Images from Lake Oroville and Lake Shasta compiled by the state show ‘a shocking drop in water levels’ compared to years pastCalifornia’s two largest reservoirs are at critically low levels, signaling that the state, like much of the US west, can expect a searing, dry summer ahead.This week, officials confirmed that Lake Oroville, the state’s second-largest reservoir, was at just 55% of its total capacity when it reached its highest level for the year last month. Meanwhile, Shasta Lake, California’s largest reservoir, was at 40% capacity last month – after the state endured its driest start to a year since the late 19th century. Continue reading...

It began with a philanthropic couple buying a swamp but has become one of the world’s boldest experiments in restoring degraded habitats, bringing wildlife and landscapes back from the brink

Records for electricity usage broken in Shandong, Henan and Jiangsu after early summer heatwavesChina’s premier has called for increased production of coal to stave off mass blackouts, as early summer heatwaves have prompted record electricity usage.On Friday, authorities again issued high temperature warnings for about a dozen provinces across the central and northern provinces, after consecutive days in the high 30s. Continue reading...

Opioid fatalities – driven by synthetics such as fentanyl – in the state were up 80% last year compared with 2018 and punishing heat is making things worseAndy Brack was out cold with his head slumped back on the driver’s seat of a white pickup truck, a faint blue tinge around his lips. His friend, Ellen, had called 911 after the 50-year-old lost consciousness while driving to the store.Brack had been smoking fentanyl for two days straight, according to Ellen, who managed to stop the vehicle from crashing. It was around 4.30pm and boiling outside, almost 108F (42C), and the pickup didn’t have air conditioning. She was doing CPR compressions when the paramedics arrived. Continue reading...

Conservationists who re-established the raptors in the UK with birds from Spain are now returning the favourWhen red kites were reintroduced in England more than 30 years ago, young birds were brought over from thriving populations in Spain. Now the carrion-feeding raptor is doing so well that English chicks – with distant Spanish ancestry – are being flown back to Spain to boost ailing numbers there.Fed on culled grey squirrels and meticulously checked by vets, 15 chicks collected from nests in Northamptonshire are this week travelling to southern Spain where they will be held in special aviaries in the countryside until they are mature enough to be set free. Continue reading...

After Russia rejected agreed catch limits, Britain unilaterally licensed boats to hunt toothfish near Antarctica – a move the US says breaches international rulesA diplomatic row has broken out between the UK and the US over efforts to conserve a deepwater species of fish near Antarctica, as Russia obstructs attempts to set catch limits.Last year, amid tensions with the west over Ukraine, Russia rejected catch limits for Patagonia toothfish – also known as Chilean seabass – set by a 26-member fishing regulatory body, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). Continue reading...

Tata Chemicals Europe hopes the process will reduce the greenhouse gas’ emissions by 10% annually and supply high-purity C02 for industryA Cheshire chemicals factory is to start capturing carbon dioxide on an industrial scale from energy generation in what is described as the UK’s first major use of the emissions-reduction technology.Tata Chemicals Europe (TCE) hopes to capture 40,000 tonnes of the greenhouse gas per year, reducing its annual emissions by 10% and providing it with a supply of high-purity carbon dioxide that could be used in products ranging from glass and washing detergents to pharmaceuticals and food. Continue reading...

Conservationists say exploitation of amphibians leading to depletion of native species abroadA voracious appetite for frogs’ legs among the French and Belgians is driving species in Indonesia, Turkey and Albania to the brink of extinction, according to a report.Europe imports as many as 200 million mostly wild frogs every year, contributing to a serious depletion of native species abroad. Continue reading...

Research to focus on more efficient and durable solar cells, increasing manufacturing capacity and a shift to more abundant and cheaper metals

Industry and analysts predict budget measure could provide billions in additional revenue

Sector says £5bn energy profits levy will make investment in new projects and renewables more difficultRishi Sunak has asked Britain’s biggest banks to keep the money taps flowing to the oil and gas sector after slapping it with a windfall tax.In a bruising meeting in Aberdeen on Thursday, the chancellor told oil and gas executives he is trying to ensure investment in their businesses is not curtailed. Continue reading...

