Greenpeace alleges 12 companies continued to trade with Madeireira Cedroarana after its founder was accused of ordering torture and murderMore than a dozen US and European companies have been importing timber from a Brazilian logging firm whose owner is implicated in one of the most brutal Amazonian massacres in recent memory, according to a Greenpeace Brazil investigation.The first-world buyers allegedly continued trading with Madeireira Cedroarana after police accused its founder, Valdelir João de Souza, of ordering the torture and murder of nine people in Colniza, Mato Grosso, on 19 April, claims the report by the NGO. Continue reading...
Sandy, Bedfordshire The migration of these winter thrushes may be less of a trickle and more of a flood than our ears tell usA flock of redwings were playing sky rounders in the park, flying from tree to tree, first base to second, second to third, not landing but pressing on, as if going for a home run. They came near enough that I heard their calls. But only two or three called out of a flock of 50 or more.These winter thrushes seep into our consciousness all through the autumn. However, their migration may be less of a trickle and more of a flood than our senses tell us. My mind flashed back to windless evenings over the previous few weeks, punctuated by the “seep†of a redwing, a voice from above that was so high, so clear and so bright that it might have been a star crying out. An answering note would ping out from another bird, a link between travellers in the blackness. And then, perhaps, another. It was thrilling to think that these few sounds in the dark were contact calls for a whole mute squadron. Continue reading...
Coalmine controversy continues to haunt Labor in Queensland as One Nation creates potential post-election headache for LNPAlmost three weeks after the decision to veto the Adani rail line loan overtook Labor’s election campaign, Annastacia Palaszczuk hesitantly agreed not to fund any infrastructure for the mine on Wednesday.Labor is seeking to strike a balance between opposition to the mine from voters in the state’s south-east and support for it in regional Queensland, which sees it as a much-needed economic boost. Continue reading...
Foreign policy paper says climate-related conflict and migration could put Australia’s economic interests under pressureClimate change is creating a disaster on Australia’s doorstep, with environmental degradation and the demand for sustainable sources of food undermining stability in some countries, especially “fragile statesâ€, according to the Australian government’s first foreign policy white paper in more than a decade.
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#38QAA)
Funds set aside for national charging network and tech research, but lack of scrappage scheme disappointsElectric cars have received a funding boost with the government earmarking £340m for a national charging network and subsidies for vehicle purchases.However, further budget backing for greener vehicles was limited to a small rise in vehicle excise duty for new diesel cars that fail to meet rigorous emissions standards – disappointing campaigners who had hoped for a rise in fuel duty or a diesel scrappage scheme. Continue reading...
Some of Melbourne’s most recognisable sights will be powered by a new 39-turbine windfarm after 14 organisations agree to buy half its power outputThree Melbourne councils, two universities, Zoos Victoria, and half a dozen corporations have banded together to underwrite a windfarm in western Victoria that will power some of the city’s most recognisable buildings.The group of 14 organisations, led by the City of Melbourne, has agreed to purchase half the power produced by a new 39-turbine, 80MW windfarm near Ararat, about 200km west of Melbourne. Continue reading...
Conservationists believe global warming could be partly responsible for the influx of species such as the scarlet darter that have been seen this yearRecord numbers of rare migrant dragonflies have been spotted in the UK this year, according to an analysis by volunteers from the Migrant Dragonfly Project.
Innogy Renewables chief claims future reactors will not be competitive as offshore windfarms become even cheaperNew nuclear power stations in the UK can no longer compete with windfarms on price, according to the boss of a German energy company’s green power arm.Hans Bunting, the chief operating officer of renewables at Innogy SE, part of the company that owns the UK energy supplier npower, said offshore windfarms had become mainstream and were destined to become even cheaper because of new, bigger turbines. Continue reading...
The Picture It competition organised by the Natural Environment Research Council (Nerc) asked budding photographers to explore how they interacted with or were inspired by the environment in everyday life.
