Environment | The Guardian

Mammals were downgraded from endangered to threatened in 2017, even as pollution and habitat loss drive starvationThe deaths of almost 2,000 manatees in Florida’s coastal and inland waterways over the last two years has provoked an alliance of environmental groups to demand an urgent reclassification of the species to officially endangered.The advocates, led by the non-profit Center for Biological Diversity, insist the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) made a critical error in 2017 by prematurely downgrading the status of the giant aquatic mammals from endangered to merely threatened. Continue reading...

The story of the damage done to the world’s biodiversity is a tale of decline spanning thousands of years. Can the world seize its chance to change the narrative?The story of the biodiversity crisis starts with a cold-case murder mystery that is tens of thousands of years old. When humans started spreading across the globe they discovered a world full of huge, mythical-sounding mammals called “megafauna”, but by the end of the Pleistocene, one by one, these large animals had disappeared. There is no smoking gun and evidence from ancient crime scenes is – unsurprisingly – patchy. But what investigators have learned suggests a prime suspect: humans.Take the case of Genyornis, one of the world’s heaviest birds, which was more than 2 metres tall and weighed in excess of 200kg. It lived in Australia until, along with many other megafauna, it went extinct 50,000 years ago. In North America, giant beavers weighing the same as a fridge and an armadillo-like creature called a glyptodon, which was the size of a small car, existed until about 12,000 years ago, when they, too, went extinct. In all, more than 178 species of the world’s largest mammals are estimated to have been driven to extinction between 52,000 and 9,000BC. Continue reading...

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including a fox squirrel, a Balkan lynx and wild turkeys Continue reading...

The number of bears in the Italian Alps is gradually increasing after a successful rewilding project that involved bringing bears from Slovenia. Photojournalist Luca Rotondo visited Trentino to take a look at what was happening Continue reading...

‘This does not bode well,’ reef scientist says, as highest November temperatures reached since 1985

Nature’s cycle disrupted by summer heatwave and ‘exceptionally mild’ autumn, with dormant plants bursting back to lifeAmong the yellow and brown clumps of fallen leaves and the skeletal frames of deciduous trees this autumn are some surprising finds: green shoots and bright flowers.Recent mild temperatures and wet conditions have encouraged some plants that should be going into dormancy for the winter to burst back into life, experts have said, with possible disruptive effects on nature’s cycles. Continue reading...

First Nations challenge over Galilee mine approval succeeds in land court, but final decision rests with state government

As part of an attempt to rid Stewart Island of the rodents, children as young as five have taken part in a rat catching competition, with remarkable resultsIn a tiny school on the southern-most tip of New Zealand, the children are lining up their kill.Big brown rats with long tails, their stomachs caked in blood. Smaller rats, stiff from the refrigerator, tails in a tangle. Continue reading...

Conservationist says if world leaders do not go to the summit a strong deal to halt and reverse nature loss is at riskChris Packham is urging the British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, to attend a key nature summit to protect the planet for the sake of his great-grandchildren because we are “very close to the point of no return”.The Cop15 biodiversity summit being held in Montreal from 7-19 December is the nature equivalent of the recent Cop27 climate summit in Egypt, with governments from all over the world expected to agree targets to halt the destruction of the natural world. But world leaders are not expected to attend the once-in-a-decade meeting where the next 10 years of targets will be agreed. Continue reading...

Model 3 and Model Y light issue can be fixed with software update but leads to EV manufacturer’s third recall in Australia this month

About 20 Conservative MPs want to end longstanding de facto block on new wind farms in EnglandBoris Johnson and Liz Truss have joined a growing Tory backbench rebellion against Rishi Sunak’s refusal to allow new onshore wind projects in England, in another challenge to the levelling up bill.The former prime ministers are among about 20 Conservative MPs to have signed an amendment tabled by Simon Clarke, who served as a minister under Johnson and Truss, that would end the de facto ban on new onshore wind that has been in place since 2014. Continue reading...

Broadcaster says looking after pigs is ‘really hard work’ and that food prices should be twice as highJeremy Clarkson has said people in the UK “do not pay enough for their food” and that prices should be double what they are.The 62-year-old presenter, who bought an Oxfordshire farm in 2008, made the comments as he spoke about the difficulties in producing food. Continue reading...

