/susie-white', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/mining | ENERGY | 2024-09-09T04:30:06Z | true | ENERGY |
world/2019/sep/07/hurricane-dorian-death-toll-missing-rescue | Hurricane Dorian: thousands may still be missing as death toll hits 43 | Rescue teams are still struggling to reach some flood-hit Bahamian communities in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian as top officials said the death toll had risen to 43, while it is feared hundreds, perhaps thousands, remain missing. Government agencies and charities continued to bring desperately needed relief efforts to the Bahamas, including cruise ships loaded with supplies and volunteers. The Bahamian prime minister, Hubert Minnis, updated the death toll late on Friday but warned that the number was “expected to increase significantly”. “This is one of the stark realities we are facing in our darkest hour,” Minnis said in a statement. “The loss of life we are experiencing is catastrophic and devastating. The grief we will bear as a country begins with the families who have lost loved ones. We will meet them in this time of sorrow with open arms and walk by their sides every step of the way.” Thirty-five of the official deaths were in the Abaco Islands and eight in Grand Bahama. Marvin Dames, the security minister, said authorities were striving to reach everyone, but the crews could not just bulldoze their way through fallen trees and other rubble because there might be bodies not yet recovered. “We have been through this before, but not at this level of devastation,” Dames said. The United Nations has estimated 70,000 people were in “immediate need of life-saving assistance” such as food, water and shelter. Hundreds of desperate storm victims gathered on Friday at the port on Grand Abaco in hopes of getting off the devastated island amid signs of rising frustration over the pace of the relief effort. “It’s chaos here,” said Gee Rolle, a construction worker who waited with his wife for a boat that could take them to the capital, Nassau. “The government is trying their best, but at the same time, I don’t think they’re doing a good enough job to evacuate the people. It ain’t livable for nobody. Only animals can live here.” ‘90% of infrastructure damaged’ The World Food Programme said it had delivered 14,700 ready-to-eat meals to Nassau on Friday that would be distributed to the islands. A senior WFP spokesperson said it had a team in Abaco: “Assessments for Abaco found widespread destruction, with thousands of houses levelled, telecommunications towers down, and roads blocked; in Marsh Harbor, an estimated 90% of the infrastructure appears damaged.” They added: “The government building, the medical centre and the Anglican church are housing thousands of displaced people – including women, young children and other vulnerable groups. Living conditions are rapidly deteriorating with limited or no water, electricity, and sanitation. With improved access (airport in Marsh Harbor newly reopened), some supplies are arriving including some minimal food and water. The needs remain enormous. “Evacuations are slowly taking place by ferry, as hundreds of residents reportedly flee daily.” The US was expanding its response to the disaster, with the Trump administration reportedly moving to requested airlift and logistical support from the US defense department, to back up efforts by the US Coast Guard. On Saturday, the US Coast Guard said it has rescued 290 people in the Bahamas following Hurricane Dorian. It said that six MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters were carrying out search and rescue missions and providing logistical support, while nine coastguard cutter vessels were also helping in the area. Dorian also hit parts of the Outer Banks Islands in North Carolina on Friday after briefly making landfall there. Also on Saturday, forecasters said Hurricane Dorian was picking up strength as it approached Canada. In its latest advisory, issued before 2pm ET, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said the hurricane’s maximum sustained winds had increased to 100mph (155km/h) from 85mph (140km/h), raising it one notch from a category 1 to a category 2 storm. Forecasters say the centre of Dorian is expected to move across central or eastern Nova Scotia late Saturday afternoon or early evening, pass near or over Prince Edward Island late on Saturday, and move to Newfoundland and Labrador on Sunday. Hurricanes in Canada are rare in part because once the storms reach colder Canadian waters, they lose their main source of energy. | ['world/hurricane-dorian', 'world/bahamas', 'world/americas', 'world/extreme-weather', 'world/natural-disasters', 'world/canada', 'world/hurricanes', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/news', 'theobserver/news/worldnews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news'] | world/hurricane-dorian | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2019-09-07T18:47:48Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2021/sep/10/seeing-the-wood-and-the-trees | Seeing the wood and the trees | Letters | It is certainly of urgent concern that between a third and half of our planet’s 58,500 tree species are at risk of extinction, as your editorial (5 September) highlighted. When trees are threatened, so are ecosystems, as well as the human communities dependent upon them. But while it is true the “chief culprit” is habitat destruction by logging, farming and grazing, it is a false dichotomy to place human activity in opposition to forest conservation – and it is great to see the Guardian recognise this. As the piece highlights, the Amazon was shaped for thousands of years by the close relationship between humans and their surroundings. For any ecosystem to truly thrive in a sustainable way, communities need to be at the heart of restoration and protection efforts. As CEO of Tree Aid, which has worked in the African Sahel for decades on land restoration and reforestation, I’ve seen how agroforestry systems and regenerative agriculture enable communities to work with, not against, nature. Only by reinforcing this link can we deal with the intertwined challenges of poverty, malnutrition and ecosystem degradation together. This is not a choice between tree protection versus planting, but a choice of sustainably managed ecosystems with humans as an integral part. This must be holistic to succeed; involving access rights, awareness raising, skills building, farmer-managed natural regeneration and planting, as well as protection. Let’s put the either/or debate finally to rest, for people as well as for the planet. Tom Skirrow CEO of Tree Aid, Bristol • Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication. | ['environment/forests', 'environment/environment', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/biodiversity', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/letters', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/biodiversity | BIODIVERSITY | 2021-09-10T15:26:27Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2023/jun/05/keir-starmer-gmb-union-energy-policy-north-sea-oil-gas | Keir Starmer pledges ‘good, union jobs’ amid energy row with GMB | Keir Starmer will pledge to put “good, union jobs” at the heart of Labour’s energy policy during a speech to one of its biggest donor unions after its general secretary criticised a proposed ban on oil and gas expansion. He will speak at the GMB’s annual conference on Tuesday, a day after he tried to calm a growing rift with its leadership over Labour’s energy policy. In a speech pledging to put workers at the heart of the party’s planned transition to green energy, the Labour leader will also seek to portray the prime minister as London-centric and overly concerned with banking. “If the City of London races ahead while the rest of Britain stagnates, as long as there was a hint of growth on his spreadsheet, Rishi Sunak would think that’s fine. But it’s not,” Starmer will tell the GMB congress in Brighton. “If you leave this many people behind, a nation cannot grow fairly. We can’t do it with low wages. We can’t do it with insecure jobs and bad work, with a stand-aside state that doesn’t fight for the future, without a proper industrial strategy.” Starmer – who is likely to be challenged on his opposition towards Labour MPs joining picket lines – will also pledge that Labour in government will work with unions, strengthening their role in society and urging businesses such as Amazon to recognise them. “We can create a new business model for Britain, one which creates economic security and grows not just our productivity, but our hope and our optimism. Labour in government will work with unions. We will always see the fight for working people as our driving purpose.” His appearance comes amid discontent among Labour’s union base over a pledge to block all new domestic oil and gas developments if it wins power. The party is proposing instead to invest heavily in renewable sources such as wind and also in nuclear power. Gary Smith, the general secretary of the GMB, said on Sunday that Labour had “got it wrong” and risked creating “a cliff-edge with oil and gas extraction from the North Sea”. In an apparent attempt to reassure union critics, Starmer stressed on Monday that “oil and gas will be part of our energy mix for many, many years to come”. Speaking during a visit to the Hinkley C nuclear power project in Somerset, he said: “We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity now to seize the jobs of the future. Oil and gas will be part of that because, where there are existing licences, they will go on to the 2050s.” However, only a couple of hours later Smith used a speech to the Brighton conference to reiterate his criticism, urging Labour to focus on a “mix of energy sources” if it gains power, including oil and gas. He said that – while the union wanted a Labour government – he disagreed with its energy policy. “We have to fix and secure our energy supply if we are to face down threats from authoritarian regimes in the world and find a workable way to achieve net zero,” Smith said. The Unite union has also criticised Labour’s stance. Its general secretary, Sharon Graham, said last week that the UK needed a properly planned transition that would “guarantee jobs, pay and conditions for all the tens of thousands of workers in the North Sea and supporting industries”. Starmer’s plans have received significant support from a range of high-profile groups, including other trade unions, environmental campaigners and even the Women’s Institute. Last year, Unite and the GMB each gave Labour about £1.2m. Starmer said on Monday that Labour talks to the GMB “all the time”. Energy policy is expected to be a key battleground for Labour in the run-up to the next election. The energy crisis, provoked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has fuelled debate over Britain’s energy security and plans for green jobs. | ['politics/labour', 'environment/energy', 'business/oil', 'business/business', 'environment/environment', 'uk-news/gmb-union', 'politics/politics', 'uk/uk', 'campaign/email/business-today', 'politics/keir-starmer', 'politics/tradeunions', 'business/gas', 'environment/gas', 'environment/oil', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/benquinn', 'profile/alex-lawson', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business'] | environment/energy | ENERGY | 2023-06-05T21:30:43Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2020/aug/17/microplastic-particles-discovered-in-human-organs | Microplastic particles now discoverable in human organs | Microplastic and nanoplastic particles are now discoverable in human organs thanks to a new technique. Microplastics have polluted the entire planet, from Arctic snow and Alpine soils to the deepest oceans. People are also known to consume them via food and water, and to breathe them in, but the potential impact on human health is not yet known. The researchers expect to find the particles in human organs and have identified chemical traces of plastic in tissue. But isolating and characterising such minuscule fragments is difficult, and contamination from plastics in the air is also a challenge. To test their technique, they added particles to 47 samples of lung, liver, spleen and kidney tissue obtained from a tissue bank established to study neurodegenerative diseases. Their results showed that the microplastics could be detected in every sample. The scientists, whose work is being presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society on Monday, said their technique would enable other researchers to determine contamination levels in human organs around the world. “It would be naive to believe there is plastic everywhere but just not in us,” said Rolf Halden at Arizona State University. “We are now providing a research platform that will allow us and others to look for what is invisible – these particles too small for the naked eye to see. The risk [to health] really resides in the small particles.” The analytical method developed allows the researchers to identify dozens of types of plastic, including the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) used in plastic drinks bottles and the polyethylene used in plastic bags. They found bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used to make plastics, in all 47 samples. The US Environmental Protection Agency is concerned about BPA because “it is a reproductive, developmental and systemic toxicant in animal studies”. The researchers examined lung, liver, spleen and kidney tissue as these organs are likely to be exposed to microplastics or collect them. “We never want to be alarmist, but it is concerning that these non-biodegradable materials that are present everywhere [may] enter and accumulate in human tissues, and we don’t know the possible health effects,” said Varun Kelkar of Arizona State University, part of the research team. “Once we get a better idea of what’s in the tissues, we can conduct epidemiological studies to assess human health outcomes,” he said. “That way, we can start to understand the potential health risks, if any.” Charles Rolsky, another member of the team, said: “In a few short decades, we’ve gone from seeing plastic as a wonderful benefit to considering it a threat.” Microplastics are those less than 5mm in diameter and nanoplastics have a diameter of less than 0.001mm. Both form largely from the abrasion of larger pieces of plastic dumped into the environment. Research in wildlife and laboratory animals has linked exposure to tiny plastics to infertility, inflammation and cancer. The researchers are now testing tissues to find microplastics that accumulated during donors’ lifetimes. Donors to tissue banks often provide information on their lifestyles, diets and occupations, so this may help future work to determine the main ways in which people are exposed to microplastics. The new methodology developed by the team to extract plastics from the tissues and analyse them will be shared online so other researchers can report their results in a standardised way. “This shared resource will help build a plastic exposure database so that we can compare exposures in organs and groups of people over time and geographic space,” said Halden. Previous studies have shown people eat and breathe in at least 50,000 particles of microplastic a year and that microplastic pollution is raining down on city dwellers, with London, UK, having the highest level of four cities analysed last year. The particles can harbour toxic chemicals and harmful microbes and are known to harm some marine creatures. Other work has shown different kinds of nanoparticles from air pollution are present in human hearts and brains, and have been linked to brain cancer. • This article was updated on 17 August 2020, after more information was provided to the Guardian by the researchers, to reflect the fact that the plastic particles had been inserted into the samples of human tissue. | ['environment/plastic', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'us-news/us-news', 'environment/pollution', 'society/health', 'society/society', 'science/chemistry', 'science/science', 'science/medical-research', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/damiancarrington', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/plastic | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2020-08-17T16:07:20Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
news/2024/sep/13/third-spanish-people-local-area-too-many-foreign-tourists-survey | Third of people in Spain say local area has too many foreign tourists | A third of people in Spain say their local area now has too many international visitors, according to a continent-wide survey that has found most people across Europe are sympathetic to protests against overtourism and back steps to combat it. The YouGov survey comes after a summer of demonstrations and urgent warnings against the impact of mass tourism from Santorini to the Canary Islands, and measures aimed at reducing it announced from the Cinque Terre to Amsterdam. The polling in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK found Spain was the country that felt most strongly about the phenomenon, with 32% of respondents saying there were now too many foreign travellers in their area. That number rose to 48% in Catalonia, the region that includes Barcelona, whose 1.6 million residents receive about 32 million visitors annually, and of which one local columnist said last month: “My city has been stolen from me, and I’m not getting it back.” At 28%, Spain was also the country where respondents were most likely to have a negative view of international tourists. Both these figures were markedly higher than elsewhere, although significant minorities in some countries shared the same views. In France, 18% of people surveyed said they felt there were too many international tourists where they lived, and 16% said they had a bad opinion of foreign visitors. The corresponding numbers in Italy were 16% and 11%, and in Germany 13% and 14%. People in Spain also felt more strongly than others about the short-term holiday rentals sector, which is widely accused of removing accommodation from the local residential market and inflating rents to a point many residents cannot afford. Spain’s government in July announced a crackdown on short-term holiday lettings, pledging to check that listings on platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com had licences, while Barcelona’s city council aims to ban all holiday flats by 2029. The survey showed more than a third of Spaniards (37%) felt the holiday lettings sector brought more harm than benefits, and 45% said they had a negative view of it, an opinion shared by smaller but significant minorities in other countries. In the UK, 33% had an unfavourable opinion of the sector, followed by 30% in Italy, 28% in France, 24% in Denmark and 21% in Germany. Opinions of the hotel industry were very largely favourable in all countries surveyed, at between 69% and 73%. France (47%) and Germany (45%) had the strongest negative opinion of another controversial sector, the cruise industry, while in Spain (20%) and Italy (19%), where Barcelona and Venice have taken steps to discourage cruise ships, views were less unfavourable. Europeans broadly backed anti-overtourism campaigners’ concerns, with sizeable majorities in every country saying they had either a “great deal” or a “fair amount” of sympathy for residents of popular tourist destinations who were protesting. The highest level of support was again in Spain, at 66%, followed by France, Germany and Sweden (all 65%), then Denmark (63%), the UK (57%) and Italy (53%). As far as authorities’ responses are concerned, the survey also showed broad public support. Controlling tourist numbers is a difficult balancing act for national, city and local authorities, with compromises needing to be struck between often vital revenues and jobs generated by international visitors and the quality of life of residents. Cities including Amsterdam, Paris, Seville and Venice, top tourist draws including Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia and the Acropolis in Athens, and sites of natural beauty such as Marseille’s Calanques have all adopted recent measures to curb overtourism. Strategies include regulating or reducing visitor numbers by boosting tourist taxes; introducing entrance fees, time slot systems or advance reservation schemes; or launching mass information campaigns aimed at reducing visitor numbers. Most popular – and backed by majorities of between 57% and 76% in every country surveyed – was a requirement to book in advance to get admission to popular sites, a policy adopted at attractions such as Rome’s Colosseum and the Louvre in Paris. At least half (50-62%) of respondents in every country said they would also support capping the number of tourists who could access popular cities or destinations, a measure introduced at the Acropolis in Athens – and a small island in Brittany. Respondents in all seven countries were also broadly in favour (between 46% and 58%) of banning the construction of new hotels in popular cities, a measure that Amsterdam announced earlier this year, saying it had “to keep the city livable”. Less popular, though still backed by many in some countries, were “tourist tax” fees to enter overcrowded cities; prohibiting residential properties being let as holiday accommodation; and banning visitors who do not stay at least one night. “High levels of international tourists have been a persistent challenge for cities across Europe,” said Eva Satkute Stewart, YouGov’s global head of travel and tourism, with the issues “particularly acute in Spain, which is reflected in our data”. Excessive tourism triggered concerns about rising living costs, housing prices and the erosion of cultural identity, Stewart said, “although locals also acknowledge the benefits, such as job creation and improved infrastructure”. Increasingly, she said, residents in larger cities were demanding stricter regulations on tourist housing, while medium-sized cities were promoting off-season tourism. | ['news/overtourism', 'world/spain', 'world/world', 'world/europe-news', 'campaign/email/this-is-europe', 'environment/series/overtourism-and-the-climate-crisis', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/jonhenley', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-foreign'] | environment/series/overtourism-and-the-climate-crisis | GLOBAL_CRISIS | 2024-09-13T04:00:47Z | true | GLOBAL_CRISIS |
environment/blog/2013/jul/11/activism-twitter-greenpeace-shard-shell | How #activism puts corporations on the back foot | Karl Mathiesen | Six activists scaled London's highest skyscraper and the Twitter rankings on Thursday, but Greenpeace now faces the challenge of converting the digital noise into public pressure to change Shell's Arctic policy. Communications commentators said corporations such as Shell, the targets of the protest, were at a disadvantage in the battle for social media and this stunt represented a new standard in organisation and delivery. Futerra Sustainability Communications co-founder Solitaire Townsend said Greenpeace has been a trendsetter in this field throughout the digital era. Their traditional strategy has been: "to do an extraordinary, impactful, challenging, scary stunt. They've done that for 40 years. Classic new Greenpeace is to do that with absolute state-of-the-art digital campaigning around it that puts every corporate campaign I've ever seen to shame." Townsend said this action's scope, organisation and delivery represented a "new paradigm" in digital communications strategy: "The rest of the digital community, especially the corporate community, is getting taught here. Campaigning used to be about how many people you got on your demo. With six people doing something, Greenpeace has managed to get tens, if not hundreds of thousands of Brits involved in this campaign. It's not about how many feet you've got on your march it's about how many tweets you've got on your hashtag." The challenge for Greenpeace, said Townsend, would be to convert the coverage into direct public pressure on Shell. "The sheer physical endeavour of watching those women climb the Shard is incredible. The message of protecting the Arctic and affecting Shell's decision making could get lost in the sheer physical spectacle of it. "Its ability to affect Shell is in part based upon what is unfurled on that banner and whether people follow that message from the spectacle, to the Arctic to Shell." Social media had been saturated all day with #iceclimb and others words related to the climb trending on Twitter. Townsend said that this sort of monopolisation was invaluable. "You used to have roadblocks in advertising where a company would buy every advertising channel and so whenever you flick the TV over the same advert was being shown. You can't do that any more because there's too many advertising channels. The idea of a roadblock just simply doesn't exist, except for huge, often unexpected news events. Greenpeace has managed to create almost a digital roadblock. At one point there was something like six of the top 10 trends on Twitter." Robin Grant, founder of We Are Social, said that pressure groups currently had the upper hand when it came to manipulating and creating social media coverage. "Companies haven't really learnt how to deal with these things properly." Shell's Twitter and Facebook accounts carried no mention of the climb. Grant said not engaging was the only strategy open to the company because commenting on the issue would only create a lightning rod for extra comment. Grant said: "Any dialogue they enter into, either with Greenpeace, or the press, or the public through social media is just going to play into Greenpeace's hands. Pouring more fuel on the fire. "Unless a company can engage substantively with the issues and therefore is either confident in its position or prepared to change it there's really not much point in engaging in that conversation. If the company's position remains to stick as they are and they don't want to engage on the issues then it is not to their advantage to do so." While Shell would definitely be concerned, Grant said that Greenpeace's message may struggle to outlive the stunt. "It's a fairly transitory thing, it'll be out of the news again tomorrow. And therefore, how much impact does it really have?" | ['environment/activism', 'world/world', 'world/protest', 'environment/environment', 'environment/greenpeace', 'business/royaldutchshell', 'business/oil', 'business/oilandgascompanies', 'business/business', 'environment/blog', 'tone/blog', 'type/article', 'profile/karl-mathiesen'] | environment/greenpeace | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2013-07-11T17:21:59Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
environment/2018/oct/31/five-countries-hold-70-of-worlds-last-wildernesses-map-reveals | Five countries hold 70% of world's last wildernesses, map reveals | Just five countries hold 70% of the world’s remaining untouched wilderness areas and urgent international action is needed to protect them, according to new research. Researchers from the University of Queensland (UQ) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) have for the first time produced a global map that sets out which countries are responsible for nature that is devoid of heavy industrial activity. It comes ahead of the conference of parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Egypt in November where signatory nations are working towards a plan for the protection of biodiversity beyond 2020. Conservationists are calling for a mandated target for wilderness conservation that will preserve the planet’s vulnerable ecosystems. The UQ and WCS study, published in the journal Nature, identifies Australia, the US, Brazil, Russia and Canada as the five countries that hold the vast majority of the world’s remaining wilderness. The data excludes untouched wilderness in Antarctica and on the high seas that is not contained within national borders. The paper comes after the team of scientists produced data in 2016 that charted the planet’s remaining terrestrial wilderness and in 2018 examined which parts of the world’s oceans remained free from the damaging impacts of human activity. They found that more than 77% of land – excluding Antarctica – and 87% of oceans had been modified by human intervention. “Two years ago we did the first analysis of wilderness on land,” lead author James Watson said. “In this new analysis we’ve created a global map and intersected it with national borders to ask: who is responsible?” The researchers say that the planet’s remaining wilderness can be protected “only if it is recognised within international policy frameworks”. They’re calling for an international target that protects 100% of all remaining intact ecosystems. “It’s achievable to have a target of 100%,” Watson said. “All nations need to do is stop industry from going into those places.” He said the five countries responsible for most of the world’s remaining wilderness had to provide leadership and could act to protect these areas through legislation or by offering incentives to businesses that do not erode nature. John Robinson, the executive vice-president for global conservation at WCS, said wilderness would only be secured globally “if these nations take a leadership role”. “Already we have lost so much. We must grasp these opportunities to secure the wilderness before it disappears forever,” he said. | ['environment/biodiversity', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/environment', 'environment/wildlife', 'world/world', 'environment/endangered-habitats', 'environment/deforestation', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/lisa-cox', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/deforestation | BIODIVERSITY | 2018-10-31T18:00:38Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
australia-news/2022/apr/27/community-groups-angered-as-queensland-government-proposes-logging-in-state-forest | Community groups angered as Queensland government proposes logging in state forest | Locals say a proposal to carry out logging in a state forest on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast will leave long-lasting scars on the area and are fearful of the effect it will have on threatened species. The state government has proposed to log selected trees in a section of the Beerwah State Forest, known locally as Ferny Forest, before it ends native timber production in the “high value” conservation area in two years. Sunshine Coast residents fear chopping down parts of the forest, in areas deemed core koala habitat, could have disastrous consequences. “It’s home to koalas, which have been listed as endangered, as well as glossy black cockatoos and greater gliders,” said Wendy Merefield-Ward, a member of Save Ferny Forest. “It’s like we’re all fighting over the scraps of what’s left after agriculture, after mining, and after logging activities.” According to the government proposal, “selective” hardwood natives like blackbutt, white stringybark, turpentine and grey gum will be cut down some time in 2022, with the timber to be used for power poles, sawlogs, girders and landscaping logs. Narelle McCarthy, a spokesperson of the Sunshine Coast environment council, said the group opposed any harvesting of the forest – which is one of the few remaining coastal rainforests in the region. “The Sunshine Coast is experiencing incredible urbanisation and … it’s putting extreme pressure on our conservation areas,” McCarthy said. Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning “The forest is really important to our region’s biodiversity and I think there will be some legacy impacts from it.” A Department of Agriculture and Fisheries spokesperson said “no final decision has been made on the proposed harvest”. The spokesperson said the department has a “comprehensive process in place to identify and protect koalas during any timber harvesting operations, including the use of koala spotters and koala detection dogs.” “The proposed harvesting operations would be the final selective harvest of this area, consistent with the Queensland government’s native timber action plan,” the spokesperson said. The southeast Queensland forests agreement to end logging in the region by 31 December 2024 was signed by the state government, the timber industry and the conservation sector in 1999. As part of the agreement, about 50% of the 130-hectare Ferny Forest section was considered as an area for harvest, with the forest last logged in the mid-1990s. A petition to stop logging in the proposed area, located between Steve Irwin Way and Ewen Maddock dam, has received almost 22,000 signatures. McCarthy said Ferny Forest, which adjoins the Mooloolah River national park, is an important piece of bushland for climate resilience, as well as the protection of wildlife. While koala “habitat trees” cannot be harvested under current native timber production codes, McCarthy said logging of other trees could cause disturbances and result in further fragmentation of the endangered species. McCarthy said many celebrated national parks and conservation areas in the area were very hard fought. “We really want to see those areas expanded and Ferny represents one such opportunity,” she says. | ['australia-news/queensland', 'environment/logging-and-land-clearing', 'australia-news/queensland-politics', 'environment/conservation', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/forests', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/eden-gillespie', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-state-news'] | environment/logging-and-land-clearing | BIODIVERSITY | 2022-04-26T17:30:07Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
world/2015/oct/26/hurricane-patricia-el-nino-storm-mexico-us | Hurricane Patricia powered by ‘high-octane’ El Niño | As Patricia, the biggest storm ever recorded in the western hemisphere, made landfall on the Mexican west coast on Friday Bill Patzert, climatologist at Nasa’s jet propulsion laboratory explained its origins. The current El Niño was “high-octane fuel for hurricanes” because it had “piled up a tremendous volume of warm water in the eastern Pacific”. The water temperature is 30.5C (87F), close to a record high and about 2C above average, creating ideal conditions for strong hurricanes. There is more energy to create stronger winds and pick up more moisture. The exceptional sea temperature is a combination of the very strong El Niño and climate change, which is raising average sea temperatures across the globe. Patricia gathered pace dramatically reaching the highest category 5 hurricane but fortunately, as the storm made landfall in a mountainous region, the peaks took the brunt of the 200mph winds and “tore the bottom out of the storm.” However, the mountains caused the clouds to rise and cool down dumping large quantities of rain. Scientists are sure of the link between El Niño and extreme weather because in 1997, during the last El Niño of this intensity, multiple hurricanes battered Mexico. So Patricia is likely to be the first of several intense storms that will make landfall along the west coasts of Mexico and the US for the next few months. This will almost certainly end the four-year drought in California with repeated deluges in January. In a warmer world many scientists believe such weather extremes will be happening regularly, causing havoc for vulnerable communities. | ['world/hurricanes', 'news/series/weatherwatch', 'environment/elnino', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'science/meteorology', 'science/science', 'world/natural-disasters', 'world/world', 'world/mexico', 'world/americas', 'us-news/us-weather', 'us-news/us-news', 'tone/features', 'type/article', 'profile/paulbrown', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2'] | news/series/weatherwatch | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2015-10-26T21:30:08Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
