Proposed legislation would crack down on diesel-powered liners by requiring them to connect to city's power grid when dockedEfforts to regulate how cruise ships operate in New York City waterways have locals speaking out about the negative effects the vessels have had on their communities - and their health.More than 200 cruise ships dock in New York each year, bringing an estimated 1.3 million passengers and $420m in tourism spending to the city. But the industry takes an environmental toll: just one cruise ship docked for a day at port can emit diesel exhaust equivalent to 34,400 idling trucks. Continue reading...
Waste flowed into Hampshire stream for 20 hours because of faulty equipment at pumping stationA water company has been fined 330,000 after raw sewage escaped into a stream in Hampshire for up to 20 hours, killing about 2,000 fish including brown trout.Waste flowed into Shawford Lake Stream on the edge of the South Downs because of faulty equipment at a pumping station. Continue reading...
Six airports put UK capital ahead of Tokyo and Dubai, with Heathrow second-worst global airport for climate impactThe planes taking off and landing at London's six airports expose the city's inhabitants to the equivalent of 3.23m cars' worth of harmful nitrogen oxides and particulate matter emissions every year. In Tokyo and Dubai, residents are exposed to 2.78m cars' worth of emissions from air traffic.These three cities are the world's worst affected by air pollution from aviation, according to new research tracking the air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions of cargo and passenger flights from airports around the world. Continue reading...
Environment Agency objects to plans for 1,450 new homes, saying Thames Water's Oxford plant cannot cope with more demandA major housing development should be blocked because underinvestment by Thames Water in the sewage system means it is unable to cope with the pressure of an increased population, the Environment Agency has warned.Thames Water's treatment plant in Oxford has been illegally discharging sewage for six years, causing significant risk to the rivers and environment from pollution, the EA has said. Continue reading...
Sales fell 5% over 14 countries for which data exists, according to the European Heat Pump AssociationEurope's heat pump market has hit a slump, industry data shows, holding up the continent's efforts to heat its homes without polluting the planet.Manufacturers in most markets sold fewer heat pumps in 2023 than they did the year before, according to the lobby group European Heat Pump Association (EHPA). Total sales fell 5% over the 14 countries for which data exists, bucking a trend of accelerating growth that peaked in 2022 when Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent gas prices soaring. Continue reading...
As the Arctic warms, devastating the climate and ecosystems, an old idea used to create skating rinks could be deployed to restore melting ice caps, despite scepticism from some expertsEvery winter when the temperatures drop, the IJsmeester (ice master) in villages around the Netherlands carefully starts to flood a field with water to form enough thin layers of ice to create a perfect outdoor skating rink.Now a Dutch startup wants to use the same technique to help solve a major ecological problem: melting Arctic ice and its devastating effect on the climate. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#6JXS2)
Green businesses and jobs are booming - in stark contrast to the national economy - but political U-turns risk future growthThe UK's net zero economy grew by 9% in 2023, a report has revealed, in stark contrast to the 0.1% growth seen in the economy overall. Nevertheless, the report pointed out that strong future growth from green businesses was being put at risk by government policy reversals, lack of investment and competition from the EU and US.Thousands of new green companies were founded in 2023 and overall the sector was responsible for the production of 74bn in goods and services and 765,000 jobs, according to the report by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Continue reading...
Spanish city acts to protect ornate Plaza de Espana, used as a location for Star Wars' Phantom Menace filmTourists visiting the southern Spanish city of Seville may soon have to pay a fee to explore the wide, ornate Plaza de Espana, the city hall said, as part of plans to control tourist overload in a public open space.We are planning to close the Plaza de Espana and charge tourists to finance its conservation and ensure its safety," the city's mayor, Jose Luis Sanz, wrote on X, accompanied by a video showing missing tiles, damaged facades and street vendors occupying alcoves and stairs. Continue reading...
Fears for penguin colonies after the discovery of the highly contagious H5N1 virus in two dead skuasBird flu has reached mainland of Antarctica for the first time, officials have confirmed.The H5N1 virus was found on Friday in two dead scavenging birds called skuas near Primavera Base, the Argentinian scientific research station on the Antarctic peninsula. Continue reading...
