Environment | The Guardian

European research finds that increasing urban tree coverage to 30% can lower temperatures by 0.4CPlanting more trees could mean fewer people die from increasingly high summer temperatures in cities, a study suggests.

Move is a victory for the environment, economy and tribes of Alaska’s Bristol Bay region, and is ‘victory for science over politics’The US Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday in effect vetoed a proposed copper and gold mine in a remote region of south-west Alaska that is coveted by mining interests but that also supports the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery.The move by the agency, heralded by Alaska Native tribes and environmentalists who have long pushed for it, deals a potentially devastating blow to the proposed Pebble mine and comes while an earlier rejection of a key federal permit for the project remains unresolved. Continue reading...

Eilidh McFadden and Tom Johnson convicted of criminal damage after action at Madame Tussauds and must pay £3,500 compensationThe climate protesters who threw cake into the face of a waxwork of King Charles in Madame Tussauds have been ordered to pay the London tourist attraction £3,500 in compensation.Eilidh McFadden, 20, and Tom Johnson, 29, were found guilty of criminal damage at Westminster magistrates court on Tuesday for each smashing a vegan chocolate cake topped with shaving foam into the waxwork on 24 October last year. Continue reading...

Environment secretary sets lower 10-year objective for cleaner air but researchers say their goal is reachable with stronger actionThe government cannot achieve the air quality improvements advised by medical experts, so has set its targets lower for the next 10 years, the environment secretary has admitted as she unveiled a new environmental plan.Thérèse Coffey said on Tuesday: “We have cleaner air. I want it to be even cleaner. Now, I would have loved to have made our target to achieve 10 micrograms [of fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, per cubic metre of air] by 2030, not 2040. Many parts of the country already enjoy this, but the evidence shows us that with the best will in the world we cannot achieve that everywhere by the end of the decade, particularly in London.” Continue reading...

Campaigners in Oxfordshire, Cotwolds and Cumbria say houses should not be occupied until systems can copeCampaigners are intervening to prevent new houses being occupied in several areas of England until sewage treatment works are upgraded to cope.In Oxfordshire, the Cotswolds and in Cumbria, the failure of water companies to invest in sewage infrastructure means new homes would just add more sewage into treatment works that are at or beyond capacity, and increase pollution into rivers, they say. Continue reading...

Pilot program in the Bronx, New York, found striking differences in the levels of harmful indoor chemicals after the switchWhat happens when you replace a gas stove, recently linked to one-eighth of all US asthma cases, with an induction stove? A program in New York offered tenants the chance to do just that and found striking differences in the levels of harmful indoor chemicals after the switch.The pilot program took place in a 96-unit public housing building outfitted with gas stoves in the Bronx. Twenty low-income households participated, and at the beginning of the study half were given induction stoves, which use electricity to heat the cookware directly and don’t emit pollutants. Continue reading...

State says it will release own plan as six others to dramatically cut water use from river stressed by drought and overuseSix western states that rely on water from the Colorado River have agreed on a model to dramatically cut water use in the basin, months after the federal government called for action and an initial deadline passed.California – with the largest allocation of water from the river – is the lone holdout. Officials said the state would release its own plan. Continue reading...

Company took home about $6.3m an hour last year as oil majors expected to break their own annual recordsExxon Mobil posted a $56bn profit for 2022, the company said on Tuesday, taking home about $6.3m an hour last year, and setting not only a company record but a historic high for the western oil industry.Oil majors are expected to break their own annual records on high prices and soaring demand, pushing their combined take to near $200bn. The scale has renewed criticism of the oil industry and sparked calls for more countries to levy windfall profit taxes on the companies. Continue reading...

People tell us about their sightings as part of RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch, with many species flourishingThe Big Garden Birdwatch, a citizen survey organised by the RSPB, has returned for its 44th year. The survey took place between 27-29 January 2023 and the deadline for submitting results is on 19 February.Hundreds of readers got in touch to share their experiences of taking part in this year’s survey. Here, five people tell us about their sightings. Continue reading...

