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How can humans and elephants better coexist?
The human-elephant conflict plays a huge role in the rapid decline elephant numbers. A panel of experts share ideas on how to mitigate this problem
We need conservation (not just fighting the illegal wildlife trade which has captured the limelight more recently) to be far higher up the political agenda. For example, we in the UK could be much more effectively linking overseas aid (budget of £12bn this year) to poverty relief, sustainable development and environmental protection, ecosystem services and conservation priorities. Will Travers, president, Born Free Foundation
Continue reading...Electric cars accelerate past 2m mark globally
China, US and Europe accounted for more than 90% of electric vehicle sales last year with decreasing costs driving demand
The number of electric cars in the world accelerated past the 2m barrier last year, as prices fell and manufacturers launched new models.
The number of battery-powered vehicles numbered just hundreds globally in 2005 and passed the 1m milestone in 2015, but sales jumped 60% in 2016.
Rare US floods to become the norm if emissions aren't cut, study warns
- Princeton-Rutgers study finds sharp increase in risk of frequent deluges
- ‘Many cities are behind the eight-ball in terms of preparing for flooding’
US coastal areas are set to be deluged by far more frequent and severe flooding events if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t slashed, with rare floods becoming the norm for places such as New York City, Seattle and San Diego, new research has found.
Related: Climate change progress at Trump's EPA is grinding to a halt, workers reveal
Continue reading...A tax on meat
Paris pollution victim sues France for bad air
A field guide to the spiders of Australia
Antarctic Halley base waits on ice behaviour
British ice station on the move
Demand for elephant skin, trunk and penis drives rapid rise in poaching in Myanmar
A growth in demand for elephant parts to be used in traditional medicine in Asia means the number of elephants being killed in Myanmar is rising
Case files and laminated photos of poachers spill out of captain Than Naing’s folder. As the chief of police in Okekan township, one of Myanmar’s recent poaching hotspots, he is trying to track down the men who have killed at least three elephants in the area over the past year. So far, he has arrested 11 people suspected of having assisted the poachers. Meanwhile the poachers themselves remain at large.
“These are the two men who we believe killed one of the elephants,” he says, pointing to two photos. “They are still on the run.”
Continue reading...Mizen to Malin by bike in six days – Ireland's Land's End to John O'Groats
Mizen Head to Malin Head is a 510-mile trip that takes in the breathtaking Maumturk Mountains, the empty beaches of Cork and Kerry, and the wilderness of the Burren
Send anyone to the west coast of Ireland and they will fall in love with it at some point. For me it was at a junction in Maum, County Galway, where I had stopped to take a photo of a signpost but ended up having my breath taken away by the Maumturk Mountains in all their pastoral, sunlit glory.
Continue reading...The Greens would ditch Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant | Damian Carrington
Guardian experts give their view on the main parties’ public service manifesto pledges. Here, our environment editor looks at energy, pollution and recycling
• Denis Campbell on health
• David Brindle on social care
• Patrick Butler on social security
• Dawn Foster on housing
• Anna Bawden on local government
• Frances Ryan on disability
• Alan Travis on criminal justice and immigration
• Jane Dudman on the civil service
• Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
New support for fracking to extract shale and coal seam gas is the most striking pledge from the Conservatives, with the easing of planning rules, a new dedicated regulator and more of any future tax revenues going directly to communities hosting shale gas sites. Wind power remains ruled out in England, but offshore wind farms are supported. The energy efficiency of all fuel-poor homes would be upgraded to meet energy performance certificate (EPC) band C criteria by 2030. There is no environment section in the manifesto and the UK’s air pollution crisis gets a single sentence: “We will take action against poor air quality in urban areas.” A free vote on repealing the ban on fox hunting with dogs is promised.
Continue reading...Crocodile captures soar in Darwin as wet season boosts waterways
66% spike in captures as bumper wet season connects major river systems in Northern Territory, allowed deadly reptiles to move around more freely
The number of crocodiles caught in the Top End has soared after Territorians endured the third wettest wet season on record.
There’s been a 66% spike in crocodile captures around Darwin and Katherine in the past year, the NT Parks and Wildlife Commission says.