global-development/2023/nov/30/young-people-can-help-solve-the-climate-crisis-lets-give-them-a-seat-at-the-table | Young people can help solve the climate crisis. Let’s give them a seat at the table | The faces of young climate activists have become familiar in reports of UN climate talks. Their frustration and anxiety are understandable. We are off-track in achieving global climate goals, and their generation faces a crisis it did not create. But what often goes unnoticed in climate discussions is the proactive work of dynamic young people in low- and middle-income countries. From the Kenyan Youth Biodiversity Network engaging in national policy discussions to social entrepreneurs in the Philippines creating green business opportunities, young people are taking matters into their own hands by actively educating their communities and seeking green opportunities. They need more from global leaders. The potential and power of young people – especially young women – is not fully recognised. They feel neglected in climate policy action, and weaknesses in education and training systems mean they lack the opportunity, skills and tools to enable them to participate in and drive the green economy of the future. Tragically, more than two-thirds of all young people globally – some 800 million – do not have secondary-level literacy or numeracy skills, and an even greater number lack the necessary Stem, green or industry-specific skills to thrive in the green economy of the future. While we talk a great deal about the need for financial investment, we don’t talk enough about the need for skilled people to implement those investments. While climate experts are closely monitoring shifts in global economic systems – such as energy, transport, industry and food – the human capital and skills needed to power these shifts remains largely overlooked in current economic transition modelling, making many projections unrealistic. As a result, a growing mismatch is emerging. On one hand, we have reports of unprecedented increases in jobs from the transition to clean energy alone, and on the other we have stark warnings of unprecedented levels of youth unemployment, not seen in 15 years. Cop28 provides an opportunity for a response. To create a world where “green skills” become a reality for young people, we propose four fundamental actions. In these, we should learn from progress in countries such as Kenya, which is already offering inspiration for equitably reducing youth unemployment and producing working models that can be replicated across the globe. First, young people need information. We must improve local labour market data to track the fastest-growing green and blue sectors in line with national priorities, and make sure that this data is accessible to local policymakers, small enterprises, young jobseekers and the education and training providers that serve them. Research at the US-based Education Development Center (EDC) has so far identified more than 270 different occupations in the fastest-growing green and blue sectors in renewable energy, green construction, waste management, tourism, sustainable agriculture and forestry. However, recent EDC surveys of local workforce development stakeholders across Africa and east Asia highlight varying levels of awareness of these opportunities among training providers, local government and young jobseekers. Second, young people need flexible modular curriculums that can prepare them with the skills they need, including basic literacy and numeracy, climate education, green and digital skills, and industry-specific skills. And skills development strategies must become a central part of national climate mitigation and adaptation strategies. At present, fewer than 40% of nationally determined contributions include plans for skills, while virtually all include plans for money. Kenya’s national Green Economy Strategy and Implementation Plan outlines a comprehensive strategy for transitioning to a green economy. This, in turn, informs education and training systems. Kenya aims to provide 18 million learners, including those with special needs, with opportunities to showcase their understanding, skills, and knowledge of the climate crisis, and critically, to offer possible solutions. Creative learner-driven approaches, such as the First Lady Mazingira award, an annual environment and climate competition, are empowering learners with knowledge and skills to shift attitudes and behaviour changes and, more importantly, offering a chance to give input on the nation’s climate adaptation agenda. Third, youth and female entrepreneurs need reliable financing. This is unfamiliar for many local financial institutions, and they may need subsidies, regulatory encouragement and special programmes. The Joyful Women programme, a table banking-based financial inclusion model in Kenya, has played a leading role in uniting communities of women, encouraging them to combine resources and capitalise on green economy opportunities. Financial resources have been complemented by continuous training and mentorship in financial literacy, entrepreneurship, leadership skills and, crucially, green skills – such as training in the land restoration economy and even insect farming. Finally, all young people need a seat at the table. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child stated this year that young people have a right to be heard and included in climate decisions. And yet the knowledge, potential and power of young people are too often kept on the sidelines. Youth-led and youth-serving organisations are bringing energy and inclusion, prioritising populations most impacted by the climate crisis. Kenya’s globally famous tree-planting and landscape-restoration movement, including its famed Green Belt programme, has involved young people since the beginning. As global leaders gather to discuss the path to net zero, we must recognise that young people, with the most to gain but also the most to lose, will inherit the results of our climate decisions – at Cop28 and beyond. Let’s centre their voices in our dialogues and make investment in their education and skills a priority. Rachel Ruto is the first lady of Kenya. Dr Liesbet Steer is president and CEO of the Education Development Center | ['global-development/series/the-future-of-work', 'environment/cop28', 'global-development/series/opinion--global-development-', 'world/kenya', 'global-development/global-development', 'world/africa', 'environment/environment', 'society/youngpeople', 'global-development/employment', 'type/article', 'tone/comment', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/global-development'] | environment/cop28 | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2023-11-30T07:00:43Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
science/antarctica-live/2013/dec/12/macquarie-island-antarctica-last-untouched-areas-world | Antarctica Live: Macquarie Island – 'a treasure, one of the last untouched areas of the world' | Alok Jha | Four days into the expedition and the Akademik Shokalskiy has reached its first major waypoint: Macquarie Island. This lonely piece of rock – some 20km long, 5km wide and half way from New Zealand to Antarctica – is a piece of sea bed that was pushed up above the water by tectonic activity around 7m years ago. Geologist Greg Mortimer, one of the expedition leaders and a veteran Antarctic scientist, described it as a “treasure, one of the last untouched areas of the world". The plants, animals and rocks there provide a valuable scientific insight into the history of this part of the world, he said. The island is also home to tens of thousands of penguins, most famously at Lusitania Bay on the island's south-east coast, where they congregate in vast numbers on the beach. The island had been well known for more than a century – the sealing industry had ravaged populations of fur seals and penguins there over many decades – when the explorer Douglas Mawson stopped over on the original Australasian Antarctic Expedition. He landed on the island on 11 December 1911 with the intention of building a relay station for the wireless transmissions that he wanted to send to Australia from Antarctica. Mawson and his crew stayed on Macquarie for almost two weeks while they built two masts on Wireless Hill, at the north-east of the island. His expedition would become the first to send regular weather reports directly from the frozen continent, via this relay station. On his arrival, Mawson wrote about meeting an “army of Royal penguins; picturesque little fellows, with a crest and eyebrows of long golden-yellow feathers. A few yards from the massed ranks of the penguins was a mottled sea-leopard, which woke up and slid into the sea as we approached.” The penguins surrounded the crew of the Aurora, pecking at the their legs, and they “chattered with an audacity which defies description. It was discovered that they resented any attempt to drive them into the sea, and it was only after long persuasion that a bevy took to the water. This was a sign of a general capitulation, and some hundreds immediately followed, jostling each other in their haste, squawking, whirring their flippers, splashing and churning the water, reminding one of a crowd of miniature surf-bathers. We followed the files of birds marching inland, along the course of a tumbling stream, until at an elevation of some five hundred feet, on a flattish piece of ground, a huge rookery opened out – acres and acres of birds and eggs.” The expedition also recorded sightings of Maori hens, giant petrels and sea elephants in their first few days. Given this rich heritage, Macquarie Island is carefully protected from visitors. The leaders of our expedition needed very specific (and, by the sounds of it, hard-to-get) permits to allow them to carry out their planned scientific research programme on Macquarie, which includes taking cores of peat and deploying underwater cameras to record and catalogue the species living there. At a pre-Macquarie briefing the night before, we were told that we'd need to be careful not to bring biological contaminants onto the island. That meant disinfecting shoes before and after arriving at the island and vacuum-cleaning any clothes and bags that we wanted to take ashore, to clear them of any seeds or any other organic materials that might inadvertently end up in the island's pristine habitat. Also, we were warned to stay at least five metres away from any wildlife to avoid disturbing them. This was going to be the first part of the expedition ashore, so Mortimer also introduced the procedure the ship's crew used to ensure that no-one got left behind when the Shokalskiy sailed away in a few days' time. Each passenger was assigned a tag number and it was their job to turn their tag, hung at the entrance to the boat where the gang plank is, to the “off” or “on” sides depending on whether they were off on Macquarie Island or on board the ship. Unfortunately, the briefings and the excitement of seeing our first penguins turned out to be premature. The swells around the north east coast of the island, where we had dropped anchor, were too big for us to get ashore aboard one of the Shokalskiy's rubber dinghies. (The same swell, by the way, that has been making the boat roll around on the ocean so much in the past few days). We waited several hours in the morning, hoping that the waves would calm down, but to no avail. Eventually, the expedition leaders Chris Turney and Greg Mortimer made the decision to haul anchor and press on south. There was a murmur that we might be able to visit Macquarie (and its rich array of penguins) on the way home from the ice in a few weeks' time. Just before lunchtime, the ship's engines kicked in and the Shokalskiy headed, once again, deeper into the Southern Ocean. Next stop: Antarctica. Highlight of the day: Seeing five tiny penguins come swimming up to the ship as we arrived at Macquarie Island. Lowlight of the day: It's starting to get very cold - with wind-chill it got to below freezing at times out on the deck and exposed fingers took a while to regain normality. Better get used to it. | ['science/zoology', 'science/antarctica-live', 'environment/poles', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/blog', 'profile/alokjha'] | environment/poles | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2013-12-12T12:31:27Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
news/2014/may/29/world-weatherwatch-china-flood-pacific-hurricane-el-nino | World Weatherwatch | Widespread downpours have deluged southern China over the past week, leading to severe flooding and the evacuation of thousands of people. Worst affected have been Guangdong, Jiangxi and Guizhou Provinces where over 30 people have reportedly been killed and over 100,000 people displaced by floodwater. 600mm of rain has been recorded in less than a week in parts of Guangdong Province, which is roughly what London can expect in a whole year. The development of a strong El Niño has been much-reported over the past few months, a phenomenon marked by the strong warming of sea-surface water in the eastern Pacific and cooling in the west Pacific. El Niño can have huge impacts on Pacific, and even global, weather, with droughts in eastern Asia and Australia and abnormally wet conditions in western America. Another facet of El Niño is for more frequent east Pacific hurricanes to develop over the warmer waters. In the past week, hurricane Amanda developed off the Pacific coast of Mexico into a strong category 4 status with 155mph winds, making Amanda the strongest May hurricane on record in the east Pacific and giving a potentially ominous sign of an active season to come in the region. New Zealand has had its first significant snowfall of the autumn, with up to half a metre of snow falling on the South Island ski centres around Queenstown and Wanaka. It was reported that 30cm of snow closed Queenstown Airport, whilst the same weather system brought strong winds, heavy rain and falling trees to North Island, cutting off power to over 3000 homes in Wairarapa. | ['news/series/weatherwatch', 'tone/features', 'world/natural-disasters', 'environment/flooding', 'world/hurricanes', 'type/article', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2'] | world/hurricanes | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2014-05-29T20:30:01Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2019/jun/05/home-solar-panel-installations-fall-by-94-as-subsidies-cut | Home solar panel installations fall by 94% as subsidies cut | The Labour party has accused the government of “actively dismantling” the UK’s solar power industry after new installations by households collapsed by 94% last month. Rebecca Long-Bailey, the shadow business secretary, used prime minister’s questions to challenge the government’s record on climate action after scrapping subsidies for domestic solar panels from April. Standing in for Jeremy Corbyn, Long-Bailey said solar power had the potential to cut household bills and carbon emissions while creating thousands of jobs. “But the government, for some reason, appears to be determined to kill it off, while continuing to cheerlead for fracking,” she said. The solar feed-in tariffs had encouraged more than 800,000 homes to fit to their roofs solar photovoltaics, the panels which generate electricity. The end of the scheme was widely expected after a series of cuts to subsidy levels in recent years. Renewable energy developers and green groups had hoped ministers would replace the scheme with another incentive system to avoid dashing the sector’s momentum and accelerating job losses in the industry. Instead, officials confirmed that new solar pv installations would be expected to give their unused clean power to energy companies for free until a new scheme is set up. A spokesman for the government said new proposals will be unveiled in the coming days. “Parliament declared a climate emergency yet there is no evidence that this government takes this seriously,” Long-Bailey said. The opposition said data showed the scrapping of home panel subsidies from April caused new solar power capacity to fall from 79MW in March to only 5MW last month. At that rate it would take the government until 2092 to match Labour’s commitment to install solar panels on an additional 1.75m homes within its first term in power. The slowdown poses a big risk to plans put forward by the independent Committee on Climate Change to create a net zero carbon economy by 2045. Trade unions said last month that the number of jobs in renewable energy had plunged by nearly a third in recent years because of a slowdown in the rollout of new projects. In response to the opposition, David Lidington, the Cabinet Office minister, told MPs that since 2010 the UK had cut greenhouse gas emissions faster than any other G7 nation. He said ministers would outline a plan to tackle the climate crisis and create green jobs “later this year”. Lidington said: “There are 400,000 jobs already in low-carbon businesses and their supply chains throughout the UK and scope for much larger low-carbon growth to support up to 2m jobs in the future. “We now have received advice from the independent climate change committee about how to time and to legislate for our transition to a completely decarbonised economy, and we will be bringing forward our decisions later this year as to how and when will be taking that action.” Theresa May had intended to confront Donald Trump about his views on climate breakdown during his state visit this week. “But with her government actively dismantling the UK solar industry it is unclear who has the most to teach the other about climate change denial,” Long-Bailey said. | ['environment/solarpower', 'politics/labour', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'politics/david-lidington', 'politics/conservatives', 'business/energy-industry', 'environment/energy', 'politics/politics', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'business/business', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/jillian-ambrose', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business'] | environment/solarpower | ENERGY | 2019-06-05T11:41:54Z | true | ENERGY |
world/2013/may/30/new-york-subway-rockaways-first-trip | New York subway makes first trip to Rockaways since Hurricane Sandy | Just after noon in Thursday, a New York transit employee called out to a group of impatient commuters: "This train is heading to Far Rock. This train is heading to Far Rock." The commuters broke into applause, then boarded the first train to New York City's Rockaway peninsula since the subway track was damaged by Hurricane Sandy in October last year. "It brings a sense of relief and hope to people that have been affected real bad by Sandy, that at least now the A train's running if they want to go to Manhattan and the city they can hop on the A train, no problem," said Jason Williams, who was born and raised in the Rockaways. Williams lost electricity and water for several weeks after the storm. He had unintentionally made it on to the first A train back to his home in seven months. "Now you don't have to get on the shuttle bus – which takes at least another 45 minutes – be late to work, be late to events. It's just running through, it's a beautiful thing." The storm damaged 3.5 miles of the line, which crosses Jamaica Bay to reach the Rockaways on the western tip of Long Island. Its destruction left 35,000 people without a direct connection to Manhattan. In the intervening seven months, residents have had to use a shuttle bus that circumvents New York's John F Kennedy airport, extending commute times by 45 minutes to an hour. To travel on the peninsula, people would take the resurrected H shuttle train or buses. Michelene Mosley, a Rockaway resident, works in Manhattan but was taking the train only a couple of stops, before the bridge that crosses Jamaica Bay, to pick her daughter up from school. "I'm kind of nervous. I don't want to go over that bridge," she said. The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) says the stretch is the most exposed in the city's subway network; it built a two-mile seawall to protect against future damage from coastal seastorms. "I think they just rushed to open it up and now they're saying they have signal problems, so," Mosley said. She plans to go all the way across the bridge on Friday, in order to get to work. The A train was subject to the same delays as a normal train on its first day back. An MTA worker said people were complaining as usual about service, though they admitted it was quicker than the bus and shuttle train. The city has also updated two subway stations on the A line that were flooded in the storm. The MTA chairman, Fernando Ferrer, interim executive director Tom Prendergast and other MTA executives took the first trip on the line from Howard Beach to the Rockaway/Beach 166th St station in vintage train cars from the 1930s, as part of a ceremony at 10.30am on Thursday. | ['us-news/new-york', 'us-news/us-news', 'us-news/hurricane-sandy', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'profile/amanda-holpuch'] | us-news/hurricane-sandy | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2013-05-30T20:02:21Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2018/mar/14/cape-york-property-with-tree-clearing-plans-given-part-of-4m-reef-funding | Cape York property with tree-clearing plans given part of $4m reef funding | A property in Queensland with one of the biggest tree-clearing proposals in Australia, and which is specifically identified by experts as a risk to Great Barrier Reef water quality, is one of the beneficiaries of a $4m federal government reef water quality program. Australian Conservation Foundation campaigner Andrew Picone said that it showed the federal government “isn’t taking its reef commitments seriously” since the proposed clearing would exacerbate the very problem the funding is meant to mitigate. “At face value it seems inappropriate that we’re spending money on water quality improvement measures on a property where the landholder is wanting to clear 30,000 hectares in a reef catchment,” Picone said. Olive Vale station in Cape York gained approval from the Queensland government to clear 31,000 hectares in 2015. In April 2017 the federal government announced $18m funding for a series of new projects to reduce sediment flow onto the reef. Among those projects, $4m was announced for a program working to minimise gully erosion, with three priority sites, one of which was Olive Vale. The program involves “practical training in gully remediation and capacity building within the Cape York grazing community”. The other priority projects are the Crocodile, Welcome and Normanby stations. Olive Vale is situated in the Normanby basin, a catchment with rivers that flow directly into Princess Charlotte Bay on the Great Barrier Reef. Princess Charlotte Bay, one of the largest tidal wetlands on the Cape York peninsula, is zoned as a special management area to protect important populations of dugongs, which rely on seagrass. Seagrass is particularly sensitive to sediment pollution. Sediment pollution, made worse by tree clearing and intensive agricultural land use, can also smother corals, making harder or impossible for them to survive or reproduce. The Normanby basin has the third-highest sediment load of all catchments on the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) has advised the federal government, in relation to a much smaller clearing proposal, that “caution should be taken in approving any further clearing in the Normanby catchment because this catchment has already been subject to such a large amount of increased erosion”. The government-funded program is run by Cape York Natural Resource Management (NRM), which has developed the draft eastern Cape York water quality improvement plan. That plan identifies Olive Vale’s proposed clearing as risk in the area for the Great Barrier Reef’s water quality. Appendix 1 of the plan is a report that attempts to assess the biggest threats to reef water quality in the region. The first page of that report has a before-and-after picture of broadscale clearing at Olive Vale, which occurred before 2015, and it specifically notes the proposed development at Olive Vale as an example of development that will increase the risk of gully erosion. “More significantly, as land use intensification (such as that proposed on Olive Vale and Springvale Stations) pushes into more marginal and potentially erodible soils, the role of these gully erosion trigger mechanisms will only increase in importance.” Even if the development is done to avoid exacerbating the development of gullies, which pour enormous amounts of sediment onto the reef, the report notes intensification of agriculture will become a dominant cause of sediment pollution. “While the management of gully erosion is likely to continue to be the highest priority for improving current water quality in the [northern GBR], future declines in water quality are most likely to come from the intensification of land use, be it associated with agricultural developments such as that proposed for Olive Vale Station, or from urban and peri-urban development around Cooktown and other settlements in the eastern cape.” A spokeswoman for Cape York NRM told Guardian Australia: “Cape York NRM are planning to work with Olive Vale Station in future gully management projects because the property has been identified as containing some of the highest sediment producing gully subcatchments in the Normanby Basin.” She said about $260,149 of the $4m would be spent on works at Olive Vale. “By working in a constructive way with all properties across Cape York we are in a much better position to support improved land management practices into the future,” the spokeswoman said. Work there could involve fencing to keep cattle away from the most sensitive areas of the property; vegetation recovery programs; the creation of diversion banks to cut-off active gullies; and rehabilitation of other areas to reduce sediment loss. But Picone said the funding ought to be reviewed. “I think what this reveals is the fact that land use practices and agricultural intensification, by its very nature, causes these problems and that is why Olive Vale is a site for reef remediation work. The fact that this work is going on at that site, means Olive Vale is inappropriate for clearing.” “We can’t justify doing remediation work while contributing to the drivers of reduced water quality on the Great Barrier Reef.” Queensland approved the clearing at Olive Vale in 2015, but in November that year the federal government said it had gained assurances the owners would also gain federal approval. In 2016, it was revealed further clearing of about 100 hectares had occurred, without federal approval. The federal government stepped in, and again said the owners had said they would seek federal approval. Since then, no application for clearing has been submitted to the federal government, and no further clearing has occurred. Guardian Australia attempted to contact the owners of Olive Vale for comment. The federal Department of Environment and Energy has not responded to queries. | ['environment/series/our-wide-brown-land', 'environment/environment', 'australia-news/queensland', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/forests', 'environment/logging-and-land-clearing', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/michael-slezak', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/forests | BIODIVERSITY | 2018-03-14T00:23:51Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
world/2009/apr/09/iran-nuclear-programme-obama | Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may claim Iranian nuclear advance | Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is today expected to claim major progress in his country's nuclear programme at a critical moment in US-Iranian relations. The announcement, to mark Iran's nuclear technology day, will come as fresh attempts are made to restart talks over Iran's enrichment of uranium for the first time since Barack Obama took office. Yesterday senior officials from the US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China instructed the EU foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, to make contact with his counterpart in Tehran. The group also welcomed the Obama administration's decision to fully engage in the talks. Ahmadinejad said his country would welcome talks with Obama if the US president proved "honest" in extending a hand to Iran. But dialogue will depend more on what the Iranian president announces today. "I will have good nuclear news for the honoured Iranian nation," Ahmadinejad said. Reports suggest he will claim Iran has perfected techniques for the manufacture of uranium fuel. But David Albright, a former UN weapons inspector, said if that was all Ahmadinejad claimed, there would be relief in the US administration, which fears Iran could begin to use new centrifuges at its Natanz uranium enrichment plant, bringing it closer to a bomb-making capability. | ['world/iran', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'us-news/us-foreign-policy', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/world', 'tone/news', 'world/mahmoud-ahmadinejad', 'us-news/us-politics', 'type/article', 'profile/julianborger', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2009-04-08T23:01:00Z | true | ENERGY |
science/2004/dec/03/biodiversity.taxonomy | $1bn dive into the blue planet | A billion-dollar survey of the world's oceans has so far pinpointed 38,000 marine species and identified new fish at the rate of two a week. The census of marine life, a concerted effort by hundreds of scientists from more than 70 nations, is the first hi-tech inventory of life in the so-called blue planet. Oceans cover 70% of the globe. But marine scientists have been pointing out for years that the surface of Venus has been better mapped than the world under the oceans. The latest "end of term report" by the census scientists assembles data from more than 5.2m new and existing records, and maps the distribution of the 38,000 species. Details of the survey are due to be unveiled at a meeting in Hamburg this week. Scientists in Australia, China, Canada, Europe, India, Japan, New Zealand, South America and sub-Saharan Africa are to form nine regional networks to create a new "information seaway". But the worldwide bid to probe life in the seas has hardly begun. "We have barely skimmed the surface," said Frederick Grassle, of Rutgers University in the US, who chairs the international scientific steering committee of the census. "Humans have explored less than 5% of the world's oceans, and even where we have explored, life may have been too small to see. Thus, opportunities abound to discover species and increase our knowledge." Life on earth is a mystery: life in the oceans is an even deeper mystery. The seas cover long sloping continental shelves rich in nutrients that drain from the land; huge, muddy abyssal plains fertilised by detritus from the surface; ocean trenches far deeper than the Grand Canyon, and a vast chain of volcanic mountains known as the mid-Atlantic ridge, where submarine hot springs support colonies of living creatures discovered only about 25 years ago. All of these habitats are home to living things. So far, taxonomists have named and described around 230,000 species of marine creature. But there could be 10 times as many, still to be identified. At the same time, many ocean species are under threat. Commercial fishing has damaged and depleted the north Atlantic cod and the bluefin tuna, and reduced the world's whale population to a hundredth of its original count. Many of the world's coral reefs shelter for rich ecosystems of lagoon creatures are threatened by global warming, habitat destruction and pollution. The push for new commercial species now threatens deep ocean fish such as the orange roughy, which take decades to reach maturity. As commercial species disappear, complex ecological networks are disrupted. So the census is part of a concerted international effort to make a detailed map of life on the biggest and most unexplored region of the planet. The payoff so far is a $9.5m ocean biographic information system that pinpoints 95% of all records so far on or near the surface of the sea. Less than 0.1% of the records are from the bottom half of the water column. So there are depths of knowledge still to be plumbed. Researchers calculate that a creature collected from below 2,000 metres is about 50 times more likely to be new to science than one found in the first 50 metres. This year alone, the census has added 106 species of marine fish to the database. The total of known fish species in the sea now stands at 15,482. There could be another 5,000 awaiting discovery. The database has also counted 6,800 species of zooplankton, animals that drift with the ocean currents. They could identify another 6,000 over the next decade. The discoveries rest on a whole range of new submarine technologies, from robot submersibles to a network of seafloor "listening posts". Some scientists have concentrated on collecting specimens from 6,000 metres below the surface or from the hidden world underneath the Antarctic ice shelf. Others have "tagged" open ocean species, to provide the first map of marine "highways" for sharks, turtles and marine mammals. Biologists have found not just new species of octopus, but a new genus a much larger grouping of these puzzling animals in the southern Ocean. Others have been examining colonies of rhodoliths a kind of coral-like marine algae that moves like tumbleweed in southern Alaska. Remotely operated vehicles with robot arms have picked up a clam that survives on methane deposits on the sea floor off the coast of Chile, and a new species of mollusc that lives down thermal vents in the Indian Ocean. Other researchers have explored not the present but the past, to map the change in sea fish populations. Records from 400 years ago show that cod taken by hand line from the side of a fishing boat could weigh as much as 36kg. With the advent of trawl nets, more cod were taken but the average size began to fall dramatically. Oceanic white-tip shark numbers in the Gulf of Mexico have fallen by 99% in the past 50 years. Shark populations in the north Atlantic have fallen by up to 90%, depending on the species. Hardest hit has been a once-feared predator, the hammerhead. | ['environment/biodiversity', 'science/taxonomy', 'type/article', 'profile/timradford', 'publication/guardianweekly', 'guardianweekly/guardianweekly1', 'guardianweekly/guardianweekly1/guardianweekly'] | environment/biodiversity | BIODIVERSITY | 2004-12-03T15:56:36Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
business/2008/may/23/yahoo.microsoft | Yahoo postpones annual meeting | The internet company Yahoo has postponed its annual meeting as its board struggles to escape a shareholder uprising led by the billionaire corporate raider Carl Icahn. The potentially rowdy gathering in California was due to be held on July 3 but Yahoo has put it off to an unspecified date "expected to be around the end of July 2008". Icahn, a 72-year-old veteran Wall Street activist, has put forward a slate of 10 rebel nominees in an attempt to unseat Yahoo's entire board, rallying discontent over the company's failure to agree to a takeover by Microsoft. The delay gives Yahoo more time to negotiate with Microsoft, though experts suggested that extra time could benefit Icahn. "I actually think this helps Icahn, because it gives him more time to drum up support for his efforts," Stephen Diamond, a professor of corporate law at Santa Clara University, told Silicon Valley's Mercury News. "But it may also give Yahoo more time to work out some kind of alternate transaction with Microsoft." Yahoo spurned a $47.5bn (£24bn) takeover by the Seattle-based software company this month, infuriating investors who saw the value of their shares promptly plummet. Talks have resumed between the two companies though Microsoft now favours a smaller-scale deal to pool search-related advertising capabilities. Speaking at a technology conference in Moscow today, Microsoft's chief executive, Steve Ballmer, said his company had $50bn to spend on acquisitions and indicated that Yahoo was far from the only opportunity available. "Yahoo was never the strategy we were pursuing, it was a way to accelerate our online advertising business," said Ballmer. "We will spend money on some acquisitions. You can do a whole lot of things with $50bn." Investors have blamed the failure of a deal on Yahoo's co-founders, Jerry Yang and David Filo, for refusing to sell the company, which has been eclipsed in recent years by the success of its larger rival, Google. An influential technology blog, All Things Digital, reported today that Yahoo's independent directors had begun insisting on accompanying the two thirtysomething entrepreneurs to talks with Microsoft. "They are telling us it is 'adult supervision'," one investor told the blog. "And that Jerry has more of a realistic attitude now too that some kind of transaction has to happen and Yahoo has few options." Yahoo's shares slipped 20 cents to $27.33 during early trading on Nasdaq, well below the $31-a-share Microsoft was prepared to pay for the company. | ['business/business', 'us-news/us-news', 'technology/yahoo', 'technology/technology', 'business/technology', 'media/media', 'technology/yahoo-takeover', 'tone/news', 'technology/microsoft', 'type/article', 'profile/andrewclark'] | technology/yahoo-takeover | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2008-05-23T15:59:27Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
