The Guardian

Therese Coffey claims 5p charge is not warranted as industry and chains are already doing enough voluntarily to reduce waste

Ministers have rejected calls for a charge on the 2.5bn disposable coffee cups thrown away each year because they believe coffee shop chains are already taking enough action to cut down waste.

Therese Coffey told the Liberal Democrats, who have urged the government to impose a 5p charge similar to that levied on plastic bags, that industry and chains were already doing enough voluntarily.

After years of battling psychological demons, Jake Dorothy took the radical decision to go and work in an elephant sanctuary

One of the most significant moments in my life came one afternoon about five months ago, when I was volunteering in an elephant sanctuary in Thailand. I was tidying the park as part of my duties when I came across a beautiful, solitary elephant with a badly deformed front leg. Concerned as to why she was alone and curious about her physical health, I asked a guide.

Kabu was 26 years old, like me. She had been rescued about a year before but sadly never settled with a herd. She had been used for the illegal logging trade since infancy, pulling huge weights up and down steep mountain ravines. During one of these tortuous journeys, a log came loose, rolled into her and badly broke her leg. Forced to continue working, her injury never healed. When Kabu was finally rescued she was weak and traumatised. When she arrived at the park she had tears rolling from her eyes – from relief, said the guide.

The organisation’s stance puts it at odds with its members and conservationists and misses the opportunity to be the decisive voice in the debate

MPs will on Monday debate a ban on driven grouse shooting following a petition signed by more than 120,000 people. But there will be one missing signature that could have swayed the argument decisively behind a ban: that of the RSPB.

As a former employee and lifelong member I have become increasingly frustrated with the society’s desire to protect hen harriers by arguing for new laws to licence moors but not supporting a ban. It is a position which I strongly believe many of its 1 million-plus members now also find untenable.

Climate denial often centers around myths about the importance of coal in alleviating poverty

A dozen international poverty and development organizations published a report last week on the impact of building new coal power plants in countries where a large percentage of the population lacks access to electricity. The report’s conclusions are strikingly counter-intuitive: on the whole, building coal power plants does little to help the poor, and often it can actually make them poorer.

Delivering electricity to those in energy poverty is certainly important. For example, household air pollution killed 4.3 million people globally in 2012; many of those lives could be saved and health improved with the use of electric stoves to replace burning wood or charcoal. However, the question remains whether coal is the best way to deliver that electricity.

Gelt Woods, Cumbria The modern river has sunk down into a narrow channel, carving the rock into strange shapes like rolling muscles or slumped candle wax

The sides of the river Gelt glow with beech leaves, flat ovals of burnt orange sticking to wet ledges. We take the footpath into the woods at Low Geltbridge, crossing the little Powterneth beck where it joins the main course. Vines of honeysuckle drape the trees, their scarlet berries vivid in the flat light. Acorns pummel our shoulders and lie splattered across the path. On hearing voices, a dipper skims downstream.

As the trees lose their cover it becomes clearer how the Gelt twists its way along the bottom of this U-shaped gorge. The very first river here ran as meltwater under ice, carrying with it boulders and debris as it funnelled its way down to the Solway, scouring out the bedrock known as the Triassic St Bees sandstone. During the last ice age there was a massive confluence in this area, with Scottish glaciers moving south, those forming the Tyne Gap lumbering west and those creating the Eden valley pushing north.

Global study reveals huge number of children breathing toxic fumes more than six times over safe limits, while billions are affected by air pollution that exceeds guidelines

Three hundred million of the world’s children live in areas with extreme air pollution, where toxic fumes are more than six times international guidelines, according to new research by Unicef.

The study, using satellite data, is the fist to make a global estimate of exposure and indicates that almost 90% of the world’s children - two billion - live in places where outdoor air pollution exceeds World Health Organisation (WHO) limits.

The ban on diesel cars in Athens and Thessaloniki has been lifted and the price of heating oil has tripled. Hard-pressed Greeks have turned to burning logs – and other things

Greece’s financial recession is leaving its footprint on the environment. This follows twenty years of huge improvements in Greece’s air pollution. While most European countries struggle with the consequences of failure to control exhaust pollution from diesel vehicles, Greece benefitted from long-standing bans on diesel cars in the two biggest cities, Athens and Thessaloniki.

This allowed the country to reap the full benefits of technologies to control petrol exhaust, without these being offset by the poor performance of diesel cars. As a consequence nitrogen dioxide from traffic approximately halved alongside Greek roads between 1996 and 2006, in contrast to the lack of improvement elsewhere in Europe.

Exclusive: Analysis of government review shows destructive fishing practices would rise and very few fishers would benefit

Proposals to allow increased fishing in Australian waters would generate minuscule economic benefits to only a handful of licence holders, according to a new analysis.

The Ocean Science Council of Australia, an independent group of researchers, has criticised a government review that recommended significant cuts to marine reserves. The group says the review would expand the use of destructive fishing practices.

So Heathrow’s good for business (Report, 26 October)? Heathrow Airport Holdings is owned by FGP TopCo, an international consortium led by Ferrovial, a Spanish Company based in Madrid, in partnership with Qatar Holdings, Caisse de Depot du Quebec, the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, and the China Investment Corporation, among others. Heathrow Holdings has previously admitted it makes more from being a shopping mall than from the flying business and now the taxpayer is likely to be told to stump up £5bn-£10bn for added road and rail infrastructure, according to former transport minister Stephen Hammond.

