Category Archives: Environment

Weather tracker: Tornadoes and floods sweep parts of US

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Storm Finn tracks north-east from Texas towards the east coast, while EU report confirms 2023 was warmest year

Increasingly cold conditions have swept western parts of the US this week, while tornadoes and flooding have inundated eastern areas.

An area of low pressure named Storm Finn tracked north-east from Texas towards the east coast early this week. As a result, tornadoes hit south-eastern states, at least 12 of which were in Florida and caused significant damage to many homes.

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Murray Watt says compounding weather events the ‘new reality’; girl hospitalised in K’gari dingo attack – as it happened

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Melbourne: two suspected arson attacks could be linked to crime group conflicts, investigators say

Two suspected arson attacks that destroyed a Melbourne tobacco shop destroyed by fire could be linked to ongoing violent conflict between crime groups, investigators say, AAP reports.

In Spain, improved public understanding of the dangers of heatwaves, coupled with a national heatwave plan, has helped save lives. We should consider adopting a framework for alerts and communications here that builds on Seville’s heatwave naming approach.

Heatwaves have killed more people in Australia than any other natural disaster since 1900, and without sustained and ambitious policies to improve our resilience to extreme heat the challenge will get even harder.

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‘The high life can be low carbon’: the European royals taking on the climate crisis

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Despite leading lavish lifestyles, some monarchs are influencing people to make greener choices

When Prince Frederik takes the throne on Sunday, the Danish crown will pass from his mother, Queen Margrethe II, a monarch who has cast doubt on the fact that human pollution is heating the planet, to one who feels bound by duty to call for stronger action on climate breakdown.

“I think it’s important for me to have a message for other people,” he told the Financial Times in 2010 after a trip to the melting Arctic with the heirs to the Norwegian and Swedish thrones, “to convince the broader population there are changes happening and that we are making the change.”

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Thames Water bypassing local opposition in attempt to launch water recycling project

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Company faced public backlash over scheme, which campaigners say threatens to increase river pollution

Thames Water is bypassing local democracy to attempt to push through a controversial water recycling project that campaigners say threatens to increase pollution in the river.

Steve Barclay, the secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, has agreed to an application by the water company to consider its Teddington water recycling scheme under national infrastructure rules. The decision means local authorities will be bypassed, and the secretary of state will make the decision whether to grant a development consent order.

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Australia urged to name heatwaves to combat dangers of extreme temperatures

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‘Heat culture’ of Spain helps communities prepare for hot weather events in the same way they plan for the arrival of cyclones

Australia should follow the Spanish city of Seville and start naming its heatwaves as part of a suite of measures to help communities cope with the rising risks from extreme temperatures, according to a new report.

Naming heatwaves could be part of enabling a “heat culture” where communities prepare for extreme temperature events in the same way they plan for the arrival of named cyclones, the report said.

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Have Australian drivers finally charged into electric vehicles?

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EV sales are booming and longtime favourite makes and models are being ignored in favour of Tesla and BYD

Newcomer brands and luxury marques are dominating booming electric car sales as mainstream players struggle to match the pace of a fast-evolving EV market.

The top three selling electric vehicles in Australia in 2023 were from Tesla and BYD, between them accounting for two-thirds of the 87,217 electric cars sold, according to figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.

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UK government sets out plans for ‘biggest nuclear power expansion in 70 years’

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Ministers hope to build fleet of reactors to meet quarter of electricity demand by 2050 but critics highlight long delays and rising costs

The government has set out plans for what it claims will be Britain’s biggest nuclear power expansion in 70 years, despite concerns about faltering nuclear output and project delays.

Ministers published a roadmap on Friday that recommits the government to building a fleet of nuclear reactors capable of producing 24GW by 2050 – enough to meet a quarter of the national electricity demand.

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Zuckerberg derided for his ‘high quality beef’ ranch where cows are fed macadamia nuts and beer

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Critics call cattle-raising project on Hawaii ranch ‘a billionaire’s strange sideshow’ and bad for the environment

The social media tycoon Mark Zuckerberg’s latest business venture raising “world-class” beef cattle on his sprawling luxury Hawaiian hideaway has been derided as out of touch and environmentally irresponsible.

The Meta billionaire posted a picture of himself on Wednesday eating a steak – medium rare, no sides – from his Ko’olau ranch, a 1,400-acre compound on Kauai, Hawaii’s oldest island.

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It’s not snow, it’s styrofoam: Lake Tahoe littered with thousands of ‘detrimental’ beads

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Beads, believed to be remnants of a floating dock and made of polystyrene, can harm environment and aquatic life, say experts

The shores of Lake Tahoe were dusted with white after winter weather hit the area over the weekend. It wasn’t snow, however, but thousands of small plastic styrofoam beads.

A storm released the pollutants, the remains of a floating dock, on to the shoreline of Incline Village beaches. Staff with Clean Up the Lake, a local non-profit, and at least two dozen volunteers staged a major cleanup to clear the area, which has faced a host of environmental problems in recent years amid a surge in tourism and popularity.

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‘Paying too much’: what could you save on your holiday road trip if Australia had fuel-efficiency standards?

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Climate Council finds average Australian car needs more petrol to travel same distance as more efficient models common overseas

The average Australian car needs more petrol to travel the same distance as more efficient models common overseas, with climate advocates saying inaction from the government on fuel-efficiency standards is adding hundreds of dollars to the cost of road trips.