sport/2022/may/17/tom-harrison-steps-down-as-ecb-chief-executive-cricket-england | Tom Harrison steps down as ECB chief executive amid England overhaul | Tom Harrison, the CEO of the England and Wales Cricket Board, is to step down from the role next month with Clare Connor, the former England captain and current managing director of women’s cricket and president of the MCC, lined up as interim replacement as a whirlwind few months of change at the top of English cricket continue. Already this year the England men’s team have removed or replaced their director of cricket, red-ball head coach, assistant coach and captain, while the ECB are yet to find a permanent replacement for their chairman, Ian Watmore, who stood down last October after just over a year in the post. Watmore’s interim replacement, Barry O’Brien, himself resigned last month because of ill health. Harrison, who played five first-class matches for Derbyshire in 1995, has been an often controversial figure since his appointment in 2014, most notably driving through the introduction of the Hundred, a new limited-overs competition that was played for the first time in 2021 despite resistance from many within the game. The announcement of his departure was timed to avoid his position being the subject of debate at the ECB’s annual general meeting on Wednesday. Spencer Stuart, a global executive search firm, have been appointed to identify a successor. Ostensibly because of the Hundred’s commercial success Harrison and a group of senior executives are in line to share a £2.1m bonus pot, despite cutting 20% of the organisation’s workforce during the pandemic. Last month the Wisden Almanack criticised the bonus award for displaying “ethics that were as bad as the optics” and called on Harrison to return or refuse the money. Meanwhile last November his performance in front of a digital, culture, media and sport select committee investigating the game’s response to Azeem Rafiq’s allegations of racism at Yorkshire was sufficiently concerning for county executives to discuss calling for his removal. “Since taking up the role of CEO Harrison has overseen record levels of investment across the game at all levels,” the ECB said in a statement. “He also led the ECB’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic as cricket confronted unprecedented financial challenges … The ECB’s annual revenue almost trebled during Harrison’s tenure. Support from broadcast and commercial partners has been crucial to this growth, including through a successful long-term partnership with Sky and the return of live cricket to free-to-air TV with the BBC.” Martin Darlow, the organisation’s current interim chair, said Harrison had “set the game on a path to growth and to being played and watched by more people from all backgrounds” and that during the pandemic “Tom’s leadership that brought the game together and saved us from the worst financial crisis the sport has ever faced”. “It has been a huge honour to be CEO of the ECB for the past seven years,” Harrison said. “Cricket is an extraordinary force for good in the world and my goal has been to make the game bigger and ensure more people and more communities in England and Wales feel they have a place in this sport. The long-term health of cricket depends on its ability to grow and remain relevant and be more inclusive in an ever-changing world. “The past two years have been incredibly challenging, but we have pulled together to get through the pandemic, overcome cricket’s biggest financial crisis, and committed to tackling discrimination and continuing the journey towards becoming the inclusive, welcoming sport we strive to be. I have put everything into this role, but I believe now is the right time to bring in fresh energy to continue this work.” | ['sport/cricket', 'sport/ecb', 'sport/england-cricket-team', 'sport/sport', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/ali-martin', 'profile/simonburnton', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/sport', 'theguardian/sport/news', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-sport'] | sport/ecb | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2022-05-17T08:22:56Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
sustainable-business/2015/aug/25/hms-1m-recycling-prize-clever-overproduction-fast-fashion | H&M's $1m recycling prize is clever but no solution to fast fashion | H&M, one of the world’s largest fast fashion brands, has launched a €1m ($1.16m) recycling prize in an effort to engage innovators, technologists, scientists and entrepreneurs to find a solution to a growing problem in the clothing industry: waste and pollution. The Swedish brand’s foundation, the H&M Conscious Foundation, announced the Global Challenge Award to “catalyse green, truly groundbreaking ideas” that will “protect the earth’s natural resources by closing the loop for fashion”. It’s a clever move from the fashion giant. The challenge has public appeal (it’s open to anyone with an early stage idea) and it will bring attention to an important issue for the fashion industry. But critics question whether the company is side stepping the knottier issues of overproduction and worker rights by emphasising materials innovation and technology – especially when recycling the mixed fibres so common in fast fashion is proving tricky. The €1m prize money will be dispersed among five winners chosen by a judging panel – including academics such as Johan Rockström, Vogue Italia’s editor and a fashion model – each of whom will receive €100,000. The other €500,000 will be shared between winners after a public vote. Winners will also take part in a one year innovation bootcamp in Stockholm, organised jointly by Accenture and KTH Royal Institute of Technology, where the winners can test out early-stage ideas and see if they have the power to scale. According to Erik Bang, project manager for the Global Change Award, the impetus behind the competition is that “change is not happening fast enough”. A prize of this size and nature is a first in the fashion industry, he says. People are not going to stop buying clothes, he says, “however, the fashion industry requires large amounts of natural resources, lots of which can be reduced, recycled, substituted or eliminated”. Rebecca Earley, professor in sustainable textiles at the University of Arts London, is one of the judges. She agrees that the fashion industry needs change and quickly. “The industry is under pressure to adhere to unrealistic margins and speeds; and customers have grown accustomed to low prices and masses of choice,” she said before the launch, taking place today in Stockholm. “We need radical new ideas now to be able to face the next ten years without the prospect of the waste, pollution, resource use and working conditions continuing.” However, Lucy Siegle, journalist and author of To Die for: Is Fashion Wearing Out the World?, is less convinced. She calls the H&M challenge a “clever award that people are understandably going to get very excited by, given that it has a €1m prize fund, a glossy name – Global Change – and a great panel.” But, she explains, the reality is that it does little for those who are concerned about inequality and labour rights in the supply chain. “Over consumption of natural resources is a root problem, but not the only one.” Rather, Siegle says, it’s H&M’s way of saying that “we can have as much fashion as we want without any talk of scaling back or slowing store expansion or the drive to gain market share”. Maxine Bedat, co-founder and CEO of Zady, a New York-based online company that sells “slow fashion”, agrees: “Closing the loop is important, but it doesn’t tackle the elephant in the room, which is overproduction of clothing”. If 150bn pieces of clothing are made every year and that piece is worn just seven times, she argues, then “each turn of fashion creates a massive carbon footprint, even if it’s in the loop, and doesn’t change the impact.” The solution, she says, lies in an age-old idea: buy high-quality pieces and less frequently. | ['sustainable-business/series/circular-economy', 'sustainable-business/sustainable-business', 'fashion/fashion', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'environment/recycling', 'environment/environment', 'environment/ethical-living', 'environment/waste', 'fashion/h-and-m', 'environment/pollution', 'type/article', 'tone/sponsoredfeatures', 'tone/blog', 'profile/esha-chhabra'] | environment/waste | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2015-08-25T16:04:46Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
australia-news/2015/sep/16/indigenous-australian-storytelling-records-sea-level-rises-over-millenia | Revealed: how Indigenous Australian storytelling accurately records sea level rises 7,000 years ago | Indigenous stories of dramatic sea level rises across Australia date back more than 7,000 years in a continuous oral tradition without parallel anywhere in the world, according to new research. Sunshine Coast University marine geographer Patrick Nunn and University of New England linguist Nicholas Reid believe that 21 Indigenous stories from across the continent faithfully record events between 18,000 and 7000 years ago, when the sea rose 120m. Reid said a key feature of Indigenous storytelling culture – a distinctive “cross-generational cross-checking” process – might explain the remarkable consistency in accounts passed down by preliterate people which researchers previously believed could not persist for more than 800 years. “The idea that 300 generations could faithfully tell a story that didn’t degenerate into Chinese whispers, that was passing on factual information that we know happened from independent chronology, that just seems too good to be true, right?” Reid told Guardian Australia. “It’s an extraordinary thing. We don’t find this in other places around the world. The sea being 120 metres lower and then coming up over the continental shelf, that happened in Africa, America, Asia and everywhere else. But it’s only in Australia that we’re finding this large canon of stories that are all faithfully telling the same thing.” Scholars of oral traditions have previously been sceptical of how accurately they reflect real events. However, Nunn and Reid’s paper, “Aboriginal memories of inundation of the Australian coast dating from more than 7000 years ago”, published in Australian Geographer, argues the stories provide empirical corroboration of a postglacial sea level rise documented by marine geographers. Some of the stories are straight factual accounts, such as those around Port Phillip Bay near Melbourne, which tell of the loss of kangaroo hunting grounds. Others, especially older stories such as those from around Spencer Gulf in South Australia, are allegorical: an ancestral being angered by the misbehaviour of a clan punishes them by taking their country, gouging a groove with a magical kangaroo bone for the sea to swallow up the land. “Our sense originally is that the sea level must have been creeping up very slowly and not been noticeable in an individual’s lifetime,” Reid said. “But we’ve come to realise through conducting this research that Australia must in fact have been abuzz with news about this. “There must have been constant inland movement, reestablishing relationships with country, negotiating with inland neighbours about encroaching onto their territory,” Reid said. “There would have been massive ramifications of this.” The fortunes of those faced with the decision to retreat as camps, tracks and dreaming places were slowly swallowed up – especially on islands – were mixed. Those on Rottnest and Kangaroo Islands cut and run up to 7000 years ago. Others, such as those at Flinders Island in Bass Strait, made the fateful decision to stay, and died out as the land grew arid and fresh water became scarce. Reid said while it was impossible to prove that Indigenous oral traditions had continued unbroken over time, its contemporary features gave a clue as to why it may be the world’s most faithful and durable. “Say I’m a man from central Australia, my father teaches me stories about my country,” Reid said. “My sister’s children, my nephews and nieces, are explicitly tasked with the kin-based responsibility for ensuring I know those stories properly. They take those responsibilities seriously. At any given point in time my father is telling the stories to me and his grandkids are checking. Three generations are hearing the story at once … that’s a kind of scaffolding that can keep stories true. “When you have three generations constantly in the know, and tasked with checking as a cultural responsibility, that creates the kind of mechanism that could explain why [Indigenous Australians] seem to have done something that hasn’t been achieved elsewhere in the world: telling stories for 10,000 years.” | ['australia-news/indigenous-australians', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'world/indigenous-peoples', 'environment/sea-level', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/joshua-robertson', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international'] | environment/sea-level | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2015-09-16T04:31:40Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2017/dec/06/iter-nuclear-fusion-project-reaches-key-halfway-milestone | Iter nuclear fusion project reaches key halfway milestone | An international project to generate energy from nuclear fusion has reached a key milestone, with half of the infrastructure required now built. Bernard Bigot, the director-general of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (Iter), the main facility of which is based in southern France, said the completion of half of the project meant the effort was back on track, after a series of difficulties. This would mean that power could be produced from the experimental site from 2025. The effort to bring nuclear fusion power closer to operation is backed by some of the world’s biggest developed and emerging economies, including the EU, the US, China, India, Japan, Korea and Russia. However, a review of the long-running project in 2013 found problems with its running and organisation. This led to the appointment of Bigot, and a reorganisation that subsequent reviews have broadly endorsed. Fusion power is one of the most sought-after technological goals in the pursuit of clean energy. Nuclear fusion is the natural phenomenon that powers the sun, converting hydrogen into helium atoms through a process that occurs at extreme temperatures. Replicating that process on earth at sufficient scale could unleash more energy than is likely to be needed by humanity, but the problem is creating the extreme conditions necessary for such reactions to occur, harnessing the resulting energy in a useful way, and controlling the reactions once they have been induced. For these reasons, fusion power was long ago abandoned by nuclear physicists as a potential source of commercial energy in favour of fission reactors, using processes by which radioactive materials release energy as they are induced to decay. The Iter project aims to use hydrogen fusion, controlled by large superconducting magnets, to produce massive heat energy which would drive turbines – in a similar way to the coal-fired and gas-fired power stations of today – that would produce electricity. This would produce power free from carbon emissions, and potentially at low cost, if the technology can be made to work at a large scale. For instance, according to Iter scientists, an amount of hydrogen the size of a pineapple could be used to produce as much energy as 10,000 tonnes of coal. However, while fusion has been the subject of intermittent scientific research projects since the 1940s, no means has yet been found to make it work in controllable conditions at the scale needed to produce the power of a fossil fuel power station. The extreme conditions driving the sun require temperatures of millions of degrees, and mimicking those conditions has proved elusive. Iter has been described as the most complex scientific endeavour in human history. The project requires hydrogen plasma to be heated to 150 million C – 10 times hotter than at the sun’s core. A doughnut-shaped reactor called a tokamak would be surrounded by giant magnets that take the superheated plasma away from the metal walls of the container. This requires the magnets to be cooled to -269C. Getting to this stage of the project has already required remarkable feats of engineering, such as the manufacturer of more than 100,000km of niobium-tin superconducting strands of metal, produced by nine suppliers over seven years, to make the magnets. Bigot said the milestone of building half of the project indicated that the rest of the project was now technically feasible. However, there are still political difficulties. One is that US president Donald Trump’s administration is notably cooler on clean energy research than its predecessor, and the US budgetary contribution, of nearly 10%, or more than $1bn, is now partially in doubt. The EU is providing 45% of the cost of the project, with the rest provided by the other main partners. Bigot, currently in Washington DC holding meetings to try to break the impasse, told the Guardian he was confident the conflict could be resolved. He said the project was on track to reach “first plasma” in December 2025, proving the concept. If successful, the Iter machine would produce 500MW of power, enough to study a self-heating plasma, which has never been produced in a controlled way on earth. That could in turn lead to the development of power plants to harness the energy produced. Google is also now working on fusion power, in the first major private sector try-out of the technology. This summer, the internet giant announced it had formed a partnership with Tri Alpha Energy, backed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, to generate new computer algorithms that could help test the concepts behind nuclear fusion engineering efforts. | ['environment/nuclearpower', 'environment/energy', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'science/energy', 'science/physics', 'science/science', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/fiona-harvey', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2017-12-06T17:00:22Z | true | ENERGY |
sustainable-business/2015/mar/19/cbs-tv-charity-nonprofits-ngos-ads-adverts-commercials-videos | Donations for views: will you watch more TV if it makes charities money? | Imagine advertisers paying you to watch their latest TV spot. We’re all used to this in some form or another: we already get “paid,” in a sense, to watch YouTube videos after the ads roll. A decade ago, we were rewarded with our favorite sitcom after a long stream of un-skippable ads. But advertisers have been wary of paying consumers actual cash for two reasons. First, paying pennies for a few minutes of a viewer’s time implies that time is not very valuable. Second, it admits the content is so undesirable that the advertiser is desperate enough to pay people to watch it. Either way, it’s a bottom-of-the-market play. As a result, this model has never really taken off. But that doesn’t mean some aren’t trying. Last week, CBS launched its Viewers to Volunteers initiative, which donates money to charity on viewers’ behalf rather, than paying them directly. Using charities to turn engagement into donations is not new. In 2007, the UN World Food Programme launched nonprofit website Freerice, which has since engaged millions of users. Here’s the proposition: see a banner ad, answer a question, and the UN will donate 10 grains of rice. So far, 97bn grains of rice have been donated, according to the website. If Freerice is the 1.0 version of this watch-to-give advertising model, CBS has just brought us version 2.0. While it’s still in beta testing, details are now emerging about how the platform will work. Viewers will watch a piece of sponsor-vetted video content, the kind that CBS EcoMedia founder Paul Polizzotto calls “good news about our world”. Sometimes this will be advertorials, or straight sustainability reporting about brands like Toyota; other times, the content will be corporate-sponsored mini-documentaries about pioneering nonprofits or stories about communities making change. For each view or share, the viewer will earn points, which can be converted to donations to a charity of the viewer’s choosing. Polizzotto’s vision for the platform, he told me, is “to let everyone become a philanthropist, even if you have no money”. But how much money is a viewer’s time worth? Polizzotto won’t say directly, but he did indicate a video view could be worth as much as $2-$3. That may seem impossible, given that a video view is usually worth only pennies to an advertiser. But Viewers to Volunteers chops off blocks of donation money from much larger CBS deals to fund the platform’s giving. Will this level of reward cross some threshold that will see viewers flock to the platform? My guess is no, even with the planned gamification of the platform that Polizzotto says is coming. But if these high financial incentives can be aligned with truly great content, the model could get interesting very quickly. If V2V can feature and share the kind of viral heartwarming stories that users scan BuzzFeed or Upworthy for, and then tie each view to a donation that impacts the lives of the people in that story, CBS and their advertisers could strike gold. Here’s what it could look like. First, take an emotional viral story, such as this one of a young woman hearing for the first time in her life. Then tie it to a relevant sponsor – as Microsoft has already done, in the above example, with powerful results. Finally, offer a meaningful per-view donation to help bring the hearing technology to others. A few hits like these could inspire millions of microphilanthropists Polizzotto talks about. The catch? CBS will have to invest in procuring a steady stream of great content relevant to its advertisers’ brands and to the network’s audience. Of course, this is exactly the kind of investment traditional networks looking to be digitally relevant should make. The best case scenario is that V2V becomes a major win for brands, for CBS and for donors. But if CBS expects the dollars and the platform to speak for itself, V2V will likely end up as a backwater populated by a few hundred over-messaged power users who have learned to click, ignore, give and repeat. Either way, the experiment will be worth watching. The social impact hub is funded by Anglo American. All content is editorially independent except for pieces labelled “brought to you by”. Find out more here. | ['sustainable-business/series/social-impact', 'sustainable-business/sustainable-business', 'sustainable-business/brand', 'sustainable-business/communication', 'business/business', 'media/advertising', 'media/media', 'media/cbs', 'society/charities', 'society/volunteering', 'society/voluntarysector', 'media/ustelevision', 'media/television', 'society/society', 'business/ethicalbusiness', 'environment/corporatesocialresponsibility', 'type/article', 'tone/blog'] | environment/corporatesocialresponsibility | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2015-03-19T13:00:08Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
environment/2020/aug/05/new-guinea-has-greatest-plant-diversity-of-any-island-in-the-world-study-reveals | New Guinea has greatest plant diversity of any island in the world, study reveals | New Guinea is home to more than 13,500 species of plant, two-thirds of which are endemic, according to a new study that suggests it has the greatest plant diversity of any island in the world – 19% more than Madagascar, which previously held the record. Ninety-nine botanists from 56 institutions in 19 countries trawled through samples, the earliest of which were collected by European travellers in the 1700s. Large swathes of the island remain unexplored and some historical collections have yet to be looked at. Researchers estimate that 4,000 more plant species could be found in the next 50 years, with discoveries showing “no sign of levelling off”, according to the paper published in Nature. “It is a paradise teeming with life,” said lead researcher Dr Rodrigo Cámara-Leret, a biologist from the University of Zurich who was previously at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. New Guinea – which is divided into the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua and the independent state of Papua New Guinea in the east – is the most mountainous and largest tropical island in the world, with snowcapped peaks reaching 5,000 metres high. “This allows for different types of habitats, such as mangroves, swamp forests, lowland tropical forests and also montane forests, which have high levels of endemism,” said Cámara-Leret. “And then at the very top, just below the limit of plant growth, are these alpine grasslands … This habitat is basically unique to New Guinea in southeast Asia.” The island sits between Malaysia, Australia and the Pacific and has a young and diverse geological history, with many species forming in the last million years. One of the most surprising discoveries was how many plants are exclusive to the island. For example, 98% of heather species are endemic, as are 96% of African violets and 95% of ginger species. Many suspected that New Guinea would prove to have the highest diversity, but botanical exploration on the island remains limited. Unlike Madagascar – which has had a species checklist since 2008 – the island had never been systematically surveyed and previous estimates suggested it could have anything between 9,000 to 25,000 species. In total researchers found 13,634 species of plants divided into 1,742 genera and 264 families. “I was just pleased that we could nail a number. This is not the end, this is a first step,” said Cámara-Leret, who is encouraging researchers from around the world to build on this dataset, which will be vital for International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessments. New Guinea has fascinated explorers and botanists for centuries. In 1700 Englishman William Dampier brought back the earliest scientific specimens from the region, which inspired decades of European exploration. In 1770, Joseph Banks, who was on Captain’s Cook’s voyage, collected a sedge – one of the earliest known samples to be included in the study. The taxonomy of the region slowly built up, with plants being collected and taken to different institutions around the world. However, inland areas remained inaccessible until after the second world war and base camps could only be established with the use of aircraft. These mountainous regions proved to be the most diverse and in the past 50 years, 2,800 new species have been recorded. Botanists looked through more than 700,000 specimens. Included in the finds were more than 2,800 species of orchid and 3,900 species of tree. “Part of the study’s beauty is its sheer scale and just the huge number of collaborators,” said Cámara-Leret, who started the project in 2018. “There was already a sense of New Guinea community, but it was scattered, and this project kind of brought us all together.” Some veteran scientists involved in the study had lived on the island for decades, and many had spent their careers studying the taxonomy of a single plant family. “It united people across different generations, like scientists who are just starting up, then early career researchers and then folks who have been retired for over 20 years. We had a lot of scientists that are retired, collaborating and giving up freely their time … They have an enormous amount of knowledge and very few people are learning it from them,” said Cámara-Leret. Another reason it has taken so long to create a list for the island is because the region has been governed by so many different European powers. Colonial education was focused on extracting materials and agricultural work, so taxonomic knowledge was limited. After independence, there was a new generation of scientists committed to doing research but the system stifled their enthusiasm. There is only one account written by an Indonesian and none by a Papua New Guinean in this paper. Researchers hope it will encourage the two governments to produce a new generation of botanists who will inform better conservation in the future. But botanical exploration is urgently needed to ensure unknown species can be collected before they disappear. “It is clear, in the context of the biodiversity crisis, that this paper represents a milestone in our understanding of the New Guinea flora and provides a vital platform to accelerate scientific research and conservation,” said Dr Peter Wilkie from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, who was involved in the study. “Research at its best is collaborative and this demonstrates what can be achieved when scientists from around the world work together and share expertise and data.” Dr Sandra Knapp, a botanist from the Natural History Museum who was also involved in the project, described it as an “incredible achievement”. “This should now serve as a baseline for much more work and discovery in the years to come,” she said. Find more age of extinction coverage here, and follow biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield on Twitter for all the latest news and features | ['environment/series/the-age-of-extinction', 'environment/environment', 'environment/biodiversity', 'world/papua-new-guinea', 'world/pacific-islands', 'world/asia-pacific', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/plants', 'science/kew-gardens', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/phoebe-weston', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-age-of-extinction'] | environment/series/the-age-of-extinction | BIODIVERSITY | 2020-08-05T15:00:05Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/damian-carrington-blog/2015/dec/07/david-cameron-is-treating-the-symptoms-of-flooding-but-not-the-cause | David Cameron is treating the symptoms of flooding, but not the causes | Damian Carrington | Record rain, flooded homes, evacuations, power cuts, Red Cross centres, mobilised soldiers and emergency Cobra committee meetings: this is what climate change looks like for the UK. Flooding is the nation’s number one threat from global warming: five million homes are already at risk, and the number is rising as temperature rises. Just as after the severe floods of the winter of 2013-14, David Cameron has pledged to do all he can to help the many thousands of people affected. But he is treating the symptoms, not the cause. Since Cameron became prime minister, the government has ignored one warning after another and overseen serious under-investment in flood defences. After taking office in 2010, annual funding for flood defences was slashed by 27%. When heavy summer flooding hit in 2012, I revealed that almost 300 planned flood defences had not been built due to the cuts. Global warming means weather records are more likely to be broken and the wettest winter for 250 years in 2013-14 caused huge floods. At that point I revealed that flood-stricken communities, including those visited by Cameron in the Somerset Levels and Yalding in Kent, had been left without planned defences following funding cuts. Undelivered defences also included schemes on the stretch of Devon coast at Dawlish where the mainline railway fell into the sea and near the nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset. The Thames Valley also saw flooding, in a region where planned defences had been delayed and downsized. The current flooding across Cumbria includes places where new flood defences have actually been built, but the extraordinary downpour overwhelmed them. Nonetheless, the defences delayed the flooding, allowing vital time to prepare and evacuate those most at risk. More downpours are inevitable, so imagine the impact on places where defences have not been upgraded or funding for maintenance is not sufficient. The government has been warned many times. The Pitt Review after the 2007 floods concluded much more funding was needed. The surge in funding under Labour was halted by the coalition in 2010. In 2012, the government’s own research showed increased flooding is the greatest threat posed by climate change in England. The government’s own climate change advisors then told ministers there was a £500m hole in their flood defence plans, even to just to keep pace with the rising risk driven by climate change. The shortfall would result in £3bn of damages, the Committee on Climate Change said. Adapting to climate change, principally flooding, is the responsibility of the environment department. But in May 2013, under then environment secretary Owen Paterson, the number of officials working on the national adaptation programme fell from 38 to six. In November 2014, a damning report from the National Audit Office (NAO) found the risk of flooding was indeed rising as a result of government funding cuts. Furthermore, half the nation’s flood defences had been left with “minimal” maintenance, according to the spending watchdog. The NAO also contradicted Cameron’s claim that his government was spending more than ever before on flood defences. Funding had fallen by 10% in real terms, said the NAO, when £270m of one-off emergency funding after the 2013-14 floods was excluded. Spending on maintenance had fallen by 6% in real terms in the five years of the coalition, the NAO said. Flood defences are big ticket items and hard to fund when the nation’s finances are tight. But not finding the money is a clear false economy. The NAO report said every £1 spent on flood defences prevented almost £10 in damage. It noted that Cameron’s £270m bail-out was poor substitute for sustained spending: “Ad-hoc emergency spending is less good value than sustained maintenance.” Cameron is set to visit Cumbria and will see the immediate devastation wrought by storm Desmond. What he won’t be around to see is the months and years of anguish caused by floods: precious belongings lost forever by sewage-tainted waters, months in temporary accommodation and feelings of panic at every future rainstorm rattling the windows. Cumbria’s floods struck at the halfway point of the crucial two-week UN climate summit in Paris. Cameron’s statement at its opening contrast starkly with his government’s long record of cuts and delays to flood defence spending. Cameron told his fellow world leaders: “What I’m saying is that instead of making excuses tomorrow to our children and grandchildren, we should be taking action against climate change today.” For the UK, today’s action means fighting floods and there was a suggestion from Cameron during Monday’s visit to Cumbria that this is finally sinking in. “After every flood the thing to do is to do is sit down, look at the money you are spending, look at what you are building, look at what you are planning to do in the future, and ask is it enough. That’s exactly what we will do,” he said. | ['environment/damian-carrington-blog', 'environment/flooding', 'environment/environment', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'uk/weather', 'world/natural-disasters', 'uk-news/storm-desmond', 'uk/uk', 'politics/davidcameron', 'politics/politics', 'type/article', 'tone/blog', 'profile/damiancarrington', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2015-12-07T12:29:37Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
australia-news/2019/sep/23/josh-frydenberg-backs-angus-taylors-account-of-grasslands-meeting | Josh Frydenberg backs Angus Taylor's account of grasslands meeting | Former federal environment minister Josh Frydenberg has defended setting up a departmental meeting for fellow minister Angus Taylor in March 2017 on laws to protect critically endangered native grasslands when he knew that Taylor had an interest in a company that was under investigation for breaching those very same laws. Frydenberg backed Taylor’s version of events, namely that Taylor had told the then-environment minister about his personal interest and that of his family when he requested the meeting. “I became aware when he asked me for a meeting,” Frydenberg told Patricia Karvelas on ABC Radio National on Monday evening. “He was very upfront. And he said that there was a family company which was subject to a compliance issue. And that he had an indirect interest in that company. But he was seeking a meeting on the technical aspects of the listing and in those circumstances, as is appropriate, would there [not] be any discussion of the compliance issue.” Asked whether the approach from Taylor “had rung alarm bells”, Frydenberg responded that the “key component was that the meeting itself was only about the technical aspects of the listing”. Taylor had constituents who had been concerned about the listing of those grasslands as critically endangered and there had been confusion around compliance with that law, he said. “So it is only relevant and only appropriate that in relation to the technical aspects of that listing, which the officials made very clear, that this was about, that he had that briefing. You would expect him to be advocating on behalf of constituents,” Frydenberg said. Guardian Australia has revealed that Taylor had sought briefings from Frydenberg’s department the day after compliance officers met with officers of Jam Land Pty Ltd over an alleged contravention involving poisoning of native grasslands near Delegate in southern New South Wales in late 2016. One of the directors of Jam Land is Richard Taylor, the minister’s brother, and Taylor himself has an interest in the parcel of land, via his family investment company. Officials have confirmed to the Senate that the only compliance action in relation to clearing of grasslands for agriculture at the time was the Jam Land case. Taylor said on the weekend that he had disclosed his interest in the Jam Land and the existence of the compliance action to Frydenberg and that by doing had met his ministerial responsibilities. Frydenberg has now confirmed Taylor’s version of events. Documents obtained by the Guardian reveal the department was acutely sensitive to the issue of the compliance action when Taylor asked for a briefing, which took place about two weeks later in Taylor’s office in Parliament house. Departmental officials and a compliance officer attended. No notes were taken, the department has said After the meeting someone in Frydenberg’s office asked for advice about whether the grasslands listing could be changed, but they were advised that any such decision would need to be made public and would go against the recent scientific advice. Frydenberg insisted that his officials had told the Senate that it “was absolutely appropriate for Angus Taylor to do that [seek the briefing]” and the Labor party was “hyperventilating over this issue”. “We have seen from subsequent documents released under FOI and in testimony to parliamentary hearings by the Department of Environment officials, that at no stage was the compliance matter discussed. And the last thing I want to make very clear, Patricia, that the grasslands were elevated to critically endangered and they remain at the level” Frydenberg said. But Labor’s shadow environment minister, Terri Butler, said Taylor had failed in his obligations to properly disclose his interests in accordance with the parliamentary requirements and his obligations under the ministerial standards. “It’s clear also from the revelations that we’ve had this weekend in relation to this scandal, that both minister Taylor and treasurer Frydenberg have questions to answer,” Butler said. “Why did minister Frydenberg have his ministerial office arrange a meeting for minister Taylor with environment department officials, including an explicit request for a compliance officer, to talk about how the grasslands could be delisted? “Why is it that under this government, if you’ve got a mate who is a minister, you get access to the department that is presently investigating the property in which you have a direct and personal interest?” | ['australia-news/angus-taylor', 'australia-news/josh-frydenberg', 'australia-news/australian-politics', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/environment', 'environment/endangered-habitats', 'environment/conservation', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/anne-davies', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/endangered-habitats | BIODIVERSITY | 2019-09-23T10:36:29Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
