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money/2021/oct/06/uk-petrol-prices-are-closing-in-on-all-time-high-warns-rac | UK petrol prices are closing in on all-time high, warns RAC | Petrol prices could reach all-time highs before Christmas, the RAC warned, signalling “misery” for motorists still reeling from the fuel shortage crisis. Amid signs that the number of petrol forecourts running dry was easing, the drivers’ organisation warned that anxiety about whether motorists could fill up their tanks was likely to be replaced by concern about how much it would cost. The average price of a full tank was already about £12 higher in September than a year earlier, the RAC said, with rising oil prices putting more upward pressure on pump prices. Both petrol and diesel had already reached levels last seen in autumn 2013 and were closing in on the all-time record set in April 2012, the RAC said. Petrol was less than 6p below the record of 142.48p a litre. Unleaded petrol rose by 1.5p in September to 136.83p a litre, 22p more expensive than last year, while diesel rose by 2.5p to 139.25p, a rise of 21p on 2020 prices. This took the cost of filling a 55-litre tank to £75.26 for petrol and £76.59 for diesel – for each about £12 more than last year. The RAC said the increases were not connected to the fuel shortages that had affected forecourts across the UK in recent weeks caused by a shortage of tanker drivers and panic-buying by motorists. The organisation instead linked the prices to the cost of oil, which increased 10% in September and moved above $80 (£57) a barrel this week. The Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs has predicted further rises, to $90 (£66), by Christmas. The RAC’s fuel spokesperson, Simon Williams, said that oil demand was outpacing supply as economies begin to pick up pace amid eased Covid restrictions, with the increase exacerbated by Opec opting not to increase oil flows significantly this week. He said: “[The trend] looks likely to spell further misery for drivers at the pumps as we head towards Christmas … If this were to happen we could see the average price of unleaded hit a new record of around 143p per litre. Diesel would shoot up to 145p, which is only 3p off the record high of 147.93 in April 2021.” Williams added that, despite a few isolated cases, more expensive pump prices were not due to retailers exploiting the fuel shortages to take advantage drivers. Shortages were easing on Tuesday, as the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) said that about 64% of fuel stations in London and south-east England, the regions worst hit by the crisis, had both petrol and diesel available; previously the figure was 62%. Just 15% were dry, an improvement on Monday’s 20%, while further 21% were offering either petrol or diesel, up from 18% a day earlier. However, the PRA executive director, Gordon Balmer, said those regions were still lagging behind the rest of the country, despite the deployment of soldiers to drive fuel tankers so as to plug a persistent shortfall of HGV drivers that had also affected supply chains in the retail and food sectors. The RAC said its breakdown service had attended 13 times as many cars that had run out of fuel as usual. Williams said: “As forecourts’ fuel stocks return to normal drivers will inevitably switch from worrying about whether they can get the petrol or diesel they need, to just how much a fill-up is costing them. “Drivers in London and the south-east will undoubtedly feel particularly hard done by as they are still experiencing problems with getting hold of fuel while also paying the highest prices in the UK.” | ['money/petrol-prices', 'uk/uk', 'money/motoring', 'environment/fossil-fuels', 'business/oil', 'business/business', 'business/retail', 'business/inflation', 'business/economics', 'business/supply-chain-crisis', 'business/commodities', 'money/money', 'business/energy-industry', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/rob-davies', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business'] | environment/fossil-fuels | EMISSIONS | 2021-10-05T23:01:09Z | true | EMISSIONS |
media/pda/2009/may/28/television-startups | Beamups launches online news marketplace for UK | The online news marketplace Beamups launches a UK version today, hoping to exploit the dire of state of the news industry by allowing producers to sell on unused and archive content. The site launched a beta for the Middle East in April and set up deals with broadcasters including the BBC, al Jazeera, ABC and Rtvi. For them, it's an opportunity to make extra money from unused footage, while buyers get one source of global, professional material. Beamups' spokeswoman told me this is essentially a business-to-business service, and though they expect that some citizen journalism to make it onto the site it isn't trying to do the same as sites Demotix, which focus very much on the amateur consumer market. Content is sold with a 40% commission to Beamups (fairly standard for B2B news content) and the seller decides the price. Terms can be for one-off use by multiple organisations or exclusively. Sellers get their own store and build up ratings much like eBay and don't have to pay a subscription to join. Beamups is fronted by former News Corp Europe senior vice president Dean Stewart, and was founded by two documentary cameramen, Boaz Eshtai and Yosi Romano - who grew tired of always having to hand over the rights to their work for the BBC, APTN, the Discovery Channel and National Geographic. Their most widely distributed work wouldn't make them a proportionate amount of money, while some of their best work would sometimes not find a suitable slot at all. "As freelance budgets and crew sizes are shrinking, we wanted to open up the news market to offer an international distribution model that gives professional journalists precious access to newsrooms around the world," said Eshtai. | ['media/pda', 'media/television', 'technology/startups', 'technology/digitalvideo', 'media/digital-media', 'media/media', 'tone/blog', 'type/article', 'profile/jemimakiss'] | technology/digitalvideo | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2009-05-28T06:00:00Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
commentisfree/2019/sep/19/greta-is-right-congress-is-ignoring-science-and-that-includes-democrats | Greta Thunberg is right. Congress is ignoring science – and that includes Democrats | Kate Aronoff | On Wednesday in a committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Greta Thunberg delivered some very brief remarks. Presenting the Congress members gathered with a special report from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released nearly a year ago, the Swedish climate activist said succinctly: “I don’t want you to listen to me, I want you to listen to the scientists. I want you to unite behind science. And then I want you to take real action.” Republicans who have accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from fossil fuel companies and electric utilities spouted their usual talking points (“We’re already doing enough!”; “What about China?”), cooked up by lobbyists in K Street boardrooms. Garret Graves – who has taken more than half a million dollars from Pacs linked to dirty energy interests during his short stint in Congress – said we need “more science, not less” and seemed to take some pleasure in lobbing similar red herrings at the youth assembled in front of him, who asked mainly that he and his colleagues begin taking the potential end of human civilization seriously. The Georgia congressman Buddy Carter went a step farther and peddled a standard denialist line: “I believe in climate change. The climate has been changing since day one … Does man have an impact? Yes, that impact might be debatable.” But many Democrats aren’t taking the science much more seriously. The IPCC report Thunberg presented does not lay out a legislative proposal, though it does set some parameters. Barring a truly miraculous level of technological advancement, if the world is to stay below 1.5C of warming, coal, oil and gas usage will have to decline by 94, 87 and 74% worldwide, respectively, by 2050 – and probably sooner in the countries such as the United States that are best positioned to transition rapidly, so as not to eat up more of the planet’s dwindling carbon budget than it already has. The world has 12 years to cut its emissions in half to keep warming below that threshold, which climate-vulnerable nations have long argued is critical to their survival. To listen to the science, as Thunberg suggests, is to reach some pretty radical conclusions. Most every elected Democrat has called for the US to recommit to the Paris agreement, but staying below the “well below 2 degrees” warming limit that document sets as its goal would require a rapid decline in the business model of the fossil fuel industry; added together, the national pledges it outlines as of now would shoot the world beyond 3 degrees of warming. Pushed by calls for a Green New Deal, those vying for the party’s nomination have by and large adopted ambitious pledges on climate – some more than others. Yet establishment Democrats in Congress are still attempting to pursue a middle ground on climate that simply doesn’t exist. On Wednesday, the 103-member New Democrat Coalition –whose Pac BP, ExxonMobil and the Edison Electric Institute have all maxed out on donations to this year – outlined a series of incremental and “pro-market” steps to curb emissions. A suite of legislation unveiled on Wednesday would do many great things, like investing in clean energy research and development via ARPA-E and limiting emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. It is not, however, a plan for fulfilling the challenge laid out by the IPCC, leaving the door open to define coal as a potential source of “clean energy” in pursuit of a “technology-neutral, market-oriented standard for electric energy generation” and providing a financial incentive for fossil fuel companies to capture carbon dioxide and funnel it back into pumping out more fossil fuels. Scientists don’t recommend a specific policy suite, but it would be hard to listen to them earnestly and reach the conclusion that you can gently nudge the fossil fuel industry toward a world warmed by less than 1.5 degrees, as New Democrats hope to. It’s also hard to square their argument that that approach would “build bipartisan consensus” with the last decade-plus of climate policymaking, where yielding off the bat to the Republicans and fossil fuel industry – boosting narrowly focused, technocratic measures – has failed to create any meaningful policy wins. The upshot? Thunberg’s right. And establishment Democrats pushing doomed strategies and policies are denying climate reality nearly as much as Republicans. Kate Aronoff is a freelance journalist focusing on US politics and the climate crisis | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'environment/greta-thunberg', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'type/article', 'tone/comment', 'profile/kate-aronoff', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-opinion'] | environment/greta-thunberg | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2019-09-19T14:49:18Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
business/2023/may/24/severn-trent-dividend-exceeds-260m-amid-rising-anger-over-sewage-pollution | Severn Trent dividend exceeds £260m amid rising anger over sewage pollution | Severn Trent has increased its dividend to more than £260m, despite growing public anger over payments made by water suppliers to their shareholders and executives, as companies come under increasing pressure to tackle leaks and sewage pollution of rivers and seas. The rise in the water company’s investor payout came as it reported a small increase in profit for the past year and forecast strong earnings growth for the coming year. Severn Trent admitted that it, and the water industry, should have “acted faster” and given more attention to sewage discharge into waterways. The company said it had made improvements to the amount of water lost through leaks, complaints about water quality, persistent low pressure and pollution, but added that external sewer flooding was a “key focus area”. One of Britain’s largest water companies, supplying customers in England and Wales, Severn Trent said it intended to raise its final dividend to 64.09p a share from 61.28p a year earlier. The increase will take the total amount paid out by Severn Trent to its shareholders over the past year to nearly £1.07 a share, up from £1.02 a year earlier. The total payout amounts to £261m, up from £255m in 2022, which the company said was in line with its policy of increasing dividends by at least CPIH inflation, which also includes owner occupiers’ housing costs. The UK’s water companies will pay an estimated £14.7bn in dividends by the end of this decade, according to analysis for the Guardian, at the same time as making customers pay for new investment to stop the flow of sewage pollution into the country’s waterways. Severn Trent, which has more than 8 million customers, supplies water across a region stretching from the Bristol Channel to the Humber and from mid-Wales to Rutland in the east Midlands. The FTSE 100 company, which has its headquarters in Coventry, reported a 0.5% increase in pre-tax profit to just under £509m for the year to 31 March, as a result of robust consumption by households and businesses. Severn Trent is anticipating strong earnings growth this year thanks to a reduction of up to a fifth in the amount of interest it has to pay, which it believes should speed up further the following year as energy bills and costs linked to inflation come down. Severn Trent’s chief executive, Liv Garfield, who was paid £3.9m in the year 2021-22, said the company was helping up to 50,000 customers with their bills during the cost of living crisis and would be creating up to 1,000 jobs in the region in the next couple of years. “We are expecting the biggest investment period the sector has ever seen, with a focus on water resources, improving environmental standards and on net zero,” Garfield said. The firm has forecast that its capital investment could reach between £850m and £1bn during the current financial year. The company said that “corporate costs”, which include directors’ bonuses, rose by £500,000 to £8.7m last year. However, investors will have to wait until the company publishes its annual report later this year to learn whether Garfield received a bonus. Earlier this month, three water bosses said they would forgo their bonuses amid public anger over the dumping of sewage in Britain’s rivers and water industry payouts. | ['business/severntrent', 'business/business', 'campaign/email/business-today', 'business/utilities', 'environment/rivers', 'environment/pollution', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/joanna-partridge', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business'] | environment/pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2023-05-24T14:20:09Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2014/dec/19/uks-biggest-solar-farm-connects-to-national-grid | UK's biggest solar farm connects to national grid | The biggest solar farm in the UK, capable of powering 14,000 homes, has been connected to the national grid in Oxfordshire. The 46MW Landmead solar farm, in East Hanney near Abingdon, is built on low-grade farmland used for grazing sheep, which will remain along with new wildflowers to be planted as part of efforts to improve the site’s biodiversity. In October, Liz Truss, the environment secretary, attacked solar power projects built on farmland, saying they were hitting food production and announced that farmers would lose agricultural subsidies if they allowed solar panels on farmland. Truss’s intervention comes after a decision earlier in the year by the Department of Energy and Climate Change to bring forward the end of the current subsidy regime for large solar farms, with ministers saying they wanted to see more solar on building’s rooftops and less mounted on the ground. Toddington Harper, chief executive of Belectric, the company that co-owns Landmead with First Solar, said the changes did not mean the end of such large-scale projects. “I think the changes to the subsidy scheme have certainly made life more difficult. Having said that, though they have changed the ROC scheme [Renewable Obligation Certificates, the subsidies being phased out], within the Contracts for Difference [the new subsidy scheme], there is still an opportunity to deliver projects like this for the UK,” he said. Harper pointed to Decc surveys that show solar is hugely popular with the public and argued that solar farms – which have been opposed in parts of the country, in some cases by high-profile opponents such as comedian Griff Rhys Jones – had a low impact compared with other forms of energy. “The wonderful thing about solar energy is, from a picture, it looks like a big change, but most people don’t travel around in helicopters. If you are at ground level you can’t even see the solar farm behind the hedge, because it’s 2.2m high. People driving by wouldn’t even know it’s there,” he said. The company has 10 solar farms in the UK, which it says are enough to power 40,000 homes a year, with another 10 in progress, though not on the scale of Landmead which is about 5MW larger than the UK’s previous biggest solar farm. About 200 people were employed during the project’s construction phase. The new farm is built on grade three agricultural land – the middle ranking out of the 1-5 scale for quality of soil – which the company says has a history of not draining well and therefore not good for growing crops. “With Liz Truss, one week she was saying shouldn’t take away land from agriculture use, which isn’t what we’re doing. Then a week later, she published a report about bees, saying they should be treated like Premiership footballers, and that’s exactly what we do [on our solar farms]. We have beehives on our solar farms and plant a lot of wild flowers,” said Harper. Landmead will not carry the title of largest for long – it will be eclipsed by a 49.9MW solar farm at a former RAF site in Norfolk that has been given the planning green light, with construction starting in 2015. | ['environment/solarpower', 'environment/environment', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'uk/uk', 'environment/energy', 'business/business', 'business/energy-industry', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/adam-vaughan'] | environment/solarpower | ENERGY | 2014-12-19T16:25:58Z | true | ENERGY |
uk-news/undercover-with-paul-lewis-and-rob-evans/2015/jan/30/doreen-lawrence-to-speak-at-conference-on-police-spying-corruption-and-racism | Doreen Lawrence to speak at conference on police spying, corruption and racism | Doreen Lawrence, the mother of murdered teenager Stephen, is due to speak next week at a conference that will put police corruption, spying and racism under the microscope. She is among a series of individuals who are to speak at the two-day conference in London. The peer is due to talk about the public inquiry that has been set up by home secretary Theresa May into undercover policing and the infiltration of political groups. May ordered the inquiry after an independent review found that undercover police had spied on Stephen Lawrence’s family. The conference will also examine how undercover police secretly gathered intelligence over two decades on 17 other families fighting the police to get justice. The intelligence covering high-profile campaigns was collected between the mid-1980s and 2005, and included grieving families whose relatives had been murdered or had died after contact with the police. Relatives of two families are also due to speak at the conference - Sukhdev Reel, whose 20-year-old son Ricky was found dead in a river after he was abused by racists, and Lee Lawrence, the son of Cherry Groce who was shot and paralysed by police in a bungled raid on her home. Also speaking is Janet Alder, the sister of ex-paratrooper Christopher who died on the floor of a police station, and who was allegedly placed under “improper surveillance” by police. On the bill is Rosa Curling, the lawyer representing Peter Francis, the former undercover officer who has blown the whistle on the activities of the police spies. He has revealed, among other things, how his superiors asked him to collect intelligence on black justice campaigns while he infiltrated anti-racist groups. Also speaking are Helen Steel, who was deceived into having a two-year relationship with undercover officer John Dines, and Harriet Wistrich, the lawyer representing a group of women who are suing police over relationships they had with undercover police. I am also due to describe how undercover police officers have infiltrated and disrupted political groups since 1968. Comedian and journalist Mark Thomas will explain how a campaigner he thought was a friend turned out to be a spy hired by arms giant BAE. The organisers say :”The conference takes as its starting point that there is a profound crisis in policing across the UK that requires us to share information and experiences, develop ideas and create new partnerships that will spur a momentum for genuine state accountability.” The conference will be discussing a series of issues such as stop and search, and racial profiling. The full line-up of speakers - which can be found here - include professors Gus John and Ben Bowling, Courtney Griffiths QC, Lee Jasper, Stafford Scott and Suresh Grover. The conference is on Friday February 6 and Saturday February 7 - people can sign up for two days or just one. It will be held at Conway Hall in central London. Ironically it is a venue that has often been visited by undercover officers when they took part in political meetings to keep up the pretence that they were committed campaigners. Francis attended a conference of left-wing activists in the 1990s, mid-way through his undercover deployment. This photograph (here) taken by Special Branch shows him emerging from Conway Hall when police were carrying out surveillance of political activists attending a conference there. Another undercover officer has described spotting a colleague from his covert unit at the same meeting as he was, and congratulating him afterwards for being so convincing in his fake persona of an activist. The conference is organised by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, Imran Khan and Partners solicitors, the Monitoring Group and Tottenham Rights, and sponsored by the Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance. | ['uk/undercover-with-paul-lewis-and-rob-evans', 'uk/undercover-police-and-policing', 'uk/lawrence', 'uk/peter-francis', 'uk/police', 'uk/london', 'uk/metropolitan-police', 'uk/ukcrime', 'world/race', 'world/surveillance', 'environment/activism', 'world/protest', 'world/world', 'uk/uk', 'law/law', 'uk/doreen-lawrence', 'politics/theresamay', 'world/espionage', 'lifeandstyle/relationships', 'business/baesystems', 'culture/mark-thomas', 'type/article', 'tone/blog', 'profile/robevans'] | environment/activism | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2015-01-30T11:13:46Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
sustainable-business/2015/jan/29/businesses-learn-language-of-natural-capital-2015 | Can businesses learn to speak the language of natural capital in 2015? | There’s a language barrier wedged between our current economic system and the natural world. Most financial models value essential natural components such as water and air quality at zero, or “free”, when accounting for profits and losses. This makes it difficult for ecologists, policymakers and environmental groups to communicate the case for greater investment in protecting them. They struggle to speak the language of capitalism and, as a result, demands for growth are prioritised over the protection of natural assets. It’s a problem that the theory of natural capital claims to solve. By translating our ecosystem into financial values that the business world can easily digest, natural capital evaluations are designed to encourage organisations to preserve the environmental resources their operations depend upon, making better decisions for both their own sustainable growth and the long-term health of our planet. In a relatively short time, the concept has captured the imagination of environmental, business and political groups. But some campaigners believe that there is a fundamental flaw in the language and logic of the natural capital movement: by putting a price on nature you risk opening it up to further market commodification. Pavan Sukhdev, the environmental economist who led a global study on the economics of ecosystems and biodiversity, believes this is a fundamental misreading of the concept which conflates placing a value on something with putting a price tag on it. “The deep green people who have an issue with the language of natural capital are actually making the same jump from value to commodification that they state that they don’t want ... They’ve equated one with the other,” he says. In recent years, pioneering approaches to natural capital by companies such as General Mills and Puma have shown how the concept might actually work in practice. In 2011, Puma became the first company to establish an environmental profit and loss account, which measured the financial value of ecosystem services to Puma’s entire business, from the production of raw materials through to the point of sale. Puma’s parent company, Kering, now plans to establish a similar account across the group by 2016. Other companies have followed suit, including Yorkshire Water, which developed a profit and loss approach with Trucost, which helps companies identify the hidden costs of unsustainable use of natural resources. Monetary values were applied to quantify how negative environmental impacts such as water abstraction and waste disposal, and benefits such as operational energy recovery techniques, affect the balance sheet. Yorkshire Water believes this process has helped board members, suppliers, customers and other parties to better understand the company’s important environmental role. This year looks set to be a pivotal one for the development of natural capital. The Natural Capital Committee, an independent body that advises the UK government on the state of the country’s natural resources, is due to publish its third annual report in the next few months. It is also trialling an experimental accounting framework that organisations can use to put a value on the resources they use and their impacts on the natural environment. Meanwhile, the European Commission’s Natural Capital Accounting programme is developing its own framework to help companies determine what form of natural capital accounting to adopt, and the global multi-stakeholder Natural Capital Coalition is working on a natural capital protocol. Then there’s the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s Ecosystem Valuation Initiative. Although all these initiatives could help to address gaps in reporting mechanisms, skills and standards, some observers fear that their proliferation risks muddying the waters, potentially leading to government developing one set of metrics while businesses work with another. It could also prove overwhelming, discouraging some businesses from engaging with natural capital. “They’re waiting to see which one of them becomes de facto,” explains Stephanie Hime, lead specialist in natural capital at accountancy firm KPMG. She says it is crucial to keep the financial community engaged with the concept as it develops or there is a risk that “sooner or later you will find two groups of people talking about money in a way that is overly complicated, to the point where you’ll be comparing valuations that shouldn’t really be compared, and the financial community ultimately reject what’s been developed”. The Natural Capital Coalition aims to build on existing valuation methods rather than develop new ones. Richard Mattison, chief executive of Trucost, believes there are signs of increasing overlap elsewhere. “There is collaboration between the World Bank Waves [Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services] programme and the Natural Capital Coalition, which is great because hopefully we’ll be able to harmonise measures of how you account for GDP adjusted for nature with measures of how you account for profit adjusted for nature,” he says. “And ultimately that is really where we need to get to.” Although natural capital has hurdles to overcome, Sukhdev is convinced it will become mainstream business practice in time. “My only fear is that people should not lose a sense of purpose – as in, what is this for?” he says. “We’re doing this in order to ultimately conserve the underlying natural fabric which feeds our society, feeds human beings and keeps the surface of the earth alive.” • What’s your approach to natural capital? Click here to enter the Guardian Sustainable Business Awards 2015. The business futures hub is funded by The Crystal. All content is editorially independent except for pieces labelled “brought to you by”. Find out more here. This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. Become a GSB member to get more stories like this direct to your inbox. | ['sustainable-business/series/business-futures', 'sustainable-business/sustainable-business', 'business/business', 'business/accountancy', 'business/financial-sector', 'business/corporate-governance', 'environment/corporatesocialresponsibility', 'environment/environment', 'environment/conservation', 'business/commodities', 'tone/features', 'type/article', 'profile/duncan-jefferies'] | environment/corporatesocialresponsibility | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2015-01-29T07:00:25Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
society/2005/jan/06/internationalaidanddevelopment.spam | Charity donors hit by new email scam | A new breed of email scams is exploiting the generosity of people who have rushed online to donate money to the relief effort, an internet watchdog warned last night. The first of the tsunami cons have already hit inboxes in America and Britain. One is a modification of the classic Nigerian scam letter, but another is a more sophisticated phishing operation, in which potential donors receive an email luring them into making donations to a fake website. The watchdog, SurfControl, urged people to use official channels, such as the Disasters Emergency Committee's website at www.dec.org.uk, and not to respond to emails asking them to donate money. "Just as your bank would never email you asking for your account details, people like the DEC are not going to email you asking you for money," said Martino Corbelli, marketing director of SurfControl. "If in doubt, telephone the charity direct and check." The first phishing, or "brand-spoofing", tsunami scam was detected in the US. When users open a link to a website where they can supposedly make donations, they unwittingly download a spyware programme, which can give spammers access to confidential data on the victim's hard drive. A more familiar spam based on the Nigerian scam features a man called Marco Nullamento, who emails with a tragic tale of the death of his parents in the tsunami. Claiming his parents' grocery store in Banda Aceh was wiped out, he asks for help in moving an inheritance of €3.2m (£2.25m) from a bank account in the Netherlands into a disaster relief fund. "Even though most people know it is a scam, if the con men email one million people, all it takes is for one hapless person to respond and they are already making a profit," said Mr Corbelli. | ['global-development/global-development', 'technology/spam', 'world/tsunami2004', 'technology/internet', 'technology/technology', 'uk/uk', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'profile/patrickbarkham'] | world/tsunami2004 | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2005-01-06T00:44:30Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
news/2012/nov/30/weatherwatch-volcano-ash-winter-eruption | Weatherwatch: Would modern humans survive a volcanic winter? | Some 74,000 years ago an Indonesian super-volcano exploded, blanketing the planet in a thick cloud of ash, and plunging our ancestors into a decade long volcanic winter, followed by centuries of cool climate. Or did it? The impact of this mega-eruption is heavily debated by scientists, but new ice core evidence suggests that Toba didn't chill the world quite as much as we thought. Toba's ash has never been found in polar ice cores, but now Anders Svensson, from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, and his colleagues, found traces of Toba in Greenland and Antarctica, by measuring acidity levels in the ice. In both ice cores the scientists found four acidic spikes within a few hundred years, caused by volcano-induced acid rain. Possibly this means that Toba erupted four times in quick succession, or that another very large tropical volcano was erupting around the same time. Regardless of the number of eruptions, the width of the acid rain spikes show that the climate bounced back to normal after just a few years each time. "A long-term global winter seems out of the question," says Svensson. This lesser catastrophe fits with archaeological evidence from India, which shows that our ancestors survived the mega-eruption, despite being blanketed by ash. Without doubt there will be another super-volcanic eruption one day. That Toba was not as devastating as previously thought is somewhat reassuring, though whether we'd be as resilient as our ancestors remains to be seen. | ['news/series/weatherwatch', 'tone/features', 'world/volcanoes', 'world/natural-disasters', 'type/article', 'profile/kate-ravilious', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2'] | news/series/weatherwatch | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2012-11-30T22:30:01Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2022/aug/17/ants-can-beat-pesticides-helping-farmers-grow-healthy-crops-study-aoe | Ants can be better than pesticides for growing healthy crops, study finds | Ants can be more effective than pesticides at helping farmers produce food, according to new research. They are better at killing pests, reducing plant damage and increasing crop yields, according to the first systematic review of ants’ contributions to crop production. Ants are generalist predators and hunt pests that damage fruits, seeds and leaves, leading to a drop in crop yields. A greater diversity of ants generally provides more protection against a wider range of pests, the study found. The analysis looked at 17 crops, including citrus, mango, apple and soya bean in countries including the US, Australia, the UK and Brazil. “In general, with proper management, ants can be useful pest controls and increase crop yield over time. Some ant species have similar or higher efficacy than pesticides, at lower costs,” researchers wrote in the paper published in Proceedings of Royal Society B. The Brazilian team looked at 26 species, most of them tree ants, which nest on plants or the ground but often climb plants. They found ants do best in diversified farming systems such as agroforestry (where trees and crops are grown on the same land) and shade-grown crops because there are more nesting sites and food resources for them. Lead researcher Dr Diego Anjos, from the Federal University of Uberlândia, said: “Our study encourages farmers to use more sustainable practices such as biological control provided by ants and practices of shaded crops as a way to naturally promote ants in crop systems.” The role of ants in agriculture is not yet completely clear because they can also be a problem. Pests such as mealybugs, aphids and whiteflies, which produce a sugary water called honeydew, are generally more common when ants are around. This is because the ants feed on honeydew, and so essentially “farm” aphids like livestock, protecting them from predators in return. Researchers say nature-friendly management practices such as providing an alternative source of sugars (on the ground, near a tree’s trunk or on its branches) can interrupt this relationship. The ants are distracted and can continue to reduce the number of other pests such as caterpillars and beetles, which do not produce honeydew. The paper looked at most insect species that are considered pests around the world, covering 30 species across 52 studies. The data came from studies comparing groups of plants with ants set against plants where the ants were removed (mechanically or chemically), which strongly indicates the ants were responsible for the changes observed. There are more ants than any other insect, making up half of the planet’s insect biomass. There are at least 14,000 known species of ant, with many more likely to remain unknown. Citrus growers in China have used ants in farming for centuries, and the insects have also been used to help control forest pests in Canada, cocoa pests in Ghana and crop pests in Nigeria. Ants found in the Pacific islands of Fiji can cultivate and grow at least six species of plant, as part of a mutually beneficial relationship that dates back 3 million years, according to research published in Nature. Dr Patrick Milligan, from the University of Nevada Pringle Lab, was not involved in the study but said the findings were “both heartening and not at all surprising”. He added: “They offer a neat and tidy description of ant-derived benefits that are ubiquitous across ecological and agricultural systems. “This is essentially another option in our farming toolset that can allow agriculture to move away from pesticides – which really damage neighbouring insect communities – but still improve crop yields.” Prof Adam Hart from the University of Gloucestershire, also not involved in the research, said it was confirmation of the important role ants have as pest controllers. “Many of us have been talking about ants as natural pest controllers. But, as with anything, it is usually more complex than we think once we start digging deeper. “The research suggests it may be profitable to move ant colonies into crop areas, and to do things to encourage the presence of ants. However, we need to be cautious – it isn’t all ants, or all crop systems, and they can have a cost. It’s all about developing a greater understanding of how ants interact with crop pests and other organisms. “A big take-home message for me is that we need to understand even more about fine-scale interactions if we are to farm better. In other words, we need more ecologists.” Find more age of extinction coverage here, and follow biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield on Twitter for all the latest news and features | ['environment/series/the-age-of-extinction', 'environment/environment', 'environment/pesticides', 'environment/farming', 'environment/wildlife', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/phoebe-weston', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/global-development'] | environment/series/the-age-of-extinction | BIODIVERSITY | 2022-08-17T07:21:10Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2009/jul/23/japanese-knotweed-bug-control | Bug brings hope for fight against Japanese knotweed | It arrived quietly nearly 200 years ago and now threatens numerous British plants, allotments, gardens, pavements, buildings, railways and water courses. Japanese knotweed - capable of growing 3 metres in as many months - costs a fortune to control and has so far resisted attempts to stem its relentless progress. Now researchers are sending for help to Japan, the knotweed's homeland, for a tiny bug that depends on the plant for its lifecycle. They work for Cabi, an international agricultural research body, which has been studying how Aphalara itadori, named after its host plant, might provide a solution. Authorities in England and Wales are consulting the public on whether they should issue licences allowing the release of the bugs, alien to Britain, to see whether they can make such a meal of the dreaded knotweed that they stop its seemingly inexorable march. The bugs suck the sap during their immature, nymph stage. Dick Shaw, one of those involved in the project, told Radio 4's Today programme that the bugs made the weed stunted and less competitive. "It is the only long-term, sustainable solution we can see. We can't continue what we are doing and doing nothing is not an option … It is not in the interests of a biocontrol agent to kill its host because then it loses its food so it tends to just suppress it." He said the bug had "gone through very thorough pest risk analysis which is more than can be said about other invasive [species]". Cabi says the sap-sucker emerged as the best option from more than 200 such control agents studied over six years. Tests had been made on 90 other plants, including related native species, crops and ornamental species, to check the bug did not take a liking to them too. Previous attempts at biological controls have a mixed track record. The cane toad was introduced to Australia to control pest beetles in 1935 - against scientists' recommendations - and is now a voracious threat to much else. The harlequin ladybird was introduced in several European countries for biological control before it managed to cross the Channel and threaten British ladybirds. | ['environment/environment', 'lifeandstyle/gardens', 'science/science', 'environment/biodiversity', 'environment/plants', 'science/biology', 'uk/uk', 'world/japan', 'world/world', 'tone/news', 'world/asia-pacific', 'type/article', 'profile/jamesmeikle', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews'] | environment/biodiversity | BIODIVERSITY | 2009-07-23T11:09:57Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
world/2005/jan/03/tsunami2004.internationalaidanddevelopment | Press review: 'Let no vultures pilfer aid' | Hindu Editorial, India, January 1 "If there were doubts before, the tsunami of December 26 2004 has swept them away. More than 100,000 people in a number of Asian countries have been killed by the monstrous waves, millions have been made homeless, and the economic cost of the destruction has been staggering ... Not having an effective warning system in place is therefore no longer an option ... Countries in and around the Pacific have been developing and improving a tsunami warning system over the past four decades, and an international organisation exists to coordinate these efforts ... But the methods developed for the Pacific will need to be adapted to the conditions in other oceans ... "As a moral imperative, India needs to commit itself immediately to ... a high-grade warning system, and find the resources for it, in memory of the thousands who died for want of such a system." Jakarta Post Editorial, December 31 "A deluge unseen in our lifetime swept away more than 100,000 lives, about half of them Indonesians, and the death toll sadly keeps climbing. The horror is indescribable. It is impossible to shed enough tears for the loss and suffering the people of Aceh and North Sumatra have and will continue to endure. The few who have visited the disaster area have returned solemn and speechless. "Amid the stories of horror we can take comfort in small miracles. Tales of fortunate survivors and families reunited. Unprompted, people have rushed to help in whatever way they can. A remarkable sense of unity and camaraderie has descended on all Indonesians; a brotherhood of suffering undivided by distance or ideology." New Straits Times Editorial, Malaysia, January 2 "Indonesia estimates [its] death toll could top 100,000 ... Aceh's calamity is a double whammy. It was the worst affected and also the slowest reached. As the throngs of foreign tourists caught out in the resorts of Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Maldives galvanised international attention, the fate of a part of the region that few cared to visit was at first overlooked ... Aid has started to arrive in considerable quantity but is being held back by logistical difficulties ... "The US and Australia have pledged assistance, Singapore has offered its port for relief operations and Indonesia is being upwardly prioritised in the UN-coordinated global effort ... Millions in donations have been collected by the hour; total receipts have exceeded $1.6bn [£830m]. In this moment of need and an overwhelming popular desire to meet the challenge, it is the governments who stand to fall short." Sunday Observer Editorial, Sri Lanka, January 2 "In the wake of the unprecedented tsunami disaster ... the international community has come in a major way not only to provide urgent relief to the victims but has also expressed its determination to assist us in the massive rehabilitation and reconstruction effort ... "The UN and its various agencies, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have instantly reacted to the tragedy and have sent advance teams to assess the requirements ... The US, China, India, Pakistan, Japan, Russia, Germany, France, Britain, Korea and many more countries have already sent assistance and have pledged much more ... "We call upon the government to ensure that this massive flow of international aid goes to the needy and these funds are properly utilised, that no vultures are allowed to pilfer them and no political strings are attached in their distribution." Bangkok Post Editorial, Thailand, January 2 "In the week since [the tsunami] the situation is growing more and more deadly in many of the hit areas ... Shortages of food and shelter and the possibility that pooled water left from the floods will breed swarms of malaria-carrying mosquitoes present serious health hazards. But the lack of clean drinking water is the greatest of the many threats facing the survivors ... "The outpouring of assistance from around the world is truly comforting, and it will be needed for a long while. Fresh water is being shipped in massive quantities to the disaster areas, as are water purification devices and chemicals. But clearly the best course for the future is to be better able to deal with large-scale disasters when they strike. This should include setting up caches of fresh water which are sealed from the environment, to be tapped in emergency situations ... All communities, too, should have access to heavy duty water filtration machinery." Sopon Onkgara Nation, Thailand, January 2 "This is not a time for recriminations. But any natural calamity of gigantic proportions requires a thorough postmortem study to determine what went wrong, particularly with our rescue and relief capabilities and readiness to respond to crises ... It took a shocking increase in the death toll and hundreds of decomposing bodies to convince the [Thai] government that civilian rescue and relief work would not be able to cope with the task ... "If the crisis response had been prompt and managed the way the dumping of the origami birds by military aircraft was in early December, the outcome could have been different." | ['world/tsunami2004', 'global-development/global-development', 'world/world', 'theguardian/series/the-editor-press-review', 'type/article'] | world/tsunami2004 | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2005-01-03T01:33:46Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
