While its tactics are controversial, there is ‘widespread agreement’ with the group’s demandsJust after 8.15am, a few dozen people split into two groups and stepped on to the A20 just outside Dover before unfurling banners and sitting down in the road.Traffic quickly backed up, bringing widespread disruption to the country’s busiest port and an angry reaction from motorists and politicians. Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent on (#5PYC1)
Rich states missed $100bn target in 2020 but recent pledges by US, EU and China have lifted prospects, says economistDeveloping countries could receive long-promised funds to help them tackle the climate crisis as soon as next year, in a major boost for the prospects of success at the Cop26 climate summit, the climate economist Nicholas Stern has said.Rich countries pledged in 2009 to provide at least $100bn (£73bn) a year to the developing world by 2020, a target that has been missed. But recent promises of additional cash from the US, the EU and others have lifted the prospects. Continue reading...
No need to scream ‘Apocalypse!’ Showing we can make homes warmer and save cash is an easier way to bring people on boardIf anything was going to make me well up in public, I never imagined it would be the joys of insulation. Loft lagging does not generally make the heart sing. People do not normally get choked up over cavity wall filling. But it turns out they probably should.A few weeks ago someone showed me a film about a regeneration project to retrofit a social housing estate in Padiham, near Burnley, with green energy measures – and frankly, it would have melted a heart of stone. Continue reading...
As sea levels rise, growers are employing innovative methods to adapt to saline soilsLike millions of people across Bangladesh, Anita Bala, 45, relies on a small plot of land to feed her family.But for years nothing would grow. Her husband farmed shrimp in the salty ponds on their land, but the surrounding ground was barren. Bala’s efforts to cultivate beans and pulses failed repeatedly. Eventually she gave up. Continue reading...
Affric Highlands initiative to restore nature will involve tree planting, restoring peat bogs and connecting wildlife habitatsA large swathe of the Scottish Highlands stretching between the west coast and Loch Ness is to be rewilded as part of a 30-year project to restore nature.The Affric Highlands initiative aims to increase connected habitats and species diversity over an area of 200,000 hectares (500,000 acres), incorporating Kintail mountain range, and glens Cannich, Moriston and Shiel. Plans include planting trees, enhancing river corridors, restoring peat bogs and creating nature-friendly farming practices. Continue reading...
Chief medical officers cite estimates that more mineral in water would reduce cavities by 28% among poorest childrenFluoride is expected to be added to drinking water across the country after Britain’s chief medical officers concluded that the mineral would cut tooth decay.Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, and his counterparts in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland cited estimates by Public Health England that adding more fluoride to water supplies would reduce cavities by 17% among the richest children and 28% among the poorest. Continue reading...
Megan Swann is first female Magic Circle president and has been conjuring since she was fiveThe first female president of the Magic Circle has said her dream gig would be to perform her environmental magic show in front of world leaders at the climate summit in Glasgow.Megan Swann, 28, is the youngest person ever to be elected to a society set up in 1905 to guard the secrets of magicians. She is determined to use the role as a platform to call for action on the climate emergency. Continue reading...
With just over a week until the city goes to the polls the animals may help to unseat Virginia RaggiA group of wild boar strutting along a traffic-filled road in Rome has catapulted the issue of the Italian capital’s state of decay to the top of the debate ahead of mayoral elections.Much to the bemusement of onlookers, about 13 boar, distinguished by their coarse hair, sturdy bodies and sharp tusks, walked among the traffic on Via Trionfale, a busy road in the northern suburb of Monte Mario. Continue reading...
Trek’s sustainability report appears to be the first of its kind in a sector that has had a free ride on the issueTrek, one of the world’s biggest bicycle brands, recently released its sustainability report for 2021. Remarkably, this appears to be the first time a major bike company has published such a document.While some other manufacturers make broad sustainability pledges or tout their success in reducing packaging waste, Trek’s report offers an ambitious array of concrete environmental commitments and a comprehensive analysis of the carbon footprint of its bikes. Continue reading...
