Creature was a dead spotted lanternfly – an invasive moth-like bug that has been causing massive damage to plants in eastern statesA young contestant’s proud entry at the Kansas state fair caused a flap when a judge saw the specimen submitted in the boy’s exhibition box – and it prompted a federal investigation.The show item was a dead spotted lanternfly the boy had discovered at his home – an invasive moth-like bug that has been causing massive damage to plants in US eastern states but had not previously been thought to have reached Kansas. Continue reading...
London-Glasgow flight run partly on sustainable fuel produces 62% less CO2 than a decade agoBritish Airways has operated its first passenger service directly powered by sustainable aviation fuel, a London to Glasgow flight that the airline said produced 62% less CO2 emissions than a similar journey a decade ago.The airline said the combination of the fuel – partly made from recycled cooking oil – with optimal flight paths, electrified airport vehicles and its newest plane slashed emissions. BA said it had offset the CO2 produced, making the flight carbon-neutral. Continue reading...
by Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent on (#5PJFR)
Coal plants being warmed up as market prices surge to £2,500 per MWh from a norm of £40A major fire has forced the shutdown of one of Britain’s most important power cables importing electricity from France as the UK faces a supply crunch and record high market prices.National Grid was forced to evacuate staff from the site of the IFA high-voltage power cable, which brings electricity from France to a converter station in Kent, where 12 fire engines attended the blaze in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Continue reading...
Despite protests from locals and Green councillors, wildlife haven will become hard courts at cost of £266,000A wildflower meadow containing 130 different flowering plants, dragonflies and rare bats that sprung up on Norwich’s last public grass tennis courts has been bulldozed.Despite protests from local people and Green councillors, all-weather hard courts with floodlights and fencing are being installed in Heigham Park, where species including whiskered and brown long-eared bats, pygmy shrews, hedgehogs and 18 species of dragonfly have been recorded. Continue reading...
Insulate Britain environmental campaigners target London traffic during morning rush-hourMore than 70 environmental protesters have been arrested after they blocked traffic on Britain’s busiest motorway for the second time in three days.Activists from Insulate Britain staged the demonstration at several sections of the M25 in London during the morning rush-hour on Wednesday, causing long delays. Continue reading...
Retailer also plans to slash carbon emissions and eliminate single-use plastics from its operations by 2027Primark has committed to making all of its clothes from recycled or more sustainably sourced materials within a decade, promising the strategy will not lead to price rises.The retailer has also pledged to make clothes that can be “recyclable by design” by 2027. Only a quarter of the clothing it sells is made from recycled or sustainably sourced materials. Continue reading...
National disaster declared as crops fail after poor rains and locusts, while ethnic conflicts add to crisisAn estimated 2.1 million Kenyans face starvation due to a drought in half the country, which is affecting harvests.The National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) said people living in 23 counties across the arid north, northeastern and coastal parts of the country will be in “urgent need” of food aid over the next six months, after poor rains between March and May this year. Continue reading...
Research disproves perception young people want to save planet while older people do not careA fake generational war over the climate crisis has distorted public thinking and political strategy, when in fact older generations are just as worried about the issue as younger people, according to new research.The idea that young people are ecowarriors, battling against selfish older generations is a common trope in representations of the environment movement. It has been stoked by instances including Time magazine naming Greta Thunberg their person of the year in 2019, for being a “standard bearer in a generational battle”. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#5PJ3G)
Exclusive: study also shows ‘banana bread’ heard more in 2020 than ‘wind power’ and ‘solar power’ combined“Cake” was mentioned 10 times more often on UK television shows than “climate change” in 2020, data has revealed. The research showed “banana bread” was a more frequently heard term than “wind power” and “solar power” combined.The report, from albert, a Bafta-backed sustainability project, also found that individual action, such as recycling, was far more frequently featured than issues that are much bigger drivers of the climate crisis such as energy and transport. Continue reading...
