Bumper grain crop set to weigh heavily as farmers count costs of seed, fertilizer - and effects of possible trade warMany US midwestern grain farmers will lose money this year after reaping a bumper crop, and the outlook for their future income is bleak.US farmers harvested some of the largest corn and soybean crops in history this year. Big harvests traditionally weigh on crop prices because of plentiful supply. And those price pressures comes at a time when costs remain persistently high to grow corn and soybeans, the US's most valuable crops. Continue reading...

UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, says we must exit this road to ruin' in annual new year messageThe world has endured a decade of deadly heat", with 2024 capping 10 years of unprecedented temperatures, the UN has said.Delivering his annual new year message, the UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, said the 10 hottest years on record had happened in the past decade, including 2024. Continue reading...

I wind my thread around their holes to create sculptures that connect with ageing and timeI have collected hundreds and hundreds of broken shells. I select them by holding them up to the sea, looking at the shape of them and deciding whether I want to work with them - and whether they will work with my thread.To me, a shell that is broken is more interesting than a shell that is perfect. A broken shell has lived a life. I can see what the sea has done to it, what has happened to it on the rocks and stones. We spend so much of our lives searching for or trying to obtain perfection. But as I've got older, I've realised that perfection is unattainable - and the search isn't worth it. Continue reading...

Part of an international initiative to combat organised wildlife crime, similar seizures in Australia and Norway have recovered more than 50,000 eggsMore than 6,000 eggs have been seized in the biggest haul of its kind in UK history, after police carried out raids in Scotland, South Yorkshire, Essex, Wales and Gloucester. Thousands of eggs were found secreted in attics, offices and drawers.The UK raids took place in November as part of Operation Pulka, an international effort to tackle organised wildlife crime - specifically the taking, possessing and trading of wild birds' eggs. The raids began in June 2023 in Norway, and resulted in 16 arrests and the seizure of 50,000 eggs. In Australia, an estimated 3,500 eggs have been seized, worth up to A$500,000 (250,000). Continue reading...

Analysis of insurance payouts by Christian Aid reveals three-quarters of financial destruction occurred in USThe world's 10 most costly climate disasters of 2024 caused $229bn in damages and killed 2,000 people, the latest annual analysis of insurance payouts has revealed.Three-quarters of the financial destruction occurred in the world's biggest economy, the US, where climate denier Donald Trump will become president next month. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Report finds poorer areas particularly affected by varying availability and cost of charging electric carsThe UK is at risk of a drastic slowdown in its transition to electric cars because of big disparities in the availability and cost of charging points, especially in poorer areas, a report says.The study, by the consultancy Stonehaven, argues that given rapid advances in batteries and car range, persuading more people to move to electric vehicles is now less an issue of technology than one of urban management and social equity". Continue reading...

A car is often essential in the US but while owning a vehicle is better than not for life satisfaction, a study has found, having to drive too much sends happiness plummetingThe United States, with its enormous highways, sprawling suburbs and neglected public transport systems, is one of the most car-dependent countries in the world. But this arrangement of obligatory driving is making many Americans actively unhappy, new research has found.The car is firmly entrenched as the default, and often only, mode of transport for the vast majority of Americans, with more than nine in 10 households having at least one vehicle and 87% of people using their cars daily. Last year, a record 290m vehicles were operated on US streets and highways. Continue reading...

The 40-year-old school chaplain was bitten by the shark while fishing with family in waters off Keppel Islands on Saturday

Protests, Taylor Swift and chubby penguins are all part of the best images from the wire agencies in 2024

Changing tides have led to an increase of beached marine life, whom rescuers scramble to save before they dieWhile Cape Cod, Massachusetts, is known as a popular vacation destination in the north-east US, it has built a reputation for an entirely different reason this year: animal strandings.Dolphins, whales, sea lions and turtles are turning up in large numbers on the beaches of the famous peninsula in a phenomenon that has experts scrambling to execute more rescue operations than ever before. The cause? Changing tides. Continue reading...