Bathing water status means government is obliged to test water quality throughout summerTwenty seven new bathing sites are being considered for England, but campaigners have said that swimming remains dangerous in many areas because of the pathogens caused by sewage dumping.If all of these sites are granted, it will be the largest ever number of bathing sites in rivers, lakes and coastal areas approved in one year. Activists campaign for bathing water status because it means the government is obliged to test the quality of the water throughout the summer months.Church Cliff beach, Lyme Regis, DorsetCoastguards beach, River Erme, DevonConiston boating centre, Coniston Water, CumbriaConiston Brown Howe, Coniston Water, CumbriaLittlehaven beach, Tyne and WearManningtree beach, EssexMonk Coniston, Coniston Water, CumbriaRiver Avon at Fordingbridge, HampshireRiver Cam at Sheep's Green, Cambridge, CambridgeshireRiver Dart estuary at Dittisham, DevonRiver Dart estuary at Steamer Quay, Totnes, DevonRiver Dart estuary at Stoke Gabriel, DevonRiver Dart estuary at Warfleet, Dartmouth, DevonRiver Frome at Farleigh Hungerford, SomersetRiver Nidd at the Lido leisure park in Knaresborough, North YorkshireRiver Ribble at Edisford Bridge, LancashireRiver Severn at Ironbridge, ShropshireRiver Severn at Shrewsbury, ShropshireRiver Stour at Sudbury, SuffolkRiver Teme at Ludlow, ShropshireRiver Tone in French Weir Park, Taunton, SomersetWallingford beach, River Thames, BerkshireDerwent Water, Crow Park, Keswick, CumbriaRiver Wharfe at Wetherby Riverside, West YorkshireGoring beach, Worthing, West SussexWorthing Beach House, Worthing, West SussexRottingdean beach, Rottingdean, East Sussex Continue reading...
Researchers say the number of Americans exposed to unhealthy air will rise by 50% by the middle of the centuryVast swaths of the continental US will be exposed to unhealthy, polluted air by 2054, according to an alarming new report.Researchers at First Street Foundation, a non-profit that analyzes climate risk, found that one in four Americans are already exposed to air that is deemed unhealthy" by the Air Quality Index (AQI), which provides daily air quality readings. That number is expected to grow by 50% in the next few decades, with an estimated total of 125 million Americans experiencing dangerous air pollution by the middle of the century. Continue reading...
Verdi union in unusual alliance with Fridays For Future, founded by Greta Thunberg, over common goalsPublic transport workers across Germany are joining forces with climate activists for a week of strike action culminating in a collective nationwide walkout and climate protest on Friday.One of Europe's largest trade unions, Verdi, which represents the majority of public transport workers in Germany, is collaborating with the youth-led Fridays for Future in what the organisations themselves admit is an unusual partnership, but one born out of recognition of their overlapping goals. More action on climate change requires greater investment in public transport, they argue. Continue reading...
Population has spread from small area of East Anglia to become established in Cambridgeshire, Kent and HerefordshireA rare dragonfly is no longer considered endangered after spreading its wings across England, but conservationists have said its wetland habitat is still at risk from climate breakdown.The Norfolk hawker, known for its bright green eyes and golden body, went extinct from the Cambridgeshire Fens in 1893 and became confined to east Norfolk and east Suffolk. It is thought this was caused by the draining of its preferred habitat of ponds and marshes for agriculture over the centuries. It has since been almost entirely restricted to the Norfolk Broads. Continue reading...
Near flooding of Henley-on-Thames building prompts decision to tell the story of climate crisisFrom the reconstructed riverside of The Wind in the Willows to an historic Georgian rowboat used in the inaugural Oxford-Cambridge race, the exhibits at the River and Rowing Museum celebrate the importance of British rivers.But the award-winning building in Henley-on-Thames - designed by the modernist architect David Chipperfield - is facing a significant threat from the very river beside which it resides. Continue reading...
Cianni brothers aim to change minds with Italy's first company to produce flour from crickets for human consumptionGo on, try it, it is good," said Jose Francesco Cianni as he handed over a packet containing a light brown powder with a crispy texture. I would even say it is really good."Sitting in his office in a pristine warehouse-like building, down the corridor from five rooms where millions of crickets are being bred, Cianni is in jubilant spirits. Continue reading...
