The film Oppenheimer has shone a global spotlight on the dawn of US nuclear weapons tests. In the Marshall Islands, where 23 of those earth-shattering blasts happened, people have never been able to forgetAt first glance, the aquamarine waters that surround the Marshall Islands seem like paradise. But this idyllic Pacific scene hides a dark secret: it was the location of 67 nuclear detonations as part of US military tests during the cold war between 1946 and 1958.The bombs were exploded above ground and underwater on Bikini and Enewetak Atolls, including one device 1,100 times larger than the Hiroshima atom bomb. Chernobyl-like levels of radiation forced hundreds from their homes. Bikini Atoll remains deserted. At the US government's urging, residents have begun returning slowly to Enewetak. Continue reading...

Government to spend $151m to boost council food and garden waste service for more than 3 million people in the state's south-east

Chris Bowen says the standard is needed to improve access to cleaner, cheaper-to-run cars in Australia

A dolphin has also died at the Marineland theme park, which faces accusations of animal crueltyFourteen whales and a dolphin have died since 2019 at a popular Canadian aquarium and theme park, according to a new investigation by the Canadian Press.Of the marine animals that have died, 13 were belugas and one was Kiska - the world's loneliest orca", who died of a bacterial infection after four decades in captivity, the last 12 of which were in isolation. Continue reading...

Benji Backer, executive chairman of conservative climate group, calls question on crisis in debate historic' but laments answersRepublicans deserve to lose" electorally if they can't show they care about the climate crisis, according to the head of a conservative climate organization that put forward a rare question on the issue to GOP candidates in Wednesday's televised debate.The Republican presidential hopefuls, minus Donald Trump, were asked at the Fox News debate what they would do to improve the party's standing on climate policy by Alexander Diaz, a young conservative who is part of the American Conservation Coalition (ACC), a youth conservative group that pushes for action on the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Many credits in the voluntary market going unused, with study finding some offsetting could make global heating worseCarbon credit speculators could lose billions as scientific evidence shows many offsets they have bought have no environmental worth and have become stranded assets.Amid growing evidence that huge numbers of carbon credits do nothing to mitigate global heating and can sometimes be linked to alleged human rights concerns, there is a growing pile of carbon credits equivalent to the annual emissions of Japan, the world's fifth largest polluter, that are unused in the unregulated voluntary market, according to market analysis. Continue reading...

The best of this week's wildlife photographs, including turtle hatchlings, mating butterflies and trafficked toucan Continue reading...

Amnesty links wildfires and lack of legal migration routes to deaths of 19 people believed to be asylum seekersRefugees and migrants in Greece are facing off against the two great injustices of our times", Amnesty International has said, as it linked wildfires and scant access to legal migration routes to the deaths of 19 people believed to be asylum seekers.As wildfires continue to rage across swathes of Greece, authorities in the country said they were working to identify the charred remains of 18 people found this week in the dense forests that straddle the country's north-eastern border with Turkey. Continue reading...

Breeding failures in the Bellingshausen Sea without precedent' as multiple colonies across large region all failed in a single seasonThousands of emperor penguin chicks across four colonies in Antarctica likely died because of record-low sea ice levels that caused a catastrophic breeding failure" in late 2022, according to new research.Analysis of satellite images showed the break-up of usually stable sea ice and the disappearance of the colonies at a time when chicks had not yet grown their waterproof feathers. Continue reading...

In the 20th year of the South Australian Museum's photographic competition, Samuel Markham's image My Country Burns was the overall winner. The picture, taken while Markham was defending his home from a bushfire, was described by the judges as a breathtaking, scary photograph ... indicative of the world we now live in'

The population of the invasive species seems to be on the decline, but experts are split on the significance of the findingsIt has been the target of an if you see it, stomp it" campaign in the eastern US for several years. But now the spotted lanternfly - an elegant but invasive insect with distinctive red wings - might be on the decline in some areas.Harmless to humans, spotted lanternflies can damage trees and fruit crops, and feed on the sap of over 70 different species of host plants. They are now common across the north-east. In New York, red splats, from eager lanternfly stompers, are a frequent sight on sidewalks. Continue reading...

The release of water from the Japanese nuclear plant has already caused the price of produce from surrounding coastal areas to dropAwa-jinja is a place of pilgrimage for the more superstitious fishers of Shinchi-machi, a coastal town in Fukushima, who come here to lower their heads and ask the Shinto gods to look kindly on them as they prepare to steer their boats into the vast Pacific Ocean.Today, though, the safe waves" implicit in the shrine's name are of little concern to the men and women coming to the end of the working day at the town's fishing port. Continue reading...

