Environment | The Guardian

Fish, beavers and skunks all suffered from the deluge this week. But good news: populations are healthy and they will reboundThe toll to wildlife from climate crisis-related weather events is an area that often gets overlooked in their immediate aftermath. But after the flooding in Vermont this week, previous weather calamities - including Tropical Storm Irene, in 2011 - can offer some clues.Fish in Vermont's rivers, primarily species of trout - brook, rainbow and brown - have been found to move upriver during increased water flow to less turbulent areas, including tributaries or flooded fields, or find refuge behind fallen trees or rocks. Continue reading...

After multiple worker fatalities, the US government warned manual gauging was dangerous. The oil industry seems to have not taken note, activists say

Climactic event will almost certainly strengthen throughout the year, US climate scientists predictMild El Nino climatic conditions brewing in the Pacific Ocean will strengthen throughout the year, with an outside chance of a record-breaking event that will further turbocharge already sweltering temperatures around the globe, scientists have forecast.Last month saw a weak" El Nino form, a periodic climatic event where the circulation of the equatorial Pacific Ocean shifts and its temperature rises, causing knock-on heat around the world, according to an update from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa). Continue reading...

Britain and Switzerland among countries that need to adapt most for heating, says research looking at impact of 2C global riseThe UK and Switzerland will see a 30% increase in the number of days of uncomfortably hot temperatures if the world heats by 2C, and are two of the countries which need to adapt the most for global heating, scientists have predicted.The research, published in Nature Sustainability on Thursday, found that while central Africa will see the most extreme temperatures overall, it is mostly northern European countries that will experience the greatest relative increases in uncomfortably hot days. Continue reading...

Nearly 90 million Americans are facing heat alerts this week, yet GOP members are wrangling over spending to reduce emissionsSwaths of the US are baking under record-breaking heat, yet some lawmakers are still attempting to block any spending to fight the climate crisis, advocates say.Nearly 90 million Americans are facing heat alerts this week, including in Las Vegas, Nevada, which may break its all-time hottest temperature record; Phoenix, Arizona, which will probably break its streak of consecutive days of temperatures over 110F; and parts of Florida, where a marine heatwave has pushed up water temperatures off the coast to levels normally found in hot tubs. Continue reading...

In 2010, Barcelona's nine city beaches were topped upwith 700,000 cubic metres of sand. Since then, 70% of that sand has disappeared. In the past 20 years the rate of erosion along Spain's east coast has been accelerating. It is partly to do with storms and rising sea levels but there are also other factors at play. The local authorities are in a bind, trying to balance economic needs and the environment, with no viable solutions to choose from. It is a tricky situation that could spell the end of Barcelona's beaches Continue reading...

Agriculture ministers agree to phase out cages as animal rights advocates criticise state's lack of deadline

Agriculture ministers criticised for agreeing to continue working' on a strategy to deal with invasive species

Investigation finds polluting farmers may not face action after breaking the rulesA loophole in the UK's pollution legislation allows farmers to pollute rivers by spreading excess manure, an investigation has found, with those acting unlawfully not facing any action in most cases.The government introduced new farming rules for water in 2018, aimed at cleaning up England's waterways. However, after lobbying from the National Farmers' Union (NFU), including at least two meetings with ministers, the guidance was watered down. Continue reading...

ScottishPower expects Hagshaw Hill to produce five times as much energy with half the turbines by early 2025

California governor launches campaign aimed at protecting residents from extreme heat; US president says extreme heat and floods linked to climate

Fourth phase at giant project off Yorkshire coast is expected to have 180 turbines and generate 2.6GWOne of the UK's largest planned offshore windfarms will move ahead after the government gave the green light to a giant project off the Yorkshire coast after a five-month delay.The fourth phase of the Hornsea windfarm development is expected to include 180 giant turbines, capable of generating the equivalent of enough green electricity to power 1m homes. Continue reading...

Animals make first return to the county in 400 years as National Trust introduces family of four to Wallington estateIt was a genuinely tense tale of the riverbank as a family of four beavers were released into the Northumberland countryside on Wednesday, the first time in more than 400 years that the animals are making the county their home.Would they even come out of their cages? Would they be as feisty coming out as they apparently were going in? Would they be happy with their new surroundings? Continue reading...

