Environment | The Guardian

Environment Agency devastates banks of river near Taunton ‘to protect properties in Bathpool’Anglers are “heartbroken” after a 250-metre stretch of the River Tone in Somerset was stripped of trees by the Environment Agency as part of flood management measures.The semi-wild section of river running through Taunton was a popular spot for anglers and wildlife-lovers, where kingfishers were often spotted. However, the majority of trees were felled last week, leaving the banks of the river as bare earth. Continue reading...

Petition urges FDA to strongly limit use of BPA, which is linked to cancer and other health problemsA comprehensive review of recent studies into a chemical often used in plastics and resins has revealed that the average American is exposed to levels of the dangerous compound that are 5,000 times higher than what the European Union now considers safe.The main exposure route for bisphenol-A (BPA) is via plastic and metal food packaging, and that has prompted a call for strong new limits on its use. Continue reading...

Researchers and citizen scientists found the animal to be active in every state and territory, even in densely populated cities

Temperatures in 499 counties across west, north-east and upper midwest US have already breached 1.5C (2.7F)More than a third of the American population is currently experiencing rapid, above-average rates of temperature increase, with 499 counties already breaching 1.5C (2.7F) of heating, a Guardian review of climate data shows.The US as a whole has heated up over the past century due to the release of planet-warming gases from burning fossil fuels, and swaths of the US west, north-east and upper midwest – representing more than 124.6 million people – have recorded soaring increases since federal government temperature records began in 1895. Continue reading...

Campaigners say ‘money isn’t the issue’ when there’s no koala recovery plan, while other threatened species receive little funding

Workers at the Jon Donaire plant in California are struggling to cope – so why won’t the factory’s owner raise its offer?More than 150 workers at the Jon Donaire Desserts plant in Santa Fe Springs, California, have been on strike since early November over wages, healthcare coverage and working conditions.The dispute centers on food workers, hailed as heroes early in the pandemic, who are struggling to cope with spiraling costs of living as the company that employs them posts billion-dollar revenues. Continue reading...

Angry residents have rallied to a campaign against the ‘trashing’ of the capital. Some blame mayor Anne Hidalgo while others see the protests as a far-right ployIn the middle of Paris’s third Covid lockdown last March, a hashtag appeared on Twitter with a photo of a lock on the Canal Saint-Martin that runs through the north of the city clogged with litter, plastic bags and bottles.Images of Paris looking worse for wear are nothing new but, within days, dozens of pictures of overflowing bins, broken pavements and graffiti-covered walls appeared with the same hashtag – #SaccageParis – which roughly translates as Trashed Paris. Continue reading...

Officials in Woodside – a mansion-filled, tech entrepreneur enclave – claim wildcat land keeps them from building multi-unit homesAt first glance, the town of Woodside may look more like a sprawl of mansions built on big-tech billions than crucial habitat for threatened California mountain lions.But town officials might suggest looking again. Continue reading...

After advising US president Joe Biden on energy, Saul Griffith is back in Australia to declare war on the climate crisis

The 23 coal and gas approvals could release six times the greenhouse gas Australia emits in a year, environment group warns

UK needs to reduce gas addiction and ramp up clean energy investment to bring energy bills down permanentlyCutting green levies on energy bills, or watering down the UK’s commitment to net-zero carbon emissions, would fail to help households with high energy prices and store up problems for the near future, analysts have warned.Ed Matthew, campaigns director at the E3G thinktank, said: “Cutting green levies to tackle the energy bills crisis would be utterly self-defeating. It would only keep the UK addicted to gas for longer. The only cure is to ramp up clean energy investment and eliminate energy waste. That is the permanent solution to bring down energy bills. Any politician working against that is directly undermining the interests of their constituents and likely to be in the pocket of the fossil fuel lobby.” Continue reading...

Japan’s return to commercial whaling in 2019 has left few buyers for Iceland’s meatIceland, one of the only countries that still hunts whales commercially, along with Norway and Japan, plans to end whaling from 2024 as demand dwindles, the fisheries minister has said.“There are few justifications to authorise the whale hunt beyond 2024,” when current quotas expire, Svandis Svavarsdóttir, a member of the Left Green party, wrote in Morgunblaðið newspaper. Continue reading...

