Environment | The Guardian

Lemon, blacktip, bonnethead and nurse sharks retreat from sea as state struggles to contain pollution problem

Wildfires burn across Italy, Spain, Greece and Turkey in heatwave bringing temperatures above 40CAt least five people have been wounded and holidaymakers evacuated after wildfires devastated a pine wood near a beach in Pescara, Italy, as one of the worst heatwaves in decades swept across south-east Europe.A five-year-old girl was taken to hospital but her condition is not believed to be life-threatening, according to reports. Continue reading...

Allegra Stratton says carbon emissions must change ‘right now’, as UK moves towards 2050 goalThe UK’s goal of tackling the climate crisis by reducing carbon emissions to net zero by 2050 is “too far away”, the prime minister’s climate change spokesperson has said.Allegra Stratton, Boris Johnson’s former press secretary, said the “science is clear” that the UK must change its carbon emission output “right now”. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Green group decries infrastructure department’s ‘dodgy offset’ plan to use government site that already had protectionsFederal environmental department officials questioned the credibility of a government plan to use heritage-listed land it already owned as the main environmental offset for the western Sydney airport.Documents obtained by Guardian Australia under freedom of information laws show officials asked the federal infrastructure department to justify the use of Defence Establishment Orchard Hills to offset the destruction of more than 100ha of critically endangered Cumberland Plain woodland and other habitat. Continue reading...

Wildlife campaigners hope Harry will shed light on the killing of two of Britain’s rarest birds over Sandringham in 2007Wildlife campaigners have called on Prince Harry to use his forthcoming memoirs to help solve a 14-year mystery about the killing of two of Britain’s rarest birds over one of the Queen’s estates.In October 2007, just a few weeks after his 23rd birthday, Harry was questioned by the police after two hen harriers, a legally protected species, were seen being shot over Sandringham in Norfolk. Continue reading...

A 2,624-year-old bald cypress could teach us how to fight climate change – if it doesn’t get destroyed firstA wizened eastern bald cypress dwells in an expanse of North Carolina’s wetlands.It lives among a cluster of eastern bald cypress trees in the state’s Black River, some with origins dating back a millennium. But this singular tree has witnessed more than its comrades; a 2019 study found it’s been alive since at least 605BCE. It’s the oldest-known living tree in eastern North America and the fifth-oldest living non-clonal tree species in the world. Continue reading...

Rewilding projects reveal rare species preserved in buried ancient wetlandsThe fertile land of Norfolk is home to a host of stately homes, rare wildlife and more ponds than any other county. Now, estates in the area are trying to hunt down ancient “ghost ponds” in the hopes of reviving centuries-old seeds and discovering long-lost plants.Botanists believe that this will lead to new plant discoveries; seeds can survive for centuries under layers of leaves and mud so once they are given water and exposed to sunlight the plants will grow. Already, six plants of the endangered wetland flower grass-poly have been found at the edge of an old cattle-watering pond on the Heydon estate in north Norfolk. The species had not been seen in the county since the early 1900s. Continue reading...

More than a billion sea creatures across the Pacific north-west perished in this year’s heatwave. And it’s just a taste of what’s to comeWhen forecasts foreshadowed the Pacific north-west’s devastating heatwave at the end of June, marine biologist Christopher Harley was alarmed and intrigued.Then came the smell, and his feelings somberly shifted. Continue reading...

Colin Farrell and his co-stars in the BBC’s North Water shocked at the loss of wilderness at the north pole from global heatingIt’s a problem that, a century ago, anyone on a ship in the Arctic Circle just didn’t have to worry about: where is all the ice? Yet this was the unexpected stumbling block faced by the film-makers of a forthcoming BBC thriller set in the Arctic in the 1850s.The North Water is an epic five-part adventure about an ill-fated 19th-century whaling expedition into the Arctic. In the pursuit of realism, its producers realised that they could not rely on special effects. Nor would shooting it in a studio tank or off the coast of Britain achieve the authenticity of filming in the Arctic, however extreme the conditions and challenges. Continue reading...

Death toll rises as storms continue to rip through communities, destroying homes and livelihoodsAs heavy rains and floods dominate headlines around the world, displaced people and those living in conflict zones are among the worst affected.Wind and heavy rain from monsoons and typhoons has bombarded much of Asia. There have also been downpours and flash floods in parts of Latin America and Africa. Continue reading...

