by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#5TVJW)
Invasive prickly plant is widely cleared in Scotland and has been used as animal fodder in the pastThe gorse bushes that have invaded many Scottish landscapes could produce enough protein to feed millions of people, according to the leader of a Scottish government research programme.The surprising suggestion by Prof Wendy Russell, at the University of Aberdeen, comes from research on the protein content of invasive plants that have to be doused with herbicides or burned back to keep them under control. Continue reading...
by Josh Halliday North of England correspondent on (#5TVFX)
One of first trials of its kind in UK follows rise in dumping of illegal waste after police shut down sitesLandlords who illegally dump the remains of cannabis farms will be traced using “smart water” spray in what is thought to be one of the first trials of its kind in the UK.Council officials in Bradford said they were taking action after a rise in the number of cannabis farms that had been fly-tipped in streets, along streams and in country lanes. Continue reading...
Defusing the climate emergency requires defusing threats to American democracyA year ago last Thursday, Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy were fleeing for their lives as a violent mob swarmed the halls of the US Capitol. With their personal safety at risk, the two most powerful Republicans on Capitol Hill at last stood up to Donald Trump. In a heated phone call, McCarthy, the House minority leader, fruitlessly implored the president to call off the mob. Senate majority leader McConnell later called the rioters “terrorists” and said Trump was “morally responsible” for the violence.But McConnell and McCarthy soon slunk back to enabling Trump’s assaults on democracy. They were quiet while Trump insisted the 2020 election was stolen and that anyone who disagreed must be purged from public office. They stayed mute as Trump supporters threatened violence against election officials and Republican-dominated state legislatures rewrote laws and procedures to prevent fair voting. Continue reading...
by Nina Lakhani Climate justice reporter on (#5TVAA)
According to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, cases will increase between 2.2% and 3.9% depending on emission levelsRising temperatures due to the climate crisis will lead to a rise in people suffering from kidney stones – a painful medical condition exacerbated by heat and dehydration, according to a new study.Researchers used two climate scenarios to estimate the burden of heat and humidity related kidney stone disease by the end of the century in South Carolina – a state in the south-east US, a region which currently has a higher than average incidence rate. Continue reading...
An exclusive Jane Goodall self-portrait is among prints from 100 leading environmental photographers being sold to help protect endangered habitats. Prints available at vitalimpacts.org until 17 January
Most complete large ichthyosaur ever found in Britain found beside England’s largest reservoirThe fossilised remains of a 10 metre-long ichthyosaur, a giant “sea dragon” that terrorised marine life 180m years ago, have been discovered beside England’s largest reservoir.The discovery at Rutland Water nature reserve is the most complete large ichthyosaur ever found in Britain, with a skull the size of a piano and weighing one tonne, including the Jurassic clay encasing it. Continue reading...
Social enterprise wins grant to send out composting worms that can turn waste into high-grade fertiliserIt used to be that the early bird would get the worm, but households, schools and even prisons can now have the invertebrates delivered free to their door – if they get a wriggle on.A Nottingham-based initiative, the Urban Worm Community Interest Company (UWC), is on a mission to “worm up” the UK by kickstarting an urban worm farming movement that can create high-grade fertiliser from banana skins and old socks.Tackles climate change: rotting food waste releases the greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide, which are 13 and 310 times stronger than carbon dioxide.Worms for all: low-cost, low-tech and perfect for the city. You don’t need a garden to keep a few worms. They will be very happy under your kitchen sink.Sustainable waste management: worms love organic waste. Solutions for domestic and industrial waste management – from food to animal waste – that are efficient, ecological and economical. Continue reading...
Supermarket hopes to stop hundreds of millions of pints being wasted as charities call for other retailers to remove date labelsMorrisons will remove “use-by” dates from milk packaging at the end of the month in an attempt to save millions of pints from being thrown away unnecessarily every year.The British supermarket is asking customers to use a simple and time-honoured test to work out if cow’s milk is usable: sniff it. Continue reading...