People will be able to claim back 6-25 of cost of repairing clothes and shoes in latest environmental measureA broken heel, a rip in trousers, buttons missing from a shirt? Don't throw them away if you live in France, where the government will pay a repair bonus" to have them mended in a new scheme aimed at cutting waste.An estimated 700,000 tonnes of clothing is thrown away in France every year, two-thirds ending up in landfill. Continue reading...

Safe levels exceeded in 13,000km of rivers globally with ingredients potentially degrading into more persistent substancesAgricultural pesticides leach far from their original sources into the world's waterways, according to new research which finds pesticides exceed safe levels in 13,000km of rivers globally.Analysing 92 of the most common agricultural pesticides, scientists have estimated that 710 tonnes of pesticide active ingredients leach into the world's oceans each year. Continue reading...

The sea is becoming greener due to changes in plankton populations, analysis of Nasa images findsEarth's oceans are changing colour and climate breakdown is probably to blame, according to research.The deep blue sea is actually becoming steadily greener over time, according to the study, with areas in the low latitudes near the equator especially affected. Continue reading...

Covid pandemic and Ukraine war add to widespread crisis with one in nine people in the world facing severe food insecurity in 2022The number of people going hungry in the world has risen by 122 million to 735 million since 2019 because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the UN has said.If current trends continue, almost 600 million people will be chronically undernourished by 2030 - about 119 million more than if neither of these events had happened, a new report has found. Continue reading...

A wildfire has consumed more than 4,000 hectares (9,984 acres) of a national park in eastern Bolivia over the weekend, Bolivian authorities said. Drone images showed plumes of smoke coming out of Otuquis national park in the Santa Cruz region, near the border with Brazil and Paraguay.The fire entered a wet national park area on Tuesday, reducing its intensity but making it difficult for fire crews to fight the blaze Continue reading...

Country's ministers echo European governments, scientists and environmental organisations in citing need for robust regulation of fledgling sectorCanada has joined a growing list of nations calling for a pause on deep-sea mining in international waters amid fears the nascent, untested industry could cause ecological devastation without further study and clear safeguards.Three ministers, for the country's foreign affairs, natural resources, and fisheries and oceans departments, issued a statement on Monday that in the absence of both a comprehensive understanding of seabed mining's environmental impacts and a robust regulatory regime", they supported a moratorium on commercial deep-sea mining. Continue reading...

Campaigners raise concerns about water industry links as Lib Dems say watchdog should be abolishedThe appointments of the current and previous chairs of the water regulator Ofwat should be investigated, campaigners have said, as the Liberal Democrats called for the watchdog to be abolished.Jonson Cox, a former chair of the regulator, had multimillion-pound links with the privatised water industry before taking up the role. The current chair, Iain Coucher, remains a senior adviser to a global private equity firm that has interests in the water industry in the US. Continue reading...

The joint chief executive of Thames Water has refused to apologise for allowing water companies to increase their debt during her time as chief of Ofwat, the water regulator. Cathryn Ross's comments came during a parliamentary committee session with Thames Water bosses as concerns mount over the financial viability of the company. Thames Water has secured 750m of emergency funding from its shareholders but the debt-ridden company warned it would need further funding in the years ahead

Exclusive: The ongoing strength of rooftop solar installations contrasts with the sharp slowdown in new large-scale solar farms

Phil Scott says damage is historic and catastrophic'; parts of the US south and southwest are suffering extreme heat

Nuclear bomb fallout marks dawn of new epoch in which humanity dominates planetThe site to represent the start of the Anthropocene epoch on Earth has been selected by scientists. It will mark the end of 11,700 years of a stable global environment in which the whole of human civilisation developed and the start of a new age, dominated by human activities.The site is a sinkhole lake in Canada. It hosts annual sediments showing clear spikes due to the colossal impact of humanity on the planet from 1950 onwards, from plutonium from hydrogen bomb tests to the particles from fossil fuel burning that have showered the globe. Continue reading...

Environment Victoria calls for Andrews government to end opposition to commonwealth water purchases to save river

Pipeline of solar and onshore wind projects could fall short of what's needed, while carbon capture will be a crucial component', report says

Week of dangerous weather to continue across the US, as July warnings about the climate crisis intensifyFlash flood warnings were still in place in parts of Vermont on Tuesday morning, as the state capital Montpelier's downtown was under water and officials fear a local dam could fail for the first time since it was built, threatening further inundation.There were hopes that waters that have flooded several other towns in the state, which is not typically a hotspot for severe flooding, would start to recede, according to local news reports, while warnings about the Wrightsville Dam on a large reservoir in Washington county, were issued. Continue reading...

