Environment | The Guardian

Luan Nguyen said ‘I jabbed him in the eyes’ after he and friends were stranded for 28 hours after boat sank off Louisiana coastLuan Nguyen and his two friends hoped to do little more this weekend than fish and relax.But their boat trip on Saturday into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico near south-east Louisiana became much more dramatic when the vessel sank and Nguyen found himself having to fight off a shark, before the US Coast Guard finally rescued them after more than a day. Continue reading...

For the second time this year, a public prediction of increased energy costs has led to a boom in solar power inquiries

Two-time winning kākāpō absent from annual poll amid concerns the parrot may take the spotlight from less charismatic birdsNew Zealand’s annual bird of the year competition could usher in another round of controversy, with perennial favourite the kākāpō struck from the ballot after twice winning the competition.The fat, flightless and nocturnal parrot is the only species to reign twice as New Zealand’s favourite bird, in 2020 and 2008. This year, however, it will be conspicuously absent, amid concerns that its continued dominance could divert the spotlight from less charismatic candidates. Continue reading...

Prime minister accused of ‘another screeching U-turn’ having previously rejected calls to impose levyRenewable power companies will have their revenues capped in England and Wales, after the government bowed to pressure to clamp down on runaway profits.The announcement late on Tuesday night provoked immediate accusations that Downing Street had performed “another screeching U-turn” – having previously rejected calls to impose a windfall tax on power giants. Continue reading...

Death of 46-year-old south of Bathurst comes as New South Wales and Victoria brace for heavy rain and severe weather

Wednesday: The federal government has scrapped robotdebt investigations that were on hold for three years. Plus: the rise of men’s netball

Dr Rhian Barrance says we need climate leaders who can be honest about the actions required to tackle the climate emergency. Plus letters from Jo Inge Svendsen and Trevor JonesJohn Vidal makes some good points about the role that King Charles could take as a climate leader, including divesting from fossil fuels, selling the family silver to pay for climate action and rewilding his estates (Here’s a plan for green King Charles: sell the family silver and use the cash to save the planet, 6 October).However, he neglects to mention a key way in which the King could lead by example. Charles is the only landowner in Scotland exempt from new carbon laws. As the Guardian revealed last year, the late Queen’s lawyers secretly lobbied the Scottish government to exempt her lands from a draft carbon bill. Charles’s first step should be to ask for this exemption to be revoked and agree to be bound by the same laws as all other landowners in Scotland. Continue reading...

Ecologists believe population decline near Mawson research station is related to environmental changes that made foraging difficult

Federal treasurer Jim Chalmers to attend meeting of Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action in Washington this week

Brian Eno, Ahdaf Soueif and Miriam Margolyes sign open letter about exhibition opening shortly before Cop27Campaigners including the musician Brian Eno, the author Ahdaf Soueif and the actor Miriam Margolyes have criticised BP’s sponsorship of an exhibition of Egyptian artefacts at the British Museum.The exhibition opens shortly before the critical Cop27 climate summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh this November. Continue reading...

The car maker is now selling electric vehicle chargers, solar panels and other energy products to EV owners and utilitiesGeneral Motors is expanding beyond car-making, with plans to offer energy storage and management services to residential and commercial customers through its new GM Energy unit in a move that puts it in even greater competition with Tesla.“We’re getting into the entire ecosystem of energy management,” GM executive Travis Hester said in an interview. Continue reading...

Residents of Ponferrada advised to take care after animal spotted by taxi driver in early hoursSpanish police came to the aid of a brown bear whose apparent quest for acorns led him to pad the pre-dawn streets of a busy city in the north-western region of Castilla y León.The animal was spotted in the centre of Ponferrada in the early hours of Tuesday by a taxi-driver, who filmed its progress around the city and who can be heard in the video exclaiming, not unreasonably: “It’s a bear!” Continue reading...

Autumn Water Watch survey aims to build national picture of pollution, plastic litter and invasive speciesThe public are being asked to take part in the first national water watch to survey rivers, streams and canals as part of a monitoring project.The Autumn Water Watch aims to follow the success of the Big Garden Birdwatch and the Big Butterfly Count, in which hundreds of thousands of people record observations to feed into a national picture. Continue reading...

Transform Trade charity says British-based companies are among main bringers of cases based on bilateral investment treatiesUK companies operating overseas are afforded far greater legal protections than the citizens of the countries they invest in, leading to corporations getting away with human rights and climate change abuses, a report has found.The Transform Trade charity says the majority of UK bilateral investment treaties (BITs) contain no mention of climate change, the environment or human rights, meaning companies are not held accountable for violations. Continue reading...

