Tightening regulations and a growing eco-conscious workforce are major factors in heralding green office campusesAbout 40 miles south of San Francisco, three futuristic structures rise from the earth. With sloping roofs clad in thousands of overlapping tiles, the buildings could be mistaken for the world’s most architecturally advanced circus tent.They are, in fact, part of Google’s new Bay View campus, which is due to welcome employees this year – pandemic allowing – and is situated a few miles east of its existing HQ campus in Mountain View. Continue reading...
by Miranda Green for Floodlight and Paul Monies for O on (#5V616)
Customers saddled with paying 600 times the usual price for energy as regulators are accused of being too close to the industry they monitorWhen Neil Crittenden heard that an extreme winter storm was about to hit Oklahoma last winter, he did what officials advised him to do and kept his heat on and water running so that his pipes wouldn’t freeze. The 40-year-old Oklahoma City resident even used hair dryers to keep them thawed.What Crittenden didn’t know at the time was that the energy he used was going to cost him significantly. As winter storm Uri swept across the south central US last February, utilities that weren’t prepared scrambled. The storm caused blackouts in several states and resulted in the deaths of at least 223 people. Continue reading...
‘Urgent’ coordinated action to tackle overconsumption, farming subsidies and the climate crisis also needed to halt biodiversity lossExpanding national parks and protected areas will not be enough to halt the destruction of nature, warn leading scientists, who say urgent action on overconsumption, harmful subsidies and the climate crisis is also required to halt biodiversity loss.Governments are expected to commit to a Paris-style agreement for nature at Cop15 in Kunming, China, later this year, with targets that include protecting at least 30% of the oceans and land by 2030. Continue reading...
Special bricks could attract mites or encourage spread of disease if not cleaned properly, say some expertsAn initiative in Brighton aimed at helping protect the bee population could do more harm than good, scientists have warned.The council in Brighton has passed a planning condition that means any new building more than five metres high will have to include swift boxes and special bricks with holes known as bee bricks. They will provide nesting and hibernating space for solitary bees.There are about 270 species of bee in Britain, just under 250 of which are solitary bees that live alone, although often nest close to one another.Solitary bees in Britain are highly diverse, and so are their nesting habits. Most British species nest in the ground, excavating their own nest.The honeybee is probably the best-known bee. They live socially and are led by a queen and serviced by male drones and female worker bees.The bee population is thought to have declined in the UK since the 1970s. For example, the number of managed honeybee hives in England dropped by 50% between 1985 and 2005, and 67% of common widespread moth species have declined since the 1970s.Since 1900, the UK has lost 13 species of bee, and a further 35 are considered under threat of extinction.The decline in population is thought to be because of changes in land use, which has led to habitat loss. Other issues affecting bees include disease, pesticides, pollution and climate change.One of the best ways of helping bees is thought to be by planting flowers rich in nectar. Continue reading...
Investment fund manager says firms that do not plan for a carbon-free future risk being left behindLarry Fink, the chief executive of BlackRock, the world’s biggest investment fund manager, said pushing climate policies was about profits, not being “woke”.In his annual letter to CEOs , Fink said businesses, cities and countries that do not plan for a carbon-free future risked being left behind. He argued that the pursuit of long-term returns was the main driver behind climate policies, after being criticised for seeking to influence companies. Continue reading...
America’s largest oil firm claims its history of publicly denying the climate crisis is protected by the first amendmentExxonMobil is attempting to use an unusual Texas law to target and intimidate its critics, claiming that lawsuits against the company over its long history of downplaying and denying the climate crisis violate the US constitution’s guarantees of free speech.The US’s largest oil firm is asking the Texas supreme court to allow it to use the law, known as rule 202, to pursue legal action against more than a dozen California municipal officials. Exxon claims that in filing lawsuits against the company over its role in the climate crisis, the officials are orchestrating a conspiracy against the firm’s first amendment rights. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#5V4FN)
Study calls for cap on production and release as pollution threatens global ecosystems upon which life dependsThe cocktail of chemical pollution that pervades the planet now threatens the stability of global ecosystems upon which humanity depends, scientists have said.Plastics are of particularly high concern, they said, along with 350,000 synthetic chemicals including pesticides, industrial compounds and antibiotics. Plastic pollution is now found from the summit of Mount Everest to the deepest oceans, and some toxic chemicals, such as PCBs, are long-lasting and widespread. Continue reading...
