Environment | The Guardian

National Trust aims to inspire visitors to reapply forgotten skills to make their clothes more sustainableSome of the garments in the exhibition are made of elegant silk, others of rough-looking wool or scratchy nylon – but what they all have in common is that they have been repaired, remodelled and reused, sometimes over the course of centuries.There is a long-sleeved waistcoat made in the late 17th century and then adapted and preserved over 300 years, wedding dresses handed down from mothers to daughters and brought up to date with clever tweaks, even clothes that were created during the second world war out of parachutes and old army blankets when fabric was rationed. Continue reading...

The fallout when the industry fails to act is still smaller than the rewards for pumping out more pollution

Lake Elsinore was flooded with visitors in 2019 when wildflowers erupted over its landscape; this year, it doesn’t want themCalifornia’s lush hillsides and verdant valleys may soon be awash with color, as hints that another botanical bonanza is budding after the state was doused with rain. Soaked soils could help set off another super bloom – a spectacle of wildflowers that coat the deserts and grasslands in vibrant hues of orange, purple and yellow.But the possibility of another eruption in blossoms has some officials bracing. The flowers set off a frenzy four years ago when heavy winter rains coated a Lake Elsinore canyon in wild poppies. The town 60 miles (96km) south-east of Los Angeles was flooded by tourists, who crushed the delicate flowers and unleashed chaos upon the small city. Continue reading...

Special forces destroy aircraft and seize weapons in effort to protect largest Indigenous reserve from mining mafiasThe Brazilian government has launched its campaign to drive tens of thousands of illegal miners from the country’s largest Indigenous reserve, with special-forces environmental operatives destroying aircraft and seizing weapons and boats during an operation deep in the Amazon’s Yanomami territory.Members of Brazil’s environmental protection agency Ibama – with support from the Indigenous agency Funai and the newly created ministry for Indigenous peoples – launched the long-awaited operation on Monday, with troops establishing a base along the Uraricoera river. Wildcat tin ore and gold miners use the waterway – as well as dozens of illegal airstrips – to reach and supply their illegal outposts in Yanomami lands. Continue reading...

Assessment shows 20% global loss since 1700 – far less than thought – but Europe, US and China bear the bruntHalf the wetlands in Europe, continental US and China have been destroyed in the past 300 years, with some areas – including the UK, Ireland and Germany – losing more than 75%, new research shows. Globally, an area the size of India has disappeared.Until now, it wasn’t known how many wetlands were left – previous estimates suggested between 28% and 87% had been destroyed since 1700. For the first time, researchers combined global historical records with maps of today’s wetlands to create a more accurate global picture, and found an estimated 20% of all wetlands destroyed. Europe, however, was the worst affected area, with Ireland losing more than 90% of its wetlands, Germany, Lithuania and Hungary more than 80% and the UK, the Netherlands and Italy more than 75%. Continue reading...

Planning guidance from mayor sets air pollution limits that would not be met with solid fuel burners installedWood burners have been in effect banned in new and refurbished buildings in London. New planning guidance announced by the mayor sets air pollution limits for home and office developments that would not be met if burners for wood or other solid fuels were installed.Wood burning in towns and cities is a major contributor of toxic air pollution particles, which have been linked to a wide range of health problems, including heart and lung disease, dementia and mental illness in children. Dirty air causes thousands of early deaths a year in London alone, and 26,000 to 38,000 in England. Continue reading...

Workers at Environment Agency who monitor warning systems among those striking for second time in monthEngland’s flood warning systems have been placed on autopilot for the second time in a month as staff at the Environment Agency stage their latest strike over pay and conditions.Thousands of workers at the government agency, who have key roles in controlling pollution and protecting communities from weather disasters, began striking at 7am on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Agreement to restrict use of aggregating apparatus in the Indian Ocean is hailed as a ‘giant step forward’ for species conservationCoastal nations and conservation groups have described an agreement to restrict fishing vessels from using devices that contribute to overfishing as a “huge win” for tuna populations and marine life.The adoption by fishing nations of tough proposals to restrict “fish aggregating devices” (FADs) in the Indian Ocean, follows warnings to EU officials from retailers, including Marks & Spencer, environmentalists and coastal nations that the tools are one of the main contributors to overfishing of Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna, because they catch high numbers of juveniles. Continue reading...