With a week still to go, this year’s appeal has already raised £725,000. Here, we hear why people have given so generouslyClimate justice is the theme of this year’s Guardian and Observer charity appeal and with a week to go we have so far raised more than £725,000 for four environment charities: Practical Action, Global Greengrants Fund UK, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, and Environmental Justice Foundation. Nearly 7,000 readers have already donated. Here, they tell us why.Pam MacLeod, 79, Truro
The new arrival is a boost for the critically endangered species, which has been hard-hit by unrest in eastern CongoA lowland gorilla, a critically endangered species, has been born in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s famed Virunga national park, authorities said, boosting the population to seven.Conservationists have long sought to protect the world heritage site’s gorilla population even as violence and instability has plagued the DRC’s eastern provinces for the past 25 years. Continue reading...
President Berdymukhamedov orders experts to find way to put out five-decade-old blaze Karakum desertTurkmenistan’s strongman leader has ordered experts to find a way to finally extinguish a massive five-decade-old fire in a giant natural gas crater, labelled the “gateway to hell”.Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, president of the central Asian country, appeared on state television on Saturday, telling officials to put out the flames at the Darvaza gas crater in the middle of the vast Karakum desert. He cited environmental and economic concerns. Continue reading...
Returns process thought to cost firms about £7bn a year and weigh heavily on companies’ carbon footprintsIt all started with a hooded tracksuit worth less than £30. The unwanted item, processed online at one second past midnight on Christmas Day because it was too large, was the first in a torrent of festive returns for ZigZag Global, a company that specialises in handling online returns.Within an hour, 709 products had been returned online via ZigZag; at 3.51am a £99 off-the-shoulder dress was the first item to be deposited at an InPost locker, and when newsagents began opening at 10am, queues began forming at counters to post back unwanted items. Continue reading...
by Nina Lakhani Climate justice reporter on (#5TSMG)
Build Back Better bill hangs in balance as Biden takes his sixth tour of a climate disaster since taking officeJoe Biden ended his tour of neighborhoods devastated by Colorado’s most destructive blaze by emphasizing the link between America’s escalating wildfires and the global climate crisis, saying that the US can “no longer ignore the reality” of weather conditions that have “supercharged” blazes.Biden’s trip to Boulder county on Friday marked his sixth climate disaster tour since taking office a year ago, underscoring the growing threat of global heating in the US and the need for radical action to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Continue reading...
Twenty animals hunted in recent months, the most in a season since the animals’ reintroduction to the areaTwenty of Yellowstone national park’s renowned gray wolves roamed from the park and were shot by hunters in recent months – the most killed by hunting in a single season since the animals were reintroduced to the region more than 25 years ago, according to park officials.One pack – the Phantom Lake pack – is now considered “eliminated” after most or all of its members were killed over a two-month span beginning in October, according to the park. Continue reading...
The region’s air typically doesn’t suit strikes – so they have become an important climate crisis indicatorThe high Arctic saw a dramatic rise in lightning in 2021 in what could be one of the most spectacular manifestations of the climate crisis.In a region where sightings were once rare, the Earth’s northernmost region saw 7,278 lightning strikes in 2021 – nearly double as many as the previous nine years combined. Continue reading...
Supermarket says 20% rise in price forced move to also stock cheaper Irish beefBritish farmers have criticised Asda’s decision to backtrack on its promise to sell only British beef.The retailer said the U-turn was the result of higher beef prices, and it would now sell both Irish and British-produced beef in its stores. Continue reading...
Swedish and Dutch firms claim their technology could replace gas and oil boilers without added insulationA new type of heat pump that may soon be rolled out in the UK could ease the shift for homes to low-carbon heating but is no quick fix, experts say.The Swedish company Vattenfall and the Dutch company Feenstra claim their new high-temperature heat pump, being launched in the Netherlands this year, could replace gas and oil boilers in UK homes without the need for added insulation or new radiators like other heat pumps. Continue reading...
Derelict stables at secret Sussex location will be revamped to house greater horseshoe batsRare bats that are breeding in south-east England for the first time in a century will be encouraged to rear their young in an innovative maternity unit – a tumbledown stable block.The derelict stables at a secret location in Sussex will next month be purchased for greater horseshoe bats by the Vincent Wildlife Trust and Sussex Bat Group after the endangered species was discovered breeding in region after a 100-year absence. Continue reading...
