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world/2022/jul/19/hunt-for-wild-monkey-in-japan-after-10-attacks-in-a-fortnight | Hunt for wild monkey in Japan after 10 attacks in a fortnight | Police in Japan are searching for a wild monkey that has attacked 10 people in the space of a fortnight. The attacks began on 8 July in the Ogori district of Yamaguchi prefecture in the country’s south-west. In the most serious incident, it badly scratched an infant after invading a family home. “I was vacuuming when I heard my child crying, so I turned around and saw the monkey had grabbed her by the legs while she was playing on the floor. It looked like it was trying to drag her outside,” the baby’s mother told local media. Last weekend, the monkey opened the screen door of a first-floor apartment and scratched the leg of a four-year-old girl, leaving her with minor injuries, before attacking other people nearby, according to the Kyodo news agency. The monkey, said to be 40-50cm in height, also invaded a local kindergarten classroom and scratched a four-year-old girl. Local police are reportedly on high alert. They have set traps for the animal and warned people not to leave their windows open. The local mayor’s office has distributed flyers telling local residents to be on the lookout, but as of Tuesday, the animal was still on the loose. The public broadcaster NHK said there had been about 40 monkey sightings in the area since May. They are not the only wild animals that have forced people in Japan to be more vigilant. In recent years there have been bear sightings and attacks across the country, along with a smaller number involving wild boar, including an incident last year in which two of the animals injured half a dozen people in a Hiroshima park before being shot dead. The spate of bear sightings and attacks are being attributed to a shortage of acorns in the animal’s natural habitat, forcing them to wander into populated areas in search of food. In depopulated rural areas, the degradation of abandoned farmland that once formed a natural boundary between their habitat and populated areas is also a factor. In the northernmost main island of Hokkaido alone, the number of bear sightings rose to 2,197 last year, up 381 from the previous year. In 2020, a black bear spent more than 12 hours inside a shopping mall in Ishikawa prefecture before being shot dead by a local hunter. | ['world/japan', 'environment/wildlife', 'world/asia-pacific', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/justinmccurry', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-foreign'] | environment/wildlife | BIODIVERSITY | 2022-07-19T06:35:46Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
world/2020/sep/23/spain-bans-yachts-from-stretch-of-sea-after-orcas-damage-boats | Spain bans yachts from stretch of sea after orcas damage boats | Small yachts have been ordered to steer clear of a stretch of water off the north-west coast of Spain after at least three boats were damaged by a gang of boisterous orcas. On Tuesday, Spain’s transport ministry said yachts of less than 15 metres in length would be banned from sailing close to the coast between Cape Prioriño Grande and Estaca de Bares point in Galicia for a week. “The measure is intended to prevent new encounters with the orcas which have, over recent weeks, been responsible for various incidents in Galicia’s coastal area, mainly involving sailing vessels,” the ministry said in a statement. At the end of August, a Spanish naval yacht lost part of its rudder following an encounter with a pair of orcas, while a French boat was left with marks on its hull. Two weeks later, an 11-metre yacht en route to the UK lost steering and had to be towed into port following another orca-related incident. “The interactions with the orcas have, for the most part, affected medium-sized boats of 15 metres or less,” said the ministry. “All the encounters have taken place between two and eight nautical miles from the coast, and while the boats were travelling at between five and nine knots.” The statement said boats affected by the order could sail perpendicular to the no-go area to reach port or to head out into open water. The decision, it added, had been taken “to guarantee the safety of people and the orcas themselves”. Marine mammal experts say that while orcas are usually spotted in Galicia in September each year as the whales make their way up from the Gulf of Cádiz and follow tuna into the Bay of Biscay, the recent encounters are very rare. Bruno Díaz, a biologist at the local Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute, said orcas were attracted to small yachts because of their size, and that the animals in question – probably “immature teenage” orcas – had probably just got a bit carried away. “We’ll never be in the mind of that individual animal, but based on experience, we think there is absolutely nothing [threatening about their behaviour],” he told the Associated Press. “We’re not their natural prey. They’re having fun – and maybe these orcas have fun causing damage.” | ['world/spain', 'world/europe-news', 'world/world', 'environment/whales', 'environment/cetaceans', 'environment/environment', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/wildlife', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/samjones', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-foreign'] | environment/cetaceans | BIODIVERSITY | 2020-09-23T15:32:30Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2022/apr/22/uk-national-parks-deliver-negligible-benefits-for-wildlife-aoe | Most UK national parks deliver ‘negligible benefits’ for wildlife | The UK’s national parks should not be considered “protected areas” unless the way they look after wildlife radically improves, according to a new report. Internationally, the UK is leading calls to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030 (the “30x30” target), but is failing to protect its own wildlife, says a report by the British Ecological Society (BES). Protected areas such as national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs) make up 28% of UK land, but only about 5% is effectively protected. The report recommends that they should not be included in the UK’s total in their current state. Such areas can support higher species richness but “very often the report finds that those benefits are negligible”, said Prof Jane Hill, an ecologist from the University of York and one of the report’s authors. “The evidence is that most protected landscapes are not delivering for nature and only a low percentage are in good ecological condition. However, because there is existing governance in place managing these landscapes, they have great potential to be adapted to improve how they deliver for nature.” The BES Protected Areas and Nature Recovery report argues that landscapes should be designated a protected area only if it is proved that wildlife is recovering in the long term. Key reasons for poor ecological condition include unsustainable farming and fishing practices, pollution and the spread of non-native species. Governments around the world are negotiating the next decade of UN targets to protect nature, with dozens of countries pledging to protect 30x30, as area-based conservation is key to tackling the climate and ecological crises. Yet many are failing to have a positive effect on wildlife, according to a separate report on 1,500 protected sites worldwide, published this week in Nature. “Protected landscapes – such as national parks and AONBs etc – were not designated primarily for biodiversity. A repurposing is required for them to be included in 30x30,” said Dr Joseph Bailey of York St John University, lead author of the BES report. “This is no small task and will require substantial and sustained resourcing to ensure they deliver for nature in the long term. Such a reform could in fact be one of the most positive outcomes for 30x30.” Protected areas are underfunded and as a result have been forced to make compromises, the BES report finds. Within national parks there is also limited data on how well wildlife areas are being looked after. Better enforcement, monitoring and long-term protection are needed, and adequate money and resources should be made available for this to happen, researchers said. On their own, protected areas are not enough to stem the country’s catastrophic loss of biodiversity. Landscapes surrounding them also need to be better managed to support nature, which is increasingly important as species shift their range in response to climate change. However, researchers say a lot of positive work is starting to happen, including more nature-friendly farming, peatland restoration and wetland management. Thirty-eight per cent of UK seas are marine protected areas (MPAs), but in practice many have no management measures in place and are threatened by damaging and unregulated bottom trawling. Fishing is banned in only 0.0024% of UK waters, currently covering three MPAs. Rick Stafford, of Bournemouth University and an author of the BES report, said: “The proposal to protect 30% of UK seas is very welcome, but we need effective management measures in place in MPAs which will protect wildlife and benefit local coastal communities. “The lack of comprehensive management or enforcement means that the majority are failing to deliver for nature and bring the full range of biodiversity benefits they otherwise could.” 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/national-parks', 'environment/biodiversity', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/phoebe-weston', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-age-of-extinction'] | environment/marine-life | BIODIVERSITY | 2022-04-22T05:01:15Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
world/2020/oct/02/paraguay-wildfires-drought-heat | Wildfires tear through drought-racked Paraguay amid record heat | Devastating wildfires have broken out across across Paraguay, as drought and record high temperatures continue to exacerbate blazes across South America. A total of 5,231 individual wildfires broke out across the country on 1 October – up 3,000 on the previous day. Most of were concentrated in the arid Chaco region in the west of the country, but thick yellow smoke had reached as far as the capital, Asunción. Paraguay’s outbreak came as the southern hemisphere heads into summer and neighbouring countries also face unprecedented wildfires. The Brazilian Amazon is recording its worst blazes in a decade, with numbers up 61% on the widely reported fires of last year, and separate fires in the southern Pantanal region. Argentina has also seen record numbers of fires devastate the wetlands along the Paraná River, with multiple areas of the country continuing to experience aggressive blazes. Guillermo Achucarro, climate policy researcher at Base-IS research centre in Asunción, said weather conditions were accelerating Paraguay’s wildfires. One of the country’s worst droughts of recent decades has seen the River Paraguay –one of its main waterways – drop to 50-year lows. Meanwhile, the country is going through a heatwave, registering a record high temperature of 45.5C (113.9F) last Saturday. Achucarro said these phenomena were directly linked to Paraguay’s environmental record, which sees cattle ranching fuel some of the world’s highest rates of deforestation in the ecologically important Chaco. “There is terrible, inefficient, non-existent environmental management in all areas: water, forested areas, waste management,” he said. “Now, we’re literally tasting the environmental crisis: we’re breathing smoke.” Vice-President Hugo Velázquez claimed that fires were mainly started by citizens burning their domestic waste. But Cristina Goralewski, head of the National Forestry Institute, said that most fires were linked to burning to clear land for cattle ranching, land invasions and illegal marihuana cultivation . Achucarro expressed frustration over a lack of state action after 2019 saw fires devastate approximately 325,000 hectares in the Chaco. “The same thing happens every year, and every year it’s as if it were a surprise,” he said. Paraguay’s volunteer fire service is struggling to deal with the number of fires and lacks funds and equipment. In many cases, such as an enormous fire at Asunción’s main landfill, it has relied on donations from citizens. Late on Thursday, Paraguay’s Congress approved Bills to declare a state of national emergency and to transfer more resources to the fire service. The decision came shortly after the government said it was overwhelmed by the situation and would request international assistance from Chile and Brazil. As a wildfire raged just metres from the poor neighbourhood of Banco San Miguel in Asunción, locals said official help couldn’t come soon enough. A woman who gave her name as Yanina watched wide-eyed as the flames and smoke moved nearer to her precariously built home. “My bathroom is about to catch on fire and the firefighters are out of water,” she said. | ['world/paraguay', 'world/americas', 'world/wildfires', 'world/natural--disasters', 'world/extreme-weather', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/william-costa', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-foreign'] | world/wildfires | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2020-10-02T09:00:19Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2008/jun/02/forests.conservation | Satellite images show Papua New Guinea deforestation at critical level | The forests of Papua New Guinea are being chopped down so quickly that more than half its trees could be lost by 2021, according to a new satellite study of the region. The study, by the University of Papua New Guinea and the Australian National University, found that deforestation is much more widespread than was previously thought, even in so-called conservation areas. Papua New Guinea (PNG) has the world's third largest tropical forest, but it was being cleared or degraded at a rate of 362,000 hectares (895,000 acres) a year in 2001, the report said. Phil Shearman, lead author of the study, said: "The unfortunate reality is that forests in Papua New Guinea are being logged repeatedly and wastefully with little regard for the environmental consequences and with at least the passive complicity of government authorities." The destruction will drive global warming, because tropical forests are an important store of carbon. The researchers compared satellite images taken over three decades from the early 1970s. In 1972, the country had 38m hectares (94m acres), of rainforest covering 82% of the country. About 15% of that was cleared by 2002. "For the first time, we have evidence of what's happening in the PNG forests," Shearman said. " The government could make a significant contribution to global efforts to combat climate change. It is in its own interest to do so, as this nation is particularly susceptible to negative effects due to loss of the forest cover." PNG was a founder of the Rainforest Coalition, a group of tropical nations that say rich countries should pay them to protect their forests as a way of tackling climate change. But the new study suggests many of the vulnerable trees could be removed by the time such an agreement is in place. Shearman said: "Government officials may claim that they wish rich countries to pay them for conserving their forests, but if they are allowing multinational timber companies to take everything that's accessible, all that will be left will be lands that are physically inaccessible to exploitation and would never have been logged anyway." Belden Namah, PNG forests minister, said the government was already taking steps to review its logging policies: "There's a need for rapid action to replace trees that have been cut. And I believe for every tree that has been cut, we should plant three more new trees. That is one major policy I am looking at." The country earns US$176m (£89m) from commercial logging each year. The report said deforestation was occurring at the same rate in protected and unprotected areas and justified a significant reduction in logging in Papua New Guinea. Any new forestry programmes should involve small and medium-scale, locally-owned and managed operations where commercial activities are more likely to be environmentally sustainable, it said. | ['environment/forests', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/endangered-habitats', 'environment/environment', 'environment/deforestation', 'type/article', 'profile/davidadam'] | environment/endangered-habitats | BIODIVERSITY | 2008-06-02T15:18:13Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
theobserver/2011/mar/27/big-issue-nuclear-power-fukushima | Our green energy potential is huge, but gets little support | The big issue | The crisis surrounding the nuclear power plant in Japan has rightly raised questions about UK plans to invest in new reactors ("Fukushima shows the danger of relying on nuclear", Leader). Nuclear power is a gamble we don't need to take. Studies show that the UK can meet its energy needs and tackle climate change without resorting to nuclear power or burning fossil fuels – all that is lacking is the political will. Over the years, the nuclear industry has survived on massive subsidies from UK taxpayers while cleaner forms of energy have been starved of cash. If the government goes ahead with its plans to build new reactors this pattern will be repeated again. No nuclear power plant has ever been built without state funding and ministers are already planning ways to pump more money into the industry, despite promising not to. The UK's green energy potential is enormous but the investment and political support it receives is minute. It's a similar picture with energy efficiency. People waste millions of pounds every year on heat that escapes through their walls and roofs. Our recent opinion poll revealed that more people support investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy than nuclear. It's time to abandon the nuclear and fossil fuel dinosaurs and build a clean, safe future for us all. Mike Childs Head of energy Friends of the Earth London N1 Fukushima is a very serious nuclear incident. It was caused by an earthquake and subsequent tsunami of unprecedented scale and ferocity. The seismic conditions in Japan and the UK are very different and the circumstances that caused this incident would not occur here. But the UK government's approach, to establish the facts, learn the lessons, and apply them to the UK's situation and conditions, is the correct course of action. We will not be complacent. But it must be remembered too that the UK government's approach is aimed at securing our future supplies of low-carbon energy. Both the UK government and the industry are clear that new nuclear build will go ahead in the UK to secure our long-term environmental and security of supply needs into the future. Keith Parker Chief executive at the Nuclear Industry Association, London SW1 The government is right to initiate an independent and comprehensive report by Dr Mike Weightman, the UK chief nuclear inspector, to assess the implications of events at Fukushima for existing and new nuclear plants in the UK. The report will be put in the public domain, helping to ensure that lessons to be learned are implemented appropriately. This should be put in the context that the greatest threat to the planet is climate change. The energy white paper committed the UK to a safe and secure energy supply alongside an ambitious but necessary 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. Nuclear power is identified as part of the solution, alongside energy efficiencies, renewable energy and carbon capture and storage. The modern nuclear reactors are designed with "passive" safety and multiple design features that do not require manual intervention in the event of extreme events. It would be wrong to formulate a knee-jerk opinion that everything labelled nuclear is inappropriate. Professor Andrew H Sherry Director, Dalton Nuclear Institute University of Manchester There is no credible alternative to an expansion of nuclear power to heat our homes, offices and factories and to keep us moving as the oil runs out. Renewables such as wind power and biofuels will not solve the problem of low-carbon power. Germany has virtually run out of space to add to the more than 17,000 wind turbines already in service while Britain and Denmark are experiencing the same problem. There is just not enough of this finite earth to grow the corn, rapeseed and sugarcane to meet the needs of a developing world economy that demands a first-world standard of living. Bill Jackson Nottingham | ['news/series/observer-big-issue', 'world/japan', 'world/japan-earthquake-and-tsunami', 'world/world', 'environment/energy', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'tone/letters', 'world/asia-pacific', 'environment/fukushima', 'type/article', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/news', 'theobserver/news/comment'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2011-03-27T00:04:14Z | true | ENERGY |
world/2010/aug/30/angela-merkel-commits-nuclear-energy | Angela Merkel risks Germans' ire with fresh commitment to nuclear energy | German chancellor Angela Merkel has announced an extension to the nation's nuclear power plant operations for up to 15 years beyond a scheduled phase-out, in a move critics fear might signal that atomic power is here to stay. The decision comes after a panel of experts advised that keeping the plants open was the only way of ensuring climate protection and economic goals were met and that electricity prices did not soar out of control. Merkel, who spent last week touring some of the country's 17 plants, said phasing them out by 2021 – as had been planned – was unrealistic if the country wanted to meet certain environmental goals. "Nuclear power is desirable as a bridging technology," she said. Renewable energies will supply half the country's energy needs by 2050, according to the centre-right government's goals. Nuclear and coal power should continue to be central to the country's energy policy until all power supplies could be replaced by clean energy, the experts advised. Merkel's announcement, which has the backing of her coalition partner, the Free Democrats, is a heavy blow for the left. The nuclear phase-out was secured under the government of her predecessor, Gerhard Schröder of the Social Democrats (SPD), and was considered one its most significant achievements. Sigmar Gabriel, the leader of the SPD, said his party was ready to launch a constitutional challenge to the extension and accused Merkel of being a pawn of the nuclear lobby. Gabriel said: "The chancellor is selling off public safety by allowing ailing and ageing nuclear power plants to stay online longer and by taking money for it." He added that her plan showed her goal was clearly "not to achieve a sustainable energy plan". The Green party, which was part of the Schröder government when it struck the deal, announced an anti-nuclear demonstration in Berlin on Wednesday. Some politicians in favour of a nuclear extension, such as Norbert Röttgen of Merkel's Christian Democrats, said they nevertheless feared it might reduce the pressure on the energy industry to research into and develop renewable technologies. Merkel's decision is also likely to prove highly unpopular amongst the electorate. According to a recent poll, 56% of Germans are against extending the lives of nuclear power plants, citing fears of accidents and terrorism. | ['world/angela-merkel', 'world/world', 'world/germany', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'environment/energy', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/environment', 'tone/news', 'world/europe-news', 'type/article', 'profile/kateconnolly', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2010-08-30T17:35:57Z | true | ENERGY |
commentisfree/2012/nov/27/floods-deadlock-insurers-government | UK floods: deadlock between insurers and government must be broken | James Meadway | Severe floods have again pushed the question of environmental protection to the centre of political debate. A disaster for those affected, the floods have arrived just as talks between insurers and the government are on the verge of breakdown. A deal struck in 2000 to enable those living in flood-prone areas to continue to receive insurance expires next year. As yet it shows no signs of renewal. Insurers want guarantees from government that flood protection will be maintained. The government has hinted that the insurers are using the crisis to push for an unfair settlement. About 200,000 homes are at risk. They are the collateral damage of a collision between a government chasing short-term savings and an industry chasing short-term profits. Flood defence expenditure has been cut by 25% since 2010, while 294 schemes that should have received funding since then have yet to be started. The costs apparently saved in cuts to flood defences are more than outweighed by the costs of repairing damage afterwards. One estimate already puts the costs of flooding at £1bn a year – four times the Environment Agency's budget. The coalition's slash-and-burn austerity measures do nothing to help the economy today – and are shoring up huge problems for the future. Every £1 spent on flood defences has been estimated to save £8 in future. If government has been recklessly short-sighted, the insurance companies are little better. The five biggest firms account for half the domestic market between them. The largest, Aviva, had revenues of £50bn last year. Floods are expensive for insurers. But these huge corporations are more than big enough to take the cost. Guarantees on government flood defence spending are, for them, little more than a means to protect profits – a public subsidy for their shareholders. Householders in high-risk areas still lose out, with reports of those attempting to renew their insurance in recent months being quoted hugely inflated prices. The combination of the coalition's mindless commitment to austerity, and the insurance companies' scrabble for profits is producing a deadlock. Breaking it decisively would require two actions by government. The first is an immediate increase in flood defence spending in affected areas, as recommended by the Pitt review five years ago – briefly implemented, and then abandoned, by Cameron's government. The coalition's austerity plans have been a minor disaster, driving the economy back into recession over this year and hampering recovery. Extra expenditure, particularly on crucial infrastructure, is desperately needed. One estimate suggests that £500bn will be required over the next decade to replace creaking infrastructure. Second, if the Treasury still insists on meeting its self-defeating spending targets, a tax on the insurance companies should be levied to pay for flood defence. And where insurance companies are threatening to remove cover from households, the government should, in return, extend the provision of its own insurance cover. These can only be comparatively short-term measures. Over the longer term, we need to reconfigure how and where our economy operates. There is a clear housing shortage, most especially in the south-east. But of the record low number of new homes being built, up to 16,000 are still constructed on floodplains annually. The costs of this are not borne by private developers, but by homeowners and then (ultimately) the rest of us. Tighter planning controls over floodplain development, allied to a serious effort to shift economic activity and create jobs in lower-risk areas, are both needed to reduce future costs. Muddling through on private provision will not deliver the shift. | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'environment/flooding', 'world/natural-disasters', 'environment/environment', 'business/insurance', 'business/business', 'money/insurance', 'money/money', 'uk/uk', 'tone/comment', 'type/article', 'profile/james-meadway'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2012-11-27T08:29:01Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2017/apr/10/australias-politicians-have-betrayed-the-great-barrier-reef-and-only-the-people-can-save-it | Australia's politicians have betrayed the Great Barrier Reef and only the people can save it | David Ritter | Once upon a time, in the distant 60s and 70s, the Great Barrier Reef faced imminent destruction. Tenement applications for drilling and mining covered vast swathes of the reef, with both government and industry enthusiastically backing the plans for mass exploitation. In the face of the reef’s impending doom a motley collection of ordinary Australians shared a common determination that something had to be done. But the odds didn’t look good. The poet turned campaigner Judith Wright wrote that “if it had not been for the public backing for protection of the reef that we knew existed, we might have given up hope”. The optimism of the poet was well founded. First in the hundreds, then in the tens of thousands, a people’s movement grew to defend the reef. Everyday Aussies turned activists and campaigners. Scientists and lawyers came forward with vital expertise. At a crucial moment the Queensland Trades and Labour Council approved a total black-ban by all affiliated unions on oil drilling on the Great Barrier Reef. As hard as is now to believe, the Murdoch-owned Australian opined that the ban would have an unprecedented measure of public support and would probably succeed. It deserved to. Only finally did the politicians follow the will of the people. Through the power and determination of the Australian people, the greatest marine park in human history was established and the Great Barrier Reef lived to fight another day. Inherently democratic in its size and closeness to the shore, the Great Barrier Reef is truly the people’s reef. Looking back on the first great struggle for the reef between the Australian people and the fossil fuel industry, Wright wrote that “if disasters in the shape of weather, accident and climate change lie ahead, the work done already has shown what can be done to shield it from such dangers and has proved that people will agree, in the event, to supplying the help it needs”. Unhappily, those disasters are now upon us. Global warming brought the great bleaching of 2015-16 and the dreadful and unprecedented sequel over the summer that has just finished. Our reef is in dire trouble. But while the people’s reef is grievously wounded, it is still very much alive. And life fights for life. Innumerable animals are now doing what creatures do, navigating the hazards of life as best they can to survive and reproduce in the warming waters. Given time and the right conditions, the people’s reef can recover and life will flourish again. So how this time around do we supply the help the reef needs? The big lie propagated by Australian government and big business is that it is possible to turn things around for the reef without tackling global warming. As scientists have made clear, it isn’t – we have to stop climate pollution to give our reef a chance. It is true that Australia can’t save the reef alone because climate change is a global problem. But that does not mean we are powerless to act and we should not be deterred. Because when you love something deeply – as we Australians cherish our people’s reef – then you do all that is within your power to save that thing which you hold so dear. And there is much that is within our power to do. So what is to be done? The answer does not lie in false techno-fixes or the faux-democratic farrago of the government-business funded Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef. Australia’s greatest contribution to global warming is through our coal, exported and burned in foreign power stations. So our most determined Australian efforts to save the reef must be directed to closing down the coalmining industry, while ensuring decent new jobs and fair transitions for all affected workers and communities. Again, the balance of power seems loaded against us. First the Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, and now the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, have betrayed both the reef and the trust of the Australian people by snivelling across the seas, pledging allegiance to the Carmichael coalmine. All too often, the rest of big business is complicit in the crisis by explicitly or tacitly supporting the coal industry. Financial institutions such as CommBank continue to invest in the fossil fuel projects that are bringing disaster to the reef. But, once we are roused, never underestimate the power and determination of the Australian people to defend our iconic animals and the natural beauty of our lands and seas. The extraordinary success of the Stop Adani Roadshow – which sold out across the eastern Australian capital cities reaching an audience of thousands – is just a glimpse of the popular will to fight the coal industry for the future of our reef. We have the opportunity to write our own story, not of despair but of defiance. If we, the people of Australia, stand determined together against coalmining and the rest of the fossil fuel industry then the future of our reef is not bleak but hopeful. The roadmap to full recovery for our reef will be decades or even centuries in the making. And it is going to get worse before it gets better. But we, the Australian people, can again agree to supply the help it needs, to give the reef we love the best chance of future flourishing. Now is the time to get involved. • This op ed is a modified version of comments made at Global Warming and the Mass Bleaching of Corals, a public event held by the Sydney Environment Institute of Sydney University on 31 March. | ['environment/series/great-barrier-reef-in-crisis', 'environment/coral', 'environment/great-barrier-reef', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'australia-news/queensland', 'environment/oceans', 'environment/marine-life', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'science/science', 'type/article', 'tone/comment', 'profile/david-ritter', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/marine-life | BIODIVERSITY | 2017-04-09T21:02:54Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2010/jan/26/ministry-justice-environmental-campaigners-terrorism | Ministry of Justice lists eco-activists alongside terrorists | Government officials have labelled environmental campaigners extremists and listed them alongside dissident Irish republican groups and terrorists inspired by al-Qaida in internal documents seen by the Guardian. The guidance on extremism, produced by the Ministry of Justice, says: "The United Kingdom like many other countries faces a continuing threat from extremists who believe they can advance their aims by committing acts of terrorism." It was sent to probation staff who were writing court reports or supervising a range of activists, including environmental protesters. The advice lists "environmental extremists" alongside far-right activists, dissident Irish republicans, loyalist paramilitaries and al-Qaida-inspired extremists as among groups "currently categorised as extremist [that] may include those who have committed serious crime in pursuit of an ideology or cause". David Howarth, the Liberal Democrats' justice spokesman, said tonight that the documents revealed "a quite astonishing conflation of legitimate protest with terrorism". The government has been criticised for tarring environmental protesters as "domestic extremists", a term invented by the police, who say it can cover activists suspected of minor public order offences such as peaceful direct action and civil disobedience. The internal guidance from the Ministry of Justice's National Offender Management Service defines domestic extremism as any "unlawful action that is part of a protest or campaign". "It is often associated with a 'single issue' protest such as animal rights, far-right and far-left political extremism, anti- war and environmentalist extremism. The activity of Domestic Extremist Offenders is more criminal in its nature than that of an activist – but falls short of terrorism." "Environmental extremists" are described as committing "criminal activity motivated by the broad philosophy and social movement centred on a concern for conservation and improvement of the natural environment". Environmentalists reject the extremist label, saying that their protests are peaceful and non-violent. Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of the probation service union, Napo, said its members were unhappy with government attempts to lump environmental campaigners with terrorist suspects. He said the guidance appeared to be part of a wider attempt by some government officials to interfere for political reasons in the work of criminal justice staff. Ben Stewart, of Greenpeace, said: "The climate movement has never once sought to further its political aims by using violence, which is something that Jack Straw, foreign secretary during the invasion of Iraq, can most certainly not claim. "His Ministry of Justice would be better occupied reminding itself that peaceful direct action has a long and noble history in this country." A ministry spokesman said: "It is not true to say that offenders who have committed criminal offences in connection with an extremist cause are 'all treated the same'. The National Offender Management Service has a programme of work that covers all forms of extremism." | ['environment/activism', 'environment/environment', 'politics/terrorism', 'politics/politics', 'world/protest', 'world/al-qaida', 'uk/uk', 'uk/uksecurity', 'world/world', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'profile/matthewtaylor', 'profile/robevans', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews'] | environment/activism | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2010-01-26T18:23:46Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
world/2020/sep/23/spain-bans-yachts-from-stretch-of-sea-after-orcas-damage-boats | Spain bans yachts from stretch of sea after orcas damage boats | Small yachts have been ordered to steer clear of a stretch of water off the north-west coast of Spain after at least three boats were damaged by a gang of boisterous orcas. On Tuesday, Spain’s transport ministry said yachts of less than 15 metres in length would be banned from sailing close to the coast between Cape Prioriño Grande and Estaca de Bares point in Galicia for a week. “The measure is intended to prevent new encounters with the orcas which have, over recent weeks, been responsible for various incidents in Galicia’s coastal area, mainly involving sailing vessels,” the ministry said in a statement. At the end of August, a Spanish naval yacht lost part of its rudder following an encounter with a pair of orcas, while a French boat was left with marks on its hull. Two weeks later, an 11-metre yacht en route to the UK lost steering and had to be towed into port following another orca-related incident. “The interactions with the orcas have, for the most part, affected medium-sized boats of 15 metres or less,” said the ministry. “All the encounters have taken place between two and eight nautical miles from the coast, and while the boats were travelling at between five and nine knots.” The statement said boats affected by the order could sail perpendicular to the no-go area to reach port or to head out into open water. The decision, it added, had been taken “to guarantee the safety of people and the orcas themselves”. Marine mammal experts say that while orcas are usually spotted in Galicia in September each year as the whales make their way up from the Gulf of Cádiz and follow tuna into the Bay of Biscay, the recent encounters are very rare. Bruno Díaz, a biologist at the local Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute, said orcas were attracted to small yachts because of their size, and that the animals in question – probably “immature teenage” orcas – had probably just got a bit carried away. “We’ll never be in the mind of that individual animal, but based on experience, we think there is absolutely nothing [threatening about their behaviour],” he told the Associated Press. “We’re not their natural prey. They’re having fun – and maybe these orcas have fun causing damage.” | ['world/spain', 'world/europe-news', 'world/world', 'environment/whales', 'environment/cetaceans', 'environment/environment', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/wildlife', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/samjones', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-foreign'] | environment/marine-life | BIODIVERSITY | 2020-09-23T15:32:30Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2020/jun/06/donald-trump-commercial-fishing-marine-monument | 'Selling off the future’: Trump allows fishing in marine monument | Donald Trump is easing protections for a large marine monument off the coast of New England, opening it to commercial fishing. But ocean experts caution that the rollback to the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine national monument will hurt the environment and won’t help fishermen who are struggling during the Covid-19 pandemic and economic downturn to find buyers for what they already catch. “This rollback essentially sells off the future of the ocean and the future of the ecosystem for almost no present economic benefit,” said Miriam Goldstein, the ocean policy director at the Center for American Progress (Cap). “[That’s] why it’s so puzzling to do it at all and even more puzzling that the president is doing it now, in the middle of the pandemic and with police riots going on around the country.” Trump’s announcement follows several others by the administration to weaken environment rules during the pandemic, including an executive order he signed yesterday to bypass reviews of big infrastructure projects that could threaten public health. The president unveiled the decision in Bangor, Maine, at a roundtable discussion with commercial fisheries companies. The White House said Trump’s proclamation would allow commercial fishing within the monument but would not alter its boundaries. The protected area is about 130 miles from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and it contains endangered right whales and sensitive deep sea corals. It is one of five marine monuments in the country. The other four are in the western Pacific Ocean. After this rollback, less than .1% of the US waters outside the western Pacific Ocean will be protected from commercial fishing, according to an analysis by Cap based on federal data. “Even fishing done well still has an impact, so for that reason it’s important to have special areas of the ocean set aside. And this has been shown through a lot of science, that it is beneficial to ocean ecosystems, to biodiversity, to threatened and endangered species – and beneficial to those fisheries themselves,” Goldstein said. Environment groups quickly responded that they plan to sue. The Natural Resources Defense Council is undertaking a similar lawsuit against the administration for opening up two Utah monuments, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, to mining. The Utah monuments and the marine monument were established at the end of the Barack Obama administration. Goldstein acknowledged that fishermen and aquaculture growers in coastal communities have been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic and economic downturn, but she said there are other actions the administration could take that would help. The US Regional Fishery Management Councils on 29 May sent a letter to the commerce department arguing that “the ban on commercial fishing within Marine national monument waters is a regulatory burden on domestic fisheries”. The group had been making that same argument since 2016. Rip Cunningham, the conservation editor at Saltwater Sportsman and former chair of the New England Fishery Management Council, criticized the move. “As a recreational fisherman, it troubles me to see the monument opened to commercial fishing,” Cunningham said. “These are fragile and vulnerable resources, and I am concerned for their future health.” | ['environment/series/this-land-is-your-land', 'us-news/trump-administration', 'environment/fishing', 'environment/environment', 'environment/marine-life', 'us-news/us-news', 'environment/wildlife', 'us-news/us-politics', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/emily-holden', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news'] | environment/marine-life | BIODIVERSITY | 2020-06-06T10:00:19Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
science/grrlscientist/2012/jan/12/1 | Never say goodbye [videos] | GrrlScientist | I've always loved photographer Joel Sartore's minimalistic portraits of endangered species, and I even was lucky enough to share a series of his photographs of endangered North American animals when I was at ScienceBlogs. But now, in the company of his 18-year-old son, Mr Sartore is expanding his efforts; they are currently photographing as many endangered animals as they can find throughout the world. Some people find Mr Sartore's stark photography to be alien, but I love his work because his sole purpose is to focus the viewer's attention on the subject -- to look the subject in the eye -- without any distractions whatsoever. "Experts say that half the world's plant and animal species are now threatened with extinction. My job is to get you to look at them in a new way, to understand that all of this complexity and beauty has been shaped by millions of years of evolution", writes Mr Sartore. [But see note added below.] "It would be a crime to doom even one of these species to extinction. It may also threaten our very existence. It is folly to think that we can doom everything else to extinction but that we'll be just fine." I am quite pleased to have found a video that documents Mr Sartore's distinctive style as he captured several endangered animals on film for this new project: Visit JoelSartore's YouTube channel [video link]. So you've seen the finished video, but what is it really like to photograph a bunch of very opinionated animals? Here's a less polished (and more amusing) look: Visit JoelSartore's YouTube channel [video link]. Learn more about Joel Sartore's newest work with endangered animals by reading "The Great American Zoo Trip" and look at more of his stunning photography by viewing his Biodiversity Project photo galleries. I've neither read (nor even seen) his book, but you may also enjoy Joel Sartore's book, RARE: Portraits of America's Endangered Species [Focal Point Press (2010); Amazon UK; Amazon US]. With any luck, I should be getting a review copy of this book soon so I can tell you more about it. NOTE: according to Stuart Pimm, professor of conservation ecology at Duke University and an acknowledged authority in the field, Mr Sartore's claim that "half the world's plant and animal species are now threatened with extinction" is a bold overestimate of the total number of endangered species; the total number is less than this. [Added: 1120 on 13 January 2012] .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Joel Sartore is on facebook and on twitter @JoelSartore National Geographic Magazine is on facebook and on twitter @NatGeo .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. twitter: @GrrlScientist facebook: grrlscientist evil google+: grrlscientist email: grrlscientist@gmail.com | ['science/zoology', 'science/science', 'environment/endangeredspecies', 'environment/biodiversity', 'environment/environment', 'science/grrlscientist', 'tone/blog', 'artanddesign/photography', 'type/article', 'profile/grrlscientist'] | environment/biodiversity | BIODIVERSITY | 2012-01-12T08:00:00Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
books/2010/sep/25/oil-warter-helon-habila-review | Oil on Water by Helon Habila | Book review | A huge chasm exists between Nigeria's multibillion dollar oil revenue and the standard of living for most Nigerians, the majority of whom are dirt-poor. When oil was discovered in the Niger delta in the late 1950s, Nigeria was on course to become the richest country in Africa. But for over 50 years the corrupt collusion between the multinational petroleum corporations and the Nigerian government has meant that profits are siphoned off into Swiss bank accounts, while the rest of the country can go hang itself. And when the renowned novelist Ken Saro-Wiwa led a movement of non-violent protest against the environmental damage in the region, the government did indeed hang him, after a kangaroo trial in 1995. International outcry brought the plight of the Niger delta, home to 20 million people, to public attention. Yet interest soon waned, and today little has changed. Helon Habila's third novel is therefore topical and urgent, as it ambitiously tackles the collision between the oil companies, the people of the delta whose lands are exploited and ruined, the military who patrol the region, the militants or freedom fighters who are there to disrupt business as usual, and the media who are supposed to observe and record the "truth". All this is refracted through the eyes of a young journalist, Rufus, on his first serious job accompanying his idol, Zaq, a once-celebrated hack who is now a pathetic alcoholic. They are sent into the delta to find the kidnapped wife of a British oil company engineer. En route they endure and witness imprisonment, violence, murder, sickness, deprivation and destruction. When they venture up river by canoe, in scenes reminiscent of Conrad's Heart of Darkness, the oilfields are a hellish place. The narrative oscillates between past and present, tracking the two journalists' assignment in the delta as well as digressing into their respective pasts, but the most powerful and interesting character in the story proves to be the fetid, viscous, menacing landscape. Habila's prose perfectly evokes the devastation of the oil-polluted wetlands. Animals lie decomposing, drowned in oil, the poisoned river water is "foul and sulphurous", abandoned villages have an "indefinable sadness in the air, as if a community of ghosts were suspended above the punctured zinc roofs", and always in the distance, in the darkness, are the burning flames of the toxic gas flares that many villages crave because of the short-lived prosperity they bring. In the most poignant passage, a community is overjoyed that its land has finally been turned into an oilfield. They become night people – holding meetings, markets and mass by the light of the god-like "unquenchable orange flare". Within a year they and their livestock fall sick and die. Elsewhere, a chief who refuses to sell his land to an oil company is murdered by the police. In this climate of exploitation, vulnerability, violence and avarice, the freedom fighters seek, like the government and oil companies, to make themselves rich. The army major policing the region is a sadistic thug. The desperate locals, "who endure the worst conditions of any oil-producing community on Earth", resort to illegal oil-tapping as a means of survival. And the husband of the kidnapped woman, the voice of the omnipotent oil companies, seems to live on another planet, bemoaning the fact that "our pipelines are vandalised daily, losing us millions . . . These people don't understand what they do to themselves." The big difference between "conflict diamonds" and "conflict oil" is that one is a luxury and the other a necessity, which means the international community turns a blind eye. Oil on Water brings to light this overlooked story of environmental and human rights abuses. In the delta, the leader of a militant group tells Rufus: "A war is just starting. We will make it so hot for the government and the oil companies that they will be forced to pull out." Bernardine Evaristo's Blonde Roots is published by Penguin. | ['books/fiction', 'books/books', 'culture/culture', 'environment/oil', 'environment/environment', 'tone/reviews', 'type/article', 'profile/bernardine-evaristo', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/guardianreview', 'theguardian/guardianreview/saturdayreviewsfeatres'] | environment/oil | ENERGY | 2010-09-24T23:05:56Z | true | ENERGY |
