The latest developments in solar tech offer potential solutions to the energy security crisis – including satellites that would convert sunlight into power for EarthIn late November, a top-level meeting of European science ministers will convene in Paris. Their job is to decide the next priorities for the European Space Agency (Esa), of which the UK is still a member, and one of the items on their list to consider is a proposal for testing the feasibility of building commercial power stations in orbit. These huge satellites would bask in the sunlight, converting it to power and beaming it down to Earth to be fed into the power grid. The proposed project, known as Solaris, would determine whether the idea can contribute to Europe’s future energy security – or if it is all still pie in the sky.If the study gets the go-ahead, it will be like coming home for the space industry, which has always been at the forefront of solar power development. A year after the Russians launched the battery-powered Sputnik 1 in 1957, the Americans launched Vanguard 1. This was the fourth satellite in orbit and the first to generate its power using solar energy. Since that time, solar panels have become the primary way of powering spacecraft, which has helped to drive research. Vanguard 1’s solar cells converted just 9% of the captured sunlight into electricity. Today, the efficiency has more than doubled, and continues to increase, while the cost of fabrication has been falling. It’s a winning formula. Continue reading...

As climate crisis chokes Arizona, tribal regions often lack natural resources and are most vulnerable to the impacts of droughtCandice Mendez grew up on the Navajo reservation in a home that lacked running water and electricity. There was no phone service and few paved roads. A supermarket was miles away. But to Mendez, now 39, it felt like a time of abundance.“We did not want for anything,” she said. Continue reading...

Waste, not: the organic waste program being piloted in Queens will automatically provide the service to its 2.2 million residentsThe issue of food waste in New York went viral some years ago, when a rodent was captured on video dragging a slice of what may have been a slice of margherita pizza down the steps of a subway station. That was how the world became acquainted with Pizza Rat. Since then, its ranks have been joined by Avocado Rat and Pretzel Rat.But now, in at least one major part of the city, food rats may become fewer and farther between. America’s largest city is launching an equally large organic waste composting program, which will turn food and plant waste from 2.2 million residents into soil for city parks and community gardens, and an energy source called biogas. Continue reading...

Citizen scientists find high phosphorous levels in the soil could be polluting the river in HerefordshireCampaigners have revealed the results of farmland testing which provides new evidence of the potential link between intensive poultry units and the decline of the River Wye.Citizen scientists sampled farmland along public footpaths near a tributary to the river in Herefordshire. They discovered the soil with the highest levels of phosphorus, which can blight a river, were close to intensive poultry units. Continue reading...

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NSW SES commissioner Carlene York says it is ‘very dangerous out there’ and the rivers are still rising

An assessment released Friday shows the population is down 38% from its peak in 2015 and 2016US researchers say the number of gray whales off western North America has continued to dwindle during the last two years, a decline that resembles previous population swings over the past several decades but is still generating worry.According to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries assessment released Friday, the most recent count put the population at 16,650 whales – down 38% from its peak during the 2015-16 period. The whales also produced the fewest calves since scientists began counting the births in 1994. Continue reading...

Aquaculture Stewardship Council’s new standards put pressure on the UK to extend its animal welfare laws to fisheriesOne of the world’s leading organisations for farmed seafood is to introduce new welfare rules after accepting fish can feel “pain, stress and anxiety”.The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), which oversees a global certification scheme for farmed fish, is consulting on new draft welfare standards, including more humane slaughter practices. The ASC provides certification labelling for British supermarket fish, from sea bass to smoked salmon. Continue reading...

A dynamic revetment project, created from long berms of piled stones and sand, appears to be keeping the shoreline from erodingWhen David Cottrell was about three, his father drove him down a short road toward the beach in their home town of North Cove.It was the early 1960s. The Cottrells owned, worked and lived on a cranberry farm on this part of the south Washington coast. The small, unincorporated settlement, founded in 1884, sat along an embayment behind Cape Shoalwater, a claw-like spit that curled into the north end of Willapa Bay, where an estuary opens into the Pacific. Between this powerful inlet and forested uplands, the cranberry trade had thrived for nearly a century. Continue reading...

The Spanish city is hoping to find a natural remedy to head off bacteria that have attacked citrus groves around the worldOranges are to Seville what cherry blossom is to Kyoto, but the city is having to take preventive measures to protect its 48,000 orange trees from deadly bacteria that have already devastated citrus crops in Asia, Latin America and the US.The EU’s Life for Citrus campaign, which includes Spain, Portugal, France and Italy, is developing strategies to stop the spread of huanglongbing (HLB), Mandarin for “citrus greening”, also known as yellow dragon disease. Caused by the bacteria Candidatus liberibacter, it is spread by insects and can completely destroy a citrus tree within five years. Continue reading...

