Multiple safety and cybersecurity failings at nuclear waste site were revealed by Guardian last month
The top director responsible for safety and security at Sellafield is to leave the vast nuclear waste dump in north-west England, it has emerged.
Mark Neate, the Sellafield environment, safety and security director, is to leave the organisation later this year.
Continue reading...Partial U-turn by Berlin fails to avert week-long nationwide action that government says could be co-opted by righwing extremists
German farmers blocked city centres, highways and motorway slip roads with tractors at the start of a week-long, nationwide protest over planned cuts to agricultural sector subsidies that the government said could be co-opted by rightwing extremists.
“We are exercising our basic right to inform society and the political class that Germany needs a competitive agricultural sector,” the president of the German farmers’ association, Joachim Rukwied, told Stern magazine on Monday.
Continue reading...James Hansen says limit will be passed ‘for all practical purposes’ by May though other experts predict that will happen in 2030s
The internationally agreed threshold to prevent the Earth from spiraling into a new superheated era will be “passed for all practical purposes” during 2024, the man known as the godfather of climate science has warned.
James Hansen, the former Nasa scientist credited for alerting the world to the dangers of climate change in the 1980s, said that global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels, amplified by the naturally reoccurring El Niño climatic event, will by May push temperatures to as much as 1.7C (3F) above the average experienced before industrialization.
Continue reading...Temperatures could be 10-15C below seasonal average in some areas, with Calgary and Edmonton experiencing low of -30C
Arctic air will sweep across western Canada and parts of the US early this week, leading to a cold snap that will probably last through the rest of this week and possibly beyond.
By Wednesday, temperatures in western Canada could be as much as 10-15C below the seasonal average. Minimum temperatures in Calgary and Edmonton could plummet as low as -30C by Friday, with some rural areas experiencing even lower temperatures. In contrast, temperatures on the east coast will be significantly above average, with Ottawa reaching highs of about 5C, almost 10C above the seasonal average. The cold spell will spread into northern and western parts of the US by Friday, with temperatures widely reaching 5-15C below average.
Continue reading...1,800 properties estimated to have flooded in England, as forecasters warn of colder weather on the way
The misery and chaos caused by flooding in England is set to continue until at least Monday, according to authorities.
In its latest update, the Environment Agency estimated that more than 1,800 properties had flooded after the heavy, intense downpours brought by Storm Henk.
Continue reading...Angry protests by farmers, hauliers and railway workers risk being exploited by populists such as Alternative für Deutschland
The symbolism that German farmers chose to express their discontent with the government in the first days of the new year was as unambiguous as it was ominous: by the side of rural roads across the country, there were sightings of makeshift gallows dangling traffic-light signs, a reference to the colours of the three governing parties.
The chilling sculptures are harbingers of unprecedented cross-sector protests and strikes hitting German roads and railways from Monday, and speak of a dramatic change of mood in a country long feted for its consensus-seeking approach to industrial relations, especially compared with its more traditionally strike-prone neighbour France.
Continue reading...Race organisers say former war crimes investigator suffered a heart attack while skippering a boat from the Canary Islands to Antigua
A former Australian spy and war crimes investigator has died skippering a rowing boat in a race across the Atlantic Ocean.
Alisdair Putt, who had planned to spend his 62nd birthday on the boat, suffered a heart attack while competing in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic rowing race from the Canary Islands to Antigua.
Continue reading...Hot weather has proved deadlier in the Croatian city of Osijek than in any other European city but little is being done to work out why
The green LEDs on the cross outside the pharmacy read 38C for the second day running, but the noontime crowds in the centre of Osijek seemed untroubled by the danger that signalled. “We work in the sun but for us it’s no problem,” said Davor, 47, a bike courier with the food delivery service Wolt.
Though many living there may be unaware, this small Croatian city is Europe’s heat death hotspot. In the past two decades, hot weather has proved deadlier in Osijek than in any other city in Europe, a study in the Lancet medical journal found. The researchers modelled temperature and mortality data from the 854 biggest cities in Europe and found Croatians were most likely to died from the heat.
Continue reading...Former minister also resigns as an MP, which will trigger byelection in his Kingswood constituency
A former Conservative minister has announced he is resigning as an MP in protest at the party’s dash for oil and gas, setting up an awkward vote for the prime minister on the issue on Monday and an even more difficult byelection within weeks.
Chris Skidmore, a leading voice within the Tory party on green issues, said on Friday he would resign from parliament as soon as it returns next week over Rishi Sunak’s bill to allow new oil and gas licences to be issued.
Continue reading...Weather observatory records period of more than 300 hours in which temperatures remained below freezing
Beijing experienced its coldest December since records began in 1951, after a cold wave hit much of China. Temperatures fell below -10C, alongside heavy snowfall and blizzard conditions. Northern and north-eastern parts of the country experienced the coldest temperatures, as icy air moved south from the Arctic, with some areas plunging to -40C.
