Latest news with #ParisClimate
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
One person missing after glacier collapse buries Swiss village
May 29 (UPI) -- Rescuers in the Swiss Alps were searching for at least one person missing after 1.5 million cubic meters of ice, rock and mud from an imploding glacier engulfed a village in the Lotschental Valley in the southwest of the country. Authorities, including the military, were using drones and helicopters to access the area to search for casualties and assess the damage after a huge section of the Birch glacier, which sits atop Kleine Nesthorn above the village of Blatten at an altitude of between 8,350 and 11,000 feet, broke off Wednesday afternoon. "An unbelievable amount of material thundered down into the valley," said Valais Canton spokesperson Matthias Ebener, who confirmed one person was unaccounted for but gave no further details. The 300 inhabitants of the village, 35 miles north of Zermatt, were evacuated nine days earlier because of the threat posed by the Birch glacier, which geologists said had become unstable due to thawing. "The unimaginable has happened," said Blatten Mayor Matthias Bellwald, vowing it was not the end for the village, which has been continuously inhabited since the 13th century. "We have lost our village, but not our heart. We will support each other and console each other. After a long night, it will be morning again," said Bellwald. The federal government in Bern pledged financial assistance to residents to enable them to remain living in the area, even if it is not possible to return to the village. However, the head of the agency with responsibility for natural hazards in the Valais region, geologist Raphael Mayoraz, warned that other settlements nearby may need to be evacuated as well. "We don't know yet what's left on top, but almost everything fell. It's the worst of the envisaged scenarios," he said. Experts linked the collapse to warming temperatures caused by climate change, which is accelerating melting, not only of mountain glaciers, but also of critical permafrost in high mountain ranges. In 2023, the village of Brienz, 35 miles away, was turned into a ghost town after its 3,100 residents were evacuated due to the danger from landslides caused by melting. Residents were eventually allowed to return but had to leave for a second time in November, after authorities warned it was unsafe to remain. The BBC said the latest audit of the state of glaciers in Switzerland showed they could all disappear in less than 100 years unless global temperature rise is limited to the 1.5 degrees Celsius increase above pre-industrial levels set by the Paris Climate agreement in 2015.
UPI
5 days ago
- Climate
- UPI
One person missing after glacier collapse buries Swiss village
The aftermath of a glacier collapse that sent millions of tons of ice, rock and mud careening down a Swiss mountainside Wednesday, burying the village of Blatten in the Canton of Valais in southwestern Switzerland. Photo by Christophe Bott/EPA-EFE May 29 (UPI) -- Rescuers in the Swiss Alps were searching for at least one person missing after 1.5 million cubic meters of ice, rock and mud from an imploding glacier engulfed a village in the Lotschental Valley in the southwest of the country. Authorities, including the military, were using drones and helicopters to access the area to search for casualties and assess the damage after a huge section of the Birch glacier, which sits atop Kleine Nesthorn above the village of Blatten at an altitude of between 8,350 and 11,000 feet, broke off Wednesday afternoon. "An unbelievable amount of material thundered down into the valley," said Valais Canton spokesperson Matthias Ebener, who confirmed one person was unaccounted for but gave no further details. The 300 inhabitants of the village, 35 miles north of Zermatt, were evacuated nine days earlier because of the threat posed by the Birch glacier, which geologists said had become unstable due to thawing. "The unimaginable has happened," said Blatten Mayor Matthias Bellwald, vowing it was not the end for the village, which has been continuously inhabited since the 13th century. "We have lost our village, but not our heart. We will support each other and console each other. After a long night, it will be morning again," said Bellwald. The federal government in Bern pledged financial assistance to residents to enable them to remain living in the area, even if it is not possible to return to the village. However, the head of the agency with responsibility for natural hazards in the Valais region, geologist Raphael Mayoraz, warned that other settlements nearby may need to be evacuated as well. "We don't know yet what's left on top, but almost everything fell. It's the worst of the envisaged scenarios," he said. Experts linked the collapse to warming temperatures caused by climate change, which is accelerating melting, not only of mountain glaciers, but also of critical permafrost in high mountain ranges. In 2023, the village of Brienz, 35 miles away, was turned into a ghost town after its 3,100 residents were evacuated due to the danger from landslides caused by melting. Residents were eventually allowed to return but had to leave for a second time in November, after authorities warned it was unsafe to remain. The BBC said the latest audit of the state of glaciers in Switzerland showed they could all disappear in less than 100 years unless global temperature rise is limited to the 1.5 degrees Celsius increase above pre-industrial levels set by the Paris Climate agreement in 2015.
