Powerful cyclone causes flooding in Yemen, already hit by civil war
Most intense storm in decades sends thousands fleeing for shelter. UN says of 1.8 million people in cyclone-hit area, 1.4m already need humanitarian support A cyclone with hurricane-force winds made landfall on Yemen’s Arabian Sea coast on Tuesday, flooding the country’s fifth-largest city, Mukalla, and sending thousands of people fleeing for shelter. Officials and meteorologists […]
Arbitrary focus on hurricane wind speed has birthed a new climate myth | John Abraham
Claims of a ‘hurricane drought’ are based on an arbitrary focus on wind speed while ignoring storm pressure, power, and damage As humans warm the planet through the emission of heat-trapping gases, we expect weather to change. Some ways it has changed are clear and measurable. For instance, heat waves and droughts are setting in […]
The eco guide to hoverboards | Lucy Siegle
They have their problems, but hoverboards are much more efficient and eco-friendly than your average petrol scooter Ever since blacksmith Kirkpatrick Macmillan was fined 5s in 1842 for injuring a girl on the bike he is said to have invented, history and bylaws have been unkind to new forms of personal transport. Are self-balancing scooters […]
The cities that are cleaning up their act
We asked a panel of experts how communities from Mexico City to Belfast are becoming healthier and more sustainable How to create healthier cities – livechat There is no better example of a city turning things around – and quickly, said Seth Schultz, director of research, measurement and planning at C40 Cities. “It was not […]
Delhi's air pollution is causing a health crisis. So, what can be done?
The city’s toxic air has been linked to allergies, respiratory conditions, birth malformations and increasing incidence of cancers. But as a recent car-free experiment showed, action to cut pollution can be effective For a few hours one morning two weeks ago, private cars were banned from driving into the heart of old Delhi. It was […]
Six Start-up Finalists For Green Alley Awards Announced
Details of the six finalists for the Green Alley Awards, a prize awarded to start-ups innovating towards circular economy models, have been announced. The inaugural prize was won last year by Helsinki-based RePack, a company that put forward a business model to reuse ecommerce packaging waste. Credit: Green Alley The competition was launched by Green […]
Battery System To Create World’s First Hybrid Electric Buildings
A new deal has been announced that will see Tesla’s new battery technology used to help power 24 office buildings in California. Real estate firm the Irvine Company are investing in large battery systems (as large as five parking spaces). They expect to reduce peak grid energy consumption across their portfolio of properties by 25%. […]
Guardian Live: should we say yes to nuclear power?
George Osborne has backed a deal with China to build a new £24bn nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset. At a Guardian Live event in Manchester we asked, should the UK back nuclear power? Last month George Osborne backed a deal with China to build a £24bn nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point […]
Crocodile eggs and 3D printing: could these be champions of the Top End's Indigenous communities?
In Arnhem Land, the Northern Territory government is pinning its hopes on some unusual, but potentially lucrative, projects to increase employment Three-dimensional printing using recycled water bottles is an unlikely enterprise to be found in a remote corner of Arnhem Land, but it’s among a suite of potential ventures being explored to boost development in […]
Ubud writers festival debates massacre 'that we’re not supposed to talk about'
The 50th anniversary of Indonesia’s 1965 anti-communist purges which killed 500,000 gets public airing despite authorities’ moves to enforce silence If the Indonesian authorities hoped to silence conversation about the 50th anniversary of the country’s anti-communist purges that killed an estimated 500,000 people in 1965, their 11th-hour curbs on the Ubud writers and readers festival […]