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environment/2008/sep/30/forests.brazil | Brazilian government faces criminal charges over Amazon deforestation | The Brazilian government faces criminal charges after a report found that the Amazon rainforest is being deforested three times faster than last year as rising food prices encourages more illegal logging. A study by Brazil's National Institute for Space Research found that destruction of the Amazon had increased 228% in August compared with the same month a year ago. Carlos Minc, the Brazilian environment minister, said the upcoming national elections were partly to blame, with mayors in the Amazon region ignoring illegal loggers in the hope of gaining votes locally. Environmental campaigners blamed the global spike in food prices for pushing soy farmers and cattle ranchers to clear more land for crops and grazing. "The tendency of deforestation rising is deeply related to the fact that food prices are going up," said Paulo Adario, who coordinates Greenpeace's Amazon campaign. "When you have elections, the appetite of authorities to enforce laws is reduced. But the federal government has to step in and do its job." The steep rise in deforestation is a sharp reversal after three years of decline in the rate of destruction. Official data showed that some 300 square miles (756 square kilometres) were chopped down last month, twice the rate of July. The minister released a list of the 100 worst individuals or companies responsible for most of the deforestation since 2005. The Brazilian government's land and agrarian reform agency, Incra, was accused of being the worst. Minc said the environment ministry will bring criminal charges against all of them. The government will also create an environmental police force with 3,000 heavily armed and specially trained officers to help combat illegal deforestion. The institute, which uses satellite imagery to track down illegal logging, said the destruction was likely to be worse than figures show since no information was available for 26% of the Amazon because of cloud cover in August. Greenpeace has accused Incra officials of illegally handing over rainforest to logging companies and creating fake settlements to skirt environmental regulations. Minc said Incra was responsible for destroying 220,150 hectares (544,000 acres) of the world's largest rainforest in the past three years. The news that Incra topped the list of violators is likely to fuel the argument of large landowners that poor peasants are to blame for the destruction of the Amazon. One of Incra's duties is to distribute land to the poor. There was no immediate comment from Incra. Most of the remainder of Minc's list comprises Brazilian farmers and ranchers. | ['environment/forests', 'environment/environment', 'tone/news', 'world/brazil', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/endangered-habitats', 'world/world', 'environment/deforestation', 'environment/amazon-rainforest', 'world/americas', 'type/article', 'profile/angelabalakrishnan'] | environment/endangered-habitats | BIODIVERSITY | 2008-09-30T10:24:43Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
technology/2008/mar/13/digitalvideo.television | BBC 'opens floodgates' to iPlayer hackers | Hackers have managed to circumvent the BBC's anti-piracy systems to gain unrestricted access to the programmes on the corporation's iPlayer internet TV service. The loophole potentially allows millions of people to download television shows on to their computers without any copyright protection. The iPlayer system, which lets surfers watch BBC videos online in a similar way to websites such as YouTube, has proved massively popular since it launched late last year. Shows such as Top Gear and Doctor Who can be watched over the web or downloaded to a computer for viewing at a later point. When developing the iPlayer, however, the BBC agreed to include anti-piracy measures in all programmes in order to appease TV production companies and broadcasting unions. The addition of so-called digital rights management (DRM) software means new shows disappear from the website after one week, and files downloaded on to a computer have a 30-day expiry date. After the limit is reached, the videos are no longer viewable. However, the backdoor in the iPlayer allows users to completely bypass those protections and download unprotected versions of any show on the website. One of the hackers responsible said it took him only 12 minutes to find the loophole and make it work - but that such a simple hack potentially opened up every programme on iPlayer for unlimited downloading. "The BBC accidentally opened the floodgates and gave the world DRM-free downloads," said one hacker with knowledge of the breach. "If only it were down to something other than poor design, decisions and ineptitude." The BBC said the system was still in its trial phase, known as "beta", and that it was already working to come up with a solution. "This is not unusual or surprising," said a BBC spokeswoman. "We have made it clear the BBC iPlayer on iPhone and iTouch is currently in beta, which enables us to pick up on such issues and find a solution before we roll the service out in full in due course." The iPlayer was launched last year at a cost of several million pounds, and initial reaction to the download service was modest. But the ability to watch online - which was added last Christmas - has proved highly successful: the most recent figures indicate that programmes were viewed more than 17m times between December 25 and mid-February. However, the decision to incorporate anti-piracy protections has angered some campaigners, who believe that British citizens should have unprotected access to shows for which they have already paid with their TV licence fee. | ['technology/digitalvideo', 'technology/television', 'technology/internet', 'media/digital-media', 'media/bbc', 'technology/drm', 'media/television', 'technology/iphone', 'technology/ipod', 'technology/technology', 'media/media', 'uk/uk', 'culture/television', 'culture/culture', 'media/iplayer', 'media/online-tv', 'tv-and-radio/tv-and-radio', 'media/video-on-demand', 'type/article', 'profile/bobbiejohnson', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews'] | technology/digitalvideo | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2008-03-13T07:07:09Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2019/aug/07/country-diary-the-lime-blossom-hums-with-feasting-insects | Country diary: the lime blossom hums with feasting insects | The sun had barely risen above the roof tops and already the flowers on the common limes beside Waskerley beck filled the air with a fragrance that hinted of lily of the valley. Standing underneath, I could hear a low-pitched hum, the sound of countless bees, wasps, flies and hoverflies feeding on their nectar. In late July, when they are in full bloom, lime trees, also known as lindens, can be identified with eyes closed: just take a deep breath and listen. It’s not only insects that find lime blossom palatable. In his journal entry for 25 July 1790 the parson-naturalist Gilbert White, learning that the French found lime blossom tea soothing for coughs, hoarseness and fever, described making his own brew and finding it to be “soft, well flavoured, pleasant, saccharine julep, in taste much resembling the juice of liquorice”. Only the appearance of common lime, Tilia x europaea, a hybrid between large-leaved and small-leaved limes, is a sensory disappointment. Ugly burrs on the lower trunk produce an unruly shrubbery of sprouts and suckers that need to be hacked back annually. These cuttings root so easily that vast numbers of the hybrid, rather than its better-looking parent species, have been propagated for urban roadside planting, destined to be brutally butchered and eventually pollarded when their fast-growing, upright limbs outgrow their urban confinement. Five minutes’ walk from the Waskerley beck’s hybrid limes, beside the parish church of St Mary and St Stephen, there is a magnificent, ancient specimen of the parental small-leaved lime dominating the churchyard. Tilia cordata is a rare native tree in Durham, at the limit of its natural climate range, setting viable seed only in the longest, hottest summers. Today it was flowering to perfection, tassels of flowers held above the foliage, giving its domed crown a golden glow. Here, among the tombstones, it has had time and space to live life to the full, to realise its natural size and shape, protected from browsing animals so that the tips of its arching limbs almost touch the ground. Few trees are so fortunate. The perfect place to sit, in fragrant, cool shade, while bees worked in its canopy overhead, on what turned out to be the hottest July day on record. | ['environment/forests', 'environment/insects', 'environment/series/country-diary', 'uk/ruralaffairs', 'travel/county-durham', 'environment/environment', 'environment/bees', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/philgates', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/forests | BIODIVERSITY | 2019-08-07T04:30:38Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2024/jan/27/young-country-diary-my-excellent-fungal-find-the-winter-mushroom | Young country diary: My excellent fungal find – the winter mushroom | Jenna | Think of fungus – what comes to mind? Rotten, unhealthy infections perhaps? But what if I told you that fungi are incredible, beautiful and vital to our woodlands? I went on a woodland walk with my mum. It was cold. Bitter wind pinched my face and I could barely feel my fingers. As I tucked my chin into my jacket collar to keep warm, I glanced down and noticed a striking cluster of mushrooms growing on a tree stump. Glossy and golden orange in colour, they reminded me of Alice in Wonderland. I took a picture of my unusual discovery to research later – it was a velvet shank fungus. I found out that the velvet shank is often found on dead or decaying deciduous hardwood trees, like elm, beech or oak. Known as the winter mushroom, it’s one of the few mushrooms that can be seen throughout the winter months of November to February. Fungi are incredibly important to ecosystems – they help recycle nutrients from dead or decaying plant life and provide food or shelter for wildlife. Some microscopic fungi grow underground – this is the mycorrhizal network or the “woodwide web”. These fungi help trees and plants access water and nutrients from the soil; in return, they provide the fungi with sugars produced during photosynthesis. Next time you visit a woodland, as you wander through the trees and perhaps spot mushrooms, take a moment to appreciate the incredible work that fungi do to keep the whole woodland healthy. Jenna, 12 • Read today’s other YCD piece, by Oliver: ‘Smashing the frozen river so the animals can drink’ • Young Country Diary runs every fourth Saturday of the month in the Country Diary column | ['environment/series/young-country-diary', 'science/fungi', 'environment/series/country-diary', 'environment/environment', 'uk/ruralaffairs', 'uk/uk', 'environment/wildlife', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/wildlife | BIODIVERSITY | 2024-01-27T11:00:34Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
news/2011/aug/11/weatherwatch-cornwall-boscastle-floods | Weatherwatch: Cornwall | The people of Boscastle simply did not know what hit them. One moment, everything in the little Cornish fishing port was business as usual; the next, a huge torrent of water was powering down towards the sea, smashing everything in its path. Until then, 16 August 2004 had been a typical summer's day, albeit cloudier and wetter than visitors would have wished. The next day, the villagers counted the cost. Six buildings and 80 vehicles had been washed into the sea, more than 100 homes and businesses had been destroyed, and debris was everywhere. Some 150 people had had to be rescued by helicopter from roofs and trees, and yet, astonishingly, there were no deaths or serious injuries. Locals and visitors had a very lucky escape. Exactly 52 years earlier, on 16 August 1952, 34 people had been killed by a similar flash flood in the north Devon town of Lynmouth. The Boscastle flood was caused by a very particular set of weather conditions, combined with the local geography. The remnants of Hurricane Alex had sent a deep low pressure system across the Atlantic, bringing exceptionally heavy rain to Bodmin Moor. As the waters flowed down the narrow river valley into Boscastle they created a wall of water which destroyed everything in its path. The village remains vulnerable, history almost repeating itself in June 2007 when heavy rains blocked drains and threatened to flood Boscastle again. Fortunately this time the flood was contained within the banks of the river, and disaster did not strike again. | ['news/series/weatherwatch', 'uk/weather', 'uk/uk', 'tone/features', 'travel/cornwall', 'type/article', 'profile/stephenmoss1', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2'] | news/series/weatherwatch | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2011-08-11T22:05:00Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2021/apr/15/just-3-of-worlds-ecosystems-remain-intact-study-suggests | Just 3% of world’s ecosystems remain intact, study suggests | Just 3% of the world’s land remains ecologically intact with healthy populations of all its original animals and undisturbed habitat, a study suggests. These fragments of wilderness undamaged by human activities are mainly in parts of the Amazon and Congo tropical forests, east Siberian and northern Canadian forests and tundra, and the Sahara. Invasive alien species including cats, foxes, rabbits, goats and camels have had a major impact on native species in Australia, with the study finding no intact areas left. The researchers suggest reintroducing a small number of important species to some damaged areas, such as elephants or wolves – a move that could restore up to 20% of the world’s land to ecological intactness. Previous analyses have identified wilderness areas based largely on satellite images and estimated that 20-40% of the Earth’s surface is little affected by humans. However, the scientists behind the new study argue that forests, savannah and tundra can appear intact from above but that, on the ground, vital species are missing. Elephants, for example, spread seeds and create important clearings in forests, while wolves can control populations of deer and elk. The new assessment combines maps of human damage to habitat with maps showing where animals have disappeared from their original ranges or are too few in number to maintain a healthy ecosystem. Some scientists said the new analysis underestimates the intact areas, because the ranges of animals centuries ago are poorly known and the new maps do not take account of the impacts of the climate crisis, which is changing the ranges of species. It is widely accepted that the world is in a biodiversity crisis, with many wildlife populations – from lions to insects – plunging, mainly due to the destruction of habitat for farming and building. Some scientists think a sixth mass extinction of life on Earth is beginning, with serious consequences for the food, and clean water and air that humanity depends upon. “Much of what we consider as intact habitat is missing species that have been hunted [and poached] by people, or lost because of invasive species or disease,” said Dr Andrew Plumptre, the lead author of the study, from the Key Biodiversity Areas Secretariat in Cambridge, UK. “It’s fairly scary, because it shows how unique places like the Serengeti are, which actually have functioning and fully intact ecosystems. “We’re in the UN decade of ecosystem restoration now, but it is focusing on degraded habitat,” he said. “Let’s also think about restoring species so that we can try and build up these areas where we’ve got ecologically intact ecosystems.” The research, published in the journal Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, used maps of the ranges of 7,000 species in 1,500 and today from the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List. Most of the data was for mammals, but it also included some birds, fish, plants, reptiles and amphibians. Many of the intact areas identified were in territories managed by indigenous communities. The analysis did not include Antarctica. “It might be possible to increase the ecological intact area back to up to 20% through the targeted reintroductions of species that have been lost in areas where human impact is still low, provided the threats to their survival can be addressed,” said Plumptre. He cited the successful reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone national park in the US, which transformed the ecosystem. Prof Pierre Ibisch, at the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development in Germany and not part of the study, said finding just 3% of land was intact was “predictably devastating”. He said: “We need to give nature significantly more space to carry us into the future, [but] I fear that the reintroduction of a few species in certain areas is not a gamechanger.” Ibisch said the analysis did not take account of the climate crisis. “Accelerating climate change is becoming the overarching threat to the functionality of entire ecosystems. Yesterday’s mammal intactness hardly tells us a lot about the functioning ecosystems in the [global heating] age.” Prof James Watson at the University of Queensland, Australia, said: “This study undervalues many efforts by ecosystem scientists to map and save ecologically intact places across the planet. It uses maps for species that are basically best guesses, meaning the message of where ecosystems are actually still pretty much intact is clearly minimised.” Plumptre acknowledged that the species range maps were relatively crude and said the 3% figure was a “ballpark estimate”. He said: “The trouble is, at the moment, we don’t have any other maps.” Scientists should next focus on specific regions and use more detailed human impact data and species data to identify ecologically intact sites, he said. In January, more than 50 countries committed to protect almost a third of the planet by 2030 to halt the destruction of the natural world. “Putting efforts into conserving these [intact] places is very important,” Plumptre said. “They are so rare and special, and show what the world was like before humans had any major impact, helping us measure how much we’ve lost.” | ['environment/wildlife', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/forests', 'environment/environment', 'environment/amazon-rainforest', 'environment/deforestation', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/biodiversity', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/damiancarrington', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/amazon-rainforest | BIODIVERSITY | 2021-04-15T04:00:26Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
media/2007/aug/29/channel4.television | Channel 4's 'rubbish' reality to air | Critics may have labelled this year's Big Brother rubbish - but they ain't seen nothing yet. From Sunday, Channel 4's next reality show will see contestants living on an actual rubbish tip. Dumped, one of the highlights of Channel 4's autumn schedule, features 11 contestants attempting to live for three weeks off waste deposited at a landfill site in Croydon. They were challenged to create a shelter and living areas from discarded rubbish as well as undertake tasks such as emptying people's bins. Those who made it to the end of the show shared a £20,000 prize. Because of health and safety restrictions, the contestants did not have to scavenge for food, but were instead provided with £424 worth of goods a week - the value of food that each Briton throws out annually, according to the producers. Mindful of the current row over television fakery, producers have been quick to point out that some materials were sourced from other dumps while the contestants were sited on a special area created on the tip because hazardous gasses on the main dump could have proved fatal. "We would kill them and we are not allowed to do that," said the Channel 4 head of factual entertainment Andrew MacKenzie. He said he hoped the series would attract a broad audience and bring environmental matters home to viewers in an entertaining way. "If people come to us it will prove that the environment is a big talking point and this is a radical TV concept," he said. "It is aimed at everyone. In an ideal world, we would want over 2 million people to come to a subject which is normally seen as worthy and homework. "We have longed for an idea about the environment because we have felt it is more and more important but all the ideas we received were dull. "This is a very simple idea and I feel it is the best we have heard in the last 18 months." Following the row within the BBC over its proposed Planet Relief day of environmental programming, Mr MacKenzie said Channel 4 was not attempting to preach to people, but said he hoped viewers would make up their own minds. "The fact is this is a massive issue for an incredible number of people," he said. "This is a way of opening up this issue, but there are sceptical people in the programme. We are not overtly pushing a view. "Nothing we commission is without purpose and so if this stimulates debate and changes behaviour, then amazing. "I hope, by osmosis, people's habits might change or that it will at least be thought-provoking." Most of those who took part in the pre-recorded series agreed that it had changed their thinking on environment issues, although not all of them. "The good thing is they didn't all become zealot converts," Mr MacKenzie said. Darren Lumsden, a joiner from Bristol, left the show early after telling fellow contestants: "I don't believe that what we are going to do is going to achieve anything. If I don't believe in it I won't be doing any good for myself or other people." However, most were more enthusiastic. Model Sasha Gardner said: "I got so much from this experience. I didn't really know much about recycling before and I didn't know what a carbon footprint was. Now I am more conscious of what I throw away and I don't fly as much." The show will air in a 9pm slot from Sunday for four consecutive nights. Big Brother, Channel 4's main summer reality show, ends its run on Friday. However, the new series may have a tough time of it in the ratings, with rival channels bringing out their big guns for the start of the new television season. ITV1's own reality show Hell's Kitchen begins its new run on Monday while on Sunday it screens the television premiere of Helen Mirren's Oscar-winning movie The Queen. · To contact the MediaGuardian newsdesk 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/media', 'media/channel4', 'media/television', 'environment/environment', 'environment/waste', 'type/article', 'profile/leighholmwood'] | environment/waste | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2007-08-29T16:24:39Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2011/feb/07/solar-energy-feed-in-tariff | Solar energy firms threaten legal action over feed-in tariffs | Solar energy firms are threatening to take legal action against the government after ministers said they could stop large-scale commercial "solar farms" from hoovering up a green electricity subsidy. After a Guardian report on Sunday, the government announced it will launch a "fast-track" review of the feed-in tariff scheme, which was launched only last April. The scheme subsidises households that install solar panels or other small- and medium-scale renewable energy projects. But ministers say that too many companies are planning to build "solar farms", where fields are filled with solar panels, which would take up funds intended for households. In response, the Renewable Energy Association (REA) said that the large-scale solar projects for housing associations, schools and hospitals that are going through the planning system would generate almost twice as much electricity as the planned solar farms. These projects are likely to be suspended or even scrapped while there is uncertainty about the level of pay-out they would receive, the REA said. Gaynor Hartnell, the association's chief executive, said: "Some of our members have been talking about legal action when these concerns started to be raised about ground-mounted PV [photovoltaic]." She added that companies were taking legal advice after Monday's confirmation of a review by the government but declined to name them. In last October's spending review, the government allocated £360m to the scheme for 2014/2015. Greg Barker, minister of state for climate change, told the Guardian that large-scale solar installers that were operational by the summer, when the review is expected to be completed, would continue to benefit from the subsidy even if it were cut for future projects. "We are simply acting to ensure that all technologies get their fair share of funding and that funds aren't all hoovered up by one technology or a small group of people," he said. Next Energy Capital, an Italian company that is seeking to install solar farms in the UK, said that only large-scale projects can bring about the critical mass and amount of investment required to develop the UK's solar industry. In January, Cornwall council granted planning permission for its fourth solar farm – the 5MW Lanhydrock PV solar farm. Other counties, including Dorset, Devon and Cambridgeshire, also have proposals on the table. According to Cornwall council, more than 60 domestic and foreign companies have expressed an interest in developing solar farms in the county, the UK's sunniest. According to the latest figures from energy regulator Ofgem, 22,500 renewable electricity projects, with a total capacity of 80MW – less than 0.1% of the UK's total electricity supply – benefit from the tariff. More than half this comes from solar, and the target is to increase this 50-fold by 2020. | ['environment/feed-in-tariffs', 'environment/solarpower', 'environment/energy', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'money/energy', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'money/money', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'profile/timwebb', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews'] | environment/solarpower | ENERGY | 2011-02-07T17:55:44Z | true | ENERGY |
sport/2023/apr/19/afl-players-association-claims-it-has-been-kept-in-dark-on-leagues-concussion-review-plan | AFL Players’ Association claims it has been kept in dark on league’s concussion review plan | The AFL Players’ Association claims it has been kept in the dark for more than six months about the league’s plans to review the clinical care of - and financial assistance for – past players who suffered long-term effects from concussion and other career-ending injuries on the field. In a submission to the federal parliamentary inquiry into concussion in sport, the players’ association claimed that the AFL has so far failed to provide a timeline or details on what it plans to do to look after injured former players, despite pledging to take urgent action on the matter after its review into the work of its former concussion adviser, neurologist Paul McCrory. The review came following numerous allegations of academic plagiarism that were levelled at McCrory and reporting by Guardian Australia asking what had become of the concussion research that McCrory led on behalf of the league. The review’s findings were released in October last year, with the AFL apologising to past players involved in the league’s research. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup When it announced its revised concussion strategy on 14 March, the AFL also announced it had been working with law firm Gordon Legal to examine the options for an expanded financial assistance scheme for former players who suffered serious injuries, including those relating to concussion. The announcement was widely understood as an acknowledgment that there was a need to provide support for the increasing cohort of former players who were found to have developed or were suspected of developing the debilitating neurodegenerative disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), and experiencing other long-term effects of brain injury. The federal senate inquiry into concussion in sport was established in the wake of increasing public concern, including ongoing reporting by Guardian Australia, about sporting organisations’ management of player head injuries, and the large and growing body of scientific evidence showing links between repeated exposure to head injury in contact sports and CTE. But the AFLPA’s submission, dated 31 March, ahead of its expected appearance at a hearing of the inquiry this month, suggested the AFL had stalled on fulfilling its commitments to past players. Regarding the new approach to the clinical care of past players, the AFLPA said: “At the date of these submissions, we are yet to be provided with a formal response from the AFL on the timeline or details for actions and implementation.” On the matter of the financial assistance fund, they had “asked the AFL for information on the outcomes of the review on numerous occasions but have not yet received any information”. The AFL has been approached for comment. The submission also revealed new information about the rate of player concussions, gleaned from the as-yet-unreleased results of the 2022 player survey. Nearly a quarter of players in the AFL’s men’s league said they had received a concussion while playing or training, up to 23% from 21% in 2021, with 9% of those players not reporting their concussion and continuing to play or train. The level of non-reporting was up from 5% in 2021, and represented a return to the levels of non-reporting last seen in 2017. Of the AFLW players surveyed, 17% said they suffered a concussion while playing or training, but only 2% did not report it. The level of concern about the potential long-term effects of concussion is growing, the survey found, with 70% of AFL mens’ players and 69% of AFLW players worried about how they may be affected in the long run. The number of applications for football-ending injury payments relating to concussion had also seen a “significant increase” over recent years, the ALFPA submission said, with concussion-related injuries accounting for 63% of successful applications for the payment in 2021. Prior to 2021, there had only been a total of four applications relating to concussion. The AFL and the AFLPA are expected to appear at the Melbourne hearings of the senate inquiry next week. | ['sport/concussion-in-sport', 'sport/afl', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'campaign/email/morning-mail', 'sport/australian-rules-football', 'sport/australia-sport', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/stephanie-convery', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | sport/concussion-in-sport | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2023-04-19T03:58:18Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
society/shortcuts/2021/feb/24/what-a-dump-why-wild-toileting-has-become-a-big-pandemic-problem | What a dump! Why ‘wild toileting’ has become a big pandemic problem | Name: Wild toileting. Age: Dates back to Homo erectus. Urinating and defecating are part of the human condition – “I shit, therefore I am” (“Coshito, ergo sum”), as Descartes almost said – and were undomesticated until the Mesopotamians invented toilets almost 4,500 years ago. Appearance: Don’t even think about it. Is there a lot of it about? According to the Lulworth Estate, which manages Durdle Door and the surrounding coastline in Dorset, far too much. It says it saw a huge increase in “wild toileting” when lockdown was lifted last summer. It is calling on Boris Johnson to make responsible tourism a priority when travel restrictions ease this spring. A government motion? I think the rule is that I do the schoolboy jokes. In any case, this is a serious subject: relieving yourself in public is a health hazard. Is it on the increase? It was a problem even before public loos closed during the pandemic. Cash-strapped councils, which have no obligation to provide toilets, have been shutting them for years and relying on shops, pubs and cafes to fill the gap. So, when the pandemic hit and shops, cafes and the few remaining public loos closed … Exactly; there was nowhere for people to go. There are piles of anecdotal evidence of stinking bushes and urine-drenched street corners. What’s the answer? Well, it’s certainly not blaming the public in the way the Lulworth Estate seems to want to. Proper public loo provision is the key. Perhaps we should even encourage users to pay, as they do elsewhere in Europe. Whatever happened to “spending a penny”? What do wild campers do? There is well-established toileting etiquette among wild campers. Which is? Don’t do it near rivers or streams; dig a 15cm (6in) hole for excrement and cover it after use; take your toilet paper home with you. That’s not really applicable if you’re caught short on New Malden High Street. True, which is why we need a crusade for public loos. Disabled people have been making this point for years. It seems it’s not an issue that’s going away any time soon. Indeed. It’s also worth remembering that about a billion people have no choice but to defecate outside and that many more experience sanitary conditions detrimental to health. Remember those facts on World Toilet Day, which this year falls on 19 November. Not to be confused with: Wild swimming: an admirable pursuit practised by 97% of journalists, most of whom have written columns or books about it. Do say: “It’s time to give the health minister the turd degree on public loo provision.” Don’t say: “Do bears obey the rules about wild toileting?” | ['society/health', 'global-development/sanitation', 'news/series/pass-notes', 'news/shortcuts', 'environment/waste', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/g2', 'theguardian/g2/features', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-g2-features', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-g2-production'] | environment/waste | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2021-02-24T15:42:38Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
us-news/2019/apr/22/pebble-mine-alaska-toxic-waste-trump-epa | Trump's EPA wants to put a toxic mine in pristine Alaska. What could go wrong? | Kim Heacox | Back in my youth, while in Montana, I came across Berkeley Pit, called “the richest hill on earth.” There, churches and historic neighborhoods were bulldozed to expand the pit so greedy men could make their fortunes mining copper, silver and gold. After the riches were extracted, and problems arose, those men absolved themselves of any wrongdoing, and left. Over time, the mine closed and the pit began to fill with an acidic brew so toxic that when snow geese landed there, they died. As it threatened Montana’s groundwater, the pit became an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) superfund site that would cost American taxpayers billions of dollars for generations. I fear the same awaits Alaska’s Pebble Mine, a nightmare proposed by the Canadian mining company, Northern Dynasty. Don’t be fooled by the name. For many Alaskans, Pebble is a boulder on their heart. If built, it would be a massive pit one mile in diameter and 600ft deep. It would obliterate 3,500 acres of wetlands and 80-plus miles of salmon streams, and produce an estimated 10 billion tons of waste. Earthen dams would hold back toxic mine tailings, all in earthquake country, in the headwaters of Bristol Bay, the richest sockeye salmon run in the world. What could go wrong? In 2014, a 40-meter-high earthen dam that contained a massive copper and gold tailings pond at Mount Polley Mine, in British Columbia, failed. A toxic slurry emptied downstream into lakes and waterways, including Quesnel Lake, until then the cleanest deep water lake in the world. Knight Piésold, the geotechnical consulting firm that provided the design and supervised construction (and paid no post-disaster fines), is the same firm Northern Dynasty has hired to build the earthen dams at Pebble. And who will pay to remediate the Mount Polley mess, the biggest mine disaster in Canada’s history? Taxpayers, to the tune of an estimated $40m-100m. Opposed by more than 65% of Alaskans, and 80% of Bristol Bay residents, Pebble was barely breathing until Donald Trump won the White House. With Scott Pruitt in charge of the EPA, Pebble mine became a symbol of virtuous enterprise hobbled by government regulatory overreach. This past November, after Mike Dunleavy, another Republican, won the Alaska governor’s race, and said Alaska was “open for business”, Pebble gained more traction. How to sell it (and his draconian budget cuts, and lavish tax breaks for Big Oil) to Alaskans? Dunleavy hosted town hall meetings orchestrated by Americans For Prosperity, the billionaire Koch brothers front group with its many-tentacled operation critics call “Kochtopus”. Their goal: suppress democracy with a drumbeat war against any scientific truth they don’t like. Behind the curtain we find CEI, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a rightwing organization that pressures the EPA to downplay, if not ignore, the Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment, which, according to the Alaska-based salmon conservation organization, Inletkeeper, “went through rigorous peer review, and multiple comment periods, to find that a mine like Pebble poses significant risks to the fish, water and people in Bristol Bay”. CEI prefers the Army Corps of Engineer’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement, which Inletkeeper says “is an incomplete, shallow and biased assessment of the Pebble Mine”. Of course, Pebble touts the need for more copper. But these are manufactured needs, created by aggressive advertising and our wasteful, hyper-consumptive choices. Copper is easy to recycle. Yet roughly 50% gets used in a single consumer item, and not again. We can do better: excavate our landfills, junkyards, attics, garages and shops. Pebble’s CEO, Tom Collier, recently said that “no one gives a rat’s ass what happens in Alaska”. He aims to intimidate and silence Bristol Bay fishermen, and burden them with litigation through SLAPP suits: Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. This past Wednesday, the Alaska State Legislature, voting largely along party lines, confirmed Jason Brune as the new commissioner of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. A former public affairs officer who supported Pebble, Brune’s top priority, under Governor Dunleavy, will be to reduce environmental regulations. “Why is it,” Edward Abbey once asked, “that the destruction of something created by humans is called vandalism, while the destruction of something created by God is called development?” There is nothing more exquisite, or tasteful, than a wild sockeye salmon. Ask any bald eagle or Alaska coastal brown bear. It’s the last great fish on earth, fighting to survive. For the past 300 years, we humans have been oh-so clever with our industry and technology. Now, living on a plundered planet of our own making, the architects of climate change chaos, ecosystem collapse and a mass extinction that will only worsen with business-as-usual, we must be wise. And tread lightly. A recent cartoon in the New Yorker shows a man addressing fellow survivors in a post-apocalyptic world: “Yes,” he says, “It’s true. We ruined the planet. But for a brief, shining moment we made our shareholders very happy.” Mothers who raised their children in the mining districts of western Montana and northern Idaho, where I grew up, used to talk about “pennies from hell”, all that copper made into coins while the toxic dust from their husbands, who worked in the mines, ended up in carpets where their children played, and got sick, and died too young. “In the end,” Inletkeeper writes, “the Koch Brothers – and their extremist corporate front groups in Alaska – have one unifying goal: to take our rich public resources that benefit the many, and convert them into private bank accounts that benefit a few.” And leave the toxic brew for me and you. Kim Heacox is the author of a dozen books, most recently the novel, Jimmy Bluefeather, and the Denali memoir, Rhythm of the Wild. He lives in Alaska. | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'us-news/alaska', 'environment/environment', 'environment/mining', 'business/mining', 'us-news/trump-administration', 'us-news/us-politics', 'type/article', 'tone/comment', 'profile/kim-heacox', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-opinion'] | environment/mining | ENERGY | 2019-04-22T10:00:18Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2010/feb/08/climate-change-scientists-transparency-hacking | Letters: Transparency and trust in climate science | Your editorial on climate change (6 February) reveals a naivety about the nature of scientific truth. History shows from the trial of Galileo on, also illustrated in Ibsen's An Enemy of the People, that in a scientific debate which has political implications truth rarely wins out. The winners are not necessarily those who "speak the truth" but those with the biggest guns. Total scientific transparency, while laudable, often means handing your guns to your political opponents. Whatever you say or reveal will be distorted intentionally and turned against you. In today's society where people are tried and executed by unmoderated blogs, climate scientists are in a no-win situation. Any discrepancy in information they reveal, however innocuous, will be blown out of proportion and used as evidence against them. The University of East Anglia correctly discerned the situation and the embarrassing emails show the extent of their concerns. I am deeply dismayed that the Guardian, which promoted the 10:10 campaign and wrote such insightful articles on climate change, appears to be blowing with the prevailing political wind, also justifying unverified contrarian views about temperature data or curves. These complicated issues must be resolved by the scientific process, in a lab, not by newspaper editorial or blog. The public deserves to understand the context of the hacked emails and the harassment that climate scientists are subjected to on a daily basis, something lacking in your articles and editorials. Paul Kieniewicz Glass, Aberdeenshire • Congratulations to Fred Pearce for his balanced and thoughtful articles on the climate email affair (5 February), and commiserations to Simon Jenkins (4 February) and Simon Hoggart (6 February) for having lost the plot so completely. Those who refuse to accept something despite a mass of evidence for it go far beyond genuine and constructive scepticism. And those who believe in something without a shred of evidence for it can only be called credulous. Scientists, who spend decades making observations and using evidence to test their theories, try hard not to fall into either of these categories. If our cars or our bodies need to be fixed, we seek out and only trust those who are trained and qualified to do the job. Why should we not do the same when it is the future of the world that is at stake? Professor John Shepherd Fordingbridge, Hampshire • With reference to your article (Detectives question climate scientist over leaked emails, 5 February), I wish to make three points. First, we are in the middle of a police investigation. Detectives have taken formal statements from many of us in the school and university, including me. To my knowledge, Dr Dennis has not been singled out for attention, and he has publicly denied leaking any files, data, emails or other material. Second, the Climatic Research Unit is part of the School of Environmental Sciences, which has over 170 academic staff and researchers, working in many areas of science related to the environment. We are not "beleaguered", as your journalists claim. As one of the world-leading departments in interdisciplinary research, we have always adhered to the highest standards in the production of academic knowledge. This includes promoting continuous, open debate among scientists from a wide range of academic disciplines in the natural and social sciences. My colleagues were not gagged, as implied in your report. At a meeting on 18 November, they were asked to refrain from commenting to the media only until the university had established the immediate facts about the hack. Several colleagues were responding to press and broadcast media by 20 November, and have continued to do so. Professor Jacquie Burgess Head of the School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia • The freedom of information requests to UEA's Climatic Research Unit about contentious climate change data should never have been blocked. John Beddington, the government's chief scientist, rightly called on scientists today to share data freely (Chief scientist: climate researchers must be more open, 4 February) "so that people can do the challenging in an unhindered way". But he should apply his strictures to the government's own use of data about GM crops and food (which he supports), where the GM companies only publish data favourable to their cause and prevent researchers getting access to any data that undermines their commercial interests. Indeed where scientific claims are being made, FoI transparency should be made as applicable in the private sector as in the public, especially in the field of pharmaceuticals. Recent cases about the use of injunctions to prevent disclosure, and moreover super-injunctions as in the Trafigura case, also reveal the need for strengthening the law to open up access where there is a clear public interest to do so. But equally the opposite case – the unlawful interception of messages where no genuine public or scientific interest in disclosure exists – should be treated as a very serious offence. Most notably the apparent involvement of News of the World journalists in extensive phone hacking (Report, 2 February), plus allegedly unlawful requests by them and other newspapers for intimate details on an endemic scale (Report, 31 August 2009), is a serious invasion of privacy that should be stamped out by deterrent penalties. Michael Meacher MP Lab, Oldham West and Royton • The climate change emails furore demonstrates that: scientists are as prone to skulduggery and infighting as any other group of professionals; people who feel their expansive lifestyles threatened will clutch at any straw, however feeble. Neither should cause us much surprise. Calm down, everybody! Professor Alan Wenban-Smith Birmingham | ['environment/hacked-climate-science-emails', 'environment/climate-change-scepticism', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'science/science', 'environment/environment', 'education/universityofeastanglia', 'education/education', 'tone/letters', 'politics/freedomofinformation', 'type/article', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/editorialsandreply'] | environment/climate-change-scepticism | CLIMATE_DENIAL | 2010-02-08T00:05:04Z | true | CLIMATE_DENIAL |
