Environment | The Guardian

Donations have helped utilities increase electricity prices, hinder solar schemes and helped elect sympathetic legislatorsUS power companies have made political donations of at least $215m to dark money groups in recent years, according to a new analysis of 25 for-profit utilities, amid growing concerns around how they wield influence.Such secretive donations to barely regulated non-profit groups have helped utilities increase electricity prices, hinder solar schemes and helped elect sympathetic legislators in recent years. Continue reading...

Early data shows June temperatures hitting record highs ahead of El Niño that experts say will have significant heating effectGlobal temperatures have accelerated to record-setting levels this month, an ominous sign in the climate crisis ahead of a gathering El Niño that could potentially propel 2023 to become the hottest year ever recorded.Preliminary global average temperatures taken so far in June are nearly 1C (1.8F) above levels previously recorded for the same month, going back to 1979. While the month is not yet complete and may not set a new June record, climate scientists say it follows a pattern of strengthening global heating that could see this year named the hottest ever recorded, topping 2016. Continue reading...

Ruby and Lilian Doyle are among 16 youth challengers alleging Montana violated right to a ‘clean and healthful environment’Every year, Shane Doyle looks forward to picking chokecherries. The tiny fruits with shiny, dark skin and astringent flesh are abundant near his family’s Bozeman, Montana, home. His daughters Ruby, 15, and Lilian, 12, take the lead on crushing the berries into sticky, sweet syrup, which they pour on to pancakes and other foods all year.Usually, the chokecherries are ready to pick in late summer, just before school begins. But in recent years, the fruits haven’t ripened on that schedule, Doyle testified on behalf of Ruby and Lilian at a seminal climate trial on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Payne is credited for helping save whales from extinction by recording their songs and galvanizing a global movementRoger Payne, the US scientist who spurred a worldwide environmental conservation movement with his discovery that whales could sing, has died. He was 88.Payne made the discovery in 1967 during a research trip to Bermuda when a navy engineer provided him with a recording of curious underwater sounds documented while listening for Russian submarines. Payne identified the haunting tones as songs whales sing to one another. Continue reading...

Environmental activists sued EPA to update regulations, after thousands of people sickened from Deepwater Horizon cleanupThe Environmental Protection Agency has announced more stringent rules governing offshore oil spill response, amid continuing concerns about the effects on public health and wildlife from chemical disasters, including BP’s Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010.The federal agency, which announced the update on Monday, had not updated its rule regulating the chemicals used to break up offshore oil slicks since 1994. Continue reading...

Fallout from Covid crisis has left event struggling financially after last year’s ‘traumatic’ fall in salesThe Edinburgh International book festival hopes a swathe of Booker prize winners, political leaders and a guest appearance by Greta Thunberg will help restore its finances after a “traumatic” fall in sales last year.The world’s largest book festival celebrates its 40th anniversary in August with events featuring Katrín Jakobsdóttir, the Icelandic prime minister, the former Booker prize winners Ben Okri and Anne Enright, and the International Booker winners Georgi Gospodinov and David Diop. Continue reading...

Bernie Krause has been recording sounds from the natural world for 55 years. A new San Francisco exhibition of his work offers a moving plea for the environmentIn a small black box theater at San Francisco’s Exploratorium, the arid plains of Zimbabwe come to life in the thrum of chattering baboons and honking geese, and the shores of California materialize in the squawks of gulls and lapping waves. The haunting song of humpback whales conjures the stillness of the deep sea, drowning out the noise of the science museum – and the world – outside.This is The Great Animal Orchestra, a sonic voyage through seven ecosystems composed by the pioneering soundscape ecologist Bernie Krause. After its 2016 premiere at the Fondation Cartier museum in Paris and subsequent tour through Europe and Asia, the immersive exhibit arrives on the west coast for the first time. Continue reading...

Information commissioner had demanded that the water company publish 53 documents last yearSouthern Water is refusing demands by the information watchdog to publish internal communications between board members relating to discussions about raw sewage discharges.The company, which was fined £90m in 2021 for discharging billions of litres of raw sewage into protected coastal waters, was ordered to publish 53 documents by the information commissioner at the end of last year because of the “substantial and weighty public interest”. Continue reading...

Experts are warning of disastrous conditions for wildlife at upper River Derwent in BorrowdaleThe upper River Derwent in Borrowdale in the Lake District – famous for its reputation as the wettest place in England – is almost completely dry, leading experts to warn of “disastrous conditions for wildlife”.This was the third year in a row where prolonged serious drought had dried out large parts of the river, said Ruth Mackay, a fisheries project officer from West Cumbria Rivers Trust. “Already our nature is under stress,” she said. “If a drought impacts a river, there is usually chance to recover in the succeeding years, but when it happens year after year, it becomes catastrophic for the wildlife that depend on it.” Continue reading...

