The Guardian
Mushroom handplanes and wooden surfboards: the surf companies tackling ocean waste – gallery
Ocean waste is a serious problem for companies emotionally and physically connected to the sea, but that connection also gives them a strong incentive to find solutions, said the founder of outdoor clothing company Finisterre in a recent Guardian debate. Here we profile some of the companies doing just that
Continue reading...UN tries to hide involvement in deleting Australia from its climate report
Federal environment department says Unesco sought and was granted heavy redactions in freedom of information documents
The United Nations has tried to cover up its involvement in the Australian government’s successful attempt to have all mentions of the country removed from a report on climate change and world heritage sites, freedom of information documents show.
In May, Unesco published a report with the UN’s environment program, Unep, and the Union of Concerned Scientists about the impact of climate change on world heritage sites, which were also major tourist attractions.
Continue reading...Drone footage shows significant land clearing in Queensland – video
Exclusive: Drone footage and satellite imagery collected by WWF shows what it says is the clearing of thousands of hectares of native vegetation on one property in central Queensland, Corntop. The state is considering tightening native vegetation laws but many farmers, including the owners of Corntop, have been vocal in their opposition
Continue reading...Shifty shades of grey (and yellow) wagtails | Brief letters
I was surprised that Lauren Elkin’s article (Reclaim the streets, Review, 30 July) about women walking and exploring city streets did not mention Rebecca Solnit. The article also prompted a memory of Michael Dibdin’s novel Vendetta, set in Italy, in which he wrote: “The men, old and young, massed in groups, using the public spaces as an extension of their living rooms, but the women Zen saw were always alone and on the move. They had right of passage only, and scurried along as though liable to be challenged at any moment, clutching their wicker shopping baskets like official permits.”
Janet Ruane
Leamington Spa
• Peter Bradshaw (A play of two halves, G2, 28 July) missed one of the major benefits of livestreaming of arts performances in cinemas for those of us not living in London. We can watch high-quality theatre, opera and concerts without the added costs of travelling to London.
Simon Dunning
Duddon, Cheshire
Yorkshire Dales expand into Lancashire in national parks land grab
Extension seen by some as further erosion of Red rose county by white, with fears larger protected area may create pitfalls for farmers and landowners
It is more than 500 years since the House of Lancaster won the ultimate battle of the Wars of the Roses, but the Yorkies have finally wrought their revenge. On Monday, despite protests by farmers in the red rose county, a lovely little corner of Lancashire found itself subsumed by the Yorkshire Dales, after the national park increased in size by 24%.
Under reforms unveiled by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), 1% of the newly enlarged Yorkshire Dales is now actually in Lancashire’s Upper Lune valley, with a much larger chunk snaffled from Cumbria. The park now includes Leck Fell, near Kirkby Lonsdale, which hitherto stood proudly as Lancashire’s highest point, providing extensive views towards Morecambe Bay, the Forest of Bowland – and the Lake District, which itself expanded by 3% on Monday under the Defra plans.
Continue reading...Luc Hoffmann obituary
Luc Hoffmann, who has died aged 93, was one of the last surviving greats of 20th-century nature conservation. As co-founder of the World Wildlife Fund, along with men such as Julian Huxley, Peter Scott and Max Nicholson, he helped turn conservation from a parochial, insular pursuit into a truly international movement.
In the era following the end of the second world war, which saw an unprecedented loss of natural environments and their wildlife, Hoffmann fought to ensure that many unique and precious locations and species were saved from oblivion. These included the Camargue, between Arles in France and the Mediterranean sea, and the Coto Doñana, on the Atlantic coast of Andalucía, in Spain.
Continue reading...Caribbean island launches plan to remove invasive rats and goats
Mongabay: Redonda’s invasive black rats and long-horned goats have transformed the once-forested island into a ‘moonscape’, conservationists say
The remote Caribbean island of Redonda, part of Antigua and Barbuda, is home to numerous species of plants and animals found nowhere else on earth. It is also home to invasive black rats and non-native goats that are wiping out the island’s native, rare wildlife, conservationists say.
