Its detractors argue it is an indulgence, but rewilding is gaining momentum with projects attracting investors, creating jobs and gaining community supportWhen the Chelsea flower show bestowed its top award this year on a scruffy patch of wet woodland complete with beaver dam, pool and lodge, it was a symbolic moment. Rewilding may still excite or antagonise but here was a radically new way of managing land for nature being embraced by the mainstream – and by the British establishment.Five years ago, European rewilders were bemused by Britain’s debate over whether beavers should be allowed back on to rivers. Today, hundreds, possibly thousands, of beavers are at large – and legal – across the country. Where one English landowner, the Knepp estate in Sussex, first trod the lonely path to abandon conventional farming for free-ranging herbivores and allowing more natural processes to unfurl, scores of landowners of all sizes are now following. Continue reading...
Campaigners say nature in England faces ‘perfect storm of threats’ with eight promised bills yet to appearNature faces a “perfect storm of threats”, campaigners say, after eight wildlife bills promised by Boris Johnson since coming to power have so far failed to see the light of day.The government has been accused of reneging on commitments by failing to deliver policies on nature-friendly farming, the use of peat and pesticides, reintroducing beavers and other lost species, and protecting rare marine life.Post-Brexit farming reforms – The government has broken its promise to reform farming post-Brexit. In its national food strategy for England published earlier this month the government’s commitment to provide a third of its farming budget for landscape recovery has been abandoned.Ban on horticultural peat use – The government has consulted on the ban on the sale of peat and products containing peat in England and Wales after the failure of voluntary targets. Over 12 weeks (the usual time limit for responding) have passed and the government has yet to respond to the consultation. There was also no clear legislative vehicle in the recent Queen’s speech to enact the ban.Beaver reintroductions – Last year, the government consulted on further reintroductions of beavers in England following the successful River Otter beaver trial. The government has yet to publish its response to the consultation or announce its approach to the reintroduction of beavers in England. This was part of the secretary of state’s announcement at Delamere Forest in May 2021.Species reintroduction taskforce – Also part of that announcement was the commitment to establish an England species reintroduction taskforce to consider reintroductions of lost species such as wildcats, as well as the release of declining species such as the curlew, into areas from which they have been lost to help populations recover.National action plan on the sustainable use of pesticides – The UK government consulted on the draft national action plan in December 2020 but has yet to publish the final version of its plan to replace the 2013 version.Landscapes review – Despite responding to the landscapes review, the government has yet to legislate for the recommendations it accepted, such as amending the statutory purpose to ensure the core function of protected landscapes should be to drive nature recovery in England.Integrated pest management – The government has yet to confirm whether key components of the new agricultural system, such as integrated pest management, will be included in the new sustainable farming incentive from next year.Bycatch mitigation initiative – A policy to protect rare marine life from being unintentionally caught by fishers was approved in March but has not come to fruition, after being expected in May. Continue reading...
Forecast models are already hinting at area of significant heat taking hold across Iberia next weekThankfully, the heatwave is coming to an end this week across western Europe, with temperatures returning nearer to normal. But this may only be a temporary reprieve, as forecast models are already hinting at an area of significant heat taking hold across Iberia by the start of next week.The extent of the recent heatwave across parts of central and western Europe has been widely reported. Temperature records have been broken and, in France and parts of Spain, it is the earliest point in summer during which a heatwave of this magnitude has been recorded. A temperature of 39.2C (102.6F) observed in Cottbus, Germany, also came within 0.4°C of the June record. Large fires, resulting from parched vegetation, are ravaging parts of Spain. The observed heat is very much in line with the predictions of scientists in that heatwaves in Europe will occur earlier and with greater ferocity due to climate change. Continue reading...
They came into force in England last week to help the UK hit environmental goals by 2050, but this means short-term pain for long-term gainNew building regulations aimed at improving energy efficiency are set to increase the price of new homes, as well as those of extensions and loft conversions on existing ones.The rules, which came into effect on Wednesday in England, are part of government plans to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions to net zero by 2050. They set new standards for ventilation, energy efficiency and heating, and state that new residential buildings must have charging points for electric vehicles. Continue reading...
by Nina Lakhani in Phoenix, with photographs by Caitl on (#60HYP)
Phoenix is the US’s deadliest city for heat fatalities while its urban sprawl makes it a concrete heat islandIt was mid afternoon when first responders found David Spell slumped and unresponsive under a bus shelter. The temperature outside was nearing 110F (43C) – the hottest day of the year so far in Phoenix, and 50-year-old Spell was disorientated, dizzy and dehydrated.Spell had felt hot and weary during his shift at a car auction after driving an old Buick without air conditioning, but couldn’t take a break. After finishing work he bought three cans of spiked blue razz, an 8% alcopop, and sat on the bus shelter bench to drink under the partial shade. He remembers eating some canned mackerel and opening the third alcopop, and then nothing until being roused by the EMTs. He had passed out with heat exhaustion. Continue reading...
