Bird flu is a mass killer, and mink farms are perfect for infection and transmission. They are a grave threat and must be bannedIf you wanted to kill as many people as possible, deniably and with no criminal consequences, what would you do? You’d do well to start with a bird flu. Bird flus are responsible for all the known flu pandemics: the great influenza that started more than a century ago, “Asian flu”, “Hong Kong flu” and “Russian flu”, which killed tens of millions between them. They also cause many of the annual outbreaks that slaughter hundreds of thousands of people.Once you have found a suitable variant, two further components are required to weaponise it. The first is an amplifier. The best amplifier is a giant shed or factory in which thousands of birds are packed. These birds should be genetically homogenous, so that your viral strain can travel freely between them. Intensive poultry farms would serve very well. Before long, a low-pathogenic strain should mutate in these circumstances into a highly pathogenic variety.George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

BMW, Renault and Peugeot PHEVs all exceeded carbon dioxide output claimed in standard lab tests, on-road tests showPopular plug-in hybrid cars emit significantly more carbon dioxide than official measures suggest, according to new on-road tests by academics that add to concerns over the true impact of cars sold as better for the environment.Cars from BMW, Renault and Peugeot all emitted much more than standard lab tests had claimed, with the BMW 3 Series in particular emitting more than three times advertised, according to the research by Austria’s Graz University of Technology. Continue reading...

Up to 9bn plastic cigarette butts are discarded and washed into waterways in Australia each year

Crime scene established at Keysborough as residents within 2km warned to stay indoors

Charity says death of bird named Flamingo in Manhattan likely ‘caused by inhaling the toxins’ from pink dyeA pigeon that was allegedly dyed pink as part of a gender reveal ceremony has died, a bird charity said.The pigeon, named Flamingo, had captured hearts in recent days after it was rescued in New York City. Continue reading...

David Nixon disobeyed judge’s order not to mention climate crisis as motivation during trial over road-blocking protestAn environmental activist has been jailed for eight weeks after disobeying a judge’s instruction not to mention the climate crisis as his motivation during his trial for taking part in a road-blocking protest.David Nixon, 36, a care worker from Barnsley, was sentenced at Inner London crown court on Tuesday after admitting contempt of court the day before by using his closing address to begin telling a jury about his reasons for protesting. Continue reading...

Sewage, poor sanitation and a lack of regulation give rise to antimicrobial resistance and threaten global health, report saysPollution from livestock farming, pharmaceuticals and healthcare is threatening to destroy a key pillar of modern medicine, as spills of manure and other pollution into waterways are adding to the global rise of superbugs, the UN has warned.Animal farming is one of the key sources of strains of bacteria that have developed resistance to all forms of antibiotics, through the overuse of the medicines in farming. Continue reading...

Political and Indigenous leaders hope to replicate success of British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest conservation areaNearly a decade ago, Canadian political leaders, environmental activists and Indigenous nations came together to shelter a sprawling 6.4 million-hectare area of trees, sea wolves, salmon and grizzly bears – a project that was named, with some branding acumen, the Great Bear Rainforest.The plan has since been hailed as a triumph for protecting swathes of old-growth cedar and spruce and drawing global attention to an area of pristine forest the size of Ireland. Continue reading...

Ministers hope training in range of forestry skills will help to meet tree-planting and other climate goalsA shortage of foresters has prompted the government to launch free courses as it rushes to meet targets for tree planting.There will be training in chainsaw maintenance, coppicing, woodland management, hedge laying and the sale and marketing of timber. Continue reading...

Graphs show the sources of generation in a country that has one of the most diverse ranges in EuropeGreat Britain has one of the most diverse ranges of electricity generation in Europe, with everything from windfarms off the coast of Scotland to a nuclear power station in Suffolk tasked with keeping the lights on. The increasing reliance on renewable energy sources, as part of the country’s green ambitions, also means there can be rapid shifts in the main source of electricity generation. On windy days, most electricity generation comes from onshore and offshore windfarms. When conditions are cold and still, gas-fired power stations known as peaking plants are called into action.

