Our Strength Lies in Our Humanity

Environment & Energy

The overwhelming consensus amongst scientists is that climate change and global warming is caused by humans; that it’s having a damaging affect on weather patters, accelerating extinction of wildlife, negatively impacting on agriculture, water supply, sea level, air quality. If we don’t radically change our diets, our fuel supply, the way capitalism recklessly plunders the world’s dwindling resources, we will enter a period of global food shortages, mass migration and conflict.


Businesses named on 'A-list' for tackling their climate impact

Businesses named on 'A-list' for tackling their climate impact Sainsbury’s, Lego and H&M feature on list that rewards shift to renewable energy and reducing emissionsSainsbury’s, Lego and H&M are among the businesses to make a prestigious A-list of companies that are deemed to be at the forefront of the charge to tackle the “existential” climate crisis.The list is compiled by non-profit group CDP which scores companies based on the environmental…

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How a Belgian port city inspired Birmingham's car-free ambitions

How a Belgian port city inspired Birmingham's car-free ambitions Ghent’s transformation produced shorter journeys, cleaner air and a cycling explosion Birmingham – once, proudly, the UK’s “motorway city” – has announced plans to entice people out of cars and on to bikes and buses. If officials get their way, the city will be split into zones, and, rather than driving direct, motorists will have to use the ring road for…

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Humans risk living in an empty world, warns UN biodiversity chief

Humans risk living in an empty world, warns UN biodiversity chief Ahead of the World Economic Forum, Elizabeth Maruma Mrema urges governments to take definitive action on climate, deforestation and pollutionHumanity will have given up on planet Earth if world leaders cannot reach an agreement this year to stop the mass extinction of wildlife and destruction of life-supporting ecosystems, the United Nation’s new biodiversity chief has warned.Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, the…

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Behind the smokescreen, the Coalition's stance on climate change hasn't changed | Greg Jericho

Behind the smokescreen, the Coalition's stance on climate change hasn't changed | Greg Jericho If Scotty from Marketing and his coal-fired peers really believed in the climate crisis, they’d be doing something about itThe speed with which the conservative side of politics and the media has gone from assuring us climate change was not a problem, so we don’t need to worry about reducing emissions, to asserting that climate change…

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Luxury travel: 50 wealthy tourists, eight countries … and one giant carbon footprint

Luxury travel: 50 wealthy tourists, eight countries … and one giant carbon footprint Despite the climate crisis, ‘no emission spared’ round-the-world holidays in private jets are selling outForget cruises. The super-rich have found a new way to see the world in the luxurious style of an ocean liner but taking a fraction of the time: private jet round-the-world tours.This week, 50 members of the wealthy elite will board a privately chartered Boeing 757 to begin a 24-day guided tour of the globe, taking in Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, the Galápagos islands and mountain gorillas in Rwanda. Continue reading… Source – Full Article https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/18/world-tour-luxury-jet

Rebels mass to prevent tree felling

Email: press@risingup.org.ukPhone:  +447459055152 / +447969083371 / +447938395439Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Media Assets #ExtinctionRebellion #ActNow #Tellthetruth #SaveColneValley #StopHS2 #StopEcocide Hundreds of activists expected to non-violently prevent HS2 tree-felling operation in the Colne Valley this weekend HS2 cancels plans for road closure and claims it has changed location of tree-felling to out-fox protesters Tree protectors remain undeterred and determined to defend the Lungs of London, home to  2,400 species of flora and fauna This comes amidst ongoing recent calls for the cancellation of HS2 from the Deputy Chair of its Review Board and from the Wildlife Trusts and environment organisations Protesters urge people to join them to defend the trees and what remains of Great Britain’s natural heritage Extinction Rebellion activists have begun to mass in the Colne Valley, to…

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Beetles and fire kill dozens of 'indestructible' giant sequoia trees

Beetles and fire kill dozens of 'indestructible' giant sequoia trees Deadly interaction between insects, drought and fire damage have forced California’s park officials to trigger climate crisis plans intended for the 2050s‘This is not how sequoias die. It’s supposed to stand for another 500 years’Giant sequoia trees, the largest living organisms on the planet – some more than three millennia old – have started dying from beetle attacks linked to the climate emergency, the preliminary findings of a new study have revealed.The deaths of the trees, some of which lived through the rise and fall of hundreds of empires, caliphates and kingdoms – not to mention the inauguration of every… Source – Full Article https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/18/beetles-and-fire-kill-dozens-of-california-indestructible-giant-sequoia-trees-aoe

'This is not how sequoias die. It’s supposed to stand for another 500 years'

'This is not how sequoias die. It’s supposed to stand for another 500 years' Giant sequoias were thought to be immune to insects, drought and wildfires. Then the unthinkable happened: trees started to die – and scientists began the search for answersBeetles and fire kill dozens of ‘indestructible’ giant sequoia treesPhotographs by Mette LampcovThe fable of the giant sequoia tree is an enduring tale of America’s fortitude. Standing quietly on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada, the Californian giants can survive almost anything – fire, disease, insect attack, cold years, hot years, drought – so the story goes. The largest living organisms on the planet can grow over 90 metres (300ft) tall. When… Source – Full Article https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/18/this-is-not-how-sequoias-die-its-supposed-to-stand-for-another-500-years-aoe

Don’t let prejudice against older people contaminate the climate movement | Anne Karpf

Don’t let prejudice against older people contaminate the climate movement | Anne Karpf Activists’ sweeping generalisations about older generations reinforce unfair stereotypesLast week Greta Thunberg and 20 other young climate activists demanded that world leaders gathering at Davos at the end of the month abandon fossil fuels. While no thinking human being could disagree with them, I find myself increasingly worried about the unthinking ageism that has crept into this movement. Related: Greta Thunberg: At Davos we will tell world leaders to abandon the fossil fuel economy Continue reading… Source – Full Article https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jan/18/ageism-climate-movement-generation-stereotypes

The week in wildlife – in pictures

The week in wildlife – in pictures The pick of the best flora and fauna photos from around the world, including an iguana and an injured leopard Continue reading… Source – Full Article https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2020/jan/17/the-week-in-wildlife-in-pictures