Assessment contains inadequate surveys of threatened species habitat and fails to identify that project could cause flooding of 284km of waterways, officials say
by Rebecca Ratcliffe South-east Asia correspondent on (#5V4EH)
Government offices will relocate to province of East Kalimantan, easing burden on Java metropolis as it battles environmental problemsIndonesia plans to name its new capital Nusantara, which translates as “archipelago”, when government offices are relocated to the province of East Kalimantan from Jakarta, on the island of Java.President Joko Widodo first announced the plan to move Indonesia’s capital in 2019, in an effort to relieve the huge environmental challenges facing Jakarta, and to redistribute wealth. The move has been delayed due to the pandemic, but could go ahead in 2024. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#5V48S)
Mayor says air pollution and climate crisis are issues of ‘social justice’ in capital and across the globeMotorists across the whole of London could be charged for every journey from 2024 under plans being drawn up to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality.The mayor, Sadiq Khan, said London should be a global leader in introducing smart road pricing, as a report found car journeys in the capital needed to be cut by more than a quarter to meet net zero emissions targets by 2030. Continue reading...
Former justice secretary defends police and crime bill as it reaches final stages in parliamentThe police, crime, sentencing and courts bill that has sparked “kill the bill” demonstrations across the country is a “proportionate” response to recent protests such as those by Insulate Britain, the former justice secretary Robert Buckland has said.Protesters took to the streets in cities across the UK at the weekend to rally against the police and crime bill, which is reaching its final stages in parliament and will be considered by the House of Lords on Monday. Continue reading...
In blow to climate campaigners, state encourages miners to ramp up output to avert winter gas crisisChina’s coal production reached record levels last year as the state encouraged miners to ramp up their fossil fuel output to safeguard the country’s energy supplies through the winter gas crisis.The world’s biggest coal producer and consumer mined 384.67m tonnes of the fossil fuel last month, easily topping its previous record of 370.84m tonnes set in November, after the government called for miners to work at maximum capacity to help fuel the country’s economic growth. Continue reading...
Chris Hohn’s TCI fund, known as one of the most aggressive activist investors, made a 23% gain in 2021The world’s 20 top performing hedge fund managers earned a record $65.4bn ($48bn) profit for their clients in 2021 after bets placed on rising stock markets paid off.The biggest winner was TCI, the fund run by British billionaire Sir Chris Hohn, which made a gain of $9.5bn last year, according to the annual rankings by LCH Investments. Continue reading...
Seabed permits given to 17 projects from companies including Scottish Power, Shell, BP and SSEThe Scottish government is in line for a windfall of almost £700m after the largest ever auction of the country’s seabed plots attracted bids from big oil and renewable energy companies hoping to build next generation windfarms.Crown Estate Scotland has awarded oil companies including BP and Shell, and renewable energy veterans Scottish Power and SSE, permission to lease the Scottish seabed where they plan to build enough windfarms to power the equivalent of 23m UK homes a year. Continue reading...
by Sandra Laville Environment correspondent on (#5V3EJ)
Fish Legal calls for Environment Agency to reveal details on 2,000 sites under investigationA campaign group is challenging what it says is an information blackout imposed by the Environment Agency on its investigation into suspected illegal sewage dumping in England.The inquiry began after water companies admitted to the agency they may have been illegally discharging raw sewage from treatment works into rivers and streams. Continue reading...
