Appeal court says defendants’ ‘beliefs and motivation’ do not constitute lawful excuse for damaging property
One of the last defences for climate protesters who commit criminal damage has been in effect removed by the court of appeal. The court said the “beliefs and motivation” of a defendant do not constitute lawful excuse for causing damage to a property.
The defence that a person honestly believes the owner of a property would have consented had they known the full circumstances of climate change has been used successfully over the last year by protesters.
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Academic experts also criticise UN Food and Agriculture Organization for dismissing alternative proteins
The omission of meat-eating reduction from proposals in a UN roadmap to tackle the climate crisis and end hunger is “bewildering”, according to academic experts.
The group also criticised the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s report for “dismissing” the potential of alternative proteins, such as plant-based meat, to reduce the impact of livestock on the environment.
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Perhaps our government imagines bulldog spirit will protect us from the dangerous substances that Europe rules unsafe
It’s a benefit of Brexit – but only if you’re a manufacturer or distributor of toxic chemicals. For the rest of us, it’s another load we have to carry on behalf of the shysters and corner-cutters who lobbied for the UK to leave the EU.
The government insisted on a separate regulatory system for chemicals. At first sight, it’s senseless: chemical regulation is extremely complicated and expensive. Why replicate an EU system that costs many millions of euros and employs a small army of scientists and administrators? Why not simply adopt as UK standards the decisions it makes? After all, common regulatory standards make trading with the rest of Europe easier. Well, now we know. A separate system allows the UK to become a dumping ground for the chemicals that Europe rules unsafe.
George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist
Join George Monbiot for a Guardian Live online event on Wednesday 8 May 2024 at 8pm BST. He will be talking about his new book, The Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism. Book tickets here
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Installations must speed up 11-fold as advisers say latest changes to scheme likely to make 2028 target even harder
The public spending watchdog has criticised the slow pace of the government’s heat pump rollout just days after ministers postponed an important scheme designed to increase the rate of installations.
A report by the National Audit Office (NAO) has found that heat pump installations would need to accelerate 11-fold if the government is to reach its target for 600,000 heat pumps installed in homes every year by 2028.
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Ballachrink, Isle of Man: My monthly bird survey started so slowly that I nearly gave up – I would have missed a ‘first’ for this site if I had
Quietly opening the shutters of the hide, I have before me a “lake”, which almost anywhere else in the world would be termed a humble pond. I am smug to have the whole reserve to myself and settle down, marvelling at seeing the same view twice at once, reflected in the serene, mirror-flat water.
Each month, I and thousands of like-minded volunteers, undertake bird surveys across the country for the British Trust for Ornithology. At first glance, my visit today appears to be a disappointment. After five whole minutes, I haven’t seen a single bird on the lake. Dejected, I consider moving on, but my instinct tells me to sit for a while.
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A traditionally male-dominated industry is being quietly transformed by an influx of talent who don’t fit the stereotype
Back in the 1970s, Holly Collins was studying for her A-levels in Sussex. While her friends sent off their university applications, she wrote to the Royal Agricultural College asking for an entry form, hoping to follow her dream of becoming a farmer.
“They wrote back with the following answer: ‘Dear Miss Collins, we do not admit women.’”
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GPs with convictions over protests face tribunals to determine whether they can keep licence to practise
Dr Sarah Benn has long been concerned about the climate crisis, diligently recycling until she was “blue in the face”. But the rise of the climate activist group Extinction Rebellion in 2019 inspired her and her husband to go further. “We thought: well, if we don’t do it then who else is going to?”
While working as a GP near Birmingham, Benn became increasingly involved in direct action over the next few years, and once glued her hand to the door of the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy in protest at the government’s inaction on the climate.
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Caistor St Edmund, Norfolk: On a day spent picking horse poo from the pasture, I welcome this Celtic charm
I am up to my ankles in thick mud, scraping horse poo up from a waterlogged pasture. It’s been a tough winter for anyone who spends lots of time outdoors. East Anglia has recorded its wettest (and warmest) February on record, with endless drab days of persistent rain.
