Scientists tracking alerts sent by the National Weather Service say data underscores the risk of heatwaves and storms this summer
Half of the US population has faced an extreme weather alert since 1 May and many more are likely to face risks from wildfires, flooding, tropical storms and extreme heat as summer begins.
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has been tracking the alerts sent by the National Weather Service (NWS) warning about dangerous weather.
Continue reading...Even low doses of airborne benzene raise the risk of a variety of cancers, including lymphomas and leukemia
Using a gas stove can raise indoor concentrations of benzene, a cancer-linked chemical, to above what’s found in secondhand smoking or even beyond levels found next to oil and gas facilities, a new study has found.
The research, which measured benzene levels in 87 homes in California and Colorado, found that gas and propane stoves frequently emitted benzene at rates well above healthy benchmarks set by the World Health Organization and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Continue reading...Ruling could take weeks to emerge in trial for Held v Montana, which is the first constitutional climate trial in US history
A groundbreaking climate trial came to an early close on Tuesday as lawyers on each side presented a very different picture of who can be held responsible for the climate crisis.
Attorneys representing the lawsuit’s young challengers said Montana officials and agencies must be held accountable for exacerbating the crisis, and thereby violating the plaintiffs’ state constitutional rights. But the defense argued that climate change is a global problem, and that if Montana is contributing to it, plaintiffs should work to change that through the legislature.
Continue reading...Les Soulèvements de La Terre uses direct action aimed at big business interests
The French government is to shut down a climate protest group over a series of recent demonstrations citing risks to public safety, as the environmental activists called the decision “political and particularly worrying”.
Les Soulèvements de la Terre (Earth Uprising) is an umbrella group of several different environmental activist associations across France. It is seen as leading a new form of more radical climate action in Europe with high-profile direct action often aimed at big business interests, state projects and large-scale farming.
Continue reading...Author of landmark UK review into the economic value of nature joins UN environment chief in calls for ‘action, not just words’ on biodiversity goals
Humans are exploiting nature beyond its limits, the University of Cambridge economist Prof Sir Partha Dasgupta has warned, as the UN’s environment chief calls on governments to make good on a global deal for biodiversity, six months after it was agreed.
Dasgupta, the author of a landmark review into the economic importance of nature commissioned by the UK Treasury in 2021, said it was a mistake to continue basing economic policies on the postwar boom that did not account for damage to the planet.
Continue reading...Inquiry launched by Environment Agency into huge pile of medical aprons found in Calmore, Hampshire
The “dumping” of hundreds of thousands of pieces of unused personal protective equipment near a nature reserve on the edge of the New Forest has mystified and angered local people.
But the council has revealed the giant pile of boxes containing medical aprons in Calmore, Hampshire, will be recycled into plastic bags.
Continue reading...Speech in Scotland shows willingness to face energy dilemma head-on, but green groups say fossil fuel end date must come soon
Scotland was a brave choice as the venue for the launch of Keir Starmer’s new energy and climate policy. Back in March, Rishi Sunak was planning to hold his “energy day” in Aberdeen, the UK’s oil and gas capital, but after criticism he switched to the much safer Oxfordshire.
Starmer knows that Labour needs to win back lost seats in Scotland, so visiting the Scottish capital for an important speech was a canny move. More than that, though, taking the launch to Edinburgh showed a willingness to face head-on Labour’s energy dilemma: how to shift the UK economy to a low-carbon footing, as net zero demands, without destroying high-quality jobs in carbon-intensive industries.
Continue reading...Second sighting of white whale off Queensland’s coast within weeks has ocean watchers wondering if it could be famous humpback
The second sighting of a white whale off Queensland’s coast within weeks has ocean watchers wondering if it could be Migaloo, the elusive albino humpback who has not been seen in three years.
A tourist flying over the Great Barrier Reef filmed what appears to be a white humpback whale swimming north, as thousands of humpbacks make their annual migration from Antartica to warmer waters to breed.
Continue reading...But a majority of Australians think more money should be spent on the environment
Half of Australians are unaware of the extent of the nature crisis despite agreeing governments need to do more to support the environment, research by the Biodiversity Council suggests.
Graeme Samuel, the former competition watchdog head who chaired a 2020 review of Australia’s environmental laws, says a campaign is needed to bring public awareness of biodiversity decline in line with the understanding of the climate crisis.
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Continue reading...Federal suit brought by public health groups alleges agency’s science shows human risks and harm to endangered species
Public health groups are suing the US Environmental Protection Agency over the reapproval of two toxic herbicides made with an active ingredient in Agent Orange, a chemical weapon deployed by the US to destroy vegetation in the Vietnam war, and which caused huge health problems among soldiers and Vietnamese residents.
The federal suit alleges the EPA’s science shows the human health risks and harm to endangered species associated with widely spreading the chemical on US cropland, but the agency failed to properly calculate those risks during the reapproval process. The herbicide is also prone to damaging non-GMO crops or vegetation on neighboring fields.
