Category Archives: Environment

Australia politics live: Monique Ryan tells Coalition ‘put your masks on’ in question time; Greens say RBA interest rate hikes won’t solve inflation

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The housing minister, Julie Collins, says Australia’s rate of homelessness is “unacceptable”, as she promises a greater leadership role from the federal government in the sector.

Australia today marks the beginning of Homelessness Week, with social agencies calling on governments nationwide to do more to address housing and rental affordability, as well as the underlying factors contributing to homelessness.

Our reforms aim to ensure every Australian has access to safe and affordable housing to improve social and economic outcomes for all Australians, including those at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness,” she said on Monday.

According to the 2016 Census, in Australia there are over 116,000 people experiencing homelessness, and this figure is unacceptable.”

We all need to be heading in the same direction.

We need to be ambitious ... we all need to be working together to solve the housing affordability issues we have.

What’s happened is the states and territories have been doing their own thing and I don’t think there’s been enough national leadership.

In its gas inquiry 2017-2025 interim report released on Monday, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said the east coast gas market is facing a gas shortfall of 56 petajoules in 2023.

This gap is about 10% of annual domestic demand, ‘signifying a substantial risk to Australia’s energy security’, the report says.

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Blooming Essex garden points to future of horticulture in a heating UK

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RHS Hyde Hall has made a virtue of its position in the driest county in England by embracing adaptable plants

It has not been artificially watered for 22 years, yet this garden, on an exposed slope in Essex, the driest county in the UK, is bursting with bloom.

A dry bed at the Royal Horticultural Society Hyde Hall dominated by cool greys and pale greens, and full of Mediterranean, Australian and African shrubs and flowers, could this be the future British garden?

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Heatwaves put classic Alpine hiking routes off-limits

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Routes that are usually safe at this time of year now face hazards as a result of warmer temperatures

Little snow cover and glaciers melting at an alarming rate in Europe’s heatwaves have put some classic Alpine hiking routes off-limits.

Usually at the height of summer tourists flock to the Alps and seek out well-trodden paths up to some of its peaks. But with warmer temperatures – which scientists say are driven by climate change – speeding up glacier melt and thawing permafrost, routes that are usually safe at this time of year now face hazards such as falling rocks released from the ice.

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Lake Mead: shrinking waters uncover buried secrets and grisly finds

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Sunken boat from second world war and at least three sets of human remains found in largest US reservoir – and more could follow

Drought has a way of revealing things. Receding waters can highlight the precarity of the crucial systems that keep societies functioning and expose hidden ancient cities.

In the case of Lake Mead, America’s largest reservoir, diminishing waters have in recent months uncovered long buried secrets and other mysterious finds: at least three sets of human remains, including a body inside a barrel that could be linked to a mob killing, and a sunken boat dating back to the second world war.

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Catastrophic flash flooding kills 25 in Kentucky and at least a dozen missing

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Kentucky governor says he expects death toll to rise and warns officials still cannot reach certain areas

Catastrophic flash flooding in eastern Kentucky has now claimed 25 lives, with at least a dozen more people reported missing, as officials in the Appalachian region attempt to calculate the cost of the worst natural disaster there in decades.

The Kentucky governor, Andy Beshear, said he expected the death toll to continue to rise in the state and warned officials still could not reach certain areas.

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‘Wake-up call’ for climate-sceptic Czechs as blaze devastates national park

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Sentiment is shifting among politicians and public as beloved region of forested mountains goes up in flames

As wake-up calls go, this one had the distinction of early morning pungency. If the Czech Republic is to complete the journey from deep climate change scepticism to full recognition of the global heating crisis, history may record that the common experience of awakening to a pervading burning smell marked a turning point.

This was the sensation that greeted inhabitants of Prague and other towns and cities last Monday morning as smoke from a blaze that had broken out the previous day in Bohemian Switzerland, a storied forested area close to the German border, wafted across the country and seeped into the popular consciousness.

