Environment | The Guardian

Property owners dumped 15,000 tons of sand in a Massachusetts town to fend off dangerous tides, but it was swept away in 72 hoursA sand dune that cost homeowners on a Massachusetts beach more than half a million dollars to construct has washed away after just three days.An affluent group of beachfront property owners in Salisbury, Massachusetts - a coastal town 35 miles north of Boston - are mourning the loss of their investment after a safety measure they took to protect their homes failed. Continue reading...

Green MP Caroline Lucas says call for investment in gas-fired power plants is election ploy that will jeopardise UK's net zero targetGreen MP Caroline Lucas has accused the government of stoking a culture war on climate issues by calling for more investment in new gas-fired power plants before a general election.Lucas used an urgent question in the House of Commons to challenge the energy minister, Graham Stuart, on the plans set out on Wednesday, which could see a string of new plants built in the coming years despite the government's commitment to phase out fossil fuels. Continue reading...

Planned overhaul of Environment Protection Authority's powers to be biggest since it began in 1991, government says

Leaks of heat-trapping methane - about 3% of gas produced in US - cost $9.3bn yearly in climate damage, but the problem is fixableUS oil and natural gas wells, pipelines and compressors are spewing three times the amount of the potent heat-trapping gas methane as the government has determined, causing $9.3bn in yearly climate damage, a new comprehensive study calculates.But because more than half of these methane emissions are coming from a tiny number of oil and gas sites, 1% or less, this means the problem is both worse than the government has determined but also fairly fixable, said the lead author of a study in the journal Nature. Continue reading...

Negligence, physical and verbal abuse are common in unregulated industry. Now labor groups and government officials are trying to crack downLabor groups and government officials are pushing to rein in rampant abuses of workers in the fishing industry, where migrant laborers are frequently subjected to slavery and violence from employers.One out of every five fish is caught through illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in conditions where abuses of workers are common, according to a United Nations estimate. About 128,000 workers are thought to be currently trapped in forced labor on remote fishing vessels around the world, according to the International Labour Organization. Continue reading...

Richmond Wildlife Center posts video demonstrating how they are preventing the female baby fox from imprinting on humansA Virginia wildlife center has figured out how to prevent abandoned newborn animals - specifically foxes - from imprinting on humans, doing so by wearing a giant fox mask while feeding the babies.At a first glance, a video of the development looks like just another uncanny clip found on the internet. A person wearing a fox mask with beady eyes and a moveable mouth towers over a palm-sized, squirming creature, what looks like a newborn kitten, while feeding it with a teat-like tube. Continue reading...

Coalition's claim of cheap power and quickly built reactors is at odds with real world experience of other countries

Thousands of farmers have been persuaded by TREES scheme to replace barren monocultures with biodiverse forest gardensIn a world of monoculture cash crops, an innovative African project is persuading farmers to plant biodiverse forest gardens that feed the family, protect the soil and expand tree cover.Could Trees for the Future (TREES) be a rare example of a mass reforestation campaign that actually works? The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) certainly thinks so and last month awarded it the status of World Restoration Flagship. Continue reading...

But 98% of Europeans live in areas WHO says have unhealthy levels of PM2.5Air pollution levels have improved in Europe over the past 20 years, research has found.However, despite these improvements, most of the European population lives in areas exceeding the World Health Organization's recommended levels. About 98% of Europeans live in areas the WHO says have unhealthy levels of small particles known as PM2.5, 80% for larger ones known as PM10, and 86% for nitrogen dioxide.See how polluted your part of Europe is Continue reading...

Analysis finds 58 people have died due to cold homes every winter day since 2013 Tory pledge to cut the green crap'The government's failure to insulate the UK's cold and leaky homes is costing thousands of lives a year, according to analysis.The report from Greenpeace reveals 58 people have died due to cold homes every day on average during the winter since David Cameron's Conservative government decided to cut the green crap" in 2013 - drastically slashing support for home insulation. Continue reading...