Many Faroese horrified by what Sea Shepherd group claims was largest such massacre in the islands’ history• Story contains graphic image that some may find distressing.Even the staunchest defenders of traditional whaling in the Faroe Islands have condemned the “cruel and unnecessary” massacre on Sunday of a superpod of nearly 1,500 dolphins, which were driven into shallow waters of the Skálabotnur beach on the island of Eysturoy and left writhing for hours before being killed.The Sea Shepherd group, which has been campaigning to stop the traditional Faroese “Grind” hunt since the 1980s, has claimed Sunday’s hunt was “the largest single killing of dolphins or pilot whales in the islands’ history”, with more animals perishing than in an entire season at the infamous “Cove” at Taiji, Japan. Continue reading...
To meet climate promises, Boris Johnson must redirect billions from biomass energy into real renewables, says Elly PepperI was pleased to read your article exposing government bias against genuine renewables (UK ministers ‘met fossil fuel firms nine times as often as clean energy ones’, 10 September). The dirty energy industry still has Boris Johnson’s government completely under its thumb, despite the climate and biodiversity crises we are facing.Over the past year, Johnson has repeatedly promised to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss. Yet the UK remains Europe’s top subsidiser of biomass electricity, which is made by logging our planet’s forests and burning the trees in power stations. Enormous sums of money flow to Drax and others because the UK has wrongly defined biomass energy as “green” despite the objection of scientists, communities and public interest organisations. The reality is that just like burning fossil fuels, burning trees for electricity pumps enormous amounts of heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and exacerbates climate change. It also results in the logging of forests that we need to suck up and store carbon, threatens wildlife, harms vulnerable communities and emits deadly air pollution. Continue reading...
Introduction of Glanville fritillary leads to emergence of three new species on to Baltic Sea islandWhen caterpillars of a beautiful butterfly were introduced on to the tiny island of Sottunga in the Åland archipelago, scientists hoped to study how the emerging butterflies would disperse across the landscape.But researchers did not realise that their introduction of the Glanville fritillary (Melitaea cinxia) led to the emergence of three other species on to the Baltic Sea island, which sprang out of the butterfly like Russian dolls. Continue reading...
Project to reverse Victorian-era reclamation creates rich, marshy land that can lock in carbonThe herons and little egrets have already begun to hunt in the muddy shallows and the hope is that within a few years, rarer wading birds such as curlew and mammals including otters and harvest mice will appear.But the project to allow river water from the Tamar, the iconic boundary between Devon and Cornwall, back on to a chunk of land that was turned into farmland in Victorian times, is about much more than attracting wildlife. Continue reading...
As the university sheds its fossil fuel investments, some argue it’s dangerous to limit leverage over oil and gas companiesEven as climate activists celebrated Harvard University’s promise to cleanse its multibillion-dollar investment fund of holdings in fossil fuel companies last week, others dedicated to the fight against the climate crisis wondered if the real winner was the oil industry.Harvard bowed to pressure from students and advocacy groups who likened their campaign to the push to divest from apartheid South Africa in the 1980s. The group, Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard, described the decision as a “massive victory” and “proof that activism works, plain and simple”. Continue reading...
Peter Gabriel and Cara Delevingne also collaborate on picture stories to highlight species and ecosystem loss and fund projectsRicky Gervais is the latest celebrity to join an ambitious year-long storytelling campaign called Rewriting Extinction with the launch of a comic called Bullfight.Since it launched in June, more than 300 celebrities, environmental experts and storytellers have collaborated to design more than 150 comics that tackle issues such as deforestation and overconsumption. Gervais created Bullfight with the artist Rob Steen. “A beautiful animal, literally tortured to death as entertainment. Psychotic. Fuck anyone who enjoys or defends it,” said the actor and writer. Continue reading...
by Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent on (#5PGNF)
Report by climate groups found more than three-quarters of projects were discarded after the deal was signedThe global pipeline of new coal power plants has collapsed since the 2015 Paris climate agreement, according to research that suggests the end of the polluting energy source is in sight.The report found that more than three-quarters of the world’s planned plants have been scrapped since the climate deal was signed, meaning 44 countries no longer have any future coal power plans. Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent on (#5PGNG)
Global survey finds most 16-25 year olds worry a lot about the future, and many feel failed by governmentsFour in 10 young people around the world are hesitant to have children as a result of the climate crisis, and fear that governments are doing too little to prevent climate catastrophe, a poll in 10 countries has found.Nearly six in 10 young people, aged 16 to 25, were very or extremely worried about climate change, according to the biggest scientific study yet on climate anxiety and young people, published on Tuesday. A similar number said governments were not protecting them, the planet, or future generations, and felt betrayed by the older generation and governments. Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent on (#5PGNH)
Experts say effective subsidies for new gas boilers run contrary to government targets on cutting greenhouse gas emissionsEnergy bill-payers will be asked to subsidise the installation of tens of thousands of new gas boilers across the UK under government plans, at a time when experts say gas boilers should be urgently phased out.Experts said it was baffling that ministers should be promoting the installation of new fossil fuel boilers, instead of low-carbon dioxide alternatives such as heat pumps. Continue reading...
by Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent on (#5PG8N)
Plants called on to supply electricity amid fall in wind generation and surge in price of gasOwners of the UK’s last remaining coal power stations are in line to be paid record sums to keep the lights on as energy prices reach fresh highs, and could be pushed even higher by lower wind power.Coal plants have been called on to supply power steadily in recent months, through one of the least windy summers on record since 1961 and sharply rising prices in the wholesale energy market. Continue reading...
Washington state agriculture department to eradicate nest of Asian giant hornets, which can ‘slaughter’ a beehive in hoursA third Asian giant hornet nest was discovered in Washington state, a day after entomologists discovered a second.Related: 'They give me the willies': scientist who vacuumed murder hornets braces for fight Continue reading...
Fire in Andalucía region rages for sixth day having already forced evacuation of thousands of peopleAlmost 1,000 firefighters and emergency workers are battling one of the most intractable Spanish wildfires in recent years as the blaze rages for a sixth day, after devouring at least 7,400 hectares (18,285 acres) of land in the southern region of Andalucía and forcing the evacuation of more than 2,600 people.On Sunday, 260 members of Spain’s military emergencies unit were deployed to help tackle the fire, which began last Wednesday in the mountainous Sierra Bermeja above the resort town of Estepona, and which now has a perimeter of 53 miles (85km). Experts hope the rain forecast across much of the country on Monday will help extinguish the blaze. Continue reading...
University of California, Davis study claims to be the first to document personality in golden-mantled ground squirrelsAnimal researchers in California have discovered human-like personality traits in squirrels that anybody watching one raiding nuts from a bird table could probably have guessed: they are bold, aggressive, athletic and sociable.Related: How a Tahoe refuge saved owls, coyotes and raccoons from wildfire Continue reading...
Last year, there were a record 227 killings globally. It is our duty to keep resisting the insatiable forces that led to their deathsEach year, we learn more about the climate crisis. The data flows: ever-rising heat, unprecedented deforestation, record rainfall. And once a year, we also learn more about the human impact of the crisis too, as data is released on the killings of land and environmental activists, the very people highlighting and protesting at the breakdown of our climate. As Global Witness’ annual report reveals, in 2020, that number rose to a record 227 killings worldwide.
Eight months after Francisco Vera was targeted on social media, no arrests have been made. But he continues to campaign for the wildlife he lovesEver since someone threatened to kill her 12-year-old son, Ana Maria Manzanares says life has felt like Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot.In January, Francisco Vera was sent anonymous death threats on Twitter after the young environmentalist called for better access to education for children during the Covid-19 pandemic. The news caused outrage in Colombia and made headlines around the world. President Iván Duque pledged to find the “bandits” that sent the message. Eight months later, nobody has been arrested. But the fear and anxiety have not gone away. Continue reading...