uk/2012/jan/01/weather-2011-warm-winter-temperature-rainfall | The weather in 2011 | This was the second warmest year for the UK on record. The winter of 2010-2011 may live in memory as cold and snowy but it was only really December 2010 and early January 2011 that were harsh, with most of the season's snow falling before Christmas. Through January and February temperatures steadily rose; frosts were less frequent than usual and there was little more snowfall, and short-lived when it occurred. The spring had some exceptionally warm periods, as did autumn, with those seasons sandwiching a relatively cool summer. Temperatures Despite the summer, 2011 ranks as the second warmest year in a record stretching back 353 years, with a Central England Temperature (CET) of just over 10.7C; only 2006 was warmer. January, June, July and August each had a CET below normal but every other month was above average, some considerably so. April was the warmest on record, and November the second warmest behind 1994. February was the warmest for nine years, and October and December both the mildest since 2006. The summer months, however, were the coolest since 1993. The nation's highest maximum temperature was the 33.1C recorded at Swanscombe in Kent on 27th June, and the lowest was –13.0C at Altnaharra, Sutherland, on 8th January. Unusually, some locations in southern England had their highest temperature for the year in early October. Rainfall Although 2011 was 10% wetter than average it was Scotland and north-west England that bore the brunt of the precipitation, with many months having excess rainfall. This is in marked contrast to central, southern and eastern England where there was often a notable deficit. The east of England and the Midlands were badly affected by drought, but particularly Shropshire and Herefordshire. Spring across England and Wales was the driest since 1893. Sunshine The eastern half of England had a very sunny year with sunshine hours well above average; elsewhere they were just above normal, and as a whole the UK was a little less sunny than the previous two years. February had the least sunshine since 1980, and August was unusually cloudy as well but April was the sunniest since the arid April of 1893. | ['uk-news/series/last-months-weather', 'news/series/weatherwatch', 'uk/weather', 'uk/uk', 'tone/features', 'type/article', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2'] | news/series/weatherwatch | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2012-01-01T22:30:00Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
business/2015/dec/13/the-innovators-solar-furniture-that-can-charge-your-phone-without-direct-sunlight | The innovators: this solar table charges your phone without direct sunlight | The kitchen table has been the place where many new inventions and ideas have been sketched out, but rarely has it been the source of innovation itself. With an orange-striped surface on its steel frame, a new table from London-based designers Caventou appears to be an ultra-modern piece of furniture for an arty homeowner. A closer look reveals a port on the side where phones can be recharged using power gleaned from solar cells that cover the surface. The table is expected to go into production next year, using solar cells that do not need direct access to sunlight. These dye-sensitised solar cells mean that household objects, such as phones, lamps or laptops, can harvest energy from indirect sunlight and then store it later, instead of having to plug the appliances into the wall. It is, according to creator Marjan van Aubel, an altogether more subtle use of solar cells than planting panels on the roof. “[I] want to design cells that can be fully integrated into your daily life, that you are not aware [of] ... ,” she said. The solar cells used in the Caventou Current Tableemerged almost 25 years ago, using a process similar to photosynthesis in plants. A dye in the cells – orange in the table – can produce energy once it is sensitised to light. A USB plug in the side means that phones can be recharged and a light plugged in, so that the table remains independent of any power source apart from itself. A network of cables runs around the perimeter of the table and the energy is stored in a battery for use at a later stage. “I found out that colour is able to generate electricity,” van Aubel said. “Colour is not only for aesthetics but has an extra function.” Peter Krige, the head of technology at Caventou, said that in terms of solar cell development, the dye-sensitised cells they are using are relatively new. For best results, the table needs to be positioned in a room with a good source of light, such as a conservatory, sunroom or kitchen. “You’ll collect the most power from the sun on bright, clear days. That being said, dye-sensitised solar panels are less affected by diffuse light levels and shadow from clouds. Although the efficiency of the solar panel will decrease in cloudy conditions, you’ll still be collecting valuable power from the sun,” van Aubel said.Where there is less light, such as in Nordic countries at certain times of the year, there will be less energy generated, said Krige. The first version of the Current Table has been completed and is on display in the Design Museum in London. And the next generation of the table, which is expected to start production in the new year, will be able to power both phones and laptops. “On an average day in London indoors it can power three phones and a iPad or one computer and a phone ,” van Aubel said. The company has also developed “Current Windows”, a combination of stained glass and solar cells that have USB ports in the ledges for charging devices. A series of them were put in place in a Soho gallery for 10 days so that people on the street could power up their phones. Behind both inventions is a quest for efficiency by van Aubel. An earlier project involved a cabinet that also used the cells within glass panels. She said this results in objects having two functions: the one they are traditionally used for and another to gather energy. With the advancement in solar technology, an increasing number of objects will be able to be used to store energy, she said. The early use of the technology comes at a price. It is expected that the first consumer editions of the table will cost between £2,000 and £3,000. Three orders have so far been placed, said van Aubel, from buyers said to have both environmental and design interests. Future versions could involve induction charging, where items just have to be placed on the surface. Getting colour from light The company Caventou was named after the French chemist Joseph-Bienaime Caventou. Along with his colleague, Pierre Joseph Pelletier, he isolated and named chlorophyll, the green pigment involved in photosynthesis (the process by which green plants convert the energy of sunlight into chemical energy). In a similar way, the dye-sensitised solar cells used by the company Caventou convert sunlight into energy. The dye is the photoactive material of the cell, which means that it is capable of a chemical or physical change in response to illumination, and can produce electricity when sensitised by light. You can read our archive of The Innovators columns here or on the Big Innovation Centre website, where you will find more information on how the centre supports innovative enterprise in Britain and globally. | ['business/entrepreneurs', 'business/business', 'business/small-business', 'environment/solarpower', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/environment', 'environment/energy', 'business/energy-industry', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/shane-hickey', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3'] | environment/solarpower | ENERGY | 2015-12-13T14:17:28Z | true | ENERGY |
weather/2017/apr/13/new-zealand-cyclone-cook-worst-storm-decades | Cyclone Cook strikes New Zealand, felling trees and causing power failures | Cyclone Cook has struck New Zealand with power outages, fallen trees and landslides reported around much of the central and eastern North Island, which bore the brunt of the storm. Cook, which forecasters feared could be the worst storm to strike New Zealand in decades, made landfall just after 6pm local time but by then many coastal villages were abandoned as five-metre swells combined with high tide and smashed against the deserted shoreline. Although a few rogue spectators braved the elements to gape at the raging surf, most residents seemed to heed civil defence warnings and had moved to higher ground hours before. Schools and offices closed in Auckland at about lunchtime as civil defence staff urged residents to leave the city immediately and remain at home. Extra public transport was laid on for the thousands of people escaping the city. By late afternoon, however, the MetService said Cook had just bypassed New Zealand’s largest and most populated city, and the weather warning was dropped. Further south in the Coromandel and Bay of Plenty regions, power remains out in tens of thousands of homes, and gale-force winds have been reported. Last week, the tail-end of cyclone Debbie devastated the Bay of Plenty town of Edgecumbe, forcing its 2,000 residents to flee with only a few minutes’ warning. Although flooding on Thursday was less severe than anticipated, hundreds of trees have fallen, and police said many roads had been closed in the North Island. Many rural communities on the east coast have prepared to be cut off for up to three days, and have laid in supplies of emergency food and survival gear to wait out the cyclone. Helicopters and emergency teams would set out at first light to check on isolated farms and communities, civil defence said. States of emergency remain in place in Bay of Plenty and Thames-Coromandel, with the defence force assisting in moving residents to higher ground and keeping people away from the coast. In coastal Whakatane, in the badly hit Bay of Plenty, Tautini Hahipene was sheltering at home with his family and had had no power for several hours. Despite it being “the worst storm” he had experienced, Hahipene said he felt well prepared after days of warnings from forecasters, and after assisting with the rescue of residents from flooded Edgecumbe last week. “Heard lots of loud cracking just now, that’ll be trees falling,” said Hahipene, via Facebook chat. “The storm is what everyone expected. Our township was empty at 4:30pm today. There will be people afraid of winds plus more possible flooding, but we are up a hill and well protected. We are checking on neighbours with torches and thumbs up.” In the worst affected areas, hundreds of Kiwis were taking shelter in welfare centres. At the Whakatane Red Cross centre, about 100 people were staying the night, said Lauren Hayes, a communications adviser for the Red Cross. “People have been arriving here since this afternoon and have all settled in here for the night,” she added. “Earlier on people were having dinner, playing cards and chatting, but now most have settled into bed. The power is still out here but Red Cross has generators set up to provide some light.” Cook is expected to move over the South Island on Friday and should move offshore by the weekend. | ['weather/newzealand', 'world/newzealand', 'environment/flooding', 'world/asia-pacific', 'environment/environment', 'world/natural-disasters', 'world/world', 'weather/index/australasia', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/eleanor-de-jong', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-foreign'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2017-04-13T10:54:40Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2024/mar/01/documented-sex-male-humpback-whales-gay-lesbian-nonbinary-queer-cetaceans-sexuality | Gay, lesbian and intersex whales: our queer sea has much to teach us | Whales are extraordinarily sensuous creatures. Those blubbery bodies are highly sensitive, and sensitised. At social meetings, pods of sperm, humpback and right whales will roll around one another’s bodies for hours at a time. I’ve seen a group of right whales engaged in foreplay and penetration lasting an entire morning. I have also watched a male-female couple so blissfully conjoined that they appeared unbothered by our little fishing boat as they passed underneath it. And in what may sound like a career of cetacean voyeurism, I have also been caught up in a fast-moving superpod of dusky dolphins continually penetrating each other at speed, regardless of the gender of their partner. That’s why this week’s report of the first scientifically documented male-to-male sexual interactions between two humpback whales off the coast of Hawaii is not surprising. The remarkable image of a two-metre whale penis entering another male “leaves little room for discussion that there is a sexual component to such behaviour”, as one whale scientist, Jeroen Hoekendijk at the Wageningen Marine Research institute in the Netherlands, notes drily. In fact, one of the whales was ailing and there has been speculation that the encounter may not have been consensual or that the healthy whale was actually giving comfort to the other. Whatever the truth, such “flagrant” acts also expose many of our human presumptions about sexuality, gender and identity. Off the north-west Pacific coast of the US, male orcas often leave family pods to rub their erections against each other’s bellies. But females have also reportedly been seen engaging in sexual contact with one another, too. Indeed, the graphic accounts of male-to-male behaviour may mask many “unseen” female-to-female sexual interactions. Dr Conor Ryan, an honorary research fellow at the Scottish Association for Marine Science, notes: “It’s easy to visibly identify male ‘homosexual’ sex when an extruded penis can be two metres long.” It is less easy to diagnose when female sperm whales are seen “cuddling”, as Hoekendijk observes. Ryan has often witnessed same-sex behaviour between whales and dolphins. “I am interested in the things that we miss,” he says. He has recorded competitive behaviour by humpback whales in groups that seemed to be typically male, such as pursuing other whales. But they proved, from DNA samples, to be genetically female. He speculates that humpback females may even use whale song – hitherto thought to be the province of mating males. “If I were a female being harassed by horny males, maybe I would sing too,” says Ryan. “To attract more females, to take attention off me, while masquerading as a male.” *** These observations throw up new ideas about the way these animals behave. Whale society is almost overwhelmingly matriarchal. Female sperm whales, for example, travel in large groups – sometimes thousands strong – in which males are only “useful” for their sperm, visiting the groups briefly, then leaving the females to their own society. Male-oriented science has in the past made various judgments regarding sexual behaviour. But the idea of lesbian whales should not be surprising. Ryan even cites the case of a “non-binary” beaked whale, which was discovered to have both male and female genitalia. Even identifying as a species can be fluid for cetaceans. In 2022, near Caithness in Scotland, a bottlenose dolphin was found to be identifying as a porpoise, swimming with a pod of porpoises and using their vocalisations. In one of the great queer pairings of the 20th century, Virginia Woolf referred to her lover, Vita Sackville-West, as “my porpoise”. *** We cannot know how whales and dolphins themselves regard genital interactions. But in most cases they appear to enjoy them – without, perhaps, the preconceptions we humans as a species have historically projected upon such behaviour. They may make great clickbait on social media, but they have an important relevance for us, too. When the Canadian biologist Bruce Bagemihl published his book Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity – listing 450 species exhibiting such behaviour, including whales and dolphins – it was used in evidence in a US supreme court case in 2003 that struck down, as unconstitutional, homophobic “sodomy” laws being used in Texas. It is telling, too, that the best-known work of literary fiction written about whales, Herman Melville’s 1851 novel Moby-Dick, is a decidedly queer book. Melville conflates the queerness and diversity of his characters – his narrator, Ishmael, is declared married to his shipmate, the multi-tattooed Queequeg, based on a Māori warrior – with the mysterious sensuality of the whales he is describing. He even spends an entire chapter describing a whale’s foreskin, with joyful innuendo. The sea itself seems to be a queer place, where gender is at best a slippery notion at times. Slipper shells stuck together on the beach, which you might find when beachcombing, are in fact changing sex, from female at the bottom to male at the top. Cetaceans’ genitals are concealed, in any case, in genital slits. Sleek and streamlined, it is as if bothersome sexual definitions were overtaken by the sheer beauty of wondrous hydrodynamics. So much of what we project on to whales and dolphins is about our own complexes. They seem to lead a free and easy life. They may not possess hands to manipulate, but they have the biggest brains on the planet, and highly sensual bodies to match. Having been around for millions of years, it is tempting to imagine their long-evolved existence as one that is beyond all the things that seem to hold us humans back. • Philip Hoare is the author of several books, including Leviathan, The Sea Inside, and Albert and the Whale | ['environment/series/seascape-the-state-of-our-oceans', 'society/sexuality', 'environment/whales', 'environment/environment', 'global-development/global-development', 'environment/cetaceans', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/wildlife', 'science/reproduction', 'science/biology', 'science/science', 'society/society', 'world/lgbt-rights', 'world/world', 'books/hermanmelville', 'books/books', 'culture/culture', 'campaign/email/global-dispatch', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/philip-hoare', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/global-development'] | environment/wildlife | BIODIVERSITY | 2024-03-01T12:50:35Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
commentisfree/2014/nov/06/election-green-promise-2016 | America just took a wrong turn. It's time to take a hard left | Howie Hawkins | Sometimes it feels as if Sarah Palin won the last two presidential elections. We’re not quite living in “Drill Baby Drill” America, but by co-opting the other Republican energy slogan, a meaningless plan literally called “All-of-the-Above”, President Obama has opened up vast new areas to offshore drilling and pushed hydrofracking for oil and gas onshore. Even as the president says that “we are closer to energy independence than we’ve ever been before”, sometimes it seems like the US is becoming a repressive petrostate. And then some days, like the day after the midterm elections, it feels like a complete victory for Palinite politics. The Republicans took back the US Senate, and the only Democrats who won major races were those like Andrew Cuomo, who defeated my Green Party campaign for governor of New York with a $45m campaign war chest provided by a few hundred super-rich donors – Democratic and Republican ones. But there were real victories this week for progressive alternatives on clean energy, economic security and social justice. The extremist blood bath may have painted the country more red, but there were more than a few important – and extremely promising – tea leaves of green. It was even enough to suggest a new, independent, hard-left turn in American politics is still very much possible. Fracking bans just passed in cities from California to Ohio and even in Denton, Texas – the town at the heart of America’s oil-and-gas boom. In Richmond, California, progressives beat back a multi-million dollar campaign funded by Chevron to defeat Green and allied candidates. Voters in Alaska, Oregon and Washington DC joined Washington State and Colorado in legalizing marijuana, adding to the growing momentum to call off the failed “war on drugs” that has given the US the highest incarceration rate in the world. Republicans like Mitch McConnell have already warned that “we will be voting on things the administration is not fond of” – citing a sure-to-be-caustic conservative energy agenda of which the Keystone XL pipeline is “only part”. But true progressives will be using our local political leverage in a continuing campaign for a Green New Deal. We are putting back on the public agenda the economic promises that President Franklin Roosevelt called for back in 1944 but which the Democrats have long since abandoned. Those rights provide the foundations for what FDR called “the true individual freedom [that] cannot exist without economic security and independence” – rights like a useful job, a living wage for doing it, plus affordable housing, healthcare and education. The US needs to revive a New Deal-style public jobs program to put unused labor to work, meeting unmet community needs – like the repair of a crumbling infrastructure for water, sewage, roads and bridges. But the centerpiece of the Green New Deal – to ban fracking and build a 100% renewable energy system by 2030 – is itself a program for full employment. A peer-reviewed study by Cornell and Stanford researchers found that the 15-year clean energy buildout would create 4.5m middle-income jobs in construction and manufacturing – in New York state alone. As Greens educate, demonstrate and lobby during the next legislative session here in New York, we will be preparing to run more progressive candidates across the country. And if Cuomo opens New York to hydrofracking, as we expect he will, we’ll demand that legislatures everywhere keep pushing fracking bans and running new and bolder clean-energy candidates against legislators in 2016. With Democrats repealing the New Deal and Republicans more or less repealing the Enlightenment with their anti-science stands on climate change and teaching evolution, the independent left is certain to mount a third-party presidential campaign beginning next year. I recently joined Kshama Sawant, the independent socialist elected to the Seattle city council last year, in calling for meetings across the country to begin laying the foundation for a strong left challenge to both parties of big business in 2016. It may be disruptive – but disruption is exactly what progressive America is asking for right now. Public opinion polls show that a majority of Americans support social, economic and energy policies that veer left if not all the way green. The well-documented problem of American politics is that these progressive values do not get turned into progressive policies. It will take a party independent of corporate money and influence to change that. Or else we will be stuck with the Palinites | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'us-news/us-midterm-elections-2014', 'politics/green-party', 'environment/green-politics', 'us-news/us-elections-2016', 'environment/environment', 'business/oilandgascompanies', 'us-news/andrew-cuomo', 'us-news/new-york', 'type/article', 'tone/comment', 'profile/howie-hawkins'] | environment/green-politics | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2014-11-06T12:30:10Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
environment/2012/jan/30/tesco-drops-carbon-labelling | Tesco drops carbon-label pledge | Tesco has dropped its plan to label all its products with their carbon footprint, blaming the amount of work involved and other supermarkets for failing to follow its lead. In January 2007, Tesco's chief executive, Sir Terry Leahy, promised "a revolution in green consumption" as the company pledged to put carbon labels on all 70,000 products. Orange juice, toilet roll and milk were among the products to have the emissions from their production catalogued. But on the eve of a major report on high street retailers' green programmes, the supermarket has said it is ditching the scheme. "We expected that other retailers would move quickly to do it as well, giving it critical mass, but that hasn't happened," Tesco's climate change director, Helen Fleming, told trade magazine The Grocer. Tesco also blamed "a minimum of several months' work" to calculate the footprint of each product. The Guardian has previously reported that it would take Tesco centuries to fulfil its pledge, as the supermarket was only adding labels at the rate of 125 products a year. A Tesco spokeswoman said the supermarket was phasing out the labels, but it still wanted to provide carbon information on products, though she did not specify how. "We are fully committed to carbon footprinting and helping our customers make greener choices. No final decision has yet been made, and we are always on the lookout to find even better ways to communicate the carbon impact of products in a way that informs and empowers customers." "In the meantime we are continuing to use the Carbon Trust label on a wide range of approved products and will keep asking our customers what information they would find most useful." The ditching of the labels will come as a blow for the Carbon Trust, the previously government-funded body that created the label and advises businesses on cutting emissions. From April, the Trust will no longer receive government funding as part of the coalition government's cuts, and will rely solely on private funding from its work with businesses. A Carbon Trust spokeswoman said the body was "clearly disappointed" at the move. "The annual sales value of goods carrying the label is some £3bn. We are clearly disappointed that Tesco has decided to phase out over time the use of the label on cost grounds. We know that Tesco is reviewing future options and we will be actively supporting them in that review. We are confident that our existing label customers and new customers will see the value of an internationally recognised carbon label backed by expert independent certification." PepsiCo, which has footprinted packets of its Walkers crisps and Tropicana orange juice through the scheme, said it would continue with the carbon footprint labels. Martyn Seal, European director for sustainability at PepsiCo, said: "Although we've not seen the take-up we would like, we still support carbon labelling as a way of helping consumers and businesses understand and reduce emissions." Dyson, Kingsmill and Morphy Richards are the other three brands that work with the label. On Tuesday, the British Retail Consortium, the trade body representing the UK's biggest retailers, will publish a report on the environmental progress of the supermarkets and high street's biggest names. • Get the Guardian's environment news on your iPhone with our new app. You can also join us on Twitter, Facebook and Google+ | ['environment/carbonfootprints', 'business/supermarkets', 'business/tesco', 'business/retail', 'business/business', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'environment/ethical-living', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'tone/news', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'profile/adam-vaughan'] | environment/carbonfootprints | EMISSIONS | 2012-01-30T15:02:45Z | true | EMISSIONS |
environment/2019/jun/10/gatwick-hosts-uks-first-airport-reusable-coffee-cup-trial-starbucks | Gatwick hosts UK's first airport reusable coffee cup trial | The UK’s first airport reusable coffee cup trial gets under way this week at Gatwick, offering passengers the opportunity to borrow and return refillable cups in a bid to help cut waste and tackle “throwaway” culture. Customers buying hot takeaway drinks from Starbucks will have the option to borrow a free reusable cup instead of using a paper cup, which they can then drop off at a designated point before boarding their flight. The trial – starting on Monday in Gatwick’s South Terminal – will help customers reduce their disposable cup usage in a manageable “closed loop” environment that could be used in any travel hub. The scheme is being launched by Starbucks in partnership with the environmental charity Hubbub with support from Gatwick, the UK’s second largest airport. The use of reusable cups in all coffee chains has increased in the UK – thanks to incentives such as discounts – but anecdotal evidence suggests consumers tend not to bring the cups with them when they’re going on holiday. The aim of the trial is to put 2,000 reusable Starbucks cups in circulation throughout Gatwick’s South Terminal, which could drastically reduce the number of paper cups being used each day. If only 250 customers opted for a reusable cup each day, for example, more than 7,000 paper cups could be saved in one month. “We know people care about waste, but it’s often hard to do the right thing when travelling” said Trewin Restorick, the chief executive and co-founder of Hubbub. “We want to find out whether people will get onboard with reusing cups, if we make it easy and convenient. The airport is the ideal environment to trial a reusable cup scheme as it has the potential to reduce large volumes of paper cup waste.” An estimated 2.5bn disposable coffee cups are used in the UK each year, a large proportion ending up in landfill. At Gatwick, more than 5.3m of the 7m paper cups used each year are already being recycled but Starbucks and Hubbub have identified the potential to increase reusable cup options as well to limit the number of cups used in travel hubs where on-the-go packaging is prevalent. Rachel Thompson, the sustainability lead at Gatwick, said: “There is strong public support for measures to reduce waste and we are delighted to support a retailer with an innovation that can help travellers do that.” The test is part of Starbucks’ and Hubbub’s ongoing commitment to reducing paper cup waste. In July last year, the coffee company became the first to introduce a 5p charge on paper cups to encourage reuse, with all proceeds going to Hubbub to carry out environmental projects and research, such as the Gatwick trial. | ['environment/waste', 'uk-news/gatwick-airport', 'world/air-transport', 'uk/uk', 'environment/environment', 'business/starbucks', 'environment/ethical-living', 'business/business', 'business/fooddrinks', 'travel/business', 'world/world', 'environment/recycling', 'environment/plastic', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/rebeccasmithers', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | environment/waste | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2019-06-09T23:01:42Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
business/2019/feb/16/flybmi-collapses-blaming-brexit-uncertainty | Regional airline Flybmi collapses, blaming Brexit uncertainty | The British airline Flybmi has gone bust, cancelling all flights with immediate effect and blaming Brexit as the main cause of its collapse. The company, which employs 376 staff and operates more than 600 flights a week, said it faced “several difficulties” in recent weeks including spikes in fuel and carbon costs, the latter arising from the EU’s recent decision to exclude UK airlines from full participation in the Emissions Trading Scheme. “Current trading and future prospects have also been seriously affected by the uncertainty created by the Brexit process, which has led to our inability to secure valuable flying contracts in Europe and lack of confidence around bmi’s ability to continue flying between destinations in Europe,” the airline said in a statement. “Against this background, it has become impossible for the airline’s shareholders to continue their extensive programme of funding into the business, despite investment totalling over £40m in the last six years. We sincerely regret that this course of action has become the only option open to us, but the challenges, particularly those created by Brexit, have proven to be insurmountable.” Earlier reports had suggested that the East Midlands-based airline was looking for further funding to survive. Instead it was forced into an “unavoidable” announcement. A spokesperson for Flybmi said: “Our situation mirrors wider difficulties in the regional airline industry, which have been well documented.” A Downing Street source said that while the company had highlighted Brexit there were lots of reasons cited in the airline’s statement for its failure. Flybmi, part of wider holding company Airline Investments Limited Group, ran scheduled passenger services to 24 destinations, including Brussels, Milan, Munich and Hamburg, using its fleet of 17 Embraer jets. Last year the airline operated 29,000 flights carrying 522,000 passengers. Passengers about to board a flight to Munich from Bristol on Saturday were told after they had checked in and gone through security that it had been cancelled. Richard Edwards, from West Sussex, is on a skiing holiday in Austria with his wife and three children and was due to fly back with Flybmi from Munich. He said: “We had gone through security at Bristol airport when there was an announcement saying our flight had been cancelled. They laid on taxis to Heathrow and booked us on a Lufthansa flight to Munich. I don’t know how we will get back yet. I’m not confident Flybmi will be able to sort it.” Erica Fairs, from the Forest of Dean, Glocs, was stranded in Edinburgh by the airline’s collapse. “My children are with my ex-husband and I need to be back on Monday to pick them up,” she said. “I have heard nothing from Flybmi and I’m going to have to book some flights with another airline. What was really weird is this week I have been trying check in online for my return flight without success. It let me check in for my outbound but not my inbound one.” The company’s planes that were stationed in in Brussels were recalled. Aircrew were told not to turn up for work and those staff due to be abroad for the weekend were flown back home. Passengers affected were told not to go to the airport unless they had rebooked flights with alternative providers, as Flybmi said it is not able to buy or rearrange journeys for its customers. The statement from Flybmi also said: “Our employees have worked extremely hard over the last few years and we would like to thank them for their dedication to the company, as well as all our loyal customers who have flown with us over the last six years.” The Civil Aviation Authority said that passengers who paid by credit card may be protected from financial loss as would those with travel insurance which covered “scheduled airline failure”. They advised people who booked directly with the airline to contact their card issuer. They said they would publish advice on their website on how to get a refund for passengers who had lost their flights. British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa) general secretary Brian Strutton said: “The collapse of Flybmi is devastating news for all employees. Regrettably Balpa had no warning or any information from the company at all. Our immediate steps will be to support Flybmi pilots and explore with the directors and administrators whether their jobs can be saved.” Rory Boland of the consumer organisation Which? said: “This is terrible news for Flybmi passengers, who will be seeking urgent advice on what steps to take. Some customers have claimed that tickets were being sold in the hours before the airline went bust, knowing full well those tickets would never be honoured, and passengers will rightly be outraged if this is proved to be the case. “As all future flights have been cancelled, Flybmi customers should explore their options for refunds. If you purchased your flight as part of a package you should be ATOL protected, which means you should get a refund. However, if you didn’t book as part of a package you may be able to claim the cost back through your travel insurance or credit card issuer, but it depends on your circumstances. You can visit which.co.uk for more advice on your rights.” | ['business/theairlineindustry', 'politics/eu-referendum', 'environment/carbonfootprints', 'business/business', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/lin-jenkins', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/news', 'theobserver/news/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | environment/carbonfootprints | EMISSIONS | 2019-02-16T21:48:24Z | true | EMISSIONS |