Ocean temperatures are off the charts', say experts who blame the tide of hot weather on global heating

Soon it will head back north to the demilitarised zone between North and South Korea where it can breed undisturbedI opened the windows to the hide and was greeted by a mass of birds. Hundreds of cormorants, gulls, herons, egrets, ducks and waders, all feeding frantically as the rising tide covered up the fertile mud. Overhead, black kites patrolled half-heartedly, occasionally provoking the other birds to take to the wing in short-lived panic, before settling back down to feed or rest.I witnessed this spectacle at the World Wide Fund for Nature's Mai Po nature reserve in Hong Kong, justly celebrated as one of the most important wetlands in the world. Either side of high tide, birds gather here in vast numbers against the backdrop of Shenzhen, one of the fastest-growing cities in the world, just across the border in mainland China. Continue reading...

Government has no credible plan for effects of extreme weather, says Committee on Climate ChangeThe UK's plans for adapting to the effects of the climate crisis fall far short" of what is required, the government's statutory adviser has said.The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has examined the national adaptation programme published by ministers last July, intended to set out how people, buildings and vital national infrastructure such as water, transport, energy and telecommunications networks could be protected from the increasing severity of storms, floods, heatwaves and droughts that are afflicting the UK as a result of global heating. Continue reading...

Playing sounds fromhealthy coral reefs at degraded ones encourages coral larvae to settle, a study has found.Scientists recorded audio from thriving reefs and then played it back at reefs in decline. Their work suggests that coral larvae respond to soundsin the ocean to work out where best to settle and grow Continue reading...

Record Western Australian rainfall has closed the Eyre Highway that links Perth to the eastern states and flooded outback stations, including Australia's largest operating sheep station Rawlinna. Parts of WA experienced more than half a year's rain in 24 hours over the weekend, with more than 155mm of rain recorded at Rawlinna

The sewage treatment works at Horley seem to be crumbling, much like owner Thames Water itself

Exclusive: Sarah Olney to press in parliament for details of scheme being drawn up in event of supplier's collapse

Thunberg and other activists dragged away from doorway they were obstructing in climate protestSwedish police have forcibly removed Greta Thunberg and other climate activists after they blocked the entrance to the Swedish parliament for a second day.Two officers lifted Thunberg and dragged her away before putting her down on the ground about 20 metres away from the door she had been obstructing. Continue reading...

Swedish police have forcibly removed Greta Thunberg and other climate activists after they blocked the entrance to the Swedish parliament for a second day. Two officers lifted Thunberg and dragged her away before putting her down on the ground about 20 metres away from the door she had been obstructing. Thunberg and dozens of other environmental campaigners started blocking the main entrances to Sweden's parliament on Monday in a sit-down protest against the effects of the climate crisis and what they said was political inaction

Reaching for the single-use paper towel can feel like a crime in a climate crisis - but how eco-friendly are the alternatives?It's an old adage: don't cry over spilled milk. But is it fair to want to cry over how many paper towels you have to use to clean up the mess? In an era of increasingly dire climate crisis, tossing out any single-use product feels wrong.Of course, there are lots of alternatives to paper towels: reusable bamboo napkins, microfiber cleaning cloths, cotton towels packaged on familiar paper towel rolls, even good old fashioned rags. Increasingly common today is the Swedish dishcloth. Continue reading...

Intent to sue federal regulators charges they have failed to address dangerous levels of PFAS forever chemicals' known to be in sludgeNew legal action could put an end to the practice of spreading toxic sewage sludge on US cropland as a cheap alternative to fertilizer, and force America to rethink how it disposes of its industrial and human waste.A notice of intent to sue federal regulators charges they have failed to address dangerous levels of PFAS forever chemicals" known to be in virtually all sludge. Continue reading...

