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world/2023/nov/16/when-delhis-air-pollution-gets-worse-a-photographic-comparison | When Delhi’s air pollution gets worse: a photographic comparison | Delhi regularly ranks among the most polluted major cities on the planet, and has been judged the world’s most polluted capital for four years in a row by air quality information platform IQAir. Its air pollution gets worse in winter, when the wind drops and the air cools, trapping pollutants from vehicles, industry and the burning of agricultural waste as farmers in surrounding states burn off stubble to prepare for new planting. The city’s authorities have temporarily banned construction and stopped heavy vehicles coming into the city. Schools have also been closed. Kartavya Path in New Delhi Connaught Place Humayun’s tomb Kartavya Path Humayun’s tomb Connaught Place Humayun’s tomb Kartavya Path | ['world/india', 'world/south-and-central-asia', 'world/world', 'environment/pollution', 'environment/environment', 'artanddesign/series/photography-then-and-now', 'environment/air-pollution', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-pictures-guardian-news'] | environment/pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2023-11-16T07:00:09Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
australia-news/article/2024/jun/15/offshore-windfarm-zone-off-illawarra-coast-given-green-light-in-bid-to-power-australias-clean-energy-future | Offshore windfarm zone off Illawarra coast given green light in bid to ‘power Australia’s clean energy future’ | The federal government has given the green light to an offshore windfarm zone south of Sydney, making it Australia’s fourth such zone to be declared. Announcing the project in the Illawarra on Saturday, the climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, said the move would bring thousands of new jobs and help “power Australia’s clean energy future”. The zone will be 20km from the coast and exclude areas significant for the little penguin and for southern right whale migration. It will cover an offshore area of 1,022 sq km – a one-third reduction from the original proposal – and has the potential to generate 2.9GW, or enough power for 1.8m homes. “The Illawarra has been an engine room of the Australian economy for generations, and now it’s ready to power Australia’s clean energy future,” Bowen said. “Declaring this offshore wind zone brings the Illawarra a step closer to becoming a major provider of the building blocks of the net zero transformation – green power, green hydrogen and green steel – along with thousands of new jobs.” Since last year, the proposal for a windfarm zone in the Illawarra and the declaration of a zone in New South Wales’s Hunter region has drawn fierce opposition, with some online groups sharing factually incorrect information about the windfarms. The Coalition has fanned opposition to the project, despite introducing legislation for the development of an offshore wind industry while in government. The federal Labor MP for Whitlam, Stephen Jones, said the declaration showed the government’s commitment to supporting local jobs and delivering cheaper and more reliable energy for Illawarra businesses and households. “We want Australia to be a global renewable energy superpower and regions such as the Illawarra have an important role to play in our nation’s energy transformation,” he said. The zone does not guarantee an offshore windfarm will go ahead, but is the first of five regulatory stages. The stages will include project-specific feasibility and commercial licences and an environmental assessment under national conservation laws. If an offshore windfarm does go ahead, the turbines could be up to 268 metres high. The government has said the size, arrangement and number of turbines will be determined after the prospective developer undertakes studies. The government views creating an offshore windfarm industry in Australia as key to helping the country replace ageing coal-fired power plants, and reaching its plan for the energy grid to be made up of 82% of renewable energy by the end of the decade. The federal Labor MP for Cunningham, Alison Byrnes, said she was pleased the zone had been amended to start further from the coast and exclude significant environmental areas. “[It’s a] sensible compromise that reflects the majority of community opinion while helping to achieve our shared goals of more renewable energy, more jobs and fewer emissions,” she said. “There is now an extensive process of studies and approvals that will be required but this is a positive step for a region that wants to secure its industrial future and power it using clean energy.” Many welcomed the development on Saturday. The Climate Council policy and advocacy head, Jennifer Rayner, said the Illawarra would continue to thrive for generations with affordable and clean energy being produced in the region. “Offshore wind will be an important part of Australia’s clean energy grid because it provides reliable, steady renewable energy right around the clock,” Rayner said. “This is one of the important ways we’ll power Australia as our ageing and unreliable coal-fired generators close. “The federal and state governments need to work together to rapidly break through roadblocks that are holding back the delivery of onshore wind projects already supported by communities and investors.” The University of Wollongong Energy Futures Network director, Ty Christopher, hailed the offshore wind project as a positive step for the region. “By working together as a community, sharing our concerns for the environment to codesign a clean energy future for the region, we have the ability to deliver positive outcomes for our oceans, our communities and our local economy,” he said. – with Australian Associated Press | ['australia-news/energy-australia', 'australia-news/new-south-wales', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/environment', 'environment/windpower', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'australia-news/australian-politics', 'campaign/email/afternoon-update', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/jordyn-beazley', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/windpower | ENERGY | 2024-06-15T01:31:38Z | true | ENERGY |
world/2011/aug/30/hurricane-irene-airlines-normal-service | Hurricane Irene: airlines return to normal service | Transatlantic airlines have resumed a normal service in the aftermath of hurricane Irene, raising hopes that some of the thousands of Britons stranded in the US may soon be able to get home. As many as 10,000 Britons are thought to have been affected by the disruption caused when the tropical storm tore along America's eastern seaboard, bringing strong winds, torrential rain and leading to the cancellation of 6,000 flights on Sunday. The hurricane killed at least 40 people in 11 US states, as well as three in the Dominican Republic and one in Puerto Rico. British Airways said it was now running a "full schedule" of flights from New York and other east coast airports. "We were forced to cancel a number of flights over the weekend and are doing our very best to rebook customers on to the next available service," said a spokeswoman. "We have put on extra capacity over the coming days by adding three additional flights to New York to repatriate our customers." She advised passengers to check ba.com for the latest information. Virgin Atlantic also said it had resumed its usual schedule. "Additional seats will also be made available to ensure that the backlog of passengers away from home is cleared as soon as possible," said a spokeswoman, who also directed passengers to the company's website. The Association of British Travel Agents (Abta), which estimates that as many as 10,000 British holidaymakers could be in New York, said that things appeared to be getting back to normal. However, an Abta spokesman reminded passengers travelling with EU-based carriers that their airlines were obliged to pay for their food and accommodation in the events of delays and cancellations. He also advised those travelling with non-EU carriers to check their insurance to establish what they could claim for in the wake of the hurricane. | ['us-news/hurricane-irene', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/air-transport', 'uk/uk', 'business/theairlineindustry', 'world/natural-disasters', 'world/world', 'business/business', 'tone/news', 'world/hurricanes', 'type/article', 'profile/samjones'] | us-news/hurricane-irene | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2011-08-30T11:47:42Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
world/2005/mar/29/indonesia.sciencenews | Stark effect of a seismic shift | Measuring between 8.2 and 8.7 on the Richter scale, yesterday's earthquake off the northern coast of Sumatra was the most violent of at least seven to have struck the region in as many days. The earthquake, which hit just after 11pm local time and shook the ground for nearly three minutes, was not unexpected. Earlier this month, scientists analysing the aftermath of the Boxing Day earthquake and resulting tsunami which brought havoc to the region and claimed more than 300,000 lives, warned another devastating quake was likely. Although a huge earthquake can release stresses built up over hundreds of years, it rarely means the region is safe afterwards. The slippage only heaps stress on other regions of the fault, leading to further aftershocks. John McCloskey at the University of Coleraine, who led the research, found the seismic slip that triggered the Boxing Day tsunami piled dangerous levels of stress onto two vulnerable parts of the fault zone, significantly raising the chances of an earthquake of a magnitude greater than 7.5 on the Richter scale. After the Boxing Day earthquake, stresses in one region, a 31-mile stretch of the undersea Sunda trench, were believed to have increased by 5 bars. The stress in a second region, a 185-mile fault running directly beneath the island of Sumatra close to the city of Banda Aceh, was thought to have been pushed up by as much as 9 bars. Scientists yesterday reported that one ocean sensor near the Cocos Islands off the south west coast of Sumatra had detecting a minor tsunami wave. Scientists were still working to identify the precise fault that caused the latest quake. The Indian Ocean region is prone to earthquakes because of the slow but unstoppable movement of the giant Burma and Indian tectonic plates. The Indian Ocean is sliding under Indonesia at a rate of 7cm a year, but as the plates rub past one another, they jam, causing huge stresses to build up. When the stresses give, the plates judder with tremendous ferocity. In the Boxing Day earthquake, which measured 9.5 on the Richter scale and was the biggest detected in 40 years, the slip of the tectonic plates forced the sea floor up nearly 20 metres and raised the level of the Sumatran coastline. Despite plans to deploy ocean sensors to detect tsunami throughout the Indian Ocean, no system is yet in place. Instead, the earthquake was detected by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, which immediately issued a tsunami bulletin. The announcement recorded the earthquake at d advised a tsunami was possible. "Authorities in those regions should be aware of this possibility and take immediate action," it said. "This action should include evacuation of coasts within a 1,000 km of the epicentre, and close monitoring to determine the need for evacuation further away." Because there are no buoys in the Indian Ocean to detect tsunami waves, Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre scientists were unable to confirm shortly after the earthquake whether a tsunami was due. Vasily Titov, a tsunami researcher at the Pacific Marine Environment Laboratory in Seattle, said a tsunami bulletin was usually issued if a subsea earthquake of more than 7.5 on the Richter scale was detected. Earlier this month, countries in the Indian Ocean region and UN experts met in Paris to agree plans for a tsunami early warning system, but this will not be completed until the end of the year. Until the network is in place, the region must rely on alerts from the US and Japan. The Indian government has separately pledged to invest up to £15m in a tsunami warning system, using up to 12 seabed sensors to transmit information to the mainland. | ['world/world', 'world/indonesia', 'world/natural-disasters', 'world/tsunami2004', 'science/science', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'tone/news', 'environment/oceans', 'world/asia-pacific', 'type/article', 'profile/iansample'] | world/tsunami2004 | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2005-03-29T11:29:56Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
technology/2017/dec/28/best-of-the-best-the-south-korean-school-for-hackers-hitting-back-against-the-north | Best of the Best: the South Korean school for hackers hitting back against the North | At the fortified border between South and North Korea, students on a computer hacking course are instructed to peer northwards across a strip of empty land toward the enemy state. “Our country is divided and we are at war, but you can’t see that division in cyberspace,” said Kim Jin-seok. “So we take them to see it in person.” Kim manages a program called Best of the Best, the goal of which is to train the next generation of so-called white-hat hackers, netizens with elite cybersecurity skills who are able and willing to defend South Korea against malicious hacking attacks, many of which are believed to come from North Korea. Such skills are in high demand in South Korea. The country is officially at war with the North and while the two sides only rarely exchange bombs or bullets, they are locked in a round-the-clock battle in cyberspace. As North Korea builds its nuclear and missile strength, it is also advancing its ability to launch disruptive attacks online. With the North’s economy increasingly strangled by international sanctions, the country has almost no tax base and an expensive nuclear weapons program, meaning it has to seek alternative, often illegal, ways of generating income. North Korean hackers were linked to the theft of $81m from Bangladesh’s central bank in March 2016, and in December the US Trump administration identified North Korea as the culprit behind the WannaCry cyber-attack, which in May caused millions in losses. North Korea has denied involvement. North Korean hackers have been linked to leaks of credit card information and illegal ATM withdrawals in South Korea. “There are thousands of cyber-attacks in South Korea every day and most of them never get reported on the news,” Kim said. “Information security is the basis of economic development.” The government-funded counter-hacker training program was conceived in 2010 when North Korean hackers were switching gears from only targeting South Korean government entities to attacking private sector bodies. Of late, researchers have linked North Korean hackers to attacks on cryptocurrency exchanges. South Koreans live each day amid the threat of North Korean attack, cyber or otherwise and in a country with among the highest internet and smartphone penetration in the world, they have no choice but to take the threat of hacking increasingly seriously. A turning point in the cyberwar was an incident in 2013 when three television networks and two banks had their networks frozen while some ATMs and online banking portals went out of order. “That was when we all realized how vulnerable we are,” said Lee Dong-geun, of the Korean internet and security agency, which an organization that works with the South Korean government to help private sector entities deal with cyber-attacks. Graduates of the Best of the Best scheme are competing against hackers from a well-established North Korean training program. Martyn Williams, editor of North Korea Tech, compares the North’s scheme to the ways some countries train athletes for the Olympics. “The lack of computers and widespread internet access means hackers in North Korea do not organically learn their skills in their spare time at home. Instead, hackers rise to prominence through a series of government-led initiatives that begin at junior school and progress to university and beyond,” said Williams. Best of the Best’s space in Seoul’s Gangnam district is a place where war training, competitive spirit and youthful exuberance come together. Covering the walls of the hallways are plaques from hacker competition victories around the world and photos of graduating classes. A large common area looks like a tech startup space, with leather couches and a ping pong table. Behind a nearby door is the cyberwarfare room, which is filled with clusters of tables covered in computer monitors; on the walls are lurid, blinking screens that relay real time data of online activity and any signs of threats. Participants range in age from high school to their mid-twenties, an age when most South Koreans are preparing to do battle in the country’s fiercely competitive job market. But the program is a chance to learn from industry experts and build elite IT skills, and a graduation certificate from the program is well-regarded by employers. Min Sae-ah, 26, is a graduate of the program’s most recent class. She said gaining a leg up in was her main motivation for taking part, and that it helped her land a job in consulting. “I was taught a diverse range of skills, and how to use them ethically,” Min said. But at the Gangnam centre, North Korea is the elephant in the room: a topic on everyone’s mind but almost never spoken of. Kim says it is difficult to establish conclusively that North Korean hackers are behind the attacks on the South, so there is no public blaming. Most attacks are carried out by computers with servers located in China, Kim said. Analysts say North Korean cyber-attacks are a modern manifestation of the regime’s traditional tactics. “Asymmetric warfare goes back to the early days of North Korea, coming from the leaders’ history as guerrilla fighters,” said Andrew Salmon, a Seoul-based military historian and author of To the Last Round, a book on Britain’s role in the Korean war. “For a weak country fighting a strong country, cyber-attacks are cost-effective, largely deniable and carry a low risk of retaliation,” Salmon said. | ['technology/cyberwar', 'technology/malware', 'world/north-korea', 'technology/hacking', 'technology/technology', 'world/asia-pacific', 'world/espionage', 'technology/data-computer-security', 'world/south-korea', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/steven-borowiec', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-foreign'] | technology/hacking | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2017-12-28T00:00:46Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2018/aug/25/country-diary-a-swish-and-a-splash-lead-me-to-a-monster-isles-of-scilly | Country diary: a swish and a splash lead me to a monster | The directions I’ve cobbled together read like a treasure quest: a tiny sun-baked island; unlikely-sounding rock formations; a sandy cove; granite pinnacles; a hidden pool. The turf is crispy with drought, and arrays of desiccated thrift vibrate like the wires of an arcane musical instrument whose bass is too low for me to pick up. Instead, I hear the incessant chirping of house sparrows – a soundscape of childhood, the audio equivalent of Kodacolor. There are gulls crying, too, and a stonechat chipping away in the gorse. Crossing from turf to beach, I pick my way over seaweed dumped in a recent storm – a wreck of wrack, fronds of kelp lying like banners dropped in a battle. There are two rock pinnacles, granite stacks with cracks and rakes smoothed by the fingers of wind and wave into forms that feel aboriginally significant. From an elevated shelf on the first, I spot the pool on the next, above high water but beyond a neck of boulders. I calculate that I have an hour to climb there and back before it will be cut off by the tide. But among the boulders are pools of such wonder they might have been created to waylay me. Candy pink, viridian and magenta algae, studded with anemones, topshells, limpets, periwinkles, and framed by fanned, feathered and tentacled forms so beautiful I can hardly bear to tear myself away. I reach the pinnacle, and the pool there is different – a lido, with sunlit edges and deep, green-shadowed depths. All is still as I approach, but a flicker in my peripheral vision, a swish and a splash lead me to what I came for. Monsters. Tapering speckled bodies, 8cm-20cm long, frog-faces, topaz eyes, and huge but delicate pectoral fins that appear to hug the rock. Giant gobies, Gobius cobitis, are the largest fish of their kind, found only in this far south-western extremity of the British Isles, for now at least. Their pool looks inviting, the water pleasantly cool. But it is their world, not mine, so I lie on my front, my nose almost touching the water, and we gaze at each other across the divide. Giant gobies are protected under schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which prohibits killing or taking by any method. | ['environment/marine-life', 'environment/coastlines', 'environment/series/country-diary', 'environment/environment', 'environment/wildlife', 'uk-news/cornwall', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/amy-jane-beer', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/marine-life | BIODIVERSITY | 2018-08-25T04:30:34Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2023/apr/18/scientists-discover-pristine-deep-sea-galapagos-reef-teeming-with-life | Scientists discover pristine deep-sea Galápagos reef ‘teeming with life’ | Scientists operating a submersible have discovered deep-sea coral reefs in pristine condition in a previously unexplored part of the Galápagos marine reserve. Diving to depths of 600 metres (1,970ft), to the summit of a previously unmapped seamount in the central part of the archipelago, the scientists witnessed a breathtaking mix of deep marine life. This has raised hopes that healthy reefs can still thrive at a time when coral is in crisis due to record sea surface temperatures and ocean acidification. It also showed the effectiveness of conservation actions and effective management, they said. “They are pristine and teeming with life – pink octopus, batfish, squat lobsters and an array of deep-sea fish, sharks and rays,” said Dr Michelle Taylor, a marine biologist at Essex University and co-leader of the expedition in a human-occupied vehicle, HOV Alvin, a submersible able to take two scientists to depths of 6,500 metres. “This is encouraging news,” said José Antonio Dávalos, the environment minister for Ecuador, which owns the Galápagos. “It reaffirms our determination to establish new marine protected areas [MPAs] in Ecuador and to continue promoting the creation of a regional marine protected area in the eastern tropical Pacific.” The country is collaborating with its northern neighbours Panama, Costa Rica and Colombia on a regional marine corridor initiative, which aims to protect and responsibly manage the ocean. Operated by Taylor and Dr Stuart Banks, of the Charles Darwin Foundation in Ecuador, HOV Alvin explored unknown regions of the reserve using state-of-the-art sampling capabilities and visual upgrades that included improved high-quality still and ultra-high-definition 4K video-imaging systems. Prior to this discovery, Wellington Reef, off the coast of Darwin Island in the far north of the Galápagos archipelago, was thought to be among the few structural shallow coral reefs in the islands to have survived the destruction wreaked by an El Niño event in 1982-83. The find shows that sheltered deep-water coral communities have probably persisted for centuries in the depths of the Galápagos marine reserve, supporting rich, diverse and potentially unique marine communities. “These newly discovered reefs are potentially of global significance – a ‘canary in the mine’ for other reefs globally – sites which we can monitor over time to see how pristine habitats evolve with our current climate crisis,” Taylor said. Banks said the reef helped scientists “reconstruct past ocean environments to understand modern climate change”. It could also help understand the role of MPAs in the carbon cycle and fisheries. “It’s very likely there are more reef structures across different depths waiting to be explored,” he said. A newly established MPA, the Hermandad marine reserve, now connects a chain of seamounts in Ecuadorian waters to offshore marine environments such as Costa Rica’s Cocos Island national park. Scientists say the underwater mountains are migratory routes for marine life and require special measures to protect foraging grounds and sustain responsible fisheries. Dávalos said the discovery was another reason to achieve the commitments of the Global Ocean Alliance 30x30, which aims to protect at least 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030. HOV Alvin is owned by the US navy and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), as part of the US National Science Foundation-funded National Deep Submergence Facility. It was also financed by the Natural Environmental Research Council in the UK. Taylor and Banks are also part of an international group of scientists onboard the US navy-owned and WHOI-operated research vessel RV Atlantis, which is undertaking the Galápagos Deep 2023 expedition. | ['environment/series/seascape-the-state-of-our-oceans', 'world/galapagos-islands', 'environment/coral', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/wildlife', 'world/ecuador', 'world/americas', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/elnino', 'environment/conservation', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/dan-collyns', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/global-development'] | environment/series/seascape-the-state-of-our-oceans | BIODIVERSITY | 2023-04-18T11:54:51Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2015/dec/23/storm-eva-batters-northern-england | Storm Eva set to batter northern Britain | Britain faces further downpours over the festive period, with Storm Eva battering parts of the country with winds of up to 70mph, as homeowners and businesses in Cumbria prepared a flood clean-up for the third time this month. Streets in parts of Cumbria ran with fast-flowing water after yet more rain across the county on Tuesday night, with firefighters called out to eight incidents and rescuing several residents, including a woman in her 70s. The Environment Agency has issued flood warnings across parts of north-west and north-east England, and Wales, and is warning of potential travel disruption over Christmas. In Cumbria, which has been worst hit this winter, flood warnings have been issued for Appleby, Carlisle, Kendal and Keswick. There are also 11 flood warnings and 14 flood alerts for all river catchments in the county. The Met Office has issued yellow warnings for rain throughout the region for Christmas Day and Boxing Day. “There is currently the possibility for further unsettled weather during the festive period which could lead to some disruption in the north of England,” an EA spokesman said. “We are monitoring the situation closely and will issue further flood alerts and warnings if required.” Justin Bibby of Cumbria police said Tuesday’s rain had caused “less disruption than first predicted but we still have a number of areas suffering from localised flooding and our thoughts are with those that have once again been affected”. Worst hit in the most recent rains was the market town of Appleby-in-Westmorland, recently visited by the Prince of Wales in a show of solidarity with flood victims. It was the first to be affected when Storm Desmond first struck on 5 December. On Tuesday night, the river Eden overtopped its banks for the second time, causing the temporary closure of the bridge in the town centre. Charlotte Ashley, whose home in Appleby has been flooded again, called the further deluge unbelievable. “No one’s ever seen this,” she told the BBC. “The water two weeks ago was above my head in the garage – you can’t deal with that kind of thing.” In the village of Glenridding, owners of the beleaguered Glenridding hotel posted a despondent message on their Facebook page, saying they were “feeling defeated”. It contuinued: “The Beck is overflowing once again past the bridge and the what was Ratchers Bar and the kitchen is flooding again. Contractors are in trying to save their equipment. Beer garden starting to recede! Please no more rain.” Cumbria police said they did not expect the disruption caused by Storm Desmond to be repeated after Eva hits, but said rainfall would be falling on already saturated ground and is likely to cause surface water flooding on roads across the county. They said there were reports of motorists ignoring road closure signs and continuing on their journey, which they said was “extremely dangerous and is putting your lives at risk and causing a strain on emergency services availability”. Ch Insp Matt Kennerley of Cumbria police said: “It is imperative that motorists react to the weather conditions and adapt their driving style accordingly. Please do not in any circumstance ignore road closure signs and continue on your journey. Driving through floodwater is extremely dangerous as you cannot determine the depth.” Though parts of the country face having festivities ruined by the wet weather and flooding, temperatures remain high, with bookies slashing odds on Friday being the warmest Christmas Day ever. Coral has it odds on at 1-2 that this December will be the warmest since records began. The Met Office forecasts wet and windy weather over Christmas Eve, with gales in the north-west of the UK and the potential for storms in parts of the Outer Hebrides. Gales are forecast to reach 60mph in parts of Wales and Scotland overnight into Christmas Eve, reaching 70mph in the Western Isles. Over the Christmas period, almost £3.5m has been raised for the Cumbria flood recovery appeal, set up in the wake of Storm Desmond, which damaged more than 6,000 properties. The Cumbria Community Foundation, which ran the appeal, has now set a target of £6m. In a statement on its JustGiving page, appeal organisers said: “With that information and with a growing sense of the true scale of the need, the Community Foundation trustees have taken the decision to increase the appeal target further to 6m. “We know that the 2015 floods have impacted more severely than any previous flooding incident. This target will be kept under review and may be raised further as the impact of the flooding is better understood.” The foundation raised millions for flood victims in 2009 and 2005, as well as for those affected by the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001. | ['uk/weather', 'environment/flooding', 'uk/uk', 'uk/scotland', 'uk/carlisle', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/jessica-elgot', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/topstories'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2015-12-23T09:58:00Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2013/jul/02/chinese-factory-somaliland-water | Chinese factory accused of poisoning Somaliland water supplies | A Chinese-owned tanning factory based in Somaliland has been accused of dumping dangerous chemicals in waterways. But the government has failed to intervene for fear of spooking foreign investment, according to local people. Jeronimo Group of Industries and Trading PLC, a subsidiary of Chinese glove-making firm Phiss, is the first and only foreign-owned company in the breakaway east African state. It has been operating a factory in the village of Dar-Buruq, 60km outside the capital Hargeisa, since 2008. People living near the factory have made numerous complaints about respiratory problems. A former worker at Jeronimo named Ibrahim said that one day, while mixing chromium compounds without a mask, he was overcome by the smell and fell down, hitting his head. "The company did not take me to the hospital," he says. "To this day I still have breathing problems." Other locals confirmed many health complaints had been made. When the Guardian investigated the Jeronimo compound it found an unbearable smell, and workers with no face masks or proper shoes and sacks of corrosive material spilling onto the factory floor. Industrial waste is dumped in local waterways, the company admits, but it is adamant it has adhered to local and international rules governing the tanning industry. Livestock, which comprises up to 80% of local trade, has disappeared as animals refuse to drink the water and their herders move elsewhere, said one village elder. "[The livestock industry here] is dead, which has also created poverty," says Mohammed, a local government official. "The water here was free; God-given. Now people have to buy it from travelling sellers. A 20-litre jerry can costs 10,000 Somaliland shillings ($0.80). It is too much." Foreign investments like Jeronimo are seen as vital in proving Somaliland's worth as an independent nation, a point not lost on Dar-Buruq's residents. "We've talked to ministers, deputy ministers. Each time our arguments are passed on to someone else," one village elder says. "The government considers that it is fighting a broader war internationally to attract foreign investors. So if this one is clamped down on it will have a negative impact on that." President Ahmed Mahamoud Silanyo's government has done little to stop the factory from dumping waste, despite continued appeals from locals. Somaliland's chamber of commerce secretary general, Ibrahim Ismail Elmi,said that while a seven-minister delegation was sent to inspect Jeronimo in 2008, the situation has been "under review" ever since. But another senior official, who asked to remain anonymous, added: "We suspect them [Jeronimo]. They use poisons and chromes are getting into the river." Jeronimo has a $6m agreement with the Somaliland government, the official claims, that has to be paid in full should the firm be shut down. "We don't have the capacity to refund them, so we just give advice." "If the government was worried about these health issues, they should have checked before we came," says Li Fai La, the factory manager . Rather than remove or recycle effluent, he said the company dumps industrial waste "in water 3km away from the factory." Although he did not specifiy what percentage of waste is dumped, the Guardian understands the factory has no waste management system in place. Li believes the complaints are economically driven, and says that he has considered moving Jeronimo to neighbouring Ethiopia. "You can go to the factory now," he says. "Yes, the smell is bad but trees are growing and there are fish in the water nearby." | ['environment/pollution', 'environment/environment', 'environment/waste', 'world/china', 'world/asia-pacific', 'world/world', 'world/somaliland', 'world/africa', 'tone/news', 'global-development/global-development', 'global-development/access-to-water', 'type/article'] | environment/waste | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2013-07-02T09:32:00Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2019/jan/11/ella-kissi-debrah-mother-wins-right-seek-new-inquest-high-court-air-pollution | Mother wins right to seek new inquest into girl's death linked to air pollution | The mother of a schoolgirl who died of an asthma attack linked to air pollution has won the right to seek a new inquest at the high court. The attorney general moved on Friday to quash the inquest into the death of Ella Kissi-Debrah at the age of nine, after new evidence linked it to air pollution spikes from traffic near her home in south London. After a long fight by her mother, Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, Geoffrey Cox granted her the right to go to the high court for a new inquest. Kissi-Debrah said: “Words cannot express how happy I am that the attorney general has taken this decision, and I would like to thank him for reaching his conclusion. “Nothing will bring my beautiful, bright, bubbly child back, but now at least I may get answers about how she died and whether it was air pollution which snatched her away from us. “Now I hope a new inquest will make those in power realise that our children are dying as a result of the air that they breathe. This cannot go on. “Why is this not being taken more seriously by the government? What do we need to do to make them prioritise our children’s lives over convenience and the rights of people to pollute?” Ella lived 25 metres (82ft) from the heavily polluted South Circular Road in Lewisham. She died in February 2013 after three years of seizures and 27 visits to hospital for asthma attacks. An expert last year linked her death to the dangerously high levels of pollution from diesel traffic that breached legal limits. Jocelyn Cockburn, a partner at the law firm Hodge Jones & Allen, who represents Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, said the decision was a major step towards justice for the family. “An inquest will provide a better understanding of why she died and whether her death was avoidable. It will force the government and other bodies to account for their actions and, in many regards, their inaction on air pollution over this period,” she said. “Air pollution is costing people’s lives and those most vulnerable are children. There is a need for more urgency into how air pollution is dealt with in urban areas to bring it within lawful limits as soon as possible.” Kissi-Debrah believes the government’s failure to act to reduce air pollution from diesel traffic was a breach of her daughter’s human rights. The government has repeatedly failed to bring nitrogen dioxide pollution levels to within legal limits. Until the end of 2010, Ella had been extremely active and in good health. But following a chest infection in October 2010, she had respiratory issues for the remainder of her short life, and was treated in five London hospitals for severe unstable asthma, with 27 separate hospital admissions over a three-year period. An inquest into Ella’s death at Southwark coroner’s court in 2014 concluded her death was caused by acute respiratory failure and severe asthma. Prof Stephen Holgate, an expert on asthma and air pollution, was instructed to carry out a report on her death and said there was a “striking association” between the times she was admitted to hospital and recorded spikes in nitrogen dioxide and PM10s, the most noxious pollutants, near her home. His report said there was a “real prospect that without unlawful levels of air pollution, Ella would not have died”. Holgate also considered the death certificate should be amended to reflect the fact that air pollution was a contributory factor in her death. Kissi-Debrah has launched a fundraising campaign to help pay for representation at the high court hearing. • This article was amended on 14 January 2019 because an earlier version referred to “Sir Geoffrey Cox”, however he has not been knighted. This has been corrected. | ['environment/air-pollution', 'law/law', 'uk/london', 'society/children', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'society/society', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/sandralaville', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/air-pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2019-01-11T11:56:09Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
sustainable-business/2015/apr/30/gsk-begins-to-make-inroads-on-supply-chain-emissions | GSK begins to make inroads on supply-chain emissions | In 2014 GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) awarded its first “supplier environmental sustainability award” to the supplier that makes its toothpaste tubes, in recognition of a programme that reduced energy use across 20 sites and resulted in a 9% drop in energy intensity. The award is part of the pharmaceutical company’s innovative programme to reduce scope 3 emissions across its supply chain. With 40% of GSK’s carbon footprint coming from the procurement of raw materials, the company recognised that tackling its own emissions wouldn’t be enough to reduce its carbon footprint – it would need to support suppliers to do the same. GSK would like to be the most sustainable healthcare company and has set a target to reduce its carbon footprint by 25% by 2020 and have a carbon-neutral value chain by 2050. Its supply chain programme has three strands. Ecodesk, an easy-to-use online platform, helps suppliers understand and measure their environmental impacts. In two years participation has increased from 30 to 260 suppliers. More than £0.9bn [45%] of GSK’s spend on raw materials is linked to suppliers disclosing their environmental performance. In 2014 the company launched another online platform, the GSK “knowledge information exchange”, which allows suppliers and GSK to share practical ideas about improving energy efficiency. A programme of workshops is helping the largest energy users in the company’s supply chain identify and implement energy saving opportunities. The company is building the disclosure of environmental data into its supply chain contracts and equipping its procurement team to understand the issues and questions they need to ask suppliers. Alongside cost and quality targets the team has carbon emissions reduction targets, with CO2 ready reckoners to help them measure the benefits. | ['sustainable-business/series/sustainability-case-studies', 'sustainable-business/sustainable-business', 'sustainable-business/series/carbon-case-studies', 'sustainable-business/series/guardian-sustainable-busines-awards-longlist-2015', 'type/article', 'tone/sponsoredfeatures'] | sustainable-business/series/carbon-case-studies | EMISSIONS | 2015-04-30T09:19:22Z | true | EMISSIONS |
society/2008/oct/16/local-government-councils-carbon-footprint | Affluent districts stamp carbon footprint on the rest | Despite the current financial crisis turning attention away from sustainable development issues, the urgency of climate change makes the green agenda ever more pressing. As the EU council prepares to meet in Luxembourg later this week to discuss targets for greenhouse gas emissions cuts for 2020, it is a good time to take a closer look at the contribution of British communities to climate change. A snapshot of local authorities' per capita carbon footprint by Local Futures draws on the latest experimental data released by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI). SEI's carbon footprint indicator measures carbon dioxide emissions at the district level, associated with various aspects of residents' lifestyles: emissions caused by domestic energy use; transport; housing; consumption of food; and other goods bought and used by households, including emissions incorporated in imported goods. The data shows great variation between local authorities, with the southern part of the country placing a disproportionate burden on the environment. Out of the 25 districts with the largest per capita carbon footprint, 19 are situated in London and the south-east - with seven of them in Surrey. It is perhaps no surprise that districts whose residents have the largest carbon footprint in the country are the most affluent ones, highlighting unsustainable lifestyles and patterns of consumption in these areas. Districts scoring high on SEI's indicator are also clustered in the south-west (mainly in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Dorset) and parts of Norfolk, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Essex in the east of England. The north-east, Wales and the West Midlands on the other hand, are the best performing regions, with most districts featuring in the bottom quartile. There are great disparities within London, as its boroughs populate the lists of the top and bottom 10 local authorities in terms of carbon footprint. The figure for London City - the local authority with the highest per capita footprint in the country – stands 50% higher than that of Newham, which appears to have the smallest score nationally. Cities generally tend to fare better, recording smaller figures in the housing and transport components of SEI's indicator than suburbs and more remote areas. This most likely reflects efficiencies deriving from urban density and from the developed transport systems found in cities. While somewhat unsurprising, the patterns in the per capita carbon footprint of local communities revealed by the data can serve to inform and galvanise action on the ground. Local authorities have a unique opportunity to make a real difference in tackling climate change through their renewed planning and economic development duties. Clearly, as the data shows, for some local authorities this opportunity also presents great challenges. At the same time, unless clear responsibilities and powers for climate change mitigation are devolved to the local level, this unique opportunity will be forgone. If the government is serious about its commitment to tackle climate change, it needs to provide local authorities with clear mechanisms and incentives to implement specific carbon reduction policies. These are related to delivering carbon neutral housing and sustainable transport schemes, enabling green entrepreneurship and promoting sustainable consumption at the individual and collective level - which would at the same time create thousands of "green collar" jobs, much needed in the current economic downturn. If such conditions are not in place, delivering the emissions reduction targets that the government has committed to will become an even more remote possibility than it appears to be today. Niki Charalampopoulou is a research assistant for the Local Futures group | ['society/localgovernment', 'society/society', 'environment/carbonfootprints', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'environment/environment', 'politics/localgovernment', 'politics/politics', 'uk/uk', 'type/article'] | environment/carbonfootprints | EMISSIONS | 2008-10-15T23:01:00Z | true | EMISSIONS |
