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Country diary: cliffs, clouds and wild, wet views
Cei Newydd/New Quay, Ceredigion Waterfalls flowed wide and white on to the foreshore, shedding excess water from the landscape
The steep path up to the headland was scoured to the bedrock by the recent storms, with banks of debris built up at the breaks of slope like shoals in a stream. Long grass at the margin was flattened and the turf had been peeled back from the edges of the rock by the passage of water.
Recent rain, a series of startlingly abrupt and intense showers, had made me wonder whether a walk on the coast path was a good plan – but the view northwards along the coast more than justified the risk of a soaking.
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Printed solar panels could produce solar power on every roof
Corn starch possible alternative to plastic bags
Dramatic loss of Arctic summer sea ice
Biggest fish in the sea still shrouded in mystery
Micropayments could amount to large sums for conservation
Ghost claws on a unicorn
Tesla's electric semi and Australia's emerging electric truck industry
Groceries code adjudicator deserves more power | Letters
Farmers at home and those in developing countries are waiting with bated breath for the government to rule on expanding the role of the groceries code adjudicator, Christine Tacon. Ms Tacon has wielded her ombudsman role to impose sanctions on supermarkets for failures to play fair with suppliers – and her firm hand is bringing results. But many farmers growing food for our tables still fall foul of unfair practice.
Late cancellations to orders – the equivalent of ordering a meal only to walk out as it arrives at the table – leave piles of unwanted fruit and veg rotting on compost heaps instead of filling our shopping baskets. Ahead of the government’s call for evidence we interviewed banana farmers who received late order changes four weeks out of five, leading to additional costs in an industry notorious for tight margins and difficult working conditions. Late payments also cost farmers money. One group of UK dairy farmers has found itself out of pocket by up to £14,000 per farm since 2015 because of a two-week delay to payments imposed on them by their milk purchaser.
Continue reading...Bloodhound supersonic car fires up Eurofighter engine
Cameroon palm oil campaigner arrested in crackdown on activists
Nasako Besingi has been jailed after opposing a US-funded palm-oil plantation and supporters say this is linked to Cameroon’s ‘anglophone crisis’
A prominent campaigner against palm oil plantations has been arrested amid a growing crackdown on environmental and human rights activists in Cameroon, according to local lawyers and NGOs.
Nasako Besingi, who has led opposition to a US-funded 73,000 hectare farm in a biodiverse rainforest, is among more than 100 individuals who have been detained during an escalation of tension between the predominantly French-speaking authorities and the country’s large English-speaking minority.
Continue reading...The week in wildlife – in pictures
Bearded tits in Norfolk, rutting deer in Dublin, and a hungry polar bear in Alaska are among our pick of images from the natural world
Continue reading...Food security, giant rats and carbon emissions – 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...Wood-burning stove ban will not be enforced against householders
Focus of London mayor’s proposed ban will be on educating owners not to burn wood during bad air quality episodes
Sadiq Khan’s proposed ban on wood-burning stoves in the most-polluted areas of London will not be enforced against householders and will only be in operation at certain times of the year.
Under the mayor of London’s plans, the stoves would be occasionally banned from use in zones in the capital from 2025 and UK-wide laws blocking the sale of all but the newest, cleanest stoves from 2022 would be brought in earlier.
Continue reading...Iconic kiwi could be extinct in 50 years
Selfies, storage and tiny nuclear bunkers: alternative uses for your wood-burner
Sadiq Khan wants to reduce air pollution – and one of the worst offenders is the wood-fired stove. But is there any other use for your Scandi-inspired heater?
In a blow targeted straight at the city’s middle-class heart, Sadiq Khan is trying to ban some wood-burning stoves from London. To reduce air pollution, he is seeking powers to prohibit the burning of wood in any areas that suffer from poor air quality. However, there are 1.5m wood-burning stoves in the UK, and that number is increasing by 200,000 annually. So, if you have a wood-burning stove that you can’t use any more, what are you supposed to do with it? Some thoughts.
• Use it to burn something less harmful to the environment than wood. Polystyrene perhaps?
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