Non-native bugs will be first attempt at using biocontrol on floating pennywort, after years of researchSouth American weevils have been released into Britain’s waterways by the government in order to tackle the invasive species floating pennywort.The industrious bugs are being heralded as a hope to cut back the weed, which grows rapidly and blankets rivers and canals, drowning out the light and choking the life within. Continue reading...
Ministers instead urged to focus on reducing flights and halting airport expansion to cut carbon emissionsThe UK government’s “jet zero” plan to eliminate carbon emissions from aviation relies on unproven or nonexistent technology and “sustainable” fuel, and is likely to result in ministers missing their legally binding emissions targets, according to a report.The study from Element Energy, which has worked for the government and the climate change committee in the past, says instead of focusing on such unreliable future developments, ministers should work to reduce the overall number of flights and halt airport expansion over the next few years. Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent on (#5Z99A)
Friends of the Earth says there will be no market for Whitehaven coal as Europe’s steelmakers move to ‘green steel’A new coalmine proposed for Cumbria is likely to be redundant before it even opens because the steelmakers that are its target market are moving so rapidly away from fossil fuels, analysis from green campaigners claims.Steelmakers across Europe are moving to “green steel”, which uses renewable energy and modern techniques to avoid the need for coking coal of the type that the proposed mine in Whitehaven would produce. Continue reading...
EU concern over ‘cruel’ practice of taking blood from mares to create hormone products that increase reproduction in farmed animalsIceland is under pressure to ban the production of a hormone extracted from pregnant horses, a practice that has been described as “cruel” and “animal abuse”.
Conservationists and Inuit community relieved at decision on Canadian iron mine that threatened ‘extirpation’ of cetaceanThe expansion of an iron ore mine in the Arctic that would have increased shipping and led to the “complete extirpation of narwhal” from the region has been blocked.After four years of consultations and deliberations, the Nunavut Impact Review Board rejected a request from Baffinland Iron Mines Corp asking to significantly increase mining on the northern tip of Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. The area is home to one of the world’s richest iron ore deposits, and the densest narwhal population in the world. Continue reading...
Maya Bay was once a sorry victim of overtourism. Now the beach’s wild residents – and a restricted number of human visitors – are returning“I just feel like everyone tries to do something different but you all wind up doing the same damn thing.” When these words were uttered by Richard in Alex Garland’s novel The Beach – and in the film adaptation by a young Leonardo DiCaprio 22 years ago – no one realised just how prophetic they were.The novel’s protagonist was talking about the trap backpackers like him fall into when travelling around Thailand: all visiting the same sites, from Bangkok’s Khao San Road and the 46-metre reclining gold buddha at Wat Pho temple to full-moon parties on Ko Samui. He decides to do “something different”, and so begins a journey to find a secret island idyll. Little did the filmmakers realise they were about to add that location to the tourist bucket list and see its popularity explode. Continue reading...
Extreme ocean temperatures blamed for turning sea sponges white in more than a dozen sites on southern coastlineSea sponges off New Zealand’s southern coastline have been found bleached bone-white for the first time, following extreme ocean temperatures.A group of scientists from Victoria University of Wellington were alarmed to discover the sponges, which are typically a rich chocolate brown, were bleached in more than a dozen sites near Breaksea Sound and Doubtful Sound in Fiordland. Continue reading...
Lower and middle income families will benefit from ‘scrap and replace’ scheme, while 20% cut in car, van and ute trips soughtNew Zealand will help some people to buy electric vehicles, end its reliance on fossil fuels, lower agricultural emissions, and reduce waste going to landfill, the government has promised in the most significant announcement on climate change action in the country’s history.The emissions reduction plan sets the direction for climate action for the next 15 years, with a cap on the amount of greenhouse gas New Zealand can emit, in order to meet targets to limit the global average temperature rise to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Continue reading...
More than 200 barriers were taken down last year, helping to restore fish migration routes and boost biodiversity and climate resilienceAt least 239 barriers, including dams and weirs, were removed across 17 countries in Europe in 2021, in a record-breaking year for dam removals across the continent.Spain led the way, with 108 structures taken out of the country’s rivers. “Our efforts to expand dam removals across Europe are gathering speed,” said Pao Fernández Garrido, project manager for the World Fish Migration Foundation, who helped produce Dam Removal Europe’s annual report. Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent on (#5Z8ZX)
Alok Sharma says global crises should increase, not diminish, nations’ determination to cut greenhouse gases made in Glasgow climate pactFailure to act on the promises made at the Glasgow Cop26 climate summit last year would be “an act of monstrous self-harm”, the UK’s president of the conference will warn today in Glasgow.Alok Sharma, the cabinet minister who led the UK-hosted summit that ended with agreement to limit global heating to 1.5C, will say that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and rising energy and food prices, have changed the global outlook drastically in the six months since. Continue reading...