australia-news/2021/nov/18/green-hydrogen-beats-blue-on-emissions-and-financial-cost-australian-study-finds | Green hydrogen beats blue on emissions and financial cost, Australian study finds | Hydrogen produced by fossil fuels is more expensive, will release more greenhouse gas emissions and comes with a greater risk of creating stranded assets, according to new research from the Australian National University. In the paper, published in the peer-reviewed engineering journal Applied Energy, researchers compared the emissions and financial cost of producing hydrogen using fossil fuels or renewable energy. “Blue hydrogen” is produced using natural gas while “green hydrogen” is made by running an electric current through water using an electrolyser powered by renewable energy such as wind or solar. “Clean hydrogen” is the term used for when carbon capture and storage is used to capture carbon dioxide emissions during the production process, similar to proposals for “clean coal”. Hydrogen has become central to the Australian government’s current proposal to reach net zero, and blue hydrogen was endorsed by Australia’s former chief scientist Dr Alan Finkel as a way to build industrial capability. But the ANU researchers found emissions from hydrogen made from fossil fuels would still be “substantial”. Researchers found current emissions estimates of CCS fail to account for fugitive emissions such as methane – a potent greenhouse gas that leaks into the atmosphere during the extraction of natural gas. These emissions are not caught by CCS and because creating hydrogen from natural gas is not totally efficient – it takes more gas to make hydrogen for energy than it would to simply burn the gas – methane emissions will continue to grow with the rate of extraction. As the rate of extraction grows to supply export markets, so will these emissions. The researchers also found the financial cost of creating blue hydrogen using CCS becomes more expensive as a plant gets closer to capturing 90% of emissions. This is because it becomes harder to capture CO2 as concentrations begin to fall. Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning Dr Fiona Beck, a co-author of the report and an engineer with the ANU Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions, said CCS requires an expensive “bespoke solution for every plant” which adds to the risk these projects may become stranded assets. “Green hydrogen is more expensive right now but it has the capacity to very quickly reduce in cost,” Beck said. “Unless we have some form of incentive for people to apply CCS, it’s never going to make sense to make blue hydrogen.” “It does beg the question who’s going to invest in blue hydrogen?” With high capture rates the researchers put the cost of producing blue hydrogen at $2.87 (US$2.09) a kilogram per tonne of CO2, while the cost of producing green hydrogen is $4.99 (US$3.64) with projections that it may come down to $2.55 (US$1.86). As the technology to create blue hydrogen has already been around for some time, it’s unlikely there will be a significant technological advance that would drive down price, as has happened with the production of solar panels. A CSIRO database tracking new hydrogen projects that have been announced or are under development records at least 65 new green hydrogen projects in Australia, compared to just three trying to create hydrogen from fossil fuels and CCS. The ANU research report is supported by other worldwide studies such as one published in September by researchers working for French energy giant Engie who found that it was already possible to produce green hydrogen for similar prices to blue hydrogen. That study found the cost of producing hydrogen from fossil fuels was between $1.34 and $2.40 a kilogram per tonne of CO2, while it was already possible in some operations to produce hydrogen made from solar power at $2.36 a kilogram. Scott Hamilton, a senior adviser to the Smart Energy Council and Hydrogen Australia, said the industry is a “long, long way” from achieving these costs across the board but it was up to the Australian government to actively support the develop of green hydrogen. “The Australian government needs to do more than have hopes and prayers and magical thinking in their modelling,” Hamilton said. “They need proper targets, proper policy actions to bring these emerging technologies to market, as they did with wind and solar 20 years ago.” Hamilton said the government was currently under-pricing blue hydrogen in its net zero modelling by assuming the price of hydrogen produced with fossil fuels to be $1.80 a kilogram, with hydrogen produced through renewable energy only becoming cost-competitive in 2030 – despite the price of natural gas growing steadily since 2015. Dr Madeline Taylor, a senior lecturer at Macquarie University’s school of law and a climate councillor at the Climate Council of Australia, said the ANU research “confirmed the business case, the commercial viability case and the policy case” for green hydrogen. “There’s a lot of money to be made but there’s also a lot of risk if we don’t do it right. If we don’t invest in the right technologies or send the right signals,” Taylor said. “If we don’t think carefully, we could be left with stranded assets. We could be left producing a product the world doesn’t want. We could be left with infrastructure that is going to fall upon the taxpayer to dismantle.” | ['australia-news/energy-australia', 'environment/hydrogen-power', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/gas', 'environment/environment', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/royce-kurmelovs', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/renewableenergy | ENERGY | 2021-11-17T16:30:41Z | true | ENERGY |
books/2007/apr/07/featuresreviews.guardianreview6 | Review: How to Live a Low-Carbon Life by Chris Goodall, and Carbon Counter by Mark Lynas | How to Live a Low-Carbon Life: The Individual's Guide to Stopping Climate Change by Chris Goodall 319pp, Earthscan, £14.99 Carbon Counter: Calculate Your Carbon Footprint by Mark Lynas 208pp, Collins Gem, £5.99 There are those of us who think that society is about to enter a new era wherein the measures of everyday life will increasingly be counted in kilograms of carbon. It might just prove capable of heading off the worst horrors of global warming. Corporations would add the value of carbon to their balance sheets, with emissions as liabilities and savings as assets. Individuals would be taxed as much on their carbon emissions as their income. If this bright-green vision of the future holds water, Chris Goodall and Mark Lynas have surely written two very timely books. Both examine what individuals can do to cut their carbon footprint. Goodall takes the detailed route, Lynas the condensed. Crucially, both have contributed valuable ammunition for those who want to do something about global warming. Goodall, a businessman who is standing for the Green party in the next election, opens with a lengthy consideration of the difficulties governments and companies face in taking the lead on global warming. He concludes that people will have to go it alone. From that position, he takes a bottom-up view premised on a calculation that the UK's total greenhouse emissions, divided by its population, entail an individual responsibility for 12.5 tonnes of greenhouse gases a year. Since stopping warming means very deep cuts in all emissions of greenhouse gases, each of us has to cut the 12.5 tonnes to 3, Goodall believes. Six tonnes of the 12.5 come from our direct emissions: the running of our homes and our average travel. Six-and-a-half tonnes come from indirect emissions on our behalf: those produced by the creation of steel, concrete, food, plastic, and the other stuff that makes up where we live, what we eat, and how we spend our time. Goodall then calculates the breakdown of direct and indirect emissions, providing useful endnotes for those intent on serious bean-counting. It is instructive to see where the main challenges lie, in order of importance. Our average 6 tonnes of direct emissions are led by 1.8 from air travel, then 1.2 from car travel, 1.2 from home heating, and 0.6 from electric appliances other than lighting, which is 0.1. Cooking, assuming that we use gas, is a surprisingly low average of 0.1. Goodall then leads us through each category and shows how and where we can cut, and how much money we save or expend along the way, until we reach his target of 3 tonnes. The big difficulty comes with air travel. Goodall has a zero-tolerance approach. If you happen to disagree, and feel you can justify - or can't avoid - a flight or two each year, he points to plenty of other opportunities to mix and match with carbon-cutting. As for frequent flying? Well, have a look at his tables and do the sums. This is a bullet we are all going to have to bite. When it comes to indirect emissions, our average 6.5 tonnes can quite feasibly be cut to zero, Goodall argues. The 6.5 tonne cut-back is led by 1.3 tonnes of emissions from preparation and delivery of the food we buy. This we can achieve by buying organic food, grown locally, and not buying processed or packaged food. Another 1.3 tonnes can come from offsetting and solar water-heating. A tonne can be saved by investing in a co-operative wind farm. And so on. Impressive as this book is, it has weaknesses. One is a misunderstanding of solar photovoltaics and its potential as a member of the carbon-cutting family. But then I would say that, wouldn't I? Lynas's book is for those with less time on their hands. It is conveniently sized to fit in the back pocket of a pair of jeans. His preferred form of carbon bean-counting is to focus on the main greenhouse gas. He takes the annual average UK per capita carbon dioxide emissions as 9.4 tonnes, and suggests we need to cut it by around 90% to 1 tonne. Lynas takes us straight into space heating, and the big scope for deep cuts. If you want to know exactly how deep your loft insulation should be, how much it will cost, and how short the payback will be, it's all there. He then moves to cars and the rest of the long list. Lynas provides useful ready reckoners: boxes to be filled in once you have checked your fuel bills and credit-card slips. His book reminds me of something I have not thought about for years: the I-Spy books of my youth. I mean this in a kind way. I could nitpick about what is counted and what is not in these two fine books. But that would be futile. The point is this. If kilograms-of-carbon-saved becomes some kind of measure of wealth and health, then Microsoft's all-embracing carbon-counting software will not be far off. Corporations might indeed add the value of carbon to their balance sheets, with emissions as liabilities and savings as assets. Individuals might indeed be taxed as much on their carbon emissions as their income (that is essentially what David Cameron proposed as his latest green policy assault on Gordon Brown last month). Employees' bonuses might indeed be based as much on the carbon they save each month as on their conventional productivity. The carbon-aware future is coming. Despite the hills of carbon beans, and the need for fairly complex spreadsheets, it is going to be nothing if not interesting. Goodall and Lynas are the pioneers, and are doing a good job of taking us with them. · Jeremy Leggett's Half Gone: Oil, Gas, Hot Air and the Global Energy Crisis is published by Portobello | ['books/books', 'environment/waste', 'books/scienceandnature', 'environment/pollution', 'environment/environment', 'tone/reviews', 'culture/culture', 'type/article', 'profile/jeremyleggett', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/guardianreview', 'theguardian/guardianreview/saturdayreviewsfeatres'] | environment/waste | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2007-04-07T22:58:11Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2012/jun/13/offshore-wind-power-cost | Offshore wind power cost 'could fall one-third by 2020' | The costs of offshore wind power generation could be brought down by one-third by the end of the decade, making this form of renewable energy commercially viable in the UK, according to new reports by the wind industry and government. The findings are the latest salvo in the fierce battle over wind power, as critics tussle with wind proponents, ministers and environmental campaigners over the role it plays in UK's energy mix, with billions of pounds of investment at stake. If realised, the steep drop in price would reduce the cost of using offshore wind by more than £3bn a year, and to generate one-fifth of the UK's electricity – in line with government targets. Ministers have said about 18GW of offshore wind capacity should be built by 2020, more than an eight-fold increase on today's capacity. But at present, offshore wind is still one of the most expensive forms of renewable power, costing up to three times higher than onshore windfarms. Offshore generation costs – of about £140/MWh today – could drop to about £100/MWh by 2020, according to the reports published on Wednesday by the Crown Estate, which sells licences to build offshore wind farms, and from the Offshore Wind Cost Reduction Task Force, set up by the Department of Energy and Climate Change with the wind industry. The high cost of offshore wind generation has been used by critics, particularly on the right of the Tory party, who have decried plans for more turbines at sea in favour of a new "dash for gas" to build a large new fleet of gas-fired power stations around the country. Gas power that started operation in 2021 would cost around £88/MWh, according to government figures. David Cameron has come under pressure to cut subsidies for both onshore and offshore wind energy generation. Charles Hendry, minister of state for energy, said lower costs would be a fillip to the technology's prospects: "Offshore wind will be a vital part of a diverse and secure low-carbon energy mix in the decades ahead – but we are clear that costs must come down. This report shows substantial cost savings can be achieved if action is taken." But these cost reductions will only come about if industry and government both make concerted efforts, the report's authors found. Maria McCaffery, chief executive of RenewableUK, said: "Driving down costs is much more than a mere aspiration – the industry is working closely with key stakeholders such as the Crown Estate to chart the course ahead, laying out action plans which are credible and achievable. This will enable the sector to grow from strength to strength – not only generating low-carbon electricity and giving us a secure supply of energy, but also creating tens of thousands of jobs and revitalising manufacturing throughout the UK." However, even if the cost reductions are achieved, offshore wind is likely to remain more expensive than other forms of power, and in need of government support in order to encourage investors. The Crown Estate said in its report that bringing down the cost as rapidly as envisaged would require bigger turbines, greater competition among suppliers, better windfarm design, economies of scale, improved installation methods, the mass production of deep water foundations, and the industry to prove it can reduce risk to investors. The advice came, however, as one major wind investor warned that uncertainty over government energy policy, and the potential for politically motivated changes to subsidy regimes, was making the UK a less attractive proposition for wind investors. Keith Anderson, chief corporate officer at Scottish Power, said that the prospect of the government meddling and making sudden changes to financial support mechanisms for the industry was in danger of spooking financial backers. "[Such changes] could set an unwelcoming precedent for the UK energy sector and potentially have an adverse effect on investor confidence at a critical time for the UK energy industry," he said. "Up until now, we have prided ourselves [in] not having to factor in political risk to our UK investment decisions, but perhaps it is something we may need to consider in the future as we seek to invest billions of pounds in offshore, onshore and marine renewable energy projects. We want to help the UK achieve its carbon reduction targets, and to do this we need certainty and consistency in energy market regulation." | ['environment/windpower', 'environment/energy', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'business/energy-industry', 'business/business', 'tone/news', 'environment/green-economy', 'type/article', 'profile/fiona-harvey'] | environment/windpower | ENERGY | 2012-06-13T13:50:11Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2023/sep/29/weather-tracker-south-africa-floods | Weather tracker: South Africa floods kill at least 11 people | Extreme rain and strong winds across South Africa’s Western Cape province have caused flooding, torn off roofs, destroyed crops and damaged roads this week. It is estimated that the 48-hour rainfall totals between Sunday and Monday were between 100mm to 200mm (4-8in) in this region. According to the Cape Town Disaster Risk Management Centre, 12,000 people were affected, but a further 80,000 people were left without electricity, according to the national power utility. The mayor of Cape Town signed a major incident declaration for additional resources and relief measures as 80 roads have been closed, 200 farm workers have been stranded and rail services have been suspended in the Western and Eastern Cape provinces. So far, there have been 11 recorded deaths, though the toll may rise as flood waters subside. Eight of the 11 deaths were caused by electrocution when waters swamped illegal connections to power lines in informal settlements in Cape Town. These connections are made in poor townships in the outskirts of the city where residents will hook their homes to existing power lines. More than 60% of the city’s new settlements are considered to be at high risk, either being situated under power lines, in wetlands, retention ponds, or in biodiversity protected areas, making residents vulnerable to extreme weather. After Greece was struck by Storm Daniel this month, Storm Elias brought more rain this week to areas that still had not recovered. The city of Volos in central Greece, with a population of about 140,000, recorded 298mm (11.7in) of rainfall in 14 hours, more than eight times the monthly average for the city. Residents were instructed to stay indoors and roads were cleared, with 80% of the city left without power. Other places that recorded high levels of rainfall were Limeni, which recorded 216mm (8.5in) in seven hours, and Istiaia, which recorded 140mm (5.5in) in 3.5 hours. The fire service in Volos said there had been no reports of deaths. | ['environment/series/weather-tracker', 'world/southafrica', 'world/greece', 'environment/flooding', 'world/extreme-weather', 'world/world', 'world/europe-news', 'environment/environment', 'world/africa', 'type/article', 'tone/analysis', 'tone/news', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-weather'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2023-09-29T07:39:29Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
books/2023/mar/01/charles-dickens-exhibition-london-fog-museum-air-pollution | Dickens exhibition to look at role of London fog in life and writings | In Our Mutual Friend, Charles Dickens described a day in London under a dark, heavy fog. “Animate London, with smarting eyes and irritated lungs, was blinking, wheezing and choking; inanimate London was a sooty spectre, divided in purpose between being visible and invisible, and so being wholly neither.” The sun “was for a few moments dimly indicated through circling eddies of fog”, wrote Dickens in what would be his last completed novel before his death in 1870. Fog – also known as “pea soupers”, “London ivy” and “London particular” – swirled through Dickens’s work, and is likely to have contributed to his own breathing problems. Later this month, it will be the subject of an exhibition at the Charles Dickens Museum. Through letters, original partworks of his writing, illustrations and domestic objects, the exhibition will illustrate the extent and impact of fog in 19th-century London, caused by burning coal in industrial and domestic settings. It will also draw parallels with contemporary issues of air pollution. “Charles Dickens was surrounded by fog his whole life. It affected him – and his characters – from childhood to his final days and became an inspiration and a looming presence in his books,” said Frankie Kubicki, the museum’s senior curator. “Fog and smoke were not always seen negatively though; while pollution is often used by Dickens to represent a malevolent force or a shady character, London’s coal fires and twinkling gas street lamps can be heartwarming, nostalgic sights, which comforted Londoners.” Among the objects on display is a fire poker from Dickens’s last home at Gad’s Hill Place in Higham, Kent. Dickens was a “very active person” and often undertook tasks that servants might normally have carried out, said Kubicki. “I can imagine him tending his fire. Fires for Dickens symbolise home and comfort, but actually in London it was domestic coal fires that were such a huge problem rather than industrial smoke.” Original first edition parts of the author’s “foggiest” novel, Bleak House, which was first published as a 20-part serial, will be on show. In the work, Dickens describes “fog everywhere. Fog up the river, where it flows among green aits and meadows; fog down the river, where it rolls defiled among the tiers of shipping and the waterside pollutions of a great (and dirty) city. “Fog on the Essex marshes, fog on the Kentish heights. Fog creeping into the cabooses of collier-brigs; fog lying out on the yards and hovering in the rigging of great ships; fog drooping on the gunwales of barges and small boats. Fog in the eyes and throats of ancient Greenwich pensioners, wheezing by the firesides of their wards; fog in the stem and bowl of the afternoon pipe of the wrathful skipper….” The display also includes a “beautiful lace handkerchief” owned by the Dickens family. “People used handkerchiefs to cover their mouth and nose in dense fog, so it has interesting parallels today with the use of masks both to protect from air pollution and the Covid pandemic,” said Kubicki. In letters, Dickens wrote about his own “chest trouble” – coughing, wheezing, breathlessness and being unable to sleep – which was almost certainly asthma exacerbated by poor air quality. “Dickens wrote about what he saw, and [fog] is such an important part of the London experience in the 19th century – you couldn’t live in London without being plagued by it,” said Kubicki. “These fogs were dense and difficult and really common throughout the 19th century, often yellowy, rusty, stinky, greasy fogs. But, in a literary sense, he also used fog as a symbol for deception or confusion.” The exhibition will also look at how London has tried, and usually failed, to tackle air pollution over the past 200 years, most recently through the ultra low emission zone and its expansion. “Although we no longer experience the lingering fogs, thick with lethal sulphurous fumes, that Dickens describes, the quality of our air remains a significant concern,” said Cindy Sughrue, the museum’s director. A Great and Dirty City: Dickens and the London Fog at the Charles Dickens Museum in London from 29 March until 22 October. | ['books/charlesdickens', 'artanddesign/exhibition', 'environment/air-pollution', 'uk/london', 'culture/museums', 'books/books', 'culture/culture', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/harrietsherwood', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | environment/air-pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2023-03-01T13:44:49Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2012/oct/19/climate-fix-geoengineering | Profitable climate fixes are too tempting for rogue geoengineers to resist | Adam Corner | It was only a matter of time before somebody broke the fragile social and political consensus surrounding geoengineering, and had a first crack at "experiment Earth". The news that American businessman Russ George has dumped 100 tonnes of iron sulphate into the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to fertilise algal blooms that absorb carbon dioxide, was received with justified indignation and outrage by campaigners and mainstream scientists. But there have been rumblings (and rumours of shadowy trials) for many years, and the idea of being a "geoengineer" was always going to prove tempting for the likes of George (who is blacklisted at several international ports for previous algae-related misdemeanours). Geoengineering – the possibility of using large-scale technologies to counteract the effects of climate change – has arrived. The question is, are we ready for it? From a scientific perspective, the answer is "not yet". Very little is known about any of the technologies that we might one day use to seize control of the global thermostat. Some sound like science fiction and will probably remain that way. Even the more familiar ideas – like using biochar to capture CO2 – are unknown entities when operating on a global scale. But the big questions, for now, have less to do with science and more to do with politics, as the Canadian iron dump illustrates so well. The ingredients of a classic controversy are all there - a wealthy, gung-ho businessman; a misled and powerless local population; an allegedly complicit government and a blanket of secrecy over the whole affair. Research has shown that these are the kinds of issues that people are concerned about. And with individuals like Russ George around, who can blame them? The prospect of geoengineering raises fundamental questions about whether we are capable of actively, co-operatively and equitably managing the global commons. This is new territory: whereas the risks of a nuclear disaster are potentially global, the risks of geoengineering are inherently so. Are we ready to govern technologies that if ever deployed, would need to be maintained for decades – or perhaps even centuries – in order to keep temperatures down and the climate stable? The history of the past century suggests that we are in no position to manage technologies on this scale, or even keep rogue researchers in check. In fairness, there are some serious efforts underway to anticipate the governance challenges that geoengineering will raise, and to involve public and civil society voices in debates about how – or even if – geoengineering research should go ahead. But thanks to a characteristically weasel-worded UN text, there is precious little clarity about the level of geoengineering research permitted under international law, allowing George to describe two widely cited moratoria on ocean fertilisation as "a mythology". Campaign groups like ETC – that have persistently opposed geoengineering experiments of any kind – are dismissed as scaremongers by some in the scientific community. But rogue experiments like this vindicate their warnings – and may compromise the integrity of the whole field in the eyes of the public. The vast majority of scientists working on geoengineering are well aware of the ethical implications of their research, and are reluctant to suggest that they have sensible answers to climate change. But a handful are more enthusiastic, and outside of the scientific community, there are plenty of people itching to promote a climate "fix", because geoengineering offers a method of tackling climate change that doesn't require asking any difficult questions about unsustainable systems of production and consumption. In the US, rightwing pressure groups like the Heartland Institute have thrown their weight behind geoengineering as a "cost effective" solution to climate change, which is an incredibly telling insight into supposed climate scepticism. So often, a rejection of the science of climate change is just a proxy for a dislike of the policy implications. For those who object to the social engineering of behaviour change or regulation, geoengineering is a preferable option. It is the politics of climate change – not the science of geoengineering – that led to the iron dumping . Although artificial algal blooms are likely to have a range of unanticipated side-effects, it is not difficult to see how carbon captured through ocean fertilisation could easily be transformed into lucrative credits and fed into global carbon markets. And this possibility – profitable colonic irrigation for the planet – is simply too tempting for a rogue geoengineer to resist. • Adam Corner works in the School of Psychology at Cardiff University , for the Climate Outreach Information Network, and is a member of the Integrated Assessment of Geoengineering Proposals research team | ['environment/geoengineering', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'world/canada', 'world/americas', 'world/world', 'us-news/us-news', 'tone/comment', 'world/unitednations', 'environment/global-climate-talks', 'type/article', 'profile/adam-corner'] | environment/global-climate-talks | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2012-10-19T15:18:56Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
world/2004/nov/30/australia | Whales and dolphins beached in Australia | More than 120 whales and dolphins died after swimming on to beaches on two southern Australian islands, where rescue teams were yesterday desperately trying to prevent others becoming stranded. Some 97 animals - 72 pilot whales and 25 bottlenose dolphins - died after beaching on Sunday on King Island between the Australian mainland and the south-east island state of Tasmania. On Maria Island, 450 kilometres (280 miles) away, about 25 dead pilot whales were beached, according to whale rescue expert Shane Hunniford. Two dozen more were stranded on the island but appeared to be "reasonably fit and healthy", he said. More than 30 rescuers dragged eight whales - each about four metres (13 feet) long and weighing one tonne - into deep water by late afternoon. Wildlife officers have worked side by side with local volunteers to rescue the mammals. Marine biologists will take samples from the dead whales and examine weather patterns in a bid to explain the phenomenon. The beachings come a year after 110 pilot whales and 10 bottlenose dolphins died when they were stranded on Tasmania's remote west coast. Scientists at the time said a predator, such as a killer whale, may have driven the animals to their deaths. Although individual strandings in Australia are not rare, mass strandings are. | ['world/world', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'world/asia-pacific', 'environment/dolphins', 'environment/cetaceans', 'type/article'] | environment/cetaceans | BIODIVERSITY | 2004-11-30T00:02:07Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
world/2005/jan/25/tsunami2004 | A rare reunion in Banda Aceh | Mustafa Kamal, certain that his five-year-old daughter Rina Augustina had escaped the tsunami, was reunited with her by Save the Children yesterday, after a month of searching for his lost family. When the wave struck, Rina's uncle Hamdani tried to outrun the water with her and her 12-year-old sister, but they were swept from his grip. Mr Kamal, who had been driving his truck to Medan, a 12-hour journey from their home in Banda Aceh, searched camps and government offices, eventually finding his brother and the bodies of his two older daughters. The local authority has recorded fewer than 10 reunifications since its programme began about a week after the tsunami. "Another family looking for their son told me they saw her name on the board," Mr Kamal said. "It came to me in a dream that she stayed alive." A teenage boy had taken her to a family with daughters her age. | ['world/world', 'world/tsunami2004', 'world/banda-aceh', 'type/article'] | world/tsunami2004 | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2005-01-25T02:38:52Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
business/2016/apr/18/veolia-outsourcing-recruit-10-percent-uk-workforce-marginalised-groups | Veolia vows to recruit 10% of workforce from marginalised groups | Veolia, the rubbish collection and road sweeping company, has vowed to ensure that 10% of new recruits come from marginalised groups – including army veterans, ex-offenders, long-term unemployed and the homeless. The French-owned outsourcing company employs 14,000 people in the UK and operates water, waste management and energy services for local councils across the country, covering half the UK’s population. The company defines marginalised groups as former military personnel, ex-offenders, NEETs (not in education, employment or training), the long-term unemployed and the homeless. Crisis, a charity that offers on-the-job training for homeless people and ex-offenders in its cafes and shops, says lack of work is both a major cause and consequence of homelessness. Its chief executive, Jon Sparkes, added: “We know 97% of homeless people want a job, they just need the right support, and Veolia’s commitment to realise their potential is a good step in the right direction.” The firm used to be part of French media conglomerate Vivendi, and traces its history back to a company founded in 1853 by an imperial decree of Napoleon III to supply water to the public in Lyon. Other companies also hire disadvantaged people but without setting targets. Marks & Spencer runs a four-week employability programme called Marks & Start for single parents, people with disabilities and the homeless, providing pre-employment training as well as work experience placements. It includes a scheme for young people run in partnership with the Prince’s Trust to teach them interview and telephone skills. More than 15,000 people, including former members of the armed services and ex-offenders, have participated in the Marks & Start programme since 2004 and about half of them found work within three months – with the retailer or other companies. Timpson – the shoe repairs, key-cutting and dry-cleaning chain – has been hiring ex-offenders and people from other marginalised groups for some time. It says on its website: “We recruit exclusively on personality and expect all of our colleagues to be happy, confident and chatty individuals.” Sir Richard Branson has championed the employment of ex-offenders, encouraging his Virgin group of companies to hire people just out of prison, and some who are still inside but close to being released. The charity Working Chance, which provides training and helps female ex-offenders to find work, has placed six women with Virgin Trains and Branson’s water purifier firm, Virgin Pure, mainly in customer services roles. The charity has also helped people find jobs in the NHS, the law firm Freshfields, the frozen food firm Cook and placed someone in a Conservative MP’s office. Working Chance was set up in 2009 by Jocelyn Hillman, who used to support women in Holloway prison preparing for job interviews. | ['society/socialexclusion', 'business/business', 'society/unemployment', 'society/homelessness', 'environment/waste', 'environment/environment', 'business/marksspencer', 'uk/uk', 'business/richard-branson', 'society/charities', 'society/housing', 'society/society', 'society/communities', 'money/work-and-careers', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/juliakollewe', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business'] | environment/waste | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2016-04-18T17:05:38Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
technology/2016/jan/14/hoverboard-explodes-into-flames-on-first-run | Hoverboard 'explodes into flames' | A British vlogger has shown just how dangerous hoverboards can be, capturing on video a device exploding in flames. YouTuber Stephen Leenott, who goes by the name of BuleBritish, said he charged the hoverboard, which he said he had bought new from eBay, overnight before attempting a maiden run the next morning. When he stepped on to the board and attempted to start it, it did nothing, appearing dead. Subsequent tilting to attempt to start it caused it to emit a hissing sound shortly followed by smoke, then a burst of flames. An eBay spokesperson contested the claims that the hoverboard was bought new and in a working order. Leenott later removed the references to eBay from the video’s YouTube description and declined to tell the Guardian where he had purchased the board from. He said: “This board was not tampered with in anyway, but I will hold my hands up and say I did not follow the correct safety guidelines regarding the board and did not read the instructions before use, therefore hold full responsibility for the occurrence of the fire.” The test run was done outside, otherwise the fire could have had serious consequences as seen in several other house-fires caused by hoverboards. The vlogger is seen trying to pour water on to the board to put out the flames. Leenott said: “Don’t use water on electrical fires. This was not planned. My first thought was to run and fill the kettle to pour cold water on it. Why? I don’t know, it’s a fire. Put water on it was my first reaction.” The cause of the fire isn’t known, but the boards contain lithium batteries, which can explode if not safely configured, while poorly constructed motors and wiring are likely to have contributed to this fire, as well as many others. Hoverboards do not have to be a fire risk but poorly made clones are being pumped out of Chinese factories and flooding the market. Safety fears have caused hoverboard stock to be impounded at UK ports, and warnings from trading standards, consumer groups and the Australian federal government. They are also illegal to ride on public pavement or roads within the UK, and parts of the US, including New York. • This piece was updated on 18 January after receiving more information from eBay and Leenott. Amazon pulls hoverboards over safety fears | ['technology/gadgets', 'technology/technology', 'technology/youtube', 'money/consumer-affairs', 'uk/uk', 'uk/transport', 'money/money', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/samuel-gibbs'] | technology/gadgets | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2016-01-14T11:12:36Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
technology/2008/feb/07/it.research | The future of remote medical consultations | When Anne Urquhart of Aberdeen arrived in hospital with an injured toe last week, she was surprised when the doctor asked if she could examine her via a video screen. Aberdeen Royal Infirmary is conducting the NHS's latest experiment in telemedicine - the decades-old idea of diagnosing and treating medical conditions via electronic links rather than face-to-face. The trial's backers, who include the networking company Cisco, say a new set of technologies called telepresence, coupled with new pressures on the NHS, could make the experience commonplace. Videocall me tomorrow It's an old futurological dream. Telemedicine made its public debut in 1924, when Radio News magazine illustrated a doctor examining his patient on a radio set equipped with a screen. In the 1950s, the University of Nebraska began experiments on medical consultations over CCTV; in the 1960s, Nasa sponsored telemedicine for Native American communities as well as astronauts to demonstrate the spinoff benefits of space travel. In the 1990s, tumbling hardware prices and digital communications generated a wave of interest, especially in countries with scattered populations such as Norway. However, unless you count the speech-only NHS Direct service (NHS 24 in Scotland), telemedicine has found few uses in the UK. Even when doctors accept the technology, in a small country with a comprehensive health service it usually makes more sense to transport the patient to a doctor than to set up a video link. For obvious reasons, the main centres of NHS interest are in Wales and Scotland, where telemedicine has proved useful in linking patients in remote areas to specialists such as dermatologists. What's new about the Aberdeen trial is that it tests the use of telemedicine for a whole range of GP and A&E consultations. Gordon Peterkin, director of the Scottish Centre for Telehealth in Aberdeen, says that a new swathe of pressures on the NHS, from new contracts for doctors to the green agenda, mean telemedicine's time has come. The enabling technology is telepresence, a video conferencing system which presents a life-size high-definition image of the other party as if they were sitting just across the table. The patient's booth includes medical devices - such as a stethoscope, blood-pressure cuff and thermometer - to transmit essential information to the doctor. Crucially, the whole setup works on a standard network, which means it can be deployed everywhere there is broadband: it needs about 3.5 megabits per second. Cisco is promoting the package globally under the brand name HealthPresence. It provided hardware for the Aberdeen trial, and is funding half of the £30,000 evaluation. (It also paid for the Guardian, and three other publications, to attend a press demonstration last week.) The experience is uncannily close to life - when talking to a doctor through the system I found myself reacting automatically to her body language, edging back when she leaned too close. Real patients seem to agree. "It was just like a normal consultation," says Urquhart. However, a large number of questions need to be resolved before teleconsultations with family doctors become routine. The immediate purpose of the Aberdeen trial is to check whether teleconsultations are as effective as face-to-face ones. Despite the long history of such pilots, Peterkin says there is a dearth of hard data of the kind that would be required for other medical innovations. At Aberdeen, patients who volunteer for teleconsultations in the hospital (the doctor is just down the corridor) also receive face-to-face examinations. About 30 patients have been through the trial and so far there have been no differences in diagnosis, according to James Ferguson, an A&E consultant. The trial will need about 300 patients to get a statistically significant sample. The next stage will be to move the patient booth to a "remote safe site", probably a community hospital, where hands-on medical help is available. If that works, the booth could go almost anywhere. "We might put it in a hotel, or a police station," Peterkin says. The booths could be shared with other public services, such as social security benefits. Self-service booths are unlikely, however - the plan is that a trained attendant will help patients with medical devices and point a handheld camera where needed. Vital signs Even if the trials succeed, creating a business case for the service may be difficult. Cisco won't say how much the hardware will cost. "We haven't priced the booth," says Nick Augostinos, the company's healthcare solutions director. Among other things, the cost will depend on the level of medical equipment and the state of existing broadband networks. Except in special cases such as prisons and offshore oil installations, sustainability has always been telemedicine's big difficulty. Setting up a sponsored pilot is one thing, running an ongoing service is quite another. The lesson of 50 years of telemedicine is that, even if the technology has finally come of age, that is only one part of a much larger jigsaw. | ['technology/series/inside-it', 'technology/research', 'technology/digitalvideo', 'technology/technology', 'society/nhs', 'society/society', 'society/health', 'science/science', 'science/medical-research', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'profile/michaelcross', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/technologyguardian', 'theguardian/technologyguardian/technology'] | technology/digitalvideo | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2008-02-07T00:13:24Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
australia-news/2022/mar/01/life-was-just-returning-to-normal-in-nsws-northern-rivers-when-the-floods-hit | Life was just returning to normal in NSW’s northern rivers when the floods hit | The floods came after months of pandemic induced stress, affecting communities and businesses already financially and emotionally crippled by Covid-19 and harsh social restrictions. New freedoms were just coming into play, with masks and QR check-in requirements removed in many New South Wales settings on Friday. The changing rules started to increase trade and the spirit of local communities in the region. In northern NSW, the pubs were busy again. People were out at the shops, and an element of cautious optimism was evident among the business owners at cafes and retail stores. Then the rains came down, so quickly and so heavily that even the most dedicated weather watcher was caught unprepared. The NSW premier Dominic Perrottet urged the northern rivers community to be patient, rather than endanger their lives taking risks around flood waters. Lismore has borne the brunt. People clung to roofs and power poles, while locals in tinnies risked their lives to rescue their neighbours. The SES received 927 calls for assistance across the area in 24 hours and the defence forces were called in to help. In Kyogle, the first text messages from the NSW SES warned of “unprecedented flooding” about 10am on Monday morning. Residents began digging trenches, filling sandbags and watching as the rain carved flood paths across their properties. Kyogle couple Kerry and Terry Winkler managed to get a couple of dozen sandbags in place to stop water rushing straight down the driveway and into the front door of their home. “The councils drainage pipes are just not sufficient to deal with it but the local police and young fellows did a great job,” Winkler said. Sign up to receive Guardian Australia’s fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter Stranded visitors took refuge in local houses as the roads were cut off, including Anzac Drive from the western side of town. Businesses across the region, including in Kyogle and Lismore, tried to rescue stock from the torrent. Andrew and Megan Wilson were among those helping to sandbag homes. In 2008 they escaped disaster when flood waters reached more than 18m. Also on board were some local police and a bunch of young peoplewho pitched in to help rescue other’s houses. “There’s always someone worse off,” an old Lismore local told the television news. Helen Hawkes is a freelance journalist based in Kyogle | ['australia-news/series/the-rural-network', 'environment/flooding', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'australia-news/new-south-wales', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'australia-news/australia-east-coast-floods-2022', 'australia-news/series/rural-network', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/the-rural-network'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2022-02-28T16:30:15Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
books/booksblog/2020/sep/28/poem-of-the-week-huia-by-bill-manhire | Poem of the week: Huia by Bill Manhire | Huia I was the first of birds to sing I sang to signal rain the one I loved was singing and singing once again My wings were made of sunlight my tail was made of frost my song was now a warning and now a song of love I sang upon a postage stamp I sang upon your coins but money courted beauty you could not see the joins Where are you when you vanish? Where are you when you’re found? I’m made of greed and anguish a feather on the ground + I lived among you once and now I can’t be found I’m made of things that vanish a feather on the ground Huia is the opening poem from Wow, the latest UK publication collection by the New Zealand poet Bill Manhire. I hadn’t expected to be echoing the collection’s title quite so early in my reading, but the poem insisted. It was a “wow” of grief and shock, however, as well as admiration. The huia was considered a sacred bird in Māori culture. The name means “where are you?” and imitates the bird’s distress call. The last confirmed sighting was in 1907. The creature speaking in the poem is disembodied, perhaps not even the ghost of a ghost. “Where are you when you vanish?” it asks, plaintively and trenchantly. It seems to become an emblem of other disappearances brought about by acts of human encroachment and persecution. But the poem, with its fluid motion of three- and four-beat lines and wonderfully judged shifts between non-rhyme and full rhyme, never loses touch with the songbird. As the opening line suggests, the huia’s call was the first to be heard each day at dawn. Perhaps it was also “first” in the sense of being among the original species of New Zealand. Sibilance captures a hint of the call and, in the last line of the verse, you can almost hear the pauses as one bird answers the other, “the one I loved was singing / and singing once again”. Wings and tail, sunlight and frost, love and warning – the second verse captures the bird and its tragedy impressionistically, in a glimmer of shifting antitheses. Later, that stanza seems to take on a larger meaning, and the image of sunlight and frost extends to the turning year, the turning planet, the further human capacity to make living creatures and habitats vanish. Hunted to extinction, the huia was a victim, finally, of two British Victorian passions – for looting other cultures’ treasures, and for taxidermy. Museums in Britain were, and I’m afraid probably still are, filled with cases full of exotic “stuffed birds”. I remember them from childhood. The air itself seemed murky, the feathers dimmed: there was a smell of damp decay, impossible to describe. The “joins” that the huia-ghost tells us can’t be seen signify not only the contract between “money and beauty” but those seams the taxidermist must effectively close in refashioning the dead, empty bird and faking the semblance of life. The bird’s questions in the fourth verse are haunting but insistent. In the third line, the striking para-rhyme (vanish/anguish) is almost physically wounding: “Where are you when you vanish? / Where are you when you’re found? / I’m made of greed and anguish / a feather on the ground.” It reminds us those questions can’t be directly answered. All the ghost-bird can summon is a terrible memory and a bleak remnant, “a feather on the ground”. The fifth and final verse, separated from the others like a little coda, emphasises, before it becomes an echo, the pathos and the warning: “I lived among you once.” It reminds us to look around, see the species that still live among us, and act fast for their protection. A powerful lyric on the page, Huia has another life, as a song. Bill Manhire was commissioned to write four songs for a cycle, Ornithological Anecdotes. The music is by the composer Gareth Farr. You can listen to all four songs here. While conservation is a pressing concern in Wow, there are lighter moments, and a frequent fresh sparkle of humour among the warnings and sadness. The voice is terse, direct, sometimes quirky, altogether engaging. And is there a title poem, you may be wondering? Yes, and it’s another of my favourites. Here, for a little of the flavour, is the opening stanza. To read more, you’ll need to get the collection! Big brother says also but the baby always says wow though soon enough she too is saying also and listening to her father say later and to the way her mother sighs and says now would also be a very good time | ['books/series/poemoftheweek', 'books/poetry', 'books/books', 'culture/culture', 'books/scienceandnature', 'science/extinct-wildlife', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/carolrumens'] | science/extinct-wildlife | BIODIVERSITY | 2020-09-28T09:00:09Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2010/jun/01/storm-warning-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill-bp | Storm warning for Deepwater Horizon oil spill clean-up | The thousands of oil and ocean specialists working to contain the Deepwater Horizon disaster have a new potential problem to contend with: the official opening yesterday of the Gulf of Mexico hurricane season. In keeping with the unfolding nature of the crisis, where bad news has been compounded by yet more bad news, 2010 promises to be a busy hurricane season. In the past few years the storms have been limited as a result of the giant weather pattern known as El Niño, but that is now subsiding. Weather forecasters at Colorado State University predict an unusually high number of named storms – thunderstorms with a clear circular motion and wind speeds of at least 40mph. They expect 15 named storms, eight of which could be hurricane strength (at least 74mph). Oceanographers are now looking at the likely impact of storms on the Gulf clean-up operation. For a start, the current efforts to contain and extract oil from the sea's surface are likely to be disrupted. The more than 500 boats working around the stricken oil well would have to turn back to shore, and the hard containment booms protecting more than 100 miles of beaches and marshlands would be overcome by waves whipped up by strong winds. More worryingly, storms could drive the oil far inland. Mark Bourassa, a specialist in oceans and weather at Florida State University, estimates that a hurricane or tropical storm could push oil up to 12 miles upriver – and deep into the grassy marshes that cover much of the Gulf shoreline and act as breeding grounds for fish and birds. "The Gulf marshlands are particularly vulnerable and that could do great ecological damage," Bourassa said. Hurricanes move in an anticlockwise direction in the Gulf, and those that strike to the west of the Deepwater Horizon well are likely to drive the oil onshore, while those that strike to the east are more likely to push it back out to sea. Florida will be particularly vulnerable to storms sweeping the pollution in its direction. The high winds and big waves could also vastly extend the surface area over which the slick extends, making the clean-up all the more difficult. | ['environment/bp-oil-spill', 'world/natural-disasters', 'environment/oil-spills', 'business/bp', 'environment/oceans', 'us-news/us-news', 'environment/oil', 'world/world', 'environment/environment', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'profile/edpilkington', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international'] | environment/oil | ENERGY | 2010-06-01T17:34:11Z | true | ENERGY |
