From farm workers in Brazil to India and the US midwest, shifting to a schedule where it’s dark out could mean dangerous conditions and less food
This story was produced by Grist and co-published with the Guardian.
For years, Josana Pinto da Costa ventured out every morning on to the waterways lining Óbidos, Brazil, in a small fishing boat. Gliding over the murky, churning currents of the Amazon River basin, her flat nets brought in writhing hauls.
Continue reading...
Breaking Waves: Ocean News
12/11/2024 - 12:00
12/11/2024 - 11:00
Marginalised communities have been elevated during hearings in The Hague on impact of climate crisis
The village of Veraibari in Papua New Guinea sits at the mouth of the Kikori River, just before it opens into the Pacific. “Veraibari was so beautiful when I was a child,” remembers Ara Kouwo, 52. “I used to walk down to the beach passing under mango trees.”
Kouwo’s testimony was one of many included in written submissions to the international court of justice (ICJ) before hearings that began last week and continue until Friday in a landmark case in which the court has been asked to give an advisory opinion on “the obligations of states in respect of climate change”.
Continue reading...
12/11/2024 - 10:15
Factory to move from making offshore blades to onshore under deal with government to keep half of 600 staff
The wind turbine maker Vestas has said it will cut 300 jobs at its Isle of Wight factory.
Staff at the plant in Newport have been told at least half of its manufacturing operation, which employs 600 people, will be cut amid changing demand for turbine blades.
Continue reading...
12/11/2024 - 10:00
Exclusive: Complaint says Equinor is unlawfully connected to Israel’s Delek Group, which has been flagged by UN human rights commissioner
The Norwegian oil company Equinor is being sued over alleged business links to the Israeli energy company Delek Group, which has been flagged by the UN high commissioner for human rights for operating in illegal settlements in Palestinian territory.
A legal complaint being filed on Thursday by Greenpeace Norway claims Equinor has breached Norway’s transparency act by failing to conduct proper due diligence or limit damage from its connection to Delek Group. The act aims to aid companies “in meeting challenges of human rights abuses”.
Continue reading...
12/11/2024 - 09:00
Mapping based on documents released under right-to-information laws show proposed areas include habitats for 37 threatened species
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
Environmentalists have released what they say are the first maps of nearly 40,000 hectares of protected Tasmanian native forests that the state government plans to open to logging in what critics have described as “political point scoring”.
They suggest significant parts of the state’s north-east around the Ben Lomond national park and near the town of Scottsdale could be made available to the forestry industry if the Liberal government wins support for the changes in parliament. A smaller area of forest could be opened up in the north-west between Smithton and Wynyard.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...
12/11/2024 - 08:04
Access to balanced diet also affected by inflation and Brexit, hitting most vulnerable households hardest
UK politics live – latest updates
Numbers of hungry and malnourished households in the UK are on the rise because of climate breakdown and inflation, government figures show, with poorer, younger and disabled people hit hardest.
Many households worry about food running out, cannot afford balanced meals, experience hunger and have missed meals in the past 30 days, the figures reveal.
Continue reading...
12/11/2024 - 07:00
Residents accuse the oil firm of overstating the benefits of its ethane cracker plant – and playing down the harms
Nadine Luci lives on a breezy hill south-western Pennsylvania, but hardly ever opens her windows for fear the air outside is harming her.
“I have to live in a cocoon year-round,” she said.
Continue reading...
12/11/2024 - 07:00
Palau plans to allow more fishing in its marine sanctuary, as countries across the region seek to balance conservation with economic needs
Dotted across the north-west of the Pacific Ocean, the limestone islands of Palau rise like forested domes. Beneath the waves, reefs pulse with activity – fish dart through coral gardens, turtles drift nearby, while sharks with black-tipped fins shadow a passing tourist boat.
Nearly a decade ago, the country took a bold step to safeguard this vibrant seascape, declaring 80% of its waters a no-fishing sanctuary.
Ngerukewid, also known as the ‘Seventy Islands’, is a group of dozens of small, raised coral islands nestled within Palau’s lagoon.
Continue reading...
12/11/2024 - 07:00
Move to ban TCE and perc, commonly used in everyday products, will make it hard for Trump to undo rules
The US Environmental Protection Agency has banned perc and TCE, toxic chemicals that are widely used in everyday products but strongly linked to cancer and other serious health problems.
The move comes after the first Donald Trump administration killed the process to limit the chemicals’ uses, but the bans make it difficult for the second Trump administration to undo the rules.
Continue reading...
12/11/2024 - 04:00
Harnessing wind, hydro and maybe geothermal power, the tiny Canary Island of El Hierro is blazing a trail for sustainable energy – and the secret is all in the mix
Words and photographs by Ofelia de Pablo and Javier Zurita
A vertiginous outcrop with more than 500 volcanoes, El Hierro, the most westerly of the Canary Islands, is less than 12 miles (20km) wide but features elevation differences of more than 1,500 metres. Swept by strong Atlantic winds and pockmarked with volcanic craters, it has spent the past decade harnessing its natural features to create clean electricity – with the goal of being the first island to reach self-sufficiency in energy.
Now, the island is reaching new milestones. Energy generated by wind and water has enabled its 11,000 inhabitants to be completely self-sufficient in electricity for 10,000 hours since its renewables project was established.
Wind turbines not only produce most of the energy needed for islanders’ daily use, but also El Hierro’s three desalination plants, which supply water to the island
Continue reading...
