Many of the roughly 100,000 units are illegal and do not conform to codes, making them a hazard for fires and floods
Josh Alba had lived in an illegal basement apartment in Queens, New York, for almost five years. Despite the low ceilings, he savored his chance to afford housing without roommates. But his tenure there ended during Hurricane Ida.
He’d been asleep on his couch as the rain started falling. He only woke up when his cat smacked him in the face, and he noticed water coming in from outside, rising to at least an inch on the floor.
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08/30/2024 - 08:00
08/30/2024 - 06:45
Defra sources say some licensed culls will continue until 2026 but it is highly unlikely any new ones will be granted
Badger culling will end in England by 2029, the government has said.
Some culls under existing licences will continue until 2026, according to sources at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), but it is highly unlikely any new ones will be granted.
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08/30/2024 - 05:01
Etienne Stott among Extinction Rebellion protesters to call for citizens’ assembly to tackle climate crisis
An Olympic gold medal-winning canoeist will be among climate activists protesting in Windsor this weekend to demand the Labour government takes climate action seriously.
Extinction Rebellion, which is organising the three-day event, which began on Friday, said it had been disappointed by the new administration’s lack of action on reducing fossil fuel emissions.
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08/29/2024 - 23:00
Discovery of Apis florea in Malta raises fears of devastating impact on native bee populations
The red dwarf honeybee has established a colony in Europe for the first time, scientists have found.
The bee, Apis florea, is native to Asia and its discovery has raised alarm among local beekeepers and conservationists, who fear the potentially devastating impact on native bee populations.
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08/29/2024 - 20:30
Sydney passes 30C on Friday while Brisbane expected to reach mid-30s during weekend
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Sydney has recorded its hottest August day since 1995 as parts of Australia swelter through a warm and windy end to winter, and what is almost certain to be the country’s hottest August on record.
The city’s official weather station at Observatory Hill recorded a maximum of 30.3C at 2.48pm. The city’s overall record August temperature set in 1995 was 31.3C.
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08/29/2024 - 14:14
The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world
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08/29/2024 - 13:08
Researchers predict that 12.7% of marine teleost fish species are at risk of extinction, up fivefold from the International Union for Conservation of Nature's prior estimate of 2.5%. Their report includes nearly 5,000 species that did not receive an IUCN conservation status due to insufficient data.
08/29/2024 - 13:08
A new study paves the way to understanding biotic recovery after an ecological crisis in the Mediterranean Sea about 5.5 million years ago. Researchers have now been able to quantify how marine biota was impacted by the salinization of the Mediterranean: Only 11 percent of the endemic species survived the crisis, and the biodiversity did not recover for at least another 1.7 million years.
08/29/2024 - 12:39
Before biomass firm is promised a penny extra from billpayers, Ed Miliband should commission a review of its business model
A finding that you submitted dodgy data to the regulator on where your wood pellets come from sounds like very bad news if, like the biomass power generator Drax, you are the lucky recipient of £500m-plus of subsidies every year and are trying to keep the handouts flowing beyond their scheduled end date of 2027.
But shares in Drax did not collapse on Thursday. City analysts judged that the end of Ofgem’s investigation represented an excellent development for the company – “a clear positive”, said RBC, and “a positive read-across” for the chances of getting a new contract with the government, thought Jefferies.
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08/29/2024 - 12:24
Climate change will move and reduce the land suitable for growing food and timber, putting the production of these two vital resources into direct competition, a new study has found.