by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#6D8TW)
A collapse would bring catastrophic climate impacts but scientists disagree over the new analysisThe Gulf Stream system could collapse as soon as 2025, a new study suggests. The shutting down of the vital ocean currents, called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (Amoc) by scientists, would bring catastrophic climate impacts.Amoc was already known to be at its weakest in 1,600 years owing to global heating and researchers spotted warning signs of a tipping point in 2021. Continue reading...
A plane deployed to extinguish wildfires on the Greek island of Evia has crashed, shortly after dropping water on the blaze. Footage captured on the Greek news channel EPT shows the plane spraying water before turning into a valley and disappearing out of sight. Moments later, the camera catches a ball of fire. Greek authorities said a helicopter had been deployed to assess the crash site and confirmed both pilots died in the crash. Firefighters from several countries have been sent to Greece to fight the wildfires that have spread across a number of islands, including Evia, Rhodes and Corfu, with thousands of residents and tourists evacuated Continue reading...
Wildfires have spread through at least 120 hectares of forest near the Mediterranean resort of Kemer, in Turkey's Antalya province. Authorities said 10-water dropping planes and 22 helicopters were deployed to try to extinguish the blaze. More than a dozen homes and a hospital have been evacuated as a precaution. Wildfires have torn through neighbouring countries, including Greece, for nearly seven days as southern Europe battles with an extreme heatwave, bringing temperatures of well over 40C
Residents in Sandridge, South Carolina, are up in arms about a proposed highway that would destroy their homesFor decades, Bobbie Anne Hemingway Jordan lived on the same property, in the house where she was born. Her backyard was often filled with the sound of her two dozen grandkids as they ran to and from the park next door. For generations, Hemingway Jordan's family lived and farmed on the land, and the 82-year-old believed it would be passed down to future generations as well. I thought it would be left to my children, and they could leave it to their children," she said.Then, in 2021, appraisers offered to buy the land and her house. The sum she received for her three-bedroom, two-bath house was just enough money to purchase a one-bedroom apartment in a nearby community. Continue reading...
These wild pigs cause billions of damage, but some chefs and meat purveyors are putting this pork on the map - and menusAt Austin, Texas restaurant Dai Due, wild boar often features prominently among the menu choices. Guests can order wild boar summer sausage to go with their brunch entree, and boar boudin fills a Czech-Texan pastry called a klosbasnek. For dinner, wild boar can come with a carrot puree and a savory chili bone broth; for lunch, it tops a luxe Italian sub along with Wagyu beef and nilgai antelope.Notes at the bottom of the restaurant's online sample menus assure diners that wild game is sourced in the nearby Hill Country and almost everything comes from around here". Continue reading...
Palermo's airport, on the Italian island of Sicily, was forced to shut for a few hours on Tuesday morning as firefighters battled a blaze at its perimeter. Areas of southern Europe have been hit by another heatwave, with temperatures rising to 47.6C in some parts of Sicily. Fires were visible from residential buildings in Palermo in a video shared on social media. Firefighters said 30 teams were also fighting blazes in Sicily's eastern city of Messina
Project close to bird sanctuaries in Outer Hebrides gets go-ahead after no objections from Scotland's environment agenciesPlans to build a spaceport on the small Hebridean island of North Uist, close to heavily protected bird sanctuaries, have been given the green light despite significant local opposition.The proposed spaceport at Scolpaig Farm, on the north-west coast of the island in the Outer Hebrides, will host up to 10 launches a year, firing small sub-orbital rockets out over the Atlantic. Continue reading...
Tory former minister and chair of Climate Change Committee condemns absolutely unacceptable' attacks on Labour stanceLabour should counter absolutely unacceptable" and ignorant" Conservative attacks on its climate policies by offering a cross-party consensus on climate action, to bring forward measures this parliament to meet net zero, the outgoing chair of the Climate Change Committee has urged.Lord Deben, a former Tory environment secretary and minister under Margaret Thatcher and John Major, strongly criticised Grant Shapps and Suella Braverman, cabinet ministers who have led vitriolic attacks on Labour as the political wing of Just Stop Oil". He called on the government instead to heed the message of climate protesters. Continue reading...
