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commentisfree/2022/aug/11/police-failures-soaring-waiting-lists-pool-closures-one-days-news-in-tory-britain | Police failures, soaring waiting lists, pool closures: one day’s news in Tory Britain | Polly Toynbee | Public opinion is moving only in one direction, jolted by each day’s worsening news. It is certainly not towards the ever-shrinking state offered by the two candidates in the Tory leadership race, as most voters realise that nothing but the state protects them from this growing omnicrisis. Shocking news pours in at an accelerating pace. One day’s inbox can scarcely contain the avalanche of reports on failing public services and households stricken by debt. As I write – ping! – here comes the Office for National Statistics reporting repossessions by county court bailiffs increased 1,611% between April and June. Expect many more now that Covid restrictions on bailiffs have been lifted. Meanwhile YouGov has found that 54% of people think it’s unlikely they will be able to afford their energy bills this winter. Or should I choose Andy Cooke, the chief inspector of constabulary, who has pointed to the abject failure of the police? “Dire charge rates” show that a suspect is charged in only 4% of thefts and 3.7% of house burglaries. People will remember those cuts that reduced the number of police officers by 20,000. The disgrace of private children’s homes making a fortune out of misery is again exposed by the BBC, with companies charging anything they want due to the acute shortage. Ofsted’s chief inspector, Amanda Spielman, warns: “We have companies now in the market who really don’t have very much interest in childcare.” Feeling hot? More than 60 public swimming pools closed in the last three years, finds another report today. Ping again! Literally, as I wrote the above sentence, in comes the latest NHS waiting list figures, risen to an unthinkable 6.73m. While two-year waits went down, one-year waits rose. Squeeze one bit of this service and it bursts out elsewhere, after an austerity decade of falling per-patient funding – and no future workforce plan. The Health Service Journal and Newsnight this week revealed leaked figures showing that published statistics undercount the true number of cancer patients waiting for treatment. The number waiting beyond 104 days, the crucial three months after which they risk “potential harm”, has doubled to more than 10,000. Don’t mention ambulances. Or that even the inadequate NHS pay package is underfunded, so that the NHS will need to cut another £2bn to pay for it. What of levelling up? Ipsos today published its latest research on attitudes and finds – no surprise – deep discontent and low expectations that the government will make a difference. If you worry most about the poorest, consider the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s warning this week to the candidates to be prime minister that the money proposed so far doesn’t even cover half the needs of the lowest-income families to avoid destitution. So far, we have only Truss’s revolting sneers about “handouts”. Apologies for this long list, but that’s just a random day’s inflow of omnicrisis news. Among all these signs of a country not coping, there are things that every voter of every political hue, age, income and region will find profoundly alarming. And yet none of it is reflected in the empty bickering between the candidates, which focus groups show to be wildly out of touch with people’s concerns. As Gordon Brown steps up with a serious plan, with Keir Starmer due to speak on the crisis on Monday, Ipsos now finds Starmer leads strongly over both Truss and Sunak on virtually every measure. But Labour too will have to confront with honesty this most dismal reality, now entirely dodged by both Truss and Sunak. Colossal cuts await public services – even defence – on both Tory trajectories according to Ben Zaranko of the Institute for Fiscal Studies. His close analysis warns us to expect a £44bn cut in public services. He ends his report with this sober message: “An unfortunate series of global shocks have made us poorer … Dividing that economic pain between households, businesses and public services is the unavoidable and unpalatable task facing the next government. Choosing to accept a reduced range and quality of public services is one possible response to becoming a poorer nation. But if the next prime minister does choose to cut rates of corporation tax, national insurance or income tax, and chooses to leave public services worse off heading into a difficult winter, they should be honest and transparent about the choice they have made.” Those in the disintegrating Tory party deny the crises engulfing them because so much of Britain’s unpreparedness for recession is of their own making. But you can feel the tectonic plates shifting under their feet. The more often they call for a smaller state, the more the public mood will turn away from them. • Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'uk/uk', 'environment/energy', 'money/energy', 'money/consumer-affairs', 'environment/environment', 'money/household-bills', 'commentisfree/series/leadership-hustings', 'politics/rishi-sunak', 'politics/liz-truss', 'politics/politics', 'money/money', 'society/nhs', 'society/health', 'type/article', 'tone/comment', 'profile/pollytoynbee', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-opinion'] | environment/energy | ENERGY | 2022-08-11T17:19:51Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2023/aug/25/dr-ken-henry-environment-land-clearing-logging | Australia’s environment must be given legal priority over land-clearing and logging to survive, Ken Henry says | Australia’s natural environment is in crisis and protecting it must become the top priority in government policy and legislation if it is to have a chance, a former Treasury chief says. Dr Ken Henry, who led federal Treasury for a decade until 2011 and is now chair of the Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation, said governments continued to not give enough attention to the causes of environmental destruction and how policy and management could be changed to turn things around. He made the comments after leading a scathing review of the New South Wales Biodiversity Conservation Act, which said the laws were failing and were likely to never succeed unless they were overhauled to give nature protection primacy over development, logging, mining and urban expansion. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Henry told the ABC’s RN Breakfast that “every indicator” on the environment was “going in the wrong direction”. “The first and most important thing is that, if the environment is going to have a chance, then environmental considerations have to have primacy in policy thinking,” he said. “It’s not going to be any good in the future to say, well, the environment is a nice-to-have but really we’ve got to focus on investment here, or a residential development there, or a mining project here, or continuing to log native forest over there – that those things are more important than the environment.” Henry said the written objectives of the NSW biodiversity legislation, and other environmental legislation across the country, looked ambitious but they were being undercut by other laws. “Legislation that deals with rural lands and rural land-clearing, in particular, [but also] legislation that deals with planning, with forestry, with mining – you name it, all of those other acts have primacy over the biodiversity and conservation act, and they are undermining its effectiveness,” he said. “That’s the biggest problem.” Henry said the 58 recommendations of his review proposed a new standard of “net gain” or “nature positive” that must underpin decisions that affected the environment in NSW. “It’s a massive change, but it’s no more than what’s required,” he said. He said similar change was needed across the country, reflecting a global framework that the federal environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, endorsed at a meeting in Montreal last year. On the climate crisis, Henry said Australia was not acting fast enough “but we’ve known this for 20 years”. He said the nation was at a turning point, pointing to the election of climate-focused independents at the last election, and the Albanese government had ambition on climate, but Labor was using “instruments that are not really up to the task” – an apparent reference to the safeguard mechanism, a policy meant to reduce emissions at industrial sites. “I really feel for them because the politics … has driven our politicians into a place where they appear to be huddled in the corner, too afraid to do anything sensible to address the mighty challenges,” he said. ‘Intergenerational tragedy’ Henry said the government’s intergenerational report, which had a major focus on the impact of the climate crisis, also showed that unless the economic growth rate increased the government would have to increase tax rates. He said the country should not be relying on personal income tax as the only growth tax as it damaged economic performance and set up an “intergenerational tragedy”. “It’s the young people … who are weighed down with Hecs debt, who are going to have repay a mountain of public debt, who are dealing with the consequences of climate change … who are facing diminishing prospects of ever being able to afford a home of their own,” he said. “These poor buggers are also going to be ones who are facing ever increasing average rates of income tax.” He said mining super profits should be taxed more heavily – an opportunity that was squandered a decade ago “largely because of political stupidity” – to allow company tax for the rest of the country to be cut to drive economic growth. On nature, Henry’s recommendations included the creation of “no-go” zones in which land-clearing would be banned and major changes to the state’s biodiversity offset scheme, which was found to be “compromised”. A Guardian Australia investigation has revealed serious flaws and conflict of interest concerns in the offset system. The Henry review is the latest in a number reports that have found Australia’s natural environment is in peril. The five-yearly state of the environment released last year found it was in poor and deteriorating health due to pressure from climate change, habitat loss, invasive species, pollution and mining. The NSW environment minister, Penny Sharpe, said the state government would consider the Henry review’s recommendations and deliver on commitments to “fix the biodiversity offset scheme, strengthen environmental protections and stop runaway land-clearing”. Nationally, Plibersek has promised to revamp national environment laws, with legislation expected until next year. She has also set a zero extinction target, but scientific advisers have cast doubt on whether that can be met. Scientists have called for improved regulation and about $1.7bn in annual funding to give the country a chance to save its nearly 2,000 listed threatened species. | ['environment/climate-crisis', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/environment', 'environment/biodiversity', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/conservation', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/adam-morton', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/biodiversity | BIODIVERSITY | 2023-08-25T02:28:26Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2020/aug/07/people-urged-take-rubbish-home-england-parks-and-beauty-spots | People urged to take rubbish home from parks in England | District councils in England are urging people going to parks and green spaces to dispose of their rubbish safely and responsibly, ahead of an expected surge in visits during this weekend’s mini-heatwave. The District Councils’ Network – which represents 187 district councils in England, which are responsible for maintaining parks and beauty spots – is calling on the public to use bins but to take their rubbish home if they are full. It is also asking dog walkers to make sure they clean up their pets’ mess. During the coronavirus pandemic, councils have stepped up efforts to maintain parks and beauty spots after a sharp rise in littering, dog fouling and anti-social behaviour such as vandalism. Since 4 July, when lockdown was eased, the volume of additional rubbish, including single-use plastic discarded in English parks by the public, has increased, park managers have reported. The partial lifting of lockdown led to millions more people using the green spaces to meet, exercise, eat and drink. A recent survey by Keep Britain Tidy found that more than half of the country’s parks have had to use extra resources to deal with the issues, including litter and antisocial behaviour, since lockdown was eased. Of those, 81% had to spend more on clearing up litter, 79% on bin emptying and 72% on maintaining public order or enforcing lockdown rules. “It is great that more people have been able to enjoy safely spending time in our parks, green spaces and beauty spots, while much of life has been on hold these last few months” said Dan Humphreys, the District Councils’ Network lead member for enhancing quality of life. “However, sadly this appears to have come at a cost, with some councils seeing a sharp spike in littering, dog fouling and antisocial behaviour from a small minority of people who sadly ruin it for everyone.” Among the councils devising new ways to tackle the problem, Rushmoor borough council has joined forces with Hampshire constabulary to encourage residents to use green spaces safely and responsibly, and has launched an app for visitors to report litter “grotspots”. The litter strewn in parks and on beaches also includes abandoned items of PPE such as face masks and gloves, which contain plastic. | ['environment/waste', 'travel/parks-and-green-spaces', 'environment/plastic', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'environment/access-to-green-space', 'uk/weather', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/rebeccasmithers', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/plastic | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2020-08-07T05:58:02Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
global-development/2021/may/10/at-least-1m-people-facing-starvation-madagascar-drought-worsens | At least 1m people facing starvation as Madagascar’s drought worsens | Madagascar’s worst drought in 40 years has left more than a million people facing a year of desperate food shortages. The south of the island will produce less than half its usual harvest in the coming months because of low rains, prolonging a hunger crisis already affecting half the Grand Sud area’s population, the UN estimates. The south saw 50% of its usual rains during the October planting season, in a fourth year of drought. Julie Reversé, emergency coordinator in Madagascar for Médecins Sans Frontières, said: “Without rain, they will not be able to return to the fields and feed their families. And some do not hesitate to say that it is death that awaits them if the situation does not change, and the rain does not fall.” According to the Famine Early Warning System Network, most poor families have to rely on foraging for wild foods and leaves that are difficult to eat and can be dangerous for children and pregnant women. Aid agencies have reported people eating termites and mixing clay with tamarind. Reversé said violent sandstorms (known as tiomena) in December made the situation worse by covering farming land and food such as the cactus fruit, which is often relied on during the “lean” season. “Most of the people living in the southern part of Madagascar rely essentially on their harvest for food and income. Because of the drought and the lack of rain, people cannot cultivate what they usually eat or sell at the market,” said Reversé. Jean-Louis Tovosoa, 52, a father of 15 who lives on the outskirts of Ambovombe, in Androy, the southernmost region of Madagascar, said life had become very difficult. “This year, we have nothing to eat. We rely on God’s providence for our survival. We are also asking the government to assist us. Otherwise, we will die,” he said. “Over the five last years, tiomenas have become more and more frequent. They have been affecting a wide range of territory. There were no rains over the three last years. Because of the persistent drought, violent winds have swept away the good soil for cultivation. They have killed the cactus plants, which are vital for us in the time of famine. They have also destroyed crops and killed animals such as zebus [cattle], sheep and goats.” The UN World Food Programme says acute malnutrition in children under five has almost doubled over the past four months in most districts in the south. Ambovombe has the highest rates. On Friday the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a multi-agency body that monitors global food security, issued an alert of a “sustained deterioration in food insecurity in the Grand South of Madagascar from April to December 2021”. It said: “Over 1.1 million people are in high acute food insecurity due to insufficient rainfall, rising food prices and sandstorms. The lean season is expected to begin earlier than usual for the current consumption year, as households will deplete their low food stocks due to minimal production.” Voriandro Tiandrainy, 42, a father of four from the district of Toliara II, on the western coast, said the drought had left many farmers unable to grow rice. “We enjoyed a wet climate before. Over recent years, it has become more and more dry. Farmers have had to abandon rice cultivation,” he said. Many people are now eating just one meal a day. “Parents are also unable to pay school fees for their children. Moreover, a new disease has affected our zebus. We have never known this disease; it has killed 10 to 20% of the livestock.” In response to the crisis, MSF began running a mobile clinic in late March and has so far treated more than 800 children for malnutrition, a third of whom were in a severe condition. Reversé said MSF staff are also noticing other illnesses in the areas they work in, including bilharzia (a waterborne disease caused by parasitic flatworms), diarrhoea, malaria and respiratory infections. They said the illnesses were caused by malnutrition, as well as a lack of clean water. According to the UN’s food agency, the number of people suffering from hunger has risen by about 85% on last year because of the accumulative effects of years of drought and people having to sell livestock and belongings to buy food. People in the south are still sending family members to the cities to look for work but with little success because the Covid-19 pandemic has shut down small businesses and ended the seasonal work created by the tourism industry that had provided crucial income. | ['global-development/hunger', 'global-development/global-development', 'world/madagascar', 'world/africa', 'society/society', 'world/world', 'environment/drought', 'environment/environment', 'environment/water', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/kaamil-ahmed', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/global-development'] | environment/drought | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2021-05-10T05:00:40Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2018/sep/14/record-numbers-expected-for-annual-british-beach-clean | Record numbers expected for annual British beach clean | Record numbers of volunteers are anticipated this weekend to help clear litter from the UK’s beaches, in the 25th annual Great British Beach Clean organised by a leading marine charity. The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has been running the four-day beach cleaning event for the last 24 years and expects the 2018 event to beat all previous records. Originally a modest citizen science project, it has become the largest and most longstanding beach litter survey in the UK, with all items recorded according to an internationally agreed methodology. In 2017, 6,944 volunteers attended beach cleans at 339 locations all over the UK from the north of Scotland to Cornwall, Northern Ireland to the Channel Islands. This year, before any litter has been picked, 7,391 volunteers have pre-registered at 432 coastal spots. Last year’s helpers retrieved 718 bits of rubbish from every 100 metres cleaned – 10% more than in 2016. Much of the waste was plastic, prompting the MCS to call on the government to urgently introduce a charge on single-use plastic items, such as straws, cups and cutlery. Litter classed by the MCS as “on the go” items made up 20% of all rubbish found on the UK’s beaches, while 63% was dumped by the public. The charity categorises drinks cups, plastic cutlery, foil wrappers, straws, sandwich packets, lolly sticks, plastic bottles, drinks cans, glass bottles, plastic cups, lids and stirrers as “on the go”. Shockingly, there was a 94% rise in the number of wet wipes found on UK beaches in a single year. More unusual items retrieved in previous years include; an artificial Christmas tree, socks, pants and bras, dentures, half a canoe, a French bullet proof vest, and half a TV set. Lizzie Prior, MCS beach and river clean-up project officer, said previous years’ experience showed that numbers registered pre-event could triple over the weekend itself. “Last year, by this time, a couple of thousand volunteers had registered, but our final figures were just short of 7,000. Since then, we’ve seen the BBC’s Blue Planet II effect, so that more and more people have been keen to clean beaches at our many events throughout the year. We hope it’ll make this year’s Great British Beach Clean the biggest, by volunteer number, ever.” The Great British Beach Clean is sponsored by Waitrose for the second year in a row, with cash from its carrier bag sales in England supporting MCS’ year- round beach clean programme. “Our coast is important to all of us, so the Great British Beach Clean is a key opportunity to reduce pollution, especially from plastics,” said Tor Harris, head of Responsible Sourcing and Sustainability at Waitrose. | ['environment/plastic', 'environment/coastlines', 'environment/waste', 'uk/uk', 'environment/environment', 'society/volunteering', 'society/society', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/rebeccasmithers', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/plastic | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2018-09-14T12:20:30Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
sustainable-business/2016/oct/25/urban-mining-recyling-waste-buildings-offices-cities | A world without waste: the rise of urban mining | Out with the old, in with the new: that’s the basic template for office refurbishments. Not if you’re a champion of sustainable building. So when the the UK Green Building Council decided its central London head office needed a makeover, it set itself the challenge of working out what it could keep. Some of the furnishings and fittings just needed a little sprucing up; others required a bit more creativity. So the whiteboards in the new meeting room are actually repurposed glazing, while the comfy window bench is made from old timber. “We have managed to reuse or repurpose 98% of the original fixtures on this project,” says Julie Hirigoyen, the Green Building Council’s chief executive, who describes minimising the need for new products and avoiding waste as “core principles” of sustainable refurbishment. The eco-overhaul of the Council’s office, which boasts the lowest carbon footprint of any recorded refurbishment, is an example of so-called urban mining - the concept of re-using valuable materials rather than sending them off to landfill. Opportunities for the urban mining of office space abound in central London, where the “fit out” market (basically, the stripping out and refitting of commercial properties) is booming. The Dutch design and consultancy firm Arcadis recently calculated that property developers could expect average returns of 10% on the money they spend on office refurbishment projects (pdf). Speed is generally the essence for fit-out jobs in the UK capital, but environmental concerns are gradually creeping up the industry’s priority list. The combination of higher fees for landfill and environmental certifications such as BREEAM and SKA is encouraging a search for alternatives to dumping office waste. Waste management firms play a key role. Contracted to collect and remove materials from refurbishment or “strip out” projects, it falls to them to dispose of this waste as they see fit. The most forward-thinking firms push clients to segregate waste on site, before its sold to recycling firms. MCS Recycling, a family-owned waste management firm based in Chatham, Kent, is rare in sending nothing to landfill. To maximise the value of the office waste it collects, the firm endeavours to find bespoke buyers in addition to recycling wholesalers. It recently advertised a skip-full of maple flooring on eBay; the waste ended up with a nearby flooring manufacturer. Not all sales require such networking. MCS Recycling works closely with Armstrong Ceiling Solutions, a manufacturer of suspended ceiling tiles. Since 2009, Armstrong has developed a policy of actively seeking out discarded tiles from refurb projects. It then transports them to its manufacturing facility in Newcastle, where the materials are incorporated into its production process. Last year, Armstrong diverted 495 tonnes of unwanted ceiling tiles from landfill, saving almost £100,000 in landfill taxes. “It works out about cost neutral because of the transport and logistics costs, but the use of recycled content in our tiles is definitely a selling point for us. Architects and developers are increasingly asking for greener products,” says Roy Smith, Armstrong’s recycling sales development manager. Such “closed-loop” systems are not without their hurdles. Legislation can be one of them. Armstrong, for instance, is prohibited from reusing tiles manufactured before 1 January 2000 because they contain soluble (as opposed to the safer, bio-soluble) mineral wool. At the same time, government policy could help drive the reuse market, says Joe Croft, head of sustainability at the design and construction firm Morgan Lovell. His suggestions include tax breaks or making re-use of materials part of green certification schemes such as SKA and BREEAM. Such measures could bring about a similar shift in mentality within the industry as has been witnessed in relation to health and safety, he argues: “Time is a real pressure when it comes to taking materials down to reuse them, but it’s interesting that time is never an issue for health and safety these days.” Others, such as David Cheshire, author of Building Revolutions, a recent book on the circular economy in the construction industry, advocate the use of leasing models, which allow office components to be upgraded or remanufactured once they become outdated. Novel agreements are now emerging where office services such as lighting, flooring and even partitions can be contracted on a lease basis as well. “This puts the responsibility for the whole life of the product firmly in the hands of the manufacturers, which means maintenance, upgrade and end of life disposal no longer fall to the occupants,” says Cheshire. “This should incentivise manufacturers to design products that can be upgraded, remanufactured or recycled in a way that retains their value.” | ['sustainable-business/sustainable-business', 'sustainable-business/series/what-if-economics', 'environment/recycling', 'environment/environment', 'environment/waste', 'artanddesign/design', 'artanddesign/artanddesign', 'environment/ethical-living', 'type/article', 'tone/sponsoredfeatures', 'tone/features', 'profile/oliver-balch', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-professional-networks'] | environment/waste | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2016-10-25T06:00:15Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
science/2010/may/10/un-report-economic-impact-biodiversity | UN report warns of economic impact of biodiversity loss | The "alarming" rate at which species are being lost could have a severe effect on humanity, conservationists warned today. Targets set eight years ago by governments to reduce biodiversity loss by 2010 have not been met, experts confirmed at a UN meeting in Nairobi, Kenya. The third Global Biodiversity Outlook report said loss of wildlife and habitats could harm food sources and industry, and exacerbate climate change through rising emissions. Achim Steiner, the executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), said: "Humanity has fabricated the illusion that somehow we can get by without biodiversity or that it is somehow peripheral to our contemporary world: the truth is we need it more than ever on a planet of 6 billion [people], heading to over 9 billion by 2050. Business as usual is no longer an option if we are to avoid irreversible damage to the life-support systems of our planet." The report confirms what a coalition of 40 conservation organisations said last month, when they claimed there have been "alarming biodiversity declines". The coalition said that pressures on the natural world from development, over-use and pollution have risen since the ambition to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss was set out in the 2002 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The first formal assessment of the target, published at the end of April in the journal Science, is the basis of today's formal declaration. This week's meeting will see governments pressed to take the issues as seriously as climate change and the economic crisis. "Since 1970 we have reduced animal populations by 30%, the area of mangroves and sea grasses by 20% and the coverage of living corals by 40%," said Prof Joseph Alcamo, chief scientist of the UNEP. "These losses are clearly unsustainable, since biodiversity makes a key contribution to human wellbeing and sustainable development." The Science study compiled 30 indicators of biodiversity, including changes in populations of species and their risk of extinction, the remaining areas of different habitats, and the composition of communities of plants and animals. "Our analysis shows that governments have failed to deliver on the commitments they made in 2002: biodiversity is still being lost as fast as ever, and we have made little headway in reducing the pressures on species, habitats and ecosystems," said Stuart Butchart, the paper's lead author. "Our data shows that 2010 will not be the year that biodiversity loss was halted, but it needs to be the year in which we start taking the issue seriously and substantially increase our efforts to take care of what is left of our planet." The failure to meet the CBD target will not be a surprise to experts or policymakers, who have warned for years that too little progress was being made. Last month the head of the IUCN species survival commission, Simon Stuart, told the Guardian that for the first time since the dinosaurs, species were believed to be becoming extinct faster than new ones were evolving. | ['environment/biodiversity', 'science/science', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/endangered-habitats', 'environment/endangeredspecies', 'environment/environment', 'tone/news', 'world/world', 'business/economics', 'business/business', 'type/article', 'profile/juliettejowit'] | environment/biodiversity | BIODIVERSITY | 2010-05-10T10:36:49Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
australia-news/2015/may/06/protest-over-queensland-bush-clearing-laws-are-just-fearmongering-says-lnp | Protest over Queensland bush-clearing laws are just 'fearmongering', says LNP | Queensland’s Liberal National party has accused “extreme green groups” of “fearmongering” regarding the state’s land-clearing laws and seeking to deny economic opportunities for remote and Indigenous communities. The opposition party’s comments come after the Wilderness Society raised concerns about the approval of 1,130 square kilometres of bushland for clearance by the former LNP government, which it said would create the equivalent of 9.66m tonnes of CO2, or nearly 2% of Australia’s annual emissions. The deputy premier Jackie Trad has ordered an investigation into the former government’s decision days before the January election to approve tree clearing on the Cape York property that conservationists say contains world heritage-quality woodlands, 17 threatened species, and waterways flowing into the Great Barrier Reef. “The allegations into the clearing [of nearly 32,000 hectares] of land on Olive Vale station while the caretaker conventions were in place, is a matter of great concern to me,” Trad told the ABC. “Given the serious issues raised, I have instructed the director general to investigate the allegations as a matter of priority.” Tim Seelig, the Wilderness Society Queensland’s campaign manager, said the LNP, by freeing up tree clearing for intensive agriculture, had made a mockery of federal government attempts to limit emissions by keeping trees in the ground. Andrew Cripps, the opposition spokesman for state development and natural resources, said the party’s changes to the Vegetation Management Act in 2013 were “sensible and balanced” and were conceived to give “new opportunities for the sustainable growth” of agriculture. “Extreme green groups like the Wilderness Society have frequently peddled inaccurate information and engaged in fearmongering in an effort to prevent farmers from growing their agricultural businesses and rural communities from securing new job opportunities,” he said. “In particular, it’s nothing new to see extreme green groups like the Wilderness Society seek to deny disadvantaged remote and Indigenous communities on Cape York new opportunities to grow by blocking new projects to create jobs.” Cripps said farmers had “warmly welcomed” the changes after being “unfairly targeted and victimised by unnecessarily restrictive and complex legislation under previous Labor governments”. He said applications to clear land for high-value agriculture were rigorously assessed, needing to show that additional farming would be financially viable, that soil was suitable and that sufficient water was available for any irrigation. The changes expressly did not allow the clearing of vegetation “to improve pastures for grazing purposes”, he said. Olive Vale is owned by cattle industry company Ryan Global, which has proposed increasing the number of cattle on the property from 15,000 to 25,000. Paul Ryan from Ryan Global told the ABC the company wished to predominantly grow sorghum, which would supplement its cattle operations. “We are possibly going to be the largest employer in the local area and [we will be] providing jobs for people who are desperate for work at the moment,” he said. | ['australia-news/queensland-politics', 'australia-news/liberal-national-party', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'australia-news/queensland', 'australia-news/indigenous-australians', 'environment/deforestation', 'environment/environment', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/forests', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/joshua-robertson'] | environment/forests | BIODIVERSITY | 2015-05-06T02:47:05Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/blog/2009/nov/18/evangelical-christians-climate-science | US evangelicals warm to climate change science in Capitol Hill campaign| Suzanne Goldenberg | The handful of Senators trying to rustle up support for Obama's energy and climate change legislation in Congress could certainly do with some inspiration, or even divine intervention – so an initiative this week by scientists and evangelical leaders is especially timely. Members of the two camps paired up in a campaign on Capitol Hill to lobby Senators to support the bill. Evangelicals are the bedrock of the Republican party and are often seen as sceptical of science, from global warming to evolution. So the initiative's core argument is: if evangelicals can find it in their hearts to support action on climate change, why can't senators have a similar conversion? As they began their rounds on Tuesday, Harry Reid, the Senate Majority leader, confirmed that a climate change bill would have to wait until next spring. The delay suggests a further weakening of political will to cut America's greenhouse gas emissions, which Republicans and conservative Democrats say will deepen the economic recession. But Richard Cizik, a former executive of the National Association of Evangelicals, who is one of the leaders of the initiative, argues there is far broader support among religious communities for action on climate change that is widely understood. The younger generations especially are passionately concerned about the environment. "These evangelicals have an intensity level that even some in the environmental community don't have. They believe this is their God-given calling," he said. "When you realise you have missed something – as I did when I had a conversion on these issues – you become like a new convert to the faith, a passionate activist." For many, the connection between climate change and poverty in the developing world – a core issue for many churches – was crucial in forcing a rethink on climate change issues. "There has been for some in this country a conflict between faith and religion and science and so climate change has been in certain ways a victim of the origins debate. Scientists believe in evolution, therefore I oppose evolution." The Scientists and Evangelicals Initiative is an effort to build bridges on the climate change issue: Ultimately, we believe that such collaboration will capture the imagination of people worldwide who will recognise the urgency of our concerns about the environment and be moved by our willingness to put aside whatever differences we may have to work together to protect it. The idea of leading environmental scientists and evangelical Christians meeting and working together is initially often met with surprise and some anxiety as there are clear areas of disagreement between the two groups. However, both groups have come to understand that the devastating effects of climate change and biodiversity loss disproportionately affect people who are poor and lack the financial resources to adapt to a changing climate. This is at the heart of our groups' shared sense of moral purpose. Among the top targets of the evangelical-scientist lobbying effort is Richard Lugar, the most senior Republican on the Senate foreign relations committee who said last week he could not vote for the current version of a climate change bill. "Senator Lugar we would hope would take a higher-profile leadership role," Cizik said. "We think there are ways to bring Republicans like Lugar on board." Lugar co-sponsored a senate briefing about the initiative with Senator John Kerry on Capitol Hill yesterday. Other Republicans apparently are beyond redemption on the issue of climate change though. Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma has famously called global warming a "hoax". "I am not persuaded that Senator Inhofe will ever be convinced that the science of climate change is real and urgent," said Cizik. Here is the list of evangelicals and scientists involved in this week's action: • Eric Chivian, MD, founder and director of the Centre for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard Medical School. Shared the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize. Named by Time in 2008 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. • James J McCarthy, PhD, Alexander Agassiz professor of biological oceanography at Harvard. Past president, American Association for the Advancement of Science. Former co-chair, Impacts Working Group, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. • Nancy Knowlton, PhD, holder of the sant chair in marine science at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, and adjunct professor of marine biology, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. • Thomas E Lovejoy, PhD, the first recipient of the newly created Heinz Centre biodiversity chair, who coined the term "biological diversity". Former chief biodiversity adviser to the president of the World Bank and assistant secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. • Paul R Epstein, MD, MPH, associate director of the Centre for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard Medical School. Adviser to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. • Richard Cizik, D Min, senior fellow at the United Nations Foundation, president of the group New Evangelicals, and former vice president for governmental affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). Named by Time in 2008 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. • Gerald L Durley, PhD, an educator, psychologist, and motivational speaker, who is the pastor of the historic Providence Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. • Deborah Fikes, executive adviser to the World Evangelical Alliance. Board of directors and member of the Creation Care Advisory Team, NAE. • Joel C Hunter D Min, senior pastor of Northland Church, a megachurch with a congregation of 12,000 in Orlando, Florida. Board of directors and chairman of the creation care advisory team, NAE. | ['environment/blog', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'environment/climate-change-scepticism', 'world/christianity', 'science/science', 'environment/environment', 'us-news/us-congress', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/world', 'tone/blog', 'world/evangelical-christianity', 'type/article', 'profile/suzannegoldenberg'] | environment/climate-change-scepticism | CLIMATE_DENIAL | 2009-11-18T11:40:01Z | true | CLIMATE_DENIAL |
environment/2021/jan/06/brazilian-beef-farms-used-workers-kept-in-conditions-similar-to-slavery | Brazilian beef farms ‘used workers kept in conditions similar to slavery’ | Brazilian companies and slaughterhouses including the world’s largest meat producer, JBS, sourced cattle from supplier farms that made use of workers kept in slavery-like conditions, according to a new report. Workers on cattle farms supplying slaughterhouses earned as little as £8 a day and lived in improvised shacks with no bathrooms, toilets, running water or kitchens, according to a report from Brazilian investigative agency Repórter Brasil. Since 1995, the report said, 55,000 Brazilian workers have been rescued by government inspectors from “situations similar to slavery”. While the number of investigations has fallen in recent years – 118 workers were freed in 2018, compared with 1,045 a decade earlier – that does not mean the situation has improved, just that inspections have been reduced, it noted. “We see this as an urgent problem that the big companies have to resolve,” said Marcel Gomes, executive secretary of Repórter Brasil and the report’s editor. The report challenges meat companies such as JBS, which has faced criticism over its inability to control its supply chains of cattle farms in the Amazon. A series of investigations by the Guardian, Repórter Brasil, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and others have found the company bought cattle from so-called “direct supplier” farms that had sourced from “indirect suppliers” – farms that supply cattle to be fattened and slaughtered – that had been involved in illegal deforestation. In September, JBS promised to control its entire supply chain by 2025 – 14 years after it and other Brazilian companies Minerva and Marfrig originally promised to do so. The three companies signed a deal in 2009 with Greenpeace in which they agreed not to buy cattle from farms “engaged in slavery”. Similar deals signed with federal prosecutors stopped them buying from farms included on a rolling government “dirty list” for keeping workers in slavery-like conditions. In August 2019, government inspectors found nine unregistered workers clearing pasture on the Copacabana farm in Mato Grosso do Sul state were being paid £8 a day, the report said. They lived in improvised shacks made of logs, plastic, palm fronds and corrugated iron without toilets, kitchens or running water. The farm and its controller, Fernanda Thomazelli, were later included on the 2020 “dirty list”. The farm had sold cattle directly to two JBS slaughterhouses in 2019 and 2020. In an out of court settlement with labour law prosecutors, Thomazelli’s father, José, representing his daughter, agreed to register the workers and provide proper living conditions. Notes from a meeting with prosecutors recorded he did not admit the existence of “work similar to slavery”. When contacted by the Guardian, he declined to comment and his daughter did not respond to an email. JBS said it blocked Copacabana and two other farms listed in the report as soon as they appeared on the “dirty list”, following protocols agreed with prosecutors. “We have a zero-tolerance approach to forced labour and also urge anyone who suspects or has evidence of individual or farm-level malpractice to report it,” the company said. The report also cited a farm in Tocantins state that sold to another farm in December 2018, two months after being included on the “dirty list” for keeping a 65-year-old worker in “deplorable conditions”. The second farm supplied a Minerva slaughterhouse in the state, the report alleges. Minerva, Brazil’s second largest beef exporter, said it never did business with the offending farm and that the direct supplier farm was “qualified” to supply cattle. The company is investigating the case. “If any irregularity is found,” Minerva said, “we will take appropriate action.” Minerva is testing a tool called Visipec to control indirect suppliers. 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/meat-industry', 'world/brazil', 'world/americas', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'food/food', 'food/beef', 'food/meat', 'environment/farming', 'environment/food', 'world/slavery', 'business/fooddrinks', 'business/business', 'business/cattles', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'world/modern-slavery', 'profile/dom-phillips', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/global-development'] | environment/farming | BIODIVERSITY | 2021-01-06T13:08:37Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