environment/2023/feb/01/colorado-river-western-states-duelling-plans-climate-crisis-california | States file duelling Colorado River plans as water resources rapidly dwindle | California filed a competing conservation plan for the Colorado River on Tuesday, just one day after opting out of a proposal put forward by six other western states, signaling a breakdown in negotiations over how to drastically cut water use from the imperiled waterway. Officials with the Bureau of Reclamation had called on the states to come to a consensus on how to curb between 2 and 4m acre-feet or roughly enough water to supply 8m households for a full year. Tense negotiations have dragged on for months and, after first failing to meet a deadline to reduce diversions by 15% to 30% last summer, the parties were hoping to reach a consensus by the end of January. Now that the date has come and gone without an agreement, the two dueling proposals submitted will be considered by the Bureau of Reclamation, which is expected to release an official decision this summer. Still, the threat of litigation looms large. Meanwhile, water resources in the mighty Colorado River system are rapidly dwindling. Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the largest reservoirs in the US, are roughly a quarter full. The 1,450-mile river (2,334km) serves 40 million people across the west and Mexico, generating hydroelectric power for regional markets and irrigating nearly 6m acres (2.4m hectares) of farmland. But a multi-decade drought in the west – made worse by climate crisis, rising demand and overuse – has sent water levels to unprecedented lows. Existing agreements only outline cuts to water use when Lake Mead’s elevation is between 1,090ft (332 meters) and 1,025ft (312 meters). If it drops any lower than 1,025ft, California’s plan proposes even further cuts based on the so-called Law of the River – likely meaning Arizona and Nevada would bear the brunt of them. Those cuts are designed to keep Lake Mead from reaching “dead pool”, when it could no longer pump out water to farms and cities including Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Phoenix. The reservoir’s current elevation is around 1,045ft. As the sole holdout in an agreement reached by the six other states in the pact, California’s plan leaned heavily on its senior rights to the water, which stretch back more than a century, and refused to take more from its sprawling agricultural sector. Instead, California proposes reducing water taken out of Lake Mead by 1m acre-feet, with 400,000 acre-feet coming from its own users, numbers the state has stuck to through months of negotiations. Arizona would bear the brunt of bigger cuts – 560,000 acre-feet – while Nevada would make up the rest. Under California’s plan, its Imperial Irrigation District, an arid hub of cropland in the south-eastern part of the state, would retain access to more water than Arizona and Nevada combined. State officials claim more cuts would gravely impact growers and low-income communities already feeling the crunch. The California senators Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein backed the state’s plan, saying the alternative “fails to recognize California’s senior legal water rights” and highlighting the state’s record on conservation. “Six other western states dictating how much water California must give up simply isn’t a genuine consensus solution – especially coming from states that haven’t offered any new cuts to their own water usage,” they said. In the six-state plan, which carved out more than 3m acre-feet in reductions if the reservoirs drop beyond the triggering threshold, cuts would largely come from California’s share, and factors in 1.5m acre-feet of Colorado River water lost to evaporation and transportation along the lower part of river. California currently has the largest allocation of water among the seven states that tap the Colorado River, and state officials have threatened that their senior rights are legally defensible as they pushed other parties to acquiesce. “The best way to avoid conflict and ensure that we can put water in the river right away is through a voluntary approach, not putting proposals that sidestep the Law of the River and ignore California’s senior right and give no respect to that,” J B Hamby, chairman of the Colorado River board of California and a board member of the Imperial Irrigation District, said. California officials have also touted conservation efforts and investments already in play. The state has committed to saving 1m acre-feet through the next three years and have spent billions to secure levels at Lake Mead. The new proposals do not change states’ water allocations immediately – or disrupt their existing water rights. Instead, they will be folded into a larger proposal that the Bureau of Reclamation is working on to revise how it operates Glen Canyon and Hoover Dams – behemoth power producers on the Colorado River. Despite California’s inability to reach an agreement with the other six states so far, the parties said they hope to keep talking. “We’re not going to stop the discussions,” said Tom Buschatzke, director of Arizona’s department of water resources. “Maybe we come to an agreement and maybe we won’t.” The Associated Press contributed reporting • This article was amended on 2 February 2023 to correct the conversion of 6m acres, earlier given as 2,428 hectares instead of 2.4m hectares. | ['environment/water', 'us-news/california', 'us-news/arizona', 'us-news/nevada', 'us-news/us-news', 'environment/environment', 'us-news/california-drought', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/gabrielle-canon', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/west-coast-news'] | us-news/california-drought | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2023-02-01T21:41:49Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2020/jun/04/revealed-uk-banks-and-investors-2bn-backing-of-meat-firms-linked-to-amazon-deforestation | Revealed: UK banks and investors' $2bn backing of meat firms linked to Amazon deforestation | British-based banks and finance houses have provided more than $2bn (£1.5bn) in financial backing in recent years to Brazilian beef companies which have been linked to Amazon deforestation, according to new research. Thousands of hectares of Amazon are being felled every year to graze cattle and provide meat for world markets. As well as providing financial backing for Minerva, Brazil’s second largest beef exporter, and Marfrig, its second largest meat processing company, UK-based financial institutions held tens of millions of dollars worth of shares in JBS, the world’s largest meat company. All three meat companies have been linked to deforestation in their supply chains, though they say they are working to monitor their suppliers and mitigate risks. Marfrig, a Brazilian meat company that has supplied fast-food chains around the world, was found to have bought cattle from a farm that had been using deforested land last year. JBS remains unable to monitor a significant proportion of its suppliers despite operating deep in the Amazon, while last year Marfrig admitted that more than half of the cattle it slaughtered originated from indirect suppliers that it could not monitor. According to a joint investigation by the Guardian, Unearthed and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, financial data between January 2013 and May 2019 shows that HSBC underwrote $1.1bn of bonds for Marfrig and $917m for Minerva. They also held nearly $3m in JBS shares. Schroders held $14m in Marfrig bonds and $12m in Minerva bonds, while Standard Life Aberdeen held $10m in Marfrig bonds and $3m in JBS shares. Prudential UK had $23m in JBS shares and $5m in Minerva bonds. Banks frequently hold bonds and shares on behalf of clients who invest through their asset management funds. Other European-based institutions provided an additional $2.1bn of backing. Santander underwrote $1.4bn worth of bonds across the three companies. Deutsche Bank underwrote $69m worth of Marfrig bonds and loaned JBS $57m. European institutions also held significant shares in JBS: Crédit Agricole, Deutsche Bank and Santander invested $37m, $12m and $7m respectively. All data was correct as of May 2019. The European Commission is considering new financial reporting rules in light of the coronavirus crisis that would require banks, insurance firms and listed companies to disclose their exposure to biodiversity loss and pandemic risk. Scientists have warned that deforestation is increasing the risk of new diseases emerging. Some of the financial institutions told the Guardian they were engaging with the three companies over deforestation, and could reconsider their support if they saw insufficient progress. The three meat companies say they are confident that the farms their slaughterhouses directly purchase cattle from are not involved in deforestation, but they also accept they cannot know the origin of some animals that have passed through other farms beforehand. In a statement, JBS said it had blocked thousands of direct suppliers for breaking rules concerning deforestation and was working with the Brazilian government and industry on solutions for monitoring indirect suppliers. Minerva said there was “no accessible and reliable data and statistics on the complete cattle traceability chain” in Brazil and that it was evaluating a new tool developed by the National Wildlife Federation and University of Wisconsin to monitor indirect suppliers. Marfrig said it was developing a tool to combat the risk of buying from indirect suppliers which it cannot monitor. “No UK financial institution should be profiting from the destruction of rainforest or other precious habitats in Brazil or elsewhere. If the government’s claims to global leadership on climate are to have any meaning at all, it must stop turning blind eye to the links between UK banks and deforestation, by introducing strong regulation, harsh penalties and strict provisions on full public transparency of environmental and social impacts of all investment portfolios,” said Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion. In response to the findings, a spokesperson for Aberdeen Standard Investments said: “There are definitely shortcomings in supply chain monitoring for the entire beef industry in Brazil, but these practices are improving across the industry and investor activism plays an important role in this development ... At present, we remain invested but this may change depending on a number of factors.” Schroders said it was in dialogue with both Minerva and Marfrig and that, “if we did not see these signs of progress, we would certainly consider changing our recommendations for these companies.” Deutsche Bank said it did not finance activities where there is clear and known evidence on clearing of primary forests, areas of high conservation value or peat lands, illegal logging or uncontrolled and/or illegal use of fire. Crédit Agricole said it did not finance projects on deforested land with high biodiversity value. Prudential UK said it was actively engaging with companies operating in the Amazon region to find solutions. HSBC said it conducted reviews of clients for their commitment to sustainable business practices. Santander said it conducted annual reviews of more than 2,000 clients in Brazil, including those that are large soy producers, soy traders and meatpackers, especially about their supply chain. | ['environment/series/animals-farmed', 'environment/meat-industry', 'type/article', 'world/brazil', 'world/americas', 'environment/environment', 'environment/farming', 'environment/food', 'environment/deforestation', 'environment/amazon-rainforest', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/forests', 'world/world', 'tone/news', 'profile/alexandra-heal', 'profile/andrew-wasley', 'profile/emma-e-howard', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/global-development'] | environment/forests | BIODIVERSITY | 2020-06-04T08:00:01Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2012/aug/30/pacific-marine-park | Tiny Pacific island nations create world's largest marine parks | Two of the world's smallest countries are to place nearly 2.5 million square kilometres of south Pacific Ocean in newly created marine protected areas. The Cook Islands, nation of 20,000 people on 15 islands, formally announced on Tuesday the creation of the world's largest marine park covering nearly 1.1m sq km, an area bigger than France and Germany. "This is our contribution not only to our own wellbeing but also to humanity's wellbeing," said the prime minister, Henry Puna. "The Pacific Ocean is source of life for us. We are not small Pacific island states. We are large ocean island states," Puna said at the opening of the Pacific Islands forum, where leaders of 16 Pacific countries including New Zealand and Australia are meeting in Rarotonga. The new Cook Island marine park will be zoned for multiple uses including tourism, fishing, and potentially deep-sea mineral extraction but only if these activities can be carried out sustainably, he said. The precautionary principle will determine what activities can take place, he said. New Caledonia, the Cook Island's Pacific island neighbour and former French territory, also announced it will create a new marine protected area roughly half the size of India, covering 1.4m sq km. "New Caledonia wishes to play its part in the sustainable management of our oceans," Francois Bockel, the head of regional development told the Guardian. Pacific island nations have committed to a new approach to sustainable ocean management called the Pacific Oceanscape for the 40m sq km inside their collective exclusive economic zones. The region contains the largest pristine marine ecosystems and is home to 60% of the world's tuna stocks, scientists say. The tiny Pacific island nation of Kiribati launched the Pacific Oceanscape concept and created the 400,000 sq km Phoenix Islands protected area in 2008. Other Polynesian nations such as Palau and Tokelau created vast whale, dolphin and shark sanctuaries in their waters. In June, Australia announced it would expand its network of marine protection reserves to 3.1m sq km including nearly 1m sq km in the south Pacific. "Nearly every indicator shows that the world's oceans are in decline," said Michael Donoghue of Conservational International. "What is being announced here [in Rarotonga] is far more than has been achieved anywhere else in the world. It will be of enormous benefit to all of mankind." Previously the world's largest marine reserve was the 545,000 sq km area established by the UK around the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean. | ['environment/marine-life', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/environment', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/endangered-habitats', 'world/asia-pacific', 'world/world', 'environment/national-parks', 'tone/news', 'type/article'] | environment/endangered-habitats | BIODIVERSITY | 2012-08-30T10:37:54Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
news/2015/sep/09/weatherwatch-hambling-hurricane-forecasting-scatterometry-satellites-nasa-sea-wind | Storm spies: radar at sea to gauge hurricanes | In 2005 weather forecasters watched as a tropical depression deepened into a tropical storm. They could predict its path with confidence, but not its strength. Katrina rose to hurricane force over Florida, in the US, then dropped back to tropical storm levels. But it finished by accelerating to a category 5 hurricane before striking Louisiana. Katrina underlined the need for better ways of forecasting hurricane strength. The challenge is to find out what is happening at sea level, where heat from the water drives the winds, in an area completely obscured by the mass of rotating cloud. The eight satellites of the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) developed by Nasa and the University of Michigan, will use an unusual form of radar to spy on hurricanes. Higher wind speed makes the water rougher, and this affects radar returns, just as the smoothness or roughness of a surface affects light. The CYGNSS satellites, weighing 30kg each, are too small to carry their own transmitters and instead use the omnipresent radio signals broadcast by the GPS satnav network. Sensitive detectors on CYGNSS will pick up GPS reflections from the sea, so the sea state and wind speed can be deduced in a process known as scatterometry. The mapping instrument originates with the British company Surrey Satellite Technology. CYGNSS will give researchers a view of conditions in the inner core of hurricanes as they strengthen. This should lead to improved understanding of the intensification process, helping to produce better predictions of when storms will become hurricanes. | ['news/series/weatherwatch', 'science/meteorology', 'us-news/hurricane-katrina', 'world/hurricanes', 'environment/oceans', 'science/nasa', 'science/science', 'world/natural-disasters', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/world', 'tone/features', 'type/article', 'profile/davidhambling', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2'] | news/series/weatherwatch | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2015-09-09T20:30:16Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
society/2019/dec/06/guardian-and-observer-appeal-2019-our-chosen-charities | Guardian and Observer appeal 2019: our chosen charities | The Guardian and Observer charity appeal 2019 is supporting four charities that provide natural solutions to tackle the climate crisis: not only planting trees, but restoring and protecting existing forests, woodlands and natural habitats. This is a guide to what they do and how your donations will be spent. Trees for Cities Since 1993, Trees for Cities has planted more than 1m trees while working with volunteers, schools and local communities to create and revitalise green spaces in socially deprived urban neighbourhoods. Its aim is to tackle global heating, create social cohesion and beautify the UK’s cities. Its share of donations to the 2019 appeal will focus on two areas. The first is planting trees, woodlands and park projects in “forgotten places” – UK towns and cities that have historically been environmentally neglected. The second is to develop a Generation Tree programme, supporting and training individuals and community groups to create their own grassroots tree-planting projects. “We get stuck in with local communities to cultivate lasting change in their neighbourhoods – whether it’s revitalising forgotten spaces, creating healthier environments or getting people excited about growing, foraging and eating healthy food,” said David Elliott, Trees for Cities’ chief executive. Trees for Life The Trees for Life vision is of a revitalised wild forest in the Scottish Highlands, providing space for wildlife to flourish and communities to thrive. The aim is to rewild Dundreggan, 10,000 acres of land near Loch Ness, through tree planting and natural regeneration, providing vital natural solutions in the face of the climate crisis. The restoration of the forest – which once covered most of Scotland – will help to reduce the impact of climate change by storing carbon; it will prevent flooding and soil erosion by holding back water after rain, and nurture biodiversity. Trees for Life aims to bring more people into the world of rewilding through school programmes and volunteering. “With the support of Guardian and Observer readers, hundreds of thousands of people will get the opportunity to experience and be inspired by wild nature,” says the charity’s chief executive, Steve Micklewright. Global Greengrants Fund UK The most effective ways of tackling environmental harm and social injustice come from people on the frontlines, says Global Greengrants Fund UK, which since 2013 has supported nearly 400 grassroots organisations working to protect the planet. Global Greengrants Fund UK will serve as an intermediary for the Guardian and Observer’s 2019 appeal, using its extensive networks of expert advisers and partners in the Amazon region to distribute its share of appeal donations to local groups campaigning on climate justice, rights to land, water and resources and women’s environmental action. “Strengthening indigenous and local community land rights is key for forest protection in the Amazon. It is crucially important to tackle the global aspects of climate change on a rainforest that provides one-fifth of the world’s oxygen,” says Eva Rehse, Global Greengrants Fund UK executive director. Woodland Trust The vision of the UK’s largest woodland conservation charity, Woodland Trust, is of a UK rich in native woods and trees for people and wildlife. Together with its 500,000 members and supporters it has planted nearly 50m trees and hundreds of new woods over the past five decades, and saved thousands of threatened woods. Its share of the appeal donations will help it to continue its programme of woodland expansion across the UK, providing free trees for communities and schools while creating new woodland sites free for people to enjoy and engage adults and children, and help to keep our woods free for people to enjoy. “We can’t achieve the levels of woodland creation and protection to fight back against climate change and tackle nature decline on our own,” said Darren Moorcroft, the Woodland Trust chief executive. “We want to continue to create havens for wildlife by planting millions of trees every year, campaign for new laws to protect ancient woodland and restore damaged ancient woods so they can breathe again and be safe for the public to enjoy for years to come. “Together we can achieve it and we are delighted that the Guardian has chosen us to be one of the Christmas appeal partners.” Please donate to our appeal here | ['society/series/guardian-and-observer-charity-appeal-2019', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/forests', 'environment/environment', 'society/society', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/patrickbutler', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-special-projects'] | environment/forests | BIODIVERSITY | 2019-12-06T12:00:40Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
business/2008/nov/20/us-unemployment-new-york-california | Wildfires and Wall Street woes push up US unemployment figures | Wall Street layoffs and California wildfires pushed America's weekly jobless numbers to a 16-year high, indicating a much steeper increase in overall unemployment in the months ahead. Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits were a seasonally adjusted 542,000 in the week ending November 15, compared with 515,000 the week before, the biggest increase since 1992. California suffered the biggest rise with 15,000 more people out of work than in the week before, and New York posted record gains with 3,700 newly unemployed people. "These numbers are rotten," said David Wyss, the chief economist at Standard & Poor's in New York. He said the California numbers were so high because many businesses had been directly hit by fire or been forced to close in a knock-on effect. "If your restaurant is on fire, you have to lay off the workers, simple as that really," he said. Three wildfires, which are now largely under control, have destroyed nearly 1,000 homes and burned more than 17,000 hectares of land. The New York jobless numbers correspond with the start of a large number of layoffs from Wall Street firms such as Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. The top line national unemployment rate is running at 6.5% but Wyss believes the big rise in weekly numbers will add at least a tenth of a percentage point to the next monthly tally. "I forecast 6.6% for November and probably another rise after that." The four-week moving average of new jobless claims, a less volatile unemployment measure, rose to 506,500 from 490,750 the week before, the highest since 1983. Continuing claims were 4.012m in the week to November 8, the latest data available, up from 3.903m the previous week and the highest since December 1982. Analysts estimated so-called continued claims would be 3.92m. The insured unemployment rate, a measure of the workforce receiving unemployment benefits, was 3% in the week ending November 8, rising from 2.9%, the highest reading since June 2003. The grim jobless data weighed on the market at the open. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 39.9 points, or 0.5%, at 7,957.38. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 6.04 points, or 0.75%, at 800.54 and the Nasdaq composite index was down 5.84 points – 0.42% – at 1,380.58. | ['business/usemployment', 'business/useconomy', 'business/globalrecession', 'business/business', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/world', 'tone/news', 'world/wildfires', 'type/article', 'profile/jamesdoran'] | world/wildfires | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2008-11-20T16:55:16Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
commentisfree/2013/jan/02/fukushima-50 | In praise of … the Fukushima 50 | Editorial | On 14 March 2011, as the Fukushima nuclear plant went up in flames, 750 workers were evacuated. But 50 stayed behind to try to prevent the station from going into total meltdown. As the hours ticked by, they were joined by other employees of the Tokyo Electric Power Co from across the country, as well as firefighters, engineers and soldiers. The group referred to as the Fukushima 50 actually encompasses hundreds of workers, who tried to stop a disaster growing even larger. They did so, despite the deaths of two colleagues, despite the injuries to more than 20 others, and despite the very real risk of radiation poisoning. In any other country, they would have been heroes. In Japan, however, there have been no awards, no interviews, no publicity. Indeed, it took 18 months for the government even to extend official thanks. For their bravery and civic duty, the Fukushima 50 have been rewarded with something close to ostracism. | ['commentisfree/series/in-praise-of', 'environment/fukushima', 'world/world', 'world/japan', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'world/japan-earthquake-and-tsunami', 'environment/environment', 'commentisfree/commentisfree', 'tone/editorials', 'type/article', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/editorialsandreply'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2013-01-02T21:09:01Z | true | ENERGY |
sustainable-business/2015/apr/01/tourism-is-a-global-force-for-good-it-needs-the-best-leaders-at-the-helm | Tourism is a global force for good. It needs the best leaders at the helm | Tourism is often cited as the world’s largest industry – and for good reason. One in every 11 people worldwide is employed in the sector, which contributes about 9.5% of global GDP. It is one of the few industries that can push a significant number of developing nations to higher levels of prosperity, the World Bank Group argues. It is no wonder that 83% of global south countries cite tourism as their principal export. And yet of every $100 spent by the average developed-world tourist, only $5 remains in the destination’s economy. The tourism industry play a significant, if unwilling, role in the proliferation of a $32bn modern slavery trade (pdf) that shackles 27 million people globally. And as tourism numbers grow, so does its direct by-product: environmental degradation. More than 60% of all air travel, responsible for 5% of total global carbon emissions, is tourism related. The future of the travel industry, like other sectors, lies in companies taking responsibility beyond the single bottom line and embedding the principles of sustainability into their business. Where today the myriad terms associated with sustainability (eco, pro-poor, green, and so on) reflect a fragmented collection of niches, tourism will soon reach a point where these disappear and sustainability becomes the default setting. The need for this imminent transition is all the more pressing given the strength and ubiquity of the industry. As with any other sector, tourism will march forward through visionary leadership and innovation, and in tune with client demand. Economic growth looks promising, with projections of 4.2% growth a year to 2024, largely fuelled by a millennial generation that travels more, travels longer, and values experiences rather than material goods. Studies point out that traveller demand for sustainable practices crosses the demographic landscape. In a 2012 TripAdvisor survey, for example, 71% of members said they planned on making more eco-friendly choices in the next 12 months. The millennial generation is more vocal about its demands for authenticity and impact and is enjoying the spotlight as brands and agencies race to gain loyalty. Closing the gap between status quo and potential for the world’s largest industry will rest on the shoulders of a new generation of leaders and innovators. The issue is how to identify who these visionaries are. The B Team is an inspiring cross-sector of industry captains united in pursuing a triple bottom-line vision (amelioration for people, profit and planet). This group has taken on the challenge of proving that their field can reduce harm and increase positive impact. The travel industry – that same incredible force that effects almost every human on Earth – does not have a representative on the B Team. The future travel industry will be a global force for positive impact. The question we must address is who will lead us there. The business futures hub is funded by The Crystal. All content is editorially independent except for pieces labelled “brought to you by”. Find out more here. This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. Become a GSB member to get more stories like this direct to your inbox. | ['sustainable-business/series/business-futures', 'sustainable-business/sustainable-business', 'business/travelleisure', 'environment/sustainable-development', 'environment/ethical-living', 'business/ethicalbusiness', 'environment/corporatesocialresponsibility', 'business/economic-recovery', 'business/business', 'business/economics', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/sponsoredfeatures', 'tone/features'] | environment/sustainable-development | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2015-04-01T08:38:55Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
environment/2012/mar/09/fukushima-reactors-nuclear-free-japan | How Fukushima is leading towards a nuclear-free Japan | The Fukushima accident will achieve in the next few months what has eluded campaigners for decades: the closure of every one of Japan's nuclear reactors. The closures, prompted by the meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant a year ago, have continued as more reactors are taken offline for inspections. All must pass recently introduced two-stage "stress tests" and win local approval before they can be restarted. If, as expected, the last two working reactors are shut down for maintenance by the spring, Japan will be left without nuclear-generated power during the sweltering summer months, when electricity demand peaks. The question is when, or if, the reactors will restart amid a hardening of public attitudes towards nuclear energy in the aftermath of Fukushima, and a new enthusiasm for investment in renewable energy. Japan lost its most prominent anti-nuclear activist last summer with the resignation of Naoto Kan, the prime minister during the early days of the crisis, partly under pressure from other MPs angered by his green conversion in the wake of the Fukushima meltdown. Kan's successor, Yoshihiko Noda, has said only that Japan needs to gradually reduce its dependence on nuclear energy and improve safety. Under pressure from industry leaders who say a power crunch could damage productivity, Noda is known to want some idle reactors to go back online as soon as their safety has been confirmed. He has at least acknowledged that the government had been guilty of placing too much faith in the myth of safety surrounding nuclear power. "We can no longer make the excuse that what happened was unpredictable and outside our imagination," he told foreign journalists last week. "Crisis management requires us to imagine what may be outside our imagination." Japan, the world's third-largest industrialised country, is paying a heavy economic price for the de facto phasing out of nuclear power. This is in the form of a dramatic rise in imports of oil and gas that not only threaten Japan's climate change goals but were behind 2011 trade deficit, its first in more than three decades. If none of the closed reactors is restarted by early May, Japan's growing dependence on fossil fuels could add more than $30bn a year to its energy costs, according to the government. Before the Fukushima accident, a third of the country's energy came from nuclear, and there were plans - abandoned after Fukushima – to boost its share to more than 50% by 2030 with the construction of new reactors. But after the Fukushima accident passed its most critical phase, the government moved to address public criticism of the Tepco and industry regulators by announcing reforms to the utility's management structure and a new nuclear watchdog - separate from the trade industry - that will start work this spring. "The first step towards more government involvement in the nuclear industry is turning steps required towards handling severe nuclear accidents into law and requiring utilities to adhere to them," the environment minister, Goshi Hosono, said last month. "I don't think Japan will, or should, sacrifice the safety of nuclear power to ensure a stable source of electricity. Our stance needs to be that we will only allow the minimum number of nuclear reactors to operate under the extremely strict guidelines." But many are sceptical of claims that the Fukushima accident was an aberration. A poll by the public broadcaster NHK showed that nearly 70% of Japanese wanted to reduce or end the use of nuclear power, although another survey by the Nikkei media group showed support for the restart of reactors to meet short-term needs at 48%. Significantly, the Mainichi Shimbun this week became the first major newspaper to come out in favour of ditching nuclear power. "The illusion of nuclear power safety has been torn out by the root," it said. "The Fukushima nuclear disaster that followed the great waves of 11 March last year made sure of that." Tomas Kaberger, a member of the Swedish energy agency who was appointed to lead a renewable energy foundation set up by the Softbank chief executive, Masayoshi Son, believes the Fukushima accident has ruled out even a modest a return to nuclear power. "There is a lot of resistance in the existing power structures, but the combined desire for economic competitiveness and the public opposition to continue as before and in favour of more sustainable and efficient energy supply, I think, will win in the end," he said. "It is only a matter of time." Japan proved it could continue to function during the energy-saving regime enforced in the immediate aftermath of the Fukushima accident. If, as the environment minister Yukio Edano has suggested, it manages to last the summer without widespread disruption to the power, more people will be asking why the temporary nuclear shutdown can't be made permanent. | ['environment/fukushima', 'world/japan-earthquake-and-tsunami', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/energy', 'world/world', 'world/japan', 'environment/environment', 'tone/news', 'world/series/japan-disaster-one-year-on', 'type/article', 'profile/justinmccurry', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2012-03-09T15:56:20Z | true | ENERGY |
technology/2021/feb/22/ending-the-horror-of-seeing-your-face-on-zoom | Ending the horror of seeing your face on Zoom | Brief letters | With many years’ experience as a specialist oncology nurse, I have always felt strongly that it is not appropriate to describe a cancer experience with words associated with war (combat, battle, fight). Who has a choice with cancer? But what words should we use instead? Grace Dent described it well for me (British grief centres mainly around the making of sandwiches, 19 February). “Covid monster” and “ghoulish cousin, cancer” seems much more fitting – thank you. Ann Davis Sutton, Cheshire • Your report on the fatberg in the London sewer (Workers clear ‘huge, disgusting’ fatberg from London sewer, 1920 February) says that it was ‘the weight of a small bungalow”. Until now, I never imagined that anybody had actually calculated the weight of a bungalow, so let’s be knowing – how did they do it, why, and what weight did they come up with? David Evans Market Harborough, Leicestershire • Crosswords getting harder (Letters, 21 February)? I’m still trying to figure out how the nine-letter word in last Thursday’s word wheel was given as overheard when the letters were AIORCNEND. Judith Silverman Ruislip, London • In a graphic in your print edition (The way out of lockdown: Which way will Johnson jump?, 20 February), you contrast six “cautious voices” with those of six of the “brakes off brigade”. It is instructive that not one of the latter group claims any qualification in medicine, epidemiology or even statistics. Chris Theobald Edinburgh • I can put Zoe Williams and her uncle out of their misery (The Zoom boom is horrible. I can no longer look at my face for hours on end, 22 February): open menu, select “Hide self”. Job done. Paul Dennehy Enfield, London | ['technology/zoom', 'commentisfree/series/brief-letters', 'society/cancer', 'society/death-and-dying', 'environment/waste', 'world/coronavirus-outbreak', 'environment/environment', 'society/health', 'technology/technology', 'type/article', 'tone/letters', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/waste | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2021-02-22T17:28:53Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
news/datablog/2012/jul/02/tableau-andy-cotgreave | Tableau and the Datastore | We're big fans of free visualisation tools and one of the most powerful on offer at the moment is Tableau Public. You may have noticed a Tableau viz making it onto our pages - and this week, Tableau's Andy Cotgreave will be joining us to see what he can do with rolling news and data on the blog. Here are some of the cool things Andy has made for us already: • The gender pay gap • Crime in America • Olympic ticket prices Check out the Datastore for more as we do them. NEW! Buy our book • Facts are Sacred: the power of data (on Kindle) More open data Data journalism and data visualisations from the Guardian World government data • Search the world's government data with our gateway Development and aid data • Search the world's global development data with our gateway Can you do something with this data? • Flickr Please post your visualisations and mash-ups on our Flickr group • Contact us at data@theguardian.com • Get the A-Z of data • More at the Datastore directory • Follow us on Twitter • Like us on Facebook | ['news/datablog', 'tone/blog', 'technology/data-visualisation', 'data/series/show-and-tell', 'type/article', 'profile/simonrogers'] | technology/data-visualisation | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2012-07-02T10:39:00Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2018/nov/19/marine-reserves-size-protected-wildlife-five-times-bigger-usa | Surge in marine refuges brings world close to protected areas goal | A record surge in the creation of marine protected areas has taken the international community close to its goal of creating nature refuges on 17% of the world’s land and 10% of seas by 2020, according to a new UN report. Protected regions now cover more than five times the territory of the US, but the authors said this good news was often undermined by poor enforcement. Some reserves are little more than “paper parks” with little value to nature conservation. At least one has been turned into an industrial zone. More than 27m square kilometres of seas (7% of the total) and 20m sq km of land (15% of the total) now have protected status, according to the Protected Planet report, which was released on Sunday at the UN biodiversity conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Almost all of the growth has been in marine regions, most notably with the creation last year of the world’s biggest protected area: the 2m sq km Ross Sea reserve, one-fifth of which is in the Antarctic. The no-fishing zone will be managed by New Zealand and the US. “We have seen an enormous expansion in the past two years. There is now more marine protected area than terrestrial, which nobody would have predicted,” said Kathy McKinnon of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. “I think we’ll continue to see a substantial increase, I’d guess, to at least 10% in the near future.” The UN convention on biological diversity says it has received national commitments for an additional 4.5m sq km of land and 16m sq km of oceans to be given protected status in the next two years. This would put it on course to achieve one of the key aims of the 2010 Aichi biodiversity targets. “This is the target with the most progress. In an ocean of bad news about biodiversity loss and eco-destruction, it is important to highlight that progress, though we still have a lot more to do to ensure not just the quantitive target but the effectiveness of the management,” said Cristiana Pașca Palmer, the head of UN Biodiversity. The creation of protected areas has not been enough to halt a collapse of species and ecosystems that threatens civilisation. Since 1970 humanity has wiped out 60% of mammal, bird, fish and reptile populations, with a dangerous knock-on impact on food production, fisheries and climate stability. Protected areas are important refuges from this wave of extinctions but many are underfunded and poorly policed. Only one in five have provided management assessments to the UN, which has raised questions about the viability of the rest. Naomi Kingston, of UN environment world conservation monitoring centre, said: “There is a race to deliver on Aichi target 11. It is fantastic that countries are coming with more ambition, but not if it is just a number without substance. “Some areas that have been reported to us as protected areas have been completely built over. We need datasets to define which areas are paper parks and which are real.” Developing nations have better reporting standards because many are obliged to provide regular assessments in order to qualify for funds from the Global Environment Fund. By contrast, many wealthier nations devote few resources to monitoring. Discussions will focus on a new, more flexible category for community land that is used by locals for both agricultural production and wildlife conservation. In Africa, Asia and Latin America, this is a model that has often helped improve biodiversity because residents – often from indigenous communities – live closely with nature and have an interest in protecting it. For example in Namibia, the area designated as protected was doubled through the recognition of community conservancies as part of the national protected areas estate. Kingston said the biodiversity of the region also improved. “It’s a real success story that shows how a government working with the community can deliver on conservation, governance and equity,” she said. “We need to move the narrative away from designating areas and then putting a fence around them, and to instead work more with communities who have been protecting wildlife for generations.” There are still considerable problems, including communication weaknesses, dubious classification and national competition for ever scarcer resources. China does not share maps of its protected areas and will not allow the other data it submits to be used publicly. The UK has publicly committed to a goal of classifying 30% of oceans as protected, but some of the marine conservation zones in its own waters provide very limited protection for biodiversity. Britain has also approved fracking in a national park, contrary to IUCN guidelines that extractive activities are incompatible. China, Russia and Norway also caused disappointment and anger this year by blocking plans to create a huge new reserve in the Antarctic that would have been a sanctuary for whales and other species. To keep up with shifts in designations, the UN and its partners have launched a live report that tracks changes in protected areas and land use. In future, they hope to overlap this map with satellite images and data on land use to measure how well conserved the areas are. Regardless of their effectiveness, conservation experts say halting the decline of the natural world needs not just protection but a rethink of what it means to coexist with other species. | ['environment/series/the-age-of-extinction', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/marine-life', 'world/world', 'environment/environment', 'environment/oceans', 'environment/biodiversity', 'environment/wildlife', 'world/unitednations', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/jonathanwatts', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/marine-life | BIODIVERSITY | 2018-11-19T18:28:56Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
business/2022/may/27/jim-chalmers-banks-on-capital-spending-to-help-ease-cost-of-living-crisis | Jim Chalmers banks on capital spending to help ease cost-of-living crisis | The new treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is banking on a surge in capital spending to boost productivity in the economy and ease a “cost-of-living crisis”. After the Australian Energy Regulator on Thursday lifted standard power prices by as much as 20% for some customers, Chalmers said the increase revealed “a very serious situation” and was just one of several challenges left by the Morrison government. “Electricity prices are the pointy end of the cost-of-living crisis,” Chalmers said, adding the increase would intensify the “extreme price pressures” in the economy that include sharply higher costs for construction and other sectors. The treasurer elaborated on comments he made on Wednesday, when he described the Albanese Labor government as inheriting “dire” budget conditions. “Budget vandalism”, including poor policies that were deeply entrenched, would take time to repair, Chalmers said. But he had seen enough to rule out extending either the six-month fuel excise cut – that cost $3bn – or the low and middle income tax offset. “We’re not contemplating changes of that nature,” he said. Economic data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Thursday added to evidence that price pressures were building but that the economy remains on a strong growth track. ABS phone surveys conducted from 11 to 18 May found 38% of businesses planned to lift prices in the next three months, with almost all of them citing rising costs of goods and services, and just over 75% reporting rising energy costs. Of those not elevating prices, about 50% said they wanted to retain customers while 46% said they were on fixed costs that shielded them. KPMG’s chief economist, Brendan Rynne, said inflationary concerns were becoming more widespread across business, with higher wages also starting to erode profit margins. “This is further compounded by the fact for most of 2022 businesses have earned revenues below the levels they had planned to receive, suggesting business profitability for this year is being squeezed tighter than last year and what was expected,” Rynne said. More positive news for the government was the indication that private investment in new plant and equipment (Capex) for 2022-23 increased 12% from a first estimate to about $130.5bn, according to the ABS. However, Covid and flood disruptions reduced the actual spending by private firms by 0.3% in the March quarter, compared with the previous three months. Spending on buildings and structures fell 1.7%, while outlays for machinery increased 1.2%. That overall result was shy of the 1.5% expected by economists, and should trim the March quarter GDP growth figures when they are released next Wednesday. The higher estimate of planned Capex should improve the efficiency of the economy, aiding Chalmers’ efforts to support growth while easing inflationary forces. “The outlook for business investment remains strong but headwinds of capacity constraints and rising costs will hurt, but potentially also elongate the investment cycle,” the CBA said. Those outlays “will lift the productive capacity of the economy and place downward pressure on inflation over time”, the bank said. “In the near term more business investment, though, can add to the inflation pulse and there is evidence of rising engineering and construction costs in the system.” Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning Chalmers said the government would rely on $20bn in investment in its “Powering Australia” program to strengthen the grid, enable the faster take-up of renewable energy and bring down power prices. He said he would be relying on an economic team “chock full of talent” that included the finance minister, Katy Gallagher, and Andrew Leigh and Matt Thistlethwaite. Chalmers also intends to consult his close friend and former adviser in the Rudd government, Andrew Charlton, who he said was a “first-rate thinker”. Chalmers, who earned a doctorate with his thesis on “brawler statesman” Paul Keating, said he talks to the former Labor treasurer and prime minister a couple of times a week. “My friendship to Paul Keating matters a great deal to me,” he said. Asked how he planned to deal with potentially regular rate rises by the Reserve Bank of Australia in coming months, Chalmers said he intended to be “an explainer in chief”, much like Keating, and try to highlight “where people fit into the story”. Saul Eslake, an independent economist, said really good treasurers made good decisions, were able to persuade the public it was a good decision, and were “willing and able from time to time to annoy his prime minister by advocating things that are ‘good for the economy’ but which might cost votes”. “Keating was good at all three,” Eslake said, adding that treasurers since had largely been mixed on the first or second of those measures, but had failed or not tried on third – with the Liberals’ Joe Hockey an exception. Chalmers said he was progressing through talking to multiple heads of agencies – from the reserve bank to the Foreign Investment Review Board – and business groups such as the Council of Small Business Organisation. As of Thursday morning, he had also spoken to all treasurers of states and territories except Queensland’s Cameron Dick and NSW’s Matt Kean. Asked whether he planned to remove political appointees from the Morrison government from senior positions, Chalmers said: “If they’re doing a good job, they’re likely to stay.” | ['business/australia-economy', 'australia-news/jim-chalmers--australian-politician-', 'australia-news/business-australia', 'australia-news/australian-election-2022', 'australia-news/australian-politics', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'business/business', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/energy', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/peter-hannam', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/energy | ENERGY | 2022-05-26T17:30:08Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2010/dec/01/climage-change-food-prices | Climate change could push staple food prices up 130% – study | Climate change could lead to shortages and punishing 130% price rises in staple foods within our lifetime, raising the spectre of riots and civil unrest, a new study warned today. The report, by the International Food Policy Research Institute, warned that warming of even one degree by 2050 could play havoc with food production – with hotter, wetter temperatures cutting crop yields. With a global population of 9 billion forecasted by the middle of the century, the effects of lower crop yields could be devastating – especially if income growth faltered in developing countries, the report warned. This year's drought and wildfires in Russia and the massive floods in Pakistan provided a window into a future of extreme weather conditions. So did the food unrest of the last few years. "The food price spikes of 2008 and 2010 both had important weather components," Gerald Nelson the report's co-author said. In the world's poorest countries, average calorie intake would fall significantly, even by 2025. By the middle of this century, child malnutrition could rise by 18%. "Reducing emissions growth to minimise the effects of climate change is thus essential to avoid a calamitous post-2050 future," the report said. In a worst-case scenario, the study forecast the price of maize – a staple in sub-Saharan Africa – could go up by 130%. That's 34% higher than in a world without climate change, it said. Rice prices could rise by as much as 78%, and wheat by 67%. Rice and wheat production would fall across the globe. But in a conference call with reporters, Nelson said sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia would likely suffer most under climate change. However, even the American midwest would see poorer harvests because of hotter, drier weather patterns. "The corn belt in the United States has serious production losses," he said. The study is relatively rare in forecasting severe and far-reaching consequences of climate change by 2050 – a time period within the lifetime of most people alive today – rather than the end of the 21st century. It produced 15 different scenarios of the world in 2050, combining different rates of income and population growth with various climate outcomes, It also called for warming caused by agriculture – thought to be responsible for about 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions – to be reduced as well as the adoption of a carbon-negative agriculture target by 2050. | ['environment/food', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/drought', 'environment/water', 'environment/flooding', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'science/agriculture', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews'] | environment/drought | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2010-12-01T21:42:05Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2010/aug/31/romania-wind-power-renewable-energy | Windfarms bring renewable energy and good fortune to Romania | Exiled to the shores of the Black Sea 2,000 years ago, the Roman poet Ovid discovered the powerful winds that blew across that eastern border of the empire. To this day the wind continues to blow inland as far as Fantanele, a Romanian village located a few dozen kilometres from the coast. "That's why we call it the Black Sea," said Constantin Stanciu, a farmer in Fantanele. "It's a rough sea and when it's angry, which is often, it blows this far inland." The wind is the only certainty in this isolated, hilly region. The land is arid and rocky, which limits the farming possibilities. And to judge by the farmers' leathery skin, the sun is as strong as the wind. The inhabitants have been resigned to the wind's onslaught for centuries, and their poverty is apparent. But today the wind of history has turned in the villagers' favour. Their former enemy has become an ally. Since November 2008, the Czech utility company CEZ Group has been installing one of Europe's largest windfarms in Fantanele, transforming the wind into a blessing: Fantanele farmers who have made their land available to CEZ can receive up to $3,800 a year. "It's a godsend," said Constantin's wife, Filofteia. "We now get €1,800 ($2,280) a year and soon it will be €3,000 ($3,800)." That's a fortune in Fantanele. "Here in the country, you couldn't save as much in a lifetime as you get for the wind turbines in one year," she said. CEZ Group's project was launched 18 months ago and the first stage was competed this year, with 115 turbines installed out of the planned 139 and ready to be connected to the Romanian electric grid. The second stage, due to be completed at the end of 2011, will set up the 101 remaining wind turbines in the neighbouring village of Cogealac. Together, the 240 turbines will generate total capacity of 600MW, the equivalent of the nuclear reactor in Cernavoda, in the south-east of the country. "We want to cover 10% of total green energy production in Romania," said Cosmina Marin, head of communications at CEZ. "And to do that, we are investing €1.1 billion ($1.39bn)." Romania lags behind in clean energy and is committed through the European commission to producing 20% of its total energy requirements from renewable sources, in line with the 2020 EU objectives. This can only be described as a windfall for Fantanele. About 100 farmers have found work on the project, alongside the 400 workers from all parts of Europe. A new network of roads and bridges has been built to convey the turbines, which can be up to 100 metres high. Now the villagers have access to drinking water and the town hall is getting support for its request for $1.9m in European funding to lay pipes in the village. But mayor Gheorghe Popescu's biggest source of pride is the new sports ground he likes visitors to admire. "You see those turbines on the horizon?" he asks. "Well it's thanks to them that we have this sports ground, open to everyone!" Gradually, Fantanele is shaking off its image as a poor and isolated village. The farmers are painting their houses with windfarm money. "And people are dressing better," observed Filofteia Stanciu, who works for the local government. "You can tell that they're better off. Some have lost their heads completely and bought fancy cars to show off. Well, people can do what they like, but everything is changing." Filofteia has decided to invest the money she will be earning in her daughter's future. Twenty-three year-old Catalina Stanciu has just graduated in psychology from the University of Constanta, on the Black Sea coast. "As far as I'm concerned, those wind turbines mean me getting an MA," said Catalina. "Every time I return to Fantanele, I see those fields with all the turbines that make me think of a Don Quixote cartoon, I tell myself that if I can get an MA and be considering a doctorate in psychology, it's thanks to them." Fantanele's windfarm success story is attracting the attention of other investors, looking for wind to generate cash. The world leader in the sector, the Spanish group Iberdrola, has opened an office in Bucharest and announced that it is ready to invest about $2.5bn in a windfarm, also near the Black Sea. It is earmarked to be the largest onshore wind energy project in the world. The arid land on which Ovid's exasperating winds blew are set to become the European wind energy El Dorado. This article originally appeared in Le Monde | ['environment/windpower', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'world/romania', 'world/europe-news', 'type/article', 'profile/mirel-bran'] | environment/windpower | ENERGY | 2010-08-31T13:00:17Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2010/dec/28/spain-renewables-energy-electricity-france | Spain helps out neighbour France in green power surge | Spain has bolstered its credentials as a world leader in renewable energy by exporting electricity to France for the first time. Heavy rain and strong winds during 2010 meant that renewables - principally hydro, wind and solar power - met 35% of Spanish demand. Wind power rose by 18.5% in 2010 and now meets 16% of demand. Luis Atienza, managing director of Spain's electricity grid, predicted that "within three years wind power will overtake nuclear as an electricity source". At its peak, on November 9, wind power met 43% of demand. Heavy rains saw hydro-electrical production