Feed aggregator

Climate change is a game changer and our disaster response is no longer sufficient. We must begin to address the underlying causes that make some communities more vulnerable than others. Bruce Glavovic, Professor in Natural Hazards Planning and Resilience, Massey University Shinya Uekusa, Lecturer, University of Canterbury Steve Matthewman, Professor in Sociology, University of Auckland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Local authorities have had to slash funding for maintaining their open spaces, and friends groups are picking up the slack

• Funding for England’s parks down £330m a year in real terms since 2010

Sparse. That’s how Chrisie Byrne describes the playground in Walton Hall park. The outlines of missing equipment scar its black rubber flooring. “It’s a huge footprint, with nothing in it, or at least very little in it,” says Byrne.

There is a set of swings, a low climbing frame with a slide for small children, and a roundabout. A couple of rocking horse-type contraptions date back to the 1990s, well past their usual lifespan, but local people have begged the council not to remove them. Another climbing frame that was burned by vandals was removed and never replaced.

Continue reading...

Deep cuts by local authorities leaving green spaces in decline, with poorest areas losing out the most

• Parks at risk: ‘If it was not for the volunteers, we would struggle’

Local authorities in England are spending almost £330m less a year in real terms on parks and open spaces than they were a decade ago, with the most deprived areas experiencing the deepest cuts, a Guardian analysis has found.

Years of deep budget cuts have left bandstands and playgrounds deteriorating, buildings crumbling, staff numbers decimated and parks’ upkeep in the hands of volunteers, according to park workers, volunteers and visitors.

Continue reading...

Alligator, shrimp and beaverslides … Holly Lynton’s beautiful photographs reveal the spiritual state of being that emerges from nature and tradition

Continue reading...

Senior Tories rule out asking households to reduce energy use despite planning for winter blackouts

No 10 and allies of Liz Truss are resisting the idea that people should be asked to cut their energy use, with the government insisting that consumption of gas and electricity is a “decision for individuals”.

With the threat of shortages possible this winter, officials have raised the option of the UK public being requested to reduce their energy usage, after countries in the EU including France and Germany were asked to cut gas demand by 15%.

Continue reading...

Labor has put fuel efficiency rules on the agenda. But the standards must be stringent and purpose-built for Australia. Robin Smit, Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Technology Sydney Hussein Dia, Professor of Future Urban Mobility, Swinburne University of Technology Nic Surawski, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

South 32 cancels a controversial expansion of the Dendrobium coal mine, saying it is looking to spend money on low carbon investments.

The post South32 ditches big Australian coal mine boost, saying costs no longer add up appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Solar output first beat coal in winter just over a year ago, but it is now happening more often, and by a greater margin.

The post Solar’s growing daytime dominance caps a miserable winter for ageing coal plants appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Petrol refiner and retailer reveals further details of its plan to take on the Australian retail energy market, starting with a pilot fuel plus electricity offer.

The post Ampol prepares retail electricity pilot, as it shifts from the forecourt into homes appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The James Webb Space Telescope shows the planet's auroras and storms in an unprecedented detail.

South32 says expected financial returns on project do not justify investment as green groups welcome decision

• Follow our Australia news live blog for the latest updates
• Get our free news app, morning email briefing or daily news podcast

Australian mining company South32 has abandoned plans to expand its Dendrobium metallurgical coalmine in the New South Wales Illawarra region.

In an announcement to the ASX, the mining company said the expected financial returns were not enough to justify the $1bn investment the extension would require.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Latest regulatory report shows how multiple coal plant outages left electricity market at mercy of ... other coal plants to rebid small amounts of capacity to guarantee price spikes.

The post Coal plant outages and rebidding: Why electricity prices surged towards market cap appeared first on RenewEconomy.

AEMO is bulking up with a vastly increased budget to manage the engineering challenges of a rapidly accelerating switch to renewables and storage.

The post “Start of a new era:” Market operator bulks up to manage accelerating switch to renewables appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Target of 300,000 new homes a year not sustainable, finds researchers, with negative biodiversity and climate impacts

England would use up the entirety of its 1.5C carbon budget on housing alone if the government sticks to its pledge to build 300,000 homes a year, according to a new study.

The building of new homes under a business as usual scenario, coupled with current trends on making existing homes more efficient, would mean the housing system would use up 104% of the country’s cumulative carbon budget by 2050.

Continue reading...

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

California’s plans to shore up its power grid maybe coming to a fork in the road, with Democratic lawmakers seeking to go all in on renewables and rebuke Governor Gavin Newsom’s (D) proposal to extend the life of the Diablo Canyon nuclear facility, a media outlet reported Monday.

Record-low California Carbon Offset (CCO) issuances are running up against strong demand ahead of the state’s first interim cap-and-trade deadline in the post-2020 era, while credits that provide direct environmental benefits to the state (DEBs) are continuing to trend upward in price, according to developers and market participants.

Gasoline sales in California in May rose to their highest levels so far this year but stayed beneath 2021 totals, while diesel consumption continued to decline from records posted in March, according to state data released Friday.

We are recruiting a Technical Director to support the work of this new entity. The candidate will report to the Executive Director and will be responsible for implementing the IT and technical aspects of the Climate Warehouse work programme.

Untreated human waste dumped in waters containing shellfish 29,000 times last year, Environment Agency data shows

English shellfish could be contaminated with sewage as untreated human waste was dumped 29,000 times by water companies last year in the water where they are cultivated.

The new statistics found sewage was dumped into waters containing shellfish for 207,013 hours in one year. The worst offenders were South West, Southern Water and Anglian Water. There are fears that this could be happening again this year.

Continue reading...