Oil, gas and coal benefited from $7tn in support in 2022 despite being primary cause of climate crisisFossil fuels benefited from record subsidies of $13m (10.3m) a minute in 2022, according to the International Monetary Fund, despite being the primary cause of the climate crisis.The IMF analysis found the total subsidies for oil, gas and coal in 2022 were $7tn (5.5tn). That is equivalent to 7% of global GDP and almost double what the world spends on education. Countries have pledged to phase out subsidies for years to ensure the price of fossil fuels reflects their true environmental costs, but have achieved little to date. Continue reading...

Median level of PFAS was 88% higher for Asian Americans than non-Hispanic whites, research using novel method showsAsian Americans likely have much higher levels of forever chemicals" in their blood than other US races and ethnicities, research using a novel method for measuring PFAS exposure finds.The peer-reviewed study factored sociodemographic, dietary and behavioral characteristics into its algorithm, which makes it more sensitive to exposure differences among cultures than the standard methods used by the US government and most of the scientific community. Continue reading...

Number seeking help with debts in first half of 2023 up 17% compared with last year, says Citizens Advice

Review warns half of species under threat in state are on course to become extinct in next 100 years

Water containing radioactive tritium being pumped into Pacific via tunnel from Tepco plant, amid protests from China, South Korea and fishing communitiesJapan has begun discharging more than 1m tonnes of tainted water into the Pacific Ocean from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in a move that has prompted China to announce an immediate blanket ban on all seafood imports from Japan and sparked anger in nearby fishing communities.The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), pumped a small quantity of water from the plant on Thursday, two days after the plan was approved by Japan's government. Continue reading...

Greek firefighters have been struggling for five days to contain deadly wildfires throughout the country, several of them bordering an acrid, smoke-filled Athens Continue reading...

In full-page newspaper ad, current and former leaders call for delay in support for hosting Cop31 until Australia stops pursuing coal and gas projectsA group of Pacific Island elders, including several former national leaders, have taken out a full-page ad in the Fiji Times calling on their countries not to support Australia's plan to host a UN climate summit until it stops expanding fossil fuels.The ad on Wednesday by the group the Pacific Elders' Voice was timed to coincide with a visit to Fiji by the Australian climate change minister, Chris Bowen. Continue reading...

When four navigational weirs were built on the Severn in the 1840s they blocked the route of shoals of twaite shad as they made their way upriver. Now, a newly built system of fish passes means they can come home to breed

Work on Cockshut chalk stream will restore its natural flow, improving biodiversity and reducing flood riskA chalk stream in Lewes, East Sussex, has been rewiggled" to restore its natural flow and create a public wetland. Continue reading...

A study of the biggest known congregation of breeding octopuses, about 20,000, has made discoveries as to why so many of the species gather there. A volcanic vent in the ocean bed off California provides warm water and nutrients to the brooding octopuses, and scientists from MBARI have found this helps shorten the time it takes for their eggs to hatch, increasing their chances of survival

Two miles under the dark ocean off California, 20,000 pearl octopuses use the gentle heat of nearby volcanic springs to help their babies hatch fasterScientists have solved the mystery of why tens of thousands of octopuses cluster on the foothills of a giant underwater mountain, two miles down off the coast of California. The pearl octopuses, so named because from a distance they look like scattered gems, seek out warm water seeping through the seabed and use it to speed up the hatching of their eggs.

New study published in Nature says period was as destructive as record 2016 El Nino drought and heatwaveThe first half of Jair Bolsonaro's presidency was so destructive for the Amazon that it was comparable to the record 2016 El Nino drought and heatwave in terms of carbon emissions, according to scientists.Annual emissions from the world's largest rainforest roughly doubled in 2019 and 2020, compared with the 2010 to 2018 average, according to a new study published in Nature, as swaths of forest were deliberately cleared and burned for cattle ranching and farming during the first two years of the far-right leader's time in office. Continue reading...

Some kinds of tree leaf could become too hot to be able to conduct photosynthesis, researchers warnTropical forests could become so hot that some kinds of leaves will no longer be able to conduct photosynthesis, according to a study published in the journal Nature.The photosynthetic machinery in tropical trees begins to fail at about 46.7C on average. The research suggests that forests may be nearing dangerous temperature thresholds sooner than expected. Continue reading...

UK Oil and Gas says work is to resume at Avington site in national park after decision from Planning InspectorateThe Liberal Democrats and green groups have accused the government of an environmental crime" after it emerged that potentially large-scale oil drilling is to take place inside the South Downs national park, despite widespread local opposition.In a statement, UK Oil and Gas, which is part of the consortium wishing to drill at the Avington site near Winchester, said work was to resume in the hope of extracting potentially significant" amounts of the estimated 59m barrels there, lasting up to 2025. Continue reading...