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Exclusive: Meetings while in Saudi Arabia undisclosed due to ‘administrative oversight’, says business departmentThe chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, held undisclosed meetings with senior executives of Saudi Arabian firms when he was the business secretary, documents acquired by the Guardian show.The meetings occurred in January, when Kwarteng visited the kingdom for a two-day trip under his previous ministerial role. Continue reading...

Boss of competition regulator says scrutiny of climate claims, including over carbon credits, will be an enforcement priority

Workers on urban fringe driving EVs would bring greater emissions cut as they’re more likely to drive larger, older cars on longer commutes

By 2025, farmers would pay a levy on emissions from sources such as cow burps and gases from their urine under proposals released by Jacinda ArdernIn a world-first, New Zealand appears set to introduce a scheme that will require farmers to pay for their agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, including the methane belched out by cows and nitrous oxide emitted through livestock urine.The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, and three of her ministers, stood behind a podium of hay bales at a North Island dairy farm on Tuesday morning to unveil the government’s plan for putting a price on the climate cost of farming. Continue reading...

Worryingly, gilt yields are rising again and another potential cliff-edge moment comes on FridayAt last, some clarity from Kwasi Kwarteng, even if we’re only talking about the day on which the chancellor intends to make himself clear. The grand unveiling of the debt-cutting plan will happen on 31 October, which risks riffs about ghoulish Halloween tricks but is better than trying to prolong the agony until late November.The Office for Budget Responsibility will be released from captivity on the same day and permitted to opine on Kwarteng’s “medium-term fiscal plan”. So normal service, or something like it, is being restored – and in time for the Bank of England’s interest rate-setters to announce their critical next decision on 3 November in full possession of the fiscal facts. Continue reading...

Black community members have been asked to rubber-stamp harmful projects for decades, activists sayPastor Geoffrey Guns was sceptical when asked to join the community advisory board for a gas pipeline, but decided it was his duty to advocate for the Black communities that would be affected by the fossil fuel expansion project.The Virginia Reliability Project (VRP) is a proposal by the Canadian fossil fuel company behind the Keystone XL pipeline to expand and upgrade gas infrastructure through tribal lands, fragile waterways and underserved neighbourhoods in south-east Virginia. Continue reading...

Alexander Darwall lodges papers seeking end to camping on moorland without permissionA wealthy landowner is pressing ahead with legal moves that could threaten the right of backpackers and youth groups to wild camp on Dartmoor.A small group of right-to-roam activists built a protest camp over the weekend on the estate owned by Alexander Darwall and his wife, who are challenging the legal basis of bylaws that allow for wild camping on the moor, despite a growing outcry from local people, hikers and environmentalists. Continue reading...

One-off full reimbursement will be followed by subsidy scheme in spring to cap billsThe German state is to pay this December’s monthly gas bill for all households and small- to medium-sized businesses, according to a phased two-stage cap on energy prices recommended by a government-appointed expert panel on Monday.Under the scheme, the one-off full reimbursement in December would be followed up next spring with a more differentiated subsidy scheme designed to cap bills but still incentivise people to save energy. Continue reading...

Beccy Speight says charity coalition plans to step up campaign against changes posing threat to wildlifeThe head of the RSPB says the bird charity is ruling nothing out as it organises a mobilisation of millions of people against what it calls the government’s “attack on nature”.Beccy Speight dismissed accusations by Conservative MPs that the group was lying to its members and pursuing a marketing drive, as it leads a coalition campaigning against the government over key “growth” policies which it argues will damage wildlife and nature.The removal from the statute books of 570 laws derived from EU directives that make up the bedrock of environmental regulations in the UK, covering sewage pollution, water quality and clean air. These include the habitat regulations, which have protected areas for wildlife for more than 30 years.The ending of the moratorium on fracking.The creation of 38 low-tax investment zones from Cornwall to Cumbria where environmental protections are to be relaxed to encourage development.The feared scrapping of the post-Brexit environmental land management scheme (Elms), which pays farmers to enhance nature. Continue reading...

The Bodyheat system at warehouse venue SWG3 captures heat from the audience and funnels it 200 metres below ground to a layer of bedrock that acts like a thermal batteryIn 2019, Andrew Fleming-Brown realised that the venue he manages in Glasgow, called SWG3, a collection of industrial warehouses “designed for holding tobacco, not people”, was falling behind when it came to sustainability. Then he had an idea: “We realised that our audiences could be our source of energy.”He recruited inventor David Townsend and his company TownRock Energy to investigate greening the complex and, in just over a year, they developed and built Bodyheat: a system that provides carbon-free climate control by storing heat from SWG3’s visitors. Continue reading...

Monica Medina will be responsible for biodiversity and water resources, announces state department ahead of Cop15The United States has created a new diplomatic role to show the country’s commitment to tackling the biodiversity crisis ahead of Cop15 in Montreal, Canada, where the next decade of nature targets will be drawn up.Monica Medina, a former military officer who started her governmental career in 1989 as senior counsel to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, has been named special envoy for biodiversity and water resources. Continue reading...

