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Australians are feeling the heat of climate change. For the fossil fuel industry it’s still business as usual | Bill Hare
Recent legislative action to curtail the power of the gas and coal industry are a glimmer of progress but more needs to be done
It has been a tumultuous year for the climate in Australia: from record-breaking weather events to a climate surprise in the election, a new target and a global energy crisis, this year has seen its fair share of change.
In February, the east-coast town of Lismore and the northern rivers region in New South Wales were hit by the worst flooding in Australia’s modern history – the first of what would be a year of terrible floods, against the backdrop of a record third La Niña. Australia’s climate impacts are worsening, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO. Many of those being hit by floods now were three years ago battling raging bushfires and drought.
Continue reading...The Senegal man on a mission to plant five million trees
Top 10 tips to keep cool this summer while protecting your health and your budget
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New US lawsuit targets ‘forever chemicals’ in plastic food containers
Suit alleges Inhance failed to follow EPA rules involving dangerous PFAS chemicals and asks a judge to halt production
A new lawsuit says many plastic containers used in the US to hold food, cleaning supplies, personal care items and other consumer products are likely to be contaminated with toxic PFAS. It is now asking federal courts to halt their production.
The suit references soon-to-be-published research that found PFAS (polyfluoroalkyl substances) from HDPE (high-density polyethylene) plastic containers leach at extremely high levels into ketchup, mayonnaise, olive oil and everyday products.
Continue reading...Climate impact labels could help people eat less red meat
Information on environmental impact can persuade consumers against carbon-heavy food choices, says study
Climate impact labels on foods such as red meat are an effective way to get people to stop choosing options that negatively affect the planet, a study has found.
Policymakers have been debating how to get people to make less carbon-heavy food choices. In April, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report urged world leaders, especially those in developed countries, to support a transition to sustainable, healthy, low-emissions diets.
Continue reading...Soft plastic, not fantastic: what to do with Australia’s bread bags and chip packets
Trials are under way to find advanced solutions to a notoriously difficult problem. But could a focus on recycling distract from other issues?
In a warehouse in Melbourne’s south-west, plastic confetti is being liquefied. Amid the whirring and beeping of machinery, a table displays shredded soft plastics – colourful flakes of empty chip packets, bin liners and transparent bread bags. The mound sits beside two jars of oil – that’s what the plastic will become. One is light, like olive oil. The other is as dark as tar.
The goal, says Logan Thorpe, a special projects manager at APR Plastics, is a “closed loop” of advanced recycling. Plastic waste is turned into oils, which are made into clear pellets that resemble granules of rock salt, which can then be used to produce more plastic.
Continue reading...My burning shame: I fitted my house with three wood-burning stoves | George Monbiot
Wood burners are incredibly bad for the environment – and flood our homes with toxins, too. I wish I’d known that in 2008
It’s shame that has stopped me writing about it before. The shame of failing to think for myself and see the bigger picture, which is more or less my job description. Instead, I followed the crowd.
In 2008 I was refitting my house. It was a century old and poorly built. Insulating it and installing efficient appliances was expensive but straightforward, and the decisions I made were generally good ones. But the toughest issue was heating. The technology that had seemed to show most promise a few years before – domestic fuel cells – hadn’t materialised. Domestic heat pumps (which are now more accessible) were extremely expensive and scarcely deployed in the UK. That left only two options: gas or wood. I wanted to unhook myself from fossil fuels. So I went with wood.
George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist
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Continue reading...India’s IEX sets up carbon trading exchange subsidiary
Biggest climate toll in year of ‘devastating’ disasters revealed
Most expensive storm cost $100bn while deadliest floods killed 1,700 and displaced 7 million, report finds
The 10 most expensive storms, floods and droughts in 2022 each cost at least $3bn (£2.5bn) in a “devastating” year on the frontline of the climate crisis, a report shows.
Christian Aid has highlighted the worst climate-related disasters of the year asmore intense storms, heavy downpours and droughts are driven by rising global temperatures as a result of human activity.
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Fossil fuel interests revealed to have signed more than 500 sponsorship deals with Australian bodies
Woodside Energy, Santos and BHP among companies who have sponsorship deals with Australian arts, sport, education and community organisations
Fossil fuel interests have signed more than 500 sponsorship deals with Australian arts, sport, education and community organisations, prompting accusations they are “engineering a social licence to operate” in the face of growing public pressure on coal, gas and oil.
The oil and gas company Woodside Energy was the most frequent entrant on a list of 535 sponsorship agreements, having signed 56 deals, including with AFL team the Fremantle Dockers and the West Australian Nippers surf lifesaving program.
Continue reading...The winter world may seem gloomy – but look closely, and you’ll see nature casting a spell | Lucy Jones
For less than a tenner, do as I do: buy a hand lens, head outside and discover fungi and moulds lighting up the darkness
The profound therapeutic benefits of connecting with nature and spending time outside are well known. But in winter? When it’s cold, gloomy and everything looks dead? In fact, especially in the winter, when we are susceptible to fatigue, illness and seasonal low mood. And actually there is plenty of life, beauty and wonder right outside our doors, if we look closely.
Come and take a short walk with me in my nearest wild patch – an urban cemetery, a common environment across the British Isles.
Continue reading...2022: the year rewilding went mainstream – and a biodiversity deal gave the world hope | Max Benato
Cop15’s long-awaited agreement will be closely watched, says the Guardian’s biodiversity editor, but it was by no means the only positive nature news, despite the heartbreaking ravages of avian flu
After 12 years, two years of Covid-related delays and two weeks of intense negotiation in Montreal, the world finally got it its once-in-a-decade deal to halt the destruction of nature. Many lauded this month’s agreement at Cop15 in Montreal as “historic”; many are hopeful that its ambition can be achieved; and many are concerned about whether action will meet words: not one of the last set of targets, set in Japan in 2010, was met in full.
But the fact that nearly 200 countries were able to sign off on an international agreement to halt the loss of biodiversity is something to applaud. Few thought it would happen. Now it is all about the implementation. With an estimated 1 million species at risk of extinction and a 69% average plunge in wildlife populations between 1970 and 2018, we must not “pause for a second”, warned the UN’s environment chief, Inger Andersen.
Continue reading...Five ways sequins add to plastic pollution
Army of islanders to protect gecko the size of a paperclip
Water pipe robots could stop billions of litres leaking
Svalbard reindeer thrive as they shift diet towards ‘popsicle-like’ grasses
Increased plant growth due to warmer climate appears to be prompting change in eating habits
As the Arctic warms, concern for the plight of Santa’s favourite sleigh pullers is mounting. But in one small corner of the far flung north – Svalbard – Rudolph and his friends are thriving.
Warmer temperatures are boosting plant growth and giving Svalbard reindeer more time to build up fat reserves; they also appear to be shifting their diets towards “popsicle-like” grasses that poke up through the ice and snow, data suggests.
Continue reading...Rewilded former golf course in Cheshire to be transformed into woodland
Frodsham golf course joins growing number of sites being put to new, more community friendly use
It was once an immaculate golf course where footballers such as Michael Owen and Dietmar Hamann teed off.
These days, the only holes are those made by badgers and woodpeckers. Instead of golfers, self-sown silver birch saplings march over the greens.
Continue reading...Frisky bison and blooming streets: Age of Extinction’s year in pictures – UK
Guardian photographers travelled across the country to capture the work of nature lovers and conservationists. They came back with heritage oats, urban oases and the sadness of storm-ripped trees
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