The European Union’s record on clean beaches and dirty air | Letters
The coalition of rightwing politicians backing Brexit consists of climate change deniers, environmentalist cynics and no-holds-barred free-marketeers. For George Eustice to claim the UK’s environment will be top of a list of priorities if Britain decides to leave the European Union is, frankly, ridiculous (Minister attacks ‘spirit-crushing’ green directives, 31 May). The big environmental challenges […]
Coastwatch volunteers are no substitute for a professional anti-smuggling force | Letter
It is not surprising that small ports are being used to import goods and people illegally (Dispatch Norfolk, 4 June). Successive governments have cut customs staff due to their doctrinaire policies of reducing civil service staff numbers. Thirty years ago every small port had its own customs officer, and there also were coast preventive men […]
Australian coastline battered by storms and floodwaters – video
Huge swells and strong winds batter the New South Wales coastline in Australia, causing flooding and dangerous conditions in Sydney and the surrounding areas. Evacuation notices have been issued in areas including Lismore, the Cooks River and Chipping Norton amid heavy rainfall, with the stormy conditions set to continue into Monday Continue reading… Source: Guardian […]
Tide: The Science and Lore of the Greatest Force on Earth review – ebbs and flows
Hugh Aldersey-Williams’s scholarly survey of the history of tides, from the Bristol Channel to the Bay of Fundy, is enlightening The subtitle of this book gives pause. The greatest force on Earth? Typhoons, volcanos and earthquakes humbled by a few metres’ change in the level of seawater? There is little in the early chapters to […]
Protecting those who defend the environment is a matter of human rights | John H Knox, Michel Forst and Victoria Tauli-Corpuz
On World Environment Day, we urge governments to address the growing threat to activists and indigenous people by bringing those who harm them to justice The enjoyment of a vast range of human rights, including rights to life, health, food, water, and housing, depend on a healthy and sustainable environment. Today, on World Environment Day, […]
Woman found dead off Perth after suspected shark attack
A woman who was reportedly a diver is found dead with injuries ‘consistent with a shark attack’ A 60-year-old female diver has been killed by a large shark in Perth’s north, less than a week after a surfer was fatally mauled south of the city. Insp Danny Mulligan told reporters the woman was diving with […]
Protest and oil sheen on Columbia river follow Oregon train derailment
Townspeople rally to demand halt to shipping of volatile oil by rail Booms deployed on river to contain spill from unknown source Environmental crews worked on Saturday to contain a sheen of oil that appeared in the Columbia river along the Washington-Oregon border after a Union Pacific train derailed and caught fire. Officials said there […]
Tiger temple scandal exposes the shadowy billion-dollar Asian trade
Campaigners hope the Thai temple raid will stir the world’s conscience – but the trafficking of tiger parts to China is a booming business A week ago it cost 600 baht (£11.50) to visit the tiger temple in Thailand’s Kanchanaburi province, west of the capital, Bangkok. Tourists moved by the spectacle of such splendid creatures […]
America's water testing problems must and can be fixed, experts say
The Flint disaster and other cities’ ‘cheating’ called criminal in nature by some, but scientists believe the remedies are fairly straightforward A tragedy of widespread testing failures in US drinking water is that experts believe the remedies are fairly straightforward – if there is political will. As the Guardian has revealed, at least 33 cities […]
France floods: third person dies as river levels begin to fall
French environment minister says she fears more bodies will be found as waters recede in central villages A third person has died in France from the country’s worst flooding in decades, as the death toll across Europe reached at least 17 in a week. The French prime minister, Manuel Valls, did not give any details […]