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Andrew Sabisky: No 10 adviser resigns over alleged race comments
Jeff Bezos: World's richest man pledges $10bn to fight climate change
West Midlands canals to help heat hospitals and homes under plans
Government pledges to spend £20m turning canals, mines and rail lines into heat sources
The canals of the West Midlands may seem an unlikely source of warmth, but these waterways could soon be used to heat hospitals and tower blocks under a plan to harness Britain’s hidden heating sources.
The government has promised to spend more than £20m on nine schemes across the country to exploit cheap, renewable heat from canals, old mineshafts and in London tube lines.
Continue reading...The Guardian view on flooded Britain: breaking the waves | Editorial
The mitigation measures promoted by ministers are important, but a new focus on climate and energy policies is needed
When Sue Marshall was evacuated from her home in Fishlake, near Doncaster, after the town was flooded in November, she told the Guardian: “What we need to know is that in two months’ time, the MPs will revisit this and look at what has been done to stop it happening again.” Barely three months have passed since rains described by experts as a once-in-60-years weather event. Yet parts of Britain are once again underwater.
Some of the worst-hit areas, such as Rotherham, were also badly affected in November. The latest heavy rains, brought by Storm Dennis, have also devastated parts of Wales, with a “major incident” declared at the weekend after more than a month’s rain fell in 48 hours, leading to landslides and people being trapped in their homes. Pontypridd town centre was underwater and surrounding villages were told by the Met Office they could be cut off for days. Hundreds of warnings remain in place, while thousands of homes have been flooded. At least three people have been killed in storm-related incidents, including a woman who disappeared after her car got stuck in water near Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire.
Continue reading...Coles says these toys promote healthy eating. I say that's rubbish
Extinction Rebellion digs up college's lawn in Cambridge – video
Climate protesters have dug up the lawn in front of Trinity’s 16th-century great gate, saying the Cambridge college must ‘cut ties with fossil fuel companies’.
A spokeswoman for Trinity said a statement would be released later, as the week-long series of demonstrations gets underway
Continue reading...LCFS Market: California prices retreat as hedging activity increases
A citizens’ assembly on climate is pointless if the government won’t listen | Stephen Buranyi
A similar set-up broke the political deadlock in Ireland, but the Tories don’t want to hear bold recommendations
When MPs announced a citizens’ assembly on the climate emergency last June, two crucial things hadn’t yet happened: Boris Johnson’s takeover of the Conservative party; and the subsequent general election campaign where the main opposition parties each offered radical plans to address the climate crisis, and then lost to Johnson, who had offered no plan at all.
For everyone hoping for action on climate, the election was a particularly bruising experience. First throwing open the door to a previously unthinkable possibility – immediate, concrete plans to fight the crisis, far beyond anything proposed by the inadequate Paris Agreement – and then, just as quickly, slamming that door shut. Perhaps even more tightly than before, given Johnson’s disinterest in all things climate-related. And because now the party without an apparent serious climate plan is in charge of taking the critical first steps towards Theresa May’s government’s goal of hitting net-zero by 2050, while the parties willing to commit to action are shut out of power by the enormous Tory majority.
Continue reading...Sifting through the ashes: Mallacoota residents after the bushfires – in pictures
Photographer and Mallacoota resident Rachel Mounsey documented the Australian bushfires that destroyed some 150 houses in her Victorian town and its surrounds. ‘When the New Year’s fire bore down on my town of Mallacoota I began to imagine the fire as a type of medieval dragon – heavy-footed and angry – coming towards us to destroy everything in its way,’ she says. Weeks after the catastrophe, Mounsey sits with neighbours who lost their homes, and asks: how do you move on mentally when all you own has turned to ash?
Continue reading...Researchers claim solar efficiency breakthrough for flexible 'skin'
Engineers at the University of Queensland say technology could be used to power small devices, such as a phone, within two years
A flexible solar “skin” that could be used to generate power on homes, cars and phones is a step closer to development after the technology was used to break a world record for electricity conversion, researchers say.
Engineers at the University of Queensland have been working with nanoparticles known as quantum dots that pass electrons and generate an electrical current when exposed to solar energy.
Continue reading...No 10 refuses to condemn adviser's remarks
Extinction Rebellion protesters dig up Cambridge college lawn
Action at Trinity part of week-long protests over ties between colleges and fossil fuel industry
Extinction Rebellion protesters have dug up the lawn of Trinity College, Cambridge, as part of a week-long series of demonstrations.
The climate activists dug channels into the turf in front of the college’s 16th-century great gate with shovels and pitchforks and planted Extinction Rebellion flags.
Continue reading...River insects and lichens bucking trend of wildlife losses
Reductions in air and water pollution are most likely reason, say scientists
Freshwater insects, mosses and lichens are bucking the trend of wildlife losses in the UK and have expanded their ranges since 1970, according to a new study. Reductions in air and water pollution are the most likely reason.
Scientists say their new analysis shows that amid big declines in wildlife, action can help to reverse the trend for some species. The work analysed millions of sightings of 5,000 different invertebrate species by volunteers over 45 years.
Continue reading...Ireland revokes licence of livestock ship operator over low performance rating
Decision concerns two ships regularly transporting live animals to the Middle East, prompting questions about monitoring of fleet
The Irish government revoked approvals for the operator of two regular livestock carriers, the Atlantic M and the Express 1, last week, following questions from the Guardian and Irish farm animal welfare organisation Ethical Farming Ireland (EFI).
Internal emails appear to show that Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) was unaware that the performance ratings for the ships’ operator was below the required standard until a campaigner from EFI got in touch last year.
Continue reading...EU Midday Market Briefing
Open University scientists testing 'Moon dust' for water
German firms Bayer and BASF fight $265m US fine over weedkiller
Australia proposes to broaden scope for forest carbon projects
Virus dims prospects for tougher China climate action
Tesla Solar Roof open for “reservations” in Australia – no word on delivery times
Tesla solar PV panels now available for order in Australia, and reservations also open to those interested in Tesla's complete solar roof.
The post Tesla Solar Roof open for “reservations” in Australia – no word on delivery times appeared first on RenewEconomy.
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