Decomposing pieces of Great Atlantic sargassum belt carry Vibrio bacteria on state’s shorelineIt might have been one of Alfred Hitchcock’s fanciful tales of the supernatural: a 5,000-mile wide blob of murky seaweed creeping menacingly across the Atlantic before dumping itself along the US shoreline.But now giant clumps of the 13m-ton morass labeled the Great Atlantic sargassum belt are washing up on Florida’s beaches, scientists are warning of a real-life threat from the piles of decomposing algae, namely high levels of the flesh-eating Vibrio bacteria lurking in the vegetation. Continue reading...

Pollution from gas flaring – the burning of natural gas associated with oil extraction – is also a major concern in the oil-rich but extremely dry southWestern oil companies are exacerbating water shortages and causing pollution in Iraq as they race to profit from rising oil prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Water scarcity has already displaced thousands and increased instability, according to international experts, while Iraq is now considered the fifth most vulnerable country to the climate crisis by the UN. In the oil-rich but extremely dry south, wetlands that used to feed entire communities are now muddy canals. Continue reading...

Hollywood director of climate crisis satire praised protestors for waking up ‘sleeping governments’ and will triple donations over weekendThe Hollywood director of Netflix film Don’t Look Up has pledged to triple donations to Just Stop Oil over the weekend, the group has said.Adam McKay, who made the satire on the climate crisis as well as Step Brothers and The Big Short, said he stands with the protesters, praising them for waking up “sleeping governments”. Continue reading...

Dupont, Chemours and Corteva agree deal and 3M also reportedly considering $10bn settlement to avoid trial due to start on MondayDuPont and two related companies said they would pay close to $1.2bn to settle liability claims brought by public water systems serving the vast majority of the US population on Friday, just days before the start of a bellwether trial in South Carolina over PFAS contamination.PFAS maker 3M was reportedly also considering a settlement that would keep the company from having to face allegations that it was responsible for knowingly contaminating drinking water supplies around the United States. Continue reading...

Travel blog Capture the Atlas has crowned its best Milky Way photographs of the year. This year’s shots captured the galaxy glowing above dramatic landscapes in Namibia, Chile, Japan, Spain, Iran and New Zealand Continue reading...

Flies chilled to sub-zero temperatures amputate one or more of their six limbs to protect their internal organsFlightless snow flies in the US and Canada can amputate their legs to survive as they begin to freeze, researchers have discovered.Lab experiments in which the flies were chilled gradually to sub-zero temperatures revealed they can detach one or more of their six legs, an apparent “last-ditch tactic” to protect their internal organs from the advancing cold. Continue reading...

Move expected to help reduce waits of up to 15 years to connect solar power installationsBritain’s electricity system operator will tell energy developers to get on with their projects or get out of the queue for a grid connection as it struggles to manage the growing backlog of delayed green energy projects.The ultimatum is expected to help speed up the 10- to 15-year wait for a grid connection, which is holding back billions in green investment and threatens to derail the UK’s progress towards its climate targets. Continue reading...

Action set to slow population growth for one of the most rapidly expanding areas of the US amid ‘megadrought’The state of Arizona has restricted future home-building in the Phoenix area due to a lack of groundwater, based on projections showing that wells will run dry under existing conditions.The action by the Arizona department of water resources on Thursday is set to slow population growth for the Phoenix region, the state capital, home to 4.6 million people and one of the most rapidly expanding areas of the United States. Continue reading...

From mining to cattle ranching and soya farming, some of the world’s largest companies exploit the region, though many also claim to be giving something backValeCEO: Eduardo Bartolomeo

Analysis shows handful of corporations extract tens of billions of dollars of raw materials a year – and their commitments to restoration vary greatlyA handful of global giants dominate the industrialisation of the Amazon rainforest, extracting tens of billions of dollars of raw materials every year, according to an analysis that highlights how much value is being sucked out of the region with relatively little going back in.But even as the pace of deforestation hits record highs while standards of living in the Amazon are among the lowest in Brazil, the true scale of extraction remains unknown, with basic details about cattle ranching, logging and mining hard to establish despite efforts to ban commodities linked to its destruction. Continue reading...

