Environment | The Guardian

For the fifth time since 2010, a lack of ice means no visitors and an unstable future for the ice-dependent harp seal“There’s no season this year. There’s no ice,” says Ariane Bérubé, sales director for the Château Madelinot hotel on Quebec’s Magdalen Islands (also known as the Îles de la Madeleine).It’s not the first time the seal pup observation season has been cancelled – since 2010 there have been five winters with insufficient ice in the Gulf of St Lawrence due to unseasonably warm temperatures. Continue reading...

Traditional mowing regimes being ditched as aesthetics and morality come under scrutinyThey were once a status symbol for the rich, and later the pride and joy of suburbia. But the immaculately striped, tightly mown lawn is becoming an endangered species.Monty Don this week called time on the predominantly male, British “obsession” with a tidy lawn, arguing that fossil-fuel-powered mowing was noisy and “about the most injurious thing you can do to wildlife”. Continue reading...

Australia’s longtime finance minister to pursue a ‘global’ approach to help countries become carbon-neutral by 2050Mathias Cormann says he cannot wait to start his new role as the head of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).Australia’s longest-serving finance minister will take over as secretary general of the Paris-based organisation from outgoing Angel Gurría. Continue reading...

Lights Out Philly program seeks to limit lighting at night as millions of migrating birds pass throughThe lights of Philadelphia may not shine as bright in the coming weeks as a coalition in the City of Brotherly Love tries to prevent millions of migrating birds that pass through twice a year from slamming into skyscrapers and crashing to the sidewalk.Bird Safe Philly on Thursday announced the Lights Out Philly initiative, a voluntary program in which many external and internal lights in buildings are turned off or dimmed at night during the spring and fall. Continue reading...

Former Australian finance minister’s candidacy was dogged by complaints from environmental groupsAustralia’s former finance minister Mathias Cormann has won a hard-fought election to become the new chief of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), despite grave concerns voiced by environmental groups over his record on climate change.Cormann narrowly defeated the Swedish former EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmström in the election to lead the 37-member Paris-based organisation, which gives advice to member governments on economic trends, inequality, fighting corruption and trade and is seen as the world’s leading rulemaker on corporate tax. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Government review finds no companies have been investigated or penalised over packaging in the past four yearsAustralia is likely to miss all of its own targets to rid the environment of plastic unless there is a major overhaul of its management and enforcement, conservationists and waste industry representatives say.A government review found no state or territory had investigated or penalised a company over their performance on packaging waste in the past four years. Continue reading...

Tory MPs and local leaders in Cumbria are furious over decision to put plans for new deep mine on holdBoris Johnson is on a potential collision course with backbench MPs and local Conservative leaders amid a furious Tory response to the decision to put a hold on plans to create a controversial new coalmine in Cumbria.While environmental groups hailed the decision to call in the application for government consideration as long overdue, and Labour called for a longer-term plan for green jobs in the region, many Tories are dismayed at the uncertainty over a scheme its supporters say would create 500 jobs and support 2,000 more in supply chains. Continue reading...

Harbin hotel keeping threatened species in pen overlooked by bedrooms angers animal welfare groupsA Chinese hotel built around a central polar bear enclosure for the non-stop viewing pleasure of its guests has opened to immediate condemnation from conservationists.At Harbin Polar Land in north-east China, the hotel bedrooms’ windows face onto the bears’ pen, with visitors told the animals are their “neighbours 24 hours a day”. Continue reading...

The Biden administration is calling out politicians, like the prime minister, who pay lip service to the climate emergency while peddling greenwash policiesIt must have seemed a clever Johnsonian ruse. Build a deep coalmine – the first in decades – in Labour’s historical heartland and put yourself on the side of working-class northern voters who want jobs and against environmentalists who, one could slyly suggest, prefer saving the planet than local communities. Boris Johnson thought, no doubt, with a cunning that has wrongfooted many opponents, that he could frame the argument in such terms and still meet his “net zero” targets because the vast majority of Cumbrian coal would end up for export rather than domestic use (it’s too sulphurous to be used to make steel in Britain). The result is that the greenhouse gas emissions would end up on some other nation’s books when carbon budgets were calculated. Not dissimilar to his view of cake, Mr Johnson was saying that his policy on coal is “pro having it and pro heating it”.The problem for Mr Johnson was that the Biden administration was having none of it. The US had the good sense to understand the implications if Britain was allowed to press ahead with a plan to dig out coal and send it abroad without busting its own carbon budget. If everyone took the same view, the world would be toast. The US reasons that if jobs are the issue, then use state investment in green technologies for coal-free steel. Within days of John Kerry, the US climate envoy, warning Mr Johnson that coal has no future, the government conceded it would be “calling in” the planning application for the Cumbrian mine. Importantly Mr Johnson would not be shamed into a U-turn in the run-up to the UN’s Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow in November. Continue reading...

