The Guardian
Heathrow third runway 'may break government's climate change laws'
Airport expansion plans may breach climate change legislation if other sectors do not make big cuts to emissions, warns Committee on Climate Change
Plans to build a third runway at Heathrow may breach the Government’s own climate change legislation if other sectors do not make big cuts to emissions, an independent advisory body has warned.
The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) said it had “concerns” over how the Department for Transport (DfT) had presented its case for expanding the hub in relation to greenhouse gas emissions.
Continue reading...Government accused of 'dirty tricks' over controversial fracking report
Ministers deliberately delayed a report showing fracking could affect house prices, health and the environment until after a crucial planning decision, documents reveal
Ministers deliberately delayed a controversial fracking report it was being forced to publish until after crucial council decisions on planning permission, according to newly revealed documents.
The documents also show ministers acknowledged they were open to a charge of double standards, having granted local communities the final say over windfarm applications but overruling fracking decisions.
Continue reading...Berries festoon the quarry reserve
Ketton Quarry, Rutland Withered stems of white bryony lash together clumps of little red globes hanging in garlands, and hedges blush with hawthorn berries
The incoming polar air mass and clear night sky produces this year’s heaviest frost. Water crystallises into bristly masses on every surface. The blazing morning sun rapidly scorches most of it away, but in the deepest still hollows of Ketton quarry the thick, white, dusting endures into the afternoon.
Related: Birds and berries: A fertile feast
Continue reading...Arctic ice melt could trigger uncontrollable climate change at global level
Scientists warn increasingly rapid melting could trigger polar ‘tipping points’ with catastrophic consequences felt as far away as the Indian Ocean
Arctic scientists have warned that the increasingly rapid melting of the ice cap risks triggering 19 “tipping points” in the region that could have catastrophic consequences around the globe.
The Arctic Resilience Report found that the effects of Arctic warming could be felt as far away as the Indian Ocean, in a stark warning that changes in the region could cause uncontrollable climate change at a global level.
Continue reading...Minister defends coal industry after call to ban new mines to save reef
Josh Frydenberg says coal ‘vitally important’ after former Great Barrier Reef official calls said its future depended on an end to mining
Josh Frydenberg has defended Australia’s coal industry as “vitally important” days after a former Great Barrier Reef authority chief called for a ban on new mines.
Speaking after a forum on the reef with state and territory ministers in Sydney on Friday, the federal environment minister said other countries would simply “fill the void” if Australia did not export coal.
Continue reading...Hottest year ever – but no mention of climate change by Hammond | Letters
It is staggering that in 2016, the hottest year on record, the chancellor can present a budget that has no mention of climate change (Report, 24 November). Indeed, most policies and spending plans are heading in the wrong direction. We have more money for new roads and fracking keeps its subsidy, but cuts to the local authorities who subsidise bus services.
The freeze on fuel duty is another backward step and shows that the government cares nothing about climate change, air pollution or public health. Last year saw a record number of vehicles on our roads, especially in rural areas where bus services have been decimated. The government could bring us healthier air and less congestion by raising fuel duty and using the money to reverse the devastating cuts to buses. We need to give people the choice of travelling by public transport, walking and cycling, but that can only happen if we make the polluter pay and use the money raised to invest in things that are good for our health and our environment.
Jenny Jones
Green party, House of Lords
Greece among best performers in emission reductions | Letters
The claim that Greece may receive an unfair exemption to increase lignite use (Report, 3 November, theguardian.com) is not justified – it is based on misinterpretations:
1) Greece is not trying to “revive its lignite-based model”. In fact, retirements of fossil fuel plants in 2014-23 amount to 4,095MW, including 2,671MW of lignite capacity.
Continue reading...Beavers given native species status after reintroduction to Scotland
Move hailed as first formal reintroduction of a once native mammal in the UK
Large populations of wild beavers living in the southern and western Highlands of Scotland are to be allowed to expand naturally after ministers granted them protected status.
For the first time since it was hunted to extinction about 300 years ago, the beaver will be officially designated as a native British species,the Scottish environment secretary announced on Thursday.
Continue reading...Obama administration rushes to protect public lands before Trump takes office
Environmental groups hope Utah, Nevada and Grand Canyon will be included in rapid conservation efforts as Trump plans to expand fossil fuel extraction
Barack Obama’s administration is rushing through conservation safeguards for large areas of public land ahead of Donald Trump’s arrival in the White House, presenting a conundrum for the new president’s goal of opening up more places for oil and gas drilling.
Continue reading...Tesco to phase out microbeads from its products by end of 2016
All of the supermarket’s own-brand cosmetics and cleaning products will be free from the tiny plastic pieces within a month
Tesco will have phased out microbeads from all its own brand cosmetics and household cleaning products within a month, it was announced on Thursday.