Sector calls for greater state backing after UK loses eighth of its nuclear capacity with Scottish plant’s closureThe Hunterston B nuclear power station will shut down for ever at noon on Friday after 46 years of service, reducing the UK’s nuclear capacity by one-eighth and prompting calls from the industry for greater government backing for the sector.The plant, on the west coast of Scotland, provided one gigawatt of the UK’s 7.9GW nuclear capacity, enough to power to 1.7m homes. Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent on (#5TQT8)
George Eustice tells sector facing margins cut to bone by supermarkets they should demand higher incomesFarmers must “stand their ground” on price inflation and ensure that the rising costs they face are reflected in the prices paid to them by supermarkets for their produce, the UK’s environment, food and rural affairs secretary has demanded.George Eustice told the online Oxford Farming Conference on Thursday that rising input costs should result in higher incomes for farmers, but that increasing farm gate prices need not result in food inflation for consumers. Continue reading...
Official decision calling Project Servator intimidatory quashed by ‘quality assurance process’Environmental activists who accused police of intimidation and harassment have had a review decision in their favour withdrawn in controversial circumstances.The decision, produced by the office of the police and crime commissioner for Devon and Cornwall, was particularly critical of Project Servator, a national counter-terrorism strategy, saying it was “increasingly being used as an intimidatory and oppressive national policing tactic”.Project Servator is “apparently increasingly being used as an intimidatory and oppressive national policing tactic”.While police witnesses were interviewed about the incident, those visited by the police were not. “There appears to have been a quiescent acceptance of the police account of their actions by the [police] professional standards department.”Potential misconduct by police officers who visited the quarry and boatyard should also be considered.The matter should have been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct “given the politically sensitive and national implications of such disproportionality in a protest situation”. Continue reading...
Government distances itself from Alberto Garzón’s Guardian interview amid outrage in meat industryClaims by a Spanish government minister that factory farming is damaging the environment and leading to the export of poor-quality meat have provoked a furious backlash after his comments were published in the Guardian.In an interview published on Boxing Day, Alberto Garzón, the minister for consumer affairs, defended traditional grazing “as an environmentally sustainable means of cattle farming”. Continue reading...
When the drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico exploded in 2010, Stephen Stone escaped with his life. But in the years that followed, he came to feel deeply betrayed by the industry he had once trustedOn the morning of 21 April 2010, Sara Lattis Stone began frantically calling the burn units of various hospitals in Alabama and Louisiana. She was searching for news about her husband, Stephen, who worked on an offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico where a massive explosion had occurred. The blast took place the day before Stephen was scheduled to return home from his latest three-week hitch on the rig, a semisubmersible floating unit called the Deepwater Horizon.In the hours after a spokesperson from Transocean, the company that owned the Deepwater Horizon, called to tell her that an “incident” had required the rig to be evacuated, Sara veered between panic and denial. One minute, she was telling herself that Stephen was fine. The next, she was convinced that she would never see him again. On Facebook, she came across frightening messages – “the water’s on fire!”, “the rig is burning” – posted by the spouses of other workers. At one point, Sara got on the phone with one of them, a woman who had her TV tuned to the same channel that she was watching, which was airing live coverage of the blowout. As they peered at the screen, they heard the same update, describing the blast as a catastrophic accident and raising the possibility that no one on the rig had survived. The news made them drop their phones and scream. Continue reading...
Around 190,000 battery electric cars were sold amid disruption to global supply chainsBooming electric car sales were a bright spot in a tough car market last year amid disruption to global supply chains hitting manufacturers, according to fresh data.In its annual sales snapshot for 2021, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said carmakers sold 190,000 battery electric cars across the country last year, accounting for about 11.6% of total sales.Vauxhall CorsaTesla Model 3Mini MiniMercedes-Benz A-classVolkswagen PoloVolkswagen GolfNissan QashqaiFord PumaKia SportageToyota YarisTesla Model 3Kia NiroVolkswagen ID3Nissan LeafAudi e-tronHyundai KonaMini MiniRenault ZoeVauxhall CorsaMG ZS Continue reading...
A Duke University study nine top rated products contained PFAS, which has been linked to cancer and other health problemsAnti-fogging sprays and cloths often used to prevent condensation on eyeglasses from wearing a mask or on face shields may contain high levels of potentially toxic PFAS “forever chemicals”, according to a new study led by Duke University.Researchers tested four of the top-rated anti-fogging sprays as well as five top-rated anti-fogging cloths sold by Amazon. In all nine products, experts found fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) and fluorotelomer ethoxylates (FTEOs), two types of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS). Continue reading...
