There are few issues as bipartisan as public lands. They underpin American traditions and are central to the US economy. But they are now threatened like never before. Under the influence of special interests, the Trump administration has paved a path to give away 640m acres of national land, a third of US property. Limiting public access and input, this Congress has been called the worst for public lands in US history. In response, the Guardian is launching a weekly series to look at the role of public lands in American life and the threat posed by efforts to do away with them
In a divided country, support for US public lands is a rare bridge issue – yet the Republican platform has opened the door to disposing of 640m national acresAt a moment of deep political division, few issues draw as much bipartisan support from the American public as the sanctity of public lands. Yet conservative lawmakers have quietly laid the foundation to give away Americans’ birthright: 640m acres of national land. Continue reading...
Energy minister delivers warning to party conservatives and resources sector ahead of Finkel review, which is expected to recommend implementing a low emissions targetThe energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, has warned internal and external critics that the Turnbull government’s policy has to change, because doing nothing will drive up power prices – as Australia’s resources sector fired the first public warning shot against a new low emissions target.
Abney Moor, Derbyshire Despite the proximity to the Peak District’s honeypots, a feeling of remoteness pervades hereAround the musically winding path leading up Bradwell Edge, spring is thickening into its richest texture. The meadows are rampant with cow parsley, the shade is restless with midges and the hawthorn blossom is dense as clotted cream.At the top of the ridge my friends and I lie on a blanket of grass and look over the Hope Valley. Sunshine swells over the fields and lights up the cement works, while a pair of buzzards drift along the skyline, occasionally stopping still in some unseen updraft with an almost kestrel-like precision. I wonder how it feels to tread air like that, to be your own parachute, senses attuned to the subtlest ebbs and flows of the atmosphere.
Food wastage is a global problem affecting our economy, society and environment. Australians throw out $8bn to $10bn worth of food every year. OzHarvest is a food rescue organisation that collects excess food from commercial outlets across the country and then delivers it to those in need. Guardian Australia takes a ride with OzHarvest driver Steve Negrine to see first-hand the organisation’s innovative approach to minimising food waste Continue reading...
When it finally opens in September, the complex will have the latest energy efficiency technology – but will it be worth the $2.3bn spent?When it comes to the power consumption of hospitals, the diagnosis isn’t pretty: they rate as the second most energy-intensive of all commercial buildings, behind only food service providers.
Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 5 June 1917Upwards of sixty members of a Manchester lads’ club spent Whit-week near Redesmere; two pairs of willow wrens nested in the fields the boys camped and played in. These boys are not slow, and found some nests, but they failed to discover the neat little domed, feather-lined homes of the warblers. Perhaps, however, the presence of so many lively youngsters was too much for one pair, although the nest was in the safest corner of one field, for the birds deserted their spotted eggs about the middle of the week. The other nest was close to a busy roadway to the farm, along which, in addition to the boys, cyclists, vehicles, and motors passed constantly; perhaps this traffic saved the birds, for on Sunday, after the lads had left, one of the pair was sitting undisturbed.Naturally many city boys know little about nature, though they are sharp enough in other ways. Taking birds’ eggs is forbidden, but rules are sometimes broken, and three juveniles brought me an egg to look at and tell them what bird had laid it; probably that particular egg would never hatch, though it was returned to the nest. Each of the boys was asked to guess what the egg was, and the three birds named were the waterhen, thrush, and wild duck; it was an egg of the reed bunting! It is fair to add that these boys had not attended the classes now held at the Manchester Museum. Continue reading...
UN ambassador Nikki Haley says president believes pollutants play role, as EPA head Scott Pruitt avoids directly responding to queriesThree days after Donald Trump announced that the US would pull out of the Paris climate accord, senior members of his administration could not present a united front in response to questions about the president’s beliefs on climate change.Related: Why Trump's attempt to pit Pittsburgh against Paris is absurd | Lucia Graves Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent on (#2RTVD)
Green market could expand from 2% to 13% of UK economy by 2050 with the right policies, says low-carbon group that includes Ikea, Siemens and M&SThe UK could be a green business powerhouse in the next three decades, but only if given proper support by government, a group representing more than 30 low-carbon companies has said.The low-carbon economy in the UK employs at least 432,000 people, with a turnover of more than £77bn in 2015. This is larger than industries such as car-making and steelmaking, which are frequently given the spotlight when politicians discuss industry and jobs. Continue reading...
