Government plans legislation giving landowners and tenants rights to cull deer to protect crops and property
It will be much easier to shoot deer in England under government plans that aim to curb the damage the animals are doing to the country’s woodlands.
Emma Reynolds, the environment secretary, plans to bring forward new legislation to give landowners and tenants legal rights to shoot deer to protect crops and property.
Continue reading...Arctesthes avatar moth, which won nearly half of the votes, was discovered in 2012 and is critically endangered
A tiny critically endangered moth, named after the Avatar films because of the proposed mining activity threatening its primary habitat, has been crowned New Zealand’s bug of the year.
The Avatar moth won by a wide margin, earning 5,192 of the more than 11,000 total votes cast. It won 2,269 more votes than the runner-up, the mahoenui giant wētā, one of the world’s largest insects. Other contenders included the wonderfully spiky hellraiser mite, the country’s heaviest spider – the black tunnelweb – and a giant earthworm that glows in the dark.
Continue reading...Report says common agricultural policy provides ‘unfair’ levels of support to unhealthy, meat-heavy diets
Beef and lamb receive 580 times more in EU subsidies than legumes, a report has found, despite scientists urging people to get more of their protein from less harmful sources.
Analysis by the charity Foodrise found the EU’s common agricultural policy (CAP) provides “unfair” levels of support to meat-heavy diets that doctors consider unhealthy and climate scientists consider environmentally destructive.
Continue reading...Abandoned beaches, public health warning signs and seagulls eating human waste are now features of the popular coastline in New Zealand
A tide of anger is rising in New Zealand’s capital, Wellington, as the city’s toilets continue to flush directly into the ocean more than two weeks after the catastrophic collapse of its wastewater treatment plant.
Millions of litres of raw and partially screened sewage have been pouring into pristine reefs and a marine reserve along the south coast daily since 4 February, prompting a national inquiry, as the authorities struggle to get the decimated plant operational.
Continue reading...Advisory board member says Europe already paying price for lack of preparation but adapting is ‘not rocket science’
Keeping Europe safe from extreme weather “is not rocket science”, a top researcher has said, as the EU’s climate advisory board urges countries to prepare for a catastrophic 3C of global heating.
Maarten van Aalst, a member of the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change (ESABCC), said the continent was already “paying a price” for its lack of preparation but that adapting to a hotter future was in part “common sense and low-hanging fruit”.
Continue reading...Much improved response systems are struggling to cope with ever more powerful and destructive storms
Families stranded on their rooftops. Homes buried by fast-flowing mud. Jagged brown craters scarring lush green hillsides.
The scenes are the result of a series of cyclones and storms in a heavy monsoon season that have struck Asia with torrential rains, gutting essential infrastructure and reshaping landscapes. The violent weather has killed at least 1,200 people in the past week and forced a million to flee without knowing whether their homes will still be standing when they go back.
Continue reading...Shrimp soundtrack will be played under water to lure baby oysters in program aimed at fighting algal blooms
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South Australians are being urged to feast on local oysters and then donate the shells to restore native reefs, which will filter ocean water and help fight harmful algal blooms.
The program will also involve lumps of limestone being sunk in the ocean, with a soundtrack of snapping shrimp playing on underwater speakers to lure baby oysters in.
Continue reading...Expert cautions large pipeline of potential projects will not deliver required energy capacity unless companies make final investments
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Renewable energy investors have warned “deep structural issues” are driving a slump in solar and wind investment in Australia, with commitments on large-scale farms at the lowest level in almost a decade.
Clean Energy Regulator data shows the government agency expects 2.5GW of industry-scale renewable energy capacity to reach a final investment decision this year, down from 4GW last year. The 12-month average for investment commitments on new developments is at its lowest since early 2017.
Continue reading...Officials in Indonesia say more than 442 people have died, while Sri Lanka suffers worst natural disaster since 2004 tsunami
Authorities in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand are racing to clear debris and find hundreds of missing people after more than 900 died in devastating floods and landslides across the south of Asia.
In the latest example of the impact of the climate crisis on storm patterns and extreme weather, heavy monsoon rains, exacerbated by a tropical storm, have overwhelmed parts of south-east Asia in recent days, leaving thousands of people stranded without shelter or critical supplies.
Continue reading...Use of 8m pounds of antibiotics and antifungals a year leads to superbugs and damages human health, lawsuit claims
A new legal petition filed by a dozen public health and farm worker groups demands the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stop allowing farms to spray antibiotics on food crops in the US because they are probably causing superbugs to flourish and sickening farm workers.