world/2010/may/11/syria-russia-nuclear-talks | Syria and Russia in talks on nuclear power | Syria and Russia have discussed nuclear energy co-operation as Moscow seeks to boost its position in a region dominated by the US, Israel's principal ally. Speaking after talks with Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said today that Russia could build reactors in Syria, but gave no further details. Assad told reporters they had discussed "oil and gas co-operation, as well as constructing conventional or nuclear-powered electricity stations". In 2007 Israel bombed what it claimed was a nuclear site in northern Syria – still the subject of an investigation by the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. Syria said it was an ordinary military installation. Medvedev's two-day state visit to Damascus was the first by a Russian or Soviet president. The USSR was a strategic ally of Syria but the relationship cooled after the cold war ended. The visit came amid tensions over Israel's accusations that Syria has been transferring long-range Scud missiles to the Lebanese militia Hezbollah – a claim denied by the Syrian and Lebanese governments and the UN. In Israel, the office of President Shimon Peres said Medvedev had agreed to tell Assad that Israel had no intention of attacking its northern neighbour. The Russian president said he wanted the US to play a more active role in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Russia is a member of the Quartet of Middle East peacemakers and the only one not to shun contact with Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. "In essence, the Middle East peace process has deteriorated," Medvedev said. "The situation is very, very bad. It's time to do something." Assad said that "incentives" granted by "superpowers" to Israel encouraged it to evade the requirements of peace – an apparent reference to its annual $3bn of US aid. The Russian and Syrian leaders issued a joint call for a nuclear-free Middle East – a coded attack on Israel's undeclared nuclear arsenal. "Any other development will mean a regional and probably global catastrophe," Medvedev warned. Assad, a close ally of Iran, said: "It is every country's right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes." A Russian-built nuclear power station in Iran is due to start operating later this year. Russian officials made clear before the visit that no arms deals would be announced. Syria is rumoured to be interested in acquiring Russian-made Iskander surface-to-surface missiles, to which Israel would object. The warm reception for Medvedev contrasted with the chill in relations between Washington and Damascus after US president Barack Obama said last week he was renewing economic sanctions against Syria because it posed a threat to US interests. Obama accused Assad of "supporting terrorism, pursuing weapons of mass destruction and missile programmes and undermining US and international efforts with respect to the stabilisation and reconstruction of Iraq." The US Senate is also delaying the dispatch of a new ambassador to Syria. | ['world/syria', 'world/russia', 'world/dmitry-medvedev', 'world/middleeast', 'world/israel', 'world/palestinian-territories', 'world/world', 'tone/news', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'environment/environment', 'world/europe-news', 'type/article', 'profile/ianblack', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2010-05-11T17:15:14Z | true | ENERGY |
commentisfree/2019/feb/26/the-guardian-view-on-the-hottest-winter-day-sunny-side-down | The Guardian view on the hottest winter day: sunny side down | Editorial | Over thousands of years, like humans everywhere, we became used to thinking of the sun, rain and wind as the backdrop to our lives – external entities over which we had no dominion. In the 21st century, this has become a delusion. The unpredictability of weather in the UK, particularly during summers that many wish were drier and sunnier, is associated by many people with what it means to be British. It has big variations – temperatures in the north of Scotland can be up to 20C lower than in southern England – and is characteristically unsettled due to the jet stream. Its unreliability may have aided those wishing to avoid the truth about global warming. But the evidence of our senses, as well as what meteorologists and other scientists tell us, is becoming overwhelming. While many people are enjoying this week’s record-breaking temperatures – 20.3C in Wales on Monday, and 21.2C in London on Tuesday, the hottest winter days on record – many of the same people are also worried. Extreme or unusual weather in the UK is becoming widely recognised as an indication that the climate is changing, though this realisation has been a long time coming. That is understandable. Connections between one-off weather events and longer-term patterns must be drawn with caution. Greenhouse gas emissions do not explain everything. But over the past few years, the science of weather attribution has made dramatic advances. Using computer models combined with observational data, meteorologists can now analyse extreme events including floods, droughts and heatwaves to determine the contribution of manmade climate change. Last summer’s UK heatwave, when average temperatures in June, July and August were 2C above pre-industrial levels, was made 30 times more likely by greenhouse gases. Simply facing this reality as a nation would be a big step forward. For too long, and in defiance of evidence, climate deniers such as former chancellor Lord Lawson were offered prominent platforms to air their views without challenge. Partly as a consequence of such mixed messages, public opinion lags behind scientific knowledge. Recent survey data shows that while 93% of British people know climate change is happening, only 36% believe that humans are mainly responsible, while just 25% describe themselves as very worried. It is too soon to say whether this month’s unseasonal warmth, following last year’s extremes of cold and hot, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s warning that we have just 12 years in which to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C will shift minds further in the right direction. International cooperation remains the key to averting a global catastrophe. Next year’s US presidential election will be a crucial moment, with President Trump committed to withdrawing the world’s second-biggest carbon emitter from the Paris climate change agreement. But the UK too has a vital role to play, either within or outside the EU. As our heating planet turns from a threat into an emergency, with emissions still increasing, we must reject passivity in favour of action. Climate change won’t affect the UK as severely as it will poorer countries, or those more vulnerable to desertification or flooding. Our target of 80% reductions in greenhouse gases by 2050 is already more ambitious than many comparable countries. But the government should be far more active in advancing public understanding. It is no longer permissible to pretend that ice-creams in February are a quirk of nature. | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'uk/weather', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'environment/environment', 'environment/ipcc', 'science/science', 'world/world', 'world/unitednations', 'environment/global-climate-talks', 'tone/editorials', 'tone/comment', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'profile/editorial', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/opinion', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/global-climate-talks | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2019-02-26T18:25:23Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
environment/2010/nov/14/illegal-timber-pledge-axed | Legislation to outlaw illegal timber is axed despite coalition pledge | The government has backed away from legislation that would outlaw the possession of illegally logged timber from the world's rainforests. A previous commitment to make it against the law to own, as well as to import, illegal wood, has been quietly dropped, say campaigners, including Green MP Caroline Lucas, who has clashed with the environment secretary, Caroline Spelman, over the issue. During a meeting of the Commons environmental audit committee, Spelman denied there had been a U-turn and said new EU regulations, due to come into force in 2013, would make it against the law to bring illegal timber into Europe. But Tory MP Zac Goldsmith pointed out that the pledge had been made last year by William Hague and Greg Barker. The committee, chaired by the Labour MP Joan Walley, pressed Spelman on why the government was backtracking on its coalition agreement to "make the import or possession of illegal timber a criminal offence". Lucas warned that "shell" companies could easily be set up to circumvent the new, minimum legislation. "The point is that if you only make it illegal at point of entry you have absolutely no sanctions against any firms who buy it. It's a huge loophole and we clearly need far more rigorous legislation. Presumably that was recognised when William Hague made the promise so it's not clear why it's not being recognised now. "We really need to lock down the supply train of this timber which is implicated in so many issues from deforestation and climate change to impact on indigenous people." Lucas is sponsoring a private member's bill, due to be debated in February, that would make it illegal to "transport, sell, receive, acquire or purchase illegal timber products". | ['environment/deforestation', 'politics/caroline-spelman', 'politics/caroline-lucas', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/forests', 'environment/environment', 'politics/politics', 'uk/uk', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'profile/tracymcveigh', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/news', 'theobserver/news/uknews'] | environment/deforestation | BIODIVERSITY | 2010-11-14T00:06:46Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2022/apr/25/eu-unveils-plan-largest-ever-ban-on-dangerous-chemicals | EU unveils plan for ‘largest ever ban’ on dangerous chemicals | Thousands of potentially harmful chemicals could soon be prohibited in Europe under new restrictions, which campaigners have hailed as the strongest yet. Earlier this year, scientists said chemical pollution had crossed a “planetary boundary” beyond which lies the breakdown of global ecosystems. The synthetic blight is thought to be pushing whale species to the brink of extinction and has been blamed for declining human fertility rates, and 2 million deaths a year. The EU’s “restrictions roadmap” published on Monday was conceived as a first step to transforming this picture by using existing laws to outlaw toxic substances linked to cancers, hormonal disruption, reprotoxic disorders, obesity, diabetes and other illnesses. Industry groups say that up to 12,000 substances could ultimately fall within the scope of the new proposal, which would constitute the world’s “largest ever ban of toxic chemicals”, according to the European Environmental Bureau (EEB). Tatiana Santos, the bureau’s chemicals policy manager, said: “EU chemical controls are usually achingly slow but the EU is planning the boldest detox we have ever seen. Petrochemical industry lobbyists are shocked at what is now on the table. It promises to improve the safety of almost all manufactured products and rapidly lower the chemical intensity of our schools, homes and workplaces.” The plan focuses on entire classes of chemical substances for the first time as a rule, including all flame retardants, bisphenols, PVC plastics, toxic chemicals in single-use nappies and PFAS, which are also known as “forever chemicals” because of the time they take to naturally degrade. All of these will be put on a “rolling list” of substances to be considered for restriction by the European Chemicals Agency. The list will be regularly reviewed and updated, before a significant revision to the EU’s cornerstone Reach regulation for chemicals slated for 2027. Chemicals identified in the new paper include substances in food contact materials, single-use nappies and PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) in granules for children playgrounds. But industry groups argue that the scheme’s focus on groups of chemicals could affect high street products such as sun creams and perfumes, which may use a host of synthetic substances. “A lot of different ingredients fall under the skin sensitiser group so a wide range of cosmetic products would potentially be affected,” said John Chave, the director general of Cosmetics Europe, a trade body. “The effect on consumers would be that there would potentially be less variety, less choice and less functional effectiveness for cosmetic products with no gains for safety whatsoever because the ingredients were safe in the first place.” Beyond cosmetics, affected products could include paints, cleaning products, adhesives, lubricants and pesticides. Europe’s Reach system is already the world’s most extensive chemical register, and new bans could hit more than a quarter of the industry’s annual turnover of around €500bn (£420bn) per year, according to a study by the trade group Cefic. “Some of the restrictions may have a significant impact on the industry and value chains,” said Heather Kiggins, a Cefic spokeswoman. The industry argues for a more narrowly targeted approach to restrictions, and for incentives and import controls to help develop safer alternative products. Nevertheless, the European Chemicals Agency favours dealing with chemicals in groups because chemical firms have previously avoided bans on individual chemicals by tweaking their chemical composition to create sister substances that may also be dangerous, but which then require lengthy legislative battles to regulate. The industry tactic, known as “regrettable substitution”, has been criticised by environmental groups for allowing the replacement of substances such as the endocrine-disrupting bisphenol A with other bisphenols. Santos described it as “a cynical and irresponsible tactic by the chemical industry to replace the most harmful banned chemicals with similarly harmful ones not yet on the regulatory radar. We’ve witnessed a decades-long pattern of regrettable substitution to avoid regulation.” More than 190m synthetic chemicals are registered globally and a new industrial chemical is created every 1.4 seconds on average. The UN says that it expects the industry’s global value of more than $5tn (£3.9tn) to double by 2030 and to quadruple by 2060. The EU’s environment commissioner, Virginijus Sinkevičius, said the new restrictions “aim to reduce exposure of people and the environment to some of the most harmful chemicals, addressing a wide range of their uses – industrial, professional, and in consumer products”. The EU’s internal markets commissioner, Thierry Breton, said achieving a toxic-free environment would demand transparency and visibility from the commission. “The restrictions roadmap provides such visibility, and allows companies and other stakeholders to be better prepared for potential upcoming restrictions,” he said. Millions of tonnes of chemical substances were used by industrial giants such as BASF, Bayer, Dow Chemicals and ExxonMobil without completing safety checks between 2014 and 2019, according to research by German environmentalists. | ['environment/environment', 'environment/pollution', 'environment/plastic', 'world/eu', 'world/world', 'uk/uk', 'world/europe-news', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/arthurneslen', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/plastic | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2022-04-25T11:08:32Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
sport/blog/2021/sep/02/why-has-rugby-taken-so-long-to-wake-up-to-what-boxing-has-long-known | Why has rugby taken so long to wake up to what boxing has long known? | They hanged Del Fontaine at Wandsworth prison early on Tuesday 29 October 1935, three months and 19 days after he shot his girlfriend Hilda Meek having overheard her arranging a date on the phone and convinced himself she was seeing another man. Protesters picketed the prison the day they killed him, one told the papers that “they’re hanging an insane man”. Fontaine was a boxer, and had been a good one, twice the middleweight champion of Canada, but that was behind him. He had lost 11 fights in the last year, in the last he was knocked down four times in the first round. When he was arrested Fontaine told the police “don’t think I’m crazy because I’m not”. But his lawyers argued that he was deluded. They called doctors, who said he had double vision, depression, insomnia, a loss of balance and that he had been bleeding from his ear. The welterweight world champion Ted “Kid” Lewis testified that Fontaine had “received more punishment than anyone I’ve ever seen”. The Guardian reported that their defence argued he was suffering from “a condition known as ‘punch-drunk’” which meant he didn’t know what he was doing. It was the first time that phrase, “punch-drunk”, had appeared in the paper. It had been used for years already on the boxing circuit, but it had been formally identified only a few years earlier when a pathologist in New Jersey, Dr Harrison Martland, published a paper on his research into “punch-drunk syndrome”. It was so new that the journalists, and lawyers, struggled to describe exactly what it meant. The Guardian defined the symptoms as “a vacant look, far-away thoughts, and a general unbalance”. If Fontaine was suffering from it, he was a very extreme case, and undoubtedly had other mental health problems, too. A couple of years after the Fontaine case, “punch-drunk syndrome” was renamed as “dementia pugilistica” in an article by JA Millspaugh and then, in 1949, the British neurologist Macdonald Critchley first described it in print as “chronic traumatic encephalopathy”, or CTE. If the medical understanding of exactly what “punch-drunk” meant was very vague at the time of the Fontaine case, it moved on so quickly that by 1959, the Guardian characterised the symptoms of CTE in a male boxer like this: “Speech and thought become more sluggish, memory deteriorates, the victim himself scarcely notices the gradual degeneration. His mood may swing rapidly from placidity to irritability.” CTE can only be diagnosed after death – although there’s hope that may soon change – but it is hard to read that list of symptoms from more than 60 years ago without thinking about how similar they sound to the experiences of Steve Thompson, Alix Popham, Michael Lipman and the other rugby players who have already been diagnosed as having “probable CTE”. On Wednesday the journal of Experimental Physiology published the latest research by the University of South Wales into the damage to the brain caused by playing professional rugby. The USW research, which was first reported by Michael Aylwin here in the Guardian in August, tracked a team playing in the United Rugby Championship through a recent season. They were tested before, during and after it. The results showed that all the players experienced a decline in blood flow to the brain and in cognitive function over the course of the season, despite the fact that there were only six recorded concussions among the group. That doesn’t mean they have CTE, or will go on to develop it. But it does suggest that it is not just the concussions that are the problem here but the repetitive jarring of the brain. As the lead author, Prof Damian Bailey, told Aylwin in August: “You cannot interpret it any other way. You’ve got this noxious, cumulative, recurrent contact that doesn’t actually need to be anywhere near the head, so long as there’s some sort of torsional movement imparted to the brain. And it just builds up over time.” This is new evidence, but it isn’t news. Or it shouldn’t be. The link between small, repetitive blows and long-term damage was known about as long ago as the 1950s. As a report in the Observer in 1956 noted, CTE “is not the knockout blow which causes the trouble, but years of steady pounding about the boxer’s head”. You can find similar observations in any number of articles, like this, for instance, published by the Guardian in 1984: “The second way in which the brain can be damaged is more insidious, changes begin to mount up as the number of fights increases …” or this, from 1994: “A second type of injury and the one many doctors fear more is the cumulative chronic effect suffered by a boxer over a career of being repeatedly hit in the head.” Which begs two questions. One is why has it taken so long for rugby to begin to establish what has been widely accepted for years in boxing, especially when a player such as Popham says he believes he was taking “10 times as many blows to the head as a boxer does during a year” during his professional career? And the other, more important one, is: are the measures the sport has taken in the last few years, which have focused on diagnosing, treating and preventing concussions, addressing the real problem? | ['sport/concussion-in-sport', 'sport/rugby-union', 'society/dementia', 'society/mental-health', 'sport/sport', 'sport/blog', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/andybull', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/sport', 'theguardian/sport/news', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-sport'] | sport/concussion-in-sport | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2021-09-02T07:00:17Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
world/article/2024/jul/03/jamaica-braces-for-arrival-of-hurricane-beryl | Hurricane Beryl hits Jamaica after leaving ‘Armageddon-like’ trail in Grenada | Hurricane Beryl has hit Jamaica after leaving an “Armageddon-like” trail of devastation in Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) and killing at least seven people across the region. The category 4 storm hit the island’s southern coast on Wednesday afternoon with maximum sustained winds of 140mph (225km/h), pummeling communities and knocking out communications as emergency groups evacuated people in flood-prone communities. “It’s terrible. Everything’s gone. I’m in my house and scared,” said Amoy Wellington, a 51-year-old cashier who lives in Top Hill, a rural farming community in Jamaica’s southern St. Elizabeth parish. “It’s a disaster.” Almost 500 Jamaicans were in shelters by Wednesday afternoon, prime minister Andrew Holness told reporters, urging people in high-risk areas to move. “We have not seen the worst of what could happen,” Holness said. “We can do as much as we can do, as [is] humanly possible, and we leave the rest in the hands of God.” “Life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides from heavy rainfall are expected over much of Jamaica and southern Haiti through today,” the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said online, adding that dangerous winds and storm surge were also expected in the Cayman Islands through early Thursday. Jamaica’s Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management warned of dangerous storm surges potentially raising water levels to as high as 2.75 metres (9ft). At least three people have been reported dead amid floods in Venezuela, three in Grenada, and one in St Vincent and the Grenadines. A hurricane warning was issued for Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. A hurricane watch was also in effect for Haiti’s southern coast and the Yucatan’s east coast. Belize issued a tropical storm watch stretching south from its border with Mexico to Belize City. Earlier, the US NHC director, Michael Brennan, said Jamaica appeared to be in the direct path of Beryl. “We are most concerned about Jamaica, where we are expecting the core of a major hurricane to pass near or over the island,” he said in an online briefing. “You want to be in a safe place where you can ride out the storm by nightfall [on Tuesday]. Be prepared to stay in that location through Wednesday.” “This is a big hazard in the Caribbean, especially with the mountainous islands,” Brennan said. “This could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides in some of these areas.” The storm has also affected South America: three people died and four were missing amid intense floods in Venezuela, where the vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, was injured by a fallen tree as she inspected the Manzanares River, which overflowed in Sucre state. Beryl became the earliest storm to develop into a category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, peaking on Tuesday with winds of 165 mph before weakening to a still-destructive category 4. It strengthened at a record pace, thanks in part to unseasonably warm sea temperatures which scientists ascribe to global heating. In Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines where the monster hurricane has already demonstrated its destructive power, the focus is now on relief, recovery and rebuilding. After visiting the island of Carriacou, the prime minister of Grenada, Dickon Mitchell, described “Armageddon-like” scenes of “almost total destruction”, with approximately 98% of building structures damaged or destroyed and an almost complete wipeout of the electrical grid and communications systems. “Having seen it myself, there is really nothing that could prepare you to see this level of destruction. It is almost Armageddon-like. Almost total damage or destruction of all buildings, whether they be public buildings, homes or private facilities. Complete devastation and destruction of agriculture, complete and total destruction of the natural environment. There is literally no vegetation left anywhere on the island of Carriacou,” he said. People were also evacuated from Union Island, where about 90% of housing was destroyed, arriving in the St Vincent and the Grenadines capital, Kingstown, by ferry. One evacuee, Sharon DeRoche, said she and her family had taken shelter in her bathroom during the hurricane. “It was a hard four hours battling with six of us in that little area,” she said. The last strong hurricane to hit the south-east Caribbean was Hurricane Ivan 20 years ago, which killed dozens of people in Grenada. Roy O’Neale, a 77-year-old Grenadian resident who was forced to rebuild his home after Ivan, said: “I felt the wind whistling, and then for about two hours straight, it was really, really terrifying at times. Branches of trees were flying all over the place.” Hundreds of people hunkered in shelters across the south-east Caribbean, including 50 adults and 20 children who huddled inside a school in Grenada. “Maybe some of them thought they could have survived in their homes, but when they realised the severity of it … they came for cover,” said Urban Mason, a retired teacher who served as the shelter’s manager. “People tend to be complacent.” Scientists say the human-caused climate crisis has increased the intensity, frequency and destructive powers of tropical storms, because hotter oceans provide more energy. One of the homes that Beryl damaged belongs to the parents of the UN climate change executive secretary, Simon Stiell, who is from Carriacou. The storm also destroyed the home of his late grandmother. In a statement, Stiell said the climate crisis was worsening faster than expected. “Whether in my homeland of Carriacou … hammered by Hurricane Beryl, or in the heatwaves and floods crippling communities in some of the world’s largest economies, it’s clear that the climate crisis is pushing disasters to record-breaking new levels of destruction,” he said. The Associated Press contributed reporting | ['world/jamaica', 'world/extreme-weather', 'world/caribbean', 'world/americas', 'world/saint-vincent-and-the-grenadines', 'world/grenada', 'world/world', 'world/hurricanes', 'world/natural--disasters', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/natricia-duncan', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-foreign'] | world/hurricanes | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2024-07-04T02:26:33Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2016/sep/07/tsunami-simulator-recreates-devastating-waves-for-first-time-in-a-lab | Tsunami simulator recreates devastating waves for first time in a lab | The full and devastating power of tsunamis has been recreated in lab for the first time, revealing valuable secrets about the little-understood waves. The work will lead to vital improvements to sea defences, coastal buildings and evacuation plans, ultimately saving lives. Five major tsunamis have struck coasts around the world since 2004, killing 300,000 people, and the risks are rising as coastal cities expand. But the terrible violence of the giant waves means any scientific instruments present are almost always destroyed. The result is little knowledge of the huge forces with which tsunamis hit coasts. Now researchers have created the world’s most realistic tsunami simulator at the HR Wallingford research centre in Oxfordshire. The 70m-long tank can, for the first time, replicate the shape and long duration of the tsunamis that wrought havoc around the Indian Ocean in 2004 and smashed into Japan in 2011. The simulator is also the first to look at how clusters of buildings affect the destruction caused by a tsunami, by channelling the flowing water. “Tsunamis can be exceptionally destructive when they hit buildings, yet we really don’t know a great deal about how the massive horizontal forces they generate cause damage,” said Prof Tiziana Rossetto, from University College London (UCL), who is leading the research. “The challenge has been to build a testing facility where we can accurately model how the forces change or are magnified by the way buildings are clustered together in coastal towns and cities.” “Our research will have far-reaching implications for both building and urban design in areas at risk of tsunamis and could help mitigate some of the most devastating risks to human lives,” she said. One application will be making better designs for vertical evacuation structures, tall buildings used as refuges in flat coastal areas. The new tsunami simulator is built at 1:50 scale and is 4m wide. In the real world, underwater earthquakes trigger tsunamis, but in the simulator a pump at one end of the tank is used to raise up 70,000 litres of water. Then an air valve is used to let the water flood back into the tank, setting off the tsunami. Crucially, the initial lifting of the water allows, for the first time, the creation of a wave that starts with a trough – the type of tsunami that hit Japan and Thailand. In the real world, this trough manifests as the water on the beach rushing out to sea, before a huge crest races back on to land. “We are the only facility in the world that can generate trough-led waves,” said Rossetto. She visited sites in Sri Lanka and Thailand after the 2004 tsunami: “In some places the buildings completely failed, but in others they stayed standing. However, there was a total lack of understanding of the forces involved.” The second vital feature of the new simulator is the air valve, which allows the wave to be controlled and creates very long duration waves like those seen in the real world. In Japan, the wave continuously poured water on to the land for 28 minutes, while in Thailand the wave lasted for 20 minutes. Earlier simulators, using paddles or dropped concrete blocks, could only produce short waves and did not replicate the punishing duration of the real tsunamis. The researchers also looked at what happens when sea defences break down after being hit by a tsunami. “However big a wall is, you have to consider what happens when it fails,” said Prof William Allsop, technical director at HR Wallingford. The researchers suspect that very high sea walls could actually make the impact of a tsunami worse by effectively creating a dam, against which water builds up, before breaking and releasing an even more violent torrent. “You can see [in the tank] the carnage that occurs when the wall fails,” said Dr David McGovern, part of the UCL team. “We are looking to give engineers who design buildings, defences, nuclear power stations, an idea of what the forces are for a tsunami. We also want to use the data to improve evacuation procedures.” Early results have already shown that in many cases tsunamis can crash further inland than previous estimates suggested and more experiments are still being conducted. “Ultimately, the goal is to protect life and property,” said McGovern. | ['environment/flooding', 'world/tsunamis', 'world/natural-disasters', 'science/science', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/damiancarrington', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2016-09-07T14:51:10Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2018/dec/16/un-climate-accord-inadequate-and-lacks-urgency-experts-warn | UN climate accord 'inadequate' and lacks urgency, experts warn | The world has been put on notice that its best efforts so far will fail to halt the devastation of climate change, as countries came to a partial agreement at UN talks that failed to match up to the challenges faced. Leading figures in climate science and economics said much more must be done, and quickly, to stave off the prospect of dangerous levels of global warming. Nicholas Stern, the former World Bank chief economist and author of a seminal review of the economics of climate change, said: “It is clear that the progress we are making is inadequate, given the scale and urgency of the risks we face. The latest figures show carbon dioxide emissions are still rising. A much more attractive, clean and efficient path for economic development and poverty reduction is in our hands.” Johan Rockstrom, director designate at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said: “My biggest concern is that the UN talks failed to align ambitions with science. We continue to follow a path that will take us to a very dangerous 3-4C warmer world within this century. Extreme weather events hit people across the planet already, at only 1C of warming.” The two-week-long UN talks in Poland ended with clarity over the “rulebook” that will govern how the Paris agreement of 2015 is put into action, but the crucial question of how to lift governments’ targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions was left unanswered. Countries will meet again next year. The annual climate talks have been going on since 1992 when the UN framework convention on climate change was signed, binding governments to avoid dangerous levels of climate change. That agreement followed years of scientific predictions on global warming, culminating in a landmark report in 1988 that warned of the dangers. Since then, the warnings have grown clearer and scientists have eliminated the possibility that the global warming observed in recent decades has been due to natural forces. It is a manmade problem arising from the use of fossil fuels, which has poured the heat-trapping gas carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. On current national emissions-cutting targets, the world would reach more than 3C of warming, scientists say. Two months ago the world’s leading body of climate scientists, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, found that even 1.5C of warming would cause sea level rises, coral reef die-off, extinction of species and droughts, floods, storms and heatwaves that would threaten the world’s stability. Levels of warming greater than that would devastate parts of the globe, wiping out agricultural productivity, melting the Arctic ice cap and rendering many areas uninhabitable. Some businesses called on governments to act. Stephanie Pfeifer, chief executive of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, which represents investors with more than $21tn (£16.7tn) in funds, said: “It is vital that the world’s governments recognise the serious challenge posed by climate change and urgently scale up their efforts, both at a national level and globally. It is only through signals such as these that investors will have the confidence necessary to allocate the required capital to the low-carbon and climate-resilient transition.” Next year’s negotiations, in Chile, are likely to focus on narrow technical issues. But the 2020 conference, which may be held in the UK or Italy, will be the biggest since the landmark Paris agreement of 2015. There, countries will have to come up with plans for cutting emissions drastically in order to avert a climate crisis that scientists say will cause greater economic, social and natural disruption than anything in humanity’s history. | ['environment/global-climate-talks', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'world/unitednations', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/fiona-harvey', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | environment/global-climate-talks | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2018-12-16T15:25:40Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
us-news/2018/feb/01/coal-mock-reporter-west-virginia-media-bankruptcy | Coal chiefs mock reporter as critical West Virginia media voice goes bust | In a room packed with coal industry leaders in Charleston, West Virginia, a speaker held up a fake “pink slip” for a local newspaper reporter who covers the business, and mockingly said he wished the journalist could be in attendance. The crowd erupted into laughter because the reporter, Ken Ward, who has covered the industry with an unforgiving eye for years, was not there. The pink slip is a nod to the fact that his publication, the Charleston Gazette, recently filed for bankruptcy. The stunt was first reported by Taylor Kuykendall, a fellow coal reporter for the S&P Global Market Intelligence, the news and financial data website. The speaker, Robert McLusky, is lead attorney for Massey Energy, which owned the Upper Big Branch mine when it exploded in 2010, killing 29 workers. Ward, a 25-year reporting veteran led the Gazette’s aggressive and detailed coverage of the disaster, peppering the company with questions about the regulatory corner-cutting that led to the fatal explosion. But it was McLusky and other industry top brass who indulged in the last laugh on Wednesday, because the loss of news reporting as a check on their power has not been their only good news of late. The industry has also seen the prospect of government accountability on labor and environmental issues dwindle in the warm embrace of the Trump administration. “The good news is I’m with the federal government and I’m here to help,” energy department adviser Doug Matheney told the audience at the same event. “I went to Washington DC for one purpose, and that was to help create coal jobs in the United States. That’s my total purpose for being there. I’m not a researcher, I’m not a scientist, I’m an advocate for the coal industry.” Matheney’s line chimes with Trump’s, who suggested during his State of the Union address on Tuesday that: “We have ended the war on beautiful, clean coal.” Trump campaigned on a promise to cut fossil fuel regulations and “bring back coal”. “Many people who work in the coal industry believe that our local paper’s reporting is incomplete and biased,” McLusky told the Guardian. He said that he had often engaged Ward with some good-natured ribbing and that his comments “were not made with malice”, adding that he did not wish to see Charleston lose its local paper but hoped he would see one “with a new editorial voice”. Ken Ward did not respond to requests for comment. This article was amended on 6 February to add comment from Robert McLusky that was submitted, but not included, on the day of the original piece. | ['us-news/west-virginia', 'us-news/us-news', 'environment/coal', 'business/business', 'business/energy-industry', 'media/media', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/jamiles-lartey', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news'] | environment/coal | ENERGY | 2018-02-01T20:44:40Z | true | ENERGY |
world/2022/apr/14/south-africa-braces-more-heavy-rain-floods-kill-hundreds-durban | South Africa braces for more heavy rain after floods kill hundreds | South Africa is bracing for more heavy rain in districts hit by massive and lethal downpours earlier this week. More than 300 people have died in flooding in and around the eastern coastal city of Durban in recent days. On Wednesday the president, Cyril Ramaphosa, described the flooding as a “catastrophe of enormous proportions”, directly linking it to the climate emergency. “It is telling us that climate change is serious, it is here,” Ramaphosa said as he visited the flooded metropolitan area of eThekwini, which includes Durban. “We no longer can postpone what we need to do, and the measures we need to take to deal with climate change.” The South African weather service has warned of continuing high wind and rain bringing the risk of more flooding in KwaZulu-Natal and some other provinces over the Easter weekend. Meteorologists said the flooding had taken them by surprise. Some parts of KwaZulu-Natal recorded almost their average annual rainfall in 48 hours. “Whilst impact-based warnings were indeed issued in a timely manner it appears that the exceptionally heavy rainfall exceeded even the expectations of the southern African meteorological community at large,” a statement from the weather service said. The service said although it was impossible to attribute an individual event to the climate crisis, “we can state with confidence that globally (as a direct result of global warming and associated climate change) all forms of severe and extreme weather … are becoming more frequent and more extreme than in the recent past. In other words, heavy rain events such as the current incident can … be expected to recur in the future and with increasing frequency.” The death toll is expected to increase as search and rescue operations continue in KwaZulu-Natal, officials said. “KwaZulu-Natal is going to be declared a provincial area of disaster, so that we are able to do things quickly. The bridges have collapsed, the roads have collapsed, people have died and people are injured,” Ramaphosa said. Along with the loss of life, damage to infrastructure was extensive. Durban’s port, the busiest in southern Africa, was badly hit. In one township a Methodist church was swept away. A Hindu temple was badly damaged in Umhlatuzana, Chatsworth, near Durban, after a river burst its banks. Elsewhere, flooding triggered massive landslides. Many people were traumatised. Nokuthula Ntantiso’s house survived, but many others in her Umlazi township did not. “It’s scary, because even last night I didn’t sleep because I was wondering if even this [home] that I’m sleeping in can collapse at any time,” the 31-year-old call centre operator said. Authorities were seeking to restore electricity to large parts of the province after heavy flooding at various power stations. NGOs were working to distribute clean water. A dozen crocodiles that went missing from breeding ponds after the heavy rains swamped a crocodile farm near Durban were reportedly recaptured. Rescue efforts by the South African National Defence Force were delayed as the military’s air wing was affected by the floods, Gen Rudzani Maphwanya said. The military was able to deploy personnel and helicopters around the province on Wednesday, he said. Rain continued in parts of Durban on Wednesday afternoon and a flood warning was issued for the neighbouring province of Eastern Cape. Durban has struggled to recover from deadly riots last July that killed more than 350 people, South Africa’s worst unrest since the end of apartheid. | ['world/southafrica', 'environment/flooding', 'world/africa', 'environment/environment', 'world/extreme-weather', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/jasonburke', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-foreign'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2022-04-14T09:08:42Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
lifeandstyle/2017/jun/28/kitchen-gadgets-review-panasonic-steaming-microwave-a-magnificent-black-box | Kitchen gadgets review: Panasonic steaming microwave – a magnificent black box | What? The Panasonic steam combination microwave (£359.99, panasonic.com) is an electromagnetic generator, caged with other heat technologies. Uses non-ionising radiation, convection and vapour condensation to cook food within. Why? A ping dinner needn’t be a pig’s ear. Well? I’m trying to Marie Kondo my life, lads. Getting rid of anything that doesn’t bring me joy, the upshot being I’m sitting on the floor in an empty flat, having thrown away everything I own, including the Marie Kondo book. Joy is a high bar to clear for stuff of modest yet crucial function: grouting, smoke alarms, radiator-bleed keys. Or microwaves. I rarely use mine, it’s not beautiful, yet when I need a hot chocolate sponge pudding at 3am, and quickly, she’s there for me. Panasonic thinks microwaves, which celebrate their 70th anniversary this year, can do better, escaping associations with reheated pizza by cooking complex, healthy dishes. Their new model (called NN-DS596B, which is so cute I can’t even) is no micro-machine: a man trundles the enormous box into my room on a trolley, airholes gouged out of the side. And no wonder, because this thing packs heat. It steams, grills, oven cooks and microwaves food in any combination. There are buttons on the control panel labelled “Panacrunch” and “Chaos”. (What happens when I press Chaos, I wonder. I try it and it defrosts chicken a bit quicker. Disappointing.) As an oven and steamer, it can bake cakes and prove dough. I steamed a bed of veg, over which I microwaved a fillet of haddock on low power, finishing with a grill sear: faultless. The booklet has recipes for mini boef-en-croute, strawberry cobbler, masala eggs. It renders juicy ratatouille and crisp pastry, which reminds me what else it’s good for: heating pizza. Seriously: browns the cheese, keeps the crunch. The appliances we use in the middle of the night know who we really are. This magnificent black box sees me and knows I will never make razor-clam ravioli or artichoke gratin in her. She may be better than ever; the problem is, I’ve stayed the same. Here we are, tangled up in cheese strings, not microwaving but drowning. Any downside? No revolving plate? But that’s the best bit! (Still remember the day I realised the plate turns in different directions each time. Blew my mind like a jacket potato.) Counter, drawer, back of the cupboard? Doesn’t matter; the black box sees you. 4/5 | ['lifeandstyle/series/inspect-a-gadget', 'technology/gadgets', 'technology/technology', 'tone/features', 'food/food', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'type/article', 'profile/rhik-samadder', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/g2', 'theguardian/g2/features', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-g2-features'] | technology/gadgets | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2017-06-28T08:00:14Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
