Environment | The Guardian

Ten Insulate Britain activists spent Christmas in jail as campaigners decry ‘power grab’ over right to protestAt least 18 peaceful environmental protesters have been sent to prison this year, with 10 spending Christmas Day behind bars.As concern about the climate crisis grows, activists have been jailed after blocking roads, disrupting court proceedings and in one case climbing on top of an aeroplane in an attempt to draw attention to the escalating emergency. Continue reading...

Court instructs company to stop tests along Wild Coast after concerns raised about wildlife and lack of consultationShell will be forced to halt oil exploration in vital whale breeding grounds along South Africa’s eastern coastline after a local court blocked the controversial project.The court order calls for an immediate halt to Shell’s seismic tests which involve blasting sound waves through the relatively untouched Wild Coast marine environment, which is home to whales, dolphins and seals. Continue reading...

Severe weather brings record low temperatures in Seattle and huge snowfalls in California and NevadaThe US west is facing record-breaking cold temperatures and heavy snow as severe weather sweeps the region from Washington to California.Officials in Oregon and western Washington opened emergency warming shelters as temperatures dropped into the teens (below zero in centigrade) amid an arctic blast that forecasters said would last several days. In California, heavy snow closed ski resorts and shut down travel across much of the Sierra Nevada, the mountainous region along the California-Nevada border. Continue reading...

Research shows UK’s 50 most polluted areas also have highest rates of child povertyThe Labour party has demanded stricter limits on air pollution after analysis showed the close correlation between children living in poverty and dirty air in the UK.Five London boroughs rank worst for child poverty and worst for dirty air, according to government data collated by Labour, mapping areas of high poverty against statistics on air pollution. The analysis showed that the higher the rate of child poverty in a given area, the dirtier the air there was on average, with most of the 50 most polluted areas in the UK also showing the highest rates of child poverty. Continue reading...

The climate emergency has clear themes with heroes and villains. Describing it this way is how to build a movementThe biggest success of the fossil fuel industry’s decades-long campaign to push doubt about climate science is that it forced the conversation about the climate crisis to centre on science.It’s not that we didn’t need scientific research into climate change, or that we don’t need plenty more of it. Or even that we don’t need to do a better job of explaining basic science to people, across the board (hello, Covid). But at this moment, “believe science” is too high a bar for something that demands urgent action. Believing science requires understanding it in the first place. In the US, the world’s second biggest carbon polluter, fewer than 40% of the population are college educated and in many states, schools in the public system don’t have climate science on the curriculum. So where should this belief – strong enough to push for large-scale social and behavioural change – be rooted exactly?Amy Westervelt is a climate journalist and the founder and executive producer of the Critical Frequency podcast network Continue reading...

Net Zero Diaries focus group finds people sceptical about whether Cop26 commitments will stickBritons are concerned that hypocrisy by politicians will affect the public’s willingness to change their own behaviour to tackle the climate crisis – and doubt that Cop26 commitments can be met unless they are legally binding.The opinions come from the latest in the Net Zero Diaries, a project run by the consultancy Britain Thinks to examine evolving attitudes to the pursuit of a net zero emissions target, the first collation of public views from the cohort since the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow. Continue reading...

Despite warnings that it would devastate rare wildlife habitats, the controversial project is back on the table

Environment minister calls death of migratory cranes from virus ‘the most serious damage to wildlife in the history of the country’A bird flu outbreak in northern Israel has killed at least 5,200 migratory cranes and forced farmers to slaughter hundreds of thousands of chickens as authorities try to contain what they say is the deadliest wildlife disaster in the nation’s history.Uri Naveh, a senior scientist at the Israel Parks and Nature Authority, said the situation was not yet under control. “Many of the birds are dead in the middle of the water body so it’s difficult for them to be taken out,” he said on Monday. Continue reading...

Analysis of 1m loyalty card transactions suggests decline is mostly down to levy on single-use bagsShoppers have been shunning single-use plastic bags to save pennies rather than the planet, a “big data” study of more than 10,000 consumers has found.The research by Nottingham University business school’s N/LAB analytics centre of excellence suggests the massive decline in plastic bag use in the UK may have little to do with shoppers’ concern for the environment. Continue reading...

The winds in November brought down millions of trees but unlike after the great storm of 1987, there is no rush to clear them all away

National Trust’s annual audit highlights how climate crisis is altering environment for everIt was a year of fire and storms, of crumbling cliffs and falling trees, all of which put a huge strain on flora and fauna, according to an annual audit of the impact of the weather on nature in the UK.There were many losers, including rare birds and mammals displaced by blazes on uplands in the north of England and Northern Ireland, but also winners, from crickets heard singing for the first time in newly colonised places to the grey seals that enjoyed a good breeding season despite the turmoil. Continue reading...