Though only 12% of new sales were zero-exhaust electric vehicles, emissions fell by 11.2% in 2021The carbon dioxide emissions of new cars sold in the UK dropped to the lowest level ever in 2021 thanks to the unprecedented surge in electric vehicle sales, industry data suggests.Average new car CO emissions fell by 11.2%, to 119.7g for every kilometre driven, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), a lobby group. Continue reading...

The state pumps millions into methane produced by manure – but advocates argue it increases greenhouse gas emissions and encourages factory farmingA coalition of climate, environmental and animal welfare groups is calling for California to remove the huge subsidies provided to dairy farms to turn animal waste into a form of energy called biogas.Manure, which emits the potent greenhouse gas methane, is a big problem for US farms, and is particularly stark in California, where the dairy industry accounts for nearly half the state’s methane emissions. Continue reading...

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including a natterjack toadlet, white pelicans and a hibernating iguana Continue reading...

Researchers find the felines are connected to more than 485 species, from carrion beetles to bald eaglesFrom the Canadian Rockies to Patagonia, pumas have the largest terrestrial range of any mammal in the Americas. Now, a new study has reported the web of life these elusive cats support, showing how they are connected to more than 485 other species, from eagles feeding on their carrion to elk impacted by their “fear effect”.Researchers reviewed 162 studies published between 1950 and 2020 looking at how pumas – also known as mountain lions or cougars – enrich ecosystems and support other species. They found the large cats contribute 1.5m kilograms of meat a day to scavenger communities across North and South America, with 281 species getting to feed on carcasses they have killed. Continue reading...

Researchers say cutting carbon footprint of world’s wealthiest may be fastest way to reach net zeroWealthy people have disproportionately large carbon footprints and the percentage of the world’s emissions they are responsible for is growing, a study has found.In 2010, the most affluent 10% of households emitted 34% of global CO, while the 50% of the global population in lower income brackets accounted for just 15%. By 2015, the richest 10% were responsible for 49% of emissions against 7% produced by the poorest half of the world’s population. Continue reading...

The state’s capacity to handle the challenges of more severe weather will be tested yet again as the climate crisis intensifiesAs many Texans endure another harsh cold snap this week when a winter storm hits the state, some 50,000 people have been hit by power outages in a grim reminder of last year’s big freeze in the state.While this week’s experience will probably not rival the 2021 winter storm that ​left much of Texas in darkness and was responsible for several hundred deaths, it is a test for the state’s capacity to handle the challenges of more severe weather as a result of the ongoing global climate crisis. Continue reading...

Study by Which? looked at greenhouse gas emissions as well as plastic waste and food wasteWaitrose and Lidl are the most sustainable supermarkets, according to a Which?’s eco-friendly grocer ranking.Iceland finished last, according to the research, which tracked supermarket policies on: plastic waste and food waste, which shoppers have reported are the biggest issues for them; and greenhouse gas emissions, which most experts say poses the greatest environmental threat. Continue reading...

Transport committee concludes that drop in fuel-duty revenues from shift to electric requires urgent action

Gaps in tracking industrial pollution before, during and after a natural disaster adversely impacts marginalized communitiesLast year, during Texas’s devastating winter freeze, oil refineries, chemical manufacturers and other industrial plants emitted a whopping 4.7m pounds of excess chemicals into the air that millions of people breathe.The storm was an example of how industrial emissions can spike during and immediately after natural disasters. But in a surprising move last Friday, Texas state regulators announced that wide-scale deployment of agency staff for air monitoring in these critical moments to be “often unnecessary”. Continue reading...

Environment minister tells world heritage centre that government investments are ‘strengthening the resilience of the reef’

Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy select committee sees lack of direction on how to end reliance on gasThe government is failing to cut greenhouse gas emissions from heating the UK’s homes, an influential committee of MPs has warned, with little sign of a clear plan for ending reliance on increasingly expensive gas.Home heating is responsible for about 14% of the UK’s carbon emissions, and must be tackled urgently if the government is to meet its carbon reduction targets. Last year, ministers announced a heat and buildings strategy, with the intention of weaning the UK away from gas – which makes up about 80% of domestic heating – and on to lower carbon alternatives, such as heat pumps. Continue reading...

European Environment Agency data shows worst-hit countries to be Germany, France and ItalySevere floods and other extreme weather have cost Europe about half a trillion euros in the past four decades, with Germany, France and Italy the worst-hit countries.Between 90,000 and 142,000 deaths were attributed to weather and climate-related events over the period 1980 to 2020, the overwhelming majority of them from heatwaves. Continue reading...

