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Calls for a new clean air act in the UK
We are still a long way from being able to breathe air that does not harm our health
Last week Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, joined campaigners to call for a new clean air act.
This July marks the 60th anniversary of the original legislation that transformed the air in our cities and saved many lives. The Act followed the deaths of nearly 13,000 Londoners in the 1952 and 1956 smogs. Government finally accepted that regulating factory chimneys was not enough. We had to tackle home fires, too. This was politically difficult, since a cheery fire was seen as the heart of a family home. The Act required smokeless coals and, importantly, provided money to help people to change their fireplaces and boilers to burn cleaner fuels. It worked. Air pollution improved across the UK and the deaths of up to 700 Londoners during the last great coal smog in December 1962 marked the welcome end of an era.
Continue reading...Researchers make 'first discovery' of Philistine cemetery
How sea otters help save the planet
Charles Darwin once mused on the impacts that predators could have on the landscapes around them. In particular, he wondered – in On the Origin of Species – how neighbourhood cats might affect the abundance of flowers in the fields near his house at Downe in Kent. He concluded the animals’ potential to change local flora was considerable.
A robust cat population, he argued, would mean that local mouse numbers would be low and that, in turn, would mean there would high numbers of bumble bees – because mice destroy bee combs and nests. And as bees pollinate clover, Darwin argued that this cascade of oscillating species numbers would result in there being more clover in fields in areas where there are lots of feline pets. Cats mean clover, in short.
Continue reading...The eco guide to home baking
Baking your own bread sounds like the pinnacle of green cooking, but we still need to be aware of road miles and heat use
For a non-baker (like me), a zero-energy cake used to mean one someone else made. But I’ve forced myself to recognise the footprint of shop-bought croissants and cream puffs. It’s no joke. First, there are obviously the giant ovens devouring energy, then there’s industrial baking’s reliance on palm oil, too. A new report highlights the devastating impact of the continued march of palm oil monocultures. A further ingredient is bread miles: in the UK an estimated 130m extra road miles are caused by getting “fresh” bread into stores.
Home baking gives you some control. But a homemade cake still has an impact. Research from the Centre for Alternative Technology highlighted the impact of the eggs (1.8kg of CO2 per box) and the 350 ears of wheat it takes for one loaf.
Continue reading...Nature Writing with Inga Simpson
Dig to uncover rare undisturbed Bronze Age burial
New arrivals reach International Space Station
The 20 photographs of the week
The deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, France beat Germany to reach the final of Euro 2016, Tony Blair and the Iraq war inquiry, Serena Williams at Wimbledon – the best photography in news, culture and sport from around the world this week
Continue reading...Tracking in the dark: the sovereign will of Professor Aileen Moreton-Robinson
Why won't TV show more women's cycling?
The two most important bike races in the world are on right now: but you can only watch the Tour de France boys on telly. Meanwhile, fans of the Giro Rosa must check Twitter to follow the girls. Helen Pidd talks to TV networks — and cycling commentator Ned Boulting —to find out why
July is the best month of the year for cycling fans: three glorious weeks of the Tour de France to gorge on, provided you can wrestle the remote from any Wimbledon watchers in your life.
Yet while it is possible to watch Mark Cavendish’s renaissance live on both Eurosport and ITV4, anyone wanting to follow the Giro Rosa has to make do with crumbs posted on social media.
Continue reading...These urgent bird calls are designed to distract
South Uist If the oystercatchers had sounded anxious, the new arrival sounds almost desperate, for its call has a panicky breathlessness about it
At the end of a hot summer day what could be pleasanter than a peaceful evening stroll down to the beach? The sun is still warm, there’s just the lightest of breezes, and the only sound to be heard is that of a skylark singing overhead. But we haven’t walked far before an oystercatcher takes to the air, uttering a succession of loud, shrill calls.
Over and over again it repeats its brief, anxious notes as it flies over our heads away across the field, and then returns to make another pass above us. A second oystercatcher a little further away echoes the vocal performance so that our eyes are constantly drawn to one or the other. They accompany us for a 100 metres or more along the track without once letting up. Then they are joined by a lapwing.
Continue reading...Game-changer for new energy technologies
A game of trap and mouse
Great Barrier Reef: government must choose which parts to save, says expert
Professor Hugh Possingham says authorities must confront prospect that some parts of reef are doomed and focus on what to preserve
Governments must decide which parts of the Great Barrier Reef they most want to save and confront the prospect that some of it may be doomed, an expert on conservation modelling has warned.
University of Queensland professor Hugh Possingham said agencies, including the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, needed to make tough decisions about which parts of the natural wonder are most worth preserving “rather than trying to save everything”.
Continue reading...Liberal Tories support Sadiq Khan on air pollution | Letters
Sadiq Khan plans to introduce a new charge for London’s most polluting cars (Report, 5 July). The mayor is right to propose bold action to tackle the public health crisis of air pollution, which causes thousands of premature deaths each year in London. Liberal conservative thinktank Bright Blue is calling for city councils throughout England to be given the powers to set up low-emission zones, so that similar radical action can be taken wherever air pollution is a problem. The government’s current air-quality plan gives low-emission zones to just five other English cities, despite many others being affected by harmful pollution. It also excludes private cars from any charges. The revenue raised by low-emission zones should be used to fund a national diesel scrappage scheme, so that dirty vehicles are taken off our roads for good. Sixty years after the Clean Air Act 1956 was signed into law, the government must urgently address today’s challenge from polluting cars.
Sam Hall
Researcher, Bright Blue
Whale and winghead sharks move step closer to extinction
Two predatory species are added to IUCN Red List of endangered species as pressure from fishing sees their populations fall by half in the last 75 years
Whale sharks and winghead sharks have moved one step closer to extinction, after the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) redefined them both as endangered species on the group’s ‘Red List’.
The two predatory species have fallen foul of increased pressure from human activity, especially the fishing industry, with populations of whale sharks – the world’s largest living fish – halving in the last 75 years.
Continue reading...Fracking, remembering the Clean Air Act and rare frogs – green news roundup
The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox
Continue reading...Should homeopathy be used on animals?
The week in wildlife – in pictures
A bald eagle, drought-hit alligators, and a feeding leopard are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world
Continue reading...Artificial stingray is 'living robot'
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