Environment | The Guardian

Climate crisis drives near-total collapse of staghorn and elkhorn corals that formed backbone to state's reefsTwo of the most important coral species that made up Florida's reef are now functionally extinct after a withering ocean heatwave caused catastrophic losses, scientists have found.The near-total collapse of the corals that once formed the backbone of reefs in Florida and the Caribbean means they can no longer play their previously crucial role in building and sustaining reef ecosystems that host a variety of marine life. Continue reading...

Do I really need to replace my telephone every two years? Could my next laptop be recycled rather than brand new?I have an urgent desire to shed myself of goods and chattels.The acquisitions of a fortunate life have accumulated like an overflowing email inbox and simply must be dealt with while I am alive, and not left to my children to wrangle when they'll (hopefully, long down the track) be grieving. Continue reading...

Study of Met Office data one of first to show how nocturnal insects affected by factors such as light pollutionScientists have used Met Office radar data to track the trillions of insects flying above the UK for the first time, revealing a concerning decline in nocturnal species.The team repurposed data from the UK's network of 15 weather surveillance radars, which scan the sky hundreds of times a day. Continue reading...

New national interest' provision revealed as extracts of legislation circulated to stakeholders before bill introduced to parliament later this week

Incident follows several crocodile sightings around Cape Tribulation as breeding season begins and risks of aggression increase

Governor of one prefecture says he is considering asking the military for help to tackle increasing attacks amid thousands-strong bear populationKnowing what to do in the event of a close encounter with a bear was once a concern only for hikers and foragers in Japan. Now, however, people in populated areas are being urged to learn how to protect themselves following a spate of attacks, as the animals leave their natural habitats in search of food.Bear encounters are generating almost daily headlines. In the past week in Akita prefecture, the animals attacked a jogger and a walker in built-up areas, while another terrorised four people before holing up inside a nearby house. None of the victims was seriously injured. Continue reading...

Graeme Samuel says he is puzzled' by the opposition's desire to split the EPBC Act into two parts given his previous interactions with Sussan Ley

As Cop30 approaches, a new report makes it clear the survival of isolated tribes is under threat as protections are eroded. It's time our countries fulfilled their obligations to defend Indigenous peopleA new report published on Monday by the NGO Survival International reveals 196 uncontacted Indigenous groups across 10 countries in South America, Asia and the Pacific, according to a five-year study titled Uncontacted peoples: At the edge of survival. Half of these groups - tens of thousands of people - face extinction within a decade due to industrial activity, criminal gangs and missionary incursions, with logging, mining and agribusiness cited as the primary threats.The report also warns that even indirect contact, such as disease spread by outsiders, could devastate populations, while the climate crisis and illegal activities further endanger their survival. Continue reading...

Sussan Ley wants to prioritise practical' measures for fast-track projects but delay protections for nature

Fish named after Olympic swimming champion Ariarne Titmus was most recently tracked at a section of the mid-Murray, near Belsar Island

Russia's arrest of a Ukrainian scientist this week over his support for curbs on krill fishing have thrown the vital role of the tiny marine species into the spotlightAntarctic krill are small, shrimp-like marine crustaceans (Euphausia superba). They feed on plankton and are the main food source for larger marine animals. The word krill" comes from the Norwegian word kril" meaning the small fry of fish. Continue reading...

Trumped-up' charges spark diplomatic row as scientists express fears for health of 70-year-old Leonid Pshenichnov

With tourists outnumbering locals by 20:1, islanders say levy is needed to help protect neolithic sites and maintain public servicesArtisan jewellery, gift and whisky shops crowd the main street of Kirkwall on Orkney. The town even has a new sushi shop, offering bento boxes and matcha cheesecake.Once home to the Viking earls who ruled the islands, Kirkwall has hit it rich: it tops the UK's charts for cruise ship visits, as American, German and Italian tourists descend on remarkable neolithic sites such as Skara Brae and its medieval cathedral. Continue reading...

