The Guardian
Solution or hazard? Fate of California desalination plant hangs in the balance
After more than a decade of debate, the coastal commission is set to vote on the proposed $1.4bn project near Los Angeles
California officials are poised to decide the fate of a controversial desalination plant planned along its southern coast, in a vote that comes as the American west battles an increasingly perilous drought.
California water use leapt 19% in March, amid one of the driest months on record. After more than a decade of debate, the California coastal commission on Thursday will finally vote on a proposal for a $1.4 bn desalination plant in Huntington Beach, south of Los Angeles.
Continue reading...Birdwatch: the ruff – which was named first, the collar or the bird?
Our author spots four of these striking birds as they pause their migration at the Somerset Levels
Sporting the splendid feathery collars that give the ruff its name, they reminded me of the foppish, preening courtiers of Tudor times.
This trio of male ruffs, along with a much smaller female (known as a reeve) were frantically feeding at the RSPB’s Ham Wall reserve. This is one of their favoured stopover points on their long journey north, from Africa to the Arctic tundra.
Continue reading...Coldplay labelled ‘useful idiots for greenwashing’ after deal with oil company
The Transport and Environment campaign group says Neste is cynically using the band
Coldplay have been branded “useful idiots for greenwashing” after announcing a partnership with the Finnish oil company Neste to halve their touring emissions last week.
Neste claims to be the world’s largest producer of sustainable biofuels, but the firm’s palm oil suppliers cleared at least 10,000 hectares (24,710 acres) of forest in countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia between 2019 and 2020, according a study by Friends of the Earth.
Continue reading...John Kerry warns a long Ukraine war would threaten climate efforts
Exclusive: US presidential envoy says limiting global heating to 1.5C could be made harder by conflict
The longer the war in Ukraine carries on, the worse the consequences will be for the climate, the US presidential envoy John Kerry has warned.
Many countries are struggling with an energy crisis while also urgently needing to cut greenhouse gas emissions to limit global heating to 1.5C, he said.
Continue reading...‘Devastating’: 90% of reefs surveyed on Great Barrier Reef affected by coral bleaching in 2022
Report reveals extent of sixth mass bleaching event with worst-affected reefs between Cape Tribulation and Whitsundays
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Coral bleaching affected more than 90% of reefs surveyed along the Great Barrier Reef this year, according to a report by government scientists that confirms the natural landmark has suffered its sixth mass bleaching event on record.
The Reef snapshot: summer 2021-22, quietly published by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority on Tuesday night after weeks of delay, said above-average water temperatures in late summer had caused coral bleaching throughout the 2,300km reef system, but particularly in the central region between Cape Tribulation and the Whitsundays.
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Continue reading...The Tories are going all out to shut down protest. Just Stop Oil activists like me will not be deterred
We do what we do because it is right, not because it is legal. The Queen’s speech has only strengthened our resolve
If your house was burning down and the emergency services were not answering your call, what would you do? Would you try to put out the fire yourself? This is what climate activists are currently doing, and what they will continue to do, whatever changes the government makes to legislation to curb protest.
Despite politicians across the world committing to net zero, action is yet to follow rhetoric. Instead, nations continue to extract fossil fuels from the ground and burn them, releasing more carbon into the atmosphere contributing to extreme weather that will displace millions. Here in the UK, the government has approved new oil- and gasfields in the North Sea, despite hosting Cop26 just a few months ago and committing to decarbonising all sectors of the UK economy to meet its net zero target by 2050.
Continue reading...‘Criminalising our right to protest’: green groups’ anger over public order bill
Measures in Queen’s speech would have outlawed protests that won votes for women and legalisation of unions, say critics
Environmental campaign groups have hit out at the “draconian” protest crackdown bill announced in the Queen’s speech.
The new law appears to be targeted at groups such as Extinction Rebellion, Just Stop Oil and Insulate Britain who have used disruptive methods to draw attention to the climate crisis.
Continue reading...Inside Just Stop Oil: the 'hooligan' climate protesters taking on the tankers – video
Damien Gayle, a Guardian environment correspondent, follows a group of climate activists as they try to paralyse the UK's fossil fuel distribution network. We film with him as the protesters break into oil terminals, glue themselves to the road, climb onboard oil tankers and let down their tyres. The campaign, called Just Stop Oil, argues the UK has three years to slash its carbon emissions. They have been met with arrests, injunctions and condemnation from politicians – with the government using the Queen’s speech to announce curbs on disruptive protests. But with deep-pocketed supporters, and claims they are signing new volunteers every day, they are vowing to continue
Ukraine war may be causing rise in dolphin deaths, say scientists
Turkey has recorded rise in strandings across its Black Sea coast since beginning of Russian invasion
A recent rise in dolphin deaths in the Black Sea may have been caused by the war in Ukraine, scientists have said.
Researchers believe heightened noise pollution in the northern Black Sea, caused by about 20 Russian navy vessels and ongoing military activities, may have been driving cetaceans south to Turkish and Bulgarian shores, where they are being stranded or caught in fishing nets in unusually high numbers.
Continue reading...Big meat threatens to gobble up fake meat companies, say studies
Conglomerates have bought out several smaller companies as the meat substitute market is predicted to grow rapidly
Big meat and food conglomerates threaten to push out smaller producers of meat alternatives in the same way they have affected other food industries, according to two recent reports.
Meat companies such as JBS and Cargill have invested heavily in plant-based proteins and laboratory-grown meats in recent years and bought out several smaller companies, according to a report published Tuesday by the non-profit Food & Water Watch and a March report from IPES-Food, a coalition of food systems experts.
