Environment news

• Neuston, we have a problem: why do we know so little about the creatures floating on the ocean surface?

  29-06-2024 22:00 via theguardian.com
  
  They withstand ocean storms, extreme heat and may impact everything from coral reefs to the deep sea. Why has it taken so long to pay attention to the neuston?Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastIn the summer months, north-easterly winds frequently herald the arrival of bluebottles on beaches along Australia’s east coast. But while bluebottles – or to give them their more formal name, the Pacific man-of-war – are a common sight on Australian
  
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• If you’re cold and miserable this winter in your freezing Australian home, try this fun game | Deirdre Fidge

  29-06-2024 22:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Cold or Wet? You think, squishing a sock betwixt red, swollen fingers. Cold or Wet? You wonder as you slide into icy sheetsComplaining is a universal language that creates social bonds quicker than chatting about positive topics. In these economic times it is a cheap way to treat yourself. When was the last time you had a little whinge? I indulged mere moments ago. Some call it negativity, I call it self-care, and there’s no better time than winter to complain because it is so cold.My dail
  
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• Tory deputy chair dismissed sewage crisis as ‘political football’

  29-06-2024 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Angela Richardson accuses campaigners against polluted water of putting Conservative MPs in dangerThe Conservative party deputy chair Angela Richardson called the sewage crisis a “political football” and claimed opposition parties and activists had put Tory MPs in physical danger by campaigning on the issue.Richardson, who is standing for re-election in Guildford, where the River Wey was recently found to have 10 times the safe limit of E coli, also suggested the only reason people w
  
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• AI drive brings Microsoft’s ‘green moonshot’ down to earth in west London

  29-06-2024 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Tech firm’s bid to remove more CO2 than it produces is being tested as AI spawns new energy-hungry datacentresBill Gates: AI will help rather than hinder climate targetsIf you want evidence of Microsoft’s progress towards its environmental “moonshot” goal, then look closer to earth: at a building site on a west London industrial estate.The company’s Park Royal datacentre is part of its commitment to drive the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI), but that ambit
  
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• Caroline Lucas: Labour must pursue social justice while tackling climate crisis

  29-06-2024 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Outgoing Green MP calls for combined strategy to ensure net zero will not be done ‘on the backs of the poor’Labour must combine tackling the climate crisis with pursuing social justice, if elected, to show that achieving net zero will not be done “on the backs of the poor”, the UK’s outgoing Green party MP has warned.Caroline Lucas, who has held the seat of Brighton Pavilion since 2010, said: “The biggest priority is to demonstrate that is not the case. We hav
  
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• From swimwear to toys: how to go plastic-free for a day at the beach

  29-06-2024 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Lycra, neoprene, polystyrene and other potential pollutants have become near-ubiquitous but there are alternatives – if you know where to lookRead more in this seriesPre-1950, we just didn’t take plastic to the beach. Now it’s virtually impossible not to, even if it’s just you and your swimmers. “If you’re looking for plastic-free nirvana, you may never find it,” says Anne-Marie Soulsby, aka the Sustainable Lifecoach. Matters are improving – though
  
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