by Nina Lakhani, Mark Oliver and Martin Pengelly in N on (#5P35P)
Deaths and damage spanned huge areas in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and MarylandPolice were going door to door in search of more possible victims and drawing up lists of the missing in the US north-east on Friday, as the death toll rose to 49 across eight states in the region after the catastrophic flooding set off by the remnants of Hurricane Ida after it roared up from Gulf coast.Ida struck Louisiana last Sunday, knocking out power to the city of New Orleans and causing deaths in that state and Mississippi. Continue reading...
by Patrick Greenfield and Phoebe Weston in Marseille on (#5P4TM)
Thousands of scientists and conservation experts gather in Marseille for the world’s biggest biodiversity summit since the pandemicThe world’s biggest biodiversity summit since the start of the pandemic has opened in the French port city of Marseille with a warning from Emmanuel Macron that “there is no vaccine for a sick planet”.Speaking at the opening of the IUCN World Conservation Congress, the president echoed warnings from leading scientists that humanity must solve ongoing crises with climate and nature together or solve neither, urging the world to catch up on preventing the loss of biodiversity. Continue reading...
The president warned that ‘we need to act now’ as trail of destruction blighted west, south and north-eastThe widespread destruction caused by extreme weather coast to coast, with Hurricane Ida spreading devastation from Louisiana to New York while record wildfires scorch California, prompted Joe Biden to level with America this week, saying it was “yet another reminder that … the climate crisis is here”.“We need to be much better prepared. We need to act,” Biden said in a speech on Thursday at the White House. Continue reading...
Critics pillory big oil companies for cynical expressions of sympathy while continuing to block climate solutionsMajor oil companies are being pilloried on social media for sending “thoughts and prayers” to victims of Hurricane Ida while sidestepping their role in the ongoing climate disaster.At least two ExxonMobil outposts – from Beaumont and Baytown, Texas – tweeted the message on Monday, using the hashtag #LouisianaStrong. It didn’t take long for Twitter users to call out the company for its tone-deaf response, noting that Exxon’s own internal research program predicted catastrophic climate change decades ago. Continue reading...
Sixty doctors, nurses and other health professionals have staged a die-in protest outside JP Morgan’s Canary Wharf headquarters in London to highlight the bank’s investment in fossil fuels.The demonstration on Friday was organised by Doctors for Extinction Rebellion and was part of a two-week series of XR protests against organisations supporting fossil fuels
Sixty medical professionals including nurses hold protest to highlight fossil fuel investmentsSixty doctors, nurses and other health professionals have staged a die-in protest outside JP Morgan’s Canary Wharf headquarters in London to highlight the bank’s investment in fossil fuels.The protest on Friday was organised by one of Extinction Rebellion’s groups, Doctors for Extinction Rebellion. The climate activist medics said this was their biggest protest so far and that JP Morgan was the biggest funder of coal, oil and gas extraction. Continue reading...
• ‘Planet cannot handle more stress from oil and gas production’• Announcement came as Gulf states battered by Hurricane IdaOutrage and at least one lawsuit has followed the Joe Biden administration’s announcement this week that it would open tens of millions of acres in the Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas exploration in an effort to comply with a court order.Earthjustice, a non-profit public interest organization, has filed a lawsuit on behalf of four environmental groups in Washington DC federal court challenging the move. They alleged that the environmental analysis behind the auction is flawed and violated federal law. Continue reading...
Warming sea and shifting food sources drive whales into areas where they risk ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gearClimate change-induced warming in the Gulf of Maine has resulted in the population of the North Atlantic right whale to plummet, leaving the species critically endangered and conservationists desperate for safeguards, according to a study published this week in the journal Oceanography.Related: Cape Cod: eight great white sharks seen feeding on humpback whale carcass Continue reading...
by Jonathan Watts Global environment editor on (#5P3CJ)
Chris Stark urges Treasury to speed up pace of decarbonisation strategy ahead of Cop26 summitThe UK’s top climate adviser has pushed back strongly against “defeatist” criticism that the country’s net zero target is expensive, and urged the Treasury to pick up the currently “incremental” pace of decarbonisation.Chris Stark, the chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), urged the debate over net zero to be framed in a more positive light: “It can be done,” he said. “It is worth it … I hope we can move away from thinking about the cost and see it as a mission to modernise the economy.” Continue reading...