world/2023/jun/10/canada-wildfires-climate-global-heating | Exhausted crews battle Canadian wildfires as experts issue climate warning | Weeks of unprecedented wildfires in Canada have burned millions of hectares, displaced more than 100,000 residents and plunged the country into a nationwide crisis as exhausted crews battle hundreds of blazes. But experts caution that a changing climate and human actions on the landscape will probably make fire seasons worse in the coming years. Hundreds of firefighters from across the world have flown to Canada to aid a nation stretched thin with a spring fire season that has shattered records on both sides of the country, with warmer and drier months still to come. As of Friday, there were 421 fires burning, down from 441 on Wednesday, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. The number of fires deemed out of control also dropped from 256 on Wednesday to 230, aided by rains that hit areas of Quebec. More than 43,000 sq km have burned so far this year, making 2023 the second worst year for fires on record – a milestone from 2014 probably eclipsed this weekend. Earlier in the week, smoke from the Quebec fires blew down into the United States, choking the air over New York and Detroit as the cities jockeyed for the title of world’s most polluted major city. On Friday, rain and cooler weather helped fire crews make progress. Quebec’s forestry minister, Maïté Blanchette Vézina, said: “This sprint phase is over – now we’re in a marathon phase. So in the next days and weeks we will be working to contain those active fires to bring them under control and eventually extinguish them.” Across the country, forests have grown parched in areas accustomed to heavy and prolonged rainfall. In Nova Scotia, where unprecedented fires displaced tens of thousands of residents, little rain fell throughout the early spring. “The snow is melting earlier and the vegetation is drier. If you have an ignition, whether it’s lightning, or humans, that fuel just burns up really quickly,” said Katrina Moser, chair of Western University’s department of geography and environment. “This year is unusual, no question about it, but I think it’s also a bellwether of what we can expect in the future.” Smoke from wildfires, which turned the skies above Ottawa an apocalyptic orange and choked the air, prompted fierce debate in the House of Commons, with Justin Trudeau and the Liberal party accusing the rival Conservatives of fighting carbon taxes and not providing serious policy amid a changing climate. At the same time, the Bloc Québécois and New Democratic party accused Trudeau’s government of failing on climate action, citing subsidies for fossil fuel companies and the approvals for controversial resource extraction projects. “Scientists have been warning us about this for years. Everybody should be working on reducing fossil fuel emissions. That’s the critical thing: these fires are telling us something,” said Moser. “We really need to take action right now. We need to get serious about reducing fossil fuel emissions.” Wildfires are a natural phenomenon of the forest, creating new growth and culling debris. But experts caution that human changes to the landscape have invited larger and more destructive fires. “Our resource-dependent communities are on the brink of being wiped out, physically and economically and culturally. We just can’t seem to collectively do what’s necessary,” said Robert Gray, a fire ecologist in British Columbia. “We know what to do. We’re just not doing it. And there are things we could have done in recent years to lessen what we’ve seen over the last few weeks. ” In recent decades, the forestry industry has grown to appreciate the economics of certain fast-growing trees, including the lodgepole pine, says Gray. The species quickly overpopulated forests in western Canada, largely through the replanting efforts of logging companies. But in recent decades, nearly 30m hectares of pine in western North America alone were killed off by the mountain pine beetles, leaving swaths of tinder on the landscape. “To reduce the scale of these high-severity fires, we need to put a lot more obstructions in the way of potential fire movement. We have to make this transformational change in our landscapes,” said Gray. He points to the historical makeup of western Canadian forests, which long been populated by trees of varying age and size: Douglas fir, mountain ash, cedar and spruce. While some trees, like pine, burn easily, others don’t, like the mountain ash or fir. This meant that even in historically dry ecosystems, a diverse canopy has sufficient “speed bumps” to slow fires, meaning pockets of the land can undergo small wildfires that don’t morph into fearsome blazes. “We can put in vegetation that doesn’t burn that well. In areas where we’ve done prescribed burning, we’ve converted the forest to hardwoods like aspen and cottonwood that don’t burn as well,” he said. But he says ambivalence within the forestry industry about embracing a large-scale shift in how it logs and replants, as well as insufficient funding from the provincial and federal governments has delayed efforts experts say can mitigate the most destructive effects of fires. In 2005, the federal government and provinces developed the Canadian Wildland Fire Strategy. At the time, they suggested C$2.32bn (US$1.74bn) was needed to better address wildfire risk. But, after 10 years, only C$1.47bn was spent. “There is a feeling right now that we’re in a nationwide crisis. Smoking out Toronto, Ottawa, Washington and New York is helping, but I don’t hear anybody speaking about doubling and tripling investment where it’s needed most. We [talk a] big game about climate change and how we need to get out ahead of the natural disasters that are linked to it, but we’re not doing it,” said Gray. “We need to be on a war footing. It has to be all hands on deck. We need to alter and change our societies and economies. And I just don’t see that happening. I don’t know what it’s going to take. But something has to give. Something has to change.” | ['world/canada', 'world/wildfires', 'world/world', 'world/americas', 'world/canada-wildfires', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'tone/features', 'profile/leyland-cecco', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/news', 'theobserver/news/worldnews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/observer-main'] | world/wildfires | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2023-06-10T15:00:27Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2022/jun/03/car-tyres-produce-more-particle-pollution-than-exhausts-tests-show | Car tyres produce vastly more particle pollution than exhausts, tests show | Almost 2,000 times more particle pollution is produced by tyre wear than is pumped out of the exhausts of modern cars, tests have shown. The tyre particles pollute air, water and soil and contain a wide range of toxic organic compounds, including known carcinogens, the analysts say, suggesting tyre pollution could rapidly become a major issue for regulators. Air pollution causes millions of early deaths a year globally. The requirement for better filters has meant particle emissions from tailpipes in developed countries are now much lower in new cars, with those in Europe far below the legal limit. However, the increasing weight of cars means more particles are being thrown off by tyres as they wear on the road. The tests also revealed that tyres produce more than 1tn ultrafine particles for each kilometre driven, meaning particles smaller than 23 nanometres. These are also emitted from exhausts and are of special concern to health, as their size means they can enter organs via the bloodstream. Particles below 23nm are hard to measure and are not currently regulated in either the EU or US. “Tyres are rapidly eclipsing the tailpipe as a major source of emissions from vehicles,” said Nick Molden, at Emissions Analytics, the leading independent emissions testing company that did the research. “Tailpipes are now so clean for pollutants that, if you were starting out afresh, you wouldn’t even bother regulating them.” Molden said an initial estimate of tyre particle emissions prompted the new work. “We came to a bewildering amount of material being released into the environment – 300,000 tonnes of tyre rubber in the UK and US, just from cars and vans every year.” There are currently no regulations on the wear rate of tyres and little regulation on the chemicals they contain. Emissions Analytics has now determined the chemicals present in 250 different types of tyres, which are usually made from synthetic rubber, derived from crude oil. “There are hundreds and hundreds of chemicals, many of which are carcinogenic,” Molden said. “When you multiply it by the total wear rates, you get to some very staggering figures as to what’s being released.” The wear rate of different tyre brands varied substantially and the toxic chemical content varied even more, he said, showing low-cost changes were feasible to cut their environmental impact. “You could do a lot by eliminating the most toxic tyres,” he said. “It’s not about stopping people driving, or having to invent completely different new tyres. If you could eliminate the worst half, and maybe bring them in line with the best in class, you can make a massive difference. But at the moment, there’s no regulatory tool, there’s no surveillance.” The tests of tyre wear were done on 14 different brands using a Mercedes C-Class driven normally on the road, with some tested over their full lifetime. High-precision scales measured the weight lost by the tyres and a sampling system that collects particles behind the tyres while driving assessed the mass, number and size of particles, down to 6nm. The real-world exhaust emissions were measured across four petrol SUVs, the most popular new cars today, using models from 2019 and 2020. Used tyres produced 36 milligrams of particles each kilometre, 1,850 times higher than the 0.02 mg/km average from the exhausts. A very aggressive – though legal – driving style sent particle emissions soaring, to 5,760 mg/km. Far more small particles are produced by the tyres than large ones. This means that while the vast majority of the particles by number are small enough to become airborne and contribute to air pollution, these represent only 11% of the particles by weight. Nonetheless, tyres still produce hundreds of times more airborne particles by weight than the exhausts. The average weight of all cars has been increasing. But there has been particular debate over whether battery electric vehicles (BEVs), which are heavier than conventional cars and can have greater wheel torque, may lead to more tyre particles being produced. Molden said it would depend on driving style, with gentle EV drivers producing fewer particles than fossil-fuelled cars driven badly, though on average he expected slightly higher tyre particles from BEVs. Dr James Tate, at the University of Leeds’ Institute for Transport Studies in the UK, said the tyre test results were credible. “But it is very important to note that BEVs are becoming lighter very fast,” he said. “By 2024-25 we expect BEVs and [fossil-fuelled] city cars will have comparable weights. Only high-end, large BEVs with high capacity batteries will weigh more.” Other recent research has suggested tyre particles are a major source of the microplastics polluting the oceans. A specific chemical used in tyres has been linked to salmon deaths in the US and California proposed a ban this month. “The US is more advanced in their thinking about [the impacts of tyre particles],” said Molden. “The European Union is behind the curve. Overall, it’s early days, but this could be a big issue.” | ['environment/pollution', 'world/road-transport', 'environment/plastic', 'environment/air-pollution', 'technology/motoring', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/damiancarrington', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/plastic | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2022-06-03T11:06:00Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
world/2014/sep/09/illegal-loggers-blamed-for-of-peru-forest-campaigner | Illegal loggers blamed for murder of Peru forest campaigner | Illegal loggers are being blamed for the murder of four Asheninka natives including a prominent anti-logging campaigner, Edwin Chota, near the Peruvian frontier with Brazil. Authorities in Peru have confirmed that Chota, the leader of Alto Tamaya-Saweto, a community in Peru’s Amazon Ucayali region, fought for his people’s right to gain titles to their land and expel illegal loggers who raided their forests on the Brazilian border. He featured in reports by National Geographic and the New York Times that detailed how death threats were made against him and members of his community. “This is a terribly sad outcome. And the saddest part is that it was a foreseen event,” said Julia Urrunaga, Peru director for the Environmental Investigation Agency, an international conservation group. “It was widely known that Edwin Chota and other leaders from the Alto Tamaya-Saweto community were asking for protection from the Peruvian authorities because they were receiving death treats from the illegal loggers operating in their area.” Local leader Reyder Sebastian Quinticuari, the president of Aconamac, an association of Ashaninka communities, told local media that Edwin Chota and his companions were killed on 1 September but the news was delayed due to the remoteness of the location. The circumstances of the deaths are not clear but one local indigenous leader, Robert Guimaraes Vasquez, told a newspaper that illegal loggers bound and shot Chota and companions on the sports field in their village in front of the inhabitants. He said illegal loggers were taking revenge after having been reported to the authorities. The Associated Press said the other slain men were identified by a police official in Pucallpa, the regional capital, as Jorge Rios, who was Chota’s deputy, Leoncio Quincicima and Francisco Pinedo. “Edwin Chota’s widow and other villagers travelled for six days by river to come here to report this crime,” Peru’s vice minister of intercultural affairs, Patricia Balbuena, told the Guardian. She had travelled to the regional capital, Pucallpa, to further investigate the case. “There are no military or police posts in these dangerous border regions and that must change,” she added, indicating police would travel to the scene of the crime as part of the investigation. Henderson Rengifo, a leader with Peru’s largest indigenous federation, Aidesep, called on the Peruvian state to do more protect indigenous people from criminal mafias. “There’s so much corruption in the regional governments that these logging mafias can kill our brothers with impunity,” he told the Guardian. “We must ensure that justice is done and this crime does not go unpunished.” A 2012 World Bank report estimated that as much as 80% of Peru’s logging exports are harvested illegally [PDF] and investigations have revealed that the wood is typically laundered using doctored papers to make it appear legal and ship it out of the country; while a 2012 report by the Environmental Investigation Agency indicated at least 40% of official cedar exports to the US included illegally logged timber. A recent operation conducted by Peruvian customs looked at other timber species and, in three months, stopped the export of a volume of illegally logged timber equivalent to more than six Olympic pools. | ['world/peru', 'environment/deforestation', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/forests', 'world/americas', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/dan-collyns', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international'] | environment/forests | BIODIVERSITY | 2014-09-09T03:01:54Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
lifeandstyle/2016/mar/05/vegan-baking-my-kitchen-aimee-twigger-kitchen-encounters | My kitchen: Aimee Twigger | Kitchen Encounters | My kitchen is … quite small, but very neat. I did it up quite recently – my brother is still tiling the walls. I went for quite an industrial look with white subway tiles and shelves made of old scaffolding boards with metal brackets. It’s mostly open shelving, with ingredients in glass jars, and one cupboard with doors for things that don’t work in jars! The worktops are a really dark wood and I’ve a lot of copper accessories, which adds accents of brightness. I keep all my props and the other things I use for my photography is in another room. There’s a big window in front of the sink and a back door that gives on to a little courtyard, with steps going up into the main garden. The one thing I’d change if I could is the stone floor– it was there when we moved in, and it’s just so cold. My favourite kitchen tool is … my Kitchen Aid mixer. It’s cream-coloured; I’ve had it for about two years and I use it every day. My storecupboard staple is … Nielsen‑Massey vanilla bean paste. I buy a big jar and it lasts for ages. Vanilla brings a sweetness that means you can get away with using less sugar than normal. If you have a sweet tooth, like me, that’s a useful thing! When I’m starving I … have Greek yoghurt with honey and granola. I always have a batch of my own in the house – I shove everything in it: nuts, rose, candied stem ginger, seeds … you name it. My culinary inspiration is … from blogs, Instagram and Pinterest: Linda Lomellino, Molly Yeh, Michelle Lopez, and Betty Liu. I love seeing different photography styles – it’s really inspiring. I love Lily Vanilli, and I’m obsessed with Mary Berry. She’s brilliant. Her recipes are foolproof. My best-kept kitchen secret is … to always cream the butter and sugar for ages, until really, really soft. Then add the eggs one at a time, mixing for 2 minutes before adding the next. It makes your cake really light. It’s important to really mix in the eggs well, otherwise they can curdle. Also, if you fold the flour in by hand, you don’t make any gluten, so the batter stays soft. My current obsession is … vegan avocado and lime coconut cream frosting. I put it on a vegan sponge with aquafaba – the brine from a can of chickpeas. I don’t know who figured out that whipping this brine with sugar makes a vegan meringue, but it does. Everything tastes better with … salt. I particularly like using flaked sea salt on brownies. When I go shopping I … always have my notebook. I know exactly what I’m getting, but if I find something beautiful that is in season, I’ll also think of ideas for that, on the spot. Whatever catches my eye. For dinner tonight … I’m having Chinese steamed buns and chicken chilli and rice. Aimee Twigger is taking over Cook’s Instagram account this weekend. Follow @guardian_cook this weekend for updates. Aimee Twigger’s new book Love, Aimee x (Murdoch Books) is out now | ['lifeandstyle/series/kitchen-encounters', 'food/chefs', 'food/food', 'tone/features', 'technology/gadgets', 'type/article', 'profile/dale-berning-sawa', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/cook', 'theguardian/cook/cook'] | technology/gadgets | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2016-03-05T09:00:00Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
music/2012/dec/16/boycott-gigs-massive-carbon-footprints | Should I boycott gigs because of their massive carbon footprints? | There is an uneasy relationship between rock gods and the environment. "My prayer is that we become better in looking after our planet," said Bono in 2009, shortly before the U2 360 tour, which featured manoeuvring a 390-tonne stage among 100 venues and an air-mile tally that could have sent the band from Earth to Mars and back. Yes, the numbers are huge: 85,000; 400,000; 84,000. No, not album sales, but tonnes of equivalent carbon dioxide emissions (CO2e) produced respectively by UK bands touring, UK live music performances as a whole and UK festivals in 2009. The digital revolution has done one thing from a green perspective. It's moved the debate on from CD production to cleaning up tours – a big issue now as success is about nonstop shows and bands are on the road (or in the air) for months. There's no eco advantage to be gained by scale: the bigger the tour, the bigger the footprint. Arena tours involve retinues of 200 "essential" people and spectacularly power-hungry monster lighting rigs. Stadia also often need generators. So the emissions embodied in your ticket work out at about 5kg CO2e for a standard music venue, but 18kg CO2e for an arena (it's 25kg CO2e for a festival). Some bands and performers were well ahead of the game: KT Tunstall has been operating an eco-efficient tour since she first came on the scene in 2007. Pearl Jam have worked explicitly on making their tours eco efficient. What can you do if you want to listen to more than these two artists? Audience travel is a huge factor and coach/bus is the most eco route to a gig. If you're a fan of an arena band, get UK tickets – following your rock gods abroad generates two to three times the emissions of the same performances at home (thanks to shifting huge amounts of kit). I also salute Juliesbicycle.com, a not-for-profit which looks at sustainability in the arts and has collected music industry data to highlight environmental flashpoints and search for solutions. No green mentions among the hoo-ha for the Rolling Stones's mammoth 50th anniversary tour. But given that Chuck Leavell, who for many years has contributed "on keys", set up Mother Nature Network (mnn.com) and is a US eco warrior, I still hope reform will come from within. Now is the time, rock gods. Let us venerate you without guilt. Green crush: County Wicklow With its soubriquet of the Garden of Ireland, you'd expect County Wicklow to be green and serene. Well, now its appeal to both people and planet is official. It has taken the gold medal for the hotly contested Most Liveable Community at this year's LivCom Awards (livcomawards.com), endorsed by the United Nations Environment Programme. Think of these as the Oscars for the local environment and amenities. Greenspeak: Fashion detox Formerly an exorcism of last season's must-haves. Through the tenacious Greenpeace campaign Detox, it now means eliminating toxic chemicals from the supply chain. Some of the world's biggest brands and retailers have signed up If you have an ethical dilemma, send an email to Lucy at lucy.siegle@observer.co.uk or visit theguardian.com/profile/lucysiegle to read all her articles in one place | ['music/music', 'environment/series/its-not-easy-being-green', 'environment/carbonfootprints', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'environment/series/ask-leo-lucy', 'environment/ethical-living', 'culture/culture', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'tone/features', 'type/article', 'profile/lucysiegle', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/magazine', 'theobserver/magazine/life-and-style'] | environment/carbonfootprints | EMISSIONS | 2012-12-16T00:06:25Z | true | EMISSIONS |
environment/2022/may/20/ellas-law-bill-right-to-clean-air-uk-pollution-jenny-jones | ‘Ella’s law’ bill seeks to establish right to clean air in UK | A new clean air law is starting out in parliament after the Green party peer Jenny Jones won first place in the House of Lords ballot for private members’ bills. Named Ella’s law, as a tribute to nine-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah who died from asthma induced by air pollution, the bill would establish a right to clean air and set up a commission to oversee government actions and progress. It would also join policies on indoor and outdoor air pollution with actions to combat our climate emergency, and include annual reviews of the latest science. Jones said: “Having a nice environment isn’t just a matter of ecology and science, it is a question of social justice. The clean air (human rights) bill would enshrine the human right to healthy air precisely and explicitly in UK law. A suitable date for the government to put it into law would be before the 70th anniversary of the Great Smog later this year”. The UK’s first Clean Air Act also began as a private member’s bill, introduced by the handlebar moustached Tory MP Gerald Nabarro. Nabarro’s bill was triggered by a Ministry for Health report that estimated a death toll of about 4,000 people due to the weeklong London smog of 1952, a death rate greater than the Victorian cholera outbreaks and the worst periods of the blitz. Politically, Jones and Nabarro are poles apart but Jones’s bill comes at a time when about 4,000 Londoners die from breathing polluted air each year. UK annual deaths are estimated to be between 28,000 and 36,000, and globally it is about 7 million. Since Nabarro’s bill, thousands of research studies have explored the health harm from air pollution, or, viewed from a different angle, the benefits that could come from cleaner air. Dr Maria Neira, the World Health Organization (WHO) director for public health, environmental and social determinants of health, said: “These days we have overwhelming evidence that air pollution harms health, more than enough evidence to justify actions to reduce exposure. You can imagine the incredible number of lives we will save.” Improving air pollution saves money from reduced absence from work and less cost to the NHS. In parallel to Jones’s bill, the government is asking for views on its own targets for particle pollution in England. These targets for 2040 match the guidelines that were set by the WHO in 2005. Additionally, it is proposed to reduce average particle pollution by 35%. According to government analysis, the benefits from these actions would be five times greater than the money than spent cleaning our air. | ['environment/series/pollutionwatch', 'environment/air-pollution', 'environment/environment', 'environment/pollution', 'uk/uk', 'law/human-rights', 'law/law', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'tone/features', 'profile/gary-fuller', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-weather'] | environment/air-pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2022-05-20T05:00:42Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
lifeandstyle/2024/mar/31/hours-of-fun-whats-the-point-of-daylight-savings | Hours of fun: what’s the point of daylight savings? | The clocks changed today, which means the Time of Great Confusion is upon us. “What’s the rhyme?” puzzle my smartest friends. “Fall forwards… or back? Spring back? That doesn’t rhyme.” They picture themselves stumbling, falling forwards, or springing back like fresh sponge. They picture the South African rugby team, the Springboks. No one knows. It’s worse than the rhyme about how many days are in each month, which is longer than the Great Wall of China and implodes in a subclause about leap years. That threw me last month and now this. It’s hard enough trying to keep track of Easter. That occurs on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. In case you’re lost that also means today. Happy Easter. At least the chocolate eggs make it worthwhile – and it’s hard to be mad at an equinox. Especially this one, which marked the start of spring. Even more than an equinox, I love a solstice. I’ll come back to that. Or do I mean forward? I don’t understand clock changes. Not as in I don’t agree with them, although I don’t. I mean they make my head hurt. It’s gaslighty to be told 9am is not 9am. America did it two weeks before us for some reason. Scheduling a Zoom call, I couldn’t figure out whether they were EST or EDT and whether we were in GMT+1 or regular. The upshot was I left a celebrity I was supposed to be interviewing in the ether and had to pretend I had food poisoning. The irony is I don’t change my clocks. Devices update themselves, while the clock in the bathroom has been an hour fast for 17 months, which has led to some horrifically panicked showers. I’ll now have to stop mentally adjusting the time it reads, which will lead to different, but related mistakes. Everyone I talk to about daylight savings says the same thing. “Bloody farmers!” This is the biggest myth around. Farmers were never consulted about adopting it. In fact, they lobbied against it and still don’t like it. Buggering about with clocks makes no difference to cows or crops, which follow the sun. It simply hands a host of challenges to farmers, who have to adjust schedules to compensate. Shifts in milking time unsettle animals. So, don’t lean into the Great Confusion on behalf of the cows. They hate it. Weirdly, in the UK, changing clocks was first proposed by William Willett, the great-great-grandfather of Coldplay singer Chris Martin. Willett loved horse riding and wanted more sunlit hours. (You could say he wanted everything all yellow? Sorry.) It was implemented by Germany and America in wartime to conserve coal. It persists today, so we can have a life in the evenings after our terrible office jobs – that we don’t go into any more. Lighter evenings are lovely, but there’s a hefty bill in October when clocks – aha! – shift back. “What will you do with your extra hour?” people will ask. I’ll spend it feeling miserable about the sky getting dark at 3pm, thanks. “You British really hate yourselves, don’t you?” observed a friend’s mother in Australia, when our system was explained to her. It hurts my head in many ways. Meddling with our circadian rhythms leads to increases in heart attacks and plays a large part in traffic accidents at this time. Disrupted sleep can last weeks and is catastrophic for our mental health. Studies show it shreds cognitive ability, immune function, libido. It makes us less likely to help others and even judges hand down harsher sentences. We understand more than ever what the cows always knew. We should’ve studied Back to the Future, learned its lessons about messing with time. Not that that’s what we’re doing. Time is a fundamental concept, stitched into space itself, a dimension that arguably structures our consciousness. But an hour? An hour isn’t a thing. Like money, language and countries, we made it up. Poking it into shape, so we can enjoy postwork drinks, draws attention to the arbitrary nature of our scheduled lives. Maybe that’s the (daylight) saving grace of today; a metaphysical wake-up call. I do understand wanting more sun. But we have more sun. If we must wake up earlier to enjoy it, falling in with our planet’s cycles, maybe that’s OK. There’s a very human sense of hubris in “correcting” for nature. It’s not her fault we bind ourselves to clocks, coordination and artificial control. I see clock changes as an industrial counterpart to the solstices, those sunlight-charged superstars of the natural calendar. There’s an instructive, yin-yang element to solstices. The fact that in the middle of June, the days start getting shorter is a reminder to not feel triumphal in the summer of our own lives, when fortune smiles. By the same token, in the depths of winter, when light is low and hope is lost, the days are already growing longer. All things are passing. I’m writing this slightly ahead of time. Or maybe with the clock change, I’m writing it now. Or you’re writing it. If so, please can you explain daylight saving to me and when I’ve grasped that, can you move on to time zones? Do they mean that New Zealand is… in the future? What have they seen? Is that why so few people live there? Forget the cows, what do the sheep know? | ['lifeandstyle/time-management', 'environment/spring', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'environment/farming', 'society/society', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/rhik-samadder', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/magazine', 'theobserver/magazine/life-and-style', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/observer-magazine'] | environment/farming | BIODIVERSITY | 2024-03-31T07:00:31Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
sport/2021/apr/25/rugby-union-womens-six-nations-review-england-france-finals-day | England emerge from tense finale to win unique Women’s Six Nations | Ian Malin | The 2021 Women’s Six Nations has been unique even if the final outcome was not, with the professionals of England retaining the trophy after beating France’s semi-professionals 10-6 on finals day. Less predictable was the manner of the Red Roses’ triumph. These sides had scored 228 points between them in their two pool games to reach the final. On Saturday, in perfect conditions at Twickenham Stoop, they managed one try. Poppy Cleall’s score on the stroke of half-time edged England to a win that was gripping, even if an error-strewn game lacked the fluency that armchair viewers might have expected. England’s players won’t care too much that their third successive championship, broadcast live on BBC Two, wasn’t always easy on the eye. As their head coach, Simon Middleton, pointed out, rugby is often more about showing character and scrapping away than entertaining. England fought tirelessly and defended heroically against a French side who weren’t going to stand back and admire the Red Roses on what in England had been named Blossom Watch Day. Zoe Aldcroft, moved from the second row to blindside flanker, epitomised England’s bloodymindedness. Aldcroft has battled back from injuries to finally blossom. She made countless tackles and carries as the French pack, whose two locks Madoussou Fall and Safi N’Diaye were a real handful, threatened to do some real damage in the first half. England’s wings, Jess Breach and Abby Dow, hardly had a sniff of an opportunity on a day of unyielding defence but Middleton now has a real successor to Katy Daley-McLean, whose retirement at Christmas left a big hole. Helena Rowland and the inside-centre Zoe Harrison can both kick out of hand like Daley-McLean, and Rowland looks a really safe pair of hands at No 0. England also scrapped away at the breakdown where the experienced Marlie Packer justified her selection after being left out against Italy. Perhaps it was the pressure of the occasion that turned this showpiece final into a toe-to-toe endeavour. There was an indication early on that England might labour to impose their authority when their captain, Emily Scarratt, missed two penalties as both sides struggled to get on the scoreboard. When Scarratt left the field for a head injury assessment soon afterwards things got really worrying. “That second kick was really poor but we’re only human,” the England centre said. “I’m glad that wasn’t the difference between the sides in the end because I’m a perfectionist.” Scarratt returned to the field and it was her successful last-minute penalty that allowed England to breathe easy in what had been an excruciatingly tight contest. So physical were the exchanges between the packs that Cleall, probably England’s best performer of the tournament, was forced from the field in the second half clutching her left elbow, an injury that will rule her out of the friendly rematch in Lille on Friday. By then Sarah Hunter, left out of the starting lineup for her 125th cap, has come on to inject some energy into the English pack. “Sarah proved a serious point,” Scarratt said of her side’s usual captain. “She made a massive impact and her calm head really helped me.” Warren Abrahams’s Wales side have had a difficult tournament but they at least scored their first points in a more promising display in Glasgow where Scotland, with Helen Nelson shining, avoided a wooden spoon with a 27-20 victory. It was only Scotland’s second championship win against Wales in the past 15 years. Earlier on finals day, two tries from Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe helped Ireland to secure third spot with a 25-5 win against Italy in Dublin. It has been hard for the four teams struggling to keep pace with England and France, but all the players of this year’s tournament in its silent stadiums may just feel grateful it happened at all. | ['sport/womens-six-nations-2021', 'sport/england-womens-rugby-union-team', 'sport/france-womens-rugby-union-team', 'sport/ireland-womens-rugby-union-team', 'sport/scotland-womens-rugby-union-team', 'sport/wales-womens-rugby-union-team', 'sport/womens-six-nations', 'sport/womens-rugby-union', 'sport/rugby-union', 'sport/sport', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/ianmalin', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/sport', 'theguardian/sport/news', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-sport'] | sport/wales-womens-rugby-union-team | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2021-04-25T11:23:15Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2020/dec/01/wildflower-meadows-to-line-all-major-new-uk-roads-in-boost-for-biodiversity-aoe | Wildflower meadows to line England's new roads in boost for biodiversity | Native wildflower meadows will line the verges of all new large-scale road projects under an initiative by Highways England, the Guardian can reveal. Nodding blue harebells, clusters of yellow kidney vetch and flashes of bird’s-foot-trefoil could soon become the norm on stretches of the road network in England with the infrastructure provider committing to the creation of biodiverse grasslands as standard on all new major schemes. The UK has lost 97% of its wildflower meadows since the 1930s, and the move could create substantial areas of rare habitat along hundreds of miles of motorways and A-roads for pollinators such as bees, bats and birds. Under the new low nutrient grasslands policy, Highways England contractors will be obliged to create conditions for species-rich grasslands to thrive using low fertility soils with chalk and limestone bases. The verges will then be allowed to regenerate naturally or be seeded with wildflowers. The approach also limits the potential for aggressive grasses, dock and nettle to overpower wildflowers, which regularly happens on verges covered in topsoil, often requiring intensive cutting regimes. The decision follows the success of projects like the Weymouth Relief Road in Dorset, where native wildflowers have thrived on chalk verges. The area is now home to half of the butterflies in the UK, including the small blue, Britain’s smallest. The roadsides require minimal maintenance, and large sections have not been cut in 10 years since wildflower seeds were sown, which has also reduced costs. “Verges will look different under this approach. They’ll be a lot more natural looking. It wouldn’t just be rye grass. It’s going to be more varied and colourful. And hopefully a lot more vibrant,” said Ben Hewlett, Highways England environmental adviser. “It’s potentially hundreds of miles of new schemes. There’ll be all over the country and provide ecological connectivity across the network.” Highways England said the new policy would only apply to larger new projects at first – around 300 miles of road – but the company aims to extend the initiative to pre-existing roads. While the policy change by Highways England only involves the creation of wildflower meadows using low fertility soils, the company said it was also altering mowing regimes to promote biodiversity on parts of the road network it manages. Phil Sterling, a programme manager with Butterfly Conservation , who sowed the seeds on the Weymouth Relief Road a decade ago, said the new policy was a significant change of approach. “It’s encouraging that Highways England have seen the light and followed this lead,” he said. “Butterflies need linked habitats across landscapes to reverse their declines and Highways England are now on the path to achieving this on all their new schemes.” The conservation charity Plantlife has produced best practice guidelines for councils and road mangers – including Highways England – and several councils have started adopting the changes in their verge management regime. In addition to using low fertility soils, the guidelines recommend changes to mowing that allow wildflowers to bloom and seed. “Our research shows that nearly half of our entire flora grows on our verges, making this an exceptionally important habitat for wildlife, which needs all the help it can get,” said Kate Petty, Plantlife’s Road Verge Campaign Manager. One of the few happy accidents of the spring lockdown was that wildflowers were able to bloom on roadsides as the pandemic forced maintenance teams to stay at home. An explosion of colour followed across the UK, and the vision of what could be inspired many members of the public, said Petty. “For lots of people, verges have been mown so often that they are just a green thicket that has been abandoned, or it’s something that’s mown within an inch of its life each year,” she said. “For people to have the time to slow down a bit and see those plants go through their life cycle, it helped them see there’s this wonderful showcase of flowers on their doorstep.” While the Green Party welcomed the change by Highways England, deputy leader Amelia Womack cautioned the move was not and alternative to tackling the country’s reliance on cars and stopping the building of new roads. “The UK is one of the most nature-deprived nations on Earth and so any initiative to improve our biodiversity is, of course, welcome,” she said. “However, creating wildflower verges by the side of roads is no substitute for taking the more serious action that is needed if we are to tackle the nature and climate crises we currently face.” 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/wildlife', 'uk/uk', 'environment/environment', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/butterflies', 'environment/biodiversity', 'uk/transport', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/patrick-greenfield', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-age-of-extinction'] | environment/biodiversity | BIODIVERSITY | 2020-12-01T15:43:05Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
politics/2015/may/01/nicky-morgan-accepts-donation-from-corporate-spy-paul-mercer | Cabinet minister accepted donation from corporate spy | A cabinet minister has accepted a donation from a corporate investigator with a history of spying on political campaigners. The education secretary, Nicky Morgan, who received £3,220 from Paul Mercer, is fighting to be re-elected in her marginal seat of Loughborough in Leicestershire. Mercer, who has lived in the area for many years, is taking an active part in promoting her campaign. His covert work monitoring campaigners was exposed in 2007 when legal papers revealed that he was paid £2,500 a month by the security department of the arms manufacturer BAE. Mercer was entangled in the controversy after it emerged he had passed to BAE a CD containing confidential legal advice drawn up by lawyers working for the Campaign Against the Arms Trade. The advice had been circulated to a limited number of the group’s campaigners when they were planning a legal challenge against an official decision to drop a police investigation into alleged bribery by BAE. Evidence of Mercer’s work for a second clandestine operation has been revealed in a set of confidential documents seen by the Guardian. According to the documents, he worked in 2003 for a secretive corporate security firm, The Inkerman Group, which monitored campaign groups, and was on one occasion part of an eight-person covert unit that infiltrated an anti-capitalist protest. An environmental campaigner told the Guardian Mercer, now 54, regularly attended demonstrations in the 1990s and 2000s when he said he supported their cause. He often took photographs of the demonstrations, another said. One of his associates, the Tory MP Julian Lewis, has previously said he regarded Mercer as a friend who “did a lot of good work exposing the far left”. Recently Mercer, who made his donation in 2013, has been campaigning for the Conservatives in Loughborough, canvassing and running a website with a Tory councillor that promotes the party. The Guardian asked the Conservatives if Mercer wished to comment, and attempted on several occasions to contact him directly, and no response was received. Morgan declined to comment. Voted in at the last general election, she is defending a majority of 3,744. In 2007, court action by the Campaign Against the Arms Trade revealed the payments Mercer had been receiving from BAE for the previous two years. The campaign forced BAE to admit it had received the campaigners’ confidential legal advice from Mercer, who said himself that the document had been sent to him anonymously and he did not know whom it was from. The campaigners’ lawyers had given them advice on tactics they could use to take legal action after Tony Blair’s government shut down a major investigation into allegations that BAE had paid huge bribes to members of the Saudi royal family. At the time, Mercer said he had started work for BAE after he was contacted by a corporate security firm, Global Open, because BAE needed someone to search the media and internet “to examine potential threats to it”. He had a “very good reputation for my ability to rigorously search the internet”. Global Open, run by the former Special Branch officer Rod Leeming, has been paid by firms to keep a “discreet watch” on protest groups that could cause them trouble. The Kent-based Inkerman Group, which has also employed Mercer, has had former Met commissioner Lord Imbert on its books as a strategic adviser. A confidential document produced by Inkerman warned of the danger posed by protest groups who used direct action to disrupt the “economic welfare” of companies. Another document describes how Inkerman intended to deploy a covert team at the 2003 May Day anti-capitalist protest in London to warn firms along the route “of approaching trouble”. It noted that “Mercer will be on the ground as well”, but that the other infiltrators should “if possible avoid him”. Inkerman declined to comment. During the 1980s, Mercer worked for the rightwing thinktank, the Adam Smith Institute, and wrote an unsympathetic book on the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament that he said was partly based on confidential internal CND documents. He was a Conservative councillor in Loughborough between 1987 and 1991, and is seeking to be elected again to the local council on 7 May. In 2011, Mercer, who says he is a long-standing journalist, told a meeting organised by a thinktank that he advised companies on public order issues, adding that he had spent 29 years trying to “combine an academic study of extra-parliamentary groups with actually going and seeing what happens on protests”. He told the audience that he had been on “pretty well every major public order disturbance in London over that period”, such as the demonstration against the poll tax. | ['politics/nicky-morgan', 'world/espionage', 'world/surveillance', 'uk/uk', 'environment/activism', 'world/protest', 'politics/politics', 'business/baesystems', 'business/business', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'world/arms-trade', 'politics/conservatives', 'politics/general-election-2015', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/johnnymcdevitt', 'profile/robevans', 'profile/meirion-jones'] | environment/activism | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2015-05-01T11:07:16Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
commentisfree/2023/sep/05/climate-politics-ipcc-emergency | Climate politics is more complex and urgent than ever – is the IPCC still fit for purpose? | Adam Standring | The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has achieved many successes. In its 35 years, the UN body has become the most authoritative global source of knowledge on climate breakdown. Politicians, policymakers and social movements from around the world draw on its reports and data to frame the problem of the climate emergency and to envisage solutions. But as climate politics has become more complex, more diverse and more pressing, the IPCC is increasingly called upon to fulfil roles not envisaged at its creation – and to which it is not well suited. As it moves into its seventh assessment cycle and with the election of a new chair, the British climate scientist Prof Jim Skea, the time is right for a reassessment of its role and function. The next decade will be crucial in the fight against climate breakdown, with the IPCC calling for “transformative change”. Future debates are likely to be less about its causes and extent, and more about what mitigations and solutions are socially feasible and desirable. As the conversation centres more closely on policy, a divide has emerged between those who believe the IPCC can continue to act as a neutral, consensus-based body, and those who think it should incorporate more diverse, even contradictory views and values, or even begin to advocate for specific solutions. Thirty leading scholars who study the IPCC recently laid out the case for institutional reform in the journal Nature Climate Change. They looked at three possible scenarios for the organisation in the future. Unlike a typical scientific research enterprise, the IPCC relies on an army of volunteer experts from across the world, nominated by governments and observer organisations, to collect, assess and synthesise the global body of climate knowledge. It is monolithic in scope, producing vast assessment reports running to thousands of pages, along with synthesis reports and summaries for policymakers, on five- to six-year cycles. The IPCC has maintained its relevance and authority by adhering to core institutional pillars: policy neutrality, diverse participation, consensus-building and governmental ownership – so its final published assessments have been reviewed and ultimately agreed by all governments. The organisation is mandated to be “policy-relevant but not policy-prescriptive”, meaning that it must not favour one single policy or set of policy responses to climate breakdown over another. It is intended to be – as much as is possible – a neutral guide to the possible policies to take up. While the IPCC may not favour any one policy, the makeup of the participants can have a large effect on which policies are considered, and how they are framed. Although it has improved the diversity of its contributors in recent cycles, scientists from the global south, social scientists and researchers in the humanities, indigenous voices and alternate knowledge systems make up a minority of the assessment participants. When solutions are proposed without a truly representative set of voices and values, it risks perpetuating, or even exacerbating, existing exclusions and injustices. One way forward for the IPCC would be simply to make minor reforms that adapt to the current political reality. It may, for example, claim a stronger commitment to including social sciences and indigenous voices in its assessments, but would keep the same organisation structure with its existing working groups, and repeat the current cycle of assessment reports. This “business as usual” approach may maintain the IPCC’s credibility among some governments and stakeholders, but it could well undermine its policy relevance as it perpetuates uneven participation and is unresponsive to the increasingly rapid needs of policymakers. Alternatively, the IPCC could work to greatly increase and intensify its diversity, drawing back from its commitment to consensus, which often obscures dissent, and instead recognise the need for plural voices and values. This may involve incorporating a wider set of scientific disciplines and knowledge systems into the IPCC assessment process, which in turn means vastly broadening participation. The challenge here lies in shifting away from existing notions – both within the IPCC and in the governments that approve the reports – of what constitutes legitimate or valid knowledge. It would make the reports less able to claim a single, consensus-based authoritative voice, but it would more accurately reflect the many stakeholders and voices that contribute to thinking on climate breakdown. Lastly, and perhaps most difficult to realise, the IPCC could embrace a wholly new role as an advocate for change. It would engage with a wider range of stakeholders, social movements and Indigenous groups, in a more rapid and responsive way, as a catalyst for change. The stronger policy recommendations demanded of the IPCC would entail partially abandoning its commitment to neutrality. This is challenging because this scenario recognises the ultimately political nature of what the IPCC does, and therefore requires governments and experts alike to grapple explicitly with the politics of climate breakdown. Each scenario of the IPCC’s future contains different advantages and potential pitfalls. In the context of continuing climate-related disasters, the IPCC must first look to see whether it remains fit for purpose, whether it serves policy and public needs, and whether it is receptive to meeting new challenges rather than resting on past successes. Whatever future the IPCC choses, it will face difficulties in supporting the much wider variety of actors who now look to it to provide a knowledge base for transforming society. Adam Standring is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow at De Montfort University and an associated researcher at the Centre for Environmental and Sustainability Social Science at Örebro University, Sweden | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'environment/ipcc', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'world/unitednations', 'type/article', 'tone/comment', 'profile/adam-standring', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-opinion'] | environment/ipcc | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2023-09-05T11:00:26Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
