Two men led inquiry into 2019 debacle involving incorrect hurricane projections that tarnished federal agency's recordTwo high-ranking officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were placed on administrative leave on Friday, fueling speculation that the Trump administration was retaliating against them for actions taken during the president's first term.Jeff Dillen, who was serving as deputy general counsel, and Stephen Volz, who heads the agency's satellites division, led the investigation into whether agency administrators abdicated their scientific ethics when they altered the forecast of a deadly hurricane to match statements made by the president. Continue reading...

High temperatures and humidity across north-eastern coast increase risk of heat exhaustion, illnesses and deathMore than a 100 million people in the US will face dangerous conditions over the weekend as a heat dome that has scorched much of the center of the country nudges eastward.Heat advisories were in place on Friday all across the north-eastern coast from Portland, Maine, to Wilmington, North Carolina, with the daytime heat index temperatures 10 to 15F above average in some places. Continue reading...

After efforts to make conditions better for the elusive creatures in Studland Bay, sightings are greatly increasingThe divers emerged from the water smiling with satisfaction. They had found what they were looking for in the undersea meadows off the south coast of England.Seahorses are tricky to spot," said Mark Fox. The seagrass sways and they blend into it pretty well. It helps if it's sunny and not too choppy but you have to get your eye in. When you see them, it's brilliant." Continue reading...

Experts say there's plenty of precedent both in the US and abroad for state-supported food infrastructureWhen Zohran Mamdani sailed to a surprising but decisive victory in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary last month, he did so propelled by a platform laser-focused on making the country's largest city more affordable for working people. Among his proposed policies for achieving that vision - which include free childcare and a rent freeze for tenants - is the proposal to create a network of city-owned grocery stores focused on keeping food prices low rather than on making a profit.Without having to pay rent or property taxes, they will reduce overhead and pass on savings to shoppers," Mamdani said on his website. They will buy and sell at wholesale prices, centralize warehousing and distribution, and partner with local neighborhoods on products and sourcing." Continue reading...

Biodiversity is linked to people's diversity, and nature lends itself to people who are different, says author Joe HarknessWhen Joe Harkness received a message from a friend about macerating moth abdomens to check their genitalia to identify the species, it sparked an idea for a new book about wildlife obsessions. But over time, this developed into a completely different book: a clarion call to embrace neurodiversity in the fight against the extinction crisis.Across Britain, 15% of people are thought to be neurodivergent. In the process of writing Neurodivergent, By Nature, Harkness discovered that an estimated 30% of conservation employees were neurodivergent. Why? Continue reading...

Instead of just a choral group in a chapel, now it's a rock group in a mausoleum,' says one unspooked supporterRodney Anonymous, lead singer of the punk rock band The Dead Milkmen, has performed in venues around the world. His favorite place to play live is filled with the dead at the Laurel Hill cemetery in Philadelphia, where he used to ride his bike as a kid.The acoustics are great, and when there's a full moon, there's no place like it, the singer said. The band, whose songs include Punk Rock Girl and Bitchin' Camaro, have played at the burial grounds at least five times since 2012, and have plans to appear again next year. Continue reading...

PM of St Vincent and the Grenadines says ruling will strengthen the Caribbean's negotiating power when it comes to climate change reparationsLeaders in the Caribbean have hailed the outcome of the international court of justice (ICJ) climate change case as a historic legal victory" for small island states everywhere.Several countries in the region had provided evidence to the ICJ case, which ended this week with a landmark advisory opinion that could see states ordered to pay reparations if they fail to tackle fossil fuels and prevent harm to the climate system. Continue reading...

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

It is quite a good arrangement

Tests conducted at 500 UK sites show particle pollution exceeded health guidelines on 6% of school daysKeeping the classroom window closed is not the answer to reduce the amount of pollution coming into schools, a recent study has found.A project called SAMHE (Schools' Air quality Monitoring for Health and Education) operated air pollution monitors in nearly 500 classrooms for an academic year and found that days with high outdoor pollution led to higher pollution inside the classrooms. Continue reading...

Campaign group Slow Ways developing app for disabled people, parents with children, older people and othersVolunteers have mapped 10,000 walking routes across Great Britain in an attempt to make rural walking more accessible.The group has been researching and mapping these walking routes since 2020, and has now made them available on a dedicated website. Continue reading...