Investigation involving Guardian shows systematic and vast forest loss linked to cattle farming in BrazilMore than 800m trees have been cut down in the Amazon rainforest in just six years to feed the world’s appetite for Brazilian beef, according to a new investigation, despite dire warnings about the forest’s importance in fighting the climate crisis.A data-driven investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ), the Guardian, Repórter Brasil and Forbidden Stories shows systematic and vast forest loss linked to cattle farming. Continue reading...

With six months until UN summit in Dubai, can its oil executive president bring unwilling countries into line?

Heatwave continues in southern and eastern Asia as temperatures exceed 40C in vast swathes of regionShanghai in China has reported a record high May temperature of 36.7C, breaking the previous record by 1C. The new high temperature on 29 May comes amid the heatwave affecting southern and eastern Asia since mid-April. Vast swathes of the region have had temperatures exceeding 40C, with parts of Pakistan reaching almost 50C in mid-May.South-east Asia has been affected particularly badly, with record high national temperatures in Laos (43.5C), Vietnam (44.2C), and Thailand (45.4C). This is due to low amounts of rainfall over the previous winter resulting in drier soils, which can heat up more quickly than moist soils, thus exacerbating the effect. Continue reading...

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs, including owl chicks, a white moose calf and hungry brown bear cubs Continue reading...

Many of Britain’s poorest towns are in areas with greatest potential for renewable energy, says reportA network of underground geothermal plants is being touted as a way to help level up the UK after a report discovered many areas with the greatest geothermal potential lie beneath the towns and cities most in need of investment.Areas that have been earmarked by the government as part of its levelling up agenda are about three times as likely to be rich in untapped energy from the earth, according to an academic study commissioned by No 10. Continue reading...

Critics say allegations against Hoang Thi Minh Hong are politically motivated, coming amid similar prosecutions against other environmental activistsPolice in Vietnam have arrested a prominent environmental activist after accusing her of tax evasion, charges that have been dismissed by critics as politically motivated.Hoang Thi Minh Hong, a former CEO of Change, an environment-focused NGO, was detained by police along with her husband, Nam Hoang, and former staff members of Change in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Record heat in May across parts of the country comes amid a year of rising temperatures and erratic weather in ChinaTemperatures across China reached or exceeded their records for the month of May, the country’s National Climate Centre has said.Weather stations at 446 sites registered temperatures that were the same as, or greater than, the highest ever recorded for the month of May, deputy director of the National Climate Centre Gao Rong said at a press briefing on Friday. Continue reading...

Shadow ministers say green prosperity plan should pay for capital spending such as housing or transport infrastructureSenior Labour figures are urging Keir Starmer to give the go-ahead to a series of infrastructure projects as part of the party’s £28bn green prosperity plan, even if they are not strictly environmental in nature.Shadow cabinet ministers have asked the Labour leader and the shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to expand the fund’s green mission and use it to pay for a series of capital spending projects, such as housing or transport infrastructure. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Study finds pests could damage crops and households would incur costs for pesticides, veterinary bills and electrical faults

Exclusive: Houses for 7,800 residents in areas worst hit by 2022 floods proposed in near term, with more development later

President says last year’s killings were result of ‘encouragement of anarchy’ in Amazon under BolsonaroDom Phillips and Bruno Pereira will not be forgotten, Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has vowed, blaming their killings a year ago on the Amazonian “anarchy” unleashed under his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.Phillips, a British journalist, and Pereira, a Brazilian Indigenous expert, were shot dead by a group of illegal fishers on 5 June last year while travelling in the remote Javari valley near Brazil’s border with Colombia and Peru. Continue reading...

Spills occur as Danish parliament passes law to tax petrol and diesel trucks transporting heavy loadsA 57-year-old truck driver has been detained after loads of potatoes were found on a bridge linking two Danish islands, police have said. The driver was held on suspicion of causing reckless endangerment to life.The first spill was reported on the westbound side of the Storebaelt Bridge early on Thursday morning, a police spokesperson, Kenneth Taanquist, said. The bridge connects the island where the capital, Copenhagen, is located to the rest of Denmark. Continue reading...