London minister Greg Hands embroiled in congestion and pollution debate with constituents over scheme in election battlegroundWhen the Tory minister Greg Hands criticised a trial scheme in his constituency to block the use of residential roads as rat runs, he might have expected to win some votes and boost his party's pro-car agenda.Instead, he finds himself embroiled in a charged and divisive debate in his Chelsea and Fulham constituency, with a backlash from some Tories who back measures to curb traffic and introduce clean-air neighbourhoods. Continue reading...
The extent of ice floating around the continent has contracted to below 2m sq km for three years in a row, indicating an abrupt critical transition'For the third year in a row, sea ice coverage around Antarctica has dropped below 2m sq km - a threshold which before 2022 had not been breached since satellite measurements started in 1979.The latest data from the US National Snow and Ice Data Center confirms the past three years have been the three lowest on record for the amount of sea ice floating around the continent. Continue reading...
The bird escaped last year after vandals damaged his enclosure at Central Park ZooThe Eurasian eagle owl named Flaco, which escaped New York City's Central Park Zoo last year, has died after crashing into a building in Manhattan, officials said late on Friday.Flaco went down after striking a building on West 89th Street and people reported the injured owl to the Wild Bird Fund (WBF), a statement from the Central Park Zoo said. WBF staffers soon found Flaco unresponsive and pronounced him dead at the scene. Continue reading...
Research from a now discredited scholar continues to stoke the belief that the sugary drink is better than no milk at allThis spring, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is expected to weigh in on one of the most heated arguments in school nutrition: whether chocolate milk belongs in the cafeteria.The USDA is eyeing a proposal to allow flavored milk only at high schools starting in the 2025-2026 school year; children in grades K-8 would have access to fat-free or low-fat unflavored milk. The agency reviews national dietary guidelines every five years, and the milk question has generated hundreds of comments from parents concerned about sugar consumption; nutritionists; school workers who believe any milk is better than none; and the dairy industry, which has stoked that belief. Continue reading...
Magnificent' tree in Lilliput, Poole, planted more than 50 years ago, became an attraction due to its pink flowersA magnolia tree believed to be Britain's tallest has been felled after it was found to be in decay.It was feared the 18-metre (60ft) tree, which attracted visitors to the area when it bloomed, would fall and damage the house in Poole, Dorset in whose garden it stood - or neighbouring properties. Continue reading...
Benefits would quickly follow reductions in air pollution from traffic and home heating, argues European Environment AgencyApproximately 238,000 air pollution deaths could be avoided each year if the EU27 countries actually met World Health Organization guidelines for air pollution, according to figures from the European Environment Agency. And more than 400,000 deaths could be avoided if particle air pollution could be avoided completely.On 20 February the EU Council agreed new legislation for clean air for 2030 and beyond. As EU countries work towards these new legal limits, a new study has estimated the benefits that could quickly arise with reductions in air pollution from traffic and home heating. Continue reading...
The environment minister Susana Muhamad says nature is a pillar' of fighting the climate crisisThe next round of global biodiversity negotiations will put nature at the heart of the international environment agenda, Colombia's environment minister has said, as the country prepares for the Cop16 summit.Susana Muhamad, Colombia's environment minister, who is expected to be the Cop16 president, said the South American country would use the summit to ensure nature was a key part of the global environmental agenda in the year building up to the climate Cop30 in the Brazilian Amazon in 2025, where countries will present new plans on how they will meet the Paris agreement. Continue reading...
Dismissal of concept already recognised in UN declarations described as shameful, contradictory and undemocraticThe UK government can never accept that nature or Mother Earth has rights, a British government official from the environment department has told the UN.The dismissal of a concept that has already been recognised in UN declarations and is a fundamental belief of many Indigenous communities was described by critics as shameful, contradictory and undemocratic. Continue reading...
