increase font size
A draft Motion prepared for the EU Parliamentary Committe for the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety in March 2016.
Draft Motion prepared by Rapporteur Mireille d'Ornano on behalf of the Europe of Nations and Freedom Group.
Donations can be made in euros, pounds sterling, US and Australian dollars and Swiss francs. All donations, however small, are very welcome. We acknowledge donations by email if we have the donor's address. Please let us know if you require a formal paper receipt.
Explosives used to move a large rock and let more water flow to cool nuclear power plant
The backstory behind this explosion is that last Friday, Romania has declared a nationwide state of emergency throughout August stemming from a decline in electricity production after record low Danube river levels disrupted power generation.
The peak of the current heatwave is expected on Wednesday and Thursday, with temperatures set to cross into 40s C and get close to all time records.
Continue reading...
Farmers battle to salvage what they can of their crops as heatwave set to continue
Britain could face shortages of certain foods after punishing drought in parts of England, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has warned as a heatwave was forecast to continue into next week.
The UK’s Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued heat health alerts for eight regions of England, with temperatures set to rise above 30C in parts of the country. UKHSA said rising temperatures may increase health risks, particularly for vulnerable groups.
Continue reading...
Fire department says two-person crew of one aircraft killed in incident during gale-force winds to west of capital
Two firefighting helicopters have collided west of Athens, killing the two-person crew of one of the aircraft, as efforts to control a massive wildfire barrelling towards the outskirts of the Greek capital intensified.
Footage showed one of the helicopters losing control in the face of gale-force winds that have pushed flames towards settlements on Athens’ western fringes.
Continue reading...
Volunteers painstakingly gather plastic pellets washing up on beaches after ship collision on 19 July
‘You’ve got a local community that really cares about the coastline,” said Alice Laverty, reflecting on the huge army of volunteers who had taken to crisis-hit beaches in north-east England with passion and only the most basic tools. “They’ve all got a dustpan, a brush, a bucket, a kitchen sieve.”
On beaches from Cambois in Northumberland to Seaburn on Wearside, up to 2,000 dedicated volunteers have been painstakingly sifting through sand to find tiny, lentil-sized pellets of plastic.
Continue reading...
Soaring temperatures continue to sweep parts of Europe, while Okinawa faces powerful winds and storm surges
Unbearable, record-breaking heat has dominated the summer of 2026 across much of Europe. New records were set in central Europe last week, with Wieselburg in Austria registering a new July peak of 40.3C (104.5F). This is particularly significant as it is just 0.2C behind the all-time high, set in the August of 2003.
However, not all of the northern hemisphere has experienced extreme heat and aridity. Vancouver recorded its wettest July since 2016 and the third wettest since 2008, with 33.6mm of rain. While that total may not appear exceptional, it is only a touch above the 1991-2020 climate average, highlighting how unusually dry July has been in the Canadian city over the past decade.
Continue reading...
Garrigill, Cumbria: The abandoned Tynebottom mine is alive with vivid orange, raspberry-ripple pink and sulphurous yellow. But it’s the cave pearls that captivate me most
At first I can’t believe that there’s a way in, the entrance is so hidden by downy willow, ferns and field rush. Just a trickle of rusty water hints at the opening to an abandoned mine. That we have to push through scrub to enter the underground world only adds to the excitement.
A long adit stretches before us, lit by our helmet torches, its arched stonework streaked and stained by minerals. We marvel at the precision and detail of the masonry, breathe in smells of damp earth and wood. Led by two miners from nearby Nenthead mines, we’re a small group of potters and artists working towards an exhibition inspired by lead mining in the North Pennines.
Continue reading...
Council leaders say crumbling infrastructure and lack of water are jeopardising government’s plans for new homes
The government’s housebuilding agenda is hitting the stark reality of a lack of water and crumbling infrastructure across the east and south-east of England.
Half the country was declared to be in serious drought this week, for the second consecutive year, with the Environment Agency warning of dire consequences for the economy, environment and wildlife.
Continue reading...
