Exclusive: UK climate campaign group Possible calls for polluter pays' tax based on vehicle sizeThe increasing popularity of ultra-heavy SUVs in England means a conventional-engined car bought in 2013 will, on average, have lower carbon emissions than one bought new today, new research has found.The study by the climate campaign group Possible said there was a strong correlation between income and owning a large SUV, which meant there was a sound argument for polluter pays" taxes for vehicle emissions based on size. Continue reading...
Exclusive: expert panel will tell government there is no other way to manage higher demand as stress on supplies intensifiesWater metering should be made compulsory for all households in England, the government is likely to be told this week, as water supplies come under pressure from increased demand and more frequent droughts and floods.Strain on the UK's water networks is increasing under the more extreme weather conditions generated by the climate crisis and, under increasing demand, investment by water companies has not kept up. Continue reading...
Local council receives more than 50 objections to scheme, many on environmental groundsPlans for an unashamedly contemporary" house for the fashion designer Stella McCartney in a remote Scottish coastal area have received dozens of objections on environmental grounds.In a planning application, McCartney's architects say the glass-fronted home near Roshven on the west coast would enhance the landscape and retain the wild nature of the site". Continue reading...
by Katharine Gammon in Santa Barbara county on (#6FK2F)
Built decades ago, California's offshore oil platforms are home to a huge diversity of marine life. Now a debate rages over their futureOn a recent August afternoon, Ann Scarborough Bull motored out two miles from the coast of Santa Barbara aboard a research vessel called the Danny C. The marine biologist and her colleagues had an unusual destination in their sights: a disused oil platform that loomed ahead like a forgotten skyscraper reaching up from the horizon.The team wasn't interested in the platform itself, but what lurked beneath. When they reached the ageing structure, named Holly, they lowered a car-sized remote- controlled vehicle under the waves. Continue reading...
As the autoworkers' union grapples with the big three automakers for a contract, it expands its coverage to electric vehicle workersWorkers at General Motors' electric vehicle battery manufacturing facilities will be protected by the company's national contract with the United Auto Workers (UAW), the union's president, Shawn Fain, announced last week.It's a landmark victory in the fight for a just transition" away from fossil fuels which prioritizes labor rights, boosting hope that workers in legacy vehicle manufacturers' EV divisions - and across the country's burgeoning electric vehicle sector - will have the same protections that US autoworkers have historically enjoyed. Continue reading...
Ecological calamity on the Caribbean island demonstrates how quickly wildlife can be destroyed, scientists sayThey were once so numerous they were cooked as the national dish of Dominica. Every year, thousands of mountain chicken frogs, roasted with garlic and pepper, were eaten by islanders and tourists.Two decades later, the animal - one of the world's largest species of frog - has in effect disappeared from the Caribbean island. A series of ecological disasters has reduced its former healthy, stable population of hundreds of thousands of animals to a total of 21 frogs, according to scientists' most recent survey. Continue reading...
Dismay as key proposals are downsized in order to make election offer to voters bombproof'Labour is preparing to omit details of how to fund a reformed social care system from its next election manifesto, scale back its plans for House of Lords reform during a first term in office, and recalibrate the way it presents its 28bn-a-year green prosperity plan as it prepares to put a bombproof" offer to voters before polling day.After a successful conference in Liverpool last week, which resulted in the party extending its poll lead over the Tories, shadow cabinet ministers are now turning their minds to the precise shape of a manifesto for an election next May or October. Senior figures said the focus would be on producing an offering that was affordable" in a difficult financial climate, as well as being credible" and deliverable". Continue reading...
As a new series promises breathtaking footage obtained by groundbreaking technology, children are the new target audienceA detachable whalecam", remote underwater cameras operated from a director's bedroom and a drone ballet" are among the innovations that will be featured for the first time on David Attenborough's Planet Earth III.Following the global success of 2016's BBC's Planet Earth II and its famous snakes v iguanas" scene, the corporation's natural history unit has spent five years pushing the boundaries of technology to deliver an equally jaw-dropping series. Continue reading...
