Environment | The Guardian

Deal for London business district will meet almost three-quarters of electricity demand from wind powerOffices and retail spaces across the Canary Wharf business district will soon be powered by clean energy generated by a windfarm in Scotland.Canary Wharf Group, which manages the 60-hectare (150 acres) estate in east London, has struck a deal with one of the world’s biggest providers of renewable energy to meet almost three-quarters of its electricity demand from wind power. Continue reading...

Scientific committee calls for ‘urgent action’ from the Albanese government to address damage caused to sensitive alpine ecosystems

About 13,000 people were held at the Minidoka camp during the second world war. Now, a green energy project threatens the ‘sacred’ placePaul Tomita was just four when his family was interned. He was too young to remember Franklin D Roosevelt, then president, issuing the executive order that saw him and at least 125,000 others of Asian descent packed onto blacked-out trains and sent to prison camps during the second world war.But his memories come alive when he recalls the hard, clattering train filled with fear and anxiety. Continue reading...

PFAS are present at ‘potentially dangerous’ levels in widely used chemicals sprayed on food crops destined for Americans’ platesSome of the United States’ most widely used food pesticides are contaminated with “potentially dangerous” levels of toxic PFAS “forever chemicals”, new testing of the products finds.The Environmental Protection Agency has previously been silent on PFAS in food pesticides, even as it found the chemicals in non-food crop products. The potential for millions of acres of contaminated food cropland demands swifter and stronger regulatory action, the paper’s authors say. Continue reading...

Experts say neighbourhood varieties will suit an area’s pollinators, and that caution is needed when buying generic seed mixesGardeners hoping to establish a wildflower patch in their gardens should be wary of generic seed mixes and stick to local blooms to best serve wild pollinators, experts have said.Conservationists are urging people to source not just native wildflowers but to find out what grows naturally in their neighbourhood by getting out in their area and looking for inspiration in existing meadows, verges and nature reserves. They should then use this as a guide to ensure they are collecting or buying the most suitable wildflowers for their gardens. Continue reading...

East Riding of Yorkshire council were able to remove 17m carcass without cutting it up in large-scale operationThe carcass of a 30-tonne fin whale that died after being beached in Bridlington has been removed in an operation described as the “largest of its kind” the local council has ever carried out.The 17m whale became a macabre tourist attraction on Bridlington’s South Beach after it died on Tuesday evening during attempts to return it to the sea. Continue reading...

EPA has ordered chemical company Chemours to stop discharging high levels of the toxic substance into the Ohio RiverThe US Environmental Protection Agency is taking unprecedented enforcement action over PFAS water pollution by ordering the chemical giant Chemours’ Parkersburg, West Virginia, plant to stop discharging extremely high levels of toxic PFAS waste into the Ohio River.The river is a drinking water source for 5 million people, and the EPA’s Clean Water Act violation order cites 71 instances between September 2018 to March 2023 in which Chemours’ Washington Works facility discharged more PFAS waste than its pollution permit allowed. Continue reading...

Scheme on certain streets including near beach makes it as costly to park for 10 minutes as for whole dayWhether for 10 minutes or a whole day, it now costs a flat fee of €50 (£43) to park in certain streets in The Hague, including roads around the popular Scheveningen beach.The pilot scheme in the Dutch city on the North Sea coast, which will last a year, aims to discourage tourists and visitors from blocking up the historic centre and seaside roads, particularly on sunny days. Continue reading...

More than 13,000 people were ordered to leave parts of Alberta as 78 fires burned. Officials say the blazes are expected to intensifyA week of record hot weather in western Canada has forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes, as wildfires raged in parts of Alberta and rapid snow melt triggered flooding across interior British Columbia.By Friday, more than 13,000 people were under evacuation orders in Alberta, as 78 fires burned. Among the worst-hit areas was the Little Red River Cree Nation in the north of the province, where the 1,458-hectare Fox Lake fire consumed 20 homes and the police station. Continue reading...

