Environment | The Guardian

Ten of 16 management plans for multibillion-dollar pumped hydro project overdue by up to 31 months, says National Parks Association

Government has rowed back on plans to ditch 4,000 laws but key pollution legislation still slated to go

There are now around 800 food pantries on US college campuses, and demand is growing as pandemic-era resources endFor Anthony Meng, a senior at Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota, food insecurity can take on many different forms. On some days, it means skipping meals as he’s rushing to work or to class. On others, “it’s like, I don’t think I can afford groceries,” he said. “Which is difficult to say at times, but it’s the reality of the situation.”Meng, 22, rolls out of bed every morning around 9 or 10am. His schedule is typically packed with back-to-back lectures and extracurriculars. More often than not, Meng finds himself heading out for the day with just a granola bar in hand, if anything at all. Continue reading...

Changes needed are major but also practical and affordable, report says, and would bring trillions of dollars in benefitsGlobal plastic pollution could be slashed by 80% by 2040, according to a report from the UN Environment Programme (Unep). The changes needed are major, but are also practical and affordable, the agency said.The first step is to eliminate unnecessary plastics, such as excessive packaging, the report said. Then next steps are to increase the reuse of plastics, such as refillable bottles, boosting recycling and replace plastics with greener alternatives. Continue reading...

Poland has a deep and historic relationship with coal, importing huge amounts despite producing yet more locally. With the energy crisis biting, fuelled by the war in Ukraine, the country’s government withdrew restrictions on burning materials and subsidised coal, creating huge air quality issues, particularly in the industrial south – reversing 10 years of hard work by air pollution campaigners in the process.The Guardian visits southern Poland to witness first hand the impact of this decision on affected communities, meeting the ostracised miners at the front of the culture wars, and joining climate activists visiting towns in the region that are fighting back against fossil fuels and air pollution Continue reading...

A slew of anti-pollution, from toxic water to planet-heating emissions has been issued by an agency belatedly flexing its musclesThe sleeping giant of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stirred.In the past month, an avalanche of anti-pollution rules, targeting everything from toxic drinking water to planet-heating gases in the atmosphere, have been issued by the agency. Belatedly, the sizable weight of the US federal government is being thrown at longstanding environmental crises, including the climate emergency. Continue reading...

Residents hope traffic, emissions and noise data they are analyzing with the Guardian will help rein in the spread of e-commerce facilitiesOn a drizzly Friday night, Rosana Zapata was mapping out a changing neighborhood.Using Sharpie and pencil, the 18-year-old sketched her world on printer paper: a street intersection, a small parking lot, a lit-up sign for fried chicken. “I have a lot of memories there,” Zapata told a small group of young artists seated at school desks, who had each drawn their own favorite neighborhood spots. Continue reading...

PM to tell farmers he will never do a trade deal that includes practices associated with US factory farms

Invasive Burmese pythons are devastating wildlife but one firm believes turning snake leather into accessories could be a win-winThe fight to eradicate Burmese pythons from the Florida Everglades has intertwined with New York’s haute fashion scene in a project launched by a group of environmental activists who have already experienced success working with the skins of other invasive species.The Tampa-based team, founded by a group of former college friends with a passion for scuba diving, cut their teeth transforming the skins of non-native lionfish off the US south-east coast and Caribbean Sea into high-end sneakers in partnership with the Italian shoemaker P448. Continue reading...

These beautiful black and white images of the shallowest Great Lake remind us of what we have done to the environment – and each other Continue reading...

Rejection of key legislation on pesticides and restoration of wildlife ‘would send a dangerous, negative signal to the world’A flagship law to restore nature across Europe must be agreed by member states or risk sending “a dangerous, negative signal to the world”, the EU’s environment commissioner has warned, amid growing opposition to the legislation.Last June, the European Commission revealed proposals for legally binding targets for all member states to restore wildlife on land, rivers and the sea. The nature restoration law was announced alongside a separate law proposing a crackdown on chemical pesticides, and both were welcomed as a milestone by environmentalists ahead of the Cop15 biodiversity summit in Montreal. Continue reading...

Researchers warn rapid action needed to prevent the extinction of an ancient fish species found only in Macquarie Harbour

The harvesting of the luxury wood contributes to deforestation and profits from its sale support the country’s military regimeThousands of tons of timber from Myanmar have continued to be imported into the US, despite government sanctions against the country’s state-run timber company, a new report from a watchdog environmental advocacy group has revealed.According to the UK-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), over 3,000 tons of timber from Myanmar have been imported into the US over the lpst two years. Continue reading...