The agricultural industry sprays about 8m pounds of antibiotic and antifungal pesticides on US food crops annually, many of which are banned in other countries.
Continue reading...Hundreds of people still missing after heavy rain and mudslides in country’s deadliest natural disaster for years
Entire areas of Sri Lanka’s capital are flooded after a powerful cyclone triggered heavy rains and mudslides across the island, with authorities reporting nearly 200 dead and dozens more missing.
Officials said the extent of the damage in the country’s worst-affected central region was slowly becoming clear on Sunday as relief workers cleared roads blocked by fallen trees and mudslides.
Continue reading...Another 191 missing after heavy rains from Cyclone Ditwah while almost 78,000 evacuated to temporary shelters amid rescue operations
Torrential rains and floods triggered by Cyclone Ditwah have killed 153 people across Sri Lanka so far, with another 191 still missing, the country’s Disaster Management Centre (DCM) said on Saturday.
The DMC director general, Sampath Kotuwegoda, said relief operations were under way with 78,000 people moved to nearly 800 state-run welfare centres after their homes were destroyed by the week-long heavy rains.
Continue reading...French government-owned company to receive funding for Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C
UK energy bill payers will hand over £2bn a year in subsidies to EDF, the French company building two new nuclear power stations, according to government figures.
EDF, owned by the French government, will be entitled to £1bn in annual payments as soon as Hinkley Point C, in Somerset, comes on to the grid in 2030.
Continue reading...Alarming shift since 2010 means planet’s three main rainforest regions now contribute to climate breakdown
Africa’s forests have turned from a carbon sink into a carbon source, according to research that underscores the need for urgent action to save the world’s great natural climate stabilisers.
The alarming shift, which has happened since 2010, means all of the planet’s three main rainforest regions – the South American Amazon, south-east Asia and Africa – have gone from being allies in the fight against climate breakdown to being part of the problem.
Continue reading...Minister Steven Guilbeault says Indigenous nations were not consulted and the pipeline would have ‘major environmental impacts’
Mark Carney has agreed an energy deal with Alberta centred on plans for a new heavy oil pipeline reaching from the province’s oil sands to the Pacific coast, a politically volatile project that is expected to face stiff opposition.
The move proved politically damaging within hours, with the minister of Canadian culture, Steven Guilbeault, who is the former environment minister, announcing he would leave cabinet. Guilbault, a former activist and lifelong environmental advocate, said he strongly opposed the plan.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Former US secretary of state calls for more demanding steps from Australia as it takes over presidency of next year’s UN climate summit
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Australia’s government, which will preside over the next UN climate summit, should gather the world’s 25 biggest greenhouse gas emitting countries and push them to draw up a roadmap to end the era of fossil fuels, former US secretary of state John Kerry has said.
Only by “hard-nosed” confrontation with fossil fuel producers, and reducing their consumption in major economies, would the world be able to tackle the climate crisis, he said.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Former US secretary of state calls for more demanding steps from Australia as it takes over presidency of next year’s UN climate summit
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Australia’s government, which will preside over the next UN climate summit, should gather the world’s 25 biggest greenhouse gas emitting countries and push them to draw up a roadmap to end the era of fossil fuels, former US secretary of state John Kerry has said.
Only by “hard-nosed” confrontation with fossil fuel producers, and reducing their consumption in major economies, would the world be able to tackle the climate crisis, he said.
Continue reading...Environmental charity Fidra says 168 of 195 SSSIs it surveyed are contaminated with tiny pellets
Plastic nurdles have been found in 84% of important nature sites surveyed in the UK.
Nurdles are tiny pellets that the plastics industry uses to make larger products. They were found in 168 of 195 sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs), so named because of the rare wildlife they harbour. They are given extra protections in an effort to protect them from pollution.
Continue reading...Opposition claims key diplomatic role at next year’s conference in Turkey would make Bowen a ‘part-time minister’ while Australians face inflated energy prices
Experts have dismissed claims Chris Bowen cannot remain a senior minister while playing a leading role in international climate negotiations, with one describing the argument as evidence of an Australian “culture cringe”.
Australia failed in its long-running bid to co-host the Cop31 climate summit with Pacific nations next year after Turkey refused to withdraw from the consensus process despite limited support.
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Continue reading...Australian Marine Conservation Society’s GoodFish guide aims to showcase the most environmentally friendly seafood sources
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As a challenging year for marine life heads into its final weeks, GoodFish has shared its list of sustainable choices for the festive season to help take the pressure off Australia’s oceans.
“It’s a time to be more careful than ever,” said Adrian Meder, sustainable seafood program manager at the Australian Marine Conservation Society, which produces the GoodFish guide.
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