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5,665 gates, 4,862 stiles, 1,054 bridges: but who maintains the Yorkshire dales?
‘I’ll still be doing this on a mobility scooter,’ says one of 100 volunteers who survey national park’s 1,628 miles of paths
One of the many reasons Sally Williams loves the Yorkshire dales national park is because its dramatic landscape has been marked by centuries of human activity. “It’s not like you get in America – a huge area of undiscovered land that nobody has ever trodden on,” she says, standing near the entrance to an old limestone quarry. “It’s an area where people have lived and worked for centuries, and you can see the evidence of that all over the countryside.”
The 67-year-old former librarian is one of an army of nearly 100 volunteers who, every summer, undertake a survey of the park’s 1,628 miles (2,620km) of public rights of way. The volunteers, mainly local retirees, walk every single path and bridleway, ensuring that the park’s “infrastructure” – including its 5,665 gates, 4,862 stiles, 4,399 signposts and 1,054 bridges – is accessible, undamaged and safe.
Continue reading...EU calls for immediate ban on logging in Poland's Białowieża forest
EU asks court to protect one of Europe’s last primeval woodlands after the Polish government tripled logging operations at the Unesco world heritage site last year
Europe’s last major parcel of primeval woodland could be set for a reprieve after the EU asked the European court to authorise an immediate ban on logging in Poland’s Białowieża forest.
Around 80,000 cubic metres of forest have been cleared since the Polish government tripled logging operations around the Unesco world heritage site last year.
Continue reading...Bialowieza Forest: Poland sued over ancient woods logging
Electric cars to account for all new vehicle sales in Europe by 2035
Falling battery costs to drive sales but European carmakers will lose out to rivals in the US and Asia, forecasts Dutch bank
All new cars sold in Europe will be electric within less than two decades, driven by government support, falling battery costs and economies of scale, a Dutch bank has predicted.
However, ING warned that with battery-powered vehicles accounting for 100% of registrations in 2035 across the continent, European carmakers would lose out to their rivals in the US and Asia who already lead on battery production.
Continue reading...Record number of environmental activists killed around the world
The Canadian company mining hills of silver – and the people dying to stop it
In Guatemala, one of the world’s largest silver deposits reaps millions for its Canadian owners but for local farmers the price is their land and even their lives
Deep underground, buried in the lush hills of southern Guatemala, lies a veritable treasure trove: silver, tonnes of it, one of the largest deposits in the world.
But it’s above ground where the really dangerous activity goes on. On a dusty highway, about 50 peasant farmers stand praying in a circle, a makeshift roadblock intended to stop trucks reaching the mine. They have already been violently dispersed by police teargas. Now they fear the army might move in.
Continue reading...Environmental defenders being killed in record numbers globally, new research reveals
Exclusive Activists, wildlife rangers and indigenous leaders are dying violently at the rate of about four a week, with a growing sense around the world that ‘anyone can kill environmental defenders without repercussions’
• See the names of all defenders who have died so far this year here. Read more from the project here.
Last year was the most perilous ever for people defending their community’s land, natural resources or wildlife, with new research showing that environmental defenders are being killed at the rate of almost four a week across the world.
Two hundred environmental activists, wildlife rangers and indigenous leaders trying to protect their land were killed in 2016, according to the watchdog group Global Witness – more than double the number killed five years ago.
Continue reading...Environmental and land defenders killed in 2016: the full list
200 people were killed while defending the environment or land in 2016, with Brazil, Colombia and the Philippines among the countries with most deaths
• Read more from the environmental defenders project here. You can see the names of those who have died so far this year here
Anowarul Islam (Angur)
The defenders: recording the deaths of environmental defenders around the world
This year, in collaboration with Global Witness, the Guardian aims to record the deaths of all people killed while protecting land or natural resources. At the current rate, about four defenders will die this week somewhere on the planet
Continue reading...Environmental and land defenders killed in 2015: the full list
185 people were killed while defending the environment or land in 2015, with Brazil, Nicaragua and the Philippines among the countries with most deaths
- Read more from the environmental defenders project here. You can see the names of those who have died so far this year here
José Antônio Dória dos Santos (Zé Minhenga)
Continue reading...Environmental defenders: who are they and how do we decide if they have died in defence of their environment?
Global Witness uses an extensive network of local contacts and other techniques to gather evidence every time a defender is reported as killed. Because so few killings happen in populous places, very few make the official list
• Read more from the environmental defenders project here. You can see the names of those who have died so far this year here
Who are land and environmental defenders?
Continue reading...Behold Jupiter's Great Red Spot
UK animal experiments fall by 5% - annual figures
Sri Lankan navy saves wild elephant found in ocean – video
A wild elephant struggling at sea is found by the Sri Lankan navy, off the country’s northeast coast near Kokkilai. Divers were sent to tie ropes around the animal before it was safely pulled to shore. Elephants use their trunks as a natural snorkel but cannot stay too long in the water because they use up too much energy
Continue reading...Blue whale skeleton replaces dinosaur at Natural History Museum - timelapse video
The Natural History Museum has replaced its much-loved dinosaur skeleton in the Hintze Hall, affectionately known as Dippy, with a huge blue whale skeleton. The whale was first displayed in 1939 in the museum and now proudly stands in the museum’s central space
- Watch the full clip on the Natural History Museum’s social media
- So long, Dippy: museum’s blue whale seeks to inspire love of living world
Have-a-go heroes: the women saving elephants in their free time
With one elephant killed every 25 minutes, the poaching crisis continues. But with the commitment and activism of a growing global network – dominated by women – laws and attitudes around the world are changing
If dedication and hard work were all it took, Maria Mossman would have saved every last elephant by now. Despite having two children, aged five and seven, and a part-time job for a large corporation, she also spends 35 to 40 hours a week as an unpaid activist. It was even more time when the children were younger. “I used to come home from work at about 4pm and then sit on my computer, networking with other groups and activists until two o’clock in the morning,” she recalls.
Mossman, 41, got heavily involved in elephant activism in 2013. As well as founding Action for Elephants UK (AFEUK), she’s one of the key organisers of the global elephant and rhino marches. “It’s really hard work,” she says. “Really stressful. Just before the marches you say: ‘We’re not going to do this again.’ And as soon as one is over you start planning the next one.”
Continue reading...Timelapse of museum's new star attraction
Hot hairstreaks drop to earth for a lime lolly
Chicksands Wood, Bedfordshire The butterflies were scuttling quickly on crooked legs, like crabs, between lime fixes
These are the dog days of the birdwatcher’s year, the muted lull when most things of interest melt into the undergrowth to moult. Avid birders look for substitutes with wings, and often turn to butterflies. Woods such as Chicksands offer an opportunity to see one of the rarest – given binoculars, sun, stillness, a cricked neck and an ocean of luck.
Even before Dutch elm disease brought a collapse in its population, the white-letter hairstreak would not have been an easy spot.
Continue reading...Vehicle emissions standards: Why Australia needs them, and why they’re NOT a carbon tax
Another 1GW solar pipeline flagged, with eye to Australian coal hubs
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