sustainable-business/2016/feb/09/from-liverpool-fc-to-google-business-joins-safer-internet-day | From Liverpool FC to Google: business joins in pledge to promote safer internet #SID2016 | The world has changed dramatically in the 13 years since the annual Safer Internet Day (SID) was launched. Thirteen years ago, YouTube didn’t exist. Now more than half of children use the video sharing website every day, according to a recent report from Childwise. And children spend more time on the internet than they do watching TV. As we become more reliant on digital technology, keeping children safe online becomes ever more pressing. Today’s SID – marked in more than 100 countries and organised in the UK by the UK Safer Internet Centre (UKSIC) – is an opportunity for everyone, from families to law enforcement and businesses to policymakers, to play their part for a better internet. High-profile supporters include the BBC, BT, Disney, Facebook, Google, Instagram, Microsoft, Nickelodeon, Twitter, Vodafone, and the UK government, as well as police services and schools. All are involved in delivering a range of activities. Microsoft, for example, is doing a SID takeover on its search engine Bing, and will serve specially created resources when anything internet safety related is searched. Snapchat has created a filter for SID that can be applied to photos taken using the app, while Vodafone is supporting with its special emoji keyboard, featuring a #SID2016 heart shaped emoji intended to be shared in solidarity against cyberbullying. The company is also working with YouTubers to create awareness raising videos and for each view, like and direct share a video receives, the Vodafone Foundation will donate £1 up to a maximum of £100,000 to child rights charities. But it’s not just the responsibility of big tech companies to ensure they are educating and supporting people in the safe and positive use of technology. Other businesses can also make a difference by through customers and staff. Football teams, for example. Premier League clubs Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal are hosting education sessions for hundreds of local schoolchildren, as well as getting players involved in promoting the safe and positive use of technology as part of their youth outreach programmes. Other organisations bring unparalleled reach on SID, with the Post Office playing SID safety messages through TV screens in its network of stores on the day and Nickelodeon creating anti-bullying videos for TV, its website and its YouTube channel. While the day provides a focus for raising awareness of internet safety issues and an opportunity for companies to create some good PR stories, many of these partnerships are continuous throughout the year. The UK Safer Internet Centre sits alongside representatives from corporates, NGO, government, and police on the executive board of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety, as well as being represented on safety councils for Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Ask.fm and more. Keeping children safe online is challenging – cyberbullying is increasing and young people are facing increasing pressures online that can have long-lasting impacts on their wellbeing. The ongoing threat from the proliferation of child sexual abuse images remains at the top of the agenda for many companies as they strive to use cutting-edge technical solutions to solve issues that can have huge consequences for the lives of some of the most vulnerable children both here in the UK and worldwide. The challenges are complex, and there’s no magic bullet to create a better internet but if all organisations step up to the challenge and play their part, we can all make a big difference. | ['sustainable-business/series/child-rights-and-business', 'sustainable-business/sustainable-business', 'technology/internet', 'technology/technology', 'technology/snapchat', 'environment/corporatesocialresponsibility', 'business/business', 'society/child-rights', 'society/children', 'society/society', 'type/article', 'tone/sponsoredfeatures', 'tone/blog'] | environment/corporatesocialresponsibility | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2016-02-09T16:03:59Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
sustainable-business/live/2016/jul/21/renewable-energy-investment-climate-change-developing-countries-sdg | How can developing countries reach 100% renewables? – live chat #AskGSB | Head down to the comments section to follow the discussion as it unfolded and look out for our writeup coming soon. If you’re interested in today’s live chat on renewables in the developing world, check out our recent article on financing off-grid clean energy projects: Investors’ neglect of small-scale renewables threatens universal energy access Investment in renewable energy was higher in the world’s poorest countries than the richest ones for the first time in 2015. As well as helping combat climate change, clean energy offers developing countries long-term affordable energy solutions. But, despite successes, one in five people still lacks access to electricity. As energy demand grows, it’s vital that renewables rather than fossil fuels are the focus for future investment. In this seminar we’ll be exploring how to make this ambition a reality as we work towards the sustainable development goal of universal access to affordable, clean energy by 2030. We’ll be exploring topics including: who’s driving renewables investment and where the gaps are how to ensure off-grid communities aren’t left behind the challenges those providing clean energy in developing regions face whether the goal of clean energy access for all by 2030 is achievable You can send questions in advance by emailing tess.riley@theguardian.com or tweeting @GuardianSustBiz using the hashtag #AskGSB To follow the chat live as it’s happening, join us on this webpage on Thursday 28 July, 1-2pm (BST). Jeremy Leggett, founder of Solarcentury and SolarAid, and chairman of Carbon Tracker Edward Hanrahan, CEO of ClimateCare Maite Pina, renewable energy specialist, Oikocredit International Nico Tyabji, director of strategic partnerships, SunFunder Henning Wuester, director of the IRENA Knowledge, Policy and Finance Centre, IRENA Aly-Khan Jamal, partner at Dalberg Global Development Advisors Moderator - Tess Riley, Guardian journalist, Guardian Sustainable Business | ['sustainable-business/series/extreme-weather', 'sustainable-business/sustainable-business', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/energy', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/minutebyminute', 'tone/blog', 'tone/sponsoredfeatures', 'profile/tess-riley', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-professional-networks'] | environment/renewableenergy | ENERGY | 2016-07-28T13:56:32Z | true | ENERGY |
world/2020/aug/07/hurricane-experts-noaa-storm-season | US hurricane experts predict 'extremely active' storm season | The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NoaaA) has predicted an “extremely active” hurricane season in the US in an already record-breaking year for storms. Noaa’s Climate Prediction Center said there could be up to 25 storms which have sustained winds of 39mph or greater. Storms which hit this threshold are named by the agency. In a normal year, there are usually two storms before August which are named. This year, there have already been nine named storms, a record which makes 2020’s hurricane season one of the busiest on record in the US. Gerry Bell, the lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at the Climate Prediction Center, said the combined intensity and duration of all storms during the season is predicted to be much higher than the threshold for an “extremely active” season. “We’ve never forecast up to 25 storms,” Bell said in a press briefing. “So this is the first time.” The previous high was in 2005, when the agency predicted a maximum of 21 named storms. Of the 25 possible named storms, Noaa estimates seven to 11 could become hurricanes, which have winds of at least 74mph. The agency also forecast that three to six storms could become major hurricanes, with winds of 111mph or more. The hurricane season ends on 30 November. Noaa said there is an 85% chance it will be an above-active season, an increase from the May prediction. “This year, we expect more, stronger, and longer-lived storms than average,” Bell said in a statement. The NoaaA forecast does not predict which of the hurricanes will make landfall, because those predictions rely mostly on short-term weather patterns. The increase in predicted hurricanes is attributed to warmer than usual sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, combined with the wind conditions. There is also growing evidence that warming in the atmosphere and upper ocean, caused by human activity, is creating conditions more suitable for more destructive hurricanes. Residents in areas more vulnerable to hurricanes have been encouraged to review their preparation plans for a possible storm, and to account for the effects of Covid-19 in that plan. This week, when Hurricane Isaias was heading towards South Carolina, health officials there advised people to add face masks and cleaning products to their preparations kits because of the virus. Officials also encouraged people who may need to evacuate to find hotels to go to, or family and friends to stay with, to avoid staying at a shelter, where socially distancing would be in place but is still an environment where the coronavirus could spread more easily. | ['world/hurricanes', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/world', 'world/natural-disasters', 'us-news/us-weather', 'environment/environment', 'environment/flooding', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/amanda-holpuch', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2020-08-07T13:07:24Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
australia-news/2023/feb/22/australian-sport-looks-at-concussion-like-big-tobacco-sees-smoking-inquiry-told | Australian sport looks at concussion like big tobacco sees smoking, inquiry told | The sport industry’s treatment of concussion is like the tobacco industry’s defence of smoking, and the legal system is “stacked against players” seeking redress for their injuries, an Australian Senate inquiry has heard. Jamie Shine, manager of head trauma litigation at Shine Lawyers, on Wednesday told the inquiry into concussions and repeated head trauma in contact sport that people suffering even mild traumatic brain injuries had their symptoms downplayed or misdiagnosed by medical professionals. Shine, who has represented hundreds of people with traumatic brain injuries, told the Senate committee that her clients were frequently disbelieved by insurance companies, even in well established areas such as car insurance or WorkCover, making it very difficult to get redress. “I see this as analogous to the tobacco industry,” Shine said. “We see insurers denying the existence of mild traumatic brain injury. They’re delaying claims. They say these people aren’t injured … [that] there’s nothing wrong with them, it’s preexisting. “We’re seeing that in established insurance schemes [so] of course we’re going to see that when it comes to the causal link between football or contact sports and life and death injuries like [chronic traumatic encephalopathy].” The Senate inquiry was established amid increasing public concern, including reporting by Guardian Australia, about sporting organisations’ management of player head injuries and the growing body of scientific evidence showing links between repeated exposure to head injury in contact sports and the neurodegenerative disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). CTE often manifests in life as behavioural changes, memory loss and other cognitive impairment. It is unable to be definitively diagnosed except postmortem by autopsy, but has been found in the brains of multiple Australian sportspeople, from amateurs to professionals. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Shine argued in her written submission to the inquiry that the evidence threshold demanded by sporting bodies before they would act to prevent CTE was an inappropriate standard to require for a public health and safety issue, but “it is the way codes have been allowed to get away with arguably negligent inaction”. “Despite the seriousness of the injury, the legal landscape in Australia has been stacked against players, meaning not only can they not afford access to treatment or to support their families; there is also little by way of consequence for sporting bodies,” Shine wrote. Shine’s analogy comparing the cultural and legal landscape around head trauma and contact sport to smoking was echoed by University of Queensland researcher and historian Stephen Townsend, whose evidence focused on the history of concussion in Australian sport. “I think that’s an apt comparison, because Australia in many ways is addicted to contact sport. We love it even though it kills us,” Townsend told the committee. “I think the smoking comparison is also apt because it prompts us to consider the availability of health information to athletes and parents.” He noted that Australia had seen “periods of major public concern about sports concussion” in the 1930s and early 1980s but that in each of these instances, the concerns of doctors, athletes, and researchers were “suppressed by sporting leagues and their supporters” because sport was “too culturally and economically important to change”. “This must not happen in 2023,” Townsend said. The committee also heard from two former elite athletes who continue to suffer from post-concussive symptoms, years after their playing careers ended due to multiple brain injuries. Lydia Pingel, 30, a former Australian rules footballer in the elite Queensland leagues, told the committee she had suffered seven concussions over a three-year period and was medically retired. Her ongoing symptoms include light and noise sensitivity, migraines, dizziness, blurred vision, brain fog, mood swings, irritability, impulsive behaviours, memory loss, impaired judgment and sometimes speech difficulties. Pingel told the committee her on-field concussions were never taken as seriously as other kinds of injuries, and there was “no education, plain and simple” about brain injury. “It’s not that they didn’t believe in concussion, but it’s not validated. It’s not seen as an injury,” she said. Pingel described the treatment she now undergoes for her condition as similar to that of an early onset dementia patient. Kirby Sefo, 36, played rugby sevens and rugby union for more than a decade before her post-concussion symptoms became so severe that she was told she should never play contact sport again. Sefo estimated she had more than 40 head injuries, ranging in levels of severity. She now experiences debilitating episodes of dizziness and hypersensitivity to light followed by loss of vision and balance, fever and severe vomiting, and immediately subsequent deep sleep. “I was unable to work due to these symptoms,” said Sefo. “I lost my job in one instance and had to resign from another because I was unable to manage what was happening when it was happening.” Sefo, who also has four children, said she wants future conversations around head trauma to be centred on women’s experiences: “We’re built differently. We are less researched. We are at times un-prioritised and marginalised. We are the lower income earners. We’re also the partners or the mothers who carry an emotional and mental load far greater than any other member in our households.” The inquiry continues. | ['australia-news/australia-news', 'sport/australia-sport', 'sport/concussion-in-sport', 'sport/sport', 'australia-news/australian-politics', 'sport/australian-rules-football', 'sport/rugby-australia', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/stephanie-convery', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | sport/concussion-in-sport | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2023-02-22T07:12:14Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2020/nov/13/hitting-net-zero-is-not-enough-we-must-restore-the-climate | Hitting net zero is not enough – we must restore the climate | Letter | The climate crisis is here now. No matter how quickly we reach zero emissions, the terrible impacts of the climate crisis will not just go away. They will continue to cause millions to suffer for centuries to come, even in the most ambitious scenarios. As such, no matter how quickly it is done, solely cutting emissions is not enough. This is why we believe the ideal solution to the climate crisis would be to go beyond net zero, and start to restore the climate. This would be done by, on top of reducing emissions to zero, removing huge amounts of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from the atmosphere. As such, we aim to restore the climate to as close to a safe climate as possible. Reaching zero emissions as quickly as possible is a necessary prerequisite for any attempt at restoration. The key purpose of removals should be to attempt to remove as much historic GHGs from the atmosphere as possible. This is not an excuse to reduce ambition on cutting emissions, because we don’t have the capacity to remove future emissions as well. Restoration is not about promoting one specific removal technique, but supporting the basic aim of trying to restore the climate. To restore the climate and have a safe future, we need to maximise mitigation, adaptation and removals. We therefore believe we must heighten our ambition to climate restoration on every level. We urge activists to start including restoration in their campaigning. We urge governments and companies to start acting, not only to reach net zero as soon as possible, but to achieve restoration as well. And we urge every citizen to do what they can to make the dream of restoration a reality. Gideon Futerman Founder of Worldward and youth climate activist, Dr Rowan Williams Former archbishop of Canterbury, Dr James E Hansen Adjunct professor, Columbia University Earth Institute, and former director of Nasa Goddard Institute for Space Science, Bella Lack Youth climate activist, George Monbiot Author and environmental activist, Michael E Mann Distinguished professor of atmospheric science and director of Earth Systems Science Center, Penn State University, and member of the National Academy of Science, Dale Vince Founder of Ecotricity and UN climate champion, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim Environmental activist, founder of AFPAT and UN SDG advocate, Will Attenborough Actor, Mark Lynas Author and activist, Chloe Aridjis Novelist and member of Writers Rebel, Rick Parnell CEO, Foundation for Climate Restoration, former COO of the United Nations Foundation, Amika George Activist and founder of Free Periods, Bel Jacobs Activist, journalist and former fashion editor, Dr Shahrar Ali Former deputy leader of the Green party of England and Wales, Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey Artists, co-founders of Culture Declares Emergency, Jay Griffiths Author and activist | ['environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'environment/environment', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'type/article', 'tone/letters', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/carbon-emissions | EMISSIONS | 2020-11-13T07:00:09Z | true | EMISSIONS |
business/2008/feb/27/bp.energy | BP hints at sale of alternative energy business | BP boasted today that its alternative energy business was worth as much as $7bn (£3.5bn), but hinted it could be put up for sale to take advantage of rising values in the renewable sector. In a strategy update to the City, Tony Hayward, the oil group's chief executive, said BP would invest $1.5bn in wind and solar operations over the next 12 months to speed further growth, although oil and gas will see more than $20bn ploughed into it this year. "Taking stockmarket valuations for similar companies, we estimate it [alternative energy] is already worth between $5bn and $7bn," he argued, adding: "As we go forward we will be looking at how best we can realise that growing value for our shareholders." Any disposal would feed mounting concerns among environmental groups that BP is gradually turning its back on the green agenda pursued by Hayward's predecessor, Lord (John) Browne, as it moves into carbon-heavy activities such as the tar sands of Canada. But sources close to the company insisted that BP was as committed as ever to renewables, highlighted by the acceleration of $8bn worth of spending originally earmarked for new technologies. They said that Hayward's commitment to realising value from alternative energy was more likely to mean disposing of a stake in the business to a new partner rather than an all-out sale or initial public offering. But they insisted all these options were "some time off". Vivienne Cox, chief executive of an alternative energy operation recently downgraded from full division to mere business unit, outlined for the first time to analysts that the wind business could be worth as much as $3.9bn and the solar operation $2.1bn. Other operations such as biomass, clean coal and hydrogen could make it up to a potential level of $7bn. BP had assembled a land bank sufficient to build 15 gigawatts of wind generation in the US, including Cedar Creek in Colorado, one of America's biggest wind farms. There was more capacity planned for Europe, India and China while the company was aiming at growing solar sales to 800 megawatts by 2010, she added. The bulk of the City presentation was taken up with details about progress made by the group in turning its financial position around after a fall in annual profits and a slump in the share price despite $100 per barrel oil. BP said it had replaced its annual production by an impressive 112% in 2007 and argued the figure would have been 130% if oil had stayed at $60. Some 2.4bn barrels had been added to resources over the year boosting the total resource base to 42.1bn barrels. Hayward said top management had been slimmed from six executive directors to four, 5,000 other jobs would be cut over the next 18 months and a variety of initiatives undertaken to improve safety and operational performance. "We have made significant progress at BP over the past 10 months, quietly and without fuss, in resetting essential context, in establishing sound practical objectives and beginning to deliver them," he added. Fadel Gheit, oil analyst with Oppenheimer, said he was impressed with the steady progress being taken to rehabilitate BP. "It makes sense to spin off the alternative energy business at some stage rather than having it hidden inside a much larger group," he added. | ['business/bp', 'environment/energy', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/solarpower', 'environment/windpower', 'business/business', 'uk/uk', 'business/oilandgascompanies', 'type/article'] | environment/windpower | ENERGY | 2008-02-27T17:35:58Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2022/dec/01/nature-positive-and-30x30-just-soundbites-or-the-foundations-of-a-cop15-deal | Nature positive and 30x30 – just soundbites or the foundations of a Cop15 deal? | After more than two years of delays, Cop15, the once-in-decade global biodiversity summit, is about to begin. More than 10,000 participants from across the planet will start arriving in Montreal at the weekend to negotiate crucial goals for protecting biodiversity. There has been a coordinated push behind some targets, namely from a group of countries that want to protect 30% of land and sea for nature (30x30) by the end of the decade. The idea of “nature positive” is another theme being promoted in the pre-Cop15 rhetoric from NGOs and governments. I view both as an effort for biodiversity to find a north star, akin to the 1.5C target in the Paris agreement that masks a devilishly complicated legal text. EO Wilson’s argument that for the good of humanity half the surface of the Earth should be set aside for nature is compelling, and 30x30 could be a step in the right direction – but we must be sure it covers the right areas. Expanding protected areas in deserts and degraded lands with few species will have little impact on the nature crisis. Much of the remaining variety of life on our planet is found in smaller ecosystem fragments such as forest patches and mangroves along tropical coastlines, many of which are under huge pressure from agriculture. These are the areas that humanity must resolve to protect if we are to stop the decline. The agreement must recognise the ecological difference between a beautiful old growth forest, such as the Białowieża forest in Poland and Belarus, and a plantation of Canadian sitka spruce in Wales. The former has massive value for nature, the latter does not. Many governments still fail to recognise the difference, and if the protected area target does not commit countries to conserving rare and fragile ecosystems while also upholding human rights, the 30x30 target will be nothing more than a soundbite. Equally important is to ensure funding is available for the effective management of existing and new protected areas. The rights of Indigenous peoples must be respected, or 30x30 could turn into one of the biggest corporate land grabs ever. I am more sympathetic to the idea of nature positive and a big group of businesses is pushing for mandatory nature disclosures to be included in the final agreement at Cop15 – something that could have a real impact if we get it right. We must learn the lessons of problems with carbon offsetting standards and so-called nature-based solutions. Companies cannot be allowed to destroy ecosystems with a high biodiversity value in wetlands and the tropics and theoretically compensate for the damage they have caused in areas with a much smaller nature value. Substance, along with money, as I have written before, will be key to a successful final agreement in Montreal. It will be even more important for effective implementation afterwards. I have been heartened by the coordination between China and Canada in arranging the summit and hope this continues. Canada has long been an active participant in the UN biodiversity process and could play an important role in resolving outstanding issues in the closing days. But this is still China’s meeting – they hold the presidency of a major international environmental agreement for the first time, hosted part one of Cop15 in Kunming in 2021, and set the theme of Ecological Civilisation: Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth. Now it’s up to them – and all of us – to make Cop15 a success. In a series of dispatches ahead of the Cop15 UN biodiversity conference in Montreal in December, we will be hearing from a secret negotiator who is from a developing country involved in the post-2020 global biodiversity framework negotiations. | ['environment/series/the-cop15-secret-negotiator', 'environment/series/the-road-to-kunming', 'environment/series/the-age-of-extinction', 'global-development/series/opinion--global-development-', 'environment/biodiversity', 'environment/environment', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/wildlife', 'type/article', 'tone/comment', 'environment/cop15', 'profile/the-secret-negotiator', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-age-of-extinction'] | environment/series/the-age-of-extinction | BIODIVERSITY | 2022-12-01T12:35:59Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
world/commentisfree/2023/sep/21/the-guardian-view-on-dernas-flood-tragedy-libyas-leaders-have-enjoyed-impunity-for-too-long | The Guardian view on Derna’s flood tragedy: Libya’s leaders have enjoyed impunity for too long | To count the thousands killed by the floods in the eastern Libyan city of Derna does not truly help us grasp their loss. “Those people are not numbers at all … Those people are love stories, friendships, dreams, ambitions ... are people who had names,” Johr Ali, a journalist from the city, told the Guardian’s Today in Focus podcast. Libyan authorities do not want people to focus on those victims, or why they died. Global heating made the torrential rain that hit Libya 50 times more likely, scientists say. But it was the collapse of dams and failure to evacuate that multiplied this disaster. Survivors want to know why warnings about the structures were ignored and what happened to millions of dollars allocated for their maintenance. But on Tuesday, after furious residents protested, officials blocked foreign journalists from entering the city and local media were reportedly detained. Telephone and internet links were cut. This is a country with two competing governments, but a barely functioning state. The coalition of militias under warlord Khalifa Haftar in the east competes with the UN-recognised Government of National Accord in the west. Those who rule pursue wealth and power, with scant regard for 7 million Libyans reeling from years of dictatorship, revolution, civil war and political deadlock. Incompetent, corrupt and callous governments rely on others – even teenage Scouts – to do their duties, while caging and repressing civil society. Now many fear that political leaders will exploit the crisis to enrich themselves and delay elections. Mr Haftar is already entrenching his power and that of his family. His son Saddam has been put in charge of the disaster response committee; the international community will be coordinating with a man whose forces took “substantial quantities” of cash and silver belonging to the central bank, according to UN experts, and have carried out a “catalogue of horrors”, including war crimes, according to Amnesty International. Libyans at home and abroad have had enough. They want an international inquiry into the disaster and the response, looking at the role of authorities in both power centres. Any domestic inquiry will at best find scapegoats, and they do not expect cooperation with foreign investigators. But political elites have enjoyed complete impunity for the last decade – not even having to justify failures and crimes. Derna’s tragedy has thrown the spotlight upon their behaviour. An inquiry would at least highlight their actions and inaction, essential information for Libyans; it might play some part in preventing future catastrophes; and it would confront western governments with their own responsibility. A new paper from the Chatham House thinktank, focusing on Libya, Iraq and Lebanon, notes that international policymakers “have repeatedly prioritized ‘stability’ over accountability. The resulting settlements (or ‘elite bargains’) have instead created and perpetuated political systems that benefit those elites at the expense of citizens.” The paper’s authors, Dr Renad Mansour, Tim Eaton and Dr Lina Khatib, argue that such deals have reduced direct violence, but overlooked structural forms of violence and have failed to improve, or even worsened, corruption and human development scores. Increasing accountability, they argue, must be a key part of reaching political settlements. Libya’s leaders have dodged that until now. But nothing less is owed to the lovers, friends, dreamers and strivers of Derna. | ['world/libya-flood-2023', 'world/libya', 'commentisfree/commentisfree', 'world/africa', 'world/middleeast', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/editorials', 'profile/editorial', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/opinion', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | world/libya-flood-2023 | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2023-09-21T17:34:44Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
commentisfree/2019/may/24/labour-children-climate-breakdown-striking-pupils | Labour is right: it’s crucial that children are taught about climate breakdown in school | Lola Okolosie | It’s no longer possible to deny or ignore: we are in a climate crisis. The truth of the emergency announces itself regularly in our papers, on our phones, tablets and TVs. A headline about the world’s leading scientists declares millions will suffer drought, floods and be plunged into deeper poverty if carbon emissions aren’t halved by 2030 and global heating remains within 1.5C. Another reports that climate breakdown will likely increase the destructive power of storms like Cyclone Idai, which devastated Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe earlier this year – 2 million people were affected by what, according to the UN, may be the southern hemisphere’s worst weather-related disaster. And yet another reveals the destruction of coral reefs while calculating that 1 million species already face extinction. The silver lining, however tarnished, is that now we can do away with the noxious denial that has brought us to the edge of this precipice. This week the Labour party has announced that it will make the climate crisis a compulsory element of education from primary onwards. It is one example of how our leaders can be proactive in the face of catastrophe. It is the kind of forward thinking that acknowledges the energy young people have brought to our streets. A generation frustrated with umming and ahing from those who really should know better but refuse to accept the woods are burning around them (literally in some cases), have begun to act for themselves. They came to the conclusion that the adults running the show would continue to drag their feet. And who could blame them? In the same week the UK experienced its hottest ever winter day, only a handful of MPs bothered to attend a Commons debate on climate breakdown, one inspired by the thousands of schoolchildren who had gone on strike to protest about the climate crisis weeks earlier. Labour’s policy highlights how little credit we have given the young thus far. An emergency that threatens their futures is not as readily taught as the history of the Tudors. In the yawning silence, young people like the Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, and an estimated 1.4 million students across 150 countries who lead the school strike movement, have created momentum. Their resilience and resourcefulness has made the argument a simple one: human activity is choking our planet. In place of the deep inertia that has lead us here, the young have created an inventive rebellion. By moving to make study of the climate crisis compulsory, Labour positions itself as a party invested in the young. It is a policy highlighting the empty paternalism of our current government, which assumes children haven’t the right to know the science of how we got here. Or, for that matter, what history and geography can teach about how the most vulnerable countries are those least responsible for our climate breakdown – countries that are disproportionately communities of colour. Why are our maths teachers not encouraged to relate the subject to this very real world problem? Students themselves have already worked out that the 12-year deadline for action is too late for many countries on the frontline of our emergency. A good education should provide students with the knowledge and skills to navigate a future they will become adults within. By proposing to make the crisis required teaching, Labour acknowledges that silence, thus far, pretends the young are unable to pay attention to the betrayal of their futures. Today I will be marching with my children as part of the #YouthStrike4Climate. I will be doing so because I know that it is a topic of which they are already aware. Maybe it is snatched references to air pollution, or snippets of dire warnings that arrive via news headlines, but it’s been impossible to shield them from the reality even if I wanted to. The young across the world, baffled by how to get attention, have chosen to strike in order to prove they have agency. Told for so long by parents and teachers alike to be responsible, they have, like the children in Toni Morrison’s 1993 Nobel prize lecture, turned around to ask: “What could that possibly mean in the catastrophe this world has become?” Going on to demand: “How dare you talk to us of duty when we stand waist-deep in the toxins of your past?” When, invariably, today’s protest will be dismissed as of far less importance than Theresa May’s resignation, it will be another sign that an older political class are simply blind to a catastrophe already with us. “Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfil it or betray it,” wrote Frantz Fanon, in his seminal work on the trauma of colonisation, The Wretched of the Earth. The irony is that the climate strikes, led by the young, display a conscientious respect for the planet, grounded in the sense of duty and responsibility their elders have been so desperate to abandon. • Lola Okolosie is an English teacher and Guardian columnist | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'environment/school-climate-strikes', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'tone/comment', 'environment/environment', 'politics/labour', 'politics/politics', 'uk/uk', 'education/schools', 'education/education', 'type/article', 'profile/lola-okolosie', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/opinion', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-opinion'] | environment/school-climate-strikes | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2019-05-24T15:00:15Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