society/2019/may/11/incidents-of-fly-tipping-in-england-jump-by-almost-40-in-six-years | Incidents of fly-tipping in England jump by almost 40% in six years | The illegal dumping of waste across England has increased by nearly 40% in six years. Local councils are struggling to tackle escalating fly-tipping as their budgets are cut and courts fail to impose the toughest sentences available. The Local Government Association said the number of incidents in England had increased by 39.6% since 2012, from 714,637 to 997,553 in 2017-18. But no one has been sanctioned by the courts to the maximum penalty of a £50,000 fine or 12 months in prison since tougher guidelines were issued by the government in 2014, the LGA said. Cllr Martin Tett, who chairs the LGA’s environment board, described the dumping of waste illegally on roadsides, verges and outside homes as “inexcusable environmental vandalism”. He said: “Councils are doing everything they can to try and deter fly-tippers. However, prosecuting them often requires time-consuming and laborious investigations, with a high threshold of proof, at a time when councils face significant budget pressures. “Consistent and hard-hitting prosecutions are needed to deter rogue operators and fly-tippers. Councils also need adequate funding to investigate incidents and ensure fly-tippers do not go unpunished.” By 2020 the overall funding councils receive from central government would have been cut by 60% since 2010, and the LGA says these funding pressures mean council enforcement cannot keep up with spiralling number of fly-tipping cases. Councils took action on 494,034 incidents in 2017-18 – up by just under 70,000 in five years. The LGA is calling for the government to review guidance to the courts to ensure the worst offenders face tougher sentences. With councils in England facing an overall funding gap of £8bn by 2025, the LGA said the next spending review needed to ensure councils had the funding needed to investigate and prosecute fly-tippers. | ['society/localgovernment', 'politics/politics', 'society/society', 'uk/uk', 'environment/waste', 'environment/environment', 'law/law', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/sandralaville', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/waste | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2019-05-11T07:00:11Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2024/jan/31/eu-delays-biodiversity-rules-amid-rising-protests-from-farmers | EU to delay new green rule in bid to appease protesting farmers | Farmers protesting across Europe have won their first concession from Brussels, with the EU announcing a delay in rules that would have forced them to set aside land to encourage biodiversity and soil health. About 10,000 French farmers stepped up their protests on Wednesday, with at least 100 blockades on major roads across France, as 18 farmers were arrested for blocking traffic as they tried to reach the wholesale food market at Rungis, south-east of Paris and 79 others were detained after they managed to get inside. Belgian farmers joined protests at the French border and others blocked access roads to the Zeebrugge container port for a second day. Spanish and Italian farmers also demonstrated. The European Commission vice-president, Maroš Šefčovič, described Wednesday’s decision to delay rules on setting aside land, which is expected to be rubber-stamped by member states within 15 days, as “a helping hand” for the sector at a difficult time. Citing flooding, wildfires in Greece, heatwaves across southern Europe and drought in Spain which has left reservoirs in Andalucia at 20% normal levels, he said it was important to listen to farmers and “to avoid the polarisation which is making any good conversation and discussion more difficult. “We feel we are obliged to act under this pressure which the farming community [is feeling],” he said. “We have had a number of extreme meteorological events, droughts, flooding in various parts of Europe, and there was a clear negative effect on the output, on the revenue – and of course, decreased income – for the farmers.” Combined with higher energy prices, the weather-related risks to crops meant farmers were at a “persistent pain point” that was “driving up the cost of production and squeezing revenues”, Šefčovič said. Under the rules, farmers were expected to keep 4% of their arable land free from crop production in an effort to regenerate the health of the soil and increase biodiversity, which is also in crisis. Alternatively, farmers could have got an exemption from this “set-aside” rule if they had used 7% of their land for “catch crops” such as clover, which provide cover for the soil after the main crop is harvested. However, under the new proposals, farmers will not be obliged to set aside fallow land, or any portion of land for catch crops, until 2025. The change comes as farm protests have been intensifying, in the past 24 hours. On Wednesday, French farmers from the south-west of the country managed to get around police barriers south of Paris by taking back-roads or switching from tractors to trucks in order to reach the area near the Rungis food market. The French interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, had warned that while farmers’ protests on motorways would be tolerated, police would not allow them to block airports or Rungis, Europe’s largest fresh food market. The Créteil prosecutor’s office outside Paris said that 15 of the 18 farmers arrested near Rungis were in custody being questioned by police. French farmers also blocked roads around Lyon. At a farmers’ roadblock in Cavaillon in the south, foreign produce, including Italian kiwifruit and pears, was unloaded from lorries. Virgile, a farmer demonstrating, told BFMTV: “This is about the anger of country people being treated by fools. We work like dogs. Our message is: Buy French produce, make that effort.” After days spent calling for higher incomes, less red tape and protection from foreign competition, “there are huge expectations” among farmers, said Arnaud Rousseau, the head of France’s largest agricultural union, the FNSEA. He added that not all of the demands could be immediately answered “so I’m trying to call for calm and reason”. Until now, farmers have not been impressed with the quick fixes offered by politicians or officials in Brussels. They have concerns about the high cost of land, the pressure from supermarkets to sell crops at near-cost prices, and the plethora of new environment rules coming in the form of EU nature restoration laws. Their critics say EU farmers are among the most cosseted sectors in the industry, with more than €307bn (£260bn) – 30% of the overall EU budget – earmarked for them between 2023 and 2027. Asked if Wednesday’s concession would be enough to quell the protests, Šefčovič admitted that the EU had to “intensify” the dialogue with farmers to make sure they were listened to. “We have to make sure that Europe will become a continent which will be habitable, also, in the future,” he added. The European Commission will also set up measures to limit market disruption from Ukrainian products entering the EU, after tariffs were lifted in response to Russia’s invasion. France will oppose a trade deal between the European Union and the South American Mercosur bloc – a key grievance for protesters – being signed in its current state. The French economy minister, Bruno Le Maire, said there would be closer surveillance of European food trading platforms to ensure that “farmers’ income is not the first thing to be sacrificed in trade negotiations”. | ['environment/farming', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/biodiversity', 'environment/environment', 'science/agriculture', 'world/eu', 'world/europe-news', 'science/science', 'environment/wildlife', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/lisaocarroll', 'profile/angeliquechrisafis', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-foreign'] | environment/farming | BIODIVERSITY | 2024-01-31T15:57:24Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
commentisfree/2015/jan/08/anti-vaxxers-so-friendless-that-free-speech-is-enough-to-defeat-them | Anti-vaxxers: so friendless that free speech is enough to defeat them | John Quiggin | With the new year, we have a new round of controversies surrounding the anti-vaccination movement. The controversy isn’t about the safety and efficacy of vaccines: that’s as settled as any question in medical science can be. Rather, it’s about how to respond to anti-vaccination and pro-disease advocates like James Maskell and Sherri Tenpenny. Maskell, CEO of US “natural health care” business Revive Primary Care, and a prominent anti-vaxxer, was interviewed on the ABC’s 7:30 program recently, described only as a “concerned parent”. Tenpenny, also from the US, is coming to Australia in a tour organised by Stephanie Messenger, author of Melanie’s Marvellous Measles, a book aimed at children advocating exposure to this disease. Measles, which has complications including pneumonia, encephalitis and blindness, has been similarly trivialised by Tenpenny, who says: “If measles were such a deadly, horrible, disastrous disease, there wouldn’t be anybody around over 50.” Unsurprisingly, there have been calls from bodies such as the Australian Medical Association’s council of general practice to ban Tenpenny from entering the country. The ABC has also been severely criticised for its uncritical presentation of Maskell’s views. How should we deal with people advocating such irresponsible and dangerous views? Before thinking about anti-science views on vaccination, it’s worth thinking about the case of climate science. In terms of the arguments, the two cases are almost perfectly parallel. The anti-science side promotes bogus experts such as Christopher Monckton, accuses mainstream scientists of being engaged in a massive global conspiracy, and complains about its views being suppressed. The difference is that anti-vaxxers are relatively few in number and politically friendless. In a sense, this makes their claims more plausible. While it’s silly to suggest a conspiracy funded by big pharma – vaccines are among the least profitable of pharmaceutical products – it’s at least more plausible than the suggestion that climate scientists around the world are conspiring to impose a communist world government, a view seriously propounded by supposed political hardheads like Nick Minchin. Moreover, while some charlatans like Dr Andrew Wakefield have used the anti-vaccination movement to enrich themselves, there is nothing like the army of paid lobbyists, opinionators and lavishly funded thinktanks that promote climate denial. Then there is the Murdoch press, much of the business elite and the majority of the parliamentary membership of the government. And of course, the ABC itself had a prominent denialist, Maurice Newman, as chairman for a number of years. Precisely because they have such powerful supporters, there is no possibility that climate science deniers will be silenced, or that bogus experts like Monckton will be prevented from entering the country. On considerations of equity alone, we should not be excluding people on the grounds that they advocate views that are wrong, dangerous and unpopular, while admitting those whose wrong and dangerous views have powerful backing. Cases like those of neo-Nazi David Irving and “pickup artist” Julien Blanc are different, since they can be excluded on grounds of bad character. But the case for excluding Tenpenny (and, hypothetically, Monckton) rests entirely on their stated views. The standard arguments for free speech apply with full force here. The only way to prevent unnecessary deaths from infectious diseases is to convince parents, who want to do the best for their children, that vaccination is the right thing to do. That means refuting the claims of people like Tenpenny rather than attempting to silence them. None of this creates any obligation to provide anti-vaxxers and climate denialists with scarce resources like air time on national broadcasters. The only context in which these people should appear is in attempts to understand the reasons (financial, ideological and tribal) why they persist in presenting claims that have been rejected by the scientific process. The ABC 7:30 segment failed this test miserably, and its half-hearted attempts at a correction in the transcript have done nothing to improve the situation. One way to make amends would be a report on the Tenpenny case, which might include some video evidence of her anti-science claims, but would not accord her the legitimacy associated with an interview. Freedom of speech gives people like Tenpenny and Monckton (and their Australian co-thinkers) the right to state their views, but not the right to a platform or a respectful hearing. They should be allowed to speak, and exposed for the fools and liars they are. | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'society/vaccines', 'society/health', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/climate-change-scepticism', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'world/freedom-of-speech', 'type/article', 'tone/comment', 'profile/john-quiggin'] | environment/climate-change-scepticism | CLIMATE_DENIAL | 2015-01-08T00:18:34Z | true | CLIMATE_DENIAL |
commentisfree/2008/jan/10/speaktruthonpower | Speak truth on power | On Tuesday, Gordon Brown announced his government's support for a new generation of nuclear power plants. In so doing, he casts himself in the role of the bold leader, taking tough decisions for the common good. Certainly the Sun has bought it wholesale, shrieking: "Britain's security will be in peril if we continue to rely on Russian despot Vladimir Putin or Middle Eastern states for our gas and oil." Obviously, this is so much rubbish and it won't deal with the real policy decisions and proper investment necessary within the next 10 years to bridge the energy gap and set us on course for massive emissions reductions over the coming decades. Indeed, there are some colossal lies at the heart of the government's nuclear fundamentalism. Con one: nuclear will protect us from Russian despots and unstable Middle Eastern states. Let's be clear. Electricity is not the same as energy. The lion's share of our energy demand is for heat and transport. With all due respect to the Sun, although nuclear power currently accounts for about one-fifth of UK electricity generation, that is less than 4% of our total energy demand. So how does nuclear electricity improve security of gas or oil supply? Of our oil and gas consumption, 86% is for purposes other than producing electricity. Most of the gas we use is for heating and hot water, or for industrial purposes. Virtually all oil is used for transport. In this context, nuclear power - which can only generate electricity - is irrelevant. The real answer to lessening our oil dependence includes improved vehicle efficiency, improved public transport systems and reducing the need to travel, especially for business by using new technology like video conferencing. The Russian "peril" is a load of jingoistic claptrap. The truth is that - unlike the rest of Europe - the UK has no proper long-term gas storage facilities to cover supply or price fluctuations. And most of our gas supplies, according to the government, will come from more not fewer countries as new gas fields are exploited. Con two: nuclear power will bridge the energy gap. Over the next few years, several existing nuclear and coal plants are set to close. This is the "energy" (ie electricity) gap. Government figures suggest that this gap equates to about one-third of our current electricity supply. The challenge is to bridge this gap in a way that allows us to meet our legitimate energy needs and sets us on course for massive emissions reductions over the coming decades. Even leaving aside the intrinsic problems with nuclear power (for instance, its costly and dangerous legacy of radioactive waste), nuclear electricity cannot solve our energy problems. For starters, not a single nuclear power station will come into operation over the next decade. Indeed the UK government itself has estimated that a new build programme of up to ten stations could not deliver in full until at least 2025. So even notionally, nuclear will make no contribution to our electricity until years after the "energy gap" needs to be dealt with. The real answer? There are now dozens of studies by government and energy industry bodies showing how this scale of electricity generation could be met through many different cleaner alternatives, including combined heat and power (CHP), using fossil fuels more efficiently and cleanly, and renewable electricity generation such as wind, wave and tidal power. A portion of the gap could be closed through energy efficiency alone - delivering substantial economic savings at the same time. Last month, the government announced the next stage of offshore wind development in the UK, which, if delivered, will fill two-thirds of the energy gap. Indeed, as Gordon Brown himself acknowledged when I questioned him late last year, the UK has committed to generating around 40% of our electricity from renewables by 2020. So if the prime minister is telling the truth, there is no energy gap: not only will the UK become a world leader in clean energy, but even the bogus case for nuclear evaporates. Con three: it's the only way to reduce our climate change emissions. According to the government's own sustainable development commission even if the UK built ten new nuclear reactors, nuclear electricity could only theoretically deliver a 4% cut in carbon emissions some time after 2025. The real solutions to the energy gap and climate change are available now. Energy efficiency, cleaner use of fossil fuels, renewables and state of the art decentralised power stations like they have in Scandinavia. These options are challenging and require support and concerted government effort to deliver (just as nuclear power requires), but given that support, this mix has the potential to deliver reliable low-carbon energy more quickly, more cheaply, more effectively and more realistically than nuclear. The strategy is also safe and globally applicable, unlike nuclear. The real threat from Gordon Brown's brand of nuclear fundamentalism is that if cash and political energy get thrust at nuclear power, these technologies will be strangled. Then we really will need to mind the gap. | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'tone/comment', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/energy', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'commentisfree/cif-green', 'type/article', 'profile/johnsauven'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2008-01-10T13:30:00Z | true | ENERGY |
world/2022/jul/16/firefighters-tackle-southern-europe-wildfires-as-heatwave-passes-45c | Firefighters tackle southern Europe wildfires as heatwave passes 45C | Firefighters are working tirelessly to tackle wildfires raging in parts of southern Europe as a result of soaring temperatures linked to the climate crisis. France, Portugal and Spain are among the European countries particularly affected, with temperatures of more than 45C (113F) recorded during a heatwave that is also sweeping the UK. President Macron has confirmed that 3,000 firefighters, assisted by rescue forces from Greece, are battling the blazes in southern France. The regional emergency service has confirmed that firefighters managed to contain one of the worst fires overnight, which had taken hold close to the Dune du Pilat in the Arcachon Bay area. But efforts to suppress the blaze in Landiras – the biggest fire in the region, suspected as arson by regional prosecutors – has so far been thwarted by “tough meteorological conditions”. The two fires have burned at least 9,650 hectares (23,800 acres) of land in recent days, while more than 12,200 people had been evacuated from France’s Gironde region by this morning. Portugal has recorded its first fire-related fatality this year after the pilot of a firefighting plane died on Friday when he crashed while on an operation in the north-east. A “state of contingency” has been in effect since Sunday, with Portuguese state television RTP reporting on Friday that the area burned this year has already exceeded the 2021 total. More than 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) of land have been burned, it said, mostly in the past week. Five regions in the centre and the north – where temperatures hit 47C (117F) on Thursday before falling slightly – were again on red alert on Friday as more than 2,000 firefighters tackled four major blazes. More than 160 people have now been injured as a result of the wildfires, while Portugal’s DGS health authority confirmed it had registered 238 excess deaths due to the heatwave between 7 and 13 July. Spain is also struggling to contain several fires, including two that have burned about 7,400 hectares (18,200 acres) of land. In southern Andalusia, 3,000 people were evacuated after a blaze started near the village of Mijas in the province of Málaga. Firefighters have also been working to contain a blaze started by a lightning strike in the Las Hurdes area of Extremadura, which has forced the evacuation of 400 people from eight villages. Croatia, Hungary and Morocco have also fought wildfires this week. | ['world/europe-news', 'world/wildfires', 'world/extreme-weather', 'world/france', 'world/spain', 'world/portugal', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/cash-boyle', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | world/wildfires | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2022-07-16T15:46:53Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
commentisfree/2011/may/01/carbon-accounting-emissions-imported-goods | Carbon accounting system is mad as a hatter | Andrew Simms | If there was a pub where you could drink your fill and leave the hangover with the landlord, would you go there? Idle dreaming, but this is the deal in the world of carbon accounting, where responsibility is shared out among countries, and targets set for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. If I want to own and enjoy a cheap, garage-sized TV, all the fossil fuel emissions that result from making it don't get added to my home account, but to the country of manufacture, most probably China. As a result, the origins of demand and the place of consumption become insulated from environmental consequences. Worse still, as the latest, most comprehensive set of figures on the hidden trade in "embodied carbon" reveal, it allows countries such as the UK and the US to delude themselves, by suggesting that the real problems in tackling climate change lay elsewhere, and to dangerously misunderstand the scale of domestic challenges. It allows us to think that, even if too slowly, we are heading in the right downward direction in terms of our emissions. When in fact the more comprehensive, latest figures reveal that the UK's CO2 emissions didn't fall by 28m tonnes between 1990 and 2008 at all, as the official record indicates, but rose by a substantial 100m tonnes. Rich country emissions went up 12% over the period when hidden, traded emissions are included, and anomalies such as Russia, whose economy collapsed in the early 1990s, are left out. Trade's share of the global economy increased steadily in the last two decades and, in tandem, emissions from the production of traded goods and services rose from one fifth to more than one quarter of global CO2 emissions. The UK has targets under the Kyoto protocol, and legal obligations under the Climate Change Act to reduce emissions. But the benchmark against which those targets and obligations are set excludes this "off-shored" carbon. Using a faulty accounting system creates a kind of Alice in Climate Wonderland world in which up is down, the wrong people take the blame and the kingdom is never put in order. Enter the government's "green deal", a centrepiece of the coalition's pledge to be the greenest government ever, which is about to arrive for scrutiny in the House of Commons. Like a spoon of sugar at the Hatter's tea party, it will allow motivated households to install home insulation and pay off the cost over time through their fuel bills. Parliament's environmental audit committee is currently investigating whether there are contradictions between how the UK addresses climate change in its aid programme, and how we behave at home. The contradiction is so large that perhaps it is difficult to see. It is the economic model itself. It demands ever more damaging over-consumption by the already rich to deliver shrinking, unreliable benefits to the poor. It's a model in which most benefits accrue to the former, yet without significantly improving life satisfaction, and costs, to the latter. Economic insult is merely added to environmental injury that a large proportion of our current carbon debts (let alone larger historical ones) are borne by others because of an accounting quirk. Other downright peculiarities emerge, such as the boomerang trade ,which sees the UK importing and exporting often near identical amounts of goods, like sending 5,000 tonnes of toilet paper to Germany, then importing 4,000 tonnes. Apart from failing on its own terms and being distorted by faulty measurement, the model – rising overall consumption fuelled by debt and export-led development – assumes endless supplies of cheap oil and infinite natural resources. Neither are available. Last week saw commentators obsessed with minor fluctuations in the UK's GDP, a measure of the quantity, not quality, of economic activity. "Recovery" has become synonymous with the return of rising consumption. In trying to revive a flawed and failing economic order, however, we appear as sad romantics, rather like those diehard Russians who still dream with misplaced memories of a golden age, for the return of the tsars or "strong" communist party leaders, rather than looking forward and imagining how the world could be different, better. | ['environment/series/100-months-to-save-the-world', 'commentisfree/commentisfree', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'environment/carbonfootprints', 'environment/ethical-living', 'environment/carbon-offset-projects', 'tone/comment', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'profile/andrewsimms'] | environment/carbon-offset-projects | EMISSIONS | 2011-05-01T09:00:01Z | true | EMISSIONS |
australia-news/2022/nov/24/national-farmers-federation-nff-attended-environment-department-meeting-jam-land-grasslands-clearing | Farmers’ group attended departmental meeting about grasslands clearing despite officials’ warnings | The federal environment department allowed the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) to attend a meeting about clearing of native grasslands in what its own officials warned could be a breach of commonwealth prosecutions policy. The warnings are contained in documents, seen by Guardian Australia, which were prepared ahead of a 5 April 2019 meeting to discuss an allegation that Jam Land, a company part owned by the then energy minister Angus Taylor and his brother Richard, had illegally cleared 28.5 hectares (70.4 acres) of critically endangered grasslands in the New South Wales Monaro region. The meeting was attended by the department’s then deputy secretary Dean Knudson, its chief compliance officer, Monica Collins, the Jam Land director, Richard Taylor, the NFF’s chief executive, Tony Mahar, and another official. “The close engagement of the National Farmers’ Federation in any type of alternate dispute resolution with Jam Land Pty Ltd and its directors and the department is unusual,” a two-page brief written before the meeting states. “It is not a request that would normally be acceptable to the department and may create a precedent or perception about the inappropriate influence of third parties on our formal investigatory processes.” Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup The Jam Land case has been controversial because Angus Taylor sought meetings in 2017 with senior environment officials and the office of the then environment minister, Josh Frydenberg, about the laws that protected the grasslands while the investigation was under way. Angus Taylor is a shareholder in Jam Land via his family company Gufee. He has repeatedly stated he “did not make any representations to federal or state authorities” in relation to the investigation into Jam Land. In 2020, three-and-a-half years after Jam Land sprayed herbicide on the property, the department concluded the grasslands had been removed illegally and ordered Jam Land restore 103 hectares (254 acres) on another part of the property. Jam Land appealed the remediation decision in the federal court in a case that was financially backed by the Australian Farmers’ Fighting Fund, a fund administered by the NFF. The court dismissed the appeal in September this year but Jam Land is now pursuing a separate federal court challenge. The 2019 documents shed new light on the sensitivity of the case within the department. The two-page meeting brief states the department wanted “a shared understanding of Mr Richard Taylor’s concerns with the compliance case and his willingness to engage with the department to resolve the case”. Jam Land and the NFF wanted “a further discounted approach to the compliance action” and an agreed pathway to resolving the compliance matter, the brief says. By this time, the Jam Land investigation had been under way for more than two years and, according to the meeting brief, the department’s last correspondence with the company was 18 months earlier . In a longer brief prepared before the meeting, a senior investigator said involving a lobby group in a meeting about an active investigation posed risks to the department’s regulatory activities. The NFF’s involvement may be “inconsistent” with the prosecutions policy of the commonwealth, “in particular whether or not the decision to prosecute has, will or is likely to have been influenced by any advantage or disadvantage to the government”, they wrote. It may also be inconsistent with the Legal Services Directions 2017, they said. “There is a significant risk that information disclosed in the alternate dispute resolution process may be conveyed by the National Farmers’ Federation to other third parties, or the broader community more generally, undermining and compromising the probity of the process,” they wrote. The meeting with the NFF went ahead despite the warnings. There is no suggestion that Richard Taylor did anything wrong by attending the meeting. Kirsty Ruddock, a managing lawyer with the Environmental Defenders Office, who previously worked as an investigator for the NSW environment department, said it was not unusual for an investigating agency to meet stakeholders generally and talk about its policies but that to talk about individual investigations was “highly unusual”. “It’s certainly what I would describe as unorthodox and not what I would call best practice from a regulator to be engaging with what is essentially a lobby group during an active investigation – for all of the reasons set out in that memo,” she said. “Because they [the lobby group] will have access to sensitive information about the investigation and then you don’t have control over the use of that information.” Richard Taylor said he had not instigated the meeting so could not comment on the purpose of it. He said the suggestion it was to seek a “further discounted approach to the compliance action” did not accord with his memory of the meeting or the outcomes of it. He said he was keen to attend because at that time Jam Land had not heard from the department for 18 months. He said “there was no suggestion at that time it was inappropriate for the NFF to attend” and was surprised to learn it had been an issue. A spokesperson for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water said its approach to managing potential breaches of national environmental law was outlined in its compliance policy. “Consistent with this policy, the department does not comment on methodologies used or how they are used during individual matters,” they said. “The relevant compliance action is currently before the federal court of Australia in relation to an application made under section 480K of the EPBC Act and, as a result, we will not comment any further.” Guardian Australia sent questions to the NFF, which responded that it “routinely helps farmers navigate complex regulatory matters with federal departments. That’s part of our job.” “The complexity of federal environment laws means that well-intentioned farmers are being caught by heavy-handed compliance actions when they think they are doing everything within their power to comply,” a spokesperson said. | ['australia-news/australian-politics', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/logging-and-land-clearing', 'australia-news/angus-taylor', 'environment/environment', 'environment/farming', 'campaign/email/afternoon-update', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/lisa-cox', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/logging-and-land-clearing | BIODIVERSITY | 2022-11-23T14:00:00Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
world/2010/oct/24/tea-party-climate-change-deniers | Tea Party climate change deniers funded by BP and other major polluters | BP and several other big European companies are funding the midterm election campaigns of Tea Party favourites who deny the existence of global warming or oppose Barack Obama's energy agenda, the Guardian has learned. An analysis of campaign finance by Climate Action Network Europe (Cane) found nearly 80% of campaign donations from a number of major European firms were directed towards senators who blocked action on climate change. These included incumbents who have been embraced by the Tea Party such as Jim DeMint, a Republican from South Carolina, and the notorious climate change denier James Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma. The report, released tomorrow, used information on the Open Secrets.org database to track what it called a co-ordinated attempt by some of Europe's biggest polluters to influence the US midterms. It said: "The European companies are funding almost exclusively Senate candidates who have been outspoken in their opposition to comprehensive climate policy in the US and candidates who actively deny the scientific consensus that climate change is happening and is caused by people." Obama and Democrats have accused corporate interests and anonymous donors of trying to hijack the midterms by funnelling money to the Chamber of Commerce and to conservative Tea Party groups. The Chamber of Commerce reportedly has raised $75m (£47m) for pro-business, mainly Republican candidates. "Oil companies and the other special interests are spending millions on a campaign to gut clean-air standards and clean-energy standards, jeopardising the health and prosperity of this state," Obama told a rally in California on Friday night. Much of the speculation has focused on Karl Rove, the mastermind of George Bush's victories, who has raised $15m for Republican candidates since September through a new organisation, American Crossroads. An NBC report warned that Rove was spearheading an effort to inject some $250m in television advertising for Republican candidates in the final days before the 2 November elections. But Rove, appearing today on CBS television's Face the Nation, accused Democrats of deploying the same tactics in 2008. "The president of the US had no problem at all when the Democrats did this," he said. "It was not a threat to democracy when it helped him get elected." The Cane report said the companies, including BP, BASF, Bayer and Solvay, which are some of Europe's biggest emitters, had collectively donated $240,200 to senators who blocked action on global warming – more even than the $217,000 the oil billionaires and Tea Party bankrollers, David and Charles Koch, have donated to Senate campaigns. The biggest single donor was the German pharmaceutical company Bayer, which gave $108,100 to senators. BP made $25,000 in campaign donations, of which $18,000 went to senators who opposed action on climate change. Recipients of the European campaign donations included some of the biggest climate deniers in the Senate, such as Inhofe of Oklahoma, who has called global warming a hoax. The foreign corporate interest in America's midterms is not restricted to Europe. A report by ThinkProgress, operated by the Centre for American Progress, tracked donations to the Chamber of Commerce from a number of Indian and Middle Eastern oil coal and electricity companies. Foreign interest does not stop with the elections. The Guardian reported earlier this year that a Belgian-based chemical company, Solvay, was behind a front group that is suing to strip the Obama administration of its powers to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. | ['environment/climate-change-scepticism', 'us-news/tea-party-movement', 'us-news/us-politics', 'business/bp', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'us-news/us-elections-2012', 'us-news/us-news', 'business/business', 'world/world', 'environment/environment', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'us-news/series/inside-the-tea-party', 'profile/suzannegoldenberg', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international'] | environment/climate-change-scepticism | CLIMATE_DENIAL | 2010-10-24T21:57:49Z | true | CLIMATE_DENIAL |
environment/2017/jul/14/guardian-readers-making-britain-beautiful-again | Guardian readers making Britain beautiful again | Letters | In our village, we have seen both the potential and the limitations of people-led efforts to tackle litter (Letters, 13 July). The parish council and the local transition village group have worked together to both inform people about the wider environmental problems of litter, especially plastic, and to develop a network of individuals who have undertaken to keep specific roads or areas free of litter. Volunteers were provided with good-quality litter pickers (available from the Keep Britain Tidy campaign) and gloves, and a map was put up in the parish office showing the areas covered. The results have been fantastic: lots of volunteers mean that most of the village is litter-free most of the time. I am sure that Wendy Harvey’s hope that the sight of people picking up litter raises awareness and discourages (but doesn’t stop) others from dropping litter. A campaign at the local secondary school, has undoubtedly contributed as well. However, the village has two major arteries running through its outskirts – the tidal River Avon near its meeting with the Severn, and the A369 between Bristol and Portishead. Both bring in huge amounts of litter which our campaign hasn’t really touched, despite organised litter picks by groups of local people, and the huge popularity of a local nature reserve that borders a significant section of the A369. I’m convinced that more communities could follow our example, with great benefits in so many ways. But let’s not pretend that it would crack the problem: we need action by the government (eg a deposit system for plastic bottles) and by retailers, who should be doing much more to reduce the vast and unnecessary amounts of packaging – mainly plastic and not all recyclable – they use. Bob Langton Pill, Somerset • A campaign called “1 Piece of Rubbish” already exists as a network and was started in Marseilles in 2015 by Edmund Platt, a Leeds-born man. His idea was to encourage everyone to pick up at least one piece of rubbish every day and put it into the nearest bin. Since January 2016, I have been following his example. Using my free bus pass, I travel all over England and post photographs, on social media, of the rubbish I’ve collected, in an attempt to encourage others to follow suit. Picking up a piece of rubbish is an activity that costs nothing, it’s in the fresh air, it’s a little bit of exercise and it’s guaranteed to make you feel empowered to make a difference! Like your letter writer Wendy Harvey, I feel sure that, with more publicity (maybe the Guardian could champion this cause?) and the sharing of information, this campaign could flourish into a national habit and make a hugely positive impact on our environment. United, together we can make our country beautiful again. Ruth Major Oldham • I actively pick up litter on my daily dog walks (including other people’s dogs’ poo) around the streets and parks where I live. However, I strongly believe that as a society someone needs to take a policy lead in our attitudes to the environment in which we all live. I have no doubt I was influenced by the Keep Britain Tidy campaigns in the 1960s and 70s. Now more than ever we need quirky, funny public information campaigns to counter the selfish throwaway culture. Environmental NGOs need to be encouraged to take on government and big business on plastic bottles and cans fouling our parks and rivers. How about emulating a lot of states in the US who charge a tiny deposit (say 5p)? David Hirst Birmingham • Wendy Harvey’s suggestion that we all commit to doing our own little bit to tackle the current deluge of litter deserves our support, but perhaps a sensible start would be to re-employ and pay a decent wage to the thousands of road sweepers and litter pickers laid off in the name of austerity in recent years. John Mulrenan London • I like the idea of a campaign to promote litter-collecting. But please, no stickers or badges. The world is suffocating under a sea of pointless plastic toys and “promotional” freebies made in China that probably don’t even get recycled but end up in landfill. For the same reason, can we ban children’s party bags? Naomi Joffe London • Well said, Wendy Harvey. Here in my home town I have been doing exactly that every day for several years on my short walk around the corner to collect my Guardian. Add other initiatives such as hedge- and verge-trimming, snow-clearance and path-sweeping, and we may begin to restore the concept of civic pride once far more prevalent in our communities. When asked why I do it, my usual response is to quote Voltaire – “pour encourager les autres”. I am pleased to report that it is beginning to have some effect. Adrian Broome Brigg, Lincolnshire • I totally agree with Wendy Harvey that there should be a sensible national programme to eliminate litter from our streets by people being encouraged to always pick up and bin one piece of litter every time they go out. She asked for a slogan to spearhead the campaign. How about: “This is your country, why make it a mess?” The problem in the past has been that previous campaigns have been too lily-livered about emphasising the personal involvement in one’s own environment which is required to get rid of litter. Nowadays one has to shout to make people take notice, even in their own interest. Alan Braddock Horbury, West Yorkshire • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters | ['environment/environment', 'environment/pollution', 'environment/waste', 'society/society', 'society/communities', 'environment/recycling', 'uk/ruralaffairs', 'uk/uk', 'tone/letters', 'type/article', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/editorialsandreply', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2017-07-14T17:21:26Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
world/2014/apr/08/gina-rinehart-coal-mine-given-short-shrift-by-queensland-land-court | Gina Rinehart coal mine given short shrift by Queensland land court | A massive coal mine part-owned by Gina Rinehart should either be halted completely or subjected to restrictions to better safeguard nearby residents’ water supply, the Queensland land court has ruled. The land court’s presiding member, Paul Smith, said the Queensland government should either reject the Alpha coal mine or allow it to proceed as long as “make-good agreements” are struck with local landholders and that “all concerns pursuant to the precautionary principle are resolved” over water use. The coalition of environmental and community groups which instigated the case have hailed the judgment as a major blow to the mine, which would be one of the world’s largest. The Coast and Country Association brought the case alongside two landholder families, the Andersons and the Curries, and a third landholder, Paola Cassoni, who live near the mine’s site in the Galilee Basin, in central Queensland. The objectors claimed the mine poses a serious risk to vital groundwater supplies. The case also centred upon the damage caused by carbon emissions flowing from the 32 million tonnes of coal the mine would produce for export. The $3.2bn Alpha project is 79% owned by Indian firm GVK and 21% owned by Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting. It already has federal government approval and is set to operate from 2016. Smith ruled that GVK Hancock must resolve concerns raised by the landholders and that three additional monitoring points are to be placed on each of the properties to analyse the water level. The water modelling conducted by the company was of “high quality”, Smith said, but “there is insufficient hard data to have a sufficient level of confidence that groundwater impacts will be as predicted” by its modelling. “Impacts unforeseen by the model may very well occur to the disadvantage of landholders such as the Andersons, Curries and Ms Cassoni,” Smith said. Smith said he had sympathy with the view that the Alpha coal mine would cause a huge release of greenhouse gases – estimated by opponents to be 60 million tonnes over its lifetime – but that was an issue borne from demand for coal-fired electricity, rather than the supply from mines themselves. GVK Hancock said the carbon emissions from the mined coal would be “infinitesimal” in the global context. The company has claimed the project, alongside its Kevin’s Corner mine, would create more than 20,000 jobs directly and indirectly, and more than $40bn in taxes and royalties. The land court’s judgment will be passed on to the Queensland government, which will decide how to implement its findings. “The court has upheld people’s concerns about the impact on farming, the water resources of the region,” said Derec [correct] Davies, of Coast and Country. “This is a landmark win for Queensland. We have stood up to the international mining industry and won, albeit partial. If the company wants to progress its proposal it must go away and do more homework. “This is a win for everyone who wants to breathe clean air, have clean water, cares about Australian agriculture and our climate. “ Davies, who said the judgment in relation to climate change was disappointing, said the Queensland government should stand by the court’s ruling. GVK Hancock and the Queensland government have been contacted for comment. | ['australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/mining', 'environment/coal', 'business/gina-rinehart', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/oliver-milman'] | environment/mining | ENERGY | 2014-04-08T07:25:04Z | true | ENERGY |
news/2011/sep/14/weatherwatch-john-constable-clouds-paintings | Weatherwatch: Constable's noble clouds | This was a great summer for cloud-spotting. Towering heaps of cumulus clouds soared high into the sky like colossal cauliflower heads, turning even more dramatic in the low sunlight of the evening, adding extra colour and depth to the sky in a manner reminiscent of a John Constable painting. One hundred and ninety years ago, the great artist began a series of famous cloud pictures known as his "skying period". This was when he spent days on Hampstead Heath, with its great panoramic views over London, and made oil sketches of the sky at a furious rate of work, sometimes producing two or three paintings in a day. The summer of 1821 was particularly good for cumulus clouds in what was a thoroughly showery season. "We have had noble clouds and effects of light and dark and colour," Constable wrote that summer. But he was much more than just an artist because he took great care to observe meteorology and made notes on the back of his sketches of the weather conditions. In fact, his pictures match the known weather conditions on the dates he made his paintings. Constable may have learnt his weather as a teenager, when he worked at his father's windmill on East Bergholt Common, Suffolk. There he would have learnt how to observe the skies to forecast the weather, a skill that all millers were preoccupied with so they could keep their windmills working efficiently and safe from gales. | ['news/series/weatherwatch', 'tone/features', 'uk/weather', 'type/article', 'profile/jeremy-plester', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2'] | news/series/weatherwatch | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2011-09-14T22:05:01Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
commentisfree/2009/mar/04/pakistan-zardari-iftikhar-chaudhry | Ayesha Ijaz Khan: The west shouldn't give up on Pakistan | Shortly after Asif Ali Zardari's Pakistan People's party (PPP) and its coalition partner in the northwest of Pakistan, Awami National party (ANP), signed a peace deal agreeing to the implementation of sharia law in the Swat valley, Zardari unseated the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) government in Pakistan's largest province, the Punjab, and imposed governor rule. Ironically, both the PPP and the ANP have historically flaunted their commitment to secular ideals. Yet, much like in the case of Musharraf, Zardari's energies are focused on targeting secular political opponents instead of extending the hand of collaboration to politicians across the spectrum in order to defeat the very dangerous enemy that is challenging the writ of the state and poised to impose its own draconian laws by force of the gun, as demonstrated by the attack on Sri Lanka's cricket team. To be fair to the ANP, its leadership has suffered losses at the hands of the extremists and may well be too scared to further antagonise these ruthless and armed groups who are now terrorising populations in not just the tribal areas, but also settled parts of the northwest province. Yet, as several analysts within Pakistan have pointed out, there have been peace negotiations and deals entered into previously with these groups, but they have not achieved lasting results. And although a military solution is rarely desirable and some sort of political settlement will eventually have to take place, the extremists must lay down their arms and agree to abide by the laws of the state if there is to be a political settlement. There is little doubt that American drone attacks in parts of Pakistan fuel sympathy for the extremists and create an environment whereby they can coerce concessions from the ruling government. Yet, overwhelmingly Pakistanis are fed up of the terror. Barbaric beheadings, burning of girls' schools, and a general feeling of insecurity has resulted in several Pakistani human rights groups and women activists protesting. Editorials, opinions and especially letters from the affected areas are pouring into newspapers condemning the violence and seeking help. But the government's priorities seem to be elsewhere. Zardari is too busy consolidating power and obliterating opposition. The imposition of two months of governor rule in Punjab is disturbingly reminiscent of the three-month "emergency" that Musharraf imposed in November 2007. Using terrorism as an excuse, Musharraf proclaimed a state of emergency aimed at annihilating civil society opposition to his removal of the chief justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry. In spite of jailing senior lawyers and several activists who were leading the chief justice's case for restoration, Musharraf could not thwart the desire for a democratic and progressive Pakistan found in large parts of the country, which has been sustained and facilitated by the amazing lawyers' movement. When political opponents joined the lawyers, Musharraf found it difficult to hang on to power. His party was defeated at the February 2008 polls, and contrary to the image of a wild and unruly Pakistan he had been busy painting to the west in his decade of rule, the Pakistanis voted for secular parties like the PPP and the ANP, not the religiously oriented ones that stood for sharia and jihad. Having rejected the religious parties at the polls in favour of the secular ones, many Pakistanis are perplexed and severely disturbed that their mandate is being set aside by the government in favour of an alleged peace deal which may result in the imposition of a very rigid interpretation of sharia. On the other hand, what gives the extremists in places like Swat greater reason to push for sharia is the lack of a functioning secular justice system. While the real chief justice, Chaudhry, is still out of a job, a pliant one sits in his place. Nevertheless, the lawyers' movement remains alive today and is not willing to back down. It remains the greatest thorn in Zardari's side. Much like Musharraf, Zardari offers words of concern for places like Swat but few actions. Actions are reserved for political opponents like the Sharif brothers and their PML, which was doing an administratively decent job of ruling the Punjab until it was derailed a few days ago, and for civil society activists like those involved in the lawyers' movement, who are once again threatening a long march if the real chief justice is not restored. The mere thought of this has led Zardari to topple the democratically elected government in Punjab, from where the long march would have commenced. He has not learned from Musharraf's experience. He cannot suppress an idea whose time has come. He will either have to restore Chaudhry, who most Pakistanis look upon as a symbol of justice, or risk Musharraf's fate. There is also a lesson here for the western powers. It is time to let go of partnerships with individuals such as Musharraf and Zardari, who cannot deliver on the fight against extremism, and look instead to partner with the Pakistani nation, civil society activists and professionals, who have a far greater stake in the system and want their country to progress and function democratically. In his inaugural address, President Obama, in addressing the Muslim world, said, "we will extend a hand if you are willing to un-clench your fist". It may be too much to ask those who are accustomed to corruption and deceit to un-clench their fists, but how about extending a hand to those who are on the right side of history and who are not willing to back down from their democratic ideals? | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'world/pakistan', 'world/sri-lanka-cricket-team-attack', 'world/world', 'tone/comment', 'type/article', 'profile/ayesha-ijaz-khan'] | world/sri-lanka-cricket-team-attack | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2009-03-04T22:00:01Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