environment/2023/jun/26/country-diary-five-fledgling-robins-disappear-into-the-wild | Country diary: Five fledgling robins disappear into the wild | Kate Bradbury | There are few songbirds in my neighbourhood, thanks to a deadly cocktail of plastic and paving, climate change and high numbers of predators. There’s little natural food, but adaptable species make do – crows moisten bread and meat in my bird bath, squirrels are given peanuts. These species don’t just outcompete the smaller birds, they eat them too, taking chicks direct from the nest. It’s nature, of course, but the adaptability of the predators gives them an unfair advantage. Then there are the cats – it was cats that got the goldfinch chicks, just like the magpies got the robins and the squirrels raided the blackbird nest for three consecutive years. (Nature Girl, here, gets all the gruesome stories.) I feel the losses. Goldfinch numbers have halved since I moved in, the blackbird that sang from my roof is gone. I rarely see robins. This year I did see robins. I watched them courting, the female splaying her wings when she chose a nest site deep in the stems of my hop plant. I was ecstatic, but realised it wasn’t me they’d come to nest with, it was the dog, who isn’t keen on squirrels, cats and large birds in her territory. After apparently years of failed nest attempts, could Tosca bring them hope? I recorded the nest for the British Trust for Ornithology’s nest watch scheme, which involved taking photos of the nest when the adults were out of the garden. I found six eggs, and then five chicks. Suddenly nothing was more important. I filled bird baths and soaked mealworms, and left tablespoons of worms in piles around the garden. As the nestlings grew they became noisier, and so the dog and I moved outside. I bought a parasol for the table so I could work. We kept our distance, but remained on guard. Early one morning as I ate breakfast on the bench, all five tumbled out amid much peeping from the parents. We moved inside but watched from the window – one by one they disappeared into distant gardens. I don’t know how the chicks are now, how many escaped the attentions of predators. But I know I did my best for five little robins that fledged their nest. There may yet be more songbirds in my neighbourhood; I may yet see more robins. • Country diary is on Twitter at @gdncountrydiary | ['environment/series/country-diary', 'environment/birds', 'environment/environment', 'uk/ruralaffairs', 'uk/uk', 'environment/wildlife', 'lifeandstyle/gardens', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/kate-bradbury', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/wildlife | BIODIVERSITY | 2023-06-26T04:30:55Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2021/jun/03/whales-north-atlantic-shrinking-fishing-gear-entanglements-researchers | North Atlantic whales shrinking due to fishing gear entanglements | Whales in the North Atlantic are shrinking in size, researchers have found, with entanglements in fishing gear blamed for the steady decline in the length of the animals over recent generations. On average, a right whale born today is expected to reach a total length about a meter shorter than one born 40 years ago, according to the new study. This is an average decline in length of about 7% during this period. North Atlantic right whales are now typically less bulky, as well as shorter, than they once were, with some individuals experiencing extreme diminishment from previous norms. “There are some outliers that are around 3 meters shorter, which was really striking to see,” said Joshua Stewart, a marine researcher at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa). “I saw pictures of 10-year-old whales that are the size of two-year-old whales, which was shocking. These are really short, stunted whales,” Stewart added. Stewart, along with colleagues from Noaa, the New England Aquarium, Oregon State University and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, used a wealth of aerial images taken of whales from crewed aircraft and remote drones over the past 20 years to assess the lengths of the right whales. The researchers were able to closely track the growth of individual whales by identifying them from distinctive patterns on their heads. North Atlantic right whales are some of the most closely studied whales in the world, with only about 400 of the cetaceans left in the wild. The study, published in Current Biology, suggests that the whales are suffering long-term intergenerational damage from being snared in fishing nets and lines set to catch other species. The fishing gear saps the strength of the whales, preventing them from using their energy to pile on weight and length. The whales are also at risk of being hit by ships in busy North Atlantic shipping routes. “If you are dragging around fishing gear you have less energy for growth, it’s a pretty clear mechanism,” said Stewart, “If I strapped a sandbag on to you and asked you to walk around a lot, you’d get skinny pretty quickly. For whales, this also means they may also produce smaller calves that have lower survival probabilities. We are seeing a long-term decline in their size.” The species gets its name as it was the “right whale” to target for whalers due to their slow speeds and penchant for casually feeding upon plankton at the ocean surface. The whale hunts may have now ended but the whales are suffering from other manmade threats in the Atlantic, such as ship strikes and entanglements, while the heating-up of the ocean is making their prey harder to find. Last year, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature announced the species was just one step from extinction, shifting its classification from “endangered” to “critically endangered”. According to the IUCN, of the 30 deaths or serious injuries to North Atlantic right whales recorded between 2012 and 2016, 26 were caused by fishing gear entanglement. The fishing industry has raised concerns over the cost of upgrading gear to avoid right whale entanglements but scientists say immediate action is required to avoid the species being completely wiped out. “Implementing proven solutions such as reduced vessel speeds, lower breaking strength ropes and ropeless fishing gear more broadly throughout their range are critical and urgent steps needed to stave off the extinction of this species,” said Amy Knowlton, a co-author of the new study and a scientist at the New England Aquarium in Boston. | ['environment/whales', 'environment/environment', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/cetaceans', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/oliver-milman', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news'] | environment/cetaceans | BIODIVERSITY | 2021-06-03T15:00:13Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
news/2011/jan/31/weatherwatch-sea-norfolk-wind | The cold sea ushers in that bracing Norfolk wind | February is the coldest month around the coasts of Britain because the sea temperature is at its lowest. Even so it is still much warmer than inland, particularly at night, keeping frost at bay. Last week the sea temperature was still 10C in Cornwall. The current that carries this warm water from as far south as the Gulf of Mexico flows onwards to the Norwegian coast, warming the whole of the west coast of Britain on its way. The sea was still at 9C as far north as the Outer Hebrides and Orkney, similar temperatures to those in Benidorm and Corfu. On the east coast the sea was colder, only 7C off Lincolnshire. This will probably drop further by March. Sometimes the Norfolk coast has temperatures as low as 3C, hence the biting east wind the county is famous for, and why "Skegness is so bracing." However, the latest research indicates that all coastal areas in the United Kingdom are showing an increase in average sea temperatures since the 1960s. The steepest temperature rise has been in the last 20 years, more than 1C at 20 coastal stations around Britain. This will obviously have an effect in keeping the weather warmer all year round, but it is having a profound influence on what lives around the coasts. In the last 25 years, cold water species like cod have moved much further north and to deeper, cooler, waters, an average of 3.6 metres further down, with megrim and monkfish going even deeper. | ['news/series/weatherwatch', 'uk/weather', 'environment/sea-level', 'tone/features', 'type/article', 'profile/paulbrown', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2'] | news/series/weatherwatch | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2011-01-31T00:05:08Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
travel/2013/may/25/seattle-kinski-playlist | Seattle soundtrack: by Kinski | Melvins – Revolve Here's a secret. It doesn't always rain in Seattle. Between July and October there's nothing but sun. Lots of people in Seattle hate the sun. We burn easily, break out in hives, draw the blinds … That's why there is music like this, for those who run for the shady spot and can't wait for winter. (Lucy) The Fall-Outs – Zombie There used to be a lot of punk rock clubs in Seattle. Now most of them have turned into cocktail lounges where you can get small plates. To share. Punk rock does not need small plates. (Lucy) The Fastbacks – Impatience The peacock at the Woodland Park zoo in Seattle is really loud. Its call can be heard a mile away. The Fastbacks were loud too. They played a summer show at the zoo once. Not really – they played punk rock shows at punk rock clubs. Maybe they're afraid of the sun. (Lucy) Flop – Hello Flop is my favourite band from Seattle. I went to see them more than any other group and every show was a blast. Hooks, power, emotion and a beer-soaked irreverent attitude, they should have been huge. They are to me. (Chris) Silkworm – Slipstream Silkworm started in Montana, ended up in Chicago, but did my favourite stuff while they were in Seattle in the 1990s. I don't really think of them for individual songs but as an entire package. I picked their first single but it could have been any of their songs. They were a really polarising band: people either loved them or hated them. Seattle was busy praising a bunch of bullshit at the time. (Chris) Unnatural Helpers – Gettin' Classy I was in this band for a couple years and my good friend Dean is the mastermind. I didn't play on the album this song is from, their first. I was just a hired hand anyway (who didn't get paid). Awesome songs that are under two minutes, verse, chorus, done. One of the top live bands in Seattle nowadays. (Chris) Screaming Trees – Transfiguration Ellensburg is famous for its yearly rodeo and for Screaming Trees. They were the first band I ever saw in Seattle, as an east coast transplant in 1987. I have a vision of them on stage, Mark Lanegan flanked by the Conner brothers, and the incredible energy they exuded. What a memorable welcome to the Pacific Northwest. (Matthew) Mudhoney – In 'n' Out of Grace "We want to be free to ride our machines without being hassled by the man." What could possibly say road trip better than that? (Matthew) Beat Happening – Foggy Eyes My wife went to high school with Calvin [Johnson] in Olympia, WA, but I always preferred the songs that Heather [Lewis] sang. (Matthew) The Purdins – Plane Flying Over My Head Georgetown is in the south end of Seattle, near Boeing, so there are always planes screaming overhead. It's a lot more attractive nowadays, with loads of new bars and shops opening up every year. But in the early 1990s, it was still dingy and dirty, with only a few watering holes like the old Jules Maes Saloon. The kind of place that made you wish you had a switchblade. But the neighbourhood was one of the better places in town you could find cheap studio space. This song captures for me how moody and bummed out living through the endless Seattle winters can make you. But in a way that you actually like it. "There's a plane flying over my head I sure do wish I was on it. This winter's almost over, I can feel it getting warmer, I guess I might stay here after all." (Barrett) Heart – Crazy on You Everybody's heard this song. But it's so awesome, and sometimes reminds me of being a paperboy and delivering newspapers to Nancy Wilson's cool Interlaken estate. Sadly, I never caught a glimpse of the guitar rock queen. (Barrett) The Sonics – The Witch Hello, it's 1965. Such handsome lads, what college are they in? Oh, here, says they are from Tacoma, but this says it's recorded in neighbouring Seattle. Let's listen to "Here Are The Sonics". Oh, my ... it's distorted. Was this recorded in a garage? (Barrett) • Kinski's Cosy Moments was released in April 2013 on Kill Rock Stars. Lucy Atkinson (bass), Chris Martin (guitar/vocals), Matthew Reid Schwartz (guitar/keyboard), Barrett Wilke (drums) • For more information on holidays in the USA, visit DiscoverAmerica.com | ['travel/series/road-trips-usa-pacific-coast', 'travel/seattle', 'music/music', 'travel/usa', 'travel/northandcentralamerica', 'travel/travel', 'culture/culture', 'tone/features', 'travel/top10', 'type/article', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/travel', 'theguardian/travel/travel'] | travel/series/road-trips-usa-pacific-coast | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2013-05-24T23:10:00Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
commentisfree/2006/aug/02/post281 | Carbon-fuelled confidence | On Monday, by casting the only negative vote on a United Nations security council resolution imposing a deadline of August 31 on Iran to cease its uranium enrichment activities, Qatar underlined its independence and showed that it dared to defy the United States. This was a sharp contrast from the craven manner in which most Arab governments have reacted to the continued ferocious Israeli onslaught on Lebanon: by keeping quiet. In a sense, Qatar got even with Washington for the latter's blocking move at the security council. On July 13, Qatar's resolution, condemning the Israeli military assaults on Gaza and the Palestinian groups' firing of rockets at Israel and abduction of its soldiers, secured 10 votes with four abstentions. The United States vetoed it. Qatar's record at the security council stems partly from the character of its ruler, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, and partly from the fact that both America and Britain will start importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) by tankers from Qatar in 2008. Also the Pentagon needs the al-Udaid air base - built at a cost of $1bn by Qatar and used by the US during its invasion of Iraq - for future military operations in the region. However, last Monday's action was the latest in a string of independent decisions taken by Sheikh Hamad since he became the ruler in a bloodless coup against his father in 1995. Following the victory of Hamas in the parliamentary elections in the Palestinian territories in January, Sheikh Hamad criticised western governments for refusing to accept the democratic decision taken by Palestinians. "Challenging the choices of peoples will only result in fuelling the feelings of despair and generate waves of wrath," he told an international conference on Democracy and Development in the capital, Doha, in April. "Moreover, opposing the popular will contradicts the spirit of democratic option that calls for compliance with what the majority decides." Sheikh Hamad offered financial aid to the Hamas government through the Arab League. This has not yet reached the Palestinians because the regional banks, fearful of American penalties, have refused to handle the money. Qatar had its first local elections, based on universal franchise, in March 1999. Its constitution, ratified in a referendum in 2003, provides for a 45-member parliament, called the advisory council, with 30 elected members. It is authorised to approve the state budget and monitor the executive authority, which rests with the emir. Equally important is Article 48 of the constitution, assuring freedom of the press. In March 1998 Sheikh Hamad abolished the ministry of information, thus ending censorship of print and broadcast media. The state-owned news media entities became independent public institutions. The law widened the horizons of the most prominent Arab news source, al-Jazeera, which was established by the emir in 1996. With 40 million viewers in the Arab world, al-Jazeera has become a byword for independent reporting. It has angered not only the Pentagon, which bombed its bureaus in Kabul and Baghdad, but also all of the Arab governments at different times. Its English-language channel, called al-Jazeera International, is expected to start broadcasting in September. Women in Qatar are free to drive and wear jeans and blouses. You see them in bikinis at the beaches and swimming pools. Women have the same political rights as men, and in the first local elections more women voted than men. In 2003 a woman won a seat on the 29-member municipal council. The minister of education is a woman. The emir's wife, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser al-Misnad is the chairperson of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, which runs a vast complex called the Education City in Doha. As a public figure she appears at numerous functions and is photographed shaking hands with foreign dignitaries. The ultimate source of the extraordinary independence displayed by the ruler of Qatar, about half the size of Wales with a population of mere 800,000, is its colossal hydrocarbon treasure. The natural gas reserves of Qatar are next only to those of Russia, a super-continental country, and Iran, which is half the size of India. Little wonder that its economy grew by a staggering 29 % last year. In sum, in a world hungry for energy, hydrocarbon power is changing global diplomacy. | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'tone/comment', 'world/world', 'world/iran', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'world/middleeast', 'world/qatar', 'type/article', 'profile/diliphiro'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2006-08-02T15:40:14Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2014/oct/12/ecotrcity-legal-challenge-eu-hinkley-point-c-subsidy-nuclear | Ecotricity considers legal challenge over EU go-ahead for Hinkley Point C | Independent energy supplier Ecotricity is among companies and organisations considering a legal challenge against the European commission decision to give approval to Hinkley Point C nuclear plant. Austria has already promised to fight the decision in the courts but Dale Vince, the founder of Ecotricity, said he might stand as an “interested party” in the European court of justice to block the planned subsidy scheme for the £24bn project in Somerset. “This is a mad decision by Brussels and a patriotic issue for us. The financial support agreed for Hinkley would be an enormous burden for the country and there is the costs of decommissioning on top of that. Where is the money going to come from?” said Vince, whose company builds windfarms as well as supplying gas and electricity. Jeremy Leggett, who founded Solarcentury, also voiced his dismay. “The days when the nuclear industry could impose whatever tilted playing field it wanted on renewables are gone,” he said. “They are dealing with huge global industries now that last year put more generation capacity online globally than all fossil fuels and nuclear combined. These are not likely to soak up nuclear nonsense without a fight any more.” Ecotricity builds windfarms and Solacentury installs solar panels. Both are worried that the government has capped the amount of money being made available for low-carbon generators. They fear that nuclear will suck up most of the available money. Paul Dorfman, a senior research associate at the Energy Institute at University College, London, said there was a groundswell of opinion among renewable energy companies and associations in Britain and Europe that something should be done: “We are profoundly disappointed that the outgoing European commission administration has decided to rush through this decision to approve state aid to Hinkley Point C without giving the new commission the opportunity to review and reflect on a decision which will set a significant precedent on energy and competition policy. That this decision has been taken in undue haste only strengthens the grounds for and likely success of a legal challenge.” The commission announced last Wednesday that it was convinced by arguments from the UK government that the “contracts for difference” aid scheme was justified to encourage EDF of France to construct the new atomic plant. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has agreed that EDF will be able to obtain £92 per megawatt hour – double the current cost of energy – over a 35-year period. The money will be recovered via energy customers’ bills but the length of the contract is much more generous than anything agreed for wind or solar power. Ed Davey, the energy and climate change secretary, described the Brussels decision as an important step on the road to Britain’s first new nuclear power station and insisted it was a good deal for consumers. “While there is much work still to do before a final contract can be signed, today’s announcement is a boost to our efforts to ensure Britain has secure, affordable low carbon electricity in the 2020s,” he said. DECC argues that rising gas and carbon prices will make nuclear power a future good bet for consumers at a time when old coal and atomic stations are coming off line owing to old age or other reasons. The decision to give the green light to Hinkley surprised many, as in January the European competition commissioner, Joaquín Almunia, who retires on 1 November, had earlier overseen a heavily critical report on the subsidy arrangements proposed by DECC. But he said he had changed his minds after making some changes to the original proposal. EDF says it can build Hinkley Point for £16bn. But the European commission says the cost by the time it is meant to become operational in 2023 is more likely to be £24bn. | ['environment/nuclearpower', 'business/energy-industry', 'world/european-commission', 'environment/energy', 'environment/environment', 'law/european-court-of-justice', 'law/law', 'world/eu', 'world/europe-news', 'world/world', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'business/business', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'profile/terrymacalister', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2014-10-12T14:14:35Z | true | ENERGY |
tv-and-radio/2023/sep/30/hooked-on-freddie-podcast-dolphin-amble-northumberland-wondery-case-63-season-2-julianne-moore-oscar-isaac-absolute-radio-15th-birthday | The week in audio: Hooked on Freddie; Case 63; Absolute Radio – review | Hooked on Freddie Wondery Case 63 (Gimlet, FortySixty and Mad Gene Media) | Spotify Absolute Radio | planetradio.co.uk Here’s a real-life cold-case story told by the people involved, with a host who goes back to a place they knew well when they were younger to uncover details of a possible miscarriage of justice. Sounds fairly run of the mill, you’re thinking. Nothing we haven’t heard before. Well, I’m here to inform you that Hooked on Freddie is different. Sure, it uses familiar true crime podcast techniques to tell its tale – but that tale is exceptional. In 1987 something truly special happened to Amble, a tired coastal town just north of Morpeth in Northumberland. A wild dolphin decided to visit. And to stay (there were a lot of salmon in Amble’s harbour). Locals were enchanted, schoolchildren called him Freddie, several people swam with him and tourists started arriving. One of these visitors was Alan Cooper, an animal rights activist from Manchester who became one of Freddie’s most constant in-water companions, and who appears in Hooked on Freddie. Another was Becky Milligan, a then rookie journalist, who is our host. (Her recordings from the time are included, and when she goes in the water to meet Freddie, she sounds a little nervous, understandably.) A third was Peter Bloom, owner of three trained dolphins that did tricks at Flamingo Land, a North Yorkshire theme park. He, too, appears throughout this six-part series. I’m not going to spoil the entire story but Cooper and Bloom don’t get on, then or now (Cooper is very against trained dolphins; Bloom thinks Cooper shouldn’t be messing with a wild one). One day in 1990, Cooper is in the North Sea, swimming with Freddie, as he did every weekend, when a boat approaches with people on it who seem to be observing them. Cooper thinks that one of them is Bloom. And soon afterwards, Cooper is accused by police of performing what used to be called an “unnatural act” on Freddie… You’re hooked too now, aren’t you? It sounds hilarious, right? Well, what makes Hooked on Freddie so great is that, actually, this story isn’t funny at all. Milligan takes Cooper’s prosecution and subsequent humiliation seriously, and shows us how his life is destroyed. She also lets Bloom give his side of the story. But she does this within the punchy setup of a true crime series, this seemingly slight narrative given status and warmth through great reporting and dramatic dynamics. Milligan’s script, written as though for a political scandal or a serial murder case, keeps Hooked on Freddie fun, but devastatingly human. Case 63, the excellent and hugely successful drama series is – be still my beating heart! – back for a second series. The first, adapted from the smash-hit Chilean podcast Caso 63, remains one of the best podcast dramas you’re likely to hear. Featuring Julianne Moore and Oscar Isaac, Case 63’s complicated Arrival/Interstellar-style plot in series one was gripping and exciting. Plus, the chemistry between Moore and Isaac was steeeeeamy. All this mixed with a fantastic use of audio: what initially seemed like conversational slip-ups were revealed to be deliberate and crucial to the plot and made you want to listen to the whole thing again, as soon as you’d finished it. And, actually, I would recommend that you relisten to the first series before you start the second – unless your memory is better than mine. Case 63: Season 2 begins exactly where series one finished (on a massive plot twist), in a bathroom at an airport, with Moore’s Beatrix Knight in a thoroughgoing, time-travelling pickle. We bang straight into the action and it’s breathless from here on in, as well as pleasingly reminiscent of season one. It’s not quite as good as the first series – there’s more on-the-nose explanation of time travel and what needs to be done to rescue the world – but you know the very best Doctor Who episodes, the ones with save-the-planet urgency and mind-boggling time slippage and scary memory erasion and, yes, love? Case 63 has all of these things, but makes them grownup and sexy. Absolute Radio was 15 in September, which may not seem a big deal to those who don’t listen (or, indeed, to those who do), but is a highly creditable achievement. It’s hard to ensure a commercial station has a brand that’s strong enough to register with the public but also move with the times, and Absolute has managed it – partly through its radical idea of creating stations for particular eras. Absolute and its spin-off stations 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s and 10s all have the same presenters for the headline shows but play different songs: a technically tricky idea that has worked very well. A few birthday shoutouts: first up, weekday breakfast show host Dave Berry. Listening to his show over the past couple of weeks has been a delight: Berry manages to bring in the listeners without in any way belittling them. His interviews with famous people are flat-out hilarious; the features are funny and imaginative (there’s an enormous Absolute birthday card now travelling round the country for listeners to sign); and the whole show, even though it features an on-air “crew”, doesn’t feel like anyone’s shouting at you or excluding you from their club. I laughed out loud when he read out a text sent by mistake to the show: “Cheese carrots shepherds pie mix onion pasta sauce… you might want to resend that text to the person who needs it.” Aside from Berry, weekend presenters such as Alex Kapranos, Skin (from Skunk Anansie) and Tim Burgess give credibility; and Frank Skinner hosts a whimsical Saturday morning show too. Commercial radio often causes a sniffy reaction among reviewers: Absolute shows that it’s just snobbery. | ['tv-and-radio/podcasts', 'culture/radio', 'tv-and-radio/series/miranda-sawyer-on-podcasts-and-radio', 'culture/culture', 'environment/dolphins', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/marine-life', 'film/juliannemoore', 'film/oscar-isaac', 'film/film', 'type/article', 'tone/reviews', 'profile/mirandasawyer', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/new-review', 'theobserver/new-review/critics', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/observer-new-review'] | environment/marine-life | BIODIVERSITY | 2023-09-30T16:00:19Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2018/aug/08/first-uk-grown-chia-seeds-to-go-on-sale-this-week | First UK-grown chia seeds to go on sale this week | The first UK-grown chia seeds go on sale this week, as demand for the plant native to the Americas is fuelled by the explosion in the popularity of plant-based diets. The company Hodmedod, pioneers of British-grown pulses, grains and seeds, has been working with farmers Peter and Andrew Fairs, of Great Tey in Essex, to bring the new British crop to market. Chia has become increasingly popular in the UK in recent years. The tiny dark oil-rich seeds can be sprinkled on cereals and in salads, incorporated into bread doughs or used to thicken smoothies, soups or stews. Their nutritional profile and versatility has led to them being dubbed a “superfood”. “We are delighted to be able to offer British-grown chia seeds as another step in our mission to increase the diversity of both British farming and British diets.” said Nick Saltmarsh, co-founder of Hodmedod. The company is aiming to reintroduce British-grown beans, peas and pulses and has worked with chefs and restaurateurs such as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Yotem Ottolenghi, Jamie Oliver and Mark Hix. Chia seeds are harvested from the Salvia hispanica plant, a member of the mint family originating in central America, where – alongside beans and corn – chia was a staple food in Aztec cultures. Once imported from South America, large volumes are now typically shipped to the UK from Australia and Africa. Salvia hispanica was previously thought not to grow to maturity in the UK climate but the Fairs have selected a strain that has ripened and yielded well on their Essex farm. They already grow a range of crops not usually seen in Britain, including quinoa, camelina and naked barley. “We believe we have successfully harvested the first commercial crop of chia seed in the UK” said Peter Fairs. “The crop received no pesticides and both yield and quality far exceeded our expectations – and the bumblebees loved it too.” The first harvest of chia seeds is available to buy in 200g retail packs at £2.49 from Hodmedod’s website and some independent retailers. Supermarkets say demand for high protein foods has been boosted by the popularity of flexitarianism, with more and more consumers choosing to reduce their consumption of meat. | ['environment/ethical-living', 'business/fooddrinks', 'food/food', 'environment/farming', 'environment/environment', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'uk/uk', 'environment/food', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/rebeccasmithers', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/farming | BIODIVERSITY | 2018-08-08T05:30:12Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
politics/2021/oct/15/uk-public-warms-to-road-pricing-fuel-duty-replacement-considered | UK public warms to road pricing as fuel duty replacement considered | Road pricing is seen as a fairer possible system to raise revenue than fuel duty and motoring taxes, thinktank research has found. The switch to electric cars means almost £30bn in fuel duty raised annually for the Treasury will need to be replaced, but politicians have shied away from introducing road pricing as an alternative. Polling for the Social Market Foundation, however, suggests that the conventional political wisdom that voters are opposed to road pricing no longer holds true. Its research found that almost four in 10 people (38%) back road pricing to replace fuel duty and other taxes, with just over a quarter opposed (26%). The rest were open to persuasion, the SMF said, and shared a strong public perception that fuel duty was a heavier burden than other taxes. Fuel duty is 58p per litre of petrol or diesel in the UK. The rate has been frozen by successive Conservative chancellors for more than a decade after becoming a politically sensitive issue after protests. The government has banned the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles from 2030, making reform of taxes an urgent question for the Treasury. Last month, sales of battery electric cars reached a record 33,000, about 15% of all new vehicles sold in the UK in September, including almost 7,000 Tesla Model 3s. But they remain a small fraction, however: between 1% and 2% of all cars on UK roads. The SMF – whose research was conducted before the recent fuel crisis, when shortages of fuel at the pumps contributed to accelerating demand for electric cars – said the comparative openness to road pricing should encourage moves to find a new approach. The research director, Scott Corfe, said: “For too long politicians have thought of reforming motoring taxes as grasping the nettle, fearful that a backlash from drivers will hit them at the polls. “In reality, the public want to see a better, fairer system of how the UK taxes drivers. Our research shows that road pricing, often perceived as politically poisonous, is seen as a preferential option compared to our existing tax regime.” Only a few toll roads exist in Britain, while the London congestion charge has not yet been replicated elsewhere since its introduction more than 20 years ago. The ultra-low emission zone in London expands to cover the areas up to the north and south circular roads on 25 October. Drivers whose vehicles exceed emissions standards must pay a daily charge to drive inside the zone. Researchers found that the public remained suspicious of – and more opposed to – any system that would charge drivers by tracking their road use via a mobile app or black box. Thinktanks have for some years urged governments to tackle the issue, while recognising that fuel duty remains the easiest way to tax motoring. The RAC Foundation has proposed a gradual move towards a charge based on distance travelled. The winner of the 2017 Wolfson Prize was a proposal for a pay-per-mile road pricing scheme, with the revenue to be collected via insurers. The transport select committee will hold a hearing into road pricing next week, in time for Rishi Sunak’s budget on 27 October. | ['politics/fuel-duty', 'world/road-transport', 'environment/electric-cars', 'money/petrol-prices', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'business/business', 'money/motoring', 'technology/motoring', 'politics/politics', 'politics/taxandspending', 'money/tax', 'technology/technology', 'environment/travel-and-transport', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/gwyntopham', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business'] | environment/carbon-emissions | EMISSIONS | 2021-10-15T12:28:16Z | true | EMISSIONS |
environment/2015/oct/22/europe-failing-to-clamp-down-on-illegal-logging-report-warns | Europe failing to clamp down on illegal logging, report warns | A European bid to clamp down on the $100bn-a-year global trade in illegal timber has been poorly designed, badly managed and largely ineffective, according to a damning report by the EU’s court of auditors. Illegal logging is thought to be responsible for around one-fifth of man-made greenhouse gas emissions – more than from all the world’s ships, planes, trains and cars combined. It is also an existential threat to forest-dependent indigenous people, and to biodiversity. But 12 years after launching an action plan to end the trade, results from the EU’s €300m aid programme to 35 partner countries have been “meagre” according to the auditors’ report, with problems at the demand and supply ends of the trade chain. Four EU countries - Greece, Spain, Hungary and Romania - have still not implemented an EU timber regulation proposed five years ago, allowing an easy passage to market for the fruits of deforestation. “As the chain of control is only as strong as its weakest link in the single market, illegal timber could still be imported into the EU via these four countries,” Karel Pinxten, one of the auditors of the report, said. “The EU should put its house in order.” “The EU cannot continue to allow illegal wood in its market while pushing other countries to thoroughly address the problem,” added WWF’s senior forestry policy officer, Anke Schulmeister. Interpol estimates that illegal logging is responsible for up to 30% of all global forestry production. Penalties for wood trafficking across the EU vary though, from €7,500 in Bulgaria to €5m in the Czech Republic and an unlimited sum in the UK. On the supply side, part of the problem rests with a poor prioritisation of aid, the auditors say. Liberia received €11.9m to tackle illegal logging, when its yearly wood exports to the EU only averaged €5m. The commission says the funding was needed as illegal logging has been used to fund Liberian militias. The Central African Republic similarly received €6.8m, when it exported just €18m of timber to the EU. “If you compare these amounts there is something surreal about it,” Pinxten said. “The imbalance between the amounts spent and imported from these countries is amazing.” Despite the sums of money involved, the commission did not develop criteria to assess the scale of illegal logging in partner countries, their commitment and potential to act, or their trade importance. Poor monitoring, licencing and delivery procedures led to the failure of a number of projects, including a €2.27m timber tracking system in Cameroon. A European commission reply in the report says: “The commission recognises the need to develop more specific objectives, milestones and a common roadmap as well as the need to more systematically monitor ... implementation. The recommendations of the ongoing evaluation will certainly help in this effort.” | ['environment/deforestation', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/environment', 'environment/forests', 'world/eu', 'world/europe-news', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/arthurneslen'] | environment/deforestation | BIODIVERSITY | 2015-10-22T08:19:46Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
society/2021/dec/22/microplastics-may-be-linked-to-inflammatory-bowel-disease-study-finds | Microplastics may be linked to inflammatory bowel disease, study finds | People with inflammatory bowel disease have 50% more microplastics in their faeces, a study has revealed. Previous research has shown that microplastics can cause intestinal inflammation and other gut problems in laboratory animals, but the research is the first to investigate potential effects on humans. The scientists found 42 microplastic pieces per gram in dried samples from people with IBD and 28 pieces in those from healthy people. The concentration of microplastics was also higher for those with more severe IBD, suggesting a connection between the two. However, the study does not prove a causal link, and the scientists said further research must be done. It may be that IBD causes people to retain more microplastics in their guts, for example. Microplastic pollution has contaminated the entire planet, from the summit of Mount Everest to the deepest oceans. People were already known to consume the tiny particles via food and water as well as breathing them in. Microplastics are known to harm wildlife but very little is known about their impact on people’s health, although a study published earlier in December found they damaged human cells in the laboratory. The study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, analysed samples from 50 healthy people and 52 people with IBD, but otherwise healthy. The participants were from across China and also completed a questionnaire including information on their dietary and drinking habits in the previous year. As well as the link to IBD, the scientists found that people who tended to drink bottled water or eat takeaway food had about double the concentration of microplastics in their stools. In total, 15 different types of plastic were found among the microplastics. The most common were PET, used on water bottles and food containers and polyamide, which is also found in food packaging. The level of microplastics in the faeces was similar to those in the few previous studies conducted, once differences in methodology are taken into account. One study found infants had more microplastics than adults in their faeces. This may be due to infants chewing plastic items or use of milk bottles which are known to shed millions of microplastics. Diet and environmental factors can trigger or exacerbate IBD, which includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. “In recent years, the prevalence of IBD has sharply increased in developing countries in Asia,” said the researchers from Nanjing University in China. “It is estimated that there will be 1.5 million IBD patients in China by 2025 which will cause a serious disease burden.” “This study provides evidence that we are indeed ingesting microplastics,” said Evangelos Danopoulos at Hull York Medical school in the UK, who was not part of the study team. “It is an important study, as it widens the evidence base for human exposures. More data about possible confounding factors is needed to build a causal association to specific human health conditions.” | ['society/health', 'environment/plastic', 'environment/pollution', 'environment/environment', 'society/society', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/damiancarrington', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2021-12-22T13:00:26Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
world/2014/apr/27/tornado-threat-storms-warning-fema-us | Fema warns of storm and tornado threat to central US states | The Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) said on Sunday it was “following the threat of storms and tornadoes today for the central US”. The agency used Twitter to broadcast a number of “tornado facts”, including “a safe room or storm shelter offer the best protection from a tornado” and “the 2nd best protection is to curl up and take cover inside a windowless room on the lowest level of a sturdy building”. Forecasters warned residents in many Midwestern and southern states to be alert as the threat of severe weather and tornadoes intensified. The risk of tornadoes will rise throughout the day, centered in an area stretching from Omaha, Nebraska to northern Louisiana, the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, said. Some twisters could be particularly strong in the late afternoon and evening. "The greatest risk for a few intense tornadoes will exist across much of Arkansas perhaps into western and central Missouri," a weather service advisory said, noting the Delta region of northwestern Mississippi also could be affected late in the day. A strong storm moved through west central Missouri on Sunday afternoon. Tornado watches – which means twisters could develop but aren't an immediate threat – were widespread in the plains states on Sunday, targeting an area from north central and eastern Kansas, western and central Missouri and central Nebraska and southern Iowa. Even if tornadoes don't form, some areas could see hail and high winds, forecasters said, warning the hail could be as big as baseballs and wind gusts could reach hurricane-force – 75mph or higher. Severe thunderstorms will move into Arkansas, southern Missouri, eastern Oklahoma and extreme northeast Texas on Sunday afternoon into Sunday evening. The greatest risk of tornadoes developing will be centered in Arkansas. To the southeast, northern Louisiana and Mississippi were bracing for severe storms along with the possibility of flash flooding. The predictions prompted Barksdale Air Force Base near Bossier City, Louisiana to cancel its air show on Sunday. The NWS said northern Alabama could see rain and flash flooding, while central and northern Georgia could see storms and heavy rain. Runners in Oklahoma City took shelter early on Sunday as hail and high winds delayed the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon by 105 minutes, to let a severe thunderstorm pass through. Race organisers had arranged for three shelters to be used along the 26.2-mile route, but when the storm came early, downtown businesses opened their doors for the runners. | ['world/natural-disasters', 'world/tornadoes', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news'] | world/tornadoes | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2014-04-27T18:48:19Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2019/jun/05/olay-becomes-first-major-skincare-brand-to-trial-refillable-packs | Olay becomes first major skincare brand to trial refillable packs | Olay has become the first major global skincare brand to test refillable packaging in an attempt to reduce plastic waste. The brand, owned by the consumer goods company Procter & Gamble, will sell each jar of its Regenerist Whip moisturiser with a recyclable refill pod that can be placed inside the container. They will be sold and shipped in a container made of recycled paper rather than cardboard, and without a cellophane wrapping. The three-month trial, which will start in the US and the UK in October, was announced in the same week that Waitrose unveiled a trial that aims to encourage shoppers to ditch unnecessary packaging. The supermarket will provide dispensers of products for customers to refill their own containers and sell loose fruit and vegetables without plastic wrapping and boxes. Anitra Marsh, Procter & Gamble’s associate director of brand communications, said: “The ultimate goal is to find and adopt many more sustainable packaging solutions, and the refillable package is the first step of that journey. It’s important for us to get it right because only then can we bring this concept to market at scale.” Much of the waste in skincare was the result of consumers buying products they did not use, she said. “We call this ‘the skincare graveyard’, which often goes to landfill. If we can get each woman or man the right regimen for his or her specific skincare needs, we will also reduce the amount of waste.” Product refills in the beauty sector have so far been driven by luxury and niche brands, including Rituals for body cream and L’Occitane for body cleanser. On the high street, Lush is expanding its range of solid shampoos and skincare, including facial oils, cleansing balms and an eye mask, without the excessive plastic packaging that comes with the usual “cleanse, tone, moisturise” routine. | ['environment/plastic', 'fashion/skincare', 'environment/environment', 'business/proctergamble', 'business/business', 'fashion/beauty', 'fashion/fashion', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'uk/uk', 'us-news/us-news', 'environment/waste', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/rebeccasmithers', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/waste | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2019-06-05T17:01:53Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2024/jan/02/people-in-the-uk-have-you-been-affected-by-flooding-this-winter | People across the UK: have you been affected by flooding? | More than 200 flood alerts remain in England and Wales after torrential downpours from Storm Bert caused “devastating” flooding over the weekend and a major incident in Wales. Hundreds of homes were flooded, with roads turned into rivers and winds of up to 82mph recorded across parts of the UK. At least five deaths have been reported in England and Wales since the storm hit. Have you been affected by recent flooding? How are you coping? Do you have any concerns? We would like to hear about your experiences. Though we’d like to hear from you, your safety and security are most important. When recording, or sharing your content with us, please put your welfare and the welfare of others first. Extreme weather events can be very unpredictable and carry very real risks. | ['environment/flooding', 'world/extreme-weather', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/callout', 'campaign/callout/uk-callout-flooding-sept-2024', 'profile/guardian-community-team', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-communities-and-social'] | campaign/callout/uk-callout-flooding-sept-2024 | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2024-11-25T08:57:36Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