Voracious, furry-clawed crustaceans are being controlled to protect the environment'It is classified by conservationists as one of the 100 worst invasive alien species in the world. Now, a group of scientists are hoping they have found a way to deplete the UK's rapidly growing Chinese mitten crab population and prevent the crustaceans, which can grow bigger than a 10-inch dinner plate and have distinctive furry claws, from eating us out of house and home".The group has constructed and installed the UK's first Chinese mitten crab trap at Pode Hole in Lincolnshire, to catch the voracious predators as they migrate downstream to mate. Continue reading...
by Rory Carroll in Killarney, County Kerry on (#6FJJV)
A blanket bring or buy' reusable scheme has been introduced in the town, which was getting through 23,000 cups a weekKillarney used to accept it as a price of being a tourist town: ubiquitous disposable coffee cups spilling from bins, littering roads and blighting the area's national park.The County Kerry town went through about 23,000 cups a week - more than a million a year - adding up to 18.5 tonnes of waste. Continue reading...
Ethical concerns over sustainability and welfare have seen venues offering new choices to ubiquitous chicken of the sea'Salmon has undergone a rapid transformation in recent decades. Once a special treat, it is now ubiquitous. From drinks reception canapes to wedding functions, Christmas smoked salmon or simply wrapped in foil and baked on a week night, salmon is everywhere.Scotland is world renowned for salmon production, and the fish makes up 40% of its total food exports; it is also Britain's most valuable food export. Healthy, low in saturated fats and high in omega-3, salmon is a success story. Continue reading...
Living in carnivorous plants or rolling like balls to flee from predators, amphibians on these tabletop peaks evolved like no others. Can they avoid extinction as their home heats up?The tabletop mountains in Venezuela are sheltered, otherworldly ecosystems. Standing up to 3,000 metres (10,000ft) high and cut off from the rest of the world by their steep cliffs, much of the flora and fauna on the sandstone plateaux has evolved in isolation and is found nowhere else on Earth.Visiting a tepui feels a lot like stepping on another planet," says Margarita Lampo, an ecologist at the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC). It's a really unique place, with all these strangely shaped black rocks and unique vegetation. You see all these things you've never seen before." Continue reading...
Workers can often be first to spot harms, from rule breaches and pollution to false sustainability claimsConcerns about being fired or victimised at work are preventing people from calling out their employers on the climate crisis and the wider environment, according to a charity.A survey commissioned by Protect, a charity that defends whistleblowers, found fear of reprisals and uncertainty about how to provide proof were the main barriers to reporting on poor and misleading behaviour about the environment. Employees were also sceptical that their concerns would be properly dealt with. Continue reading...
Energy department says program will achieve climate goals, but climate advocates are skeptical it will reduce emissionsThe US Department of Energy has selected seven projects for a $7bn program to launch the development and production of hydrogen fuel, the White House announced on Friday.The Biden administration says the program will constitute a major boost to the country's nascent clean hydrogen industry, helping it achieve its climate goals. But many climate advocates are skeptical that it will actually help reduce emissions. Continue reading...
Plumes of forever chemicals' from at least 245 sites are contaminating water for nearby communitiesPlumes of toxic PFAS forever chemicals" flowing from at least 245 US military bases are contaminating or threatening to pollute drinking water for nearby communities, and hundreds more are likely at risk across America, a new Department of Defense report finds.The number of communities threatened by the military's pollution is likely to increase as further more investigations are carried out. The defense department has only looked at about one-third of more than 700 facilities suspected of having contaminated the ground with PFAS. Continue reading...
For Kristjan Loftsson, the 80-year-old who is more or less singlehandedly keeping the fin whale hunt alive, comparisons with Moby-Dick's obsessive hero Ahab are an honour'. Will opposition to the dying industry finally catch up with him?