Exclusive: High cost of homes near green spaces may be deepening health inequalities, says wildlife coalitionYoung first-time buyers in the UK are being forced into areas that are starved of nature, research has found.Experts say young people are moving into nature deserts" because government policy has failed to create greener and healthier new-build properties. Continue reading...

Retention of ministerial powers satisfies key demand of Coalition and industry but disappoints groups who wanted arms-length' review

The Klamath River began rebounding almost immediately. Now, Indigenous youth are leading the next chapter of the recovery, inspiring tribes from Brazil to ChinaRuby Williams's pink kayak pierced the fog shrouding the mouth of the Klamath River, and she paddled harder. She was flanked on both sides by fellow Indigenous youth from across the basin, and their line of brightly colored boats would make history when they reached the Pacific Ocean on the other side of the sandy dunes - they were going to do it together.The final of four hydroelectric dams were removed last year from the Klamath River, in the largest project of its kind in US history. The following July, 28 teenage tribal representatives completed a 30-day journey that spanned roughly 310 miles (500km) from the headwaters in the Cascades to the Pacific. They were the very first to kayak the entirety of the mighty river in more than a century. Continue reading...

Officials say move essential to protect wetlands and native waterfowl but some groups call decision inhumane'A new law in California will allow year-round killing of non-native swans starting next year - a move that some officials have said is essential to protect the state's already diminished wetlands and native waterfowl, but which others have labeled as inhumane".Mute swans, which have been valued as ornamental birds, have rapidly expanded across California, where wildlife officials say they degrade habitats and aggressively displace native species. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Regulator has received 1,221 complaints about UK broadcasters since 2020 but found no breaches of its codeThe UK's TV and radio regulator is allowing GB News and others to flout" accuracy rules and broadcast climate change denial, say campaigners. Instances cited include describing global heating as the climate scam" and suggesting the government was going to introduce enforced veganism".Ofcom has received 1,221 complaints related to the climate crisis since January 2020, when its searchable database began. None resulted in a ruling that the broadcasting code had been breached. In fact, only two such breaches have been found since 2007. Continue reading...

There are some decent elements in what Labor is proposing, but the overhaul could end up as tinkering rather than transformation

Zoe Rosenberg, a California student, is on trial over a tactic that animal rights activists consider a moral imperative. Critics say it's a threat to the food supplyOn a Monday afternoon in late September, Zoe Rosenberg, a 23-year-old University of California, Berkeley, student, emerged from a courtroom in Santa Rosa, California. Flanked by her lawyers, she moved briskly through the courthouse corridors, past more than 100 prospective jurors.Pinned to her black blazer was a tiny metallic chicken, glinting on the lapel. Continue reading...

Former Paralympics champion says inaccessible charging points show government has forgotten about us'Campaigners including Tanni Grey-Thompson have warned that disabled drivers are at risk of being locked out of the electric car transition because of inaccessible chargers.The former Paralympics champion and the Electric Vehicle Association England are pushing for the government to introduce standards to ensure chargers are easy to reach. Continue reading...

Current and former employees say they were not adequately protected despite knowledge of health risksTen lawsuits have been filed against Drax after diagnoses of asthma allegedly linked to its wood pellet fuel, it has been revealed.Current and former workers at the UK's largest power station claim they have not been adequately protected against sustained exposure to wood dust, which can cause serious health problems including asthma, dermatitis and nasal cancer. Continue reading...

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

Exclusive: Fat, oil and grease built up in sewerage pipes before being dislodged by heavy rain and ejected from Malabar outfall

Committee urges ministers to set out measures to reduce carbon emissions before work starts on new runwaysAirport expansion plans backed by the government are putting the UK's net zero target in serious jeopardy", MPs have warned.Without new safeguards, proposals to enlarge airports including Heathrow and Gatwick could push the UK over its carbon budgets, according to a report from the cross-party Commons environmental audit committee. Continue reading...

National Petroleum Reserve lease sales and permitting for road through Izembek wildlife refuge were also approvedThe Trump administration has approved more oil and gas drilling across Alaska's Arctic national wildlife refuge (ANWR), prompting widespread criticism from environmental conservation organizations.On Thursday, the interior secretary announced the opening of 1.56m acres across ANWR's coastal plains, which is home to various wildlife including polar bears, caribou and moose, as well as whales and seals. Continue reading...