business/nils-pratley-on-finance/2022/nov/29/sizewell-c-confirmed-again-this-time-it-might-be-the-real-deal | Sizewell C ‘confirmed’ again – this time it might be the real deal | Nils Pratley | Another day, another “confirmation” that the government plans to build the Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk – surely the “most announced” project in UK infrastructure history. The latest update, though, contained a genuine sign of seriousness: the Chinese are being paid to go away. China General Nuclear (CGN), a state-backed firm, owned a 20% stake in the fledgling project and had, in effect, a right to subscribe to maintain its holding through the various funding rounds – just as it did at Hinkley Point C in Somerset. In practice, any form of Chinese involvement in Sizewell has been impossible for at least a year. First, because David Cameron’s misguided “golden era” of coziness with Beijing is over, as Rishi Sunak said earlier this week. Second, because the mere presence of a Chinese firm would scare away many of the private investors, especially US ones, that the government is relying upon to fund Sizewell’s construction phase; in turn, the costs of funding for the project might have ballooned. In its usual less-than-straightforward way, the government declined to say how much of its £679m fresh funding for Sizewell (giving the UK state a 50% stake now) will be directed at buying out CGN. But, if £100m-ish is correct, the negotiating outcome could be called reasonable – or, at least, pragmatic. We have no idea what CGN has spent so far, but a 20% stake in an unbuilt Sizewell clearly has some value. The bottom line is that CGN had to be cleared out to get beyond the planning stage. The point at which the project will be truly “confirmed” is when other investors have committed the hard equity capital to fund construction. That moment is still a year away and the job probably involves finding £8bn-ish to allow an even greater sum to be borrowed on top. It is not a small task. And the cost of equity and cost of borrowing will be the critical numbers in terms of value for money for bill-payers. But Sizewell – for better or worse – is starting to look credible. EasyJet not quite out of the turbulence There’s nothing like a strong summer to excite easyJet’s management and, sure enough, chief executive Johan Lundgren was dancing down the aisle as he unveiled numbers for the last financial year. “EasyJet has achieved a record bounce back this summer with a performance which underlines that our transformation is delivering,” he declared. The July-September period, in which profits were £674m on a flattering operating measure, delivered “the highest-ever earnings for a single quarter”. Very good, but one good quarter followed about 10 rotten ones. EasyJet still produced a headline loss for the year of £178m – its third loss-making year in a row. The pandemic is to blame, obviously, but there is a lesson here in not chalking up a turnaround before it has become permanent. Lundgren was guilty of premature optimism in the spring; weeks of airport chaos and cancelled flights followed. There is a stronger case now that a corner has been turned, but you can’t blame the stock market for being wary; easyJet’s shares were 550p as recently as late April but are now 383p. Cost of living pressures will bite properly next year and all airlines are now facing a period of higher prices for aviation fuel. While peak holiday weeks such as Christmas are reported to be back to normal levels of demand, Lundgren also said that “visibility over bookings in the second half [post-April] remains low”. EasyJet is improving, but it hasn’t reached comfortable cruising altitude. Shining a light on the mini-budget It’s ancient history now, but Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget was even more chaotic than we knew already. That, at least, was the gist of the testimony of Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, to a House of Lords select committee on Tuesday. Normal form requires the Treasury to brief the Bank about the contents of a big fiscal announcement, but Bailey clearly didn’t get a full picture. “I’m afraid there were parts of it we had no idea what was in it,” he said. Why? “I don’t think Treasury officials were clear what was going to be in it.” The timing of these interactions with Threadneedle Street, note, was the day before Kwarteng’s big announcement. One gets an impression of the former chancellor wavering until the 11th hour about whether to adopt radical measures such as scrapping the 45p additional rate of income tax. One could say it is almost unbelievable – except that it is an entirely plausible version of events. | ['business/nils-pratley-on-finance', 'business/sizewell-c', 'world/china', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'business/easyjet', 'business/theairlineindustry', 'business/business', 'environment/environment', 'campaign/email/business-today', 'uk-news/mini-budget-2022', 'politics/kwasi-kwarteng', 'politics/politics', 'type/article', 'tone/comment', 'profile/nilspratley', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2022-11-29T18:47:31Z | true | ENERGY |
tv-and-radio/2016/may/02/hulu-live-tv-offering-cable-netflix | Hulu to add live TV offering to compete with Netflix and cable providers | Hulu, the internet video streaming service, is planning to take on the traditional cable and broadcast networks with a live TV offering. The service will expand beyond Hulu’s broadcasts of recent reruns of broadcast and cable shows and make it a direct competitor of traditional pay-TV providers and new digital entrants, including Netflix. Multiple reports citing Hulu executives published Monday confirmed the additions to the streaming service, which is owned by a consortium of competing television production companies including NBCUniversal, Disney and Fox Broadcasting. When they debut in the first quarter of 2017, both the format of the new networks and the ads delivered through them would be tailored to the user, an executive told the New York Times. Cable companies and TV providers have made efforts in the recent past to escape from the old-fashioned channel-surfing model associated with cable TV and appeal more broadly to the youth market, which has refused to adopt costly cable subscriptions. Executives told the Wall Street Journal that Fox and Disney were closest to deals to bring networks in their respective stables to the service. Like its streaming video competitors, Hulu has invested heavily over the last three years after the ouster of founding CEO Jason Kilar – under new CEO Mike Hopkins, the company has commissioned programs including an expensive adaptation of Stephen King bestseller 11/22/63, from JJ Abrams, and an upcoming miniseries version of Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale. But Hulu has also bucked conventional understandings of the way it would compete in the market against Netflix and Amazon Prime, where it was initially seen as an ad-filled version of popular ad-free streaming services that simply got content earlier. Instead, Hulu launched its own ad-free tier at a higher premium and agreed not to trim cinephile prints of classic films from boutique movie distributor the Criterion Collection to fit ad breaks. Now, Hulu is flirting with a model tested by services including PlayStation Vue and Sling TV: traditional ad-supported television networks streaming alongside its proprietary shows and the back catalog of television offered on demand. | ['tv-and-radio/hulu', 'technology/digitalvideo', 'business/business', 'books/stephenking', 'film/jjabrams', 'tv-and-radio/tv-and-radio', 'film/film', 'culture/culture', 'technology/technology', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/sam-thielman', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-business'] | technology/digitalvideo | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2016-05-02T16:11:33Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2009/feb/16/rail-recycling-plastic | Network Rail to recycle rubbish into sleepers | Britain's railways are turning to recycled plastic in a trial of environmentally friendly sleepers. Network Rail is to fit up to 250 of the green sleepers, made from old car bumpers and plastic bottles, on the network this summer. The material will replace traditional timber sleepers, which are still common on slower lines. Jerry England, director of engineering at Network Rail said: "This is an important scheme for Network Rail, helping recycling while putting waste to good use. Rail has the enviable position of being the most environmentally friendly and sustainable form of transport, and it is new thinking like this that will help us to improve our record further." The sleepers — which use around 60 kilograms of recycled plastic — are supplied by i-plas, a plastic waste recycling company, based in Halifax. Howard Waghorn, managing director, said they saved raw materials and would last for more than 30 years. "This is plastic that would otherwise go to landfill." Most of the plastic comes from industrial waste. Similar recycled sleepers are already common on railways in Holland and the US. Network Rail fits some 185,000 timber sleepers each year — around 13% of the total. The rest are concrete and steel, which are more expensive and less versatile. The recycled alternatives are currently being tested. "We need to know how they behave and react to events such as fire," a spokesman said. | ['environment/travel-and-transport', 'environment/waste', 'environment/recycling', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'tone/news', 'uk/transport', 'uk/rail-transport', 'type/article', 'profile/davidadam'] | environment/recycling | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2009-02-16T14:53:38Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2018/mar/09/scientists-seek-publics-help-to-map-plastic-on-uk-beaches | Scientists seek public's help to map plastic on UK beaches | Food wrappers, fishing nets, bottles, straws and carrier bags are among the top 10 plastic items littering British beaches, according to new research. An interactive map of the UK published Friday to coincide with British Science Week highlights the most common and unusual plastic pollution of the coastline. Among the most found items were plastic bottles, straws, plastic fishing line and food container lids. But researchers from the British Science Association and the charity The Plastic Tide also found lavatory seats, tampons and toys. Using aerial photos of UK beaches and drone technology, the charity is surveying shores from the Isle of Mull in Scotland to west Cornwall for plastic detritus. The public is being asked to help scientists chart plastic pollution by tagging items captured by the drone. The BSA hopes to get more than 250,000 images tagged by members of the public, who will be helping to build a tool that can understand not only where plastics and marine litter come from, but determine the kind of material and the volume. Peter Kohler, founder and director of The Plastic Tide, said: “Marine creatures die each year through starvation due to eating plastic that stays in their stomach making them feel full. “It is estimated that we eat up to 11,000 pieces of microplastics a year, and if nothing is done to tackle the issue of plastic in our oceans, it’s estimated that there will be 80m metric tonnes of plastic going in to the sea a year by 2025. “The good thing, though, is everyone has the opportunity to be part of the solution. Helping identify rubbish on the Plastic Tide site will be one invaluable way of helping to keep our beaches clean.” Three thousand items of litter from 30 UK beaches were analysed. Plastic rope and small net pieces topped the list of the most common items, while plastic from food packaging made up 21% of all rubbish littering the coast. The 10 most common items found on UK beaches 1. Plastic rope/small net pieces (37%) 2. Plastic or foam fragments (29%) 3. Plastic food wrappers (7%) 4. Plastic bags (5%) 5. Plastic bottles (4%) 6. Fishing lures and lines (4%) 7. Container caps (3%) 8. Fabric pieces (2%) 9. Plastic jugs or containers (1%) 10. Straws (1%) | ['environment/plastic', 'environment/pollution', 'uk/uk', 'environment/waste', 'environment/environment', 'environment/conservation', 'science/science', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/sandralaville', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/topstories', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/plastic | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2018-03-09T06:01:28Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
politics/2021/oct/02/queen-calls-on-scottish-parliament-to-tackle-climate-change | Queen calls on Scottish parliament to tackle climate change | The Queen has urged Scotland’s MSPs to tackle climate change and “help create a better, healthier future” in a speech ahead of the Cop26 climate conference. The Queen also reflected on the “deep and abiding affection” and happy memories she and the late Duke of Edinburgh shared of Scotland as she formally opened the new session of the Scottish parliament. Accompanied by the Prince of Wales and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall – known as the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay in Scotland – the Queen told MSPs that as the country emerged from the “adverse and uncertain times” of the pandemic, there was an opportunity for “hope and optimism”. She said: “Next month, I will be attending Cop26 events in Glasgow. The eyes of the world will be on the United Kingdom – and Scotland in particular – as leaders come together to address the challenges of climate change. “There is a key role for the Scottish parliament, as with all parliaments, to help create a better, healthier future for us all, and to engage with the people they represent – especially our young people.” Speaking at Holyrood for the first time since Prince Philip’s death, the Queen added: “Today is also a day when we can celebrate those who have made an extraordinary contribution to the lives of other people in Scotland, locally or nationally during the Covid-19 pandemic. “It is often said that it is the people that make a place. And there are few places where this is truer than in Scotland. As we have seen in recent times. We all know of the difficult circumstances that many people have encountered during the last 18 months. However, alongside this have been countless examples of resilience and goodwill. “Following my grandson’s time as lord high commissioner, Prince William has told me many heartening stories that he heard first-hand of people and communities across Scotland uniting to protect and care for those who are isolated or vulnerable.” The monarch, who has been on her annual break at Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire, met party and parliamentary leaders in the garden lobby before the ceremony in the debating chamber. Responding to the Queen’s speech, the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said Covid was the biggest crisis to confront the world since the second world war. “It has caused pain and heartbreak, it has exposed and exacerbated the inequalities within our society. But it has also revealed humankind’s boundless capacity for inventiveness, solidarity and love,” she said. “And for those of us in public service, it has reminded us that with collective political will, changes that we might previously have thought impossible or just too difficult can indeed be achieved. “In the months ahead, we must take the same urgency and resolve with which we have confronted this pandemic and apply it to the hard work of recovery and renewal, to the task of building a fairer and greener future for this and the generations who come after us.” Afterwards, the Queen, Charles and Camilla were due to meet Scots who have been recognised for their contribution to communities during the Covid-19 pandemic. | ['politics/scotland', 'uk/scotland', 'uk/queen', 'uk/monarchy', 'uk/uk', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'politics/nicola-sturgeon', 'politics/politics', 'environment/cop26-glasgow-climate-change-conference-2021', 'environment/green-politics', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/harriet-grant', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | environment/green-politics | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2021-10-02T12:23:39Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
politics/2009/jan/26/heathrow-boris | Boris Johnson accused of spending taxpayers' money on anti-Heathrow Tory propaganda event | Boris Johnson was today accused of spending tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money on a "Tory party propaganda" event. John Biggs, the deputy leader of the Labour group on the London assembly, said the Conservative mayor turned a public debate on the expansion of Heathrow into a "party-political rally" — a claim roundly rejected by Johnson's office. Biggs believes the full bill, which he claims comes to around £35,000, should be charged to the Conservative party instead of being met by taxpayers. He wrote today to Martin Clarke, the Greater London authority's executive director for resources, and alleged that Johnson had engaged in "a Tory party propaganda event with no effort to secure balance and which essentially focused on projecting the Tory party and its policies to the deliberate exclusion and misrepresentation of alternate views and perspectives." Biggs' allegations relate to a public debate on Heathrow expansion held last week in Hayes, one of the areas set to be most affected if the runway plans go ahead. All 600 tickets for the event were taken, with residents from villages under threat taking part in a passionate debate. Opposition parties on the London assembly were furious that Johnson chose to break with the mayor's "people's question time" tradition by failing to invite them on to the stage, even though the cross-party assembly is opposed to expansion – including the eight-strong Labour group. The panel of speakers arguing against the plans was made up exclusively of Conservatives: Johnson, Zac Goldsmith, the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Richmond Park, and Ray Puddifoot, the Conservative council leader of Hillingdon council and a representative of the 2M coalition of councils opposed to expansion. The event was also chaired by a Conservative, Richard Barnes, who is Johnson's deputy mayor and the assembly member for Ealing and Hillingdon. The camp in favour of expansion included an empty chair that had been put aside for the prime minister, Gordon Brown, who was invited but had never agreed to come – a move that Bigs described as "party political prop". The two panellists present were Lord Soley, former Labour MP for Hammersmith who is now campaign director for Future Heathrow, and Frank Wingate, the chief executive of West London Business. In his letter to Clarke, Biggs asked the executive director to clarify what, if any, legal advice was given to Johnson prior to staging the debate. Biggs wrote: "I have no doubt that the mayor was properly advised and supported in organising this event but it appears to have degenerated into little more than a party-political platform for the mayor and London Tories. I think there is a case for requiring the cost of an event to be recharged to the Conservative party, and for an apology for misuse of public funds and possibly further actions to be taken." He later told the Guardian: "We don't see how spending taxpayers' money on what was little more than a Tory party rally can constitute anything less than a serious misuse of public funds. Once GLA officers have been given time to respond in full, there could be a case for sending the £35,000 bill to Conservative party central office." The mayor's spokesman rebutted Biggs' claims and described as "wildly inaccurate" the suggestion that £35,000 was spent on the event, maintaining it was between £15,000 and £20,000. The spokesman said the mayor had provided a public debate which was of "immense interest" to those whose livelihoods would be affected by expansion. "All sides of the debate were invited along and the case for a third runway was put forcefully by a Labour peer and a prominent businessman. As was obvious to anyone who attended, not everyone in the audience was a Conservative. "It was drawn from a range of political backgrounds including people who were non-party aligned. The mayor made a commitment that he would be more open to scrutiny and more accountable to the people of London, particularly those in outer boroughs, and holding public meetings likes this are a crucial part of keeping that promise to the electorate." | ['politics/boris-johnson', 'politics/london', 'uk/london', 'politics/politics', 'environment/green-politics', 'politics/transport', 'uk/transport', 'environment/heathrow-third-runway', 'environment/environment', 'society/localgovernment', 'society/society', 'uk/uk', 'tone/news', 'world/air-transport', 'type/article', 'profile/helenemulholland'] | environment/green-politics | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2009-01-26T18:28:00Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
environment/article/2024/jun/25/rising-sea-levels-flooding | Rising sea levels will disrupt millions of Americans’ lives by 2050, study finds | Sea level rise driven by global heating will disrupt the daily life of millions of Americans, as hundreds of homes, schools and government buildings face frequent and repeated flooding by 2050, a new study has found. Almost 1,100 critical infrastructure assets that sustain coastal communities will be at risk of monthly flooding by 2050, according to the new research by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). The vast majority of the assets – 934 of them – face the risk of flood disruption every other week, which could make some coastal neighborhoods unlivable within two to three decades. Almost 3 million people currently live in the 703 US coastal communities with critical infrastructure at risk of monthly disruptive flooding by 2050, including affordable and subsidized housing, wastewater treatment facilities, toxic industrial sites, power plants, fire stations, schools, kindergartens and hospitals. The number of critical infrastructure assets at risk of disruptive flooding is expected to nearly double compared to 2020, even when assuming a medium rate of climate-driven sea level rise (rather than the worst case scenario). California, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts and New Jersey have the most critical infrastructure that needs to be made more flood resilient – or be relocated to safer ground. Within states, the burden of coastal flooding will not be equal: more than half the critical assets facing frequent flooding by 2050 are located in communities already disadvantaged by historic and current structural racism, discrimination and pollution, the UCS analysis found. Disadvantaged coastal communities with infrastructure at risk of flooding have higher proportions of Black, Latino and Native American residents. Public and affordable housing represents the single most at-risk infrastructure in these communities. Routine flooding of critical infrastructure could lead to some of the most vulnerable and underserved children being forced to travel further for school and medical appointments, as well as the contamination of local water supplies by the flooding of polluted soil, according to Juan Declet-Barreto, a report author and senior social scientist for climate vulnerability at UCS. “Failing to prioritize resilience solutions in these communities risks reinforcing the harmful legacy of environmental racism and colonialism in places already grossly underserved and overlooked,” said Declet-Barreto. The report, Looming Deadlines for Coastal Resilience, comes at a critical juncture for the climate emergency amid spiraling fossil fuel production in countries like the US, UK, Norway, Canada, China and Brazil – and deadly heat, floods and drought striking communities across the world with increased frequency and intensity. Meanwhile, the devastating consequences of slow-onset climate disasters such as desertification, melting glaciers and sea level rise are also driving rising costs, the loss of homes and livelihoods, as well as forced displacement for communities across the world. The world’s oceans are rising, and every year seawater reaches farther inland, which poses an ever-increasing threat to homes, businesses and critical infrastructure. By 2030, the number of critical buildings and facilities at risk of routine and repeat flooding along US coastlines is expected to grow by 20% compared to 2020 conditions. In Charleston, South Carolina, more than 20 high-tide floods were recorded in 2023, sending seawater into the streets and submerging low-lying areas. By 2050, at least 23 essential pieces of infrastructure in Charleston are expected to flood at least twice annually, assuming a medium sea level rise scenario. This includes 17 public housing buildings, which would exacerbate the state’s affordable housing crisis. UCS researchers identified the critical infrastructure along the entire contiguous US, as well as Guam, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, which face risk of routine flooding, using data including National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tide gauges and three sea level rise scenarios developed by a US Interagency Task Force. Critical infrastructure includes buildings and facilities that provide functions necessary to sustain daily life – or that if flooded, could unleash environmental hazards. The full impact of coastal flooding is likely to be significantly worse, as drinking water facilities, bus and metro stations, and retirement and care facilities for older adults were not included in the UCS study. The analysis looks at flooding driven solely by sea level rise and tidal heights. Other climate-related drivers including storm surge, and heavy rainfall which can – and do – increase the risk of disruptive flooding were not included in the study. The risk of coastal flooding is rising every year. The amount of sea level rise by century’s end will ultimately depend on the world’s willingness to curtail or continue releasing heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions. But without urgent action to reinforce critical infrastructure, the number of schools, apartment blocks, energy facilities and government buildings at risk of disruptive flooding is expected to rise by at least sevenfold by 2100, according to the UCS analysis. Almost 7.5 million people currently live in the 1,758 coastal communities with critical infrastructure at risk of frequent and repeated flooding by the turn of the century. Assuming a medium-case scenario, around 4,800 buildings and facilities on US coastlines face the threat of disruptive fooding every fortnight by 2100. “Even if their homes stay dry, disruptive flooding of vital infrastructure could leave people essentially stranded within their communities or enduring intolerable and even unlivable conditions,” said Erika Spanger, a co-author and director of strategic climate analytics at UCS. “There’s a rapidly approaching deadline for many coastal communities that demands urgent attention.” | ['environment/sea-level', 'environment/flooding', 'environment/oceans', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'world/extreme-weather', 'environment/coastlines', 'world/race', 'us-news/us-news', 'us-news/florida', 'us-news/california', 'us-news/massachusetts', 'us-news/maryland', 'us-news/new-jersey', 'us-news/south-carolina', 'us-news/louisiana', 'world/guam', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/nina-lakhani', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2024-06-25T06:00:08Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2023/sep/01/country-diary-up-close-with-these-veterans-of-the-ocean | Country diary: Up close with these veterans of the ocean | Mya Bambrick | Two miles off the Llŷn peninsula in Wales lies Bardsey Island, an exposed, rocky landmass 1.5 miles long and just over 0.5 miles at its widest point. Bardsey mountain rises over almost half of the island, with a height of 167 metres and rare lichen species found at the top. It’s only reachable by boat and has just 12 properties, one being Bardsey Bird and Field Observatory – my home for the week. I’m here for a university birders week, and on a clear, mild and slightly windy night – a relief given how strong the wind can get here – we head out into the darkness to look for a rarely seen and fascinating species. As we walk along the gravel track, our gaze is fixed on the incredible night sky. There is so little light pollution here that the island was recently designated as Europe’s first dark sky sanctuary. Even the Milky Way is visible with the naked eye. Dark silhouettes glide overhead, sounding like squeaky dog toys. As we wander towards a grassy stone wall, I see a black and white medium-sized bird sitting on the top. Then another, and another. These are Manx shearwaters, a seabird of the open ocean. Nearly 30,000 of these birds call Bardsey home, nesting in burrows and thriving due to the lack of ground predators. We are helping with a long-term scheme to ring and monitor these birds. Steve Stansfield, director of operations at the observatory, explains how to put on a metal ring, each with a unique number to help us to track and identify each individual. In autumn they will migrate to the South Atlantic, mostly off Brazil and Argentina, with the last juveniles leaving in late September or early October; they’ll arrive back here in late March next year. A Manx shearwater that nested on the island in 2008 was shown by its ring to be over 50 years old, and would have flown around 5m miles in its lifetime. These ones are adults; at night-time they like to sit on and around the walls near to their burrows. During the day, when we ring the juveniles, we have to put our hands down the burrows and carefully take them out. As I carefully attach the ring with Steve’s help, I think about all the phenomenal landscapes it has seen. Placing it back where it was found, I wish it good luck. Who knows – it might just make it to 50. • Mya Bambrick’s trip was part of her charity fundraising project 21 Wildlife Walks, raising money for the British Trust for Ornithology • Country diary is on Twitter at @gdncountrydiary | ['environment/series/country-diary', 'environment/birds', 'environment/coastlines', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/environment', 'uk/ruralaffairs', 'uk/uk', 'environment/wildlife', 'uk/wales', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/mya-bambrick', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/marine-life | BIODIVERSITY | 2023-09-01T04:30:04Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
uk-news/2015/nov/26/heathrow-protest-chaos-block-entrance-terminal-airport-plane-stupid | Heathrow protesters block entrance tunnel to Terminals 1, 2 and 3 | Environmental activists caused disruption at Heathrow during rush hour by parking a van across the entrance tunnel to Terminals 1, 2 and 3 and locking themselves to the vehicle so that it could not be moved. The campaign group Plane Stupid said three of its members parked the van across the tunnel at 7.40am and unfurled a banner quoting David Cameron’s election promise: “No ifs, no buts: no third runway.” The Metropolitan police said they were called to the scene soon after, and by 8.40am officers had made five arrests for “obstruction-related offences”. The force said the protesters were removed and the road reopened by about 11.10am. A video posted to Twitter showed a small white van parked across both lanes of the carriageway inside the tunnel, with traffic backed up behind it. Motorists held up by the protest had got out of their vehicles but appeared calm. On the side of the parked van there was a banner that said “No new runways”. In the video, a protester is lying next to the front left wheel of the vehicle, presumably locked to it. The demonstration blocked the inbound section of the tunnel. A contraflow system was put in place on the outbound section in an effort to clear the traffic. Cameron Kaye, a spokesman for Plane Stupid, said the protest was being staged to draw attention to concerns about the impact a third runway could have on the environment. “Airport expansion would wreck the legally binding Climate Change Act, risking wiping out 55% of species this century and displacing 75 million more people from their homes by 2035,” Kaye said in a statement on the group’s website. “If aviation growth isn’t reduced, by 2037 aviation alone could emit all of the carbon it’s safe for the UK to emit. The government needs to choose: build new runways or stop climate chaos. It’s that simple.” A spokesman for Heathrow said passengers planning to travel to the airport by road should set off earlier. “We can confirm there is a protest taking place in the inbound tunnel which is currently affecting traffic around the central terminal area and Terminals 2 and 3 at Heathrow,” the spokesman said. “Police are now on site but we urge passengers to allow extra time getting to the airport today.” | ['environment/heathrow-third-runway', 'environment/activism', 'uk-news/heathrow-airport', 'uk/london', 'uk/uk', 'world/protest', 'environment/environment', 'uk/transport', 'environment/travel-and-transport', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/damien-gayle'] | environment/activism | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2015-11-26T09:40:07Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
environment/2019/apr/16/im-terrified-extinction-rebellion-activists-on-why-they-are-protesting | 'I'm terrified': Extinction Rebellion activists on why they are protesting | Nathan, 15, from Wanstead, east London Nathan, who was into his second day of protest, was sitting in the road in Piccadilly Circus in front of a large “rebel for life” banner laid across the ground. He was wearing boots stained blue with spray chalk. “We need to do something drastic to have action,” he said. “For the past 40 years we have known about climate change and we have tried to go through governments and peaceful marching through the streets and it hasn’t done anything.” Nathan has been working with Extinction Rebellion as an organiser, which he said had been an incredible experience. “I was able to pick up so many skills … I’ve met some amazing people.” He said he would be surprised if he made it to the end of the week without getting arrested. “I’ve had a couple of warnings from the police already,” he said. “But I’ve had training so I know my rights, I know what to do, so it’s not like this terrifying thing.” Asked what his parents thought, Nathan said they were not particularly pleased. “They were like: ‘We are glad you’re fighting for a cause, but if you get a fine we are going to be mad.’” Julia Spindel, 26, biology PhD student at Cambridge University Spindel had been in London since Sunday and said she was supporting friends who were prepared to be arrested, although she had decided to try not to be arrested herself. “I am just terrified that we will wipe our species out and take many others with us,” she said at Waterloo Bridge. “I feel like our politicians are simply not doing nearly enough. We have been peacefully demonstrating about this issue for so long with no impact that I think this is our last chance to do something in time. “I have discussed this with my family and they are very proud and fully agree with my stance on this, although they are worried about me getting arrested.” Pippa Clarke, 71, part-time English teacher from Frome, Somerset Clarke said she hoped the protest would encourage politicians “to engage with the facts and begin to create the space to take meaningful action”. “There is nothing else left to do,” she said at Waterloo Bridge. “We have tried protesting and we have tried making our case to the government calmly but they don’t listen. Now I feel we have to take part in civil disobedience in an attempt to meet the huge challenge we face. But because of Brexit it is very difficult at the moment to get our voice heard. It is frustrating because when you take a step back it is clear Brexit will be nothing if we don’t save the planet. Few people seem to realise that but that is genuinely the scale of what we are talking about here. “I hear some people in government and politics do get this … If ordinary people like me – I am not a hardcore environmentalist or activist – are prepared to take a stand and even get arrested then surely that has to count for something?” Mary Kennedy, retired health visitor from Edinburgh Kennedy was handing out Penguin biscuits to protesters as part of her duties as a wellbeing steward at the Extinction Rebellion event in Edinburgh. “I’m here because I’ve got grandchildren and I really think something has to be done,” she said. This was Kennedy’s first environmental protest, although she also marched against the Iraq war, and she commended the “really lovely” atmosphere. It was the significance of the protest that had brought her here, she said. “This is just so important. You have to be here – or be dead.” She said her role was to help maintain the atmosphere, keeping an eye out for anyone who looked like they were becoming upset or angry, and intervening before things escalated. Noting Monday’s protests in London, she said: “It’s not just happening across the UK but across the world and I don’t see it ending any time soon. It’s going to take a lot to make governments wake up to their responsibilities.” Charlie Griffiths, 19, engineer from Cambridge “The main reason I am doing this is because our government is lying,” said Griffiths, who was taking part in the blockade of Waterloo Bridge in London. “They are lying about issues on which there is concrete scientific consensus. For me it is totally unacceptable to lie against scientists who have spent their careers painstakingly researching this stuff. “Protests around these environmental issues have been going on for decades and nothing has created meaningful proportionate change. I don’t want to be arrested but I am prepared to do that because what else is there? Write a letter to my MP, join Greenpeace – none of it seems to make much difference, so I feel there is no option but to take a stand.” Josiah Finegan, 22, student from Bristol Finegan, also at Waterloo Bridge, said it was the first time he had been on this sort of protest, and it was “really positive and interesting”. “I am freaking out about the climate, to be honest,” he said. “There have been so many warnings from scientists about what we are facing, it is quite shocking. The government is not facing up to the evidence of what is happening, so I am here to try my best to get them to respond. “My family and friends sort of agree about the climate stuff but don’t really want to face it properly and many of them are not the sort of people to take part in something like this, though I wish they would. But I am terrified. It is quite a terrifying prospect when you look at the facts. That’s why I’m here.” | ['environment/extinction-rebellion', 'environment/activism', 'uk/london', 'uk/uk', 'environment/environment', 'uk/scotland', 'world/protest', 'world/world', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'tone/news', 'profile/damien-gayle', 'profile/matthewtaylor', 'profile/libbybrooks', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/extinction-rebellion | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2019-04-16T16:55:39Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
news/2016/oct/17/warm-seas-powered-two-major-hurricanes-matthew-nicole-weatherwatch | How warm seas powered two major hurricanes | Extraordinary things have been happening in the Atlantic. It’s rare enough to have one major hurricane this late in the year, but to have two of them appear in October is unprecedented in 165 years of weather observations. Hurricanes Matthew and Nicole were extremely powerful storms. Matthew was the more intense, with winds reaching 160mph and far more devastating as it tore a path through the Caribbean and along the US south-east coast. No wonder that little attention was paid to Nicole until it exploded into a ferocious storm, winds reaching 130mph before it struck Bermuda. Hurricanes tend to grow weaker as the hurricane season tails off – and the season ends on 30 November – so how did two massive storms seem to come out of the blue? One big factor was unusually warm seas. Matthew turned from a fairly weak tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in just 36 hours as it passed over Caribbean waters at near-record breaking high temperatures, some 2C warmer than normal for October. Similarly, Nicole passed over exceptionally warm seas, even though it tracked much further north in the Atlantic. Hurricanes have to to feed off warm seas for their huge energy needs, but a slow-moving hurricane passing over warm surface waters can sometimes kill itself off by churning up cold water from deep below in the sea. Matthew and Nicole were both slow-moving, but they survived because the seas were also unusually warm well below the surface. Whether or not a warmer climate is to blame, it fits a pattern of more intense hurricanes since the 1980s. | ['news/series/weatherwatch', 'world/hurricane-matthew', 'world/hurricanes', 'world/world', 'science/science', 'science/meteorology', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'us-news/us-weather', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/jeremy-plester', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-weather'] | world/hurricanes | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2016-10-17T20:30:19Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
media/2006/jun/12/overnights | TV ratings: World Cup, June 9-11 | Audiences for the 2006 World Cup are holding up pretty well in comparison with the opening weekend of Euro 2004, despite the heat wave. Friday's entertaining first match of the tournament, in which hosts Germany defeated Costa Rica 4-2, was watched by 5.7 million viewers and attracted a 43% audience share between 5pm and 7pm on BBC1, according to unofficial overnights. Two years ago, the Euro 2004 opener between host nation Portugal and Greece drew 6.2 million viewers and a 44% share on a Saturday afternoon from 5pm, also on BBC1. Germany v Costa Rica also more than doubled BBC1's normal ratings in the 5pm-7pm Friday slot. Later on Friday night, ITV1's live coverage of Ecuador's surprise 2-0 victory over Poland was watched by 5.8 million viewers and attracted a 30% share over two hours from 8pm. The second match in Euro 2004 - Russia v Spain on BBC1 from 7.45pm - attracted 6.4 million viewers and a 34% share. Ecuador v Poland was up against EastEnders on BBC1 - which drew 6.4 million and a 36% share from 8pm - and Channel 4's Big Brother: Live Eviction, which pulled in 4.3 million and 22% of the audience over an hour from 8.30pm. On Saturday evening, Trinidad and Tobago's heroic resistance to secure a 0-0 draw with Sweden attracted an average of 4.8 million viewers and a 39% share for live coverage from 5pm on ITV1. Two years ago, the equivalent match on the second day of Euro 2004, Croatia v Switzerland, was watched by 4.3 million viewers and attracted a 30% share on BBC1. Trinidad and Tobago v Sweden was up against a repeat of The Italian Job on BBC1, which attracted 3 million viewers and a 28% share between 4.15pm and 5.50pm; and The Weakest Link, which drew 2.6 million and 19% over 50 minutes from 6.10pm. Saturday's third World Cup match, Argentina v Ivory Coast, was watched by 5.5 million viewers and won a 30% share during live coverage on ITV1 from 8pm. Argentina's 2-1 victory vied for attention with BBC1's Casualty, which drew 6.2 million viewers and a 33% share; and one-off drama Viva Blackpool, which attracted 3 million and 16%. After the ITV1 football, from 10pm, Rio Ferdinand's World Cup Wind-ups was watched by 3.3 million viewers and attracted a 20% audience share over 65 minutes. Yesterday, top World Cup audience was for Portugal v Angola, which attracted 6.1 million viewers and a 29% share for live coverage on ITV1 over nearly two hours from 8pm. Earlier yesterday, BBC1's coverage of Holland v Serbia and Montenegro drew 4.2 million viewers and a 46% share between 2pm and 4pm; then Mexico v Iran followed on the same channel with 4.4 million and 35% from 5pm. · To contact the MediaGuardian newsdesk email editor@mediatheguardian.com or phone 020 7239 9857 · If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication". | ['media/tvratings', 'media/media', 'media/worldcupthemedia', 'type/article', 'profile/jasondeans'] | media/worldcupthemedia | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2006-06-12T11:37:10Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2016/feb/16/us-states-renewable-energy-green-economy | Coalition of US states pledge to accelerate renewable energy efforts | A bipartisan group of governors from 17 states has pledged to accelerate their efforts to create a green economy in the US by boosting renewables, building better electricity grids and cutting emissions from transport. An accord signed by the governors states that the US must “embrace a bold vision of the nation’s energy future” by reducing emissions, transitioning to clean energy sources and ensuring that infrastructure isn’t risked by extreme weather events such as floods and wildfires. The agreement sets out commitments to expand renewable energy and energy efficiency and integrate solar and wind generation into electricity grids. These grids will be “modernized”, the accord states, to improve energy reliability. Companies that offer electric vehicles or vehicles that run on alternative fuels such as hydrogen or natural gas will be provided incentives and help with infrastructure in the 17 states. New standards and benchmarks for energy efficiency and renewables will also be set. The governors are from California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. These states are home to around 40% of the US population. Advisers from the states, which include both Democratic and Republican governors, will meet to set out steps towards meeting these promises. Jerry Brown, the governor of California, a state that emits around 1% of the world’s greenhouse gases, said the accord builds on his administration’s existing policies, including its goal to reduce petroleum use in cars and trucks by up to 50% within the next 15 years. “With this agreement, governors from both parties have joined together and committed themselves to a clean energy future,” Brown said. “Our goal is to clean up the air and protect our natural resources.” Andrew Cuomo, governor of New York, said that the coalition of states can effectively “develop an effective national energy policy to ensure a safer, greener and more sustainable future for all.” The Republican governor of Nevada, which is set to vote in presidential caucuses for Democratic and Republican candidates in the coming week, said it was important for the state to create jobs in clean energy. “This bipartisan accord provides a platform for Nevada to leverage new partnerships, gain and share knowledge and an opportunity to introduce our energy advancements to other states,” said Governor Brian Sandoval. “I remain committed to pursue policies that will allow Nevada to continue to lead the nation in renewable energy production, energy conservation, and the exportation of energy.” Recent figures show that wind and solar accounted for 5.4% of the US’s energy mix last year, up slightly from 2014. Coal, meanwhile, is on a historic slide, accounting for 34% of electricity generation last year, the smallest share since Energy Information Administration records were first kept in 1949. West Virginia and Kentucky, which have been hit hardest by the decline in coal prices, are projected to continue burning coal. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, coal would still account for about 24% of electricity use in 2030. | ['environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/energy', 'environment/environment', 'us-news/us-news', 'us-news/usdomesticpolicy', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/oliver-milman'] | environment/renewableenergy | ENERGY | 2016-02-16T22:18:19Z | true | ENERGY |