environment/ethicallivingblog/2007/oct/26/treadlightlylaunch | Welcome to Tread lightly | Complete 12 pledges and receive an eco-shopper Welcome to Tread lightly, the Guardian's new green community. Tread lightly allows Guardian readers to join an online community of people who want to take personal and collective action to reduce their C02 emissions. By making weekly pledges and recording your actions, you can see how much carbon you have saved individually and together. Each Friday, we will have a new pledge to sign up to. These will range from simple actions such as our first week's pledge switching to energy efficient light bulbs, or taking showers instead of baths, and turning appliances off standby, to more imaginative ideas that you can suggest. The pledges are on three different levels - for light, medium or heavy users. To coincide with each pledge, we will be running a weekly blog where you to can share tips for how best to achieve the lifestyle change, ask for advice, read the latest news and features on the pledge and learn about special offers that could make it easier for you to make the switch. To join Tread lightly, you must have a username and password for Guardian Unlimited services. New users can register for free here, and existing users can sign in when they commit to their pledge. You will have a personalised pledge history page charting pledges you have made and achieved and your total savings to date. These will be added to the reductions made by the community as a whole to give overall CO2 savings. Together we hope to be able to save enough carbon to switch off a coal-fired power station. Nurturing a sense of community through Tread lightly is key. No one likes to feel they are acting alone. And we can achieve so much more by acting together. If you are sceptical about what we here in the UK can actually achieve in the face of increasing carbon dioxide emissions from China and India, it is worth remembering that according to WWF the UK still produces 9.1 tonnes of C02 per person, whereas China produces 3.2 tonnes and India only 1 tonne. Moreover, a quarter of the greenhouses gases being emitted in China today are a direct result of making goods to be exported to the West. In addition, nearly two-thirds of the CO2 in the atmosphere today was emitted by major industrialised countries. So shouldn't we be leading the way? Tread lightly aims to encourage habitual change in our everyday lives in an engaging and communal way so that we get to the point where most of the pledged actions become second nature. We know we won't have got everything right. We look forward to your comments and suggestions for ways that we can develop and improve Tread lightly. With your active help and support we want to ensure that living a low carbon lifestyle is a fun and smart option. So over to you... | ['environment/series/tread-lightly', 'environment/ethical-living', 'environment/environment', 'tone/blog', 'environment/carbonfootprints', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'environment/green-living-blog', 'environment/blog', 'type/article'] | environment/carbonfootprints | EMISSIONS | 2007-10-26T15:02:00Z | true | EMISSIONS |
news/2017/apr/23/winter-returns-europe-vengeance-world-weatherwatch | Winter returns to Europe with a vengeance | After a very warm start to April, parts of Central and Eastern Europe reverted to winter mode over the Easter weekend and throughout last week as unusually cold air for this time of year spread southwards bringing snow and sub-zero temperatures. In Slovakia, a heavy snowstorm reportedly caused a 40-car pile-up. However, the wintry weather hasn’t just brought travel disruption. It has also caused concern among farmers who fear that hard frosts and snow could have damaged or destroyed crops. The low-pressure system over south-eastern Europe that brought this weather drifted eastwards on Thursday into Ukraine and Romania, bringing further snow accumulations to mountainous areas. Elsewhere, an intense heatwave gripped India last week with the mercury soaring into the mid-40s. There are no signs of relief for the millions of people and animals as daily temperatures are expected to remain 3-5C above normal across northern India throughout this week, especially in the north-west, where temperatures could still breach 40C. Although heatwaves occur every year in India, there is concern surrounding this particular event due to its early arrival and its persistence. Nearly 40 people have reportedly died since the beginning of April, and it is thought that it could last until the start of the monsoon season in June. Meanwhile in the Atlantic ocean, tropical storm Arlene became the first named storm of the 2017 hurricane season. April storms are a rare occurrence, with Ana in 2003 being the only previous storm recorded so early in the year since satellite monitoring began. | ['news/series/world-weatherwatch', 'science/meteorology', 'environment/oceans', 'world/snow', 'world/india', 'world/ukraine', 'world/hurricanes', 'world/slovakia', 'world/romania', 'news/series/weatherwatch', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-weather'] | news/series/weatherwatch | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2017-04-23T20:30:22Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
commentisfree/2023/feb/09/keir-starmer-green-economy-joe-biden-us-industrial-policies | What can Starmer learn from Biden? Now is not the time for timidity | Nick Dearden | The severe crises humanity faces will not be solved by the outdated rules of the global economy. Keir Starmer came close to recognising this in his new year’s speech, when he spoke of his plans for “mission-driven” government. The phrase – borrowed from Mariana Mazzucato – implies governments setting economic goals (say, 100% renewable energy) and single-mindedly driving that goal forward through investment and regulation. In essence, this is an acceptance that government planning, state intervention and public ownership, so derided over 40 years of neoliberalism, are necessary tools of government today, and it’s what makes Labour’s industrial strategy central to any progressive offer to the country. But Starmer will need to go much further. First, Labour needs to be clear that any government support to the economy must come with serious strings attached. If the public is not simply paying for super-rich people to get even richer, then state support must require business to behave very differently. Second, Starmer’s Labour needs to realise that this way of operating is fundamentally at odds with some of the rules of the global economy – rules often written by big business to secure a right to operate how it wants, where it wants. Here, Labour can learn much from the US, where President Joe Biden, who previously supported corporate-dominated free trade agreements, has responded to the growing ire against unfettered capitalism. In his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, Biden railed against the corporate monopolies that are “taking advantage of you”. He laid out a different path to the market-knows-best trickle-down economics that has enabled grotesque levels of corporate greed and intensified the many crises we now confront, not least climate breakdown. Significantly, Biden has recognised that when the state is providing vast amounts of funding – for dealing with the climate crisis, for instance – governments need to set the terms. That’s the backbone, for instance, of Biden’s flagship Inflation Reduction Act, a necessary set of industrial policies aimed at helping the US transition to a greener economy by incentivising the growth of a domestic renewable-energy manufacturing base. As Melinda St Louis of US pressure group Public Citizen says: “For workers in North America, that must mean creating jobs in a sector of the economy that has been historically more unionised than other sectors, and has thus provided higher wages than others.” Starmer has also made significant promises in this area, with renewable energy identified as a key “mission” for industrial strategy in Labour’s first term, including promoting local production, building a national wealth fund, and creating a public energy company. This is all potentially positive stuff. But Labour must be much clearer about how this builds public, as opposed to corporate, value. In particular, if the British government takes an equity stake in companies, how will it use that stake to promote the public interest, not only within the UK, but also globally? Although Biden’s final bill was severely weakened by wrangles in Congress, it injects unprecedented funding into the economy. At the same time, it curtails the power of corporate America – for instance, cracking down on big tech monopolies and demanding big pharma provides cheaper medicines, albeit in a much more watered-down form than Biden wanted. Starmer has been silent on this. Sure, he has spoken of the need to unleash innovation. But unless this innovation is accompanied by a much less harsh intellectual property regime, which is at least partly publicly owned, this innovation will only benefit the few. This is as true for climate technologies as it is of new cancer treatments. Of course, there are obstacles. Biden’s plans have come up against global trade rules. His green industrial policy is now at the centre of a major trade dispute with some of its closest allies – including the UK. The European Union and the UK demand that the US must change the Inflation Reduction Act to include European manufacturers, arguing that in its current form, it violates the unquestionable rules of the World Trade Organization, under which government policies that support domestic manufacturing are viewed as “discriminatory” towards multinationals. Many would argue that the US has little right to decide when and where it bypasses rules that it spent the last few decades pushing on to the rest of the world. But we should defend policies that allow all countries to develop their own industrial strategies to build fairer, more sustainable economies. Rather than pushing back on US policy, Starmer should be clear that it is the trade rules that need to give. What’s more, the US, like all powerful countries, must now promise not to challenge reasonable industrial policies passed elsewhere around the world. To date, though, Starmer’s move to embrace industrial policy is constrained by his determination to cosy up to business and to display excessive fiscal prudence. In office, he won’t have this luxury. To protect his industrial policy, to build a more equal world – indeed, just to maintain an electoral coalition – Starmer will need a more combative approach to big business and the rules of the global economy. Biden is further down this road already. There’s much Starmer can learn. Nick Dearden is director of Global Justice Now (formerly World Development Movement) | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'politics/economy', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'politics/keir-starmer', 'politics/labour', 'us-news/joebiden', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/world', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/energy', 'politics/politics', 'business/economics', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/comment', 'profile/nick-dearden', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-opinion'] | environment/renewableenergy | ENERGY | 2023-02-09T11:00:27Z | true | ENERGY |
us-news/2022/dec/26/washington-state-energy-station-attacked-christmas-day | More than 14,000 in Washington state lose power after energy station attacked | More than 14,000 people suffered power outages in Washington state on Christmas Day following burglaries and a series of vandalisms at different power stations. The Pierce county sheriff said in two statements that no suspects had yet been identified for the incidents. The Christmas Day outages add to an alarming and increasing list of similar incidents in the US. There were six attacks across power stations in Oregon and Washington earlier this month, following a similar attack on a power grid in North Carolina at the beginning of December. In the attack in North Carolina, assailants shot gunfire into two stations, with some claiming that it was done in order to halt a local drag show. While there are no suspects in the string of attacks, there are concerns that at least some of these assaults are carried out by extremists, motivated by online conspiracy theories and pursuing a far-right agenda. The most recent incident in Washington unfolded on Christmas evening with a fire on the premises of Puget Sound Energy substation following a burglary. “The suspect(s) gained access to the fenced area and vandalized the equipment which caused the fire,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement on Sunday. Early on Christmas morning, around 2.30am, an energy utility company Puget Sound Energy experienced a power outage “where the fenced area was broken into and the equipment vandalized”, said another statement from the sheriff’s office. At about 5.30am, a break-in and vandalism in a Tacoma Public Utilities facility about 10 miles away, led to a power outage. Following that, just a couple of miles away, there was a “forced entry” at a substation where nothing was stolen. Tacoma Public Utilities said in a statement on Sunday that the issue was much more severe than they had initially thought. “Unfortunately, the impacts to our system from today’s deliberate damage are more severe in some places than initial testing indicated,” they said on Sunday evening in an update in a live feed on Facebook. Sgt Darren Moss of Pierce county sheriff’s department has said it was likely the incidents are related. “There’s a good possibility they are related, we are going to be investigating to see if this was coordinated by a specific group or people,” he told news station KING 5, “but at this time all we know is that we have burglaries where the power was purposefully knocked out.” Of those affected, more than 7,000 customers were out of power before the sun was up on Christmas morning, KING 5 reported. | ['us-news/us-news', 'us-news/washington-dc', 'lifeandstyle/christmas', 'us-news/oregon', 'us-news/northcarolina', 'environment/energy', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/samira-sadeque', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news'] | environment/energy | ENERGY | 2022-12-26T16:16:11Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/blog/2011/feb/16/china-nuclear-thorium | China enters race to develop nuclear energy from thorium | Duncan Clark | Imagine how the nuclear energy debate might differ if the fuel was abundant and distributed across the world; if there was no real possibility of creating weapons-grade material as part of the process; if the waste remained toxic for hundreds rather than thousands of years; and if the power stations were small and presented no risk of massive explosions. What you're imagining could fairly soon be reality judging from a little-noticed development in China last month. Two years ago, as part of the Manchester Report, a panel of experts assembled by the Guardian selected nuclear power based on thorium rather the uranium as one of the 10 most promising solutions to climate change. Thorium – which is found in large quantities across much of the world – could be used to create nuclear energy in various ways. But the approach that impressed the Manchester Report panel so much was a currently obscure technology called the liquid-fluoride thorium reactor (LFTR). I wrote at the time: "This technology was developed by the US military in the 1950s and 1960s and was shown to have many benefits. For example, reactors of this type can be smaller than conventional uranium reactors, partly thanks to their low-pressure operation. Despite its early promise, research into liquid-fluoride thorium reactors was abandoned – the most likely reason being that the technology offered no potential for producing nuclear weapons." There's a big difference between a demonstrably good idea and a multimillion-dollar research and development programme, however, so it's exciting to hear about a major new push to actually develop LFTR technology in China. Thorium-energy expert Kirk Sorensen recently blogged about the announcement of the new scheme at the Chinese National Academy of Sciences in late January. Technology journalist Andrew Orlowski followed up with a story claiming that a private company in China is aiming to build a prototype within five years that can produce electricity at for as little as 6.8p per kilowatt hour (much cheaper than the retail price of power in the UK today). Despite not making a ripple in the wider press, there's a chance this development could be very significant. If the advocates of LFTRs are proved correct – and their arguments are certainly very compelling – then the Chinese could be taking one of the first substantial steps in a new type of nuclear race. And the stakes are high: as Sorensen reports, the project "aims not only to develop the technology but to secure intellectual property rights to its implementation". It will be very interesting to see what happens next. | ['environment/blog', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'environment/energy', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'tone/blog', 'world/china', 'world/world', 'world/asia-pacific', 'type/article', 'profile/duncanclark'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2011-02-16T08:00:00Z | true | ENERGY |
travel/2001/jan/04/netjetters2000sam.netjetters.fiji | Week 5: San Franscisco to Fiji | Let me try and describe where I am. I'm sitting on a wooden veranda looking out to sea. There's a cool breeze and the deck is built around a tree whose leaves, just above my head, provide plenty of shade from the sun. Above the palm trees that mark the edge of the beach I can see across the water to another island about a mile away. Like the one I'm on, its steep, green sides are broken by bare, rocky outcrops and the golden sand at the water's edge. Further away I can see other islands jutting up out of the Pacific. The sea is a variety of blues: light where it's sandy, darker where the coral reefs begin, and pure azure marking the deep water. A whole shoal of small fish have just leaped out of the waves, presumably trying to avoid some predator. They do it again, making a shimmering, silver streak on the water before disappearing. The sky here is clear but I can see cumulo-nimbus clouds stacking up, far away over mainland Fiji - a distant shadow on the horizon. The local villagers say we will have a storm tonight, but it seems hard to believe that now. Below me is a long flat grassy area. On one side of this are the thatched buildings (called 'bures') where we are staying. On the other side, some of the local Fijian men are playing touch rugby. The game is played fast and with skill. It's clearly very competitive, but there's lots of laughter. Fiji's people always seem to be laughing. There's a New Year tradition of throwing water over unsuspecting victims, and there are squeals of delight whenever one of the women manages to drench one of the men. I'm on Waya at the southern tip of the Yasawa group of islands about 40km north west of Fiji's main island, Viti Levu. I've been here four days now and it's beautiful. My arrival in Fiji wasn't quite so idyllic. My connecting flight from Los Angeles was delayed and I spent a torrid seven hours in the airport twiddling my thumbs. The flight itself took 11 hours as we chased the setting sun across the Pacific Ocean. It was dark by the time we crossed the international date line and I could see the unfamiliar stars of the southern hemisphere. Going from east to west, I lost a day. At midnight on New Year's Eve, I was standing in the passport check queue at Fiji's international airport in Nadi. When I eventually got to my hotel, I went outside to join a few of the locals by the bar. They gave me some of the traditional drink, kava. This is an infusion from a root plant. and is supposed to be mildly narcotic, although I didn't notice anything. It tastes like muddy water. The locals said I should have been here last New Year's Eve. This year's celebrations (particularly the ones with fireworks) had been cancelled after the coup some months earlier. The leader, George Speight, was due on trial the next day and there had been threats of reprisals. On my travels, I was to see a heavy military presence with armed checkpoints along the main roads. It was hot and very humid. The change from cool, fresh San Francisco had me gasping and pouring with sweat. I spent the next morning desperately trying to get out of Nadi. It's a small town and most places were closed for the public holiday. I walked sweating down the main street trying to find somewhere to buy mosquito repellent. I stopped to ask directions in one open shop. They were extremely friendly, and said that they sold repellent (this seemed a bit unlikely as it was a tourist handicraft shop). If I sat down and waited, one of them would go and get it from out back. After 15 minutes in which I was offered various wooden masks, shark-tooth necklaces, a visit to an authentic native village, drugs, and one, two or even three girls, I realised that the repellent wasn't about to materialise and left. Back at the hostel, Heta, the owner's wife saved me. She found me a driver to take me to the harbour in Lautoka and a boat to take me to one of the offshore islands. The driver was great. Not only did he find me a supermarket which sold repellent, he also offered me his baseball cap when he realised I didn't have a hat for the two-hour boat trip. At Lautoka, I squeezed into a small single engine boat with five other tourists, and here I am. I like it so much I've put my flight to New Zealand back a week. I can't send you any photos as there's no internet - the island only has electricity between 7 and 10 at night. | ['travel/netjetters2000sam', 'travel/netjetters', 'travel/travel', 'travel/fiji', 'travel/netjettersblog', 'type/article'] | travel/netjetters2000sam | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2001-01-04T19:20:58Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2012/dec/07/greenland-ice-melting-arctic-wildfires | Smoke from Arctic wildfires may have caused Greenland's record thaw | The freak melt of the Greenland ice sheet last summer may have been forced by smoke from Arctic wildfires, new research suggests. Satellite observations, due to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union on Friday, for the first time tracks smoke and soot particles from tundra wildfires over to Greenland. Scientists have long known that soot blackens snow and ice, reducing its powers of reflectivity and making it more likely to melt under the sun. But the satellite records, due to be presented by the Ohio State University geographer Jason Box, go a step further, picking up images of smoke over Greenland at the time of last summer's extreme melt. Greenland experienced its most dramatic melting since satellite records began last July, with virtually the entire ice sheet showing signs of a thaw over the course of four days. Box oversaw the Greenland portion of Noaa's annual report on the Arctic, which was released earlier this week and was in Greenland around the time of last summer's extraordinary melt. The thaw was due to the warming atmosphere caused by climate change, as well as local weather conditions over Greenland including clear bright skies and a lack of fresh snow cover. But Box said scientists are now beginning to identify another important cause for melting: smoke and soot particles, darkening the surface of the Greenland ice sheet. Earlier research found a 7% decline in Greenland's reflectivity over the past decade. Under warming, ice crystals lose their jagged edges, becoming more rounded with reduced areas of reflectivity. But the true extent of the loss could be much greater once the smoke from forest fires is factored in. "Soot is a very powerful absorber. Very small increases in soot content have big increases in solar absorption," Box said. In its annual Arctic report, released this week this week, the premier scientific agency the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, warned greener and warmer conditions due to climate change were making the tundra more fire-prone. When soot from those fires settles over the ice, it captures the sun's heat. "That's why increasing tundra wildfires have the potential to accelerate the melting in Greenland," Box said. Box and his team used Nasa satellites to spot large fires which burned for several days in Labrador last summer, and computer models to anticipate smoke trajectories. They then used satellite imaging to detect sooty aerosols, or smoke clouds, directly over Greenland. "We are tracking the fires from source to sink, the place where the smoke is depositing on the ice sheet. The scan can verify that the smoke is making it to its destination," Box said. He said he planned to return to Greenland in the early summer of 2013 to take samples from the ice sheet in a crowd-sourced expedition, the Dark Snow project. "We saw complete surface melting of the ice sheet for the first time in observation. Would that have happened without the wildfire soot of 2012?" Box said. "We don't know. We have got to get up there and make those measurements." | ['environment/sea-ice', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'world/greenland', 'world/world', 'world/arctic', 'environment/environment', 'world/wildfires', 'world/natural-disasters', 'science/science', 'tone/news', 'us-news/us-news', 'environment/poles', 'type/article', 'profile/suzannegoldenberg', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international'] | environment/sea-ice | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2012-12-07T14:25:20Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
business/2005/aug/31/usnews.oilandpetrol | Oil hits fresh high as Katrina wreaks havoc | Hurricane Katrina pushed oil prices to new records yesterday as news filtered through to panicking oil traders in London and New York of widespread damage to oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico caused by what looks set to be the costliest hurricane since Andrew in 1992. Brent crude futures, resuming trading after the bank holiday, jumped more than $3 a barrel to a fresh high of $68.11 a barrel. In New York, US crude futures jumped to a record $70.85 a barrel. Gas prices and wholesale petrol prices hit records too as rigs and refineries across the Gulf of Mexico were shut as Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc across the sea and into Louisiana. That hit about 1.4m barrels a day of oil production, not far off Britain's entire daily output. Shell said two of its drilling rigs in the area were adrift. Gasoline trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange had to be halted for five minutes after prices moved more than their permitted daily fluctuation but that failed to calm frayed nerves and prices roared again when trading resumed. Many analysts, looking back to the reaction of oil prices to Hurricane Ivan in Florida last year, feared the price could run easily run up to $80 a barrel over the coming month. "Fasten your seat belt - peak hurricane season isn't until mid-September and we've had two hit the Gulf coast already," said Deborah White at SG Commodities in Paris. Oil prices have been setting fresh highs all summer as a combination of strong demand, tight supply and a shortage of refining capacity in the United States - the world's biggest consumer of energy - have combined with fears of instability in the Middle East to push markets ever higher. At $70 a barrel, prices are nearing the all-time high in real, or inflation-adjusted terms, set in 1980 in the wake of the Iranian revolution. Prices have more than doubled from about $30 a barrel early last year. In the UK, prices at the pump hit a record on Monday of 91.9p a litre on average for unleaded and 95.6p for diesel, according to AA figures, and look set to head higher after yesterday's wholesale price gains. The motoring organisation was reluctant to forecast how much further pump prices would rise but did try to calm sentiment by stressing they had only risen 10p a litre so far this year. In America, pump prices climbed towards $3 a gallon. Yesterday Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest exporter, which produces nearly 10m barrels of crude a day, said it would if necessary pump another 1.5 bpd. The US said it would consider drawing oil from its strategic petroleum reserve if necessary. Oil producers' cartel Opec said it would consider adding 500,000 bpd to its current production level of 28.5m bpd when it meets next month. But Ray Holloway of the Petrol Retailers' Association warned people against getting too carried away. He said deliveries of gasoline and diesel from refineries in southern Louisiana would be delayed for a while but would resume at a time when gasoline demand in the US is falling as people return to work after the holidays. "I don't see this as a lasting problem. More of a hiccup. There is plenty of crude oil there. This is a knee-jerk reaction." Economists are becoming increasingly concerned that sky-high oil prices will damage the global economy, although there has been little sign of that yet. Inflation remains subdued around the world and growth in most regions remains fairly robust, especially the US - for now at least. | ['business/business', 'us-news/us-news', 'business/oil', 'us-news/hurricane-katrina', 'world/world', 'world/natural-disasters', 'world/hurricanes', 'type/article', 'profile/ashleyseager'] | us-news/hurricane-katrina | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2005-08-31T13:50:29Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2017/may/25/most-queensland-voters-oppose-taxpayer-support-for-adani-coalmine-poll | Most Queensland voters oppose taxpayer support for Adani coalmine – poll | Queensland voters have given the thumbs down to taxpayer support for the controversial Adani coalmine, with 59% saying they were opposed to state or federal assistance. A new poll of 1,618 Queenslanders taken by ReachTel indicates 57% of the sample objected to a loan for a rail link between the mine and Abbot point, which is championed by the federal resources minister Matt Canavan. Just over 50% of the sample said a decision by the Queensland government to grant the project a royalties holiday would be a broken election promise. The poll was commissioned by the progressive thinktank the Australian Institute. It comes as the state Labor government is battling an internal split on whether or not to give the project a royalties holiday. Federal government sources have also told Guardian Australia that Canavan can expect strong internal pushback against any proposal to grant a concessional loan to Adani. Some argue the concept is objectionable. This week officials from Infrastructure Australia told Senate estimates they had not identified the proposed rail line as a priority, and they had not consulted the body which is expected to stump up a concessional loan, the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility. Adani is seeking a $900m concessional loan from the Naif for the rail line. Infrastructure Australia and the Naif are required to consult on projects worth more than $100m. As well as facing internal resistance to taxpayer support, the environment group, the Australian Conservation Foundation, has warned the Turnbull government it will pursue all avenues, including possible legal action, to stop a concessional loan being granted to the rail line. The new poll also comes as federal Labor MPs this week have also broken ranks to express public objections to the controversial project. With an eye on the looming Queensland state election, and on several marginal seats in north Queensland with the potential to decide the next federal election, federal Labor has adopted a position that says the Adani mine can proceed on its merits but the project should not be given federal support. The Labor leader, Bill Shorten, has previously argued there is no point having a giant coalmine if you wreck the reef “but, on the other hand, if the deal does stack up, if the science safeguards are there, if the experts are satisfied, then all well and good and there’ll be jobs created”. But three MPs have now publicly defied that position: Tasmanian Lisa Singh and Victorians David Feeney and Peter Khalil. The recent breakout by federal Labor MPs follows an intensifying civil society campaign against the project, which is applying consistent pressure to a number of major party MPs in metropolitan areas. | ['environment/carmichael-coalmine', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'business/adani-group', 'australia-news/queensland', 'world/india', 'environment/environment', 'australia-news/queensland-politics', 'environment/coal', 'australia-news/labor-party', 'australia-news/coalition', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/katharine-murphy', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/coal | ENERGY | 2017-05-25T09:12:51Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2021/dec/28/greta-thunberg-joe-biden-climate-crisis-fight-leader | Greta Thunberg says it’s ‘strange’ Joe Biden is considered a climate leader | Greta Thunberg has criticised Joe Biden for not leading the fight against the climate crisis. In an interview with the Washington Post, the 18-year old Swedish environmental activist rejected the idea that the US president is a leader on climate issues. “It’s strange that people think of Joe Biden as a leader for the climate when you see what his administration is doing,” she said. “The US is actually expanding fossil fuel infrastructure. “Why is the US doing that? It should not fall on us activists and teenagers who just want to go to school to raise this awareness and to inform people that we are actually facing an emergency.” Asked what she wants politicians like Biden to do, Thunberg said: “First of all, we have to understand what is the emergency. “We are trying to find a solution to a crisis that we don’t understand … it’s all about the narrative. It’s all about, what are we actually trying to solve? Is it this emergency, or is it this emergency?” In November, Thunberg called the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow “a failure”, arguing it “turned into a PR event” in which “leaders are not doing anything” except “actively creating loopholes and shaping frameworks” in order to keep profiting from a “destructive system”. Speaking to the Post, Thunberg said that a Cop26 final agreement “which is very much an achievement” will not amount to anything unless it increases ambitions which leaders then fulfill. One of the positives of Cop26, she said, was that it revealed that “under current circumstances, within current systems, we won’t be able to solve the climate crisis unless there is massive pressure from the outside”. Thunberg said global summits like Cop26 presented a “big opportunity” for public mobilization to highlight the climate crisis. In Glasgow, Biden vowed that the US would “lead by example” in the fight to avoid global heating beyond 1.5C. He made new promises to cut down on methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and to end deforestation, drawing widespread praise. Nonetheless, when more than 40 countries announced a promise to end coal mining, the US was absent from the list. In a recent report, the UN environment program and other researchers found that global production of oil and gas is on track to rise over the next 20 years at a rate that will result in double the fossil fuel production in 2030 consistent with a 1.5C rise. The report found that the US projects increases in oil and gas production by 17% and 12% respectively by 2030. The Biden administration has approved at least 3,091 new drilling permits on public lands at a rate of 223 permits a month, at a faster rate than the Trump administration. In November, the US held the largest-ever auction of oil and gas drilling leases in Gulf of Mexico history, offering up more than 80m acres of seabed. Thunberg told the Post: “What’s holding us back is that we lack the political will. “Our goal is to find a solution that allows us to continue life [as it is] today,” she said. “… but the uncomfortable truth is that we have left it too late for that. Or the world leaders have left it too late for that. “We need to fundamentally change our societies now. If we would have started 30 years ago, it would have been smoother. But now it’s a different situation.” | ['environment/greta-thunberg', 'us-news/joebiden', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/maya-yang', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news'] | environment/greta-thunberg | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2021-12-28T18:39:44Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
news/2014/may/15/world-weatherwatch | World Weatherwatch | Winter's grip has yet to released in the Rocky Mountains States after a late-spring storm brought significant snowfalls earlier this week. Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming were particularly hard hit, with 7-10cm recorded. In Boulder, Colorado, up to 15cm of snow were fell by Monday, while the Colorado Mountains experienced over 30-40cm. Spring-time snow is not unusual in these areas, due in part to the altitude. Denver, Colorado, a city with a population of more than 600,000 and nicknamed the Mile-High City, lies at an altitude of over 1,600 metres, placing the urban area nearly 300 metres higher than Ben Nevis, the UK's loftiest peak. A 1,000-mile drive to California would see snowfields replaced by searing heat. Offshore winds bringing desert air to San Francisco and Los Angeles, have been pushing back the cool Pacific winds that are normal for May, raising temperatures to record levels. On Wednesday, LA broke its own record with a scorching 37C (99F) as wildfires sweeping the region forced thousands to flee their homes. Meanwhile, Southern China has been battered by torrential rainstorms. The storms began late last week and continued through the weekend, with areas such as Lantau Island seeing over 300mm of rain in just 24hrs – around half of London's annual rainfall. The rain has been accompanied by frequent lightning, and it triggered landslides that resulted in two deaths. Transport and power has also been badly affected, with further heavy rain persisting for much of the last week. | ['news/series/weatherwatch', 'tone/features', 'world/wildfires', 'world/landslides', 'type/article', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2'] | news/series/weatherwatch | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2014-05-15T20:30:02Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
world/2011/mar/13/japan-second-nuclear-reactor-threat-fukushima | Japan nuclear plant faces new threat | Japan is struggling to contain a growing crisis at two nuclear power plants damaged in Friday's huge earthquake and tsunami, as officials revealed that the emergency cooling system at another reactor had failed, raising fears of a serious accident. Officials said the negligible radioactivity levels near the plants in Fukushima prefecture posed no threat to human health. Screening centres were being set up for people worried about exposure. Tokyo Electric Power [Tepco] described the situation at the Fukushima No 1 power plant as an emergency after the cooling system failed at a second reactor at the plant. Tepco said radiation levels at the plant had exceeded the legal limit on Sunday morning. Hourly radiation at the site was measured at 882 microsievert, in excess of the allowable level of 500, Japan's nuclear safety agency said. The government's chief spokesman, Yukio Edano, said the level had briefly risen to 1,204 microsievert. "There was no sudden rise in radiation because of the ventilation activities," Edano said, adding that there was no immediate threat to human health. "We are doing the two things at the same time - venting air out of the reactor and supplying water into the reactor," he told reporters. As authorities released steam to relieve pressure from the second overheating reactor, efforts were under way to evacuate 210,000 people living within 12 miles of the two plants. Among those waiting to leave was Reiko Takagi, who lives in Iwaki, about 18 miles from the No 1 plant. "Everyone wants to get out of the town. But the roads are terrible," she said. "It is too dangerous to go anywhere. But we are afraid that winds may change and bring radiation toward us." Edano said: "There is no confusion at this point, although we appreciate that people will have to leave their homes and livelihoods behind, but there is no panic." Efforts were also under way to cool off three reactors at the firm's No 2 nuclear plant at Fukushima, about 150 miles north of Tokyo. The complete failure of more cooling systems has added an additional level of danger to what was already one of the worst nuclear accidents in Japan's history. The government has classed the accident as level 4 on an international scale of levels 0-7. At least 22 people are known to have been exposed to radiation and are being treated in hospital, but Japan's nuclear and industrial safety agency said that up to 160 people may have been exposed. Tepco confirmed that the No 3 reactor of the quake-hit No 1 Fukushima plant had lost its cooling functions. A small amount of radiation leaked on Saturday after similar problems hit the facility's No 1 reactor. Nineteen people have been exposed to radioactivity today; three more were exposed when the roof over the No 1 reactor exploded on Saturday. Tepco said the No 1 reactor had partly melted - the first time this has happened in Japan - and was continuing efforts to cool the reactor with seawater, a procedure a British nuclear expert described as "an act of desperation". The company notified the government on Sunday morning that the No 3 reactor had lost the ability to cool the reactor core, and that radioactive steam was being released. Kyodo News quoted Tepco as saying that up to three metres (10ft) of fuel rods were exposed above water at the plant. Shaun Burnie, an independent nuclear energy consultant and former head of nuclear campaigns at Greenpeace, said the presence of a percentage of fuel core loaded with plutonium Mox fuel in the No 3 reactor posed a grave threat to the surrounding area. "Plutonium Mox fuel increases the risk of nuclear accident due the neutronic effects of plutonium on the reactor," Burnie told the Guardian. "In the event of an accident - in particular loss of coolant - the reactor core is more difficult to control due to both neutronics and higher risk of fuel cladding failure. In the event of the fuel melting and the release of plutonium fuel into the environment, the health hazards are greater, including higher levels of latent cancer." The Mox fuel was delivered in 1999 and was loaded into the reactor by Tepco only last year after sitting in Fukushima storage ponds amid opposition and delays from the prefecture's governor, Burnie said. The No 3 reactor is the sixth facing risks because of loss of cooling water since Friday's devastating quake and tsunami. Tepco last night filled the No 1 reactor with seawater and boric acid to prevent criticality - an uncontrolled nuclear reaction - hours after an explosion blew away the roof and walls of a building housing the reactor. The blast is thought to have occurred when hydrogen being released from the reactor mixed with oxygen either in the air or in cooling water. | ['world/japan-earthquake-and-tsunami', 'world/japan', 'world/natural-disasters', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'world/world', 'tone/news', 'world/asia-pacific', 'type/article', 'profile/justinmccurry'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2011-03-13T05:28:50Z | true | ENERGY |
lifeandstyle/2014/feb/08/lucy-mangan-uk-floods-solutions | Lucy Mangan: all hands to the sandbags | So, the head of the Environment Agency, Lord Smith, has warned that we must choose between protecting our towns or our countryside from flooding in the coming weeks, months, years or however long it takes before our archipelago sinks beneath the waves. Here, straight from Edward Snowden's spam filter, is what our Top Men are nearly thinking about the "front rooms or farmland" debate: From: Boris J To: Dickhead, I mean David Flood Londinium! 'S all right by me. I'll tell 'em I'm giving them a Venice in every high street. It'll be great. They love me. Basia culos meos! From: Owen Paterson, environment secretary To: All badgers Flood the countryside! Hear that, badgers? See what happens when you move the goalposts on me? I drown you in your beds! Mwah-ha-haaa! From: Ed B To: Ed M Oi! Wotchoogunnado aboutallthisthen? Eh? From: Ed M To: Ed B I'm working on a speech based on the suddenly more resonant than ever division of society into the "haves" and "have-yachts". From: IDS To: Everyone We must take a level-headed, practical view. Flooding towns, pros: 1 Lots of poor people who don't have much to lose. 2 We could lose a lot of poor people. 3 Poor = idle = time to make sandbags. Prospect of death by drowning will teach self-reliance and give motivation to work. Especially if we replace JSA with sand allowance. Cons: 1 Old people on best pensions generally live in the country and would survive. 2 Would destroy lots of homes. But could get unemployed to mix recycling newspapers in, and make loads of one-bedroomed apartment blocks out of, papier-mâché! That need renewing every year! Full employment and out of recession for ever. Put in pros column, guys. From: Jeremy Hunt To: Whom it may concern Flotsam, more of, in towns. Plenty of material for homemade splints, crutches, etc. Reduce NHS to dinky private cottage hospitals in… cottages. Job's a good'un. From: The prime minister To: The chaps I don't know. It might be quite handy to lose the Cotswolds in case anyone wants to start having dinner parties, or lending horses, or sending vague but seemingly significant emails again. What do you all think? From: Nick Clegg To: The bigger boys I don't mean to be rude, but I was just wondering what will happen to all the voters who don't have second homes to go to? From: Nigel Farage To: Earth humans It's a bladdy conspiracy! Everyone in the EU flushed their loos at the same time and they're trying to drown our nation! From: George Osborne To: Davey Either way, the people in penthouses will be all right, yeah? And, between us, the old man's quite well placed with Big Dinghy. | ['lifeandstyle/series/lucy-mangan-weekend-column', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'tone/features', 'environment/environment', 'environment/flooding', 'world/natural-disasters', 'type/article', 'profile/lucymangan', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/weekend', 'theguardian/weekend/starters'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2014-02-08T09:00:39Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2019/may/09/runaway-consumption-2tn-drinks-containers-being-used-every-year | Runaway consumption: 2tn drinks containers being used every year | People around the world are using almost 2tn plastic and glass drinks bottles, cans and cartons each year, according to research. The findings, from the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), reveal that global sales of drinks containers are set to reach 1.9tn in 2019 – up from 1.6tn in 2015. It came as the Scottish government announced plans for a deposit return scheme for glass, plastic and aluminium drinks containers of all sizes on Wednesday. The CPRE welcomed the move, praising the Scottish government for “its leadership and ambition”, and called on other countries to follow suit. Last year, the UK government committed to introduce a deposit return system in England. It is consulting on what the scheme should include. Samantha Harding, the litter programme director at the CPRE, said the government must reject industry lobbying efforts and implement a robust programme. “We will be urging environment secretary Michael Gove to build on Scotland’s ambition and go one better, by making sure every drinks carton is also included within England’s deposit system,” she said. Harding said introducing an all-encompassing deposit system would not only boost recycling rates to close to 100%, but also make the producers of drinks packaging “rightly liable for the cost of every piece of packaging they create”. “This will encourage them to use more recycled materials, which will reduce waste, slow down the depletion of natural resources and move us one step closer to the circular economy that our planet so desperately needs,” she said. There is growing concern about humans’ devastating impact on the environment. This week, the world’s leading scientists warned human activity, including runaway consumption, was driving a huge decline in the Earth’s natural life-support systems, threatening civilisation. Harding said: “With global sales approaching 2tn, it is clear that the consumption of drinks cans, bottles and cartons has reached epidemic proportions. Without immediate action, our countryside and environment will continue to pay the price for the careless actions of those producing these products.” She added: “We stand united with campaigners from all across the globe, calling for worldwide deposit return systems to tackle the environmental crisis caused by drinks containers.” The group has called an international day of action on Thursday, with organisations from 25 countries across five continents to release a series of aerial photographs and videos of messages written on hillsides, beaches and buildings calling for a clean planet. Harding said the stunt was aimed at raising awareness of the environmental impact of drinks packaging and would increase pressure on governments to extend, update or introduce a deposit return system in each country. In a joint statement, the Clean Planet campaigners said: “The scale of the pollution problem requires immediate global action. Now is the time for every government around the world to stand up and take action against the environmental devastation caused by drinks cans, bottles and cartons – we cannot wait any longer for a clean planet.” In 2017, a Guardian investigation found 1m plastic bottles were bought around the world every minute, with the number expected to jump by 20% by 2021, creating an environmental crisis some campaigners predict will be as serious as climate change. | ['environment/pollution', 'environment/environment', 'environment/plastic', 'uk/uk', 'uk/scotland', 'world/world', 'environment/recycling', 'environment/waste', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/matthewtaylor', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/plastic | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2019-05-08T23:01:27Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2019/jun/11/secret-slaughterhouse-video-brutal-treatment-pigs-cambodia | Secret slaughterhouse video reveals brutal treatment of pigs in Cambodia | Campaigners are calling for animal welfare reform in Cambodia after exclusive footage of an open-air slaughterhouse revealed the brutal treatment of pigs. In the undercover video, taken by British animal rights campaigners Moving Animals, hundreds of the animals can be seen huddling together watching others being killed in close proximity. Shirtless workers approach each animal in pairs. One clubs the pig’s head multiple times with a metal rod before sitting upon it to prevent it from moving. The other worker then slits the pig’s throat. The dying animals are dragged across the bloody concrete floor, before being thrown into a boiling vat of water off-screen. “This was one of the most brutal things I’ve ever seen,” said Moving Animals’ co-founder Amy Jones. “The Cambodian government must act immediately by implementing animal welfare laws that ensure no more animals experience such brutal killing methods. For consumers, the best way to protest against the inhumane suffering of animals is to stop paying for their slaughter altogether.” The slaughterhouse, which is overlooked by apartment buildings, made local headlines last year when Peta called on the Cambodian government to stop the abuse and to implement animal welfare laws. Yet it appears no action was taken, said Jones, who used to work for Peta. “This footage shows there has been no change. The meat industry in south-east Asia is growing at an alarming rate: around 2.5 million pigs are slaughtered annually in Cambodia alone,” she said. “But the laws for animal welfare are practically non-existent in Cambodia, which means these animals are left with no protection.” In 2016, the Buddhist nation passed its first-ever animal health and protection law following the culling of thousands of animals due to outbreaks of blue-ear pig disease and avian flu, which states that: “Keepers of animals who … torture, caus[e] the suffering [of], or commit barbaric acts on animals in contrary to animal welfare technical standards … shall be subject to written warning or suspension of certificate or relevant permits.” But due to a lack of modern equipment and machinery, activists believe that most livestock in Cambodia is slaughtered by hand, using similar methods to those shown in the video. Cambodia opened its first and only industrial slaughterhouse in 2016, at a cost of $22m (£17m). The 11,000 square-metre plant was designed to slaughter imported Australian cattle for export to China, but without the tax and sanitary compliance documents required for international trade, it now only operates twice a week, slaughtering fewer than 100 cattle for domestic consumption. Cambodia is not unique in its poor animal welfare practice. Humane slaughter in small- and medium-sized abattoirs across the region is virtually non-existent, says global farm animal advisor Kate Blaszak, of the international charity World Animal Protection (WAP). “Across south-east Asia, humane slaughter standards and enforcement are needed for all species slaughtered, including pigs, poultry, cattle and buffalo, as well as geese and ducks,” said Blaszak. “However, from my experience, there is little routine enforcement or even regulation for animal welfare during slaughter except large company slaughter in some countries. Thus there is no general incentive for training and compliance day-to-day for most animals in most countries.” Many of the pigs slaughtered in Cambodia have been driven over the border in crowded pickup trucks from Thailand, and arrive cramped, sunburnt and dehydrated, she added. Pigs are highly intelligent and sentient animals capable of feeling intense pain and suffering, said Blaszak. “Local consumers deserve pork that has been raised and slaughtered to good welfare standards along with intrinsic benefits of good meat quality and safety.” The Phnom Penh slaughterhouse kills an estimated 600 pigs every night between 11pm and 6am, said Jones, who rented a room in one of the adjacent apartment buildings to document the process. Jones and her partner Paul Healey, with whom she founded Moving Animals, said they were struck by the fact that some of the workers regularly looked away as the pigs’ throats were slit. “Compared to the industrial style of slaughter, which is nameless and faceless because it’s done by a machine in a rapid pace, there’s an intimacy to this style of slaughter between the worker who has to hit the pig multiple times over the head, and the other worker who has to slit the throat,” said Healey. “The workers have to walk over to the pig they want to kill and hit it repeatedly. It really drives home the impact it must have on the workers who work there night after night.” | ['environment/series/animals-farmed', 'environment/environment', 'environment/farming', 'world/asia-pacific', 'world/world', 'world/cambodia', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/kate-hodal', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/farming | BIODIVERSITY | 2019-06-11T11:08:37Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