Nearly 40% of all food grown annually in the US goes unsold or uneaten. These companies are getting salty about food wasteWhen Kaitlin Mogentale was studying environmental science at the University of Southern California, she watched a friend juice a carrot and noticed the waste it produced - and wondered what was happening to all of the pulp from Los Angeles's juice shops. She later learned that most of it was being sent to landfills, where food waste contributes to more methane emissions than any other landfilled matter.I was a college student, very young and naive, and I think that's the recipe you need to get into the business," said Mogentale, who founded Pulp Pantry, makers of fiber-filled Pulp Chips, which are created from the leftover pulp from cold-pressed juice. Mogentale said the company goes to juice-production facilities and collects 10,000lb (4,536kg) of pulp at a time - one day's worth of leftovers - then transfers it in temperature-controlled trucks back to its manufacturer to make the chips. Continue reading...
Conservative majority appears unsympathetic to environmental agency's good neighbor' rule for areas downwind of smog sourcesThe supreme court's conservative majority seemed skeptical on Wednesday as the Environmental Protection Agency sought to continue enforcing an anti-air-pollution rule in 11 states while separate legal challenges proceed around the country.The EPA's good neighbor" rule is intended to restrict smokestack emissions from power plants and other industrial sources that burden downwind areas with smog-causing pollution. Continue reading...
Scientists are investigating reports of dying coral from Lizard Island in the north to Heron Island in the southScientists are reporting corals are bleaching white and dying from rising ocean temperatures across a more than 1,000km stretch of the Great Barrier Reef.The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Australian Institute of Marine Science were preparing on Thursday to carry out surveys from a helicopter across the southern section of the reef. Continue reading...
I developed DNA barcoding in my back yard using a UV light and a white sheet to collect the moths of my childhood. I believe it could help discover all life on the planetAs a child, I used to roam the countryside collecting moths and butterflies on the edge of the Great Lakes in Canada. It was as idyllic as it sounds: by day, I would scour the fields and forests for butterflies. At night, I would leave a white sheet and UV light in my back yard, rising at 5am to inspect the harvest of moths.By the time I was an adult, I could identify about 700 butterfly and moth species by sight, deciphering the stripes, dots and colours on their wings and bodies. Continue reading...
by Lanre Bakare Arts and culture correspondent on (#6JT62)
Team behind Little Amal puppet hope to create visceral engagement' with issues caused by climate emergencyThe production team behind the Little Amal puppet, which raised awareness about the plight of the refugee crisis in Europe, hope their next project - a herd of animal puppets going on a 20,000km trek - will start a new global conversation about the climate crisis.Amir Nizar Zuabi, the Palestinian artist who helped launch the Amal project, said The Herd - which will tour through several African and European cities and feature dozens of puppets - will be a soft, beautiful evocation to think differently" about the climate crisis. Continue reading...
Proposed Project One cracking plant is hugely destructive', says Client EarthThe creation of the biggest petrochemical plant in Europe in 30 years faces a new legal challenge by a group of NGOs arguing that the true impact of the development on people, nature and the climate has not been considered.Client Earth lodged papers on Wednesday evening in court which aim to halt the building of Project One, a vast cracking plant to produce the chemicals to make plastic, which is being built in Antwerp by Sir Jim Ratcliffe's company Ineos. Continue reading...
Owner Stellantis's decision to invest will safeguard 1,500 jobs at the factoryVauxhall's owner, Stellantis, will make electric vans at its factory in Luton from 2025, helping to secure the future of 1,500 UK jobs at the plant.The Luton factory will produce medium-sized electric vans for the Vauxhall, Citroen, Peugeot and Fiat Professional brands, Stellantis announced on Thursday. Continue reading...
With current data on global biodiversity either lacking or flawed, a global satellite scheme aims to fill the gaps to target protection of our seas, soils and wildlifeFor the handful of people who get the chance to observe Earth from space, the impact is often profound. Called the overview effect", astronauts report being deeply moved by the experience, as the planet's fragility and beauty became clear. Others, such as the actor William Shatner, said they were overcome with grief.Now, scientists are proposing the creation of a new system that they hope will use the view from space to transform our understanding of Earth's changing ecology and its complex systems. Continue reading...
by Tamsin Rose New South Wales state correspondent on (#6JT3G)
Darcy Bryne says discovery of friable asbestos at Rozelle interchange outrageous' after assurances mulch removal work would be completed by end of February
Even small amount of exposure to minute soot particles - known as PM2.5 - raises the risk of cardiovascular diseaseThe sooty air pollution spewed out by cars, trucks and factories is causing widespread harm to people's hearts and lungs even with the smallest amounts of exposure, with government regulations still routinely allowing for dangerous risks to public health, two major new studies have found.There is no safe amount of a microscopic form of airborne pollution known as PM2.5, consisting of tiny particles of soot measuring less than the width of a human hair, for heart and lung health, US researchers found, with even small amounts raising the risk of potentially serious problems. Continue reading...