Critics say election of former Australian finance minister with ‘atrocious record’ sends a dangerous signalClimate experts have expressed dismay at the choice of Mathias Cormann, a former finance minister in an Australian government with a record of strong hostility to climate action, as secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an international institution that advises rich countries on policy and poor countries on how to become wealthier.Jennifer Morgan, the executive director of Greenpeace International, said: “We have little confidence in Cormann’s ability to ensure the OECD is a leader in tackling the climate crisis, when he has an atrocious record on the issue. If the OECD is to fulfil its mandate, it must confront the climate emergency, arguably the biggest social justice issue of our time.” Continue reading...

Communities secretary cited climate change and controversy for ‘calling in’ deep coalmine decisionA public inquiry is to be held into plans for the UK’s first new deep coalmine in decades after the communities secretary “called in” the decision on the project, taking it out of the hands of local government.

More trees near the home was associated with a reduced risk in antidepressant use, information that can help urban plannersIn 2005, when Celena Owens purchased an investment property in the up-and-coming East Baltimore neighborhood of Oliver, it was supposed to make her life better. But three years later, the housing market crashed, neighborhood renewal stalled, and the home that was going to be a rental became her full-time residence. Owens fell into what she describes as a “major depressive episode” that would last for the better part of a decade.Related: The life-altering effects heat is having on American children Continue reading...

Kern county has approved the drilling of thousands of new wells despite opposition from farmers and activistsKern county, which sprawls more than 8,000 square miles, connecting the Sierra Nevada slopes and the Mojave Desert to the counties on the Central Coast, is the oil capital of California. The county produces about 70% of the state’s oil and more than 90% of its natural gas – and it has plans to ramp up production.This week the county approved an ordinance that would allow thousands of new wells to be drilled over the next 15 years. The decision comes despite deep opposition from local farmers and environmental groups, and it puts the county directly at odds with a state that has branded itself as a trailblazer on climate and set ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Continue reading...

Estimate comes after government reversed its position that mine plan did not conflict with climate policy

Exclusive: Roads make up 1% of the country but the pollution produced may harm wildlife everywherePollution from roads affects virtually every part of Britain, with 94% of land having some pollution above background levels, according to research.Roads, which occupy less than 1% of the country, “form vast, pervasive and growing networks, causing negative environmental impacts”, the scientists said. Continue reading...

Success of schemes during pandemic has led many cities to plan vastly expanded bike networksWhen the coronavirus pandemic led to lockdowns a year ago, hundreds of cities reconfigured their streets to make walking and cycling easier to aid social distancing and reduce air pollution. Now, with an end to the lockdowns in sight, the measures have proved so successful that cities across Europe are betting on the bicycle to lead the recovery.According to the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF), the continent’s cities spent €1bn on Covid-related cycling measures in 2020, creating at least 600 miles (1,000km) of cycle lanes, traffic-calming measures and car-free streets. Continue reading...

Paper says machine learning could prove crucial tool in efforts to improve quality of country’s riversNearly 1,000 “dark discharges” of untreated sewage from two water company treatment plants in England have been detected by scientists using artificial intelligence to map spills.The use of machine learning to shine a light on the scale of pollution from untreated effluent being spilled into rivers could be a crucial tool in efforts to improve the quality of rivers, a paper says. Continue reading...

Dust that swept Europe in February affects weather systems but also contains many allergensSaharan dust high in the skies over Europe caused some spectacular sunsets in February. Many of us found dust on our cars, and Alpine snow has been stained orange, but finding out how much Saharan dust we are breathing has always been difficult. For decades we have been measuring the amount of particle pollution in the air, but not what it is made of. However, university-run air observatories in London, Birmingham and Manchester are now making real-time chemical analysis. They showed that silicon, aluminium, calcium and iron particles from Saharan dust were the main particle pollutants in all three cities on Saturday 20 February and that the dust was breathed by Londoners for the next two days.Saharan dust events are common in Mediterranean countries. It is also carried west on Atlantic trade winds. Dust from north Africa fertilises the Amazon, but it also causes air pollution problems in Caribbean islands and the southern US. Continue reading...

Gastropods back as No 1 while honey fungus is worst disease in year when lockdowns fuel gardening crazeSlugs and snails are back at the top of the pests chart, after a year in which people spent more time tending their gardens, said the Royal Horticultural Society.The charity’s 25th annual pest and disease ranking – based on enquiries from gardeners – reveals that slugs and snails, a mainstay of the rankings over the years, topped the 2020 list for the first time since 2017, with gardeners reporting damage to crops such as potatoes and beans. Continue reading...