The country saw rain in many regions instead of snow, a midwest heat patch, and ice receding from lakes and pondsThe US has just experienced its hottest ever winter, with record-breaking temperatures driving away snow and ice and causing the coldest months to feel bizarrely balmy in many parts of the country.Swaths of the lower 48 states had a lost" winter, with many of the coldest winter states - New York, Vermont, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and New Hampshire - all setting new record heat levels for the season, which concluded at the end of February, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa). Continue reading...

Lead researcher says use of machine learning meant over 10,000 cells could be produced and tested in a day

UK, Germany, Netherlands, Norway and Denmark have failed to align oil and gas policies with Paris pledges, say campaignersNone of the big oil and gas producers surrounding the North Sea plan to stop drilling soon enough to meet the 1.5C (2.7F) global heating target, a report has found.The five countries - the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Denmark - have failed to align their oil and gas policies with their climate promises under the Paris agreement, according to the campaign group Oil Change International. Continue reading...

Mount Donna Buang wingless stonefly could disappear after critical habitat determination rejected, conservationists say

PM says he will not gamble on energy security, in move likely to be seen as backwards step in decarbonising networkRishi Sunak risks further criticism from green campaigners after throwing his weight behind the building of new gas-fired power stations, saying he will not gamble with our energy security".The government will on Tuesday announce a plan to increase gas power capacity by providing extra certainty to investors that plants have a long-term future, even as Britain moves away from fossil fuels. Continue reading...

Police and wildlife officials were unable to rescue the animal because of high winds and surf in Gulf of Mexico watersA sperm whale who became stranded on a Florida beach over the weekend has died, state's fish and wildlife conservation commission said in a statement on Monday.The case was an urgent one for animal preservationists because sperm whales are classified as an endangered species. Continue reading...

Review found ongoing mistrust' among farmers, including many who remain unconvinced by need for pollution regulations

Activist accuses Sweden of being very good at greenwashing' as group sits outside building's main entranceGreta Thunberg has accused Sweden of being very good at greenwashing" as she staged a protest along with about 50 other activists outside her home country's parliament.The activists - who she said were acting as a group of concerned, largely young individuals rather than representing a particular organisation - sat outside the main entrance to Sweden's government buildings in Stockholm on Monday morning in an attempt to stop politicians from getting to work. Continue reading...

Right to roam campaigners organise demonstration amid anger at Bathurst Estate's introduction of 4 fee to visit parkHundreds of people are expected at a mass trespass of Cirencester Park in protest against the introduction of charges and electronic gates for pedestrians and joggers.Local people are fighting the charges, the first in 329 years since the landscaped parkland, part of the 6,300-hectare (15,500-acre) Bathurst Estate, was established beside the Cotswolds town. Continue reading...

Ministers disappointed by decision of one of worst sewage dumpers not to join England-wide initiativeThames Water has risked a fresh backlash over its commitment to tackling sewage dumping after it declined to commit funds to a 180m industry-wide initiative to fast-track efforts to reduce pollution in England's waterways.

Dangers of wildfires, extreme weather and other factors outgrowing preparedness, European Environment Agency saysEurope is not prepared for the rapidly growing climate risks it faces, the European Environment Agency (EEA) has said in its first risk assessment.From wildfires burning down homes to violent weather straining public finances, the report says more action is needed to address half of the 36 significant climate risks with potentially severe consequences that it identifies for Europe. Five more risks need urgent action, the report says. Continue reading...

Undercover crew finds cannibalism, untreated wounds and cramped and filthy conditions at Cross Farm

Researchers in Surrey say visible timers can also reduce water usage after installing sensors in 290 showersSwapping a feeble dribble for a powerful blast might seem like an environmental indulgence when it comes to taking a shower, but researchers say it might actually save water.Water consumption has become a key area of environmental concern given shortages of the resource, as well as the carbon footprint associated with its collection, treatment, supply and - in the case of most showers - heating. Continue reading...

