For all the initial noise against low-traffic neighbourhoods, most people like them and they can benefit the public purse
Here are four words you might not expect from me, as a former Conservative aide, so make the most of them: Louise Haigh is right. Half right, anyway. Labour’s new transport secretary has taken some flak – though not, interestingly, a vast amount - for interviews this week stating that councils that create low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), 20mph zones and bike lanes on their roads “will have my full support”.
“An abdication of responsibility,” huffed the Sun. “Labour declares war on drivers,” announced GB News, though no one was actually quoted to this effect – the shadow transport spokesperson, Helen Whately, said only that Labour “seems unable to take a common sense approach”.
Andrew Gilligan was transport adviser to Boris Johnson in Downing Street, and cycling commissioner for London 2013-16.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
08/23/2024 - 09:00
08/23/2024 - 08:00
For centuries, having a pigeon as a pet was seen as a status symbol – now a new wave of fans are praising them as loving, smart and ‘sort of chill’
Pidge is a New York City It Girl. Over 50,000 followers tune into her TikTok to learn her beauty routine or see her posing on the subway. She’s invited to book launches, where she mingles with other influencers. She loves statement bags: her newest is brat green.
Oh, and Pidge is short for Pidgey, as in pigeon – she’s a bird.
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08/23/2024 - 06:00
Turnout gear sold in Massachusetts and Connecticut must be free of toxic ‘forever chemicals’ by 2027 and 2028
Massachusetts and Connecticut are the first two states in the US to ban the use of toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” in protective gear worn by firefighters.
Turnout gear, including jackets, pants, boots, gloves and other protective equipment that firefighters wear is treated heavily with PFAS that makes it resistant to water and heat, and helps the textiles breathe.
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08/23/2024 - 05:00
Amid rising temperatures last year, unionized UPS workers made heat an issue – but despite a key contract win, workers say little progress has been made
Seth Pacic works as a United Parcel Service delivery driver in Dallas, Texas. In the summer, he has a second “full-time job”: staying cool.
Each morning, Pacic packs his cooler full of ice, water jugs and hydrating foods such as pickles and grapes. He straps frozen cooling packs to his wrists, hangs another around his neck and ensures he has powdered sports drinks and a battery-operated fan on hand.
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08/23/2024 - 04:43
August should mean peak snow depth, Jindabyne worker says, but early blast of spring threatens ‘catastrophic’ premature end to season
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Australia’s snow season has begun to melt away early as unseasonable warmth cuts snowfalls to almost half the average for this time of year, experts say.
A global-heating fuelled early blast of spring weather means the season may have peaked early, with snow fields melted by warm temperatures and washed away by showers.
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08/23/2024 - 04:21
A volcano in south-west Iceland has erupted for the sixth time since December, spraying red-hot lava and smoke. The eruptions show the challenge faced by the island country of nearly 400,000 people, as scientists warn that the Reykjanes peninsula could face repeated events for decades or even centuries
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08/23/2024 - 03:21
Schools and university shut down in Tripura state after persistent heavy rain, and situation expected to worsen
Incessant rain across Tripura, a state in north-east India, has created what has been described as the state’s worst flood situation in the last three decades. Persistent heavy rain from Monday to Wednesday resulted in several rivers exceeding danger and extreme danger marks, leading to widespread flooding that has caused the deaths of 10 people as well as displacing more than 34,000.
The southern Tripura districts had the worst of the floods and the 34,000 displaced people were being sheltered in the north of the region. There were 24-hour rainfall totals on Wednesday of 375.8mm recorded in Bagafa and 324.4mm in Belonia. The flooding and heavy rain led schools to shut down on Wednesday and Thursday, while Tripura University suspended all regular classes on Wednesday. The heavy rain was caused by a low pressure system situated over Bangladesh that is slowly moving westwards into north-east India. The situation is therefore only expected to worsen, with a further 100-150mm falling through Thursday and Friday as rivers continue to remain at breaking point.
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08/23/2024 - 02:00
The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world
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08/23/2024 - 01:00
Campaigners denounce ‘pure slaughter’, which could threaten survival of entire Scandinavian population
More than 150 brown bears have been killed in the opening days of Sweden’s annual bear hunt, as controversy mounts over what conservationists have called “pure slaughter”.
The Swedish government issued 486 licences to shoot bears in this year’s hunt, equivalent to about 20% of the remaining brown bear population. This follows a record-breaking cull of 722 bears last year. By Thursday afternoon – the second day of the hunt – 152 bears had already been shot, according to Sweden’s Environmental Protection Agency.
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08/23/2024 - 00:00
Firm says it had no idea proposed test site on Lib Dem peer’s land included part of Strathmore peatlands in Flow Country
A British arms company has abandoned plans to detonate fragmentation bombs in the middle of the Flow Country world heritage site, the Guardian can reveal.
The company, Overwatch, asked the Civil Aviation Authority this month for permission to carry out “live fire testing” of anti-personnel bombs dropped by drones on to land owned by the Liberal Democrat peer John Thurso.
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