world/2018/oct/02/what-caused-palu-indonesia-tsunami-and-could-lives-have-been-saved | What caused the Indonesia tsunami and could lives have been saved? | What caused the tsunami? Scientists are still trying to determine the exact cause. The earthquake that occurred on Friday morning was not a thrust earthquake, the kind that is responsible for most tsunamis, where tectonic plates move vertically up and down and displace water. Instead it was caused by what is known as a strike-slip fault, where tectonic plates move horizontally. According to Phil Cummins, a professor of natural hazards at the Australian National University, these earthquakes usually lead only to very weak tsunamis. It has been suggested that Friday’s earthquake could have caused a large underwater landslide that displaced the water. This submarine landslide could have occurred either in Palu bay, close to the shore, or further out to sea. Usually tsunamis are caused by earthquakes hundreds of miles from shore, and the shaking is rarely felt on land. As Cummins noted: “It is unusual to see a double disaster like this.” It will take months of field research and underwater exploration to determine the cause. What early warning systems were in place and did they fail? There have been claims that Indonesia’s meteorological and geophysics agency, BMKG, may have removed a tsunami warning too early, before the waves hit the coast of Palu, and was thus responsible for some of the loss of life. There have also been suggestions that buoys out to sea that detect earthquakes and tsunamis as part of the early warning system had not been serviced for six years and were faulty. However, Cummins and Adam Switzer, the chairman of the Asian school of environment at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, were in agreement that the disaster was a failure not of technology but of education. Unlike the 2004 tsunami that devastated south Asia, this wave was not was prompted by an earthquake hundreds of miles out to sea. Instead it was a localised tsunami resulting from an earthquake close to the coast. It has been estimated that the tsunami waves hit Palu only 30 minutes after the quake. “For the people on the beach and in the city, the earthquake should have been the early warning,” Switzer said. Cummins said: “The focus on the technological points of failure here is misguided because this was a localised tsunami. In that case you can’t rely on a warning system; people should seek high ground immediately. They cannot afford to wait for a siren or a warning, they need to move instantly. The problem is, from what I’ve seen from the footage, many people appear not to have done that.” He added: “Either they didn’t know they needed to do that or they didn’t believe anything would happen, and in either case that says the people in Sulawesi were not educated about what they need to do in this situation. And that’s what killed people.” What made the tsunami so destructive? Questions remain about how far out to sea the tsunami originated, and therefore how much speed it gathered – some estimates have suggested it was moving at 500mph in Palu bay but slowed down substantially before it hit the shore. The waves were six metres high in some places and reached up to a kilometre inland. It has been suggested the narrow shape of Palu bay concentrated and amplified the force of the wave. “The shape of the bay in Palu could play a role,” said Cummins. “It can funnel the energy and concentrate it at the tip and that will focus the tsunami. It is also a very a deep bay, which means the tsunami could move at high speed.” Switzer said the initial impact of a tsunami caused the most destruction, though the movement of debris when the wave pulled back could also prove deadly. “The most devastation from the tsunami is generally the force of the water hitting objects as it strikes the coast. The tsunami water going between buildings also accelerates the velocity,” he said. Were the earthquake and tsunami unexpected in the area? Switzer said: “There’s a large and well-documented fault system that runs through Palu, which is about 200km long. There was an event like this in 1937 and other events in the early 1900s, though it’s not clear if they caused tsunamis. And there was a paper published in 2013 in which it was suggested that the Palu fault, which is very straight and very long, had the potential for causing a very destructive earthquake and tsunami. So it’s not like this is unexpected. But the question is, did we learn anything from past incidents? It doesn’t seem so.” Dr Kerry Sieh, of the Earth Observatory of Singapore, said: “It’s well known that that fault in Palu has been storing strain and accumulating strain at a few centimetres per year, so it’s a been very rapid slipping fault for years.” | ['world/indonesia-tsunami', 'world/indonesia', 'world/tsunamis', 'world/earthquakes', 'world/natural-disasters', 'world/asia-pacific', 'type/article', 'world/world', 'tone/explainers', 'profile/hannah-ellis-petersen', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-foreign'] | world/indonesia-tsunami | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2018-10-02T13:11:08Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
us-news/2019/sep/02/donald-trump-wrongly-says-hurricane-dorian-will-hit-alabama | Donald Trump wrongly says Hurricane Dorian will hit Alabama | Donald Trump has sown confusion about Hurricane Dorian, repeatedly wrongly claiming that Alabama was set to be hit by the storm and that he had “never even heard of a category 5 storm”, despite having said the same thing at least four times previously. Trump’s comments came on Sunday as the Bahamas was pounded by Hurricane Dorian, with fears the “catastrophic” storm could lead to devastating damage and loss of life, and the south-east coast of the US braced for storm surges, extreme winds and heavy rainfall. Earlier on Sunday, Trump tweeted that Alabama would be hit by the storm, “most likely … (much) harder than anticipated”. The claim was quickly refuted by the National Weather Service office in Birmingham Alabama, which tweeted that Alabama would “NOT” see any effects from Dorian. Despite their clarification, Trump repeated the claim at his press conference later. “And, I will say, the states – and it may get a little piece of a great place: It’s called Alabama,” said Trump. “And Alabama could even be in for at least some very strong winds and something more than that, it could be. This just came up, unfortunately. It’s the size of – the storm that we’re talking about. So, for Alabama, just please be careful also.” At that same press conference, held at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) headquarters in Washington DC, Trump expressed huge surprise at the “monstrous” size of Dorian, saying he was not sure he had ever heard of a category 5 hurricane before. “I have – not sure – I’m not sure that I’ve ever even heard of a category 5,” said Trump. “I knew it existed. And I’ve seen some category 4s; you don’t even see them that much. But a category 5 is something that I don’t know that I’ve even heard the term other than I know it’s there. That’s the ultimate. And that’s what we have, unfortunately.” But, as observant viewers were quick to point out, this is a line he has trotted out before. There are at least four other occasions – including as recently as May – that he said he was astonished to discover category 5 hurricanes existed. Last week, Axios reported that Trump had repeatedly suggested the US military should bomb hurricanes to disrupt them before they made landfall, a claim Trump strenuously denies. According to Axios, the president said in a meeting with top national security and homeland security officials about the threat of hurricanes: “I got it. I got it. Why don’t we nuke them?” “They start forming off the coast of Africa, as they’re moving across the Atlantic, we drop a bomb inside the eye of the hurricane and it disrupts it. Why can’t we do that?” Trump responded to the story on Twitter, saying it was “ridiculous”. “I never said this,” the president tweeted. “Just more FAKE NEWS!” | ['us-news/donaldtrump', 'world/hurricanes', 'us-news/florida', 'world/natural-disasters', 'us-news/us-news', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'world/hurricane-dorian', 'profile/kate-lyons', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-foreign'] | world/hurricanes | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2019-09-02T01:45:19Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
artanddesign/2015/nov/28/climate-change-activists-tattoos-tate-britain-bp-protest | Climate change activists stage tattoo protest against BP at Tate Britain | Climate change activists have occupied part of Tate Britain, where they have started to tattoo each other in protest at BP’s sponsorship of the gallery. Tate has closed the 1840s gallery where 35 activists have set themselves up and started to tattoo each other with the numbers of the CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere in the year they were born. They estimate it will take all day to complete the tattoos. Alice Bell, a spokesperson for Liberate Tate, the group that is leading the protest, said: “This makes a statement about the stain that oil has across society, on Tate, on the negotiations and across our culture, society and economics more broadly. The black mark on our skin reflects the taint of BP on Tate.” Scientists estimate that 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is a safe level. This was passed around 30 years ago. UN experts said recently that the Earth’s atmosphere would “enter a new permanent reality” in 2016 when the CO2 concentration is predicted to pass 400ppm. It is currently estimated to stand at 397ppm. UN climate change talks open in Paris on Monday. Amy, 38, a photographer from Australia, was having the number 333 tattooed on her hip, where her daughter has a birthmark. “I’ve never had a tattoo because I’ve never felt strongly enough about a symbol or image to have it permanently placed on my body. But I have a daughter and I am deeply concerned about climate change,” she said. “To have a child is a hopeful act, it is to have faith in the future. But we have to divest fossil fuels from our lives and that includes the arts.” The four activists doing the tattooing are not professionals and have spent two months learning the process, practising on fruit and their own legs. Bell said their protest was “probably more hygienic than most tattoo parlours”. It is the latest in a string of protests by Liberate Tate that aim to highlight the influence of BP on art and cultural institutions. In June the group occupied Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall for 25 hours and scrawled words of warning about climate change across the floor in charcoal. Three years earlier they deposited a wind turbine blade at the gallery, with an official request for it to be made part of the museum’s permanent collection. In January, after a protracted legal battle, the Tate was forced to reveal that it had accepted £3.8m from BP over a 17-year period – an average of £224,000 each year. Protesters said the sum was “embarrassingly small”, while the Tate described it as “considerable”. A freedom of information request revealed that the sponsorship represented 0.3% of Tate’s operating budget in 2013-14. The 1840s gallery was chosen for the protest because it houses many paintings from the time of the industrial revolution, when the large-scale burning of fossil fuels began in the west. Tate Britain is the oldest gallery in the Tate network, which dates back to the late 19th century when the industrialist Henry Tate donated his art collection to the nation. In Paris on Monday, leaders from almost every country in the world will gather to try to thrash out a deal on limiting greenhouse gas emissions from 2020. More than 2,000 protests in 150 countries are expected to take place on Sunday as part of the Global Climate March. Tate responded to the protest in a statement that read: “BP is one of the most important sponsors of the arts in the UK supporting Tate as well as several other leading cultural institutions. Tate works with a wide range of corporate organisations and generates the majority of its funding from earned income and private sources. The support that these organisations give is extremely important and allows us to deliver a hugely successful and popular programme. “The Tate Trustees first agreed a sponsorship policy in 1991, and more recently incorporated its principles within an Ethics Policy in 2008. The Board and Ethics committee regularly review compliance with the policy. BP has worked with Tate since 1990 and fits within the guidelines of this policy. Its support has been instrumental in helping Tate develop access to the Tate Collection and to present changing displays of work by a wide range of artists in the national collection of British art.” | ['artanddesign/tatebritain', 'environment/activism', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'uk/london', 'business/bp', 'artanddesign/artanddesign', 'culture/culture', 'uk/uk', 'business/business', 'environment/environment', 'world/protest', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/emma-e-howard'] | environment/activism | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2015-11-28T12:59:37Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
environment/2022/jan/31/global-count-estimates-earth-has-73000-tree-species-bletchley-park-good-turing-frequency-estimation | Global count estimates Earth has 73,000 tree species – 14% more than reported | There are an estimated 73,300 species of tree on Earth, 9,000 of which have yet to be discovered, according to a global count of tree species by thousands of researchers who used second world war codebreaking techniques created at Bletchley Park to evaluate the number of unknown species. Researchers working on the ground in 90 countries collected information on 38 million trees, sometimes walking for days and camping in remote places to reach them. The study found there are about 14% more tree species than previously reported and that a third of undiscovered tree species are rare, meaning they could be vulnerable to extinction by human-driven changes in land use and the climate crisis. “It is a massive effort for the whole world to document our forests,” said Jingjing Liang, a lead author of the paper and professor of quantitative forest ecology at Purdue University in Indiana, US. “Counting the number of tree species worldwide is like a puzzle with pieces spreading all over the world. We solved it together as a team, each sharing our own piece.” Despite being among the largest and most widespread organisms, there are still thousands of trees to be discovered, with 40% of unknown species believed to be in South America, according to the paper published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Some of these undocumented species would probably have been known to indigenous communities but some, in the most inaccessible regions, may have never been found before. The Amazon basin appears to have the highest diversity of tree species at local level, with 200 tree species a hectare. Researchers believe this could be because it is a warm, wet environment suited to supporting a wider range of species. To estimate the number of unknown species, scientists used the Good-Turing frequency estimation, which was created by the codebreaker Alan Turing and his assistant Irving Good when trying to crack German codes for the Enigma machine during the second world war. The theory, which was developed by the Taiwanese statistician Anne Chao to be applied to the study of undetected species, helped researchers work out the occurrence of rare events – in this case unknown species of trees – using data on observed rare species. Essentially, the code uses information on species that are only detected once or twice in data to estimate the number of undetected species. The idea to do an inventory of the planet’s trees came 10 years ago when Liang found data on Alaska’s trees sitting in a drawer. He was impressed by the findings and made it his personal mission to get the data online. He then wrote a proposal to do an inventory of the whole world. “People initially laughed at me,” he said. There is no data on how the number of tree species may have changed over time, although many species are thought to be threatened with extinction due to deforestation and the climate crisis. Scientists are worried many will disappear before they have been documented. Liang said: “We hope this paper will provide us with benchmark data so that we can know if the total number of tree species in the world has been declining, especially during our mass extinction event. “We need to look at the forest as not just a carbon reservoir, or a resource for extraction; we should look at our forests as a habitat that contains tens of thousands of species of trees, and even a much higher number of flora and fauna – we need to pay attention to this biodiversity.” Dr Ruth Mitchell, a plant-soil ecologist at the James Hutton Institute in Scotland, who was not involved in the research, said it showed that even for organisms as large as trees, new species were still being discovered. “It is very exciting, yet at the same time concerning that we are losing so much biodiversity so rapidly that we don’t even know about,” she said. “This study highlights the incredible diversity within our forests, much of which is still out there waiting for us to discover.” Martin Lukac, professor of ecosystem science at Reading University, who was also not involved in the paper, said: “The paper shows that almost half of the world’s tree species are in South America – this is a diamond-hard proof that we must not destroy the tropical forests there. “The tree-species diversity took billions of years to accumulate in the Amazon,” he said. “It would be beyond reckless to destroy it inside a century.” 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/forests', 'environment/biodiversity', 'environment/conservation', 'science/science', 'environment/environment', 'environment/deforestation', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/wildlife', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/phoebe-weston', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-age-of-extinction'] | environment/biodiversity | BIODIVERSITY | 2022-01-31T20:00:06Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2022/nov/16/chris-bowen-takes-leadership-role-in-cop27-talks-as-john-kerry-praises-australias-climate-u-turn | Chris Bowen takes leadership role in Cop27 talks as John Kerry praises Australia’s climate U-turn | In a sign Australia has come in from the cold at climate talks after years of being criticised as a laggard, Chris Bowen has been asked to take a leadership role in the final days of faltering negotiations at the UN summit in Egypt. It came on a day in which Australia’s climate change minister was effusively praised by the US climate envoy, John Kerry, and signed up to a global alliance that aims to massively expand offshore wind energy. But the Albanese government drew criticism for not including new funding or commitments in its national statement at the Cop27 conference in Sharm el-Sheikh and resisted calls to join a pledge to end public support for fossil fuel projects overseas. With three days of scheduled time left at the talks, Bowen was asked to take over the struggling negotiations over how to fund climate financing for poor and vulnerable countries. He will co-facilitate that section of negotiations alongside the Indian climate change minister, Bhupender Yadav. They will be responsible for getting delegates from nearly 200 countries to agree on text detailing how the world will raise vast sums to support the developing world to cut emissions and adapt to the climate crisis. Observers have described negotiations in Sharm as slow and often directionless. There are concerns some countries are pushing for changes that would unwind commitments made in a pact agreed at the last climate conference in Glasgow a year ago. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup A leaked draft text on climate finance seen by the Guardian appeared to have dropped a reference to how quickly a long-promised goal of $US100bn of public and private climate finance a year should be reached. The Glasgow pact said it was expected by 2023. The draft also went backwards in what it said about funding for climate adaptation measures. Where the Glasgow pact said the total should “at least double” by 2025, the new draft said countries should “consider doubling adaptation finance”. Friederike Röder, from Global Citizen, said while negotiations were at an early stage ahead of a scheduled Friday finish the initial signs were “far from promising”. “When will countries actually take responsibility?” she said. The fragile state of the talks led Bowen to rewrite Australia’s national statement, delivered on the main conference plenary floor, after an initial version had been released to media Monday night. The statement he delivered called out the World Bank and other multilateral development banks for not doing enough to tackle the climate crisis, as flagged in advance. But the final version added a new section to say Australia remained committed the world aiming to keep global heating as close as possible to 1.5C of warming above pre-industrial levels, as was agreed in Glasgow. Kerry said late last week that a few countries had resisted mentioning the 1.5C target in the Cop27 text. It also stressed that it was urgent that global leaders “accelerate the renewables transformation this decade”. “The costs of letting these priorities fall to the wayside are too great,” he said. The minister later said the speech was updated “to reflect a strong commitment to what was agreed at Glasgow, because we need to. These are not givens, it is not locked in.” US praise Bowen’s invitation to play a leadership role followed Kerry praising his Australian counterpart as he introduced him before a panel discussion in the US pavilion. The US special envoy for climate pointedly contrasted Bowen’s performance with that of the Morrison ex-government. “He is doing an incredible job of demonstrating the difference an election makes,” Kerry said of Bowen. “The government of Australia has stepped up in remarkable ways and we’re pleased with that.” But Australia’s national statement was criticised by some climate and environment groups for not including new funding or policy commitments. Greenpeace Australia Pacific said it was a missed opportunity to back up the government’s stated goal of supporting its Pacific neighbours on “the existential issue of loss and damage”. Shiva Gounden, a Greenpeace Pacific adviser, said Australia was all talk but had delivered little action. “The Australian government certainly sounds better than the previous government on climate, but a lack of action means they are failing to meet the promise of their talking points,” he said. “Simply being better than their Scott Morrison-led predecessors is not good enough.” Nicki Hutley, an economist with the Climate Council, said Bowen had side-stepped the need to phase out Australia’s fossil fuels and increase its commitment to global climate finance. Bowen’s main announcement on Tuesday was that Australia would join a global offshore wind alliance that has a goal of building at least 380 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity being installed by 2030. The alliance aims to help drive the expansion of the industry by sharing information and plans to cut costs and accelerate construction of giant offshore turbines. Bowen said Australia had 60,000km of coast, but until recently offshore wind energy developments were illegal. “We see this as being a very, very important part of our energy mix” he said. Australia faces challenger for Cop31 Also on Tuesday, Turkey announced it would challenge Australia and the Pacific for the rights to host the 2026 climate summit. Australia and the Pacific are the frontrunners to host what will be known as Cop31 after possible contenders Germany and Switzerland opted not to bid. Responding to Turkey’s announcement, Bowen said Australia was “very encouraged by the strong indications of support” it had received to co-host Cop31. He said the bid “would rightly focus the world’s attention on climate impacts in the Pacific and showcase Australia’s credibility as a future renewable energy superpower”. | ['environment/cop27', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'australia-news/australian-politics', 'environment/environment', 'campaign/email/afternoon-update', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/adam-morton', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/cop27 | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2022-11-15T23:38:34Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
technology/2023/jun/14/eu-moves-closer-to-passing-one-of-worlds-first-laws-governing-ai | EU moves closer to passing one of world’s first laws governing AI | The EU has taken a major step towards passing one of the world’s first laws governing artificial intelligence after its main legislative branch approved the text of draft legislation that includes a blanket ban on police use of live facial recognition technology in public places. The European parliament approved rules aimed at setting a global standard for the technology, which encompasses everything from automated medical diagnoses to some types of drone, AI-generated videos known as deepfakes, and bots such as ChatGPT. MEPs will now thrash out details with EU countries before the draft rules – known as the AI act – become legislation. “AI raises a lot of questions socially, ethically, economically. But now is not the time to hit any ‘pause button’. On the contrary, it is about acting fast and taking responsibility,” said Thierry Breton, the European commissioner for the internal market. A rebellion by centre-right MEPs in the EPP political grouping over an outright ban on real-time facial recognition on the streets of Europe failed to materialise, with a number of politicians attending Silvio Berlusconi’s funeral in Italy. The final vote was 499 in favour and 28 against with 93 abstentions. European leaders are expected to push back on a total ban on biometrics, with police forces across the continent keen to utilise the potential to recognise criminals as they walk down a street or through public areas. The EPP had argued the technology could be of vital importance in combating crime and in counter-terrorism intelligence as well as in searches for missing children. Emotional recognition, which is used in parts of China to identify tired truck drivers, for example, will also be banned at work places and in schools under the proposed law. The European parliament president, Roberta Metsola, described it as “legislation that will no doubt be setting the global standard for years to come”. She said the EU now had the ability to set the tone worldwide and that “a new age of scrutiny” had begun. Brando Benifei, a co-rappoteur of the parliament’s AI committee, which progressed the legislation to the voting stage, said that on facial recognition the law would provide “a clear safeguard to avoid any risk of mass surveillance”. His fellow co-rappoteur, Dragos Tudorache, said that if the legislation had already been in force, the French government would not have been able to pass a law this year to enable live facial recognition for crowd surveillance at the 2024 Olympics. To combat the high risk of copyright infringement, the legislation will oblige developers of AI chatbots to publish all the works of scientists, musicians, illustrators, photographers and journalists used to train them. They will also have to prove that everything they did to train the machine complied with the law. If they do not do so, they could be forced to delete applications immediately or be fined up to 7% of their revenue, which could run to hundreds of millions of euros for tech giants. “There are plenty of sharp teeth in there,” Tudorache said. He said talks with the European Council and the European Commission would begin and that he would enter them with a mandate from the parliament rather than “red lines” on the disputed facial recognition issue. Benifei described the EPP’s attempts to throw out the blanket ban on mass surveillance on the grounds that it would stop police using the tool for security as propaganda, because authorities would still be able to use biometric data including CCTV footage as they already do to pursue criminals. There is also growing clamour to regulate AI across the Atlantic, as pressure grows on western governments to act fast in what some describe as a battle to protect humanity. While AI proponents hail the technology for how it will transform society, including work, healthcare and creative pursuits, others are worried by its potential to undermine democracy. Even if the EU’s ambitious target to reach an agreement on the law by the end of the year is achieved, it would not come into force until 2026 at the earliest, forcing the EU to push for a voluntary interim pact with tech companies. Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s antitrust chief, told reporters that a balance might yet be struck as parliament reflected those who supported a ban on principled grounds relating to privacy as well as others who take a “slightly more pragmatic or security-oriented approach”. | ['technology/artificialintelligenceai', 'world/eu', 'technology/facial-recognition', 'world/surveillance', 'world/privacy', 'world/world', 'technology/technology', 'campaign/email/tech-scape', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/lisaocarroll', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-foreign'] | technology/facial-recognition | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2023-06-14T14:13:06Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
world/2024/dec/02/akita-japan-bear-attack-supermarket-captured | Bear snared after three day supermarket standoff with Japan police | A bear that attacked a supermarket employee in northern Japan at the weekend before apparently holing up inside for three days has been exterminated after being found in a trap local authorities had laid near the store’s entrance. A 47-year-old man was taken to hospital suffering from facial and other injuries after the attack in the northern prefecture of Akita on Saturday morning. His injuries are not life-threatening, according to local media. Police called in licensed hunters to kill the animal, which is said to be about a metre in length, but they were initially unable to locate it, the Kyodo news agency said. Traps were laid at entrances to the supermarket, where the bear appeared to have eaten large quantities of meat. A drone had also been deployed to establish its whereabouts. Police said the bear had been found in a trap, where honey, apples and bread had been placed, set between an entrance and a storage area after the government informed them the trap’s sensor had been activated early on Monday morning. The bear was put to sleep before being killed, the Kyodo news agency said. Authorities in parts of northern Japan are struggling to address the rising number of encounters between humans and bears that have left their natural habitat in search of food. Residents have been told to remain vigilant, including those in urban areas, as the animals prepare to go into hibernation, while some have warned that the scarcity of food means that some hungry animals will continue to forage during the colder months. Authorities reported 219 casualties, including six deaths, from bear attacks across 19 of Japan’s 47 prefectures in the 12 months to March this year – the highest figure since nationwide data became available. Fluctuating harvests of bears’ staple foods and rural depopulation have been cited as factors in the rise in ursine encounters, while experts believe a steady fall in the number of children, whose noisier behaviour helps keeps bears away, is another factor behind the rise in incidents in country towns and villages. The injured man in Akita was attacked while working near the supermarket’s delicatessen section before the store opened early on Saturday. Another worker helped him to the safety of a storage area before calling police, Kyodo said. The store was closed and there were no shoppers inside at the time. Several bear sightings had been reported in the neighbourhood, located near the centre of Akita city, in recent days. The prefecture was the scene of two high-profile incidents last year, including one in which a man lost part of an ear after finding a bear in his garage, and another in which several people were mauled at a bus stop. Japan’s bear population is growing, with one estimate putting the number of black bears at 44,000 – compared with 15,000 estimated in 2012. That figure does not include Hokkaido, thought to be home to just under 12,000 Ussuri brown bears, whose population has more than doubled since 1990. | ['world/japan', 'environment/wildlife', 'world/asia-pacific', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/justinmccurry', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-foreign'] | environment/wildlife | BIODIVERSITY | 2024-12-02T04:27:26Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
uk/undercover-with-paul-lewis-and-rob-evans/2011/aug/11/mark-kennedy-codename-revealed | Mark Kennedy's codename revealed | Rob Evans | We're back, slightly later than planned, but then again, there seems to be a lot going on at the moment. In this blog, we are aiming to post up original documents whenever possible. We're kicking off with the judgment in the quashing of the Ratcliffe convictions last month. It can be found here To quickly recap, three court of appeal judges overturned the convictions of 20 environmental protesters for attempting to occupy the Ratcliffe power station as crucial evidence recorded by police spy Mark Kennedy had been withheld. The judgment is worth reading as it shows how the three senior judges had little doubt that the convictions had to be quashed, and how critical they were of Kennedy for over-stepping his legal powers. It also reveals an interesting nugget - Kennedy's code name while he was deployed undercover in the enviornmental movement. Paragraph 11 of the judgment tells us that Kennedy was known as UCO 133. The first three letters are seemingly easy to decipher - UCO stands for undercover officer, but the numerals are more intriguing. 133 may just be a random number and may not mean anything, but if there is anyone who knows better, please let us know if they are significant in any way. The judgment also incidentally discloses the name of his handler - David Hutcheson, who must be a member of the National Public Order Intelligence Unit which ran Kennedy. In a previous post, we wrote about how the Ratcliffe court papers had thrown up another intriguing nugget - that Kennedy was deployed as part of Operation Pegasus, whose aim is "to infiltrate extreme left wing groups in the United Kingdom". A quick thanks to all those who have passed on information about Operation Pegasus and please keep it coming | ['uk/undercover-with-paul-lewis-and-rob-evans', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/climate-camp', 'world/protest', 'environment/activism', 'environment/environment', 'uk/ukcrime', 'uk/mark-kennedy', 'tone/blog', 'type/article', 'profile/robevans'] | environment/activism | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2011-08-11T15:22:48Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
australia-news/2021/nov/03/when-charles-met-scott-prince-and-the-pm-come-face-to-face-in-cop26s-last-chance-saloon | When Charles met Scott: prince and the PM come face to face in Cop26’s ‘last-chance saloon’ | In the run-up to the Glasgow summit, Prince Charles generated headlines when he urged Scott Morrison to attend Cop26. The Prince of Wales argued that the conference could be the last chance to save the planet. At that time, Australia’s prime minister was yet to land his net zero deal with the Nationals, and was equivocating about whether or not he would fly to Glasgow. In a televised interview, the Prince of Wales warned of a “catastrophic” impact if leaders didn’t turn up and ambitious commitments weren’t landed. When a BBC interviewer told the prince Morrison had not officially confirmed his attendance, Australia’s future monarch said he was aware he would be accused of meddling but action was needed immediately. “You gently try to suggest there may be other ways of doing things, in my case,” he said. Otherwise, you lot accuse me of interfering and meddling, don’t you?” When asked why it was important a world leader like Morrison attend, he said: “Well, that’s what I’m trying to say all the time, and the point being that this is a last-chance saloon, literally. “Because if we don’t really take the decisions that are vital now, it’s going to be almost impossible to catch up.” Given that preamble, there was considerable interest in how things might go when the prime minister met the Prince of Wales at the summit. When the prince was ushered into the room on Tuesday, Morrison introduced him to George Brandis – the Australian high commissioner in London. For context, Morrison noted that he had known Brandis when they served together in the cabinet; the high commissioner was the attorney general in his past parliamentary life. Charles seemed intrigued. While small talk is generally the established protocol for these royal photo opportunities, Morrison was clearly anxious to get down to business. He spoke like a man on the clock. The prime minister is the marketing guy, and there was a pitch to deliver. “But now we are committed to net zero by 2050,” he told the prince, with no segue apparent between Brandis’s past lawmaking and carbon neutrality. “Australia has done that here at Cop26, doubled our climate finance commitments, and we are working very closely with our Pacific family.” The words got faster. Morrison noted Prince Charles had always given “great attention” to the Pacific. The prime minister’s body language suggested the Australian was hoping for approval. The prince was polite but didn’t gush. At one point, he looked at official photographers, or perhaps an adviser, with an expression best characterised as bemusement. He murmured assent about his well-established Pacific watching, scratched his nose absently, and waved Morrison in the direction of a chair. The show was over. The observers were ushered out. | ['australia-news/scott-morrison', 'environment/cop26-glasgow-climate-change-conference-2021', 'environment/environment', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'world/world', 'uk/prince-charles', 'uk/uk', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'australia-news/george-brandis', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/katharine-murphy', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/cop26-glasgow-climate-change-conference-2021 | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2021-11-02T21:03:53Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
global-development/2022/mar/21/fertiliser-prices-hit-new-highs-as-multiple-problems-affect-global-supplies | Fertiliser prices hit new highs as multiple problems affect global supplies | Fertiliser prices have broken new records as global supplies are hit by multiple factors including reduced supplies from Russia and Belarus, disruptions to the supply chain, a China export ban and a Canadian rail strike. “It’s a series of events we’ve never seen before and it continues to look like it’s going to get worse than better,” said Josh Linville, the director of fertiliser at the US commodity trader StoneX. “People thought the Russia-Ukraine war would be quick and Russia would be back out in the market and that’s not been the case.” Prices for raw materials that make up the crop nutrient commodity market – ammonia, nitrogen, potash, urea, phosphates, sulphates and nitrates – have risen 30% since the start of the year, and are now higher than the levels reached during the food and energy crisis when prices jumped in 2008, according to CRU, a UK-based commodity consultancy. Prices of Nola urea, one of the easiest fertiliser commodities to track, is trading at a 34-year high of $880 a US ton – in 2020 the price was $182. Prices are up 60% since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February. Linville said he was now witnessing grain prices moving in response to fertiliser prices, not vice versa. “It’s something we’ve never seen before,” he said. “It’s new territory for everybody who has ever been in this market.” Grain prices have been volatile since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as importers are heavily reliant on supplies shipped from the Black Sea region. Russian fertiliser companies have not been hit with sanctions, through a number of Russian executives connected to the industry have been placed on sanctions lists. The country’s industry and trade ministry on 4 March recommended that its producers temporarily halt fertiliser exports. The ban was largely symbolic, however, since most of the country’s fertiliser exports move through ports disrupted by the conflict in Ukraine. Belarus, which exports potash through Lithuanian ports, was hit with export sanctions after it permitted Russian troops to stage and enter Ukraine across its borders. Russia and Belarus are the world’s second- and third-largest producers of potash, a key ingredient for producing nitrogen-containing fertilisers, after Canada. “There’s a sheer logistical problem of how to get it out of Baltic and the Black Sea ports, it’s difficult to find buyers because people don’t want to engage with Russian companies,” sai Mike Nash at the commodity market analyst Argus. “The logical conclusion to this is demand destruction,” he adds. “I don’t see any change while this conflict continues.” Last year, China tightened its controls on exports of fertilisers, primarily nitrogen and phosphate, effectively shutting off the supply to the global market through to June this year to try to limit a rise in domestic food prices. Beijing’s move exacerbated a shortage of global supplies and helped contribute to a surge in prices across international markets. According to Nash, the likelihood of China lifting restrictions in June is remote. While the loss of Chinese, Russian and Belarusian exports have pushed fertiliser prices up further, a labour dispute at Canadian Pacific Railways is expected to aggravate shortages. Canada’s Nutrien Ltd, the world’s biggest fertiliser producer, said it could weather a freight shutdown lasting a few days but a longer shutdown would force it to consider slowing potash production. The company said last week it planned to increase potash output by nearly 1m tonnes this year to about 15m tonnes in response to the uncertainty of supply from eastern Europe. | ['global-development/food-security', 'world/world', 'world/russia', 'world/china', 'world/ukraine', 'world/belarus', 'world/canada', 'world/europe-news', 'environment/farming', 'science/agriculture', 'type/article', 'profile/edwardhelmore', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business'] | environment/farming | BIODIVERSITY | 2022-03-21T19:56:27Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2022/dec/14/cop15-was-meant-to-be-natures-paris-moment-but-greta-thunberg-blah-blah-blah | Cop15 was meant to be nature’s Paris moment, but Greta Thunberg’s ‘blah, blah, blah’ cry is proving right | The Secret Negotiator | Even by the glacial standards of UN biodiversity negotiations, Cop15 has been slow. We have been in Montreal for more than a week and I am flabbergasted at the lack of progress, especially after how important several world leaders said the summit would be. There is still time to turn it around. But there is no political urgency behind the biodiversity crisis or any desire for transformative change, as far as I can tell. Greta Thunberg’s “blah, blah, blah” criticism of government negotiations on the environment is proving right as things stand, unfortunately. We have made progress on parts of the agreement that are not so controversial, but we have left all of the difficult bits to the final few days of a process that has taken three years. It sets up a dramatic showdown for ministers this weekend and early next week as Christmas gets closer. Late-night bilaterals and in-corridor meetings will soon be with us. Behind closed doors, countries seem equally dysfunctional. The African group seems uncoordinated, the Latin Americans appear divided, the Europeans are not being constructive, the Canadians have not been helpful in talks and the Chinese are quiet. As ministers arrive in Montreal, these are critical days to sort out the agreement. We could probably live with a soggy biscuit deal. Nobody is going to die if that happens – apart from Earth’s biodiversity. There are not the same main economic interests here that we see for climate change. But this was meant to be nature’s Paris moment and it looks like that ambition is being pushed into the 2030s and 2040s. China is not providing the leadership we need for a breakthrough at the moment. It has always been quiet in UN biodiversity negotiations but this is not the normal role of a Cop president. Politically, a president is responsible for helping to resolve differences and pushing countries to sort out their divisions. That may be happening – nobody has perfect information about the state of play at Cop15 – but it does not seem to be the case. In talks, China has remained objective and offered no opinions, telling other countries that they must sort it out between themselves. We cannot go on like this. Someone needs to step up. Canada has done a great job organising Cop15 at the last minute in Montreal. But even though we’ve heard big commitments from the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, on a target to protect 30% of the planet, it is not being helpful with the other parts of negotiations. The UN is doing its best. We need political leadership from ministers in the final few days. Someone needs to build enough political will to make a breakthrough. I cannot see where it is going to come from as things stand. Yet, if we can do that, an agreement could be quickly reached. There will have to be late-night negotiations and early-morning secret talks to make it happen. A successful outcome is still possible but we must start making real progress. We cannot keep kicking the can down the road. | ['environment/series/the-cop15-secret-negotiator', 'environment/biodiversity', 'environment/environment', 'environment/series/the-road-to-kunming', 'global-development/series/opinion--global-development-', 'environment/series/the-age-of-extinction', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/cop15', 'tone/comment', 'type/article', 'profile/the-secret-negotiator', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-age-of-extinction'] | environment/wildlife | BIODIVERSITY | 2022-12-14T15:00:21Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
global-development/poverty-matters/2014/dec/09/natural-disaster-preparedness-indian-ocean-tsunami | When disaster strikes, we're more ready than ever before | Nick Guttmann | Boxing Day will mark 10 years since the Indian Ocean tsunami struck, killing about 250,000 people and destroying hundreds of thousands of homes and livelihoods. It was a disaster on an unprecedented scale and one the world was not prepared for. Had early warning systems been in place, many lives could have been saved. As a humanitarian worker I have experienced the aftermath of hurricanes and cyclones, floods and earthquakes, all over the world, but the scale of the 2004 tsunami – across more than 13 countries – was like nothing I had ever seen. Visiting affected areas I remember finding it difficult to take in just how destructive and powerful the waves had been. Where there had once been thriving communities with homes, schools, markets, churches and mosques, there was nothing except rubble – the concrete foundations of buildings washed away. But the worst thing was talking to people who had lost everything. They could not understand how the sea, which for most was a source of food and income, could hit them in such a devastating way. Millions of people were affected – not just the 250,000 who died. Families had been separated; people were without food and shelter, living in makeshift camps. They were suffering from trauma and grief, and they were unable to earn a living because the tools they depended on, such as fishing boats, had been lost to the sea. Others, such as those who sold the fish in the markets, were also unable to work. The scale of loss was huge, and it was a colossal task for governments and aid agencies. Despite the incredible generosity of donors, the recovery process was not without its challenges. The coordination wasn’t good, particularly in the early stages – although it slowly improved. The systems and structures between governments, national and international organisations were unable to cope with a disaster of this magnitude. Mistakes were made. I saw some awful work: temporary shelters that were too small and hot for people to live in, and housing developments that were built without agreement on who should live in them, leading to disputes. Above all, there was widespread failure to communicate with affected populations about their needs. I visited a village in Tamil Nadu, India, a few years later where one of our partners, Casa, had built a model settlement, engaging the communities at all stages. They told me that their lives had been transformed, they had good homes, work and their children went to school – but above all they were a strong community again and felt better able to stand up for their rights and make demands on their local government officials, something they had not felt able to do before. Today, the humanitarian industry is stronger and better as a result of experiences during the tsunami. The importance of disaster preparedness and building resilient communities is now embedded in all our work, including long-term development. We identify at-risk communities and work with them to prepare for, and respond to, emergencies. When typhoon Haiyan wreaked havoc in the Philippines last year, thousands of lives were saved thanks to training and support from government, civil society and international organisations. Communities were organised, they knew what to do, how to evacuate safely. It didn’t stop the destruction of buildings or the coastline, or the loss of almost 7,000 lives, but it almost certainly saved many thousands more. In Manila, community volunteers monitor river levels, alerting their neighbours and communities downstream when the water reaches a critical level. Evacuations take place in stages, with pregnant women, children, elderly people and valued livestock removed to designated centres first. Local search and rescue groups are formed to monitor the affected areas, and people use their mobile phones to keep up to date with the weather forecast, enabling them to make decisions about when to leave and where to go. Since the tsunami there has been a shift towards supporting the life-saving role that local community organisations play – in search and rescue operations and delivering immediate aid. At Christian Aid we have always worked with, and understood the value of, local organisations, which is why we were able to allocate £250,000 to our partners on Boxing Day 2004, so they could start work straight away. Now the importance of this type of work is more broadly recognised across the sector. The core humanitarian standards now put affected populations at the centre, with accountability and involvement of those affected crucial. As we have seen in the past few days as typhoon Hagupit struck some of the areas in the Philippines affected by last year’s disaster, the loss of life has been on a much smaller scale. This is in no small part thanks to the community preparedness work being done. The international aid community must continue to learn from experience, ensuring preparedness work is strengthened, and that our responses keep affected communities central to all decision-making. • Nick Guttmann is head of Christian Aid’s humanitarian division. Christian Aid has just launched Tsunami: 10 years after the wave, featuring work from Tim Hetherington | ['global-development/series/2004-indian-ocean-tsunami-10-years-on', 'global-development/humanitarian-response', 'world/natural-disasters', 'global-development/environmental-sustainability', 'global-development/poverty-matters', 'world/tsunami2004', 'world/tsunamis', 'global-development/global-development', 'type/article', 'tone/blog'] | world/tsunami2004 | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2014-12-09T12:52:28Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/shortcuts/2020/feb/26/why-greta-thunberg-gives-me-hope-in-these-dark-times | Greta and Malala: why photos of Thunberg are a flicker of light in a dark, dark world | To quote George Harrison, it’s been a long and lonely winter. The world is on fire – or in flood – and everything feels hopeless, and that is before you get to politics, where no one seems interested in doing anything about the aforementioned dumpster that the human race has set alight. Reports suggest that “ecological grief” or “climate depression” are very real states of being. Everything seems so incredibly, irredeemably bleak. How do you find hope among the ruins? Thankfully, we have photographs of Greta Thunberg meeting other similarly inspirational people, most recently Malala Yousafzai. Thunberg is 17 and Yousafzai is 22 (she was 15 when she was shot by the Taliban in retribution for her activism supporting young girls’ right to an education). I won’t bore you with the details of what I was doing when I was their age, but rest assured it was not world-changing activism. That is part of what makes Thunberg so inspirational, and why she gives me hope for the future. Unlike older generations, she did not have the luxury of a childhood unmarred by climate anxiety. When terror struck, Thunberg, like Yousafzai, refused to capitulate by staying silent, as is expected of girls. As a result of her bravery and forthrightness, we get to see her meeting everyone from Barack Obama to Jane Goodall, not to mention Jeremy Corbyn, Leonardo DiCaprio and (via Skype, to save their carbon footprints) David Attenborough. Of course, this isn’t just about Thunberg. The school climate strikes have galvanised a generation of young activists dismayed by the inaction of their predecessors. Last week, she tweeted a photograph of Hamburg’s school strike protest, which organisers claimed had an attendance of 60,000. It is cheering to see children come together for a brighter future, and it makes those devastating articles about starving polar bears, melting glaciers and rampant bushfires just that tiny bit more bearable. It is a flicker of light in the darkness – and I’ll take it. | ['environment/greta-thunberg', 'environment/environment', 'environment/school-climate-strikes', 'world/malala-yousafzai', 'world/world', 'news/shortcuts', 'tone/features', 'type/article', 'profile/rhiannon-lucy-cosslett', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/g2', 'theguardian/g2/features', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-g2-features'] | environment/greta-thunberg | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2020-02-26T16:27:24Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