Presence of birds proof of improving health of city's green spaces, as they are highly sensitive to environmental disturbancesFew things delight residents of Toronto more than unexpected animals in unexpected places.When a family of foxes took up residence beneath a boardwalk during the coronavirus pandemic, thousands flocked to the beach for a glimpse of the kits. When a beaver waddled throughout the city's downtown core with a large branch in its mouth, children excitedly cheered on the determined rodent. And even when a raccoon plunged parts of Toronto into darkness, the urban critters were celebrated for their wily, indefatigable character. Continue reading...

Los Alamos, New Mexico, is ramping up production of plutonium pits, a warhead part with documented health risksOppenheimer, the Christopher Nolan film up for several Academy Awards this weekend, tells the story of how J Robert Oppenheimer developed the world's first atomic bombs. Set in a secret laboratory in Los Alamos, on northern New Mexico's Pajarito plateau, the film pays scant attention to the Indigenous communities who inhabited the land before the Manhattan Project and the illnesses they endured after nuclear tests.Now, nearly 80 years later, Los Alamos is once again booming as the US modernizes its nuclear arsenal. Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), the only facility in the country currently producing plutonium cores of nuclear weapons, aim to ramp up production from zero to 30 pits per year over the next two years. The lab has hired some 4,000 new employees in the last two years, bringing the staff population up to nearly 16,000 people. Continue reading...

Move would be the first return of the animal in North America and is part of ongoing effort to restore native speciesA bipartisan group of Colorado lawmakers are proposing legislation to reintroduce wolverines, one of the country's rarest carnivores, into a state primed with deep snow and high mountains. The unprecedented move would be the first wolverine reintroduction in North America, and is part of an ongoing effort by Coloradans to restore the state's native species.Restoring wolverines to the Centennial state could provide the threatened species with a buffer population at a time when the US Fish and Wildlife Service says wolverines' low numbers face threats from climate change and habitat fragmentation. Conservationists and state biologists have long pushed for the reintroduction, saying Colorado has plenty of unoccupied habitat and could support as many as 100 or even 180 wolverines, dramatically increasing the species' North American population. Continue reading...

Yellow Dot Studios produces short-form videos to inform with genuine, righteous anger' and laugh-out-loud comedy'The ad opens on a bucolic mountainscape, a lush, ascending piano run playing in the background. Gauzy clips from nostalgic midcentury auto ads fill the screen. See the USA in your Chevrolet," 1950s diva Dinah Shore sings.But this isn't your average car advertisement. Soon, the title track from Singin' in the Rain begins to play, and scenes of cars burning amid wildfires and filling with water in floods start rolling. The once rollicking music becomes somber. Continue reading...

Proponents of bathing waters' designation say it would force action on sewage but others worry about impact of more visitorsThe waters of the River Cam are an unsettling lurid green on a dull day. The river that flows through Cambridge and has been enjoyed by swimmers including Lord Byron, Charles Darwin, Virginia Woolf and Roger Deakin is increasingly polluted from sewage discharges and phosphates and nitrates from farmland.Now swimmers hope that the government designating a short stretch of the river at Sheep's Green as bathing waters" will provide the impetus to clean it up. Continue reading...

Scientists and vets are urging the president to afford the world's most traded species better protectionsFrance's hunger for frogs' legs is destructive to nature" and endangering amphibians in Asia and south-east Europe, a group of scientists and vets have warned.More than 500 experts from research, veterinary and conservation groups have called on Emmanuel Macron, the French president, to end the overexploitation of frogs" and afford the most traded species better protections. Continue reading...

Unified command was formed to look in to the origin of the sheen, which did not seem to be expanding since it was first detectedAuthorities in southern California are investigating a 2.5-mile (4km) long oil sheen that emerged off the coast of Huntington Beach on Thursday evening.The sheen doesn't appear to be a crude oil spill - it could be the result of natural seepage - and federal and state teams have deployed to the area to determine the source. Continue reading...