With 22 days hitting 110F or higher, suspected heat deaths in the Arizona capital topped 450Extreme heat contributed to as many as 450 deaths in the Phoenix area this summer, in what could be the deadliest year on record for the desert city in Arizona.The medical examiner for Maricopa county, which includes Phoenix, has so far confirmed 284 heat-related deaths, while investigations into 169 more suspected heat fatalities are ongoing. The highest number of deaths – and emergency hospital visits – coincided with the hottest days and nights. Continue reading...

Polish MEP claims Russia’s attempts to halt project giving access to Baltic Sea have ulterior political motivesPoland has accused Russia of using exaggerated environmental concerns to try to stop the construction of a canal project in a row over access to the Baltic Sea.Russian news outlets have spent at least the past five years claiming the Vistula Spit canal will damage an EU-protected nature park. The canal cuts across a Polish section of the Vistula Spit, giving the country direct access to the Baltic Sea. Previously, all marine access was through the Russia-controlled Pilawa strait in the exclave of Kaliningrad. Continue reading...

Proposal aims to reform energy charter treaty that protects multi-billion-pound investments in EuropeThe use of secret corporate panels to protect multi-billion-pound fossil fuel investments within Europe could come to an end after a move by the European Commission.Windfall payouts such as a recent £210m award to the British oil firm Rockhopper would no longer be possible between EU states under a new proposal to reform the energy charter treaty (ECT). Continue reading...

UK’s only large-scale supplier is understood to have suffered multiple outbreaks over the past weekShoppers could face shortages of British goose this Christmas after the UK’s biggest producer is understood to have been hit by multiple bird flu outbreaks.

Decision described as a compromise by several European countries who wanted a more ambitious targetA United Nations body has agreed to a long-term aspirational goal for aviation of net-zero emissions by 2050, despite challenges from China and Russia, as countries aligned overwhelmingly with airlines amid pressure to curb pollution from flights.Nevertheless, environmentalists criticised the non-binding nature of the agreement as toothless. Continue reading...

New Yorker accused of hiding large Burmese pythons in trousers while crossing from Canada in July could face 20-year sentenceA New York City man faces up to 20 years in prison for allegedly attempting to smuggle three large snakes across the US-Canada border – in his pants.Queens resident Calvin Bautista, 36, is accused of hiding three Burmese pythons while on a bus crossing into the US at the Champlain port of entry in New York state on 15 July 2018, the Associated Press reported. Continue reading...

Supporters of Just Stop Oil displayed banners and glued themselves to roads leading to Vauxhall BridgeTwo dozen environmental protesters have blocked central London roads for a seventh day, continuing a week of disruptive action that has led to at least 150 arrests.Just after 10am on Friday, several groups of supporters of the Just Stop Oil campaign blocked roads leading to Vauxhall Bridge. They glued themselves to the road and displayed banners. Continue reading...

Large area destroyed in September, as environmental criminals raced to wreck the region before possible change of presidentAmazon deforestation has soared ahead of Brazil’s environmentally vital presidential election, with an area almost the size of Greater London lost last month alone.Government satellites show a 1,455-sq km area of rainforest was destroyed in September, as environmental criminals raced to wreck the region before a possible change of president could bring Jair Bolsonaro’s era of destruction to an end. Continue reading...

Reliance on desalination comes with a big environmental cost for the region’s marine environmentAs the World Cup approaches, Qatar is going to need at least 10,000 litres of water every day for each of its stadium pitches. Based in a region with virtually no access to fresh water, it is going to rely on desalination – the practice of debrining saltwater so it is drinkable.It seems like an elegant solution – but the problem is that desalination, which is projected to boom by 37% across the Gulf region in the next five years, has huge environmental costs, in terms of the fossils fuels used to carry out the process, and the marine environment. But without it, how can the arid region possibly quench its thirst? Continue reading...

Greenpeace calls process, which will run until end of June, ‘possibly unlawful’The UK has opened up a new licensing round to allow oil and gas companies to explore for fossil fuels in the North Sea despite threats of a legal battle from climate campaigners.The North Sea Transition Authority has begun a process to award more than 100 licences to companies hoping to extract oil and gas in the area. Almost 900 locations are being offered up for exploration. Continue reading...

‘Screamingly high’ levels of PFOS, one of the most dangerous PFAS compounds, found in six out of 10 insecticides testedToxic PFAS chemicals have been detected in seven out of 10 insecticides tested in the US, according to new research. Six contained what the study’s lead author characterized as “screamingly high” levels of PFOS, one of the most dangerous PFAS compounds.The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has known about the findings for more than 18 months but appears to have not yet investigated the products or taken any action against the manufacturer. Continue reading...

