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environment/2024/jan/30/uk-must-act-urgently-to-meet-climate-commitments-says-watchdog | UK must act urgently to meet climate commitments, says watchdog | The UK must act urgently to meet its international climate commitments, the independent climate watchdog has warned, after sending “mixed messages” to other countries at the Cop28 UN climate summit in December. While carbon reduction from electricity generation has shown progress, the rate at which all other sources of emissions are being cut must quadruple to meet the UK’s target under the Paris agreement of 68% reductions in emissions by 2030, according to the Climate Change Committee. Piers Forster, the interim chair of the committee, said: “We must rapidly replace fossil fuels with low-carbon alternatives to get back on track to meet our 2030 goal. The UK could set a powerful example of tackling climate change and reducing our insecurity to climate impacts.” The committee released its summary of the implications of the Cop28 outcome for the UK on Tuesday. At the summit, nations agreed for the first time to target a transition away from fossil fuels, although the framing of the commitment was weaker than many nations hoped. The UK was sharply criticised by civil society leaders, and privately by many countries, for its stance at the summit. Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, attended only briefly and held few meetings with his counterparts, while his U-turn on net zero only weeks before cast a shadow over British participation in the talks. In measured language, the CCC, which advises the UK and devolved governments on emissions targets, said the government had “maintained a strong presence at Cop28”, but added: “The international perception of the UK’s climate ambition suffered from mixed messages following announcements on new fossil fuel developments and the prime minister’s speech to soften some net zero policies. The committee urges a continued visible presence at future Cops and even greater domestic climate ambition to reinforce the UK’s international standing.” In September, Sunak rowed back on key climate policies, including postponing the phase-out of sales of new fossil fuel vehicles, and announced fresh licences for North Sea oil and gas, which were greeted with international dismay. At Cop28, the UK argued for the phase-out of fossil fuels, but at home Sunak was insisting that oil and gas would have a central role in UK energy for decades. The government also gave the green light to a new coalmine, while other countries were being urged to give up coal. Rebecca Newsom, the head of politics at Greenpeace UK, said: “The UK government wears its hypocrisy on its sleeve when it comes to climate policy, and this new report from the CCC really spells it out. Our climate is on a knife-edge, and there must be no more empty words or hollow promises. The government must immediately end new oil and gas production and tax fossil fuel companies more to generate new public finance for climate action both at home and abroad. Only then can the UK begin to credibly claim it is a global climate leader.” Carla Denyer, co-leader of the Green party, said: “Through its drive to ‘max out’ on North Sea fossil fuels, the UK government has blown any pretence of global leadership on tackling the climate crisis. We need to call time on all new licences for fossil fuel exploration, accelerate the move towards renewable energy and implement a large scale home insulation programme. That is how the UK can show climate leadership.” At Cop28, after two weeks of tense negotiations, countries agreed to “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner”. This was the first time that a conference of the parties under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change had made a major commitment explicitly referring to fossil fuels. However, it gave no timeframe for the move away from fossil fuels and no details on how it would be achieved, while the term “energy systems” was judged ambiguous by some. Cop28 was held in the United Arab Emirates, one of the world’s biggest oil and gas producers. This year’s Cop29 will be held in Azerbaijan, for which oil and gas production are the mainstay of the economy. Activists and many countries are concerned that there may be backsliding from fossil fuel producers at the talks, seeking the loosest possible interpretation of the commitments made at Cop28. A UK government spokesperson said: “We welcome the Climate Change Committee’s recognition of the UK’s pivotal role at Cop28 and our strength in climate diplomacy. The UK is leading international action, delivering an agreement to transition away from fossil fuels and as one of the largest contributors to the loss and damage fund.” They added: “We are the first major economy to halve our emissions, have some of the world’s most ambitious legally binding targets, and have over-delivered on every carbon budget to date, while our significant investment in the UK’s world leading clean energy sector – with 40% of our electricity now renewable compared to just 7% in 2010 – is bolstering our energy security.” | ['environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/cop28', 'environment/cop29', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/fiona-harvey', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/cop28 | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2024-01-30T09:59:03Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
world/2009/sep/14/sonia-gandhi-abandons-plane | Sonia Gandhi abandons private plane in austerity drive | Sonia Gandhi, the president of India's ruling Congress party, underlined her government's austerity drive today by forgoing her private army plane and taking a commercial flight to a party rally in Mumbai. Gandhi has been leading a campaign to make symbolic gestures of solidarity with India's teeming millions who are coping with the worst drought in 20 years as well as an under-performing economy. The Congress leader has already intervened to ban ministers from staying in five-star hotels in the capital and to scale down the security of 50 ministers who, up until now, have been trailed by armed soldiers. Such is the sway of the 62-year-old political leader and grandmother that the cabinet has been scrambling to don proverbial hair shirts. On Saturday, the finance minister took a budget airline to Kolkata. Not to be outdone, India's external affairs minister, SM Krishna, announced his next trip to central Asia will be on a commercial flight and will include three, rather than 20, accompanying officials. The foreign minister usually travels by private jet. Prime minister Manmohan Singh, a noted economist who has frequently drawn attention to the excessive consumption of India's elite, has reportedly agreed to make some "exceptions" ‑ for business class tickets. With a growing divide between rich and poor, some Congress ministers have taken to public displays of solidarity with ordinary people. Shashi Tharoor, a noted author and former deputy to United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan who is now a minister, was pictured eating Indian sweets in a local cafe and chatting to voters. The moves are part of the Congress party's strategy to build support among the rural masses who have been largely left behind by the country's economic rise yet have borne the brunt of the economy's deceleration. India is expected to grow at 6% this year, some way off the 8% it has clocked in the last five years. It is widely accepted that the party's populist measures, such as guaranteeing employment to the rural poor and fattening the pay packets of government servants, helped the Congress return to power in general elections earlier this year. Experts say however that rising inequality is a potential "time bomb" that could explode under the Congress party. A study earlier this year showed India, where more than 300 million people live in dire poverty, had 50 billionaires who together controlled wealth that was equivalent to 20% of gross domestic product and, reportedly, 80% of stock market capitalisation. "This concentration of wealth and influence could be a hidden time bomb under India's social fabric," warned the authors of the US-based Emerging Markets Forum. Gandhi's decision is not without risks. Her mother-in-law and husband were both assassinated and, since then, the Gandhi family has been protected by a thick cordon of guards. On her flight, it is understood her security personnel took up two rows of seats. | ['world/world', 'world/india', 'environment/drought', 'tone/news', 'world/sonia-gandhi', 'type/article', 'profile/randeepramesh', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/international'] | environment/drought | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2009-09-14T14:06:01Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2010/mar/17/southern-right-whales-mystery | Whale experts meet to solve mystery deaths of southern right species | Experts are meeting this week to try to solve the mystery of the largest ever recorded die-off of great whales. More than 300 southern right whales, most of them young calves, have been found dead in the last five years in the waters off Argentina's Patagonian coast - one of the most important breeding grounds for the species. Possible causes being examined include biotoxins - naturally occurring poisons which include the venom of some snakes and spiders and the "flesh-eating" bacteria Necrotizing fasciitis - disease, environmental factors, and lack of prey, particularly the tiny krill which make up the bulk of the southern right's diet. Another theory put forward has been the effect of gulls, which can act like parasites, gouging skin and blubber from the whales' backs. The main evidence that will be examined is tests on samples taken from beached whale calves, which have shown "unusually thin" blubber, said the US-based Wildlife Conservation Society, which described the die-off as "a perplexing and urgent mystery". "We need to critically examine possible causes for this increase in calf mortality so we can begin to explore possible solutions," said Marcela Uhart, one of the WCS scientists who first discovered the problem. "Finding the cause may require an expansion of monitoring activities to include the vast feeding grounds for the species." Southern right whales are one of three species of right whales, so called because fishermen considered them the "right whale" to hunt, because they are slow swimmers, easy to approach, live close to shore and float when dead. In the first half of the 1800s about 45,000 right whales were killed, driving them close to extinction, before they became protected in 1937. Since then the southern right whale — which weighs up to 90 tonnes when fully grown — has been a conservation success, numbers rebounding to about 7,500, in populations off South America, South Africa, Australia and some oceanic islands. Numbers of the Northern Atlantic right whale and Northern Pacific right whale have recovered less well, to a few hundred each, according to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. Part of the concern about the recent die-off is that the dead whales have been found around the Peninsula Valdés, where one third of the global population of southern right whales is thought to use the protected bays for calving and nursing between the months of June and December. "Peninsula Valdés is one of the most important calving and nursing grounds for the species found throughout the southern hemisphere," said Howard Rosenbaum, director WCS's ocean giants programme, and a member of the International Whaling Commission's scientific committee. "By working with the government of Argentina, the Province of Chubut [which is hosting the conference this week], and our diverse team of experts and specialists, we can increase our chances of solving this mystery, the critical next step to ensuring a future for this population of southern right whales." The southern right whale grows to up to 17m long, with a rotund body and broad back, and brown skin with white patches on the belly. Distinguishing features include two blow-holes which make a V-shaped blow up to 5m high, growths called callosities on their heads, jaws, and lips - the unique patterns of which can be used to identify individuals - and the largest testes in the animal kingdom weighting up to a tonne a pair. Despite being slow swimmers they are "highly acrobatic", and can use their tail flukes to "sail" in the wind, reports the WCS. They live in groups of up to 12 at their feeding grounds, or two and three in the breeding areas. This week's workshop meeting, which ends tomorrow, is sponsored by the International Whaling Commission, which last year declared the die-off as a management priority. Other participants include the WCS, Centro Nacional Patagónico, the Zoological Society of London, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the World Conservation Union (IUCN), the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the British Antarctic Survey, the Marine Mammal Centre, and the US Marine Mammal Commission. Globally the southern right whale is one of 86 recognised species of cetaceans - porpoises, dolphins and whales - listed as being of "least concern" by the IUCN World Conservation Union. In the last update by the Cetacean specialist group, in 2008, two species are listed as "critically endangered", and a dozen species and several sub-species "endangered" or "vulnerable"; many more are not assessed due to lack of data. Threats include continued hunting, entrapment in fishing gear and structures like dams, over-fishing of prey, and noise from ships and other human activities. There is also concern that high levels of chemicals found in tissues of these animals "may be affecting the animals' immune and reproductive systems", says another report from the group in 2003. A report last week by Natural England, the countryside agency for England, said that all species of whale and dolphin found around England were endangered. | ['environment/marine-life', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/wildlife', 'environment/whaling', 'environment/oceans', 'tone/news', 'world/argentina', 'world/world', 'environment/coastlines', 'environment/whales', 'environment/cetaceans', 'type/article', 'profile/juliettejowit'] | environment/cetaceans | BIODIVERSITY | 2010-03-17T12:39:25Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/blog/2009/may/13/catlin-arctic-survey-ends | Arctic explorers end mission to survey sea ice | After 73 days and 434 kilometres of blood, sweat and tears, frozen-solid clothes, a frost-bitten toe and a needle in a buttock, the Catlin Arctic Survey is nearly at an end. Explorer Pen Hadow's mission to collect data on the sea ice in the Arctic will come to a close this evening when his team of three explorers are collected from the ice. Their flight out is due to arrive at 18.00 BST. At the same time, there will be live webcast in which Hadow will give a run-down of the team's initial results, such as the average ice thickness the team measured. I'm told he will also say that they did not encounter any multi-year ice (only new ice that froze that year). That is a bit of a mystery and the scientific interpretation for why that might be will take some time to work out. There will also be a live web-cast at 16.00 BST in which Hadow will talk about his feelings about the mission and what he's looking forward to when he gets home. Here's what he said earlier today: We have reached the end of our expedition, and are just waiting to hear the sound of the Twin Otter planes heading towards us. The runway is prepared and we in our tent getting ready to leave. The sea ice around us is breaking up and the chances of finding a decent runway for the pick up planes was getting increasingly slim. It's a bitter -sweet moment: we are all sad to be leaving this magical place, but equally pretty chirpy at the thought of seeing friends and family, getting a bath and having a decent meal! We've all had a roller coaster of a time - with the emotions to go with it. The one thing I will say is that being with Ann and Martin has been amazing. I now have two truly great friends - and I'm sure in the years to come we will be able to reminisce together over a drink in a nice warm bar. The Catlin Arctic Survey's original mission to take measurements right up to the North Pole has not worked out though. They will be picked up 490km from the pole, less than half way there. It became rapidly clear after the team (Hadow, Ann Daniels and Martin Hartley) was hampered by atrocious weather at the beginning of the trek that reaching the pole would be a challenge. Two long waits for re-supply planes that were delayed by weather (11 days and 7 days) did not help either. Another problem was that the team's ice-penetrating radar, which would have been used for ice thickness measurements, did not work. Instead they were forced to use hand-drilling equipment which meant spending 4 hours or more each day collecting data. It should have taken around half that. | ['environment/catlin-arctic-survey', 'environment/poles', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'science/scienceofclimatechange', 'world/arctic', 'environment/blog', 'environment/environment', 'tone/blog', 'type/article', 'profile/jamesranderson'] | environment/poles | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2009-05-13T14:53:27Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