politics/davehillblog/2012/apr/06/ken-livingstone-jenny-jones-boris-johnson-london-cycling-policies | Ken Livingstone is streets ahead of Boris in mayoral cycling policy race | The most telling paradox of Boris Johnson's mayoralty has been his promotion of himself as a "cycling mayor" while at the same time eschewing the measures required to transform London into a truly cyclist-friendly city. The celebrity Conservative is a vivid personification of the appeal of pedal power, yet his road-management priority has been smoothing the path of the private motor vehicle at the expense of just about everything else. His cycle hire scheme has been profitable in publicity terms for his good friends at Barclays bank, yet expensive for Transport for London. His 2008 manifesto pledge was to bring in cycle hire at no cost to the tax-payer. Instead, public funds that had been earmarked for suburban cycle routes were diverted to pay for the launch of the hire scheme, which provides many rail commuters with a cheap alternative to the Tube but most Londoners with nothing at all. Barclays has met only a fraction of its cost. Meanwhile, his cycle superhighways, also Barclays-branded, fall well short of the Dutch-style dedicated routes the London Cycling Campaign (LCC) wants introduced. A Transport for London report on the potential for increasing cycling in the capital revealed that the recent growth in cycling in London has been mostly due to confident cyclists cycling more rather than an increase in the numbers of people taking up cycling and sticking with it. It also confirmed that anxiety about safety on the roads is the greatest factor inhibiting a much bigger and broader flowering of cycle use. Boris has done little to still these fears. His cycling profile has been high, yet his record has not been good. So here's another paradox: the cycling policy proposals of the non-cycling Labour candidate Ken Livingstone are bolder, more forward-thinking and more mindful of the needs of Londoners as a whole than those of the Tory he hopes to unseat. His transport manifesto declares improving safety his number one priority. It promises a safety review of all major junctions, a redesign of the superhighways with increased segregation, more traffic-free suburban "greenways," safer cycle routes serving outer London's town centres and a "comprehensive review" of the Barclays sponsorship deal, one secured in circumstances that a London Assembly committee report described as "almost totally opaque." Assessing the pledges of Boris, Ken, Liberal Democrat candidate Brian Paddick and the Green Party's Jenny Jones, the LCC rates Jones's the best "by a clear margin," but puts Ken in a comfortable second place, well ahead of both Boris and Brian. It describes Ken's ideas as "encouraging in many ways," while expressing disappointment that they "don't prioritise cycling and walking and walking over motor traffic." Yet it notes that Ken has committed to making Jenny his cycling adviser if elected, wondering if this would improve his approach. It observes with disappointment that only Boris fails to draw inspiration from cycling polices pursued with such good effect in the Netherlands - the basis of the LCC's own Love London, Go Dutch campaign. This judgment suggests London cyclists and, importantly, those Londoners who'd like to become cyclists but don't like the odds of getting killed or injured cycling on London's roads, have an easy decision about how to cast their two mayoral votes on 3 May: first preference, Jenny Jones; second preference, Ken Livingstone; the "cycling mayor", nowhere. | ['politics/livingstone', 'politics/boris-johnson', 'politics/conservatives', 'politics/jenny-jones', 'politics/labour', 'politics/green-party', 'environment/green-politics', 'uk/london', 'travel/london', 'politics/politics', 'politics/london', 'lifeandstyle/cycling', 'travel/cyclingholidays', 'environment/bike-blog', 'politics/brianpaddick', 'uk/davehillblog', 'tone/blog', 'type/article', 'profile/davehill'] | environment/green-politics | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2012-04-06T16:15:00Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
science/2024/apr/24/estuaries-the-nurseries-of-the-sea-are-disappearing-fast | Estuaries, the ‘nurseries of the sea’, are disappearing fast | Estuaries – the place where a river meets the ocean – are often called the “nurseries of the sea”. They are home to many of the fish we eat and support vast numbers of birds, while the surrounding salt marsh helps to stabilise shorelines and absorb floods. However, a new study shows that nearly half of the world’s estuaries have been altered by humans, and 20% of this estuary loss has occurred in the past 35 years. Using satellite data, researchers measured the changes that had occurred at 2,396 estuaries between 1984 and 2019. The results, published in the journal Earth’s Future, found that over the past 35 years more than 100,000 hectares (250,000 acres) of estuary have been converted into urban or agricultural land, with the majority of the loss (90%) having occurred in rapidly developing Asian countries. By contrast, very little estuary loss has occurred in high-income countries during the past 35 years – mostly because extensive estuary alteration happened many decades before, during those countries’ own phase of rapid development. Many high-income countries are now recognising and undoing the damage, with locations such as the Tees estuary in northern England investing in returning the area to mudflats and salt marsh to help reduce flood risk, increase resilience to the climate crisis, replenish fish populations, and let nature recover. | ['science/series/terrawatch', 'environment/coastlines', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/oceans', 'environment/biodiversity', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/environment', 'science/science', 'world/asia-pacific', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/kate-ravilious', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-weather'] | environment/wildlife | BIODIVERSITY | 2024-04-24T05:00:30Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2012/nov/17/us-coast-guard-search-rig-workers | US Coast Guard resumes search for rig workers missing in Gulf of Mexico | The US Coast Guard was searching Saturday for two workers missing after a fire broke out on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico, sending an ominous black plume of smoke into the air reminiscent of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion. The blaze, which started Friday while workers were using a torch to cut an oil line, severely burned at least four workers. Their burns were not as extensive as initially reported, said Leslie Hoffman, a spokeswoman for Black Elk Energy, which owned the platform. Their conditions Saturday were stable but critical, she said. Meanwhile, officials said no oil was leaking from the charred platform, a relief for Gulf Coast residents still weary two years after the BP oil spill illustrated the risk offshore drilling poses to the region's ecosystem and economy. Coast Guard officials said in a news release Saturday that helicopters were searching for the missing workers from the air, while a cutter searched the sea. The images Friday were eerily similar to the Deepwater Horizon blaze that killed 11 workers and led to an oil spill that took months to bring under control. The fire came a day after BP PLC agreed to plead guilty to a raft of charges in the 2010 spill and pay a record $4.5bn in penalties. There were a few important differences between this latest blaze and the blaze that touched off the worst offshore spill in US history: Friday's fire at an oil platform about 25 miles southeast of Grand Isle, Louisiana, was put out within hours, while the Deepwater Horizon burned for more than a day, collapsed and sank. The site of Friday's blaze is a production platform in shallow water, rather than an exploratory drilling rig like the Deepwater Horizon Looking for new oil on the seafloor almost a mile deep. The depth of the 2010 well blow-out proved to be a major challenge in bringing the disaster under control. The Black Elk platform is in 56 feet of water a depth much easier for engineers to manage if a spill had happened. A sheen of oil about a half-mile long and 200 yards wide was reported on the Gulf surface, but officials believe it came from residual oil on the platform. "It's not going to be an uncontrolled discharge from everything we're getting right now," Coast Guard captain Ed Cubanski said. Hoffman, the Black Elk Energy spokeswoman, said Saturday that there were still no signs of any leak or spill at the platform site. After Friday's blaze, 11 people were taken by helicopter to area hospitals or for treatment on shore by emergency medical workers. The Coast Guard said 24 people were aboard the platform at the time of the fire. Cubanski said the platform appeared to be structurally sound. He said only about 28 gallons of oil were in the broken line on the platform. David Smith, a spokesman for the Interior Department's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement in Washington, said an environmental enforcement team was dispatched from a Gulf Coast base by helicopter soon after the Coast Guard was notified of the emergency. Smith said the team would scan for any evidence of oil spilling and investigate the cause of the explosion. Black Elk is an independent oil and gas company. The company's website says it holds interests in properties in Texas and Louisiana waters, including 854 wells on 155 platforms. John Hoffman, Black Elk's president and CEO, said in an email early Saturday morning that he was leaving Houston for Louisiana to assist in the investigation and help the families of the missing and injured workers. "My entire focus is the families and workers. Nothing else matters at this point," he wrote. | ['environment/oil', 'us-news/us-news', 'us-news/louisiana', 'tone/news', 'world/world', 'environment/environment', 'type/article'] | environment/oil | ENERGY | 2012-11-17T20:07:21Z | true | ENERGY |
fashion/2019/sep/06/grandfather-readers-vintage-clothes-oxfam-fashion | Secondhand fashion: 'I'm basically trying to look like my grandfather' | For many fashion lovers, September is one of the most important months on the calendar. Not only does it herald the start of various fashion weeks, but it’s also when many of us ditch our summer wardrobes and shop for the new season’s designs. However, our love of new clothes has become increasingly unsustainable. According to Oxfam, every week 11m items of clothing end up in landfill. And recent studies show the textile industry creates more CO2 emissions than aviation and shipping combined. In an attempt to combat fast fashion, the charity has launched Second Hand September, a campaign that urges people not to buy new clothing for 30 days. To mark the occasion, we asked our readers to share the stories behind their favourite vintage finds. Tracy Keown, 46, charity shop manager I was going through an unhappy period of my life and during that time I gained six stone. After losing weight, I decided to celebrate my birthday – something I hated doing – and wanted something nice to wear. Being a single mum on benefits meant I had a tiny budget. I found this gem for £4.99 and in a size 10 (I previously wore 18-plus). Now I am a working single mum – I’m the manager of a charity shop. Because we sell mainly children’s goods, I am surrounded by kids all day and they are just amazing. We don’t sell our goods at ridiculously high prices as we believe everyone has the right to access affordable clothes. I often do £1 sales on all children’s clothes so people can buy essential items. Michelle Ezeuko, 23, law student, campaigner and activist I love shocking people when they realise this outfit is from a charity shop and it only cost £5 – £3 for the pants and £2 for the jacket. I give workshops and talk at panels about “hostile environment” immigration policies. I’m always talking about how bad things are, so when I can rock up in my favourite outfits and look colourful and happy, it helps me feel good about the work I do. It also throws some positive energy into the room. Yes, Primark is cheap, however I’ve had jumpers from charity shops that have lasted five years and are still in great condition. The only time I enjoy shopping is when I charity shop. It’s a slower process, of course. You can’t rush it because your dream piece could be anywhere. I hate shopping in high-street shops. I hate the rush of it, I hate that everything looks the same and I’m going to pay loads of money just to look like everyone else. Jayson Mansaray, 29, arts journalist and presenter I got a job co-presenting the Royal Academy programme on BBC2 with Kirsty Wark and I needed five outfits, so I went hunting for a few extra tops. Friends commented about how huge my wardrobe budget must have been. In reality, there was no budget and most of the outfits were secondhand, including this one. This top reminds me of my grandfather Hosea. I am basically trying to replicate him in the 70s. He oozed cool. I was first introduced to ‘op-shops’, as they were called in Australia, where I grew up, by my mum and aunty in the 90s. Back then I thought it was very uncool and only wanted to wear brand new Reebok pumps and Fido Dido outfits. I love buying new clothes but friends of mine who make social justice documentaries have taught me to think about the supply chain and conditions for workers, so these days I feel reluctant to just buy new. Carrie Gaunt, 29, childminder This is my favourite thing in my wardrobe. When I bought it a couple of years ago, a corner was just peeking out on a stuffed-to-the-brim row of clothes and I thought, ‘I don’t know what that is but, however much it costs, I know I need it in my life’. It still blows my mind that 80s Marks & Spencer could have produced something so incredibly vibrant and unique. It makes me smile every time I look at it in my wardrobe – it’s like the sartorial equivalent of wearing a rainbow. I first started charity shopping in 2012 when I was at uni in Durham. I’ve been shopping entirely secondhand from 2016. Because there’s so much variety, I feel more inclined to be creative with my own style. Ned Mulready, 14, student I purchased this jumper from an RSPCA charity shop. I didn’t go into the shop for anything in particular, but when I saw this jumper I thought that it was something I would wear and a great way to recycle something that would otherwise have gone to waste. I wear it all the time – I especially like it with some shirts that I have. I have been buying clothes from charity shops for as long as I can remember. It used to be just a one-off thing to do if I was passing by, but now I try to make a conscious effort to get my clothes from charity shops. I really like buying clothes, but when buying new clothes I always have an underlying sense of the huge problem that this industry is causing for the environment and how much better it would be if more people bought secondhand clothes. • This article was amended on 27 January 2020 to remove a disputed fact. | ['fashion/vintage-fashion', 'fashion/fashion', 'environment/recycling', 'environment/waste', 'environment/ethical-living', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'environment/environment', 'world/oxfam', 'society/charities', 'society/society', 'society/voluntarysector', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/eleni-stefanou', 'profile/rachel-obordo', 'profile/guardian-readers', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-communities-and-social'] | environment/recycling | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2019-09-06T11:52:28Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2022/nov/05/lula-brazil-globalised-greed-cop15-aoe | Lula’s victory in Brazil is a relief but it won’t solve the problem of globalised greed | The Secret Negotiator | We are a month away from Cop15 and money is on my mind. The election of President Lula da Silva in Brazil is good news for the chances of success in Montreal. But optimism must always consider reality: huge financial resources are needed to halt the destruction of the planet’s ecosystems, and we are still very far from a credible plan for raising the necessary funds. Across the globe, almost without exception, nature is worth more dead than alive. That is the unfortunate truth. There is not yet a mechanism for tilting the playing field in favour of biodiversity and the climate, something I am sure will come up frequently at Cop27, too. To change that, we need to tackle two key issues: rural poverty and globalised greed. Rural poverty is, in many ways, the easier problem to fix. Wildlife conservation is often most successful where there is a financial incentive for communities to protect it. We need ways to support this, without asking the poorest to bear the cost. In Brazil, the short-term economic incentives to clear trees for agriculture have not disappeared with the election of Lula. That is true of Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia – everywhere – and the world will need to come together to tip the balance in favour of nature. There are no profits on a dead planet, as even the international financial sector belatedly seems to have realised. The “natural capital” case for protecting nature is clear and strong. The problem, however, is one of cashflow: people are poor and hungry now – they can’t wait for the huge gains to accrue in the long term. That is why I think the proposal by African countries for a 1% retail levy on all products that rely on nature is worthy of serious consideration at Cop15. Protecting ecosystems is expensive. Choosing not to drain wetlands or hunt wildlife frequently comes at a cost to communities living alongside them while benefiting the rest of humanity. Paying people to protect ecosystems would be recognition of how these communities look after a global good on behalf of us all, and the money would come directly from consumers. Without a secure and steady flow of money, we are in danger of agreeing a list of targets in December, heading home for the Christmas holidays, then finding that we cannot afford to implement them. The second, more complicated issue is that of globalised greed. Overconsumption of the world’s resources is a major driver of biodiversity loss, and not all humans are equally to blame. Citizens in rich, western countries are living lives that planet Earth cannot sustain, the elites of all countries are emulating these unsustainable lifestyles, and we are collectively suffering the consequences of this avarice. So far, mentions of overconsumption have been watered down or challenged in UN talks. But if we are to reach a final agreement that really tackles the drivers of biodiversity loss, it must include references to the unsustainable use of nature by the world’s rich. Scrutiny of beef companies with links to deforestation or firms that use palm oil from destroyed orangutan habitat have produced real-world changes. This must now happen at a global level. Money alone will not solve all the problems with implementing this agreement, but without money hardly any will be solved. We are still pitifully short of the multi-billion dollar package we really need to make this decade’s global biodiversity framework a success, and broken funding promises by developed countries in UN climate talks have caused widespread mistrust. It is time for that to change. In a series of dispatches ahead of the Cop15 UN biodiversity conference in Montreal in December, we will be hearing from a secret negotiator who is from a developing country involved in the post-2020 global biodiversity framework negotiations. | ['environment/series/the-cop15-secret-negotiator', 'environment/series/the-age-of-extinction', 'environment/series/the-road-to-kunming', 'global-development/series/opinion--global-development-', 'environment/deforestation', 'environment/environment', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/biodiversity', 'environment/wildlife', 'type/article', 'tone/comment', 'environment/cop15', 'profile/the-secret-negotiator', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-age-of-extinction'] | environment/biodiversity | BIODIVERSITY | 2022-11-05T12:00:09Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2019/aug/01/use-your-waste-water-to-save-street-trees-experts-urge | Use your waste water to save street trees, experts urge | Instead of letting your dirty dishwater go down the drain, consider using it to water the trees on your street. That is the message from tree experts, who say survival rates for urban trees could be boosted significantly by volunteers. Russell Miller, a London-based arboricultural consultant, said: “If you plant trees from good stock, at the right time, and provide enough water, you’d lose almost none prematurely. But get that wrong, and more than half can die.” Miller says a big issue is that local council budgets often do not stretch to include proper watering, which is critical in the first three years of a tree’s life. “Watering is less sexy than planting. It’s cheaper to replace them,” he said. New street trees need at least 20 litres of water a week – about two large watering cans – from April to September, especially in hot weather, says Miller. Any tap or grey water, including dishwater, bathwater and water from washing cars, windows and even clothes, is fine, as long as it does not contain bleach. England’s tree-planting fell 71% short of government targets last year, with just over 2m planted. Last October, the environment secretary, Michael Gove, announced a £60m scheme to plant 10m trees, including 130,000 urban trees. But there are concerns that both the money and trees could go to waste unless the right aftercare is prioritised. “The idea is not just to plant a million trees, but to establish a million trees,” warned Tony Kirkham, arboretum head at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Most species of street tree, such as the London plane, are chosen especially for their resilience and tolerance of urban stress. But even these species need years to develop root systems that can find their own sources of moisture among the networks of cables and pipes, and compacted soil under pavements and roads. “Once street trees get stressed it’s difficult for them to bounce back, they really struggle, and have to rely on rain falling the following year,” Kirkham explained. “If this doesn’t happen, the problem is compounded from year to year.” Citizen-led projects are making an impact, and some local councils, including Cambridge, Sheffield, Camden, Kingston-upon-Thames, Waltham, Enfield and Richmond, have started social media campaigns, put signs up on trees and sent out leaflets urging residents to water their local trees. “Councils are hoping for rain, and hoping they’ll survive, but there are heavy losses when it comes to urban tree planting. The public can dramatically improve their chances of survival,” said Kirkham. “Anything we can do to relieve the stress on our trees is a massive bonus, for both our local authorities and our trees.” | ['environment/forests', 'environment/conservation', 'uk/weather', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'uk/uk', 'environment/environment', 'cities/cities', 'environment/wildlife', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/forests | BIODIVERSITY | 2019-08-01T09:37:20Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/article/2024/aug/15/i-am-so-happy-to-see-them-fan-mussels-are-back-in-europes-waters-but-can-scientists-keep-them-alive | ‘I am so happy to see them!’: fan mussels are back in Europe’s waters – but can scientists keep them alive? | I swim and I stare as my shadow causes panic on the seabed below. Shells snap shut, one, two, three. Alive, alive, alive. I am so happy to see them: noble pen shells, all improbably but indisputably alive. These giant Mediterranean clams are a species on the verge of extinction, with so few left that it is rare to find one living anywhere in Europe. Often known as fan mussels, the moniker is a suitable one for this beautiful bivalve, its pearlescent point dug into the sand, fanning up to a rounded posterior. I’m in the Amvrakikos Gulf on the west coast of Greece, where I have the privilege of watching these creatures grow. Their presence is such good news that Spanish scientists have flown in to see the clams for themselves as part of an EU project focused on trying to rescue, and hopefully expand, what is left of the pen shell population. Given the chance, noble pen shells (Pinna nobilis) can live for 20 years and grow to more than a metre tall. Only the giant clam is bigger. They are endemic to the Mediterranean, increasing water clarity and biodiversity, and their large shells provide habitat for myriad species. As fans of the pen shell know (and I am the biggest fangirl of all), if you approach carefully you might glimpse its habitual guest – a symbiotic shrimp – inside. Tragically, after a series of mass mortality events that started in Spain, it is more common to find noble pen shells dead than alive. Humans have exploited these bivalves for centuries, eating the meat and trading their shells. Even the creature’s byssus – the beard-like threads that anchor them to pebbles – were spun for centuries into “sea silk”. But in 2016, their future suddenly became critical. Pinna nobilis began to die in their millions, with 99.9% of the Spanish population wiped out in months. This was primarily caused by a parasite, Haplosporidium pinnae, which spread everywhere from Spain to Greece, Tunisia to Turkey. In 2019, the IUCN red list upgraded their status to critically endangered after almost all monitored open sea populations were decimated. Of the small populations remaining, most were clinging on in coastal lagoons such as Amvrakikos. But very few had what the scientists call “recruitment” – youngsters. It is significant, then, that most I see are under 20cm. They’re a beautiful sight – frilly shells, sunlit yellow against green blades of seagrass. Young adults, and healthy too, judging by the speed at which their valves are closing. With youth comes hope. Orestis Papadakis and Maria Zotou, marine biologists from the University of the Aegean, have spent years surveying the Greek coastline, finding “endless graveyards”, Papadakis says. They found “scattered shells, huge populations gone”. In Amvrakikos, I watch Papadakis counting the numbers in a large group. “This is the biggest and most important population in the Mediterranean,” he says. The presence of juveniles is crucial for efforts to repopulate the Mediterranean, which is why scientists across Europe are collaborating through Life Pinnarca, the EU project. Its director, José Tena Medialdea, and project manager, José Rafael García March, join us to help relocate vulnerable individuals. “This can be the saviour of the species,” García March says of the Amvrakikos population. “If they survive this summer.” They should. According to all measures, this population is healthy, with low mortality and no sign – so far – of the parasite. Humans are the biggest threat here. The sun is beating hard as we gather in a little bay in the south of the gulf as the daily swimmers arrive. It’s a convivial atmosphere, a familiar Greek scene – local people in hats, backing into the sea. When I look below, at feet bouncing perilously around fan mussels in the shallows, I understand why these individuals need relocating. I watch Papadakis carefully removing the first clam – byssus intact – while its tenant shrimp flees. Medialdea’s work, meanwhile, is observed closely by a cuttlefish. Cute distractions aside, each mollusc is relocated and tagged. Meanwhile, in my local bay, tourists have arrived, dozens wading among the most dense population. With trepidation, I swim to the edge of the seagrass meadow. I am dismayed to count dozens smashed around a few survivors. Suddenly the prospect of watching them grow seems less likely than witnessing their destruction. Accidental damage isn’t the only problem. The surveys found evidence of illegal dredging in the gulf, with catastrophic consequences on pen shell populations, seagrass meadows and other important habitats. Poaching is also rife, with reports of divers plucking larger specimens. The lack of protection shocks the visiting scientists. In Spain, they say, the pen shells are protected by an environmental branch of the civil guard. Poachers caught harming the species face two years in prison. “Without the poaching and killing, the Amvrakikos colony would have been the big hope.” Now, García March says, “We are afraid of what will happen there.” But all is not lost, especially if enough conservation-minded local people can get on board. Watching us from a bench are Thanos and Giorgios, two cheerful men in their 70s from a nearby village. On our last visit, Zotou had spoken to the two men about the precarious status of the pen shells, or pinnas. Now, Thanos says, he has told everyone: “Don’t touch the pinnas!” Susan Smillie lives on a boat off the coast of Greece. She is author of The Half Bird. | ['environment/series/seascape-the-state-of-our-oceans', 'food/shellfish', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/endangered-habitats', 'environment/endangeredspecies', 'environment/conservation', 'world/greece', 'world/europe-news', 'world/world', 'world/spain', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/susansmillie', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/global-development'] | environment/marine-life | BIODIVERSITY | 2024-08-15T04:00:35Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2013/sep/01/bring-back-refunds-on-bottles | Bring back refunds on bottles | Never apologise for jumpers-for-goalposts recollections. The panoply of ethical living systems should always make room for simple, old school solutions. These also include water fountains and putting a jumper on in lieu of turning up the thermostat. All antidotes to overengineered sustainability solutions. For readers born after the 1980s, by which time bottle-return schemes in the UK were extinct, here's an explainer: the scheme adds a small charge to the price of a bottled drink. Return the bottle to a certified outlet and you get the charge back. It's essentially a deposit and it should pay dividends in eco terms. They are still common in countries including the USA, Australia and parts of Scandinavia where they've also come in handy for providing an incentive to take responsibility for other potential pests of the planet: batteries (in Sweden) and tyres (Maine, USA). As it became cheaper to make bottles and consumerism rose the impetus to collect and refill vanished. And we fell in love with single-use plastic containers. Then we found out there was a heavy ecological cost but seem to have been unable successfully to reverse our habits. For instance just 25% of plastic packaging was recycled in the UK during 2012, placing the UK in 25th position out of 29 EU Countries. Overall the UK still recycles 25% less waste than Denmark, and this year just scrapes into the top 10 league table of recyclers in Europe. We need to up our game if we want to move towards a "zero- waste" economy and hit our targets. A well-designed bottle bill, governing deposits on glass, aluminium and common forms of plastic could do wonders for our rubbish status! Inevitably there's corporate resistance from the drinks giants. Even where deposit refund schemes are common there is dissent. Recently in Australia's Northern Territories a deposit scheme was challenged by Coca-Cola Amatil and Schweppes. On these shores a new movement, the Deposit Alliance, an offshoot of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) offers new hope to deposit enthusiasts like you. Based on extensive research it recommends the UK puts a deposit of 15p on drinks containers under 500ml and 30p on containers over 500ml. This would generate return rates of around 90%. Furthermore a nationwide system of deposit-return schemes would create in the region of 4,000 jobs. As well as all the eco pluses of a well-modelled deposit scheme, there's also evidence that suggests that the establishment of a new (or even old) social habit like this becomes a sort of gateway to mass sustainable consumption. So, all compelling reasons to get this done. But the question remains, does anyone have the bottle to do it? Green crush: Wardrobe Angel Is there wardrobe voodoo? Every time a black bin liner of clothes is slung into a bin, you imagine Halifax-based Stephanie Roper feels it personally. If you're in the wardrobe doldrums she will re-style, re-imagine and re-sell you out of it. The Wardrobe Angel has skills developed after she lived out of one suitcase for a year on the heels of a career in fashion merchandising. "I want you to wear what suits you inside and out," Roper says, "and to love what's in your wardrobe." Greenspeak: Idling capacity [eye-dgleeng kapase'tee] noun This describes all those resources which aren't being fully utilised – including the spare seats in one-person car journeys and unused space in offices. Now imagine the eco and economic potential if you could access it! If you have an ethical dilemma, send an email to Lucy at lucy.siegle@observer.co.uk | ['environment/recycling', 'environment/series/its-not-easy-being-green', 'environment/waste', 'environment/series/ask-leo-lucy', 'environment/ethical-living', 'environment/environment', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'tone/features', 'type/article', 'profile/lucysiegle', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/magazine', 'theobserver/magazine/life-and-style'] | environment/recycling | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2013-09-01T07:38:00Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
global-development/2022/oct/06/invest-in-small-farmers-or-world-will-face-regular-food-crises-says-un-agency-chief | Invest in small farmers or world will face regular food crises, says UN agency chief | In his first week in the job, the new head of the UN’s agricultural finance fund admits he has no small task ahead. Alvaro Lario takes up the role as head of the International Fund for Agricultural Development amid a global food crisis, which he warned could become a regular occurrence. Lario wants the IFAD to focus on investing in the resilience of small-scale farmers so they can produce food for themselves and are not left at the mercy of external shocks. “Resilient means that when you have a shock to your income – like currently, with inflation – when you have a shock coming from extreme climate, you’re not going to fall from the brink of poverty into poverty or food insecurity,” said Lario. The current food crisis, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, would happen again – and soon – unless world leaders addressed decades of underinvestment in how food was grown and delivered, he warned. He said hundreds of billions of dollars needed to be directed towards small farms by investing in water and soil conservation, offering low-interest loans, access to markets, and boosting productivity. “What we’re seeing is that they are currently not even able to actually produce their [own] food, many of them have to sell their assets … because they don’t have enough to feed themselves.” Lario said the impact of war in Ukraine had disrupted shipping of key crops for months and caused fertiliser prices to jump, exacerbating existing problems as 150 million people had fallen into hunger before the war. “If we do not invest right now, in terms of tens or hundreds of billions, even if we resolve the Ukraine war soon, in two to five years we will be in the same situation,” he said. “In the short term, we’ve had a lot of climate shocks, droughts and flooding that have also made it much worse, but generally, the fact that we have not really paid enough attention to how food is produced, how food is distributed, how food is stored, and the creation of jobs in many of these rural areas, is at the forefront of the crisis.” The IFAD is a Rome-based UN financial agency that works with the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Programme, as well as the private sector, to promote food security through sustainable agriculture by providing grants and cheap loans to farmers in developing countries. Global food prices reached their highest recorded levels in March after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and, while they have since dropped, they remain 8% higher than a year ago. There is concern too about the continued high price of fertiliser affecting agricultural productivity, with sanctions limiting shipments from Russia, the world’s largest exporter of fertiliser, as well as a reduction in the amount coming from China and lower overall fertiliser production in Europe. Lario said these heightened prices were hard for farmers to pass on to consumers, which is why the international community needed to finance farmers who did not receive assistance from their governments, unlike farmers in richer countries. “The way of actually tackling poverty, of tackling food insecurity, of tackling the financing of food systems, needs always to start with this long-term rural transformation and bringing small-scale producers to the table,” he said. | ['global-development/food-security', 'global-development/global-development', 'world/unitednations', 'world/world', 'environment/environment', 'society/society', 'business/internationaltrade', 'business/business', 'business/economics', 'business/global-economy', 'environment/farming', 'environment/soil', 'environment/water', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/kaamil-ahmed', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/global-development'] | environment/farming | BIODIVERSITY | 2022-10-06T06:00:30Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
us-news/2018/nov/27/climate-change-report-trump-air-pollution-global-warming | Climate report Trump tried to bury: key findings No 2 – some action is far better than none | The Trump administration published a major report on climate change the day after Thanksgiving. We will explore the key findings each day this week. Donald Trump doesn’t believe his own government’s major report on climate change – which the administration tried to bury over the Thanksgiving break. It warns that rising temperatures are already harming America and will cause huge damage globally. The Guardian will explore key findings from the report each day this week. Climate efforts aren’t all or nothing Limiting greenhouse gases would substantially benefit the US economy and stop thousands of deaths each year, compared with allowing climate pollution to continue to rise through the 21st century. Reaching a peak for climate pollution mid-century and then beginning a decline would prevent in 2090: 48% of the $155bn per year in damages to labor 58% of the $141bn per year in lives lost on extremely hot or cold days 22% of the $118bn per year in damages to coastal property 31% of the $26bn per year in the health consequences from poor air quality 59% of the $20bn per year in damages to roads 47% of the $8bn per year in inland flooding The earth would continue to warm even if humans stopped producing greenhouse gases from power plants and cars today. But limiting – if not entirely eliminating – that pollution would substantially reduce risks. Cutting greenhouse gases would provide the biggest benefits in the latter half of this century. “In the absence of more significant global mitigation efforts, climate change is projected to impose substantial damages on the US economy, human health, and the environment,” the report says. “Under scenarios with high emissions and limited or no adaptation, annual losses in some sectors are estimated to grow to hundreds of billions of dollars by the end of the century. It is very likely that some physical and ecological impacts will be irreversible for thousands of years, while others will be permanent.” Ocean warming, for example, is causing coral bleaching around the world. If greenhouse gases rise through the century, nearly all coral reefs will be surrounded by acidified seawater. Reaching a peak for manmade greenhouse gas growth by the middle of the century in the US would also avoid up to tens of thousands of deaths per year from extreme temperatures and up to thousands of deaths per year from poor air quality. | ['us-news/series/the-climate-report-trump-tried-to-bury', 'us-news/trump-administration', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'us-news/donaldtrump', 'us-news/us-news', 'environment/environment', 'science/science', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/emily-holden', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news'] | us-news/series/the-climate-report-trump-tried-to-bury | GLOBAL_CRISIS | 2018-11-27T21:41:58Z | true | GLOBAL_CRISIS |
