Category Archives: Environment

‘No-waste’ Japanese village is a peek into carbon-neutral future

Posted on by

For 20 years Kamikatsu has led the way in the world’s second biggest producer of plastic waste

The residents of a remote village on the Japanese island of Shikoku have spent almost two decades reusing, recycling and reducing, united behind a mission to end their dependence on incinerators and landfill as the world struggles to tackle the climate emergency and the plastic waste crisis.

Although Kamikatsu, an hour’s drive from the nearest city, Tokushima, and 370 miles from Tokyo, has not managed to banish waste altogether, its heroic efforts have inspired other communities in Japan and further afield to take up the zero-waste challenge.

Continue reading...

‘Nature is taking back Venice’: wildlife returns to tourist-free city

Posted on by

With the cruise ships gone and the souvenir stalls closed, the coronavirus lockdown has transformed La Serenissima’s waterways

Look down into the waters of the Venice canals today and there is a surprising sight – not just a clear view of the sandy bed, but shoals of tiny fish, scuttling crabs and multicoloured plant-life.

“The water is blue and clear,” said Gloria Beggiato, who owns the celebrated Metropole Hotel a few steps from St Mark’s square and has a view over the Venice lagoon. “It is calm like a pond, because there are no more waves caused by motorised boats transporting day-tripper tourists. And of course, the giant cruise ships have disappeared.”

Continue reading...

Mexico’s deadly toll of environment and land defenders catalogued in report

Posted on by

At least 83 murdered in 2012-2019, with a third of attacks targeting opponents of energy mega-projects

At least 83 Mexican land and environment defenders were murdered between 2012 and 2019, while hundreds more were threatened, beaten and criminalized, according to a new report.

Latin America is the most dangerous continent in the world to defend environmental, land and human rights, with Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala ranking worst.

Continue reading...

Locust crisis poses a danger to millions, forecasters warn

Posted on by

Experts fear swarms like those seen in Africa will become more common as tropical storms create favourable breeding conditions

The locust crisis that has now reached 10 countries could carry on to endanger millions more people, forecasters have said.

Climate change created unprecedented conditions for the locusts to breed in the usually barren desert of the Arabian gulf, according to experts, and the insects were then able to spread through Yemen, where civil war has devastated the ability to control locust populations.

Continue reading...

Taxi! Endangered New Zealand seabirds get a lift to safety after crash landing in fog

Posted on by

Volunteer army led by a local taxi driver scours the streets in the middle of the night to save endangered birds

A taxi driver in New Zealand has swapped drunken revellers for wayward seabirds in an attempt to halt the decline of one of the nation’s endangered species.

Local cabbie Toni Painting leads a volunteer army that scours the streets of the South Island town of Kaikoura in the middle of the night in search of Hutton’s shearwater chicks that crash-land onto the road – mistaking the shiny bitumen for the sea.

Continue reading...

Cambodia scraps plans for Mekong hydropower dams

Posted on by

Campaigners welcome decision which allays fears for fragile biodiversity and communities dependent on river for livelihood

A Cambodian government decision to postpone building new hydropower dams on the Mekong river has been welcomed by campaigners, who say it will provide welcome relief to the tens of thousands of people whose livelihood depend upon its rich resources.

Cambodia announced on Wednesday that it would not build any new hydropower dams on the mainstream Mekong for the next decade, allaying fears that the river’s fragile biodiversity could be further devastated by development projects.

Continue reading...

Win for conservation as African black rhino numbers rise

Posted on by

Slow recovery due to relocating groups and stronger protection through law enforcement

Numbers of African black rhinos in the wild have risen by several hundred, a rare boost in the conservation of a species driven to near extinction by poaching.

Black rhinos are still in grave danger but the small increase – an annual rate of 2.5% over six years, has swollen the population from 4,845 in 2012 to an estimated 5,630 in 2018, giving hope that efforts put into saving the species are paying off.

Continue reading...

Greenland’s melting ice raised global sea level by 2.2mm in two months

Posted on by

Analysis of satellite data reveals astounding loss of 600bn tons of ice last summer as Arctic experienced hottest year on record

Last year’s summer was so warm that it helped trigger the loss of 600bn tons of ice from Greenland – enough to raise global sea levels by 2.2mm in just two months, new research has found.

The analysis of satellite data has revealed the astounding loss of ice in just a few months of abnormally high temperatures around the northern pole. Last year was the hottest on record for the Arctic, with the annual minimum extent of sea ice in the region its second-lowest on record.

Continue reading...

Saving a city millions of gallons of water – one tap at a time

Posted on by

A duo in India have been spurred into action to fix pipes to conserve the water supply in Kolkata

There is light drizzle as Vijay Aggarwal and Ajay Mittal manoeuvre their two-wheelers through the labyrinthine alleyways of Kolkata’s Tiljala road slum. Early Sunday morning, the neighbourhood is teeming with activity – women sit on their haunches washing clothes and utensils; half-soaped children scurry in and out of their baths; towel-clad men wait to brush their teeth. Every 50 metres a community pipe gushes out water – plastic bottles, jerry cans and metal buckets are lined up to fill.

The duo along with their plumber, Ravi Shaw, who rides pillion, make their way to the first huddle of people and get to work. All it takes is a blow and twist of a wrench – the nozzle pops loose. Shaw fishes out an orange and white tap from his bag and fits it. While Aggarwal hurriedly plasters a Save Water Save Life sticker on to a lamppost, Mittal tells the people to close the tap once they are done and points out the helpline number on the sticker.

Continue reading...