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US drafts new speed limits on shipping to help save endangered whales

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Fewer than 340 North Atlantic right whales remain and vessel strikes are among the biggest threats to the species

Vessels off the US east coast must slow down more often to help save a vanishing species of whale from extinction, the federal government said.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration made the announcement via new proposed rules designed to prevent ships colliding with North Atlantic right whales.

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Disposable barbecues must be banned in England, says fire chief

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London commissioner Andy Roe calls for national ban after barbecues blamed for blazes across the country during driest spell in 111 years

London’s fire commissioner has joined calls for a total national ban on disposable barbecues after they were blamed for starting wildfires in England during the recent spate of dry weather.

The barbecues are a fire risk, especially when used on dry ground, and areas of England have seen the driest weather experienced for 111 years.

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Making a comeback: rewilding in Europe gets a £4m funding boost

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Native wildlife will be reintroduced across Europe in a bid to reduce atmospheric carbon and promote tourism

A European environmental organisation is looking to expand its number of rewilding landscapes – areas where endangered wildlife is reintroduced and protected – after being awarded a grant of £4.1m.

The grant has been pledged to Rewilding Europe in the hope of scaling up rewilding efforts throughout several parts of the European continent.

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At least 16 people dead after flash flooding in Kentucky

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Governor Andy Beshear says he expects death toll to ‘more than double’ after record floods wipe out entire towns in state’s east

Kentucky’s governor said it could take weeks to find all the victims of flash flooding that killed at least 16 people when heavy rains turned streams into torrents that swamped towns across Appalachia.

More rainstorms were forecast to roll through in coming days, keeping the region on edge as rescue crews struggled to get into hard-hit areas that include some of the poorest places in America.

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Fears that Egypt may use Cop27 to whitewash human rights abuses

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Naomi Klein and Caroline Lucas among signatories to letter voicing concerns over country’s hosting of climate summit

A hundred days before the Cop27 summit is due to start in Sharm el-Sheikh, a group of environmentalists and activists have expressed alarm over Egypt’s ability to host the event successfully because of its poor record on human rights, as thousands of prisoners of conscience remain behind bars.

“We are deeply concerned that [a successful conference] will not be possible due to the repressive actions of the Egyptian government,” they said. “Indeed, it seems more likely at this point that the conference will be used to whitewash human rights abuses in the country.”

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As more space junk falls to Earth, will China clean up its act?

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Parts of a 23-tonne piece of rocket will come crashing down – somewhere – in the next few days

In the next few days, a 23-tonne piece of rocket will plummet to Earth at about 15,000 miles an hour. Much of it may burn up on re-entry, but a significant amount will not.

It could land as one piece but more probably as many, scattered over an area up to several hundred miles across. Scientists have narrowed down the likely impact zone to within the latitudes of 41 degrees north and 41 degrees south, a region covering much of the US and South America, Africa, the Middle East, most of Asia, and all of Australia except the island of Tasmania.

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Nepal’s tiger numbers recover but attacks on people cause alarm

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Nepalese population of Bengal tigers has nearly tripled in 12 years and conflict with humans is increasing

Nepal’s tiger population has nearly tripled in 12 years, the country’s prime minister has announced. But concerns about the human cost of the big cat’s recovery are growing after a rise in fatal attacks.

From a low of 121 in 2010, the Nepalese population of Bengal tigers has risen to 355, according to the latest survey, revealed by the prime minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba, to mark International Tiger Day on Friday.

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German cities impose cold showers and turn off lights amid Russian gas crisis

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Hanover is first large city to impose energy-saving measures and Berlin switches off monument spotlights

Cities in Germany are switching off spotlights on public monuments, turning off fountains, and imposing cold showers on municipal swimming pools and sports halls, as the country races to reduce its energy consumption in the face of a looming Russian gas crisis.

Hanover in north-west Germany on Wednesday became the first large city to announce energy-saving measures, including turning off hot water in the showers and bathrooms of city-run buildings and leisure centres.