business/political-science/2014/feb/10/norwegian-universities-consider-the-ethics-of-oil-and-gas-research | Norwegian universities consider the ethics of oil and gas research | Ragnhild Freng Dale | The debate flared up after Norwegian oil giant Statoil renewed its contract with the University of Bergen (UiB) last year. The contract is intended to finance independent research at the baseline level, teaching and PhD scholarships, and commits Statoil to give 55m Norwegian Kroner (roughly £5.5m) to the University of Bergen over a five-year period. Though the contact is question is not explicitly linked to fossil fuels, there is an expectation it will be used for research that is “strategically important” both for Statoil and for UiB. Previous years’ reports clearly show that nearly all the money has been invested in petroleum-related research; the 2012 report (pdf) also lists carbon capture and storage as a “renewable energy”, making it difficult to determine whether any significant amount of money went to research that is not in some way geared towards extended oil or gas production. Statoil has similar contracts with most Norwegian universities, as do others like the French oil giant Total. Overall, oil companies spend between 3.5bn and 4bn Norwegian Kroner on sponsoring petroleum research in public universities each year, according to Norwegian newspaper Klassekampen. So what is the controversy about? A central part of the debate has been a disagreement over the implications of guidelines for research ethics in science and technology produced by the National Committee for Research Ethics in Science and Technology (NENT). These include considerations for the environment and human rights, and encourage researchers to follow the precautionary principle. The committee is part of the Norwegian National Committees for Research Ethics, and its assessments are important for the entire academic community in Norway. Some professors think it is unethical of the university to carry out research of any kind on petroleum and contribute to more CO2 emissions, in particular through direct contracts with oil companies. Those who endorse petroleum research, on the other hand, claim it is a duty to make sure it happens in as technologically safe and environmentally friendly a way as possible since oil and gas are likely to remain part of the energy mix for decades to come. The debate has been raised a number of times in the past years, but stifled quickly each time. In 2012 when a professor raised the question concerning NTNU Trondheim, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and its research on oil sands, most academics remained quiet or chose not to engage in public debate. The same has been the case at the University of Oslo, where the student parliament passed a resolution in 2012 to end research contributing to more petroleum extraction only to be met with criticism and dismissal. This all changed last year: the renewal of the Statoil contracts happened at the same time as the IPCC launched its fifth assessment report on climate change, and the uncomfortable question was raised again: Given what we know about the causes of climate change and the need to reduce emissions, can continued research on petroleum extraction be ethical? Both academics and students at the University of Bergen voiced their concern that the Statoil contract biases the university towards a greater focus on petroleum research at the expense of renewable energy. Inspired by the Fossil Free movement and the protests against Oxford University’s partnership with Shell earlier in 2013, they launched a petition calling on the university to end the contract or use it solely for research that is either petroleum-neutral or related to development of renewable energy. They also raised concerns that Statoil carries out operations in Angola and Canadian oil sands. The petition gained nearly 200 signatures in a matter of days, including staff, students and alumni, and has continued to grow to over 500 since November last year. In early January, the principal at the University of Bergen, Dag Rune Olsen, decided to write to NENT asking it to assess the implications of the guidelines for petroleum research. The letter refers to the debates and asks the committee for advice on the dilemma between petroleum as an important part of the Norwegian economy, the need to meet future energy demands, and the environmental considerations that require a limitation of CO2 emissions. Øyvind Mikkelsen, professor at NTNU in Trondheim and head of NENT, says the committee is highly motivated for the work, and will weigh the ethics of petroleum research against a number of other factors. The outcome of its assessment is likely to be ready in April. Whatever the final statement, it will have consequences for Norwegian academia as a whole, as well as for society and the economy. It may also have consequences beyond its borders: if Norway, one of the most oil-dependent countries in the world, can ask itself whether it is right for universities to carry out research on petroleum, perhaps it is time other universities, such as those in the UK, do the same? Ragnhild Freng Dale is a PhD candidate at the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge. You can follow her on Twitter @ragnhildfd | ['science/energy', 'science/political-science', 'science/science', 'science/series/science-blog-network', 'science/science-policy', 'education/university-funding', 'environment/oil', 'type/article', 'business/oilandgascompanies', 'tone/blog'] | environment/oil | ENERGY | 2014-02-10T14:08:05Z | true | ENERGY |
world/2005/sep/01/naturaldisasters.hurricanekatrina | Thousands feared lost in US storm | The death toll from Hurricane Katrina could rise into the thousands in New Orleans alone, the city authorities believe, in what President Bush described as "one of the worst national disasters in our nation's history." The US government declared a public health emergency along the devastated Gulf coast as the scale of the disaster became apparent, and fears grew that disease could spread in the stagnant water. After flying low over the shattered region in Air Force One, President Bush said: "We're dealing with one of the worst national disasters in our nation's history. This recovery will take a long time. This recovery will take years." In New Orleans, initial attempts by army engineers failed to plug gaps in two of the city's dykes that had been breached by the storm. The sandbags dropped into the holes from helicopters were washed away, allowing more water to flow into the city. Preparations were under way yesterday to drop shipping containers filled with rubble. Major General Don Riley of the army corps of engineers said that once the damaged levees are repaired, it could take nearly a month to get the water out of the city. Another huge operation was under way to rescue 25,000 people who had taken refuge in the city's Superdome sports arena. It was surrounded by water and conditions were said to be becoming unbearable. Nearly 500 buses were reported to be en route to New Orleans to move the displaced people from the Superdome to the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, some 350 miles away. But thousands more homeless people were wandering New Orleans streets last night, unable to get into the Superdome or leave the city. New Orleans's mayor, Ray Nagin, issued a stark warning of the scale of the unfolding disaster. "We know there is a significant number of dead bodies in the water" and others were dead in attics, the mayor told the Associated Press. Asked how many, he said: "Minimum, hundreds. Most likely, thousands." He added that there would be a "total evacuation of the city ... The city will not be functional for two or three months." About 80% of New Orleans remained under water as emergency workers warned of the dangers posed by the bodies of people and animals, spilled chemicals and oil that floated through streets. Terry Taylor, a teenager who had been wandering the streets for more than 24 hours looking for shelter, said: "There were dead people floating everywhere you looked." The Bush administration declared a public health crisis. "We are gravely concerned about the potential for cholera, typhoid and dehydrating diseases that could come as a result of the stagnant water and the conditions," Mike Leavitt, the health and human services secretary, said. Louisiana's governor, Kathleen Blanco, said there was no choice but to clear out. "The logistical problems are impossible and we have to evacuate people in shelters. It's becoming untenable." The Pentagon began mounting one of the largest search and rescue operations in US history. Four navy ships were sent to the Gulf coast with supplies of drinking water and other emergency equipment. The chaotic scenes in New Orleans were exacerbated by outbreaks of looting. Police said there were dozens of carjackings by survivors trying to leave town or obtain supplies. A rescue helicopter was fired on, a state official said. Officials were appalled that people were exploiting the disaster to loot rifles from gun stores, jewels from the tourist shops in New Orleans's French Quarter and money from abandoned one-armed bandits in the wrecked floating casinos of Biloxi further up the coast. President Bush's declaration that Katrina is an "incident of national significance" frees additional aid and allows greater coordination between government departments. "The challenge is an engineering nightmare," Ms Blanco said of the moves to hold back the floodwaters round Lake Pontchartrain. She made yesterday a "day of prayer" to "calm our spirits" and gave thanks on behalf of those who had survived. Survivors had their stories to tell. "Oh my God, it was hell," said Kioka Williams, who had to hack through the ceiling of the beauty shop where she worked as floodwaters rose in New Orleans. "We were screaming, hollering, flashing lights. It was complete chaos," she told the Associated Press. Rescue workers and individuals carried out risky operations to pluck survivors from rooftops. Those who have lost their homes will be housed on cruise ships, in mobile home camps, in tent cities and by the American Red Cross which yesterday said it had 40,000 people in shelters. It has been the organisation's biggest operation in a history of more than 120 years, a spokesman said. Looting continued in parts of New Orleans where deserted shops offered a tempting target. Although Louisiana officials warned that looters would be dealt with ruthlessly, young men scooped up items from electrical goods stores in full sight of officials and television crews. One looter shot a police officer in the head. "There are gangs of armed men moving around the city," said Terry Ebbert, the city's homeland security chief. Looters had even tried to break into the children's hospital, the governor's office said. Across the three most affected states - Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama - more than a million people were without electricity and many were without clean drinking water. Among the worst-hit areas were Biloxi's Quiet Water Beach apartments, where it is estimated 30 people were swept to their deaths. At Charity hospital in New Orleans, as the emergency generator ran out of fuel, nurses hand-pumped ventilators for patients who could not breathe and doctors used canoes to get supplies from neighbouring hospitals. Questions of whether the authorities could have done more to prepare for the catastrophe and whether the emergency provision against terrorism has led to the dangers of natural disasters being ignored will have to wait while the battle to find the missing continues and attempts are made to avert further disaster from spilling over the floodwalls. | ['world/world', 'world/natural-disasters', 'us-news/hurricane-katrina', 'us-news/us-news', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'profile/duncancampbell', 'profile/julianborger'] | us-news/hurricane-katrina | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2005-09-01T11:58:35Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
commentisfree/2018/sep/19/cut-air-pollution-car-action | Want to cut air pollution? Get rid of your car | John Vidal | I write this from St Martin’s, one of the largest of the Isles of Scilly, where in five days spent among its 120-odd inhabitants I have seen only three moving cars, two tractors and a few boats. With 28 miles of Atlantic ocean in one direction between it and Cornwall, and just a few rocks before the Canadian coastline in the other, St Martin’s has some of the cleanest air in the world. My landlord, Andrew, sees the benefits. Both his grandparents are 92 and still active, no one he knows has asthma, and lung and heart diseases are uncommon, he says. Harold Wilson always holidayed on the neighbouring island of St Mary’s, but his pipe-smoking never caught on. Word of the grim state of air on “mainland” UK reaches everyone here. A few days ago came reports suggesting hundreds of thousands of young people in Britain are being exposed to illegal levels of air pollution from diesel vehicles. Then there was new evidence showing that toxic air travels through pregnant women’s lungs and lodges in their placentas. A third study showed how air pollution affects intelligence, and another showed it to be the biggest environmental risk in Europe, causing an estimated 400,000 premature deaths a year. Today, there are reports of a new study suggesting that air pollution increases the chance of getting dementia. For Scillonians, used to gulping fresh sea air only, this is all academic. But what can people in grossly polluted British cities do about the staggering levels of pollution, apart from escape occasionally to places like St Martin’s? How hard is it really to eliminate most pollution? Not very, say the cities and countries that have tried to reduce it. It’s not expensive, and it can be politically popular. Indeed, all the research shows that places that reduce pollution benefit financially in both the short and long term. As a start, we can all experience the less-polluted life. This weekend, as part of World Car-Free Day, London will close 50 major streets to traffic, and Manchester, Leeds, Bristol, Glasgow, Cardiff, Oxford, Cambridge and Liverpool will also ban cars from parts of their city centres. All it has taken is a pledge, a temporary decree and a few plastic bollards. Birmingham, car capital of the UK, resolutely refuses to join in. Poor Brum. The effect of removing cars on a grand scale from a large city is revelatory. Aside from the rare quietness and extra space, the air smells and tastes different. It may be imaginary, but people also seem to converse and smile more. The health effects are dramatic. Brussels closed its city centre to cars last Sunday, and within hours the levels of black carbon and nitrogen dioxide in the city’s air decreased by at least 30%. Nearly everyone approved. When the benefits are seen, the rest becomes easy. Many cities that were happy to ban cars from a few streets for a token day a year have now been emboldened by the positive response they received to go much further. Oslo will permanently ban all cars from its city centre by 2019; Madrid will free up 500 acres of its centre by 2020; and Copenhagen, Paris, Brussels, Berlin, Mexico City, Bogotá and Kigali all have ambitious plans for permanent bans. The car – at least in some EU cities – is on the run. But British and US cities are putting their faith more in technology and individual action. This approach is also beginning to work, with sales of electric cars skyrocketing. This week, we passed the milestone of 4m zero-emission electric vehicles (EVs) on the road worldwide. That’s not many out of more than one billion cars, but the speed of change suggests that the electric car will go mainstream over the next generation. We’re predicted to hit the 5m mark in about six months’ time, with one in four to five cars built predicted to be all or partly electric within a decade. This may not dramatically reduce pollution unless the electricity they run on is renewable, but individuals should at least be able to opt to “fill up” on clean electricity. But technology is not enough. The air will never meet even the lowest World Health Organisation standards until governments accept that cars must be removed from the street altogether, and major investments be made in walking, cycling and public transport. Countries that have invested in pollution-free transport have reaped the benefits. Academics calculate that Dutch investment in cycling not only prevents about 6,500 deaths each year, but saves government spending of nearly £20bn a year, as well as lengthening average life expectancies by six months. The Royal College of Physicians recommends, for a start, that we spend £10 a head on alternatives to cars: far less than planned spending on new roads. It could be enough to kickstart an emission-free economy that is good for health, the climate and the pocket. As individuals, we can learn to avoid heavily polluted streets by taking backstreets; apps can show us in real time where the pollution hotspots are; and we can avoid buying diesels or sitting in front of open fires. These all offer individual respite from the clouds of gases and particles we emit, but will not bring about real change. We must also understand that air pollution comes not just from cars but from ships, farming, heating of houses and workplaces, and the burning of firewood and rubbish. We can wean cars off fossil fuels, but that is just the start. Ultimately, we need to both get out of our cars, and burn fewer fossil fuels. For that to happen, we need to think very differently about how we live. On St Martin’s in the Isles of Scilly, it’s just about possible to imagine that. • John Vidal is a former Guardian environment editor | ['commentisfree/series/first-thoughts', 'environment/air-pollution', 'environment/environment', 'commentisfree/commentisfree', 'environment/pollution', 'society/health', 'society/society', 'world/road-transport', 'uk/uk', 'tone/comment', 'type/article', 'profile/johnvidal', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/opinion', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-opinion'] | environment/air-pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2018-09-19T12:38:37Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
business/2022/mar/20/pm-to-chair-roundtable-on-boosting-uks-nuclear-power-output | PM to chair roundtable on boosting UK’s nuclear power output | Boris Johnson will chair a meeting on how to increase the UK’s nuclear power output on Monday, as he prepares to publish his energy security strategy this month amid soaring prices. The prime minister will discuss domestic nuclear projects with leaders from the nuclear industry at a roundtable meeting at Downing Street, No 10 said. Johnson is expected to publish the government’s energy security strategy later in March, against a backdrop of rocketing energy bills, which were already creating a cost of living crisis even before Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine led ministers to pledge to phase out Russian energy. The UK generated less than half (43%) of its electricity from renewable sources in 2020, and gas-fired power plants still play a significant role, with Britain reliant on gas for heating as well as electricity. Nuclear power plants currently provide about a sixth of the UK’s electricity. Johnson has previously announced that he intends to remove fossil fuels from UK electricity generation by 2035, and has also argued that the country should invest in more domestic nuclear and renewable energy in order to become more self-sufficient. No 10 officials said topics expected to be discussed at the roundtable meeting include how government and industry can work together to remove barriers and progress future nuclear projects in the UK more quickly and cheaply. Downing Street added that nuclear power is a “safe, clean and reliable energy source”. Last November, the government agreed to invest in a new generation of mini-nuclear reactors, being developed by engineering firm Rolls-Royce. Ministers hope that these small modular reactors, or SMRs, will be quicker and cheaper to build than traditional large-scale nuclear reactors – such as the Hinkley Point C project – which pose considerable construction risks and are often beset by spiralling costs and delays. Johnson told Conservative members at the party’s spring conference in Blackpool over the weekend that the government was going to place some “big bets on nuclear power”, including backing SMRs and larger projects. However, some environmental experts have raised concerns over how to safely dispose of nuclear waste after the decommissioning of nuclear power plants. Labour has said it supports building more nuclear sites, and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves called on Sunday for ministers to “get on with the investment in new nuclear”, as well as renewable energy. Johnson is also due to meet executives from the wind sector in the coming days as he looks to bolster domestic energy sources from all available quarters. | ['business/energy-industry', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'environment/energy', 'business/business', 'technology/energy', 'environment/environment', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'politics/boris-johnson', 'politics/politics', 'uk/uk', 'business/cost-of-living-crisis', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/joanna-partridge', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2022-03-20T22:30:08Z | true | ENERGY |