rise by 59% on 2009. Solar power, meanwhile, lags behind at only 3%, although some of the big solar plants have yet to come on stream. Oil and gas continue to generate about half of Spain's capacity, while nuclear power accounts for around 19%. Javier Garcîa Breva, director of the solar energy programme, said that "even five years ago no one would have believed these figures were possible. No one expected renewables to grow so fast. They have unlimited potential." Spain continues to import electricity from France but only as a staging post en route to Morocco, Portugal and Andorra. "France has not increased its capacity and so its ability to export has decreased," Atienza said. "This has fallen further due to industrial strife." During recent strikes dozens of French power stations were forced to close and Spanish production had to be imported to meet the shortfall. This greening of the Spanish grid has not benefited the consumer, with prices likely to rise by 9% in 2011. The government sets electricity prices which have no direct correlation with production costs. | ['environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/windpower', 'environment/wave-tidal-hydropower', 'environment/solarpower', 'environment/environment', 'world/spain', 'world/france', 'world/world', 'tone/news', 'environment/energy', 'world/europe-news', 'type/article', 'profile/stephen-burgen', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international'] | environment/windpower | ENERGY | 2010-12-28T16:29:20Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2019/may/16/414-million-pieces-of-plastic-found-on-remote-island-group-in-indian-ocean | 414 million pieces of plastic found on remote island group in Indian Ocean | On the beaches of the tiny Cocos (Keeling) Islands, population 600, marine scientists found 977,000 shoes and 373,000 toothbrushes. A comprehensive survey of debris on the islands – among the most remote places on Earth, in the Indian Ocean – has found a staggering amount of rubbish washed ashore. This included 414m pieces of plastic, weighing 238 tonnes. The study, published in the journal Nature, concluded the volume of debris points to the exponential increase of global plastic polluting the world’s oceans and “highlights a worrying trend in the production and discharge of single-use products”. The lead author, Jennifer Lavers from the University of Tasmania’s Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies, said remote islands without large populations were the most effective indicator of the amount of plastic debris floating in the oceans. “Islands such as these are like canaries in a coal mine and it’s increasingly urgent that we act on the warnings they are giving us. Plastic pollution is now ubiquitous in our oceans, and remote islands are an ideal place to get an objective view of the volume of plastic debris now circling the globe,” Lavers said. The study found the quantity of debris buried up to 10cm beneath the beach was 26 times greater than the amount visible; that previous surveys that only assessed surface garbage might have “drastically underestimated the scale of debris accumulation”. Lavers led a previous study, published in 2017, that found the remote Henderson Island in the eastern South Pacific was among the places most affected by plastic pollution. While most of the debris found on Henderson Island was fishing-related, on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, the plastic was mostly single-use items such as bottles, plastic cutlery, bags and straws. “Our excessive and unrelenting demand for plastics, coupled with ineffective policy and waste management, has resulted in myriad negative effects on marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments, including entanglement and ingestion of debris, and subsequent exposure to plastic-associated chemicals,” the report said. “The Cocos (Keeling) Islands [are] touted as ‘Australia’s last unspoilt paradise’, with tourism a primary source of income for the local community. However, the impact of debris on tourism and [their] beaches is increasingly difficult to avoid. “Sadly, the situation on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands is not unique, with significant quantities of debris documented on islands and coastal areas from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Together, these islands and coastal areas reflect the acute symptoms of an otherwise rapidly increasing environmental hazard.” Items such as shoes and toothbrushes were found in such large quantities, the researchers said it would take the local population about 4,000 years to generate the same amount of waste. The local community has struggled to find an appropriate landfill site, or other ways to properly dispose of the garbage. “In the absence of rapid and meaningful change, anthropogenic debris will accumulate on beaches, with impacts increasingly felt by biodiversity and marine plastic mitigation will remain a perpetual game of catch-up,” the report found. “Mitigation initiatives, including policy, should be mindful of the challenges faced by remote islands, and the communities that reside there.” A co-author of the report, Annett Finger from Victoria University, said global production of plastic continues to increase. The amount of plastic produced since 2006 is almost half that manufactured in the past 60 years. “An estimated 12.7m tonnes of plastic entered our oceans in 2010 alone, with around 40% of plastics entering the waste stream in the same year they’re produced,” Finger said. “As a result of the growth in single-use consumer plastics, it’s estimated there are now 5.25 trillion pieces of ocean plastic debris. “The scale of the problem means cleaning up our oceans is currently not possible, and cleaning beaches once they are polluted with plastic is time consuming, costly, and needs to be regularly repeated as thousands of new pieces of plastic wash up each day.” | ['environment/plastic', 'environment/environment', 'environment/oceans', 'environment/pollution', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/ben-smee', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/plastic | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2019-05-16T13:23:38Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2016/aug/12/sluggy-mcslugface-public-invited-to-name-flamboyant-nudibranch-species | Sluggy McSlugface? Public invited to name 'flamboyant' nudibranch species | The Western Australian museum is running a public competition to name a new species of “flamboyant sea-slug”, part of an order named nudibranch. The blue and orange creature is up to 8cm long and looks like a cross between a slug and a Pokémon. It was discovered by WA scientist Dr Nerida Wilson during a diving expedition off the coast of Dampier, about 1,500km north of Perth, in 2000. Wilson said the nudibranch was “very memorable” and “has an impressive display to scare off predators”, which consists of puffing up its cerata, the orange-tipped blue sausages that line its body, and waggling them at suspected attackers. The purpose of the cerata is to increase the slug’s surface area and allow it to take in more oxygen. They’re brightly coloured to reflect the toxins in the nudibranch’s diet, which it in turn extrudes through its skin. Wilson said it had taken 16 years to determine it was a new species of nudibranch, due to the sheer abundance of nudibranchs in Australian waters. She has handed the task of naming the creature over to the public, running a competition in conjunction with Radio National’s Off Track program to determine the second part of the scientific name, which will begin with the genus Moridilla. Program host Ann Jones said this nudibranch was “one of the weirdest creatures I’ve ever come across — it has ice blue sausages all over its back, it’s a hermaphrodite, it does an amazing dance when it’s threatened where it waves its sausages around and it goes through a metamorphoses sort of like a butterfly.” There are about 3,000 recognised species globally, and discovery is apparently so common that a website dubbed “Gary and Dave’s world of nudibranchs” based out of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, includes a how-to guide on naming the gastropods. Those searching for inspiration can try the Nudibranch Central facebook page, which warns prospective nudibranch enthusiasts not to misinterpret the name. (“There are NO NUDISTS here only sea slugs,” it says.) The name “nudibranch” means naked gills and is a reference to those cerata, or feathery gills. It’s also pronounced NEW-dih-bronk, according to the National Geographic, so be sure to adjust your pronunciation of the inevitable Moridilla Nudi McNudibranch accordingly. Names must be submitted by Monday . | ['environment/marine-life', 'environment/oceans', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'science/science', 'environment/environment', 'environment/wildlife', 'australia-news/western-australia', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/calla-wahlquist', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/marine-life | BIODIVERSITY | 2016-08-12T01:21:58Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2018/aug/06/country-diary-on-the-hunt-for-some-of-the-rarest-trees-in-the-world | Country diary: on the hunt for some of the rarest trees in the world | Glen Catacol is hot, humid, slightly overcast, and nothing stirs the air. In other words, the midges are ferocious. I march resolutely up the path, movement keeping the tiny bastards at bay, but the sight of a red-breasted merganser and her eight chicks huddling closely around her in the waters of the Abhainn Mór briefly stops me in my tracks. A little further along, I branch into Glen Diomhan, looking for some of the rarest trees in the world. The Arran whitebeam (Sorbus arranensis), the Arran service-tree (S pseudofennica) and the Catacol whitebeam (S pseudomeinichii) are unique not only to Arran but to these two neighbouring glens. The first two types, both identified by the late 1950s, number in the hundreds each, but the third, only confirmed in 2007, now exists in the wild as just one tree. All three have been reproduced by Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh scientists in “captivity” and can be seen in an enclosure at the foot of Glen Catacol, but having read about them while holidaying on Arran, a combination of fascination and bloody-mindedness has compelled me to try to locate the originals. Mostly huddled around steep gorges, naturally protected from the depredations of deer, they prove difficult “quarry”. The trees are the result of a sequence of cross-fertilisations derived from an original hybrid of rowan (S aucuparia) and rock whitebeam (S rupicola). Their uniqueness stems from the ability of some Sorbus to reproduce asexually, resulting in stable but often intensely localised populations of self-cloned trees, typically labelled types of whitebeam. Despite their family ties, the differences in leaf shapes between the three Arran species are quite pronounced – all are visibly part-rowan, part-whitebeam, but noticeably distinct from either, and from each other. A fetish for the scarce can obscure the importance of the commonplace, but in a world of declining biodiversity and increasing geographical monotony there is something compelling in the idea of an island of evolution, a lost world of local distinctiveness. My enthusiastic but amateurish searching turns up the Arran whitebeam and the service-tree, but that lonely Catacol whitebeam, clinging to the edge of the abyss somewhere, eludes me. | ['environment/forests', 'uk/scotland', 'environment/plants', 'environment/series/country-diary', 'uk/uk', 'environment/environment', 'uk/ruralaffairs', 'environment/endangeredspecies', 'environment/conservation', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/carey-davies', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/forests | BIODIVERSITY | 2018-08-06T04:30:28Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
books/2014/may/18/burning-answer-review-solar-revolution-scorching-diatribe-keith-barnham | The Burning Answer review – a scorching diatribe, with a few holes | Why have we yet to make contact with alien civilisations? Perhaps, argues Keith Barnham in The Burning Answer, it is because they have observed our exploits with nuclear fuel and "have decided earthlings are too stupid to be worth colonising". Barnham nails his colours to the mast from the off. Nuclear energy is not a necessary evil, it is just evil. And that goes for traditional fossil fuels and fracking too. In a post-Fukushima world battling climate change, Barnham's answer to the burning question of energy supply is simple: harness the power of the sun. After all, "the sunlight falling on the Earth in one hour is more than enough to supply all the energy demands of humankind for one year". By solar power, Barnham doesn't just mean photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. As he points out, hydropower is indirectly generated by the sun as its rays fall on the sea, leading to the formation of clouds that later unleash rain that can be held back by a dam and used to power a turbine. And there is a host of other renewable options from wind to wave power that can be used to heat our homes and feed our digital devices. The UK's lacklustre approach to such renewables, Barnham argues, is fed by a combination of factors, from the influence of the pro-nuclear and fossil fuel lobbies to the scant regard paid by the military towards renewable energy – a sharp contrast to their fervent interest in nuclear fission, exemplified by the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Barnham's own digging into the fate of plutonium from the UK's civil nuclear reactors revealed the extent to which, in the 1960s, the material was being ferried to America. It was, he points out, a beneficial exchange. "In return, the British government has received nuclear material from the US which has clearly benefited the UK military nuclear programme," he says. Having romped through electromagnetic waves, atomic structure and scientific history, Barnham embarks on an exposition, complete with convoluted metaphors, of how semiconductors work. But woe betide anyone who gets lost along the way – without a single diagram in the book, Barnham clearly doesn't see the value in using a picture to tell a thousand of his words. Which is a shame because it is 145 pages before he fully unleashes his arguments for a solar future. But once he gets going, the energy fizzes off the page, and any doubters of the merits of solar power, be they scientists, commentators or policy wonks, are given a swift left-hook. George Monbiot's objections to feed-in-tariffs, David Mackay's "pessimistic" calculations regarding geothermal energy, and the Royal Society's apparent enthusiasm for nuclear reactors all get a bop on the nose. Yet even though Barnham tackles some of the fundamental criticisms of solar power, his answers are at times disappointing. In response to the question of what happens to our renewable energy supply when the sun doesn't shine, Barnham simply replies that "the wind is usually blowing somewhere not far away". However, when later considering a project in Germany, a country he hails as leading the way with renewables, he points out that a source of gas – in this case biogas – was necessary to provide a back-up when wind and PV were unable to deliver the goods. The fact that in 2013 Germany's use of brown coal reached its highest level since 1990 is glossed over. Indeed, at times Barnham's zeal threatens to undermine support for his arguments, leaving even those of us who already fly the flag for solar power with the uncomfortable, nagging suspicion that there is more to the issues than he is letting on. Barnham draws his diatribe to a close with a host of suggestions for going green, from installing a ground-source heat pump to switching to a green-energy provider – but it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that it helps if you are a homeowner with several thousand quid to spare. Looking to the future, he disappointingly omits to mention the emerging technology of dye-sensitised solar cells, but his outlook for electric cars (fuelled by juice from renewable sources) is undeniably uplifting. As the spread of charging stations increases, well planned journeys will "become increasingly practical, pleasant and certainly cheap", he says. A thought many will warm to. | ['books/scienceandnature', 'environment/solarpower', 'books/books', 'culture/culture', 'tone/reviews', 'environment/energy', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'profile/nicola-davis', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/new-review', 'theobserver/new-review/books'] | environment/solarpower | ENERGY | 2014-05-18T09:00:00Z | true | ENERGY |
world/2005/apr/19/worlddispatch.tsunami2004 | Losing the plot | When the International Organisation for Migration recently wanted to build a clinic in Nusa, the village in Indonesia's tsunami-ravaged Aceh province whose reconstruction the Guardian is monitoring, it thought it had found an ideal location on the approach lane from the main road. Letters were obtained from the village head, the sub-district chief, the police and every other relevant organisation that the selected plot on the edge of the village was available. But, shortly after the contractor started laying the foundations, a man claiming to be the owner of the land turned up and insisted the work be stopped since he had no desire to have a clinic on his land. His claim proved genuine and the workers stopped construction, leaving behind about a dozen neatly aligned concrete piles. It is not clear who is to blame for this fiasco as everyone is accusing everyone else. But it highlights one of the greatest issues emerging in Aceh, namely who owns what land and how can they prove it. Most experts agree that land ownership, and prior to that individuals' official identities, have to be determined before any reconstruction can proceed. "If the process of reconstruction proceeds without a clear picture of land ownership then the potential for conflict is significant," said Dan Fitzpatrick, an advisor to the United Nations on the issue. "For as soon as you start presenting economic opportunities to people you start creating conflicts unless everything is certain in advance." In Nusa, where only 23 people out of 149 families died and only a third of the houses were destroyed, there have been no disputes. "Everyone knows whose land is whose and in every case where there is an empty plot someone from the family is still alive," said Abdul Kadir, who was the village secretary until last month. Amazingly, the situation is often the same in areas where the death toll and devastation level were much higher. In Mulia, a neighbourhood of Kuta Alam sub-district in the provincial capital Banda Aceh, only 400 out of the approximately 4,000 residents survived and virtually no houses are still standing. But most of the few survivors, in consultation with their neighbours have roped off the land they believe to be theirs. "Everyone agrees with what we have done," said Muzakir Tulod, who lost his wife, two of three children and his house. "The sub-district chief has also approved. Now we just need money and materials to rebuild." Complicating matters is that only a tiny proportion of the population ever had title deeds to their properties and many of those lost them in the tsunami. Officials in Meulaboh, a town 150 miles south of Banda Aceh, have found hundreds of badly damaged title deeds and, with help from the UN and the National Archives in Jakarta, are restoring them in a painstaking process that is likely to take months. In most other areas, communities are starting from scratch, partly to ensure they can receive international assistance, because many aid agencies are refusing to disburse funds unless they are confident of who owns what land. One of the more thorough schemes is being run by Indonesian Red Cross staff with help from their British counterparts. It has two parallel tracks, one whereby people recover their official identities and a second where communities determine who owns what land. Families have to first prove who is still alive and complete a form detailing this. Then they have to obtain a letter from the village head confirming that these people are who they claim to be and that they do live in the village. This letter, complete with photos, is then taken to the police and military (Aceh is still technically under a state of emergency due to the 29-year-long separatist conflict) and identity cards are issued. Running simultaneously to this are village gatherings where everyone is consulted to determine who owns what land. This is then recorded and submitted to the Red Cross. "Only once that's done will we be able to give the resources to communities to rebuild their houses," said Bill Marsden, a British Red Cross livelihoods adviser. "We have to know who lived in [each] village and where on December 25th in order to avoid land ownership issues." Considering the Red Cross has a reconstruction budget of tens of millions of pounds, it is not surprising that the 300 families involved in the pilot project are embracing it enthusiastically. Within a few weeks the scheme is expected to be expanded to help 12,000 families, Mr Marsden said. A trickier issue is where the coastline has disappeared entirely, Mr Fitzpatrick said. "What will probably happen in these situations is that communities will work something out," he said. "Religious and other leaders will hopefully be able to give other land to people who have lost everything." | ['world/world', 'world/tsunami2004', 'world/indonesia', 'world/series/worlddispatch', 'world/asia-pacific', 'type/article', 'profile/johnaglionby'] | world/tsunami2004 | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2005-04-19T09:13:09Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
society/2019/dec/14/rewilding-how-trees-for-life-are-renewing-the-highlands | Rewilding: How Trees for Life are renewing the Highlands | The bracken-clad hills are marked “Dundreggan forest” on the map but this Scottish glen is mostly stark Highland scenery: open, beautiful, and almost totally devoid of trees. On a steep-sided little gully, 40 years ago, a few baby silver birches escaped relentless browsing by red deer and grew tall. Now, the nearby path through the bracken is dusted with thousands of brown specks: birch seeds. “Each year, this ‘forest’ produces trillions of birch seed,” says Doug Gilbert, the operations manager for the charity Trees for Life at Dundreggan. “Until we reduce the deer pressure, not a single one has grown into a tree. Once we get the deer population right, this forest will absolutely take off. It’s starting to do that now.” The charity purchased the Dundreggan hunting estate 11 years ago. Slowly – “at tree speed,” smiles Gilbert – it is rewilding 4,000 hectares (10,000 acres) of this degraded Highland landscape, restoring a diversity of native trees, scrub and associated life, from the dark bordered beauty moth to black grouse and, yes, red deer. Trees for Life is one of four charities chosen for the Guardian and Observer’s 2019 climate emergency appeal, each of which is committed to renewing nature and the planet by planting and protecting trees, forests and woodland. Increasingly, Trees for Life’s aims – to revive Scotland’s native forests with practical rewilding that includes Scottish people at its heart – are chiming with the times. During the general election campaign, politicians desperately tried to outbid each other with tree-planting pledges. Who doesn’t love a tree? More trees can tackle the climate crisis – absorbing carbon dioxide – and the biodiversity crisis. But Trees for Life’s efforts reveal it is not quite so simple. Since Victorian times, when the sheep estates that followed the Highland clearances were replaced by more lucrative deer hunting estates, the landscape, and economic model, has been shaped by red deer. Around Dundreggan there are also non-native sika and roe deer. What many see as a wild, natural landscape – the treeless mountains – is engineered by deer, whose grazing of tasty young shoots prevents old trees being replaced by young. Less than 2% of Scotland’s native Caledonian forest – dominated by Scots pines – remains. The first step at Dundreggan has been to increase deer culling. Ecologists calculate that a red deer population of five per sq km in the wider landscape will allow natural regeneration; in many Highland regions it is 20. But culling deer is controversial because the value of stalking that estates base on deer numbers. Trees for Life has proceeded slowly with culling, seeking positive dialogue with neighbouring stalking estates. They’ve also tried non-lethal methods such as bagpipe-playing volunteers acting as nocturnal deer scarers. Trees and deer can coexist and Dundreggan’s deer population is now at a level where some young birches, pines, rowans and junipers will grow tall. “We would like to let the trees come on their own,” says Steve Micklewight, the chief executive. “But because this land has been so bare for so long, there isn’t the diverse seed source to make this happen.” So, helped by volunteers, Trees for Life has planted nearly 2 million native trees so far at Dundreggan and on its other Scottish projects. It wants to plant millions more. All the trees come from Scottish seeds – meaning they are suited to Highland climates and species, as well as being free of novel diseases. Half have been grown from seeds collected around Dundreggan. Its on-site nursery bristles with 94,000 saplings. Seed-collecting is not as simple as it sounds. Seed must come from a wide variety of individual trees to ensure genetic diversity. Cones from Scots pines have to be harvested before they drop to the ground, so specialist tree-climbers are employed. Trees for Life specialises in growing non-commercial high-mountain species such as woolly willow and dwarf birch. Surviving specimens are often only found on cliffs and crevices – with seeds or cuttings only retrievable by specialist climbers. Because of the deer grazing, every sapling is planted within a fenced enclosure (costing £10 per metre). Fencing is “a little bit of an admission of failure,” says Gilbert. In the long term, when reducing deer numbers becomes less controversial, trees won’t need fences. Gilbert hopes the fences will last 30 years, when the well-established trees and scrub will survive browsing deer. At first, Dundreggan’s biggest fenced enclosure looks dominated by bracken. But crouch down, and the horizon is fuzzy with young trees: downy birch, rowan, and plump little Scots pines. There are no straight lines – it is emphatically not a “plantation” like the rigid blocks of non-native sitka spruce on the far side of the glen. (Trees for Life are concerned that politicians’ tree-planting pledges will lead to new non-native commercial plantations, which are disastrous for most wildlife). At Dundreggan, life is beginning to return. A black grouse shoots up and a raven scuds on the wind, prospecting for the small mammals and young birds in the burgeoning scrub. Gilbert has a better word for scrub: elfin forest. “It’s getting to the blue touch-paper stage,” says Micklewight. “You plant the trees and not much visible happens for seven years as the roots slowly build. Then it suddenly moves quite fast. We’re just about to see that at Dundreggan. The trees in the ground enable the landscape to take off.” Please donate to our appeal here | ['society/series/guardian-and-observer-charity-appeal-2019', 'environment/forests', 'uk/scotland', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'environment/rewilding', 'profile/patrickbarkham', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | environment/forests | BIODIVERSITY | 2019-12-14T08:00:17Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2022/jul/11/uk-supermarkets-could-still-be-buying-meat-linked-to-deforestation-in-brazil-report-suggests | UK supermarkets could still be buying meat linked to deforestation in Brazil, report suggests | Supermarkets and retailers have been asked to end relationships with soya traders who allegedly continue to buy soya from suppliers contributing to deforestation in Brazil. It comes as an investigation by campaign group Mighty Earth alleges that suppliers selling to leading soya traders have deforested at least 27,000 hectares (67,000 acres) across 10 farms in the Cerrado region of Brazil since August 2020. Some of the traders supply the UK, so soya harvested from this land could end up in meat supply chains for major supermarkets and retailers via animal feed given to farm animals. This is despite a previous agreement in principle from retailers to end buying meat connected to the destruction of natural ecosystems – such as the Brazilian Cerrado – that occurred after August 2020. With large swathes of land under threat from the production of soya, supermarket chains have been asked to take action and end longstanding relationships with soya traders who buy from firms responsible for the destruction. The Brazilian Cerrado is known for its plant and animal biodiversity and has been described as the “biologically richest savannah in the world” by the World Wide Fund for Nature. It is home to approximately 12,000 plant species, as well as 850 species of bird – 30 of which are endemic to the region. Campaigners say the majority (77%) of the world’s soya beans are used for feeding animals, including pigs and poultry. The report said: “Supermarkets should … set up effective, fully transparent and cross-ecosystem soy monitoring and traceability systems for the Cerrado, Brazil and beyond. “Although this analysis focuses primarily on the Cerrado savannah, a series of other reports show that the supermarkets also face significant risk of links to destruction of native habitat in other ecosystems that supply animal feed, including Brazil’s Pantanal, the Bolivian Amazon basin and Chiquitania, Paraguay’s Atlantic forest, and the Gran Chaco of Argentina and Paraguay.” Campaigners from Mighty Earth have also written to supermarkets calling on them to require meat suppliers to “work towards a goal of selling at least 20% plant-based or alternative proteins” by 2030. The scale of destruction in the Cerrado is vast, the report says, with the most severe case of known deforestation occurring within Condomínio Agrícola Estrondo in Bahía. Research appears to show that more than 15,000 hectares were cleared after the 2020 cut-off date. One soya company allegedly cleared more than 1,180 hectares of vegetation in just one month. The report said: “After years of failed efforts to nudge the soy companies to sever ties with suppliers engaged in deforestation, the time has come for major supermarkets to deliver on their promises, and deploy meaningful commercial consequences for non-compliance with their zero-deforestation pledges.” The new findings from this investigation come seven months after Cargill was found to be buying soya and corn from a farm linked to deforestation in the Amazon, despite having pledged to clean up its global supply chains. The Retail Soy Group (RSG) told the Guardian that the report raises “serious concerns” and that its members, which include UK supermarkets, “will be engaging the traders” to understand what actions will be taken. “Mighty Earth’s report provides an additional reference point for understanding the progress companies are taking to transform their supply chains as part of new monitoring, reporting and verification systems that are being established through delivery partnerships in which companies made deforestation and land conversion commitments, like the UK Soy Manifesto and CGF Forest Positive Coalition,” said a RSG spokesperson. Sign up for the Animals farmed monthly update to get a roundup of the best farming and food stories across the world and keep up with our investigations. You can send us your stories and thoughts at animalsfarmed@theguardian.com | ['environment/series/animals-farmed', 'environment/environment', 'environment/deforestation', 'world/brazil', 'environment/farming', 'environment/food', 'environment/meat-industry', 'environment/forests', 'world/world', 'business/supermarkets', 'business/retail', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/tom-ambrose', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/global-development'] | environment/forests | BIODIVERSITY | 2022-07-11T05:00:04Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
australia-news/2024/nov/02/goose-barnacles-australian-beaches-bondi | They have tentacles and taste great in pasta. What are the strange barnacles washing up on Australian beaches? | Goose barnacles look as strange as their name, with a long, noodle-like stalk emerging from smooth white plates. The crustacean, also known as percebes, is also extremely expensive – in Europe, where it’s enjoyed as a delicacy, a kilo might cost hundreds of dollars. And this week, a bunch washed up at Horseshoe Bay, south of Adelaide. “[The pylon] was coated with what looked like udon noodles with cockles on the end,” Martin Smee, from Port Elliot’s surf life saving club, told ABC Radio Adelaide. “I had a closer look and there were barnacles, thousands of barnacles.” A few days later, more were spotted on Bondi beach, Sydney. But while goose barnacles are undeniably strange in appearance, they’re a normal part of the natural marine environment, according to a Waverley council spokesperson. “They are often found washed onto shore depending on winds and currents,” they said. A crustaceans expert at the South Australian Museum, Dr Rachael King, said it is not surprising to see the goose barnacles drift ashore. Every now and then, she said, they attach themselves to objects floating in the water, like submerged lines and moorings and buoys. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email “These live on things that drift in the ocean, and things drift in onto shore all the time,” King said. “It’s really a cool experience to see things that you don’t usually see. “They’re out there in the open ocean, and you just don’t get to see them from where we are on shore so much. So it’s really nice to be able to see them coming in like these. “Unfortunately, these animals won’t survive because, you know, they’re supposed to be out there, floating on debris, living their best lives.” King said the barnacles float around and create habitat for other animals in the open ocean, but can also be a vector for invasive species. “They attach themselves to something, and they stay there their whole life,” she said. “They’re more related to crabs and shrimp than they are to cockles or pippies.” King suspects the reason the ones in South Australia were more translucent was because they were fresher, whereas the ones on Bondi appear as if they had been on shore for longer. “When they’ve been exposed [to the sun], they go darker,” she said. The edible flesh looks like a dragon claw and, when boiled and cooked, has been described as tasting like a cross between lobster and clam. Gooseneck barnacles cling to rocks where there is a strong crashing surf. “Growing in cold water along the tidal cracked rocks, harvesting percebes is a difficult and dangerous feat,” writes the Brown Trading Company, a supplier of seafood in the United States. During low tide, when the rocks have been washed by waves, some barnacles can be stripped from the rocks by hand. Others, however, “require a diver armed with a pry bar,” the Brown Trading Company explains. They recommend steaming or blanching the barnacles to reduce the taste of salt, then removing the rough skin from the shell. The meat inside can be pulled out and eaten. While often added to soups, chowders, pastas, the meat is also served on its own with a variety of dressings – garlic and butter, chilli and lemon or even a sherry cream sauce and wild greens. | ['australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/environment', 'environment/wildlife', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/jordyn-beazley', 'profile/rafqa-touma', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/wildlife | BIODIVERSITY | 2024-11-01T23:00:58Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
culture/2022/sep/13/it-beats-for-its-people-lismore-finds-glimmer-of-hope-in-grief-stricken-community | ‘It beats for its people’: Lismore finds glimmer of hope in grief-stricken community | If Lismore – the centre of the New South Wales northern rivers region – was to be represented in a single image, it would be a heart. A longtime symbol for the area, used after flooding in 2017 and in tourism campaigns, it has taken on a deeper meaning in 2022. The city of more than 27,000 residents suffered two record-breaking major flooding events this year, and is facing a painfully slow recovery with more than 3,000 damaged properties, thousands of displaced residents and a traumatised population. It has been holding on tightly to the heart as a signifier of solidarity. Residents camping in destroyed homes hang hearts in the windows to tell the community they’re still here. Business owners display them to express their love for their neighbours. And in the final moments of Love for One Night, the devised theatre work by Northern Rivers Performing Arts (Norpa) – their first after the disaster – two Love for Lismore hearts flash on giant screens against the facade of the Eltham hotel. The 119-year-old pub, just a 15-minute drive from Lismore, was always going to be the site for this production about the people and relationships on display on any given night in a rural pub. But everything else has changed for the company. Their home at the Lismore City Hall was destroyed (as were the homes of many employees); they have let go of seven staff. That Love for One Night has made it to production feels remarkable; watching it from a crowd of local community members, all of them leaning forward in their seats – an elevated bank temporarily erected in the pub car park – is a gift. As a work, Love for One Night is a salve. Like those Love for Lismore Hearts, it beats for its people. Written by Janis Balodis, devised by ensemble and directed by Norpa artistic director Julian Louis, the play is structured as a series of vignettes that follow pub patrons (Lloyd Allison-Young, Claire Atkins, Phil Blackman, Zoe Gameau and Katia Molino) over the course of one night. Ex-lovers reconnect. Strangers share moments of electricity. Couples try to hold it together; relatives seek new understanding from each other. Sometimes, it seems, these things can only be worked out by a post-work beer or a bottle of wine, and the company reaches for glasses like they reach for each other – expressively, lyrically, through dance-inspired movement (courtesy of movement consultant Kimberley McIntyre). Weaving that physicality together with the play’s more traditional scenes are two key elements: live-feed video and interstitial video projections by Poppy Walker and Mic Gruchy, and a soundscape created by Jamie Birrell, the musical director. Birrell summons a three-piece pub band (he’s joined by Luke Bennett and Ben Cox) to conjure the emotion – and, occasionally, play the classics, including Cold Chisel’s Flame Trees or Neil Young’s Harvest Moon. The night I attended actually was a harvest moon, and it hung brightly over the stage, keeping close watch with a smattering of stars as the production played out in front of, and through, the hotel. Sunny (Atkins) is the Eltham’s housekeeper and our guide to the space. As the show’s true north, her phone calls with her son and her clear positioning as a beloved community figure colour the piece with much-needed emotional honesty. Many of the standalone scenes are highly stylised – there’s a little melodrama, a touch of camp and generous serves of comedy – and the live video feed helps viewers peer through scenes to observe and discover the story on a deeper level. When the audience laughs, often as a collective, it feels like a balm. A storyline where a man recounts losing his wife to a cult had the audience, well aware of the local Universal Medicine cult, in knowing stitches. A dance-forward piece that has peacocking singles assume the aspects of the bird in question provides welcome comic relief. But it’s Sunny imparting unexpectedly moving life advice to her son – about being present in exactly the moment you’re living – that suddenly catches in the throat and leaves you moved. It all comes back to Sunny, really: when she reconnects with a woman after cleaning her flood-stricken home, the whole piece seems suffused with the love it promised us in the title. It’s not surprising it’s the emotionally rigorous scenes that are the most successful. These impossible, intangible concepts often make the most sense to us when we see a body wearing them; seeing a performer express something essential about what it means to be human is the magic of theatre. In a time of great upheaval and distress, it’s often the outstretched hand of another person that eases the burden. Some of us are more ready to receive that hand in a pub that feels like home, offered by an actor who, after just 75 minutes, feels like a friend. Love for One Night is a Love for Lismore Heart in beating, blood-thumping action: after the play, the audience spilled on to the stage and made it their own. They sat at its set-decorated tables to share a beer with family and friends; groups stayed in the seating bank to chat. In less than five minutes, the playing space transformed into a space for meeting and connection. We were comfortable, sharing nods and smiles with strangers. We felt the love – for Lismore, for the villages surrounding it, for neighbours and friends. Love for One Night runs until 24 September at Eltham hotel. Guardian Australia travelled to Lismore as a guest of Norpa. | ['culture/culture', 'stage/theatre', 'stage/stage', 'australia-news/australia-east-coast-floods-2022', 'environment/flooding', 'australia-news/new-south-wales', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/cassie-tongue', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-culture'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2022-09-13T03:06:04Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
us-news/2024/feb/27/texas-wildfire-mandatory-evacuations | Texas wildfires: nuclear weapons factory reopens after pause in operations | The main facility that assembles and disassembles America’s nuclear arsenal reopened on Wednesday morning after shutting down its operations on Tuesday night as fires raged out of control in Texas. The Pantex site in Amarillo in north Texas announced on Facebook that staff should come to work for normal shift operations after it had paused operations. “The Pantex Plant is open for normal day shift operations for Wednesday, February 28; all personnel are to report for duty according to their assigned schedule.” The plant updated that there was no fire at the plant site, NBC News reported. There is an unconfined fire north of the plant. Since 1975, Pantex has been the US main assembly and disassembly site for its atomic bombs. It assembled the last new bomb in 1991. In the time since, it has dismantled thousands of weapons. Pantex is located 30 miles (48km) east of Amarillo. With unseasonably warm temperatures and strong gusts helping to fuel the flames through dry grasses, the largest Texas blaze, known as the Smokehouse Creek fire, has consumed more than 500,000 acressince it ignited on Monday, and remains 0% contained. Two others had collectively scorched more than 38,000 acres and were each 20% contained. The wildfire is now the second-largest on record in Texas, CNN reported. Mandatory evacuations were issued in Texas on Tuesday afternoon as wind-swept wildfires continued to burn uncontrollably across the Panhandle. “There has been some structure loss,” said public information officer Juan Rodriguez, who added that it’s too soon to know how many buildings have burned. Rodriguez said high winds are complicating the efforts, even though there’s hope for higher humidity on Wednesday. As of Wednesday morning, Texas officials are still determining the extent of damage as firefighters work to contain active fires. More than 4,000 homes in Texas are also without power as of Wednesday, poweroutage.us reported. Gusts of up to 65mph and low relative humidity are contributing to critical fire weather conditions and they are not expected to calm soon, according to the National Weather Service. Millions of people across the south-central US remain under red flag warnings. “Stronger winds are anticipated today, and conditions will remain quite favourable for the start and spread of wildfires,” the NWS in Amarillo, Texas, wrote in an update on Tuesday, before urging residents to take extra caution with activities that could cause new ignitions. Greg Abbott, the Texas governor, issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties across the region under threat from the fires, stating that additional counties may be added as conditions intensify. The state’s division of emergency management has also been enlisted to provide resources and aid local firefighters in the response. Encouraging Texans to keep their loved ones safe and thanking first responders, Abbott also shared warnings from Texas A&M forest service that risks were high for fires beyond the Panhandle, in regions of the South Plains, Texoma, Permian Basin and portions of east Texas. The Smokehouse Creek fire, already the fifth largest in the state’s history, burned more than all the fires ignited in Texas last year combined, according to the Texas A&M forest service. Several communities were forced to flee, in some cases through chaos and confusion as the winds changed and exit routes were blocked by closed roads. Residents in the city of Canadian, a city in Hemphill county, were told to shelter in place on Tuesday afternoon, due to closures of important routes out of the city. “The wind has shifted from the north,” the sheriff’s office for the town of Roberts posted on Facebook, adding: “If you have not evacuated, do so now.” The city of Borger, in Hutchinson county, meanwhile, posted a plea for patience and instructions to remain off the roads as residents inundated the agency with questions. “We are trying to keep our pages as up to date as possible. Please understand that fire related situations are rapidly changing. This includes evacuations, active hotspots, and wind shifts,” the city posted online. “We understand it’s inconvenient for the roads to be closed,” they added, “but there is active fire all over our roadways right now. And where there isn’t fire, there is extreme smoke, making visibility nonexistent. Do NOT chance it! [sic]” The Associated Press contributed reporting | ['us-news/texas', 'world/wildfires', 'us-news/us-news', 'campaign/email/us-morning-newsletter', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/gabrielle-canon', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/west-coast-news'] | world/wildfires | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2024-02-28T13:41:24Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
music/2022/may/20/pitting-bands-against-each-other-wont-help-the-music-industry-fight-climate-change | Pitting bands against each other won’t help the music industry fight climate change | Letter | I am writing as the CEO of LIVE, the trade body for the UK’s live music industry, to express my disappointment in the headline and tone of your article (Dear Coldplay, listen to Massive Attack and save yourselves from greenwashing, 11 May). As it sets out, decarbonising live music is a vital but daunting task. The sector has made significant progress over recent years. The article notes that Coldplay’s tour would generate 50% lower emissions than the last and called the band’s efforts “an admirable step down the path to zero-emissions music”. Why then, does it take such a swipe at an industry that is, while by no means perfect, putting its shoulder to the wheel of environmental progress? If perfect is the enemy of good, then we are left in a position that can, all too often, lead to paralysis. While all solutions deserve proper scrutiny, we need to create a culture of supporting artists to speak out on climate issues, rather than seeking to pit bands against one another. On this issue, more than any other, we are all in this together. Jon Collins CEO, LIVE (Live music Industry Venues & Entertainment) | ['music/music', 'music/coldplay', 'culture/culture', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'type/article', 'tone/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/carbon-emissions | EMISSIONS | 2022-05-20T14:04:43Z | true | EMISSIONS |
environment/2024/jan/27/greta-thunberg-joins-protest-against-expansion-of-hampshire-airport | Greta Thunberg joins protest against expansion of Hampshire airport | The climate activist Greta Thunberg has marched alongside local residents and Extinction Rebellion activists to protest against an airport’s expansion plans. Farnborough Airport Ltd has submitted a planning application to Rushmoor borough council to increase the number of flights from 50,000 to 70,000 a year. The Swedish climate activist joined the march from Farnborough town centre, in Hampshire, to Farnborough airport. The group set off pink smoke flares and waved banners as they called for a total ban on private jets, which they say are up to 30 times more polluting than passenger airliners. “The fact that using private jets is both legally and socially allowed today in an escalating climate emergency is completely detached from reality,” Thunberg said. “There are few examples that show as clearly how the rich elite is sacrificing present and future living conditions on this planet so they can maintain their extreme and violent lifestyles.” If approved, the airport plans would result in an increase in non-weekday aircraft movements from 8,900 to 18,900 a year and would allow heavier aircraft to use the airport. Farnborough airport said its environmental footprint was “a fraction that of a traditional commercial airport” yet it served as one of the largest employment sites in the region. Rushmoor borough council will consider the plans in March. Todd Smith, a former airline pilot and an Extinction Rebellion spokesperson, said: “Flying is the fastest way to fry the planet and private jets are the most polluting way to fly. “Surely it’s a no-brainer to ban private jets and stop expanding these luxury airports in the midst of a climate crisis? Survey after survey, as well as several citizens’ assemblies, have shown this would be very popular and has widespread support from the general public.” Sarah Hart, an office assistant from Farnborough, said: “As a local resident and a mum of two, I am utterly appalled at the airport’s plan to expand when we should be banning private flying completely. We need to be taking drastic steps to ensure a liveable world for all our children, not increasing our use in fossil fuels.” A Farnborough airport spokesperson said the facility was an “important gateway for business aviation connectivity with the majority of flights being operated for business and corporate travel purposes”. He said: “The airport’s environmental footprint is a fraction that of a traditional commercial airport, yet it serves as one of the largest employment sites in the region. We recognise the importance of continually reducing our environmental impact and we are only one of a small number of UK airports to have achieved level four-plus under the airport carbon accreditation programme.” | ['environment/activism', 'environment/greta-thunberg', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'uk-news/hampshire', 'uk/uk', 'environment/airline-emissions', 'business/theairlineindustry', 'environment/extinction-rebellion', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/kevin-rawlinson', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | environment/extinction-rebellion | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2024-01-27T15:51:10Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
