Feed aggregator

People living in Harmondsworth, Sipson and Harlington share their views on how they will be affected

Heathrow will get a third runway after the government gave the go ahead on Tuesday, paving the way for hundreds of thousands more flights a year at the airport in west London.

In a long-awaited response, ministers have endorsed the recommendation of the Airports Commission to expand Heathrow rather than Gatwick airport, which had hoped to build a second runway. The move comes six years after the Conservative-led coalition scrapped previous plans for a third runway at Heathrow.

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Conservation groups dismayed as Japan and other pro-whaling nations vote against plans for a protected area for whales, dolphins and porpoises

Japan and other pro-whaling nations have defeated a proposal to create an sanctuary for whales in the South Atlantic.

The push to create the protected area during a biennial meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) was defeated after 38 countries voted yes and 24 against, as proposals at the conference require 75% of votes to pass. Two abstained.

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Last year renewable energy accounted for more than half of new power generation worldwide, for the first time

Think of China and energy today, and you probably think of coal. But as the chief of the International Energy Agency told me recently, that’s changing. In years to come, wind turbines and vast solar arrays could become the first things that spring to mind.

Last year, for the first time, renewable energy accounted for more than half of new power generation worldwide, as we report today. China is expected to build more than twice that global amount in the next five years, driven by its thirst for more electricity capacity, public anxiety over air pollution and the need to fulfil its climate change pledges.

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IEA says strong policy underpins lift in global outlook for renewable energy, but in Australia, lingering policy uncertainty makes it unsure about large scale investment.

Experts hail rapid transformation that will see clean energy outgrow fossil fuels in the next five years - but warn UK is failing to exploit huge potential

Green energy accounted for more than half of net electricity generation capacity added around the world last year for the first time, leading energy experts have found.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said the milestone was evidence of a rapid transformation in energy taking place, and predicted capacity from renewable sources will grow faster than oil, gas, coal or nuclear power in the next five years.

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Discovery of elusive bird, thought to be extinct for a century until 2013, leads scientists to believe the ‘dumpy budgerigar’ may be more common than thought

The elusive night parrot has been recorded in Diamantina national park in central-west Queensland, expanding its known range and leading scientists to believe it may not be as rare as previously thought.

The bird, described by Bush Heritage Australia’s Jim Radford as a “dumpy budgerigar” or a “podgy, sort of smallish, green and yellow parrot”, was thought to be extinct for more than 100 years before ornithologist John Young managed to photograph it in 2013.

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Paula Kahumbu: The proposal to put a railway through Kenya’s iconic wildlife sanctuary raises issues that should concern us all

The Kenyan Ministry of Transport has announced that it is moving forward with its plans to build a standard gauge railway (SGR), linking Nairobi with the port city of Mombasa, that will cut through Nairobi National Park.

Nairobi is one of the world’s fastest growing cities. It is also unique in encompassing, within its precincts, a major national park that supports lions, rhinos, and other large wild animals. Despite its modest size, the biological diversity of Nairobi National Park is greater than that of some entire countries. It is also a sanctuary of global significance for some endangered species, notably the black rhinoceros.

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Traffic noise is associated with an increase in hypertension cases, according to research from five European countries

People living near noisy roads could have a bigger risk of high blood pressure, a new study suggests.

Meanwhile, long-term exposure to air pollution can also increase a person’s risk, experts found.

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Ladle Hill, Hampshire The spindles are brave impressionist paintings among the ash and crab apple

In an almost silent late afternoon I have descended steeply through the thickly wooded path on a spur of the downs. The only sound is that of a blackbird. It has chosen, as is its habit, the very best notes in the very finest order to punctuate just such a dark autumn afternoon. It is indeed as if, as Edward Thomas wrote in The South Country, it “gathers up all the low-lit beauty into one carol”.

Emerging from beneath the canopy I take a moment to notice the great smears of unlikely tropical colour among the trees lining the chalky path. Delicately spectacular, there are few more exotic-looking things than a spindle tree in full autumn decoration. This is especially so when it’s nestled in among the damp beech woods.

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New report says coal is no solution to poverty, but Malcolm Turnbull is using the fossil fuel industry slogan to try to curb environmental groups and to shore up his increasingly shaky leadership.

As solar module prices crash, Deutsche Bank report suggests some of China's Big Six PV makers could struggle to survive.

US liquid metal battery storage start-up in talks to set up Australian R&D team, and possibly a manufacturing hub too.

The debate around renewable energy is becoming mainstream as Australians grapple with issues such as large-scale power outages and the rising cost of domestic power.

The multi-trillion-dollar ‘big crash’ could start as soon as 2023, Bloomberg warns, and ratings agency Fitch agrees it could happen sooner than anyone expected.

Prime minister defends fossil fuel as part of Australia’s energy mix as critical Senate bloc opposes ‘green lawfare’ changes

Malcolm Turnbull has declared coal will be part of Australia’s energy mix for “many, many, many decades to come” as a critical Senate bloc expressed opposition to so-called “green lawfare” changes designed to limit the legal standing of conservation groups in court proceedings.

Turnbull made the bullish observation about coal during a radio interview in Brisbane on Tuesday morning, arguing that the effort to “strangle the Australian coal industry is not going to do anything to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions”.