us-news/2023/apr/05/deadly-tornado-missouri-michigan-illiinois | Missouri tornado kills five people and causes widespread destruction | A tornado that tore through south-eastern Missouri overnight has caused widespread destruction and killed at least five people. The twister that struck overnight is part of a system of extreme storms that is spawning tornadoes and threatening more death and destruction across the central US. The severe weather has already battered areas of Michigan, Illinois and Iowa, in addition to Missouri, where the state highway patrol reported multiple fatalities and injuries after a tornado touched down in Bollinger county, south of St Louis, early on Wednesday. State police in Missouri said later on Wednesday that teams of first responders were combing destroyed homes and businesses for more victims. Multiple local agencies were conducting search and recovery efforts in Bollinger county, where the fatalities occurred, Sgt Clark Parrott told Reuters. He also said multiple people were injured, but did not have an exact number. Photographs on social media from Glen Allen, Missouri – a village about 110 miles south of St Louis – showed severely damaged houses with roofs sheared off, downed trees and power lines, and debris covering roadways and yards. Storm spotters reported that the tornado touched down in the area at about 3.30am local time, according to the National Weather Service. It was one of more than a dozen that were spotted in the midwest overnight, the service said. The twister was spawned from a storm front sweeping across the midwest and the south. Around 24 million people remained under the threat of possible tornadoes and severe thunderstorms throughout the day. The storm came just days after violent tornadoes tore through parts of the south and midwest, from the Great Lakes to Texas and as far east as Delaware over the weekend, killing at least 32 people and leaving damaged and destroyed homes and businesses in their wake. A week before, a tornado devastated the Mississippi delta town of Rolling Fork, destroying many of the community’s 400 homes and killing 26 people. US president Joe Biden visited Rolling Fork after declaring a state of emergency there. Such severe tornadoes in early spring could portend the sort of damage that will become more commonplace due to changes wrought by global heating, scientists have warned. | ['us-news/missouri', 'world/tornadoes', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/extreme-weather', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news'] | world/tornadoes | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2023-04-05T20:41:37Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/blog/2011/nov/26/south-africa-mining-industry-johannesburg-pollution | South Africa – where climate change may trigger a toxic timebomb | We meet Mariette Lieferink in a McDonalds near Gauteng, on the edge of Johannesburg, buying a dozen sickly sweet drinks. She's no one's idea of a leading environmental activist. She wears a tight-fitting, scarlet, embroidered Chinese dress, high heels, and make-up. She is nearly 60, a mother of four, grandmother of two and she used to be a preacher. Now she is head of the Federation for a Sustainable Environment, and works flat out to clean up the massively polluted mining areas of Johannesburg. Climate change, she says, is a potential disaster for Johannesburg and South Africa, liable to trigger the toxic timebomb left by 120 years of mining. The city has been the centre of the giant South African mining industry since gold was found there in 1880, and it is surrounded by more than 400 sq m of waste dumps, tailing dams, toxic lakes, radiological hotspots, leaking pipelines, spillages, and gaping holes in the ground. More than 40,000 tonnes of gold has been mined from the Witwatersrand Basin in 120 years, as well as cadmium, uranium, cobalt, copper, zinc, manganese, titanium and other heavy metals. Lieferink's "toxic tour" starts on the main A28 road. The land we stand on is bright yellow and white, a deep crust of toxic waste from an old copper mine. In front of us is a brickworks making radioactive building blocks from the waste of another mine. In the distance are giant waste heaps from gold mines and below us run the shafts and tunnels of more than 120 deep mines, mostly brim full of millions of litres of some of the most toxic and hazardous waste in the world. Climate change, she says, increases the volume of rainwater, allowing the mines to flood more frequently, and the water courses and rivers to become even more polluted. "The poorest [people] – who are confined to live near the dumps – are in the frontline. They are exposed to high concentrations of cobalt, zinc, arsenic, and cadmium, all known carcinogens, as well as high levels of radioactive uranium. In some cases, government-built houses are being erected next to radioactive dumps." Terrifying levels of air, ground and water pollution have been recorded, and while it's impossible to pin cancers, mutations or respiratory diseases on individual mine companies, it is common to find children playing in the dust, ingesting poisons. "The companies have left gaping holes in the ground and gaping holes in the social communities. They have had no regard for people, there has been no enforcement of law," Lieferink says. This African Erin Brokovich divides her time between the shanty towns and informal settlements near the waste dumps, and the boardrooms of the companies who are still operating. She sits on South Africa's nuclear regulation board and is paid by two of the companies to warn local communities of the dangers of pollution. She swears it does not stop her condemning them vociferously, in public, every week. "I got involved through Shell," she says. "They wanted to build two petrol stations opposite my home. It was narrow self-interest that prompted me. People became tired opposing them, which left me to battle alone against them. They offered to bribe me, but eventually they gave up. It showed me what one old woman could beat a huge company." She then started to investigate the pollution caused by the mines, specifically what is known as "acid mine waste", which she now believes is, along with climate change, the most dangerous issue facing South Africa. "I am not a greenie, I just want to see justice done. I want to see the areas cleaned up." We head for Tudor street informal settlement, a collection of shacks built on a radioactive dump. Thirty five houses were moved from here a few years ago after Lieferink found they were on a uranium dump. The land is still highly polluted. "When it rains here the earth becomes a yellow river. It dissolves. The children play in it. How can we deal with climate change if we cannot even manage waste like this?" she asks. "Climate change will lead here to more intense and heavier rains, so the run off will be worse. Communities are in huge danger and don't even know," "The soil here is really bad. We all have health problems," says Patience, a woman who lives there. Despite the pressure put on her, Lieferink has no inclination to give up what she does. "My activism was at great cost, personal and financial. Industry and government have tried to discredit me. They have tried to sue me, they lambast me if I make mistakes. I am sure my emails are monitored but I am not suspicious. I am just obnoxious." And with that she waves goodbye to the children in the shanty town and says she will be back with a chicken for Christmas. | ['environment/series/road-to-durban', 'environment/blog', 'environment/durban-climate-change-conference-2011', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/global-climate-talks', 'environment/environment', 'world/southafrica', 'world/africa', 'world/world', 'tone/blog', 'environment/green-politics', 'type/article', 'profile/johnvidal'] | environment/global-climate-talks | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2011-11-26T10:00:01Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
us-news/2023/jan/27/gas-stove-us-renters-reaction-pollution | US renters have growing worries over gas stoves – and few options | New research has revealed the extent of indoor air pollution caused by gas stoves. Switching to alternatives like electric or induction stoves is the best way to reduce the health risk of burning fossil fuels in the kitchen – but that is rarely an option for renters, who typically can’t choose the type of appliances installed in their apartment. People stuck with gas stoves in rentals are grappling with the reality of living with an appliance that may be leaking dangerous pollutants like methane and benzene even when it’s turned off. The lack of choice over appliances is acutely felt in low-income housing. “I remember my elementary school was heated throughout the winter by burning coal or heating oil,” said Russell Taylor, who has lived in New York City public housing since 1972. After school, Taylor said, “I went home and was exposed to gas burning from my stove.” Taylor says that growing up, his family used the stove for more than cooking. “Because of inadequate heating and freezing temperatures during the winter, we used the stove to stay warm in our apartment,” Taylor said, adding that they would turn the stove up on high, open the oven door, and lay socks and T-shirts on the stove racks, unaware of the nitrogen oxides – a pollutant linked with asthma and respiratory issues – they were exposed to daily. Taylor is a member of We Act for Environmental Justice, which advocates for people of color and low-income communities nationwide. Last October, the organization sent a petition to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development along with other advocacy groups, calling on the agency to tackle indoor air pollution through electrification. The petition also calls to address cumulative indoor air pollutants like mold and mildew, pests, lead paint and other hazards found in public housing. “This is a long-overdue conversation,” said Annie Carforo, a climate justice campaigns coordinator at We Act, regarding the latest nationwide debate on gas stoves. “Because New York City’s housing stock is so old and dense, there is very little option, and folks take the housing that they can get.” Natural gas is used to fuel multiple things in US homes, but relatively little of it is used for cooking; the vast majority of natural gas consumption in homes – roughly 96% – comes from heating. Some renters are taking the health risks seriously by measuring their daily exposure to pollution emitted from gas stoves. In Washington DC, a group of renters from the Washington Interfaith Network have tested the levels of indoor air quality from their stoves. Barbara Briggs, who lives in the Woodley Park neighborhood, was shocked to find nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels of 220 parts per billion (ppb) in her kitchen, more than double the level identified as safe by the Environmental Protection Agency for one hour of exposure. Briggs uses an induction stovetop as her burner of choice. “I bought an electric kettle so I don’t have to use my gas stove to make coffee or boil water,” Briggs said, adding that on the rare occasion that she does use the stove, she opens the kitchen window. Richard Vilmenay has been living in a rent-controlled Dupont Circle apartment for nearly 10 years. Tests showed NO2 levels in his apartment were even higher, coming in at 386ppb. “I didn’t think it would be that high,” Vilmenay said. He added that ever since then, he’s been using the gas stove a lot less in favor of his microwave and looked into installing an induction stove. Vilmenay, who lives with his two-year-old daughter, is considering bringing up the possibility of switching out of a gas stove with his building’s management company. “I’m thinking about her health and eliminating any potential harmful effects to her development,” Vilmenay said. A recent study found that roughly 12.7% of childhood asthma in the US is due to exposure in homes with gas stoves. “Moving is a real possibility,” Vilmenay said. At the end of 2021, New York City passed a law banning the use of gas in new construction, and starting in 2024, new buildings under seven stories will be fully electric. But for people living in existing housing, there aren’t many options to reduce fossil fuel use in their homes. There is currently no legislation or housing policy that requires landlords to switch out gas stoves, but Carforo says that enacting Good Cause Eviction protection is a way to equalize the dynamic between the landlord and the renter. “It gives renters more power to demand better housing conditions, and push their landlords to apply for government programs that could help them electrify their stoves,” Carforo said about the legislation, which bars landlords from evicting tenants without good cause, as well as limit the amount that rent can increase year over year. Housing organizers have been pushing for good cause eviction measures in numerous cities, and versions of the good cause protection passed in New York cities like Kingston, Poughkeepsie, Beacon, Hudson and Newburgh. The state capital, Albany, was the first to pass the eviction statute in July 2021, but it was overturned by a judge in June 2022, ruling that it violated state law. The city appealed the decision, arguing their case in the appellate court earlier this month. In 2021 We Act launched a pilot program that replaced gas stoves with electric induction stoves and ovens in 20 public housing apartments in the Bronx and Buffalo, New York. Preliminary findings show that by removing the gas stoves, the levels of NO2 in apartments dropped by roughly 35%. | ['us-news/series/americas-dirty-divide', 'environment/gas-stoves', 'us-news/us-news', 'environment/energy', 'environment/gas', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/aliya-uteuova', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news'] | environment/energy | ENERGY | 2023-01-27T11:00:49Z | true | ENERGY |
us-news/2022/oct/01/desantis-hurricane-ian-aid-disaster-relief-florida | DeSantis’s pleas for hurricane aid raise hackles amid vast partisan divide | Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, has become a familiar, and to some a reassuring, face on numerous television channels through the traumatic aftermath of Hurricane Ian’s rampage through the state. But the near-constant presence of the Republican, who in less chaotic times limits his on-screen appearances largely to the Fox News faithful, is not sitting comfortably with others, nor are his appeals for public contributions for hurricane relief while he is using taxpayers’ money for “political stunts”. DeSantis announced at a press conference on Friday morning that public donations to the state’s disaster fund had surpassed $12m, coincidentally the same amount he was allocated from the state budget, funded by interest on federal Covid relief payments, for a controversial migrant-removal program. The governor, a likely candidate for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination, has already spent a chunk of that money shifting two planeloads of Venezuelans from Texas to Massachusetts, raising questions over why he was shuttling immigrants between two states of which he is not governor on the Florida taxpayers’ dime. DeSantis says he expects to arrange more flights until the money is spent, but his actions have drawn a criminal investigation from a sheriff in Texas and two lawsuits. The first is a class-action suit filed on behalf of the migrants by the group Lawyers for Civil Rights, alleging breaches of federal immigration law. “What we hope to do … is stop the shipment of immigrants across state lines by misrepresentation and fraudulent efforts, specifically from Ron DeSantis and the state of Florida,” Miriam Albert, one of the group’s lawyers, said. The second lawsuit was filed by Democrats in Florida seeking to shut down DeSantis’s migrant-movement program altogether. Also under scrutiny are his requests earlier in the week, immediately granted by Joe Biden, for federal money for hurricane relief. Critics have noted that among DeSantis’s first acts after being elected to Congress in November 2012 was to join 66 Republican colleagues and vote against a government aid package for victims of Hurricane Sandy, which killed more than 100 as it devastated north-eastern states. In an interview on Tucker Carlson’s show on Fox this week, DeSantis appeared to have changed his view. “We live in a politicized time, but when people are fighting for their lives, when their livelihood is at stake, lost everything, if you can’t put politics aside for that, you won’t be able to,” he said. Normally fierce critics of each other, Biden and DeSantis have reached a kind of uneasy detente because of the hurricane, similar to the temporary peace between them over the Surfside apartment complex disaster in Florida in June 2021. The pair have spoken several times this week, and DeSantis has acknowledged Biden’s support. | ['us-news/hurricane-ian', 'us-news/ron-desantis', 'us-news/florida', 'world/natural--disasters', 'world/extreme-weather', 'us-news/us-news', 'type/article', 'tone/analysis', 'profile/richardluscombe', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news'] | us-news/hurricane-ian | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2022-10-01T10:00:05Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2012/jul/04/beijing-recycling-banks-subway-bottles | Beijing introduces recycling banks that pay subway credits for bottles | Beijing's vast army of plastic-bottle scavengers will get an automated rival later this month, when the city introduces its first reverse vending machines that pay subway credits in exchange for returned containers. More than 100 recycle-to-ride devices will be installed in an attempt to reduce the environmental impact of the informal bottle collection business and improve the profits of the operator, which works in an industry thought to be worth billions of dollars. Donors will receive between 5 fen and 1 mao (about 1p) on their commuter passes for each polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle they insert into the machine, which then crushes them to a third of their original size and sorts them according to colour and type. "It will be as easy to use as an ATM," said an employee of the operating company, Incom, who declined to give her name. "We hope to put one at every station on the route [subway line 10] and later expand to other lines, bus stops and residential areas." The firm currently processes 50,000 tons of bottles a year, most of which it buys from informal collectors who roam the city's streets looking for discards, which they pack on to carts and bicycles. With the machines, the firm hopes to collect directly from the public and generate extra revenue from government subsidies and sales of advertising shown on the machine's screens. Incom says it plans to approach Coca-Cola and other beverage retailers. Similar devices have been used in several countries, including the US, Japan and Brazil, but they have benefited from civic mindedness, convenience and widespread ignorance about the true value of PET. Waste-trade experts are sceptical that the same business model will work in China, which already has a vast and highly competitive PET recycling industry. Nobody knows the numbers of collectors, but estimates range from 500,000 to 20 million. Many go from door to door, or come when called. Adam Minter, a Shangai-based blogger and author of an upcoming book on China's scrap business, reckons that recycling may be the second most popular profession in the country after farming and that the PET market alone is worth billions of dollars. More significantly, he says the motives are also different, which will mean the reverse vending machine operators will have to offer competitive rates or they will struggle to attract takers. "In the west, recycling is seen as a green activity. In developing Asia, it is an economic activity," Minter says. "One thing is guaranteed. If donors are not paid market price, it is not going to work." A similar device was launched in Shanghai several years ago, but has not made any noticeable dent in the informal industry. Incom says, however, that environmental benefits should be considered alongside economic factors. While most informal PET recycling workshops re-use the plastic for clothes and create pollution during their largely unregulated activities, the company says it makes the cleanest and most efficient use possible of the plastic for new bottles. Environmental activists said they would wait to see whether the devices were energy intensive and waste-producing before passing judgment. "Using better technology for recycling is a good thing, generally speaking," said Feng Yongfeng of the Green Beagle NGO. "But bottle recycling is not an urgent problem in China. We already have a mature system for that. Our real need is to complete a comprehensive recycling system." | ['environment/recycling', 'world/china', 'world/asia-pacific', 'world/world', 'environment/waste', 'environment/ethical-living', 'environment/environment', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'profile/jonathanwatts'] | environment/recycling | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2012-07-04T12:11:06Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2019/oct/16/farmers-urge-better-preparation-for-the-next-drought-as-labor-suggests-war-cabinet | Farmers urge better preparation for 'the next drought’ as Labor suggests war cabinet | Farmers are calling on the government to develop a new drought policy that ends an “ad hoc” and reactive approach to drought, saying government efforts to date have been a national failure. The National Farmers’ Federation signed off on a drought policy framework on Wednesday, calling for a “new approach” for future dry spells, while saying the plan would not address the current situation facing farmers. As the government has come under fire for a lack of a national drought policy, the minister for drought, David Littleproud, has flagged he will take the NFF plan to cabinet for consideration. Labor on Wednesday called on the Coalition to establish a “war cabinet” in response to the ongoing drought, with the shadow agriculture minister, Joel Fitzgibbon, saying there was a need to “take the politics” out of the response. “I appeal to Scott Morrison to stop being loose with the truth, to put the spin aside … let’s have a war cabinet. Let’s have Anthony Albanese, Scott Morrison and the key people sitting around the same table, taking the politics right out and say ‘What are we doing about this national emergency?’” Fitzgibbon told Sky. The opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, said the idea of a bipartisan war cabinet was a “practical suggestion”. “The government doesn’t seem to have been able to come up with a strategy itself, so this is a practical way forward which we have suggested.” The NFF president, Fiona Simson, said the federation was calling on the government to “better prepare for the next drought”. “Until now, as a country, we have failed to establish a comprehensive, national policy that guides us in effectively doing that,” Simson said. Under the policy, the NFF framework proposes that industry, community groups and the three tiers of government all work together in developing a drought strategy. This would identify specific drought measures that need to be maintained, amended, or reviewed; and to propose new drought measures, build on the Coag national drought agreement and incorporate lessons learnt from past droughts, create a drought forum and establish a drought committee. “While this national drought policy comes too late to help those managing this drought, the NFF is determined to see that we don’t find ourselves, once again, without a plan for drought,” Simson said. “We continue to consult with the government about further measures to assist farmers during this drought, including recommendations for commonwealth support for local government rate relief. “There is only one silver bullet for solving drought and that’s rain. There is no man-made panacea or policy solution. But, the NFF is strongly of the view we can do better than we have to date.” The former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce said the government needed to do more to address the current drought, proposing a new community grants program that would allow a panel of community leaders to decide where money was spent. He defended the government’s $130m community grants program, saying it was about keeping “critical skills” in drought-affected communities. “The contractors stimulate the local economy and these million grants, really in the scheme of things are small, but they allow us to keep crucial skill sets in the community.” But he declined to comment on projects funded under the Drought Communities Program, reported by Guardian Australia on Wednesday, including a virtual gym that allowed people to connect online for zumba classes and pilates. “Who are we to comment on zumba classes?” Joyce said. | ['environment/drought', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'australia-news/australian-politics', 'australia-news/barnaby-joyce', 'environment/water', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/sarah-martin', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/drought | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2019-10-16T09:22:30Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
business/2017/mar/29/toshiba-nuclear-westinghouse-bankruptcy-us-uk | Westinghouse bankruptcy move casts shadow over world nuclear industry | The US bankruptcy filing by nuclear giant Westinghouse has been branded a major blow to the prospects for new atomic power globally. The nuclear arm of Toshiba proudly states “we are nuclear energy” on its website, a boast underpinned by its technology being in around half the world’s reactors. But the US firm was humbled on Wednesday when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a New York court, in a bid to reorganise and limit losses for its Japanese owner. Westinghouse’s plight stems from a $6.1bn (£4.9bn) writedown because costs have overrun on the two plants it is building in Georgia and South Carolina, the first new US nuclear power stations being built for decades. Toshiba said liabilities for its US unit totalled $9.8bn. Westinghouse has raised $800m in finance for its reorganisation, $200m of which is from Toshiba. José Emeterio Gutiérrez, the company’s chief executive officer, said: “We are focused on developing a plan of reorganisation to emerge from Chapter 11 as a stronger company while continuing to be a global nuclear technology leader.” Toshiba said the writedown could mean net losses for 2016 of 1tn yen (£7.23bn), significantly more than the 390bn yen (£2.82bn) it warned investors to expect in February. Mycle Schneider, a Paris-based consultant and author of an annual global nuclear report, said that although utilities and companies building nuclear plants had gone bust before, it was new to see a bankrupt nuclear builder. “If Westinghouse was nuclear energy, where does that leave nuclear energy after the Westinghouse bankruptcy? In the dark. This development illustrates that there is no bright future for nuclear new-build and that new nuclear plants will be irrelevant on the international power market,” he told the Guardian. The bankruptcy brings some relief for Toshiba, as the US unit will now be off its books. The Japanese corporation has said since that as result of Westinghouse’s troubles, it will no longer build new nuclear plants internationally, but focus on its home market. Satoshi Tsunakawa, Toshiba’s president, told a Tokyo press conference on Wednesday: “We have all but completely pulled out of the nuclear business overseas.” He added that he felt a “great responsibility” over the financial losses. Westinghouse and Toshiba said they were “working cooperatively” with the utilities that own its US projects at Plant Vogtle in Georgia and Virgil C Summer in South Carolina, to ensure construction continues. But there are doubts as to whether the plants, which are less than halfway built, will ever be finished. The Chapter 11 filing also raises question marks for projects around the world. The same reactor design being used in the US plants has also been slated for new power stations in India and the UK. Schneider said those projects were now effectively dead. Unions and the Labour party called on the UK government to step in and support the proposed Moorside nuclear power station in Cumbria, which would be Europe’s biggest if built. The NuGen consortium behind it is owned 60% by Toshiba and 40% by France’s Engie, whose chief executive has said she is sceptical about new nuclear’s future. Toshiba, which is yet to make a final investment decision on the project, admitted the supply of the reactors for the plant had been made uncertain by the bankruptcy filing. But it said there was no change in the business climate, and it would still “work to enhance NuGen project’s value”. NuGen said it would continue developing the site “in a business as usual manner”. Labour, which recently lost a byelection for the Copeland constituency where Tories attacked party leader Jeremy Corbyn’s perceived lack of support for Moorside, said the government had “dragged its heels” despite Westinghouse’s problems being known for months. Rebecca Long-Bailey, the shadow business secretary, said: “This announcement throws into doubt the Moorside new nuclear plant that could create 20,000 jobs in Cumbria.” She continued: “When Westinghouse’s viability was first called into question, Labour said the government should step in to underwrite the company’s investment if the project was at significant risk of collapsing.” Chris Jukes, a senior organiser at the GMB union, said Moorside was crucial for west Cumbria’s local economy and the UK’s energy needs. “A collapse of the firm could delay the project or even put its entire future in limbo,” he said. “It is vital that this project is given the certainty it needs and therefore we are calling on an urgent government announcement to give clear and unambiguous clarity for the short, medium and long term future of Moorside.” However, Peter Atherton, an analyst at Cornwall Energy, said while the bankruptcy filing was a “big move” globally, it was unlikely to change circumstances much in the UK. “Toshiba is clearly looking to ringfence the US problem. But financing Moorside was always going to be a big problem.” Another major nuclear builder, South Korea’s Kepco, last week ruled out buying Westinghouse but said it was considering taking a stake in NuGen. However, anti-nuclear campaigners said that would risk Kepco, which is also building reactors in the UAE, repeating Toshiba’s mistakes. Ai Kashiwagi, an energy campaigner at Greenpeace Japan, said: “The Moorside reactors are of the same design that sunk Westinghouse’s nuclear business. While Kepco may be desperate to access the UK nuclear market, they would be making the same disastrous mistake that Toshiba made with its purchase of Westinghouse a decade ago.” Toshiba’s share price rose by 1% after Westinghouse’s bankruptcy filing was announced. | ['business/energy-industry', 'business/toshiba', 'business/technology', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'environment/energy', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'business/business', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/adam-vaughan', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2017-03-29T08:20:19Z | true | ENERGY |
commentisfree/2023/apr/25/the-guardian-view-on-the-electric-car-revolution-targets-are-not-enough | The Guardian view on the electric car revolution: targets are not enough | Editorial | When the government controversially scrapped its discount on the purchase of electric cars last summer, the move was justified on the grounds that its work was done. After 11 years of subsidies, said ministers, the electric vehicle revolution had been “kickstarted”. As Britain strives to meet a 2030 target to end the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles, that judgment is beginning to look a little complacent. Amid ongoing economic headwinds, data has emerged that suggests a drop-off in current demand for electric cars, despite notable public enthusiasm for their adoption in principle. Auto Trader, which hosts the country’s largest car sales website, reported this month that inquiries in relation to new electric vehicles had fallen significantly compared with last year. A number of factors are likely to be involved. As interest rates and inflation remain high, the upfront cost of a new electric car makes it more expensive in the short term than a petrol or diesel one. Falling oil prices may have diminished the immediate incentive to switch. At the same time, despite repeated pledges by Whitehall, the rollout of charging infrastructure continues to be too slow and is not keeping pace with sales. Under Boris Johnson, the government forecast that 300,000 publicly available chargers would be needed by 2030. Reaching that number would require the installation of 100 chargers a day, but the current rate is estimated to be around a fifth of that. For lower-income families without the option of charging their cars in garages or driveways, the problem is compounded by current electricity prices and the substantially higher VAT rate paid at public charging points. The net result is that while sales of electric vehicles are growing in absolute terms and company fleet sales are strong – partly as a result of specific incentives to employers – the electric share of the new vehicle market is not accelerating as it needs to. For mass adoption to take place in tough economic times, the government needs to do much more to make electric cars affordable through creative grants and subsidies. Loans should be cheaper and easier to access, offsetting upfront costs. The 20% VAT rate imposed on public charging points should be cut to match the 5% domestic energy tariff. The decision by the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, to end the exemption of electric cars from road tax from 2025 should also be rethought. A major societal transformation of this kind should not be attempted on the cheap, with the risk of creating losers along the way. Looming on the horizon, alongside the imperative of achieving environmental sustainability goals, is a question of social equity. If popular buy-in to the green transition is to be safeguarded, the choice of owning an electric vehicle must not be confined to more well-off early adopters and those fortunate enough to be entitled to a company car. Manufacturers must do more to develop affordable options if they are to meet mandated targets on the way to 2030. But the government should do more than simply wave a big stick and threaten punitive action from the sidelines if those targets are missed. The government’s climate change committee has described the full transition to electric vehicles as one of the key actions in achieving the UK’s net zero targets. Ministers risk failing to ensure that everyone is along for the ride. | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'environment/electric-cars', 'business/automotive-industry', 'environment/environment', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'technology/motoring', 'environment/ethical-living', 'technology/technology', 'politics/conservatives', 'politics/politics', 'environment/travel-and-transport', 'type/article', 'tone/editorials', 'tone/comment', 'profile/editorial', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/opinion', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/carbon-emissions | EMISSIONS | 2023-04-25T17:32:15Z | true | EMISSIONS |
environment/2021/oct/09/give-us-action-on-climate-not-just-words-say-developing-nations-ahead-of-cop26 | Give us action on climate not just words, say developing nations ahead of Cop26 | Developing countries are calling on the G20 group of advanced economies to come forward urgently with stiffer targets on greenhouse gas emissions, and financial aid, to make this month’s UN Cop26 climate summit a success. Simon Stiell, climate and environment minister of Grenada, said: “All eyes are now on the G20. They must step up. There is a significant gap between what has been pledged [on cutting emissions] and what is needed – the big question is how we treat that gap.” He added: “The G20 are responsible for 80% of global emissions. If they really want to address that [gap], then between them they can. It is really that simple. They have the knowhow to manage it, they have the resources, and they have the responsibility.” Tina Stege, climate envoy for the Republic of the Marshall Islands, said: “We are laser focused on the G20. They have the means to make a difference this decade. We all have a part to play, but there is no question that the key really rests with the G20.” Neither would single out any countries but the G20 includes some of the world’s most carbon-heavy economies, including the biggest emitter China – which has yet to come forward with a national plan on emissions cuts – and the major fossil fuel producers Australia, Russia and Saudi Arabia, which have shown little of sign of heeding calls for climate action. Other G20 members include the UK, US, several EU members states, Japan and major emerging economies such as India, Korea and Turkey. The G20 will meet later this month in Italy, just ahead of the start of Cop26 in Glasgow, on 31 October. Stiell said long-term targets for reaching net zero emissions by 2050 or 2060, which many G20 countries have in place or are mulling, were not enough, as emissions cuts in the next decade were also crucial. “Net zero by 2050 is wonderful but we will be long gone by then – low-lying islands will be under water. Hurricanes will have blown us away,” he said. The current targets from many G20 countries for emissions cuts in the next decade were inadequate, said Stiell. China has yet to submit its updated national plan for emissions, known as a nationally determined contribution or NDC, while Australia, Brazil and Japan have plans regarded as inadequate, and major oil producers such as Russia and Saudi Arabia are still expanding their fossil fuel production. The Marshall Islands and Grenada are members of the High Ambition Coalition (HAC), a grouping at the UN talks comprising many of the poorest and most vulnerable developing countries, alongside some of the world’s richest governments, including the EU, UK, Canada and New Zealand. Faustin Munyazikwiye, lead negotiator for Rwanda, which is also a member of the HAC, said that as well as more ambition from the G20 on emissions cuts, more finance from rich countries would be crucial to help the most vulnerable countries cope with the impacts of extreme weather they were already seeing. He told the Observer: “Cop26 comes at a crucial time for our planet – we are at a crossroads. The sense of urgency in climate vulnerable countries like Rwanda is slowly creeping into the rest of the world. We must take this opportunity to capitalise on this emerging global consensus, and secure ambitious commitments to reduce emissions and stay on track to achieve the 1.5C target.” He added: “Climate finance is the main challenge, and the most important aspect of our negotiating strategy. [It is] needed to ensure that climate vulnerable countries are adequately equipped to fight climate change. In Rwanda, for instance, we calculate that we need at least $11bn in investment. While we have committed to financing some of this investment domestically, collaboration with international partners is essential.” Despite the inadequacy of current commitments, Stiell told the Observer there was “a sense of cautious optimism” ahead of the Cop26 talks. The UK, as host and president, has set the main aim for Cop26 of “keeping 1.5C alive”. Under the 2015 Paris climate agreement, nations are bound to hold global temperature rises to “well below” 2C above pre-industrial levels, while “pursuing efforts” to limit global heating to 1.5C. However, new science published in the six years since Paris has shown that exceeding the 1.5C threshold would raise sea levels and increase storm surges, threatening low-lying islands with inundation, and lead to increases in extreme weather globally, with devastating impacts. Stege said some of the forecast impacts of sea level rises were already being felt in the Marshall Islands, where an airport runway was recently overtopped by waves during a storm surge caused when a “king tide” coincided with a storm. There has also been a spate of cases of dengue fever on the islands, caused by the increasing temperatures, and more frequent droughts. The UK, as host of Cop26, will need to ensure the support of developing and developed countries for any deal, as the UN negotiating process demands consensus. | ['environment/cop26-glasgow-climate-change-conference-2021', 'world/g20', 'global-development/climate-finance', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/global-climate-talks', 'environment/climate-aid', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'world/marshall-islands', 'world/grenada', 'world/rwanda', 'uk/uk', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'global-development/global-development', 'profile/fiona-harvey', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/news', 'theobserver/news/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/observer-main'] | environment/climate-aid | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2021-10-09T13:04:16Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
environment/ethicallivingblog/2007/sep/06/areairmilesandorganicinco | Are air miles and organic food compatible? | Air freight is the most unsustainable and fastest growing part of our food supply. Around 1% of all food comes to the UK by air, but it is responsible for 11% of CO2 emissions from UK food transport and pumps out 177 times more CO2 per food mile than shipping. As climate change becomes a reality we have to make hard choices about how and where we grow our food. Partly as a result of weird weather patterns, global food and oil prices are rising. While the cost of fossil fuels will fluctuate, oil is becoming scarcer, and long-term price rises seem inevitable. We need food which not only produces less greenhouse gases but also enables us to deal with the instability caused by climate change and declining fossil fuel supplies. This will require robust farming and food distribution systems that do not contribute to climate change or rely on fossil fuels. There is a contradiction between air freight and the core organic principles of care for the environment and for the well being of future generations. In addition, if the growing pressure on governments, sooner or later, leads to the introduction of tough environmental controls and taxes on the aviation industry, businesses relying on air freight are vulnerable in the longer-term. However, air freight is often used to export high-value, fresh fruit and vegetables from Africa, South America, and Asia, bringing significant social and economic benefits to some of the poorest countries of the world. This is particularly the case with many organic companies, working with small farmers, and growing tropical crops without the use of dangerous pesticides. Earlier this year the Soil Association's independent Standards Board launched a public consultation to help decide how we might reconcile these environmental and social challenges. The consultation simply asks the question: Should we address air freight's contribution to climate change in the Soil Association's organic standards? The options discussed so far include taking no action, labelling or the phased implementation of a selective or general ban. Less than 1% of organic imports are air freighted, so this represents a tiny proportion of greenhouse gas emissions from organic food, and the amount of organic food that is imported is steadily falling. The Soil Association is looking at air freight because it is predicted to continue growing. If it grows unchecked over the next 30 years, to meet our commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions the only emissions we could allow would be from aeroplanes! Responses to our consultation so far indicate that people are glad we have raised these questions - even if they are divided on the answers! We are not just concerned about the environment - the Soil Association was founded 60 years ago on principles of social justice and fairness. Our consultation has strongly highlighted the benefits of organic farming in developing countries for human health, the environment and local communities. Our close links with organic farmers in developing countries mean we have a responsibility to take full account of the implications our actions might have on their livelihoods. Over the summer we have been holding discussions with development charities, environmental groups, organic businesses, supermarkets, the government, the Kenya High Commission and, most importantly, organic farmers in developing countries. Anyone with a view can contribute to our consultation (before 28th September). The Soil Association's independent Standards Board will make their proposal for action in October. | ['environment/ethical-living', 'environment/environment', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'tone/blog', 'environment/carbonfootprints', 'environment/travel-and-transport', 'global-development/fair-trade', 'world/world', 'uk/transport', 'uk/uk', 'food/food', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'environment/green-living-blog', 'environment/soil', 'type/article', 'profile/environmenteditor'] | environment/carbonfootprints | EMISSIONS | 2007-09-06T07:00:00Z | true | EMISSIONS |
