Environment | The Guardian

Alert comes as south-east England goes 144 days with little to no rain, the longest in half a centuryThe UK Health Security Agency has issued a second warning of the summer as England has been placed on a level 3 heat health alert.The alert comes as south-east England goes 144 days with little to no rain, the longest in half a century, according to Met Office statistics. Temperatures are expected to reach the mid-30s C for the duration of the warning, from midday Tuesday to 6pm on Saturday 13 August.Trying to keep out of the sun from 11am to 3pm.Looking out for those who may struggle to keep themselves cool and hydrated – older people who may also live alone, and those with underlying conditions are particularly at risk.Drinking plenty of fluids and avoiding excess alcohol.Checking that fridges, freezers and fans are working properly.Checking medicines can be stored according to the instructions on the packaging. Continue reading...

Biden calls passage of historic climate and healthcare legislation as a ‘big deal’ in state where flooding has claimed 37 lives,Joe Biden on Monday toured parts of eastern Kentucky devastated by the worst flooding in the state’s history and pledged to help recovery, while his spokesperson warned that the climate crisis was having an impact on such events there and across America.At least 37 people have died in the flooding since a deluge late last month that dropped up to 10.5in of rain on Kentucky in only 48 hours. Continue reading...

More than half of human diseases caused by pathogens have been aggravated by hazards associated with climate change, study findsMore than half of the human diseases caused by pathogens have been worsened at some point by the sort of impacts associated with the climate crisis, a new and exhaustive study of the link between disease and climatic hazards has found.Diseases such as Zika, malaria, dengue, chikungunya and even Covid-19 have been aggravated by climate impacts such as heatwaves, wildfires, extreme rainfall and floods, the paper found. In all, there are more than 1,000 different pathways for these various impacts to worsen the spread of disease, a cavalcade of threats “too numerous for comprehensive societal adaptations”, the researchers wrote. Continue reading...

Other discoveries formally named and described include 131 insects and other invertebrates, four fish, three plants and a frog

Community organisations in Cobargo say the agency, which has faced criticism, has done some good in protecting against fires

Bernie Sanders calls climate measures a ‘very modest step forward’ and Republicans denounce the bill altogetherDemocrats celebrated the much-delayed Senate passage of their healthcare and climate spending package, expressing hope that the bill’s approval could improve their prospects in the crucial midterm elections this November.The bill, formally known as the Inflation Reduction Act, passed the Senate on Sunday in a party-line vote of 51-50, with Vice-President Kamala Harris breaking the tie in the evenly divided chamber. Continue reading...

Roads closed in borough of Islington as video shows streets under more than a metre of waterThames Water is facing criticism and anger from customers after one of its water mains burst, causing street flooding at the height of a drought crisis.The burst 91cm (36in) water main prompted many road closures around Hornsey Road, north London, as video of the incident showed streets submerged in more than a metre of water. Continue reading...

The Inflation Reduction Act is a far cry from Biden’s original ambition, but it nonetheless represents victory for the presidentJoe Biden’s $740bn package tackling climate, the deficit and healthcare that has just passed the Senate and is almost certain now to become law is a far cry from his original even bigger ambitions, but it still represents a major triumph for the president.The bill – the Inflation Reduction Act – was virtually dead in the water before a last-minute turnaround by the conservative West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin saw it suddenly revived. Continue reading...

Exclusive: plant at Suffolk port is slated to produce 100megawatts of power from 2026ScottishPower is planning to build a £150m green hydrogen plant at the Port of Felixstowe to power trains, trucks and ships, the Guardian can reveal.The energy company has drawn up proposals for a 100megawatt plant at the Suffolk port which will provide enough fuel to power 1300 hydrogen trucks from 2026. Continue reading...

England’s water and sewage chiefs awarded themselves £27m amid leakages of 2.4bn litres a dayWater company bosses should be banned from giving themselves bonuses until they fix their leaky pipes, the Liberal Democrats have demanded.New figures uncovered by the party found that England’s water and sewage company bosses have awarded themselves about £27m in bonuses over the past two years. Continue reading...

Bicycle sales down by a quarter on pre-pandemic levels and electric bike takeup also stalling after a boomThe UK risks being left behind Europe on cycling growth, experts have warned, as cycle sales are down by a quarter on pre-pandemic levels and electric bike sales are plateauing following a boom in 2020.Although cycling levels have significantly risen since the pandemic – up 33% in the year to 30 July, according to Department for Transport (DfT) figures – sales of new bikes are not keeping pace. Continue reading...