commentisfree/2022/aug/09/congress-climate-bill-oil-companies | Congress is about to pass a historic climate bill. So why are oil companies pleased? | Kate Aronoff | “We’re pleased,” ExxonMobil’s CEO, Darren Woods, said on an earnings call last month, speaking about the Inflation Reduction Act. He called the bill, now making its way through the US Congress, “clear and consistent”. After it passed the Senate Sunday evening, Shell USA said it was “a step toward increased energy security and #netzero”. The world is currently on track to produce double the amount of coal, oil and gas in 2030 than is consistent with capping warming at 1.5C. To state the obvious: climate policy should strike fear into the hearts of fossil fuel executives, not delight them. So what have some of the world’s worst polluters found to like about a historic piece of climate legislation? Guilt by association only goes so far: that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed is undoubtedly good news. It will do a lot of good things. Democrats face the distinct possibility of being locked out of power for at least a decade after midterm elections this November, when they’re expected to lose the House of Representatives. Republicans won’t be keen to recognize that another party’s candidate could win the presidency, let alone reduce emissions. That something being called climate policy passed at all is thanks to the tireless work the climate movement has done to put it on the agenda, and the diligent staffers who spent late nights translating that momentum into legislation. But it also reflects just how much power the fossil fuel industry has amassed. The IRA is the product of a devil’s bargain struck between (among others) Democrats and Joe Manchin, speaking on behalf of his corporate donors. In exchange for his agreeing to vote for some $370bn worth of genuinely exciting climate spending, the West Virginia senator has demanded sweeping permitting reform and an all-of-government greenlight for the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Many of the worst provisions are slated to be passed in future legislation this September. The IRA itself contains a remarkable poison pill, requiring that 60m acres of public waters be offered up for sale each and every year to the oil and gas industry before the federal government could approve any new offshore wind development for a decade. Then again, maybe the oil and gas CEOs have finally come around, and such sweeteners are a distraction from the real story. After decades of lobbying against climate policy perhaps they’ve seen the inexorable march of history towards decarbonization and decided to hitch their wagons to it. Unfortunately, we’ve seen this show before. Over a decade ago the likes of BP and ConocoPhillips joined the US Climate Action Partnership, a coalition of green groups and corporations that set about trying to pass climate legislation at the start of the Obama presidency. The House of Representatives went on to pass the hulking carbon pricing bill it supported, only to see it die in the Senate. For corporate members of USCAP the situation was a win-win. With one hand they helped craft legislation so friendly to their interests that it would leave their core business model – pouring carbon into the atmosphere – mostly untouched. With the other hand they tried to make sure nothing passed at all. As the political scientist Jake Grumbach has shown, several corporate members of the coalition were simultaneously paying generous membership fees to the American Petroleum Institute, the Chamber of Commerce and other trade associations working actively to kill it. The same was true this time around; the critical difference this time is that their bill passed. Understanding what’s just happened demands a longer view. For decades, oil and gas executives have worked to create a political climate wholly allergic to comprehensive climate action. Part of that has been lobbying against climate legislation, of course, working to undermine bodies like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and spread disinformation. But for nearly a century the same corporations have conducted an all-out attack on the ability of the US government to get big, good things done. Climate change is ultimately a planning problem: there is no entity other than the state that can electrify the country, expand the grid, build prodigious amounts of mass transit and wind down coal, oil and gas production in time to keep warming short of catastrophic levels. For all its many shortcomings, the FDR-era New Deal sought to construct a state capable of tackling such complicated problems. The right – supercharged by fossil fuel funding – set out to destroy it, polluting our politics with the idea that efficient markets are the only reasonable answer to what ails society. Predictably, they railed against the Green New Deal, too, which rejected that logic. That’s not the result of some cadre of conniving CEOs waking up every morning and deciding to destroy the planet. They just happen to sell the lifeblood of capitalism and aren’t eager to be booted from that business. That the IRA’s most promising elements are a series of modest incentives to get corporations to do the right thing on climate – that demanding they actually do so feels so far out of reach – is the result of this long-running and largely successful ideological quest. This bill is woefully inadequate, featuring a cruel, casual disregard for those at home and abroad who will live with the consequences of boosting fossil fuel production as a bargaining chip for boosting clean energy. And it’s almost certainly better than nothing. Kate Aronoff is a staff writer at the New Republic and the author of Overheated: How Capitalism Broke the Planet – And How We Fight Back | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'tone/comment', 'environment/environment', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'us-news/us-politics', 'us-news/biden-administration', 'us-news/us-congress', 'environment/fossil-fuels', 'business/oilandgascompanies', 'type/article', 'profile/kate-aronoff', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-opinion'] | environment/fossil-fuels | EMISSIONS | 2022-08-09T10:22:26Z | true | EMISSIONS |
environment/2020/oct/13/farmers-hope-lords-will-strengthen-uk-food-safety-standards | Farmers hope Lords will strengthen UK food safety standards | Farmers and green campaigners are pinning their hopes on the House of Lords to make last-minute changes to the government’s agriculture bill to strengthen safeguards on food safety and animal welfare. Amendments to the bill that would have secured clear legal status for the UK’s existing food and farming standards, which campaigners fear will be at risk in post-Brexit trade deals, were rejected in the House of Commons on Monday night, despite a rebellion from backbench Tory MPs. Peers will now reconsider the legislation, and have the opportunity to beef up the role of a proposed trade and agriculture commission, which would scrutinise any deals and their impact on farming and food safety. Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers’ Union, said: “The future of British food and farming is at stake. Without proper safeguards on future trade deals, we risk seeing an increase in food imports that have been produced to standards that would be illegal here. [There is] a new opportunity for the Lords to put forward an amendment that will give the commission more teeth and enable MPs to have their say.” Farmers are concerned that without safeguards in the agriculture bill, they will be placed in an impossible bind. If they are to keep access to their biggest export market, Europe, then UK standards must be kept in line with EU regulations; but if the government does not mandate similar standards for imports, floods of cheap food produced to lower standards will undercut UK produce, destroying the domestic market. The impact is likely to hit small family farms hardest, and thousands could go out of business. More than one million people signed an NFU petition, and a campaign to “save our standards” has been supported by Jamie Oliver, the chef, and other public figures. Kath Dalmeny, of the Future British Standards Coalition, warned: “The government seems to be underestimating public sentiment on this matter. The public cares profoundly about this issue, and won’t forget a broken manifesto commitment on it.” Vicki Hird, head of farm policy at Sustain, an NGO coalition, said: “We are in active discussions with peers about what to do when the agriculture bill returns there. We reject the government’s line that it isn’t workable to have high standards at home and sign trade deals. We want peers to keep advocating to protect our food and farming standards as well as secure a trade and agriculture commission that has powers and a wider membership that better reflects the range of interests involved.” Campaigners are also concerned about the impact of lower-standard imports on public health and on the global environment. Ministers have offered repeated assurances that two of the foods which have hit the headlines – chlorinated chicken and hormone-injected beef from the US – will continue to be banned in any trade deal. These are just two products out of a raft of agricultural offerings from the US and other countries that would violate EU rules and, according to scientists, pose a threat to health, as well as entailing unnecessary suffering on the part of livestock. For instance, antibiotics are used five times as much on US farms as in the UK. Using antibiotics in large quantities leads to the growth of resistant strains of bacteria, which can infect people and in serious cases can kill. Pesticides are still used in the US and other countries that have been outlawed in the EU because of health concerns, with residues found in fruit and vegetables. Meat produced in the US also often comes from animals at higher stocking densities than the UK, with lower welfare standards. According to documents obtained under freedom of information laws by Greenpeace, the government’s food standards agency is readying itself for a “strong push” from other countries for the UK to allow imports of chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-injected beef. One option favoured by the government is for clearer labelling, so consumers can make the choice to buy higher welfare and higher standard products. Campaigners point out, however, that about half of food is eaten outside the home, where detailed labelling and provenance information is rarely available. The government has also argued that parliament already has the power to vote against future trade deals. All deals will be assessed by an independent board which will look at the impact on the environment and society. Their report will then be debated in the Commons and a deal can be “blocked indefinitely” under the so-called Crag (constitutional reform and governance act) process, the international trade secretary Liz Truss said recently. Critics say it will be difficult to challenge any future deals given the government’s 80-strong majority, which is why they wanted a “democratic lock” created to avert any deals involving objectionable farming practices. A government spokesperson said: “This government has been clear it will not sign a trade deal that will compromise on our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards, and claims to the contrary are unhelpful scaremongering. We are a world leader in these areas and that will not change. Chlorinated chicken and hormone -injected beef are not permitted for import into the UK. This will be retained through the EU Withdrawal Act and enshrined in UK law at the end of the transition period. The government is focused on getting trade deals that protect and advance the interests of our farmers and consumers. If a deal isn’t the right one, we will walk away.” | ['environment/farming', 'politics/eu-referendum', 'world/food-safety', 'uk/uk', 'world/eu', 'us-news/us-news', 'politics/politics', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/lisaocarroll', 'profile/fiona-harvey', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/farming | BIODIVERSITY | 2020-10-13T16:05:51Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
business/2023/feb/15/under-no-circumstances-will-we-pay-that-absurd-amount-royal-mail-tells-hackers | ‘All we have had is losses’: Royal Mail dismisses ‘absurd’ $80m ransom demand | Royal Mail rejected an “absurd” ransom demand for $80m (£67m) from hackers linked to Russia, according to transcripts that offer a rare glimpse into negotiations when companies are hit by a ransomware cyberattack. The delivery company has been battling a ransomware attack since January, when the LockBit group hacked into its software and blocked international shipments by encrypting files crucial to the company’s operations. Chat transcripts released on the dark web, apparently by LockBit, show how the two sides traded blows in the negotiation that followed, with Royal Mail fending off increasingly aggressive demands that it was “time to pay”. Nearly two weeks after the talks began, a LockBit hacker set a ransom of $80m, which they claimed was equal 0.5% of the company’s revenue, in exchange for decrypting the files. LockBit said this would cost less than the fine that Royal Mail could receive from the Information Commissioner’s Office, if it were to become public that the company had failed to protect its data. Under EU data protection laws, retained after Brexit, companies can be fined up to 4% of their annual revenue if they lose personal data. “As long as we haven’t published any of your files, you can’t be fined,” the LockBit hacker said. “If you can negotiate with us, the government will be left without your $640m.” Royal Mail’s negotiator pointed out that the hackers appeared to be confusing the parcel service’s revenue with the larger turnover reported by its parent company, International Distribution Services (IDS). “All we have had is losses. Here, you can read about it yourself,” wrote the Royal Mail negotiator, sending a link to a Guardian article from October that warned of 10,000 potential job cuts and £450m of losses in the struggling letter delivery business, which has been rocked by strikes. LockBit refused to accept the explanation and accused the company’s negotiator of “bluffing”, speculating that the company’s directors probably held £100m of cryptocurrency personally that could “finish this nightmare”. But on 28 January, Royal Mail’s board delivered a withering response to the demands. “Under no circumstances will we pay you the absurd amount of money you have demanded,” the company said. “We have repeatedly tried to explain to you we are not the large entity you have assumed we are, but rather a smaller subsidiary without the resources you think we have. But you continue to refuse to listen to us. “This is an amount that could never be taken seriously by our board.” LockBit responded by saying: “If you want a discount, then make a counter offer, we are here to have constructive negotiations, not for me to give you a discount after every bluff you make […]” The hacker told the negotiator that another, smaller, UK company had previously paid a ransom and urged Royal Mail’s “very greedy” directors to negotiate a smaller payment. “If you can give me a lower starting point, I think I may be able to get the board to work with you,” the Royal Mail’s negotiator said before ultimately saying the company was unlikely to pay. LockBit apparently then published the files on the dark web, with the message: “Royal Mail need [sic] new negotiator.” A Royal Mail spokesman said: “As there is an ongoing investigation, law enforcement has advised that it would be inappropriate to make any further comment on this incident.” | ['business/royal-mail', 'business/business', 'technology/hacking', 'campaign/email/business-today', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/rob-davies'] | technology/hacking | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2023-02-15T16:59:27Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
lifeandstyle/2016/jan/23/sex-tech-dildo-sexual-health-expo-los-angeles | Something for the weekend, sir? The latest in sex tech | Today’s entrepreneurial generation might not have invented sex, but they have invented bluetooth-connected sex toys. Robina Gibb scoured Los Angeles’s Sexual Health Expo in January, exploring some of the market’s most innovative and intimate devices, from electronic stimulators for couples to smartphone-controlled pelvic floor exercisers. The Piu masturbation toy Made by IMTOY, this stylish men’s vibrator has a shiny black and red exterior and a squidgy red silicone interior. Penises will be treated to a choice of 30 vibration patterns delivered by three different motors that are designed to give “a gentle butterfly flutter or a big thump”, according to marketing director Matthew von Abo. The Piu costs $199, and syncs with an app that sells a selection of adult films designed to play in time with the app. Owned by a Chinese firm based in Shenzhen, the Piu is touted as the most luxurious and sophisticated male vibrator. The Nova vibrator Tori Parker, director of business development at We-Vibe, shows off the company’s new Nova vibrator. A flexible, two-pronged vibrator, it works with the We-Control app that also allows a partner to control the device remotely. This is known, in old sex-tech parlance, as “teledildonics”. This chunk of sophisticated remote sex play can be yours for around $150. We-Vibe’s couples vibrator The We-Vibe 4 Plus comes with the We-Connect app, and is the latest smart version of what claims to be the world’s top selling “wearable” couple’s vibrator. Manufactured by Canadian firm Standard Innovations, the curved, ergonomic design looks something like a fleshy rubber staple gun and is designed to be worn by the woman during sex. Like the Nova, the We-Vibe 4 can be controlled remotely through the app, though the company also helpfully suggests that the “snug fit” and “whisper-quiet motors” make it ideal for a solo, discreet panty vibe. It is made of silky, medical grade silicone, comes in pink, purple and grey and sells for $179. Welcome to California: dildos made of crystal If internet-connected stimulation isn’t quite your thing, you might prefer a softly polished wand or egg made of pure crystal. Chakrubs founder Vanessa Cuccia started her company to bring the healing power of crystal, or stone magic, to the realm of sex. Choices include Indian jade, white lotus and obsidian which, the company claims, will rid the user of any negative energy in their aura, and anywhere else they stick it. Prices range from $75 to $200. Candy – the electric monitor for kegels The Candy is another IMTOY “personal trainer” for women to help strengthen pelvic floor muscles. Kegel exercisers are a booming sector and this “smart” little 33mm diameter ball on a loop is one of cutest. Blush-pink and made of medical grade silicone, its internal pressure sensor collects “tension data” from the contraction-release movement of the pelvic floor muscles and communicates via bluetooth to the Candy smartphone app, with a pressure scale that peaks at 225. The app has a series of “workouts” with the tone of a motivational gym instructor. Packaged like an expensive bottle of perfume, it comes in a sleek white storage case that includes an ultraviolet transmitter for sterilization. Created by Chinese engineers who say they have mirrored the low 40dB ambient sound of a library in its tiny motor, the Candy costs $189. The inseminating dildo you’ve been looking for The POP is the latest version of the revolutionary Semenette, a sex toy that doubles as an inseminating device that mimics ejaculation. Inventor Stephanie Berman had failed to conceive with her partner using the “turkey baster” method and wanted to create a toy that was both pleasurable, functional and didn’t feel like a medical aid. When Berman’s partner became pregnant the first time they used it, she secured funding and patented the product’s removable and replaceable tubing. It comes in a variety of colors, has a strap-on option and retails for $139.95 including three detachable tubes. And finally... Edgeplay Gear toned down their selection of stock for the She event, displaying a modest selection of non-internet-connected velvety paddles and leather whips. For the unleashed version of ball gags, chastity cages and inventive ironmongery, see the Edgeplay Gear website. | ['technology/gadgets', 'lifeandstyle/sex', 'technology/technology', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'society/sexual-health', 'society/fertility-problems', 'us-news/us-news', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/robina-gibb'] | technology/gadgets | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2016-01-23T13:37:19Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
commentisfree/2019/may/21/facial-recognition-privacy-prepared-regulation | Facial recognition will soon be everywhere. Are we prepared? | Dylan Curran | Imagine this: you walk into work and the camera above the doors scans your face, opening them seamlessly without you lifting a finger. You sit down at your computer and it instantly unlocks. Oh, but you need to run to the pharmacist at lunch. You walk up to a camera, and your prescription is deposited in front of you. You go home from work, a camera blinks, and your door unlocks as your hand touches the handle. You look at your face in the mirror, and it tells you to moisturize. It’s going to be a hot day tomorrow, so it recommends you wear sun-cream. It’ll even order it for you (next-day delivery from Amazon of course). Sounds pretty good right? Now imagine this: you walk down the street and a pair of policemen stare at you. Their body cameras flash red and they instantly pull their guns and tell you to drop to the ground, you’re under arrest. You comply and after several days in jail, they let you know you were misidentified as a violent criminal on the loose due to the 1.3% margin of error. Regardless of your innocence, you’re in the system. Now wherever you go, cameras that capture you will automatically increase the “danger score” of the area and alert police to watch out for you. Even worse, as you enter stores, the facial recognition system lets the staff know a recently arrested individual has entered the building. They stare suspiciously at you now. Doesn’t sound so good? Facial recognition already has these problems with people of color. As fantastical as either of those scenarios might seem, it’s quite possible that this will be the future we’re headed towards. Companies have a neverending appetite to use powerful new software to make their customer’s life easier and governments persistently feel the need to misuse emerging technologies for the greater good. The “benefits” of the technology are already being implemented by airlines, as seen by JetBlue Airways. Rather than scanning a boarding pass or handing over a passport, you simply stare into a camera and you’re verified. The Department of Homeland Security kindly provides their database of citizens’ faces to JetBlue. There’s no opt-in, your face is just handed over. This does save time and optimize processes, but it raises the question: do you have the right to your own face? Who is responsible for the protection of this information? Can I even remove my face from this database and just go the old-fashioned way? We have no idea, and it’s already in airports and being tested in law enforcement. The downsides of the technology, however, are on full display in China. A reported 200m surveillance cameras around the country are doing everything from tracking shoppers in stores to preventing violent crime to catching jaywalkers. Virtually every citizen of China is in this massive facial database, and your whereabouts are tracked at every junction. Even more troubling, a new Chinese startup can identify citizens anywhere in mere seconds. We all know how little China respects privacy, but can we trust western countries to act any differently? As we’ve seen with the mass surveillance programs run by the NSA and the United Kingdom’s GCHQ, evidently not. In the UK, a man was even recently fined for covering his face while walking past one of these facial cameras. We humans have the incessant need to make things smoother, better and faster. This desire has helped drive the remarkable progress we have achieved as a society. However, we’ve reached the stage where our technological leaps and bounds no longer save us hours, or even minutes – they shave only seconds from our day-to-day tasks. The costs to our privacy are no longer so clearly outweighed by the benefits this technology can provide. It’s time to take a step back and ask some necessary questions. We need to discuss whether we actually need widespread facial recognition technology, what sensible legislation looks like and how to ensure law enforcement doesn’t abuse this technology. If we act now, I believe we can succeed in preventing technology companies from infiltrating every aspect of our lives. If we don’t, though, I fear the worst. Will we live in a future where our location is logged in some unknown database wherever we go? Or a world where political dissidents in a dictatorship have zero chance of maintaining their anonymity. Will citizens walking the streets all around the planet glance at cameras, and nervously wonder if someone, somewhere, just watched their name flash up on a screen? I hope not. But if we do, we will only have our own inaction and complacency to blame. Dylan Curran is a data consultant and web developer | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'technology/technology', 'technology/facial-recognition', 'world/privacy', 'type/article', 'tone/comment', 'profile/dylan-curran', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-opinion'] | technology/facial-recognition | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2019-05-21T12:10:19Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2013/jan/31/east-anglia-new-risk-sea | 60 years since devastation in East Anglia, we face a new risk from the sea | Jules Pretty | Sixty years ago today, floods and gales shattered the east coast and its communities. Every East Anglian of a certain age still remembers the 1953 floods, when sea walls were breached in over 1,000 places, and more than 300 people died. Three events combined: full moon, a deep trough of low-pressure that sucked up the sea by an extra foot, and violent gales which lasted many hours. The high tide came down the North Sea as a giant standing wave, and the coast would at first be threatened, and then in a few short hours overtopped and soundly beaten. By 5pm, sea water crashed through the dunes in Lincolnshire, and crushed every automatic tide gauge in the Wash. The evening train from Hunstanton ran headlong into a wall of water a mile inland, and was stranded for six hours. Forty bungalows, home mainly to American servicemen and their Norfolk wives, were swept away: 65 drowned. Six-metre waves burst through Sea Palling, and rushed inland. Yarmouth was engulfed, and Southwold cut off. At sunset in Harwich, it was difficult to stand in the wind, and heavy seas crashed deep into the harbour and estuaries. By late evening, all down the Essex coast the sea had covered the saltings, and was working away at the sea walls themselves, filling rabbit burrows and badger setts, loosening cracks in the clay, undermining foundations. People were sleeping behind 1,000 year-old sea walls, trusting to history. The walled fortress of Essex was under siege, and soon would surrender. The greatest loss of life was on Canvey Island, once grazing marsh and then reclaimed from the sea. At the time, most residents lived in bungalows and chalets. All were enclosed by miles of feeble earthen sea walls. At midnight, a river board man went up for his last check. In the hard silver moonlight, he saw a fleet of water where there should be islands to mainland Leigh, and the sea was lapping at his feet. He rushed down, and with a colleague began banging on doors. "The tide is coming," they shouted. But with a bang the sea walls crumpled. It was the speed that was shocking. With the wind roaring, and icy North Sea inside, the electricity shorted and no one knew how it would end. The river board man was overtaken, and he grabbed a post, and stayed up to his chest in winter water all the night. Across the road, an elderly couple he had warned climbed on to a wardrobe in their tiny bedroom, but later it gave way in the pitch dark, and the woman tumbled down and drowned. Like so many others, the husband was quite helpless, even though he was so close. In another bungalow, a family with nine children under 16 years of age tried to climb into the roof space when the water burst in. Then the table collapsed, and the mother was left standing in the water, holding on to the two youngest boys. During the endless night, both died in her arms. There was nothing she could do. All the clocks stopped between 1.42 and 1.47 am as the rising water passed mantelpieces. All survivors would remember this night for all their lives. In all, 58 people died on Canvey. Many remember the millions of earthworms, drifting and swaying in the water, killed by the salt. Canvey was closed to prevent looting, and large S's chalked on doors after houses and shops had been searched. "The sea's triumph," wrote county archivist Hilda Grieve, "had been stunning." Now comes a new risk – our consumption of resources is adding to the power of nature. Some see it coming, many are in denial. Warm water takes up more volume than cold, and climate change will raise sea levels this century. In the pre-industrial era, atmospheric CO2 concentrations were 280 ppm; by the end of 2012, they had reached 392 ppm. At this annual rate of 2 ppm per year, three decades hence will see global concentration exceed 450 ppm, causing seas to rise by 0.5 to 1.7 metres. This may only be the start. To restrict concentrations to 450 ppm, a 50-85% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions is required by 2050. They did fall by 1% in 2009, but that was because of the recession, and no one wants that to continue. There is little current prospect of stabilisation of emissions let alone of atmospheric concentrations , and some now talk of +4C as possibility this century. Major changes in our behaviours and uses of non-polluting technologies are needed. A 4C mean increase in temperature would raise sea levels by 0.6 to 2.9 metres. This would force displacement of nearly 200 million people from cities by the sea. Domestically, climate change has brought alternating drought and floods, and the policy focus has turned inland. The drenching rains of 2012 poured off hills, saturated fields, burst banks, filled reservoirs. Flood warnings became common. Yet we should not forget the salt. Money is short, and has been diverted from the coasts to rivers. Let it go, say some. Leave the sea walls be. For an island nation, this could be a mistake. • Jules Pretty is professor of Environment and Society at the University of Essex and the author of This Luminous Coast (Full Circle, 2011). | ['environment/sea-level', 'environment/oceans', 'environment/environment', 'environment/flooding', 'world/world', 'world/natural-disasters', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'tone/comment', 'type/article'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2013-01-31T07:00:00Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
australia-news/2019/dec/18/heatwave-and-drought-a-dangerous-mix-for-dialysis-patients-in-remote-communities | Heatwave and drought a dangerous mix for dialysis patients in remote communities | As Australia endures another heatwave, chronic water shortages are endangering life-saving kidney treatment for hundreds of Aboriginal people in remote desert communities. The dialysis machines they depend on need cold water, and lots of it. But a run of hot summers mean “people are getting worried for their life”, according to Dadu Corey, among the elders sitting at the lunch table outside Purple House dialysis clinic in Alice Springs. Purple House operates clinics in 18 remote communities, so Aboriginal people can be on country, receive treatment and still take part in the cultural life of their communities. People with end-stage renal failure usually need dialysis three times a week. A single treatment uses 600 litres of clean, cold water. “The last couple of summers we’ve really struggled with the temperature of the water,” says the chief executive, Sarah Brown. “The water has to be below a certain temperature or you can’t actually use it for dialysis. And over the last few years, two things have happened. “One is that the temperature of the water coming into the system has risen and that’s because the water pipes in the community aren’t far underground. As the ground heats up, because the days are hotter, the water in the pipes is heating up too.” At Kintore, 530km west of Alice Springs, Purple House raised funds to install a chiller tank inside the clinic to cool water overnight in an air-conditioned room. But this isn’t an option everywhere. “In most of our communities, where we don’t have chillers, we were having to limit dialysis to one shift a day, whereas before we could do two,” Brown says. Last summer nurses were getting up at 4am to get a shift of dialysis done early in the day. “It takes five hours,” Brown says. “If you get up at four, you’ve got the patients on by five o’clock in the morning, you can have the dialysis done by 10am before it’s too hot.” “The other thing is that you need quite a lot of water. And people worry about how long we’re going to have enough.” The Norther Territory’s Power and Water Corporation, which is responsible for essential services in 72 remote communities and outstations, says most communities in the arid region are “faced with some level of water stress”. At least nine remote communities and outstations are running out of water. A further 12 have reported poor quality drinking water as aquifers run low and the remaining supply is saline. NT Power and Water says emergency planning is under way and drilling programs are planned, but “finding new water sources is very challenging”. “Without large or extended rainfall … the water security risks will progressively increase in some centres, with an increased likelihood that source supply capacity at some could fail.” Since it began in 2000, Purple House has raised millions of dollars to set up remote clinics. It is a successful, independent Aboriginal community-controlled health organisation. “And because it’s community run and the dialysis patients are our bosses, we have better outcomes than anywhere else in the country. So it’s one place where you can say we’ve actually closed the gap,” Brown says. “Purple House patients have a longer life expectancy than non-Aboriginal people on dialysis. “It would be incredibly sad if the next reason why people are forced off their country … will be because we can’t access enough water to dialyse people.” Brown says research and development is needed on a sustainable model of dialysis, better suited to new conditions. “We need to start talking to these for-profit companies about really lifting their game to fight with us for technology which is more robust, cheaper and more sustainable and uses less water.” Brown says she takes inspiration from the resilience shown by the desert communities she works for. “We need to be valuing the knowledge of Indigenous peoples and helping them to remain on country. That knowledge is going to help us save it. But more than that, I think that Aboriginal people from remote communities are incredibly resilient and persistent and determined. And we all need some of that resilience now.” | ['australia-news/series/indigenous-investigations', 'australia-news/indigenous-australians', 'australia-news/northern-territory', 'australia-news/alice-springs', 'australia-news/rural-australia', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/drought', 'world/natural-disasters', 'australia-news/australia-weather', 'environment/water', 'world/world', 'australia-news/health', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/lorena-allam', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/drought | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2019-12-18T17:00:24Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
lifeandstyle/2014/mar/06/sustainable-blogger-of-the-week-my-zero-waste | Sustainable blog of the week: My Zero Waste | How did your blog get started? On a rainy day in August 2004, I was browsing a shop while on holiday in Boscastle. Twenty minutes later the tide came in and two rivers rose by seven feet. Flood waters carried away 75 cars, 100 buildings, and finally, the bridge that would have led us out of the village. About 150 people were airlifted to safety. Climate change is a contentious topic, but in that moment, when I was standing with my daughter in my arms, wondering whether I'd ever see my husband again, I decided this could be the effects of human activity and chose to be part of the solution. Tell us a little about yourself. I juggle being a wife, mother, writer, social media manager and web designer. I've been living 'the green life' with enthusiasm for years and try to make sustainable living relevant and fun for everyone. My passion is combining sustainable living with saving money. An environmentally-aware lifestyle can mean heavy financial investment but there are many opportunities to save money and preserve resources. What have you learned while writing the blog? I've learned about amazing and inspirational people across the globe who are committed to 'be the change', from householders to communities to organisations. In practical terms I've learned how to manage my time effectively, create a to do list that actually works and I've discovered first hand the power of social media. What inspires you? The emails and comments I get from my readers. Every day I hear of wonderful things people are doing to reduce their landfill waste. My readers get excited and enthused about the changes they are making and need someone to tell who will 'get it'. I'm that 'go to' person and I can't wait to hear from them. The drive for continuing to share my message comes from my daughter. She deserves a clean and sustainable planet to live on long after I've gone. Rachelle blogs at My Zero Waste and is on Twitter @myzerowaste. If you would like your blog to be featured in Grassroots, send us an email at livebetterchallenge@theguardian.com, or tweet us @GdnLiveBetter. Interested in finding out more about how you can live better? Take a look at this month's Live Better challenge here. The Live Better Challenge is funded by Unilever; its focus is sustainable living. All content is editorially independent except for pieces labelled advertisement feature. Find out more here. | ['lifeandstyle/live-better', 'lifeandstyle/series/sustainability-blog-of-the-week', 'lifeandstyle/lifeandstyle', 'environment/waste', 'environment/recycling', 'environment/ethical-living', 'type/article', 'profile/katherine-purvis'] | environment/recycling | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2014-03-06T18:12:00Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2017/jun/01/survival-of-coral-reefs-requires-radical-rethink-of-what-conservation-means-say-scientists | Survival of coral reefs requires radical rethink of what conservation means, say scientists | The survival of coral reefs requires a radical rethink of what conservation means, as well as embracing some of the changes they are undergoing, according to a paper by leading coral reef scientists. “Helping coral reefs to safely navigate the Anthropocene is a profound challenge for multiscale governance,” the scientists say in a paper published today in the journal Nature. They argue reef conservation must no longer be seen as an attempt to restore reefs of the past, or conserve their existing values, but rather to identify the parts of reefs that are essential to their continued existence, and protect those. The paper comes amid increased urgency from conservationists and reef managers around the world, sparked by the worst global bleaching event in recorded history. It caused mass die-offs in every major coral reef region of the world. On the Great Barrier Reef alone, it is estimated that about half the coral was killed in 2016 and 2017. In the paper, the scientists argue saving the world’s reefs requires the acceptance that the reefs of the future will look very different to those of today, and humans may need to help them adapt – perhaps by intervening to increase the proportion of coral species that are tolerant to rising temperatures. “In the coming centuries, reefs will run the gauntlet of climate change, and rising temperatures will transform them into new configurations, unlike anything observed previously by humans,” the paper says. But the overall message was one of hope, said lead author of the paper Terry Hughes from James Cook University in Australia. “There’s no shortage of people saying reefs will be dead by 2030 or whatever,” Hughes said. “They are going to be different systems with a different mix of species but if we throw the kitchen sink at it and especially deal with climate change then we will have functioning reefs that will sustain and repair themselves and be of some use to people,” he said. The group of scientists, which includes both biologists and social scientists, argue the approach to reef conservation must change in several ways. As coral reefs change, the authors say scientists and conservationists must focus on aspects of reef ecosystems that are the most important to their continued existence. They say biodiversity is no longer the most important value to protect, since some species are more important to the ecosystem than others. They also suggest that helping reefs adapt may become an important strategy. “Ecosystem composition change is already occurring naturally, as corals respond and adapt to climate change, and could be promoted further through efforts to actively manipulate ecosystem configurations,” they write. Besides embracing the fact that reefs will never be the same, they argue research and conservation must shift from the most direct impacts on reefs, and instead identify and target the root causes. For example, rather than focusing just on the role herbivorous fish play in suppressing seaweed, thereby allowing reefs to recover, conservation efforts should focus on what drives the overfishing of those fish – such as poverty and market demands. “We tend to propose bandaids rather than dealing with the root cause of the issue,” Hughes said. Underlying the finding that reefs will continue to survive is the assumption that agreements made at Paris to keep global warming to “well below 2C” are successful. The researchers reviewed published experiments that examined the response of coral to rising temperatures, and found none that looked at the carbon dioxide levels they say reefs are likely to experience over the next century. Instead, those studies universally examined much more extreme scenarios, equivalent to several degrees of global warming. “Most of the coral reef literature assumes business-as-usual emissions to the end of the century, which would result in global warming of 4, 5 or 6C,” says Hughes. “We will never get there – not because people will become more and more concerned about coral reefs – but because Florida will go under water and that will get people’s attention.” Similarly, the authors said experiments examining the impacts of acidification looked at exaggerated scenarios, and the researchers said there were some suggestions acidification may not have a large impact on the growth of coral. The understanding that coral reefs will never be the same is already affecting management practices around the world. In Australia, the Guardian revealed last week that advisers to the government’s plan to protect the Great Barrier Reef have said it must stop trying to “improve” and restore the natural heritage values, and instead should aim to “maintain the ecological function” of the reef, while accepting its overall health would inevitably decline. Similarly, sources have told the Guardian that discussions are occurring within Unesco, over how to protect natural heritage values, given that climate change means many heritage sites will inevitably be altered. Not all coral reef biologists are supportive of efforts to manipulate reef ecosystems. Justin Marshall from the University of Queensland said the new paper made many good points, but that he did not think attempts to pick and choose parts of reefs to save would be successful. “We’re consistently crap at playing God – or playing Darwin,” Marshall said, adding that ecosystems were too complex to predict the outcomes of particular interventions. | ['environment/coral', 'environment/environment', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'science/science', 'environment/great-barrier-reef', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/michael-slezak', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/great-barrier-reef | BIODIVERSITY | 2017-05-31T17:00:29Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
media/2010/mar/17/asa-climate-change-ads | Government to continue climate change ads despite criticism from watchdog | The government has pledged to continue its campaigns on climate change, despite the advertising watchdog banning two of its press ads. Last October's £6m ad campaign, by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, has become a lightning rod for the politically charged debate over the issue. The campaign, including a TV ad, four press ads and two billboard posters, prompted almost 1,000 complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority, denouncing it as misleading, scaremongering and distressing. The ASA has today ruled that two of the press ads, which used nursery rhymes to push the message of climate change, were in breach of the advertising code. As expected, the ASA ruling said that the language used to indicate how storms, flooding and heatwaves will increase "should have been phrased more tentatively". However, it added that the images of the UK flooding and of a drought "were not in themselves ... exaggerated or misleading". "We stand by our campaign, we will continue to do this," said a spokeswoman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change. "The ASA hasn't upheld any complaints about our TV advert, the reality of man-made climate change has not been challenged, nor has any of the imagery we used been called into question. The ASA has found against one word in our newspaper adverts and we'll take care to provide better explanation in any future advertising campaign." Last month it emerged that the media regulator Ofcom had launched an investigation into the TV ad after receiving almost 700 complaints that the commercial was a form of political advertising by the government. According to the Communications Act, the government is allowed to run advertising of a public service nature, such as warnings about obesity or drink driving, but is not allowed to run political ads that aim to "influence public opinion on a matter of public controversy". • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediatheguardian.com or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. • If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication". | ['media/asa', 'media/advertising', 'media/media', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'environment/green-politics', 'politics/politics', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'profile/marksweney'] | environment/green-politics | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2010-03-17T07:23:28Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
uk-news/2021/nov/17/nine-insulate-britain-activists-jailed-for-breach-of-road-blockades-injunction | Nine Insulate Britain activists jailed for breach of road blockades injunction | Nine Insulate Britain protesters have been jailed for breaking a court order banning them from protesting on the M25, by a judge who said no lesser penalty “would adequately mark the gravity of the defendants’ conduct”. Ana Heyatawin, 58, and Louis McKechnie, 21, were jailed for three months while Dr Ben Buse, 36, Roman Paluch-Machnik, 28, Oliver Roc, 41, Emma Smart, 44, Tim Speers, 36, and James Thomas, 47, each received four-month sentences. Ben Taylor was jailed for six months, with Dame Victoria Sharp, the president of the Queen’s bench division of the high court, describing his comments in court as “inflammatory” and a “call to arms”. On Tuesday he had told her he would return to block roads if she did not jail him, and promised that others would follow his example. The judge, sitting with Mr Justice Chamberlain, said there was no alternative to custodial sentences given that the group’s actions were so serious and they had made it clear they intended to further flout court orders. She said: “Importantly, none of the defendants has demonstrated any contrition or understanding of the seriousness of deliberately breaching a court order. Each continues to believe that his or her actions were justified. “The defendants, or some of them, seem to want to be martyrs for their cause and the media campaign surrounding this hearing appears designed to suggest this. We, however, have to act dispassionately and proportionately.” Sharp said protests “causing some degree of inconvenience are to be expected and, up to a point, tolerated” in a democratic society that recognised the right to freedom of assembly. “But the words ‘up to a point’ are important,” she said. “Ordinary members of the public have rights too, including the right to use the highways. “By deliberately defying the M25 order, these defendants broke the social contract under which in a democratic society the public can properly be expected to tolerate peaceful protest,” the judge added, drawing a cry from Roc of “the social contract is broken”. Myriam Stacey QC, representing National Highways, made an application to recover £91,000 in costs from the defendants. Owen Greenhall, representing Buse, pointed out that the sum included nearly £17,000 for advice alone. “That’s not a reasonable or proportionate sum,” Greenhall said. Smart said: “I’ve spent the last three years voluntarily working in wildlife conservation and climate activism. You are claiming more for postage than I’ve earned in the last three years, which is absolutely obscene. The fact that you are profiting from our stand, trying to save the lives of 8,500 a year, I find obscene.” As the group were led to the cells by security officers, they and their supporters chanted “we are unstoppable, another world is possible”. Outside the courtroom, supporters sang happy birthday to McKechnie, who turned 21 on Wednesday. Insulate Britain said Smart had announced she would immediately begin a hunger strike. Speaking to reporters outside the court, Tracey Mallaghan, a spokesperson for the group, said: “A few hundred people captured the country’s attention for months. Think what 1,000 people can achieve? You have a choice. To act, to come and join us help change the tide of history, or to be a bystander and be complicit in enabling genocide.” National Highways welcomed the verdict. “The judge’s decision will hopefully make people think again about carrying out reckless and dangerous protests such as these,” a spokesperson said. Raj Chada, a solicitor at the Hodge Jones and Allen law firm who supported the protesters, said: “With these prison terms, the long and honourable tradition of civil disobedience is under attack again. Rather than leaving courts to imprison those that raise the alarm, it should be the government that acts to protect us against the climate crisis.” | ['environment/insulate-britain', 'environment/activism', 'uk/uk', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/damien-gayle', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | environment/activism | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2021-11-17T12:59:06Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