Perfume, tonic – even love potion – silphium was prized by the ancient Romans, but in its success lay the seeds of its own downfallOf all the mysteries of ancient Rome, silphium is among the most intriguing. Romans loved the herb as much as we love chocolate. They used silphium as perfume, as medicine, as an aphrodisiac and turned it into a condiment, called laser, that they poured on to almost every dish. It was so valuable that Julius Caesar stashed more than half a tonne in his treasury.Yet it became extinct less than a century later, by the time of Nero, and for nearly 2,000 years people have puzzled over the cause. Continue reading...
Analysis shows alarming level of benzene at fence-line of facilities in Texas, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Indiana and US Virgin IslandsA dozen US oil refineries last year exceeded the federal limit on average benzene emissions.Among the 12 refineries that emitted above the maximum level for benzene, five were in Texas, four in Louisiana, and one each in Pennsylvania, Indiana and the US Virgin Islands, a new analysis by the Environmental Integrity Project revealed on Thursday. Continue reading...
Mounting tensions with Russia, a global pandemic and a reckless scramble for nuclear energy: the echoes of 1957 are alarming – we would do well to heed themOn 10 October 1957, Harold Macmillan sent a letter to President Dwight Eisenhower. The question he asked his US counterpart was: “What are we going to do about these Russians?” The launch of the Sputnik satellite six days earlier had carried with it the threat that Soviet military technology would eclipse that of the west. The prime minister was hoping to boost British nuclear capabilities, and was desperate for US cooperation.On that same day, however, the UK’s most advanced nuclear project went up in flames – putting the knowledge and bravery of its best scientists to the test, and threatening England’s peaceful countryside with a radiological disaster. Continue reading...
Head of Active Travel England says aim is to give neighbourhoods back what has been taken awayCouncils should face down rows over low-traffic neighbourhoods by reframing the debate in terms of livable streets that children can use safely, the head of England’s walking and cycling watchdog has argued as it unveiled its first raft of projects.Chris Boardman, the former Olympic cyclist who heads Active Travel England (ATE), has promised his organisation will help local authorities navigate culture wars and media controversies over traffic schemes, along with carrying out its core role of ensuring good design. Continue reading...
Msituni was born with her front limb bending the wrong way, and her other front limb started to hyperextendOver the past three decades Ara Mirzaian has fitted braces for everyone from Paralympians to children with scoliosis. But Msituni was a patient like none other: a newborn giraffe.The calf was born 1 February at the San Diego zoo safari park in Escondido, north of San Diego, with her front limb bending the wrong way. Safari park staff feared she could die if they didn’t immediately correct the condition, which could prevent her from nursing and walking around the habitat. Continue reading...
Eco-shoe brand gets £250,000 grant from sustainability fund to perfect design – with soles the trickiest partIt’s the Dragons’ Den pitch parents have been dreaming about: an expandable children’s shoe that fits long enough to be worn out, and it could soon be a high-street reality.The average young child needs new shoes every four months, a rapid and costly replacement cycle that sees Britons buy 80m pairs a year, most of which end up in landfill. Continue reading...
Staff Sgt Seth Plant pronounced dead at hospital following mauling from female bear in training area west of AnchorageThe US army as identified a soldier who died earlier this week of injuries sustained during a bear attack in a military training area in Alaska.The army said Staff Sgt Seth Plant, 30, was pronounced dead at a hospital on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage following the mauling, which happened on Tuesday. Another soldier received minor injuries in the attack in a training area west of Anchorage. Continue reading...
by Associated Press in Huntington Beach on (#5Z6NZ)
Poseidon Water sought to turn seawater into drinking water but activists said plan would devastate ecosystem on Pacific coastA California coastal panel on Thursday rejected a longstanding proposal to build a $1.4bn seawater desalination plant to turn Pacific Ocean water into drinking water as the state grapples with persistent drought that is expected to worsen in coming years with climate change.The state’s Coastal Commission voted unanimously to deny a permit for Poseidon Water to build a plant to produce 50m gallons of water a day in Huntington Beach, south-east of Los Angeles. Continue reading...
Group commissioned by mayor Sadiq Khan in early stages of move to bring nature back to capitalLondon will be “rewilded” with new nature reserves, pocket parks and a mass community movement to bring nature back to the capital, the Guardian can reveal.A group of rewilding experts commissioned by the mayor, Sadiq Khan, are in the early stages of drawing up the proposal. The idea came from Ben Goldsmith, a financier and environment campaigner who is on the board of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Continue reading...