More than 150 writers and industry professionals are asking the firm, which is a leading sponsor of UK literary festivals, to drop their investmentsMore than 150 authors and books industry professionals including Naomi Klein, Robert Macfarlane, Emma Dabiri and Geoff Dyer have signed a statement calling on key literary festival sponsor Baillie Gifford to stop investing in fossil fuel companies.The statement was written by the newly formed Fossil Fuel Books (FFB), a movement launched by the literary industry professionals who organised an open letter to the Edinburgh international books festival in August. Then, they were asking the festival to call on its sponsor, investment firm Baillie Gifford, to divest from fossil fuels, or otherwise to drop the sponsorship deal. Now, FFB is urging all UK literature festivals and prizes currently receiving sponsorship from Baillie Gifford to join them in calling on the firm to stop fossil fuel investments. Continue reading...
Nineteen captive-bred cats released at secret location in Cairngorms in first phase of rewilding projectNearly 20 young wildcats have been released into the wild in a pine forest in the Scottish Highlands, in the first phase of a project to rescue the species from extinction in the UK.The cats were reared at a wildlife park operated by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) as part of a breeding programme that will eventually lead to about 60 wildcats being released in the Cairngorm mountains south of Inverness. Continue reading...
Indigenous groups say huge project in northern Nevada threatens environmental, cultural and historical destructionThe rugged and beautiful Thacker Pass in the desert mountains of northern Nevada has long been a sacred site for Native American tribes in the region.It has witnessed bloody and terrible history. On 12 September 1865, US federal soldiers in the 1st Nevada cavalry committed a massacre of Native Americans, the Numu, across Thacker Pass, named Peehee Mu'huh - Rotten Moon, in the Numu language. Thirty to 50 Native Americans are believed to have been killed, including women and children. Continue reading...
Findings raise concerns among experts who say climate funding works best when invested directly in local communitiesMore than 2bn of UK foreign aid aimed at helping poorer countries cope with the escalating climate crisis has been channelled through private consultancies since 2010, according to an analysis.The investigation by Carbon Brief found that more than 10% of UK foreign aid spent on climate-related projects had gone through consultants like KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Adam Smith International. Continue reading...
Study finds more than 40% of ice shelves have shrunk, with millions of tonnes of freshwater entering oceanMore than 40% of Antarctica's ice shelves have shrunk since 1997 with almost half showing no sign of recovery", a study has found, linking the change to the climate breakdown.Scientists at the University of Leeds have calculated that 67tn tonnes of ice was lost in the west while 59tn tonnes was added to the east between 1997 and 2021, resulting in a net loss of 7.5tn tonnes. Continue reading...
Gianluca Grimalda says he was fired when he refused to return at short notice from Solomon Islands research trip by planeA climate researcher who refused to comply with his employer's demand to fly at short notice back to Germany from the Solomon Islands says he has been fired from his job.Gianluca Grimalda is still waiting in Bougainville for a cargo ship, set to depart on Saturday, to begin his return journey to Europe, after six months investigating the impacts of climate breakdown and globalisation on the island's inhabitants. Continue reading...
by Damien Gayle, Matthew Taylor and Ajit Niranjan on (#6FGKM)
UK has led the way, with countries across the continent making mass arrests, passing draconian new laws and labelling activists as eco-terroristsHuman rights experts and campaigners have warned against an intensifying crackdown on climate protests across Europe, as Guardian research found countries across the continent using repressive measures to silence activists.In Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK, authorities have responded to climate protests with mass arrests, the passing of draconian new laws, the imposing of severe sentences for non-violent protests and the labelling of activists as hooligans, saboteurs or eco-terrorists. Continue reading...