music/2018/oct/17/thom-yorke-hands-off-the-antarctic-greenpeace-single-radiohead | Thom Yorke releases Greenpeace single Hands Off the Antarctic | Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has released a new single in support of Greenpeace’s mission to protect the Antarctic Ocean from the effects of climate change, commercial fishing and human interference. The ominous instrumental electronic track is titled Hands Off the Antarctic. The video features footage shot by Greenpeace’s research ship Arctic Sunrise, and was premiered on 16 October when it was projected on to London’s Marble Arch. “There are some places on this planet that are meant to stay raw and wild and not destroyed by humanity’s footprint,” Yorke said in a statement. “This track is about stopping the relentless march of those heavy footsteps. The Antarctic is a true wilderness and what happens there affects us all. That’s why we should protect it.” Greenpeace is lobbying members of the Antarctic Ocean Commission, the international body responsible for protecting the region’s marine ecosystem, to create a protected area to be known as the Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary. Recent studies show that the melting of the Antarctic ice sheet has accelerated threefold in the last five years, and it is now vanishing faster than at any previously recorded time. A separate study warned that unless urgent action is taken in the next decade, the melting ice could contribute more than 25cm to a global sea-level rise of more than a metre by 2070. A Greenpeace report this June found traces of plastic and hazardous chemicals in Antarctica, one of the world’s last remaining wildernesses. Yorke will release Suspiria, the soundtrack to Luca Guadagnino’s remake of the classic horror film of the same name, on 26 October. It is his third solo album and first feature film soundtrack. Radiohead are nominated for induction into the 2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. | ['music/music', 'culture/culture', 'music/thom-yorke', 'music/radiohead', 'environment/greenpeace', 'environment/activism', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/laura-snapes', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-culture'] | environment/greenpeace | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2018-10-17T09:32:57Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
media/2008/aug/08/digitaltvradio.digitalmedia | Competition Commission Deadline for investigation into Project Kangaroo bounced to next year | The Competition Commission has extended the deadline for its investigation into Project Kangaroo, the broadband video joint venture between ITV, Channel 4 and BBC Worldwide, into next year. Today's extension comes because Kangaroo partners missed a deadline for providing details on the scope of the proposed online TV service. The commission was meant to complete its investigation into the service and publish its report by December 14. However, the deadline has now been extended until "mid January". On July 31 the commission requested more information from the joint venture partners on the proposed scope and activities of Kangaroo. It gave the broadcasters just six days to provide the information. "The Competition Commission's questions have revealed a number of important issues which are outstanding between the parties and which they have indicated they are unable to resolve without further negotiation," the regulator said. Today the commission also published an "issues statement" that "identifies clearly for all interested parties the specific questions and areas the inquiry is examining". The regulator is seeking to establish whether the launch of Project Kangaroo will result in a "merger situation" leading to competition issues in the online video market. It will look at the effect of competition in terms of the impact on pricing, range of content offered by different video-on-demand suppliers, quality and innovation. The commission will look at four distinct markets: retail supply of video-on-demand services, wholesale supply of VOD service, acquisition of VOD content rights, and advertising. Issues the regulator is to address include whether the market for advertising – either surrounding or embedded in VOD content – should be regarded as the market for online video advertising, an overall internet display ad market, or whether it should be defined more widely to include TV advertising. In terms of the acquisition of VOD content rights, the commission will look at the issue of whether when dealing with producers the market should be defined more widely to include linear TV rights. The regulator said its analysis will focus on the UK "although we have not ruled out the possibility that the relevant geographic market(s) is/are wider than the UK". · To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email [email protected] or phone 020 7239 9857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 7278 2332. · If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication". | ['media/digital-media', 'media/bbc', 'media/ITV', 'media/channel4', 'media/media', 'tone/news', 'business/business', 'technology/technology', 'media/kangaroo', 'media/television', 'technology/digitalvideo', 'technology/broadband', 'media/online-tv', 'type/article', 'profile/marksweney'] | technology/digitalvideo | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2008-08-08T09:35:22Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2018/mar/08/country-diary-trees-stand-as-witnesses-to-history | Country diary: trees stand as witnesses to history | Almost seven centuries ago, a great calamity 50 miles out to the east sent men with axes and saws into priory-owned Chicksands Wood. The Norman central tower of Ely Cathedral had collapsed, and the architect of its replacement chose to bridge the gap not with stone, but with wood. To this day, the Octagon Tower has Bedfordshire oak timbers holding up its roof to heaven. Not so long ago, another forester came into Chicksands Wood to take out the tallest, straightest trees. He cut them down on either side of the ride, the aisle of this cathedral. Buttressed stumps a metre wide were as fluted pillars brought low in the ruins of a church building. On the flat top of an orangey-brown stump, I ran my finger down the timeline towards another catastrophe. Sixty-three annual growth rings took me to the centre of the tree and the period when owners of this wood and thousands of others like it lost patience with the old ways. In postwar Britain, two-thirds of Chicksands was cleared and replanted with conifers, including the trees like this one, which had just met its end. Further down the ride, a shaft of sunlight enticed me to a place where the wood’s medieval heart beat still. Scrambling through sedges, I came to what was evidently the remnant of a coppiced ash, a moss-covered eye socket betraying where a stem of the same tree had been cut long ago and the base had rotted into a hollow. A little way behind it was another ash of gigantic proportions – 10 trunks as thick as my waist rose from a stool about three metres in diameter. This tree, maybe 500 years old, had sprouted from the humped bank over a sinuous ditch. And since the bank had to pre-date anything growing on it, I guessed this trench had been dug in days when a woodland boundary would be marked from tree to tree, a twisting line that had outgrown its logic. The ditch was surely there on that day in the 1320s when woodsmen came here in search of oaks to fell. | ['environment/series/country-diary', 'environment/forests', 'uk/ruralaffairs', 'environment/spring', 'environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/derek-niemann', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/forests | BIODIVERSITY | 2018-03-08T05:30:41Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
commentisfree/2019/apr/01/trees-are-at-the-heart-of-our-country-we-should-learn-their-indigenous-names | Trees are at the heart of our country – we should learn their Indigenous names | Jakelin Troy | The last time I went back to my Country in the Snowy Mountains, I noticed tree after tree felled, chopped down seemingly without thought. For me, it was unfathomable. First Peoples worldwide have fundamentally and always understood trees to be community members for us – they are not entities that exist in some biological separateness, given a Linnaean taxonomy and classed with other non-sentient beings. Trees are part of our mob, part of our human world and active members of our communities, with lives, loves and feelings. In Indigenous philosophies, all elements of the natural world are animated. Every rock, mountain, river, plant and animal all are sentient, having individual personalities and a life force. Trees are also one-stop-shops for all our needs, and sustain us with their generosity. The hard bark creates our houses, soft paperbark wraps our babies, stringy bark twists into fishing lines and cords, water carriers are carved from knots, leaves and fruits are our food and medicine, and roots and branches become tools that make our lives easy. Trees provide us with inspiration for our art and give us the aesthetic of the landscape. When the invading British, as one of their first acts on our Country, cut them down, we wept and cried with the trees, sharing their pain and shielding them with our bodies. When we destroy trees, we destroy ourselves. We cannot survive in a treeless world. In Australia, we should bring back into use the Aboriginal names and knowledge systems for trees and plants that are lost to everyday use. This year is the United Nations international year of indigenous languages. In this year how wonderful it would be for Australians to learn the original names of our trees? We can begin by saying again the name for the grass tree or xanthorrhoea – which is gadi – the name by which the clan who lived in what is now the Sydney CBD called themselves: the Gadigal. It provides one of the strongest resins in the world. A beautiful and ancient long-lived tree that has almost become extinct in the Sydney CBD. The waratah is an icon of Australia and the symbol of the state of New South Wales. Most Australians would not know that its name came into Australian English in the earliest colonial period from the language of the Gadigal clan. The Gadigal held the spectacular flower in high esteem and gave it a key role in funeral ceremonies as a symbol of the ongoing life of the spirit of the deceased. In Sydney we should all know the word damun – the Port Jackson fig tree so common it was said by the Gadigal to be the favourite habitat of a mischievous spirit. In Australia, trees of great significance to Aboriginal communities continue to be destroyed. Currently Djab Wurrung people are trying to stop the Victorian government from cutting down sacred eucalyptus trees, including birthing trees where countless generations of their people have been born. This is a cultural and environmental loss for all Australians. Indigenous communities worldwide suffer from the damage done to their trees. In the Himalayan region of Swat in north Pakistan, my Torwali friend Mujahid told me of the devastation of the ancient deodar forests by the Taliban when they overran his valley in 2008-9. These trees (lo see thaam in Torwali) are a form of cedar that take 200 years to mature, and live for at least 1,000 years. The trees are integral to local history: the stand that sheltered the wali (ruler) of Swat on his travels is now a semi-sacred place. Trees also help people track seasonal changes so important to an agricultural community. Mujahid explained that his mother would say that the sun rising over a particular tree indicated it was mid-winter. The Taliban commanders cut the beautiful trees to sell the timber to fund their operations. The result was an environmental and social disaster. The trees with their extraordinarily deep roots helped keep the steep mountainsides intact. Deforestation and an unusually early melt of the winter snow in 2010 created extreme mudslides and floods that devastated communities from Kalam to Bahrain. In Chile, I met with Mapuche people who live in the great and ancient Araucaria forests of the southern Andes. These forests have been similarly devastated by governments that allowed extensive logging. The Mapuche revere the trees as sacred and refer to them as family members. They rely on the piñon (pine seed) of the tree as a staple in their diet. The Pehuenche Mapuche are named for the Araucaria. Pehuén is araucaria in Mapudungun, their language. Scientists conceive they know more about trees and plants because they study them and give them scientific names. We, the indigenous peoples of the world, have a deep-seated understanding of what this foreign science means. However, we understand it without disconnecting ourselves from the plants and trees around us. Let’s speak their names. • Professor Jakelin Troy is Director of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research at the University of Sydney. • The Talking trees series is on at the Museum of Contemporary Art through to June, in conjunction with the exhibition Janet Laurence: After Nature. | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'australia-news/indigenous-australians', 'education/languages', 'environment/forests', 'education/sustainability', 'environment/environment', 'world/pakistan', 'world/chile', 'culture/culture', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'australia-news/victoria', 'world/indigenous-peoples', 'world/taliban', 'environment/deforestation', 'tone/comment', 'type/article', 'profile/jakelin-troy', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-culture'] | environment/forests | BIODIVERSITY | 2019-04-01T03:48:43Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
environment/2020/feb/14/johnson-must-make-climate-a-priority-or-cop26-will-fail-say-leading-figures | PM must prioritise climate or Cop26 will fail, say leading figures | Boris Johnson must put the climate crisis at the top of his government’s agenda if crunch UN talks this year are to be a success, leading international figures have told the Guardian. Alok Sharma was appointed on Thursday as the business secretary and president of Cop26, the UN talks on the climate crisis to be held this November in Glasgow. Some climate experts are concerned that he won’t be able to stand up to governments reluctant to make strong commitments to cut greenhouse gases, while at the same time supporting British businesses struggling in the turmoil of Brexit. Lord Stern, former World Bank chief economist, said he had confidence in Sharma, having worked with him closely on international development issues. “[Sharma] has worked with developing countries, and has shown he can build up the relationships he needs,” he said. “He has the knowledge and the ability to form the relationships that are needed with developing countries that will be essential to the success of Cop26.” The appointment of Sharma has encouraged civil servants who were concerned that Cop26 had slipped down the government’s agenda. Insiders said the appointment of Sharma – a well-regarded secretary of state for international development – would kickstart the process of international diplomacy needed to make the Cop26 climate conference a success. Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, said: “This is an excellent choice and we at the IEA are looking forward to working together with minister Sharma and his team to support the Cop26 process in order to reach a successful outcome in Glasgow for our international climate goals. We will work together to make sure 2019 is remembered as the year of peak emissions so that the 2020s become the decade that global emissions decline quickly.” Campaigners are concerned, however, that the dual role may get in the way of a successful outcome. John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK, said: “The new business secretary has a herculean task on his hands. Not only has he got to get the UK delivering on its carbon budgets, but he’s also got to get the world behind more ambitious climate action. “At home, he needs to unblock the expansion of on- and offshore wind currently sandwiched between various government departments and backbench MPs, as well as tackling carbon emission from 30m draughty buildings. Globally, he’s got to deal with leaving the EU and signing international trade deals while also cajoling countries to get behind solving the climate emergency. This will only work if Boris Johnson steps in and puts the full weight of No 10 behind it.” Aaron Kiely, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: “It’s hard to be optimistic about the UK’s presidency of the UN climate conference, when the man given the job is expected to do it as a side project. Leading international talks on the climate crisis is easily the most important role in government right now, yet Alok Sharma is expected to take it on at the same time as being business secretary. If the presidency is being treated as a part time gig then what next? Perhaps the conference venue will be expected to share space with a wedding fair.” He added: “The government really needs to start taking this seriously. At the very least this means giving someone the organisation role as a full-time job, and proper cooperation with the Scottish government.” | ['environment/cop26-glasgow-climate-change-conference-2021', 'environment/environment', 'politics/alok-sharma', 'politics/politics', 'uk/uk', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'politics/boris-johnson', 'environment/green-politics', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/fiona-harvey', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/cop26-glasgow-climate-change-conference-2021 | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2020-02-14T19:05:59Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