Observers say cabinet rows and PM’s comments so far could undermine global consensus forged at GlasgowThe UK is in danger of ending its presidency of the UN climate talks next month in disunity and disarray, amid cabinet rifts on green policy, and confusion over who will attend the Cop27 summit.Rows over climate policy threaten to hamper the UK’s ability to hold together the fragile coalition of developed and developing countries it built at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow last year. Failure to do so will not only cast a pall over the UK’s achievements there, but will add further tensions to already troubled global climate talks. Continue reading...

Graham Stuart’s remarks come amid reports No 10 has blocked public information campaignSenior Conservative MPs have urged Liz Truss to launch a public information campaign to encourage people to reduce their energy use after No 10 blocked the idea over fears it would seem like the actions of a “nanny state”.Iain Duncan Smith, a former cabinet minister and supporter of Truss was one of several MPs suggesting the government was wrong to rule out a campaign, from warnings from National Grid of potential blackouts this winter. Continue reading...

This year’s iteration of the popular Alaskan tournament pits 435 Holly against four-time winner 480 OtisThousands of people are tuning in this week to watch Fat Bear Week, the popular competition to vote for the largest bear at the Katmai national park in Alaska.The annual tournament evaluates a bear’s “success in preparation for winter hibernation”, according to the tournament’s website. Continue reading...

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including a swimming sea cucumber, flying flamingoes and magpies hitching a ride Continue reading...

We have green, cheap alternatives ready and waiting – but first we have to commit to keeping fossil fuels in the ground

‘Sustainability incentive’ aims to cut emissions on farms of its 8,900 European members, including in UKThe dairy co-operative Arla Foods has announced it will pay its farmers more money for the milk they produce if they meet new environmental sustainability targets.Arla is introducing the “sustainability incentive” with the aim of promoting and funding the reduction of emissions on the farms of its 8,900 members, based in the UK and six other European countries including Denmark, Sweden and Germany. Continue reading...

Demonstrations from Falmouth to Whitstable to demand water firms do more to reduce pollutionProtests against sewage discharges blighting English beaches will take place across the country this weekend to highlight what demonstrators say is the failure of water companies to reduce pollution.From Falmouth in Cornwall, where bathers, lifeguards and synchronised swimmers are demonstrating, to Whitstable in Kent, where protesters will turn a beach into a crime scene, activists say the problem of sewage discharges by water companies has not improved. Continue reading...

Proposed expansion would cover about 4,000 hectares and involve clearing of habitat for the koala, greater glider and other threatened species

Opposition leader tells Andrew Bolt Australia needs to consider nuclear reactors and calls on Tim Flannery to apologise

Local government body says mayors are ‘really struggling’ with effect of extreme weather and need help from federal and state governments

Ian is the second-deadliest storm to strike the US in the 21st centuryResidents of south-west Florida were on Thursday returning for a first look at damage wreaked on their homes by Hurricane Ian, as the storm’s death toll continued to rise and details emerged about the victims.Inhabitants of Sanibel, Captiva and Pine Island were among the first to get a glimpse after authorities still searching for survivors from the 28 September storm gave the go-ahead for civilians to return.The Associated Press contributed to this report Continue reading...

Experts claim deadly spillovers of disease between livestock and wildlife are increasing with the growth in intensive methodsCatastrophic declines in the number of birds and other wildlife are likely if countries do not act urgently to change the way animals are farmed, wildlife health scientists have warned.The unprecedented die-off of seabirds from highly pathogenic avian flu (HPAI) being witnessed in breeding colonies across Europe, North America and Africa has been traced back to a commercial goose farm in southern China where a relatively mild bird disease mutated into a killer in 1996.

G15 group of big housing associations warn 5% cap would also hinder green ambitions and new-buildsEfforts to make social housing safer, greener and more livable will be significantly delayed if ministers cap rent rises at 5% next year, according to landlords who fear the move would cost them £3.5bn over the next decade.Projects to make housing blocks safe after the Grenfell Tower disaster are among those that will be slowed down, according to a coalition of housing associations based in London, if the proposed plan to protect millions of England’s poorest households from soaring rents is confirmed. Continue reading...

Exclusive: review finds consultants were directed to make changes so impacts on biodiversity ‘would be indirect’

Ministers rebuke ‘shameful’ failure to meet funding promises for poorer countries to cope with climate crisis ahead of Cop27 summit

In its role as president, China has sent invitations only to ministers and NGO heads, raising fears it is downplaying the crucial talksChina has not invited world leaders to a major nature summit being held this year, raising concerns Beijing is downplaying the crucial Cop15 meeting in order not to embarrass Xi Jinping.In December, governments will finalise a UN agreement to halt the destruction of the natural world at a summit organised by China but hosted in Canada. Because of Beijing’s zero-Covid policy and after several delays, Cop15 was moved to Montreal, the seat of the UN convention on biological diversity. It was meant to take place in Kunming, Yunnan province, in 2020. Continue reading...