The Beijing weather observatory recorded a period of more than 300 hours in which temperatures remained below freezing, which is the longest for December since records began 72 years ago. The cold snap forced the closure of many schools and businesses in the Chinese capital, owing to travel disruption and the stress from added heating demands. Temperatures have risen into the new year but Beijing remains cold, with maximum temperatures reaching just above freezing so far.
Continue reading...Environment agency says ‘significant surface water and river flooding impacts are possible’ on Friday
The highest rainfall totals recorded on Thursday were 35.2mm at Otterbourne in Hampshire, with a wide range of 20-30mm across much of the southern counties of England.
The Environment Agency said the impact of surface water and river flooding would continue to be “significant” across parts of England over the next five days.
Continue reading...Climate thinktank says Britain could be left trailing in global race to develop low-carbon energy
Labour’s independent energy advisers have warned the party against watering down its £28bn green spending plans in advance of its promise to create a zero carbon electricity system by 2030.
Experts at the climate thinktank Ember, which provided the independent analysis underpinning Labour’s green targets, said growing international competition for low-carbon investment from the US and EU could leave the UK lagging in the global race for low-carbon energy.
Continue reading...Stalled growth in electric vehicles comes despite government goal to phase out petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles by 2035
The number of new cars registered in the UK has jumped by nearly 18% but electric vehicle demand is flatlining, prompting the industry to call for a VAT cut to stimulate sales.
Annual figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) on Friday show 1.9m new cars were registered last year, well up on the previous year’s figure of 1.6m and the highest level since the 2.3m registrations of 2019.
Continue reading...PM appears to rule out spring election after recent speculation it could be held in May
Starmer says being in opposition is frustrating, and he accuses the Tories of treating it as performance art.
He is now on the passage about his career in public service that was posted earlier. See 9.12am.
If you’ve been breaking your back to keep trading, steering your business through the pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis, the challenge of Brexit and the chaos of Westminster.
If you’ve been serving our country, whether in scrubs or the uniform of your regiment and what you want now is a politics that serves you, then make no mistake - this is your year.
Continue reading...Residents of Queens Avenue in Caulfield East are ramping up the fight against the 1km path and vow to ‘fight until the bulldozers come’
For 30 years, Tamara de Silva has woken up to the sound of birds chirping in the trees across the road from her home in Melbourne’s south-east.
“Listening to the magpies and the lorikeets in the mornings, watching them playing around – it lifts your spirits,” she said.
Continue reading...Statement is clearest sign yet party is willing to drop one of its flagship policies in face of Conservative attacks
Keir Starmer has ruled out breaking Labour’s fiscal rules to meet its green investment targets if it wins the election this year, in the clearest sign yet that the party is willing to scale back one of its flagship policies in the face of Conservative attacks.
The Labour leader told an audience in Bristol on Thursday that he would not borrow £28bn to spend on green projects if it meant breaking a separate promise to reduce government debt as a proportion of economic output.
Continue reading...Eco-friendly British produce could become unaffordable luxury if low quality imports still allowed, say farmers
Tightening environmental standards for British farmers while importing food produced to lower standards risks making eco-friendly food an unaffordable luxury item, farmers have said.
At the Oxford Farming Conference on Thursday, the environment secretary, Steve Barclay, announced that the government would consult on a new labelling scheme that would single out food produced to UK standards, allowing consumers to choose more environmentally friendly food.
Continue reading...Several species have vanished across swathes of the continent – and scientists say their disappearance holds unknown risks for humans
Africa’s birds of prey have experienced a widespread population collapse that risks unforeseen consequences for humans, according to a new study.
Tropical raptor species including the martial eagle, the bateleur and the dark chanting goshawk have vanished from swathes of the African continent over the past 40 years, new analysis shows, as many wild areas were converted to farmland. Several African birds of prey are on track to become locally extinct in many countries this century.
Continue reading...Expert says if you see a snake you should leave it alone and call for a professional catcher
When Tennille Bankes walked into a toilet cubicle in Goondiwindi, Queensland, she was greeted by the scaly tail of a spotted black snake peaking out beneath a closed lid.
The wildlife carer and snake catcher was called by police to the public bathroom after a local, surprised by the reptile, summoned them for help.
Continue reading...Photograph taken at wildlife reserve shows baby nestled with his mother after his return
A baby elephant who was separated from his mother and the rest of his herd in a wildlife park in Tamil Nadu, south India, has been reunited with them by park officials.
An aerial photograph taken by officials shows the mother and calf, three days later, enjoying a nap on a slight incline with the baby nestled in the nook of his mother’s chest.
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