Report finds state discriminated against Black residents with ‘pattern of inaction and/or neglect’ over health risks of raw sewageThe Biden administration has found that Alabama’s public health departments discriminated against Black residents by denying access to adequate sanitation systems.A 2017 study, published first by the Guardian, found the hookworm parasite transmitted in fecal matter to be prevalent in a majority-Black Lowndes county. On Thursday, the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services announced that the state and county engaged in a “consistent pattern of inaction and/or neglect concerning the health risks associated with raw sewage”. Continue reading...

Party takes Mid Suffolk council from Conservatives as local election results surpass expectations

Anti-monarchist groups vow to demonstrate in central London in defiance of Home Office warningsAnti-monarchist campaigners have vowed to press ahead with plans to protest peacefully against the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday, despite what they have characterised as intimidatory tactics by the police and the government.The activist group Republic plans to hold a demonstration a short walk from where the king is due to be crowned. They have said they received letters from the Home Office warning them about new powers handed to police to deal with public demonstrations, while Scotland Yard has said its tolerance of protest will be low on the day. Continue reading...

Macquarie’s net profit is up 10% with top commodity trader landing A$58m through profit-share deal

Majority of shareholders reject proposal to spin off Asian operations, after hour of disruption from campaigners

Extreme event would have been expected once in 40,000 years before global heating, scientists estimateThe record-shattering temperatures that hit the western Mediterranean last week would have been “almost impossible” without the climate crisis, according to scientists.The heatwave across Spain, Portugal, Morocco and Algeria was made at least 100 times more likely by global heating, the researchers calculated. Before the climate crisis, such an extreme event would have been expected only once in a least 40,000 years, making it statistically impossible on human timescales. Continue reading...

Energy firm’s 30% stake in field off Shetlands up for sale amid fierce opposition to new North Sea drilling

Environmentalists from the Philippines urge investors to avoid LNG projects which they say threaten the Verde Island PassageCampaigners from the Philippines have urged British banks not to fund the expansion of fossil fuel use in their country. It follows a huge oil spill that threatened a globally important marine biodiversity hotspot.Filipino environmentalists have travelled to the UK to meet representatives from Barclays, Standard Chartered and HSBC as part of efforts to stop the expansion of liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plants and terminals in and around the Verde Island Passage, a global marine biodiversity hotspot known for its whale sharks, corals, turtles and rich fisheries, which was badly affected by the oil spill this year. Continue reading...

There are plans to unite Philadelphia’s divided Chinatown with a highway cap – but a new arena could hurt the neighborhood yet againIf you ask for directions in Philadelphia’s Chinatown, chances are someone will either tell you to head “north of the highway” or “south of the highway”. That’s because this community has been carved into two.It is one of the oldest and largest Chinatowns in the US. Yet landmarks like the Holy Redeemer church and the Crane community center are separated from others – like the famous dim sum spot Bai Wei or the Chinatown firehouse – by six lanes of busy traffic. Continue reading...

Committee of MPs says ‘dark cloud of delays’ hindering Britain from reaching renewable energy potentialBusinesses in the UK are facing waits of up to 15 years for solar installations on their homes due to a lack of grid connectivity, MPs have found.The environmental audit committee, which looks at green policies in government, has said there is a “dark cloud of delays” hindering the country from reaching its potential when it comes to renewable energy. Continue reading...

Twenty-two institutions have been shut down as part of proposed month-long campaignA wave of student occupations has shut down schools and universities across Europe as part of a renewed youth protest campaign against inaction on climate breakdown. Twenty-two schools and universities across the continent have been occupied as part of a proposed month-long campaign.In Germany, universities were occupied in Wolfenbüttel, Magdeburg, Münster, Bielefeld, Regensburg, Bremen and Berlin. In Spain, students in occupation at the Autonomous University of Barcelona organised teach-outs on the climate crisis. In Belgium, 40 students occupied the University of Ghent. In the Czech Republic, about 100 students camped outside the ministry of trade and industry. In the UK occupations were under way at the universities of Leeds, Exeter and Falmouth. Continue reading...