world/2019/dec/16/beyond-barmy-irish-rail-bans-reusable-cups-over-burning-fears | 'Beyond barmy': Irish Rail bans reusable cups over burning fears | Irish Rail bills itself as part of a solution to the climate crisis and pollution, saying clean transport can help avert global warming, rising sea levels and famine. But don’t try using your own reusable coffee cup on one of its trains. Ireland’s national railway network has banned passengers from using their own cups, citing safety concerns. “The reasons that we cannot permit [reusable cups] is because all sizes do not fit under the spout and also closing mechanisms can vary,” the company tweeted on Monday. Different sized cups, it said, could lead to catering staff being burned. The statement followed complaints from passengers that Irish Rail staff did fill reusable cups but only after first pouring the tea or coffee into disposable cups, which were then discarded, a story first reported by the Irish Times. “I watched incredulously one morning as the assistant made a coffee in the disposable cup, poured it into my reusable one and then binned the disposable cup. It’s beyond barmy,” tweeted Calvin Jones. Another passenger tweeted: “They literally took my money, filled up my cup with tea and then threw the paper cup in the bin UNUSED.....I give up.” The company said the Belfast to Dublin route is trialling direct pouring into a reusable cup – as long as it’s one of the company’s branded cups sold onboard. Irish Rail also said it had moved to 100% recyclable cups but, challenged on Twitter, conceded that such cups tended to not actually be recycled. “It is not that we don’t bother recycling them. It’s that they are currently not widely recycled in Ireland.” Peter Kavanagh, a Green party councillor in Dublin, scorned the policy. “Our cups are 100% recyclable, but not in this country and we won’t be recycling them. We just throw them in the rubbish. Please congratulate us now.” | ['world/ireland', 'environment/recycling', 'environment/waste', 'environment/ethical-living', 'world/rail-transport', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/rorycarroll', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-foreign'] | environment/recycling | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2019-12-16T12:16:52Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2023/jan/14/endangered-orcas-forever-chemicals-4np-canada | High levels of ‘forever chemical’ found in endangered orcas in Canada | Canadian researchers have discovered high levels of a “forever chemical”, used in making toilet paper, in the bodies of endangered killer whales, sparking fears the toxic substance could further harm them. Researchers in British Columbia announced they had discovered the chemical 4-nonylphenol, or 4NP, in the 12 killer whales they studied. 4NP is often used in pulp and paper processing but is also found in soap, detergents and textile processing. The chemical can enter the ocean from waste treatment plants or industrial runoff. Because killer whales, or orcas, sit atop the food chain, they often ingest smaller organisms tainted with the chemical – a phenomenon known as biomagnification, making orcas among the most contaminated cetaceans in the world. As part of the study, researchers sampled the skeletal muscle and liver of orcas living along the south-western coast of British Columbia. Of particular interest were the southern resident ecotype of killer whales, a whale that has been threatened by dwindling food supply, increased marine traffic, warming waters and chemical pollution. “This research is a wake-up call. Southern residents are an endangered population and it could be that contaminants are contributing to their population decline. We can’t wait to protect this species,” co-author Dr Juan José Alava said in a news release from the University of British Columbia. With little study into its effects on marine mammals, 4NP is known as a “contaminant of emerging concern”. In their paper, the scientists cautioned that “too few” killer whales have been screened for the toxic chemicals to infer the scope of contamination. But experts nonetheless worry high concentrations of 4NP, similar to those found in the studied whales, can interact with the nervous system and influence cognitive function as well as affect hormone levels and make the whales more susceptible to illness. Among the other chemicals found in the whales were those categorized as persistent organic pollutants – substances that are harmful to marine life and are widely found in food packaging materials and cookware. Researchers also studied the transfer of pollutants from mother to fetus in one pair of southern resident killer whales, finding most of the pollutants were transferred in the womb and that nearly 95% of 4NP was transferred from mother to fetus. | ['environment/series/seascape-the-state-of-our-oceans', 'environment/environment', 'environment/cetaceans', 'environment/pfas', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/wildlife', 'type/article', 'profile/leyland-cecco', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-foreign'] | environment/wildlife | BIODIVERSITY | 2023-01-14T08:00:03Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2020/sep/19/shocking-wilderness-the-size-of-mexico-lost-worldwide-in-just-13-years-study-finds | 'Shocking': wilderness the size of Mexico lost worldwide in just 13 years, study finds | Wilderness across the planet is disappearing on a huge scale, according to a new study that found human activities had converted an area the size of Mexico from virtually intact natural landscapes to heavily modified ones in just 13 years. The loss of 1.9m square kilometres (735,000 sq miles) of intact ecosystems would have “profound implications” for the planet’s biodiversity, the study’s authors said. Using mostly satellite imagery, 17 scientists across six countries examined the human footprint across the globe and how it had changed between 2000 and 2013. Almost 20% of the earth’s surface had deteriorated, the study found, while human pressure had eased on only six per cent of the planet. Russia, Canada, Brazil, and Australia held the largest intact areas, together responsible for 60% of the world’s most untouched places. Some 1.1m sq km (425,000 sq miles) of wilderness identified from imagery in 2000 had some human impact 13 years later. Tropical savannahs and grasslands lost the most area to human pressure, the study, published in the journal One Earth, found. Lead researcher Brooke Williams, of the University of Queensland, told the Guardian: “We were expecting there to be high levels of intact ecosystem and wilderness loss, but the results were shocking. “We found substantial area of intact ecosystems had been lost in just 13 years – nearly two million square kilometres – which is terrifying to think about. Our findings show that human pressure is extending ever further into the last ecologically intact and wilderness areas.” Rainforests in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea that were both rich with species had lost large areas to human activities. Conversion of habitats to cash crops, including palm oil, was a big contributor to the losses. The study did not try to identify the cause of the losses, but Williams said the direct clearing of landscapes for farming was a known major driver. Co-author Prof James Watson, also of the University of Queensland and the global conservation group the Wildlife Conservation Society, said: ‘The data does not lie. Humanity keeps on shrinking the amount of land that other species need to survive.” “In a time of rapid climate change, we need to proactively secure the last intact ecosystems on the planet, as these are critical in the fight to stop extinction and halt climate change,” Watson said. Looking across 221 nation states, only 26 had at least half of their land intact, the study found. In 2013, 41% of the world’s surface was either wilderness or was mostly intact. Williams, who is also a conservationist at the Wildlife Conservation Society, said the losses undermined efforts to mitigate climate change because intact lands acted as storage spaces for carbon dioxide. She said: “Proactively protecting Earth’s intact ecosystems is humanity’s best mechanism for protecting against climate change, ensuring large-scale ecological and evolutionary processes persist, and safeguarding biological diversity into the future.” The paper’s authors write: “Halting the loss of intact ecosystems cannot be achieved alongside current trajectories of development, population growth, and resource consumption.” Prof Bill Laurance, the director of James Cook University’s centre for tropical environmental and sustainability science in Queensland, who was not involved in the study, said its findings were scary. “Humans are trashing much of the planet – no doubt about that,” he said. “The tropics are under particular pressure, and it’s not just forest destruction but also the loss of other habitat types, such as tropical savannahs and native grasslands, that are occurring apace.” He said it was notable that tropical grasslands were heavily impacted because these were more easily converted to pasture or farmland. Declines in rainforests in south-east Asia were also “among the biologically richest ecosystems on Earth”. One example, he said, was the rainforests of Sumatra that were home to critically endangered species of orangutan, as well as tigers, elephants and rhinos. That country’s forests were either gone or being devastated. He said: “If we don’t halt such changes, we’re going to see the continued rapid disruption and loss of Earth’s ecosystems, including the biologically richest habitats on the planet. And along with that will be continued declines in the quality of life for people.” The study comes after research earlier this week found that protected areas around the world, such as national parks and world heritage areas, were becoming isolated. Only about 10% of the world’s protected areas were connected to similar habitats outside their borders. The research, in the journal Nature Climate Change, warned that as the globe warmed, species would look to move. But if protected areas were isolated, those species would have nowhere to go. | ['environment/environment', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/endangered-habitats', 'environment/wildlife', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/graham-readfearn', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/endangered-habitats | BIODIVERSITY | 2020-09-18T15:00:50Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2021/nov/11/blow-to-uk-battery-industry-hopes-as-johnson-matthey-halts-research | Blow to UK battery industry hopes as Johnson Matthey halts research | Britain’s hopes to grab a slice of the fast-growing market for electric vehicle batteries have been dealt a blow after one of the UK’s biggest chemicals companies said it would give up on developing the technology. Johnson Matthey, a member of the FTSE 100, announced plans on Thursday to exit the battery materials business because it is too far behind rivals who are already making batteries at gigantic scale. The shares plunged 17% on Thursday to their lowest level since December, wiping more than £900m off the company’s market value as it also announced that the chief executive would step aside. To add to its difficulties, supply chain shortages hitting the automotive industry mean that profits will be at the lower end of expectations. Johnson Matthey makes most of its money from producing catalytic converters to clean exhaust emissions from petrol and diesel cars. However, impending bans on internal combustion engines in the UK and around the world have forced the company and many other suppliers to find new ways of making money. Developing lithium-ion batteries with carefully fine-tuned chemistries seemed an obvious choice, and the company had been on track to start building a new factory in Finland to build as many as 300,000 automotive batteries a year. It could now be forced to write down £340m in assets in that business, which employs 430 people. It will attempt to sell all or parts of the unit, although it noted it had found the required investments too expensive to compete with rivals. Johnson Matthey’s decision will also alarm the broader UK industry. Establishing a supply of batteries from the UK or EU is seen as vital to replacing 90,000 British car industry jobs reliant on internal combustion. “From a UK perspective it’s not good news,” said one senior industry source. “We would like to have some champions here who know what they’re doing.” The battery industry is dominated by Asian companies such as China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and BYD, South Korea’s LG Chem and Samsung, and Japan’s Panasonic. Just eight Asian companies control 58% of global battery supply, according to Benchmark Minerals, a data company. Electric car projects involving Johnson Matthey have received at least £14.4m in British government funding, ranging from lithium air battery chemistry that could have increased energy density dramatically to working out how to power air conditioning without using waste heat from internal combustion engines. Johnson Matthey will instead focus its investment on projects involving hydrogen and decarbonising chemical production. That includes work on cathodes used in the electrolysers that break down water into “green” hydrogen, as well as other technology for producing “blue” hydrogen made from fossil fuel gas paired with mostly untested carbon capture and storage. The company’s hydrogen and decarbonisation were also at an early stage, wrote Charlie Bentley, an analyst at Jefferies, a US investment bank, in a note to clients. Johnson Matthey had an “EU diesel car catalyst franchise that is going to zero”, Bentley said. “Its ability to be a supplier to the automotive chain over the longer term remains a key long-term question for the business.” Robert MacLeod, Johnson Matthey’s chief executive, said: “While the testing of our eLNO battery materials with customers is going well, the marketplace is rapidly evolving with increasing commoditisation and lower returns. We have concluded that we will not achieve the returns necessary to justify further investment.” MacLeod’s retirement on Thursday means a strategic review of the whole business is likely. He will be replaced in March by Liam Condon, an executive at the German chemicals company Bayer. | ['environment/electric-cars', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'technology/motoring', 'technology/technology', 'environment/travel-and-transport', 'business/johnsonmatthey', 'business/manufacturing-sector', 'uk/uk', 'business/supply-chain-crisis', 'environment/carbon-capture-and-storage', 'environment/energy-storage', 'environment/hydrogen-power', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/jasper-jolly', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business'] | environment/carbon-emissions | EMISSIONS | 2021-11-11T13:45:59Z | true | EMISSIONS |
commentisfree/2022/apr/07/the-guardian-view-on-boris-johnsons-energy-strategy-missed-opportunities | The Guardian view on Boris Johnson’s energy strategy: missed opportunities | Editorial | A few weeks after the November Cop26 summit concluded in Glasgow, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy published a striking snapshot of public attitudes towards the climate emergency. It showed that popular support for renewable energy, including onshore wind farms, had reached record levels. Given a cost-of-living crunch caused by the rocketing price of fossil fuels, and the new priority of energy independence following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an imaginative and proactive government would move to harness this enthusiasm and seize the moment. Sadly, Britain is not blessed with such a government. The future energy strategy unveiled by Boris Johnson on Thursday instead carries some of the hallmarks of his flawed government: a prime ministerial penchant for grands projets that may or may not be deliverable; a tendency to be unduly influenced by vocal lobby groups on the right of the Conservative party; and a propensity to set targets without doing the necessary work to enable them to be met. The aspiration that 95% of the UK’s electricity should come from renewable sources by 2030 is admirable, and the commitment to hugely increase offshore wind and solar capacity is significant. But inexplicable lacunae and wrong priorities make this a tale of missed opportunities. The government has placed nuclear power at the heart of its approach, promising that as many as eight new reactors will be built. The realpolitik of meeting net zero targets means that nuclear, as a least worst option, should be part of the future energy mix. But the scale of Mr Johnson’s ambition represents a hugely expensive long-term gamble, the funding of which is conveniently buried somewhere in the long grass. According to the government’s own calculations, the journey from initial investment in a plant to the generation of electricity takes up to 17 years. Meanwhile, far faster routes to fulfilling net zero obligations and driving down spiralling fuel bills have been rejected or ignored. Four out of five members of the public support the use of onshore wind farms, which could be built quickly and cheaply if planning rules were eased. This was rumoured to be on the cards. But Mr Johnson has instead bowed to the nimby instincts of Tory MPs and ministers, whose views are at odds with the mood of the country, but who have the power to make life difficult in parliament. Limited consultations with some “supportive” communities will have next to no impact and a game-changing possibility has been lost. A golden chance to fund greater energy efficiency and better insulation in Britain’s leaky housing stock has also been missed, despite the relief this would afford the less well-off in particular. The Treasury’s apparent refusal to fund the expansion of an existing scheme to help poorer households is particularly callous, given the eye-watering bills that will drop on doormats next winter. But it is also emblematic of an administration that consistently fails to grasp the bigger picture. Promoting demand-side energy efficiency is fundamental in the drive to net zero, but the government must make the transition to green energy attractive, feasible and affordable if people are to take the plunge in their own homes. The public knows that radical action is needed to cope with long-term and short-term energy crises. This flawed strategy for the future demonstrates that the government has yet to find the courage to rise to the challenge. | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'environment/energy', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/environment', 'environment/windpower', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'politics/boris-johnson', 'politics/politics', 'politics/conservatives', 'business/energy-industry', 'environment/energyefficiency', 'type/article', 'tone/editorials', 'tone/comment', 'profile/editorial', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/opinion', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/windpower | ENERGY | 2022-04-07T17:47:18Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2015/jul/22/solar-power-subsidies-to-be-cut-under-plans-to-reduce-green-energy-costs | Solar power subsidies cut might save just 50p on average electricity bill | The government has unveiled plans to slash subsidies to solar power projects in an attempt to drive down annual household electricity bills, but later admitted it might save customers just 50p a year. Industry executives warned the latest attack on renewables would take Britain “back to the dark ages”, hitting jobs and investment while damaging David Cameron’s credibility on tackling climate change. Ministers have targeted larger solar installations of less than 5 megawatts – enough to power 2,500 homes – in a consultation on the early closure of the renewable obligation (RO) subsidy in April 2016. The government also announced a review of another subsidy, the feed-in tariff, to make further significant savings in a move that could threaten state support for solar panels on roof tops. In addition, ministers are to remove the guaranteed level of subsidy for coal or other fossil fuel power plants that switch to greener fuels such as biomass – generated by burning plants or wood pellets. The government says the move could save £500m a year from 2020 onwards. Amber Rudd, the energy and climate change secretary, said the aim overall was to bring costs under control and she denied it would chase away investment. She added: “My priorities are clear. We need to keep bills as low as possible for hardworking families and businesses while reducing our emissions in the most cost-effective way. “Our support has driven down the cost of renewable energy significantly. As costs continue to fall it becomes easier for parts of the renewables industry to survive without subsidies. We’re taking action to protect consumers, whilst protecting existing investment.” The government said its initial objective was to reduce a £1.5bn cost overrun in the amount of subsidies being paid to the renewable energy sector by 2020/21 but indicated that more measures would follow to slash costs. The cost overrun, it admitted, had been caused by a variety of factors including low power prices and larger than expected investment in solar and other “green energy” projects. But the planned cuts to subsidies for solar would only net between £40m and £100m by 2020, the equivalent of 50p to £1.20 a year off the average electricity bill, according to government background documents. The attack on solar follows government attempts to end onshore wind subsidies and speculation that widespread cuts of energy efficiency subsidies will come later this year. Michael Grubb, professor of international energy and climate change policy at University College London, said the announcement was a pivotal moment in UK energy policy that gave the impression of two different governments running the country’s energy policy. “One is ... pressing for strong international action on climate change, which signed an unambiguous cross-party pledge to phase out unabated coal, reiterated its carbon targets and which committed in its manifesto to deliver clean renewable energy as cost-effectively as possible. “The other is a government which has moved to prematurely end supports for the cheapest of the UK’s main renewable resources, which has injected fear and uncertainty into renewable energy investors and which seems set to also scrap energy efficiency programmes which have helped to cut consumer bills and avoided the need for billions of pounds of new fossil fuel investments.” Richard Kirkman, technical director of environmental services group Veolia UK expressed grave concern about the government plans, saying: “We appear to be entering another dark age where we will return to total fossil fuel reliance, power cuts, low confidence in UK investment, opening the door for fracking activities to maintain energy security.” Lord Oxburgh, a former chairman of the Shell, said ministers should remember the example of the North Sea oil industry, which took consistent Treasury aid to get off the ground. “If we’re serious about building a new, clean energy industry in the UK, including our unique offshore wind resource in the North Sea, that also needs stable, long-term support from government,” he said. Angus MacNeil MP, the SNP chair of the energy and climate change committee, said the proposals would evade scrutiny because they had been unveiled during the parliamentary recess. Rudd had hinted at her stance on renewable energy subsidies at a meeting of MacNeil’s committee on Tuesday. She argued onshore wind farms could be built in Britain without any kind of financial aid. | ['environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/solarpower', 'environment/energy', 'environment/environment', 'money/energy', 'money/consumer-affairs', 'money/household-bills', 'money/money', 'environment/windpower', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/terrymacalister', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3'] | environment/solarpower | ENERGY | 2015-07-22T15:40:56Z | true | ENERGY |
australia-news/article/2024/jun/15/offshore-windfarm-zone-off-illawarra-coast-given-green-light-in-bid-to-power-australias-clean-energy-future | Offshore windfarm zone off Illawarra coast given green light in bid to ‘power Australia’s clean energy future’ | The federal government has given the green light to an offshore windfarm zone south of Sydney, making it Australia’s fourth such zone to be declared. Announcing the project in the Illawarra on Saturday, the climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, said the move would bring thousands of new jobs and help “power Australia’s clean energy future”. The zone will be 20km from the coast and exclude areas significant for the little penguin and for southern right whale migration. It will cover an offshore area of 1,022 sq km – a one-third reduction from the original proposal – and has the potential to generate 2.9GW, or enough power for 1.8m homes. “The Illawarra has been an engine room of the Australian economy for generations, and now it’s ready to power Australia’s clean energy future,” Bowen said. “Declaring this offshore wind zone brings the Illawarra a step closer to becoming a major provider of the building blocks of the net zero transformation – green power, green hydrogen and green steel – along with thousands of new jobs.” Since last year, the proposal for a windfarm zone in the Illawarra and the declaration of a zone in New South Wales’s Hunter region has drawn fierce opposition, with some online groups sharing factually incorrect information about the windfarms. The Coalition has fanned opposition to the project, despite introducing legislation for the development of an offshore wind industry while in government. The federal Labor MP for Whitlam, Stephen Jones, said the declaration showed the government’s commitment to supporting local jobs and delivering cheaper and more reliable energy for Illawarra businesses and households. “We want Australia to be a global renewable energy superpower and regions such as the Illawarra have an important role to play in our nation’s energy transformation,” he said. The zone does not guarantee an offshore windfarm will go ahead, but is the first of five regulatory stages. The stages will include project-specific feasibility and commercial licences and an environmental assessment under national conservation laws. If an offshore windfarm does go ahead, the turbines could be up to 268 metres high. The government has said the size, arrangement and number of turbines will be determined after the prospective developer undertakes studies. The government views creating an offshore windfarm industry in Australia as key to helping the country replace ageing coal-fired power plants, and reaching its plan for the energy grid to be made up of 82% of renewable energy by the end of the decade. The federal Labor MP for Cunningham, Alison Byrnes, said she was pleased the zone had been amended to start further from the coast and exclude significant environmental areas. “[It’s a] sensible compromise that reflects the majority of community opinion while helping to achieve our shared goals of more renewable energy, more jobs and fewer emissions,” she said. “There is now an extensive process of studies and approvals that will be required but this is a positive step for a region that wants to secure its industrial future and power it using clean energy.” Many welcomed the development on Saturday. The Climate Council policy and advocacy head, Jennifer Rayner, said the Illawarra would continue to thrive for generations with affordable and clean energy being produced in the region. “Offshore wind will be an important part of Australia’s clean energy grid because it provides reliable, steady renewable energy right around the clock,” Rayner said. “This is one of the important ways we’ll power Australia as our ageing and unreliable coal-fired generators close. “The federal and state governments need to work together to rapidly break through roadblocks that are holding back the delivery of onshore wind projects already supported by communities and investors.” The University of Wollongong Energy Futures Network director, Ty Christopher, hailed the offshore wind project as a positive step for the region. “By working together as a community, sharing our concerns for the environment to codesign a clean energy future for the region, we have the ability to deliver positive outcomes for our oceans, our communities and our local economy,” he said. – with Australian Associated Press | ['australia-news/energy-australia', 'australia-news/new-south-wales', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/environment', 'environment/windpower', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'australia-news/australian-politics', 'campaign/email/afternoon-update', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/jordyn-beazley', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/renewableenergy | ENERGY | 2024-06-15T01:31:38Z | true | ENERGY |
world/2023/dec/07/flooding-rain-washington-oregon-atmospheric-river | Pacific north-west prepares to clean up after flooding and braces for more rain | Torrential rains that pummeled the Pacific north-west this week will begin to slow on Thursday, as the region examines the damage left in the wake of severe storms across Washington and Oregon. The atmospheric river systems brought heavy rain, flooding and unseasonably warm temperatures to the region, forcing closures of schools and roads as authorities rescued people from raging rivers and submerged streets. Officials reported the death of two men whose bodies were recovered from rushing waters. While the weather is expected to lighten temporarily, forecasters say more storms are on the way. “A brief reprieve from the fire hose is expected to set in today,” the National Weather Service posted on Thursday. Flood warnings and watches were set to expire even though light to moderate rainfall was forecast to continue into the weekend. In Washington, communities are still assessing the damage from the storms that shattered daily rainfall and temperature records in the state. Seattle, a city known for its cool misty days, broke its daily record high. Rainfall caused a landslide that forced Amtrak to halt all passenger trains running between Portland and Seattle. Parts of Highway 101 remained closed due to flooding. Atmospheric rivers, also known as the “Pineapple Express”, are storms named for the way moisture gathers in the Pacific near Hawaii before unleashing high precipitation when they make landfall. These storms are expected to be supercharged as the world warms. While more research is needed before scientists can conclude how certain weather events are connected to the climate crisis, researchers have warned that these systems will likely grow more intense. Already, storms like these have the potential to wreak havoc across the American west coast. Last year, California saw record storms that left destruction in their wake, and parts of the state are still recovering as another potentially wet winter looms large. Areas only just emerging from devastating drought conditions and the onslaught of wildfires in recent years have now had to prepare for rising waters and crumbling cliff sides. A man who was in a small boat with no oars was saved from a raging Skykomish River in Monroe, Washington, during a challenging nighttime rescue on Tuesday that involved 23 first responders, the Snohomish regional fire and rescue service said in a social media post. Firefighters threw him a rope from an overpass, but when he stood up to grab it, the swift current ripped the boat from under him and he was swept away by the river full of large tree debris. He was able to swim to shore and hold on to a tree on the riverbank as crews cut through bushes to reach him. On Monday, officials received reports of a person who appeared to be grasping a couch cushion floating down Johnson Creek in south-east Portland, the city’s fire and rescue spokesperson Rick Graves told reporters. Rescuers found the cushion, but not the person, he said. Hours later, a body was found. He was one of two reported fatalities; the other person’s body was recovered from submerged tree branches. Initial reports suggested that the man might have been camping near the creek or visiting the area to help people experiencing homelessness, Graves said. Unhoused communities are among the most at-risk during dangerous storms, often left to navigate overexposure to the extreme elements. More than 100 people live in the brush along Johnson Creek, Kristle Delihanty, founder of PDX Saints Love, told the Oregonian. Whenever severe rainstorms near the area, her non-profit, which offers aid to people living unsheltered, sends out weather alerts to clients, who spread the word that it is time to move to higher ground. “The message we try to get out to them is ‘I know you think it looks like it’s far away, but it’s not. It can come in the night when you’re sleeping and not aware,’” Delihanty said. “We try to explain the dangers of being in a zipped-up tent and trying to navigate yourself when the flooding comes up.” The Associated Press contributed reporting • This article was amended on 8 December 2023 to indicate that Johnson Creek is in south-east Portland, not in south-west Oregon. | ['world/extreme-weather', 'us-news/oregon', 'us-news/washington-state', 'us-news/portland', 'environment/flooding', 'us-news/us-news', 'campaign/email/us-morning-newsletter', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'us-news/west-coast', 'profile/gabrielle-canon', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/west-coast-news'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2023-12-07T20:38:56Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
news/2012/may/20/weatherwatch-birdwatching-swallows-folklore | Weatherwatch: When Swallows fly high, the weather will be dry | When the swallows fly high, the weather will be dry. This weather folklore rolls easily off the tongue and there is even some truth to it. In this case the swallows are not flying high to admire the view; instead they are chasing their next meal. On fine summers' days warm air rises upwards. Insects are also swept up in these bubbles of warmth, sometimes carried hundreds of metres aloft. And, since swallows eat insects, they have to fly higher on fine days to find their food. Conversely during unsettled and cold weather insects will seek the shelter of trees and buildings, so swallows have to swoop low to find them. So far this year the swallows haven't had to do much high-level flying. Thanks to a meandering jet stream (the high level band of westerly winds that brings much of the UK's weather) April and May have been pretty soggy affairs. At the end of March the jet stream meandered north around the UK, anchoring a high pressure system over us and bringing fine sunny days. But since April the jet stream has been turning south at the UK, allowing the low pressure systems, cloud and rain to come our way. Worse still, the winding nature of the jet stream means there is no strong west to east airflow to blow the weather systems through. Let's just hope the jet stream changes its tune soon, bringing us the kind of weather that will make the swallows fly high. | ['news/series/weatherwatch', 'uk/weather', 'uk/uk', 'tone/features', 'environment/birds', 'environment/birdwatching', 'type/article', 'profile/kate-ravilious', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2'] | news/series/weatherwatch | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2012-05-20T21:30:01Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2010/apr/22/climate-change-environment-debate-election | Labour, Conservatives and Lib Dems clash over environment policies | Important differences between the major parties on the environment emerged last night, as they clashed over nuclear power, windfarms, expanding flying, and the number of climate change sceptics in their ranks. Despite similar-sounding manifestos, Labour's climate and energy secretary, Ed Miliband, and his Conservative and Liberal Democrat shadow spokesmen attacked each other's policies at a special debate organised by the Guardian. On the Labour government's planned expansion of Heathrow airport – which is opposed by the other two parties – Tory spokesman, Greg Clark, was forced to deny his party wants to expand another airport in the south-east. It is an idea supported by at least one shadow cabinet colleague and the Tory London mayor, Boris Johnson. Speaking at the Guardian's special green hustings, Clark said: "We have no plans to build another runway in the south-east." Aviation critics, however, pointed out that this did not rule out increasing the use of a smaller airport such as Luton. While Labour and the Conservatives agreed on new nuclear power stations, Miliband accused the Lib Dems of "ducking" difficult issues, and asked their spokesman, Simon Hughes, to explain how his party would meet their pledge to cut electricity emissions without it. Hughes did not answer directly, but said instead that a key reason they could meet their energy targets was because they would do more to make homes and businesses energy efficient. Clark was also challenged to explain how the Conservatives could insist there would be no taxpayer subsidies for nuclear power, despite reports that new nuclear reactors could not be built and operated without pubic support. "We're very clear, we're not going to subsidise it," Clark said in response. Miliband and Hughes attacked the record of Conservative councils in opposing windfarms, but Clark said this was because "we have more councils, and they are more likely to be in rural areas where wind is built". Labour and the Conservatives disagreed on how the problem could be solved. It was a debate that went to the heart of a wider clash between the party manifestos, over whether the government needed to intervene more to deliver environmental improvements. Clark said there needed to be more incentives for local people to want wind power, such as the party's policy to let communities share in profits. Miliband challenged him to take on local councils, over wind power and other issues, such as insulation, adding: "It does require leadership. Of course we are in favour of [profit-sharing], but the question is: are you going to say to local authorities 'you have to be part of our plan', or not?" The most heated debate, was over claims many Conservatives are sceptical that climate change is caused mostly by humans and that the government needs to urgently tackle it. In the most high-profile case, Miliband claimed Tory culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, had responded to a question by saying "there are climate sceptics in all parties", implying that the shadow business secretary was one. | ['environment/climate-crisis', 'politics/edmiliband', 'environment/green-politics', 'politics/labour', 'politics/liberaldemocrats', 'politics/conservatives', 'environment/environment', 'politics/politics', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'profile/juliettejowit', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/topstories'] | environment/green-politics | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2010-04-22T00:09:31Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
news/2011/jul/17/weatherwatch-queen-victoria-cool | Weatherwatch: Queen Victoria's cooling system | Queen Victoria was frail and elderly in 1900, but insisted on organising the christening of her latest godson, Louis "Dickie" Mountbatten, on 17 July. The event was held in a specially converted drawing room in Frogmore House on the Windsor Castle estate. The day was extremely hot and the Queen, wearing her usual long, heavy black dress, would have been sweltering, However, she had thought of a way of cooling down. She had ordered that a bucket of ice should be placed under her own chair and the chairs of all the principal guests. The official christening picture, with the future Lord Mountbatten in the arms of his great-grandmother, does not reveal the icebuckets hidden under the long Victorian skirts, but they must have been effective because Queen and baby both look cool. It is easy to understand how a bucket of ice insulated by heavy skirts could have a cooling effect, but presumably the men, who were in formal attire, only got cold feet, since cold air does not rise. Another puzzle is where the ice came from, since refrigeration was still in its infancy. The most likely source is Windsor Castle's icehouse, built in 1670 and used for keeping the royal household's supply of fish, game, poultry, wine and butter cool for the summer. Vast supplies of ice were gathered in winter and kept in elaborate stores with triple sets of doors for insulation. On summer's grand occasions, ice sculptures were made to cool the air for guests. | ['news/series/weatherwatch', 'tone/features', 'uk/uk', 'uk/weather', 'uk-news/queen-victoria', 'type/article', 'profile/paulbrown', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2'] | news/series/weatherwatch | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2011-07-17T22:01:00Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
world/2018/feb/22/paris-car-free-right-bank-court-ruling-seine | Paris: legal challenge to car-free promenade by Seine | When pedestrians reclaimed a stretch of once traffic-clogged dual carriageway on Paris’s right bank a year-and-a-half ago, it was a symbol of the leftwing mayor’s anti-pollution fight to push cars out of the French capital. But a court ruling has raised the spectre of traffic potentially being forced back on to the newly popular, car-free promenade by the river Seine – the latest battle in the city’s ongoing “car-wars” between the left and right. The move to pedestrianise 3.3km (2 miles) of prime Paris riverside stretching from the Tuileries tunnel to the Henri IV bridge in autumn 2016 was met with approval from many Parisians and green groups but was furiously contested by rightwingers and car-owners. Several rightwing politicians and motorists’ groups went to court against it. A ruling this week found the pedestrianisation process had not followed correct procedure because an impact study was open to dispute. Refusing to countenance the riverside walkway and playgrounds being turned back into a dual carriageway, Paris’s Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo vowed to appeal and keep the pedestrianisation in place. She said of the opponents to the promenade: “For them, car traffic takes priority over public health: an urban motorway is worth more than a park in the centre of the city.” Hidalgo had made the pedestrianisation and “reconquest of the right bank of the Seine” a focal point in a battle against Paris’s serious problem of air pollution. After saying last month that there were 2,500 deaths a year in Paris linked to air pollution, she has promised to cut the number of private cars in French capital by half, eradicate diesel by 2024 and double the surface of cycle lanes by 2020. Christophe Najdovski, Paris’s Green deputy mayor in charge of transport, said: “Cars will not be back on the right bank of the Seine: not in the coming days, not in the coming weeks, not in the coming months.” But there will now be a legal battle for Paris city hall to protect the walkway. Before the pedestrianisation, 43,000 cars a day passed over the stretch of road on the Seine’s right bank, which used to close in summer for the annual Paris-Plages artificial beach project. Unlike London’s strategy to charge drivers to enter the city centre, Paris is focused on pushing out cars by limiting accessible roads and parking. But the bank of the Seine was always a political flashpoint. Rightwingers said the pedestrianisation would damage people who needed to drive to work from the suburbs. Those on the left pointed out that studies showed few of the drivers on that stretch of road were from Paris’s suburbs and the majority were high earners, with Paris-registered cars. The group 40 Million Motorists, which went to court against the pedestrianisation, said: “This is a first victory for road-users from Paris and the surrounding area, whose mobility had been jeopardised since this measure came into place and who hope that these roads will be quickly reopened.” Local politicians from the rightwing Les Républicains party hailed the court ruling, criticising what they called Paris city hall’s “lack of consultation, evaluation and coherence” and said the pedestrianisation had been forced through too fast. The row comes as the city is also under fire over a fiasco surrounding Paris’s rental bike scheme, Vélib, currently undergoing long delays and a dearth of bikes as management changes hands to the firm, Smovengo. | ['world/france', 'world/road-transport', 'world/europe-news', 'world/world', 'environment/pollution', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/angeliquechrisafis', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-foreign'] | environment/pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2018-02-22T17:14:32Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2024/mar/21/why-doctors-need-to-advocate-for-clean-air | Why doctors need to advocate for clean air | Letter | Re your article (UK doctors involved in climate protests face threat of being struck off, 16 March), the Medical Act 1983 defines the first objective of the General Medical Council as preventing ill health. The GMC document Good Medical Practice requires doctors to promote the health and safety of the public. Scientific evidence is that air pollution, largely from burning fossil fuels, is causing harm to the public, including heart attacks, strokes, lung cancer and dementia. The public expects doctors to provide candid information on risk. Breathing air polluted at UK levels is a risk. In the global burden of disease it is a greater risk factor for non-communicable diseases than obesity, inactivity, alcohol and passive smoking. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has clear guidance that doctors should inform families and patients of the risk of polluted air and support them to reduce that risk. Behavioural changes can help by using active travel on less polluted roads and avoiding wood burning stoves, but more powerful action is to lobby and vote for politicians to introduce changes and legislation that reduce the causes and promote solutions. The GMC would have more impact in its primary mission to protect public health by promoting guidance on the responsibility of doctors to follow science-based directives from their professional colleges and advocate for clean air, than to sanction the few, who, driven by moral distress, choose to break the law. Dr Heather Lambert Paediatrician, Newcastle upon Tyne, and Dr Mark Hayden Paediatrician, London • 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. | ['environment/activism', 'environment/environment', 'world/protest', 'society/doctors', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'type/article', 'tone/letters', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/activism | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2024-03-21T17:51:15Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
environment/2024/mar/19/red-alert-last-year-was-hottest-year-ever-by-wide-margin-says-un-report | ‘Red alert’: last year was hottest on record by clear margin, says UN report | The world has never been closer to breaching the 1.5C (2.7F) global heating limit, even if only temporarily, the United Nations’ weather agency has warned. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed on Tuesday that 2023 was the hottest year on record by a clear margin. In a report on the climate, it found that records were “once again broken, and in some cases smashed” for key indicators such as greenhouse gas pollution, surface temperatures, ocean heat and acidification, sea level rise, Antarctic sea ice cover and glacier retreat. Andrea Celeste Saulo, secretary general of the WMO, said the organisation was now “sounding the red alert to the world”. The report found temperatures near the surface of the earth were 1.45C higher last year than they were in the late 1800s, when people began to destroy nature at an industrial scale and burn large amounts of coal, oil and gas. The error margin of 0.12C in the temperature estimate is large enough that the earth may have already heated 1.5C. But this would not mean world leaders have broken the promise they made in Paris in 2015 to halt global heating to that level by the end of the century, scientists warn, because they measure global heating using a 30-year average rather than counting a spike in a single year. The report documented violent weather extremes – particularly heat – on every inhabited continent. Some of the weather events were made stronger or more likely by climate change, rapid attribution studies have shown. Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London who was not involved in the report, said: “If we do not stop burning fossil fuels, the climate will continue to warm, making life more dangerous, more unpredictable, and more expensive for billions of people on earth.” Climate scientists are divided on whether extreme temperatures seen at the start of 2024 represent an unexpected acceleration of the climate crisis. Some indicators, such as sea surface temperatures, have been unexpectedly high – even accounting for the return of the ocean-warming weather pattern El Niño – while other weather events have reached rare extremes sooner that thought. Andreas Fink, a meteorologist at Karlsruhe Institute for Technology who was not involved in the report, said: “In terms of temperatures, it can be stated that a year like 2023, although extreme, is already possible in climate simulations of the current human-heated climate. But not all extreme weather events can be simulated with the current climate models.” The WMO found “a glimmer of hope” in the growth of renewable energy. The amount of renewable capacity added in 2023 was almost 50% greater than the year before, the report found, bringing it to the highest rate observed in the past two decades. Simon Lewis, professor of global change science at University College London, said the state of the climate is an “accelerating crisis” for humanity. “This is, sadly, only the beginning of much worse impacts to come, given carbon emissions are still rising and there is continued massive new investment in extracting fossil fuels.” The report found that marine heatwaves seared one third of the world’s ocean on an average day in 2023, harming vital ecosystems and food systems. By the end of the year, just 10% of the ocean had escaped heatwave conditions. Climate change also worsened extreme weather events that left people hungry and forced them from their homes, even if it was not the main factor in their suffering. The number of people who are “acutely” food insecure has more than doubled since 2019 to 333 million people in 2023, the report found, concentrated in Africa and south Asia. The uneven impact of climate change is already making itself clearly felt, said Karsten Haustein, a climate scientist at the University of Leipzig who was not involved in the report. “The public debate, on the other hand, continues to pretend that the problems of the global south do not affect [the global north] – and that the consequences of climate change can somehow be overcome through technology.” | ['environment/climate-crisis', 'world/unitednations', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'environment/fossil-fuels', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'environment/paris-climate-agreement', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/ajit-niranjan', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/topstories', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/carbon-emissions | EMISSIONS | 2024-03-19T13:00:38Z | true | EMISSIONS |