lifeandstyle/2016/jun/11/freddie-jansen-pickle-maker-nutribullet-kitchen-encounters | Pickle maker Freddie Jansen on the popcorn that changed her life and her NutriBullet obsession | Kitchen encounters | My kitchen is … clean and serene, until you look in the cupboards. I recently moved into a converted warehouse in Hackney. It’s a huge open space – kitchen, living room and dining room all in one – very minimal and very white. My pickles on the wooden shelves bring some colour, and the cupboards are full of all my bottles, jars, and spices. I’d always lived in busier, darker places, so moving here was amazing. I feel quite lucky. My favourite kitchen tool is … my measuring cups and spoons, I find it easier to grab them than getting out my scales. Recently, I got a NutriBullet, and it has changed my life. I got a bit overexcited the first time I used it and made five different green sauces for one meal. And then there’s my stereo. I never really cook without music. My store-cupboard staple is … vinegar. For pickling, I use mainly rice wine vinegar, but I also love cider vinegar and Chinese black vinegar. When I’m starving I … have avocado sourdough toast with a poached egg and my F.A.T kimchi hot sauce. At work it’s a running joke that I’m always surrounded by snacks. At the moment I’m really into Sichuan peanuts and dried mango with chilli flavouring, or crackers with roe spread. My culinary inspiration comes from … two meals I had on a trip to the US: a blue cheese and kimchi croissant at Momofuku Milk Bar in New York, which was mindblowing, and a meal at A-Frame in California. I felt really sick when I arrived, but then I had a blue-cheese dip with pickles and hurricane popcorn: a snack that kids eat at the cinema in Hawaii – kettle corn, bits of bacon, fried pineapple, furikake, shiso and corn pops. It had so much going on, but it was the most moreish and fun thing I’ve ever eaten. I came home, quit my job in advertising and decided to work in food. My best-kept kitchen secret is … something James Lowe at Lyle’s taught me. When I first started working in food, James gave me a recipe for a duck liver parfait, with a full list of the ingredients and equipment I’d need to get it right. It took me three attempts because I thought I could just wing it. Eventually, I invested in the right kit and ingredients and it worked. So my advice is to always push yourself, to try things again and again until you get it right and – most of all – to do things properly. My current obsession is … Magnus Reid’s new restaurant in Hackney, Legs. It’s such a fun place, serving really simple, good food. And it has an incredible wine list. Everything tastes better with … pickles. Kimchi is my favourite. I eat it with everything I make at home. I always make sure I have a bunch of different pickles on the go: pickled sweet onions, chipotle pickled eggs, homemade ketchup. When I go shopping I … am very organised. If I’m doing a dinner party, I will set up a spreadsheet and list all the ingredients and prices, so I know how much I’m going to spend. My friends are the same. I recently went to Cornwall with a few girlfriends, and we have a big spreadsheet to plan every meal. For dinner tonight … dan dan noodles. I think of it as an Asian spag bol. It’s my ultimate comfort food. I’ve researched it thoroughly, trying all of Fuchsia Dunlop’s recipes and spending a day in Chinatown eating it in five different places, just to figure it out. • Freddie Janssen is a purveyor of pickles and the author of Pickled (Hardie Grant). @Freddielookatme | ['food/food', 'lifeandstyle/series/kitchen-encounters', 'food/chefs', 'tone/features', 'technology/gadgets', 'food/american-food-and-drink', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'type/article', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/cook', 'theguardian/cook/cook', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/cook'] | technology/gadgets | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2016-06-11T08:00:05Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
uk-news/2020/feb/07/police-scotland-sent-out-guide-listing-extinction-rebellion-with-neo-nazis | Police Scotland sent out guide listing Extinction Rebellion with neo-Nazis | Scottish counter-terrorism officers sent out a controversial guide listing Extinction Rebellion and Greenpeace alongside neo-Nazi groups within the past few weeks, despite widespread condemnation of the document. Police Scotland confirmed to the Guardian that it had circulated documents listing the environment protest groups alongside dozens of extremist neo-Nazi organisations, including several banned for terrorist violence, across the public sector last month. Those include medical staff in the NHS who were sent it in late January by a detective inspector in Police Scotland’s counter-terrorism unit in Edinburgh as part of the UK-wide counter-terrorism Prevent strategy. The officer invited recipients to distribute it widely within their organisations. The two documents, a 23-page “Signs and Symbols” guidance booklet and a four-page list of those symbols, include groups such as Animal Aid, Peta, Greenpeace, Extinction Rebellion (XR) and Stop the Badger Cull alongside the banned neo-Nazi group National Action, the white supremacist group Scottish Dawn, the National Front and Britain First. Some of the environment groups involved are considering legal action. Echoing the stance of police forces in England, Police Scotland said the document stressed not all groups listed were seen as terrorist. The 23-page document, written in June 2019, says: “Membership or support of these groups does not indicate criminality; much of the activity conducted by such groups is lawful protest.” John Finnie, a Scottish Green party MSP and former police officer, said the police had a duty to distinguish much more clearly between non-violent protest groups and neo-Nazi terrorists, particularly since anti-terrorism legislation was very different to that for civil protest. “Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy and rights, and must not be conflated with violent acts that seek to cause people harm,” Finnie said. “Sometimes these protests seek to cause major disruption or inconvenience, and sometimes this falls out with the law, but that is a world away from extremist groups who present a real danger to our citizens. It’s completely disproportionate.” Finnie said the force’s decision to circulate these documents undermined recent assurances he was given by its deputy chief constable Malcolm Graham that Police Scotland had not distributed another controversial document which labelled Extinction Rebellion an extremist ideology alongside proscribed Islamist and neo-Nazi groups. That document, produced by a police unit called Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE), was widely circulated across the public sector in England. Police chiefs apologised and withdrew it. In a letter to Finnie on 24 January, Graham said his force “does not consider or designate Extinction Rebellion as a ‘terrorist group’ or to be extremist or pose a national security threat. However, we recognise the negativity that may come from linking counter-terrorism policing with the activities of such lawful protest groups.” Finnie said: “I am disappointed that despite telling me groups like XR, Greenpeace and CND are not regarded as terrorists, Police Scotland continues to brief councils and businesses that they present a threat to the public.” In January last year, Police Scotland warned businesses in central Edinburgh to prepare for a demonstration by Extinction Rebellion by ensuring there were no dustbins, “debris” or ladders nearby; to test their alarms, and to ensure any nearby scaffolding was watched by security staff. The document was published under the auspices of a UK-wide security advisory body run by police and the government called Cross-sector Safety and Security Communications (CSSC), set up in 2011 to increase security before the 2012 London Olympics. It opened a Scottish office to help police, councils and businesses prepare for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The Police Scotland warning said: “From previous demos it will be peaceful, but Extinction Rebellion are happy to be arrested to promote their cause. Given this the advice to the business community is to refresh security protocols and prevent entry to private space without the proper protocols in place.” During an afternoon of peaceful protests, Extinction Rebellion occupied the Scottish parliament’s debating chamber for several hours without any arrests. Several months later, its activists blocked rush-hour traffic in central Edinburgh by gluing themselves to the road and locking themselves together. A spokeswoman for Extinction Rebellion Scotland said: “This what early stage authoritarianism looks like. [The] effect is that we now have to worry about what our doctors and teachers will think about our involvement in trying to protect the planet. Including XR on counter-terrorism pamphlets influences the public perception of who we are. But we are just members of the public trying to make a difference.” DCS Phil Chapman, head of organised crime and counter-terrorism with Police Scotland, defended the force’s handling of the signs and symbols material. “We are regularly provided with a range of guidance documents to support consistent messaging and assist our officers, staff and partners,” he said. “Officers provide advice to partners on a whole range of issues, some of which are not related to terrorism, for example protecting crowded places at times of protest. Guidance is often shared with partners and other interested parties to improve collaboration and understanding.” | ['uk/scotland', 'environment/extinction-rebellion', 'uk/uksecurity', 'uk/police', 'environment/environment', 'world/protest', 'us-news/peta', 'environment/greenpeace', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/severincarrell', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | environment/extinction-rebellion | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2020-02-07T07:00:01Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
environment/2010/oct/03/birmingham-solar-panel-council-proposal | 10,000 Birmingham council homes to get solar panels | Plans to fit power generating solar panels to council-owned properties in Birmingham will be pushed forward this week after the council agreed a "green new deal" scheme covering 10,000 homes. In the biggest proposal for retrofitting houses through an energy efficiency upgrade yet seen in the UK, the council agreed a £100m proposal last week designed to create jobs and meet the city's ambitious targets for reducing carbon emissions. The plan – Birmingham Energy Savers – will be jointly funded by Birmingham council and investment from energy suppliers and commercial banks, and follows two successful pilot schemes conducted in Europe's biggest local authority. Paul Tilsley, deputy leader of Birmingham city council, said: "Birmingham Energy Savers offers a fantastic opportunity for residents and businesses to cut carbon pollution, and save themselves thousands of pounds by reducing future bills. This scheme will significantly improve the lives of people in Birmingham, setting a green standard beyond that of any city in the world." Under the scheme, the commercial banks will provide half the up-front investment, supplemented by £25m from the energy companies and £25m borrowed by the council. Consumers will pay a levy on their energy bills to repay the loans but Sandy Taylor, head of the city's climate change unit, said households would still be paying lower bills after the retrofit. The council, run by a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, has been working on the idea of a Birmingham "green new deal" for the past year following the commitment made in 2006 to cut carbon emissions by 60% by 2026. With high levels of unemployment, councillors hope the project to improve the council's housing stock will also create and provide training and protect jobs, and support the growth of green industry in a city still heavily dependent on manufacturing. The next phase of the programme will involve using the proceeds from the first 10,000 retrofits for a refinancing of the scheme that will deliver funding of £2bn, enough to refurbish 200,000 homes. Taylor said that the council would begin by targeting those households with the greatest social need, singling out people living in fuel poverty or who were particularly vulnerable. Eventually, he added, the plan was to upgrade all 420,000 homes in the city, which would mean moving on from publicly owned homes to those currently owner-occupied or in the private rented sector. | ['environment/solarpower', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'society/housing', 'environment/energy', 'environment/environment', 'society/society', 'business/business', 'uk/uk', 'tone/news', 'society/communities', 'society/social-housing', 'cities/cities', 'type/article', 'profile/larryelliott', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews'] | environment/solarpower | ENERGY | 2010-10-03T15:47:36Z | true | ENERGY |
travel/2001/feb/13/netjetters2000sam.netjetters | Week 11: Sydney to Wyong | G'day! Yes, I've arrived in Australia. I'm always a bit disorientated when I land at a new airport. Sydney was no exception - I got lost trying to find the information desk. Normally I get out of an airport straight away, but this time I hadn't sorted out any accommodation beforehand. Major airports usually have a display with the numbers of certain hostels and a free telephone you can use to call them, and after lugging my rucksack round most of the terminal, I eventually found Sydney's. I tried number after number but they were all full. This was a bit worrying, as it was beginning to get late. In my slightly muddled state I ended up buying a guidebook in order to find more numbers. Now armed with numerous hostel numbers I quickly found a place in the leafy University suburb of Glebe. It was called Wattle House and was very nice with small dorms and comfortable beds. It also had a book exchange with at least five different guidebooks on the shelf. I kicked myself for buying a brand new guide at the airport. The next morning I set out to have a look round. I had thought after the US I had gone off cities, but I really liked Sydney. It was easy to get around and there were lots of interesting areas to explore. There was a exciting buzz among the skyscrapers in the centre. Suited office workers were packing the bars and restaurants. The feeling of wealth and people enjoying spending it was almost tangible. At the heart of the city are the beautiful botanical gardens. A colony of fruit bats has established itself among the trees there (look at Sam's photos) and at night the bats move out across the city. You can see them silently flying over the buildings. It's like Gotham City. Along the harbour there are lots of beaches and little empty bays surrounded by forest. I caught the ferry to Manly beach. This cost just a few dollars - much cheaper than taking a formal harbour cruise - and was a great way to see the city from the water. At Manly it's great fun to watch the surfers trying to drown themselves in the huge waves. On Friday I met up with fellow Netjetter, Milly. The last time I had seen her was on a cold October day outside the Guardian's offices in London. Here in Sydney the sun was out so we went for a ferry ride to Darling Harbour. We had been emailing each other but it was good to catch up on news and we had a lot to talk about after almost three months travelling. Despite going to completely different parts of the world many of our experiences and our reactions to them have been quite similar. I decided I was extremely jealous of her having her own room in a settled flat. Milly's camera has been out of action for a while so I took a photo of us both before we said our goodbyes (look at Sam's photos). That evening, I splashed out and booked myself a ticket to the opera to see Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte. The Opera House is in an incredible setting (as you all know), and as I walked up the steps, the QEII was just slipping out of the harbour on the next leg of a round the world cruise (look at Sam's photos). Waving crowds lined her decks and the harbour quay as two tugs gently ushered away the huge liner, like chaperones escorting a debutante. Inside, the Opera House was suitably plush and the opera was very good, but it was the romantic view outside with the moon rising over the harbour and the lights of the skyscrapers reflecting on the water that really stole the show. Leaving Sydney, I moved on up to the small town of Wyong to visit my friends, Ben and Amber, who I met in Fiji. Wyong isn't exactly on the regular backpacker circuit but it was a nice small town. Ben and Amber lived next to the river and only a short drive from the beach. We went out to see the surf and had a few beers and a game of pool at the local pub. There I discovered 'Pokies'. These are electronic gambling games - like fruit machines but more complicated. They are really popular and many Australian pubs (or hotels as they're called) have whole rooms put aside for addicts. We put a couple of dollars in the slot and started to play. We whooped as our winnings rose to a fortune of six dollars and then groaned as they evaporated and we lost our original stake. I was hooked and would have kept playing all night, but the other two pulled me away. Back at the house we had pizza and a video (Gladiator - Amber likes Russell Crowe). I loved this. Doing anything as normal as this is a real treat when you're travelling as it's impossible most of the time. The next day we went for a drive out in the bush and I saw my first kangeroos hopping along in the grass. We also saw a deadly red-bellied black snake dozing on a tree stump (look at Sam's photos). This was a black snake with a red underbelly and is an excellent example of the complicated way Australians come up with names for things. There are plenty of other examples in Sydney. These include the bridge over the harbour ('The Harbour Bridge') and the city's circular quay ('Circular Quay'). Next week I'm off to the hippie haven of Byron Bay and then a four-wheel drive adventure on the sand dunes of Frazer Island. | ['travel/netjetters2000sam', 'travel/netjetters', 'travel/travel', 'travel/netjettersblog', 'type/article'] | travel/netjetters2000sam | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2001-02-13T18:22:05Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
politics/2021/nov/03/johnson-takes-private-jet-from-cop26-to-london-to-attend-dinner | Johnson takes private jet from Cop26 to London to attend dinner | Boris Johnson has been accused of “staggering hypocrisy” after it emerged that he flew back to London from the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow by private jet to go to a dinner at a men-only private members’ club. The prime minister is reported to have attended the exclusive private members’ club The Garrick in the West End for a reunion of Daily Telegraph journalists. He flew 400 miles on Tuesday night from Glasgow to London, according to the Daily Mirror. A spokesperson for No 10 said the journey, which alternatively can be done in four and a half hours by train, was taken with consideration of “time restraints”. Anneliese Dodds, the Labour party chair, said: “This is staggering hypocrisy from the prime minister. After warning world leaders it’s one minute to midnight to prevent climate catastrophe, Boris Johnson clocked off from Cop26, jumped in his private jet and flew down to London for dinner at a gentleman’s club with a self-confessed climate change sceptic. “It seems that when it comes to taking action to tackle the climate crisis, there’s one rule for the Conservatives and another rule for the rest of the world.” Pictures obtained by the Mirror show the PM leaving the club at about 10pm alongside Charles Moore, a former editor of the Daily Telegraph who has written sceptically in the past about the climate emergency and was recently handed a life peerage by Johnson. A No 10 spokesperson said: “All travel decisions are made with consideration for security and time restraints. The prime minister returned on Tuesday night from four days of engagements in Rome and Glasgow, ahead of updating parliament on the important commitments secured both at the G20 and Cop26. “The prime minister travelled on one of the most carbon-efficient planes of its size in the world, using the most sustainable aviation fuel possible. The UK will be offsetting all carbon emissions associated with running Cop26, including travel.” Lord Moore declined to comment to the Mirror. | ['politics/boris-johnson', 'environment/cop26-glasgow-climate-change-conference-2021', 'uk/uk', 'politics/politics', 'environment/environment', 'uk/london', 'politics/conservatives', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/jamie-grierson', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | environment/cop26-glasgow-climate-change-conference-2021 | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2021-11-03T19:27:57Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
world/2007/oct/25/usa.danglaister | California's firefighters get respite from high winds | The US president, George Bush, today arrived in southern California to see the devastation caused by the wildfires that have forced 1 million people to flee their homes. Mr Bush is taking a helicopter tour of the affected areas, in which 15 major wildfires continue to blaze, with the California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. The president, who is due to meet residents and firefighters, is hoping to erase memories of his response to Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005. "It's a sad situation out there in Southern California," Mr Bush said before leaving Washington. "I fully understand that the people have got a lot of anguish in their hearts. They just need to know a lot of folks care about them." The president's visit comes as gentler winds and lower temperatures have helped firefighters make progress in controlling the biggest fires in the state's history. The record high temperatures of recent days began succumbing to cooling sea breezes, and two fires that burnt 21 homes in northern Los Angeles County were fully contained. The hot Santa Ana winds of up to 100mph, which have caused the flames to rage, were expected to all but disappear today. Earlier, rescue workers found the bodies of two people believed to have been killed in the wildfires. Sheriff Bill Kolender said recovery crews had discovered the bodies in a gutted home north of San Diego. Medical examiners were attempting to establish their identities. The fires had already claimed the life of 52-year-old Thomas Varshock. The San Diego medical examiner's office listed five other deaths as being connected to the blazes, because all were evacuees. By last night, firefighters had fully contained the three major fires in Los Angeles County, with several smaller fires north of San Diego largely under control. Blazes continued to burn in Orange and San Diego counties. One of the most destructive fires, which has destroyed hundreds of homes in the, San Bernardino mountains, was repeatedly doused with water from helicopters and planes. Some residents have been allowed to return to their homes to assess the impact of the fires. The cost of property damage has reached at least $1bn (£488,000) in San Diego County alone. Part of the US marines' base at Camp Pendleton, south of Los Angeles, was evacuated after a fire broke out, and the motorway connecting Los Angeles and San Diego was closed for some time yesterday. One fire in the area briefly threatened the San Onofre nuclear plant, prompting a request from Mr Schwarzenegger for air tankers to douse the flames. The causes of many fires remained under investigation. A fire of 30 square miles near Los Angeles, which destroyed nine homes, was believed to have been caused by arson. A 48-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of arson when civilians helping to put out fires in an area of brush saw him acting suspiciously and reported him to police. A helicopter followed him to his house, where he was detained yesterday. Authorities have reported that several of the fires in the region, including two in San Diego, were the result of arson. Police in San Bernardino said they had shot a suspected arsonist dead on Tuesday night after officers approached him. He was shot after he reversed into a police car following a chase. Many have seen the response of the White House and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) to the fires as their first big test since Katrina in 2005. Diane Feinstein, the California senator, told the Senate yesterday: "We are going to learn whether Fema actually learned from the hurricane in New Orleans; a test of whether Fema has gotten its act together post-Katrina. Fema must act quickly and urgently get help to California." In Orange County and the San Diego area, where up to 500,000 people have been evacuated, there were claims that firefighters had insufficient resources. Many residents said they had been evacuated while their homes were left undefended against the flames. Mark Jackson, who lost his home in Modjeska Canyon, told local television: "When I left, it was fully engulfed and there wasn't a fireman in sight." Chip Prather, the chief of the Orange County fire authority, said firefighting efforts had been hampered by a lack of air support. "If we had more air resources, we would have been able to control this fire," he said. "Instead we've been stuck in this initial attack mode on the ground where we hopscotch through neighbourhoods as best we can trying to control things." However, Mr Schwarzenegger - who spent Monday and Tuesday visiting fire scenes - denied there were insufficient resources. "The fact is that we could have all the planes in the world here - we have 90 aircraft here and six that we got especially from the federal government - and they can't fly because of the wind situation," he told local television. | ['world/world', 'us-news/us-news', 'us-news/california', 'world/wildfires', 'type/article', 'profile/danglaister', 'profile/fredattewill'] | world/wildfires | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2007-10-25T17:39:20Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
australia-news/2022/jun/21/australia-should-rejoin-un-climate-fund-to-prove-commitment-to-pacific-neighbours-thinktank-argues | Australia should rejoin UN climate fund to prove commitment to Pacific neighbours, thinktank argues | Australia must move on from a “crisis mentality” as it seeks to reset its relationship with Pacific island countries, including by rejoining a key UN climate fund, a thinktank says. Australia must do more than simply position itself as a first responder to natural disasters if it is to become “an effective climate ally with the Pacific”, according to a series of policy papers to be published on Tuesday. Rejoining the Green Climate Fund – a UN-backed scheme to assist developing countries that Scott Morrison rejected – is among the proposals to be outlined by the Asia-Pacific Development, Diplomacy & Defence Dialogue (AP4D). The AP4D program leader, Melissa Conley Tyler, said climate policy had undermined the idea of Australia and the Pacific as a “family” because Pacific leaders had been saying: “If you are family you would take this issue more seriously.” The thinktank argues the effects and root causes of the climate crisis should be Australia’s central foreign policy concern in the Pacific. The policy paper – called “What does it look like for Australia to be an effective climate ally with the Pacific” – states the reluctance of successive governments to set ambitious emissions reduction targets “has hindered Australia’s diplomatic efforts in the Pacific”. It says building trust with Pacific island countries supports Australia’s broader geopolitical interests, while warning measures such as Australia’s “Pacific step-up” could be seen as lacking credibility if perceived to be only in response to China’s increased presence. The paper notes China is aware of the importance of Pacific relationships to Australia’s foreign policy “and it is making considerable effort to enhance its own relationships in the region, including opening a Climate and the Pacific Friendship Centre”. The paper urges Australia to join the Pacific “in a regional diplomatic bloc that can drive global ambition on climate change mitigation”, backed by a commitment to transitioning away from fossil fuels domestically and acknowledging coal has a limited export lifespan. “Australia needs to revisit its own contribution to climate change as a major emitter and fossil fuel exporter through an ambitious domestic climate policy and work with Pacific island countries through processes of multilateral diplomacy to drive global ambition to reduce emissions,” the paper says. It suggests that Australia should have an annual discussion within the Pacific, distinct from the Pacific Islands Forum, with a specific climate focus to be called a “1.5 Track Dialogue for 1.5 Degrees”. Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning The paper urges Australia to rejoin the Green Climate Fund, but also to push for the scheme to improve access for Pacific island countries. Australia stepped back from the fund in 2018 and has opted to provide climate aid largely through bilateral arrangements, including committing to provide hundreds of millions in funding to help Pacific nations invest in renewable energy and climate and disaster resilience. The policy paper suggests that Australia should also engage with Pacific island countries in the emerging debate calling for reparation for loss and damage caused by carbon emitters. This proposal comes a day after the new Albanese government was urged to prove its commitment to climate action by backing a campaign led by Vanuatu to see international law changed to recognise climate harm. The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has visited Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Solomon Islands in quick succession since being sworn in last month. She has used these visits to emphasise the new government’s 43% emissions reduction target for 2030 and that Australia is listening to the region. Conley Tyler said any change of government provided an opportunity to reset relationships and “clear barnacles”, but it was important for Australia to be seen as “a generational partner”. “It’s all about the long-term. That’s important. Our discussions at the moment have a little bit of a crisis mentality about them. We don’t want to be thinking as short term, transactional,” she said. Conley Tyler added that the options papers to be launched on Tuesday proposed a vision for “using all elements of statecraft to ensure Australia can build a better shared future with the Pacific region”. The AP4D papers cover other issues including economic recovery, security and digital resilience. They include a proposal to shift away from funding big infrastructure projects towards maintenance, small-scale capital works and climate adaptation. Australian policymakers are urged to “think big to achieve a significant reset in security cooperation”, including the idea of a new multi-agency organisation that partners with Pacific countries to respond to security challenges. The thinktank said the papers were drawn up after gathering input from dozens of experts from the development, diplomacy and defence communities and consultations with Pacific stakeholders. | ['australia-news/australian-foreign-policy', 'world/pacific-islands', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'australia-news/australian-politics', 'environment/climate-aid', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'australia-news/penny-wong', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/daniel-hurst', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/climate-aid | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2022-06-20T17:30:15Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
world/2019/feb/13/taiji-dolphin-hunt-activists-to-launch-unprecedented-legal-challenge | Taiji dolphin hunt: activists to launch unprecedented legal challenge | Animal rights activists have launched an unprecedented legal challenge to the slaughter of dolphins in Japan, claiming that fishermen are routinely violating animal welfare laws and exceeding government-set quotas. The London-based organisation Action for Dolphins and the Japanese NGO Life Investigation Agency on Wednesday submitted evidence they hope will halt the annual dolphin hunts in Taiji, a whaling town on Japan’s Pacific coast, the Guardian can reveal. “Dolphins are mistakenly viewed as ‘fish’ in Japan, and therefore domestic laws protecting mammals from cruelty have not been applied to them,” claimed Sarah Lucas, chief executive of Action for Dolphins. The lawsuit, filed with the Wakayama district court, “asserts that dolphins are biologically mammals, and the cruelty inflicted on them in Taiji is “illegal under Japan’s own laws”. The allegations made against Yoshinobu Nisaka, the governor of Wakayama prefecture, where Taiji is located, include that he has allegedly abused his power by issuing permits to fishermen who violate Japan’s animal welfare laws and catch quotas. It is unknown whether those allegations will be denied. A prefectural government official declined to comment when contacted by the Guardian, saying it was unaware of the lawsuit. The Taiji drive hunts gained notoriety after the release of the 2009 Oscar-winning documentary The Cove, whose graphic footage of dolphins being slaughtered with knives, turning the surrounding sea a crimson red, shocked audiences around the world. If the challenge succeeds, those permits will be declared invalid, and the dolphin hunts in Taiji will not be allowed to continue, Action for Dolphins said. “This isn’t about casting moral aspersions on Japan, but about compliance with the country’s own laws” said spokeswoman Angie Plummer. “We are trying to depoliticise the debate.” Lucas said claims by Taiji officials that dolphins were killed humanely using new slaughter methods were false. “The method used to kill dolphins during the hunt is exceptionally cruel,” said Lucas, who was awarded 110,000 yen by a Japanese court three years ago after she was prevented from entering Taiji’s whale museum to check on the welfare of a captive baby albino bottlenose. “A metal rod is repeatedly stabbed into the back of the dolphin’s neck and a wooden plug is inserted into the open wound to prevent blood loss. This means the dolphins die a slow, painful death, taking several minutes to bleed out or drown in their own blood.” The suit also claims that fishermen in Taiji routinely flout catch limits set by the government. It presents evidence that fishermen in the town have illegally caught more than 400 dolphins and whales in excess of their quotas in the past five years. Under the Japanese legal definition, the quotas should include not only dolphins that are killed deliberately or sold to aquariums, but also those that are caught and released – sometimes after several days – and that die from collateral causes such as drowning or injury, the group claims. “The irresponsible overhunting of hundreds of dolphins and whales has contributed to the near elimination of some species in Japanese waters,” Lucas said. Yoshifumi Kai, a senior official with Taiji’s fisheries cooperative, said he had yet to read the lawsuit but denied that local fishermen exceeded quotas or killed dolphins inhumanely. “Japanese authorities do not require us to count released dolphins as part of the official quota,” Kai told the Guardian, adding that dolphins killed for food were not left die prolonged deaths. “In most cases they die straight away, although that doesn’t happen 100 percent of the time. That doesn’t just apply to dolphins, though – the same thing happens to cattle.” Some of the dolphins captured at Taiji are killed and their meat sold in supermarkets and restaurants, but the most attractive specimens are spared and sold to aquariums for up to tens of thousands of pounds each, according to Lucas. In 2015, Action for Dolphins took legal action against the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums that resulted in 62 Japanese aquariums facing expulsion from the body unless they agreed to stop buying dolphins captured in Taiji. The town’s whale museum, however, quit the Japanese branch of the world association in protest and continues display and sell locally caught cetaceans. Taiji’s fishermen insist they have no intention of ending the hunts, saying they are part of the town’s whaling heritage and a vital source of income for the local economy. | ['world/japan', 'environment/dolphins', 'world/asia-pacific', 'world/world', 'environment/environment', 'environment/cetaceans', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/wildlife', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'environment/hunting', 'profile/justinmccurry', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-foreign'] | environment/marine-life | BIODIVERSITY | 2019-02-13T06:27:39Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
global-development/2023/dec/06/climate-funding-must-be-faster-and-easier-says-deputy-pm-of-flood-hit-somalia | Climate funding must be faster and easier, says deputy PM of flood-hit Somalia | Funding to support vulnerable countries to repair the irreversible damage caused by the climate crisis needs to be fast tracked and easy to access, Somalia’s deputy prime minister has said. Salah Jama said a deal on a loss and damage fund made on the first day of Cop28 last week was “welcome news for frontline states like Somalia” but, he said: “Implementation needs to be fast tracked. Bureaucratic bottlenecks in accessing the financing have to be fixed.” Speaking from Dubai, Jama, who is attending the climate summit, added that money had to be given as grants, rather than loans, as much of it has been until now, because Somalia cannot afford to take on more debt. Countries such as Somalia, which recently suffered historic floods, have found it difficult to access existing climate funding, he said, which had been geared towards wealthy countries and was not accessible to states recovering from conflict or with fragile political systems. “Our goal was to bring to the table the voices of our communities that have been devastated by climate change shocks, from droughts to floods,” he told the Guardian. “We’re hoping the loss and damage funds and other arrangements will help us ameliorate them.” The decision to set up a loss and damage fund was agreed at Cop27 in Egypt in 2022 after years of obstruction by richer countries, which are mostly responsible for emissions. Details of how the fund would operate were not decided. In the deal struck on Thursday, it was agreed the fund would be hosted by the World Bank with an initial pot of $429m (£340m). The estimated loss and damage caused by the climate crisis is estimated in some studies to be $400bn annually. “African countries have contributed to less than 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions … yet when it comes to the impact of climate change, we are forced to live with the dire consequences, in which millions of people lose their livelihoods. As we speak, a third of Somalia is engulfed by floods and people’s livelihoods and their ways of life are being highly disrupted,” said Jama. “Justice has to be the expedition of support [to those countries].” As well as funds, Jama said Somalia needed technical support to help it build infrastructure for water and agriculture. “Countries like Somalia must be given a very special consideration in terms of dealing with this, because the impact of climate change is very detrimental to our communities,” he said. Jama said more than 100 people had died and tens of thousands of livestock had been lost in the recent flooding, which followed a prolonged drought. “It is havoc – unbearable circumstances. That is where we need massive intervention and we come here to advocate for our nation. And there are other countries in similar situations to ours.” | ['global-development/global-development', 'environment/cop28', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'global-development/climate-finance', 'environment/environment', 'world/somalia', 'world/middleeast', 'world/world', 'world/africa', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/kaamil-ahmed', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/global-development'] | environment/cop28 | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2023-12-06T12:20:09Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
environment/2022/jul/07/prospective-ea-chair-refuses-to-divest-in-firm-chosen-for-government-project-environment-agency-alan-lovell | Proposed EA chair refuses to divest in firm chosen for government project | The prospective new chair of the Environment Agency is refusing to divest his shareholding in a hydrogen and carbon capture company chosen for a major government project. Alan Lovell stood down as a director of Progressive Energy last month, according to Companies House records, two days after being announced as the preferred candidate for the role running England’s environmental watchdog. The company leads the North West Hynet project, which has been chosen by ministers to drive decarbonisation in the north-west and north Wales as part of a £1bn push for carbon capture and hydrogen in the UK net zero strategy. The committee on climate change said in a 2019 progress report that in order to develop hydrogen options, significant volumes of the gas must be produced to low-carbon standards at multiple industrial clusters. MPs were told this week that Lovell had put his role as chair of a “renewable energy” company into his declaration of interests. They were told he had stepped down and had proposed that his financial interest in the firm could be managed by him recusing himself from decisions relating to the company. But Sir Robert Goodwill, the chair of the environment food and rural affairs (Efra) committee, asked: “Would it not be more effective or less of a risk to divest?” Lovell replied: “I don’t feel that I need to do that.” The accountant and businessman, who has made a name stepping in to rescue failing companies, including a failed attempt to shore up the construction firm Carillion, said he felt MPs should be pleased he had been engaged in investment in important sectors. “I regard the CCS [carbon capture and storage] and hydrogen sector as an extremely important one. I have been investing in it since 2009,” he said. The company, he added, had been selected as the coordinator of one of the two clusters that the government was backing. Lovell defended his decision to keep hold of his shares. “For a start this project is going to go ahead. It has good enough backing for the government that it is going to go ahead. I don’t believe there is any issue on that score,” he told MPs. He said the project would be coming to the Environment Agency (EA) for planning and permitting consents. But he did not see a conflict of interests, telling the committee: “These would be round the edges, I would say, of the value of the company. Further I shall not be on the environment and business committee of the agency, which will consider permitting and planning issues.” Lovell said he had been reassured by the chief executive of the agency, Sir James Bevan, who was “quite adamant” about him not being involved in any decisions that came to the EA board. “I take confidence in the fact that he himself is confident about that and I feel it is OK to retain the investment,” Lovell said. His candidature to succeed Emma Howard Boyd as chair comes at a time when the agency is under attack over its failure to improve water quality in rivers and hold water companies accountable for pollution. There is also concern within the agency over its failure to take tough action against polluters. Lovell’s selection, the government said, followed a rigorous process conducted in accordance with the ministerial governance code on public appointments. Its announcement last month made no mention of his role at Progressive Energy but cited other companies where he held directorships. Lovell told MPs on the environmental audit committee and the Efra committee that he was not an “activist” on the environment. His environmental credentials, he said, included the fact that he came from a family of farmers, his interest in renewable energy and his ownership of a wood in Wiltshire. MPs will produce a report on Friday about the appointment before Lovell’s position is confirmed. | ['environment/environment-agency', 'environment/carbon-capture-and-storage', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'uk-news/england', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/sandralaville', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/carbon-capture-and-storage | EMISSIONS | 2022-07-07T06:00:39Z | true | EMISSIONS |