At least 50 pilot whales have stranded on Cheynes beach, east of Albany in Western Australia. Almost twice that number of whales had been seen massing off the beach since Monday, according to the owner of Cheynes Beach Caravan Park, Allan Marsh. 'Probably about half an hour ago they beached themselves,' he said about 4pm local time on Tuesday. 'They're pretty alive still ... they're able to push a few out.' WA Parks and Wildlife Service officers are on the beach
In today's newsletter: At least ten hospitalised, and nearly 20,000 relocated from Rhodes - how Greece is tackling its climate crisis Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning.Wildfires in Greece were never uncommon but, in recent years, they have become an increasingly catastrophic problem. This year, they look set to be some of the worst the country has ever seen: firefighters have been trying to control 82 wildfires that have been burning for the last week, 64 of which started on Sunday during the hottest July weekend in 50 years in Greece (the mercury reached 45C in the central region of Thessaly). Recent analysis by scientists has shown that the human-caused climate crisis is undeniably to blame for the fatal heatwave that has hit Europe and many parts of the world, causing wildfires like the ones we have seen in Greece. And if nothing is done, the problem will only become more acute, with scientists predicting that if the world heats by 2C, these brutal heatwaves will happen every two to five years.BBC | One of the BBC's best-known journalists and newsreaders, George Alagiah, has died at the age of 67 after being diagnosed with bowel cancer nine years ago, his agent has said. Alagiah presented the News at Six for two decades after a lengthy career as a foreign correspondent.Israel | Doctors are set to strike on Tuesday in protest against the passing of a key part of Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial overhaul, after thousands of protesters took to the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv on Monday night.Fire service | Female firefighters are being forced to strip down to their underwear in full view of their male colleagues and the wider public, in an unnecessary, degrading practice" being enforced by an English brigade, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has said.Water industry | Thames Water has admitted it has failed to install a single smart water meter under a flagship 70m programme to fit hundreds of thousands of the devices to support the UK's green economic recovery" from Covid-19.Strikes | Thousands of radiographers in England will strike today amid a row with the government over pay, recruitment and retention. Members of the Society of Radiographers (SoR) have voted to reject the 5% pay award offered by ministers and called for talks to reopen after other public sector workers, including junior doctors, were offered more. Continue reading...
Company admits delay in rolling out devices to 204,700 customers, with deadline less than two years awayThames Water has admitted it has failed to install a single smart water meter under a flagship 70m programme to fit hundreds of thousands of the devices to support the UK's green economic recovery" from Covid-19.The company has told regulators and investors that it is yet to begin installing the 204,700 smart water meters promised in the Thames Valley region, which are due to be fitted by the end of March 2025. Continue reading...
Airport cites supply issues, but says there has been no impact on passengers or flightsAirlines flying to Heathrow have been told to carry as much fuel as possible in their tanks because of supply problems at Britain's largest airport, in a controversial practice that can increase carbon emissions.The airport asked airlines to carry excess fuel on the way to London and to avoid carrying too much when departing, citing supply issues, in a notice sent on Sunday. The notice covered nine days from Sunday 23 July to Monday 31 July. Continue reading...
Conservative rightwingers push PM to create dividing line with Labour on environment after narrow byelection win in UxbridgeRishi Sunak has signalled the government could delay or even abandon green policies that impose a direct cost on consumers, as he comes under pressure from the Conservative right to create a dividing line with Labour at the next election.The prime minister said the drive to reach the UK's net zero targets should not unnecessarily give people more hassle and more costs in their lives" as he rethinks his green agenda after last week's Uxbridge and South Ruislip byelection. Continue reading...
Since the byelection fought over Ulez, party sources suggest some environmental measures may be on borrowed timeThe Tories' narrow victory over Labour at the Uxbridge and South Ruislip byelection has triggered soul searching in both parties about the direction of their green policies.Voters rejected the Labour candidate, Danny Beales, after a campaign fought almost entirely over a single issue: Sadiq Khan's plans to extend the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) for cars. Continue reading...
Activist had pleaded not guilty on grounds she acted out of necessity at demonstration that blocked oil trucks in MalmoGreta Thunberg has been fined by a Swedish court after she was found guilty of disobeying a police order to leave a climate protest.The 20-year-old climate activist, who from 2018 became the face of the youth climate movement, had admitted taking part in the protest in Malmo in June, but pleaded not guilty on the grounds she had acted out of necessity. Continue reading...
Environmental law charity claims energy firm cannot achieve net zero goal with current transition planAn environmental law charity has lost an attempt to revive a lawsuit against Shell over its climate strategy after the high court in London refused permission to bring a case against the energy company.ClientEarth, which holds 27 shares in Shell, argues that the company cannot achieve its aim of net zero carbon emissions by 2050 with its current climate transition strategy, and its directors are therefore breaching their duties to shareholders. Continue reading...