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Scotsman
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
Activists unveil massive artwork outside Trump Turnberry to mark first 100 days of Donald Trump's second term
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Climate activists have created a large artwork made of sand on the beach near Trump Turnberry in South Ayrshire to mark the first 100 days of the US president's second term in office. Greenpeace UK revealed a 55 metre by 40m work on the beach outside Donald Trump's golf course, showing a giant portrait of the president raked into the sand with the message: 'Time to resist – fight the billionaire takeover.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Greenpeace's artwork on the beach outside Trump Turnberry, showing a giant portrait of the US president etched into the sand with the message: "Time to resist - fight the billionaire takeover" | © Saf Suleyman / Greenpeace Areeba Hamid, co-executive director of Greenpeace UK, said: 'During his first 100 days President Trump has been actively working to dismantle and weaken environmental protections and attack those who fight to protect nature and our shared climate, putting the corporate profits of his billionaire friends ahead of people and the planet. It's time to resist the billionaire takeover of our rights and freedoms.' The artwork took several hours to create overnight by a team from arts organisation 'Sand in Your Eye' and Greenpeace UK. The environmental campaigners are protesting against the Trump administration for withdrawing from the Paris Climate agreement and its stance on the oil and gas industry. Ms Hamid claimed: 'Trump's biggest allies are a group of unelected billionaires, including the fossil fuel company CEOs who are knowingly burning the planet, polluting our waters, and hurting communities around the world. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'No one voted for these corporate bullies to end free speech, but they will stop at nothing to keep their oil and gas empire alive – even weaponising the legal system to crush dissent and silence environmental activism.' Greenpeace UK activists have also targeted bus stops around the US embassy in Nine Elms, London, with posters carrying the same message. A bus stop near the US Embassy in London targeted by environmental activists marking 100 days of Donald Trump's second US presidential term | © Kristian Buus / Greenpeace Meanwhile, Downing Street has said the venue for the 2028 Open golf championship is up to the organisers, following reports that Mr Trump has pressed for it to be hosted at Turnberry. Whitehall officials have reportedly discussed the possibility of staging the tournament at the South Ayrshire course with the R&A following repeated requests from the US president. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad On Tuesday, the Prime Minister's official spokesman did not deny that officials had spoken to the R&A about the venue for the 2028 tournament, but insisted it was not a decision for the government. He added: 'It's clearly right and proper and usual for government to engage with organisers of major sporting events as part of the business of government, but in terms of decisions around tournament hosting venues, that is for the relevant sporting bodies to take decisions on.' According to reports, Mr Trump has asked Sir Keir Starmer multiple times about the possibility of hosting the Open at Turnberry, something the official spokesman also did not deny. Turnberry has been owned by Mr Trump's company, the Trump Organisation, since 2014 and the president has in the past called publicly for the Open to be held there. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The course has hosted the tournament in the past, with the last occasion coming in 2009. But attendances have grown since then leading to concerns the surrounding infrastructure could no longer cope with hosting the event. Last week, R&A chief executive Mark Darbon described Turnberry as 'better now than it ever has been', but added: 'There are some challenges around the road and rail network, some of the accommodation provision in the surrounding area, and so we're working on what a model could look like for the future.' A spokesman for the R&A said: 'We regularly engage with Government and local government regarding venues.
The Herald Scotland
30-04-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Huge Donald Trump protest appears near Turnberry hotel and golf course
The artwork took several hours to draw out in the sand overnight by a team from arts organisation 'Sand in Your Eye' and Greenpeace UK. It shows a giant portrait of Mr Trump alongside the message: 'Time to resist – fight the billionaire takeover'. The first 100 days of his second administration has seen the US leave the Paris Climate agreement and he has offered the Alaskan wilderness to oil drilling. Other environmental complaints include opening up the Pacific to industrial fishing and he wants to launch deep sea mining in US and international waters. Read More He has also ended investment in clean energy and boosted coal, oil and fossil gas by weakening regulations and removing obstacles for the fossil fuel industry. Areeba Hamid, co-executive director of Greenpeace UK, said: 'During his first 100 days President Trump has been actively working to dismantle and weaken environmental protections and attack those who fight to protect nature and our shared climate, putting the corporate profits of his billionaire friends ahead of people and the planet. It's time to resist the billionaire takeover of our rights and freedoms. 'Trump's biggest allies are a group of unelected billionaires, including the fossil fuel company CEOs who are knowingly burning the planet, polluting our waters, and hurting communities around the world. No one voted for these corporate bullies to end free speech, but they will stop at nothing to keep their oil and gas empire alive – even weaponising the legal system to crush dissent and silence environmental activism.' 'For the billionaires and big oil companies this is not just another source of money. They want to silence all critics and any protests against the core issue with their business: fossil fuels that are causing the climate crisis and environmental destruction.' Greenpeace UK activists have also been subvertising bus stops around the US embassy in Nine Elms, London, with posters carrying the same messaging.
