The Guardian
Zac Goldsmith backs fossil fuel divestment movement
Tory London mayoral candidate supports pulling City Hall’s fund out of oil, coal and gas companies if elected
Zac Goldsmith has backed the fossil fuel divestment movement and said he would pursue efforts to pull London City Hall’s pension fund out of investments in oil, coal and gas if he was elected mayor.
The Conservative mayoral candidate’s support for moving the £4.8bn London Pension Authority Fund (LPFA) out of fossil fuel investments is at odds with Boris Johnson, who last year rejected a motion calling for divestment.
Continue reading...European commission plans to relicense 'carcinogenic' weedkiller
Leaked proposal on glyphosate seen by the Guardian has few substantive changes from the one that was blocked last month
The European commission is planning to relicense a controversial weedkiller that the World Health Organisation believes probably causes cancer in people, despite opposition from several countries and the European parliament.
In 2015 the International Agency for Research on Cancer – WHO’s cancer agency – said that glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide made by agriculture company Monsanto and used widely with GM crops around the world, was classified as probably carcinogenic to humans.
Continue reading...What is behind the diesel cars emissions scandal?
All 93 vehicles tested in Germany and UK exceeded EU-set limits on air quality and pollution in real-world situation
The air pollution scandal that hit front pages around the world last year with VW’s admission it had been cheating emissions tests has got much bigger.
A UK government-sponsored trial launched in the wake of the VW revelations has found that every single one of the diesel-fuelled vehicles tested had higher emissions of nitrogen oxide pollutants than permitted under EU laws. For some models emissions were 12 times the legal limit.
Continue reading...Study reveals greater climate impacts of 2C temperature rise
Analysis of difference between 1.5C and 2C of warming finds extra 0.5C would mean longer heatwaves, greater droughts and threats to crops and coral reefs
A difference of half a degree centigrade may be barely noticeable day to day, but the difference between 1.5C and 2C of global warming is a shift into a new, more dangerous climate regime, according to the first comprehensive analysis of the issue.
The scientists found the additional 0.5C would lead to longer heatwaves, greater droughts and, in the tropics, reduced crop yield and all coral reefs being put in grave danger.
Continue reading...Vietnam investigates mass fish deaths
Authorities are looking into whether pollution is to blame for a spate of mysterious mass fish deaths along the country’s central coast
Vietnam said on Thursday it was investigating whether pollution is to blame for a spate of mysterious mass fish deaths along the country’s central coast after huge amounts of marine life washed ashore in recent days.
Tonnes of fish, including rare species which live far offshore and in the deep, have been discovered on beaches along the country’s central coastal provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Tri, Quang Binh and Hue.
Continue reading...New Zealand conservationists celebrate rare parrot breeding success
The kākāpō has had its most successful breeding season since conservation efforts rescued it from the brink of extinction in the 1970s
The world’s heaviest parrot, a critically endangered bird that only lives in a remote part of New Zealand, has had its most successful breeding season since conservation efforts began more than two decades ago.
Thirty-seven kākāpō chicks are currently surviving, providing a much-needed boost to the population of 123 adult kākāpō which live on predator-free islands.
Continue reading...Mourning Loomis Reef - the heart of the Great Barrier Reef's coral bleaching disaster
Corals on Loomis Reef are dying as one veteran scientist lets the “veil” of academia drop to reveal anger and frustration
Stretching for half a kilometre or so, Loomis Reef is the place where the alarm bells started going off.
Prof Justin Marshall has been diving this reef, about 270km north of Cairns, for 30 years. Right now he is, to say the least, angry.
Continue reading...More than 1,000 species have been moved due to human impact
Animals and plants are increasingly being ‘translocated’ from their native areas to survive effects of climate change, poaching and habitat loss, says top conservationist
More than 1,000 species have had to be relocated because of climate change, poaching and humans taking their habitat, according to a top conservationist.
Dr Axel Moehrenschlager said cases of “translocation”, such as India’s plan to relocate tigers to Cambodia or South Africa’s scheme to airlift rhinos to Australia, have increased exponentially in recent decades and will become more common due to human pressures driving species closer to extinction.
Continue reading...EU dropped climate policies after BP threat of oil industry 'exodus'
Oil giant warned industry would pull out of EU if laws to cut pollution and speed clean energy take up were passed, letter obtained by the Guardian reveals
The EU abandoned or weakened key proposals for new environmental protections after receiving a letter from a top BP executive which warned of an exodus of the oil industry from Europe if the proposals went ahead.
In the 10-page letter, the company predicted in 2013 that a mass industry flight would result if laws to regulate tar sands, cut power plant pollution and accelerate the uptake of renewable energy were passed, because of the extra costs and red tape they allegedly entailed.
Continue reading...More than half US population lives amid dangerous air pollution, report warns
American Lung Association’s ‘state of the air’ report finds 166 million Americans are living in unhealthy ozone or particle pollution with serious health risks
More than half of the US population lives amid potentially dangerous air pollution, with national efforts to improve air quality at risk of being reversed, a new report has warned.
A total of 166 million Americans live in areas that have unhealthy levels of either ozone or particle pollution, according to the American Lung Association, raising their risk of lung cancer, asthma attacks, heart disease, reproductive problems and other ailments.
