Around The Web

UK’s dirty air still ‘a public health emergency’ despite dramatic fall in death rates

Government action can cut air pollution, a long-term study has shown, with early deaths linked to dirty air in the UK falling by half between 1970 and 2010.

But toxic air remains the number one environmental health hazard, with one in 20 deaths still attributable to small particle pollution alone. The researchers said urgent action was needed to deal with a public health emergency that caused harm comparable to alcohol.

Continue reading...

As a coalition of 400+ global investors calls on government to price carbon and phase out coal, Taylor blames states for a lack of investor certainty.

The post Angus Taylor ignores investors when he passes the buck on climate policy failures appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A power struggle is brewing between Australia's energy incumbents and advocates for market reform over what will be one of the most important components of Australia’s future grid – wholesale demand response.

The post Demand response battle pits old power against new, with consumers in the middle appeared first on RenewEconomy.

G20 nations continue to double-down on coal, spending at least $US63.9 billion on the fossil fuel annually, according to a new report published this month.

The post G20 Nations still spending $63.9 billion – annually – on coal appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Fund managers call on world leaders to bring in carbon pricing and phase out coal power ahead of G20

Superannuation funds and investors representing US$34tn in assets – nearly half of the total under management across the globe – have called on world leaders to bring in carbon pricing and phase out coal power to limit global heating to 1.5C.

Released ahead of a G20 leaders meeting in Osaka, Japan, the statement by 477 institutional investors urges world leaders to accelerate their response to the climate crisis to ensure the goals of the 2015 Paris climate deal can be met.

Continue reading...

After second legal defeat in one month, Queensland government calls for “urgent industry roundtable” on solar safety – a meeting industry has been seeking for months.

The post Twice defeated, Queensland government “finally” calls for solar industry roundtable appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Given democracy’s tendency to prioritise the short-term and appeal to voter self-interest, and given its inherent anthropocentrism, does our ecological crisis warrant bypassing democratic procedures. Political philosopher David Schlosberg argues we need more, not less, democracy.

Rottnest wind turbine stands alone but it’s influence goes far beyond Perth’s holiday playground. It turned Tony Abbott against wind energy. We find out why.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: An audience with the Rottnest wind turbine appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A citizen science project is being rolled out across Australia to track marine creatures that may be moving into new territory due to climate change or loss of habitat.

In an open letter released today, institutional investors are urging governments to face climate change head-on and calling for tougher targets.

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

Language inserted into Oregon’s WCI-modelled cap-and-trade proposal could make it difficult for in-state forestry offset projects to get off the ground, numerous developers told Carbon Pulse.

DNC has declined to hold a climate-specific debate even as Democratic voters rank rising temperatures as a top priority

Dozens of young climate protesters crowded outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington DC on Tuesday, demanding a debate focused on the crisis as presidential candidates prepare to face off this week over two nights in Florida.

The DNC has declined to hold a climate-specific debate, even as Democratic voters rank rising temperatures – and the worse disasters and economic instability they bring – as a top priority.

Continue reading...

Astronaut David Saint-Jacques spent 204 days in space alongside crew mates from Russian and the US.

Oregon Democrats do not have the votes to pass the cap-and-trade bill at the center of a Republican walkout, the Senate President said Tuesday.

The UN produced a new draft text on rules covering international emissions trade on Tuesday, after governments broke a deadlock that some observers said raises the prospects for a deal later this year on the Paris Agreement’s divisive Article 6.

Chris Butler-Stroud and Michael Mountain on recent developments in the campaign against cruelty to whales and dolphins

June has been a good month for those of us who have long campaigned against whales and dolphins being held captive in small tanks for human entertainment (Two whales flown from Shanghai aquarium to sanctuary in Iceland, theguardian.com, 20 June). Canada has passed legislation making it an “offence to keep captive, breed, import, or export any whale, dolphin, or porpoise”. Russia has said it will close the loophole used by traffickers capturing cetaceans for “educational and cultural purposes”. President Putin has bowed to pressure to shut the “whale jail” in Russia’s far east and release 10 orcas and more than 80 beluga whales back to the wild.

And in the past week, the Sea Life Trust, working with Whale and Dolphin Conservation, has transported two beluga whales from Shanghai to a sanctuary in Iceland – a world-first project that provides a model for ending this cruel industry. With over 3,000 whales and dolphins still in intolerable conditions there is much work to do. But events this month give us hope.
Chris Butler-Stroud
Chief executive, Whale and Dolphin Conservation

Continue reading...

Biffa Waste Services found guilty of exporting unsorted waste to China it said was paper

One of the UK’s biggest waste firms has been convicted of sending used nappies and other contaminated materials to China illegally.

Biffa Waste Services Ltd was found guilty of exporting unsorted household waste that it said was paper. The company was prosecuted by the Environment Agency after investigators stopped seven 25-tonne containers from leaving Felixstowe over suspicions about the content.

Continue reading...

Results suggest environmental factors could play a role in female reproductive health

Air pollution has been linked to a drop in activity of a woman’s ovaries, researchers have revealed.

Experts say the findings suggest the female reproductive system is affected by environmental factors, although the study does not look specifically at the impact of air pollution on fertility.

Continue reading...

Film taken by the charity Animal Equality earlier this year shows the quality of life endured by birds on three farms of one of the UK’s biggest chicken producers. The farms, in Lincolnshire, were holding birds in cramped conditions, with birds found to be lame, struggling to breathe and surrounded by carcasses

Continue reading...