Alexandre Saraiva gives alert on organised crime in region ahead of anniversary of killings of Dom Phillips and Bruno PereiraThe rapid advance of organised crime groups in the Brazilian Amazon risks turning the region into a vast, conflict-stricken hinterland plagued by heavily armed “criminal insurgents”, a former senior federal police chief has warned.Alexandre Saraiva, who worked in the Amazon from 2011 to 2021, said he feared the growing footprint of drug-trafficking mafias in the region could spawn a situation similar to the decades-long drug conflict in Rio de Janeiro, where the police’s battle with drug gangs and paramilitaries has claimed tens of thousands of lives. Continue reading...

Photos and videos on phone found near site of men’s killing show some of their last movements in Brazilian AmazonSome of the last images of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira have been found after Indigenous activists recovered a mobile phone Pereira was carrying when the two men were killed in the Brazilian Amazon last year.The phone was found last October when activists from Univaja, the Indigenous association where Pereira worked, returned to a stretch of flooded forest along the Itaquaí River where the men’s bodies were taken after they were shot dead on their boat on the morning of 5 June 2022. Continue reading...

One year ago, Bruno Pereira, a Brazilian Indigenous expert, and Dom Phillips, a British journalist and longtime Guardian contributor, were killed on the frontline of the battle to protect the planet.They were ambushed on the Amazon’s Itaquaí River while returning from a reporting trip to the remote Javari valley region. The attack prompted international outcry, and cast a spotlight on the growing threat to the Amazon posed by extractive industries, both legal and illegal, such as logging, poaching, mining and cattle ranching.Today, we launch the Bruno and Dom project, a year-long collaborative investigation coordinated by Forbidden Stories that involves more than 50 journalists from 16 media organisations in 10 countries around the world.The goal is to honour and pursue their work, to foreground the importance of the Amazon and its people, and to suggest possible ways to save the Amazon. Here, the Guardian's Latin America correspondent, Tom Phillips, looks at their lives and legacies

Firms are due to share cost of recycling waste from April but say it will add £1.7bn to food billsBritain’s biggest retailers and food manufacturers are stepping up lobbying on the government to delay landmark environmental reforms that would force them to pay for the collection and recycling of household packaging waste from next year.Industry bosses have used Downing Street crisis talks arranged in response to soaring food prices to warn that the plans – due to come into effect in April 2024 – would drive up shopping bills further amid the cost of living crisis. Continue reading...

A bill passed the state legislature that will require state-funded institutions to provide halal and kosher meals on requestAs a student at Sullivan high school in Chicago, Ridwan Rashid frequently skipped lunch and was distracted by hunger, even though his school offered free meals to all students. Rashid is Muslim, as are a growing number of students at Sullivan. But until recently, none of the meals served at the Sullivan cafeteria were halal, which meant they were off limits for most of the school’s Muslim students.“We go to school and it’s like, OK, some of the kids can eat and none of the Muslim kids can eat,” Rashid said. “It’s not fair.” Continue reading...

Gelje Sherpa was guiding Chinese client to summit when he saw Malaysian climber clinging to ropeA Malaysian climber narrowly survived after a Nepali sherpa guide hauled him down from below the summit of Mount Everest in a very rare high-altitude rescue, a government official has said.Gelje Sherpa, 30, was guiding a Chinese client to the 8,849-metre (29,032ft) Everest summit on 18 May when he saw the Malaysian climber clinging to a rope and shivering from extreme cold in the area known as the death zone, where temperatures can dip to -30C or lower. Continue reading...

Green groups criticise Jemena for offering incentive to switch from electricity amid policies in Victoria and NSW aimed at winding back gas use

Scientists compared catch data from four years before and after a permanent ban and found minimal impact on commercial fishingBanning fishing in a Mexican marine park did not reduce the fishing catch, according to a new study that says it has dispelled the “myth” spread by fishing companies that protecting marine areas leaves less fish available for people to eat.The before-and-after study looked at whether banning commercial fishing from the Revillagigedo national park, which covers 147,000 sq km (57,000 sq miles) of Pacific Ocean west of Mexico, would reduce the country’s catch volumes.

Exclusive: Report claims Australia’s shareholdings in development banks has made it responsible for investing $828m in fossil fuel projects over five years

DoJ files lawsuit against companies linked to Jim Justice, also a Republican Senate candidate, seeking unpaid penalties of $7.6mThe Republican governor of West Virginia, Jim Justice, who is running for a US Senate seat next year, implied on Wednesday that a justice department lawsuit over more than $7.5m in unpaid penalties related to mining operations by his family companies was a politically motivated attack.“I’ve announced as a Republican that I’m running for the US Senate,” Justice told reporters. “The Biden administration is aware of the fact that with a win for the US Senate and everything, we could very well flip the Senate. There’s a lot at stake right now.” Continue reading...