Lack of certainty' and step back in green ambition has made it hard for previously feasible projects to proceed, mining company says

Most comprehensive study of its kind highlights dangers of vehicle emissions and woodburning stovesExposure to certain forms of air pollution is linked to an increased risk of developing dementia, according to the most comprehensive study of its kind.The illness is estimated to affect about 57 million people worldwide, with the number expected to increase to at least 150m cases by 2050. Continue reading...

Deaths in Cyprus bring overall toll on the eastern Mediterranean island and neighbouring Turkey to 12Two people have been killed in a huge blaze in Cyprus, bringing the death toll from a series of wildfires on the eastern Mediterranean island and in neighbouring Turkey to 12 amid a brutal heatwave that has pushed temperatures to more than 44C (111F).Police said two charred bodies were found on Thursday in a burnt-out car that had been caught up in the Cyprus blaze, which began outside Limassol on Wednesday and, fanned by strong winds, rapidly engulfed a string of mountain villages north of the city. Continue reading...

Electric carmaker struggles to emerge from sales rut on continent despite updating its bestselling Model Y

Architect of landmark EPA endangerment finding' says repealing it will lead to more extreme weather in USOne of the architects of a landmark 16-year-old finding on pollution's impact on health that the Trump administration now wants to eliminate says that doing so would ignore clearcut" science that has only become clearer today because of extreme weather.The Trump administration plans would sweep away the US government's legal authority to limit greenhouse gases in order to address the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Centrica keen to stem losses from North Sea Rough storage after company profits halveBritain may have lower gas stockpiles going into the winter after the owner of British Gas indicated it plans to sell its stored gas to help reduce losses at a North Sea gas storage facility.Centrica said the financial losses from its Rough gas storage business were not sustainable, meaning it would aim to sell the existing gas at the site without restocking before winter. Continue reading...

Conservationists feared 10cm threadsnake as thin as a strand of spaghetti had become extinctThe world's smallest snake has been rediscovered in Barbados, 20 years after its last sighting.The Barbados threadsnake, which had been feared extinct, was rediscovered under a rock in the centre of the island during an ecological survey in March by the environment ministry and the conservation organisation Re:wild. Continue reading...

EPA said grant to provide clean water was a wasteful DEI program' as pesticide leaches into residents' wellsFor decades, thousands of residents in California's agricultural heartland couldn't use their wells because the water was too contaminated with pesticides. In December, the Biden administration stepped in with a long-awaited $20m grant to provide clean water, improve municipal sources and relieve the region's financial and health burden.The Trump administration just took the money away. Continue reading...

Throwing things away is bad. Buying them in the first place was probably bad, too. But the act of disposing of them at the rubbish tip is a glorious moment of relief and releaseA friend of mine surprised me with the vehemence of his love for something. He's about my age, a highly successful maker of important television and avid consumer of Radio 4 and the Guardian. A keen thinker about things, he likes books and podcasts that are a little too advanced for me. All in all, he didn't seem the type to say what he said, over a pint in our local. Furthermore, there was even a slightly glazed, far-off look in his eye when he announced, with such great feeling rising from deep in his soul: I really love going to the dump." It was only then that I realised I was free to admit to sharing this love. It was a moving, bonding moment between us. One love. For the dump.My dump visits had hitherto been shrouded in a mist of shame. Throwing things away is bad, not least because buying them in the first place was bad, or at least not entirely necessary, which may amount to the same thing. Also, isn't it all an exercise in shifting the responsibility for your junk on to someone - everyone? - else? This notion that it is magically being recycled, repurposed, reused is surely a fantasy, not much more than a veneer of righteousness to help those of us who feel guilty about it to feel less guilty about it. Continue reading...

President's opposition to offshore wind more than a decade ago now threatens a huge industry in the US and beyondDonald Trump's bitter dislike of renewable energy first erupted publicly 14 years ago in a seemingly trivial spat over wind turbines visible from his Scottish golf course. As Trump returns to Scotland this week, though, he is using the US presidency to squash clean power, with major ramifications for the climate crisis and America's place in the world.Trump will visit his Turnberry and Aberdeenshire golf courses during the Scottish trip, the latter venue being the stage of a lengthy battle by the president to halt 11 nearby offshore wind turbines. From 2011, Trump, then a reality TV star and property mogul, argued the ugly" turbines visible from the Menie golf course were monstrosities" that would help sink Scotland's tourism industry. Continue reading...