Environmental groups criticise revision of law that would have banned installation of gas and oil systemsThe German government has staved off a power battle that threatened to cause the ruling coalition to implode after finally agreeing an 11th-hour amendment to a controversial new heating law.Negotiations over the legislation have dominated the headlines for weeks, with the economy minister, Robert Habeck, of the Greens clashing with the pro-liberal Free Democratic party (FDP) over how much consumers should be burdened with the costs of replacing fossil fuel heating systems with cleaner, climate-neutral energy. Continue reading...

About 2,000 crew members withdrew labour over pay and conditions, as well as citing serious breaches of overfishing rules by Spanish and French companiesThe waters of west Africa and the Indian Ocean boast some of the world’s largest, healthiest populations of tropical tuna, and that makes them havens for industrial tuna fishing fleets, owned by countries vastly richer than the nations whose borders form these coastlines.In order to protect the fish populations of poorer African nations from rapacious overfishing by richer countries, EU tuna vessels are bound by agreements centred on the sustainability and “social empowerment” of third countries. Continue reading...

Two male platypuses engaged in a ferocious battle for dominance, which expert says is normal in the build up to breeding season

Energy giant proposes monitoring wells for five years, as government says seepage volumes are factored into emissions reduction targets

Two male platypuses have been caught on camera fighting for territory in Tasmania, Australia Continue reading...

Marine biologists were surprised at the display of playful behavior ‘like kids in the park’, which lasted more than eight hoursA crowd of 30 killer whales met for a party in California’s Monterey Bay on Sunday.They did belly flops into the water, slapped the waves with their flukes and spewed water from their blowholes, surprising marine biologists who had never seen the animals engage in such playful behavior for so long. Continue reading...

Montana teen Mica is one of 16 plaintiffs in historic trial, alleging state has violated residents’ right to healthy environmentMica, aged 15, learned about climate change at the young age of four, when his parents showed him the documentary Chasing Ice.“I understood it more than my parents thought I would,” he testified in a groundbreaking trial on Tuesday. “I just knew something bad was happening, but I didn’t know exactly what it was.” Continue reading...

French government says massive floating bar ‘not compatible with marine environmental protections’Plans for a floating party “island” anchored off the French Riviera have been dropped amid a row over environmental concerns.Canua Island – a 1,750 sq metre platform on a motorised trimaran designed to look like a giant floating bar – was set to open this summer 600 metres off France’s Mediterranean coast. Instead, it remains moored at the port of La Seyne-sur-Mer while awaiting permits amid a growing row among local politicians in the south of France and environmental groups. Continue reading...

Climate activist says only ‘rapid and equitable’ phaseout will keep temperatures within 1.5C limitRich countries are signing a “death sentence” for millions of poor people around the world by failing to phase out fossil fuels, the climate activist Greta Thunberg has told governments.She warned on Tuesday that with annual greenhouse gas emissions at an all-time high, only a “rapid and equitable” phaseout of fossil fuels would keep global temperatures within the scientifically advised limit of 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Continue reading...

NRRC chief executive David Witherdin says 300 offers already made to flood-affected homeowners

Geologists blame melting snow and thawing permafrost for incident on Fluchthorn mountain near Swiss borderThousands of tonnes of rock have broken off the summit of a mountain popular with climbers and tumbled into a valley in Austria, in an incident blamed by geologists on melting snow and thawing permafrost.The incident on the Fluchthorn massif, part of the Silvretta Alps in the state of Tirol close to the Swiss border, led to a huge volume of black and grey rocks cascading down the mountain, and created clouds of thick dust visible for miles around, before much of the debris was carried away by a river, authorities said. Continue reading...

ASA pulls advert making positive environmental claims because it omitted firm’s history of sewage spillsAn ad campaign by Anglian Water extolling how it cleans water by creating wildlife-friendly wetlands has been banned for not telling consumers about its history of releasing sewage into the environment.The ban on the TV and video-on-demand ad, which claims “everything we do today is for tomorrow”, comes less than a month after water companies in England apologised for repeated sewage spills and pledged to invest £10bn this decade in an attempt to quell public anger over pollution in seas and rivers. Continue reading...

Waves from Gulf of Mexico pushed in dead fish after low levels of dissolved oxygen in the water made it difficult for them to breatheTens of thousands of dead fish washed up on the Gulf coast of Texas over the weekend, covering the shoreline with rotting carcasses and leading local officials to warn visitors to keep away.Waves from the Gulf of Mexico pushed in dead fish “by the thousands” on Friday in Brazoria county, which is more than 40 miles (64km) south of Houston, local officials said. Continue reading...