SA energy minister tells industry ‘we are here to help’ while federal resources minister Madeleine King promotes carbon capture and storage

The purple hives are equipped with high-definition cameras and AI technology to scan bees for the deadly parasite

Watchdog’s chief writes to energy bosses as Grid sets out plan to cut waits by up to a decadeThe energy watchdog for Great Britainwill label the decade-long wait to connect low-carbon projects to the electricity grid as “unacceptable”, amid tensions over a “blame game” for a mounting backlog of green power projects.Jonathan Brearley, the chief executive of Ofgem, has written to energy bosses to warn that the current system, whereby energy projects queue for their connection, could be replaced by new methods to match power generation with demand. Continue reading...

Temperatures pushed past 90F (32C) with forecasters warning they would remain 20-30 degrees higher than average this weekA punishing heatwave will continue to cook the Pacific north-west this week, after millions of people endured a weekend of temperatures that pushed past 90F (32C) and broke early spring records in several cities.The hot, dry weather is fuelling dozens of wildfires across western Canada, where thousands have been evacuated and more than a million acres have already burned. Continue reading...

Use of pesticides and fertilisers identified as most significant factor behind loss of 550 million birds from skiesThe use of pesticides and fertilisers in intensive agriculture is the biggest cause of the dwindling number of birds in the UK and the rest of Europe, scientists have said.Compared with a generation ago, 550 million fewer birds fly over the continent, with their decline well documented. But until now the relative importance of various pressures on bird populations was not known. Continue reading...

Sighting of rare animal – more often found in Spain, Portugal and France – in rock pool believed to be first in UKVicky Barlow was hoping to find a spider crab when she began poking around a rock pool on a beach in Falmouth.But when she turned over a promising-looking stone, she was astonished to find something much rarer and much more colourful – a rainbow sea slug. Continue reading...

South Cambridgeshire council will test 32-hour week on principle that staff will work ‘more intensely and productively’Bin crews could soon be putting their feet up on a Monday as the wave of four-day-week trials spreading across the UK finally reaches frontline public services.South Cambridgeshire district council has agreed to test a 32-hour working week for 150 refuse loaders and drivers this summer after successful experiments with reduced working hours with office- and laptop-based staff. Workers who investigate fly-tipping, undertake dredging and are council caretakers will also try the new working pattern. Continue reading...

Insiders welcome stricter rules in the UK and EU over the use of terms such as ‘carbon neutral’ in adverts, and claims concerned with offsetting

Fertilised, it can hold things shaped as differently as: a snake, an auk, a platypus; an emu, a tortoise, a peacockThings I have learned reading about eggs: that chickens have earlobes, and the colour of the earlobes correlates with the colour of the egg: white ear lobe, white egg; red ear lobe, brown egg. What can lay an egg? An orange-peel doris can lay an egg in a tidal pool; a bee hummingbird can lay an egg the size of an aspirin; an auk on a cliff lays a conical egg, which will roll around in a circle instead of forwards and off the edge; a spider wraps her egg in silk, places it on a stalk, then lays another.To Linda Pastan, an egg was “a moon / glowing faintly / in the galaxy of the barn”. Approach it, and Louise Glück will tell you: “The thing is hatching. Look.” One egg looks – apart from its size, the sharpness of its point, or its colour – much like another: they are all pleasing in the same way, hard-shelled and soft-shaped. “An egg is the most beautiful of all / beautiful forms, a box without corners / in which anything can be contained,” wrote Elizabeth Spires. This one structure, variations on round, can hold things shaped as differently as: a snake, an auk, a platypus; an emu, a tortoise, a peacock. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Advertising watchdog to begin stricter enforcement on use of terms such as ‘carbon neutral’ amid concerns over offsetsAdverts that claim products are carbon neutral using offsets are to be banned by the UK’s advertising watchdog unless companies can prove they really work, the Guardian can reveal, as Gucci becomes the latest company to struggle with a high-profile environmental commitment based on offsetting.Amid growing concern that firms are misleading consumers about the environmental impact of their products, the Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) is to begin stricter enforcement around the use of terms such as “carbon neutral”, “net zero” and “nature positive” as part of a greenwashing crackdown later this year after a six-month review. Continue reading...

Minor tremors on Bornholm caused by acoustic pressure waves originated from ‘unknown source’, seismologists sayA series of minor tremors recorded on the Danish Baltic island of Bornholm has puzzled scientists, who now say they were caused by “acoustic pressure waves from an unknown source”.At first the tremors on Saturday were thought to have been caused by earthquakes. Then, seismologists theorised they originated from controlled explosions in Poland, more than 90 miles (140km) to the south. Continue reading...