world/2017/jul/14/romania-hits-canadian-firm-with-9m-retaliatory-tax-bill-over-gold-mine | Romania hits Canadian firm with $9m 'retaliatory' tax bill over gold mine | Romania has served a Canadian mining company with a $8.6m back taxes bill days after the company filed a $4.4bn compensation claim over a stalled project in the country. Gabriel Resources tried for more than 18 years to get necessary permits for an opencast mine to extract Europe’s largest gold deposits from beneath the village of Roșia Montană in the Apuseni mountains. But the project was halted in 2013 after tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets for three weeks of mass protests. The government withdrew its support in 2014 and in 2017 submitted the village and its surrounding area for inclusion on Unesco’s World Heritage list, effectively killing off the mine. Late last month, Gabriel Resources announced that it would sue Romania at a World Bank tribunal for $4.4bn in alleged losses, alleging multiple breaches of international investment treaties. If its case is successful, the payout would be worth around 2% of the country’s projected GDP for 2017. Days later, Romania announced the outstanding tax bill for VAT related to the purchase of goods and services between 2011 and 2016, and warned that the company could also be liable for millions more in interest and penalties. Gabriel Resources said it viewed the actions of the Romanian authorities as “plainly retaliatory” and said the timing was “not a coincidence”. In a press statement, CEO Jonathan Henry said that the tax bill had been launched in order to “frustrate the company’s pursuit of its international arbitration case against Romania”. The village of Roșia Montană sits on an estimated 314 tonnes of gold and the project would have been Europe’s biggest gold mines. The mine faced sustained opposition from environmental and civil society groups. Opening it would have involved heavy use of cyanide and would have turned a nearby valley into a tailings dam holding up to 250 million tons of cyanide-laced waste from the gold leaching. It would also have destroyed four mountain peaks, nearby villages, and a series of 1,900-year-old Roman mining galleries. “It was a big environmental threat,” said Tudor Bradatan, a founding member of Mining Watch Romania. “The sheer size of the project was way too big, and the planned use of cyanide created lots of environmental issues. And just visually it was an environmental disaster,” he added. Bradatan said that, until recently, successive Romanian governments had been favourably disposed to Gabriel Resources. “It felt for a long time like it was untouchable. Perhaps this tax is just a sign some authorities are working in Romania.” A spokesperson for the Romania tax agency did not respond to a request for comment. | ['world/romania', 'world/canada', 'business/gold', 'business/mining', 'environment/mining', 'business/business', 'environment/environment', 'world/europe-news', 'business/commodities', 'world/americas', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/kit-gillet', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-foreign'] | environment/mining | ENERGY | 2017-07-14T06:10:16Z | true | ENERGY |
sport/2009/may/12/chris-broad-stuart-broad-sri-lanka-attack | Chris Broad relishes prospect of Stuart Broad taking on Australia | Chris Broad was in a Nottingham cinema on Sunday when the shock of a sudden gunshot in the film made him realise that it will be a long time yet before the memories of the terrorist attack in Pakistan that almost cost him his life finally recede. Broad was one of the match officials who was left stranded on a Lahore roundabout in a minivan after an attack on the Sri Lanka team coach killed six police and security officials and injured seven Sri Lanka players. More than two months later, as he recalled yesterday, normality is returning. The Pakistani umpire, Ahzan Raza, who had lain bleeding next to him with a serious stomach wound, has started umpiring again, Broad has made his own gentle return to match referee duties by standing in a couple of World Cup qualifying tournament ties in Johannesburg. There is also the exciting prospect of watching his son, Stuart, take on Australia in this summer's Ashes series. It is something, he nodded in agreement, that it is worth staying alive for. But a visit to watch State Of Play, a crime thriller starring Helen Mirren and Russell Crowe, was a reminder that all is not entirely well. "The flashbacks had been getting fewer and fewer. But we were sat right at the front of the auditorium and the film starts with a bullet being fired at one of the characters. Instantly I realised it was exactly the same sound that I heard when I was lying in the van at Liberty Roundabout in Lahore. "It is a very difficult sound to describe but it was a real thudding sound of a bullet hitting body. As soon as I heard it, I flinched. It was unbelievably real to me. That is the first film I have seen since with gunfire and true-to-life events. Whether it brought it all back or whether the sound was just too loud, I don't know, but it caused a shudder." Broad accepted the ICC's offer of counselling after the terrorist attack but believes that, like most of those involved, "we have now gone past that stage and we are dealing with it ourselves". He is privately unimpressed by the Pakistan Cricket Board's threats of legal action because they have been withdrawn as co-hosts for the 2011 World Cup, but his anger has died down and he settles for saying that their action "is not ideal – it would be nice if everyone concentrated on making the event a success". The Broads, father and son, were together in Nottingham yesterday to open the fourth of five npower urban cricket centres in socially deprived areas, part of cricket's determination to rid itself of the reputation as an exclusively middle-class game. Stuart needs one more impressive Test, against the West Indies at Chester-le-Street beginning on Thursday, to take the new ball in the opening Ashes Test in Cardiff in July. For his father, who scored hundreds in three successive Ashes Tests in Australia when England retained the Ashes in 1986-87, it would be a marvellous end to a traumatic year. Chris Broad talks about his son with a hint of trepidation. Too many opinions will invariably ruffle the feathers of an equally independent character. On Stuart's rejection of the IPL, however, to commit full energy to England's summer, family pride cannot be disguised. "IPL was certainly talked about but it was Stuart's decision, a very mature decision," he said. "He is being asked to do an awful lot in the team for a very young player. Part of being an international cricketer is knowing when to take your rest. The money on offer at the IPL is enormous and something that you have to consider but he is looking at the bigger picture. He is a very sensible young man who thinks long and hard about where he is going. "He has an unbelievable future ahead of him providing he stays fit and his form continues. He is the type of kid who just loves the game and has the ability to it. If he stays healthy, I certainly won't have to give him too much of my pension when he retires." Broad Jnr batted loosely in the first Test at Lord's last week and has vowed to adopt a more sober approach at Chester‑le-Street. Chris may regret this harmless revelation of a family conversation: "Funnily enough, he said to me this morning 'I don't have the patience yet to build an innings because the time I come to the crease I'm normally batting with the tail and I feel I have to get on with it and get runs. "But you have better batsmen down the order in Test cricket these days so you can afford to build an innings. To be dropped four times, he was chasing a lot of wide deliveries. It is like any youngster coming into the game – it is about choosing the right balls to hit and to leave alone. "He has concentrated mostly on his bowling to this point, but absolutely he can do both. He has learned so much in such a short space of time." | ['sport/england-cricket-team', 'sport/ashes', 'sport/cricket', 'sport/sport', 'world/sri-lanka-cricket-team-attack', 'world/world', 'tone/features', 'sport/stuart-broad', 'type/article', 'profile/davidhopps', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/sport', 'theguardian/sport/news'] | world/sri-lanka-cricket-team-attack | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2009-05-11T23:05:31Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2019/may/17/boots-chemist-berated-wrapping-prescriptions-plastic-bags | 'Shame on you': Boots berated for wrapping prescriptions in plastic bags | The pharmacy chain Boots has come under fire for using plastic bags, rather than paper ones, to package some of its prescriptions. Environmental campaigners and customers criticised the firm, which signed up to a high-profile scheme to cut plastic packaging last year. Greenpeace said it was baffled by the pharmacy’s decision, while the government-backed waste advisers that run the scheme said they would be discussing the issue with Boots. Louise Edge, Greenpeace UK’s head of plastics campaign, noted the recent releases of international reports making clear the “catastrophic implications of single-use plastic for both the climate and human health” and accused Boots of displaying “not only corporate incompetence, but a complete disinterest in upholding promises made to their loyal customers.” Last August, Boots signed up to the UK Plastics Pact, a voluntary pledge by the retail industry to cut single-use plastic packaging. Wrap, the body that leads the campaign, said on Friday it was “engaging with Boots on this and other topics in relation to their contribution”. According to the BBC, several Boots customers had expressed their disgust, including one who went back to her local branch to return the packaging and demand the retailer change its policy. Roisin Moriarty told the broadcaster she got increasingly angry after leaving the pharmacy with her subscription wrapped in plastic. “I told my colleagues, who were equally appalled, then decided I could not let it lie. “I scrawled ‘SHAME ON YOU!’ and ‘PAPER, NOT PLASTIC!’ on it in black marker pen and took it up to the pharmacy counter with an overly-polite, ‘This is for whoever cares to take any notice’ then walked out.” Boots said it needed to use the plastic packaging on those orders processed at a centralised pharmacy because the material is more durable. It said the system freed up its pharmacists for “more services for our patients” and had been in place since 2014. The scheme was not being run in an attempt to save money. Edge said she was baffled, adding the plastic bags would not “degrade for hundreds of years, potentially releasing toxic microplastic pollution into our rivers and oceans and impacting entire populations of sea creatures and other wildlife.” She added: “Greenpeace is calling on the UK government to set new legally-binding targets to reduce single use plastic production in the forthcoming environment bill. Only this will ensure that corporations like Boots put their plastic pledges into action.” On Friday, Boots touted its environmental credentials, saying it has reduced the amount of plastic in its Christmas ranges by 164 tonnes and in its food range by 16 tonnes. “On bags in particular, we expect to announce further measures that will reduce our plastic usage dramatically in the coming weeks.” | ['environment/plastic-bags', 'business/retail', 'environment/plastic', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/kevin-rawlinson', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/topstories', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | environment/plastic | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2019-05-17T17:51:36Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2024/jan/02/country-diary-every-fruit-bearing-tree-needs-a-friend | Country diary: Every fruit-bearing tree needs a friend | Mark Cocker | Near our house is a line of fruit-bearing trees – elders and hawthorns – whose origins I’ve often pondered. On visiting this spot near the Monsal Trail recently, I gained clearer insight into the agents that are responsible. Our long-held sense of land as legal property, not to mention our intensifying notions of agricultural mastery over all physical ground, nourishes a false impression that we control the lot. We don’t. Fruit-bearing trees are often obedient to an alternative jurisdiction. The predominant red colour in tree berries (rowan and hawthorn especially) is one clue. So is the misty bloom on fruits like sloes and plums, which apparently reflects light in the ultraviolet spectrum and enhances their visibility among the foliage, especially to anyone overhead. Those advertising techniques are evidence that trees bear fruit not for us, but for birds. This life-enhancing symbiosis dates back to the Cretaceous period, but you can see its impacts now in any winter hedge. Go down the local lanes near you and most old trees will have an understorey of bramble, elder and hawthorn sown and manured by roosting thrushes. The ultimate friend to fruit trees among Europe’s birds is the waxwing. As I wrote in November, last year the bird erupted into Britain in large numbers, with a flock of 250 at Hassop among the biggest ever recorded in Derbyshire. Here, briefly, they are revealing the depth and intimacy of their fruit-tree relations. Surely this continent’s most beautiful songbirds, waxwings sport lines of oval spots – yellow, white, red – in separate sequences down their wings and tail tips. As the birds clamber, parrot-like, often upside down, in their voracious search for fruit, they flutter and spread these brilliant features. But rather than exposing the bird’s presence, the berry-like patches of colour have evolved to disrupt the owner’s outline and disguise it from predators overhead. A secondary mark of so lovely a creature is that even its excrement has aesthetic appeal, emerging copiously and apparently resembling strings of pearls. As waxwings scour the countryside for ever more fruit supplies, they make constant seed deposits, each complete with its moiety of fertiliser, laying down future fruit-bearing gardens on which their descendants perhaps will one day feed. • Country diary is on Twitter at @gdncountrydiary | ['environment/series/country-diary', 'environment/birds', 'environment/environment', 'uk/ruralaffairs', 'uk/uk', 'environment/wildlife', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/markcocker', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/wildlife | BIODIVERSITY | 2024-01-02T05:30:51Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
politics/article/2024/jul/02/give-local-authorities-the-power-to-achieve-net-zero | Give local authorities the power to achieve net zero | Letter | In your editorial (The Guardian view on councils in need: voters should be told what the parties’ plans are, 23 June), you fail to mention perhaps the most acute challenge of all facing local governments – the race to net zero. While crises in housing, social care and education are already affecting communities up and down the country, these will all be exacerbated by the looming challenges of soaring energy costs, rising temperatures and biodiversity loss. Reaching net zero is arguably the biggest issue facing the public sector, and is probably the biggest it will ever face. Local authorities, which best understand local residents’ needs, are at the frontline when it comes to dealing with the impacts and tackling the challenges ahead. Investing in the local generation of renewable power is a step in the right direction. However, for this to work we need to acknowledge that planning permissions for grid upgrades and procurement for major energy projects all pass through underresourced and underfunded councils. To truly succeed, we need clear regulations that give local authorities the devolved powers to create new investment ecosystems for renewable energy, based on local needs, and a transparent plan for how to make this happen. Key Cities, a cross-party group of urban local authorities representing about 10% of the country’s population, is calling for the next government to redefine the role of local government in achieving net zero. Let’s not underestimate the role of local authorities in delivering a sustainable future for the UK and the real need for proper support in taking on this task. Cllr John Merry Chair, Key Cities; deputy mayor, Salford city council • 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. | ['politics/general-election-2024', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'society/localgovernment', 'politics/politics', 'society/society', 'uk/uk', 'environment/environment', 'environment/energy', 'type/article', 'tone/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/renewableenergy | ENERGY | 2024-07-02T15:56:56Z | true | ENERGY |
sustainable-business/food-blog/mobile-technology-food-conflict-refugee-camps-wfp | Using mobile phones to better understand refugees' food needs | For the first time since the second world war, more than 50 million people are living in refugee camps in countries outside their own or are on the run due to conflict. Millions more continue to live in violent communities around the world, surviving with little to no economic opportunity. In 2012, an additional 32 million people were displaced (pdf) due to natural disasters, almost twice as many as the year before. Yet determining the needs of tens of millions of people in crisis is no easy business. Humanitarian organisations are forced to stretch severely limited budgets (pdf), while violence often curtails the ability of aid groups to access even the most basic information, such as what food survivors have to eat and how much there is of it. The World Food Programme (WFP) is the world's largest humanitarian organisation, supplying more than 80 million people with critical food assistance each year on an ever shrinking budget. With 4.5bn mobile phone phones users in the world today and almost 70% of people in Africa with access to a phone, the WFP now sees mobile technology as a way to more efficiently collect the data it needs to make informed decisions. Before 2012, when WFP began exploring the use of mobile technology to help gather information, the organisation relied on face to face surveys and interviews with residents, with long questionnaires filled out on paper or, more recently, on tablets. "We were curious: if we used mobile technology, could we get information faster, cheaper, and in a lighter way?" says Arif Husain, chief economist at the WFP, from the group's no frills offices in a warehouse district outside of Rome. "Meaning that if you use SMS or voice calling, you don't have 10 page questionnaires. You can throw out some simple questions, over time, and see the responses you get." "We would send enumerators where we could," says Husain. "But there are many UN 'no-go zones'. So there were instances where we flew in by helicopter and had two hours to figure out what is going on with 100,000 people. The idea now is that anything that gets us information from places without putting boots on the ground is a good thing." The potential benefits of using mobile technology for the WFP are numerous. Calling those stranded in violent areas is far less dangerous than sending employees in to collect information. The group also estimates it could save up to 40% on the cost of data collection by using mobile technologies. Additionally, it also sees phones as a way to easily and inexpensively collect information about food prices and the availability of food over time in order to provide earlier warning of crises in the making. Each pilot programme is tailored to the region in which it is used, and is continuously assessed and reconfigured to ensure its success, says Husain. The mobile surveys are free to complete and all of the programs offer small phone credits for respondents as an incentive for participating in the program. Projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), for example, involved two strategies. In refugee camps around eastern DRC, the WFP gave out 300 basic phones and used a WFP-based live call centre to conduct surveys assessing what people were eating, how much and how often. After six rounds of surveys, 72% of the original survey group still answered calls, indicating that the phones are seen as a valuable asset for families. However there were initial hurdles. "We found that response rates were low after the first round of calls," says Husain. "We sent a call centre worker to the camp to find out what was going on and they found that the phones were switched off because they could not recharge the phones." To address the problem, WFP worked with a company in Goma to set up a solar panel charging station. A committee at the refugee camp runs the charging station providing free recharges for WFP phones every other day and non-WFP phones for a fee. The second strategy saw WFP ask the same questions using Interactive Voice Response (IVR) administered by Geopoll – a company specialising in mobile surveys. IVR is considered more scalable because it doesn't require a call centre, and surveys can be conducted on the weekends or in the evenings when respondents aren't working. For now, the WFP is focusing its mobile phone efforts in conflict areas. But, Husain says, the group is eager to use the technology in more stable regions of the world, to be able to better monitor food security over time. "Whatever we do here is driven by the rule that it has to translate into action for someone who really depends on us," says Husain. "We have to realise quickly what is working and what is not. That is why all of these pilots are being done in different ways – to find out where the bottlenecks are and to see how quickly we can adjust." Beth Hoffman is a freelance radio reporter, multimedia producer, and writer. She is currently an assistant professor at the University of San Francisco, where she teaches Audio Production and Food Media. She tweets @BethFoodAg and blogs regularly for Forbes.com on food and agriculture. The food hub is funded by The Irish Food Board. All content is editorially independent except for pieces labelled advertisement feature. Find out more here. Join the community of sustainability professionals and experts. Become a GSB member to get more stories like this direct to your inbox | ['sustainable-business/series/food', 'sustainable-business/sustainable-business', 'global-development/food-security', 'environment/environment', 'technology/technology', 'global-development/aid', 'global-development/humanitarian-response', 'environment/solarpower', 'technology/mobilephones', 'type/article'] | environment/solarpower | ENERGY | 2014-08-06T06:00:00Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2015/aug/17/george-brandis-vigilante-green-groups-destroying-thousands-of-mining-jobs | George Brandis: vigilante green groups destroying thousands of mining jobs | Environmental groups are threatening thousands of mining jobs with their “vigilante litigation”, attorney general George Brandis has said, paving the way for a tightening of laws governing environmental protection. The prime minister, Tony Abbott, has backed the attorney general’s comments, saying that environmental groups have engaged in an “unfair” campaign to scupper Adani’s Carmichael mine in north Queensland. “We have seen a sustained campaign of harassment through the courts of this proposal,” Abbott told reporters on Monday. “I’m not for a second saying that people should not be able to exercise their legal right, I’m not for a second criticising the courts, what I am being very critical of is the tactics of some element of the green movement and their apparent ability to play games and to game the system,” he said. The statements from senior Coalition figures come just days after the federal court overturned the government’s approval of the Carmichael mine, saying the project endangers two threatened species. “It seems like there’s never any end to this. All reasonable processes must have a reasonable conclusion and that’s the difficulty at the moment,” Abbott said. “We’ve got this particular project most notably but perhaps others as well, that seem to have been subject to a form of legal sabotage.” Brandis said green groups have been engaging in “lawfare”. “Ten thousand jobs have been destroyed … by vigilante environmental groups intent on gaming the system,” he said during Senate question time on Monday. “I come from Queensland and I am conscious of just what a big deal this was. It’s almost like this was the Olympic Dam of Queensland,” Brandis told Sky News on Sunday. Green groups have disputed the 10,000 figure, with the Australian Conservation Foundation pointing out that Adani’s own experts say fewer than 1,500 jobs will be created. Brandis on Sunday said that clauses in the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act contain “extremely loose” language that “provides a red carpet for vigilante litigation”. The act has provisions allowing any Australian citizen or permanent resident who is aggrieved by an environmental decision to take the decision to court. Brandis has urged that the act be reformed, saying the government “should get rid of” laws that “encourage vigilante litigation”. Abbott also indicated the act would need re-examination. “This should be a big issue for the parliament, ensuring that investment and jobs go ahead. Ensuring that the rules are fair, but they’re also fairly applied,” he said. The shadow assistant treasurer, Andrew Leigh, told Fairfax media that the laws were fine as they are. “I believe that we’ve got the balance right at the moment and that environmental groups – both when they’re right and when they’re wrong – play an important role in a mature democracy,” he said. The Greens leader, Richard Di Natale, argued that the provisions in the EPBC Act helped level the playing field between big corporations and environmental groups. “The law is there for a reason,” Di Natale told reporters on Monday. “The attorney general as the chief lawmaker of this land is there to protect it, and shouldn’t regard environmental law as a nuisance or an inconvenience.” Environmental justice Australia lawyer Arian Wilkinson called on Brandis to “revoke his comments, admit they were an error in judgement and ensure federal ministers remain accountable to the law”. “Senator Brandis’s comments are another example of the power the mining industry wields over the government,”” Wilkinson said. “We need to have the highest standards of ministerial accountability to safeguard against corruption. “The Australian community have every right to access the justice system, this case is a great example of democracy in action. The government’s outrageous response is to back this dying project and seek to remove the laws that protect the environment.” | ['environment/carmichael-coalmine', 'australia-news/george-brandis', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/mining', 'business/mining', 'australia-news/australian-politics', 'environment/environment', 'australia-news/queensland', 'australia-news/coalition', 'australia-news/tony-abbott', 'law/law-australia', 'environment/coal', 'australia-news/labor-party', 'australia-news/richard-di-natale', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/shalailah-medhora', 'profile/joshua-robertson'] | environment/mining | ENERGY | 2015-08-17T07:19:11Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2013/feb/24/nuclear-energy-safer-cleaner-healthier-uk | Letters: Nuclear power's place in a safer, cleaner Britain | By offering the nuclear industry a 40-year subsidy (Ministers offer nuclear reactor deal until 2050, 19 February), the coalition is backtracking on its 2010 promise not to make the public pay for new nuclear, and tying us into decades of increasingly expensive, risky power. Even if the nuclear industry delivers on time, new reactors won't be ready until the 2020s, and could end up costing consumers tens of billions of pounds. Meanwhile, the government's dash for gas is driving up our fuel bills, and giving new gas plants a free pass to pollute by allowing them to pump out climate-changing carbon till 2045. It's outrageous that nuclear and gas should be given such lengthy guarantees when renewable energy faces a funding cliff-edge after 2020. Britain has abundant wind and marine energy resources, and should be a world leader in developing and exporting expertise. MPs must act decisively where the government hasn't, and back a 2030 clean power target in the energy bill that will tackle climate change, create green jobs and provide energy we can all afford. Andrew Pendleton Head of campaigns, Friends of the Earth • The £240bn pledged in subsidies for new nuclear power stations in Britain would give £10,000 to each home in Britain so they could all install solar hot water, solar electric systems, controls and new boilers, where necessary with insulation and draught-stripping, and help take every home in Britain out of fuel poverty. The solar option helps cut energy demand from homes by 50%-75%, saving huge amounts in NHS costs for mental and physical health. Solar systems generate electricity at less than half the C02 life-cycle costs for nuclear. Most importantly the nuclear route puts more people, every year, into fuel poverty as prices rise, putting profits into the pockets of Big Energy and Big Construction. The solar option actually builds local businesses and community resilience. The Arab spring showed us the power of people who can't pay their bills. Can anyone tell me one good reason for choosing the nuclear over the solar option if our aim is to build a stronger, safer, cleaner, healthier Britain? Professor Sue Roaf Edinburgh • There should be only two guarantees to nuclear operators: (a) that they can sell electricity at the price required to cover their costs, and (b) that they are guaranteed to be able to sell some agreed fraction (say 50%) of the output of their reactors while operational, regardless of the cost they have to charge. If the operators have to charge double the standard rate, then tough – it would expose the myth that nuclear fission is an economically competitive way of generating electricity. International treaties enable the huge economic impact of a nuclear incident to be covered by governments, and thence the general public, instead of the operators. Operators should not be allowed to go bankrupt in the event of a serious incident but instead be required to charge whatever higher price for electricity from other reactors is necessary to cover the full cost. If this is 10 times the normal cost of electricity, again, tough. Chris Osman Oxford • Your correspondent Alan Rigby (Letters, 22 February) asks whether anyone has formally reported to the EU Competition commissioner the implications of providing EDF, the French state nuclear generator and distributor, with billions in subsidies to build and run nuclear plants in the UK. On 24 February 2011 Energy Fair (energyfair.org.uk) made just such representations to the European Commission. Included in the items we considered were state-sponsored subsidies for the nuclear industry, we listed subsidies for the short-to-medium-term cost of disposing of nuclear waste; and institutional support for nuclear power generation, by means of government offices and staff involved in institutional coordination, research and safety-related activities. Brigitta Renner-Loquenz, head of the competition directorate-general's unit responsible for state aid in the energy and environment sectors, replied: "We are in contact with the UK authorities and asked them for their own summary of the facts, as well as for the reasons why they do not consider the alleged aid to be unlawful aid." She added: "The above-mentioned letter … also includes questions concerning the nuclear third-party liability regime as well as the issues brought forward in another complaint." Dr David Lowry Member, Energy Fair • Electricity from coal is very dirty but costs about 5p/kwh. From gas it's fairly dirty and will soon cost more. Clean renewables are very expensive and intermittent. Replacing obsolete nuclear reactors with their carbon-clean but inefficient modern equivalent will cost about 10p/kwh, and produce much long-term radioactive waste. Safe and efficient molten salt reactors, burning abundant thorium and/or nuclear waste will generate clean electricity cheaper than from coal, and their waste is virtually all short-term and valuable. Alvin Weinberg's team at Oak Ridge labs ran such a reactor for five years. China, India, Japan and France are working on molten salt and/or thorium. The UK and US governments appear to have their heads in the sand. Interesting that sand is rich in both salt and thorium. John McGrother Buxton, Derbyshire • Looking out across Morecambe Bay from the pier at the end of Ulverston canal, one can plainly see at least one of the two nuclear reactors at Heysham, Lancashire. Twenty three miles from Heysham by road, and quite a bit closer as the crow flies, is Hesketh Bank, where the most advanced of the UK's exploratory fracking operations is situated.I can't help wondering whether carrying out industrial operations designed to interfere with geological strata in the vicinity of nuclear installations isn't a teeny bit stoops. Can anyone offer reassurance? Dr Roger Lindsay Ulverston, Cumbria | ['environment/nuclearpower', 'tone/letters', 'environment/energy', 'environment/environment', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/fracking', 'environment/ethical-living', 'business/energy-industry', 'business/business', 'politics/liberal-conservative-coalition', 'politics/politics', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/editorialsandreply'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2013-02-24T21:00:05Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2019/aug/04/britains-2800-toddbrook-dams-why-built-how-safe | Britain’s 2,800 dams: why were they built and how safe are they? | England and Wales have about 2,000 dams and there are around 800 in Scotland. These structures were built for a variety of reasons: to make reservoirs that can supply drinking water to nearby towns and cities; to fill local canals; to help farms; and to create places for fishing, sailing and water sports. In the case of Toddbrook’s dam, it was built in the 1830s to create a reservoir that would provide water for the local canal system. It is still owned by the Canal & River Trust. All UK reservoirs with a capacity above 25,000 cubic metres must comply with the Reservoirs Act and a civil engineer has to file an annual safety report to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The Canal & River Trust said the annual inspection of Toddbrook Reservoir in November indicated that the dam was “absolutely fine”. A trust spokesperson added that the reservoir is also inspected twice a week and it was during the most recent visit that the problems affecting Toddbrook were revealed. Professor Nigel Wright, a civil engineer and expert in flood risk management, told the BBC yesterday that the last evacuation associated with dam problems in the UK occurred in 2007, when cracks appeared in the dam at Ulley Reservoir, near Rotherham, following heavy rain. A new spillway was later built to replace the original which collapsed during the floods. “Since then, the government has insisted that a lot of dams have been reanalysed to check what the danger is and come up with plans for evacuation if necessary,” added Wright, who is based at Nottingham Trent University. | ['environment/flooding', 'tone/analysis', 'world/natural-disasters', 'uk/uk', 'environment/environment', 'education/nottinghamtrentuniversity', 'type/article', 'profile/robinmckie', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/news', 'theobserver/news/uknews'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2019-08-04T08:00:16Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2017/jun/22/noruega-ameaca-corte-de-us1-bilhao-devido-a-aumento-de-destruicao-na-amazonia | Noruega ameaça corte de US$1 bilhão devido a aumento de destruição na Amazônia | A Noruega fez uma clara ameaça ao Brasil de que caso o crescente índice de desmatamento na Amazônia não seja revertido, a ajuda financeira de um bilhão de dólares vai ser reduzida a zero. Os líderes de ambos países se encontram em Oslo, nesta sexta. O país escandinavo, rico em petróleo, já contribuiu com mais de um bilhão de dólares para o Fundo Amazônia desde 2008, valor vinculado a redução nas taxas de desmatamento na maior floresta tropical do mundo. A destruição das florestas pelas indústrias de madeira e pela agropecuária é um dos maiores contribuidores para as emissões de carbono que causam mudanças climáticas e a Noruega vê a proteção da Amazônia como vital para o mundo. Os índices de desmatamento na Amazônia caíram significativamente entre 2008 e 2014, uma “grande conquista” que teve um “impacto muito positivo” no Brasil e no mundo, segundo Vidar Helgesen, ministro do meio ambiente da Noruega. Mas em uma carta franca para a contraparte brasileira, José Sarney Filho, acessada pelo Guardian, Helgesen escreve: “Em 2015 e 2016 o desmatamento na Amazônia brasileira teve um aumento preocupante.” Ele adverte que isso já trouxe reduções ao apoio norueguês e acrescenta: “Qualquer novo aumento, por mais modesto, vai trazer esse número para zero”. Helgesen disse estar seriamente preocupado com medidas controversiais no Brasil que pretendem remover a proteção de grandes áreas da Amazônia e enfraquecer as licenças ambientais necessárias para a agricultura, o que poderia agravar ainda mais o desmatamento. Além disso, os orçamentos do Ministério do Meio Ambiente e outros órgãos que trabalham para a proteção da Amazônia sofreram cortes drásticos. O presidente do Brasil, Michel Temer, é visto como aliado do lobby ruralista, que pressiona por cortes na proteção da Amazônia. O índice de desmatamento anual na Amazônia brasileira subiu em 29%, chegando a 8.000km² de floresta desmatada em 2016, valor ainda bastante inferior aos 19.000 km² de 2005. Autoridades norueguesas dizem que segundo as regras estabelecidas pelo próprio Brasil dentro do acordo para o Fundo Amazônia, um aumento de 8.500km² implica o término dos pagamentos vindos da Noruega. Filho, herdeiro de um dos maiores proprietários de terra do Maranhão, respondeu o ministro norueguês escrevendo: “Eu tenho feito todos os esforços para manter o curso da sustentabilidade, com determinação e vontade política”. Filho disse a Helgesen que os dados preliminares mais recentes sugerem que o aumento no desmatamento parece ter se estabilizado. “[Eles] indicam que a curva crescente de desmatamento parece ter estagnado. Esperamos que os novos dados logo tragam uma tendência de redução”. Temer deve encontrar protestos na sexta-feira em Oslo, organizados por ativistas pelos direitos dos povos indígenas e por ambientalistas. Entre eles Sônia Guajajara, líder da Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil (APIB). “Temer não cumpre com suas obrigações e não respeita os direitos constitucionais. Os seus ataques aos direitos dos povos indígenas e ao meio ambiente são de uma magnitude nunca antes vista”, disse Sônia. O Fundo Amazônia atualmente apoia dezenas de projetos que combatem o desmatamento, buscam regulamentação fundiária e a gestão ambiental de terras indígenas. A própria Noruega foi criticada por grupos ambientalistas na quinta-feira, depois de oferecer a empresas um número recorde de blocos – 93 – para exploração de petróleo no Ártico. Terje Søviknes, ministro de petróleo e energia da Noruega disse: “A área para nova exploração possibilita atividades de longo-prazo, a criação de valor e de empregos na indústria do petróleo em todo o pais” | ['environment/deforestation', 'environment/amazon-rainforest', 'world/norway', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/environment', 'world/europe-news', 'environment/forests', 'uk/uk', 'world/brazil', 'world/series/the-guardian-in-portuguese', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'world/series/the-guardian-in-translation', 'profile/damiancarrington', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/amazon-rainforest | BIODIVERSITY | 2017-06-22T16:59:52Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2022/sep/02/tree-extinctions-species-wildlife-ecosystems-scientists-aoe | Prevent tree extinctions or face global ecological catastrophe, scientists warn | Scientists have issued an urgent “warning to humanity” about the global impact of tree extinctions. A new paper predicts severe consequences for people, wildlife and the planet’s ecosystems if the widespread loss of trees continues. “Last year, we published the State of the World’s Trees report, where we showed at least 17,500 tree species, about a third of the world’s 60,000 tree species, are at risk of extinction,” said Malin Rivers, lead author of the paper and head of conservation prioritisation at Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI). “Now we want to highlight why it matters that so many tree species are going extinct. “Without acting now, it will impact humanity, our economies and livelihoods. Ecologically, it will have a catastrophic impact on the planet.” The joint warning from BGCI and the Global Tree Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s species survival commission (IUCN SSC) is backed by 45 scientists from more than 20 countries, including the UK, the US, India and Haiti, with calls for action signed by more than 30 organisations, including botanic gardens, arboretums and universities. According to the paper, the world’s forests contribute $1.3tn (£1.1tn) to the global economy. Timber is the most valuable commodity, but non-timber products, such as fruit, nuts, and medicine, create $88bn in global trade. Of the fruit available for global consumption, 53% comes from trees. Globally, more than 1.6 billion people live within 5km (3 miles) of a forest and rely on them for jobs and money. In developing countries, forests provide up to 25% of household income. “Some people live in the forest and use it for subsistence, for food, shelter and medicine,” Rivers said. “Many more people use forests for their income, to sell things they collect or make from the forest. All those people will be directly impacted by tree losses. A lot of trees also have special spiritual or cultural meaning. When those tree species are lost, that cultural heritage is also lost, like the dragon’s blood trees in Yemen, or baobabs in Madagascar.” The large-scale extinction of tree species would lead to major biodiversity losses. Half of the world’s animal and plant species rely on trees as their habitat, with forests containing about 75% of bird species, 68% of mammal species and as many as 10 million species of invertebrates. Forest-dependent species have already declined by about 53% since 1970. “When we look at extinction risks for mammals or birds, underlying that is habitat loss, and habitat loss is often tree loss,” said Rivers. “If we don’t look after trees, there’s no way we can look after all the other life there.” The extinction of a single tree species can significantly alter an ecosystem, causing a domino effect in its ability to function. When eucalyptus and dipterocarp trees are destroyed, for example, forests are more at risk from fire, pests and disease. Forests provide 50% of the world’s carbon storage, so further tree extinctions would reduce our ability to fight climate breakdown. “The new thing in this paper is that it’s the diversity of trees that is so important,” said Rivers. “We’re showing that diverse forests store more carbon than monocultures. That’s true for many of the ecological functions, not just carbon capture, but providing habitat to animals, soil stabilisation, resilience to pests and diseases, resilience to storms and adverse weather. By losing tree diversity, we’ll also lose diversity in all organisms: birds, animals, fungi, micro-organisims, insects.” More than 100 tree species are already extinct in the wild, but despite their importance, billions of trees are still being lost each year to pests, disease, invasive species, drought, climate breakdown and industrial-scale deforestation for wood, cattle-farming, palm oil and other agriculture, from tropical islands to species-rich areas, such as the Amazon and Borneo. Ahead of the UN’s Cop15 biodiversity conference in Montreal this December, the scientists behind the paper are calling for more protection for the world’s trees, including strengthening the role of trees in environmental and climate policy at state level. “We want to see action,” said Rivers. “We can all take responsibility for the beef we’re eating and where it’s coming from, and making sure tree products are sustainably sourced. But we also want to see governments take responsibility, so there’s joined up thinking on biodiversity, climate change and other issues.” Find more age of extinction coverage here, and follow biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield on Twitter for all the latest news and features | ['environment/series/the-age-of-extinction', 'environment/forests', 'environment/deforestation', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'environment/series/the-road-to-kunming', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'environment/cop15', 'profile/graeme-green', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-age-of-extinction'] | environment/series/the-age-of-extinction | BIODIVERSITY | 2022-09-02T11:04:29Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/cif-green/2009/mar/17/climate-change-king | Economic crisis gives us a chance of repairing climate damage, say economic experts | The financial crisis that started in May 2007 is a global catastrophe. As central banks, one after another, reduce interest rates towards zero, they risk the world economy falling into a global liquidity trap in which monetary and fiscal policies become ineffective and regulation becomes the main instrument for recovery. The effect of such a trap is to risk global depression and mass unemployment for years to come. In the background lurks another crisis — the risk of dangerous climate change. Although these changes are slow-moving, increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases will risk more climate catastrophes that will damage human wellbeing and conceivably lead to mass unemployment in the very long run. These two crises are not independent. Both arise from human greed largely unrestrained by ethics, or concern for others in distant lands, or future generations. And the state of the world's finances can either hinder our efforts to tackle climate change or, if the world responds correctly, provide an unrivalled opportunity to help. The most prominent policies at the moment are market-based instruments such as emissions trading schemes, which put a price on carbon dioxide emissions. But the financial crisis is rendering such policies ineffective. Carbon allowance prices in the EU emissions trading scheme have hit new lows recently as plunging economies reduce the demand for electricity. If the short-term reduction in demand for emission permits continues into a collapse of allowance prices to near zero, then not only does the market lose its ability to cap emissions but we would also lose the valuable experience built up by companies in the carbon market. One way to restore profitable allowance prices in the scheme is to tighten the emission reduction targets for 2020. Even an announcement that such tightening is being considered may be enough to support the prices. So how can investment best achieve climate change stabilisation at different carbon prices? The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)'s fourth assessment report, published in 2007, examined this and concluded that most actions proven to reduce greenhouse gas emissions involve regulation, tradable permits or carbon taxes. Not so many involve direct government investment, such as making buildings more efficient, reducing deforestation, investing in public transport, and subsidising and supporting research in renewable energy. But things have changed since the last IPCC report. The global financial markets are not as they were at the end of 2006, when the assessment was finalised. We face the prospect of a large and global unemployment problem, and carbon markets that do not deliver the expected incentive to induce technological change. In this new context, measures such as taxing carbon, tradable CO2 allowances and strong regulation of industry begin to seem less immediately attractive than simple direct investment by governments. As the financial crisis continues, there is widespread recognition of a need for substantial investment by governments — fiscal stimuli — to restore confidence, spending and employment to more normal levels. This is where resolving the financial crisis can help climate policy. The investment should be in decarbonising national economies and international transportation at an accelerated pace. Such action presents an immediate solution to both crises if combined with the bankrupting of the insolvent banks, with appropriate protection of depositors and small shareholders. Other global measures are also needed as a coordinated response to the crises for the investments to work. However, the scale of the financial crisis means that much more investment will eventually be required. Money spent on decarbonising is likely to seem small in retrospect. We are in a global depression, not quite on the scale of the Great Depression Of 1929-1932, but approaching it in the UK, many other European countries and in Japan. Our January 2009 outlook suggests that on present policies Britain's GDP will fall by 3.8% in 2009, and then by a further 6.2% in 2010. Such a sharp contraction in economic activity is bound to have an impact on greenhouse gas emissions. In a fossil fuel-based global economy, growth is closely correlated with these emissions, so recession means lower emissions, for a time at least. This of course does not mean that the financial crisis helps to address the climate change problem because the effect is hopefully short term. But the crisis may provide the stimulus we need to move to a low-carbon economy. In dismal economic times, investments in things such as infrastructure and new technologies become available at lower cost and greater benefit than at other times. So let us take stock. We have a critical and deepening global financial crisis that demands large-scale job-creating investment. And we have an impending global climatic crisis that could be partially solved by large-scale job-creating government investments. If it cannot be quickly resolved, the financial crisis itself could seriously undermine the market-led climate change policies we have, so there is an increasing need to go for more direct investment approaches to tackle climate change. The answer is obvious. The resolution of the global financial crisis must be seen as an opportunity to kick-start a rapid shift to a low-carbon economy, which is absolutely necessary in the coming decades if we are to avoid dangerous global climate change. Sir David King was the government's chief scientific adviser and is now director of the Smith School for Enterprise and the Environment. Terry Barker is director of the Cambridge Centre for Climate Change Mitigation Research | ['environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/ipcc', 'environment/environment', 'science/davidking', 'tone/comment', 'commentisfree/cif-green', 'environment/rajendra-pachauri', 'type/article'] | environment/ipcc | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2009-03-17T12:56:00Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
