Around The Web

Activist climbs plane as Extinction Rebellion takes protest to London airport – video

The Guardian - Fri, 2019-10-11 02:50

Several arrested as Extinction Rebellion demonstrators stage sit-in at entrance to London City airport on third day of protests in capital. Flights appeared to be operating as normal, but the group said James Brown, a Paralympian, had climbed on to a British Airways plane and was seen lying on top of it

The protest is against the climate impact of flying and the government’s support for airport expansion

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Europe eyes improved 'space weather' resilience

BBC - Fri, 2019-10-11 02:48
The Sun's outbursts can disrupt technology on Earth, and Europe needs better protection.
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Prosaic but practical: unsexy ways cities can fight the climate crisis – in pictures

The Guardian - Fri, 2019-10-11 02:30

Meaningful change doesn’t have to mean groundbreaking innovation, as the seven latest city winners of C40 and Bloomberg Philanthropies Award demonstrate with their solidly pragmatic interventions

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Extinction Rebellion protester, 83, arrested at London City airport – video

The Guardian - Fri, 2019-10-11 01:48

Phil Kingston, an 83-year-old climate activist associated with Extinction Rebellion, was arrested during a protest at London City airport on Thursday 8 October.

KIngston, who said he was protesting for his grandchildren and their generation, was one of several people arrested during the demonstration, which organisers say is against the climate impact of flying and the government’s support for airport expansion

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Natural 'bumblebee medicine' found in heather

BBC - Fri, 2019-10-11 01:01
Preserving heather in the natural landscape could have benefits for wild bees, say scientists.
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Revealed: top UK thinktank spent decades undermining climate science

The Guardian - Fri, 2019-10-11 01:00

Institute of Economic Affairs has links to 14 members of Boris Johnson’s cabinet

The UK’s most influential conservative thinktank has published at least four books, as well as multiple articles and papers, over two decades suggesting manmade climate change may be uncertain or exaggerated.

The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has issued publications arguing climate change is either not significantly driven by human activity or will be positive. The group is one of the most politically influential thinktanks in the UK, and boasts that 14 members of Boris Johnson’s cabinet, including the home secretary, foreign secretary and chancellor, have been associated with the group’s past and current initiatives.

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How vested interests tried to turn the world against climate science

The Guardian - Fri, 2019-10-11 01:00

For decades fossil fuel majors tried to fight the consensus – just as big tobacco once disputed that smoking kills

In 1998 a public relations consultant called Joe Walker wrote to the American Petroleum Institute (API), a trade association representing major fossil fuel companies, with a proposed solution to a big problem.

In December the previous year, the UN had adopted the Kyoto protocol, an international treaty that committed signatory countries to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions in order to avert catastrophic climate breakdown.

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Carbon taxes have to rise sharply to avoid climate crisis, says IMF

The Guardian - Fri, 2019-10-11 00:30

Fund says governments could use money to help vulnerable people or invest in green energy

Avoiding dangerous global heating will require governments around the world to impose stringent taxes on fossil-fuel usage that will mean a 43% jump in household energy bills over the next decade, the International Monetary Fund has said.

The Washington-based Fund said the battle against climate change could only be won if the average carbon tax levied by its member states increased from $2 (£1.63) a ton (907kg) to $75 a ton.

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Two-thirds of bird species in North America could vanish in climate crisis

The Guardian - Fri, 2019-10-11 00:01

Continent could lose 389 of 604 species studied to threats from rising temperatures, higher seas, heavy rains and urbanization

Two-thirds of bird species in North America are at risk of extinction because of the climate crisis, according to a new report from researchers at the Audubon Society, a leading US conservation group.

