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Piers Corbyn: the other rebel in the family
Like his brother, physicist and meteorologist Piers Corbyn is a man of revolutionary zeal. His own battle, however, is against all this ‘climate-change nonsense’…
When Jeremy Corbyn won the leadership of the Labour party in September he celebrated in a pub up the road from the Houses of Parliament with a thank you to supporters and a rousing rendition of the Red Flag. On the edge of the impromptu stage that day, beside Len McCluskey of Unite and John McDonnell the future shadow chancellor, was a singular figure singing with particular pride: Piers Corbyn, the new leader’s elder brother, who has, you could say, led a parallel career of stubborn principle to his younger sibling. I was in the euphoric crowd that day, and since then I’ve wondered a bit about the relationship between the brothers, what they have learned from each other. With some of this in mind I called Piers recently and asked if he might like to talk about some of that. He agreed, but typically on the basis that he would happily talk about any subject under the sun – apart from his relationship with Jeremy and the vexed question of how his leadership is going. He shares much of his brother’s mistrust of the press; recently, he suggests, the Independent published an account of an exchange that had taken place over a family Christmas dinner. That wasn’t on. What he will talk about, though, is the thing he has talked about for just about as long as he can remember: the weather.
On this very British basis we met last week in a cafe over the road from his office on Borough High Street in south London. You don’t have to speak to Piers for very long to realise that at least a couple of Corbyn family traits are indelible: the first is that intransigent rasp of a voice with faint traces of west country burr; the second is the sense that life, like politics, is best played as a long game.
Continue reading...Twenty years after the protests, what is the legacy of the Newbury bypass?
Blink and you miss it. Just past the Tot Hill McDonald’s, 20ft above the northbound carriageway of the Newbury bypass in Berkshire, an old oak stands over hundreds of young saplings.
Named Middle Oak by people who lived up it for months in the bitter winter of 1996, it is the only physical reminder of the 35 protest camps built high in the trees on the route of the most controversial new road in recent British history.
Continue reading...Plastic now pollutes every corner of Earth
From supermarket bags to CDs, man-made waste has contaminated the entire globe, and become a marker of a new geological epoch
Humans have made enough plastic since the second world war to coat the Earth entirely in clingfilm, an international study has revealed. This ability to plaster the planet in plastic is alarming, say scientists – for it confirms that human activities are now having a pernicious impact on our world.
The research, published in the journal Anthropocene, shows that no part of the planet is free of the scourge of plastic waste. Everywhere is polluted with the remains of water containers, supermarket bags, polystyrene lumps, compact discs, cigarette filter tips, nylons and other plastics. Some are in the form of microscopic grains, others in lumps. The impact is often highly damaging.
Continue reading...Going underground: meet the man who lived as an animal
Naturalist Charles Foster wanted to reconnect with his inner beast – so he tried living as a badger, a deer and a fox
- ‘A worm fell into my mouth. I gagged’: read an extract from Foster’s new book
- Review: ‘A worthy heir to an eccentric tradition of English environmental writing’
Charles Foster lifts a wriggling worm to his lips. “Cheers,” he says.
We clink worms.
Continue reading...Japan's David vs Goliath battle to preserve Pacific bluefin tuna
A group of small-scale fishermen are waging an increasingly public struggle against industrial fleets using sonar and huge nets to scoop up massive catches of spawning tuna, reports Environment 360
One after another, the fishermen stream into a makeshift office at Katsumoto port, on the island of Iki in the Sea of Japan. Outside, their small white boats are docked as a storm rages; inside, they chain-smoke and banter with the ease of lifelong acquaintance. Their business, however, is serious: Pacific bluefin tuna are disappearing from the sea, and somehow they must stop the decline.
“Twenty years ago, we used to see the tuna swimming under our boats in schools that went on for two miles,” says Kazuto Doi, a sun-weathered man in his 40s who, like all the Iki fishermen, uses a pole and line to catch the prized source of sushi. “We never see that now.”
“I have three kids, but I can’t send them to university,” adds Koji Harada, who now supplements his catch with squid and other less lucrative fish. “We used to make a good living at this.”
Continue reading...Burke, Wills, King and Yandruwandha National Heritage place included in the National Heritage List
US navy launches first biofuel-powered aircraft carriers
Carrier strike group of four ships is the first to begin operating regularly with a blend of petroleum and biofuels made from beef fat
The US navy on Wednesday launched its first carrier strike group powered partly by biofuel a mix made from beef fat, calling it a milestone toward easing the military’s reliance on foreign oil.
The maritime branch touted the warships as the centrepiece of its “Great Green Fleet” part of a navy-wide initiative that aims to draw 50% of its power from alternative energy in four years.
Continue reading...New recovery plan for Ecological Community
Why do so many cyclists love to hate Rapha? | Dave Nash
Yes, £480 for its latest cycling jersey and shorts is steep, but I’m still puzzled why the high-end brand, and those who wear it, are the focus of such ire
When it comes to cycle clothing, one brand polarises cyclists like no other: Rapha. The very word will leave some purring at the thought of their next visit to its Soho store, while others will twitch involuntarily at the very mention of the name.