Climate campaigners hit out at Norwegian state-owned Equinor’s record £62bn profits as household bills riseBritain’s biggest gas supplier, the Norwegian state-owned oil company Equinor, has been accused of “profiteering” from the energy crisis and higher household bills after posting record annual earnings of £62bn.The oil and gas producer said on Wednesday that adjusted profits hit $15.1bn (£12.5bn) in the final three months of last year, bringing total annual profits to $74.9bn, the highest in its 51-year history. Continue reading...

The Inflation Reduction Act was hailed for its climate funding – but some are concerned several provisions will worsen a growing environmental disasterThe $369bn Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was applauded by a chorus of US organizations and activists enthusiastic about the generous funding earmarked for projects designed to mitigate climate change and improve environmental health.But some researchers and activists are raising concerns that several provisions of the new law will actually worsen a growing environmental disaster in the nation’s heartland by increasing the tide of farm-related pollution washing into waterways and groundwater. Continue reading...

Storm King, the celebrated outdoor sculpture collection in upstate New York, is overhauling itself in a bid to improve accessibility and landscape protectionFounded in 1960, Storm King’s contemporary sculpture collection graces 500 acres of rolling meadows and forestland in New York’s Hudson Valley Where else can you witness a multi-ton modernist masterpiece like Alexander Liberman’s Iliad – cherry red steel tubes stacked on to one another, 36ft by 54ft – against green meadows and forests?The museum’s visitation increased sharply during the height of the pandemic, as exploring outdoor art offered a welcome break from fraught indoor contact. But can a museum accommodate increased traffic while also ensuring accessibility – and protection of its prized landscape? Continue reading...

Bird flu is a mass killer, and mink farms are perfect for infection and transmission. They are a grave threat and must be bannedIf you wanted to kill as many people as possible, deniably and with no criminal consequences, what would you do? You’d do well to start with a bird flu. Bird flus are responsible for all the known flu pandemics: the great influenza that started more than a century ago, “Asian flu”, “Hong Kong flu” and “Russian flu”, which killed tens of millions between them. They also cause many of the annual outbreaks that slaughter hundreds of thousands of people.Once you have found a suitable variant, two further components are required to weaponise it. The first is an amplifier. The best amplifier is a giant shed or factory in which thousands of birds are packed. These birds should be genetically homogenous, so that your viral strain can travel freely between them. Intensive poultry farms would serve very well. Before long, a low-pathogenic strain should mutate in these circumstances into a highly pathogenic variety.George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

BMW, Renault and Peugeot PHEVs all exceeded carbon dioxide output claimed in standard lab tests, on-road tests showPopular plug-in hybrid cars emit significantly more carbon dioxide than official measures suggest, according to new on-road tests by academics that add to concerns over the true impact of cars sold as better for the environment.Cars from BMW, Renault and Peugeot all emitted much more than standard lab tests had claimed, with the BMW 3 Series in particular emitting more than three times advertised, according to the research by Austria’s Graz University of Technology. Continue reading...

Up to 9bn plastic cigarette butts are discarded and washed into waterways in Australia each year

Crime scene established at Keysborough as residents within 2km warned to stay indoors

Charity says death of bird named Flamingo in Manhattan likely ‘caused by inhaling the toxins’ from pink dyeA pigeon that was allegedly dyed pink as part of a gender reveal ceremony has died, a bird charity said.The pigeon, named Flamingo, had captured hearts in recent days after it was rescued in New York City. Continue reading...

David Nixon disobeyed judge’s order not to mention climate crisis as motivation during trial over road-blocking protestAn environmental activist has been jailed for eight weeks after disobeying a judge’s instruction not to mention the climate crisis as his motivation during his trial for taking part in a road-blocking protest.David Nixon, 36, a care worker from Barnsley, was sentenced at Inner London crown court on Tuesday after admitting contempt of court the day before by using his closing address to begin telling a jury about his reasons for protesting. Continue reading...

Sewage, poor sanitation and a lack of regulation give rise to antimicrobial resistance and threaten global health, report saysPollution from livestock farming, pharmaceuticals and healthcare is threatening to destroy a key pillar of modern medicine, as spills of manure and other pollution into waterways are adding to the global rise of superbugs, the UN has warned.Animal farming is one of the key sources of strains of bacteria that have developed resistance to all forms of antibiotics, through the overuse of the medicines in farming. Continue reading...