Birmingham City University thinktank imagines new approach to urban areas and land use across the regionWhen I show people this, they think it's Mordor," says landscape architecture professor Kathryn Moore with a smile.She is pointing at a map of the West Midlands. But instead of buildings, roads and a sprawling canal network, this map shows the natural hills and undulations that lie below the human-made architecture. Continue reading...

Call for illicit market to be taken out of hands of criminals as numbers continue to fall drastically due to poachingInternational trade in rhino horns should be legalised, a leading wildlife expert has urged.Writing in the research journal Science, Martin Wikelski argues only carefully monitored, legitimate transactions in horns can save the world's remaining species of rhinoceros. Continue reading...

Conservationists issue warning as figures show three-quarters of SSSI sites have had no recent assessmentsConservationists have said wildlife could be disappearing in the dark" after figures showed that three-quarters of England's most precious habitats, wildlife and natural features have had no recent assessment of their condition.The warning follows the publication of figures covering assessments of protected natural sites known as sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) in the last five years. SSSIs are legally protected because they contain special features such as threatened habitats or rare species, and together they cover more than 1.1m hectares (2.7m acres), about 8% of England's land area. Continue reading...

Several days of snow brought avalanche risk at Christmas, as wintry weather also caused four deaths in IndiaA snowstorm developed across the Alps on Saturday 21 December due to a low-pressure system situated over the Adriatic Sea. This depression allowed relatively warm and moist air to push into the Alps, condensing and falling as snow as it met the much colder alpine air mass. Snowfall continued for several days, with well over 1 metre of snow on some peaks and significant snowfall across many ski villages. Consequently, there was a significant avalanche risk over the Christmas period.Ski resorts in Bulgaria also experienced significant snow starting on Christmas Day, which caused disruption in the mountainous west, where ski resorts had to temporarily shut down due to road closures. Towns such as Troyan, Samokov and Teteven were particularly badly affected with snowdrifts and power failures. Continue reading...

The best of this week's wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...

Only 2% of steel used in British offshore wind projects in past five years was UK-made, study findsThe UK steel industry has called for the government to promise to buy British as it prepares for a major expansion of offshore wind generation.Wind generation has become a key part of the UK's energy system, contributing 29% of generated electricity in 2023. However, despite the huge increase in the number of turbines, only 2% of the steel used in British offshore wind projects over the past five years was made in the UK, according to a study by the consultants Lumen Energy & Environment, commissioned by UK Steel, a lobby group. Continue reading...

Analysis shows fossil fuels are supercharging heatwaves, leaving millions prone to deadly temperaturesThe climate crisis caused an additional six weeks of dangerously hot days in 2024 for the average person, supercharging the fatal impact of heatwaves around the world.The effects of human-caused global heating were far worse for some people, an analysis by World Weather Attribution (WWA) and Climate Central has shown. Those in Caribbean and Pacific island states were the hardest hit. Many endured about 150 more days of dangerous heat than they would have done without global heating, almost half the year. Continue reading...

Grant will go towards repackaging food that would go to waste and delivering it to shelters, food banks and charitiesLabour ministers have backed plans for a 15m fund to redistribute food from farms that otherwise go to waste, particularly around Christmas.Grants starting from 20,000 will be handed to the not-for-profit food redistribution sector in England to repackage farm food and deliver it to homeless shelters, food banks and charities. Continue reading...

Charity says unstable weather patterns caused by the climate crisis had a devastating impact' in 2024There have been alarming declines this year in some insect species including bees, butterflies, moths and wasps, while many seabirds have also been hammered" by unstable weather patterns caused by the climate emergency, a conservation charity has said.In its annual report on the impact of the weather on flora and fauna, the National Trust highlights that numbers of bees and butterflies have crashed" in some areas of the UK in 2024. Continue reading...

At least one dead and three missing amid storm that has split wharf, wrecked boat and piled up debrisCalifornia residents are being warned to stay off wharves, piers and other waterside structures as 20-30ft waves are expected to batter the northern Pacific coast for the rest of the week.The National Weather Service advisory comes after a 150ft section of the wharf in Santa Cruz collapsed amid high waves on Monday, and storm debris was blamed for the death of a Santa Cruz county man on a beach in Watsonville. Continue reading...