world/2006/may/05/qanda.recycling | Q&A: battery recycling | What's all the fuss about batteries and recycling? A new EU directive decrees that, by 2016, 45% of all batteries sold will have to be collected rather than dumped or burned. At least half of the collected batteries will have to recycled. By 2008, every neighbourhood must have a battery collection scheme. Why is it important to recycle batteries? Batteries contain various hazardous metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, zinc, manganese and lithium. It can be damaging to the environment to bury them. Burning batteries also causes atmospheric pollution. Campaigners also point out that it makes no sense to bury these limited resources in some parts of the world while mining them in others at considerable environmental cost. What is the UK's record on recycling batteries? Very poor. Less than 2% of portable batteries are recycled, one of the worst rates in Europe. Belgium manages 59%. It is one of six EU countries that operate collection schemes. These figures related to non-lead acid batteries such as the AA and AAA types, button cells and those used to power mobile phones. On car batteries, or acid lead batteries, Britain's record is much better, with more than 90% recycled. Why is Britain's record so poor? Recycling batteries is currently at least 10 times more expensive than burying them in landfill sites. In comparison to other EU countries, the UK government has also done little to encourage better rates of recycling. In Belgium, for example, there is a levy on every battery to cover the cost of recycling. Is the new target achievable in the UK? Campaigners say it will be a challenge, but claim that if we can tackle a fridge mountain, we can deal with old batteries. What is the UK government doing? It is sponsoring battery collection schemes in 13 council areas. They are: Barnsley, Calderdale, East Devon, Eastleigh, Harlow, Liverpool, Stockton on Tees, Trafford, Caerphilly, Aberdeenshire, Falkirk, Armagh and Banbridge. It will have to do much more to comply with the new directive. Do we have the capacity to recycle batteries? In the UK we buy more than 17,000 tonnes of batteries every year, we chuck away up to 30,000 tonnes, but we recycle only 1,000 tonnes. Some batteries have to be sent abroad to be recycled. There is only one recycling plant for non-lead batteries. It opened in West Bromwich last year with a capacity to recycle 1,500 tonnes of batteries a year. In its first year it recycled only 200 tonnes, due to low collection rates around the country. Will the price of batteries go up? Manufacturers have warned that prices will rise unless the recycling scheme is efficiently run. What should consumers do? There are a number of dos and don'ts that environmental campaigners are urging consumers to follow. They include 1. Use new rechargeable batteries known as nickel metal hydride or NiMH. 2. Find out from your local authority where battery recycling bins are provided and use them. 3. If no bins and collection services are provided urge your councils to do so. 4. By 2008, retailers will also have to set up boxes for old batteries. Some already recycle batteries. What should consumers not do? 1. Don't send batteries in the post. The West Bromwich recycling plant regularly gets batteries sent in by mail. G&P Batteries which runs the plant points out this is illegal because batteries are classed as a hazardous substance. But it adds that the practice highlights the lack of battery recycling bins in many areas. 2. Don't use older rechargeable batteries that include nickel cadmium - they are less efficient and more polluting. | ['environment/environment', 'uk/uk', 'environment/recycling', 'environment/waste', 'tone/resource', 'type/article', 'profile/matthewweaver'] | environment/recycling | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2006-05-05T14:03:19Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
business/2022/oct/01/climate-and-cost-of-living-campaigners-descend-on-london-on-same-day | Just Stop Oil activists blockade four London bridges | Thousands of supporters of Just Stop Oil have blocked four bridges across the Thames. Protesters blocked Waterloo Bridge, Westminster Bridge, Lambeth Bridge and Vauxhall Bridge with sit-down protests after marching from 25 points around the centre of London. Just Stop Oil’s activists said protesters would converge on Westminster, where a crowd led by a samba band had already gathered in Parliament Square. Hundreds had earlier sat on Westminster Bridge, blocking traffic, and moved after police warned them they would be arrested if they stayed. Among those sitting on Westminster Bridge was Esme Garlake, 26, from London. “I think we are at a real turning point now where the inequalities in our society are so obvious,” she said. “Today is the day of the energy bills [price rise] coming out and so different groups and grassroots movements are starting to realise that we have to come together to demand social change and climate action.” Garlake was sat next to her mother, Marilyn Garlake, 59, from Oxford, who said she saw synergies between activism for the climate and cost of living crises. “A tipping point is being reached now,” she said. “If you look at what’s happening with the cost of living crisis and the climate crisis, everything is coming together, and we have a government that is refusing to take the action that’s needed and making the situation worse.” The climate activists took to the streets in London as cost of living campaigners Enough Is Enough also held rallies. The protests come as 200,000 union members walked out of work, with rail unions RMT, Aslef and TSSA, and postal workers’ union the CWU, striking over pay and conditions. Enough Is Enough, which has been supported by senior figures in the RMT and CWU, as well as prominent leftwing MPs, claims 800,000 people have signed up to support its demands. It has called for pay rises above inflation, cuts to energy bills, a massive drive to build new homes, support for people who cannot afford food, and more taxes on the richest. Its campaign comes as the government has slashed taxes on the highest earners, and has hinted about massive real-terms cuts to benefits. On Saturday, the group held rallies in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester and Norwich. Just Stop Oil has come into the autumn after a spring and summer of non-violent civil disobedience protests against England’s fuel distribution network. As part of a coalition of groups, including Insulate Britain, Animal Rebellion, and Jeremy Corbyn’s Peace and Justice Project, it has broadened its demands from an end to all new oil infrastructure to include more taxes on the rich and support with energy bills. Corbyn, the former Labour leader, drew rapturous applause as he denounced the government’s plans to cut taxes for the richest and benefits for the poorest. “Our strength is our organisation, our strength is our unity,” Corbyn said. “So let’s stand up for what we believe in.” Dave Ward, the general secretary of the CWU, said the campaign would pressure the Labour party “into the right place to stand up for working people”. “Everybody’s job who cares about people in this country to have a fair deal for everything, we have got to build collectivism,” Ward said. “Are you ready for that? Enough is enough. Let’s get out there: let’s protest, let’s rally. We are going to make change.” Figures within the Enough Is Enough campaign have told the Guardian there was no coordination between the two groups before Saturday’s protests. | ['business/cost-of-living-crisis', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'uk/london', 'uk/uk', 'world/protest', 'environment/environment', 'politics/tradeunions', 'politics/politics', 'environment/extinction-rebellion', 'uk-news/rmt', 'politics/jeremy-corbyn', 'environment/activism', 'environment/just-stop-oil', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/damien-gayle', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | environment/just-stop-oil | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2022-10-01T16:36:08Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
commentisfree/2018/jan/28/bottled-water-is-a-nonsense-fill-our-towns-with-drinking-fountains | Bottled water is a nonsense. Just ban it and fill our towns with drinking fountains | Sonia Sodha | The airport: not the most fun place to while away a couple of hours. Most modern airports seem to prioritise row after row of fancy shops over providing enough seats at the gate. One of my pet peeves is how hard they make it to get your hands on free drinking water once you’ve dutifully chucked yours out before security. More than half of UK airports don’t provide drinking fountains, forcing travellers to choose between begging bartenders to fill up their bottle or coughing up for over-priced water. It’s not just about the rip-off factor, though having to shell out almost £3 for a 500ml bottle in one airport admittedly left a bitter taste. It’s also about bottled water’s ruinous impact on the environment. Yes, I’m aware of the hypocrisy in denouncing the purchase of unnecessary plastic in an airport when you’re about to get on a plane that will dump several tonnes of carbon in the environment. But we have to start somewhere and persuading people to take fewer holidays feels infinitely more challenging than making it easier not to buy bottled water. We Brits get through a mind-boggling 8bn single-use plastic water bottles a year, with only a fraction making their way into recycling. And, on average, we drink more than 50 litres of bottled water each a year, almost double the amount we drank in 2001. Thanks in large part to Blue Planet 2, public awareness of the huge environmental damage caused by plastic is growing – not just the vast amount of energy that goes into producing it (plus the energy it takes to transport water that could be moved through the mains system by plane, train and lorry), but the cost to our marine life. It’s choking our oceans as well as contaminating the food chain; it’s estimated the total weight of plastic in our oceans will exceed that of fish by 2050. There’s no consumer good we have less need of than bottled water. We spend £2.4bn a year in the UK buying stuff you can get out of the tap for free, something people in many countries would give up everything for. Not only that, but studies have found that tap water is actually safer to drink than its swankier counterparts. This doesn’t stop aspirational brands such as San Pellegrino telling us: “S Pellegrino embodies the intimate essence of the Italian taste.” The essence of Italian taste is water? It’s total nonsense, albeit one bottled water companies have sold successfully. I can think of no reason to drink bottled water other than buying into the branding that it’s somehow purer or better for us. If it had no effect other than to transfer cash from consumers to companies, that would be one thing, but the environmental costs make this a fundamentally immoral endeavour. So the news last week that a civil society campaign will be ramping up its efforts to co-ordinate and promote free water refill points across the country is very welcome. Only 7% of Brits said they drink from water fountains in one poll last year, perhaps because so few exist, and lots of us confess to being embarrassed to ask for our bottles to be refilled in an establishment even when we’re buying something else. We’ve surely got something to learn from the Romans, who bequeathed the world aqueducts and drinking fountains; today, visitors to Italy’s capital can quench their thirst at more than 2,500 nasoni across the city. In the US, you can find drinking fountains everywhere – shopping malls, airports, parks. Walk into an American restaurant and a glass of tap water will swiftly appear – no need for the awkward “tap’s fine” in response to the snooty, presumptuous “still or sparkling?” you get so often in Britain. I can’t help but feel what a missed opportunity this is. It has proved consistently difficult to persuade people to take incremental steps to do their bit for the planet. Climate campaigns often bombard us with doom-laden facts and figures that either make people feel fatalistic, like they can’t make a difference, or switch them off altogether. But David Attenborough has done something unique: he has created a swell of public motivation by telling us the heartbreaking story of a female pilot whale clutching its dead calf, unable to let go, pointing out the calf may well have been killed by plastic toxins in its milk. A small number of companies are catching on, a sure indicator that public attitudes are shifting; some have banned the use of plastic straws. The supermarket chain Iceland announced this month that it would be phasing out plastic packaging in its own-brand products in the next five years. But the government’s response has been pathetic: trying to nudge supermarkets towards developing plastic-free aisles and “supporting” the development of a free water refill network while saying absolutely nothing about how. Laying on drinking fountains isn’t enough; despite their ubiquity in the US, Americans consume almost three times as much bottled water per capita than here. We need to go further: let’s become the first country to ban bottled water altogether. Will anyone lament not being able to fork out for a bottle of San P in their Waitrose? Maybe. Tough – they should get themselves down to Argos and shell out for a £40 SodaStream. They’ll make their cash back in no time and the planet will be a happier place for it. And perhaps a few years from now we can think about imposing annual flying allowances. | ['commentisfree/commentisfree', 'environment/plastic', 'environment/waste', 'tone/comment', 'tone/features', 'environment/environment', 'environment/water', 'environment/recycling', 'environment/ethical-living', 'tv-and-radio/david-attenborough', 'type/article', 'profile/sonia-sodha', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/news', 'theobserver/news/comment', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/observer-comment'] | environment/waste | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2018-01-28T00:03:21Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2017/feb/28/heathrow-aims-make-third-runway-carbon-neutral | Heathrow aims to make third runway carbon neutral | The huge growth in flights from Heathrow’s planned new runway could be carbon neutral, according to an ambition revealed by the airport. The 260,000 extra flights a year anticipated from the third runway would make the airport the UK’s largest source of carbon emissions. But Heathrow’s new sustainability plan suggests other ways to offset the leap in emissions, including by restoring British peat bogs. The new plan, called Heathrow 2.0, sets a wide range of targets to tackle carbon emissions, illegal levels of local air pollution, and noise. The airport will use 100% renewable electricity from April and aim to get 35,000 more people a day using public transport rather than arriving in cars by 2030 and double that by 2040. The third runway, now backed by the government, is highly controversial, with critics arguing it could dash hopes of meeting the UK’s climate change targets and solving local air pollution problems. About 95% of Heathrow’s carbon emissions come from aircraft, but aviation is one of the toughest sectors in which to cut carbon, as the electric batteries than can power cars are too heavy for planes. John Holland-Kaye, the chief executive of Heathrow, said: “We are not doing this to convince somebody that we are anything we aren’t. We are setting out what we are going to do and people can judge us by our actions. We are going to play our part in the challenge of climate change.” The plan sets out firm short-term targets, including removing the last 5% of flights made by the most polluting aircraft by 2020 and cutting the number of late-running flights arriving in the middle of the night – currently about one a day – by half this year. The aspiration to make growth from the new runway carbon-neutral relies significantly on the global aviation deal agreed in October to offset most new emissions after 2020. The most novel aspect of Heathrow’s new plan to explore the restoration of peatlands in the UK to offset carbon, which would be “a very British solution”, said Holland-Kaye. Peatlands cover 12% of the UK but 80% are in poor condition. “The opportunity is absolutely massive,” said the environmentalist Tony Juniper, who was a paid consultant on Heathrow’s new plan. “The vast majority of peatlands are degraded and it is releasing billions of tonnes of carbon over decades.” He said restoration would also benefit flood prevention and wildlife. Holland-Kaye said it was vital to also set out longer term plans even if it was unclear as yet how to achieve them: “There are some really challenging aspirations around carbon, and even if we don’t get all the way there, every tonne of carbon we are able to prevent going into the atmosphere is a tonne less that our children have to deal with.” Andrew Pendleton of Friends of the Earth said: “We have to say, that if you look at this coldly, it makes Heathrow one of the most progressive airports in the world. But there is a jumbo-jet sized elephant in the room – a new runway that would see 260,000 extra flights a year, and that comes at a significant environmental price.” “It is deeply irresponsible of the government to sign off on this expansion on the assumption that something will come along” to solve the challenges, he said. A cross-party committee of MPs recently accused the government of “magical thinking” over the future solutions to Heathrow’s environmental challenges. Tim Johnson of the Aviation Environment Federation said: “The plan aspires to a cleaner and quieter future but its detail is largely concerned with short-term, incremental improvements that are not up to the challenges that would come with runway expansion. There is nothing in this report to suggest that we are any closer to finding effective solutions.” Holland-Kaye said Heathrow’s passenger numbers have grown by 80% since the early 1990s, but that road traffic to the airport has stayed broadly the same, thanks to new public transport links. “If you have a plan and you really focus on it, you can make a significant change in people’s behaviour,” he said. “The great thing about the VW scandal is that the government is now taking [air pollution] seriously, because they are the ones who can have the most influence. Once the will of government gets behind these things, big things can happen relatively quickly.” The new runway would open by 2025 at the earliest, and Holland-Kaye said the new HS2 train line and possible new rail links to the west and south could be a “gamechanger”. Heathrow is planning to increase the number of short-haul flights within the UK, and will discount their landing fees this year. Critics say such flights should be replaced by rail travel but Holland-Kaye said they were important in helping all regions of the UK to grow. “Unless we have an economy which pays for a shift to being low-carbon, we are not going to make that shift,” he said. The Heathrow plan is “bold and brave”, according to Juniper: “The difference here is the extent to which they have really embraced the challenge rather than trying to avoid taking responsibility.” Asked if fast-growing aviation can ever be sustainable, he said: “It is going to have to be” because stopping more people flying “is not going to happen”. | ['environment/heathrow-third-runway', 'uk/uk', 'world/air-transport', 'business/theairlineindustry', 'environment/carbon-emissions', 'environment/carbon-offset-projects', 'environment/environment', 'environment/travel-and-transport', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/damiancarrington', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/carbon-offset-projects | EMISSIONS | 2017-02-28T16:00:32Z | true | EMISSIONS |
