Audit underlines role renewables are playing in making coal-fired power unprofitable, expert saysPressure on the national electricity grid at the peak of last summer’s heat fell to its lowest level in five years due to the rising influence of household solar panels, a new analysis has found.Summer is usually the time of greatest strain on the electricity system due to the widespread use of energy hungry air-conditioners, but the demand on the hottest day dipped this year as more electricity came from decentralised rooftop solar systems, which sit outside the grid. Continue reading...

Plastic Waste Makers index identifies those driving climate crisis with virgin polymer productionTwenty companies are responsible for producing more than half of all the single-use plastic waste in the world, fuelling the climate crisis and creating an environmental catastrophe, new research reveals.Among the global businesses responsible for 55% of the world’s plastic packaging waste are both state-owned and multinational corporations, including oil and gas giants and chemical companies, according to a comprehensive new analysis. Continue reading...

Thinktank says new strategy needed in face of Covid, Brexit, net zero, automation and demographic changeBritain risks mirroring Italy’s economic woes unless it develops a strategy for tackling the five seismic changes that will shape a decisive decade for the country, a report has warned.A joint project by the Resolution Foundation thinktank and the London School of Economics said the UK was neither used to nor prepared for the challenges posed by the aftermath of Covid-19, Brexit, the net zero transition, automation and a changing population. Continue reading...

Protest over proposed petrochemical complex in Louisiana is part of 400-mile march led by youth climate group Sunrise MovementOn Monday, groups of climate activists protested against a proposed petrochemical complex an hour away from New Orleans, Louisiana, calling on the Biden administration to revoke the plastics company’s federal permit to start construction.The demonstration is part of a 400-mile march led by the youth climate group Sunrise Movement, which began last week and traces the path of environmental disasters in the Gulf coast from New Orleans to Houston. Roughly 20 participants are on the trek as part of the group’s “Generation on Fire” campaign. Continue reading...

University of NSW study suggests six times as many individual birds as humans but that many species are very rareThere are about 50 billion individual birds in the world, according to new research that uses citizen science observations to try to estimate population numbers for almost 10,000 species.The paper, led by scientists at the University of New South Wales, suggests there are about six times as many birds on the planet as humans – but that many individual species are very rare. Continue reading...

Study’s authors believe animal can benefit people as well as ‘cultural and natural heritage’ of Arizona and New MexicoJaguars could be reintroduced in the south-western US, where hunting and habitat loss led to the big cats’ extinction, a new study says.Scientists and other environmentalists make the case for bringing back the third-largest big cat, after tigers and lions, in Arizona and New Mexico in a paper published in the journal Conservation Science and Practice. Continue reading...

Our emotional register – how ‘doomy’ or ‘hopeful’ we are – will inevitably shape the policies we put forwardAs the climate emergency creeps closer to the top of the political agenda, where it belongs, an argument is raging over communication. Exactly what to say about the environmental crisis, and how, is an important question for all sorts of people and organisations, including governments. It is particularly pressing for journalists, authors and broadcasters. For us, communication is not an adjunct to other activities such as policymaking or campaigning. It is our main job.People need to know what is happening to glaciers, forests and endangered species, and what is being done about this. But information requires interpretation. And while editorial judgments influence the way that all subjects are covered, storytelling about the climate emergency is particularly fraught. Continue reading...

Consortium plans to produce green hydrogen with wind and solar energy as a potential replacement for Hunter Valley’s coal industryAustralia’s first “hydrogen valley” would be created in New South Wales and run entirely on renewable energy under a $2bn proposal supported by local and global energy companies.Led by renewables advisory business Energy Estate, the consortium says it plans to produce green hydrogen with wind and solar energy and use it as a feedstock for mining, transport and industrial users in the upper Hunter Valley, spruiking it as a potential replacement for the region’s coal industry. Continue reading...

Controversial deal with China would be ‘disastrous’ for fishing and protected rainforest, say opponentsA $55m (£39m) deal struck by the government of Sierra Leone with China to build an industrial fishing harbour on 100 hectares (250 acres) of beach and protected rainforest has been criticised as “a catastrophic human and ecological disaster” by conservationists, landowners and rights groups.The gold and black sands of Black Johnson beach fringe the African nation’s Western Area Peninsula national park, home to endangered species including the duiker antelope and pangolins. The waters are rich in sardines, barracuda and grouper, caught by local fishermen who produce 70% of the fish for the domestic market. Continue reading...

Investigation reveals that ‘plastic waste coming from the UK to Turkey is an environmental threat, not an economic opportunity’Turkey has become the latest destination for British plastic waste, which ends up dumped, burned or left to pollute the ocean, a Greenpeace investigation has found.More than half of the plastic the British government says is being recycled are sent overseas, often to countries without the necessary infrastructure to do so. The UK exported 688,000 tonnes of discarded plastic packaging in 2020, a daily average of 1.8m kilos. Just 486,000 tonnes were recycled in the UK. Continue reading...

