Environment RSS Feed

From eternal darkness springs cast of angels and jellied jewels

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT

Beyond the reach of the last tendrils of sunlight, far beneath the waves, lies the planet’s largest — and strangest — habitat. Although long thought too extreme for any form of life, a decade-long exploration has revealed a startling range of exotic new species and alien ways to eke out a living in the perpetual darkness.

'Rain like this happens once every 1,000 years'

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:46 GMT

The full and devastating impact of England’s worst recorded day of rain was still emerging last night as tributes were paid to a policeman swept away by floodwaters while trying to save others.

Google spyware will help vigilantes save rainforests

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:01:07 GMT

Environmentalists across the world are to be enlisted as armchair detectives to monitor satellite images of rainforests and report any illegal logging.

New Forest stags are put off their rutting by a horde of intruders

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT

They gather before dawn in some of Britain’s wildest places, anxious that their rituals are not observed. But the growing number of these usually shy, secretive creatures is alarming naturalists who claim that they are disturbing other species.

Weather eye: Fierce gale helps Admiral Sir Edward Hawke launch attack

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:28:56 GMT

Stormy weather helped to win a crucial naval battle 250 years ago. It was during the Seven Years’ War and Admiral Sir Edward Hawke commanded a force blockading the French fleet in Brest, Brittany. But in November 1759 a gale blew up and Hawke’s ships were forced to take refuge in Torbay, Devon.

Storms pummel Britain as floods predicted

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:35:37 GMT

Heavy rain and high winds pummelled Britain today as forecasters warned that flooding would spread across the country.

Women’s carbon print is small but climate change hits them harder

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT

Women have a lower carbon footprint than men but are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of global warming, according to the United Nations’ State of World Population report.

Birth control: the most effective way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Investing in birth control to reduce population growth could be more effective in cutting greenhouse gas emissions than building wind turbines or nuclear power stations, according to a United Nations report. Taking action to prevent one billion births by 2050 would save as much carbon dioxide as constructing 2 million giant wind turbines.

Weather eye: Remnants of Hurricane Ida set to bring heavy rain

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:29:19 GMT

Be warned — if you are feeling battered and bruised from the recent onslaught of gales, there is more to come. Another gale is due to lash the western side of Britain hard today and tomorrow with strong winds and heavy rainfall — up to about 100mm (4in) or more could fall on higher ground. Those downpours have been beefed up by the remnants of an old tropical storm, Hurricane Ida, which recently pummelled the US with record rainfalls in many places.

Obama aims for Copenhagen agreement that can take immediate effect

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT

President Obama has attempted to restore confidence in international negotiations on climate change by saying that next month’s UN summit in Copenhagen should deliver an agreement on emissions with “immediate operational effect”.

John Healey unveils proposal to do away with planning permission for wind turbines

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT

Wind turbines standing as high as 15 metres (50ft) will be allowed on farmland and industrial estates without planning permission, under proposals to boost renewable energy.

25 years after Live Aid, Ethiopia tries to cover up a new famine

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT

It wasn’t famine that killed Jamal Ali’s mother. She died in a cholera outbreak that swept through their Ethiopian village when at last the rains came. Twenty-five years later Jamal, now a parent himself, is lining up for handouts in a food distribution centre in Harbu, Amhara, His prematurely aged face, hollow with hunger, creases further when asked about this unwelcome return. “It is a very bitter feeling. No one likes this begging. I am ashamed,” he said.

Fishing quota will lead to extinction of bluefin tuna, warn conservationists

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT

Conservationists have accused the organisation charged with ensuring the survival of the bluefin tuna of pushing the fish to extinction.

World leaders deal major blow to Copenhagen climate change deal

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:01:35 GMT

A key element of the international plan to address climate change is in jeopardy after several of the most powerful nations failed to confirm a previous commitment to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Britain cuts down forests to keep ‘green’ power stations burning

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT

Britain is set to plunder the lungs of the world to feed its growing hunger for wood to burn in power stations.

Global warming is not our fault, say most voters in Times poll

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT

Less than half the population believes that human activity is to blame for global warming, according to an exclusive poll for The Times.

Greenland’s ice sheet is melting faster than ever, data shows

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT

Greenland’s ice sheet is melting at an accelerating pace, according to the most detailed observations to date. Until now scientists had been unable to establish whether the loss of the ice sheet had speeded up significantly since the 1990s. Using two independent measurement techniques, the latest study reveals that the melting accelerated rapidly over the period 2000-2008.

Government’s emissions target is unachievable, says study

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT

Britain has no chance of meeting its main carbon-reduction target because it lacks the engineering and manufacturing capacity to deliver the required renewable energy, a study has found.

The quest to find alternative sources of renewable energy is taking to the skies

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT

Man’s search for renewable power is about to take to the skies. Companies and inventors are casting their hopes — and millions of dollars — upwards as they seek to exploit the strong, steady winds circling the planet at higher altitudes.

Government imposes ‘carbon capture levy’ to fund coal-fired power plants

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT

Families will pay a new levy on electricity bills for at least the next 20 years to fund technology designed to capture the carbon from coal-fired power stations.

Ten nuclear stations to be built in bid to prevent energy shortage

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT

Ten nuclear power stations are to be built in Britain at a cost of up to £50 billion as the Government tries to prevent the threat of regular power cuts by the middle of the coming decade.

Carbon ration account for all proposed by Environment Agency

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT

Everyone should be given an annual carbon ration and face financial penalties if they exceed it, under a proposal by the Environment Agency.

Chris Smith - the respectable radical who is plotting a green revolution

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT

Chris Smith is the respectable radical. He was the first openly gay MP. As the Culture Secretary in Tony Blair’s Government, he pioneered free admissions to museums. Later, from the back benches, he masterminded opposition in the House of Commons to the war in Iraq. Now Lord Smith of Finsbury wants to start a green revolution — and the mild-mannered rambler might just succeed.

Obama set to announce US target for cutting emissions at summit

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT

President Obama is preparing to break the deadlock in negotiations on a global deal on climate change by announcing a target for cutting US greenhouse gas emissions.

All hope is lost for Copenhagen climate treaty, British officials say

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT

A world treaty on climate change will be delayed by up to a year and is likely to be watered down because countries with the highest greenhouse gas emissions are refusing to commit to legally binding reductions.