business/2005/sep/15/hurricanekatrina.usnews | Lloyd's expects to pay out £1.4bn in Katrina claims | Lloyd's of London expects to incur a net loss of £1.4bn from paying out claims caused by Hurricane Katrina but insists it has enough resources to pay the bill. The estimate is still only a first attempt to calculate the potential losses from the disaster which is being billed as the most complex and costliest insurered natural disaster in history. The initial estimate of the loss compares with £1.3bn for four hurricanes which hit the US last year and is still less than the £2bn net loss incurred by Lloyd's after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Estimates have put total industry liabilities at more than £14bn. | ['business/business', 'us-news/hurricane-katrina', 'us-news/us-news', 'business/lloydsoflondon', 'world/hurricanes', 'type/article', 'profile/jilltreanor'] | world/hurricanes | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2005-09-14T23:00:51Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
world/2016/jun/16/divesting-from-fossil-fuel-open-letter-from-religious-leaders-in-full | Divesting from fossil fuels: open letter from religious leaders in full | To those in public office or aspiring to it: As leaders in a range of faith traditions, we draw attention to the wake-up call which the degradation of the Great Barrier Reef provides. The reef is a wonder of the natural world and, to people of faith, a sign of the spiritual dimension of life. It also supports many jobs and economic benefits. It is therefore with great sadness that we witness the irretrievable loss of parts of the reef, principally due to global warming. Yet, within weeks of our government signing the Paris agreement, it had approved enormous new coalmines in the Galilee basin, linked to a giant coal export terminal on the reef’s doorstep. Such decisions are seriously irresponsible. They reflect an overly close relationship between our political representatives and fossil fuel industries. So far, the election debates have failed to assign due priority to global warming. While Labor’s policies are more ambitious in some areas, Labor remains supportive of subsidies to fossil fuel companies. Neither of the major parties currently plan to wind back coal and gas mining. We urge all those holding public office to hold in proper focus our responsibilities as signatories to the Paris agreement. There can be no more postponement of the transition to a low carbon economy. Now is the time to act. Signatories: Rt Rev Prof Stephen Pickard, executive director, Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, Charles Sturt University (Anglican) Kim Hollow, secretary, Federation of Australian Buddhist Councils Prof Nihal Agar, chairman, Hindu Council of Australia Bishop George Browning, retired bishop of the Anglican diocese of Canberra-Goulburn Julian Robertson, presiding clerk, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) Australia Sheikh Riad Galil OAM, West Heidelberg mosque Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins, chair, Council of Masorti Rabbis of Australia Rabbi Jonathan Keren-Black, environmental adviser, Council of Progressive Rabbis Rabbi Shoshana Kaminsky, former chairperson, the Rabbinic Council of Progressive Rabbis Prof Neil Ormerod, professor of theology, Australian Catholic University Fr Tom McDonough, deputy president, Catholic Religious Australia Fr Claude Mostowik, Justice Network Coordinator, Catholic Religious Australia Jacqui Remond, director, Catholic Earthcare Australia | ['world/catholicism', 'environment/great-barrier-reef', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'world/christianity', 'world/religion', 'australia-news/queensland', 'environment/environment', 'world/anglicanism', 'world/buddhism', 'world/hinduism', 'world/islam', 'world/judaism', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'tone/features', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/great-barrier-reef | BIODIVERSITY | 2016-06-15T20:22:37Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2020/jul/02/land-clearing-new-south-wales-rises-60-per-cent-since-laws-relaxed | Land-clearing in NSW rises nearly 60% since laws were relaxed | Land-clearing in New South Wales has risen nearly 60% since the state relaxed its native vegetation laws in 2017, new government data shows. The report shows 60,800 hectares of woody vegetation was cleared in 2018, up from 58,000 hectares the previous year and an average of 38,800 hectares between 2009 and 2017. Of this clearing, 73% was unexplained, meaning it wasn’t referred to the state government for an environmental assessment, either because an approval was not required or the clearing may have been conducted unlawfully. The 2018 data signals a jump of 57% on the long-term average for the state and follows the government’s introduction of more lenient land-clearing laws in August 2017. About half (29,400ha) of the 2018 woody vegetation clearing was for agriculture, 23,300ha for forestry and 8,100ha for infrastructure projects. The amount of agricultural clearing in the state was more than double the 2009-17 average of 12,300 ha. The NSW environment minister, Matt Kean, said he was concerned by the numbers and the need for habitat protection was now greater than ever. “We need to get the balance right,” he said. “Following the bushfires, it’s more important than ever to protect habitat for native species, especially koalas. “There is a review coming up of the laws which will look at the effectiveness of environmental protections.” The state’s north-west and central west each recorded huge rises in the amount of unexplained clearing. In the north-west region, unexplained clearing of both woody and non-woody vegetation (grasses, small shrubs and ground cover) increased from 3,666ha in 2017 to 22,310ha in 2018. In the central west, it grew from 2,270ha to 14,088ha. The independent MP Justin Field called on the government to investigate, saying the data showed biodiversity and land-clearing reform in the state had resulted in “rampant deforestation”. “There is little wonder we face the extinction of the koala in NSW if this level of deforestation is being allowed under the Berejiklian government,” he said. He said the government had ignored a Natural Resources Commission report from early this year that labelled NSW’s land-clearing laws a “state-wide risk to biodiversity”. Field said the government should investigate the large increase in unexplained clearing and suspend the two-year statute of limitations on prosecutions for illegal land-clearing. “I’m calling for the statute of limitations on prosecutions for illegal land-clearing to be suspended until the public can be reassured that investigation and enforcement is able to proceed unhindered,” he said. “It would be too easy for those landholders who have done the wrong thing to try to drag out the investigation process to avoid prosecution.” Guardian Australia reported last week on WWF analysis that found more than a million hectares of land had been cleared in NSW and Queensland without referral to the federal environment department for assessment. Stuart Blanch, a conservation scientist at WWF Australia, said the rise in unexplained clearing was also identified in the NSW government’s previous land clearing report a year ago. “They’ve got what they wanted,” he said. “They wrote such weak laws it’s caused a land clearing tsunami. “I don’t think the Nationals want to know about it. Because if they did monitor and attribute it and found out there was a lot of illegal clearing they would have to prosecute it.” A scathing report by the Australian National Audit Office noted that agricultural clearing was rarely being referred to the federal department for an assessment under national environmental law. The interim report from a statutory review of Australia’s national environmental laws is due shortly. | ['environment/logging-and-land-clearing', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'australia-news/new-south-wales', 'environment/environment', 'environment/forests', 'australia-news/new-south-wales-politics', 'environment/deforestation', 'environment/conservation', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/lisa-cox', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/deforestation | BIODIVERSITY | 2020-07-02T01:50:59Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2022/aug/25/could-harvesting-rain-help-reduce-water-shortages-in-the-uk | Could harvesting rain help reduce water shortages in the UK? | When it comes to reducing water shortages in the UK, one idea scarcely gets mentioned: rainwater harvesting. Rainwater can be drained off roofs and collected in storage tanks, which can be as simple as using a water butt fitted to a drainage pipe, and then used for watering gardens. The rainwater can also be used for flushing toilets and washing clothes, which could save up to 40% of domestic water use – toilet flushing, for example, accounts for up to 35% of the average household’s water use. The downside, though, is that without enough rain, the water harvesting system needs to switch to a mains water supply. Rainwater harvesting is widespread in Germany, with more than 1.8 million households using rainwater, in a market about 300 times larger than that of the UK. The incentive is that householders collecting rainwater do not pay a drainage charge, based on the amount of water that goes down the drain. Rainwater harvesting clearly helps to take the pressure off water supplies, but it also helps prevent big downpours overwhelming drains and leading to floods and sewage overflows into rivers. | ['environment/water', 'news/series/weatherwatch', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/jeremy-plester', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-weather'] | news/series/weatherwatch | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2022-08-25T05:00:05Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
commentisfree/2018/aug/29/children-choking-air-pollution-public-health-diesel-air | This summer I treated children choking on air pollution. We have to act – now | Guddi Singh | A study published this week shows that air pollution has an alarming effect on our cognitive abilities. Shocking as this conclusion is in itself, the report joins a long list of research linking toxic air to serious health problems, and demonstrates the devastating consequences air pollution has on people living in towns and cities across the UK. As a doctor working in A&E, I was shocked by the number of children I treated this summer whose health was harmed by air pollution. I saw children choking with asthma and struggling to breathe. I feel I have a duty to speak up about issues that have serious impacts on people’s health. Air pollution is a public health crisis. Long-term exposure to diesel fumes can be carcinogenic, especially for children. Prolonged exposure to air pollution has also been known to cause asthma in otherwise healthy children, and to permanently stunt children’s lung growth by up to 10%. That can have lifelong health implications for children growing up in our cities. On days with heavy air pollution there are things you can do to protect yourself, including staying away from busy roads, avoiding heavy cardiovascular exercise, and keeping children inside to play. Crucially, avoid driving if you can, as it will only make the pollution problem worse – and you’ll be at least as exposed to pollution as if you were walking or cycling. But ordinary people shouldn’t need to change their behaviour or keep their children inside to protect their lungs. Instead, we need to clean up our dirty air for good. Across the UK many of our cities have illegally high levels of air pollution. A Greenpeace Unearthed investigation found that more than 1,000 nurseries nationwide are close to illegally polluted roads. No one should live in a polluted city, and government must take responsibility for tackling this health emergency. Diesel fuel is one of the biggest sources of pollution in many towns and cities across the UK. That means we need to introduce clean air zones to protect people in some of the worst polluted areas, and to move away from polluting diesel cars altogether. And it means holding the car companies pushing diesels on to our roads to account for their part in causing the UK’s air pollution crisis. This is why a group of health professionals joined Greenpeace last week to shut down the headquarters of VW, the company selling the most diesel cars in the UK. As well as this, our cities badly need better infrastructure for active travel, so that people can safely walk and cycle, and green, reliable and affordable public transport that means people can actually choose to leave their cars at home. As our knowledge of the link between air pollution and ill health grows, so does the weight of our responsibility towards those affected by it, especially the next generation. We won’t be able to tell them that we didn’t know, or that we didn’t have a solution. If we fail, it’ll be because we didn’t want to succeed.• Dr Guddi Singh is a paediatrician and a member of Doctors Against Diesel | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'environment/air-pollution', 'tone/comment', 'environment/pollution', 'environment/environment', 'science/science', 'society/health', 'society/doctors', 'type/article', 'profile/guddi-singh', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/opinion', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-opinion'] | environment/pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2018-08-29T17:09:10Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
business/2017/oct/10/deloitte-hack-hit-server-containing-emails-from-across-us-government | Deloitte hack hit server containing emails from across US government | The hack into the accountancy giant Deloitte compromised a server that contained the emails of an estimated 350 clients, including four US government departments, the United Nations and some of the world’s biggest multinationals, the Guardian has been told. Sources with knowledge of the hack say the incident was potentially more widespread than Deloitte has been prepared to acknowledge and that the company cannot be 100% sure what was taken. Deloitte said it believed the hack had only “impacted” six clients, and that it was confident it knew where the hackers had been. It said it believed the attack on its systems, which began a year ago, was now over. However, sources who have spoken to the Guardian, on condition of anonymity, say the company red-flagged, and has been reviewing, a cache of emails and attachments that may have been compromised from a host of other entities. The Guardian has established that a host of clients had material that was made vulnerable by the hack, including: • The US departments of state, energy, homeland security and defence. • The US Postal Service. • The National Institutes of Health. • “Fannie Mae” and “Freddie Mac”, the housing giants that fund and guarantee mortgages in the US. Football’s world governing body, Fifa, had emails in the server that was breached, along with four global banks, three airlines, two multinational car manufacturers, energy giants and big pharmaceutical companies. The Guardian has been given the names of more than 30 blue-chip businesses whose data was vulnerable to attack, with sources saying the list “is far from exhaustive”. Deloitte did not deny any of these clients had information in the system that was the target of the hack, but it said none of the companies or government departments had been “impacted”. It said “the number of email messages targeted by the attacker was a small fraction of those stored on the platform”. This assurance has been contested by sources that spoke to the Guardian. They said Deloitte’s public position belied concern within the company about exactly what had happened and why. The Guardian first revealed the existence of the hack on 25 September. Since then, the Guardian has been provided with further details of the attack, which seems to have started in autumn last year at a time Deloitte was migrating and updating its email from an in-house system to Microsoft’s cloud-based Office 365 service. The work was being undertaken at Deloitte’s Hermitage office in Nashville, Tennessee. The hackers got into the system using an administrator’s account that, theoretically, gave them access to the entire email database, which included Deloitte’s US staff and their correspondence with clients. Deloitte realised it had a substantial problem in spring this year, when it retained the Washington-based law firm, Hogan Lovells, on “special assignment” to review and advise about what it called “a possible cybersecurity incident”. In addition to emails, the Guardian understands the hackers had potential access to usernames, passwords, IP addresses, architectural diagrams for businesses and health information. It is also thought that some emails had attachments with sensitive security and design details. Deloitte has insisted its internal inquiry, codenamed Windham, found that only six clients had information that had been compromised. The review had also been able to establish “precisely what information was at risk”, the company said. However, that analysis has been contested by informed sources that have spoken to the Guardian. They say the investigation has not been able to establish definitively when the hackers got in and where they went; nor can they be completely sure that the electronic trail they left is complete. “The hackers had free rein in the network for a long time and nobody knows the amount of the data taken,” said one source. “A large amount of data was extracted, not the small amount reported. The hacker accessed the entire email database.” Another source added: “There is an ongoing effort to determine the damage. There is a team looking at records that have been tagged for further analysis. It is all deeply embarrassing.” The Guardian has been told Deloitte did not at the time have multi-factor authentication as standard on the server that was breached. A cybersecurity specialist told the Guardian this was “astonishing”. The expert said the migration to the new email system would have “utterly complicated the kind of forensic investigation required to see what had happened”. “A hacker has got into Deloitte’s email system and been undetected for months, and only six clients have been compromised? That does not sound right. If the hackers had been in there that long, they would have covered their tracks.” When the Guardian put all these points to Deloitte, it declined to answer specific questions, but a spokesman said: “We dispute in the strongest terms that Deloitte is ‘downplaying’ the breach. We take any attack on our systems very seriously. “We are confident that we know what information was targeted and what the hacker actually did. Very few clients were impacted, although we want to stress that even when one client is impacted, that is one client too many. “We have concluded that the attacker is no longer in Deloitte’s systems and haven’t seen any signs of any subsequent activities. “Our review determined what the hacker actually did. The attacker accessed data from an email platform. The review of that platform is complete.” In recent months, Deloitte has introduced multi-factor authentication and encryption software to try to stop further hacks. Dmitri Sirota, co-founder and CEO of the cybersecurity firm BigID, warned that many companies had failed to use such methods because they were inconvenient and complex. “Privileged accounts are like keys that unlock everything, from the castle to the treasury. They provide unfettered access to all systems, which is why they are so valuable. “Organisations are monitoring databases, not the data in it. It’s hard to detect changes, prevent incidents or compare your data to notice breached information unless you have an inventory of what you have.” | ['business/deloitte', 'business/accountancy', 'business/business', 'business/financial-sector', 'technology/hacking', 'technology/cybercrime', 'technology/internet', 'technology/technology', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/nickhopkins', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-investigations'] | technology/hacking | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2017-10-10T11:00:46Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2020/jun/13/climate-worst-case-scenarios-clouds-scientists-global-heating | Climate worst-case scenarios may not go far enough, cloud data shows | Worst-case global heating scenarios may need to be revised upwards in light of a better understanding of the role of clouds, scientists have said. Recent modelling data suggests the climate is considerably more sensitive to carbon emissions than previously believed, and experts said the projections had the potential to be “incredibly alarming”, though they stressed further research would be needed to validate the new numbers. Modelling results from more than 20 institutions are being compiled for the sixth assessment by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is due to be released next year. Compared with the last assessment in 2014, 25% of them show a sharp upward shift from 3C to 5C in climate sensitivity – the amount of warming projected from a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide from the preindustrial level of 280 parts per million. This has shocked many veteran observers, because assumptions about climate sensitivity have been relatively unchanged since the 1980s. “That is a very deep concern,” Johan Rockström, the director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said. “Climate sensitivity is the holy grail of climate science. It is the prime indicator of climate risk. For 40 years, it has been around 3C. Now, we are suddenly starting to see big climate models on the best supercomputers showing things could be worse than we thought.” He said climate sensitivity above 5C would reduce the scope for human action to reduce the worst impacts of global heating. “We would have no more space for a soft landing of 1.5C [above preindustrial levels]. The best we could aim for is 2C,” he said. Worst-case projections in excess of 5C have been generated by several of the world’s leading climate research bodies, including the UK Met Office’s Hadley Centre and the EU’s Community Earth System Model. Timothy Palmer, a professor in climate physics at Oxford University and a member of the Met Office’s advisory board, said the high figure initially made scientists nervous. “It was way outside previous estimates. People asked whether there was a bug in the code,” he said. “But it boiled down to relatively small changes in the way clouds are represented in the models.” The role of clouds is one of the most uncertain areas in climate science because they are hard to measure and, depending on altitude, droplet temperature and other factors, can play either a warming or a cooling role. For decades, this has been the focus of fierce academic disputes. Previous IPCC reports tended to assume that clouds would have a neutral impact because the warming and cooling feedbacks would cancel each other out. But in the past year and a half, a body of evidence has been growing showing that the net effect will be warming. This is based on finer resolution computer models and advanced cloud microphysics. “Clouds will determine humanity’s fate – whether climate is an existential threat or an inconvenience that we will learn to live with,” said Palmer. “Most recent models suggest clouds will make matters worse.” In a recent paper in the journal Nature, Palmer explains how the new Hadley Centre model that produced the 5+C figure on climate sensitivity was tested by assessing its accuracy in forecasting short-term weather. This testing technique had exposed flaws in previous models, but in the latest case, the results reinforced the estimates. “The results are not reassuring – they support the estimates,” he wrote. He is calling for other models to be tested in a similar way. “It’s really important. The message to the government and public is, you have to take this high climate sensitivity seriously. [We] must get emissions down as quickly as we can,” he said. The IPCC is expected to include the 5+C climate sensitivity figure in its next report on the range of possible outcomes. Scientists caution that this is a work in progress and that doubts remain because such a high figure does not fit with historical records. Catherine Senior, head of understanding climate change at the Met Office Hadley Centre, said more studies and more data were needed to fully understand the role of clouds and aerosols. “This figure has the potential to be incredibly alarming if it is right,” she said. “But as a scientist, my first response is: why has the model done that? We are still in the stage of evaluating the processes driving the different response.” While acknowledging the continued uncertainty, Rockström said climate models might still be underestimating the problem because they did not fully take into account tipping points in the biosphere. “The more we learn, the more fragile the Earth system seems to be and the faster we need to move,” he said. “It gives even stronger argument to step out of this Covid-19 crisis and move full speed towards decarbonising the economy.” | ['environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'environment/environment', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'science/science', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/jonathanwatts', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/carbon-emissions | EMISSIONS | 2020-06-13T06:00:08Z | true | EMISSIONS |
technology/2014/dec/09/royal-mail-launches-3d-printing-service | Royal Mail launches 3D-printing service | Royal Mail will offer to 3D print and ship a range of objects from a delivery office in the latest bid to retool the company for the 21st century. A trial will involve 3D-printing company iMakr installing printers in Royal Mail’s New Cavendish Street delivery office in London to offer both custom designs and ready-to-print objects. Customers can order online or collect items from the delivery office. “3D printing is an emerging technology that has many applications and offers an innovative way to create unique or personalised objects,” said Mike Newnham, chief customer officer for Royal Mail. “It can be prohibitively expensive for consumers or small businesses to invest in a 3D printer, so we are launching a pilot to gauge interest in 3D printing.” Home 3D printing ‘years off’ Royal Mail is using the trial to gauge demand for manufacturing services, which could be rolled out nationwide to put 3D printers within reach of millions. Home 3D printers are available, but cost about £1,000 before the added expense of the filament needed for printing. Analysts predict that they are unlikely to become a household item within the next five years, limited only to enthusiasts. However, the market for 3D-printing services that make items and ship them to customers is expected to expand over the next five years, which Royal Mail could capitalise on with the new partnership. Romain Kidd, chief executive of iMakr, said the deal would introduce people to 3D printing. It remains to be seen what level of demand exists for 3D printed trinkets and knickknacks such as business card holders, iPhone cases and miniature replicas of the Shard. • More than 2m 3D printers will be sold in 2018, analysts • The Strati: a 3D-printed electric car that could be built in 24 hours | ['technology/3d-printing', 'technology/technology', 'business/royal-mail', 'business/business', 'uk/uk', 'technology/gadgets', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/samuel-gibbs'] | technology/gadgets | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2014-12-09T15:58:48Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
commentisfree/2023/jul/18/british-seaside-town-revolutionise-green-energy | Locals in this British seaside town could revolutionise green energy – if the government lets them | Rebecca Willis | The seaside town of Whitehaven, in the north-west of England, found itself at the centre of a political storm in May, when the levelling up, housing and communities secretary, Michael Gove, gave his approval for the UK’s first new deep coalmine in more than 40 years just outside the town. But Whitehaven may soon be known for more than climate-wrecking coal. That is the ambition of Project Collette, a £3bn proposal for a windfarm off the Cumbrian coast to be part-owned by the local community – instigated by the Green Finance Community Hub in collaboration with the engineering firm Arup and community energy specialists Energy4All – and with the potential to power nearby industry. If Cumbrians could stand on the sandstone cliffs and look out at wind turbines they owned, and that had provided jobs for local people, that might just build the political support and engagement that is so vital to reaching our climate targets? People worry about the climate crisis. It regularly features in opinion polls covering respondents’ top concerns. But in more in-depth discussions with people, my research team at Lancaster University have discovered a vicious circle at play. The more people learn about the scale and urgency of the climate crisis, the more they look to the government for leadership. Yet they tell us they don’t have confidence that the government will provide that leadership. There is a danger that people fall into a fatalism trap: it’s too big for me alone, they say, and yet I don’t believe politicians will step up. There is a route out of this trap. Politicians need to put forward bold policies for the climate that link to people’s aspirations and provide tangible benefits, such as local jobs. If they did that, our research suggests that people would both reward them and step up to the mark themselves to work toward local solutions. That’s where ventures such as Project Collette come in. Imagine increasing the supply of zero-carbon electricity through solar farms and wind turbines that are part-owned by local people or local councils. Green jobs would no longer be something dreamed up by Westminster thinktanks, but tangible, visible schemes employing you or your neighbour. The locally owned profits could be invested in local priorities, like insulation schemes for all homes and improved green spaces. Locally controlled renewables would also help ease people’s concerns about nearby developments. A strong majority of the population supports wind power and other renewables. But research indicates that people’s support does not only depend on whether they like the look of the technology, but on whether they have a say in planning local schemes, and who they think is benefiting from the project. This vision is a stark contrast to how the energy sector is run at the moment, dominated as it is by commercial energy companies with distant headquarters. Under our hyper-liberalised market, community involvement is just about possible – if you are very determined. The UK’s first community-owned windfarm, Baywind, was built more than 25 years ago in 1997, just down the coast from Whitehaven. More recently, Bristol city council backed a successful proposal to build another community-led wind project in deprived Lawrence Weston. But it’s unbelievably difficult for non-profits to navigate the treacherous route through the planning system, financing and complex regulatory requirements. As a result, examples such as the above are the exception, not the rule. They make up a tiny fraction of total output. Under the current system, Project Collette may never be more than a pipe dream. It’s hardly surprising, then, that the Labour party has seized on the need for reform. When Keir Starmer launched his climate plans in June, buried beneath the headline policies was an intriguing “local power plan” that would make initiatives like Project Collette mainstream. Under its proposals, the publicly owned GB Energy would partner with communities and private developers to finance local energy projects, with communities owning a share and the profits ploughed back. This should have broad cross-party support. Back in 2014, at the request of Ed Davey, then a minister in the coalition government, I co-chaired a taskforce looking into how the government could encourage, or require, commercial companies to offer a share in ownership to local people. We developed a good plan that the government accepted as part of a wider package of support for community energy. But events, not least the 2015 election, the backbench Conservative rebellion against windfarms and then the Brexit wranglings, overtook us, and the opportunity was lost. Since then, such community projects have stalled. What better way for any government to demonstrate that it is putting its trust in people than giving them a direct say in decision-making? In 2020, the UK parliament’s own climate assembly proved the value of involving citizens in developing plans for net zero. Brussels and Milan now have their own permanent citizens’ assemblies to help take decisions on climate. The UK could be the first country to create a permanent assembly to advise on net zero, as part of wider plans for constitutional reform. To the people of Whitehaven, net zero, not to mention green jobs, seem like distant, abstract concepts, compared with the very tangible, if controversial, offer of jobs in coal mining. If we are to maintain and build political and public support for climate action, we need to focus on interventions that benefit people and place. I look forward to standing on those Cumbrian cliffs and seeing the turbines of Project Collette turning in the steady sea breeze. Rebecca Willis is professor of energy and climate governance at Lancaster University, and leads the climate citizens research group. | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/energy', 'environment/environment', 'environment/windpower', 'uk-news/cumbria', 'uk/uk', 'politics/politics', 'politics/conservatives', 'type/article', 'tone/comment', 'profile/rebecca-willis', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/opinion', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-opinion'] | environment/renewableenergy | ENERGY | 2023-07-18T05:00:46Z | true | ENERGY |
australia-news/2023/sep/20/pizza-hut-hack-australia-data-breach-passwords-information-leak | Pizza Hut Australia hack: data breach exposes customer information and order details | Pizza Hut’s Australian operations have been hit by a cyber-attack, the company says, with customer data including delivery addresses and order details stolen in the hack. In an email to customers on Wednesday, Pizza Hut Australia’s chief executive, Phil Reed, said the company became aware in early September that there had been “unauthorised third party” access to some of the company’s data. “We secured our systems, engaged forensic and cybersecurity specialists and initiated an ongoing investigation to help us understand what occurred, and identify the data that was impacted,” he said. Reed said the data obtained includes customer details and online order details from Pizza Hut’s customer database, including names, delivery address and instructions, email addresses and contact numbers. For registered accounts, it would also include encrypted credit card numbers and encrypted passwords. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup He said operations had not been affected by the hack, and that the breach had been reported to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. In a statement, a spokesperson for Pizza Hut Australia said the company believes about 193,000 customers have been affected by the breach. “We have contacted these customers to advise them of the incident and the steps they can take to protect their information and avoid potential scams,” a spokesperson said. The company did not answer questions on how far back the data obtained dates to. A data breaches website reported earlier this month that it had obtained a sample of the customer data from the alleged hackers, which aligns with the types of data Pizza Hut said was stolen, including encrypted credit card information and hashed passwords. Pizza Hut has 260 stores around Australia. In June, the Australian private equity firm Allegro Funds sold Pizza Hut Australia to the US-based Flynn Restaurant Group after a restructure of the business. | ['australia-news/australia-news', 'technology/cybercrime', 'technology/data-computer-security', 'technology/hacking', 'campaign/email/morning-mail', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/josh-taylor', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | technology/hacking | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2023-09-20T06:58:09Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
world/shortcuts/2019/oct/09/swamp-tv-extinction-rebellion-protest-pembrokeshire | Swampy’s back – but don’t expect him to be the face of Extinction Rebellion | Name: Swampy (AKA Daniel Hooper) Age: 46 Appearance: You know … natural. Do you mean that he doesn’t worry too much about his appearance, unlike all them Instagrammers these days? Sure it can mean that. Although he no longer has the long string of hair hanging from his forehead. Wait, is this THE Swampy? Yup. The 1990s eco-heartthrob for girls who were sick of plastic rebels like East 17 and wanted a boy who lives underground? I don’t think there were very many of those girls. But yes, him. You might remember him from such protests as the A30 extension in Devon, and the Newbury bypass. I mainly remember him being sheepish and sweet-natured on Have I Got News For You. Yeah, he did that, too. Anyway, now he’s back. Back underground? Back on TV. In I’m a Celebrity? I’m sure he’d be good at that, but no. He was on ITV News, following his court appearance for wilful obstruction of the highway. That Swampy. What mischief has he got up to now? Attaching himself to a concrete block at the entrance to the Valero fuel refinery in Pembrokeshire. It was part of an Extinction Rebellion protest last month. Doesn’t concrete generate a lot of carbon dioxide? This was only a little bit of concrete. Just enough to make Swampy and his nine friends difficult to remove. In the end they lasted 12 hours, then left. Desperate for the toilet, I expect. I assume so. Swampy pleaded guilty to a magistrate in Haverfordwest, and was required to pay fines and costs amounting to £157. Is he likely to become the face of Extinction Rebellion then? I doubt it. He says he didn’t enjoy being seen as a figurehead when he was young. “I hated it,” he told ITV. “It wasn’t what I wanted to do, and I don’t think it did the movement much good.” In that case why is he talking to the media again? Maybe he’s just being polite. Besides, he has his own life now, with a partner and four kids. Do they all live underground, like Fraggles? Close. The last we heard, they were living in a tent on a commune in Wales. Swampy works for the Forestry Commission and likes running marathons. I suppose having four children and running marathons makes chaining yourself to a concrete block feel like a day off. I suppose so. Do say: “I liked environmental activism before it was cool.” Don’t say: “At this stage, maybe we should just buy a new environment.” | ['uk/uk', 'tone/features', 'news/series/pass-notes', 'news/shortcuts', 'environment/extinction-rebellion', 'environment/environment', 'uk/wales', 'type/article', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/g2', 'theguardian/g2/features', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-g2-features'] | environment/extinction-rebellion | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2019-10-09T15:16:13Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
environment/2009/dec/03/sellafield-safety-fine-expected | Sellafield faces fine for exposing staff to radioactivity | The safety record of Britain's nuclear industry will be tarnished tomorrow when managers at the Sellafield complex in Cumbria are fined for exposing staff to radioactive contamination. A substantial penalty is expected to be imposed by Carlisle crown court following a successful criminal prosecution brought by the Health and Safety Executive. Concerns about conditions at the plant come just a week after an eminent group of scientists and military experts described as "ludicrous" the manner in which 100 tonnes of plutonium was stored at Sellafield – and at a time when the wider nuclear industry is trying to build public support for a new generation of reactors. Sellafield, now owned by Amec, Areva of France and URS Washington of the US, pleaded guilty this summer to failing to discharge its duties under section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Two contractors were exposed to danger while they were refurbishing a concrete floor at the plutonium storage plant. A spokesman for Sellafield declined to comment but industry executives said the company was braced for a financial hit. The Cumbrian facility was fined £500,000 plus costs of more than £50,000 three years ago following the discovery of a large leak of highly radioactive materials at its Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (Thorp). The incident dated back to April 2005, and although no one was injured there was concern that the leak had continued for eight months before it was detected. Sellafield was then under the control of the British Nuclear Group – an arm of the state-owned BNFL – which has since ceded control to the private sector consortium Nuclear Management Partners, which is made up of Amec and its two partners. BNFL was itself fined £30,000 and ordered to pay £21,000 costs in January 2004 after a diving accident when the company was checking underwater outfall pipes. Tomorrow's court appearance follows safety concerns raised by anti-nuclear campaigners the British Pugwash Group in a report on Britain's plutonium stockpile, which is centred on Sellafield. Retired general Sir Hugh Beach, one of the report's authors, told the BBC: "It's a total absurdity that we should have 100 tonnes of separated plutonium sitting up at Sellafield in tin cans ... that is manifestly ludicrous." The BPG, named after the venue of a 1957 nuclear safety conference in Nova Scotia, fear the nuclear stockpile could become a target for terrorists.These difficulties are highlighted as the government and industry try to move ahead with plans to build more than half a dozen new nuclear plants to generate low carbon electricity. The Health and Safety Executive has already taken a tough line on the designs for new reactors by telling Areva and Westinghouse of the US that it needs much more work to be done before it could give the green light to the plants they have proposed for construction here. | ['environment/nuclearpower', 'environment/nuclear-waste', 'environment/environment', 'business/amec', 'business/business', 'uk/uk', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'profile/terrymacalister', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2009-12-03T17:30:05Z | true | ENERGY |
business/2012/oct/22/siemens-pulls-out-loss-solar-power | Siemens pulls out of loss-making solar power business | German industrial group Siemens is pulling out of its loss-making solar power business, in the latest sign of difficulties in the renewable energy market. The company said on Monday it would concentrate its renewable energy business on wind and hydroelectric power in a bid to increase productivity. It hopes to sell the unit and is in talks with possible buyers. Siemens said the solar business had not been as profitable as hoped. "Due to the changed framework conditions, lower growth and strong price pressure in the solar markets, the company's expectations for its solar energy activities have not been met." It said the solar and hydro division generated sales "in the low triple-digit millions" in the year to September and has "roughly 800 employees". Growing competition from manufacturers in Asia has caused the cost of solar panels to plummet. The industry has also been hit by weaker sales and falling government subsidies. Bruce Jenkyn-Jones, managing director at Impax, an environmental investor with £1.8bn of assets under management, said: "The cost has come down dramatically. There has been an influx of capital. It's very, very competitive; it's only going to be the lowest-cost producers that survive in the middle of this downturn." Various German solar manufacturers have filed for bankruptcy in the past 12 months, including QE Cells and Solar Millennium. The news comes shortly after General Electric said a poor performance at its wind unit contributed to disappointing third-quarter results. Wind-turbine orders at the industrial conglomerate plunged because a key US subsidy for wind power is scheduled to expire at the end of the year. The chief executive, Jeff Immelt, said GE is assuming "no market" in the US for wind turbines next year without the subsidy. He expects wind revenue to drop 40% next year. Jenkyn-Jones said: "There's definitely a cyclical element to some of this. In the long term, renewables still look interesting." He said policy changes with regards to renewables posed a major challenge to investors in the industry. "The most important issue for governments is to provide stable frameworks for investors to make sensible decisions." | ['business/siemens', 'environment/solarpower', 'business/manufacturing-sector', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'business/business', 'world/germany', 'world/world', 'environment/energy', 'environment/environment', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'profile/josephine-moulds', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3'] | environment/solarpower | ENERGY | 2012-10-22T16:22:07Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2020/mar/16/2019-was-bad-year-for-floods-and-drought-in-england-say-charities | 2019 was bad year for floods and drought in England, say charities | Last year was one of the worst in recent times for both flooding and drought in England, a study has found. There were more than 5,600 flood warnings in England in 2019, more than in any of the last 15 years except 2012. Groundwater levels were lower than normal in 25 areas, more than in any year since comparable records began in 2006. In 2012 there were only eight areas where groundwater levels were lower than normal. In 2014, another wet year, no areas recorded lower than normal levels. Having both very wet and very dry weather is unusual but is likely to become more common as weather becomes more extreme as a result of climate change. People may begin to experience both water shortages and flooding, putting infrastructure under unprecedented strain. Wildlife will also suffer, a group of conservation charities have said. They estimate that only 1% of current spending on flooding and drought goes to nature-based solutions such as restoring water meadows and wetlands, which can act like a sponge to store water under flooding and as natural reservoirs at times of drought. The charities are particularly concerned that staff cuts and stretched resources at the Environment Agency and Natural England and in local government and other government agencies charged with environmental protection mean years like 2019 will stretch England’s resilience to breaking point. Richard Benwell, the chief executive of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: “If funds for our water watchdogs dry up, the human and ecological effects of flooding and drought will grow every year. We need to get flood funds flowing to Natural England and the Environment Agency to ensure that good water management is part of the fabric of our landscape. “The government should devote new cash to the agencies for natural flood mitigation, urban resilience, habitat enhancement and sustainable farming, plus vital functions like regulatory enforcement and spatial planning.” This year has had one of the wettest starts on record, with rainfall in February in many areas breaking records after Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis. Benwell said more heavy rainfall this spring would be likely to lead to further widespread flooding and damage to wildlife in waters and wetlands. This is due to exceptionally high river flows and groundwater levels, and soil saturation. But if this summer is hot and dry, as in the drought of 2018, rivers would quickly cease to flow again in parts of the country. Britain’s chalk streams, a natural habitat under increasing threat from extremes of weather, are likely to be among the worst-hit areas, said Ian Hepburn, of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. “Exceptionally serious drought and floods created a perfect storm for our waters and wildlife last year, with our globally rare chalk streams particularly badly hit,” he said. “Climate change means that without radical action many more years of flood and drought crises lie ahead. We need substantial, consistent and urgent investment from the government in our water watchdogs and natural flood and drought defences or our rivers and lakes, and the wildlife that relies on them, will continue to deteriorate.” In the budget, the chancellor of the exchequer pledged to double capital spending on floods, from £2.6bn to £5.2bn, which the government said would protect an additional 330,000 homes. However, the new spending will not take account of ongoing maintenance and upkeep costs, and only a small proportion of the money is likely to be spent on the kind of natural flood management projects that conservationists say are necessary to protect wildlife and nature as well as homes. A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: “We will continue to work closely with [Natural England and the Environment Agency] to ensure they have the right resources to continue to not only protect our natural environment but also improve it for future generations.” Tony Juniper, the chair of Natural England, said: “Now more than ever, urgent action is needed to tackle the climate emergency and the government has been very clear about its ambition to tackle climate change and restore our natural environment. Nature-based solutions such as restoration of peat bogs and our marine sea grass beds will play a huge part in this and Natural England will be at the forefront of delivery. We are currently in discussion with Defra about next year’s budget for our existing statutory duties and for new work such as this.” | ['environment/flooding', 'environment/drought', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/fiona-harvey', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2020-03-16T06:00:18Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