Project turns trophy hunters’ hit list into a conservation tool – and reveals the animals we most want to see caught on cameraFor trophy hunters, the big five are the toughest, most dangerous animals to kill, but a photography project has turned the meaning of shooting on its head, creating a new list of the five most fantastic creatures to capture on camera.More than 50,000 people from around the world voted for animals they most liked seeing pictures of as part of the New Big 5 wildlife photography list. The crowning creatures are elephant, lion, polar bear, gorilla and tiger, all of which are keystone species listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as either critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable. Continue reading...

US climate envoy says people will not have to give up quality of life to achieve some of net zero goalsThe US climate envoy, John Kerry, has said 50% of the carbon reductions needed to get to net zero will come from technologies that have not yet been invented, and said people “don’t have to give up a quality of life” in order to cut emissions.He said Americans would “not necessarily” have to eat less meat, because of research being done into the way cattle are herded and fed in order to reduce methane emissions. Continue reading...

The national park is instituting a permitting system for overnight rock climbers. Many see it as inevitable as the sport gets more popularFor years, rock climbers Graham Ottley and Keith Bouma-Gregson dreamed of scaling the 2,800ft (853 meters) pillar of granite known as the Lost Arrow Spire in Yosemite national park.In early May the pair finally got their chance, making a climb that required spending two windy nights camped on tiny ledges with harnesses holding them to the rocks. But Ottley and Bouma-Gregson realize that soon it may not be as easy to enjoy Yosemite’s anything-goes climbing culture. Continue reading...

London Zoo’s latest exhibition shows how scientists hope to halt the devastation caused by overheated oceansThis weekend, conservationists will put the final touches to a giant artificial reef they are assembling at London zoo. Samples of the planet’s most spectacular corals – vivid green branching coral, yellow scroll, blue ridge and many more species – will be added to the giant tank along with fish that thrive in their presence: blue tang, clownfish and many others.The scene will then be set for Monday’s opening of the zoo’s new gallery, Tiny Giants, which is dedicated to the minuscule invertebrate creatures that sustain life across the planet. The coral reef tank and its seven-metre wide window will form the core of the exhibition. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Mining company says it ‘self-reported’ wildlife spotter should have been present when land was cleared but says no environmental harm was doneAdani has admitted breaching its environmental conditions for the Carmichael coalmine again – clearing an area surrounded by potential koala habitat without a promised wildlife safeguard.Guardian Australia has confirmed the federal environment department is investigating an “allegation of non-compliance” related to land-clearing at a quarry being used primarily to provide material for the construction of Adani’s rail line. Continue reading...

Covid physical-distancing rules also reel in more women to apply for rod licence applications

With nuclear fading away, Britain must learn how to carefully manage renewable energyThe nuclear industry is fond of telling us the sun does not always shine and the wind does not always blow, as if people living in Britain did not already know that. But the point atomic enthusiasts are making is that wind and solar electricity generation is not reliable, while nuclear will keep the lights on.But things are a bit more complicated than that. This is partly because large-scale batteries, pump storage in reservoirs and other ways of topping up electricity supplies mean that baseload power provided by nuclear reactors is no longer needed. Another reason is that nuclear output is falling while renewables get ever stronger. Continue reading...

Scuba team launches six-month effort that has already turned up fishing rods, tires and cansScuba divers removed about 200lb of garbage from California’s Lake Tahoe on Friday, as part of a six-month effort to rid the popular lake of fishing rods, tires, aluminum cans, beer bottles and other trash accumulating underwater.The team plans to look for trash along the entire 72 miles (115 km) of shoreline in an endeavor that could be the largest trash cleanup in the lake’s history, said Colin West, a diver and film-maker who founded Clean Up the Lake, the non-profit spearheading the project. Continue reading...

Parliamentary inquiry told more than 40 underwriters refused to insure a rail line for the Adani coalmineFossil fuel producers and their contractors in Australia have admitted moves by major global investors and insurers to reduce their exposure to risks from the climate crisis are making it harder for them to insure and finance major projects.One contractor building a 120km rail line for the controversial Queensland Adani coalmine said a global search for insurance had failed with more than 40 underwriters refusing to back it. Continue reading...

Food-growing areas will see drastic changes to rainfall and temperatures if global heating continues at current rateA third of global food production will be at risk by the end of the century if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise at their current rate, new research suggests.Many of the world’s most important food-growing areas will see temperatures increase and rainfall patterns alter drastically if temperatures rise by about 3.7C, the forecast increase if emissions stay high. Continue reading...

Congressman Peter Meijer, 33, warns that false claims of a burger ban or blaming immigrants risk losing the young generationLies that hamburgers will be banned, conspiracy-laden claims of government tyranny, blame for environmental degradation foisted upon immigrants – the Republican response to Joe Biden’s climate agenda suggests the base instincts of Donald Trump still strongly animate the party.Related: Asia is home to 99 of world’s 100 most vulnerable cities Continue reading...