Deputy opposition leader criticises government’s 43% reduction target but says Liberal party’s climate position is not fixed

Dairy Crest sentenced for repeatedly breaching environmental permit at Davidstow creameryOne of the UK’s biggest dairy firms has been fined £1.5m for repeatedly polluting a river near its Cornwall factory and causing local residents to suffer years of noxious smells – but the problems are continuing.Dairy Crest was sentenced on Thursday at Truro crown court for repeatedly breaching its environmental permit at Davidstow creamery in Camelford. The site, the UK’s largest dairy processing facility, makes Cathedral City cheese, Clover and Country Life. Continue reading...

Out of 14 nations surveyed, UK citizens measured lowest for their oneness with the natural worldFrom the romantic poets to the global reach of Sir David Attenborough, Britain has a reputation for being a nation of nature lovers.But the citizens of this supposedly green and pleasant land are ranked bottom of 14 European nations measured for their “nature connectedness”, according to a new study. Continue reading...

Blaze in Sierra de la Culebra mountains in Zamora province destroyed 30,000 hectares of woodlandThe Spanish government has declared the Sierra de la Culebra mountain range in Zamora province a catastrophe zone after a fire destroyed 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) of woodland, raising fears for the future of the local wolf population.The decision gives the Castilla y León region immediate access to €2m (£1.7m) in economic recovery funds to help make good the damage caused by the worst fire in a decade, which destroyed a huge swathe of the 600 sq km biosphere reserve in north-west Spain. Continue reading...

The singer-songwriter and UN environment ambassador is a self-confessed ‘nature nerd’ and urges her fans to get ‘stuck in’ to ecological activism

The Diablo Canyon facility, which provides 9% of the state’s energy, was due to shutter in 2025, but the state’s energy crunch could save itCalifornia’s last nuclear plant was nearing the end of its life.Tucked against picturesque bluffs along California’s central coast, the aging facility known as Diablo Canyon began operating in 1985. It was designed for a different era, with analog knobs and systems that no longer comply with the state’s environmental standards. The plant has faced controversies over its impact on underwater ecosystems, the production of toxic waste and its proximity to earthquake fault lines – and its planned closure by 2025 seemed an all-but-certain step in California’s ambitious journey toward a greener future. Continue reading...

Analysis reveals 73% of remaining fragments of rare temperate rainforest in England are not under protectionNearly three-quarters of England’s remaining temperate rainforests do not have any official protection, according to new analysis, as a campaign urges the public to help identify, protect and expand what remains.Just 18,870 hectares (46,624 acres) survives in England from an ecosystem that once stretched from Cornwall to the west of Scotland, having slowly been cleared by humans over the centuries. Seventy-three per cent of the country’s remaining fragments of temperate rainforest, a species-rich habitat, are not designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), despite their importance for biodiversity. Many are threatened by overgrazing, pollution and invasive species. Continue reading...

Human rights and environment organisations call for police to act ‘responsibly, with integrity’ ahead of planned climate action in Sydney

Housing market posts first monthly decline since September 2020; at least 52 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed

Lawyers say government is attempting to intimidate pastoralists as thousands flee to Kenya amid escalating row over evictionsTwenty Maasai pastoralists from northern Tanzania have been charged with the murder of a police officer during protests over government plans to use their ancestral land for conservation and a luxury hunting reserve.The officer was allegedly shot by an arrow on 10 June while attempting to demarcate land in Loliondo, which borders Serengeti national park. Continue reading...

National Farmers’ Federation says signing up to US push to limit emissions by 30% could be ‘calamitous’ and jeopardise global food security

Researchers say the return of wolves to Yellowstone in the 1990s kickstarted big changes in habitats. But that narrative is increasingly being challenged

Risk of significant tsunami within next 30 years is nearly 100%, Unesco says, as it urges coastal cities to become ‘tsunami-ready’A tsunami could soon hit major cities on or near the Mediterranean Sea including Marseille, Alexandria and Istanbul, with a nearly 100% chance of a wave reaching more than a metre high in the next 30 years, according to Unesco.The risk of a tsunami in Mediterranean coastal communities is predicted to soar as sea levels rise. While communities in the Pacific and Indian Ocean, where most tsunamis occur, were often aware of the dangers, it was underestimated in other coastal regions, including the Mediterranean, Unesco said. Continue reading...