H5N1 bird flu may lead to extinction of species as data revealed by Guardian shows worst losses in decadesAvian flu has killed more than twice the number of wild birds previously estimated in the UK, according to data collected by the Guardian, with numbers likely to escalate during this year’s breeding season.The highly infectious variant of H5N1 has caused Europe’s worst bird flu outbreak, resulting in the most significant and sudden loss of birds in decades. Conservationists are warning that it could mean the extinction of some seabird species, as breeding colonies have been particularly badly hit. Continue reading...

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs, including rescued turtles, a fox cub and Pablo Escobar’s hippos Continue reading...

Floods and mudslides have swept through northern and western Rwanda after torrential rain.At least 115 people died as rivers of mud engulfed houses and fields, and landslides cut off roads.The western province bordering Lake Kivu was worst affected by the extreme rainfall amid floods that some fear might be the worst the region has seen

Fears appointing Paolo Scaroni as Enel CEO would undermine US and EU attempts to curb Russian influenceAn energy industry veteran who nurtured close ties with Vladimir Putin and has criticised sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine has emerged as the frontrunner to chair Italy’s biggest utility company.Paolo Scaroni is the preferred candidate of the ruling coalition government of Giorgia Meloni to chair Enel. Continue reading...

Overlooked animals vital for alpine ecosystems could lose most of their habitat and disappear, research suggestsInvertebrates living in the cool meltwater rivers of the European Alps could lose most of their habitat and disappear, as the mountain range’s glaciers melt at an unprecedented rate due to climate change, according to a study.Although they are often overlooked, these animals are crucial for alpine ecosystems. Continue reading...

As campaigning hots up around the world once again, eyes have been turning to the country that is taking things furtherIn the UK, when climate activists want to block a road, they sit down on it. When their fellow activists in France want to do the same, they build a wall across one side, and set the other side on fire.As Extinction Rebellion drew tens of thousands to their peaceful “Big One” protests in London last month, in the south of France 8,500 environmental protesters occupied the road from Toulouse to the town of Castres. Continue reading...

Plans put onus on local authorities to stop air pollution but offer no new funds or powers for traffic calming and other measuresLocal authorities in England have not been given the funding or powers to fulfil the government’s strategy on air pollution, and air quality in English towns and cities is likely to suffer as a result, local governments and charities have said.The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) published its latest plan late on 28 April, just before the UK bank holiday weekend. It followed a consultation earlier that month that was only days long, which local authorities said was not enough time for them to contribute properly. Continue reading...

Chevron and ExxonMobil are among the companies in a ‘sustainability council’ countering grassroots activistsAfter residents of America’s “Cancer Alley” in Louisiana put a national spotlight on their fight for a healthy environment, the state’s economic interests and petrochemical giants are backing the creation of a new “sustainability council” to counter grassroots activists, documents show.In recent years, the activists have successfully fought construction of two multibillion-dollar plastics facilities and what would have been the nation’s largest methanol plant. The growing concerns have caught the attention of the Environmental Protection Agency, which earlier this year sued a manufacturer of neoprene in the state for not doing enough to reduce its cancer-causing air emissions. Continue reading...

As consumers turn to renewable and recyclable products, protests over industry’s use of misleading terms have proliferatedThe US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is taking aim at greenwashing by big business with an update to its “Green Guides”, which would give the agency stronger legal cases against polluters by clarifying when companies’ deceptive marketing around sustainability and environmental responsibility violates federal law.The move follows years of formal complaints filed with the FTC about often highly questionable claims made by fossil fuel companies, big agriculture, major food producers and other polluting industries. Continue reading...

The spectacle that washes hillsides in color draws thousands each year, but raises generations-old concerns about protecting wild spacesThis year’s California wildflower superbloom is a historic phenomenon, brought on by an unprecedented wet winter. Miles of golden-orange poppies, purple desert sand-verbena and pink filaree are visible from space. This time of year it seems that everywhere from remote corners of the desert to drab highway medians are bursting with color.The spectacle draws thousands of visitors every spring, who flock to enjoy the view and take photos of the unique natural spectacle – as people have done for generations. Continue reading...

