increase font size
Draft Motion for a Resolution prepared for the EU Parliamentary Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, March 2016
Draft Motion prepared by Rapporteurs Pavel Poc (Socialists and Democrats Group), Kateřina Konečná on behalf of the European United Left and Nordic Green Left group, Bas Eickhout of the Greens / European Free Alliance Group, Piernicola Pedicini of the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy Group, Mark Demesmaeker, Sirpa Pietikäinen and Frédérique Ries. This draft Motion was carried forward for the vote in a Parliamentary Plenary Session in April 2016.
Donations can be made in euros, pounds sterling, US and Australian dollars and Swiss francs. All donations, however small, are very welcome. We acknowledge donations by email if we have the donor's address. Please let us know if you require a formal paper receipt.
highlights Poisons Beware Glyphosate: EU draft Motion, March 2016
Rosetta’s Kitchen in North Carolina now dishes up donated animal products to weather steep losses and feed people in need – but not all are happy with the change
One day in October, a trailer with an unusual delivery pulled up outside Rosetta’s Kitchen, a beloved vegan restaurant in downtown Asheville, North Carolina.
The contents: 1,500lbs of donated frozen meat, destined for area residents eating free meals at the restaurant after Hurricane Helene battered the region in late September.
Continue reading...
Ministers set out plans for outlawing neonicotinoids but considering application by farmers to use Cruiser SB
Bee-killing pesticides are to be banned by the UK government, as ministers set out plans to outlaw the use of neonicotinoids.
However, the highly toxic neonicotinoid Cruiser SB could be allowed for use next year, as ministers are considering applications from the National Farmers’ Union and British Sugar.
Continue reading...
Protester Anna Holland says their shock at being behind bars was quickly followed by a stronger feeling of power
Anna Holland, 22, was one of two young peoplefrom Just Stop Oil who threw tomato soup overa sunflowers painting by Vincentvan Gogh – one of thehighest-profile climate protests of recent years. The painting was not damaged, although there was damage to the frame.Holland was sentenced to 20 months in prison.They sent this letter to the Guardian abouttheir experiencebehind bars.
It was a shock at first that the judge had gone to the extreme of our sentence. The first few days and nights in prison were hard but also such an education. So many of the women I have met here are in prison because they were not properly protected by the state, so they have taken me under their wing. I have been looked after, taught the ways of prison, not by the staff but by the other prisoners. It is like nothing I had expected and it is completely overwhelming – but also surprising how quickly I found myself falling into the daily routine.
Continue reading...
As the deadly fungal disease tightens its grip, scientific efforts to protect ash trees are advancing
The UK is home to more than 100m mature ash trees, and every spring tells the same grim story: leaves emerge, wither and drop within weeks, as ash dieback disease tightens its grip.
Millions stand dead in woodlands and hedgerows across the British Isles, with an estimated 2bn seedlings and saplings at risk. Many experts have long feared the future of this cherished, ecologically important native tree hangs in the balance.
Continue reading...
New research comes as dozens of small potential fields have received some form of license from the government
Potential new North Sea oil and gas fields with early stage licences from the UK would emit as much carbon dioxide as British households produce in three decades.
The finding has led to calls to the government to reject demands from fossil fuel producers for the final permits needed to allow their operations to go ahead.
Continue reading...
Scientists surprised to find so many animals unknown to science in Alto Mayo, a well-populated region
Researchers in the Alto Mayo region of north-west Peru have discovered 27 species that are new to science, including a rare amphibious mouse, a tree-climbing salamander and an unusual “blob-headed fish”. The 38-day survey recorded more than 2,000 species of wildlife and plants.
The findings are particularly surprising given the region’s high human population density, with significant pressures including deforestation and agriculture.
Continue reading...
Critically endangered grasslands in Tasmania’s Midlands were being destroyed by agriculture, but an innovative partnership has protected the remaining ecosystem – and local farmers’ profits
When Tasmania’s lowland native grasslands were first recommended for national listing as a critically endangered ecosystem in 2007, mistrust between farmers and conservationists was high.