Low pressure from Atlantic likely to usher in 70mph gusts from Friday nightThe UK and northern Europe are likely to be the windiest places on the planet this weekend. Areas of low pressure, driven by a strengthening jet stream, is forecast to barrel in from the Atlantic on Friday, with some of these likely to become named storms.Up to 70mph (112 km/h) gusts are expected to batter the west coast of Ireland and the Faroe Islands, with Norway’s western coastline also likely to experience strong winds into Saturday. Further stormy conditions are possible the following week when areas of deep, low pressure arrive from the west. Continue reading...

Report for Law Society says framework is essential for future interactions with the environment and biotechnologyGranting legal rights and protections to non-human entities such as animals, trees and rivers is essential if countries are to tackle climate breakdown and biodiversity loss, experts have said.The authors of a report titled Law in the Emerging Bio Age say legal frameworks have a key part to play in governing human interactions with the environment and biotechnology. Continue reading...

In remarks dismissed by environmentalists, gas company boss Joel Riddle said the reserves were ‘critical’ to lowering greenhouse gas emissions

From mountain top ceremonies to immersive art, people are finding new ways to express feelings of grief – and guilt – when nature ‘dies’It was in 2016 that Cymene Howe, a scholar at Rice University, Texas, first heard of the “death” of Okjökull, a small icecap in western Iceland, two years earlier.Glaciers are charismatic, with snouts and tongues of ice that crawl over land as they grow, but when their ice becomes too thin to continue moving – an increasingly common event amid rising temperatures – the glacier is pronounced dead. Continue reading...

Britain is no longer the key humanitarian player and ‘great ally’ it once was, says envoy trying to get support for Somalia’s droughtThe UK has lost its leadership role in the world and is letting down its allies, a senior official in the Somali government has said.Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, the presidential envoy for Somalia’s drought response, said Britain used to be second only to the US as a key player in international forums and advocacy, but has since slipped, saying that countries such as Somalia were being left without support to face “the new climate reality”. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Environment minister seeks to expand definition of prime farmland in drive for productivityMinisters are planning to ban solar farms from most of England’s farmland, the Guardian can reveal.The new environment secretary, Ranil Jayawardena, is understood to oppose solar panels being placed on agricultural land, arguing that it impedes his programme of growth and boosting food production. Continue reading...

GreenCollar makes submission to government review with Prof Andrew Macintosh, who has described the scheme as ‘largely a sham’

At least 52 missing as military and rescue personnel searched for survivorsAt least 25 people died and 52 were missing after five small rivers in central Venezuela flooded due to heavy rains, the government said.The downpour on Saturday night swept large tree trunks and debris from surrounding mountains into the town of Tejerias, 67km south-west of the capital, Caracas, damaging businesses and farmland, according to the vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez. Continue reading...

Dozens of rivers still flooding and evacuation orders in place across state as reprieve from rain set to be short-lived

Conservatives have shifted to refocus on the car amid warnings of air pollution risksThe government must stop building roads to satisfy growing “car addiction”, clean air campaigners have said, after three-quarters of transport projects announced by Liz Truss’s administration were road related.There are now 3.1m more private cars registered in Britain than 10 years ago, an increase of 11%, with cities outside London seeing the largest increase in car ownership. Continue reading...

The latest developments in solar tech offer potential solutions to the energy security crisis – including satellites that would convert sunlight into power for EarthIn late November, a top-level meeting of European science ministers will convene in Paris. Their job is to decide the next priorities for the European Space Agency (Esa), of which the UK is still a member, and one of the items on their list to consider is a proposal for testing the feasibility of building commercial power stations in orbit. These huge satellites would bask in the sunlight, converting it to power and beaming it down to Earth to be fed into the power grid. The proposed project, known as Solaris, would determine whether the idea can contribute to Europe’s future energy security – or if it is all still pie in the sky.If the study gets the go-ahead, it will be like coming home for the space industry, which has always been at the forefront of solar power development. A year after the Russians launched the battery-powered Sputnik 1 in 1957, the Americans launched Vanguard 1. This was the fourth satellite in orbit and the first to generate its power using solar energy. Since that time, solar panels have become the primary way of powering spacecraft, which has helped to drive research. Vanguard 1’s solar cells converted just 9% of the captured sunlight into electricity. Today, the efficiency has more than doubled, and continues to increase, while the cost of fabrication has been falling. It’s a winning formula. Continue reading...

As climate crisis chokes Arizona, tribal regions often lack natural resources and are most vulnerable to the impacts of droughtCandice Mendez grew up on the Navajo reservation in a home that lacked running water and electricity. There was no phone service and few paved roads. A supermarket was miles away. But to Mendez, now 39, it felt like a time of abundance.“We did not want for anything,” she said. Continue reading...