‘Natural process’ of decomposing blubber can be smelled up to 6km away on Phillip IslandA dead whale carcass beached at Phillip Island, south of Melbourne, is quickly decomposing, leaving locals retching over the putrid smell and rotting blubber.The sperm whale, measuring more than 16 metres, washed up on Forrest Caves beach last Saturday. Continue reading...

Vertical turbine by developer Alpha 311 can spin from gentle air movementThe O2 Arena will soon use a new breed of “vertical wind turbine” to generate its own clean electricity, after signing a deal with a startup firm that says its turbines will generate power even when the wind is not blowing.The London landmark once known as the Millennium Dome will begin by installing 10 of the 68cm (27in) vertical turbines. The breezy conditions at the site on the River Thames will help generate enough clean electricity to power 23 homes. Continue reading...

Move by local government secretary to call in planning application puts controversial scheme on holdA controversial new coalmine planned for Cumbria appears to have been put on hold.The local government secretary, Robert Jenrick, had previously refused to intervene but on Thursday night he said he would take responsibility for the scheme away from the local authority. Continue reading...

Cold weather, a decline in seagrass due to development, and contaminated waterways have contributed to 432 deaths this yearA combination of cold weather, a decline in seagrass due to development and contaminated waterways have put Florida on pace for its highest number of manatee deaths in a decade.The number of deaths, 432 so far this year, is nearly three times the five-year average of 146 deaths between 1 January and 5 March, the South Florida SunSentinel reported, citing figures from the Florida fish and wildlife conservation commission. Last year, the state recorded 637 manatee deaths, and in 2019, 607. Continue reading...

Choked Up group demands action from mayoral candidates to tackle traffic pollutionA group of teenagers who live in some of London’s most polluted neighbourhoods are putting “hacked” road signs up across the capital to highlight the disproportionate impact that toxic air has on people of colour.Choked Up, a group who describe themselves as “black and brown teenagers from south London”, have set up the campaign, which is being backed by more than 100 doctors. Continue reading...

With wingspans of up to one-metre, protected grey-headed flying foxes are causing multiple blackouts a weekAustralia’s largest bat is making life difficult for Adelaide residents with a heaving colony of more than 25,000 plunging households into darkness 40 times so far this year.The protected grey-headed flying fox – a member of the megabat family – first moved into Botanic Park in the heart of the city in 2010. Continue reading...

Appeal court clears wife to sue company in London over husband’s death while helping to scrap tanker in ChittagongBritish shipping companies that sell old vessels to be scrapped cheaply in dangerous, low-paid conditions in Bangladesh, India or Pakistan may now be sued in London for workers’ deaths or injuries.In the first ruling of its kind by any higher court anywhere in the world, the court of appeal of England and Wales has held that a shipping company in London selling a vessel in south Asia could owe a legal “duty of care” to shipbreaking workers in Bangladesh even where there are multiple third parties involved in the transaction. Continue reading...

Joe Biden needs ‘visionary target’ of cutting US emissions by 60% over 2005 levelsThe US should ensure almost all new cars and light vehicles sold are electric by the end of this decade, and stop using fossil fuels for power generation by 2035, to cut greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris agreement, a new analysis has found.Joe Biden, the US president, should aim for a national target of cutting emissions by about 60% by 2030, compared with 2005 levels, for the world to have a good chance of holding global temperature rises within 1.5C of pre-industrial levels, according to Climate Action Tracker (CAT). Continue reading...

Klimaliste is on the ballot for local elections in the state of Baden-WürttembergA party founded by school climate strikers is standing in the German local elections, hoping to entice Green party supporters and first-time voters.Two of Klimaliste’s (Climate List) founders were leaders of the student climate strikes sparked by Greta Thunberg in 2019. The party was set up less than six months ago with policies aimed at ensuring the Paris agreement climate pledges are not breached. Continue reading...

From Oregon to Massachusetts, fishermen’s wives associations are the backbone of their communities, acting as agents, support networks and agitatorsIn spring 2020, the fishing community of Newport, Oregon, shuttered along with the rest of the country. A coronavirus outbreak at a local Pacific Seafood processing plant left fishermen sitting on docks with no buyers for their Dungeness crabs, while restaurants closed and families found themselves housebound.That’s when Taunette Dixon and her organization, the Newport Fishermen’s Wives, stepped in. This group quickly mobilized to provide food, supplies, infant formula, pet food, fuel cards, masks, gloves and money for past-due utility payments to fishing families who had been hit by the pandemic. Continue reading...