by Nina Lakhani, Damien Gayle and Matthew Taylor on (#6FGKN)
Guardian investigation finds growing number of countries passing anti-protest laws as part of playbook of tactics to intimidate people peacefully raising the alarmAs wildfires and extreme temperatures rage across the planet, sea temperature records tumble and polar glaciers disappear, the scale and speed of the climate crisis is impossible to ignore. Scientific experts are unanimous that there needs to be an urgent clampdown on fossil fuel production, a major boost in renewable energy and support for communities to rapidly move towards a fairer, healthier and sustainable low-carbon future.Many governments, however, seem to have different priorities. According to climate experts, senior figures at the UN and grassroots advocates contacted by the Guardian, some political leaders and law enforcement agencies around the world are instead launching a fierce crackdown on people trying to peacefully raise the alarm. Continue reading...
Luisa Neubauer, of Fridays for Future, cites language used by the chancellor amid protest crackdownSevere policing and scary" political rhetoric is fuelling abuse against climate activists, Germany's best-known environmentalist has said.It's not a shift any more, it's a slide," said Luisa Neubauer, from the German branch of Fridays for Future, the protest movement that grew out of Greta Thunberg's school strikes. There's an increase in hate language, there's an increase in threats, and the threats are getting more concrete. So they're not saying any more I hate you' but they're saying We should come to your place, we should go get you.'" Continue reading...
Beka Saw Munduruku , 21, traveled 4,000 miles to deliver letter and confront family behind Cargill empire over what she says amounts to a litany of broken promisesA 21-year-old Indigenous activist from a remote Amazonian village will hand deliver a letter to the Cargill-MacMillan dynasty in Minneapolis on Thursday, calling on the billionaire owners of the US's biggest private company to stop destroying the Amazon rainforest and its people.Beka Saw Munduruku traveled more than 4,000 miles to confront the family behind Cargill, the world's largest grain trader and a major meat producer, over what she says amounts to a litany of broken promises that pose an existential threat to Indigenous peoples and the global climate. Continue reading...
by Sarah Marsh Consumer affairs correspondent on (#6FGF8)
Research by Material Focus shows everyday items such as disposable vapes are a big contributing factorAlmost half a billion small, cheap electrical everyday items from headphones to handheld fans ended up in landfill in the UK in the past year, according to research.The not-for-profit organisation Material Focus, which conducted the research, said the scale of the issue was huge and they wanted to encourage more recycling. Continue reading...
Meaningful debate over climate emergency lacking ahead of October vote amid fresh warnings of more extreme weather eventsIn the lead up to New Zealand's 2017 election, Jacinda Ardern, the then soon-to-be prime minister, called the climate emergency her generation's nuclear-free moment" - a reference to the bold stance the country took against nuclear power.Her comments signalled renewed urgency in shaping New Zealand's response to combatting one of the globe's greatest existential threats. But six years on, with the country's general election just days away, the climate emergency has been sidelined against discussions of crime, co-governance" and the cost of living. Continue reading...
by Ashifa Kassam European community affairs correspon on (#6FG0F)
Campaigners use traditional Sami tents to block roads in Norwegian capital in protest against turbines on reindeer pasturesHundreds of Indigenous and environmental campaigners have blocked a main thoroughfare in Oslo to demand the demolition of two windfarms that have been described by the Norwegian government as a violation of human rights".The Wednesday protest traces its roots to a landmark 2021 decision by Norway's supreme court that found 151 wind turbines in the western region of Fosen had trampled on the rights of Sami reindeer herders by encroaching on their pastures. Continue reading...
Deal to buy Pioneer Natural Resources shows Exxon's confidence that fossil fuel output will not be hampered in years to comeOil giant ExxonMobil agreed to buy the shale group Pioneer Natural Resources for $59.5bn in a deal that places a vast bet on a future for fossil fuel production in the United States.America's largest oil and gas deal in more than two decades will increase Exxon's dominance in the Permian Basin shale field, at the heart of the country's transformation into the world's biggest oil producer. Continue reading...
