The Guardian
New windfarms will not cost taxpayers after subsidies hit record low
Cost of supporting offshore turbines drops to less than market price for energy
New renewable energy projects will be built at no extra cost for millions of British energy bill payers after record low state-backed subsidies fell below the market price the first time.
The results of a government subsidy auction have revealed that the cost of supporting offshore wind turbines has tumbled by almost a third in two years to record lows of less than £40 per megawatt hour (MWh).
Continue reading...Meet the scientists turning algae into carbon-neutral clothes – video
The fashion industry is a fossil-fuel-guzzling operation as many of our clothes are made from petroleum-based textiles such as polyester. Even natural fibres such as cotton have a huge carbon footprint and require a large portion of the world’s pesticides.
In a bid to solve this disastrous environmental equation, scientists and designers are creating completely new textiles from fast-growing, carbon-sucking organisms such as micro- and macro-algae, mycelium (elements of fungus), bacteria and fermented yeast. These new biotechnologies efficiently convert sunlight and CO2 into mass raw materials, suck carbon out of the atmosphere and pave the way to a carbon-negative wardrobe
- Dr Mark Liu, from the deep green biotech hub at the University of Technology, Sydney, left his career as a fashion designer to focus on developing textiles made from micro-algae
- Charlotte McCurdy is a global security fellow at the Rhode Island School of Design and has created a carbon-negative raincoat from macro-algae
Australians stand up for climate change action – in pictures
Children take time off school and workers down tools to take part in the global climate strike
- Global climate strike: Greta Thunberg and school children lead climate crisis protest – live updates
Nature Conservancy’s global photo contest winners 2019
The global conservation body Nature Conservancy, working in 72 countries to tackle climate change and to conserve lands, waters and oceans, has announced its latest photo winners, selected from more than 100,000 entries
Continue reading...Man v mosquito: what to do about our biggest killer
These tiny pests adapt so successfully to changing conditions that they have become humankind’s deadliest predator. We might soon be able to eradicate them – but should we? By Timothy Winegard
We are at war with the mosquito. A swarming and consuming army of 110tn enemy mosquitoes patrols every inch of the globe except for Antarctica, Iceland and a handful of French Polynesian micro-islands. The biting female warrior of this droning insect population is armed with at least 15 lethal and debilitating biological weapons, to be used against 7.7 billion humans deploying suspect and often self-detrimental defensive capabilities. In fact, our defence budget for personal shields, sprays and other means of deterring her unrelenting raids is $11bn (£8.8bn) a year, and rising rapidly. And yet her deadly offensive campaigns and crimes against humanity continue with reckless abandon. While our counterattacks are reducing the number of casualties she perpetrates – malaria deaths in particular are declining rapidly – the mosquito remains the deadliest hunter of human beings on the planet.
Taking a broad range of estimates into account, since 2000, the average annual number of human deaths caused by the mosquito was around 2 million. Humans came in a distant second at 475,000, followed by snakes (50,000), dogs and sandflies (25,000 each), the tsetse fly, and the assassin or kissing bug (10,000 each). The fierce killers of lore and Hollywood celebrity were much further down our list. The crocodile was ranked 10th, with 1,000 annual deaths. Next on the list were hippos with 500, and elephants and lions with 100 fatalities each. The much-slandered shark and wolf shared 15th position, killing an average of 10 people per annum.
Continue reading...Climate strike: global climate change protest kicks off in Australia and Pacific – live updates
On Friday 20 September, millions of people led by Greta Thunberg and students from Sydney to Delhi, Melbourne to London and New York, will march for urgent action on climate change. Follow for all the latest school strike 4 climate news
- Climate strike in Australia: everything you need to know about Friday’s protest
- Why the Guardian is changing the language it uses about the environment
- Young strikers: ‘The crisis is already here’
1.29am BST
Absolutely huge turnout in Geelong where they’re singing and chanting.