Smoke, closed businesses and constant worry have changed life for those living with disaster on their doorstepThe Dixie fire was consuming vast swaths of land in the Sierra Nevada foothills, but in the nearby valley city of Chico, California, it was a typical summer day.The temperature had already climbed past 102F and a dusting of smoke was pushing air quality to unhealthy levels. Yet at the One Mile city park on Wednesday, college students lay in the shade of oak trees, kids splashed around Sycamore Pool and cyclists raced by. Continue reading...

2021 is already the deadliest year on record for Florida manatees. Scientists and activists are scrambling to avert further disasterOn a bright morning in July, a crowd gathered on a boat ramp in St Augustine, Florida, awaiting the arrival of a young male manatee named Gerard. The marshy Matanzas River gently flowed around oyster beds and sawgrass islands as biologists organized their equipment. Nearby about a dozen onlookers paced by the shore, waiting to catch a glimpse of Gerard’s return to the wild following weeks of captivity.Earlier in spring, beachgoers discovered Gerard stranded and sunbaked in Palm Coast, about 25 miles south of St Augustine, on the Atlantic Ocean. Samaritans draped wet towels over the feeble marine mammal, keeping him cool and shaded from the subtropical sun, as a rescue team raced to the scene. Gravely thin, Gerard was transported to Jacksonville Zoo, where he spent the next 10 weeks in critical care until he was plump enough to re-enter the wild. Continue reading...

Families fleeing drug gangs and paramilitaries have been cut off, with government accused of being ‘incapable’ of protecting themFlooding and landslides have left thousands of refugees cut off from food supplies in Ituango, the conflict-strewn municipality in north-western Colombia.Roads have been blocked by mud and debris after heavy rains, while helicopters have been unable to land. As a result, the delivery of food and medical supplies has been stymied, and communications cut off. Continue reading...

Startups are joining the race to create first imitation cow’s milk by artificially reproducing proteins in curds and wheyFor decades, people on plant-based diets were restricted to soya-based options to recreate dairy, until veganism went mainstream and a clutch of palate-pleasing almond, coconut and oat-based alternatives emerged. Last week, Swedish scientists launched a potato milk, equally lauded for its sustainability credentials and criticised for deriving from a humdrum carbohydrate. The holy grail now – according to researchers – is genuine dairy milk, made in a lab.

If we work together to create new sanctuaries or restore old habitat, the butterflies will have a fighting chanceIt looks like an indifferent year for butterflies from where I’m standing although I’ve seen large numbers of possibly immigrant red admirals around the Norfolk coast.We won’t know the season we’re having until we see data from the annual scientific survey and the Big Butterfly Count, which is now under way and will hopefully beat last year’s incredible statistic: 111,628 citizen scientists took part. Continue reading...

Thousands of holidaymakers evacuated from Aegean Sea resorts as country fights more than 50 blazesThe heat intensity of wildfires in Turkey on Thursday was four times higher than anything on record for the nation, according to satellite data passed on to the Guardian.At least four people were killed by blazes that swept through the tourist regions of Antalya and Muğla, forcing thousands of holidaymakers to be evacuated from their hotels by a flotilla of boats. Continue reading...

Biffa convicted of exporting filthy rubbish marked as waste paper for recycling in India and Indonesia in breach of banThe UK’s largest waste company, Biffa, has been fined £1.5m after exporting filthy rubbish marked as waste paper for recycling in India and Indonesia, in actions a judge called “reckless, bordering on deliberate”.Last week, the company was convicted of sending more than 1,000 tonnes of household waste to India and Indonesia, in breach of a ban on sending such waste to developing countries after a two-week trial at Wood Green crown court . Continue reading...

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including a released frog, rescued kestrel chicks and frisky sharks Continue reading...

Some problems can seem intractable but projects worldwide show change is possibleAround the globe many cities are redesigning themselves for the 21st century, but will the UK be left behind?Pressures on the UK’s urban environments are likely to increase, according to a report from the Environment Agency. Eight out of 10 people call these areas home and urban populations are expected to be 18% greater by 2036 than they were in 2011. Although the air that we breathe in our towns and cities has improved hugely since the 1950s, progress on particle pollution has stalled in recent years. In 2019, three-quarters of the UK’s reporting zones still failed legal limits for nitrogen dioxide that were set in 1999. Continue reading...