Climate protesters call provision in US debt ceiling bill to expedite controversial project in Virginia and West Virginia a ‘betrayal’Climate activists have stepped up protests over the inclusion of a provision to speed up a controversial gas pipeline’s completion in the deal to raise the debt ceiling as Congress prepares to vote on Wednesday, aiming criticism at Democrats Chuck Schumer and Joe Manchin.The pipeline project has long been championed by Manchin, the West Virginia senator who was the top recipient of fossil fuel industry contributions during the 2022 election cycle. Continue reading...

Coastline, which runs from Lough Foyle to the Glens of Antrim, described as a place of outstanding natural beautyNamed after its geology and best known for the dramatic sweep of its scenery, Northern Ireland’s Causeway coast has now earned a new accolade, as the UK’s favourite place for wildlife.The coastline, which runs along the north-east of Ireland from Lough Foyle to the Glens of Antrim, was voted the nation’s favourite in a poll by BBC Wildlife magazine, beating the Isles of Scilly in fourth place, Scaur Glen in Dumfries and Galloway in third and, in an unexpected second place, Wimbledon Common in London. Continue reading...

More than 18,000 people remain under evacuation order outside Halifax as Canadian PM Justin Trudeau pledges federal assistanceOfficials in the province of Nova Scotia say unprecedented wildfires that have forced thousands from their homes will keep growing despite the “water, raw muscle power and air power” deployed by fire crews.As of Wednesday, more than 20,000 hectares of the Maritime province were burning from 13 wildfires, including three fires that considered out of control. More than 18,000 people remain under evacuation order outside Halifax, the region’s largest city. More than 200 structures, the majority of which are homes, have been destroyed by the fire. No fatalities have been recorded. Continue reading...

Groundbreaking analysis of safety and justice hopes to inform next generation of sustainability policyHuman activity has pushed the world into the danger zone in seven out of eight newly demarcated indicators of planetary safety and justice, according to a groundbreaking analysis of the Earth’s wellbeing.Going beyond climate disruption, the report by the Earth Commission group of scientists presents disturbing evidence that our planet faces growing crises of water availability, nutrient loading, ecosystem maintenance and aerosol pollution. These pose threats to the stability of life-support systems and worsen social equality. Continue reading...

Dale Vince pledges to double amount given by public over next 48 hours after Tories target his Labour linksOne of Labour’s biggest donors has pledged to match any public donations to Just Stop Oil in the next 48 hours, as Keir Starmer faced mounting Conservative pressure to return funds from the businessman over his backing for the environmental group.Dale Vince, the founder of the green energy firm Ecotricity, has given at least £1.5m to Labour over the last 10 years, according to the Electoral Commission. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Labor facing calls from 15 crossbenchers, as well as party insiders, to transition to plantation timber as part of reform to environmental laws

Regulator expected to examine whether sustainability reports on sourcing of wood pellets meet renewables subsidy criteriaDrax is facing an investigation by the energy regulator into the sustainability of the biomass it uses at its wood-burning power plant amid growing scepticism over its green credentials.The energy regulator, Ofgem, said it would investigate whether the owner of Britain’s biggest power plant, in North Yorkshire, was in breach of the reporting rules required for its renewable energy subsidy scheme. Continue reading...

With 100 tonnes of clothing from the west discarded every day in Accra, ‘fast fashion’ brands must be forced to help pay for the choking textile waste they create, environmentalists sayA group of secondhand clothes dealers from Ghana have visited Brussels to lobby for Europe-wide legislation to compel the fashion industry to help address the “environmental catastrophe” of dumping vast amounts of textiles in the west African country.The traders from Kantamanto in Accra, one of the world’s largest secondhand clothing markets, met Alice Bah Kuhnke, an MEP with Sweden’s Green party, environmental organisations and representatives from the European Commission and the European Environment Bureau to argue that proposed extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulation should ensure Ghana receives funds towards managing the 100 tonnes of clothing discarded at the market every day. Continue reading...