Americans throw away an estimated 2.5m plastic water bottles an hour. We need international cooperation to protect our planet and our healthEvery great movie has at least one scene that stays with you.In the 1967 classic The Graduate, directed by Mike Nichols, that scene could be when Mrs Robinson (Anne Bancroft) first seduces our protagonist, young Ben (Dustin Hoffman), a newly minted college graduate. Or when Ben, crazy in love, pounds the glass walls of a church. What haunts me, though, is the earlier scene in which one of Ben’s parents’ friends offers him some unsolicited advice. The man tells him that a “great future” awaits him in one word: “Plastics.”Kim Heacox is the author of many books, including The Only Kayak, a memoir, and Jimmy Bluefeather, a novel, both winners of the National Outdoor Book Award. He lives in Alaska Continue reading...

Meanwhile heavy rainfall predicted to far exceed annual averages in South and North KoreaWhile it feels as though Europe should be starting to see the end of its heatwaves, scorching temperatures are expected to continue across the north and west of the continent this week. As high pressure becomes established, parts of France and Spain could experience temperatures of 38C (100.4F) between Wednesday and Saturday. A prolonged hot period is also forecast to hit the UK with temperatures exceeding 30C, and maximum temperatures possibly hitting as high as 35C.Meanwhile, low pressure and a slack south-westerly wind across the East China and Yellow seas will bring heavy rain across the Korean peninsula over the coming week, the second monsoon spell of the season. Daily rainfall totals of 100mm to 150mm could hit South Korea’s capital, Seoul, on Monday, with high levels of precipitation extending north-eastwards across northern Chungcheong and North Gyeonsang provinces. Continue reading...

Together Against Sizewell C argue permission given by government for power station was granted unlawfullyCampaigners have begun a legal challenge against the government’s decision to give the Sizewell C nuclear power station the go-ahead amid warnings that UK nuclear plants will be on the frontline of climate breakdown.Citing the threat to water supplies in an area officially designated as seriously water stressed, the threats to coastal areas from climate change and environmental damage, the challenge is the first step in a judicial review of the planning consent. Continue reading...

As gas prices rise Somalis are turning to the affordable energy source, driving unsustainable logging – as al-Shabaab condemns but profits from the tradeIn Mogadishu, the charcoal trade is thriving on the city’s streets, prompted by the sharp rise in gas prices over the past two years. As more Somalis turn to charcoal as an affordable energy option, experts say the growing demand is fuelling unsustainable levels of production and accelerating climate change amid the country’s worst drought in four decades.Environmentalists say the situation is acute in the Lower Shabelle region’s Wanlaweyn district, the centre of the charcoal trade, about 55 miles (90km) north-west of the capital. Continue reading...

Automotive industry body’s push for weaker fuel efficiency standards sparks call for companies moving to EVs to ‘vote with their feet’

Inflation Reduction Act could put US within striking distance of Biden’s goal of halving emissions by 2030, analysis suggestsThe US is, following decades of political rancor and fossil fuel industry obfuscation, almost certain to make its first significant attempt to tackle the climate crisis. Experts say it will help rewire the American economy and act as an important step in averting disastrous global heating.Independent analysis of the proposed legislation, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, shows it should slash America’s planet-heating emissions by about 40% by the end of the decade, compared with 2005 levels. Continue reading...

In a political system long captured by fossil fuel interests, there is a disconnect between the arguments and the evidence• Get our free news app, morning email briefing and daily news podcastOne of the most striking voices for aggressive climate action right now is the secretary general of the United Nations. Speaking at the Major Economies Forum hosted by Joe Biden last month, António Guterres held little back as he compared the culpability of coal, oil and gas companies in causing climate breakdown to the damage caused by the tobacco industry.“We seem trapped in a world where fossil fuel producers and financiers have humanity by the throat. For decades, the fossil fuel industry has invested heavily in pseudoscience and public relations, with a false narrative to minimise their responsibility for climate change and undermine ambitious climate policies,” Guterres said. Continue reading...

Campaigners visit Berkshire estate belonging to Richard Benyon, minister in charge of access to natureIt’s hard to know what access to nature minister Richard Benyon normally finds in his gigantic Berkshire estate when he strolls out on a Sunday afternoon. It is unlikely, however, to be a loudly singing group of activist trespassers, dressed up as psychedelic animals and accompanied by an all-female morris-dancing troupe.But that’s what wandered up his drive on Sunday, when protesters visited the Englefield estate, calling on Benyon to open it up to the public and extend access for everyone to green space across England. Continue reading...