To help the island’s flora and fauna, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda is now initiating a plan to remove all goats and rats from the island. The Redonda Restoration Program program has been formed by the Antigua & Barbuda Government and the Environmental Awareness Group (EAG) in collaboration with organizations like Fauna & Flora International, British Mountaineering Council, Island Conservation and Wildlife Management International Ltd.
Continue reading...French inquiry confirms widespread irregularities in diesel emissions data
10-month investigation finds a large number of diesel cars emit much higher levels of pollution than their manufacturers claim
French investigators have found a large number of diesel cars emit much higher levels of pollution than their European manufacturers claim.
The claims were revealed by France’s environment ministry after a 10-month investigation ordered following the “Dieselgate” scandal over Volkswagen’s use of software to cheat emissions tests.
City of London puts the brakes on new diesel vehicle purchases
BusinessGreen: Public authority says it will no longer buy new diesel vehicles when older models need replacing
The City of London Corporation has banned the purchase or hire of diesel vehicles for its business.
The public authority, which has a fleet of more than 300 vehicles, announced on Friday it will now no longer lease or purchase diesel models when older models need replacing.
Continue reading...World weather: 2016's early record heat gives way to heavy rains
The record-breaking heat of the first six months has turned to severe seasonal flooding across Asia in one of the strongest monsoon seasons in many years
The record-breaking worldwide heat of the first six months of 2016 has turned to abnormally severe seasonal flooding across Asia with hundreds of people dying in China, India, Nepal and Pakistan and millions forced from their homes.
In India, the Brahmaputra river, which is fed by Himalayan snowmelt and monsoon rains, has burst its banks in many places and has been at danger levels for weeks. Hundreds of villages have been flooded in Bihar, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and other northern states.
Continue reading...A climate scientist and economist made big bucks betting on global warming | Dana Nuccitelli
Chris Hope and James Annan took £2,000 from two GWPF advisors who were foolish enough to bet against global warming
Climate scientist James Annan and climate economist Chris Hope made a nice sum this year for a bet they made on global warming in 2008. As Hope tells the story:
The record warmth of 2015 just made me £1,334 richer. While the extra cash is a nice bonus, it sadly demonstrates that the atmospheric dice remain loaded towards increasing climate change.
So, how did I turn increasing temperatures into cash? About five years ago I was at a conference in Cambridge where most of the participants were sceptical about the influence of humans on the climate. I took the microphone and asked if any of them would care to make a £1,000 bet with me about whether 2015 would be hotter than 2008. Two brave souls, Ian Plimer and Sir Alan Rudge, agreed.
Continue reading...Cold spring delays British blackberry crop
Citizen science survey has received only 31 reports of first ripe blackberries around the country so far
Blackberry crumble is not on the menu yet as a cold spring has delayed the ripening of the traditional British fruit, wildlife experts said.
The Woodland Trust has only received 31 reports of ripe blackberries so far to its Nature’s Calendar survey, in which members of the public record the signs of the changing seasons.
Continue reading...Court rules in Santos's favour over coal seam gas water treatment plant in Pilliga
CSG opponents handed legal setback as land and environment court decides plant does not need a separate approval
Opponents of coal seam gas in New South Wales have had a setback, as a court ruled Santos’s CSG wastewater treatment plant near the Pilliga state forest did not need to undergo a full environmental impact statement.
Justice Timothy Moore of the NSW land and environment court ruled the treatment plant was part of its wider coal seam gas exploration, and so did not require its own approval under broader state legislation.
Continue reading...Five thoughts on the 2016 Ride London
How some crashes are caused by idiocy, and why it’s the family cycling event which is the most important one.
Ride London, the capital’s weekend of cycle events – now expanded to three days – is in its fourth year. And for another time, I’ve taken part in what is officially called the Ride London Surrey 100, a vast, 100-mile closed-roads sportive, which this year saw up to 27,000 people take part.
