Environment | The Guardian

Video shows trees and shrubs along Western Australia's south-west coastline turning brown after Perth recorded it hottest and driest six months since records began. There were similar scenes in the state's south-west eucalypt forests in 2010 and 2011 - a major die-back event that prompted more than a dozen studies. Drought-hit forests were hit by fire years later Continue reading...

Environmental groups say bosses should hang their heads in shame' as firm bows to pressure from shareholders to cut costsUnilever is to scale back its environmental and social aims, provoking critics to say its board should hang their heads in shame".The consumer goods company behind brands ranging from Dove beauty products to Ben & Jerry's ice-cream was seen as perhaps the foremost proponent of corporate ethics - particularly under the tenure of its Dutch former boss Paul Polman. Continue reading...

Environmentalists celebrate new rules but Alaska politicians call it an illegal' attack on state's livelihood and predict lawsuitsThe Biden administration said on Friday it will restrict new oil and gas leasing on 13m acres (5.3m hectares) of a federal petroleum reserve in Alaska to help protect wildlife such as caribou and polar bears as the Arctic continues to warm.The decision - part of an ongoing, years-long fight over whether and how to develop the vast oil resources in the state - finalizes protections first proposed last year as the Biden administration prepared to approve the controversial Willow oil project. Continue reading...

Superfund law requires industries responsible for PFOA and PFOS contamination in water or soil to pay for cleanupThe Environmental Protection Agency on Friday designated two forever chemicals that have been used in cookware, carpets and firefighting foams as hazardous substances, an action intended to ensure quicker cleanup of the toxic compounds and require industries and others responsible for contamination to pay for their removal.Designation as a hazardous substance under the Superfund law does not ban the chemicals, known as PFOA and PFOS. But it requires that release of the chemicals into soil or water be reported to federal, state or tribal officials if it meets or exceeds certain levels. The EPA then may require cleanups to protect public health and recover costs that can reach tens of millions of dollars. Continue reading...

Research into release of forever chemicals' raises concerns about contamination and human exposure along world's coastlinesOcean waves crashing on the world's shores emit more PFAS into the air than the world's industrial polluters, new research has found, raising concerns about environmental contamination and human exposure along coastlines.The study measured levels of PFAS released from the bubbles that burst when waves crash, spraying aerosols into the air. It found sea spray levels were hundreds of thousands times higher than levels in the water. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Study released at Cop28 misused research to underestimate impact of cutting meat eating, say academicsA flagship UN report on livestock emissions is facing calls for retraction from two key experts it cited who say that the paper seriously distorted" their work.The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) misused their research to underestimate the potential of reduced meat intake to cut agricultural emissions, according to a letter sent to the FAO by the two academics, which the Guardian has seen. Continue reading...

Estimated 2,548 barrels of carbon dioxide leaked from Exxon pipeline in Louisiana on 3 April, triggering alarm among residentsA major leak of CO from an ExxonMobil pipeline in Louisiana exposes dangerous safety gaps that should halt the planned multibillion-dollar carbon capture industry, environmental advocates say.An estimated 2,548 barrels of carbon dioxide (CO) leaked from the Exxon pipeline in Sulphur in Calcasieu parish on 3 April, triggering an emergency response and alarm among residents who live in close proximity to scores of polluting pipelines, petrochemical and fossil fuel facilities. Continue reading...

State revealed as America's overwhelming emitter of sulfuryl fluoride, used by $4.2bn pest-control industry to kill termitesLevels of a potent greenhouse gas are quietly spiking in the atmosphere and increasingly worrying environmental groups that say its use needs to be reined in if the US is to avoid climate catastrophe.Furthermore, recent research has found the vast majority of the little-known gas, known as sulfuryl fluoride, is attributable to a state typically known for its climate-forward policies: California. Continue reading...

The best of this week's wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...

Exclusive: India seeking to use approach of UK election as bargaining chip and any exemption would be controversialIndia is demanding an exemption from the UK's planned carbon tax as part of negotiations aiming to finalise a free trade deal before the UK election.India's negotiating team have spent this week in London in a surprise set of talks to try to overcome the remaining hurdles to an agreement. Continue reading...