AGL to build fast-start generator to replace 50yo gas plants
The footballer hoverfly is a little fist of bling
Wenlock Edge, Shropshire The stripy sun fly joins the summer swarm of insects to the opening of the festival of flowers
The sun fly alights on a bramble leaf and alters its position as if by the clockwise clicks of an invisible dial. Gold on black, black on gold, it radiates. The sun fly is one of the syrphid flies, a hoverfly of rough flowery places such as this verge of a long-abandoned railway line through the woods.
It’s a chunky little fist of bling, folding up a cut-glass wingspan of 25mm. Its thorax is black with three vertical yellow stripes – which has earned it the nickname of the footballer or the common tiger hoverfly. It presents a regal, black-banded backside of an abdomen with crescentic yellow markings like the folded gold of Saxon hoards.
Continue reading...Trump gets excited about solar – to help pay for Mexico border wall
While nations play politics, cities and states are taking up the climate challenge
Last week, Donald Trump entered the White House Rose Garden and announced that the United States would withdraw from the Paris climate accord. In doing so, he fulfilled his campaign promise to “cancel” the Paris deal, a move that calls into question the future of the entire agreement.
In withdrawing, Trump cited the (arguably short-term) sacrifice the agreement requires of the US. This perspective fulfils the famous prediction made by economist Garrett Hardin in the 1960s: the “tragedy of the commons”. Hardin wrote that self-interest drives individuals to exploit collective resources in the short term, even to their long-term detriment.
Hardin and those following him thought the only way to avoid this tragedy was by securing collective agreements. That is why so many people view the Paris Accord as a vital mechanism for addressing climate change. It is also why the US withdrawal is devastating.
But another famous economist, Elinor Ostrom, saw things differently. Writing after the demise of the Kyoto Agreement but before the Paris Accord, Ostrom said that faith in multinational accords to address climate change was misplaced. Ostrom saw the limits of such collective action. Crucially, Ostrom suggested that we should also recognise the potential of localised collective action.
And already there are examples in both the developed and developing world that this is happening right now.
The new global leadershipUltimately, efforts to reduce global warming are advanced by the pedestrian, daily choices of households, businesses, and sub-national governments. Millions of local choices can have global effects, for good or ill.
It’s clear that Trump is stepping away from global leadership on climate change. But in response, the state governors of Washington, New York and California declared they remain committed to the Paris climate targets. Since then, a further 10 US states have joined the budding Climate Alliance.
In the past two decades, mounting evidence has shown the power of such efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. These efforts have been driven by policy entrepreneurs – people with vision, energy, and the collaborative instincts required to promote collective action. A classic example is provided by the former mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, who in 2005 invited mayors from other mega-cities to join him in promoting climate change efforts. That initiative has spurred many more, with transformative effects.
Looking around the world, we can see the diversity of localised initiatives in place to address climate change.
In Sao Paulo, Brazil, traffic congestion and pollution are being addressed by providing better public transport options and more bicycle lanes.
In Ethiopia, the Addis Ababa Light Rail Transport Project aims to reduce significantly the greenhouse gas emissions from cars.
In India, Kolkata has implemented the Solid Waste Management Improvement Project, which is reducing the release of methane emissions, while contributing to improved public sanitation.
Across Europe, cities have started emulating meat-free Thursdays, which originated in Ghent, Belgium. Aside from other benefits, reducing meat consumption can reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.
In the US, leaders in cities and states have done much to reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by cars and coal-fired power plants, for example through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
Globally, the Carbon Disclosure Project has significantly influenced actions of businesses and governments alike.
Particularly important for smaller developing countries is the Cartegena Dialogue. It creates opportunities for leaders to share strategies for mitigating climate change and – just as urgently, especially for small Pacific nations – adapting to it.
The Paris Accord is a landmark, multilateral initiative. The withdrawal of the US is appalling, and deserves a strong rebuke. But it does not foreshadow the unravelling of multilateral resolve for addressing climate change.
The backslappers in Washington have had their Rose Garden moment. Elsewhere, energetic policy entrepreneurs are mobilising. Grounded in their communities, they are acting to protect the planet for today’s young people, and for those not yet born. That too, is global leadership.
Michael Mintrom does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond the academic appointment above.
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