Environment | The Guardian

The furry face hiding under a table turned out to be a black-footed ferret, one of only about 600 in the worldA Colorado man had a surprise encounter with the rarest mammal in North America, which he found hiding beneath a table saw in his garage.Reese Nettles had gone out to lift weights when he caught sight of a furry face with soft, curious eyes. Continue reading...

Thick smog envelops Indian capital with pollution levels 20 times higher than deemed healthy by WHOIndia’s capital, Delhi, and several surrounding states have shut schools, imposed work-from-home orders and a full weekend lockdown of the city is being contemplated in an attempt to tackle the deadly levels of pollution that have yet again enveloped the region.Over the past weeks, in what has become a dreaded seasonal occurrence, Delhi has suffered pollution levels 20 times higher than the levels deemed healthy by the World Health Organization and a thick brown smog settled over the city. Continue reading...

The message from companies and regulators has been clear: Americans need meat, and workers need to risk their lives to provide itEarly in the pandemic, Covid outbreaks were rampant in America’s meatpacking plants – the factories that kill, cut and package animals.But the chairman of one of biggest meat companies in the US, Tyson, argued that these factories should stay open to feed Americans. Continue reading...

Irma Galindo Barrios, a member of the Mixtec people, was defending indigenous lands from illegal loggingA Mexican environmental campaigner has been declared missing barely a week after a savage attack on indigenous villagers displaced from the lands she was defending against illegal logging.Irma Galindo Barrios, a member of the indigenous Mixtec (ñuù savi) people who worked to protect forests in southern Oaxaca state, was last heard from on 27 October. She was scheduled to attend a virtual meeting so she could join a state mechanism for protecting journalists and defenders, but did not attend, according to Rosi Bustamante, a US-based activist who had been in close contact with Galindo. Continue reading...

Former US vice president says Australia’s 2050 net zero target ‘has very little meaning’ without nearer term goal

Water breaking banks of Lachlan River as authorities and volunteers race to prepare for flooding

Intensive agriculture’s insatiable thirst for water is turning wetland to wasteland, draining rivers and polluting groundwaterA wetland without water is a melancholy sight. The fish are dead, the birds have flown and a lifeless silence hangs over the place. “Everything you see around you should be under water,” says Ecologists in Action’s Rafa Gosálvez from the lookout in Las Tablas de Daimiel national park. The park has been dry for three years and where there were once aquatic species such as ducks, herons, egrets and freshwater crayfish, as well as tree frogs and the European polecat, now the wildlife has mostly vanished.Las Tablas de Daimiel is a unique wetland in the vast, almost treeless plains of Castilla-La Mancha in central Spain. But the park has had the life sucked out of it to slake intensive agriculture’s insatiable thirst. Continue reading...

Singer and activist supports protest by Kent residents over firm’s continued discharges into seaA water company fined a record £90m for dumping raw sewage is facing a ratepayers’ revolt over its continued discharges into the sea. A non-payment campaign against Southern Water, initiated by four residents of Whitstable in Kent, is understood to be growing.The protesters this week were given the support of Bob Geldof, who lives in nearby Faversham. According to the Kent Online website, Geldof told an audience in the town: “Don’t pay your water bills to Southern Water – they can fuck off. God bless the people of Whitstable. I’m straight there to join them. In fact, I’ll join them immediately.” Continue reading...

Serious damage has already been done as erosion, fires, floods and cyclones increase in intensity

New study reveals huge declines in once common species amounting to loss of one in six birds since 1980There are 247m million fewer house sparrows in Europe than there were in 1980, and other once ubiquitous bird species have suffered huge declines, according to a new study.One of every six birds – a net loss of 600 million breeding birds in total – have disappeared over less than four decades. Among the common species that are vanishing from the skies are yellow wagtails (97m fewer), starlings (75m fewer) and skylarks (68m fewer). Continue reading...

With major flooding from Lachlan River forecast, emergency services warn residents ‘it may be too dangerous to rescue you’ if they remain

When I switched electricity retailers, I didn’t get the cheap offer I wanted, but one of the most expensiveHouseholds in most of Australia have been able to choose between electricity retailers for more than a decade. The main reason is to reduce their bills.But past research by the Victoria Energy Policy Centre (at Victoria University) has found only marginal benefits in switching retailers. Our study of more than 48,000 bills from Victorian households in 2018, for example, found households typically saved less than $50 a year by switching energy providers.Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning Continue reading...

Storms forced scorpions from their hiding places into many houses across the province of AswanMore than 500 people have been hospitalised by scorpion stings in southern Egypt after storms forced the creatures out of their hiding places and into houses, state-run media has reported.Over the weekend, the province of Aswan was hit by rare downpours, hail and thunder in which three people died, governor Ashraf Attia said. However, those who were stung by scorpions were given anti-venom doses and were later discharged. Continue reading...