Energy analysts say their Hunter Valley plan is just ‘an expensive way to avoid a small amount of emissions’ when there are cheaper, greener alternativesLabor said this week it will back a gas-fired power plant in the Hunter Valley, but only if the gas is mixed with hydrogen.The rationale for this move, according to Labor, was the Morrison government’s $600m support for the project was “risking taxpayers’ money on a gas plant that experts say will become stranded in an increasingly renewable energy system”. Continue reading...

NSW utilities warned to monitor stocks of alum and to prepare their contingency plans

Measures include £200 rebate on energy bills as millions of households brace for record riseThe Treasury is scrambling to complete 11th-hour plans capable of softening a national cost of living crisis, including a £200 rebate on energy bills and more help for the poorest households.No 10 and the Treasury have been under pressure from Tory MPs to act as millions of households brace for a record hike in energy bills from April, and the prospect of rising mortgage rates and tax increases. Continue reading...

Government white paper criticised for overlooking opportunities along road to net zeroThe need to reach net zero carbon emissions, and the green jobs that could be created in doing so, received scant attention in the government’s levelling-up strategy, an omission slammed by green campaigners and businesses.The mention of “the green industrial revolution and transition to net zero” came second bottom of the list of 16 priorities in the levelling-up paper published on Wednesday, promising £26bn of capital investment, though green analysts said it was not clear if any of this was new money or how it would be spent. Continue reading...

Court imposes custodial sentences of between 24 and 32 days and hands 11 others suspended sentencesAn activist from Insulate Britain hung a banner proclaiming “insulate or die” at the high court in London on Wednesday as five members of the group were sentenced to jail.Arne Springorum displayed the banner as El Litten, 35, Theresa Norton, 63, Steve Pritchard, 62, and Dr Diana Warner, 62, were given custodial sentences of between 24 and 32 days. Ben Taylor, 27, who was due to be released this month from a six-month jail sentence imposed in November, was sentenced to another 32 days. Eleven more protesters received suspended sentences. Continue reading...

Findings of study show importance of educational and emotional support for children after disaster events, researchers say

Commission’s move widely criticised as undermining efforts to keep global heating below 1.5CThe European Commission has been accused of undermining its climate goals after it defied critics by pushing ahead with plans to include gas and nuclear in an EU guidebook for “green” investments.Gas and nuclear were deemed bridge technologies to meet the EU’s target of net zero emissions by 2050, in long-awaited proposals on the EU’s “taxonomy for environmentally sustainable economic activities”, which were published on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Plastics Rebellion complains to advertising watchdog about claims made in British TV advertInnocent drinks have been accused of “greenwashing” by plastic pollution campaigners after releasing an advert that claims buying their smoothies can help save the environment.Activists, who recently occupied the company’s headquarters, have lodged a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about claims made in an advert entitled Little Drinks, Big Dreams. The ASA is currently reviewing the evidence submitted by the activists and Innocent, and is expected to make a ruling imminently. Continue reading...

Concerns government guidance will not bring an end to the ‘scandal of untreated sewage pollution’Ofwat must do more to make the water industry in England and Wales protect the environment, the government has said.Setting out the priorities for the regulator for the next five years the environment minister Rebecca Pow said water companies should significantly reduce the frequency and volume of sewage discharges from storm overflows. Continue reading...

River Dee initiative comes as rising water temperature from climate heating threatens species’ survivalMillions of trees are being planted beside Scotland’s remotest rivers and streams to protect wild salmon from the worst effects of climate heating.Fisheries scientists have found rivers and burns in the Highlands and uplands are already too warm in summer for wild Atlantic salmon as they head upstream to spawn, increasing the threat to the species’ survival. Continue reading...

Plants now bloom in mid-April on average, with scientists warning of mismatches with insects and birdsPlants are flowering a month earlier in the UK as the climate heats up, a study has found.The researchers examined 420,000 recorded dates of first flowering for more than 400 species, dating to 1793. The average date for the first blooms was about 12 May up to 1986, but since then the date has been pushed forward to 16 April. Continue reading...