The gill plates of the extremely intelligent fish – many species of which are already categorised as endangered – are sold across east Asia as remedies said to have ‘no basis in medical science’Every morning, starting at 3am, Lakshan hacks up manta rays. A wholesale buyer who plies his trade at Sri Lanka’s largest fish market, in the city of Negombo, just north of Colombo, he jostles with fishers offloading their catches. His business is primarily to find fresh tuna but he also buys 700kg (1,540lb) of manta and devil rays every day.He doesn’t want the ray’s meat, which most Sri Lankans don’t eat. Instead, he’s after the gill plates: cartilage that helps manta and devil rays filter out microorganisms in ocean waters.At sunrise in Negombo, the nightly fish market quietens down and fishers start to return home after many days at sea Continue reading...

World’s biggest grain trader accused of ‘shoddy due diligence’ on deforestation and alleged rights violationsThe world’s largest grain trader, Cargill, is facing a first-ever legal challenge in the United States over its failure to remove deforestation and human rights abuses from its soya supply chain in Brazil.ClientEarth, an environmental law organisation, filed the formal complaint on Thursday, accusing Cargill of inadequate monitoring and a laggard response to the decline of the Amazon rainforest and other globally important biomes, such as the Cerrado savannah and the Atlantic Forest.Soya beans bought from third-party traders, which make up 42% of all Brazilian soya Cargill purchases.Soya beans owned by other companies that passes through Cargill ports.Indirect land use change.Soya sourced from the Cerrado savannah.Soya sourced from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Continue reading...

Researchers were particularly excited by the discovery of dunnarts on Kangaroo Island, where fires ravaged up to 90% of their habitat

Replacing 10 freight vehicles with EVs would have same impact as putting 56 electric cars on road, study shows

Research says mining boom to support renewable energy risks ‘significant social and environmental damage’

Green group accused company of emitting more than it disclosed but TotalEnergies says report used dubious methodologiesThe French oil major TotalEnergies has sued the environmental group Greenpeace France and the climate consulting firm Factor-X over a report claiming that the company massively underestimated its 2019 greenhouse gas emissions, Total said on Wednesday.The civil complaint, served on 28 April, seeks a ruling that the November publication contains “false and misleading information”, a judicial order to withdraw the publication and cease all references to it under penalty of €2,000 (£1,760) a day in fines, plus a symbolic €1 in damages. Continue reading...

Lyrics of Stop changed to ‘stop right now, no more oil and gas’ because of bank’s fossil fuel funding

There is estimated 60% chance event will develop by end of July, and 80% chance of it by end of SeptemberThe chance of an El Niño weather phenomenon developing in the coming months has risen, the United Nations has said, warning that it could fuel higher global temperatures and possibly new heat records.The UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Wednesday that it now estimated there was a 60% chance that El Niño would develop by the end of July, and an 80% chance it would do so by the end of September. Continue reading...

Measure will also help shift utilities away from private companies to make them publicly ownedNew York state has passed legislation that will scale up the state’s renewable energy production and signals a major step toward moving utilities out of private hands to become publicly owned.The bill, included in the state’s new budget, will require the state’s public power provider to generate all of its electricity from clean energy by 2030. It also allows the public utility to build and own renewables while phasing out fossil fuels. Continue reading...

Dangerous chemicals that can cause cancer and air pollution are often found in cosmetics, personal care products and cleanersSome of the most common consumer products probably release 5,000 tons of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in American homes annually, new research on the dangerous class of chemicals finds.The research, which analyzed ingredient lists across dozens of product categories, found the most concerning levels in general purpose cleaners, art supplies and laundry detergents, while the individual product that emitted the most VOCs was mothballs. Continue reading...

