First-time exhibitor Ula Maria scoops best in show for garden designed for muscular dystrophy charity
A garden demonstrating the joys of forest bathing has won best in show at the Chelsea flower show.
Designed by the first-time exhibitor Ula Maria, the garden was inspired by the ancient Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, which means being calm and quiet among trees, breathing deeply and observing nature.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
05/21/2024 - 10:00
Eight of 21 cars tested underperformed against their marketed efficiency rates, Australian Automobile Association says
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Cars driven by Australians are consistently consuming more fuel than their marketed efficiencies, investigations have found, with the latest tranche of “real-world” testing finding one car used 31% more petrol than its advertised rate.
The Australian Automobile Association (AAA) testing – funded by the federal government – found that eight of the 21 cars examined in its latest round of testing consumed more petrol in real road driving conditions compared with the efficiency rates calculated by their manufacturers in laboratories.
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05/21/2024 - 10:00
Report finds nuclear energy more expensive than renewable alternatives and calculates costs for large-scale reactors for first time
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Electricity from nuclear power in Australia would be at least 50% more expensive than solar and wind, according to a report from the CSIRO that has for the first time calculated costs for large-scale reactors.
The federal Coalition, which has claimed nuclear would provide cheap electricity, is still to reveal any details on its nuclear policy after initially promising it would make an announcement in time for last week’s federal budget.
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05/21/2024 - 07:10
Also on Sunday, in Alaska, a man was killed as he tried to photograph newborn moose calves when their mother attacked
A grizzly bear attacked and seriously injured a man in western Wyoming’s Grand Teton national park, prompting closure to the public of a mountain there on Monday.
That mauling was one of at least two serious animal attacks on people in the US wilderness on Sunday. Elsewhere, in Alaska, a 70-year-old man who was attempting to take photos of newborn moose calves was attacked and killed by their mother, authorities said.
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05/21/2024 - 07:00
In 2010, Mexico led the way, followed by Ecuador, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Argentina and Colombia
What are those weird ingredients in our favorite packaged foods?
Candy lines every inch of the mercado de dulces in Mexico City’s historic center. Tantalizing strawberry-flavored chocolates and Tajín-covered mango gummies pack the narrow aisles of the meandering marketplace. But many of the colorful packages are somewhat dampened by black stop signs printed on their fronts. Alongside dreamy descriptions of creamy and chocolatey confections, the stop signs warn “Excess calories” or “Excess sugars”. For some customers, the warnings are enough for them to pause and reconsider their purchases.
Latin America is leading the world in a movement to print nutritional warning labels on the fronts of food packages. Currently, the labels warn when a food product exceeds a consumer’s daily recommended value of any “nutrient of concern” – namely, sugar, salt or saturated fat (some countries have added trans fats, artificial sweeteners and caffeine). But research led by scientists across the continent is increasingly pointing towards another factor consumers may want to consider: how processed a food is.
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05/21/2024 - 07:00
Revealed: Four gas utilities have teamed up with Habitat for Humanity to build ‘zero-net energy homes’, investigation shows
US gas utilities are partnering with one of the nation’s most trusted non-profits as part of a “cynical PR stunt” to combat efforts to curb fossil fuel usage, a Guardian investigation has found.
Local Habitat for Humanity affiliates have teamed up with at least four utilities across 10 states to build “zero-net energy homes”, which are meant to produce more energy than they use.
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05/21/2024 - 06:00
Case alleges French company’s exploitation of fossil fuel contributed to deaths of victims in extreme weather disasters
A criminal case has been filed against the CEO and directors of the French oil company TotalEnergies, alleging its fossil fuel exploitation has contributed to the deaths of victims of climate-fuelled extreme weather disasters.
The case was filed in Paris by eight people harmed by extreme weather, and three NGOs. The plaintiffs believe it to be the first such criminal case filed against the individuals running a major oil company. The public prosecutor who received the file has three months to decide whether to open a judicial investigation or dismiss the complaint.
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05/21/2024 - 03:03
Supplier hands out £127m to investors as it says normal service has been restored for 85% of customers
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The owner of South West Water has said normal service has been restored for 85% of its customers after unsafe drinking water led to more than 100 cases of a waterborne disease in Devon, as it raised its dividend payout to shareholders.
After cryptosporidium, a disease that can cause unpleasant symptoms such as diarrhoea and vomiting, was detected in the water supply in the Brixham area of Devon last Wednesday, 17,000 households and businesses were told by South West Water not to use their tap water for drinking without boiling and cooling it first.
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05/21/2024 - 02:56
Authorities cut short school term as weather bureau warns of severe heatwave conditions this week
Authorities in the Indian capital, have ordered schools to shut early for the summer holiday, after temperatures in Delhi hit 47.4C (117F).
City officials told schools to shut with “immediate effect” due to the blistering heat, according to a government order quoted by the Hindustan Times on Tuesday, cutting the term by a few days.
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05/21/2024 - 01:00
Oil Change International says plans do not stand up to scrutiny and describes US fossil-fuel corporations as ‘the worst of the worst’
Major oil companies have in recent years made splashy climate pledges to cut their greenhouse gas emissions and take on the climate crisis, but a new report suggests those plans do not stand up to scrutiny.
The research and advocacy group Oil Change International examined climate plans from the eight largest US- and European-based international oil and gas producers – BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Eni, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Shell and TotalEnergies – and found none were compatible with limiting global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels – a threshold scientists have long warned could have dire consequences if breached.
This story has been updated to add comments from Shell, Eni and Equinor.
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