More than 50% of the planet's species live in the earth below our feet, but only a fraction have been identified - so farRead more: No birdsong, no water in the creek, no beating wings: how a haven for nature fell silentThe sound of an earthworm is a distinctive rasping and scrunching. Ants sound like the soothing patter of rain. A passing, tunnelling vole makes a noise like a squeaky dog's toy repeatedly being chewed.On a spring day at Rothamsted Research, an agricultural research institution in Hertfordshire, singing skylarks and the M1 motorway are competing for the airways. But the attention here is on the soundscapes underfoot: a rich ecosystem with its own alien sounds. More than half of the planet's species live in the soil, and we are just starting to tune into what they are up to. Beetle larvae, millipedes, centipedes and woodlice have other sound signatures, and scientists are trying to decipher which sounds come from which creatures. Continue reading...

Analysis of 60o gardens shows wilder lawns feed caterpillars and create breeding habitatGood news for lazy gardeners: one labour-saving tweak could almost double the number of butterflies in your garden, according to a new scientific study - let the grass grow long.In recent years nature lovers have been extolling the benefits of relaxed lawn maintenance with the growing popularity of the #NoMowMay campaign. Now an analysis of six years of butterfly sightings across 600 British gardens has provided the first scientific evidence that wilder lawns boost butterfly numbers. Continue reading...

Exclusive: 80% of Welsh dairy farms inspected, 69% of English ones, 60% in Scotland and 50% in Northern Ireland breaching regulationsThe majority of UK dairy farms are breaking pollution rules, with vast amounts of cow manure being spilled into rivers.When animal waste enters the river, it causes a buildup of the nutrients found in the effluent, such as nitrates and phosphates. These cause algal blooms, which deplete the waterway of oxygen and block sunlight, choking fish and other aquatic life. Continue reading...

Body of 16-year-old boy discovered with injuries consistent with a crocodile attack' as wildlife officers search for animal

Climate campaigners complain of short-termism as country abandons target to cut carbon emissions by 75% by 2030Climate campaigners have accused Scottish ministers of being inept" and short-termist" after they scrapped Scotland's target to cut carbon emissions by 75% by 2030.Mairi McAllan, the Scottish net zero secretary, confirmed her government had abandoned that target and would also drop legally binding annual targets on reducing carbon emissions, after damning criticism from a UK advisory committee. Continue reading...

Bill would stop private investors, including hedge funds, farmers and municipalities, from profiting off water scarcityWith private investors poised to profit from water scarcity in the west, US senator Elizabeth Warren and representative Ro Khanna are pursuing a bill to prohibit the trading of water as a commodity.The lawmakers will introduce the bill on Thursday afternoon, the Guardian has learned. Water is not a commodity for the rich and powerful to profit off of," said Warren, the progressive Democrat from Massachusetts. Representative Khanna and I are standing up to protect water from Wall Street speculation and ensure one of our most essential resources isn't auctioned off to the highest bidder." Continue reading...

Exclusive: By the middle of the century, pollution from plastic industry could undermine world's effort' to control climate crisisBy the middle of the century, global emissions from plastic production could triple to account for one-fifth of the Earth's remaining carbon budget, an analysis has found.The stunning new estimates from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, published on Wednesday, provide yet more evidence that the plastic industry is undermining the world's efforts to address climate change", said Heather McTeer Toney, executive director of the Bloomberg Philanthropies' Beyond Petrochemicals campaign, which helped fund the new report. Continue reading...

Passengers report being stranded in the desert city as the international hub struggles in the wake of unusually heavy rain

Consumer Reports recently conducted its most comprehensive review of pesticides in 59 US fruits and vegetables. Here the organization shares what it found

From green beans to kale, here are some foods considered to be healthy yet which test poorly for pesticidesPesticides pose a serious risk in conventionally grown versions of the produce shown below, according to a new analysis by Consumer Reports. Here's why these fruits and vegetables are so problematic, plus how to safely fit them into your diet or make smart substitutions.Read more from this pesticide investigation:We found unhealthy pesticide levels in 20% of US produce - here's what you need to knowCan you wash pesticides off your food? A guide to eating fewer toxic chemicalsKale, watermelon and even some organic foods pose high pesticide risk, analysis findsWhat's safe to eat? Here is the pesticide risk level for each fruit and vegetableThis story was amended on 18 April 2024 to correct the name of the illustrator, whose name is Israel Vargas. Continue reading...

