The fire in Cherry Valley, north-west of Palm Springs, prompted authorities to issue new evacuation orders as crews fought the blaze
Continue reading...Category Archives: Environment
Rage against the dimming light: Irish rebel over lighthouse LED makeover
Proposals to install low-energy devices in seven coastal beacons in the north and the republic have angered campaigners, who say the enchanting ‘loom’ of the beams will be lost
The “loom of the light” is a phenomenon that lets you see the glow of a lighthouse from over the horizon. Particles of water vapour in the atmosphere scatter the light upwards so it can be glimpsed further than the line of sight. It is an optical wonder that has delighted – and guided – mariners for centuries.
But now some fear an environmental push towards low energy will extinguish a loom that stretches across the Irish Sea, draining beauty from the nocturnal landscape.
Continue reading...Close encounter: mother and calf humpback whales stun surfers at Sydney’s Manly beach
Images show dozens of surfers about 10 metres from whales, which migrate up and down the Australian coast
A humpback whale calf, closely followed by its mother, came within metres of surfers and swimmers at Manly beach, in Sydney’s north, on Sunday afternoon.
It is unusual to see a whale calf so early in the year in Sydney. Eastern Australian humpbacks migrate north from Antarctica, along the coast to tropical waters in north Queensland from April to July.
Continue reading...Sowing doubt: people around world receive mystery seed parcels
Packages marked as ‘earrings’ spark biosecurity concerns and global investigations into origins
There is not much that Jan Goward does not grow in her small Eastbourne garden. “I grow everything,” she says. “I’ve got the exotics: the aubergines, the chillies …”
But some mystery seeds she received in the post this week – ostensibly from Singapore, and marked as stud earrings – will not be joining them.
Continue reading...Scandal strikes ‘Tour de France of pigeon racing’ as 11 birds die
Club des Internationaux Français pulls its 2,000 birds from event citing safety fears
The Tour de France of international pigeon racing has been rocked by scandal and acrimony after 11 French birds were found dead on the eve of the competition in a suspected poisoning.
A further seven French pigeons are said to be seriously unwell prompting the Club des Internationaux Français (CIF) to urgently withdraw its 2,000 birds from the blue ribbon event citing concerns about safety and “fairness in this competition for all”.
Continue reading...Landmark ruling sees Ugandan poacher jailed for killing Rafiki the gorilla
Six-year sentence following death of one of country’s best-known silverback mountain gorillas is first of its kind
In the first conviction of its kind, a court in Uganda has jailed a poacher for six years after he admitted killing one of the country’s best-known silverback mountain gorillas in a national park.
Felix Byamukama, from Murole in the south-west district of Kisoro, pleaded guilty to illegal entry into a protected area and killing the gorilla named Rakifi and a duiker antelope. Byamukama had said earlier that he killed the animal in self-defence after he was attacked. It is the first time Uganda, home to 50% of the world’s mountain gorillas, has jailed someone for such an offence and the sentence has been widely welcomed by wildlife groups.
Continue reading...Small crustacean can fragment microplastics in four days, study finds
‘Completely unexpected’ finding is significant as harmful effects of plastic might increase as particle size decreases
Small crustaceans can fragment microplastics into pieces smaller than a cell within 96 hours, a study has shown.
Until now, plastic fragmentation has been largely attributed to slow physical processes such as sunlight and wave action, which can take years and even decades.
Continue reading...How Trump is emboldening other countries’ ‘bad behavior’ on the climate crisis
Global voices in the crisis say a US exit from the Paris agreement is damaging, but the fact no other country is leaving shows it can survive this ‘ultimate stress test’
The origins of the world’s historic agreement to tackle climate change, in Paris in 2015, have some familiar themes. Back in 2007, there was a Republican president in the White House who had long been hostile to any action on climate change.
George W Bush had refused to give US backing to a new global roadmap on the climate.
Continue reading...It’s time for America to reassert climate leadership. It starts with voting | Michael Mann
Individual efforts are important, but we need collective action and systemic change. And we can only get that at the ballot
In a world with so many problems, it’s easy to feel helpless. And particularly right now in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, quite alone. But even as we practice social distancing, we have an opportunity to work together to solve the greatest problem that humanity faces. No, I’m not talking about coronavirus. I’m talking about climate change.
Related: I’m bewildered that Trump would imperil America by abandoning the Paris agreement | Ban Ki-moon
Continue reading...Dutch city redraws its layout to prepare for global heating effects
Measures include replacing 10% of Arnhem’s asphalt with grass to better cope with heat
The Dutch city of Arnhem is digging up asphalt roads and creating shady areas around busy shopping districts after concluding that the consequences of global heating are unavoidable.
Under a 10-year plan for the city unveiled on Wednesday, a new layout is proposed to better prepare residents for extreme weather conditions such as downpours, droughts and intense heatwaves.
Continue reading...Record 212 land and environment activists killed last year
Global Witness campaigners warn of risk of further killings during Covid-19 lockdowns
A record number of people were killed last year for defending their land and environment, according to research that highlights the routine murder of activists who oppose extractive industries driving the climate crisis and the destruction of nature.
More than four defenders were killed every week in 2019, according to an annual death toll compiled by the independent watchdog Global Witness, amid growing evidence of opportunistic killings during the Covid-19 lockdown in which activists were left as “sitting ducks” in their own homes.