The country is suffering its worst drought in 74 years, with the government even mixing saltwater into the drinking supplyA plan to build a Google data centre that will use millions of litres of water a day has sparked anger in Uruguay, which is suffering its worst drought in 74 years.Water shortages are so severe in the country that a state of emergency has been declared in Montevideo and the authorities have added salty water to the public drinking water supplies, prompting widespread protests. Continue reading...

RSPCA accuses government of race to the bottom for animal welfare standards' with post-Brexit trade dealBattery eggs should not be sold in the UK as part of post-Brexit trade deals, animal welfare groups have said, as the government prepares to allow them to be imported.As part of the new Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), ministers are expected to give the green light to battery eggs to be imported from countries including Mexico. Continue reading...

Charity urges government to act amid fears mental health of young people is at breaking point'Play campaigners in the UK are calling for urgent action at the highest level of government to reduce the danger children face from traffic on residential roads.Playing Out, a national charity set up to help parents close roads for play, has reported a rise in temporary road closures on residential streets as parents try to help children play outside safely. Continue reading...

Fishers and retailers say mining's impact on tuna fishing in the Pacific might be felt on supermarket shelves around the worldSeafood groups representing a third of the world's tuna trade as well as major supermarket suppliers are the latest groups to call for a pause on deep-sea mining, after a new study published today showed tropical tuna fishing grounds in the Pacific would overlap with mining plans.The Global Tuna Alliance partners, which account for 32% of global tuna sales and represent Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Asda, Marks & Spencer and Aldi in the UK, joined the Sustainable Seafood Coalition, made up of 45 British seafood firms, to condemn the rush to mine the seabed. Continue reading...

Six people died and three others were missing after heavy rain triggered floods and landslides in south-west Japan.The Japan meteorological agency warned residents of Kyushu - one of the country's four main islands - to stay alert for more landslides, a common hazard in mountainous areas after heavy rainfall.Japan has been hit by unusually heavy rain and powerful typhoons in recent years, raising fears about its vulnerability to the climate crisis

Experts and former ministers have also said the developments would not reduce energy prices in the UKNew oil and gas fields in the North Sea would produce only enough gas to satisfy the UK's needs for a few weeks a year, with a minimal impact on energy security, analysis has found.Fields now under consideration would supply at most an additional three weeks of gas a year to the UK, from 2024 to 2050, even if none of the gas was exported. Continue reading...

David Lammy says Labour government would join growing list of countries and multinationals opposing rush to mine the seabedThe Labour party has said the UK should back the call for a precautionary pause on deep-sea mining, ahead of a crucial meeting of nations in Jamaica to decide the future of the industry.David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, said the Labour party was adding its voice to a growing list of countries and businesses urging that moves to start mining be halted until and unless" there was clear scientific evidence that it could be done safely and the marine environment would be protected by new regulations. Continue reading...

In Celtic mythology they're known as fairy cattle"The word deer comes from dor and der, which in old and middle English meant, simply, animal". The Dutch word dier" still means this. The sense of a deer as an animal, as opposed to a human - it has been found to have referred to ants, fish and foxes - may come from wilddornes", the origin of wilderness or wild-animal-ness.Deer still seem to embody this mysterious animal-ness: four-legged wildness, dainty and strong, mysterious and controlled. You may say it is all in the antlers: I say it is all in the tail. I saw a small herd of fallow deer in London's Clissold park recently. A doe walked up to the fence as I walked past, then turned away and flicked her white tail: a flash of white, like a shooting star you're not sure you've seen, like the tap of a fluffy wand, like a cute cursor blinking. Continue reading...

New guidance says carbon credits should only be used to contribute to climate mitigationCompanies should drop offsetting-based environmental claims and adopt a climate contribution" model instead, according to a new quality standard.In a new code of practice, the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) has published guidance on how companies should use carbon credits as part of high-quality corporate action. It recommends that firms should disclose their emissions every year, show they are successfully meeting a science-based target aligned with the Paris agreement, and only use carbon credits to contribute to climate mitigation, moving away from claims that they have cancelled out" their emissions by purchasing offsets. Continue reading...