Political and Indigenous leaders hope to replicate success of British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest conservation areaNearly a decade ago, Canadian political leaders, environmental activists and Indigenous nations came together to shelter a sprawling 6.4 million-hectare area of trees, sea wolves, salmon and grizzly bears – a project that was named, with some branding acumen, the Great Bear Rainforest.The plan has since been hailed as a triumph for protecting swathes of old-growth cedar and spruce and drawing global attention to an area of pristine forest the size of Ireland. Continue reading...

Ministers hope training in range of forestry skills will help to meet tree-planting and other climate goalsA shortage of foresters has prompted the government to launch free courses as it rushes to meet targets for tree planting.There will be training in chainsaw maintenance, coppicing, woodland management, hedge laying and the sale and marketing of timber. Continue reading...

Graphs show the sources of generation in a country that has one of the most diverse ranges in EuropeGreat Britain has one of the most diverse ranges of electricity generation in Europe, with everything from windfarms off the coast of Scotland to a nuclear power station in Suffolk tasked with keeping the lights on. The increasing reliance on renewable energy sources, as part of the country’s green ambitions, also means there can be rapid shifts in the main source of electricity generation. On windy days, most electricity generation comes from onshore and offshore windfarms. When conditions are cold and still, gas-fired power stations known as peaking plants are called into action.

Scientists warn that wolf numbers not large enough to sustain healthy populationHunters have shot dead 54 wolves in a month in Sweden’s largest and most controversial cull of the animals yet, prompting fury from conservationists and satisfaction among farmers who consider the predators a threat to their livelihoods.The Stockholm government has authorised the shooting of 75 wolves in its 2023 cull, more than twice last year’s figure, despite warnings from scientists that wolf numbers are not large enough to sustain a healthy population. Continue reading...

From contact lenses to blister packs and used dental floss, there are items that perplex even the most dedicated recycler. Here is the expert guide to getting organised – and getting rid of your rubbishI spend a lot of time – too much time – thinking about recycling and the main thing I think, over and over, is: it shouldn’t be this hard. Eighty per cent of UK households are “still unclear” about how to recycle effectively, according to research last year – and who can blame us?Labelling often requires a doctorate in semiotics to decode, kerbside collections are a postcode lottery and council recycling centres are often difficult to access without a car. At home, packaging piles up – no one knows what to do with toothbrushes or the cat’s treat packages, and we’re squabbling over pizza boxes. All of it amounts to us collectively wondering whether recycling is ultimately pointless because it’s all going to end up in landfill in the developing world. Continue reading...

Energy company faces calls for toughened windfall tax as it reaps rewards from high gas prices

With floods covering much of the land, farmers in Paguir, an isolated village in Fangak county, are replacing despair with resilience and learning new skills to survive

Rapid decline stumps researchers, who theorise traffic collisions, climate crisis, cane toads and inbreeding could play a role

Central Australian Frack Free Alliance argues NT environment minister failed to properly consider Tamboran project’s impact

City’s most famous feline was euthanized last year after being hit by vehicle, but his legacy lives on with a highway wildlife crossingOn a sunny Saturday in Los Angeles, a packed outdoor crowd of 6,000 people at the Greek Theater cried, sang and swayed together as they bid adieu to one of the city’s most treasured residents: a mountain lion known as P-22.In a city more synonymous with billboards than biodiversity, an ageing bachelor puma made tracks into people’s hearts. When he was euthanized at the end of 2022 after being hit by a car, it stung. Continue reading...

Lawyers for climate activist killed by police say charges send warning: ‘If you stand in our way, we will take you out of our way’Lawyers for the family of a climate activist who was shot dead by police in Georgia last month have condemned officials’ attempts to brand his fellow protesters of Atlanta’s planned “Cop City” training facility as domestic terrorists.Attorneys representing relatives of Manuel Esteban Paez Terán were speaking at a news conference Monday as a large number of officers, including heavily armed tactical teams, descended again on the site in Atlanta’s South River forest where the building of the $90m so-called Cop City is planned. Continue reading...

David Nixon defied judge’s instruction not to cite climate crisis as motivation for causing public nuisanceA supporter of the Insulate Britain climate protest campaign faces a prison sentence after he was convicted for contempt of court for telling a jury his actions were motivated by the climate crisis.David Nixon was one of four defendants found guilty at Inner London crown court on Monday for causing a public nuisance by blocking the junction of Bishopsgate and Wormwood St in the City of London on 25 October 2021. Continue reading...