Licences UK has approved in last two years will result in carbon dioxide matching annual emissions of Denmark, Greenpeace findsNew oil and gas licences for the North Sea that the UK government has approved in the past two years will produce as much carbon dioxide as the annual emissions of nearly 14m cars, or the entire yearly emissions of Denmark, analysis has shown.This amount - about 28m tonnes of carbon dioxide over the lifetimes of the fields - will be increased more than eightfold, if potential licences under consideration are also granted, according to data from public sources analysed by Greenpeace. Continue reading...
Discovery of dark bordered beauty males where caterpillars were released raises hopes species can be revivedA moth on the brink of extinction in Britain and reared for the first time in captivity has been found flying at a site where its caterpillars were released.The dark bordered beauty is clinging on in just three places in Britain but its numbers are being increased by a conservation project to establish new populations in the Scottish Highlands. Continue reading...
New suit charges that the EPA disregards ethanol production's impact on endangered species as it is directed to study under lawThe US biofuel program is probably killing endangered species and harming the environment in a way that negates its benefits, but the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is largely ignoring those problems, a new federal lawsuit charges.The suit alleges the EPA failed to consider impacts on endangered species, as is required by law, when it set new rules that will expand biofuel use nationwide during the next three years, said Brett Hartl, government affairs director with the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), which brought the litigation. Continue reading...
Footage from the Greek island of Rhodes shows a huge fire and thick plumes of smoke rising, which has forced 19,000 people to flee and threatened resorts and coastal villages. Firefighters were struggling to contain 82 wildfires across the country, 64 of which started on Sunday, the hottest day of the summer so far
UK minister declines to advise people not to travel to island despite Greece undertaking largest-ever evacuation effortUp to 10,000 British tourists are stranded on the Greek island of Rhodes, the UK government has said, as wildfires sweep across the popular holiday destination.A Foreign Office minister declined to advise people not to travel on Monday, suggesting instead that they contact their tour operator. Continue reading...
Indigenous people and experts say Moscow's military push and increased shipping and mining will destroy Arctic environmentThe Barents Sea port of Severomorsk is the base of the Russian navy's Northern Fleet and, since 2014 - when Russia first invaded eastern Ukraine - it has become the main administrative hub for all of Russia's Arctic military activities.As the war in Ukraine grinds on, Russia is not so quietly expanding its military activities in this region, too. In the past six years, Russia has built 475 military sites along its northern border. The Kola peninsula and the archipelagos of the Barents Sea have seen dozens of new airstrips, bunkers and bases. Continue reading...
Oil and gas facilities along the Gulf coast have long been a major market for speciality insurance carriersResidents of coastal Louisiana are facing growing risks from flooding and extreme weather, with options for home insurance vanishing as insurers leave the state. But the fossil fuel industry operating nearby has no such worries.Liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals have been springing up along the fragile Gulf coast, securing insurance even as their product contributes to the climate crisis and its growing risks, including more intense hurricanes and increased coastal flooding that are driving away residents. Continue reading...
Government claims 98% success rate for cloud seeding but critics urge improving irrigation and water supply systemsAmid a historic heatwave and months of drought, Mexico's government has launched the latest phase of a cloud seeding project it hopes will increase rainfall.The project, which began in July, involves planes flying into clouds to release silver iodide particles which then, in theory, will attract additional water droplets and increase rain or snowfall. Continue reading...
by Aubrey Allegretti Chief political correspondent on (#6D70A)
London mayor is open to ideas to mitigate impact on residents, but not on scheduling of policy some blame for loss of byelectionSadiq Khan is open to new ideas for mitigating the impact of the anti-pollution levy in London being expanded next month, but refusing to back down on the planned timing of its implementation.Despite pressure from some in Labour for city hall to rethink the policy they believe lost the party the Uxbridge and South Ruislip byelection on Thursday, the mayor is determined for it to come into force. Continue reading...
Teamsters union members are prepared to hold the largest single-employer strike in US history over heat protectionsAs a UPS delivery driver in Dallas, Texas, Seth Pacic is intimately familiar with the dangers of extreme heat. After a long day's work through record-breaking temperatures in summer 2011, he found himself dry heaving in the parking lot, incapable of driving home until he spent an hour and a half in the air-conditioned office.It was one of the worst feelings I've ever had in my entire life," he said. I didn't feel like I fully recovered for a couple of weeks." Continue reading...