The much-loved tree must be removed to protect Hadrian's Wall, but its ultimate fate remains uncertainThe Sycamore Gap tree is being removed from its spot on Hadrian's Wall after it was cut down by vandals two weeks ago.On Thursday a crane will lift the 50-foot sycamore off the wall in Northumberland and it will be put into storage at a National Trust property - the location of which is not being disclosed for security reasons. Continue reading...
Wastewater from the derailment site cleanup will be injected far underground in the foothills of the AppalachiansMounted on the wall above Mark Mills' head was a model of a large northern pike. This area is one of the most southerly places in the country that you can catch them," said Mills, the mayor of Coshocton, a town of 11,000 people in Ohio's Appalachian foothills.Coshocton's natural beauty and outdoor pursuits industry attract thousands of people worldwide, generating $60m annually for the local economy. The local visitors bureau sends packages to people in countries as far away as Poland. Continue reading...
There are at least 157,820 outstanding applications to local authorities, and waits of up to 15 yearsThere are few things so quintessentially English as the allotment, but the number of people waiting for a space of their own has almost doubled in the last 12 years.The most recent figures, obtained by independent artists and supported by Greenpeace through freedom of information requests, show there are now at least 157,820 applications sitting on English local authorities' allotment waiting lists, up 81% from 12 years ago when researchers found the figure was 86,787. Continue reading...
Scheme goes further than most, as Swedish city tries to reduce pollution and noiseStockholm has announced plans to become the first big capital city to ban petrol and diesel cars from its centre, in an effort to slash pollution and reduce noise.From 2025, 20 blocks of Stockholm's inner city area, spanning its finance and main shopping districts, will be restricted to electric vehicle traffic only. A decision on whether to expand the zone will be made in early 2025. Continue reading...
People are ahead of governments, says David Cooper, who blames backtracking on parties seeking wedge issues' for electoral gainGovernment backtracking on environmental promises is being driven by politicians and vested interests, not the public, the acting UN biodiversity chief has said, as he called for greater support for those experiencing short-term costs from green policies.David Cooper, acting executive secretary for the UN convention on biological diversity (CBD), told the Guardian he believed the public mood was not moving against greater environmental protections, and that vested interests opposed to action on the climate crisis and nature loss were trying to frustrate progress. Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: With Paris under siege by these tiny, blood-sucking terrors, many on the other side of the Channel are wondering if they're next - and what can be done Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. Paris is being overrun by bedbugs, at a time when the country is hosting the Rugby World Cup and preparing to host the 2024 Olympics. The news has alarmed people living in France and those visiting: in a moment of particularly acute panic, the deputy mayor of the French capital declared that no one is safe", which certainly intensified the concern.A bedbug epidemic on the other side of the Channel has unsurprisingly left many people worried that the hordes of insects are about to hop on a direct train to St Pancras International and invade the UK. London's mayor, Sadiq Khan, has said everything is being done to ensure that the problem does not get out of control, though he has acknowledged that it is a real cause for concern". Transport for London is disinfecting seats on buses and tubes every day and Khan is also in contact with Eurostar.Gaza | A massive Israeli military buildup is continuing along Gaza's border, as the country's military confirmed the death toll from Saturday's Hamas attack - the deadliest militant assault in its history - had passed 1,200 and wave after wave of airstrikes hit the territory.Labour | Keir Starmer has made a direct appeal for despairing" Conservative voters to back Labour at the next election, telling them he would repair a Britain broken by 13 years of Tory governments.Bibby Stockholm | The Home Office plans to return asylum seekers to the Bibby Stockholm barge next week following a lengthy evacuation after legionella was found there.Disinformation | The EU has issued a warning to Elon Musk over the alleged disinformation about the Hamas attack on Israel, including fake news and repurposed old images", on X, which was formerly known as Twitter.Luton airport | A major incident has been declared at London Luton airport after a huge fire broke out at a car park in the terminal, with all flights being suspended. Continue reading...
Environment | The Guardian