New study suggests young regent honeyeaters are not getting the chance to learn mating callsWhat happens to a species if the music starts to die, or when their songs become corrupted or their singers have never heard the original tunes?A new study has found that a loss of melody and song could be a bad sign for one of Australia’s rarest songbirds – the regent honeyeater. Continue reading...
Colliers International tells auditor general the way the agriculture department used its valuation to set record purchase price was ‘not reasonable’An internal investigation is under way into why the federal government paid at least $13m over the odds for an $80m water buyback from Eastern Australia Agriculture – a company linked to federal MP Angus Taylor – in 2017.The auditor general, Grant Hehir, who reviewed the government’s water purchase program last year, contacted the valuer used by the Department of Agriculture for the sale, Colliers International, after receiving a complaint from a senator about the audit findings. Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent on (#5FDSW)
Host of Cop26 overseeing policies that will increase greenhouse gas emissions, campaigners sayBoris Johnson put the global climate crisis at the heart of the UK’s foreign policy on Tuesday, setting out his vision of “global Britain” after a government review placed climate as “the UK’s foremost international priority”.The prime minister told MPs: “We will host Cop26 [climate summit] in Glasgow in November, and rally as many nations as possible behind the target of net zero [greenhouse gas emissions] by 2050, leading by example since the UK was the first major economy to accept this obligation in law.” Continue reading...
The Mayni people are harvesting shade-grown coffee from under the canopy of mature trees, with huge benefits for wildlife and the communityDeep within the Peruvian cloud forests, a six-hour drive from the town of Satipo, the remote Mayni community is busy growing organic coffee beneath the canopy of the native forest in order to preserve the rich mosaic of life there.Most of the forest is kept intact, with just a little undergrowth cleared to plant Coffea arabica trees. Dahlia Casancho, who is leading the Mayni in their eco-friendly coffee-growing endeavours, sees shade-grown coffee farming as a positive development for the community, who traditionally believe in a forest god and river god. “Nature is our home. Nature gives us water, feeds us and also allows us to grow our coffee,” she says. “That’s why we take great care of our forest and we want it to be sustainable so that our children can also enjoy it. Continue reading...
by Liz Ruskin in Fairbanks for Alaska Public Media an on (#5FDFS)
The government spent millions subsidizing new wood heaters supposed to burn more cleanly. But an investigation has discovered critical flawsGlenn Helkenn lives in a spruce forest, in a tiny log cabin he built himself on the outskirts of Fairbanks, Alaska’s third largest city. Continue reading...
Big industry players pushing techno-fixes are ignoring the only realistic solution to the climate crisis: renewablesNow that the whole world seems to be aligned behind the goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, the nuclear industry is straining every sinew to present itself as an invaluable ally in the ambitious aim. Energy experts remain starkly divided on whether or not we can reach this global net zero target without nuclear power, but regardless, it remains a hard sell for pro-nuclear enthusiasts.The problems they face are the same ones that have dogged the industry for decades: ever-higher costs, seemingly inevitable delays, no solutions to the nuclear waste challenge, security and proliferation risks. Continue reading...
The industry has backed polluters for decades. Now, amid growing pressure, Wall Street says it’s going greenWildfires burned nearly 10.4m acres across the US last year. The most costly thunderstorm in US history caused $7.5bn in damage across Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. As the climate crisis swept the globe on a biblical scale it left in its wake a record number of billion-dollar disasters.And yet out of these ashes has emerged an unlikely savior: Wall Street. After decades of backing polluters and opposing legislation to rein them in, finance says it’s going green. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#5FCW4)
‘Drop-in’ replacement for gas boilers may help tackle challenge of cutting emissions from home heatingThe creators of the world’s first microwave-powered boiler have said it can provide a straightforward, zero-emissions replacement for the gas boilers that heat most homes in the UK.The boiler uses electricity to heat water which can then be pumped through existing radiators and to taps and showers and baths. The company, Heat Wayv, is building prototypes and expects to trial the boilers in homes by the end of 2022, with the first sales to customers targeted for 2024. It says a unit suitable for a three- or four-bedroom home would cost about £3,500, the same as an equivalent gas boiler. Continue reading...