money/2022/nov/21/amazon-has-delivered-3500-worth-of-the-same-cookbook | Amazon has delivered £3,500-worth of the same cookbook | We are having a bizarre problem with Amazon that has resulted in countless boxes of the same Ninja cookbook being delivered to my brother-in-law. He lives in a supportive care establishment and, shortly after moving in, started receiving the boxes over several days, none of which he had ordered. When I checked his Amazon account, there was no sign of these deliveries, but it soon emerged that payment had been taken from his debit card. Their total cost has now exceeded £3,500. This, understandably, has forced my brother-in-law into the red, and he has had to borrow from the family to buy food. Amazon has failed to offer any explanation as to how, or why, this is happening. It has now refunded some of the early charges to his card. Can you get to the bottom of what’s happening and ask Amazon to refund the rest of the money owed – more than £2,000. MA, Bristol This is another strange case from the nation’s “favourite” online shopping site. In 2018 we featured the case of Tiffany Crow who was being deluged by Amazon parcels, none of which she had ordered, either. At the time, Amazon failed to offer an explanation. And, as in your case, it has similarly remained rather tight-lipped. It appears your brother-in-law’s Amazon account has been hacked, most likely after he had made a purchase at his new address. However, quite why the perpetrator was ordering boxes of the same book, delivered to his address, is less clear. It fact, it is baffling. Was it an attempt to artificially bump up sales? Who knows? Amazon might not have offered an explanation but it has secured the account from any future deliveries, and refunded your brother in full. It has also apologised. This leaves your brother-in-law with the dilemma of what to do with several box loads of the same cookbook which Amazon has told you it does not want back. I’m sure they will do well on eBay. Alternatively, you could supply most of the charity shops in the area with a few copies each. Anyone need a Ninja cookbook? We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at [email protected] or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number. Submission and publication of all letters is subject to our terms and conditions | ['money/series/bachelor-and-brignall-consumer-champions', 'money/money', 'money/consumer-affairs', 'money/consumer-rights-money', 'technology/amazon', 'technology/efinance', 'technology/hacking', 'technology/technology', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/milesbrignall', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-money'] | technology/hacking | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2022-11-21T07:00:49Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
australia-news/2022/feb/27/south-east-queensland-floods-whats-happened-and-which-areas-could-be-hit-next | Floods in south-east Queensland and northern NSW: what has happened and which areas could be hit next? | Major flood warnings are in place on Monday morning for Brisbane’s CBD as well as regions from Gympie in Queensland to Grafton in northern New South Wales. Here’s a summary of events so far, and what is forecast to come: A major flood warning has been issued for Brisbane’s CBD. Waters are expected to peak at 4.0 metres at high tide, expected around 8.30am (9.30am AEDT). This is slightly below the 4.46 metres experienced in 2011, however the two flood events are very different and some suburbs are already experiencing worse flooding. Seven people have now died in the region’s floods. Meanwhile, two further men are missing – one in Brisbane and one in Lismore. A 59-year-old man drowned on Brisbane’s north side on Sunday afternoon after being swept away by flood waters while on foot. It was the third death in Brisbane after men were killed in Indooroopilly on Sunday morning, and Stones Corner on Friday night. There have been two deaths in Gympie, one in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, and a State Emergency Service worker who died while trying to rescue a family at Coolana, west of Ipswich. A 54-year-old man also died in flood waters on the NSW Central Coast early on Friday morning, in a separate flooding event. Thousands of households are likely to be impacted by flood waters on Monday. On Sunday, the Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, estimated more than 1,400 houses had been impacted by that morning’s high tide, when the river peaked at 3.1 metres. Since then, parts of Brisbane have received more than 400mm of rain, but the city will receive a reprieve from heavy rain today, with the system moving south. Northern New South Wales is now in the firing line. Major flood warnings have been issued for the Brunswick, Wilsons and Clarence rivers, and a moderate to major flood warning for the Tweed. In Lismore, the BoM warned at 3am that water was about to overtop the city’s levee. The 1974 flood level of 12.15 metres is likely to be exceeded at 9am, and waters may reach 13.5 metres by Monday night, authorities warned. Major flood warnings were issued for several Queensland rivers on Monday morning. In Queensland, these included the upper and lower Brisbane River, Ipswich’s Bremer River, as well as the Logan, Albert, Mary, Noosa, Condamine, Balonne rivers as well as Warrill, Lockyer and Laidley creeks. Gympie has recorded its highest flood in a century. The Mary River exceeded 23m on Sunday morning, surpassing the 1999 floods (21.95m), as well as subsequent floods in 2011 and 2013, and the highest level recorded since 1898. More than 500 households and 130 businesses in Gympie are estimated to be affected by flood waters, with 550 people in emergency accommodation. Nearly 1,000 schools are closed in south-east Queensland. A work-from-order has also been issued. Some schools in northern NSW were also advising they would be operating under minimal supervision on Monday due to the floods. Hundreds of roads are closed, including major highways. Queensland’s transport minister, Mark Bailey, said on Sunday morning there were nearly 1,000 roads closed across the region, including the Bruce Highway in both directions between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, and the Warrego Highway between Brisbane and Toowoomba. Train services between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast were also not operating. Disaster assistance has been activated for 10 Queensland councils. The funds will go to cleanup efforts in the Fraser Coast, Gold Coast, Gympie, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Logan, Noosa, North Burnett, Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba LGAs, and will be jointly funded by the federal and state governments. Late on Saturday, the Insurance Council of Australia declared an insurance catastrophe. More 1.4m of rain has been recorded in 72 hours in some places. Mount Glorious, north-west of Brisbane, recorded the most rain in the past three days, including 461mm in the 24 hours to 9am Sunday. Several Brisbane suburbs received more than 400mm of rain since 9am Sunday. Water was being released from Brisbane’s Wivenhoe Dam on Sunday. The dam had reached 160% of its drinking water capacity on Sunday, up from 59% on Thursday. However, that represented only 40% of its flood mitigation capacity. In 2011, releases from Wivenhoe contributed to flooding in Brisbane and Ipswich. Flood releases were also occurring from Somerset and North Pine dams, while 20 ungated dams were overflowing on Sunday morning. | ['australia-news/queensland', 'australia-news/australia-weather', 'environment/flooding', 'society/emergency-services', 'australia-news/brisbane', 'australia-news/australia-news', 'australia-news/new-south-wales', 'australia-news/gold-coast', 'world/natural--disasters', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'australia-news/australia-east-coast-floods-2022', 'profile/conal-hanna', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2022-02-27T19:36:37Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
australia-news/2018/jul/30/malcolm-turnbull-present-when-443-million-dollars-offered-to-small-group-without-tender-inquiry-hears | PM personally approved $443m fund for tiny Barrier Reef foundation | Malcolm Turnbull was at the meeting where $443.8m in funding was offered to a small not-for-profit foundation without a competitive tender process or any application for the money, an inquiry has heard. Anna Marsden, the managing director of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, told a Senate inquiry on Monday the organisation was offered the funding at a meeting in Sydney in April between Turnbull, environment and energy minister Josh Frydenberg, the foundation’s chair John Schubert and environment and energy department secretary Finn Pratt. The inquiry is examining the process by which the foundation, which had just six full-time staff at the time, was awarded the funds and whether it has the capacity to deliver work required under the government’s reef 2050 plan. “I’d like to state for the record that the foundation did not suggest or make any application for this funding. We were first informed of this opportunity to form a partnership with reef trust on the 9th of April this year,” Marsden told the hearing. “And who was it that contacted you about that and who did they speak to?” said Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson. “That was a meeting between the prime minister, minister Frydenberg, the secretary of the department and our chair,” Marsden said. On Tuesday, Marsden wrote a letter to the inquiry committee saying she made a mistake in her evidence and Pratt, the environment department secretary, had not been present at the meeting. Marsden said the foundation was informed an allocation was being announced in the May federal budget and the government invited it to partner with the Reef Trust to “distribute these funds across five component areas of the reef 2050 plan”. She said this was the sole purpose of the 9 April meeting and the foundation was not aware beforehand what the meeting was about. Marsden said she was not present in Sydney but spoke to Pratt and assistant secretaries the next day to discuss next steps if the foundation accepted the offer. She said a series of “collaboration principles” were determined and put to the foundation’s board “and once they were approved there was an exchange of letters between the minister and the chairman which cemented the agreement to enter into a partnership”. Marsden said it was the foundation’s intent to be as transparent and accountable as possible “with everything the foundation is doing under this partnership” and the organisation had, in part, been selected because of its ability to attract additional money from the private sector. The inquiry heard the foundation’s chairman’s panel, a corporate membership group made up of chief executives and directors of companies including Commonwealth Bank, BHP, Qantas, Shell and Peabody Energy, has 55 members, each of whom pay $20,000 a year for membership. Marsden said the organisation tried to find members that shared similar values and commitment to the reef. Asked how the values of coal companies such as Peabody aligned with reef protection, she said “they share a commitment to moving forward and transitioning away from fossil fuels and ensuring we can build the resilience of the Great Barrier Reef”. She said the foundation was in the process of developing an investment policy and one of the key concerns the draft would address was how it would manage any potential conflicts of interest. But she said advice on projects the funding would pay for would be “grounded in science” with advice taken from key agencies such as the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Australian Institute of Marine Science. Later in the hearings, Labor senator Kristina Keneally asked the environment and energy department about its role in the awarding of the funds. “It’s still not clear to us how it came to be that the prime minister felt that he could meet with this foundation and offer them $443m of money,” she said. Officials said the decision happened in “the confines of the budget process” and the government decided to approach the foundation. Earlier in the day, environment NGOs said they were concerned the money was not awarded directly to agencies already working on the reef, that there was no tender process and that the grant agreement had little mention of climate change, which is the key threat to the reef. | ['australia-news/australia-news', 'environment/great-barrier-reef', 'environment/environment', 'australia-news/australian-politics', 'australia-news/malcolm-turnbull', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/lisa-cox', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-news'] | environment/great-barrier-reef | BIODIVERSITY | 2018-07-31T06:08:16Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
business/2021/may/05/ikea-uk-to-buy-back-unwanted-furniture-in-recycling-push | Ikea UK to buy back unwanted furniture in recycling push | The UK’s biggest furniture retailer, Ikea, will launch a scheme to buy back unwanted furniture from customers to resell as part of the Swedish group’s efforts to reduce its impact on the environment. The group has pledged to shift towards a circular model of consumption where items it sells can be reused, recycled or rejigged rather than dumped. Sideboards, bookcases, shelving, small tables, dining tables, office drawers, desks, chairs and stools without upholstery, all previously bought from Ikea, can be taken back after customers register a request online. Customers won’t need to scramble for their screwdrivers – the recycled items will all be sold ready assembled. Shoppers returning items will receive a refund card worth up to 50% of their original value to spend in store, with the value calculated according to the condition of the items returned. The used furniture will then be sold in special areas in Ikea stores and via Gumtree, the online marketplace. Hege Sæbjørnsen, sustainability manager of Ikea UK & Ireland, said there was demand from shoppers in reuse as buying secondhand goes mainstream. “All retailers have to take this movement seriously. We have to remain relevant. Companies that don’t really follow this and work with customers and the movement will find themselves not providing the services or needs that customers are asking for. It is also the right thing to do,” she said. “We are supporting a healthy sustainable lifestyle, working together to move away from the linear model [in which used items are thrown away].” A rising interest in buying secondhand has recently seen Asda begin selling preloved clothing in 50 of its supermarkets and the likes of Asos, Selfridges and John Lewis selling vintage items. Music Magpie, the online specialist which trades in used phones CDs, books and DVDs, recently launched on the London stock exchange. Ikea’s nationwide UK scheme, delayed from a planned November launch by the coronavirus lockdowns, has been tested in Australia and Portugal as well as stores in Scotland where 10,000 items were brought back in just under a month in the autumn. Some children’s products will also qualify for the scheme with those selling items being given the option to fill in a “pre-loved label” giving details about the item’s past. Peter Jelkeby, retail manager for Ikea UK & Ireland, said: “Through buyback we hope to make circular consumption mainstream; making it easier for customers to acquire, care for and pass on products in circular ways. “As we move towards our goal of becoming fully circular and climate positive by 2030 we will continue to take bold steps ensuring that, by then, all products will be made from renewable, recyclable and/or recycled materials; and they will be designed to be re-used, refurbished, re-manufactured or recycled, following circular design principles.” He said that about 60% of global greenhouse gas emissions were connected to homes and so small actions taken could make a difference. “As one of the biggest brands in the world, we recognise our unique opportunity to help lead that change,” he said. | ['business/ikea', 'business/business', 'business/retail', 'environment/recycling', 'environment/environment', 'environment/ethical-living', 'environment/waste', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/sarahbutler', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business'] | environment/waste | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2021-05-05T05:01:05Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2021/nov/05/the-case-must-be-made-for-radical-climate-action | The case must be made for radical climate action | Letters | John Harris says “the case for … extra-parliamentary activity feels beyond argument” in addressing climate breakdown (Politicians talk about net zero – but not the sacrifices we must make to get there, 31 October). While I understand the sentiment, there is a danger that this becomes the only route for trying to convince the country that radical action is needed. The case needs making repeatedly, even though it’s tedious for those of us who have long been convinced. What we miss is that many people have barely got their heads around the need for radical action and others completely reject the idea. Despite earlier optimism that Covid would engender a major change in outlook, the dominant narrative now is business as usual – with a modest green makeover. Direct action may feel right to activists but, to those affected, the disruption to their daily lives creates hostility to even thinking about the need for change. It’s no good telling them that blocking the road is a minor inconvenience compared with climate breakdown – they will just regard activists as zealots. The narrative around home insulation is barely articulated – we have among the worst-insulated houses in Europe. To date, the UK’s efforts at tackling this have been feeble, with tiny programmes, often abandoned. Yet a properly funded 10-year programme, following the Dutch Energiesprong model, would deliver hundreds of thousands of skilled jobs and help eliminate fuel poverty. The argument needs making every day by civil society groups and sympathetic political parties. Instead, we have a series of standoffs on the roads, with activists vowing more disruption and the government promising more draconian measures to restrict protest. The issue itself barely gets any coverage. John Rigby Much Wenlock, Shropshire • John Harris makes some cogent points about the shortcomings of our two main political parties and the need for more Green votes. However, for that to happen, journalists and politicians need to cut through the rhetoric and waffle, and make clear three things. First, why capitalism can only ever be the cause of, rather than the solution to, our crisis. This case needs to be convincingly made in terms that the majority of voters can understand, starting with a clear definition of what is actually meant by capitalism. Second, what system should replace capitalism. And third, what a truly sustainable lifestyle might look like. This picture, premised on a radical redistribution of wealth both nationally and globally, would probably be one of startling simplicity and frugality. However, it would have the unique advantage of promising voters the scarcest but most desirable commodity of all: hope. Tim Burton Whissonsett, Norfolk • Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication. | ['environment/climate-crisis', 'environment/environment', 'world/protest', 'environment/cop26-glasgow-climate-change-conference-2021', 'environment/green-politics', 'world/world', 'uk/uk', 'type/article', 'tone/letters', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/green-politics | CLIMATE_POLICY | 2021-11-05T16:58:43Z | true | CLIMATE_POLICY |
