As the Line fire exploded, dense smoke made it difficult to breathe and heat became ‘intolerable’, but work carried on
Life as a roofer in Florida’s sweltering heat: ‘It feels like 120F’
Uncontrolled wildfires ripped across southern California amid a startling late summer heatwave this month, shrouding the region in thick, dark smoke as temperatures climbed past 110F (43.3C).
But Cynthia Ayala, a ramp agent at one of Amazon’s largest air freight hubs, had to report to work anyway.
Continue reading...
Breaking Waves: Ocean News
10/03/2024 - 09:00
10/03/2024 - 07:23
Nature was the painter’s ultimate muse, and he would have admired those seeking to protect it
Nadya Tolokonnikova is the creator of the feminist art collective Pussy Riot and former political prisoner
I woke up to a call from Vincent van Gogh today. He told me he wants the Just Stop Oil protesters who threw soup on his Sunflowers to be released immediately. I nodded and promised to do everything I could to ensure Phoebe and Anna would be freed soon. Our conversation continued. “What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?” Van Gogh remarked. “We must try and keep courage alive.”
He sounded upset about the sentence given the other day to Just Stop Oil activists – two years in jail for Phoebe Plummer, 23; 20 months for Anna Holland, 22. I sympathise with him. He seemed crestfallen that two young women were being thrown behind bars because a judge deified him and his painting, which, in Van Gogh’s mind, was not meant to be venerated, but instead inspire young artists and activists to do exactly what Phoebe and Anna had done – to push the boundaries of life and art even further, and raise uncomfortable questions.
Nadya Tolokonnikova is the creator of the feminist art collective Pussy Riot and former political prisoner
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...
10/03/2024 - 07:00
A row over sea life, lice and livelihoods is dividing communities as the government plans to end open-net pen farming in British Columbian waters
On a clear August morning, Skookum John manoeuvres his fishing boat, Sweet Marie, out of the Tofino harbour and into the deep blue waters of Clayoquot Sound on Canada’s west coast.
On shore, the late summer sun shines on visitors from all over the world who have flocked to the bustling fishing town on Vancouver Island, where they wander in and out of surf shops, art galleries and restaurants and pile into small boats in the hope of glimpsing orca, humpback and grey whales.
Continue reading...
10/03/2024 - 04:00
Study uncovers vivid and poignant accounts of reefs as high as houses off countries including UK, France and Ireland
Only a handful of natural oyster reefs measuring at most a few square metres cling on precariously along European coasts after being wiped out by overfishing, dredging and pollution.
A study led by British scientists has discovered how extensive they once were, with reefs as high as a house covering at least 1.7m hectares (4.2m acres) from Norway to the Mediterranean, an area larger than Northern Ireland.
Continue reading...
10/03/2024 - 04:00
Colombian environment minister Susana Muhamad once worked for Shell. Now, as the country gears up to host the biodiversity Cop16, she is calling for a just transition away from fossil fuels
She is one of the biggest opponents of fossil fuel on the world stage – but Susana Muhamad’s political career was sparked in the halls of an oil company. It began when she resigned as a sustainability consultant with Shell in 2009 and returned home to Colombia. She was 32 and disillusioned, a far cry from the heights she would later reach as the country’s environment minister, and one of the most high-profile progressive leaders in global environmental politics.
Muhamad joined Shell an idealistic 26-year-old. “I really thought that you could make a huge impact within an energy company on the climate issue, especially because all their publicity was saying that they were going to become an energy company, meaning they will not be only a fossil fuel company,” she says, when we meet in the Colombian embassy in London.
Continue reading...
10/03/2024 - 04:00
Forests around world being changed from carbon sinks into carbon sources, making it harder to slow global heating
Wildfires are burning through the carbon budget that humans have allocated themselves to limit global heating, a study shows.
The authors said this accelerating trend was approaching – and may have already breached – a “critical temperature threshold” after which fires cause significant shifts in tree cover and carbon storage.
Continue reading...
10/03/2024 - 02:43
Social media stars of 367 Collins Street welcome baby birds to the nest
Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
Joy can be hatched in the most unexpected places. On Thursday, it was nestled into the ledge of a skyscraper in Melbourne’s CBD, where two peregrine falcon chicks entered the world for the first time.
The newest members of Melbourne’s favourite family hatched in the morning on top of 367 Collins Street, witnessed by more than 1,000 viewers on the building’s rolling live feed.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...
10/02/2024 - 23:00
Experts are calling for ‘rapid rescue package’ for nature to improve condition of protected sites
The amount of land that is protected for nature in England has fallen to just 2.93%, despite government promises to conserve 30% of it by 2030, new data reveals.
Campaigners are calling for a “rapid rescue package for UK nature”, as government delegates head to Cop16, the international nature summit, which will take place from 21 October in Colombia. They intend to ask other countries to stick to ambitious nature targets.
Continue reading...
10/02/2024 - 14:47
Global evidence has revealed that women's environmental quality of life is key to their overall quality of life and health, according to a new study.
10/02/2024 - 14:24
A grueling heatwave resulted in five students being treated for ‘general weakness’ during a sports meet
As a grueling heatwave baked the US south-west this week, there were reports of at least three students being taken to the hospital with heat-related injuries. The injuries highlight the effects of extreme heat on health as the country struggles to grapple with increasingly severe weather amid the climate crisis.
Cal Fire and the fire department in Riverside, east of Los Angeles, reported responding on Tuesday afternoon to a junior high school and high school cross-country meet in the city where they evaluated five juvenile patients for “general weakness”. Three were transported to a hospital for further evaluation, the agency said.
Continue reading...
