-
Labour knows it needs to win over the ‘sea wall’ cohort of coastal voters in the next election. But as anger over inequality grows, time is running out
It is a lovely sunny autumn day in Ramsgate on Britain’s Kent coast, and quintessential seaside chippy Peter’s Fish Factory is doing a roaring lunchtime trade. Across the road, at the entrance to the town’s pier, local MP and chair of the newly reformed coastal parliamentary Labour party (PLP), Polly Billington, is having her photo taken.
In between shots she shows us the community art project that adorns the fence along the entrance to the pier. It is made up of pictures, drawn primarily by local children and young people, of the 65 little ships that set sail earlier this year from Ramsgate to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuation.
Continue reading...
-
Tensions grow after research in England finds there may not be enough water for planned carbon capture and hydrogen projects
Tensions are growing between the government, the water sector and its regulators over the management of England’s water supplies, as the Environment Agency warns of a potential widespread drought next year.
Research commissioned by a water retailer has found water scarcity could hamper the UK’s ability to reach its net zero targets, and that industrial growth could push some areas of the country into water shortages.
Continue reading...
-
Purwell Ninesprings, Hertfordshire:A chilly evening spent interpreting rustles and admiring the silhouetted trees – now that’s what I call a bargain
I used to regard November as the D month. Dank. Dismal. Dreary. Depressing. That is, until I discovered the Dark. My conversion took place on Black Friday 2019, as I sat alone in a Bedfordshire wood under a sliver of moon.
With eyes slowly acclimatising, I started to pick out night’s nuances – the pale suggestion of leaves underfoot, a glimmer of eyes? What surprised me, though, was the sound. Behind me, the woodland stream continued flowing as loudly and vigorously as by day, yet it seemed incongruous in the darkness, as if the water should be slowing and quietening, preparing to bed down for the night. The irrepressible gushing dispelled any anthropocentric notion that the natural world is a diminished place after dusk.
Continue reading...
-
Exclusive: UCL scientists find large swathes of southern Europe are drying up, with ‘far-reaching’ implications
Vast swathes of Europe’s water reserves are drying up, a new analysis using two decades of satellite data reveals, with freshwater storage shrinking across southern and central Europe, from Spain and Italy to Poland and parts of the UK.
Scientists at University College London (UCL), working with Watershed Investigations and the Guardian, analysed 2002–24 data from satellites, which track changes in Earth’s gravitational field.
Continue reading...
-
Photographers Mathias BraschlerandMonika Fischercapture the families, farmers and fishers who have been forced to leave their homes by extreme weather – and the landscapes they left behind. Introduction by Dina Nayeri
In 2009, Swiss photographers Mathias Braschler and Monika Fischer set out to document the people suffering the first shocks of the climate crisis. They had just returned from China, where rapid, unregulated development has ravaged the natural landscapes. Back home, though, the debate still felt strangely theoretical. “In 2009, you still had people who denied climate change,” Braschler recalls. “People said, ‘This is media hype.’” So the couple, working with the Global Humanitarian Forum in Geneva and supported by Kofi Annan, began The Human Face of Climate Change, a portrait series that showed the people on the frontline of a warming world.
Sixteen years later, climate change is no longer up for debate; the urgent discussions now revolve around solutions. Braschler and Fischer, too, have shifted their focus. “This is going to be one of the central issues for humanity,” says Braschler, “and we want to make sure that people know that the major effect of climate change will be displacement.”
Continue reading...
-
Exclusive: Concerns over impact on health and environment, as well as £1.63bn in avoided landfill tax
The UK is estimated to have at least 8,000 illegal waste sites, containing approximately 13m tonnes of rubbish, research has revealed.
The scale of the criminal dumping means at least £1.63bn of landfill taxes have been avoided, according to an analysis of data from the satellite company Air & Space Evidence, shared with the Guardian and Watershed Investigations.
Continue reading...
-
Experts lay out scale of changes needed in ‘first-of-its-kind national emergency briefing’ in Westminster
A host of eminent scientists have warned politicians, business and community leaders that the UK risks severe climate-related risks to its economy, public health, food systems and national security.
According to its organisers more than 1,000 corporate bosses, senior civil servants and civic leaders were set to assemble in the Methodist central hall in Westminster for the “first-of-its-kind national emergency briefing” on Thursday morning.
Continue reading...
-
Climate activists from the Rising Tide organisation have stopped coal ships from reaching Newcastle port – for a day or two. What’s their real objective?
Annabelle* knew before she paddled into the world’s largest coal port that she might be arrested. The 71-year-old arrived in Newcastle on Sunday with thousands of others to join Rising Tide, one of Australia’s largest annual climate protests.
After a signal was given that a coal ship was coming, she entered the port in a kayak with hundreds of others. She managed to paddle beyond yellow buoys that marked the start of a zone the Minns government created for the duration of the protest – which gave police additional powers to arrest people. The police floated on boats just inside the zone, ready to pluck anyone out of the water who might defy their direction to turn back.
Continue reading...
-
From tool library memberships to repair kits and even refurbished electronics – here are ways to give sustainable gifts this holiday season
Here is the uncomfortable truth about gift-giving: many fun-to-unwrap baubles get used twice, shoved in a drawer, and eventually hauled off to Goodwill or the landfill. So for anyone who cares about the climate crisis or the environment, the holidays are a minefield of cognitive dissonance: you want to give loved ones something meaningful, while cringing at your own consumerism. It’s a dilemma, but it doesn’t have to be.
There are thoughtful ways to give without adding to the problem, or better yet, giving gifts that make the right kind of difference. We’re not talking about carbon credits or vague promises of planting trees – the gifts here can extend the life of things you already own, replace single-use waste, or fund conservation work directly. Some I have tested myself; others come from trusted organizations with long track records and verifiable credentials. Here are some gift ideas that you and your eco-minded recipient can both feel great about.
Continue reading...
-
Tweaks to state laws mean many Americans will be able to benefit from small, simple plug-in solar panels
Acquiring solar panels at home can be an expensive hassle for people in the US. But small, simple, plug-in solar panels for use on balconies are soon to become available for millions of Americans, with advocates hoping the technology will quickly go mainstream.
Earlier this year, Utah became the first state in the country to pass legislation allowing people to purchase and install small, portable solar panels that plug into a standard wall socket.
Continue reading...