As the Trump administration dismisses global heating, the coastal city is getting on with becoming one of the most climate resilient in the world. Here's howPatrick Devine, a captain for Boston Harbor City Cruises, shows me on his phone the scenes here in September 2024. The water was ankle-deep outside the door to his office on Long Wharf, one of the US city's oldest piers, obscuring the pavements and walkways, surging into buildings and ruining vehicles in the car parks. It just gets worse and worse each year," says Devine, who has worked here, on and off, since 1995. I've gotten used to it, so it's just knowing your way around it."Much of Boston has got used to this. Devine has his own supply of sandbags now, for example. Next door to his office is the Chart House restaurant - when Long Wharf flooded last September, customers merrily sat at outside tables, holding their feet above the waterline, as servers with black bin bags for trousers waded over to bring them their lunches. The restaurant's floor level is lower than that of the wharf, so the water came up to knee level in some areas. It's just part of business," says one waiter, as he points out how the plug sockets are all at waist height. The place has flooded three times in the year he's worked here. We just clean it up, squeeze it out, open the doors, dry it out. It is what it is." Continue reading...

Move expected to help negotiations with US for lower trade tariffs on exports, but Labor says decision was made after scientific assessment

Vanuatu climate change minister says ICJ opinion gives Pacific island nations much greater leverage' in dealing with partners such as Australia

In his new book, The Anthropocene Illusion, photographer Zed Nelson reflects on the surreal environments created as people destroy nature, yet crave connection to itThe Anthropocene is a new term used by scientists to describe our age. While scientific experts argue about the start date, many point to about 200 years ago, when the accelerated effects of human activity on the ecosphere were turbocharged by the Industrial Revolution. Our planet is said to have crossed into a new epoch: from the Holocene to the Anthropocene, the age of the human.The strata of rock being created under our feet today will reveal the impact of human activity long after we are gone. Future geologists will find radioactive isotopes from nuclear-bomb tests, huge concentrations of plastics, the fallout from the burning of fossil fuels and vast deposits of cement used to build our cities. Meanwhile, a report by the World Wide Fund for Nature and the British Zoological Society shows an average decrease of 73% of wild animal populations on Earth over the past 50 years, as we push creatures and plants to extinction by removing their habitats. Continue reading...

Decision is a significant blow for MACH Energy's Mount Pleasant coalmine expansion in Muswellbrook in the upper Hunter

Exclusive: Anthony Albanese sought advice on strategy' as federal and state governments prepared for potential impacts of an adverse decision'

Dudderhouse Hill in dales is thought to be one of first structures in UK to be communally constructed by humansA rare and remarkable 5,000-year-old monument that is an example of one of the earliest visible structures in England is to receive extra protection because walkers, sometimes innocently, have been removing and moving stones.The Dudderhouse Hill long cairn in the Yorkshire Dales has been granted scheduled monument" status by the government, making it a site of national importance with greater legal protection. Continue reading...

Scheme rolled out Wednesday reveals intent to dismantle some environmental and land-use regulationsThe Trump administration has unveiled plans to speed the development of the highly polluting artificial intelligence sector, sparking outrage from climate advocates.Rolled out on Wednesday, the 28-page scheme pledges to remove so-called bureaucratic red tape" and streamline permitting for datacenters, semiconductor manufacturing facilities and fossil fuel infrastructure. Continue reading...

Activists launch civil disobedience campaign in New York and San Francisco after company dropped climate vowsSeven people were arrested as hundreds of climate and Indigenous rights activists participated in non-violent demonstrations at Wells Fargo's corporate offices in New York City and San Francisco on Wednesday, in what marks the launch of a summer of civil disobedience against billionaires and corporations accused of cowering to Donald Trump.In New York City, dozens of protesters stormed the lobby of the bank's corporate offices, disrupting employees by blocking the entrance and calling out what they describe as Wells Fargo's complicity in the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Landmark opinion says those that fail to prevent climate harm could be liable for compensation and restitutionStates must tackle fossil fuels, the world's top court has ruled, and failing to prevent harm to the climate could result in them being ordered to pay reparations.In a landmark advisory opinion published on Wednesday, the international court of justice (ICJ) said countries must prevent harm to the climate system and that failing to do so could result in their having to pay compensation and make other forms of restitution. Continue reading...