world/2005/sep/05/hurricanekatrina.usa4 | Bush team tries to pin blame on local officials | The following correction was printed in the Guardian's Corrections and clarifications column, Wednesday September 7 2005 In the report below, we said: "Unnamed White House officials, quoted in the Washington Post, directed blame at the Louisiana governor, Kathleen Blanco, a Democrat, for being slow to call for outside help and to declare a state of emergency." In fact, the Washington Post corrected its story to make it clear that the governor declared an emergency on August 26. Bush administration officials yesterday blamed state and local officials for the delays in bringing relief to New Orleans, as the president struggled to fend off the most serious political crisis of his presidency. His top officials continued to be pilloried on television talk shows by liberals and conservatives alike, but the White House began to show signs of an evolving strategy to prevent the relief fiasco from eclipsing the president's second term. The outrage over the government's relief effort has hit Mr Bush at a time when he is already weakened by the gruelling war in Iraq. The threat is not only to his place in history; it could also cripple his second-term agenda, undermining his plans to privatise the social security system and to end inheritance tax. Mr Bush also faces a much more difficult task in appointing an ideological conservative to take the supreme court seat of William Rehnquist, who died on Saturday. The White House drew encouragement from an initial poll suggesting most Republican voters were sticking by him, and his supporters also pointed to Mr Bush's track record of recovering from mistakes. His initial response to the September 11 attacks was also sharply criticised. With that in mind, the first plank in the political recovery strategy has been to try to make up for lost time. On Saturday Mr Bush ordered 7,000 more troops to the Gulf coast. As important as the content of the speech was its sombre tone. It was clear the White House realised that making a joke about his young hell-raising days in New Orleans in the course of a flying visit to the flooded city on Friday, was a mistake that reinforced allegations he had failed to take the disaster seriously enough. The White House also announced yesterday that the president had cancelled public engagements, including a meeting with the Chinese president, Hu Jintao. Instead, he was due to return to the scene of the devastation. The second element of the White House plan is to insist, in an echo of the September 11 attacks, that the scale of the disaster, the combination of a hurricane and the collapse of the levee system around New Orleans, could not have been foreseen. Mr Bush was castigated for saying on Wednesday: "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees". It was pointed out that there had been a string of investigations and reports in recent years which had predicted the disaster almost exactly. Nevertheless, administration officials stuck to the line yesterday. In a string of television interviews, Michael Chertoff, the head of the homeland security department, called the situation an "ultra-catastrophe", as if the hurricane and flood were unrelated events. "That 'perfect storm' of a combination of catastrophes exceeded the foresight of the planners, and maybe anybody's foresight," he said. The third element in the administration's political response has been to counter-attack against the blame directed at the federal authorities, particularly the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) and its parent body, the homeland security department. In his weekend radio address, Mr Bush implied many of the problems had been caused by lower levels of government. The scale of the crisis "has created tremendous problems that have strained state and local capabilities. The result is that many of our citizens simply are not getting the help they need, especially in New Orleans. And that is unacceptable." Unnamed White House officials, quoted in the Washington Post, directed blame at the Louisiana governor, Kathleen Blanco, a Democrat, for being slow to call for outside help and to declare a state of emergency. Ms Blanco, meanwhile, resisted a federal attempt to take over control of local police and national guard units - an attempt some Louisiana officials saw as a political manoeuvre that would help blame the weak response in the first week on the state. The depth of America's polarisation could prove a bulwark preventing Mr Bush's political support from collapsing altogether. A poll by the Washington Post and ABC News on Friday night, showed that, of those questioned, 46% approved of the way the president had handled the relief efforts while 47% disapproved. The spotlight began to turn yesterday on Michael Brown, the head of Fema, who had minimal emergency management experience before joining the agency in 2001, and had spent the previous 10 years organising horse shows for the International Arabian Horse Association. Press reports claimed he had had to leave that job because of questions about his performance. | ['world/world', 'us-news/hurricane-katrina', 'us-news/us-news', 'type/article', 'profile/julianborger'] | us-news/hurricane-katrina | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2005-09-05T09:20:42Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
world/2017/sep/16/hurricane-irma-bvi-uk-government | Hurricane Irma leaves UK’s Caribbean tax havens relying on volunteers | Heavy rainfall, mosquito infestations and flooding are bringing fresh misery to beleaguered survivors of Hurricane Irma, a week on from the storm which brought devastation to the Caribbean last week. But while the British government continues to face criticism for what some see as a slow reaction to the plight of its overseas territories, a volunteer-led response is now under way in locations such as the British Virgin Islands (BVI). Simon Roberts, a carpenter who was resident on the BVI’s largest island of Tortola for more than a decade but evacuated with his wife and children after the category-five hurricane hit, was this weekend preparing to return with a dozen tradesmen, bringing tools and resources in by boat from the US. “Sanitation is now a huge issue, so we are going to be getting stuck in to helping with that,” said Roberts. “Most people there have a house on a concrete slab, a cistern and ‘soakaway’ system for their toilet. So the basic plan is to start rebuilding shelters on those slabs and to get guttering in place, so that they can start collecting fresh water again.” Tortola resident Chuck Krallman told the Observer: “One hundred per cent of the country has been devastated. The logistics of moving supplies and aid is extraordinarily difficult and expensive. Thousands of people are living in ramshackle buildings with no walls and need to leave. Many people have lost everything, have no cash or clothes, and don’t have the money to leave.” Power is gradually being restored to many parts of the BVI, including the territory’s main hospital on Tortola, but a curfew remains in place from 6pm to 9am, and residents have been asked to stay off the roads unless necessary. Many current and former BVI residents are using social media to mobilise resources and circulate lists of urgently needed supplies, including generators, blankets, bed linen, mosquito tablets and construction materials. Other efforts include those organised by Richard Branson, whose Caribbean home on one of the BVI’s 50 islands was badly damaged. On his website on Friday, Branson wrote: “While we are incredibly thankful for everything being done to help the BVI communities, more help is needed … These islands now really need the level of support only a large organisation with significant disaster management experience can provide to come in and help.” The Foreign Office said this weekend that it had arranged military-assisted departures for eligible persons from the BVI and was putting similar arrangements in place for other affected overseas territories. In addition to Royal Marines who are on the ground providing security, Public Health England is sending three specialists to work with the chief medical officers of the territory. The hurricane could prove to be a catalyst in the longer term for a rethink of the economic and social model of territories such as the BVI, as well as Britain’s relationship with them. Dr Peter Clegg, associate professor in politics and international relations at the University of the West of England in Bristol, who has advised Caribbean governments and UK ministers in the past, said that the relatively high GDP figures for societies such as the BVI masked income diversity. “A situation like this is likely to highlight that territories like the BVI are vulnerable and cannot rely on the benevolence of the UK. Their great hope, going forward, was exporting fish to the European market, but all territories are now quite concerned about the implications of Brexit and how that may impact free movement and also EU aid.” Clegg said the UK government had been “playing catchup” since the hurricane. “These territories do not have the physical capacity to respond to a hurricane. They are vulnerable, with limited infrastructure, and the UK really should have stepped up more quickly.” | ['world/hurricane-irma', 'world/world', 'tone/news', 'world/british-virgin-islands', 'type/article', 'profile/benquinn', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/news', 'theobserver/news/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/observer-main'] | world/hurricane-irma | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2017-09-16T19:48:15Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
sustainable-business/2015/mar/10/sustainability-jargon-terminology | Lessons from history: why what we say about sustainability matters | What does the history of the American progressive movement in the early 20th century have to do with sustainable business in the early 21st? Lately I’ve been reflecting on the relevance of my earlier academic research to the day job I do now, making some unexpected but important connections. The words we use to describe things matter a great deal. Around the turn of the last century, progressives in the US managed to capture and re-define a number of key terms of political debate. This linguistic victory wasn’t the only (or even the most significant) cause of the legislative and societal changes that swept through America in the first two decades of the 20th century. But, given that the so-called “progressive” movement was so disparate that sometimes the only thing its members agreed upon was the label itself, words mattered. They still do – a lesson that the modern sustainable business movement seems to have forgotten. Too often, good intentions are mired in linguistic incoherence. Companies seem to choose labels at random: CSR, sustainability and corporate citizenship are all used more or less interchangeably, with only true aficionados able to articulate a difference. The trouble with this inconsistency is that it creates false divisions where none should exist. The wider culture that has emerged around the core issue of sustainable business is even worse in terms of the proliferation of jargon and new terminology. Organisationally and linguistically, we’re a fragmented bunch. There’s conscious capitalism, breakthrough capitalism, long-term capitalism, capitalism 2.0 (or even 3.0). B-Corps jostle with social enterprises and mission-driven organisations for the limelight. Of course, there are some great people doing fantastic work under all of these banners, but until we can agree on a common language we won’t see the systemic transformation we aspire to. That’s where the history lesson comes in. The genius of the progressive intellectuals in late-nineteenth century America was that they didn’t invent new labels. Instead, they sought to subtly shift the definition of keywords that already resonated with the public. In their hands, individualism went from being shorthand for an absolute adherence to the doctrine of laissez faire government to being an argument for an activist state in certain areas. They managed this trick by arguing that the over-concentration of power and wealth was holding individuals back from fulfilling their full potential. Surely, they said, an individualistic society is one in which self-fulfilment is attainable for all. Similarly, democracy morphed from being merely a form of government to being a way of life. It went from meaning little more than voting at elections every four years to something much more holistic that encompassed all of society – paving the way, in due course, for full-blown social democracy. Today’s battle for the heart and soul of business will be won not by inventing new and unfamiliar labels, but by changing the ideological content of the corporate world’s core vocabulary. Rightly or wrongly, the terms ‘sustainability’, ‘social responsibility’ and ‘corporate citizenship’ have a negative connotation in the eyes of many businesspeople, just as socialismhad for the American electorate in 1900. The progressives didn’t change people’s mind about socialism, but they did manage to convince them to swallow many aspects of a socialist agenda by making their case in language the public already understood. Rather than devoting our energies to making an ever stronger case for action on sustainability, we should focus on disputing, refining and evolving the accepted meaning of terms like efficiency, free market, value creation and leadership – words that already strike a chord with the mainstream of global business. Efficiency is a jolly good thing, but it doesn’t just mean minimising financial costs. It means putting all resources – human and natural, as well as financial – to their best use. Similarly, a free market is not necessarily equivalent to an unregulated one, especially when some players in the market get so big that they are effectively able to abrogate the freedoms of their smaller competitors. I often get asked what the definition of good leadership is, as this is an area which my organisation focuses on. I could say that good leadership is conscious, authentic, values-driven, compassionate, courageous and inclusive. But I generally don’t – not because I’m lazy or can’t remember all those words when put on the spot, but because each one of these qualifying terms provides an opportunity for the listener to decide that that kind of leadership doesn’t apply. My goal is not to see terms like ‘authenticity’ or ‘consciousness’ spread, but to see them become redundant. We are on the brink of a new progressive moment. Business has replaced politics as the most important arena in which social reforms is enacted, but the dynamics of change remain largely the same. Looking back could yet be the best way to help us move forward. The business futures hub is funded by The Crystal. All content is editorially independent except for pieces labelled “brought to you by”. Find out more here. This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. Become a GSB member to get more stories like this direct to your inbox. | ['sustainable-business/series/business-futures', 'sustainable-business/sustainable-business', 'environment/sustainable-development', 'environment/environment', 'business/business', 'environment/corporatesocialresponsibility', 'business/ethicalbusiness', 'education/linguistics', 'education/education', 'tone/blog', 'tone/sponsoredfeatures', 'type/article'] | environment/corporatesocialresponsibility | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2015-03-10T12:38:23Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
environment/2023/jul/12/canada-calls-for-halt-to-deep-sea-mining-amid-fears-of-ecological-devastation | Canada calls for halt to deep-sea mining amid fears of ecological devastation | Canada has joined a growing list of nations calling for a pause on deep-sea mining in international waters amid fears the nascent, untested industry could cause ecological devastation without further study and clear safeguards. Three ministers, for the country’s foreign affairs, natural resources, and fisheries and oceans departments, issued a statement on Monday that “in the absence of both a comprehensive understanding of seabed mining’s environmental impacts and a robust regulatory regime”, they supported a moratorium on commercial deep-sea mining. “The government of Canada has been clear: seabed mining should take place only if effective protection of the marine environment is provided through a rigorous regulatory structure, applying precautionary and ecosystem-based approaches, using science-based and transparent management, and ensuring effective compliance with a robust inspection mechanism,” it said. The statement puts Canada in line with a number of European nations, scientists, environmental organisations and even car manufacturers such as BMW and Volvo, and battery maker Samsung, all of which have pledged not to use deep-sea minerals in their vehicles. Seafood groups representing a third of the world’s tuna trade also this week called for a pause on deep-sea mining. In February, the Canadian government said it would not authorise deep-sea mining in domestic waters amid concerns it does not have a legal framework in place to issue permits. “Canada is a big mining country. And because one of the large players, the Metals Company, is registered here, even though it doesn’t have an office in Canada, it feels important to see Canada’s opposition; they are genuinely seen as a middle ground,” said Susanna Fuller, vice-president of conservation and projects at environmental nonprofit Oceans North. “The fact that Canada has now joined calls for a moratorium is quite important.” The International Seabed Authority, the quasi-UN body in charge of possible regulations, is meeting this week in Kingston, Jamaica, after a 9 July deadline to develop rules and regulations governing mining in international waters passed without a clear framework. Companies can now apply for provisional mining licences, and while the ISA has already issued 30 licences for exploration only, no provisional commercial licences have been approved. The 36-member council will debate the issue on Friday. In June, the European Academies Science Advisory Council warned of the “dire consequences” for marine ecosystems if plans for deep-sea mining went ahead. Experts have concerns about sediment plumes, noise, vibration and light pollution as well as possible spills of fuels and other chemicals used in the mining process. In February, video footage from a deep-sea mining test showed sediment discharging into the ocean and raised questions over the safeguards within the industry and the effects mining could have on ecosystems that scientists are still trying to better understand. In recent months, 5,000 new species were discovered in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, the very space targeted by deep-sea mining companies. “With the success of recent international agreements, we’re also seeing we can’t continue to exploit new environments and meet our obligations around biodiversity protection,” said Fuller. While companies have framed the drive for mining the ocean floor as a way of easing demands on the metals needed to transition away from fossil fuels, Fuller says more can be done on land before pushing into a new frontier. “There’s so much stuff to do on decarbonisation before we ever need to mine the deep sea. We aren’t even recycling so much of the existing rare earth metal,” she said. “The deep sea has always been a place of wonder and now there’s the possibility it will be a place of massive exploitation. And I think people and nations are finally seeing that we can’t just continue to new environments just because a couple of companies say it’s a great idea.” | ['environment/series/seascape-the-state-of-our-oceans', 'environment/deep-sea-mining', 'environment/endangered-habitats', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/environment', 'environment/marine-life', 'business/automotive-industry', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/leyland-cecco', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/global-development'] | environment/endangered-habitats | BIODIVERSITY | 2023-07-12T11:39:24Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2023/dec/14/doug-larson-i-discovered-ancient-forest-north-americas-busiest-highway-aoe | I discovered a tiny 700-year-old forest within sight of North America’s busiest highway | I’ll be 75 in March, and we old people often reflect on why certain things happened in our lives. This is very personal, but I was tall and skinny as a kid – I was always the one who was beaten up at school. The only refuge I had was in plants and bugs, and animals in general. Nothing in nature ever tried to “get me” – even predators. They weren’t after me. I always felt a sympathy with critters that were under attack or vulnerable. Your personality guides your research, and this got me interested in the idea of “harshness” in environments. This would eventually lead me to become a professor of biology at the University of Guelph, and to discover the most ancient and least-disturbed forests in eastern North America – perhaps even the oldest in North America. I didn’t begin by looking at trees. The organisms I first worked on were the most marginalised and misunderstood plants in the world: lichens. Many live in Arctic tundra where the wind, snow and cold attack vegetation all the time, making things tiny and stunted. And yet, they are surviving in their own little paradise because no one else bothers them. When I got my PhD, I decided to work in a habitat that would be as brutal as the Arctic tundra, and that’s when the idea to work on the Niagara Escarpment kicked in. There were these stunted, groggy-looking organisms up there and no one had ever considered them worth studying. People called them “rock scum”. But from the point of view of someone who is sympathetic to critters getting beaten up, this was a beautiful habitat; I wanted to study it. The people in my lab assumed Europeans had clear-cut all of southern Ontario, so we didn’t expect to find ancient trees anywhere. But then we found these tiny, ancient trees clinging on to a thin sliver of harsh habitat. When we found our first tree that was more than 1,000 years old I thought, “you have got to be kidding”. I had goosebumps. It was like a lightning bolt hitting – it put this forest into a completely different category. So many people had walked past this and just assumed there was nothing there. It’s within sight of the busiest highway in North America, the 401, and one of the largest cities, Toronto. It was a shock to find them in such an industrialised urban setting. We began research to find out the limits of antiquity of the trees in this forest. One was more than 1,800 years old, although it had died a long time ago. The next question was: is the presence of this ancient forest on these cliffs unique to Ontario? There are lots of beautiful limestone outcrops in the south of France so I contacted researchers in Montpellier and said we’d like to come and study them. Again, they told me there was “nothing there”. Yet they ended up finding one tree that had started to grow before the Romans left France. That made headlines in Le Figaro. This tree had watched the Romans leave! They are the oldest living plants in France. We found there were ancient forests on all the cliffs in the south of France, and then we ended up making similar discoveries in the US, New Zealand, Germany and England. It turned out these tiny ancient forests are everywhere. Cliffs have now been recognised as one of the hotspots of biodiversity globally. It was 1988 when the media first took an interest in the ancient forests. It’s now 2023, and it has never stopped. It links to the whole question of human life – when you work on something that’s 1,000 years old, suddenly you feel smaller and realise your role in the universe is not as grand as you’d thought. We humans place great value on productivity. What I’ve learned philosophically about life from the ancient trees is peace and joy can be found in the slow, the cautious and the careful, as much as it can be in the rich and famous. I have found the ancient forest to be my greatest teacher. The trees have taught me that growth is not necessarily essential or good. If we humans want to be sustained by this planet for ever, we cannot suck it dry. This ancient forest is one place that we haven’t got to – it has survived us by us ignoring it. There’s a way to make the planet infinitely sustainable for us, if we simply ask less of it. As told to Phoebe Weston Doug Larson is professor emeritus of biology at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. He is an expert on deforestation and regularly contributes to media discussions on the topic of old growth forests. His latest book, written with his son Nick, is called The Dogma Ate My Homework | ['environment/series/i-discovered--', 'environment/series/the-age-of-extinction', 'environment/environment', 'environment/forests', 'environment/biodiversity', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/endangered-habitats', 'science/science', 'science/biology', 'world/canada', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/phoebe-weston', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/environmentnews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-age-of-extinction'] | environment/series/the-age-of-extinction | BIODIVERSITY | 2023-12-14T10:00:13Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2010/jan/20/kraft-green-black-cadbury-ethical | Why Kraft must keep organic cacao farmers sweet | Craig Sams | Long before Kraft came to own Green & Black's by buying Cadbury this week, I founded the company in 1991 along with my wife Jo Fairley. We had total and undemocratic control of the brand; all the major decisions were the result of pillow talk – we'd agree policy and strategy and didn't have to consult with anyone else. When we decided to pay fair prices and offer long-term guarantees to cacao farmers in Belize we didn't have to justify our actions to shareholders or even to the rest of the team at our office. Getting the Soil Association and the Fairtrade Foundation to approve our products was easy – we more than complied with their requirements. So today, looking at Kraft's track record, what can we expect its takeover to mean for the commitment of Cadbury and Green & Black's to socially and environmentally-progressive policies such as Fairtrade and organic ingredients? In 2005, we sold the business to Cadbury.The press was full of speculation as to what would happen with the brand and journalists asked me if it would go on being organic and whether Cadbury would continue to follow our collaborative relationships with cacao growers. Some of our customers flipped completely and vowed never to eat Green & Black's again. I would write to them asking them to consider the farmers who grew the cacao – all of whom were delighted that they now had a secure relationship, but now with a partner of much more solid financial status. In addition, I could assure them that Cadbury had asked me to stay on as president and as director of the Green & Black's subsidiary – if I resigned it would be an indicator that things were not going as well as I hoped. But I was confident that they would respect and support the principles that had been embodied in the brand for the previous 14 years. Today I'm still president and in the past five years Cadbury has brought the professionalism and rigour of a large corporation's technical team to the party. They don't question the rights or wrongs of the Fairtrade Foundation's rules or of organic standards; they just make sure they understand them and then get on with compliance. Why pay good money for an ethical organic brand and then change it? A brand is like a child. It is born into this world, fragile and in great need of parental care and attention. Eventually you send it off to school and university, entrusting it to the care of others. Then it embarks on its career. Green & Black's, to follow the analogy, was nurtured to maturity and eventually got a good job at a big multinational. It's still our baby. The fact that it can now look forward to continuing its career development with another multinational with a different name (and most of the same shareholders) is not a great cause for concern. If Kraft screwed up with Green & Black's it would damage their reputation and cast a shadow over their competence. But there is no reason to expect them to goof. They have converted US household names like Oreos and Ritz crackers to organic and even do an organic macaroni-and-cheese dinner. Every successful organic product represents another welcome step forward in the vital process, whereby the GM dependent climate-destructive industrial farming model gives way to sustainable, organic and fair ways of producing food. Successful corporations identify and follow these deeper underlying trends and would be betraying their shareholders' interest in trying to reverse them. Frankly, it's the consumers who don't buy organic and fair products that upset me the most. Consumers have a choice, companies don't, they only sell what customers buy. Kraft and Cadbury are on the right track and I am confident the new entity will continue to pursue this. I have no idea if Kraft will ask me to stay on as president, but if they don't that could be your canary in the coal mine. | ['global-development/fair-trade', 'tone/comment', 'commentisfree/commentisfree', 'environment/organics', 'environment/blog', 'environment/environment', 'business/mondelez', 'business/cadburyschweppes', 'business/business', 'environment/corporatesocialresponsibility', 'commentisfree/cif-green', 'tone/blog', 'type/article'] | environment/corporatesocialresponsibility | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2010-01-20T17:30:00Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
commentisfree/2009/jan/10/recycling-credit-crunch | Ros Coward: We should be asking why we create so much waste, and how we can reuse it | News that the recycling chain has all but collapsed because of failed demand in China has produced the usual wringing of hands and a startling lack of alternative voices. In terms of straight news reporting – last night's BBC news for example, and today's broadsheet coverage – the mountains of rubbish are presented as a "crisis" symptomatic of problems with the global economy. For the Daily Mail, this crisis is symptomatic of something else as well, not just a global crisis but proof that recycling is yet another pointless nanny-state demand on the already overburdened lives of the taxpayer. The paper hasn't yet run the headline "Waste of time" but it can't be far off. Since this voice is the clearest and most strident so far, it's a precarious moment, one where the whole concept of recycling might be discredited. It's particularly perilous because although Gordon Brown's government now uses the rhetoric of "green jobs" as one solution to the economic crisis, the fundamental approach to the economy is, as Andrew Simms, a founder member of the Green New Deal Group, says, to kickstart binge culture on the high street. So although the government mentions opportunities for employment in the area of energy efficiency and alternative energy sources, every other government policy, such as supporting aviation and the car industry and reducing VAT, is about getting back to business as normal. So far in the response to the "recycling crisis" there's absolutely no awareness of the waste issue as symptom – and a symptomatic opportunity. The mountains of waste do indeed tell a story – of what got us into this mess. And what has to happen to get us out. Instead of accepting what our waste is and looking for ways to get rid of it, the global economic crisis and its attendant recycling crisis allows us to ask why we are producing so much waste and what could become of it instead? If rubbish is just seen as an inevitable side-effect of a functioning consumerist economy, it will always be seen as something to be controlled, hidden away or exported to distant shores for less affluent societies to deal with. But treated as a resource it becomes a valuable material and, more pertinently, the source of new enterprise, opportunities and jobs. The waste problem is admittedly a complex one. But starting from the fundamental position that resources are finite and that environmental protection is key to our long-term survival, it's obvious that our approach to waste requires a fundamental rethink and that concern for the whole life cycle of the product – from source, through manufacture to disposal – has to become second nature to our economy. It's no longer a question of efficient "disposal" or reuse of by-products but rather of a shift to a culture of repair, re-use and recycle. This might sound quaint to sceptics but it is where many new enterprises and opportunities lie, whether it's an industrial producer such as Volkswagen using new technology to produce doors from plant-based plastic or projects rehabilitating furniture or re-using electrical goods. The surface of this repair, re-use and recycle economy has barely been scratched, yet inherent in it is huge potential for employment, as it is both labour intensive and offers work for a whole range of skills. Importantly, these would be jobs created in the context of understanding that the world's resources are finite and that even if we could fix the consumer economy now, it can't be sustained in the long run. The conclusion that politicians and the populist press should draw from these evocative images of recycled waste mountains is not "waste of time" but "running out of time". | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'environment/waste', 'environment/recycling', 'environment/environment', 'business/credit-crunch', 'business/recession', 'business/business', 'tone/comment', 'type/article', 'profile/roscoward'] | environment/recycling | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2009-01-10T12:00:04Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2022/dec/13/eels-facing-population-collapse-conservation-groups-warn | Eels facing population collapse, conservation groups warn | Eels are facing population collapse, conservation groups have warned, after annual fishing negotiations for key EU waters ended in the setting of quotas above those scientists have recommended. Eels are critically endangered, and conservation groups and scientists have argued that all EU eel fisheries should be closed, to allow populations space to recover. However, in the annual negotiations over EU waters including the north-east Atlantic, which ended in the early hours of Tuesday morning, the European Commission agreed only to extend the closure of eel fisheries at sea from the current three-month closure to six months, to cover juvenile eel migration and mature eels swimming between the sea and rivers. Negotiations between the EU and the UK, and between the EU and Norway, over shared fishing areas covering key fish species such as cod, whiting and haddock are still ongoing. The UK’s catch levels for 2023 are likely to be set later this week, with a decision expected before the end of Thursday. The EU’s decision to allow eel fishing to continue, and to set catch limits for some other species that have concerned conservationists, comes as the bloc strives to portray itself as a champion for wildlife conservation at the UN Cop15 biodiversity summit, currently taking place in Montreal. Jenni Grossmann, fisheries science and policy adviser at ClientEarth, warned that eels were on the brink. “[The EU’s] science-defying reluctance to close all eel fisheries might well turn out to be the final nail in the coffin of this critically endangered species,” she said. The mysterious lifecycle of eels – including the autumn migration to the Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic to spawn – is still only partially understood. But they are now under threat from overfishing, the obstruction of waterways and pollution. They play a vital role in marine and freshwater ecosystems, where they are prey for many other fish species and birds. Fishing quotas were also set for cod, plaice and Norway lobster that the European Commission said were at the lower end of scientific advice. But for hake, anglerfish, megrim and horse mackerel in some waters there was a substantial increase in quota. The EU said the agreement for stocks in the north-east Atlantic and Skagerrak fishing areas was worth about €3.5bn (£3bn) and for the first time could lead to “a very substantial increase in landings” in the Atlantic and North Sea in 2023, worth about an extra €81m, compared with 2022. Virginijus Sinkevičius, EU commissioner for the environment, oceans and fisheries, said: “Today’s decisions show that the EU is at the forefront of sustainable fisheries management. “By agreeing to set fishing opportunities in line with the scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), we continue our efforts to manage our stocks at healthy levels. There is still some room for improvement, however, in particular regarding precautionary advice stocks.” The annual EU negotiations over fishing rights were supposed to be consigned to history, under reforms started nearly a decade ago which should have set multi-year targets based on scientific advice known as the “maximum sustainable yield”. But the wrangling continues each December as member states have failed to settle on long-term targets and are under pressure from fishing fleets to allow higher catches. Grossmann said: “Every year, fisheries ministers ignore increasingly dire warnings, set excessive quotas, experts react with dismay, and the cycle begins again next December. “The longer they do this, the more stocks will end up classed as vulnerable, endangered or worse – it’s not rocket science. This year, the timing is particularly poignant: all this flies in the face of leaders’ proclaimed ambitions to protect biodiversity at Cop15 this week.” | ['environment/fishing', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/fish', 'environment/conservation', 'food/fish', 'environment/biodiversity', 'environment/environment', 'world/eu', 'environment/cop15', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/fiona-harvey', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/biodiversity | BIODIVERSITY | 2022-12-13T19:44:04Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
tv-and-radio/2023/dec/07/nothing-wrong-with-giving-celebrities-their-say | Nothing wrong with giving celebrities their say | Brief letters | Naomi May’s concerns about balance in celebrity documentaries are the wrong way round (From Beyoncé to Beckham: the worrying rise of one-sided celeb documentaries, 6 December). The subjects she mentions have been brutalised in the media. The attacks on them, from the Mirror’s David Beckham dartboard to the Mail’s description of Meghan Markle as “(almost) straight outta Compton”, will be in the public domain for ever. Is it so unreasonable that they should put their own truth on record? Daniel Currie Minehead, Somerset • Your report (Revealed: Sellafield nuclear site has leak that could pose risk to public, 5 December) reminded me of the late Les Barker’s Sellafield poem, Jason and the Arguments: “Don’t worry, it’s perfectly safe / Said a spokesman, from a long way away.” Dave Headey Faringdon, Oxfordshire • I have always felt that physics was indeed “wobbly” (‘Wobbly spacetime’ may help resolve contradictory physics theories, 4 December), especially since I had to resit the A-level to get into medical school. Dr Chris Ainsworth Rossendale, Lancashire • New rules have been announced to limit the distance that golfers can hit tee shots (‘Ambulance chasers and alarmists’: USGA chief slams critics of new golf ball rules, 6 December). So smaller courses will be needed, leaving more space to build. The housing problem is solved. Toby Wood Peterborough • When we married 64 years ago, I was pleased that my husband could darn his own socks (The zero-waste wardrobe: five writers try sustainable fashion fixes, 6 December). I never did darn them as well as he did. Helen Evans Ruthin, Denbighshire • Do you have a photograph you’d like to share with Guardian readers? If so, please click here to upload it. A selection will be published in our Readers’ best photographs galleries and in the print edition on Saturdays. | ['tv-and-radio/documentary', 'lifeandstyle/celebrity', 'type/article', 'tone/letters', 'commentisfree/series/brief-letters', 'culture/culture', 'sport/golf', 'science/physics', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'music/beyonce', 'uk/prince-harry', 'uk-news/meghan-duchess-of-sussex', 'football/david-beckham', 'culture/television', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2023-12-07T17:31:10Z | true | ENERGY |
commentisfree/2009/nov/08/planning-commission-environment-infrastructure | This bulldozing of nimbys must not become colonial | Julian Glover | "It became green everywhere in the first spring, after London ended, so that all the country looked alike," wrote Richard Jefferies at the start of his entrancing but rarely read novel After London. He was a Victorian farmer's son who died young, after dreaming his vision of a post-industrial England drowned by noxious floods and strangled by forests. He predicted environmental apocalypse as modern climate scientists do: but in his world some undescribed calamity had ended urban civilisation and nature had overcome the cities. Today the fear is the reverse: that the cities will overcome nature. Jefferies wrote of brambles and briars, oxeye daisies and charlock. He described long mounds over which, it was said, "machines worked by fire" had passed. "They traversed the land swift as the swallow glides through the sky, but of these things not a relic remains to us." His future was dystopian, with the few hungry survivors of disaster bound to their masters as serfs. But his dismay would surely have been greater had he known, a century on, how much of the rural land he loved was to disappear. Britain has not done badly, given the pressure of a big population on a small island, to have saved as much of its countryside as it has; but the changes since Jefferies's time have been immense. Six-armed steel pylons haunt the skyline; roads and traffic noise are ubiquitous; the sodium glow of streetlights raids the night sky. All of this because of choices made by planners between the harm and the benefits of development. Britain has lurched between enforced paralysis and commercial expansion. In some places there are faux rustic villages in which the colour of every door is prescribed. Elsewhere boxy, ugly warehouses spread along the edges of motorways. Once, at least, it was easy to declare all development environmentally harmful; green protesters knew where they stood. Now climate change has thrown a conundrum into the mix. The infrastructure of the carbon economy must be replaced by a new infrastructure. Blocking change can only sustain the status quo. Where does this leave anyone who wants to limit global warming, but save Britain's countryside too? Today in the Commons, the climate change secretary, Ed Miliband, will announce the first six national policy statements, which will direct the new Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC). There will be proposals for the sites of nuclear plants, and more support for windfarms, clean coal and wave energy, and the power lines needed to link these to the grid. His statement marks the coming to life of an express planning process that will, if it survives, change England's appearance more fundamentally than any of the superficialities that have received more attention at Westminster recently – MPs' expenses, for instance. Under old planning rules, big projects took years to pass through public inquiries. Now schemes will be approved or rejected in weeks. Once the IPC has made its decision, ministers will not be able to reverse it – even the courts will struggle to be heard. This system defies modern political fashion: it is centralist and commanding. It is opposed by the Conservatives, whose formal position is to scrap the commission – although in private they want to keep it in disguise, as part of the Planning Inspectorate. Crudely, the IPC puts the national interest, as defined by ministers, ahead of local concerns: it is a bulldozer to the nimby's charter. Opportunities for the public to express a view are flimsily framed, relying on that notoriously ambiguous term "consult". The law says the public must be consulted. It does not say that if the public, once consulted, oppose a scheme it should not go ahead. In short, it sounds horrific. It is also necessary. The planning of core national projects needs to be accelerated. A decade-long public inquiry stuffed with expensive lawyers is no more likely to find compromise. The Sizewell B nuclear inquiry took six years to secure planning consent, cost £30m, and only 30 of the 340 inquiry days were devoted to local issues. It was obvious from the start that the power station would be built; the inquiry began from first principles that should have been settled by government. But there should surely be a counterpoint. The IPC's remit must be tightened so that its decisions apply to a handful of big projects of national importance – what might be called schemes to keep the nation's lights on and transport moving. The threat to the countryside comes less from a few nuclear plants or a new high-speed rail line than from the general degrading of the difference between what is urban and what is rural. The risk is the IPC will soon move on from creating infrastructure in the public interest to fast tracking commercial development. It is disturbing that it wants to process 50 or 60 applications a year. It was certainly wrong to publish a list of schemes it wanted to work on before the first departmental national policy statement had been published. That mocks the process laid down in law. The test of the IPC will be whether it ever says no. If it ticks through all applications – a bypass here, 60 miles of pylons there – with the arrogance of some colonial administrator trying to modernise a backward land, it must go. England's ruination, foreseen by Richard Jefferies 120 years ago, has been avoided so far thanks to luck, and to planners. Now is not the moment to surrender to concrete and calamity. • This article was amended on Monday 9 November 2009 to make the first word "It", rather than "I", to change the initial single to a double inverted comma and to correct the spelling of the name Jeffries to Jefferies. | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'politics/planning', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'environment/carbonfootprints', 'environment/environment', 'politics/politics', 'uk/uk', 'tone/comment', 'type/article', 'profile/julianglover', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/commentanddebate'] | environment/carbonfootprints | EMISSIONS | 2009-11-08T22:00:01Z | true | EMISSIONS |
