Four select committees launch joint inquiry into UK air pollution crisis
MPs say unprecedented investigation will study harm caused by toxic air and scrutinise government efforts to tackle it MPs from four influential committees are coming together to launch a joint inquiry into the scale and impact of the UK’s air pollution crisis. In an unusual development, the environmental audit committee, environment, food and rural affairs […]
Green and unpleasant land: UK countryside takes sinister twist in new exhibition
Warwickshire gallery explores how artistic, social and political forces have shaped Britain’s relationship with rural landscape Images of a green and pleasant land with a sinister undertone – where lambs gambol but a corpse might lie under a nearby hedge – feature in an exhibition examining Britain’s relationship with the countryside. The show at Compton […]
Most voters in Peter Dutton's electorate oppose subsidising Adani coalmine, poll says
Poll says immigration minister would lose election if held today and shows voters’ preference for renewable energy Most voters in Peter Dutton’s electorate oppose taxpayer subsidies for the Adani coalmine and more would prefer the government to fund renewable energy rather than coal-fired power plants, a poll has found. The ReachTel poll of Dickson, commissioned […]
Thousands join UK legal case against VW over emissions scandal
More than 35,000 motorists taking part in class action lawsuit seeking compensation for use of ‘defeat device’ on cars More than 35,000 motorists have joined a class action lawsuit against VW in England and Wales over the emissions scandal. The size of the group is increasing at the rate of 500 drivers a day and […]
Crocodile attack suspected as body found in search for Queensland spearfisher
Body believed to be that of 35-year-old Cairns man who disappeared on Saturday in far north Queensland Rescue crews searching for a Cairns man who went missing while spearfishing alone in far north Queensland have a found a body. Initial investigations suggest the man may have been taken by a crocodile, police said. Continue reading… […]
Elon Musk, meet Port Augusta: four renewable energy projects ready to go
Pumped hydro, big battery, solar thermal and solar PV and storage projects are already planned for South Australia’s power network When it comes to South Australia’s radical plans for energy storage to support its power network, all roads lead to Port Augusta – or all transmission lines, that is. Proponents of projects that include energy […]
Lambs make the most of their first hour on open land: Country diary 100 years ago
Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 24 March 1917 SURREYSheep, some fifty of them, big black-faced ewes, with about the same number of late lambs just dropped, came this morning out of a great pen at the end of the rickyard which had been put up behind the shelter of two still standing stacks […]
Churchyards are our forgotten nature reserves
Often ignored, the ancient sites in the hearts of towns and villages have become refuges for a tremendous range of plants There are thousands of wild plant sanctuaries across Britain, many in the hearts of villages, towns and cities, but they’re often ignored and forgotten. Cemeteries, churchyards and burial grounds have almost become nature reserves. […]
Green energy in a coal state: the struggle to bring solar jobs to West Virginia
Local entrepreneurs want to replace disappearing coal jobs with employment in solar – but that’s a tough move in a state that lacks the solar-friendly regulations of places like California If solar energy were Dan Conant’s only passion, the West Virginia native could have stayed in Vermont, working for a fast-growing startup in a state […]
Why I think there's still hope for the climate in 2017
Despite Trump halting reduction of the US’s vast CO2 emissions, climate change is being taken seriously around the world from China to Sweden Optimism has always been in short supply in conversations about global warming. Only for the briefest window – after the Paris climate agreement was reached in December 2015 – did the words […]