Met police confirm arrest of 25 climate campaigners for blocking road in central LondonTwenty-five supporters of Just Stop Oil have been arrested after blocking traffic in central London, on the sixth consecutive day of protest by the group.At about midday on Thursday, two groups of protesters with the climate activist campaign walked into the road and stopped traffic at the roundabout by Trafalgar Square. Continue reading...

Campaigners say marine protected area set up to save UK’s only fan mussels exists merely as a ‘paper park’New underwater footage taken by environmental campaigners in Scotland has revealed severe damage to marine life and habitats wreaked by scallop dredgers in “marine protected areas” (MPAs).The Scottish government designated the seabed around the islands of Canna and Rum, on Scotland’s west coast, as the Small Isles MPA in 2014, to conserve Britain’s only colony of rare fan mussels and other features. The islands host a large breeding colony of black guillemots. Continue reading...

From solar farms to floating arrays, from Australia to Bedfordshire, Lightsource BP is ramping up its renewable energy push“He’s scaring me now,” laughs Mark Davis, as a menacing-looking ram takes a step towards him from underneath an angled solar panel. The burly operations manager is touring Manor Farm near Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, where sheep are using the solar arrays for shade and a remote-controlled cleaning robot with the appearance of a mini tank steadily sloshes water down the panels.A persistent hairdryer-like hum comes from the huge boxy green inverter, which converts the direct current electricity that the panels generate to the alternating current used by the electrical grid. This is one of about 270 solar farms that have been developed by Lightsource BP in the UK. Continue reading...

Coal is the most polluting of all fossil fuels and investors must stop funding it, say campaignersHundreds of coal companies around the world are developing new mines and power stations, according to a study. The researchers said the plans were “reckless and irresponsible” in the midst of the climate emergency.Coal is the most polluting of all fossil fuels and its use must be quickly phased out to end the climate crisis. However, almost half the 1,000 companies assessed are still developing new coal assets, and just 27 companies have announced coal exit dates consistent with international climate targets. Continue reading...

Good Car Company plans to run a batch-buy program that would source cars from Japan and the UK

The Australian conference supposedly devoted to ‘bold action’ from the right spent much of its time pouring scorn on any form of climate action

Shehbaz Sharif says he wants ‘climate justice’ from rich polluting countries after monsoons put a third of his country under waterShehbaz Sharif, the prime minister, has said Pakistan should not be forced to go out with a “begging bowl” to rich polluting nations after the floods that have devastated the country and said he would be seeking “climate justice” from the international community.Speaking from his home in Lahore, Sharif warned that Pakistan is facing an unprecedented crisis of health, food security and internal displacement after the “apocalyptic” monsoons which put a third of Pakistan’s regions under water. Some areas were hit by 1.7m of rainfall, the highest on record. Continue reading...

A group of 50 NGOs found that bank and subsidiaries had funded oil refinery and gas processingThe World Bank has provided nearly $15bn of finance directly to fossil fuel projects since the Paris agreement was signed in 2015, and is likely to have spurred far greater investment indirectly, new research has found.Funding for “upstream” oil and gas projects from the World Bank was meant to stop from 2019, but the Big Shift Global, a coalition of more than 50 NGOs, has found the bank and its subsidiaries funding oil refinery and gas processing since then. Continue reading...

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A lack of rain on the western coasts saw 65,000 dead salmon wash up on the creekTens of thousands of dead wild salmon scattered along a creek bed are the latest casualty of a drought that has gripped the province of British Columbia for more than a month and left communities bracing for more devastation.In a video clip posted to social media, the carcasses of pink and chum salmon are seen piled near the community of Bella Bella. Continue reading...

Caroline Lucas responds to the business secretary’s claim that only she and ‘the socialists’ do not support his plansIf Jacob Rees-Mogg really believes that the only people who don’t like fracking are “the socialists and Caroline Lucas”, he’s clearly not been paying attention (Rees-Mogg tells Tories he’d welcome fracking in his back garden, 3 October)This may come as no surprise since, until recently, his most memorable position on the green benches at Westminster has been horizontal. But if he couldn’t see the large numbers of his own party’s backbench MPs queueing up to voice their outrage at his proposal to restart fracking when he made his announcement a few weeks ago then he should certainly have been able to hear them. Continue reading...

‘It’s like putting in a transmission line over the Opera House,’ says National Parks Association of NSW

The RSPB, National Trust, green farmers and anti-frackers all got it in the neck at the Conservative conference