It’s been dubbed the perfect invader, but the marbled crayfish may offer a sustainable food source and even help prevent diseaseSmall, bluish-grey and speckled, it would be easy to overlook the marbled crayfish. Except for the fact it is likely to be coming to a pond or river near you soon – if it is not already there. The all-female freshwater crustacean has become a focus of fascination for scientists in recent years, due to its unique ability among decapods – the family that includes shrimps, crabs and lobsters – to clone itself and quickly adapt to new environments, as well as the fact that it has spread exponentially.The marbled crayfish was first recognised in 1995, when a biology student bought a bag of crayfish – sold to him as “Texas crayfish” – from American traders at a pet fair in Frankfurt. After becoming a burden to their new owner due to their inexplicably rapid rate of reproduction, he distributed them to friends who, in turn, dumped them in rivers, lakes and toilets, from where they spread rapidly, throughout Germany, much of mainland Europe and most profusely, the island of Madagascar, home to unique but extremely delicate freshwater ecosystems. Continue reading...
Independent tests find that a number of products on the market use oxidised oils, with the rancidity often masked by flavouringsMore than one in 10 fish oil supplements tested from among 60 large retail brands are rancid, while nearly half are just under the recommended maximum limit, according to independent tests.Conducted over several years by Labdoor, which analyses vitamins and supplements based on criteria such as purity, label accuracy and nutritional value, the tests measured common US-branded fish oils, available globally, against international voluntary standards of rancidity. Continue reading...
Crown Estate Scotland hopes amount of electricity generated in Scottish waters will double over next decadeScotland’s largest-ever auction of permits to construct offshore windfarms is expected to raise up to £860m when the results are announced on Monday.Crown Estate Scotland, which is running the auction, hopes that windfarms with as much as 10 gigawatts of new generating capacity will be built over the next decade, effectively doubling the amount of electricity generated in Scottish waters in a transition which has the potential to create tens of thousands of jobs. Continue reading...
by Hannah Ellis-Petersen South Asia correspondent on (#5V2GV)
A blueprint based on ‘sacred geometry’ was designed to build Auroville, a perfect city of unity. But 50 years on the Galaxy Plan has created anger and divisionNestled deep in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, cocooned from the world by a young forest, lies a community that wants to change the world. Ask the residents, of Auroville, who come from more than 60 countries, what they are doing there and the answer will be much the same as it has been for more than five decades: “The purpose of Auroville is to realise human unity.”Auroville was founded in 1968, with a vision to build an international city to upend rigid class and caste systems and be free of the pollution, traffic, chaos, rubbish, social isolation and suburban sprawl that have poisoned modern urban environments. Continue reading...
The spill in the Timor Sea was one of Australia’s worst environmental disasters, with thousands of seaweed farmers claiming it destroyed their livelihoodsThe oil came without warning.One morning in September 2009 it was there, coating Daniel Sanda’s modest seaweed farm on the Indonesian island of Rote: a dark sheen across the water, waxy yellow-grey blocks floating in the sea. Continue reading...
Proponents say the ‘regenerative farming’ eating challenge encourages consumption of more sustainable animal products – but is it just greenwash?With Veganuary expected to reach more than 2 million sign-ups globally since its launch in 2014, the 31-day plant-based pledge is once again making headlines this January as food manufacturers, supermarkets and restaurants cater to the movement. But for people wanting to eat more sustainably, yet not willing to cut out meat completely, there is another consumer challenge to try: Regenuary.The idea for people to source as much food as possible from producers who use regenerative farming methods was hatched three years ago by Glen Burrows, co-founder of the Ethical Butcher, who was a vegetarian for 25 years because he didn’t like the way meat was produced. “Back in 1989, being a vegetarian was basically like being a Martian,” he says. “I became that awkward guy at dinner parties and slightly enjoyed that moral smugness, but then after a long period of time, I wasn’t that well. It wasn’t suiting me.” Continue reading...
