The Guardian
Government 'dragging its feet' over plastic bottle scheme, say MPs
A deposit return scheme to tackle the billions of bottles not recycled every year is being kicked into the long grass, say MPs
The government is “dragging its feet” on introducing a deposit return scheme to cut the billions of plastic bottles not recycled every year, according to a committee of MPs.
The Environment Audit Committee (EAC) called for a deposit return scheme (DRS) in a report in December, in which a small deposit is paid when purchasing a bottle and then returned when the empty bottle is brought back. Environment secretary Michael Gove called a DRS a “great idea” in September.
Continue reading...Dozens of public lands advocates say Trump administration 'shut them out'
Groups comprised of ranchers, hunters and conservationists say interior secretary Ryan Zinke has stonewalled them
The Trump administration has angered ranchers, hunters, fishermen and conservationists across the US who complain they are being shut out of a federal advisory process designed to steer the management of cherished public lands.
Many of the dozens of public advisory boards have been stonewalled by the department of interior since the president put Ryan Zinke at the helm of the agency.
Continue reading...Most UK parents back air pollution exclusion zones around schools
Exclusive: 60% of parents want traffic to be diverted away from schools at peak times to protect children’s health, a new study shows
The majority of UK parents back the introduction of “pollution exclusion zones” outside schools amid growing concern that illegal levels of air pollution are doing long term damage to hundreds of thousands of young people.
A new study published on Monday by environmental law organisation ClientEarth reveals that 60% of parents want traffic diverted away from school gates at the beginning and end of the school day, with just 13% opposed.
Continue reading...Country diary 1918: Downs alive with the sound of music
2 March 1918 A lark struck upward, singing a stave or two at each successive plunge and in a few minutes overhead all was music in a thin haze
Surrey, February 28
Soon as dawn began to spread along the southern rim of the sky this morning, the lower down was alive with birds. Larks rose almost from underfoot, others started from the higher ridge, and all played, fleeting about in the air like children let into a fresh meadow in spring. At first there was little song. Then, as by inspiration, one struck upward, singing a stave or two at each successive plunge; another rose; others, distances away; in a few minutes overhead all was music in a thin haze. Southward long, grey clouds reddened and glowed from end to end, great shreds detached, chased northward, and melted to nothing in the lofty blue.
Related: Ascending larks keep the bird-snarer busy: Country diary 100 years ago
Continue reading...UK's small abattoirs struggle as profit margins are squeezed
Demand for locally sourced meat may be high but suppliers face uncertain regulatory and economic environment
Locally sourced meat, one of the cornerstones of modern sustainable eating, may soon be out of reach for consumers across the UK as large numbers of small suppliers are forced to close down.
Seeking out local meat, vegetables and other food products is increasingly embraced as part of a healthier diet that reduces environmental impact, allows clear traceability and improves farm welfare.
Continue reading...Country diary: a strange magic in the dell of the valley of the elves
Elveden, Suffolk: Dell is a folky term – a word in the minds of Milton and Tolkien, of outlawed church groups gathered for moonlit worship, of children seeking fairies
The word “dell” is pure, earthy English. From it we have acquired dale, a valley. But as grand as it has developed, the meaning of this Old English word remains as it was, a wooded hollow – somehow over time engendering an intimacy and aura benignly Arcadian in feel. Dells have a strange magic through literature, which is where the word lives now. No longer practical, more an alternative to evoke, rather than inform. A folky term – a word in the minds of Milton and Tolkien, of outlawed church groups gathered for moonlit worship, of children seeking fairies, or singing in rhyme. These days the farmer tends to be in his den rather than the dell – although the two words are, in this context, synonymous. As such they could have called this little village on the edge of Thetford Forest Elvedell, but they called it Elveden.
This roadside dell in Elveden has an old story for its old name, Elveden Dell: literally, the dell of the valley of the elves. A little girl who heard beguiling sounds, tinkling, in high boughs. Then, the same half-music luring horses off the road into here – now the magic dell, of course.
Continue reading...Water vole areas in England and Wales fall by 30% in a decade
Species remains UK’s fastest declining mammal despite large reintroduction programme
The number of areas where water voles are found across England and Wales has fallen by almost a third in 10 years, research has found.
The species, which provided the model for the much-loved character Ratty in The Wind of the Willows, has suffered catastrophic declines over several decades and is the UK’s fastest declining mammal.
Continue reading...The terrifying phenomenon that is pushing species towards extinction
There was almost something biblical about the scene of devastation that lay before Richard Kock as he stood in the wilderness of the Kazakhstan steppe. Dotted across the grassy plain, as far as the eye could see, were the corpses of thousands upon thousands of saiga antelopes. All appeared to have fallen where they were feeding.
Some were mothers that had travelled to this remote wilderness for the annual calving season, while others were their offspring, just a few days old. Each had died in just a few hours from blood poisoning. In the 30C heat of a May day, the air around each of the rotting hulks was thick with flies.