environment/2017/may/26/lets-keep-our-water-safe-and-free-to-drink | Let’s keep our water safe and free to drink | Letters | This weekend Brits will flock to our beaches. Thanks to EU pressure, visitors to more than 95% of our bathing beaches can paddle safe in the knowledge that nothing nasty lurks beneath the waves – a massive improvement since 1987, when it was judged safe to enter the water at just 55% of our favourite swimming spots. However, the European Environment Agency is right to raise a red flag (UK bathing water ranks next from last in EU beach table, 23 May). The UK continued to pump gallons of untreated effluent into some of our most beautiful seaside areas every year right up until 1998. Even today, only 65% of our beaches are rated as excellent by the Environment Agency, compared with 91% in Italy and 89% in Spain. And these are at risk if EU standards which guarantee clean bathing water are weakened or abandoned after Brexit. No one wants to see Britain return to being seen as the dirty man of Europe. Let’s ensure this election doesn’t mark the end of our summer holidays by the sea and ask that all political parties commit to retaining EU bathing standards and ensure our future is safe from sewage. Kierra Box Land, food and water campaigner, Friends of the Earth • People no longer need to feel embarrassed when asking for their water bottle to be refilled for free (Report, 11 May). The Refill scheme, which started in Bristol, is spreading. A group I belong to is asking businesses in Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire to put a blue water drop Refill sticker in their windows if they are willing to fill water bottles for free. Nearly all the places have been pleased to join the scheme which aims to reduce the number of single-use water bottles bought and then thrown away. Nearly half the 35m plastic bottles that are used in the UK every day are not recycled. Even if the bottles are recycled there is still a cost in energy to transport and recycle them. Plastic bottles often end up littering our streets and then polluting our rivers and seas. The businesses that join Refill are put on an app so tourists, cyclists and walkers can quickly see where they can get their bottles refilled with a smile. Maureen Wood Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire • If someone has to buy a drink, the chances are they will choose a sweetened drink rather than water. Sweetened drinks contribute to common health problems, including decayed teeth, obesity and type 2 diabetes. There should be provision of free mains drinking water on town centre streets, in public libraries, at bus and railway stations, and other public places. Margaret Cliff Leeds • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters | ['environment/water', 'environment/environment', 'politics/general-election-2017', 'politics/politics', 'environment/plastic', 'society/health', 'society/diabetes', 'society/obesity', 'tone/letters', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/editorialsandreply', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/plastic | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2017-05-26T17:44:41Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2018/may/17/uk-taken-to-europes-highest-court-over-air-pollution | UK taken to Europe's highest court over air pollution | The UK and five other nations have been referred to Europe’s highest court for failing to tackle illegal levels of air pollution. The European court of justice (ECJ) has the power to impose multimillion euro fines if the countries do not address the problem swiftly. The nations - the UK, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy and Romania - had been given a final warning by the European commission in January. Toxic air results in more than 400,000 early deaths across Europe each year. Levels of nitrogen dioxide, mostly produced by diesel vehicles, have been illegally high since 2010 in the vast majority of urban areas in the UK. The government’s latest plan in 2017 was condemned as “woefully inadequate” by city leaders and “inexcusable” by doctors. Ministers were forced by UK courts to improve the plan in February, after losing in the high court for the third time to environmental lawyers ClientEarth, and have until the end of 2018 to implement the stricter measures. “We have waited a long time and we cannot possibly wait any longer,” said Karmenu Vella, European commissioner for environment. “We have said that this commission is one that protects. Our decision follows through on that claim. It is my conviction that today’s decision will lead to improvements for citizens on a much quicker timescale.” The six member states had failed to deliver “credible, effective and timely measures to reduce pollution as soon as possible, as required under EU law”, a statement from the commission said. In contrast, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Spain delivered sufficient new measures after being given a final warning in January. ClientEarth CEO, James Thornton, said: “On top of our three successful cases, today’s legal action from the European commission is more damning evidence of the mountain the UK government still has to climb to bring air pollution to within legal limits.” The World Health Organisation’s director of public health, Dr Maria Neira, said new urgency was need to tackle air pollution: “While air pollution knows no borders and puts everyone at risk, those most vulnerable – pregnant women, children, the elderly, those already ill or poor– are particularly affected.” In the UK, Greenpeace’s Rosie Rogers said: “Ministers’ apathy on this issue so far has been nothing short of a dereliction of duty. [Environment secretary] Michael Gove should swiftly come up with a clear plan to tackle the diesel vehicles responsible for most roadside toxic pollution and an outright ban on the sale of petrol, diesel cars and vans from 2030.” A spokesman for the UK environment department said: “We continue to meet EU air quality limits for all pollutants apart from NO2, and data shows we are improving thanks to our efforts to bring levels of NO2 down. We will shortly build on our £3.5bn plan to tackle roadside emissions with a comprehensive clean air strategy.” Air pollution from NO2 causes an estimated 23,500 early deaths every year in the UK. The UN’s special rapporteur on pollution said in September that the UK government was “flouting” its duty to protect the lives and health of its citizens. The problem was declared a public health emergency by a cross-party committee of MPs in 2016. The government’s own research shows clean air zones (CAZs), in which cars are deterred from city centres by pollution charges, are by far the most effective solution to air pollution. But ministers refused to make them compulsory, instead making them a voluntary and last-resort option for local authorities. The European legal case now moves to the ECJ, which will hold a hearing within months. If it declares the UK in breach of its legal duty, the UK gets a period of time to resolve the situation. If it does not, the court can then impose large fines. The UK is leaving the EU but it is currently unclear when the ECJ’s jurisdiction over the UK would end, given the transition period already agreed. It is also possible that the UK will remain bound by ECJ judgments after Brexit, depending on the deal reached. Also on Thursday, in the continuing fall-out from the Volkswagen dieselgate scandal, the European commission issued renewed warnings to the UK, Germany, Italy and Luxembourg over their alleged failure to “have effective and dissuasive penalty systems in place to deter car manufacturers from breaking the law”. The nations have two months to reply to prevent action from being escalated. Elżbieta Bieńkowska, industry commissioner said: “We will only succeed in fighting urban air pollution if the car sector plays its part. Manufacturers that keep disregarding the law have to bear the consequences of their wrongdoing.” Keith Taylor, Green party MEP for south-east England, “Post-Brexit, this is exactly the kind of scrutiny and oversight the Tories plan to escape. Proposals for a so-called environment watchdog that is nothing but a lame lapdog put this reality in sharp relief.” | ['environment/air-pollution', 'world/eu', 'environment/environment', 'world/europe-news', 'world/world', 'cities/cities', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/damiancarrington', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/air-pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2018-05-17T11:17:25Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2021/aug/23/nuclear-storage-plans-for-north-of-england-stir-up-local-opposition | Nuclear storage plans for north of England stir up local opposition | The long-running battle to build an underground nuclear waste facility in the north of England has run into fresh problems, as communities reacted with shock to the news that they were being considered as locations. The north-east port town of Hartlepool is one of the sites in the frame as a potential site for a geological disposal facility (GDF), while a former gas terminal point at Theddlethorpe, near the Lincolnshire coast, is another. Cumbria, where much of the waste is stored above ground, is also being considered. Victoria Atkins, a government minister and the MP for Louth and Horncastle, said she was “stunned” by the prospect that her constituency could host a GDF, claiming that the Conservative-controlled Lincolnshire county council’s engagement with the government’s radioactive waste management group had been kept hidden from her. The facility is intended to deal with the long-running problem of nuclear waste storage by providing a safe deposit for approximately 750,000 cubic metres of high-activity waste hundreds of metres underground in areas thought to have suitable geology to securely isolate the radioactive material. The waste would be solidified, packaged and placed into deep subterranean vaults. The vaults would then be backfilled and the surrounding network of tunnels and chambers sealed. The UK would be following the example of Finland, where a geological repository for high-level spent nuclear fuel is under construction at Olkiluoto. A handful of other countries are considering similar schemes in an attempt to tackle the long-term dilemma of radioactive waste management. Between 70% and 75% of the UK’s high-activity radioactive waste, which would be designated for the GDF, is stored at the Sellafield facility in west Cumbria. The sources of the waste include power generation, military, medical and civil uses. Existing international treaties prohibit countries from exporting the waste overseas, leading some scientists to argue for underground burial that, they say, would require no further human intervention once storage is complete. Politicians first started talking about a GDF in the 1980s. This latest attempt would need a public consultation plus varying levels of approval, and would mean that, at the earliest, waste could be deposited there in the 2040s. It would resolve the long-term dilemma of radioactive waste storage “for a generation”, according to Prof Geraldine Thomas, a molecular pathologist at Imperial College London who also sits on the government’s radioactive waste management committee (RWM). “People sometimes think storage will mean a lot more waste is going to accrue from new nuclear activity. But, actually, new nuclear developments are producing less and less waste. And we’ve got so much legacy waste that we need to get on and do something about it soon.” Alongside job creation and investment promises, financial incentives worth £1m and £2.5m are on offer for communities that sign up to the engagement process, which has already led to nominations for two Cumbrian boroughs. Drop-in sessions are being held across Copeland and Allerdale by area-specific working groups that would help deliver the GDF. “We try to stress as best we can that engagement does not commit communities to anything and they can always pull out at a later stage,” said Steve Reece, head of siting at the RWM. “We see it more as the beginning of a long journey.” However, the proposals have stirred up strong local feeling among both community leaders and residents, and accusations of secrecy have been levelled at councils and the RWM in recent weeks. In north-east England, the political fallout generated by news of the GDF “early stage” discussions triggered the resignation of Hartlepool council’s deputy leader, Mike Young, on Tuesday evening. “We are making huge strides in Hartlepool and across Teesside and Darlington,” the Tees Valley mayor, Ben Houchen, said following the decision. “And the last thing we need as we sell our region to the world is to be known as the dumping ground for the UK’s nuclear waste.” Cumbria county council, which resisted the last efforts to site a GDF locally in 2013, has declined to take part in either of the two existing working groups, saying its involvement would give the process “a credibility it doesn’t deserve”. There is already considerable opposition from local groups. “The vast majority of people here are horrified by the GDF,” said Jane Bright, a Mablethorpe resident and spokesperson for the Guardians of the East Coast campaign. “I should think it’s no more welcome elsewhere. But there’s a lot of pride in this area and we’ll fight this for as long as it takes.” Marianne Birkby, a Cumbrian resident and founder of the Radiation-Free Lakeland group, said: “We’re seen as the line of least resistance here. In Cumbria, we’ve been there before with this. Now people are trying to get their heads around it again, in the middle of a pandemic. This dump would essentially make us a sacrifice zone to the nuclear industry.” | ['environment/nuclearpower', 'environment/energy', 'uk-news/cumbria', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/tommy-greene', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/energy | ENERGY | 2021-08-23T17:12:55Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2020/feb/02/why-sushi-could-be-the-solution-to-a-sea-urchin-invasion-aoe | Why sushi could be the solution to a sea urchin invasion | Eating as much sushi as humanly possible seems an unlikely way to help save the planet. But one company is hoping fine diners from London to LA to Tokyo will devour enough uni sushi – sea urchin roe – to help restore the planet’s kelp forests. From the North Sea to Tasmania, large parts of these underwater carbon stores – crucial for biodiversity – have vanished, leaving vast “urchin barrens” on the sea floor in their place. In Norway, the expanses of bizarre, prickly orbs are green. In California, they are purple. But wherever the urchins linger, the problems are the same. Once the voracious echinoderms run out of kelp to eat, they do not simply die. Instead, they can stay in stasis for years, billions of them starving in their shells. This makes it impossible for the kelp forests to recover, unless the urchins are removed entirely. Urchinomics has a plan for that. Their idea is to turn the hordes of urchins around the world into a business opportunity by collecting them, feeding them up on sustainably harvested, umami-rich kombu seaweed and selling the lucrative roe to high-end sushi restaurants. “My first ‘a-ha’ moment was a year after the tsunami in eastern Japan,” says Urchinomics CEO Brian Tsuyoshi Takeda, remembering conversations with Japanese fishermen in the aftermath of the 2011 disaster. “When the tsunami hit, it washed away all the predator species that used to be in the water. When the predators disappeared, the urchins exploded in population. The scientists told us it was about seven times the original biomass in a year or two. They literally ate all of the giant kelp forests which were the foundation of the north-east fisheries in Japan.” According to Takeda, who is based in Norway but has operations in Japan, Canada and the US, Urchinomics has ambitions to make urchin removal and restoration self-sustaining around the world. Demand for uni, the Japanese name for urchins, is rising, and they were named one of the top food trends in 2018. “The more you eat urchins, the better it is for the kelp forests. That’s kind of unique, I think … It has to be about looking towards these win-win situations where you’re creating some sort of economic incentive to help drive the restoration work.” The company has just announced it has signed a lease to open its first urchin ranch in Norway, where 80 billion of the creatures are estimated to have ravaged kelp forests along the country’s coastline. Takeda hopes the site in Stavanger, the oil capital of Norway, will supply Michelin-starred sushi restaurants in in London, Amsterdam and Brussels this summer. The ability of kelp forests to recover once urchins are removed is impressive, taking mere months. But the problem of urchin barrens is not restricted to Norway. In northern California, the collapse of the once abundant bull kelp forests took just two years. Along large stretches of the 350km coastline from the north of San Francisco to the Oregon border, a combination of intense ocean heating fuelled by the climate crisis and armies of ravenous purple sea urchins laid waste to over 90% of the vast underwater carbon stores between 2014 and 2016. The disintegration of these vital underwater ecosystems caught researchers by surprise, and left a trail of economic destruction. In 2018, a $44m (£33m) recreational red abalone fishery closed after the kelp deforestation triggered mass mortality in the sea snail. “Our kelps are very productive ecosystems but they rely on the cool. We know that they are at risk in a warming ocean in a warming globe,” explains Dr Laura Rogers-Bennett from University of California, Davis, who recently published a study on how a sea-star wasting disease, a marine heatwave and sea urchin boom combined to collapse the bull kelp forests. “Many parts of the world are experiencing kelp forest declines. Frequently they’re being replaced by huge populations of sea urchins,” she continues. “They’ve been seeing this in Japan, Norway; it’s happening in Australia in the southern state [of] Tasmania.” In central California, the destructive armies of purple sea urchins have spread south to Monterey Bay, according to Jan Freiwald, head of the Reef Check Foundation, which has been training recreational divers to perform scientific surveys on ecosystems for over two decades. Yet the presence of sea otters might be helping the resilience of kelp forests. “About half of the sites we monitor have lost the kelp, the other sites are remaining strong. More recently, some have recovered,” he says. “One big difference between Monterey Bay and northern California is that we have sea otters. The sea otters are one of the keystone predators. They can keep the sea urchins in check. And so, actually in the kelp forests around Monterey, we see increases in sea urchins but also see the sea otters beginning to forage more on them. So that might sustain some reefs, rather than the northern coast where we don’t have sea otters.” Previous research has found that where otters are present, kelp forests tend to store more carbon and are healthier. But simply introducing otters into urchin barrens would not work as the starving shells are of little calorific value to the mammals. Whether or not Urchinomics manages to make it as a viable business, researchers warn that vast stretches of kelp forests along the Pacific coast are disappearing and the urchins must be cleared. Eating uni might be one way to save these precious marine ecosystems. Find more age of extinction coverage here, and follow biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield on Twitter for all the latest news and features | ['environment/series/the-age-of-extinction', 'environment/oceans', 'environment/biodiversity', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/environment', 'food/seafood', 'environment/wildlife', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/patrick-greenfield', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-age-of-extinction'] | environment/biodiversity | BIODIVERSITY | 2020-02-02T21:00:53Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
technology/2008/feb/01/mikegayle | Mike Gayle on the iMac: 'A simply amazing bit of kit' | What's your favourite piece of technology? It's a tossup between my iPod Touch and my 2.16 GHz iMac, but if I had to go for one it would be the iMac. I've been a Mac addict ever since I started out working on teen mags in the 90s and I've never once wavered. They're technology for people who aren't into technology. How has it improved your life? It just makes everything so much easier. Watching films, listening to music, flicking through photos, making your own home movies — what doesn't it do? It's a simply amazing bit of kit. When was the last time you used it, and what for? At the minute I'm mostly using it to finish off my next novel, The Life and Soul of The Party, and listening to music on iTunes. What additional features would you add if you could? First off I'd get Apple to sort out Safari. I can't believe they let themselves be outdone by Firefox time and time again. Secondly they need to put Spotlight back to how it was before the last upgrade. Thirdly, I'd love to see some of the touchscreen tech from the iPod Touch utilised on an iMac. Do you think the iMac will be obsolete in 10 years' time? Definitely. I've only got to look at the Mac I was using 10 years ago to see just how quickly things have moved on. It didn't even have a modem! What one tip would you give to non-iMac users? Always buy the best spec that you can afford. There's nothing more frustrating than thinking if I'd spent another £100 I could have had the all-singing, all-dancing version. Do you consider yourself to be a Luddite or a nerd? Nerd, definitely. When Steve Jobs made his last keynote speech I should have been putting the kids to bed, but instead I was logged onto the Engadget live blog and was frantically refreshing the page every second so that I didn't miss a thing. What's the most expensive piece of technology you've ever owned? When I got my first book deal 10 years ago, l I bought myself the best Mac I could afford. It was ace. You could watch TV on it, edit video, make phone calls and send faxes! Mac or PC? Mac. My mates who have PCs always seem to be having to take them in to get fixed. If my Mac ever stops working, nine times out of 10 I've been able to fix it myself. What song is at the top of your iPod's top 25 most played? An early demo of Kate Nash's The Nicest Thing (played 54 times). Will robots ever rule the world? I'm in the middle of Season Two of Battlestar Galactica and it's pretty bleak, so I'm kind of hoping they won't. That said if they all look like Tricia Helfer I daresay I could live with it for a bit. What piece of technology would you most like to own? I'd like a MacBook about the size of a hardback but weighing less than a paperback with a 500GB hard drive in a world where there was free Wi-Fi. Mike's latest novel, Wish You Were Here, is out now | ['technology/apple', 'technology/computing', 'technology/ipod', 'technology/stevejobs', 'technology/digitalvideo', 'technology/digital-music-and-audio', 'technology/technology', 'technology/series/celebritysquares', 'tone/interview', 'type/article', 'profile/stuartoconnor'] | technology/digitalvideo | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2008-02-01T12:44:55Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
business/2015/feb/13/oil-prices-rise-above-60-for-the-first-time-in-2015 | Oil prices rise above $60 for the first time in 2015 | Oil prices have risen above $60 a barrel for the first time this year amid signs that industry spending cuts might curb supply. Brent crude collapsed 60% from a high of $115 a barrel last summer to $45.19 in January, the lowest in almost six years, as a result of oversupply. Despite the rise on Friday, oil is still down by almost 50% compared with the peak in June. Analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch are predicting Brent average prices will range between $40 and $70 a barrel in the next 18 months. “A continued build in storage will likely further exacerbate near-term price volatility and keep pressing companies to make capital expenditure reduction decisions that will have long-lasting effects on production,” they wrote in a note. Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, said on Thursday the slump in oil prices was “unambiguously positive” for the global economy and for the UK. He said the steep fall in UK inflation – expected to turn negative in the spring – would boost consumer spending, and in turn economic growth. “The combination of rising wages and falling energy and food prices will help household finances and boost the growth of real take-home pay this year to its fastest rate in a decade. This will support solid growth in consumer spending,” Carney said. However, ratings agency Moody’s took the opposite view earlier in the week, arguing that lower oil prices will do little to boost global growth in the next two years as benefits will be offset by events in the eurozone, China and Russia. Analysts at Moody’s said the big fall in the price of oil since the summer should, in theory, boost economic output by cutting costs for businesses and consumers. But in its global macro outlook report, Moody’s left its estimates for growth among G20 countries this year at less than 3% – broadly unchanged from last year’s rate and Moody’s earlier 2015 forecast in November. Marie Diron, who wrote the report, said: “A range of factors will offset the windfall income gains from cheaper energy. In the euro area, the fall in oil prices takes place in an unfavourable economic climate, with high unemployment, low or negative inflation and resurgent political uncertainty in some countries.” Moody’s based its estimates on Brent crude prices averaging $55 a barrel this year and $65 next year. The rise to above $60 on Friday was supported by businesses in the sector cutting back on spending. US shale oil producer Apache said on Thursday that output would be roughly flat in 2015 following the price collapse, as it cuts its rig count and capital spending. Royal Dutch Shell also warned oil supply might not be able to keep up with demand as companies cut budgets. | ['business/oil', 'business/business', 'business/economics', 'environment/oil', 'business/energy-industry', 'business/inflation', 'uk/uk', 'business/commodities', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/angela-monaghan'] | environment/oil | ENERGY | 2015-02-13T12:52:28Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/georgemonbiot/2013/dec/06/andrew-sells-natural-england | Why Andrew Sells is the wrong choice for Natural England | George Monbiot | You want to appoint a new chairman for Natural England, the government body responsible for protecting nature. Do you look for: a. someone with a background in ecology and a track record of interest in the natural world? Or b. A Tory donor with a background in accountancy, investment banking and house building? Doh! b. of course. What were you thinking? If you're searching for someone to protect the natural world, Andrew Sells might not be the first person who comes to mind. But if you're searching for someone to implement your programme of pricing and commodifying nature, of offsetting biodiversity and "unbundling" the living world so that it can be traded on financial markets, of "harnessing City financial expertise to assess the ways that these blended revenue streams and securitisations enhance the return on investment of an environmental bond", he might be just the chap. He's the preferred candidate of the environment secretary, Owen Paterson. This means that, barring an upset in parliament, he is likely to become the next chair. So what could have prompted Paterson to choose him? It couldn't have anything to do with the £111,000 he gave to the Conservative party in 2010 and 2011, could it? The environment department, Defra, assures us that "all appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process". Phew, that clears it up. It couldn't be connected to his founding and chairing Linden Homes, could it? Housebuilding projects present some of the major threats to the wildlife and habitats Natural England is supposed to be protecting. Holding the line against damaging developments, in the face of intense political pressure from the government, is one of the agency's stiffest challenges. It couldn't have anything to do with the fact that Sells, as the conservation ecologist Miles King points out, is treasurer of the Conservative thinktank Policy Exchange, could it? Policy Exchange, like most such groups, refuses to say who funds it. But it was founded and run by senior Conservatives. Its first director was Nick Boles, now the Tory planning minister, whose pronouncements have so enraged conservationists and delighted, er, housebuilders. Policy Exchange also happens to be the body which, in Owen Paterson's words, "has put [biodiversity] offsetting on the political agenda". So it could only be because Sells has planted some trees on his hobby farm, a fact which – unlike certain other details – Defra is keen to emphasise. With this credential, he's plainly better placed to run the organisation than people with a background in natural science and decades of experience of defending biodiversity. If the appointment is not blocked, we can expect Sells to enthusiastically implement Owen Paterson's priorities, which he outlined in a speech last month. The first of them is "to grow the rural economy". Among the mechanisms he proposes are pricing what he calls "natural capital" (you know, that thing we used to call nature) and offsetting biodiversity. Both are highly controversial, for good reason in my view. He also announced his intention to allow farmers to start dredging the rivers and streams crossing their land, which ecologists say can have devastating impacts on the structure and life of the riverbed, and can cause flooding downstream. Where did he make this speech? Oh yes, at Policy Exchange, of which Sells is treasurer. So perhaps Sells's influence at Natural England will be balanced by people with a different perspective? For whom, perhaps, nature comes first and money comes second? Perhaps. Or perhaps not. The chief executive of Natural England, like Sells, qualified as an accountant. The deputy chairman, David Hill – the man immediately under Sells on the board – also works as the chairman of the Environment Bank. What is the Environment Bank? It calls itself "a private company working to broker biodiversity offsetting agreements for both developers and landowners." How he can be both deputy chairman of Natural England and chairman of the Environment Bank – whose fortunes are partly dependent on decisions taken by Natural England – is anyone's guess. But it must be OK, because last year the government approved his re-appointment. Or perhaps Paterson will weigh the advice he receives from Sells against good advice from other sources? Whoops. An article in the Independent last week revealed that, during more than a year in post, Paterson has had just two, cursory meetings with his own chief scientist, Ian Boyd. Given the quality of Boyd's advice, on badger culling and on the treatment of scientists for example, that might be just as well. Or it would be if Paterson were getting better advice from somewhere else. What a happy land we're in. And how grateful we should be that the places and wildlife we love are in such safe hands. Monbiot.com | ['environment/georgemonbiot', 'environment/natural-england', 'uk/uk', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/environment', 'environment/biodiversity', 'environment/wildlife', 'tone/blog', 'politics/politics', 'politics/owen-paterson', 'type/article', 'profile/georgemonbiot'] | environment/biodiversity | BIODIVERSITY | 2013-12-06T09:51:00Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
global-development/2017/jul/04/daughter-of-murdered-honduran-activist-survives-armed-attack | Daughter of murdered Honduran activist survives armed attack | The daughter of the murdered Honduran environmentalist Berta Cáceres has survived an armed attack, just weeks after being named leader of the indigenous rights organisation formerly led by her mother. Bertha Zuñiga, 26, was attacked along with two other members of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organisations of Honduras (Copinh) as they drove back from a community visit in central Honduras on Friday. Three assailants tried to attack the Copinh members with machetes after a black pickup truck forced them to stop by blocking the road. They managed to escape, but came under renewed attack as the driver of the pickup tried to force their vehicle off the cliff-edge road. Zuñiga, the second of Cáceres’s four children, was travelling with Sotero Chavarría and Asunción Martíne, who are members of Copinh’s leadership committee. The group escaped unharmed but the incident has again heightened fears about the violence against human rights defenders in Honduras. Cáceres was shot dead in her home in March 2016 after years of intimidation and deaths threats linked to her activism. Her friend who was with her during the attack, the Mexican environmentalist Gustavo Castro, survived by pretending to be dead. Cáceres fought to defend the ancestral land rights of the Lenca people from big mining, dam-building and logging projects. Her murder brought international condemnation, but the violence has continued. Two of her colleagues – Nelson García and Lesbia Urquia – have been murdered since her death; several others have survived assassination attempts. The latest attack took place around 2.30pm on Friday, not long after the Copinh delegation left Cancire, a small rural community in the Santiago de Puringla municipality of La Paz. Copinh believes the attacks could be connected to a dispute over access to a local water source for Cancire and surrounding villages. The Zazagua hydroelectric dam has led to water shortages in the area, which has generated conflict between neighbouring communities. The incident has been reported to authorities, but no arrests have so far been made. Cáceres co-founded Copinh with her former husband 24 years ago. While best known for her environmental work, she was also a staunch defender of women’s and LGBT rights. She was set to stand for vice-president on an independent ticket when the country was thrown into chaos by a military-backed coup in July 2009. The subsequent rightwing government initiated a range of pro-business policies, sanctioning hundreds of licences for environmentally destructive projects in rural areas without any prior consultation with communities. At least 124 environmental and land activists have been murdered in Honduras since the coup, making it the most dangerous country in the world in which to defend natural resources, according to the anti-graft NGO Global Witness. Cáceres was murdered a few months after winning the prestigious Goldman Environmental prize for her opposition to one of the region’s biggest hydroelectric projects, four dams in the Gualcarque river basin, which is sacred to the Lencas. Eight men have so far been detained for her murder, including three with links to the military and two with ties to the dam company Desarrollos Energéticos. Cáceres’s name had appeared on a military hitlist, along with those of dozens of other activists, according to a Guardian investigation published last year. This article was amended on 5 July 2017 to clarify the age of Bertha Zuñiga. | ['global-development/series/womens-rights-and-gender-equality-in-focus', 'global-development/global-development', 'world/berta-caceres', 'law/human-rights', 'law/law', 'world/honduras', 'world/americas', 'world/world', 'environment/activism', 'environment/environment', 'environment/land-rights', 'environment/series/the-defenders', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'global-development/womens-rights-and-gender-equality', 'profile/nina-lakhani', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/global-development'] | environment/activism | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2017-07-04T16:33:58Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
lifeandstyle/2016/mar/09/brew-buddies-mug-biscuits-review-ravings-lunatic-rhik-samadder | Kitchen gadgets review: Brew Buddies – the ravings of a lunatic | What? Brew Buddies (£7.99, findmeagift.co.uk) is a hot drinks receptacle with a cutaway alcove at base, for the storing of snacks. Why? We have outlived our usefulness. Well? Look, I get it. We all have “ideas”. Just last week I awoke from a vivid dream, babbling: “How about a segregated pizza restaurant, shaped like a pizza? One half could be for VEGE-TABLES, the other half would be MEAT-SEATERS. It cannot fail!” In the cold light of day, these are the ravings of a lunatic. Yet the idea still makes more sense than Brew Buddies. Brew Buddies is a “novelty mug with space for two of your favourite biscuits”. Think about that. It is a sentence that makes humanity sound as though it has the collective intelligence of one dog. Is this where we’re at? What kind of plankton wants a mug with “handy biscuit storage”? There are only three things wrong with Brew Buddies, which are: there is no problem to solve; if there was a problem, this is not its solution; and if this was the solution, it has been executed with great crappiness. No one needs a cup with a cookie stowaway. You can eat them out of the packet, or have them on a saucer if you’re the Queen. If you were dropped on your head as a baby and do desire such a thing, this is really not the one. The storage cavity, having been built into the base of the cup, means the space remaining for tea is very small, which in turn means the tea cools too quickly. I was lying earlier. There are many more things that are terrible about Brew Buddies, including but not limited to 1) the slot’s position on the cup, meaning anyone left-handed will tip biscuit toward themselves, ruining a good jumper. 2) The name. 3) The fact that if two of your favourite biscuits are chocolate digestives with a layer of caramel, they will melt under the tea into useless poo coins. 4) The face on the mug appears to be screaming, which says it all. You and me both, buddy. You and me both. Redeeming features? The disgusting yellow of the cup is the nicest thing about it, but I’m still more likely to drink from yellow snow than this. Counter, drawer, back of the cupboard? If I discover who invented it, I will put one in their biscuit hole. 0/5 | ['lifeandstyle/series/inspect-a-gadget', 'food/tea', 'food/food', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'technology/gadgets', 'technology/technology', 'tone/features', 'type/article', 'profile/rhik-samadder', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/g2', 'theguardian/g2/features'] | technology/gadgets | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2016-03-09T12:34:02Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
business/2024/jan/22/cars-growing-wider-europe-report | SUVs drive trend for new cars to grow 1cm wider in UK and EU every two years, says report | New cars in the EU and UK have grown 1cm wider every two years, the Guardian can reveal, driven by large luxury SUVs whose sales show no sign of slowing. “It’s unrelenting,” said James Nix, an analyst at the Transport and Environment (T&E) campaign group and author of the report. “Spurred on by sales of the largest SUVs, vehicles are getting wider every year.” New cars have become so bloated that half of them are too wide to fit in parking spaces designed to the minimum on-street standards in many countries, the report found. The average width of a new car in the EU and UK passed 180cm in the first half of 2023, having grown an average of 0.5cm each year since 2001. “That may not sound like a huge figure,” said Nix. “But the reality is that – unless there is reform – a cohort of large luxury SUVs and pickups will become as wide as trucks and buses.” Big cars are more likely than small cars to kill people in crashes because they weigh more and have tall front ends that trap victims beneath them instead of knocking them to the side. They also pump more toxic gas into the air and eat up more space on roads and pavements. For some cars that were originally designed decades ago, the need to incorporate safety features like airbags and crumple zones are part of the reason that newer models have grown bigger. But the recent trend is driven by consumers buying far larger cars that make roads more dangerous. In the mid-1990s, the EU banned vehicles wider than 2.55 metres to stop trucks and buses from growing too large. But the legislation did not create separate limits for cars, which analysts say have started to cross key thresholds for which roads and cities were not designed. Ahead of a planned revision of EU vehicle rules, campaigners have called on lawmakers to support a clause that would make the European Commission review the width limit. They argue that the trend towards bigger cars has reduced the space for other road users and increased the danger. Crash data from Belgium from 2017 to 2021 shows that a 10cm increase in the height of vehicle fronts raises the risk of death by 30% when a car hits a pedestrian or cyclist, according to a study by the Vias Institute, previously the Belgian Institute for Road Safety. Nix, who is based in Brussels and has two young children, said: “I have three- and five-year-old kids and we’re all about encouraging them to cycle. But I – as a man in my mid-40s – am becoming ever more intimidated by particularly large oncoming vehicles in streets in Brussels.” The growth in car size also causes issues for their drivers. The report found that large luxury SUVs, which are around 2 metres wide, no longer fit in off-street parking. They also leave too little space for passengers to get in and out of vehicles in typical off-street spaces, which are around 2.4 metres wide, the report found. Giulio Mattioli, a transport researcher at Technical University Dortmund, said: “Too much urban space is allocated to cars in cities – including free parking at the taxpayers’ expense for which little justification exists.” Even in trailblazing capitals such as Paris and Barcelona, which have fought hard to reclaim roads for people to walk, bike and relax, more than half of street space is reserved for cars. On top of that, said Mattioli, cars in many cities are sometimes parked illegally, with little enforcement of parking rules. “The fact that cars are getting bigger is likely to make the situation even worse,” said Mattioli. “It could also lead policymakers and planners to increase the standard measures of parking spaces, which could result in a vicious circle of ever-increasing size of cars.” Paris may become the first big European capital to tackle this trend next month when it holds a referendum on higher parking charges for heavier cars. A similar scheme is set to start in Lyon in the coming months. France has fought the trend towards heavier cars more than most of Europe’s big economies. Since 2008, it has provided a financial bonus to people buying a cleaner car and a malus, or penalty, to people buying a dirtier one. In 2022, the government extended the system to apply penalties that cover the weight of a car. “That’s definitely one way to go because it could be budget-neutral,” said Gracia Brückmann, a transport policy researcher at the University of Bern. “[That] makes it easier to sell it to the public or taxpayer.” | ['business/automotive-industry', 'environment/environment', 'world/europe-news', 'technology/motoring', 'environment/automotive-emissions', 'environment/pollution', 'world/eu', 'uk/uk', 'world/france', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/ajit-niranjan', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/topstories', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2024-01-22T12:00:56Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
sustainable-business/2017/jul/17/hsbc-investigation-palm-oil-company-deforestation-allegations-noble-plantations | HSBC triggers investigation into palm oil company over deforestation allegations | HSBC has triggered an investigation into Noble Plantations following allegations the company was preparing to clear thousands of hectares of rainforest in Papua for oil palm cultivation. In a decision hailed as a first by a major bank, HSBC has asked the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a sustainability body for the palm oil industry, to investigate the claims. The move follows pressure from campaigning organisations Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Greenpeace, which last month wrote to four banks linked to a new $750m (£580m) bond issued by commodities giant Noble Group. The NGOs asked HSBC, ABN Amro, ING and Rabobank to take action on allegations that Noble Group’s subsidiary, Noble Plantations, was gearing up to clear 18,000 hectares of pristine rainforest in Papua. None of the banks made a formal complaint, according to Greenpeace, but HSBC did pass the documents on to the RSPO, which instigated the probe into Noble Plantations. While declining to comment on specifics, a spokesman for HSBC said the bank “is keen to ensure that the RSPO’s standards are observed and that any credible allegations of non-compliance are investigated”. Palm oil, which is a common ingredient in a huge number of consumer products, is an important driver of deforestation. Palm plantations cover an estimated 27m hectares of land worldwide and oil palm was responsible for an average of 270,000 hectares of forest loss a year from 2000-2011, according to one study. “Given the seriousness of the allegations and supporting documentation,” said an RSPO spokeswoman, “the RSPO has advised the company to stop all further development on the concession pending full independent investigations and assessment by RSPO, and possible referral to its complaints panel.” A spokeswoman for Noble would only refer to the company’s sustainability document (pdf), which states that work on its plantations in Papua is on hold pending “additional sustainability analysis”. Campaigners say banks have traditionally lagged behind companies when it comes to supporting ethical palm oil practices. But Greenpeace says HSBC’s move is the first public evidence that the bank is taking its palm oil policy seriously. “After years of turning a blind eye, the financial sector is finally starting to take a tougher line on rogue palm oil companies,” said Jamie Woolley of Greenpeace UK. HSBC was recently the subject of Greenpeace’s “Dirty Bankers” report, which accused the bank of providing funding to palm oil companies complicit in environmental destruction. In response HSBC announced a stricter lending policy based on a “no deforestation, no peat, no exploitation” commitment. While saying the bank’s policies show it has “no interest in financing illegal operations,” HSBC Group CEO Stuart Gulliver admitted “the financial sector can play a greater role”. Audrey Versteegen of EIA agrees: “Banks could do so much more, it’s frustrating to see that they don’t,” she says. While she called HSBC the “most progressive bank out there”, she criticised its decision not to make a formal complaint to the RSPO, urging it to act more assertively when it comes to the negative social and environmental impact of its clients. A spokeswoman for ING said the bank was not involved in financing Noble Plantations but “we have raised the matter with the RSPO”. An ABN Amro spokewoman said the bank could not discuss individual client relationships publicly but that its policy prohibits the clearing of uncertified primary forest and it will investigate any indications of client non-compliance. A Rabobank spokeswoman said “we are concerned by the reports and we apply our sustainability policy both in letter and spirit also in this case”. Following the money to clear up palm oil Where previously campaigners for sustainable palm oil have focused on brands and consumers, they are now starting to focus on banks and investors to put pressure on them to stand by their ethical commitments. Research last year from forests NGO Fern said that EU-based banks and investors have played a huge role in financing companies implicated in concerns over land grabbing and deforestation. US investors and pension funds were the target of a Friends of the Earth report (pdf) accusing them of fuelling environmentally and socially damaging palm oil production through investing billions into companies driving deforestation and land grabbing. US-based sustainability organisation Ceres launched its Engage the Chain report earlier this month aiming to help investors better understand the risks of investing in food companies. It details the environmental and social threats associated with commodities including palm oil. “Palm oil supply chains are perhaps the clearest example of where investors have seen the environmental and social impacts translate into financial risks,” said Allan Pearce of Trillium Asset Management. “Investors have seen share prices drop as producers fail to protect forests.” Following HSBC’s move, other banks are starting to make public commitments. French bank BNP Paribas last month announced a new set of guidelines around palm oil investment, requiring companies to comply with stricter policies around deforestation and emissions. The move was praised by campaign organisation Mighty Earth as a “breakthrough” in forest finance. “Banks and investors need to stop giving deforesters a lifeline,” said Deborah Lapidus, campaigns director at Mighty Earth. Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered have also been under pressure to publish stricter palm oil policies. A spokeswomen for Standard Chartered said the bank is “enhancing its policies to incorporate no deforestation, no peat and no exploitation requirements with independent verification”. She said more would be published over the coming months. A Deutsche Bank spokesman said “we are currently reviewing our environmental and social policies and guidelines”. Versteegen says banks need to step up their commitments and quickly. “At the end of the day, money is the only argument everybody understands so [banks] have a huge role to play.” | ['sustainable-business/series/palm-oil-debate', 'sustainable-business/sustainable-business', 'environment/palm-oil', 'environment/environment', 'world/papua-new-guinea', 'environment/deforestation', 'business/hsbcholdings', 'business/bnp-paribas', 'business/banking', 'business/business', 'environment/conservation', 'business/europeanbanks', 'business/financial-sector', 'environment/forests', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/laura-paddison', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-professional-networks'] | environment/forests | BIODIVERSITY | 2017-07-17T06:00:43Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
australia-news/2024/dec/03/santos-accr-greenwashing-case-net-zero | Santos calls alleged greenwashing case a ‘biased retelling’ of its net zero aspirations | Santos says the alleged greenwashing case against it represents a “biased retelling” of the company’s net zero roadmap and climate reports. Neil Young KC, representing Santos, presented the company’s closing arguments in the federal court on Tuesday, in response to allegations of greenwashing by the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR). The landmark case, which began on 28 October, was the first to challenge the veracity of a company’s net zero plan, and test whether corporations could be held legally accountable for their climate reports and strategies. According to the ACCR, Santos misled investors by positioning itself as a “clean fuels company” with a “clear and credible pathway” to net zero emissions by 2040, that the company failed to disclose the emissions associated with hydrogen production and that use of the term “zero emission hydrogen” was false and misleading. In his closing address, Young argued the ACCR’s case ignored years of work by Santos in the lead-up to the company’s 2020 investor briefing and annual report and its 2021 climate change report, which were the focus of the court case. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email For example, Santos was looking into large-scale carbon capture and storage hubs and a hydrogen business prior to 2020, he said, driven by the role of the technologies in addressing greenhouse gas emissions and Santos’ competitive advantage in pursuing them. Santos’ climate targets and strategies – to reduce emissions by 26% to 30% by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2040 – represented a statement of “present intention” and “not a promise or prediction”, Young said. The company had reasonable grounds to think that its 2040 net zero targets “might be achieved”, he said, but were inherently uncertain due to their dependence on future markets, regulations and technologies. ACCR has a right of reply on 6 December, once Santos has concluded its closing arguments, with a decision in the case to follow. ACCR was asking the court to make declarations that Santos had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct, and for injunctions prohibiting Santos from engaging in deceptive conduct in future and forcing it to issue a corrective notice about the environmental impacts of its operations. | ['australia-news/santos', 'environment/series/australian-climate-and-environment-in-focus', 'environment/environment', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'campaign/email/breaking-news-australia', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'australia-news/business-australia', 'environment/fossil-fuels', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/petra-stock', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/fossil-fuels | EMISSIONS | 2024-12-03T04:38:31Z | true | EMISSIONS |
technology/blog/audio/2010/may/18/yahoo-bartz-office-2010-privacy-facebook-google | Tech Weekly: Yahoo's Carol Bartz, Office 2010, will we get a new e-Government? | Join Aleks Krotoski, Charles Arthur and Jemima Kiss as they dissect the latest fracas surrounding the privacy policies of web giants Facebook and Google. How much information do they have on their users and what are the business alternatives for these companies? The team is also joined by Professor Stephen Coleman from University of Leeds who explains exactly what it is about government websites that makes e-participation more or less likely. Charles grills Yahoo! chief executive Carol Bartz on the company's search and content intentions, while Jack Schofield talks to Microsoft corporate vice-president Jeff Teper about the latest version of the company's Office software. There's also the latest on the Apple-Adobe soap opera, and company highlights of YouTube now that it's hit its fifth year. Don't forget to ... • Comment below • Mail us at tech@guardian.co.uk • Get our Twitter feed for programme updates • Join our Facebook group • See our pics on Flickr/Post your tech pics | ['technology/series/techweekly', 'technology/technology', 'technology/blog', 'technology/facebook', 'technology/google', 'technology/google-street-view', 'technology/e-government', 'politics/politics', 'technology/youtube', 'technology/digitalvideo', 'technology/yahoo', 'technology/microsoft', 'technology/software', 'tone/interview', 'world/privacy', 'technology/internet', 'technology/carol-bartz', 'type/podcast', 'type/audio'] | technology/digitalvideo | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2010-05-19T09:43:00Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2019/mar/12/surge-in-chemical-use-a-threat-to-health-and-environment | Surge in chemical use ‘a threat to health and environment’ | Sales of synthetic chemicals will double over the next 12 years with alarming implications for health and the environment, according to a global study that highlights government failures to rein in the industry behind plastics, pesticides and cosmetics. The second Global Chemicals Outlook, which was released in Nairobi on Monday, said the world will not meet international commitments to reduce chemical hazards and halt pollution by 2020. In fact, the study by the United Nations Environment Programme found that the industry has never been more dominant nor has humanity’s dependence on chemicals ever been as great. “When you consider existing pollution, plus the projected growth of the industry, the trends are a cause for significant concern,” said Achim Halpaap, who led the 400 scientists involved in the study. He said the fastest growth was in construction materials, electronics, textiles and lead batteries. More and more additives are also being used to make plastics smoother or more durable. Depending on the chemical and degree of exposure, the risks can include cancer, chronic kidney disease and congenital anomalies. The World Health Organization estimated that the burden of disease was 1.6 million lives in 2016. Halpaap said this was likely to be an underestimate. In addition to the human health dangers, he said chemicals also affect pollinators and coral reefs. Global chemical production has almost doubled since 2000 and is now – if the pharmaceutical business is taken into account – the world’s second largest industry, the report noted. This is expected to continue for at least the next decade owing to massive increases in the expanding economies of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. By 2030, the industry is projected to almost double again from 2017 levels to hit $6.6tn (£5tn) in sales; China is forecast to account for 49.9% of the world market. Despite the negative effects, humanity is increasingly dependent on synthetic chemicals. According to the UN, output will grow seven times faster than the global population between 1990 and 2030. At the Johannesburg Earth Summit in 2002, governments agreed to significantly reduce chemical pollution by 2020, but the report showed the world is far off course from that and the other sustainable development goal of reducing the number of deaths and illnesses from chemical pollution by 2030. “The 2020 goal will not be achieved,” the report stated bluntly. There have been advances in some areas. National authorities have raised concern about a number of products, including formaldehyde in shampoo, microbeads in toothpaste, phthalates in food packaging, and flame retardants in many household goods. Numerous conventions have been signed and regulations put in place to minimise risks but the industry continues its relentless expansion. In part, this is a sign of the increasing sophistication of consumer products. Some electronic consumer items, such as laptops and mobile phones, can include hundreds of different chemical products. But they are also present in countless other everyday items. The report gives the example of an office chair, which contains flame retardants on the foam cushion, rubber additives in the rollers, chromium surface coating, plastic additives on the back and varnish on any wooden parts. But environmentalists say the long-term risks to the majority outweigh the short-term gains for a minority. Of the 345 million tonnes of chemicals consumed in the European Union, 62% posed a health hazard, according to a study by the EU statistical organisation last year. “Large quantities of hazardous chemicals and pollutants continue to leak into the environment, contaminating food chains and accumulating in our bodies, where they do serious damage,” wrote Joyce Msuya, the acting head of the UN Environment Programme. “Considering the expansion of the market, and the associated increase in contamination, we cannot continue to gamble with our health.” The study – the first for five years – offers only broadbrush solutions, echoing the mantra of reduce, reuse and recycle that has been largely ignored for decades. It also calls for greater use of sustainable materials and better education of scientists about the dangers. More specific measures will be debated at a conference in Uruguay next month. | ['environment/pollution', 'environment/environment', 'environment/plastic', 'world/unitednations', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/jonathanwatts', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2019-03-12T06:00:33Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
