Environment | The Guardian

Celebrated whistleblower and activist assures residents of East Palestine they are not alone, but also that a long road lies aheadEvery seat was taken in the East Palestine high school auditorium on Friday night as America’s most famous environmentalist took to the stage to address a community left traumatised, angry and confused by a railroad disaster that has upended their sleepy little town.“Good evening, thank you for being here. My name is Erin Brockovich, not Julia Roberts,” she said, triggering a collective roar of laughter. Continue reading...

Tougher regulations needed now, says Green MP Caroline Lucas as Tory colleague calls for monitoring

Independent Commission Against Corruption warned ‘a favourable rezoning’ of large swathes on Sydney’s fringes could deliver windfall to developers

Steven Guilbeault wants to block logging of critical old-growth forest to prevent owls from going extinct in British ColumbiaCanada’s environment minister plans to use a rare emergency order to protect the last of an endangered owl species in an area where critical old-growth forest is slated for further clearcutting.Steven Guilbeault advised the environmental groups Ecojustice and the Wilderness Committee that he believed the spotted owl was facing “imminent threats to its survival” and he would use the powers to block further destruction of its habitat in British Columbia, the groups announced on Thursday afternoon. Continue reading...

Growers say they do not get paid enough by supermarkets, as supply of leeks also comes under threatApples and pears could be the next food shortage in the UK, after it emerged that British growers are planting just a third of the number of trees needed to maintain orchards, saying their returns from selling to supermarkets are unsustainable.Ali Capper, head of the British Apples & Pears trade association which represents about 80% of the industry in the UK, said 1m new trees would have to be planted each year to maintain the UK’s 5,500 hectares (13,590 acres) of production. Continue reading...

Researchers found PFAS chemicals – used to make products resistant to heat and water – in all samples of 12 species of fishAll fish caught in Michigan rivers and tested for toxic PFAS contained the chemicals – and at levels that present a health risk for anyone eating them, according to a new study.Researchers checked 100 fish samples that represented 12 species in the Huron and Rouge rivers. Continue reading...

Parts of Texas, Arkansas, Ohio and Maryland, along with New York, are all recording their earliest spring conditions on recordBlooming daffodils in New York City. Leaves sprouting from red maples in North Carolina. Cherry blossoms about to bud in Washington. Record winter warmth across much of the eastern US has caused spring-like conditions to arrive earlier than ever previously recorded in several places, provoking delight over the mild weather and despair over the unfolding climate crisis.In New York, one of several US cities to experience its warmest January on record, spring conditions have arrived 32 days before the long-term normal, which is its earliest onset of biological spring in 40 years of charting seasonal trends by the National Phenology Network. Continue reading...

Both states are behind on their commitments and Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says South Australia is being left ‘high and dry’

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including a rescued alligator, a curious seal and the ‘Snettisham Spectacular’ Continue reading...

Locals who live near the site of the toxic train derailment describe ‘burning eyes and throat’ as experts say the EPA is needlessly putting their health at riskWhen crews conducted a controlled burn of giant quantities of toxic vinyl chloride in the wake of the train wreck in East Palestine, Ohio, they nullified the risk of a potentially deadly explosion.But the preventative burn created new potential risks over the horizon. Compounds such as dioxins, chlorinated PAHs and other chemical byproducts of vinyl chloride combustion, some of which are highly toxic, can accumulate in the environment, and could pose a long-term health threat in the East Palestine area and downwind. Continue reading...

Former UN secretary general calls for rich countries to honour promises made to the developing world after years of failureThe former UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon has warned that the world’s largest fund to help developing nations weather the climate crisis remains an “empty shell”, despite decades of promises by rich nations.“We need to see a massive acceleration in mobilising trillions of dollars needed to keep the world from climate collapse,” he said. Continue reading...

Behind the scenes of its 20th orchid show, the New York Botanical Garden toils to rescue endangered plantsOn a brisk February morning, a line formed outside the New York Botanical Garden’s vaulted conservatory. Inside, winter layers discarded, visitors gazed at a mossy rock covered in bright, perfect orchids rising towards the white-boned dome of the greenhouse: the opening piece of the garden’s 20th orchid show, designed by the botanical artist Lily Kwong.Pots spilled over with showy peach and fuchsia phalaenopsis orchids; some had white petals splotched with crimson, like a wine stain on a dress shirt. There were highlighter-bright cattleyas, a white spidery star orchid in bloom and beguiling Asian lady slippers. A woman in a floral dress crouched over the glossy, grotesque petals of a paphiopedilum. “They’re trouble,” she said. Continue reading...

