The Guardian
Landmark case challenges land clearing based on climate change impact
Northern Territory government-approved land clearing likely to cause up to 3 megatonnes of C02-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions
A landmark court case in the Northern Territory is set to consider a challenge to a massive land-clearing approval based on its impacts on climate change.
The case, brought by the Environment Centre NT, is believed to be the first of its kind in Australia, using the consideration of greenhouse gas emissions from clearing as a lever to seek to have an approval overturned.
Continue reading...UK fracking backlash: seven of eight plans rejected in 2018
South Yorkshire rejection of Ineos drill application adds to refusals, which include those from Tory councils
The application by Ineos to explore for shale gas in South Yorkshire has been rejected by local councillors, bringing the number of planning decisions that have gone against fracking companies this year to seven.
Rotherham metropolitan borough turned the application by the UK-based petrochemicals firm to drill a well near the village of Woodsetts on grounds that it could harm wildlife and cause traffic problems.
Continue reading...Bird Photographer of the Year 2018 – in pictures
The shortlist for the coveted Bird Photographer of the Year awards has been announced by Nature Photographers and the British Trust for Ornithology. Here we display a few of the entries in the running for the awards, which will be announced by Chris Packham in August at the annual Rutland Birdwatching Fair
Country diary: trees stand as witnesses to history
Chicksands Wood, Bedfordshire A shaft of sunlight enticed me to a place where the wood’s medieval heart beat still
Almost seven centuries ago, a great calamity 50 miles out to the east sent men with axes and saws into priory-owned Chicksands Wood. The Norman central tower of Ely Cathedral had collapsed, and the architect of its replacement chose to bridge the gap not with stone, but with wood. To this day, the Octagon Tower has Bedfordshire oak timbers holding up its roof to heaven.
Continue reading...Record-high wool price leaves Australian growers in shear delight
Strong demand from China, as well as European fashion houses and US sportswear companies, is proving a boom for the industry
The price of wool has reached an historic high after decades of poor returns and Australian woolgrowers are saying the market is stronger than it has been in 30 years.
The price signal, the eastern market indicator, reached a record $18.30 per kilogram this month, double where it was eight years ago. The hike has been driven by strong demand from China and European fashion houses, as well as growing interest from shoe and sportswear companies in the US.
Continue reading...Climate change tightens grip on US west coast despite progressive aspirations
California, Washington and Oregon have led criticism of Trump’s climate policies, but change hasn’t been easier closer to home
California’s exposure to climate change has been laid bare with warnings that San Francisco faces a far worse threat from rising seas than previously thought, while the agricultural heart of the state will increasingly struggle to support crops such as peaches, walnuts and apricots as temperatures climb.
The findings, from two new scientific studies, come as California’s neighboring west coast states Oregon and Washington have both faltered in their legislative attempts to address climate change and deliver a rebuke to Donald Trump’s dismissal of the issue.
Continue reading...Gorilla sanctuary workers in eastern DRC kidnapped by militia
Eighteen hostages are alive and abductors are demanding a large ransom, local sources say
Eighteen employees of a gorilla sanctuary in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo have been abducted by a militia group, sources have said.
An official with an NGO said the abduction took place on Monday in the area of Nzovu, in Kahuzi-Biega national park. They said an armed group called the Mai-Mai Raia Mutomboki was responsible.
Continue reading...Another oil firm seeks sweeping injunction against UK protesters
Critics say legal move by UK Oil and Gas, that could see protesters at its sites jailed and fined, is draconian and anti-democratic
Another firm is seeking a sweeping injunction against environmental protesters, drawing accusations that the legal move is “draconian and chillingly anti-democratic”.
UK Oil and Gas (UKOG) has applied for a broad injunction to prevent campaigners from mounting protests that it says would unlawfully interfere with its operations.
Continue reading...'History in the making': California aims for world's highest farm animal welfare law
New law would ban the sale of all eggs, pork or veal from a caged animal, putting the state ahead of the EU – if campaigners can get enough signatures
They call Chris Winn the signatures guy. A delivery driver by day, he spends his free time drumming up support for animal rights. “When I did the shark fin ban I got 4,000 signatures,” says Winn, 53. “Usually I’m the top guy in California.”
Now he’s on a new mission. It’s a cold Saturday afternoon in San Francisco and Winn is jubilant, bundled in a hat and sweatshirt, scouting for signatories for a proposed law that would ban the sale of any eggs, pork or veal that comes from an animal that spent its life in a cage. If passed it would be the most progressive farm animal welfare law in the world.
Continue reading...Iowa stores may be forced to sell eggs from battery hens
A bill that would require some stores selling only cage-free eggs to offer lower-welfare eggs as an affordable option risks a ‘major set-back’ for animal welfare, say critics
Iowa grocery stores selling cage-free eggs may soon be required to stock eggs from battery hens as well.
The bill would affect two of Iowa’s largest supermarkets, HyVee and Fareway Stores, and national chains such as Walmart, CVS, Walgreens and Target, as well as smaller independent grocers. That’s because the bill is pegged to a government food-assistance program for low-income pregnant women, mothers and children, known as WIC. Stores that accept WIC vouchers would have to offer caged eggs alongside eggs that come from cage-free, free range or enriched colony cage environments.