Social Democrats emerge on top in projected results from Sunday’s pollThe German Green party has endured another disappointing election night in the country’s smallest state, Bremen, as voters voice concerns about the social consequences of green transformation projects.The northern city state’s incumbent Social Democratic party mayor, Andreas Bovenschulte, emerged top in projected results from Sunday’s poll published by the local statistics office, with about 29.5% of the vote. This gives the centre-left the option to either continue governing with the Greens and the left-wing Die Linke, or form a “grand coalition” with the second-placed conservatives. Continue reading...

Refugee camps bear brunt of deadly category-5 storm, while temperature divide is expected in North AmericaCyclone Mocha brought strong winds and torrential rain to parts of Bangladesh and Myanmar on Sunday, with refugee camps bearing the brunt of the category-5 storm, leaving at least five dead and causing half a million people to be evacuated.The region was rocked by sustained winds of more than 160mph as Mocha made landfall, whipping up gusts closer to 200mph and a storm surge of up to 4 metres. The world’s largest refugee camp, Cox’s Bazar, was badly hit and more than 1,300 shelters were destroyed. Heavy rain triggered landslides and floods. Continue reading...

Terms of reference include water monitoring data, environmental conditions and whether community consultation was sufficient

The acclaimed choreographer’s new production reimagines Jim Henson’s epic adventure film – take a look inside Continue reading...

In ‘a major breakthrough’, scientists are using algorithms to identify the clicks, calls and bleeps of marine life, as part of a 10-year project mapping noise under the seaOn Goa’s coral reef in India, the marine scientists lowered their underwater microphones beneath the waves and recorded a complex cacophony of swirling currents, fish and plantlife.But rather than spend months deciphering it using human ears, arguing over which click was a snapping shrimp and which snort a type of grunter fish, they plugged the sounds into an algorithm that correctly identified four species in a matter of minutes. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Sunak urged to take urgent action to solve food crisis at meeting with Defra and farmersImmigration and food prices must increase to solve the food crisis, ministers are to say at a summit.Rishi Sunak will be joined by ministers from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) as well as farmers and industry leaders at the meeting at No 10 on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Class action suit alleged commonwealth did not adequately prevent toxic chemicals from firefighting foam contaminating soil and groundwater

Warning comes as UK watchdog set to tighten rules for asset managers given short-term targetsPeople investing their pensions in funds that claim green credentials are being warned they may actually be backing the world’s largest oil and gas companies.Carbon Tracker Initiative said that asset managers have invested $376bn (£295bn) in oil and gas companies, despite publicly pledging to back efforts to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C. The environmental thinktank based in London and New York found that more than 160 funds with a green label held $4.6bn in 15 companies including ExxonMobil, Chevron and TotalEnergies. Continue reading...

Experts warn strong vegetation growth during La Niñas could result in fuel for fires, as up to 90% chance of El Niño predicted

Ella Reed was bitten in the stomach, arm, knee and finger after attack from probable bull shark, but plans to return to the waterA 13-year-old girl escaped a shark attack at a Florida beach Thursday by punching the aggressive, predatory creature.The teen, Ella Reed, told South Florida’s Local 10 News, was sitting in waist-deep water, alongside a friend, when she was struck by intense, sharp pain. Continue reading...

The 1.3m disposable e-cigarettes discarded every week often end up in general waste and their broken batteries are highly flammableDisposable vapes are behind a dramatic rise in fires at recycling plants over the last year, raising the risk of a major blaze releasing toxic fumes and polluting air, industry experts warn.Recycling firms are now dealing with so many vapes that they are struggling to insure their facilities. Some are now using artificial intelligence to detect vapes and their lithium-ion batteries, as well as installing thermal imaging cameras and automatic foam jets. Continue reading...

Experts say foragers taking too much, selling the goods commercially and harming fragile ecosystemsForagers for wild garlic and mushrooms have been picking ingredients in protected sites, taking too much and putting wildlife at risk, experts have warned.The trend of gathering food in the wild has boomed in recent years, with top restaurants serving foraged food on the menu, and it can be a healthy and sustainable way for people to get closer to nature. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Campaigners call for Scottish-style rights to reach nature, as figures show ‘hugely unequal’ distribution of accessPeople have no right to roam at all in 92 constituencies across England, new data shows, as campaigners call for an outdoor access code to link people to nature.Next week, MPs will debate the “right to roam”, namely the ability to legally and responsibly walk through the countryside, leaving no trace behind. Currently, just 8% of England has this designation, which covers coastal paths, mountains and moorland.Penrith and the Border (111,370)

The search for the surfer continues after paramedics were called to Walkers Rock Beach near Elliston on Saturday morning

As seas around Aotearoa heat at an unparalleled rate, scientists are starting to understand what it might mean for marine ecosystems Continue reading...