Irish planners reject Trump golf resort’s plan to build wall

Posted on by

Officials say proposed 38,000-tonne sea barrier could damage sand dunes at Doonbeg resort

The climate crisis just became more personal for Donald Trump, after authorities in Ireland rejected an attempt by his Doonbeg golf resort to build a wall to combat rising sea levels.

The planning agency An Bord Pleanála said on Wednesday that the proposed 38,000-tonne rock barrier at Doughmore Bay could damage dunes that straddle the golf course in County Clare, on the Atlantic coast.

Continue reading...

Climate denial is the latest hobby horse of the German far right | Bernhard Pötter

Posted on by

The AfD are using the climate crisis strategically to distance themselves from the established parties

A dead bird of prey lying in the grass near a windfarm is the stark image on the home page of a new German website. “Climate change – we have got a couple of questions” is the headline that greets visitors, but the questioners already seem to know the answers to their 16 questions. “Due to an alleged climate emergency, new laws are to be passed prescribing a new way of life for us, one that will have adverse environmental effects and could lead to the deindustrialisation of Germany.”

Klimafragen.org is the latest attempt to question the scientific and social consensus around the climate crisis in Germany. The authors, all from well-known climate-denier institutions and conservative political circles, list areas where they say Germany’s climate policy still has blindspots, notably over climate models, sea levels, energy conversion and counter-opinions. Parliamentary groups in the Bundestag, they argue, should provide answers to their questions, although some are based on outdated findings. According to the organisers, about 33,500 people have signed up, seeking answers.

Continue reading...

Birth of wild tapir offers hope for Brazil’s endangered ecosystem

Posted on by

Researchers believe the calf was born in January and a second may be on its way

Hopes for a recovery of Brazil’s most endangered ecosystem have been given a boost by the first birth of a wild tapir in Rio de Janeiro’s Atlantic Forest for more than a century.

Scientists said video clips of the baby tapir proved the initial success of a re-introduction strategy for the threatened mammal, which is often described as “a forest gardener” because it plays a vital role in the dispersal of seeds.

Continue reading...

Study: global banks ‘failing miserably’ on climate crisis by funneling trillions into fossil fuels

Posted on by

Analysis of 35 leading investment banks shows financing of more than $2.66tn for fossil fuel industries since the Paris agreement

The world’s largest investment banks have funnelled more than £2.2tn ($2.66tn) into fossil fuels since the Paris agreement, new figures show, prompting warnings they are failing to respond to the climate crisis.

The US bank JP Morgan Chase, whose economists warned that the climate crisis threatens the survival of humanity last month, has been the largest financier of fossil fuels in the four years since the agreement, providing over £220bn of financial services to extract oil, gas and coal.

Continue reading...

Forward-thinking Utrecht builds car-free district for 12,000 people

Posted on by

Scheme will enhance city’s reputation as a bicycling capital of Europe

The “cyclist-first” city of Utrecht is constructing the Netherlands’ first high-density, car-free residential district for more than 12,000 people, making it one of the largest of its type in the world.

The 24-hectare site, located between two canals in the middle of the city, is a business park but by 2024 it is hoped the area will enhance Utrecht’s reputation as a bicycling capital of Europe.

Continue reading...

Women shouldering the burden of climate crisis need action, not speeches

Posted on by

From loss of livelihoods to domestic abuse, women bear the brunt of natural disasters. Without change, progress on gender equality will be undone

Milikini Failautusi, 30, lives on the Pacific island of Tuvalu. She has become virtually a nomad in her own country after rising tides forced her to leave her ancestral atoll and move to the main island, Funafuti.

She is now a climate activist. She can no longer visit her home island, yet remains committed to her country with a burning desire to prevent her own children from inheriting an underwater ghost town. This is not just Milikini’s story.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus poses threat to climate action, says watchdog

Posted on by

IEA warns that Covid-19 could cause a slowdown in world’s clean energy transition

The coronavirus health crisis may lead to a slump in global carbon emissions this year but the outbreak poses a threat to long-term climate action by undermining investment in clean energy, according to the global energy watchdog.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects the economic fallout of Covid-19 to wipe out the world’s oil demand growth for the year ahead, which should cap the fossil fuel emissions that contribute to the climate crisis.

Continue reading...

Revealed: Monsanto’s secret funding for weedkiller studies

Posted on by

The research, used to help avoid a ban, claimed ‘severe impacts’ on farming if glyphosate was outlawed

Monsanto secretly funded academic studies indicating “very severe impacts” on farming and the environment if its controversial glyphosate weedkiller were banned, an investigation has found.

The research was used by the National Farmers’ Union and others to successfully lobby against a European ban in 2017. As a result of the revelations, the NFU has now amended its glyphosate information to declare the source of the research.

Continue reading...

Zambians brace for water shortage despite recent rainfall

Posted on by

World’s largest artificial lake drops by six metres in three years after lengthy drought

Zambia is facing severe water and electricity shortages after a lengthy drought, with reservoir levels remaining worryingly low despite recent rains.

Water levels in Lake Kariba, the world’s largest artificial lake at more than 5,500 sq km, have dropped by six metres in the past three years.

Continue reading...

Peruvian leader appeals to watchdog over ‘terrible harm’ caused by oil firm

Posted on by

Chief representative of Quechua communities in north Peru urges OECD to support battle against ‘the tainting of land and rivers’

An Amazonian leader has travelled from Peru to the Netherlands to lodge a complaint with the global trade watchdog about an Amsterdam-based oil firm, demanding that the company clean up decades of pollution from his people’s lands. .

Aurelio Chino has accused Pluspetrol of using “letterbox” holding companies in tax havens like the Netherlands to avoid paying taxes in developing countries such as Peru.

Continue reading...