The Sundarbans is the world’s largest mangrove forest and one of the most climate vulnerable locations on the planet. Climate change has taken an enormous toll on the rainforest in recent years, repeatedly uprooting families and decimating the incomes of residents who have traditionally relied heavily on agriculture and fishing for their livelihoods.Now, repeated natural disasters and environmental changes to the region have created a highly vulnerable population increasingly at risk of participating in or becoming victims of child trafficking.29 year old Subhasree Raptan started her fight against human trafficking a decade ago. As a coordinator of Goranbose Gram Bikash Kendra (GGBK), a non-profit organisation, Subhasree has been educating women and children on dangers of trafficking and is helping police to track down those who have gone missing. Continue reading...

The plaintiffs note that Montana’s constitution pledges a healthy environment ‘for present and future generations’The US’s first-ever trial in a constitutional climate lawsuit kicked off on Monday morning in a packed courtroom in Helena, Montana.The case, Held v Montana, was brought in 2020 by 16 plaintiffs between the ages of five and 22 from around the state who allege state officials violated their constitutional right to a healthy environment by enacting pro-fossil fuel policies. Continue reading...

Homes and businesses are likely to be flooded quickly in north-west England, the forecaster saidFloods across the UK have brought misery to drivers and commuters on Monday, as the Met Office extended its amber thunderstorm warning of heavy rain, lightning, hail and strong winds.Homes and businesses are likely to be flooded quickly in north-west England, the forecaster said, with damage to buildings expected as a result of the storm. Some communities are also likely to become temporarily cut off by flooded roads, with power cuts likely to occur along with difficult driving conditions and road closures. Continue reading...

National Grid asks for two units at Ratcliffe-on-Soar plant to be brought into action after temperature tops 30CNational Grid has broken a 46-day run in which coal has not been used to generate electricity in Britain in order to meet extra demand for air conditioning as the country swelters in hot weather.The grid’s electricity system operator (ESO) asked Uniper, the owner of Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottinghamshire, to start producing power from the coal-fired plant, prompting criticism from green campaigners. Continue reading...

Alliance for Responsible Citizenship includes prominent Brexit voices and Bjørn Lomborg, who has questioned the urgency of the climate crisis

Action on 24-25 June will not go ahead after improved pay offer from airport, Unite saysThe first of a series of summer weekend strikes by security staff at Heathrow airport has been called off, raising hopes the dispute may be ended before peak season.Unite said the strike by about 2,000 of its members on 24-25 June would not now go ahead due to an improved pay offer from Heathrow. Continue reading...

Residents in London borough cut their driving by nearly a mile a day after LTNs introduced, says studyLow-traffic neighbourhoods seemingly can prompt residents to drive less, with a study showing people in one London borough cut their driving by nearly a mile a day on average after LTNs were introduced.While the research covers only four LTNs created in 2020, it is potentially significant because it contradicts the objection from opponents of the schemes that they make people drive further on less direct routes. Continue reading...

Springer spaniel trained to recognise scent of great crested newt with 87% success rate from distance of 2 metresFrom terrorists to drug traffickers, detection dogs are trained to sniff out the most elusive of offenders. Now a springer spaniel called Freya has taken up the scent of another slippery species: the great crested newt.Sheltering in underground burrows and rocky crevices, these warty amphibians are a protected species under rules overseen by Natural England. Boris Johnson previously complained that newt-counting delays had become “a massive drag on the prosperity of this country” because building developers must search for, and move them, before construction projects can begin. Continue reading...

Conservation scientists warn releases of rare or extinct species may spread diseases and harm attempts to save other butterflies“Ridiculous” illegal reintroductions of rare or extinct butterflies to new sites in Britain risk introducing disease, damage attempts to save species and jeopardise well-planned releases, conservationists have warned.Conservation scientists spoke out after black-veined whites, which fell extinct in Britain 100 years ago, reappeared on a nature reserve near Croydon. Continue reading...

A 10-year project to name all of South Africa’s birds in the evocative isiZulu language is finally giving a voice to Indigenous communitiesUntil recently, a Zulu speaker who spotted an iCape gannet would have no choice but to refer to the majestic seabird by its unedifying “zulufied” name. But now the gannet, which can plunge into the ocean at speeds of up to 120km/h when hunting sardines, finally has a Zulu name that does it justice: isicibamanzi (the spear into the water).After years of research and work with Indigenous communities, a list of isiZulu vernacular names for all 878 birds found in South Africa has recently been put together. Continue reading...