news/2015/jun/22/weatherwatch-when-hurricanes-hardly-happen | When hurricanes hardly happen | June marks the official start of the North Atlantic hurricane season, and so far it’s been fairly quiet, with just two tropical storms to date. No one knows what lies in store, but if the last 10 years are anything to go by, Americans can relax. The last major hurricane (category 3 or higher) to make landfall in the US was Wilma in October 2005. Previously the longest hurricane drought lasted eight years, between 1861 and 1868, and the current patch without hurricane landfall is the longest since records began in 1851. Are hurricane patterns changing, or has North America just had an exceptional run of good luck? To answer that question, Timothy Hall, of the Nasa Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, and Kelly Hereid, who works for Ace Tempest Reinsurance in Stamford, developed a computer model to simulate North Atlantic weather over the years 1950 to 2012, and ran the model 1,000 times. Their data suggested that, typically, a quarter of all North Atlantic tropical cyclones make landfall in the US and that on average a nine-year hurricane drought is likely to occur every 177 years – rare, but not unheard of. The results, which are published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, suggest that the current hurricane drought is mostly serendipity. Looking at the current season, El Niño is taking hold in the Pacific, increasing the chances of strong winds over the Atlantic and making it harder for hurricanes to form. In which case, North America’s run of luck may continue for one more year – fingers crossed. | ['news/series/weatherwatch', 'uk/weather', 'uk/uk', 'tone/features', 'world/hurricanes', 'environment/elnino', 'type/article', 'profile/kate-ravilious', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/weather2'] | world/hurricanes | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2015-06-22T20:30:00Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2023/mar/15/climate-activists-must-target-power-structures-not-the-public | Climate activists must target power structures, not the public | Letters | I am an environmental social scientist and climate activist. As Jack Shenker describes in his article (The existential question for climate activists: have disruption tactics stopped working?, 6 March), Extinction Rebellion’s recent decision to stop disrupting the public caused quite a fuss. Some people applauded the move as they thought it would favourably shift public opinion, while others insisted public disruption needs to remain a primary tactic to garner wider attention. Unfortunately, both camps are missing the point – once you have enough dedicated activists, the public is largely irrelevant to achieving political change. It is not the opinion, or even attention, of the public that matters, it is whether or not you are disrupting structures of power. Historical social movements have shown this repeatedly. Despite what we may like to believe in a democracy, public opinion is only one small influence on the government. It may theoretically give governments a mandate to act, but real change must first overcome powerful opposition from the structures that support governments, such as business and the legal and financial systems. The role of activists is to change the cost-benefit equation for these structures until it is more beneficial for them to accept change than to carry on with the status quo. For climate activists, the real question is not about the efficacy of disruptive tactics, it needs to be about targets. And the answer is power, not the public. Dr Laura Thomas-Walters Llandaff, Cardiff • What can we do about the climate crisis? What form should our protest take? Do the actions of Extinction Rebellion risk alienating those who they look to for support? Indigo Rumbelow, a supporter of Just Stop Oil and co-founder of Insulate Britain, takes the view that the debate “is not between those who want to take ‘moderate’ or ‘radical’ action. It’s between those who are standing by doing nothing at all, and those who are doing something. That’s where the line is drawn.” But it should never be like this. A democracy should allow voters to choose how their country is governed. There should be a constitutional requirement for those of us seriously concerned about the climate crisis to have our views expressed in government. This obviously doesn’t happen. Our government consists only of Tory MPs representing a minority of voters. Yes, we have offshore wind generation, but otherwise their response is desperately inadequate. As a result, we have to resort to any kind of protest we feel might make a difference. If our civilisation truly wants a route to survival, we need a representative democracy with proportional voting. Tim Williamson Bath • Jack Shenker asks if disruption tactics have stopped working in climate protests. I would ask: did they ever work? Starting with the suffragists and suffragettes (or possibly earlier), most radical and progressive movements have had extreme wings, driven by a sense of frustration that their voice is not being listened to. I would love to see some academic work try to quantify the effect of publicity-seeking “stunts” against patient political foot-slogging. Having spent most of my life doing the latter, I feel politics does work. I was born into a world where homosexuality and abortion were illegal and mixed‑race marriage regarded as immoral. That has changed. Conventional politicians such as Roy Jenkins and David Steel did their stuff – and succeeded. Paul Chandler Brighton • Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section. | ['environment/activism', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'world/protest', 'environment/environment', 'environment/extinction-rebellion', 'politics/politics', 'uk/uk', 'environment/just-stop-oil', 'environment/insulate-britain', 'type/article', 'tone/letters', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/activism | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2023-03-15T16:56:20Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
world/2023/may/24/german-police-stage-nationwide-raids-against-climate-activists | German police stage nationwide raids against climate activists | Nationwide raids against members of the German climate protest group Letzte Generation (Last Generation) have been carried out at the behest of authorities in Munich investigating charges that the group is a criminal organisation. Launched at 7am local time on Wednesday, 170 police officers took part in the raids, which targeted 15 properties in seven German states, including Bavaria and Berlin. According to the Munich general public prosecutor’s office, the searches took place at the request of the Bavarian state criminal police office (LKA), which is in the preliminary stages of an investigation, based on “numerous criminal complaints received from the population” against seven people, members of Letzte Generation aged between 22 and 38, who are suspected of “forming or supporting a criminal organisation”, according to prosecutors. On a police directive, the homepage of the group was shut down and possessions belonging to members were seized. There were no arrests. The seven individuals are accused of setting up a donation campaign with funds of €1.4m (£1.22m) to finance the group’s future legal battles, in order to allow the campaigners to continue their protests, including gluing themselves to roadways and bridges, more recently to vehicles, and holding up traffic, as well as throwing substances at paintings in art galleries and other activities. There have been mixed reactions to their protests by the public. The LKA said two of the defendants were also suspected of having tried to sabotage the Trieste-Ingolstadt oil pipeline in April 2022. The group, akin to the UK’s Extinction Rebellion group, wants to draw attention to what it perceives as the government’s lack of urgent action over the climate emergency. Among their demands are a 100km/h speed limit on German autobahns as well as a permanent offer of a €9 a month ticket to use public transport. Letzte Generation first came to prominence before the last federal election in 2021, when participants in the group went on a hunger strike, camping outside the Bundestag, demanding to talk to prospective government members about their demands. In its first reaction to the raids on Twitter, Letzte Generation wrote: “When will they raid the lobby structures and seize the government’s fossil fuel money?” followed by the hashtags “Nationwide raid” and “VölligBekloppt” – “completely idiotic” – a reference to recent condemnation of the group by the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz. | ['world/germany', 'environment/activism', 'world/protest', 'environment/environment', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/kateconnolly', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/activism | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2023-05-24T10:51:38Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
environment/2019/oct/04/greta-thunberg-iowa-climate-strike | Iowa teens delighted as Greta Thunberg leads unexpected climate strike | Three days prior to Greta Thunberg’s surprise visit to Iowa City on Friday, the organizer and local climate activist, Massimo Biggers, a 14-year-old Iowa City high school student, was preparing to strike – as he has done every Friday, sometimes on his own, since the Global Climate Strike day Thunberg inspired on 15 March. Out of the blue, a message arrived from the Swedish teen activist, with whom he had been in touch, asking him if he was planning to strike again this Friday. “Of course!” he replied, and for the last 48 hours, according to his father, Jeff, neither had slept. “This was truly a miracle to have the town pull this together,” he said. More than 3,000 people gathered at short notice in the shadow of the University of Iowa on Friday afternoon to hear Thunberg speak. “Wow” said Thunberg, squinting in the sun, as the crowd chanted her name. “It’s just so many people I don’t think any of us expected this many people. This is real hope, so many people gathering on a weekday at such short notice. This is real hope to me,” she said. Biggers has spent the last six months mobilizing fellow students to pressure the city council into adopting more stringent measures to address climate change. “At the time our specific goal was to get the school board to pass a climate resolution,” he said in an interview with the Guardian. “But then it was pretty easy to get the school board to get a climate resolution so we went to the city council and now we’re trying to get the coal fired [power] plant shut down,” he added. The University of Iowa burns coal at its power plant, providing a clear target for the young activists who lead the crowd in regular chants of “End Coal Now!” “To be part of a global movement and especially at this stage, it’s just an amazing, amazing opportunity to see a global leader,” said Abbey Jordahl, a freshman at UI from Ankeny, Iowa. “Honestly I couldn’t believe it when I read that Greta was coming here, I was like … Iowa City?! What?! I’ve been following her for a while, honestly I can’t believe I’m here!” Thunberg rallied an enthusiastic, young crowd, flush with high school and university students, many of whom had made their own signs to greet her. “Right now the world leaders keep acting like children and somebody needs to be the adult in the room,” she said, referencing her speech at the United Nations in New York the previous week. Thunberg said afterwards that she doesn’t like being the centre of attention. “It’s very hard to get used to,” she admitted, “but it’s something I have to do and I can’t really complain. I just kind of shut off the brain,” she said. Explaining why she believes she is now on the receiving end of criticism from world leaders like Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, she suggested: “They do it because they see something that is threatening and they want to silence that and if they don’t have anything else to say, if they can’t criticize the science, which is all we are saying, then they start attacking us personally and sending threats and hate and so on so maybe they can’t cope with it. “It could definitely be they feel threatened by a new generation,” she added “There is a lot of young people especially young girls in this movement who are leading and maybe they don’t like that, I don’t know!” Claire Carlson, a senior studying geoscience, environmental science and business at UI from Ottumwa had joined friends from the Environmental Science Club at the rally. “Its nice to finally see a large group of people come together and address the problem,” she said. “I think Greta’s done a really good job of bringing a voice to that especially at a really young age. I think it means that more people are starting to understand the need for impactful legislation with regards to climate change.” Carlson, like her friend Emma Hartke, will be able to caucus next February for a Democratic candidate. “I think Elizabeth Warren has a really good plan for climate change,” said Hartke. Carlson favours the young mayor from South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg, but Warren is the name on most people’s lips when asked which way they’re currently leaning. “There are still some centrists who like to play both sides on climate … such as Joe Biden,” said Derek Torres who has moved to Iowa City from Atlanta. “They always speak in terms of jobs … but if there’s no air or water there’s no jobs,” he reasoned. Thunberg has become adept at using Twitter to spread her message, but does she enjoy using it? “Yes and no,” she said. “A lot of it is just meaningless. And people wanting to brag about themselves or whatever, lots of hate, trolls, anonymous people who have separate accounts.” But she admitted she does enjoy updating her tagline. “You need to have fun as well,” she joked. | ['environment/greta-thunberg', 'us-news/iowa', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'us-news/us-news', 'us-news/us-politics', 'world/activism', 'environment/environment', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/chris-robinson', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news'] | environment/greta-thunberg | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM | 2019-10-04T23:17:21Z | true | CLIMATE_ACTIVISM |
us-news/2024/feb/06/tell-us-have-you-been-affected-by-the-storm-and-flooding-in-california-and-arizona-this-february | Tell us: have you been affected by the storm and flooding in California and Arizona this February? | A deadly, atmospheric-river fuelled storm caused chaos across California on Monday, battering the state with record amounts of rain, destructive mudslides, and violent winds that left at least three people dead from falling trees. Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for eight counties in southern California in response to the recent storms, covering Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Nearly 38 million people are under flood alerts across the state and into Arizona, including about 10 million people in Los Angeles county. Officials warned dangers still lurk in the waters that could continue to rise. We’d like to hear from residents and tourists in the affected areas who have been caught up in the strom and flooding. Whether you were evacuated or have been otherwise affected, we’re keen to hear from you. Though we’d like to hear from you, your safety and security are most important. When recording, or sharing your content with us, please put your welfare and the welfare of others first. Extreme weather events can be very unpredictable and carry very real risks. | ['us-news/california', 'world/extreme-weather', 'environment/flooding', 'us-news/us-news', 'type/article', 'tone/callout', 'campaign/callout/callout-storm-and-flooding-california-feb-2024', 'us-news/west-coast', 'profile/guardian-community-team', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-communities-and-social'] | campaign/callout/callout-storm-and-flooding-california-feb-2024 | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2024-02-06T12:49:13Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
australia-news/2015/apr/06/coalition-plan-to-save-great-barrier-reef-is-weak-new-report-says | Great Barrier Reef: new report slams government's 'weak' recovery plan | The federal government’s plan to reverse the decline of the Great Barrier Reef is “weak” and requires greater action in six key areas, including climate change, according to a new report. The set of recommendations, compiled by three of the reef’s most experienced scientists, warn that opening up huge new coalmines in Queensland is “too risky” for the Great Barrier Reef. They also say that it “will not be possible to develop and operate the largest coal ports in the world along the edge of the Great Barrier Reef world heritage area over the next 60 years without causing permanent damage to the region”. The report, published in Nature Climate Change, calls for a shift towards better conservation values, Australia playing a “more active role in transitioning away from fossil fuels” and advocates a bans on the dredging and dumping of seabed spoil within the world heritage area. It also recommends a revamp of the environmental assessment process for new developments, greater powers for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority over fishing and ports and a 50-year plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slash chemical run-off. The federal and Queensland governments have devised a long-term plan to arrest the decline of the reef, which is considered to be in poor and worsening health having lost half of its coral cover over the past 30 years. However, scientists have attacked the plan for failing to confront the issue of climate change, which is the leading long-term threat to the reef. The opening up of the Galilee Basin coalfields, to export resources via the reef, could result in the release of an additional 705m tonnes of greenhouse gases – more than Australia’s annual total. Unesco’s world heritage committee will decide in June whether to list the reef as “in danger.” The Nature Climate Change report notes that more than half of the 41 outstanding universal values ascribed to the reef by Unesco are in decline due to pollution, coastal development, dredging, overfishing and climate change. “We know what we need to do to help the reef, the problem is that the government’s plan is pretty weak,” said Jon Brodie, a marine scientist at James Cook University. Brodie authored the paper alongside Jon Day, a fellow former director at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, and Terry Hughes, director of coral reef studies at James Cook University. “The plan doesn’t address climate change at all, the water quality improvement part is better but it isn’t funded properly and the plan doesn’t set out good governance around ports, which is something Unesco wants. “We can’t really stop exporting coking coal because we need to make steel. But we need to stop the expansion of thermal coal exports from the Galilee Basin.” Brodie said the expansion of the Abbot Point coal port near Bowen, which has seen a lengthy battle over where to dump seabed excavated for the development, has been “a farce.” “They had five options to expand the port and they picked the cheapest, dirtiest one,” he said. “And when enough people complained about dumping it at sea, they picked the next worst option, which was putting it in the wetlands. We are now on to another option.” Day said that while ports could continue to operate next to the reef, all development needed to occur at a more sustainable level. “If that means less dredging, less coalmining and more sustainable fishing, then that’s what Australia has to do,” he said. “Business as usual is not an option because the values for which the reef was listed as world heritage are already deteriorating, and will only get worse unless a change in policy occurs.” Between them, the Australian and Queensland governments have pledged to ban the dumping of dredged spoil within the world heritage area and have set targets to reduce the amount of nitrogen and other chemicals flowing on to the reef from farming. However, conservationists have said the funding for pollution reduction is insufficient and that even if the world keeps to an internationally agreed limit of a 2C increase in temperatures from pre-industrial times, ocean warming and acidification will further reduce coral cover to perilously low levels. | ['australia-news/australia-news', 'australia-news/australian-politics', 'environment/great-barrier-reef', 'environment/environment', 'environment/marine-life', 'environment/conservation', 'environment/coral', 'australia-news/queensland', 'australia-news/coalition', 'world/unesco', 'environment/climate-crisis', 'australia-news/queensland-politics', 'world/unitednations', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/oliver-milman'] | environment/great-barrier-reef | BIODIVERSITY | 2015-04-06T15:23:11Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