A legacy of Scotland’s shale oil industry, these once barren spoil heaps now provide a refuge for rare wildlife – and a sense of hope for the futureFifteen miles south-west of Edinburgh, a knuckled red fist rises from a soft green landscape: five peaks of rose-gold gravel stand bound together by grass and moss, like a Martian mountain range or earthworks on the grandest of scales. They are spoil heaps.Each peak rises along a sharp ridge from the same point on the ground, fanning outwards, in geometric simplicity. Along these ridges, tracks once bore carriages aloft, carrying tons of steaming, shattered rock: discards from the early days of the modern oil industry. Continue reading...
Buglife investigation finds show did not have permission for Turkish crayfish used in bushtucker trialsThe makers of I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! brought invasive crayfish to north Wales without a licence, according to an investigation by a UK wildlife charity, prompting fresh calls for police to investigate the popular ITV show.Turkish crayfish were used in “bushtucker trials” in episode five of the series, hosted live from Gwrych Castle in north Wales at the end of last year, but the show did not have permission to possess them, the Buglife investigation found. Continue reading...
Interior secretary from New Mexico will be responsible for US’s land, seas and national resourcesDeb Haaland has been confirmed as the secretary of the interior, making her the first Indigenous cabinet secretary in US history.The 60-year-old from New Mexico will be responsible for the country’s land, seas and natural resources, as well as overseeing tribal affairs. Continue reading...
International Renewable Energy Agency says $131tn investment in renewables could be required over three decadesRenewable electricity production needs to grow eight times faster than the current rate to help limit global heating, according to a report.The International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) said urgent action was needed to keep pace with rising demand for electricity, which could require a total investment of $131tn in renewables by 2050. Continue reading...
Canadian Energy Centre, funded by Alberta government, says Bigfoot Family ‘brainwashes’ youngsters and ‘peddles lies’The animated film Bigfoot Family has come under fire in Canada – but not because of its stilted dialogue or confusing plot.Instead, a government-funded lobbying group has targeted the movie – a fantasy epic featuring a human family whose father is Bigfoot – on the grounds that it “peddles lies” about the oil and gas industry. Continue reading...
by Oliver Milman, Alvin Chang and Rashida Kamal on (#5FBF0)
Joe Biden wants zero emissions by 2050, but time is ticking. So how will the country have to change over the next 30 years?If America finally weans itself off planet-heating emissions, the country will look and feel very different.Landscapes from coast to coast would be transformed, carpeted in wind turbines and solar panels, with enough new transmission lines to wrap around Earth 19 times. The populace would whiz past in their electric cars, to and from homes equipped with induction stoves and heat pumps. The air would be near-pristine. Hundreds of thousands of people who would have prematurely died from the toxic fossil-fuel age would still be alive. Continue reading...
The US’s most destructive invasive species numbers in the millions, clashing with a growing human population and boosting a lucrative hunting industryDimas “Pompi” Rodriguez is standing in his front yard before dawn, his neck shielded from a bitter wind by the collar of his canvas jacket. He splits a cigarillo lengthwise and empties the guts on to his filthy swamp boots.Related: Furry, cute and drooling herpes: what to do with Florida's invasive monkeys? Continue reading...
Organisers say 2,022 acres in the West Midlands will be forested, with mini-forests in urban areasThousands of acres of forest will be created in and around Birmingham under plans to make the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the city carbon neutral.In an announcement to mark 500 days to the start of the Games, organisers pledged carbon-offsetting initiatives including the creation of 2,022 acres of forest and 72 mini-forests, each the size of a tennis court, to be created in urban areas across the West Midlands. Continue reading...
by Helen Davidson in Taipei, and agencies on (#5FB8B)
Capital of China suffers ‘hazardous’ levels of air pollution with authorities issuing second-highest safety alertA massive sandstorm has combined with already high air pollution to turn the skies in Beijing an eerie orange, and send some air quality measurements off the charts.Air quality indexes recorded a “hazardous” 999 rating on Monday as commuters travelled to work through the thick, dark air across China’s capital and further west. Continue reading...
by Lyanne Togiba in Port Moresby and Ben Doherty Paci on (#5FA7T)
‘Rocks under where the dam will be built is not safe … If there is a fault in the structure, the dam will give way,’ says West Sepik officialA proposed dam to hold billions of tonnes of mine waste near the head of Papua New Guinea’s longest river is a potential environmental disaster that could wipe out entire villages if there was a natural disaster, government officials, environmental advocacy groups and villagers living along the river say.The Frieda River gold and copper mine – slated for development by Chinese state-owned, Australian-based miner PanAust for northern New Guinea island – would be the largest mine in PNG’s history, and one of the biggest in the world. Continue reading...