About a dozen Extinction Rebellion protesters disrupted a speech in the House of Lords as peers debated a bill on protest crackdowns. Footage filmed by one of the demonstrators shows staff escorting protesters as they stand to speak during proceedings, with one of them repeatedly telling the demonstrator speaking to 'shut up'

Exclusive: Misguided policies have hurt small-scale farms while enriching agribusinesses and corporate lobbyists, analysis showsTwo decades of misguided US dairy policies centered around boosting milk production and export markets have hurt family-scale farms and the environment while enriching agribusinesses and corporate lobbyists, new research has found.The average American dairy turned a profit only twice in the past two decades despite milk production rising by almost 40%, according to analysis by Food and Water Watch (FWW) shared exclusively with the Guardian. Continue reading...

With just 3,000 of the pig-like animals still roaming the Gran Chaco region, a community conservation effort in Argentina is fighting for its futureThe Chacoan peccary is so elusive that scientists believed it was extinct until its “discovery” in 1975. Today, only 3,000 remain in the inhospitable forests and lagoons of the Gran Chaco region, which stretches across northern Argentina, Paraguay and southern Bolivia, and comprises more than 50 different ecosystems.Micaela Camino, who works with the Indigenous Wichí and Criollo communities to protect the animals and their land rights in Argentina, knows how difficult to find they can be. She has only seen one Chacoan peccary, or quimilero, in 13 years since she set up her NGO, Proyecto Quimilero, but has fallen in love with the critically endangered mammal, which looks like a peculiar cross between a boar and a hedgehog. Continue reading...

The last five rainy seasons since the end of 2020 have failed, triggering the worst drought in four decades in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. The next rainy season, from March to May, is expected to be below average. According to the UN, drought has plunged 12 million people into ‘acute food insecurity’ in Ethiopia, where a deadly conflict has also ravaged the north of the country Continue reading...

Report finds ‘relatively small group’ of rich people contribute disproportionately to emissionsThe difference between the carbon emissions of the rich and the poor within a country is now greater than the differences in emissions between countries, data shows.The finding is further evidence of the growing divide between the “polluting elite” of rich people around the world, and the relatively low responsibility for emissions among the rest of the population. Continue reading...

Macquarie Island resupply mission will now be carried out by a smaller chartered ship, delaying some scientific research

Steffen remembered as a ‘truly leading thinker’ and someone who influenced scientific agenda and governments worldwide

Major environmental plan includes tackling sewage spills and restoring wildlife habitats but critics question lack of funding

House of Lords votes against flagship public order bill on day when Extinction Rebellion protesters disrupted proceedings in chamberA government bill aimed at cracking down on protest has suffered a number of setbacks in the House of Lords, setting the stage for a tense showdown between parliament’s two chambers.Peers inflicted a number of defeats on the wide-ranging public order bill, which is aimed at curbing guerrilla tactics used by protest groups. Continue reading...

Researchers found that exceeding the 2C increase has a 50% chance of happening by mid-centuryThe world is on the brink of breaching a critical climate threshold, according to a new study published on Monday, signifying time is running exceedingly short to spare the world the most catastrophic effects of global heating.Using artificial intelligence to predict warming timelines, researchers at Stanford University and Colorado State University found that 1.5C of warming over industrial levels will probably be crossed in the next decade. The study also shows the Earth is on track to exceed 2C warming,which international scientists identified as a tipping point, with a 50% chance the grave benchmark would be met by mid-century. Continue reading...

Momentum grassroots group says it is hoping to make ‘loud’ case for leftwing policies in lead-up to next general electionKeir Starmer is set to battle the Labour left over protest laws, green issues and a wealth tax as the party kickstarts its manifesto development.Momentum, the grassroots campaign group, is hoping to make a “loud” case for left-leaning policies in the lead-up to the next general election, and will collaborate with the Socialist Campaign Group (SCG). Continue reading...

In Newark, hundreds of environmental protesters marched towards Robert Jenrick's office, the local MP, calling on him to vote against the EU retain law bill that put thousands of environmental protection laws at risk. The bill gives ministers the power to abolish an estimated 4,000 laws derived from Brussels by the end of 2023. The deadline has been put in place by Rishi Sunak, who pledged to scrap thousands of EU laws to 'protect Brexit' during his leadership campaign. Cross-party MPs are concerned the deadline is impractical, as hundreds of civil servants would be required to review each piece of legislation. As well as environmental regulations, the EU-derived laws include employment protection and transport regulations

Rising temperatures and low rainfall threaten key ingredient of pigs’ diet – acorns from the dehesa oak forestsSpain’s prized jamón ibérico bellota is under threat from the climate crisis as rising temperatures and low rainfall imperil a key ingredient of the pigs’ diet – acorns.In a country where pigs are as populous as people, there are many varieties of ham but none is so revered as jamón ibérico bellota, which retails at upwards of €100 (£88) a kilo. Continue reading...