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Activists surprised and relieved at Manchin’s decision to back climate bill

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But the senator’s insistence on more fossil fuel drilling was called a ‘climate suicide pact’ by one expert

Climate advocates reacted with surprise and delight to Joe Manchin’s decision to back a sweeping bill to combat the climate crisis, with analysts predicting the legislation will bring the US close to its target of slashing planet-heating emissions.

The West Virginia senator, who has made millions from his ownership of a coal-trading company, had seemingly thwarted Joe Biden’s hopes of passing meaningful climate legislation – only to reveal on Wednesday his support for a $369bn package to support renewable energy and electric vehicle rollout.

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From civil service to civil disobedience: Greg Hunt’s former adviser joins Extinction Rebellion protest

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Gregory Andrews was one of several former public servants at rally outside Parliament House calling for end to fossil fuel expansion

In 2013, Gregory Andrews was an adviser to the then environment minister Greg Hunt, working in an office that scrapped the Tim Flannery-led Climate Commission and abolished a national carbon price scheme.

Late last year he was Australia’s high commissioner in western Africa, where his job focused on helping push oil and gas developments by Australian companies.

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Falls in Europe’s crop yields due to heatwaves could worsen price rises

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From Spain to Hungary, output of staples such as corn forecast to fall by up to 9%, adding to impact of Ukraine war on food security

Yields of key crops in Europe will be sharply down this year owing to heatwaves and droughts, exacerbating the impacts of the Ukraine war on food prices.

Maize, sunflower and soya bean yields are forecast by the EU to drop by about 8% to 9% due to hot weather across the continent. Supplies of cooking oil and maize were already under pressure, as Ukraine is a major producer and its exports have been blocked by Russia.

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Australia politics live: Pauline Hanson under fire for welcome to country walkout; Kylea Tink and Stephen Bates make first speeches to parliament

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AAP has a preview of today’s inflation figures, which are going to be horrible:

Australia could be about to record its worst inflation outcome in more than 31 years, paving the way for higher mortgage and lending rates.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release the consumer price index data for the June quarter – when the price of a supermarket iceberg lettuce hit $10 – on Wednesday.

The financial market consensus is for a headline annual inflation rate of 6.2% – the highest since the December quarter of 1990.

That would be more than the 5.1% rate logged in the March quarter, which was the fastest pace of annual price growth in 21 years.

“Since then, inflation has likely broadened and deepened,” St George chief economist Besa Deda said.

The quarterly outcome is forecast at 1.8%, which would be slightly lower than the 2.1% recorded in the previous quarter.

But the range of economists’ forecasts for the quarterly number is wide – between 1.6% and 2.8% – signalling uncertainty about how deeply entrenched price pressures have become since March.

While the main drivers of inflation in the June quarter will again be fuel and food costs, housing and building costs are also likely to be strong – perhaps as high as 20% year-on-year, according to JP Morgan economists.

Other factors are adding to the pressure, particularly in the housing sector, where rents are rising and demand for new homes and related construction services and products remains strong.

It is the first question time today. In case you missed it, here is Murph’s analysis on the plan so far:

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More human remains found at Lake Mead as water levels shrink

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Various grim discoveries have been made at the drought-stricken Nevada reservoir, including a body in a barrel

More human remains have been found as the shrinking shore line of Lake Mead recedes in the face of a brutal drought gripping the western United States.

In a statement, the National Park Service said the unidentified remains were spotted at Swim Beach in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area late on Monday afternoon.

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‘Parks are wild by nature’: Yosemite visitors undeterred by raging forest fires

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Picnics, treks, camping and swimming continue despite hazardous air quality and ash in national park

Yosemite national park’s dramatic vistas were shrouded by a thick grey haze on Monday afternoon, as smoke from the fiercely burning Oak fire hung over its granite peaks. Along the road winding toward the valley, skeletal trees told the story of the Washburn fire that tore through just weeks earlier.

The blazes – the two largest to ignite in California so far this year – have besieged Yosemite during one of its busiest months, causing entrance closures, cancellations, and cloaking the landmark in hazardous air.

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