A meeting between the board, First Nations representatives and environmental activists fails to resolve tensions over the deal, which has been described as ‘artwashing’

Three of the national park’s five entrances have opened as the damage is still being assessed after rare and record floodingPark managers raised the gates at three of Yellowstone national park’s five entrances on Wednesday, reopening part of America’s oldest park for the first time since a devastating deluge caused historic floods that destroyed roads, bridges and buildings earlier this month.Hundreds of cars, trucks and recreational vehicles lined the open entryways in anticipation, an indication that many visitors stuck to their plans despite uncertainty last week about when the park would reopen. Before the extreme weather, park managers were already bracing for the throngs of tourists expected this summer, following its busiest year on record, which drew more than 4.8 million people. Continue reading...

The city famous for its car culture could quit building fossil fuel infrastructure – and it would be the largest city to do so yetLos Angeles could become the largest city to prohibit the construction of new gas stations, joining a movement that seeks to limit fossil fuels at the local level as part of efforts to combat the climate crisis.Officials in America’s second largest city, along with Bethlehem, New York, and Comox valley regional district, British Columbia, said on Wednesday morning that they were working on policies to stop the development of new fossil fuel infrastructure. Continue reading...

Coalition MPs consider the party’s climate target as the Albanese government locks in 43%, and Sky News’s Rowan Dean asks questions that have already been answered

Exclusive: New resources minister also says ‘the pathway from coal to renewables goes only through gas’

Sue Higginson says ‘even inconvenient’ protesting is important for democracy and labels police response ‘extreme’

Retired engineer’s efforts propel Stithians towards multimillion-pound project to link homes to underground low-carbon systemThe environmental evangelising of a retired mechanical engineer, Brian Piper, is bringing a renewable energy revolution to the streets of a small Cornish village.Until now, Stithians, which sits halfway between Redruth and Falmouth, was best known for its annual show, said to be the largest agricultural spectacle in Cornwall. But Piper is determined that in future the village will become known for its role in tackling climate change. Continue reading...

Proposals – the first in 30 years to tackle catastrophic wildlife loss in Europe – include legally binding targets for land, rivers and seaFor the first time in 30 years, legislation has been put forward to address catastrophic wildlife loss in the EU. Legally binding targets for all member states to restore wildlife on land, rivers and the sea were announced today, alongside a crackdown on chemical pesticides.In a boost for UN negotiations on halting and reversing biodiversity loss, targets released by the European Commission include reversing the decline of pollinator populations and restoring 20% of land and sea by 2030, with all ecosystems to be under restoration by 2050. The commission also proposed a target to cut the use of chemical pesticides in half by 2030 and eradicate their use near schools, hospitals and playgrounds. Continue reading...

Brewer says wood- and plant-based design retains same ‘taste and fizziness’ as glass bottlesCarlsberg is to conduct its biggest trial of recyclable fibre beer bottles across Europe.The bottles are made of a wood-based fibre shell and a plant-based polyethylene furanoate (PEF) polymer lining. Continue reading...

Drastic die-back of milk parsley on Norfolk Broads threatens future of swallowtailBritain’s largest butterfly may be at risk from fungal pathogens that have caused a drastic die-back of the rare plant on which its caterpillars feed.The swallowtail is only found breeding at 16 sites in Britain, all on the Norfolk Broads, where milk parsley grows. But last summer more than 90% of the milk parsley plants at one of its breeding sites wilted and died, preventing the plant from setting seed. If milk parsley disappears, the unique subspecies of the swallowtail found in Britain will become extinct. Continue reading...

Wu’s approach to transport is informed by her own life story – as the first mother to run the cityNine months ago, Boston voters elected a history-making mayor. The daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, Michelle Wu became the first woman, first person of color, first mother and first millennial to run the city of Boston.Now she is making headlines for another reason: championing free public transportation as part of a broader focus on affordability and tackling carbon emissions. This March, the city dropped the $1.70 fare for three bus lines that serve predominantly low-income areas and people of color. Amid budgetary concerns, the city will use a Covid-19 relief fund to make up for $8m of lost revenue. Ridership on the first free bus line has soared by 48%, from 47,000 to 70,000 weekly riders. Continue reading...

Dominic Perrottet called on to halt Barilaro appointment pending inquiry; at least 63 Covid deaths recorded nationwide. This blog is now closed

Across the UK and Europe, the ‘parklet’ movement is gaining pace, transforming dead spaces where cars used to be into pockets of greenAs told to Phoebe Weston

Children starving to death ‘before our eyes’ say aid workers as G7 leaders warned only ‘massive’ and urgent funding will avert famineOnly a “massive” and immediate scaling-up of funds and humanitarian relief can save Somalia from famine, a UN spokesperson has warned, as aid workers report children starving to death “before our eyes” amid rapidly escalating levels of malnutrition.In a message to G7 leaders who are meeting from Sunday in Germany, Michael Dunford, the World Food Programme’s (WFP) regional director for east Africa, said governments had to donate urgently and generously if there was to be any hope of avoiding catastrophe in the Horn of Africa country. Continue reading...