Norway boosts whaling quota despite international opposition
Fisheries minister announces 28% increase, but environmentalists say steep drop in number of minkes killed is sign of a dying industry
Norway has announced a 28% increase of its annual whaling quota to 1,278 whales in a bid to revive the declining hunt amid international controversy.
Whalers have for several years failed to meet the quotas set by Oslo and the number of whaling boats has plunged.
Continue reading...Return of pine martens could save Britain's red squirrels, say scientists
Areas with growing pine marten populations have seen grey squirrel numbers fall as they provide easy prey for the predators – unlike native reds, a new study shows
The invasion of grey squirrels that has decimated native reds across the UK is reversed when pine martens prowl the woods, new research has shown. Unlike reds, grey squirrels appear to be easy meat for the predator.
Pine marten populations have also been drastically reduced in the past. But where they are recovering, they send grey squirrel numbers plummeting while reds thrive, according to scientists.
Continue reading...Country diary: the dance of the snow devils
Wenlock Edge, Shropshire: Some were like wisps of bonfire smoke, others formed rolling circles of spindrift or reel-shaped vortices that blew themselves apart after a couple of seconds
Watching snow devils rise, dance and vanish in the field, as if they were beings composed of moonlight, was strangely compelling.
It was really parky. For the past few days there had been intermittent snow showers, slow-motion flakes drifting without direction that settled into a sugaring. These were separated, like the flick of a switch, by moments of dazzling sunshine and blue skies but bone cold, nothing thawed. There was a storm coming and sheep folded themselves into the lee of tall trees as the wind picked up; redwings left the fields and leaves blew about like lost birds. At first the air was quiet except for the growl of a chainsaw and disconsolate tutting from 30 jackdaws in the high branches facing into the breeze. They were watching, too.
Continue reading...Scorched country: the destruction of Australia's native landscape
Less than 50% of Australia’s original wilderness still exists, thanks to the colonialist view that development of land means eliminating native vegetation
Kate (not her real name) and her husband have run cattle grazing properties in central Queensland for more than 30 years. On remote and isolated properties like that, communities are close-knit and neighbours rely on each other to survive.
But Kate says her neighbours hate her family. Their crime? Not cutting down enough trees.
Continue reading...London black cabs hail Treasury for scrapping car tax
Tax exemption for all-new zero-emission electric taxi brought forward in boost for new greener cabs
Prospects for London’s new electric taxi have been boosted after the Treasury brought forward a £1,550 tax exemption to this April.
The British-built, zero-emission capable taxi had been liable for a luxury car tax, introduced in 2017, of £310 per year for five years, deterring cab drivers from upgrading to the greener vehicle.
Continue reading...'So much plastic!': British diver films deluge of waste off Bali – video
Diver Rich Horner has captured video of himself swimming through water densely strewn with plastic waste and yellowing food wrappers, with the occasional tropical fish darting around.
The footage was shot at a dive site called Manta Point, a cleaning station for the large rays on the island of Nusa Penida, about 20km from the popular Indonesian holiday island of Bali.
Continue reading...Country diary: the beck is a reservoir of molten gold
Claxton, Norfolk: All the elements have come together to create a moment of seasonal delight
It is one of the more subtle attractions of our parish but its seasonal window is brief and upon us right now. It is composed of four very commonplace elements, but their convergence is as special and unpredictable as the arrival of a rare migrant.
Continue reading...Land clearing in Australia: see how cleared areas compare with your home town
This map shows the scale of land clearing in Australia by visualising the extent of clearing in states where data is available
Australia is in the midst of a land clearing crisis. Some estimate that 3m hectares of woodland will be cleared between 2010 and 2030.
This is having a huge impact on the environment. Loss of habitat is one of the main threats to about three-quarters of Australia’s 1,640 plants and animals listed by the government as at risk. Land clearing, and land-use changes that follow it, have caused a fivefold increase in the sediment pollution pouring on to the embattled Great Barrier Reef, further diminishing its ability to deal with climate change.
Continue reading...Latin American countries sign legally binding pact to protect land defenders
New treaty compels states to investigate and punish killings and attacks on people defending their land or environment
Officials from 24 Latin American and Caribbean states have signed a legally binding environmental rights pact containing measures to protect land defenders, almost two years to the day since environmental leader Berta Cáceres was killed in her home in Honduras.
Last year almost 200 nature protectors were killed across the world, 60% of them in Latin America. The new treaty obliges states to “guarantee a safe and enabling environment for persons, groups and organisations that promote and defend human rights in environmental matters”.
Continue reading...The sad inevitability of energy price rises | Letters
Privatising our vital energy services was a disaster waiting to happen, though the Tories daren’t admit it (Row over rise in energy bills for 1m households, 3 March). Every house has one set of cables carrying electricity and one set of pipes with gas; in addition, all the key energy market prices are set nationally, regionally or even globally, so there can be little or no competition in supply costs. You could argue that having more buyers actually increases competition, pushing prices higher.
We may not realise it, but it has been cold in all of Europe, so price rises are inevitable. As your report says, the 7.9% rise in prices in the last six months was “driven primarily by increases in wholesale gas and electricity costs”. How will the government’s much-vaunted price cap help with that? I have changed suppliers almost every year in the last five or more years, but my bills are higher than ever, for a very simple reason: replacing the government-controlled system by more than a dozen private companies, all with highly paid chief executives and shareholders to keep happy, made the costs of the delivery process soar. How could it not?
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