environment/2017/feb/03/fukushima-daiichi-radiation-levels-highest-since-2011-meltdown | Fukushima nuclear reactor radiation at highest level since 2011 meltdown | Extremely high radiation levels have been recorded inside a damaged reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, almost six years after the plant suffered a triple meltdown. The facility’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), said atmospheric readings as high as 530 sieverts an hour had been recorded inside the containment vessel of reactor No 2, one of three reactors that experienced a meltdown when the plant was crippled by a huge tsunami that struck the north-east coast of Japan in March 2011. The extraordinary radiation readings highlight the scale of the task confronting thousands of workers, as pressure builds on Tepco to begin decommissioning the plant – a process that is expected to take about four decades. Even if a 30-percent margin of error is taken into account, the recent reading, described by some experts as “unimaginable”, is far higher than the previous record of 73 sieverts an hour detected by sensors in 2012. Tepco pointed out, however, that the camera had probed deeper inside the reactor than before and had focused on a single point. Radiation levels at other spots filmed by the camera are estimated to be much lower, it added. A single dose of one sievert is enough to cause radiation sickness and nausea; 5 sieverts would kill half those exposed to it within a month, and a single dose of 10 sieverts would prove fatal within weeks. Tepco also said image analysis had revealed a hole in metal grating beneath the same reactor’s pressure vessel. The one-metre-wide hole was probably created by nuclear fuel that melted and then penetrated the vessel after the tsunami knocked out Fukushima Daiichi’s back-up cooling system. “It may have been caused by nuclear fuel that would have melted and made a hole in the vessel, but it is only a hypothesis at this stage,” Tepco’s spokesman Tatsuhiro Yamagishi told AFP. “We believe the captured images offer very useful information, but we still need to investigate given that it is very difficult to assume the actual condition inside.” The presence of dangerously high radiation will complicate efforts to safely dismantle the plant. A remote-controlled robot that Tepco intends to send into the No 2 reactor’s containment vessel is designed to withstand exposure to a total of 1,000 sieverts, meaning it would survive for less than two hours before malfunctioning. The firm said radiation was not leaking outside the reactor, adding that the robot would still prove useful since it would move from one spot to the other and encounter radiation of varying levels. Tepco and its network of partner companies at Fukushima Daiichi have yet to identify the location and condition of melted fuel in the three most seriously damaged reactors. Removing it safely represents a challenge unprecedented in the history of nuclear power. Quantities of melted fuel are believed to have accumulated at the bottom of the damaged reactors’ containment vessels, but dangerously high radiation has prevented engineers from accurately gauging the state of the fuel deposits. Earlier this week, the utility released images of dark lumps found beneath reactor No 2 that it believes could be melted uranium fuel rods – the first such discovery since the disaster. In December, the government said the estimated cost of decommissioning the plant and decontaminating the surrounding area, as well as paying compensation and storing radioactive waste, had risen to 21.5tn yen (£150bn), nearly double an estimate released in 2013. This article was amended on 9 February to explain that the camera had probed deeper inside the No 2 reactor – and closer to the damaged nuclear fuel – than before, hence the high radiation estimate. | ['environment/fukushima', 'environment/environment', 'world/japan', 'world/asia-pacific', 'world/japan-earthquake-and-tsunami', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'environment/energy', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/justinmccurry', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-foreign'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2017-02-03T10:19:34Z | true | ENERGY |
news/2012/dec/02/weatherwatch-flooding-chalk-groundwater | Weatherwatch: Groundwater flooding threatens thousands of homes | Chalky soil is so porous that a lot of rain soaks straight into it, reducing the chance of flooding and acting as a giant sponge. These aquifers feed the springs and provide the water supply for much of the south. But with recent rains even the biggest sponges get saturated. Eight months ago, amid hosepipe bans, there were fears that it would take years of average rainfall before these depleted aquifers recovered. Then came the wettest three months the south had ever recorded. Normally in the summer, grass and trees soak up all the rain, but this year water levels began to rise. Then with October and November's deluges these natural reservoirs began to fill faster. This is good news for nature, particularly the glorious but endangered chalk trout streams. Long dry springs high in the hills are beginning to flow again. But for people living on chalk, prolonged rainfall can be disastrous. Groundwater flooding, literally water springing out of the ground and in some cases up through the floorboards, is potentially a threat to 380,000 properties in England and Wales. The problem can last for months. In the Solent and South Downs area, the fastest to react to rising groundwater, alarms have been going off in boreholes in Hampshire and Sussex. The Environment Agency is warning householders to be prepared for flooding from beneath. Some residents of King's Somborne, on the banks of the river Test, have been told their cellars may begin to fill up this week. | ['news/series/weatherwatch', 'uk/weather', 'uk/uk', 'tone/features', 'environment/environment-agency', 'environment/flooding', 'type/article', 'profile/paulbrown', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2012-12-02T22:30:03Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
politics/2021/feb/22/climate-crisis-driving-insecurity-boris-johnson-tell-world-leaders-un | Climate crisis is driving insecurity, Johnson to tell world leaders | Boris Johnson is to tell other world leaders that the climate emergency is “driving insecurity” as he uses the first UN security council session chaired by a British prime minister in nearly 30 years to set the scene for the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow. The prime minister will chair a virtual session of the security council which will also be addressed by David Attenborough, who will warn leaders that without urgent and coherent action the pace of change could become unstoppable. While the security council has regularly discussed the threats from the climate emergency for almost 15 years, Johnson’s decision to focus on the subject will be seen as a statement of intent ahead of Cop26, due to be held in November. In words released ahead of the virtual meeting taking place on Tuesday, Johnson said the security council “is tasked with confronting the gravest threats to global peace and security, and that’s exactly what climate change represents”. He said: “From the communities uprooted by extreme weather and hunger to warlords capitalising on the scramble for resources – a warming planet is driving insecurity. “Unlike many issues the council deals with, this is one we know exactly how to address. By helping vulnerable countries adapt to climate change and cutting global emissions to net zero, we will protect not only the bountiful biodiversity of our planet, but its prosperity and security.” Attenborough was to tell world leaders that Cop26 could be “our last opportunity to make the necessary step-change” over changing climate. He said: “If we bring emissions down with sufficient vigour we may yet avoid the tipping points that will make runaway climate change unstoppable. If we objectively view climate change and the loss of nature as worldwide security threats – as indeed, they are – then we may yet act proportionately and in time.” Some of the most vulnerable countries are also planning to make an appeal to rich nations at the security council meeting, calling for more action to reduce greenhouse gases, and aid and other assistance to help make poor countries more resilient to the impacts of climate breakdown. Kat Kramer, the climate policy lead at the charity Christian Aid, said: “Millions of the world’s poorest people are already living with the impacts of climate change, which is forcing displacement, devastating livelihoods and putting pressure on communities who are competing over resources such as land and water. “In some countries, these impacts become the drivers of local conflicts which can be instrumentalised by leaders and escalate into violence and war. This threat of violence and insecurity threatens to undermine international peace and security.” Funding for poor countries to cope with the impacts of the climate crisis will be a key focus at Cop26. The UN secretary general, António Guterres, warned last year in an interview with the Guardian that the longstanding pledge by rich countries to provide $100bn (£70bn) a year to developing countries from 2020 was unlikely to be met. Of the tens of billions of climate finance that are provided each year, only about a fifth goes to helping countries adapt to the impacts of global heating. Along with the US, China, Russia and France, the UK is one of the five permanent members of the security council but has not chaired a session since John Major did so in 1992. There are also 10 non-permanent members, elected for two-year terms, which are Estonia, India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Niger, Norway, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia and Vietnam. The UK has an official climate target of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. A new target announced in December promises a reduction of 68% in annual carbon emissions by 2030, compared with 1990 levels, further and faster than any other major economy in the next decade. | ['politics/boris-johnson', 'world/unitednations', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/cop26-glasgow-climate-change-conference-2021', 'environment/environment', 'tv-and-radio/david-attenborough', 'politics/politics', 'uk/uk', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'profile/peterwalker', 'profile/fiona-harvey', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/cop26-glasgow-climate-change-conference-2021 | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2021-02-22T22:30:11Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
business/2008/feb/09/microsoft.yahoobid | Bid for Yahoo expected to go higher | The board of Yahoo conferred by phone last night over Microsoft's controversial $44.6bn (£22.4bn) bid for the company amid speculation that the software group will increase its offer if the search engine's chief executive, Jerry Yang, and the rest of senior management reject the initial approach. Yahoo's directors will hold a face-to-face meeting next Wednesday. This week, shares in Yahoo rose above the level at which Microsoft pitched its cash-and-shares bid, for the first time since the company announced its approach on January 31. Although the top-line value of the deal was $31 when announced, it is split into equal portions of stock and cash. Microsoft's share price has dropped over the past week, reducing the value of the stock portion. Some on Wall Street believe Microsoft may have to make an offer as high as $37 to seal a deal. Yang told employees in an email this week that the board of Yahoo "is thoughtfully evaluating a wide range of potential strategic alternatives in what is a complex and evolving landscape". Google is believed to have approached Yahoo about a possible tie-up to fend off Microsoft. Separately, the parent company of British internet service provider Tiscali said yesterday it had not received a bid approach, putting an end to recent speculation that pushed up the company's share price to more than 40% on the Italian bourse over the past two days. Several firms, including Vodafone and domestic rival FastWeb, had been suggested as possible buyers of Tiscali but the company's board said last night "it has not received any acquisition proposal". | ['technology/yahoo-takeover', 'technology/microsoft', 'technology/yahoo', 'technology/internet', 'technology/searchengines', 'business/business', 'media/media', 'technology/technology', 'media/digital-media', 'media/mediabusiness', 'type/article', 'profile/richardwray', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3'] | technology/yahoo-takeover | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2008-02-09T12:44:13Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
society/2021/dec/10/help-us-support-those-on-the-frontline-of-the-climate-emergency | Help us support those on the frontline of the climate emergency | “I remember thinking: if we make it out alive, how and where are we going to start all over again?” said Vanessa Nieuwenhuizen, who dragged her children to safety through rapidly rising flood waters in Samoa. Others in the Guardian’s interviews with people with personal experience of the climate emergency also talked vividly of the bewilderment and grief caused by wildfires, flooding and drought, of livelihoods lost and lives turned upside down. “Every tree, every bush, every flower was burned and the whole ecosystem was wiped out,” recalled Antonis Vakos, a beekeeper from the island of Evia in Greece. For some the impact of extreme weather was sudden and catastrophic. For others it meant slow environmental degradation: entire ways of life gradually disappearing amid climate volatility, rising seas, and melting snow and ice. As Daharu Isah, a Nigerian farmer, expressed it: “The weather keeps playing tricks on me.” In a year in which the real, human and ecological impact of global heating has been brought home to ever more of us – and when the choices facing a world teetering on the edge of irreparable climate disaster were starkly framed at the Cop26 conference in Glasgow – it seemed timely and right that we put the environment at the heart of the 2021 Guardian and Observer charity appeal. The thread running through our appeal is climate injustice. The stark truth is that the world’s developing countries have seen the vast majority of the death and destruction caused by climate-induced disasters, and yet they are responsible for a tiny fraction of global emissions. The richest countries pollute most but it is in the poorest where climate change is most harshly felt, through extreme poverty, food and water insecurity and the displacement of millions of people from their homes. Tackling such monumental injustice is an existential issue for the entire world, and a pressing moral obligation for the wealthiest countries. Set beside the vast and bold systemic and behavioural changes we urgently require, a charity appeal might seem relatively insignificant. As ever, however, we see the appeal as a statement of intent, a sign of our commitment to a fairer society; a show of solidarity with the victims of climate injustice; and an ovation for those who fight that injustice. This year we are supporting four fantastic charities, which in their different ways show how we can start to make a difference: Practical Action delivers locally run and sustainable plans to help communities adapt to climate change, from flood early warning systems to the introduction of climate-smart regenerative agricultural practices. The Environmental Justice Foundation puts human rights at the centre of its work securing protection for climate refugees – people displaced from their homes by extreme weather – and highlighting injustices such as illegal fishing and deforestation. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is best known for its gardens in west London. Your donations will help fund its work protecting biodiversity and restoring denuded land on the island of Madagascar, which the World Food Programme reported is suffering from a famine linked to climate change. Global Greengrants Fund UK will work with international partners such as CLIMA Fund to regrant its share of your donations to grassroots projects at the sharp end of climate change in the global south. Since 2015, Guardian and Observer readers have raised just under £10m through our annual appeals. We’ve supported refugees, funded youth homelessness projects, and helped charities fighting Windrush immigration injustices. Last year we raised an incredible £1.4m for charities working with disadvantaged young people in the UK. In the coming weeks our journalism will highlight the inspiring work of our 2021 charity partners. We hope we can in turn inspire you to give generously. Donations can be made online by credit card, debit card or PayPal, or by phone on 0151 284 1126. We are unable to accept cheques. | ['society/series/guardian-and-observer-charity-appeal-2021', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'world/extreme-weather', 'environment/environment', 'environment/flooding', 'environment/drought', 'world/refugees', 'environment/water', 'type/article', 'tone/comment', 'profile/katharineviner', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/special-supplement', 'theguardian/special-supplement/special-supplement', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | environment/drought | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2021-12-10T12:31:37Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2022/dec/11/aretha-nina-and-dolly-save-the-ash-tree | You grow girl: how Aretha, Nina and Dolly can help save the ash tree | The seedlings growing in the John Innes Centre’s ash dieback laboratory have been adorned with unexpected names. According to their tags, the shoots are called Suzie and Chrissie and Aretha, as well as Kate, Dolly and Nina. It is an odd nomenclature for a world-leading crop research centre – though plant health expert Professor James Brown has an explanation: “These seedlings are part of Diva: our Diversity In Ash research project, so we decided to name them after real divas – and in particular the divas of my day: Suzie Quatro, Aretha Franklin, Kate Bush, Chrissie Hynde, Dolly Parton and others like them.” Such rock roots are intriguing – though Brown stresses this research on ash tree seedlings has a very serious purpose. He and his colleague, Dr Elizabeth Orton, hope they will help Britain offset the repercussions of ash dieback which now threatens to eradicate up to 95% of the trees it infects in this country. The disease first appeared in the UK a decade ago when experts predicted it could kill off swathes of the country’s woods and forests. Now these warnings are being realised as more and more ash trees succumb to infections. Ash dieback is caused by a fungal pathogen, Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, and originated in Asia before it spread to Europe, where it has already killed or severely damaged a quarter of the species in southern Sweden, and destroyed more than 80% of young ash trees in Norway. Now Britain has begun to suffer in a similar way as the disease continues to spread through woods. Huge decaying trunks of dead ash loom over paths and clearings, posing a threat to visitors and forestry workers. “There is no doubt that ash dieback is having a real impact, and that raises a lot of management issues for those in charge of our woods and forests,” added Brown. “It is undoubtedly a very serious problem but it would be wrong to say that the ash is going to be wiped out in this country – that is definitely not the case.” This point was backed by Orton: “Yes, a lot of trees are doing very badly and are dying, but don’t forget there are around a hundred million ash trees in this country, and several million will still survive by not succumbing to dieback: it’s a very low percentage, but it is still quite a number of trees – enough to make a difference.” Brown and Orton estimate that between 2% and 10% of ash trees show resistance to dieback. “You can stand in a wood where there is dead ash around you and right in the middle you can also see young ash trees that are clearly quite healthy and unaffected by disease,” said Brown. “That shows that some trees are probably being protected by some kind of genetic resistance.” On its own, such resistance would ensure that the ash tree – which can grow 35 metres high and form distinctive domed canopies – would eventually be restored to our woodlands, though this could take decades. However, the John Innes Centre team hope to speed up this process. “We have gone to woods and looked for ash that is surrounded by infected trees but which are themselves unaffected by dieback thanks to their resistance,” said Orton. Seeds have been taken from these healthy ash trees, and 150 of these are now being grown in trays in the John Innes Centre. “Some of these look very promising – the Chrissie line looks especially healthy,” added Orton. Next year, these seedlings will be planted, grown and cross-pollinated with each other. “From these, we would expect to produce some especially healthy, disease-resistant ash trees,” said Brown. “These would then provide seeds that could be used to restore the ash to Britain. “We would be looking at getting these seeds to landowners or farmers or conservation groups or anyone else who is interested in bringing back this wonderful tree to our woodlands.” • This article was amended on 6 January 2022 to replace the photograph. The earlier image showed a tree on Grindon Moor, but it was not an ash as the caption suggested. And Grindon Moor is in Staffordshire, not Derbyshire as previously stated. | ['environment/ash-dieback', 'environment/forests', 'uk/uk', 'environment/conservation', 'campaign/email/today-uk', 'type/article', 'profile/robinmckie', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/news', 'theobserver/news/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/observer-main'] | environment/forests | BIODIVERSITY | 2022-12-11T11:00:31Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2017/oct/16/we-can-do-without-plastic-packaging-and-supermarkets | We can do without plastic packaging and supermarkets | Letters | The idea of increasing the use of aluminium and steel packaging, as proposed by Andy Clarke (Bring in plastic packaging ban, former Asda boss tells stores, 13 October), is not a sustainable solution. Both materials rely on finite substances and intensive energy to produce them, and there is no guarantee that they will be recycled and will avoid ending up in the sea as well. One possibility would be to increase the use of starch based “plastic”; it’s biodegradable and therefore matters less where it ends up. Obviously another solution is to avoid shopping in supermarkets as far as is possible and to instead shop in markets and smaller shops, which are less packaging obsessed and often use paper bags, as in the good old days. Rachel Meredith York • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters | ['environment/plastic', 'environment/environment', 'business/supermarkets', 'business/asda', 'environment/plastic-bags', 'business/retail', 'business/business', 'environment/recycling', 'environment/ethical-living', 'environment/waste', 'uk/uk', 'tone/letters', 'type/article', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/editorialsandreply', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/waste | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2017-10-16T17:16:04Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
news/2016/may/30/weatherwatch-dubai-rain-artificial-mountain-scientists | Dubai puts its hope for more rain at the foot of an artificial mountain | The Burj Khalifa dominates the skyline of Dubai; at more than 800 metres, it is the world’s tallest building. But it could be eclipsed by an even larger structure, an artificial mountain created to increase rainfall. This idea is being explored in the UAE with assistance from the US National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The basic idea is sound. Mountains force the incoming winds upwards; air cools as it rises, causing moisture to condense and turn to rain or snow. The researchers are carrying out detailed modelling and will report this year on how high a mountain and how steep a slope is needed. The UAE is one of the driest nations in the world, with annual rainfall less than 100mm a year. A program of cloud seeding from the air is already under way, and was credited with increasing rainfall earlier this year. This remains controversial. NCAR says that even after several decades of research, there is a “lack of hard, consistent and repeatable evidence” that cloud seeding actually works. Hence the need for a more radical approach. Cost has put a halt to previous mountain-building. One estimate put the price tag of a proposed 2,000-metre mountain in Holland at €200bn (£150bn). While an artificial mountain may seem ambitious, the UAE ahas already constructed numerous artificial islands and lakes. It is a rich country and, in future, any additional rainfall the mountain brings may be literally priceless. | ['news/series/weatherwatch', 'environment/deserts', 'science/meteorology', 'world/dubai', 'world/united-arab-emirates', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/davidhambling', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-weather'] | news/series/weatherwatch | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2016-05-30T20:30:13Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2008/sep/30/wildlife.japan | Japanese performing dolphins go on a diet | Dolphins at a marine park in Japan have been put on a diet after developing pot bellies and failing to hit jumping targets. Staff at Kinosaki Marine World in western Japan became concerned last month when they noticed the aquatic performances of the plumper dolphins were beginning to suffer. Keepers were confused by their apparent sluggishness and noticed the animals were having problems keeping upright while treading water. "We were puzzled by their poor performance, then we noticed they looked rounder,'' said Haruo Imazu, the park spokesman. The dolphins were weighed and keepers realised that all 19 had become heavier. Some had put on up to 10kg (22bl) over the summer. But keepers could not work out why, as their diets had not changed. The creatures were all fed from the same menu – 15kg (31bl) of mackerel mixed with white fish. Then they discovered that the mackerel the dolphins had been eating had become fattier, hence the weight gain. The dolphins have since been put on a low-fat diet and weight loss programme, including a new exercise regime. | ['environment/wildlife', 'world/japan', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'world/asia-pacific', 'environment/dolphins', 'environment/cetaceans', 'type/article'] | environment/cetaceans | BIODIVERSITY | 2008-09-30T09:53:53Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
uk-news/article/2024/aug/01/just-stop-oil-protesters-jailed-climbing-gantries-block-m25 | Five Just Stop Oil protesters jailed for climbing gantries to block M25 | Five supporters of the climate activist group Just Stop Oil have been jailed for climbing gantries over the M25 in an attempt to cause gridlock on the motorway. George Simonson and Theresa Higginson were sentenced to two years each, Paul Bell was sentenced to 22 months, and Gaie Delap and Paul Sousek were sentenced to 20 months for their part in the protests in November 2022. A sixth defendant, Daniel Johnson, was given a 21-month sentence suspended for two years and ordered to complete 200 hours of community service. All six had pleaded guilty to causing a public nuisance for their part in the four days of disruption on the M25 when supporters of Just Stop Oil had climbed multiple gantries over the M25, which encircles London. They sought to cause maximum disruption in an effort to force the government into a ban on new fossil fuel exploration in the North Sea – a demand that has become policy under the new Labour administration. Before the sentencing, Sousek said: “‘No New Oil’ was the demand from Just Stop Oil right from the start. Now most political parties agree and it has become government policy. How come we are being jailed for pushing for, what is now, government policy? Kafka couldn’t make it up!” Delap said: “I’ve had to read the evidence of people who were stuck in our traffic, it hurts me. I’m sorry I had to do this. But we really have no other option. They didn’t listen to the scientists, they didn’t listen to their constituents, so we had to cause disruption in order to communicate the seriousness of humanity’s predicament.” The jailings come weeks after five Just Stop Oil activists were handed record sentences for peaceful protesters after a jury found them guilty of planning the direct actions, which caused thousands of hours of delays to drivers and hundreds of thousands of pounds of costs to the economy and the police. Roger Hallam, a founder of the group, was handed a five-year sentence, while four others were handed four-year sentences by a judge who told them they had “crossed the line from concerned campaigner to fanatic”. On Wednesday, two others – including one awaiting sentence for throwing tomato soup on Van Gogh’s Sunflowers in the National Gallery – were remanded to prison for taking part in protests at Heathrow airport in a call for an international treaty to phase out fossil fuels altogether. | ['uk/uk', 'environment/just-stop-oil', 'environment/activism', 'world/protest', 'uk/ukcrime', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/damien-gayle', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/just-stop-oil | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2024-08-01T18:22:09Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
law/2020/nov/30/international-lawyers-draft-plan-to-criminalise-ecosystem-destruction | International lawyers draft plan to criminalise ecosystem destruction | International lawyers are drafting plans for a legally enforceable crime of ecocide – criminalising destruction of the world’s ecosystems – that is already attracting support from European countries and island nations at risk from rising sea levels. The panel coordinating the initiative is chaired by Prof Philippe Sands QC, of University College London, and Florence Mumba, a former judge at the international criminal court (ICC). The aim is to draw up a legal definition of “ecocide” that would complement other existing international offences such as crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. The project, convened by the Stop Ecocide Foundation at the request of Swedish parliamentarians, has been launched this month to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the opening of the Nuremberg war crimes trials of Nazi leaders in 1945. Several small island nations, including Vanuatu, in the Pacific and the Maldives, in the Indian Ocean, called for “serious consideration” of a crime of ecocide at the ICC’s annual assembly of states parties in December last year. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has also championed the idea and the Belgian government has pledged support. The shadow justice secretary, David Lammy, has also called for ecocide to be incorporated into law. The international criminal court, which is based in The Hague, has previously promised to prioritise crimes that result in the “destruction of the environment”, “exploitation of natural resources” and the “illegal dispossession” of land. An ICC policy paper in 2016 said it was not formally extending its jurisdiction but would assess existing offences, such as crimes against humanity, in a broader context. There have been no formal investigations or charges of this type so far. Sands said: “The time is right to harness the power of international criminal law to protect our global environment … My hope is that this group will be able to … forge a definition that is practical, effective and sustainable, and that might attract support to allow an amendment to the ICC statute to be made.” Mumba, a judge at the Khmer Rouge tribunal and former supreme court judge in Zambia, said: “An international crime of ecocide may be important in that individual/state responsibility may be regulated to achieve balance for the survival of both humanity and nature.” Jojo Mehta, the chair of the Stop Ecocide Foundation, told the Guardian: “In most cases ecocide is likely to be a corporate crime. Criminalising something at the ICC means that nations that have ratified it have to incorporate it into their own national legislation. “That means there would be lots of options for prosecuting [offending corporations] around the world.” Mehta said one challenge for the drafting panel would be to define at what point an ecocide offence would come into force. Chopping down a single tree on a village green would not be sufficient, she explained. “It would have to involve mass, systematic or widespread destruction,” she added. “We are probably talking about Amazon deforestation on a huge scale, deep sea bottom trawling or oil spills. We want to place it at the same level as atrocities investigated by the ICC.” The 13-strong legal panel of experts from around the world include Tuiloma Neroni Slade of Samoa, who is also a former ICC judge. They are planning to complete their work early next year. | ['law/international-criminal-justice', 'environment/environment', 'law/international-criminal-court', 'law/law', 'environment/deforestation', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/forests', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/owenbowcott', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | environment/forests | BIODIVERSITY | 2020-11-30T10:12:40Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
society/joepublic/2010/apr/08/society-daily | Society daily: 08.04.2010 | Today's Society Guardian news and comment Health committee demands language tests for European locum GPs Cameron advisor admits he will benefit from proposed NHS cutbacks Zoe Williams on the swine flu conspiracy Rachel Baker found not guilty of care home murders Why has Labour put record numbers in prison, asks David Hare Charity election podcast All today's Society Guardian content Other news In an interview the Catholic Herald David Cameron has called for the abortion limit to be lowered, according to the Daily Telegraph The Institute for Fiscal Studies claims that Labour's tax and benefits system has discouraged people from working, reports the Daily Telegraph Putting out the rubbish is controversial For the majority of residents the most direct contact they have with their local councils occurs when their wheelie bin is emptied. And the removal of their paper, plastic and glass for recycling. Or the carrying away of their 'sloop buckets' of compostable food waste. It would appear that if there's a subject guaranteed to get middle England's goat it's any attempt to interfere with the Briton's right to rubbish. Whether it's the reduced frequency of the collection, the shrinking size of the bin or the extra effort required to separate the rubbish. Today the Daily Mail indignantly claims new targets "mean families will be expected to generate less waste and recycle more". It goes on to triumphantly report that the government has been forced to back down on plans to make "slop buckets" compulsory in every home. Aside from the environmental arguments - a debate about the seriousness of climate change is something well-covered in other parts of this website - why are so many councils failing to win over residents to a less wasteful system? Which authorities have managed to galvanise their householders and driven up recycling? Which messages work? Society Guardian events National Commissioning conference 10. Beyond efficiencies, doing things differently. 15-16 June, Lowry Centre, Manchester. Speakers include: Solace chief executive David Clark, former Department of Health lead on social care personalisation John Bolton, new Kings Fund chief executive Chris Ham, and Social Care Institute for Excellence chief executive Julie Jones. The Public Procurement show. The UK's leading event for public sector procurement. 15-16 June, ExceL, London Society Guardian social enterprise summit We are starting to plan this year's Society Guardian Social Enterprise Summit. Last year's summit was a great success - you can read about it here. Once again we are looking to showcase inspiration, innovation and practical ideas on how social enterprises can deliver public services. Whether you are from the public sector or from a social business, we want you to tell us who you'd like to see and what you would like to see discusssed. Email to charmian.walker-smith@guardian.co.uk. You can Follow Guardian Social Enterprise on Twitter Society Guardian blogs Joe Public Sarah Boseley's global health blog Society Guardian Links Sign up to Society daily email briefing Society on Twitter SocietyGuardian.co.uk Public - the Guardian's website for senior public sector executives The Guardian's public and voluntary sector careers page Hundreds of public and voluntary sector jobs Email the Society Daily editor: Patrick.Butler@guardian.co.uk Email the SocietyGuardian editor: society@guardian.co.uk | ['society/series/society-briefing', 'environment/waste', 'society/society', 'society/joepublic', 'tone/blog', 'type/article', 'profile/iantucker'] | environment/waste | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2010-04-08T12:24:00Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
money/2020/nov/27/bags-of-problems-with-dolce-gustos-recycling-scheme | Bags of problems with Dolce Gusto's recycling scheme | A few years ago, my parents bought me a Dolce Gusto coffee machine which I rarely used because the pods could not be recycled. The company has since begun a recycling scheme, so I decided to use what pods I have left. However, the recycling bags are only available if you buy at least 50 more pods. I don’t want more, I just want to avoid putting the ones I already have in landfill. I wonder if you can help force their hand and prevent further plastic waste? CM, London Sadly, I can’t. When I questioned Dolce Gusto about its policy it replied, irrelevantly, that its recycling bags are added to all orders on its website. “We hope the activity is a success and at that point we will see how it can be improved and brought to more consumers,” it says. It hopes to make all packaging recyclable by 2025. I asked a second time why customers have to buy more plastic in order to recycle old purchases, but it did not reply. It’s encouraging that the company is trying to make the wasteful process of coffee machines slightly more green, but if it were truly committed it would be taking responsibility for its eco-unfriendly legacy and accept any remaining pods bought before the scheme. If you need help email your.problems@observer.co.uk. Include an address and phone number. Submission and publication are subject to our terms and conditions | ['money/consumer-affairs', 'money/consumer-rights-money', 'money/money', 'environment/recycling', 'environment/waste', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'money/series/yourproblems', 'uk/uk', 'profile/annatims', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-money'] | environment/waste | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2020-11-27T07:00:21Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
commentisfree/2008/jun/27/3 | Editorial: In praise of ... the Everglades | In the Florida Everglades the elements combine. Water sculpts the earth, while porous rock channels the water. Fire, sparked by frequent thunderstorms, burns up plants, spreading nutrients and speeding the flow of water. In turn, rainwater contains the flames. These elemental equilibria give rise to a unique ecology. Marshy sawgrass prairies and varied woodlands form the habitat for 14 species listed as under threat, including the Florida panther, the American crocodile and the wood stork. The area's importance has long been recognised. In 1947 President Truman dedicated much of it a national park, with the words "Here is land, tranquil in its quiet beauty, serving not as the source of water, but as the last receiver of it". Sadly, the Everglade's claim on its aquatic lifeblood has been continually compromised. Neighbouring land has been drained and water has been siphoned off to towns and sugar farms: the marshland is now half its original size. In 2000 President Clinton signed into law a restoration plan, but his successor in the White House has refused to provide the federal funds it required. This week, however, things took a turn for the better, when the state of Florida signalled plans to purchase 187,000 acres of farmland to be converted into reservoirs and marshes, to slake the Everglades' thirst. The details need tying down, and business lobbies may still put up resistance. If they do, they must be faced down. Restoring the Everglades cannot be allowed to sink into the swamp again. | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'world/world', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/endangered-habitats', 'environment/endangeredspecies', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/environment', 'tone/editorials', 'commentisfree/series/in-praise-of', 'type/article', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/editorialsandreply'] | environment/endangered-habitats | BIODIVERSITY | 2008-06-26T23:01:00Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2006/aug/01/retail.ethicalliving | Currys goes green as solar panels hit high street | Solar panels will line up next to toasters and dishwashers for sale on the British high street for the first time today, after Currys announced a pilot scheme to sell the green technology in its stores. Branches in West Thurrock, Essex, and Fulham and Croydon, London, will stock the panels. A typical £9,000 system, with nine panels, can generate about 40% of an average household's annual electricity demand, cut bills and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by two tonnes a year. Currys said soaring electricity prices and greater environmental awareness had created consumer demand. Fewer than 2,000 homes in the UK have the photovoltaic (PV) panels fitted. In Germany, the world leader, the figure is closer to 200,000. Customers would get an in-store consultation followed by a free assessment to check whether their properties were suitable, Currys said. Consumers who generate more electricity than they use can sell the excess into the national grid. PV panels are already available through specialist suppliers, but Currys said people would be more willing to buy them from a major brand. Householders could get up to half the cost refunded through a government scheme to help people green their houses. Kirk Archibald, who administers the grant programme for the Energy Saving Trust, said some £1.5m of the £6m set aside to pay for projects over the next three years has been spent since it started in May. | ['environment/environment', 'business/retail', 'environment/ethical-living', 'business/business', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'technology/technology', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'uk/uk', 'environment/solarpower', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'tone/news', 'environment/green-economy', 'type/article', 'profile/davidadam', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews2'] | environment/solarpower | ENERGY | 2006-08-01T09:38:58Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2022/sep/20/send-us-pictures-of-your-favourite-local-habitats-and-nature-spaces | Send us pictures of your favourite local habitats and nature spaces | Local habitats and nature spaces could be under threat if the government’s proposed change to the Habitats Directive, an EU regulation that has provided protections for UK habitats since 1992, goes ahead. We would like to hear about – and see pictures of – your favourite spaces and habitats. How might these spaces might be affected by the government’s proposed changes to habitat regulations? Share your experiences If you are 18 years or over, you can get in touch by filling in the form below or contacting us via WhatsApp by clicking here or adding +44(0)7766780300. Your responses are secure as the form is encrypted and only the Guardian has access to your contributions. One of our journalists will be in contact before we publish, so please do leave contact details. We will only use the data you provide us for the purpose of the feature. We will delete any personal data when we no longer require it for this purpose. For more information please see our terms of service and privacy policy. If you’re having trouble using the form, click here. | ['environment/environment', 'world/eu', 'environment/wildlife', 'type/article', 'tone/callout', 'profile/guardian-community-team', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-communities-and-social'] | environment/wildlife | BIODIVERSITY | 2022-09-20T14:39:25Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
commentisfree/2021/feb/09/australians-should-be-worried-about-future-emissions-to-be-told-otherwise-is-absurd | Australians should be worried about future emissions. To be told otherwise is absurd | Jeff Sparrow | “We are not worried, or I’m certainly not worried, about what might happen in 30 years’ time.” With that, deputy prime minister Michael McCormack distills the absurdity of Australian climate politics into a single sentence of overproof idiocy. Engineers building suburban roads plan 30 years ahead. But, apparently, a different timeline applies to the fate of the entire planet. “None of us in [parliament] will be here,” said McCormack’s colleague Barnaby Joyce about climate targets. “Quite a high proportion will have passed away … that’s the only thing certain about 2050.” Après Barnaby, le déluge – and the fires and the droughts and the heatwaves. We’re told that the difficulty in climate action lies in convincing people to care about the distant future. That’s bullshit. There’s nothing distant about 30 years. A full MCC membership can take that long to arrive. McCormack wouldn’t tell you not to bother about paying your mortgage or claiming your super or getting a doctor to check a dark-coloured mole. By not caring about 2050, he’s announcing his indifference to a world in which your children have become parents. Actually, it’s worse than that, since the real deadline isn’t three decades away. Back in 2018, the IPCC nominated 12 years as the time available to avoid the most catastrophic outcomes. But you might equally say there’s no single date when climate change happens. If the atmosphere is a bathtub overflowing with carbon, the longer we let the tap run, the worse the already visible manifestations of climate change will get. Yes, the people most affected by the transition deserve certainty from the government as to its plans for decarbonisation. To paraphrase France’s yellow vests, you can’t talk solely about the end of the world to those worried about the end of the month. But what could be crueller than forcing people to choose between their own survival and that of their children? Imagine telling farming families that you neither know nor care whether their kids inherit a viable property! Imagine saying to Indigenous communities that, after more than 50,000 years of custodianship, they shouldn’t bother about what happens in the next three decades! On Tuesday in the Australian, the house journal of denial, delay and obfuscation, Joyce complained about what he calls the “quasi-religious” aspect of climate politics. Yet, not so long ago, in a notoriously merry seasonal message, he advised us that the real authority on global warming was “beyond our comprehension, right up there in the sky”. For Joyce, it seems, climate policy is simultaneously too religious and not religious enough. It’s tempting to dismiss Barnaby as a harmless blowhard – all hat and no cattle, as the Texans say. Yet in Marian Wilkinson’s recent history of the climate wars, The Carbon Club, the former deputy PM features prominently, as responsible as anyone for derailing rational discussion about the subject. Wilkinson describes him barnstorming up and down rural Queensland in the mid-2000s, staging events with the late Professor Bob Carter, the palaeontologist and denialist paid a monthly stipend by the US Heartland Institute in a program funding “high-profile individuals who regularly and publicly counter the alarmist [anthropogenic global warming] message”. Like Tony Abbott, Joyce keeps changing his mind about whether he accepts climate science. Yet, while his arguments shift, his proscription remains the same: nothing whatsoever can or should be done. I know we in the media aren’t supposed to care. I know we’re meant to think merely of the narrative, nodding savvily as punters explain how, by placating Joel Fitzgibbon, Labor sends an important signal about its pragmatism and electability. But I’m tired of it, and I’m sure I’m not alone. In 2020, fires linked to climate change burned some 186,000 sq km, destroyed 6,000 buildings and killed 34 people. Perhaps 3 billion animals died; toxic smoke put 4,000 people in hospital and led to the deaths of 445 of them. That wasn’t the far-off future. That was last year. Yet a senior figure in Australia’s governing party refuses even to acknowledge what every scientist says lies ahead. It’s so far beyond idiotic as to be scandalous. | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'australia-news/michael-mccormack', 'australia-news/barnaby-joyce', 'australia-news/australian-politics', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'australia-news/bushfires', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'australia-news/coalition', 'australia-news/national-party', 'type/article', 'tone/comment', 'profile/jeff-sparrow', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-opinion'] | environment/carbon-emissions | EMISSIONS | 2021-02-09T01:32:47Z | true | EMISSIONS |