Water cremation and human composting among methods to be discussed by General Synod this weekThe Church of England is to consider backing more environmentally-friendly methods of disposing of dead bodies, including water cremation and human composting.An internal consultation will consider the theological, practical and pastoral issues around alternatives to cremation and burial that are used in some countries. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Environment minister calls for ex-president to be held to account as she prepares to tackle illegal gold minersFormer president Jair Bolsonaro should be investigated for genocide, Brazil’s environment minister, Marina Silva, has said, as she prepares an operation to drive illegal goldminers from the site of a humanitarian disaster on Indigenous land.In the coming days, armed police and environmental protection agents will launch the first of a series of operations by plane and helicopter to expel thousands of miners, who proliferated in Brazil’s Yanomami Indigenous territory during Bolsonaro’s administration, contaminating Amazonian rivers, wrecking the rainforest and spawning Brazil’s worst health crisis in living memory. Continue reading...

The stem is evidence, the thing that reminds you the fruit once weighed down a branch in a heavy orchard

Company rebuts claims by scientists that ‘uncontrolled and unscientific’ practices highlight dangers of going ahead with seabed miningVideo footage from a deep-sea mining test, showing sediment discharging into the ocean, has raised fresh questions about the largely untested nature of the industry, and the possible harms it could do to ecosystems as companies push to begin full-scale exploration of the ocean floor as early as this year.The Metals Company (TMC), a Canadian mining firm that is one of the leading industry players, spent September to November of last year testing its underwater extraction vehicle in the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone, a section of the Pacific Ocean between Mexico and Hawaii. Continue reading...

Far upriver in the rainforest, the lure of rare pink river dolphins is creating jobs and promoting conservation and reconciliation after a 50-year war“The dolphins are more playful than us,” says Diego Cifuentes, co-founder of Villa Lilia Agroecoturistico, a community dolphin-watching project on Colombia’s Lake Nare. “If you give off good energy, they may even touch you.”Cifuentes is sitting on a boat in the middle of a lake surrounded by thick forest, a two-hour boat ride from San José del Guaviare. In the water, a dozen tourists bob in fluorescent lifejackets, waiting for the chance to meet a boto, the local name for the pink Amazon River dolphin (Inia geoffrensis). Soon enough, a plume of steam bursts from the water and the humped backs of three botos glide through the surface. The tourists giggle and squeal at the momentary encounter with the rare cetacean. Continue reading...

Pollution from wood stoves, popular among middle classes, missed from monitoring which focuses on roads but is just as if not more harmfulA sharp rise in wood burning in urban areas could be bringing harmful pollution to greater numbers of people, and shifting the pattern of pollution from poorer to more affluent areas, one of the UK’s leading air pollution experts has warned.Currently, air pollution monitoring focuses on busy roads, which have been the main hotspots for fine particulate matter (known as PM2.5) and other air pollutants, largely from diesel vehicles. Continue reading...

Fishing has been central to life on Holy Island in Northumberland for centuries. Now, despite intense opposition, a proposed highly protected marine area – which would effectively kill off local industry – threatens the livelihoods of the island’s 15 fishing families

The unhoused teen, barred from an air-conditioned store, ‘didn’t need handcuffs – he needed help’, his father saysCaleb Blair entered the Circle K gas station in Phoenix asking for help. “I can’t breathe, I’m hot, I need to sit down. I can’t breathe,” he told the male cashier. He was sweaty, panting heavily, and struggling to stand up straight.It was 10 June 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona, and the city was experiencing the season’s first extreme heatwave. The temperature outside was 112F (44C) and rising. Continue reading...

Scientists urge people to stop ‘spraying gardens with poison’ and adopt wildlife-friendly practicesGardeners who use pesticides are contributing to the decline of British songbirds, a study suggests.Scientists have urged people to stop “spraying their gardens with poison” in order to halt bird decline and adopt instead wildlife-friendly practices. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Looming auction to earmark £1.5bn to put power generators on standby and keep the lights onThe billionaire West Ham United investor Daniel Křetínský and Swiss commodities giant Vitol are among bidders hoping to land hundreds of millions of pounds in subsidies to keep the lights on in Great Britain.National Grid’s electricity system operator is preparing to announce successful bidders in a “capacity market” auction this month for 2026. Continue reading...

