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Scores more heart attacks and strokes on high pollution days, figures show
Data reveals acute impact on people’s health and the strain it puts on emergency services
Scores of children and adults are being rushed to hospital for emergency treatment on days of high pollution in cities across England, figures show.
Each year emergency services see more than 120 additional cardiac arrests, more than 230 additional strokes and nearly 200 more people with asthma requiring hospital treatment on days of high pollution compared with the average on days of lower pollution.
Continue reading...Brexit may expose Britons to more pesticides – report
Fear that fall in food standards after UK leaves EU regulatory system could allow farmers to use more chemicals
Brexit may expose people to increasing levels of pesticide residues in food, a report has warned, amid confusion over what standards will apply after the UK leaves the EU.
The government has assured people that high environmental standards will be maintained after Brexit, but campaigners are concerned that the detail of how this may be achieved – particularly after any transition period – is still unclear.
Continue reading...Black hole scientist Dr Katie Bouman on trolling and teamwork
Australians support ‘leadership’ on Antarctica and climate: Hill
Who's responsible for the slaughtered ex-racehorses, and what can be done?
'Talk about bullies!': how 2GB's Ben Fordham campaigned for farmers charged with illegal land clearing
Landowners were painted as battling victims of heartless bureaucrats by the Sydney broadcaster. But was he telling the whole story?
• Hear audio of Ben Fordham on 2GB in our podcast Full Story
• Stripped bare: Australia’s hidden climate crisis
• Farmers prosecuted for land clearing allege former NSW minister gave them green light
‘Right now there are more than 100 farmers in north-west New South Wales facing the prospect of being forced off their land because of the aggressive tactics of the Office of Environment and Heritage, who are prosecuting them for clearing their own land,” thundered Ben Fordham on 2GB in July.
“Legal action is being taken because they cleared vegetation on their own farms! They are facing the prospect of fines of a million dollars, and having land locked up for a hundred years. They face fines of $13,000 for every day they refuse to answer questions. Talk about bullies!”
Continue reading...Artist creates deepfake birdsong to highlight threat to dawn chorus
Somerset House exhibit will feature natural birdsong being taken over by artificial sound
The dawn chorus is one of the wonders of the natural world, but a discordant note will be struck when a soundtrack of hundreds of birds is heard in London this month. The chiffchaffs, great tits, redstarts, robins and thrushes almost sound like the real thing, but they have been created by a machine as part of a major art installation warning of an apocalyptic world where Britain’s bird population has been allowed to diminish.
The synthetic bird sounds are the creation of the artist Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg, who has worked with scientists at an AI company more used to researching Donald Trump deepfake videos to create the work.
Continue reading...Lyon Solar companies in liquidation, Deloitte looks for buyers for projects
Three Lyon companies placed in liquidation by Deloitte, just days after group announced solar and storage deal with Chinese power company.
The post Lyon Solar companies in liquidation, Deloitte looks for buyers for projects appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Seven Worlds, One Planet: conservation is the key to new Attenborough series
Humans have made a “tragic, desperate mess” of the planet, Sir David Attenborough has warned. Speaking as BBC One prepares to air his new natural history series, Seven Worlds, One Planet, next Sunday, the naturalist said: “We are now universal, our influence is everywhere. We have it in our hands, and we have made a tragic, desperate mess of it so far.”
However, he added one note of optimism. “Nations are coming together and recognising we all live on the same planet ... and we are dependent on it for every mouthful of food we eat and every breath of air we take.” Attenborough also paid tribute to environmental activist Greta Thunberg and praised her “passion, insight and concern about the future”. He described the Swedish 16-year-old as a “political person” rather than a broadcaster. “And making programmes like this, I’ve been doing it for a long time, and I’m sure a hell of a lot of young people are saying, ‘For God’s sake, why doesn’t he move over? Give another person a chance’, but, anyway, there I am.”
Continue reading...Tube protest was a mistake, admit leading Extinction Rebellion members
Senior figures in Extinction Rebellion (XR) admit it was a mistake to target London’s public transport network at rush hour, a move that has split opinion within the movement. Future strategy is now being reassessed, they say.