In an ‘absolute win’ for the endangered species, 14 dogs were transported by road and air to a ‘safe space’ in a country they have not populated in large numbers for decadesUnder cover of night, a pack of African wild dogs swarms around an impala carcass. Awake and hungry after a 27-hour transcontinental journey, this animated scene in Liwonde national park is a sign of “mission accomplished”: African wild dogs are back in Malawi.“The feeling is absolutely surreal and so emotional,” says Cole du Plessis, coordinator of the Wild Dog Range Expansion Project, who this week oversaw the successful translocation of the 14 African wild dogs from South Africa and Mozambique to Malawi’s Liwonde national park and Majete wildlife reserve. “When we flew into Liwonde, on the final leg of the journey, and I saw all the vehicles waiting, I’ll admit I got a bit teary. It’s such an incredible feeling to finally have the dogs here safely.” Continue reading...

Transport minister warns local authorities not to remove cycle lanes or other reduction measures without evidence of their failureCouncils which rip out cycle lanes or low-traffic neighbourhoods before giving them a chance to work or without evidence they are failing could lose future central government funding, ministers have warned.In a sign of the growing frustration within government at some councils, both Conservative and Labour, which have removed active travel schemes in the face of sometimes noisy objections, transport minister Chris Heaton-Harris is formally writing to the leaders of all English local authorities with transport responsibilities. Continue reading...

Hard frosts, sleet and cold rain during hatching season earlier in summer has caused loss of entire broodsThe “Glorious Twelfth” may be effectively cancelled this year, shooting estates have said, as the grouse breeding season has been so poor.Hard frosts while the birds were laying has meant that fewer were born, and some eggs are still yet to hatch. Sleet and cold rain during the hatching season earlier this summer caused the loss of entire broods. Continue reading...

Shares tumble after company announces $1.5bn asset writedown and lower expected earningsOrigin Energy has slashed the value of its assets, including Australia’s biggest coal-fired power plant, by more than $1.5bn as cheap power from renewables floods the national grid.Company shares tumbled as much as 10% on Friday morning after Origin announced the writedown and lower expected earnings next year to the Australian Securities Exchange, before recovering slightly to be down about 7.85% about 12.45pm. Continue reading...

In the city, they fly along routes that mirror roadsEvery evening in Sydney, clouds of bats move across the sky. They time their trip so that there is just too little light to make out anything more than a silhouette – which is just enough light so that you can see, very clearly, the outlines of their legs and feet knocking together – an entrechat – as they flap their wings.I’m not sure that I will ever stop having the exact same thought about this: “Oh my God, you can see their feet knocking together. Oh my God.” Continue reading...

Study warns regulator must take action as private equity firms and state-backed groups begin to dominateForeign control of North Sea oil licences could put the UK’s plans to reach net zero emissions at risk, a study has warned.The research shows state-backed fossil fuel companies and private equity firms are taking a tighter grip on North Sea oil, raising concerns about the government’s ability to wind down fossil fuel production and secure a “just transition” for workers. Continue reading...

The study identifies each state’s most economically damaging species and warns costs could rise further without investmentInvasive plants, animals and diseases have cost Australia at least $390bn in damages and management costs over the past 60 years, according to research that has painted the most accurate picture yet of the economic burden of these invaders.Feral cats are the costliest of the hundreds of individual species studied, accounting for just over $10bn in damages and management expenses. Rodents, pigs and rabbits came close behind. Continue reading...

Foundation has received $400,000 in total pandemic support despite being awarded $443m government grant three years agoLabor has asked the Morrison government to explain why a Great Barrier Reef-focused charity received jobkeeper despite still having hundreds of millions of dollars remaining from a nearly $500m grant it received three years ago.The Great Barrier Reef Foundation, which expanded from six to 38 full-time staff after accepting a $443m grant that it did not request from the Turnbull government in 2018, confirmed it received about $351,000 in jobkeeper payments in the 2019-20 financial year. Continue reading...

Civil servants decline to release letters thought to detail why monarch wanted to exempt her land from green energy initiativeThe Scottish government is refusing to publish details about the Queen’s secret lobbying of ministers because it would undermine “the appearance of political neutrality” that the monarch adopts in public.Civil servants made the startling admission when they refused to release private letters from the Queen’s Scottish lawyer that are thought to detail why she wanted to amend a bill dealing with green energy earlier this year. Continue reading...

‘Unreasonable’ court ruling does not need new strategy, Van Beurden says, as firm reveals multibillion-dollar shareholder windfallRoyal Dutch Shell has no plans to change its strategy despite a landmark Netherlands court ruling calling for the company to make a 45% cut to its carbon emissions by the end of the decade, according to the oil giant’s chief executive.Ben van Beurden denied the company would need to change its plans to meet the tougher court-ordered climate targets on Thursday, as he revealed a multibillion-dollar shareholder windfall for investors and better-than-expected quarterly profits. Continue reading...