More than a thousand rangers have been killed in the line of duty over the last decade – and a corrupted legal market, operating for a few wealthy clients, exacerbates that riskThe announcement that the Trump administration is considering overturning the US ban on elephant trophy imports from Zambia and Zimbabwe is one that directly threatens the lives of African park rangers who are tasked with protecting elephants and their ecosystems.Over the last 10 years, more than 1,000 rangers – who are employed by governments, NGOs and private companies – have lost their lives in the line of duty. Sadly, between July 2016 and July 2017, we know of 105 park rangers who have lost their lives in the line of duty. Continue reading...
Some blame rogue engineers for continuing to use practice dismissed as witchcraft to find leaksWater firms have hastily distanced themselves from their own admissions that they use divining rods to detect leaks amid widespread alarm at publicly listed companies using witchcraft.Ten of the 12 water companies in the UK told the science blogger Sally Le Page, via Twitter, that they use the practice of water dowsing despite the lack of scientific evidence for its effectiveness. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Frontier Economics’ modelling commissioned by government says 6,000MW of renewable capacity entering market will reduce prices in 2018-20Modelling commissioned by the Turnbull government as part of its efforts to back in the national energy guarantee says renewables will drive the first wave of price reductions under the policy. It also floats substantial regulatory intervention to stop the electricity market becoming even more concentrated.
Despite a national hunting ban, the attitude to bears has become increasingly hostile, with some remote villagers taking matters into their own handsHigh up in the Carpathian mountains, a forest guard named Csaba Demeter was leaving the woods one evening early this summer when a brown bear attacked him from behind. It pinned him to the ground, sunk its teeth into his limbs and tore deep lacerations into his back with its claws. Demeter pulled his coat over his head and played dead, holding his breath and stiffening his limbs as the bear dug into his flesh. It was five minutes before the animal gave up and moved slowly back into the forest, leaving Demeter barely alive on the mountainside.
Wenlock Edge, Shropshire It couldn’t be the power-station chimney, it was in the wrong place. And it was too late in the year to be a stack of hayAs the match-flare of a November afternoon dimmed in the trees, I caught a glimpse of a tower. Peering through hazel branches I could make out a tall structure that looked like the power-station chimney – except that was north and this was west. It could have been a stack of hay bales, but harvest was over long ago.Curious to discover what I had seen, I wandered down the wooded bank, losing the long view, crossed the road and went through the gate on to a green lane, now used only by dog-walkers, sheep and an occasional tractor, but once the thoroughfare over the Edge to a hamlet on common land below. Continue reading...
Bill Shorten gives emu a leg up, Malcolm Turnbull takes flight and Scott Ludlam offers shock support for ibis• Vote now for your favourite Australian birdForget Bennelong or New England, the battle for Australia’s favourite bird is on.As the inaugural bird of the year poll launched on Monday, the nation’s celebrities, political leaders and media outlets immediately began their campaigns. Continue reading...
Coal industry insiders reportedly told by Adani director that company had secured Chinese financing for the projectAdani is reportedly close to securing the loans it requires to build its railway from Abbot Point to the Galilee basin, allowing coal from the proposed Carmichael coalmine to be exported through the Great Barrier Reef, according to the ABC.The news comes as preparations for construction of the railway pick up pace and protesters step up last-ditch efforts to stop it from proceeding. Continue reading...
Water comes from a deep ocean current off the coast of Hawaii and is desalinated using reverse osmosisEvian and Volvic owner Danone has put money into a Hawaiian bottled water from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, showing the depths multinationals will now go to in the quest for more revenue.The investment in Kona Deep, for an undisclosed sum, is the fifth in a year for Danone Manifesto Ventures, a fund the French food giant set up last year to invest in entrepreneurial companies, which are eating away at the dominance of big brands. Continue reading...
