Campaigners suspect block on new applications for at least two years was imposed to limit burden on water firms
The government has suspended all applications for bathing water status in waterways, delaying the cleanup of rivers and coastal waters for at least two years.
River campaigners fear the block on new applications to create bathing water areas, which are regularly tested for water quality, has been introduced to stop water companies facing huge resource implications to tackle poor water quality in new bathing areas.
Continue reading...
Breaking Waves: Ocean News
05/31/2024 - 01:00
05/31/2024 - 01:00
For many on Ghoramara, the general election is about the climate crisis and survival. The island, 150km south of Kolkata and named the ‘sinking island’ by the media, has lost nearly half its area to soil erosion in the past two decades and could disappear if a solution is not found.
As voters across India cast their ballots on issues ranging from the cost of living to jobs and religion, politicians trying to win votes in Ghoramara need to put the climate crisis to the fore as the island’s dwindling population fight to save their homes from the sea amid rising water levels and increasingly fierce storms
Continue reading...
05/31/2024 - 00:00
Meeting WHO guidelines would avoid many cases of diseases and save the NHS millions, research shows
A study has revealed that cleaning up the air in the West Midlands could prevent the early deaths of about 2,000 people a year.
If the region were to meet World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for air pollution, it could also avoid 2,000 new asthma cases, 770 new cases of heart disease, 170 new lung cancers and 650 strokes annually, the study found.
Continue reading...
05/30/2024 - 23:00
npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 31 May 2024; doi:10.1038/s44183-024-00065-7
A traits-based approach to assess aquaculture’s contributions to food, climate change, and biodiversity goals
05/30/2024 - 17:21
Humans may be accelerating the rate at which organic matter decomposes in rivers and streams on a global scale, according to a new study. That could pose a threat to biodiversity in waterways around the world and increase the amount of carbon in Earth's atmosphere, potentially exacerbating climate change. The study is the first to combine a global experiment and predictive modeling to illustrate how human impacts to waterways may contribute to the global climate crisis.
05/30/2024 - 13:49
Festival bows to pressure from authors and activists over investment firm’s links to Israel and fossil fuel companies
The Edinburgh international book festival (EIBF) has announced the end of its 20-year partnership with Baillie Gifford. Last week the Hay literary festival also dropped its sponsorship from the investment management firm after a series of last-minute drop-outs.
The singer Charlotte Church, the comedian Nish Kumar and the politician Dawn Butler were among those due to appear at Hay who decided to boycott the festival because of Baillie Gifford’s links to Israel and fossil fuel companies. By the end of the festival’s second day, Hay’s organisers announced the sponsorship has been “suspended” for 2024.
Continue reading...
05/30/2024 - 13:00
Researchers say world has enough fossil fuel projects planned to meet demand forecasts to 2050 if net zero is reached
The world has enough fossil fuel projects planned to meet global energy demand forecasts to 2050 and governments should stop issuing new oil, gas and coal licences, according to a large study aimed at political leaders.
If governments deliver the changes promised in order to keep the world from breaching its climate targets no new fossil fuel projects will be needed, researchers at University College London and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) said on Thursday.
Continue reading...
05/30/2024 - 11:05
Temperatures of more than 45C have left population of 29 million exhausted – but the poorest suffer most
As the water tanker drove into a crowded Delhi neighbourhood, a ruckus erupted. Dozens of residents ran frantically behind it, brandishing buckets, bottles and hoses, and jumped on top of it to get even a drip of what was stored inside. Temperatures that day had soared to 49C (120F), the hottest day on record – and in many places across India’s vast capital, home to more than 29 million people, water had run out.
Every morning, Tripti, a social health worker who lives in the impoverished enclave of Vivekanand Camp, is among those who has to stand under the blazing sun with buckets and pots, waiting desperately for the water tanker to arrive.
Continue reading...
05/30/2024 - 10:00
Exclusive: Documents reveal offer was made three years before Origin and government reached deal to keep Australia’s biggest coal-fired power station open
Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast
Origin Energy offered to sell its Eraring power station to the New South Wales government for more than half a billion dollars before announcing it would close the plant in August 2025, a document now made public reveals.
The energy company, which last week announced a pact with the government to keep the nation’s biggest coal-fired power station open for at least another two years, had offered to sell back the privatised facility for $544m during negotiations in 2021.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup
Continue reading...
05/30/2024 - 08:13
FTSE 100 firm DS Smith, which works with firms over alternatives, urges next government to match global standards
Whoever wins the UK general election must tighten regulations to reduce the use of plastic packaging, match global standards and drive “green consumption”, the boss of one of the sector’s biggest manufacturers has urged.
Miles Roberts, the chief executive of the packaging firm DS Smith, made the call to the next government as the company celebrated passing its target to replace more than 1bn pieces of plastic 16 months early.
Continue reading...