Efforts to restore major supply routes in South Australia have been hampered by huge rainfalls but the weather system is expected to ease

International Union for the Conservation of Nature says NSW government’s plan would inundate Indigenous sites and could create an in-danger listing for Blue Mountains

Formerly rare high temperatures now covering half of seas and devastating wildlife, study showsExtreme heat in the world’s oceans passed the “point of no return” in 2014 and has become the new normal, according to research.Scientists analysed sea surface temperatures over the last 150 years, which have risen because of global heating. They found that extreme temperatures occurring just 2% of the time a century ago have occurred at least 50% of the time across the global ocean since 2014. Continue reading...

Cop26 experts said no new fossil fuel plans would be compatible with climate targetsMinisters face a backlash from climate groups after giving the green light to a new North Sea oilfield just weeks after the Cop26 UN climate talks in Glasgow.The Abigail oil and gas field off the east coast of Scotland was quietly approved by the government’s Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) last month, defying climate experts who warned at the Glasgow conference in November that no new fossil fuel developments would be compatible with the world’s climate targets. Continue reading...

Former Labour MP Derek Wyatt points out three critical issues surrounding the government’s £100m investment in EDF’s nuclear power plantThree critical issues surrounding the future of the Sizewell C project were missing from the recent announcement (Ministers invest £100m in EDF’s £20bn Sizewell C nuclear power station, 27 January). The first is the appalling state of EDF’s finances. This is coupled with shutdowns at its French power stations, using similar technology to Sizewell C. Newer nuclear power stations are not working.The second is that China General Nuclear Power has a 20% stake in Sizewell C. How does the government intend to play its cards here? How much will it pay to ask CGNP to stand down? £100m? Continue reading...

Treasurer Matt Kean says $171m infrastructure spend is essential: ‘EVs will play a critical role in halving our emissions by 2030’

Woodside Energy is the largest donor among fossil fuel producers backing new oil and gas projects across Australia

Researchers say tackling the picnicking public’s instinctive ‘yuck factor’ will be part of their work

Product needed for food, hospitals and nuclear plants was under threat as main supplier faced supply crisisProduction of carbon dioxide for use in producing meat, beer and fizzy drinks has been secured for at least three months under a new industry deal.Meat processors, brewers, bakers and soft drink producers all use CO in making and packaging their goods. It is also required for the humane slaughter of animals including pigs and chickens, and is used by hospitals and nuclear power plants. Continue reading...

The islands no longer resemble what I knew as a child, as high tides and storms gnaw constantly at the road. Around here, change is non-negotiableA few months ago, I decided I wanted to drive the entirety of Highway 12 – a slim highway that snakes along North Carolina’s barrier islands – before the climate crisis alters it further.Though I spent much of my childhood on the southern part of North Carolina’s coast, these overdeveloped, humid islands have piqued my imagination for decades. I wanted to witness what remains, and what is likely to disappear. Continue reading...

Clever corvids become newest weapon in Södertälje’s war against street litterCrows are being recruited to pick up discarded cigarette butts from the streets and squares of a Swedish city as part of a cost-cutting drive.The wild birds carry out the task as they receive a little food for every butt that they deposit in a bespoke machine designed by a startup in Södertälje, near Stockholm. Continue reading...

Queenslanders urged to reduce energy consumption as high temperatures and high dew points leave state sweltering

Second world war codebreaking calculations used at Bletchley Park find 9,000 of those species are yet to be discoveredThere are an estimated 73,300 species of tree on Earth, 9,000 of which have yet to be discovered, according to a global count of tree species by thousands of researchers who used second world war codebreaking techniques created at Bletchley Park to evaluate the number of unknown species.Researchers working on the ground in 90 countries collected information on 38 million trees, sometimes walking for days and camping in remote places to reach them. The study found there are about 14% more tree species than previously reported and that a third of undiscovered tree species are rare, meaning they could be vulnerable to extinction by human-driven changes in land use and the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Northern outpost of ecological attraction could open in 2024 if government stumps up startup cashA northern English outpost of the Eden Project has moved a step closer to reality after councillors in Lancashire granted planning permission for the £125m eco-attraction.Eden Project North, which would be built in giant, transparent domes on Morecambe’s promenade, is being presented to government as a “shovel-ready” initiative that could help boost the deprived seaside town. Continue reading...

Government halts planned slaughter of animals in ‘wolf zone’, after campaigners secure injunctionNorway has halted a major hunt of wolves after campaigners secured a court injunction.Twenty-five animals, within four packs, are in the “wolf zone”, an area of nature set aside to protect the predators, and these have been given a stay of execution by the courts after campaigners argued wolves in a conservation area should not be shot. Continue reading...