Industry pressure has led state to prevent any city, county or municipality from adopting laborer protections amid extreme heatThe Florida legislature passed a bill on Friday that prevents any city, county, or municipality in the state from adopting legislation aimed at protecting outdoor workers from extreme heat, prompting many to call out lawmakers for being cruel" to the most vulnerable workers".Efforts to ensure potentially life-saving water breaks, rest and shade for construction and agriculture workers have failed largely due to industry pressure, a growing trend across south-western states, where heat related deaths are on the rise. Continue reading...

Research shows industry lobbying against support for solar panels and electric cars while enjoying subsidies itselfThe oil industry has fought against government support for clean technologies for more than half a century, the Guardian can reveal, even as vast subsidies have propped up its polluting business model.It lobbied lawmakers to block support for low-carbon technologies such as solar panels, electric cars and heat pumps as far back as the 1960s, analysis shows. Trade associations in the US and Europe stymied green innovations under the guise of supporting a technology neutral" approach to avoiding the damage done by burning their fuels. Continue reading...

After stalling plans for pollution regulations, Biden is trying to keep progressives onboard while appealing to swing state votersJoe Biden, touted as the US's first climate president, is presiding over the quiet weakening of his two most significant plans to slash planet-heating emissions, suggesting that tackling the climate crisis will take a back seat in a febrile election year.During his state of the union speech on Thursday, Biden insisted that his administration is making history by confronting the climate crisis, not denying it,", before reeling off a list of climate-friendly policies and accomplishments. I'm taking the most significant action on climate ever in the history of the world," the US president added. Continue reading...

With mass bleaching events so frequent, the prognosis is bad. Australia must lead with its actions on emissions and phasing out fossil fuel developmentWhat will it take for us to collectively pay attention? Not a new question, but a reasonable one after the official declaration that the Great Barrier Reef is suffering through another mass bleaching event driven by global heating - the fifth since 2016.There is no clearer visual demonstration of the climate crisis than what is happening to the reef. It's a globally unique landmark, made up of thousands of individual reefs and islands and an extraordinary and eccentric array of species. It has been growing into its modern form, spread across an area the size of Italy, for about 8,000 years. People travel from across the planet to witness it. And we can literally see the impact of climate change on it as it changes colour and loses life in real time. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Sadiq Khan hails remarkable progress' on air quality, with NO pollutants lower last year than in lockdown year of 2020Sadiq Khan has hailed what he said was remarkable progress in improving London's air quality under his tenure as mayor, after a study showed roadside pollutant levels falling faster in the city than elsewhere in the UK.The report, produced by the Greater London Authority (GLA) and Transport for London (TfL), said a good proportion of the improvement was the result of the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez), which was extended to all London boroughs last summer. Continue reading...

Shadow environment secretary says other similar countries have same target and it would save billions of poundsA Labour government would aim for a zero-waste economy by 2050, the shadow environment secretary has said.Steve Reed said the measure would save billions of pounds and also protect the environment from mining and other negative actions. He was speaking at the Restitch conference in Coventry, held by the thinktank Create Streets. Continue reading...

Feud with coastal commission goes back almost 45 years, with HOA blowing off $4.7m fine and drawing line in sand - a chain-link fenceA beachfront homeowners association in northern California locked in a longstanding feud over public access to the beach has drawn a line in the sand: a chain-link fence.Late last year, the California coastal commission doled out a $4.7m fine to the community in Santa Cruz county for blocking beach access, in a clear message that the HOA should remove the barriers it had set upon a path giving access to the Pacific Ocean. Continue reading...

Adelaide region expected to be worst affected with average temperatures forecast to be up by 10CSouthern parts of Australia are expected to suffer a short heatwave starting on Friday and lasting until next Tuesday. The Adelaide region will be worst affected, with highs of about 36C anticipated in the city on Friday, which is 10C above the seasonal norm.Daytime maximums are then set to remain above 35C until Tuesday, while minimum temperatures are not forecast to drop below 25C. This will be the longest March run of high temperatures in Adelaide in four years, with only one March day above 35C being recorded over this period. Continue reading...

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