Water companies let raw sewage into English waters more than 400,000 times in 2020, Environment Agency data revealsOne of the first complaints lodged with the post-Brexit environmental watchdog accuses the government and Ofwat of failing to enforce the law to stop water companies from routinely discharging raw sewage into rivers.The office for environmental protection (OEP) is being asked to investigate why water companies have been able to continually fail to meet duties placed on them by law to treat sewage. The secretary of state for the environment, George Eustice, and the financial regulator, Ofwat, had failed to enforce the law, the complaint said. Continue reading...
Supermarket says it aims to remove 40m a year from deliveries and in-store collectionsWaitrose is aiming to eliminate 40m single-use plastic bags a year by removing them from deliveries and in-store collections.“Bags for life”, which cost 10p, will also be pulled from all major stores and replaced with a 50p reusable bag that is said to be twice as durable, and is made from recycled materials as well as being fully recyclable. Continue reading...
Wind, solar and tidal projects will compete for contracts, including funding for onshore schemesRenewable energy developers will compete for a share in a £265m subsidy pot as the government aims to support a record number of projects in the sector through a milestone subsidy scheme later this year.Under the scheme, offshore wind developers will compete for contracts worth up to £200m a year, and onshore wind and solar farms will be in line for their first subsidies in more than five years. Continue reading...
Figures from Global Witness for 2020 show violent resource grab continued unabated despite pandemicMurders of environment and land defenders hit a record high last year as the violent resource grab in the global south continued unabated despite the pandemic.New figures released by Global Witness show that 227 people were killed in 2020 while trying to protect forests, rivers and other ecosystems that their livelihoods depended on. Continue reading...
Demand follows confirmation by inquiry that undercover officer was planted in campaign HQ from 1981 to 1984A leading anti-nuclear campaign has called on a public inquiry to conduct a thorough examination of how undercover police officers infiltrated its movement at a time when it powerfully challenged government policies.The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) issued its demand after the inquiry, led by the retired judge Sir John Mitting, confirmed that police planted an undercover officer, John Kerry, in its headquarters between 1981 and 1984. Continue reading...
TUC report says producers that don’t clean up operations will wither and die as rivals blaze trail towards carbon net zeroUp to 660,000 jobs will be at serious risk if the UK continues to fall behind other countries in the amount it invests in green infrastructure and jobs, according to an alarming study published on Saturday.Coming just two months before Boris Johnson’s government hosts the United Nations Climate conference, COP26 in Glasgow, the report by the TUC makes clear that the impact on employment in the UK as a result of jobs moving “offshore” to countries in the vanguard of green investment and technology will be particularly acute in the UK’s industrial heartlands in the north-west, Yorkshire and the Humber. Continue reading...
Locals in the host city are being asked to offer a warm welcome to indigenous delegates visiting for Cop26In October, Calfín Lafkenche of the Mapuche people of Patagonia, on the southernmost tip of Chile, will embark on an 8,000-mile journey across the Atlantic. He won’t be the only one taking such a trip; indigenous people from Peru’s highest mountains will walk for eight hours to board day-long flights, while those from the deepest Amazon will travel for two days to board a canoe bound for their nearest town. Their ultimate destination? Glasgow.These are just some of the indigenous communities journeying across the globe to make their voices heard for the first time at Cop26, the UN climate change conference taking place in Glasgow from November. Continue reading...
The Scandinavian country faces a crisis of conscience on the eve of electionsNorway goes to the polls on Monday in parliamentary elections that are forcing western Europe’s largest oil and gas producer to confront its environmental contradictions.Climate issues have dominated the campaigning since August, when the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published its starkest warning yet that global heating is dangerously close to spiralling out of control. Continue reading...
