Scientists say atmospheric levels of damaging gases peaked five years ahead of projections, as substances phased out
International efforts to protect the ozone layer have been a “huge global success”, scientists have said, after revealing that damaging gases in the atmosphere were declining faster than expected.
The Montreal protocol, signed in 1987, aimed to phase out ozone-depleting substances found primarily in refrigeration, air conditioning and aerosol sprays.
Continue reading...
Breaking Waves: Ocean News
06/11/2024 - 13:02
06/11/2024 - 10:53
Liv Garfield’s pay included a £584,000 bonus despite firm’s £2m fine for spilling 260m litres of sewage into River Trent
The boss of Severn Trent Water has been awarded a £3.2m pay deal, including a £584,000 bonus, despite the company being fined £2m for spilling 260m litres of sewage into the River Trent.
Liv Garfield, who has been the head of the utility firm for a decade, saw her pay increase by 2.1%, bringing her total take-home pay during her time as Severn boss to more than £28m.
Continue reading...
06/11/2024 - 10:47
Conservationists criticise ‘disappointing’ and ‘dangerous’ move to allow harpooning of fin whales after curbs last year
Iceland has granted a licence to Europe’s last whaling company to kill more than 100 animals this year, despite hopes the practice might have been halted after concerns about cruelty led to a temporary suspension last year.
Animal rights groups described the news as “deeply disappointing” and “dangerous”.
Continue reading...
06/11/2024 - 09:09
Record-breaking temperatures in the last few years shatter the myth that air conditioning alone will keep people safe
Gloria Gellot, 79, takes a careful seat in a kitchen chair in front of her only air-conditioning unit, massaging her knees. She’s hung a sheet in the doorway to keep the cool air in the kitchen, and drawn shades to keep the sun – already blazing in May – out of her second-floor New Orleans apartment. Her home was badly damaged by Hurricane Ida in 2021, and heat radiates from the gutted walls.
“All the heat’s up here,” she says. “I don’t have to go out in the sun. I get a suntan inside.”
Continue reading...
06/11/2024 - 08:58
In the run-up to July's general election, the Guardian video team is touring the UK looking at the issues that matter to voters. After swimmers and rowers fell sick from sewage discharges into the River Thames we went to the seat of Henley and Thame to see how environmental concerns rank for voters in a seat that has been Conservative for more than 100 years
Continue reading...
06/11/2024 - 07:00
New research reveals levels of ethylene oxide more than 1,000 times above previous measurements
The air throughout south-east Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley” is probably being poisoned with a highly carcinogenic gas at levels much higher than previously thought, new research reveals.
Using cutting-edge equipment that more accurately checks for the gas, ethylene oxide, which is primarily used in plastic production, researchers found levels more than 1,000 times above previous measurements, and about 10 times higher on average than regulators’ modeling.
Continue reading...
06/11/2024 - 02:00
Institutions alleged to have given billions of dollars to oil and gas companies involved in projects that are harming the rainforests
Five of the world’s biggest banks are “greenwashing” their role in the destruction of the Amazon, according to a report that indicates that their environmental and social guidelines fail to cover more than 70% of the rainforest.
The institutions are alleged to have provided billions of dollars of finance to oil and gas companies involved in projects that are impacting the Amazon, destabilising the climate or impinging on the land and livelihoods of Indigenous peoples.
Continue reading...
06/11/2024 - 01:00
Families in Taranto, Italy, watch their kids play in polluted soil in the shadow of a steelworks, knowing that many people there have lost their lives to cancer. Lisa Sorgini captures their struggle
Continue reading...
06/11/2024 - 00:00
Open letter signed by naturalist Chris Packham and comedian Paul Whitehouse says pollution from United Utilities treatment plants is degrading lake
The next government must give Windermere greater protection from sewage pollution, campaigners including the naturalist Chris Packham and the comedian Paul Whitehouse have urged in an open letter to all party leaders.
The campaign group Save Windermere, which organised the letter, says the lake has huge ecological significance, is home to rare and protected species and brings in about £750m to the economy. But the signatories, who include the Wildlife Trust, the countryside charity the CPRE and WildFish, say it is being degraded by sewage pollution from United Utilities treatment plants.
Continue reading...
06/10/2024 - 22:54
Prime minister says there will be ‘regrettable’ consequences for global relationships after Liberal leader won’t commit to 2030 target
Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has accused Peter Dutton of being “afraid of the future” and risking “chasing away” investment in clean energy in Australia, after the opposition leader confirmed the Coalition will not set a 2030 emissions reduction target unless it wins the next election.
Albanese called Dutton’s stance “absurd”, highlighting confused messages from the Coalition about its climate policy, and saying any backtrack on Australia’s emissions reductions commitments would be “walking away from the Paris agreement”.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup
Continue reading...