Report comes shortly after proposal of new laws granting more powers to officers and the home secretaryCivil liberties campaigners have warned of a “staggering assault” on the right to protest, as police detailed how they would enforce controversial government proposals to restrict demonstrations.On Thursday, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) published its plans for the future of policing protests, two days after the government announced proposed new laws granting more powers to officers and the home secretary. Continue reading...

Reduced environmental protections and conservation job losses could hit vital progress on climate and biodiversity, research finds

Monitors on Queensland’s Lady Elliot Island have only seen a handful of albino hatchlings but never an adultJessica Buckman is used to finding stragglers when she heads out to check recently hatched green turtle nests on Queensland’s Lady Elliot Island.But the tiny pink creature she found in the neck of one nest on Monday was far from a usual find – a rare albino hatchling that was having a little trouble digging itself out. Continue reading...

Bank’s vote, binding if approved by 75% of shareholders, follows investor pressure to cut clients’ loansHSBC has bowed to investor pressure by ramping up its climate commitments and tabling a shareholder vote on plans to phase out coal financing by 2040.Fifteen pension and investment funds, led by the campaign group ShareAction, have agreed to withdraw their own environment resolution ahead of HSBC’s annual general meeting on 28 May. Continue reading...

Environmentalists hail ‘fantastic news’ for the state’s turtles, whales and seabirdsQueensland has become the second Australian state to pass laws banning single-use plastics including straws and cutlery that are blighting the state’s waterways and beaches and endangering wildlife.Environmental groups congratulated the Queensland government after it passed legislation on Wednesday night that will ban single-use plastic items, including polystyrene food containers and cups, from 1 September. Continue reading...

One of the main characters on Twitter today is the pink-necked green-pigeon, a photo of which went viral overnight. Yes, it’s real. Yes, it’s stunningSteph, there is an incredibly beautiful pigeon all over my Twitter and it doesn’t look real. Is it real?Lucy, yes, it is real and also extremely attractive. People are calling it “hot pigeon”. Continue reading...

Thinktank calls for more support for local initiatives ranging from heating to flood schemesCommunities across the UK are tackling the climate crisis with hundreds of local schemes ranging from neighbourhood heating to food co-ops, community land ownership projects and flood defences, according to a report.A study from the IPPR thinktank found that community projects, often set up with the primary aim of reducing poverty and improving people’s day-to-day lives, were also reducing emissions and restoring nature. Continue reading...

Proposed levy, backed by nine governments, would raise funds for developing zero-carbon shipsShipping industry representatives, backed by several countries, have submitted a proposal to the UN to charge a climate-related levy on fossil fuels used by international shipping for the first time.However, climate campaigners are concerned that the levy is too small, and will distract from more effective ways of reducing carbon dioxide from shipping, which is a growing problem. Continue reading...

Developers built windfarms with a total capacity of almost 100GW in 2020, a rise of nearly 60% on previous yearChina built more new windfarm capacity in 2020 than the whole world combined in the year before, leading to an annual record for windfarm installations despite the Covid-19 pandemic.A study has revealed that China led the world’s biggest ever increase in wind power capacity as developers built almost 100GW worth of windfarms last year – enough to power almost three times the number of homes in the UK and a rise of nearly 60% on the previous year. Continue reading...

Activity fell sharply in Britain and China in 2020 but increased in US, Japan and South Korea, study findsThe UK suffered the largest contraction among top fishing nations during the coronavirus pandemic, according to tracking data analysed by the conservation group Global Fishing Watch.Related: EU accused of ‘neocolonial’ plundering of tuna in Indian Ocean Continue reading...

Prospect of green focus for rescuing economies in danger unless swift action is taken, environment chief says

Once a US conservation success story, numbers in the wild have plummeted. Now a court has given hope for their survivalThere are perhaps no more than 10 red wolves left in the wild, and they are all in just one place: North Carolina.It is an astonishing statistic for a species once hailed as undergoing the most successful reintroduction programme in the US, providing the blueprint for Yellowstone national park’s much-lauded grey wolf rewilding project. Continue reading...

Trees lost to drought and wildfires are not returning. Climate change is taking a toll on the world’s forests - and radically changing the environment before our eyesCamille Stevens-Rumann never used to worry about seeing dead trees. As a wildland firefighter in the American west, she encountered untold numbers killed in blazes she helped to extinguish. She knew fires are integral to forests in this part of the world; they prune out smaller trees, giving room to the rest and even help the seeds of some species to germinate.“We have largely operated under the assumption that forests are going to come back after fires,” Stevens-Rumann said. Continue reading...