Lawsuit targets BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, Phillips 66 and Shell, alleging that they intentionally misled publicChicago on Tuesday joined the growing list of US cities and states suing fossil fuel companies for allegedly deceiving the public about the climate crisis.There is no justice without accountability," said the city's mayor, Brandon Johnson, in an emailed statement. Continue reading...
The impact of meat on the environment is well known, but what about staples such as rice and legumes?Biodiversity-conscious eaters could consider substituting potatoes for rice, cutting down on beef and lamb and asking where their beans, lentils and chickpeas are grown to reduce their impact on nature, a new study has found.
Attorney general's attempt to end climate protesters' use of consent defence is slippery slope, says KCA UK government attempt to remove one of the last remaining defences for climate protesters would be a slippery slope to the erosion of the constitutional right to trial by jury, the court of appeal was told on Wednesday.The attorney general, Victoria Prentis KC, is arguing that one of the last available defences being used by environmental protesters should be removed. Prentis is making the appeal in the case of a defendant known as C, after a string of acquittals by juries of defendants for acts of criminal damage involving daubing paint on buildings. Continue reading...
In a rebuke to Governor Ron DeSantis's denialism, the student body calls for campus-wide measures to tackle the climate crisisThe University of Florida student senate voted in favour of a green new deal" late on Tuesday, becoming the first public university to adopt such a resolution through student government.The mandate - which was unanimously passed - calls for sweeping campus-wide measures to tackle the climate crisis that include just transition, total divestment from fossil fuels, disclosure of the university's financial ties within the private sector and a ban on receiving research funding from the fossil fuel industry. Continue reading...
The firestorm that engulfed Lahaina last year disrupted a whole way of life and led some to reflect on food, land and a future beyond tourismIn the aftermath of last summer's catastrophic wildfire in West Maui, Miriam Keo began to question everything - from her well-paid union job at an upscale resort and the island's reliance on tourism and food imports, to what role she, a Native Hawaiian, should play in rebuilding Lahaina. At the heart of much of this soul searching was the question of food (meaai) and land (ina) - who controls it, and why it matters.My outlook changed during the pandemic, but the fire was the last straw for me ... I don't want to serve tourists any more. This isn't what our ancestors would want," said Keo, 40, who recently resigned from the hotel after 16 years to work at a composting company. I want to be a better steward for my people and ina. I want to show my kids that there's an alternative to the corporate tourism we've been under for so long, and food is a big part of that." Continue reading...
Analysis gives clues as to why butterflies and moths have been resilient through dramatic changes on Earth - and could help with future conservationThe genomes of butterflies and moths have remained largely unchanged for more than 250m years despite their enormous species diversity, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.In the face of rapid environmental changes in the 21st century, the researchers said the analysis gives clues as to how Lepidoptera - the order of winged insects that contains butterflies and moths - have been so resilient throughout dramatic changes on Earth. Continue reading...
Armed with a Geiger counter, Michael Collins was given access to multiple power stations across the UK - he found them tranquil, beautiful and sinister Continue reading...
by Mostafa Rachwani and Elias Visontay on (#6JS8S)
The Australian Automobile Association has found some SUVs use up to 20% more fuel on the road than reported in laboratory tests. Is your vehicle underperforming?
Porous dams in Purbeck are being used to rewet' the mires, bringing a richer landscape for flora and faunaLeaky dams may not sound ideal but they are being used to great effect on dried-out marshland in the English West Country to produce fresh habitat for carnivorous plants and a spider that whizzes over the surface of water to grab prey.Bales made out of heather and bunds constructed out of peaty soil and timber are being used to create porous dams on two mires, Agglestone and Greenlands, in Purbeck, Dorset. Continue reading...