Private sector is not seen to be ready to act as main buyer and draft is similarly worded to a Morrison-era bill

Subsidence from the world’s biggest iron ore mine threatens to swallow up the Arctic town of Kiruna. But what does its relocation mean for the local Sami reindeer herders?In the far north of Sweden, 125 miles above the Arctic Circle, sits the church of Kiruna, once voted the most beautiful old building in the country. The cosy terracotta-coloured church, with its fairytale rooftop points, is designed to resemble a hut of the indigenous Sami people. It opened in 1912, with almost no religious symbols, and is described by the vicar, Lena Tjärnberg, as “the living room of the community”. But if Kiruna church is to stay the same, it must go.In 2026, the entire 600-tonne wooden building will be loaded on to trailers and moved to a new spot near the local graveyard. It’s just one large – and technically tricky – piece of a project to move Kiruna to a new home, three kilometres (1.9 miles) east of the old town. Billed as the world’s most radical relocation project, Kiruna is moving because subsidence from the local iron ore mine is threatening to swallow the town. Cracks have already appeared in the hospital; a school is no longer safe for its pupils. Continue reading...

Reforming the scheme would shrink the budget deficit and help Australia hit net zero emissions by 2050, the Grattan Institute says

Warning comes as ornithologists call for the government to step up testing to monitor the impact of the deadly H5N1 strainA devastating new outbreak of avian flu – which has already wiped out wild bird populations across the UK – is likely to hit Britain in the spring. That is the stark warning made last week by ornithologists who said the disease has now established itself across many parts of the country.“Wild birds arriving in Britain in a couple of months are very likely to trigger new outbreaks of the disease,” said Claire Smith, senior conservation officer for the RSPB. “A few months ago, I was relatively optimistic about its likely impact this year but outbreaks have continued throughout winter and the outlook for 2023 now looks much grimmer.” Continue reading...

Tremor hit at depth of 1.2 miles outside the village of Weeton just after 7.30pm on FridayBlackpool has been struck by a 1.5-magnitude earthquake, according to the British Geological Survey (BGS). The tremor struck at a depth of 1.2 miles (2km) outside the village of Weeton just after 7.30pm on Friday.Residents within Blackpool, as well as in the neighbouring villages of Little Plumpton and Westby, reported feeling the tremor. Continue reading...

The fight to save the birds’ habitat ignites old frustrations over California’s engagement with tribal communitiesUp a winding northern California highway, beneath a 120ft ponderosa pine tree, a group of environmentalists gathered for some high stakes bird-watching.Everyone was waiting for a pair of bald eagles to swoop into their nest, an orb of twigs and branches balanced amid the tree’s scraggly branches. The elusive raptors have nested here for years, renovating and upgrading it each year in preparation for hatchlings in the spring. Continue reading...

Prices of the essential ingredient have forced several eateries to begrudgingly pass on the increase in rates to the customerAs egg prices have climbed steadily over the last year, consumers have the choice of forking over $14 for a carton of large brown eggs or attempting to go eggless to save some money at the grocery store. But for many breakfast spots and bakeries around the country, saying no to eggs is a much harder, if not impossible, task.At Juan in a Million, a popular Tex-Mex breakfast spot in Austin, Texas, “There’s no way around it,” said Juan Meza, the restaurant’s general manager. “That’s part of breakfast.” Continue reading...

Environmental activists had sought to halt the planned scuttling of the warship, warning that it could pollute the marine food chainBrazil has sunk a decommissioned aircraft carrier despite environmental groups claiming the former French ship was packed with toxic materials.The “planned and controlled sinking occurred late in the afternoon” on Friday, 350km off the Brazilian coast in the Atlantic Ocean, in an area with an approximate depth of 5,000 meters (16,000 feet), the navy said in a statement. Continue reading...

Package for dealing with old polluting vehicles launched in run-up to expansion of zone on 29 AugustLow-income Londoners are being offered a package worth as much as £3,000 to scrap their old polluting cars in readiness for this summer’s expansion of the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) to cover most of the city’s roads.Transport for London (TfL) estimates that 30,000 vehicle owners will access payouts from the scrappage scheme. However, there is only £110m up for grabs and it will be doled out on a first-come, first-served basis, with car drivers having to vie with van, motorbike and minibus owners for the money. Continue reading...

People urged to submit specimens to an app as private gardens may be fresh source of scientific discoveryRecord the “weeds” that pop up in your garden because they could be a rare plant, the Royal Horticultural Society has said.Private gardens in the UK may be an untapped source of scientific discovery, according to the RHS’s new ecologist, because “scientists can’t just go into people’s gardens”. Continue reading...