Analysis shows how jets and tanks are being kept fueled despite interim ICJ ruling warning Israel to prevent genocidal acts
Israeli jets and tanks bombarding Palestinians are being fueled by some of the world’s most profitable fossil fuel companies – and US tax-payers, according to research.
Israel relies on crude oil and refined products from overseas to run its large fleet of fighter jets, tanks and other military vehicles.
Continue reading...Planned overhaul of Environment Protection Authority’s powers to be biggest since it began in 1991, government says
Penalties for the most serious environmental crimes would double and the New South Wales environmental watchdog would have powers to recall potentially contaminated products from consumers under major changes to environmental protection laws proposed by the Minns government.
The environment minister, Penny Sharpe, said the government was proposing the largest set of amendments to the Environment Protection Authority’s (EPA’s) powers since the regulator was established in 1991.
Continue reading...Thousands of farmers have been persuaded by TREES scheme to replace barren monocultures with biodiverse forest gardens
In a world of monoculture cash crops, an innovative African project is persuading farmers to plant biodiverse forest gardens that feed the family, protect the soil and expand tree cover.
Could Trees for the Future (TREES) be a rare example of a mass reforestation campaign that actually works? The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) certainly thinks so and last month awarded it the status of World Restoration Flagship.
Continue reading...But 98% of Europeans live in areas WHO says have unhealthy levels of PM2.5
Air pollution levels have improved in Europe over the past 20 years, research has found.
However, despite these improvements, most of the European population lives in areas exceeding the World Health Organization’s recommended levels. About 98% of Europeans live in areas the WHO says have unhealthy levels of small particles known as PM2.5, 80% for larger ones known as PM10, and 86% for nitrogen dioxide.
See how polluted your part of Europe is
Continue reading...Soon it will head back north to the demilitarised zone between North and South Korea where it can breed undisturbed
I opened the windows to the hide and was greeted by a mass of birds. Hundreds of cormorants, gulls, herons, egrets, ducks and waders, all feeding frantically as the rising tide covered up the fertile mud. Overhead, black kites patrolled half-heartedly, occasionally provoking the other birds to take to the wing in short-lived panic, before settling back down to feed or rest.
I witnessed this spectacle at the World Wide Fund for Nature’s Mai Po nature reserve in Hong Kong, justly celebrated as one of the most important wetlands in the world. Either side of high tide, birds gather here in vast numbers against the backdrop of Shenzhen, one of the fastest-growing cities in the world, just across the border in mainland China.
Continue reading...The sewage treatment works at Horley seem to be crumbling, much like owner Thames Water itself
The brochure boasts of a family-friendly community located in tranquil green space within easy reach of high-speed links to London.
However, the residents of a new development of 1,500 homes in Horley, Surrey, have recently set up a WhatsApp group, whose title illustrates a less attractive feature of the community: Stop the Poo.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Sarah Olney to press in parliament for details of scheme being drawn up in event of supplier’s collapse
Ministers must come clean on the secret details of an emergency plan for a taxpayer bailout in the event of Thames Water collapsing, a Liberal Democrat MP has said.
Sarah Olney will press in parliament this week for details of a behind-the-scenes rescue operation being drawn up for the biggest privatised water company in England. Olney said keeping the details of the contingency plan secret amounted to a cover-up.
Continue reading...Thunberg and other activists dragged away from doorway they were obstructing in climate protest
Swedish police have forcibly removed Greta Thunberg and other climate activists after they blocked the entrance to the Swedish parliament for a second day.
Two officers lifted Thunberg and dragged her away before putting her down on the ground about 20 metres away from the door she had been obstructing.
Continue reading...Review found ongoing ‘mistrust’ among farmers, including many who remain unconvinced by need for pollution regulations
A review of the Queensland government’s Great Barrier Reef protection regulations has found that almost half the affected farmers still believe there is little or no scientific evidence to support pollution reduction rules.
The laws, passed in 2019, were based on scientific advice that limits on sediment and chemical runoff were needed in the reef catchment, amid concerns about water quality.
Continue reading...Ministers disappointed by decision of one of worst sewage dumpers not to join England-wide initiative
Thames Water has risked a fresh backlash over its commitment to tackling sewage dumping after it declined to commit funds to a £180m industry-wide initiative to fast-track efforts to reduce pollution in England’s waterways.
The government said on Monday that the sum would be spent by six companies over the next 12 months to prevent more than 8,000 sewage spills, as water companies attempt to address their woeful record on tackling spills.
However, Britain’s biggest water company, which has a £14bn debt mountain, has not taken part in the drive and it is understood that government officials are disappointed in its refusal to do so.