Just a handful of mink breeders in Denmark express an interest in re-entering fur industry, even if the current ban is lifted next yearDanish mink breeders have turned their backs on the industry en masse after being forced to cull their animals over fears a Covid-19 mutation could pose a risk to human health.In November 2020, Denmark, at that point the world’s largest mink producer, controversially announced it would cull approximately 15 million animals due to fears a Covid-19 mutation moving from mink to humans could jeopardise future vaccines. Continue reading...
Environment agency says initial investigation into all 10 water firms suggests possible ‘serious non-compliance’ with lawA criminal investigation into water companies in England has uncovered suspected widespread illegal sewage discharges from treatment plants, the Environment Agency has revealed.The investigation into more than 2,200 water treatment plants run by all 10 water companies is examining whether the firms breached legal regulations about when and how frequently they are allowed to release raw sewage into waterways. Continue reading...
Shell made $9.1bn in profit, almost three times what it made in the same period last year, while Exxon raked in $8.8bnThe tumult of war and climate breakdown has proved lucrative for the world’s leading oil and gas companies, with financial records showing 28 of the largest producers made close to $100bn in combined profits in just the first three months of 2022.Buoyed by oil commodity prices that soared following the turmoil caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, major fossil fuel businesses enjoyed a bonanza in the first quarter of the year, making $93.3bn in total profits. Continue reading...
Hi-tech laboratory launched to save trees from threats including oak processionary moth, emerald ash borer and citrus longhorn beetleThe public are being urged to keep an eye out for any signs of disease in local trees, as the UK launches a hi-tech, £5.8m tree laboratory to fight the spread of pests and diseases.The UK is especially vulnerable to the growing spread of plant pathogens because of warmer, wetter winters, and because it is a hub for global trade. The new research laboratory is set to address these threats by clamping down on pests in the UK and abroad, including the oak processionary moth, emerald ash borer and citrus longhorn beetle. Continue reading...
Techno-utopianism is popular precisely because it doesn’t challenge the status quo, and lets polluters off the hookIn seeking to prevent environmental breakdown, what counts above all is not the new things we do, but the old things we stop doing. Renewable power, for instance, is useful in preventing climate chaos only to the extent that it displaces fossil fuels. Unfortunately, new technologies do not always lead automatically to the destruction of old ones.In the UK, for example, building new offshore wind power has been cheaper than building new gas plants since 2017. But the wholesale disinvestment from fossil fuels you might have expected is yet to happen. Since the UN climate summit last November, the government has commissioned one new oil and gas field, and reportedly plans to license six more. It has overridden the Welsh government to insist on the extension of the Aberpergwm coalmine. Similar permissions have been granted in most rich nations, even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Ministers accused of ‘giving up’ on birds as they explore exemptions from duty to protect the animalsThe government has given itself an “alarming loophole” to avoid protecting seabirds including puffins and gannets, a leaked document shows.Campaigners have accused ministers of “giving up” on the UK’s seabirds as they plan to apply for an exemption to a legal duty to protect the rare species. Continue reading...
Breakaway ice waters caused floodwaters to surge near Hay River, with 4,000 residents at riskAll 4,000 inhabitants of a small town in Canada’s Northwest Territories have been ordered to evacuate as parts of the country struggle with some of the worst flooding in decades.Chief April Martel of the Kátł’odeeche First Nation ordered her entire community to leave Hay River after breakaway ice sent floodwaters surging into the centre of the town on Wednesday. Continue reading...
Oil companies and petrostates are investing heavily in fossil fuels, in defiance of global targets. They must be stoppedThese are frightening times. It is shocking to learn that just a few months after the show of international common purpose at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow, countries including the US, Canada and Australia are among those with the most destructive oil and gas projects, threatening to shatter the target of limiting global heating to 1.5C. A Guardian investigation has revealed that the world’s biggest fossil fuel firms have 195 “carbon bomb” projects that would each emit at least 1bn tonnes of CO – and that 60% are already under way. Only last month, the International Committee on Climate Change warned that the world is on course to overshoot the 1.5C target, prompting António Guterres, the UN secretary general, to describe governments investing in new fossil fuels as “dangerous radicals”. On Monday, a new forecast warned that the probability of one of the next five years exceeding the 1.5C limit was 50%.In the face of these stakes, and this evidence, the actions of the world’s biggest energy companies are perplexing as well as enraging. Why are energy giants continuing to invest in fossil fuel projects capable of causing such colossal harm? One expert suggests “a form of cognitive dissonance” is behind the refusal or inability of governments, as well as businesses, to change course in spite of the risks. Another says the scale of planned production suggests oil companies are still in denial about global heating, whatever they publicly claim – or have “complete disregard for the more climate vulnerable communities, typically poor, people of colour and far away from their lives”. One climate activist attributed such recklessness to a “colonial mindset”, which could equally be described as genocidal given the severity of the expected consequences of unchecked heating. Continue reading...