Forums see these two entrenched camps trading blows, which often fall below the waistline. Rapha occupies a position in the high-end sector of the market and there’s no denying that its clothing is expensive, but premium fabrics and construction deliver performance and longevity. I rate their kit highly, but it is not infallible.
Continue reading...Overfishing causing global catches to fall three times faster than estimated
Landmark new study that includes small-scale, subsistence and illegal fishing shows a strong decline in catches as more fisheries are exhausted
Global fish catches are falling three times faster than official UN figures suggest, according to a landmark new study, with overfishing to blame.
Seafood is the critical source of protein for more than 2.5 billion people, but over-exploitation is cutting the catch by more than 1m tonnes a year.
Continue reading...BHP Billiton Strategic Assessment: Public invitation to comment on the Draft Impact Assessment Report and Draft MNES Program
Denmark broke world record for wind power in 2015
Windy year helps Denmark to produce 42% of its electricity from wind turbines, despite two major windfarms being offline
Denmark produced 42% of its electricity from wind turbines last year according to official data, the highest figure yet recorded worldwide.
The new year-end figures showed a 3% rise on 2014, which was itself a record year for Danish wind energy generation.
Continue reading...World's oceans warming at increasingly faster rate, new study finds
Ocean water has absorbed more than 90% of the excess heat and nearly 30% of the carbon dioxide generated by human consumption of fossil fuels
The world’s oceans are warming at a quickening rate, with the past 20 years accounting for half of the increase in ocean heat content that has occurred since pre-industrial times, a new study has found.
US scientists discovered that much of the extra heat in the ocean is buried deep underwater, with 35% of the additional warmth found at depths below 700 meters. This means far more heat is present in the far reaches of the ocean than 20 years ago, when it contained just 20% of the extra heat produced from the release of greenhouse gases since the industrial revolution.
Continue reading...Hammerhead sharks - wildlife trade operation proposal
Flint's water crisis: what went wrong
After the water supply was found to contain high levels of lead, evidence is mounting that officials ignored or neglected indicators of a growing crisis
Lee and Ernie Perez knew something was amiss when their three cats started throwing up after drinking water.
In 2014, the longtime residents of Flint, Michigan, were dealing with the same circumstances that had consumed most of the town. The problems began in April that year, after the city switched its water source and started pulling water from a local river as a cost-saving measure. Almost immediately, residents levied complaints about the smelly, discolored and disgusting fluid that was now flowing into their households.
Continue reading...Venomous sea snake washes up on California beach in El Niño-linked event
A 20-inch snake was discovered near San Diego on Tuesday, the third reported instance since October of the deadly animal washing up on California beaches
California beachgoers have been urged to steer clear of a species of highly venomous sea snake following a third, and unprecedented, instance of an aquatic serpent washing up on to the state’s beaches.
A 20-inch yellow-bellied sea snake was discovered on a beach near San Diego on Tuesday, where it was placed into a bucket before dying. The sighting was the third reported instance since October of the species, which prefers the tropical waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans, washing up on California’s beaches.
Continue reading...England’s waters to remain illegally polluted beyond 2021
England set to break extended deadline to meet EU water pollution targets and already risks legal action for failing to meet original 2015 deadline, reports ENDS
Most rivers, lakes and coastal and ground waters in England will still not meet legally binding EU water pollution targets by 2021 – six years after the initial deadline.
According to the Environment Agency’s (EA) draft river basin management plans (RBMPs), analysed by ENDS, compliance with Water Framework Directive (WFD) standards will have risen to just 25% in 2021, up from 17% in 2015 (see table 1).
UK’s last resident killer whales 'doomed to extinction'
Western European waters are a global hotspot for lingering toxic PCB pollution, research reveals, damaging the reproduction of orcas and dolphins
The UK’s last pod of killer whales is doomed to extinction, with new research revealing western European waters as a global hotspot for the lingering legacy of toxic PCB pollution.
The persistent chemicals, used in electrical equipment but banned in the 1980s, are still leaking into the oceans and were also found in extremely high levels in European dolphins, whose populations are in decline.
Continue reading...Meet the conservationists who believe that burning is good for wildlife | George Monbiot
Our national park authorities are vandals and fabulists, inflicting mass destruction on wildlife and habitats, then calling it conservation
At one end of the country, conservation groups are doing all they can to stop the burning of moors. Challenging the grouse shooting estates, for example, the RSPB argues that “there is an urgent need to restore these landscapes by … bringing an end to burning.”
At the other end of the country, conservation groups are doing all they can to ensure that moors are burnt.
Continue reading...Nevada solar industry collapses after state lets power company raise fees
State public utility commission gave only power company permission to charge higher rates and fees to users, shattering industry’s business model
There are 36 solar panels sitting in a row behind Richard Stewart’s home in north Las Vegas. The panels cost about $40,000 – most of his savings, he said. He made the investment with his wife, who has since died, hoping to save money heating and cooling their high desert home. The retiree worried then, as retirees on fixed incomes often do, about rising energy costs.
Now he regrets the investment entirely. “I’ll be lucky to get my money back in 20 years,” said Stewart, 69.
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