Man wanted to breed birds but ‘it got out of control’, official says, adding: ‘You just have more babies, babies and more babies’An animal shelter in Michigan has been inundated with hundreds of parakeets.The Detroit Animal Welfare Group in Romeo said in a Facebook post that the small, colorful birds were dropped off on Thursday night, the Detroit News reported. Continue reading...

Council and Ramblers Association clash with Donald Houston over access route to Ardnamurchan peninsula in western Scotland

Across the world conservation groups, researchers and volunteers are working to combat the five key drivers of biodiversity loss identified by scientists

The resumption of killing whales for profit for the first time in over 30 years is offering little cause for celebrationYou don’t have to look far to find evidence of Wada’s centuries-old connection to whaling. Visitors to the town on Japan’s Pacific coast are greeted by a replica skeleton of a blue whale before entering a museum devoted to the behemoths of the ocean.At a local restaurant, diners eat deep-fried whale cutlet and buy cetacean-themed gifts at a neighbouring gift shop. At the edge of the water stands a wooden deck where harpooned whales are butchered before being sold to wholesalers and restaurants. Continue reading...

Thirty-one-year-old man, who appeared to be a bodyboarder, pronounced dead in San Luis Obispo countyCalifornia authorities have closed some beaches in San Luis Obispo County after a 31-year-old man was pronounced dead following an encounter with a shark on Friday.The fatality marked the first death in a shark attack in 18 years in the area, which lies roughly midway between Los Angeles and Jan Jose. Continue reading...

Two dozen conspirators forced workers to pay fees for travel and housing while forcing them to work for little to no payIn June, a farm worker from Mexico, who requested to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, was transported through a trafficking network from Monterey to work on farms in Georgia.They paid the traffickers 20,000 pesos, about $950, loaned from their mother, taking frequent trips back and forth to Monterey, before being told it was safe to leave. Then they were finally transported across the border. Continue reading...

Five families who have run the city’s famous tours for decades face potential competition from China – and, even worse, nearby GhentFor decades, five families in Bruges have run the tourist boats that chug serenely along the beautiful Flemish city’s picturesque canals. Day in, day out, the guides describe the medieval belfry, low-sweeping bridges and rich history of this “Venice of the north”.But there may be stormy waters ahead for the boaters of Bruges. There is talk that Chinese investors and, even worse, people from Ghent, known locally as Stroppendragers or noose-bearers, could make waves. Continue reading...

Developers will consider contribution to environment using Urban Greening Factor formula

Taylor Energy to pay more than $43m in clean-up costs, penalties and damage, and transfer $432m clean-up fundAmerica’s longest running oil spill dispute is close to a resolution after a Louisiana-based energy firm has agreed to a proposed multi-million dollar settlement.Taylor Energy agreed to pay more than $43m in clean-up costs, civil penalties and natural resource damage, and transfer a $432m clean-up trust fund to the Department of Interior, according to a proposed settlement announced by the Department of Justice. Continue reading...

Our photographers brought the natural world to the fore, with pictures of wildlife and the efforts to conserve them across the globe Continue reading...

Study finds exports to region doubled in 2020 with practice predicted to grow as US invests in recycling plantsEnvironmental organisations across Latin America have called on the US to reduce plastic waste exports to the region, after a report found the US had doubled exports to some countries in the region during the first seven months of 2020.The US is the world’s largest plastic waste exporter, although it has dramatically reduced the overall amount it exports since 2015, when China – previously the top importer – said it “no longer wanted to be the world’s rubbish dump” and began imposing restrictions. Elsewhere around the world imports are rising, and not least in Latin America, with its cheap labour and close proximity to the US. Continue reading...

Our photographers captured many moving and inspirational moments in 2021. Here’s our pick of the most striking imagesIn 2021, our photographers told some of the most profound stories in America. They captured personal moments, like a man assessing the remnants of his home after Hurricane Ida. There were inspirational stories, like how a majority Black high school created a girls lacrosse team during the pandemic. And there were historic scenes, like the lead-up to the presidential inauguration just weeks after insurrectionists tried to overturn the election results. Thank you to all the photographers who worked with us this year.*** Continue reading...

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala calls for changes to ensure developing nations are resilient to affects of extreme weatherRemoving trade barriers around the world would help to tackle the climate crisis, enable a “just transition” away from fossil fuels and make developing countries more resilient to the impacts of global heating, the head of the World Trade Organization has said.Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who took over as director general of the global watchdog last March, said: “Trade is part of the solution, not part of the problem … We need a global effort to climate-proof the supply chains and infrastructure of the most vulnerable economies or risk undoing hard-won economic progress and development.” Continue reading...