Number hits record level but rate of growth slows as installers face delays to government fundingThe UK installed a record number of public electric car chargers in 2024, although the rate of growth slowed as installers contended with delays to government funding.Numbers rose by more than a third to reach 73,421 by 20 December, according to Zapmap, whose data the government uses. The increase of 19,600 was nearly equivalent to the total number of chargers at the end of 2020. Continue reading...

Belief in a supposed US government plot linked to aircraft condensation trails has been boosted by confusion over proposals to geoengineer a response to the climate crisisA conspiracy theory that airplanes are leaving nefarious chemtrails" in their wake due to a sinister government plot has been given fresh impetus in the US amid a swirl of concerns and confusion about proposals to geoengineer a response to the climate crisis.State legislation to ban what some lawmakers call chemtrails has been pushed forward in Tennessee and, most recently, Florida. Meanwhile, Robert F Kennedy, who has expressed interest in the conspiracy theory on social media and his podcast, is set to be at the heart of Donald Trump's new administration following his nomination as health secretary. Continue reading...

Environmental groups are also petitioning Biden to protect Sattitla, Kw'tsan and Chuckwalla in CaliforniaHidden amid a vast expanse of snow-brushed pines in northern California is a rare, half-million-year-old volcano called Sattitla. Thousands of years ago, its flows created crystalline mountains of obsidian and dim grey bands of pumice rock, which from a bird's-eye view look like ripples of taffy.When you're there, you really do feel like you're in another world, or on the moon or even another planet," said Brandi McDaniels, a member of the Pit River Tribe in northern California, whose ancestral homelands encompass the area. The way it glistens and twinkles - deep black, but shiny like diamonds." Continue reading...

Group says people in rural areas have to walk on roads without pavement, which can be very dangerousGive people the right to walk around the edges of privately owned fields, say campaigners seeking to open up more paths in the countryside in England and Wales.Slow Ways, a group advocating for more access to the countryside, said people in rural areas often have to walk on roads that do not have pavements, which can be extremely dangerous. Continue reading...

Strips of native plants on as little as 10% of farmland can reduce soil erosion by up to 95%Between two corn fields in central Iowa, Lee Tesdell walks through a corridor of native prairie grasses and wildflowers. Crickets trill as dickcissels, small brown birds with yellow chests, pop out of the dewy ground cover.There's a lot of life out here, and it's one of the reasons I like it, especially in these late summer days," Tesdell said. Continue reading...

Grey seals are growing in numbers on England's east coast as a result of environmental safe havens and cleaner North Sea watersIt is a cold winter's day to be lying on a beach, but the seal pup suckling from its mother doesn't mind. A few metres away, a pregnant seal is burrowing into the sand, trying to get comfortable, while a third seal, which has just given birth, is touching noses with her newborn pup.The shoreline - a mass of seals and their white pups - is one of Britain's greatest wildlife success stories: a grey seal colony on the east Norfolk coast. Continue reading...

The town hit 47.2C by mid afternoon, but locals are already well-versed in the art of staying cool

Caring for God's Acre mapped out 20,000 cemeteries and recorded 10,000 speciesChurchyards are vital havens for rare wildlife including dormice, bats and beetles, according to an extensive audit of burial grounds around the UK.The conservation charity Caring for God's Acre mapped out 20,325 cemeteries, with 800,000 wildlife records submitted and more than 10,800 species recorded. Continue reading...

Rising temperatures are pushing these Arctic mammals ever farther into Greenland's north. But eventually there will be nowhere left for them to goBuilt like a small bison, weighing as much as a grand piano and covered in thick, shaggy coat, the musk ox is one of the most distinctive species in the high Arctic. But from a hill on Greenland's tundra, they seem impossible to find.Each bush, rock and clump of grass resembles a mass of wool and horns in the blustery chill on the edge of the island's enormous polar ice cap. Scanning the shimmering landscape with binoculars, Chris Sorensen looks for signs of movement. Continue reading...

