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Doritos, duckies and disembodied feet: how tragedy and luck reveals the ocean's hidden highways
Half of global methane emissions come from aquatic ecosystems – much of this is human-made
The Guardian view on Jair Bolsonaro: a danger to Brazil, and the world | Editorial
The far-right president has given Covid-19 and the razing of the Amazon free rein. Now it looks like he plans to cling on whatever voters say
The prospect of the rightwing extremist Jair Bolsonaro becoming Brazil’s president was always frightening. This was a man with a history of denigrating women, gay people and minorities, who praised authoritarianism and torture. The nightmare has proved even worse in reality. Not only has he used a dictatorship-era national security law to pursue critics, and overseen a surge in deforestation of the Amazon to a 12-year high, he has allowed coronavirus to rampage unchecked, attacking movement restrictions, masks and vaccines. More than 60,000 Brazilians died in March alone. “Bolsonaro has managed to turn Brazil into a gigantic hellhole,” Colombia’s former president, Ernesto Samper, tweeted recently. The spread of the more contagious P1 variant is imperilling other countries.
With a poll last week showing 59% of voters rejecting him, Mr Bolsonaro appears to be preparing for an unfavourable outcome in next year’s elections. Last week he sacked the defence minister, a retired general and longstanding friend who nevertheless appears to have taken exception to Bolsonaro’s attempts to use the armed forces as a personal political tool. The commanders of the army, navy and air force were also fired – reportedly as they were poised to resign.
Continue reading...WCI compliance entities add length to CCA holdings as March futures contract expires
Create national parks around UK coastline, conservation group says
National parks in sea could bring greater protections for habitats, says Blue Marine Foundation
National parks should be created in the waters around the UK coast to help conserve fragile marine habitats and give people access to more of Britain’s natural heritage, a marine conservation group has said.
Blue Marine Foundation has identified 10 areas around the coast that it said could be designated national parks within the next 10 years. Designation could bring greater protections for habitats, help attract funding, and would require local authorities to make access easier for people.
Continue reading...Manure spill prompted California investigation at Wisconsin-based offset project, documents show
If the government cares about freedom of expression, why is it passing the police and crime bill? | Kirsty Brimelow
The new legislation would crush the principle of policing by consent in the UK and stifle democratic change
- Kirsty Brimelow is a QC and barrister at Doughty Street Chambers
The timing of the police, crime, sentencing and courts bill has generated precisely what it was seeking to minimise: more protests. Police clashed with “kill the bill” protesters in Bristol for the fourth time in a fortnight this weekend, as more than 1,000 people gathered to oppose the new legislation, bringing traffic to a standstill.
Reading the contents of the 300-page bill can feel like being trapped in a 21st-century version of Animal Farm. Though the government says that everyone has equal rights, the bill reflects the subtext of this official line: only as long as citizens pipe down and do as they are told. While it says that “freedom of expression is a cornerstone of British democracy”, the bill proposes amendments giving police greater powers to restrict protests that cause “intimidation or harassment” or “serious unease, alarm or distress” to bystanders.
Continue reading...Bill Gates is the biggest private owner of farmland in the United States. Why? | Nick Estes
Gates has been buying land like it’s going out of style. He now owns more farmland than my entire Native American nation
Bill Gates has never been a farmer. So why did the Land Report dub him “Farmer Bill” this year? The third richest man on the planet doesn’t have a green thumb. Nor does he put in the back-breaking labor humble people do to grow our food and who get for far less praise for it. That kind of hard work isn’t what made him rich. Gates’ achievement, according to the report, is that he’s largest private owner of farmland in the US. A 2018 purchase of 14,500 acres of prime eastern Washington farmland – which is traditional Yakima territory – for $171m helped him get that title.
In total, Gates owns approximately 242,000 acres of farmland with assets totaling more than $690m. To put that into perspective, that’s nearly the size of Hong Kong and twice the acreage of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, where I’m an enrolled member. A white man owns more farmland than my entire Native nation!
Continue reading...Carbon Trader, Chevron – Singapore
California to install 1.7GW of battery storage in 2021 to boost grid supply
Batteries are a lot faster to permit and build than gas, have dramatically less impact on the environment, and provide a range of other grid services.
The post California to install 1.7GW of battery storage in 2021 to boost grid supply appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Programme Officer, Carbon, UpEnergy – Kampala/Chennai/Remote
Compliance Manager, Low Carbon Trading and Biogas Origination, BP – London
Climate Change Policy Analyst, Government of Saskatchewan – Regina
Sydney factory to share excess rooftop solar power with employees
An 800kW solar system installed on the industrial rooftop of a window furnishing company in Sydney will soon supply power to its employees, too.
The post Sydney factory to share excess rooftop solar power with employees appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Extinction Rebellion to step up campaign against banking system
Group aims to highlight financial sector’s role in climate crisis through escalation in tactics this week
Extinction Rebellion is planning to step up its campaign against the banking system with a series of direct action protests and debt strikes in the coming weeks aimed at highlighting the financial sector’s role in the escalating climate crisis.
Last week the group targeted Barclays Bank’s headquarters in London and the Bank of England as well as high street branches across the UK as part of its Money Rebellion protest.
Continue reading...For hydrogen to dominate the low-carbon world, batteries must fail
Hydrogen could help bring more than half of the world's emissions down to zero, but to reach that potential it needs batteries to fail, new analysis finds.
The post For hydrogen to dominate the low-carbon world, batteries must fail appeared first on RenewEconomy.
New Zealand town where Easter is all about wiping out bunnies
Thousands of vermin that plague farms are culled in annual Great Easter Bunny Hunt centred on Alexandra, Central Otago
New Zealand hunters have celebrated a return to tradition this Easter: shooting thousands of rabbits, an introduced species that threatens the country’s biodiversity as well as agriculture.
The Great Easter Bunny Hunt – where hundreds of hunters gather in Alexandra, Central Otago, to make a dent in the regional rabbit population – was held this weekend for the first time since 2017.
Continue reading...Three more German coal plants to retire before end of 2021
Two German hard coal power stations and one small-scale lignite plant will stop selling electricity by the end of 2021.
The post Three more German coal plants to retire before end of 2021 appeared first on RenewEconomy.
McGowan government sees gas as WA’s future electricity source
WA is the most affluent and highest per capita carbon emitting state in the world. Its failure to cut emissions will be multiplied by other who will not act because Australia refuses to.
A clean electricity grid is a ‘no net cost’ means of enabling clean transport and ‘clean green’ production.
The post McGowan government sees gas as WA’s future electricity source appeared first on RenewEconomy.