Fourth set of skeletal remains, as yet unidentified, discovered at Swim Beach in Nevada as lake hits lowest level in 80 yearsA fourth set of human remains has been found at the shrinking reservoir of Lake Mead as the drought gripping the western US continues to blaze and sends its water levels plunging.The fourth set of skeletal remains was found on Saturday at Swim Beach in Nevada, and are now being assessed by the local Clark county coroner. The identity of the body is unknown, nor the manner of death. Continue reading...

Ten years ago, a fire at Chevron forced thousands to seek health treatment. For young people, it was a transformative momentThis article originally appeared in Nexus Media News and was made possible by a grant from the Open Society Foundations.On the afternoon of 6 August 2012, a thick black plume grew over Richmond, California, 10 miles north-east of San Francisco. As the air grew thick with smoke, residents instinctively knew the source: the Chevron oil refinery that for decades has loomed over the working-class community. Continue reading...

As smoke from wildfires spreads from coast to coast, scientists are looking into how best to protect vulnerable populationsAs the climate crisis brings drought and dried-out landscapes, wildfires in the US west are spreading smoky air to millions of people, even those who live far from where the fires burn. The problem is becoming so pronounced that some television weather forecasters in California now include “smoke casts” in their reports, displaying models that predict where smoky air from a wildfire will travel days into the future.Wildfire smoke in recent years accounted for up to 50% of all dangerous, small particle air pollution in the western US, research shows, and the problem is growing.This story is co-published with The New Lede, a journalism project of the Environmental Working Group. Continue reading...

Nothing suggests that Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak fully understand the country’s most besetting problems, let alone how to fix themIn this Tory leadership contest, there has been a vogue for catching out candidates with things they once said: Liz Truss calling for a republic back in the days when she was a Liberal Democrat or a young Rishi Sunak boasting that he didn’t have any working-class friends. But it won’t be long before whoever wins is caught out by the things they didn’t say at all. We’ve heard more than enough about the differences between the two on tax and inflation but there has been a conspiracy of silence on some of the biggest problems facing this country, as though both contenders either don’t want to know how bad things are or know that they don’t have the mettle to solve them.Both have fought furiously over whether their economic plan will help Britons avoid an extremely expensive and miserable winter. But beyond bickering about their tinkering to help with the cost of energy bills, neither Truss nor Sunak has confronted the underlying problems that Britain has with its energy supply that make it more vulnerable should Vladimir Putin decide not to turn the gas back on. The impact of the war in Ukraine on fuel prices is something no prime minister can really control but the government and both leadership contenders are also shirking the things they can control. There has been no discussion of an emergency plan to deal with energy supply or energy demand. Britain’s housing stock is leakier than a sieve, which means the heating people can afford quickly escapes through the walls of their homes. We are still building properties that are sufficiently energy inefficient to need retro-fitting in the same way as homes built in the 1960s and 1970s. However old or new our homes are, they need a national programme of insulation. Continue reading...

Environment secretary says it is ‘right’ some firms have taken action to address driest period in England since 1976Further hosepipe bans could be introduced after the environment secretary called for water companies to implement restrictions, the first public intervention by a minister over the potential drought.George Eustice said it was “right” that some firms had already taken action to address the driest period in England since 1976. Continue reading...

Thousands of migratory creatures converged in the shallow water in St Ives to shed their shellsThousands of venomous crabs converged on the beaches of Cornwall due to rising sea temperatures caused by the climate crisis. The migratory creatures swarmed in the shallow water in St Ives, shedding their shells before returning to depths of up to 300ft.The crustaceans are instantly recognisable for their long legs and pincers and have a venomous bite that is poisonous to their prey but harmless to humans. Continue reading...

Head of International Atomic Energy Agency says shelling at Zaporizhzhia plant underlines ‘very real risk of a nuclear disaster’

Apparently underweight whale swimming towards Paris is refusing food and seems skittish, say French authoritiesFrench authorities were planning on Saturday to give vitamins to a beluga whale that swam way up the Seine, as they raced to save the malnourished cetacean that is refusing food.The apparently underweight whale was first spotted Tuesday in the river that flows through Paris to the Channel. On Saturday it had made its way to about 70km (44 miles) north of the French capital. Continue reading...