Oil and gas group says countries are pursuing energy security by backing domestic, renewable suppliesGlobal carbon emissions are expected to fall quicker than previously expected as a result of the war in Ukraine and Joe Biden’s efforts to encourage green investment, BP has said.The oil and gas company said carbon emissions would fall more rapidly than it forecast a year ago thanks to renewed efforts by countries to pursue greater energy security by supporting domestic, renewable energy supplies. Continue reading...

It is cheaper to build solar panels or cluster of wind turbines and connect them to the grid than to keep operating coal plantsCoal in the US is now being economically outmatched by renewables to such an extent that it’s more expensive for 99% of the country’s coal-fired power plants to keep running than it is to build an entirely new solar or wind energy operation nearby, a new analysis has found.The plummeting cost of renewable energy, which has been supercharged by last year’s Inflation Reduction Act, means that it is cheaper to build an array of solar panels or a cluster of new wind turbines and connect them to the grid than it is to keep operating all of the 210 coal plants in the contiguous US, bar one, according to the study. Continue reading...

In email to staff Ellis references organisation’s cultural overhaul which was in response to allegations of harassment at research stations

Rivers and lakes that have nurtured communities since civilisation’s dawn are drying up, as drought leads to hunger, displacement and simmering conflictSmall gangs of buffaloes sat submerged in green and muddy waters. Their back ridges rose over the surface like a chain of black islets, spanning the Toos River, a tributary of the Tigris that flows into the Huwaiza marshes in southern Iraq.With their melancholic eyes, they gazed with defiance at an approaching boat, refusing to budge. Only when the boatman shrieked “heyy, heyy, heyy” did one or two reluctantly raise their haunches. Towering over the boat, they moved a few steps away, giving the boatmen barely enough space to steer between a cluster of large, curved horns. Continue reading...

As evidence mounts that gas stoves are bad for human health, a growing number of professional chefs say electric even makes for a better cooking experienceThe evidence that gas stoves are bad for human health has grown so staggering over the last few years that the US Consumer Product Safety Commission recently announced that it would consider banning the appliances. Though a conservative backlash prompted the White House to rule out the possibility of a nationwide ban, and some states have passed pre-emptive laws that prohibit cities from ever passing gas bans, other cities including Berkeley, New York and San Francisco have already moved to bar new gas hookups due to health and environmental concerns.One study from earlier this month found that one in eight cases of childhood asthma in the US is caused by gas stove pollution. According to the lead author on the study, Talor Gruenwald, a research associate at the non-profit Rewiring America, that means that living in a home with a gas stove is comparable to living in a home with a smoker. Gas stoves release pollutants so harmful that the air pollution they create would be illegal if it were outdoors, and that’s not just true when you’re actively cooking – gas stoves continue to emit harmful compounds like methane even when turned off. Beyond the adverse health impacts, those emissions are greenhouse gasses that also contribute to the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Modibodi and Bonds say they avoid using PFAS chemicals, which break down slowly over time and have unclear health impacts

Board games might be the best learning device to think creatively about impending climate disasterEurope is planting trees to offset its emissions but is swiftly hit with massive wildfires. The United States is investing in mining operations abroad to wean off its dependence on fossil fuels but harbors concerns about trading with an abusive government. Meanwhile, a coalition of countries from the global south must decide whether to accept construction loans from China or the United States.These are not conversations at another high-profile global summit, but rather scenarios envisioned by the board game Daybreak, which hits shelves this spring. Four players – the United States, China, Europe and the “Majority World”, encompassing the global south – cooperate to reach zero emissions before hitting 2 degrees of warming or putting too many communities in crisis. Continue reading...

Gorne Wood is a rare surviving fragment of an old forest and provides habitat for wildlife such as slow worms and endangered hedgehogsSchools had cake sales and staged protests, supporters did sponsored bike rides and walks, musicians held fundraising concerts, and a theatre group wove the story into a performance piece. Children even sent in their pocket money.And on Friday, they saw the results when the residents of Brockley, south-east London, proudly announced they had won a race against time to raise the £100,000 to buy Gorne Wood, the closest surviving patch of ancient woodland to the City of London, from developers. Continue reading...