Guardian investigation reveals ‘extremely high levels’ of toxic effluent in Lancashire river

Oil companies plan to pump crude oil from Lake Albert, Uganda to the coast of neighbouring Tanzania, with the goal of producing 1.4bn barrels over the next two decades. But the pipeline project has created a human tragedy for those living in its 900-mile path• Photographs by Sadak Souici. Words by Théophile Simon for La Chronique d’Amnesty International France Continue reading...

Mapping project reveals standards for PFAS will not be met until 2063 in many areas

The University of Melbourne study estimated that 11,105 people die prematurely from transport emissions, many more than past figures

Experts say more cities should join the growing legislative trend to reduce trash, save birds and protect against wildfiresLaguna Beach – the California city known for surfers, waves, rolling hills – grabbed headlines this week for enacting a strict ban on the sale and use of balloons. The city council passed the resolution on Tuesday night, citing wildfire risk and the fact that balloons are a huge source of marine trash. Beginning in 2024, balloons of all types will not be permitted to be used on public property or at city events, with violators facing fines of up to $500. Residential homes will be exempt.The move is part of a growing trend. Maryland and Virginia banned intentional balloon releases in 2021, Hawaii followed suit in 2022, with New York and Florida now considering similar measures. And like plastic bags and other pollutants, experts say balloon bans could catch on more widely as awareness rises of the harms that the popular celebratory item causes to the environment. Continue reading...

Thérèse Coffey’s championing of UK ‘specialisms’ causes one Labour MP to retort: ‘Let them eat turnips!’The UK environment secretary, Thérèse Coffey, has caused a furore after she suggested people should “cherish” seasonal foods such as turnips as bad weather cleared supermarket shelves of tomatoes and other fresh produce.“It’s important to make sure that we cherish the specialisms that we have in this country,” Coffey told parliament. “A lot of people would be eating turnips right now rather than thinking necessarily about aspects of lettuce and tomatoes and similar.” Continue reading...

Farming leader Minette Batters says government needs to take action to tackle worsening water shortagesNew reservoirs are needed across England to cope with increasingly severe water shortages that are putting the UK at risk of not being able to grow the food consumers require, a farming leader has warned.Minette Batters, the president of the National Farmers’ Union of England and Wales, said failure to manage the country’s water adequately was creating problems for farmers and threatening food supplies. Continue reading...

The National Archives of Australia has restored and made public hundreds of rare and fragile images, digitised from glass plate negatives and lantern slides, of early 20th century British and Australian Antarctic expeditions Continue reading...

The Perrottet government is being accused of ‘double dipping’ on offsets by using land that’s already been put aside for conservation

Preventing heat waste largely being ignored as solution to energy crisis, say environmental campaignersExcess heat produced across Europe could almost power the entire region but preventing this waste is largely being ignored as a solution to the energy crisis, say environmental experts.“The global energy crisis is a wakeup call to stop wasting energy,” said Toby Morgan, senior manager for the built environment at Climate Group, an environmental not-for-profit. “Now, more than ever, we need to make better use of the energy we already produce, we simply can’t afford to let it literally escape out the window. Energy efficiency improvements, like capturing and recycling excess heat, are absolutely critical to lower fossil fuel demand and lower bills.” Continue reading...

Data released by the International Energy Agency leads to renewed calls for more emission cuts and block on new projects

Critics say power generator would make loss without public support as firm boosts dividend after 84% rise in profits to £731mMinisters are under pressure to cut subsidies to the operator of Britain’s biggest power station after it reported an 84% increase in annual profits, helped by high electricity prices.Drax, the power generator that owns the eponymous plant in North Yorkshire, posted underlying profits of £731m for 2022, up from £398m a year earlier. Continue reading...

Despite a new relief fund in Sonoma county, farm workers face economic catastrophe when storms and fires strikeAs a series of deadly storms whipped through California’s wine country, liquefying fields and turning vineyards into wading pools, thousands of farm workers in the region were forced to stay home. Though the power has been long since restored and roads reopened – many of them are still confronting an economic catastrophe.For Isidro Rodriguez, the storms caused him to lose half his monthly income – about $1,100. Continue reading...