GMB and Prospect say government needs greater focus on green energy amid political shift away from net zero commitmentsThe Labour government needs to ramp up the creation of green jobs or risk workers being tempted to vote for parties opposing the shift to net zero, two major unions have said.The GMB and Prospect, who between them represent tens of thousands of energy workers, said there needs to be more of a focus on increasing green jobs as the fossil fuel industry is increasingly phased out. Continue reading...

As Senate establishes inquiry into the human-mediated disaster', a report is calling for more long-term action

Speaking to Ruth Rogers, the actor took aim at the film industry's lack of sustainability, noting he could feed a family with the amount I'm eating' when bulking up for film rolesBenedict Cumberbatch has called the Hollywood film industry grossly wasteful", taking particular issue with its squandering of resources in the aid of set building, lighting - and bulking up physiques for blockbusters.It's horrific eating beyond your appetite," Cumberbatch told Ruth Rogers on her food-focused podcast, Ruthie's Table 4, adding that when he was shooting Marvel's Doctor Strange, he would eat five meals a day. In addition, he would snack on boiled eggs, almonds and cheese, in order to try to ingest enough protein to transform his body. Continue reading...

Jacob Rees-Mogg's Tory fantasy of a post-Brexit bonfire of regulations is coming true. Our bodies and ecosystems will pay the priceIt's what the extreme right of the Tory party wanted from Brexit: to tear down crucial public protections, including those that defend us from the most brutal and dangerous forms of capital. The Conservatives lost office before they were able to do their worst. But never mind, because Labour has now picked up the baton.A month ago, so quietly that most of us missed it, the government published a consultation on deregulating chemicals. While most consultations last for 12 weeks, this one runs for eight, half of which cover the holiday period - it closes on 18 August. The intention is set out at the beginning: to reduce costs to business". This, as repeated statements by Keir Starmer make clear, means tearing up the rules.George Monbiot is a Guardian columnistOn Tuesday 16 September, join George Monbiot, Mikaela Loach and other special guests at the Guardian's climate assembly, live at the Barbican in London and livestreamed globally. Book tickets here or at Guardian.Live Continue reading...

Petrostates and well-funded lobbyists at UN-hosted talks are derailing a deal to cut plastic production and protect people and the planetBeing surrounded and yelled at about misrepresenting reality" is not how serious United Nations-hosted negotiations are meant to proceed. But that is what happened to Prof Bethanie Carney Almroth during talks about a global treaty to slash plastic pollution in Ottawa, Canada. The employees of a large US chemicals company formed a ring" around her, she says.At another event in Ottawa, Carney Almroth was harassed and intimidated" by a plastic packaging representative, who barged into the room and shouted that she was fearmongering and pushing misinformation. That meeting was an official event organised by the UN. So I filed the harassment reports with the UN," said Carney Almroth. The guy had to apologise, and then he left the meeting. He was at the next meeting." Continue reading...

Deal struck in 1980s refunds about half of what the US multinational fossil fuel company paid in royalties, documents show

Antonio Guterres says sun is rising on a clean energy age' as 90% of renewable power projects cheaper than fossil fuelsThe world is on the brink of a breakthrough in the climate fight and fossil fuels are running out of road, the UN chief said on Tuesday, as he urged countries to funnel support into low-carbon energy.More than nine in 10 renewable power projects globally are now cheaper than fossil fuel alternatives. Solar power is about 41% cheaper than the lowest-cost fossil fuel alternative, and onshore wind generation is less than half the price of fossil fuels, according to a report from the International Renewable Energy Agency. Continue reading...

Naturalists say it has been an outstanding" summer for butterflies and other flying insects after last summer's dramatic decline. Here are some of your sightings so far this year Continue reading...

The dark waters of San Antonio estuary are thought to hide 190 bodies, killed over decades of conflict. The first state-backed search turned to local experts to try to find themAs scuba diver Pedro Albarracin scours the muddy seabed surrounding Skull Island, opposite the Colombian port city of Buenaventura, he invokes the protection of Yemaya, goddess of the seas, and Oshun, goddess of the rivers - deities of the Yoruba faith.The dark waters of the San Antonio estuary around him are believed to conceal the bodies of at least 190 people disappeared during Colombia's long and violent armed conflict, a struggle that gave the islet its morbid name. Continue reading...

Agency will no longer use socially disadvantaged', which describes people subjected to discrimination, including Black, Hispanic, Native American, and Asian groupsThis story was originally published by Capital B, a nonprofit newsroom that centers Black voices.Lloyd Wright isn't shocked that the US Department of Agriculture is reversing a 35-year-old policy meant to help Black farmers in favor of a race-neutral approach. Continue reading...