Scientists warn that wolf numbers not large enough to sustain healthy populationHunters have shot dead 54 wolves in a month in Sweden’s largest and most controversial cull of the animals yet, prompting fury from conservationists and satisfaction among farmers who consider the predators a threat to their livelihoods.The Stockholm government has authorised the shooting of 75 wolves in its 2023 cull, more than twice last year’s figure, despite warnings from scientists that wolf numbers are not large enough to sustain a healthy population. Continue reading...

From contact lenses to blister packs and used dental floss, there are items that perplex even the most dedicated recycler. Here is the expert guide to getting organised – and getting rid of your rubbishI spend a lot of time – too much time – thinking about recycling and the main thing I think, over and over, is: it shouldn’t be this hard. Eighty per cent of UK households are “still unclear” about how to recycle effectively, according to research last year – and who can blame us?Labelling often requires a doctorate in semiotics to decode, kerbside collections are a postcode lottery and council recycling centres are often difficult to access without a car. At home, packaging piles up – no one knows what to do with toothbrushes or the cat’s treat packages, and we’re squabbling over pizza boxes. All of it amounts to us collectively wondering whether recycling is ultimately pointless because it’s all going to end up in landfill in the developing world. Continue reading...

Energy company faces calls for toughened windfall tax as it reaps rewards from high gas prices

With floods covering much of the land, farmers in Paguir, an isolated village in Fangak county, are replacing despair with resilience and learning new skills to survive

Rapid decline stumps researchers, who theorise traffic collisions, climate crisis, cane toads and inbreeding could play a role

Central Australian Frack Free Alliance argues NT environment minister failed to properly consider Tamboran project’s impact

City’s most famous feline was euthanized last year after being hit by vehicle, but his legacy lives on with a highway wildlife crossingOn a sunny Saturday in Los Angeles, a packed outdoor crowd of 6,000 people at the Greek Theater cried, sang and swayed together as they bid adieu to one of the city’s most treasured residents: a mountain lion known as P-22.In a city more synonymous with billboards than biodiversity, an ageing bachelor puma made tracks into people’s hearts. When he was euthanized at the end of 2022 after being hit by a car, it stung. Continue reading...

Lawyers for climate activist killed by police say charges send warning: ‘If you stand in our way, we will take you out of our way’Lawyers for the family of a climate activist who was shot dead by police in Georgia last month have condemned officials’ attempts to brand his fellow protesters of Atlanta’s planned “Cop City” training facility as domestic terrorists.Attorneys representing relatives of Manuel Esteban Paez Terán were speaking at a news conference Monday as a large number of officers, including heavily armed tactical teams, descended again on the site in Atlanta’s South River forest where the building of the $90m so-called Cop City is planned. Continue reading...

David Nixon defied judge’s instruction not to cite climate crisis as motivation for causing public nuisanceA supporter of the Insulate Britain climate protest campaign faces a prison sentence after he was convicted for contempt of court for telling a jury his actions were motivated by the climate crisis.David Nixon was one of four defendants found guilty at Inner London crown court on Monday for causing a public nuisance by blocking the junction of Bishopsgate and Wormwood St in the City of London on 25 October 2021. Continue reading...

Water cremation and human composting among methods to be discussed by General Synod this weekThe Church of England is to consider backing more environmentally-friendly methods of disposing of dead bodies, including water cremation and human composting.An internal consultation will consider the theological, practical and pastoral issues around alternatives to cremation and burial that are used in some countries. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Environment minister calls for ex-president to be held to account as she prepares to tackle illegal gold minersFormer president Jair Bolsonaro should be investigated for genocide, Brazil’s environment minister, Marina Silva, has said, as she prepares an operation to drive illegal goldminers from the site of a humanitarian disaster on Indigenous land.In the coming days, armed police and environmental protection agents will launch the first of a series of operations by plane and helicopter to expel thousands of miners, who proliferated in Brazil’s Yanomami Indigenous territory during Bolsonaro’s administration, contaminating Amazonian rivers, wrecking the rainforest and spawning Brazil’s worst health crisis in living memory. Continue reading...