Environmental demonstrators disobey orders to stay away from London financial districtDozens of Extinction Rebellion activists have carried out a mass act of non-violent civil disobedience by breaking bail conditions ordering them to stay away from the City of London financial district.The activists joined with hundreds of supporters in a low-key rally outside the Bank of England on Thursday afternoon, listening to speeches from a mobile sound system. Continue reading...
It shuddersThe writer Jenny Diski is on her way to Antarctica. At Grytviken, an abandoned whaling station on South Georgia, she spots a “grey, jellied mountain”.“Elephant seal is one of those euphemistic names humans give creatures who remind them of what they don’t want to be reminded of,” she writes. But her fellow travellers want to be reminded: they take pictures. Maybe the elephant seal will get a spot on someone’s wall. It will be the first time in history that a person has chosen to decorate using that face. Continue reading...
Residents in Alcanar say they feel fortunate no lives were lost after intense rain caused heavy floodingPeople in the town of Alcanar in north-east Spain have been assessing the damage caused to homes and businesses by flooding produced by intense rain that fell over large areas of the country.Residents said they were fortunate no lives had been lost when more than 250 litres of water per sq metre was dumped on the town between 12am and 6pm on Wednesday. Continue reading...
It’s media malpractice not to mention that burning fossil fuels drives extreme weather events like Hurricane IdaThe climate emergency is exploding in various parts of the world this week, but climate silence inexcusably continues to rein in much of the United States media.Hurricane Ida has left more than a million people in Louisiana without running water, electricity or air conditioning amid a heat index topping 100F. The Caldor fire destroyed hundreds of houses and forced mass evacuations around Lake Tahoe in California. Abroad, vast swaths of Siberia were ablaze while drought-parched Madagascar suffered what a United Nations official called the first famine caused entirely by climate change. Continue reading...
There’s a century of toxic sludge hiding in the Gowanus Canal, but it may not be enough to stop a mega-developer from building on itIn November, gigantic yellow excavators began scooping up the poisonous sludge colloquially known as “black mayonnaise” from the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, New York – a momentous step in a prolonged cleanup effort, 10 years after the waterway’s designation as a Superfund site.But the mood is bittersweet. Longtime residents who campaigned for the Superfund label say they are now facing another environmental battle: a proposed mega-development in the neighborhood that would sit on top of a century’s worth of toxic chemicals. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Scientific panel finds Adani’s conservation aims for the endangered black-throated finch ‘do not meet the content requirements of an acceptable plan’
Two decades ago Richard Stiles escaped an avalanche in New Zealand, but friend Steve Robinson wasn’t so lucky. Now the mountain has given up some of its secretsWhen mountaineer Chris Hill found a backpack with an old camera in it on the Hooker Glacier – an 11km chunk of ice on New Zealand’s South Island – he was intrigued and decided to get the film inside developed.Hooker is at the base of Aoraki (Mount Cook), in a national park of icy peaks where hundreds of climbers have died, dozens of them never to be found. Continue reading...
Extinction Rebellion members march through Westminster and target offices of JP MorganAn occupation of the offices of the environmental group WWF by a protest in solidarity with indigenous people in Africa has continued into its second day, as Extinction Rebellion’s actions continued in London on a smaller scale.About a dozen activists organised under the banner WTF WWF occupied the WWF offices in Woking, Surrey, on Tuesday morning. They stayed overnight, refusing to leave until it begins a dialogue with indigenous communities in Tanzania, Kenya and Cameroon who say they are being displaced by conservation efforts. Continue reading...