If the workers at Lodi succeed, they could be leaders in a new labor-organizing movement at higher-end eateries – but supporters say there is fierce pushbackAt an Italian-style cafe in New York City’s Rockefeller Center, workers move seamlessly between tables draped in white tablecloths dotting the covered patio. This is Lodi, where everything is business as usual, except for a new addition to some workers’ uniforms: a small button with gold lettering pinned to the lapel of their chore coats, announcing they back the restaurant’s first-ever union.They are part of a surprising movement. It has been increasingly common in recent years for workers at chain restaurants and coffee shops, like Starbucks and Chipotle, to start union drives, but it is far rarer for this to happen at higher-end, independent restaurants – the Balthazars and Gramercy Taverns of the world. Continue reading...

These images were taken by underwater photographer Robert Stansfield, from Southampton, UK, on a blackwater dive in the open ocean surround the island of Cozumel, Mexico.‘The blackwater dives never fail to amaze me with the crazy alien-like life forms that drift past out in the open ocean, well away from a reef,’ says Robert. ‘The idea is to see the largest biomass migration on the planet. Every night a huge volume of life migrates up from the mesopelagic zone up to the epipelagic. This night-time migration gives us the opportunity to see life at the surface that normally lives well beyond recreational diving depths.’• This article was amended on 23 February 2023. An earlier version misspelled crab megalopa as “megalopia”. Continue reading...

Major mapping project reveals PFAS have been found at high levels at thousands of sites

Chris Davis died after being bitten multiple times by a shark while swimming at Chateau Royal beach south of Nouméa

Plan to triple size of Macquarie Island protection zone to shield ‘remote wildlife wonderland’

With the Coalition opting out of an adult discussion on climate policy, tough decisions lie ahead for Labor, the Greens and independents on what they are willing to acceptThe long-running fractures that define Australian climate politics can do weird things to people who have been involved in it too long.One observer with more experience than most had a moment of reverie this week, joking about a fantasy universe in which Labor, the Coalition and the Greens all made substantial compromises to transform the landscape, literally and figuratively. Continue reading...

Far more tiny particles now come from tyres than are emitted from exhausts but new tyre designs may helpScientists are “increasingly concerned” by the health impact of air pollution produced by the wear of vehicle tyres. The particles are especially damaging due to the toxic chemicals they are made from, say the scientists from Imperial College London.The warning follows UK government data that shows significantly more tiny pollution particles now come from tyre erosion than are emitted from vehicle exhausts. Continue reading...

Former president criticizes Biden administration’s response to train derailment in East Palestine as he visits townDonald Trump’s record of rolling back environmental protections was highlighted by critics on Wednesday as the ex-president visited the town of East Palestine, Ohio, and called the federal response to the toxic train derailment there earlier this month a “betrayal” .Trump’s administration, which rolled back more than 100 environmental rules in total, watered down several regulations at the behest of the rail industry. Continue reading...

Deaths the result of deoxygenation caused by carp population boom at NSW weir, primary industries department says

Sydney-based MPs Kylea Tink and Sophie Scamps meet locals fighting coal seam gas project and Hunter pipeline

Renewable energy generator said underlying group profits were helped by windy conditions last yearProfits for ScottishPower, the renewable energy generator, were improved by windy conditions last year – but the supplier took a hit as Britons cut back on energy consumption in the face of higher bills.The energy generation and supply group, which is owned by Spain’s Iberdrola, said underlying group profits in 2022 had risen 3.6% to £1.6bn on a year earlier. Continue reading...

Oil and gas companies seek expansive contracts to tackle short-term problem of tight European gas supplyUS oil and gas companies are pushing to solve the short-term problem of a tight European gas supply, driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) contracts, a new report shows.The US fossil fuel industry has locked in 45 long-term contracts and contract expansions since the start of the war, according to research by Friends of the Earth, Public Citizen and BailoutWatch. That’s a major increase from the 14 such contracts signed in 2021. Continue reading...