The ASA will conduct a series of inquiries into environmental advertising claims and practicesAirline ads that encourage taking too many flights and carmakers that show SUVs tearing up the countryside are set to fall foul of a crackdown on marketing that encourages environmentally irresponsible behaviour.The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is to launch a series of inquiries into the environmental advertising claims and practices across a range of sectors – starting with energy, heating and transport – in a drive to support global efforts to reduce carbon emissions and battle the climate crisis. Continue reading...
Environment Victoria argues government agency did not consider climate change when renewing licences for three power stationsEnvironmental advocates are suing Victoria’s environment regulator in the supreme court for allegedly failing to limit carbon and toxic air pollution.The non-profit group Environment Victoria lodged the case – which also names energy companies AGL, Energy Australia and Alinta as defendants – on Thursday morning and said it would be the first test of climate laws passed in the state in 2017. Continue reading...
by Presented by Michael Safi with Jillian Ambrose; pr on (#5PWFW)
A cold winter, a windless summer, and boom in business have combined to create an energy crisis that is hitting particularly hard in the UK. The Guardian’s energy correspondent Jillian Ambrose explains how it happened – and what it will mean for peopleThe gas crisis that has plunged the UK’s energy system into chaos took everybody by surprise – but in retrospect, the chain of events that led us here started almost a year ago. First, a particularly cold winter meant many people turned the heating up. Then factories and businesses started to turn up production as the economy emerged from the pandemic. Russia reduced its supplies to Europe. A windless summer reduced renewable input to the grid. And on top of all that, a fire in Kent shut down a vital power cable connecting Britain to mainland Europe.The resulting crisis is likely to increase bills for months to come and put the wider economy under serious pressure – but most of us understand little about the system that gets power to our homes, or how changes in supply find their way to our bills. In this episode, Guardian energy correspondent Jillian Ambrose explains the origins of the crisis to Michael Safi and explores what it has revealed about the weaknesses in the UK’s power system, how they can be fixed – and how serious the impact will be on ordinary people. Continue reading...
by Aubrey Allegretti Political correspondent on (#5PWBQ)
Sadiq Khan to warn time is running out to tackle emergency as he puts pressure on UK government to actA fifth of London’s schools are now susceptible to flooding and millions of people living in the capital are at “high risk” of suffering from the effects of the climate crisis, according to analysis from City Hall, as Sadiq Khan warns time is running out to tackle the issue.In a speech on Thursday, the London mayor is due to pile pressure on the UK government to ensure bold action is taken when it hosts world leaders for Cop26 in Glasgow in two months’ time, and add that without a significant commitment there will be “catastrophic” impacts on the environment and air quality. Continue reading...
City of Nelson welcomes arrival of migratory bird after 10,000km of non-stop flight from the ArcticThousands of migrating birds have been welcomed back to New Zealand to the sound of cathedral bells, after making one of the longest avian migration flights in the world.Eastern bar-tail godwits, or kuaka in Māori, landed on Motueka sandspit at the top of the South Island on Tuesday, where they rested following the 10,000km (6,200 miles) non-stop flight from the Arctic, RNZ reported. Continue reading...
China was lender of last resort for overseas governments seeking finance for coal projectsXi Jinping’s announcement that China will stop funding overseas coal projects could buy the world about three more months in the race to keep global heating to a relatively safe level of 1.5C, experts say.Although the impact will depend on implementation, China’s declaration should also help to kill off coal, which has been humanity’s primary power source for most of the last 200 years. Continue reading...