Weedkillers, insecticides and other pesticides are used on golf courses, and many, such as 2,4-D, have been linked to health problemsHarold Nisker spent roughly 50 years of his life playing golf in his Toronto suburb. He visited the course at his country club nearly every day, teeing up to play on the miles of pristine grass.Like many golfers, Nisker grew to have a certain expectation of the turf: green, trim, with no weeds in sight. But when Nisker died in 2014 from a rare type of lymphoma, his son Andrew began to wonder if his father’s death could be connected to all those golf games – and the pesticide applications that helped the golf course attain its aesthetic perfection. Continue reading...

Oil company spent £800,000 on social media influence ads after Labour proposed windfall taxBP has spent more than £800,000 on social media influence ads in the UK this year that champion the company’s investments in green energy, it can be revealed.On Tuesday, BP announced a 14-year high profit of £7bn for the second quarter of this year. In the previous eight days, the company paid about £570,000 to Facebook and Instagram for influence ads that reached tens of millions of viewers in the UK. Continue reading...

Feared pyrocumulonimbus clouds, akin to fire-triggered thunderstorms, are becoming more frequent as blazes rageNasa calls them the “fire-breathing dragon of clouds”.Aerial images of the McKinney fire taken this week captured an increasingly common phenomenon: a nearly 50,000ft plume known as a pyrocumulonimbus. Continue reading...

Leadership candidate accused of having ‘no credible plan’ to deal with soaring energy billsClimate activists disrupted Liz Truss’s appearance at the latest Conservative leadership hustings to highlight what they claimed was her failure to tackle the global heating crisis.During Truss’s opening remarks at the Winter Garden theatre in Eastbourne, several activists from the youth group Green New Deal Rising stood to heckle Truss about the government’s record and her policies. Continue reading...

George Harding-Rolls says false marketing should not be tolerated and Julian Crane makes a case for worldwide boycotts of guilty companies. Plus letters from Neil Blackshaw and Bill JacksonEmma Thompson’s recent article on greenwashing (Greenwashing is driving our descent into climate catastrophe. But we can stop it, 2 August) rightly points out how fossil fuel companies have delayed and deceived us for decades with their false promises. The bluster of greenwash reaches far beyond the oil and gas industry, however, and pervades a vast number of sectors, collectively blinding us to the scale of change needed and obscuring where the true solutions lie.Last year, outside London Fashion Week (without permission) we launched our website, www.greenwash.com, which highlights the vast array of greenwashing tactics used by the fashion industry, and we have since added examples from plastics and packaging. By seeing examples “in the wild” we hope to help citizens, company employees and policymakers learn to become super-detectors for greenwashing. Continue reading...

Analysis: breakdown of cooperation between world’s two biggest greenhouse gas emitters over Taiwan could spell disaster for global warming targetsChina’s decision to halt cooperation with the US over the climate crisis has provoked alarm, with seasoned climate diplomats urging a swift resumption of talks to help stave off worsening global heating.On Friday, Beijing announced a series of measures aimed at retaliating against the US for the “egregious provocation” of Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, visiting Taiwan. China, which considers Taiwan its territory and has launched large-scale military exercises near the island, said it will stop working with the US on climate change, along with other key issues. Continue reading...

Campaigners say ‘our rivers are dying’ after driest July in England for more than 100 yearsMost of the UK’s rivers are on “red alert”, according to the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH), as campaigners say “our rivers are dying” and call for immediate nationwide hosepipe bans.This summer, water companies have come under intense criticism for their apparent failure to plan for drought and deal with their leaking pipes. Sarah Bentley, the chief executive of Thames Water, received a £496,000 bonus last year, which is nearly double the performance-related payout for the previous year, and a salary increase to £750,000 from £438,000 in 2020-21, annual accounts show. Continue reading...

Replacing the beloved transport vehicles with battery electric buses, experts argue, could be more pollutingOne slushy March evening, about 100 people gathered at a bus lot in Cambridge, Massachusetts, directly to the north-west of Boston, to commemorate the end of a transportation era.The guest of honor? Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s trolleybuses – sometimes called trackless trolleys – which have poles connecting to overhead wires that draw electricity to run their motors. The buses, along with the 86-year-old network of wires that support it, were being decommissioned after serving the Boston area faithfully for the past two decades, in part because they were getting difficult to maintain. As the trolleybuses grumbled along for one last evening, participants onboard reminisced, running off at various intersections to take photos of their ride making turns it hadn’t made in years. Continue reading...

Businesses along the river say drought means they are on the verge of having to shut productionGermany’s Rhine, one of Europe’s key waterways, is just days away from being closed to commercial traffic because of very low levels caused by drought, authorities and industry have warned.Crucially, the impending crisis could lead energy companies to cut their output, one of the country’s biggest gas companies has said. Continue reading...