One in five ads served on search results for 78 climate-related terms placed by firms with interests in fossil fuels, research findsFossil fuel companies and firms that work closely with them are among the biggest spenders on ads designed to look like Google search results, in what campaigners say is an example of “endemic greenwashing”.The Guardian analysed ads served on Google search results for 78 climate-related terms, in collaboration with InfluenceMap, a thinktank that tracks the lobbying efforts of polluting industries. Continue reading...
Lovers of peace and opponents of air pollution can now breathe easy as Washington offers rebates on electric toolsA roaring and often harmful cacophony that has long afflicted Washington DC has finally been silenced. Not the roar of politicians sounding off, alas, but the use (and sale) of gasoline-powered leaf blowers, banned since New Year’s Day.Anyone using the blowers, which have been blamed for ear-splitting noise and a stew of air pollution, risks a fine of up to $500. Continue reading...
Flooding in past 14 years has caused major disruption to schools, hospitals and care homes, analysis findsFlooding over the past 14 years has caused major disruption to towns and cities, schools, hospitals and care homes, a study reveals.The analysis shows towns and cities have been hit by flash flooding 51 times. Fifteen hospitals and 68 schools have also suffered from rising flood waters, which have caused major disruption to patients and to children.Urban drainage: heavy rainfall puts drainage and sewerage infrastructure under strain, even exceeding their limits, and contributing to flooding in some cases.Hospitals: at least 15 experienced flooding causing disruption or imminent risk of disruption to patient services or hospital support services,Schools: a least 68 schools have suffered sufficient water entering buildings to disrupt lessons, or school transport; 22 suffered at least significant damage and seven severe damage andCare homes: nine care homes and four retirement complexes have been flooded. Major disruptions to social care included carers unable to reach elderly people in rural areas; loss of power, hot water and heating in care homes. Continue reading...
Marine geoscientists study glacial sediments to determine where to install turbines at seaThe last of Britain’s glaciers melted 10,000 years ago, but the way they shaped the landscape still affects our lives today. Locations of towns and cities have been determined by which direction those giant rivers of ice flowed; tourists flock to see the picturesque lakes and hills sculpted by their brute force, and gardeners curse soils with an overabundance of glacial clay.Now those ancient ice sheets are reminding us of their existence out at sea too, influencing which locations are suitable for offshore windfarms. Gareth Carter, a marine geoscientist at the British Geological Survey, has been using subsurface imagery to map the land under the North Sea and advising engineers where to site their foundations for the huge Dogger Bank Wind Farm, 80 miles (130km) off the north-east coast of England. Continue reading...
Despite a recent wave of heavy rain and snow, a third of the state still struggles in extreme or exceptional drought conditionsCalifornians will not be able to water their lawns for 48 hours after rainstorms or let their sprinklers run on to the sidewalk under new, mandatory water saving rules that could result in a fine of up to $500 a day.The restrictions, adopted by state regulators on Tuesday, come as California continues to struggle under drought conditions, despite a recent wave of heavy rain and snow. Continue reading...
Dammed rivers could accelerate climate crisis as creatures move into previously inhospitable areasThe transformation of the rapidly warming Arctic is being accelerated by a wave of thousands of newcomers that are waddling and paddling northwards: beavers.Scientists who sought to map the spread of beavers in Alaska were astounded to find that the creatures have pushed far north into previously inhospitable territory and are now set to sweep into the furthest northern extremities as the Arctic tundra continues to heat up due to the climate crisis. Continue reading...
Researchers are using satellite technology to monitor the health of these vital carbon sinks and help restore themFlanders Moss bog is slumped on the flat, farmed landscape of the Carse of Stirling in Scotland like a jelly fungi. It wobbles when you walk on it, and a metal pole goes down eight metres before reaching hard ground. This lowland-raised bog is a dome of peat fed mainly by rainfall and it acts like a single organism – the whole thing has to be looked after for any part to be in really good shape. If it is drained in one area it will affect the water level across the entire bog.For much of human history peat bogs have been thought of as wastelands. This 860-hectare (2,125-acre) site has been hacked away and drained since the early 1800s to make space for fertile farmland below. It is about 60% of its original size. Bogs scar easily and the drainage ditches made more than 100 years ago are still visible. Continue reading...
