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David Cameron laments 'painfully slow' fracking progress in UK
He blames green campaigners for delays, but believes industry will eventually take off in UK
David Cameron has told US oil executives of his frustration that the UK has failed to embrace fracking despite his best efforts, and hit out at green groups for being “absolutely obsessed” with blocking new fossil fuel extraction.
His bullish pro-fracking comments at a US oil industry event this week came almost 12 years since Britain’s former prime minister hugged a husky to burnish his green credentials.
Continue reading...The Joy of Frogs: a 360 film about the mating season
Every spring, ponds around the UK start stirring and frogs come out of their winter slumber to mate. Here’s a unique perspective on an event that’s been happening since the age of the dinosaurs
Click here to view the 360° video.
If you’re viewing on mobile you’ll need to download the YouTube app for the full 360° experience.
Continue reading...'But will it cut waste?': reader concerns about bottle deposit scheme
From potential issues of capacity to accessibility, readers share their concerns on the reality of recycling using deposit return schemes
Cash in exchange for returning a used drinks container sounds like a good idea, but how much of an impact will it have in our fight against reducing waste?
On Tuesday the government unveiled a bottle and can deposit scheme covering glass, metal and plastic drinks containers in England. By returning bottles and cans consumers will receive a small cash sum, however retailers are responsible for recycling the items.
Continue reading...Up close: The moment a cheetah joined a safari
Climate scientists debate a flaw in the Paris climate agreement | Dana Nuccitelli
Ultimately the only thing that matters: we need to cut carbon pollution as much as possible, as fast as possible
In September 2017, a team led by the University of Exeter’s Richard Millar published a paper in Nature Geoscience, which was widely reported as suggesting that the Paris climate agreement’s aspirational goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial temperatures is still technically within our reach. Many other climate scientists were skeptical of this result, and the journal recently published a critique from a team led by the University of Edinburgh’s Andrew Schurer.
The debate lies in exactly how the Paris climate target is defined and measured, which has not been precisely established. Millar’s team used the UK Met Office and Hadley Centre global surface temperature dataset called HadCRUT4, which begins in 1850 and estimates global surface temperatures have warmed about 0.9°C since that time. The team thus calculated the remaining carbon budget that will lead to an additional 0.6°C warming.
Continue reading...What the tourists did to paradise – in pictures
Thomas Egli’s parents honeymooned on Gili Trawangan, a beautiful island in the Indonesian archipelago. Three decades later, the Swiss photographer went to see it for himself – and found it buckling under the weight of tourism
Continue reading...Targeted review to find ways to better support farmers under national environment law
Targeted review to find ways to better support farmers under national environment law
UK reverses opposition to tough EU recycling targets
Exclusive: Ministers will now back a target of 65% by 2035, meaning ambitious rhetoric is being supported by firm action, say experts
The UK has reversed its opposition to tough EU recycling targets and will now back a goal of recycling two-thirds of urban waste by 2035, the Guardian has learned. The nation’s recycling rate has stalled and it is set to miss its current target of 50% by 2020.
The prime minister, Theresa May, and environment secretary, Michael Gove, have both made high-profile pledges to act on the plastic pollution that is devastating the oceans and littering the land, which May called “one of the great environmental scourges of our time”.
Continue reading...The Joy of Frogs: a 360 film about the mating season – video
Every spring, ponds around the UK start stirring and frogs come out of their winter slumber to mate. Here's a unique perspective on an event that’s been happening since the age of the dinosaurs
Continue reading...Basslink cable damaged during maintenance, out until mid-April
Who is Turnbull trying to fool with the National Energy Guarantee?
Spectacular falls for solar, wind and battery costs squeeze fossil fuels
EVs could account for over half Australia new car sales by 2030
Industrial power is expensive in Australia, isn’t it? No, not really
Australia's emissions rise again in 2017, putting Paris targets in doubt
Excluding unreliable land-use data, 2017 greenhouse emissions were again highest on record
Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2017 were again the highest on record when unreliable data from sectors including land clearing and forestry are excluded, according to consultants NDEVR Environmental.
Even including land clearing, overall emissions show a continued rising trend, which began in about 2011, putting Australia’s commitment under the Paris agreement further out of reach.
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