Advice that allowed farmers to spread manures in a way that risked polluting waters has been changed by DefraGuidance that would have allowed farmers to spread manures and slurry on land in a way that would overload it with nutrients and risk pollution of rivers, lakes and coastal waters has been changed by Defra, after a challenge over its lawfulness.Manures, which include sewage sludge, abattoir waste and slurries, are a leading source of water pollution. Their application is strictly controlled under what are known as the Farming Rules for Water. But Defra’s guidance had directed the Environment Agency not to enforce a breach of the rules if a farmer produced its own manures or used imported manures that could lead to nutrient overload. Continue reading...
by Patrick Greenfield, Sophie Yeo and Coreen Grant on (#60HTZ)
From Somerset to Derby, councils are rewilding rivers, parks and golf courses, despite claims by some that it is only for wealthy landownersOne in five county councils have embraced rewilding on public land in Great Britain, with a growing number setting aside former golf courses, post-industrial scrubland and recovering waterways for nature.From Rhondda Cynon Taf to Brighton, 43 councils in England, Wales and Scotland have launched rewilding schemes or are planning to do so in rural and urban areas, a joint investigation by the Guardian and the wildlife magazine Inkcap Journal found. Continue reading...
Award-winning founder of green development centre was arrested on tax evasion charges in FebruaryThe US government has said it is “deeply concerned” by the sentencing of the Vietnamese environmental advocate and activist Nguy Thi Khanh and called on Vietnam to release her.Khanh, Vietnam’s first recipient of the prestigious Goldman environmental prize, was reported in February to have been arrested on tax evasion charges. The founder of the Green Innovation and Development Centre was detained in January. Continue reading...
Visitors will be allowed on southern loop under system designed to manage crowds after flooding destroyed bridges and roadsAfter catastrophic flooding destroyed bridges and roads and drove out thousands of tourists, Yellowstone national park will partially reopen at 8am Wednesday.The National Park Service announced this weekend that visitors will once again be allowed on Yellowstone’s southern loop under a temporary license plate system designed to manage the crowds. Continue reading...
As state suffered record flooding – and Yellowstone national park closed – his office initially declined to say where he wasMontana’s governor, Greg Gianforte, was vacationing in Italy during that state’s historic flooding, which caused Yellowstone national park to close, his office confirmed on Friday.As the state suffered record flooding and rockslides, Gianforte’s office had initially declined to say where he was or when he might return, citing “security concerns”, even as a statewide disaster was declared. Continue reading...
Jefferson da Silva Lima turned himself in to Amazon police as autopsy finds journalist and indigenous expert were shotBrazil’s federal police said Saturday that a third suspect in the deaths of British journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira has been arrested. The pair, whose remains were found after they went missing almost two weeks ago, were shot to death, according to an autopsy.Phillips was shot in the chest and Pereira was shot in the head and the abdomen, police said in a statement. It said the autopsy indicated the use of a “firearm with typical hunting ammunition.” Continue reading...
British journalist whose body was found in Brazilian Amazon believed book he was working on was ‘urgent’, says Sian PhillipsThe sister of British journalist Dom Phillips has said her brother knew the risks of travelling to perilous regions of the Brazilian Amazon but continued to report from the area because he was committed to telling the story of Indigenous people and the fight for development models that might save the rainforest.Sian Phillips said her brother, whose body was found along with Indigenous activist Bruno Pereira this week, believed his work on a book called How to Save the Amazon was “urgent”. Continue reading...
Strong tides make conditions in the Scottish islands ideal, but can the UK grasp the opportunity to become a leader in the sector?On a small passenger boat about 10 miles north of Kirkwall, Orkney, at the point where the Atlantic Ocean meets the North Sea, an immense yellow structure heaves into view. This is the world’s most powerful tidal stream energy generator, Orbital Marine Power’s O2. Its shadow quickly dwarfs the tiny vessel.Today, the generator’s turbines are raised above sea level for maintenance. It is difficult to comprehend the O2’s scale until a worker appears, a tiny stick figure against the hulking turbine. Continue reading...