technology/2022/oct/05/sonos-sub-mini-review-big-boom-upgrade-in-a-compact-box | Sonos Sub Mini review: big boom upgrade in a compact box | The Sonos Sub Mini is a more compact bass upgrade at a slightly more palatable price, adding big boom and greater range to the firm’s wifi speakers and soundbars. The Mini costs £429 ($429/A$699) and is for Sonos fans who want more bass for their movies and music but can’t stomach the £749 outlay for its big Gen 3 Sub. It isn’t as if the firm’s soundbars and smaller speakers lack punch on their own, but for home cinema aficionados, there’s nothing quite like the rumble of a sub in action-packed scenes. The Mini wirelessly pairs with any of Sonos’s speakers and soundbars, apart from the portable Roam and Move. But it is best used with the smaller Ray or Beam soundbars. The cylindrical speaker measures 23cm across and 30.5cm tall, which makes it about the size of a table lamp or 5L beer keg. It can be placed just about anywhere in your room, requiring only a plug socket for power, and connecting via wifi to the rest of your Sonos system. Setting it up via the Sonos app on Android, an iPhone or an iPad is quick and simple. Once paired with a Ray or Beam, the difference the sub makes is immediately appreciable. On-screen action is delivered with much more force and dynamism, with tight and controlled punch in the low end that is amazingly well judged. Driving soundtracks sound particularly good. You get gobs of bass when needed, but it never sounds boomy, nor does it dominate the rest of the audio tracks. The Mini can produce frequencies as low as 25Hz, which is certainly deep enough for anyone relying on a soundbar for their movie experience. In non-action scenes it is not obvious the sub is doing anything until you put your hand in the hole through the middle to feel the twin 6in woofers working. Here they add depth and range to the sound, freeing up the soundbar to concentrate on mid and high tones, making the whole experience more immersive. The effect for music is similar, whether with a Beam or a pair of Ones. Play tracks with pounding bass lines and the sub performs with aplomb. Try something more mellow and you simply get a deeper and more rounded sound, not something artificially plied with bass, nor any abrupt points where the sub suddenly kicks in. You can adjust the sub’s level up or down by 15 marks to give it more or less presence in your sound, while night mode on the soundbars applies to it, too, helping to avoid disturbing your neighbours. The Mini supports Sonos’s Trueplay tuning system, which is still only compatible with iPhones and iPads. The difference between the Mini and Gen 3 Sub is simply power. At lower listening volumes, they essentially sound the same, with the larger, more expensive sub capable of maintaining that bass and power at much louder levels. But the Mini is most likely powerful enough for even relatively large British living rooms and certainly anyone who lives within close proximity to neighbours. You probably already know if you need more bass than the Mini can produce. The sub drew about 1.5W on standby and about 5.5W when playing music at a comfortable volume, or up to 50W when maxed out. It drew up to 17W when watching a movie at higher volumes, consuming about 0.010kWh over the space of two hours. Specifications Dimensions: 30.5 x 23cm Weigh: 6.35kg Speakers: dual 6in woofers Connectivity: wifi b/g/n, Ethernet Software: Sonos S2 Sustainability The Mini is generally repairable by Sonos. The company commits to a minimum of five years of software support for feature updates after it stops selling a product, but has a track record of much longer, including bug and security fixes for its legacy products. The subwoofer does not contain recycled materials, but Sonos has committed to the use of recycled plastics, and designs with disassembly in mind for repair, refurbishment and recycling from 2023. It offers trade-in and product recycling, and publishes annual responsibility and sustainability reports. Price The Sonos Sub Mini costs £429 ($429/A$699) in black or white. For comparison, the Sub (Gen 3) costs £749, the Ray costs £279, the Beam costs £449, the One costs £199 and the Ikea Symfonisk lamp costs £185. Wireless subs from rivals typically cost between £250 and £850. Verdict The Sub Mini is the smaller, more affordable subwoofer upgrade Sonos fans have long been waiting for. The squat little cylinder produces more than enough boom for all but the largest of rooms and not only adds bass but improves the range and dynamism of speakers it is paired with. The power it brings to the low end is extremely well judged across movies and music, adding to but not dominating the overall soundtrack. While it will work with any of Sonos or Ikea’s plugged-in wifi speakers, it is most suited to the firm’s compact soundbars. But it is certainly a luxury rather than necessity, costing a not inconsiderable £429 – though it is significantly cheaper than Sonos’s big Gen 3 Sub, and about the going rate for similar wireless subwoofers. If you have one of Sonos’s excellent soundbars but crave a bit more thump and rumble, the Sub Mini won’t disappoint. Pros: big bass upgrade in a compact form, super stable, can be paired with all Sonos/Ikea plug-in speakers, extremely well-judged low notes, adds range and dynamism to paired speakers, can be placed anywhere with access to a plug in the room, easy setup, long support life. Cons: expensive, can’t pair with portable Sonos speakers, only works with Sonos/Ikea wifi speakers, can’t be placed on its side. | ['technology/smart-speaker', 'technology/digital-music-and-audio', 'technology/technology', 'technology/gadgets', 'type/article', 'tone/reviews', 'technology/sonos', 'profile/samuel-gibbs', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/consumer-tech--commissioning-'] | technology/gadgets | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2022-10-05T06:00:03Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2010/jul/06/harpy-eagle-attack-cameraman | Monkey-eating eagle divebombs BBC filmmaker as he fits nest-cam | As the first people attempting to fit a camera in the nest of the world's most powerful eagle, the BBC filmmakers knew they were likely to be attacked. But nothing could have prepared cameraman James Aldred for the defensive swoop by a 9kg female harpy eagle that left him nearly unconscious, ripped through his neck protection and knocked out his helmet's communication equipment. The incident, which Aldred survived, was just one particularly dramatic moment in a year of unique footage of the rarely-seen eagle, which eat monkeys and can grow talons up to 13cm long. Shot in the remote Orinoco rainforest in Venezuela, the team filmed a pair of the elusive birds of prey and their chick as it grew into a juvenile. The eagle's canopy-dwelling habits make it hard to find - the Planet Earth team gave up on it. Once wide-ranging across South America, the bird is now limited to a few strongholds including Venezuela, where the nest was at the fringe of logging operations. Fergus Beeley, eagle expert and the documentary's producer, said: "I'm amazed by the harpy eagle. These are incredibly intelligent creatures. To kill monkeys, they have to be as intelligent as them, to outwit and ambush them. And it's indisputably the world's most powerful eagle. It has wrists and feet as big as mine." The harpy, he said, was even stronger than other powerful eagles such as the crowned eagle of Africa and the Phillipines eagle. As well as taking small prey such as sloths and other birds, the species is known to kill red howler monkeys and even the young of the small brocket deer. Beeley's documentary-makers had to wear protective clothing including helmets, stab-proof kevlar vests and elbow and wrist guards, while working at platforms 40-50m high in a humidity that left them "permanently sweating". As well as the defensive attack on Aldred, the female harpy eagle hit one man in the kidneys and tore another's leather thigh protection. "Most birds of prey are frightened of people, but this one is not," said Beeley, whose team eventually fitted a nest-cam. The comings and goings of the harpy eagles have also been recorded in a scientific paper that is currently being reviewed. The documentary, The Monkey-Eating Eagle of the Orinoco' , airs this Thursday at 8pm on BBC Two. | ['environment/birds', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'environment/endangered-habitats', 'environment/endangeredspecies', 'world/venezuela', 'tone/news', 'world/americas', 'type/article', 'profile/adam-vaughan'] | environment/endangered-habitats | BIODIVERSITY | 2010-07-06T09:00:00Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
uk-news/2019/may/16/environmental-protesters-barred-from-hs2-site-in-colne-valley | Environmental protesters barred from HS2 site in west London | Environmental protesters have been barred from land where they say HS2 is carrying out works putting almost a quarter of London’s drinking water at risk, following a high court ruling on Thursday. The transport secretary, Chris Grayling, and HS2 Ltd were granted an extension to an existing injunction to prevent environmental activists from trespassing on the controversial HS2 site, a nature reserve in Colne Valley in Hillingdon, west London, which is an area of ancient woodland. There have been many protests on the site, with demonstrators saying they are trying to save up to 100 acres of ancient woodland and 2,400 species of flora and fauna. HS2 says it is creating an ecology habitat (pdf) on the site to compensate for any destruction caused by the construction of the high-speed rail link. The decision by David Holland QC, sitting as a deputy high court judge, extends the geographical area of the injunction to a field where the aquifer supplying 22% of London’s water is located. Protesters argued in court that any acts of trespass were carried out because of concerns that the HS2 works pile-driving through contaminated land into the aquifer would contaminate part of the capital’s water supply. Holland acknowledged the sincerity of the protesters’ motivations but said that as HS2 had possession of the land, the law was on their side to prevent trespass. He did, however, reject HS2’s application to keep the injunction in place until 2024, granting it instead until 1 June 2020. In the course of the hearing it emerged that a map of the whole area of land owned by HS2 had been mistakenly cited as the area covered by the injunction. In fact, the injuncted area does not cover all the land owned by HS2 around the site. Breaching a high court injunction is contempt of court and attracts much more serious penalties than the offence of trespass. In a statement to the Guardian, an HS2 spokesman said: “It was explained in the court proceedings that the map in question shows the land in the possession of HS2 at that time. The map has been incorrectly labelled as ‘Close up map of injunction order Harvil Road’ in the Crown Prosecution Service document describing the incident on 11 December 2018 [an alleged incident of trespass in breach of the injunction]. It should be labelled ‘Close up map of HS2 land possession’. HS2 will inform the CPS that their document should be updated and the plan relabelled.” Sarah Green, a member of the Green party who was one of the protesters named in the injunction application by HS2, said: “I’m very disturbed about the potential for HS2’s work to destroy the whole valley including the aquifer beneath it. They have accused me of breaking the injunction on land that isn’t injuncted. This could pollute the water supply for 3.2 million people.” Holland said to Green: “I’m concerned that your obvious energies are directed in the wrong direction. If you genuinely think there’s a real risk, you have mentioned criminal offences. If there is something in this you need to take it to someone, but not me.” Following the hearing, Green said: “I’m very disappointed that the area of land covered by the injunction has been extended. There is a real risk to the aquifer supplying 22% of London’s water and that matter has been put before the high court.” A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: “The Harvil Road construction compound in Hillingdon is subject to monitoring and has shown no contamination. The Environment Agency continues to work with and advise HS2 Ltd in relation to any potential environmental risks associated with the proposed construction of the HS2 project.” An HS2 spokesperson said: “As work progresses on the new railway, safety and security around all our live construction sites is paramount. HS2 has applied for an extension to the injunction at Harvil Road to keep people safe around our sites in the area, and to help us avoid delays and additional costs to the UK taxpayer. HS2 aims to be one of the most environmentally responsible infrastructure projects ever delivered in the UK .” | ['uk/hs2', 'environment/activism', 'environment/environment', 'uk/rail-transport', 'uk/uk', 'world/protest', 'politics/transport', 'uk/transport', 'type/article', 'profile/dianetaylor', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | environment/activism | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2019-05-16T17:48:52Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
science/2021/aug/21/world-weatherwatch-perus-saint-of-storms-brings-salvation-to-ski-slopes | World weatherwatch: Peru’s saint of storms brings salvation to cities and ski slopes | In August 1615, a Dutch pirate fleet under Joris Van Spilbergen threatened the city of Lima. According to legend, a nun called Sister Rosa, whose original name was Isabel Flores de Oliva, prayed for deliverance. A tremendous storm blew up just as the pirates were sailing in to sack the city and scattered their fleet. The storm was hailed as a miracle, and Sister Rosa became the first person born in the Americas to be canonised. She is patron saint of embroidery, gardening, the Americas, and the city of Lima. The seasonal storms that blow up on the Peruvian coast at this time of year are known as the Tormentas de Santa Rosa or Saint Rosa’s storms. These traditionally occur 15 days either side of the saint’s day on 30 August. Meteorologists attribute the storms to the meeting of the first warm winds of spring with cold fronts. In particular, this time of year marks the start of the low layer jet stream transporting humid air across South America from the Atlantic. And while the meteorologists say that the storms are not reliable, others believe they are an annual occurrence. This now includes local skiers, who reckon that Santa Rosa can be relied on to deliver the first heavy snowfall of the season. | ['science/meteorology', 'world/peru', 'weather/peru', 'news/series/world-weatherwatch', 'news/series/weatherwatch', 'world/americas', 'weather/index/southamerica', 'science/science', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'profile/davidhambling', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-weather'] | news/series/weatherwatch | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2021-08-21T05:00:55Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2016/jan/25/why-are-some-british-newspapers-still-denying-climate-change | Why are some British newspapers still denying climate change? | Bob Ward | Why are so many British newspaper editors still serving up unscientific climate change denial to their readers, even though the governments of more than 190 countries - including the UK - agreed in Paris last month that urgent action is required to avoid dangerous impacts from rising greenhouse gas levels? While the overall coverage in the Guardian, Independent and Mirror titles tends to reflect the mainstream scientific, economic and political consensus about climate change, the Mail, Express, Times, Sun and Telegraph titles all continue to use their opinion columns and leaders to try to cast doubt on the risks. This was plainly shown by the contrasting reports last month of the link between climate change and this winter’s flooding. However, not all of the naysayers are the same, with some science and environment correspondents valiantly battling to serve the best interests of their readers with fact-based reporting about climate change. Sadly, it appears that some of these newspapers are now carrying out a cull of writers who choose not to reflect the uninformed prejudices of their editors and proprietors. Last summer, the environment editor of the Sun, Ben Jackson, left the newspaper and was not replaced. This was the culmination of a slow slide in the newspaper’s coverage of climate change and other environmental problems since James Murdoch left its parent company, News International (now News UK), in the wake of the phone hacking scandal. Murdoch junior, unlike his father, is acquainted with the scientific evidence for climate change, and had persuaded his stable of newspapers to recognise the importance to their readers of being better informed about environmental issues. Since his departure, however, the editors of the Times and the Sun have fully embraced unscientific denial of climate change. Soon after losing its environment specialist, the Sun published an article from “climate expert”, James Delingpole, a notorious rightwing polemicist whose lack of scientific knowledge was cruelly exposed on national television by the president of the Royal Society. And the Times has been providing Viscount Ridley, the former chair of Northern Rock bank, with a regular column to downplay the risks of climate change. Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph also decided last summer to make redundant Geoffrey Lean, one of the UK media’s most experienced voices on the environment. Lean wrote on his blog: “In the British press... there [are], in my estimation, some 10 columnists who reject or underplay the dangers of global warming, with precious few columnar voices on the other side”. Fortunately, the Daily Telegraph still retains an environment correspondent, and at least occasionally publishes well-informed contributions to “balance” the babbling nonsense on climate change that appears in its columns by famous non-scientists such as Boris Johnson and Charles Moore. But it is readers of the Mail on Sunday and the Daily Express who suffer the most, with drivel appearing on both their news and comment pages. The Mail on Sunday has published a series of articles by David Rose, under the campaign banner of “The Great Green Con”, which attempt to undermine confidence in climate science in a very clumsy and unconvincing way, including stories that have been based on a fake magazine cover he found on the internet and a typographic error on a website. Nevertheless, it is the Daily Express which has the worst track record, mixing ideological propaganda and inaccurate journalism. For instance, on 20 January, the United States National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Nasa and the UK Met Office all announced that they had independently found 2015 to be the warmest year globally since records began in the 19th century. The online report by the Daily Express, under the headline “What Global Warming? USA temperatures DOWN as climatologists claim 2015 was hottest year,” reflected the talking points handed out by climate change sceptics. Written by Jon Austin, who describes himself on Twitter as “Science & Paranormal Correspondent”, it stated: “Todays [sic] announcement that a major developed nation like the US did not experience its hottest year ever is likely to fuel the argument put forward by many US-based climate sceptics that human activities simply do not have the level of impact being claimed by the climate change lobby.” This is bunkum. The contiguous United States, not including Alaska and Hawaii, covers less than 2% of the Earth’s surface and recorded its second highest annual average temperature in 2015, just behind 2012. The United States is warming, just like the rest of the world. It should be noted that the Daily Express struggles with its coverage of weather as well as climate. On 10 January, the newspaper’s website reported the impending arrival of a few days of seasonal weather under the headline: “Arctic SNOWBOMB to smash into Britain: Coldest winter in 58 YEARS now just days away.” In fact, the meteorological winter (December, January and February) of 1957-58 was not particularly cold, and 22 of the UK’s winters since then have recorded lower average temperatures. Given that last month was the warmest December on record in the UK by a considerable margin, and that the first half of January was also mild, this prediction by the Daily Express appears to be little more than uninformed speculation. When will editors of the Daily Express and other British newspapers abandon their daft crusade to promote climate change denial, and instead put the best interests of their readers first by reporting the real causes and potential consequences? | ['environment/climate-change-scepticism', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'environment/environment', 'science/science', 'media/newspapers', 'media/media', 'media/pressandpublishing', 'type/article', 'tone/comment', 'profile/bob-ward'] | environment/climate-change-scepticism | CLIMATE_DENIAL | 2016-01-25T09:50:01Z | true | CLIMATE_DENIAL |
business/nils-pratley-on-finance/2023/sep/08/does-the-uk-government-still-have-an-offshore-wind-strategy | Does the UK government still have an offshore wind strategy? | Nils Pratley | The developers weren’t bluffing about the rising cost of building offshore windfarms. They had warned for months that they wouldn’t pitch to build turbines in the North Sea on the terms the government was offering, and they did what they said they would do. No bids were received in this year’s auction for new projects. The auction was a flop. There are two big questions here. First: how did the government, which maintains it is committed to hitting its target of 50GW of offshore capacity by 2030 (more than treble today’s level), seemingly fail to see this coming? Second: what is the plan now? On the first score, there can be no excuses. Companies always have a lobbying interest in screaming about cost pressures, but the difference this time was that the line rang true. Long-term financing costs have obviously surged with the rise in interest rates in the past 12 months, and supply chain inflation is everywhere from steel to transport. Setting a maximum price in auction of £44 per MW hour – virtually the same as last year – always looked vulnerable to finding no takers. The writing was on wall when the Swedish developer Vattenfall halted work on a big project off the coast of Norfolk that was a winner in last year’s auction. The company reckoned it was cheaper to take a financial hit of £415m, covering the work it had done so far on the Norfolk Boreas development, than carry on. Companies do not take such decisions on a whim. Grant Shapps, the energy security secretary until last week, reacted to the looming crunch by fiddling around the edges. He refused to budge on the £44 maximum but added to the pot of money available to write contracts at that price. From offshore developers’ point of view, they were just being offered more of what they did not want. The tweak was never going to alter the economics. A more generous interpretation is that ministers consciously played hardball and accepted the risk of a failed auction in the hope that prices settle down in time for next year’s event. That, at least, would have a superficial logic. Yet the practical problem is that any imagined “saving” will probably be consumed by the need to catch up to try to save the 50GW target. The developers’ negotiating hand has just improved for the next auction. Therein lies the sense of managing the expansion of windfarms at a steady pace. The future approach is now the issue. Yes, after several rounds of “record low” auctions over the past decade, it is a shock to discover that offshore wind prices can rise as well as fall – there will be an effect on consumer bills. But sticking with gas is hardly an appealing alternative, whatever net zero sceptics may say about hidden costs of remodelling the electricity grid to cope with more intermittent supplies. Even allowing for such system costs, offshore wind still looks more competitive than gas on current 15-year projections, which is the life of these price contracts. Nor do onshore wind or solar, despite the expansion of these technologies within this auction round, offer an alternative to offshore’s big turbines. A balanced renewables strategy means doing the lot, but offshore has always been intended to be the workhorse. The energy consultancy Aurora calculates that, to meet the goal of 50GW by 2030, the government would have to procure 10GW offshore capacity in the next two auction rounds given the time it takes to build a large offshore windfarm. That’s a tall order. The chief executive of one big developer said: “Stopping and waiting for 12 months is not easy. You’ve got £400m of capital in the balance on one of these big projects and you’re trying to go back through the supply chain and renegotiate contracts and shift delivery slots.” It was doable, he said, but another flop really would bring the offshore show to a halt. The government says it will work with industry to retain the sector’s leadership. That is an ambition, as opposed to firm policymaking. The first step – bad news for all of us – is to accept that the economic breezes have shifted and that offshore wind, while still cheaper than the alternatives, is not as cheap as it was. That uncomfortable fact of life, as ministers should have accepted, was obvious months ago. | ['business/nils-pratley-on-finance', 'environment/windpower', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'business/energy-industry', 'environment/energy', 'business/business', 'campaign/email/business-today', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/comment', 'profile/nilspratley', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business'] | environment/energy | ENERGY | 2023-09-08T12:12:52Z | true | ENERGY |
australia-news/2022/may/13/living-costs-in-outer-suburbs-would-be-slashed-under-plan-to-electrify-everything-analysis-finds | Living costs in outer suburbs would be slashed under plan to ‘electrify everything’, analysis finds | A plan to “electrify everything” with rooftop solar, batteries and electric vehicles would save households across the country more than $5,000 a year and particularly benefit those living in outer Melbourne suburbs, according to a new analysis. Electrification would involve fitting every home with solar panels and batteries and replacing gas devices – cooktops, hot water and heating systems – and petrol cars with electric models. A report by Dr Saul Griffith, the founder of Rewiring Australia and a former adviser to the US government on energy policy, last year suggested a $12bn investment in household electrification over five years could eliminate a third of Australia’s emissions while saving households $40bn a year by 2028. New modelling breaks the savings down for each federal electorate. Griffith found the 10 seats expected to benefit the most include several in the outer suburbs and on the fringe of Melbourne. They were McEwen, Casey, Holt, La Trobe, Aston and Menzies. For the top ranking electorate, the Labor-held McEwen on Melbourne’s outer northern fringe, the annual savings by 2030 were estimated to be $5,570 per household and $315m across the community. Others in the top 10 included Wright, a safe LNP seat covering part of the Gold Coast hinterland, Labor-held Bean in the ACT, the emissions reduction minister Angus Taylor’s electorate of Hume near Canberra, and the defence minister Peter Dutton’s seat of Dickson on the outskirts of Brisbane. The throughline for the top 10 was that households were on average highly reliant on cars to get around. Victorian electorates ranked particularly high because, compared with other states, they were more likely to rely on gas for heating and cooking. Gas is piped to most Victorian homes. Griffith said electrification was the most substantial climate action that an Australian household could take, and the benefits would be amplified if an entire community was electrified, in part because it would create skilled work in the area. He recommended the Australian Renewable Energy Agency conduct four pilot programs, costing up to $100m in total and covering 300-500 households per pilot in two urban and two rural communities, as a first step. “With any change, we need to show people how it works and iron out any issues before we move towards the mass electrification of the country. “Households in these communities would receive support in the process of electrification and subsidies for new electric appliances, solar, battery, energy control system and lease of an electric vehicle.” Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning Griffith said the analysis was based on publicly available energy usage data. He said electric appliances were energy savers compared with alternatives and Australian rooftop solar was the cheapest form of home energy in the world. For example, an electric car costs about 8 cents per kilometre to drive if charged from the grid, and about 1 cent per kilometre if charged using rooftop solar. An internal combustion engine car cost about 12 cents per kilometre to run when the price of petrol was $1.43 a litre. The price of petrol has increased significantly since then. He said it was a similar story with hot water. Heating a shower with a gas water heater cost about 89 cents in 2019, while using an electric heat pump cost 21 cents if grid electricity was used and a little more than 5 cents if it ran on rooftop solar. On cooking, Griffith said an electric induction stovetop was cheaper than a gas stove and was healthier as it did not release pollutants into the home. The Greens had adopted Griffith’s model as part of their election platform. The party leader, Adam Bandt, said $235m should be spent on two pilot electrification programs, one in a suburb and one in a regional town. “It’s time to get off the gas, get batteries in our homes, and solar on the roof. We will show this works at scale, creating jobs and powering up a community,” he said. | ['australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/energy', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/adam-morton', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/renewableenergy | ENERGY | 2022-05-12T17:30:09Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2019/nov/02/greenhouse-gas-emissions-from-diesel-vehicles-cancelled-out-cuts-from-renewable-energy | Greenhouse gas emissions from diesel vehicles cancelled out cuts from renewable energy | Greenhouse gas emissions from diesel cars, utes and vans have risen sharply since 2011, effectively cancelling out the cut in pollution from new renewable energy replacing some coal plants. A surge in ownership of larger diesel vehicles is a central reason emissions from transport leapt by more than 10% over the decade, according to the monthly emissions audit published by progressive thinktank the Australia Institute. They rose as the federal government considered, promoted and ultimately shelved plans to introduce vehicle emissions standards to address the issue. Report author Hugh Saddler, an energy expert and honorary associate professor with the Australian National University’s Crawford School of Public Policy, found annual carbon dioxide emissions from burning diesel increased by 21.7m tonnes between 2011 and 2018. Diesel vehicles – mostly utes – have doubled their share of the light commercial vehicle market, and from a lower base tripled their share of household passenger car sales. Emissions from electricity fell by 22.1m tonnes a year over the same period. Saddler said the increase in diesel use was one of the reasons there had been a year-on-year rise in national emissions since 2015. He said governments and industry had improved fuel efficiency of heavy road freight vehicles but done little to lift the efficiency of light vehicles such as the work ute or family car, with the issue “placed in the purgatory of a ministerial forum for the last five years”. “Focusing purely on reducing electricity emissions while failing to recognise the importance of transport emissions is taking two steps forward, one step back,” he said. Saddler said there had been a dip in retail diesel sales over the past six months but it was too early to tell what caused it. The ministerial forum on vehicle emissions was set up by the Turnbull government in 2015. In 2017, interest groups were sent a model proposing a standard of 105g of carbon dioxide per kilometre for Australian light vehicles, phased in from 2020 to 2025. The Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development estimated the resulting fuel savings would deliver a net benefit to the economy by 2040 of $13.9bn. The owner of an average petrol car was expected to save $519 a year. Josh Frydenberg, then the environment and energy minister, now the Treasurer, said reforms to Australia’s fuel efficiency, fuel quality and noxious emissions standards had the potential to deliver real benefits, and pointed out that 80% of the global vehicle passenger fleet was subject to fuel efficiency standards. But the proposal was shelved after internal opposition and criticism from the automotive lobby. Labor adopted a similar policy before this year’s federal election, promising 50% of new car sales would be electric by 2030. Scott Morrison responded by accusing the opposition of wanting to “end the weekend” by forcing people out of four-wheel drives. A spokeswoman for the Michael McCormack, the minister for infrastructure, transport and regional development, said the government’s goal was to encourage cleaner and more efficient vehicles without burdening Australian families. She pointed to a February announcement that it would develop a national electric vehicle strategy “to plan and manage the transition to new vehicle technologies and infrastructure”. “The Liberal and Nationals government’s policy is clear: we will not introduce a mandatory fuel efficiency standard that can drive up the price of cars for Australians,” she said. Saddler said based on the evidence there was “absolutely no reason” not to introduce vehicle emissions standards. “It’s a failure of political will,” he said. Most countries in the OECD have adopted policies to reduce emissions and improve vehicle efficiency. Saddler said in the 1990s diesel vehicles were viewed as better for the environment than petrol cars but technology evolved and many markets, particularly in Europe, had moved to cleaner alternatives. “The average diesel vehicle owner travels further than a petrol vehicle owner and many diesel engines have gotten larger, easily undoing the benefit of diesel as a lower CO2 polluting fuel than petrol,” he said. The Australian government has revised down over time the emissions cuts it expects to make from cleaning up cars. In 2015, it produced a graph indicating it expected to achieve a reduction of about 100m tonnes between 2020 and 2030 through vehicle emissions standards. The climate package released earlier this year projected only 10m tonnes of abatement through a yet-to-be-released electric vehicle strategy. | ['environment/carbon-emissions', 'environment/environment', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'australia-news/energy-australia', 'australia-news/australian-politics', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/adam-morton', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/carbon-emissions | EMISSIONS | 2019-11-01T19:00:24Z | true | EMISSIONS |
commentisfree/2016/oct/07/tory-localism-fracking-lancashire-sajid-javid-drilling | What price Tory localism when fracking’s on offer in Lancashire? | Jennifer Mein | Last year a committee of county councillors from Lancashire dealt with one of the biggest planning applications ever put before any council, as they considered Cuadrilla’s applications to drill and frack for shale gas in two rural locations between Preston and Blackpool. Anyone in any doubt about the depth of feeling generated by fracking need only have seen and heard the hundreds of protesters who gathered outside county hall in Preston over the four days of that committee meeting, expressing their views as the committee listened to days of evidence from both sides. Or they could have looked in our mail room and seen the tens of thousands of responses to our consultation – the majority opposed to fracking in Lancashire. It is clearly a very emotive subject, and I’m not going to rehearse the arguments for and against. Nor am I going to address the broader concerns about finding a new way to take fossil fuels from under the Earth to satisfy our need for energy. What I do know is that those councillors called upon to make the decision, locally elected representatives of the people of Lancashire, took their responsibilities in considering these applications very seriously and exercised their duty to the best of their abilities. And, crucially, that is what local democracy should be about: local people making decisions about the big issues that affect them. One of the key themes promoted by central government in recent years has been localism, promoting the advantages of devolving power to communities up and down the country. Here in Lancashire we have embraced that theme, working hard to support the local enterprise partnership in acting as a catalyst for economic growth and, despite a hugely complex local government landscape, making strides towards establishing a combined authority that will see councils working together with the promise of more control over issues that affect the county as a whole, such as skills, transport and the economy. It is right and proper that this country’s planning regime enables applicants to appeal against decisions that go against them. And as part of that process, the secretary of state has long had the power to recover the final decision. However, it is easy to understand the frustration felt by those who opposed the applications, and now find their local representatives overruled by the secretary of state – a member of a government that has made very clear its determination to see shale gas exploited on a large scale. Throughout this process, Lancashire county council has sought to consider these applications on their merits, according to planning guidance and law. Moreover, county councillors have more than once united to acknowledge that – wherever each councillor stands on the safety of fracking or the use of fossil fuels – many of our residents have genuine concerns. That is why the council has twice formally called on the government to establish industry-specific regulation. It is why the council asked the government to lift the covers off a heavily redacted report about the potential impact of shale-gas exploration on rural economies. And it is why the council asked the government not to take planning decisions out of local hands. Residents and businesses in Lancashire mobilised themselves on this issue; their councillors listened carefully to what they and the applicant had to say. The subsequent overturning of three of those councillors’ decisions not only underlines the theory that localism applies only when it suits the centre. It highlights the chasm that exists between people seeking answers and a government that is either unwilling or unable to provide them. | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'environment/fracking', 'tone/comment', 'environment/energy', 'uk/uk', 'politics/sajid-javid', 'politics/conservatives', 'politics/politics', 'society/society', 'type/article', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-opinion'] | environment/fracking | ENERGY | 2016-10-07T11:31:31Z | true | ENERGY |
australia-news/2024/feb/26/antibiotics-found-in-wild-fish-near-tasmanian-salmon-farms-at-nearly-five-times-allowed-limit-reports-show | Antibiotics found in wild fish near Tasmanian salmon farms at nearly five times allowed limit, report shows | Tasmania’s largest salmon company, Tassal, has revealed wild fish at one of its salmon farms contained antibiotic residues at almost five times the allowed level. In another case, there were low-level antibiotic traces in wild fish caught more than seven kilometres from another Tassal salmon farm. Two monitoring reports published by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) in January show Tassal used 368.5 kilograms of a controversial antibiotic to control disease outbreaks at the two salmon farms last year. There was no public notification when the antibiotics were used or when the monitoring reports were released. Sheenagh Neill, a spokesperson for Marine Protection Tasmania, said she was concerned about the continuing secrecy surrounding antibiotics use in public waterways. “The community is still not being informed promptly despite the 2022 Legislative Council inquiry into the fish farming industry recommending the ‘timely’ release of information on the use of antibiotics,” she said. Tassal used 32.5kg of oxytetracycline (OTC) in late February 2023 and early March 2023 at its Butlers lease near Bruny Island national park. The antibiotic was used to treat an outbreak of tenacibaculosis, a disease that can damage the skin, mouth and gills and kill affected fish. The company used 336kg of the same antibiotic to treat salmon at its Okehampton lease near Triabunna in May 2023. The EPA reported that it followed Tassal detecting a Tasmanian Rickettsia-like organism, a bacterial infection that can result in significant production loss and cause the death of some affected fish. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup The World Health Organization classed OTC as “highly important” for human health, and warned its overuse in the food industry could lead to the development of antibiotic-resistant “superbugs”. It described this as “one of the biggest threats to global health”, and has recommended the vaccination of farmed animals as a strategy to reduce the overuse of antibiotics. After the use of antibiotics, the EPA requires salmon companies to test for residues in sediments near the treated cages and a short distance from the lease boundary. It also requires tests on wild fish caught in and beyond the lease area. All samples with OTC equal to or greater than 100 micrograms per kilogram (µg/kg) must be reported. The maximum residue standard in food for human consumption is 200µg/kg. The report on the Butlers lease revealed a sample of three blue mackerel caught near the salmon pens had OTC residues of 960µg/kg, almost five times the permitted level under the Australia New Zealand Food Standard Code. All the fish had feed pellets in their gut contents. The report by Aquenal, an environmental consultancy, noted that Tassal requested that the sample be retested to check for “possible erroneous data”. Aquenal reported the second test was consistent with the initial result. A sample of three Australian salmon caught on the same day as the mackerel found OTC residues of 180µg/kg, just under the 200µg/kg threshold. A sample of three flathead caught at a site about 2.5 kilometres from the salmon cages 64 days after the last use of medicated feed revealed OTC residue of 20µg/kg, one-tenth the maximum residue limit. Tasmanian Inquirer sought comment from Tassal, but the company did not respond. It is not the first time wild fish with OTC residue have been detected well beyond a salmon farm. In late 2022, it was revealed that flathead caught off Coningham Beach, two kilometres from Tassal’s Sheppards lease, contained OTC in their flesh above the reportable threshold. Dr Christian Narkowicz, an organic chemist, said Australia’s maximum residue standard for OTC was high compared to other countries. “Europe has a maximum residue limit of 100μg/kg. Our regulators should be striving for the world’s best practice, not pandering to industry,” he said. The EPA said that, despite the initial high result in blue mackerel, there was no need to undertake additional testing before the second round of testing after 64 days had elapsed. Narkowicz said blue mackerel with 960µg/kg of OTC residue in their flesh were “not fit for human consumption” and described the 64-day delay in further testing as “not good enough”. “Wild fish that thousands of Tasmanians catch and eat should contain no antibiotics at all. Australian salmon travel long distances. There is no guarantee that they will be antibiotic-free even if they are caught nowhere near a salmon farm,” he said. The monitoring report for the Okehampton lease revealed that three flathead caught at a site near Maria Island, more than seven kilometres away from the treated pens, contained OTC at 20µg/kg. The EPA told Tasmanian Inquirer that given OTC was not detected in samples from that salmon farm it was possible another source of OTC may have “impacted this fish sample”. Neill said Food Standards Australia should review the use of OTC in fish for human consumption, and the amount of allowable OTC in salmon should be changed to match European standards. This article was republished with permission from the Tasmanian Inquirer | ['australia-news/tasmania', 'environment/fish', 'environment/farming', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/bob-burton', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/farming | BIODIVERSITY | 2024-02-26T02:50:47Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2022/feb/03/questions-remain-for-environment-agency | Questions remain for Environment Agency | Letter | Emma Howard Boyd’s letter (30 January) fails to address the allegations you reported by serving Environment Agency officers that frontline pollution response services have been cut and staff gagged. I retired from the EA in 2014, having worked there since its inception in 1996, initially leading a team of dedicated officers in exactly this work. Over that 18 years, there was an inexorable shift in resources from frontline pollution and crime prevention work to higher-paid jobs managing policy and legislation. The old adage to “follow the money” saw the lion’s share of the EA’s resources spent on flood risk management. When I recently reported a pollution incident, I was shocked to discover that the system being used to record my information was the same one that I helped to develop 20 years ago. After the coalition government came to power in 2010, the EA’s statutory mission to promote sustainable development was quietly amended to promote sustainable economic growth. Ms Howard Boyd’s letter reads as though it has been lifted from the introduction to any EA corporate report in the last 10 years and is an inadequate response to serious and substantive allegations. Peter Foulston Clayton West, West Yorkshire • Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication. | ['environment/environment-agency', 'environment/environment', 'environment/pollution', 'type/article', 'tone/letters', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2022-02-03T18:34:12Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
