Study confirms huge concentrations of potentially dangerous PFAS in rivers, lakes and taps in Dhaka
Rivers, lakes and tap water in areas of Bangladesh that host garment factories are swarming with dangerous levels of toxic “forever chemicals”, some with links to serious health issues, according to new research.
In the first study of its kind conducted in Bangladesh, a global fashion hub supplying international brands, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as forever chemicals, were found in 27 water samples collected close to textile factories in the capital, Dhaka.
Continue reading...
Breaking Waves: Ocean News
05/29/2024 - 03:00
05/29/2024 - 00:00
IPPR research examines transport emissions by income, gender, location, ethnicity and age
Wealthy white men from rural areas are the UK’s biggest emitters of climate-heating gases from transport, according to a study.
Research by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) looked at transport emissions by income, gender, location, ethnicity and age. The study broke down the transport emissions into international and domestic flights, private road transport and public transport.
Continue reading...
05/29/2024 - 00:00
Widening government-run scheme would counter mistrust among householders, says consumer group
The next government should force all tradespeople who install home heat pumps, solar panels and insulation to sign up to a mandatory accreditation scheme to counter mistrust in the industry, a leading consumer group is demanding.
A report from Which? found that households face “significant anxiety” in choosing tradespeople to fit low-carbon heating systems, such as heat pumps, and insulation after “press stories about poor work and rogue traders”.
Continue reading...
05/28/2024 - 20:54
The Coalition has attacked the GenCost report that found nuclear power plants would be at least 50% more expensive than solar and wind
Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast
The CSIRO says it stands by its analysis on the costs of future nuclear power plants in Australia after the Coalition attacked the work, which contradicted its claims reactors would provide cheap electricity and be available within a decade.
The opposition’s energy spokesperson, Ted O’Brien, claimed on Tuesday in the Australian newspaper that the CSIRO should re-run its modelling to account for longer life-spans and running times of nuclear generators in other countries with nuclear programs.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup
Continue reading...
05/28/2024 - 12:33
US agency found PFOS and other types of PFAS in pesticides but failed to disclose those results, watchdog group alleges
Documents obtained from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicate the agency may have presented false information to the public about testing for harmful contaminants in pesticides, according to allegations being made by a watchdog group and a former EPA research fellow.
The claims come almost a year to the day after the EPA issued a May 2023 press release that stated the agency found no per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in testing of samples of certain insecticide products. The press release contradicted a published study by the former EPA researcher that had reported finding PFAS in the same pesticide products.
This story is co-published with the New Lede, a journalism project of the Environmental Working Group
Continue reading...
05/28/2024 - 10:44
A team of scientists has used artificial intelligence (AI) to map the activities of seafloor invertebrate animals, such as worms, clams and shrimps, across all the oceans of the world.
05/28/2024 - 05:00
And almost half of respondents back the filing of criminal charges against oil companies that have contributed to the climate crisis
As US communities take big oil to court for allegedly deceiving the public about the climate crisis, polling shared with the Guardian shows that a majority of voters support the litigation, while almost half would back an even more aggressive legal strategy of filing criminal charges.
The poll, which comes as the world’s first-ever criminal climate lawsuit was brought in France last week, could shed light on how, if filed, similar US cases might be viewed by a jury.
Continue reading...
05/28/2024 - 00:00
Labour and Liberal Democrats dominated list of MPs who were rated as very good in backing environmental policies
No elected Tory MPs have been rated as voting positively on climate issues, under a survey of parliamentary voting patterns since the Conservatives took power in 2010.
Only a single sitting Conservative was rated as “good” on climate votes in the ranking, but that was Lisa Cameron, the MP for East Kilbride, who defected from the Scottish National Party in October.
Continue reading...
05/27/2024 - 23:00
Collins Nzovu says country’s plight is foretaste of disasters that will increasingly afflict region as climate breakdown takes hold
Severe drought in Zambia is threatening hunger for millions of people, cutting off electricity for long periods and destroying the country’s social fabric and economy, the environment minister has warned, in a harbinger of what is in store for the region as the climate crisis worsens.
Collins Nzovu said the “crippling drought” his country was experiencing hammered home the message that developing countries were facing catastrophe from the climate crisis, even as richer countries failed to muster financial help for the most afflicted.
Continue reading...
05/27/2024 - 22:38
Campaigners urge Australians not to buy Tasmanian farmed salmon to avoid ‘extinction event’ for Maugean skate
Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast
Campaigners working to save the critically endangered Maugean skate – a ray-like fish species found only on Tasmania’s west coast – have brought the battle to the door of the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, in inner-city Sydney.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup
Continue reading...