Spill was threatening island’s Karpas peninsula, but pieces have detached and fate now depends on sea currentsA large oil slick that had been working its way across the Mediterranean towards Cyprus, following a spill in Syria, appears to have partially dissolved although its next move will depend on currents.The spill, likened in size to New York City, had threatened the island’s Karpas peninsula, a strip of pristine beaches and verdant hills in the Turkish-controlled north, after seeping into the sea from a power plant in Syria nine days ago. Continue reading...
by Natalie Grover Science correspondent on (#5P1FH)
Swiss scientists develop prototype ‘nanogenerator’ that produces renewable energy when trodden onScientists have developed technology that can turn footsteps into electricity.By tapping into an unexpected energy source, wooden flooring, researchers from Switzerland have developed an energy-harvesting device that uses wood with a combination of a silicone coating and embedded nanocrystals to produce enough energy to power LED lightbulbs and small electronics. Continue reading...
To meet climate targets and avoid economic collapse, countries such as Iraq need international support in the transition to clean energy• Ali Allawi is deputy prime minister and finance minister of Iraq. Fatih Birol is executive director of the International Energy AgencyIn the Middle East and north Africa, global warming is not a distant threat, but an already painful reality. Rising temperatures are exacerbating water shortages. In Iraq, temperatures are estimated to be rising as much as seven times faster than the global average. Countries in this region are not only uniquely affected by global temperature rises: their centrality to global oil and gas markets makes their economies particularly vulnerable to the transition away from fossil fuels and towards cleaner energy sources. It’s essential the voices of Iraq and similar countries are heard at the Cop26 climate change conference in Glasgow this November.To stand a chance of limiting the worst effects of climate change, the world needs to fundamentally change the way it produces and consumes energy, burning less coal, oil and natural gas. The International Energy Agency’s recent global roadmap to net zero by 2050 shows the world’s demand for oil will need to decline from more than 90m barrels a day to less than 25m by 2050. This would result in a 75% plunge in net revenues for oil-producing economies, many of which are dominated by a public sector that relies on oil exports and the revenues they produce. Continue reading...
Community initiatives boosted as government signals change in policies that favour energy giantsSpain’s growing energy cooperative movement has received a boost after the government announced that some of the latest allocation of renewable energy will be in small lots, rather than large tranches that only big energy companies can afford.The move signals a change of attitude after successive governments have given in to the demands of the power giants. Continue reading...
UN agency says weather disasters strike four to five times more often – but are killing fewer peopleWeather disasters are striking the world four to five times more often and causing seven times more damage than in the 1970s, the United Nations weather agency has said.But these disasters are killing far fewer people. In the 1970s and 1980s, they killed an average of about 170 people a day worldwide. In the 2010s, that dropped to about 40 per day, the World Meteorological Organization said in a report released on Wednesday that examined more than 11,000 weather disasters over the past half-century. Continue reading...
The ecologist admits ‘messing up’ in the past, but says his Restor project will be ‘a Google Maps of biodiversity’, showing the impact of restoration – from a forest to your own back gardenListen to our podcast: Can we really solve the climate crisis by planting trees? – part oneThomas Crowther understands more than most the danger of simple, optimistic messages about combating the climate crisis. In July 2019, the British ecologist co-authored a study estimating that Earth had space for an extra trillion trees on land not used for agriculture or settlement. Its implications were intoxicatingly hopeful. By restoring forests in an area roughly the size of China, the press release accompanying the paper suggested two-thirds of all emissions from human activities still present in the atmosphere could be removed.The study, led by Jean-François Bastin, a postdoctoral researcher at Crowther’s lab in ETH Zürich, Switzerland, was the second most featured climate paper in the media in 2019, according to one analysis. It inspired the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) One Trillion Trees Initiative, launched last year after Salesforce billionaire Marc Benioff read the paper on the recommendation of Al Gore, the former US vice-president. The Time magazine owner told everyone he could about the research: chief executives, friends and world leaders, even convincing climate sceptic Donald Trump to back the WEF initiative with a multibillion tree commitment. Continue reading...