Local non-profits and schools are helping students explore traditional practices paired with modern science to make food sovereignty a realityThe Blackfeet Nation is a remote and rugged landscape on the windswept plains of northern Montana. While rich in resources, the remote location and management by the federal government have made food access a challenge here.Only four grocery stores serve the entire reservation. Fresh, healthy produce and meat options are often limited at these stores, and prices are higher than in neighboring communities, making access difficult for low-income families. Instead, highly processed foods, rich in sugars, carbohydrates and fat make up the bulk of the food choices. Continue reading...

Severe blob' or marine heatwave can lead to increased inundation and wintery weather in eastern North AmericaA marine heatwave known as a blob was especially severe this year in the north-western and central Pacific Ocean, which could lead in the coming months to increased flooding in the US Pacific north-west and especially wintery weather in eastern North America, according to climate scientists.The temperature in August in the northern Pacific was 2.5C above preindustrial levels, according to Berkeley Earth, a non-profit that studies global warming. Continue reading...

French multinational is ordered to remove its website messages about aiming for carbon neutrality

Albanese government will need to make major concessions to pass promised federal nature laws as Liberals attack nature positive 2.0'

Former European officers say spending on low-carbon power would make nations more resilient to threats from potential aggressorsInvestment in renewable energy should be counted under defence expenditure, says a group of retired senior military personnel, because the climate crisis represents a threat to national security.They have called for increased spending on low-carbon power as a way of making the UK and other European countries more resilient to threats from Russia and other potential aggressors. Continue reading...

Environment Agency rates eight of nine companies as poor and needing improvement

The migration of Christmas Island's red crabs is in full swing, with roads closed in some places to protect millions of the crustaceans. Every year, the crabs emerge from the forest to travel to the ocean to breed, creating a red tide across the island. The Christmas Island national park said a massive spawning event will take place around 15 and 16 November, with a second spawning in mid-December Continue reading...

From a red-throated loon landing on water, to good and bad hair days and an airborne squirrel, here is a selection of the finalists in this year's Nikon Comedy Wildlife awards. A winner will be announced on 9 December Continue reading...

In 2024, nearly a million hectares of Ukraine's land burned. Heat, mines and shelling contributed, but footage of drones targeting firefighters has raised the question of war crimesNatalia Pryprosta was tending to her pigs when fire swept into the village of Studenok, near the city of Izium in eastern Ukraine. There was no time. She grabbed her papers, pulled her elderly mother into a friend's car, and tried to get the animals out of the shed. Smoke and the speed of the blaze made it impossible. She didn't see the animals burning, but learned of their fate later.Smoke smothered Studenok, turning the village as dark as night. Pryprosta's neighbours fought the flames with shovels, digging in scorched earth to stop the crown fire's advance. Firefighters arrived, but the blaze was relentless. At one point, it surged around a fire truck, trapping the crew. Continue reading...

Sussan Ley's sharp criticism marks a shift for the opposition, which had appeared open to a deal on the bill

Use of wood-burning stoves and fires in homes is mostly unnecessary and their toxic pollution costs the NHS millionsThe burning of wood and coal in homes contributes to almost 2,500 deaths a year in the UK, analysis has found. Stopping unnecessary burning would save the NHS more than 54m a year, the experts concluded.Wood-burning stoves and open fires are one the biggest sources of small pollution particles, which cause heart and lung disease, and their use has risen in recent years. The report also links this toxic air pollution to 3,700 cases of diabetes and 1,500 cases of asthma a year, although the health impacts are likely to be underestimated. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Promise to remove almost all fossil fuels from UK's electricity supply by 2030 may be quietly abandoned over costMinisters are considering dropping one of their central green pledges in an effort to keep energy bills down, sources have told the Guardian.Government insiders say Keir Starmer is prepared to miss his own target of removing almost all fossil fuels from the UK's electricity supply by 2030 if doing so proves much more expensive than building gas power instead. Continue reading...

