Environment | The Guardian

Merle Liivand swam in choppy waters off Miami coast to raise awareness about importance of clean oceansIn the Little Mermaid, Ariel sings a whole song about wishing to be part of a world where people get to walk. Merle Liivand, on the other hand, wanted to do the opposite – and now holds the world record for the farthest swim as a mermaid.Liivand swam 26.22 miles wearing a silicone monofin, in just over 11 hours in choppy waters off the coast of Miami on 7 May. Continue reading...

DfT says it wants to focus funding on expanding the public electric chargepoint networkThe UK government is ending the last remaining subsidies for electric cars, arguing it will free up funds to expand the charging network and support other battery-powered vehicles.In a controversial move, the government has closed the £300m plug-in car grant scheme to new orders on Tuesday, the Department for Transport said. Continue reading...

Aemo cancels alert on potential blackouts in Victoria but electricity shortfalls forecast to continue in Queensland and New South Wales

As capital swelters, India urges rich countries to provide funds to help deal with effects of climate crisisThroughout the day Virender Sharma splashes water from a bucket on to the sheet he has pulled over his lilies, tuberoses, carnations and gerberas in an attempt to protect them from the hot, dry wind sweeping through Delhi.But the street flower seller’s attempts to protect his produce is futile. Since the onset of a brutal heatwave in mid-March, his income has dropped by 60%. Continue reading...

Penny Wong to visit New Zealand foreign minister; at least 31 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

An on-call team at Amritsar’s tree hospital nurses sick neems and gives new life to troubled banyansSahib Singh clambers up a portable ladder, reaches out and, with the help of a few tools, tugs at the banyan tree and successfully removes it. The uprooted plant, which had sprouted from a wall inside the living room, is placed in a plastic bag filled with fertilised black soil. “We will replant this on the hospital lawn,” Singh says over Skype, while climbing back down the ladder. The operation lasts barely 20 minutes.The removal of the banyan tree, considered sacred in Hinduism, is the first of three calls attended by Singh in his tree ambulance on one day in May. He is a gardener and part of the team at the Pushpa Tree and Plant Hospital and Dispensary, in the northern Indian city of Amritsar, launched in January 2020. Continue reading...

Call comes after former UN climate envoy urged African countries to exploit their natural gas reservesAfrica must embrace renewable energy, and forgo exploration of its potentially lucrative gas deposits to stave off climate disaster and bring access to clean energy to the hundreds of millions who lack it, leading experts on the continent have said.Their call came as the UN secretary general, António Guterres, warned that exploring for gas and oil anywhere in the world would be “delusional”. Continue reading...

Years before the climate crisis was part of national discourse, this memo to the president predicted catastropheIn 1977 Star Wars hit movie theaters, New York City had a blackout that lasted 25 hours, and the Apple II personal computer went up for sale. It was also the year that a remarkable one-page memo was circulated at the very highest levels of US government.Years before the climate crisis was part of national discourse, this memo outlined what was known – and feared – about the crisis at the time. It was prescient in many ways. Did anyone listen? Continue reading...

Ministers keen to claim UK right to potential deposits before and after 1982 war with ArgentinaBritish ministers were keen to exploit oil around the Falkland Islands before and after the 1982 conflict, declassified British government documents show.In a previously unpublished letter, the former chancellor Norman Lamont said the revenues from Falklands oil should go to the British government, not the Falkland islanders. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Collin Beck, who is believed to have been involved in negotiating the pact, offers most comprehensive defence yet of the controversial dealThe controversial security deal struck between Solomon Islands and China that caught the western world off guard was needed to maintain internal security and help fight climate change, a leading Solomon Islands official has said, defending his country’s right to choose its allies.Speaking to the Guardian in his first interview since the deal between China and Solomon Islands was leaked, Collin Beck, the permanent secretary of foreign affairs and a senior figure in the Solomons government, also said Australia should question whether it had been “fair” to Solomon Islands in its intense scrutiny of the deal. Continue reading...