Fossil fuel-producing members dispute goal of tripling renewable capacity by 2030The G20 bloc of wealthy economies meeting in India failed to reach a consensus on phasing down fossil fuels on Saturday after objections by some producer nations.Scientists and campaigners are exasperated by international bodies' foot-dragging on action to curb global heating even as extreme weather across the northern hemisphere underlined the climate crisis facing the world. Continue reading...
by Michael Savage, Toby Helm and Robin McKie on (#6D6KC)
Science and business leaders say lurch away from climate agenda after byelections would be deeply unpopular with voters and damage UK's reputationBritain's leaders have been warned against a politically suicidal" lurch away from their green pledges as concerns grow that both major parties may dilute their plans to combat the climate crisis in the wake of a shock byelection result.Senior figures from business, the scientific community and across the political divide warned that any watering down of climate policies would be deeply unpopular with voters, set back the international fight to reach net zero and damage Britain's green reputation. Continue reading...
by Michael Savage, Toby Helm and Skyler King on (#6D6FD)
Labour takes in lessons of Ulez debacle while Sunak emboldened to put clear blue water between parties after byelection results Read more: the general election will be a referendum on Sunak, not UlezAs a beaming Rishi Sunak appeared for a fleeting early morning media clip in Ruislip's Rumbling Tum cafe in west London on Friday, anyone tucking into their fry-ups who was unaware of the results of last week's three byelections could have been forgiven for thinking that the prime minister had secured a huge breakthrough.The Labour party has been acting like it's a done deal - the people of Uxbridge just told all of them that it's not," he told the film crew in his brief visit. When confronted with the actual reality of the Labour party, when there's an actual choice on a matter of substance at stake, people vote Conservative." Continue reading...
by Amanda Ulrich in Death Valley national park on (#6D6FQ)
National park has seen remarkable temperatures this summer with some intentionally, and some accidentally, caught in the heatwaveAround every desolate curve of road in Death Valley national park, official signs warn of peril.Heat kills!" cautioned one flyer at popular Zabriskie Point, as tourists streamed by on Thursday afternoon to marvel at a dramatic vista beyond. A photo of a red tombstone completed the dire message: Don't become a Death Valley victim." Continue reading...
Body found near where two-year-old Matilda Sheils was carried away as search continues for her nine-month-old brother, ConradThe body of a young girl was recovered on Friday in the Delaware River and was believed to be a two-year-old who was one of two children swept away from their family's vehicle by a flash flood last weekend, authorities said.The body was found in the early evening near a Philadelphia wastewater treatment plant about 30 miles (50km) from where Matilda Sheils was carried away, authorities said in a nighttime news conference. Continue reading...
Campaigners' pressure sees London mayor withdraw approval for stoves billed as better for the environmentThe mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has withdrawn his endorsement of wood-burning stoves promoted as environmentally friendly" after a surge in sales of the appliances, which contribute to harmful air pollution.In 2018, Khan endorsed the Ecodesign stoves, which comply with new regulations in an EU directive on minimum energy efficiency standards that came into force on 1 January last year, in order to encourage householders to switch from open fires and older stoves to more modern technology. He said Londoners could make a big difference by using the right kit". Continue reading...
Despite extreme heat and weather in the US, most Americans aren't cowering in fear. There's a psychological reason for itThis summer in the United States, millions of people have experienced the intense effects of the climate crisis. The heat dome" that has gripped the south-west for the past three weeks is expanding into the south-eastern states. Catastrophic flooding in the north-east has claimed lives and wiped out farmers' crops. And the worst wildfire season in Canadian history has not only caused tens of thousands of Indigenous people to be displaced, but the accompanying smoke has also billowed over into the north-eastern and midwest US, setting records for poor air quality. In many cases, these events have caused irreparable damage and trauma to those directly affected, and can certainly feel like they're encroaching on those people on the periphery. And yet despite the fact that we're living through a climate disaster, most Americans aren't cowering in fear every day about the future of our planet. There's a psychological reason for that.For one, the climate crisis is a much lower priority for Americans than other national issues, such as the economy and healthcare costs. That isn't to say that we aren't concerned: two-thirds of Americans say they are at least somewhat worried" about global warming, while 30% are very worried", per a Yale University survey. But because of the nature of the way that many humans experience fear, connecting this emotion to something as vast and complex as the climate crisis is difficult. According to Brian Lickel, a social psychologist who researches human responses to threats, we aren't designed to remain in a high state of fear for long. A very fundamental feature of the normal kind of expected emotional processing is hedonic adaptation," he said. Our emotion system is designed to be labile, to go up or have certain responses, but then to not stick there." Continue reading...