Actions by police match rhetoric from state politicians seeking to define a largely peaceful protest movement as terrorismWhen author and environmental movement expert Will Potter saw the Atlanta police chief, Darin Schierbaum, tell a recent press conference “it doesn’t take a rocket scientist or an attorney to tell you that breaking windows and setting fires is not protest – it’s terrorism”, he could not believe his ears.The problem, Potter told the Guardian, is that while you may not have to be a rocket scientist, “the reality is, it’s been difficult to come to an understanding of what terrorism is and what political violence is for decades”. Continue reading...

Residents of New Zealand's largest city assess the damage on Saturday as emergency workers go house to house to carry out welfare checks. Auckland was deluged on Friday, with three people confirmed dead and a fourth missing. More heavy weather is expected on Sunday, forecasters have said.

Women were found guilty of causing £100,000 damage to building in Canary Wharf, LondonSeven climate change activists who were found guilty of causing more than £100,000 of damage by smashing windows at the headquarters of Barclays Bankwere spared jail by a judge.Zoe Cohen, 52, Carol Wood, 53, Sophie Cowen, 31, Lucy Porter, 48, Gabriella Ditton, 28, Rosemary Webster, 64, and another protester, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were charged with criminal damage and pleaded not guilty. Continue reading...

Adam McKay also selling walk-on role in next film, vintage Marvel comics and basketball cardsIt may smell like pure gasoline, but it could now help Just Stop Oil. The director of Anchorman is selling the film’s original Sex Panther cologne (“Yep, it’s made with bits of real panther, so you know it’s good”) to raise money for climate protesters.The prop is just one memento being auctioned from the personal collection of Adam McKay, who was also behind the climate satire Don’t Look Up, to raise money for the Climate Emergency Fund. Continue reading...

Lawyers argue judgment to end wild camping without landowner’s permission may be flawedA landowner who successfully overturned the right to wild camp on Dartmoor may have to return to court after the national park announced it was seeking permission to appeal against the decision.Alexander Darwall, who bought 1,620 hectares (4,000 acres) of the national park in 2013, took the park authority to the high court, arguing that the right to wild camp without a landowner’s permission never existed. Earlier this month, a judge ruled in his favour, ending the decades-long assumption that the activity was allowed. Continue reading...

Chancellor moves to quash reports that high-speed rail link might not terminate at EustonThe chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has moved to quash speculation that HS2 trains will not run to central London, saying he did not see “any conceivable circumstances” in which the planned Euston terminus would not go ahead.It had been reported that the high-speed rail network could instead terminate permanently in the western suburbs of the capital, stopping short of central London to save money. Continue reading...

With record numbers of the once heavily hunted mammal popping up around the UK, they have been seen in some unlikely placesGrey seal numbers are booming in the UK. After nearly disappearing a century ago, they are now so abundant that in the past few weeks pups have been rescued from outside kebab shops, fish and chip restaurants and farmers’ fields.It is a remarkable conservation success story, say environmentalists. Numbers dropped as low as 500 in the early 20th century due to hunting, as seals were often treated as pests in fishing communities. Today, about 120,000 grey seals make the UK their home, representing about 40% of the global population. They have become more common than the UK’s other main seal species, the common seal, sometimes known as the harbour seal. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Data shared by Center for Countering Digital Hate shows Ben Shapiro’s site bought ads on climate crisis denial search termsA media outlet founded by conservative influencer Ben Shapiro paid Google to advertise on search pages questioning whether the climate crisis is real, according to new research from a disinformation watchdog group.The Daily Wire bought ads on search terms over the past year such as “climate change is a hoax” and “why is climate change fake”, meaning that when people Googled these phrases, stories from Shapiro’s outlet were some of the first results that appeared, the research found. Continue reading...

Extreme weather filled the Sierra Nevada snowpack, which provides roughly a third of the state’s water supplyExtreme weather hammered California through the first weeks of the year – but also offered a badly needed reprieve. The deep snow dumped on the Sierra Nevada during a series of strong storms left the state with a robust water savings account of sorts.As the weather warms over the spring and summer months, the melting snow fills rivers, streams and reservoirs long after California’s rainy season has ended. Considered one of its most important reservoirs, the snowpack provides roughly a third of California’s water supply. That’s why the white-topped mountains and piled-high powder are a signal that the state may be better set up to handle its water woes than it has been in years. Continue reading...