Birds, and perhaps other animals too, benefitted from a respite in human activity in North America, research suggestsThe shutdown of traveling and socializing during the Covid-19 pandemic last year brought severe dislocation to many people, but if you were a bird during this time it was highly appealing, new research has found.The distribution of 80% of studied bird species in North America changed during pandemic lockdowns last year, the study found, with most of these species increasing in abundance in and around urban areas that fell unusually quiet due to a sudden drop in traffic. Continue reading...
by Sarah Butler, Rowena Mason and Aubrey Allegretti on (#5PV73)
George Eustice says government must give financial aid to fertiliser firm CF Industries for three weeksFood producers have warned a surge in the price of carbon dioxide will force up prices for shoppers despite the government agreeing to spend millions of pounds on bailing out a private US firm that supplies gas to the industry.George Eustice, the environment secretary, said financial support would be available for three weeks to restart production at the Teesside factory of CF Fertilisers, a company that supplies food-grade CO as a byproduct to food and packaging firms. Continue reading...
Or you for 10, if you keep it as a petA garden snail is eating your roses. “Little snail / Dreaming you go / Weather and rose / Is all you know,” wrote Langston Hughes. It is night time, the snail’s time, after dew or rain – when the snail is happiest, because the conditions are optimal for slime-walkers.The snail is blind. It knows the rose only by its smell and soft petals. You think you can hear the rasping of tiny teeth: scraping, scraping away at your roses. The snail is deaf: it does not hear your complaints. It could terrorise you for five years – or 10, if you chose to keep it as a pet. Continue reading...
Analysis shows over 18.16m hectares were destroyed in 2021, an absolute record since satellite monitoring beganRussia has endured its worst forest fire season in the country’s modern history, according to recent data from the Russian Forestry Agency analysed by Greenpeace.Fires have destroyed more than 18.16m hectares of Russian forest in 2021, setting an absolute record since the country began monitoring forest fires using satellites in 2001. The previous record was set in 2012, when fires covered 18.11m hectares of forest. Continue reading...
Responding to high court injunction, Insulate Britain says protests will go on until government pledges to insulate homesEnvironmental activists who blocked the M25 have vowed to continue their campaign after National Highways was granted an injunction against their protests.The campaign group Insulate Britain, which has shut down parts of the M25 five times in just over a week, said “our campaign will go on” despite the threat of jail, or pre-emptive arrests from the police. Continue reading...
by Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent on (#5PVFB)
One-off levy is among options on the table, business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng tells MPsCompanies that stand to make significant profits from record energy market prices could face a windfall tax to help ease the burden on household bills, the business secretary has suggested.Kwasi Kwarteng told MPs on Wednesday the government was considering “all options”, including looking at the Spanish government’s plan for a €3bn (£2.58bn) windfall tax on generators and energy traders that stand to gain from the energy crisis while homes and suppliers struggle. Continue reading...
Xi Jinping’s promise reflects growing awareness of the climate crisis in China and falling renewable pricesThe pledge by China’s president, Xi Jinping, on Tuesday to cease building new coal-fired power projects outside the country will be welcome news to environmentalists around the world. It came on the anniversary of Xi’s unilateral pledge for China to reach carbon neutrality by 2060. Last year Xi also promised that Chinese emissions would peak by 2030.“China will step up support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy, and will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad,” Xi said in a pre-recorded video address at the annual UN general assembly. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#5PVH0)
Level for the most damaging tiny particles is halved, reflecting new evidence of deadly harmThe World Health Organization has cut its recommended limits for air pollution and urged nations to tackle dirty air and save millions of lives.In the first update for 16 years, the guideline limit for the most damaging pollution – tiny particles from burning fossil fuels – has been halved. The new limit for nitrogen dioxide (NO), mainly produced by diesel engines, is now 75% lower. Continue reading...
Reports of a ‘plague’ of crane flies after a cool, damp summer are untrue – and the gangly insects are harmlessThey skulk lankily in the corners of our living rooms at this time of year, and jitter disconcertingly about the bathroom when we are trying to brush our teeth. But are we really seeing a record daddy long legs explosion this year, as some tabloids are claiming?What is a daddy long legs? Continue reading...