uk-news/2023/mar/13/english-motorway-gantries-get-new-more-secure-design-just-stop-oil | English motorway gantries get new, more secure design | National Highways has unveiled a new design for motorway gantries that it hopes will prove harder for protesters to mount and use to cause disruption. The renovated structures, which are expected to become the standard design in England from 2025, will have their maintenance steps hidden inside their pillars and will be more difficult to gain access to without authorisation. The agency said this would make them “more resilient to trespassers”, but it stressed that “security issues did not form part of the original specification”. Just Stop Oil activists scaled gantries above the M25 in November last year. Several stretches of the road were closed and arrests were made as members of the organisation protested against the climate emergency. One man, Jan Goodey, was handed a six-month sentence. A spokesperson for the group said: “Just Stop Oil have always said the disruption will end immediately when the government agrees to end new oil and gas. Until then we look forward to the challenges the new gantry designs provide.” National Highways launched a competition to replace the gantry designs last December, a month after the M25 protests. The competition, run in conjunction with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), was launched as part of a wider plan to “beautify” the design of the country’s busiest roads. Design guidance published by National Highways last July included recommendations such as “minimising clutter”, providing “clues” about how to drive, being sensitive to the local landscape and improving environmental sustainability. Entries were not expected to alter the technology that sits behind gantries. National Highways said: “Although security issues did not form part of the original specification, the new design will be more resilient to trespassers due to entry being concealed within the pillars, making it more difficult to access without authorisation.” The successful concept was produced by the London-based architecture company Useful Studio and chosen for its “simplicity and elegance”. National Highways’ executive director for operations, Duncan Smith, said: “This is a great opportunity for us to develop a more streamlined, elegant and consistent visual appearance for roadside gantries to enhance drivers’ experience when driving on England’s motorways and major A-roads. “Existing designs tend to emphasise function over form. Our challenge is to create innovative structures that can accommodate the required signage and equipment that are more sympathetic to the environment.” The new gantries will have a lower carbon footprint than the current designs as they will use less steel. Jonathan McDowell, an RIBA architect adviser, said: “It is very encouraging that National Highways is actively engaging the design community in helping to improve the design of these ubiquitous but cumbersome parts of the motorway experience. We enjoyed seeing a wide range of interesting ideas, including those which challenged National Highways’ current practices.” During last November’s protests, Just Stop Oil banners were draped from the overhead road structures. National Highways said at the time that the structures need “a degree of accessibility” for maintenance crews. | ['uk/transport', 'environment/just-stop-oil', 'uk/uk', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/safi-bugel', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | environment/just-stop-oil | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2023-03-13T18:30:44Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
environment/2010/sep/27/alex-salmond-offshore-windfarms-conference | Business leaders call for more incentives to invest in renewables | Ministers are being urged to give guarantees that tax breaks and subsidies for new renewable power projects will remain in place for the long-term by senior figures in the business world. Leading figures in the City also warn that the UK still lacks the port facilities, fabrication yards and grid connections that are essential if the country is to build the vast offshore windfarms needed to meet ambitious climate change targets. Susan Rice, managing director of the Lloyds banking group in Scotland – one of the largest City investors in renewables – said companies were still wary about the risks and upfront costs of building multi-billion pound offshore windfarms. "Some creative thinking from government would help us a great deal," she said. "For the projects which began last week we would like to have some assurance with finance. The government has the chance to be really helpful." Rice is one of the main speakers at a renewables financing conference in Edinburgh tomorrow. Hosted by the first minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, the conference will be attended by UK and Scottish energy ministers, the European Investment Bank, the European commission, energy companies and major European banks and investment funds. Salmond said up to £200bn would be needed in the next 10 years across the UK and that he supported Rice's concerns. He said the conference was designed to repeat the success of an investment conference held in 1972 in Aberdeen to plot the exploitation of North Sea oil and gas reserves. Estimates suggest that marine energy projects, including wind, wave and tidal power, could generate up to 68GW of electricity within Scottish waters by 2050 – 10 times Scotland's current electricity usage. "I'm hoping this event will be a catalyst and that people will walk away from this conference thinking, 'Wow'," Salmond said. Last week, he raised the Scottish government's target for green electricity generation from 50% to 80% by 2020. However, major energy companies have warned that British industry is still failing to exploit existing business opportunities. Vattenfall, the Swedish firm which built the world's largest offshore windfarm off Thanet, which opened last Thursday, admitted only 20% of the contracts for Thanet went to British firms. Rice said these significant gaps in the infrastructure for marine energy programmes needed to be addressed. There was a lack of turbine manufacturers close to future offshore windfarm sites; inadequate ports and docking facilities; insufficient maintenance sites and no appropriate grid connections. Because of their size, potential environmental impact and complexity, the upfront costs and planning needed for offshore projects meant the risks for investors also increased. "This funding gap in the preconstruction phase, which exists with all forms of renewable build, is biggest with offshore," she said. The Scottish government is hoping to unveil a new green energy investment bank this year which could plough at least £360m into improving infrastructure. But Paul Brewer, partner with the accountancy firm PWC and co-host of a keynote session at the conference with Rice, said the immediate funding gap was closer to £10bn across the UK, including £4bn in Scotland. That investment was needed before banks felt confident enough to begin lending. "Securing large-scale finance for offshore windfarm developments is a challenge but until it is clear that the supply chain and port infrastructure to support this will be financed and delivered, the development finance challenge can't be fully addressed," Brewer said. | ['environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/windpower', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/energy', 'environment/environment', 'politics/alexsalmond', 'politics/politics', 'tone/news', 'business/energy-industry', 'business/business', 'uk/scotland', 'environment/wave-tidal-hydropower', 'type/article', 'profile/severincarrell'] | environment/windpower | ENERGY | 2010-09-27T08:36:45Z | true | ENERGY |
australia-news/2022/feb/27/south-east-queensland-floods-whats-happened-and-which-areas-could-be-hit-next | Floods in south-east Queensland and northern NSW: what has happened and which areas could be hit next? | Major flood warnings are in place on Monday morning for Brisbane’s CBD as well as regions from Gympie in Queensland to Grafton in northern New South Wales. Here’s a summary of events so far, and what is forecast to come: A major flood warning has been issued for Brisbane’s CBD. Waters are expected to peak at 4.0 metres at high tide, expected around 8.30am (9.30am AEDT). This is slightly below the 4.46 metres experienced in 2011, however the two flood events are very different and some suburbs are already experiencing worse flooding. Seven people have now died in the region’s floods. Meanwhile, two further men are missing – one in Brisbane and one in Lismore. A 59-year-old man drowned on Brisbane’s north side on Sunday afternoon after being swept away by flood waters while on foot. It was the third death in Brisbane after men were killed in Indooroopilly on Sunday morning, and Stones Corner on Friday night. There have been two deaths in Gympie, one in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, and a State Emergency Service worker who died while trying to rescue a family at Coolana, west of Ipswich. A 54-year-old man also died in flood waters on the NSW Central Coast early on Friday morning, in a separate flooding event. Thousands of households are likely to be impacted by flood waters on Monday. On Sunday, the Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, estimated more than 1,400 houses had been impacted by that morning’s high tide, when the river peaked at 3.1 metres. Since then, parts of Brisbane have received more than 400mm of rain, but the city will receive a reprieve from heavy rain today, with the system moving south. Northern New South Wales is now in the firing line. Major flood warnings have been issued for the Brunswick, Wilsons and Clarence rivers, and a moderate to major flood warning for the Tweed. In Lismore, the BoM warned at 3am that water was about to overtop the city’s levee. The 1974 flood level of 12.15 metres is likely to be exceeded at 9am, and waters may reach 13.5 metres by Monday night, authorities warned. Major flood warnings were issued for several Queensland rivers on Monday morning. In Queensland, these included the upper and lower Brisbane River, Ipswich’s Bremer River, as well as the Logan, Albert, Mary, Noosa, Condamine, Balonne rivers as well as Warrill, Lockyer and Laidley creeks. Gympie has recorded its highest flood in a century. The Mary River exceeded 23m on Sunday morning, surpassing the 1999 floods (21.95m), as well as subsequent floods in 2011 and 2013, and the highest level recorded since 1898. More than 500 households and 130 businesses in Gympie are estimated to be affected by flood waters, with 550 people in emergency accommodation. Nearly 1,000 schools are closed in south-east Queensland. A work-from-order has also been issued. Some schools in northern NSW were also advising they would be operating under minimal supervision on Monday due to the floods. Hundreds of roads are closed, including major highways. Queensland’s transport minister, Mark Bailey, said on Sunday morning there were nearly 1,000 roads closed across the region, including the Bruce Highway in both directions between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, and the Warrego Highway between Brisbane and Toowoomba. Train services between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast were also not operating. Disaster assistance has been activated for 10 Queensland councils. The funds will go to cleanup efforts in the Fraser Coast, Gold Coast, Gympie, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Logan, Noosa, North Burnett, Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba LGAs, and will be jointly funded by the federal and state governments. Late on Saturday, the Insurance Council of Australia declared an insurance catastrophe. More 1.4m of rain has been recorded in 72 hours in some places. Mount Glorious, north-west of Brisbane, recorded the most rain in the past three days, including 461mm in the 24 hours to 9am Sunday. Several Brisbane suburbs received more than 400mm of rain since 9am Sunday. Water was being released from Brisbane’s Wivenhoe Dam on Sunday. The dam had reached 160% of its drinking water capacity on Sunday, up from 59% on Thursday. However, that represented only 40% of its flood mitigation capacity. In 2011, releases from Wivenhoe contributed to flooding in Brisbane and Ipswich. Flood releases were also occurring from Somerset and North Pine dams, while 20 ungated dams were overflowing on Sunday morning. | ['australia-news/queensland', 'australia-news/australia-weather', 'environment/flooding', 'society/emergency-services', 'australia-news/brisbane', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'australia-news/new-south-wales', 'australia-news/gold-coast', 'world/natural--disasters', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'australia-news/australia-east-coast-floods-2022', 'profile/conal-hanna', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | australia-news/australia-east-coast-floods-2022 | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2022-02-27T19:36:37Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
weather/2021/jun/25/czech-republic-tornado-deaths-villages-damage-south-moravia-hodonin-hrusky | At least five dead as tornado wrecks buildings in Czech Republic | At least five people died and more than a hundred were injured when a tornado and hailstones the size of tennis balls hit the Czech Republic’s south-east on Thursday night. Video footage from the region on social networks showed buildings razed to the ground, tipped-over cars and buses, shorn tree stumps and several fires with thick black smoke. “It’s living hell,” said the South Moravia regional governor, Jan Grolich, on Thursday after visiting the area. The Czech news agency CTK quoted the mayor of Hrušky as saying that half of his village had been razed. The hailstorm also caused damage worth millions of euros to a baroque castle in the nearby town of Valtice, which is part of the Unesco-listed Lednice-Valtice cultural landscape. “With some of the houses I can’t imagine them being repaired,” a rescue coordinator, Josef Koláček, told Seznam Zprávy newspaper. “Some of them will have to be rebuilt from scratch.” An emergency services spokesperson told broadcaster ČT she estimated the number of injured people to be “between 100 and 150, including children and seniors”. A hospital in the town of Hodonín, on the Czech-Slovak border, said it had treated up to 200 injured people. The interior minister, Jan Hamáček, said “all available rescue units are in action or moving to the Hodonín region, where several municipalities have been hit by a tornado”. Austrian and Slovak rescuers were helping out and the Czech army has also been deployed. The tornado and huge hailstones struck several towns and villages including Hodonín, where in addition to causing injuries the extreme weather destroyed a retirement home and the local zoo. Fallen power lines led to the closure of a major motorway connecting Prague with the Slovak capital, Bratislava, and left about 75,000 people across the country without electricity. The storms forced the Czech prime minister, Andrej Babiš, to remain in Brussels after an EU summit because a landing in Prague would have been too dangerous. In neighbouring Poland, a twister struck the southern Małopolska province on Thursday, damaging roofs and injuring one person, according to local media. | ['weather/czechrepublic', 'weather/index/europe', 'world/tornadoes', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/philip-oltermann', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-foreign'] | world/tornadoes | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2021-06-25T13:27:25Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
world/2014/nov/18/xi-jinpings-tasmania-visit-lacking-congruity-full-of-strategy | Xi Jinping's Tasmania visit may seem trivial, but is full of strategy | Tasmanians are unaccustomed to over-the-top welcomes. So today’s visit by one of the world’s most powerful political leaders has proven a challenge – in at least one area. Chinese president Xi Jinping’s plane is too big for Hobart’s runway; so two planes will arrive instead to carry him and his entourage. Elsewhere signs of calm preparation for the visit are evident across Hobart. A state-of-the-art Chinese Antarctic icebreaker decorated with red bunting, ribbons and flags is berthed at one wharf, manned by security men in red jackets. An Australian submarine is tied up at another, the whole area an exclusion zone with police divers on standby. Tasman Bridge and CBD road closures are scheduled, there is a luncheon at Government House, a possible trip to the top of Mount Wellington and a viewing of Tasmanian devils. “We’re well-drilled,” assistant police commissioner Donna Adams told ABC radio in a matter-of-fact interview about traffic arrangements for the visit, which has been two months in the planning. She’s not expecting protests but should there be, they will know what to do. There are regular updates on Tasmania police’s Facebook page. Xi, fresh from making international headlines, is so off-the-scale powerful he seems out of place in this small city. He is chief of the world’s largest economy, visiting Australia’s smallest; the leader of the world’s most populous country visiting this country’s least populated state; leader of a communist state Politburo creating ties with a Liberal premier governing Australia’s most compact parliament. To this extent, today’s visit might be regarded as a tad incongruous. But the shared history, trade ties and investment agreements make this stop in his itinerary relevant. Tasmania has been on Xi’s bucket list for a while. On Monday, in his federal parliament address, Xi pointed out he’d visited each and every other state and territory of Australia. Now, with this visit, he mused, perhaps he might get a certificate for visiting them all. For more than 30 years Tasmania has had a sister state relationship with Fujian province, where Xi was once governor. In 2001 he awarded an honorary citizenship to late Tasmanian premier Jim Bacon, a regular visitor there since his university days. Premier Will Hodgman has made four agreements with China, including a continuation of the partnership between Hydro Tasmania and Shenhua Group Corporation for a windfarm to test current Chinese technology in the state’s north-west, in addition to one already up and running in the north-east at Musselroe. The Musselroe location might be considered an example of Xi’s vision for a new type of modern industrialisation: Chinese investment and infrastructure forming partnerships in appropriate territories, embracing shared goals. Musselroe has also successfully acknowledged Indigenous sacred land with the building of the Tebrakunna visitor centre underneath the wind towers. While detailing his expansive vision for modern agriculture Xi has also shown a common touch, mentioning a letter he had received from Tasmanian school children. Written in Chinese by pupils from Scotch Oakburn junior school in Launceston, it wooed the president with its depiction of Tasmania’s beautiful scenery, unique produce and peacock feathers found in Cataract Gorge. It is this type of landscape and this type of welcome that has also attracted large numbers of Chinese tourists to Tasmania. Those numbers have more than doubled in the past year, and with Xi’s visit it seems inevitable the trend will continue. Meanwhile, the greeting for the Chinese leader appears most effusive: the front page in today’s local paper reads simply: “Welcome Mr President.” Although there was one note of caution on local radio this week. A talkback caller mooted a mood which is prevalent among many Tasmanians. “We’ve got what they want,” the caller said. “We shouldn’t be rushing into anything too fast.” | ['world/xi-jinping', 'australia-news/tasmania', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/windpower', 'world/china', 'australia-news/hobart', 'world/asia-pacific', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'tone/features', 'profile/hilary-burden'] | environment/windpower | ENERGY | 2014-11-18T00:54:47Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2015/apr/13/harvard-divestment-campaigners-gear-up-for-a-week-of-action | Harvard divestment campaigners gear up for a week of action | Campaigners at Harvard University are beginning a week of direct action on campus to increase pressure on the institution to divest from fossil fuels. It comes as a new analysis suggests that the world’s richest university would have been $21m (£14m) better off without fossil fuel investments in the period since the divestment campaign began in August 2012. The university has refused calls to divest, saying its responsibility is to generate a healthy financial return for its $36bn endowment. Organisers expect that hundreds of students, staff and alumni will engage in acts of civil disobedience, as part of ‘Harvard Heat Week’, with dozens reported willing to risk arrest. Members of the local community and student divestment activists from other universities have also been invited to attend. The activists have been heartened by an analysis from the investment firm Trillium Asset Management that says the university’s fossil fuel holdings have cost the endowment millions over the course of the divestment campaign. The $21m estimated loss is based on the performance of fossil fuel holdings in the $1bn of its $36bn (£23bn) portfolio that Harvard makes public. Matthew Patsky, Trillium’s CEO, said: “This stance is Harvard’s loss – literally. Three years is, of course, a relatively short time frame for evaluating an investment portfolio. Nevertheless, Harvard’s continued investment in fossil fuels during that time has diminished the financial strength of the endowment.” The calculation includes a $14m drop in the six months until the end of March 2015. Patsky said: “This staggering potential loss is only half of the story. Opportunity cost is the other half. If Harvard had sold off its fossil fuel holdings it would have reinvested the proceeds, presumably with broad market exposure.” More than 220 institutions have now committed to divest from fossil fuels – including faith organisations, foundations and pension funds – as part of a global campaign launched by 350.org. On 1 April, Syracuse university became the largest yet to commit to divestment from all fossil fuel companies, while in May last year Stanford University announced it would be removing its coal investments. Other universities who have made a commitment to divest include Glasgow, Bedfordshire and the New School in New York. Campaigners are active on other university campuses, with 19 students arrested at Yale for staging a sit-in on Thursday. A divestment debate with historian Naomi Oreskes and university professors took place at Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the same day. It is thought that Harvard has $79m worth of direct investments in coal, oil and gas companies with indirect investments likely to be much more. Student Talia Rothstein, 19, said: “We’ve been building momentum for three years until this moment. In spite of the hardline of the administration, we’ve had remarkable success in escalating the campaign with every tactic. This is the next step. We hope the week will show there is broad support for the movement, both on campus and nationally. It’s high time we saw some changes.” Harvard’s president, Drew Gilpin Faust, has rejected divestment as “neither warranted or wise”, calling its endowment “an economic resource, not an instrument to impel social or political change”. The university has since become a signatory to the Principles of Responsible Investment, a network of institutional investors co-ordinated by the UN, and the Carbon Disclosure Project which works with companies to disclosure information on their greenhouse has emissions. In February a series of high profile alumni – including actor Natalie Portman and environmentalist Robert Kennedy Jr – signed a letter urging the administration to divest. A number of students have also taken the university and government of Massachusetts to court, in a lawsuit that argues that by continuing to invest in fossil fuels, Harvard is putting current and future generations in danger. On Sunday, Harvard Heat Week started with speeches by high profile figures including film director, Darren Aronofsky, Bill McKibben, the co-founder of the environmental movement 350.org and Lennox Yearwood, the founder of political activism organisation Hip Hop Caucus. This article was amended on 14 April 2015. An earlier version said that Cornel West spoke at the launch. | ['environment/fossil-fuel-divestment', 'environment/series/keep-it-in-the-ground', 'education/harvard-university', 'us-news/boston', 'environment/environment', 'us-news/us-news', 'education/higher-education', 'education/education', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/emma-e-howard'] | environment/fossil-fuel-divestment | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2015-04-13T09:00:04Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
world/2013/nov/13/clive-palmer-to-abstain-in-votes-to-repeal-taxes | Clive Palmer vows to abstain in votes to repeal carbon and mining taxes | Multi-millionaire and new federal member for Fairfax, Clive Palmer, has confirmed he will not vote on the repeals of Labor’s carbon and mining taxes, accepting that there is at least an appearance of conflict of interest between his career as a legislator and his career as a mining magnate. But Palmer insists his senators can do as they like in relation to the repeal of the two packages. The leader of the Palmer United party told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday the PUP senators, who will take their places in parliament next July, had no conflict of interest. The PUP senators will control an influential voting bloc after July 2014, when the Abbott government has its best prospect of repealing the two taxes – so their votes are, in fact, critical. But asked if his upper house representatives should abstain from the votes because of their connection to him, Palmer replied: “No. Conflict of interest is a personal thing.” Palmer said his own belief, after “looking into his heart”, was he had no conflict of interest, but he said he had responded to media pressure. The member for Fairfax has faced a barrage of questions since being sworn in about how he will manage the obvious conflicts between his commercial operations and his new career as a parliamentarian. Palmer has also received public advice from MPs to abstain on votes which would impact his commercial operations. Palmer was not in parliament on Wednesday morning when the Abbott government introduced the repeal of the carbon and mining taxes. When questions were asked about his non-appearance in the chamber, he issued a statement confirming his intention to abstain from the votes, and then held a media conference. On Tuesday, Palmer declared at the National Press Club that the Abbott government should sue him if it wants to collect $6.17m in carbon tax owed by his company, Queensland Nickel. | ['australia-news/australian-politics', 'environment/carbon-tax', 'business/mining', 'australia-news/coalition', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/katharine-murphy'] | environment/carbon-tax | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2013-11-13T03:09:49Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
commentisfree/2018/oct/31/the-guardian-view-on-brazils-new-president-a-global-danger | The Guardian view on Brazil’s new president: a global danger | Editorial | It is depressing to think that for the first time since the return of democracy in 1985 Brazilians have elected a far-right president of the republic. Jair Bolsonaro, a seven-term lawmaker and former army captain, represents a clear and present danger not only to his country but to the planet. At home he has defended dictatorship and torture and joked about killing his leftwing opponents. He has a history of denigrating women, gay people and minorities. The president-elect promises to bring order by spreading chaos with a relaxation of gun laws. This will cost lives in a country that already records more than 60,000 murders a year. In a familiar but chilling pattern, Mr Bolsonaro successfully pitched himself as the anti-establishment candidate, appealing to voters fed up with political graft and violent crime. There’s every reason to think that Brazilians who voted in haste for Mr Bolsonaro will repent at leisure. Mr Bolsonaro’s programme, if taken seriously, and his environmental utterances, if taken literally, amount to a threat to humanity. Brazil’s new president takes office in January, in charge of the world’s lungs, the Amazon, and the world’s breadbasket, the Cerrado savannah. He will be able to decide the course of the battle against climate change at a critical point. The signs are not good. It is thought that we have 12 years to prevent the dangerous destabilisation of Earth’s climate because of the way we live. Our patterns of existence have already led to widespread annihilation of wildlife, a disaster so large that it threatens civilisation. Yet Mr Bolsonaro’s key election pledge was to put his presidency behind Brazil’s huge agri-corporations. He favours business over biodiversity and calls for pro-market ways of exploiting Brazil’s natural resources, notably coming out against the policy of reserving the 12% of the country’s land for indigenous tribes. The far-right president-elect has also promised to weaken the enforcement of environmental laws, while criminalising activism. It is a package of measures that will not reform the model of capitalism that is slowly boiling the atmosphere, but turbocharge it. Mr Bolsonaro says he will not scrap the Paris climate agreement, where Brazil set itself ambitious climate targets, as long as he gets assurances that his country would not cede sovereignty to native tribes or international jurisdiction over the Andes mountains, Amazon rainforest and Atlantic Ocean. This is a contradiction that will prove impossible to resolve: Mr Bolsonaro’s policies will help pave over the rainforest – with new highways and dams promised in the Amazon basin – and make it all but impossible for Brazil to reduce its carbon footprint. Until now Brazil has been, on balance, a moral force for the environmental good: largely resisting siren calls to exploit its vast natural resources for shareholder value, while bringing together rich and poor nations during climate talks. It was the frontrunner to hold the next UN climate talks. Now, instead of helping, the world’s fourth largest democracy looks like it will do irreparable harm. With the US administration run by climate-change sceptics and China tacking away from its green stance, Europe must take a lead. The EU has a hand to play with Brazil. Deforestation is largely driven by demand for land to grow soybeans – exported to feed livestock – and to expand cattle farms. The EU is the biggest foreign investor in Brazil. Latin America’s largest economy is the biggest exporter of agricultural products to Europe. There is a strong case for new European laws to guarantee that no products or financial transactions linked to the EU lead to deforestation, forest degradation and human rights violations. If the EU acts the UK should follow suit to curb Mr Bolsonaro’s worst environmental instincts, which are a menace to everyone on the planet. | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'world/jair-bolsonaro', 'world/brazil', 'environment/environment', 'environment/amazon-rainforest', 'world/americas', 'world/world', 'environment/deforestation', 'environment/forests', 'world/eu', 'world/europe-news', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/meat-industry', 'environment/food', 'environment/farming', 'tone/editorials', 'tone/comment', 'politics/foreignpolicy', 'type/article', 'profile/editorial', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/opinion', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/deforestation | BIODIVERSITY | 2018-10-31T17:48:16Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
media/2022/feb/04/new-corp-hack-murdoch-media-firm-believes-hackers-links-china | News Corp cyber-attack: firm says it believes hack linked to China | Journalists working for Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp have had their email accounts hacked in what the company believes was an espionage operation linked to China, raising fears for the safety of confidential sources. The cyber-attack affected a limited number of individuals working for outlets including News UK – the publisher of the Times and the Sun – as well as the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post. “Our preliminary analysis indicates that foreign government involvement may be associated with this activity, and that some data was taken,” said News Corp in an email to staff. The company said it was concerned for the wellbeing of its staff, its journalists and sources who have communicated with its reporters. An initial assessment by the cybersecurity company Mandiant, which was called in when News Corp discovered the apparent attack on 20 January, concluded that the attackers had links to China and “are likely involved in espionage activities to collect intelligence to benefit China’s interests”. News Corp said it was concerned about the protection of its staff and its journalists’ sources following the cyber-attack. “We are working closely with the leadership teams of the affected businesses to inform those employees whose accounts were impacted and help them take appropriate measures.” The email to staff described the attack as a “persistent nation-state attack” that had been contained. News Corp said it did not appear that any financial or user data had been targeted, suggesting the hackers may have been after information relating to its journalism. The company did not disclose how many email accounts were compromised by the Chinese-linked hackers, or what proportion of the compromised company email accounts belonged to its journalists. It does not believe staff at its other subsidiaries – such as the publisher HarperCollins or News Corp Australia – were targeted. Beijing has been accused repeatedly of running an aggressive hacking campaign designed to gather information from private companies and governments around the world. Earlier this week, the FBI director, Christopher Wray, used a speech to accuse the Chinese government of stealing “staggering volumes of information” using “a massive, sophisticated hacking programme that is bigger than those of every other major nation combined”, with well-funded operations based in every major Chinese city. News Corp said it would be informing other news publishers about the cyber-attack “We will not tolerate attacks on our journalism, nor will we be deterred from our reporting, which provides readers everywhere with the news that matters. “We believe it is important that other media organisations be made aware of this threat in order to take appropriate precautions, and we are providing technical details of the attack to the media information sharing and analysis organisation.” | ['media/news-corporation', 'media/mediabusiness', 'media/media', 'media/newsinternational', 'media/wallstreetjournal', 'media/new-york-post', 'world/china', 'world/espionage', 'technology/hacking', 'media/sun', 'media/thetimes', 'media/national-newspapers', 'media/newspapers', 'media/pressandpublishing', 'media/us-press-publishing', 'world/world', 'world/asia-pacific', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/jim-waterson', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | technology/hacking | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2022-02-04T14:17:42Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2023/mar/18/a-wake-up-call-total-weight-of-wild-mammals-less-than-10-of-humanitys | ‘A wake-up call’: total weight of wild mammals less than 10% of humanity’s | The total weight of Earth’s wild land mammals – from elephants to bisons and from deer to tigers – is now less than 10% of the combined tonnage of men, women and children living on the planet. A study by scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science, published this month, concludes that wild land mammals alive today have a total mass of 22m tonnes. By comparison, humanity now weighs in at a total of around 390m tonnes. At the same time, the species we have domesticated, such as sheep and cattle, in addition to other hangers-on such as urban rodents, add a further 630m tonnes to the total mass of creatures that are now competing with wild mammals for Earth’s resources. The biomass of pigs alone is nearly double that of all wild land mammals. The figures demonstrate starkly that humanity’s transformation of the planet’s wildernesses and natural habitats into a vast global plantation is now well under way – with devastating consequences for its wild creatures. As the study authors emphasise, the idea that Earth is a planet that still possesses great plains and jungles that are teeming with wild animals is now seriously out of kilter with reality. The natural world and its wild animals are vanishing as humanity’s population of almost eight billion individuals continues to grow. “When you look at wildlife documentaries on television – for instance of wildebeest migrating – it is easy to conclude that wild mammals are doing quite well,” lead author Ron Milo told the Observer. “But that intuition is wrong. These creatures are not doing well at all. Their total mass is around 22m tonnes which is less than 10% of humanity’s combined weight and amounts to only about 6lb of wild land mammal per person. And when you add all our cattle, sheep and other livestock, that adds another 630m tonnes. That is 30 times the total for wild animals. It is staggering. This is a wake-up call to humanity.” The study, The Global Biomass of Wild Mammals, also reveals that those that do best – such as the white-tailed deer in the US and wild boars – are those that find it easier to adapt to the presence of humans. Both species can be found near settlements and are occasionally treated as pets. “Even within the wild, the fingerprints of humanity are obvious,” added Milo, whose team’s study is published in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. As part of the paper, researchers Lior Greenspoon and Eyal Krieger collected biomass data on about half of all known mammals and used machine-learning computational models on other zoological samples to calculate the other half. The grim figures for land mammals were matched by those found in the oceans. The total mass of marine mammals was calculated to be around 40m tonnes. Fin whales have the largest total biomass with sperm whales and humpbacks coming into the second and third slots, respectively. Common pet species were also found to be major contributors to humanity’s planetary impact. Domestic dogs have a total mass of around 20m tonnes, a figure close to the combined biomass of all wild terrestrial mammals, while cats have a total biomass of around 2m tonnes, almost double that of the African savanna elephant. “These domesticated-to-wild mass ratios emphasise the active role humans play in shaping the abundance of mammals on Earth,” the researchers state in their paper. Biomass studies are not the only way to quantify the animal world. Numbers of species are also revealing. As an example, it has been found there are 1,200 species of bats that account for a fifth of all land mammal species and two-thirds of all individual wild mammals by head count. However, they make up only 10% of the biomass of wild land mammals. “Biomass is complementary to species richness and other diversity metrics, and can serve as an indicator of wild mammals’ abundance and ecological footprint on a global scale,” the researchers state. Estimates made two years ago by the team suggested there were about 50m tonnes of wild mammals on Earth. The new figure, calculated using a host of techniques including AI, indicates that the crisis facing the planet’s wildlife appears to be much worse than first appreciated. Just how quickly the depletion of wild mammals is proceeding now needs to be assessed as a matter of urgency, they say, and is the focus of the study’s next phase which will assess how much of the biomass loss occurred over the past 100 years. | ['environment/wildlife', 'environment/biodiversity', 'science/science', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/endangered-habitats', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/robinmckie', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/news', 'theobserver/news/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/observer-main'] | environment/biodiversity | BIODIVERSITY | 2023-03-18T17:07:21Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
australia-news/2020/jul/15/coalition-yet-to-pay-33m-grant-for-collinsville-coal-power-station-as-negotiations-with-company-stall | Coalition yet to pay $3.3m grant for Collinsville coal power station as negotiations with company stall | The federal government has not yet paid a $3.3m grant for a feasibility study on the proposed Collinsville coal-fired power station in north Queensland – more than a year after the study was first announced – because negotiations to establish a formal funding agreement with the proponent have stalled. The federal Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources told Guardian Australia it had not reached a funding agreement or provided any money to the tiny company Shine Energy for the study on the power station proposal, which was announced in March 2019 as a concession to pro-coal Queensland Nationals. A second announcement confirming “up to $4m” for the feasibility study was made in February. The amount was then set at $3.3m on the recommendation of the department. Shine’s chief executive, Ashley Dodd, is understood to have written to the government seeking additional money – the full $4m amount announced in February – in order to cover additional staffing costs. The Australian first reported Dodd’s letter, and that some Queensland MPs had begun lobbying for the study to be allocated additional funding. Last month, Dodd, a Birriah traditional owner, accused the Morrison government of using the company as a pawn to win support at the federal election, and of attempting to “white clad” the company by pressuring him to step aside. The government denies this. However, Guardian Australia understands that some MPs have expressed concern that money has been promised to a company that has never completed a project of any kind, has no apparent source of income, no office, and no in-house energy expertise. Dodd did not respond to a series of questions, including how existing Shine staff – who are also the shareholders in its parent company – were being paid, or whether any work on the feasibility study had been completed before the grant was paid. In a statement the department said key details about the study, including a funding agreement that would define outcomes required by the government, had not been agreed with Shine. The department disputed the suggestion that negotiations had stalled and said that it was “not unusual for this to take some time”, but the Guardian understands the process has become fraught. “The department is engaging with Shine Energy to establish the funding agreement, which will include appropriate milestones, deliverables and reporting,” the department said. “Funds have not yet been paid to Shine Energy.” In 2018, the Canadian engineering and services firm WSP completed a business case for the power plant proposal. The company declined to comment or answer questions about whether it still had a relationship with Shine or Dodd, whether it was involved in the feasibility study process, and whether it assessed contracts against potential climate change impacts. After questions from the Guardian, WSP deleted a page from its website, published in 2018, detailing its work for Shine Energy. The page quoted WSP’s executive for power and energy, Peter Skindberg, saying the company was working with Shine and Indigenous communities “to design and deliver an energy mix solution that enables reliable, affordable electricity with lower emissions that will sustainably shape their future communities”. | ['australia-news/energy-australia', 'environment/coal', 'australia-news/queensland', 'australia-news/coalition', 'australia-news/australian-politics', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/ben-smee', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/coal | ENERGY | 2020-07-14T17:30:22Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2023/mar/30/australia-climate-emissions-reduction-legislation-laws-parliament-labor-greens | Australia passes most significant climate law in a decade amid concern over fossil fuel exports | Australia’s parliament has passed the country’s most significant emissions reduction legislation in more than a decade after the government won backing from Greens and independent MPs for a plan to deal with pollution from major industrial sites. After weeks of closed-door negotiation, a deal was brokered between the Labor government and Greens, a minor party with 15 parliamentarians, that included legislating an explicit requirement that total emissions from major industrial facilities must come down, not just be offset. Australia is the world’s third biggest fossil fuel exporter. The Greens argued the deal would stop some new gas and coal development proposals, but acknowledged it would not prevent further industry expansion. The deal to pass changes to the policy known as the safeguard mechanism is considered key to prime minister Anthony Albanese’s commitment to cut national carbon dioxide emissions 43% by 2030 compared with 2005 levels. From 1 July, many of the country’s 215 major polluting facilities – including fossil fuel operations, other mines, refineries and smelters – will need to cut emissions intensity by 5% a year, either through absolute cuts or by buying contentious carbon offsets. Together, they are responsible for about 30% of emissions in Australia. While individual companies can buy an unlimited number of offsets, total absolute emissions under the scheme cannot increase and are required to come down over time. New gas fields opened for export project must offset all CO2 emissions, increasing costs for developers. Labor had rejected an initial offer from the Greens to support the bill if the government agreed to ban new coal and gas developments in line with scientific warnings. The climate change minister, Chris Bowen, hailed the deal as a “landmark reform” that delivered on a promise to reverse nearly a decade of inaction on the climate crisis under the rightwing Coalition administration that held power from 2013 until last year. He said it would lead to a 205m tonne reduction in emissions by 2030, which he described as equivalent to taking two-thirds of the nation’s cars off the road. “Today is an historic day for the country to ensure our economy can take advantage of the opportunities of decarbonisation and meet our ambitious climate targets,” Bowen said. The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, described negotiating with the government as “like negotiating with the political wing” of coal and gas companies, but said fossil fuels had “taken a huge hit”. “To everyone who is despairing about the future and wants real climate action, today you should have a spring in your step, because it shows we can take on the coal and gas corporations and win,” Bandt said. “The fight is not over, because in the middle of a climate crisis, Labor still wants to open more coal and gas.” The legislation was opposed by the rightwing Liberal-National Coalition, despite it having introduced the safeguard mechanism in 2016. It initially promised the safeguard would stop industrial emissions increasing, but in practice often allowed companies to emit beyond onsite limits without penalty. The Coalition’s climate change spokesperson, Ted O’Brien, said the changes to the scheme made it a “carbon tax by stealth” that would “decapitate” the economy. But the policy won broad support from major business and industry groups. Environment groups also supported the deal, but called on the government to stop allowing developments that expanded Australia’s fossil fuel exports. | ['environment/climate-crisis', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'environment/fossil-fuels', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/adam-morton', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/fossil-fuels | EMISSIONS | 2023-03-30T07:04:55Z | true | EMISSIONS |
environment/cif-green/2010/jul/13/spelman-palm-oil-sustainable | We must reap the benefits of palm oil, but manage the environmental costs | Caroline Spelman | We all like to think we have the power to make our own ethical choices when we shop; that our personal decision to buy Fairtrade or free-range will make a difference. But what if we don't have that choice? What if, regardless of our best intentions, we are not given the option to choose sustainably? Enter palm oil. It's ubiquitous. It's in the margarine we spread on our toast, the shampoo we washed our hair with and in the tyres of the transport that brought us to work. Palm oil is perhaps the ultimate miracle product. It's high-yielding, versatile, good for our health and cholesterol-free. It is also powering many of the emerging economies of south-east Asia – in Indonesia alone it employs 2 million people. But if it's a miracle, it's one with devastating side effects. Palm oil plantations are destroying forests and peat lands and playing havoc with ecosystems and biodiversity. Deforestation costs anything between $2-5tn dollars a year and causes 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions. So while palm oil feeds economies, it's also irrevocably damaging them. As demand for it grows, in Europe and in the burgeoning economies of India, China and the rest of the world, we will all start paying the unaffordable environmental costs. We need to find a way to reap the benefits of palm oil while managing the costs. Environmental and development charities have been arguing the case for sustainable palm oil for years. Many businesses now have targets for when all of the palm oil they use will be sustainable – many, but by no means all. In this, the first ever International Year of Biodiversity, it's time to do something about it. So today, in front of an international business audience, I'm announcing that, starting next month, we will begin the process of mapping the palm oil supply chain to the UK. Working with businesses and the public sector we aim to find out what we're using palm oil for, where we are getting it from and if it's sustainable. What we find will help us work with industry and NGOs alike to produce a plan to help shift Britain's sourcing of palm oil to a sustainable footing. This is a milestone step in the right direction but commitments from other major international markets are still lacking – less than 4% of the global supply of palm oil is certified from sustainable sources. Rather than frowning at emerging economies, we should offer them a helping hand. So this month we're also jointly funding a project with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce to create the business rationale for sustainable palm oil in China and suggestions for how to encourage that switch. It could prove to be a great model for other growing economies. The prime minister has said he wants this to be the greenest government ever. The need to halt our planet's environmental destruction is becoming clearer every day. We have a responsibility to ourselves and future generations to take firm steps to turn the tide. Palm oil may be a miracle product but it is also nature's gift to us. It is time to respect the giver, as well as the gift. • Caroline Spelman is secretary of the state for the environment | ['environment/food', 'environment/farming', 'environment/biofuels', 'environment/ethical-living', 'environment/forests', 'environment/deforestation', 'environment/endangered-habitats', 'environment/environment', 'money/consumer-affairs', 'money/money', 'tone/comment', 'commentisfree/cif-green', 'food/food', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'global-development/global-development', 'global-development/environmental-sustainability', 'commentisfree/commentisfree', 'environment/palm-oil', 'type/article'] | environment/deforestation | BIODIVERSITY | 2010-07-13T07:00:14Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
