Signs of autumn change: country diary 100 years ago
Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 8 October 1915 Dandelion and hawkweed “clocks,” downy grey knobs, have replaced the yellow, many-rayed flowers that spotted with colour badly weeded fields and laneside wastes; they stand ripe for the wind to waft them far and wide. By the river the long pods of the great willow-herbs […]
Putting a price on NOx health impacts
At the heart of the VW revelations are tests for exhaust emissions of nitrogen oxides. These are a family of pollutants that become dominated by nitrogen dioxide as they mix in the air, causing most UK cities and towns to exceed World Health Organisation guidelines. Defra estimates that the UK death rate is 4% higher […]
The Guardian view on the Paris climate change summit: reasons to be cheerful | Editorial
There is still a hard road ahead, but progress on tackling the causes of global warming has far outstripped expectations Reliable weather forecasting is notoriously difficult. But with two months to go, it looks as if the sun may shine on the Paris climate change summit in December. This is the 21st meeting of the […]
VW's new chief could visit US this week
Matthias Müller expected to make the trip before he is summoned by the US authorities in response to the emissions scandal Volkswagen’s new boss Matthias Müller is expected to make a dash to the United States to apologise for the emissions testing scandal, which has rocked the global car industry. VW’s board wants Müller, who […]
Warwick University students call for closure of BP archive on campus
Student group urges chancellor to shut archive as part of protest against fossil fuels and BP’s ‘insidious’ link to university Students at one of Britain’s top universities have written to their chancellor calling on him to shut down a BP archive based at the campus library in what amounts to an escalation of campaigns against […]
French floods: 19 feared dead after storms sweep French Riviera
Violent storms and flooding send water cascading through Antibes, Cannes and Nice, inundating a retirement home and killing three people inside Nineteen people are feared dead after violent storms and severe flooding swept the French Riviera, including three people who drowned in a retirement home after a river broke its banks. Heavy flooding along the […]
'We were paying to poison our kids': lead in Michigan city's water hits children
Flint declared a public health emergency this week after a dangerous spike in its water’s lead levels. But parents say they’ve been ‘screaming’ about the issue for months in an area where water prices are among the country’s highest When Lee-Anne Walters learned in March that her son’s immune system was compromised after being exposed […]
Craig Packer: ‘Cecil the lion’s killer was unlucky and not altogether to blame’
The ecologist and author has spent 30 years researching the overhunting of lions in Africa and is deeply pessimistic about their future. Here he talks about dishonest hunting operators, the urgent need for global money, why he takes issue with animal groups – and what we’ve learned from Cecil Craig Packer likes sticking his shaggy […]
VW’s ‘neat hack’ exposes danger of corporate software | John Naughton
It was only old-fashioned detective work that forced Volkswagen to admit to the existence of its ‘defeat device’. And that should worry us all For anyone interested in what is laughingly known as “corporate responsibility”, the Volkswagen emissions-fraud scandal is a gift that keeps on giving. Apart from the company’s Nazi past, its high status […]
World Animal Day signals renewed campaign to end abusive elephant shows
Conservation charity World Animal Protection calls on leading travel companies to stop selling elephant rides and shows Leading conservation charity World Animal Protection has renewed its plea for the tourism industry to put an end to abusive elephant rides and shows, calling on leading travel brands to join the growing list of companies who are […]