commentisfree/cif-green/2009/dec/07/media-inaccurate-green-scare-stories | The big green bogeyman | Zac Goldsmith | We always hear from newspapers that while people understand the environmental challenge, they are unwilling to stomach the solutions. The trouble is, we only ever hear about the solutions from the media, and for whatever reason, they are almost always caricatured beyond recognition. If there's no appetite for green, it's not surprising. I remember opening a tabloid one day to find a photograph of myself next to the image of a giant pink vibrator and under the headline "Goldsmith wants to ban dildos" (because sex toys are apparently energy inefficient). No less than the paper's political editor demanded that my ideas be "dropped like a stone". Of course he knew I'd never said anything of the sort. I believe the story was prompted by a news release calling for greater standards to be imposed on electrical appliances. Other newspapers are less direct, but no less tricky when it comes to green policy. A couple of years ago, a broadsheet was given an exclusive look at a green car policy being proposed by the Conservative party's Quality of Life review, which I was part of. We were calling for measures to make new clean cars more affordable, and recommended a tax on new polluting cars to pay for it. The idea was that people would still have a choice, they wouldn't be punished for a decision they'd already made, it wouldn't represent a stealth tax, and we would have a cleaner car fleet within a matter of a few years. This idea already works well in Denmark, and is a no-brainer if we want to cut emissions and oil dependence. A senior writer prepared an article in which he properly described the idea. He explained that the cost of polluting cars would go up, and the cost of clean cars would go down. He gave the idea a big thumbs-up. But by the time it was published in that paper, all reference to clean cars becoming cheaper, and indeed all reference to this being imposed only on new cars, was removed. With common sense stripped from the idea, the paper was able to trash it, and it did. The journalist was rightly furious, and later cited this as his reason for resigning from that newspaper shortly after. Green policy is about triggering a shift to a cleaner way of doing things. To be effective, it needs to incentivise the right behaviour, for example through tax breaks, and that needs to be paid for by disincentives on polluting behaviour. It should never be retrospective, it should be revenue neutral for governments, and it needs to be totally transparent. There will be winners, just as there will be losers. Clever companies will spot the trend and deliver clean products that can last. Others will be left behind. It's a basic good cop/bad cop approach, and it's not complicated. When opinion surveys have been conducted on specific green policy ideas, they are almost always met with overwhelming approval. But never when newspapers focus exclusively on the "bad cop". This is a major problem. If you tell people, "that old banger of yours, we're going to tax the hell out of it," they'll rightly tell you to get lost. But if you tell people that when they next buy a car, the tax will be adjusted so that the cleanest ones will cost less and the polluting ones will cost more, most people would say "fair enough". Cars would cost less to run, we'd be less oil-dependent, and we'd see a cut in our emissions. It is true that many of our newspapers now devote pages to the environment. Pictures of icebergs and Inuit appear virtually every week. That represents an improvement. But when it comes to actual policy, the thing that might help move us in the right direction, it is almost always portrayed in such a way that it can only be rejected by readers. Only this week for instance, the Sunday Times has me calling for "a great big new tax" on polluting cars. The quote is 50% true, but the missing 50% (a great big tax cut on the cleanest cars) is absolutely key. Indeed its omission from the quote is an obvious deal-breaker. So why leave it out? I had a detailed conversation with the Sunday Times on this very issue. Politicians usually get the blame for dragging their feet on environmental issues. And fair enough. Most of them do just that. But the blame isn't theirs alone. For politicians afraid of losing votes, a bristling media waiting to transform good green ideas into monsters is a colossal disincentive. | ['commentisfree/cif-green', 'commentisfree/commentisfree', 'environment/green-politics', 'politics/politics', 'media/media', 'environment/environment', 'media/newspapers', 'tone/comment', 'type/article', 'profile/zacgoldsmith'] | environment/green-politics | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2009-12-07T13:30:00Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
business/2010/jun/13/bp-britishness-not-most-important-issue | BP is just a symptom of a dangerous addiction to oil | President Obama's attacks on "British Petroleum" and its chief executive, Tony Hayward, are deeply unedifying. Not because of the hypocrisy and misinformation involved, though there is plenty of that: BP has not been called British Petroleum for years and its controversial dividend is denominated in US dollars. Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker, conjured up images of pound notes flowing into pinstriped pockets in the City when she suggested shareholders had "deeper pockets" than fishermen on the Gulf coast. But recipients of the divi are not all fat cats, and they are certainly not all British. About 40% of BP's dividends are paid to US small investors and pension fund members, including teachers in California and Texas. These are people like Miriam Sullivan, the 74-year-old wife of a retired New Jersey teacher, who told Bloomberg she stands to lose $10,000 a year if the BP dividend is suspended. US companies have wreaked more than their fair share of environmental havoc and loss of life. There was Exxon Valdez and Piper Alpha. The escalation of the BP row last week overshadowed another story in an Indian courtroom, where seven local employees of the US multinational Union Carbide were convicted of causing death by negligence at its plant in Bhopal in 1984, when a toxic leak killed thousands of people. Union Carbide's American chairman, Warren Anderson, has never been brought to justice and is listed as an "absconder" by the court. The real problem is not Brit-bashing by US politicians. It is, as US commentator Thomas Friedman has pointed out, that Obama has missed an opportunity to move the discussion on to the underlying issues of climate change and the developed world's addiction to oil. The horrific effects of this addiction are not confined to the environment. A report published in Sweden last week by the European Coalition on Oil in Sudan (ECOS) went unremarked in the UK but its allegations are devastating. ECOS claims its research shows that a consortium of oil companies – Lundin of Sweden, Malaysian group Petronas and Austrian concern OMV – should be investigated for complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan. The oil companies, ECOS says, worked alongside the perpetrators of rape, torture, child abduction and forced displacement, and the consortium's infrastructure enabled the commission of crimes. Lundin, the consortium leader, denies the allegations. Our thirst for oil is inextricably linked to conflict and corruption. Unlike the BP crisis, much of this happens below the media radar in this country and the US, as does an enormous amount of damage to the environment. To take one example, the people of the Niger delta, which supplies 40% of US crude imports, have had their lives blighted by oil pollution for decades. BP and its bosses richly deserve to be pilloried over Deepwater but this is far too important to be reduced to a puerile slanging match. When the US president speaks to David Cameron this week and meets the BP chairman, Carl-Henric Svanberg, there needs to be a constructive dialogue. There is still time to grasp this opportunity for real change. To sustain our oil addiction, companies are pushing the boundaries into controversial areas such as tar sands, into conflict zones, and into joint ventures with oligarchs. We have entered the era of Extreme Oil. Deepwater does not tell us much about the sins of British oil companies versus American ones. It tells us a great deal about the huge costs, human, financial and environmental, of being hooked on oil. The US is the world's biggest consumer. Reducing that consumption and moving towards a more sustainable economy would have enormous benefits: it would cut emissions of greenhouse gases, leave the US less vulnerable to oil price spikes and lessen the need to deal with oil-rich countries that may compromise foreign policy. Obama could have used his political capital to initiate a serious discussion on how to end our dangerous dependency. How saddening that, so far, he has chosen not to. | ['business/series/ruth-sunderlands-business-comment', 'business/oil', 'business/bp', 'business/oilandgascompanies', 'business/business', 'us-news/barack-obama', 'world/sudan', 'us-news/usdomesticpolicy', 'us-news/us-news', 'environment/oil', 'environment/oil-spills', 'environment/bp-oil-spill', 'environment/environment', 'tone/comment', 'world/africa', 'type/article', 'profile/ruthsunderland', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/news', 'theobserver/news/business'] | environment/oil | ENERGY | 2010-06-12T23:06:05Z | true | ENERGY |
news/2014/mar/16/weatherwatch-tornadoes-america-disaster | Weatherwatch: Extreme and terrible – but no freak occurrence | It is March and that means that ''tornado season" is under way in the US. Although tornadoes have been known to strike during any month of the year, the majority usually arrive between March and August. In particular the spring months are optimal for tornadoes because the likelihood of cool air meeting warm is increased. One of the most deadly tornado outbreaks in US history occurred on 27 April 2011, when 145 tornadoes touched down, including four EF5 (Enhanced Fujita scale) tornadoes – the strongest rank on the tornado scale. More than 300 people died and the outbreak was one of the costliest natural disasters in US history. Until now this extreme event has been considered to be a one in a million freak occurrence, but new research shows that tornadoes are not as random as we thought. By totting up the number of tornadoes each day (between 1994 and 2012) James Elsner, from Florida State University, and colleagues discovered that tornadoes follow a power law relationship. Like earthquakes, solar flares and the firing of neurons in our brains, tornadoes are not entirely independent of each other. The figures, which are published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, show that the chances of 145 tornadoes in one day are about one in 10,000, not the far smaller one in a million previously assumed. Given that probability the scientists calculate that an event like this is likely to occur approximately every 71 years in the US. | ['news/series/weatherwatch', 'world/tornadoes', 'tone/features', 'type/article', 'profile/kate-ravilious', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2'] | news/series/weatherwatch | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2014-03-16T21:30:00Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
technology/2019/dec/29/lack-of-guidance-leaves-public-services-in-limbo-on-ai-says-watchdog | Lack of guidance leaves public services in limbo on AI, says watchdog | Police forces, hospitals and councils struggle to understand how to use artificial intelligence because of a lack of clear ethical guidance from the government, according to the country’s only surveillance regulator. The surveillance camera commissioner, Tony Porter, said he received requests for guidance all the time from public bodies which do not know where the limits lie when it comes to the use of facial, biometric and lip-reading technology. “Facial recognition technology is now being sold as standard in CCTV systems, for example, so hospitals are having to work out if they should use it,” Porter said. “Police are increasingly wearing body cameras. What are the appropriate limits for their use? “The problem is that there is insufficient guidance for public bodies to know what is appropriate and what is not, and the public have no idea what is going on because there is no real transparency.” The watchdog’s comments came as it emerged that Downing Street had commissioned a review led by the Committee on Standards in Public Life, whose chairman had called on public bodies to reveal when they use algorithms in decision making. Lord Evans, a former MI5 chief, told the Sunday Telegraph that “it was very difficult to find out where AI is being used in the public sector” and that “at the very minimum, it should be visible, and declared, where it has the potential for impacting on civil liberties and human rights and freedoms”. AI is increasingly deployed across the public sector in surveillance and elsewhere. The high court ruled in September that the police use of automatic facial recognition technology to scan people in crowds was lawful. Its use by South Wales police was challenged by Ed Bridges, a former Lib Dem councillor, who noticed the cameras when he went out to buy a lunchtime sandwich, but the court held that the intrusion into privacy was proportionate. Durham police have spent three years evaluating an AI tool devised by Cambridge University to predict whether an arrested person is likely to reoffend and so should not be released on bail. Similar technologies used in the US, where they are also guide sentencing, have been accused of concluding that black people are more likely to be future criminals, but the results of the British trial are yet to be made public. The committee is due to report to Boris Johnson in February, but Porter said the task was urgent because of the rapid pace of technological change and an unclear system of regulation in which no single body had oversight. The information commissioner is responsible for the use of personal data but not surveillance, while Porter’s office regulates the use of CCTV systems and all technologies attached to them, including facial recognition and lip-reading software. “We’ve been calling for a wider review for months,” Porter said. “The SCC, for example, is the only surveillance regulator in England and Wales and we date back to when the iPhone 5 was new and exciting. So much has changed since.” | ['technology/artificialintelligenceai', 'technology/computing', 'technology/technology', 'uk/police', 'technology/facial-recognition', 'uk/uk', 'technology/biometrics', 'world/privacy', 'law/human-rights', 'law/law', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/dan-sabbagh', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | technology/facial-recognition | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2019-12-29T17:53:50Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2023/feb/02/ms-joins-calls-for-eu-to-restrict-harmful-tuna-fishing-methods-in-indian-ocean | M&S joins calls for EU to restrict harmful tuna fishing methods in Indian Ocean | The EU is under pressure to significantly restrict its huge fleet of fishing vessels from using “fish aggregating devices” that make it easier to catch huge numbers of fish and contribute further to overfishing. A letter signed by Marks & Spencer and more than 100 environmental groups, including the International Pole and Line Foundation, warns EU officials that the devices (FADs) are one of the main contributors to overfishing of yellowfin tuna in the Indian Ocean, because they catch high numbers of juveniles. FADs have a “high environmental cost”, they say, because endangered turtles, sharks and marine mammals are often caught when the devices are encircled in massive “purse seine” nets of large tuna vessels. Lost, discarded or abandoned FADs can also cause environmental damage. The EU should lead by supporting tough action to curb use of the tools, as a meeting with regulators, the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), starts in Mombasa this week, the groups say. Yellowfin tuna, one of the fastest and strongest marine predators, have been overfished in the Indian Ocean since 2015. The region’s bigeye tuna stock was also recently assessed as overfished. Sainsbury’s and German chain Edeka, have previously joined Marks & Spencer in calling for states to monitor, manage and restrict FADs, to reduce overfishing and rebuild yellowfin stocks. Up to 300 free-floating FADs, typically consisting of a raft and submerged material where fish gather, can be used by a single vessel. Thousands are lost or abandoned every year. A rise in FAD use by industrial vessels has led to increased scrutiny of their impact on marine ecosystems. Many retailers, including Sainsbury’s and M&S, sell own-brand “FAD-free” tuna. The 33 parties to the IOTC are gathering from 3-5 February to discuss proposals to monitor, manage and restrict FAD use. India has submitted a proposal to ban FADs used by purse seine vessels. A proposal by the EU suggests using biodegradable material in FADs to mitigate environmental harm, as well as increasing traceability and accountability and restricting FAD use per vessel to 280 by 2024 and 260 by 2026. But tougher measures are needed to safeguard stocks, protect the environment and ensure transparency, environmentalists say. “Everyone agrees FADs are a problem,” said Stephen Ndegwa of Kenya’s agricultural ministry. “We should agree a precautionary principle to protect the environment, but the EU’s proposal doesn’t restrict FADs enough.” Unlike Kenya, the Maldives and other coastal states without subsidised distant-water fleets, the EU could fish elsewhere if the stocks collapse, he said. “If the stock is depleted here, the EU can go to another ocean. But the coastal states have nowhere else to go. The EU wants scientific evidence, yet the stocks are collapsing. Why wait for scientific evidence if the stocks are in bad shape?” The IOTC is the only tuna regulator that does not restrict FADs at certain times of the year, Ndegwa said. Kenya wants to ban FADs for three months every year, halve the number used per vessels to 150, and introduce a register of the devices to better identify and track them. Its proposal is backed by 11 other African and Asian coastal states including South Africa, the Maldives, Madagascar, Pakistan and Indonesia. Although the Indian Ocean is bordered by Africa, Asia and Australia, the single biggest harvester of overfished yellowfin – and indeed all tropical tuna over the past three years – is the EU. A distant-water fleet of EU vessels, mainly Spanish- and French-owned, harvested 243,001 tonnes in 2021, according to IOTC data. Adam Ziyad, director general of the Maldives fisheries ministry, said there is a lack of transparency around FAD use. Ziyad, who is also vice chair of the IOTC, said: “There is a serious lack of assessment and of data on what is happening in FAD fisheries. They operate in a black hole. There might be tens of thousands of FADs in the Indian Ocean. And we don’t know how many turtles or sharks are caught up by them.” Ziyad urged the EU to take a tougher stance on restrictions: “It’s for the EU to make a move.” | ['environment/series/seascape-the-state-of-our-oceans', 'environment/fishing', 'business/fishing-industry', 'environment/oceans', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/food', 'environment/environment', 'environment/wildlife', 'world/eu', 'world/europe-news', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/karenmcveigh', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/global-development'] | environment/series/seascape-the-state-of-our-oceans | BIODIVERSITY | 2023-02-02T10:19:35Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
travel/2007/jan/21/green.escape | The hot topic: Carbon cowboys face crackdown | The government launched itself into the growing debate over 'cowboy' carbon offsetting companies last week by announcing plans to 'bring clarity' to the booming industry. Spurred by growing unease over the quality of the firms offering to counteract the environmental effects of holidaymakers' flights, the Department for the Environment is setting up a vetting system, with companies that pass awarded an easily-identifiable 'quality mark'. Bogus firms will be prosecuted by trading standards and face fines and prison sentences of up to two years. 'People need to be sure that the way they offset is actually making a difference, said David Miliband, the Environment Secretary. Another official, speaking anonymously, said the industry was 'like the Wild West - full of cowboys'. The issue has been rising up the agenda since Escape published an investigation into offsetting in December - a piece which last week won a special award from the Association of Independent Tour Operators. Earlier this month the Commons environmental audit committee announced it too would be examining the subject. The new system should be up and running by autumn, and include an official calculator for travellers to work out their flights' emissions. Current calculations vary wildly between companies. While environmentalists have publicly praised the government action, details of the plans are highly controversial. The key battleground is the government's distinction between 'voluntary' and 'certified' carbon offsetting schemes. Under its plans, companies will only be awarded the quality mark if they use offsetting projects that are certified under the official system established by the Kyoto protocol. Until now governments and big corporations have used such certified projects, but almost all the offsetting companies catering to travellers have used voluntary, unpoliced schemes outside the certified system. While the certified projects have clear audit trails and accountability, many reputable offsetting companies argue they are slow, bureaucratic, expensive to administer and limited in variety.Numerous excellent existing voluntary projects will, they say, be put in jeopardy because they will be unable to earn the new quality mark. Climate Care, one leading company, believes both systems should operate in parallel. Greenpeace takes a more aggressive view, calling the announcement a 'smokescreen' which could encourage people to take more flights. | ['travel/hottopic', 'travel/green', 'travel/travel', 'environment/carbon-offset-projects', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'type/article', 'profile/tomrobbins', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/escape', 'theobserver/escape/features'] | environment/carbon-offset-projects | EMISSIONS | 2007-01-21T19:16:18Z | true | EMISSIONS |
environment/2021/dec/18/peat-sales-to-gardeners-in-england-and-wales-to-be-banned-by-2024 | Peat sales to gardeners in England and Wales to be banned by 2024 | The sale of peat to gardeners in England and Wales is to be banned by 2024 under plans published by the government on Saturday. Ministers said they also aimed to end peat use in the professional horticulture sector by 2028. The government set a voluntary target in 2011 for compost retailers to end sales of peat by 2020. But peat use fell by only 25% from 2011-2019 and increased by 9% in 2020 as Covid lockdowns boosted gardening as a hobby. Peat is the UK’s largest carbon store, trapping as much as tropical rainforests per hectare, but is routinely dug up for horticulture. This releases carbon dioxide, adding to the climate crisis. Peatlands are also vital habitats for rare species of wildlife, and help filter water and reduce flooding. However, the government consultation also contains measures that fall short of an outright ban, instead including an additional charge on the price of peat compost, or the provision of information on the environmental impact of peat at the point of sale. The government said it did not intend to ban the sale of plants in pots that contained peat and that its plans would not affect current licences for peat extraction. The environment minister Rebecca Pow said: “We are committed to bring forward the ban [on the sale of peat to gardeners] by the end of this parliament – that’s an absolute commitment.” “Our peatlands are an incredibly valuable natural resource,” she said. “There are now more sustainable and good quality peat-free alternatives available than at any other time, so I am confident now is the right time to make the shift permanent.” Sustainable alternatives to peat include compost made from wood fibre and bark, wool, coir, and other plants. Pow said the weaker measures were included because “in a consultation, it is best to be fully informed with as much evidence and data as we can have, and some people in the industry are still pressing for other potential routes”. Craig Bennett, of the Wildlife Trusts, said: “The government has been dithering over this crucial issue for decades and the consultation on the use of peat by gardeners is long overdue. But it’s a damp squib. “It refers to the damaging effects of peat extraction, but this activity is still allowed in England, which is absurd. We need an immediate ban on the use of peat by individuals and the wider horticulture industry and an immediate end to extracting peat.” Prof Dave Goulson, from the University of Sussex, said: “We need to stop kicking the can down the road. The government acknowledges we are in a climate emergency, but isn’t even prepared to stop depletion of a vital carbon store for needless ornamental use in our gardens. We need to stop peat use now.” Pow said “historic” licences allowing the extraction of peat were being reviewed. Alan Titchmarsh, Kate Bradbury and James Wong are among the high-profile gardeners who have backed a ban, and Monty Don has called peat in compost “environmental vandalism”. Peat may become harder to buy in the UK in any case because most is imported from bogs in Ireland, where the state-backed company Bord na Móna ended all peat extraction in 2020, although its reserves are still being sold. Some big retailers of peat have implemented their own bans, including Dobbies and the Co-op in 2021, and B&Q by 2023. About 70% of peat is sold to gardeners and 30% is used by professional growers. The government estimates a ban on both uses would cut CO2 emissions by 4m tonnes in the next two decades. The government also announced £4m to boost 10 peat restoration projects across England, including in the Fens, Dorset, Somerset and Yorkshire. Almost 90% of peatland in England is in a degraded state and it emits 10m tonnes of CO2 a year. In May, ministers announced a £50m plan to restore 35,000 hectares of peatland by 2025, about 1% of the UK’s total. “It’s a really positive start,” said Pow, saying that these investments leveraged other funds focused on water management and increasing biodiversity. | ['environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/plants', 'environment/environment', 'lifeandstyle/gardens', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'environment/biodiversity', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/wildlife', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/damiancarrington', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/biodiversity | BIODIVERSITY | 2021-12-18T07:00:51Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/article/2024/jul/18/gaga-obama-hitler-naming-species-famous-people-debate-zoological-botanical-nomenclature-taxonomy-aoe | What links Lady Gaga, Obama and Hitler? How famous people can give new species a bad name | When Lady Gaga held a Q&A on Reddit for a 2014 album release, there was one question that took the botany world by storm: what’s it like to have a genus of ferns named after you? “Pretty cool,” she responded, “especially since it’s an asexual fern.” The 19 fern species of the Gaga genus are found from Bolivia to the south-west US, and were named after the singer partly for their G-A-G-A genetic sequence. “All sexless, judgeless,” she added. “How I wish to be.” The American singer and actor is among thousands of celebrities and figures, real and fictional, after which animals and plants have been named. Uma Thurman has a fringe-toed lizard in Arizona, scientifically described as Uma thurmanae in 2020. A shark found in the eastern Pacific has been named after the Jaws author Peter Benchley. The former US president Barack Obama has at least nine namesake species, including a bee, a sea slug and an Amazonian bird. Enough organisms have now been named after the Harry Potter characters, spells and objects to generate their own Wikipedia page, including an Australian trapdoor spider named Aragog, a ghostly ant species named after Lord Voldemort and a dinosaur named for Hogwarts. But scientists are increasingly questioning whether celebrity names really help species conservation. The debate comes amid growing controversy over historical names for plants and animals, some of which are associated with colonialism, racism and violence. This month, as scientists gather in Madrid for the International Botanical Congress, these questions will be a central focus of debate. The justification for star-power monikers is that they can raise the profile of overlooked plants and animals, and pay tribute to the conservation work of celebrities. In 2022, scientists at Kew named a Cameroonian tree in honour of the actor Leonardo DiCaprio to highlight concerns about the Ebo rainforest. DiCaprio had campaigned about the threat of logging where Uvariopsis dicaprio is found. But celebrity links have not always been helpful to the survival of species. In Slovenia’s humid caves, the Adolf Hitler beetle has become a favourite for collectors of Nazi memorabilia – so much so that it is threatening the insect’s survival. Last year, researchers proposed a name change to save it from extinction. “The sheer act of giving something a name gives it reality in the human world. It’s always real in nature, of course. But [a name] allows people to go out and look for it,” says Dr Sandra Knapp, a botanist at the Natural History Museum and author of a book on the history of plant names. Knapp will oversee discussions at the Madrid summit on how plant species are named. Botanists are encouraged not to name groups, or genera, of species after people unconnected to the field. One proposal before the summit is to extend that norm to the species level in an attempt to rule out future celebrity or offensive plant names. Then, there is the difficulty of revising names for figures who become increasingly divisive over time. The conquistador Hernán Cortés, the British coloniser Cecil Rhodes and Donald Trump are among dozens of controversial people whose names have been given to species. Once a name is granted, it can be very difficult to take it away – and scientists cannot anticipate how the future might view the stars of today. “Who is to say that I’m not going to be thought of as an evil bastard in 100 years’ time?” says Knapp. “There are people that are reprehensible,” she says, adding that scientists have “such limited resources” to devote to identification. Last year, the American Ornithological Society announced that dozens of offensive or exclusionary examples would be renamed – but other bodies, such as the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, have ruled out changes. At the summit, botanists will consider a motion about renaming South African plants with names derived from apartheid-era racist slurs. Research has indicated that celebrity names can affect the attention a species receives from the public. A paper earlier this year found that species named after celebrities got more clicks on Wikipedia than near-relatives that did not, with the strongest effects on invertebrates, amphibians and birds. The lead author, Katie Blake, a PhD student at Oxford University, echoed concerns about whether attention was a good thing and said more work was needed about the conservation benefits. “We do not recommend that species be commonly named after celebrities, but we do believe that eponyms could have great potential to attract attention to threatened species that are generally overlooked by the public,” she says. For some, there is concern about whether the debate over names distracts from the urgent task of identifying the millions of species still unknown to science. Prof Alexandre Antonelli, director of science at Kew, says: “If we continue describing species at the rates we are doing now, it will take between 750 and 1,000 years to describe all the fungi. There are millions of names that have to be found and I think it’s a valid approach [to name species after celebrities]. “It’s up to researchers describing new species to science to decide their names rather than trying to micromanage and be too prescriptive,” he says. “But it’s also a big responsibility.” Find more age of extinction coverage here, and follow biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield on X for all the latest news and features | ['environment/series/the-age-of-extinction', 'science/taxonomy', 'science/zoology', 'science/biology', 'science/science', 'environment/environment', 'global-development/global-development', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/patrick-greenfield', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/environmentnews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-age-of-extinction'] | environment/series/the-age-of-extinction | BIODIVERSITY | 2024-07-18T11:00:33Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