Hottest summer on record - fuelled by climate crisis - brought unusually high mortality rates, statistics showSearing heat killed more than 60,000 people in Europe last summer, scientists have found, in a disaster made deadlier by greenhouse gases baking the planet.EU statisticians rang alarm bells in August, as sweltering heat, withering drought and raging fires consumed much of the continent, after seeing unusually high numbers of people die during Europe's hottest summer on record. Continue reading...

Country's top cop said 90% of miners despoiling Yanomami land had been expelled, though experts say they are only displacedBrazil's top federal police chief for the Amazon has celebrated the government's success in driving thousands of illegal miners from the country's largest Indigenous territory but warned the war" against environmental criminals is not yet over.Speaking during a visit to the Amazon city of Belem, Humberto Freire estimated environmental and police special forces had expelled 90% of the 20,000 miners who had been devastating the protected Yanomami territory, since launching their clampdown in February. Continue reading...

Residents in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand warned not to go outside and Delhi schools closed amid flooding and landslides in multiple statesTorrential rain across northern India has killed at least 22 people, causing landslides and flash floods in the region, with Delhi receiving the most rainfall in decades, reports and officials have said.Schools in Delhi were closed after heavy rains lashed the national capital over the weekend, and authorities in the Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand asked people not to venture out of their homes unless necessary. Continue reading...

Villagers who have kept pre-Hispanic milpa methods alive for years are seeing new markets spring up in the YucatanTeresa de Jesus Cen Requena is washing burgundy okra and a rainbow of freshly dug carrots at Mestiza de Indias, a regenerative agricultural project hidden down a dirt track in the jungle near the Maya village of Espita. You used to be able to live from your milpa," the farm worker says, referring to the traditional smallholding. But now many people from the village go to Cancun because they want modern luxuries.You can't buy a mobile phone with a bag of beans but I don't care - I am connected to this land."Teresa de Jesus Cen Requena, who works at the Mestiza de Indias regenerative farm, stands outside her home with her mother-in-law in their huipiles Continue reading...

Almost 200 bird species found to build nests with human litter, including cigarette butts, plastic bags and fishing netsBirds build nests with rubbish like cigarette butts, plastic bags and fishing nets, scientists say, raising fears for the safety of their chicks.Research shows 176 bird species have been found to build nests with human litter, including items that hurt them and their offspring. Continue reading...

Earth draws parallels between human impact on climate and volcanic eruptions that ripped through planet's crust 250 million years agoThe terror factor" generated by the new BBC series Earth - which re-creates a climate change event that wiped out most species 250 million years ago - could help spur us on to do something" about the environment crisis, according to its presenter, Chris Packham.Using the latest scientific discoveries and visual effects, the BBC's biography of Earth" shows the parallels between a deadly change in the atmosphere caused by a series of cataclysmic supervolcano eruptions millions of years ago and mankind's fossil fuel emissions, which Packham explains are destabilising ... with terrifying rapidity" Earth's protective layer of gases. Continue reading...

Group thanks woman who threw confetti at former chancellor's wedding but urges people to focus on out of control' global heatingJust Stop Oil has applauded a woman who threw orange confetti at the wedding of the ex-chancellor George Osborne but denied that it, as a campaign group, was responsible.The protest took place as Osborne and his bride, Thea Rogers, left a church in the village of Bruton, Somerset on Saturday. Continue reading...

Plastics consumed nationally in 2019-20 created 16m tonnes of greenhouse gases, report says

David Duguid opposing tax while wife is in receipt of BP dividends raises questions over potential conflict of interest

Margaret Atwood and Cormac McCarthy led the way. Now a new crop of novelists is putting the heating emergency at the forefront of their plotsScience fiction has always dealt with worst-case scenarios when imagining our possible futures, and the climate has often formed the backdrop of the human struggles.Some of the biggest names writing in the genre have tackled the climate crisis and its apocalyptic or dystopian consequences - Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake, Cormac McCarthy's The Road, Bruce Sterling's Heavy Weather. Continue reading...

Shy broad-toothed rat found after a detection dog tracked down its bright green poo

Woman empties bag of orange confetti from union jack bag over former chancellorThe wedding of former chancellor George Osborne has been disrupted by a protest from environmental group Just Stop Oil.About 200 people, including a number of well-known politicians and journalists, gathered in the Somerset village of Bruton on Saturday to mark the 52-year-old's marriage to Thea Rodgers, 40, who worked as his aide during his time at the Treasury. Continue reading...

Exclusive: General manager says chemical analysis shows slight overlap' of mine lead and samples from local residents' rainwater tanks