Patrols suggested as residents say foragers collecting large bags of wild garlic are ruining annual supply
Usually in the springtime, Millham Lane in the Cornish town of Lostwithiel is flanked by thick, unbroken banks of strongly scented wild garlic.
But this year ugly gaps have appeared in the bright green swathe after they were stripped by foragers – apparently professionals – intent on sourcing a fresh, free ingredient for fashionable dishes such as wild garlic pesto.
Continue reading...Report from Shoal on 2021’s newly described species shows ‘there are still hundreds and hundreds more freshwater fish scientists don’t know about yet’
Scientists are celebrating 212 “new” freshwater fish species, including a blind eel found in the grounds of a school for blind children and a fish named Wolverine that is armed with a hidden weapons system.
The New Species 2021 report, released by the conservation organisation Shoal, shows just how diverse and remarkable the world’s often undervalued freshwater species are, and suggests there is plenty more life still to be discovered in the world’s lakes, rivers and wetlands.
Continue reading...PM ‘passionate’ about potential in light of fresh push for self-sufficiency after Russia invasion of Ukraine
Boris Johnson is expected to open the door to more onshore wind at next week’s energy strategy, despite some cabinet ministers lobbying against relaxing planning laws to allow more turbines.
The cabinet is split over whether to aim for more onshore wind projects, which can often get into lengthy planning battles, after officials drew up plans for a target of 30GW by 2030.
Continue reading...Government’s reef envoy says visiting scientists ‘have to see the good and the bad’ as widespread bleaching confirmed
A UN mission under way in Queensland to see if the Great Barrier Reef should be put on an “in danger” list will not get “the whole picture” unless it visits reefs currently experiencing coral bleaching, conservationists and the government’s own reef envoy have said.
Details of the 10-day mission, which began on Monday in Brisbane, are being kept confidential and the locations to be visited have not been formally disclosed.
Continue reading...NSW government seeks to suspend Gareth Ward; Craig Foster lashes treatment of asylum seekers in National Press Club address; new research suggests long-lasting Covid immune response from vaccine-induced T-cells; at least 26 Covid deaths recorded; Atagi expected to green light fourth booster shots for some Australians. Follow all the day’s news live
David Koch:
Have you spoken to the “mean girls” – Kristina Keneally, Penny Wong – in the last week or so since Kimberly Kitching’s death about the allegations of bullying?
I think that term is really unfortunate.
She used it, it is not just us.
There is a lot of people speaking on other people’s behalf at the moment. I think that in politics, there are a range of people who are involved in party politics who play it pretty hard. One of those was Kimberly Kitching. She was somebody who engaged in politics and was passionate about her belief and from time to time that could produce some conflict. But it needs to be done in a way that is respectful, in a way that is understanding, and attempts to reach consensus.
It is rather bizarre ... I am always available and indeed I lobby regularly to be on the Sunrise program. I am always happy to discuss things with the media, but I won’t be taking lectures from a prime minister who visited Lismore and had strict streets shut off so victims of floods could not get near him.
Continue reading...Eucalyptus regnans, commonly known as mountain ash, swamp gum and stringy gum, named Australia’s favourite eucalypt
The mountain ash has towered above its competition to be voted Australia’s favourite eucalypt.
Eucalyptus regnans, commonly known as the mountain ash in Victoria, the swamp gum in Tasmania, and the stringy gum, has won a public vote to be named the 2022 Eucalypt of the Year.
Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning
Continue reading...NSW MP Gareth Ward denies historic sexual abuse allegations; South Australian hospital system ‘under extraordinary strain’ new premier says, as at least 23 Covid deaths recorded nationally; Anthony Albanese proposes award in late Victorian senator Kimberley Kitching’s honour. This blog is now closed
Peter Malinauskas has promised to keep his shirt on from now on, after a photo of his muscled torso made quite a stir in the world of Australian politics.
ABC radio host Patricia Karvelas:
During the campaign, you were photographed shirtless in swimming shorts, and it caused a bit of a stir. I have to ask you ... the Australian’s Greg Sheridan said jokingly on [ABC] Insiders that you’re “far too good looking”. Which I thought was quite a statement. What have you made of the reaction to that picture?
Do you have any idea how much grief I’ve copped around the place as a result of that?
Have they told you just to buff to be premier?
They’ve piled it on, let me tell you. I haven’t stopped copping it, and I deserve every bit of it.
We were announcing a big investment at our major aquatics centre here in South Australia and a whole bunch of us jumped in for a swim in our boardies with our kids there. And, yeah, it got a bit more attention than I anticipated, fair to say.
So you’re going to keep your shirt on from now on?
Damn straight!
I think we’re about to see a federal election where a cost of living is a front and centre issue. And I think Australians get the price of petrol, but they can’t control the price of groceries.
The way we address cost of living as a nation is to start having an incomes policy focus on how we improve working in small businesses to improve the productivity of their labour, so they can earn a higher income. And that’s why education, training and skills is so important.
Continue reading...Climate action rules announced by SEC chair Gary Gensler expected to face opposition from Republicans and industry groups
The US’s top financial watchdog proposed on Monday that publicly traded companies report information on their greenhouse-gas emissions and even those of their suppliers and consumers in one of the Biden administration’s most sweeping environmental actions to date.
The new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules faces staunch opposition from some politicians and members of the business community and will be open to public comment for at least two months before final rules are released.