us-news/2021/dec/31/tell-us-how-have-you-been-affected-by-colorado-wildfires | Tell us: how have you been affected by Colorado wildfires? | Tens of thousands of residents in the northern Colorado region have been evacuated due to two fast-moving wildfires driven by strong winds. Nearly 600 homes have been destroyed with at least one first responder and six others injured. Whether you live or work in the area, or are helping with search and rescue efforts with the emergency services, we would like to hear from you. Share your experiences You can get in touch by filling in the form below or contact us via WhatsApp by clicking here or adding +44(0)7766780300. Your responses are secure as the form is encrypted and only the Guardian has access to your contributions. One of our journalists will be in contact for publication before we publish, so please do leave contact details. If you’re having trouble using the form, click here. Read terms of service here and privacy policy here. | ['us-news/colorado', 'world/wildfires', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/world', 'type/article', 'tone/callout', 'profile/guardian-community-team', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-communities-and-social'] | world/wildfires | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2021-12-31T10:21:32Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
science/2009/nov/29/anthony-evans-obituary | Anthony Evans obituary | Anthony Evans, who has died aged 66 of cancer, was a world-leading materials scientist who pioneered the use of brittle materials in such wide-ranging applications as jet engines, space-shuttle tiles, silicon chips and vehicle armour. Writer of over 540 scientific publications, he is one of the most referenced authors in materials science, engineering and physics. He was a fellow of the most distinguished academies of science and engineering in the English-speaking world, including the Royal Society, Royal Academy of Engineering, US National Academy of Sciences and the US National Academy of Engineering, and his name is known to almost every materials scientist alive today. Tony was born and raised in Porthcawl, Mid Glamorgan, younger son of William and Annie Evans. (Tony's elder brother, Alan, died aged 30 in a work-related accident while attempting to secure a dam in Tasmania.) Tony gained a BSc degree in metallurgy at Imperial College London, and in 1967 he married Trisha Cross. After a PhD degree at Imperial, he began work as a ceramicist at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Harwell, in Oxfordshire; at the time it was Europe's most prestigious and best-equipped laboratory. This was the heyday of the UK nuclear programme, which required the development of new materials for the early reactors. By then, Tony had already established a distinctive and successful style of research: he developed highly innovative experimental and theoretical techniques in order to bring a new understanding to the failure of ceramics. In addition, he bridged the disparate subjects of materials and mechanics, which is now a thriving field of research worldwide. He had that rare ability of inspiring those around him, and his generous spirit led to many productive collaborations around the world. Tony launched and nurtured hundreds of careers as he shared his talents and enthusiasm for learning, always with a smile on his face and the most wonderful spirit of co-operation. In the early 1970s Tony moved to the US, first to the National Bureau of Standards at Gaithersburg, Maryland, and then to the Rockwell International Science Centre, Thousand Oaks, California. Much of his remaining life was spent working as a professor in California: at the University of California at Berkeley (1978-85) and at the University of California at Santa Barbara (1985-97, and 2002-09). In the mid-1990s, he made a foray back to the east coast of the US: during 1994-98, he was the Gordon McKay professor of materials engineering at Harvard University and from 1998 to 2002 was the Gordon Wu Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University and also director of the Princeton Materials Institute. Tony was the international authority on the failure of advanced engineering materials such as ceramic composites. Ceramics have the virtue of being stiff, strong and stable at high temperature, but they are notoriously brittle. Consequently, they fail by cracking under mechanical and thermal loads. The failure of the space-shuttle tiles and silicon chips in computers are typical examples. Tony developed the under- lying theories of toughening of ceramics, such as transformation toughening, where a material swells around the crack tip, forcing it shut. More recently, he developed design methods for the high-temperature coatings for the turbine blades of jet engines – these ceramic coatings protect the metallic parts of a gas turbine from the high temperatures associated with fuel combustion, and make for much more efficient engines. In his final years, he developed the theory for failure of ceramic armour on military vehicles, as used in the current asymmetric wars, in which the military might of opposing sides differs significantly. He had a major influence upon international materials research as a leader of multidisciplinary research teams. He was vice-president of the American Ceramic Society (1984-88 and 2002-09) and for four years was chair of the US Defence Sciences Research Council. He was the founding chairman of the materials department of the University of California at Santa Barbara, which went on to become the leading materials department of the US. Tony's enthusiasm, intellectual curiosity and willingness to share ideas were inspirational. He treated students as equals, listening rather than telling. He had that wonderful ability to get the best out of everyone. Tony devoted his life to his family and to his work, and could be found engaged in the classroom, writing papers or planning future research projects, until his final days. He is survived by Trisha and their three daughters. • Anthony Glyn Evans, materials scientist, born 4 December 1942; died 9 September 2009 | ['science/science', 'science/physics', 'science/space', 'tone/obituaries', 'education/materialsandmineralengineering', 'environment/nuclearpower', 'us-news/us-news', 'science/aeronautics', 'type/article', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/obituaries'] | environment/nuclearpower | ENERGY | 2009-11-29T18:33:12Z | true | ENERGY |
us-news/2023/jul/20/ambassador-to-beijing-among-us-officials-hit-by-chinese-hackers | US ambassador to Beijing targeted in Chinese cyber-attack – report | The US ambassador to Beijing, Nicholas Burns, was reportedly one of the American officials whose emails were accessed in a recent Chinese hacking attack which took Washington by surprise with its sophistication. Another target was Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of state for east Asia, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. When the attack was first disclosed last week, the administration admitted the email account of the commerce secretary, Gina Raimondo, had also been compromised. US officials were quoted as saying those were the three most senior targets but that in total, hundreds of thousands of government email accounts could have been breached. Asked for comment on the report, a state department spokesperson said: “For security reasons, we will not be sharing additional information on the nature and scope of this cybersecurity incident at this time.” “The department continuously monitors and responds to activity of concern on our networks,” the spokesperson said. “Our investigation is ongoing, and we cannot provide further details at this time.” It was not clear how much sensitive US government information had been compromised. According to the Journal’s account, Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s email had not been breached, nor had those of his inner circle of advisers. But Kritenbrink accompanied the secretary on his visit to China last month, and Burns had also attended meetings with the country’s leader, Xi Jinping, and other senior Chinese officials in the course of the visit. It is possible the hackers gained access to US preparations for those meetings and internal discussions about them. US intelligence officials are reported to have been taken by surprise by the stealth and sophistication of the cyber-attack, which exploited a flaw in Microsoft’s cloud computing environment which has since been fixed, the company said. Microsoft identified the perpetrators as the Chinese group Storm-0558, which it called “well-resourced” and “focused on espionage”. | ['us-news/us-foreign-policy', 'world/china', 'world/world', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/asia-pacific', 'technology/hacking', 'technology/technology', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/julianborger', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/us-foreign'] | technology/hacking | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE | 2023-07-20T22:21:02Z | true | UNRELATED_TO_CLIMATE |
environment/2017/jul/31/heading-to-venice-dont-forget-your-pollution-mask | Heading to Venice? Don’t forget your pollution mask | Axel Friedrich | If you’re heading to Venice on holiday this summer, don’t forget to pack your pollution mask. Worrying about toxic air might seem strange in a city with few roads and cars, but Venice’s air carries hidden risks. Every day five or six of the world’s largest cruise ships chug into the heart of the ancient city, which hosts the Mediterranean’s largest cruise terminal. These ships advertise luxurious restaurants, vast swimming pools and exotic entertainment – but keep quiet about the hidden fumes they pump into the city’s air. It’s one reason locals are so enraged over the impact of tourism on their famous city. Protests against cruise ships are commonplace. In May nearly 20,000 Venetians voted in an unofficial referendum, with 99% backing a motion to keep cruise ships away. They are right to be angry. Ship operators claim they use low-emission fuel when they are near big cities, but measurements I have taken near the port of Venice tell a different story. The fuel they burn while at berth contains more than 100 times as much sulphur as truck diesel. As big ships sailed down the main canal, just a stone’s throw from the shore, my team recorded up to 500 ultra-fine particles per cubic centimetre – 500 times higher than clean sea air. These particles linger in the air long after the ships have passed, and are carried hundreds of kilometres inland by the winds. Particulate matter is linked to severe health problems such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, including strokes and cancer. The World Health Organization places diesel particles in the same carcinogenic category as smoking and asbestos. And it’s not just particulates we should worry about. The dieselgate scandal has reminded us that diesel engines produce a range of other pollutants that damage human health, the environment and the climate, including carcinogenic soot and sulphur and nitrogen oxides. Figures by the European commission estimate that about 50,000 people die prematurely every year in Europe because of pollution from the shipping sector. This is a scandal because there are measures available to fix the problem cost-effectively, from using cleaner fuels to installing filters and using battery technology near the coast. But the very profitable cruise industry has proven unwilling to engage with the problem. Nearly a million Britons take a cruise holiday every year, many paying up to £1,000 each for a week-long trip around the Mediterranean. With more than 6,000 passengers packing the larger ships, that’s a decent revenue. Despite this, major shipping lines still refuse to spend money on proper exhaust gas technology, creating a massive threat to the health, not only of citizens and guests of the ports they visit, but of citizens along the coasts and even inland. The fumes can also endanger the passengers: the German lung doctors association recently gave a warning to passengers with pre-existing conditions not to go on the deck of a cruise vessel. Even newer ships still pump out incredible levels of pollution. The cruise industry is failing to meet basic public standards on the environment and human health. The good news for Venetians is that the Port Authority expects 10% fewer vessels this year, which may allow residents to breathe slightly easier. But until ships are fitted with better filters and burn cleaner fuel, I’d advise you to pack a mask for when they sail by. • Axel Friedrich is an international shipping consultant working with German environmental group Nabu, and was formerly head of the transport department in the German federal environmental agency. | ['environment/travel-and-transport', 'environment/pollution', 'world/italy', 'environment/environment', 'world/europe-news', 'society/health', 'society/society', 'type/article', 'tone/comment', 'environment/air-pollution', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-environment'] | environment/pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2017-07-31T05:30:40Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
world/2008/aug/31/hurricane.gustav | New Orleans braced for chaos as hurricane looms | Thousands of people are scrambling to evacuate New Orleans this weekend as the city braces for its worst hurricane since Katrina struck with devastating force three years ago. The ferocious winds of Hurricane Gustav will test official promises to learn from the fiasco of 2005, when images of people left helpless as their city drowned were seen as a shaming episode in George Bush's presidency. At dawn yesterday long queues of traffic rolled out of New Orleans - cars stacked with clothes, boxes and bags - while inbound lanes sat empty. Hospitals began moving patients farther inland as forecasters said Gustav was gaining strength and hurtling towards America's Gulf coast. Police with bullhorns were set to go from street to street to warn residents and tourists that there will be no government shelters in New Orleans itself. The doors to the Louisiana Superdome, where many sought refuge last time, will be locked as officials gamble that they can get people on to buses and trains in time. Those among New Orleans' estimated 340,000 residents who ignore orders to leave must accept 'all responsibility for themselves and their loved ones', the city's emergency director, Jerry Sneed, has said. Gustav was yesterday upgraded to a category 3 storm, with winds near 115mph, and forecasters warned that it could rise to category 5, the same as Katrina. To add to the concern, tropical storm Hanna is also gaining in strength, and expected to follow in Gustav's wake. Bush has declared a state of emergency in Louisiana and Texas. Gustav has already struck the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, killing 81 people. Cuban civil defence forces have been put on alert, and a mass evacuation is under way in low-lying coastal areas, where mudslides and floods are feared. The hurricane was expected to move over western Cuba late yesterday and into the southern Gulf of Mexico early today. It is projected to hit west of New Orleans early on Tuesday. Officials say work has been continuing every day over the past three years to improve protective levees that were breached by Katrina. The devastation exposed deep poverty, racial tensions and federal incompetence as thousands of people were left stranded without aid. Katrina left about 1,500 dead on the Gulf coast, and an $80bn bill to repair the damage made it the costliest natural disaster in US history. In 2005, as many as 30,000 people who could not or would not evacuate crammed into the Louisiana Superdome and the riverfront convention centre. They spent days waiting for rescue in squalid conditions and some died. Stung by the images that flashed across the world, including the photo of an elderly woman dead in her wheelchair, officials promised that it would never happen again. This time, Louisiana has a $7m contract to provide 700 buses to evacuate the elderly, the sick and anyone without transport. Officials also plan to announce a curfew that will mean the arrest of anyone on the streets after a mandatory evacuation order goes out. Police and National Guards will patrol after the storm's arrival, and Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal has requested additional search-and-rescue teams. Yesterday police were due to tour neighbourhoods, directing residents who are in need to pick-up points. The city has also planned to enlist churches to help tell people where the buses will pick up evacuees. But campaigners warned that official advice might not reach day labourers, homeless people and other marginalised groups. Saket Soni, director of the New Orleans Workers' Centre for Racial Justice, said: 'Hundreds if not thousands will fall through the cracks of an evacuation plan, and they will be left in the city.' Elouise Williams, 68, called the hotline last Thursday until she was 'blue in the face'. She was worried about getting a ride to the pick-up point and about what would happen to those who left. | ['world/natural-disasters', 'us-news/us-news', 'world/cuba', 'world/world', 'tone/news', 'us-news/hurricanegustav', 'world/americas', 'world/hurricanes', 'type/article', 'profile/davidsmith', 'publication/theobserver', 'theobserver/news', 'theobserver/news/worldnews'] | us-news/hurricanegustav | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2008-08-30T23:01:00Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
