Oil rig towed off rocks in Outer Hebrides
Two tug boats towed the 17,000-tonne Transocean Winner drilling rig back out to sea, after it ran aground during bad weather on 8 August A 17,000-tonne oil rig that ran aground in the Outer Hebrides has been safely towed off the rocks by two tug boats. A Stornoway coastguard spokesman confirmed to the Press Association […]
Why air conditioning is a vicious circle
Pumping heat from our cars and buildings into the outside world adds to climate change, increasing the need to stay cool Air conditioning was a luxury in Britain 40 years ago, but the long hot summer of 1976 changed that. The scorching heat that summer lasted two months and most people sweated it out indoors […]
Wen Hair Care baldness suit signals need for toxin testing in beauty products
A $26m settlement between Wen Hair Care and consumers who suffered hair loss calls attention to a regulatory gap in personal care products Last week brought news that Wen Hair Care, a celebrity endorsed “sulfate-free” shampoo and conditioner line is preparing a $26.5m settlement after a class action lawsuit over thousands of complaints of hair […]
Fragile habitats, but sturdy Ikea flatpacks | Brief letters
Grouse shooting | Sugar and schoolchildren | Ikea furniture | Uber drivers | Cryptic crossword | ‘Pithicisms’ George Monbiot is right: wholesale destruction of wildlife is obscene (The grouse shooters aim to kill, 16 August). Why no grousing, then, on the imminent destruction of the diverse habitats and endangered species, including many red list birds, […]
South-east UK set for heatwave as parts of north face floods
Temperatures in south could reach low 30s by midweek but could be 10 degrees cooler in rain-hit north South-east England is set for more hot weather while parts of the north are on flood alert. Following heavy rain in North Yorkshire, water has been gushing on to roads from White Scar Caves in Ingleton, in […]
Landfills are like Telephone poles: How the Circular Economy will allow low-income countries to leapfrog waste management
McKinsey & Company and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimate in their report, The New Plastics Economy, that 95% of the value of global plastic packaging material, worth $80-120 billion annually, is lost. This huge sum of money is being buried in the ground or swept out to sea. The vision of this report – a global […]
Enterprise Rent-A-Car becomes paid Alec member despite green efforts
Car rental company has joined conservative organization that fights environmental rules with prewritten legislation, the Guardian has learned It’s not easy enough being green for Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Though the auto rental service has trumpeted tree-planting initiatives and its fleet of hybrid vehicles, the Guardian has learned that Enterprise recently became a paying member of the […]
Climate change will mean the end of national parks as we know them
As the National Parks Service turns 100 this week, we look at how receding ice, extreme heat and acidifying oceans are transforming America’s landscapes, and guardians of national parks face the herculean task of stopping it After a century of shooing away hunters, tending to trails and helping visitors enjoy the wonder of the natural […]
Indian politician ridiculed for being carried through floods
Madhya Pradesh state chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan targeted on Twitter after being shown carried aloft by his entourage A senior Indian politician has been widely mocked after photos showed police officers carrying him through ankle-deep muddy water while inspecting deadly floods in the centre of the country. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the chief minister of […]
Historical documents reveal Arctic sea ice is disappearing at record speed | Dana Nuccitelli
Summer Arctic sea ice is at its lowest since records began over 125 years ago Scientists have pieced together historical records to reconstruct Arctic sea ice extent over the past 125 years. The results are shown in the figure below. The red line, showing the extent at the end of the summer melt season, is […]