“We walked out of a stakeholder meeting in the Ross pub,” says Simon Foster, whose family have been farming on the Midlands since 1823.
Sign up to receive Guardian Australia’s fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter
Continue reading...
Researchers in North Carolina used underwater sonar to map a system created by enslaved people centuries ago
As a former deputy state underwater archaeologist, Mark Wilde-Ramsing can’t help but look down. While rowing around North Carolina’s Eagles Island, at the tip of the Gullah Geechee corridor, he noticed signs of human-made structures, visible at low tide. Though he’d retired, he was still active in the field and knew his former agency hadn’t recorded the structures – which meant he had come across something previously undocumented. The next step was figuring out exactly what he’d found.
Wilde-Ramsing knew the area had once been full of rice fields. His neighbor, Joni “Osku” Backstrom, was an assistant professor in the department of environmental sciences at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington whose specialty was shallow-water sonar, and he had the skills and technology to explore the area. Using a sonar device, the duo detected 45 wooden structures in the river, and the remote sensing tool allowed Backstrom and Wilde-Ramsing to acoustically map the canal beds.
Continue reading...
Wreckage from Spain’s worst natural disaster this century may have been cleared but life for many remains in disarray
The warm Valencia air, still thick with dust and carrying a residual note of mud and damp concrete, begins to reek on the approach to the roadside dump where diggers toil, gulls scavenge and the detritus of countless everyday lives rises in mounds.
Almost two months on, the legacy of the worst natural disaster to hit Spain this century is equally evident in the oranges rotting on the trees, in the tens of thousands of cars stacked in makeshift graveyards, and in the fatigue of all those who still queue daily for food, nappies and toilet roll.
Continue reading...
Here are the simplest ways to have a sustainable summer holiday
With Australia’s love of an annual beach holiday comes a revolving door of new “must have” gear: sunshades, blow-up toys, fold-out chairs and endless gadgets to keep us entertained.
But how much of it do we really need, and what are the simplest ways to reduce your environmental footprint in the sand?
Continue reading...Surgeries will be financially rewarded if patients with long term conditions see the same GP each time.
AI can spot patterns in the data from blood tests that can give an early warning of disease.
Public-health experts are calling for minimum pricing to stop further rises in harmful drinking.
Jodee Seeley tells BBC Newsnight she is considering legal action against Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Hospice leaders had warned they were being forced to close beds closing due to financial pressures.
Emily Handstock says she feels the pain women endure has been "normalised" by society.
Hospitals say they often struggle to recover costs, particularly when patients return overseas.
Jamie Lonsdale made a donor plea on Facebook and was delighted when Lauren Lane answered the call.
NHS England medical director warns hospitals under strain after sharp rise in flu cases.
Leading end-of-life doctors warn system is struggling, and changing law could make situation worse.
Conservation International researchers in Peru have uncovered a wealth of wildlife, including species new to science.
As 2024 comes to a close, global temperatures are at an all-time high — topping the previous hottest-year on record: 2023. Yet amid this backdrop, research consistently shows nature is a powerful climate ally.
“Invest in one woman, and that ripples out to her family, her community and beyond. It changes people’s lives.”
In southern Africa, grasses can beat the heat better than trees, according to Conservation International research.
An unheralded breakthrough at the recent UN biodiversity conference highlights the often-overlooked connection between our health and the planet’s, a Conservation International expert says.
A recent study on climate solutions downplays nature’s potential, two Conservation International experts say.
A new study found that seaweed forests may play a bigger role in fighting climate change than previously thought — absorbing as much climate-warming carbon as the Amazon rainforest. But not all seaweed forests are created equal.
For the conscientious consumer, finding the perfect present can be a challenge. Not to worry, Conservation International's 2024 gift guide has you covered.
A Conservation International scientist shares what can be done to prevent an ‘outright alarming’ future for whale sharks.
A new Conservation International study measures the cooling effects of forests against extreme heat — with eye-opening results.