Financial burden of ‘alien’ animals and plants such as Japanese knotweed and European rabbit is rising, researchers warnInvasive species such as the grey squirrel, Japanese knotweed and the European rabbit have cost the UK economy at least £5bn since the mid 1970s, according to research.Ecosystem-altering plants and animals that wipe out native wildlife, often introduced by humans, have cost the country at least £122m a year on average since 1976, causing structural damage to buildings, clogging waterways and ruining crops. Continue reading...

At Lake Powell on the Arizona-Utah border, the water line has dropped to a historic low, taking a heavy toll on the local industryChaos erupted at Bill West’s business in Page, Arizona, last week when he was forced to tell dozens of paid clients their summer vacations were either canceled or on hold – effective immediately.Related: ‘I can see the industry disappearing’: US fishermen sound alarm at plans for offshore wind Continue reading...

Action alleges federal minister’s grants decision for Northern Territory basin plan was unlawful and failed to ensure ‘proper’ use of public fundsEnvironmental groups will go to court in an attempt to stop resources minister Keith Pitt handing $21m in grants to a gas company seeking to frack the Beetaloo Basin in the Northern Territory.The Environment Centre Northern Territory (ECNT) and the Environmental Defenders Office on Thursday launched urgent proceedings in the federal court alleging the minister’s decision to award the grants to gas company Imperial Oil and Gas, a subsidiary of Empire Energy, was unlawful. Continue reading...

Volunteers use drones to capture headshots of the endangered mammal, of which there are under 300 in Australia’s south-eastCitizen scientists have captured spectacular footage of southern right whales and their calves swimming off the south coast of New South Wales.Among the animals in the footage, taken near Jervis Bay, are a mother and calf that were recently spotted frolicking in the Hawkesbury River. Continue reading...

Billions to be spent over six years with significant sums for regions hit hard in recent yearsThe government will spend a record £5.2bn on reducing flooding in England over the next six years, as the climate crisis increases the risk to homes and businesses.The Environment Agency will spend £860m next year to support more than 1,000 schemes, with significant funds for Yorkshire and the Humber and the north-west, regions that have been hit hard in recent years. Continue reading...

Manufacturer halts shipments of some Alienware Aurora R10 and R12 PCs because they use so much energy they breach state standardsPC maker Dell says it has stopped shipping some versions of its powerful gaming systems to California and five other US states because the products do not meet new energy efficiency standards.Dell said in a statement sent to Reuters the regulations affected “select configurations” of its Alienware Aurora R10 and R12 gaming PCs. Continue reading...

Study citing ‘perilous state’ of industrial civilisation ranks temperate islands top for resilienceNew Zealand, Iceland, the UK, Tasmania and Ireland are the places best suited to survive a global collapse of society, according to a study.The researchers said human civilisation was “in a perilous state” due to the highly interconnected and energy-intensive society that had developed and the environmental damage this had caused. Continue reading...

High court allows Greenpeace UK and others to seek judicial review of support for fossil fuel industryThe government will face a legal challenge over its continuing support for North Sea oil and gas production despite its legally binding target to end the UK’s contribution to the climate crisis.The high court agreed on Wednesday to allow a judicial review against the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), which set out a strategy earlier this year to continue to encourage the production of North Sea oil and gas while moving to a net zero carbon future. Continue reading...

Scientists record fin-to-fin contact in gentle giants, most likely part of courtship, for first timeFin-to-fin synchronised swimming, thought likely to be part of courtship, has been seen in groups of basking sharks for the first time. Video cameras attached temporarily to the sharks gave scientists an unprecedented view of their hitherto secret underwater world.The gentle giants are usually solitary creatures and virtually nothing is known about their breeding behaviour. The researchers also recorded one shark shooting out above the water, the first time a full breaching has been captured from the shark’s point of view. This may also be part of wooing a mate, perhaps by showing off the fish’s size. Continue reading...

Whatcom county’s council passed measure that bans new refineries, coal-fired power plants and other related infrastructureA county in Washington state has become the first such jurisdiction in the US to ban new fossil fuel infrastructure, following a lengthy battle over the impact of oil refineries on the local community.In a vote on Tuesday night, Whatcom county’s council unanimously passed a measure that bans the construction of new refineries, coal-fired power plants and other fossil fuel-related infrastructure. The ordinance also places new restrictions on existing fossil fuel facilities, such as a requirement that any extra planet-heating gases emitted from any expansion be offset. Continue reading...