For the fifth time since 2010, a lack of ice means no visitors and an unstable future for the ice-dependent harp seal“There’s no season this year. There’s no ice,” says Ariane Bérubé, sales director for the Château Madelinot hotel on Quebec’s Magdalen Islands (also known as the Îles de la Madeleine).It’s not the first time the seal pup observation season has been cancelled – since 2010 there have been five winters with insufficient ice in the Gulf of St Lawrence due to unseasonably warm temperatures. Continue reading...
Traditional mowing regimes being ditched as aesthetics and morality come under scrutinyThey were once a status symbol for the rich, and later the pride and joy of suburbia. But the immaculately striped, tightly mown lawn is becoming an endangered species.Monty Don this week called time on the predominantly male, British “obsession” with a tidy lawn, arguing that fossil-fuel-powered mowing was noisy and “about the most injurious thing you can do to wildlife”. Continue reading...
Australia’s longtime finance minister to pursue a ‘global’ approach to help countries become carbon-neutral by 2050Mathias Cormann says he cannot wait to start his new role as the head of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).Australia’s longest-serving finance minister will take over as secretary general of the Paris-based organisation from outgoing Angel Gurría. Continue reading...
Lights Out Philly program seeks to limit lighting at night as millions of migrating birds pass throughThe lights of Philadelphia may not shine as bright in the coming weeks as a coalition in the City of Brotherly Love tries to prevent millions of migrating birds that pass through twice a year from slamming into skyscrapers and crashing to the sidewalk.Bird Safe Philly on Thursday announced the Lights Out Philly initiative, a voluntary program in which many external and internal lights in buildings are turned off or dimmed at night during the spring and fall. Continue reading...
Former Australian finance minister’s candidacy was dogged by complaints from environmental groupsAustralia’s former finance minister Mathias Cormann has won a hard-fought election to become the new chief of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), despite grave concerns voiced by environmental groups over his record on climate change.Cormann narrowly defeated the Swedish former EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmström in the election to lead the 37-member Paris-based organisation, which gives advice to member governments on economic trends, inequality, fighting corruption and trade and is seen as the world’s leading rulemaker on corporate tax. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Government review finds no companies have been investigated or penalised over packaging in the past four yearsAustralia is likely to miss all of its own targets to rid the environment of plastic unless there is a major overhaul of its management and enforcement, conservationists and waste industry representatives say.A government review found no state or territory had investigated or penalised a company over their performance on packaging waste in the past four years. Continue reading...
Tory MPs and local leaders in Cumbria are furious over decision to put plans for new deep mine on holdBoris Johnson is on a potential collision course with backbench MPs and local Conservative leaders amid a furious Tory response to the decision to put a hold on plans to create a controversial new coalmine in Cumbria.While environmental groups hailed the decision to call in the application for government consideration as long overdue, and Labour called for a longer-term plan for green jobs in the region, many Tories are dismayed at the uncertainty over a scheme its supporters say would create 500 jobs and support 2,000 more in supply chains. Continue reading...
Harbin hotel keeping threatened species in pen overlooked by bedrooms angers animal welfare groupsA Chinese hotel built around a central polar bear enclosure for the non-stop viewing pleasure of its guests has opened to immediate condemnation from conservationists.At Harbin Polar Land in north-east China, the hotel bedrooms’ windows face onto the bears’ pen, with visitors told the animals are their “neighbours 24 hours a day”. Continue reading...