Continue reading...Scientists and vets are urging the president to afford the world’s most traded species better protections
France’s hunger for frogs’ legs is “destructive to nature” and endangering amphibians in Asia and south-east Europe, a group of scientists and vets have warned.
More than 500 experts from research, veterinary and conservation groups have called on Emmanuel Macron, the French president, to “end the overexploitation of frogs” and afford the most traded species better protections.
Continue reading...Unified command was formed to look in to the origin of the sheen, which did not seem to be expanding since it was first detected
Authorities in southern California are investigating a 2.5-mile (4km) long oil sheen that emerged off the coast of Huntington Beach on Thursday evening.
The sheen doesn’t appear to be a crude oil spill – it could be the result of natural seepage – and federal and state teams have deployed to the area to determine the source.
Continue reading...Adelaide region expected to be worst affected with average temperatures forecast to be up by 10C
Southern parts of Australia are expected to suffer a short heatwave starting on Friday and lasting until next Tuesday. The Adelaide region will be worst affected, with highs of about 36C anticipated in the city on Friday, which is 10C above the seasonal norm.
Daytime maximums are then set to remain above 35C until Tuesday, while minimum temperatures are not forecast to drop below 25C. This will be the longest March run of high temperatures in Adelaide in four years, with only one March day above 35C being recorded over this period.
Continue reading...North Melbourne’s Alastair Clarkson free to coach in round one after avoiding suspension for outburst in weekend’s trial match. This blog is now closed
Scooter rider dies in crash in Sydney
A scooter rider has died following a crash at North Ryde in Sydney this morning.
We are yet to see her beautiful eyes open, however, she has shown some really positive signs that she may be hearing her loved ones.
Continue reading...Electric carmaker concerned at ‘overblown’ claims that Albanese government’s plan to import environmentally cleaner cars would increase ute prices
Electric car brand Polestar has become the second company to quit Australia’s main auto industry lobby group over frustrations at its campaign against the Albanese government’s plan to import environmentally cleaner cars.
On Friday – a day after Tesla announced it would cease being a member of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) over the group’s opposition to the government’s proposed vehicle efficiency standard – Polestar Australia’s managing director, Samantha Johnson, wrote to FCAI CEO Tony Weber advising him the Volvo-owned brand was also cancelling its membership.
Continue reading...Minns government fulfils $13m election commitment following long-running community campaign to protect the area
Almost five hectares of parklands has been added to the Wolli Creek regional national park – “a patch of green ribbon” which runs through dense suburbs in Sydney’s south – in the past year.
The Minns government added the additional 4.7 hectares after a $13m election commitment to complete the park, which borders Wolli Creek and was first promised by the Carr government in 1998.
Continue reading...Exclusive: firm points to risk of asbestos contamination from other sources as it seeks to have prevention order thrown out
The landscaping materials company at the centre of the New South Wales asbestos crisis will point to the risks of contamination outside its facilities and the “unjustified impact” on its business when it argues to have an order preventing it making mulch products quashed.
Greenlife and the NSW Environment Protection Authority are expected to appear before the state’s land and environment court for a directions hearing on Friday.
Continue reading...Bangkok customs officers arrest six after finding 87 animals, including lizards, birds, a monkey and snakes
Thai customs officials have arrested six Indian nationals for attempting to smuggle dozens of wild animals, including a red panda and cotton-top tamarin monkey, out of the country.
Officers found 87 animals, including monitor lizards, birds and snakes, packaged inside the suspects’ checked luggage at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport. They were trying to fly to Mumbai.
Continue reading...Bird – one of the 10 rarest in the US – caused the fountain display at the Bellagio hotel and casino to be switched off
A rare yellow-billed loon – a bird more common to the high Arctic tundra in the summer that strays south of Canadian border in only small numbers – has caused a fountain display in Las Vegas, Nevada, to be switched off.
The yellow-billed loon, with a similarly haunting call to the smaller, more abundant common loon, was spotted in the fountains of the Bellagio hotel and casino, causing hotel management to call off the propulsive displays of water.
Continue reading...Scientists confirm cetacean’s presence but cite impact of climate change which has made North-west Passage ice-free in summer
Scientists have confirmed the presence of a whale off New England that went extinct in the Atlantic Ocean two centuries ago – an exciting discovery, but one they said that illustrates the impact of climate change on sea life.
Researchers with the New England Aquarium in Boston found the gray whale while flying 30 miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, on 1 March. The whale, which can weigh 60,000 pounds (27,215kg), typically lives in the northern Pacific Ocean.
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