Ambitious and long-term policies are needed so that Britain can take advantage of the rapidly growing global market for low-carbon goods and servicesDespite the US withdrawal from the Paris agreement on climate change (Anger at US as Trump rejects climate accord, 2 June), the global market for low-carbon goods and services is rapidly growing and the UK must make the most of this opportunity. Spurred in particular by major investments in low-carbon technologies by countries such as China, India, Mexico and South Africa, the Paris agreement could open up $23tn (£18tn) worth of opportunities for low-carbon investments in emerging markets between 2016 and 2030. The commitments made by six world leaders at the recent G7 summit and the decision by China and the EU to collaborate more closely on climate change support this trend.Related: UK needs government backing to unlock billions in green business, says industry Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#2RTB3)
A new gold rush is targeting rich ores on the ocean floor containing valuable metals needed for smartphones and green technologies, but also hosting exotic ecosystemsMining the deep ocean floor for valuable metals is both inevitable and vital, according to the scientists, engineers and industrialists exploring the world’s newest mining frontier.The special metals found in rich deposits there are critical for smart electronics and crucial green technologies, such as solar power and electric cars. But as the world’s population rises, demand is now outstripping the production from mines on land for some important elements. Continue reading...
Sustainable fish is the only option if we’re not going to wipe species out. So it’s a big round of applause for new Princes tuna with the all-important blue tickWhenever a sustainable seafood product reaches the shelves of UK stores I feel like doing a little dance. Step forward tinned tuna from Princes. Prosaic it may be, but it’s the first certified tuna from the Western Pacific wearing the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) blue tick.It’s time to remove all non-sustainable fish from shelves and menus Continue reading...
His withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement belittles his country, but could galvanise the worldLife here in the US feels surreal lately, like a very bad reality TV show, thanks to Donald Trump. In no case is this more evident than the president’s decision – and the process and theatre around it – to abandon the Paris climate agreement and nearly every other country in the world.The Paris agreement was a groundbreaking deal that allowed each country to decide its own contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Even though it is non-binding, the agreement puts the world on the path to keep global temperatures from rising more than 2C, which scientists warn would be disastrous for our planet. Continue reading...
White House has dodged declaring president’s view on climate change, but Haley says leaving Paris accord ‘doesn’t mean we don’t care about the environment’Donald Trump “believes the climate is changing†partly because of pollution, according to the US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley.
Former New York mayor says during surprise trip to Paris on Friday that Americans ‘don’t need Washington to meet our Paris commitments’. Bloomberg, who is the UN’s special envoy for cities and climate change, says cities, states and businesses will instead step in to ensure the targets are met
This week in Trumpland: a quiet start to the week was enlivened by covfefe – and then the president exited Paris, after which criticism was swift and brutalA bit of a quieter week for Donald Trump – except towards the end, when he did his best to push the planet into a watery grave.
Teifi Marshes, Pembrokeshire Bilidowcar the cormorant’s called in Welsh – Billy the DuckerBound for hides in the Teifi Marshes reserve, I paused to lean against railings on the riverside path and a cormorant arrowed into view, threw up its broad, webbed feet to brake, and touched down on the water.Seeing it reminded me of a morning 20 years ago in a fishing boat careening into Roonagh in County Mayo on green combers that were the aftermath of an Easter storm. A cormorant had kept us close, wave-skimming company. I asked the skipper, Jack Heanue, what the folk of Inishturk – an English-speaking island – thought of these weirdly beautiful birds. Continue reading...
Former New York mayor, now UN cities and climate ambassador, says Trump may have withdrawn from Paris accord but American people haven’tThe United States will meet its Paris accord greenhouse gas targets despite Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement, former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has said.
Draft decision says Australia would not, at this rate, meet interim or long-term targets in the Reef 2050 reportUnesco has expressed “serious concern†about the impact of coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef and warned Australia it will not meet the targets of the Reef 2050 report without considerable work to improve water quality.The criticism was contained in a draft decision published as part of the agenda for the upcoming world heritage committee meeting (pdf), which will take place in Krakow, Poland, in the first two weeks of July. Continue reading...