Google Earth reveals a property on which hundreds of hectares of previously untouched forest have been clearedThe tree-clearing explosion occurring in Queensland, usually reported in seemingly impossibly large numbers of hectares or square kilometres, is now being documented using publicly available satellite and aerial photography, revealing the graphic disfigurement of the remaining untouched bushland there.
by Rebecca Smithers Consumer affairs correspondent on (#38KV7)
Figures show more than 2.5m cups were purchased in the past five years despite pledges by the environment secretary to tackle growing plastic wasteMore than 2.5m disposable cups have been purchased by the UK’s environment department for use in its restaurants and cafes over the past five years – equivalent to nearly 1,400 a day.The Liberal Democrats’ environment spokesman, Tim Farron, said the revelation, obtained through a freedom of information request, showed Michael Gove “needs to get his own house in order†in light of his public pledges to tackle the growing scourge of plastic pollution. Continue reading...
Naomi Klein showed in The Shock Doctrine how disasters are often exploited by business at the expense of local communities. It doesn’t have to be that way
Poland is given two weeks to end its destruction of the Unesco-protected forest in a landmark ruling by the European court of justicePoland has been given two weeks to stop illegal deforestation in the Unesco-protected Białowieża forest or face fines of at least €100,000 a day.In a precedent-setting ruling that will echo across the EU, the European court of justice ordered Poland to show it was acting lawfully in the ancient woodland, or face a €36.5m (£32m) annual penalty. Continue reading...
This government must heed the warnings – leaving the treaty on nuclear energy, safety and research is complicated and the potential consequences disastrousCabinet resignations, a government with no majority in the Commons, a make-or break-budget for the chancellor and a fast-approaching Brexit negotiating deadline means it is easy for issues to slip out of the public consciousness. Against this backdrop, Euratom and the UK’s future nuclear safeguarding regime risk being forgotten.As the nuclear safeguards bill - one of the “Brexit bills†announced in the Queen’s speech – makes its way through the parliamentary process, nuclear experts were called to present evidence to MPs. The message from experts is unequivocal – there is no upside to the UK leaving the Euratom treaty.
Humpback dolphins in Western Australia have been observed gifting sea sponges to potential mates in a courtship behaviour that researchers say is very rare. 'It highlights that there's another species out there that's quite socially complex, more than we previously recognised,' says Dr Simon Allen, lead researcher from the University of Western Australia. 'They are thinking animals' Continue reading...
Holme, Norfolk Myths and misconceptions surround this diminutive bird, which can hide in plain sight despite its dazzling plumageIt’s funny how kingfishers, the boldest-coloured birds in Britain, have inspired so much confusion. The commonest example concerns their size. Many people seeing one for the first time are flabbergasted at its smallness.A recent encounter reminded me just how sparrow-like they are. For 20 minutes, I’d sat before a pool scanning the middle distance for harriers and winter geese, before noticing a kingfisher had been perched there all the time. It was only when it made its silvery piping notes that I fixed its location on a reed mace head. Continue reading...
Uncontrolled construction in Greek capital has led to many streams being concreted over, leaving rivers no outlet to the seaChaotic urban planning and illegal construction in Athens played a central role in the deadly flash floods that killed 20 people last week, experts in Greece have claimed as authorities pledged emergency funding for victimsmade homeless by the disaster.About 1,000 owners of homes and businesses are eligible for the assistance, according to government engineers dispatched to inspect the buildings. Continue reading...
Electric lorries | Mickey Rooney as Mr Yunioshi | Uber benchmark | Pre-latte days | Mispronouncing Italian | Theresa May’s church visitsDespite what Elon Musk says (Keep on trucking: a swipe at rail as Tesla unveils electric lorry, 18 November), there is still a crucial role for rail freight in transporting long-distance consumer and bulk traffic in a safer low-carbon way that reduces road congestion and road damage. Also, 136 lorry platoons already exist and are called freight trains. So, during road safety week (20-26 November) we should remember that last year heavy goods vehicles were almost seven times more likely than cars to be involved in fatal crashes on local roads.