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including galloping horses, a honey-bee hive and a lonely red-crowned crane Continue reading...

Conditional licence granted in 2016 at Aberpergym has led to row between Whitehall and devolved administrationPlans for the expansion of an underground coalmine in Wales could be approved imminently despite pledges made at the Cop26 climate conference to move away from the dirtiest fossil fuel.The Coal Authority is imminently expected to decide whether the conditions have been met to allow work to begin at a recently active deep-shaft site in the Neath Valley, south Wales.

Chief executive seeks public dialogue, suggesting protests against Loznica project have hindered any ‘reasonable debate’Rio Tinto will put its controversial western Serbia lithium project on hold, a news agency has reported, quoting the CEO of Rio’s Serbian arm.The mining group wants to develop the mine near Loznica in the western Jadar river valley to extract lithium, used in electric car batteries, and borates, used in solar panels and wind turbines. Continue reading...

Seismic testing is planned for an 8,000km sq area on the doorstep of two marine parks that are home to almost 100 protected species

Exclusive: Releasing nutrients can spur phytoplankton growth, absorbing carbon dioxide in the process

Campaigners help close the loophole allowing glue-trapping in France, but the battle to save endangered bird species goes on

Rare species set to return to ‘pingos’, which are basin forged by ice age and then buried to give way to farmlandGhost pingos, unique ponds forged by the ice age and buried during the era of industrial agriculture, are to be excavated to revive wildlife on two former farms.Rare species including the scarce emerald damselfly and the northern pool frog are set to return to the pingos, which are being restored on farmland next to Thompson Common near Thetford in Norfolk, a little-known nature reserve whose 400 ancient ponds make it the pingo capital of Britain. Continue reading...

Revitalized alliance could help strengthen both the fight for reducing emissions and for bolstering worker rightsAs the Biden administration attempts to increase incentives for the production of electric vehicles, labor unions and climate groups have teamed up to push for better wages and working conditions for autoworkers – and leave the door open for the nascent EV industry to unionize.Last month, leaders from some of the largest environmental groups in the country sent a letter to top executives at Toyota, lambasting the automaker for appearing to support the electric vehicle revolution all while lobbying against a proposed tax credit for union-made electric cars. Continue reading...

New figures show slow coal phaseout progress to date, with pledges not enough to limit warming to 1.5CThe majority of coal-fired power is not being phased out quickly enough to meet climate goals and avoid catastrophic global heating, despite new pledges made at Cop26.While coal is on its way out, some of the largest coal-dependent economies might be delaying for too long, according to a new report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Continue reading...

Gazprom’s $11bn project to deliver gas from Russia to Germany seems impossible to abandon and impossible to carry forwardThe saga of Nord Stream 2, the gas pipeline between Russia and Germany running along the Baltic seabed, has been stuck so long it has been likened to a suitcase at an airport without a handle – impossible to abandon, and impossible to carry forward. Most of the original cast of characters – Jean-Claude Juncker, Angela Merkel, Matteo Renzi, David Cameron, Petro Poroshenko – have left the political stage. Only one politician has survived the entire story: Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, and the master of divide and rule.First announced in 2015, the $11bn (£8.3bn) pipeline owned by Russia’s state-backed energy giant Gazprom has been built to carry gas from western Siberia, doubling the existing capacity of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline and keeping 26m German homes warm at an affordable price. Continue reading...

Environment Centre Northern Territory argued the $21m for drilling program was legally unreasonable on multiple grounds

European gas prices climb close to record highs as flows on key pipeline move towards RussiaThe Kremlin has denied using Russia’s gas resources to turn the screw on Europe, after gas in a pipeline to Germany switched direction to flow eastwards for a second day, keeping prices near record highs as midwinter approaches.Flows through the Yamal-Europe pipeline to Germany declined over the weekend before stopping on Tuesday and reversing, data from the network operator Gascade showed. Continue reading...

Local people complain of high levels of hydrogen sulphide at Walleys Quarry near Newcastle-under-LymeThe Environment Agency has launched an investigation into alleged illegal waste activities at a landfill in Staffordshire which has plagued residents with noxious fumes for months.People living next to Walleys Quarry landfill in Silverdale, Newcastle-under-Lyme, are facing misery from strong smells caused by high levels of hydrogen sulphide on the site. Continue reading...