And that’s before the crucial debate on pollution and health. Heathrow has never taken responsibility for the dangerous pollution caused by the stacking of aircraft waiting to land and anxious to shed surplus fuel over hapless residents below. Heathrow must come clean; this whole affair is a dirty business.
Anna Ford
London

How to live off the land without doing a complete downshift

When Monty Don recently put his wellington boot into self-sufficiency, writing in Gardeners’ World magazine that living off the land was a “non-starter”, I was surprised. I didn’t believe anybody actually followed John Seymour’s 1976 Complete Guide to Self-Sufficiency to the letter any more. That’s the type of all-consuming, no-consuming living off the land that leads – in Monty’s eyes – to failure, bad breath and possibly malnutrition.

But if the good life is still your dream, diggersanddreamers.org.uk lists UK communities that are looking for members. These communities are outstanding examples of permaculture – sustainable, self-sufficient agricultural ecosystems – and provide inspiration for those of us who don’t subscribe to the hard labour of the full downshift but do fancy trying “self-provisioning”, usually defined as growing part of your diet yourself.

Sonar equipment to be positioned off Port Stephens in ‘nursery for juvenile great whites’ will be able to send information to lifesavers via SMS messages

A new shark detection technology named “clever buoy” will be trialled off the coast of Port Stephens, 200km north of Sydney, in the hope it will give insight into the spate of recent attacks on the New South Wales north coast.

The collaboration with Australian company Shark Mitigation Systems will use sonar technology to detect the distinctive movement patterns made by sharks and transmit the information to local beach authorities via SMS messages.

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk addresses an audience in Los Angeles as he unveils his company’s newest energy product - solar roof tiles. Musk outlined the benefits of an “integrated future” which would allow consumers to charge electric vehicles with renewable solar power, showcasing the tiles on homes once used as the set for US drama Desperate Housewives

• Tesla boss Elon Musk unveils solar roof tiles

Musk showcases new energy products to illustrate benefits of merging his firm with solar installer SolarCity

The Tesla chief executive, Elon Musk, has unveiled new energy products aimed at illustrating the benefits of combining his firm, which makes electric cars and batteries, with solar installer SolarCity.

The billionaire entrepreneur showed off solar roof tiles that eliminate the need for traditional panels and a longer-lasting home battery, which Tesla calls the Powerwall, aimed at realising his vision of selling a fossil fuel-free lifestyle to consumers.

Strathnairn, Highlands I counted 18 of them coming in to feed on the mixed grain we spread out on two ground-level bird tables below the apple trees

I was up at first light the other day, listening for the ritual morning call of birds flying low across the field from the river Nairn. Their croaking sounded like moorhens, but I knew that these would be the mandarin ducks coming in to feed in the garden. These are the birds that bred in this part of the strath earlier this year – only about 15 pairs have been recorded in the whole of the Highlands.

The females, as usual, led the way, the males close behind. Aix galericulata have one of the highest wing/weight ratios of the ducks, and their relatively long wings and tail give them great manoeuvrability. When the flock reached the paddock, you could see these remarkable wings come into their own, as the birds twisted and turned around the tall beech and sycamore trees.

A decade after the groundbreaking Planet Earth, the BBC’s six-part sequel looks set to be even more spectacular. Here are some of its stars

At least three birds were found this week and brought to Gibsons Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, showing no energy to rejoin their ‘snowstorm’ of birds

After a long migration, a few snow geese in British Columbia, Canada, just needed a little break.

At least three birds were found on the ground this week and were brought to Gibsons Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, according to the Coast Reporter. Irene Davy from the centre said she knows of at least three or four more that may also be brought in for care.

Supporters of coal projects want transparency and proper use of charity status – but only when they support their arguments

You might have noticed that all of a sudden, Australians are supposed to be appalled by foreign interests getting in the way of us digging up as much coal as we want, thanks very much.

Last weekend the Australian newspaper started running stories based on a “revelation” from the inbox of John Podesta, the chairman of Democratic nominee for president Hillary Clinton’s election campaign.

International Maritime Organisation agrees sulphur emissions cap but is condemned for delaying measures to cut greenhouse gases

The world’s leading shipping organisation has been condemned by environmental campaigners and MEPs for its failure to urgently tackle the industry’s impact on climate change, after it agreed only to a partial reduction in harmful emissions from ships.

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO), meeting in London, agreed to cap emissions of sulphur from ships, which are a cause of air and sea pollution, but on greenhouse gases agreed only to some further monitoring and a fresh round of negotiations. Potential measures to reduce greenhouse gases have been delayed to 2023, which campaigners said was too late.

The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox

Prince of Wales says soil health is of ‘critical importance’ as he joins initiative to keep carbon locked in the world’s soils

Prince Charles urged governments, individuals and businesses to take greater care of the world’s soils as part of an initiative aimed at keeping carbon locked in soil, rather than escaping into the atmosphere and causing global warming.

The “4 per 1000” project is a pledge to reduce the amount of carbon leaked from soils by 0.4% a year, which would be enough to halt the rise of carbon dioxide levels in the air. Nearly 180 countries have signed up to the initiative that was set up by the French government as part of its efforts to make the Paris agreement on climate change, signed last year, a success.