A team at the University of Oregon has begun a three-year study looking at the effects of air quality and other stress factors on dairy cattleJuliana Ranches drove to work in eastern Oregon in early September through wildfire smoke so thick that, for a moment, she thought it was just a grey, foggy day and it would soon start to rain.Ranches is a livestock researcher relatively new to living in the area, and the conditions were unlike anything she had experienced before, leading her to ask questions about the animals that spend their summers in the smoke. Eastern Oregon has this year experienced regular wildfires since early July.
England is one of the last strongholds of this beautiful insect but it is at risk due to excessive pesticide useOrganic farming is probably the best hope for the survival of one of Britain’s least known but valuable wild creatures, the necklace ground beetle, Carabus monilis.Once widespread but now on the red list as endangered because of excessive pesticide use and changing farming practices, it needs help to survive. Since it eats many insects that feed on farm crops and the seeds of weeds that farmers want to control any help it gets to thrive will be richly rewarded. Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent on (#5PV2C)
Rest of G20 should follow Joe Biden’s lead on funding commitments, says climate envoyDeveloping countries and campaigners welcomed the offer of increased climate finance from the US president, Joe Biden, at the UN on Tuesday, but warned that rich countries needed to do more to ensure the poorest received the assistance they need.Biden, speaking to the UN general assembly in New York, said he would ask the US Congress to double to $11bn (£8m) a year by 2024 the financial assistance the US offers to developing countries to help them cut greenhouse gas emissions and cope with the impacts of extreme weather. Continue reading...
The Australian prime minister and US president also discussed repairing ties with Europe in their first one-on-one meetingScott Morrison insists Australia and the US are on the same page on climate policy after his first one-on-one meeting with Joe Biden, as the US president presses “every nation” to cut emissions faster.The Australian prime minister and Biden also spoke about repairing ties with Europe, after their new submarine deal – also involving the UK – infuriated France and put a cloud over EU free trade agreement negotiations. Continue reading...
Priti Patel and Grant Shapps want injunction this week, which could lead to protesters being jailedPriti Patel and Grant Shapps are seeking a court injunction to stop environmental protesters from targeting major motorways after five days of tailbacks and damaging headlines for the government.The home secretary and the transport secretary have asked National Highways and the Government Legal Service to submit an application later this week. Continue reading...
by Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent on (#5PTCZ)
World’s energy watchdog intervenes after Russia decides not to increase exports despite record pricesThe world’s energy watchdog has called on Russia to send more gas to Europe as the energy supply crunch bleeds across the continent, in a rare public rebuke of the Kremlin.The International Energy Agency (IEA), which advises global governments on energy policy, called out the gas-rich country for refusing to increase exports even as fierce demand has driven market prices to successive record highs, appearing to support claims that Russia is withholding supplies. Continue reading...
Cornish brand joins forces with rental service thelittleloop in attaempt to meet growing consumer appetiteEthical kids clothing company Frugi is the latest high street name to tap into consumer demand for rent rather than buy clothes.The upmarket Cornish brand has joined forces with new children’s clothing rental service thelittleloop – one of a growing number of firms serving growing consumer appetite for more sustainable wardrobe choices. Continue reading...
Analysis: As governments shield consumers against soaring prices, Russia and renewables are coming under scrutinyThe UK is far from alone in its energy crisis. Across Europe, governments are acting to shield consumers from soaring bills, with nerves growing about the coming winter. EU energy ministers will meet this week at an Alpine castle in Slovenia, where they will discuss global gas shortages and the union’s energy policy.Since the start of the year, wholesale gas prices in Europe have risen by 250%, the result of a complex cocktail of economic, natural and political forces. Globally, demand for energy has shot up, as China and other major economies bounce back from the pandemic. In Europe, a cold winter and frigid spring depleted gas reserves, while a long spell of still days reduced wind power supply to the grid. Meanwhile, CO2 prices hit a record €62 this month and Russia, a big exporter, has declined to increase gas supplies. Now, across the continent, energy prices are only going in one direction: up. Continue reading...
