The Guardian
Return of the avian master builders
Claxton, Norfolk Every year the house martins check properties for suitable nest sites, even examining our nonexistent eaves
As if minted out of the soil that morning, suddenly house martins were around our garden a fortnight ago. Every year the pairs in the village perform an almost ritualised house inspection, when they check properties for suitable nest sites.
Every time they tantalise me by swooping to examine even our nonexistent eaves. Then they fuss about the gable end to our neighbour’s. Were they ever to choose the last spot, which looks perfect to my unbirdlike eyes, it would bring their distillate of African sunshine to within metres of my office.
Continue reading...Adani gives 'green light' to $16bn Carmichael coal mine
Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Adani officially announce the company’s intention to invest in the proposed Galilee basin mega-mine
Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has given the “green light” to the Carmichael mine and rail project, but it will still hinge on its Australian arm, Adani Mining, gaining bank backing for the contentious venture.
The Adani group chairman took a dig at “activists who sit in creature comfort and criticise us” while trumpeting the decision to invest in Australia’s largest proposed coalmine.
Continue reading...Medical experts say lending to Adani is the same as supporting big tobacco
High-profile doctors say Carmichael coalmine poses a ‘grave danger to public health’, including from air pollution and black lung disease
Lending money to Indian mining giant Adani to build a rail line for the Carmichael coal project is akin to supporting big tobacco to transport hundreds of tonnes of tobacco to market, an eminent former surgeon and the chair of Doctors for the Environment Australia, Prof Kingsley Faulkner, said.
Faulkner made the comment in a letter to the chair of the government’s Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (Naif), Sharon Warburton, in which he urged her and other board members to rule out an investment loan to build the rail line from the mine at the Galilee basin in Queensland to the Abbot Point port.
Continue reading...Get in the sea – should we allow coastal heritage sites to fall to ruin?
Do all heritage sites deserve to be saved or should some be permitted to fall into natural ruin? According to Caitlin DeSilvey, a cultural geography professor at the University of Exeter, some historic landmarks should be permitted to decay gracefully through a policy of managed “continuous ruination”. In other words, thanks to a perfect storm of falling budgets, climate change, rising sea levels, and, well, loads more storms, is it time to stop viewing heritage loss as a failure but instead as a necessary, even natural process of change?
“Yes, but it’s not about abandoning stuff,” stresses Phil Dyke, coast and marine adviser at the National Trust, which owns 775 miles of coastline and cares for more than 500 coastal interests. “It’s a form of adaptation. There are 90 locations around England, Wales and Northern Ireland where we’ve got significant change that we’re going to have to deal with over time. It’s going to become increasingly difficult to hang on to structures in these locations.”
Continue reading...Air pollution fears see demand for diesel cars fall by fifth
Diesel sales in May are down 20% with industry insiders blaming lack of government clarity for consumer uncertainty
Demand for new diesel cars plummeted by a fifth last month amid rising concerns over air pollution.
Approximately 81,500 new diesel cars were registered in May, down 20% on the same month last year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). This represented a fall in market share from 50% to 43.7%.
Continue reading...This Land Is Your Land: a series on the fight over the US's natural heritage – video
There are few issues as bipartisan as public lands. They underpin American traditions and are central to the US economy. But they are now threatened like never before. Under the influence of special interests, the Trump administration has paved a path to give away 640m acres of national land, a third of US property. Limiting public access and input, this Congress has been called the worst for public lands in US history. In response, the Guardian is launching a weekly series to look at the role of public lands in American life and the threat posed by efforts to do away with them
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National lands in the US: what do they mean to you?
As Congress moves to give away federal land and diminish public access, we want to hear from US public land owners. How do you use these spaces?
As Congress moves to give away national land and diminish public access, we want to hear from US public land owners. As part of our new series dedicated to public lands, we want photos of the places you visit, that feed your family, that employ you, that provide you refuge. Are you a rancher, a hunter, a ski patroller, a geologist, a federal wildlife biologist? What role do these lands play in your life?
National land makes up almost a third of the US. Across the country, 640 million acres are held in trust for all Americans. Public land is an enormous part of our history and our traditions.
Continue reading...Americans own 640m acres of national land – if you can keep it | Mark Jenkins
For over 100 years, a small minority have battled the very idea of national land. As efforts are renewed, all Americans must face the fight
The rancher came roaring up on a four-wheeler.
“Hey, you,” he shouted. “You’re trespassing!”
Continue reading...The Guardian view on public lands: fight the government sell-off
In a divided country, support for US public lands is a rare bridge issue – yet the Republican platform has opened the door to disposing of 640m national acres
At a moment of deep political division, few issues draw as much bipartisan support from the American public as the sanctity of public lands. Yet conservative lawmakers have quietly laid the foundation to give away Americans’ birthright: 640m acres of national land.
Continue reading...Grand Canyon at risk as Arizona officials ask Trump to end uranium mining ban
Exclusive: Powerful regional officials to ask administration to end 20-year ban, saying it is unlawful and inhibits economic opportunity
A coalition of influential officials in Arizona and Utah are urging the Trump administration to consider rolling back Obama-era environmental protections that ban new uranium mining near the Grand Canyon.
Continue reading...A baleful buzz disrupts the valley of Hope
Abney Moor, Derbyshire Despite the proximity to the Peak District’s honeypots, a feeling of remoteness pervades here
Around the musically winding path leading up Bradwell Edge, spring is thickening into its richest texture. The meadows are rampant with cow parsley, the shade is restless with midges and the hawthorn blossom is dense as clotted cream.
