Britain's richest and poorest regions have drawn farther apart since 1995, with workers in London and the south-east seeing their income race ahead of the national average, while those in the rest of the country fell behind, official figures reveal.
The north-south pay gap: what do people earn where you live? | News | guardian.co.uk
Professor James Lovelock, the scientist who developed Gaia theory, has said it is too late to try and save the planet.The man who achieved global fame for his theory that the whole earth is a single organism now believes that we can only hope that the earth will take care of itself in the face of completely unpredictable climate change.
China renewable energy: An employee displays a solar panel at a workshop in a factory in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. Photograph: LANG LANG/REUTERS
China has overtaken the US for the first time in a league table of investments in low-carbon energy among the G-20, according to a new report by not for profit group the Pew Charitable Trusts published this week.
How China overtook the US in renewable energy | News | guardian.co.uk
High-pressure fragrance sprays will be installed at Asuwei dump, one of several hundred overflowing landfill sites that are the focus of growing public concern 
In pictures: zooming in on Beijing's rubbish
Beijing to sweeten stench of rubbish crisis with giant deodorant guns | Environment | guardian.co.uk
The owner of a house on a Scarborough cliff edge has hosted a special dinner as a farewell gesture to the property. Teetering on the edge of Knipe Point in Scarborough, the property is at risk of falling off the cliff as it crumbles. Owner Kane Cunningham invited twelve guests to the bungalow's "last supper" to highlight the perils of climate change.
An Icelandic volcano, dormant for 200 years, has erupted, ripping a 1km-long fissure in a field of ice.The volcano near Eyjafjallajoekull glacier began to erupt just after midnight, sending lava a hundred metres high. Icelandic airspace has been closed, flights diverted and roads closed. The eruption was about 120km (75 miles) east of the capital, Reykjavik. About 500 people were moved from the area,
BBC News - Volcano erupts near Eyjafjallajoekull in south Iceland
The internet has created many new opportunities for people to get richer around the world.But are the benefits of access to the net filtering down to the very poorest in society? A shanty town in Brazil is a good place to find out. Babilonia is a favela, a slum district, of about 80,000 inhabitants, most of them very poor. It's located in Brazil's second city Rio de Janeiro, close to the world famous Copacabana beach.
A film illustrating the devastating impact that tar sands developments in Alberta, Canada are having on the environment and native First Nation communities
Britain's demand for imported goods is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions abroad than any other European country, according to a new study published today.
The report shows that 253m tonnes of carbon dioxide are released overseas each year in the manufacture of products bound for UK shores, the equivalent of 4.3 tonnes per person. The average Briton's carbon footprint is 9.7 tonnes, not including emissions from goods.
UK import emissions are the highest in Europe, figures show | Environment | guardian.co.uk
In 
Over the decade from 2000 to the end of 2009, the yearly average was 78,000, according to the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR). For the 1990s, the average was 43,000, and the 1980s was 75,000. Disaster experts say the rise in tragedy is at least partly due to increases in urban populations.
A Disastrous Year: 2010 Death Toll Already Abnormally High | LiveScience
The Chile tsunami was generated by a Mw 8.8 earthquake (35.846°S, 72.719°W ), at 06:34 UTC, 115 km (60 miles) NNE of Concepcion, Chile (according to the USGS). In approximately 3 hours, the tsunami was first recorded at DART® buoy 32412. Forecast results shown below were created with the NOAA forecast method using MOST model with the tsunami source inferred from DART® data. The tsunami waves first arrived at Valparaiso, Chile (approximately 330 km northeast from earthquake epicenter ), at 0708UTC, about 34 minutes after the earthquake.
NOAA Center for Tsunami Research - Tsunami Event - February 27, 2010 Chile
Deals can be good news when not made behind closed doors | Environment | The Observer
Know Your Flood Risk is a campaign with a mission to help raise awareness of the issue of flood and encourage practical guidance and support to help protect homeowners and property professionals against the risks.
Why join the campaign?
By signing up to the campaign you will join a community of organisations whose goal is to raise awareness of flood information and the potential risks. As a collective voice, Know Your Flood Risk and its members aim to raise the profile of flooding and ensure consumers are not only aware of the risks they face, but also how to mitigate them.
Growth of the INTERNET with interactive map from the BBC
The air is full of carbon dioxide and other pollutants;
The ocean is emptying;
We have observed record setting harvests over the last few years, and yet chronic hunger persists and has recently been increasing;
The planet is experiencing the 6th great extinction;
All of these are the result of human activity.
An Observer investigation reveals how rich countries faced by a global food shortage now farm an area double the size of the UK to guarantee supplies for their citizens
How food and water are driving a 21st-century African land grab | Environment | The Observer
France was today struggling to cope with its most violent storm for 10 years, as winds of more than 100mph swept through the country, killing at least 40 people and leaving 1m homes without power. Central and western France were worst hit with gales and torrential rain felling trees and causing flooding. At least seven people drowned in villages in the Vendée, while three elderly people and a child were found dead in Charente Maritime around La Rochelle. A man was killed by a falling tree branch in the south-western town of Luchon, where winds reached 90mph. As well as the known casualties, at least five other people were reported missing and dozens others injured. As the storm, known as Xynthia, progressed northwards through France over the weekend, five of the country's 95 departments were placed on red alert for only the second time in the emergency system's history. By this afternoon the alert had been downgraded.
Fatal storm sweeps through France | World news | guardian.co.uk
A news report from the event can be seen here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8541958.stm
The damage was particularly bad because of a storm surge which broke through inadequate defences:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8544002.stm
There is more about storm surges here:
http://dlgb.wordpress.com/2007/11/29/the-november-2007-storm-surge/
and about the devastating 1953 storm surge here:
http://dlgb.wordpress.com/2007/11/29/the-1953-storm-surge-what-really-happened/
The storms are part of a series of strong winter storms which have affected western Europe:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8540762.stm
Amongst the worst was the one which caused severe damage on the island of Madeira:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8526288.stm
MetLink is the flagship education portal of the Royal Meteorological Society
We provide teachers, students, meteorologists and the general public with information about teaching weather and climate, teacher development, climate change and accreditation.
On this site you will find teaching materials including powerpoint presentations and lesson plans, information about becoming a meteorologist, how to obtain chartered status and many more things.
You will also find general information for teaching weather, curriculum links, information about school and junior membership and how to book a "Meteorology Ambassador" to come and talk to your class