The former EPA scientist is among five who have come forward alleging that the agency has become deeply corruptedThe US Environmental Protection Agency is failing to protect children by ignoring poisons in the environment and focusing on corporate interests, according to a top children’s health official who will testify this week that the agency tried to silence her because of her insistence on stronger preventions against lead poisoning.“The people of the United States expect the EPA to protect the health of their children, but the EPA is more concerned with protecting the interests of polluting industries,” said Ruth Etzel, former director of the EPA’s Office of Children’s Health Protection (OCHP). The harm being done to children is “irreparable”, she said. Continue reading...
by Libby Brooks Scotland correspondent on (#5PDZ4)
Motion will be seen as rebuke to party leader Nicola Sturgeon, who pledged to establish national firm in 2017Scottish National party members backed a call for a state-run energy company to be set up on the second day of their autumn conference, four years after leader Nicola Sturgeon first pledged one. The move will be seen as a direct rebuke to the leadership’s failure to make good on the promise.On Saturday activists overwhelmingly supported a motion demanding the creation of a Scottish national energy company, which first minister Nicola Sturgeon first promised in October 2017 at a previous conference. Continue reading...
Campaigners say Sadiq Khan’s support for a four-lane road under the river is at odds with his environmental aimsBurrowing deep under the Thames, Silvertown tunnel is scheduled as the first new road link across the capital’s river for 30 years. But, the four-lane highway, due to be completed in 2025, is about to become the focus of environmental protests in the lead-up to the Cop26 global climate summit in Glasgow in November.Preliminary construction work has begun and tunnelling is due to begin next spring, but campaigners insist it is not too late to halt the £1bn-plus engineering project and are planning protests at both ends of the tunnel later this month. Continue reading...
According to reports, plans will be abandoned in light of backlash from southern voters and MPsThe government is reportedly backpedalling on its commitment to overhaul planning laws in order to accelerate infrastructure projects with a target of building 300,000 homes a year in England.Part of the government’s “Project Speed”, the new planning laws were announced in the Queen’s speech with the target of modernising and simplifying the system and increasing the number of homes being planned by more than a third. Continue reading...
World’s largest conservation summit since Covid-19 brought 4,000 people to Marseille to showcase issues and solutions from coral reefs to land protectionAt times in Marseille’s early autumn sun, pre-pandemic life felt tantalisingly close at the world’s largest conservation gathering since Covid began. Scientists presented the latest research on nature – in-person – to colleagues they had not seen for months or even years.Amid the excitement of 4,000 people meeting face to face at the IUCN’s world conservation congress in the French port city, with more participating online, there was broad agreement that conservation is experiencing a moment of opportunity, despite obvious challenges, and that essential work has not stopped under lockdowns. Continue reading...
• Student campaigners: ‘Activism works, plain and simple’• University president cites need to decarbonize economyHarvard will divest itself from holdings in fossil fuels, the university’s president, Lawrence Bacow, announced late on Thursday.Harvard Management Company, which oversees the university’s vast endowment of almost $42bn, has already been reducing its financial exposure to fossil fuels and has no direct investments in companies that explore for or develop further reserves of fossil fuels, Bacow said in a message posted on the university’s website. Continue reading...
Campaigners are dismayed that so much of the clay slurry could have been lost during constructionHS2 has lost vast amounts of a potentially highly polluting substance in an aquifer during the construction of the high-speed rail link, it has emerged.Environmental campaigners have raised concerns about the impact of this on the water supply. Continue reading...
Exclusive: revelations come amid rising concerns over government’s plans to meet net zero targetUK government ministers have held private meetings with fossil fuel and biomass energy producers roughly nine times as often as they met companies involved in clean energy production, despite the increasing urgency of meeting the government’s climate targets.Analysis by DeSmog, the environmental investigation group, of publicly available data shows that ministers from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) held 63 private meetings – with one company present, along with ministers and advisers – with fossil fuel and biomass energy producers between 22 July 2019 and 18 March 2021. Continue reading...
Alpine Kea with damaged beak teaches himself to use pebbles for grooming, in a first under scientific observationBruce, a disabled alpine parrot from New Zealand, may just be one of the most unique birds in the world. He comes from good stock – the Kea, the only alpine parrot, is considered to be among the most intelligent birds. When they aren’t dismantling tourists’ cars, stealing passports or occasionally killing sheep, they are known to weigh up probabilities to help them make choices.Related: Hear be kiwis: New Zealand celebrates as distinctive cry of iconic bird returns Continue reading...