From Chicago to Alabama, people are staying inside, floating in pools – and worrying about the deepening climate emergencyAs searing temperatures and humidity settled in over states reaching from parts of the Gulf coast to the Carolinas, more than 100 million Americans have been warned to stay indoors where possible.A combination of heat advisories, excessive heart warnings and excessive heat watches were issued by the US National Weather Service prediction center. Continue reading...
Appeals says EPA did not adequately consider whether glyphosate causes cancer and threatens endangered speciesThe US Environmental Protection Agency has been ordered to take a fresh look at whether glyphosate, the active ingredient in Bayer’s Roundup weedkiller, poses unreasonable risks to humans and the environment.In a 3-0 decision on Friday, the ninth US circuit court of appeals agreed with several environmental, farmworker and food-safety advocacy groups that the EPA did not adequately consider whether glyphosate causes cancer and threatens endangered species. Continue reading...
Dom Phillips, whose death in the Amazon has shocked many, was a frequent contributor to the Guardian. Here are some of his outstanding pieces of journalismOver some of the most tumultuous years in Brazil, Dom Phillips bore witness to the politics of his adopted home and to the fate of the Amazon rainforest. Travelling into the forest is a slow and laborious process, yet Phillips returned again and again.Phillips wrote regularly for the Guardian and other publications. Here, we have collected some of his most outstanding pieces of journalism.For more than a decade after the reserve was set up in 1998, its 16 uncontacted Indigenous tribes were among the best protected in Brazil. Yet today it is invaded on multiple fronts, leaving its isolated groups – who hunt with bows and arrows or blow-pipes, and avoid contact with modern society – at risk. Contact with outsiders can be deadly for these groups, who lack immunity to diseases like flu.“The vulnerability of these peoples is growing,” Beto Marubo, a Javari Indigenous leader, told the United Nations permanent forum on indigenous issues in New York in April. “There is no effective protection.” Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent on (#60FGF)
António Guterres compares climate inaction to tobacco firms dismissing links between smoking and cancerFossil fuel companies and the banks that finance them “have humanity by the throat”, the UN secretary general has said, in a “blistering” attack on the industry and its backers, who are pulling in record profits amid energy prices sent soaring by the Ukraine war.António Guterres compared fossil fuel companies to the tobacco companies that continued to push their addictive products while concealing or attacking health advice that showed clear links between smoking and cancer, the first time he has drawn such a parallel. Continue reading...
Maui is a hub for GMO research but Indigenous farmers are trying to bring back the abundant and thriving landscapes of their ancestorsRain clouds cover the peaks of the west Maui mountains, one of the wettest places on the planet, which for centuries sustained biodiverse forests providing abundant food and medicines for Hawaiians who took only what they needed.Those days of abundance and food sovereignty are long gone. Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent on (#60F82)
Adviser says European nations are sourcing fossil fuels abroad but failing to help developing countriesEuropean governments have been accused of seeking to exploit the fossil fuel reserves of the developing world, while failing to help them tackle the climate crisis.Campaigners made the charge as the latest round of UN climate negotiations ended in stalemate on Thursday night in Bonn, Germany. Continue reading...
Industry superannuation fund defends approach, saying engaging with companies changes their behaviour, as members urge it to ‘stop investing in climate catastrophe’
Pinna nobilis is vital to the Mediterranean ecosystem, but since 2016 numbers have plummeted by 99.9% – and saving it from extinction is no easy taskIn the shallow waters and seagrass meadow of Spain’s Ebro delta, there are almost no solid surfaces for creatures to latch on to. That’s where the fan mussel (Pinna nobilis) comes in. Sponges, sea anemones, algae and lifeforms not found on any other surface in the area live on its shell, while octopus, oysters and some fish live inside it.The bivalve, also known as the noble pen shell, is unique to the Mediterranean and is the second largest in the world, with some specimens reaching a metre in length over a 15-year lifespan. It plays a crucial role in water filtration as well as providing a home for an array of underwater creatures. Continue reading...