These are the arguments spun by big beef titans to persuade consumers that meat eating has negligible impact on the planetIt’s a hard, unpalatable, disorienting truth: if we’re serious about avoiding the worst scenarios of the climate crisis, people – particularly those who live in wealthier nations – need to consume fewer animal products.But for the corporate titans who stand atop the nearly trillion-dollar global meat industry, this modest change represents an existential threat, which is why they’re spinning the truth about the full climate impacts of animal agriculture. Continue reading...

A Masters of Beef Advocacy program teaches ‘scientific sounding’ arguments on cattle’s sustainability in an all-out public relations warThe US beef industry is creating an army of influencers and citizen activists to help amplify a message that will be key to its future success: that you shouldn’t be too worried about the growing attention around the environmental impacts of its production.In particular, it would like you not to be especially concerned about how meat consumption needs to be reduced if we are to avoid the most violently disruptive forms of planetary heating (even if all fossil fuel use ended tomorrow). Continue reading...

PM says he is pleased to contribute to Friends of the Western Ground Parrot as the king ‘has long championed conservation’

Conservationists say government must stop licensing ‘unsustainable’ harvest of eggs from amber-listed birdsLicences have been issued for more than 160,000 eggs to be taken from black-headed gull nests since 2019, government data shows, as conservationists call for the eggs to be “taken off all menus”.Each spring, thousands of eggs are collected from the amber-listed seabird’s nests and sold under licences issued by the government’s wildlife watchdog, Natural England. They are considered a delicacy in fine-dining restaurants, known for their creamy yellow yolks and beautiful speckled shells, and can sell for more than £8 each. Continue reading...

Environmental groups and scientists say move will have an unacceptable impact on the climate and have called for ban

Kevin Darmody, 65, went missing while fishing on the Kennedy River on Saturday

Hidden camera at slaughterhouse appears to show ‘utterly inhumane’ use of COto stun pigs before slaughterNew undercover footage showing British pigs being gassed prior to slaughter has led to renewed calls to investigate the use of CO.Campaigners say the pictures – the first of their kind to be obtained in a UK abattoir – show the “utterly inhumane” nature of using CO to stun pigs before being killed. But the pork industry says its use is recognised as the most welfare-friendly method available, and says alternatives are being sought. Continue reading...

Cop28 president Sultan Al Jaber says summit in Dubai in November will dedicate a day to healthThe next UN climate summit will be the first to consider health issues in depth, with a meeting of global health ministers to highlight the consequences of the climate crisis for wellbeing.Sultan Al Jaber, the president of Cop28, which will take place in Dubai this November, said on Tuesday: “We will be the first Cop to dedicate a day to health and the first to host a health and climate ministerial. And we need to broaden our definition of adaptation to enable global climate resilience, transform food systems and enhance forestry land use and water management.” Continue reading...

Partisanship has thwarted Congress’s attempts to limit PFAS, but a patchwork of state laws is pushing for their phase-outFew chemicals have attracted as intense public and regulatory scrutiny as PFAS, but even as the highly toxic and ubiquitous compounds’ dangers come into sharper focus, industry influence has crippled congressional attempts to pass meaningful consumer protections.Federal bills designed to address some of the most significant sources of exposure – food packaging, cosmetics, personal care products, clothing, textiles, cookware and firefighting foam – have all failed in recent sessions. Continue reading...

Driven by poverty to work in the dangerous fishing industry with inadequate equipment, Miskitos too often end up paralyzed or deadOn the main avenue of Puerto Lempira, a man sits outside a restaurant in a wooden, hand-propelled cart and waves to another man ambling by in a cart of his own. A block down, a man in a wheelchair is pushed by a young woman past a man on crutches. At a corner, a pair of men clutching canes lounge in the shade.It could be a description of a retirement community. But the men are of all ages, and such scenes are common across the coast of Gracias a Dios, an Indigenous territory in north-east Honduras, where decades of unsafe fishing practices have disabled thousands who dive the Caribbean Sea to harvest marine life. Continue reading...