The stem is evidence, the thing that reminds you the fruit once weighed down a branch in a heavy orchard

Company rebuts claims by scientists that ‘uncontrolled and unscientific’ practices highlight dangers of going ahead with seabed miningVideo footage from a deep-sea mining test, showing sediment discharging into the ocean, has raised fresh questions about the largely untested nature of the industry, and the possible harms it could do to ecosystems as companies push to begin full-scale exploration of the ocean floor as early as this year.The Metals Company (TMC), a Canadian mining firm that is one of the leading industry players, spent September to November of last year testing its underwater extraction vehicle in the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone, a section of the Pacific Ocean between Mexico and Hawaii. Continue reading...

Far upriver in the rainforest, the lure of rare pink river dolphins is creating jobs and promoting conservation and reconciliation after a 50-year war“The dolphins are more playful than us,” says Diego Cifuentes, co-founder of Villa Lilia Agroecoturistico, a community dolphin-watching project on Colombia’s Lake Nare. “If you give off good energy, they may even touch you.”Cifuentes is sitting on a boat in the middle of a lake surrounded by thick forest, a two-hour boat ride from San José del Guaviare. In the water, a dozen tourists bob in fluorescent lifejackets, waiting for the chance to meet a boto, the local name for the pink Amazon River dolphin (Inia geoffrensis). Soon enough, a plume of steam bursts from the water and the humped backs of three botos glide through the surface. The tourists giggle and squeal at the momentary encounter with the rare cetacean. Continue reading...

Pollution from wood stoves, popular among middle classes, missed from monitoring which focuses on roads but is just as if not more harmfulA sharp rise in wood burning in urban areas could be bringing harmful pollution to greater numbers of people, and shifting the pattern of pollution from poorer to more affluent areas, one of the UK’s leading air pollution experts has warned.Currently, air pollution monitoring focuses on busy roads, which have been the main hotspots for fine particulate matter (known as PM2.5) and other air pollutants, largely from diesel vehicles. Continue reading...

Fishing has been central to life on Holy Island in Northumberland for centuries. Now, despite intense opposition, a proposed highly protected marine area – which would effectively kill off local industry – threatens the livelihoods of the island’s 15 fishing families

The unhoused teen, barred from an air-conditioned store, ‘didn’t need handcuffs – he needed help’, his father saysCaleb Blair entered the Circle K gas station in Phoenix asking for help. “I can’t breathe, I’m hot, I need to sit down. I can’t breathe,” he told the male cashier. He was sweaty, panting heavily, and struggling to stand up straight.It was 10 June 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona, and the city was experiencing the season’s first extreme heatwave. The temperature outside was 112F (44C) and rising. Continue reading...

Scientists urge people to stop ‘spraying gardens with poison’ and adopt wildlife-friendly practicesGardeners who use pesticides are contributing to the decline of British songbirds, a study suggests.Scientists have urged people to stop “spraying their gardens with poison” in order to halt bird decline and adopt instead wildlife-friendly practices. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Looming auction to earmark £1.5bn to put power generators on standby and keep the lights onThe billionaire West Ham United investor Daniel Křetínský and Swiss commodities giant Vitol are among bidders hoping to land hundreds of millions of pounds in subsidies to keep the lights on in Great Britain.National Grid’s electricity system operator is preparing to announce successful bidders in a “capacity market” auction this month for 2026. Continue reading...

Private sector is not seen to be ready to act as main buyer and draft is similarly worded to a Morrison-era bill

Subsidence from the world’s biggest iron ore mine threatens to swallow up the Arctic town of Kiruna. But what does its relocation mean for the local Sami reindeer herders?In the far north of Sweden, 125 miles above the Arctic Circle, sits the church of Kiruna, once voted the most beautiful old building in the country. The cosy terracotta-coloured church, with its fairytale rooftop points, is designed to resemble a hut of the indigenous Sami people. It opened in 1912, with almost no religious symbols, and is described by the vicar, Lena Tjärnberg, as “the living room of the community”. But if Kiruna church is to stay the same, it must go.In 2026, the entire 600-tonne wooden building will be loaded on to trailers and moved to a new spot near the local graveyard. It’s just one large – and technically tricky – piece of a project to move Kiruna to a new home, three kilometres (1.9 miles) east of the old town. Billed as the world’s most radical relocation project, Kiruna is moving because subsidence from the local iron ore mine is threatening to swallow the town. Cracks have already appeared in the hospital; a school is no longer safe for its pupils. Continue reading...

