The Guardian
Great Barrier Reef scientists confirm largest die-off of corals recorded
Higher sea temperatures have led to the worst bleaching event on record, new study finds, with coral predicted to take up to 15 years to recover
A new study has found that higher water temperatures have ravaged the Great Barrier Reef, causing the worst coral bleaching recorded by scientists.
In the worst-affected area, 67% of a 700km swath in the north of the reef lost its shallow-water corals over the past eight to nine months, the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies based at James Cook University study found.
Continue reading...Seeing the wood for the trees in Sheffield | Letters
The short answer is no (Is this a war on trees? Notebook, 22 November). As a several decades-long member of the Woodland Trust, I value mature trees and the recreation of ancient woodland, but in respect to Sheffield’s tree-culling, Patrick Barkham has given only a one-sided story, that of the “save all trees” fanatics who forced the council’s hand. In our leafy suburbs many of the trees are over 100 years old and, yes, they do add many benefits to the environment. However, many are huge, forest varieties, unsuitable for the streets in which they were planted. Thus some obstruct pavements and roadways, and their roots have caused ground upheavals of 20cm or more. Some are also reaching old age, with a consequent risk of falling branches.
Looking at the wider picture, it thus makes very good sense to cut these down and replant with more suitable varieties as part of the road and pavement renewal scheme, to avoid later more expensive replacement after they have damaged the new roads and pavements. I will be sad to see them go – it’s only a selected few – but very glad to get rid of the potholed roads and lumpy pavements with their tripping hazards. And my children will benefit from the new trees as they mature, as part of a planned tree-management scheme.
Michael Miller
Sheffield
Love, death and rewilding – how two clothing tycoons saved Patagonia
Alongside her husband, Doug, Kris McDivitt Tompkins bought up vast swathes of Patagonia to save it from developers. Now, a year after Doug’s sudden death, she explains how their shared vision is close to reality
She was young, spirited and rich. It was the 1970s and Kris McDivitt seemed to come straight from California central casting; the glamorous ski-racing daughter of an oil-industry man who made her fortune as the first CEO of what was to become the billion-dollar outdoor clothing company Patagonia.
And then in 1993, aged 43, Kris McDivitt unexpectedly fell in love with Doug Tompkins, the adventure-junkie rock-climber and deep green environmentalist who had co-founded not one but two giant outdoor-clothing companies, North Face and Esprit.
Continue reading...John Gregory obituary
Freshwater fish are out of sight and out of mind for most of the British public. And so are the dedicated band of fishery scientists who look after a resource that indicates the health of our rivers and lakes, and supports angling. Such an individual was my friend John Gregory, who has died aged 67, after a lifelong career in fisheries management.
John was born in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. His father, Tom, was an engineer at Rolls-Royce in Derby and his mother, Jenny, worked in the local hospital. After graduating in biological sciences from the University of East Anglia, and getting married to Lynden Stratten in 1971, John spent two years as a fisheries officer in the Solomon Islands.
Continue reading...EU in 'Mexican standoff' over independent checks on car emissions
Leaked documents reveal EU pledge to carry out tests deleted from draft as governments come under pressure from carmakers
Plans for independent checks of how much pollution new cars emit are being killed off by EU member states, according to leaked documents seen by the Guardian.
After the Dieselgate scandal, the European commission proposed empowering its respected science wing, the Joint Research Centre, to inspect vehicles separately from national authorities, which are paid by the car manufacturers they regulate.
Continue reading...Shrinking glaciers cause state-of-emergency drought in Bolivia
Climate News Network: Three main dams supplying water to La Paz and El Alto are no longer fed by Andean glaciers and have nearly run dry
The government of Bolivia, a landlocked country in the heart of South America, has been forced to declare a state of emergency as it faces its worst drought for at least 25 years.
Much of the water supply to La Paz, the highest capital city in the world, and the neighbouring El Alto, Bolivia’s second largest city, comes from the glaciers in the surrounding Andean mountains.
Continue reading...Scientists rate Canadian climate policies | James Byrne and Catherine Potvin
Canada has made significant progress in its climate policy, but has further yet to go
The Paris Agreement was ratified globally in November. This is unprecedented amongst international agreements for how quickly it has come into force. The Agreement allows each country to decide how it will tackle climate change, and requires as of 2020, regular reporting on progress. Countries of the world have officially embarked in a global race to implement ambitious climate policies that contribute to reducing green-house gas emissions at the planetary-scale.