Church of England, Lloyds and the National Grid among those pledging to meet 2050 targetMajor pension funds that own assets worth £870bn, including those of the Church of England, Lloyds Banking Group and the National Grid, have committed to cutting the carbon emissions of their portfolios to net zero by 2050 or earlier, in another sign of big investors’ increasing focus on the climate crisis.Pension providers Scottish Widows, Royal London and Nest and a clutch of public sector pension funds from the UK to Scandinavia and New York were also among the investors that have pledged to align their portfolios to the Paris climate goals of limiting global temperature increases to 1.5C. Continue reading...

Power station produces 13% of Victoria’s and 3% of national emissions and employs 500 peopleOne of Australia’s dirtiest coal-fired power stations, Yallourn in Victoria’s Latrobe valley, will close four years earlier than scheduled and be replaced, in part, by a grid-scale battery.EnergyAustralia announced on Wednesday it would shut the 1970s-built, 1,480-megawatt brown coal plant in mid-2028. Continue reading...

Green groups say move ‘beggars belief’ but cut will offer some relief to troubled aviation industryAir passenger duty is set to be cut on domestic flights after the prime minister signalled his support for reform to bolster air links around the UK.Lower rates for UK internal flights or an exemption for return legs will be considered. Continue reading...

Nine-tonne timber harvester clears trees as part of 50-year project to restore Border Mires dating from ice ageTo the uninitiated a vertical mulcher might sound like the creation of a feverish nightmare, but the tree-chipping machine might be the saviour of one of the UK’s most important peat habitants.The mulching is a continuation of a 50-year project to restore the Border Mires, a network of bogs in and around Kielder Forest in Northumberland that dates from the ice age. Forestry England will use the nine-tonne timber harvester to munch through 23 hectares (57 acres) of trees in order to speed up restoration of the mires. Continue reading...

Rob Stokes letter opposed carving out rural zones, which government has effectively adopted as policyA senior New South Wales government minister last year warned rules intended to protect koalas in the state would be “ineffective” if rural areas were excluded as it would mean about 80% of land was exempt.The advice was given in a letter sent in August last year by the planning minister, Rob Stokes, to the deputy premier, John Barilaro. Continue reading...

‘Fish aggregating devices’ have been linked to depletion of yellowfin populations and increased bycatch in the Indian OceanGlobal condemnation is growing at the increasingly widespread use of harmful “fish aggregating devices” (FADs) in the fishing industry, as retailers including Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer and the German chain Edeka joined calls for restrictions.A letter signed by more than 100 NGOs, retailers and artisanal fisheries urges this week’s meeting of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) to consider proposals by Kenya and Sri Lanka to monitor, manage and restrict FADs. The signatories warn of an “urgent need” to improve management of FADs in order to reduce overfishing and rebuild populations of yellowfin tuna. Continue reading...

Biden administration is set to unveil a new greenhouse gas reduction target at a climate meeting on 22 April, Earth DayThe US needs to commit to slashing its planet-heating emissions by at least half by the end of the decade to address the climate crisis and spur other countries to greater action, a coalition of American environmental groups has urged.Joe Biden’s administration is set to unveil a new national emissions reduction target at a climate meeting it has convened with other major economic powers on Earth Day, 22 April, which it hopes will galvanize countries that are currently dangerously lagging in efforts to stave off disastrous climate change. Continue reading...

Twice before, humanity has mitigated severe global environmental threats. In both cases we did this not with ‘cap and trade’ systems, taxes, or offsets, but with bansTime is running out to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and avoid catastrophic climate change. The 2018 special report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) “suggests a remaining budget of about 420 Gigatonnes (Gt) of CO2 for a two-thirds chance of limiting warming to 1.5°C.” The clock on this so-called remaining carbon budget started ticking at the beginning of 2018. Despite this stark warning, the world keeps emitting over 40 Gt of CO2 per year. In other words, the policy instruments that are currently being used across the globe to reduce CO2 emissions aren’t working. It is therefore time to ban fossil fuels.Since we have already drawn down over 120 Gt of CO2 from this carbon budget, we have now less than 300 Gt left. Combining the proved fossil fuel reserves reported in British Petroleum’s Statistical Review of World Energy with CO2 emission factors from the IPCC yields 3,600 Gt of CO2 emissions. This means that we can only afford to burn one twelfth of the fossil fuels we have already found. And this does not account for any greenhouse gas emissions from the ongoing melting of permafrost. The Arctic region alone is estimated to have 1,500 Gt of carbon stored in its soils, some of which is already being converted to CO2 by microbes and released into the atmosphere. Continue reading...