Warning comes as supermarkets ration sales of produce owing to dry conditions elsewhere in EuropeEngland is at risk of a severe drought, with experts warning it is one dry spell away from conditions similar to last summer.Farmers are preparing for a difficult growing year, with some areas having never left drought and others just recovering. This means it will be difficult to grow certain vegetables and yields could be affected. Last year, yields on crops such as cabbage and kale were reduced because of the drought. Continue reading...

Southern states led by Republicans did not vote for climate spending, but now embrace clean energy dollars like never beforeGeorgia, a state once known for its peaches and peanuts, is rapidly becoming a crucible of clean energy technology in the US, leading a pack of Republican-led states enjoying a boom in renewables investment that has been accelerated by Joe Biden’s climate agenda.Since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in August, billions of dollars of new clean energy investment has been announced for solar, electric vehicle and battery manufacturing in Georgia, pushing it to the forefront of a swathe of southern states that are becoming a so-called “battery belt” in the economic transition away from fossil fuels. Continue reading...

Ships have been essential to enable safe passage of grain but more than 300 crew remain stuck on vessels that are key targets• Russia-Ukraine war – latest updatesShipping companies and maritime organisations have urged the UN secretary general to help evacuate hundreds of seafarers who have been trapped onboard vessels in Ukrainian ports for a year.About 2,000 seafarers in 112 ships were berthed in Ukrainian ports across the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov before Russia’s invasion. After the war broke out, most crew were evacuated, but 331 seafarers remain stuck on 62 vessels across nine Ukrainian ports, including Mariupol and Odesa. Continue reading...

Exclusive: premier’s comments in November raise questions about how far Coalition would go to support fossil fuels if re-elected

EPA orders Norfolk Southern to clean up site in East Palestine, Ohio, as residents demand answers about health risksFederal environmental regulators on Tuesday took control of the clean-up from the derailment of the train carrying huge quantities of toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, earlier this month, and ordered the railroad company Norfolk Southern to foot the bill.Amid growing fear and frustration among residents about safety and transparency, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will now take control as the fallout from the 3 February train disaster moves from emergency response to the clean-up phase. Continue reading...

George Hibberd, convicted of obstruction with other Just Stop Oil activists, told court he gave up ‘dream job’ because of climate concernsA former easyJet pilot who sat in the road outside Harrods to cause traffic chaos told a court he left his job because he thought he was contributing to climate change.George Hibberd, 29, was part of a group of about 20 Just Stop Oil (JSO) activists who protested outside the world famous store in Knightsbridge, London. Continue reading...

Farming groups say allowing high-carbon meat to enter UK could undermine domestic beef sector and harm environmentMexican beef could hit UK supermarket shelves as the farming minister confirmed that the high-carbon meat could be imported under a new trade deal.Mark Spencer told journalists at the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) conference in Birmingham that the deal could pave the way for meat from the Latin American country, declaring: “We have to be fair to everyone; we can’t say we will sell milk to you but we won’t buy your beef.” Continue reading...

Only half of the packaging of kettles, air fryers and stick vacuums was being recycled, according to a survey by the consumer group

Mudburra elder Ray Dimakarri Dixon says he was shocked to discover site using his image to support fracking, which he is campaigning against

Decision allows Santos to open 116 new wells with an operational life of about 30 years in Surat Basin

Fuel loads that increased after heavy rain are now drying out and creating ‘powder keg’ conditions for future fires, report finds

Report finds four new offshore depots would emit around three times what the entire US emits each year, pushing world closer to climate catastropheJoe Biden’s administration has been urged not to sink its own climate goals by approving an unprecedented ramp-up of oil export infrastructure off the Texas coast that could result in planet-heating emissions equivalent to three years of the US’s entire emissions output.The federal government has already quietly approved the Sea Port oil terminal project, a proposed offshore oil platform located 35 miles off the Texas coast, south of Houston, and will decide whether to allow three other nearby oil terminal proposals. Combined, the four terminals would expand US oil exports by nearly 7m barrels every day, handling the capacity of half of all current national oil exports. Continue reading...

Body of missing 22-year-old campaigner who also took part in Just Stop oil protests found in London parkA young activist who campaigned with the climate groups Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil has been found dead after going missing almost a week ago.Xavier Gonzalez-Trimmer, 22, was found in Richmond Park on Monday after searches by friends and relatives in the area.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org. Continue reading...