environment/2020/nov/11/australia-should-cut-emissions-quickly-and-lead-world-in-renewable-energy-incoming-chief-scientist-says | Australia should cut emissions quickly and lead world in renewable energy, incoming chief scientist says | Australia’s incoming chief scientist wants the country to be a global renewable energy leader and “bold and ambitious” in rapidly cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Physicist Dr Cathy Foley, who will replace Dr Alan Finkel in January, told Guardian Australia she believed the Morrison government was serious about rapidly shifting the country to a low-emissions economy. Foley, who is currently the chief scientist at CSIRO, will enter the role at a time when a global pandemic has pushed the importance of scientific advice to new heights. But she will also be tasked with compiling and curating scientific evidence to guide a potential rapid shift away from fossil fuels to a low-emissions economy. “Of course I want Australia to be a low-emissions economy, but I want us to be a world leader in renewable energy, such as hydrogen, and what I’m hearing from government is that they want the same thing,” she said. “We need to move as quickly as we can using all the tools to lower emissions and be bold and ambitious in doing that.” The Morrison government has so far refused to set a target to reach net zero emissions by 2050 – a goal now endorsed by key trading partners, including Japan and South Korea, as well as US president-elect Joe Biden. The UN’s climate panel says the world’s greenhouse gas emissions need to reach net zero by 2050 to have a 66% chance of keeping global warming below 1.5C. But when asked what advice she would give the government on the target, Foley said: “I’m not in the job yet and I have not done my own gathering of information. I’m not in a position to say I can assess the situation. “But I can say [is] we know Australia is committed to reducing emissions and Australia is committed to delivering on its commitments of the Paris agreement and we are seeing the government recognising this.” Finkel has advocated for increasing the amount of gas in Australia’s electricity grid to lower emissions and support renewables – a position he was forced to defend in August after climate scientists wrote an open letter saying it was at odds with the Paris climate agreement. Foley said: “The people who signed that letter are eminent scientists coming from a scientific perspective, but they are not necessarily business people. “The gas issue is complex. Alan’s position on gas is it will help reduce emissions more quickly and get more wind and solar more quickly. He is just providing the evidence from what he has garnered.” She said her role would be to make sure the voices of environmental science were heard, but to also “bring them to the other parts of the argument to see why an outcome has landed where it has”. “I think pragmatic is not the right word. It’s about being a boundary spanner … that’s what’s tricky in the chief scientist role.” Foley is a multi-award winning physicist specialising in the use of super-conductors to locate mineral deposits. She has worked at CSIRO for 36 years. CSIRO’s chief executive, Larry Marshall, said her appointment was a “testament to Cathy’s personal scientific excellence”. Finkel said he was honoured to be followed “by such an esteemed person”. Foley told Guardian Australia she had been asked to apply for the role but had not expected to get the job. “The [science minister Karen Andrews] and the prime minister said they want to make sure there’s independent information that’s as unbiased as possible – gathering scientific information from wherever is needed on an issue or question and then give them frank and fearless advice to use to navigate the issue at hand. “They may use the advice or not, but it’s important to realise the response to how they use it may require me to be pragmatic, but it’s the government of the day that makes the policy and the decisions.” She said while science was “one small part of the big picture when a big decision has to be made”, Australia had closely followed expert advice to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic “and has had a good outcome”. She acknowledged that misinformation on issues such as climate change science were a problem – where evidence and information could be cherry-picked – and said the country needed a campaign to help the public understand the scientific process. But she also welcomed the steps being taken by social media platforms in flagging posts that contained misinformation. “I think [social media] has played a major role in misinformation being easily accessible and getting a life of its own,” she said. She hoped social media had now “gone through the wild teenage years” and was now “developing some maturity”. | ['environment/environment', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'science/science', 'australia-news/australian-politics', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'type/article', 'profile/graham-readfearn', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/renewableenergy | ENERGY | 2020-11-10T16:30:13Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2022/jun/30/uk-government-scrap-european-law-protecting-special-habitats | UK government to scrap European law protecting special habitats | Environment secretary George Eustice wants to tear up a key piece of European law that environmentalists say protects cherished habitats in the UK. Eustice told MPs the Habitats Directive was in a list of laws he wanted to amend in the forthcoming Brexit freedoms bill designed to cut red tape, saying it was bureaucratic and fundamentally flawed on multiple levels. The directive has provided protections for UK habitats since 1992. It supports a network of areas – known as Natura 2000 sites – where special habitats are protected. There are more than 320 Natura 2000 sites in England, nearly 900 in the UK and more than 25,000 throughout Europe. The sites offer more protection than the domestic designations, sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs). The regulations have been used in numerous cases to provide more protection for habitats and species. Eustice, however, told MPs on the environmental audit committee that the habitats regulations would be on a list of laws he wanted to alter once given legal powers to do so under the freedoms bill. “The more we have looked at this body of law, the more clear it has become that it is quite fundamentally flawed. It only engages when an activity is defined as a plan or a project, so if something needs a permit, or a licence or planning permission the habitat regulations engage and start to require an assessment. “An activity that is unlicensed in some way suddenly falls outside of scope and doesn’t engage the process,” he said. He went on to say the regulations were “very ambiguous” and bureaucratic, requiring “lots of impact assessments to be drafted”. They contained “well-meaning ambitions to protect the environment” but did not do so, he said. The nature green paper published by Eustice’s department argues that wiping the slate clean and ditching habitats regulation case law and rules would help to simplify the planning process. Richard Benwell, chief executive of Wildlife and Countryside Link, criticised what he said was a retrograde and deregulatory direction that Eustice was taking. “The habitats regulations are not some nuisance layer of legal process for the chop, nor some costly red tape that can simply be cut away,” he said. “They remain the most effective protection for nature on the UK statute book, providing a rigorous defence for internationally important wildlife, in a way that gives certainty and confidence to businesses and ecologists alike.” Benwell said there were ways in which the regulations could be improved, including more flexibility for climate change, wider application to harmful projects and even stronger protection from damaging developments. “But simply stripping away the habitats regulations on the misguided assumption that other domestic laws can do the job alone would be a serious step backward in nature protection, as well as creating costly delay and uncertainty,” he said. “The most important thing that Defra could do for our network of nature sites is get on and designate more, and invest properly in their recovery.” Kate Jennings, RSPB’s head of site conservation and species policy, said: “When it comes to the protection afforded by the habitats regulations, the benefits are clear. Peer-reviewed research has repeatedly shown that birds which benefit from protection by these laws have fared better than those which do not; they do better in countries with more and bigger areas protected by these laws, and they do better in countries where the level of protection the regulations provide has been in place for the longest periods of time. “ | ['environment/environment', 'politics/politics', 'politics/george-eustice', 'environment/wildlife', 'politics/eu-referendum', 'world/eu', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/sandralaville', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/wildlife | BIODIVERSITY | 2022-06-30T06:00:31Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
commentisfree/2011/apr/20/chernobyl-radiation-risk-dose-density | Response: The Chernobyl deniers use far too simple a measure of radiation risk | In his article on "the confusing world of radiation exposure", readers' editor Chris Elliott was right to point out that getting a whole year's sunshine in an hour would fry him to a crisp (Open door, 4 April). Radiation dose rate is important. What he didn't say is that "dose density" is important too. The "sievert", as Elliott says, is a dose unit for quantifying radiation risk. He did not add that it assumes dose density is uniform. "There are many kinds of radiation", he says, but he does not mention how they differ. In fact, external sources like cosmic rays and x-rays distribute their energy evenly, like the sun; others, notably alpha-emitters like uranium, are extremely uneven in the way they irradiate body tissue once they have been inhaled or swallowed. Because alpha particles emitted from uranium atoms are relatively massive, they slow down rapidly, concentrating all their energy into a minuscule volume of tissue. Applying the sievert to this pinpoint of internal radiation means conceptualising it as a dose to the whole body. It's an averaging error, like believing it makes no difference whether you sit by the fire to warm yourself or eat a burning coal. The scale of the error can be huge. Radiation protection officials fell into this averaging trap in 1941. The Manhattan Project, rushing to build the atom bomb, was creating many new radio-elements whose health effects were unknown. Summing them all – external and internal, alpha, beta, gamma or whatever – into a single dose quantity gave an impression of certainty and precision. Post war, the US National Council on Radiation Protection closed down its internal exposure committee because it took the complexities too seriously. From then on radiation effects were estimated from acute external radiation at Hiroshima and Nagasaki – studies which are entirely silent on internal radioactivity. In 1952 the US forced this mindset on to the newly formed International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) whose advice now has almost the force of international law. In 2004 the UK scientific committee CERRIE challenged the commission's view by reporting that dose could be meaningless at the scale of molecules and cells. If one mentions published studies which show, for example, increased cancer in Sweden after Chernobyl or the doubled risk of child leukaemia near German nuclear power stations, health officials say the ICRP model doesn't predict them: "Doses were too small to be the cause." Chernobyl is an acid test of ICRP's risk model since, at around 2 or 3 milliSieverts, doses were close to natural background. If this level of fallout was proved to cause any health detriment, the ICRP model would fall and the economics of nuclear power would worsen dramatically. So Chernobyl denial is crucial to nuclear interests. George Monbiot's article quoted a UN committee on Chernobyl: "There has been no persuasive evidence of any health effect [other than thyroid cancer] in the general population that can be attributed to radiation exposure" (The unpalatable truth is that the anti-nuclear lobby has misled us all, 5 April). But this too is based on the flawed ICRP model; there is a lot of evidence and many scientists attribute it to the accident. Monbiot's recent blog (The double standards of green anti-nuclear opponents, 31 March) relies on his friends Mark Lynas and Chris Goodall who in turn cite Radiation and Reason, a book by Professor Wade Allison. But Allison's preface says, "many important topics have been omitted … in particular the subject of micro-dosimetry is treated rather briefly in spite of its importance for future understanding". Monbiot and colleagues should note that in fact Allison doesn't discuss micro-dosimetry at all. It's easy to spin something if you leave out the difficult, challenging science. ICRP has admitted that its model cannot be applied to post-accident situations. Fortunately the European Committee on Radiation Risk employs weighting factors to modify sievert-based doses for internal exposures. This won't cure the mess in Fukushima but it will mean better public protection. | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'commentisfree/series/response', 'tone/comment', 'media/national-newspapers', 'environment/environment', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'business/energy-industry', 'world/world', 'environment/chernobyl-nuclear-disaster', 'world/japan-earthquake-and-tsunami', 'science/science', 'science/physics', 'type/article', 'profile/richard-bramhall', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/editorialsandreply'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2011-04-20T07:00:01Z | true | ENERGY |
technology/2014/feb/23/galaxy-gear-2-samsung-beats-apple-wearable-fitness-tracking-smartwatch | Samsung Gear 2 beats Apple to fitness-tracking smartwatch | Samsung has released two updated versions of its Gear smartwatch featuring slimmer designs and heart rate sensors beating Apple to the release of a health-tracking smartwatch. The Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo improve on the original Galaxy Gear, which received poor reviews and was described by Samsung as an unripened fruit, by being at least 5.8g lighter and 1.1mm thinner. The new smartwatches have ditched Google’s Android software in favour of Samsung’s own new Tizen software and have enhanced functionality with fitness and health tracking, and the ability to play music via Bluetooth headphones without needing to connect to a smartphone or tablet. “Offering extended connectivity features, stylish customisation options and a robust application network, we have enhanced everything that people love about the original Galaxy Gear to create a second generation of wearable devices that offer unparalleled smart freedom,” said Simon Stanford, vice president of IT & mobile for Samsung Electronics UK & Ireland. More than just a companion The Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo remain companion devices relying on Samsung’s smartphones and tablets for internet access. They both connect via Bluetooth to display notifications, provide call handling and access to Samsung’s S Voice vocal assistant. Samsung has added the ability to perform functions independent of a smartphone or tablet, improving on the original Galaxy Gear, including playing music with an integrated player and 4GB of storage space. The new smartwatches will be able to run both Samsung and third-party applications built for Samsung’s new Tizen software, including apps from CNN, Expedia, eBay, Evernote, Feedly, Garmin, Line, Paypal, Runtastic, and the Weather Channel. The Gear 2 packs a 2-megapixel camera at the top of a 1.63in Super AMOLED screen for capturing photos. The Gear 2 Neo lacks the camera. Both smartwatches will include an infrared emitter for controlling other devices like a TV or video recorder using Samsung’s WatchON Remote application. Beating Apple to health Samsung has fitted an accelerometer and gyroscope – capable of acting as a pedometer as well as an optical heart rate monitor – to the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo. It means the device can integrate with Samsung’s health and fitness tracking applications, replacing the need for additional fitness tracking gadgets like the Fitbit or Misfit Shine. Apple is expected to release a smartwatch in the near future with a strong focus on fitness and health tracking, as well as a “Healthbook” application for its next iteration of its iOS iPhone and iPad software. The announcement of the Gear 2 by Samsung today at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona gives the Korean company a head start of at least a couple of months over its US rival. The Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo will be compatible with a range of Samsung devices and be available in April. Gear 2 will be available in black, gold and brown, and orange and will weigh 68g, while the Gear 2 Neo will be available in black, grey, and orange and will weigh 55g. Both smartwatches have a 1GHz dual-core processor with 512MB of RAM and are estimated to have a 2-3 day battery life by Samsung. Pricing was unavailable, but the Gear 2 is expected to be priced similarly to the original £300 Galaxy Gear. • Sony’s Smartwatch 2 Android smartwatch works with a plethora of Android devices, not just Sony’s smartphones and tablets | ['technology/samsung', 'technology/wearable-technology', 'technology/mobile-world-congress', 'technology/gadgets', 'technology/technology', 'technology/android', 'technology/smartphones', 'technology/tablet-computer', 'technology/smartwatches', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/samuel-gibbs'] | technology/gadgets | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2014-02-23T12:37:25Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
technology/2019/dec/29/the-five-risks-of-wildfires-climate-emergency | The five: risks posed by wildfires | Endangerment of species The Australian Koala Foundation has declared koalas to be “functionally extinct”, after fears of 2,000 of them being killed as more than 100 bushfires struck south-eastern Australia. However, the claim has been criticised since there are still an estimated 15,000-28,000 koalas in New South Wales. Even so, it is believed that the species will be extinct by 2050 if its habitat is continually undermined. Fresh water threatened According to the United States Geological Survey, 80% of the country’s fresh water is sourced from forested land, meaning that the effect of wildfires in certain areas could be disastrous, not only for drinking water, but also for aquatic habitats. After the wildfires in Colorado in September, the Animas River experienced an 80% decline in its fish population. Health risks Wildfire smoke poses a major health risk to human beings because it contains high levels of PM2.5, tiny particulate matter that can make its way into your lungs and bloodstream. The smoke from Sydney’s wildfire earlier this month led to the declaration of a public health emergency after air pollution levels soared to 11 times the threshold that is necessary for the risk to be classed as “hazardous”. Increased CO₂ emissions Experts say that wildfires are responsible for up to 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Guardian Australia has revealed that since August, the bushfires in New South Wales and Queensland have been jointly responsible for nearly half of Australia’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. Loss of land Wildfires can travel at speeds of up to 14mph, meaning that they can wipe out large areas of land extremely quickly. The United States suffered its largest wildfire season on record in 2015, with more than 10m acres of terrain being scorched. | ['technology/series/the-five', 'world/wildfires', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'environment/environment', 'tone/features', 'science/science', 'type/article', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/new-review', 'theobserver/new-review/discover', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/observer-new-review'] | world/wildfires | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2019-12-29T05:30:29Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
sport/2009/mar/03/cricket-world-cup-pakistan | Cricket: ICC set to delay decision on Pakistan hosting World Cup until next year | Pakistan is likely to be instructed by the International Cricket Council to play all future internationals at neutral venues in the Middle East following the terrorist attack in Lahore on the Sri Lanka team. But an ICC board meeting next month could fall short of removing Pakistan as a co-host for the 2011 World Cup, preferring to delay that decision until next year in the seemingly forlorn hope that the security situation will improve. "Many teams will be sceptical about playing in Pakistan," Haroon Lorgat, the ICC's chief executive, admitted at Lord's. "It is difficult to see international cricket being played in Pakistan in the foreseeable future." Lorgat will step up pressure for Pakistan to switch all its home matches for a stated period to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. "I am on record as saying that it is better for Pakistan to choose to play cricket in neutral venues. We need to encourage the game to go on but the question that needs to be answered is whether it should be in Pakistan or at a neutral venue. It will be very challenging for us to be convinced that Pakistan will be a safe venue. " Lorgat admitted that the attack on the match convoy had "fundamentally changed" the way in which security assessments would be gathered. "We are going to have to become tighter in the way we assess security situations. This incident changes that landscape." David Morgan, the ICC chairman, and a former chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, was even more determined than Lorgat to cling to an optimistic scenario, refusing to concede that international cricket in Pakistan was now unimaginable. "I believe that cricket must go on. We have to provide the safest possible environment. I believe that in the present situation in Pakistan there will be great reluctance among cricketers to return there. But the current situation need not perpetuate well into the future. We mustn't believe that Pakistan will be unsafe for ever and ever. "Teams should not be expected to go there in the immediate future but things can change and they can change very quickly. The game should go on. It provides great entertainment and comfort for people all around the world. What we want is a safe environment for cricket to be played." The former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram admits that the country hosting the World Cup in 2011 is now a "distant dream". "I don't want to talk about cricket alone," he said. "The attacks are unwarranted and have put Pakistan to shame. Please pray for us. I don't know who has done this but any attack on our guests is simply uncalled for. "We should stand united under the circumstances and the world should understand that terrorism is now a universal concern. I can see a similar hand working in Mumbai, and India must now know that Pakistan are equally at the receiving end." "How do you expect a foreign team to come to Pakistan now? We took pride in hosting our guests. This image has taken a beating. It's sad for Pakistan." Another former Pakistan captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq, said he feared for the country's prospects of hosting the World Cup. "This is the first time that a cricket team has been seriously targeted. This is the most serious incident that has ever happened. Pakistan's image will be hit and only time will tell how much damage has been done to Pakistan cricket. "The World Cup too might be affected. Preparations for the World Cup will start much before 2011 and no country would want to come now to Pakistan. As I said, we will know the extent of damage to our cricket in some time. So I am worried where Pakistan will get a chance to play, not only in Pakistan but outside as well. This is all so sad." Pakistan is one of four host countries for 2011, along with India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and Cricket Australia's chief executive, James Sutherland, said that would now have to be examined. "Needless to say, there would obviously be security concerns about Pakistan, who are one of the four host nations for the 2011 World Cup. Let's see how that unfolds," he said. | ['sport/pakistancricketteam', 'world/sri-lanka-cricket-team-attack', 'sport/sri-lanka-cricket-team', 'sport/cricket', 'world/pakistan', 'world/srilanka', 'sport/sport', 'world/world', 'tone/news', 'world/south-and-central-asia', 'sport/international-cricket-council', 'type/article', 'profile/davidhopps'] | world/sri-lanka-cricket-team-attack | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2009-03-03T15:33:15Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
world/2023/sep/14/our-part-in-creating-the-libyan-disaster | Our part in creating the Libyan disaster | Brief letters | Are we proud of our victory in helping to overthrow the dictator Muammar Gaddafi? After 12 years, Libya still has no government that can maintain critical dams. No one asked the Libyans if chaos was better than Gaddafi. Our success in promoting misgovernment has now cost many thousands of lives (‘Sea is constantly dumping bodies’: fears Libya flood death toll may hit 20,000, 13 September). Joseph Hanlon London • Re deterring moles with a pickled onion (Letters, 12 September), my family copy of Markham’s Farewell to Husbandry, dated 1660, says this: “An excellent way to take Moals, and to preserve good Ground from such annoyance: Put Garlick, Onions, or Leeks, into the mouths of the holes, and they will come out quickly as amazed.” Richard Norman Canterbury • Plagued by a mole this summer, I resorted to pickled onions and sat back in my conservatory with a cup of tea, only to witness a moley paw flick the vegetable from his tunnel. Simon Boswell Blackburn • Having assumed since babyhood that Goldilocks was a girl, I was surprised to see that a clue in the quick crossword in Tuesday’s paper used “blond” rather than “blonde” to describe the “fairytale protagonist”. Is nothing sacred? Margot Sutton Coreley, Shropshire • Far be it for me to defend the education secretary’s outburst, but when she said “sat on their arse” (Letters, 8 September), perhaps she was just being gender neutral rather than grammatically incorrect? Tony Cornah Sheffield • Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section. | ['world/libya', 'books/childrens-books-7-and-under', 'books/books', 'politics/gillian-keegan', 'commentisfree/series/brief-letters', 'type/article', 'tone/letters', 'world/libya-flood-2023', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | world/libya-flood-2023 | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2023-09-14T17:11:00Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
australia-news/2022/feb/24/victorian-logging-rule-changes-will-weaken-protection-for-bushfire-prone-areas-conservation-groups-warn | Victorian logging rule changes will weaken protection for bushfire-prone areas, conservation groups warn | Conservation groups have accused the Victorian government of proposing changes to logging rules that would weaken protections for bushfire-prone communities and the environment. The Andrews government has published draft changes to logging standards that regulate VicForests’ operations. It says the changes are intended to make the code clearer but environmental advocates are concerned the proposal could affect legal challenges to VicForests’ operations that are being heard by the supreme court. The environment group Kinglake Friends of the Forest has two active cases alleging VicForests has exceeded logging limits in mapped areas of forest known as bushfire moderation zones. As a result of the two cases, injunctions have been imposed on logging of 2,700 hectares of forest in the central highlands while the trials continue. The zones were introduced after the royal commission into the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires and placed limits on logging in forest near bushfire-prone communities. Under the logging code, VicForests is not permitted to log more than 1% of areas in which logging is permissible within any one bushfire moderation zone over a five-year period. One of the changes to the code proposed by the Victorian government would consolidate several bushfire moderation zones into a larger area known as a fuel hazard management unit. The 1% cap would apply to the larger area of forest, rather than in each of the smaller zones. Legal experts say this would have the effect of allowing a greater amount of logging within any single bushfire moderation zone. Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning Danya Jacobs, a special counsel at Environmental Justice Australia, said this change to the code’s wording risked increasing the concentration of logging in some areas close to towns. “The government is cynically framing changes that weaken the protection of regional communities from bushfire risk as mere clarifications,” she said. “What it does is give the logging industry increased access to forest in close proximity to communities in regional Victoria.” Kinglake Friends of the Forest said the group was concerned the government was attempting to “remove the ability of community groups to hold VicForests to account through the courts”. “The significance of the case is so high in terms of human safety. These are changes that were made after the 2009 fires,” said the group’s president, Sue McKinnon. “It appears that the impact and devastation and fears of those fires have been forgotten.” Hearings for a separate legal challenge, launched by Warburton Environment, commenced in the supreme court this week. That case is alleging VicForests has not complied with protections under the code for an endangered species known as tree geebung. Tree geebung is a unique species that grows in wet forest in Victoria’s central highlands. Under the logging code, VicForests was required to protect mature trees from disturbance “where possible”. The government has proposed changing that wording to “where reasonably practicable”, sparking concerns VicForests will have greater discretion to cut down the trees during its logging operations. Nic Fox, the president of Warburton Environment, described the proposed change as “very disturbing” and called on the government to focus on protecting people and biodiversity. “Once you start changing codes to enable them to continue to log one species – where does it end?” she said. The proposals are subject to a month of public consultation and would be the third raft of changes to logging laws since 2014. A spokesperson for the Victorian government said the proposed changes would reduce ambiguity in the code and make it clear and enforceable. “Legal challenges made it clear we needed to make the code clear and enforceable to protect the environment and give certainty to industry in the lead up to the phasing out logging of native timber forests in 2030 and that’s what these changes will achieve,” they said. “Strong environmental protections are fundamental in the Code of Practice and that isn’t changing,” they said. But Amelia Young, the national campaigns director for the Wilderness Society, said the outcome of the proposed changes would be greater flexibility for logging of forests. “The Andrews government may perhaps be interpreting, or ‘clarifying’ the law, but it is doing so in a manner that takes a weak position for protecting and restoring forests and wildlife,” she said. “Moving from ‘zones’ to larger ‘units’ risks logging being intensified in particular areas, including in forests adjacent to towns where communities are clearly saying no to more logging.” | ['australia-news/victoria', 'environment/environment', 'environment/forests', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/lisa-cox', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/forests | BIODIVERSITY | 2022-02-24T02:07:44Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
culture/2013/mar/01/shell-music-protest-south-bank | Shell targeted by musical protest at South Bank concert | The audience was told to expect "biting satire" and "menacing bohemian wit" from Friday's performance by members of the Berliner Philharmoniker of cabaret songs from the Weimar era. But the crowd at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London looked nonplussed when a choir of climate activists climbed to the stage in the foyer during the interval to launch Shell Out Sounds, a new campaign against the oil giant's sponsorship. The group of 20 musicians, singers and music-lovers sang specially written lyrics about the damage they say is caused by oil company's activities in the Arctic and elsewhere, to the tune of the spiritual Down to the River to Pray. Dressed in black with purple sashes, they ended with the chorus "Oh, Shell, not your name! No more oil, no more pain! Oh, Shell not your name! Art not in your name!" "Some people think the song has Native American roots and that chimes with the issues we are trying to raise," said composer Chris Garrard, one of the group's founders. "It is about climate change but also about the treatment of indigenous communities and the Ogoni people in Nigeria. There is a list of injustices we need to make people aware of." Garrard added: "The current Southbank Shell Classics season began with a performance of Benjamin Britten's Sinfonia da Requiem. Britten was famously a pacifist so that sits oddly with the fact that Shell is giving money to the Nigerian military. We need to have some ethical red lines." Peter Hart, a hedge fund manager who trades in oil futures derivatives and was at the concert with his family, said the protest was "quite interesting. Ultimately there will always be winners and losers – maybe when Shell shareholders are winners local people can be losers." Alex Coatti, a neurobiology student at UCL, said he thought the protesters were "very brave. Is it just for convenience that these companies fund the arts? I don't know." Shell, which this week suspended a controversial drilling project in Alaska, has faced objections in the past to its sponsorship of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year at the Natural History Museum. Last year climate activists wearing skull masks attended the company's AGM and played drums outside another concert. But Friday's performance was the first time musicians have formed their own protest group. Composer Matthew Herbert, who is working on commissions for the Royal Opera House and National Theatre, says protests by artists are important "because a creative response can engage people in new ways, and challenges the institutions themselves by saying that art should be provocative and directly engage with the issues". Shell Out Sounds joins protest groups already focusing on oil company sponsorship of theatre and museums. Last year members of Liberate Tate carried a chunk of ice to Tate Modern's Turbine Hall to draw attention to its relationship with BP, and installed a 16.5 metre wind turbine blade there. A petition of more than 1,000 names asked Tate trustees to accept the turbine blade as part of its permanent collection, but was declined. In Stratford-upon-Avon the Reclaim Shakespeare Company targeted BP sponsorship of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Last week the RSC renewed its partnership with BP with a scheme to provide £5 tickets to 16 to 25-year-olds. BP and Shell are among the biggest arts sponsors in the UK. Shell supports the National Theatre and National Maritime Museum as well as the Southbank Centre. BP sponsors the National Portrait Gallery, British Museum, Royal Opera House and Natural History Museum. Former BP chief executive Lord Browne is Tate's chair of trustees. Tate director Nicholas Serota and others argue that the benefits brought by the arts mean organisations cannot afford to be picky especially when facing cuts. Others including actor Mark Rylance and composers Matthew Herbert and Steve Martland argue that the urgency of the environmental crisis means relationships with funders must be looked at again. Just as sponsorship by tobacco and arms companies was ended, so must relationships with oil companies. "One of the things that is striking to me as someone who performs in these spaces is that over many years you notice the presence of Shell on the South Bank," Matthew Herbert says. "Arts institutions are giving oil companies a social licence to promote fossil fuels. Climate change is getting to a pretty alarming stage and part of art's responsibility is to point that out, to suggest alternatives, to imagine the horror of environmental disaster in ways that might stimulate action." Vaughan Bhagan, Queen Elizabeth Hall manager, would not comment on calls for Shell to be dropped but said: "The Southbank Centre does not allow protests on its site but we recognise the right to peaceful protest. If activists had obstructed any of our patrons then we would have asked them to leave." A Shell spokesperson declined to comment on Shell Out Sounds' launch but issued a statement: "Shell respects the right of individuals and organisations to engage in a free and frank exchange of views about our operations. Recognising the right of individuals to express their point of view, we only ask that they do so within the law and with their safety and the safety of others in mind." • This article was amended on 2 March 2013 to correct the spelling of "Ogoni". | ['culture/arts-funding', 'music/matthew-herbert', 'music/music', 'culture/culture', 'environment/activism', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'world/protest', 'world/world', 'business/royaldutchshell', 'business/bp', 'business/oil', 'business/oilandgascompanies', 'business/business', 'uk/uk', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'profile/susannarustin'] | environment/activism | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2013-03-01T23:08:13Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
world/2024/jan/18/man-charged-canada-largest-wildfire-ever-nova-scotia | Nova Scotia man charged with starting province’s largest-ever wildfire | A Nova Scotia man has been charged for allegedly starting the eastern Canadian province’s largest-ever wildfire. The charges against Dalton Clark Stewart, 22, come only days after a Quebec man, inspired by conspiracy theories, pleaded guilty to 14 charges of arson after deliberately lighting forest fires. Stewart, from the town of Villagedale, is facing three violations of the province’s Forests Act: lighting a fire on privately owned land without permission of the owner or occupier, failing to take reasonable efforts to prevent the spread of a fire and leaving a fire unattended. Those convicted under the Forests Act can be fined up to C$50,000 (US$37,000) and face as much as six months in prison. “The court will determine the outcome of the charges, including any penalties,” Nova Scotia’s natural resources department said in a statement. The wildfire near Barrington Lake caught the attention of officials in May. Unseasonably dry conditions and strong winds helped it grow to 23,525 hectares, shattering a five-decade record and pushing Nova Scotia’s scarce firefighting resources to the brink. It also degraded the region’s air quality, with Environment Canada issuing a warning for nearby communities. For a province that typically measures the total amount of the region burned in hundreds of hectares, Barrington Lake fire also highlighted the vulnerability of the Atlantic province to wildfires. In June, the Nova Scotia premier, Tim Houston, said he had asked the federal government for military firefighters, ignition specialists, firefighting equipment including hoses and foam, as well as trucks and helicopters. The Barrington Lake fire burned for one month before fire crews declared it extinguished. Elsewhere in the province, crews scrambled to save homes as separate blazes moved perilously close to Halifax, the region’s largest city. Investigators also studied the Tantallon fire, which destroyed nearly 150 homes and forced 18,000 people from their homes, to see if they could find any criminal liability. The RCMP says it closed its investigation in December, according to CBC News, concluding there was “no information to suggest the cause was due to negligence or criminal matter”. But on Thursday, the province’s natural resources department said it was continuing to investigate the fire. “While the department has gathered considerable information, there is a high bar for what can be used as evidence in court,” it said in a statement. In its last report of 2023, the Canadian interagency fire centre said 6,551 fires burned 18,496,057 hectares of land, compared with 1,467,976 hectares burned the year prior. In Nova Scotia, that meant 24,818 hectares burned from 217 fires. | ['world/canada', 'world/world', 'world/americas', 'world/wildfires', 'world/canada-wildfires', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/leyland-cecco', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-foreign'] | world/canada-wildfires | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2024-01-18T17:17:32Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
us-news/2019/oct/22/california-wildfires-power-shutoffs-pge | California: PG&E warns of fresh power shutoffs for 500,000 due to fire weather | Less than two weeks after cutting power to large swathes of northern California, the state’s largest utility is warning that dangerous fire weather could prompt it to shut off power again to about a half-million people. Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) began notifying customers Monday that it could begin precautionary shutoffs to parts of 16 counties as early as Wednesday, mostly in the Sierra foothills and to the north of the San Francisco Bay Area. Any blackouts would last at least 48 hours, the utility said. The utility is concerned that winds forecast to hit 60mph at times could throw branches and debris into power lines or topple them, sparking wildfires. PG&E equipment has been blamed for igniting several of California’s deadliest and most destructive blazes in recent years, including the deadly 2018 Camp fire. The utility, facing billions in potential claims, was forced into bankruptcy. However, the PG&E CEO, Bill Johnson, said the shutdown was about safety, not money. “The sole intent is to prevent a catastrophic wildfire,” he said. A huge portion of southern California is under high fire risk amid unpredictable gusts and soaring temperatures. At least three homes were damaged or destroyed Monday evening by wind-whipped flames in a mountain community near San Bernardino in inland southern California. Earlier in the day Los Angeles firefighters beat back a blaze as it raced up canyon walls toward multimillion-dollar ocean-view homes on a coastal ridge. The Palisades fire led to evacuation orders for roughly 200 homes, and two people were injured, authorities said. An estimated 40 acres were burned, but residents were able to return home in the evening. Officials across southern California said they were bracing for continued fire weather this week due to dangerous winds. “This could be one of our most critical weeks of the fall season for fire weather due to very warm temperatures and bouts of Santa Ana winds,” the National Weather Service said in a statement. Southern California Edison, which had warned of possible safety outages at any time, announced Monday evening that none would take place in the next 48 hours but said that it was monitoring the weather. “Weather conditions might be different for Thursday,” and in that case, notification would be given Tuesday, said Edison spokeswoman Sally Jeun. Authorities issued red flag warnings for parts of northern California on Tuesday, including the North Bay, East Bay and Santa Cruz mountains, with critical fire weather expected on Wednesday and Thursday. PG&E’s phone, text and email warnings to 200,000 homes and businesses came about 10 days after more than 2 million people had their lights turned off by the utility when powerful winds whipped up. The shutoffs earlier this month caused schools to close and many businesses to shutter. Residents complained PG&E communicated late and ineffectively about those power outages, even failing to keep its website running smoothly. California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, blasted PG&E for the unprecedented size of the blackout and the communication problems. “They’re in bankruptcy due to their terrible management going back decades. They’ve created these conditions, it was unnecessary,” Newsom said about PG&E. “This can’t be the new normal.” The shutoffs revealed the depth of California’s infrastructure problems amid a growing climate crisis. “What is clear is whatever this giant mess is, it’s not in any way acceptable or sustainable,” Costa Samaras, a climate resilience researcher and analyst, and associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University told the Guardian earlier this month. Andy Vesey, a PG&E executive, said last week that the utility didn’t think broadly enough and underestimated the needs of their customers and local governments. “We have to develop a mindset, or culture, of anticipation,” he said. | ['us-news/california', 'world/wildfires', 'world/natural-disasters', 'us-news/us-news', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/west-coast-news'] | world/wildfires | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2019-10-22T17:40:52Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2019/may/16/thinning-of-antarctic-ice-sheets-spreading-inland-rapidly-study | ‘Extraordinary thinning’ of ice sheets revealed deep inside Antarctica | Ice losses are rapidly spreading deep into the interior of the Antarctic, new analysis of satellite data shows. The warming of the Southern Ocean is resulting in glaciers sliding into the sea increasingly rapidly, with ice now being lost five times faster than in the 1990s. The West Antarctic ice sheet was stable in 1992 but up to a quarter of its expanse is now thinning. More than 100 metres of ice thickness has been lost in the worst-hit places. A complete loss of the West Antarctic ice sheet would drive global sea levels up by about five metres, drowning coastal cities around the world. The current losses are doubling every decade, the scientists said, and sea level rise are now running at the extreme end of projections made just a few years ago. The research, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, compared 800m satellite measurements of ice sheet height from 1992 to 2017 with weather information. This distinguished short-term changes owing to varying snowfall from long-term changes owing to climate. “From a standing start in the 1990s, thinning has spread inland progressively over the past 25 years – that is rapid in glaciological terms,” said Prof Andy Shepherd, of Leeds University in the UK, who led the study. “The speed of drawing down ice from an ice sheet used to be spoken of in geological timescales, but that has now been replaced by people’s lifetimes.” He said the thinning of some ice streams had extended 300 miles inland along their 600-mile length. “More than 50% of the Pine Island and Thwaites glacier basins have been affected by thinning in the past 25 years. We are past halfway and that is a worry.” Researchers already knew that ice was being lost from West Antarctica, but the new work pinpoints where it is happening and how rapidly. This will enable more accurate projections to be made of sea level rises and may aid preparations for these rises. In the recent past, snow falling on to Antarctica’s glaciers balanced the ice lost as icebergs calved off into the ocean. But now the glaciers are flowing faster than snow can replenish them. “Along a 3,000km [1,850-mile] stretch of West Antarctica, the water in front of the glaciers is too hot,” he said. This causes melting of the underside of the glaciers where they grind against the seabed. The melting lessens the friction and allows the glaciers then to slide more quickly into the ocean and therefore become thinner. “In parts of Antarctica, the ice sheet has thinned by extraordinary amounts,” Shepherd said. Separate research published in January found that ice loss from the entire Antarctic continent had increased six-fold since the 1980s, with the biggest losses in the west. The new study indicates West Antarctica has caused 5mm of sea level rise since 1992, consistent with the January study’s findings. The expansion of the oceans as they warm and the vast melting in Greenland are the main current causes of the rising oceans, but Antarctica is the biggest store of ice. The East Antarctic ice sheet contains enough ice to raise sea levels by about 60 metres. It had been considered stable, but research in December found even this stronghold was showing signs of melting. Without rapid cuts in the carbon emissions driving global warming, the melting and rising sea level will continue for thousands of years. “Before we had useful satellite measurements from space, most glaciologists thought the polar ice sheets were pretty isolated from climate change and didn’t change rapidly at all,” Shepherd said. “Now we know that is not true.” | ['environment/glaciers', 'environment/poles', 'environment/sea-level', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'world/antarctica', 'environment/environment', 'science/science', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/damiancarrington', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/sea-level | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2019-05-16T08:00:27Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
australia-news/2022/dec/23/i-dont-know-where-else-to-turn-the-grey-headed-flying-foxes-driving-rural-towns-batty | ‘I don’t know where else to turn’: the grey-headed flying foxes driving rural towns batty | For 38 years Sue Bailey has lived by an avenue of European trees just off the New England Highway at Tenterfield. The setting is so charming that travellers often stop and take pictures, or picnic in the shade. But these days, thousands of other nomads have taken over, making a racket all night and leaving a mess. A camp of grey-headed flying foxes has settled in the trees of Millbrook Park each spring since 2019, denuding trees and defecating on infrastructure, until cooler weather sees them leave in autumn. Bailey, a retired teacher, estimates the colony has expanded to cover about 25 acres in the past three years, encroaching on her garden and a nearby aged-care facility. “People say, ‘Oh you’re lucky because they go at night’, but they don’t all leave,” she says. “It’s always been awful because they’re noisy”. Bailey and her husband, Adrian, clap their hands to ward off the bats in their garden, in order to get a bit of peace. “I’m not supposed to do any of that. I’m supposed to just leave them there,” she says. Listed as vulnerable by the NSW government in 2001, the grey-headed flying fox usually frequents rainforests and woodlands, where its foraging results in pollination and seed dispersal for native trees. But loss of habitat due to land clearing and bushfires has caused camps to appear in new areas such as Tenterfield. During unseasonal weather, Bailey has come across hundreds of dead bats, including juveniles. She carefully removes the bodies from her garden, keeps her windows shut against the noise and mess, avoids drinking her tank water and keeps her horses on a friends’ property out of town for fear of the Hendra virus, even though they are vaccinated. She’s written to council and the state government because the escalating problem is affecting her mental health. “There is no respite … I was desperate and asked for help,” she says. “I don’t know where else to turn.” A project in 2019 which mapped the flying fox’s range showed a significant migration into central NSW since its range was previously recorded in 2008. In that time, camps have settled near residential areas in Inverell, Tamworth and Armidale. Tim Pearson, a Bellingen-based consultant wildlife ecologist, says the grey-headed flying fox population is “massively dynamic” and moves thousands of kilometres seeking food. Sign up to receive Guardian Australia’s fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter “When there’s a food shortage, the animals will move to new areas, which typically are close to a food resource, to minimise their energy expenditure and flight,” he says. “For instance, about 150,000 grey-headed flying foxes turned up in Tamworth because the white box eucalypts in that area flowered, and when they flower, they flower profusely for a number of months and have a very high food value. “Everything with these animals is driven by resource availability.” Pearson says dispersing camps with noise or removing trees doesn’t provide a permanent solution. “You can trim branches, trim foliage to create buffers, so the animals aren’t roosting right over houses,” he says. But “the only long-term way to solve this problem is to re-establish habitat forests”. “Once you understand that, it then comes down to how can you live with them, and that comes down to what the land manager is responsible for. Typically, that’s the local council.” A 2016 federal government inquiry looked at “tensions” around flying fox camps in residential areas and recommended providing resources to local governments to deal with the issue. Bronwyn Petrie, the mayor of Tenterfield, says the council has been consulting the state environment department about the Millbrook Park flying fox camp. “Signage will be put in place at the park to educate people on the bats,” she says, adding that there will be warnings to avoid handling the animals due to risks of contracting lyssavirus. “We will develop a plan of management, but are severely restricted as to what actions can be taken.” The NSW state MP for Lismore, Janelle Saffin, has written to the premier, Dominic Perrottet, and the environment minister, James Griffin, seeking funding for Tenterfield council to investigate a dispersal plan or habitat modification. But there is significant pushback against flying fox dispersal within affected communities. Tree removal or trimming is an upsetting prospect for the Baileys, after they nurtured their trees – and those in the park – through the drought. “I feel punished for trying to have a nice environment,” Bailey says. She adds that the legislation to protect the flying foxes was “fairly ill-considered” when it came to considering the wellbeing of people living close to camps. “They didn’t think of the consequences to people like us, communities like Tenterfield, Inverell, Tamworth, Bellingen, Casino,” she says. According to Pearson, NSW government subsidies for exclusion netting have all but eradicated the impact of bats on commercial orchardists. He also knows of flying fox camps that have dispersed long-term without intervention. “We don’t understand what drives it … something else happens and all of a sudden it could just empty,” he says. Sign up for the Rural Network email newsletter Join the Rural Network group on Facebook to be part of the community | ['australia-news/series/the-rural-network', 'environment/endangeredspecies', 'environment/wildlife', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/environment', 'australia-news/new-south-wales', 'campaign/email/the-rural-network', 'type/article', 'australia-news/series/rural-network', 'profile/michael-burge', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/the-rural-network'] | environment/wildlife | BIODIVERSITY | 2022-12-22T14:00:40Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
australia-news/2024/nov/17/australia-will-detail-its-2035-emission-targets-sometime-next-year-anthony-albanese-says | Australia will detail its 2035 emission targets ‘sometime next year’, Anthony Albanese says | Anthony Albanese says Australia will detail its 2035 emission reduction targets “sometime next year”, in comments that raise the prospect the government might delay committing to a next-phase target until after the federal election. Asked on ABC’s Insiders on Sunday whether his government could match the UK’s 2035 commitment to cut emissions by 81% on 1990 levels, the prime minister referred to Australia’s existing 2030 target. “Our focus is on achieving the 2030 target because 2030 comes before 2035,” he said. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email “[Voters] do know exactly what we’re doing – 43% by 2030, a target of net zero by 2050, 82% renewables by 2030. “You not only know what we’re going to do but how we’re going to get there.” Australia is due to submit its 2035 target, under the terms of the Paris agreement, at some stage next year. Guardian Australia has previously reported the possibility that such an announcement might be delayed until after the election, due in the first half of the year, as it waits for a recommendation from the Climate Change Authority. The authority chair, Matt Kean, told Guardian Australia last week its advice had been pushed back to consider the ramifications of Donald Trump winning the US presidential election. Initial advice from the authority this year suggested a target of at least 65% and up to 75% would be ambitious but achievable. Albanese’s comments come after the Apec summit with Pacific rim nations in Lima, Peru, where climate discussions featured heavily. They also come during the Cop29 climate summit it Azerbaijan. The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, released a statement calling on the government to reveal the 2035 target at Cop29. “With Donald Trump now US [president-elect] and Peter Dutton spruiking nuclear here, Labor must stop lifting emissions and join the UK in pushing for strong action by 2035, otherwise we won’t stop global warming,” Bandt said. “The only 2035 target consistent with a safe climate is net zero. At the climate summit, Labor must match and raise the UK’s climate ambition and give voters peace of mind that this government takes climate change seriously.” | ['australia-news/australian-politics', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'environment/environment', 'australia-news/anthony-albanese', 'australia-news/energy-australia', 'australia-news/labor-party', 'australia-news/australian-greens', 'australia-news/adam-bandt', 'campaign/email/breaking-news-australia', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/ben-smee', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/carbon-emissions | EMISSIONS | 2024-11-17T04:15:33Z | true | EMISSIONS |