The entire park, spanning parts of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, will remain closed to visitors as officials assess damage to roads and bridgesRecord flooding and rockslides following a burst of heavy rains prompted the rare closure on Monday of all five entrances to Yellowstone national park at the start of the summer tourist season, the park superintendent said.The entire park, spanning parts of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, will remain closed to visitors, including those with lodging and camping reservations, at least through Wednesday, as officials assess damage to roads, bridges and other facilities. Continue reading...

Spray-painted graffiti measuring several feet square appears on boulders and other sitesOfficials at Yosemite national park are appealing to the public for information and witnesses after more than 30 sites in the park were vandalized with spray paint last month.Park officials are asking anyone who was on the trail to the top of Yosemite Falls on 20 May and who saw people carrying cans of spray paint and tagging the area to contact the National Park Service. Continue reading...

Market operator in talks with large consumers as country faces energy crisis mainly due to poorly performing coal-fired generators

Brazil president comments on journalist and Indigenous expert’s fate amid unconfirmed claims bodies have been found in AmazonThe Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, has said he believes “something wicked” was done to the missing British journalist Dom Phillips and the Brazilian Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, amid unconfirmed claims their bodies had been found in the Amazon.British relatives of Phillips said they had been contacted by the Brazilian embassy in London on Monday morning and informed that two unidentified bodies had been found during the search operation. Continue reading...

Murdoch-owned channel creates and distributes content promoting climate scepticism across the world, analysis finds

Old baths, PVC pipes and even dog bowls can make suitable homes for amphibians affected by habitat destruction

Vessel off Yemen with more than 1m barrels of oil aboard has been stranded for six years and is close to breaking upA rare UN appeal to the public to raise $20m is to be launched on Tuesday in an attempt to prevent an environmental catastrophe caused by the potential break-up of an oil tanker off the coast of Yemen.The money is needed to offload more than 1.14m barrels of oil that have been sitting in the decrepit cargo ship, Safer, for more than six years because of an impasse between Houthi groups and the Saudi-backed government over ownership and responsibility. Continue reading...

French firm in talks to extend life of Nottinghamshire plant to shore up Britain’s winter energy suppliesThe UK government is close to striking a deal to keep a coal-fired power station in Nottinghamshire open longer than planned as ministers attempt to shore up Britain’s energy supplies.UK officials are in negotiations with the French energy company EDF over plans to extend the operations of the West Burton A power station near Retford. Continue reading...

Campaigners spotted proposal to absorb conservation watchdog into Defra buried in recent government consultationDiscussions about dismantling Natural England have sparked anxiety, with experts fearing this would further damage efforts to protect wildlife and reach net zero.Campaigners have raised the alarm after spotting the proposal buried in a recent government consultation on nature recovery, which was sent to stakeholders. Continue reading...

Longstanding protester asks if UK is ‘heading towards dictatorship’ as Home Office updates public order billSwampy, the UK’s most famous tunnel protester, has criticised plans to beef up the penalties for tunnelling protests, after Priti Patel announced those using the “guerrilla protest tactic” could face up to three years in jail.An amendment to the recently published public order bill will create a new offence of causing serious disruption by creating and occupying tunnels, while going equipped to create protest tunnels will also be criminalised. Continue reading...

Experts say heatwaves happening earlier and more often as temperatures hit highs not normally recorded until July or AugustA second extreme heat event of the year is searing Spain and southern France, with temperatures hitting highs not normally recorded until July or August and experts warning summer heatwaves are happening earlier and more often.The French state forecaster, Météo France, said temperatures had already exceeded 35C close to the Mediterranean and would rise further from midweek as the hot air mass moved northwards, with parts of the south-west and Rhone valley reaching 39C. Continue reading...

Analysis: high temperatures will lead to a surge in energy demand for cooling but drought in Spain has reduced energy from hydropowerThe extreme heat affecting Iberia this week has led to temperatures peaking at over 40C in some parts of Spain over the past days – that’s 7-9C above the seasonal average in some locations like Andalucia.The hot and dry weather has worsened the drought issues across the region, with many water reservoirs recording extremely low levels of storage at the start of the summer season, following a very dry winter (especially January/February) and a very dry May too. Spain generates more than 10% of its electricity from hydropower plants, so this will have some serious implications for energy production and availability/prices. Continue reading...