Continue reading...Goldman prize winner: 'I will never be defeated by the mining companies'
Maxima Acuña de Chaupe has won a major environmental prize for defending her land from the biggest gold-mining project in South America
Environmental activism may not have been what Maxima Acuña de Chaupe had in mind when in 2011 she refused to sell her 60-acre plot of land to the biggest gold-mining project in South America.
She did not belong to any movement or organisation but she doggedly held on to her land in spite of her claims of beatings, death threats, intimidation and court proceedings, becoming a symbol of resistance in her native Peru and above all its northern region of Cajamarca which rejected the $4.8bn Conga gold mine after five demonstrators were killed in clashes with the police in 2012.
Continue reading...Tesco changes rules on Kenya green beans to cut food waste
Relaxing of specifications on fine green beans is expected to save more than 135 tonnes of edible crops being wasted each year, supermarket says
Tesco is to relax rules on fine green beans imported from Kenya in a move expected to save more than 135 tonnes of edible crops from going to waste every year.
The UK’s largest retailer said shoppers’ preoccupation with pre-prepared vegetables had meant that until recently growers were required to supply fine beans within a strictly specified size range, and then trim them of their “strings” before being packed and shipped to the UK.
Continue reading...Microplastics: which beauty brands are safe to use?
The tiny beads used in exfoliant scrubs and toothpastes are at various stages of being phased out by the industry. Until a blanket ban comes into force, here’s a handy list of popular brands to help you choose which to use and which to avoid
Last week, Greenpeace found that two-thirds of the British public it polled think plastic microbeads used in exfoliant toiletries should be banned.
The tiny beads - found in face and body scrubs and some toothpastes - are too small to be captured through existing wastewater treatment processes, and wash straight into the ocean where they harm fish and other sea life.
Continue reading...Florida wakes up to climate change
The city of Miami Beach is slowly disappearing under water. At the big high tides of the year the sea washes over the famous wide beach and floods many of the city streets and magnificent Art Deco buildings. And over the past decade the floods have been striking more frequently.
Most of the city sits just a few feet above sea level, built on a foundation of porous limestone, allowing the rising seas to seep into the city’s foundations, surge up through pipes and drains, encroaching on fresh water supplies and saturating infrastructure. The city is now investing in a $500m project to raise roads and a pumping system to hold back the floods.
Continue reading...Sir David MacKay obituary
Sir David MacKay, who has died of cancer aged 48, was a true polymath, a rare breed in today’s world, where the frontiers of scientific knowledge are increasingly remote and complex. It is a testament to David’s intellectual brilliance that he was able to contribute to advancing more than one of these frontiers during his short career.
David latterly achieved cult status among climate and energy aficionados following the publication of Sustainable Energy: Without the Hot Air (2008), initially self-published using £10,000 of David’s own money and offered – as were all his works – simultaneously free for download on his website. Described as a “tour de force” by the Economist magazine and lauded by Bill Gates as “one of the best books on energy that has been written”, within two years it had sold 40,000 copies and been downloaded nearly half a million times.
Continue reading...More than 1,000 diesel cars caught without pollution filter, figures show
Government urged to crack down on rogue practice of garages removing compulsory diesel particulate filters from vehicles
More than a thousand diesel cars have been caught without an essential pollution filter that traps deadly particles, according to government figures. But experts warn the rogue practice of removing the filters, which contributes to air pollution-related deaths, could be far more widespread.
Almost 29,000 people die prematurely each year in the UK owing to particle pollution, causing £15bn in health costs. Since 2009 diesel particulate filters (DPFs) have been compulsory in new diesel cars. But, particularly for cars driven in cities, the DPFs can become clogged and cause breakdowns.
Continue reading...RRS Boaty McBoatface wins poll to name £200m polar research vessel – video explainer
The Natural Environment Research Council have conducted a poll to help decide the name of its new £200m polar research vessel and the winning name is – RRS Boaty McBoatface – receiving 124,109 votes. Four times more than RRS Poppy-Mai, which came in second place. Despite the overwhelming result of the poll, the NERC are unlikely to use the winning name. The government says it wants a name that ‘reflects the serious nature of the science it will be doing’
Continue reading...Boaty McBoatface wins poll to name polar research vessel
NERC chief has final say and faces dilemma between credibility of the organisation and burden of public opinion
Latest: Boaty McBoatface may not be name of new polar research vessel
Forget the EU referendum. The major test of modern democracy has fallen into the hands of the Natural Environment Research Council – over the naming of a boat.
As the polls finally closed for the naming of its new polar research ship, the NERC confirmed that the votes were overwhelmingly in favour of RRS Boaty McBoatface.
Continue reading...Australian night parrot legend lives on but bird remains as elusive as ever
Conservationists are putting fragments of information together to learn more about this enigmatic winged creature that only three living people have seen
Somewhere here among the red-dirt channel country of south-west Queensland is a bird that was, until recently, literally a legend.
Continue reading...Clouds gather over solar power after golden years of success
After a day in which Britain generated more power from the sun than from coal for the first time, the industry should be rejoicing. But the mood is fearful
Given that the government is determined to avoid playing a financial role in the planned new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point, it is perhaps surprising that it is involved in the UK’s largest solar array.
The 70-megawatt Lyneham photovoltaic farm – big enough to provide light and heat to 20,000 homes – is located at a former RAF base in Wiltshire owned and rented out by the Ministry of Defence.
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