As the climate movement hits another impasse, activists Luisa Neubauer and Kumi Naidoo explain why we need to mobilise many more people from all walks of lifeIf a historian were charting the climate movement, she’d probably set its high-water mark so far as September of 2019, when something like 7 million people, most of them young, took to the streets of thousands of cities around the world. To read the accounts that flooded in from around the world is poignant and in some cases heartbreaking (Dom Phillips was providing the updates for the Guardian from Brazil, where Indigenous groups were rallying; this week a suspect admitted to killing Phillips while he was reporting in the Amazon).I was watching from the wings of a stage setup on New York’s Battery, where Greta Thunberg – whose school strike had helped spur this massive wave of climate action – summed up the situation for a quarter million people flooding the streets of lower Manhattan: “If you belong to that small group of people who feel threatened by us, we have some very bad news for you, because this is only the beginning. Change is coming whether they like it or not.” Continue reading...
Pushed northwards by global heating, exotic birds like the rainbow bee-eater seen nesting in Norfolk will likely become established summer visitorsRainbow-hued bee-eaters breeding on the Norfolk coast this summer and three rare black-winged stilts fledglings in Yorkshire are an “unmissable sign” that the nature and climate emergency has reached Britain, according to conservationists.Birdwatchers are flocking to north-east Norfolk to see the bee-eaters, a colourful rare visitor from Africa and southern Europe, after seven birds were spotted close to Cromer by a local birder. Continue reading...
Scientists predict that the spiny trees are unlikely to survive through the end of the century due to climate crisisCalifornia officials have deferred a decision on whether to list the western Joshua tree as a threatened species after hours of public comment and debate this week ended in a deadlocked vote.Scientists predict that the spiny-crested fixtures of the high desert are unlikely to survive through the end of the century due to global heating. By 2100, only 0.02% of the tree’s current habitat in Joshua Tree national park would remain viable amid unmitigated climate change, according to a 2019 study published in the journal Ecosphere. Continue reading...
Human rights committee including peers says public order bill lacks nuance and targets peaceful protestsMPs and peers have accused ministers of creating a “hostile environment” for peaceful protests with its proposals for new policing powers.The draft public order bill includes a new offence of “locking on”, which relates to demonstrators attaching themselves to something so they cannot be removed. It carries a maximum sentence of up to 51 weeks in prison. Continue reading...
Spending watchdog warns existing policies not enough to meet most targets by 2030The government is not on track to cut air pollution and is not effectively informing the public about the issue, the spending watchdog has warned.The National Audit Office (NAO) warned that existing policy measures will not be enough to meet most of the government’s air quality targets by 2030. Continue reading...
Researchers say isolated group in south-east Greenland have clung on thanks to freshwater discharge from glaciersPolar bears have become the furry face of the climate crisis, with experts suggesting the animals could be all but extinct in a matter of decades as the Arctic sea ice they hunt from melts away.But now researchers say they have found a group of them in south-east Greenland who are surviving despite a lack of sea ice for much of the year. Continue reading...
by Tom Phillips in Puerto Amelia and Dan Collyns in F on (#60EE8)
A key police outpost lies in ruins after a daring raid – a sign of the growing danger on an increasingly lucrative smuggling routeIn the crime-infested tri-border region where Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira disappeared, rumours abound over what happened at Puerto Amelia in January this year.Were Brazilian drug traffickers responsible for burning the Peruvian police outpost on the River Yavarí to the ground? Continue reading...
Residents in Billings asked to conserve water after record rain and heavy flooding shut down service from city’s main water plantThe unprecedented flooding that wrecked parts of Yellowstone national park is also jeopardizing freshwater supplies in Montana’s most populated city.The roughly 110,000 residents of Billings, Montana, were asked on Wednesday to conserve water after intense flooding in the region shut down service from the city’s main water plant, reported Q2 News, a local Billings news outlet. Continue reading...
No 10 official’s name for an insulation plan was nixed for unoriginality – but the campaigning group is OK with itThe well-known campaigning group Insulate Britain is happy to let the government borrow its name if officials can’t come up with a different label for their insulation scheme, it has told the Guardian.According to a report in the Times on government plans for insulating homes, during one meeting to thrash out the policy, a No 10 official suggested calling it “Insulate Britain” – a proposal quickly nixed when someone else pointed out that it was already the name of the disruptive direct action group. Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent on (#60E6P)
A petition calls on the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate emissions under the Toxic Substances Control ActGreenhouse gas emissions should be subject to legal controls in the US and phased out under the Toxic Substances Control Act, according to a group of scientists and former public officials, in a novel approach to the climate crisis.“Using the TSCA would be one small step for [the US president] Joe Biden, but potentially a giant leap for humankind – as a first step towards making the polluters pay,” said James Hansen, a former Nasa scientist, who is a member of the group alongside Donn Viviani, a retired 35-year veteran of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Continue reading...