Communities in western Canada and Washington state forced to flee homes after record downpour leads to severe floodsCommunities in western Canada who were forced to flee their homes this summer by wildfires and extreme heat are once again under evacuation orders after overwhelming floods across the region.The heavy rainfall and pounding storms are also taking a toll on the US Pacific north-west, where flooding and mudslides in Washington state have also forced evacuations and school closures. Continue reading...

The Phoenix Islands Protected Area is about the size of California and has been fully closed to commercial fishing since 2015The Kiribati government has announced it will open up one of the world’s largest marine protected areas to commercial fishing, citing economic benefits to its people.The Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) spans 408,250 sq km (157,626 sq miles) – an area about the size of California – and was created in 2006 with the entire area declared a “no-take” zone in 2015, meaning that commercial fishing is forbidden. Continue reading...

Tory benches were sparsely filled as PM addressed the Commons, though Geoffrey Cox was backBoris Johnson did get one thing right in his Commons statement on Cop26. In the previous day’s press conference he had been adamant it had taken place in Edinburgh. Overnight he had been corrected and was now able to accurately locate the climate change summit as being in Glasgow. It was this kind of attention to detail that had made the conference such an outstanding success. Or at least the prime minister’s rose-tinted version of it.Even so, the Conservative benches were noticeably less full than the opposition’s. Either most Tory MPs weren’t so convinced that Cop26 had been a triumph or they still haven’t forgiven Boris for making them look like mugs over the Owen Paterson vote. Or maybe they had got wind of the fact that Johnson had what sounded like the beginnings of a nasty cold – his voice was no more than a muted rasp – and didn’t want to take the chance of picking up his germs. Clearly the last two years have taught him nothing about the spread of infectious diseases. Continue reading...

‘Animals abroad bill’ aimed at clamping down on trophy hunting and harmful animal experiences pushed backA law that will clamp down on trophy hunting and prevent people buying harmful animal experiences such as elephant tours meant to be introduced in parliament this autumn been delayed, the Guardian has learned.The measures should be contained in the animals abroad bill – one of several new pieces of legislation the government has planned to improve animal welfare standards. Continue reading...

Deal to reconvene one year after Glasgow gives vital window to compel countries towards less disastrous emissions plansBringing countries back to the negotiating table with updated national plans on greenhouse gas emissions will now be the hardest task for the UK and the UN for the next year, say developing countries and climate experts.The Cop26 summit ended at the weekend with a resolution for governments to revise their targets for next year. Continue reading...

Low wind speeds on Monday pushed UK price for peak period of 5pm to 6pm to over £2,000 per megawatt hourWholesale energy prices hit the second highest level in at least three years on Monday, adding pressure on suppliers struggling to secure electricity and gas at competitive rates.Low wind speeds were to blame for pushing wholesale energy prices for the peak period between 5pm and 6pm over £2,000 per megawatt hour, only the second time they have surpassed this level since 2018. Continue reading...

After dilution of Cop26 wording, China says developing nations cannot make green transition without supportAs Cop26 drew to a close over the weekend, Chinese media highlighted Beijing’s contribution over the last fortnight in Glasgow. “The Chinese delegation took a constructive attitude, actively communicated and negotiated with all parties,” said CCTV’s main evening news bulletin on Sunday. “[It] provided China’s wisdom and China’s solution …”But when China and India chose the last few hours of negotiations to push for the language on coal to be diluted from “phase out” to “phase down”, both countries came under nearly immediate fire from commentators. Cop president Alok Sharma later urged both countries to “explain themselves and what they did to the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world”. Continue reading...

Aamjiwnaang First Nation in Ontario finally wins access to data charting pollution from local petrochemical facilitiesA First Nations community in Canada has learned that levels of a cancer-causing chemical in its air are 44 times higher than is considered safe, after years of fighting for the data.Aamjiwnaang First Nation in Ontario is surrounded on all sides by petrochemical facilities, and members have long suspected that the facilities in “Chemical Valley” have exposed them to potentially dangerous substances. . Continue reading...

Renewables should be developed ‘where regional communities want them’, ministers have said

Exclusive: Scottish ministers accused of giving in to lobbying as launch expected to be put back to 2023The launch of the UK’s first bottle and can deposit scheme is expected to be delayed again, with Scottish ministers accused of giving in to lobbying from retailers and industry.The scheme, in which shops in Scotland will be required to install recycling machines and charge a 20p deposit on every can and bottle, was due to be launched in July next year – three years after it was originally unveiled. Continue reading...