Conservation groups appeal to EU to take action against slaughter they allege flouts rulesFinland is joining Sweden and Norway in culling wolves this winter to control their population, as conservation groups appeal to the European Union to take action against the slaughter.Hunters in Sweden have already shot dead most of their annual target of 27 wolves, while Finland is to authorise the killing of 20 wolves in its first “population management cull” for seven years. Continue reading...
Galanthophiles flock to Buckland Monachorum for 375 varieties of the flower that tells us spring is on the wayIn the winter sunshine they glinted and gleamed, bright white flowers dotted around the lawns and wooded slopes of a glorious garden on the edge of Dartmoor in Devon.And within minutes of opening its doors, the Garden House was busy with hordes of galanthophiles – snowdrop lovers – taking in the sight of a beloved flower that at this time of year provides a vivid reminder that warmer, cheerier seasons are ahead. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#5V1SD)
Exclusive: Studies show high temperatures and air pollution during pregnancy can cause lifelong health effectsThe climate crisis is damaging the health of foetuses, babies and infants across the world, six new studies have found.Scientists discovered increased heat was linked to fast weight gain in babies, which increases the risk of obesity in later life. Higher temperatures were also linked to premature birth, which can have lifelong health effects, and to increased hospital admissions of young children. Continue reading...
Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay are reeling from a historic heatwave with temperatures as high as 113FCities and towns across southern South America have been setting record high temperatures as the region swelters during a historic heatwave.“Practically all of Argentina and also neighboring countries such as Uruguay, southern Brazil and Paraguay are experiencing the hottest days in history,” said Cindy Fernández, meteorologist at the official National Meteorological Service. Continue reading...
Advise people not to drive or light wood burners rather than imposing restrictions on vulnerable, campaigners sayCampaigners have called on the government to urge people not to drive or light wood-burning stoves during toxic air peaks rather than telling the vulnerable not to exercise or go outside.London suffered its worst air pollution since 2018 on Friday, when experts predicted it would reach “band 10”, the highest level on the scale. Continue reading...
British Sugar has applied for ban exemption despite chemicals damaging bees’ ability to forage and navigateThe government has ignored the advice of its scientific advisers to allow sugar beet farmers to deploy a banned bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticide in 2022.British Sugar has successfully applied for an exemption to permit the banned pesticide, known as Cruiser SB, to be used in England this year because of the threat to sugar beet posed by a virus transmitted by aphids. Continue reading...
Companies may have to change how they advertise or face court if in breach of consumer protection lawFashion brands that make misleading claims about their environmental credentials face a crackdown by the competition watchdog as it targets greenwashing.Brands could be forced to change the way they advertise or face court action if they are found to have breached consumer protection law with spurious environmental claims. Continue reading...
About 20 elephants have died in eight years after eating plastic in open landfill siteConservationists and veterinarians have warned that plastic waste in an open landfill in eastern Sri Lanka is killing elephants, after two more were found dead at the site.About 20 elephants have died over the last eight years after consuming plastic in the dump in Pallakkadu village in Ampara district, about 130 miles (210km) east of the capital, Colombo. Continue reading...
Jury decision over 2019 action is the latest acquittal involving a high-profile protestThree activists who targeted London’s public transport network to raise the alarm about the escalating climate crisis have been acquitted by a jury.The three Extinction Rebellion campaigners disrupted rush hour services for more than an hour in east London in 2019, with two of them climbing on top of the train and a third gluing himself to one of the carriages. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#5V0X9)
Third Energy now has ‘absolutely no interest in fossil gas’ and is targeting renewable energyA high-profile UK fracking company has been taken over by a green energy group and now has an anti-fracking campaigner as a director.Yorkshire-based Third Energy was at the forefront of efforts to produce fossil gas and intended to use high-pressure fluids to fracture shale rocks under the county. But it was hampered by permit delays and fierce local opposition. Continue reading...