commentisfree/2017/apr/06/air-pollution-beijing-china-smog-britain | Air pollution made Beijing unbearable. Britain should watch and learn | Tania Branigan | On a good morning, from my Beijing tower block, I could gaze across the city to the hills far to the west. On the worst days, when pollution levels soared off the scale, I could barely make out the buildings across the road. The air purifiers in each room were turned up to 11. The filters inside were supposed to last for six months – but after just a couple of months, the pristine white folds had usually turned charcoal grey. Even with a mask, 20 minutes outside could leave you feeling nauseous. Friends complained of sore throats and coughs that never went away. It was a running, though unamusing, joke: Airmageddon. The airpocalypse. Beige-jing. But it got inside your head as well as your system. After a spate of especially bad days, my spirits lowered. I longed to see the sky. And then one spring I returned home for a holiday, and turned the corner at the Peak District’s Surprise View, one of the loveliest I know. Below me lay the Hope Valley, and, to my horror, the smog lay thick in its bottom. It took me a moment to recognise my error. Pollution had become so normal to me that, even at a place I knew so well, and had seen shrouded so often, it had not occurred to me that it was just mist. In primary school my teacher had described climbing up to the hills as a child, and being unable to see Sheffield thanks to the blanket of smog. So many years after the Clean Air Act, it had been unimaginable to us. Now I took toxic air as the norm, like so many in China. I rolled my eyes when headlines shouted about the UK’s air pollution crisis in April 2014. It was, by Beijing’s standards, a pretty clear day. Now I live in London again and note each morning how good it feels to breathe clean air. But I’ve noticed, too, how unpleasant it can be to walk along Euston Road. And I’ve started to ask myself why I’ve regarded illegal levels of pollution as acceptable. It is hard to see how our own attitudes – what we notice, what we tolerate – shift and how dependent this is on the views of people around us. To begin with, I took Beijing’s bad days for granted. I lived there for five years before getting purifiers. No one liked the filthy air: but most residents regarded it as inevitable, like bad weather. Masks were seen as at best an eccentricity, at worst an indulgent affectation. The only Chinese people who wore them were warding off infections or trying not to spread them. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when things changed. The research was piling up – scary data on the long-term health impacts: early deaths, heart and lung problems, cancer, diabetes, birth defects. So was the anecdotal evidence: toddlers who developed terrible asthma; the previously healthy friend who found himself waking in the night, struggling to breathe. Soon we were checking an air pollution app each morning, and discussing air purifiers and masks as petrolheads might compare sports cars. Private schools acquired inflatable domes so pupils could exercise without going outside. We could afford to do this. Whether in Birmingham, Beijing or Delhi, pollution disproportionately affects the poor. They are more likely to live in heavily polluted areas (near factories or main roads, say) and are by definition less able to afford even partial remedies. But no one can escape the problem entirely. Politburo members also looked out on a wall of grey, and presumably their sisters and sons were complaining, and their grandchildren too were racked by coughs. In 2015, hundreds of millions of people watched the documentary Under the Dome, which laid out the impact of pollution on China in frightening detail. It was a turning point in public awareness – and strikingly, while it was eventually censored, it had received at least partial official backing. Some within the leadership had realised that it had to take action, even if there is still a very long way to go. That British problems are less severe does not mean we can afford to ignore them. The impact of nitrogen dioxide levels on our health, and especially that of our children, whose developing lungs are so much more vulnerable, is undeniable. The high court has twice judged the government’s response to air pollution as being illegally poor. Measures such as masks and purifiers may help individuals and even save lives. But they are not enough. The true significance of their adoption in China was that they showed people were recognising the problem. Their popularity helped to reinforce the sense that such concerns were sensible and pressing rather than peculiar or trivial. The real solutions are social – taken by city leaders, national governments and international bodies. But they will act only when the rest of us decide we have had enough. | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'environment/pollution', 'tone/comment', 'environment/environment', 'world/china', 'world/asia-pacific', 'world/world', 'society/health', 'society/society', 'type/article', 'environment/air-pollution', 'profile/taniabranigan', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-opinion'] | environment/air-pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2017-04-06T08:57:32Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
books/2018/mar/30/wood-john-lewis-stempel-cockshutt-herefordshire-trees-review | The Wood by John Lewis-Stempel review – a fortress against agribusiness | “A wood should not be a museum,” says John Lewis-Stempel. For four years he managed Cockshutt Wood in south-west Herefordshire, three and a half acres of deciduous and coniferous woodland “with a secluded pool where the winter moon lives”. This is his diary of his final year there. Such small woods play a vital role in the life of our countryside: they are the last refuge of many flora and fauna. Grassland sustains 70 pairs of birds per 100 acres but a wood is home to 400. Woods are “fortresses of nature against the tide of people and agribusiness”. For this reason, Cockshutt is a working wood, an example of “agroforestry”. Lewis-Stempel kept pigs, cows and Hebridean sheep (“small, black and primitive”) to control what would otherwise be a “sea of briars crashing around the trees”, allowing wild flowers to grow and attracting wildlife. In the summer he harvested “tree hay”, leaf fodder from ash, oak and elm, storing it as winter feed to which he added vitamin-rich upper branches of holly (whose leaves don’t have spines). The wood also supplied him with logs for his fire (“the released sunlight of years gone by”), wild plants, mushrooms for his table (the book includes recipes, from elderflower champagne to chestnut soup) and the occasional pheasant and wood pigeon: “I farm for wildlife. Cannot wildlife provide me with a meal?” His family come from “farm stock” dating back to the 13th century. He considers himself to be a “countryside writer”, not a nature writer: “I give the view of the countryside from someone who works there.” There’s a powerful sense in his books of the land as something to be worked and managed. The diary form is perfect for conveying the shifting moods of the seasons and allows Lewis-Stempel to delve into the history, lore, poetry and even the language of woods. But it’s his observation of the natural world – the sight, the sound, the smell of it – that is so memorable. He has a distinctively brisk, muscular style of writing that has a poetic intensity and concision. In October, “the leaves of the service trees flutter, flicker, flame, in pseudo fire”; and in March he discovers “primroses leaking spots of sun out of the earth”. Above, the sparrowhawk is “a twisting blade of badness”. This heartfelt, evocative book shows that woods such as Cockshutt, which has stood since before “the Romans trod their road to Hereford”, occupy a special place in both the countryside and our psyches. As Lewis-Stempel says, “Woods: they inhabit the mind.” • The Wood: The Life and Times of Cockshutt Wood is published by Doubleday. To order a copy for £12.74 (RRP £14.99) go to guardianbookshop.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99. | ['books/scienceandnature', 'books/books', 'tone/reviews', 'culture/culture', 'environment/forests', 'environment/biodiversity', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/environment', 'science/agriculture', 'type/article', 'profile/pdsmith', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/guardianreview', 'theguardian/guardianreview/saturdayreviewsfeatres', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/review'] | environment/forests | BIODIVERSITY | 2018-03-30T08:00:16Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
us-news/article/2024/jul/06/palm-and-pine-landmark-california | A beloved palm and pine tree mark California’s center. Now they’re being cut down | Whenever Cassie Yoshikawa drives through the Central Valley on the former US Highway 99, she looks for the century-old landmark that symbolizes the midpoint of California: the Palm and the Pine. Located on the highway median and towering over neighboring oleander shrubs, the Canary Island palm and the Deodar cedar tree are said to represent the spot where the balmy bottom of California meets its woodsier counterpart. In a state where north-south divisions run deep, the trees have long been a bright spot that speaks to the spirit of each half. “It’s a cool little claim to fame given how the pine represents northern California and the palm represents southern California,” said Yoshikawa, a Fresno-based travel blogger. While their origin story remains a mystery, it’s largely agreed that the trees were planted near Madera, California, in the 1920s. Some claim they predate the construction of Highway 99, a historic route that once stretched from Calexico to the Canadian border, and is now called California State Route 99. Local chroniclers have said the trees were probably intended to represent the halfway point between Mexico and Oregon, but have since taken on special symbolism for California since they’re located near the exact center of the Golden state. Given their beloved status, Yoshikawa and others were saddened by the recent news that Caltrans, the authority that oversees California’s highways, plans to remove the trees next year in order to widen the state route to six lanes. “I’m bummed because it’s something I like to tell other people about. It was one of the first things I thought was cool about the area when I moved here from out of state,” Yoshikawa says. Caltrans has promised the landmark won’t be gone for good; the department plans to create a new landmark along the side of the highway featuring 15 palms and 15 pines. An irrigation system would also be installed to prevent them from dying. But some say the replacement won’t hold the same symbolic weight as the two lone trees. “[The new trees] will only be on one side of the highway and most travelers are probably going to miss it since it’s just going to be a bunch of trees,” said Michael Ballard, president of the Historic Highway 99 Association of California, a non-profit group dedicated to the preservation of the route once known as California’s Main Street. A longtime fan of the Palm and the Pine, Ballard was disappointed to hear about their forthcoming removal, but he said the construction project could be a chance to finally install signage that would celebrate the unofficial geographic marker, an effort he hopes will gain support. After they’re removed, Ballard would like to see the pair of trees preserved at the nearby Fossil Discovery Center in Chowchilla, which is known for restoring the Mammoth Orange, a historic Highway 99 roadside attraction and burger stand. Plenty of drivers speed by the Palm and the Pine each day without knowing about their historical significance. The trees have been immortalized in popular culture. Danny O’Keefe was inspired to write the 1977 country song In Northern California (Where the Palm Tree Meets the Pine) about a young man’s relationship with an older woman (“So I left her as I found her / Right in the nick of time / In northern California / Where the palm tree meets the pine”). The Palm and the Pine starred in a 1995 episode of Huell Howser’s California’s Gold TV series that followed the host as he searched for the true center of California – turns out it’s located near the small town of North Fork at the start of the Sierra Scenic Byway. And the quirky landmark’s name has been adopted by several businesses, including a brewery, a hair salon and an event planning company. When Caltrans attempted to remove the trees in the 1980s during an update of Highway 99, there was a public outcry and plans were redrawn. Then, in 2005, a fierce storm uprooted the pine tree, which was later replaced in 2007. Knowing how much the trees mean to local residents and visitors alike, the department planned its tree tribute in the vicinity but has not said it would mark it in any meaningful way. Ballard’s non-profit association already had a tentative design for signs to be placed on the northbound and southbound sides of the highway before it was announced that the Palm and the Pine would be removed. The mockups feature a pictograph of a palm and a pine and read “Halfway between Oregon and Mexico” and “Halfway between Mexico and Oregon”. Ballard believes an official marker is important, since there’s nothing else along the state’s other major routes that commemorates the transition from north to south. “They’re just trees alongside the road for most people,” said Ballard. “With the signage there, more people would be aware of it, and more people would understand the significance.” | ['us-news/california', 'us-news/west-coast', 'us-news/us-news', 'environment/environment', 'environment/forests', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/victoria-namkung', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/west-coast-news'] | environment/forests | BIODIVERSITY | 2024-07-06T15:00:42Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2011/sep/15/new-atlas-climate-change | New atlas shows extent of climate change | If you have never heard of Uunartoq Qeqertaq, it's possibly because it's one of the world's newest islands, appearing in 2006 off the east coast of Greenland, 340 miles north of the Arctic circle when the ice retreated because of global warming. This Thursday the new land – translated from Inuit as Warming Island – was deemed permanent enough by map-makers to be included in a new edition of the most comprehensive atlas in the world. Uunartoq Qeqertaq joins Southern Sudan and nearly 7,000 other countries and places added or changed since the last edition of the Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World, reflecting political change in Africa, administrative changes in China, burgeoning cities in developing countries, climate change, and large infrastructure projects which have changed the flow of rivers, lakes and coastlines. The world's biggest physical changes in the past few years are mostly seen nearest the poles where climate change has been most extreme. Antarctica is smaller following the break-up of the Larsen B and Wilkins ice shelves. But the Aral Sea in central Asia, which had previously shrunk to just 25% of its size only 80 years ago, is now larger than it was only five years ago, thanks to Kazakhstan redirecting water into it. Elsewhere in Asia, islands are appearing off the mouths of the Ganges and the Yangtze rivers as the amount of silt brought down from the Himalayas and inland China changes. Sections of the Rio Grande, Yellow, Colorado and Tigris rivers are now drying out each summer. In Mongolia, the Ongyin Gol has been redirected to allow gold mining, while the Colorado river these days does not reach the sea most years. "We are increasingly concerned that in the near future important geographical features will disappear for ever. Greenland could reach a tipping point in about 30 years," said Jethro Lennox, editor of the atlas. • This article was amended on 20 September. A reference to Greenland "having lost around 15%, or 300,000 sq km, of its permanent ice cover" was removed after a statement posted by the Atlas' publisher said the figure was incorrect. | ['environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'world/arctic', 'world/world', 'science/geography', 'science/science', 'tone/news', 'environment/poles', 'environment/rivers', 'environment/mountains', 'world/greenland', 'education/geographyandenvironmentstudies', 'environment/water', 'environment/sea-level', 'environment/sea-ice', 'type/article', 'profile/johnvidal'] | environment/sea-ice | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2011-09-15T10:46:27Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2024/apr/08/prisons-contaminated-water-pfas | Nearly half of US prisons draw water likely contaminated with toxic PFAS – report | Nearly half of US prisons draw water from sources likely contaminated with toxic PFAS “forever chemicals”, new research finds. At least around 1 million people incarcerated in the US, including 13,000 juveniles, are estimated to be housed in the prisons, and they are especially vulnerable to the dangerous chemicals because there is little they can do to protect themselves, said Nicholas Shapiro, a study co-author at the University of California in Los Angeles. “We need to think about who is exposed and who has the least agency to mitigate their exposure – that’s why this is such a unique population,” he said. “We see the dehumanization of incarcerated people across the country, and these exposures are symptoms of that larger problem.” PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of about 15,000 chemicals often used to make products resistant to water, stains and heat. They are called “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down, and are linked to cancer, liver problems, thyroid issues, birth defects, kidney disease, decreased immunity and other serious health problems. The study analyzed the likelihood that watersheds serving the nation’s 6,118 carceral facilities were contaminated with PFAS. The authors zoomed in on hydrologic unit codes to identify those regions near prisons most likely to be contaminated from nearby airports, military sites, landfills, wastewater treatment plants and a range of manufacturing facilities. The study found that testing has only been performed on several hundred of the drinking water sources identified, and better monitoring is “desperately needed”, the authors wrote. The true number of incarcerated people drinking contaminated water is likely much higher, they noted. Shapiro highlighted a women’s prison near Tampa, Florida, that draws from groundwater highly contaminated by PFAS-laden firefighting foam from by a nearby firefighting school. Foam is one of the largest sources of PFAS water pollution in the US. Levels in the groundwater were 170 times higher than state health guidelines, and officials warned residents who drew the water – but no one alerted the incarcerated people or did anything to prevent their exposure. Even when incarcerated people learned of the threat, the state would not provide clean water. That is especially a problem because the nation’s prison population is generally in poorer health than the non-incarcerated population, and the issue disproportionately threatens people of color and people with lower incomes, Shapiro noted. “For all of these reasons, we need to take extra care to understand these exposures and mitigate them,” he said. | ['environment/pfas', 'us-news/us-prisons', 'environment/water', 'environment/pollution', 'global-development/access-to-water', 'us-news/us-news', 'society/children', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/tom-perkins', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news'] | environment/pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2024-04-08T10:00:31Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2017/jan/22/diver-mauled-by-shark-near-great-barrier-reef | Diver mauled by shark near Great Barrier Reef | A Cairns man endured a three-hour boat ride to a medical facility after being mauled by a bull shark while free-diving near the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland’s far north. The 55-year-old man from Cairns was free-diving with a friend on a charter tour east of Murray Island in the Torres Strait on Saturday. Emergency services were notified of the attack around 12.40pm AEST. David Cameron, a flight paramedic with Queensland Ambulance Service, treated the victim. He said the pair had been free-diving at a depth of about 15m when a bull shark of approximately four metres in length came up behind the victim and bit him “several times” on his left arm and his stomach. Despite “severe injuries” to his left arm, said Cameron, “he was able to swim up to safety and back onto the boat with no further damage”. With torrential rain preventing the man being rescued by helicopter, he was taken by boat 54 nautical miles (120km) to the nearest medical facility on Murray Island; about a three-hour journey. Some hours later, following a break in the bad weather, he was transported by helicopter to Thursday Island Hospital, where his wounds were assessed and he was kept overnight. Cameron said the man would be be flown by the Royal Flying Doctor Service to Cairns for further “micro-surgery” on Sunday afternoon. He said the man was an experienced diver but nonetheless “very lucky”. “When you start to talk about four-meter sharks up here in the Torres Strait, you’re very lucky to walk away. It sounds like the shark was on a bit of a mission.” The patient told Cameron that it was the second time he’d been attacked by a shark while diving. “Hopefully there’s not a third one.” | ['environment/sharks', 'global/torres-strait-islands', 'australia-news/queensland', 'environment/marine-life', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/elle-hunt', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/marine-life | BIODIVERSITY | 2017-01-21T22:18:31Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2014/may/12/western-antarctic-ice-sheet-collapse-has-already-begun-scientists-warn | Western Antarctic ice sheet collapse has already begun, scientists warn | The collapse of the Western Antarctica ice sheet is already under way and is unstoppable, two separate teams of scientists said on Monday. The glaciers' retreat is being driven by climate change and is already causing sea-level rise at a much faster rate than scientists had anticipated. The loss of the entire western Antarctica ice sheet could eventually cause up to 4 metres (13ft) of sea-level rise, devastating low-lying and coastal areas around the world. But the researchers said that even though such a rise could not be stopped, it is still several centuries off, and potentially up to 1,000 years away. The two studies, by Nasa and the University of Washington, looked at the ice sheets of western Antarctica over different periods of time. The Nasa researchers focused on melting over the last 20 years, while the scientists at the University of Washington used computer modelling to look into the future of the western Antarctic ice sheet. But both studies came to broadly similar conclusions – that the thinning and melting of the Antarctic ice sheet has begun and cannot be halted, even with drastic action to cut the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. They also suggest that recent accumulation of ice in Antarctica was temporary. “A large sector of the western Antarctic ice sheet has gone into a state of irreversible retreat. It has passed the point of no return,” Eric Rignot, a glaciologist at Nasa and the University of California, Irvine, told a conference call. “This retreat will have major consequences for sea level rise worldwide.” The two studies between them suggest sea-level rise will be far greater than envisaged by the United Nations’ IPCC report earlier this year. The IPCC forecast on sea-level rise did not factor in the melting of the western Antarctica ice sheet. The Nasa study, to be published in Geophysical Research Letters, studied the retreat of six glaciers in western Antarctica that are already the major drivers of global sea-level rise. One of those glaciers, Pine Island, retreated 31km at its centre from 1992-2011. Rignot said all six glaciers together contained enough ice to add an additional 1.2m (4ft) to sea levels around the world. In the University of Washington study, which will be published in the journal Science, researchers used detailed topography maps, airborne radar and computer modelling to reach greater certainty about the projected timeline of the ice sheet collapse. The study honed in on the Thwaites glacier – a broad glacier that is part of the Amundsen Sea. Scientists have known for years that the Thwaites glacier is the soft underbelly of the Antarctic ice sheet, and first found that it was unstable decades ago. The University of Washington researchers said that the fast-moving Thwaites glacier could be lost in a matter of centuries. The loss of that glacier alone would raise global sea level by nearly 2ft. Thwaites also acts as a dam that holds back the rest of the ice sheet. Once Thwaites goes, researchers said, the remaining ice in the sheet could cause another 10 to 13ft (3-4m) of global sea-level rise. “The thinning we are seeing is not just some temporary trend. It is really the beginning of a larger scale collapse that is likely to play out over a two to 10-century range,” Ian Joughin, a University of Washington glaciologist, told The Guardian. He said the retreat would begin slowly, resulting in sea-level rise of less than 1mm a year for a couple of hundred years. But “then boom, it just starts to really go,” Joughin said. Even under the worst-case scenario currently envisaged, the collapse of the entire ice sheet is about 200 years off – and the collapse could be as far away as 1,000 years, depending on future warming. But collapse is inevitable, the scientists said. Joughin put the most likely timeframe at between 200 and 500 years. The two teams of scientists used airborne radar and satellites to map the layers of ice down to the sea bed, and to study the rate of glacier movement. The Nasa team also drew on observations stretching back 40 years. Even so, Rignot said he was taken aback at how fast change was occurring. “This system, whether Greenland or Antarctica, is changing on a faster time scale than we anticipated. We are discovering that every day,” Rignot said. Scientists are also finding that the causes of the ice loss are highly complex – and that it is not just due to warmer temperatures causing surface melting of the ice. Both papers said the contact between the glaciers and the relatively warmer water at the ocean depths was the main driver of the slow-motion collapse. Rignot said that even drastic action to cut greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change could not prevent the collapse. “We feel this is at the point where even if the ocean is not warming up, is not providing additional ocean heat, the system is in a sort of chain reaction that is unstoppable,” he told reporters on a conference call. The only thing that could hold the glaciers back would be a large hill or big mountain that could block the retreat, Rignot said. But there is none, he said, “So we think it is not going to be stoppable.” | ['environment/sea-level', 'environment/poles', 'world/antarctica', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'science/science', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/suzannegoldenberg', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international'] | environment/sea-level | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2014-05-12T16:30:27Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2022/oct/28/country-diary-hungry-wasps-have-surrounded-the-willow-tree | Country diary: Hungry wasps have surrounded the willow tree | During spring and summer, common wasps (Vespula vulgaris) feed their larvae dissected insects and carrion. In return, the developing young secrete a carbohydrate-rich sugary fluid for the attendant adults to drink – an exchange known as trophallaxis. By early autumn, a single nest can contain up to 10,000 sterile female workers, but just as the population reaches its peak, the queen stops laying eggs and the number of larvae rapidly declines, sending the colony out in search of alternative sources of sustenance. So, despite their reputation for plaguing summer picnics, it’s at this time of year that wasps really make their presence known. While the larvae are carnivorous, the hourglass-figured adults subsist solely on a liquid diet. At first, they feed on nectar, but as temperatures cool and flowers begin to fade, they turn their attention to other sweet substances. In recent weeks, it’s become impossible to enjoy a pint of cider in the pub’s beer garden without an interloper or two crawling into my glass to sup the dregs. And every time I’ve attempted to gather fermenting windfall fruit from beneath my crab apple and pear trees, I’ve roused a rabble of erratically flying, inebriated insects. One evening, my neighbours invited me over to see the swarm that had invaded their garden. Their lawn is bisected by the Lavant stream and a horde of striped marauders had massed around an aphid-infested willow tree that overhangs the water. As we approached, I could see that the underlying footbridge was crawling with wasps getting their sugar fix from droplets of honeydew (secreted by aphids) that had spattered the wood. Realising that my ankles were exposed, I picked my way across the sticky planks with some trepidation. Hangry wasps are easily provoked, and when they sting or are crushed underfoot, alarm pheromones are released in the venom, inciting their sisters to attack. But my fears were unfounded, as the sugar-crazed creatures were so intent on lapping up the sweet excrement that they largely ignored our presence. These workers and their incumbent queen would soon succumb to the cold or starve to death, so we retreated indoors, leaving them to savour their last hurrah. • Country Diary is on Twitter at @gdncountrydiary | ['environment/series/country-diary', 'environment/insects', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/environment', 'uk/ruralaffairs', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/claire-stares', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/wildlife | BIODIVERSITY | 2022-10-28T04:30:18Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
business/2017/jan/27/uk-exit-eu-atomic-treaty-brexit-euratom-hinkley-point-c | Brexit will delay new British nuclear power stations, warn experts | Britain’s first nuclear power station in two decades will be delayed by a government decision to quit Europe’s atomic power treaty, experts have warned. Ministers revealed on Thursday that Brexit would involve the UK leaving Euratom, which promotes research into nuclear power and uniform safety standards. The news poses problems for the Hinkley Point C station in Somerset, while raising questions over safety inspection regimes and the UK’s future participation in nuclear fusion research. “Leaving Euratom is a lose-lose for everyone. For nuclear proponents, the industry becomes less competitive – and for nuclear critics, safety regulation diminishes,” said Dr Paul Dorfman of the Energy Institute at University College London. Referring to Hinkley and other nuclear projects in the pipeline, he said: “The UK nuclear industry is critically dependent on European goods and services in the nuclear supply chain and their specialist nuclear skills. Leaving Euratom will inevitably increas nuclear costs and will mean further delays. EDF, which is building the Hinkley project and hopes to construct other plants, has told MPs that “ideally” the UK would stay in the treaty, as it provided a framework for complying with international standards for handling nuclear material. Without mentioning Hinkley, the French state-owned company also warned that restrictions on the movement of people because of Brexit could delay delivery of new energy infrastructure. Antony Froggatt, a research fellow at the Chatham House thinktank, said: “Outside of Euratom and the single market, the movement of nuclear fuel, equipment and trained staff will be more complicated.” He noted that because the UK was a supporter of nuclear power, Brexit would affect the balance of nuclear policies in the EU, where Germany, Italy and even strongly pro-nuclear France had taken steps in recent years to reduce their reliance on atomic power. Vince Zabielski, a nuclear energy specialist at the law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, said: “If the UK leaves Euratom before new standalone nuclear cooperation treaties are negotiated with France and the US, current new build projects will be placed on hold while those standalone treaties are negotiated.” Other lawyers questioned why the government had decided to quit Euratom and in the manner it had done so, in the explanatory notes accompany the article 50 bill. “There doesn’t seem to have been any real explanation as to why, because we are going towards the unknown at great speed. Legally we don’t have to [leave Euratom because the UK is leaving the EU],” said Jonathan Leech, a senior lawyer and nuclear expert at Prospect Law. “At the moment, the UK standing on the world nuclear stage is predicated on a series of cooperation agreements, and those we have the benefit of from being a member of Euratom, and the few bilateral agreements are based on Euratom, too. Take that away and you have no basis for international nuclear cooperation.” He said quitting Euratom would create unnecessary uncertainty for new nuclear power and research into fusion power, a cleaner alternative to nuclear fission in which the UK has been a world leader for decades. Although the short-term future of the Joint European Torus, a nuclear fusion research centre in Oxfordshire, is guaranteed until 2018, last year’s referendum result and the withdrawal from Euratom puts its longer-term future in doubt. Bernard Bigot, the director of the ITER project, a huge international undertaking to develop nuclear fusion in the south of France, said he believed the UK could still participate in ITER even when it leaves the treaty. “There are several ways for the UK to pursue its participation to ITER within the Brexit policy, if there is political will of the UK and the EU. This could occur either within or outside of the Euratom arrangement,” he said. Leaving Euratom is likely to also add to the workload of the UK’s nuclear regulator, the Office for Nuclear Regulation, which is busy assessing designs for Britain’s first Chinese-designed nuclear power plant. “The main burden of the UK leaving Euratom will be the need for it to cover its nuclear non-proliferation safeguards commitment and for this it will have to either set up a separate, independent agency or bring these treaty responsibilities into the Office for Nuclear Regulation,” said John Large, a nuclear consultant. EDF said it had made its view clear on Euratom, and rejected the suggestion that the UK’s withdrawal from the treaty would delay Hinkley Point C. A government spokeswoman said the UK wanted to see a continuity of cooperation and standards. “We remain absolutely committed to the highest standards of nuclear safety, safeguards and support for the industry. Our aim is clear – we want to maintain our mutually successful civil nuclear cooperation with the EU,” she said. | ['business/energy-industry', 'business/edf', 'business/business', 'environment/environment', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'environment/energy', 'uk-news/hinkley-point-c', 'uk/uk', 'politics/politics', 'politics/eu-referendum', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/adam-vaughan', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2017-01-27T15:24:52Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2023/oct/09/microplastics-clouds-study-mount-fuji-mount-oyama | Microplastics detected in clouds hanging atop two Japanese mountains | Microplastics have been found everywhere from the oceans’ depths to the Antarctic ice, and now new research has detected it in an alarming new location – clouds hanging atop two Japanese mountains. The clouds around Japan’s Mount Fuji and Mount Oyama contain concerning levels of the tiny plastic bits, and highlight how the pollution can be spread long distances, contaminating the planet’s crops and water via “plastic rainfall”. The plastic was so concentrated in the samples researchers collected that it is thought to be causing clouds to form while giving off greenhouse gasses. “If the issue of ‘plastic air pollution’ is not addressed proactively, climate change and ecological risks may become a reality, causing irreversible and serious environmental damage in the future,” the study’s lead author, Hiroshi Okochi, a professor at Waseda University, said in a statement. The peer-reviewed paper was published in Environmental Chemistry Letters, and the authors believe it is the first to check clouds for microplastics. The pollution is made up of plastic particles smaller than five millimeters that are released from larger pieces of plastic during degradation. They are also intentionally added to some products, or discharged in industrial effluent. Tires are thought to be among the main sources, as are plastic beads used in personal care products. Recent research has found them to be widely accumulating across the globe – as much as 10m tons are estimated to end up in the oceans annually. Humans and animals ingest or inhale large amounts of microplastics, which have been detected in human lungs, brains, hearts, blood, placentas, and feces. Their toxicity is still being studied, but new research that exposed mice to microplastic points to health issues, like behavioral changes, and other studies have found links to cancer and irritable bowel syndrome. Waseda researchers gathered samples at altitudes ranging between 1,300-3,776 meters, which revealed nine types of polymers, like polyurethane, and one type of rubber. The cloud’s mist contained about 6.7 to 13.9 pieces of microplastics per litre, and among them was a large volume of “water loving” plastic bits, which suggests the pollution “plays a key role in rapid cloud formation, which may eventually affect the overall climate”, the authors wrote in a press release. That is potentially a problem because microplastics degrade much faster when exposed to ultraviolet light in the upper atmosphere, and give off greenhouse gasses as they do. A high concentration of these microplastics in clouds in sensitive polar regions could throw off the ecological balance, the authors wrote. The findings highlight how microplastics are highly mobile and can travel long distances through the air and environment. Previous research has found the material in rain, and the study’s authors say the main source of airborne plastics may be seaspray, or aerosols, that are released when waves crash or ocean bubbles burst. Dust kicked up by cars on roads is another potential source, the authors wrote. | ['environment/air-pollution', 'environment/plastic', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/tom-perkins', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news'] | environment/plastic | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2023-10-09T11:00:08Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
science/2009/nov/19/hunters-mammoths-extinction | Sophisticated hunters not to blame for driving mammoths to extinction | Woolly mammoths and other large, lumbering beasts faced extinction in north America long before early humans perfected their skills as spearmakers, scientists say. The prehistoric giants began their precipitous decline nearly 2,000 years before the Clovis people turned stone fragments into sophisticated spearpoints at the end of the last ice age. The animals, which included mammoths, elephant-sized mastodons and beavers the size of black bears, were probably picked off by more inept hunters who only much later developed specialised weapons when their prize catches became scarce. "Some people thought humans arrived and decimated the populations of these animals in a few hundred years, but what we've found is not consistent with that rapid 'blitzkrieg' overkill of large animals," said Jacquelyn Gill, a PhD student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, who led the research team. Archaeological evidence shows that humans developed advanced spearheads around 13,000 years ago. The Clovis people of North America crafted speartips with deep grooves that made wounds bleed freely. With these, hunters did not have to kill their prey on the spot, but could wait for the beasts to bleed to death. The rise of the Clovis culture was thought to coincide with the demise of the woolly mammoth and other slow-moving giants on the continent, leading many researchers to suspect the animals died at the ends of the hunters' spears. Gill's team rules this out by putting a more accurate date on the decline and fall of woolly mammoths and more than 30 other large mammals that dominated the landscape as the ice sheets retreated from North America. Among them were giant sloths the size of SUVs. To date the animals' slide to extinction, the scientists examined sediment cores from a lake in Indiana. The deepest sediments were laid down in the distant past, while more recent sediments were nearer the surface. Specifically, the scientists measured levels of a fungus that is known to thrive in the excrement of giant herbivorous mammals and nowhere else. They reasoned that more fungal spores meant more dung, which in turn reflected a larger population of roaming mammals. The sediments also held ancient pollen and charcoal dust, which gave the team clues about the predominant plant life and frequency of wildfires. Writing the US journal Science, the researchers describe how the amount of mammal dung started to fall around 14,800 years ago, long before advanced spearheads became commonplace. The animals had been almost completely wiped out a thousand years later. "We know there were people who pre-dated the Clovis culture who were butchering mammoths in the area. What we're suggesting is the declines happened before the Clovis toolkit was adopted. These earlier people had tools, but they probably weren't as sophisticated," said Gill. Chris Johnson, a population ecologist at James Cook University in Queensland, Australia, said the shortage of mammoths and other easy targets might have forced early humans to improve their weapons. "People were still hunting them but this was more challenging, so they developed somewhat better tools for the job," he said. Another theory, that the larger beasts were wiped out by an asteroid strike around 13,000 years ago, also looks unlikely in view of the latest study. By improving their hunting techniques, early humans seem to have played a major role in finishing off the woolly mammoths and nine other mammal species that weighed over a tonne. The study is among the first to reveal the environmental consequences of such a catastrophic decline in species. Pollen and charcoal recovered from the sediment cores show that wildfires became far more common and that the variety of plant life changed dramatically, as the nutritious and easily digestible trees and shrubs that were eaten by the mammals grew back. "For the first time we've got a linkage between this major ecological event, the disappearance of these large animals, and evidence of the environmental consequences," said Jack Williams, a co-author on the study. • This article was amended on 4 December 2009. The original omitted to specify that the research pertained only to North America. This has been corrected. | ['science/science', 'science/zoology', 'science/anthropology', 'tone/news', 'world/world', 'environment/environment', 'environment/biodiversity', 'environment/endangered-habitats', 'environment/endangeredspecies', 'environment/wildlife', 'type/article', 'environment/hunting', 'profile/iansample', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews'] | environment/endangered-habitats | BIODIVERSITY | 2009-11-19T19:00:00Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
technology/2014/nov/19/auto-lacing-shoes-kickstarter | Welcome to the future: auto-lacing shoes on Kickstarter for $175 | They might not be quite as cool as Marty McFly’s hoverboard, but Back to the Future II’s auto-lacing shoes could be infinitely more practical – and a small firm from Quebec Canada has made it happen. Powerlace Technology’s new auto-lacing shoes aren’t Nike, as in the 1989 classic, but they do almost the same thing and are completely hands-free; no electricity, gears, cogs or springs are required. “Powerlace is a self-sufficient small shop that’s been working on this technology for the last seven years, making every aspect of the shoe in our shop,” said Louis-Pierre Thibeau, co-owner of Powerlace Technology who heads the small team of five people. “We’re bringing a new standard to the shoe industry. It’s like a TV remote – you don’t know you need one until you own one.” Once the laces are adjusted to fit, the wearer steps back into the heel of the shoe, pushing down a lever which tightens and then locks down the laces. Once the laces are in place, the heel lever is disconnected from them to avoid accidental tightening or releasing. When it comes time to step out of the shoes, a small lever on the outside of the heel of the shoe releases the laces. The laces are made of traditional nylon on the outside, but have a steel inner to withstand repeated tightening. How much bulk the mechanism adds to the heel, however, is hard to tell. Other designs using circuit boards and gears have made shoes unwieldy. The style of the shoe doesn’t quite match up to McFly’s, and the trainers are only available in men’s shoe sizes from UK seven to 11. The Canadian firm is looking for $650,000 CAD ($573,000) on Kickstarter to fund mass manufacturing, with a limited number of shoes available for $175 (£98) and the rest for $195, shipping in May 2015. In 2015 Nike is expected to release an auto-lacing version of the Nike Mag as worn by McFly, after auctioning 1,500 pairs of the non-auto-lacing variety for the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in 2011 – but Powerlace might beat the sports giant off the starting blocks. • The hoverboard becomes real for $10,000 • Car that parks itself rolls off Tesla production line in California • Tesla Model S launch: an electric car to answer even Clarkson’s objections • Finally, the flying car may have landed | ['technology/kickstarter', 'technology/technology', 'technology/gadgets', 'technology/crowdfunding', 'technology/crowdsourcing', 'film/back-to-the-future', 'film/film', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/samuel-gibbs'] | technology/gadgets | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2014-11-19T15:06:39Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