Experts say new power to bypass conservation and planning regulations are incredibly broad and could let the state effectively fast-track any project it wants
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
Matt Wood gives Neville a pat behind his ear – as if the one-tonne Droughtmaster bull were an oversized labrador puppy – while his wife, Caitlin, watches hundreds of pasture-fed hens scratch beneath old macadamia trees her dad planted.
Their talk is of building their regenerative agricultural operation amid the rainforests at the top of Springbrook mountain: adding goats to control fireweed and maremma to protect their chooks from wedge-tailed eagles and letting wild trees grow.
Continue reading...
In the 1990s, scientists in Australia began searching for the origins of a new disease showing up in places hundreds of kilometres apart. They discovered the origin: bats. And found a way to reduce the risk of bat disease spillovers
The virus could have appeared in many places on the east coast, but it is a strange coincidence, in the light of later scientific discoveries, that it first became known in the Brisbane suburb of Hendra. The high school is named Aviation High, and the streets are bordered by the international airport and aerospace buildings to the east.
Hendra today is a booming suburb just off the M1 motorway, but for much of the 20th century the neat rows of houses enjoyed pastoral space on the outskirts of the city. When the Eagle Farm racecourse was built, Hendra became the horse-racing hub of south-east Queensland. It was common to see horse floats parked out the front of the houses and trainers walking their horses down the streets before daybreak.
Continue reading...
Alfred Drummond-Herdman’s extraordinary timelapses have been viewed by millions – and led him to identify new species
Alfred Drummond-Herdman is possibly the only person in the UK who is sent animal faeces in the post out of goodwill. His bedroom in Edinburgh is full of the stuff: clothes have been removed from his wardrobe and cupboards, replaced with terrariums and plastic containers housing sections of cowpats, grouse droppings and rabbit pellets.
“I have a very understanding housemate,” he says.
Continue reading...Theo became the first British baby to be operated on in the womb to correct complex gastroschisis, as part of a pioneering clinical trial.
Just picked your holiday book? Our choices can subconsciously reveal important parts of our personality, studies show.
The UK is seeing a sharp rise in cases - 67 since April - with many of them among travellers returning from Mexico.
Since October, the morning-after pill has been made available free-of-charge at high street pharmacies under a new scheme in England.
In a letter to the PM, the Conservative leader offers to work with him on adult social care reform.
A No 10 source says it is an attempt by the prime minister to show he is "hitting the ground running".
Ed Hunt, 37 and from the UK, voluteered after seeing news reports of the deadly Ebola outbreak in DR Congo.
The Lampard Inquiry hears from experts about Oxevision technology.
Extreme heat can take a toll on mental health - and young people and women are among the groups most at risk, according to one study.
Fampridine boosts nerve signals to make it easier to walk, with up to 5,000 eligible.
Deep in the mountains of Palawan, Conservation International scientists are capturing what few people ever see: the secret lives of the Philippines’ rarest species.
At Maido — the Lima restaurant recently crowned the best in the world — one of the star dishes is paiche, a giant prehistoric river fish.Its journey to the table begins on a small family farm deep in Peru’s Amazon.
“Jane Goodall forever changed how people think about, interact with and care for the natural world,” said Daniela Raik, interim CEO of Conservation International.
Conservation International’s Neil Vora was selected for TIME’s Next 100 list — alongside other rising leaders reshaping culture, science and society.
Climate change is happening. And it’s placing the world’s reefs in peril. What can be done?
After decades of negotiation, the high seas treaty is finally reality. The historic agreement will pave the way to protect international waters which face numerous threats.
The Amazon rainforest, known for lush green canopies and an abundance of freshwater, is drying out — and deforestation is largely to blame.
The ocean is engine of all life on Earth, but human-driven climate change is pushing it past its limits. Here are five ways the ocean keeps our climate in check — and what can be done to help.
In a grueling and delicate dance, a team led by Conservation International removes a massive undersea killer.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. These pictures might be worth even more. An initiative featuring the work of some of the world’s best nature photographers raises money for environmental conservation.