australia-news/2023/sep/17/coastal-emu-northern-nsw-bird-of-the-year-guardian-birdlife | Emu crossing ahead: the fight to save the coastal emus of northern NSW | Stand quietly in the scrub of the Clarence Valley, on the north coast of New South Wales, and you may see them: a tall male emu, with his bright blue neck and careful feet, escorting three chicks. The chicks, their small bodies striped like humbugs, are a sign of hope. While national emu numbers are stable, this family belongs to a small endangered population of coastal emus. There are fewer than 50 left in the wild. Reece Luxton, the natural resource coordinator with Clarence Valley council, is delighted. “That’s a plus three to the population!” The coastal emu, or yugaamgan in the local Yaegl language, is genetically distinct from its western cousins. It was once widespread along the NSW north coast, but habitat loss through development, bushfires and floods, as well as predation by wild dogs and pigs and a devastating number of roadkill, has seen its numbers and range shrink to the Yuraygir national park and surrounds between Minnie Water and Brooms Head, as well as a small group in the Bungwalbin area. At the last coastal emu count, in 2016, there were just 46. Organisers are hoping for a better result in the next count, scheduled for 14 and 15 October. Protecting and counting the emus has become a community project. The Yaegl elder Aunty Elizabeth Smith says the change in the emu’s fortunes is “a blessing … with permission from the ancestors”. Reducing the roadkill The farmer, family therapist and animal lover Barbara Linley moved to Brooms Head in the Clarence Valley six years ago. She bought 40 hectares of high conservation value land at Taloumbi on Brooms Head Road. “I was driving to and fro, I was seeing the roadkill, especially the emus … I started feeling really annoyed,” Linley says. “These creatures are on our coat of arms, and to think people are running over them. I could see this was a place where the emus regularly crossed – apparently it has long been a wildlife corridor and here were the emus contending with speeding cars and fences.” Sign up to receive Guardian Australia’s fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter Linley campaigned to reduce the speed limit on that section of Brooms Head Road, without success. She then founded the Lions Club of Clarence – Environmental in an effort to highlight the biodiversity of the area, and specifically the need to protect the emus from speeding cars. “I knew that community ownership of the emus was the key to helping them, so I set about finding a way to do that,” she says. The NSW Department of Planning and Environment had also been turning its attention to the coastal emu, through the Save our Species program. The threatened species officer Lia Hooper says the program and community efforts gained momentum after the devastating fires in 2019 that destroyed huge swathes of the emus’ habitat. “The emu has a generalist diet and an important role in seed dispersal – it is one of the last of our megafauna and is critical for ecosystem connectivity,” Hooper says. Then, in 2021, a male emu was hit and killed by a vehicle while crossing the road with his five chicks. Linley and other emu supporters stepped up their campaign to install road signs and reduce the speed limit along a 7km stretch of Brooms Head Road that had become a hotspot for emu crossings. The group conducted speed surveys, gathered donations at local markets, sold emu Easter eggs, held a surf club fundraiser and managed to raise $8,000. Clarence Valley council became involved, as did Transport for NSW and traditional owners from the Yaegl, Bundjalung and Gumbaynggirr nations. The initiative, called the Caring for our Coastal Emu project, has become a community-wide cause. In late 2021, two patches of the road were painted bright green to designate them as an Emu Zone, and the speed limit was reduced to 80km/h. Yellow signs warning that emus were present were installed in 2022. The campaign won the council a Local Government NSW Excellence in the Environment award last year. “It was certainly a challenge bringing everyone together but thanks to the collaborative effort we finally got the speed reduction and signs over the line,” Luxton says. The council also maintains an interactive map, with local people encouraged to register their coastal emu sightings. It is actively contributed to by Linley and others, who are also providing educational resources about the endangered population to local schools and providing brochures to landowners about which plants the birds prefer to eat. The environment department, is piloting a captive breeding program using eggs collected from wild nests. It is also assisting landholders to install special emu-friendly gates, which will allow the birds to range more widely. It is also ramping up efforts to control wild pigs, after numbers exploded following the recent wet season. Unhatched eggs and emu chicks are favourite foods. Hooper says the coastal emu count in October will help threatened species officers to better understand what further interventions may be required. “We are calling on citizen scientists to get involved to help us get an accurate snapshot of the population,” she says. Clarence Valley locals can register to join the coastal emu count here Ute Schulenberg is a journalist and writer based in Coffs Harbour, NSW Sign up for the Rural Network email newsletter Join the Rural Network group on Facebook to be part of the community | ['australia-news/series/the-rural-network', 'environment/australian-bird-of-the-year-2023', 'environment/birds', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/birdwatching', 'environment/environment', 'australia-news/rural-australia', 'australia-news/new-south-wales', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'campaign/email/the-rural-network', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'australia-news/series/rural-network', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/the-rural-network'] | environment/wildlife | BIODIVERSITY | 2023-09-16T20:00:40Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
sport/2024/sep/28/england-female-cricketers-land-30-per-cent-pay-rises-new-multiyear-deals | England’s female cricketers land 30% pay rises and new multiyear deals | England’s female cricketers will receive pay rises of more than 30% when the next round of central contracts are issued in October, with some multiyear deals on offer for the first time. The historic move to longer-term contracts follows the England and Wales Cricket Board giving multiyear deals to some of England’s male stars last year and will be a major boost to Heather Knight’s side before the Women’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, which begins next week. England’s players flew to the UAE earlier this week after reaching a collective agreement on the new contracts. The new deals are understood to be worth between £90,000 and £130,000 a year on players’ seniority and experience, with some of them to be given contracts for two years. England play the holders, Australia, in a warm-up game on Sunday and begin their campaign with a game against Bangladesh in Sharjah on 5 October, before further group matches against Scotland, West Indies and South Africa, and will be expected to reach the semi-finals at least. The overwhelming favourites, Australia, and India are in the other group for a tournament that has been moved to Sharjah and Dubai due to civil unrest in Bangladesh.All 15 of Knight’s squad are expected to receive new contracts. About 18 full-time deals will be awarded by the ECB, a similar number to last year, with the extra money to be used to give the players higher salaries and greater security. The pay rises have been made possible by a new funding deal agreed between the ECB and the Professional Cricketers’ Association, which represents international players through the Team England Player Partnership and England Women’s Player Partnership. The international pay deal is designed to mirror the ECB’s main broadcast contract with Sky Sports, who agreed an increased four-year deal to run from 2025. England’s women will continue to receive the same match fee payments as the men’s teams in a policy introduced by the ECB last year, although the increase in salaries will be more significant to the players. The Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) report into discrimination in the sport published last year was critical of the ECB in concluding that “women receive an embarrassingly small amount compared to men”. Among 44 recommendations, the ICEC report called for equal match fees “with immediate effect” and other forms of pay including salaries to be equalised by 2028. The ECB has made progress on the gender pay gap over the past 12 months and is expected to provide a further update on its plans to implement the ICEC’s recommendations next month. The ECB has also committed an extra £5m-a-year investment in women’s domestic cricket from 2025, much of which will go to the eight new tier one counties, who have committed to spending at least £500,000 a year on player salaries. Beth Barrett-Wild, director of the women’s professional game, said this week that the ECB wants to ensure that cricket is seen as an “enticing” profession for women rather than merely being “viable”. In addition to the county funding, an extra £1m was allocated to women’s salaries in the Hundred last year, with the top salary now £50,000, up from £15,000 when the competition launched in 2021. The ECB declined to comment. | ['sport/cricket', 'sport/womenscricket', 'sport/england-women-cricket-team', 'sport/ecb', 'sport/sport-politics', 'sport/sport', 'campaign/email/the-spin', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/matthughes', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/sport', 'theobserver/sport/news', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-sport'] | sport/ecb | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2024-09-28T11:00:05Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
business/2016/jan/26/edf-struggling-to-fund-new-hinkley-point-nuclear-reactors | EDF struggling to fund new Hinkley Point nuclear reactors | The UK’s first new nuclear power plants for decades face fresh delays amid reports that French energy giant EDF is unsure it can finance the £18bn project. Directors were expected to meet this week to sign off on a plan to build two nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset. A final decision has been on the cards since October, when China’s state nuclear firm CGN announced that it would take a 33.5% stake in the project during a visit to the UK by the premier, Xi Jinping. But executives at state-owned EDF, which owns the rest of the project, have delayed a final decision amid funding problems, according to French financial journal Les Echos. It said EDF was putting pressure on the French government to help find new backers to come on board alongside CGN. While directors are due to discuss the issue at a board meeting on Wednesday, Les Echos reported, no decision will be made until the next board meeting, which will happen before final results are released on 15 February. EDF did not return requests for comment. The opening of Hinkley Point C has been delayed twice, from 2017 to 2025, while the UK government has faced criticism for agreeing to pay EDF £92.50 per unit of electricity, around double the market rate. A group of its own employee-shareholders have also urged EDF to ditch the Hinkley plan, saying it could put the company’s survival at risk. Green campaigners said any fresh delay unmasked multiple flaws in a deal intended to kickstart a new generation of nuclear power in the UK. “The EDF board is clearly rattled as they delay yet again this crucial investment decision,” said Greenpeace executive director John Sauven, adding that the delay “could well signal curtains for Hinkley”. “EDF managers as well as employee representatives on the board are deeply concerned this project is too risky and too expensive,” Sauven added. “George Osborne is almost alone in defending Hinkley’s honour.” | ['business/edf', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'business/business', 'environment/energy', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/rob-davies', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2016-01-26T18:55:18Z | true | ENERGY |
technology/2024/mar/25/cyber-attacks-china-uk | UK ‘slow to hold China to account’ for cyber-attacks against MPs and voters | The UK government has been too slow to respond to cyber-attacks by China, the head of an international group of parliamentarians focusing on the issue has said, ahead of expected new British sanctions against Beijing. Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister, is expected to announce the sanctions in the Commons on Monday, after what the UK says have been cyber-attacks against MPs and peers, as well as one targeting the Electoral Commission in which Beijing allegedly accessed the personal details of about 40 million voters. Three MPs and a peer who have faced apparent hacking attempts will separately hold a press conference after being briefed by the director of security for the UK parliament. All four – the Conservative MPs Iain Duncan Smith and Tim Loughton, the SNP’s Stewart McDonald, and the crossbench peer David Alton — are members of the the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac), which groups together legislators from a number of countries, among them two dozen from the UK. Luke de Pulford, the executive director of Ipac, said on Monday that he was surprised British ministers had taken so long to respond, especially given that the Electoral Commission hack was first detected in 2022. With the cyber-attack taking place in 2021, and China only being linked to it now, “indicates that the government was a little bit reluctant to say that China had actually done this”, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “There seems to be a reluctance in general to hold China to account for its abuses,” he said, adding that the UK had thus far imposed sanctions against some middle-level level officials in China over rights abuses in Xinjiang, but had failed to take similar action over Hong Kong, despite the UK’s historical role with the territory. “The United States sanctioned over 40 members of the government in Hong Kong, and the UK, even though we are the ones with a legal responsibility, have sanctioned zero, not one,” he said. There was a need for more help for MPs targeted by Beijing. “We need targeted sanctions on those responsible, but we also need support for members of parliament and those who are targeted by Beijing. This is pretty serious stuff.” The junior energy minister Andrew Bowie refused to give any details about what actions Dowden might set out. “You wouldn’t expect me to be able to go into more detail on issues of national security,” he told Sky News. “I’m sure we’ll be hearing more in the course of the day from the relevant ministers and the relevant departments.” However, he insisted the government would “stop at nothing” to protect Britons from cyber-attacks. He told LBC Radio: “The fact is that this government has invested a lot of time, money and effort in ensuring that our cybersecurity capabilities are at the place they need to be. We’ve increased the powers of our intelligence and security community to be able to deal with these threats. “And we will stop at nothing to ensure that the British people, our democracy, our freedom of speech and our way of life is defended.” He insisted that the government took a pragmatic approach to dealing with Beijing, amid reports that China’s EVE Energy was set to invest in a battery plant in the West Midlands. “We have to have a grown-up, pragmatic relationship with China. And that means looking at each of these investments in the round, on a case-by-case basis, ensuring that our security and our individual liberties and freedoms are not undermined by any of the investments that are under way.” MPs and peers are thought to be among 43 people who the government looks set to confirm have been targeted by cyber-attacks backed by the Chinese state. The UK could impose sanctions on individuals believed to be involved in these acts of state-backed interference, including the attack on the Electoral Commission. | ['technology/cyberwar', 'technology/hacking', 'uk/uk', 'world/china', 'politics/houseofcommons', 'politics/politics', 'technology/internet', 'politics/oliver-dowden', 'world/hong-kong', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/peterwalker', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | technology/hacking | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2024-03-25T09:25:29Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
stage/2009/dec/17/mark-watson-earth-summit-al-gore | Mark Watson's Earth Summit | Comedy review | Since its release in 2006, Al Gore's documentary An Inconvenient Truth had had praise and abuse heaped upon it in equal measure. But one thing no one ever called it was a comedy. Perhaps Gore was aware of the chuckles deficiency, and that's why, when training 100 volunteers to deliver his lecture around the world, he selected the bumbling UK comic Mark Watson to take part. And now, in the week of the Copenhagen conference, Watson brings the lecture-cum-comedy-show to London. The plan isn't, he stresses, to single-handedly save the world. Which is just as well – his compulsive self-deprecation is about as suited to rallying calls as Lee Evans is to playing Superman. Even by his own standards, Watson is in digressive form here, forever drifting off-message mid-sentence, and neurotically apologising for how boring he's being. Gore, he tells us, taught his students to be vigilant of three things: time, complexity and gloom. Too much of either, and you lose your audience. Message to Gore: there's a fourth quality detrimental to an authoritative climate-change lecture – lack of authority. All his wittering presumably reflects Watson's discomfort at melding comedy with pedagogy. If so, he should get over it. He's built some good jokes into the PowerPoint address, using doping scandals in athletics for instance, to explain why it's naive to think that high incidences of record-breaking could be a natural phenomenon. Elsewhere, light relief comes from fooling with the graphs that depict global warming, and tweaking the experts' quotes. "We've been filling the atmosphere", says Watson, "with what scientists call – crap." Of course, belly laughs are in short supply here, but Watson's enterprise is fit for purpose. It's a useful primer on climate change for those of us with memories more porous than a depleting ozone layer. And it's neither too long, too complex, nor too gloomy. In fact, it's the opposite; in his compulsion to keep things light, Watson overdoes the optimism. Saving the environment needn't compromise the economy, he attests, and "no one is suggesting that we go back to a society with less electricity and travel." Both sound like convenient untruths. But if Watson is struggling to find the right balance between comedy and the apocalypse, it's a forgivable flaw. More than a comedian, Watson declares himself here a concerned citizen, putting his faith in people power and our democratic responsibility to make politicians act. It's not hilarious. It's not news. But it's worth repeating nonetheless. | ['stage/comedy', 'stage/stage', 'culture/culture', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'environment/copenhagen', 'tone/reviews', 'environment/global-climate-talks', 'stage/mark-watson', 'type/article', 'profile/brianlogan'] | environment/global-climate-talks | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2009-12-17T12:01:33Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
technology/2008/sep/12/interviews.digitalvideo | Celebrity Squares: Sky+ rocks, says McFly's Harry Judd | What's your favourite piece of technology? My Sky+ box. How has it improved your life? A lot, because we lead very busy lives and I'm a huge fan of television and it's enabled me to record lots of programmes – whether it be Match of the Day or cricket highlights. You can also set it to record an entire series, which is perfect. It's turned my life around. When was the last time you used it, and what for? I used it to record the cricket on Five. I use it every time I watch the telly. I'm still fascinated by the fact you can pause the telly and then go and make a cup of tea. Plus you can fast forward the adverts. What additional features would you add if you could? Possibly a tea-maker on the side of it, so I wouldn't have to bother pausing it. And one other thing that would be good is if you could just fast forward, even if it was on real time. Do you think it will be obsolete in 10 years' time? Definitely not. I don't see how they could improve upon it. What one tip would you give to non-Sky+ users? Get one! Or get a TV listings magazine so that you know what's on. Do you consider yourself to be a Luddite or a nerd? I'm not sure … I'm a nerd when it comes to some things. I'm certainly not a technical person, I'm more of a nerd when it comes to sport. As much as someone loves computers or whatever it might be, I love sport. What's the most expensive piece of technology you've ever owned? For me personally, I've got a pretty handy satnav system in my car. It's touchscreen, it's quite flash. One of the other guys in the band, Tom, has just had a home cinema system installed in his house, and that's a lot more expensive than my satnav! Mac or PC? I use Mac. I don't use it much, but all the other guys have MacBooks and stuff like that, and I just wanted to join the party so I bought an iBook. It's perfect, I use it for iTunes, iPhoto, internet – and that's about it. What song is at the top of your iPod's top 25 most played list? I think at the moment it would be some sort of audio book, or maybe a Beatles song from the Abbey Road album. Will robots rule the world? I certainly hope not, and if they do then I shall be among the revolution to stop it. What one piece of technology would you most like to own? I'd like an old classic bit of technology, like an E-type Jaguar, something that just does what a car's supposed to do – drive. McFly's new album, Radio:ACTIVE, is out on September 22. The band will tour the UK in November and December | ['technology/technology', 'technology/series/celebritysquares', 'technology/television', 'technology/digitalvideo', 'technology/apple', 'tone/interview', 'music/mcfly', 'type/article', 'profile/stuartoconnor'] | technology/digitalvideo | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2008-09-12T11:24:50Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2019/nov/14/bring-back-the-speed-limits-of-the-1970s | Bring back the speed limits of the 1970s | Letter | In December 1973, when the Opec countries cut back supplies of oil to the west, the UK and the US introduced a maximum national speed limit of 50mph on all roads in order to reduce petrol consumption (Netherlands lowers speed limit to comply with pollution court ruling, 14 November). This remained in force until March to May 1974. Maximum speed restrictions, aimed at reducing energy consumption, were again introduced from December 1974 through to May 1977. When the speed of a petrol-engined car is reduced from 70mph to its optimal speed of 55mph to 60mph, its petrol consumption falls by some 17%. Given that demand for road transport fuels is around 44m litres of petrol and a little over 81m litres of diesel per day, that brings petrol consumption down by 7.5m litres and diesel by 13.75m litres per day. The 1970s restrictions were introduced to save energy. But they also brought down pollution and carbon emissions: every litre of petrol consumed produces 2.3kg of carbon dioxide (diesel produces 2.68kg). In 2016, road transport contributed nearly 21% of the EU’s total emissions of carbon dioxide. There is an urgent need to cut greenhouse gases. The government could bring down emissions rapidly by reintroducing maximum speed restrictions – while we wait for petrol and diesel-engined vehicles to be phased out altogether. The adoption of electric cars could be incentivised, perhaps by exempting them from such speed restrictions. David Walker Sheffield • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters • Do you have a photo you’d like to share with Guardian readers? Click here to upload it and we’ll publish the best submissions in the letters spread of our print edition | ['environment/carbon-emissions', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'money/motoring', 'technology/motoring', 'world/road-transport', 'tone/letters', 'type/article', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/carbon-emissions | EMISSIONS | 2019-11-14T18:21:34Z | true | EMISSIONS |
environment/2004/sep/27/usnews.naturaldisasters | 1m without power as Jeanne hits Florida | Hurricane Jeanne swept up Florida's east coast yesterday, with 120-mph winds tearing off roofs and sending huge waves crashing into buildings. One death has been blamed on the storm and more than a million people are without power. The hurricane was the fourth to hit Florida in a single storm season. Debris from the three other hurricanes became airborne as Jeanne hit land shortly before midnight. Emergency management officials were waiting until daylight to assess damage. The previous hurricanes caused billions of dollars in damage, and killed at least 70 people. Jeanne was expected to stay inland over Georgia and the Carolinas until tomorrow. By early yesterday, it had weakened to a Category 2 storm, but covered most of the central part of the Florida Peninsula, including Tampa and Orlando. Earlier, Jeanne was blamed for more than 1,500 deaths in floods in Haiti. | ['environment/environment', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/natural-disasters', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'world/world', 'us-news/florida', 'world/hurricanes', 'type/article'] | world/hurricanes | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2004-09-27T22:55:28Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2020/apr/07/great-barrier-reefs-third-mass-bleaching-in-five-years-the-most-widespread-ever | Great Barrier Reef's third mass bleaching in five years the most widespread yet | The government’s top Great Barrier Reef scientist says a third mass bleaching event in five years is a clear signal the marine wonder is “calling for urgent help” on climate change. One quarter of the Great Barrier Reef suffered severe bleaching this summer in the most widespread outbreak ever witnessed, according to analysis of aerial surveys of more than 1,000 individual reefs released on Tuesday. Dr David Wachenfeld, chief scientist at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, told Guardian Australia: “My greatest fear is that people will lose hope for the reef. Without hope there’s no action. “People need to see these [bleaching] events not as depressing bits of news that adds to other depressing bits of news. They are clear signals the Great Barrier Reef is calling for urgent help and for us to do everything we can.” Prof Terry Hughes, director of the Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, surveyed 1,036 reefs from a plane over nine days in late March. The marine park authority also had an observer on the flights. Hughes has released maps showing severe levels of bleaching occurred in 2020 in all three sections of the reef – northern, central and southern – the first time this has happened since mass bleaching was first seen in 1998. Some 25% of the reefs were severely bleached – meaning that more than 60% of the corals on each reef had bleached. Hughes said previous observations had shown that bleaching at that extent leads to “high levels of mortality” of corals. The Great Barrier Reef has experienced five mass bleaching events – 1998, 2002, 2016, 2017 and 2020 – all caused by rising ocean temperatures driven by global heating. Hughes said there probably would not be the same level of coral death in the north and central regions in 2020 as in previous years, but this was partly because previous bleaching outbreaks had killed off the less heat-tolerant species. The 2020 bleaching was second only to 2016 for severity, Hughes said. Corals can recover from mild bleaching, but scientists say those corals are more susceptible to disease. Severe bleaching can kill corals. Hughes said severe mass bleaching had never before hit the southern section of the reef – from Mackay south. That area had high numbers of heat-sensitive corals that “light up like a Christmas tree” when viewed from the air. “It’s not too late to turn this around with rapid action on emissions,” he said. “But business-as-usual emissions will make the the Great Barrier Reef a pretty miserable place compared to today.” In February the reef was subjected to its hottest sea surface temperatures since records began in 1900. Some scientists fear that rising levels of heat being taken up by the ocean have pushed tropical reefs to a tipping point at which many locations bleach almost annually. Wachenfeld said the reef’s sheer size – it comprises about 3,000 individual reefs – made it resilient, “but climate change brings a new scale of impact unlike anything we have seen before”. He told Guardian Australia: “Three mass bleaching events in five years is showing us the enormous scale at which climate change can operate. “No one climate event will kill the Great Barrier Reef, but each successive event creates more damage. Its resilience is not limitless and we need the strongest possible action on climate change.” The globe has already warmed by about 1C above pre-industrial levels, caused primarily by rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels. Wachenfeld said: “We’re at about 1C and we have just had three marine heatwaves in five years that have all damaged the reef.” Measures to improve the resilience of the reef include improving water quality, controlling outbreaks of coral-eating starfish, and research and development to improve the heat tolerance of corals. “None of that is a substitute for strong action on emissions,” Wachenfeld said. “Dealing with the climate problem is the underpinning for everything else to work.” Under the Paris climate agreement, countries agreed to deliver country-wide plans that would keep global heating well below 2C, with an aim to keep temperatures to 1.5C. “That’s the window we have to aim for,” Wachenfeld said. “As we approach and go beyond 2C, I don’t see the tools we have today, and the tools that research and development is working on, will protect the reef. “The world is heading for 3C of warming – we will not be able to protect coral reefs under those circumstances. “The reef is, after this event, a more damaged ecosystem, but it can still recover. It needs more help from us and it needs it urgently. This is a call to action.” In a statement to Guardian Australia, the environment minister, Sussan Ley, said: “It is deeply concerning the reef has suffered another bleaching event and our focus has to be on the ways that we can reduce the pressure on the reef and strengthen its resilience. “The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has been monitoring the situation closely and highlighting the concerns over temperatures. “Thankfully, some of the most recognised tourism areas have been less impacted but that does not change the importance of the issue and the importance of coordinated global action on emissions reduction to reduce ocean temperatures.” Queensland’s minister for environment and the Great Barrier Reef, Leeanne Enoch, said climate change, pollution from run-off and other threats “are testing the reef’s ability to recover from major disturbances like mass bleaching events, severe tropical cyclones and crown-of-thorns starfish.” She said the Palaszczuk government had “committed to a zero net emissions target by 2050” and allocated more than $427m for reef protection and resilience between 2015 and 2022. “The missing piece continues to be leadership and action from the federal government on climate change,” she said. | ['environment/great-barrier-reef', 'australia-news/queensland', 'environment/environment', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/coral', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/marine-life', 'australia-news/icymi-australia', 'type/article', 'profile/graham-readfearn', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/great-barrier-reef | BIODIVERSITY | 2020-04-06T19:00:04Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2021/mar/12/pollutionwatch-how-much-sahara-desert-dust-do-we-breathe | Pollutionwatch: how much Sahara desert dust do we breathe? | Saharan dust high in the skies over Europe caused some spectacular sunsets in February. Many of us found dust on our cars, and Alpine snow has been stained orange, but finding out how much Saharan dust we are breathing has always been difficult. For decades we have been measuring the amount of particle pollution in the air, but not what it is made of. However, university-run air observatories in London, Birmingham and Manchester are now making real-time chemical analysis. They showed that silicon, aluminium, calcium and iron particles from Saharan dust were the main particle pollutants in all three cities on Saturday 20 February and that the dust was breathed by Londoners for the next two days. Saharan dust events are common in Mediterranean countries. It is also carried west on Atlantic trade winds. Dust from north Africa fertilises the Amazon, but it also causes air pollution problems in Caribbean islands and the southern US. Desert dust is not like builder’s sand; it contains many biological particles and allergens. A recent study in Miami found increased hospital visits for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease during Saharan dust events. Other studies have found problems for asthmatics, too. In June 2020 authorities in Cuba asked islanders to wear face masks and urged vulnerable people to stay indoors as a massive Saharan dust cloud travelled westwards. Alerting systems are being established across Spain and Portugal but there is need for more research into the health impacts of desert dust. Saharan dust can have a major effect on weather systems, suppressing hurricane formation and, by darkening snow, bringing forward spring thaws in the Alps. It is unclear if events will increase in the future. A dryer climate in north Africa may lead to more airborne dust but changes in weather patterns may reduce its spread. However, alpine ice cores covering the past two millennia suggests that Saharan dust has increased in the past 100 years. Also notable in the ice core record are the Saharan dust events between 1315 and 1365, a time that includes the Great Famine, when about 10% of Europe’s population perished, and the Black Death. This has led to speculation that poor air quality from Saharan dust may have contributed to a decline in human health and made the population more vulnerable. | ['environment/series/pollutionwatch', 'environment/air-pollution', 'environment/deserts', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'tone/news', 'profile/gary-fuller', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | environment/air-pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2021-03-12T06:00:05Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
australia-news/2021/feb/27/victoria-bans-single-use-plastics-by-2023-to-slash-amount-going-to-landfill | Victoria bans single-use plastics by 2023 to slash amount going to landfill | Victoria has become the third Australian jurisdiction to ban single-use plastics, including polystyrene containers, straws, cutlery, plates and plastic cotton bud sticks. On Saturday the environment minister, Lily D’Ambrosio, announced a phase-out and ban of specific single-use plastics by 2023, including at bars, cafes and restaurants, in a bid to reduce the amount of plastic waste that goes to landfill each year. The phase out and ban will not affect medical or scientific equipment, emergency services or other activities that require these types of plastics. “Single-use plastic items – like straws and plastic cups – make up about one-third of Victoria’s litter,” D’Ambroisio said. “We need to change this, so we’re getting rid of them.” Each Victorian sends an average of 68kg of plastic waste to landfill every year. The government will consult businesses and the community throughout 2021 as part of a formal regulatory impact statement process. It follows South Australia in September becoming the first Australian state to ban some single-use plastics including cutlery, straws and stirrers. The South Australian legislation also lists items under consideration to be added to the ban list, including single-use coffee cups and lids and single-use plastic bowls, plates, food containers, balloon sticks, balloon ties, bags and plastic-stemmed cotton buds. However, the introduction of the legislation was delayed due to Covid. There is concern that the Covid-19 pandemic may have stymied some progress towards lessening a reliance on plastic, with an increase in medical waste from disposable masks, gloves and gowns, disposable wipes, and liquid soap. In December Queensland also introduced legislation to stem the destructive effects of plastic on marine life and waterways. The government is seeking community feedback on whether the ban should be extended to include polystyrene containers. A 2019 report by the Center for International Environmental Law said urgent action to stem production and disposal of throwaway plastic was needed. “At current levels, greenhouse gas emissions from the plastic lifecycle threaten the ability of the global community to keep global temperature rise below 1.5C,” it said. “With the petrochemical and plastic industries planning a massive expansion in production, the problem is on track to get much worse.” | ['australia-news/victoria', 'environment/plastic', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/melissa-davey', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/plastic | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2021-02-27T03:35:02Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2018/jan/22/fears-for-future-of-uk-onshore-wind-power-despite-record-growth | Fears for future of UK onshore wind power despite record growth | A record amount of onshore wind power was built in the UK last year, but government policy has been stalling the sector and risked increasing energy bills for consumers, the industry has warned. Turbines capable of generating 2.6GW were installed across Britain in 2017 as developers rushed to meet the government deadline for securing subsidies. The previous record was 1.3GW in 2013. The Conservatives’ ban on onshore windfarms competing for subsidies means the sector’s future prospects are very limited, according to RenewableUK. The trade body expects new capacity installation to fall to 0.94GW this year and 0.37GW next year. Emma Pinchbeck, its executive director, said: “Investment made since 2015 has delivered record new capacity and made onshore wind the cheapest form of power. “But the government’s current policy means that we are missing out on future onshore wind development, and consumers are missing out on a return on their investment through lower electricity prices.” A ban on onshore windfarm subsidies was one of David Cameron’s key manifesto pledges of the 2015 general election. The policy followed lobbying from Tory MPs concerned about apparent opposition to onshore turbines in English shires. But recently ministers have indicated a possible softening in their stance, which several experts have said leaves the UK missing out on a clean, cheap source of power. Pinchbeck welcomed the shift in tone, though the government has yet to change its policy on onshore wind subsidies. “This is an easy win for a government that has recently been keen to highlight its green credentials – and for the consumers that want lower bills,” she said. The record-breaking capacity built last year accounts for a fifth of the total 12.06GW of onshore wind power now installed, which National Grid last week reported had set new records for power generation. Onshore windfarm developers are excluded from bidding from the £557m pot of subsidies that offshore projects will be able to compete for next year. While windfarms at sea have commanded headlines because of their falling costs, those on land still have more than twice the energy capacity. Energy companies that want to continue building onshore have argued that to compete at a low enough price to win subsidies, new windfarms would be located in Wales and Scotland, which have the windiest sites. That should allay any political concerns over England, they say. ScottishPower commissioned research that suggested new onshore windfarms were now so cheap that subsidies would help lower the cost of capital but would effectively be cost-free for householders, who pay the subsidies through energy bills. Npower’s German owner, Innogy, operates 17 onshore windfarms in the UK and is building five more. It said it was exploring all options to make them economically viable but was frustrated by the government ban. Tanya Davis, head of business development at Innogy SE, said: “We don’t currently have a clear route to market. There isn’t access to a CFD [a type of subsidy contract] for onshore wind and this means less projects will be built. “In the coming years there will be a little bit of a lull in construction. This is really frustrating. We should be allowed to participate in a technology neutral auction because we are one of the cheapest forms of generation.” But judging from the Conservative party conference last year, there was “more appetite” from the government to reopen support for onshore windfarms, Davis said. The German firm is exploring power purchase agreements with big energy using corporations as well as the possibility of sites windy enough to work on wholesale prices alone. Hans Bunting, chief operating officer of renewables at Innogy SE, said: “Onshore wind is not at its end.” A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: “We are pleased to see that established technologies, such as onshore wind and solar, are driving costs down for consumers. If this continues, and they have local support, they may play a significant role in the energy mix in future.” • Follow Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk, or sign up to the daily Business Today email here. | ['environment/windpower', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/environment', 'environment/energy', 'uk/uk', 'money/energy', 'business/energy-industry', 'business/business', 'money/consumer-affairs', 'money/household-bills', 'money/money', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/adam-vaughan', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/financial3', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business'] | environment/windpower | ENERGY | 2018-01-22T16:35:24Z | true | ENERGY |
sport/2021/jun/09/joe-root-admits-england-faced-ugly-truths-over-offensive-historical-tweets-new-zealand | Joe Root admits England have faced ‘ugly truths’ over offensive tweets | Joe Root confirmed England will continue to deliver the message of cricket’s inclusivity with another “moment of unity” before the second Test against New Zealand starting on Thursday, despite admitting the past week has thrown up “ugly truths”. Root’s side head into the series finale under a cloud after the suspension of Ollie Robinson, pending an investigation into offensive tweets posted when he was 18 and 19. More players also face scrutiny from the England and Wales Cricket Board for their questionable past use of social media platforms. An ECB board meeting was convened on Wednesday to discuss the matter and, while the outcomes are expected in the next 48 hours, England’s Test captain maintains the team will still wear anti-discrimination T-shirts before the first ball is bowled on Thursday in front of 17,000 returning supporters at Edgbaston. “We’ve had to face up to some ugly truths this past week or so and there will be challenges moving forward,” Root said. “But the group of players we have now is very much committed to making [cricket] a better place, making it more inclusive and educating ourselves further. “It’s been an uncomfortable week for everyone. We accept that we are not perfect and we have made mistakes, as a lot of young people have. We’re going to have to front up to what has happened, accept it. “But ultimately we want to keep going on this journey that we’ve started of trying to better our sport. We will continue to do that because that’s how we all feel. That doesn’t change just because of what’s happened.” The ECB has pledged to take “appropriate action where required” after historical social media posts from Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler (neither of whom are part of the Test squad) and Jimmy Anderson were reportedly unearthed, as well as from another unnamed player who was 15 at the time. Root said the subject has been discussed heavily by the squad even though the blank scoreline that follows their decision to block out a draw at Lord’s on Sunday means minds must quickly switch back to cricket. “We will continue to keep wearing those shirts,” Root added. “We will continue to keep finding ways to educate ourselves as players and as a group, and we will continue to find ways of bettering our sport and ways to action that throughout this summer and beyond. “As a team we will continue to talk about it because it’s important but as professionals we know we have a job to do this week. Our full focus is preparing for that Test match and making sure by the start of the game that we certainly have used the last two days to prepare ourselves as well as we could.” Robinson’s removal from the squad after seven wickets on the 27-year-old bowler’s debut leaves a vacancy with the ball, with Olly Stone, Jack Leach and Craig Overton contenders depending on the condition of pitch in the morning. It may be that two feature if Mark Wood, who sent down 34 overs of high-velocity work, is rested. New Zealand, meanwhile, have lost their captain, Kane Williamson, to an elbow injury and the spin-bowling all-rounder Mitchell Santner to a cut finger, with the opener Tom Latham down to deputise as captain and Trent Boult set to return after a late arrival on tour. Asked about the storm engulfing New Zealand’s opponents in the past week, Boult said: “I can’t speak for the other guys but social media can be a difficult world at the moment. In terms of our profession as sports people you are in the limelight nonstop. You have to be careful with what you are putting out there, I suppose. “We are obviously leaders, role models for a lot of kids and fans around the world. There is a lot of accountability. It’s a tricky one. You have to be very careful.” | ['sport/england-cricket-team', 'sport/joe-root', 'sport/ecb', 'sport/new-zealand-cricket-team', 'sport/england-v-new-zealand-2021', 'sport/cricket', 'sport/sport', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/ali-martin', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/sport', 'theguardian/sport/news', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-sport'] | sport/ecb | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2021-06-09T16:14:35Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