There are some simple steps you can take to minimize the amount of pesticides on your fruits and vegetablesTo avoid pesticides, consider buying the fruits and vegetables that pose the least risk in a new analysis by Consumer Reports, and buying organic for those that pose the most. Below are answers to common questions about what other steps you can take.Read more from this pesticide investigation:We found unhealthy pesticide levels in 20% of US produce - here's what you need to knowKale, watermelon and even some organic foods pose high pesticide risk, analysis findsBlueberries and bell peppers: six fruits and vegetables with the most pesticide riskWhat's safe to eat? Here is the pesticide risk level for each fruit and vegetableThis story was amended on 18 April 2024 to correct the name of the illustrator, whose name is Israel Vargas. Continue reading...

Pesticides have contaminated the US fruit and vegetable supply - even some organics - a new analysis by Consumer Reports shows

As nature falls silent in most cities around the world, New Zealand's capital has been transformed by the sound of native birds returning to the dawn chorusRead more: No birdsong, no water in the creek, no beating wings: how a haven for nature fell silentSome time in the pre-dawn darkness, the commotion starts. From her bed, Danae Mossman hears the noise building: loud romantic liaisons, vomiting, squeals, the sound of bodies hitting the pool at full tilt.Things get particularly loud between midnight and 4am, Mossman says, when they are getting busy".A koror, or little penguin, colony live under Danae Mossman's house - and show no signs of wanting to leave Continue reading...

In the first of a new series, we look at why people reject so much of the bountiful catches from our seas in favour of the same few species, mostly imported - and how to change thatPerched on a quay in the Cornish port of Falmouth is Pysk fishmongers, where Giles and Sarah Gilbert started out with a dream to supply locally caught seafood to the town. Their catch comes mainly from small boats that deliver a glittering array of local fish: gleaming red mullets, iridescent mackerels, spotted dabs and bright white scallops, still snapping in their shells.Occasionally, they will get a treasured haul of local common prawns - stripy, smaller and sweeter than the frozen, imported varieties in UK supermarkets. So, when customers come into the shop asking for prawns, Giles Gilbert presents these bouncing jack-in-a-boxes" with a flourish, hoping to tempt buyers with the fresh, live shellfish. Continue reading...

Deaths from record temperatures in Mali reportedly led to full morgues turning away bodies this month

Foreign minister warns of environmental catastrophe in Baltic Sea as he accuses Moscow of using unseaworthy vesselsRussia appears prepared to create environmental havoc" by sailing unseaworthy oil tankers through the Baltic Sea in breach of all maritime rules, the Swedish foreign minister has said.Speaking to the Guardian during his first visit to London since Sweden became a Nato member, Tobias Billstrom called for new rules and enforcement mechanisms to prevent the ageing and uninsured Russian shadow fleet causing an environmental catastrophe. About half of all Russian oil transported by sea passes through the Baltic Sea and Danish waters, often operating under opaque ownership, and using international waters to try to avoid scrutiny. Continue reading...

Farm region near Tulare Lake has been put on probation' as overpumping of water has caused faster sinking of groundEven after two back-to-back wet years, California's water wars are far from over. On Tuesday, state water officials took an unprecedented step to intervene in the destructive pumping of depleted groundwater in the state's sprawling agricultural heartland.The decision puts a farming region known as the Tulare Lake groundwater subbasin, which includes roughly 837 sq miles in the rural San Joaquin valley, on probation" in accordance with a sustainable groundwater use law passed a decade ago. Large water users will face fees and state oversight of their pumping. Continue reading...

City records more than 142mm of rain in a day, about as much as it expects in a year and a half, as highways and malls floodedHighways and malls have been flooded, schools have been closed, and flights disrupted at one of the world's busiest airports after the United Arab Emirates experienced what the government described as its largest amount of rainfall in 75 years.At least one person was killed, a 70-year-old man who police said was swept away in his car in Ras Al Khaimah, one of the UAE's seven emirates. Continue reading...