It’s clearer than ever the economic interests Trump claims to defend can only be served by acting on global warmingFor precious decades experts have explained, over and over, that the science of climate change is incontrovertible, the consequences of blindly sticking with fossil fuels catastrophic and the costs of inaction far higher than switching to a low-emissions economy.But these facts had no impact on the sceptics, who cling to a worldview where they find “alternative factsâ€, where fossil fuel power is the only path to prosperity and mounting environmental and economic evidence to the contrary is some kind of dastardly leftwing plot. Continue reading...
Got a minute? White House won’t say whether president believes in climate change … global condemnation greets Paris decision … and everything else in US politics. By Tom McCarthy10.20pm BSTDonald Trump won’t say whether he still believes that climate change is a “hoax†– and following his withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, the White House was at pains to keep the president’s personal views carefully concealed.Yes or no?10.20pm BSTThe concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive. Continue reading...
Elected officials already say they will ‘honor and uphold the commitments of Paris’ while the Sierra Club urges people to call the White House to complain
The president said he was exiting the Paris climate deal on behalf of Pittsburgh – but his view of the environmentally minded city is off by decades, residents sayHe said he was doing it for Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh replied: stop polluting our city’s good name.
A NDP-Green pact in BC, a $15 minimum wage in Ontario, and a surging Quebec Solidaire point toward a winning agenda in the age of climate crisisFor progressive-minded people in Canada, the last few days have presented a rare, strange scenario: almost too much to celebrate.
The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox Continue reading...
Downing Street source says Canada and Japan did not join declaration condemning Donald Trump for pulling out of accordDowning Street has defended Theresa May not signing up to a joint declaration by Germany, France and Italy in opposition to Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord by stressing that other countries also chose a different path.A source pointed out that Japan and Canada had not signed up to the letter and said the prime minister’s approach was “consistent as to how we approach dealings with international leadersâ€.
by Daniel Boffey, Kate Connolly and Anushka Asthana on (#2RKAJ)
Brussels rejects Trump’s offer to renegotiate landmark deal, as global politicians, business leaders and US state governors criticise presidentThe European Union has rejected Donald Trump’s offer to renegotiate the Paris climate agreement and pledged instead to bypass Washington to work with US business leaders and state governors to implement the historic accord’s commitments.Less than 24 hours after the US president announced his decision to withdraw from the 2015 agreement and strike a new, less ambitious deal with the rest of the world, Brussels declared its outright refusal to engage in such talks. Continue reading...
by Rowena Mason Deputy political editor on (#2RKRC)
Labour leader says PM should have condemned decision to pull US out of climate agreement in stronger termsJeremy Corbyn has accused Theresa May of a “dereliction of duty to our country and our planet†for failing to give a stronger condemnation of Donald Trump’s decision to pull the US out of the Paris climate change agreement.The Labour leader said the prime minister was showing herself to be subservient to the US president and claimed he would take a very different approach to relations with Washington. Continue reading...
Politicians, governments and newspapers across the world react with dismay and frustration over US president’s decision to pull the world’s second biggest emitter of greenhouse gases out of the agreement Continue reading...
In Trump’s darkest speech since the ‘American carnage’ inaugural address, the world was presented as something to fear rather than aspire to leadDonald Trump’s rejection of the Paris climate change treaty is the most emphatic answer to date the question the rest of the world has been asking since January: What does “America First†mean?“I am elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris,†the president declared in the Rose Garden, after a jazz group had entertained the invited audience. Continue reading...
The president’s decision to withdraw from the climate agreement reflects his contempt for internationalism – and the rise of a newly isolationist USSo we do have a new US – for the present. In the jargon of Trumpology, the president has tossed a sop to his climate-change denying chief strategist, Steve Bannon, and disappointed his green daughter, Ivanka. Or at least he is withdrawing the US from the Paris climate accord in three years (Bannon) but “renegotiating†it (Ivanka).Related: President's Paris climate speech annotated: Trump's claims analysed Continue reading...
Local government buildings in New York, Boston, Washington DC, Montreal and Paris lit up after US withdrawal from accordLandmarks in cities across the world have been lit up green in support of the Paris climate accord after Donald Trump’s announcement on Thursday that the US would withdraw from the agreement.In New York, the spire of the One World Trade Centre was illuminated. The New York state governor, Andrew Cuomo, tweeted: Continue reading...