Hailing end to toxic fuel additive, Guterres says same commitment is needed to eliminate other pollutantsThe UN secretary general and environmentalists have welcomed a declaration by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on the end of leaded petrol in the face of years of “underhand” opposition.As Algeria became the last country to stop selling the toxic fuel last month, the two-decade campaign to ban it has been called a “milestone for multilateralism”. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#5P0VG)
Oil firm sets out plans to provide a third of Britain’s network needed to hit climate targetsShell has announced its aim to install 50,000 on-street electric vehicle (EV) charging points in the UK over the next four years, in an attempt to provide a third of the network needed to hit national climate change targets.Earlier this year, the energy company acquired ubitricity, a leading supplier of local authorities’ on-street EV power points, with a network of 3,600 chargers in lamp posts or bollards. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington, Environment editor on (#5P0SS)
Dirty air is a far greater killer than smoking, car crashes or HIV/Aids, with coal burning the leading causeAir pollution is cutting short the lives of billions of people by up to six years, according to a new report, making it a far greater killer than smoking, car crashes or HIV/Aids.Coal burning is the principal culprit, the researchers said, and India is worst affected, with the average citizen dying six years early. China has slashed air pollution in the last seven years, but dirty air is still cutting 2.6 years from its people’s lifespan. Continue reading...
Global study calls for urgent action to prevent ecosystem collapse, with farming the biggest cause of die-offBetween a third and half of the world’s wild tree species are threatened with extinction, posing a risk of wider ecosystem collapse, the most comprehensive global stocktake to date warns.Forest clearance for farming is by far the biggest cause of the die-off, according to the State of the World’s Trees report, which was released on Wednesday along with a call for urgent action to reverse the decline. Continue reading...
Foundations For Tomorrow study gives insight into young people’s concerns for environment and government responseYoung Australians overwhelmingly want to see immediate action on climate change but have little faith their leaders will do anything significant, a new survey suggests.The survey from Foundations For Tomorrow, an initiative of the World Economic Forum and supported by AwareSuper, received 10,000 responses from Australians aged under 30. Continue reading...
Nappy Alliance says scheme would encourage people to switch away from polluting single-use nappiesCampaigners have called for a national voucher scheme to encourage parents to embrace reusable nappies after Downing Street denied reports of a new tax on disposable ones.The government insisted there were no plans for a tax on single-use nappies despite suggestions they were the next item on a “ministerial hitlist” after last week’s crackdown on single-use plastic plates and cutlery in England. Continue reading...
Move on ninth day of latest protest campaign appears to mark change in use of force against the groupPolice in London wielded batons and threw punches against Extinction Rebellion protesters as they battled to gain control of an open-top bus blocking London Bridge on Tuesday, in a step-change in their use of force against the group.On the ninth day of XR’s latest protest campaign, the Guardian witnessed officers from the Metropolitan police climb the sides of the bus parked across the junction at the south of the bridge, striking and wrestling with protesters. Continue reading...
Ignore the myths about nuclear power, writes Rob Loveday of Generation Atomic – it is an essential source of clean energyThe letter on nuclear energy (25 August) sadly could not be more wrong – nuclear is one of the cleanest fuels we have, and has always been so. The carbon and material footprints of nuclear – for its entire lifetime, including mining and decommissioning – are lower than solar and on a par with wind, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.Moreover, the nuclear industry manages its waste stream – that is more than can be said for the solar industry, which is set to produce millions of tons of toxic waste. Besides, spent nuclear fuel is not “waste” but a valuable source of low-carbon energy that can be recycled via reprocessing or proposed breeder reactors, thereby neutralising the vast majority of the radioactivity. Continue reading...
Government vets take animal from site in Gloucestershire in relation to destruction warrantGeronimo the alpaca has been taken from the farm where he lives by government vets supported by a police escort.Avon and Somerset police officers attended the site in Wickwar, South Gloucestershire, shortly before 11am on Tuesday alongside three people dressed in blue overalls, masks and goggles. Continue reading...
Animal Rebellion activists demand that Arla become plant-based by 2025Vegan environmental activists have blockaded a dairy distribution centre in Buckinghamshire, which they say handles 10% of the milk supply in the UK, while a dozen other activists have sought to occupy the headquarters of WWF.About 50 activists from Animal Rebellion, a sister group to Extinction Rebellion, blocked the gates to the Arla distribution centre near Aylesbury, locking on to bamboo structures and concrete barricades to prevent lorries from gaining access. Continue reading...