Continue reading...Studies ‘debunk the myth that Africa is running out of water’ but say resource needs to be better managed
Groundwater resources in sub-Saharan Africa are enough to transform agriculture in the region and provide people with adequate safe water for their drinking and hygiene needs, if the resource can be better managed, researchers have said.
Groundwater – found underground in aquifers, rocks and soils – makes up about 99% of all liquid freshwater on earth, and is abundant in much of Africa, but a lack of investment has left it untapped or poorly managed, two major studies have found. The reserves could be used for irrigation and to supply clean and safe water, but there is also a danger that if used unsustainably they could be rapidly depleted or polluted.
Continue reading...Federal government has not ruled out the use of underwater explosives and ‘bean bag rounds’ in trial off north-west Tasmania
Environment groups have called on the federal government to rule out the use of explosives and guns loaded with “bean bag” rounds to scare seals at a proposed salmon farming trial in commonwealth waters off the north-west coast of Tasmania.
Under Tasmanian laws, the companies are allowed to use underwater explosives, known as “seal crackers”, to deter predators at farms in state waters. Other authorised measures include shooting seals with fabric coated plastic shells containing lead shot, known as bean bag rounds and darts with blunt tips known as “scare caps”. Official documents show some seals have been killed.
Continue reading...Meeting comes as Boris Johnson prepares to publish his energy security strategy amid soaring prices and Ukraine war
Boris Johnson will chair a meeting on how to increase the UK’s nuclear power output on Monday, as he prepares to publish his energy security strategy this month amid soaring prices.
The prime minister will discuss domestic nuclear projects with leaders from the nuclear industry at a roundtable meeting at Downing Street, No 10 said.
Continue reading...Scientists find 6PPD-quinone in Queensland creek and call for urgent research to see if local aquatic life was harmed
A toxic chemical released from tyres as they wear down on roads and implicated in mass deaths of salmon in the United States has been found in an Australian waterway for the first time.
Scientists detected the compound – known as 6PPD-quinone – among a cocktail of chemicals and hundreds of kilograms of tyre particles washed into a creek from a motorway during storms.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Multiple families who evacuated during the NSW floods left with no choice but to move back home in recent days
Residents in Lismore have been left with no choice but to move back into their houses that have been deemed uninhabitable, with some sleeping on swags in mouldy rooms without electricity, as they are unable to find safe accommodation three weeks after floods devastated the town.
In South Lismore – a low-lying part of the town that bore the brunt of historic flooding this year and an area well known for attracting residents seeking affordable housing – Guardian Australia spoke with multiple residents who had evacuated town following the floods but had returned to their homes in recent days.
Continue reading...Yoga guru will visit dozens of countries en route from London to India to raise awareness of plight of one of nature’s greatest resources
One of India’s best-known spiritual leaders is embarking on a 100-day motorbike journey from London to India to raise awareness of one of nature’s most undervalued resources.
Sadhguru, or Jaggi Vasudev, is setting off on Monday on a 30,000km (18,600-mile) trip through Europe and the Middle East in an effort to “save soil”, meeting celebrities, environmentalists and influencers in dozens of countries along the way.
Continue reading...A report from the International Energy Agency makes clear that viable alternatives are limited
As Boris Johnson flew to the Gulf this week to ask for more oil to replace supplies from Russia, he was accused by the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, of “going cap in hand from dictator to dictator”.
At the same time, a report produced by the International Energy Agency (IEA) underlined just how limited the options are for any economy seeking to replace Russian crude and other oil products.
Continue reading...People asked to record flowering cherry and plum trees near them to see whether patterns are changing
The British public have been asked to track flowering fruit trees to help determine whether climate change is changing blooming patterns, in one of the largest studies of its kind.
The University of Reading and Oracle for Research have developed a fruit recording website where citizen scientists can easily post their findings. People will initially be asked to record the flowering cherry and plum trees near them, with apple trees soon to follow.
Continue reading...Hens have been indoors for months because of avian flu and their eggs must now be differently labelled
Consumers will no longer be able to buy free-range eggs in the UK from Monday, with birds not having been allowed outdoors since November due to fears of avian flu outbreaks.
Eggs sold in shops will have to carry a sticker or label saying they are in fact “barn eggs”, the name given to eggs produced by hens permanently housed indoors.
Continue reading...Cornish pub used in Daphne du Maurier novel says there are no pluses, just minuses to hunt visits
A pub that was the setting for a novel by Daphne du Maurier has banned hunts from meeting on its land after 100 years of the practice.
The Jamaica Inn in Cornwall – immortalised in the 1936 novel of the same name about smuggling – announced the decision after the East Cornwall Hunt invited the Beaufort Hunt to meet there on Saturday, a move the pub called “extremely ill-advised”.
Continue reading...Explainer: Boris Johnson has asked Saudi Arabia to pump more oil; what implications would this have?
Why are Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates being asked to pump more oil?
Western powers are looking for ways to keep the pressure on Russia during its invasion of Ukraine. Some countries have committed to phasing out Russian oil and gas, while others are still investigating ways of doing this. Saudi Arabia is one of a number of countries, along with Venezuela and Iran, that might be able to plug the gap in oil production.
Continue reading...Former defence force chief Chris Barrie says it’s a disgrace that we’ve made a left-right issue out of global heating and its impacts
The former chief of the defence force Chris Barrie says defence personnel are not allowed to speak out on the national strategic threats posed by climate change without prior approval from Peter Dutton’s office.
The suggestion was immediately rejected by the defence minister’s office. Asked for comment, the minister’s spokesperson said: “That is not correct.”
Continue reading...