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Climate
Where the wild things are: the untapped potential of our gardens, parks and balconies – podcast
Gardens could be part of the solution to the climate and biodiversity crisis. But what are we doing? Disappearing them beneath plastic and paving. By Kate Bradbury
Continue reading...Temperatures 1.5C above pre-industrial era average for 12 months, data shows
Copernicus Climate Change Service says results a ‘large and continuing shift’ in the climate
The world has baked for 12 consecutive months in temperatures 1.5C (2.7F) greater than their average before the fossil fuel era, new data shows.
Temperatures between July 2023 and June 2024 were the highest on record, scientists found, creating a year-long stretch in which the Earth was 1.64C hotter than in preindustrial times.
Continue reading...Ecuador court rules pollution violates rights of a river running through capital
Ruling, based on constitutional rights for natural features like Quito’s Machángara River, appealed by government
A ruling described by activists as “historic,” a court in Ecuador has ruled that pollution has violated the rights of a river that runs through the country’s capital, Quito.
The city government appealed the ruling, which is based on an article of Ecuador’s constitution that recognizes the rights of natural features like the Machángara River.
Continue reading...‘Every step of the way, no one cared’: Queensland pensioner says solar farm next door has left her unable to sell her property
Neighbours to Kingaroy renewable energy project say vouchers for pub meals and a massage only compensation given for construction noise
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Properties like Karen Mansbridge’s usually sell within 30 days but her home has been on the market for eight months. The two-hectare hobby farm in the South Burnett region, 160km north-west of Brisbane, was receiving so few inquiries the real estate agent decided to remove the address from the listing.
Interest picked up – until buyers were reluctantly given the address. “They’d fly over it on Google Maps and go ‘nup’,” her real estate agent says.
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Continue reading...Deadly Flooding and Landslides in Nepal
To Save Life on Earth, Bring Back Taxonomy
Pakistan Withers Under Deadly Heat and Fears the Coming Rains
Blockade Australia plans more climate protests disrupting Newcastle trains, saying disobedience is the only option
NSW government condemns ‘reckless’ actions in Hunter region as more than 200 rail services cancelled and 26 people arrested since 25 June
It was right on sunrise when Ian Fox, 67, began dangling above a busy railway on a cold Newcastle morning.
The South Australian hadn’t been in the Hunter for long before he suspended himself above the train lines on 25 June. As he hung there, a sign was unfurled below him that said: “Survival depends on non-compliance.”
Continue reading...‘Potentially historic’ heatwave threatens more than 130 million across US
Temperatures could crest 100F (38C) in many regions after breaking records and sparking dozens of wildfires
A long-running heatwave that has already broken records, sparked dozens of wildfires and left about 130 million people under a high temperature threat is about to intensify enough that the National Weather Service has deemed it “potentially historic”.
The NWS on Saturday reported some type of extreme heat or advisory for nearly 133 million people across the nation – mostly in western states where the triple-digit heat, with temperatures 15 to 30 degrees fahrenheit higher than average, is expected to last into next week.
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What Do Bagged Chickens Have to Do With Sliced Cheese?
David Lammy faces a world in turmoil: five key concerns for foreign secretary
Challenges include two wars and global inertia on the climate crisis as hard-right populists from France to the US flex their muscles
• David Lammy: ‘Britain has to start reconnecting with a dangerous, divided world’
More than two years after Russia invaded Ukraine, the conflict drags on. Ukrainian forces are depleted and they need foreign weapons. Support for Ukraine crosses most party lines in Europe, but if Donald Trump wins the US election and cuts or limits the flow of arms, Europe may struggle to fill the gap. Lammy will want to shore up public support, bolster European collaboration, and map out what resources the continent can collectively offer Ukraine if the US steps back.
Continue reading...Heat-related deaths in Phoenix, Arizona, have nearly doubled this year
The city just had its hottest June on record, with 175 possible heat deaths so far this year – an 84% increase
Heat-related deaths in the hottest major US city have almost doubled compared with the same period last year, after Phoenix experienced its warmest ever June on record.
The number of possible heat deaths reported by the Maricopa county medical examiner was 175 as of 29 June – a staggering 84% increase over the same period last year.
Continue reading...As the E.V. Revolution Slows, Ferrari Enters the Race
Map Predicts Future Chance of Power Outages From Hurricanes
The week around the world in 20 pictures
War in Gaza, Britain’s general election, fires in California and the Tour de France: the last seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists
Continue reading...Greens to push Labour to ‘be braver’ on climate, sewage and cost of living
Party co-leader and new MP Carla Denyer says election shows voters ‘have had enough of incremental change’
The Green party will push the incoming Labour government to “be braver” on key issues, from the climate crisis and sewage in rivers to housing and tax, according to Carla Denyer, the party’s co-leader and one of its four new MPs.
The party quadrupled its number of MPs, beating Labour in Bristol Central and Brighton Pavilion and the Conservatives in Waveney Valley and North Herefordshire.
Continue reading...Weatherwatch: Buckwheat, miracle crop for a future of extreme heat
It’s not a grain, but the seed of a plant related to rhubarb, and is gluten-free, insect friendly and tolerant of drought
Most Britons will not be familiar with buckwheat. It’s not really part of our traditional cuisine, although we may have eaten some. But in many part of the world the seeds are part of the staple diet, for example as an eastern European porridge called kasha, Japanese noodles and American waffles. It’s not a grain, and is not a type of wheat; buckwheat is the seed of a plant related to rhubarb, and is likely to became a useful alternative crop for arable farmers as global heating bites.
A new study that compared wheat and buckwheat success rates in a high carbon dioxide atmosphere, plus the temperatures and drought conditions that we can expect in the coming decades, found buckwheat survived and produced its crop of seeds in conditions that killed wheat or severely curtailed grain production. Buckwheat also has the advantage of being gluten-free and rich in fibre and minerals. Because it flowers for months, it is also a favourite for bees and other insects. One plus for farmers is it likes poor soils so no expensive fertilisers are needed.
Continue reading...Can the Labour Party Bring Back Britain’s Green Groove?
The Guardian view on Hurricane Beryl: the west can’t sit this out | Editorial
An unprecedented storm has caused devastation. Caribbean states need support
The islands that have been hardest hit by Hurricane Beryl will take years to recover. Nine out of 10 homes on Union, which is part of St Vincent and the Grenadines in the eastern Caribbean, were damaged or destroyed on Monday. On Carriacou, which is part of Grenada, hardly any buildings were left unscathed. On Tuesday, the Grenadian prime minister, Dickon Mitchell, described the situation as “almost Armageddon-like”.
The course taken by Beryl meant that Jamaica, which is home to nearly 3 million people, did not receive its full force as had been feared. But houses and roads were flooded, and a woman was killed, taking the overall death toll to at least 10. Barbados and other islands were also damaged.
Continue reading...Hurricane Beryl barrels through Cayman Islands after battering Jamaica
Category 3 storm with wind speeds of up to 120mph continues to wreak ‘utter devastation’ in Caribbean
Hurricane Beryl is barrelling through the Cayman Islands after causing death and destruction in Jamaica.
The British overseas territory is bearing the brunt of the hurricane, which has been causing “utter devastation” in the Caribbean since Monday, when it almost destroyed parts of Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
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