lifeandstyle/2024/apr/17/best-cooking-utensils-to-own-cutlery-underrated | Eight unsung kitchen tools every home cook should own: ‘You’ll wonder how you lived without them’ | Most of us have our go-to kitchen gadgets: the occasionally battered tools with the familiar feel that give us the confidence we might otherwise lack. My choux pastry never quite reached the same glossy consistency without the ancient enamel saucepan and “special” wooden spoon combination I had used over 20 years of making croquembouches. The kitchen utensils we automatically reach for are as idiosyncratic as our thumbprints. A friend once gave me a replacement for my beloved old choux pastry spoon: an “indispensable” alternative stirring implement known as a spurtle. I kept my old spoon and used the spurtle to prop open the door. So proceed with caution when perusing the list below. It includes some very un-fancy items that don’t really qualify as gadgets; the unsung heroes of my kitchen cutlery drawer, but they are no less beloved for that. Remember the old adage: one person’s favourite wooden spoon is another person’s spurtle. Meat thermometer There are incredible digital Bluetooth options that will set off an alarm on your phone or Apple Watch as well as good old-fashioned stab-it-and-see versions (my preferred option). There are any number of temperature guides out there. Decide on your optimal degree of doneness and go from there. My optimal temperature is 62C for medium-rare beef (keeping in mind the meat will continue cooking for a short time after being removed from the oven) and 70C for hot chocolate. Peugeot pepper mill Forget about those designer glass and metal grinders that turn blunt and rusty as soon as their warranty expires. Or those appallingly unsustainable one-use plastic grinders in the supermarket spice section. Peugeot (yes, the car manufacturer) make the best pepper grinders in the world as voted by the New York Times Wirecutter in 2022. They come in a range of shapes and sizes, engineered for easy use and with six size settings. Whether you like your pepper grounds fine or chunky, this is the perfect present for foodies and possibly the only Peugeot they will ever own. Mine is the 22cm version in natural wood (recommended retail price is A$114 but you can find it on sale) and there is a battery-operated version for those who have difficulty twisting with their hands. Garlic crusher Garlic lovers will tell you there is no comparison between crushed garlic in a jar and freshly crushed garlic. They will also tell you the worst thing about crushing your own garlic is peeling the cloves. Zyliss has come to their rescue with a device that turns unpeeled garlic cloves into pure crushed garlic, leaving the flattened skins behind to be flicked directly into the compost caddy. Don’t ask me how it manages to work this magic. I think it must be the combination of tiny extrusion holes and scary “teeth”. I also love the cunningly concealed plastic “hairbrush” that can be placed into the holes to clear them of any debris. An absolute winner. Plastic spatula Forget your newfangled silicone spatulas with aerodynamically designed curves. Give me an old-school moulded plastic spatula: the kind with a razor sharp edge. They don’t seem to make them any more. I have teams of undercover spatula seekers raiding op shops around the globe on my behalf. Champagne sealer I’ve made something of a life’s work of studying champagne sealer design. Those who know me best have been known to question why I would ever need one, not because I don’t like champagne but because I like it too much. For those lovers of the sparkling who, like me, are trying to cut down on their alcohol intake, a good champagne sealer will safeguard those bubbles for up to three days. My favourite is a plastic freebie that came with a duty-free bottle of champagne. It has a single lever that you pull down to seal it. Mini tongs (and wooden tongs) Not the standard metal tongs you use to turn your roast vegetables but the mini-me version that gives you way more control. I use them as salad servers in preference to the classic fork-and-spoon combination, and scatter them liberally over antipasto platters. The other tongs I discovered way back in 2015 are wooden toast tongs. I was introduced to them in a gift shop in France, a country that came late to the concept of a toaster thanks to the steady stream of fresh baguettes baked throughout the day. Stale bread was almost unheard of: even as recently as a year ago, I had to ask my Parisian Airbnb host to supply me with a toaster. My dream toast tongs come with a built-in magnet that lets you attach them to the range hood or the toaster to reduce the risk of them going walkabout. Once you discover them you will wonder how you lived without them. Soda maker It’s both unfashionable and bad for one’s health to dislike the taste of water. If, like me, you prefer the feel and slightly metallic taste of sparkling water, a soda maker is an indispensable piece of kitchen equipment that is now even more sustainable with the introduction of dishwasher-safe bottles that don’t need to be replaced at regular intervals. | ['australia-news/series/best-reads-of-2024', 'food/food', 'lifeandstyle/australian-lifestyle', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'technology/gadgets', 'lifeandstyle/homes', 'campaign/email/saved-for-later', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/elizabeth-quinn', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-lifestyle'] | technology/gadgets | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2024-04-16T15:00:49Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
world/2005/aug/31/usa.naturaldisasters1 | Death toll rises amid the devastation | Hundreds of people were feared to have died in Hurricane Katrina as more bodies washed up in US Gulf coast cities yesterday in the aftermath one of the worst natural disasters America has faced in decades. President George Bush will cut short his holiday and return to Washington today to oversee recovery efforts in a region overwhelmed by floodwaters that have sent tens of thousands fleeing and left millions without power. In New Orleans, those who survived the initial impact of the hurricane faced new dangers yesterday as its dykes gave way under the pressure of the storm surge. With flood water reaching the eaves of some three-storey houses, rescue workers in boats and helicopters struggled to reach hundreds of victim trapped on roofs. Others were reported trapped in their attics across a city that is 70% below sea-level. There were no official estimates for casualties, but officials were thought to be preparing for the possibility of hundreds of fatalities. New Orleans officials moved the city administration out of town, and prepared to evacuate tens of thousands of people who had taken refuge in a sports stadium and in other shelters. The hurricane's impact was quickly felt further afield. Oil prices surged to record highs above $70 a barrel as the market quailed at the prospect of supply disruptions in the Mexican Gulf. Insurers were flinching at a clear-up cost estimated at $26bn, which would make Katrina the most expensive disaster in US history. "Right now, our priority is on saving lives, and we are still in the midst of search and rescue operations," Mr Bush said. "We know that many are anxious to return to their homes. It's not possible at this moment." Many homes in New Orleans were submerged by the surge of floodwater brought on by the storm. The mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, said bodies were floating in high waters that covered most of the city. "The city of New Orleans is in a state of devastation," he said on local television. "We probably have 80% of our city under water; with some sections of our city the water is as deep as 20 feet [6 metres]. We still have many of our residents on roofs. Both airports are under water." On Canal Street, looters waded through hip-deep water and ripped open the steel gates on the front of clothing and jewellery stores. "The looting is out of control. The French quarter has been attacked," said Jackie Clarkson, a New Orleans councillor. In Biloxi, on the Mississippi Gulf coast, hundreds were feared dead after a 30-foot (9 metre) wave surged through the city. Waterfront casinos were torn open, and the beach was littered with steel girders. Dazed residents foraged for food and water and sniffer dogs were brought in to help find the dead. "It was like our tsunami,"said Vincent Creel, the city spokesman. Asked how many people had died, he said: "It's going to be in the hundreds." A Biloxi man, Harvey Jackson, told a local television station, WKRG-TV, that he feared his wife had been killed when she was ripped from his grasp after their home had been split in half by the storm. "I held her hand as tight as I could," he said. "She told me, 'You can't hold me.' She told me to take care of the kids and the grandkids ... we ain't got nowhere to go. I'm lost. That's all I had." In neighbouring Hancock county, 35 people were missing after an emergency operations centre flooded. Across the Gulf coast, thousands of national guardsmen, some recently returned from Iraq, were mobilised to help with the search-and-rescue operation and to combat looting. Rigorous evacuation procedures meant that the human cost of the storm was unlikely to top Hurricane Camille in 1969, which took 256 lives, let alone the Galveston storm of 1900, which killed more than 6,000 people, the worst natural disaster in US history. However, Katrina could well become the most expensive storm the US has had to clean up, as it laid waste to much of the recent development along the Gulf coast. The region's oil production accounts for a fifth of the nation's needs. Two offshore oil rigs broke free of their moorings, and one hit a bridge in Mobile, Alabama. Katrina was downgraded to a tropical storm as it moved north into Tennessee and Kentucky but it continued to wreak havoc, spawning at least seven tornadoes in its wake, and emptying heavy rain into the Mississippi. The flooding river was certain to worsen the problems in the Mississippi Delta and in New Orleans. More than 5 million people were left without electricity in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama, and in Florida, where Katrina first struck land last week. | ['world/world', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/natural-disasters', 'us-news/hurricane-katrina', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'world/hurricanes', 'type/article', 'profile/jamiewilson', 'profile/julianborger'] | us-news/hurricane-katrina | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2005-08-31T12:59:07Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2011/nov/21/climate-aid-dispute-durban-conference | Climate aid dispute 'would jeopardise Durban conference' | America and other industrialised countries are being warned they could prompt the collapse of next week's Durban climate talks if they to try to escape their commitments to a $100bn climate aid fund. The fund was supposed to be operating by 2013, but industrialised countries are accused of using the financial crisis and other differences over the fund as a pretext to avoid paying up. "There is a crisis looming on the horizon and many countries in different areas of the world are, let's say, less ambitious in how they can support the fight against climate change," Brazil's climate negotiator, Luiz Alberto Figueiredo, told the Guardian. "Some countries fear that due to the crisis some countries will rethink at least the rhythm of their contribution." The fund was agreed at last year's climate summit in Cancun, with the goal of raising up to $100bn a year by 2020 to help the world's poorest countries cope with climate change. It is seen as a crucial component to an eventual climate deal – the pay-off for an agreement by emerging economies to move to less polluting growth. China, India, Brazil and other countries are projected to produce the majority of future greenhouse gas emissions. But the two final rounds of climate fund negotiations before the Durban conference, in Panama and South Africa, were contentious. America and Saudi Arabia want the World Bank to manage the fund. Developing countries want the United Nations in charge. Some officials fear industrial countries are so preoccupied with a dispute over the management of the fund, they will fail to mobilise the actual funds. And that could wreck the Durban climate summit, Figueiredo warned. "We cannot have an empty shell," he said. "It is important to have the structure in place, but it is also important to have a clear commitment for funding." The United Nations secretary general, Ban-ki Moon, has expressed his own concern that industrialised countries are not finding ways to come up with the $100bn a year. The two blocs have also failed to resolve their differences over the sources of funding. Industrialised countries say most of the fund must come from the private sector – and that countries such as China and India should also chip in. "It certainly makes sense for that to happen," the US state department climate envoy, Todd Stern, told reporters. Developing countries, including Brazil, say poor countries need a more concrete level of commitment – from government, not just corporations. "Some feel that certain countries are trying to outsource their responsibilities to the private sector, ... so developing countries may also say that their reducing emissions may also be outsourced to private companies," Figueiredo said. In America's case, domestic political considerations are also coming into play. A number of commentators have accused American negotiators of allowing Barack Obama's re-election campaign to hold back a climate fund deal. American contributions to the climate fund have also been hijacked by the torturous budget negotiations in Congress. Republicans have targeted nearly all spending on climate change – from weather satellites to the White House climate advisor. In a recent blog post, Pa Ousman Jarju of Gambia, which currently leads the bloc of least developed countries, accused America of blocking a deal on the climate fund because officials were afraid of a political backlash in Congress, or of providing ammunition to Republicans ahead of the 2012 elections. "'Climate change' and 'multilateral' (in the sense of sending taxpayers money abroad) are regarded as equally objectionable," Jarju and his co-authors wrote. "Congress is not going to appropriate funding for it in the forseeable future." But they argued that American negotiators should back the fund anyway, so as not to hold up the rest of the world at Durban. | ['environment/durban-climate-change-conference-2011', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/global-climate-talks', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'tone/news', 'environment/green-politics', 'type/article', 'profile/suzannegoldenberg'] | environment/global-climate-talks | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2011-11-21T12:18:23Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
environment/2019/aug/17/thailands-sweetheart-dugong-dies-with-plastic-in-stomach | Thailand's 'sweetheart' dugong dies with plastic in stomach | An orphaned dugong named Marium, who became an internet star after being rescued in Thailand in April, has died. Veterinarians caring for the dugong off the island of Koh Libong, in south Thailand’s Trang province, said an infection caused by ingesting plastic contributed to her death. They added that the loss of the animal, named “the nation’s sweetheart” by Thailand’s department of marine and coastal resources (DMCR), should serve as a warning about the effects of plastic waste on wildlife. Dugongs – marine mammals that grow up to three metres long – are vulnerable to extinction, with up to only 250 believed to be living in Thai waters. A team of around 10 vets plus 40 volunteers looked after Marium in shallow water off Koh Libong, after discovering her alone and malnourished in nearby Krabi province. Aged around four months when she was found, Marium became famous after photos of her hugging vets were posted online and the DMCR set up cameras to livestream her being fed milk formula. Last week she showed signs of stress and refused to feed, after encountering another dugong in the ocean. On Wednesday Marium was moved to a nursery tank for close monitoring but died early on Saturday morning. Vets said the animal showed signs of shock, and that her autopsy revealed that small plastic pieces had clogged and inflamed her intestines, causing infection. They found bruises on Marium’s body, which they said may have been caused by an attack from another dugong. “Everyone is sad about this loss,” said Nantarika Chansue, director of Chulalongkorn University’s aquatic animal medicine unit in Bangkok. “The thing that needs to be resolved, if we’re going to preserve rare marine animals, is to protect the environment for both people and animals.” Last month on Koh Libong, when Marium was in good health, Chansue voiced concern about the potential for a dugong medical crisis. “One thing we haven’t been ready for is if there’s an emergency,” she said. “In case something happens … this is quite far from the [main]land. We’ve prepared emergency equipment … [but] anything is possible.” A second orphaned dugong, who is younger than Marium and was found in June near Marium’s original rescue location, is being cared for in the Phuket Marine Biology Centre. Vets were considering moving the creature, a male named Jamil, to Koh Libong when he grew strong enough to deal with ocean conditions. They hoped that both Marium and Jamil would strike out alone in the sea when aged around 18 months, the age at which dugongs leave their mothers in the wild. Speaking last month, Chansue said: “Everyone fell in love with these two babies.” | ['environment/wildlife', 'environment/marine-life', 'world/thailand', 'world/asia-pacific', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/jamie-fullerton', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/news', 'theobserver/news/worldnews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-foreign'] | environment/marine-life | BIODIVERSITY | 2019-08-17T05:10:04Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
world/2019/may/09/jair-bolsonaro-brazil-amazon-rainforest-environment | 'Exterminator of the future': Brazil's Bolsonaro denounced for environmental assault | Jair Bolsonaro is transforming Brazil into an “exterminator of the future”, the activist and politician Marina Silva has warned, as she and seven other former environment ministers denounced the far-right president’s assault on rainforest protections. The eight former ministers – who served governments across the political spectrum over nearly 30 years – warned on Wednesday that Bolsonaro’s government was systematically trying to destroy Brazil’s environmental protection policies. “We are watching them deconstruct everything we’ve put together,” said José Sarney Filho, who served as environmental minister under the rightwing presidents Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Michel Temer. “We’re talking about biodiversity, life, forests … the Amazon has an incredibly important role in global warming. It’s the world’s air conditioner; it regulates rain for the entire continent.” Silva, the environment minister under Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, said: “What is happening is a dismantling, taking education and the environment and making them ideological issues.” She said the government risked “transforming our country into the exterminator of the future – and we can’t let that happen”. Bolsonaro has been severely criticized at home and abroad for his claims that environmental protections hinder Brazil’s economic growth. He is a close ally of the powerful agribusiness lobby and during his campaign said that if he were elected he would not allocate “one more centimeter” of land to indigenous reserves. Izabella Teixeira, who led Brazil’s negotiating team at the Paris climate agreement as environment minister under the leftwing president Dilma Roussef, said that Bolsonaro’s policies were already damaging the country’s international standing. She said: “Being a climate-change denier is very serious because it’s a geopolitical issue. The signals the government is now sending against the international consensus is compromising our credibility – not to mention our image.” In a speech on Wednesday, Bolsonaro said that he would remove environmental protections in a part of the forested coast south of Rio de Janeiro in order to created “a Cancún of Brazil”. Bolsonaro received a $2,500 fine from environment police for illegal fishing in the reserve in 2012. The ex-ministers highlighted the “depletion” of the environment ministry’s powers, including stripping it of jurisdiction over the country’s water agency and forestry service and also eliminating three senior officials, including the secretary on climate change. Bolsonaro’s administration has also transferred the authority to allocate new indigenous lands from the indigenous affairs agency to the agriculture ministry. At one point Bolsonaro was considering withdrawing from the Paris agreement. “The environment defenders have their hands tied and the worst actors – the polluters, the agribusiness – have a pistol in theirs,” said Carlos Minc, environment minister under Lula. “I’d say it’s become the ministry of anti-environment.” Bolsonaro’s environment minister, Ricardo Salles, responded with a statement in which he accused previous administrations of “poor management” and alleged that there was a campaign to besmirch Brazil’s reputation. “What is damaging Brazil’s image is the permanent and well-orchestrated defamation campaign by NGOs and supposed experts, within and outside of Brazil,” he wrote. Salles has called climate change a “secondary issue” and said environmental fines were “ideological”. Within his first weeks in office, he issued a three-month suspension on partnerships between the government and NGOs and later called the late revered environmental activist Chico Mendes “irrelevant”. Earlier this week, Salles canceled a trip to the UK, Norway and Germany. The Folhapress news agency reported that the minister backed out of the trip because of a letter signed by 602 scientists that called for European businesses to only do business with Brazil on the condition it met commitments to reduce deforestation and indigenous conflicts. | ['world/brazil', 'world/americas', 'world/world', 'world/jair-bolsonaro', 'environment/amazon-rainforest', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/anna-jean-kaiser', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-foreign'] | environment/amazon-rainforest | BIODIVERSITY | 2019-05-09T06:00:38Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
sustainable-business/sustainability-case-studies-aberdeenshire-hair-salon-elan | Inverurie hair salon gets green rinse | Hair dressing has taken on a green tinge at a town centre salon in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire. Élan Hair Design carried out a £250,000 green refurbishment in 2012, claims to be the most eco-efficient salon in the UK and has seen its client base grow by 25%. New equipment, practices and systems were introduced to strengthen the hairdresser's environmental and commercial performances. The new-look salon has photovoltaic panels to generate electricity; solar-thermal panels to provide hot water; an air-source heat pump that saves 80% on heating costs; and LED lighting that consumes 80% less electricity than before and will last for a decade. Energy-saving motion detectors and low-temperature radiators have been installed; new basins cut water consumption by well over half; a specialist eco-cleaning system uses only cold water; and the company returns unused electricity to the National Grid. The salon's radical cut in carbon emissions and energy use is the result of an environmental action plan. Élan completed level two of the Green Tick scheme, a Scottish environmental management system. The salon switched energy suppliers to get the business 100% renewable electricity and is due to install a voltage unit, which is expected to save a further 10% on electricity. The company's carbon management plan is endorsed by the Carbon Trust and has resulted in a reduction in its CO2 emissions – equivalent to 110 tonnes during 2013, a 38% improvement on the previous year. Business is booming. Since the work was completed in March 2012, the company's turnover has increased steadily. Sales rose by 14% to £323,398 in the year to September 2012 and by a further 16% to £373,749 in 2013. The company is convinced that many of its customers conscientiously select a greener, more sustainable service. Moreover, adopting a green ethos has reduced electricity costs from more than £6,000 a year to £787 – a drop of 762%. While the salon naturally uses high volumes of water, installation of the new basin system has reduced consumption by 64%. In addition, the use of compostable towels and capes has eliminated the need for washing machines, cutting water consumption by a further 18% and saving the business around £900 a year. Élan uses only the most eco-friendly hair products and suppliers and is sharing its expertise with other businesses locally. Lynn Beavis is part of the wordworks network The Guardian Sustainable Business Sustainability Case Studies contain articles on all the initiatives that met the criteria for the GSB Awards. | ['sustainable-business/series/sustainability-case-studies', 'sustainable-business/sustainable-business', 'sustainable-business/series/carbon-case-studies', 'sustainable-business/series/guardian-sustainable-business-awards-shortlist-2014', 'type/article'] | sustainable-business/series/carbon-case-studies | EMISSIONS | 2014-05-15T09:46:00Z | true | EMISSIONS |
law/2021/mar/11/civil-liberties-groups-call-police-plans-for-demos-an-assault-on-right-to-protest | Civil liberties groups call police plans for demos an 'assault' on right to protest | Civil liberties campaigners have warned of a “staggering assault” on the right to protest, as police detailed how they would enforce controversial government proposals to restrict demonstrations. On Thursday, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) published its plans for the future of policing protests, two days after the government announced proposed new laws granting more powers to officers and the home secretary. Among other things, the police, crime, sentencing and courts bill will give Priti Patel powers to create laws to define “serious disruption” to communities and organisations, which police can then rely on to impose conditions on protests. The HMICFRS report, ordered by Patel following Extinction Rebellion (XR) and Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests, outlines a “need to develop” covert intelligence gathering methods and an expectation of increased use of facial recognition technology, despite a court of appeal ruling last year that its use in south Wales breached privacy rights and broke equalities law. The report also supports expanding stop and search “to prevent serious disruption caused by protests”, amid concerns over discriminatory use of the power. Emmanuelle Andrews, policy and campaigns officer at Liberty, said: “These plans are a staggering assault on our right to protest as well as an attack on other fundamental rights. “Police already have extensive powers to restrict protests, and frequently go beyond them even though it is their duty to facilitate the exercise of this right. “We are still in the grip of a pandemic that has changed all our lives, handed enormous powers to the government and dramatically restricted our protest rights. The proposals in the policing bill are an opportunistic bid from the government to permanently erode our rights. “We must reject the politics of division that the government is exploiting through this bill, and protect each other and our ability to stand up to power.” The bill also allows for police to impose conditions such as start and finish times and maximum noise levels on static protests – powers officers already have in relation to marches. But the HMICFRS wants the rules to be even more closely aligned with those for marches, by forcing organisers of static protests to provide advance notice of their plans and enabling police to ban assemblies, with the consent of the home secretary, if the imposition of conditions would not be sufficient to prevent serious public disorder. Kevin Blowe, campaigns coordinator of the police monitoring group Netpol, criticised the report as “alarming and illiberal” and “essentially a series of recommendations on how you can massively expand surveillance on protest movements at a time when the government has decided that it’s going to crack down on those protests”. The report is the first to feature the term “aggravated activists” instead of “domestic extremists”, the use of which Netpol campaigned against for almost a decade. It defines aggravated activists as “those who commit protest-related crime or unlawful behaviour. The most frequent level of aggravated activism associated with protests is low.” Alanna Byrne, of XR, said similar labels were applied in the past to other groups “on the right side of history”, adding: “Priti Patel can try and make the UK a protest-free zone but it’s clear that the government is not going to do the right thing without protesters holding them to account so we don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.” Announcing the bill, the Home Office said the new laws would “enable police to better tackle unauthorised encampments, and safely manage protests where they threaten public order or stop people from getting on with their daily lives”. Matt Parr, from HMICFRS, said: “The right to gather and express our views is fundamental to our democracy. But this is not an absolute right. The police need to strike the correct balance between the rights of protesters and the rights of others, such as local residents and businesses. “We found that the police too often do not find the balance between protecting the rights of the protesters and preventing excessive disruption to daily life, which even peaceful protest can sometimes cause.” | ['law/uk-civil-liberties', 'uk/police', 'uk/uk', 'environment/environment', 'politics/priti-patel', 'uk/police-and-crime-commissioners', 'law/law', 'politics/politics', 'environment/extinction-rebellion', 'world/black-lives-matter-movement', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/haroonsiddique', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews'] | environment/extinction-rebellion | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2021-03-11T07:00:47Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
uk-news/2024/jan/03/uk-weather-storm-henk-more-than-300-flood-warnings-in-england | Man killed by falling tree as Storm Henk causes havoc in southern Britain | A man was killed after a tree fell on his car in Gloucestershire and hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes or rescued from vehicles as the impact of Storm Henk continued to cause havoc in parts of southern Britain. The man, who was in his 50s and from the Bath area, was fatally injured in the accident on Tetbury Road, between Tetbury and Cirencester, at about 3.15pm on Tuesday. Emergency services, including an air ambulance, attended. His next of kin and the coroner have been informed. At 1pm on Wednesday there were more than 600 flood warnings and alerts in England and Wales. There was one severe flood warning, meaning there is a danger to life, covering the River Ritec in Tenby, south-west Wales. Natural Resources Wales said: “Flooding has become very extensive within Kiln [holiday] Park and there is the risk of severe disruption to the community, with significant risk to life.” In Northamptonshire, many people were evacuated from Billing Aquadome caravan park with firefighters using boats to take some residents to safety. One residents, Robert Britchford, said: “I’m worried. We all are. This is the highest it has ever been. It’s the second time in three years that it has flooded. We felt it was coming, but we hoped it wouldn’t. Now we have to find hotels. They won’t let us back on until this is all sorted, so it could be a month before we come back.” In Loughborough, Leicestershire, dozens of homes were flooded when the Grand Union Canal began overflowing. John Brailsford, 67, said: “These are the worst floods I’ve seen in 38 years of living here. The river sometimes bursts its banks but that’s further away and we were told the canal would never flood. It’s very severe. I saw police, fire and ambulance crews all along the streets, some with dinghies which have been rescuing people.” In Hall Green, Birmingham, a man told how he helped rescue a woman and her three-year-old daughter after their car became stuck in water under a bridge on Tuesday afternoon. Liam Stych, 28, described how he heard the woman screaming “Help me, help me, please save my baby!” He said: “The front of her car was pointing down into the water so I dangled off the bridge but was careful not to put any more weight on the car in case it sank. I told the woman to remain calm and unwind her window and to hand me her child. I said to her ‘Give me baby’s hand, I’ll get her out’. “The woman could only get her window halfway down so I took the baby and literally hurled her behind me and into the lap of Tia [his partner] who was on the bridge.” He then used straps to secure the car to railings. “I then told the woman to climb into the back and get out the window. She managed to get out and we then held hands and just jumped together into the water after a count of three. It was about 5ft deep but was really strong and I dragged her out of the water.” There was also flooding in Worcester, where some homes and businesses close to the Severn were affected as the river rose. Bridges and roads in the city were closed. A man was taken to hospital after he was freed from a car filling with water in the Worcestershire village of Hollywood. A man and teenage boy were trapped in a vehicle for about 45 minutes in Weston, Staffordshire, with water up to the seats. The Met Office has issued another yellow severe weather warning for Thursday and into the early hours on Friday for a tranche of southern England. It said there is a chance of 20-30mm of rain falling in six to nine hours with a few places perhaps seeing 40-50 mm. The warning may bring more travel disruption as operators continue to try to get roads and rail lines back to normal that were hit by Storm Henk, which brought winds of more than 90mph to some areas on Tuesday. | ['uk/weather', 'uk/uk', 'uk-news/england', 'uk/wales', 'uk/transport', 'uk/rail-transport', 'environment/flooding', 'environment/environment', 'environment/environment-agency', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/stevenmorris', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2024-01-03T11:04:04Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
commentisfree/2017/jul/27/only-whales-left-in-museums-natural-history-museum-hope | At this rate the only whales left for us to wonder at will be in museums | Philip Hoare | Hope, the name given to the Natural History Museum’s newly articulated blue whale, diving over visitors in a sublime spectacle, is already starting to look like a forlorn gesture. Last week, shortly after the exquisitely beautiful specimen was unveiled with determined optimism by Sir David Attenborough and the Duchess of Cambridge, news came in of the death of yet another North Atlantic right whale off the coast of Canada – the eighth carcass to be found since June. This species is perhaps one of the most endangered animals in the world, with fewer than 530 individuals left alive. Such a toll may be unsustainable for the future of the right whale – especially if any of those eight individuals were breeding females. Many appear to have been hit by ships or become entangled in fishing gear: casualties of human activity. As one Canadian whale rescue team member, Jerry Conway, observed, this is an unprecedented event. “The number of deaths haven’t been seen like this since the days of whaling”. The deaths of such huge animals – like the 29 sperm whales that died on North Sea coasts last year – are inevitably seen as symbolic of nature perverted. There’s a powerful disconnect between the gesture of magnificent display in a London museum – already being admired by huge crowds and visitors to the museum’s whale exhibition – and the fate awaiting the living animals. It is the spectacle to which we are drawn, almost in spite of ourselves. Two hundred years before Hope was reassembled as a new emblem, another blue whale went on show in London. In 1828, the 95ft skeleton of a female blue whale, found off the coast of Ostend, was brought to Charing Cross and ceremoniously installed in a “wondrous lengthy booth” – a kind of gigantic garage or shed – where Londoners paid a shilling each to view it. Like today’s visitors to Hope, they entered “a tomb / A sort of bed-crib, sleeping room / For what they call – a Whale” – as if they were latter-day Jonahs. Inside its rib cage they found a library of relevant texts, and could quaff wine while being entertained by a 24-piece orchestra. (The skeleton still survives, on display in St Petersburg’s zoological institute.) For an era yet to be enlightened by Darwin, this “wonder of the deep” incited sensation and superstition. Nearly 20 years before, in 1809, an only slightly smaller fin whale had been speared to death off Gravesend and dragged on shore, where its rotting carcass was displayed until the Times raised objections to the stink. The sense of human domination was echoed by another display, a few miles upriver in the Soho shop of William Blake’s brother, of Blake’s mystical painting that he titled “The spiritual form of Nelson guiding Leviathan, in whose wreathings are infolded the Nations of the Earth” – as if the recently deceased national hero’s feats might include the posthumous summoning and conquering of the whale. And 20 years after the Charing Cross whale came another fin whale, in 1849 – killed off Grays, in Essex, and promptly celebrated as the “Prince of Whales”. It was an additionally interesting spectacle to a young American author who arrived in London that month: Herman Melville, who was even mulling over the monstrous white whale, Moby Dick, which he was about to commemorate. Even further back, other stranded whales that had the misfortune to visit London acquired a parabolic power. In 1658 a North Atlantic right whale – ancestor of that currently endangered species, and far from home – was harpooned off Deptford, and its bloody death (the diarist John Evelyn recorded its death throes, and afterwards examined the carcass with a scientific eye) was seen as an augury of the death, a day later, of the lord protector, Oliver Cromwell – a tyrant to many. What will the skeleton of Hope represent 100, or even 500 years, hence? Certainly an emptiness. More than a million great whales died in the culls of the 20th century, when factory ships efficiently deprived the Southern Ocean of blue and fin whales that the whaling ships of Melville’s day had been too slow to hunt. Our descendants, living with the effects of the sixth great extinction, may peer up at those bones and see a mirror of our legacy, in the absence of its living counterparts. “The eyes of an animal when they consider a man are attentive and wary,” John Berger wrote. “Man becomes aware of returning the look. The animal scrutinises him across a narrow abyss of non-comprehension.” But will there be an animal left to return the gaze? • Philip Hoare’s RISINGTIDEFALLINGSTAR is published by 4th Estate | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'environment/whales', 'environment/cetaceans', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/environment', 'culture/natural-history-museum', 'science/science', 'culture/museums', 'culture/culture', 'tone/comment', 'uk/uk', 'uk/london', 'type/article', 'profile/philip-hoare', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-opinion'] | environment/marine-life | BIODIVERSITY | 2017-07-27T14:49:04Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2015/mar/03/wei-hock-soon-climate-change-denier-grants-exxon-mobil | Energy company could end funding for climate change denier | Funders appear to be backing away from a prominent climate change denier who may have failed to disclose that his peer-reviewed articles were funded with grants from petroleum companies. On Monday, the scientist defended accepting the grants through one of the largest climate denial lobbying groups in the United States, even as former donors are discontinuing contracts. Documents obtained by Greenpeace showed that Dr Wei-Hock “Willie” Soon, who worked at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, accepted $1.25m in funding from companies such as Exxon Mobil and the industry group American Petroleum Institute. On Monday, Soon defended his record through the Heartland Institute, a group that lobbies against climate change initiatives and one of the scientist’s most avid supporters. “In recent weeks I have been the target of attacks in the press by various radical environmental and politically motivated groups,” said Soon in a statement released on Monday on Heartland’s website. “This effort should be seen for what it is: a shameless attempt to silence my scientific research and writings, and to make an example out of me as a warning to any other researcher who may dare question in the slightest their fervently held orthodoxy of anthropogenic global warming.” The Heartland Institute has framed the debate as a partisan issue, blaming the American left for attempting to discredit a scientist who questions accepted science. Heartland’s president, Joseph L Bast, has gone so far as to call critics “ethically challenged and mental midgets”. This logic will probably ring hollow for scientists who, for years, have worked to build evidence of climate change while denial groups and conservative politicians attempted to discredit them. Soon’s statement on Monday came as clean energy advocates questioned whether one company, electric utility Southern Company, had any business funding research when it could have used the cash to reduce ratepayers’ bills. Southern granted Soon $409,000, according to the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. Southern Company said on Tuesday that it “funds a broad range of research on a matter of topics that have potentially significant public policy implications for our business”. “While the scientific and political discussions on climate change continue, Southern Company is focused on researching, developing and deploying innovative energy technologies to deliver clean, safe, reliable and affordable electricity to customers.” • This story was amended on 3 March to correctly reflect Southern Company’s position on funding energy research. | ['environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'us-news/us-news', 'us-news/us-politics', 'world/world', 'environment/climate-change-scepticism', 'business/oilandgascompanies', 'business/oil', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/jessica-glenza'] | environment/climate-change-scepticism | CLIMATE_DENIAL | 2015-03-03T21:11:42Z | true | CLIMATE_DENIAL |
environment/2008/may/22/ethicalliving.carbonfootprints | The green room: Michael Reynolds, radical architect | What is your biggest guilty green secret? I like bacon. I eat it whenever I can get it. But obviously any kind of meat leans on the side of not being too perfect. Do you know your carbon footprint? No, but it's got to be pretty reasonable. I live in one of my "earthships" [a home made from recycled materials and powered by renewable energy] in New Mexico. They are all about living as close to being as carbon neutral as possible. For example, in the future we're going to be putting a household plant for making biodiesel into every earthship, so they'll not only produce their own hot water and power and dispose of their own sewage, but they'll also produce their own fuel. What was the last green thing you did? I have to say this whole green thing is a little bit hard for me. In the 60s every-one talked about love and peace but no one really knew what it meant. Now they talk about green, so that if you've put up a shelf made out of recycled wood, you're green. Green for me is just too light a word for what we need. We need something much more radical. What is your favourite green habit? Bashing greens. What wakes you up in the night? Everything I'm doing is pretty unorthodox and unconventional. I'm always out on a limb financially and I guess that is sometimes hard. What skill do you have for a post-oil world? I'm already living in one. They should be teaching this stuff to children along with writing and arithmetic. Most people in their 40s and 50s just don't seem to accept that this is happening, but we need everyone to move radically in a different direction. What would you save, apart from your family and friends, come the floods? Well, I see those floods coming now. I am trying to get as many people as possible into the lifeboats. · Garbage Warrior, a film about Michael Reynolds' long-running campaign to get earthships built all over the world, is being shown at the ICA in London from tomorrow to June 12. ica.org.uk · Post questions and answers to Ask Leo The Guardian, 119 Farringdon Road, London EC1 3ER Fax: 020-7713 4366. Email: ethical.living@theguardian.com Please include your address and telephone number | ['environment/ethical-living', 'environment/carbonfootprints', 'environment/environment', 'environment/series/greenroom', 'tone/interview', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'type/article', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/g2', 'theguardian/g2/features'] | environment/carbonfootprints | EMISSIONS | 2008-05-21T23:06:17Z | true | EMISSIONS |
news/2018/jun/01/weatherwatch-traffic-jams-in-the-jet-stream | Weatherwatch: traffic jams in the jet stream | Meanders, loops in the jet stream stretching hundreds of miles, can prevent weather systems from their natural progression eastwards. This effect, known as blocking, can cause conditions to stay fixed for days or weeks, producing extreme weather. Blocking brought us the sweltering summer of 1976, the bitter winter of 1962-3, and contributed to the cold spell this March. Such blocks are extremely hard to predict, but a new study from the University of Chicago published in this month’s Science magazine suggests that they can be treated, mathematically at least, as resembling traffic flow. The study, “Atmospheric blocking as a traffic jam in the jet stream” suggests that the jet stream has a limited capacity. When it gets close to this capacity the jet stream slows. Too many cars trying to get on to the motorway can bring the whole thing to a crawl. When the jet stream gets close to capacity it meanders, and blocking results. The new model may not help to predict blocking in the short term, but should improve meteorologists’ models of how often blocking patterns occur. The researchers suggest that in some regions climate change will result in more blocks, and hence more spells of extreme weather. | ['news/series/weatherwatch', 'science/science', 'science/meteorology', 'world/natural-disasters', 'uk/weather', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/davidhambling', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-weather'] | news/series/weatherwatch | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2018-06-01T20:30:00Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
artanddesign/2020/jun/27/before-and-after-the-drought-how-one-australian-family-farm-sprang-back-to-life-in-pictures | Before and after the drought: how one Australian family farm sprang back to life - in pictures | Somewhere in Benjamin Wild’s photographs of Gradgery Cemetery, there’s a metaphor of loss, despair and then hope that’s bursting to escape. Wild, 40, is the youngest of four to have grown up on the farm that’s been in the family for six generations and which sits across the road from those gravestones. The first non-Indigenous owner, John Wild, died in 1845 and lies in one of the graves that’s now barely visible, swamped by a burst of new pasture. Gradgery Graves Only six months ago, the headstone stood clear from the dusty ground at the end of one of the sharpest and deepest droughts in living memory. “[The graveyard’s] anchor for me both in a family and in a landscape sense. It’s where I want to be when my time comes.” The family’s Merenele property, about 130km north-west of Dubbo in central New South Wales, is on the land of the Weilwan people. With camera in hand, the cemetery is one of more than 50 locations that Wild has been returning to in around the family farm since 2016, capturing the place’s journey into drought and then its spectacular road out – a journey not quite complete. Merenele House “You find yourself in the same positions – you go through the same gates and you see the same things,” Wild says. Wild says usually the farm gets 470mm rain a year. In 2018, 178mm fell. In 2019, only 127mm fell. So far in 2020, Wild says more than 500mm has fallen on the cattle and wheat property. Photographs Wild took in December 2019 and then again in March 2020 show the area escape from a moonscape of rocks, dust and dry creek beds. The front gate of the Merenele property “It was probably the longest prolonged dry period in recorded history. We really did get to a dire situation with a lot of these townships looking at day zero and not knowing what was going to happen.” Merenele is now run by a caretaker with Benjamin’s father John, 71, and mother Vicky, 70, living in the nearby township of Warren. Benjamin Wild, an occupational therapist and poet, lives in Lismore, but goes back regularly to Merenele. The Weir “I had a really strong affinity with nature growing up,” Wild says. “I was very much attuned to it. I used to collect seeds and rocks and fill up my drawers with all the junk I found.” Benjamin was born and raised on the farm with his two older sisters Julia and Kate, and older brother Tom. “It was just a state of freedom but, on reflection, it’s growing up in a workplace. Mum and dad were always around and I’d be out shooting or doing farm work. It becomes ingrained in you.” The horse paddock In a good year, the farm now runs more than 400 Shorthorn Charolais cross cows but by December 2019 as Benjamin returned for Christmas, they had de-stocked to 50. He remembers taking a picture as he entered one of the property’s main grazing paddocks, with a cow in the foreground. “That was a horrible day – hot and windy. We were out feeding all day and it was filthy. It would blow a dog off a chain,” he says. “That day showed just how bad it could get. Dad has been out there all his life and it’s rare that the ground gets stripped back to the bone.” The farm faced a bill of about $10,000 every six weeks just to feed the cattle. “The biggest commitment is just keeping everything alive,” Benjamin says. Wild’s photographs show the paddocks returning to life, and the creeks and rivers of the property and other spots close by filling with rain. Near Pilliga Marthaguy Creek that forms the eastern boundary of the property was a place Wild watched black cockatoos and water rats play. He doesn’t see those anymore. “The saddest thing has been the numbers of tree deaths over recent years. That stands out for me.” Wild says the region has always had variable weather – with cycles of wet and dry – but he feels something has changed. “I feel like a tourist in my own town because I go back and see these extreme changes. It would always get to 38 or 40 degrees (centigrade) in the late summer, but recently it’s been getting up into the 45s and 47s for extended periods. “I hear the climate change denial in people, and I ask them when was the last time the Arctic and Antarctic was melting?” | ['artanddesign/photography', 'artanddesign/artanddesign', 'environment/drought', 'culture/culture', 'environment/environment', 'environment/water', 'type/article', 'profile/graham-readfearn', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-pictures-'] | environment/drought | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2020-06-27T00:12:06Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
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