Exclusive: No 10 hopes management consultant and former spad will burnish PM’s image on environment

Decades after the world’s biggest otter disappeared from the country, a kayaking trip revealed a lone male swimming in the Bermejo River“This really is a big animal,” says Sebastián Di Martino, conservation director of Rewilding Argentina, emphasising the “giant” in giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis). “It can be 1.7 metres long … the biggest otter in the world.”Until its recent rediscovery, the giant otter was feared extinct in the country as a result of habitat loss and hunting. “Family groups were last seen in the 1980s in the Misiones province of north-eastern Argentina,” Di Martino says. “In the Bermejo River, the last sightings occurred 130 years ago, in 1898.” Continue reading...

For years the majority of Australians have been shut out of the electric vehicle market. But after Labor passed a bill that will phase out public support for petrol-based hybrids, electric cars are finally poised to become cheaper and more accessible.In this episode of Full Story, Gabrielle Jackson talks to Lenore Taylor and Mike Ticher about the new electric car discount, and the road to zero emissions vehicles.Read more: Continue reading...

A 350.org database shows almost two dozen arts organisations are still reliant on mining money – but some are hunting for alternatives

Legal action taken to block information on investigation into illegal land-clearing by Jam Land Pty Ltd after commissioner ordered its release

This year’s temperatures would have been virtually impossible without climate crisis, scientists sayMore than 20,000 people died across western Europe in this summer’s heatwaves, in temperatures that would have been virtually impossible without climate breakdown, figures show.Analysis of excess deaths, the difference between the number of deaths that happened and those expected based on historical trends, reveals the threats posed by climate change-induced global heating, scientists said. Continue reading...

Forestry Commission response to freedom of information request reveals only 15 convictions in a decade under its regimeFewer than 1% of alleged illegal tree felling cases reported to the Forestry Commission have ended in a successful prosecution over the past 10 years in England.The Forestry Commission received 4,002 reports of trees being destroyed without a licence from 2012-13 to 2021-22. Continue reading...

Residents of Woburn near Boston subjected to attacks and intimidation by group of wild turkeys – and especially KevinIt’s the time of year when millions of turkeys across the US might justifiably fear for their safety, but in one Massachusetts town the birds have turned the tables, ganging up to “terrorize” residents with pecks, kicks and loud clucking.People in Woburn, north-west of Boston, have been subjected to a barrage of attacks and intimidation by a group of five wild turkeys, with the situation forcing some to take up improvised weapons and residents reporting being trapped in their homes. Continue reading...

Kingfisher says sales of loft insulation roll more than double while smart thermostats rose by nearly a thirdThe B&Q owner, Kingfisher, has reported higher sales as fears over higher gas and electricity costs boosted demand for energy-efficient products including insulation roll and smart thermostats.The retail group, which also owns the hardware trade supplier Screwfix, said customers who invested in a raft of energy-saving DIY products helped increase group sales by 0.6% to £3.3bn in the three months to October. When stripping out the impact of the weaker pound, sales were up 1.7%. Continue reading...

Objections to active travel infrastructures are now picking and choosing data to fit the narrativeI’m starting to wonder if anyone is ever going to make an honest argument against cycling and walking infrastructure again. They do exist. People used to say things like “I want to drive and park wherever I like”, or “why should cyclists and pedestrians inconvenience my much more important car journey?”.Those are still the basic objections, but these days most prominent opponents realise that it sounds a bit politically incorrect. You need some higher public interest ground, however shaky, to pitch your tent on. Continue reading...

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President orders Ministry of Environment and Forestry to launch investigation over contractor’s licence for removing treesThe Kenyan government has halted the transportation and export of Kilifi baobabs to Georgia and ordered an investigation into how a foreign contractor received permission to transport the ancient trees out of the country.Kenya’s president, William Ruto, ordered the Ministry of Environment and Forestry to investigate whether Georgy Gvasaliya had the proper licence to take the trees out of Kenya under the Nagoya protocol, an international agreement that governs the conditions for the export of genetic resources, which has been incorporated into Kenyan law. Continue reading...