The Bamfords have enjoyed access to Boris Johnson while lobbying for hydrogen• Green cards, cannabis and a strip club: Bamford in US legal battleIn a video filmed shortly before the UK hosted the Cop26 climate conference, Boris Johnson strolls alongside Jo Bamford and his father, the JCB boss, Anthony Bamford. Behind them is a JCB digger, and a big green bus is parked just across from the Houses of Parliament for a photocall. The prime minister quizzes the men about the economics of switching engines from fossil fuel to hydrogen. “It’s the same cost as running it on diesel,” Jo Bamford replies. “It’s already the same.”The video, posted by Jo Bamford’s gas distribution company, Ryze Hydrogen, on its Instagram feed in October, shows the privileged access the businessman enjoyed while lobbying for hydrogen to take a central place in Britain’s transition from fossil fuels. Continue reading...

It would be almost impossible for the US to comply with its greenhouse gas reduction pledges without the $1.75tn package that Manchin refuses to supportThe collapse of Joe Biden’s Build Back Better legislation would have disastrous consequences for the global climate crisis, making it almost impossible for the US to comply with its greenhouse gas reduction pledges made under the Paris accords.The US president’s sweeping economic recovery and social welfare bill is in serious trouble after the Democratic senator Joe Manchin announced his opposition to the $1.75tn spending package that includes the country’s largest ever climate crisis investment. Continue reading...

People with IBD have 50% more microplastics in their faeces but more research needed to confirm connectionPeople with inflammatory bowel disease have 50% more microplastics in their faeces, a study has revealed.Previous research has shown that microplastics can cause intestinal inflammation and other gut problems in laboratory animals, but the research is the first to investigate potential effects on humans. The scientists found 42 microplastic pieces per gram in dried samples from people with IBD and 28 pieces in those from healthy people. Continue reading...

Price to offset runway’s carbon emissions has increased from £50bn since expansion approval in 2018The cost of abating the carbon impact of a proposed third runway at Heathrow has doubled since parliament approved the idea of expansion, a report presented to MPs suggests.A study by the New Economics Foundation suggests the carbon value or cleanup cost of the runway has increased from £50bn to £100bn, twice the figure presented to ministers and parliamentarians by the Department for Transport in the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) in 2018. Continue reading...

Billionaires, princes and prime ministers are among those keen to learn from the Central American country, which has long put nature at the heart of its policies

The £1bn support package merely plays catch-up with the current ‘stealth lockdown’. More may well be needed – and soon

Microplastics from Africa and North America found airborne in French Pyrenees, 2,877 metres above sea levelFrom Mount Everest to the Mariana Trench, microplastics are everywhere – even high in the Earth’s troposphere where wind speeds allow them to travel vast distances, a new study has found.Microplastics are tiny fragments – measuring less than 5mm – that come from packaging, clothing, vehicles and other sources and have been detected on land, in water and in the air. Continue reading...

Activists including Greta Thunberg criticise ‘fake climate action’ in response to planned investment taxonomyThe European Commission is facing a backlash from Greta Thunberg and fellow climate activists over plans to include gas and nuclear energy in a “green” investment guidebook.Both energy sources are expected to feature in the next part of the EU’s “taxonomy for sustainable activities”, which is expected at the end of the year, following a period of intense political bargaining between the commission president, Ursula von der Leyen; the French president, Emmanuel Macron; and Germany’s new chancellor, Olaf Scholz. Continue reading...

Jane Goodall says such donations can have unintended consequences, especially where water is scarceIt’s the classic gift given by do-gooding family members at Christmas but Jane Goodall and other scientists have warned that people should think twice before giving a donation of a goat or heifer to a developing country.Charity gifts, where the recipient is informed their present is an animal to help feed a family in an impoverished area, have been popular for decades. Continue reading...

Plan B Earth group argued ministers had not taken ‘practical and effective’ steps to reduce emissionsAn environmental campaign group that challenged the lawfulness of the UK government’s climate policies has lost a high court fight.Plan B Earth argued that ministers had not taken “practical and effective” steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It wanted Mr Justice Bourne to give activists the go-ahead for a judicial review but he refused to grant permission. Continue reading...

The rest of the world needs to start treating the US as what it is: a dangerous country that needs to be reined inAs the now very likely collapse of the Build Back Better Act underlines, what’s exceptional about the United States is its extraordinary ability to dole out harm. Besides its ever-ballooning military budget and foreign wars, America also makes the world unsafe thanks to the prodigious amount of fossil fuel it continues to send around the world.Oil Change International, Earthworks and the Center for International Environmental Law have found that burning the oil and gas expected to be drilled in the US alone over the next decade could gobble up 10% of the entire world’s remaining carbon budget, the amount of carbon dioxide that can be released before the planet warms above 1.5C.Kate Aronoff is a staff writer at The New Republic and the author of Overheated: How Capitalism Broke the Planet – And How We Fight Back Continue reading...

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