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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Teesdale, North Pennines: In this stretch between farmland and riverbank, the plant life is thick, and harbouring legions of insects and larvae
The poet Molly Holden celebrated edgelands like this footpath, where the passage of the plough never quite reaches. “The pieces of unprofitable land,” she wrote, “are what I like best.” The narrow path, between steep riverbank and farmland, links uncultivated triangular corners of the field, each headland bordered by the sweeping arc of waterlogged tractor ruts and hedges. They’re refuges for mugwort, docks, goosegrass and brome grass, now withered, weatherbeaten and run to seed, providing food for birds and replenishing the soil seed bank for the future. These are Holden’s “memories of former wilds”, the frontline in the annual tussle between arable and nature.
In winter the frontier, tilled and seeded, moves close to the edge of the path; any closer and the tractor might topple down a gully. Within weeks a counteroffensive begins, as red dead-nettle and speedwell seedlings appear among regimented rows of sprouted wheat. Come spring, the wild bridgehead advances further into arable territory. By next summer this path will be bordered with wild flowers, concealing runs of field mice that pilfer ripening grain.
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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.
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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?
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Popular in Victorian times, they are sustainable, a good source of protein and brilliant for biodiversity, say those championing the bivalves
A splash of white wine, a handful of basil leaves and a few minutes preparation are all it takes to transform mussels that 24 hours ago were filtering seawater off the south Devon coast, into a delicious starter.
At the training kitchen in London’s oldest fish market, Billingsgate, in Poplar, we learn that fresh mussels require two vital preparation steps that the vacuum-packed, cooked variety don’t: “debearding” or pulling off the “byssus” thread that attaches the shell to rocks and other substrate, and the discarding of any with broken or open shells
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Balcony solar panels can save 30% on a typical household’s electricity bill and, with vertical surface area in cities larger than roof space, the appeal is clear
They are easy to install, and knock chunks off electricity bills. It may not be Romeo and Juliet, but Spain’s balcony scene is heating up as the country embraces what has hitherto been a mainly German love affair with DIY plug-in solar panels.
Panels have already been installed on about 1.5m German balconies, where they are so popular the term Balkonkraftwerk (balcony power plant) has been coined.
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