Wood barrels circle the world and can be used for more than a century. They tell a story, but they’re imperiled by tariffs
No one at Tucson’s Hamilton Distillers knows exactly what wood the cognac barrels holding whiskey are made of.
“Probably Spanish oak?” one employee ventures a guess. The age of the barrels is also a question mark. No one working here is old enough to vouch for that; the distillery believes they are anywhere from 100 to 125 years old, which is old in the grand scheme of barrels’ lifespans, but not unusual. But it can say with certainty, using records of its vintages, that these barrels are on their fifth use – at least.
Continue reading...
Breaking Waves: Ocean News
05/12/2025 - 13:00
05/12/2025 - 10:00
Karenia mikimotoi algae can suffocate fish, cause haemorrhaging and act as a neurotoxin, one expert says
Get Guardian Australia environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as an email
More than 200 marine species, including deepwater sharks, leafy sea dragons and octopuses, have been killed by a toxic algal bloom that has been affecting South Australia’s coastline since March.
Nearly half (47%) of the dead species were ray-finned fish and a quarter (26%) were sharks and rays, according to OzFish analysis of 1,400 citizen scientist reports.
Get Guardian Australia environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as an email
Continue reading...
05/12/2025 - 10:00
Long-term reform is not going to be easy, but we have now wasted 15 years and everyone has lost, especially the natural world
Get Guardian Australia environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as an email
Long overdue reform of national environment laws is unfinished business for the 48th parliament and the re-elected Albanese government.
Senator Murray Watt, a Queenslander, is well respected within the government and has a reputation for taking hard decisions and bringing together diverse stakeholders. Both of these attributes will be at a premium if the minister is to succeed where others have not.
Get Guardian Australia environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as an email
Continue reading...
05/12/2025 - 09:54
Cobalt Holdings aims to buy up supply of the metal from Glencore as slowing EV growth has pushed down prices
A cobalt trading company has said it will raise £174m in rare a stock market float in London, in a bet on demand for car batteries that defies investor nerves around the growth in electric cars.
Cobalt Holdings said it will raise $230m (£174m) in order to buy up a supply of the metal, a crucial element in electric car batteries, from the FTSE 100 mining company Glencore. The miner will invest $24m, taking a stake of about 10%, according to a statement to the London Stock Exchange on Monday.
Continue reading...
05/12/2025 - 09:52
How might floating solar energy projects impact wild birds and vice versa? A paper outlines key considerations for a growing floating solar industry.
05/12/2025 - 08:00
Exclusive: Campaigners call for energy profits levy to be made permanent to enable ‘just transition’ from fossil fuels
Making permanent the UK’s windfall tax on oil and gas producers would generate enough cash to enable North Sea workers to move to green jobs, research has found.
Cutting current subsidies to fossil fuel producers would free up yet more funds to spend on the shift to a low-carbon economy, according to the report.
Continue reading...
05/12/2025 - 03:35
Wild Justice says bill would reduce environmental protections and calls on Angela Rayner to correct statement saying it will not
A legal campaign group is planning a judicial review against the UK government’s new planning bill, arguing it will result in a weakening of environmental protections which were fought for and created over decades.
Wild Justice is calling on the housing minister, Angela Rayner, to correct a parliamentary statement in which she told MPs the bill, which applies mainly to England and Wales, would not reduce the level of protection. Her words were echoed in a letter to the Guardian from the nature minister, Mary Creagh, who stated it did not repeal habitat or species protections or give a licence to do harm.
Continue reading...
05/12/2025 - 01:00
Fourth most important food crop in peril as Latin America and Caribbean suffer from slow-onset climate disaster
The climate crisis is threatening the future of the world’s most popular fruit, as almost two-thirds of banana-growing areas in Latin America and the Caribbean may no longer be suitable for growing the fruit by 2080, new research has found.
Rising temperatures, extreme weather and climate-related pests are pummeling banana-growing countries such as Guatemala, Costa Rica and Colombia, reducing yields and devastating rural communities across the region, according to Christian Aid’s new report, Going Bananas: How Climate Change Threatens the World’s Favourite Fruit.
Continue reading...
05/11/2025 - 23:00
Sir Adrian Montague’s appearance on Tuesday offers perhaps the last chance to scrutinise utility’s dealings
Hurrah, Sir Adrian Montague, the chair of Thames Water, is scheduled to make another of his rare public appearances. On Tuesday, he will be at the environment select committee, the forum where 18 months ago he gave a strong signal that the company’s financial crisis was even worse than feared.
The shareholders, in their standoff with the regulator over bills, wanted to know the business was “investable”, said Montague. Three months later those investors decided it wasn’t and refused to put in another penny. That forced the current refinancing contest that has seen KKR, the US private equity group, chosen as preferred bidder at the end of March.
Continue reading...
05/11/2025 - 23:00
Exclusive: Decision on whether to work with turbine maker being overseen by ministers after British Steel rescue
Ministers are weighing up proposals for a Chinese company to supply wind turbines for a major offshore windfarm in the North Sea.
The government is in discussions with Green Volt North Sea over whether Mingyang, China’s biggest offshore wind company, should supply the wind turbines. Mingyang has emerged as the preferred manufacturer, but the company has sought advice from ministers on whether to proceed.
Continue reading...