Pipeline plan clears last major regulatory hurdle after vote in Nebraska, but legal challenges and protest likely to followA panel of Nebraska regulators have voted narrowly in favor of allowing the Keystone XL pipeline to follow a path through the state, removing the last major regulatory hurdle for the controversial project.The Nebraska public service commission voted 3-2 to approve a permit for the pipeline, which will stretch for 1,200 miles and carry up to 830,000 barrels of oil a day. The vote saw one of the four Republicans on the commission, Mary Ridder, join with the Democrat, Crystal Rhoades, in opposing the permit. Rhoades said she was concerned about the impact upon landowners and that there was “no evidence†the pipeline would create jobs in Nebraska. Continue reading...
Blue whales show ‘lateralisation’ – like handedness in humans – when rolling, choosing left or right depending on depth and type of rollThey are the largest animals on Earth, can live to around 90 years old and have a tongue that weighs as much as an elephant. Now scientists have revealed another insight into blue whales: how they roll.A study has found that blue whales have a tendency to roll to one side or the other when lunging for prey, with the preference apparently down to the depth of the water and the type of roll they execute. Continue reading...
Stocks of controversial and seasonal goose and duck liver delicacy seriously hit for second year in a row by avian fluChristmas would not be Noël in France without a fat goose liver on the festive table.But farmers say stocks of foie gras – enjoyed over the festive period by an estimated 80% of France’s population – have been seriously hit by avian flu for the second year in a row.
E-bikes are well-established in some EU countries, but how about the UK? Old-school cyclist Peter Kimpton tries a new model to see if he’d be tempted to swap“E-bikes are fantastic. I use them all the time. You can take the kids up mountains. You can arrive in your good clothes at a meeting. It’s so easy.†Who said this?Surprisingly, it was none other than Fabian Cancellara, perhaps the greatest ever road time-trial rider. He made similar remarks during a Q&A at the recent Rouleur Classic, an event for road bike and race purists, causing good-humoured outrage. But if even the great Cancellara can ride an e-bike, so will I. Continue reading...
The Trump administration is peeling away rules designed to protect clean air and water, fueling a growing urgency around the struggle for environmental justice, say political leaders, academics and activistsThe Trump administration’s dismantling of environmental regulations has intensified a growing civil rights battle over the deadly burden of pollution on minorities and low-income people.Black, Latino and disadvantaged people have long been disproportionately afflicted by toxins from industrial plants, cars, hazardous housing conditions and other sources. Continue reading...
After months of intense hurricanes, heat waves, and droughts, a survey finds a record number of Americans worried about climate changeThe latest climate change survey from Yale and George Mason Universities is out, and it shows that Americans are still poorly-informed about the causes of global warming. Only 54% understand that it’s mostly human-caused, while 33% incorrectly believe global warming is due mainly to natural factors.
by Associated Press and Guardian staff on (#38FM3)
Nebraska regulators will decide Monday on the last major regulatory hurdle facing the project. Here’s what you need to knowNebraska regulators are expected to decide on Monday whether to approve or deny an in-state route for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. It’s the last major regulatory hurdle facing project operator TransCanada Corp.The Nebraska public service commission’s ruling is on the Nebraska route TransCanada has proposed to complete the $8bn,179-mile pipeline to deliver oil from Alberta, Canada, to Texas Gulf coast refineries. The proposed Keystone XL route would cross parts of Montana, South Dakota and most of Nebraska to Steele City, Nebraska. Continue reading...