At Geelong City Hall for the #ClimateStrike . Huge turnout pic.twitter.com/AA5Pbdo151
“No planet B” song at Geelong #ClimateStrike pic.twitter.com/5xrMAXkSzc
Townsville locals #Strike4Climate, not a single southern latte-sipper in sight. pic.twitter.com/VjAYF9qfrB
1.26am BST
First Barnesy now The Oils:
We support today’s #climatestrike - "it happens to be an emergency". Look at these average annual temps (dark red = hottest years). For everyone, especially the young, we are now at the crossroads. pic.twitter.com/k9XZoL44oE
Continue reading...Why are people striking? The climate crisis explained in 10 charts
From the rise and rise of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to possible solutions
The level of CO2 has been rising since the industrial revolution and is now at its highest for about 4 million years. The rate of the rise is even more striking – the fastest for 66m years – with scientists saying we are in “uncharted territory”.
Continue reading...Climate crisis leaving 2 million people a week needing aid – Red Cross
Charity warns of cost of doing nothing, saying contributions would need to hit $20bn a year
Two million people a week need humanitarian aid today because of the climate emergency, the Red Cross has warned, as extreme weather takes an “intolerable” toll in human suffering.
The number of people in need of interventions will double in the next three decades – from 108 million a year today to 200 million – if governments fail to act, stretching international humanitarian relief efforts to breaking point and beyond, the global charity said.
Continue reading...We can all do our bit to tackle the climate crisis | Letters
Greta Thunberg, the young Swedish climate activist, has tapped into a global passion for change from the outdated, exploitative system to a holistic and responsible one (Thunberg tells US Congress: ‘I want you to take real action on climate’, 19 September). The industrial paradigm separates materials from their histories. Forests may have been torn down, lakes polluted, people and animals displaced, but the consumer doesn’t know this. Society has taught us that it is essential to have the latest product and not to question where it came from or who was hurt in the process. The need for change has to be now.
Sometimes it is hard to know what to do. People have been led by consumerism for so long that it is difficult to see that there is another way, but there are many practical things we can do, such as: don’t fly unless absolutely necessary; eat less meat and dairy; plant a tree; create a garden with shrubs and flowers that will attract wildlife; line-dry clothes; unplug electronic devices; turn lights off when not needed; drive less; grow your own vegetables or eat local produce; don’t buy fast fashion; ask where products have come from.
Continue reading...Hundreds of Australian academics declare support for climate rebellion
Open letter says the Australian government’s inaction on the climate crisis requires civil disobedience in response
More than 250 academics at Australian universities say the federal government’s inaction on the climate crisis requires civil disobedience in response and they feel a “moral duty” to rebel and “defend life itself”.
In an open letter, professors, researchers and lecturers from more than a dozen institutions have declared support for the Extinction Rebellion movement and its global week of non-violent civil disobedience in October.
Continue reading...Nuclear energy: Nationals MPs welcome AWU support for domestic industry
Union to tell parliamentary committee it’s ‘ludicrous’ to export uranium but not benefit from the energy source at home
Nationals MPs have welcomed support from the Australian Workers’ Union for a domestic nuclear industry, as the union calls on progressives not to reject a “zero carbon compromise”.
A House of Representatives committee chaired by Barnaby Joyce will hear from the union during a roundtable discussion in Sydney on Friday, before MPs visit the Lucas Heights nuclear facility for a site visit.
Continue reading...US and Canada have lost more than one in four birds since 1970
Three billion birds have been lost across diverse groups and habitats, in what researchers describe as a ‘wake-up call’
The US and Canada have lost more than one in four birds – a total of three billion – since 1970, culminating in what scientists who published a new study are calling a “widespread ecological crisis”.
Researchers observed a 29% decline in bird populations across diverse groups and habitats – from songbirds such as meadowlarks to long-distance migratory birds such as swallows and backyard birds like sparrows.