Cost of environmental damage will be six times higher than price of limiting global heating to 2C, study findsAverage incomes will fall by almost a fifth within the next 26 years as a result of the climate crisis, according to a study that predicts the costs of damage will be six times higher than the price of limiting global heating to 2C.Rising temperatures, heavier rainfall and more frequent and intense extreme weather are projected to cause $38tn (30tn) of destruction each year by mid-century, according to the research, which is the most comprehensive analysis of its type ever undertaken, and whose findings are published in the journal Nature. Continue reading...

Westerners see elephants as pets, said Mokgweetsi Masisi, whose government threatened to send 30,000 elephants to Germany and the UK to demonstrate their dangersMany Europeans value the lives of elephants more than those of the people who live around them, the president of Botswana has said, amid tensions over potential trophy hunting import bans.Botswana recently threatened to send 30,000 elephants to the UK and Germany after both countries proposed stricter controls on hunting trophies. The country's president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, said it would help people to understand human-wildlife conflict - which is among the primary threats to the species - including the experiences of subsistence farmers affected by crop-raiding by the animals. Continue reading...

Notorious for drawing large crowds, Emerson was removed by officials who were surprised to find him back in Victoria in a weekLast week, gun-wielding conservation officers stuffed a 500lb elephant seal in the back of a van, drove him along a winding highway in western Canada and left him on a remote beach far from human habitation".The plan was to move the young seal far from British Columbia's capital city, where over the last year, he has developed a reputation for ending up in unusual locations", including flower beds, city parks and busy roads. Continue reading...

Phoenix broke several heat records last year. Now Grant Park, which has inequitable tree cover, is seeing a tree-planting drive that promises some respite from 100F temperaturesIt was a relatively cool spring day in Phoenix, Arizona, as a tree-planting crew dug large holes in one of the desert city's hottest and least shaded neighborhoods.Still, it was sweaty backbreaking work as they carefully positioned, watered and staked a 10ft tall Blue palo verde and Chilean mesquite in opposite corners of resident Ana Cordoba's dusty unshaded backyard. Continue reading...

The dramatic decline of marsh tits in an ancient Cambridgeshire woodland is a story repeated across the UK as human activity drives species towards extinctionRead more: World faces deathly silence' of nature as wildlife disappears, warn expertsRichard Broughton has been nosing around this neighbourhood for 22 years. He gossips about inhabitants past and present, reeling off information about their relationship status, openness to visitors, brawls and neighbourly disputes. They used to have a big punch up in spring here," he says, pointing out where one family's territory ends and the next begins.Some areas are eerily quiet, with popular old haunts lying uninhabited. I always get a bit of a pang now, walking through here and it's empty. It's like walking down your local high street and seeing your favourite shops are closed and the pub is boarded up." Continue reading...

We must do all we can to become more sustainable', says shadow environment minister

Annual watchlist raises concern for native chicken, duck, geese and turkey populations as well as rare pig breedsAll of the UK's native breeds of chicken, duck, geese and turkey are under threat because of bird flu, a report from the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) has found.The disease, which has swept the globe after it originated in poultry farms in Asia, has caused devastating declines in bird populations. It has also now jumped to mammals and some cases have been found in humans, though it has not been found to be spreading from human to human. Continue reading...

Floods, cyclones, heat stress and predatory starfish contributing to impacts as fourth planet-wide bleaching event confirmedThe Great Barrier Reef is in the midst of what could be its worst summer on record with a widespread and extreme coral bleaching event coming on top of floods, two cyclones and outbreaks of coral-eating starfish, according to an official Australian government report.The summer snapshot" report released by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Australian Institute of Marine Science said: Compared [with] previous summers, cumulative impacts have been much higher this summer and a widespread bleaching event is still unfolding." Continue reading...

State government and Nature Conservancy jointly purchase Vergemont station, which contains habitat for endangered night parrots

El Nino weather phenomenon depletes reservoirs and limits output at hydroelectric plantsEcuador has begun to ration electricity in the country's main cities as a drought linked to the El Nino weather pattern depletes reservoirs and limits output at hydroelectric plants that produce about 75% of the nation's power.We urge Ecuadorians to cut their electricity consumption in this critical week," the ministry of energy said in a statement late on Monday. And consider that each kilowatt and each drop of water that are not consumed will help us face this reality." Continue reading...