business/2024/sep/17/ed-miliband-wind-solar-pylons-energy-uk-fossil-fuels | Ed Miliband: beating nimbys on green rollout a matter of ‘national security’ | Ed Miliband has vowed to take on the nimbys opposed to the government’s rollout of wind turbines, solar farms and pylons across the UK as a matter of “national security” and “economic justice”. The energy secretary used his first big public address on Tuesday to argue in favour of speedy consent for new energy infrastructure to break the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels and avoid a repeat of “a crisis of the scale we have been through, with such devastating effects”. Miliband promised to “take on the blockers, the delayers, the obstructionists” who have opposed the new government’s plans to speed up the UK’s progress towards a clean energy system by the end of the decade. He told Energy UK’s annual conference in London on Tuesday that the government’s manifesto pledge was “the national security, energy security, economic justice fight of our time”. In the nine weeks since the Labour party formed a new government it has removed an almost decade-long block on onshore windfarms, consented to four of the UK’s largest solar farms and established the government electricity generation company GB Energy to help invest up to £8bn in low-carbon power. The plans have raised concerns in some parts of the UK, and among opposition parties, that the growing number of onshore energy projects will require a massive expansion of pylons and overhead lines to connect them to the grid and lead to the “industrialisation of the countryside”. Miliband said: “The faster we go, the more secure we become. Every wind turbine we put up, every solar panel we install, every piece of grid we construct helps protect families from future energy shocks.” He added: “This is an argument we need to have as a country because the converse is also true. Every wind turbine we block, every solar farm we reject, every piece of grid we fail to build makes us less secure and more exposed. That’s why our clean energy sprint is the national security, energy security, economic justice fight of our time.” The Labour government is also taking on nimbys by promising to get new housebuilding developments going even if it means building on green belt land, which has attracted anger from senior Conservatives and concern among some in Labour about the impact on their support locally. Also speaking at the conference was Keith Anderson, chief executive of Scottish Power, one of UK’s largest grid operators alongside its business developing renewable energy. He said: “If we want more homes – they need electricity. If we want more low carbon heating and transport – it needs electricity. If we want more jobs, business and industry – they need electricity.” “It’s not just renewables we need to build,” Anderson added. “We need to undertake the biggest rewiring this country has ever seen to facilitate the wider modernisation of our economy. Our grid needs a major overhaul to reconfigure the electricity motorways to better serve a modern, flexible, greener energy system.” Miliband said: “I am determined that we do not go from an unequal, unfair, high carbon Britain to an unequal, unfair clean energy Britain. We must, in this transition, tackle fuel poverty, create good jobs, clean up our air, improve access to nature and quality of life. And I passionately believe we can.” | ['business/energy-industry', 'business/business', 'campaign/email/business-today', 'environment/windpower', 'environment/solarpower', 'environment/energy', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/environment', 'politics/edmiliband', 'politics/politics', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/jillian-ambrose', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business'] | environment/energy | ENERGY | 2024-09-17T12:55:41Z | true | ENERGY |
travel/2013/may/25/sightseeing-seattle-us-city-coffee | Sightseeing Seattle: a city with more than coffee at its core | There are some popular misconceptions about Seattle – like the notion that it rains all the time. It is, in fact, raining as I type this. Am I going to stick a fork in my eye? Or jump off a bridge? Hell no! Seattle's best-kept secret is that it's usually a sunshiny 80F (27C) in the summer. It's cloudy and might rain? Yawn. Rain is easy. We don't even use umbrellas, because it's too difficult to carry a coffee and eat a sandwich walking with an umbrella. And coffee – our drug of choice – really is the most important thing you're ever carrying. Find the small dealers. The three Vs of coffee shops are: Vivace, Vita, and Victrola. These similarly named coffee houses are equally excellent roasters, with casual atmospheres. Any one of them is a perfect place to get a fix. Skip the original Starbucks in the Pike Place Market. Pike Place is miserable when crowded – it's only great on a week night, minutes before closing, when locals haggle for flowers and fish. At dusk, you may also run into Princess Angeline, daughter of Chief Si'ahl, aka Chief Seattle – one of several old souls that people claim to see wandering around the 100-year-old market after the sun drops behind the Olympic mountains. The Olympic peninsula, visible from Seattle's waterfront, is the first day trip you should consider. Hop on a ferry from Colman Dock (aka Pier 52) and drive straight to the Hoh Rain Forest. It's a long drive (about two hours from Port Angeles) but you won't be sorry, nor will you believe your eyes when you see this drippy, neon-green forest, which is thousands of years old and looks almost like it was put on Earth by aliens. Also on the peninsula, at Sequim, is the Olympic Game Farm, which has waving grizzly bears. No, really! Two gigantic real bears wave at you like prom queens in a 4th of July parade. Back in Seattle, the Capitol Hill neighbourhood is dense and walkable, and you can't throw a rock in any direction without hitting a restaurant or a shop. Try Momiji for sushi. For records it's Wall of Sound. The owners Jeffery Taylor and Michael Ohlenroth have impeccable taste for rarities and vinyl – from avant-garde Japanese noise to electro-acoustic - and share an "all-killer, no-filler" philosophy in stocking music for the store. The three-floor thrift store Value Village is probably Capitol Hill's best one-stop shop for everything else – cut-rate clothing, cookware and even art (like the photograph of a Canadian bodybuilder framed with his posing pouch that I saw here for $6). You might bump into Seattle rapper Macklemore. For live music, pop into Neumos for hip-hop, rock, and hipster faves or Chop Suey for scrappier punk, and garage. Bars worthy of a stop include Unicorn, which is tricked out in dizzying circus stripes with taxidermy on the walls; Bimbo's Cantina, which serves tacos and tequilas in booths under the gaze of Mexican wrestling masks and religious icons by staff who all play in rock bands on the side; and Bait Shop, a 70s-style diner whose wood-panelled walls are adorned with stuffed fish and nautical memorabilia and which sells Hemingway daiquiris alongside its fish and chips. The Pine Box is also worth a stop. It's a beer hall in a former mortuary. Bruce Lee's funeral was held here. Lee, now buried at Lake View Cemetery (also in Capitol Hill) alongside his son Brandon, is rumored to haunt the Pine Box, along with the ghost of a woman and a small boy. Capitol Hill is also Seattle's premier gay-bourhood. Gay marriage is legal. Civil rights are being honoured and celebrated citywide. Nowhere does the celebration shine more brightly than in a flower-shop-turned-gay-bar called Pony. Instead of being full of ghosts, Pony is full of hopes for the future. It's a magical place where everyone – gay, straight, and all shades in between – comes together. There's also a clothing-optional photo booth, vintage pornography everywhere, a stripper's pole and a glory hole in the bathroom … But I'll perhaps save those details for another story. Kelly O is a music writer and columnist on Seattle's The Stranger magazine • For more information on holidays in the USA, visit DiscoverAmerica.com | ['travel/seattle', 'travel/shopping-trips', 'travel/travelfoodanddrink', 'travel/series/road-trips-usa-pacific-coast', 'travel/bars', 'travel/city-breaks', 'travel/cultural-trips', 'travel/road-trips', 'travel/washington-state', 'travel/usa', 'travel/northandcentralamerica', 'travel/travel', 'food/american-food-and-drink', 'tone/features', 'type/article', 'profile/kelly-o', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/special-supplement', 'theguardian/special-supplement/special-supplement'] | travel/series/road-trips-usa-pacific-coast | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2013-05-24T23:10:00Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
sport/2023/feb/07/yorkshire-ccc-admits-four-charges-in-ecb-racism-inquiry-while-pyrah-pulls-out | Yorkshire admit four charges in ECB racism inquiry as Pyrah pulls out | Yorkshire have admitted four charges of bringing the game into disrepute. In reaching an agreement with the ECB it will not have to take part in the Cricket Discipline Commission hearings into allegations of racism and discrimination at the club, which have been scheduled to start on 1 March. With Richard Pyrah, Yorkshire’s former player and bowling coach, on Tuesday having joined the list of charged individuals who have withdrawn cooperation with proceedings, the successful conclusion to Yorkshire’s negotiations with the ECB to amend and reduce the six charges they had initially faced means Michael Vaughan is now the only individual or organisation involved in the hearings who is slated to present a defence. “This agreed position on liability is part of a continued effort to address and take accountability for the cultural issues that have faced the club, and today’s announcement is an important moment on our road to recovery,” said Yorkshire’s co-chairs, Lord Kamlesh Patel and Tanni Grey-Thompson. “We want to stress the importance of facing up to our past to build a more inclusive and welcoming club for all. Our mission is to create a new foundation for the club and, as such, it was crucial that we acknowledged and accepted responsibility for allowing historical racist and discriminatory behaviour to go unchecked. As an organisation, alongside our members, we have been through so much in working towards a bright future. While the road ahead may not always be smooth, we truly believe that this will help lift a cloud that has been hanging over the club for two years.” The charges Yorkshire have accepted include a failure to address systemic use of racist or discriminatory language over a prolonged period, and a failure to take adequate action when allegations of discriminatory behaviour were first aired. For the first time the ECB have named the seven individuals who had been charged with bringing the game into disrepute – whose identities had been revealed in the media and in parliamentary proceedings – as Gary Ballance, John Blain, Tim Bresnan, Andrew Gale, Matthew Hoggard, Pyrah and Vaughan. Ballance, who has also admitted liability, has returned to Zimbabwe and on Tuesday scored a century on his debut for the Test team against West Indies. Blain, Bresnan, Gale, and Hoggard have pulled out after criticising the process the ECB has overseen. Last week, Bresnan said he felt it was “impossible to have a fair hearing” and that “the outcome is a foregone conclusion”, with the ECB saying that “the disciplinary process has been both rigorous and fair”. The CDC hearings will deal only with whether those charged have breached ECB Directive 3.3 by being guilty of “conduct which is improper or which may be prejudicial to the interests of cricket or which may bring the ECB, the game of cricket or any cricketer into disrepute”. A panel will then convene to decide on potential sanctions. | ['sport/yorkshire', 'sport/ecb', 'sport/cricket', 'sport/sport-politics', 'sport/sport', 'campaign/email/the-spin', 'world/race', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/simonburnton', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/sport', 'theguardian/sport/news', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-sport'] | sport/ecb | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2023-02-07T12:42:54Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2019/nov/27/how-to-shrink-plastic-footprint-recycling | Recycling isn’t working – here are 15 ways to shrink your plastic footprint | As plastics corporations ramp up production, they are also promoting a failing recycling system. Just 9% of plastics get recycled. Traditional plastics are made from extracted oil and gas, and they contribute to the rising temperatures behind the climate crisis. Environment experts are increasingly calling for a reduction in plastic use, as the waste accumulates in the oceans, poor countries and even human bodies. Plastics are also burned, as China – which once accepted the bulk of America’s waste – has begun to refuse it. And more than a million Americans lived next to polluting incinerators. Significant reductions will require systemic change, researchers say. But there are also some easy tips for individuals who want to cut back on plastics. (If this list is overwhelming and you’re not sure where to start, collect your plastic waste for a month and conduct an audit. Cut back on what you find the most of.) 1 Carry a reusable bottle, fork/spoon and bag Be sure to use these items as many times as possible so they are worth the resources they take to create. 2 Refuse the lid on your coffee cup Take a few sips before you leave the shop so you can avoid spilling. (Some coffee shops will say they are required to give you a lid, citing possible liability for burns.) 3 Choose products in glass or cans if they are an option. Recycle those materials Plastics recycling is largely failing, but you should still try to recycle your waste plastics if they are accepted in your community. Make sure you are recycling correctly with this guide. Glass and aluminum cans are much more likely to be recycled. Glass is most efficient when reused (ie with returnable milk bottles). 4 When possible, eat in the restaurant instead of taking it to go Unless you have a physical disability, let your server know in advance that you won’t need a straw. 5 If you order takeout or delivery, tell the restaurant you don’t want plastic utensils or straws This is an option on some food delivery apps. 6 Opt for products with less packaging. Say no to bagged lemons, apples, onions and garlic, and tea that comes in plastic packets Choose more fresh produce for snacks to avoid individual plastic wrappers. 7 Shop from the bulk section and use your own containers Some grocery stores will let you use pretty much any container, as long as you verify the weight of the empty container in advance. 8 Use bars of soap (also available for shampoo and shaving) instead of bottles and skip the plastic loofah Find bars that are wrapped in paper, and for an extra environmental benefit, avoid palm oil. 9 Use a razor that requires replacing only the individual blades The upfront expense may be daunting, but if you can afford it, you will save money over time. Note that TSA does not allow passengers to fly with individual blades. 10 Use a bamboo toothbrush or one with a replaceable head The market for these products is growing rapidly. Most bristles will still have synthetic fibers, but you can at least avoid throwing away the brush’s plastic arm every few months. 11 Buy concentrated cleaners that can be mixed with water in a reusable container. You can find these in powder, gel and liquid form. 12 Choose frozen, concentrated juice that comes in cardboard tubes instead of the plastic jugs Some of them taste good, and they are lighter to carry home. 13 Don’t buy bottled water. Filter your own “Bottled water is no safer than filtered tap water, but the industry doesn’t have to disclose the results of its testing,” according to the Environmental Working Group. The advocacy organization’s Tap Water Database can help you select the best filter for your local water source. 14 Buy fewer clothes, or shop secondhand. Wash your clothes less so they last longer. Hang them to dry Most clothing contains synthetic fibers made of plastic. These fibers shed in the wash and end up in waterways. Synthetic materials may have some advantages over natural ones, however, because they may last longer. 15 When shopping online, group as many items together as possible, so you can receive fewer plastic envelopes You can also choose slower shipping times, which could reduce the climate footprint of your purchase. | ['environment/plastic', 'us-news/series/united-states-of-plastic', 'environment/ethical-living', 'environment/waste', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'environment/environment', 'business/oilandgascompanies', 'environment/recycling', 'business/business', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/emily-holden', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/special-supplement', 'theguardian/special-supplement/special-supplement', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/west-coast-news'] | environment/waste | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2019-11-27T11:00:07Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2017/feb/03/rising-carbon-emissions-could-kill-off-vital-corals-by-2100-study-warns | Rising carbon emissions could kill off vital corals by 2100, study warns | The destruction of coral reefs worldwide could accelerate as rising carbon emissions help coral-killing seaweeds grow more poisonous and take over, according to researchers. A Griffith University study on the Great Barrier Reef has shown how rising CO2 emissions trigger more potency in chemicals from common “weed-like” algae that poison corals as they compete for space. The study, conducted on Heron Island with reef and chemical ecology experts from the University of Queensland and the US, predicts that “business as usual” emissions would significantly harm vital corals by 2050 and kill them off by 2100. The researchers said their findings, which shed new light on the competitive advantage seaweeds enjoyed over corals in seawater with rising carbon concentrations, had global implications as one of the most damaging seaweeds was found in reefs worldwide. And the futility of trying to remove seaweeds that had the ability to regrow meant the problem could be tackled only by cutting carbon emissions, they said. Guillermo Diaz-Pulido, a Griffith University associate professor, said the research was “a major step forward in understanding how seaweeds can harm corals and has important implications for comprehending the consequences of increased carbon dioxide emissions on the health of the Great Barrier Reef”. Scientists previously knew that increased carbon in the atmosphere – which is absorbed by oceans, making them more acidic – affected the behaviour of seaweed. But the study’s co-author Mark Hay, a professor from the Georgia Institute of Technology, said the discovery here was that greater carbon concentrations led to “some algae producing more potent chemicals that suppress or kill corals more rapidly”, in some cases in just weeks. “If the algae overtake the coral, we have a problem which contributes to reef degradation, on top of what we already know with coral bleaching, crown of thorn starfish outbreaks, cyclones or any other disturbance,” Hay said. Diaz-Pulido said a common brown algae species found in reefs worldwide was shown to be among those that caused the most damage. “That’s a problem because if this algae takes advantage of elevated CO2 in seawater that’s even more a matter of concern,” he said. Diaz-Pulido said the “scale of the problem is so big, removing a bunch of seaweed from the reef isn’t going to do much because it just regrows and regenerates”. That is in contrast to human interventions on other coral threats such as the crown of thorns starfish, where local eradication programs have had success. Diaz-Pulido said his conclusion was that “the way to address this really is to reduce the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere”. The research at Heron Island, a coral cay north-east of Gladstone at the southern end of the reef, used underwater reef experiments and outdoor lab studies. “For the algae to grow they need light and CO2, just like any other plant, and because algae in the future would be exposed to much more CO2 in seawater we wanted to know to what extent the CO2 would affect some of the things algae do, the physiology and the interaction with animals,” Diaz-Pulido said. The study was published on Thursday in the Nature journal’s Scientific Reports, and involved collaboration with Peter Mumby, a University of Queensland professor. | ['environment/great-barrier-reef', 'environment/coral', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/environment', 'environment/marine-life', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/joshua-robertson', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/marine-life | BIODIVERSITY | 2017-02-03T07:05:39Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2024/jan/29/eu-will-force-cosmetic-companies-to-pay-to-reduce-microplastic-pollution | EU will force cosmetic companies to pay to reduce micropollutants | Beauty companies will have to pay more to clean up micropollutants after EU negotiators struck a new deal to treat sewage. Under draft rules that follow the “polluter pays principle”, companies that sell medicines and cosmetics will have to cover at least 80% of the extra costs needed to get rid of tiny pollutants that are dirtying urban wastewater. Governments will pay the rest, members of the bloc said, in an effort to prevent vital products from becoming too expensive or scarce. Virginijus Sinkevičius, the bloc’s environment commissioner, said the steps would safeguard citizens from harmful discharges of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics that end up in water bodies. “This will make our water cleaner and protect our health.” The rules, which have been agreed by the European parliament and council of the EU but not yet formally adopted, bulk up requirements to remove nutrients from water and set new standards for micropollutants. They also broaden the areas covered by the law. By 2035 EU member states will have to remove organic matter from urban wastewater before releasing it into the environment in all communities with more than 1,000 people. By 2045 they will have to remove nitrogen and phosphorus in all treatment plants covering more than 10,000 people, if there is a risk to the environment or health. They will also have to add an extra step to remove a “broad spectrum” of micropollutants, according to the European parliament. Governments will also have to monitor sewage for microplastics, “forever chemical” per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and key health indicators like antimicrobial resistance. But member states have been slow to enforce existing rules to treat sewage. Last month, the European Commission referred Spain to the European court of justice for failing to comply with existing wastewater rules in 225 communities. Nils Torvalds, a Finnish MEP with the liberal Renew grouping who was in charge of the proposal, said: “The deal we reached today is a breakthrough for significantly improved water management and wastewater treatment standards in Europe, especially with new rules on removing micropollutants coming from medicines and personal care products. We have ensured that the impact of this legislation on the affordability of medicines will not be disproportionate.” The agreement is set to increase the divide between environmental protection in the EU and UK since Brexit. Earlier this month, the Guardian revealed that the UK is falling behind the EU on almost every area of environmental regulation and that its water industry has delayed plans to tackle the country’s sewage pollution crisis. • This article was amended on 1 February 2024. The headline and first line were changed to refer to micropollutants rather than to “microplastic pollution”. It is the council of the EU that has been involved in agreeing the rules, not the council of Europe. And EU member states will have to remove nitrogen and phosphorus in all treatment plants covering more than 10,000 people by 2045, only if there is a risk to the environment or health; this has been clarified. | ['environment/pollution', 'environment/plastic', 'environment/water', 'environment/environment', 'world/europe-news', 'world/world', 'campaign/email/this-is-europe', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/ajit-niranjan', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/plastic | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2024-01-29T16:00:36Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
media/2008/jun/23/mediabusiness.yahootakeover | Yahoo plans major staff reorganisation | Yahoo is expected to announce the results of a major staff reorganisation this week as the embattled internet firm tries to reassure investors and staff that it can improve its performance and competitiveness. Led by Yahoo's president, Susan Decker, the web company is expected to combine mail, search and homepage divisions in one global product department. The long-serving Yahoo executive Ash Patel, currently executive vice-president of platforms and infrastructure, expected to head the new global product division. Decker is also expected to put Hilary Schneider, executive vice-president for platforms and infrastructure, in charge of Yahoo's media division as well as continuing to lead advertising sales. The aim of the reorganisation is to create web services targeted to different international audiences and improve internal accounting for those services, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Combined with uncertainty about the company's future caused by Microsoft's attempts to buy the firm and the vesting of stock owned by long-term employees, the reorganisation has triggered an exodus of staff. Last week saw the departure of two executive vice-presidents, Jeff Weiner and Qi Lu; the senior vice-president of communications and communities, Brad Garlinghouse; the senior vice-president of search, Vish Makhijani and the founders of web 2.0 services Flickr and Delicious, which Yahoo acquired several years ago. Yahoo's shares have fallen in value by more than 20% in the past month, but are still higher than in January – just before Microsoft made its initial $47.5bn takeover offer for the firm. · To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediatheguardian.com or phone 020 7239 9857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 7278 2332. · If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication". | ['media/mediabusiness', 'technology/yahoo-takeover', 'technology/yahoo', 'technology/internet', 'business/business', 'technology/technology', 'media/media', 'type/article', 'profile/jemimakiss'] | technology/yahoo-takeover | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2008-06-23T13:17:57Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
sustainable-business/2016/dec/22/packaging-guilt-recycling-solutions | Four ways to tackle our packaging guilt | ‘Tis the season for excess packaging. It can be extremely convenient, keeping food cold, extending shelf life and easing transportation. The downside is a huge amount of waste, exacerbated by declining recycling rates in the UK. Here’s our guide to the main problems and the companies offering a solution. Plastics The problem More than half of all goods in Europe are packaged in plastic, equivalent to 29kg per person per year. Manufacturers love it because it is lightweight and strong, but each year at least 8m tonnes [pdf] of plastic end up in the ocean. By 2050, it is predicted, there will be more plastic than fish in the sea. Industry’s main response has been to encourage recycling. In the UK, almost every local authority recycles plastic bottles and around three-quarters will collect pots, tubs and trays. But 80% of plastic film – the material used for carrier bags and the like – still ends up in landfill. And while 20m plastic bottles were recycled every day in the UK in 2015, more than 15m a day were not. A solution The Tetra Rex bio-based drinks carton, pitched as the world’s first package made entirely from plant-based materials, is manufactured exclusively from plastics derived from sugar cane and paperboard. The plastic manufacturer behind the renewable packaging innovation is Brazil-based Braskem, which uses sugar cane grown on degraded pastures and certified paperboard. The carton has 4kg less embedded carbon than conventional polyethylene on a per kg basis. Another brand following in Tetra Pak’s footsteps is bread manufacturer Hovis, which now uses a sugar cane-based renewable polyethylene bag for its Seed Sensations range. The bag, which has a 75% lower carbon footprint than traditional bread bags, was developed by Australian firm Amcor Flexibles. Did you know? Of the 57m tonnes of plastics produced in Europe annually, 39% is used in packaging. Refrigeration The problem Refrigeration is essential if you don’t want your salad arriving mouldy or your milk turning rancid. Seventy percent of foods are chilled or frozen, [pdf] yet keeping our food cold on the journey from farm or food processing plant to the shop shelf or our doorstep is a polluting business. Refrigeration in trucks and other forms of transport is energy intensive and prone to leaking HFC refrigerants. Diesel powered fridges on refrigerated vehicles also emit “grossly disproportionate” amounts of toxic nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, two key causes of air pollution that contribute to millions of premature deaths worldwide [pdf]. A solution Instead of relying on refrigerated vans, allplants, a new online retailer of food stuffs made entirely from plants, is using a “spaceman’s envelope” to keep its products refrigerated in transit. The system relies on a sponge-like insulation liner made from post-industrial raw denim fibres, coupled with high-duration deep freeze gels. The gels contains no toxins so can be safely poured down the sink after use, while the liner has two parts. The external part is plastic and can be recycled through your local recycling system, the inside part is compostable. Did you know? The 1m transport refrigeration units on European streets have the equivalent impact on air pollution as up to 56m diesel cars. Wasted wrapping The problem The average UK householder throws away an estimated 400g of packaging every day [pdf]. A solution As part of its commitment to what it calls “naked packaging”, cosmetics retailer Lush now wraps its shower-wash bars in “soap paper”. The dissolvable packaging is made from a mix of blended melon puree and soap flakes which are dehydrated and flattened into a sheet. Melons were found to have an optimal balance between sugar and fibre that makes them consistently pliable yet also resistant in dehydrated form. Did you know? 25% of household waste is packaging [pdf]. Liquids The problem A high proportion of home cleaning, laundry, and health and beauty products come in liquid form. That presents manufacturers and retailers with an environmental headache. Liquid is heavy and bulky, which means transporting it – whether by plane, train, ship or lorry – incurs serious emissions. Freight road transport alone represents 30% of all transport emissions in the UK. The solution Powys-based eco-manufacturer Splosh gets around the liquid dilemma by manufacturing its home-cleaning, soap and laundry products in concentrate form. Consumers need just one bottle that they can use time and again by adding the sachet of concentrate and mixing it with water. The packaging for the sachets is made from recycled cardboard and is designed to fit directly through a standard letterbox (Splosh sells almost exclusively online). Customers then post back the cardboard packaging and sachets free of charge for repurposing. Did you know HGVs produce 22% of transport’s CO2 land transport emissions, while only accounting for 5% of vehicles. Sign up to be a Guardian Sustainable Business member and get more stories like this direct to your inbox every week. You can also follow us on Twitter. | ['sustainable-business/series/packaging', 'sustainable-business/sustainable-business', 'environment/recycling', 'environment/environment', 'environment/ethical-living', 'environment/waste', 'type/article', 'tone/blog', 'tone/features', 'profile/oliver-balch', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-professional-networks'] | environment/waste | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2016-12-22T05:00:37Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
books/2020/jan/16/the-age-of-the-individual-must-end-tom-oliver-the-self-delusion | The age of the individual must end – our world depends on it | Tom Oliver | Last month, as I travelled to see family for a very mild Christmas in the UK, I thought about the bushfires simultaneously raging across Australia. They are just one example from a long series of extreme weather events in 2019, including cyclones in India and Bangladesh that displaced more than three million people, Cyclone Idai, which killed more than 1,000 people in southern Africa, floods that displaced tens of thousands of people in Iran, and entire townships laid to waste by Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas. The year ended with reports of record rates of Arctic ice melt that, through positive feedback effects, are likely to intensify climate heating and impact the future of humanity. In the face of global catastrophe, it’s hard not to feel daunted. What can I, an individual, do to address such a crisis? Understanding that my daily actions are partly responsible for climate change, I feel a gnawing sense of sense of individual guilt. It’s perhaps not surprising that I feel like this. I was a child of the 1980s and a teenager in the 90s: my formative years were during something like the most individualistic age in history. While I learned times tables at primary school, Margaret Thatcher was telling the nation there was no such thing as society. During my teenage years, product advertising and globalisation brought a new age of hyper-consumerism, as we were bombarded with education programmes to build self-esteem and TV shows such as Big Brother, The X Factor and The Apprentice, which all glorified self-aggrandisement in subtly different ways. Developing human minds are like sponges and ours were submerged in ever more individualistic language. Phrases such as “unique”, “personal”, “self”, “me” and “mine” were used with increasing frequency in lyrics, TV shows and books. This immersion took its toll: analysis of data from almost 80 countries shows how the majority have shown marked increases in individualistic attitudes over recent decades. Having a strong sense of self can be useful, but excessive individualism has its costs. The more we see ourselves as discrete entities, the more likely we are to feel isolated and lonely and to show “selfish” behaviours. As a consequence, rates of anxiety and depression are rising across the world, while the climate and biodiversity crises deepen ever further. Yet times are changing. In the last decade, we may have seen individualism peak. Scientific discoveries have revealed how the perception of a distinct self is an illusion. Our bodies are made from materials that were once parts of countless other organisms, from ancient plants to dinosaurs. Most of our 37tn cells are directed by a genetic code that is a shared heritage not just of humanity but all of life on Earth. You might think your life experiences define you, but the neural networks in your brain that encode these are changing constantly – you are not even the same person you were when you started reading this article. And the new science of social networks shows how we are linked together so closely that ideas, behaviours and preferences flow between us in a way that makes it unclear where one mind ends and another begins. And people are finding new value in being part of groups, whether it is through activism (Extinction Rebellion, youth strikes, political party memberships) or leisure activities (book clubs, festivals, park runs). New research shows that when people have a broader sense of group identity (for example viewing themselves as global citizens, rather than embracing nationalism), they tend to be more likely to engage in pro-environmental behaviours, such as reducing their carbon emissions, buying sustainably and volunteering. A new age of collectivism seems to be dawning – and not a moment too soon. So what can be done to make people truly embrace being part of a group? In answering this question, it is worth bearing in mind that the evolutionary history of our brains means we are susceptible to certain biases. When populations face shocks such as environmental catastrophe or social unrest, they are more likely to strengthen bonds between their “in-group” members, while caring less about those outside of the group. This is a defence mechanism to help groups pull together and overcome hardship. Social research has shown that it operates at the country level, too – countries facing crises are more likely to show prejudice towards outsiders and elect authoritarian leaders. Environmental catastrophes are only expected to worsen under climate change, which means nationalism could grow purely due to this evolutionary bias. Yet, is this a sensible response? In 2020, we live in a highly globalised world, with cross-border flows of money and people, as well as environmental impacts such as the climate crisis and air pollution. If we bond together within nations but with less regard for the welfare of others beyond those borders, we will end up fouling the global commons, ultimately to our own detriment. Yet there is hope. New research shows how we can escape individualism. Outdoor community activities increase both our psychological connectedness to others and to the natural world. Escape cities to go for a walk with family or friends, or volunteer in a garden or park near you as often as you can. Meditation is proven to alter neural networks in the brain and reduce self-centredness, and solitary activities such as reading and playing computer games have been shown to increase empathy with others. We can all do something small to be part of something bigger and help solve our global problems. Let’s all get on with it. • Tom Oliver is professor of ecology at the University of Reading, and author of The Self Delusion, which will be published on 23 January. | ['books/books', 'culture/culture', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'world/iran', 'australia-news/bushfires', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'world/bangladesh', 'world/india', 'world/cyclone-idai', 'world/hurricane-dorian', 'science/psychology', 'books/healthmindandbody', 'world/extreme-weather', 'world/natural-disasters', 'type/article', 'tone/comment', 'tone/features', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-culture'] | world/hurricane-dorian | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2020-01-20T06:30:19Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
world/2008/sep/09/cuba.cuba | Hurricane Ike forces mass evacuation in Cuba | Hurricane Ike was heading west towards the Cuban capital, Havana, today after forcing 1.2 million people to evacuate and killing at least four people. It recorded winds of 80mph (130kph) and is expected to pick up speed when it reaches the Gulf of Mexico before hitting the US. Ike, which caused extensive damage in the Bahamas and worsened floods in Haiti, has killed at least 312 people in the region. It made landfall on eastern Cuba as a category three hurricane, then weakened yesterday as it ran along the southern edge of Cuba. It is forecast to reach Louisiana or Texas this weekend. Cuban state TV reported that two men were killed in the centre of the country while removing an antenna from a roof. On the island's east, a woman died when her house collapsed on her and a man was killed by a falling tree. Despite a series of hurricanes and tropical storms these were the first confirmed deaths in Cuba this season. The government ordered 1.2 million people to seek safety with friends and relatives or at government shelters. In Havana, where the hurricane was expected to unleash heavy winds and rain this morning, evacuations began in earnest yesterday afternoon. The government closed schools and government offices in the capital as people reinforced windows with wood, removed plants from balconies and formed long queues at bakeries. Nancy Nazal, who lives on the second floor of a block of flats overlooking the ocean, said authorities had told her to be prepared to evacuate and she was. "The truth is, we are scared," she said. Gustav tore across western Cuba as a category four hurricane last month, damaging 100,000 homes and causing billions of dollars in damage. But no deaths were reported as a result of mandatory evacuations of at least 250,000 people. "In all of Cuba's history, we have never had two hurricanes this close together," said Jose Rubiera, head of Cuba's meteorological service. Waves created by Ike crashed into five-storey apartment buildings, hurling heavy spray over their rooftops, and winds that uprooted trees. Falling utility poles crushed cars parked along narrow streets in the central city of Camagüey and the roaring wind transformed buildings of stone and brick into piles of rubble. Colonial columns were toppled and the ornate sculptures on the roofs of centuries-old buildings were smashed in the city, a Unesco world heritage site. "I have never seen anything like it in my life. So much force is terrifying," said Olga Alvarez, 70, huddling in her Camagüey living room with her husband and teenage grandson. "We barely slept last night. It was just 'boom, boom, boom.'" Felix García, a meteorologist at the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami, forecast that Ike would become even more powerful. "It's over warm waters," García said. "It can definitely maintain its strength right now, and when it's out of Cuba it has the potential to become a lot stronger." State television said officials had taken measures to protect thousands of tourists at vulnerable seaside hotels, including about 10,000 foreigners at the Varadero resort, east of Havana. | ['world/cuba', 'weather/cuba', 'world/world', 'us-news/hurricanegustav', 'world/natural-disasters', 'tone/news', 'world/americas', 'world/hurricanes', 'type/article', 'profile/matthewweaver'] | us-news/hurricanegustav | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2008-09-09T09:17:58Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2017/may/26/extremely-polluting-nissan-and-renault-diesel-cars-still-on-sale-data-reveals | Extremely polluting Nissan and Renault diesel cars still on sale, data reveals | Diesel cars that emit up to 18 times the official limit for toxic pollution when taken on to the road are still being sold, 20 months after the emissions scandal erupted and amid an ongoing air pollution crisis. In real world conditions, the Nissan Qashqai produces 18 times more nitrogen oxides than the official lab-based test allows under EU directives, while Nissan’s Juke pumps out 16 times more NOx pollution than the limit, according to data from vehicle testing company Emissions Analytics seen by the Guardian. Further data reveals Renault’s Mégane and Captur models both produce 16 times more NOx when on the road. Overall, the data shows that 80% of new diesels on the market in the last nine months fail to meet the official limit when on the road. A separate analysis from campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E) estimates that there are now 5.3m dirty diesel vehicles in the UK that exceed official NOx limits when on the road. Across Europe, the number is 35m, an increase of 6m in the last year. The vehicles pass legal tests, which are currently lab-based. But when driven in real conditions their emissions control systems are often switched down or off, to save money or servicing costs, often resulting in very high levels of toxic fumes. This has led to illegally high levels of NOx in most urban parts of the UK and, according to a parliamentary report a year ago, a “public health emergency”. The government has been twice defeated in the courts over the adequacy of its response but its latest plan was dismissed as “weak” and “woefully inadequate”. Ministers from the 28 EU states are meeting on Monday to agree on reforms to the emissions testing system. But Germany, home to several major car makers, is blocking tougher emissions checks, according to T&E. The continued sale of highly polluting diesel cars is surprising, said Nick Molden, at Emissions Analytics: “The technology to clean up diesel emissions has existed for quite a long time.” Many diesel cars sold in the US have had real emissions under the official EU limit for a decade, he said. But in Europe, car buyers often face a huge disparity between officially published emissions and actual emissions. “People are just groping in the dark and that has to stop,” said Molden, whose company’s Equa Index website rates more than 330 recent diesel cars. He said software upgrades from manufacturers would quickly and significantly cut the emissions of many existing diesel cars: “What you can do is turn up the effectiveness of the emissions reduction technology – it’s almost like a volume knob – and that is a software change. If they turn up the volume, you have a clean car.” But apart from cars from VW, which was caught blatantly cheating, few vehicles in Europe have been recalled. “The inaction in Europe compared to the other side of the Atlantic is shocking,” said Julia Poliscanova at T&E. “These [cars still being sold] will continue to pollute the air for decades to come. No effective action such as recalls or approval withdrawals have taken place on the vast majority of these dirty diesels that continue to pollute urban air unpunished.” Spokesmen for Nissan and Renault said all their cars met current legal limits and that the companies strongly supported new, on-the-road tests that enter force in September for new approvals of car types and for all cars being sold 12 months later. A spokesman for Renault said: “Measures which significantly reduce NOx emissions in real driving conditions have been gradually deployed in production from July 2016. The vehicles in the quoted [Emissions Analytics] test results have not benefited from these measures.” Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which represents car makers, said: “The differences between official laboratory tests and those performed in the ‘real world’ are well known, and industry acknowledges the need for fundamental reform.” He added: “We can’t comment on results from non-official [Emissions Analytics] tests where the methodology is unclear.” Molden said the real-world methodology used by Emissions Analytics is detailed on its website and that the SMMT had not accepted repeated offers to explain it in person: “They are not looking at our website and have turned down our invitations – I don’t know what more I can do.” | ['environment/pollution', 'business/nissan', 'business/renault', 'business/automotive-industry', 'environment/environment', 'business/business', 'world/europe-news', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'environment/air-pollution', 'profile/damiancarrington', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2017-05-26T11:00:10Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
world/2023/sep/17/ibya-floods-derna-warlord-khalifa-haftar-libyan-national-army | Libya floods: warlord using disaster response to exert control, say observers | As search and rescue teams continue to hunt for bodies trapped underneath the mud and rubble of their homes in the Libyan coastal city of Derna, observers say the warlord Khalifa Haftar and his sons are using the disaster response as a way to exert control rather than ensure vital humanitarian relief reaches civilians. At least 11,300 people have died and more than 10,000 are missing, according to the Libyan Red Crescent, after two dams burst during a powerful storm last week. The resulting floods have completely destroyed almost 900 buildings in Derna, according to the country’s National Unity government, based in the north-western city of Tripoli. More than 200 buildings were partly damaged and almost 400 others were completely submerged in mud, it added, meaning that a quarter of all buildings in Derna had been affected by the flooding. Desperate rescue efforts continued in an attempt to find any remaining survivors as bodies continued to wash up on the shoreline. First responders on the ground often worked while surrounded by militants from the Libyan National Army, a sprawling military coalition loyal to Haftar, amid what observers described as efforts to keep an iron grip over vital assistance arriving in the crisis-stricken city. Public access to the centre of Derna, worst-affected by the flooding, has been shut off, and the city has been officially declared a disaster zone. Derna’s citizens are struggling to survive without access to electricity, safe drinking water or food. Late last week, the head of Libya’s parliament based in the east, Osama Hamad, said the authorities were considering sealing off the entire city, which once housed 100,000 people, fearing the spread of water-borne diseases. “Essentially there is a military presence that is creating bottlenecks rather than being conducive to the provision of relief,” said Emadeddin Badi, an analyst on Libya with the Atlantic Council. “The main thrust of relief efforts was not facilitated by the military leadership, which had a vested interest in appearing in control while skirting responsibility and victim-blaming, but instead by volunteers, medical teams, Red Crescent, boy scouts and foreign search and rescue teams.” Haftar, who has spearheaded a military campaign to unilaterally control much of eastern Libya since 2014, toured Derna on Friday. He praised the actions of first responders as well as members of the LNA, a coalition of militias overseen by the ageing former CIA asset and US citizen, whom critics accuse of running areas under his control akin to a military dictator. “On the public relations side, they are leveraging their pre-existing propaganda channels to appear in control, while being the main interface for administering crisis relief and being the custodians of the city,” said Badi. “But again, that’s creating bottlenecks everywhere. Haftar’s visit was a microcosm of this issue, everything was frozen for an hour for a PR stunt.” Haftar’s sons, each of whom also controls their own broad networks of financial and sometimes military interests in eastern Libya, have responded to the humanitarian crisis in Derna by seeking to further exert control over the disaster response. On the same day that disaster struck Derna, Khalifa Haftar’s eldest son, Elseddik, declared his interest in running for president of Libya in long-delayed elections. Observers said 32-year-old Saddam Haftar, often seen as the likely heir despite his brothers’ efforts, quickly used his role as the head of Libya’s disaster response committee to legitimise his international standing while keeping a tight grip on aid. Saddam Haftar heads the Tariq Ben Zayed brigades, a militia that is part of the LNA and was recently accused by Amnesty International of “inflicting a catalogue of horrors, including unlawful killings, torture and other ill-treatment, enforced disappearance, rape and other sexual violence, and forced displacement – with no fear of consequences”. Jalel Harchaoui, a specialist on Libya and associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, pointed to Saddam Haftar’s efforts to demonstrate control over international aid teams arriving in Derna and how this has slowed vital disaster response in a time of crisis: “Everything is concentrated in the hands of the Haftar family. I wish I could tell you that there are other power centres in eastern Libya, but there’s no such thing.” For much of the past decade Libya has remained fiercely divided between eastern and western factions with their own patchwork of military interests, after a military intervention by Nato forces to support an uprising against the former dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Harchaoui said the Haftar clan’s control over response efforts, particularly the prominent role of Saddam Haftar, provided little hope that any domestic or international investigation into the loss of life in Derna could fully scrutinise their roles as the officials in charge, as well as any others responsible. The Libyan prosecutor general, al-Sediq al-Sour, promised to investigate the collapse of both dams in Derna, as well as the allocation of millions of dollars in funding intended to maintain the structures, which were built in the 1970s. While pledging to investigate local authorities in Derna and previous governments, al-Sour also met with Saddam Haftar. Local television reported that Derna’s mayor was suspended pending investigation on Saturday. “Saddam is positioning himself as the boss. You need to physically access victims and the city, and to do that they depend on his goodwill,” said Harchaoui. “Slowly things are orienting towards one conclusion, which is that only mid-level officials can be blamed. A large part of the conclusion is excluded from the start, it’s not an open investigation.” | ['world/libya-flood-2023', 'world/libya', 'world/natural--disasters', 'global-development/humanitarian-response', 'global-development/aid', 'world/africa', 'world/middleeast', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/ruth-michaelson', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-foreign'] | world/libya-flood-2023 | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2023-09-17T14:19:47Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
