Latest news with #environmentalissues
BBC News
7 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
River Biss rubbish causing 'deep concern' in Trowbridge
A wildlife trust has said it is "deeply concerned" after traffic signs, road cones and rusty shopping trolleys were found in a Wildlife Trust is urging the public to protect waterways after a large amount of debris was discovered in the River Biss in Trowbridge by staff from the town council."Recently items such as roadworks cones, signs, shopping trolleys, baskets and various bottles and cans were discovered in the river," a council spokesperson comes after the Environment Agency said earlier this year that rusty trolleys in the river could pose a "potential flood risk". "We will continue to take action to remove debris and encourage the community to do their part in keeping our rivers clean," Trowbridge Town Council trolleys and an office chair were also found dumped in the same part of the river last Environment Agency is responsible for managing the River Biss alongside the town council."Litter in watercourses isn't just a public nuisance, it can be a flood risk and bad for the environment," an Environment Agency spokesperson said."If you spot rubbish which could cause a flood risk or pollution, please report it via our incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60." 'Direct threat' Wiltshire Wildlife Trust said rubbish in the river is not just an eyesore, but a symptom of a wider environmental issue."Our rivers are corridors for nature, they are habitats for species that cannot live elsewhere such as the water vole, otter, and kingfisher, as well as a rich diversity of fish, insects, and plants," it said."The presence of large-scale litter and fly-tipped items poses a direct threat to this wildlife through entanglement, physical injury, and the leaching of harmful pollutants that degrade water quality for years to come."We urge the public to help us protect these precious habitats by ensuring all waste is disposed of responsibly and by reporting any incidents of fly-tipping to Wiltshire Council immediately."
Arab News
4 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Corporates have changed their tune on ‘stakeholder capitalism'
In 2019, the Business Roundtable, an association of the most powerful CEOs in the US, won widespread praise by announcing its commitment to 'stakeholder capitalism,' which delivers value not only to shareholders, but also to other affected actors, such as employees and communities. Now, however, the Business Roundtable has changed its tune: its April report, 'The Need for Bold Proxy Process Reforms,' reads almost like a manifesto against stakeholder capitalism. The reason for this volte-face is obvious. The Roundtable's 2019 'commitment' was a clear attempt to get on the right side of popular sentiment: Engagement with social and environmental issues was up, and so were demands that powerful institutions get on board. But the political mood has changed. At a time when Americans are preoccupied with intensifying pressures on their own pocketbooks, the new second administration is actively rejecting environmental and social issues. For many CEOs, this looks like a golden opportunity. So, the Business Roundtable is calling on the US Congress to 'enact legislation precluding the inclusion of shareholder proposals relating to environmental, social and political issues in a company's proxy statement.' With this, CEOs want to scrap one of the few formal mechanisms through which a diverse range of stakeholders can influence corporate behavior on issues such as climate risk, inequality, worker safety, and political transparency. There is plenty of precedent for this. While the Business Roundtable's CEOs like to pay lip service to voluntary corporate-responsibility initiatives, they have strenuously objected to public policies that would require them to follow through. The fact is that delivering real value to workers and the environment would cost money, which would reduce shareholder dividends and executive pay — the real priorities of the Business Roundtable's members. In fact, the compensation of CEOs who signed the stakeholder-capitalism 'commitment' has continued to reflect their success in delivering shareholder value. The only way to rein in corporate power is to confront it head-on. Christopher Marquis As many critics warned from the start, the Business Roundtable never meant what it said in 2019. Whatever its claims about environmental or social responsibility, it has always been motivated by three interconnected objectives: avoiding accountability, maximizing short-term profits, and enriching executives. To be sure, even from a commercial perspective, this approach is fundamentally flawed. A growing body of research shows that failure to account for social and environmental imperatives poses clear, material risks to firm operations and performance — not at some point in the distant future, but now. But there is no reason to expect the Business Roundtable's CEOs, or corporations more broadly, to change voluntarily. On the contrary, their April statement lays bare the transactional, opportunistic, and utterly dishonest nature of their moral posturing, which in reality, serves just one purpose: to get consumers and regulators off their backs. This should serve as a wake-up call to lawmakers, who have long cozied up to billionaires and large corporations, placing their hopes, against all evidence, in self-regulation. The only way to rein in corporate power is to confront it head-on. That means mandating corporate commitments to structural change, imposing tougher punishments for corporate abuses, cracking down on dark money, strengthening antitrust enforcement, and expanding regulatory oversight, including of corporate influence over climate, labor, and economic policy. • Christopher Marquis is Professor of Management at the University of Cambridge and the author of "The Profiteers: How Business Privatizes Profits and Socializes Costs" (PublicAffairs, 2024). ©Project Syndicate.