Continue reading...Blockade Australia’s coordinated action targets ports in Newcastle, Brisbane and Melbourne
Climate protesters have disrupted coal shipments and motorway traffic at ports in Newcastle, Brisbane and Melbourne.
A climate protester has suspended herself from a rail bridge at the Newcastle coal ports, blocking trains, as coordinated protests were mounted at ports in Melbourne and Brisbane. The woman was livestreaming her solitary protest online and police were on site.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Researchers say government’s climate schedule needs to be brought forward by a decade to keep heating to 1.5C
Australia’s fair share of action to give the world a chance of keeping global heating to 1.5C would mean reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2038 – more than a decade ahead of the government’s schedule, according to new scientific analysis.
To stay on track to keep global heating of 1.5C within reach – a goal the climate change and energy minister Chris Bowen has described as vital – Australia’s 2035 target would need to see a cut of 90% on 2005 levels by 2035, the analysis says.
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Continue reading...Grattan Institute analysis recommends governments help households transition to electric, and ban new gas connections for homes and businesses
Getting households off gas for heating and cooking would cut energy bills and improve people’s health, and is necessary for Australia to have any hope of reaching net zero greenhouse emissions by 2050, a new analysis says.
The report by the Grattan Institute, a Melbourne-based thinktank, called on state and territory governments to set dates for the end of gas use and launch campaigns to encourage and help households become “all electric”, running on renewable energy.
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Continue reading...The US’s first state-run public power company could be created when Maine votes later this year – but utilities are fighting it
Residents in Maine are about to be bombarded with a multimillion-dollar public relations campaign aimed at saving the state’s two dominant electric utilities from being voted out of existence in November.
If Mainers vote yes, they will make history – endorsing a first-of-its-kind plan to create a state-level, public power company through a hostile takeover.
Continue reading...An old farming technique called silvopasture, which allows cows to graze on a variety of plants in forests and tree-filled pastureland, is seeing a resurgence across the world
Brett Chedzoy and his wife, Maria, live on a 300-acre farm in Watkins Glen, a small town along the Finger Lakes in New York, with 100 cows – primarily Black Angus, with a few White Galloways scattered throughout the herd.
The farm, Angus Glen, has lush green pastures and wooded areas, where black walnut and black locust trees stretch skyward out of rolling seas of tall grasses, shrubs and clovers. When Chedzoy, 54, walks through the pasture at sunset, the cows pop their heads up, follow him and wait patiently at the gate. As he pulls it aside, the cows rush forward into the wooded area to nibble on tree branches and shrubs, before turning their attention to the emerald grass around the trees.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Ecologists say there are early signs that the population is recovering in remote forests
It is a discotheque for Britain’s biggest type of grouse. Before dawn, male capercaillie will begin their courtship rituals, their black tail feathers erect and fanning out, chests puffed out, their heads thrust high into the cold spring air.
Their dancefloors are forest clearings in the Highlands which echo the males’ wheezing, popping and clattering mating calls. Often perched in surrounding pine trees, hens will carefully watch as their potential mates compete to win their affection.
Continue reading...Millions of crickets – or rather shield-backed katydids – migrating across state, after hatching was delayed in spring
Millions of flightless insects known as Mormon crickets have descended across Nevada, alarming residents, blanketing roadways and buildings, and fueling nightmares.
Footage shared on social media and by local news outlets captures six Nevada counties under siege, with thick carpets of bugs moving slowly and efficiently across the state. A local hospital had to deploy brooms and leafblowers to clear the way for patients to get into the building, a spokesperson for the Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital, told local news outlet KSL.
Continue reading...Some settlements may be cut off by flooding as warm, humid air causes storms to develop, says Met Office
Thunderstorms set to sweep across the UK this weekend could cause flash flooding, forecasters have warned.
Parts of the UK could face train and bus delays and some communities may be cut off by flooding as warm, humid air causes storms to develop, the Met Office said.
Continue reading...Feedback argues ministers’ failure to include measures to reduce production of meat and dairy products was unlawful
Ministers broke the law by failing to make plans to cut consumption of meat and dairy in England, activists will argue in a legal challenge after they were granted permission for a full judicial review of the government’s food strategy.
Overturning two previous decisions, the court of appeal on Friday ruled that the food systems campaigners Feedback could challenge the national food strategy on the basis that it failed to take into account ministers’ duties to cut carbon emissions.
Continue reading...Some areas left with little or no water, forcing schools to shut and residents to fetch drinking water from bottle stations
A hosepipe ban is scheduled to come into effect across Kent and Sussex as a result of record demand for drinking water, South East Water bosses have said.
Parts of the region have been left with little or no water this week during the hot weather, forcing schools to shut and residents to fetch drinking water from bottled water stations.
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