The Biden administration is calling out politicians, like the prime minister, who pay lip service to the climate emergency while peddling greenwash policiesIt must have seemed a clever Johnsonian ruse. Build a deep coalmine – the first in decades – in Labour’s historical heartland and put yourself on the side of working-class northern voters who want jobs and against environmentalists who, one could slyly suggest, prefer saving the planet than local communities. Boris Johnson thought, no doubt, with a cunning that has wrongfooted many opponents, that he could frame the argument in such terms and still meet his “net zero” targets because the vast majority of Cumbrian coal would end up for export rather than domestic use (it’s too sulphurous to be used to make steel in Britain). The result is that the greenhouse gas emissions would end up on some other nation’s books when carbon budgets were calculated. Not dissimilar to his view of cake, Mr Johnson was saying that his policy on coal is “pro having it and pro heating it”.The problem for Mr Johnson was that the Biden administration was having none of it. The US had the good sense to understand the implications if Britain was allowed to press ahead with a plan to dig out coal and send it abroad without busting its own carbon budget. If everyone took the same view, the world would be toast. The US reasons that if jobs are the issue, then use state investment in green technologies for coal-free steel. Within days of John Kerry, the US climate envoy, warning Mr Johnson that coal has no future, the government conceded it would be “calling in” the planning application for the Cumbrian mine. Importantly Mr Johnson would not be shamed into a U-turn in the run-up to the UN’s Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow in November. Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent on (#5F8TT)
Critics say election of former Australian finance minister with ‘atrocious record’ sends a dangerous signalClimate experts have expressed dismay at the choice of Mathias Cormann, a former finance minister in an Australian government with a record of strong hostility to climate action, as secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an international institution that advises rich countries on policy and poor countries on how to become wealthier.Jennifer Morgan, the executive director of Greenpeace International, said: “We have little confidence in Cormann’s ability to ensure the OECD is a leader in tackling the climate crisis, when he has an atrocious record on the issue. If the OECD is to fulfil its mandate, it must confront the climate emergency, arguably the biggest social justice issue of our time.” Continue reading...
Communities secretary cited climate change and controversy for ‘calling in’ deep coalmine decisionA public inquiry is to be held into plans for the UK’s first new deep coalmine in decades after the communities secretary “called in” the decision on the project, taking it out of the hands of local government.
More trees near the home was associated with a reduced risk in antidepressant use, information that can help urban plannersIn 2005, when Celena Owens purchased an investment property in the up-and-coming East Baltimore neighborhood of Oliver, it was supposed to make her life better. But three years later, the housing market crashed, neighborhood renewal stalled, and the home that was going to be a rental became her full-time residence. Owens fell into what she describes as a “major depressive episode” that would last for the better part of a decade.Related: The life-altering effects heat is having on American children Continue reading...
Kern county has approved the drilling of thousands of new wells despite opposition from farmers and activistsKern county, which sprawls more than 8,000 square miles, connecting the Sierra Nevada slopes and the Mojave Desert to the counties on the Central Coast, is the oil capital of California. The county produces about 70% of the state’s oil and more than 90% of its natural gas – and it has plans to ramp up production.This week the county approved an ordinance that would allow thousands of new wells to be drilled over the next 15 years. The decision comes despite deep opposition from local farmers and environmental groups, and it puts the county directly at odds with a state that has branded itself as a trailblazer on climate and set ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#5F89K)
Exclusive: Roads make up 1% of the country but the pollution produced may harm wildlife everywherePollution from roads affects virtually every part of Britain, with 94% of land having some pollution above background levels, according to research.Roads, which occupy less than 1% of the country, “form vast, pervasive and growing networks, causing negative environmental impacts”, the scientists said. Continue reading...
Success of schemes during pandemic has led many cities to plan vastly expanded bike networksWhen the coronavirus pandemic led to lockdowns a year ago, hundreds of cities reconfigured their streets to make walking and cycling easier to aid social distancing and reduce air pollution. Now, with an end to the lockdowns in sight, the measures have proved so successful that cities across Europe are betting on the bicycle to lead the recovery.According to the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF), the continent’s cities spent €1bn on Covid-related cycling measures in 2020, creating at least 600 miles (1,000km) of cycle lanes, traffic-calming measures and car-free streets. Continue reading...
Paper says machine learning could prove crucial tool in efforts to improve quality of country’s riversNearly 1,000 “dark discharges” of untreated sewage from two water company treatment plants in England have been detected by scientists using artificial intelligence to map spills.The use of machine learning to shine a light on the scale of pollution from untreated effluent being spilled into rivers could be a crucial tool in efforts to improve the quality of rivers, a paper says. Continue reading...
Dust that swept Europe in February affects weather systems but also contains many allergensSaharan dust high in the skies over Europe caused some spectacular sunsets in February. Many of us found dust on our cars, and Alpine snow has been stained orange, but finding out how much Saharan dust we are breathing has always been difficult. For decades we have been measuring the amount of particle pollution in the air, but not what it is made of. However, university-run air observatories in London, Birmingham and Manchester are now making real-time chemical analysis. They showed that silicon, aluminium, calcium and iron particles from Saharan dust were the main particle pollutants in all three cities on Saturday 20 February and that the dust was breathed by Londoners for the next two days.Saharan dust events are common in Mediterranean countries. It is also carried west on Atlantic trade winds. Dust from north Africa fertilises the Amazon, but it also causes air pollution problems in Caribbean islands and the southern US. Continue reading...