‘Big hand of government’ isn’t needed to drive transition, Nationals leader says

Analysis finds 58% of rapeseed oil in Europe is burned for fuel despite soaring prices and climate impactEurope and the UK are pouring 17,000 tons – or about 19 million bottles – of cooking oil into vehicle fuel tanks every day, even though it is up to two-and-a-half times more expensive than before 2021, according to new analysis.The equivalent of another 14 million bottles a day of palm and soy oil – mostly from Indonesia and South America – is also burned for fuel, the research says. Continue reading...

At least two Liberals have indicated they are prepared to cross the floor to support Labor’s legislation to cut emissions 43% by 2030

Former ADF chief backs study saying threats ‘continue to escalate in the absence of far stronger climate action than we have seen thus far’

Australian Conservation Foundation says global heating from fossil fuel development will compound coral bleaching on Great Barrier Reef

Government calls in retailer’s plan for site after campaigners say it will release 40,000 tonnes of CO2Marks & Spencer has sparked a public row with Michael Gove, accusing the Conservative cabinet minister of “political grandstanding” after he ordered a public inquiry into its plan to demolish and rebuild its flagship Oxford Street store in London.The retailer said it was “bewildered and disappointed” at “Michael Gove’s baseless decision”, which came after the scheme was granted permission to the displeasure of campaigners, who claimed the project would release 40,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. Continue reading...

India’s monsoon season has been worse than usual, sweeping away possessions and leaving people huddling on raised groundPeople living in Assam, in north-east India, are usually stoical about the flooding that occurs to a greater or lesser extent every monsoon season. But this year they say the situation is dramatically worse. “It was like a scene from Titanic,” one man told local media of the rising waters that have flooded all but two of the state’s districts.In some places entire villages are under water, while across the state 114,000 hectares of crops have been submerged and 5,000 livestock have been washed away. For those that remain, fodder is running out. Continue reading...

Environment groups welcome long-awaited deal to curb harmful subsidies but say key measures to curb overfishing were droppedAfter 20 years of failed negotiations, the World Trade Organization has secured a deal to curb harmful subsidies that contribute to overfishing. Conservationists and campaign groups welcomed last week’s agreement as historic, despite criticism of “big holes” in the agreement.The deal was the first concluded in Geneva for all 164 member states of the WTO with “environmental sustainability” at its core, the organisation’s director general, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said in her closing speech. Continue reading...

A forester, a farmer and a child psychologist have formed a pioneering group to bring even more nature back to their valley

Gas stations are environmental liabilities and hugely expensive to remediate. Electric cars are making gas stations obsoleteWhether or not we’ve all realized it, the era of gasoline-powered cars is rapidly winding to a close – and with it, gas stations and the pollution they bring to communities.People are tired of being forced to pay obscene amounts of money for fuel every time there’s an international incident. Meanwhile, the cost of battery tech is just 10% of what it was a decade ago, and is expected to continue dropping as the decade wears on. And just this month the Biden administration announced its plan for making EV charging stations accessible across the US.Nathan Taft is the digital and communications lead for Stand.earth’s Safe Cities initiative Continue reading...

Faroese firm Bakkafrost claims direct flights to US will cut carbon but critics say air transport is not the answerA salmon farming company has bought a Boeing 757 in a race to get its fresh fish on to the plates of diners in Manhattan in less than 24 hours.The Faroese firm Bakkafrost, which also owns the Scottish Salmon Company, argues it can cut its carbon footprint by flying its own jet across the Atlantic and minimise waste by getting its fish to its US customers faster. Continue reading...

Experts warn ambitious targets for nature must be agreed at UN meeting, moved from China to Canada after two-year waitThe date for a key UN nature summit has finally been confirmed after more than two years of delays and amid fears momentum to halt biodiversity loss across the globe has been lost.Ahead of the latest round of negotiations in Nairobi this week, the UN convention on biological diversity confirmed that the Cop15 biodiversity conference will now take place in Montreal, Canada, from 5 to 17 December, after it became clear China would not be able to host the event in Kunming due to the country’s zero-Covid policy. Continue reading...