Analysis from the Climate Council has found that while drivers of battery electric vehicles charging their cars pay only a fifth of the cost of fuelling an internal combustion engine car, there is still a large discrepancy between how much it costs to run petrol-reliant vehicles of varying efficiency.

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Giganto, largest ever primate, died out due to diet change, say scientists

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Giant primate ate bark and twigs after climate change turned sub-tropical environment into savannah

It was the largest primate ever to have roamed the Earth, but just why – and when – our distant cousin “giganto” ended up extinct has been something of a mystery.

Now researchers say the enormous ape was victim of an unfortunate choice of food when its preferred snacks became scarce.

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Man may face prosecution for allegedly spearfishing three blue groper on NSW south coast

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The fish deaths on Plantation Point near Jervis Bay come less than a week after another man was caught spearing a blue groper at Cronulla

A man is under investigation by New South Wales state officials after he was allegedly caught illegally spearfishing three blue groper in an incident that has prompted calls for tougher penalties.

The man had been interviewed and was being assessed for prosecution by senior fisheries compliance officials after he allegedly killed two female groper and one male groper on Plantation Point near Jervis Bay on the south coast on 5 January.

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Conservative ‘failures’ have led to more sewage pollution, say water experts

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Increased flooding blamed on years of government delays over ‘sponge cities’ rules

Increased sewage pollution, urban flooding and water supply interruptions are the result of a decade of failures by the Conservative ministers, according to water experts who are demanding an independent inquiry into water be set up by the next government.

The repeated failure of the Tories to implement rules to create “sponge cities” has led to much more visible sewage pollution, more flooding and increasing instances of water being cut off for householders and businesses, they say.

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Mulch containing asbestos found at Rozelle parklands may have been used at other Sydney sites

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Testing reveals ‘low-risk’ contamination in samples taken from mulch near Rozelle playground, Transport for NSW says

An expansive park built above Rozelle’s multibillion-dollar spaghetti junction interchange has been closed after asbestos was found in garden mulch around a children’s playground – with the contractor involved confirming the mulch was also used elsewhere in Sydney.

An urgent audit was under way to determine what other sites could be affected by what the premier, Chris Minns, described as “a toxic substance”.

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EDF Energy plans to extend life of four UK nuclear power plants

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French energy company to invest a further £1.3bn in its British nuclear fleet up to 2026

EDF is planning to extend the life of four nuclear power stations in the UK and increase investment in its British nuclear fleet.

The French energy company, which manages Britain’s eight nuclear power stations, said it would make a decision on whether to extend the life of the four plants with advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGR) – Torness, Heysham 1 and 2, and Hartlepool – by the end of the year. This would require regulatory approval.

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Woman rescued after car swept into swollen Bendigo Creek as floods peak in Victoria

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Man jumped into rushing flood waters and tied 74-year-old woman to a tree after she was swept 100 metres downstream

A man jumped into rushing flood waters to save a woman swept away into Bendigo Creek, risking his own life to secure her with ratchet straps to a tree, as Victorian towns braced for more flood damage.

The rescue came amid flash flooding across parts of the state, which emergency services on Tuesday afternoon said was easing. However, flooding along several rivers continued, with 20 properties in and around Seymour affected by the deluge.

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Emissions from Israel’s war in Gaza have ‘immense’ effect on climate catastrophe

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Exclusive: First months of conflict produced more planet-warming gases than 20 climate-vulnerable nations do in a year, study shows

The climate costs of war and militaries can no longer be ignored

The planet-warming emissions generated during the first two months of the war in Gaza were greater than the annual carbon footprint of more than 20 of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, new research reveals.

The vast majority (99%) of the 281,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2 equivalent) estimated to have been generated in the first 60 days following the 7 October Hamas attack can be attributed to Israel’s aerial bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis by researchers in the UK and US.

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Hope for rare singing gibbons as pair are released into the wild

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Two Siamang gibbons rescued from the illegal pet trade have been rehabilitated in a new Indonesian centre

The forest chorus of South Sumatra in Indonesia has some of its finest singers back: a pair of rare Siamang gibbons, rescued from the illegal pet trade, have been released into the wild.

Siamang gibbons (Symphalangus syndactylus) are known for their distinctive large throat sacs. But their powerful, haunting voices, used for communication and marking territory, are a blessing and a curse.

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UK weather: England remains on flood alert as temperatures dip

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Majority of flood warnings in south of England and Midlands, with some snow flurries overnight

More than 100 flood warnings remain in place after last week’s Storm Henk deluge as large parts of the UK endured a cold, frosty morning.

The Environment Agency (EA) said there were 126 flood warnings in England where flooding is expected, including a flood warning on the River Thames south-west of London in Wraysbury.

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Post Office minister set to update MPs on Horizon scandal compensation and convictions – UK politics live

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Business minister Kevin Hollinrake to give statement on Horizon scandal and what the government plans to do

James Chapman, a former political editor of the Daily Mail who worked as special adviser for David Davis when he was Brexit secretary for about a year until he left convinced that Brexit was a terrible mistake, says he does not think the “back to square one” line really works as an attack line against Labour.

The trouble with Sunak’s latest slogan is that I suspect a large number of voters think Britain is so broken under the Tories that “going back to square one” sounds like a wholly positive idea

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