Experts shocked as analysis finds no traces of eel DNA in area once teeming with the endangered fishEel experts say they are shocked to find no evidence of the animal in the network of drainage ditches that make up its traditional habitats in the Somerset Levels, which once teemed with the critically endangered fish.DNA sampling by the Sustainable Eel Group and Somerset Eel Recovery Project in the drainage ditches found no traces of eel DNA. Continue reading...

Biden's bill includes $60bn for environmental investments, but groups that would benefit most face hurdles in accessing fundsWhen President Joe Biden passed the Inflation Reduction Act a year ago, Adrien Salazar was skeptical.The landmark climate bill includes $60bn for environmental justice investments - money he had fought for, as policy director for the leading US climate advocacy coalition Grassroots Global Justice Alliance (GGJA). Continue reading...

Agencies say toxic blue-green algae, thought to be driven by farm runoff and sewage, recorded at levels not seen since 1970sNorthern Ireland's Lough Neagh, the largest lake in the British Isles, has been hit by recorded levels of potentially toxic blue-green algae that regional agencies say have not been seen since the 1970s.Campaigners say the lake is dying in plain sight" as vast algal blooms choke the aquatic life and bird and insect wildlife plummets.

Prof Richard Kingsford and his Waterbirds Aerial Survey team's work over forty years has influenced Murray-Darling Basin conservation and helped create three new national parks

It has taken 20 years for passionate group of volunteers to save Cleveland Pools, first built in 1815A beautiful Georgian lido in Bath, reputed to be the UK's oldest public outdoor swimming pool, is to reopen to the public next month.The first swimmers will be able to take a bracing dip at Cleveland Pools (heated water will follow at a later date) on 10 September. Continue reading...

Report says hundreds of billions of dollars and millions of work hours in productivity are at risk due to hotter conditions

In today's newsletter: Japan's decision to release radioactive water from the tsunami-hit power plant has divided groups - is it entirely safe or staggeringly stupid? Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning.Today's newsletter comes to you from Manchester, original home of the Guardian (est 1821), and me, Helen Pidd, your friendly north of England editor. I'll be writing the daily briefing alongside Nimo for the next few weeks. Continue reading...

IPPR wants government to take a stake in green technology firms to help Britain keep up with EU and USThe UK risks losing out to the US and EU in the global race to a net zero economy unless the government increases green investment by taking a stake in the companies of the future, a thinktank has said.The left-leaning Institute for Public Policy Research said Britain needed a national investment fund" (NIF) that would back new firms and secure a share of any future profits for the public as it called for the state to adopt a Dragons' Den" type approach to supporting enterprises. Continue reading...

Events that inject smoke and gas into high atmosphere help to cool planet but are no solution to climate crisis, says studyExplosive volcanic eruptions and wildfires have offset global heating by around a fifth over the last eight years, a study shows. In particular the eruption of Calbuco in southern Chile in 2015 and the 2019-20 Australian wildfires injected vast amounts of smoke and gas into the high atmosphere, which helped to cool the planet by absorbing heat leaving the Earth and reflecting sunlight back to space.Pengfei Yu from Jinan University in China and his colleagues used data gathered by high altitude balloons over the Tibetan plateau and the US to model the cooling impact of stratospheric volcanic eruptions - those that inject ash into the high atmosphere - and wildfires. Continue reading...

Areas largely untouched by 2019-20 fires including Sydney basin, coastal regions and the Hunter at increased risk, experts warn

Burning of fossil fuels made fires at least twice as likely, and the fire-prone weather at least 20% more intense, study showsThe conditions that caused Canada's extreme spate of wildfires this year, which resulted in parts of the US and Canada to be blanketed in toxic smoke, were made at least twice as likely due to the human-caused climate crisis, scientists have found.The 2023 Canadian wildfire season has been the largest, and most devastating, on record, with nearly 14m hectares (34m acres) burned, an area larger than Greece. The extent of these fires, more than double the size of the previous record, caused more than a dozen fatalities and thousands of evacuations, and sent a plume of smoke that unfurled as far as Norway and, for a time in June, turned the sky above New York City orange. Continue reading...

As scientists in the drought-stricken state worry about water use, winemakers believe grapes are the perfect crop for the dry landThe high desert of Arizona may seem like an odd place for wine tasting. But you wouldn't know it from the crowds that gathered at the Verde Valley Wine festival, two hours north of Phoenix, on a hot day in May.As the sun beamed down, hundreds of wine lovers jostled for a spot to enjoy their drinks in the shade. On the edge of a lawn, producers offered up tastings, to-go bottles and cases of wine - much of it grown just down the road. Continue reading...