Continue reading...Pandemic has exposed Britain’s vulnerabilities says food policy review
Henry Dimbleby’s national food strategy starts with review of ‘slow-motion disaster’ diet, poverty, and post-Brexit laws
It is a year since Michael Gove asked the businessman Henry Dimbleby to produce a national food strategy. In that time the coronavirus pandemic has brutally exposed the cracks in the British food system so the launch of part one of his review this Wednesday comes in a new and urgent context.
After only a few weeks of lockdown three million people in Britain were in households where someone was forced to skip meals and go hungry.
Continue reading...Scientists successfully revive 100m-year-old microbes from the sea
Microbes had lain dormant at the bottom of the sea since the age of the dinosaurs
Scientists have successfully revived microbes that had lain dormant at the bottom of the sea since the age of the dinosaurs, allowing the organisms to eat and even multiply after eons in the deep.
Their research sheds light on the remarkable survival power of some of Earth’s most primitive species, which can exist for tens of millions of years with barely any oxygen or food before springing back to life in the lab.
Continue reading...Investors drop Brazil meat giant JBS
Top investment house delists world biggest meat producer over lack of commitment to sustainability issues
The investment arm of northern Europe’s largest financial services group has dropped JBS, the world’s biggest meat processer, from its portfolio. The Brazilian company is now excluded from assets sold by Nordea Asset Management, which controls a €230bn (£210bn) fund, according to Eric Pedersen, its head of responsible investments.
The decision was taken about a month ago, over the meat giant’s links to farms involved in Amazon deforestation, its response to the Covid-19 outbreak, past corruption scandals, and frustrations over engagement with the company on such issues. “The exclusion of JBS is quite dramatic for us because it is from all of our funds, not just the ones labelled ESG,” Pedersen said.
Continue reading...Almost 3 billion animals affected by Australian megafires, report shows
Exclusive: Bushfires ‘one of the worst wildlife disasters in modern history’, say scientists
Nearly 3 billion animals were killed or displaced by Australia’s devastating bushfire season of 2019 and 2020, according to scientists who have revealed for the first time the scale of the impact on the country’s native wildlife.
The Guardian has learned that an estimated 143 million mammals, 180 million birds, 51 million frogs and a staggering 2.5 billion reptiles were affected by the fires that burned across the continent. Not all the animals would have been killed by the flames or heat, but scientists say the prospects of survival for those that had withstood the initial impact was “probably not that great” due to the starvation, dehydration and predation by feral animals – mostly cats – that followed.
Continue reading...Alarm over discovery of hundreds of Chinese fishing vessels near Galápagos Islands
The fleet, found just outside a protected zone, raises the prospect of damage to the marine ecosystem
Ecuador has sounded the alarm after its navy discovered a huge fishing fleet of mostly Chinese-flagged vessels some 200 miles from the Galápagos Islands, the archipelago which inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.
About 260 ships are currently in international waters just outside a 188-mile wide exclusive economic zone around the island, but their presence has already raised the prospect of serious damage to the delicate marine ecosystem, said former environment minister Yolanda Kakabadse.
Continue reading...Beloved Eel McPherson disappears from New Zealand pond during massive storm
Owners hope the friendly shortfin eel, which delighted children in Whangārei for 35 years, made it out to sea during deluge
A shortfin eel named Eel McPherson, who was beloved by a New Zealand city for 35 years, has bid bon voyage to its backyard pool and disappeared during a once-in-500-years flood.
The eel was kept by a Whangārei man, George Campbell, for decades – first at a fish museum that he ran during the 1990s and later at his home – said Campbell’s granddaughter, Alyce Charlesworth.
Continue reading...Revealed: new evidence links Brazil meat giant JBS to Amazon deforestation
Photographs by employee appear to show company trucks being used to transport cattle from allegedly prohibited cattle farm
New evidence appears to connect JBS, the world’s biggest meat company, to cattle supplied from a farm in the Brazilian Amazon which is under sanction for illegal deforestation.
This is the fifth time in a year that allegations have surfaced connecting the company to Amazon farmers linked with illegal deforestation.
Continue reading...In 100 days, the climate emergency may be even more serious. That’s why we’re launching this series | John Mulholland
- The day after the election, the US is poised to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.
- The Guardian believes the climate emergency is the defining issue of our time. Make a contribution today to support our journalism.
On 4 November, the day after the presidential election, the US is poised to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. The agreement, which came together after years of diplomacy by the Obama administration and other global leaders, commits 200 countries to chart a new course in efforts to combat climate change.
But very soon the United States may not be one of them.
Continue reading...The US withdrawal from the Paris climate accord will hurt people of color most | Adrienne Hollis
The Paris agreement threw a lifeline to millions of people of color facing a premature death. Trump is tearing that away
It’s official – in 100 days the United States will formally withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. The impact of Donald Trump’s decision, taken three years ago, is already being felt by environmental justice communities.
Racism is the driving force behind why certain people and places face disproportionate environmental exposure to toxic substances, adverse climate change effects, Covid-19 infections and deaths. This raises the question: was withdrawing from the Paris agreement also a racist decision? How will this morally incomprehensible policy change affect Black, Latinx, Indigenous and other communities of color?
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