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The Tories watering down protections for polluted rivers? I smell a rat | Stewart Lee
One thing the Conservatives have achieved: the comprehensive choking to death of our waterways
Last Monday, the Conservative government announced plans to scrap the water pollution rules that protect rivers from environmental damage caused by nearby housebuilding. Some people accuse Sunak’s government of being a zombie government, trapped by infighting and incompetence in legislative inertia, incapable of seeing any task through. This is unfair on zombies who, given enough time, often overwhelm shopping malls, eat people’s brains, or fight sharks underwater. If a barely sentient zombie can do all this, it makes the Conservative’s failure to Stop the Boats ™ ® and Get Brexit Done ™ ® seem even less impressive.
But during their time in office the Conservatives will at least have achieved the comprehensive choking to death of our pesky seas and rivers, once teeming with unruly life, providing leisure opportunities to ungrateful peasants, and offering employment opportunities to the ne’er-do-wells who don’t vote Conservative – surfboard hire operators, conservationists, and a Spanish hippy who sits at the prow of the boat on a cruise round Camden Lock, serenading you relentlessly with detumescent Neil Young covers on a nylon-stringed acoustic guitar.
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Continue reading...Beavers are back – but scientists fear Defra’s silence on protection deal
Return to the wild will boost biodiversity, but government accused of backing out of scheme
They were some of the country’s most resilient residents, creatures that shaped and nurtured our environment for millennia. Few animals could beat the beaver as a restorer of blighted landscapes, say scientists.
This ecological prowess means Castor fiber has a crucial role to play in helping the nation to revitalise its biodiversity and find solutions to the impacts of climate change, these researchers argue. However, they have become alarmed that a government scheme to reintroduce beavers across England is being held back by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
Continue reading...Bogus war on the motorist is sign of Tory desperation | Sadiq Khan
I welcome robust discussion, but this obsession with Ulez is an attempt to sow discord and division
London’s ultra-low emission zone expanded to the Greater London boundary on 29 August – making it the largest clean air zone in the world. Five million more Londoners will now breathe cleaner air – helping to prevent early deaths, protect children growing up with stunted lungs and reduce serious health issues such as asthma, cancer and dementia.
Nine out of 10 cars seen driving in outer London on an average day already meet the strict emissions standards and their drivers will not have to pay the charge, but will see the benefits of cleaner air. The Ulez will also help to tackle climate change and congestion.
Continue reading...Sadiq Khan hits back at criticism of London Ulez expansion
Mayor of London defends scheme and accuses Tories of trying to sow ‘division and discord’
Sadiq Khan has hit back at criticism of the expansion of the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) and accused the Conservatives of creating a “bogus war on the motorist”.
The scheme, which was expanded to cover all of Greater London on Tuesday, charges older, more polluting vehicles £12.50 a day and is the largest clean air zone in the world. However, the strategy aimed at improving air quality has been divisive.
Continue reading...Scale of Battery of the Nation project cut in half after huge cost blow-out
Federal and state governments cut a deal to save Marinus Link after cost blowout, but the key element of the Battery of the Nation project is cut in half.
The post Scale of Battery of the Nation project cut in half after huge cost blow-out appeared first on RenewEconomy.
California legislative committee advances GHG disclosure, climate risk bills to final stage
Artist captures the impact of climate crisis over 150 years on Mont Blanc
Paintings from a climb that retraced an 1800s route on western Europe’s highest mountain reveals the extent of the peak’s melting ice
A British landscape artist who recreated a climb made 150 years ago to document the impact of the climate crisis on western Europe’s highest mountain says what he found was so grim it reminded him of the “dark paintings” of Francisco de Goya.
James Hart Dyke ascended Mont Blanc’s ancien passage north face, the route taken in 1786 by the first climbers to reach the summit. It was also the same one taken in August 1873 by French painter Gabriel Loppé, whose climb inspired Hart Dyke’s own.
Continue reading...Typhoon Saola leaves trail of destruction in Hong Kong – video report
Typhoon Saola has made landfall in southern China after leaving a trail of destruction in Hong Kong. Thousands of trees were felled and boats sank in the city's harbour. Nearly 900,000 people had been evacuated in Hong Kong and China while business, transport and schools were suspended in advance of the typhoon making landfall
Continue reading...Original Observer Photography
From clean water activists to Nessie hunters and Chrissie Hynde to Phoebe Bridgers: the best original photographs from the Observer commissioned in August 2023
Continue reading...Aditya-L1: India successfully launches its first mission to the Sun
‘Leisure land’: Cotswolds meadow locals campaign against sell-off plan
Community around Juniper Hill Field wants to stop wildflower-rich land being divided into small plots
A hilltop meadow of flower-rich limestone grassland in the Cotswolds is under threat, according to residents, after it was divided into four-acre plots for people seeking to buy “leisure land” in the countryside.
The Save Juniper Hill Field campaign wants to list the eight-hectare (20-acre) field close to the poet Laurie Lee’s childhood home as “an asset of community value” to stop it being parcelled up by Woodlands.co.uk, which specialises in buying tracts of land and reselling it in relatively small plots.
Continue reading...CP Daily: Friday September 1, 2023
Cameroon mulls introducing carbon tax, local media reports
‘Walking billboard’ for Woodside: parents want end to fossil fuel company sponsorship of WA Nippers
New campaign supported by Greenpeace urges Surf Life Saving WA to scrap $5m naming rights deal
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Parents say they don’t want their children to be walking billboards for Woodside, the naming rights sponsor for Nippers in Western Australia.
They want the deal between the fossil fuel company and Surf Life Saving WA (SLSWA) scrapped.
Continue reading...UK scientists tackle periods in polar research
Coalmine approvals in Australia this year could add 150m tonnes of CO2 to atmosphere
Expansion of metallurgical coalmine in Queensland will add 31m tonnes alone with activists accusing Albanese government of being reckless
Coalmine expansions and developments approved in Australia so far this year are expected to add nearly 150m tonnes of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere over their lifetimes – equivalent to nearly a third of the country’s annual climate pollution.
The Albanese government this week gave the greenlight to an expansion of the Gregory Crinum coalmine in central Queensland. It produces metallurgical coal, used in steelmaking.
Approving a nine-year extension of the Ensham thermal coalmine, creating fuel for power plants. The Australia Institute’s coalmine tracker found it was likely to lead to 106m tonnes of additional emissions over its life.
Approving the creation of a small new mine, the Isaac River metallurgical coalmine, also in Queensland. It is expected to produce almost entirely metallurgical coal and lead to about 7m tonnes of emissions across its seven-year life.
Ruling a proposed extraction of a large sample, known as a “bulk sample”, of coal at the proposed Star coalmine site did not need formal assessment under federal environment law to go ahead. The proponent can dig up 1.5m tonnes of coal before applying to develop the full mine. It is expected to lead to about 3m tonnes of emissions.
Extending the life of the Lake Vermont open cut coalmine until 2063. This decision did not increase the total amount of coal that could be mined, just its potential lifespan.
Continue reading...Emitters rescind, speculators build CCA net length following Q3 auction results publication
Washington EITE industries receive first batch of no-cost carbon allowances
Paraguay senator announces replacement carbon credit regulation bill
Alberta TIER market credit prices continue to stagnate through August
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