Younger people believe companies have social responsibilities, while conservatives say they should stay out of politics – and the fight won’t end soonBud Light, Target – and now Cracker Barrel? “We take no pleasure in reporting that @CrackBarrel has fallen,” the conservative group Texas Family said in a tweet last Thursday, in response to the southern-food restaurant chain marking Pride month on social media. “A once family-friendly establishment has caved to the mob.”The conservative backlash against American brands appears to have reached new heights over the last few weeks as companies show their support for Pride month and other LGBTQ+ issues. It is part of a wider backlash against corporate involvement in social, environmental or political issues that appears to be gathering steam. Continue reading...

Plaintiffs say state violated constitutional guarantee to a ‘clean and healthful environment’ for ‘present and future generations’A groundbreaking climate change trial will begin on Monday in a courtroom in Montana’s capital city, involving 16 young residents who allege state officials violated their constitutional rights to a healthy environment.Filed in March 2020, the lawsuit, Held v Montana, will mark the first-ever constitutional climate trial in US history. Continue reading...

New, noninvasive techniques turn samples of sea water into a treasure trove of genetic information about the species belowHanging over the side of the boat, Nahi El Bar Jiyed scoops up a jug of sea water, then carefully pours it into a large syringe. While the sample may seem ordinary, to the biologist it’s a trove of secrets: the DNA of every living creature swimming below.He presses the water sample through a filter about the size of his hand, which captures the DNA fragments, then repeats the process several more times. Meters away, a sea turtle emerges for a breath then retreats to the seagrass meadow below.Scientists and students take water samples at Banc d’Arguin national park in Mauritania Continue reading...

Exclusive: Big water brands forecast to grow with UK on track to use 2.8bn bottles a year by 2026, finds researchRestrictions should be put on bottled water advertising and a 10p tax should be added to shrink-wrapped packs to curb the UK’s 10m bottle-a-day habit, according to campaigners hoping to tackle the plastic pollution crisis.Despite the supposed plastics backlash inspired by TV shows such as the BBC’s Blue Planet, big water brands are forecast to chalk up growth of more than 10% over the next four years, equivalent to an extra 280m bottles, a new report by the consultancy Retail Economics says. Continue reading...

Proposed changes include a slurry plant to help dig through soft rock, as National Parks Association says ‘enormous damage’ caused already

New York City, parts of Pennsylvania and Baltimore all issued warnings as 421 wildfires continue to burn north of borderPoor air quality returned to the north-east US on Sunday, although it was nowhere near as bad as the heavy haze that recently shrouded the region and triggered global headlines as wind-borne smoke from raging Canadian wildfires caused orange skies, thick smog and record-setting pollutant levels.On Sunday morning, a smoke plume moved across New York City, leaving the air quality index in the city at 103 and categorized as “unhealthy for sensitive groups”, particularly for those with heart or lung problems. Continue reading...

Nicola Shaw, who made the announcement due to public anger over sewage in rivers, is in line for a windfall of more than £1m from her previous roleThe boss of Yorkshire Water’s decision to forgo her annual bonus due to public anger over sewage pollution of rivers has been labelled a “hollow” gesture by a leading union, after it emerged that she was already in line for a windfall of more than £1m from a previous role.Nicola Shaw, who joined from National Grid last year, will receive share awards worth £1.3m from the energy network operator next month under a long-term incentive plan initiated in 2020, according to its annual report released last week. Continue reading...

Details of woman’s final days emerge after four siblings rescued following almost six weeks in Amazon jungleThe mother of the four young Colombian siblings who managed to survive for almost six weeks in the Amazon jungle clung to life for four days after their plane crashed before telling her children to leave her in the hope of improving their chances of being rescued.Details of the woman’s final days came as further information emerged about the children’s astonishing feat of endurance. Continue reading...

With locally grown Valencia oranges, watermelon radish and broccolini, kids enjoy nutritious meals – while small farmers and the community also benefitMature grapefruit and avocado trees line one side of Magnolia elementary school in sunny Upland, California, a small city about half an hour east of Los Angeles. About 120 students participate in the school’s garden club where, in addition to learning about gardening and farming, they enjoy the literal fruits of their labor when their food is harvested and served in Upland unified school district cafeterias.“It helps them understand the produce they’re seeing in the salad bar,” says Upland unified’s farm-to-school manager, Cassidy Furnari. Continue reading...