Experiment using caffeine concoction on bees’ nests may help farmers ensure crops are pollinatedThe caffeine in the morning coffee that primes many humans for the day appears to inject bumblebees with a similar dose of purpose, helping them pollinate more effectively, a study has found.The impact of the climate crisis, habitat loss and pesticide use has strained wild pollinator populations, including bees, moths, wasps, butterflies, beetles and birds. As a result, some fruit growers have resorted to relying on “managed pollinators” such as commercial bumblebee colonies to pollinate their crops. Continue reading...

Allegra Stratton, Boris Johnson’s former press secretary, responds to question on Tories’ ‘unambitious’ climate policiesBoris Johnson’s former press secretary, who is now his spokesperson for the Cop26 climate summit, has said people could join the Green party as a way of saving the planet – while also saying joining the Tories would help as well.Allegra Stratton, who moved from Downing Street to the Cop26 team in April, after plans were axed for daily TV briefings which she had been expected to front, made her comments to the Independent. Continue reading...

Monarch used secretive procedure to become only person in country not bound by a green energy ruleThe Queen’s lawyers secretly lobbied Scottish ministers to change a draft law to exempt her private land from a major initiative to cut carbon emissions, documents reveal.The exemption means the Queen, one of the largest landowners in Scotland, is the only person in the country not required to facilitate the construction of pipelines to heat buildings using renewable energy. Continue reading...

The mayor of the Norwegian capital argues that the ‘moral’ duty to cut emissions from burning waste can be met by carbon captureThe city of Oslo was built on wealth generated by the North Sea, which for decades has produced billions of barrels of oil and gas. But Oslo now hopes to lead Norway’s transformation from one of the world’s largest exporters of fossil fuels to a global green pioneer.For Raymond Johansen, Oslo’s governing mayor, helping to lead global efforts to tackle the climate crisis is both a pragmatic economic response to Norway’s declining fossil fuel industries, and a moral obligation to provide solutions for a crisis it helped to create. Continue reading...

Conservation tool will focus on recovery efforts to give a fuller picture of threats to plant and animal populationsA new conservation tool could help put thousands of threatened animal and plant species on the road to recovery, allowing creatures such as the Sumatran rhino and the California condor to flourish once again.Scientists have typically focused on monitoring how close endangered species are to extinction, regularly updating the severity of the risk on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) red list, which includes iconic wildlife such as the mountain gorilla and rare flowering plants such as the Bayard’s adder’s-mouth orchid. Continue reading...

Despite chequered history the 329-year-old private bank has secured the sought-after B Corp statusPrivate bank Coutts will offer carbon credits and green mortgages to its ultra-wealthy clients after becoming one of the largest UK banking brands to secure B Corp status.Coutts, known as the Queen’s bank for having served every member of the royal family since George IV, is trying to bolster its environmental and social reputation after being dogged by a series of scandals in recent years, including sexual harassment allegations against its former star banker Harry Keogh, who was sacked in 2018. The bank was also fined by Swiss regulators in 2017 over alleged money laundering and for illegally profiting from transactions associated with the 1MDB scandal. Continue reading...

This heavily exploited insect is the larva of the yellow mealworm beetle, whose numbers are declining in the wildMealworms seen in pet shops everywhere are the larva of a species of darkling beetle, the yellow mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor. They are heavily exploited and easy to breed – sold live for feeding fish, reptiles, and as bait, and dried for wild bird food. People also eat them in restaurants, baked, toasted or fried.In the wild, however, the adult beetles – pale brown to black and shiny – are in short supply. Like so many other insects, numbers are declining. The beetles are 12-18 mm long and can be found between May and September occurring over most of the northern hemisphere, although in pockets. For example, in the UK they can be found in the Midlands, East Anglia and the south-east and only occasionally elsewhere. They are attracted to light and fly so may be found in houses before disappearing into dark corners. Continue reading...

Carbon emissions, ocean acidification, Amazon clearing all hurtling toward new recordsA new study tracking the planet’s vital signs has found that many of the key indicators of the global climate crisis are getting worse and either approaching, or exceeding, key tipping points as the earth heats up.Overall, the study found some 16 out of 31 tracked planetary vital signs, including greenhouse gas concentrations, ocean heat content and ice mass, set worrying new records. Continue reading...

Conservationists offer €18,000 bounty for information about who harpooned Kostis in AlonissosA reward has been announced by a Greek environmental group intent on finding “all those responsible” for the brutal death of a celebrated monk seal discovered harpooned in waters off the island of Alonissos.MOm, the Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal, said it was offering a €18k (£15k) bounty for information, or evidence, that “will lead to the arrest of the person(s) responsible for the killing of the seal, known as Kostis”. Continue reading...