Country braces for hottest July weekend in 50 years as firefighters battle 79 forest blazesThe heatwave engulfing Greece is expected to be the longest in the country's history, with temperatures forecast to reach a 50-year high for July this weekend.Kostas Lagouvardos, the director of research at the Athens National Observatory, told ERT television: According to the data, we will probably go through 16-17 days of a heatwave, which has never happened before in our country." Greece defines a heatwave as a period when temperatures reach or exceed 39C (102F). Continue reading...
Labour leader tells policy forum the party needs to learn from loss of west London seatSir Keir Starmer has said the Labour party must be doing something very wrong" over the controversial Ulez expansion policy after its loss in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip byelection.In a speech at the national policy forum in Nottingham on Saturday, the Labour leader said that despite the party's success at the Selby and Ainsty byelection, its loss in Uxbridge and South Ruislip showed there was still a long way to go". Continue reading...
by Emily Cataneo in Jamestown, Virginia on (#6D6C4)
Fruit and nut explorers traverse the US on an ecological mission to preserve the last cultivars of old and important plantsEliza Greenman plucks a wrinkly, canoe-shaped leaf from a tree and cradles it in her hands before sliding it into a plastic freezer bag. She's standing beneath a mulberry tree in a field on the banks of the Mattaponi River, a tributary that cuts through eastern Virginia to the Chesapeake Bay. Greenman had to sleuth to find this historical mulberry, which is meandering, ancient, studded with unripe, spiky white fruits, gnarled with English ivy and a distinctive wave pattern on its bark.It's so cool to imagine that this field was potentially all just mulberries," Greenman says, staring out at the shimmery rye across the road. Continue reading...
Avatar and Titanic director says Titan sub team failed to address most obvious risks' and voices support for deep-sea miningExploring the greatest depths of the ocean is safer than getting an elevator and safer than getting on an airplane" James Cameron has said. But the Canadian director of Hollywood blockbusters added that the team behind the recent ill-fated expedition to the Titanic lacked the imagination to engineer against the most obvious risks" to any deep sea voyage.In an interview with the Guardian, Cameron said that when he travelled to the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench - the deepest known point on the Earth - in a custom-made submersible, we imagined just about every risk that was humanly possible - and we engineered against all of them." Continue reading...
Virus has spread around the world, with 200,000 wild birds dead in Peru alone and concerns Australia could be nextMillions of wild birds may have died from bird flu globally in the latest outbreak, researchers have said, as the viral disease ravages South America, with 200,000 deaths recorded in Peru alone.The highly infectious variant of H5N1, which gained momentum in the winter of 2021, caused Europe's worst bird flu outbreak before spreading globally. The disease reached South America in November 2022, and has now been reported on every continent except Oceania and Antarctica. Continue reading...
Erratic behavior observed in some sharks could be result of them ingesting bales of cocaine cast overboard by passing traffickersMove over, Cocaine Bear. Here come cocaine sharks.In what could be the plotline for the next cheesy marine-themed disaster movie, scientists think crazed and hungry sharks could be feasting on bales of hallucinatory drugs dumped off the Florida coast. Continue reading...
The country's first mining boom' drove its oyster reefs to near extinction. But a new generation of artists has a voice their ancestors never didMegan Cope calls it the first mining boom", one that drove Australia's oyster reefs to near extinction. First, British colonists raided the enormous piles of shells and animal bones Indigenous people had gathered after feasting and ceremony, mixing these middens with water into a lime slurry for building the new colony.Then, once these Aboriginal architectural forms" - sites of carbon-dated evidence of traditional life - were exhausted, the colonisers began demanding live oysters to eat. They sent fishers to deploy harmful extractive processes on the reefs. Within 15 to 20 years of the British arriving, the landscape changed so incredibly," says Cope. Our ancestors were witness to that, but powerless, of course." Continue reading...
Tourism sites including Acropolis to close during hottest parts of day as temperatures set to remain over 40CGreece is set to endure its hottest July weekend in 50 years, a top meteorologist has warned, as the country wilts under a prolonged heatwave set to last well into next week.Government ministries have advised people to work from home where possible and not to venture out unnecessarily. The exceptional temperatures also mean key tourism sites will be closed during the hottest part of the day. Continue reading...
Protest on private lot the latest episode highlighting tensions as climate crisis diminishes Seattle's urban canopyWith ropes, a harness, a hammock and a bucket pulley system, masked activists in Seattle have taken residence in the branches of an old, thick cedar tree to prevent it from being cut down to make way for new homes.The protest on a private lot is the latest episode highlighting tensions behind tree policy in Seattle as the climate crisis increases temperatures and urban canopy decreases. Continue reading...
Environment | The Guardian