environment/2017/jul/04/tackle-uk-plastic-bottle-problem-with-money-back-scheme-ministers-told | Tackle UK's plastic bottle problem with money-back scheme, ministers told | The UK government is under growing pressure to introduce a money-back return scheme for plastic bottles, in order to tackle huge volumes of waste in a country where 400 bottles are sold every second. Opposition parties have called on ministers to introduce a deposit return scheme that experts say would drastically reduce the number of plastic bottles littering streets and seas around the UK. Similar schemes have been successfully introduced in at least a dozen countries. The idea has the backing of global drinks company Coca-Cola and comes amid warnings that the worldwide plastics binge poses as serious a threat as climate change. Sue Hayman, Labour’s shadow environment secretary, urged the government to take swift action. “A deposit return scheme would have widespread public support and would go a long way to ensuring that we recycle as much of our waste as possible,” she said. Kate Parminter, environment spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, said momentum was growing behind calls for a deposit return scheme. “Earlier this year, Coca-Cola said to the Scottish parliament they would back a well-designed deposit return scheme,” she said. “Now that industry are backing this scheme, it is high time the UK government began to throw their weight behind it.” Last week, new figures obtained by the Guardian established that a million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute and the number will jump another 20% by 2021. According to an unpublished parliamentary report, more than 4m plastic bottles a week could be prevented from littering streets and marine environments in Britain if authorities adopted the kind of deposit return schemes that operate in countries like Germany and Australia. The Conservative party’s manifesto did not mention such a scheme in the run-up to last month’s general election, but a spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the idea was being considered as part of a wider litter strategy launched in April. “We have made great progress in boosting recycling rates for plastic bottles, with their collection for recycling rising from less than 13,000 tonnes in 2000 to over 330,000 tonnes in 2015,” the spokesman said. “We are considering further the practical ways in which we can deal with the worst kinds of litter, including plastic bottles.” However, Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion and co-leader of the Green party, said ministers must do more. “The government is under growing pressure to take action on the plastic bottle crisis,” she said. “With such a slender majority in the House of Commons, and with the public swinging behind the campaign against plastic waste, there is a real chance that ministers will consider introducing a bottle deposit scheme. “For a government desperate to salvage its reputation, taking such a simple step forward isn’t just the right thing to do – it serves their self-interest too.” In Scotland, support is growing for a deposit return scheme. Last week, the Scottish National party launched a detailed study into how such a scheme for bottles and cans would work. Roseanna Cunningham, the Scottish environment secretary, said: “Clearly there are a number of issues for the Scottish government to consider when it comes to deposit return schemes, which can only be addressed by carrying out work to understand the design of a potential system.” Recycling rates for plastic bottles in Britain stand at 59%, compared with more than 90% in countries that operate deposit return schemes, such as Germany, Norway and Sweden. Coca-Cola in Britain and Europe has made a U-turn on deposit schemes and now supports their adoption in the UK, after pressure from environment and anti-waste campaigners. “We believe a new approach is needed,” the company said in a report to the environmental audit committee before its inquiry into plastic bottles was dropped after the dissolution of parliament. “From our experiences in other countries, we believe a well-designed, industry-run drinks container deposit return scheme could help increase recycling and reduce littering,” Coca-Cola added. Between 5m and 13m tonnes of plastic end up in the world’s oceans each year, to be ingested by sea birds, fish and other organisms, and by 2050 the oceans will contain more plastic by weight than fish, according to research by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Campaigners say plastic is polluting every natural system and an increasing number of organisms on the planet, with some of it already finding its way into the human food chain. | ['environment/waste', 'uk/uk', 'environment/environment', 'environment/recycling', 'environment/ethical-living', 'environment/plastic', 'environment/pollution', 'environment/series/bottling-it', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/sandralaville', 'profile/matthewtaylor', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-home-news'] | environment/recycling | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2017-07-04T05:00:32Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
business/2020/sep/16/scottish-green-hydrogen-scheme-gears-up-to-fuel-ferries-buses-and-trains | Scottish green hydrogen scheme gears up to fuel ferries, buses and trains | Scottish Power’s wind and solar farms will soon help produce green hydrogen to run buses, ferries and even trains as part of a pioneering strategic partnership to develop the UK’s nascent hydrogen economy. The renewable energy company, owned by Spain’s Iberdrola, will work alongside companies that specialise in producing and distributing the zero-carbon gas. Hydrogen is expected to play a major role in helping the UK to meet its climate targets. Scottish Power will use the clean electricity generated by a major new solar farm planned for a site near Glasgow to run an electrolyser, owned by its project partner ITM Power, which will split water into hydrogen and oxygen molecules. The third company within the partnership, BOC, specialises in compressing and distributing gases and will help transport the hydrogen gas to councils, factories and transport depots across the country. “Green hydrogen is something that everyone is talking about,” said Lindsay McQuade, the head of renewables at Scottish Power, “but we wanted to do something about it. This is a pioneering partnership which brings together skills from all the companies involved.” The hydrogen gas can be used in place of methane-rich North Sea gas to run power plants, heavy machinery and transport vehicles without adding to the greenhouse gas emissions that are accelerating the climate crisis. Scottish Power’s first project will be based near a new solar farm that it plans to build near the site of the largest onshore windfarm in the UK: Whitelee, south of Glasgow. The site is also expected to be equipped with a “super battery”, which can store and release clean electricity when it’s needed. The plans are expected to be replicated across the country using Scottish Power’s windfarms, solar panels and battery installations to use renewable energy when it is at its cheapest to run the electrolysers that create hydrogen. “Our revolutionary approach – which really will be a game-changer – fully supports the large-scale transformation needed to replace heavy diesel vehicles with cleaner, greener alternatives,” McQuade said. She said that by working with industry leaders such as ITM Power and BOC the partnership would be able to offer the operators of heavy vehicle fleets and industry “a packaged solution that brings all of the pieces of the jigsaw together – production, distribution, supply” from as soon as 2022. “All they have to do is provide the vehicles,” she said. | ['business/scottish-power', 'environment/hydrogen-power', 'technology/energy', 'environment/energy', 'uk/scotland', 'environment/windpower', 'environment/green-economy', 'uk/uk', 'business/business', 'business/energy-industry', 'environment/environment', 'environment/renewableenergy', 'technology/technology', 'business/utilities', 'type/article', 'tone/news', 'profile/jillian-ambrose', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-business'] | environment/renewableenergy | ENERGY | 2020-09-16T06:00:15Z | true | ENERGY |
environment/2023/apr/16/noise-pollution-is-a-health-risk-that-few-can-escape | Noise pollution is a health risk that few can escape | Letters | As the coordinator of Hacan (Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise), I applaud Coco Khan’s article for recognising noise as a serious health issue (Shout it from the rooftops: the noise pollution in towns and cities is killing us, 10 April). This is one that continues to fly beneath the radar and requires serious action from the government at all levels. According to the European Environment Agency, noise pollution is the second largest environmental threat to health, causing 12,000 premature deaths a year. Indeed, at Heathrow, at least 725,000 people are currently exposed to aircraft noise, with that figure expected to more than double should a third runway ever be built. While there is certainly a financial issue with regard to the ability to mitigate the impact of aircraft noise, or indeed move away from it entirely, the fact is that aircraft noise causes health problems for all. Worryingly, many people may not even be aware of it until the damage has been done. The delivery of an airspace modernisation programme over the next few years will see changes to flight paths across the country that will increase the intensity of noise for overflown communities and is likely to expose many communities to aircraft noise for the first time. Academic research has consistently shown that aircraft noise affects people’s health at lower decibel levels than previously thought, and that people are becoming more sensitive to aircraft noise to a greater extent than other modes of transport. The fault ultimately lies at the feet of the government for the glacial pace of progress in addressing the problem of noise, despite the recognition of its harm to health. One simple solution exists to help local communities and that is to make aircraft noise a statutory nuisance. Paul Beckford Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise • I completely agree with Coco Khan’s article and the insensitivity of people in urban residential areas who contribute inconsiderate additional noise pollution to the environment. Noise blaring out from wireless speakers is a new noise problem. People shouting “Alexa, play…” across their garden at 1am is totally unacceptable, but this “I’m the king of my castle” attitude has run amok through quiet middle England. The answer is simple in that local authorities can impose a “quietude” law, stating that no resident can make noise which permeates over their boundary at any time. However, policing this would be an issue. Nigel Wheadon Witham, Essex • Your article refers to noise in urban areas, but the myth that the countryside is quiet, particularly in the winter months, is untrue. From late September to late spring, and from dawn to dusk, the air is filled with the boom of numerous audio bird scarers, known as “bangers”. These propane-powered guns discharge at 120 decibels (about twice that allowed for motor vehicles) and fire up to 12 times an hour. The intention is protect young crops, but more often than not they are switched on for months at a time. Unlike other industries where operational hours and disturbance are controlled, there are no controls or regulations concerning the use of these devices, and environmental officers are powerless to take any action. The National Farmers’ Union has produced a code on how they should be operated, saying that they should only be used as a last resort, but the code, without any legal backing, is usually ignored. Kenneth Parker Rattlesden, Suffolk • Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section. | ['environment/pollution', 'society/health', 'environment/environment', 'world/air-transport', 'cities/cities', 'society/communities', 'uk/transport', 'travel/flights', 'environment/airline-emissions', 'type/article', 'tone/letters', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/pollution | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE | 2023-04-16T16:06:37Z | true | POLLUTION_AND_WASTE |
environment/2022/aug/31/country-diary-the-choughs-patrol-the-cliffs-cawing-at-everything | Country diary: The choughs patrol the cliffs, cawing at everything | I sit as close to the edge as I dare. Below me, great hulks of former cliff sit below the surface. Rising up among them is the Sugarloaf. Just a few weeks ago it was festooned with thousands of seabirds. Now, only three kittiwake chicks remain unfledged among the guano. But today I’m not here to see the seabirds, I am here to see a crow. Chiarr! It takes just two minutes to hear one. These birds want their presence known. Soon it is not just one bird I hear, but four, no five birds patrolling the clifftops. I have found some choughs. They approach noisily, flying into the steady breeze, scolding as they draw near. Their flight is erratic, travelling in one general direction yet many others at once. Like a gang of bullies, they caw at everything and anything, including me. They pass over my head, then tuck in their wings and plummet, demonstrating their unique, undulating flight reminiscent of a rollercoaster. Once across the bay, they alight on a steep, grassy bank, where they feast on what are presumably flying ants, the sea slowly lapping below them. The Isle of Man is a stronghold for the birds, with around one pair for every kilometre of rocky coast, about 130 pairs in all – an incredible one-third of the British and Manx total. Within our small island nation, the southern coast is the best place to enjoy them. Here you can regularly see flocks of 50 to 60 birds, sometimes more. The reason for such abundance is simple. In summer, being insectivorous, choughs gather in our tightly grazed farmland, where there is plenty of dung. In winter, when the fields are bereft of tasty morsels, they take to the seaweed-strewn beaches and dine on sand hoppers. Come the spring, they seek out the caves, abandoned buildings and (increasingly) farm barns for nesting. Nowhere else do they thrive as they do here in Ellan Vannin – the Manx name for the Isle of Man – with its green hills by the sea. Back on my spot, 100 metres above the sparkling sea, I see in quick succession a family of peregrines, a male hen harrier, two ravens and a basking shark. But none to me are as captivating as those feisty, red-legged king of the crows. • Country Diary is on Twitter at @gdncountrydiary | ['environment/series/country-diary', 'environment/birds', 'uk/isle-of-man', 'environment/coastlines', 'environment/environment', 'uk/ruralaffairs', 'uk/uk', 'environment/wildlife', 'type/article', 'tone/features', 'profile/david-bellamy', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/journal', 'theguardian/journal/letters', 'tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-letters-and-leader-writers'] | environment/wildlife | BIODIVERSITY | 2022-08-31T04:30:18Z | true | BIODIVERSITY |
uk/2012/nov/22/flood-gales-rain-weather-uk | Floods and gales bring chaos and misery to UK | Homes and businesses were flooded, tens of thousands of pounds of damage caused by high winds, and journeys by road and rail disrupted as the UK was battered again by rain and gales. A band of heavy rain accompanied by winds of 70mph trundled across much of the country from the north-west, bringing with it chaos. Forecasters said on Thursday night that there was likely to be a reprieve on Friday before another weather front arrives at the weekend, this time from the south-west. Next week it is likely to turn calmer but colder, and there could be snow on the way. The Midlands and south-west England bore the brunt on Thursday. In the Sparkhill area of Birmingham, a roof blew off a mosque, damaging three cars but missing passersby. People in Halberton, Devon, were evacuated after a section of the 200-year-old Great Western Canal crumbled, allowing water to pour into fields. Hundreds of homes were left without power in parts of the south-west as lines were brought down by the high winds and dozens of schools were closed. Christmas light switch-ons in Exeter and Plymouth and Cardiff's Winter Wonderland festivities were postponed. Trains between Somerset and Devon were cancelled or delayed because part of the track was flooded and there were also problems in Hampshire after a train hit a branch that had fallen across the line. An RNLI lifeboat stood by on the Somerset Levels amid concerns that more rain falling on ground that has been sodden for months combined with a high tide could lead to severe flooding. Parish councils across Somerset were asked to turn village halls into makeshift shelters. People were evacuated from Billing Aquadrome campsite in Northamptonshire, while in Devon the coastguard warned people to stay out of the sea after a canoeist got into difficulty off Burgh Island, sparking an air and sea rescue effort. He managed to get back to shore under his own power. The weather also made it into the House of Commons when the Tory MP Roger Gale raised the case of a shipment of livestock that had made it halfway across the Channel before being beaten back by the weather. "This is absolutely intolerable and it is done in the name of free trade," said Gale. It all made for difficult driving conditions. The M48 Severn crossing was closed to all traffic while the Tamar bridge between Devon and Cornwall was shut to high-sided vehicles, caravans and motorcycles. The AA said it had experienced record callouts this week, receiving 900 breakdown reports every hour. On a typical Thursday it attends around 9,500 incidents. This Thursday it was expecting to reach the 13,000 mark. The Met Office issued severe weather warnings for Thursday covering much of England, Scotland and Wales. By nightfall, Anglesey had suffered the worst of the downpours with 42mm of rain falling in 24 hours. Paul Gundersen, the Met Office's deputy chief forecaster, said: "The current unsettled spell of weather is set to continue with further spells of heavy rain expected across the country over the next few days. "There has been some torrential rain and squally winds on Thursday as a cold front moved across the UK, but another deep depression developing off Iberia will head towards us for the weekend. This is expected to bring more heavy rain and strong to gale force winds to many parts of the country." There is some uncertainty about exactly what track the low pressure will take at the weekend and so where the strongest winds will be. Currently, The Met Office is forecasting the potential for gusts of 60 to 70mph for south-eastern coastal counties of England overnight Saturday and into Sunday. The Environment Agency warned there could be severe flooding across England. By Thursday night more than 80 flood warnings – meaning flooding is expected – had been issued for England and Wales. Of them, 36 were for the south-west and 29 for the Midlands. In addition there were more than 180 flood alerts – meaning flooding is possible. Ian Tomes, Environment Agency area flood risk manager, said: "We have mobilised teams across the country to check on flood defences, clear any river blockages and closely monitor river levels. "We will do everything we can to warn and inform people about the risk of flooding from rivers but we cannot always prevent it, so people need to take action to prepare now." • This article was amended on 23 November 2012. The original misspelled Anglesey as Anglesea. This has been corrected. | ['uk/weather', 'uk/uk', 'uk/transport', 'environment/flooding', 'environment/environment', 'tone/news', 'type/article', 'publication/theguardian', 'theguardian/mainsection', 'theguardian/mainsection/uknews'] | environment/flooding | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS | 2012-11-22T19:47:50Z | true | EXTREME_CLIMATE_IMPACTS |
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