Even in the midst of war, we have to think about recovery. Seeds are what make future life possible. Without seeds, it is very difficult to rebuild a food systemThe war in Ukraine has made the food crisis triggered by the pandemic worse. People in Ukraine not only fear for their lives but are facing possible food shortages. Because Ukraine and Russia are major producers and exporters of agricultural commodities, the conflict is also having major impacts on global supply chains. The Ukrainian government has said that 22m tons of grain are stuck in the country due to the Russian blockade of its ports. Traders and financial speculators have further driven up wheat and cooking oil prices.Not only are Ukrainian farms and fields being destroyed by Russian forces, but we are also very troubled by reports that Ukraine’s national seed bank has been partly destroyed amid fighting in Kharkiv in the north-east, where almost 2,000 crop samples rest in underground vaults. If Ukraine’s farmers cannot farm and the country’s seed banks are destroyed, its future is in peril.Michael Fakhri is UN special rapporteur on the right to food and a professor at the University of Oregon School of Law. Sofia Monsalve is secretary general of the food rights organization Fian International Continue reading...

Temperature topped 110F on four consecutive days and has not fallen below 80F at night-time for the past week in the Arizona city, breaking several recordsAfter a record-breaking daytime temperature in Phoenix last Friday, the onset of night offered little relief from the sweltering heat. As the clock struck midnight it was still a staggering 100F (38C) outside and just a few degrees cooler inside 60-year-old Sarepta Jackson’s home.Jackson lay naked and as still as possible on the bed next to an old portable air conditioning unit in the bedroom window, but couldn’t relax or get comfortable. She eventually got up around 2am to make rice and beans for the following day because the air conditioner and electrical appliances won’t run together, so it’s too hot to cook during the day. Continue reading...

Researchers in Canary Islands coin term for new type of marine pollution they say could be leaking toxic chemicals into oceansThe discovery came as a team of researchers were combing the shores of the Spanish island of Tenerife in the Canaries. Time and again, set against the sparkling waters that lapped the Playa Grande, they spotted clumps of hardened tar, dotted with tiny, colourful fragments of plastic.They swiftly realised that this combination of tar and microplastics – or “plastitar” as they named it – was unlike any other plastic pollution they had seen. Continue reading...

Wealthy landowners have filed a high court case to ‘clarify’ law around public access to the moorDartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA) has vowed to defend wild camping on the moor, following a case brought by a wealthy landowner.The huge moorland in Devon is one of the few places in England which legally allows wild camping in certain areas. DNPA fears the case, which seeks, according to the complainants, to clarify the law governing wild camping in the park, could throw into doubt popular overnight events such as Ten Tors and the Duke of Edinburgh’s award.

Our national building standards need to be overhauled to fight climate change and energy poverty – and improve our lives

Former PM says state and federal governments should ‘make sure all the gas we need is available here’

Ship Badr 1 sank in Red Sea port of Suakin early on Sunday, prompting environmental concernsA ship crammed with thousands of sheep sank on Sunday in Sudan’s Red Sea port of Suakin, drowning most animals onboard but with all crew surviving, officials said.The livestock vessel was exporting the animals from Sudan to Saudi Arabia when it sank. “The ship, Badr 1, sank during the early hours of Sunday morning,” a senior Sudanese port official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “It was carrying 15,800 sheep.” Continue reading...

Henry Dimbleby says government’s response to his review of food system shows no vision and ‘is not a strategy’The government’s lead adviser on food issues has condemned what ministers have billed as a landmark national plan to combat food poverty and obesity, saying it is “not a strategy” and warning it could mean more children will go hungry.Henry Dimbleby’s verdict is further bad news for Boris Johnson as the white paper is a direct response to last year’s wide-ranging review of Britain’s food system, which was led by the restaurateur. Continue reading...