Ecologists raise concern over chicks’ attempts to escape high temperatures during one of earliest heatwaves on recordHundreds of baby swifts in southern Spain have died after leaving their nests prematurely, in what ecologists described as an attempt to escape the extreme temperatures during one of the country’s earliest heatwaves on record.Concerns were raised for the protected species late last week after residents in Seville and Córdoba noticed dozens of recently hatched birds scattered across sidewalks. Continue reading...
Researchers have now calculated how many people could be saved from heat-related death if the US takes meaningful actionThe rapidly shrinking window of opportunity for the US to pass significant climate legislation will have mortal, as well as political, stakes. Millions of lives around the world will be saved, or lost, depending on whether America manages to propel itself towards a future without planet-heating emissions.For the first time, researchers have calculated exactly how many people the US could save by acting on the climate crisis. A total of 7.4 million lives around the world will be saved over this century if the US manages to cut its emissions to net zero by 2050, according to the analysis. Continue reading...
by Mike Jordan in Atlanta, with photographs by David on (#60EAD)
Atlanta wants to build a police training facility in a forested area amid community oppositionThe sign in the forest reads “You are now leaving The U.S.A.” Then, high up among the branches of a white oak tree, there is a treehouse the size of a closet. It is draped on all sides with white sheets bearing painted messages like “No police”, “No pipelines” and “No prisons”.On the ground below it, woodland paths have been blocked with makeshift barricades of branches and used tires. There is a burned-out white pickup truck with “Defend the forest” spray-painted in black on its tailgate. Continue reading...
A cold start to winter has the News Corp newspaper and Sky News telling ‘alarmists’ to chill, but what is really going on with snowfall?It’s felt cold in parts of eastern Australia in recent weeks and with heavy snow falling over ski resorts, it has to mean this whole global heating thing is a dud, right?Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph said an early start to the snow season had come “despite dire global warming predictions of vanishing snow” with a headline declaring “Alarmists given big chill”. Continue reading...
EPA administrator Michael Regan announces ‘aggressive action’ but new PFAS limits are advisory and critics call them ‘baby steps’The US Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday announced new advisory limits for four kinds of PFAS “forever chemicals”, warning that the compounds, which most Americans are exposed to daily, are far more toxic than previously thought.The dangerous chemicals are estimated to be contaminating drinking water for more than 200 million people, and the new limits could have significant financial consequences for PFAS polluters, including the US military and producers like 3M, DuPont and Chemours. Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent on (#60D7X)
‘Net zero’ global alliance of financial institutions, begun at Cop26, can still invest in coal and other fossil fuelsBanks that have signed up to a global climate pledge, led by Mark Carney, a former governor of the Bank of England, can still invest unlimited amounts in coal mining and coal power, despite promises to tighten the rules on their lending.Green campaigners have slammed the loopholes, uncovered by the Guardian, as “greenwashing”, after updated criteria for banks involved in the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) were unveiled on Wednesday. Continue reading...
Move affecting Piedmont and Lombardy regions comes amid worst drought to affect Italy’s longest river in 70 yearsMore than 100 towns in the Po valley have been asked to ration water amid the worst drought to affect Italy’s longest river in 70 years.Northern Italy has been deprived of significant rainfall for months, with the effects of drought along the 400-mile (650km) Po River, which stretches from the Alps in the north-west and flows through the Po delta before spilling out into the Adriatic, becoming visible early in the year. Continue reading...
We’d like to hear from people in the US living in areas affected by extreme temperatures – share your storiesMore than 100 million Americans have been advised to stay indoors if possible due to extreme temperatures and humidity in swathes of the country stretching from the Gulf coast to the Great Lakes and the Carolinas.About 107.5 million people will be affected by heat advisories and excessive heat warnings and watches on Wednesday, the National Weather Service prediction center warned on Monday. It follows a record-setting heatwave in the west and south-west over the weekend. Continue reading...
Environment | The Guardian