Continue reading...Boon for blooms as UK’s dry spring keeps plant diseases at bay
Exclusive: RHS says queries about diseases down 45% in good sign for May blooms such as lupins and iris
Plant diseases are at their lowest levels in the UK for years because of a cold, dry spring, meaning it could be a bumper year for apples, and popular blooms such as iris are likely to be spectacular.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) said years like this may be few and far between in the future, as the climate becomes warmer and wetter, creating ideal conditions for pests. But this year, spring favourites such as quince and hawthorn are doing well, with gardener queries to the charity about plant diseases on their plots down 45% on last year.
Continue reading...Dried flowers – in pictures
Beautiful floral arrangements that last, made from dried, paper and preserved leaves, grasses and blooms
Continue reading...Just one of 50 aviation industry climate targets met, study finds
Charity’s report says nearly all targets set since 2000 have been missed, revised or quietly ignored
The international aviation industry has failed to meet all but one of 50 of its own climate targets in the past two decades, environment campaigners say.
A report commissioned by the climate charity Possible assessed every target set by the industry since 2000 and found that nearly all had been missed, revised or quietly ignored. The charity says the findings undermine a UK government plan to leave airlines to reduce their emissions through self-regulation.
Continue reading...Avoid using gas as ‘transition’ fuel in move to clean energy, study urges
Analysis says countries can save money by switching from coal straight to renewable energies
Countries should move from coal to renewable energy without shifting to gas as a “transition” fuel to save money, as high gas prices and market volatility have made the fossil fuel an expensive option, analysis has found.
Natural gas has long been touted as a “transition” fuel for economies dependent on coal for their power needs, as it has lower carbon dioxide emissions than coal but requires similar centralised infrastructure, and gas-fired power stations take only a couple of years to build. Earlier this year, before Russia invaded Ukraine, the European Commission angered green campaigners by including gas as a “bridge” to clean energy in its guidebook for green investment.
Continue reading...Climate limit of 1.5C close to being broken, scientists warn
The probability of one of the next five years surpassing the limit is now 50%, up from 20% in 2020
The year the world breaches for the first time the 1.5C global heating limit set by international governments is fast approaching, a new forecast shows.
The probability of one of the next five years surpassing the limit is now 50%, scientists led by the UK Met Office found. As recently as 2015, there was zero chance of this happening in the following five years. But this surged to 20% in 2020 and 40% in 2021. The global average temperature was 1.1C above pre-industrial levels in 2021.
Continue reading...Flooding fears as La Niña brings heavy rain to north-east Australia
Analysis: It has already been a very wet autumn in eastern Australia, as weather event drives heavy rainfall
It has already been a very wet autumn in eastern Australia. Now further heavy rain will bring the potential for flooding in the north-east of the country over the next few days.
La Niña has been the main driver behind the wet weather across Australia during what is autumn in the southern hemisphere. During a La Niña event, the sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific are colder than normal, meaning that the usual easterly winds across the equator are strengthened. The result of this is that more moisture is fed into north-eastern parts of Australia in particular, with an increase in associated heavy rainfall events.
Continue reading...‘Access is vital’: picnicking protesters target Duke of Somerset’s woods
Group of 200 Totnes residents trespass and eat sandwiches and Victoria sponge to highlight lack of right to roam
On a beautiful Sunday in May a spot under the trees in an ancient woodland would seem like an idyllic location for a picnic for residents of the Devon town of Totnes.
But when a group of 200 people settled down on the grass to enjoy sandwiches and slices of Victoria sponge next to the publicly funded woodland, they were actually breaking the law.
Continue reading...How worried should we really be about 'insectageddon'? | Jane Hill
Although most researchers are worried about insect decline, we should be wary of the hyperbole of impending doom
In recent years, many of us have come to appreciate the huge importance of insects to our natural ecosystems – from the life-enhancing beauty of butterflies to the vital role that pollinating insects play in our food supply. So it’s hardly surprising there is huge concern over the so-called “insectageddon”.
A recent study adds to an emerging narrative of severe decline and builds on the perception that there were more insects in nature in years gone by – and that things were better in the past. One often-cited memory is that car windshields used to be splattered with insects, and this latest study uses a “splat rate” to conclude that numbers of flying insects have plunged by almost 60% in Britain between 2004 and 2021. But how reliable is this conclusion, and how worried should we be?
Jane Hill is professor of ecology at the University of York and president-elect of the Royal Entomological Society
Continue reading...‘Forever chemicals’ may have polluted 20m acres of US cropland, study says
PFAS-tainted sewage sludge is used as fertilizer in fields and report finds that about 20m acres of cropland could be contaminated
About 20m acres of cropland in the United States may be contaminated from PFAS-tainted sewage sludge that has been used as fertilizer, a new report estimates.
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of about 9,000 compounds used to make products heat-, water- or stain-resistant. Known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t naturally break down, they have been linked to cancer, thyroid disruption, liver problems, birth defects, immunosuppression and more.
Continue reading...Will mass trespasses make the government reconsider burying its land reform plan? | Tim Adams
High on this government’s list of bad habits is its apparent compulsion to suppress its own reports. The latest was Lord Agnew’s review into the right to roam in England’s countryside. Currently, only 8% of English land and 3% of inland water is accessible to the public; in contrast, Scots are permitted to walk, camp, cycle, swim and kayak on most of their nation’s open spaces.
Agnew’s report was planned to create “a quantum shift in how our society supports people to access and engage with the outdoors”. The Treasury, however, in winding up the project, effectively re-emphasised its minister’s stated belief that “the English countryside is a place of business”.
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