The park service is turning to selfie stations, timed tickets and crowd-monitoring apps to preserve public landsArches national park had to close its gate more than 120 times this summer alone when parking lots filled up, creating a safety hazard for emergency vehicles. Yellowstone national park reached 1 million visitors in July for the first time in its history. At Zion national park, the wait for a hike was a Disneyland-long four hours. And with the visitors came graffiti, trash and reckless behavior.“It’s no secret that this summer has been one of our busiest summers ever,” says Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles, the chief spokesperson for the National Park Service. “We don’t have official numbers, but preliminary visitation statistics show that the most popular 12 to 15 national parks are seeing record numbers.” Continue reading...
Money available for ‘bold and ambitious’ ideas by energy network firms in aim to reach net zeroGreat Britain’s energy regulator has launched a £450m fund aimed at innovative projects that will help the country meet its net zero climate targets.Ofgem will make the money available to energy network companies that are trying to ensure homes and business are going green. Continue reading...
Metropolitan police say officers working to get traffic moving after van and caravan used to block roadExtinction Rebellion protesters blocked Tower Bridge with a van and caravan in the latest step of the group’s continuing demonstrations.Activists from the group, also known as XR, lay on the ground near the London landmark to protest against government investment in fossil fuels as part of their fifth wave of mass protests on environmental issues. Continue reading...
UN announcement marks ‘huge milestone for global health and our environment’The era of leaded petrol is officially over, the UN has announced, eliminating a major threat to human and planetary health.UN experts have called the use of the fuel, which began in 1922, a “catastrophe for the environment and public health”. By the 1970s, nearly all petrol produced around the world contained lead. Now the last country to use it, Algeria, has finally stopped selling it in petrol stations. Continue reading...
Research finds almost two-thirds of older people want UK government to move faster on green initiativesThe majority of over-50s believe the UK government should be doing more to address the climate crisis, even if it leads to higher prices, a study has found.A survey of more than 500 people aged 50 and over found that almost two-thirds want ministers to move faster on climate initiatives, regardless of whether it meant products and services would be more expensive over time, or more difficult to access. Continue reading...
Islay’s 9 distilleries burn 15m litres of oil a year. Now Bruichladdich is leading a radical effort to reduce emissionsLike the other famous malt whiskies made on Islay, Bruichladdich heavily promotes its idyllic island location, carefully selected Scottish barley, clear Hebridean water and loving attention of its craft distillers.But Bruichladdich is confronting a significant problem. Like its neighbouring distilleries, and many more of Scotland’s 134 whisky producers, it relies on fuel oil, brought in on diesel-powered ferries, to fire the boilers. Islay’s nine distilleries burn 15m litres of oil each year. Ironically, this beautiful spot may well have the highest per capita CO emissions of any community in Scotland. Continue reading...
Demonstrators attach themselves to railings in reaction to museum taking funding from oil firm for Our Future Planet showExtinction Rebellion protesters have glued and locked themselves to the railings inside the Science Museum, in a protest against the oil firm Shell’s sponsorship of an exhibition about greenhouse gases.Five people have put their arms through the railings and glued their hands together so that they are not damaging the museum’s property. Six have deadlocked their necks against the railings. Some are scientists dressed in lab coats, while others are in clothes with Extinction Rebellion logos. Continue reading...
Course would aim to instil love of wildlife in teens and inspire them to protect it. Plus: test your knowledge with our quizWhat is the difference between a weasel and a stoat? Can you name five native UK woodland flowers? What birds are considered lowland heathland specialists? Teenagers could be challenged on these questions as part of a natural history GCSE, which could be announced in the coming weeks.If plans go ahead, it would be the first GCSE to be introduced since a reformed computer science qualification in 2014. The 21st century is creating a lot of work for technology geeks and nature enthusiasts alike, and schools need to create a generation of youngsters who will be up to the challenge, argues producer and nature writer Mary Colwell. Continue reading...
James Cook University team hope replanting project will be a blueprint for restoring underwater meadows on Great Barrier ReefResearchers have been forced to avoid crocodiles, deadly jellyfish and even quicksand-like mud to replant seagrass beds south of Cairns as part of a project they hope to expand across tropical Australia.The underwater meadows at Mourilyan Harbour were once thriving habitats, providing food for prawns, dugongs and green sea turtles. Continue reading...
Environment | The Guardian