Technology applied to Oude Rign river helps stop plastic pollution reaching seaFive years ago, Claar-els van Delft began to suspect that plastic waste on the beach at Katwijk in the Netherlands did not come from visitors, or the sea, but from the mouth of a nearby river.“We started picking up litter and we noticed, near the river entrance, pieces that came from fresh water – all kinds of plastic,” she says. “Tampon sheaths, brush bristles, but also crisp packages, drink packages, everything.” Continue reading...

Langholm community hails deal with Duke of Buccleuch as ‘beacon of hope for people and planet’A rewilding project on a former grouse moor at Langholm in southern Scotland has doubled in size after a “rollercoaster” fundraising campaign by local activists.The Langholm Initiative announced on Friday it had finally raised the £2.2m needed to buy out a further 2,415 hectares (5,300 acres) of moorland from one of Scotland’s largest hereditary landowners, the Duke of Buccleuch. Continue reading...

Birdwatcher ‘overcome with emotion’ on spotting the Santa Marta sabrewing, only third time it has been documentedA rare hummingbird has been rediscovered by a birdwatcher in Colombia after going missing for more than a decade.The Santa Marta sabrewing, a large hummingbird only found in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains, was last seen in 2010 and scientists feared the species might be extinct as the tropical forests it inhabited have largely been cleared for agriculture. Continue reading...

Thousands more residents outside the original contamination zone may be drinking tainted waterA French industrial fabric producer that poisoned drinking water supplies with PFAS “forever chemicals” across 65 sq miles (168 sq km) of southern New Hampshire misled regulators about the amount of toxic substance it used, a group of state lawmakers and public health advocates charge.The company, Saint Gobain, now admits it used far more PFAS than regulators previously knew, and officials fear thousands more residents outside the contamination zone’s boundaries may be drinking tainted water in a region plagued by cancer clusters and other health problems thought to stem from PFAS pollution. Continue reading...

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including a bearded seal, peacocks and mating humpback whales Continue reading...

Green party’s Siân Berry says Sadiq Khan can still change his mind and prevent increase in traffic pollutionThe mayor of London is being urged to make an 11th hour intervention and halt plans for a new four-lane road tunnel under the River Thames that opponents say would worsen pollution and exacerbate the climate crisis.Tunnelling equipment is on site on the banks of the Thames, and work on the £2bn Silvertown tunnel is due to start in the coming weeks. Continue reading...

Despite pleas from unions and the Greens, the bill easily passed upper house after Coalition sided with Labor

Head of the Thames is now more than 5 miles downstream as forecasters warn of further high temperatures to comeThe source of the Thames has dried up during the drought, with river experts saying it is the first time they have seen it happen while forecasters warn of further high temperatures to come.The river’s source has shifted from its official start point outside Cirencester during the continuing dry weather and is now more than 5 miles (8km) downstream. Continue reading...

As Guardian analysis reveals that human-caused global heating is driving more frequent and deadly weather disasters, there is no place for denialism any more

Wildlife with little data faces double the risk of dying out – which may mean many more species are endangered than previously thoughtPlants and animals that do not have enough data to be properly assessed appear to be at twice the risk of extinction as those that have been evaluated, meaning more species may face being wiped off the planet than previously thought, a study has warned.Researchers looked at the extinction risk of species assessed on the red list of endangered species and found that 56% of species in the data deficient (DD) category were threatened, compared with 28% of those that had been assessed. Continue reading...

The Babakina anadoni – less than half the size of a little finger – was sighted off the Isles of ScillyAn extremely rare multi-coloured sea slug has been spotted in British waters for the first time.The multi-coloured sea slug, Babakina anadoni, measures just 2cm in length and was confirmed as a first sighting by the Cornwall Wildlife Trust and the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust. Continue reading...

Spectacle of leafy ash, oak and elm ambling through Leeuwarden’s streets offers vision of a greener futureIt is less of a marathon and more of an amble. But then a “walking forest” of 1,000 trees was never going to move at speed. Since May, volunteers have been transporting the native trees planted in wooden containers along a 3.5km stretch through the centre of the northern Dutch city of Leeuwarden, giving people an opportunity to experience an alternative, greener future.“We are a generation that has almost lost all hope,” says Johan Lakke, a student at the University of Groningen who is helping with the project, which is called Bosk, meaning “forest” in the local Frisian language. “This project gives me hope,” he says. “It shows us that if you’re crazy enough to think outside the box, you can achieve things.” Continue reading...