With global e-waste projected to hit 50m tonnes next year, consumers need to put pressure on technology firms to make their products more repairableTech powers many things, including cognitive dissonance. A few years ago I was travelling through Agbogbloshie, the commercial district in Accra, known as a graveyard for electronic waste, a hotspot for digital dumping. I tutted and shook my head in sorrow as I surveyed the charred keyboards and plumes of toxic computer smoke wafting across the landscape. My Ghanaian colleague looked with some amusement at the tech spilling out of my handbag. My laptop, phone, iPad – where did I think they might end up?Despite my relatively puritanical approach to upgrades (I can remember ALL my phones), there’s a good chance that those items ended up back there or somewhere similar. According to 2011 figures from the B&FT (Business and Financial Times, Ghana’s biggest business newspaper), the country took in 17,765 tonnes of UK e-waste that year, nearly 50% of all of the waste electronics that were dumped there. For the UK’s discarded electronic goods, Ghana is still likely to be a major destination. Others include China, India and Nigeria. Out of all the electronic waste we send for recycling, 80% ends up being shipped (some legally, and some not) to emerging and developing countries. China is tightening up. A recent change in the law reclassified circuit boards as “hazardous†waste, putting some Chinese e-waste reprocessors out of business. It was a digital version of the butterfly effect: causing more e-waste to be dumped on developing countries to be processed illegally. Continue reading...
In a new poll, run in conjunction with BirdLife Australia, we want you to tell us your best-loved native bird• Vote here for Australia’s bird of the year 2017 Birds. From the glorious king parrot to the much-maligned white ibis, Australians are passionate about them.But is there one bird that reigns supreme in the hearts and minds of the public? Continue reading...
by Nick Evershed, Andy Ball and descriptions by Sean on (#38ES6)
From the promiscuous willy wagtail to the magnificent but slightly terrifying cassowary, Australia has an abundance of wonderful native birds. Vote here to determine the bird of the year 2017. A shortlist of 51 finalists has been selected – if your favourite is not included, you can add it. The poll is open until 9 December. You only get one vote – use it wisely.• Photographs and descriptions courtesy Sean Dooley and BirdLife Australia. Continue reading...
A clean energy package will have a zero pollution outcome compared with 40m tonnes under Coalition’s plan to extend the NSW plant, UTS modelling reveals• Renewables could reliably contribute 50% to power grid, Finkel report finds
Airedale, West Yorkshire A lone wood pigeon in a tree may look portly rather than predatory, but in the air even other birds can mistake it for a hawkA grey silhouette against a linen-white November sky: pointed wings, thick torso, purposeful flight. My first instinct says hawk – maybe a peregrine, even (I saw one over the river, among the Victorian chimneys of the Lower Aire, earlier in the week). But then mind and eye resolve the image and I see the bird for what it is: a wood pigeon, southward bound.Seen clearly, looking portly and awkward on a bird table, say, or crashing about in the woodland canopy, the wood pigeon could hardly appear less predatory. But we’re not the only ones who can be fooled by that muscular flight-shape. “It sometimes has a singularly hawk-like appearance,†the Victorian naturalist WH Hudson wrote. “Even the wild birds in the wood may be deceived by it, and thrown for a few moments into a violent commotion.†Continue reading...
Robins are the UK’s favourite bird and feature in our folklore, but their fascinating lives have plenty of secretsOn a misty November morning, my Somerset garden is unusually quiet. Apart, that is, for the song of one of our commonest and most familiar birds: the robin. It’s a sound I am used to hearing, for unlike virtually every other British bird, robins hold territory and sing more or less all year round.That’s not the only surprising thing about the robin. Common and familiar this little bird may be, but it still has the capacity to surprise us, as I discovered when I spent a year following robins in my garden and beyond for my new book. Continue reading...