Cotswolds food producers argue case illustrates disconnect between planners and farmers’ need to make livingHe left the meeting in a right old huff, chuntering that it was a bad day for farming and dismissing one of the planning officials as a comedian, after his scheme to build a hilltop restaurant on his Oxfordshire farm was flatly turned down.But Jeremy Clarkson, petrolhead turned farming reality TV show star, may be heartened by the concern and interest in his case that rippled through the Cotswolds this week. Continue reading...
Campaign by local angling club to free fishes’ migratory routes is part of move across Europe to create free-flowing riversA dam that has blocked the Tromsa River in Norway for more than 100 years was blown up with dynamite this week, freeing migratory routes for fish.“It’s a big step,” said Tore Solbakken of Norwegian angling club Gudbrandsdal Sportsfiskeforening, who has campaigned for five years to have the old hydropower plant dam removed. “I’m very happy. It’s all about restoring healthy rivers and fish populations.” Continue reading...
by Hannah Ellis-Petersen South Asia correpondent on (#5V0FE)
Indian author says pillaging of lands and killing of indigenous people laid foundation for climate emergencyAmitav Ghosh can clearly remember his first interaction with the climate crisis. It was the early 2000s, and Ghosh, now one of India’s most celebrated authors and winner of its highest literary prize, was researching a novel set in the Sundarbans, a network of islands around the mouth of the Ganges Delta in the Bay of Bengal, which is home to the world’s largest mangrove forest.Climate change had barely entered into public consciousness back then, but Ghosh clearly remembers “visible signs that something wasn’t right”. Continue reading...
International Energy Agency says pollution from power generation will worsen until alternatives are foundThe global surge in demand for energy could spark another three years of market volatility and record power plant pollution unless countries make major changes to how they generate electricity, the world’s energy watchdog has warned.The International Energy Agency recorded the steepest ever increase in electricity demand last year, which triggered blackouts in major economies and led to historic energy price highs and record emissions. Continue reading...
Government accused of hypocrisy as company uses permit predating ban to begin operation off coast of TaranakiThe arrival of a new offshore drilling rig in New Zealand, a year after the country declared a climate emergency, has prompted a fresh wave of anger at the government’s alleged “hypocrisy” and “cynical politics” on climate change.Keeping fossil fuels in the ground was the most basic element of tackling climate change, Greenpeace said, while #SchoolStrike4Climate movement activist Sophie Handford said allowing more oil and gas extraction was “immoral”. Continue reading...
Workers at nearly 80 grocery stores accuse corporation of making big profits during pandemic while not paying employees enoughMore than 8,000 workers at nearly 80 Kroger-owned King Soopers grocery stores around Colorado started a three-week strike on Wednesday as new union contract negotiations stalled.The dispute is the latest in which workers have accused a corporation of making big profits during the pandemic while not paying high enough wages. Continue reading...
Heating and habitat loss drive birds and mammals to cooler areas where plants can not follow, study showsThe decline of seed-dispersing animals is damaging plants’ ability to adapt to climate breakdown, a study has found.Almost half of all plant species depend on animals to spread their seeds, but scientists fear these plants may be at risk of extinction when animals are driven to migrate to cooler areas, as plants cannot easily follow. Continue reading...
Government advises older people and those with lung or heart issues to avoid strenuous activity altogetherLondoners should avoid strenuous physical activity on Friday due to “very high” levels of pollution, experts have warned.The poor air quality is the result of an intense area of high pressure covering western Europe. The associated lack of air movement means emissions from vehicles and other pollutants are not blown away as they usually would be. Continue reading...
Delaying introduction of charges for some vehicles that breach standards would be ‘serious blow’ for health, critics sayClean air campaigners have warned leaders in Greater Manchester that pausing plans to charge polluting vehicles in the region “would be a serious blow for people’s health”.Greater Manchester authorities announced plans on Thursday to ask the government to partially delay the rollout of the biggest clean air zone in the UK, citing evidence that global supply chain issues could increase the costs and reduce the availability of cleaner vehicles. Continue reading...