Waste, not: the organic waste program being piloted in Queens will automatically provide the service to its 2.2 million residentsThe issue of food waste in New York went viral some years ago, when a rodent was captured on video dragging a slice of what may have been a slice of margherita pizza down the steps of a subway station. That was how the world became acquainted with Pizza Rat. Since then, its ranks have been joined by Avocado Rat and Pretzel Rat.But now, in at least one major part of the city, food rats may become fewer and farther between. America’s largest city is launching an equally large organic waste composting program, which will turn food and plant waste from 2.2 million residents into soil for city parks and community gardens, and an energy source called biogas. Continue reading...

Citizen scientists find high phosphorous levels in the soil could be polluting the river in HerefordshireCampaigners have revealed the results of farmland testing which provides new evidence of the potential link between intensive poultry units and the decline of the River Wye.Citizen scientists sampled farmland along public footpaths near a tributary to the river in Herefordshire. They discovered the soil with the highest levels of phosphorus, which can blight a river, were close to intensive poultry units. Continue reading...

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NSW SES commissioner Carlene York says it is ‘very dangerous out there’ and the rivers are still rising

An assessment released Friday shows the population is down 38% from its peak in 2015 and 2016US researchers say the number of gray whales off western North America has continued to dwindle during the last two years, a decline that resembles previous population swings over the past several decades but is still generating worry.According to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries assessment released Friday, the most recent count put the population at 16,650 whales – down 38% from its peak during the 2015-16 period. The whales also produced the fewest calves since scientists began counting the births in 1994. Continue reading...

Aquaculture Stewardship Council’s new standards put pressure on the UK to extend its animal welfare laws to fisheriesOne of the world’s leading organisations for farmed seafood is to introduce new welfare rules after accepting fish can feel “pain, stress and anxiety”.The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), which oversees a global certification scheme for farmed fish, is consulting on new draft welfare standards, including more humane slaughter practices. The ASC provides certification labelling for British supermarket fish, from sea bass to smoked salmon. Continue reading...

A dynamic revetment project, created from long berms of piled stones and sand, appears to be keeping the shoreline from erodingWhen David Cottrell was about three, his father drove him down a short road toward the beach in their home town of North Cove.It was the early 1960s. The Cottrells owned, worked and lived on a cranberry farm on this part of the south Washington coast. The small, unincorporated settlement, founded in 1884, sat along an embayment behind Cape Shoalwater, a claw-like spit that curled into the north end of Willapa Bay, where an estuary opens into the Pacific. Between this powerful inlet and forested uplands, the cranberry trade had thrived for nearly a century. Continue reading...

The Spanish city is hoping to find a natural remedy to head off bacteria that have attacked citrus groves around the worldOranges are to Seville what cherry blossom is to Kyoto, but the city is having to take preventive measures to protect its 48,000 orange trees from deadly bacteria that have already devastated citrus crops in Asia, Latin America and the US.The EU’s Life for Citrus campaign, which includes Spain, Portugal, France and Italy, is developing strategies to stop the spread of huanglongbing (HLB), Mandarin for “citrus greening”, also known as yellow dragon disease. Caused by the bacteria Candidatus liberibacter, it is spread by insects and can completely destroy a citrus tree within five years. Continue reading...

With 22 days hitting 110F or higher, suspected heat deaths in the Arizona capital topped 450Extreme heat contributed to as many as 450 deaths in the Phoenix area this summer, in what could be the deadliest year on record for the desert city in Arizona.The medical examiner for Maricopa county, which includes Phoenix, has so far confirmed 284 heat-related deaths, while investigations into 169 more suspected heat fatalities are ongoing. The highest number of deaths – and emergency hospital visits – coincided with the hottest days and nights. Continue reading...

Polish MEP claims Russia’s attempts to halt project giving access to Baltic Sea have ulterior political motivesPoland has accused Russia of using exaggerated environmental concerns to try to stop the construction of a canal project in a row over access to the Baltic Sea.Russian news outlets have spent at least the past five years claiming the Vistula Spit canal will damage an EU-protected nature park. The canal cuts across a Polish section of the Vistula Spit, giving the country direct access to the Baltic Sea. Previously, all marine access was through the Russia-controlled Pilawa strait in the exclave of Kaliningrad. Continue reading...

Proposal aims to reform energy charter treaty that protects multi-billion-pound investments in EuropeThe use of secret corporate panels to protect multi-billion-pound fossil fuel investments within Europe could come to an end after a move by the European Commission.Windfall payouts such as a recent £210m award to the British oil firm Rockhopper would no longer be possible between EU states under a new proposal to reform the energy charter treaty (ECT). Continue reading...