Gastropods back as No 1 while honey fungus is worst disease in year when lockdowns fuel gardening crazeSlugs and snails are back at the top of the pests chart, after a year in which people spent more time tending their gardens, said the Royal Horticultural Society.The charity’s 25th annual pest and disease ranking – based on enquiries from gardeners – reveals that slugs and snails, a mainstay of the rankings over the years, topped the 2020 list for the first time since 2017, with gardeners reporting damage to crops such as potatoes and beans. Continue reading...
‘Natural process’ of decomposing blubber can be smelled up to 6km away on Phillip IslandA dead whale carcass beached at Phillip Island, south of Melbourne, is quickly decomposing, leaving locals retching over the putrid smell and rotting blubber.The sperm whale, measuring more than 16 metres, washed up on Forrest Caves beach last Saturday. Continue reading...
Vertical turbine by developer Alpha 311 can spin from gentle air movementThe O2 Arena will soon use a new breed of “vertical wind turbine” to generate its own clean electricity, after signing a deal with a startup firm that says its turbines will generate power even when the wind is not blowing.The London landmark once known as the Millennium Dome will begin by installing 10 of the 68cm (27in) vertical turbines. The breezy conditions at the site on the River Thames will help generate enough clean electricity to power 23 homes. Continue reading...
Move by local government secretary to call in planning application puts controversial scheme on holdA controversial new coalmine planned for Cumbria appears to have been put on hold.The local government secretary, Robert Jenrick, had previously refused to intervene but on Thursday night he said he would take responsibility for the scheme away from the local authority. Continue reading...
Cold weather, a decline in seagrass due to development, and contaminated waterways have contributed to 432 deaths this yearA combination of cold weather, a decline in seagrass due to development and contaminated waterways have put Florida on pace for its highest number of manatee deaths in a decade.The number of deaths, 432 so far this year, is nearly three times the five-year average of 146 deaths between 1 January and 5 March, the South Florida SunSentinel reported, citing figures from the Florida fish and wildlife conservation commission. Last year, the state recorded 637 manatee deaths, and in 2019, 607. Continue reading...
Choked Up group demands action from mayoral candidates to tackle traffic pollutionA group of teenagers who live in some of London’s most polluted neighbourhoods are putting “hacked” road signs up across the capital to highlight the disproportionate impact that toxic air has on people of colour.Choked Up, a group who describe themselves as “black and brown teenagers from south London”, have set up the campaign, which is being backed by more than 100 doctors. Continue reading...
With wingspans of up to one-metre, protected grey-headed flying foxes are causing multiple blackouts a weekAustralia’s largest bat is making life difficult for Adelaide residents with a heaving colony of more than 25,000 plunging households into darkness 40 times so far this year.The protected grey-headed flying fox – a member of the megabat family – first moved into Botanic Park in the heart of the city in 2010. Continue reading...
Appeal court clears wife to sue company in London over husband’s death while helping to scrap tanker in ChittagongBritish shipping companies that sell old vessels to be scrapped cheaply in dangerous, low-paid conditions in Bangladesh, India or Pakistan may now be sued in London for workers’ deaths or injuries.In the first ruling of its kind by any higher court anywhere in the world, the court of appeal of England and Wales has held that a shipping company in London selling a vessel in south Asia could owe a legal “duty of care” to shipbreaking workers in Bangladesh even where there are multiple third parties involved in the transaction. Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent on (#5F700)
Joe Biden needs ‘visionary target’ of cutting US emissions by 60% over 2005 levelsThe US should ensure almost all new cars and light vehicles sold are electric by the end of this decade, and stop using fossil fuels for power generation by 2035, to cut greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris agreement, a new analysis has found.Joe Biden, the US president, should aim for a national target of cutting emissions by about 60% by 2030, compared with 2005 levels, for the world to have a good chance of holding global temperature rises within 1.5C of pre-industrial levels, according to Climate Action Tracker (CAT). Continue reading...