Increasingly intense and frequent spells of humidity linked to global heating may exacerbate mental health conditions, with women and young people worst affectedMore frequent spells of intense humidity caused by the climate crisis are more likely than heatwaves to be linked to increased rates of suicide, according to new research.The study found that women and young people were particularly affected by levels of humidity, the intensity and frequency of which are increasing because of global heating. Continue reading...

Thanks to climate change, armadillos, native to southern America, are making their way up north. And there’s no sign of them stopping their relentless marchIn the pitch dark, Jason Bullard adroitly shoulders his rifle and levels it at the object. “That looks like one!” he mutters. It turns out to be a fuse box. Another candidate, again aimed at with the gun, reveals itself as a rock.In this town besieged by armadillos, anything with a passing similarity to the armored nemesis is under suspicion. Continue reading...

Barnaby Joyce says Coalition has done a ‘great job’ on climate policy; Changes to South Australia quarantine and border restrictions; fully vaccinated travellers can apply for Qld border passes from 5pm; Victoria records 860 new local Covid cases and five deaths; NSW records 165 cases and one death.This blog is now closed

Growing rush for land is destroying ecosystems and disrupting lives to satisfy global demand for goods, study warnsBusinesses and governments must stop the growing rush of commodities-driven land grabbing, which is “trashing” the environment and displacing people, says new research.Palm oil and cobalt were extreme risks for land grabs according to an analysis of 170 commodities by research firm Verisk Maplecroft published last week. It also warned that, alongside cobalt, other minerals used for “clean” technology, including silicon, zinc, copper, were high risk and undermined the sector’s label. Continue reading...

New report says burning and draining of peatland by grouse moor estates and others adding to climate disasterJust 124 landowners own the majority of England’s deep peat – its single largest carbon store – new analysis has found.From the low-lying wetlands of the Fens, to the bogs of the North York Moors, 450,000 hectares (1m acres) of peat soils store 584m tonnes of carbon, according to Natural England, equivalent to the annual emissions from 540 coal-fired power stations in the US. Continue reading...

Ella Daish to hand Procter & Gamble giant Tampax applicator, made from 1,200 discarded contributionsA British environmental activist is stepping up her campaign against single-use plastics in period products by calling on the world’s bestselling manufacturer of tampons to make greener alternatives.Ella Daish, the founder of the #EndPeriodPlastic campaign, will go to the European headquarters of Tampax-maker Procter & Gamble in Geneva on Monday to present executives with a giant tampon applicator, made of 1,200 discarded Tampax applicators found littering British waterways, rivers and beaches. Continue reading...

Last-minute hitch on coal almost reduced Alok Sharma to tears as Glasgow climate pact made imperfect progressAs weary delegates trudged into the Scottish Event Campus on the banks of the Clyde on Saturday, few realised what a mountain they still had to climb. The Cop26 climate talks were long past their official deadline of 6pm on Friday, but there were strong hopes that the big issues had been settled. A deal was tantalisingly close.The “package” on offer was imperfect – before countries even turned up in Glasgow they were meant to have submitted plans that would cut global carbon output by nearly half by 2030, to limit global heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Although most countries submitted plans, they were not strong enough and analysis found they would lead to a disastrous 2.4C of heating. Continue reading...

SES responds to 320 calls for help after wild weather causes havoc in Sydney, Blue Mountains and Wagga, with major flood warnings in place for NSW central west

Doors were slammed shut on Indigenous people in Glasgow, literally and figuratively. Now it’s time not just to open them, but to tear them downCop26 is officially over, and my time in Glasgow almost at an end. I was at the forum to represent my community and to stand up for First Nations people who are leading global movements for climate justice. I was cautiously optimistic about what could be achieved.

Cop26 president says nations will have to ‘explain to climate-vulnerable countries why they did what they did’India and China will “have to explain themselves to poor nations” after watering down the Glasgow climate pact, warned the Cop26 president, Alok Sharma, adding that their actions had left him “deeply frustrated”.He told the Guardian: “We are on the way to consigning coal to history. This is an agreement we can build on. But in the case of China and India, they will have to explain to climate-vulnerable countries why they did what they did.” Continue reading...

PM says ‘not much difference’ between ‘phasing down’ and ‘phasing out’ of the fossil fuelBoris Johnson has said it was disappointing that China and India had watered down the Cop26 climate agreement, but claimed there was little difference between “phasing out” and “phasing down” coal usage.The prime minister declared the summit in Glasgow a historic success, rating it “more than 6/10”, but acknowledged his “delight at this progress is tinged with disappointment”. Continue reading...

