This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereOne missing person in Tuscany has been found alive, Ansa reports.Spain's state meteorological agency has published data on yesterday's strong winds. Continue reading...
World leaders will reconvene in Abu Dhabi before UAE's Cop28 after talks broke down two weeks agoGovernments will meet this weekend for a last-ditch attempt to bridge deep divisions between rich and poor countries over how to get money to vulnerable people afflicted by climate disaster.Talks over funds for loss and damage", which refers to the rescue and rehabilitation of countries and communities experiencing the effects of extreme weather, started in March but broke down in rancour two weeks ago. Continue reading...
Cut shopping bills, landfill and carbon emissions by using up peelings and stems where possibleWith their spiky crowns of leaves, pineapples are about as close as you can get to a tropical paradise while doing the weekly shop - but now Sainsbury's has begun selling the fruit shorn of its exotic plumage, all in the name of cutting food waste.With the fruit's hardy leaves usually ending up in the bin or a food waste caddy, the move shines a spotlight on waste in the home. So could the leaves, stems and skins of the fruit and vegetables we routinely throw away be put to better use in the kitchen? Continue reading...
Concerns ahead of Cop28 climate summit that Rishi Sunak among leaders backsliding on green measuresThe UN secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, will be seeking assurances from the UK that there will be no reneging on climate promises, after Rishi Sunak's rowing back on green measures.The UN is concerned that countries may be backsliding on pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions sharply, to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Continue reading...
Margaret Bradshaw has spent decades studying Teesdale - and is fighting to preserve its unique mix of plantsMargaret Bradshaw crouches on all fours on Widdybank Fell in Teesdale, being drenched by sheets of horizontal rain. The 97-year-old botanist mumbles the names of arcane plants as she scours the damp ground.This part of the uplands is a seemingly empty landscape, heavily grazed by sheep, but it hides botanical treasures that have been here for more than 10,000 years. Some of the plants can't be found anywhere else in the UK and - until Bradshaw arrived on the scene - many were unaccounted for.Margaret Bradshaw on Widdybank Fell Continue reading...
Drone images of cages shot by activist reveal open sores affecting up to 1m fish'. Fish producers are now culling them for animal feedImages of severely diseased, dead and dying salmon at an Icelandic fish farm, obtained by the Guardian, have been described by one veterinary expert as an animal welfare disaster" on a scale never previously seen.The drone footage, shot last week over an open-pen sea cage in the country's remote Westfjords region, shows salmon suffering from such a severe infestation of sea lice that huge numbers of the fish are having to be prematurely slaughtered. Continue reading...
American Ornithological Society to change names referencing people or deemed offensive for ones that better describe speciesA new rule from the American Ornithological Society (AOS) will cause reverberations around the birding world, and create new names for hundreds of species. The society says it has engaged in conversations with the community of birders, and will focus on first renaming the 70 to 80 species in the US and Canada that are named after people - or have names deemed offensive or exclusionary. Their efforts will start in 2024.This means Anna's hummingbird, named after an Italian duchess, and Lewis's woodpecker, named after explorer Meriwether Lewis, will change. The society drew particular attention to undoing birds whose names are tied to historical wrongs - as in the case of Townsend's warbler, named after John Kirk Townsend, who robbed Indigenous graves of skulls in the 1800s. This isn't the first effort in renaming; in 2020, the society changed the name of a bird that once referred to a Confederate army general, John P McCown, to the thick-billed longspur. Continue reading...
by Mattha Busby (now); Miranda Bryant and Lili Bayer on (#6G28H)
This live blog is now closed, you an read more on this story hereHere is a map of the risks in France.Meteo-France, the French national meteorological service, is warning about very strong winds. Continue reading...
Customers will be able to trade their used books for a voucher to spend in store or online - but industry figures warn the scheme may be too good to be true'WH Smith has launched a buy-back service for used books, offering readers vouchers in exchange for their secondhand volumes.Through the BookCycle scheme, launched on Tuesday, readers register their books online, take them to a branch and receive an e-voucher to spend in store or online. The books will be passed on for another reader to enjoy or will be responsibly recycled", according to the WH Smith website. Continue reading...
UN meteorological body finds health experts have access to heat warning services in only half of affected countriesThe climate crisis threatens to roll back decades of progress towards better health and governments are ill-prepared to stop it, the World Meteorological Organization has said.Three-quarters of national weather agencies send climate data to their country's health officials but less than one in four health ministries use the information to protect people from risks such as extreme heat, the report found. Continue reading...