BBC News
19-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
'Not contaminated' designation of Arnold Fields to be reviewed
A council will need to reassess its decision not to call a perennially burning rubbish dump "contaminated".Havering Council's decision was challenged in the High Court on 17 June by Clean the Air in Havering, a group set up to tackle the fires at Launders Lane in landfill site, on Arnolds Field, has caught fire more than 100 times since 2019, sending smoke into homes, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) leader Gillian Ford said: "The site belongs to the landowners and it is their responsibility to make it safe – we are ready to work with them to solve the problem." 'Summer of hell' Justice Nathalie Lieven ruled the decision not to designate the land as contaminated by Havering Council in July 2024 as "premature and unlawful".She also found the town hall misunderstood the law by failing to consider smoke as a potential contaminant under contaminated land rules. The council has said its options are "limited".Ford added: "We are now reviewing the detail in the ruling. One thing that is clear is it has asked us to reconsider our decision on whether Arnolds Field is 'contaminated land' or not."Despite the landowner's claims that they're trying to 'improve the site for the local community', the fact remains that they have not yet submitted a formal planning application, and we have seen no evidence to suggest they are serious in finding a solution." Ruth Kettle-Frisby, one of three local mothers leading the campaign, said residents had reported "constant coughing and stinging and irritated eyes," and had been forced to "close all windows during this hot weather"."This month, Rainham residents have reported their understandable distress as they enter 'another summer of hell', with smoke already entering nearby schools," she added. Emily Nicholson, from the law firm Mishcon de Reya, who represents the campaign group Clean the Air in Havering said: "This is the first judgment that we are aware of which deals with assessment under the Contaminated Land Guidance, and it clarifies an important point on smoke being able to be assessed as a contaminant linkage for the purposes of the contaminated land regime. "It also makes clear that where health impacts come from specific sporadic events, such as fires, decisions must be made based on evidence of the impacts of those events."
Independent Singapore
17-06-2025
- General
- Independent Singapore
‘Why is this allowed to happen, and why is there no enforcement?' — Singaporean dismayed by the state of Lazarus Beach after migrant workers' day-off gathering
SINGAPORE: A local man who visited Lazarus Beach over the weekend said he was 'dismayed' by the state of the area after large groups of migrant workers gathered there to unwind on their day off. Posting on the r/askSingapore subreddit on Monday (Jun 16), the man shared that he was initially happy to see many foreign domestic workers and labourers enjoying themselves by the sea. However, his sentiments changed when he saw the condition the beach was left in. According to his post, snack wrappers and beer cans were scattered across the sand, with some even floating in the water. He also noted that public sinks were being used as 'makeshift showers,' while toilet floors, which were clean earlier in the day, had become slippery and grimy. He further claimed that some individuals had trespassed onto private resort grounds. 'I saw several of the men enter the private property of the resorts, get chased off by a helpless single staff member, only to return the instant she turns her back,' he wrote. Another issue that particularly upset him was the fishing. 'I saw men fishing and catching and keeping even baby fish—something local anglers advocate against because it destroys the sustainability of the hobby,' he said. 'Why is this allowed to happen, and why is there no enforcement?' he asked. 'The sight of the once pristine and beautiful Lazarus beachfront was, for the weekend, turned into a sight of callous environmental destruction – and nothing was done to stop it.' Despite his criticism, the man clarified that he was not against migrant workers using public spaces. 'I have long advocated that they do need a day of rest, and places to be – I have zero issue with their congregation at hotspots like Paya Lebar, East Coast, Farrer Park, and whatnot. They are also people, and people need spaces and community. What I cannot accept is the STATE of how they leave these spaces and places. I think we need to take an honest look at their behaviour every Saturday/Sunday.' 'It's infuriating, to say the least, that they're not respecting the public spaces…' In the discussion thread, one user said, 'I'm with you on this. Groups of MW are always playing cricket in this open field every weekend, and they leave behind lots of trash. I have reported on One Service and note that there are several cameras in the vicinity, but I'm not sure if any actions have been taken since you'll almost always get the generic responses that they'll look into it, and then a couple of days later, the case is closed. It's infuriating, to say the least, that they're not respecting the public spaces.' Another suggested, 'Report to Nparks. Suggest they deploy officers there to curb littering.' A third stated, 'Their numbers are large (e.g., all concentrated on Sun), and there's a lack of enforcement here, so that's what we get.' However, not everyone agreed with the negative generalisations. One user stepped in to defend the migrant worker community, writing, 'I actually saw most of them cleaning up at the end of the day. Collected their litter in a large plastic tarp and placed it next to the bin.' In other news, a diner took to social media to highlight a troubling incident at ABC Brickworks Market and Food Centre, where people allegedly stole cutlery and crockery from a hawker stall. In a post shared on the r/SingaporeRaw subreddit on Sunday (June 15), the diner uploaded photos showing a hawker, the missing utensils, and a handwritten sign. The sign read: 'Dear customers, in the past 10 operating days, 41 forks and 10 plates have been stolen. As a small Singapore business promoting sustainability, we kindly request their return. Authorities will be involved soon. Thank you and God bless.' Read more: Hawker appeals for the return of 41 forks and 10 plates stolen at ABC Brickworks Market and Food Centre Featured image by freepik (for illustration purposes only)
RNZ News
17-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Decision looms on seabed mining
Aotearoa will soon have a big decision to make - and on an issue where emotions run high. Governments around the world are weighing up whether to allow mining of the ocean floor for metal ores and minerals, and that includes New Zealand. Senior Lecturer in Law at Auckland University of Technology Myra Williamson believes seabed mining could become one of the defining environmental battles of 2025. She joins Jesse to discuss the issue. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