Processing debris from Israel's destruction of homes, schools and hospitals could take four decadesMillions of tonnes of rubble left by Israel's bombardment of Gaza could generate more than 90,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions - and take as long as four decades to remove and process, a study has found.Israel's destruction of Palestinian homes, schools and hospitals in Gaza generated at least 39m tonnes of concrete debris between October 2023 and December 2024, which will require at least 2.1m dump trucks driving 18m miles (29.5m km) to transport to disposal sites, researchers said. Continue reading...

Inquiry to look into water quality, tourism, ecosystem health, Indigenous communities, fishing, and responses of state and federal governments

Queensland Conservation Council releases images appearing to show large areas of bushland felled within threatened species habitat

Public holiday announced in Tehran as government tries to grapple with deepening water crisisIranian authorities have asked people to limit water consumption amid severe heatwaves and a water crisis across the country.Iran is experiencing its hottest week of the year, according to the national meteorological service, with temperatures exceeding 50C in some areas. Continue reading...

Two years after the Nova Kakhovka dam was destroyed in Ukraine, nature has returned in abundance to the drained land in a big natural experiment' - but it could be lost as quickly as it appearedAt the southern tip of Europe's largest river island, the ground falls away into a vast and unexpected vista. From a high, rocky ledge on Khortytsia Island, the view opens on to a sea of swaying young willows and mirrored lagoons. Some of the trees are already many metres tall, but this is a young forest. Just a few years ago, all of it was under water.This is Velykyi Luh - the Great Meadow," says Valeriy Babko, a retired history teacher and army veteran, standing on the former reservoir shoreline at Malokaterynivka village. For him, this extraordinary new-old environment represents more than nature alone.Water flows over the collapsed Kakhovka dam on 7 June 2023. Photograph: AP Continue reading...

Twenty-seven trunks symbolise child flood victims: They died as a result of choices - terrible and deadly choices'Twenty-seven blue, pink and purple trunks, adorned with yellow roses and other flowers, were placed within view of the White House on Monday - each representing a child who perished when Camp Mystic in Texas was overwhelmed by a devastating flood.We are gentle, angry people and we are singing for our lives," sang a group of activists, including mothers from Texas, as they protested against the deadly consequences of government cuts and Donald Trump's inaction on the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Ofwat abolished as ministers adopt Cunliffe review ideas such as sewage map naming and shaming firms

This precious resource should never have been privatised, and tougher regulation won't solve the problemLabour could have chosen the public interest over the profit motive, as it set about its promised reorganisation of the water industry in England and Wales. Polling last year showed a higher level of support for publicly owned water companies than railways. Yet while train companies are being renationalised as contracts expire, ministers ruled out a reversal of 1989's water privatisation before they commissioned Sir Jon Cunliffe, a former central banker, to report on how they could improve this failing industry through tougher regulation.This newspaper regrets that the question of ownership was taken off the table. Water is among the most precious of all natural resources and the promarket logic for the sell-off was bogus. In the absence of competition, regional monopolies were created and, in the decades since, businesses have enriched themselves while failing to fulfil their responsibilities. No other European government has followed suit in offloading vital infrastructure including pipes and reservoirs, and enabling investors to extract wealth by loading up balance sheets with debt.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

A harder rain needs to fall on those responsible for the water crisis. Let Thames Water fail - it doesn't deserve a bailoutIn a bone dry summer, every drop of water counts. So, even though the rain is finally falling again now, it's still hard to take it for granted, or to ignore the way that everything in the countryside still feels unnervingly out of rhythm: earth too cracked, grass too bleached, wheat harvest being brought in too early, rivers too low - and, knowing what Thames Water has been pumping into them, water quite possibly too dirty to cool off in.In May, the company was fined 122.7m for the combined sins of sewage dumping and continuing to pay shareholder dividends despite its environmental failings. It responded by protesting that it might go bust if actually held accountable for its actions, a sentence that sums up everything people find infuriating about the water industry. Yet its resentful customers have no choice but to keep paying bills that are expected to rise by a third over the next five years - though Thames Water, inevitably, asked to be allowed to charge more - while wondering how we ever let a commodity this precious become so badly managed, heading into a volatile new era of summer drought and winter flood.Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...