Ministers should be bold and radical in taking measures to boost demand in a key sector of the green transition
The resignation of the high-profile CEO of Stellantis, Carlos Tavares, was the latest sign of the ongoing crisis afflicting some of the world’s most famous carmakers, as they negotiate the historic transition to electric vehicles. Last month, Stellantis – the maker of Fiat, Vauxhall, Jeep and Peugeot cars – announced the closure of its Vauxhall van factory in Luton, in part blaming the impact of electric vehicles sales targets mandated by Westminster. Ford has announced it intends to cut 4,000 jobs across Europe, including 800 in Britain, citing sluggish growth in EV sales as a contributory factor.
For Labour, and for a sector crucial to the green transition, this is a crucial moment. The government has restored a 2030 cutoff point – kicked back to 2035 by Rishi Sunak – after which the sale of pure internal combustion engines will be banned. But car manufacturers are lobbying for a watering down of the terms of the zero‑emissions vehicles mandate (ZEV), which requires manufacturers to sell a rising proportion of EVs between now and then. Meanwhile, on the right, Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK seek to caricature the country’s net zero obligations as a virtue-signalling threat to prosperity and growth.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
12/15/2024 - 13:30
12/15/2024 - 10:00
Experts express fear – and resilience – as they prepare for president-elect’s potential attacks on climate research
As the world’s largest gathering of Earth and space scientists swarmed a Washington venue last week, the packed halls have been permeated by an air of anxiety and even dread over a new Donald Trump presidency that might worsen what has been a bruising few years for science.
The annual American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting drew a record 31,000 attendees this year for the unveiling of a slew of new research on everything from seismology to climate science to heliospheric physics, alongside a sprawling trade show and bouts of networking as scientists jostle to advance their work.
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12/15/2024 - 09:19
Ukraine accuses Moscow of recklessness due to risk of ecological damage as second tanker runs aground
A Russian tanker carrying more than 4,000 tonnes of oil products has sunk in the Black Sea amid stormy conditions while a second has run aground, threatening an ecological disaster.
The cargo ship Volgoneft-212 snapped in half on Sunday after being hit by a large wave. Video showed its bow end sticking vertically out of the water. The boat got into difficulties off the east coast of occupied Crimea, 5 miles (8km) from the Kerch strait, Russian media reported.
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12/15/2024 - 06:00
Stephanie Carrie gives tours and educates Angelenos on the importance of the urban forest – and how to improve it
On a recent Sunday morning, 25 Angelenos gathered under a large rusty leaf fig tree for a walking tree tour in a local Culver City park that was also playing host to an outdoor tai chi class as well as a group of yogis.
As we walked past Chinese elm trees, coast live oaks and Brazilian pepper trees, Stephanie Carrie shared the history of the city’s celebrated palm trees with a rapt audience. Many of today’s trees, planted in the 1930s, are approaching the end of their lives – and while they have become symbols of the city, they also guzzle water, fueling calls to replace them with drought-resistant trees.
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12/15/2024 - 01:00
‘Complete reset’ of water industry needed in face of poor service, pollution and leaks, says Steve Reed
Public anger over a significant increase in water bills to be unveiled this week will be justified, the environment secretary has warned, as households across England and Wales are forced to pay for a “catastrophic failure” of underinvestment and toothless regulation.
With the government braced for a backlash over the increases, Steve Reed told the Observer that a widespread “failure of regulation and governance” was to blame for bill rises expected to average at least 21% over the next five years. He said a “complete reset” of the water industry was needed in the face of poor service, polluted waterways and persistent leaks.
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12/14/2024 - 14:00
Despite a clever comms strategy, there are significant credibility issues around the assumptions on which the cost estimates are based
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The Coalition has moved a considerable way on climate and energy since Scott Morrisson brought a lump of coal into the parliament and told us not to be afraid. On Friday, the Coalition finally released the long-awaited details of the nuclear plan it will take to the election and, once again, asks us not to be afraid – of the price tag, the higher climate pollution and a range of other variables.
However, despite a clever comms strategy, there are significant credibility issues around the assumptions on which the cost estimates are based, and there are other critical issues that have been left unanswered. Australians have a right to consider all the issues they are being asked to vote on, with facts rather than political rhetoric. These issues can be broadly listed under three headings: the economics, the environment and the law.
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Nicki Hutley is an independent economist and councillor with the Climate Council
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12/14/2024 - 14:00
I’ve seen full bags tied to low-hanging branches and kids’ play equipment. It’s all deeply weird
This is about dog shit.
Dog shit and antisocial behaviour.
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12/14/2024 - 12:26
Unpasteurised milk, seen as both anti-government and anti-corporate, soars in popularity among conspiracy theorists and new agers
It’s 8am, and Redmond, an 11-year-old Brown Swiss dairy cow and designated matriarch of the Churchtown Dairy herd, has been milked in her designated stall. She is concentrating on munching hay; her seventh calf is hovering nearby.
The herd’s production of milk, sold unpasteurised in half-gallon and quart glass bottles in an adjacent farm store, sells out each week. It has become so popular that the store has had to limit sales.
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12/14/2024 - 10:00
Disproportionate placement of devices leaves communities of color less protected from dangerous pollutants
The Environmental Protection Agency’s air quality monitors are disproportionately positioned in whiter neighborhoods in the US, leaving communities of color less protected from dangerous pollutants like particulate matter, ozone, nitrous dioxide and lead, among others, new research finds.
Policy and actions the EPA takes to reduce pollution are developed from the monitors’ readings, and communities of color are broadly more likely to be near major polluters. The findings raise questions about whether the agency has enough monitors installed, is properly placing them, and whether conclusions about the safety of the air in some areas are sound.
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12/14/2024 - 08:43
US industry ready to drop demand to export chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef in move set to anger British farmers
The United States is expected to push Britain to allow tariff-free access to high-quality American meat as part of any trade deal signed under the incoming Trump administration, amid interest from the president-elect’s trade chief.
Previous attempts to forge an agreement with the US have failed. Demands to allow the import of chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef – produced in the US but illegal in the UK – have proved too unpalatable for British ministers.
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