Inquiry says it is too easy for developers to pay cash to biodiversity offsets fund with no guarantee offsets will ever be found

SA premier says thousands of properties could be inundated, with 185GL a day predicted to flow down the Murray around Christmas

Report exposes scale of human waste discharges into UK waters, including potentially illegal ‘dry spills’Water companies have been releasing sewage on to beaches and in rivers even when it is not raining, according to a report from Surfers Against Sewage.Sewage spills are only supposed to happen under exceptional circumstances; when it is raining so heavily that the system cannot cope with the amount of water and effluent being spewed at once. Continue reading...

The closure of the Torrens B 600MW gas-fired plant will happen by mid-2026, instead of 2035 as previously planned

Meanwhile, BP’s CEO was in town spruiking the energy giant’s climate credentials, as its oil output increases from last year

Review finds arrests of four journalists covering climate protests last month were directed by senior officersSenior police officers ordered the potentially unlawful arrests of four journalists detained while covering climate protests on the M25, a review has found.The review makes clear that the arrests of the LBC reporter Charlotte Lynch, the press photographer Tom Bowles, the film-maker Rich Felgate and one other person who has not been named were not simply an overreaction or a mistake by police officers on the ground. Continue reading...

About 85% of the town’s 484 residents chose to stay despite being told to evacuate, with roads out expected to be closed for several weeks

Shingo Yamagami emerges as strident critic of Palaszczuk government’s tiered rate aimed at cashing in on record prices

Exclusive: Environment department allowed National Farmers’ Federation to sit in on meeting about grasslands clearing by Jam Land, the company part owned by then energy minister Angus Taylor

Investors are seeing rising potential in tidal power as turbines become more powerful and easier to deployFor decades the immense practical difficulties of harnessing the powerful tides flowing around Britain’s shorelines have put off investors and government officials searching for big renewable energy sources.But as the costs of deploying turbines in tidal streams fall, more and more people are seeing the potential in an energy source that creates energy as the tides ebb and flow at predictable hours every day – energy that is renewable but not intermittent. Continue reading...

Raptor has not bred in southern England for decades – with only breeding populations found on northern moorlandsHen harriers are to be bred in captivity in England for the first time and released on to Salisbury Plain in a new attempt to revive the endangered bird of prey in southern England.The raptor’s only English breeding populations are on northern moorlands, where the bird has been subject to huge persecution in recent decades because its prey includes red grouse – a lucrative gamebird. Continue reading...

About 30 to 40% of the food in the US goes uneaten each year – and individual solutions such as making a grocery list can address the problemPriyanka Naik has been looking for creative ways to reduce food waste for as long as she can remember. A vegan chef, author and TV personality, she often turns kitchen scraps into inventive new meals and packs up restaurant leftovers – including the bread basket – to take home for later. Instead of tossing the white rice that comes with her takeout meals, which she says she’s “not a huge fan of”, she might throw it in a food processor with beans, potatoes and spices, and shape the mixture into patties for veggie burgers.From a climate perspective, Naik’s approach makes sense. While food waste is difficult to measure, one estimate by the UN Environment Program found that if food waste were a country, it would be the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gasses after China and the US. Continue reading...

Partnership between RHS, Natural History Museum and DfE will enable schools to access funding to create green spacesChildren will learn about biodiversity and nature in schools, and perhaps gain new green spaces in the playground, thanks to a new partnership between the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), the Natural History Museum (NHM) and the government.The plan is for students to map out the biodiversity in their schools and add it to a nationwide database, as well as supporting teachers to develop curriculum-based climate education resources and lesson plans. Continue reading...

Measure affecting 15 million people comes to end but company urges customers to show restraint in usageA hosepipe ban imposed on 15 million people in England is being lifted after three months, it has been announced.Thames Water said the scrapping of the measure was possible due to recent above-average rainfall and the public’s compliance. But the company, which thanked individuals and businesses for helping save water while stocks needed replenishing, urged them to continue showing restraint in their usage. Continue reading...

