The three sites identified for clearance include a notorious dump in Bickershaw, near Wigan, which caught fire last summer, forcing schools nearby to close. Residents living in the area have previously told the BBC they feel “forgotten about” as they are surrounded by rats, flies and an “unbearable smell”. Nicha Rowson, a beautician who has…
An experimental artificial intelligence (AI) agent broke from the constraints of its testing environment and used its newfound freedom to start mining cryptocurrency without permission. Dubbed ROME, the AI was created by Chinese researchers at an AI lab associated with retail giant Alibaba, as a means to develop the Agentic Learning Ecosystem (ALE). This effort…
If the first casualty of war is the truth, the environment can’t come far behind. The black rain that fell across Tehran two weekends ago was perhaps the most symbolic symptom of a litany of environmental devastation being wrought on Iran by the US-Israeli war machine since the start of the month. As I reported…
Eight years before he got the call telling him he had won the Stockholm water prize, Prof Kaveh Madani was being interrogated by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, accused of being a spy for the CIA, MI6 or the Mossad. Today he is in exile and on Wednesday won the world’s most prestigious water prize for combining…
Defra and the Agency have also committed to cleaning up three large-scale waste dumping sites. The plan sets out what ministers describe as a “zero-tolerance” approach to illegal dumping across England, aiming to tackle illegal activity at its source, close regulatory loopholes, and strengthen the ability of enforcement bodies to intervene earlier. Waste crime is…
You’ve almost certainly seen gatekeeper butterflies, even if you don’t know them by name. The gatekeeper is, says naturalist and butterfly enthusiast Matthew Oates, “a charming butterfly; a charming meditation of soft oranges and browns”. Traditionally found in the “scrub edges” (the borders between grassland and woods) and at hedge margins, they are frequently seen…
Today, the European Environment Agency (EEA) and its European Environment Information and Observation Network (Eionet) welcomed the Republic of Moldova as a cooperating country, extending the EEA’s country network to 32 members and 7 cooperating countries across Europe. With the EEA Management Board’s formal endorsement today, Moldova becomes the seventh cooperating country of the EEA,…
Waste criminals across England face their toughest ever crackdown, as the government and Environment Agency unveil a sweeping package of measures targeting illegal dumping. The new Waste Crime Action Plan sets out a zero-tolerance approach, with action to prevent waste crime at its source by closing loopholes and equipping regulators with the tools they need to stop waste criminals. Under the plans, the government will ramp up efforts to punish offenders committing waste crime. This could see them ordered to complete up…
PATRIZIA’s approach to new logistics A more selective approach is needed with higher vacancy rates than seen in the sector’s boom in the early 2020s (2-300 basis points higher). The sector is more than just ‘big boxes’ and while that market is experiencing an increase in supply, we see opportunities in the more supply-constrained urban…