A mining lease being sought for a proposed coalmine is being challenged in the state’s land court

The British journalist was travelling in the Amazon with Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira when they went missingThe wife and mother-in-law of the missing British journalist Dom Phillips have said their hopes of finding him alive had gone, in a heartfelt and heart-breaking message that paid tribute to him and his travelling companion Bruno Pereira.Phillips, a longtime contributor to the Guardian, and Pereira, an experienced Indigenous advocate, went missing on 5 June in a remote part of the western Amazon. Continue reading...

Phoenix reported 114F, Las Vegas soared to 109F and Denver hit 100F, while inland areas of California reached triple digitsA dangerous heat swept across the American south-west over the weekend as potentially deadly heat set temperatures soaring to record levels in numerous major US cities in the region.Phoenix, Las Vegas, Denver and California’s Death Valley all posted record temperatures on Saturday. Continue reading...

An avid diver saw how lionfish have devastated populations of Florida’s native tropical fish and resolved to help solve the problemAarav Chavda has been diving off the coast of Florida for years. Each time he became increasingly depressed by the ever-growing void, as colourful species of fish and coral reefs continued to disappear.A significant reason for that disappearance is the lionfish, an invasive species that has boomed in Atlantic waters from Florida to the Caribbean in recent decades, and in numerous other places from Brazil and Mexico to the Mediterranean. Continue reading...

President visits state beset by Hermits Peak Calif Canyon fire, result of two accidental fires that mergedJoe Biden landed in New Mexico on Saturday amid anger and frustration from wildfire survivors as he visited the state to review efforts to fight its biggest blaze in recorded history – which was started by federal officials.Driven by drought and wind, the fire has destroyed hundreds of homes in mountains north-east of Santa Fe since two controlled burns by the US Forest Service went out of control in April. Continue reading...

Ecologists say discovery of scaly-tailed possum at Bullo River Station is a sign of positive benefit of private land conservationA rare scaly-tailed possum has been caught in the Northern Territory for the first time in what scientists say is a sign that private land conservation is having a positive effect.The scaly-tailed possum, also known as the Wyulda, is a rock-dwelling marsupial with stout limbs and a “grippy” tail it uses to hang from branches and rock ledges to reach for seeds, fruits and flowers. Continue reading...

Anger grows before West Country byelection as farmers say they will be left poorer and unable to compete with foreign producersBoris Johnson’s hopes of surviving as prime minister have been dealt a serious blow after farmers and environmentalists condemned his government’s post-Brexit food strategy as a disaster for people in the countryside – with less than two weeks to go before a key rural byelection.In an interview with the Observer, the president of the National Farmers Union, Minette Batters, said ambitious proposals to help farmers increase food production, first put forward last year by the government’s food tsar, Henry Dimbleby, had been “stripped to the bone” in a new policy document, and meant farmers would not be able to produce affordable food. Continue reading...

The then 12-year-old had diplomats squirming in their seats when she berated them at the 1992 gathering

If Democrats act, New Yorkers will begin to get the government they deserve. With climate cataclysms here, the political system can’t afford more delaysIt has been, for progressives in New York, a trying year.Major pieces of legislation that were supposed to reshape the state to safeguard the working class have stalled out. A bill to create a statewide single-payer healthcare system is no closer to passage than it was several years ago. A push to guarantee new protections for tenants as rents soar in New York City could not find the votes. And ambitious legislation to combat climate that did have the votes to go through the state legislature was halted by the speaker of the state assembly.Ross Barkan is a journalist based in New York City. He is the author of Demolition Night, a novel, and The Prince: Andrew Cuomo, Coronavirus, and the Fall of New York Continue reading...

Climatenomics lays out how ‘supply chain disruptions’ has become a euphemism for the effects of climate changeForget Ukraine, coronavirus, corporate greed and “supply chain issues”, when it comes to inflation the climate crisis is the real, lasting, worry, according to a new book, and one that’s only likely to get worse.Climatenomics, by former White House reporter and director of Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) Bob Keefe, is a narrative account of how the climate crisis is fundamentally altering not just the US but global economies. Continue reading...