business/2009/sep/06/yahoo-bartz-under-fire | Investors unhappy as Yahoo boss Bartz earns $2m from share sales | Investors are questioning the long-term loyalty of Carol Bartz, who was parachuted in to run Yahoo nine months ago, after it emerged that she and her team of top executives have sold millions of dollars in stock while the internet search engine struggles to turn around its ailing business. According to regulatory filings, Bartz has made two major stock sales in the past nine months – more than $830,000 (£500,000) in March and a further $1.14m in June. The 61-year-old former boss of the software company AutoDesk, who also receives a salary of $1m and is eligible for an annual bonus worth up to $4m, was granted options on 5m shares of Yahoo stock when she took the top job at the beginning of the year. The news does not fit with the image she has tried to portray since taking over at the company earlier this year, hired as a pragmatic and efficient replacement for Yahoo's co-founder, Jerry Yang. Bartz has played up her image in public, saying she wanted to buy the web giant "some friggin' breathing room" and accusing staff of spending too much time talking about their problems and not doing enough to fix them. "We are the largest media property on the internet," she wrote in a memo to staff last week. "So get out of the sugar low – we have work to do. Stop staring at our navels, stop arguing with each other. Stop debate, debate, debate and let's focus on the competition." However, the news that she and other executives have sold so much stock has upset some investors, including Eric Jackson of Ironfire Capital, an outspoken shareholder who has become well known for his criticisms of Yahoo's management in recent years. While executives are entitled to sell the options that they had been given, he said that Bartz was sending the wrong message by exercising so many of her stock options so soon after joining the company. "Two million already cashed out for Bartz is too much, too soon," he said in an email, adding that it "doesn't really fit with her 'I didn't need this job as I was retired' image she portrays". The company defended her actions by saying that the share sales were necessary for tax purposes. "We are told that they were re-acquired to satisfy tax withholdings," a spokeswoman said. That is unlikely to boost flagging morale among the company's 13,000 employees – particularly since it is not only Bartz who has been cashing in her options while the company struggles. Figures also show that several other executive directors made hundreds of thousands of dollars each at the end of August, with a flurry of activity ahead of a sales window that closed last Monday. Meanwhile Yahoo's general counsel, Mike Callahan, has made more than $1.35m (£820,000) across five separate stock sales this year alone – twice the amount of shares that he sold in the preceding year. All this activity bears little reflection on Yahoo's overall health, given that the company has suffered an inexorable slide in recent years amid strong competition from rivals including Google and Microsoft. In its latest financial results, the company said that revenue for the past three months was down 13% from the same period last year to $1.5bn (£900m), while profit rose slightly to $141m (£86m). Bartz's influence appears to have had little impact on the company's bottom line so far, however, with her biggest achievement being the agreement earlier this summer to hand over control of Yahoo's search engine business to Microsoft. | ['business/business', 'technology/yahoo-takeover', 'technology/yahoo', 'technology/jerry-yang', 'technology/internet', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'profile/bobbiejohnson', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3'] | technology/yahoo-takeover | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2009-09-06T17:50:05Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2018/jun/26/palm-oil-disastrous-for-wildlife-but-here-to-stay-experts-warn | Palm oil ‘disastrous’ for wildlife but here to stay, experts warn | It is consumed daily by billions of people but palm oil is “disastrous” for wildlife such as orangutans and tigers, according to an authoritative new report. However, the analysis warns that alternatives are likely to drive biodiversity losses elsewhere, rather than halt them. The analysis, from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), found that rainforest destruction caused by palm oil plantations damages more than 190 threatened species on the IUCN’s red list, particularly in Indonesia and Malaysia. It also found that palm oil certified as “sustainable” is, so far, only marginally better in terms of preventing deforestation. However, alternative oil crops, such as soy, corn and rapeseed, require up to nine times as much land and switching to them could result in the destruction of wild habitat in other parts of the world, such as Brazil and Argentina, the report warns. It recommends stronger action to ensure new palm oil plantations do not cause forests to be felled. Palm oil provides a third of the world’s vegetable oil, from 10% of the land used for all oil crops. It is used in a huge range of food products and eaten by half the world’s population, with a quarter of production used in cosmetics, cleaning products and as biofuel. “When you consider the disastrous impacts of palm oil on biodiversity from a global perspective, there are no simple solutions,” said Inger Andersen, IUCN director general. “If we ban or boycott it, other, more land-hungry oils will likely take its place.” “Palm oil is here to stay and we urgently need concerted action to make palm oil production more sustainable, ensuring that governments, producers and the supply chain honour their sustainability commitments,” she said. Deforestation for palm oil frequently takes place despite legal bans. The new report from the IUCN Oil Palm taskforce estimates the total area of industrial scale palm oil plantations at 18.7m hectares, with smallholder plantations taking the total to 25m hectares, equivalent to the area of the UK. Despite the controversy over palm oil, there are no easy solutions, said Erik Meijaard, the IUCN report’s lead author. “Palm oil is decimating south-east Asia’s rich diversity of species as it eats into swaths of tropical forest,” he said. But, quoting US writer HL Mencken, he added. “For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.” One issue is that it is often easier to cut down virgin forest for new plantations, rather than deal with the complicated ownership issues that come with already degraded land. Another is that while some communities can benefit from plantations, as Indonesian and Malaysian governments argue, other communities can suffer. Furthermore, plantations are often created in poor locations, meaning yields are low. “A lot of oil palm planting seems to be dumped in places wherever people can get hold of land,” said Meijaard. “There needs to be pressure on countries like Malaysia and Indonesia to start seriously looking at how to optimise this sector.” Sustainable certification is intended to demonstrate that palm oil has not caused deforestation but is currently poor, according to Meijaard: “Certification is nowhere near as good as it should be. But [we] still think it is needed as the only objective way we can judge whether palm oil adheres to certain principles. The [certification body] needs to step it up and improve.” A spokeswoman for the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which certifies almost 20% of all palm oil, said: “While we acknowledge that the certification system is not perfect, it has made a real contribution against deforestation.” RSPO said it was currently strengthening its standards. Arguments over palm oil have been bitter with the most recent flare-up occurring over the European Union’s decision to ban palm oil from use as biofuel, though not until 2030. In the run up to the decision, Malaysian minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong warned of a multi-billion dollar trade war: “Don’t expect us to continue buying European products.” Malaysia also called a recent academic paper on huge orangutan declines “hyperbolic” and media reports on it “fake news”. “We’ve come to expect nothing less from our opponents in Europe and the environmental minions who do their bidding,” said the Malaysian Palm Oil Council. Richard George, at Greenpeace UK, said: “Time and time again we’ve caught RSPO members destroying forests for palm oil, including trashing orangutan habitat. If the RSPO wants to have a future, it must adopt ‘no deforestation, no peat, no exploitation’ standards and ensure they are rigorously enforced.” | ['environment/palm-oil', 'environment/deforestation', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/biodiversity', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/environment', 'environment/endangeredspecies', 'environment/food', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/damiancarrington', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/deforestation | BIODIVERSITY | 2018-06-26T12:00:34Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2022/dec/03/country-diary-the-all-conquering-sea-eagle-suddenly-seems-vulnerable | Country diary: The all-conquering sea eagle suddenly seems vulnerable | Amanda Thomson | The walk starts quietly, along a track made muddy by sheep. As it progresses through scrubby pinewoods, the distant view becomes far more promising, with Scots pinewoods enwrapping the hillsides in front of the distant Cairngorms. We’re heading to a loch to look for wildfowl, and when we get there I’m so preoccupied watching a flock of 50-odd teal dipping and wheeling around that at first I don’t notice the massive white-tailed eagle. It’s perched on a dead pine on the far side, so big that it makes the snag look tiny. Sea eagles are one of the big successes of species reintroduction, and they’re thrilling to see, but it feels all the more precious now with avian flu having reached Mull’s sea eagle population. This one lifts off, ignoring the ducks, turns and flies towards the more distant pinewoods. Its 2.5 metre wingspan and white tail make it easy to follow, until it lands on a granny pine, so far away that we’re amazed we can see it still. A month later, we’re heading back to the loch, towards a low sun that refracts the incoming smirr. When we arrive, we aim for the same snag, and see just beyond a solitary peregrine flying west. Save a family of whooper swans, it’s quiet, and even since we were last here the moorland has succumbed to its washed-out winter pallor, though Scots pine saplings seem to glow spring-green in the sunlight. As we approach the snag, I notice white tufts fluttering in the heather – there’s been a kill. In among downy feathers are some white-tipped wing feathers; one side of them is grey-brown, the other black to an iridescent petrol-blue-green teal. We walk a little further but it’s too boggy to continue, so we turn and head back, seeing nothing more until we get back to the track. Two sea eagles appear out of nowhere. They’re even more startlingly huge when overhead, and it’s clear why they’re described as flying barn doors. As they fly away, it’s incredible how quickly they cover the distance, and how far away they are before they disappear. I hope they’ll stay safe. • Country Diary is on Twitter at @gdncountrydiary | ['environment/series/country-diary', 'environment/birds', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/environment', 'uk/ruralaffairs', 'uk/uk', 'environment/forests', 'environment/conservation', 'uk/scotland', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/amanda-thomson', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/wildlife | BIODIVERSITY | 2022-12-03T05:30:35Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
tv-and-radio/2017/nov/17/eminem-reveals-his-writing-process-podcasts-of-the-week | Eminem reveals his writing process – podcasts of the week | Pick of the week: Broken Record Super-producer Rick Rubin and super-podcaster Malcolm Gladwell have a hit on their hands with Broken Record (iTunes), which they bill as “liner notes for the digital age”. The unlikely duo got together to make the podcast as “a place for us and for others to tell stories about music. All kinds. Where songs come from, how they’re made, why they work.” The first episode, just 15 minutes long, is fascinating as Gladwell sets the scene by bringing to life Rubin’s “strange minimalist house” with white walls and a massive sound system. Gladwell was “floored” by a song Rubin played him, Eminem’s Walk on Water, and Slim Shady is their first guest. He is in full wind-him-up-and-watch-him-go mode, recalling how he wrote his first rhyme at his Aunt Edna’s house. “It was so much of LL [Cool J],” he says, before reeling off a long list of influences including Ice-T, NWA and Big Daddy Kane. “I forgot Run-DMC,” he says as the credits roll. And of his life before he’d heard hip-hop? “Oh, man, I was such a nerdy kid.” Rubin and Gladwell have a great dynamic, with the producer giving his insight into the music-making process as Eminem reveals his struggle with his latest album. “When you start out in your career you have a blank canvas,” he says. “But by the time you get to your seventh and eighth album, there’s nowhere to paint.” Rubin’s solution was to play him Frank Zappa. “I thought the energy might be right for him.” Gladwell also attempts to analyse Eminem’s creative struggle. “I think these feelings cross the mind of anyone who’s ever cared deeply about something,” he says. The podcast is focused on just one song so stays tight, despite Eminem sounding as if he could talk for hours. Rubin modestly drops into the conversation that it was him who played Walk on Water to Jay-Z, who then got Beyoncé to listen – and agree to sing on the chorus. Broken Record is anything but: its hosts let the artist speak and by the time they drop the song, it’s impossible not to be hooked. Your picks: Behind the scenes at the Science Museum, boozy crime stories and how to save the Arctic Bill Bryson’s Appliance of Science Self-described as “a museum for your ears” Appliance of Science walks you through key moments in scientific history using specific objects hand-picked from the London Science Museum’s comprehensive collection. You’re free to browse at your own pace, with Bill Bryson on hand to explain the enchanting backstory behind every knob, dial and button. The excitement of the Science Museum’s curators is infectious as they share their expertise, bringing the ideas and inventions of the incurably curious to life. The episodes are only short so I’d suggest starting at the beginning and, if you can, popping down to the museum itself to see the objects in question as their secrets are being shared with you. Recommended by Rosie Lindqvist-Jones Wine and Crime Wine and Crime is a comedy podcast where three friends “chug wine, chat true crime and unleash their worst Minnesotan accents”. Each episode is themed with topics such as blood spatter analysis, axe murderers and peeping toms, and consists of wine pairing, psychological background and three or more case studies. The series kicks off with the subject of necrophilia, so it’s definitely worth starting from the beginning, but my favourite is episode six – Munchausen’s Syndrome. The chemistry between the presenters is what makes it special. The three constantly laugh along, getting more drunk as the show goes on. It makes you feel like you’re part of the gang. Recommended by Lindsay Seddon Unburnable One for those who have found themselves glued to a screen in awe of Blue Planet II. Awareness of the staggering diversity and breathtaking ingenuity possessed by some of the world’s aquatic creatures is at an all-time high, but with this comes the realisation of just how fragile our ecosystems have become. It’s something we should all be talking more about, which is why the latest podcast from the team at Radio Wolfgang is ever more pressing. Unburnable tells the story of an “unprecedented legal battle for our planet’s future” – as a group from Greenpeace take on the Norwegian government. Recommended by Max Sanderson Guardian Picks: the increasing weakness of the UK government, the Irish border and the EU getting more and more fed up with us The Guardian’s Brexit Means … Between the Paradise papers and the Guardian Live Streaming Seals, you could be forgiven for not noticing that it’s all kicking off in Brexit land. But never fear, the Brexit Means … team is here, giving you all the updates you could possibly want. This episode in particular is one that I found fascinating: Jon Henley, Jennifer Rankin and Dan Roberts explain the weakness of our government, the problem of the Irish border and how the EU is actively getting fed up with us. Recommended by Rowan Slaney If you’ve got a podcast that you love, send your recommendations to rowan.slaney@theguardian.com | ['tv-and-radio/series/hear-here', 'media/podcasting', 'tv-and-radio/series/pod-complex', 'tv-and-radio/podcasts', 'technology/internet', 'tv-and-radio/tv-and-radio', 'culture/culture', 'media/media', 'media/digital-media', 'technology/technology', 'music/eminem', 'music/music', 'books/billbryson', 'books/books', 'science/science', 'environment/greenpeace', 'environment/environment', 'environment/activism', 'world/protest', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/hannah-verdier', 'profile/rowan-slaney', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-audio'] | environment/activism | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2017-11-17T12:12:41Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
world/2024/feb/18/holy-cow-protesting-italian-farmers-bring-bovine-to-mass-with-the-pope | Holy cow! Protesting Italian farmers bring bovine to mass with the pope | Italian farmers who were invited, along with a cow called Ercolina II, to mass at the Vatican amid Europe-wide agricultural protests have said the blessing from Pope Francis would give them the strength “to win the game”. The farmers, their tractor and Ercolina II, who also made an appearance at the recent Sanremo music festival, were among the worshippers gathered in St Peter’s Square for the pontiff’s Sunday Angelus. “It was a great surprise to receive an email and call from the pope’s secretary,” said Roberto Rosati, a spokesperson for Agricultural Redemption, Italy’s tractor-protest movement. “Giving us the approval to enter and attend mass in St Peter’s Square – this is an invitation that happens once in a lifetime. With this blessing we can find the strength to win the game.” In return, the farmers said they would give the pope a tractor, “a symbol of our fight”. “Our voice will not stop, we will follow the paths of dialogue and perseverance, with dignity and conviction to reach concrete goals,” they wrote in a letter to Francis. Italian farmers and their tractors have appeared at several key monuments in Rome in recent days, such as the ancient chariot racing stadium Circus Maximus and the Michelangelo-designed Piazza del Campidoglio, which houses Rome’s city hall. Similarly to their European counterparts, the farmers are airing grievances over a variety of issues blighting their industry, including dwindling incomes, rising costs and the constraints imposed by EU measures to tackle the climate crisis. Ercolina II belongs to Cristian Belloni, who owns a cereal production company and who has been transporting the animal around the country as an emblem of the farmers’ plight. The cow is the offspring of Ercolina, who was a protagonist in protests against EU milk quotas in the late 1990s. Belloni recently said Ercolina II was accompanying the farmers on the road “to raise awareness” about the problem, especially “given that an animal brings peace”. “If they want to produce synthetic milk and meat, it will cause many animals to no longer exist,” he added. However, the use of the cow has been criticised by animal rights groups, who said bringing her to chaotic urban centres caused the animal stress and fear. | ['world/italy', 'environment/farming', 'world/pope-francis', 'world/the-papacy', 'world/world', 'world/europe-news', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/angela-giuffrida', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-foreign'] | environment/farming | BIODIVERSITY | 2024-02-18T15:20:00Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
sport/2009/mar/03/sri-lanka-terrorist-atatck-pakistan | Cricket: 'This was a planned terrorist attack' | Gunmen carried out a commando-style attack this morning on the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team and their police escort in Lahore, wounding at least six of the players. In scenes reminiscent of the terrorist assault on Mumbai in November, armed extremists attacked with heavy weapons, spraying the Sri Lankan team's bus with bullets as it drove to the Gadaffi stadium in Lahore, according to witnesses and cricket officials. Two were said to have received "superficial" bullet wounds. Early reports say that five policemen were killed and three injured. Sri Lankan media, quoting the sports minister, said four players received minor injuries in the attack -- Kumar Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavithana. Television footage showed glimpses of the assailants, running through the streets, with machine guns in hand, rucksacks on their backs. The attack, in Gulberg, a upmarket area of the city, happened around 9am local time. The gunmen remain at large, having fled from the scene. Police cordoned off the area, saying they would kill or capture the terrorists. The team had been travelling towards the nearby cricket stadium. The top policeman in Lahore city force, Habibur Rehman, said that there were around 12 gunmen, at least some of whom arrived in auto-rickshaws, who attacked the Sri Lankan team bus as it made its way to the Gaddafi Stadium. "Because the police were protecting them (Sri Lankan team), we were the main victims," said Rehman. "They (the gunmen) looked like trained people. The security provided was good." A rocket launcher and grenades were recovered from the scene. The Sri Lankan team, which was playing a Test match against Pakistan in Lahore, is to be evacuated immediately. "This was a planned terrorist attack. They had heavy weapons," said Salman Taseer, who heads the provincial government as Governor of Punjab, arriving at the scene. "These were the same methods and the same sort of people as hit Mumbai." Some 170 people died in Mumbai in November, when a determined squad of militants staged a three-day gun attack on the city. Earlier this year, there was an armed attack on government buildings in the middle of Kabul. With the attack in Lahore today, it seems that extremists may have adopted new tactics, preferring guns to the suicide bombings that had become their hallmark. Cricket teams had stopped visiting Pakistan due to the country's deteriorating security situation, with an international tournament cancelled last year and Australia and India refusing to go on pre-planned tours. It was with great difficulty that Pakistani cricket authorities managed to persuade Sri Lanka to tour the country. Sanath Jayasuriya, a Sri Lankan cricketer who was not part of the touring team, said that, even in conflict-torn Sri Lanka, cricketers never became the target. "The good news is that they (the team) are all safe," Jayasuriya said. The second Test between Sri Lanka and hosts Pakistan has been called off according to a Sri Lankan cricket board official. "We are trying to bring the team back as quickly as possible. The test match has been cancelled," he told Reuters. | ['world/sri-lanka-cricket-team-attack', 'sport/sri-lanka-cricket-team', 'sport/cricket', 'sport/sport', 'tone/news', 'world/srilanka', 'world/pakistan', 'world/world', 'world/salmaan-taseer', 'world/south-and-central-asia', 'type/article', 'profile/saeedshah'] | world/sri-lanka-cricket-team-attack | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2009-03-03T07:00:37Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
commentisfree/2008/sep/09/cern.physics | Editorial: LHC exposes competing visions of the purpose of science | When Cern, Europe's nuclear research organisation, finally flicks the on switch for its Large Hadron Collider (LHC) tomorrow, deep in the rock near Lake Geneva, more than proton particles will begin colliding. The LHC has exposed competing visions of the purpose of science. For physicists, the LHC may help solve some of the most unplumbed mysteries of the universe and the origins of time. Others have been left asking whether the purpose of science remains the pure pursuit of knowledge. There is no doubt about where one of Britain's most eminent scientists stands. At the annual science festival in Liverpool last night, Professor Sir David King, the president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (and former chief scientific adviser to the government), called for a cultural re-evaluation. According to Prof King, it is "astonishing" that efforts can be focused on esoteric discoveries in physics when the planet is faced with more pressing issues, such as climate change, epidemic diseases and food production in developing countries. He wants the best minds - and money - to be redirected to solving immediate problems. One thing cannot be denied: those who have seen the LHC will testify that it is an awe-inspiring monument. Curving round a vast subterranean chamber, the machine, some 27km in circumference, is the world's largest particle accelerator. Once it is switched on, it will fire beams of hadron particles in opposite directions at 99.9999991% of the speed of light, recreating the conditions that existed moments after the big bang. Among other things, scientists hope that the collisions will produce the Higgs boson - a particle key to unlocking the secrets of the universe's creation. Are such matters mere abstract, academic interests? That is not a fair question. Science should not be ruled by crude utilitarian considerations. Progress rarely happens through meticulous planning, or to order. Sometimes discoveries are serendipitous - apples may fall from trees. Sometimes discoveries are accidental, as when Alexander Fleming came upon penicillin, or one Cern employee, Tim Berners-Lee, invented the world wide web. And so it will be with the LHC. We do not know exactly what it will uncover. What we do know is that over two decades, it has brought together more than 20 individual governments and more than 10,000 scientists and engineers in an act of complex scientific collaboration unmatched in history. This is a model of international cooperation and goodwill, at a time when such things are needed more than ever. And not least in the areas Prof King has rightly identified as so urgent. | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'science/cern', 'science/physics', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'world/world', 'science/science', 'type/article', 'tone/editorials', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/editorialsandreply'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2008-09-08T23:01:00Z | true | ENERGY |
sustainable-business/2015/jan/26/plastic-oceans-environment-waste-recycling-fish | We could end up with 'as much plastic in our oceans as fish' | A failure to address the mountains of waste in the developing world will result in as much plastic in our oceans as fish, the head of Ocean Conservancy has warned. Andreas Merkl, CEO of the Washington-based environmental NGO, said the combination in the developing world of a burgeoning middle class and low recycling rates will lead to an exponential rise in the amount of plastic washed out to sea. If governments and the private sector fail to solve this problem, “we end up with an ocean that has an amount of plastic that’s in the same order of magnitude as the amount of fish, in terms of tonnes”, Merkl told Guardian Sustainable Business. “We have enormous uncertainty about what that actually means, but it is a situation where you cannot call yourself an ocean conservationist or any person that cares about the ocean and find that even remotely acceptable.” There are currently estimated to be around 800m tonnes of fish in the oceans and 100m to 150m tonnes of plastic. This is increasing by around 20m tonnes a year, but that growth is expected to accelerate as far greater numbers of people are able to afford to buy products that are made with, or packaged in, plastic. Plastic is not just harming the marine environment, but also providing a huge economic cost to fishermen and tourism, Catherine Novelli, US undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, said at a private meeting at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week. Novelli said the problems were becoming particularly acute in regions – such as parts of Asia – that have a huge middle class, but trash collection of only around 40%, compared with 95% in the US. Pointing to the circular economy – the idea of turning trash into raw materials for new products – as one of the key solutions, she said: “We need to have a real economic analysis of the entire supply chain and target what needs to be done and work with friendly governments and cities to show what practically can be done. You have to bring it to reality otherwise everyone despairs.” It’s important for business leaders and policy makers to come out of their separate silos and work together on solutions, Novelli said, adding that there is an opportunity to partner with big and influential countries like China and India to redesign the world economy. “We all have the same issues of what is threatening us,” she said. “There are different perspectives, but that is all to the good.” In the search for practical solutions, the Trash Free Seas Alliance, a collaboration between industry and NGOs, is planning to carry out detailed studies in three or four countries, with a particular emphasis on Asia. Merkl says the plan is to “really dig into the economics of collection and recycling so that people will find it profitable to collect and to separate. The fact is that even at a scavenger economy level of daily wages, recycling these types of plastics are currently not worthwhile, which is why so much just ends up going in the ocean. The question, then, is how do we fundamentally change that.” He said it was disingenuous to seek a ban on non-recyclable flexible plastic, like cellophane, as it is an “enormous accelerator in lifestyles”. Not only does wrapping food reduce the spread of typhoid, but single-use containers gives people access to clean water. Fortunately, Merkl said the issue is starting to rise up the political agenda, helped by the sight of giant gyres of marine debris and by people from the developed world going on beach holidays and finding plastics clinging to their bodies. There is also growing concern about the toxicity of fish that end up eating small fragments of plastic, which they mistake for plankton. It’s a health issue,” Merkl said. “It’s an equity issue. It’s a land pollution issue and it’s an ocean pollution issue. “For example, between 50m to 60m individual sachets of water are thrown away every day in Nigeria alone. If you go to Lagos, they’re drowning in sachets and they are clogging the drainage system.” While improving collection and recycling is the quickest way to drive change, Merkl insisted that plastics companies and consumer goods firms also must act decisively. “We would love to see a simplification of the plastics used,” he said. “We’d like to see less colour and an end to gluing sleeves of advertising around plastic containers. So there’s a bunch of design work that we can do and is very, very important.” Ellen MacArthur, who broke the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe and is now a leading activist in creating a circular economy, also said changes in all sectors of society are needed. She is encouraging private companies and cities to collaborate to ensure that “everything has value to the economy in the future” and does not just get thrown away. Bill McDonough, the US designer and author who believes we can design materials, systems, companies and products that continuously improve over time, said the Chinese were starting to take the lead in turning the circular economy from an idea into reality. McDonough, the co-creator of the cradle-to-cradle design concept, said the authorities in Beijing are currently moving from “promoting the circular economy to implementing it”. We need to design things that are valuable for next use and stop using the words ‘end of life’,” he said. “Being less bad is not being good. We need to start from the mindset of what would plastics look like if the ocean is fabulous.” The water hub is funded by Grundfos. All content is editorially independent except for pieces labelled “brought to you by”. Find out more here. | ['sustainable-business/series/water', 'sustainable-business/sustainable-business', 'sustainable-business/waste-and-recycling', 'business/business', 'environment/environment', 'environment/waste', 'environment/oceans', 'environment/recycling', 'type/article', 'profile/joconfino'] | environment/recycling | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2015-01-26T21:24:05Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
uk-news/2024/mar/01/climate-activists-convicted-of-criminal-damage-after-smashing-glass-door-of-jp-morgan | Climate activists convicted of criminal damage after smashing glass door of JP Morgan | Five climate change activists have been convicted of smashing a glass revolving door at JP Morgan’s European headquarters after a judge said their beliefs did not “afford them a defence”. Stephanie Aylett, 29, Pamela Bellinger, 66, Amy Pritchard, 38, Adelheid Russenberger, 32 and Rosemary Webster, 66, used hammers and chisels to cause “many thousands of pounds” of damage during the Extinction Rebellion protest. They smashed a custom-built revolving door and a large glazed panel at the entrance to the US bank’s Victoria Embankment offices in the City of London on 1 September 2021. Pritchard told Inner London crown court the policies of JP Morgan had led to the deaths of “hundreds of thousands of children”. But the judge, Silas Reid, asked the jury to “put aside sympathy or prejudice” when the trial began. He said: “You may have views about those actions or organisations, you may have views about climate change. This is not a trial about climate change. It is a trial about criminal damage. It is nothing more than that and nothing less.” The five women were convicted of causing criminal damage after a two-week trial. Reid adjourned sentencing until 7 June. Reid told the jury: “The reasons behind their protests don’t afford them a defence in this case. None of these defendants did these things for the fun of it, or because they are criminal people. “They did it because they honestly believed it was something they needed to do. Well, they are not allowed to do it. It is a crime.” During legal arguments Reid had ruled Aylett and her co-defendants could talk about their beliefs in relation to climate change in front of the jury. He said: “Ms Aylett is entitled to tell the jury about her beliefs. She is entitled to say what her beliefs about climate change are. “I would be shocked, having previously dealt with Ms Aylett, if the jury came to any conclusion other than that she holds her beliefs about climate change with anything other than the utmost honesty. “They are perfectly entitled to talk about their beliefs in relation to climate change. What they hoped to achieve must be relevant. “The depth to which they have feelings about something is potentially very important. What will not happen is the defendants using the witness box to further any protest.” Giving evidence, Russenberger told jurors: “Protest and direct action can, and does, lead to change … it’s through protest and direct action that we have the right to vote even if we don’t own property. “I do deny that the damage was criminal, not all damage is criminal. I thought about how the board at JP Morgan would surely want to know about what was happening. The prosecution said I was going to damage the building come what may but that is not the case. “I have never suggested that the board members of JP Morgan knew what they were doing was wrong. I damaged a window because I believed that the board members of JP Morgan would consent to the damage.” The five – Aylett, of St Albans, Herts; Bellinger, of Leicester; Pritchard, of Walthamstow; Russenberger, of Richmond-upon-Thames, south-west London; and Webster, of Dorchester, Dorset, all denied but were convicted of criminal damage. | ['uk/uk', 'business/jpmorgan', 'environment/extinction-rebellion', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/extinction-rebellion | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2024-03-01T19:33:01Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
us-news/2020/feb/08/guerneville-wine-country-climate-crisis-business | After the wildfires: tourist firms in California's wine country say no one is coming | Like so many other wine country towns dependent on tourism and out-of-town visitors, the California resort community of Guerneville typically experiences a winter downturn. Business owners know to prepare for it. Restaurant owners scale back seasonal staff. Hotels offer discounted rates. But this winter, no one was prepared for the aftershocks of the second major wildfire to hit Sonoma county in three seasons – one that prompted widespread mandatory evacuations and panic. No one was prepared for the after-effects of weeks of power shutoffs, a preventative measure during high fire weather. Business owners still reeling from the cancelled bookings and loss of business during peak tourism season in the fall are now struggling more than ever to get through the winter. “There just are not enough people coming into town,” said Larry Boeger, the owner of the Timberline at the River restaurant. “We’re closed during the week. We stopped offering brunch. Last winter, we were open every day.” In a region ruled by an industry where image means everything, Guerneville is experiencing an unforeseen economic impact of climate change. The Kincade fire, which burned more than 77,700 acres in Sonoma county in 2019, was miles away from the community of 4,500 along the Russian River, but officials evacuated the region as a precaution, fearing a repeat of the 2017 Tubbs fire that killed 22 people. The lush green hills and pastural vineyards that define the area remained largely untouched, but some fear the deluge of news drove away prospective visitors who pictured a barren wasteland. “It was a different scenario, but the fact that it was another big fire in Sonoma county, all the imagery of 2017 came to light in people’s heads,” said Claudia Vecchio, the president of Sonoma County Tourism. “Between the level of evacuation, which was widespread, and this ‘once again’ kind of mentality, it’s almost a more difficult perception issue than we had back in 2017.” Data on the number of visitors these past few years have been skewed because evacuations and home destruction have affected local hotel stays. But months after the Kincade fire, bookings are down in Guerneville. Boeger and other business owners are seeking out loans to stay afloat through the winter. “I’m looking out the window right now and there’s nothing but empty parking places,” Boeger said. “It scares people to think that their favorite vacation place isn’t safe any more,” said Megan Perkins, a manager with Russian River Vacation Homes. “They Google the area that they’re coming to visit or coming to book, they’re finding the articles about all the things that have gone wrong and how scary things have been. I think that’s impacting the amount of bookings we’re seeing.” The economic impact of the wildfires has come in waves. In preparing for leaner winter months, Sonoma county business owners know they need to build up a nest egg during the last hurrah of the tourism season, the fall harvest. During this time, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) began cutting the power to large swaths of the state in massive power shutoffs that officials have described as California’s “new normal”. The unpredictability of that time period led to a lot of preemptive cancellations. Boeger lost two wedding parties, which would have brought him up to $12,000 a night. “PG&E planned to turn off the electricity the week before Thanksgiving, so we had Thanksgiving reservations canceling, we had Christmas parties canceling,” Boeger said. “People were calling to say, ‘I’m sorry, if I can’t count on doing my daughter’s wedding dinner here, then we’re going to reschedule somewhere else’.” Perkins’ company realized it was too unsafe to have guests staying in rentals without power if there was a chance of wildfire danger. Then once the fire hit and the mandatory evacuation order came down, they had to get everyone out. “We also personally, everybody who works here, had to evacuate,” she said. “We had to help all our guests get out, cancel anyone who was coming in, and this was usually a very lucrative time because fall is gorgeous in this area. We weren’t available to take bookings for the rest of the year and into the beginning of this year.” Elsewhere in Sonoma county, some felt that the slow season was a bad time to take the temperature of the wildfire’s economic toll. David Howard, the owner of Howling Wine Tours in Healdsburg, says he’s received a fair number of bookings for wedding parties in the critical on-season of summer and fall, and that the winter has not been as slow for him as those in Guerneville. But after three years of losing business during the peak month for wine tours – in 2018, the smoke from the Camp fire in Paradise choked much of the Bay Area and kept everybody indoors – the problems are still there. “We’ve had three years of crushingly bad numbers,” Howard said. “It’s hit everybody in our business.” Tourism is a $2bn industry in the county, according to Sonoma County Tourism, with one in 10 jobs in hospitality. To help protect this, the organization is working on a new marketing push to encourage long-distance travelers and wedding planners to visit in the spring and early summer – a time when wildfire risk is low and power shutoffs unlikely. “People are wondering if Sonoma is reliable place to visit,” Vecchio said. “We’re telling people to choose to come to Sonoma county, but choose to come when there isn’t that sort of uncertainty.” In the meantime, Guerneville holds out hope in making it through this lean winter. “We’re continuing to message our repeat guests and people who have stayed out here before that it is safe, it’s fun, come stay with us again,” Perkins said. | ['us-news/california', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'food/wine', 'us-news/us-news', 'environment/environment', 'world/wildfires', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/vivian-ho', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/west-coast-news'] | world/wildfires | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2020-02-08T11:00:35Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2013/jul/05/renewable-energy-desertec-foundation-dii | Desert solar power partners Desertec Foundation and Dii split up | The two main advocates of a European renewable energy revolution driven by a vast grid of desert solar power have split, each accusing the other of poor communication. Both the Desertec Foundation and the Desertec Industrial Initiative (Dii) say their plans to generate power from deserts across the world remains uncompromised despite the decision, which was made by the Foundation at an extraordinary board meeting last week. Their partnership began in 2009 when they came together to promote a €400bn project that aimed to provide 15% of Europe's power by 2050. But the relationship has since soured. Thiemo Gropp, founder of the Desertec Foundation, said he had repeatedly raised concerns to Dii about the company's corporate governance and strategic consultation. He cited an article in which Dii CEO Paul van Son described Desertec's original vision as "one-dimensional thinking" and appeared to announce a change in Dii's strategy. Gropp said the Foundation had not been told about the change and was deeply concerned about the reputational damage Desertec may have suffered. He said that despite the split, the Foundation was upbeat about other projects it was involved in Saudi Arabia and South America. Dii head of communications Klaus Schmidtke said the company was disappointed with the Foundation's decision, but that it would not affect Dii's direction. "We are not happy about the decision but we believe it does not effect our work here at Dii. And also it does not effect the realisation of desert power in the Middle East or North Africa," he said. Schmidtke said that the move by Desertec came as a surprise, especially as Desertec's founders and Dii's CEO had been together at a function the day before the board meeting where the decision was made. He said the article on EurActiv.com had misrepresented Van Son and that this misunderstanding could have been worked out by discussion. "From my point of view it is not enough to have seen a news article. It makes more sense to talk about it and not to make decisions on such a base," said Schmidtke. He went on to say that Dii's work on desert energy production for Europe would proceed unaffected because the relationship between the two bodies had never been intrinsic to Dii's operations. "In the past, the Foundation has had little impact on determining Dii's objectives, our strategy or our activities," said Schmidtke. Dii was an initiative formed between Desertec and a group of powerful corporate partners. They aimed to create a regulatory and political framework for the Desertec concept in the Middle East and north Africa. Shareholders included Deutsche Bank, UniCredit, HSH Nordbank and First Solar. Their partnership contributed to the building of a 12 sq km solar farm at Ouarzazate in Morocco. Both groups have left the door open to working together in future. | ['environment/solarpower', 'environment/deserts', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/environment', 'environment/energy', 'tone/news', 'world/europe-news', 'world/world', 'world/morocco', 'world/middleeast', 'world/africa', 'business/business', 'business/energy-industry', 'science/energy', 'science/physics', 'science/science', 'technology/energy', 'technology/technology', 'type/article', 'profile/karl-mathiesen'] | environment/solarpower | ENERGY | 2013-07-05T10:16:12Z | true | ENERGY |
business/2023/nov/14/wind-developer-orsted-bosses-exit-us | Wind developer Ørsted bosses exit after £3bn-plus failure | The world’s biggest offshore wind developer, Denmark’s Ørsted, has lost two of its most senior executives after it abandoned a pair of windfarm projects off the US coast at a cost of more than £3bn. Ørsted told investors that its chief financial officer, Daniel Lerup, and chief operating officer, Richard Hunter, had agreed to step down from their roles with immediate effect because the company needed “new and different capabilities”. Less than a fortnight ago, Ørsted reported heavy losses for the last financial quarter after cancelling two big windfarms off the New Jersey coast because of escalating costs. The company blamed high inflation, rising interest rates and supply chain bottlenecks for the decision to scrap its plans for the Ocean Wind I and II offshore schemes. It has also pulled out of a consortium that was due to bid for offshore wind projects in Norway. Mads Nipper, the Ørsted chief executive, will remain in his role. He said the board of directors agreed with the outgoing executives that the company needed “new and different capabilities” to “strengthen Ørsted’s journey into the future”. He added: “Ørsted, along with the rest of the industry, is experiencing a challenging and volatile business environment.” The construction of multibillion-pound offshore windfarms has become significantly more costly in recent months because the price of materials has spiralled in line with rising inflation. This has been compounded by higher financing costs due to the recent hike in interest rates. The global cost pressures have wiped billions from the market value of major offshore wind developers and cast doubt on the future of big projects. This has raised concern over government clean energy targets and whether climate goals can be achieved. Sweden’s Vattenfall has scrapped plans for a huge offshore windfarm off the UK’s Norfolk coast because rising costs meant it was no longer profitable. The company won a government contract to build the Norfolk Boreas project after bidding a record low price of £37.35 a megawatt hour (MWh) for the electricity generated, but it said costs had “changed dramatically” since then. Ørsted is expected to decide whether to move ahead with the third phase of its giant Hornsea offshore windfarm off the Yorkshire coast before the end of the year. Hornsea 3 would be the single largest windfarm in the world and would play a key role in the UK’s ambition to increase its offshore wind capacity five-fold to 50GW by the end of the decade. The company also bid £37.35 a MWh to win a government subsidy contract. News of the Ørsted shake-up came as the German government said it had agreed a multibillion-euro rescue deal with Siemens Energy to shore up its balance sheet amid increasing problems at its wind turbine division. The government announced on Tuesday it would provide Siemens, one of the world’s biggest wind turbine makers, with guarantees worth €7.5bn (£6.5bn) as part of a deal with other stakeholders to help the company fulfil its order book. The company had warned that heavy losses at its wind turbine arm, Siemens Gamesa, meant it could struggle to secure guarantees needed to support a growing order book from its usual banking partners. The company is expected to report a €4.5bn loss this year due to the cost of correcting a string of technical faults on its newest onshore wind turbine models, which has been compounded by inflation. | ['business/energy-industry', 'business/business', 'environment/windpower', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/energy', 'environment/environment', 'campaign/email/business-today', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/jillian-ambrose', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business'] | environment/energy | ENERGY | 2023-11-14T13:39:12Z | true | ENERGY |