US and Qatar say new rules will hinder imports of LNG, posing existential threat' to European economiesThe US has demanded that the European Union roll back its climate and human rights rules in order to allow greater imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), as the Trump administration approved a controversial gas export hub along the Gulf of Mexico coast.A letter jointly sent by the US and Qatar, two of the three largest LNG exporters in the world, warned the EU that its new rules pose an existential threat" to European economies as they would hinder imports of gas from countries such as theirs. Continue reading...

Council had initially defended the fixed-penalty penalty issued to Burcu Yesilyurt near Richmond stationA woman from west London who was fined 150 for pouring the dregs of her morning coffee down a street drain has had the penalty revoked after a council review.Three enforcement officers stopped Burcu Yesilyurt near Richmond station on 10 October and handed her a fixed-penalty notice on her way to work. Continue reading...

Transport secretary says updated airports national policy statement (ANPS) will be published by next summer

LA wildfires and storms this year cost $101bn, new study by non-profit resurrecting work axed by Trump saysThe first half of 2025 was the costliest on record for major disasters in the US, driven by huge wildfires in Los Angeles and storms that battered much of the rest of the country, according to a climate non-profit that has resurrected work axed by Donald Trump's administration that tracked the biggest disasters.In the first six months of this year, 14 separate weather-related disasters that each caused at least $1bn in damage hit the US, the Climate Central group has calculated. In total, these events cost $101bn in damages - lost homes, businesses, highways and other infrastructure - a toll higher than any other first half of a year since records on this began in 1980. Continue reading...

Experts say the administration's Maha agenda betrays the public' and doesn't actually seek to regulate junk foodAs health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr has repeatedly blamed industrially manufactured food products for the country's chronic illness and obesity crises, and urged Americans to limit their consumption of foods with added sugar, salt, fat, dyes and preservatives.Amid a slew of controversial and unbacked public health claims, his stance on ultra-processed foods is one of his least polarizing. More than 65% of Americans say they are in favor of reforming processed foods to remove added sugars and added dyes, according to a January Associated Press and National Opinion Research Center poll. Continue reading...

Data analysis found higher than average migration growth to the US from areas in Guatemala, Bangladesh and Senegal hit by repeated climate disastersThis article was produced in partnership between Columbia Journalism Investigations and Documented.Mohamed* sat cross-legged on the carpet before Friday afternoon prayers at a mosque in the South Bronx in New York City and shared memories of his crops. Continue reading...

Green groups defend essential' levy, but Gu desserts and Belvoir drinks among those who say shoppers pick up billA packaging tax designed to end our throwaway society is under fire for inadvertently adding to food price inflation as it pushes up the cost of everything from sausages to soft drinks.It's about 3p on a pack of sausages," says Andrew Keeble, the co-founder of Heck, of the new extended producer responsibility (EPR) tax. Continue reading...

Interviews with experts and key players across four countries reveal why efforts to stop the multibillion-euro trafficking industry have failed - and how to save the endangered fishBy 10am on the midsummer Day of the Ox, the city of Narita smells of charcoal and sugar. The cobbled road is thronged with visitors lining up to buy grilled eel, a traditional delicacy believed to cool the body and keep spirits up in the humid weather.We'll be so sad if it becomes extinct and we can't eat eel any more," says a customer sitting on the tatami-mat floor in Kawatoyo, a popular restaurant specialising in grilled eel, which has been operating for more than 115 years.Kabayaki-style eel, grilled with tare sauce, served at Kawatoyo restaurant in Narita. Photograph: Toru Hanai Continue reading...

Private briefings confirm how Labor intends to deal with some contentious elements of rewritten Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act

Sydney's Observatory Hill peaks at 37C on Wednesday - below the 39C forecast - as the mercury in other parts of the city neared 40C

Annual survey finds about 21% of 249 swimming sites across NSW received ratings of poor' or very poor' for water quality

Get out of the Honda Gwyneth!