Donation from $10bn Bezos Earth Fund will go towards biodiversity hotspots in Congo Basin and AndesJeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, has said he realised just how fragile the Earth was when he looked back down at it from space, while committing $1bn to conservation projects around the world.The money , made through the $10bn Bezos Earth Fund that he formed last year, will go towards the conservation of nature in biodiversity hotspots such as the Congo Basin, the tropical Andes and the Pacific Ocean. It will help finance a goal to protect 30% of the world’s oceans and land by the end of the decade, a draft target in Paris-style UN agreement on nature being negotiated. Continue reading...
Analysts predict a further 14% jump for spring 2022 on top of next month’s scheduled £139 riseMillions of households could face a second record jump in energy bills next spring, on top of the £139 increase due next month, as the global gas crisis continues to drive market prices to new highs.An even larger energy bill rise is expected from next April after the steady increase in gas and electricity market prices, which could add between £178 and £294 to the typical price of a default dual-fuel energy deal. Continue reading...
Green lawns are terrible for the environment. They’re also embarrassingly old-fashioned and out of styleAmericans love front yards with big, carefully manicured lawns. In fact, homeowners spent a record $47.8bn in lawn and garden retail purchases in 2018 alone. Then there’s the water usage: 9tn gallons a year nationwide just on gardening. We consume this water even as parts of the American west are in the grip of a horrific drought that has paralyzed farmers, triggered huge wildfires, and has some states considering water cutbacks.The reason we spend so much time, money and natural resources on our lawns, as Kristen Radtke recently noted in the Los Angeles Times, is that decades of television and popular culture have cemented in our brains a certain image of the American dream: house in the suburbs, white picket fence, two-car garage, glossy green lawn. The problem isn’t just that that image is difficult to attain for a lot of Americans. It’s that it’s embarrassingly dated. Continue reading...
Policy experts warn new proposals to plug abandoned oil and gas wells amount to huge subsidy for the fossil fuel industryOil and gas companies have a century-old bad habit of drilling wells and ditching them. And while Congress finally has a plan to plug some abandoned wells, new proposals effectively pass the fossil fuel industry’s cleanup costs on to taxpayers and may even enable more drilling.Concerned parties seem to agree on the scale of the crisis: millions of wells sit untended across the US, leaking toxins that pose public health problems along with the potent greenhouse gas methane, which contributes to the climate emergency. Continue reading...
by Eric Lutz in Benton Harbor and Erin McCormick in C on (#5PSNR)
Activists in Benton Harbor say it’s been an uphill battle getting the city, county and state to take actionBobbie Clay first realized something was wrong a few years ago.The water at her Benton Harbor, Michigan, home had started coming out of the tap looking “bubbly and whitish”. When she filled a glass with it, she could see matter floating around inside. “I became very concerned,” she recalled in a recent interview. Continue reading...
Dozens of discoveries in recent years have shown the country to be a treasure trove of amphibiansIt is barely the size of a thumbnail, so it may not come as a surprise that it took so long to spot the starry dwarf frog. It was discovered sitting next to some leaf litter by eagle-eyed researchers on a joint US-Indian expedition in thick shola forest in the Western Ghats in Kerala, south India, during a nocturnal hunt.The starry dwarf frog, or Astrobatrachus kurichiyana, named after a tribe in Wayanad, Kerala, where the frog was found in 2019, is just one of dozens of new species found in recent years that have revealed India to be a frog paradise. Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent on (#5PSGD)
Women’s Institute supports initiative, urging manufacturers to take action on plastic microfibresWashing machines should be fitted with filters to prevent microplastic fibres from clothes reaching waterways and the sea, the Women’s Institute, campaigners and MPs have urged.Filters are cheap and can catch almost all of the plastic microfibres produced from washing clothes made from artificial fabrics such as nylon, but there is no obligation in the UK for washing machines to be fitted with the simple devices. Continue reading...