travel/2001/feb/20/netjetters2000sam.netjetters | From: Simon (20 Feb) | Milly, Milly, Milly, What did I say about New Zealand? Didn't I say don't bother with it? Didn't I tell you it's nothing but wind and rain and hills full of bored looking sheep? And then you go and book a flight there. Are you nuts? You've obviously fallen for the charms of that snake-in-the-grass Sam, and he's not letting on how wet and boring it all is. Why do you think the travel agent man had trouble getting you a flight? Why do you think no-one else wants to fly there? It might be something to do with there being nothing of any interest to do when you get there, or it could just be cos it's wet and cold for nine months of the year and you've just missed the other three. Do youself a huge favour - even if you ain't gonna schlep over to Perth, for God's sake stay in Sydney for Mardi Gras rather than freeze in some shack in NZ. Really, one day you'll thank me for this. Simon | ['travel/netjetters2000sam', 'travel/netjetters', 'travel/travel', 'travel/netjettersblog', 'type/article'] | travel/netjetters2000sam | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2001-02-20T19:32:44Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
us-news/2017/nov/07/hurricane-irma-florida-nursing-home-deaths-lawsuit | 'They let people die': searching for justice after Florida's nursing home tragedy | Erika Navarro finds it hard to hold back the tears when she talks of her two grandparents who fell victim to the sweltering heat of a Florida nursing home that lost power and air conditioning after Hurricane Irma swept through in September. Just days before his death at the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills, and one day before the storm hit, Navarro, 30, had a final FaceTime conversation with Miguel Franco in which she promised she was on her way home from California to celebrate his 93rd birthday. A little less that four weeks later, Navarro joined the rest of her heartbroken family at the bedside of her 90-year-old grandmother Cecilia at a hospice in Miami, to which she had been evacuated. She died having never recovered from the ordeal of spending several days in the facility in Hollywood, Florida, with temperatures close to or above 100F (37.7C). Next week will mark two months since the tragedy that claimed 14 lives, led to the home’s closure and sparked criminal investigations by two law enforcement agencies and inquiries by state health officials and the US Senate. Yet the family are still waiting for answers. “It was something so simple that killed first my grandfather then my grandmother, and I’m so angry about it,” said Navarro, whose mother Margarita has launched a wrongful death lawsuit against the nursing home’s owners. The legal filing alleges “negligence and reckless indifference” to the plight of the home’s residents by failing to evacuate them or call 911 until some began to experience acute respiratory distress. It was later determined that the body temperature of one deceased victim was 109.9F (43.2C). “There is a hospital like not even across a big street,” Navarro said. “They could have just walked over and asked for help. It just angers me they didn’t do anything about it, they just let people die. It’s so inhumane especially from people who are caregivers. Whoever or however many must be held accountable and brought to justice because this is a homicide and we want the people responsible to pay for that. “We also hope it opens people’s eyes to the healthcare system and that changes happen so nothing like this happens to anyone’s family ever again. [The lawsuit] is a voice for others who passed or suffered in that facility that maybe don’t have family, don’t have people fighting for them.” Neither of the two criminal inquiries into what happened at Hollywood Hills have yet yielded any conclusions or recommendations. The Florida department of law enforcement said only that its investigation was ongoing, while the Hollywood police department did not respond to requests for comment. The Florida agency of healthcare administration (AHCA), however, has already delivered its verdict, accusing the home’s administrators of “gross medical and criminal recklessness” and withdrawing their license to operate, a decision its owners say they are “vigorously challenging” in court. “This facility failed its residents multiple times throughout this horrifying ordeal,” Justin Senior, the AHCA secretary, said in a statement that claimed the residents were denied timely medical care because nursing staff delayed calling for help. “It is unfathomable that a medical professional would not know to call 911 immediately in an emergency situation.” Senior also criticised nursing staff making “late entries” to patients’ medical records. In one episode he described as “egregious”, an entry was made “that stated the patient was resting in bed with respirations even and unlabored, however, this resident had already died before this entry was made.” Lawyers for the home said in a written statement that staff did everything they could and that repeated calls were made to the utility company Florida Power and Light highlighting the urgent need for air conditioning to be restored. “Caregivers continuously monitored their residents, offered them hydration, and implemented efforts to keep the facility temperatures as comfortable as possible during what was an emergency situation in the midst of a statewide hurricane disaster,” attorneys Julie Allison and Kirsten Ullman wrote. The AHCA’s findings, they said, “simply do not describe the actual environment that existed. There was no indication, based on actual environment conditions and Hollywood Hills’ well-founded belief that its air conditioning power was being prioritized for restoration, to cause a belief that subjecting residents to the trauma of evacuation was necessary.” Additionally, they said, medical notes were documented late because of the emergency circumstances beyond caregivers’ control, and that attending the residents was their priority. Navarro, meanwhile, said her family was still struggling to come to terms with what happened. “It’s particularly hard on my mom and her siblings who lost both their parents,” she said. “To think my grandfather was left to die by himself with nobody around him, no family, no one to hold his hand, no one to tell him ‘go in peace, we’re with you’, it’s like a nightmare. It hurts that we couldn’t be there for him. His last words to me are now forever in my head, ‘just hurry up and get here.’ It was like he was waiting for me to get there, to see me, to hug me. The only thing that brings me a little bit of peace to get through this is I know I gave him all the love that I could.” | ['us-news/florida', 'world/hurricane-irma', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/natural-disasters', 'world/hurricanes', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/richardluscombe', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news'] | world/hurricanes | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2017-11-08T05:00:35Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
global-development/2012/nov/29/straw-western-kenya-water-carbon | Straw poll finds in favour of western Kenya's water and carbon solution | Clar Ni Chonghaile | Judy Sitati is going to a funeral. She is dressed in her best clothes and in her black handbag she carries a bottle of water. It is clear and safe – the product of a unique project financed by carbon credits. "I used to buy firewood to boil water. I would spend 150 shillings [about £1] a week. Now, I use the money to buy books, or sugar for tea, or soap," says Sitati, who stops to chat to volunteers from the carbon for water project on a rutted road in Kenya's Western Province. In April and May last year, Swiss-based disease control company Vestergaard Frandsen distributed more than 877,000 LifeStraw Family filters to households in this land of sugar cane plantations and mist-capped hills where piped water is rare and unsafe for drinking. The microbiological filter is composed of a plastic container and a long hose leading to a tube equipped with a hollow fibre filter, which catches bacteria, parasites and viruses. The company estimates that approximately 90% of Western Province's population – about 4.5 million people – now benefit from clean water. People save money on both firewood, because they no longer have to boil water to make it safe – which in turn reduces emissions, and medicines. A recent report (pdf) estimated the cost to Kenya of deforestation at about 6bn shillings (£44m) a year. But what makes this $30m project unique, apart from the scale, is the financing. The programme is the first safe water project to generate gold standard voluntary emissions reductions carbon credits, and has earned 1.4m credits so far. The gold standard was established by the NGO community to enhance governance in carbon markets and drive best practice. Every six months, an independent auditor verifies the emissions reductions from the carbon for water project. Edward Hanrahan, director of ClimateCare, an independent profit-for-purpose firm that trades the credits on behalf of Vestergaard Frandsen, said the scheme was a "blueprint for a multiple outcomes project … you achieve your development objectives and environmental objectives". The credits are purchased by large corporations, including beverage firms, healthcare companies and carmakers, to offset their emissions. The proceeds will be reinvested to make the project sustainable over 10 years. "[The financing model] pays for how much you achieve in terms of behaviour change rather than paying for implementation," says Alison Hill, managing director for climate at Vestergaard Frandsen. This model, she says, harnesses the strengths of the private sector, where payment is tied to performance and cost efficiencies are the norm. It also offers a degree of certainty and sustainability. But there is a burden of proof. Every six months, hundreds of local LifeStraw employees, often on boda bodas (motorbike taxis), visit 15,000 to 20,000 households to evaluate use, educate, and carry out maintenance. Francis Jerry Makwogo, a LifeStraw educator, enters mother-of-six Evelyne Naliaka's mud-walled home and uses his touch phone to scan the barcode on her filter. Using a wizard on his mobile, he questions her about the filter and her water habits; the answers form part of one of the most detailed datasets in Kenya. Some critics of the scheme have claimed that many people in Western Province would not boil water anyway, but would instead drink water from lakes and streams without treatment. They also question whether people value products given at no cost, like the filter. Vestergaard Frandsen and ClimateCare counter, saying people may not have been boiling water before because they could not afford to, but when their economic conditions improve, they will. However, a more serious threat to the carbon for water project may be the crash in carbon credit prices. When the project started, the average price was 10 times what it is today. "That really threatens the viability of the programme," Hill says. "It also creates an opportunity for development agencies or other funders … to relook at the way they structure donor aid and share the risk." She says talks are under way with bilateral and multilateral funders to look at dual financing. "[Vestergaard Frandsen] does not have either the financial position or the cash to scale [the project] up … what we are looking to do is share some of the risk and financing responsibilities of the upfront capital." Dual financing could result in other donors focusing on the health impacts of the project. "We are seeing less amoebic dysentery, less typhoid. We have not seen cholera and this was a cholera-prone region … I think LifeStraw has chased it out," says Fred Amudavi, district public health officer for Kakamega Central in Western Province. Preliminary data suggests significant reductions in diarrhoea and dehydration in children under five. "The results are significant and … promising," says John Haskew, an academic clinical fellow in public health at Oxford University working with the Kenyan national health system. "We think we are seeing something real but clearly it is too early to know for certain," he says, adding that the next step is to do laboratory analysis to determine the type of diarrhoea, and embark on household water sampling. The team has also built an electronic database of about 9,000 patients who are HIV positive. "We're helping to strengthen the pathways of care in the act of evaluating this … there are so many parameters that we can really start to build programmes and act on," Haskew says. Apart from the environmental and health impacts of the carbon for water project, there is something else, explains Laban Achoka, a LifeStraw co-ordinator, as he walks from house to house along a lane lined with banana trees and corn fields. "It empowers the community," says the 28-year-old. "They have that energy and zeal because they think, 'I am healthy and tomorrow I will be healthy, and tomorrow is going to be a good day'." • This article was amended on 29 November 2012 to remove preliminary data from an unpublished study | ['global-development/access-to-water', 'global-development/environmental-sustainability', 'global-development/global-development', 'tone/features', 'environment/water', 'environment/carbon-offset-projects', 'environment/environment', 'type/article'] | environment/carbon-offset-projects | EMISSIONS | 2012-11-29T06:59:00Z | true | EMISSIONS |
business/2010/jan/10/coal-power-cold-energy | Cold weather fuels use of coal | A large number of older coal-fired power stations which until recently had been operating on restricted hours as they incur tough emissions restrictions are working around the clock to counter concerns over dwindling energy stocks during the extreme cold weather. Andrew Horstead, risk analyst for energy and carbon specialist Utilyx, said: "The extreme conditions of the last week show that now, more than ever, the UK government needs to embrace a diverse mix of energy. While it is important to commit to the low-carbon sources of energy, we need to ensure that energy can be quickly accessed in times of peak demand through improved gas storage and investment in clean-coal power stations." There are also suggestions that power plants are using the panic over energy supply to burn dirtier "brown" coal. As demand from freezing households goes off the scale, coal has leapfrogged gas to become Britain's number one energy source. It now accounts for 45% of the UK energy mix compared with natural gas at 37%, according to the latest figures from Elexon, the company responsible for balancing the market. Associated British Ports says its port at Immingham has seen a significant increase in coal imports. "[This] is expected to carry on at a higher than normal rate during the cold snap," the company confirmed. Power generating firm Drax bought huge amounts of coal when prices fell last year. "Drax is burning a lot. It is a swing producer and can ratchet up quickly if called upon," said a spokesman. Nick Rau, energy campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: "This surge in the burning of coal is a knee-jerk reaction, but it reveals that we haven't approached energy provision in a strategic way." | ['business/business', 'environment/coal', 'business/gas', 'environment/energy', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'profile/nickmathiason', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/businessandmedia', 'theobserver/businessandmedia/news'] | environment/coal | ENERGY | 2010-01-10T00:06:50Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2024/oct/01/stretchy-dairy-cheese-now-possible-without-cows-company-says | Stretchy dairy cheese now possible without cows, company says | Stretchy dairy cheese could now be made without any cows, after the development of yeast strains that produce the crucial milk proteins. The key to the development, by Israeli company DairyX, is producing casein proteins that are able to self-assemble into the tiny balls that give regular cheese and yoghurt their stretchiness and creaminess. Existing plant-based cheeses often fail to deliver the textures that dairy lovers prize, and the company believes it is the first to report this breakthrough. Cattle have a major impact on the climate and natural world, owing to the methane gas they burp and the pollution and destruction of nature associated with the global industry. The development of lower-impact alternatives to regular dairy and meat has accelerated in recent years, with the production of plant-based foods and meat grown in vessels. DairyX’s approach is a third route – precision fermentation. It is now scaling up its operation and aims to seek the regulatory approval needed for consumers to buy the product in 2027. If successful, the caseins could be used by cheese and yoghurt companies as a drop-in replacement for dairy milk, without changes to equipment or ingredients. Other companies developing fermented caseins include New Culture in the US, which is focusing on mozzarella, and Australia’s Eden Brew, targeting cow-free milk, as well as All G Foods, Fooditive and Standing Ovation. “People have been trying to take the cow out of making dairy since the late 1970s,” said Dr Arik Ryvkin, DairyX founder and chief executive. Early efforts used plant protein but about a decade ago biotechnology developments opened a new path, pioneered by the company Perfect Day, he said. “We now bring the last step in that line of evolution … helping dairy companies make the exact products consumers desire while helping cows live happier lives.” Ryvkin previously followed a vegan diet for 10 years, but became frustrated at being unable to include good cheese in what he ate: “So I slipped, and then decided to solve the problem for everyone.” Many existing plant-based dairy products use additives, such as stabilisers, emulsifiers and thickeners, but still do not fully replicate the stretchiness and creaminess of regular dairy products. DairyX used engineered yeast strains to produce casein that is genetically identical to dairy proteins. But for these proteins to self-assemble into the tiny balls – called micelles – they also had to perfect the addition of other attached molecules which determine the properties of the protein. Dr Stella Child, at the Good Food Institute Europe, which supports alternative protein development, said: “Producing caseins that can self-assemble into micelles – while not the only method of developing these ‘building blocks of dairy’ – could help to bring affordable and attractive products to the market sooner by reducing production costs and eliminating the need for additives.” The scientists tested and refined their research by coagulating the proteins in the same way as when making cheese. They have yet to taste the product, as this requires regulatory approval. Galit Kuznets, at DairyX, said. “Our casein also eliminates the need for hormones and antibiotics [used in cows] on dairy farms.” The company is using evolutionary techniques to select for the yeast strains that produce the largest amount of proteins, aiming to make the product the same price as dairy casein. Price parity and taste are the key to future success, said Ryvkin. Preliminary analysis indicates that climate-heating greenhouse gases from the production of DairyX’s fermented casein are 90% lower than for regular dairy if the leftover yeast mass is reused, potentially as food ingredients, or 50% lower if not. All precision fermentation products require far less land and water than their animal counterparts. Other approaches to cow-free dairy proteins are being taken by companies such as Israel’s NewMoo, which is growing casein proteins in plant seeds, and New Zealand’s Daisy Lab, which is making “all yeast, no beast” whey powder. | ['environment/food', 'environment/farming', 'food/cheese', 'food/vegan', 'environment/environment', 'food/food', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/damiancarrington', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/farming | BIODIVERSITY | 2024-10-01T11:36:18Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2016/sep/06/state-schools-face-solar-tax-hike-but-private-schools-exempted | State schools face solar tax hike - but private schools exempted | Many state schools with solar panels are set to be hit with a tax hike, according to government plans, but private schools, free schools and academies will not be affected due to their charitable status. Campaigners say the move will end the installation of solar energy for most schools. The government proposes to end an exemption for small solar panel installations (less than 50 kilowatts) and charge business rates on them from April 2017. The charity 10:10 has calculated this will cost schools more than £820 a year for the average 10kW installation and, combined with recent cuts to the subsidy paid for rooftop solar energy, make future projects risky or uneconomic. As recently as September 2015, schools could expect to pay back the costs of installation in five to eight years, but the new regime would mean payback times of at least 12 years and perhaps never, 10:10 says. The changes to subsidies, which are estimated to have cost 12,000 jobs nationwide, have already forced 10:10 to close its Solar Schools programme, which had installed more than 2,000 panels on 80 schools since 2011, working with more than 30,000 pupils. “This new tax hike is just nonsensical,” said Cecily Spelling, at 10:10. “It’s punishing those that have already installed solar and discouraging more in the future. It’s about so much more than just generating energy - it brings communities together and gets people excited about the positive things they can do to tackle climate change. “It’s also a brilliant resource for science, technology and maths education. It’s so sad that only a very few, select schools will be able to experience this kind of solar-powered magic in the future. It is just so unjust.” Research conducted for Nesta and Solar Schools found participants felt more engaged in taking action on climate change, with more than 70% changing their behaviour to save energy. Adam Stanley, assistant headteacher at Liss primary school in Hampshire, said: “The prime reason [for installing solar panels] was the attraction of a clean sustainable form of energy, which sent out a very clear message that we were serious about looking after the environment.” He said the subsidy cuts have already discouraged other schools from following suit. “The news that the government now intends to increase business rates fills me with despair. Not only will we struggle to break even on our investment, but by the exemption of schools with charitable status you are creating a two tier system which penalises local authority schools. I urge [ministers] to rethink this rash decision.” Winchester College is among the private schools which recently installed solar energy, adding 500 panels to its rooftops. Samantha Williams, headteacher of Middleton primary school in Leeds, said: “Installing solar on our roof has been a great thing for the school, the pupils and the community. The changes to the feed-in tariff were bad enough but the new business rates being thrown into the mix too will stop schools in their tracks and punish those around the country who have already done the right thing and installed.” The proposed change in business rates will also affect many solar installations on commercial buildings larger than the 50kW exemption, hiking up charges by six to eight times, according to the Solar Trade Association (STA). The STA says there are already 23,000 non-domestic rooftop installations that would be affected and is calling on the government to make all self-owned rooftop solar panels exempt from business rates. A government spokesperson said: “Solar deployment is a UK success story with almost 11GW of capacity now installed, and the government is committed to providing secure, clean and affordable energy now and in the future.” He said: “Business rates are based on valuations from the independent Valuation Office Agency. We will look closely at the impacts of the forthcoming valuation, and consult on how to put the right support in place for businesses to adjust to any changes.” | ['environment/solarpower', 'environment/environment', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/energy', 'education/schools', 'education/private-schools', 'education/education', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/damiancarrington', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/solarpower | ENERGY | 2016-09-06T15:18:40Z | true | ENERGY |
technology/2017/apr/26/amazon-echo-look-webcam-choose-fashion-outfits-alexa-smart-selfie-camera | Amazon unveils Echo Look, a selfie camera to help you choose what to wear | Amazon has unveiled the Echo Look, a new voice-controlled selfie camera pitched as the ultimate bedroom companion that allows AI assistant Alexa to give you fashion tips and tell you what to wear. The camera, which is available by invitation only in the US costing $200 (£156), stands on a shelf armed with four LEDs for lighting, a depth-sensing system and a microphone array to receive commands just like Amazon’s other Alexa-powered Echo and Echo Dot. The camera uses the depth information to produce “computer vision-based” blurred backgrounds so you can apparently look your best in full-length selfies. It will also capture video, so you can give your audience a twirl in your finery. But Echo Look is more than just a glorified Echo Dot with a camera, says Amazon. The company’s machine-learning system will compare the photos of different outfits you’re wearing and judge which one is more “in” at that very moment. Amazon said on its product page for Echo Look: “Style Check keeps your look on point using advanced machine-learning algorithms and advice from fashion specialists. “Submit two photos for a second opinion on which outfit looks best on you based on fit, colour, styling and current trends.” Amazon promises that Echo Look’s style advice will get better the more people use it and the more fashion advisors pitch in. Echo Look performs all the duties of other Echo devices as well, allowing users to set alarms, ask questions, get the headlines, play music and the many other different activities Alexa is capable of. For piece of mind, a button on the side turns off both the camera and the always-listening microphone. Whether buyers will be happy installing what is essentially an internet-connected smart camera in their bedrooms remains to be seen. But a system capable of taking full-length photos or short videos so people can get a 360-degree view of themselves should appeal to the selfie-obsessed hordes already populating social media. Alexa, lights! How I turned my home into a sci-fi dream | ['technology/amazon', 'technology/voice-recognition', 'technology/technology', 'technology/internet', 'technology/efinance', 'technology/smart-homes', 'fashion/fashion', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'technology/gadgets', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'technology/amazon-alexa', 'technology/smart-speaker', 'technology/virtual-assistant', 'profile/samuel-gibbs', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-technology'] | technology/gadgets | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2017-04-26T16:18:41Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
uk-news/2023/may/31/firefighters-tackle-scottish-highlands-wildfire-that-may-be-largest-ever-in-uk | Firefighters tackle Highlands wildfire that may become UK’s largest ever | Firefighters have spent four days battling a wildfire in the Scottish Highlands that officials believe is on its way to becoming the largest by area on record in the UK and which has been photographed from space. The fire broke out at Cannich near Inverness on Sunday and has grown to an area measuring roughly 8km by 8km (24 square miles). Two firefighters were injured on Tuesday after being in an accident in their all-terrain vehicle while tackling the blaze. They have since been discharged from the hospital, the community safety minister, Siobhian Brown, said in the Scottish parliament on Wednesday. While firefighters are still investigating the cause of the fire, the Scottish fire and rescue service is appealing to the public to take great care when outdoors. “It is crucial that people act safely and responsibly in rural environments and follow the countryside code,” the agency said. The agency noted that, since last week, firefighters had responded to fires in the same area as the Cannich blaze on four occasions. Scottish fire and rescue service (SFRS) has since extended a wildfire warning it had in place since Friday to 5 June. “As the warm and dry weather continues, so too does the risk of wildfire,” said SFRS group commander Niall MacLennan. “The ongoing incident at Cannich shows just how large these fires can become.” Smoke from the latest fire has been photographed from space by Nasa satellites. In parliament on Wednesday, Brown committed the Scottish government to raising awareness of wildfire prevention after the Labour Highlands and Islands MSP, Rhoda Grant, noted suggestions that wild camping may have ignited the blaze. “The weather and the condition of vegetation at this time of year lends themselves to fires starting easily and spreading quickly,” Brown said. “It is crucial people act safely and responsibly. One heat source can cause ignition and if the wind changes direction the smallest fire can spread and devastate entire communities, hillsides, livestock, farmland, wildlife, protected woodland and sites of special interest.” The Conservative MSP Rachael Hamilton, who said the fire was “estimated to become the largest by area on record”, questioned the minister over how the Scottish government was looking into wildfire prevention beyond awareness campaigns. “We know an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure,” Hamilton said. “We cannot control the weather and clearly no amount of signposting and public awareness will stop fires like this from occurring. “What we do know we can do is boost wildlife resilience in vulnerable areas. Managing fuel load on these landscapes protects people, property and habitat.” Brown responded that the Scottish government “has set a world-leading” target to restore 250,000 hectares (620,000 acres) of degraded peatland by 2030 and that more than 65,000 hectares (160,000 acres) have already been restored. SFRS asked members of the public to avoid walking their dogs near where the helicopters are releasing water, and to close their windows and doors. | ['uk/scotland', 'world/wildfires', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/vivian-ho', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | world/wildfires | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2023-05-31T22:20:33Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2017/feb/20/images-of-new-bleaching-on-great-barrier-reef-heighten-fears-of-coral-death | Images of new bleaching on Great Barrier Reef heighten fears of coral death | The embattled Great Barrier Reef could face yet more severe coral bleaching in the coming month, with areas badly hit by last year’s event at risk of death. Images taken by local divers last week and shared exclusively with the Guardian by the Australian Marine Conservation Society show newly bleached corals discovered near Palm Island. Most of the Great Barrier Reef has been placed on red alert for coral bleaching for the coming month by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Its satellite thermal maps have projected unusually warm waters off eastern Australia after an extreme heatwave just over a week ago saw land temperatures reach above 47C in parts of the country. According to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, sea surface temperatures from Cape Tribulation to Townsville have been up to 2C higher than normal for the time of year for more than a month. The NOAA Coral Reef Watch’s forecast for the next four weeks has placed an even higher level alert on parts of the far northern, northern and central reef, indicating mortality is likely. Corals south of Cairns, in the Whitsundays and parts of the far northern reef that were badly hit by last year’s mass bleaching event are at fatal risk. Imogen Zethoven, the Great Barrier Reef’s campaign director for the AMCS, said the projections for the next four weeks, plus evidence of new coral bleaching, were “extremely concerning”. The bleaching that occurred over eight to nine months of last year was the worst-ever on record for the Great Barrier Reef, with as much as 85% of coral between Cape York and Lizard Island dying. Twenty-two per cent of corals over the entire reef are dead. Zethoven pointed to projections by NOAA that severe bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef would occur annually by 2043 if nothing was done to reduce emissions. “The reef will be gone before annual severe bleaching,” she said. “It won’t survive even biennial bleaching.” The $1bn reef fund announced by the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, in June last year was a “cynical rebadging exercise” undercut by its support for fossil fuel initiatives such as Adani’s Carmicheal coalmine “that will spell catastrophe for the reef”, Zethoven said. “There’s no doubt about that anymore,” she said. “They know what they are doing and they should come clean with the Australian public that they have no interest in the long-term survival of the Great Barrier Reef. “To the average person on the street, that’s what it looks like. And if the government thinks that’s not the case, they’re out of touch.” In December last year the government’s Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund granted Adani “conditional approval” to $1bn loan for its Carmicheal coalmine and rail project in central Queensland, which could produce 60m tons of coal annually for 60 years. Warmer ocean temperatures brought about by climate change is a key factor in coral bleaching. Polling suggests that more than two-thirds of Australians believe the reef’s condition should be declared a national emergency. Zethoven said the government had made “a very deliberate decision to go down the coal road”, despite it jeopardising the reef’s future prospects as well as the 70,000 jobs in regional Queensland that depend on it. John Rumney, a diving operator based in Port Douglas, said the “commercial advantage” to saving the reef went beyond jobs. Much of coastal Queensland was “majorly invested” in reef tourism, he said. The federal government’s measures to save the reef were hypocrisy and lip service, he said, when it was simultaneously “actively supporting the cause of the cancer – the worst cause”. “It’s immoral that those of us who are making our living from a healthy environment are paying taxes to subsidise infrastructure that’s going to cause climate change in a major way for the next 50 years,” he said. “If this all goes ahead, we’re basically dooming our tourism industry.” Rumney said he had seen new and extensive bleaching of corals from Cairns to Townsville. “There are definite large areas of mortality. It’s just the next depressing moment. Before, the reef has bleached and recovered but now we’re talking about how often is it bleaching and what percentage is left.” Areas that suffered in last year’s event were now less resilient and there seemed to be less coral strong enough to spawn. Climate change-induced mass bleaching increasingly resembled a catastrophe the reef would be unable to recover from, he said. “It’s weaker, just like humans,” Rumney said. “If you’re already down and out with a cold or cancer, you’re less resilient – the next thing that comes along is going to knock you back more. “It’s the continual onslaught that will eventually kill the reef.” | ['environment/great-barrier-reef', 'environment/environment', 'australia-news/queensland', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'profile/elle-hunt', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/great-barrier-reef | BIODIVERSITY | 2017-02-19T19:00:16Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2023/sep/21/farmers-like-me-can-contribute-to-a-hedge-fund-for-nature-at-little-cost-to-themselves | Farmers like me can contribute to a hedge fund for nature at little cost to themselves | Letter | I’m a Sussex farmer and have sold my hedge cutter (Letters, 14 September). My only regret is that I didn’t scrap it, as it will continue to do damage, just not on my farm. Our hedges are now billowing with life, the sliver of loss for food production is tiny in the grand scheme of things, and the effect on nature recovery has been astonishing, instant and long overdue. I’m no fan of the lawn initiative No Mow May; it leaves me wondering what the bugs do in June or February to survive. With hedgerows there’s an ecological knowledge gap. Farmers know about growing food, but can be poorly informed about the needs of the wildlife. Using gut instinct alone, I might have refrained from cutting until September to avoid late nesters, or November to keep berries for birds, then wham, the annual short back and sides would smarten up the place and my mother would breathe a sigh of relief; her generation does like to see a “tidy” farm. It helps to view this from the standpoint of a moth. We’re all aware of their dramatic declines; when I was a child, our porch light would be heaving with them, but sadly it’s rare to see any today. Our clean car windscreens are a testament to this declining trend. The life cycle of these heroes of pollination includes winter dormancy – and it’s no surprise that this takes place in hedges. I wholeheartedly support considerate hedgerow management for road safety and in livestock areas; some rural counties would be impassable if it wasn’t for the skilled trim work of the dedicated farmers who maintain those iconic topiaries. But across great swathes of our green and pleasant land, farmers could give a little back to nature by doing nothing – enjoy a well-earned day off, save some diesel and marvel at the wonders throughout the year. James Dunlop Baird Littlehampton, West Sussex | ['environment/biodiversity', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/environment', 'environment/farming', 'environment/wildlife', 'type/article', 'tone/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/wildlife | BIODIVERSITY | 2023-09-21T17:02:34Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
artanddesign/2018/apr/19/daniel-maclise-palace-westminster-artist-london | Westminster artist’s reputation 'sullied by London grime' | Almost 150 years after he died, ending his life exhausted and depressed at apparent failure, the Irish artist Daniel Maclise has been vindicated: it was London filth, not his technique, which tarnished his reputation and the surface of his two masterpieces, the biggest paintings in the Palace of Westminster. “It is a tale of horror and disappointment,” said Malcolm Hay, curator of works of art in the palace. “The one thing I hope we can do is to turn back the clock and give poor Maclise his due.” The unveiling of the two gigantic paintings in 1865 – 100 sq metres, heaving with soldiers and sailors, guns and horses, depicting the meeting of the victorious generals Wellington and Blücher after the battle of Waterloo, and the death of Nelson at Trafalgar – should have been the greatest moment of of the artist’s life. Each had taken a year to paint and years of research. Instead his work was greeted with moans about the cost and shock that the surface of the earlier painting was turning black. A large conservation project has now started to improve on at least 30 previous attempts to make the paintings look better. Conservators are gently removing grime-infused wax and discoloured varnishes as well as the soot and dust trapped in the layers. Where the wax cannot be cleared without causing further damage, gentle warming to melt it slightly can cure the white bloom which makes the paintings even murkier. Originally the paintings were full of vivid details in red and blue. Now, on a dull day, the yellow overhead lamps help turn them sepia. Depictions of the weapons, uniform and equipment – meticulously researched by the artist, who interviewed veterans, read accounts of both campaigns, and studied relics including Wellington’s sword and the real coat Nelson was wearing when a French sniper landed the fatal shot – are all lost in the gloom. However, better lighting, experiments have proved, will also add to the dramatic difference. Maclise was the envy of every other artist in England when he won the commission to create two enormous frescoes, each costing more than £3,000, to decorate the Royal Gallery in the House of Lords when the palace was rebuilt after the fire of 1834. His full-scale drawings were a sensation at the Royal Academy, and created a buzz again in 2015 when they were exhibited for the first time in a lifetime. The Fine Arts Commission, led by Prince Albert, had insisted on the works being in fresco – seen, according to Hay, as the noblest art form. Albert sent Maclise to Germany to study the technique, which involves painting on dry plaster then spraying with a fixative. But by the time the paintings were complete Albert was dead, and the public was fed up with the endless palace work and its costs. The blackened paintings were attributed to the painter’s technique and materials, and Albert’s alien German fresco. “I think there was a very cold wind blowing on Maclise after Albert’s death,” Hay said. The conservation work, which has involved research by academics in Germany on the fresco technique, has absolved both men of blame. Despite damage from leaking windows, settlement cracks probably dating from the 19th century, and the near destruction of the gallery in the second world war when masonry from a bombed tower crashed through the roof, the frescoed plaster is still sound. “None of it was poor Maclise’s fault,” said Caroline Babington, collections care manager. “The place was still a building site and the whole city was burning coal. It wasn’t the paint turning black, it was just filthy London air.” The work will cost about £100,000 – but will also provide a condition check for the paintings before the project is dwarfed by the epic and bitterly contested restoration of the entire decaying Palace of Westminster, tentatively costed at between £3.5bn and £5.7bn. | ['artanddesign/painting', 'artanddesign/art', 'uk-news/palace-of-westminster', 'uk/london', 'environment/pollution', 'artanddesign/artanddesign', 'culture/culture', 'uk/uk', 'world/ireland', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/maevkennedy', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | environment/pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2018-04-19T18:51:22Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
global-development-professionals-network/2015/sep/04/climate-change-western-states-fail-to-fulfil-pledges-to-developing-countries | Climate change: western states fail to fulfil pledges to developing countries | The US and other countries need to pay up their $5.8bn of outstanding pledges to help developing countries to cope with climate change or risk derailing already fragile climate talks, the head of the UN’s Green Climate Fund has said. Dozens of NGOs, governments and development agencies were queuing up to put to work a total $10.2bn in promised finance, said GCF executive director Hela Cheikhrouhou. Already 20 organisations have passed through the fund’s accreditation process, meaning they will be able to pitch for funding for projects, such as transitions to solar energy or drought-resistant crops that would help the developing world adapt to climate change or reduce emissions. She said she expected the number of accredited organisations to hit 100 and for the first tranche of projects to be funded before the Paris climate talks in December. Cheikhrouhou said leaving 43% of pledges unfulfilled would damage developing countries’ trust that the rich world is serious about helping them adjust to the changing climate. “It certainly would erode the confidence because climate finance is one of the most difficult negotiation themes,” she said. “We need a stronger push from a high level.” The GCF is often considered the sole shining light from the dismal climate conference in Copenhagen in 2009. It was set up as the main mechanism to raise $100bn a year in climate finance from rich countries by 2020 to assist poor nations that contributed little to global emissions to move to greener economies and build resilience to the effects of climate change. The fund would not run the projects itself, but accredit NGOs, development banks and the governments of developing nations to receive the money. However governments have been reluctant to contribute money into the fund. During the lead-up to last year’s climate talks in Lima $10.2bn was eventually pledged, but even that is now proving difficult to secure. US president Barack Obama pledged $3bn, but it is unclear whether he will be able to pass the funding through a Republican congress France, Italy and Canada are also among the tardy. The governments of Sweden and the Marshall Islands and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) joined Cheikhrouhou in urging those countries to fulfil financial promises they made before the Lima climate talks in 2014. Sweden is currently the largest per capita donor to the fund at $60.50 per person – six times more for each citizen than the US has pledged. The Swedish minister for international development cooperation, Isabella Lövin, said: “I hope that the US will also live up to its commitments because the US and the entire world will be affected by climate change.” Marshall Islands foreign minister Tony de Brum said: “No issue is more central to trust in Paris than finance. Nobody should underestimate how critical it is for the most vulnerable to know that the $100bn a year by 2020 promised at the 11th hour in Copenhagen will be delivered. And right now, we have no understanding or assurance that even a fraction of that will be delivered. This is a big, gaping trust gap that needs to be filled before Paris.” “The fact that the United States – which originally put the $100bn target on the table – is yet to make its own initial contribution to the GCF is a cause for concern. We all know the difficulties President Obama faces, but hope the US will make good on its own $3bn promise as soon as the new fiscal year ticks over next month.” Cheikhrouhou described a “creeping sense of disappointment” because instead of building momentum for the GCF after a flurry of pledges in the lead-up to last year’s Lima talks, impetus appeared to be drifting away. “I’m disappointed that no more new contributors have come forward in 2015,” she said, adding that she felt the fund needed to reach $15bn by 2018 in order to remain on track for the 2020 target. “My worry is, when I see the text of the Paris Accord, and see that references to the future of the Green Climate Fund are dwindling and weakening over the months.” Fulfilling the pledges is also critical for the impetus for the climate talks in Paris, said Saleemul Huq, the director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development. “The UN talks on climate change have a history of financing pledges from developed countries which then are either not delivered or fudged. This seems to be happening again with the green climate fund pledges of $100bn a year from 2020 onwards, with current pledges only an insignificant fraction of that figure,” he said. A spokesman for the UNDP said it was important all countries converted their pledges as “vast amounts of capital” would eventually be needed to tackle climate change. However, the fund has achieved the 50% level of financing it needs to begin actively lending and Astrid Manroth, head of sustainable investment Europe at Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (another of the GCF’s accredited entities), said she thought the level of finance would increase once the fund began investing in projects. This is set to happen at the next board meeting of the fund in November. “If there’s no change to the current status it will of course impact speed and scale of implementation. On the other hand, for me the binding constraint is project development capacity and project preparation. We need to get that right, and then I am convinced that there will be sufficient financing,” she said. Join our community of development professionals and humanitarians. Follow@GuardianGDP on Twitter, and have your say on issues around water in development using #H2Oideas. | ['working-in-development/working-in-development', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'environment/cop-20-un-climate-change-conference-lima', 'environment/global-climate-talks', 'type/article', 'profile/karl-mathiesen'] | environment/global-climate-talks | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2015-09-04T13:15:53Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