At the end of the two-week global “uprising”, members of the movement’s political circle announced that it needed to learn from the angry scenes at Canning Town tube station last Thursday when commuters dragged protesters from the roof of an underground train and set upon them. Eight XR activists were arrested during the disruption, joining a total of 1,768 held during the fortnight of demonstrations.
Continue reading...Australia's birds: pretty and sweet or just a pack of bastards? | Sean Dooley
The Aussie Backyard Bird Count begins on Monday and an exceptionally dry 2019 could see a changing of the guard in the top 10
• The Guardian/Bird Life Australia bird of the year poll returns on 28 October
Since BirdLife Australia launched the Aussie Backyard Bird Count in 2014, the number of participants has risen from 9,000 to over 70,000. Unsurprisingly, the amount of birds that have been counted in our cities and towns has also risen – from 850,000 to more than 2.75 million birds last year.
Yet when it comes to the top 10 most commonly seen birds, the song remains the same, with the same species entrenched firmly at the top every year. It’s the birding equivalent of tuning into Countdown in the 70s to find Abba’s Fernando top of the charts for the 27th week in a row.
Continue reading...A whole new world: Why my electric Kona and 10kW rooftop solar make sense
We ordered an electric Kona and a 10kW rooftop solar system. This was no act of protest, because it is economically rational and environmentally responsible.
The post A whole new world: Why my electric Kona and 10kW rooftop solar make sense appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Resisting drought's day zero: the NSW towns close to running dry
After water restrictions and emergency infrastructure, the final drought strategy is sheer perseverance
People have started visiting the outback town of Pooncarie just to see a place that’s running dry.
Josh Sheard, the publican at the Pooncarie hotel, says the remote town in far south-west New South Wales needs the attention.
Continue reading...Chasing the sun: the World Solar Challenge 2019 – in pictures
The World Solar Challenge, celebrated biennially since 1987, saw teams from around the world set off from Darwin on a 3,000km race to Adelaide by solar-powered car. Belgian team Agoria took first place this year after Dutch rivals Vattenfall caught fire 250km from the finish line
Continue reading...'Older generations can't understand': XR Youth on being heard
For young Extinction Rebellion members, there is an urgency they say others struggle to fully grasp
When five members of Extinction Rebellion’s youth faction climbed on top of the entrance to YouTube’s HQ on Wednesday, they were protesting against a problem that has particular relevance for their generation.
In a letter to the company, they demanded that YouTube changes what the group claims is its disproportionate platforming of climate denial, on a site which is the most watched platform for 16-24-year-olds.
Continue reading...Guardian climate pledge 2019: 'With air travel, it's best to take a flexitarian approach'
Guardian travel editor Andy Pietrasik explains how a flexitarian approach can enable us to enjoy exploring the planet without increasing our carbon footprint
- Support Guardian journalism today, by making a one-off or recurring contribution, or subscribing
We recently published a guide to Helsinki in which we gave details of how to get there and back without flying. In the comments below the article, a reader wrote: “I think you have to concede that it’s a little disingenuous to pretend that people will be going to Helsinki by train and boat … very few will be willing to allocate six days of the holiday just for the journey. It’s simply not a practical suggestion.”
The rise of low-cost flights over the past 20 or so years means we have become so accustomed to flying everywhere for our holidays and short breaks that the idea of taking so long over a journey has become unthinkable. We expect to maximise our time in a location and minimise our time in transit. But maybe that has to change.
Continue reading...Police seek tougher powers against Extinction Rebellion
Strengthening public order laws could be ‘shocking assault on right to protest’, warn civil rights lawyers
Government and police have held talks to strengthen public order laws to allow a tougher crackdown on future Extinction Rebellion (XR) climate demonstrations in what civil rights lawyers warn would be a “a shocking assault on the right to protest.”
The move, which comes as XR’s two-week “uprising” drew to a close on Friday, follows widespread criticism of the Metropolitan police after officers implemented a city wide ban on the protests earlier this week.
Continue reading...New efficiencies coming for the mining industry
Latrobe Valley aquifer could power new industries
CP Daily: Friday October 18, 2019
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