Emma Tristram says the legislation to protect ancient woodland may have the perverse effect of causing the most damaging option to be chosenThank you to Patrick Barkham for highlighting the destructive insanity of the Arundel bypass scheme (The road to rural oblivion, 14 November). He mentions ancient woodland and says it needs legal protection. Actually ancient woodland (ie, wooded since 1600) already has legal protection, and “compensation planting†is required – the ratio is decided by English Nature, but may be a multiple of seven or even up to 30 times the area taken.The legislation to protect ancient woodland may have the perverse effect of causing the most damaging option to be chosen. Highways England has run a public consultation, which blatantly favours the route through Binsted woods, 100 hectares of superb quality semi-natural broadleaved woodland. The woods have been here since the Domesday Book – huge, mysterious, unmanaged, full of fallen trees that have regrown from horizontal, and an incredibly rich hotspot for rare wildlife. But some parts have had a cleared period in the last 400 years, so are not designated as ancient woodland. Continue reading...
A telegram obtained by Greenpeace shows that Greg Hands met a Brazilian minister to discuss relaxation of tax and environmental regulationBritain successfully lobbied Brazil on behalf of BP and Shell to address the oil giants’ concerns over Brazilian taxation, environmental regulation and rules on using local firms, government documents reveal.The UK’s trade minister travelled to Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and São Paulo in March for a visit with a “heavy focus†on hydrocarbons, to help British energy, mining and water companies win business in Brazil. Continue reading...
Around 35,000 brave runners registered for the race after more than a week of hazardous pollution levelsTens of thousands of runners Sunday choked through smog for the Delhi half marathon, ignoring dire health warnings from doctors who fought for the controversial race in the heavily polluted capital to be postponed.More than 30,000 people, some sporting pollution masks, braved a hazy morning to run through the Indian capital despite almost two weeks of hazardous smog that forced schools shut for several days. Continue reading...
It was great news for fish and chips fans when North Sea cod was certified sustainable. Steady on though, there are still things to worry about at seaHere’s a food truth: most Britons are happy to say “cod and chips, please†without even thinking about the sustainability impact of our favourite Friday night supper. Our love of white flaky fish has been a nightmare for fish campaigners. North Sea cod stocks plummeted from 270,000 tonnes in the 1970s to 44,000 tonnes in the early 2000s.North Sea cod stocks plummeted from 270,000 tonnes in the 1970s to 44,000 tonnes in the early 2000s Continue reading...
The audit of a feral flock at the Somerset beauty spot is significantThere is a shaggy creation myth surrounding the feral sheep of Cheddar Gorge in Somerset. The story goes that during a poker game in the village in 1992 one of the gamblers, running out of money, put his seven sheep up as his stake. He lost, so the winner took the animals home and put them in his garden. The next morning the winner’s wife looked out of her window to see the new arrivals eating the garden ... and the sheep had to go.Where they went is what draws 35 people to a layby in the chilly morning shadow of Cheddar Gorge. The winner of the two rams and five ewes deposited them on the craggy hillside there a quarter of a century ago, where they have been ever since – the seven becoming 10, becoming 50, then within five years 100 and now, well, who knows? Continue reading...
UK’s last eight coal stations are working to exploit falling temperatures and absence of offline reactors in France to export power across the ChannelPolluting coal power stations in Britain have been profiting from the woes of the low-carbon French nuclear industry this month, according to analysis of energy generation data for the Guardian.Tricastin, one of France’s biggest nuclear power stations, was closed by the French regulator in September so that works could be undertaken to address a flood risk. Continue reading...
Milkham Inclosure, New Forest In the wartime effort of 1917 timber from this woodland fell to axes and became the battlefield planks trodden perhaps by the forest dwellers themselvesToday we wander through Milkham’s pines in an atmosphere of autumnal tranquillity. During the first world war the scene would have been very different. The ring of axes would have cut through the air as still more trees needed for the war effort were taken down. A few mother trees were spared to provide seedlings for regeneration.One hundred years ago last week, after appalling cost, the Third Battle of Ypres, Passchendaele, ended. Pictures taken at the time show Australian gunners walking on duckboards across seas of mud, heading for the frontline through stick-like trees. They could have been treading on planks cut from pines that once grew in Milkham. A sombre thought. Continue reading...
Environment | The Guardian