technology/2014/jan/22/space-voyager-music-solar-system | The sound of space: Voyager provides music from solar system and beyond | In space, no one can hear you scream – but the void isn’t quite as silent as you might think. Cosmic particles populate the emptiness of space, and while they make no sound in the conventional sense, their speeding paths can be translated into sounds we can hear. Now Domenico Vicinanza, a project manager at Géant – Europe’s high-speed data network that powers Cern and the Large Hadron Collider among other things – has taken 37 years of data sent back from deep space by Nasa’s Voyager 1 and 2 spacecrafts, and turned it into music. A duet, separated by billions of kilometres Vicinanza used 320,000 measurements collected at one-hour intervals by the cosmic ray detector aboard each spacecraft to build a musical piece, tying different detections to different frequencies of note. Different groups of instruments and sound textures were used to given each of the two different spacecraft - which are separated by billions of kilometres of space – a unique musical voice producing a duet from deep space. “I wanted to compose a musical piece celebrating the Voyager 1 and 2 together, so used the same measurements (proton counts from the cosmic ray detector over the last 37 years) from both spacecrafts, at the exactly same point of time, but at several billions of kilometres of distance one from the other,” said Vicinanza, who is trained musician with a doctorate in Physics. The result of this “data sonification” is an up-tempo string and piano orchestral piece. But there is a serious side to the manipulation of data into audible melodies. “Analysing the melody is exactly the same as looking at data in a spreadsheet, but using the ear,” explained Vicinanza. “The information content is exactly the same: represented by regularities, patterns, changes, trends and peaks.” Data sonification is used to spot trends, correlations and long-range regularities in data that are difficult to identify by looking at the numbers but are much easier to listen out for. Data from the Large Hadron Collider, for instance, was turned into sound by the LHCSound project as part of an outreach initiative to the public, while the International Community for Auditory Display has been hosting conferences focused on auditory analysis of data since 1992. • The sounds of science – turning particle physics into interesting audio | ['technology/data-visualisation', 'technology/digital-music-and-audio', 'music/music', 'science/space', 'science/science', 'technology/technology', 'science/nasa', 'technology/internet', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/samuel-gibbs'] | technology/data-visualisation | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2014-01-22T12:37:28Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2017/jun/12/children-risk-air-pollution-cars-former-uk-chief-scientist-warns | Air pollution more harmful to children in cars than outside, warns top scientist | Children are at risk of dangerous levels of air pollution in cars because exposure to toxic air is often far higher inside than outside vehicles, a former government chief scientific adviser has warned. Prof Sir David King, writing for the Guardian, says walking or cycling to school would be much better for children’s health. The warning comes as the UK government faces a third legal defeat for failing to tackle the country’s illegal levels of air pollution. Air pollution is known to damage children’s developing lungs but recent research also indicates it harms children’s ability to learn at school and may damage their DNA. “Children sitting in the backseat of vehicles are likely to be exposed to dangerous levels [of air pollution],” said King. “You may be driving a cleaner vehicle but your children are sitting in a box collecting toxic gases from all the vehicles around you.” He said new legislation to ban smoking in cars with children had gained widespread support. “So why are we still happy for our children to breathe in toxic emissions in the back of our cars?” “The best thing for all our health is to leave our cars behind,” said King, who now advises the British Lung Foundation. “It’s been shown that the health benefits of walking and cycling far outweigh the costs of breathing in pollution. If more drivers knew the damage they could be doing to their children, I think they’d think twice about getting in the car.” A range of experiments, some as far back as 2001, have shown that drivers inside vehicles are exposed to far higher levels of air pollution than those walking or cycling along the same urban routes. Prof Stephen Holgate, an asthma expert at Southampton University and chair of the Royal College of Physicians working party on air pollution, said there was enough evidence to tell parents that walking and cycling exposes their children to less air pollution than driving. “It is nine to 12 times higher inside the car than outside,” he said. “Children are in the back of the car and often the car has the fans on, just sucking the fresh exhaust coming out of the car or lorry in front of them straight into the back of the car.” Children are more vulnerable than adults, he said, because air pollution can stunt the growing of their lungs and because it increases the risk of sensitisation which can lead to asthma and other respiratory conditions. Holgate said walking or cycling are better when possible, to reduce pollution exposure in cars and to increase physical exercise. He said: “There are multiple benefits to be gained. But parents are confused at the moment because they think there is less pollution in cars than outside, which is not the case.” Ben Barratt, from King’s College London, measured the exposure of people travelling by car, bus, bicycle and walking in London in 2014. “The car driver, by a very long way, was exposed to the highest level of pollution,” he said. “The fumes from the vehicles in front and behind were coming into the car and getting trapped there. It is not true that you can escape pollution by sitting inside a vehicle.” Recent research has added to the concern about the impact of air pollution on children, beyond the direct harm to their lungs. A study in Barcelona showed that air pollution reduces the ability of children to concentrate and slows their reaction times. “This adds to the evidence that air pollution may have potential harmful effects on neurodevelopment,” the scientists wrote. A smaller study, in California, showed higher levels of traffic-related air pollution correlated with increased DNA damage in children.” Children may be especially vulnerable to the effects of telomeric DNA damage due to their physical development as well as developing immune system,” said the scientists. Levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), emitted mostly by diesel vehicles, have been above legal limits in almost 90% of urban areas in the UK since 2010. The toxic fumes are estimated to cause 23,500 early deaths a year and the problem has been called a public health emergency by a cross-party committee of MPs. The environmental law firm ClientEarth has defeated the ministers twice in the courts over the adequacy of government air quality plans. Ministers’ latest proposals were published on 5 May but were widely condemned as inadequate, and ClientEarth is now suing the government a third time. “Air pollution hasn’t been taken seriously,” said Holgate. “There is a very strange situation where the government has to make laws by being taken to court repeatedly. In my view it is really quite appalling that we haven’t started to deal with this properly and put children’s and adults’ health first.” Diesel drivers have been given tax breaks by successive governments, including when King was chief scientific adviser, to buy diesel cars because they have lower carbon dioxide emissions. Stricter regulations were supposed to limit NO2 emissions from diesels but cheating and the exploitation of loopholes by car manufacturers led to vehicles that emitted far more pollution on the road than in lab tests. The British Lung Foundation’s Breathe Easy Week takes place on 12-16 June 2017 and a National Clean Air day in the UK takes place on 15 June. | ['environment/pollution', 'science/davidking', 'politics/transport', 'environment/environment', 'uk/transport', 'uk/uk', 'education/research', 'society/asthma', 'society/health', 'science/science', '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 | 2017-06-12T04:52:56Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
world/2018/apr/25/mountains-and-mountains-of-plastic-life-on-cambodias-polluted-coast | 'Mountains and mountains of plastic': life on Cambodia's polluted coast | Looking down into the water that lies beneath the ramshackle houses of Sihanouk, Cambodia, it is hard to imagine that the sea is there at all. Instead, there is dense layer upon layer of plastic waste clogging the water, piling up around poles that support the wooden homes, carpeting the beach. Floating rubbish in Sihanouk, Cambodia New images of from Sihanouk, in the country’s south west, depict in horrifying detail the extent of Cambodia’s growing problem of plastic pollution and how the tide of unbiodegradable rubbish has become part of the fabric of the lives of communities living in poverty. A woman sweeps her restaurant shopfront Photographer Niamh Peren said she had been “gobsmacked” at the levels of plastic pollution that littered the waters and wharfs of Sihanouk, but emphasised that these mountains of waste also told another story: one is often neglected in the current global discussion around plastic, where poorer countries are often accused of being the biggest culprits in terms of generating plastic waste. “There seems to be no empathy for the fact that for the people living in Sihanouk, there isn’t a water filtration system,” said Peren. “Their tap water is so dirty and undrinkable, that to stay alive they have to buy bottled water and then live among the rubbish it creates because there’s nowhere to put it.” Over the past 15 to 20 years, Cambodia’s water system has improved faster than most of its regional neighbours, though sanitation efforts have mainly been centred in the capital Phnom Penh. However, according to Water.Org, about four million people in Cambodia still lack access to safe water, leaving them with no alternative but to buy endless bottled water, perpetuating the environmentally destructive cycle. The view from a home on the wharf Peren added: “There’s a total blame game that goes on about who generates rubbish and all this plastic but it’s a human story at the end of the day because this plastic waste that all the people here live amongst is unavoidable- they are not about to feed their babies the black muddy liquid that comes out of the taps, it’s poison.” With no systemised waste collection service in the area, - almost every plastic bottle ends up in the water below, along with most other rubbish. With hundreds of families living in these houses on the water, the daily rubbish build up is enormous. Sorted cans are loaded on to a truck at a recycling plant by the Sihanouk port Peren described witnessing fishing boats coming into the wharf after long trips and dumping months of rubbish straight into the water and families living in the shanty houses on stilts doing the same with rubbish from their homes, the majority of which was often plastic packaging and bottles. The plastic bags which also make up the dense blanket of rubbish also speak to Cambodia’s issue with consumption of single use plastic. In urban areas, each person uses an estimated 2,000 plastic bags annually, 10 times more than consumers in China and the EU, and an average of 10m plastic bags are used every day in Phnom Penh alone, according to anti-poverty organization ACRA in 2015. Garbage near the roadside in Sihanouk, Cambodia Nonetheless, in comparison, Cambodia is not as big of a plastic polluter as its Southeast Asian neighbours Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia. These Sihanouk images follow a recent video by British diver Rich Horner which went viral after he documented swimming through a blizzard of plastic pollution in the seas off Bali. Peren said the residents of Sihanouk were caught in a harsh cycle that was being repeated all across the poorer communities in Cambodia. “If you don’t have anyone collecting it, if you don’t have any means to stop it, then this is the reality of what will happen and keep on happening,’ she said. “Every river, every lake just filled with mountains and mountains of plastic as is already the case all over Cambodia.” | ['world/cambodia', 'environment/plastic-bags', 'environment/plastic', 'environment/pollution', 'world/world', 'environment/environment', 'world/asia-pacific', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/hannah-ellis-petersen', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-pictures-'] | environment/plastic | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2018-04-24T22:19:16Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2024/feb/29/uk-600m-backing-jim-ratcliffe-carbon-bomb-petrochemical-plant | UK gives £600m backing to Jim Ratcliffe’s ‘carbon bomb’ petrochemical plant | The UK government is providing a €700m (£600m) guarantee for the billionaire Jim Ratcliffe to build the biggest petrochemical plant in Europe in 30 years that will turbocharge plastic production. The huge petrochemical plant has been described as a “carbon bomb” by campaigners. Being constructed in the Belgian city of Antwerp by Ratcliffe’s company Ineos, it will bring plastic production to Europe on a scale not seen before, just as countries are trying to negotiate a binding global treaty to tackle the growing problem of plastic pollution. More than 350m metric tonnes of plastic waste is produced a year, and by 2060 plastic waste is set to increase to 1bn metric tonnes. Antwerp is a key production centre for plastic in Europe and has created pollution from plastic pellets and emissions that supercharge global heating, campaigners say. But despite admitting the plant’s adverse impact on climate, biodiversity, the environment and the risks to social and human health, the British government has provided financial guarantees of €700m to support the building of Project One in Antwerp. The support from the UK government’s export finance department, an arm of the Department for Business and Trade, to Ratfliffe, now a high-profile part-owner of Manchester United Football Club, exceeds that promised by the same department for countries in Africa and the Middle East to adapt to climate breakdown. Ratcliffe has been lobbying politicians in Europe pushing back against green policies which he claims are driving away investment. Project One will import fracked shale gas from the US, to provide the ethane for the cracker plant that will produce 1450 kilotons of ethylene, which is the building block of plastic, a year. Details of the financial support from the UK government emerged as environmental NGOs prepared a new legal challenge to stop Ratcliffe building Project One. The UK government argues its financial guarantees are in line with its support for a global transition towards net zero. But Jacob Kean-Hammerson, of the Environmental Investigations Agency in the UK, said: “Ineos is a big part of the plastic production supply chain and plastic producers themselves. “By supporting this plant the UK government is financing a huge climate emissions project. What we need is additional funds for climate-related adaptation but the UK is giving more money to a potentially huge emitter than to countries to help them adapt to the impacts of climate change.” Documents show UK Export Finance (UKEF) is aware of the climate impact of Project One. “The project was deemed to have potential to cause a number of adverse environmental and social impacts both during construction and operation,” the UK documents said. Officials carried out a “desktop review” rather than visiting the site at Antwerp. They said a “proposed suite of controls as part of the project’s environmental and social management systems, if implemented effectively, should facilitate the management of these impacts”. UKEF said Ineos had promised to become carbon neutral for Scope 1 and 2 emissions 10 years after the start of operations, which did not therefore hinder the ability of the EU to meet current climate-related policy or international commitments, including the Paris agreement. An Ineos spokesperson said: “Project One will produce the raw material essential for medical products, insulation, transport and packaging. It will have the lowest carbon footprint compared with any plant of its kind in Europe. And by applying state of the art technology, it has a clear roadmap to carbon neutrality within 10 years of startup. Europe needs to be permitted to renew its manufacturing technology and we will strongly defend this project in the court.” The production of plastic is, however, hugely carbon intensive. Over 99% of plastic comes from fossil fuels and plastic production is by far the largest industrial oil, gas and electricity user in the EU, according to the NGO Break Free from Plastic. Fossil fuels cannot be replaced as a feedstock in the petrochemical industry, something Ineos acknowledges. Jeroen Dagevos, of the Plastic Soup Foundation, one of the NGOs challenging Project One, said: “There is a huge problem of plastic pollution from nurdles already in Antwerp and the Netherlands. This plant will bring US-scale plastic production to Europe. The nurdles are everywhere, in the EU alone up to 23bn plastic nurdles end up in the environment every day. “The plastic pollution is not under control. Almost half of plastic production today is for consumer goods, single-use packaging that will be thrown away. We need the industry to solve the problem of pollution they have created, not build a huge new plant to massively increase plastic production.” The UK said Ineos had promised that only 10% of the ethylene produced would be used for single-use plastic. The rest will be used for construction goods, including pipes and cable ducting, according to UKEF. Dagevos said: “How will they monitor this? There are no controls over who is buying the ethylene. This will just boost the production of single-use plastic packaging and throwaway consumer goods in Europe.” A spokesperson for the government said: “UK Export Finance helps UK businesses to win, deliver and get paid for overseas contracts. “Our financing guarantee for Project One secures new export opportunities and is consistent with our continued support for a global transition towards net zero.” Ineos is publicly pushing back against scientific evidence of the human health and environmental and climate impacts of plastic pollution. Research shows that microplastics have been found in human blood for the first time. The global production of single-use plastic is fuelling global heating and less than 10% of the 7bn tonnes of plastic waste already generated globally has been recycled. But Ratcliffe’s company says on its website that plastic needs be treated with “less emotion” and defends the production of single-use plastic, saying less than 2g of plastic package protects a cucumber. “This will extend its ‘shelf life’ by 11 days! A little bit of plastic will prevent a whole lot of food waste.” | ['environment/plastic', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'environment/waste', 'world/belgium', 'environment/pollution', 'politics/trade-policy', 'world/europe-news', 'world/world', 'politics/politics', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/sandralaville', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2024-02-29T15:35:25Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
us-news/2024/apr/05/new-york-pollution-inequality | Pollution burdens nearly half of New York and communities of color most harmed – report | Nearly half of all New Yorkers live in areas with “disproportionate” burdens from pollution, a city report has found. Most affected are communities of color, which are also more vulnerable to impacts from climate change, according to a citywide assessment released on Friday. “We’ve had the orange sky last year, we’re going to have more recurrent extreme weather events that are going to impact the most vulnerable in our communities,” said Elizabeth Yeampierre, executive director of UpRose, an environmental justice group based in Brooklyn. The report, published by the mayor’s office of environmental justice, is the city’s first comprehensive survey of environmental inequalities. It noted that Black New Yorkers are twice as likely to die from heat stress as white New Yorkers and found that the predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods of Harlem and the South Bronx are among the most affected by high-heat days, with the latter registering temperatures 8F (4.5C) hotter than the wealthier and tree-covered areas of the Upper West Side and the Upper East Side. Areas most vulnerable to stormwater flooding include majority Black and Hispanic communities in south-east and central Queens, as well as the south-east Bronx. Researchers attributed many of the disparities to racially discriminatory real estate practices, or redlining. Around two-thirds of people who live in historically redlined areas – a population that is disproportionately Black and Hispanic or Latino – live in zones the city identifies as environmental justice (EJ) areas. These areas were identified based on the state’s disadvantaged communities (DAC) criteria, which uses race and income data. “Understanding what was placed in communities over time, and how do we rectify those injustices, that’s what we’re trying to identify with this [report]”, said Costa Constantinides, a member of the environmental justice advisory board involved in the report and a former city councilmember from Queens. The assessment found that highways, industrial power plants and waste-processing facilities are disproportionately concentrated near communities of color. As of 2021, 13 of the city’s 19 gas-powered “peaker” plant facilities were located in an EJ area, including the South Bronx, Astoria, Queens and Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Meanwhile, EJ communities are less likely to access parks and a quarter of New Yorkers living in poverty struggle to afford public transit fares. “It [the report] ensures that environmental justice is on the city’s agenda,” said Peggy Shepard, executive director of We Act for Environmental Justice and who was involved in the report. “The next stage is developing a comprehensive, city-wide plan to address the environmental justice issues identified in the report, and engaging with those most impacted to develop effective and equitable solutions.” | ['us-news/series/americas-dirty-divide', 'us-news/new-york', 'environment/pollution', 'world/race', 'us-news/us-news', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/aliya-uteuova', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news'] | environment/pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2024-04-06T00:02:09Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
world/2014/oct/24/japan-trade-minister-tepco-shares-yoichi-miyazawa | Japan trade minister in conflict of interest row over Tepco shares | Japan’s government is reeling from its third scandal in a week after the trade minister, who oversees nuclear energy, faced questions over his shares in the company that runs the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Yoichi Miyazawa had already faced embarrassment on Thursday when it was revealed that members of his staff had claimed expenses for a visit to a bondage bar. On Friday, Miyazawa denied there was any conflict of interest over his shares in Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), saying he had decided to place them in a trust rather than sell them. Miyazawa was appointed only days ago after his predecessor, Yuko Obuchi, resigned over a political funding scandal involving her support groups. Hours after Obuchi quit, the justice minister, Midori Matsushima, resigned amid claims that she had violated election laws by distributing paper fans bearing her image to constituents. The double resignation, combined with the furore over Miyazawa’s shares, have dealt a significant blow to the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, as he nears a decision on an unpopular tax rise and attempts to win public support for the restart of a small number of nuclear reactors. Miyazawa attempted to brush off criticism of his ownership of 600 Tepco shares – worth more than $1,800 – which he reportedly bought before the March 2011 triple meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi. Japan’s remaining nuclear reactors were switched off after the disaster. “Keeping [the shares] means I’m supporting Tepco as the minister in charge,” Miyazawa told reporters. Senior colleagues closed ranks around the embattled minister. “I don’t think there is any problem at all,” the chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said. “If someone is sworn in as a minister, the rules say he or she should refrain from trading shares during their term and entrust those shares to a trust bank … minister Miyazawa has already started on that process,” he added. Miyazawa said he had spoken to the staff who had claimed ¥18,230 in expenses for a 2010 visit to a Hiroshima sex bar, where male customers pay to whip tied female employees. Miyazawa stressed that he had not visited the bar. “I have scolded my people and ordered them to pay back the cost” of the visit, he said. Abe had hoped that by acting quickly over the alleged spending irregularities involving Obuchi and Matsushima he could quickly regain the political momentum that saw his first cabinet last almost two years without a reshuffle or resignation. Instead, he is confronting uncomfortable reminders of his first term as prime minister, from late 2006, which ended after just a year. Four of his ministers resigned, and one killed himself. Atsuo Ito, a political analyst, said even if the share controversy did not force Miyazawa out, it was a distraction. “It takes energy away from the administration’s difficult policies, such as raising the sales tax and restarting nuclear reactors,” he told Reuters. “The ruling party wants to avoid further resignations. But this could be a repeat of the first Abe administration that was heavily criticised by the public when he defended his ministers for a long time, even after scandals.” | ['world/japan', 'world/asia-pacific', 'world/world', 'tone/news', 'world/shinzo-abe', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'type/article', 'profile/justinmccurry', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2014-10-24T09:14:50Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2024/nov/02/robot-retrieves-radioactive-fuel-sample-from-fukushima-nuclear-reactor | Robot retrieves radioactive fuel sample from Fukushima nuclear reactor site | A piece of the radioactive fuel left from the meltdown of Japan’s tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has been retrieved from the site using a remote-controlled robot. Investigators used the robot’s fishing-rod-like arm to clip and collect a tiny piece of radioactive material from one of the plant’s three damaged reactors – the first time such a feat has been achieved. Should it prove suitable for testing, scientists hope the sample will yield information that will help determine how to decommission the plant. The plant’s manager, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (Tepco), has said the sample was collected from the surface of a mound of molten debris that sits at the bottom of the Unit 2 reactor’s primary containment vessel. The “telesco” robot, with its frontal tongs still holding the sample, returned to its enclosed container for safe storage after workers in full hazmat gear pulled it out of the containment vessel on Saturday. But the mission is not over until it is certain the sample’s radioactivity is below a set standard and it is safely contained. If the radioactivity exceeds the safety limit then the robot must return to find another piece, but Tepco officials have said they expect the sample will prove to be small enough. The mission started in September and was supposed to last two weeks, but had to be suspended twice. A procedural mistake held up work for nearly three weeks. Then the robot’s two cameras, designed to transmit views of the target areas for its operators in the remote control room, failed. That required the robot to be pulled out entirely for replacement before the mission resumed on Monday. Fukushima Daiichi lost its cooling systems during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, causing meltdowns in three of its reactors. An estimated 880 tons of fuel remains in them, and Tepco has carried out several robotic operations. Tepco said that on Wednesday the robot successfully clipped a piece estimated to weigh about 3 grams from the area underneath the Unit 2 reactor core, from which large amounts of melted fuel fell during the meltdown 13 years ago. The plant’s chief, Akira Ono, said only the tiny sample can provide crucial data to help plan a decommissioning strategy, develop necessary technology and robots and retroactively establish exactly how the accident had developed. The Japanese government and Tepco have set a target of between 30 and 40 years for the cleanup, which experts say is optimistic. No specific plan for the full removal of the fuel debris or its final disposal has been decided. | ['environment/fukushima', 'world/japan', 'world/world', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'world/japan-earthquake-and-tsunami', 'environment/environment', 'world/asia-pacific', 'environment/energy', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/kevin-rawlinson', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/foreign-networks'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2024-11-02T15:23:02Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2023/jun/05/airborne-dna-accidentally-collected-by-air-quality-filters-reveals-state-of-species | Airborne DNA accidentally collected by air-quality filters reveals state of species | From owls to hedgehogs to fungi, genetic material from plants and animals is being inadvertently hoovered up by air-quality monitoring stations around the world, creating an untapped “vault of biodiversity data”, according to a new scientific paper. Globally, thousands of air filters are continually testing for heavy metals and other pollutants in the atmosphere. Scientists are now realising that this monitoring network is also picking up invisible traces of genetic material known as airborne environmental DNA (eDNA) from bits of hair, feathers, saliva and pollen. Testing eDNA from two UK air-quality stations – one in a London park and another in a rural location outside Edinburgh – revealed the presence of more than 180 fungi, insects, mammals, birds and amphibians, including badgers, dormice, little owls, hedgehogs and smooth newts. Plant eDNA was also collected, including yarrow, daisies, nettles, wheat, soya beans and cabbages. The data can tell scientists which animals live nearby, and could become an important tool in monitoring declines in biodiversity by amassing large amounts of local data over long periods of time. “This infrastructure may represent a tremendous opportunity to collect high-resolution biodiversity data on national scales,” researchers wrote in the paper published in Current Biology. “This is gamechanging for our approach to biodiversity monitoring on land.” The increasing rate of species extinctions globally is a huge concern to scientists. “The potential of this cannot be overstated,” said first author Joanne Littlefair from Queen Mary University of London. “Almost every country has some kind of air pollution-monitoring system or network, either government-owned or private, and in many cases both. This could solve a global problem of how to measure biodiversity at a massive scale.” Air monitoring networks, some of which have been running for decades, are concentrated in Europe, Asia, and central and north America, but some are also found across the global south. Collecting eDNA data does not interfere with their ability to monitor air quality. Researchers found they could still collect eDNA from an eight-month-old filter stored at ambient temperatures, and it could last for decades if frozen. They are now encouraging monitoring stations to keep the filters to preserve the eDNA information they contain. Andrew Brown from the UK’s National Physical Laboratory and one of the paper’s authors said: “For the past two decades of my career, I’ve been working on air-quality pollution to assess exposure of the population to potentially harmful pollutants. “To find out this extremely well-established network can be used by an entirely different field of science – and that it has all this hidden potential that we never thought about – is extremely exciting.” The research was carried out in collaboration with a team from York University in Canada. Sampling of eDNA is more developed in aquatic ecosystems, where ecological consultants often use it to survey for the presence of great crested newts. Using airborne systems, scientists from Lund University have been able to gather DNA from 85 insect species, and zoo species have also been identified by sampling the surrounding air. All this opens up a non-invasive way of tracking wildlife, with no need for the animal to be nearby, unlike camera traps or acoustic monitoring. Dr Fabian Roger at Lund University, who was not involved in this latest study, said: “What is exciting is that these filters are collected from an existing monitoring network, which presents an up-and-running network that could be co-opted for biodiversity monitoring. Still at question, he said, was the usefulness of the data in biodiversity monitoring: “Detecting some species some times is not the same as detecting a signal of biodiversity change, which is representative for a larger area.” Researchers still have to analyse data from multiple stations over an extended period. “I fully agree that the potential could be great,” said Roger. 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', 'global-development/global-development', 'environment/biodiversity', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/conservation', 'science/genetics', 'science/science', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/phoebe-weston', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-age-of-extinction'] | environment/series/the-age-of-extinction | BIODIVERSITY | 2023-06-05T15:00:14Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2020/aug/22/britain-first-commercial-refinery-extracting-precious-metals-e-waste-mint-innovation | Britain to get first commercial refinery for extracting precious metals from e-waste | The UK is to get its first commercial refinery for extracting precious metals from electronic waste, which will also be the world’s first to use bacteria rather than cyanide-based processes. A New Zealand startup, Mint Innovation, plans to open the facility within 12 months in Cheshire, in the north of England, after delays caused by the Covid-19 crisis. The UK’s impending exit from the EU has provided an urgent economic need for such a facility – a UN report last month found at least $10bn (£7.9bn) of gold, platinum and other precious metals were dumped every year in a growing mountain of e-waste. When the Commons environmental audit committee launched its inquiry into e-waste and the circular economy last year, its then chair, Mary Creagh, criticised the UK’s “unsustainable” approach to e-waste and called for radical action. The UK produced more e-waste than the EU average and was “one of the worst offenders for exporting e-waste to developing countries ill-equipped to dispose of it in a socially and environmentally responsible way”, she said. Recyclers in the UK have to send printed circuit boards to mainland Europe to have the precious metals they contain extracted. After Brexit, the costs of doing this are expected to rise. Rhys Charles, a researcher at Swansea University’s College of Engineering, said: “If we have to pay import and export duties to access processes it could be detrimental to recycling at a time when it is becoming more strategically important to build our own circular economy.” Mint was set up in 2016 to develop a bio-refinery that combines hydrometallurgy and biotechnology to safely extract metals – including gold, palladium, silver and copper – from e-waste. Ollie Crush, the company’s chief scientific officer, says the key features of its refineries are that they are low-cost, green, and local to where the waste is being created. “The plants are very agricultural, more like a small microbrewery. The regulatory tailwind is for western nations to handle their own waste stream. We offer the same yield as the big smelters, the same level of service and quicker,” he said. “But unlike the smelters, we do not use cyanide and we use less energy, less CO2, less water, less waste. A refinery can be popped into any nation, region or city.’ The Cheshire refinery – Mint has not revealed the plant’s exact location in the county – will initially be able to process 20 tonnes of e-waste per day and, if the demand is there, this can be scaled up. Another plant in the south of England is being considered and a refinery is planned for Sydney, Australia. Jason Love, a professor of molecular inorganic chemistry at Edinburgh University, says technical challenges need to be addressed if the mining of precious metals from electronic waste is to be truly sustainable and environmentally neutral. He said: “What Mint is doing seems very nice but I don’t think it is groundbreaking. The real sticking point is how do you dissolve the metals. The company’s selling point is its use of microbes but that is only one aspect of its process. It is using acids too.” Mint says it does not use cyanide but “common weak acids and a bit of tricky chemistry”. According to Crush: “From the start, it has been our intention to recycle as much of the chemicals we use as possible.” Charles says if Mint can deliver it will be a game-changer. “Localised, smaller scale recovery benefits local people, they see the value of it to their community and town and so are more likely to buy into it. This is how you start to build truly sustainable economic development.” • This article was amended on 25 August 2020 to clarify that Mint has not said where in Cheshire the plant will be located. | ['environment/waste', 'environment/environment', 'technology/technology', 'environment/recycling', 'business/business', 'environment/ethical-living', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/recycling | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2020-08-22T07:00:22Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2018/aug/05/walkers-plastic-crisp-packet-non-recyclable | Crunch time for Walkers over non-recyclable crisp packets | The UK’s biggest crisp brand, Walkers, will come under pressure this week to explain why it is helping to fuel the plastic waste littering the streets and seas by producing more than 7,000 non-recyclable crisp packets every minute. A new analysis carried out by campaign organisation 38 Degrees has found that Walkers is set to produce an additional 28bn plastic crisp packets by 2025 – the date by which the company has pledged to make its crisp packets 100% recyclable, compostable or biodegradable. Crisps and “crisp-style snacks” are popular staples in British households, regularly eaten by 90% of adults, according a recent Mintel report. UK consumers munch their way through 6bn packets of crisps a year. But, although the inside of conventional crisp packets are shiny and look like foil, they are in fact a metallised plastic film. The government- funded body Recycle Now – part of its waste advisory body Wrap (Waste and Resources Action Programme) – advises that no packets are currently recyclable and that they should be put in the rubbish rather than the recycling bin. Beach-cleaning volunteers in Cornwall have retrieved old Walkers packets believed to date from the 1980s and 1990s. On Tuesday, a 38 Degrees petition calling on Walkers and other manufacturers to stop using plastic packaging in its crisp packets will be handed in to the food and drink giant PepsiCo, Walkers’ parent company. Geraint Ashcroft of Cardiff, who started the petition, which now has 270,000 signatures, is meeting senior executives from the firm. Plastic waste has become a charged issue, with TV programmes such as Blue Planet II exposing its impact on the oceans and regular warnings being made over the dangers of a global plastic binge. Walkers produces 11m crisp packets a day at its Leicester factory – one of the world’s largest crisp production plants. That means 7,000 non-recyclable crisp packets are being produced every minute and more than 4bn a year, 38 Degrees said. “This research proves that big companies like Walkers are not taking responsibility for the astounding amount of environmentally damaging plastic waste they are making,” said Lorna Greenwood, campaign manager at 38 Degrees. “There’s huge public concern about the amount of plastic being produced and that means it’s crunch time for Walkers to decide if they will listen to their customers.” A spokesperson for PepsiCo said: “We are committed to achieving 100% recyclable, compostable or biodegradable packaging by 2025. We have a number of initiatives in place to reduce the amount of packaging we use and at the same time we’re examining the use of different packaging materials, both plant and paper based. We are also investing in research and development to explore options to improve the recyclability of our packs. We don’t have all the answers yet, which is why we’re collaborating with leaders in this area to share the latest science and practical solutions.” The company is working with a biotechnology leader, Danimer Scientific, on the development of biodegradable packaging. In the UK it is supporting anti-litter programmes including Leeds By Example, an initiative developed by Hubbub and Ecosurety, which will pilot initiatives to improve recycling rates outside the home. But breakthroughs have already been made. Last year Marks & Spencer slashed the amount of packaging used for its crisps and popcorn by reducing the pocket of air at the top of the bag, in a move which led to 20% less plastic after a switch to a thinner, but strong, type of film. | ['environment/plastic', 'food/snacks', 'environment/recycling', 'business/fooddrinks', 'environment/waste', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'tone/news', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'business/business', 'type/article', 'profile/rebeccasmithers', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/news', 'theobserver/news/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/observer-main'] | environment/recycling | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2018-08-05T09:00:05Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