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Earth is distinguished from all other known planets by the presence of a warm, salty ocean that covers over 70% of its surface. The ocean puts food on the table, provides jobs, and underpins trillions of dollars of economic activity worldwide.

In a new report for the WWF, we looked in particular at how Melanesia’s ocean economy is fairing. Melanesians - the people of Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu - have a strong social and cultural dependency on the sea.

Faced with looming global challenges such as climate change and food security, the region is a now at a crossroads.

Why is Melanesia’s ocean important?

Based on conservative estimates, the annual “gross marine product” of the Melanesian region – the equivalent of a country’s annual gross domestic product (GDP) – is estimated to be at least US$5.4 billion. This is broadly equivalent to the combined GDPs of Fiji and the Solomon Islands, making it the third largest economy in the region.

Melanesia’s ocean assets, including fisheries and marine habitats, as well as “services” such as coastlines and carbon absorption, are valued at a minimum of US$548 billion.

Ocean assets provide a range of valuable goods and services, including food and raw materials, income, energy, tourism, recreation, cultural practices, protection from storms, and climate regulation. Maintaining healthy ocean assets is therefore vital for the future of the Melanesian region.

However, it is becoming increasingly clear that Melanesia’s ocean and its precious assets are under mounting pressures. These changes will have implications for the environment, food security, employment and the well-being of human communities both within the region and beyond.

In some isolated circumstances, eroding the ocean assets of Melanesia may lead to short-term benefits for certain places and people. However, any positive changes are likely to be short lived and specific to one country or another. For instance, declining catches for some species of tuna are already predicted for Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands by 2035.

Climate change will add to the challenge. Future climate projections include rising air and sea surface temperatures, increases in annual and seasonal rainfall, increasing intensity of tropical cyclones, rising sea levels and increasing acidity of the ocean.

Reports of coral bleaching, fish kills and severe Tropical Cyclone Winston that affected the Melanesian region this year, coupled with high rates of sea-level rise are a clear reminder of the difficulties the region faces amid a rapidly changing climate.

Melanesia at the crossroads

Melanesian leaders are now faced with two pathways for the management of its marine resources and securing ecological and economic prosperity.

The first is the current trajectory of increasing pressure on ocean assets coupled with inadequate policy and/or action. This pathway will lead to a degraded future in which opportunities for the inhabitants of the Melanesian region will be significantly diminished.

The second trajectory is to move towards a sustainable and inclusive blue economy. Such an approach will ensure that coastal assets contribute to the true prosperity and resilience of the Melanesian region long into the future.

The oceans and coastal ecosystems are vital to life on Earth, and achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) without the services the oceans provide will be challenging, if not impossible.

While Goal 14 focuses specifically on the ocean, a sustainable and inclusive blue economy will incorporate and build strategies that are important to meeting many of the other SDGs. This priority is interlocked with other international priorities, such as achieving a safe climate through the recent Paris Agreement.

It would also provide social and economic benefits for current and future generations by contributing to food security, reducing poverty, livelihoods, income, employment, health, safety, equity and political stability.

In addition, it would also restore, protect and maintain the diversity, productivity, resilience, core functions and intrinsic value of marine ecosystems – the natural capital upon which its prosperity depends.

Ways forward

Pacific leaders have already generally acknowledged the importance of working together across the region.

Examples include work on inshore fisheries management and sustainable development.

There have been some successes such as the Vessel Day Scheme, which limits the number of days that fishers can fish, and community coastal management such as locally managed marine areas. These are helping to guide spatial planning and integrate conservation and sustainable use of marine resources.

In light of Melanesia’s eroding ocean asset base, the new report acknowledges the commitments already made and sets out a clear set of measures that Melanesian leaders can adopt. These build on traditional environmental stewardship to protect the region’s natural coastal and ocean assets.

While our new report puts the spotlight on Melanesia and presents an economic case for greater management, the perspectives are equally applicable to the Pacific region as a whole, given that the ocean connects the island nations, rather than separates them.

The economic analysis for this report was led by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

This article was coauthored by John Tanzer (Oceans Leader WWF International), Kesaia Tabunakawai (Representative WWF-Pacific), and Paul Gamblin (Oceans Communications WWF International).

Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg undertakes research on coral reef ecosystems and their response to rapid environmental change, which is supported primarily by the Australian Research Council (Canberra), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Washington, D.C.), Catlin Group (London), and Great Barrier Reef Foundation (Brisbane). He not receive salary for writing this article.

Tyrone Ridgway does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond the academic appointment above.

Application on ecological sustainability – call for public comments open from 26 October 2016 until 24 November 2016

Jade Fitzpatrick says reports of attacks often make them sound ‘bigger and scarier’ and he will be surfing again within days

Jade Fitzpatrick is still in shock a day after escaping the jaws of a 2.7-metre great white off the New South Wales north coast, but he says reporting of attacks should be kept in perspective and netting beaches is not the solution.

The 36-year-old surfer suffered three puncture wounds to his upper thigh when his surfboard bore the brunt of the attack off a beach between Suffolk Park and Broken Head near Byron Bay on Monday morning.

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Target has reached 147.5 MW of solar capacity, installing 69 MW in the first nine months of 2016 alone.

Emissions Reduction Fund Land and sea transport method variation released for public consultation. Consultation period closes 21 November 2016