Experts at Royal Horticultural Society conference argue for change of focus as many saplings are dyingTree establishment should replace tree planting in government targets, experts have said.Billions of pounds of taxpayer money could be being wasted planting trees that end up dying because government tree targets are focused on planting rather than survival, they argued, amid concern that saplings were dying because they are often neglected. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#6G2BD)
International funding to shield people from heatwaves, floods and droughts only 5-10% of what is needed, report findsThe world is woefully" underprepared for the escalating impacts of the climate crisis that is already hitting billions of people across the globe, a stark UN report has warned.International funding to protect communities against heatwaves, floods and droughts is just 5-10% of what is needed today and actually fell in recent years, just as extreme weather hit even harder. Continue reading...
On one small Argentine farm, Alessandra Sanguinetti captured the lives of the animals - from birth to their sometimes grisly demise. Warning: graphic content Continue reading...
Guiding a young bird back into nature showed that, if we want to prevent the world's destruction, we must value lives that aren't humanWhat kind of bird is this?" The text from my wildlife rehabilitator friend had asked. I had to squint at the photo. Was this a dirty rag? No, a nestling. In very bad shape. A screech owl. Found dragged and dropped on someone's lawn. I figured she was about two weeks from being old enough to fly.A freshly rescued Alfie, recovering from falling from her nest Continue reading...
Volcanoes, northern lights and midnight sun are all on offer at this haven, which locals want to preserveLook at this wave," says Mathis Blache, pointing to the sea from the shore's black rocks as a swell rolls in. It's just perfect." Despite air and water temperatures in the single digits, the 27-year-old student and surfer points out two other surfers - and a couple of seals - delighting in the conditions at orlakshofn in south-west Iceland.This spot, where surfers can enjoy either the midnight sun or the northern lights depending on the time of year, has in recent years become the heart of Iceland's rapidly growing surfing community. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Drop in compliance visits in England described as incredibly detrimental to water resources'The Environment Agency has slashed its water-use inspections by almost a half over the past five years, it can be revealed.Environment Agency (EA) officers visited people and businesses with licences to abstract, or take, water from rivers and aquifers 4,539 times in 2018-19, but this dropped to 2,303 inspections in 2022-23, according to data obtained by the Guardian and Watershed Investigations. Continue reading...
The echinoderms more closely resemble disembodied heads than multi-limbed creatures, experts have discoveredStarfish may appear to have a plethora of limbs, but it turns out the creatures actually resemble something akin to a disembodied head.Experts say it has long been a conundrum how starfish, sea urchins and other animals with a fivefold body plan, known as echinoderms, evolved from an ancestor with twofold symmetry - a body plan common today in animals including insects, molluscs and vertebrates. Continue reading...
Households have continued to use state help that was first created more than a decade agoFor a brief period over several weekends this spring, the state of South Australia, which has a population of 1.8 million, did something no other place of a similar size can claim: generate enough energy from solar panels on the roofs of houses to meet virtually all its electricity needs.This is a new phenomenon, but it has been coming for a while - since solar photovoltaic cells started to be installed at a rapid pace across Australia in the early 2010s. Roughly one in three Australian households, more than 3.6m homes, now generate electricity domestically. In South Australia, the most advanced state for rooftop solar, the proportion is nearly 50%. Continue reading...
Exclusive: multistate tour, launching in Michigan on Sunday, aims to pressure Biden on climate action before 2024 electionOne year after the passage of the much-lauded Inflation Reduction Act, a coalition of organizers and representatives are relaunching the push for a Green New Deal with a national tour.The Inflation Reduction Act was the largest climate investment in US history," said John Paul Mejia, a national spokesperson for the youth-led climate justice organization the Sunrise Movement, one of the groups hosting the tour. But for the next 10 years, we should work to make [it] the smallest by winning stuff that's much larger." Continue reading...
Mid-air fights, jabbering gang-gangs and villainous magpies are some of the 68 finalists from more than 6,000 entries in this year's competition, with the winner to be announced in November. All proceeds go towards bird conservation across the country Continue reading...
Removing leaves will mean they can be replanted or shredded for animal feed and could reduce emissionsThe pineapple has been dethroned: Sainsbury's has announced it will start selling a crownless version of the tropical fruit from Wednesday.The spiky, green leaves that grow from the top of the plant are a unique feature of the exotic fruit. But, says the supermarket, they are typically thrown away by customers, contributing to up to 700 tonnes of food waste a year. Continue reading...