world/2017/sep/22/puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-dam | Puerto Rico evacuates 70,000 after dam fails in Hurricane Maria's wake | Officials are rushing to evacuate tens of thousands of people from their homes in western Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria inflicted structural damage on a dam and unleashed “extremely dangerous” flash floods. Some 70,000 residents in the municipalities of Isabela and Quebradillas were being evacuated by bus after a crack appeared in the nearly 90-year old Guajataca dam. “It’s a structural failure. I don’t have any more details,” Governor Ricardo Rossello said from the capital, San Juan. “We’re trying to evacuate as many people as possible.” “This is an EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION. Buses are currently evacuating people from the area as quickly as they can,” the US National Weather Service tweeted on Friday . In a later message, the NWS tweeted: “All Areas surrounding the Guajataca River should evacuate NOW. Their lives are in DANGER! Please SHARE!” More than 15in (nearly 40cm) of rain has fallen on the mountains surrounding the Guajataca dam, swelling the reservoir behind the nearly 90-year-old dam, which holds back a manmade lake covering about two square miles (five square kilometres). An engineer inspecting the dam reported a “contained breach” that officials quickly realized was a crack and could be the first sign of total failure of the dam, said Anthony Reynes, a meteorologist with the US National Weather Service. “There’s no clue as to how long or how this can evolve. That is why the authorities are moving so fast, because they also have the challenges of all the debris. It is a really, really dire situation,” Reynes said. “They are trying to mobilize all the resources they can, but it’s not easy. We really don’t know how long it would take for this failure to become a full break of the dam.” The scale of the damage inflicted by Hurricane Maria is only just beginning to emerge, partly because communications to outlying areas of the island were severely hampered by the storm. A government spokesman, Carlos Bermudez, said officials had no communication with 40 of the 78 municipalities on the island more than two days after the category 5 storm crossed the island, toppling power lines and cell phone towers and sending floodwaters cascading through city streets. Maj Gen Derek P Rydholm, deputy to the chief of the air force reserve, said at the Pentagon that it was impossible to say when communication and power would be restored. He said mobile communications systems were being flown in but acknowledged “it’s going to take a while” before people in Puerto Rico will be able to communicate with their families outside the island. Until Friday, he said, “there was no real understanding at all of the gravity of the situation”. Maria was the second major hurricane to hit the Caribbean this month and the strongest storm to hit the US territory in nearly 90 years. It completely knocked out the island’s power, and several rivers hit record flood levels. Officials on the island said on Friday that six people had been confirmed killed by the storm: three died in landslides in Utuadno, in the island’s mountainous center; two drowned in flooding in Toa Baja, west of San Juan; and one died in Bayamón, also near San Juan, after being struck by a panel. Earlier news media reports had the death toll on the island as high as 15. “At the moment, these are fatalities we know of. We know of other potential fatalities through unofficial channels that we haven’t been able to confirm,” said Héctor Pesquera, the government’s secretary of public safety. | ['us-news/puerto-rico', 'world/hurricane-maria', 'world/natural-disasters', 'environment/flooding', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/hurricanes', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'world/caribbean', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-foreign'] | world/hurricane-maria | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2017-09-22T20:55:57Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2015/apr/07/head-of-london-listed-company-linked-to-illegal-clearing-of-peru-rainforest | Head of London-listed company linked to illegal clearing of Peru rainforest | The CEO of a company listed on the London Stock Exchange, that aims to become the world’s largest producer of cocoa, is responsible for illegally clearing swathes of rainforest in the Peruvian Amazon, according to a report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). The website for the Cayman Islands-based company, United Cacao, implies the company could be a force for positive change in the chocolate business, mostly produced in West Africa, stating that it “seeks to provide a clear path forward for ethically-produced cacao to the world marketplace”. But the EIA investigation alleges the company’s founder and CEO, Dennis Melka, has illegally deforested about 7,000 hectares (17,300 acres) of mostly primary rainforest. It says he is looking to expand his agricultural plantations by acquiring 450 units of rural private property in the Amazon, in addition to requesting at least 96,192 additional hectares of public land from the Peruvian government. Melka, who made a fortune in the palm oil business in Malaysia, is now listed as the main actor in a network of 25 companies that have been set up in Peru, according to the EIA investigation. Only one registers Melka as an owner but he is listed as the only person with power of attorney for the remaining 24 companies with the Peruvian property registry, Superintendencia Nacional de Registros Públicos (Sunarp). The forest allegedly cleared by two of Melka’s Peruvian companies adds up to almost 7,000 hectares (ha): 4,870.40 ha in the Nueva Requena project, developed by Plantaciones de Ucayali SAC, in Peru’s eastern Ucayali region, and 2,093.94 ha in Tamshiyacu, developed by Cacao del Perú Norte SAC, in the Loreto region, according to the EIA’s estimates. The EIA report, Deforestation by Definition, estimates the timber felled in clearing this land would fill 125 Olympic swimming pools. According to the Peruvian minister of agriculture and irrigation, Juan Manuel Benites, neither of the companies had legal authorisation to deforest these areas. In August 2014, the Ministry of Environment initiated legal proceedings to suspend the Melka Group’s operations in Tamshiyacu and Nueva Requena. While investigations have been opened, no action has yet been able to halt the companies’ operations, the report said. The Guardian attempted to contact Melka through the London-based Tavistock PR company listed on his website but emails and calls were not returned. Melka, a Czech citizen and resident of the Cayman Islands, implied that his company had not deforested in Peru in an audio interview with Directors Talk Interviews. “By the time the plantation companies actually get to the land, that land has been logged and clearcut of all tropical hardwoods. It’s simply not rainforest…” he said. He went on to accuse “radical NGOs” of having a “neo-colonialist attitude” adding that Peru had 70m ha of rainforest and should not be “importing food to meet the needs of its population”. However, the EIA argues satellite imagery analysis shows that the areas deforested by the Melka Projects were mostly primary forest before the project’s intervention. It is an argument supported by Greg Asner of the Carnegie Institute for Science who led research which used three-dimensional forest mapping data with satellite imaging data to create a map of carbon density in Peru. The carbon stock values in Tamshiyacu prior to the “deforestation event under investigation” averaged 122 metric tons of carbon per hectare, he told the Guardian. “Such high carbon levels are found only in primary tropical forest in this part of the Amazon basin, so the deforestation event must have removed the kind of tall, intact tropical forest canopy that we normally picture when we think of Amazonia.” “Illegal cultivation of agricultural plantations poses perhaps the greatest new threat to the forests of Peru, as the Peruvian government currently lacks the effective power to enforce laws and regulations, even when illegalities are clearly documented and reported,” said Julia Urrunaga, one of the report’s authors and EIA’s Peru director. A legal loophole means authorities can rely on a technical classification of the land that ignores the presence of standing trees in evaluating requests for land use change. Around 20m ha of Peru’s 74m ha of Amazon rainforest have not been classified as forest, leaving it open to being labelled as agricultural land. The report also draws attention to a national player. Grupo Romero, the largest economic actor in the country, already has 22,500 ha of palm oil plantations in operation and has requested the allocation of more than 34,000 additional hectares of public land for palm oil, it says. At the UN Climate Change summit last September, Peru signed a $300m (£191m) deal with Norway to reduce net deforestation to zero by 2021. Yet, according to the report, the Peruvian government is promoting the expansion of palm oil, claiming its cultivation will not threaten forests. | ['environment/deforestation', 'environment/forests', 'world/peru', 'environment/environment', 'environment/conservation', 'world/americas', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/dan-collyns'] | environment/forests | BIODIVERSITY | 2015-04-07T13:09:51Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2018/jan/20/vancouver-aquarium-wont-keep-whales-or-dolphins-captive-after-public-outcry | Vancouver aquarium won't keep whales or dolphins captive after public outcry | For years the Vancouver aquarium fended off pressure from animal right activists, local government and residents, arguing instead that whales and dolphins were central to its mission. But this week the tourist attraction gave in to public pressure, and announced that it would end the practice of keeping cetaceans in captivity. “It had become a local hot topic, to the point where it was just hijacking everything else,” said John Nightingale, the aquarium’s president. “As much as we understand the tremendous value that an animal like a beluga whale brought to our mission … public controversy had gotten to the point where it was just preventing us from moving forward on so many other parts of our mission.” The decision follows years of campaigning in the western Canadian city. In May – after two beluga whales died just weeks apart – municipal authorities voted to ban the aquarium from bringing in new cetaceans. The aquarium vowed to fight back, citing plans for a C$20m Arctic exhibit featuring belugas and the educational and awareness opportunities offered by the captive cetaceans. But public opinion continued to shift – partly galvanised by the deaths of five cetaceans within a 15-month span. Along with the two beluga whales who were found to have died due to an unknown toxin, the facility lost a false killer whale to a bacterial infection and two harbour porpoises, one to pulmonary disease and the other of an unknown cause. Currently the facility is home to just one cetacean: Helen, a Pacific white-sided dolphin with partial flippers. Believed to be in her 30s, Helen has spent more than decade at the aquarium after she was found entangled in a fishing net in Japan. The aquarium said it would weigh its options for the lone dolphin in the coming months although, neither of the solutions being considered are perfect, said Nightingale. The facility could bring in a companion animal to stay with her as long as she lives – which would violate this week’s announcement – or potentially risk her health by sending her to another facility. Another exemption being sought is for the aquarium’s longstanding cetacean rescue program. While more than 99% of rescues are returned to the wild, some cannot be, Nightingale said. The aquarium wants to be allowed to house these animals in its display pools as they wait for them to be moved to their new homes. The announcement was welcomed across the country by animal rights campaigners, who described it as the culmination of a decades-long battle. Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario is now believed to be the only other facility in the country that houses cetaceans, boasting on its website of the “largest collection of beluga whales in the world”. “The Vancouver Aquarium appears to have finally accepted that whale and dolphin captivity is no longer socially acceptable in Canada,” said Camille Labchuk of Animal Justice. “The writing is on the wall for the whale and dolphin captivity industry.” | ['environment/cetaceans', 'environment/whales', 'world/canada', 'world/americas', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/wildlife', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/ashifa-kassam', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-foreign'] | environment/marine-life | BIODIVERSITY | 2018-01-20T09:00:48Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
world/2018/jul/03/so-long-suckers-japan-mourns-killing-of-world-cup-psychic-octopus | So long, suckers! Japan mourns killing of World Cup psychic octopus | Despite correctly predicting the results of Japan’s first three World Cup group matches in Russia, Rabio the “psychic” octopus was unlikely to have foreseen an event of far greater consequence: its own death. One Twitter user speculated that Rabio’s “murder” had condemned Japan to their heartbreaking last-gasp defeat against Belgium on Monday, denying them a place in the quarter-finals. While others thought murder too strong a word for the fisherman’s actions, one agreed that dispatching Rabio was bad karma: “This will be the curse of the Octopus and they won’t win the WC for another century!” Rabio had proved the perfect pundit after being caught off the coast of Obira in northern Japan shortly before the Samurai Blue pulled off a shock 2-1 win over Colombia. After being placed in a plastic pool by Kimio Abe, who caught him, Rabio moved stealthily towards one of three boxes representing a win for Japan, a loss, and a draw, and duly predicted the team’s win over Colombia, its draw with Senegal and defeat to Poland. But as Japan prepared to play Belgium, Abe revealed that the creature had been killed and sold as seafood at the local market soon after it had correctly forecast the result in the Poland match. “I’m glad that all the forecasts turned out correct and Japan moved on to the knockout stage,” Abe told the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper. “I hope Rabio’s successor will accurately tip the results of all games and Japan will win the World Cup.” That was not to be. Coach Akira Nishino’s team did, though, win over millions of neutrals watching on TV around the world, as well as praise from fans back home who had watched the match in the middle of the night, prompting shops to sell “football hangover” kits comprising caffeine-laced energy drinks and strong mint gum. “When we took the lead I thought we were going to win,” said Nao Okada, a university student who burst into tears at a sports bar in Tokyo when the match ended. “It hurts, but it was a really good game … I want Japan to keep playing like that next time,” she told Reuters. Nishino, whose team are ranked 61st in the world, said he took responsibility for the defeat. “When the goal was conceded, I blamed myself, and I question my tactics,” he said, according to Kyodo news. “As for the result, I am very disappointed. I am devastated.” | ['world/japan', 'football/world-cup-2018', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/wildlife', 'football/football', 'type/article', 'profile/justinmccurry', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-foreign'] | environment/marine-life | BIODIVERSITY | 2018-07-03T13:30:31Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2012/nov/01/bloomberg-climate-change-closet-romney | Bloomberg brings climate change out of the closet in stunning snub to Romney | New York City's mayor Michael Bloomberg took climate change out of the closet on Thursday by invoking the issue in his endorsement of Barack Obama. "This November, vote for a president who will lead on climate change," Bloomberg wrote on Twitter. The stunning snub to Mitt Romney, in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, at a stroke turned climate change from liability into a potentially winning political issue in this presidential election. It might even embolden other Republicans, who do support action on climate change, to come out of the closet as well. At least, that seems to be partly Bloomberg's intention. The real test of power will be whether Obama makes climate change part of his standard stump speech – something that has been notably lacking so far – and whether Republicans dare to admit a connection between Sandy and climate change. Obama, in his response to the endorsement, relegated climate change to a lesser item on his list. For Bloomberg it was the focal point as a result of the disaster that has struck his city. "The devastation that Hurricane Sandy brought to New York City and much of the north-east – in lost lives, lost homes and lost business – brought the stakes of next Tuesday's presidential election into sharp relief," Bloomberg wrote. "Our climate is changing. And while the increase in extreme weather we have experienced in New York City and around the world may or may not be the result of it, the risk that it may be — given the devastation it is wreaking — should be enough to compel all elected leaders to take immediate action." Businessweek, which is owned by Bloomberg, made the point even more trenchantly with a cover reading: "It's global warming, stupid." But Bloomberg made a point of rebuking Romney for abandoning his own record on climate change, as governor of Massachusetts, in an effort to win over conservative Republicans. The New York mayor also praises Obama for his efforts on climate change in the White House. "Over the past four years, President Barack Obama has taken major steps to reduce our carbon consumption including setting higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks," Bloomberg said. The mayor went on to invoke the administration's moves to clean up coal-fired power plants – which have been vigorously opposed by Republicans – before citing his own efforts on climate change. Then comes the swipe at the Republican contender. "Mitt Romney, too, has a history of tackling climate change … He couldn't have been more right. But since then, he has reversed course." In the aftermath of Sandy, a number of Democrats including Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and New York's governor Andrew Cuomo have begun talking publicly about climate change. The mention comes after an election season in which climate change has been strangely absent – to the frustration of campaigners and the bewilderment of European observers. For Obama, the silence was strategic. The White House saw climate change as a vulnerability for Obama. Mitt Romney's most prominent mention of climate change was as a laugh line in his convention speech – an attempt to win over conservative Republicans. The Tea Party movement has turned climate denial into a litmus test of conservative credentials – and that has made climate change one of the most sharp divisions between Obama and Romney. But even Republicans who accept climate science are opposed to the kind of sweeping economic transformation required to prevent the most catastrophic effects of global warming. George Pataki, the former governor of New York, argued it was the Democrats' focus on big solutions to climate change had set Republicans on edge. "Part of it is a reaction to the stridency of some of the activists who really are looking to expand government power," he said. He said Obama's policies on climate change amounted to a "massive power grab". "This president and his administration supported the Waxman-Markey bill that was horribly flawed – one more aimed at expanding government control over industry, generated government revenue, and extending favours to friends than at dealing with climate change." | ['environment/climate-crisis', 'us-news/michaelbloomberg', 'environment/climate-change-scepticism', 'us-news/us-politics', 'us-news/us-elections-2012', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/world', 'us-news/barack-obama', 'us-news/mittromney', 'us-news/republicans', 'us-news/democrats', 'tone/analysis', 'type/article', 'profile/suzannegoldenberg', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international'] | environment/climate-change-scepticism | CLIMATE_DENIAL | 2012-11-01T21:48:00Z | true | CLIMATE_DENIAL |
world/audio/2009/oct/28/guardian-daily-podcast | Guardian Daily podcast: Baghdad lobbies to revive nuclear industry | Martin Chulov reports from Baghdad on why the Iraqi government wants to revive its nuclear industry, almost 19 years after Saddam Hussein's reactors were destroyed by British and American bombers. East Africa correspondent Xan Rice looks at the disappearance of British yachting couple Paul and Rachel Chandler, feared to have been captured by Somali pirates. Political correspondent Allegra Stratton outlines the arguments as the government decides the fate of Northern Rock, with No10 favouring remutualisation and the Treasury hoping for a sell-off. Some of Britain's rarest birds are making a comeback, according to a report today from conservation groups. David Adam, our environment correspondent, explains why some more common species are struggling. Spar, the convenience store chain, has 'translated' some descriptions on wine labels into what it says are UK regional dialects. Laura Jewell, the company's wine controller, says the intention is to simplify the information ... and to entertain their customers. | ['news/series/guardiandaily', 'tone/news', 'uk/uk', 'world/world', 'environment/environment', 'politics/politics', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'type/audio'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2009-10-28T07:25:10Z | true | ENERGY |
commentisfree/2007/aug/29/comment.hurricanekatrina | Rebecca Solnit: The Lower Ninth is rising from Katrina's awful ashes | The word "will" comes up constantly in the Lower Ninth Ward. "We Will Rebuild" is spray-painted on empty houses. "It will happen," one organiser told me. Will itself may achieve the ambitious objective of bringing this destroyed inner-city African-American neighbourhood back to life, and for many New Orleans citizens a ferocious determination seems the only alternative to being overwhelmed and becalmed. But the fate of the neighbourhood is still up in the air, from the question of whether enough people can and will make it back, to the nagging questions of how viable a city they will be part of. The majority of houses in this isolated area are still empty, about a tenth of the residents are back - some already living in rehabilitated houses, some camped in stark white trailers, some living elsewhere while getting their houses ready. The place has come a long way already. Even seven months after the storm it was spookily unpopulated and almost untouched since the catastrophe. Cars that had been flipped and tossed by the waters still stood up against buildings, hung over fences and laid on their backs. Houses that had been shoved by the force of the water into the middle of the street or that had been smashed into splinters looked untouched, except by sardonic graffiti: "Thanks for Nothing Fema", was the message to the national emergency agency on one dislodged building; a simple "Baghdad" was emblazoned on another. Debris was everywhere. Today, two years after Hurricane Katrina, the wrecked cars, smashed houses and debris are gone, for the most part, and a lot of the remaining houses look pretty good. People have made their own street signs, further evidence of social strength and institutional weakness. Nena, the Neighbourhood empowerment network association of the Lower Ninth, keeps a map in its office with a green pin for every returnee. The green dots are scattered everywhere, though they represent only a small percentage of homes and residents. A lot of outside organisations are here, but locals lead most of the efforts. I asked Linda Jackson, a Nena member, how the community felt about the assistance pouring in from around the world. She replied: "They're stunned. They never thought the world would reach out the way they did ... We say: You know what, if these people can come down here and take off work, drop out of school for a couple weeks, there's no way, there's just no way we can have a negative attitude. These people feel this way, that's something worth fighting for." The list of who came to help sounds like the setup for a joke: A Black Panther, an accountant, a bunch of Methodists and the mayor of Portland walk into a bar. Or, if you prefer, Brad Pitt, some graduate students and lots of young anarchists. No one yet has assessed the scale of the volunteer influx. It's a safe understatement to say that more than 100,000 volunteers have come from out of town, and they have done everything from medical care, food preparation, demolition and construction to helping with red tape and planning. Unlike mostly middle-class, white Lakeview, or New Orleans East, home to many Vietnamese-Americans, the Lower Ninth is not a new neighbourhood nor one on exceptionally low ground, and its ecological precariousness is relatively recent. There were inhabitants here in the early 19th century, long before the Industrial canal cut off the Lower Ninth along its western edge from the rest of the city. This canal, dug in the 1920s to provide a direct waterway between Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi river, which forms the neighbourhood's southern border, is penned in by levees that had failed catastrophically before, in Hurricane Betsy in 1965. Another watery border, this time in the bayou to the north, was gouged out in the 1960s and named the Mississippi river Gulf Outlet canal, or MR-GO. It created a shorter route for shipping traffic - and for storm surges, salinisation and the loss of some 27,000 acres of wetlands, making yet another unnatural edge of vulnerability for the place. Breaches of the MR-GO canal's levees were responsible for much of the flooding of the Lower Ninth in 2005, and water that surged up this "hurricane highway" may have been responsible for the even more devastating breaches of the Industrial canal. It is a murderous piece of engineering, and even its builders, the US army corps of engineers, agreed that it should be closed. Restoring the wetlands at the Lower Ninth's northern edge is a challenge that has been taken up by a local neighbourhood association, with the University of Wisconsin's water resources management doing the research. One of the first facts that emerged is that a forest had died there, in Bayou Bienvenue. The cypress forest that could still be seen in photographs from the 1950s died of the salinity from the MR-GO canal, and with it went one layer of protection against storm surges. A forest buffers a storm surge, and trees would help hold the wetlands as land rather than open water. These are only small pieces of the large puzzle of restoring one tiny area of the Gulf Coast. The army corps of engineers is rebuilding New Orleans's levees to withstand a Katrina-level event, not a category-5 hurricane. The ocean is rising. The wetlands farther out to sea are eroding. New Orleans had been in steady economic decline since the 1960s, and nothing suggests that's about to turn now. Regeneration of this one neighbourhood could be undermined or sabotaged by these larger forces. But the Gulf Coast will also be rebuilt one piece at a time, and this piece doesn't lack the powerful tools of will, vision or love. · Rebecca Solnit is the author of Hope in the Dark: The Untold History of People Power, and Wanderlust: A history of walking. A longer version of this article is in the latest edition of the Nation comment@theguardian.com. | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'tone/comment', 'us-news/hurricane-katrina', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/world', 'world/hurricanes', 'type/article', 'profile/rebeccasolnit', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/commentanddebate'] | us-news/hurricane-katrina | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2007-08-28T23:05:33Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
world/2022/dec/28/france-ban-on-single-use-restaurant-tableware-hailed-as-fast-food-revolution | Ban on single-use restaurant tableware hailed as fast-food ‘revolution’ in France | Fast-food chains in France are preparing for one of the biggest changes to their restaurants in decades as the government bans disposable plates, cups and tableware for anyone eating or drinking on-site. Chains such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Starbucks and Subway are facing what environmentalists have called a “revolution” on 1 January as pioneering new measures come into force in France to combat waste. Much of the fast-food industry uses an economic model built on throwaway boxes, cups and packaging which customers tip from their tray into a bin straight after eating. Under the new rules, any restaurant with more than 20 seats – including work canteens, bakery chains, fast-food and sushi outlets – will have to provide reusable, washable cups, plates, dishes and cutlery for customers eating in. French environmental groups called it a “complete paradigm shift” for the sector. The roughly 30,000 fast-food outlets in France serve 6bn meals a year, generating an estimated 180,000 tonnes of waste. Environmental groups said 55% of that was generated by people eating in. “We’re extremely happy that this is finally coming into force,” said Alice Elfassi, head of legal affairs for the NGO Zero Waste France, which pushed for the measure in a law that was published in 2020 but gave companies until 2023 to prepare. “Fast food is a sector that produces a lot of waste. Although single-use plastic had already been banned, it had been replaced by large amounts of throwaway products like cardboard, wood, bamboo, which we consider an unacceptable waste of resources.” Zero Waste France and other groups are pressuring the government to carry out proper checks on whether fast food restaurants are respecting the law, and hand out fines if necessary. It said there should also be consideration of what alternatives are put in place. “Most fast-food restaurants won’t switch to classic, long-wearing glass or china that lasts years, they will opt for hard plastic and we have concerns about its durability – will it withstand hundreds of washes or will it be thrown out after only a few? We’ll be vigilant on that.” The law concerns only tableware used by customers sitting down in restaurants. Anyone ordering takeaway, for example from McDonald’s, will continue to receive single-use packaging. But environmental groups hope that single-use takeaway packaging could also be changed in future, for example with customers leaving a deposit for reusable packaging and returning it. The new law means eat-in burgers and sandwiches can no longer be served in a box but they can continue to be wrapped in paper. All other food – including chips, nuggets, pizzas, ice-creams or cakes – must be served on reusable tableware, and drinks in re-usable cups, washed at 60C as in traditional restaurants. Several McDonald’s stores have recently put in place reusable plastic containers for fries, shaped to look exactly like the company’s traditional red disposable packaging. Burger King has trialled reusable bowls and cups with the company’s logo. The challenge for many fast-food restaurants has been to find space to put in dishwasher facilities to clean the cups and plates, and also deploy staff to stop customers throwing them away or taking them home. Some young customers said they worried reusable cups wouldn’t be clean and preferred to get takeaway. Four French environmental groups, including Surfrider and No Plastic In My Sea, published an open letter appealing to customers to stay vigilant and to stop eating in any restaurants where they noticed the new law wasn’t being upheld. | ['world/france', 'world/europe-news', 'world/world', 'food/fast-food', 'environment/environment', 'environment/plastic', 'food/food', 'food/restaurants', 'environment/waste', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/angeliquechrisafis', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-foreign'] | environment/plastic | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2022-12-28T16:25:15Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2020/sep/21/dozens-of-pilot-whales-feared-stranded-in-tasmanias-macquarie-harbour | At least 25 whales dead and more than 200 stranded in Tasmania's Macquarie Harbour | At least 25 pilot whales have died and more than 200 are stranded at Macquarie Harbour on Tasmania’s west coast in what is believed to be one of Australia’s worst beaching events. A government marine conservation team was assessing the health of the whales late on Monday after they became stranded in three spots in and outside Macquarie Heads, near the town of Strahan. Nic Deka, incident controller from Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, told reporters it appeared from the air that about 25 of 30 whales stranded near Ocean Beach, outside the heads, have died. It was unclear how many in two larger groups on sandbars several hundred metres apart off the heads and inside the harbour were dead. Deka said there were about 270 whales stranded across the three sites. “They are in water. It’s very difficult to see how many might be deceased or what condition they’re in,” he said. Authorities hope to launch a rescue mission for surviving whales early on Tuesday, when there would be an outgoing tide. Tasmania is a known whale stranding hotspot as the mammals pass it to and from Antarctica. Deka said beachings were not uncommon in the area, but it was the first in at least 10 years. A department spokeswoman said a decision would be made on whether help was needed from the public once the whales had been assessed. In the meantime, police urged people to stay away and leave the local boat ramp clear for rescuers. Meanwhile, in a more positive development, a humpback whale that took a wrong turn into a crocodile-infested Northern Territory river has swum free after more than two weeks in the murky waterway. It’s the first time a humpback has been spotted in Kakadu national park’s remote East Alligator River, with reports placing it 30km inland. Kakadu national park manager and zoologist Feach Moyle said the whale managed to navigate its way out of the maze of shallow channels back into Van Diemen Gulf over the weekend. “It made its way out on the high tides and we’re pleased it appeared to be in good condition and not suffering any ill effects,” he said in a statement on Monday. Experts weren’t sure why the humpback swam up the muddy tidal river and didn’t migrate south to Antarctica for its annual feed. | ['environment/whales', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'world/world', 'australia-news/tasmania', 'environment/cetaceans', 'environment/environment', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/conservation', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/adam-morton', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/cetaceans | BIODIVERSITY | 2020-09-21T03:06:40Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
education/2014/aug/27/sydney-university-investment-review-coalmine-protests | Sydney University calls investment review after coalmine protests | The University of Sydney has announced a review of its investment policies and said it will suspend investments in coal, following an outcry over $1m in shares it holds in the company behind the controversial Maules Creek mine. The university on Wednesday confirmed it had issued an instruction to make no further purchases in Whitehaven Coal, or the coal and consumable fuel subsector of the ASX, while the review was under way. At the end of June, Greenpeace wrote to the university’s vice-chancellor, Michael Spence, to criticise the Whitehaven investment. Greenpeace urged the university to divest the shares, saying it did not comply with the university’s own investment and environmental policies. The policy states the university will “manage the activities over which it has control and which impact upon the environment in accordance with the principles of ecological sustainability”. Whitehaven’s Maules Creek mine, in northern NSW, has attracted protests from the local community, who are concerned about destruction of the Leard State Forest, home to endangered species and native animals. Environmental groups say the coal produced by mine will lead to 30m tonnes of CO2 emissions a year. “Whitehaven represents everything that is wrong with coalmining,” Greenpeace campaigner Nikola Čašule said. “While this announcement from the University of Sydney is an important first step and a welcome one – because they are taking a leadership role and acknowledging these investments are unethical – the university still hasn’t made any commitment to divesting the $1m still invested in Whitehaven. “We’re calling on the university to now take strong action and divest.” An online campaign against the university’s Whitehaven shares had resulted in 18,000 emails sent to Spence in protest, he said. | ['education/higher-education', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/environment', 'environment/greenpeace', 'environment/activism', 'type/article', 'profile/melissa-davey'] | environment/activism | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2014-08-27T09:47:00Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
environment/2020/mar/02/tranquil-setting-and-a-seafood-meal-plan-the-retirement-home-for-whales | Tranquil setting and a seafood meal plan: the retirement home for whales | More than 300 beluga whales and 60 orcas remain captive in aquariums around the world, with recent films such as Blackfish highlighting the ethics of breeding them for entertainment. The stress can be even more dire for ageing whales that are no longer able to perform for audiences but remain doomed to live out their days in captivity. Now, however, one group of ageing beluga whales and orcas might soon enjoy their golden years in style, part of a groundbreaking whale retirement community in Canada that promises tranquil waters – and a meal plan heavy on the fish. The Whale Sanctuary Project, a US-based organisation, announced this week it had selected a small town in eastern Canada as the testing grounds for its first sanctuary to resettle whales leaving the performance world. “Their quality of life can be a whole lot better than it is in the entertainment parks,” said Dr Lori Marino, the group’s founder. “But they don’t have the survival skills to just be dumped back in the ocean. “[The sanctuary] is much closer to their natural habitat than the way they’re living now.” The organisation looked for roughly 40 hectares (100 acres) of sheltered bay, resistant to storms and frigid temperatures. After scouring North America for a suitable location, including sites off the coast of British Columbia and Washington state, the organisation chose Port Hilford, a coastal community 124 miles north of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The sanctuary would involve running a net along the mouth of the inlet, enclosing the area. The currents there are strong enough to allow a constant flow of water, and the bay teems with marine life. Given that the whales have spent their lives in captivity and would probably suffer immense stress upon release into the wild, the Whale Sanctuary Project plans to feed the whales, as well as providing on-site medical care. If all goes according to plan – pending approvals from the provincial and federal levels of Canadian government and nearly $15m (£11m) in investment – as many as eight beluga whales could swim the waters off Nova Scotia’s eastern shore in 2021. The area is sparsely populated, but the community there has been eager to make it work. “These are people who really get it,” said Marino. “We’ve been struck by how they’ve opened their hearts.” As interest in aquariums wanes and marine parks face mounting backlash, hundreds of whales will inevitably need to find a home in the coming years. “I worked with captive dolphins and beluga whales when I was a student. It wasn’t until I actually saw them in the wild that I realised who they were,” said Marino. “They don’t belong in concrete tanks. They need to have the ocean and all its variety and challenges to really thrive.” In June, Canada passed the “Free Willy bill” banning the trade, possession, capture and breeding of cetaceans. Although two facilities will be permitted to keep existing species in captivity – a Pacific white-sided dolphin at the Vancouver Aquarium, and a lone orca, Kiska, and more than 50 beluga whales at Marineland in Niagara Falls – neither is permitted to breed or acquire more animals. The Whale Sanctuary Project has reached out to marine parks across the continent with the hope of working together to create a new way of thinking about sanctuaries. “Belugas don’t have their own Blackfish movie, so they’re easy to forget about. But there are so many of them in those tanks, not doing well,” Marino said. “This is about moving the needle and showing the next generation that there’s another way to relate to whales,” she said. “They’re not performers and commodities. We should respect them.” | ['environment/series/seascape-the-state-of-our-oceans', 'world/canada', 'environment/environment', 'world/americas', 'environment/whales', 'environment/cetaceans', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/wildlife', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/leyland-cecco', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/global-development'] | environment/marine-life | BIODIVERSITY | 2020-03-02T11:00:41Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2016/jan/27/japan-begins-work-on-worlds-largest-floating-solar-farm | Japan begins work on 'world's largest' floating solar farm | The Japanese electronics multinational Kyocera has begun work on what it says will be the world’s biggest floating solar farm. The power plant is being built on a reservoir in Japan’s Chiba prefecture and is anticipated to supply enough electricity for nearly 5,000 households when it is completed in early 2018. Space-starved Japan has already seen several floating solar farms built as part of the country’s drive to exploit more renewable energy in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster. The shutdown of nuclear plants has seen Japan increasingly reliant on fossil fuel imports that have hit its emissions-cutting ambitions. The Yamakura dam power plant will see more than 50,000 solar photovoltaic panels cover a 180,000 m sq area, but compared to other land-based plants it is relatively small. At 13.7MW when finished, it would not make the top 100 of the world’s largest solar photovoltaic farms. In the UK, water company United Utilities started work last year on a floating solar farm on a Greater Manchester reservoir, which will be Europe’s largest once complete. Kyocera said it was turning to water because of a scarcity of land for utility-scale solar in Japan. Ray Noble, a solar adviser at the UK-based Renewable Energy Association, said that the technology was relatively straightforward but the only reason to build floating farms would be if land was very tight. “If you’re short on land like they are in Japan, you could build on water. But in the UK with plenty of industrialised areas, it’s cheaper to put solar on land than on water.” The main challenge was to keep wiring away from the water and put the inverters - which convert the electricity generated into a usable form - on floating structures. But he added: “If anything goes wrong, I’ve always said electricity and water don’t mix.” Kyocera has already built three floating solar farms, which are much smaller than the new one, which was first announced in October 2014. | ['environment/series/keep-it-in-the-ground', 'environment/solarpower', 'world/japan', 'world/asia-pacific', 'environment/energy', 'environment/environment', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'world/world', 'technology/technology', 'technology/energy', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/adam-vaughan'] | environment/solarpower | ENERGY | 2016-01-27T16:40:41Z | true | ENERGY |
media/2008/jun/02/yahoo.mediabusiness | Yahoo: Carl Icahn gets go-ahead to raise stake to $2.5bn | Activist shareholder Carl Icahn has been cleared to purchase another $1.5bn (£764m) of shares in web giant Yahoo after US financial regulators completed their anti-trust review early. The Federal Trade Commission included the deal in a list of transactions that had received "early termination" of anti-trust reviews - meaning it was granted approval before the 30-day deadline - on its website on Friday. Icahn, who has already spent more than $1bn to buy a 4.3% stake in the company, now has permission to take his spending on Yahoo stock up to a total of $2.5bn. The 72-year-old investor, who is pressing for a complete sale of Yahoo to Microsoft, is planning to lead a shareholder revolt against the board at the company's annual meeting next month. Icahn is rallying disgruntled shareholders over the collapse of the possible merger with Microsoft and proposing to replace the nine incumbent Yahoo board members with his own nominees, including himself. With tensions high, there could be a field of up to 30 people seeking seats at next month's AGM, including the existing board members and Icahn's candidates. California-based Yahoo was due to hold its AGM on July 3 but has delayed it to later in the month as it seeks to quell the shareholder rebellion and continues talks with Microsoft about a possible alliance short of a merger. · 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', 'media/digital-media', 'media/media', 'business/business', 'technology/yahoo-takeover', 'technology/yahoo', 'technology/technology', 'type/article', 'profile/caitlinfitzsimmons'] | technology/yahoo-takeover | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2008-06-02T09:26:56Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2021/dec/08/fly-tipping-in-england-increases-during-covid-pandemic | Fly-tipping in England increases during Covid pandemic | Fly-tipping incidents in England increased last year, with household waste accounting for by far the biggest proportion of the problem, which has been worsened by the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. From March 2020 to March 2021 in England, 1.13m fly-tipping incidents were dealt with by local authorities, an increase of 16% on the 980,000 reported in the previous year, according to data released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on Wednesday. Higher numbers of incidents were reached in 2007-09, but the way the data is collated has changed, so direct comparisons with years before 2018 are not possible. Despite the increase in numbers, the number of enforcement actions went down over the period, with only 456,000 actions taken, compared with 474,000 in the year 2019-2020. Jo Churchill, minister for resources and waste, said: “Fly-tipping is a crime which blights communities and poses a risk to human health and the environment. It also undermines legitimate waste businesses where unscrupulous operators undercut those acting within the law. During the pandemic, local authorities faced an unprecedented challenge to keep rubbish collections running and civic amenity sites open, and the government worked closely with them to maintain these critical public services.” She said new technology was being used to combat the problem, such as apps and online platforms to report the crime so local authorities can take action, and she said local authorities had been given new powers to tackle fly-tipping, which would be further strengthened by the forthcoming Environment Act. But she added that individual responsibility was key: “We all have a duty to know where our waste is going.” About two-thirds of the recorded incidents, or 737,000 in total, involved household waste, a similar proportion to the previous year. The most common place for rubbish to be abandoned was on pavements and roads, where more than two-fifths of dumping took place, a similar proportion to the previous year. About a third of the incidents involved a small vanload of rubbish, and a further quarter were the contents of an average car boot or less. Fewer than one in 20 incidents involved major quantities of rubbish, equivalent to a lorryload. The cost to councils of clearing up these major incidents was £11.6m over the year, up from £10.9m in 2019-2020. Defra noted that the first national lockdown, introduced in March 2020, led to some local authorities being unable to maintain collections of dry recyclates, and the widespread closure of household waste recycling centres. These were later reopened, but with restrictions such as booking systems in place. Along with changes in household consumption, travel and leisure owing to the pandemic, these factors “may have contributed” to the increases in fly-tipping, according to the government’s analysis. The reduction in enforcement actions was attributed to staff shortages, staff being furloughed, and staff being redeployed owing to the pandemic and lockdowns. Councillor David Renard, environment spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said the problem cost them about £50m a year. He said the government must step in and do more, while the companies that benefit from selling consumer goods must also bear responsibility. “We continue to urge the government to review sentencing guidelines for fly-tipping so that offenders are given bigger fines for more serious offences, to act as a deterrent,” he said. “Manufacturers should also contribute to the costs to councils of clear-up, by providing more take-back services, so people can hand in old furniture and mattresses when they buy new ones.” Farmers are also concerned that not enough is done to prevent fly-tipping on private land. The government’s figures cover only fly-tipping incidents on public land, such as streets and pavements. The Country Land and Business Association (CLA), which represents 28,000 farmers and rural businesses, said many of these incidents fall to farmers to deal with – one CLA member reported facing a bill of more than £100,000 to clear up one major incident. Mark Tufnell, president of the CLA, said: “These [Defra] figures do not tell the full story of this disgraceful behaviour which blights our beautiful countryside. Local authorities tend not to get involved with clearing incidences of fly-tipped waste from private land, leaving the landowner to clean up and foot what is often an extortionate bill. The government figures do not reflect the true scale of the crime because increasing reports of fly-tipping on private rural land are not included, coupled with the country plunged into lockdown.” He called for tougher rules and a crackdown on fly-tipping criminals, as enforcement has not kept up. The maximum fine for fly-tipping is £50,000 or 12 months’ imprisonment, but fines and sentences on that scale are rarely invoked in the magistrates courts where such offences are tried. Tufnell warned that without stricter enforcement, fly-tipping was likely to continue to rise. He warned: “It’s not just the odd bin bag, but large household items, from unwanted sofas to broken washing machines, building materials and even asbestos being dumped across our countryside.” | ['environment/waste', 'environment/recycling', 'environment/environment', 'uk-news/england', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/fiona-harvey', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/recycling | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2021-12-08T17:20:55Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
business/2024/apr/10/give-water-company-board-members-a-taste-of-filthy-rivers | Give water company board members a taste of filthy rivers | Letters | Marina Hyde’s article does not go far enough (Look at the Thames and know the time for metaphors is over: our politics is drowning in effluent, 2 April). I have a modest proposal for improving water quality. Today, every board member of every water company should be put on notice that, three years from now, the king will institute a new ceremony. With pomp and lots of guardsmen, the board members will be escorted on to a boat on the major river in their constituency. His majesty (on the Thames) and minor royals on other waterways will then use a very long spoon to draw them each a refreshing glass of their own product, which they will have to drink, in public. Forget swan upping; bring on water downing. Wendy Bradley Sheffield • “Thames Water ... has pumped human waste into the Greater London area of the river for almost 2,000 hours already this year,” writes Marina Hyde. That is the equivalent of 83 days out of the 94 we’d had so far in 2024 when her article was published in print. Having the figure in days gives us a clearer, albeit more disgusting, picture. Pete Lavender Woodthorpe, Nottinghamshire • 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. | ['business/water-industry', 'business/thames-water', 'environment/rivers', 'uk/prince-charles', 'environment/environment', 'business/business', 'environment/pollution', 'type/article', 'tone/letters', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2024-04-10T16:59:19Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
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