The Guardian
Extend life of key climate sensor that maps world’s forests, Nasa told
Exclusive: Experts say the $150m project, due to be de-orbited next year, provides vital data on forests and the carbon stored in them
Forest experts and scientists are asking Nasa to extend the life of a “key” climate and biodiversity sensor due to be destroyed in the Earth’s atmosphere early next year.
The Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (Gedi) mission – pronounced like Jedi in Star Wars – was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to the International Space Station (ISS) in December 2018, and has provided the first 3D map of the world’s forests.
Continue reading...Heatwaves at both of Earth’s poles alarm climate scientists
Antarctica reaches 40C above normal at same time as north pole hits levels usually seen later in year
Startling heatwaves at both of Earth’s poles are causing alarm among climate scientists, who have warned the “unprecedented” events could signal faster and abrupt climate breakdown.
Temperatures in Antarctica reached record levels at the weekend, an astonishing 40C above normal in places.
Continue reading...Is it wrong to seek some release from miserable reality? I can’t help but try | Emma John
Have you been enjoying the sunshine? Perhaps that’s a redundant question: it has been difficult to avoid the delicious grins on people’s faces, the exaggerated generosity in their manners, the readiness to smile at strangers. Even the traditionally uptight denizens of London have been seen to unfurrow their brows and actually catch each other’s eye. Something feels different. Something feels – and forgive me if I’m speaking out of place here – not completely awful.
Nature’s good at that, of course. Give the lady her due, she always turns it around at the end of winter. In this part of the northern hemisphere we spend a good third of a year convinced that the world is cold, dark and possibly going to hell in a handcart, then out pop the daffodils and it’s like someone’s thrown us a surprise party but remembered only to invite our more cheerful, better behaved alter egos.
Continue reading...Spring in the countryside is a wonder - but it is tinged with sadness | Emma Beddington
Last spring, I finally moved out of town. That makes it sound like I gave in after decades of edgy murder-mile living, rivers of piss, my children playing with syringes. I did a tiny bit of that back when you could still see blowjobs and drug deals from the window of my east London flat and not men in ironic Deirdre Barlow glasses selling rare succulents for £700, but mainly I lived in a quiet corner of Brussels. When I moved back to the UK, it was to a provincial city centre where I complained constantly, like those idiots who pay millions to live in Soho, then decide they don’t like the noise of people having fun.
So after a year enveloped in the blessed peace of the outer suburbs, what have I learned? Well, after a lifetime of aching for the first frost, fetishising boots and boring on about hygge, I admit it: I was wrong about winter. It turns out that when you move somewhere with no insulation as an energy crisis starts to bite, no amount of woodsmoke-scented candles and hot chocolate will keep you cosy. When people recommend turning your thermostat down a degree, I laugh, my breath dancing spirals in the morgue-cold air: the modest number on ours is a mad aspiration, like me saying I’ll do a 7am yoga class. Getting out of bed (two duvets, blanket, electric blanket, flattened and grilled like a human panini) requires superhuman effort: I put my clothes on top of my pyjamas, so no skin is ever exposed, mummying myself in so many layers my arms stick out like a toddler in a padded snowsuit. It’s very sexy.
Continue reading...All eyes on your food waste – in pictures
When he was growing up, Ichio Usui was often told not to waste food. In his series Silent Voice, now shortlisted in the Sony world photography awards, the Japan-based photographic artist has dramatised this warning by fixing googly eyes to the sort of food that often gets thrown away owing to its shape or colour or an expiry date.
“Japan’s food waste per capita is one of the highest in the world,” he says. “I think we need to understand this problem, and people tend to empathise more with something that has eyes or resembles some sort of face.”
- The Sony world photography awards 2022 exhibition is at Somerset House, London, 13 April-2 May
Indian spiritualist Sadhguru on 100-day motorbike mission to save soil
Yoga guru will visit dozens of countries en route from London to India to raise awareness of plight of one of nature’s greatest resources
One of India’s best-known spiritual leaders is embarking on a 100-day motorbike journey from London to India to raise awareness of one of nature’s most undervalued resources.
Sadhguru, or Jaggi Vasudev, is setting off on Monday on a 30,000km (18,600-mile) trip through Europe and the Middle East in an effort to “save soil”, meeting celebrities, environmentalists and influencers in dozens of countries along the way.
Continue reading...Unless we act, escalating commodity prices will cause a decade of global turmoil | Rupert Russell
The Ukraine war is sending the cost of energy and food soaring across the world. Price controls may be the only way to stop a devastating chain reaction
The war in Ukraine has gone global. Spiking commodity prices are on track to see their sharpest rises since 1970, sending a shock wave of suffering across the world as the prices of essential goods every human needs to survive are surging upwards. Wheat prices are up 60% since February. Food prices are now higher than during the global food crisis of 2008, which pushed 155 million people into extreme poverty. Cheap Ukrainian wheat that vulnerable nations including Egypt, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Lebanon rely on lies stranded. If we aren’t careful, the “Ukraine shock” could fast be approaching the awesome scale of the OPEC and Iran shocks that rocked the 1970s.
But the “shock” metaphor is deceptive. This is not a momentary blast; all the warning signs point to the fact that this could turn into an avalanche. If that happens, we are just at the beginning of a decade-long deluge.
Continue reading...Plum job: UK public asked to track fruit trees for climate study
People asked to record flowering cherry and plum trees near them to see whether patterns are changing
The British public have been asked to track flowering fruit trees to help determine whether climate change is changing blooming patterns, in one of the largest studies of its kind.