A hot air summit? Plus: Russia’s sanction-free diamonds.Get the Guardian Weekly magazine delivered to your home addressCop27 ended in a now-traditional blur of last-minute horse-trading, resulting in the welcome agreement of a finance deal for developing countries affected by global heating. But progress on eliminating fossil fuel usage – the key to slowing climate change – again seemed beyond the international community.Environment correspondent Fiona Harvey looks back at a Cop27 that had some successes, but overall felt like another missed opportunity. It’s a theme we take up in this week’s cover design, which contrasts world leaders’ willingness to be seen at climate conferences with their reluctance to agree much in the way of action. Continue reading...

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MPs hear concerns that investment in North Sea oil and gas reduces the tax, effectively rewarding fossil fuels over renewablesBP declined to reveal how much windfall tax it would have paid without an investment “loophole” when being questioned by MPs on Tuesday, while fellow energy group SSE raised concerns the levy “favours” oil and gas drilling over renewables projects.Appearing before MPs on the business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) committee, the BP vice-president Matthew Williamson said he did not know how much the firm would have paid without an investment allowance that reduces the windfall tax due if a company invests in North Sea oil and gas extraction. He also declined to say how much BP was spending on renewable energy projects this year. Continue reading...

Activists caused permanent harm to frame holding Peach Trees in Blossom at a London art gallery, judge findsTwo Just Stop Oil activists have been found guilty of causing criminal damage after glueing themselves to the frame of a Vincent van Gogh painting at a London art gallery.Emily Brocklebank, 24, and Louis McKechnie, 22, caused just under £2,000 of damage at the Courtauld Gallery when they attached themselves to the 1889 work Peach Trees in Blossom, their trial heard on Tuesday. Continue reading...

For decades, world leaders have pledged to reduce emissions, yet they continue to rise, says Richard Mountford. Plus letters from Harold Forbes, Martyn Thomas and John GittingsFor three decades, world leaders at international conferences have pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions and greener energy sources have been developed, yet emissions have continued to rise (World still ‘on brink of climate catastrophe’ after Cop27 deal, 20 November). Even as previously extreme weather events become normal and millions of people are displaced by weather-related events, there is still no sign of electorates in richer countries being willing to vote for rationing or much higher prices for car use, air travel, meat consumption and other particularly damaging activities.Clearly, we urgently need a new strategy. The world’s biggest economies or the UN need to spend hundreds of billions of dollars, perhaps funded by a financial transactions tax, on carbon scrubbing and ocean seeding to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere; solar radiation management to reduce warming; and the purchase and protection of land such as rainforest to prevent its destruction.

The continent is now 1.47C hotter than it was in 1910 and sea levels around the coastline are rising at an accelerating rate

The SES cancelled an evacuation order after warning some residents their homes would be inundated

Proposed transmission lines to help meet renewable targets are slated to run through Ripon, held by just 15 votes in 2018

Exclusive: Critics say cut in day-to-day spending will leave department unable to properly tackle issues such as sewage spillsThe government’s environment department is facing a £500m real-terms cut after last week’s autumn statement, as critics say this will leave it unable to properly tackle issues including sewage spillages.The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) oversees all things to do with the environment and agriculture, from farming inspections and nature restoration to cracking down on environmental vandalism including fly-tipping and sewage spills. Continue reading...

A list of the five most promising legal steps we can take to help fight climate changeThe world has reached an acute point in the “highway to climate hell”. Talks at Cop27 barely achieved anything, despite the fact that almost one-third of Pakistan’s territory was submerged during unprecedented flooding; record heat over the summer killed nearly 25,000 in Europe; and almost 200,000 people in a major US city have not had clean water for months.It’s all too easy to feel overwhelmed and helpless in the face of such widespread catastrophe. But we as citizens can do something right now. There are many interesting and entirely workable legal ideas percolating around the world from some very thoughtful people. Together, alongside increased citizen activism, these ideas can begin to provide a coherent and comprehensive legal framework for all of us to help save the planet.Steven Donziger is a human rights lawyer and environmental justice advocate. He is also a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

Indigenous people in Sweden are battling UK firm over plans for iron-ore mine on reindeer-herding landsThe charity founded in Greta Thunberg’s name has donated £158,000 to cover the legal costs of Indigenous people in Sweden’s Arctic north as they battle a British mining company over plans for an iron-ore mine on reindeer-herding lands.Beowulf Mining, which has its headquarters in the City of London, was given approval in March by the Swedish government for excavation on an area used by the Sami community. Continue reading...