The law will come into force in national parks within two years and in all of the country's marine protected areas by 2030Greece has become the first country in Europe to announce a ban on bottom trawling in all of its national marine parks and protected areas.The country said will spend 780m (666m) to protect its diverse and unique marine ecosystems". Continue reading...

The challenge for a resource-rich, medium-sized economy such as Australia is to identify the right green industries to focus on, while minimising the risks to taxpayers

Hybrids outsold pure electrics in the past three quarters, according to new figures, while petrol and diesel sales fell 8%

Minnesota's Lower Sioux Indian Community is pioneering green building with its fully integrated hempcrete facility - a first in the countryWhen Earl Pendleton first heard about building houses out of hemp more than a decade ago, it seemed like a far-fetched idea.To start, it was still illegal to grow hemp - the non-psychoactive strain of Cannabis sativa - in the US. Importing it from overseas was prohibitively expensive. But Pendleton, a member of the Lower Sioux Indian Community, was intrigued by early research that showed hemp could be transformed into non-toxic construction materials that allow for faster build times and result in low-carbon, energy-efficient houses. Continue reading...

As the soundscape of the natural world began to disappear over 30 years, one man was listening and recording it allRead more: World faces deathly silence' of nature as wildlife disappears, warn expertsThe tale starts 30 years ago, when Bernie Krause made his first audio clip in Sugarloaf Ridge state park, 20 minutes' drive from his house near San Francisco. He chose a spot near an old bigleaf maple. Many people loved this place: there was a creek and a scattering of picnic benches nearby.As a soundscape recordist, Krause had travelled around the world listening to the planet. But in 1993 he turned his attention to what was happening on his doorstep. In his first recording, a stream of chortles, peeps and squeaks erupt from the animals that lived in the rich, scrubby habitat. His sensitive microphones captured the sounds of the creek, creatures rustling through undergrowth, and the songs of the spotted towhee, orange-crowned warbler, house wren and mourning dove. Continue reading...

The 2013 documentary Blackfish turned orca trainers into pariahs in the US. Now some are hitting it big in ChinaSome people spend a long time deciding what they want to do in life. Hazel McBride feels lucky that she's always known. As a child in Scotland, she watched a VHS tape of Free Willy on repeat. That was the first time she felt a connection with killer whales. The second time was at age eight, on a trip to SeaWorld Orlando in 2000. Shamu was the animal world's greatest celebrity, and in the US, SeaWorld ads were ubiquitous. Kids wanted to see the killer whales, and after they saw them, they told their parents they wanted to become killer whale trainers. McBride actually did it.It wasn't easy. Scotland didn't have a SeaWorld, or warm water, or anywhere, really, where McBride could get experience with marine mammals. She had horses she cared for, and she was on the national swim team - a modest start. She sent out volunteer applications to local zoos and worked with California sea lions at a safari park. She reached out to trainers online and one told her a psychology degree would help, so she got one. Continue reading...

Loss of intensity and diversity of noises in ecosystems reflects an alarming decline in healthy biodiversity, say sound ecologistsRead more: No birdsong, no water in the creek, no beating wings: how a haven for nature fell silentSounds of the natural world are rapidly falling silent and will become acoustic fossils" without urgent action to halt environmental destruction, international experts have warned.As technology develops, sound has become an increasingly important way of measuring the health and biodiversity of ecosystems: our forests, soils and oceans all produce their own acoustic signatures. Scientists who use ecoacoustics to measure habitats and species say that quiet is falling across thousands of habitats, as the planet witnesses extraordinary losses in the density and variety of species. Disappearing or losing volume along with them are many familiar sounds: the morning calls of birds, rustle of mammals through undergrowth and summer hum of insects. Continue reading...

Heavy rain likely to cause low yields in Britain and other parts of Europe, with drought in Morocco hitting imports

Many products consumed by Britons could be hit by floods and droughts driven by climate crisis

Seven months after an El Nino associated with hotter and drier weather got under way, conditions have returned to neutral

Tanya Plibersek says two new agencies will be established but a commitment to rewrite national environment laws has been pushed back