At the top of the ridge my friends and I lie on a blanket of grass and look over the Hope Valley. Sunshine swells over the fields and lights up the cement works, while a pair of buzzards drift along the skyline, occasionally stopping still in some unseen updraft with an almost kestrel-like precision. I wonder how it feels to tread air like that, to be your own parachute, senses attuned to the subtlest ebbs and flows of the atmosphere.
Farmers feeling increasingly gloomy about future ahead of Brexit, says NFU
Confidence levels and investment for the near future have both dropped in the wake of the general election and EU referendum result, farmers’ union poll shows
Despite overwhelmingly being in support of leaving the European Union at the Brexit referendum, farmers are increasingly gloomy now that they are staring down the reality of what leaving will entail.
In two years, confidence levels on the outlook for the next three years, as measured by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), have plummeted to just above zero from a high of 19 points on the positive side, in the wake of the general election being called and Brexit being set.
Continue reading...Stopping food waste in Australia: a ride along with OzHarvest – video
Food wastage is a global problem affecting our economy, society and environment. Australians throw out $8bn to $10bn worth of food every year. OzHarvest is a food rescue organisation that collects excess food from commercial outlets across the country and then delivers it to those in need. Guardian Australia takes a ride with OzHarvest driver Steve Negrine to see first-hand the organisation’s innovative approach to minimising food waste
Continue reading...Nature class for city boys: Country diary 100 years ago
Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 5 June 1917
Upwards of sixty members of a Manchester lads’ club spent Whit-week near Redesmere; two pairs of willow wrens nested in the fields the boys camped and played in. These boys are not slow, and found some nests, but they failed to discover the neat little domed, feather-lined homes of the warblers. Perhaps, however, the presence of so many lively youngsters was too much for one pair, although the nest was in the safest corner of one field, for the birds deserted their spotted eggs about the middle of the week. The other nest was close to a busy roadway to the farm, along which, in addition to the boys, cyclists, vehicles, and motors passed constantly; perhaps this traffic saved the birds, for on Sunday, after the lads had left, one of the pair was sitting undisturbed.
Naturally many city boys know little about nature, though they are sharp enough in other ways. Taking birds’ eggs is forbidden, but rules are sometimes broken, and three juveniles brought me an egg to look at and tell them what bird had laid it; probably that particular egg would never hatch, though it was returned to the nest. Each of the boys was asked to guess what the egg was, and the three birds named were the waterhen, thrush, and wild duck; it was an egg of the reed bunting! It is fair to add that these boys had not attended the classes now held at the Manchester Museum.
Continue reading...UK needs government backing to unlock billions in green business, says industry
Stable policies could expand the green market from 2% to 13% of the UK economy within three decades, says group representing more than 30 low-carbon companies including Ikea, Siemens and M&S
The UK could be a green business powerhouse in the next three decades, but only if given proper support by government, a group representing more than 30 low-carbon companies has said.
The low-carbon economy in the UK employs at least 432,000 people, with a turnover of more than £77bn in 2015. This is larger than industries such as car-making and steelmaking, which are frequently given the spotlight when politicians discuss industry and jobs.
Continue reading...Green business needs strong and stable support from the next UK government | Letters
Despite the US withdrawal from the Paris agreement on climate change (Anger at US as Trump rejects climate accord, 2 June), the global market for low-carbon goods and services is rapidly growing and the UK must make the most of this opportunity. Spurred in particular by major investments in low-carbon technologies by countries such as China, India, Mexico and South Africa, the Paris agreement could open up $23tn (£18tn) worth of opportunities for low-carbon investments in emerging markets between 2016 and 2030. The commitments made by six world leaders at the recent G7 summit and the decision by China and the EU to collaborate more closely on climate change support this trend.
Related: UK needs government backing to unlock billions in green business, says industry
Continue reading...Is deep sea mining vital for a greener future – even if it destroys ecosystems?
A new gold rush is targeting rich ores on the ocean floor containing valuable metals needed for smartphones and green technologies, but also hosting exotic ecosystems
Mining the deep ocean floor for valuable metals is both inevitable and vital, according to the scientists, engineers and industrialists exploring the world’s newest mining frontier.
The special metals found in rich deposits there are critical for smart electronics and crucial green technologies, such as solar power and electric cars. But as the world’s population rises, demand is now outstripping the production from mines on land for some important elements.
Continue reading...The eco guide to tinned tuna
Sustainable fish is the only option if we’re not going to wipe species out. So it’s a big round of applause for new Princes tuna with the all-important blue tick
Whenever a sustainable seafood product reaches the shelves of UK stores I feel like doing a little dance. Step forward tinned tuna from Princes. Prosaic it may be, but it’s the first certified tuna from the Western Pacific wearing the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) blue tick.
It’s time to remove all non-sustainable fish from shelves and menus
Continue reading...Trump 'believes climate is changing', says UN ambassador Nikki Haley
White House has dodged declaring president’s view on climate change, but Haley says leaving Paris accord ‘doesn’t mean we don’t care about the environment’
Donald Trump “believes the climate is changing” partly because of pollution, according to the US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley.
Speaking on the CNN programme State of the Union, due to air on Sunday, Haley was seeking to define the president’s thinking about climate change in the wake of his announcement that the US will leave the Paris climate accord, joining Syria and Nicaragua as one of three non-signatories.
Continue reading...Michael Bloomberg: ‘US will meet its Paris commitments’ – video
Former New York mayor says during surprise trip to Paris on Friday that Americans ‘don’t need Washington to meet our Paris commitments’. Bloomberg, who is the UN’s special envoy for cities and climate change, says cities, states and businesses will instead step in to ensure the targets are met
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