Kevin Jordan, whose home is 5 metres from the cliff edge in Norfolk, says government's shortcomings breach his human rightsWhen Kevin Jordan bought his seaside home in Hemsby, Norfolk, he was told it would be safe for a century. In the decade since, 17 of his neighbours' homes have had to be demolished, or have been swept away into the waters of the North Sea. His is now just 5 metres from the fast-crumbling cliff, isolated and unreachable by car after part of the road collapsed into the North Sea.The people of Hemsby would seem to be natural beneficiaries of official policies to adapt to the climate crisis. Under the Climate Change Act 2008, the government is required to produce a national adaptation programme every five years, setting out plans protect communities in the UK from the extreme heat, flooding and coastal erosion expected as the climate breaks down. Continue reading...
Huq, a visionary and climate champion', who was named one of the top 10 scientists in the world by Nature last year, has died at 71Tributes have poured in from around for world for the renowned Bangladeshi scientist Prof Saleemul Huq, who died on 28 October.Huq, 71, was an acclaimed academic, a relentless climate activist and the director of the International Centre for Climate Change & Development (ICCCAD), a research and capacity-building organisation in Bangladesh. Continue reading...
Nancy Mace and Marjorie Taylor Greene among those accused of hypocrisy over efforts to gut landmark Inflation Reduction ActAt least a dozen Republican members of Congress have welcomed clean energy investment flowing to their electorates following Joe Biden's landmark climate bill, even as they launch fresh attempts to dismantle the legislation.The group of conservative lawmakers, including the House of Representatives members Nancy Mace, Clay Higgins and Marjorie Taylor Greene, have all recently praised the arrival of new renewable energy, battery or electric vehicle jobs in their districts even after voting against last year's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which was loaded with incentives for clean energy projects. Continue reading...
Elephants that dropped dead in Zimbabwe were victims of an obscure bacteria combined with extreme heat. Scientists fear more elephants - and other species - could suffer the same fateThe first elephant to die was an eight-year-old male. It was found on 24 August 2020 on the southern border of Panda Masuie forest reserve, Zimbabwe, collapsed on its side like a grey marquee in the reddish dirt.When Dr Chris Foggin, a wildlife veterinarian at the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust, went to examine it, his first guess was anthrax - a common killer at that time of year. He was cautious taking organ samples, and burned the carcass when he had finished. Continue reading...
Seven-year study of 12,000 residents of Delhi and Chennai finds link between PM2.5 particles and increased blood sugar levelsInhaling polluted air increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, the first study of its kind in India has found. Research conducted in Delhi and the southern city of Chennai found that inhaling air with high amounts of PM2.5 particles led to high blood sugar levels and increased type 2 diabetes incidence.When inhaled, PM2.5 particles - which are 30 times thinner than a strand of hair - can enter the bloodstream and cause several respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Continue reading...
Durham University research found warnings of environmental or health impacts reduced choice of meals containing meat by 7-10%People are used to seeing stark warnings on tobacco products alerting them about the potentially deadly risks to health. Now a study suggests similar labelling on food could help them make wiser choices about not just their health, but the health of the planet.The research, by academics at Durham University, found that warning labels including a graphic image - similar to those warning of impotence, heart disease or lung cancer on cigarette packets - could reduce selections of meals containing meat by 7-10%. Continue reading...
Audit finds little to no improvement' in health of sea between 2016 and 2021, as Swedish coastguard battles oil spillThe Baltic Sea faces critical challenges" due to the climate crisis and degradation of biodiversity, a report has said, as Sweden's coastguard battled to contain the impact of an oil spill off the country's southern shore.In the most comprehensive audit of its kind to date, experts at the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (Helcom) said on Tuesday there had been little to no improvement" in the health of the body of water between 2016 and 2021. Continue reading...
Several of the city's governmental, environmental and cultural institutions share lobbyists with fossil fuel companiesDozens of governmental, educational, cultural and environmental organizations across the city of Pittsburgh have hired lobbying firms who work with planet-heating fossil fuel companies, new research shows.The Pennsylvania city has almost entirely divested its pension funds from fossil fuels and plans to dramatically cut its planet-heating pollution. Yet in 2023, it employed lobbyists who also worked for ExxonMobil and seven other fossil fuel companies. Continue reading...
by Ajit Niranjan Europe environment correspondent on (#6G0DV)
French banks have financed $154bn to firms running biggest fossil fuel projects since 2015 climate pactFrance is Europe's biggest supporter of carbon bomb" extraction projects that hold enough fossil fuels to pump out more than a gigaton of CO each, the Guardian can reveal.Since world leaders gathered in the French capital to sign the Paris agreement in 2015 - where they promised to try to stop the planet heating by 1.5C above pre-industrial levels - French banks have financed companies planning or operating carbon bombs amounting to $154bn. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Projects that risk 1.5C heating target operated by companies receiving financing from European, Chinese and US banksBanks pumped more than $150bn last year into companies whose giant carbon bomb" projects could destroy the last chance of stopping the planet heating to dangerous levels, the Guardian can reveal.The carbon bombs - 425 extraction projects that can each pump more than one gigaton of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere - cumulatively hold enough coal, oil and gas to burn through the rapidly dwindling carbon budget four times over. Between 2016 and 2022, banks mainly in the US, China and Europe gave $1.8tn in financing to the companies running them, new research shows. Continue reading...