As is also traditional for the Bike Blog, below are my instant (I’m writing this in the event press tent, still clad in my clammy bike clothes) thoughts on what is the UK’s biggest cycling extravaganza.
Continue reading...Britons urged to help chart spread of thriving butterfly species
Campaign asks wildlife enthusiasts to visit local woodland to record number of speckled woods and other butterflies
Wildlife lovers are being asked to spend 15 minutes in a wood this week to chart the spread of the speckled wood (Pararge aegeria), Britain’s most successful butterfly.
The speckled wood is one of a handful of species that appear to be benefitting from climate change, recently colonising East Anglia, the Midlands and much of northern England, increasing in abundance by 84% over the past 40 years. The southern population has expanded northwards at an average of four miles a year since the 1970s.
Continue reading...Woman rescued from car in Maryland floods after men form human chain – video
Four men brave fast-flowing, waist-deep water rushing down the main street of Ellicott City to save a woman trapped in her car. Local business owner Sara Arditti posted the footage to Facebook after her husband Dave took part in the daring rescue.
Continue reading...Oh we do like to be beside the riverside
Burnsall, Yorkshire Dales It takes a ferocious effort to warm the Wharfe, but today the sun rises to the challenge
The mini-heatwave has been trailed in the news for days, and by mid-morning Burnsall has become Burnsall-on-Sea. Leeds and Bradford are a good two-hour drive to any ocean, so on days like this the banks of the river Wharfe oblige that English instinct to drive somewhere and slowly singe in the sun when the weather finally permits.
Burnsall is hotter than Barcelona today. The beautiful village green, playing the role of promenade, is covered in prone bodies marinating in sunscreen, while parked cars lining the banks of the river warm into ovens. Kids play on sandbanks and paddle in the shallows while swallows and swifts inscribe the air above.
Continue reading...Windfarms unfairly blamed for South Australia's high energy prices
Attacks on subsidised clean energy in a warning to the rest of the country about what could happen if governments invest in renewables
Last week Australia watched as a concerted campaign waged in sections of the media went bust.
For two straight weeks a barrage of articles were published seeking to primarily blame unusually high electricity prices in South Australia on the state’s reliance on wind.
Continue reading...Public asked to help chart butterfly thriving in warmer UK climate
The Butterfly Conservation asks people on woodland walks to help count population and spread of the speckled wood
People going out for a walk in the woods are being asked to look out for a butterfly that is on the rise because of climate change.
Experts want the public to help them chart the spread of the speckled wood butterfly, which has seen a 71% increase in its distribution and a 84% rise in its numbers in the last 40 years.
Continue reading...100 years ago: The first sweet scent of harvest
Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 5 August 1916
Surrey, August 3
There is more straw to the wheat and oats on the later lands toward our southern border than appeared a fortnight ago to be possible. The crop has shot upward as it ripened; a narrow path that runs through one wheatfield is now walled almost breast-high, and the growth is so strong that the light breeze sings through the long yellowing stalks without perceptibly bending them. A piece of oats is cut, and brings with it the first sweet scent of harvest. Some young rabbits, playing a little away from their burrow this morning, found more space to scamper in, and a host of sparrows was at work among the laid corn. We have had little dew; the nights have been almost as warm as the days.
Swallows and martins, which had begun to pack, are as busy, each in his own way, as in the earlier summer days, for at evening small winged insects swarm nearly everywhere, but mostly in the hot, low lanes, where the nut bushes droop under the sun, and the flowers dropping from the brambles reveal a promise of much fruit. On the roadsides the mountain ash is hung thickly with berries already red ripe; there is full colour now on the heaths, yellow and cream, and even more down by the side of the stream, where the loosestrife is in the best of its bloom. Many common plants have seeded; the finches were flitting in and out this evening, dropping a wing feather now and then, and one chaffinch, playing in the white dust of a chalk road, was quite disposed to make friends.
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