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Environment Agency assessments find just 14.3% of country’s surface waters in good ecological status
Every single English water body is polluted with toxic chemicals, new government data shows, while just 14.3% of surface waters achieved good ecological status.
Each of the country’s rivers, lakes and estuaries was assessed by the Environment Agency as part of a six-yearly evaluation of England’s water quality. The EA checked for a range of toxic chemicals, from Pfas – or “forever chemicals” – to microplastics. Waters were also checked against a range of standards covering wildlife, water quality and physical habitat.
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The palm-sized greengrocer is bright, loud and abundant, and has long been a collectible item for Australian children
Before marbles, stamps and trading cards, there were cicadas.
There are thousands of cicada species globally, but for Australian children the craze centres on one particularly collectible item: the greengrocer.
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As NHS told to prepare for extreme weather, strain also felt in other areas including transport and farming
The NHS has been told it must become more resilient to increasingly frequent heatwaves supercharged by the climate crisis, as the UK government puts adaptation to extreme heat high on its agenda. But what other public services are already feeling the strain?
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As another summer of extreme heat rumbles on, warnings about excess deaths, ageing infrastructure and potential food shortages are growing louder. So how well prepared is the UK to cope, both now and in the years ahead? Jessica Elgot and Alexandra Topping examine why politicians have been so slow to act.
Plus, Kemi Badenoch has distanced herself from the former neo-Nazi turned Tory council candidate Joshua Bonehill-Paine, only to offer him him an advisory role instead. What was she thinking?
You can read Jessica Elgot’s interview with the health secretary on heatwaves here
You can read about Kemi Badenoch’s action on Joshua Bonehill-Paine here
Please keep sending your comments and questions to [email protected]
Follow and subscribe to the Politics Weekly YouTube channel here
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UN forecasters warn of worsening conditions in 45 countries currently experiencing severe food insecurity
About 50 million people are likely to be pushed into acute hunger before the end of next year by the rapidly developing El Niño weather system, according to forecasting.
This is in addition to the hundreds of millions of people already facing dangerous levels of hunger, owing to years of drought in parts of Africa and pressure on food prices from the war in Iran.
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South Devon: On holiday in deeply familiar places, we swim fully clothed, snack on overhanging cherries and see the fallen Teignmouth pier
The West Country unrolls down the M4, then M5, under the kind of vintage-yellow hue produced by 35mm camera film where the light’s leaked in. Many fields have been harvested as early as we’ve ever witnessed on this deeply familiar route. Burnt black patches remind us just how flammable the countryside is.
We are exploring places we’ve only passed through before, via a farm-stay in a shepherd’s hut at West Town Farm, Ide. Our parking instructions urge us to allow the farmer to pass in her tractor. The gender reveal is so refreshing I want to cheer. Tenant Kate Sharp farms Hereford-cross beef cattle, Devon closewool and Exmoor horn sheep, as well as some lively Oxford sandy and black pigs, red as the Devon soil itself.
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Changing paved areas to grass and planting trees can reduce urban heat island effect by as much as 1C, study shows
Add together all the UK’s household gardens and they cover an area three times larger than all the country’s nature reserves combined. But as the demand for car parking increases, many front gardens are being paved over, with research showing that this loss of green is adding to the urban heat island effect, particularly at night.
In 2005, about 7.5% of the UK’s front gardens were paved; by 2025 that had risen to 55%, according to Royal Horticultural Society estimates. Those hard surfaces absorb heat during the day and then slowly release the heat overnight. By contrast, leafy green gardens release moisture into the atmosphere, which helps to cool the air as the water evaporates.
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On my TikTok I find trash that’s blowing in the wind, and mimic its movements using what I have to hand
I’ve always been interested in the concept of value and what is thought of as rubbish. When people throw things away, a perfectly good table, say, I think, “That’s still usable.” I’m a dancer and choreographer and hoard clothing – costumes from shows or pieces my mum has lent me. Sometimes, I’ll collect random things offered on Facebook.
During the pandemic I was unable to perform but became hyper-aware of everyday movements around me. On daily walks in Los Angeles, where I live, I’d notice pieces of litter being blown about. I felt as if it was trying to get someone’s attention, but nobody was looking. I thought: “What if I start mimicking it? What if I used the trash as my choreographer?”
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Forty years ago there were more than 22 sheep to every New Zealander, but wool prices and production declined with the uptake of synthetic alternatives
John Hargreaves’ family has farmed sheep and beef in Kaiwaka, north of Auckland, for generations. In the 1960s they had 3,000 ewes but in the decades since, as the value of wool declined and shearing costs grew, his flock slowly decreased to just over 1,700.
But now, for the first time in roughly six years, his wool is making money.
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Plans involve dredging and expanding docks to allow larger cruise ships to visit with up to 200,000 passengers annually
Janavi Kramer had just enjoyed a swim with friends and was sitting on a bench taking in a wonderful Cornish view – headlands plunging into deep water, bobbing boats, a bustling harbour town.
“We’re lucky to have this space,” said Kramer, who is an artist and scientific illustrator. “We use it for work, recreation and pleasure and it’s so scary to think that this could all be harmed. I worry about what we may be living with soon and what we’ll be leaving for future generations.”
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