First half of year had slowest pace of final approvals in Clean Energy Council's six years of tracking, but backing for power storage was more promising

A fourth tailings dam for the mine was approved in June, in a decision that is currently being challenged in the Victorian civil and administrative tribunal

Former environment secretary must gain permission for each new client to avoid giving unfair advantage'The former environment secretary George Eustice has been told to ask permission from the post-government jobs watchdog every time his new consultancy firm takes on a client to avoid giving them unfair access to his former department.The senior Conservative MP, who is standing down at the next election, was given permission by the advisory committee on business appointments (Acoba) to set up a company to advise businesses on farming technology and the water sector. Continue reading...

As temperatures rise across Oceania, droughts are becoming more extreme and strong winds drive catastrophic firesHawaii was never paradise. Since the day my ancestors first stepped ashore, our islands have been devastated by hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes and erupting volcanoes that buried whole towns.But fires are something new. We were not prepared. Our officials were not prepared, for a raging inferno of 1,000-degree heat that moved at lightning speed, reducing our historical town of Lahaina - once the capital of the Hawaiian kingdom - and 2,000 homes to ash. More than 1,300 people are still missing. At this stage, many will not be found. Cadaver dogs whine with frustration. They are uncovering mostly ash.Kiana Davenport is a writer of Native-Hawaiian and Anglo-American descent. She is the author of eight novels and three anthologies: Prize-Winning Pacific Stories Continue reading...

Crustacean native to Americas is devastating shellfish production in Po delta, where it has no natural predatorsItalian fishing communities in the north of the country are fighting an invasion of predatory blue crabs which risks jeopardising the economy of whole regions, authorities have said.The crab, originally from the coast of north and south America, has spread across several lagoon-like locations in Italy over the past year, preying on local shellfish and posing a threat to the country's role as one of the world's leading clam producers. Continue reading...

Release plans approved by UN nuclear authority have caused outcry in China and concern for the reputation of Japan's seafoodJapan is to begin releasing wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant from Thursday, in defiance of opposition from fishing communities, China and some scientists.The prime minister, Fumio Kishida, said on Tuesday he had asked the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), to swiftly prepare for the water discharge" in accordance with plans approved by nuclear regulators, adding that the release would begin on Thursday, weather and ocean conditions permitting". Continue reading...

Report argues chickens should be kept in much smaller flocks and given more spaceThe industrial poultry farming sector needs to be radically restructured to stop the spread of bird flu, says a report that argues wild birds are victims rather than the main vectors of the disease.Bird flu is spiralling out of control and being spread by intensive poultry farms, according toreport by the campaign group Compassion in World Farming (CIWF). Continue reading...

Thousands in Los Angeles County still without power; Palm Springs continues to be hit by flooding; impact in Texas expected on Tuesday

Brights zoo hopes publicity around unnamed female, who lacks distinctive patches, will draw attention to plight of giraffes in wildOne of the rarest sights in the animal kingdom has appeared in the unlikely setting of a Tennessee zoo, which has hosted the birth of what is thought to be the world's only singularly colored giraffe.The female giraffe, born on 31 July, is a uniform brown color, lacking the distinctive patched pattern that giraffes - along with their exceptionally long necks - are known for. Brights zoo said the giraffe is already 6ft tall and is under the care of her mother and zoo staff. Continue reading...

Extreme heat prompts Texas to ask residents to conserve power on Sunday night as Missouri advises residents to check on neighborsSweltering temperatures are lingering in a large swath of the central US, causing misery from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes.Record high temperatures were recorded on Sunday in Texas and other states. People were told to chug extra water while mowing lawns or exercising outdoors, and to check on neighbors to ensure air conditioning is available. The extreme heat prompted Texas's electric power grid manager to ask residents to voluntarily conserve power for three hours on Sunday night. Continue reading...

Referendum result protecting Yasuni reserve will benefit huge range of species as well as uncontacted' Indigenous peoplesEcuadorians have voted in a historic referendum to halt the development of all new oilwells in the Yasuni national park in the Amazon, one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet.Voters opted to safeguard the unique biosphere by a margin of nearly 20% with more than 90% of the ballot counted - with more than 58% in favour and 41% against, according to Ecuador's National Electoral Comission. Voting took place in the first round of presidential elections on Sunday. Continue reading...

Falmouth sighting of cross between common and striped dolphins thought to be UK firstRare hybrid dolphins have been spotted off the coast of Cornwall in what is thought to be a UK first.The pair of cetaceans, seen in Falmouth, are a cross between a common dolphin and a striped dolphin. Continue reading...