Continue reading...Can a tourist ban save DiCaprio’s coral paradise from destruction?
South-east Asian idylls – from Philippine islands to the Thai bay made famous in The Beach – plan to turn tourists away so that devastated coral reefs have some time to recover. Will it be enough?
Our Thai tour guide, Spicey, takes a drag on her cigarette and gestures sadly towards the beach. “The problem with people is that they are too greedy. They see a beautiful place and they want it. They take, take, take from nature. And then they destroy it.”
The golden sands of Maya Bay where Spicey stands are some of the most famous in the world. This once-idyllic cove, on the tiny Thai island of Koh Phi Phi Leh, was the paradise location of The Beach, Danny Boyle’s 2000 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio. It was then pushed by tourism officials in advertising campaigns to entice more wealthy visitors to Thailand.
Continue reading...One million birds killed illegally every year at a wildlife site in Iran
A million wild birds a year are now being killed illegally at a single wildlife site in Iran. That is the stark warning from conservationists who say highly endangered migratory species face being wiped out in the near future there unless urgent action is taken.
In a letter last week to the journal Science, the conservationists pinpoint the Fereydunkenar wetlands in Iran as the site of this widespread wildlife slaughter.
Continue reading...Sydney beaches reopen after first shark attack in Botany Bay in 25 years
Anna Shurapey recovering in hospital after being bitten by a suspected juvenile great white off Little Congwong beach
Swimmers at a Sydney beach where a woman was bitten by a shark shouldn’t have reservations about venturing back into the water when it reopens on Sunday, experts say.
Anna Shurapey, 55, survived the first shark attack in Botany Bay in at least 25 years after she was bitten on the leg about 7pm Friday, prompting the Randwick City Council to close nearby beaches for 24 hours.
Continue reading...Toxic toad invasion puts ecology of Madagascar at risk
Rustling branches and a canopy cacophony – part howl, part screech, part snigger – proclaim the presence of black-and-white ruffed lemurs as visitors enter Ivoloina zoological park in eastern Madagascar.
The raucous primate is one of several critically endangered species in this biological refuge, which breeds and protects rare wildlife from the growing pressures on this island’s unique ecology.
Continue reading...Nappies, takeaways and bubble wrap: could I remove plastic from my life?'
It’s polluting our oceans and killing our wildlife, but how easy is it to get by without it? Four writers find out
No man is an island. However, if I were an island, I’d probably be the best one ever. When the Guardian asked me to record all the single-use plastic I got through in a week, I scoffed. Piece of cake, I thought.
Continue reading...Country diary: a glimpse of spring down by the river Ystwyth
Aberystwyth, Ceredigion: From the depths of dormant bramble thickets, tangled and moribund, robins called and chased defiantly as they reinforced their territories
In the last stages of its journey to the sea, the river Ystwyth curves in gentle meanders across a broad valley pasture grazed by a modest scattering of sheep. This close to the coast, the wind from the sea is a powerful force, carving the small riverside trees into forms that leave no doubt as to its direction and persistence.
Continue reading...Tech billionaire, ordered to reopen public beach, appeals to supreme court
Investor Vinod Khosla has battled regulators for years over Martin’s Beach, which can only be reached by road on his property
A Silicon Valley billionaire who was ordered by California courts to restore public access to a popular surfing beach is seeking to take his case to the US supreme court.
The case could entirely upend public access to beaches in a state with more than 1,000 miles of shoreline.
Continue reading...Michael Gove denies EU is 'one step ahead' on plastic straw ban
Minister in Twitter spat with Brussels after suggesting UK ban could be prevented by EU
Michael Gove has become embroiled in a Twitter row with the EU over his suggestion that Brussels could block the UK government from banning plastic straws.
The environment secretary and Frans Timmermans, a European commission vice-president, goaded each other on the social media platform over their rival claims to be the most advanced in clamping down on plastic waste.
Continue reading...Air pollution, Seychelles marine parks and fruit bats – green news roundup
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
Continue reading...The week in wildlife – in pictures
White-tailed sea eagles, a rose-ringed parakeet and an Aldabra giant tortoise are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world
Continue reading...Monsanto demands Avaaz hands over all of its campaign data
Subpoena could see the campaign group forced to release huge amounts of internal communications including the email addresses of four million people who have signed online petitions
A US court will today hear a request from Monsanto for access to a huge batch of internal communications by Avaaz, in a move that the campaign group says could have grave repercussions for online activism and data privacy.
Monsanto is seeking the release of all lobby documents, emails, correspondence and notes “without limitation”, where the firm or its herbicide ingredient glyphosate have been mentioned.
Continue reading...Seascapes without a camera: Meghann Riepenhoff's cyanotypes
Tidal patterns made by ocean waves, sand and marine life are captured by the photographic process of Meghann Riepenhoff, a US artist fascinated by the nature of humans’ relationship to an impermanent landscape. She will be creating a site-specific work for Photofairs San Francisco by the shore at the city’s Fort Mason arts centre
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