Institute of Chartered Foresters says 70% more staff must be recruited to meet current tree planting targetsWhen Kevin Martin was a child he spent days beneath the canopy of Hampshire woodlands while his father, a tree surgeon, scaled the heights of oak and ash above him.Twenty years later, with a degree and with research for a master’s under way, Martin is in charge of tending to the 14,000 trees at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew. With trees at the forefront of UK strategies to reach net zero by 2050, Martin and others like him are key professionals on the frontline of the fight to mitigate the impact of climate change and adapt to the changing conditions. Continue reading...

Labour says leaked white paper suggesting more fish farming and venison ‘borders on preposterous’

Heatwaves becoming more frequent and are beginning earlier, according to Spanish meteorological officeSpain is in the grip of its first heatwave of the year, with temperatures in parts of the west and south expected to reach 44C (111.2F).Heatwaves – defined as at least three consecutive days of temperatures above the average recorded for July and August from 1971-2000 – are becoming more frequent and are beginning earlier, according Aemet, the Spanish meteorological office. “We are facing unusually high temperatures for June,” said Rubén del Campo, an Aemet spokesperson. Continue reading...

Renewable heating incentive was set up to help business, public sector and non-profit organisationsA minister, MPs and several aristocratic landowners have received thousands in public funds from a government subsidy intended to stimulate the green transition.The renewable heating incentive was set up in 2014 to help businesses, public sector and non-profit organisations meet the cost of installing renewable heat systems by paying them a tariff for each unit of heat produced from renewable sources. A parallel system was set up for homes. Continue reading...

Governments not listening to people with disabilities despite them being at high risk, say researchersPeople with disabilities are being “systematically ignored” by governments around the world when it comes to the climate crisis, even though they are particularly at risk from the impacts of extreme weather, research has shown.Few countries make provisions for the needs of people with disabilities when they make plans for adapting to the effects of climate breakdown, and none mention disabled people in their programmes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to the first comprehensive review of the issue. Continue reading...

An alarming trend shows average temperatures have increased by at least 2F since 1970, with even higher spikes in the west and south-westFrom Texas to California, most of the US south-west is experiencing scorching heat this week, with temperatures soaring above 100F (38C) in dozens of locations, putting millions of people at risk of “dangerously hot conditions”.This is part of an alarming trend. American summers are hotter than ever, according to new research, with most of the country experiencing increased summer averages over the last half century. Continue reading...

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including a new iguana, a nesting weaver and a rare albino giant tortoise Continue reading...

Nadesalingam family arrive back home to Biloela; New Zealand ‘heartened’ by Albanese government’s climate stance; Australia records at least 40 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Extracting the chemical used in fertilisers from waste rather than mining it could also help reduce pollutionSewage could provide a novel way of helping consumers with soaring food bills and reducing pollution in our waterways – if sewage plants separated out phosphorus, a vital ingredient of fertiliser, according to a new report.Phosphorus, found naturally in all plants, is essential for growing plants but its use as a fertiliser is creating widespread pollution in developed countries, because much of it is wasted. Phosphorus is a leading cause of water pollution, as the runoff from fertiliser use in fields produces an excess of nutrients that upset the natural balance of rivers and ponds, leading to algae blooms that harm fish and plants. Continue reading...

Planning policy is killing off projects that would otherwise help provide the energy Europe needsWith the UK having the largest wind energy resource in Europe and more than three-quarters of voters wanting more onshore windfarms, it is surprising that there remains a virtual ban on their construction in England. Footnote 54 to the National Planning Policy Framework updated in 2018 made it possible for any small group of “local community” objectors to kill off an onshore windfarm project even if the majority want it.With onshore wind generation being ever cheaper compared with gas and nuclear energy this seems particularly harsh on those struggling to pay bills. This planning restriction does not apply in Scotland so the stark difference in the number of turbines when crossing the border in either direction is clearly nothing to do with the wind speeds. Continue reading...