global-development/2023/nov/30/who-climate-crisis-presents-a-mounting-threat-to-fight-against-malaria | Climate crisis a ‘substantial risk’ to fight against malaria, says WHO | The climate crisis poses a major threat to the fight against malaria, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), with evidence suggesting extreme weather events and rising temperatures have already led to spikes in cases. Mosquitoes, the carriers of the disease, thrive in warm, damp and humid conditions, which are increasing with global heating. “The changing climate poses a substantial risk to progress against malaria, particularly in vulnerable regions,” said the WHO director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Sustainable and resilient malaria responses are needed now more than ever, coupled with urgent actions to slow the pace of global warming and reduce its effects.” Although data on the long-term impact of the climate crisis is scarce, the WHO’s world malaria report, published on Thursday, said rising temperatures have contributed to malaria transmission in African highland areas that were previously free of the disease. This is the first time the annual report has had an entire chapter dedicated to the climate crisis and its links to malaria. It said Pakistan saw a five-fold increase in cases after severe flooding last year – from 500,000 reported cases in 2021 to 2.6 million in 2022. Standing water became an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes. Peter Sands, the executive director of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said: “I would put climate change right up there as the thing that is changing the game on malaria in ways that we can see happening, but we don’t know fully the magnitude and how it’s going to unfold.” Sands added that other factors related to the climate crisis – including displacement, the destruction of health services and increased levels of food insecurity and malnutrition – threatened progress to end the disease. “If anything, the discussion of the potential impact in the world malaria report is conservative,” he said. “We could well be seeing more dramatic consequences, partly because of the second and third-order things.” Dr Photini Sinnis, the deputy director of the malaria institute at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg school of public health, said the climate crisis “is going to have an impact”, but that it would be hard to predict. The number of global malaria cases in 2022 remains significantly higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic, despite a slight decline in numbers, said the report. In 2022, there were 249m cases compared with 233m in 2019. The number of deaths also rose from 576,000 in 2019 to 608,000 last year. That amounts to nearly 12,000 lives each week, and pregnant women and children under the age of five are most susceptible to the disease. Most of the cases and deaths are in Africa. The report highlighted other threats to eradicating malaria, including the growing resistance to insecticides and an invasive mosquito, Anopheles stephensi, that has spread beyond its native Asian and Arabian habitats to Africa. The species has been linked to malaria outbreaks and thrives in urban settings, endures high temperatures and is resistant to many insecticides. Its spread, along with rapid urbanisation, could heighten malaria risks in African cities, said the WHO. Resistance to medicines, including artemisinin, which was critical to reducing the global burden of malaria between 2000 and 2015, is also a growing concern, according to the report. But there are signs of hope. Sinnis and Sands said there are a number of measures and initiatives in place to tackle resistance, such as the distribution of improved insecticide-treated bed nets, and the development of new insecticides and antimalarial drugs. Earlier this year, a highly effective malaria vaccine – R21/Matrix-M – was recommended for widespread use by the WHO. Doses of another vaccine, RTS,S, endorsed by the agency in 2021, arrived in Cameroon last week, one of 12 African countries expected to receive doses over the next two years. The WHO said the RTS,S vaccine had resulted in a substantial reduction in severe malaria and a 13% drop in early childhood deaths in the areas it was administered compared with areas it was not introduced. “We have, including the vaccines, quite a powerful set of tools,” said Sands. “The issue is we’re not even deploying them to their full extent. The world is not investing as much as we should to deal with malaria as it is, let alone a malaria fuelled by climate change.” | ['global-development/series/fair-access', 'world/malaria', 'global-development/global-development', 'world/world', 'world/africa', 'global-development/global-health', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'world/extreme-weather', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/sarah-johnson', 'profile/viktor-sunnemark', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/global-development'] | environment/carbon-emissions | EMISSIONS | 2023-11-30T14:00:50Z | true | EMISSIONS |
travel/2022/jun/09/the-wight-way-to-have-a-great-british-holiday-after-giving-up-flying | The Wight way to have a great British holiday after giving up flying | Letters | I agreed wholeheartedly with Chitra Ramaswamy’s thoughtful article on embracing the need to give up flying away on holiday (Now, more than ever, I understand the need to get away from it all – so why don’t I miss flying?, 1 June). However, she should consider alternative opportunities for holidays in the UK. If it’s travelling almost-abroad you’re looking for, the answer is under your nose: the Isle of Wight has a delightful climate, beautiful scenery and beaches, and everything you need for a summer break. We’re accessible by public transport, ending with a ferry, which in itself feels fairly exotic. OK, it’s not a Maldivian atoll, but we know how to look after visitors, and we can definitely do better than a bag of chips and midges. We have renowned restaurants and a local foodie culture to die for. So, Chitra, don’t mourn the loss of sunny holidays in far-flung locations. Bring your son, bring your staffie, and come to our island. Virginia Orrey Cowes, Isle of Wight • Thank you, Chitra Ramaswamy, for opening up the conversation on the need for us all to fly less. There are many reasons to travel, not least to keep in touch with family in far-flung places, but the contribution of aviation to the climate crisis must not be ignored. A slimming down of the industry and the ending of tax exemptions on aviation fuel are hardly going to win votes, but this is a nettle that needs to be grasped. It is heartening that in the absence of policy and direction from governments, individuals may be starting to rise to the challenge. Cathy Swann Alresford, Hampshire | ['travel/travel', 'travel/isleofwight', 'travel/flights', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/air-pollution', 'world/air-transport', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/letters', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/air-pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2022-06-09T16:47:58Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
world/2013/sep/19/mexico-barces-third-deadly-storm | Mexico braces for third deadly storm | Mexico, which is reeling from two storms which left more than 97 people dead, was braced for more devastation on Thursday night after a third made landfall. Hurricane Manuel reached the northwestern state of Sinaloa on Thursday, adding to a growing countrywide crisis that has seen the death toll rising every day along with new reports of acute emergencies requiring attention. So far the worst affected area has been the southern state of Guerrero which was hit by an earlier version of Manuel when it first made landfall on Monday as a tropical storm before dissipating, returning to sea and regaining strength. The full extent of the disaster, however, is only now beginning to emerge as news of death, destruction and dwindling supplies of food in mountain communities takes over from the more visible chaos the storm caused in big cities such as Acapulco. Fifty-eight people were still missing after part of a hillside collapsed on top of much of the coffee-growing village of La Pintada, leaving survivors trapped between a swollen river they cannot cross and the still unstable mountain that is threatening to fall apart again at any moment. "We have not seen a single body yet and at the moment we are focused on rescuing the villagers still there," interior minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong told MVS Radio. He said that the authorities had already airlifted 300 people to safety but were struggling to get to the remaining 45 because of adverse weather conditions. The minister revealed that the day's priorities also included reaching at least three other isolated communities in Guerrero to check out reports of similar, if smaller, landslides. "There are many places that we cannot get to by land or by air," he said. The new push to reach marooned towns and villages comes after claims the government ignored poor indigenous communities to focus on big urban centres such as Acapulco. Even there, however, the authorities are struggling to cope with the crisis that flooded much of the city, including the airport, and left 40,000 holidaymakers trapped and increasingly desperate. The authorities say that about 12,000 tourists have been airlifted out so far with the help of alternative landing strips. They hope to re-establish the road link between the resort and Mexico City that was blocked by multiple landslides by Friday. Meanwhile, 21 other Mexican states, out of a total of 32, are also facing serious damage as a result of both Manuel's first incarnation and Hurricane Ingrid that also hit the mainland on Monday, rolling in from the other side. Osorio Chong said 49,000 people have been evacuated across the country, with 33,000 of them currently housed in shelters. With no end in sight to the crisis, meteorologists were also monitoring an entirely new weather system they predicted would become a named tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico in the next few hours and could potentially follow a similar path to Ingrid after that. "The panorama does not look good," Osorio Chong said. | ['world/mexico', 'world/hurricanes', 'world/americas', 'world/world', 'world/natural-disasters', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'profile/jotuckman', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international'] | world/hurricanes | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2013-09-20T07:00:00Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
global-development-professionals-network/2016/jun/27/11-ideas-urban-water-security-developing-countries | 11 ideas for urban water security in developing countries | 1 | Retain water as a public good Privatisation has been promoted globally for cities, but evidence shows that it often fails and the public sector is left to address the problems. Cochabamba in Bolivia is an iconic case: enormous public protests led to the cancellation of a private contract for the water utility. If water is a private commodity, then people are at the mercy of market logic. Instead, ensuring that the principle of the right to water is adopted will enable more comprehensive thinking that addresses the needs of the urban poor, as well as ecological sustainability. Farhana Sultana, associate professor, Syracuse University’s Maxwell School, @Farhana_H2O 2 | Diversify solutions The important message to convey to those working in the sector and in urban planning is that one size does not fit all. Urban planners often aspire to develop fully networked and centralised water supply systems, but this might not be the right approach for every city – big or small – as infrastructure layout is influenced by geographical, political and social boundaries. It is a reflection of the city’s own history. Mariana Matoso, research officer, ODI, @marianamatoso 3 | Collaborate The planning ministers and water ministers in most countries I’ve been to don’t speak to each other, so we need better integration with knowledge exchange and the creation of specific agencies. Adding water management to the training of the next generation of urban planners is also a way of ensuring that they start thinking more about waste and water issues. Edoardo Borgomeo, senior editor, Global Water Forum, @GWFWater 4 | Recycle wastewater Sewerage and sanitation – and how water and wastewater can be treated and reused – have to be part of any discussion around water security in cities. Recycling greywater, treating wastewater (or using it for other purposes, such as fish farming) and understanding the complete water system is absolutely essential to achieving urban water security. Farhana Sultana 5 | Legalise water vendors In Maputo, Mozambique, the government and the water utility have worked together with small-scale private water providers towards expanding the utility’s network into the poorest areas of the city. These private operators, once illegal, were given formal status and training to ensure they provide a good quality service. This initiative was only possible because both sides recognised the potential of working together, but it’s important to ensure that governments remain the key regulators of this engagement. Mariana Matoso 6 | Connect informal settlements to the grid A third to half of the populations in global south megacities are not connected to the water grid. The urban poor continue to pay much higher costs for water (often from water vendors) compared with wealthier neighborhoods that are on the grid. Informal water systems need to be part of the conversation, and affordable housing can enable these millions of people to become part of the city, have tenurial rights and be connected to the water grid. Farhana Sultana 7 | Promote water efficiency in agriculture In some modelling work I’ve done with the University of Kassel, most of the urban water gap – the shortfall between projected demand and what people have access to now – could be closed by the agricultural sector getting more efficient with water use. The question is, what sets of incentives or policies can help make that actually happen? Robert McDonald, lead scientist, The Nature Conservancy Global Cities programme, @RobIMcDonald 8 | Understand affordability You can look at the equity issue from multiple dimensions but in terms of affordability, Singapore is a unique example and has some interesting tariff structures and subsidies targeted at lower income households. Edoardo Borgomeo 9 | Use smart technology We are entering a time where cities, individuals and companies can incorporate new technologies that will ensure water security for the future. Cities can use low-cost sensors and software for optimising water use and detecting problems in systems, for example. We are seeing a number of interesting pilots and initiatives happening around the world with technologies that will continue to get cheaper. Darlene Damm, principal faculty, Singularity University, @darlenedamm 10 | Create an open data platform for water Sensors and modelling of quantity in water bodies is getting much better but there is still a big gap in knowing the human infrastructure – which water withdrawals are happening, where and when. I think the world needs something like an Open Water Map, where we pull together all the geospatial data on water withdrawals –particularly cross-watershed ones – into an easy, publicly-accessible form. Robert McDonald 11 | Promote water justice In the context of climate change and rapid global changes, we need to keep in mind what kinds of cities we want. To ensure water justice, communities can work with states and municipalities to manage and conserve water. The important thing is to ensure meaningful (not token) participation, take into account gender, class, and other social differences, and embrace social equity in planning and policies. Farhana Sultana Read the full Q&A here. Join our community of development professionals and humanitarians. Follow @GuardianGDP on Twitter, and have your say on issues around water in development using #H2Oideas. | ['global-development-professionals-network/series/water-in-development', 'global-development-professionals-network/series/best-bits', 'working-in-development/working-in-development', 'environment/water', 'global-development/access-to-water', 'cities/urbanisation', 'environment/sustainable-development', 'global-development/environmental-sustainability', 'cities/cities', 'global-development-professionals-network/partnership', 'type/article', 'profile/katherine-purvis', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-professional-networks'] | environment/sustainable-development | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2016-06-27T14:06:22Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
science/2019/may/15/the-proustian-draw-of-sexy-hawthorn | The Proustian draw of sexy hawthorn | Brief letters | It is surprising that your stimulating and relevant supplement (Age of rage: the ultimate guide to anger, 11 May) appears to overlook a major effect of anger: scapegoating, ie the displacement of anger from its authentic cause to another target, an innocent or uninvolved victim of the displaced emotion. It is surely key to say something about this pervasive behaviour given its disturbing destructive effects. Dr Monica Threlfall London • Timothy Garton Ash speaks of “the miraculously non-violent collapse in 1989-91 of a nuclear-armed Russian empire” (The long read, 9 May). This formulation fails completely to acknowledge the role of Gorbachev in the process of change at the time and later. We owe him a lot. Anthony Rudolf London • Surprised that Sarah Jessica Parker recommends the Timpson shop in Kensington (Say what?, G2, 14 May)? Do you not know that Timpson has an exemplary record of offering employment and promotion to ex-offenders (Report, 6 April)? Maybe Ms Parker was focusing on this? Gareth Jones London • The scent of hawthorn described in Carey Davies’ country diary (13 May) is evoked most strongly in Proust’s Swann’s Way when the narrator is overwhelmed by the hawthorn blossom. Immediately afterwards, he sees his first great love. Sex certainly. Michael Harrison Oxford • I note that the footballer Danny Drinkwater has received a ban for drink-driving (Report, 14 May). A case of nominative anti-determinism? Elizabeth Brett Welling, Kent • 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 | ['science/psychology', 'science/science', 'world/mikhail-gorbachev', 'world/world', 'world/russia', 'world/europe-news', 'environment/plants', 'environment/environment', 'environment/forests', 'books/marcelproust', 'books/books', 'lifeandstyle/sex', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'football/football', 'sport/sport', 'society/alcohol', 'commentisfree/series/brief-letters', 'tone/letters', 'type/article', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/forests | BIODIVERSITY | 2019-05-15T16:45:48Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
sustainable-business/2016/oct/06/eco-toothbrushes-biodegradable-bamboo-pig-hair-yogurt-pots-plastic-waste-landfill | Made from bamboo, pig hair and yogurt pots: can eco-toothbrushes take off? | It’s one of the first things we do in the morning and one of the last we do at night. Yet brushing our teeth sees billions of plastic toothbrushes bound for the world’s rubbish dumps and oceans every year. As important as good oral health is, must it be a source of pollution? Two decades ago, that question set Massachusetts-based Eric Hudson on a quest to produce the world’s first recyclable plastic toothbrush. Recyclable handles After months consulting dentists, scientists and engineers, the Preserve toothbrush was born. The award-winning design has a handle made from recycled plastic – from discarded toothbrushes and yoghurt pots – and bristles manufactured from new nylon. “A lot of big brands say that they don’t see the ‘purchase intent’ among customers for recyclable toothbrushes,” he says. “But for us, that’s not the point: the point is to lighten the footprint of the product from the start.” Preserve says it’s now the top-selling US toothbrush in the country’s $85.5bn (£67bn) natural grocery market. The company’s arched brushes can be found on the shelves of Walmart, Trader Joe’s and a host of other mainstream retailers. Already operating in 18 global markets, B Corp-certified Preserve is currently looking to expand in Europe. Marking out the product is Preserve’s commitment to so-called closed-loop manufacturing. The company currently operates a nationwide recycling campaign called Gimme 5, which sees around 400 recycling bins placed in retail stores around the US. Consumers can use the bins (mostly located in Whole Foods stores) to return any polypropylene plastics, which are then recycled to make the toothbrush handle. Since 2008, the initiative has saved more than 500,000kg of plastic from going to landfill. To cover its collection costs, Preserve has a sponsorship deal with baby-food manufacturer Plum Organics and Danone-owned yoghurt brand Stonyfield Farm. “Toothbrushes get completely lost in the recycling process ... often they’re destined [for] waste-to-energy or shipped overseas, so the Gimme 5 programme definitely has a lighter impact on the earth,” says Hudson. He admits that finding a fully sustainable material for the brush’s bristles is a struggle. Ideally, the company would like to find a biodegradable option – a quest that remains “still in the research lab”. It currently uses virgin nylon, which is the “bristle of choice” among dental professionals but is not recycled. Bamboo brushes Another option for green-minded consumers is biodegradable toothbrushes. Instead of having to go to the trouble of recycling your brush when you’re done with it (which only 10-20% of those who buy the Preserve Toothbrush actually do), you can just throw it on the compost heap. The overwhelming biodegradable material-of-choice is bamboo, given its natural tensile strength and its ability to grow fast. An early entrant into the market is the Environmental Toothbrush, which retails at £2.85 in the UK. Invented by a suburban dentist in Brisbane, Australia, it boasts a heat-treated carbonised surface that gives it a smooth finish – as well as stopping it going manky on the edge of your bathroom sink. You’re unlikely to stumble on the Environmental Toothbrush or otherbiodegradable brushes (such as Save Some Green and Brush with Bamboo) on the high-street. Consumers have to either go hunting in specialist health stores or surf eco-ecommerce sites such as Living Naturally or Boobalou. A rare exception is the Humble Brush, which UK supermarket Waitrose started selling at the beginning of the year. In addition to its environmental credentials (the handle is made from FSC-certified bamboo), the product’s Swedish manufacturer pledges to donate a free brush or the cost-equivalent in oral care for children living in vulnerable countries. “The production of plastic toothbrushes produces toxins and leaves a carbon footprint. But more importantly, they never biodegrade,” says Noel Abdayem, a qualified dentist and founder of Humble Brush. Bio-brushes For those who aren’t sold on the idea of plastic in any form (Humble Brush uses nylon-6 bristles), the current market options are even more restricted. James Cowles, managing director at the eco-product manufacturer Save Some Green, believes the future could lie with compostable plant-based plastics. “Demand is getting to the stage where [a bioplastic solution] is going to have to happen. Look at the ban on microbeads and the amount of plastics going into the ocean. It’s not good for the fish, and it’s not good for us,” Cowles says. One option for now is to go old-school and revert to the pre-nylon days of toothbrushes with bristles made from pig hair. Germany-based Life without Plastic offers just such a product. Its handle, which is made from sustainably-harvested beech wood, should further satisfy (non-vegan) eco-consumers. Rachelle Strauss, founder of Zero Waste Week, says a shift to fully recyclable or biodegradable materials by Oral B, Colgate-Palmolive, Crest and the sector’s other big brands is long overdue. As an immediate step, her advice is to go for a recyclable plastic brush with a comprehensive take-back scheme. “Those already committed to buying green show a preference for biodegradable options,” she says. “But I wonder if the average consumer is really ready to use a bamboo toothbrush.” | ['sustainable-business/sustainable-business', 'sustainable-business/series/circular-economy', 'environment/recycling', 'environment/environment', 'environment/ethical-living', 'environment/waste', 'environment/plastic', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'type/article', 'tone/sponsoredfeatures', 'profile/oliver-balch', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-professional-networks'] | environment/recycling | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2016-10-06T11:56:45Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
world/2022/mar/19/russia-ukraine-infowar-deepfakes | Deepfakes v pre-bunking: is Russia losing the infowar? | Speaking behind a podium bearing the Ukrainian state emblem, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in his now signature green attire, calls on his soldiers to lay down their weapons and return to their families. The one-minute clip is a deepfake, the term for a sophisticated hoax that uses artificial intelligence to create a phoney image, most commonly fake videos of people. What unfolded next was the latest episode in the infowar that has accompanied the Russia-Ukraine conflict, a war being waged across social media platforms, via satellite images of battlefields and on hackers’ keyboards. Zelenskiy posted a bona fide response on his Instagram account on Wednesday dismissing the “childish provocation” and telling Russian troops to return home. His response to the deepfake, which remains of unknown provenance and is not of a high quality, received more than 5m views. Social media platforms swung into action as well. Facebook and Instagram’s owner, Meta, said it had removed the video from its services and tipped off other platforms after the deepfake appeared on a reportedly hacked Ukrainian news site and started spreading across the internet. Twitter said it was “actively” tracking the video and removing it if it was being displayed without comment or held up as real. Sam Gregory, programme director at Witness, a technology-focused human rights group, said the Ukrainian response showed Zelenskiy’s team had an effective strategy in place to deal with this type of disinformation. “The Ukrainians had warned about a video like this,” he said, referring to pre-bunking efforts. “Then the video itself was poor quality and discernible as faked to the human eye and ear. And then the subject of the deepfake was able to rapidly rebut it in real-time, via his own social media channels to an audience who trusts him.” One expert said the concept of an infowar between Russia and Ukraine and its allies needed be seen in a global context. “Ukraine is doing an extraordinary job. It is making sure the world understands the gravity of the situation and the fight that they’re undertaking on behalf of the rest of democracy,” said Andy Carvin, managing editor of the digital forensic research lab at the Atlantic Council, a US thinktank. Russia has “flailed and fumbled”, he said, including by “posting questionable videos of doubtful provenance”. Hackers have claimed success too in hampering the state narrative inside Russia, with the RT news service among the websites targeted by distributed denial of service attacks that render sites unreachable. The volume of DDoS attacks since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began has “disproportionately targeted Russia”, according to Recorded Future, which monitors cyber threats. But Carvin cautioned against drawing only positive conclusions from the infowar. “It’s very easy for us in the west to assume well, they stink at this, and Ukraine is winning the argument online and in public discourse. But if you look around region by region, or even within certain countries, you’ll see very different narratives spreading.” Carvin pointed to Russia, where Facebook and Instagram are blocked, access to Twitter is heavily restricted, all western content has been barred on TikTok, and dissent has been all but quashed. “From Putin’s perspective, domestically, I think he’s probably fairly happy with where things stand,” he said. Internationally, RT and another state-owned news service, Sputnik, have been removed in the UK and EU by Facebook and Instagram, and RT’s UK broadcast licence was revoked on Friday. But Carvin noted that RT and Sputnik are “thriving” in South America and pointed to a recent study showing that 50% of posts examined on Weibo, the Chinese social media platform, backed Russia’s argument that the war was the fault of western countries, Nato or Ukraine. In places like sub-Saharan Africa, he said, the Russian narrative was also playing well. “Region by region, it’s not necessarily looking as great as it may appear through our lenses,” he said. Other aspects of the infowar are more difficult for Russia to counter, thanks to open source intelligence, or OSINT. OSINT refers to publicly accessible information, from mobile phone footage to images made available by Maxar, a commercial satellite company, which are then scrutinised by organisations like investigative journalism site Bellingcat. “OSINT is playing a transformational role in the information landscape surrounding the political and military conflict in Ukraine,” said Justin Crow, a researcher at the University of Sussex school of engineering and informatics. “It is helping to inform high-level strategic decisions, as well as keeping the general public informed. Perhaps most importantly, it is helping to prevent Russia from dominating the narrative around the war.” For some Russians, the dwindling information options are not a deterrent to seeking out the truth. Mikhail, a 29-year-old consultant in Moscow, said that the ban on social media and independent outlets would not affect the way he consumed the news. “I saw this coming from a mile away, this was expected given in which directions the authorities are moving,” said Mikhail who got a virtual private network, which allows you to access sites blocked in your country, at the end of last year. “Getting real information about the invasion is very important to me. I don’t want to become a zombie watching state television.” • This article was amended on 19 March 2022 to correct a transcription error in quoting Andy Carvin. His comment that Russia had “flailed and fumbled” was rendered as “failed and fumbled” in an earlier version. | ['world/ukraine', 'media/social-media', 'world/russia', 'technology/hacking', 'technology/artificialintelligenceai', 'media/media', 'technology/technology', 'media/digital-media', 'world/europe-news', 'world/world', 'technology/twitter', 'technology/instagram', 'media/russia-today', 'technology/meta', 'technology/facebook', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'technology/deepfake', 'profile/danmilmo', 'profile/pjotr-sauer', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-foreign'] | technology/hacking | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2022-03-19T06:00:20Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2008/nov/22/food-biofuels-brazil | Rush to buy sends prices soaring | With an area of farmland more than 16 times the size of the UK, Brazil has become one of the most attractive options for countries seeking agricultural acreage overseas. On its 388m hectares of agricultural land, the country produces more sugar, coffee, beef and poultry than anywhere else. It is also the world's leading soy exporter. To date most of the investment in Brazilian land has been from the private sector, but a growing number of foreign governments are expressing interest in joining the rush to buy. Saudi Arabia is among the countries that view Brazilian land as a "solution". In a recent interview with the Brazil-Arab news agency ANBA, the incoming Saudi ambassador in Brazil, Mohamad Amin Kurdi, said that the country was one of those to which Saudi Arabia was looking "in search of possibilities". Kurdi said he planned to introduce representatives of Saudi Arabia's trade and agriculture ministries to possible investment sites, while the ambassador recently visited the state of Tocantins, an agricultural boom area in Brazil. Iranian diplomats have also been exploring, with a view to ensuring the supply of products such as beef, soy, sugar and corn. In an editorial published in the Chinese press this year, Charles Tang, head of the Brazil-China chamber of commerce, wrote: "Unlike China, most of Brazil's territory consists of fertile land that can be cultivated and is being under-utilised. Chinese companies who wish to make long-term investment commitments to buy land ... can obtain healthy financial returns." Last year the Brazilian grain trader Multigrain, which is partly owned by the Japanese Mitsui conglomerate, bought 100,000 hectares of farmland in Brazil. Growing signs of a foreign scramble for Brazilian land have sent prices soaring. In some parts of the southern agricultural state of Paraná the price of farmland has soared to about R$30,000 (£8,238) a hectare. Nationwide prices are estimated to have risen by about 20% over the past year. But the rush for land has raised some eyebrows in the nation's capital, stirring fears of a "foreign invasion". "Rules have to be set down quickly because everybody is fighting for Brazilian land," said Rolf Hackbart, the president of Brazil's Land Reform agency, Incra. | ['environment/food', 'environment/biofuels', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/endangered-habitats', 'environment/environment', 'world/brazil', 'world/world', 'tone/news', 'world/americas', 'type/article', 'profile/tomphillips', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international'] | environment/endangered-habitats | BIODIVERSITY | 2008-11-22T00:01:00Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
commentisfree/2022/jul/09/britains-electric-dreams-will-never-come-true-while-china-has-a-materials-advantage | Britain’s electric dreams will never come true while China has a materials advantage | John Naughton | In his book Electrify: An Optimist’s Playbook for Our Clean Energy Future, Saul Griffith, an American inventor, entrepreneur and engineer, sets out a plan for decarbonising the US: electrify everything. From now on, every time people replace a vehicle or renovate a building or buy an appliance, they should be buying electric. Every new roof must have solar panels, all new housing must be energy efficient and shouldn’t contain a gas cooker. All that’s required to make this happen is a collective national effort comparable to the mobilisation of the US economy for the second world war. And it could be financed with the kind of low-cost, long-term loans reminiscent of the government-backed mortgages that created the postwar American middle class. QED. Reading Griffith’s engaging, optimistic book, a wicked thought keeps coming to mind: HL Mencken’s observation: “For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong.” But Griffith is too smart to be caught in that particular net. There is, though, one serious difficulty with his grand plan and it goes by the abbreviation CRM. It stands for “critical raw materials”. It turns out that an all-electrical future won’t be possible without secure supplies of certain elements we extract from the Earth’s crust. And we’re discovering that there are rather a lot of these critical elements. A full roll call runs from antimony to strontium via cobalt, lithium, magnesium, platinum, tantalum – not to mention other stuff of which this columnist had until recently been blissfully unaware. When people first began to think seriously about a comprehensively electrified future, only a limited number of these CRMs were regarded as “critical”. In 2011, the EU thought there might be 14 of them. By 2014, that number had gone up to 20. By 2017 it was 27. And since 2020 the number of CRMs stands at 30. The EU has been fretting about this for at least a decade, but news of the problem seems to have taken its time to reach London. The government, after all, has other important things on what one might loosely describe as its mind. But an excited email from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) recently arrived, announcing that the report of an important inquiry into CRMs was to be published last Monday. And so it was, in the shape of a 76-page pdf, replete with tables and charts of all descriptions. The report, entitled UK Criticality Assessment of Technology Critical Minerals and Metals, was commissioned from the British Geological Survey last November and is now available for public inspection. The aim of the inquiry was “to identify those minerals which might be at risk of supply disruption and to use that information to inform the development of mitigation strategies”. The researchers identified “criticality” as having two dimensions: the likelihood of disruptions to supply (S); and the economic vulnerability of the UK and its consumers to such disruptions (V). Of the 26 CRMs evaluated, 18 exceeded the threshold for criticality on both axes. The ones with the highest supply ratings were the “rare earth elements” plus tellurium, gallium, germanium and antimony. China is the leading producer of 16 of the CRMs studied. The other leading producers were: South Africa for manganese, platinum and palladium; Chile for rhenium and lithium; Australia for lithium; Brazil for niobium; the US for beryllium; Russia for palladium; and the Democratic Republic of Congo for tantalum. As far as the UK is concerned, 18 of the CRMs represent both supply risks and important vulnerabilities. Accordingly, the path to its carbon-free future looks as though it might be rocky. The EU’s analysis of its CRM vulnerabilities has reached broadly similar conclusions and has led to a much-touted Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials, calling for open and global markets for raw materials. Given the importance of China in the CRM area, this sounds as fatuous as demanding an open market in Ukrainian wheat just now. And the eerie thing is that the EU’s own document lays out the strategic problem with exemplary clarity. “Excessive dependence on single supplier countries makes Europe vulnerable.” Check. “Clean and digital technologies are heavily dependent on critical raw materials.” Check. “The green and digital transitions will lead to a drastic increase in European demand for certain critical raw materials by 2050.” Check. So… But there the document stops. It’s as if the logical conclusion is too painful to articulate. So let’s spell it out. As Europe and the US try to move to a carbon-free, CRM-rich future, they will find themselves in a position of strategic dependence analogous to Europe’s current dependence on Russian gas. Except that now it’ll be Xi Jinping calling the shots. And if the British Geological Survey’s report on CRMs has any useful lesson for whoever is currently running the country, it is that the UK is in the same boat. What I’ve been reading Natural selection The Lost Art of Looking at Nature is a nice essay on David Attenborough by Rachel Riederer in Dissent magazine. Green spaces Jewellord Nem Singh’s Geographies in Transition on the Phenomenal World website examines why the technological is geopolitical and offers an interesting take on the implicit neocolonialism in the west’s search for a green future. Losing face The Ryder Review is a fine investigation by the Ada Lovelace Institute in which Matthew Ryder QC asks the pertinent question: facial recognition technology is a toxic technology, so why isn’t it outlawed? | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'technology/series/networker', 'world/china', 'technology/technology', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'environment/electric-cars', 'world/xi-jinping', 'uk/uk', 'business/mining', 'science/science', 'science/chemistry', 'world/asia-pacific', 'type/article', 'tone/comment', 'profile/johnnaughton', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/new-review', 'theobserver/new-review/discover', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/observer-new-review'] | environment/carbon-emissions | EMISSIONS | 2022-07-09T15:00:09Z | true | EMISSIONS |
environment/2020/jul/21/greta-thunberg-says-eu-recovery-plans-climate-provisions-inadequate | Greta Thunberg says EU recovery plan fails to tackle climate crisis | Greta Thunberg has accused EU politicians of failing to acknowledge the scale of the climate crisis and said its €750bn Covid-19 recovery plan does not do enough to tackle the issue. The climate campaigner said the package of measures agreed by EU leaders proved that politicians were still not treating climate change as an emergency. “They are still denying the fact and ignoring the fact that we are facing a climate emergency, and the climate crisis has still not once been treated as a crisis,” Thunberg told the Guardian. “As long as the climate crisis is not being treated as a crisis, the changes that are necessary will not happen.” EU leaders reached agreement on the recovery fund in the early hours of Tuesday and pledged that 30% of the package would go towards climate policies, but few details were given. Thunberg, 17, and other leaders of the school strikes movement across Europe said the package was inadequate. Luisa Neubauer, 24, a central figure in Germany’s school strikes movement, said young people were becoming increasingly frustrated with politicians. “We are asking our leaders to take care of the most fundamental thing: the safety of us, the safety of people around the world, the safety of our futures,” Neubauer said. “It is worrying on a democratic level when you ask for such substantial things, which seem so obvious, and yet you see how leaders are widely ignoring it, or not considering it to be as important as other things.” Another prominent school striker, Adélaïde Charlier, 19, from Belgium, said politicians who adopted the language of climate action without following up with urgent policy measures were worse than climate deniers. “When leaders minimise the climate crisis, I feel it is more dangerous than leaders that outright deny it … because then we actually feel we can rely on them and we are actually on the right path and that is dangerous and wrong.” The group has written an open letter to EU leaders demanding they act immediately to avoid the worst effects of the climate crisis. The letter, signed by 80,000 people including some of the world’s leading scientists, argues that the Covid-19 pandemic has shown that most leaders are able to act swiftly and decisively when they deem it necessary, but that the same urgency has been missing in the response to climate change. “It is now clearer than ever that the climate crisis has never once been treated as a crisis, neither from the politicians, media, business nor finance. And the longer we keep pretending that we are on a reliable path to lower emissions and that the actions required to avoid a climate disaster are available within today’s system … the more precious time we will lose,” it says. The letter argues that the climate and ecological emergency can only be addressed by tackling the underlying “social and racial injustices and oppression that have laid the foundations of our modern world”. Earlier this year the EU unveiled its green new deal proposals, which it said aimed to transform the bloc from a high- to a low-carbon economy without reducing prosperity and while improving people’s quality of life. The climate strikers dismissed the EU’s target of net zero emissions by 2050 as dangerously unambitious. Thunberg, who this week was awarded Portugal’s Gulbenkian prize for humanity and pledged the €1m ($1.15m) award to groups working to protect the environment and halt climate change, said it was up to ordinary people to stand up and demand that politicians rise to the challenge. “I see the hope in democracy and in people,” she said. “If people become aware of what is happening then we can accomplish anything, we can put pressure on people in power … if we just decide we have had enough then that will change everything.” | ['environment/greta-thunberg', 'world/eu', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/school-climate-strikes', 'environment/activism', 'environment/environment', 'world/europe-news', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/matthewtaylor', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/greta-thunberg | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2020-07-21T13:37:53Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
society/2020/jun/24/lockdown-wardrobe-clear-outs-threaten-to-flood-charity-shops | Lockdown wardrobe clear-outs threaten to flood charity shops | The British public is set to discard 67m items of clothing and 22m pairs of shoes after two in five of us had a wardrobe clear-out during lockdown. While clothing is the most common item destined for charity shops, clothing recycling schemes or the bin, other accessories including bedding, household textiles and bags all contribute to an estimated 184m textile items waiting to be disposed of, according to the government-backed recycling and reuse body Wrap. On average, people want to get rid of 11 items of clothing, with more than half of these items still at home awaiting disposal because charity shops and many local authority bins have yet to reopen. Almost half of participants (49%) in a Wrap survey said they would hand unwanted clothes to a charity shop or charity bag collection service, with shops prepared for a surge in donations after they gradually began to reopen last week. But as many as 14% plan to put unwanted clothes in the general rubbish, with just over one in three of those who have already disposed of these items having put them in the bin. Peter Maddox, the director of Wrap, said the charity sector was preparing for an “unprecedented volume” of donations and urged people not to dump items outside charity shops or locked donation bins and to check whether stores were open before turning up. The British Heart Foundation, which has only five of its 750 charity shops open at present, said that one outlet received more than 100 bags of donations before lunchtime on the first day of opening, which is more than double the amount it would receive on a normal weekday. Oxfam said its 10 stores that reopened last week had received lots of clothing, books and homeware. Fee Gilfeather, Oxfam’s head of strategic planning, said: “As more shops are opening this week we’re delighted that lots of people have been contacting their local store to arrange a suitable time to bring in their donations. This allows us to keep social distancing possible when people come to the shop and to safely manage the storage of items, as we’re isolating donations for 72 hours.” Robin Osterley, the chief executive of the Charity Retail Association, which represents 400 charities running about 9,000 shops, said reports from members indicated that those shops that had reopened had higher than usual donations but were able to cope with the level of demand. However, he said that some charities were struggling to reopen all their stores, as up to half of charity shop volunteers had not been able to return because they or someone in their household was particularly vulnerable if they caught the coronavirus. The association has set up a central website for new helpers. “More volunteers would be gratefully received,” he said. | ['society/charities', 'business/business', 'society/society', 'society/voluntarysector', 'fashion/fashion-industry', 'fashion/fashion', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'business/retail', 'environment/recycling', 'environment/environment', 'environment/ethical-living', 'environment/waste', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/sarahbutler', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business'] | environment/recycling | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2020-06-24T05:01:07Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