The University of Reading and Oracle for Research have developed a fruit recording website where citizen scientists can easily post their findings. People will initially be asked to record the flowering cherry and plum trees near them, with apple trees soon to follow.
Continue reading...Recycled plastic bottles leach more chemicals into drinks, review finds
More chemicals being released by reused plastic could indicate need for ‘super clean’ recycling process
A widely used kind of recycled plastic bottle passes more potentially harmful chemicals into their contents than newly manufactured bottles, researchers have warned.
Researchers from Brunel University London found 150 chemicals that leached into drinks from plastic bottles, with 18 of those chemicals found in levels exceeding regulations.
Continue reading...Yes, your dog can go vegan – but cats are natural born killers | Pete Wedderburn
With plant-based diets on the rise, it’s natural to reconsider what’s going into pets’ food bowls. But some animals may not take to vegetables as readily as others
Veganism is on the rise for pets, just as it is for humans. One UK dog food brand, Butternut Box, has launched its first meat-free meal, Ready Steady Veggie, after a survey found that 71% of its customers were keen on a vegetable-based meal for their pets once a week.
It’s not surprising that many people are reviewing their pets’ diet: if you have made a principled decision to reduce or stop your own meat consumption, it seems odd to pile your pets’ dinner bowls full of animal products. However, it’s one thing to make a personal decision about your own diet; when deciding on behalf of another creature, you need to be certain that you are not compromising their health or welfare.
Dr Pete Wedderburn is a vet in County Wicklow, Ireland
Continue reading...Could Ukraine war help end west’s reliance on hydrocarbons?
Russian invasion diverts attention but may ironically help push world towards cleaner future, say experts
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will have a profound impact on the world’s race to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions, climate experts have warned – but it may not all be negative.
Vladimir Putin’s attempts to wield his dominance over European energy supplies as a weapon to limit interference in his war appear in danger of backfiring. Europe is embarking on a clean energy push that could reduce Russian gas imports by more than two-thirds, while the UK will set out an energy security strategy within days that will emphasise renewable power. In the US – as well as pumping more fossil fuels – president Joe Biden is renewing efforts to pass his mauled green investment package.
Continue reading...10 great recycled products – in pictures
Tennis balls, plastic, gold, bags, jeans. Finding new life in old stuff on Global Recycling Day
Continue reading...The week in wildlife – in pictures
The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including a rescued goat, a leaf monkey cub and fishing cats
Continue reading...Tyre Extinguishers – deflating SUV tyres as a form of climate action
UK activists fighting climate heating and pollution say public response more welcoming than expected
The activists who took “climate action” against sports utility vehicles by flattening their tyres in the last two weeks have been receiving solidarity and calls for information from around the world.
Tyre Extinguishers provides instructions on how to deflate SUV tyres, offers guidance on who to target and collates reports of actions across the country. They have gauged the campaign’s reach by angry emails from SUV owners.
Continue reading...Bullfighting still benefits from millions of euros a year in EU farming subsidies
Public funds to farms breeding bulls keeping ‘cruel practice’ of bullfighting alive, say animal rights campaigners
Bullfighting across Europe is being kept alive by millions of euros paid out by the EU, claim campaigners, despite attempts by MEPs to ban the subsidies.
The funding goes to farms that breed bulls for fighting through the EU’s common agricultural policy (CAP), a long-running system of subsidy support to the sector.
Continue reading...Coral bleaching spotted during Great Barrier Reef aerial survey – video
Coral bleaching has been seen again across large areas of the Great Barrier Reef. Aerial surveys covering half of the 2,300km reef have spotted bleaching among the corals raising concerns of a potential sixth mass bleaching event since 1998. Last year a recommendation from UN science advisers for the world heritage committee to list the Great Barrier Reef as a site in danger was ignored. The unfolding bleaching comes ahead of a 10-day UN monitoring mission to the reef
Continue reading...Dead coral found at Great Barrier Reef as widespread bleaching event unfolds
Marine park’s chief scientist says aerial surveys so far indicate bleaching worst off Townsville
Dead corals are being recorded in aerial surveys across the Great Barrier Reef in what the marine park’s chief scientist says is a widespread and serious bleaching event on the world heritage icon.
Aerial surveys have covered half of the 2,300km reef, with the worst bleaching observed in the park’s central region off Townsville, where corals on some reefs are dead and dying.
Continue reading...Three-year-old girl hospitalised after ‘terrifying’ kangaroo attack in NSW
The child suffered significant lacerations to her head, back and arm after the incident in Armidale
A three-year-old girl has been flown to hospital after suffering head wounds during a “terrifying” kangaroo attack in the New South Wales northern tablelands.
Emergency crews from NSW Ambulance were called to a residential street in Armidale about 5.30pm on Thursday with reports the girl had been attacked by a kangaroo.
Continue reading...Great Barrier Reef hit by sixth mass bleaching event, leading coral scientist says
Prof Terry Hughes says he believes bleaching is under way as the Australian government conducts monitoring flights over 2,300km reef
One of the world’s leading coral scientists claims a sixth mass bleaching event is unfolding across the Great Barrier Reef, with official monitoring flights now under way all along the Queensland coastline.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) has confirmed monitoring flights are being conducted “along the length and breadth” of the 2,300km world heritage reef.
Continue reading...Is Australia really beating other countries at cutting emissions? | Graham Readfearn
Scott Morrison has to be very selective with the data to make a favourable global comparison
According to prime minister Scott Morrison, two years ago the message he was giving the public on climate change was that “we need to get emissions down”.
In a morning TV interview with Nine News political editor, Chris Uhlmann, Morrison accepted Australia was now a harder place to live because of the climate crisis, and tried to suggest his priority had always been getting emissions down.
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