Crowdfunding scheme salvages ‘imperfect’ fruit and veg following the country’s wettest autumn, winter and spring on record
When 31-year-old Dutch farmer Bastiaan Blok dug up his latest crop, the weather had taken a disastrous toll. His onions – 117,000 kilos of them – were the size of shallots.
“We had a very wet spring and a dry, warm summer, so the plants made very small roots,” said Blok, who farms 90 hectares in Swifterbant, in the reclaimed province of Flevoland. “Half of them were less than 40mm and normally at this size they aren’t even processed. We would have probably sold them for very little for biomass, or maybe to Poland for onion oil. It’s either far too wet and cold, or far too warm and dry, and there’s no normal growing period in between.”
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
06/29/2024 - 12:00
06/29/2024 - 04:00
Angela Richardson accuses campaigners against polluted water of putting Conservative MPs in danger
The 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 were talking about the problem was “because the Conservatives let everyone know it was happening”.
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06/29/2024 - 02:00
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 have to make sure that this is a strategy and a policy that is the opposite of being done on the backs of the poor.”
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06/29/2024 - 01:00
RHS reports 35% surge in orders, while garden designers note pond trend at Hampton Court Palace flower show
A pond boom is happening in Britain’s gardens as people try to halt wildlife loss by digging water sources for amphibians and other aquatic life.
Data from the Royal Horticultural Society shows a marked increase in sales of pond greenery; their online store had a 35% increase in sales of pond plants for 2023 compared with 2022.
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06/29/2024 - 01:00
Lycra, neoprene, polystyrene and other potential pollutants have become near-ubiquitous but there are alternatives – if you know where to look
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Pre-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 there’s usually a premium to pay if you want to minus cheap plastic from the mix. So why not borrow the plastic that already exists from friends, family or your local Library of Things. And don’t forget your reusable cutlery and containers for eating and drinking à la plage. If you can’t track down beach essentials from these sources, these are the other best ways to avoid seaside plastic pollution.
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06/28/2024 - 11:52
The Coral Triangle, also known as the Indo-Australian Archipelago, is renowned for having the greatest marine biodiversity on our planet. Despite its importance, the detailed evolutionary history of this biodiversity hotspot has remained largely a mystery. An international research team has now shed light on this history, reconstructing how biodiversity in the region has developed over the past 40 million years.
06/28/2024 - 11:52
A new study explores waste management systems and reveals that achieving zero waste leakage by 2030 is unlikely, potentially jeopardizing related Sustainable Development Goals. The authors emphasize the need for global cooperation, particularly across four regions, to responsibly manage waste disposal.
06/28/2024 - 10:44
Incident reignites concerns over crackdown on media before crucial UN climate talks in Baku later this year
Western journalists were refused entry to an energy industry conference in Azerbaijan earlier this month, reigniting concerns over the state’s crackdown on the media ahead of crucial UN climate talks in Baku later this year.
At least three journalists from the UK and France have told the Guardian that they felt “unsafe” after they were denied entry to the Baku Energy Week forum, despite registering with the event organisers weeks in advance.
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06/28/2024 - 09:42
Climate groups and anti-war activists say bank using reported £20m deal to ‘hide its multitude of sins’
Wimbledon is facing calls to drop Barclays as a sponsor over the bank’s ties to fossil fuels and defence companies supplying Israel.
Ahead of the 2024 championships, which begin on Monday, climate groups and anti-war activists say the bank is using the event to “cover up its role” in funding the climate crisis and to “hide from accountability for its role in enabling Israel’s war crimes”.
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06/28/2024 - 06:00
Reform chair is hostile to net zero but is CEO of company that boasted of ‘saving hundreds of tonnes of CO2’
UK election live – latest updates
Richard Tice’s property company has enthusiastically embraced green technologies despite his public hostility as Reform UK chair to net zero targets and some of the same initiatives.
The businessman, who led the populist rightwing party until Nigel Farage took over earlier this month, was accused of hypocrisy by opponents in Boston and Skegness, where he is running as a general election candidate.
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