Ask Alys: how do I care for my banana plants in winter?
‘Cover it with something to keep the rain off. Some people use upturned dustbins’ In the spring I bought two small banana plants. They have grown well on my south-west-facing patio, but I’m not sure how to care for them now winter is approaching. Should I bring them inside, fleece them or maybe even cut […]
Thomas Piketty calls for investors to divest from fossil fuels ahead of climate talks
Economist says Paris summit offers a decisive moment in history for investors to move out of the dirty fuels that put the ‘public’s wellbeing at risk’ Thomas Piketty has called for investors to move their money out of fossil fuels ahead of landmark UN climate change talks. The French economist, along with ‘ecological economist’ Tim […]
Thomas Piketty and Tim Jackson: responsible investors must divest from fossils fuels now | Letters
Science, ethics and economics are intersecting to form a clear market signal: in the lead-up to the COP21 climate talks, responsible investors should divest from fossil fuels (Report, 13 November). At a time when the fossil fuel industry should be shifting its businesses to focus on renewable energy, it is doing the opposite, doubling down […]
Heavy rain warning for northern Britain in wake of storm Abigail
Met Office issues amber warnings, the second highest, and Environment Agency says parts of northern England face significant river flooding Areas of north-west England, Yorkshire and north Wales, as well as all of Northern Ireland, have been warned to be prepare for heavy rain on Saturday after storm Abigail left thousands without power and closed […]
What do 'corporate values' actually mean? An interactive dictionary
Companies like to tout their corporate values, which often include terms such as ‘authentic’ and ‘green’. But what do these words actually mean? Explore our interactive dictionary of some of the most commonly used terms in corporate values. Click on the contents to read more Continue reading… Source: Guardian Environment
Big business should rebalance demands of shareholders with wider issues
The Samarco disaster in Brazil could be as big a corporate disaster as Deepwater Horizon – is corporate governance failing employees and the planet? The bursting of two dams at the Samarco iron ore mine in Brazil means there is another corporate scandal facing big business. The Anglo-Australian mining company BHP Billiton and its Brazilian […]
'We’ve become a mature city': residents' thoughts on Mexico's capital
From transport and gentrification to community initiatives, readers from Mexico City shared their stories and photos of life in the capital – and how it’s changing Throughout our special Mexico City week, we’ve welcomed residents’ stories of the Mexican capital today and how it is changing, in order to understand a fuller and broader view […]
Brazil's slow-motion environmental catastrophe unfolds
Toxic mudslide from collapse of dams spreads as BHP Billiton fined $66m Nine people are now confirmed dead, and a further 19 remain unaccounted for as a slow-motion environmental catastrophe continues to unfold following the collapse of two mining dams in Brazil’s mineral-rich state of Minas Gerais. Eight days after the town of Bento Rodrigues […]
Volkswagen car sales fall more than 5% in wake of emissions scandal
VW sales drop by 1.5% in Europe but rise in North America in October, a month after it admitted rigging nitrogen oxide tests Volkswagen car sales fell worldwide last month as the German carmaker counted the cost of the emissions rigging scandal. VW sold 490,000 cars of its namesake brand last month, 5.3% fewer than […]
Extreme weather, human error and why the world floods
Since 2007, Gideon Mendel has photographed lives turned upside down by floods. What do his latest images reveal? • See more images from Gideon Mendel’s flood project Hein Thi Tran’s house in southern Vietnam floods several times a year. When she and her husband built it 15 years ago in Number 1 Village, Khanh Hoi, […]