To be worried about what might happen to Nature now?

[OneBusyFinch]

This barely made the news and I don’t think I’ve seen another thread.

This week the Commons voted to remove the Lords’ amendment to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill that would have kept stronger, species-level protections for wildlife. The government’s motion passed, so those safeguards are out of the Bill for now.

In practice, decisions affecting protected species — hedgehogs, bats, owls, newts — could end up handled through broad “environmental delivery plans” instead of the proper site-specific checks we usually rely on. Nature groups are warning this could really weaken protection unless MPs support putting the amendment back in.

If you want a clear, simple explanation, The Wildlife Trusts have done one here

Just sharing because it feels like something people would want to know about. The Wildlife Trusts have created a template if you want to show your support

I find this really upsetting. Why don't they utilise all the land in the dead town centres and high streets to create living spaces? I hate this awful government.

What I keep telling my kids is that at least the population levels are going to fall. Birth rates down around the world.

Humans have wrecked local and regional environments before, with civilization collapses. I do wonder about the first farmers, deforestation, and the climatic shift that drowned lands and created deserts around 3.5k BC.

This is why humans need reason, knowledge and education rather than more computers and religion. We have got to start understanding our roles as keystone species for the entire world.

I’m very worried. They’re building 3000 homes between my village and the next village, which will essentially join our villages. All on green belt land.

The worst is what they’re doing to my home village. They’re building a huge estate on the surrounding green belt the natural pond has newts yet they’re still pushing through with the planning. It’s swarming with wildlife. The land was gifted to residents (council) over 100 years ago but they’re selling it to developers. I don’t know how that’s even legal.

It’s not posh, it’s very working class village and my family have been there since the 1500s. It’s so so sad.

On another thread I got accused of wanting to create slums as I suggested empty office blocks could be converted into apartments. I would have thought some people would find it convenient to live close to everything and perhaps not need a car but apparently I was condemning people to a life of hell

Edited for typo

My thoughts exactly

Bumping

The entitlement is a shocker. The issue is ‘family flats’ don’t exist (3 bedrooms and enough space for a family, storage etc). We looked at a few but they are all in listed buildings with high service charges etc and a lot of potential issues. We really need to start developing them from existing building and making apartment living normal.

Environmental
sustainability and housing
growth, Sixth Report of Session 2024–26 is now available.

Just been reading about this event held today

Scientists warn of severe climate-related risks to UK economy and security

A host of eminent scientists have warned politicians, business and community leaders that the UK risks severe climate-related risks to its economy, public health, food systems and national security.
According to its organisers more than 1,000 corporate bosses, senior civil servants and civic leaders were set to assemble in the Methodist central hall in Westminster for the “first-of-its-kind national emergency briefing” on Thursday morning.
“This event is about resetting the national conversation, especially in the face of growing misinformation,” said Prof Mike Berners-Lee, the climate writer and pioneer in carbon footprinting, as he introduced the talks.
Nine experts gave stark assessments of the scale of the changes needed to adapt the country to the rapidly changing climate and ecological situation, and potentially stave off the worst potential outcomes.
Speaking on climate, Kevin Anderson, professor of energy and climate change at the Universities of Manchester, Uppsala and Bergen, said: “The choice is between deep, rapid and fair decarbonisation of modern society, and an organised-ish technical and social revolution; or ongoing rhetoric and delay as temperatures [rise]. And then we’ll have a revolutionary style change that will be both chaotic and violent.”
On nature, Nathalie Seddon, professor of biodiversity at the University of Oxford, said: “We are facing a national emergency not only because the climate is changing, but because the living systems that protect the climate are breaking down.”
She added: “This isn’t about choosing between the economy and the environment. It’s about recognising that the economy is embedded within the environment, and that the health of the nation depends on the living systems that sustain us.”
Tim Lenton, director of the Global Systems Institute at the University of Exeter, said that a collapse in the Atlantic meridianal overturning current (Amoc) would leave London freezing in winters of -20C, “and yet the summers would still be hotter than today’s”, leading to a situation where the UK would be 100% reliant on food imports. “We have got to do everything in our power to limit the amount of time we spend above 1.5C [above preindustrial temperatures],” Lenton said.
Mark Rylance was among the prominent figures who attended the briefing. Inequality is a core part of the climate problem, the actor told the Guardian. Echoing Anderson, he said: “The cost of living crisis is really an inequality crisis. They go hand in hand. What we have is such an unequal society. And it is a contributing factor to the climate crisis.
“I’m a very wealthy person and I have to do more about this. We have got to do more about our collective addiction.”
He accused billionaires of funding climate denying misinformation. “They do it because they don’t want people to act collectively, they want people to feel powerless. They should do better things with their money.”
Richard Nugee, a retired general, said politicians focused on the threat from Russia were failing to see the greater threat of the climate crisis. “Climate change is going to be a bigger problem than Russia,” he said. “It’s an insidious threat, one that has crept up. It’s going to do more damage than the threats they’re focused on now. But all they see is a resurgent Russia.”
He said politicians needed to ensure the UK could cope with the greater extremes of weather that were already apparent and going to worsen. The lack of action to ensure that vital infrastructure is resilient was leaving the country vulnerable to extreme weather, and open to attack from enemies who could perceive this weakness.
“Having spent most of my life fighting, I need to believe this country to be strong. The last thing I want to see is this country go to war. But we are not providing a sufficient deterrent, because we are not resilient enough [to the impacts of the climate crisis],” said Nugee.

That’s scary. I’ve long wondered what would happen if slowing current meets global warming.

I can’t really conceive of this entire planet’s life being threatened: not just a few species but the entire web of life! although it’s happened before (possibly from too many plants once, weirdly!). I really can’t understand the arrogance and stupidity that would threaten this amazingly complex living structure for the sake of a few bits of green paper.

Homo Sapiens Sapiens (particular emphasis on homo): the biggest force of stupid in the universe.

it is scary @WaryCrow

thanks to everyone who has posted

This government could not give less of a fuck about our country’s wellbeing.

We have lhis type of land within a few miles that has been earmarked as an industrial estate for 25 years. It's never been used. It would be ideal for housing stock as it's on the outskirts of a small town with good transport links and a lot more amenities than our village.

Meanwhile, Persimmon want to extend a large housing estate on land that is rich and diverse with wildlife, despite there not being amenties or transport links in our rural area. The housing they want to build does not include affordable or social housing. We have a large elderly population, one small surgery, a school that is full and two bus services a day. Totally unsuitable.

We have a petition up on the petitions board if anyone wants to sign.