The Independent - Environment RSS Feed

Darling urges action on climate change

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:57:41 GMT

Chancellor Alistair Darling today urged the world's most powerful finance ministers to treat climate change with the same urgency they gave to the world economic turmoil.

Ethical travel company drops carbon offsetting

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

One of Britain's leading ethical travel operators has launched a scathing attack on the carbon offset industry and has decided to stop offering offsets to its customers as a way of reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. Justin Francis, the founder of responsibletravel.com, said he had decided to abandon offsets because he believes they have become a "medieval pardon that allows people to continue polluting".

SKorea to plant trees in China to reduce 'yellow dust'

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The Seoul city government will help fund a tree-planting project in a Chinese desert to reduce the amount of harmful "yellow dust" blowing over South Korea, officials said Wednesday.

Oysters return to the Firth of Forth

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

An "extinct" animal has been found alive and well in the Firth of Forth in Scotland. Oysters were thought to have died out in the area decades ago but specimens were found at a secret location.

Britain rules out climate treaty at summit

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

British Government officials believe there is no hope of signing a legally binding climate change treaty in Copenhagen next month.

‘2012’ latest Hollywood film to reduce carbon footprint

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The Hollywood disaster movie 2012, due to hit theaters worldwide the week of November 9, is the latest in a growing number of Hollywood films to neutralize its carbon emissions.

Nice welcomes top sailing teams with bicycle scheme

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The city of Nice in France, on the Mediterranean coast, has recently become yet another popular international destination with its own cohort of bicycles available for public use.

Germany, Mexico, US top the list in smart energy initiatives: study

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Germany, Mexico and the United States have crafted some of the world's smartest policies for improving energy use, according to a study released on Thursday on the sidelines of the UN climate talks here.

Bluefin tuna on edge of extinction, environmentalists warn

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

An international fisheries group set up to protect Atlantic tuna has done the opposite and driven one species of the fish, the bluefin, to the edge of extinction, environmentalists said Thursday.

Gucci joins other fashion players in committing to protect rainforests

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The Rainforest Action Network announced on November 3 that the Gucci Group--which includes fashion houses Yves Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, and Balenciaga--has joined a growing list of major companies who are pledging to change their paper policies.

Copenhagen: What's happening?

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:30:21 GMT

Al Gore denies he is 'carbon billionaire'

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Al Gore, the former American vice-president, yesterday hit back at critics who are labelling him the first "carbon billionaire" from his earnings as an investor in green technology, dismissing them as "global-warming deniers".

Top food firm switches to sustainable palm oil

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

A leading food manufacturer says it will switch to a "sustainable" source of palm oil for its most famous brands, such as McVitie's, Jaffa Cakes and Penguin.

Green beliefs win legal protection

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Employees who raise concerns about their company's environmental practices won the right to legal redress yesterday after a judge ruled that green beliefs deserved the same protection in the workplace as religious convictions.

Al Gore follow-up to 'An Inconvenient Truth' published

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Al Gore has released a follow-up to 2006 best-seller "An Inconvenient Truth," the former US vice president's rallying cry against global warming, a statement said Wednesday.

1,147 fish species threatened with extinction: IUCN

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

More than 1,000 freshwater fish species are threatened with extinction, reflecting the strain on global water resources, an updated global "Red List" of endangered species showed Tuesday.

Vancouver 2010 medals will be made from electronic waste

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Medals for the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver will contain gold, silver, and copper from recycled TVs, computers, and keyboards that might otherwise have ended up as e-waste.

Giant climate deal is too little says UN chief

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:15:04 GMT

The giant cash deal to save the planet – proposed by Europe for the forthcoming Copenhagen climate conference – will not be enough, the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, said today.

Debategraph: Copenhagen - What’s happening?

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:48:27 GMT

The balance of probability, if the recent downbeat pronouncements from the UN are to be believed, is that the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen next month will end, like a Spike Milligan sketch, with the actors shuffling offstage, staring into the half-distance, mumbling "What are we going to do now? What are we going to do now?"

Red alert: scientists identify 17,000 endangered species

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Six years ago, tiny mustard-coloured toads could be found in their thousands living under the spray from an African waterfall. No one even knew they existed until 1996. Yet today the Kihansi spray toad will be declared extinct in the wild, a symbol of the plight facing 17,000 species that are slipping towards obscurity.

Climate change will melt snows of Kilimanjaro 'within 20 years'

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The snows of Mount Kilimanjaro – the highest mountain in Africa – may soon be falling on bare ground following a study showing that its ice cap is destined to disappear entirely within 20 years, due largely to climate change.

Snows of Kilimanjaro could vanish in 20 years: study

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The snows capping Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's tallest peak, are shrinking rapidly and could vanish altogether in 20 years, most likely due to global warming, a US study published Monday said.

Steve Howard: We need a clean industrial revolution

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:45:19 GMT

Scientists and economists agree we need to more than halve emissions by mid-century. This means every major decision - every investment decision or new policy decision – needs to be a low carbon decision.

How scientists cracked puzzle of the Falklands wolf

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:54:27 GMT

The origin of the mysterious Falkland Islands wolf, which was persecuted to extinction in the late 19th century, may finally have been solved – 175 years after Charles Darwin puzzled over the nature of this curious fox-like creature.

Why the Nasca's big mistake was to cut down the huarango tree

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

At the height of their power, the Nasca had mastered the craft of weaving elaborate textiles and the art of painting fine, multicoloured pottery. They etched giant figures in the desert that only made sense if seen from the air, and they irrigated their crops with a network of underground aqueducts.