A rise in the number of remarriages and a baby boom in the years since 2004 gave hope to survivors and helped them cope with the tragedyIt was Mahyuddin's mother who had pestered him to go out on Sunday morning, 20 years ago. Dozens of relatives were visiting their small coastal village in Indonesia for a wedding party, but a powerful earthquake had struck just before 8am. Buildings in some areas had collapsed. He should go and check on his employer's office to see if they needed help, his mother said.As he drove into town, he found chaos and panic. The road was heavy with traffic: cars, motorbikes, trucks, all rushing in the same direction. People were running, shouting that water was coming. Continue reading...

Campaigners jubilant after government heeded warning 2031 cutoff would mean loss of precious footpathsA deadline for registering historic rights of way is to be scrapped after a warning that the looming cutoff date could result in the loss of thousands of miles of footpaths.The last government set a deadline of 2031 for all rights of way in England to be added to an official map, after abandoning a previous commitment to scrap the policy. Continue reading...

Scientists search for a variety to withstand the climate crisis as high temperatures and drought can stress treesThe climate crisis is increasingly affecting agriculture in the United States, including the production of Christmas trees.Like all crops, Christmas trees are vulnerable to a changing climate, as the United States continues to experience warmer temperatures, more frequent and severe heat, increased rainfall, droughts, wildfires and hurricanes, as a result of global warming and the climate crisis -primarily driven by humans' burning of fossil fuels. Continue reading...

Evaluation could lead to limits or bans on substances commonly used in the production of plastic and rubberThe Environmental Protection Agency is launching a formal review of five highly toxic plastic chemicals, including vinyl chloride, the notorious compound at the center of the East Palestine, Ohio, train wreck fire.The move could lead to strong limits or bans on the substances. Continue reading...

In a little understood quirk of nature foresters have been putting the aspen tree under duress to promote floweringOn a nature reserve deep in the Scottish Highlands there is a polytunnel which houses a small forest of slender grey aspen trees. It is known as the torture chamber".The aspen is one of the UK's scarcest but most valuable trees. And to produce the tiny, delicate aspen seeds being harvested by the charity Trees for Life, these 104 specimens are deliberately made to suffer. Continue reading...

Campaigners say consumption such as travel, gifts and food are destroying planet and the meaning of ChristmasWhether out of poverty or virtue, many of us spend much of the year reining in our appetites to save our pennies and our health. But at Christmas many of us put our worries aside and go wild in an orgy of lavish gifting, extensive travel and a gluttonous feeding frenzy.This carnival of consumption has a cost: not just to our wallets and our waistlines, but also to the climate. Continue reading...

More than 160 Chinese nationals were found living in degrading' conditions and working excessive hours

Government to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars but will relax rules that force firms to sell more electric vehicles every year

Conservationists and scientists in New Zealand were astonished to find the world's rarest whale washed ashore in the South Island in July. As only the seventh spade-toothed whale identified, and with none ever seen alive, this month saw the first dissection of a complete specimen Continue reading...

Prosecution of three companies and one director relate to 26 sites, including Rozelle parklands. They have denied the alleged offences

President Nayib Bukele pushed for the legislation that will grant government sole authority over mining activitiesEl Salvador's legislature has overturned a seven-year-old ban on metals mining, a move that the country's authoritarian president, Nayib Bukele, had pushed for to boost economic growth, but that environmental groups had opposed.El Salvador became the first country in the world to ban all forms of metals mining in 2017. Bukele, who took office in 2019, has called the ban absurd. Continue reading...

Exclusive: UK's biggest water company assessed risks before cutting back on cost of environmental work, investigation showsThames Water intentionally diverted millions of pounds pledged for environmental clean-ups towards other costs including bonuses and dividends, the Guardian can reveal.The company, which serves more than 16 million customers, cut the funds after senior managers assessed the potential risks of such a move. Continue reading...