Poo-picking helps to keep the pasture palatable and reduces the parasitic worms that can infect the horses, but it’s hard work. My wheelbarrow is nearly full of muck, and the hill looms. I wonder if I may give up halfway, stuck in mud, my lifeless body waiting to be found. Yet I push through the mire and take a breather halfway, heart racing.
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Researchers found that the Victorians brought so many seeds and saplings to Britain that experts say the giant redwoods now outnumber those in their US homeland
Three giant redwoods tower over Wakehurst’s Elizabethan mansion like skyscrapers. Yet at 40 metres (131ft) high, these are almost saplings – not even 150 years old and already almost twice as high as Cleopatra’s Needle.
“At the moment they’re some of the tallest trees in the UK and they are starting to poke above the forest canopy. But if they grow to their full potential, they’re going to be three times taller than most trees,” says Dr Phil Wilkes, part of the research team at Wakehurst, in West Sussex, an outpost of Kew Gardens. One or two of these California imports would be curiosities, such as the 100-metre high redwood that was stripped of its bark in 1854 and exhibited to Victorian crowds at the Crystal Palace in south-east London, until it was destroyed by fire in 1866.
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Right to Roam finds areas of outstanding natural beauty have on average poorer footpath access than rest of England
England’s most stunning “national landscapes” are largely out of bounds, and 22 of the 34 have less than 10% of their area open to the public, research has found.
The government last year renamed areas of outstanding natural beauty to national landscapes, and said part of their aim was to widen access to nature. Ministers said at the time the new name reflected a recognition that they are not just beautiful but important for many reasons including improving wellbeing.
Continue reading...Experts say there is "no strong evidence" the monitors, proven to be effective in managing diabetes, can also help people without the condition.
New figures show the average wait in Wales to have the condition diagnosed is the longest in the UK.
How a team of former addicts are trying to stop others from becoming "deaths of despair" in Blackpool.
Jasna Macanovic was sacked after questioning a "risky" dialysis practice championed by ex-colleagues.
BBC News analysis reveals wide variation across England in waits for planned hospital treatment.
Researchers who have studied thousands of children suggest a new measure could be more accurate.
Paul Alexander worked as a lawyer and lived for decades in a metal cylinder which breathed for him.
Thousands were infected with HIV and hepatitis C, in the worst treatment disaster in NHS history.
A cross-party group of MPs found evidence of care benefits in countries that allow assisted dying.
The record-breaking donation came from a 93-year-old former professor, who is the widow of a wealthy investor.
Around the world, women beekeepers are helping to protect bees by sharing their knowledge and traditions. This International Women’s Day, we highlight the work of three beekeepers who live in very different geographies, but are united in their passion for the pollinators.
A recent deep-sea expedition off the coasts of Chile and Peru is revealing the secrets of a vast underwater mountain system — and could help make the case for future ocean protections there.
A pioneer in the field of sustainability has earned a major honor. Johan Rockström is this year’s winner of the Tyler Prize, recognized for his work developing the planetary boundaries framework, which gauges Earth’s ability to sustain humanity.
It’s easy to understand why ambitious reforestation campaigns capture public attention. Earth’s forests are absolutely vital to staving off a climate crisis and protecting nature. But what about grasslands?
For International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we celebrate some of the women powering our research and fieldwork. They share their passion for protecting nature — and advice for the next generation.
In the remote lowland forests of northwestern Bolivia, a small community has taken a big step to protect one of the Amazon’s most biodiverse regions.
When humans and elephants come into contact, the results can be deadly — and if climate change and habitat loss continue, a new study finds, things could get even worse.
Conservation News is reflecting on some of our most noteworthy stories about how nature and human well-being are intertwined — and what it takes to protect them.
Conservation News is reflecting on some of our most noteworthy stories about how nature helps combat climate change — from fascinating fungal networks that capture staggering amounts of carbon, to new research into the health of forests.
Conservation News is reflecting on some of our most noteworthy ocean stories of the year — from an innovative approach to protecting Pacific waters, to the launch of a new program to reintroduce threatened sharks back into the wild.