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Teenager’s collection of 37,000 tadpoles turns her into a TikTok star
Hannah McSorley’s videos prove a big hit online and lead to deal with influencer agency
“TikTok tadpole influencer” is not a career path that Hannah McSorley would have been told about at school. In lockdown, however, with her GSCEs on hold, the 17-year-old has turned a time-honoured pastime – collecting frogspawn – into a potentially lucrative online empire.
McSorley’s hypnotic daily videos of her tens of thousands of tadpoles have attracted 535,000 followers on TikTok as @.baby.frogs, leading to a deal with a US influencer agency.
Continue reading...Omission of air pollution from report on Covid-19 and race ‘astonishing’
Failure to consider dirty air as a factor in higher death toll among ethnic minorities wholly irresponsible, say critics
The failure to consider air pollution as a factor in the higher rates of coronavirus deaths among minority ethnic groups is “astonishing” and “wholly irresponsible”, according to critics of a Public Health England review.
The PHE report released on Tuesday confirmed the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on people from ethnic minorities but did not mention air pollution. Minorities in the UK, US and elsewhere are known to generally experience higher levels of air pollution, and there is growing evidence around the world linking exposure to dirty air exposure to increased coronavirus infections and deaths.
Continue reading...The Fed deserves the praise for America’s jobs turnaround. But Trump benefits
The political obituaries of Donald Trump were all prepared. At the end of a week that has seen American cities convulsed by protests over the killing of George Floyd, the president would be faced with an increase in unemployment worse than anything seen in the Great Depression.
Well, it didn’t turn out like that. The US economy actually created 2.5 million jobs in May and the unemployment rate went down rather than up. The consensus among analysts was that it would shed 7.5 million jobs, a colossally wrong call. And a deeply significant one.
Continue reading...Green stimulus could unlock 100,000+ new Australian jobs, if Morrison would embrace it
Green stimulus focusing on solar, batteries and electric buses could revitalise Australian manufacturing and create more than 100,000 new jobs.
The post Green stimulus could unlock 100,000+ new Australian jobs, if Morrison would embrace it appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Surfer dies after shark attack in northern New South Wales
A 50-year-old man has died after being bitten by a shark while surfing at Casuarina Beach near Kingscliff in the NSW northern rivers region
A 50-year-old man has died after being bitten by a shark while surfing near Kingscliff in northern NSW.
A Surf Life Saving NSW spokesman told Guardian Australia the man died while surfing at Salt Beach at about 10.30am on Sunday morning.
Continue reading...Renewable energy stimulus can create three times as many Australian jobs as fossil fuels
Government spending on clean energy would deliver 100,000 new jobs, EY assessment finds
Stimulus programs backing clean energy as a path out of recession would create nearly three times as many jobs for every dollar spent on fossil fuel developments, according to a financial consultancy analysis.
The assessment by professional services firm Ernst & Young (EY) says a government focus on renewable energy and climate-friendly projects to drive the economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic could create more than 100,000 direct jobs across the country while cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Continue reading...Microgrid feasibility funding awarded to 17 projects in first round of federal scheme
Round one winners of $50.4m Regional and Remote Communities Reliability Fund include microgrids for indigenous communities, farmers, regional towns and industrial parks.
The post Microgrid feasibility funding awarded to 17 projects in first round of federal scheme appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Discovering Colombia's rare flora and fauna
Do you want beautiful, sustainable and safe tall buildings? Use wood | Rowan Moore
A ban on constructing with timber is one of the more misguided responses to Grenfell
You don’t have to be an expert in construction to know that wood burns. You might also recall that parts of London were destroyed in the Great Fire because they were made largely of wood, after which they were rebuilt in brick and stone. So it will seem a reasonable reaction to the Grenfell disaster that the government banned timber (along with other combustible materials) from the exterior of residential buildings more than 18 metres high.
This ban started in 2018, with the promise to review it. Now it is proposing both to continue and extend it so that it covers buildings more than 11 metres high, and uses such as hotels as well as blocks of flats (in England only – Scotland and Wales have slightly different arrangements). Better, you will probably think, to be safe than sorry. But there’s a cost to this caution, which is that it will impede one of the most promising recent innovations in building.
Continue reading...Coronavirus: This is not the last pandemic
'Selling off the future’: Trump allows fishing in marine sanctuaries
Administration opening areas off New England coast up to commercial fishing, a move experts say will hurt the environment
Donald Trump is easing protections for a large marine monument off the coast of New England, opening it to commercial fishing.
But ocean experts caution that the rollback to the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine national monument will hurt the environment and won’t help fishermen who are struggling during the Covid-19 pandemic and economic downturn to find buyers for what they already catch.
Continue reading...UK butterfly season off to unusually early start after sunniest of springs
Experts say abundance of both common and rare species cause for celebration and concern
Record-breaking sunshine has encouraged midsummer butterflies to emerge unusually early, with dozens of species appearing a month before their usual flight season.
Butterflies that usually fill meadows and woods in July, including the ringlet, the marbled white, dark green fritillary and the silver-washed fritillary have been widely spotted during the sunniest spring since records began in 1929.
Continue reading...Coronavirus: Is R number balanced on knife edge?
Covid-19 relief for fossil fuel industries risks green recovery plans
Over $500bn is going to high-carbon industries undermining goals of Cop26 climate talks
The failure of governments and central banks to set out a green recovery from the coronavirus crisis is threatening to derail vital UN climate talks aimed at staving off global catastrophe, campaigners have warned.
On Friday, the UK and the UN attempted to revive the stalled Cop26 climate talks, with a coalition of businesses committing to a Race for Zero, signing up to reduce their emissions to net zero by mid-century. Close to 1,000 businesses have joined the campaign, including household names such as Rolls-Royce and the food and drink majors Nestlé and Diageo.
Continue reading...CP Daily: Friday June 5, 2020
US healthcare giant tips $45m into Australian EV charging company Tritium
US healthcare giant Cigna makes $45m investment in Brisbane-based EV fast charger maker Tritium.
The post US healthcare giant tips $45m into Australian EV charging company Tritium appeared first on RenewEconomy.
California launches investigation into 15K livestock credits for regulatory violations
California ETS rulemaking language necessary, though changes unlikely before 2022 -senator
WCI regulated entities reduce California carbon positions as speculator holdings flatline
NSW government abandons plan for air pollution policy after five years of planning
Communities and advocates decry ‘backflip’ after years of planning for statewide framework to reduce toxic air
The Berejiklian government has abandoned a long-held commitment to adopt a statewide policy on air pollution after years of planning that included a state summit on the issue.
The decision to drop a standalone clean air strategy has sparked anger from communities living near major sources of pollution, such as coal-fired power stations, who say without an overarching strategy they can have no confidence their air quality will improve.
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