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Ski resorts battle for a future as snow declines in climate crisis
International Ski Federation urged to cut emissions, while activists warn of damage through heavy use of snowmaking
After promising early dumps of snow in some areas of Europe this autumn, the pattern of recent years resumed and rain and sleet took over.
In the ski resorts of Morzine and Les Gets in the French Alps, the heavy rainfall meant that full opening of resorts was delayed until two days before Christmas, leaving the industry and the millions of tourists planning trips to stare at the sky in hope.
Continue reading...Amazon drought: 'We've never seen anything like this'
At a time of giving and receiving, our many Australian mistletoes do it too
Monotreme dreams: the plan to reintroduce platypuses into Adelaide’s once ‘noxious’ river
Platypuses have not been seen in the Torrens since the 1880s, but now the river may be healthy enough to support the species again
In May 1872, Adelaide’s doctors were surveyed about the “noxious effluvia” emanating from the River Torrens, the South Australian Advertiser reported. John Burn wrote to the paper to say he endorsed their condemnation of “the filthy state of Adelaide – a city of stenches”.
“If any of our citizens be sceptical, I would suggest his taking a stroll along King William Street on to the Morphett Street Bridge, where he might tarry a wee bit for the inhalation of the horridly pestiferous vapours there to be enjoyed,” Burn wrote.
Continue reading...A world suffused with AI probably wouldn’t be good for us – or the planet | John Naughton
Amid all the hysteria about ChatGPT and co, one thing is being missed: how energy-intensive the technology is
What to do when surrounded by people who are losing their minds about the Newest New Thing? Answer: reach for the Gartner Hype Cycle, an ingenious diagram that maps the progress of an emerging technology through five phases: the “technology trigger”, which is followed by a rapid rise to the “peak of inflated expectations”; this is succeeded by a rapid decline into the “trough of disillusionment”, after which begins a gentle climb up the “slope of enlightenment” – before eventually (often years or decades later) reaching the “plateau of productivity”.
Given the current hysteria about AI, I thought I’d check to see where it is on the chart. It shows that generative AI (the polite term for ChatGPT and co) has just reached the peak of inflated expectations. That squares with the fevered predictions of the tech industry (not to mention governments) that AI will be transformative and will soon be ubiquitous. This hype has given rise to much anguished fretting about its impact on employment, misinformation, politics etc, and also to a deal of anxious extrapolations about an existential risk to humanity.
Continue reading...Survivalist gardens and hot-weather fruits among 2024 trends, RHS predicts
Horticulture charity says climate breakdown is influencing trends, based on inquiries from gardeners
Fruits that thrive in hot weather and can now be grown in the ever-hotter UK summers, and weeds such as cow parsley to decorate borders, are among the 2024 garden trends predicted by the Royal Horticultural Society.
Climate breakdown has influenced most of the trends predicted by the horticulture charity, which seeks insights from its more than 600,000 members to forecast which plants may be in fashion in the coming year. While its trends list used to be based on simply which blooms were in vogue, now it highlights the quirks of gardening in a changing climate amid collapsing biodiversity.
Greening grey spaces Creative ways to green up grey urban spaces has become a major new trend as city gardeners are growing successfully in pots, growing up instead of out and using innovative ways of colonising indoor space, including terrariums.
Grow your own The RHS gardening advice service and website continues to see growth in “grow your own”. The most popular plants are tomatoes, followed by cucumbers, courgettes, chillies and runner beans.
Purple power Purple vegetables have traditionally been difficult for the home gardener but now breeders have begun introducing purple varieties that are easier to grow than traditional ones and avoid previous drawbacks, such as non-fruiting and limited purple colour, especially after cooking. Gardeners and chefs can anticipate purple carrots, cauliflowers, broccoli, tomatoes, peas, radish, French beans and lettuces.
Climate change fruits Recent hot dry summers are ideal for certain fruits, grape vines being an outstanding example – but others include figs, almonds, apricots, melons, peaches/nectarines and watermelons.
Local seed provenances and survivalist gardens After the temporary hiccup to the vegetable supply chain last spring, some gardeners now favour growing with more independence, including where they source their seeds.
Going wild Plants traditionally seen as unwanted weeds such as herb robert and plantain are becoming popular. Cow parsley is now a desirable border plant and dandelions are recognised as being key to providing food for bees early in springtime.
Gardening with nature The move away from classical, formal layouts towards naturalistic landscapes will continue to grow, with gardens making people feel that they are in a wild place and providing benefits to wellbeing, wildlife and ease of maintenance.
Planet-friendly gardening Gardeners will be increasingly in tune with nature: inquiries to the RHS about wildlife gardening increased by more than 28% in 2023.
Houseplants reach the next level – Tropical-looking plants and orchids which create a “jungle vibe” have become popular, as has growing up instead of out. Favourites will include epipremnum, sedum morganianum, and old favourites such as string of hearts and spider plants.
Succulents Driven by houseplants and sourcing drought-resistant bedding, interest in succulents is increasing, with commercial landscapers introducing the hardier ones into landscapes. New cultivars are also being released, including aeonium, cotyledon and crassula.
Continue reading...‘Christmas stink’: UK’s traditional festive swims face rising tide of sewage
Lib Dem analysis finds 4,574 hours of sewage has been spilled in festive swimming spots in the last year
Long-established Christmas seaside swimming locations have been flooded with sewage over the last year, prompting concern that swimmers could fall ill.
They would not be able to claim compensation, as Tory MPs earlier this month blocked a Lib Dem amendment that would have allowed anyone who got sick as a result of illegal sewage dumping to claim from water companies.
Continue reading...‘Could be the end’: Tasmanian red handfish to be removed from wild amid marine heatwaves fears
Exemption under federal environment law to allow scientists to collect 25 of the critically endangered ‘walking fish’
Scientists in Tasmania will remove up to half of the island’s “emblematic” red handfish from the wild ahead of expected marine heatwaves deemed an existential threat to their survival.
The critically endangered Tasmanian red handfish population has fallen to between 50 and 100 in the wild, due to the degradation of the seaweed habitat it needs to breed.
Australian Associated Press contributed to this report
Continue reading...CP Daily: Friday December 22, 2023
Registered participants for Washington’s cap-and-trade scheme pick up in Q4
Emitters grow V23 and V24 CCA holdings, as speculators conduct the same in RGGI
Taiwan voluntary carbon exchange sees trades on launch day
Latin American airline group in 400k Brazilian offset deal
VCMI’s new flexibility claim idea could backfire, report warns
BHP, China’s Baowu complete mining car wheel decarbonisation pilot
Emerging markets hedge fund takes strategic stake in VCM financier
ANALYSIS: How carbon capture could help bring Britain back closer to the EU
Jaguar corridor investment fund targets raising up to $130 mln by mid-2024
‘It feels very fun and freeing’: US sees ebike boom after years of false starts
Sales surge as cities and states look to cut pollution from cars and improve options for Americans to get around
After several years of false starts, electric bikes are finally entering the American mainstream, amid booming sales of a multiplying number of models on offer and as more states offer incentives for people to ditch their cars and shift to two, motor-assisted, wheels.
This year could be considered “the year of the ebike”, according to John MacArthur, a transport researcher at Portland State University. Ebike sales in the United States leaped by 269% between 2019 and 2022, with the market size expected to have grown further in 2023, to be worth $2.59bn.
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