Reforming the scheme would shrink the budget deficit and help Australia hit net zero emissions by 2050, the Grattan Institute says

Warning comes as ornithologists call for the government to step up testing to monitor the impact of the deadly H5N1 strainA devastating new outbreak of avian flu – which has already wiped out wild bird populations across the UK – is likely to hit Britain in the spring. That is the stark warning made last week by ornithologists who said the disease has now established itself across many parts of the country.“Wild birds arriving in Britain in a couple of months are very likely to trigger new outbreaks of the disease,” said Claire Smith, senior conservation officer for the RSPB. “A few months ago, I was relatively optimistic about its likely impact this year but outbreaks have continued throughout winter and the outlook for 2023 now looks much grimmer.” Continue reading...

Tremor hit at depth of 1.2 miles outside the village of Weeton just after 7.30pm on FridayBlackpool has been struck by a 1.5-magnitude earthquake, according to the British Geological Survey (BGS). The tremor struck at a depth of 1.2 miles (2km) outside the village of Weeton just after 7.30pm on Friday.Residents within Blackpool, as well as in the neighbouring villages of Little Plumpton and Westby, reported feeling the tremor. Continue reading...

The fight to save the birds’ habitat ignites old frustrations over California’s engagement with tribal communitiesUp a winding northern California highway, beneath a 120ft ponderosa pine tree, a group of environmentalists gathered for some high stakes bird-watching.Everyone was waiting for a pair of bald eagles to swoop into their nest, an orb of twigs and branches balanced amid the tree’s scraggly branches. The elusive raptors have nested here for years, renovating and upgrading it each year in preparation for hatchlings in the spring. Continue reading...

Prices of the essential ingredient have forced several eateries to begrudgingly pass on the increase in rates to the customerAs egg prices have climbed steadily over the last year, consumers have the choice of forking over $14 for a carton of large brown eggs or attempting to go eggless to save some money at the grocery store. But for many breakfast spots and bakeries around the country, saying no to eggs is a much harder, if not impossible, task.At Juan in a Million, a popular Tex-Mex breakfast spot in Austin, Texas, “There’s no way around it,” said Juan Meza, the restaurant’s general manager. “That’s part of breakfast.” Continue reading...

Environmental activists had sought to halt the planned scuttling of the warship, warning that it could pollute the marine food chainBrazil has sunk a decommissioned aircraft carrier despite environmental groups claiming the former French ship was packed with toxic materials.The “planned and controlled sinking occurred late in the afternoon” on Friday, 350km off the Brazilian coast in the Atlantic Ocean, in an area with an approximate depth of 5,000 meters (16,000 feet), the navy said in a statement. Continue reading...

Package for dealing with old polluting vehicles launched in run-up to expansion of zone on 29 AugustLow-income Londoners are being offered a package worth as much as £3,000 to scrap their old polluting cars in readiness for this summer’s expansion of the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) to cover most of the city’s roads.Transport for London (TfL) estimates that 30,000 vehicle owners will access payouts from the scrappage scheme. However, there is only £110m up for grabs and it will be doled out on a first-come, first-served basis, with car drivers having to vie with van, motorbike and minibus owners for the money. Continue reading...

People urged to submit specimens to an app as private gardens may be fresh source of scientific discoveryRecord the “weeds” that pop up in your garden because they could be a rare plant, the Royal Horticultural Society has said.Private gardens in the UK may be an untapped source of scientific discovery, according to the RHS’s new ecologist, because “scientists can’t just go into people’s gardens”. Continue reading...