world/2009/may/29/arctic-fears-environmental-impact | The prize and the price: environmental fears | What is at stake in the Arctic? The biggest prize is the oil, gas and other minerals. These have been trapped under layers of permanent ice until now but, because of global warming, the deposits are becoming more accessible and surrounding countries are readying for a battle over rights. The amounts are relatively small compared with the present production of fossil fuels, but could be important locally. Finding copious oil near Greenland could allow it become more independent of Denmark. Oil reserves near Alaska could reduce the US need for foreign oil. The retreating ice will also open up shipping routes, including the north-west passage that would link the Atlantic and Pacific oceans for year-round commercial shipping. In the 19th century, sailors dreamed of such a route as it would have halved the time it takes to get between Japan and northern Europe. Warming seas will also mean greater numbers of fish can be caught for food, and greater opportunities for tourism. Who owns the Arctic? Anything in international waters is regulated by the UN law of the sea convention, which has been ratified by all the Arctic countries except the US (though President Barack Obama is likely to support the treaty). The treaty allows countries to extend their control and exploitation of the seabed up to 350 nautical miles from their borders. This can lead to disputes over how different countries define their borders, particularly when the continental slope can extend for many miles underwater. What are the disputes? There are several. Russia began the land grab in 2001 and even planted a flat under the north pole in 2007, but none of these acts have much formal acceptance. One disagreement concerns the Lomonosov ridge, a 1,200-mile underwater mountain range connecting Siberia to Ellesmere Island in Canada. Russia claims it is part of the Asian continental shelf, but Canada says it is part of the North American one. UN scientists will make the final decision, but Russia, Denmark, Norway, Canada and the US are all engaged in research projects to make sure their case is heard. In recent months, Russia has become increasingly twitchy: a Kremlin security strategy views the Barents sea shelf and other Arctic regions as potential battlegrounds in future clashes over energy reserves. What are the environmental consequences? If all the oil and gas that is thought to be in the Arctic is drilled out, it will inevitably mean an acceleration in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Opening up new fisheries, unless done sustainably, could wipe out marine and other ecosystems around the pole. This would be exacerbated by the effects of increased merchant and tourist shipping. Whatever happens to the Arctic in the coming decades, it is unlikely to be beneficial. | ['world/arctic', 'environment/oil', 'environment/environment', 'business/oil', 'business/oilandgascompanies', 'business/gas', 'environment/gas', 'business/business', 'tone/resource', 'type/article', 'profile/alokjha', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews'] | environment/oil | ENERGY | 2009-05-28T23:05:00Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2011/jan/11/survival-undercover-cop | Survival tips from an undercover cop | Chris Penhaligon | The first steps in any undercover operation is to place the right person in the right role at the right time. It would be most unsuitable to have a City gent take on the role of an activist who has a complacent attitude about being arrested for trespass, for instance. Once briefed and in role, the operator will be tested in various ways throughout his time in the role, sometimes deliberately, sometimes unintentionally, but either way he must be well-controlled emotionally, both on the inside and out, and show no signs of frustration. As with any covert role, it is easy for the operator to become paranoid about any suspicions that he or she may think is developing against them, but these must be put into proportion as it is often not as bad as it seems. The ability to switch off from all emotions is difficult, and never more so than in green groups, as by their very nature they are friendly, open and welcoming types. By this virtue alone the operator must be guarded against developing a level of sympathy for the group that could weaken the object of the operation. In general, green activist groups are suspicious of any newcomer for quite some time. Scrutiny is something you come to live with in this environment. There are many times when you witness crimes that clearly go against the grain within green organisations, but you simply cannot act on them – that is not your objective, so you let them go. Your exposure to areas that can make your position vulnerable are varied, such as alcohol at after work meetings and drugs. Your excuses have to be convincing, as you're faced with both of these regularly. The mind of the covert officer is continually assessing, re-assessing and absorbing intelligence and one can only think of ways to retain large elements of intelligence like mental triggers without remembering everything at once but also without forgetting anything. The best advice is to live, sleep and breathe the group – forget your family, forget you have another life and fully commit to the cause It really is the only way. The job is not glamorous it is damn hard and at times lonely. What is unique to green groups is the sheer size of the organisations, and within that the individual hubs. It can easily take an operator a year to build relations. The stress is high, as it can be days before you can make notes or debrief in a safe environment and in many ways, green groups are more difficult to work within, as it is not a quick two-day drugs buy and out again. It takes years to build the relationships and seconds to destroy them if you get it wrong. In general terms the burnout rate for operators is very high because of the stress levels, and very few have survived long enough inside green groups to be very effective in terms of the long-term delivery of intelligence. Green groups are vulnerable by virtue of their size and the fact that they rely on volunteers off the streets – and yes they get it wrong, often when it matters to them most. • Chris Penhaligon is a former undercover operative for MI5 and special branch who infiltrated Greenpeace. He is the author of One Blood, published by AuthorHouse | ['environment/activism', 'uk/police', 'tone/comment', 'uk/ukcrime', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'uk/undercover-police-and-policing', 'type/article'] | environment/activism | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2011-01-11T11:36:40Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
environment/2017/nov/17/fears-for-great-barrier-reef-as-deforestation-surges-in-catchments | Fears for Great Barrier Reef as deforestation surges in catchments | A deforestation surge in Queensland, which the latest government data suggests is about to accelerate dramatically, is heavily concentrated in catchments for the Great Barrier Reef, further undermining plans to improve reef water quality. The finding has renewed calls for the federal government to use its powers to assess the impact of clearing there until the Queensland government is able to pass legislation to halt it itself. “There’s a deforestation frenzy happening in Great Barrier Reef catchments, which means more erosion and more muddy and polluted water smothering coral and seagrass,” said Jessica Panegyres, a campaigner at the Wilderness Society. “The Turnbull government has done virtually nothing to stop this – it’s a national disgrace.” Catchments for the Great Barrier Reef – where freshwater rivers and floodplains drain on to the reef, washing any pollution or sediment with it – make up about 10% of Queensland’s area. But among landholders who have notified the state government that they plan to clear on their land since 20 July 2016, almost a third are in Great Barrier Reef catchments. Since July 2016, notifications of land clearing in Queensland have surged by 30% compared with the already concerning average for the preceding three years. If that translates to a 30% jump in land clearing, Queensland – a region already marked as a global deforestation hotspot – could experience rates of land clearing seen just twice since detailed observations began in the 1980s. Of the more than 1.1m hectares earmarked for clearing since July 2016, 332,710 hectares of that is inside Great Barrier Reef catchments, according to analysis released by the Wilderness Society. Almost all of it is “remnant” forest or bushland – a term used to describe forest that has not previously been cleared. The Queensland Labor government tried to pass legislation to halt the land clearing surge caused by the previous Liberal National party government, but failed when one former Labor MP, now independent, voted against it. Conservationists fear the surge in clearing notifications indicates the start of panic clearing, ahead of legislation Labor has promised to pass if re-elected. But when campaigning to stop Unesco from listing the Great Barrier Reef as a world heritage site “in danger”, the federal government promoted its powers to stop this clearing. In its update to Unesco about the progress of its failing Reef 2050 Plan, it said: “The national Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999 also regulates actions that are likely to result in a significant impact on the Great Barrier Reef and offers important protections in relation to large-scale land clearing.” Sine then, the federal environment and energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, has said if the clearing activities “have, will have or are likely to have a significant impact on a matter of national environmental significance under federal environment law”, then they required approval under the act. Frydenberg also told the ABC the Turnbull government had powers to enforce those laws and would continue to do so. The only time the federal government did move to force a clearing activity to gain approval under federal law, it caused ructions within the Coalition. “The Turnbull government is trying to hoodwink the UN, saying it will act on deforestation in reef catchments while the destruction continues,” said Panegyres. “It has not addressed the major problem of the cumulative impact of the thousands of instances of deforestation in reef catchments. You’d have to be Blind Freddy to not know that bulldozing nearly half a million hectares in Great Barrier Reef catchments is going to have a significant impact on reef waters.” Frydenberg’s office told the Guardian on Friday: “As with most land management matters, the clearing of vegetation is largely a matter for state governments to manage. “It is, however, already the case that landholders are obliged to refer any land clearing action to the federal government for assessment where that action could have a significant impact on a matter of national environmental significance, such as the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.” | ['environment/great-barrier-reef', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'australia-news/queensland', 'environment/environment', 'environment/deforestation', 'environment/conservation', 'australia-news/josh-frydenberg', 'australia-news/queensland-politics', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/michael-slezak', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/deforestation | BIODIVERSITY | 2017-11-16T17:00:00Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
australia-news/article/2024/aug/31/know-your-measurements-and-stick-to-the-rules-guardian-readers-top-tips-on-shopping-secondhand | Know your measurements and stick to the rules: Guardian readers’ top tips on shopping secondhand | The secondhand clothes market is booming. But is it always the case that buying from secondhand shops is good for the environment? Abigail Austin is saying “less to the dress” by taking a more considered approach to recycled clothes shopping and investing in pieces that truly resonate with her. Here are some tips from Guardian readers on how to give the right amount of love to preloved fashion. Don’t just ‘go shopping’ I buy fairly little because I am happy with what I have. Here are my tips. First, buy what you need – don’t just “go shopping”. Check your wardrobe before the season starts, and check it again a few weeks into the season. Second, know the colours that suit you. Third, know how to do basic mending (sew on buttons, sew up seams) and cleaning. – Anonymous, Jerusalem Repair before buying I worked at two of the UK’s largest fashion retailers, on the shop floor, for 27 years. Not in well-paid positions. I learned on the job about cloth quality, garment construction and care labels. I buy mostly natural fibres. “Dry clean only” – never buy these. Keep your clothes for years. Repair when possible. Or until really worn out. Then use for repairing other clothes, or turn into cleaning cloths. This is something those of us from the working class have always done through necessity. Not because we have to feel good about our rampant consuming of this planet’s resources. I love clothes. I also wish to look well put together. But we have never had the money to buy endless clothes. – Marcella, London Sew your own I have stopped buying secondhand clothes, it became hit and miss with purchases. At this stage I would rather make key pieces like pants, tops and shirts. I purchase fabrics from thrift shops that I can use for quilts, cushions, clothing and other projects. Living in a small country town and being semi-retired, I don’t have the same requirement for haute couture, denim is de rigueur. – Mary, regional Victoria Know your measurements I have shopped secondhand since I was a teenager, because I enjoy the hunt and the individuality. These days it has become so much easier to do the hunt online, whether you are looking for vintage, designer vintage, secondhand or even retro. The quality of designer vintage has suddenly become within my reach. Knowing your measurements is the key to all good shopping, but is especially important for a successful secondhand hunt. If the seller hasn’t already provided the vital measurements in the listing, you can ask. When shopping in actual shops it is very easy to have a note with the needed information and a measurement tape if you don’t want to try it on in the shop. When you realise the wonders of having clothes fitted, as opposed to us trying to adapt yourself to the clothes, there is no going back to the cheap fix of fast fashion. – Helena, Paris Be rigorously selective Secondhand shopping has been a necessity most of my life. I am rigorously selective for quality fibres. The issue is what is enough and how important is my time? This also applies to people purchasing new items. Something new can lift spirits. An honest approach to your motivations can lead to necessary soul searching. A person can spend years on autopilot being entertained by shopping and rationalising needs but meanwhile you are not creating room for more rewarding pastimes. The mind-boggling issues surrounding waste textiles (both new and old) should be front of mind. – Deb, Melbourne Stick to the rules I have shopped for secondhand clothes for more than 20 years because I like good-quality, well-made minimalism. I have self-imposed rules though and maintain a modest wardrobe which supports my specific style. The rules are: only specific brands, pure cotton or wool, in excellent condition and only items required to keep my wardrobe in good order. I started doing the same for my husband about five years ago. We both use a mix of secondhand and quality new clothing (only buying new once key items have worn out). I do it because I detest fast fashion and poorly designed and made items, because it’s our way of supporting recognised charities, and because we are very conscious of climate impact. And we are often complimented on our appearances. – Anonymous, Canberra Be intentional I’ve always been someone who’s tried to be very intentional about my shopping. I try to only buy what I truly need. Admittedly, a lot of that comes from frugality and wanting to cut down on excess spending more than a desire to be eco-friendly. I feel, though, that it’s almost impossible to shop intentionally and shop secondhand. With a secondhand store you never know what will be there. If you go in with a clear idea of what you want/need (eg a neutral-coloured, medium-weight sweater that fits well), your chances of success are slim. Your chances are better if you have access to big-box secondhand stores like Goodwill in the US, but where I live the secondhand shops are tiny, rarely much larger than my living room. The chances of any given secondhand shop having a sweater in my size, let alone in the colour or material I want, is slim. The way to successfully shop in these small shops is to go in with an open mind and be open to the possibilities of what’s there. That’s not inherently a bad way to shop, but it’s certainly not an intentional way to shop. As a result, I’ve never really been able to make secondhand shopping work for me. – Meghana, Glasgow | ['australia-news/series/change-by-degrees', 'fashion/fashion', 'environment/ethical-living', 'lifeandstyle/sewing', 'environment/environment', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'fashion/vintage-fashion', 'environment/recycling', 'environment/waste', 'business/retail', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/guardian-readers', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-opinion'] | environment/waste | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2024-08-30T15:00:13Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2003/aug/29/conservationandendangeredspecies.internationalnews | Loggers rip into Poland's wild forest | Late at night the howling of wolves still echoes through the dark shadows of Bialowieza forest, where the last European bison roam and more elks than humans tend to tread. For centuries only the odd Polish king, Russian tsar or Lithuanian duke out hunting disturbed this vast forest, a last fragment of the primeval woodlands which once covered much of Europe. But since the Polish government eased the restrictions on logging the piercing sound of chainsaws has increasingly disturbed the peace. Forestry companies, supported by the government, have felled hundreds of ancient trees. The logging is the most intense for 50 years. Crudely hacked clearings scar the outer ring of the 2,600 sq km (1,000 sq miles) of forest where the loggers have carved tracks for their trailers between Norwegian spruce and lime trees. A trail of stumps, fallen trunks and heaps of foliage near the village of Bialowieza shows their latest advance. "It's devastating. What's the point of calling this a nature reserve? It looks more like a road," said Stefan Jakimiuk of the WWF-Poland. Pointing to the stump of a spruce, he added: "This tree was over 160 years old. This is the last piece of natural forest in Europe. It's like a chain. If you break one link, the whole system breaks down." In May the government lifted a ban on felling trees more than a century old. The decision was intended to help control an outbreak of bark beetles, which are silently eating their way through much of the forest. "It's a joke," Mr Jakimiuk said. "Scientists have shown that cutting down trees killed by the beetles has no effect. It doesn't stop them spreading anyway. All it does is make money for the foresters." The beetle had plagued the forest's spruce for thousands of years, part of the natural cycle of destruction and regeneration, he added. Eight species of woodpecker, including the endangered white-backed, depend on insects from dead trees. Rare pygmy owls nest in their trunks and plants thrive on the dead wood. About 300 European bison are accompanied by a rare lynx population and 25 wolves. The forest's biodiversity compares to the Amazon basin's. It attracts more than 100,000 tourists a year. The core of the forest is a Unesco world heritage site, covering 5,000 hectares, and another 10,000 hectares are protected as a national park. Over the next 10 years, environmentalists predict, logging companies will cut down about 1.5m trees. With 28% of Poland covered in forest, they argue, there is timber elsewhere. The loggers are banned from entering the world heritage site and the national park. But Mr Jakimiuk and other environmentalists point out that ancient trees are scattered across the remaining 75% of the forest, and argue that commercial logging should be banned throughout Bialowieza. They are pinning their hopes on the EU supporting their campaign after Poland joins next year. "This is not just a Polish problem," said Bogdan Jaroszewicz, deputy director of the Bialowieza national park. "This forest is the last of its kind in Europe. I hope that in future the EU will help to protect it." The government denies that its policies are damaging. "There are extremists who always have to complain. That is their job. But we know we are doing the best thing to protect the forest," the director of the state forests authority, Janusz Dawidziuk, said. "If we do not cut down 10 trees now, tomorrow we will have to cut down 100, and the next day 1,000. Huge parts of the forest will die." | ['environment/environment', 'environment/conservation', 'world/world', 'environment/endangered-habitats', 'environment/forests', 'world/poland', 'world/europe-news', 'type/article', 'profile/sophiearie'] | environment/endangered-habitats | BIODIVERSITY | 2003-08-29T09:35:54Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
business/2023/jul/30/peas-corp-field-freezer-150-minutes-uk-birds-eye | Peas corp: how a UK co-op gets peas from field to freezer in 150 minutes | Peas are bouncing with abandon, creating an effect like bright green lava despite being frozen – as they begin the final part of their journey from field to fork. There are 35,000 hectares (86,000 acres) of peas grown in the UK each year, mostly along the east coast from Dundee to Norfolk, producing about 160,000 tonnes of peas, equivalent to roughly 2bn portions. During the annual harvest, farmers and processors work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, over the course of eight weeks in order to feed each person in Britain an average of 9,000 peas a year. About 42,000 tonnes of peas grown in the UK go to the frozen food company Birds Eye, for which supplies are grown within 40 miles (64km) of Hull, where the mild, damp, maritime climate and chalk bedrock create the perfect growing conditions. At the Green Pea Company, a co-operative of about 250 farmers who collectively supply Birds Eye, there are only about 80 people working on the harvest across more than 900 fields. Unlike many other crops grown in the UK, as much as 90% of the pea harvesting workforce is British – many of them the offspring of the farm owners, or students – as the relatively short harvest and skilled jobs attract local interest. An army of students at Birds Eye’s processing base helps to plan and monitor operations, with lorries taking peas to the plant tracked along their route as part of a system planned to meet the brand’s promise of getting peas from the field to the freezer in 150 minutes. The timescale is calculated to ensure that the peas remain as sweet as possible. Richard Wilson, Birds Eye’s UK agricultural manager, said: “After that, they start to develop starch.” Pea growing is one of the UK’s most hi-tech farming operations, using GPS-guided “viners”, which collect and pop the pods in the field. Drivers step in only to turn the giant vehicles at the end of each row, while other skilled drivers in small tipper lorries wait to catch the pea avalanches that intermittently pour from the viners. The peas are then placed into larger road vehicles, with two hoppers filled within set time limits to ensure freshness. Monitors keep track of capacity in the factory, ensuring that peas do not arrive until there is room to process them. If one of the lorries – many of which have a number plate featuring the letters P-E-A – gets caught in a traffic jam, harvesting can be slowed or brought to a stop, or operations moved around, to ensure that peas are not left to shrivel while they wait for transport. Such systems could be the future for a plethora of other crops, as robotic picking and packing systems are gradually developed for more tricky to handle fruit and vegetables such as berries and tomatoes. However, the elements still have a key role to play. It has been a slow start to the pea harvest this year and there will be fewer pods to pick after a soggy March held back planting for several weeks. Rain and even hail lashed crops just before they were ready to be picked. Stephen Francis, the chair of the Pea and Bean Growers Association, said: “Peas, like all plants, require decent sunlight to get them to produce to their full potential. The peas, like us humans, are just wondering what the hell is going on with our weather. Historically, we can expect at some stage a wet spring or a wet summer, but never both in the same year.” While there are likely to be fewer peas this year, they will be good quality, he said. Gary Creaser, operations manager at the Green Pea Company, said: “It’s been difficult with the wet spring and harvest this year. There’s the price of fuel and then the cost of machinery has gone up.” The disappointing harvest follows after a tough year in 2022, when the harvest was affected by extreme hot weather, while the rise in the price of fuel, labour and machinery has forced up costs by about a quarter. Wholesale prices for producers have risen to reflect the increase, suggesting that there could be more price rises to come for shoppers after the price of a pack of peas in the shops rose by about 11.5% over the past year, according to analysts at Kantar. The price increase, coupled with the return of workers to the office, plus the increased ease of ordering takeaways, has prompted shoppers to cut back despite high demand for frozen food. When the peas bound for Birds Eye arrive at the processing plant, they are tipped from the lorry into a hopper, after which they are taken on a series of conveyor belts to be washed, sieved and blown to remove impurities. They are then blanched with steam before entering the freezer, where more air keeps them dancing to prevent them from turning into an unpackable block. They are then placed into a one-tonne box, ready for packing and the final journey to customers’ freezers. • This article was amended on 1 Auguat 2023 to clarify that Stephen Francis is the chair of the Pea and Bean Growers Association | ['business/fooddrinks', 'environment/farming', 'food/vegetables', 'business/business', 'campaign/email/business-today', 'uk/uk', 'uk-news/hull', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'tone/news', 'profile/sarahbutler', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business'] | environment/farming | BIODIVERSITY | 2023-07-30T14:00:09Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
world/2024/feb/28/houthis-deny-targeting-underwater-cables-marine-disaster-warning-red-sea | Houthis deny targeting underwater cables amid marine disaster warning | Houthi leaders have denied they have targeted critical underwater sea telecommunication cables, as Yemen’s UN-recognised government warned of an imminent marine environmental disaster if a cargo ship struck by the rebels last week was not quickly rescued. The Rubymar, a Belize-flagged but British-owned bulk carrier, has been drifting in the Red Sea after it was struck by two missiles. The ship, which is feared to be in danger of sinking, is leaking an 18-mile oil spill and carrying 41,000 tonnes of volatile fertiliser. The 22 February attack on the Rubymar inflicted the most significant damage so far on a commercial ship since the Houthis started targeting vessels in November. The Houthis say their attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea are in solidarity with the stricken people of Gaza. It has long been feared that the Houthis might extend their actions by disrupting internet traffic and cutting sea cables. Sixteen small fibre-optic lines across the bed of the Red Sea carry about 17% of all international data traffic, including trunk lines connecting Europe with India and east Asia. It was reported on Monday that cables belonging to four big telecom networks – including the Asia-Africa-Europe 1 (AAE-1), TGN Atlantic, Europe India Gateway and the Seacom system – have been damaged in recent months. The cause of the damage has not been identified and natural damage happens relatively regularly. Israeli media reports attributed the damage to Houthi actions, but Yemen’s Houthi-controlled communications ministry denied involvement. Seacom has confirmed that its cable between Egypt and Kenya was severed on 24 February and it is investigating. Some of these lines are in relatively shallow water depths of as little as 300ft, where they could be accessible to divers. The internationally recognised government of Yemen issued a warning of the potential Houthi threat to these subsea assets earlier this month, and has reportedly discussed it with telecom operators in the past. The Houthis, an Islamist movement that seized Yemen’s capital in 2015, insist they are solely targeting Israeli-linked ships in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, and say they will consider ending the months-long attacks if Hamas agreed a ceasefire. The UK and the US have been mounting successive attacks on Yemen’s missile sites, but privately admit the best they can do is slow the pace and intensity of the attacks on shipping. Tareq Saleh, a member of the Presidential Leadership Council of the UN-recognised government, is in London to meet Foreign Office officials to discuss the Houthi attacks on commercial shipping, the threat to submarine cables, and the possibility of an environmental disaster caused by the strike on the Rubymar. Saleh is the nephew of the late president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who ruled Yemen for 22 years from 1990, the moment of Yemen’s reunification and was killed by the Houthis. Saleh will want to discuss what help the UN-recognised government could provide to the British in targeting Houthi sites. Saleh has to tread a politically delicate line since he, along with almost all Yemenis, is a fierce opponent of Israel’s actions in Gaza, and has to balance criticism of UK foreign policy to Gaza with its willingness to help the US and the UK stop the Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The director of the environment public authority, Faisal Al-Thalabi, said: The condition of the Rubymar was very bad and footage shows the ships tilting severely and close to sinking. Efforts are being made to tow the ship to Djibouti on the other side of the Red Sea to Yemen.” | ['world/houthi', 'world/middleeast', 'world/world', 'world/yemen', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/patrickwintour', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-foreign'] | environment/marine-life | BIODIVERSITY | 2024-02-28T11:41:42Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
uk-news/2018/nov/19/national-trust-has-30m-fossil-fuel-fund | National Trust has £30m invested in fossil fuels | The National Trust has invested tens of millions of pounds in oil, gas and mining firms – despite the conservation charity pledging to cut down its own use of fossil fuels and warning about the impact of climate change. An investigation by the Guardian has found that the trust – which aims to “nurse the environment back to health” – has more than £30m of investments in oil, gas and mining companies, including BP and Shell, held indirectly via a portfolio fund. The trust has vowed to decrease its own use of fossil fuels across its estates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in response to climate change, aiming to generate 50% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. Hilary McGrady, the director-general of the trust, which has more than five million members and 61,000 volunteers, has previously said: “We are playing our part by ensuring we reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and at every property we are constantly looking at ways to seek out energy efficiencies.” A 2015 report by the trust warned: “It is abundantly clear to us from across the breadth of places we look after that the impacts of climate change are already increasing, and are a worrying threat to the fragile and venerable places of natural and historic importance that we care for.” The trust also opposes fracking, not allowing it on its 248,000 hectares of land, “because natural gas is a fossil gas”. However, it has millions of pounds invested through the fund in BP and Shell, both of which have fracking operations. In July, BP invested $10.5bn buying US shale assets from the mining company BHP Billiton. Fracking, which involves drilling into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is used to break shale rock and release oil or gas, is highly controversial because of concerns over its environmental impact. Caroline Lucas, the Green party MP for Brighton Pavilion, has urged the trust to divest from fossil fuels. She said: “It’s disappointing to see a charity so dedicated to protecting our natural heritage undermining its good work with significant support for dirty fossil fuels. We are living through climate breakdown and ecological collapse – every organisation with money to invest must stop funding environmental destruction. “I’ve been working to persuade parliament to stop investing MPs’ pensions in fossil fuels for years, so I understand this is an uphill battle – but environmental charities should be leading the way. The National Trust must urgently set out a clear path to divesting these funds and supporting firms that make a positive contribution to society instead.” Mary Creagh, the Labour MP for Wakefield who chairs the environmental audit select committee, said: “Members of the National Trust will be shocked to learn about the scale of the charity’s investments in fossil fuels. My committee has highlighted the financial risks from climate change, and called on large companies to report on their exposure to climate risk. “National Trust must ‘green check’ its investments, and invest in the low-carbon and sustainable technologies of tomorrow.” The trust’s 2018 accounts show that it has £166.7m invested in Legal & General Investment Management’s CAF UK Equitrack Fund, up from £164.9m in 2017. As of July, the fund invested 8.89% of its portfolio in Royal Dutch Shell shares and 4.47% in BP. In addition, the fund has holdings in mining firms including 1.93% of the portfolio in Rio Tinto, 1.53% in Glencore and 1.44% in BHP Billiton. With at least 18.2% of the fund’s portfolio invested in oil, gas and mining firms, it means the trust indirectly invests in them to the tune of £30.3m. In 2010, BP was responsible for the worst environmental disaster in US history when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, killing 11 people. A US judge ruled that BP was “grossly negligent” in the lead-up to the spill, in which an estimated 4.9m barrels of oil leaked into the Gulf. Earlier this year it was reported that BP was nearing the end of paying out $65bn (£50.6bn) in compensation. The trust looks after 780 miles of coastline, and more than 500 historic sites including houses, castles, ancient monuments, gardens, parks and nature reserves, as well as the land. It has an investment pool of £1.3bn, meaning the Legal & General fund accounts for roughly 13% of the total. In 2015, the charity said it was reviewing its investments in fossil fuels. A National Trust spokesman said: “It’s important to clarify we do not invest in the ‘fossil fuels and mining’ companies, but in the CAF UK Equitrack Fund, which is a UK equity index tracking fund run for charities. “We adopt a policy of not investing directly in companies which derive more than 10% of their turnover from the extraction of thermal coal or oil from oil sands. We also engage with companies to improve their environmental performance and see our role as one of actively influencing behaviour and driving environmental improvements.” • The headline on this article was amended on 19 November 2018 to more accurately reflect the story. | ['uk/national-trust', 'business/ethicalbusiness', 'environment/fossil-fuel-divestment', 'business/business', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'society/charities', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/simon-murphy', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/topstories', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | environment/fossil-fuel-divestment | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2018-11-19T06:00:21Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
food/2022/may/19/food-prices-inflation-farmers-grow-more-produce | Want to know why food prices won’t go down any time soon? Ask a farmer | Jay Rayner | If only the Ukraine war came to an end. If only energy prices dropped. If only Covid’s long tail finally dwindled away. Then, at last, food price inflation would be vanquished. It’s certainly true that if and when these things happen the rate at which food prices are increasing, currently at 5.9% and rising, should ease. It’s worth noting that there is also significant food price inflation across the EU right now. In Belgium it’s 5.3%, in Germany it’s 6.2% and in Greece it’s a whacking 8.1%. So we’re the same as everywhere else. Except we’re not. For underlying all those short-term issues, is a much longer term systemic issue peculiar to the UK; one which this government seems determined to ignore. A decade ago, I was writing Greedy Man In A Hungry World, my book about food sustainability and whether it had much to do with middle-class obsessions with small-scale agriculture, organics and localism (spoiler: it doesn’t). I argued then that massive damage had been done to the UK’s agricultural base by the pursuit of cheap food by any means. I am not, by reflex, anti-supermarket. Mass retail has gifted us an awful lot. But there’s also no doubt that the huge purchasing power of these corporate behemoths has undermined farming’s viability. In 2012 we produced only 60% of the food we ate, nearer 50% after exports, and down from the high 70s in the 1990s, and UK farmers were quitting the business. The big retailers assumed they could fill the gaps by buying from abroad, despite the fact that emerging economies like China and India were now competing with us. I argued then that if we didn’t start paying a little more for our food to help improve our self-sufficiency, we would end up paying substantially more in the future when an external shock restricted our supply from overseas. Cut to 2022. Nothing has changed. We still only produce 60% of what we consume. Exports have dropped slightly but only because of that shock, which turned out to be self-inflicted: Brexit. We no longer have enough workers to harvest all our crops. Some rot in the fields, because of Brexit. We do not have enough meat processors, meaning pigs are being culled without going into the food chain, because of Brexit. Last month Jacob Rees-Mogg, the minister for imaginary Brexit opportunities, announced the UK would continue to suspend the introduction of checks on food coming into the country, checks that protect the very integrity of food supply, because of Brexit. If we produced more of our own food, all of this would be less of a problem, but we don’t. And what is the government doing to sort that? Right now, nothing. In the flawed, Henry Dimbleby-led national food strategy there was next to nothing on food production (though instead of proposing that the root causes of poverty be dealt with, it suggested GPs prescribe fresh fruit). According to sources close to Defra, the delays to the long-awaited white paper on the UK’s food supply were caused by arguments over whether any food production targets should be included. Food inflation in France is lower, at 3.8%. France also happens to be self-sufficient in food. Last month, the president of NFU Scotland, Martin Kennedy, warned that the UK is on the verge of a food security crisis not seen since the second world war. We need to support domestic food production, he said, “or run the risk of not having domestic production to support”. Don’t want to take my word for it? Take his. When it comes to keeping the nation fed, we are now in serious trouble. | ['food/food', 'food/series/happy-eater', 'business/fooddrinks', 'environment/farming', 'business/inflation', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/jayrayner', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/foodmonthly', 'theobserver/foodmonthly/features', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/observer-food-monthly'] | environment/farming | BIODIVERSITY | 2022-05-19T13:30:21Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
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