Record dryness has restored an ecosystem under Lake Powell, the country’s second-largest reservoir. Is it time to see it as ‘a national park rather than a storage tank’?One night in May 2003, I found myself in search of a disappearing lake.A friend and I had ventured to the Hite Marina on Lake Powell to see what America’s second-largest reservoir looked like after three years of record drought. In search of a camping spot, we drove down a boat ramp that just a few years earlier was bustling with boaters. Now it sat eerily on a dry lakebed. Continue reading...

Project to reintroduce big cat to the wild set back by loss of adults and cubs at reserveA controversial attempt to reintroduce cheetahs to the wild has suffered a major setback after three adults and three cubs died over the past eight months.The deaths have led to criticisms of Project Cheetah, a £4.8m international scheme that involved moving 20 animals from Africa to India’s Kuno National Park earlier this year. Some conservationists say not enough space was reserved for the cheetahs while others complained that the project was set up too hastily. Continue reading...

There are no signs yet that last year’s 40C will be breached again, but meteorologists predict such peaks could become the normTemperatures have soared above 30C for the first time this year – and meteorologists forecast the chance of Britain experiencing a hot summer is now 45% – 2.3 times the normal figure.The warning leaves the nation braced for a possible repeat of last year’s record-breaking heatwave which triggered wildfires, disrupted rail transport, closed schools, led to thousands of premature deaths and saw temperatures break the 40C record in the UK for the first time. Continue reading...

Bipoc-led local farms in unconventional spaces decentralize systems that have produced food deserts and create food equityOn a recent Sunday morning in South Los Angeles, Crop Swap LA volunteers and staffers harvested bags of freshly picked produce from the front yard of a residence. Located just steps from Leimert Park Plaza, the Asante microfarm is the first of what will be numerous microfarms created by the organization, which is dedicated to growing hyperlocal food on unused spaces “in the neighborhood, exclusively for the neighborhood”.“Everything we’re growing is nutrient-dense and the food remains in the neighborhood,” says Jamiah Hargins, who founded Crop Swap LA in 2018 as a small monthly swap of surplus produce. After spending years in finance and consulting, Hargins decided to create a local food distribution system to address the fact that his neighborhood was a food desert, meaning most residents have little access to healthy food. It’s now one of many Bipoc-led groups across the US that are reclaiming their agricultural heritage and redefining the local food movement by growing on traditional farms and unconventional spaces such as yards, medians and vacant lots as a way to increase food security and health in their own communities. Continue reading...

Fishery board reports shrinkage in size of River Ness as water scarcity alert issued for parts of ScotlandConcern has been raised about the water levels of Loch Ness and the River Ness amid the protracted dry spell affecting Scotland and the rest of the UK.Brian Shaw, the director of Ness District Salmon Fishery Board, said there had been a dramatic shrinkage in the size of the River Ness. He told the BBC: “These conditions are not normally good for angling. Continue reading...

Environmental groups’ lawsuit seeks to force tighter regulation of neonicotinoids on seeds that pollute soil, water and airEnvironmental groups are suing the US Environmental Protection Agency over pesticide-coated seeds they say have “devastating environmental impacts” and are spread largely without regulatory oversight.The suit alleges the neonicotinoid seeds are now spread on about 150m acres (61m hectares) of US farmland and up to 95% of the pesticide on the seed sheds, polluting nearby soil, water and air. The seeds are so dangerous to wildlife that just one can kill a bird, the groups note. Continue reading...

As activist graduates from school, she says she will still protest on Fridays as ‘fight has only just begun’After what began as a solo protest in Sweden five years ago and grew into a movement with millions of children across the world participating, Greta Thunberg has taken part in her last “school strike” protest as she graduates from school.The protests, which led to many climate activist movements across Europe, the US and Australia, are known as Fridays for Future or School Strike for Climate. Continue reading...

Thirty-hectare site above Dart valley will include lichens and ferns and could take a century to reach maturityA temperate rainforest, a magical, wildlife-rich place of mosses, lichens and ferns, is being planted on the slopes above a West Country river, tumbling almost to the doors of one of the UK’s most green-minded towns.Tree species including sessile oak, birch, rowan, holly, alder, willow and hazel are to be introduced to the 30-hectare (74-acre) site above the Dart valley and close to the Devon town of Totnes in the south of England. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Natural England chair Tony Juniper says government must work quickly to reconcile farming and natureEngland will not meet its biodiversity targets at current rates, the chair of Natural England has said, as he accused ministers of moving too slowly to regenerate nature.Tony Juniper, who has been in post at the government’s nature quango since 2019, said ministers were not on track to meet species abundance targets, which have been criticised by wildlife charities as “embarrassingly poor”. Continue reading...