This process is not unlike the Olympics games where countries get together to compare their strengths and performance. If Canada wants to be a medalist in 2020, domestic climate policies must rapidly be adopted to accelerate the low carbon transition. In this context, Sustainable Canada Dialogues (SCD) – a network of 60+ scholars from across Canada – produced Rating Canada’s Climate Policy; a progress report on Canada’s climate actions over the past year. We analysed climate decisions made in Ottawa in 2016 in relationship to the 10 policy orientations that we proposed previously in our position paper entitled Acting on Climate Change: Solutions from Canadian Scholars.
Continue reading...China risks wasting $490bn on new coal plants, say campaigners
Carbon Tracker says many plants running at overcapacity but China reluctant to wean itself off coal, fearing unemployment and unrest
China could waste as much as half a trillion dollars on unnecessary new coal-fired power stations, a climate campaign group has said, arguing that the world’s top carbon polluter already has more than enough such facilities.
China’s rise to become the world’s second largest economy was largely powered by cheap, dirty coal. But as growth slows, the country has had a difficult time weaning itself off the fuel, even as the pollution it causes wreaks havoc on the environment and public health.
Continue reading...Electricity from coal should be phased out within 10 years – Senate report
Coal-fired power plants should be closed in orderly fashion to ensure energy supply is not disrupted
A Senate report has recommended that Australia should move completely away from coal-generated electricity within 10 years, citing economic factors as the primary drivers.
It comes about a month after the unplanned closure of Hazelwood, Australia’s dirtiest coal station, and before the expected unplanned closure of several others around the country.
Continue reading...Climber’s view of a horse chestnut tree
Stamford, Lincolnshire Rock you grasp, fighting its cold indifference. Trees you take hold of, hoist yourself into, embrace, balance on
At the end of last winter I noticed this tree: a slim, high horse chestnut on the edge of my town. In summer its leaves gave it an hourglass shape. September ignited it. October, I showed my daughter its spiky conker capsules and the flawless autumn-shine of what was inside. In November’s first weeks I saw more of the sky through its branches each visit, its presence emaciating, the clarity of its skeleton crisping with every wintering day.
Continue reading...Rare miniature monkeys stolen from Symbio wildlife park – video
Miniature monkeys at Symbio wildlife park in Helensburgh, south of Sydney. Three pygmy marmosets, including one that was only four weeks old, were stolen late last week. Two Sydney brothers have pleaded guilty to transporting and intending to sell them. Two of the three monkeys have been recovered but a third, 10-year-old Gomez, is still missing
• Sydney brothers plead guilty over theft of rare miniature monkeys
Continue reading...South Pacific island ditches fossil fuels to run entirely on solar power
Ta’u island in American Samoa will rely on solar panels and Tesla batteries as it does away with diesel generators
A remote tropical island has catapulted itself headlong into the future by ditching diesel and powering all homes and businesses with the scorching South Pacific sun.
Using more than 5,000 solar panels and 60 Tesla power packs the tiny island of Ta’u in American Samoa is now entirely self-sufficient for its electricity supply – though the process of converting has been tough and pitted with delays.
100 years ago: A touch of green on the lower plough-field
Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 2 December 1916
Surrey, November 30
A night frost made everything appear in the early morning as though it had been covered with a light fall of very fine snow. But when this melted with a slight shift of wind a touch of green came across one of the lower plough-fields. It is not a large stretch of land – the farmer calls it “a patch of corn,” – harrowed and sown, broadcast by hand while the surface was rather soft for a drill. There is always pleasure in the sight of these first shoots: you note their coming from one side just where the faint light of the sun strikes about noon, then cross to the other side and wait to see birds fly over from the meadow, where the tops of the grass here and there have withered to a dull brown. A farm hand is lifting swedes in the turnip field and trimming off the green tops with a bill, packing them in sacks for market. When this old labourer pauses for a rest he chops a root asunder, tosses half to a heifer that has come inquisitively across from the barnyard, cuts off a slice for himself, nibbles, pulls up his sheepskin gloves, and sets to work again. The afternoon turns grey and raw, and the wind is mournful in the bare elms. While a few small flakes are tossed in various directions a missel thrush starts his first song from the extreme branch of a pear tree by the orchard. It is but a few notes at a time with long pauses between, but it enlivens us all just here about the farm.