Advice from CCA and Energy Market Commission says policy uncertainty leaves wholesale electricity overpriced by up to $40 per megawatt hourThe government has been told wholesale electricity prices are above long-run costs by around $27 to $40 per megawatt hour because of policy uncertainty triggered by years of destructive political in-fighting about carbon pricing.
Prices of raw ivory in Vietnam have fallen, which traders are linking to China’s announcement of its domestic ivory ban, according to new researchThe price of raw ivory in Asia has fallen dramatically since the Chinese government announced plans to ban its domestic legal ivory trade, according to new research seen by the Guardian. Poaching, however, is not dropping in parallel.
Food shortages, spiralling prices and rampant corruption cast a long shadow over Uhuru Kenyatta’s government ahead of elections in AugustThe severe drought affecting Kenya, which has driven up the cost of food and fuelled inflation, has become a key issue on the election campaign trail.Food security has deteriorated since the end of 2016 and conditions remain dire in half of the country’s 47 counties. The situation has been exacerbated by the impact of climate change, and it is anticipated that some regions could reach emergency levels of need by September.
The red squirrel is under threat of extinction across Britain. Their supporters believe the only way to save them is to exterminate their enemy: the greys. But are they just prejudiced against non-native species? By Patrick BarkhamOne snowy dawn in March, I went hunting for squirrels in the Lake District. In the silent and empty woods beneath the Aira Force waterfall, the only thing moving was a solitary red squirrel, balanced on a nut-filled feeder hanging from a tree. If you grew up, as I did, with the grey squirrel, seeing a red squirrel is a shock. We’re used to the grey – a sleek, North American import, swaggering across parks, raiding bird tables, all fat haunches and bulbous black eyes. In contrast, the red squirrel, although native to Britain, looks exotic: so dainty and alertly pretty, with fine tufts of hair above its ears as extravagant as the eyebrows of Denis Healey. Here, in the snow, this forest sprite quivered with improbable, balletic grace and then – clang – slipped on the icy lid of the feeder and fell to the ground. It landed on its feet.Julie Bailey, a former gymnast with a cascade of red hair, had picked me up from the nearby town of Penrith and driven her black 4x4 along slushy roads to admire this natural acrobat. At Aira Force, she stepped out of the car and, leaning on a stick, walked carefully across the snow. She and her husband, Phil, used to enjoy watching red squirrels at their feeders in the garden; these animals were still a common sight across northern Cumbria a decade or so ago. Bailey worked in pharmaceuticals and coached boys in gymnastics, including her son. But in 2005, she broke her back. She couldn’t walk for four years. Seventeen spinal operations later, she only walks thanks to a spinal cord stimulator, powered by a battery in her stomach. When it malfunctions, she collapses. She doesn’t make a fuss, but she is in pain 24 hours a day and is intolerant to painkillers. “Because I was stuck at home,†she said, “I started taking more notice of my squirrels. They really gave me a purpose.†Continue reading...
Project would generate 12,000 jobs in construction phase and 300 ongoing, says proponent Offshore EnergyThe first serious proposal for an Australian offshore windfarm will see up to 250 turbines built within a 574 square kilometre area off the coast of Gippsland in eastern Victoria if approved.Offshore Energy has been working with the federal government to get the rights to investigate the feasibility of constructing the project, including planning and environmental studies. Continue reading...
Inverlael, Highlands The bog is dirt-black and soupy, threatening to mire us at every step. All we can do is give the horses free rein to seek a safe routeAt the weir at Glenbeg, we abandon the path and head west, using the river as a guide. The bog is dirt-black and soupy, threatening to mire us at every step; all we can do is give the horses free rein to seek a safe route through the morass. They lower their heads, ears pricked as they inspect the ground, and veer off along sheep-trodden detours, leaping sloughs and streamlets. Highland ponies in their element.
In a televised address, French president Emmanuel Macron rules out any renegotiation after Donald Trump pulled out of the Paris agreement on Thursday, calling the move a mistake. Macron, speaking in French and English, urged scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and anyone disappointed by the decision to see France as a ‘second homeland’, adding: ‘I call on them come and work here with us.’ The French president said: ‘The Paris agreement remain irreversible and will be implemented not just by France but by all the other nations. We will succeed because we are fully committed, because wherever we live, whoever we are, we all share the same responsibility: make our planet great again.’ Continue reading...