Sludge used as crop fertilizer has contaminated soil, water, crops and cattle, forcing farmers to quitMaine last month became the first state to ban the practice of spreading PFAS-contaminated sewage sludge as fertilizer.But it’s largely on its own in the US, despite a recent report estimating about 20m acres of cropland across the country may be contaminated. Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey, Matthew Taylor and Damian Carrington on (#5Z5B6)
Fatih Birol says ‘carbon bombs’, revealed in Guardian investigation, will not solve global energy crisisThe world’s leading energy economist has warned against investing in large new oil and gas developments, which would have little impact on the current energy crisis and soaring fuel prices but spell devastation to the planet.Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), was responding to an investigation in the Guardian that revealed fossil fuel companies were planning huge “carbon bomb” projects that would drive climate catastrophe. Continue reading...
Huge creature found in Mekong River where planned dams threaten ‘devastating’ ecological damageA team of marine biologists have welcomed the discovery of a huge endangered freshwater stingray during a recent expedition to a remote stretch of the Mekong River in Cambodia, though they warned the biodiversity of the area was under threat.The stingray was accidentally caught by fishers in an 80-metre (260ft) deep pool in the Mekong in Cambodia’s north-eastern Stung Treng province. The visiting scientists helped return the animal alive. Continue reading...
Multibillion-dollar deal promising to lift country out of poverty may be false dawn with dire impact on climate, warn campaignersAnnette Arjoon is not anti-oil. The marine conservationist calls the vast new oilfields off Guyana’s coast a “blessing” that will earn billions of dollars for one of the poorest countries in the Caribbean, even as she recognises that pulling yet more fossil fuel from the ground will deepen the climate crisis.But Arjoon does have a problem with who is drilling the oil. She has seen firsthand what happens when the US’s largest petroleum company descends on a small country bearing the promise of riches. Continue reading...
The case is believed to be the first enforcement action of its kind aimed at preventing the advance of the marbled crayfishThey have claws, 10 legs, can produce hundreds of clones of themselves and have escaped from confinement to potentially run amok across the United States. The ecological threat posed by the marbled crayfish has now prompted prosecutors to wield invasive species laws in an attempt to curb the spread of the peripatetic crustaceans.An Ohio woman who sold hundreds of marbled crayfish online has pleaded guilty to offenses under the Lacey Act, a US law preventing the transport of certain wildlife across state lines, after raising the crayfish in a huge tank in her home and selling them to people across 36 different states. Continue reading...
Revelation Alan McCormick has tweeted articles denying climate science fuels fears of GB News’s role as climate sceptic platformThe new chairman of GB News has a history of sharing articles that dismiss the threat of climate breakdown, it can be revealed, sharpening concerns about the TV channel’s role as a platform for advocates of the continued burning of fossil fuels.Alan McCormick, a co-founder of Legatum Group, a Dubai-based investment firm and one of the channel’s key funders, tweeted several articles by climate science deniers, an investigation by DeSmog found, including one claiming there was “no scientific proof” that humans were causing the climate emergency. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#5Z4XF)
From fisheries collapse to dead rivers, official body urges government to urgently turn ambition into actionEnvironmental tipping points are fast approaching in the UK, the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has said.Potential tipping points – where gradual decline suddenly becomes catastrophic – include loss of wildlife, fisheries collapse and dead, polluted rivers, the watchdog said. The OEP is a new official body set up after Brexit to hold the government to account. Its first report, published on Thursday, says ministers have shown ambition but that action is too slow. Continue reading...
The cleanup was undertaken by a California non-profit which hired scuba divers to clean the top 25ft of the lakeA California non-profit started an ambitious project beneath the surface of Lake Tahoe that concluded Tuesday: hire scuba divers to gather the litter in the top 25 ft of the lake.Divers have now pulled out more than 25,000 pounds of debris from the 72 miles of the lake’s shoreline, working in a circle from Stateline, Nevada. As volunteer divers navigated the lake, they plucked plastic bottles, engagement rings, 1980s Nikon film cameras, entire lampposts, “no littering” signs, big pieces of broken-down boats and engine blocks, lost wallets and cordless home telephones, according to Clean Up the Lake. Continue reading...
Two more days of high winds and very dry conditions expected as fire warnings issued across much of the western USA raging New Mexico wildfire was headed toward a ski resort and the 1,000-year-old community of Taos as howling winds continue to push the erratic flames forward.Officials on Wednesday issued warnings for more people to prepare to evacuate as the fast-moving fire picked up momentum. As people fled, flames raced through parched forests and firefighters tried to protect homes from a blaze that has burned a 45-mile-long path up the Sangre de Cristo mountains in just over a month. Continue reading...