In Arizona’s Pinal county water cuts have become a reality even before this month’s historic deal by states to use 13% less water from stricken riverNancy Caywood worries about water constantly. Water – or the uncertainty of it – has kept the 69-year-old Arizona farmer awake at night since supplies began dwindling about two decades ago due to chronic overuse and drought in the American west.During one particularly low point in late 2021, every field on the 255-acre family farm was either fallow, shrivelled or dormant. “The canal was dry, the reservoir was empty, it was raining at the wrong times … the farm was 100% unproductive and we were using savings to pay bills,” said Caywood, a third-generation farmer in Pinal county who grows mostly alfalfa and cotton – two of the most marketable and water-guzzling commodity crops. Continue reading...

Inventory shows Australia has burned through 27% of emissions budget under Paris climate accord in 25% of allotted time

The proposed legislation would require changes to farming methods in Europe to tackle the climate crisis and restore nature, ensuring affordable food for allFor 10,000 years, human civilisation has grown and thrived because of Earth’s remarkable regenerative capacity that sustains climate stability and rich biological diversity. Now human activity has severely undermined this resilience.Our patterns of economic growth, development, production and consumption are pushing the planet’s life-support systems beyond their natural boundaries. Last week, members of the European parliament’s agriculture and fisheries committees voted to continue this destruction, rejecting European Commission proposals for a nature restoration law. The vote flies in the face of science, and the claims by some MEPs to be defending farmers and food security are flawed. Continue reading...

SNP government preparing to accept UK ministers’ demand to exclude glass from deposit return schemeScottish ministers are poised to accept a UK government ultimatum over a controversial can and bottle recycling scheme after ministers in London said it had to be watered down significantly.Lorna Slater, the minister overseeing a Scottish scheme to charge a 20p deposit for bottles and cans, accused her UK counterparts of “deliberate sabotage” after they demanded that Scotland drop plans to include glass bottles. Continue reading...

Nepal’s head of tourism says variable weather on the mountain has led to one of the deadliest years on recordExperts say this is likely to be one of the deadliest years on record on Mount Everest, with variable weather caused by climate change being blamed as one of the main reasons for the deaths of up to 17 people.A total of 12 people have now been confirmed dead during Everest expeditions this season and another five are missing, presumed dead, as no contact has been made for at least five days in all cases, according to the Himalayan Database, which tracks mountain fatalities. Continue reading...

The agreement will fast-track the Mountain Valley pipeline, and limit the scope of environmental reviews for future developmentsThe deal to raise the US debt ceiling will have significant ramifications for the climate and nature, by fast-tracking a controversial gas pipeline in West Virginia and limiting the scope of environmental reviews for future developments, environmentalists have warned.The agreement struck between Joe Biden and Republicans who control the House of Representatives states the Mountain Valley pipeline is “required in the national interest” and should be issued its necessary permits within 21 days and be shielded from legal challenge by those who object to it. Continue reading...

Government curbs transfer of trees to and from affected areas to limit spread of rash-causing oak processionary mothsThe government has introduced new legislation controlling the movement of oak trees in south-east England due to a rise in the numbers of a toxic, invasive moth species.The oak processionary moth was first spotted in Kew Gardens, in south-west London, in 2006 after the eggs were imported on an oak from Europe. The insects, whose caterpillars produce tiny hairs that can cause allergic reactions in humans, feed on the leaves of oak trees. Continue reading...

US airline pledged to go carbon neutral but plaintiffs say it is relying on offsets that do almost nothing to mitigate global heatingDelta Air Lines is facing a lawsuit over its $1bn carbon neutrality claim which plaintiffs say is “false and misleading” as it relies on offsets that do little to mitigate global heating.In February 2020, the US airline announced plans to go carbon neutral, pledging $1bn to mitigate all greenhouse gas emissions from its business worldwide over the next decade. It included plans to purchase carbon credits generated from conserving rainforest, wetlands and grasslands along with decreasing the use of jet fuel and increasing plane efficiency. Continue reading...

Darryl Kelbrick shows Christopher Thomond the painstaking process behind artisan charcoal burning, a practice he has spent the past decade learning in an ancient coppiced woodland where he lives with his partner off-grid Continue reading...