Agreement arrived at on Saturday night made progress in some important areas but poor countries say it is not nearly enough

Experts say country’s watering down of fossil fuel pledge reflected its lack of choicesIt was a dramatic 11th-hour decision, portrayed as a devastating blow to the success of Cop26.After pressure exerted by India and China, the wording of the final deal was watered down to a pledge to “phase down” rather than “phase out” coal. Alok Sharma, the president of Cop26, was on the brink of tears as he explained what had happened and the last-minute alteration brought sharp words of rebuke from the US and other nations. Continue reading...

Lincoln Children’s Zoo says deaths of Ranney, Everest and Makalu are ‘truly heartbreaking’, as two tigers recoverThree snow leopards have died at the Lincoln children’s zoo in Nebraska of complications from Covid-19.The zoo made the announcement in a Facebook post on Friday, describing the deaths of the three leopards – named Ranney, Everest, and Makalu – as “truly heartbreaking”. Continue reading...

Analysis: Cop26 delegates made progress on emissions cuts and climate adaptation but fell short on coalThe Cop26 climate conference finally came to an end on Saturday night, having overrun by a day. Here are the main points in the text agreed to by delegates. Continue reading...

Influx of delegates has brought excitement and new connections – as well as a little inconvenience – for residents“I can’t believe how early it gets dark here,” says environmental lawyer Patsy Contardo, who has spent the last two weeks experiencing Scottish culture, from Tunnock’s teacakes and shortbread to the great British weather.Contardo, a Cop26 delegate from Chile, was staying with Glaswegian hosts Fiona and Matt Hooker, who opened up their home to her as part of the Cop26 Homestay Network aimed at helping foreign delegates faced with sky-high accommodation costs in the city; rates rose to more than £1,000 a night in some hotels. Continue reading...

US climate envoy says many countries have very aggressively increased their ambition

Minister welcomes Cop26 summit outcome but sidesteps questions on target arguing ‘we’ll continue to update our projections’

Queensland passes 70% double-dose vaccination; Cop26 agreement made in Glasgow aims for ‘phasing down’ of coal. This blog is now closed

Watered-down coal pledge and climate financing shortcomings temper optimism over Glasgow dealWorld leaders and environmental experts have broadly welcomed a UN climate deal that for the first time targeted fossil fuels as the key driver of global warming, while some criticised the agreement for not going far enough.While the agreement won applause for keeping alive the hope of capping global warming at 1.5C, many of the nearly 200 national delegations wished they had come away with more. Continue reading...

Other countries say that although they disagree with elements of the text, they are reluctantly willing to support it

Indigenous leaders say renaming public spaces suggests ‘we are moving forward as a society and repairing relationships’

Invasive species that wreaks havoc on land found on vessel after trip from Indian Key to Marco IslandA python sneaked aboard a sailboat in the Florida Keys and lurked undetected until the boat finished a near-100-mile voyage, police said.The crew found the 7ft snake in the boat’s shower after docking on Friday at Marco Island, on the south-west Florida Gulf coast, after a trip from Indian Key, a distance of about 95 miles around the southern tip of the state. Continue reading...

Critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are dying in alarming numbers after getting caught in lobster trap ropesA fierce fight is being waged in the Gulf of Maine between lobster fishers desperate to maintain their way of life and conservationists who argue that the waters are a vital haven for the threatened North Atlantic right whale.Last month, a federal judge in Maine rejected a federal ban on lobstering in a section of the Gulf of Maine that is meant to protect the whales. Continue reading...

Clearwater Marine Aquarium mourns dolphin whose recovery after losing tail was chronicled in the film Dolphin TaleFlorida’s most famous dolphin, Winter, beloved by fans around the world and star of the movie Dolphin Tale, died of twisted intestines, according to necropsy results released by an aquarium on Saturday.The dolphin’s intestines were in an area impossible to reach through surgery. Continue reading...

Countries who take this crisis seriously must seize the initiative, and make the rest pariahsWhere now? Governments have agreed a weak climate deal which gets us a smidgen closer to holding temperatures to a rise of 1.5C. But as regards all the most important pledges to phase out coal, reduce subsidies and protect forests, Glasgow failed.The fossil fuel lobby, led by India, held its line, dramatically succeeding in watering down – at the last minute and without due, transparent process – the move to ‘phase out’ coal power, pledging instead to ‘phase down’. The poor came away with next to nothing, there was little urgency and we are still heading for catastrophe. Any chance of halving fast-rising emissions by 2030 – the declared aim of the talks – is now negligible. Continue reading...

Has the goal of 1.5C gone up in flames?• You can order your own copy of this cartoon Continue reading...