Continue reading...Global climate strike: how you can get involved
Millions will take to the streets in global climate crisis protests from 20 to 27 September
The global climate strike kicks off on Friday and will ripple across the world in more than 4,000 locations, the start of a weeklong movement to train international attention on the climate emergency. It’s the latest of a succession of strikes on Fridays led by schoolchildren – but this time adults are invited to join in.
Continue reading...'The crisis is already here': young strikers facing climate apartheid
Young activists call for north-south solidarity to tackle climate emergency that threatens to exacerbate inequality and conflict
Carbon footprints do not get much smaller than those of young Nigerians like Oladosu Adenike. Living in a country with the world’s most extreme poverty, she has had neither the years nor the money to rack up anything more than a fraction of the gargantuan climate debt of the average elderly European or American.
Yet, in the decades ahead, it is post-millennials in the global south like her who are almost certain to suffer greater hardships, as extreme weather and what has been termed “climate apartheid” amplify existing problems of inequality, food shortages, crimes and conflict.
Continue reading...Met police plan to impose restrictions for global climate protest
Force says it will arrest those who break rules in London, as millions worldwide prepare to demonstrate
The police are planning to impose restrictions on the global climate strike in London on Friday, warning that anyone who does not comply risks arrest.
The event in London is part of what is expected to be the biggest mobilisation around the climate crisis the world has seen, with millions taking to the streets in demonstrations and strikes in cities on every continent except Antarctica.
Continue reading...Campaigners urge UN to endorse global fracking ban
Emma Thompson and Mark Ruffalo among signatories of open letter to secretary general
A global campaign backed by 450 activist groups and celebrities, including actors Emma Thompson and Mark Ruffalo, is calling on the UN to endorse a global end to fracking before the industry torpedoes efforts to tackle the climate crisis.
The open letter to the UN secretary general, António Guterres, includes signatures from individuals representing global environmental movements, universities and faith groups.
Continue reading...Burger King is giving up on free plastic toys for kids – when will others follow?
Environmental campaigners say plastic giveaways are disastrous – but will the fast-food chain’s move be the start of something?
Plastic is the wonder product of the last century: durable, flexible, versatile and cheap to produce. It is also catnip to small children, to whom it can be used to sell anything from fast food to extravagantly priced magazines; typically a few sheets of newsprint with a tiny water pistol.
But if parents think they are expensive, so may children in the future. “These toys are nothing but future landfill; the legacy our children will inherit,” says Sian Sutherland, the co-founder of A Plastic Planet, a group campaigning against pollution. “Fast-fix plastic toys are used for moments and exist for centuries.”
Continue reading...Trade unions around the world support global climate strike
Adults, businesses and trade unions asked to join youth climate campaign
Trade unions representing hundreds of millions of people around the world have come out in support of what is expected to be the biggest climate mobilisation the world has ever seen.
The global climate strike on Friday is set to see thousands of walkouts and demonstrations in cities on every continent except Antarctica.
Continue reading...Greta Thunberg and George Monbiot make short film on climate crisis – video
Environmental activists Greta Thunberg and George Monbiot have helped produce a short film highlighting the need to protect, restore and use nature to tackle the climate crisis.
Living ecosystems like forests, mangroves, swamps and seabeds can pull enormous quantities of carbon from the air and store them safely, but natural climate solutions currently receive only 2% of the funding spent on cutting emissions.
The film’s director, Tom Mustill of Gripping Films, said: 'We tried to make the film have the tiniest environmental impact possible. We took trains to Sweden to interview Greta, charged our hybrid car at George’s house, used green energy to power the edit and recycled archive footage rather than shooting new.'
Continue reading...Greta Thunberg: ‘We are ignoring natural climate solutions’
Film by Swedish activist and Guardian journalist George Monbiot says nature must be used to repair broken climate
The protection and restoration of living ecosystems such as forests, mangroves and seagrass meadows can repair the planet’s broken climate but are being overlooked, Greta Thunberg and George Monbiot have warned in a new short film.
Natural climate solutions could remove huge amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as plants grow. But these methods receive only 2% of the funding spent on cutting emissions, say the climate activists.
Continue reading...