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Extreme wealth has a deadening effect on the super-rich – and that threatens us all | George Monbiot

The Guardian - Wed, 2024-07-24 15:00

In a kayak off the Devon coast I witnessed the kind of entitled mindlessness that has ravaged society, and our planet

On a calm and beautiful morning off the coast of south Devon last week, I was watching a small pod of dolphins from my kayak. I had spotted them from half a mile away, feeding and playing on the surface. They were heading my way, so I sat on the water and waited.

But from round the headland, at top speed, came a giant twin-engined maritime wankpanzer. Though the dolphins were highly visible and it had plenty of time either to stop or avoid them, it ploughed towards them at full throttle. As it passed, missing them by a few metres, the driver turned and glanced at them, but never checked his speed. The dolphins dived. They briefly reappeared much farther from the coast, after which I didn’t see them again. I could hear the boat long after it disappeared: it sounded like a jetliner. God knows what distress it might have caused the dolphins, which are highly sensitive to sound.

George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist

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Australia’s environment could be fixed and threatened species saved for just 0.3% of GDP, experts say

The Guardian - Wed, 2024-07-24 13:30

Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists estimates $7.3bn a year for 30 years could avoid most extinctions, repair soils and restore rivers

Saving Australia’s threatened wildlife, repairing degraded land and restoring ailing river systems is possible and would cost just 0.3% of Australia’s GDP, according to a new blueprint produced by more than 60 experts.

For the first time scientists, governance and business leaders have produced a dollar estimate of what it would take to fix Australia’s environment.

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Yes, Australia’s environment is on a depressing path – but $7 billion a year would transform it

The Conversation - Wed, 2024-07-24 13:01
A new report challenges the notion that repairing our continent is a task too big and expensive to tackle. Jamie Pittock, Professor, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Bradley J. Moggridge, Professor of Science and Associate Dean (Indigenous Leadership and Engagement), University of Technology Sydney Martine Maron, Professor of Environmental Management, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
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US EPA faces pushback against Martha’s Vineyard ocean geoengineering experiment plans

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2024-07-24 11:43
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has faced a flood of public and academic opposition to a proposed ocean alkalinity research project south of Martha’s Vineyard, while even supporters acknowledge the risks and unintended consequences involved given it is impossible to fully replicate the natural environment in a lab.
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Alberta decarbonisation deterred by oversupply in TIER carbon market -report

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2024-07-24 10:40
Canada’s largest emissions reductions system – Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) programme – will face oversupply of carbon credits if the province does not intervene, ultimately discouraging investment in industrial decarbonisation, a Canadian think-tank said Tuesday.
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Canada releases new provisions against greenwashing, environmental claims

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2024-07-24 10:30
The Competition Bureau of Canada on Monday released a new volume of provisions tackling environmental claims and greenwashing, with guidance for companies to comply with laws that prohibit misleading advertising and deceptive marketing practices.
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The US may not meet its 2030 climate target despite an uptick in federal efforts, says research group

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2024-07-24 10:23
The US may fail to meet its 2030 climate pledges despite support from recently enacted policies that have accelerated the country’s decarbonisation pace, a New York-based research group said Tuesday.
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Small modular reactors have promise. But we found they’re unlikely to help Australia hit net zero by 2050

The Conversation - Wed, 2024-07-24 06:19
Small modular reactors promise to make nuclear power cheaper and safer. But our new report shows they’re still a long way off. Ian Lowe, Emeritus Professor, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University Kylie Walker, Visiting Fellow, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
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Wild sharks off Brazil coast test positive for cocaine, scientists say

The Guardian - Wed, 2024-07-24 04:38

Latest research shows how illegal drug consumption by humans is harming marine life

Wild sharks off the coast of Brazil have tested positive for cocaine, according to new study by Brazilian scientists, in the latest research to demonstrate how illegal drug consumption by humans is harming marine life.

According to a study entitled Cocaine Shark and published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, scientists dissected the bodies of 13 sharpnose sharks (Rhizoprionodon lalandii) caught in fishermen’s nets off a beach in Rio de Janeiro.

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Supporters of arrested Sea Shepherd founder say parallels with Julian Assange are ‘disturbing’

The Guardian - Wed, 2024-07-24 03:24

Allies of the 73-year-old anti-whaling activist Paul Watson have said that prison time would amount to a ‘life sentence’

The arrest of the anti-whaling activist Paul Watson in Greenland – where he could face extradition to Japan – has been condemned as “politically motivated” by supporters, who compared the case to the detention of the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange.

“The parallels are disturbing,” said Omar Todd, chief executive and co-founder of the Captain Paul Watson Foundation (CPWF).

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FEATURE: Methane reduction additive for livestock shows highly variable rates -study

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2024-07-24 03:21
The typical feed additive used to curb livestock emissions in carbon projects has a highly variable methane reduction potential depending on factors such as animal diet, breed, and how the additive is administered, according to findings in a recent study. 
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Sunday was world’s hottest ever recorded day, data suggests

The Guardian - Wed, 2024-07-24 02:27

Preliminary data from Copernicus suggests temperature records were shattered, taking world into ‘uncharted territory’

World temperature records were shattered on Sunday on what may be the hottest day scientists have ever logged, data suggests.

Inflamed by the carbon pollution spewed from burning fossils and farming livestock, the average surface air temperature hit 17.09C (62.76F) on Sunday, according to preliminary data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, which holds data that stretches back to 1940. The reading inched above the previous record of 17.08C (62.74F) set on 6 July last year, but the scientists cautioned that the difference was not statistically distinguishable.

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Russia looks to lure small businesses and entrepreneurs into carbon trading

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2024-07-24 02:08
The Russian government has proposed changes to simplify access to carbon credits in the country, making it easier for small businesses and individuals to take part in the national carbon market, the Ministry of Economic Development announced on Tuesday.
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Environmental groups take issue with IPCC’s approach to carbon removals, CCS

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2024-07-24 02:02
A group of civil society and indigenous peoples organisations have written to the UN’s climate change science body, the IPCC, highlighting the risk of over-relying on Carbon Dioxide Removals (CDR) in meeting global climate goals.
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