australia-news/2021/jun/03/western-australia-gas-project-would-create-more-emissions-than-adani-and-damage-indigenous-rock-art | Western Australia gas project ‘would create more emissions than Adani and damage Indigenous rock art’ | A proposed gas export development in northern Western Australia could result in more than 1.6bn tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions across its lifetime and damage Indigenous rock art, environment and climate campaigners say. A report by two groups – the Conservation Council of Western Australia and the Australia Institute – said the Scarborough to Pluto liquified natural gas (LNG) development appeared on the cusp of being approved without a full environmental impact assessment from state or federal authorities. Released on Thursday, the report suggested the development could lead to lifetime emissions equivalent to that released by 15 coal-fired power plants. The project includes the development of a new gas field more than 400km off the coast, piping infrastructure and an expanded processing facility in the Pilbara. In annual terms, it found the project would release about 4.4m tonnes within Australia – adding the equivalent of nearly 1% to national emissions. The vast bulk of the emissions would occur in the countries that bought and burned the gas. It would increase WA’s annual emissions by about 5% as the McGowan Labor government says it plans to help transition the state economy to reach net zero emissions by 2050. WA is the only state to have increased its emissions since 2005, largely due to the booming LNG industry. Piers Verstegen, the conservation council’s director, said if fully realised the Scarborough project would be responsible for more emissions than the Adani coalmine in Queensland. “It is an international outrage that any government would support a project which would result in over a billion tonnes of carbon pollution and cause irreversible impacts on Aboriginal heritage,” he said. The project’s major proponent, Woodside, said there had been many opportunities for interested parties to comment on the proposal over the past two-and-a-half years. Through a spokesperson, the company said the development had been referred separately to state and commonwealth authorities as required. The federal Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment found in August 2019 the pipeline works did not have to be assessed under national conservation laws, and the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environment Management Authority had approved the development of the gasfield in April 2020. At a state level, the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) last year approved the pipeline construction in WA waters near the shore and found the expansion of the processing facility was only a minor change to previous approval decisions and did not require a full assessment. The spokesperson said Woodside was awaiting final approval from the WA environment and climate action minister, Amber-Jade Sanderson. If approved, a final investment decision on the $11bn development is expected later this year. Woodside announced on Wednesday that the former WA Labor treasurer, Ben Wyatt, who retired from politics at the March state election, had been appointed a non-executive director of the company. Verstegen said the piecemeal nature of the assessment meant there had been no consideration of whether the project was consistent with the latest climate science and the Paris agreement, or to properly consider the potential damage to Murujuga rock art on the Burrup Peninsula. He said the EPA should be asked to carry out a full independent assessment of the entire project. He said not to do so would be “reckless in the extreme”, citing a recent major report by the International Energy Agency that found all fossil fuel expansion should end now if the planet is to meet the goals agreed in Paris. The conservation council’s president, former Labor premier Carmen Lawrence, said many of the circumstances that led to Rio Tinto destroying an Aboriginal heritage site at Juukan Gorge applied to the Scarborough development. “It is now clear that pollution from gas processing on the Burrup is having a significant effect on the Murujuga rock art,” she said. “Allowing further expansion of gas processing on this site will increase both the duration and severity of these impacts and this must be assessed carefully before any further decisions are made, not as an afterthought. The conservation council has launched a supreme court challenge to the processing of gas from Scarborough at an expanded Pluto processing facility, and appealed the approval of the nearshore pipe development. On the former, the EPA supported a Woodside submission that this could be approved through a change in wording to a previous approval decision in 2007. The council has argued it should receive a full, new assessment on the grounds the ramifications of the change were significant. A state government spokesperson said the EPA’s recommendations were based “on the best available evidence and scientific advice”. “There are a range of processes under the act to ensure good environmental outcomes. The minister for environment makes decisions on these matters after considering the advice and recommendations of the EPA,” they said. Mark Ogge from the Australia Institute said the Scarborough project and Pluto expansion were “completely contrary” to global efforts to limit global heating to 1.5C. LNG developments in WA have driven an increase in national industrial emissions since mid last decade. “This is throwing fuel on the fire,” Ogge said. The Woodside spokesperson said Scarborough contained less CO2 than other oil and gas reservoirs, and would deliver “one of the lowest carbon LNG sources in Australia”. They said the company was aiming to be “net zero in our direct emissions by 2050 or sooner”. It has not set a target for its “scope 3” emissions – those from its products after they are sold. BHP, a partner in the project, referred a request for comment to Woodside. | ['australia-news/energy-australia', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/fossil-fuels', 'environment/gas', 'australia-news/western-australia', 'environment/environment', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'australia-news/indigenous-australians', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'australia-news/western-australian-politics', 'australia-news/australian-politics', 'artanddesign/indigenous-art', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'australia-news/woodside', 'profile/adam-morton', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/carbon-emissions | EMISSIONS | 2021-06-02T23:03:14Z | true | EMISSIONS |
environment/2024/nov/08/canada-marineland-beluga-dies | Outrage as fifth beluga dies this year at Canada’s Marineland | Another beluga has died at Canada’s Marineland, as questions mount over the future of both the controversial theme park and one of the world’s largest populations of captive whales. The most recent fatality – the fifth this year – is the 17th beluga to die at the Niagara Falls aquarium since 2019. Neither the Ontario government nor the park have disclosed the cause of the whale’s death. But speaking to the Canadian Press, the province’s chief animal welfare inspector said the quality of Marineland’s water was “within the acceptable limits” and that a specialized unit of inspectors tested Marineland’s water weekly. Melanie Milczynski also said enforcement officials had visited the park 205 times since the province took over animal welfare enforcement from the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 2020. In late October, the whistleblower account UrgentSeas, co-founded by a former walrus trainer at Marineland, Phil Demers, published drone footage of veterinarians and trainers attempting to give medication and fluids to the sick beluga. “I really don’t know how many days it has left,” Demers told the Guardian at the time. “But when you’re at this stage, just trying to keep the whale alive, it’s not good. Seeing this is absolutely heartbreaking. It just kills you inside.” Marineland Canada is the last aquarium in the country to hold captive whales and made headlines last year when a captive whale named Kiska, dubbed the “world’s loneliest orca”, died from a bacterial infection after spending four decades at the park. In a video clip before her death, the 47-year-old whale, who didn’t encounter another orca for more than a decade, is seen drifting listlessly in her tank. The park, which has the world’s largest beluga population, has defended the quality of its care, telling the Guardian deaths were a natural outcome. Marineland’s specialists “care for the animals when they are sick and every effort to save them is made” the park said in an email. In August, Marineland was ordered to pay nearly C$85,000 (US$61,000) after it was found guilty of three violations of the province’s animal cruelty laws related to its captive American black bears. News of the latest beluga death has prompted an outcry from the province’s politicians. The New Democrat leader, Marit Stiles, called the outcome “disgraceful” and threatened to shut down the park if elected premier. The Liberal leader, Bonnie Crombie, warned there was “no accountability” for Marineland and the care of “beautiful mammals”. For Demers, whose public clashes with the park have resulted in a string of lawsuits from his former employer, the death reflects a long-running failure of the province to forcefully intervene in the park. “We’ve been forewarning the public for over a decade that Marineland’s whales would be dying en masse unless someone intervened to fix the conditions,” he said. “Now it seems the government themselves are protecting Marineland. It’s difficult to have trust in your institutions when they continually fail.” | ['environment/series/seascape-the-state-of-our-oceans', 'world/canada', 'environment/whales', 'environment/cetaceans', 'world/americas', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/wildlife', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/leyland-cecco', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-foreign'] | environment/cetaceans | BIODIVERSITY | 2024-11-08T17:30:37Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
us-news/2023/mar/16/manuel-paez-teran-delayed-autopsy | ‘We deserve to know’: autopsy of ‘Cop City’ activist shot by police incomplete two months on | Attorneys for the family of Manuel Paez Terán, known as “Tortuguita”, have disclosed to the Guardian that a local Georgia medical examiner’s office has still not completed an autopsy of the 26-year-old nearly two months after the environmental activist was shot and killed by the police. Among the issues at stake in the high-profile case is the question of whether Terán fired a gun first at officers, although it remains unclear if the autopsy would provide this information. Paez Terán died as police raided a camp in a forest near Atlanta, Georgia, near the construction site of a huge police and fire department training facility known as “Cop City”. Paez Terán’s death was the first killing by police of an environmental activist in US history and has helped propel the protests over Cop City into the headlines across the US and the world. Civil rights attorney Wingo Smith, a member of a firm representing Paez Terán’s family, said he learned the news in a brief phone call from Patrick Bailey, director of the DeKalb county medical examiner’s office. The director said an autopsy report would be available in several weeks, Smith said. Bailey said that the final report, when completed, would be forwarded to the Georgia bureau of investigation (GBI) and, possibly, a special prosecutor. The news comes as a surprise given the level of public interest in the case. It also remains unclear what work remains undone, given that Paez Terán’s family recently scattered Tortuguita’s ashes over the forest the activist was defending. Bailey said there could be other details being gathered, such as toxicology or other reports and an “internal review”. On Monday, Smith and his colleagues, flanked by Paez Terán’s family members, announced their own independent autopsy results as well as his firm’s lawsuit against the city of Atlanta in pursuit of video and audio recordings made during the multi-agency raid on 18 January at the forest south-east of Atlanta where police shot and killed Paez Terán. The family-ordered autopsy appeared to show that the activist was sitting cross-legged, with their hands in front of their face, when hit by a hail of bullets. “Manuel was looking death in the face, hands raised when killed,” civil rights attorney Brian Spears said. The lawsuit and conversations with the Guardian reveal how the firm, and by extension Paez Terán’s family, have been rebuffed in nearly all pursuits of information from the city, county and state agencies involved in the raid. This includes a lack of response from the medical examiners’ office to a 7 February request to see preliminary autopsy findings and to have the family meet with the agency, according to Smith. “Getting information is tremendously difficult, and it really hurts families,” Smith said. The activist and others were camped in protest against Cop City, as well as a former film studio owner’s plans to convert 40 acres of public park into private land. Paez Terán was camped in the public park part of the forest on the morning of 18 January when they were woken by dozens of officers in a raid that included Atlanta and DeKalb county police, the Georgia state patrol and the GBI. Soon after, the GBI, tasked in Georgia with investigating police shootings, revealed that the state patrol officers involved were not wearing body cameras. The GBI also began what would become piecemeal releases of evidence that support the state’s version of what happened: that Paez Terán had a gun and fired first, wounding a state patrol officer. The family’s independent autopsy sheds no light on this allegation, and mentions that Paez Terán’s body was washed during the first autopsy – without clarifying if that would remove any evidence of having fired a gun. The Guardian asked Werner Spitz, a veteran pathologist, to review the autopsy ordered by Paez Terán’s family. “There’s no question the police went into this encounter with the determination to kill this man,” said Spitz, who has played a role in cases ranging from Martin Luther King’s death to the OJ Simpson trial. As for the news regarding the unfinished DeKalb county autopsy, he said: “It’s wrong and uncalled for to not relay information to the general public.” All along, attorneys for Paez Terán’s family have requested access to evidence – including preliminary autopsy results. In most cases, they received no reply. Several agencies denied requests by claiming that because the investigation into the shooting was ongoing, they were exempt from open records laws. The department of public safety replied to requests on 31 January, 25 February and 9 March, promising each time to comply in a matter of weeks, according to the family’s attorneys. Records have yet to come from that agency. Paez Terán belonged to a group of forest defenders who have been the most visible manifestation of a broad-ranging movement to defend the South River forest since the Cop City project was announced in 2021. But opposition to placing the public park into private hands and converting part of the forest to a police training facility has also come from Atlanta preschool families, local and national environmental groups, Black-led organizations, scientists, Atlanta-area academics, HBCU students and others. The police and local political response to the protests has seen the first use of state domestic terrorism charges against environmental activists. To date, more than 40 people have now been charged in connection with acts of vandalism including destroying construction equipment, considered by the state to merit domestic terrorism charges. As for the autopsy, “everyone deserves to know how government operates – especially in this case, a high-profile matter of public interest,” said Smith. “We deserve to know what really happened that day.” | ['us-news/atlanta', 'us-news/us-police', 'us-news/state-of-georgia', 'world/activism', 'environment/activism', 'world/protest', 'us-news/us-news', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/timothy-pratt', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news'] | environment/activism | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2023-03-16T09:30:23Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
technology/2024/feb/25/china-cyber-leak-hacking-program-security | Hackers for sale: what we’ve learned from China’s enormous cyber leak | A enormous data leak from a Chinese cybersecurity firm has offered a rare glimpse into the inner workings of Beijing-linked hackers. Analysts say the leak is a treasure trove of intel into the day-to-day operations of China’s hacking programme, which the FBI says is the biggest of any country. The company, I-Soon, has yet to confirm the leak is genuine and has not responded to a request for comment. As of Friday, the leaked data was removed from the online software repository GitHub, where it had been posted. From staff complaints about pay and office gossip to claims of hacking foreign governments, here are some of the key insights from the leaks: Who got hacked? Every day, workers at I-Soon were targeting big fish. Government agencies of China’s neighbours, including Kyrgyzstan, Thailand, Cambodia, Mongolia and Vietnam, had websites or email servers compromised, the leak revealed. There are long lists of targets, from British government departments to Thai ministries. I-Soon staff also boasted in leaked chats that they secured access to telecom service providers in Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Thailand and Malaysia, among others. They named the government of India – a geopolitical rival of Beijing’s – as a key target for “infiltration”. And they claimed to have secured back-end access to higher education institutions in Hong Kong and self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory. But they also admitted to having lost access to some of their data seized from government agencies in Myanmar and South Korea. Other targets are domestic, from China’s north-western region of Xinjiang to Tibet and from illegal pornography to gambling rings. Who was paying I-Soon? Judging from the leaks, most of I-Soon’s customers were provincial or local police departments – as well as province-level state security agencies responsible for protecting the Communist party from perceived threats to its rule. The firm also offered clients help protecting their devices from hacking and securing their communications – with many of their contracts listed as “non-secret”. There were references to official corruption: in one chat, salesmen discussed selling the company’s products to police – and planned to give kickbacks to those involved in the sale. There were also references to a client in Xinjiang, where Beijing is accused of grave human rights abuses. But workers complained about the challenges of doing business in the tense region. “Everyone thinks of Xinjiang like a nice big cake … but we have suffered too much there,” one wrote. What hacking tools were for sale? In their chats, I-Soon staffers told colleagues their main focuses were making “Trojan horses” – malware disguised as legitimate software that allows hackers access to private data – and building databases of personal information. “At the moment, the trojan horses are mainly customised for Beijing’s state security department,” one said. It also laid out how the firm’s hackers could access and take over a person’s computer remotely, allowing them to execute commands and monitor what they type, known as key logging. Other services included ways to breach Apple’s iPhone and other smartphone operating systems, as well as custom hardware – including a power bank that can extract data from a device and send it to the hackers. In one screenshot of a conversation, someone describes a client request for exclusive access to the “foreign secretary’s office, foreign ministry’s ASEAN office, prime minister’s office, national intelligence agency” and other government departments of an unnamed country. One service offered is a tool that allows clients to break into accounts on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, claiming to be able to obtain the phone number of a user and break into their private messages. I-Soon also boasts of a technique to bypass two-step authentication – a common login technique that offers an extra level of security to the account. Who are the hackers? The leak also paints a less-than-flattering picture of the day-to-day goings-on at a mid-level Chinese cybersecurity firm. Employees’ chats are full of complaints about office politics, lack of basic tech expertise, poor pay and management, and the challenges the company faced in securing clients. One set of screenshots showed arguments between an employee and a supervisor over salaries. And in another leaked chat, a staffer complained to their colleague that their boss had recently bought a car worth over 1m yuan ($139,000) instead of giving their team a pay rise. “Does the boss dream about being an emperor?” | ['technology/technology', 'technology/hacking', 'world/china', 'technology/cybercrime', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/west-coast-news', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-tech'] | technology/hacking | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2024-02-25T14:00:03Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2018/apr/08/energy-home-heating-uk-cities-geology | Abandoned collieries could hold key to heating UK homes | Scientists are finalising plans to exploit the vast reservoir of warm water that fills a labyrinth of disused mines and porous rock layers underneath Glasgow. They believe this subterranean store of naturally heated water could be used to warm homes in the city. If the system proves successful, such water could then be exploited in other cities and towns across Britain, they say. The £9m project will initially involve drilling narrow boreholes filled with instruments to survey temperature, seismic activity, water flow, acidity and other variables to establish the state of the water in the rocks below the city. The aim will be to establish whether this warm water can be extracted for long periods to heat Glaswegian homes. “The rocks below Glasgow are crisscrossed with tunnels that were hewed into the rock by coalminers in the 19th and 20th century,” said Professor Michael Stephenson, the director of science at the British Geological Survey (BGS), which is funding the project. “Eastern Glasgow was once the location of some of Scotland’s busiest mines. These old, long-abandoned tunnels should now be allowing water to flow freely beneath the city.” Because the reservoir of subterranean warm water is now linked by the tunnels, engineers believe they will not have to worry that water will dry up at an individual location when they drill a borehole. Drilling of the first test boreholes – at sites yet to be selected – is the first part of an initiative by the BGS: the creation of several UK geo-energy observatories. Where other observatories look up to the sky, these will monitor conditions underground, say scientists. One test system has been selected for Scotland: the Glasgow Geothermal Energy Research Field Site. A second has been proposed for Cheshire – where scientists want to study rock conditions to assess the possibility of using underground vaults as storage for heated water. “At present it is very hard to store energy and that is a problem when using renewable power plants – such as wind plants – which operate intermittently,” said Stephenson. “Our second borehole array, again crammed with instruments, would allow us to test the feasibility of storing water – heated by renewable power plants – and then releasing that energy later when it is needed.” Heating of homes is set to become a crucial issue, researchers have warned. The UK is on target to decarbonise electricity generation as a result of the growing numbers of renewable power plants. However, the nation is still heavily reliant on North Sea and imported natural gas to heat its homes. Combustion of these fossil fuels forms a substantial part of the carbon dioxide emissions which the UK has pledged to reduceto help limit global warming. “One solution would be to use the energy beneath our feet,” said Stephenson. “The temperature of the water that is sloshing through the old mines and in the rock layers under Glasgow is about 12C. That is not red hot, obviously. However, there is a great deal of water down there and by using heat exchangers we can turn that mass of lukewarm water into a moderate supply of very hot water which could be pumped into homes to provide hot water and heating in winter. At least that is the idea.” “Our underground observatory will determine whether it is feasible or not. It will analyse rates of replenishment, acidity, temperature and many other features. Based on that data we will know if we are on to a winner.” | ['environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/energy-storage', 'environment/energy', 'environment/environment', 'science/energy', 'science/geology', 'science/science', 'uk/glasgow', 'cities/cities', 'uk/scotland', 'uk/uk', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'profile/robinmckie', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/news', 'theobserver/news/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/observer-main'] | environment/renewableenergy | ENERGY | 2018-04-07T23:04:13Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2024/feb/19/english-farmers-to-be-offered-largest-ever-grant-scheme-amid-food-security-concerns | English farmers to be offered ‘largest ever’ grant scheme amid food security concerns | Rishi Sunak will promise farmers the “largest ever” grant scheme tomorrow, as well as the creation of a food security index, after criticism that Brexit trade deals and poor responses to flooding and rising costs have put England’s ability to feed itself at risk. Against a backdrop of turmoil in the agricultural sector, with farmers in the UK and across the continent causing havoc with tractor protests against environmental regulations and a perceived lack of support, Sunak will respond to farmers’ calls for a commitment from government that the UK’s food self-sufficiency will remain at or exceed the current estimated level, which is about 60%. There have been fears that Brexit impacts, including the new farming schemes that focus on nature rather than food production, and trade deals that have been accused of undercutting British farmers, will lower food security. Speaking at the National Farmers’ Union in Birmingham, where he will be questioned by the outgoing president, Minette Batters, Sunak will also announce grants for farmers in England – claimed as the largest ever grant offer – expected to total £427m, and which will include an “unprecedented” package of funding for technology and productivity schemes. This comes after the Guardian uncovered that the government had underspent hundreds of millions in its farming budget because land managers had not signed up to the post-Brexit farming schemes, which replaced the EU’s common agricultural policy and are aimed at encouraging farmers to look after nature.The Food Security Index will be published at the next Farm to Fork summit this spring. The UK-wide index will capture and present the key data needed to monitor how the country is maintaining its current levels of food security. Batters has been highly critical of the post-Brexit farming policies, and has accused the government of breaking its promises. Ahead of the conference, she said: “The promise was three things. The easiest trade deal in history with the EU – well, that’s still problematic and still being resolved. A bonfire of regulation – I’d say we’ve got more regulation. And a lot more money because we won’t be paying it into Europe – we don’t see any signs of that yet.” She added that farmers were facing a “volatile” world with farming changes and rising costs putting food security at risk. “Farming feels like it’s being used just for environmental targets. And we’ve got to do both.” Over the weekend, 30 farmers parked their tractors at a supermarket car park in Dover, while 100 Welsh farmers parked up outside a Labour leadership debate to demand the Welsh government stops plans to force them to plant 10% of their land with trees. In Europe, farmers have been blockading major cities including Paris and Brussels to rail against new EU environmental regulations. Last year at the NFU conference, the then environment secretary, Thérèse Coffey, rejected calls to regulate the egg supply chain after supermarket shelves emptied and egg farmers were going out of business due to rising costs. She rejected the idea there was a “market failure” and then was booed by farmers. In a change of policy, Sunak is expected to announce “plans to ensure all farmers and producers are treated fairly”, with new regulations for the egg sector to ensure they have reasonable and transparent contracts with supermarkets and others in the supply chain expected to come later this year. The dairy and pig sector will also have these new regulations. He will say: “While the importance of farmers will never change, farming is going through its biggest change in a generation. And as farmers do so, this government will be by their side. They have been dealing with soaring global prices in things like fuel and fertiliser. So, we’ve been working hard to get inflation down – from 11.1% last year to 4% now. And we’re increasing payments in our farming schemes by an average of 10%. “[Farmers] are also at the forefront of innovation – from gene editing to boost resilience to disease, to automation to help harvest crops. And while thanks to you we enjoy good quality food all year round, global events – including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – have put food security back at the top of the agenda. We’ll never take our food security for granted. We’ve got a plan to support British farming – and we’re going further again today.” | ['environment/farming', 'environment/food', 'politics/eu-referendum', 'uk/uk', 'uk/birmingham', 'campaign/email/today-uk', 'global-development/food-security', 'world/protest', 'politics/tradeunions', 'world/eu', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/helena-horton', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/topstories', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/farming | BIODIVERSITY | 2024-02-19T22:30:29Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2007/jun/07/politics.greenpolitics | Text of G8 declaration on climate change | Here is the passage from the G8 declaration that discusses goals for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, as published today on the G8 website: We are therefore committed to taking strong and early action to tackle climate change in order to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Taking into account the scientific knowledge as represented in the recent IPCC reports, global greenhouse gas emissions must stop rising, followed by substantial global emission reductions. In setting a global goal for emissions reductions in the process we have agreed today involving all major emitters, we will consider seriously the decisions made by the European Union, Canada and Japan which include at least a halving of global emissions by 2050. | ['environment/environment', 'politics/politics', 'environment/green-politics', 'world/g8', 'politics/foreignpolicy', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'world/world', 'environment/ipcc', 'type/article'] | environment/ipcc | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2007-06-07T15:34:51Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
environment/2017/nov/22/queensland-land-clearing-shown-in-aerial-and-satellite-images | Queensland land-clearing shown in aerial and satellite images | The tree-clearing explosion occurring in Queensland, usually reported in seemingly impossibly large numbers of hectares or square kilometres, is now being documented using publicly available satellite and aerial photography, revealing the graphic disfigurement of the remaining untouched bushland there. In one property about an hour’s drive from Mackay, hundreds of hectares of previously untouched forest have been cleared, in a move that appears to have occurred outside even the lax laws currently in place in Queensland. Using Google Earth, the clearing can be seen in graphic detail. Drone footage taken this week by WWF shows the trees clearly bulldozed over. The area is a reef catchment, which means the clearing is likely to increase sediment run-off into the nearby streams, which will eventually flow into the Great Barrier Reef, damaging the delicate coral and seagrass ecosystems there. Tree clearing in Queensland is considered one of the primary drivers of pollution on the Great Barrier Reef. Unesco has put Australia on notice that it is at risk of losing the reef’s world heritage listing if steps aren’t taken. Koalas have been photographed in trees directly adjacent to the cleared area, suggesting the untouched forest was likely a habitat for the marsupials. Koalas are thought to have lost half their total population since European colonisation and, in some regions, such as south-east Queensland, their numbers have further declined by more than 75% since 1996. Analysis by Martin Taylor at WWF shows that large amounts of the clearing revealed on the satellite imagery is within 50m of water bodies that flow into the Great Barrier Reef. Trees in those areas are among the highest priority for protection, which would be provided by regulations proposed by Labor, even if they were just regrowth, rather than untouched remnant bushland as they are in this case. “It’s in a reef catchment. It’s just bulldozing large areas – hundreds of hectares. It’s appalling,” said Taylor. “This is primary forest – it’s never been cleared before. There are koalas all around it.” He said the area that has been cleared is hilly, so isn’t even useful for growing crops. “It’s just so the cows can get in.” Although the former Newman LNP government made clearing of this sort of land very easy, it still usually requires self-assessment and a notification. Taylor said it doesn’t appear that there has been any sort of notification made. Clearing from earlier years can also be starkly seen on satellite imagery. The following images from Clairview show completely lawful clearing, which removed large amounts of untouched bushland over the past three years. It was allowed under rules introduced by the Newman government, which made exceptions for clearing that allowed “high-value agriculture”. Taylor said the issue wasn’t about the particular landholders but rather the perception that anything goes, which has been created by the lax laws. “I think we’re looking at the aftermath of the Newman LNP government taking the axe to the laws,” he said. “We’re see escalating clearing … They can be forgiven for thinking that anything goes.” The former Queensland LNP government loosened land clearing laws in Queensland, unleashing a massive wave of broadscale clearing. The Palaszczuk Labor government attempted to pass legislation tightening the rules but failed to pass the bill. It is taking a similar policy to the election which it will aim to pass if elected for a second term. Since 2010, land-clearing rates in Queensland have been skyrocketing, with enormous jumps in the past year. Notifications for future clearing have jumped even higher in the past year, suggesting the rate may accelerate higher still ahead of any possible changes to the law. | ['environment/logging-and-land-clearing', 'australia-news/queensland', 'environment/forests', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/environment', 'technology/technology', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/michael-slezak', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/forests | BIODIVERSITY | 2017-11-21T17:00:26Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2009/jun/13/davi-yanomami | When Davi Kopenawa Yanomami leaves home, you know the world is in trouble | When Davi Kopenawa Yanomami leaves home you know something's wrong. He's a shaman, or traditional healer, from one of the world's largest largest groups of isolated peoples. Home is Watoriki, a village in the northern Amazon, deep in the forests and mountains near the Brazilian border with Venezuela. Davi leaves his orca, the great communal house where his village lives and sleeps, only to fight for his tribe. Twenty years ago, he came to London to alert the world to the plight of his people and the Brazilian rainforest. More than 20,000 goldminers had invaded Yanomami tribal lands and as well as cutting down forests and poisoning the rivers, they brought violence and disease. With no immunity, one in five Yanomamai died within a few years from measles, malaria and other illnesses. Davi's uncle was murdered by the goldminers and the tribe faced extinction. Davi was chosen to leave the village because he spoke Portuguese and had been in contact with white people, having worked with Funai, the Brazilian National Indian Foundation. He put on his toucan feathers, and accompanied by his shamanic spirtits, took boats and walked hundreds of miles first to Boa Vista and then to Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state. The Brazilian politicians did not help, he said, and it was only when he was invited to Europe and then America in 1989 that the Yanomamai became an international cause, with rock stars like Sting putting the tribe on the map. The international pressure worked. In 1992 the Brazilian government finally threw out the ranchers and goldminers from Yanomami land and demarcated an area the size of Portugal for the tribe. But now Davi is back in London with a terrifying warning about threats from miners, cattle ranchers and climate change. "History is repeating itself. Thousands of miners have come back," he told the Guardian in London this week. "They are repairing and expanding the old airstrips. The cattle ranchers are coming in, cutting down the forest. They are coming with planes and helicopters, guns and machines and rafts. They bring malaria and destroy the rivers. We are warning the world that without your help the Yanomami people will die. "The error of the whites is to take the riches of the land. You only want to take the riches. But the land is sacred. If the Yanomamai die the shamans will disappear and the governments will continue to take the land. You are worried about climate change. It is arriving. The rains come late, the sun behaves in a strange way. The world is ill. The lungs of the sky are polluted. We know it is happening. "We are shamans. We care for the planet, the sun, the moon the darkness and the light. Everything that exists we look after. You cannnot go on destroying nature. We will all die, burned and drowned, and that is the Yanomamai word." | ['environment/land-rights', 'environment/deforestation', 'environment/environment', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'tone/interview', 'world/brazil', 'environment/forests', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/amazon-rainforest', 'world/americas', 'type/article', 'profile/johnvidal'] | environment/amazon-rainforest | BIODIVERSITY | 2009-06-12T23:06:07Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2023/dec/12/uk-minister-departs-cop28-as-climate-talks-reach-crisis-point | UK minister departs Cop28 as climate talks reach crisis point | The UK minister in charge of Cop28 climate talks has returned to London, the Guardian has learned, leaving civil servants to finish the fraught negotiations in his absence. Graham Stuart, the minister of state for climate change, left Dubai on Tuesday morning to return to his duties as an MP, the government confirmed, even as the summit reached crisis point. A government spokesperson told the Guardian: “Minister Stuart has returned to the UK to attend parliament in his role as an MP. There will continue to be full official representation on the ground at the summit and Minister Stuart will continue to be the lead UK minister for negotiations with any final decisions agreed with him.” The spokesperson would not confirm whether Stuart had returned to take part in the vote on Rishi Sunak’s controversial policy on Rwanda. However, following widespread outrage, Sunak ordered Stuart back to Dubai for the final hours. The departure by a head of delegation for a leading developed country was met with shock and disbelief from campaigners and other delegations at the talks. One told the Guardian the UK had raised eyebrows at the talks with its seeming lack of commitment. The fortnight-long talks have reached a crisis, after a draft deal by the host country, United Arab Emirates, was rejected by scores of developed and developing country governments, including the UK. Although the text called for a reduction in the production and consumption of fossil fuels, it contained no obligation for countries to make such cuts, instead framing it as one of a list of options that countries “could” undertake. “That one word ‘could’ just kills everything,” said Eamon Ryan, Ireland’s environment minister, adding that the EU could walk out of the talks if the text did not improve. No end to negotiations is yet in sight, as countries are locked in disagreement over whether to phase out or phase down fossil fuels. The UK strongly rejected the text that was tabled by the presidency on Monday evening in Dubai, with Stuart visiting the UAE presidency to demand a toughening up of the text. The UK says it wants a full phase-out of fossil fuels to be agreed at these talks. However, critics have pointed out that the UK is also planning a new round of oil and gas licences in the North Sea. Sunak attended the talks briefly in their opening days, but was criticised for staying for less time talking to other leaders than he spent on the private jet that carried him to and from the conference. Claire Coutinho, the secretary of state for energy security and net zero, also attended for a few days at the beginning of the talks but left before the crunch negotiations began, leaving Stuart in charge of the UK’s delegation. Most other countries are represented at Cop28 by their equivalent of cabinet minister rank, so the UK was already unusual in having its delegation headed by a junior minister. Rebecca Newsom, of Greenpeace, told the Guardian: “This is an outrageous dereliction of leadership at the most critical point during this conference. This is the moment when we need to see bold political commitments to unlock the gridlock on the text.” She added: “Instead of fleeing Dubai, Stuart should be here to broker the compromises really needed to act upon developing countries’ urgent demands for more public finance to deliver a full fossil fuel phase out. “And he should be making clear that the UK, as a rich historically polluting country, is prepared to lead the way on delivering the renewable transition way from fossil fuels. The world is watching, and the Conservative government’s failure to lead at Cop28 is becoming increasingly obvious.” Chris Skidmore, the Tory MP who wrote a review of the government’s net zero policies, said: “The decisions taken at this Cop are far more important and vital for the future of all nations than the outcome of a vote tonight that will have little or no impact in the long term. “Politics is about priorities and our priorities should be demonstrating clear UK leadership on climate action, but you have to actually be in the room to lead. .” Ed Miliband, the shadow minister for energy security and net zero, said: “The sad truth is that, thanks to Rishi Sunak tanking Britain’s reputation on the world stage, many countries simply won’t even notice that his minister has disappeared. “Graham Stuart flying home in the middle of critical negotiations tells you everything you need to know about this Conservative government. They are weak, divided and chaotic and can’t stand up and fight for lower energy bills for the British people, can’t stand up and fight for investment into our country, and they can’t stand up and fight to provide climate leadership.” The Green MP Caroline Lucas said: “The government’s last shred of moral authority in tackling the climate emergency has been obliterated by this scandalous decision to leave Cop28 negotiations at the most critical moment. “Adding insult to injury, if true that the minister is leaving the summit in order to vote in favour of the utterly immoral Rwanda deal, it shows that Rishi Sunak prioritises saving his own skin over saving the planet.” | ['environment/cop28', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'politics/foreignpolicy', 'politics/politics', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/green-politics', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/fiona-harvey', 'profile/patrick-greenfield', 'profile/helena-horton', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/topstories', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/cop28 | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2023-12-12T12:06:59Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2015/mar/10/extreme-cod-feasting-as-only-the-norwegians-know-how | Extreme cod feasting – as only the Norwegians know how | Extreme cod feasting – as practised in northern Norway in the darkest days of the year – reaches its finest expression with a dish called Skreimølje. This is served with the warning that you should make sure there’s a bed near the table. You will need it to collapse on when you’ve finished this protein bomb, a nose-to tail guzzle of one of the world’s most nutrition-laden fish. These are skrei, which translates as “wanderer cod”. They are habitués of the Barents Sea, the stretch of water between northernmost Europe and the polar ice cap. Every year, the mature Arctic cod journey west along the Russian and Norwegian coast for several thousand miles, looking for somewhere to spawn. On the way, they gorge themselves with herring, while swimming hard to remain firm and lean. By March they are, in eating terms, at their very best. Out on a fjord off Sommarøy, an ice-bound island an hour from Europe’s northernmost city, Tromsø, a bunch of skrei-loving British-based chefs and I were given a chance to catch one as guests of the Norwegian Seafood Council. Most skrei are now line-caught, rather than netted. They cannot be bruised or marked and they must be properly drained of blood to qualify as what’s now a trademarked premium fish. Trawled cod, even though sold in the fishmonger as “fresh”, may have lain around on ice in a ship’s hold for 10 days or more. Line-catching, of course, avoids the discards and other sad waste that comes with trawling. We baited our hooks with chunks of herring and put the lines down in the Arctic twilight. It was busy out on the blue-black water – like a fishing trip at SeaWorld. Jostling on the water for the migrating herring was a school of humpback whales, none of them with much regard for traffic rules. An upright black dagger, an Orca fin at least 4ft high, circled the little trawler near us as it pulled in its haul. There was, though, no shortage of fish. Chefs yelped as they pulled in cod after cod: Simon Hulstone of The Elephant in Torquay claimed the biggest (it got away), but Bocca di Lupo’s Jacob Kenedy proved pretty good too. He landed half a dozen of the big-bellied, green-backed monsters. Not much skill was needed. When I got a go with the rod I had three fish on it within a minute: one was nearly as long as my leg. Back at the fish factory, the catch was landed, gutted and sorted, the best of the fish reserved for the skrei label. The cod heads, some as big as a Labrador’s, went off to be salted and dried, to be exported to the markets of west Africa. Above the salting room, we watched as our cod was cooked by two women from the village in traditional style: Viking one-pot cuisine. You can’t get complex cooking facilities in a longboat. So the cod is boiled: the fillets of the glossy white, the pale pink roe, the cheeks. For sauce, there’s the cod’s liver, chopped and simmered in its own oil. That was poured over the rest, with a bonne bouche of cod tongues (fried in cod oil) on the side. The Norwegians eat this with flatbread and strong red wine. It was very good – the cod flaking into curls like good surf, the meat squeaky on the teeth, and the cod oil sauce buttery and delicate – nothing like the stuff I got dosed with as a kid who needed “building up”. This is very healthy – in a vitamin D-starved world, where 80% of Britons are deficient and the Dickensian disease rickets has made a comeback, you could do worse than going on a skreimølje regime. According to a Norwegian analysis, one plate of it contains the equivalent of 12 days’ dosage of vitamin D. It may be this that keeps the Arctic Norwegians going in the 58 days every year when the sun never rises. Notably, they don’t guzzle Prozac the way the rest of northern Europe does in winter. Not all the chefs were convinced by skreimølje, but they were sold on skrei. Jacob Kenedy left Norway determined to make a terrine with the slippery cod livers. Michel Roux Jr, a fan of the “snowy, translucent flakes” has been serving skrei at Mayfair’s Le Gavroche for a couple of years, most notably roasted with a teriyaki sauce. Simon Hulstone poaches the cod’s tongues as a bonne bouche, but his favourite way of serving is a cod fillet pan-roasted with lardo ibérico (cured ham fat), and a sauce of pureed parsnip and other sweet things. Hulstone’s recipe is here) and you can get hold of skrei cod at Booths supermarkets and selected fishmongers including London’s Moxon’s and Steve Hatt. Still, I’m not sure skrei needs much prettification. Viking-style was pretty good, the greatest pleasure being in finding out what cod, really fresh and beautifully treated, actually tastes like. It is a long way from a fish finger. | ['food/fish', 'food/scandinavian', 'lifeandstyle/wordofmouth', 'food/food', 'world/norway', 'world/europe-news', 'environment/poles', 'tone/features', 'lifeandstyle/nutrition', 'lifeandstyle/health-and-wellbeing', 'food/seafood', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/blog', 'profile/alexrenton'] | environment/poles | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2015-03-10T08:25:05Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2009/feb/24/whaling-iceland-watirose-marks-and-spencer | UK supermarkets protest over Iceland's whaling quota increase | UK supermarket chains Waitrose and Marks & Spencer are protesting to the Icelandic government over its controversial decision in January to increase the island's whaling quota more than sixfold. Waitrose has already questioned its Icelandic fish suppliers to check they have no links to local whalers and written to the Icelandic government, while M&S will write a similar letter this week demanding that the whaling decision be reversed. "We will write to the new fisheries minister to restate our position, which is that we do not trade with businesses that are involved in the commercial slaughter of sea mammals," said Andrew Mallison, seafood specialist at M&S. "We will also ask that the minister rescinds the new policy." On 26 January, the Icelandic government decided to increase the whaling quota to 100 minke whales and 150 fin whales in 2009, from 38 minke whales and no fin whales in 2008. The new government that came to power amid protests over the country's economic collapse has upheld the increased quotas. Waitrose executives travelled to Reykjavik two weeks ago to ensure that local suppliers do not have links to whaling. All the cod and haddock Waitrose sells in its stores has been sourced from Iceland since 1999. The retailer also buys some lemon sole, plaice, skate and monkfish from the island nation. "I can categorically confirm that none of our Icelandic suppliers have links, directly or indirectly, with the whaling industry," said Jeremy Langley, specialist fish buyer at Waitrose. During the visit, Langley and his colleagues met with fisheries minister Steingrimur Sigfusson and other government officials to ask them to reverse the decision. "We told them of the difficult decisions we could have to make if the decision was not reversed," he explains. Waitrose has also written formally to the government. "We wrote that we were concerned with the decision to increase the quota, that our customers have told us in the past they do not approve of whaling, and that we wanted the decision to increase the quota to be reversed," said Langley. He did not elaborate on the steps the retailer would take if the decision was not reversed, but he said it was unlikely the supermarket would stop buying fish from Iceland. "We don't support the idea of a boycott. It's important that we source our fish from well-managed, sustainable fisheries and Iceland has one of them," he explains, adding that he plans to travel to Iceland in the near future to try to talk with Sigfusson again. "The country of origin of our fish is clearly labelled and we will tell our customers about what's going on," says Langley. "So it is up to them to make an informed choice about whether they want to buy Icelandic fish." But a boycott of Icelandic products is not the solution, said Willie Mackenzie, oceans campaigner at Greenpeace UK. "Iceland is one of the few places in the world where fisheries are well-managed, so it's important that we support these efforts rather than make it more difficult." Iceland resumed commercial whaling in 2006, despite an international moratorium put in place in 1986 to protect the species from extinction. | ['environment/whaling', 'environment/fishing', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'world/iceland', 'world/world', 'business/marksspencer', 'business/business', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'business/supermarkets', 'tone/news', 'food/food', 'environment/ethical-living', 'world/europe-news', 'environment/whales', 'environment/cetaceans', 'type/article', 'profile/gwladysfouche'] | environment/cetaceans | BIODIVERSITY | 2009-02-24T15:02:55Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2024/mar/13/playing-thriving-reef-sounds-underwater-speakers-save-damaged-corals | Playing thriving reef sounds on underwater speakers ‘could save damaged corals’ | Underwater speakers that broadcast the hustle and bustle of thriving coral could bring life back to more damaged and degraded reefs that are in danger of becoming ocean graveyards, researchers say. Scientists working off the US Virgin Islands in the Caribbean found that coral larvae were up to seven times more likely to settle at a struggling reef where they played recordings of the snaps, groans, grunts and scratches that form the symphony of a healthy ecosystem. “We’re hoping this may be something we can combine with other efforts to put the good stuff back on the reef,” said Nadège Aoki at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. “You could leave a speaker out for a certain amount of time and it could be attracting not just coral larvae but fish back to the reef.” The world has lost half its coral reefs since the 1950s through the devastating impact of global heating, overfishing, pollution, habitat loss and outbreaks of disease. The hefty declines have fuelled efforts to protect remaining reefs through approaches that range from replanting with nursery-raised corals to developing resilient strains that can withstand warming waters. Aoki and her colleagues took another tack, building on previous research which showed that coral larvae swim towards reef sounds. They set up underwater speakers at three reefs off St John, the smallest of the US Virgin Islands, and measured how many coral larvae, held in sealed containers of filtered sea water, settled on to pieces of rock-like ceramic in the containers up to 30 metres from the speakers. While the researchers installed speakers at all three sites, they only played sounds from a thriving reef at one: the degraded Salt Pond reef, which was bathed in the marine soundscape for three nights. The other two sites, the degraded Cocoloba and the healthier Tektite reefs were included for comparison. When coral larvae are released into the water column they are carried on the currents, and swim freely, before finding a spot to settle. Once they drop to the ocean floor, they become fixed to the spot and – if they survive – mature into adults. Writing in the Royal Society Open Science journal, the researchers describe how, on average, 1.7 times more coral larvae settled at the Salt Pond reef than at the other sites where no reef sounds were played. The settlement rates at Salt Pond dropped with distance from the speaker, suggesting the broadcasts were responsible. While the results are promising, Aoki said more work is afoot to understand whether other coral species respond to reef sounds in the same way, and whether the corals thrive after settling. “You have to be very thoughtful about the application of this technology,” she said. “You don’t want to encourage them to settle where they will die. It really has to be a multi-pronged effort with steps in place to ensure the survival of these corals and their growth over time.” Prof Steve Simpson, a marine biologist at the University of Bristol who was involved in another study that found coral larvae swam towards reef sounds, has been using audio recordings to attract fish larvae to reefs for 20 years. He said the work was “exciting” and demonstrated how acoustic playback could promote coral settlement at reef habitats. “We are in a race against time to secure the future of coral reefs while we drive for net zero and start to fix the climate,” Simpson said. “Coral reefs are the first marine ecosystems we could lose to climate change, which means they are also the first we can save. If we can save reefs, we can save anything.” • This article was amended on 14 March 2024 to clarify that Prof Steve Simpson was involved in a different study than that carried out by Nadège Aoki and her colleagues. | ['environment/coral', 'environment/environment', 'science/science', 'environment/oceans', 'world/caribbean', 'environment/marine-life', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/iansample', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/topstories', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/marine-life | BIODIVERSITY | 2024-03-13T06:00:07Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