The annual photographer of the year winners were chosen from more than 3,000 entries across nine categories. The top prize goes to images captured in the deep south of New Zealand, an area the photographer says she enjoys for its wonderful light and colour

Exclusive: Candidates hoping to hold the balance of power to push for state-level development bans

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund threatens to vote against boards on firms it holds investments with over lax climate and social targetsNorway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s single largest investor, has warned company directors it will vote against their re-election to the board if they do not up their game on tackling the climate crisis, human rights abuses and boardroom diversity.Carine Smith Ihenacho, the chief governance and compliance officer of Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages more than 13tn Norwegian kroner (£1tn) on behalf of the Norwegian people, said the fund was preparing to vote against the re-election of at least 80 company boards for failing to set or hit environmental or social targets. Continue reading...

Exclusive: at least 12 officials at body hosting Cop28 appear to have come straight from fossil fuel industryAt least a dozen employees from the United Arab Emirate’s state-owned oil company have apparently taken up roles with the office of the UAE’s climate change special envoy, who will host this year’s Cop28 UN climate summit.The revelation adds to growing concerns over the potential for blurred lines between the team hosting this year’s crucial summit and the oil-rich country’s influential fossil fuel industry. Continue reading...

Their fight for diversity and inclusion in farming culture echoes the womyn’s land movement from the 60s and 70sAt Ashokra farm in New Mexico, in the heart of Albuquerque’s fertile North Valley, lush fields of kabocha squash and heirloom corn grow alongside beds of tomatoes, onions and 13 varieties of okra. The team’s four farmers tend four fields spread across two and a half acres of leased plots on private residences and in a community garden, hauling their tools between each field in a mobile shed.But the bountiful harvest is only one of Ashokra’s goals. As a queer-, trans- and people-of-color-owned vegetable farm, Ashokra is “trying to embody values and create a space that we haven’t seen on farms that we’ve worked at”, says farmer Anita Adalja. “A place where we have dignity, where we can feel safe, where we can feel like we can be our authentic selves”, protected from the threats of homophobia, transphobia, racism and sexism. Continue reading...

Texas community fights to save its coastline as the developers of Rio Grande LNG regain interest over claims of carbon captureAs the Mexican Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, festivities drew to a close, Dina Nuñez called to order a meeting of women grassroots activists in a modest home in the heart of Port Isabel, Texas. Top of her agenda: how to stop a Houston-based oil and gas company from building a $10bn project to export liquefied natural gas on a nearby stretch of coast.For Nuñez and her friends, the fight against the scheme – known as Rio Grande LNG – is about protecting their community from air pollution; preserving shrimping and tourism; and defending habitats for pelicans, endangered ocelots and aplomado falcons at the project site on unspoiled wetlands between Port Isabel and the larger city of Brownsville. Continue reading...

The Department of Energy’s loan programs office was ‘essentially dormant’, says Jigar Shah, its head – but now it’s ready to bankroll clean energy projectsDeep in the confines of the hulking, brutalist headquarters of the US Department of Energy, down one of its long, starkly lit corridors, sits a small, unheralded office that is poised to play a pivotal role in America’s shift away from fossil fuels and help the world stave off disastrous global heating.The department’s loan programs office (LPO) was “essentially dormant” under Donald Trump, according to its head, Jigar Shah, but has now come roaring back with a huge war chest to bankroll emerging clean energy projects and technology. Continue reading...

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including snow monkeys, beavers and a selfie-crazy bear Continue reading...

NSW environment officials alert Fire and Rescue over concerns plastic is being stored dangerously following suspension of the REDcycle scheme

Comedian leads coalition against ‘exploitative’ proposal for 16-storey buildings over listed stationGriff Rhys Jones is leading a coalition of conservationists against what he describes as plans to “smother” Liverpool Street station under 109 metres (350ft) of new offices, shops and a hotel.The comedian, writer and broadcaster has been appointed president of the revived Liverpool Street Station Campaign (Lissca), a post held in the 1970s by the then poet laureate Sir John Betjeman when he led a successful crusade against plans to demolish the station. Continue reading...

Local authorities say policing government’s new standards on smoke pollution is beyond their meansLocal authorities lack the resources for the crackdown on highly polluting wood burners promised by the environment secretary, Thérèse Coffey, they say.Wood-burning in urban areas is an increasing source of harmful air pollution, as people install stoves for aesthetic reasons or to save money on gas. Continue reading...