The reptile, who later became Australia's answer to Paul the octopus, passed away peacefully' in DarwinBurt, the giant crocodile that featured in hit Australian comedy Crocodile Dundee, has died.Crocosaurus Cove, an aquarium and exhibition space in Darwin, Australia, where Burt was housed, announced the news on social media, saying that the crocodile passed away peacefully" and was estimated to be over 90 years old". Continue reading...

Palestinians accuse UK firm of breaching human rights laws by piping oil allegedly used by Israeli armyPalestinian victims of the war in Gaza are taking legal action against BP for running a pipeline that supplies much of Israel's crude oil.The claimants have sent the British oil company a letter before claim, alleging it is breaching its stated commitments to human rights under international law. Continue reading...

Hundreds of thousands of people were killed in Aceh in 2004. Now warning systems are in place, but some feel more could be doneIt was just before 8am on Sunday 26 December 2004 when the earthquake struck. Abdul Rahem, 47, a fisher, was strolling along the beach, enjoying the morning breeze near to his home in Lam Awe, a sleepy fishing village on the coast of Aceh in Indonesia. He retreated to paddy fields when the violent shaking and swinging stopped. But it wasn't until he heard the cries of neighbours that he realised something was seriously wrong. People were shouting: The water is coming."Rahem raced home to get his elderly father, and supported him as they tried to flee along the broken road, which had been twisted and torn by the quake. His father urged him to go ahead and leave him, but Rahem refused. I said, No, no, no, if we die, we die together.'" Continue reading...

For ecologists restoring the vast bogs of remote Karelia, wild reindeer are not just part of the environment but entwined with the ancient culture of the boreal forestsThe Finnish folk musician Liisa Matveinen lives in a mustard-coloured house in Ilomantsi, 12 miles (20km) from the Russian border. Large books of folk songs line her walls. Sitting in her kitchen, Matveinen sings about a humble hunter going into the woods to find reindeer.The song tells us how they were honoured" providers of food, clothing and a sense of place, says Matveinen, who is recognised as a doyenne of Finnish folk music. Continue reading...

For the past decade, the Barcelona-based visual artist Xavi Bou has devoted his work to revealing the hidden beauty of natural movement". His initial focus was birds; now he's moved on to insects. In collaboration with US entomologist Adrian Smith he's created an eye-popping series that captures - by merging multiple frames into a single image - the rhythmic flutterings of butterflies and chaotic leaps of spittlebugs and treehoppers. As well as their beauty, Bou was struck by the crucial role that insects play in ecosystems, even as their numbers plummet - it's estimated that the biomass of flying insect species has decreased by 75% over the past 27 years. We need to move beyond seeing insects as mere nuisances," says Bou. They are fascinating, essential creatures, and we owe them a great deal."

Rosetta's Kitchen in North Carolina now dishes up donated animal products to weather steep losses and feed people in need - but not all are happy with the changeOne day in October, a trailer with an unusual delivery pulled up outside Rosetta's Kitchen, a beloved vegan restaurant in downtown Asheville, North Carolina.The contents: 1,500lbs of donated frozen meat, destined for area residents eating free meals at the restaurant after Hurricane Helene battered the region in late September. Continue reading...

Researchers in North Carolina used underwater sonar to map a system created by enslaved people centuries agoAs a former deputy state underwater archaeologist, Mark Wilde-Ramsing can't help but look down. While rowing around North Carolina's Eagles Island, at the tip of the Gullah Geechee corridor, he noticed signs of human-made structures, visible at low tide. Though he'd retired, he was still active in the field and knew his former agency hadn't recorded the structures - which meant he had come across something previously undocumented. The next step was figuring out exactly what he'd found.Wilde-Ramsing knew the area had once been full of rice fields. His neighbor, Joni Osku" Backstrom, was an assistant professor in the department of environmental sciences at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington whose specialty was shallow-water sonar, and he had the skills and technology to explore the area. Using a sonar device, the duo detected 45 wooden structures in the river, and the remote sensing tool allowed Backstrom and Wilde-Ramsing to acoustically map the canal beds. Continue reading...