Lack of choice over appliances is acutely felt by renters as new research reveals extent of indoor air pollutionNew research has revealed the extent of indoor air pollution caused by gas stoves. Switching to alternatives like electric or induction stoves is the best way to reduce the health risk of burning fossil fuels in the kitchen – but that is rarely an option for renters, who typically can’t choose the type of appliances installed in their apartment.People stuck with gas stoves in rentals are grappling with the reality of living with an appliance that may be leaking dangerous pollutants like methane and benzene even when it’s turned off. The lack of choice over appliances is acutely felt in low-income housing. Continue reading...

Residents of Rio Verde Foothills had their water turned off by Scottsdale, which cites the mega-drought for the moveIn the warmth of Arizona’s winter sun, 50 residents gathered in front of neighborhood activist Cody Reim’s house last weekend, eager to discuss a solution to their problem. Despite living a few miles from a river, their community has no water supply services.With a megaphone in hand and a case of bottled water at his feet, Reim called out to the crowd in his yard. Continue reading...

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including a swooping kingfisher, a giant cane toad and feral chickens Continue reading...

Exclusive: Shadow environment secretary Jim McMahon says access to land and waterways ‘needs to change’The Labour party will pass a right to roam act if it comes to power, the Guardian can reveal, after widespread outcry when wild camping was outlawed on Dartmoor.In the bill, which is currently being drawn up by the party amid widespread but careful optimism that the next general election will see Labour return to office, there could be a new law that would allow national parks to adopt the right to wild camp, as well as expanding public access to woodlands and waterways. Continue reading...

Mayor Eric Adams announced the initiative was part of the ‘Working People’s Agenda’ at his second state of the city addressUber and Lyft vehicles in New York City will be required to be zero-emission by 2030, New York officials announced on Thursday.The decision could affect the 100,000 for-hire vehicles operating throughout New York. Continue reading...

From an eerie flooded cave in Mexico to a lone jellyfish in Cornwall, the winning images of the 2022 DPG/Wetpixel Masters competition highlight our planet’s breathtaking diversity and the art of underwater photography Continue reading...

Government told to focus on boosting uptake of electric vehicles, public transport, cycling and walking rather than offset ‘gimmick’

RSPB shares results as Britons encouraged to spend an hour counting birds in annual Big Garden BirdwatchWatching birds and hearing birdsong have a positive impact on wellbeing for more than nine in 10 people, according to a survey to mark the largest garden wildlife count in the world.People are being urged to boost their mental health and help scientists by spending an hour this weekend counting the birds in their garden or local park for the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch. Continue reading...

Fires, land conversion, logging and water shortages have weakened resilience of 2.5m sq km of forest, says studyHuman activity and drought may have degraded more than a third of the Amazon rainforest, double the previous estimate, according to a study that heightens concerns that the globally important ecosystem is slipping towards a point of no return.Fires, land conversion, logging and water shortages, have weakened the resilience of up to 2.5m sq km of the forest, an area 10 times the size of the UK. This area is now drier, more flammable and more vulnerable than before, prompting the authors to warn of “megafires” in the future. Continue reading...

Scientists identify parts of ocean suitable for seaweed cultivation and suggest it could constitute 10% of human diet to reduce impact of agricultureAn area of ocean almost the size of Australia could support commercial seaweed farming around the world, providing food for humans, feed supplements for cattle, and alternative fuels, according to new research.Seaweed farming is a nascent industry globally but the research says if it could grow to constitute 10% of human diets by 2050 it could reduce the amount of land needed for food by 110m hectares (272m acres) – an area twice the size of France. Continue reading...

Teenage athlete asks not to be considered for world cross country championships because of impact of air travelA promising teenage athlete has declined to represent Great Britain in a competition due to be held in Australia because she is concerned about the environmental impact of the associated travel.Innes FitzGerald, a leading junior endurance runner, cited her “deep concern” over the issue in a letter to British Athletics in which she asked not to be considered for selection for the world cross country championships. Continue reading...