While UK ministers recently said personal care products containing these tiny pieces of plastic will be banned from sale by the end of 2017, it is not clear yet whether the ban will extend to other types of products that rely on their abrasive properties.
Continue reading...Vote for your favourite wildlife image of the year – in pictures
The Natural History Museum has chosen 25 of the year’s best images from its Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 shortlist. Voting is open until 10 January to find the people’s choice winning photo of the year
• Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London
Continue reading...Protected forests in Europe felled to meet EU renewable targets – report
Europe’s bioenergy plants are burning trees felled from protected conservation areas rather than using forest waste, new report shows
Protected forests are being indiscriminately felled across Europe to meet the EU’s renewable energy targets, according to an investigation by the conservation group Birdlife.
Up to 65% of Europe’s renewable output currently comes from bioenergy, involving fuels such as wood pellets and chips, rather than wind and solar power.
Continue reading...Peru declares state of emergency over deadly forest fires
- Blazes have burnt 12,000 hectares, including five protected natural areas
- Endangered species under threat from fires that ‘took us by surprise’
Peru has declared a state of emergency in seven districts in the north of the country where forest fires have killed two, injured four and burnt nearly 12,000 hectares (30,000 acres) of land, including five protected natural areas.
Wildfires have spread to 11 regions across the country, according to Peru’s civil defence institute, in what scientists say may be the worst drought in more than a decade.
Perth zoo to release numbats into predator-free wild
Release of captive-bred marsupials into 7,800ha Mt Gibson wildlife sanctuary part of ongoing attempt to save critically endangered species in Western Australia
Fourteen numbats will be released into a predator-free wildlife sanctuary 350km north of Perth in an ongoing attempt to save the critically endangered species.
It is the first release of captive-bred numbats into the 7,800ha Mt Gibson sanctuary, which has been declared free of feral cats and foxes following an extensive baiting program.
Continue reading...Direct Action carbon reduction policy running out of steam
With 83% of the fund spent, the government’s central climate policy is almost exhausted, with no further funding committed
The federal government’s Direct Action carbon reduction policy appears to be running out of steam, with participation from industry dropping, the cost of the program rising and the budget for emissions reduction nearly exhausted.
The Clean Energy Regulator announced on Thursday it would pay a further $367m to polluting industries, in return for a commitment for them to reduce carbon emissions by 34.4m tonnes.
Continue reading...Leaves nearing their end still fly the flag
Sandy Bedfordshire The sycamore’s leaves, free to swing in the gappy canopy, seem to dance in a soundless jig
In the past fortnight, winter has descended into the branches of a big sycamore tree. As if they were the hangers-on at a party, a scattering of leaves are still flying the flag, wearing ready-to-drop yellow. Liberated from the constrictions and crowding of their erstwhile neighbours, they are free to swing in the gappy canopy. As the breeze lifts, they are raised up as one into a rocksteady beat.
Never have the leaves looked so alive as when so close to death. The great pointy-edged plates are picked up wonderfully by the wind as with no other tree around, and seem to dance in a soundless jig.
Continue reading...A poor choice of words to describe rich people | Brief letters
If we are not recycling all our plastic waste, largely because many councils cannot deal with all the variations (Just a third of plastic is recycled, survey shows, 22 November), why are the major supermarkets allowed to keep inventing new wrappings consisting of mixed materials and marked “Not currently recyclable”?
Jean Wood
Hythe, Kent
• In 1970, it wasn’t the work, it was the prospect of sex, drugs and rock’n’roll and escaping from home that was the lure (Our friends from the north, G2, 22 November). Now I crave to return to Liverpool, but London-born husband refuses to go somewhere that’s wetter and colder.
Jennifer Henley
London
Drive, baby, drive: Hammond's autumn statement is more grey than green
The money for new roads and freezing fuel tax overwhelms support for electric cars, further fuelling the nation’s air pollution crisis
Drive, baby, drive - that was the message from chancellor Philip Hammond’s autumn budget statement, with more money paving the way to new roads and a freeze on fuel tax.
The problem is the UK already has an air pollution crisis that causes tens of thousands of early deaths – more traffic will only make it worse. Furthermore, rising transport emissions are one of the biggest obstacles to the nation meeting its legal targets for cutting carbon emissions.
Continue reading...Autumn colors across North America – in pictures
As winter finally arrives across the US, we take a look back at the annual dazzling display of color across the continent
Continue reading...UK has second-highest number of deaths from NO2 pollution in Europe
Only Italy has more annual deaths from nitrogen dioxide, according to a report by the European Environment Agency
The UK is second only to Italy in Europe for the highest number of annual deaths from a major air pollutant, a report has found just days after a court gave UK ministers a deadline for drawing up a stronger air quality plan.
The European Environment Agency said the UK had 11,940 premature deaths from nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in 2013. This is down from 14,100 in 2012, but still the second worst in Europe. The toxic gas is mostly caused by diesel vehicles and is linked to lung problems.
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