money/2014/apr/08/windfarms-reduce-house-prices-compensation | Windfarms can reduce house prices by up to 12%, says LSE | Large windfarms can knock as much as 12% off the values of homes within a 2km radius, and reduce property prices as far as 14km away, according to research by the London School of Economics. The findings contrast sharply with a report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research in March, which found no negative impact on property prices within a 5km radius of a turbine. The LSE findings will fan demands by homeowners for compensation when windfarm developments are given the go-ahead. Currently, windfarm operators pay rent on the land they occupy and make contributions to community causes, but are under no legal obligation to compensate homeowners for loss of value. The report, "Gone with the wind: valuing the visual impacts of wind turbines through house prices", by Professor Stephen Gibbons, found that "windfarm developments reduce prices in locations where the turbines are visible, relative to where they are not visible, and that the effects are causal". For the average sized windfarm, the price reduction is around 5-6% for homes with a visible windfarm within 2km, falling to less than 2% between 2-4km, and to near zero between 8-14km, which is at the limit of likely visibility. In areas close to windfarms, but where the turbines are not visible, the report found there was a small increase (around 2%) in property prices. Large windfarms cause the greatest decline in property prices. "As might be expected, large visible windfarms have much bigger impacts that extend over a wider area," said Gibbons. "The largest windfarms (20+ turbines) reduce prices by 12% within 2km, and reduce prices by small amounts right out to 14km (by around 1.5%)." Gibbons said his findings are comparable to the impact of coal power plants, citing studies in the US which show that they cut house prices by up to 7% within a two mile (3.2km) radius. He also looked at what housebuyers were prepared to pay to avoid the "dis-amenity associated with windfarm visibility". "The implied costs are quite substantial. For example, a household would be willing to pay around £600 per year to avoid having a windfarm of small to average size visible within 2km, around £1,000 to avoid a large windfarm visible at that distance and around £125 per year to avoid having a large windfarm visible in the 8-14km range. The implied amounts required per windfarm to compensate households for their loss of visual amenities is therefore fairly large: about £14m on average to compensate households within 4km." Gibbons's findings are in contrast to a report from the CEBR, commissioned by windfarm trade body RenewableUK, which analysed seven sites across England and Wales and found no negative impact on property prices within a 5km radius. Maf Smith, deputy chief executive at RenewableUK, said: "This is an interesting contribution to the existing literature, and varying conclusions are being drawn from the work. Most pieces of work so far have found that it's difficult to discern any effect one way or another. "Our own independent study demonstrates that windfarms have not affected house prices, and we did this by taking a deep dive into real house price data around seven windfarms across England and Wales. "The LSE study tests for the influence of windfarms in a different way. It covers a shorter period rather than looking at the whole lifecycle of the project. It measures only from a central point at each windfarm site rather than taking into account every single turbine at the very edges of the development. It makes necessarily simple assumptions about visibility, when we know that in reality many sites will be hidden by nearby buildings, trees and the local landscape. We're grateful that the professor states that his work is not conclusive. It helps to explain why his findings don't accord with previous research that the CEBR, RICS and others have done." But campaigners who have windfarms close to their properties welcomed the LSE research. George Matthews, a surveyor who lives on the Scottish borders, close to the Drone Hill windfarm, said: "We now have conclusive proof at last produced by a professional, trustworthy, honest and independent professional source stating categorically that turbines reduce house values, which totally contradicts the CEBR report." Meanwhile, the Conservatives have given their strongest signal yet that they will halt windfarm expansion if they retain power after the next election. The Tory chairman, Grant Shapps, appeared to confirm Guardian reports that the Tories will pledge at the next election to cap the output of onshore windfarms from 2020. Asked by the Western Morning News whether plans to curb windfarms would feature in his party's manifesto, Shapps said: "The wind is moving in a clear direction here." But writing in The Guardian last week, former energy minister Chris Huhne said: "Everybody wants the convenience of electricity without the inconvenience of industrial kit anywhere near them. There is no energy source without venomous nimbies, but they are a minority. Onshore wind enjoys more than 60% support in polls, and offshore wind is even more popular." | ['money/houseprices', 'money/property', 'money/consumer-affairs', 'money/money', 'environment/windpower', 'environment/energy', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/environment', 'politics/politics', 'uk/uk', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'profile/patrickcollinson'] | environment/windpower | ENERGY | 2014-04-08T15:44:29Z | true | ENERGY |
business/2018/nov/14/iceland-let-loose-animatronic-orangutan-after-christmas-advert-ban-palm-oil | Iceland to let loose animatronic orangutan after Christmas ad ban | Iceland is to unleash a life-size animatronic orangutan on the streets of the UK after its Christmas advert highlighting the impact of palm oil production was banned for breaching political advertising rules. The supermarket chain has turned to special effects technology befitting Hollywood to create an ultra-realistic robotic orangutan for a stunt to raise awareness of the plight facing the species from deforestation of its habitat for palm oil production. The orangutan, created by a team who have worked on films and TV shows including Doctor Who and Sherlock, will first appear clinging to a Christmas tree in Coin Street, south London, before moving to other locations, including Oxford Street and several parks in the capital. It will then appear at a number of Iceland stores around the country, including Manchester and Birmingham, apparently “searching for a new home”. The replica orangutan is controlled remotely and by a specialist puppeteer who has studied the ape’s movements. Last week, Iceland’s rebadging of an animated short film was rejected by Clearcast, the body that vets adverts, for breaching rules banning political advertising in the 2003 Communications Act. The ban prompted a public outcry, with stars including James Corden, Anna Friel and Paloma Faith supporting a campaign to allow it to be aired on TV. It has also drawn political attention, with the MP Michael Gove tweeting to praise Iceland for raising awareness. More than 12 million people have watched the ad on Facebook, where UK broadcast TV regulations do not apply. An online petition on Change.org calling for the ad to be allowed to air has drawn almost 750,000 supporters. “Our stranded, distressed orangutan is a stark and potent symbol of the effects of deforestation,” said Richard Walker, Iceland’s managing director. “We are determined to be at the forefront of efforts to guarantee palm oil is not causing rainforest destruction and Iceland will continue to be a driving force until this environmental impact is drastically reduced.” Iceland has been accused of deliberately planning an ad that would be controversial and perhaps be banned, a relatively common tactic among advertisers seeking to get more bang for their marketing buck through free publicity. Iceland has denied this, saying it had booked £500,000 of media space on TV for the ad campaign, although this is not a significant TV budget for a major retailer. The retailer has an extensive range of palm oil-free products that it is seeking to promote across the festive season. Iceland will still be placing TV ads but only 10-second clips that will highlight palm oil-free products. To its credit, Iceland has put ethics surrounding this issue at the heart of the chain. Earlier this year it became the first major UK supermarket to pledge to remove palm oil from all its own-brand foods. “We always try to give people a real choice about what they buy and this was a key driver of our decision to allow Iceland customers to join us in saying ‘no to palm oil,’” Walker said. “I am immensely proud of the work our food development team has carried out to create this new Christmas range without palm oil – a celebration of our commitment to end its use before the year closes.” | ['business/iceland-foods', 'environment/palm-oil', 'environment/deforestation', 'media/advertising', 'world/world', 'media/media', 'world/europe-news', 'environment/environment', 'environment/conservation', 'business/business', 'business/retail', 'business/supermarkets', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/marksweney', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business'] | environment/deforestation | BIODIVERSITY | 2018-11-14T09:30:12Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
uk/2012/nov/26/flood-warnings-northern-england-wales | Flood warnings issued in northern England and Wales | Northern England and Wales is expected to get a soaking on Monday as the latest round of torrential rainfall moves up across the country. Downpours of up to 40-50mm could fall in the next 24 hours as the rain reaches Lancashire and Cumbria initially and then crosses the Pennines, gaining in intensity. Severe weather warnings have been issued for Yorkshire and north-east England at the lowest 'be aware' level, with a pocket of the more serious 'be alert' status in north and east Yorkshire during the afternoon. The Environment Agency has 16 flood warnings and 39 flood alerts in north-east England and Yorkshire and one warning and 14 alerts in the north west, with 21 areas in the north-east and three in the north-west back to normal after previous warnings. All are areas familiar with flooding, including Keswick campsite in Cumbria, the Ouse in central York and the Derwent at Stamford Bridge – site of the celebrated battle in 1066. Earlier downpours closed several major roads in the north of England for periods on Sunday and overnight, including the A668 at West Auckland and Crook, the Cumbrian coast at Egremont and at Parbold in Lancashire. The A19 from the A1M to Teesside has also been affected. The economic cost of such closures has been highlighted by the estimated £250m lost to business from the three-day closure of the A1M because of flooding in September. The total far exceeds the £30m budgeted by the government for flood relief and defences in Yorkshire next year. The Met Office forecasts continuing rain for the rest of the day over much of the north, persisting overnight and only easing at dawn when the front will move off, leaving a trail of scattered showers. The weather is then expected to turn drier and colder with snow likely on high ground before the weekend. | ['uk/weather', 'uk/uk', 'environment/flooding', 'world/world', 'environment/environment', 'uk/met-office', 'environment/environment-agency', 'uk/wales', 'uk/newcastle', 'uk/manchester', 'uk/greater-manchester', 'uk/liverpool', 'uk/leeds', 'uk/york', 'tone/news', 'uk/preston', 'uk/sunderland', 'type/article', 'profile/martinwainwright'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2012-11-26T10:59:33Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
australia-news/2023/jun/13/australia-set-for-cheaper-solar-power-as-supply-of-panels-soars-says-report | Australia set for cheaper solar power as supply of panels soars, says report | Australians could soon start to benefit from cheaper solar panels as a dive in raw material costs and a “boom” in global output delivers annual solar electricity price falls of 10% for the rest of the decade, according to a report by Climate Energy Finance. The Solar Pivot report by analysts Tim Buckley and Xuyang Dong said prices of polysilicon used to make the wafers in panels have fallen by two-thirds in 2023, sending panel prices down to US18c (A26.7c) a watt as of last month. Global installations of solar hit a record 268 gigawatts last year and could reach 1,000GW by 2030. “This would have profound implications for electricity and energy markets globally,” the report said. “CEF foresees the world could hit 1,000GW per annum of solar installs by 2030. This would have profound implications for electricity and energy markets globally.” Panel maker JinkoSolar last month announced plans for a US$7.9bn wafer-to-module solar factory in the Chinese province of Shanxi that alone will churn out as much as 56GW solar capacity a year. That scale is 19 times the biggest US plant – now being built - and compares with Australia’s total solar capacity of 30GW as 2022. “The energy sector for decades has failed to invest in technology,” Buckley said. “Now the Chinese are spending unbelievable amounts of money.” The US, the European Union and India are among economies also ramping up investments in solar energy. The motivation is partly to decarbonise their energy systems and reduce dependence on Russia but also to counter China’s growing domination of renewable technologies, particularly solar. The Inflation Reduction Act, passed by the US Biden administration and which set aside $US369bn to bolster energy security and manufacturing, will drive a five-fold increase in yearly panel output to 40GW by 2024 and double solar installs to 40-50GW a year to 2030. By contrast, China is on track to have 12 solar manufacturing enterprises with annual module production capacity of 30GW each. It also will install 120-140GW of solar in 2023, doubling that to 260GW by 2030, the report said. Buckley said catching up with China if energy security was the goal was “a serious problem”. “They’re actually building market dominance with every year that goes by at the speed they’re moving,” he said, noting China’s share of global polysilicon output was already 75% in 2021 and will reach 90% by the end of this year. With all that expanded production capacity, “it’s an easy guess to say module prices will drop 30 or 40% by the end of this year versus where they were at 12-18 months ago,” Buckley said. Renate Egan, head of the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics based at the University of New South Wales, said the report was “comprehensive and optimistic”, underscoring solar’s falling cost compared with energy sources, including coal. Egan said the findings were consistent with work being done by the Australian PV Institute for the federal government. Other nations couldn’t replicate what China had done over two decades “in a few years”, but there were parts of the supply chain Australia could have competitive advantages, she said. These include minerals processing such as converting sand to metallurgical-grade silica. Similarly glass, aluminium and polymer components in modules could offer opportunities for Australia to focus on, Egan said. “There’s huge room for improvement in deployment and connection costs” for modules, she added. Finn Peacock, founder of SolarQuotes, said China’s factory gate solar panels were 15% cheaper this year. Given the slightly weaker Australian dollar, “it seems reasonable that solar panel installers should soon see around a 10% decline in panel prices compared to the end of last year”, he said. Wholesale prices for “a good mid-range panel” are about $0.50/watt, excluding GST, from Australian warehouses. Countering much of the decline, though, will be another 13% reduction in the solar rebate from next January. At present, a 10kW rooftop system costs each household about $11,000. That price includes the rebate, now worth about $4,400, which will fall to $3,840 next year. Online solar inquiries have spiked in the wake of the latest news of higher electricity prices with interest over the king’s birthday weekend up 30% from a year earlier, Peacock said. | ['australia-news/australia-news', 'australia-news/energy-australia', 'environment/solarpower', 'campaign/email/afternoon-update', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'environment/environment', 'environment/energy', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/peter-hannam', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/energy | ENERGY | 2023-06-13T15:00:03Z | true | ENERGY |
global-development/2018/oct/04/palu-indonesia-bodies-sent-straight-to-graves-identification | Indonesia quake: bodies sent straight to graves as Palu prioritises survivors | For days, Nano Wiratno had been seeking word of his older brother Adian in Palu, the Indonesian city that was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami last week. The 27-year-old had travelled 380 miles from his home in Luwuk and searched all over, to no avail. “Adian has not answered his phone since Friday,” Nano said. “I also tried to call his wife, but going by her WhatsApp status the last time she was online was a few minutes before the quake.” Nano’s latest port of call was Palu’s police hospital, where he joined scores of bereaved families ready to make a positive identification of dead relatives. As of Thursday he still hadn’t found his brother. A disaster victim identification team at the hospital had been labouring tirelessly for six days to try to identify more than 700 bodies, taking fingerprints, conducting dental examinations and noting distinctive markings, scars or tattoos. On Thursday that process ended. A whiteboard erected outside the entrance conveyed an announcement that from now on all bodies found would be sent directly to graveyards. The team of 72 forensic specialists and medics from all over Indonesia identified 218 victims by matching post- and antemortem data. The unidentified were buried in a mass grave in Paboya, in the hills above Palu. Dr Lisa Cancer, the head of the identification team, said the bodies had to be disposed of within a matter of days for health reasons. For relatives of the initial wave of victims, there is a comprehensive dataset that may bring closure in the coming weeks and months. But authorities have decided it is now more important to focus on the living than to continue with the difficult and costly forensic process. As of Thursday morning the official death toll from the disaster stood at 1,424. On the ground, people believe it is far higher. In the villages of Petobo and Balaroa, search and rescue teams were moving cautiously and slowly through the wreckage. “We are about 20% through the evacuation process, it is still ongoing,” said Hasbin Basri, a Balaroa official. “We think more or less there could be 2,000 dead here.” In Petobo, a village hit by the earthquake and liquefaction that covered the village in metres of mud, it is feared that several thousand more people could be dead. As of Wednesday 19 victims had been pulled out. On Cimanggis Road in Balaroa, people were walking past scenes of utter devastation, wearing T-shirts or scarves pulled up around their faces. The jarring smell of dead bodies – five corpses were lined up in bodybags on Thursday morning – wafted strongly up the hill. It is hard to take in the destruction: all around, houses, cars and roads have been turned upside down or inside out. In a few minutes an entire village was reduced to something resembling a municipal tip. Piles of bricks are mixed up with dismembered doors and roofs, children’s toys and odd bits of sports equipment. Some residents have left messages on the few walls still standing to inform friends and family they are alive. “Siva and Dina survived and are on Cimanggis Rd, near the factory,” says one. Other messages, including posters for missing children, are heartbreaking. One pinned on the village entrance gate depicts Muhammad Gibran, aged six years and 10 months, wearing his school uniform of a white shirt and red tie, his blue backpack slung over his shoulders. Save the Children has expressed concern for young people lost or separated from their families in the disaster, saying some were now sleeping on the streets. The aid agency is working to establish family tracing and reunification procedures. “Reaching communities in Sulawesi is really challenging due to its remoteness, coupled with the devastation that the tsunami has [caused], cutting off transport links, which makes children separated from their families even more vulnerable,” said Zubedy Koteng, a child protection adviser. Driving around surveying the damage, it is apparent that parts of Palu are relatively unscathed by the disaster. But in the areas that were hard hit – places such as Donggala, Talise Beach, Petobo, Sigi and Balaroa – people talk about what happened here in almost apocalyptic terms. Abdul Maruf, a father of three from Balaroa, said he was preparing for Magrib prayer at dusk when he felt the earth move wildly beneath him. “I thought it was the final day,” he said on Thursday. “Judgment day.” | ['global-development/global-development', 'world/indonesia-tsunami', 'world/indonesia', 'world/natural-disasters', 'world/earthquakes', 'world/tsunamis', 'world/asia-pacific', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/kate-lamb', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-foreign'] | world/indonesia-tsunami | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2018-10-04T14:13:41Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
commentisfree/2015/feb/13/when-joke-in-comment-thread-goes-beyond-tastelessness | The readers’ editor on … when a joke in a comment thread goes beyond mere tastelessness | Chris Elliott | There are few more entrenched areas of debate than climate change. A blogpost by Dana Nuccitelli on January 21, “Matt Ridley wants to gamble the earth’s future because he won’t learn from the past”, garnered 514 comments. The post criticised Lord Ridley’s views as expressed in an article in the Times. The opening paragraph said: “Have you ever watched a zombie movie and wondered if the protagonists will grow physically tired from having to repeatedly kill zombies that inevitably rise once again from the dead? That’s how people often feel when confronted with climate change myths that were debunked years ago. These myths never seem to stay dead, inevitably being revived by climate contrarians no matter how conclusively and repeatedly they’ve been debunked.” The blogpost used the zombie analogy to discuss Lord Ridley’s views, illustrated by a photograph taken at a festival of someone carrying a dummy zombie head. Among the comments were two from “Bluecloud”, which elicited the following complaint from Lord Ridley: “Beneath the article appeared the following comment from ‘Bluecloud’: ‘Should that not be Ridley’s severed head in the photo?’ ‘Bluecloud’ was challenged by another commenter with: ‘Do you recommend that for all people that have a different world view than you?’ ‘Bluecloud’ replied: ‘We would actually solve a great deal of the world’s problems by chopping off everyone’s heads. ‘Why are you deniers so touchy? Mere calls for a beheading evolve such a strong response in you people. Ask yourself a simple question: Would the world be a better place without Matt Ridley? Need I answer that question?’” Lord Ridley went on to say that the repetition by “Bluecloud” showed he had not been “misunderstood in his death threat”. He also pointed out that the comment was made a few days before the beheading of a Japanese hostage in Syria. There was a further comment that identified “Bluecloud” as Gary Evans. The comment that “outed” him was removed by moderators but the two comments by him as “Bluecloud”, which involved beheading, were not. This lies at the heart of Lord Ridley’s complaint. He wrote to me on 30 January: “Incredibly, this comment, outing Mr Evans, was then removed by the moderators, because apparently it was more offensive to the Guardian community than the recommendation that I be beheaded…Accordingly, I would like to lodge a formal complaint that the Guardian censored criticism of a Guardian contributor who twice made explicit death threats against a named individual, while not censoring the death threats themselves, and refused reasonable requests for redress.” Lord Ridley wanted a public apology. The Guardian’s moderation team oversee 50,000 comments a day. As I responded to Lord Ridley 11 days after his complaint with an apology for delay: “‘Bluecloud’’s beheading comment was posted on 22 January at 11.32am. The moderators didn’t remove it immediately because it wasn’t seen as a credible threat at that time; the tone and nature of the comment suggested that it wasn’t serious and thus fell into the realms of bad taste rather than a genuine wish that you be harmed. “However, a moderator took it down the next day (23) at 9.47pm because the story about the Isis hostages was now dominating the news agenda.” The moderators felt this context made the comment cross into something beyond bad taste whatever the original intent. In total it was up for nearly 35 hours. The comment outing “Bluecloud” was removed because it is against the Guardian’s community guidelines to identify any poster. However, a link in his Guardian profile goes back to his own blog, which identifies him although that was not immediately apparent when the comment was taken down. I contacted Evans, who wrote one piece for the Guardian five years ago and is thoroughly contrite and apologised for his “stupid” comments: “I will not seek to defend them and I apologise for any trouble this may have caused to anyone involved. My first comment was made without thinking as a provocative response to the zombie image. The second was really inexcusable. It was too late for me to apologise on the thread by the time I had found the time to consider my actions.” The web and particularly the threads are a robust environment but I think we should have taken the beheading comment down as soon as it was reported, even though I agree with the moderators that it was an attempt at a joke rather than anything else. I think the “Bluecloud” comment falls squarely within rule 3 of the Community guidelines: “We understand that people often feel strongly about issues debated on the site, but we will consider removing any content that others might find extremely offensive or threatening.” When beheadings have been such a tragic part of the news agenda for so many months the choice of a severed head as the accompanying photograph was an error. It seems unlikely to me that the offending comments would have been made had the picture not been what it was. For that reason and the length of time it took to remove the comments, I think Lord Ridley deserves an apology, which I am happy to give on behalf of the Guardian. | ['commentisfree/series/open-door', 'commentisfree/commentisfree', 'media/theguardian', 'media/national-newspapers', 'media/pressandpublishing', 'media/newspapers', 'media/media', 'tone/comment', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'science/science', 'environment/climate-change-scepticism', 'technology/technology', 'type/article', 'profile/chris-elliott', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/editorialsandreply'] | environment/climate-change-scepticism | CLIMATE_DENIAL | 2015-02-13T19:39:17Z | true | CLIMATE_DENIAL |
environment/2021/aug/11/regenerative-farming-shift-could-reduce-uk-climate-emissions-say-experts | Regenerative farming shift could reduce UK climate emissions, say experts | There is growing momentum behind a shift to ‘regenerative’ agriculture in the UK, which can help to mitigate the climate crisis, say leading experts in the sector. “More and more people are seeing other farmers doing it [regenerative farming] and are happier for it,” said John Cherry, who founded Groundswell, the UK’s flagship event for regenerative agriculture, on his farm in Hertfordshire. “People may be getting a higher yield with conventional approaches, but it is costing them more too with all the inputs, so they are not making more money.” Minette Batters, head of the National Farmers’ Union, has set out an ambition for UK farming to be climate neutral by 2040. Henry Dimbleby’s National Food Strategy has now recommended that the government put aside up to £700m to pay farmers to create nature-rich, carbon sequestering landscapes. Food and farming – a key UK sector – has a large carbon footprint, accounting for one-fifth of our emissions. That figure rises to about 30% if you factor in the emissions produced by all the food we import. Agriculture accounts for about 10% of emissions, but in recent years there have been a number of commitments to reducing that. There are already more than 1,700 organic farmers across the UK registered with Soil Association Certification, covering almost half a million hectares of farmland. As well as using fewer pesticides, organic farms have more wildlife and store more carbon in their soils, reducing climate emissions. But in recent years, ‘regenerative’ farming techniques have seen a significant growth in interest. When Groundswell started six years ago, there were just a couple of hundred attenders. This year, more than 3,500 people turned up, including environment secretary George Eustice, who told the crowd that Brexit was a chance for the UK to lead the world on supporting regenerative agriculture. Under new subsidy plans announced by his department, farmers will be offered up to £70 per hectare to take up regenerative techniques, including mixed farming systems where crops are cultivated alongside livestock to help boost soil health. Even the most traditional farming media outlets have been awash with praise for the new approach managing land and producing food in recent weeks, admitting that many farmers are now experimenting with some of the ideas. Earlier this year, McDonald’s announced it was launching a regenerative farming project to transition its beef suppliers in the UK to more sustainable approaches. And writing in the Guardian in May, Prince Charles called for a “rapid transition to regenerative farming”. As well as shows like Groundswell, membership of regenerative farming groups has soared. The Landworkers Alliance, set up in 2014, represents more than 1,500 farmers and landworkers across the UK promoting more regenerative approaches to farming. While the Nature Friendly Farming Network and Pasture-fed Livestock Association have more than 1,500 farmer members between them. The lockdown had also given farmers a chance to pick up on a proliferation of online events and content on regenerative farming, said Nikki Yoxall, 34, a first generation regenerative farmer in Aberdeenshire. “While those practising it are still a minority, there’s a lot more awareness and interest in it from all quarters.” The end of subsidies and rising cost of inputs like fertilisers is pushing farmers to reconsider what they do. “If you accept that things can’t carry on as they are, then you can leave the industry or try something different,” said Herefordshire regenerative beef, sheep and fruits farmer Rich Thomas, 42. “If you take away chemicals slowly then you can wean yourself off a little bit every year and look to start farming in a different way. It’s about trying to regenerate and better use our soils.” Yoxall, who runs a grazing service for farmers and landowners to help manage and maintain their land and soils, said regenerative agriculture was a more accessible type of farming for new entrants too, given its lack of reliance on high inputs and machinery. “If we have more regenerative agriculture in the UK then we’ll need a lot more farmers in the UK for sure.” But the ideas are also attracting existing, older generations of farmers who want to leave a positive legacy on their farm. “I’m getting regular calls now from the 55-year-old plus age group who realise they’ve degraded their land and just want to make amends and leave it in a better state,” said Herefordshire farmer and regenerative agriculture consultant Ben Taylor-Davies. And it’s picking up public support. “There’s an interest in it as a label beyond just farming, with people looking for wool and leather from a regenerative farming origin too,” said Cotswold-based regenerative farmer James Allen. Allen said consumer interest would ultimately be a bigger driver than government policy. “Organic started as a niche, but now every supermarket has its own range. It [regenerative farming] is on a wave gaining momentum all the time,” he added. | ['environment/series/groundwork', 'environment/farming', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'science/agriculture', 'environment/food', 'politics/george-eustice', 'environment/environment', 'environment/organics', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/tom-levitt', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/farming | BIODIVERSITY | 2021-08-11T05:00:40Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2020/jul/30/one-in-three-children-dangerous-levels-lead-in-blood | One in three children have dangerous levels of lead in their blood | One in three children around the world have concentrations of lead in their blood at levels likely to cause significant long-term health damage, new research has found. About 800 million children and young people under the age of 19 are likely to have blood levels of lead at or above 5 micrograms per decilitre (5μg/dl), according to the report. There is no safe level for lead exposure, according to the World Health Organization, because even at very low concentrations it operates as a dangerous toxin, but levels above 5μg/dl are regarded by the US Centers for Disease Control as a cause for action. The findings, from research by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, and published by Unicef on Thursday, highlight the ongoing dangers to children from lead, which has been phased out of common use in petrol, paints and water pipes over decades. “This is an absolutely shocking figure,” said Nicholas Rees, policy specialist at Unicef and author of the report. “We have known for so long about the toxic [nature of lead], but we have not known how widespread it is, and how many children are affected.” Lead is a potent neurotoxin and high exposure can kill, while lower levels cause symptoms ranging from pain, vomiting and seizures to developmental delay, mental difficulties and mood disorders. The lower levels can also cause children to be born prematurely. Exposure at the levels studied is likely to cause reductions in cognitive ability, higher levels of violence and longterm health impacts such as cardiovascular disease, according to the researchers. Children are particularly vulnerable to lead exposure because it damages the developing brain and nervous system, building up over time, and the impacts do not show immediately. Lead mimics calcium in the bones, building up in people’s bodies and causing damage to other vital organs, including the kidneys, heart and lungs. Richard Fuller of Pure Earth, an NGO that collaborated with Unicef on the report, said people were less aware of the damage caused by lead, after campaigns to remove the toxin from many common uses in developed countries decades ago. “We did a terrific job of taking lead out of gasoline [petrol], but the use of lead has plateaued after falling in the 1970s and 80s,” he said. Lead at 5μg/dl of blood is likely to wipe about 3-5 points from a child’s IQ score, and at the levels found in the Unicef report could double the level of violence in society, said Fuller. It is also likely to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, as about 900,000 deaths a year are already linked to lead poisoning. Fuller said that while the levels of lead might seem small, across populations the damage was significant. “It means double the number of people who are intellectually impaired,” he said. “It is definitely not a trivial issue.” He said about 30 academic studies had linked elevated lead levels to people’s propensity for violent behaviour, providing enough corroboration for scientists to make a strong association between continuing lead contamination and its likely impacts on violence. Scientists know more about the damage lead causes even at small concentrations than they did previously. Until recently, the US judged that levels above 10μg/dl were a cause for concern, but changed this to 5μg/dl in 2012 as more evidence became available. One of the leading causes of lead poisoning is the disposal of car batteries, which use lead and acid to generate an electrical charge, and make up 85% of the lead used globally. When disposed of safely, they pose little risk, but in many countries about half of car batteries are recycled without safety precautions. When this happens, large quantities of lead and lead compounds are spilled, poisoning people who come into contact with the liquid and solid products, and contaminating the soil for years. A further cause of lead poisoning is the use of lead compounds, such as lead oxide and lead chromate, as a food additive to make spices appear more vivid in colour. The compounds are used to make turmeric appear bright yellow, and sometimes used with paprika. The report found examples of its use in India, Bangladesh, Georgia, the Balkans, north Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. Children in developed countries are also at risk, from sources including old water pipes, lead paint and contaminated soil. In the US, children living in poorer households and dilapidated accommodation have been found to be at higher risk. In the UK, about 200,000 children are likely to be affected, according to Unicef. The UK decided in 2018 against conducting nationwide screening of lead levels, making it hard to judge where children and adults are most at risk, and the UK still only regards levels over 10μg/dl in children and pregnant women as being of concern, though that may change later this year. Privatised water companies can replace lead pipes without charge, but there is no obligation on them to find out whether people are still being served from lead pipes, leaving many people unaware of the problem. Homeowners must pay for replacing pipes on their own property, which may be beyond the reach of some people, and landlords are not obliged to do the same for tenants. Ovnair Sepai, principal toxicologist at Public Health England, said: “The estimate in this report has been calculated based on data from other countries, which means it is unlikely to accurately reflect blood levels in the UK. “The UK has strict regulations in place for lead in food, water, cosmetics, toys, spices and industry. Lead exposure in children has dropped dramatically in the UK since it was banned in paint and petrol, but risks remain, which may disproportionately affect children in deprived areas.” | ['environment/pollution', 'environment/environment', 'society/health', 'world/world', 'science/poison', 'science/science', 'society/society', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/fiona-harvey', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2020-07-30T00:01:03Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2019/dec/06/greta-thunberg-says-school-strikes-have-achieved-nothing | Greta Thunberg says school strikes have achieved nothing | The global wave of school strikes for the climate over the past year has “achieved nothing” because greenhouse gas emissions have continued to rise, Greta Thunberg has told activists at UN climate talks in Madrid. Thousands of young people were expected to gather at the UN climate conference and in the streets of the Spanish capital on Friday to protest against the lack of progress in tackling the climate emergency, as officials from more than 190 countries wrangled over the niceties of wording in documents related to the Paris accord. In the four years since the landmark agreement was signed, greenhouse gas emissions have risen by 4% and the talks this year are not expected to produce new commitments on carbon from the world’s biggest emitters. Thunberg, whose solo protest in Sweden in 2018 has since snowballed into a global movement, spoke at a press conference before a march through the centre of Madrid. She said that although schoolchildren had been striking around the world, this “has not translated into action” from governments. “I’m just an activist and we need more activists,” she said. “Some people are afraid to change – they try so desperately to silence us.” Thunberg expressed hope for the UN negotiations but doubted whether governments had got the message, and warned the world could not afford continued inaction. “I sincerely hope COP25 will reach something concrete and increase awareness among people, and that world leaders and people in power grasp the urgency of the climate crisis, because right now it does not seem that they are,” she said. Although young people would keep striking, Thunberg said, they wanted to stop – if governments made credible promises and showed a willingness to act. “We can’t go on like this; it is not sustainable that children skip school and we don’t want to continue – we would love some action from the people in power. People are suffering and dying today. We can’t wait any longer,” she said. The march was scheduled to coincide with protests and youth climate strikes around the world. In the US, Bernie Sanders and Jane Fonda were among the politicians and celebrities planning to join in. As well as the march and a sit-down protest in the conference centre, there were shows of international solidarity among young people from around the world, including a picnic in a central Madrid park. The conference centre was flooded with hundreds of schoolchildren accompanied by their parents, many with babies in prams, who were kept separate from the rooms where negotiators were working on a draft text to clarify aspects of the Paris agreement. Young people voiced their frustration at protests inside and outside the conference centre on the outskirts of Madrid. Brianna Fruean from Samoa, speaking for the Pacific Climate Warriors, told the conference: “World leaders need to know that people like me are watching them. The text we put down today on paper at COP is what our future will look like.” Many of the young people joining the conference from developing nations around the world bore personal witness to suffering they had experienced or seen. “I’ve had typhoid. I’ve had malaria. My grandmother died from cholera. I know what I’m talking about,” said Jimmy Fénelon, the national coordinator of the Caribbean Youth Environmental Network in Haiti. “We need to raise awareness among young people. We can get them to work together and send a strong message.” Renae Baptiste, also from CYEN, said: “For us, climate change is no longer a concept or theory, it’s our new reality. It’s affecting our lives now.” The activist Miguel van der Velden said: “These things are not games. They’re getting worse. They’re affecting millions of people around the world. I come here because I have hope that we can work together.” • This article was updated on 9 December 2019 to correct the year Greta Thunberg’s school strike started – it was 2018, not 2017. | ['environment/greta-thunberg', 'environment/cop-25-un-climate-change-conference', 'environment/activism', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'world/protest', 'world/spain', 'environment/environment', 'world/europe-news', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/fiona-harvey', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/greta-thunberg | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2019-12-06T17:25:03Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
environment/2023/aug/31/vintage-butterfly-summer-britain-whats-going-on | A vintage butterfly summer in Britain – what’s going on? | Dire warnings that last summer’s drought could be disastrous for this summer’s butterflies don’t appear to have come to pass. We’re in the realm of anecdote, with scientific data still to be unveiled, but it’s a vintage high summer in parts of Britain. My garden buddleia barometer has recorded the highest total of peacocks and red admirals (more than 20 on one bush) in the nine years I’ve lived here. The nature writer Richard Mabey tells me the “unprecedented explosion” of butterflies he’s witnessed over the past fortnight has put him in a state of cognitive dissonance, given the climate and extinction crises. What’s going on? Richard Fox, from Butterfly Conservation, says this unsettled summer may be ideal – butterflies can happily cope with daily rain if there are also warm, dry periods and, most importantly, caterpillars’ food plants aren’t shrivelling up. Is this a rare upside of the climate crisis? Many butterfly species are at the northerly limits of their range in Britain. If (a big if) we control chemical farming and restore wild habitat, global heating could benefit butterflies here, although overall numbers would still diminish as species vanish if southern Europe fries. The uncertainty over what all this signifies shouldn’t diminish the joy of a half-decent butterfly summer. | ['environment/butterflies', 'environment/series/butterflywatch', 'environment/environment', 'environment/insects', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'uk/uk', 'environment/wildlife', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/patrickbarkham', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-weather'] | environment/wildlife | BIODIVERSITY | 2023-08-31T05:00:36Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
world/2021/may/19/turkey-to-ban-plastic-waste-imports | Turkey to ban plastic waste imports | Turkey is banning the import of most plastic waste after an investigation revealed British recycling was left to burn or be dumped on beaches and roadsides. Greenpeace visited 10 sites in the southern city of Adana in March. Investigators found waste including British supermarket packaging in waterways, on beaches and in illegal waste mountains. Britain exports more plastic waste to Turkey than any other country since China banned imports in 2018. UK exports to the country increased from 12,000 tonnes in 2016 to 209,642 tonnes in 2020, about 30% of the UK’s plastic waste exports. But Turkey has a recycling rate of just 12%, and investigators found plastic packaging from Tesco, Asda, Co-op, Aldi, Sainsbury’s, Lidl and Marks & Spencer dumped, left in bags or burned. Plastic from retailers such as B&Q, Debenhams, Poundland and Spar was also found. Other European countries have also chosen Turkey as the main receiver of their rubbish. About 241 lorry-loads of plastic waste come to Turkey every day from across Europe, 20 times more than was imported in 2016. UK and EU rules say that plastic waste should not be exported to countries unless it is going to be recycled. On Tuesday night the Turkish government said it would ban imports of most types of plastic waste. A notice from the country’s trade minister removed some polymers from the waste products they would allow into the country. Greenpeace said the ban involved polyethylene (PE) plastic used in 94% of the UK waste exported to Turkey. It includes yoghurt pots, salad bags and plastic film. The UK exported nearly 198,000 tonnes of polyethylene to Turkey in 2020. Detailing the terms, Greenpeace said the restriction applied to high-density polyethylene (HDPE), “for example thick plastic milk bottles, shampoo bottles, detergent bottles”, and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) which includes, along with films, the likes of soft plastic bags. However, standard plastic drinks bottles are among items excluded from the ban. According to Greenpeace, Turkey will still import water bottles and fizzy-drinks bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), along with bottle caps – and some food pots and tubs – made of polypropylene (PP). Sam Chetan-Welsh, political campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said: “People have been appalled to see images of UK household waste dumped and burned in Turkey. The UK government must put a stop to our plastic waste impacting other countries. We need a complete ban on all plastic waste exports and legislation to make UK companies reduce the amount of plastic they produce in the first place.” • This article was amended on 21 May 2021 to add detail on plastics included and excluded from the Turkish ban, and to note that polypropylene features in bottle caps rather than bottles. | ['world/turkey', 'environment/plastic', 'environment/recycling', 'environment/waste', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/sandralaville', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/waste | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2021-05-19T15:15:35Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2023/oct/19/storm-sweeps-north-american-landbirds-to-britain | Storm sweeps dozens of North American landbirds to Britain | In what is proving to be a vintage year for birdwatchers, this autumn has been a classic one for North American landbirds arriving on UK shores. At the last count, more than 50 individual birds of 15 ultra-rare species had been found, including three “megas”, as birders call them. These were Britain’s first Canada warbler, second bay-breasted warbler and third and fourth magnolia warblers. If you imagine that these are dull, greenish-brown birds like our own warblers, then think again. These are American “wood-warblers” of the family Parulidae, whose plumage – even in autumn – is a galaxy of rich, bright colours. The reason so many of these birds were turning up – almost all of them along the west coasts of Britain and Ireland – was because of the movement of Hurricane Lee up the eastern seaboard of the US. As it progressed, it met migrant birds heading south, on their way to spend the winter in the tropics, and swept them out over the Atlantic Ocean and towards us. The tragedy is those that were found here are just a tiny fraction of the total, the vast majority of which would have perished before they could make landfall. And, as with the tropical seabirds featured in this column last month, while birders are delighted, the bigger picture is that more extreme weather, including more frequent hurricanes, is very bad news for these birds’ long-term survival. | ['environment/birds', 'news/series/weatherwatch', 'world/extreme-weather', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/stephenmoss1', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | news/series/weatherwatch | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2023-10-19T05:00:43Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
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