global-development-professionals-network/2014/aug/14/afghanistan-solar-power-new-zealand-aid | After the Taliban: taking solar energy to remote parts of Afghanistan | Carved into the cliffs behind Bamiyan town centre in Afghanistan's central highlands, massive holes scar the homeland of the Hazara people, a Shia minority who live between the Hindu Kush and Koh-i-Baba mountain ranges. The hollows once housed statues of Buddha, until the Taliban infamously set dynamite to them in 2001. But within a few kilometres of these monuments to tyranny stand symbols of renewal – rows of solar panels bringing stable electricity to the homes of local people for the first time – and with them the chance of improving their lives. The United Nations Development Programme identified the lack of stable, affordable power as the largest obstacle to development in Bamiyan Province, but it is one of many. The Taliban destroyed most of the region's few schools. There is now just one sealed road and droughts are common. The deprivation "is hard to put into words," says Besmellah Jahed, the director of the Rehabilitation and Social Development Organisation, a local NGO. "They've had 30 years of disappointment, 30 years of failed hope and promises. Hospitals, roads and airports - everything you need for a community to develop, they've been waiting for it to arrive," says Tony Woods, a New Zealand entrepreneur whose company Sustainable Energy Services International (Sesi) built the solar power system. Before the solar installation started operating in December, locals had to rely on an expensive, haphazard system of neighbourhood generators, kerosene lamps and tiny, private solar panels to access even the most rudimentary power supply. The Taliban massacres and destruction of the Buddhas ensured the province remains deeply antagonistic toward the counter-insurgency, making it a relatively stable oasis in the fractious countryside. This security has created an environment that encourages investment in infrastructure. Sesi says the 1MW facility is central Asia's largest off-grid solar plant. It powers 2500 homes around the provincial capital, Bamiyan. During the winter months the cells are backed up for a few hours each night by a diesel generator. The New Zealand government, whose army administered the region during the western occupation, backed the installation with a US$14.1m grant. Building in a province surrounded on all sides by war and mountains, with no existing power infrastructure, was a huge logistical challenge, says Woods. Every pole, wire, panel and frame had to be imported. His team of local and foreign workers had to contest with corrupt customs officials, a supply road that sporadically fell under the control of insurgents, the closure of the Pakistani border for eight months and winters so cold their concrete would not set. The project also had to overcome local scepticism bred by bitter experiences. "They wanted to know if we were going to steal all the money [from their power bills] and take it back to New Zealand," says Woods. There was also concern that electricity rates would be too high, despite the fact that residents were paying some of the highest prices in the world. Overcoming scepticism was a case of build it and they will come, says Woods. "When this project was started, people were doubtful about how much electricity would cost," agrees Khalil Rahman Anwari an employee of the Agency for Assistance and Development of Afghanistan. "After the project started, the demand increased." Locals still think prices are too high, pointing out that electricity in Kabul is significantly cheaper. Most people can only run a few appliances. But Anwari says the access to reliable, affordable light makes possible the most simple but important of activities, like homework during the dark winter months. The Afghan government now owns and administers Bamiyan's power supply. Local technicians, including many women, have been trained to operate it. The system uses pre-paid credit, which users buy from banks. This avoids the risk of meter readers being tempted to offer favours to neighbours in the tight-knit community. The accountancy of the project is transparent and can be audited by Sesi and the New Zealand government remotely. Woods says it was important to create a system large enough to become self-sufficient and fund its own growth. But New Zealand's aid commitments to Bamiyan have now been scaled back and only around 5% of the estimated 418,000 people in Bamiyan Province currently receive the project's electricity. Jahed, who was born in Bamiyan, says growth into other parts of the province is imperative. People have already started crowding into the areas supplied by power. The provincial government had promised those who lack power would be supplied by generators, but this has not happened. "Bamiyan people are very kind and appreciate any minor development," he says. "But this is not sufficient. We suggest the extension of this project." Read more stories like this: • Chile's solar market is leading the way in South America • Could renewable energy make rural electrification a reality? • Quiz: what do you know about renewable energy? Join the community of global development professionals and experts. Become a GDPN member to get more stories like this direct to your inbox | ['world/afghanistan', 'global-development/aid', 'global-development/global-development', 'environment/solarpower', 'global-development/access-to-energy', 'global-development-professionals-network/series/energy-access', 'environment/energy', 'global-development-professionals-network/renewable-energy-access-and-investment', 'working-in-development/working-in-development', 'type/article', 'global-development-professionals-network/partnership', 'world/newzealand', 'global-development/conflict-and-development', 'profile/karl-mathiesen'] | environment/solarpower | ENERGY | 2014-08-14T14:41:00Z | true | ENERGY |
politics/2019/jan/24/no-deal-horrific-welsh-farmers-brexit-meat-eu-countries | 'No deal would be horrific': Welsh farmers brace themselves for Brexit | Wyn Evans’s family has farmed in the hills of Ceredigion, west Wales, for five centuries. This is a remote, wet and often cold corner of the UK, a tough place to live and work but the biggest threat at the moment comes not in the shape of the winter storms. “Brexit is what’s worrying us at the moment. This is a very difficult time for farmers,” said Evans, 55, who rears sheep and cattle with his wife Nicole and son Gwynfor. “It’s a job to plan because nobody knows what’s going to happen. We’re on the cusp of lambing just now. I can’t tell you if I’ll have a lucrative market for our lambs or not. You have to carry on even though you don’t know what’s around the corner. “If there is no deal it would be horrific for farmers, especially in the sheep sector. If we have tariffs of 40/50/60% we wouldn’t be able to compete. We would suffer serious hardship. When we had foot and mouth and the borders closed the price of lamb collapsed. That’s the reality. The losses to farmers and to the rural community as a whole would be huge.” Only 5% of lamb produced in Wales is consumed in the country, according to Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales – and up to 40% is exported out of the UK. More than 90% of these exports are to the EU. Evans’s lambs initially go to an abattoir across the hills in Llanidloes. The prime cuts – the legs and shoulders – end up on supermarket shelves in the UK. However, the European market is vital for so-called “carcass balance” – the bits of lamb that are not so popular in the UK are exported. The meat from lighter lambs produced by Evans and his colleagues is also popular in Portugal and Italy. Brexit has already prompted Evans to reduce his flock – from around 400 to 370. “We’ve cut down on the sheep slightly,” he said. To try to compensate he has boosted the number of beef cattle he rears. “There’s a lot of young cattle around the place,” he said. The UK is a net importer of beef so Evans is calculating that the beef price may hold up. Brexit follows a difficult 12 months weather-wise for farmers such as Evans. Last March it was cold – the beast from east bit viciously here – and was followed by a hot summer. “Our spare bales went last spring. Then we had that horrendously dry summer. The grass didn’t grow well, the crops were light. We’ve got nothing to stockpile. We are struggling this winter for forage.” The longevity of his family in this area, just south-east of Aberystwyth, means Evans can put Brexit and its possible impact on farming on this spot into a historical perspective. Age-old maps and records make it is clear that grain was grown here in the 19th century when the corn laws imposed tariffs on imported food. When the corn laws were repealed by Tory Sir Robert Peel (overcoming the opposition of most of his party), it was deemed unviable to grow grain on this soggy, steep land. “What we can do very well is grow grass,” said Evans. “The most efficient way of using the land is to graze animals. That is the best way of producing a world-class protein.” Evans voted to stay in the EU. “I was an avid remainer. I’m very frustrated over how things have gone. I would have thought by now we would have had clarification. Are we going to have unfettered access to that very important market that gives my business security moving forward? We need to know. Parliament and so many individuals within it are so indecisive. Party politics has played too much of a role. We should have had a coalition, a collaboration at the start of this process.” Evans, who votes Plaid Cymru or Liberal Democrat, said he had backed the doomed deal that Theresa May put before parliament. “For agriculture and manufacturing in Wales it was the best deal. It was a good job of a bad job. I’ve got qualms about a second referendum. If it went the same way as the previous one, I don’t know were we’d go then. We’d be in total chaos – ungovernable. No politician would know what to do. At the moment I like the look of a Norway plus deal. I don’t know if she would get that through parliament.” Evans, who is chairman of the NFU Cymru livestock board, says that if the farmers struggle, the rural economy will be harshly hit. “I spend all the money from the farm within a 20-mile radius. The feed merchants, the builders, the mechanics are all local.” The farm is run by the three family members but they also employ outside contractors to shear the sheep and cut hedges. “There are lot of people out there relying on the farmers,” he said. Evans is optimistic the farm will survive whatever Brexit brings. “We’ve been here a long, long time,” he said. “As a boy I remember following my grandfather around the farm as he did his chores. From an early age I wanted to be a farmer. Within this area this is what we do, this is who we are. Farming and the rural community is my passion. We should be proud of what we do and what we produce.” “Last winter when the beast from the east was hitting hard, most of us were about to start lambing. We looked after our animals to the highest standard even though the elements were horrific and within our communities we helped out clearing roads for no monetary gain. We did that because we’re passionate about the communities we live in. Rural communities gel when there’s a crisis. Long may it last.” | ['politics/series/brexit-frontline', 'uk/wales', 'uk/uk', 'politics/politics', 'environment/farming', 'business/fooddrinks', 'food/meat', 'food/lamb', 'food/beef', 'business/business', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/stevenmorris', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | environment/farming | BIODIVERSITY | 2019-01-24T06:01:05Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
us-news/2015/oct/04/south-carolina-flood-governor-nikki-haley-deaths-thousand-year | Eight dead as South Carolina hit by 'once in a millennium' floods | A “once-in-a-millennium” downpour has flooded large parts of South Carolina, causing at least seven deaths. The storm had dumped more than 18 inches (45 cm) of rain in parts of central South Carolina by early Sunday. The state climatologist forecast another 2 to 6 inches (5 to 15 cm) through Monday as the rainfall began to slacken. The state’s governor, Nikki Haley, said parts of the state were hit with rainfall that would be expected to occur once in 1,000 years, with the Congaree river running at its highest level since 1936. “This is the worst flooding in the low country [the region around the South Carolina coast] for a thousand years, that’s how big this is,” Haley told a news conference. “That’s what South Carolina is dealing with right now. “Our goal is all hands on deck. If you are in your house, stay in your house,” Haley told a news conference. “This is not something to be out taking pictures of.” Six weather-related deaths were reported in South Carolina, three of them from traffic accidents. Officials reported another two deaths in North Carolina. Though hurricane Joaquin did not hit the Carolinas and the rest of the southern US east coast as expected, instead passing out to sea over the Atlantic after battering the Bahamas, thousands in the state were still left without power by the rain. Officials in the state capital, Columbia, said 100 people had been rescued by mid-morning Sunday from vehicles after trying to cross flooded roads. Police said another 200 rescue calls were pending and state officials reported a total of 200 swift-water rescues around South Carolina. Haley said all interstate highways in and around Columbia would be closed, as 600 national guardsmen were deployed to help with rescues and evacuations. On Saturday, president Barack Obama declared a state of emergency for South Carolina, freeing up federal funds to be used to tackle the floods. On Sunday the state’s the emergency management spokesman, Eric Rousey, told CNN South Carolina was dealing with “a historic flood the likes of which we haven’t seen”. High winds toppled a tree that hit a vehicle and killed a passenger on Thursday near Fayetteville in North Carolina. Three people died in weather-related traffic accidents in South Carolina on Friday and Saturday, the state highway patrol said, and a drowning in Spartanburg, South Carolina, was also linked to the storm. On Sunday most rescue efforts were centered on Dorchester and Charleston. The city of Georgetown was also heavily affected. Amidst record rainfall across the state, Charleston mayor Joe Riley told the Associated Press it appeared the torrential rain has passed but moderate rain could continue for 24 hours, and said he had never seen such flooding in his 40 years as mayor. The rainfall in Charleston on Saturday was measured at 11.5in, a record. “This was a record storm,” Riley said. “I feel very fortunate that we were able to get through this as well as we have.” Haley’s reference to the flooding being the “worst in a thousand years” did not mean that South Carolina, which became a colony in 1663 and a state in 1788, had not seen such flooding since 1015 AD. The reference was to the expectation among forecasters that in any given 1,000 years, such flooding could reasonably be expected to occur only once. | ['us-news/south-carolina', 'environment/flooding', 'environment/environment', 'world/natural-disasters', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/world', 'world/hurricanes', 'us-news/us-weather', 'type/article', 'profile/martin-pengelly'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2015-10-05T01:15:40Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
commentisfree/2023/aug/12/tory-sunak-anti-green-drive-general-election-unity-division | Sunak’s anti-green drive tells us this: we’re heading for the stupidest general election yet | Zoe Williams | As Rishi Sunak transforms himself into the driver’s champion and rightwingers savage net zero targets as a fascist plot of the wokerati, get ready for the thing you thought impossible: a general election even stupider than the last. Essentially, it’s looking as if it will be a referendum on whether climate change exists. What better time for such a dumb question, than right when we can all see it? It won’t always be expressed so simply. Sometimes it will be: “Who will stand up for the humble driver of diesel cars, already squeezed in so many directions, in ways that I, not even quite a billionaire, can totally understand?” Other times it will be: “What can we do about Just Stop Oil protesters, who pose an existential threat to society with their vile and undemocratic tactics?” Probably only at the Faragist fringes will people openly repudiate the goal of net zero, while the Conservative core picks more contestable battles on low-traffic neighbourhoods, oil and gas licences, heat pumps. Policies hold very little interest for Conservatives, still less ideas: they want to set Britain’s the mood music. Tory arguments as they battle for votes will be so stupid as to make you despair, and some mornings you’ll wake up thinking humanity is a blight, and we should concentrate on preserving the planet for every species besides us. But that doesn’t mean they won’t work. The case against environmentalism looks worse than unwinnable; it looks like electoral suicide, with 71% of the British public is in favour of the net zero target. Indeed, being a Conservative is beginning to look rather niche. Labour has pulled ahead of the Tories decisively, consistently leading by 20 points in the polls. Research commissioned by Channel 4 this week projected a landslide victory for Keir Starmer and the Conservatives reduced to 90 seats, with high-profile losses including Sunak himself and 17 cabinet ministers. In an election fought at any time between now and January 2025, on normal terms, one fully costed manifesto versus another, a suite of issues discussed in a sober fashion, there is no plausible route to victory for Sunak. But that’s not how modern Tories work. Rather, they set out their stall in such a way as to destroy the unity of their opponents, torch any faith in evidence, facts and expertise, and spread a sense of hopelessness and frustration. They want voters walking into the ballot box in the spirit of “make it go away”. If this sounds tough to pull off, from such a weak party, disgraced in so many ways, running on intellectual fumes, consider how much it has already achieved. Only three months ago, Labour’s policy was to block all new oil and gas projects in the North Sea. It wasn’t as radical as its original green new deal pledge – £28bn a year to tackle the climate crisis – and it didn’t hold the same promise of change as last year’s conference pledge to set up Great British Energy, publicly owned and green. Nevertheless, it was something a large number of people could unite behind. You can easily imagine a Conservative environmentalist and a leftwing Green both lending their vote to a party that promised to leave fossil fuels in the ground. Then Sunak said he would issue 100 new oil and gas licences. It had nothing to do with bills or energy security or Putin or the cost of living; these projects wouldn’t even be operational for five to seven years at the earliest. From an energy perspective, the policy is nonsensical, since nobody in the oil and gas industries thinks for a second that Sunak will win the next election. From a geological perspective, it is impractical: the North Sea is a mature oil province, which means there are likely to be very few large oilfields left to discover. Any that are left will be small, and few companies will be interested. Indeed, even in the last two rounds of licences, interest was pretty meagre, with only about one-third of the blocks on offer attracting bids; the super-majors are selling up their North Sea assets, and the smaller companies buying them are not interested in long-term, capital-intensive exploration. These licences had only one purpose, which was to back Starmer into a corner where he had to say whether or not he would revoke them – which sure enough, he wouldn’t, because respecting a contract is more important than the climate. So he marked himself out as a lukewarm technocrat without the passion or urgency that the battle for the planet needs, and then it got worse: criticised, perfectly legitimately, by Just Stop Oil, Starmer called them “contemptible” for beliefs that are indistinguishable from those of the UN secretary general. It’s pointless hand-wringing about these obvious traps that Starmer obediently walks into, but this is the game we’re in now – one in which every Tory move, whether it’s camouflaged as policy or delivered in hate speech, is a bid to disrupt the unity of progressive voters. I do not think it will succeed. But I didn’t think it would succeed in 2019, either. Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'politics/conservatives', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/just-stop-oil', 'politics/keir-starmer', 'politics/rishi-sunak', 'environment/environment', 'politics/politics', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/comment', 'profile/zoewilliams', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-opinion'] | environment/just-stop-oil | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2023-08-12T07:00:11Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
australia-news/2015/jul/13/barnaby-joyce-to-retain-portfolio-despite-criticism-of-shenhua-mine-approval | Barnaby Joyce to retain portfolio despite criticism of Shenhua mine approval | Tony Abbott says he is getting “double the marketing advantage” by campaigning for the agriculture white paper without his agriculture minister, Barnaby Joyce, who will promote the document in a different location. The prime minister said on Monday that Joyce would “absolutely” retain his position as agriculture minister despite his outspoken criticism of Greg Hunt’s decision as environment minister to approve the Shenhua Watermark coalmine in the Liverpool Plains in New South Wales. Abbott was visiting a farm in Tirrannaville in New South Wales to promote the government’s blueprint for the agricultural sector, released just over a week ago. The prime minister was joined on Monday by the local Liberal MP for Hume, Angus Taylor, but not the agriculture minister, who savaged the coalmine’s approval last week as evidence that “the world has gone mad”. At a media conference, Abbott credited Joyce with bringing “enormous passion and commitment to the task” of developing the agricultural competitiveness white paper, but the prime minister faced questions about why the minister was absent from the event. “Barnaby is doing his job,” the prime minister said. “He’s doing his job extremely well and his job is going out to market the agriculture white paper where he is, just as it’s my job to market the agriculture white paper where I am. We are both doing our job to the best of our ability and as far as I’m concerned that means we get double the marketing advantage on a day like today.” Abbott backed Joyce’s cabinet position, saying the agriculture minister was “passionate, committed, knowledgeable and this white paper is a tribute to his good work”. Joyce spoke to local reporters at a media conference in his electorate of New England on Monday morning. The Watermark coalmine, to be operated by Chinese firm Shenhua, would be in Joyce’s local electorate of New England, but he has made clear that he objected to the proposal in his capacity as agriculture minister. The Watermark project manager, Paul Jackson, accused Joyce of “sabre-rattling” and being “a loony”. “A big part of this is about us being Chinese and state-owned, and him being naive and xenophobic and not liking Chinese state-owned enterprises buying farmland or developing resources in Australia,” Jackson told the Australian newspaper on Monday. “The wider benefit of this mine is that you can engender a long-term relationship with China and they will want to take your agricultural goods from the other one million hectares of the Liverpool Plains.” Joyce reaffirmed on Monday that he would not resign from the cabinet and he said he found Jackson’s comments to be “desperately disappointing”. “I don’t see myself as a xenophobic loony, as he so politely points out, but what I do think that shows is the rather abrupt nature of Mr Jackson,” Joyce said. Joyce questioned the former New South Wales Labor government’s decision to grant an exploration licence to the mine proponents and said he had recently written to the Liberal premier, Mike Baird, urging him to prevent the project from going ahead. Hunt also pointed to “the New South Wales Labor decision to open up the land” as he attempted to defend the federal environmental approval. However, the former NSW Labor premier Kristina Keneally said on Twitter that the Shenhua mine exploration licence expired in 2012 and was renewed by NSW Liberal government. She described this as “an inconvenient fact left out by [Steven] Ciobo & Hunt today”. Hunt defended his decision – saying he had “put in place the toughest conditions in history” – but also backed Joyce’s right to voice his “longstanding view”. “He’s got a longstanding commitment that predates being a minister. It wouldn’t be reasonable to get him to suddenly pretend that he doesn’t have his views,” Hunt told ABC Radio National on Monday. “He’s a really good man. He’s an honest and decent man and I want to stand up for him.” Hunt told reporters he had spoken to Joyce twice in the past week and they had “an incredibly positive civil relationship”. Hunt insisted, however, that the mine was “not on prime agricultural land”. Joyce, the deputy Nationals leader, said in a Facebook post last Wednesday that he had never supported the Shenhua mine because “it is ridiculous that you would have a major mine in the midst of Australia’s best agricultural land”. “I think the world has gone mad when apparently you cannot build a house at Moore Creek because of White Box grassy woodlands but you can build a super mine in the middle of the Breeza Plains,” he wrote. Labor’s agriculture spokesman, Joel Fitzgibbon, said the government was divided on the question of whether the mine was on prime agricultural land. “The warring ministers are causing more confusion, fear and uncertainty in the communities of the Liverpool Plains,” Fitzgibbon said. “Greg Hunt must quickly move to clarify the situation and in doing so, prove his agriculture minister wrong. He must do so by releasing the documentation and scientific evidence he has relied on in making his decision.” The Victorian Liberal party president, Michael Kroger, said Joyce’s public comments were “extremely unusual” for a cabinet minister. “Some people say it’s just Barnaby being Barnaby,” Kroger told Sky News on Monday. “Is it in accordance with the Westminster principles? No.” Kroger said there were some cases of “authorised or allowable” cases where ministers from time to time could disagree with government policy. He cited the example of Western Australian ministers who had strong views about distribution of goods and services tax revenue. The trade minister, Andrew Robb, played down the government divisions on Sunday, saying Joyce felt “enormously strongly” about the issue and the prime minister’s role was to manage a cabinet full of “type A” personalities. | ['australia-news/barnaby-joyce', 'australia-news/tony-abbott', 'australia-news/australian-politics', 'australia-news/coalition', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'science/agriculture', 'environment/mining', 'australia-news/new-south-wales', 'environment/coal', 'australia-news/greg-hunt', 'australia-news/national-party', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/daniel-hurst', 'profile/shalailah-medhora'] | environment/mining | ENERGY | 2015-07-13T03:20:12Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2020/jul/13/country-diary-the-solid-gatekeeper-of-an-ancient-woodland | Country diary: the solid gatekeeper of an ancient woodland | A line of wind-bent hawthorns marks the boundary of this upland field. Pale micro moths fly up from the grass as we walk past newly shorn sheep. From the bright light of this open land, it’s a contrast to enter the green world of Tony’s Patch, a Northumberland Wildlife Trust reserve on the banks of the Honeycrook Burn. By the gate into this ancient semi-natural woodland stands a Scots pine, its solid trunk leaning slightly as if to protect the entrance. We tread quietly into this sheltered space. Beneath a planked bridge, the burn has all but dried up. Dulled wood sorrel leaves, dusty dog’s mercury and seedpods of bluebells hint at how the footpath looked in spring. Now, there is scented meadowsweet, flowering nettles and hedge woundwort among head-high grasses. A chiffchaff calls, insistent. A buzzard wheels and cries above the canopy and out of sight. The oldest trees are the oaks, gesticulating with wild limbs, their sprawling branches coated in moss. The twigs of bird cherry are tented by ermine moth caterpillars, eating the leaves inside their protective webs. Ash trees show signs of dieback and, earlier in the year, at the foot of coppiced hazel you could find the chlorophyll-less toothwort, Lathraea squamaria. A side path leads between ferns to a massive slanting boulder. Fixed to it is a plaque dedicated to the naturalist Tony Clissold, who tragically drowned in a local lake while trying to get closeup photographs of whooper swans. Named in his memory, this wood was given to the trust in 1966 by his brother. Five irregular cup shapes, low down on the boulder’s flank, may be rock art or may have occurred naturally. Woodruff, herb Paris and sanicle indicate the age of this woodland. Honeysuckle vines scramble up through outgrown coppice. Ferns and mosses colonise decaying branches as we move between light and shade. In a glade, the flat umbels of tall hogweeds are clustered with butterflies. They move restlessly as we pass, ringlets and meadow browns, in the air, on the flowers, above our heads – more butterflies than I’ve seen for a long while. | ['environment/forests', 'environment/series/country-diary', 'environment/environment', 'environment/butterflies', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/insects', 'uk/ruralaffairs', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/susie-white', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/forests | BIODIVERSITY | 2020-07-13T04:30:01Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
culture/2024/sep/11/save-the-children-pulls-out-of-science-museum-event-over-sponsor-concerns | Save the Children pulls out of Science Museum event over sponsor concerns | Save the Children has pulled out of an event at the Science Museum in London after coming under pressure from its supporters over the institution’s sponsors. The charity said it had decided to withdraw from an evening event called Journey of Life Lates on 11 September “following concerns from supporters about one of the museum’s sponsors, in the context of current public campaigns”. It did not name the sponsor in question. However, the museum has been the subject of criticism over its sponsorship by Adani Green Energy, part of the Indian coal-mining and energy conglomerate Adani Group. Another part of the group, Adani Defence and Aerospace, has a partnership with the Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems, and longstanding criticism by campaigners of the sponsorship arrangement has intensified since the beginning of the war in Gaza.. In a statement on Instagram, Save the Children said that its planned participation in the event had been “to raise awareness of its global maternal health work, including in Gaza”. The charity has previously called on the UK government to suspend all arms exports and licences to Israel “given the clear risk they might be used to commit or facilitate violations of international humanitarian law”. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, the campaigner and food writer, who was also originally scheduled to appear in Wednesday’s event, said in July that he had pulled out after being made aware of the museum’s links with Adani and BP, another supporter, citing climate concerns. “Like many of you, no doubt, I just made the assumption that a hallowed institution like this would be on the right side of history when it comes to the climate. It turns out not,” he said on Instagram. The charity Action Against Hunger, also scheduled to take part, said it would be participating in the Lates event “providing information on severe acute malnutrition in children for a stand at the event. However, we will not be participating in any further events hosted by the Science Museum.” It added: “Our focus is on raising awareness about malnutrition, particularly in children, which is critical to our mission.” It emerged in July that the museum was ending its long-running relationship with the Norwegian oil conglomerate Equinor, sponsor of its Wonderlab children’s gallery, over its climate record. Emails obtained by campaigners showed that the museum’s director, Ian Blatchford, told Equinor in 2022 that it was in breach of the museum’s pledge to ensure its sponsors complied with the 2015 Paris climate agreement goal of limiting global heating to 1.5C. In other correspondence, the museum confirmed that sponsors in breach of climate commitments and unable to change course would be subject to gradual disengagement. Parents for Palestine, a campaign group that has led protests at the museum over the sponsorship deal, said: “We are pleased that Save the Children have pulled out from the Science Museum Lates following pressure from our campaign. We hope that mounting pressure will cause the Science Museum to divest from Adani.” A Science Museum spokesperson said: “Engaging our audiences with the major challenges of our time is a priority for the museum, and earlier this year we opened a new gallery exploring the urgent energy transition away from fossil fuels that the world needs to see, made possible by generous sponsorship from Adani Green Energy, a renewable energy business. “We recognise that some campaigners have strong views about sponsorship and wish to see wholesale disengagement from entire sectors. Our trustees disagree with that view and have clearly articulated our approach, both in terms of robust governance and in urging companies, governments and individuals to do more to make the global economy less carbon-intensive.” Adani Group and BP have been approached for comment. | ['culture/museums', 'business/adani-group', 'culture/culture', 'society/charities', 'society/society', 'environment/environment', 'uk/london', 'uk/uk', 'society/voluntarysector', 'business/ethicalbusiness', 'business/business', 'world/arms-trade', 'world/israel-hamas-war', 'food/hughfearnleywhittingstall', 'science/science', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/fossil-fuels', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/estheraddley', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | environment/fossil-fuels | EMISSIONS | 2024-09-11T17:24:54Z | true | EMISSIONS |
australia-news/2024/apr/26/tanya-plibersek-rejects-claims-renewable-projects-are-being-held-up-by-approval-delays | Tanya Plibersek rejects claims renewable projects are being held up by approval delays | Tanya Plibersek has said she is approving windfarms faster than any previous environment minister, rejecting industry claims the sector faces deteriorating investment conditions and lengthening delays. Renewable energy firms have raised concerns that securing environmental approval is becoming more difficult, particularly for wind. Challenges are unlikely to ease soon, given the government’s recent decision to postpone conservation law reforms until after the next election, putting at risk emissions reduction goals, they say. However, Plibersek denied her department’s handling of proposals under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act was hampering the industry’s advance. “I am approving onshore wind projects at the fastest rates in Australian history,” she told Guardian Australia. “On average, the Labor government is approving onshore wind projects up to three times quicker than the previous Liberal and National governments. “I have ticked off enough renewable energy projects to power almost 3m homes – that includes three huge new windfarms that will power 623,000 homes,” Plibersek said. “It’s important that we support renewable energy projects, but it has to be the right kind of development, in the right place, done in the right way.” Precise comparisons between governments are difficult since Plibersek inherited many projects from her predecessor, Sussan Ley. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Industry analysis supplied to Guardian Australia indicates 10 onshore windfarms won environment department approval during Plibersek’s 23 months in office, requiring an average of 112 weeks from application to decision. Over a similar stint at the end of the Morrison government, Ley’s department approved at least 10 windfarms, raising doubts approvals were getting ticked off three times faster as Plibersek has claimed, one senior industry official said. Simon Corbell, the chief executive of the Clean Energy Investor Group, said the approval process was stacked against developers. Additional information requests, for instance, “stopped the clock” but routinely added years to the procedure. “We’re aware of multiple projects owned by our members which have been in the EPBC process for several years,” Corbell said. It was common for firms to get multiple requests for further information, such as requiring additional ecological surveys, that added years to the process. “In one case I’m aware of, several years later, [a developer got] another one, which again resulted in a further stop-the-clock decision,” he said. “Right now, the EPBC legislation is one of the biggest issues for our sector.” A chorus of concern has been building about the pace of construction and connection of new wind and solar plants in Australia. The Clean Energy Council last month warned of an “alarming” slowdown in new projects securing final investment signoff, quite apart from environmental or planning approval. All up, $1.5bn was secured for new renewable projects in 2023 – less than a quarter of the $6.5bn tally for 2022 – with no windfarms among them. Over the past five years, about 1.3 gigawatts of windfarms has been approved on average annually. That tally, though, is only about a third of the 4.3GW needed to be installed each year if the government’s 2030 target of powering the grid with 82% renewables is to be reached, according to the Australian Energy Market Operator. The government has sought to turbo-charge development with its capacity investment scheme (CIS) that will guarantee a floor and ceiling price for generation. The energy minister, Chris Bowen, on Monday announced the first CIS auction for 6GW of new renewables – the single largest such tender in Australian history. Corbell said stresses on the approval process were “only going to increase once the CIS starts to roll out”. “You’re going to have projects that are contracted or provided with a degree of underwriting support [that] potentially still need to progress through federal environmental approvals or state planning agreements,” he said. “So that’s going to be really significant pressure.” Plibersek said environmental approval decisions would accelerate for renewables and critical minerals projects after her department secured a $100m spending increase. | ['australia-news/energy-australia', 'environment/windpower', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/environment', 'australia-news/tanya-plibersek', 'australia-news/australian-politics', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'campaign/email/afternoon-update', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/peter-hannam', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/windpower | ENERGY | 2024-04-25T15:00:28Z | true | ENERGY |
travel/2008/apr/20/flights.china | Expert traveller | Where is ... the scariest runway? The rollercoaster drop into London City airport is enough to get us clammy-palmed, and we usually opt to take the mountain-skimming approach to Innsbruck with the window blind firmly down. But neither even makes a new list of the top 10 scary runways as compiled by American magazine Travel + Leisure. Highlights include the Matekane airstrip in Lesotho, which is just 400m long, is at an altitude of 2,300m and ends in a huge ravine 600m deep. Because the runway is so short, planes often don't have enough speed to get airborne, so speed off the end, plunge off the cliff into the gorge, and in doing so hopefully increase their speed enough to start flying. Then there's just the small matter of clearing the mountains on the far side. 'It's a little bit hard to do the first time,' says bush pilot Tom Claytor, who took this photo. Also on the list are Toncontin airport in Honduras, Funchal airport in Madeira and Princess Juliana international airport on St Maarten in the Caribbean (where a short runway forces pilots to skim a few metres above the heads of sunbathers on the beach). But number one is Paro airport, 2,220m up in Bhutan. Here the pilots - in fact only eight are qualified to land there - have to weave their way down a narrow channel of steep tree-covered hillsides before centring the plane and touching down. Phew. How to ... stay green in China China's greenhouse gas emissions may be growing faster than any other nation's, but the country's first carbon-neutral hotel is due to open next month in Shanghai. The URBN Hotel Shanghai (no, it's not a typo) is the first of a string of boutique hotels planned by URBN Hotels and Resorts, and they all drip with green credentials. The 26-room hotel is built with local materials, from reclaimed hardwoods to old Shanghai bricks, and all energy consumed - including staff commutes and food and beverage deliveries - will be tracked and offset through carbon wholesaler Climate Bridge. Guests can also buy carbon credits to offset their flights. Just a block from bustling Nanjing Road, it is in a perfect location for exploring the city on foot, and there are bicycles for rent. Back at the hotel, guests can enjoy classes in Chinese cooking, Mandarin and tai chi, and there's a sleek spa for zen pampering. Doubles from 2,000 yuan (£144). urbnhotels.com Where to find ... the highest restaurant in England Food lovers with a head for heights should put 14 May in their diaries - the highest restaurant in England is set to open for just one day atop one of the country's highest mountains. As part of the Cumberland Ale Keswick Mountain Festival, local chef Peter Sidwell (owner of the Good Taste Cafe in Keswick) is setting up a restaurant on the top of Skiddaw, which soars to 931m. The idea was inspired by William Wordsworth, who dined with friends on top of Skiddaw to celebrate victory at Waterloo in 1815. Diners can expect a spectacular feast using local ingredients such as lamb and damsons, with dramatic views of the Lakelands. Tents will be set up, and diners will be escorted up the mountain by local guide Tim Mosedale. (Tim has climbed Everest, but don't fear: participants need only be up for a 'moderately strenuous fell walk'). Martin Lankester of the Cumberland Ale Keswick Mountain Festival says: 'Most hikers end up having a cheese and pickle sandwich; these lucky diners will enjoy a luxury meal.' Just 30 tickets are being sold, at £35 a head. To book call Good Taste on 017687 75973. The festival runs from 14-18 May (keswickmountainfestival.co.uk). | ['travel/flights', 'travel/china', 'travel/green', 'travel/hotels', 'environment/carbon-offset-projects', 'travel/restaurants', 'travel/travel', 'travel/series/experttraveller', 'food/restaurants', 'type/article', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/escape', 'theobserver/escape/features'] | environment/carbon-offset-projects | EMISSIONS | 2008-04-19T23:01:23Z | true | EMISSIONS |
global-development/2014/feb/13/millions-of-pounds-overseas-aid-money-spent-britain | Millions of pounds of overseas aid money spent in Britain | More than £300,000 ($550,000) of UK aid money to tackle poverty overseas was spent on global citizenship lessons in Scottish schools and it was among millions of pounds of the aid budget that was actually spent in Britain. This included almost £12m on projects and campaigns to boost UK public support for overseas development, according to statistics published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The UK, far from the worst offender in terms of spending aid funds at home, was once seen as an exception among rich countries for counting little domestic spending as aid. However, since 2009 the amount of aid spent on education and immigration services in Britain has more than doubled, from £21.4m to almost £48m in 2012 – or more than the total UK bilateral aid to Rwanda, Liberia and Mali. The ringfenced aid budget is under renewed scrutiny this week after the prime minister, David Cameron, rejected a suggestion by the Ukip leader, Nigel Farage, that it should be raided to cover the cost of the recent flooding in south-west England, insisting that a choice did not need to be made on "either protecting our overseas aid budget or spending the money here at home". The UK reported giving £5.4bn to developing countries in 2012, with the rest of the aid budget passed on to multilateral institutions such as the UN and World Bank. But OECD statistics (published in US dollars) suggest at least £441m in UK bilateral aid was not transferred to developing countries – an amount greater than that given to India, Afghanistan or Ethiopia, and more than eight times the UK's aid to Zambia. Most of this money – £318m – went to administering the UK aid programme, and £67m to cancelling or rescheduling debts. A spokesman from the Department for International Development (DfID) said UK aid was spent in line with OECD rules and that there was "no reason this money can't be spent within the UK". But few taxpayers are aware that donors are allowed to spend aid money at home and that only a certain percentage of the money that governments announce for overseas development will reach developing countries. The UK has for years counted millions of pounds in pension payments to former British colonial officers as official development aid – and the Ministry of Defence, facing significant cuts, wants to take money from the ringfenced aid budget. The Guardian's analysis of the OECD figures shows more than £138,000 was spent on military and security training for officials from African countries, including Ethiopia and Sudan, at the UK's Defence Academy. A further £56,000 was spent on "English language and culture training" and a "study visit" to the UK for North Korean officials. More than £36,000 was spent on training for the chief public relations officer for the government of St Helena. No details are given in the OECD data on exactly what training this public relations officer received. A further £12m was spent on salaries and other costs of UK experts and consultants., including almost $2,800 for a visit to North Korea by a "UK renewable energy expert". The OECD's rules state that spending must have "the promotion of the economic development and welfare of developing countries" as its main objective in order to qualify as official development assistance (ODA). In practice, however, the rules – which are up for review this year – have allowed donors to count a range of activities. Donors can count spending on students from developing countries in their schools and universities, for example, and the costs of supporting refugees and asylum seekers from developing countries for up to 12 months. A number of other expenses can also count, even if they do not lead to a transfer of money or resources between rich and poor countries. Amy Dodd, co-ordinator of the UK Aid Network, said allowing donors to claim spending in their own countries risked undermining the core principle of aid – that it should be spent solely to further development and eradicate poverty. "The most effective aid is the aid that supports a country's development, not just by funding a project but also by supporting the development of local capacity or institutions, which means the aid needs to actually reach that country," she said. Dodd said that while the UK did not count as much domestic spending as aid as other donors, it could do better. In 2012, almost 20% of total bilateral aid from OECD donors, totalling £10.8bn, was not transferred to developing countries and was instead spent on activities in the donor country or put towards the cancellation or rescheduling of debts. For Italy and Belgium, this figure was closer to 40%; for the UK it is about 8%. Approximately 90% of Greek bilateral aid was spent in Greece, primarily on students and asylum seekers. Collectively, OECD donors spent more than £4.5bn ($7.5bn) in 2012 on education and immigration services in their own countries – more than their total bilateral aid to Afghanistan, India, Vietnam or any other developing country. Among the more unusual items of spending: Norway spent almost £45,000 on activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Norwegian aid. Canada spent £81,000 on magazines for children about the history of the country's involvement in international development. • This article was amended on 13 February 2014 to more accurately reflect the work of DfID. | ['global-development/aid', 'uk/uk', 'business/oecd', 'politics/department-for-international-development-dfid', 'politics/politics', 'society/society', 'global-development/global-development', 'environment/flooding', 'world/world', 'world/natural-disasters', 'environment/environment', 'tone/news', 'business/business', 'type/article', 'profile/claire-provost', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2014-02-13T11:53:44Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
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