Coast guard tackling very serious' incident as severe weather hampers efforts to empty oil from Marco Polo, which grounded near HorvikA ferry that ran aground off south-eastern Sweden had extensive damage" and was leaking oil into the Baltic Sea, a spokesman for the Swedish coast guard said.On 22 October the Marco Polo was running between two Swedish ports - Trelleborg and Karlshamn - when it ran aground near Horvik and started leaking. It continued under its own power before grounding a second time. Continue reading...
Local residents discovered trapped whale trailing two buoys, making unusual sounds and having trouble moving freely'A young humpback whale was freed by rescuers in Alaska after it was discovered hog-tied to a 300lb crab pot.The rescue, which occurred on 11 October, came after two local residents discovered the trapped whale a day earlier in the coastal waters near Gustavus, a city close to Glacier Bay national park in the southernmost part of Alaska. Researchers estimate the whale to be about three to four years old. Continue reading...
Research highlights benefits forests bring surrounding regions in terms of cooler air and more rainfallDeforestation has a far greater impact on regional temperatures than previously believed, according to a new study of the Brazilian Amazon that shows agricultural businesses would be among the biggest beneficiaries of forest conservation.The research has important political implications because farmers in Amazonian states have, until now, led the way in forest destruction on the assumption that they will make money by clearing more land. Continue reading...
Students say that by investing in fossil fuels their schools are violating commitments to the public interestStudents at six universities filed legal complaints on Monday accusing their colleges of breaking a little-known law by investing in planet-heating fossil fuels, the Guardian has learned.Campus organizers from the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Chicago, Tufts University, Pomona College, Washington University in St Louis and Pennsylvania State University wrote to the attorneys general of their respective states to ask officials to scrutinize their universities' investments. Each filing elicited signatures of support from dozens of faculty and staff members, alumni and local, national and international climate-focused groups. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#6FZNW)
Having good chance of limiting global heating to 1.5C is gone, sending dire' message about the adequacy of climate actionThe carbon budget remaining to limit the climate crisis to 1.5C of global heating is now tiny", according to an analysis, sending a dire" message about the adequacy of climate action.The carbon budget is the maximum amount of carbon emissions that can be released while restricting global temperature rise to the limits of the Paris agreement. The new figure is half the size of the budget estimated in 2020 and would be exhausted in six years at current levels of emissions. Continue reading...
Nobody experiences the purple light of the blossoms as totally as the bee inside her petal trumpetIt is what jacarandas do to blue sky that makes us so helpless to resist them. They emerge in early summer, when we hope the skies will be bluest, and make them bluer still. The jacaranda flames on the air like a ghost," the Australian poet Douglas Stewart wrote, Like a purer sky some door in the sky has revealed."Their blossoms fall, turning the ground to the sky, like still water reflecting clouds, and in the middle is us, bobbing happily up and down. Continue reading...
Pumpkin growers in west and south-west fail to achieve predicted yields as climate crisis worsens drought and heat extremesAlan Mazzotti can see the Rocky Mountains about 30 miles west of his pumpkin patch in north-east Colorado on a clear day. He could tell the snow was abundant last winter, and verified it up close when he floated through fresh powder alongside his wife and three sons at the popular Winter Park resort.But one season of above-average snowfall wasn't enough to refill the dwindling reservoir he relies on to irrigate his pumpkins. He received news this spring that his water delivery would be about half of what it was from the previous season, so he planted just half of his typical pumpkin crop. Then heavy rains in May and June brought plenty of water and turned fields into a muddy mess, preventing any additional planting many farmers might have wanted to do. Continue reading...
Therese Coffey says data will be gathered on impact of emerging industry and UK will not support licences in meantimeBritain is backing a moratorium on commercial deep-sea mining, after criticism from scientists, MPs and environmentalists of its previous stance in support of the emerging industry.On Monday, the UK government announced it would back a temporary suspension on supporting or sponsoring any exploitation licences to mine metals from the sea floor until enough scientific evidence was available to understand the impact on ecosystems. Continue reading...
Environment | The Guardian