Just months after the town was plagued by noxious odors from a chemical spill, residents are inundated againA large cleanup effort is under way in Los Angeles county after an estimated 8.5m gallons of raw sewage flooded through a neighborhood in the city of Carson, closing beaches and leaving toilet paper, feces and toxic residue strewn across nearby streets and sidewalks.The spill occurred last Thursday when a 60-year-old sewer line failed, spewing sewage from a manhole and into the Dominguez Channel, a 15-mile flood-control waterway that eventually pours into the Pacific Ocean. Continue reading...
Destruction of trees, grasses and other plants in the Cerrado is a major source of Brazil’s greenhouse gas emissionsDeforestation last year rose to the highest level since 2015 in Brazil’s Cerrado, prompting scientists on Monday to raise alarm over the state of the world’s most species-rich savanna and a major carbon sink that helps to stave off climate change.The Cerrado, the world’s largest savanna spread across several states of Brazil, is often called an “upside-down forest” because of the deep roots its plants sink into the ground to survive seasonal droughts and fires. Continue reading...
Gamekeepers told certain species such as carrion crows and jackdaws can be shot as government updates definition of ‘livestock’Some wild birds can be killed in order to protect game birds bred for shooting in England, the government has ruled, in an update to guidance on general shooting licences.General licences give broad permissions to shoot certain species of wild birds to protect livestock, aid conservation, and preserve health and public safety. Continue reading...
Temperature records were broken across all four nations over the new year weekendAccording to the UK’s Met Office: “The extremely mild spell is driven by a flow of warm, moist air pushing across the UK from the Canary Islands and further south in the Atlantic.” This has resulted in the “unusual situation of one weather system breaking weather records for two days in separate calendar years”. Continue reading...
Brussels faces backlash and charges of greenwashing after publishing draft proposals on New Year’s EveThe European Commission is facing a furious backlash over plans to allow gas and nuclear to be labelled as “green” investments, as Germany’s economy minister led the charge against “greenwashing”.The EU executive was accused of trying to bury the proposals by releasing long-delayed technical rules on its green investment guidebook to diplomats on New Year’s Eve, hours before a deadline expired. Continue reading...
National Parks Service describes rare incident in which sneaky grizzly joined chase with the Junction Butte packWildlife officials in Yellowstone national park captured the “unusual” sight of a cheeky grizzly bear tagging along with a pack of hunting wolves, then making off with their kill.The enthralling video, posted to the National Parks Service Facebook page, shows the October incident in which the wolves from the Junction Butte pack in northern Yellowstone were joined by a lumbering grizzly as they hunted a herd of elk. Continue reading...
The UK’s green energy initiatives are failing just at the moment when we hold the leadership of Cop26Britain’s electricity generation went through an unfortunate phase last year. According to the UK-based website Carbon Brief, it got dirtier for the first time in years as renewable sources failed to provide sufficient power to help the nation’s economy recover from lockdown restrictions. More coal and gas had to be burned to generate electricity.This jump occurred – in part – because 2021 was notable for its low winds. Wind farm output dropped by almost 15% from 2020, despite the fact that more turbines had been installed across the nation. At the same time, nuclear power generation fell by almost 10% because of problems with ageing reactors. Continue reading...
At least seven reported injured while cause of the blaze remains under investigationThree people are missing and feared dead after a wind-stoked wildfire roared through two towns in Boulder county, Colorado, prompting thousands of evacuations and destroying nearly 1,000 homes, authorities said on Saturday.Officials initially said there were no reports of fatalities or missing residents following the rare urban wildfire that erupted Thursday morning on the northern outskirts of the Denver metropolitan area. Continue reading...
Campaigners fear fuel poverty could hit highest level since records began unless government actsThe number of UK households living in fuel poverty could climb to the highest level on record by this spring unless the government moves to soften the blow of a looming record high energy bill hike, according to a fuel poverty charity.Around 4 million homes in the UK were already classed as fuel poor before a surge in global energy market prices triggered one of the steepest ever energy bill hikes in October, but campaigners are braced for a record increase in the numbers unable to pay their energy bills following another hike this spring. Continue reading...