Danish supermarket selling expired food opens second branch
Wefood in Copenhagen has proved a huge success as food waste becomes hot topic worldwide
It may be past its sell-by date, but for many Danes it’s a tasty proposition: surplus food being sold in a Copenhagen supermarket has proved so popular that a second store has been opened.
After launching in the district of Amager earlier this year, the Wefood project attracted a long queue as it opened a second branch in the trendy neighbourhood of Nørrebro, this month.
Continue reading...The ethical guide to the not-so green Swedes
Does the Nordic nation deserve its reputation for sustainability?
It’s impossible not to feel a bit envious of Nordic nations. Norway, Denmark and Sweden were so accomplished at recycling that by 2014 they had no need for landfill. Just like Nordic prisons, the landfills are empty. Now Denmark even has hygge, a system for living that combines cosiness and chunky knits with sustainability, and an enviable design aesthetic. What’s not to like?
But Sweden normally gets the gold star. One of the first countries to implement a heavy tax on fossil fuels in 1991, it now sources almost half its electricity from renewable resources. The ruling coalition (Green and Social Democrat) has just announced plans to slash VAT on repairs to bicycles, clothes and shoes from 25% to 12%, in a big effort to drive sustainability.
Continue reading...Office envy: are these the world's most sustainable workplaces? – in pictures
From treadmill desks and foam flushing toilets to solar powered offices and apps allowing employees to control temperature and light – a selection of the world’s most sustainable workplaces
Continue reading...Costa Coffee launches in-store cup recycling scheme
UK’s biggest coffee chain will take paper cups from any brand at recycling points in all of its stores
The UK’s largest coffee chain Costa Coffee is to launch a recycling scheme in all of its stores to ensure that as many as possible of its own takeaway cups – and those from its competitors – are recycled.
In a move designed to reduce the millions of used disposable cups that end up in landfill, the chain’s customers will be encouraged to leave or return them to a Costa store, where they will be stored on a bespoke rack. Costa’s waste partner, Veolia, will transport them to specialist waste processing plants which have the capacity to recycle takeaway coffee cups – potentially as many as 30m a year from Costa alone.
Continue reading...A solitary little egret is an elegant sentinel on the muddy creek
Poppit Sands, Cardigan Often I encounter him fishing here, with an oystercatcher or redshank for company, watching acutely, spearing for small fish and crustaceans.
On ebbing or flowing tides, the muddy rhine that curves behind the dunes is a fascinating place. This time of year the estuary throngs with geese. Plangent calls tug at your emotions as they pass in V-formations overhead. Occasionally – all too seldom nowadays – a curlew’s bubbling call pitches to crescendo, then cascades down, the massed choirs of thousands a thing of the past.
What memory might the few survivors hold of legions so drastically dwindled away? I harbour a strong belief in the intelligent connection between living creatures, have seen it manifest time and again in the natural world. It gives rise to some odd liaisons and intriguing behaviour.
Continue reading...Renewables levy cap on consumer energy bills 'exceeded by £1bn'
Official review finds failures in Levy Control Framework and says overshoot will have to be paid for by households
Former energy ministers have contributed to an overspend of more than £1bn on renewable power subsidies that consumers will be forced to pay for, a government report has said.
The review by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, published on Friday, says “political unwillingness” to curb support for solar and wind power projects has contributed to the cap on green energy subsidies being breached.
Continue reading...What’s wrong with the word people? | Brief letters
According to the very first words in your front-page story (Chancellor to crack down on letting fees, 23 November) “millions of families” are to be offered relief from spurious letting charges. Funny, I hadn’t realised that the measure was targeted only at families – I guess this must mean that people living alone, house-sharers and childless couples will have to go on paying the fees? Can you please make an effort not to bandy about the word “families” as though it were a synonym for “people”?
Rob Sykes
Oxford
• I was leaning on a gate the other day, looking at the view, trying to figure out why November can often seem the best autumn month. Paul Evans expressed these feelings so beautifully (Country Diary, 23 November). Wonderful!
Nick Spencer
Kington, Herefordshire