Australia Bans More Single-use Plastics - BBC News

Sep 1, 2023 | Australia has introduced a ban on thick plastic shopping bags and mass balloon releases to cut down on single-use plastics. Authorities in three states are also banning a range of products including plastic cotton buds.

Conservationists have said that Australia has become a world leader in banning single-use plastics. Scientists say that more than 171 trillion pieces of plastics are estimated to be floating in the world's oceans.

Michael Gove Rips Up EU Rules on New Housing to Allow More Homes to Be Built

THE TELEGRAPH: Levelling-Up Secretary to scrap Brussels’ so-called ‘nutrient neutrality’ regulation, which is designed to limit harmful chemicals in rivers

Restrictive EU environment rules will be scrapped to enable 100,000 more homes to be built by 2030, Michael Gove has announced.

The Levelling-Up Secretary will scrap so-called “nutrient neutrality” rules imposed by Brussels, which the Government blames for blocking the provision of new homes, even where planning permission is granted.

The rules are designed to limit the amount of harmful chemicals that make their way into rivers, affecting wildlife. » | Daniel Martin, Deputy Political Editor | Tuesday, August 29, 2023

This government is the pits. This country is well on its way to being the sewer of Europe. Nay, of the world! – © Mark Alexander

Scrapping housebuilder water pollution rules in England to cost taxpayer £140m: Under Lords amendment, developers will no longer have to offset nutrient pollution from new homes’ sewage »

Owners of the Most Polluting Cars to Pay Double for Parking across England

THE OBSERVER: Lambeth council in London is latest to introduce emissions-based fees, with similar charges expected to be widely introduced

Owners of the most polluting cars may soon have to pay more to park as councils across England are expected to roll out new charges based on a vehicle’s CO2 emissions.

Lambeth is the latest council in London to introduce emissions-based parking fees, with similar charges now expected elsewhere in England. Owners of the most polluting cars can expect to pay more than twice as much as cleaner cars. There are now 26 different charges to park for an hour in Lambeth, depending on a car’s tax band and whether there is a diesel surcharge. The cost of a parking bay near Waterloo station in south London now ranges between £6.30 and £13.23 an hour, with payment made by an app. » | Jon Ungoed-Thomas | Sunday, Jun 18, 2023

George Monbiot: New UK PM Liz Truss Has "Extreme Neoliberal" Anti-Labor, Anti-Environment Record

Sep 6, 2022 The United Kingdom's Conservative Party has voted for Liz Truss to become its new leader, replacing Boris Johnson and making her Britain's next prime minister. Truss served as foreign secretary under Johnson and has a record of "extreme neoliberal policies," says British journalist George Monbiot. These include supporting tax cuts for the wealthy, deregulating the fossil fuel industry and refusing to regulate agricultural pollution. Monbiot also warns Truss will undermine the country's model public health system and labor rights for organizing workers.

Canada's Trudeau Under Fire for Environmental Record

Coffee Machine Capsules Spark Environmental Concerns

Zero Waste France »

Ban Bathtubs, Says Sweden's 'Green King'

King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden

THE TELEGRAPH: King Carl XVI Gustaf, once better known as a lothario, describes how he was shocked recently to find himself having to bathe, not shower

The king of Sweden wants to ban all bath-tubs in an effort to save water.

King Carl XVI Gustaf, who in recent years has put past scandals relating to his reputation as a lothario behind him to become better known as a dedicated environmentalist, has given a frank interview to describe his determination to turn the royal palace in Stockholm green.

He also suggested that having given up taking baths himself his people should follow where he has led.

“We should ban all baths, imagine that,” he said when asked about his suggestions for everyday energy saving.

The question arose when he confessed he had recently been forced to run himself a bath when staying somewhere that lacked showers. “That’s when it hit me how much water and energy it used," he said. "I thought ‘I can’t believe I’m having to do this’. I felt quite ashamed.”

The comment about a bath ban appeared to be in jest, but he added: “There’s truth in it though. It’s the small details that have an enormous effect.” » | Lisa Kjellsson | Saturday, November 21, 2015

My comment:

Doesn't this king have more important things to worry about? I would have thought that the Islamisation of his country would be uppermost in his mind. – © Mark

Is Tony Abbott's Australian Administration the Most Hostile to His Nation's Environment in History?

THE INDEPENDENT: Shark culling, dumping on the Great Barrier Reef and the felling of Tasmanian forests have made the country an ‘international laughing stock’, environmentalists say

In Western Australia, endangered great white sharks are being slaughtered. In Queensland, dredging spoil is to be dumped on the Great Barrier Reef. In Tasmania, ancient forests – harbouring some of the planet’s tallest trees – are in danger of being stripped of their World Heritage listing.

Australians could be forgiven for wondering if the federal government they elected last September is the most conservation-hostile in living memory.

Critics warn that moves by Tony Abbott and his Environment Minister, Greg Hunt, will not only degrade the country’s most outstanding natural assets, but make Australia an international laughing-stock. The UN has already threatened to list the Great Barrier Reef as “in danger” when its World Heritage watchdog committee meets in Qatar in June.

Compounding the right-wing government’s apparent disregard for Australia’s unique environment, say conservationists and scientists, is its resistance to any meaningful action to tackle climate change.

Mr Abbott has axed three key agencies, including one which supported private investment in renewable energy. So contemptuous is he of the science behind climate change – of any science, for that matter – that he has not even bothered appointing a science minister. » | Kathy Marks in Sydney | Tuesday, February 04, 2014

Pope Urges Dialogue with Islam, More Help for the Poor

REUTERS.COM: Pope Francis urged the West on Friday to intensify dialogue with Islam and appealed to the world to do more to combat poverty and protect the environment.

Speaking in Italian, the new pontiff said richer countries should fight what he called "the spiritual poverty of our times" by re-forging links with God.

"How many poor people there still are in the world! And what great suffering they have to endure!" he told the diplomats in the Vatican's frescoed Sala Regia.

Some critics of the Catholic Church, which has been struggling with scandals and internal divisions, say its rejection of contraception in particular harms the poor.

Others say it does much good in the developing world, running thousands of hospitals, schools, orphanages and hospices.

Francis made his appeal in an address to diplomats accredited to the Vatican, sending a message through them to the leaders of the 180 states with which the Vatican has diplomatic relations.

He urged them to help keep religion central in public life and promote inter-religious dialogue as a catalyst for efforts to build peace.

"In this work (peace building), the role of religion is fundamental. It is not possible to build bridges between people while forgetting God," he said.

"But the converse is also true: it is not possible to establish true links with God while ignoring other people. Hence it is important to intensify dialogue among the various religions, and I am thinking particularly of dialogue with Islam."

Francis, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, said he was grateful that many Muslim religious and civilian leaders attended his inaugural Mass on Tuesday. DIALOGUE, NOT RIVALRY » | Philip Pullella | VATICAN CITY | Friday, March 22, 2013

Prince Charles: Follow the Islamic Way to Save the World

MAIL ONLINE: ’Follow the Islamic way to save the world,’ Prince Charles urges environmentalists » | Rebecca English | Thursday, June 10, 2010