Related: Record numbers of Australia's wildlife species face 'imminent extinction'

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WCI carbon floor price holding for 2020, but could drop further

Carbon Pulse - Thu, 2019-10-10 23:57
Static year-on-year inflation kept the WCI cap-and-trade programme’s price floor on track for $16.67 next year, but a direct comparison with the Oct. 2018 rate suggests the price could slide further, according to US federal data released Thursday.
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Extinction Rebellion: Flight delayed as activists vow to 'shut down' airport

BBC - Thu, 2019-10-10 22:50
Extinction Rebellion activists say they want to "shut down" London City Airport for three days.
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Shell expands carbon neutral driving offer to UK with land offsets

Carbon Pulse - Thu, 2019-10-10 22:02
Oil major Shell will offer British drivers the chance to offset their carbon footprint, it said on Thursday, expanding from its Dutch initiative as part of a global commitment to invest $300 million in land-based emissions-curbing initiatives.
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EU Midday Market Brief

Carbon Pulse - Thu, 2019-10-10 21:52
European carbon prices continued to rebound somewhat on Thursday, rising further from yesterday's six-month low on bullish auction results, as well as short-covering and opportunistic compliance buying.
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Israel cave bones: Early humans 'conserved food to eat later'

BBC - Thu, 2019-10-10 21:25
Early humans living 200,000-420,000 years ago were previously not thought capable of such planning.
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'Molar Berg' does a quick Antarctic pirouette

BBC - Thu, 2019-10-10 21:21
Satellite spies the White Continent's newest giant iceberg as it spins around.
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Oil firms to pour extra 7m barrels per day into markets, data shows

The Guardian - Thu, 2019-10-10 21:00

Projected production surge in next 12 years to be led by Shell despite climate crisis

The world’s 50 biggest oil companies are poised to flood markets with an additional 7m barrels per day over the next decade, despite warnings from scientists that this will push global heating towards catastrophic levels.

New research commissioned by the Guardian forecasts Shell and ExxonMobil will be among the leaders with a projected production increase of more than 35% between 2018 and 2030 – a sharper rise than over the previous 12 years.

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Mining firms worked to kill off climate action in Australia, says ex-PM

The Guardian - Thu, 2019-10-10 21:00

Kevin Rudd says industry still has huge influence in a country beset by climate policy torpor

The former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd says three of the world’s biggest mining multinationals have run sophisticated operations to kill off climate action in Australia and continue to wield day-to-day influence over government through a vast lobbying network and an “umbilical” relationship with the Murdoch media.

Australia’s climate policy paralysis has been ongoing for more than decade, from the Rudd Labor government’s doomed attempt to bring in an emissions trading scheme in 2008, to the Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull’s failed attempt to introduce the national energy guarantee last year.

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Climate crisis: what the carmakers have to say

The Guardian - Thu, 2019-10-10 21:00

Firms including Ford and BMW respond to data about how they are exacerbating the crisis

“Ford takes its responsibilities for the environment and communities around the globe very seriously. That was evident again recently, when Ford was one of only four automakers reaching agreement with California on higher gas-mileage standards to reduce emissions. We have said multiple times that Ford does not support a rollback of federal emission standards. Additionally, Ford supports CO2 reductions consistent with the Paris climate accord, as we’ve shared publicly.”

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Fossil fuel firms' social media fightback against climate action

The Guardian - Thu, 2019-10-10 21:00

Industry funds ‘grassroots’ resistance to tougher rules while touting green credentials

Oil and gas companies are spending millions of dollars on campaigns to fight climate regulations at the same time as touting their dedication to a low-carbon future, according to a joint analysis by the Guardian and InfluenceMap.

Their global PR campaigns on social media promote a commitment to a green, low-carbon future, but across the US in particular, specific local campaigns are obstructing tighter regulations on fossil fuel extraction.

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Exclusive: carmakers among key opponents of climate action

The Guardian - Thu, 2019-10-10 21:00

Lobbying in US and Europe has tried to block and delay moves to cut emissions, study shows

Global carmakers are among the leading opponents of action on the climate crisis, according to exclusive analysis of the way major corporations frustrate or undermine initiatives to cut greenhouse gases.

The research for the Guardian reveals that while the automotive industry releases public statements that support climate initiatives, such as increased electrification, it has been pouring millions of dollars through industry bodies into lobbying efforts to challenge attempts to tackle global heating in the past four years.

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