Rare sight of giant reptile basking by waterside offers hope that notoriously polluted waterway is getting cleanerA large snapping turtle dubbed “Chonk” has become a viral favorite of Chicago residents after the enormous reptile has been spotted repeatedly lounging by the once-toxic Chicago River.“Look at the size of that thing!” Joey Santore said as he filmed “Chonkosaurus”, or “Chonk”, as the giant creature lay atop of what appears to be an old rusty chain and tree snags. Continue reading...

System – extremely rare for this time of year – likely to fuel fires that have already displaced tens of thousands of residentsWestern Canada is bracing for a “heat dome” weather system that will push temperatures to new records over the weekend, and is likely to worsen wildfires that have already displaced tens of thousands of residents.Seventy-five active wildfires burned in Alberta on Thursday, with 23 listed as out of control. In some areas, oil and gas production, which typically resists weather-induced shutdowns, was briefly shuttered. Continue reading...

‘For just 10% of the stage-three tax cuts, we could recover every one of Australia’s almost 2,000 threatened species,’ says ecologist

Seven children and a driver were injured. This blog is now closed

Chemicals yield profit of about $4bn a year for the world’s biggest PFAS manufacturers, Sweden-based NGO foundThe societal cost of using toxic PFAS or “forever chemicals” across the global economy totals about $17.5tn annually, a new analysis of the use of the dangerous compounds has found.Meanwhile, the chemicals yield comparatively paltry profits for the world’s largest PFAS manufacturers – about $4bn annually. Continue reading...

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs, including a pollinating bee, injured owls and a pelican hungry for ice-cream Continue reading...

Businesses that put together bids for flood doors, non-return valves and waterproof floors say they have spent tens of thousandsA £50m scheme to protect thousands of homes from flooding by the autumn has been pulled by the Environment Agency.Businesses that put together bids for the scheme to provide homes in England with flood defences including flood doors, non-return valves and waterproof floors, say they have spent tens of thousands preparing their bids. Continue reading...

Ex-adviser worries ministers have not taken into account sea level rise and storms in selecting sitesSuccessive governments since the 1980s have had plans for new generations of nuclear power stations sited around the coasts of the United Kingdom. Although the main reason for building them, according to politicians, is to provide a low-carbon form of electricity to combat the climate crisis, no thought seems to have gone into what the climate crisis might do to the nuclear power stations.Prof Andy Blowers, a former government adviser on nuclear waste, points out in the Town and Country Planning Association Journal that the eight sites identified in 2011 as suitable for new stations are the same as those identified half a century earlier, on which the first generation of nuclear power stations were built. Continue reading...

New images document the re-emergence of Tulare Lake, and residents brace for more flooding as snowpack starts to meltNew satellite images released from Nasa this week showcase the dramatic reappearance of California’s Tulare Lake after water swallowed swaths of land across the state’s agricultural center that had long been dry.Taken between the start of February and the end of April and colored artificially to help distinguish the water from vegetation and bare ground, the images highlight the scale of the transformation across the region still grappling with the aftermath of this winter’s heavy rains and snow. Continue reading...

International fund set up at Cop27 is intended to provide compensation to countries worst hit by climate breakdownA tax on wealthy Britons of just 0.5% could more than meet the UK’s entire “fair share” contribution to the international loss and damage fund established to support countries worst hit by global climate breakdown, a charity has suggested.Taxing 5p of every £10 of individuals’ wealth over £1m would raise £15bn a year by 2030, well in excess of an estimated $15bn (£12bn) UK contribution to the new fund, according to an analysis by the anti-poverty campaigners Christian Aid. Continue reading...

Shocking photos of chopped-down tree in western Canada highlights flaws in plan to protect forest from loggers, activists sayStark images of an ancient tree cut down in western Canada expose flaws in the government’s plan to protect old-growth forests, activists have said, arguing that vulnerable ecosystems have been put at risk as logging companies race to harvest timber.As part of an effort to catalogue possible old growth forests, photographer TJ Watt and Ian Thomas of the environmental advocacy group Ancient Forest Alliance travelled to a grove of western red cedars on British Columbia’s Vancouver Island. But then they arrived to the forest in Quatsino Sound, they found hundreds of trees that has recently been logged. Continue reading...