books/2014/jan/18/junkyard-planet-adam-minter-review | Junkyard Planet by Adam Minter – review | By 2017, according to the Solving the E-Waste Problem (Step) initiative, a UN-supported project, each person on the planet will discard a third more electronic waste than in 2012, a grand total by then of 64.4m tonnes. Much of it will be shipped from the affluent world to developing countries for cheap reprocessing, a pattern of trade that Step defines as a problem. Adam Minter, a journalist and son of a US scrapyard entrepreneur, would disagree. Minter does not see the global scrap trade as a morality tale of villain and victim, but a vibrant and eco-friendly business, a core component of the world economy. Most people want to throw away and forget, saving their excitement for the new. What happens to the waste we discard is banished to society's margins. People with better options, as Minter acknowledges, do not go into waste processing: it is an outsider's profession, the first step on the ladder for recent arrivals, people with few marketable skills, or those excluded by prejudice from other professions. In the US, the largest group in the business is Jewish, like the Minter family. Minter's accomplishment is to take his reader through the secret gate into this teeming world of giant machines, self-made millionaires and barefoot rag pickers, all in different ways tenacious entrepreneurs in a business that is worth $500bn a year. Junkyard Planet is a gripping odyssey around the world's rubbish mountains and the men and (occasionally) women who mine them and turn them into money. Adam Minter is an intimate of the junk world's trade fairs and global networks and a wholehearted evangelist for junk. It is a passion born between eating kosher hotdogs with his grandmother in the family junkyard in Minneapolis, and one that compels him to seek out and visit junkyards even while on holiday. (His wife merits a sympathetic aside here.) Minter loves it: the giant car crushers and ingenious conveyor belts that progressively separate out components; the rag pickers sorting different colours of plastic in a shed in China; the complexities of the trade's taxonomy and its terms of art, terms such as mill scale (a steelmaking residue), Barley (clean wire), Talk (aluminium copper radiators) – shorthand terms for scrap's infinite varieties. Statistics tumble out: the global trade in junk is the biggest employer on the planet after agriculture, a high-volume, low-margin business in which success depends on an ability to recognise the precise ratios of trash components, understand how to separate them and to know where the customers are. In the US, its economics depend on technology; elsewhere, on low wages. The town of Shijiao in China's Guangdong province is entering its busy season: that is because it is the world centre of discarded Christmas tree lights, processing some 22m pounds of them a year. Shijiao was once a little rural town with nothing to offer the booming Chinese economy but space and cheap labour. Its one strategic advantage was proximity to what was rapidly becoming the world's factory, with its thousands of manufacturing plants hungry for copper. Burning off cable insulation to release the copper required nothing more than a place to do it and a tolerance for dangerous fumes. By the year 2000, 74% of China's demand for copper was fed by scrap. As the economy grew, demand for plastic also expanded, making recycling the wire insulation also profitable. Today, that component of discarded Christmas tree lights will probably end up as the sole of a pair of slippers. If they had not come to Shijiao, shipped in containers that would otherwise return home empty from delivering China's exports, the lights would have gone to landfill in the United States and elsewhere, and fresh copper mines would be needed to meet the demand. As Minter shows, waste harvesting works not because it is ethical but because it makes money. Minter's enthusiasm does not blind him to the problems. In the town of Guiyu, for instance, in southern China's unspeakably polluted centre of e-waste, he acknowledges the consequences of irresponsible reprocessing, of workers unprotected from hazardous contaminants and grossly polluted land and water. But he makes a robust case for the trade as a better alternative to more mining or landfill, extracting value at the least cost through ingenuity, expertise and technology. He meets young men who can tell at a glance how much extractable metal any model of mobile phone contains, or what reusable components a discarded computer contains. They are recent recruits to a profession that made millionaires of men such as Leonard Fritz, who began as a nine-year-old, grubbing in the rubbish dumps of Detroit, pulled off a deal for 3,000 tonnes of mill scale at 15, and built one of the world's largest recycling businesses. Then there is Joe Chen, a Taiwanese American in his early 70s with an encyclopaedic memory for past and present prices, necessary skills in a trade in which a small price moment can mean ruin. Without men like him, we would be neck deep in our own rubbish. | ['books/businessandfinance', 'books/books', 'culture/culture', 'tone/reviews', 'environment/waste', 'environment/recycling', 'environment/environment', 'global-development/global-development', 'business/economics', 'type/article', 'profile/isabelhilton', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/new-review', 'theobserver/new-review/books'] | environment/recycling | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2014-01-18T14:00:00Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
world/2005/jan/01/tsunami20042 | New year festivities toned down | The new year was marked with muted festivities all over the globe as millions remembered the devastation caused by the Indian Ocean tsunami. Prayers and tears replaced the usual revelry in honour of the more than 124,000 people killed and millions made homeless by Sunday's massive waves. A two-minute silence was held before midnight in central London in memory of victims of the earthquake and killer waves. Ken Livingstone, the mayor of London, said it would be an opportunity for partygoers to remember those who lost their lives in the disaster. In Sydney, Australia, about a million people paused for a one-minute silence in memory of the tsunami victims. Their example was followed in Melbourne and in New Zealand. Thailand called off outdoor festivities in memory of its victims. On the tsunami-hit island of Phuket revellers at the Tiger discotheque stopped held a candlelight vigil metres away from where the waves had crashed into Patong beach. "It's definitely a big difference," said Richard de Gottal, a British tourist at the Tiger. "It's business as usual here and 100 yards away there was death and destruction. It's very, very surreal." Malaysia decided against official festivities. In Sri Lanka, where more than 28,500 people died, the president, Chandrika Kumaratunga declared a national day of mourning. The disaster also cast its shadow over celebrations in Europe, where the majority of the more than 2,200 foreign tourists known to be dead are from as well as the 7,000 missing. In London, the planned fireworks were toned down. Sweden, Norway, Finland and Germany planned to fly flags at half mast to start 2005 as a mark of respect for their many dead and missing who had gone to Asia to enjoy a sunny break. Paris draped black mourning crepe on the trees lining the Champs Elysées to pay homage to the victims. Istanbul cancelled a concert and firework display in the city centre, and a number of Italian cities abandoned plans for a big parties and donated the money instead to charities helping the victims. Near Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, where a million people typically throng on new year's eve, flags were being flown at half-mast. About 1,000 Germans are missing after the disaster. Germany urged revellers to donate some of the €100m (£70m) they would normally spend on fireworks to the disaster appeal, a call repeated across Europe. A three-minute silence will also be held across the UK on Wednesday, the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, said yesterday. | ['world/world', 'world/tsunami2004', 'type/article'] | world/tsunami2004 | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2005-01-01T00:58:06Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
news/datablog/2015/jul/30/maps-reveal-amsterdam-many-faces | Maps reveal Amsterdam's many faces | Maps of cities are great. By visualising information about a place you can see geographical patterns that can yield dozens of insights. The city of Amsterdam clearly agrees. The municipal authority has put together a collection of about 70 maps of the capital of the Netherlands. The batch of cartography covers everything from the city’s solar panels to its Airbnb prices and even the breeding grounds of swifts, sparrows and starlings. The collection was started by Klaas-Bindert de Haan, a mapping specialist who has worked for the city of Amsterdam for 15 years. He says the maps are not just used by interested citizens but also by colleagues looking at city planning and sustainability. A neat feature is the ability to choose up to three maps to display alongside one another. You can then see, for example, current house prices alongside the parts of the city that were attacked during the second world war. While the majority of the maps on the site are produced by the municipal authority itself, there are some external ones featured. These include an animation showing the development of the city’s canal system over the course of the 17th century. And one of the most intriguing maps on the site is another animation, showing the development of Amsterdam over time. It uses the ages of different buildings to show how the city swelled rapidly after 1860. De Haan said: “With the animation of time a simple story is told.” He added that one map he is particularly keen on creating in the future is one showing which neighbourhoods people are moving into and out of. You can explore the whole collection of maps here. | ['news/datablog', 'travel/amsterdam', 'world/europe-news', 'travel/europe', 'travel/netherlands', 'technology/data-visualisation', 'travel/travel-maps', 'cities/cities', 'world/netherlands', 'technology/technology', 'type/article', 'tone/blog', 'profile/george-arnett'] | technology/data-visualisation | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2015-07-30T06:00:14Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
technology/2024/apr/24/tell-us-whats-your-favourite-everyday-gadget | Tell us: what’s your favourite everyday gadget? | What’s your favourite, most useful everyday gadget? It could be a much-used kitchen gizmo, a tool for your daily beauty routine that you can’t live without, or a piece of kit that makes your day-to-day life easier: anything small, genuinely useful, and inexpensive to buy (nothing over £20). This Community callout closed on 25 June 2024. You can see the article that included respondents to this callout here. You can contribute to open Community callouts here or Share a story here. | ['technology/gadgets', 'technology/technology', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'type/article', 'tone/callout', 'campaign/callout/uk-callout-favourite-everyday-gadgets', 'profile/guardian-community-team', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-communities-and-social'] | technology/gadgets | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2024-04-24T14:40:09Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2020/jan/13/why-record-ocean-temperatures-matter | Why do record ocean temperatures matter? | What is the significance of record ocean heat in 2019? The new record represents the most stark demonstration that global heating is unequivocally real and driving the climate crisis. With emissions still rising every year, more heat is being trapped by greenhouse gases, and the ocean data is crystal clear: an unrelenting and accelerating rise for at least the past half century. Lijing Cheng, at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said: “There are no reasonable alternatives aside from the human emissions of heat-trapping gases to explain this.” Aren’t surface air temperatures more important? We live on the surface of the Earth, and so air temperature is the most common heat measurement. But two-thirds of the planet’s area is ocean and water can absorb far more heat than air. As a result, just 4% of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases warms the air and land. So to really see what is happening with global heating, you need to look at the oceans. Here, the signal is unmistakable, with every year in the past decade recording hotter oceans that the year before, bar one. In contrast, air temperature is more affected by the natural variation that overlies human-caused global heating. The hottest year for air temperature to date is 2016, thanks to an El Niño event, though 2019 may slot in at number two when the final data is available. We live on land, so why worry about the oceans? The oceans and atmosphere are inextricably linked. Changing ocean heat means changing rains, and that means more floods in some places and more droughts and wildfires in others. Furthermore, hotter oceans mean more sea level rise, threatening cities from Shanghai to Miami and Rio de Janeiro to Alexandria. Hotter oceans also supercharge storms, with Kevin Trenberth at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research noting that a hotspot in the Gulf of Mexico in 2017 spawned Hurricane Harvey. That led to 82 deaths and caused about $108bn in damage. In 2018, a hotspot in the Atlantic Ocean near the Carolinas led to Hurricane Florence. What about marine life? Many coral reefs are already suffering from bleaching. But the increasing number of ocean heatwaves are affecting all life. For example, the hot “blob” seen in the North Pacific from 2013 to 2015 caused a major loss of marine life, from plankton and fish – including 100 million cod – to marine mammals such as whales. Is the record ocean heat a tipping point? No, but it might lead to some. Climate tipping points are reached when particular impacts of global heating become unstoppable, such as the runaway loss of ice sheets or forests, or the release of the potent greenhouse gas methane from melting tundra. Some scientists think the world may already have crossed a series of tipping points. If so, the buildup of heat graphically demonstrated in the oceans shows why. Can anything be done? Yes. The way to end global heating and tackle the climate emergency is to stop emitting greenhouse gases. Most importantly that means a rapid end to fossil fuel burning, plus the protection and regeneration of forests and cutting down emissions from farming, in particular from cattle. There is no time to lose. | ['environment/oceans', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'science/science', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/wildlife', 'type/article', 'tone/explainers', 'profile/damiancarrington', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/topstories', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/marine-life | BIODIVERSITY | 2020-01-13T17:00:58Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2014/jul/28/reclaiming-the-rajasthan-desert-from-a-voracious-mexican-plant | Reclaiming the Rajasthan desert from a voracious Mexican plant | Long after a 19th-century English watercolourist painted the massive outcrop of barren volcanic rocks on which the formidable Jodhpur fort is perched, a modernising maharajah went up in his two-seater Tiger Moth plane to scatter bagfuls of mesquite seed in order to green his desert kingdom in Rajasthan. The Prosopis juliflora variety of the mesquite that the flying maharajah planted in the 1930s not only lay siege to his fort, described by Rudyard Kipling as "the work of angels, fairies and giants", but eventually took over large stretches of the Thar desert. The thorny, leguminous mesquite can grow to be either shrub or tree, and was imported by the colonial British to afforest the desert wastelands of western India. It is hardy, drought-resistant and originally from Mexico. Today it dominates over half a million hectares across the country's arid zones, and has been at the centre of debates over the ecological, social and economic impact of introducing exotic species into India. In Jodhpur, villagers have renamed the Prosopis juliflora as baavlia ("the mad one"), with good reason. "It can grow even in the crevices of hard volcanic rocks on little bits of moist soil and it outcompetes and chokes all vegetation," said naturalist Pradip Krishen, who is attempting to bring Rajasthan native plants back. "In the Kutch region of Gujarat it even eliminated Asia's largest grasslands." But scientists at the government's Central Arid Zone Research Institute in Jodhpur look at it differently. While recognising the damage caused by Prosopis juliflora, they emphasise its usefulness in a backward economy – its wood, for instance, is excellent for fuel and its pod provides not just food for cattle but also flour for the poor. But the main reason for the official support for the plant is its invincibility – even Australia is struggling to eradicate it. In the 1890 water-colour of the Mehrangarh citadel, the multi-stemmed cactus-like succulent thhor (Euphorbia caducifolia) and other native plants and shrubs can be seen in between the volcanic rhyolite rock, which geologists say is 750m years old. Once Prosopis juliflora took root, the native plants were ousted, but they have now been reintroduced, thanks to an extraordinary effort at ecological restoration. In 2006, Krishen took up the assignment to convert 70 hectares of the rocky land around the fort into a nature park. The biggest challenge was to uproot the Prosopis juliflora from the hard rhyolite. The "mad one" regenerates unless its roots are destroyed to a depth of 18in (46cm). After compressor-driven corkscrew tools, herbicides and tiny charges of dynamite proved unsuitable, Krishen hired a team of local sandstone miners. Their traditional skills brought success. They could "hear" inside the rocks with their hammers, ascertain the angle and depth of the crevices, and then precisely chisel down to cut the roots. As patches of the rocky landscape got cleared of the deadly Mexican shrub, Krishen had to figure out what to plant in its place. He decided he would only use native species. "The British have a lovely word for it – rewilding," he said. "Native plants have adapted to the harsh local conditions over millions of years. I resolved that no plant deserves to be in the Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park if it doesn't survive on its own. It would be crazy to have to water them." (The region gets just six inches of rainfall annually.) Krishen is not a botanist – he was a film-maker before he turned naturalist and wrote two bestsellers on trees – nor was he familiar with desert flora. But the previous monsoon he had already begun scouring the desert with an octogenarian botanist who proved to be an invaluable teacher and field guide. During the past eight years, dozens of desert species have been brought to Jodhpur, tested in a nursery with different soils and water content, catalogued, and planted in the park. Not one species has been lost. As the sparse monsoon arrives in the coming days, the park will turn verdant green, and then burst into myriad colours as flowers sprout over 300 desert species of trees, shrubs, climbers and herbs, including grasses and sedges. Later, during the dry seasons, desert perennials will beautify the park. Ecologists, botanists and landscape architects have hailed Krishen's creation as an inspiring model for the rehabilitation of native plants. But on the ground the native versus exotic debate remains one-sided – the government continues to import trees and shrubs as sand-binders for the desert, the latest being Israeli babool (Acacia tortilis). "I saw a sand dune completely dominated by this tree," said Krishen. "Who knows how it'll run amuck." | ['environment/wildlife', 'environment/environment', 'science/biology', 'world/india', 'environment/desertification', 'environment/deserts', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/biodiversity', 'environment/forests', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'tone/news', 'profile/maseehrahman'] | environment/biodiversity | BIODIVERSITY | 2014-07-28T04:00:02Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
technology/2017/aug/14/hbo-hackers-leak-unaired-curb-your-enthusiasm-insecure-ballers-barry-the-deuce-episodes | HBO: hackers leak unaired Curb Your Enthusiasm and Insecure episodes | Hackers have leaked a trove of unaired episodes of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, Insecure, Ballers, Barry and The Deuce, as they continue to in their efforts to extort the US television network. The leaks over the weekend did not include any further episodes of Game of Thrones, but did include the latest episode of Insecure, which was due to be broadcast on Sunday evening, and several episodes of the highly anticipated new series of Curb Your Enthusiasm, which is due to return in October. The attack occurred in July, where hackers claim to have had access to 1.5TB of data – the equivalent to several TV box sets or millions of documents. HBO acknowledged the theft of “proprietary information”, and the demand for a multimillion-dollar ransom, but said it did not believe its email system as a whole has been compromised, despite the leaking of emails, documents and the personal phone numbers and email addresses of Game of Thrones actors. An HBO spokesperson said that the company was “not in communication with the hacker, and we’re not going to comment every time a new piece of information is released”. “The hacker may continue to drop bits and pieces of stolen information in an attempt to generate media attention. That’s a game we’re not going to participate in.” While the effects of the attack on HBO have fallen short of the chaos that hit Sony Pictures in 2014, the hackers have leaked Game of Thrones scripts, sensitive internal documents such as job offer letters and a month’s worth of emails from a programming executive. Gartner analyst Avivah Litan said that the hackers might be holding on to more sensitive and damaging information and TV shows. She said: “It’s kind of like kidnap and ransom and torture. Eventually HBO may have to give in.” HBO offered hackers $250,000 ‘bug bounty’, leaked email claims Stolen nude photos and hacked defibrillators: is this the future of ransomware? | ['technology/hacking', 'technology/data-computer-security', 'technology/technology', 'media/hbo', 'media/media', 'media/television', 'media/ustelevision', 'culture/culture', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/samuel-gibbs', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-technology'] | technology/hacking | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2017-08-14T09:22:16Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2007/dec/10/forests.conservation | Pioneering project to save Sierra Leone forest from loggers | A huge rainforest in one of Africa's poorest countries is likely to win indefinite government protection today in one of the first schemes designed to conserve forest in order to cut carbon emissions. Sierra Leone's president, Ernest Bai Koroma, is expected to back plans to protect the 75,000 hectare Gola forest, home to leopards, chimpanzees and forest elephants, as well as 2,000 different plants and more than 250 species of bird, 14 of which are close to extinction. The white-necked picathartes is among the bird species at risk in Gola. There are fewer than 2,500 pairs left in the wild. The forest, close to the Liberian border, will become the country's second national park with local communities paid to replace income linked to logging and diamond mining. The project is being funded by the European commission, the French government, the RSPB and US-based group Conservation International. The move to pay Sierra Leone to conserve its rainforest comes as UN climate change talks in Bali examine proposals to stop deforestation. The reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation (Redd) mechanism would allow developing countries to earn more from keeping trees than chopping them down. The rate of loss accounts for around 20% of current greenhouse gas emissions, more than transport. Alistair Gammell, the international director at the RSPB, said: "We are helping the government [of Sierra Leone] turn a logging forest into a protected forest … which has rarely been done before." "Huge amounts of carbon will be saved and the site is an excellent example to those now involved in climate talks in Bali. It is showing how richer countries can help poorer countries protect wildlife, support local communities and tackle climate change. It is a project that politicians in Bali seeking to cut the world's carbon emissions should be lauding, applauding and copying." The commission and French government are both contributing more than £3m towards the training of more than 100 staff to patrol Gola's boundaries and monitor wildlife. The RSPB and Conservation International have paid about £1m each into a £6m trust fund that is being established to cover the park's running costs and to pay 100,000 local people an annual income. The project is the RSPB's second forest protection project. In its Harapan rainforest scheme in Sumatra, the charity and Indonesian conservationists have halted deforestation by buying the site's logging rights. The Gola forest has not been logged for more than 30 years, but without the project there are fears that the forest would have been destroyed within a decade. Work with the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone to protect Gola began 15 years ago but was suspended during the civil war. Gola is part of the Upper Guinea forest, once a huge expanse of lowland rainforest covering Sierra Leone, south-west Guinea, Liberia, the southern Ivory Coast and south-west Ghana. Widespread forest clearance began in the 1700s for agriculture, charcoal mining and timber, leaving less than 30% of the forest remaining. President Koroma plans to establish six more national parks in Sierra Leone to develop tourism as the country recovers from civil war. | ['environment/forests', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/endangered-habitats', 'environment/environment', 'world/sierraleone', 'world/africa', 'type/article', 'profile/alisonbenjamin'] | environment/endangered-habitats | BIODIVERSITY | 2007-12-10T10:17:11Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
us-news/2017/oct/16/california-wildfire-death-toll-recovery | California wildfire death toll hits 41 as survivors face long road to recovery | Diego Pacheco escaped a nightmare in the early hours of 9 October, when a raging inferno swept through the Journey’s End mobile home park where he lived. Safe from the flames, he found himself with nothing more than his wallet and the clothes on his back. The 78-year-old retired carwash worker had kept his life savings in cash at home. The money, along with the home, are almost certainly gone. “I have too many problems,” Pacheco said in Spanish on Sunday, as he stood in line at the Fema emergency assistance center in Sonoma county, tears streaming down his face. “I can’t even think right now. I don’t know what’s going to come next.” As weather conditions finally shifted in their favor over the weekend, firefighters in northern California made significant progress in containing the series of wildfires that began ravaging the region on the night of 8 October. More than a dozen fires erupted that night amid unusually heavy winds, and the flames remained almost entirely uncontained for much of the week. The fires have thus far burned over 213,000 acres and destroyed approximately 5,700 structures, according to the state fire agency. Forty people died in last week’s flames, making it the deadliest week in California wildfire history. On Monday, another fatality was reported after a driver delivering water to the fire lines was killed when his truck overturned. About 100 people remain unaccounted for in Sonoma County, where more than 1,700 were at one point listed as missing. “The weather has not been in our favor over the past week in general, but we are still marching forward with our progress,” said Daniel Berlant, spokesman for the California department of forestry and fire protection. One glimmer of hope is a forecast for rain by Thursday. “Any sort of moisture is welcome at this point,” said Scott Rowe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “In terms of fire, the weather outlook is looking to be improving.” The struggle ahead Residents had no warning when the fires swept into their neighborhoods. “I was barely able to pull on my pants and grab my wallet,” Pacheco recalled of his escape from his smoke-filled mobile home. “There were flames everywhere. We had to drive through them.” Other survivors echoed Pacheco’s tale of fleeing for their lives without receiving any warning from officials. “If it weren’t for the dogs, I might have been barbecued,” said Robin, a Santa Rosa resident who asked not to be identified by her full name because she was a survivor of domestic violence. Pacheco and his roommate found their way to a Walmart parking lot, where a woman offered him a room to stay in, but he had left behind his phone and the little book where he recorded his family members’ phone numbers. After days of searching hospitals and parking lots, his nieces and nephews convinced a local television station to run a report on their missing uncle, leading to their reunification. On Sunday, Pacheco’s family accompanied him to Sonoma County’s newly organized emergency assistance center, which was set up Saturday as a one-stop shop for government aid. “The biggest challenge for us is the sheer number of people who need help,” said the center’s director, Michael Gossman, who is usually an administrator with the county water agency but took on a new role to help with the relief efforts. About 500 fire victims had been served by the center by midday Sunday. “We have people in there who are going to sit down with you and find out what you need,” a county probation department employee, Tom Gerstel, told those still waiting in line. “We have a list of needs you might have that you haven’t even thought of yet.” Pacheco, who worked at a gas station parking lot in Santa Rosa for 17 years before retiring in 2015, doesn’t want to tell his family members exactly how much money went up in flames. “He had little hide-out spots” for his money, said his niece Adriana Rios, 21. “He was just old-school and didn’t ever deposit or think he had to.” The family is fairly sure that he did not have renter’s insurance to cover his belongings. The wildfires did not discriminate by class. In Santa Rosa, the region’s largest city, flames devoured almost 3,000 buildings, from the upscale homes of Fountaingrove – a neighborhood where many of the city’s wealthiest lived – to the humble mobile home park catering to retirees, and the middle-class subdivisions near Coffey Park. In all, about one in every 20 homes in the city were wiped out over the past week, a crisis that will only exacerbate an already tight rental market. The city’s rents grew 50% over the past five years, the fastest growth in the country, according to a Bloomberg analysis of Zillow data. But recovery will probably be significantly more challenging for renters and low-income people, especially if they did not have insurance. Pacheco’s family helped him apply for Section 8 housing vouchers and rental assistance, but Rios said that they had been informed it could take months for the applications to be processed. Relief workers also distributed a list of current apartment vacancies in Santa Rosa, but most were renting for $1,200 to $1,600 a month, well above the $700 rent Pacheco paid at the mobile home park. For the time being, Pacheco will stay with family members, Rios said, but none of them have a lot of extra cash on hand. “It’s going to be difficult,” said Rios, a program assistant for a mental health agency. “We all have bills and we all have families. I think it’s going to be a strain but we can pull it together.” | ['us-news/california', 'world/wildfires', 'world/natural-disasters', 'us-news/us-news', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/erin-mccormick', 'profile/julia-carrie-wong', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/west-coast-news'] | world/wildfires | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2017-10-16T21:48:14Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2021/may/11/english-village-silverdale-walleys-quarry-landfill-stink | ‘It’s terrifying’: the English village overwhelmed by landfill stink | It may have been labelled the country’s smelliest village but it is much more than a bad stench from the local landfill making life miserable for the residents of Silverdale in Staffordshire, who have now started crowdfunding for potential legal action against the site. For miles around Walleys Quarry landfill near Newcastle-under-Lyme, people have reported waking up in the middle of the night struggling to breathe, with itchy eyes and sore throats. Those with asthma have had their medication increased, and some have reported nosebleeds. On the Facebook campaign group set up to “stop the stink” from the escaping hydrogen sulphide fumes, children pose for pictures next to air purifiers, many donated by local businesses to struggling families. On the worst days, teachers keep pupils indoors at lunchtime while parents are plagued with worry about the potential health effects. “I just don’t think people can take it much longer,” said Gill Shears, a supply teacher living in nearby Westlands. “My daughter woke up at four o’clock in the morning with a nosebleed, and that’s scary. You worry what you’re putting your children through. Should I take her away? What’s going to happen to us in years to come, are we going to be ill?” “It is a disgusting smell, but it’s far more than that. My asthma got a lot worse so I went on to regular inhalers and now I’m on an oral tablet as a direct result of the landfill fumes,” said Sian Rooney, who also lives in Westlands, more than a mile away. “I’m also extremely concerned about my three-year-old boy who’s developed a night-time cough. It’s terrifying.” They joined hundreds of residents protesting outside the landfill on Monday, as operations resumed at the site after work to “cap off” areas as requested by the Environment Agency (EA) when emissions breached safe limits. Residents say the capping has made no difference, with the smell last weekend worse than ever, and have now started looking into taking legal action. “It’s an environmental catastrophe, and it’s becoming a public health disaster as well. I can’t understand why the EA hasn’t acted more quickly on it,” said the local Conservative MP Aaron Bell. He welcomed a letter from Matt Hancock last week urging the regulator to use the full range of its powers to deal with the “woefully inadequate” site management. “It’s grinding people down, I think we all feel like we’re under siege because it’s completely casting a cloud over the town. It’s been horrific,” Bell said. Dr Paul Scott, a GP at Silverdale and Ryecroft practice, said hundreds of patients have come to the surgery reporting issues, from physical symptoms to mental distress. “It’s the sheer numbers of people affected by it and we are probably only getting the tip of the iceberg coming to us,” said Scott, adding the surgery was tagging issues on their system as “environmental pollution” to track the scale of the problem. “We’re connecting breathing trouble, particularly at night, with it. There’s also people getting bad hay fever-type symptoms: eyes streaming, nose irritated. And then there’s the stress if you live nearby and you’re getting the smell on and off for seven days a week. It’s relentlessly lowering the quality of people’s lives.” The landfill has been operating since 2005, despite objections to the original application in 1997 from the local councils that were overruled by the then environment secretary, John Prescott. The smell has always been a nuisance in such a heavily populated area, but since February the problem has escalated. Some of the hardest hit are residents of a Traveller site situated just metres away from the quarry, where people feel they are being ignored by authorities. “I think we’re the closest to it, it’s definitely affected our health since we’ve lived here. I’ve had to move on to inhalers, I could hardly breathe,” said Dorothy Price, 76, who has lived at Cemetery Road caravan park for close to a decade. A spokesperson for the EA said it had installed monitoring equipment at four locations in the area to collect emissions data and had increased inspections in recent months. It has identified five incidents of non-compliance since January and has “required the operator to take immediate action”. The spokesperson said: “We will continue to hold the site operators to account to improve its management of landfill gas from the site and do everything within our power to bring the site back into compliance with its permits as quickly as possible.” Red Industries, which bought the landfill in 2016, said it voluntarily curtailed operations at the quarry to speed up capping work, which was now complete. “We recognise that we are hosted by the local communities in which we operate and are acutely aware of their concerns regarding our landfill operations,” a spokesperson said. “Capping, gas management and other engineering works will continue throughout the operational life, as well as in the restoration phase of the landfill, at which point the area will be returned to greenfield.” | ['environment/landfill', 'environment/environment', 'environment/pollution', 'society/health', 'uk/uk', 'environment/waste', 'society/society', 'environment/air-pollution', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'tone/news', 'profile/jessica-murray', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/topstories', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | environment/waste | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2021-05-11T14:09:00Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2011/aug/03/shell-oil-spills-niger-delta-bodo | Shell oil spills in the Niger delta: 'Nowhere and no one has escaped' | The air stinks, the water stinks, and even the fish and crabs caught in Bodo creek smell of pure "sweet bonny" light crude oil. The oil has found its way deep into the village wells, it lies thick in the mudflats and there are brown and yellow slicks all along the lengthy network of creeks, swamps, mangrove forests and rivers that surround Bodo in the Niger delta. The first oil ever exported from Nigeria was found just five miles away from Bodo in 1958. But chief Tella James, chair of Bodo's maritime workers, says life for the 69,000 people who live in the vicinity changed dramatically in August 2008 when a greasy sheen was first seen deep in the Bodo swamps miles from the nearest houses. Shell disputes that, saying that a weld broke in September 2008 in the 50-year-old trans-Niger pipeline that takes 120,000 barrels of oil a day at high speed across the Niger delta. Either way the spill was not stopped until 7 November 2008. By that time, as much as 2,000 barrels a day may have been spilled directly into the water. A month later in December 2008 the same pipeline broke again in the swamps. This time Shell did not send anyone to inspect or repair it until 19 February 2009. According to oil spill assessment experts who have studied evidence of the two spills on the ground and on film, more than 280,000 barrels may have been spilled. Bodo is at the epicentre of several pipelines that collect oil from nearly 100 wells in the Ogoni district and there have been plenty of minor spills in and around the communities over the years. But this was far more serious, says Nenibarini Zabby, head of conservation at the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development in Port Harcourt. "This was an exceptionally sensitive ecosystem," said Zabby. "The spill lasted a very long time and it spread with the tides. The health of people is at risk. The company needs to compensate the people but they must also recover the environment," said Zabby. Chief James, assistant secretary to the Bodo council of chiefs and elders, said every family had been affected by the disaster. "Nowhere and no one has escaped," he said. "This has caused serious poverty to everyone. Nearly 80% of people here are fishermen or they depend on the water. They have lost their livelihoods. People are leaving the community in their hundreds to search for greener pastures. We used to live beautifully. People caught so much fish we could sell it to the cities. Now we have no hope," he said. A Bodo woman said social problems had followed the environmental ones. "People go hungry, there is more petty stealing," she said. According to the community leaders, youths from the area started to steal oil and refine it in illegal camps only after the two spills occurred. "It was the negligence of Shell which compelled people to steal. When our livelihoods were destroyed the youth went to places where they learned how do bunkering. They were desperate. They learned from others to steal. It was to survive," says Groobadi Petta, president of the Bodo city youth federation. Sylvester Vikpee, a barrister and legal adviser to the council of chiefs, said Shell had not responded humanely to the disaster. "They do not know the scale of the devastation. One of the richest companies in the world has done this to us. We have tried to talk to them and asked them what they plan. They have told us nothing." The Niger delta is one of the most polluted regions in the world, with more oil spilled across the region each year than spilt in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. According to Nigerian government figures, there were more than 7,000 spills between 1970 and 2000, and there are 2,000 official major spillage sites, many going back decades, with thousands of smaller spills still waiting to be cleared up. More than 1,000 spill cases have been filed against Shell alone, but while the company has been been fined many times by courts in Nigeria for pollution incidents, appeals can take years and communities complain that proper clean-ups and compensation money never reaches them. "For decades claims have swirled around in the Nigerian courts getting nowhere. Having a venue to bring claims in a proper structured way will revolutionise the process and hopefully ensure that the Nigerians who have suffered loss from the many, many spills, will have a much more ready outlet for their grievances and claims," said Martyn Day of Leigh Day and Co. Shell, which admitted to spilling 14,000 tonnes of oil in 2009, works in partnership with the Nigerian government in the delta, but argues that that 98% of all its oil spills are caused by vandalism, theft or sabotage by militants and communities and only a minimal amount by deteriorating infrastructure. No one from the Shell petroleum development company in Nigeria was available to comment on the Bodo spills this week, and a spokesman for Royal Dutch Shell in London said the company could not say anything while the case was ongoing. "That Shell has now accepted responsibility for the massive spill at Bodo is surprising only in the sense that it is out of place for polluters of this sort to bow to the truth. We only hope that now they will wake up and accept responsibility for other places in the Niger delta," said Nimmo Bassey, chair of Friends of the Earth International from Lagos. | ['environment/oil-spills', 'environment/oil', 'environment/energy', 'environment/environment', 'business/royaldutchshell', 'business/oil', 'business/oilandgascompanies', 'business/business', 'world/nigeria', 'world/africa', 'world/world', 'tone/features', 'global-development/global-development', 'global-development/natural-resources-and-development', 'type/article', 'profile/johnvidal', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international'] | environment/oil | ENERGY | 2011-08-03T11:23:59Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2006/jul/30/energy.weather | Heatwave shuts down nuclear power plants | The European heatwave has forced nuclear power plants to reduce or halt production. The weather, blamed for deaths and disruption across much of the continent, has caused dramatic rises in the temperature of rivers used to cool the reactors, raising fears of mass deaths for fish and other wildlife. Spain shut down the Santa Maria de Garona reactor on the River Ebro, one of the country's eight nuclear plants which generate a fifth of its national electricity. Reactors in Germany are reported to have cut output, and others in Germany and France have been given special permits to dump hot water into rivers to avoid power failures. France, where nuclear power provides more than three quarters of electricity, has also imported power to prevent shortages. The problems have come to light just weeks after Britain declared it will build a new generation of nuclear power stations, prompting opponents to claim the crisis proved nuclear reactors - although they emit no carbon dioxide greenhouse gases - are not the solution to the problem of global warming. 'The main problem they have is: How are they going to expand nuclear power when they are so vulnerable to such things as global temperature?' said Shaun Burnie, Greenpeace International's nuclear specialist. But Bruno Comby, president of Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy, said future power stations could have bigger cooling towers, or be built near the sea. 'The big problem the earth is facing today is global warming, it's not a one-degree local increase in [the temperature of] a river,' he added. The heatwave in Britain appeared to break last week, with the Met Office forecasting more normal summer weather this week. Today London and south-east England face a repeat of last week's heavy rains; for the rest of the week the country is expected to alternate between sunny spells, with warm temperatures and showers. However, hotter weather is set to return. 'We could be looking at some very warm weather coming back towards next weekend,' said meteorologist Andrew Sibley. Last week a series of power cuts in central London prompted fears of regular blackouts as global temperatures are predicted to keep rising, bringing more long, hot summers. EDF, the capital's main electricity supplier, said the problems were caused by a 'very unusual' combination of several faults and huge demand for air-conditioning. 'Over the weekend, our engineers are working round the clock to maintain power supplies to the area and avoid any further interruptions,' a company official said. Network Rail, the main rail infrastructure operator, said fewer speed restrictions were expected in cooler temperatures, although track temperatures can rise to 20C above the air temperature on hot days. | ['environment/energy', 'environment/environment', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'business/business', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'uk/uk', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'profile/juliettejowit', 'profile/javierespinoza', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/news', 'theobserver/news/worldnews'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2006-07-29T23:57:00Z | true | ENERGY |
commentisfree/2015/oct/05/plastic-bag-charge-england-carrier-bagpocalyspe | Can England cope with the bag charge or will there be a bagpocalypse? | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett | Wales managed, Scotland managed, but it remains to be seen whether or not the English are able to cope with having to pay 5p for plastic bags when out shopping, as charges are introduced today. Plastic Bag Chaos Looms predicts the Daily Mail – which has, ironically, been lobbying for charges since 2008 – as some of the exemptions to the rules are deemed “too confusing” for shoppers. (If by confusing you mean relatively straightforward with a few notable exemptions.) Companies with under 250 employees need not charge and some items, such as uncooked chicken, flowers, live goldfish, axeheads and prescription medication (all of which could combine to make quite the Saturday night) are exempt from the charging, except whenever these goods are purchased with non-exempt items. Granted, the regulations require a smidge more mental exertion that their Welsh and Scottish counterparts, but surely this nation of shopkeepers can manage to forebear these stressful changes with the same meek acceptance they deploy for all other regulations imposed from above? Well, apparently not. Satirical signs of rebellion are already emerging on social media, although the photograph of the gent being wrestled to the ground in an Asda car park has sadly yet to be substantiated. Though I have faith that the English can cope intellectually with the plastic bagpocalypse, whether some can cope emotionally is another matter altogether. “The bullying b******s are at it again,” wrote one user below the Northampton Chronicle’s coverage of the story, “I will NEVER pay for a plastic bag.” A relief, then, that most people reportedly support the introduction of charging. Some are expressing excitement at the fact that that plastic bag full of other plastic bags under their sink will finally come to good use, with others recognising that the environmental benefits outweigh the petty inconveniences they may suffer as a result of the new legislation. Most seem agreed that it’s high time that plastic bags, along with the 20th century relics of dog poo and flashers, were consigned to the past. We have seen enough filthy canals, blocked drains, and festooned trees and hedgerows to know that their impact on England’s green and pleasant land is aesthetically and environmentally damaging. £8.5bn were distributed last year: that’s more than 23m a day. As in all matters, the English should look to the Welsh for moral and spiritual inspiration. Having grown up in an area of north Wales renowned for its natural beauty, I cannot overstate the difference a ban on plastic bags has made to the surrounding countryside. Since 2011, plastic bag use in Wales has dropped by 78%, and the results of that are plain to see. Tesco has used the tax to support the conservation charity the RSPB, Keep Wales Tidy, and Keep Scotland Beautiful. M&S has favoured a number of environmental charities including the Marine Conservation Society (90% of all sea birds in the North Sea have been found with plastic in their stomachs) Something for the legislation refuseniks to consider, before they attempt to flee the checkout, perhaps? Who knows, the measures could be so successful that they will roll out charges out across the board, even for the smaller stores. Change is hard, but I promise, England: it will be OK. | ['commentisfree/series/first-thoughts', 'environment/waste', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'tone/comment', 'commentisfree/commentisfree', 'business/retail', 'business/business', 'business/supermarkets', 'type/article', 'profile/rhiannon-lucy-cosslett'] | environment/waste | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2015-10-05T11:02:02Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2023/oct/04/uk-united-arab-emirates-uae-free-speech-cop28-climate-summit | UK government asks UAE for assurances over free speech at Cop28 summit | The UK has asked the United Arab Emirates, one of its closest Gulf allies, to explain how it will guarantee free speech around the UN Cop28 climate summit in Dubai after the country refused to change its restrictive laws. The refusal came after a four-yearly UN review of the UAE’s human rights record. The UK is one of the closest allies of the UAE and it is unusual for London to make any criticism of the country’s ruling family. However, the UK said in a statement issued at the UN human rights council (HRC) in Geneva: “The UK believes that freedom of expression is a universal human right. We are therefore disappointed that the UAE has not accepted our recommendation to guarantee the rights to freedom of opinion, and freedom of expression and for peaceful assembly, in line with international human rights law. “In the year that the UAE will host Cop28, we ask that they share how they will assure citizens, residents and visitors of the UAE these rights now and in future.” In August the UAE issued a joint statement with the UN broadly promising to guarantee free speech in response to a statement from more than 200 civil society groups fearing they would be muzzled at the summit. The UAE later said that all Cop28 visitors would be permitted to “assemble peacefully to have their voices heard in designated areas”. “The UAE is one of the most tolerant and diverse nations and the right to freedom from discrimination is protected by the UAE’s constitution,” the statement said. At the time, Amnesty International challenged the lack of specifics in the joint UAE-UN statement, and it seems the UK government is also seeking further assurances. Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s regional director for the Middle East and north Africa, said: “It remains unclear exactly what the UAE authorities will allow, and whether a public demonstration by attendees, as has traditionally occurred in the middle weekend of Cop meetings in the host city, can take place. “At the previous Cop meeting in Egypt last year, the space given over to protest was wholly inadequate, and the meeting was preceded by a crackdown and arrests by security forces.” The joint statement issued by the UAE and the UN in August promised that the summit would be inclusive, and the UN said: “There will be space available for climate activists to assemble peacefully and make their voices heard.” Human rights groups at the HRC meeting said the refusal of the UAE to sign either of the international human rights covenants before the Cop summit sent “an ominous signal”, adding that at least 26 prisoners of conscience remained in UAE prisons. The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office recently apologised to a UK citizen and academic, Matthew Hedges, over its mishandling of his arrest on espionage charges in the UAE. During the periodic review of human rights in the UAE, the Foreign Office had pressed the country to abide by its detention laws, something the UAE accepted. The climate summit organised by the UN meets annually and hosting duties rotate among member states. It is scheduled to take place between 30 November and 12 December in Dubai and will be headed by Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, a minister and oil executive. The UAE argues that the Gulf is one of the regions worst affected by the climate crisis, and its dependence on finite oil revenues makes it a country with a strong motive to adapt its economy to renewables. | ['environment/cop28', 'world/united-arab-emirates', 'politics/politics', 'world/freedom-of-speech', 'world/middleeast', 'politics/foreignpolicy', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/patrickwintour', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/cop28 | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2023-10-04T17:30:12Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
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