-
Findings come after third-hottest April on record globally and amid fears of more brutal European summer weather
Economic inequality adds more than 100,000 deaths to the vast toll from heat and cold in Europe each year, research has found.
Cutting levels inequality to match that of Europe’s most equal region, Slovenia, as measured by the Gini index, would reduce temperature-related mortality by as much as 30%, equating to 109,866 people, the study found.
Continue reading...
-
Naturalist says he has been ‘overwhelmed by greetings’ as milestone is marked with event at Royal Albert Hall
David Attenborough said he had been “completely overwhelmed by birthday greetings” for his centenary on Friday and thanked wellwishers “most sincerely”.
The naturalist said he had hoped to celebrate his 100th birthday quietly. Instead, the milestone will be marked with a live event at the Royal Albert Hall broadcast on BBC One, featuring music from his programmes as well as stories and reflections from public figures and leading advocates for the natural world.
In a recorded audio message shared on Thursday night, Attenborough said: “I had rather thought that I would celebrate my 100th birthday quietly, but it seems that many of you have had other ideas.
Continue reading...
-
Promises to cut emissions and use more fuel-efficient planes fail to stop rise, with Ryanair’s carbon footprint 50% up on 2019
Emissions from flying in Europe have now passed pre-pandemic levels, with Ryanair’s carbon footprint 50% higher than in 2019, research has shown.
Total aviation emissions continue to increase despite industry pledges to decarbonise and the introduction of more fuel-efficient planes, driven by the massive expansion of low-cost carriers.
Continue reading...
-
Turning parking bays into green spaces and prioritising cyclists may be the fastest routes to improving urban life
Clean air, safer streets and a stable climate are among the reasons doctors and environmental experts want fewer cars clogging our roads. Reduced dependence on fuel – especially when prices are high and most countries rely on imports – is another.
Yet while some cities with world-class public transport are debating how to tackle the stubborn minority of journeys still made by car, others – particularly in the US – have become so dependent on driving that opting out is almost impossible.
Continue reading...
-
Oil firm seeks to reduce stake in carbon capture and storage projects in north-east of England after schemes fail to win over shareholders
BP plans to sell stakes in two flagship carbon capture and storage projects in the north-east of England as the company continues to retreat from the green agenda.
The oil company hopes to reduce its share in the Net Zero Teesside (NZT) project, which aims to develop the UK’s first gas power plant to be fitted with a controversial carbon capture system to remove its emissions.
Continue reading...
-
Temperature swings have left crops across the Plains in terrible conditions, with some farmers opting not to harvest
Merrill Nielsen’s wheat crop looked healthy after he planted it in the fall on his 2,500-acre farm in north-central Kansas, about 50 miles west of Salina, the plants benefiting from higher-than-normal November rainfall.
But an abnormally warm and dry winter, followed by extreme temperature variability, stressed the developing wheat. In the winter-to-spring transition, temperatures fluctuated from 70 to 80F on some days and lows in the teens or low 20s on other days.
Continue reading...
-
In this week’s newsletter: Readers have flooded the crowdfunder of Steve Green after his inspirational story of DIY environmental activism was told
• Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up here
For many people, owning a yacht is the ultimate dream. But recently I reported on what happens when that dream is abandoned, and one man’s uphill battle to clean up rotting boats left behind in Cornwall, England.
In this week’s newsletter, it’s my pleasure to revisit Cornish boat engineer Steve Green, who says he “nearly fainted” when hundreds of Guardian readers flooded his crowdfunder with donations and notes of thanks after we told his story.
The man who blew up a nuclear power station and disappeared
How car-loving American cities fell so far behind their global peers on public transit
As household bills soar, is it time for a working-class climate agenda?
Continue reading...
-
Oxfordshire’s Ray Valley Solar already generates clean energy for 7,000 homes, and is now crowdfunding storage to marry daylight with evening demand
Tucked away among hedgerows on a large field between a motorway and the River Ray, one of the UK’s largest community-owned solar parks is hard to spot from the surrounding country lanes.
But the nearly 36,000 solar panels installed on the site are literally a shining example of what can be achieved when a renewable energy project is co-owned by local people.
Continue reading...
-
As Trump ramps up pressure by cutting off fuel to the island, Havana’s refuse is rarely collected, forcing residents to burn it in the streets despite the pollution
As thick smoke spread through the narrow streets of Havana, seeping into homes, schools and shops, Carlos Blanco, a chef, opened his bedroom window to see what was going on. “I saw a mist. But it wasn’t mist – it was smoke,” he says, describing the toxic smog emanating from a smouldering mountain of rubbish.
As the US oil blockade on Cuba enters its fourth month, choking off most of the island’s fuel supplies, growing mounds of waste lie on street corners across Havana. Amid fuel scarcity, authorities have opted to ration petrol by reducing waste collection, leaving less than half of Havana’s rubbish trucks operational.
Continue reading...
-
Debate continues to rage over whether a strange carcass found in 1937 was a new species or a basking shark. Either way, the case reveals how little is known about what lies beneath the waves
Its head resembled a dog’s, its downturned nose a camel’s, and at the end of its reptilian body was the tail of a horse. Witnesses say it was covered in a thin white film. When the remains of a strange creature were pulled from the stomach of a sperm whale, most of those present agreed: it was a sea monster – or at least something unknown living in the depths off Canada’s west coast.
Crews at the whaling station in the archipelago of Haida Gwaii assembled a platform of wooden boxes and laid out the 3-metre (10ft) carcass, using a white sheet to display the curiosity that had baffled veteran whalers.
Continue reading...