Marine life charities and wildlife tour operators observe growing interest in and empathy for whalesWhen a sick baby minke whale lost its way up the Thames earlier this week, hundreds of people gathered to watch the rescue efforts at Richmond and Teddington over the course of two days.It was the furthest upriver a whale had ever ventured, a feat so out of the ordinary that the curiosity among the crowds flocking to the weir and those following the whale’s misguided journey on social media was matched by the outpouring of sadness when the little whale didn’t survive. Continue reading...

Nature-driven artist and environmentalist Clare Celeste Börsch among contributors to exhibition exploring concept of EdenAs in many paradise gardens, particularly those inspired by Islamic culture, a fountain lies at the heart of the quadrilateral garden created inside the Aga Khan Centre gallery in King’s Cross, London. This fountain doesn’t spout water, however, but beautiful, intricate strips of paper with laser-cut flowers made by Berlin-based American artist Clare Celeste Börsch.The fountain is at the centre of Making Paradise, an exhibition exploring the concept of Eden through art and Islamic garden design. On display are numerous artworks depicting trees, flowers and fruits, including botanical illustrations from the Royal Horticultural Society’s Lindley library collection, alongside contemporary works. Continue reading...

Alok Sharma is working with health experts and Scottish government on best way for climate summit to go ahead

Lightning or poisoning cited as possible causes of deaths in protected area in Assam stateAuthorities are trying to establish how 18 wild Asiatic elephants died in a remote corner of India’s north-east.The elephants, including five calves, were found dead in the protected Kondali forest reserve in the state of Assam, Jayanta Goswami, a wildlife official, told Associated Press. The forest guard reached the area on Thursday and found 14 elephants dead atop a hill and four at its bottom. Continue reading...

President-designate of Cop26 talks says tackling the fossil fuel is ‘a personal priority’Coal must be consigned to history as the world faces its “last hope” of holding back climate breakdown, the president of the Cop26 climate summit says.Alok Sharma, a former UK business secretary and now president-designate of Cop26, to be held in Glasgow this November, is expected to say this Friday morning: “This is our last hope of keeping 1.5C alive. Our best chance of building a brighter future … of green jobs and cleaner air. I have faith that world leaders will rise to the occasion and not be found wanting in their tryst with destiny.” Continue reading...

Reason for lower flows was not clear, the research found, as it was not linked to land use or increased ground waterAustralian researchers have warned that drought-affected rivers could experience reduced flows indefinitely even after the drought has broken in a study which found more than a third of Victorian water catchments have not fully recovered from the millennium drought.The millennium drought ran from 1996 to 2010 and was the longest uninterrupted period of low rainfall in south-east Australia since 1900. Continue reading...

Nigel Topping says the Morrison government will face ‘a certain amount of pressure’ at the G7 meeting in Cornwall in JuneA leading UK climate official says Australia is alone among major countries in that neither its national government nor opposition have a significant climate plan, and frustrating local business leaders.Nigel Topping, the UN’s “high-level champion” whose role involves global outreach to drive global ambition ahead of the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow in November, said he had not seen another country in which no major political party had a plan to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Continue reading...

Annalena Baerbock faces social media onslaught after voicing opposition to Nord Stream 2 projectFears are growing in Berlin of a Russian-led cyber campaign against the leader of Germany’s Green party after she pledged to block a gas pipeline project between Russia and Europe.Annalena Baerbock, who is running to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor in September’s election, has been targeted in recent days by an increasingly vicious campaign across social media. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Briefing note prepared for a meeting with government-funded scientists suggested they ‘don’t publish the paper’

Exclusive: prime minister’s short flights cast doubt on the sincerity of his pledges to fight the climate crisis, say criticsBoris Johnson has been criticised for taking a short helicopter flight from London to the West Midlands to promote a local bike hire scheme, despite the train from London taking just more than two hours.Critics said the flight was “completely unnecessary” and cast doubt on the sincerity of the prime minister’s pledges to fight the climate crisis. Air travel produces far more global-heating emissions than other modes of transport. Continue reading...

Court ruling gives go-ahead for sugar plantation in Bugoma forest, home to endangered chimpanzeesConservationists in Uganda have condemned as “shallow and absurd” a court ruling that authorised the government to allow swathes of a tropical forest to be cleared for a sugar-cane plantation.Three environmental groups had taken the government to court over a decision to allow Hoima Sugar Ltd to build on 5,500 hectares (13,500 acres) in the Bugoma Forest Reserve. Continue reading...

Research says discharge of untreated sewage and wastewater during dry spells to blameWater companies are causing high levels of microplastic contamination in UK rivers by discharging untreated sewage and wastewater into the water system, new research reveals.As pressure builds on water companies, the Environment Agency and ministers to tackle the way water firms release untreated effluent into rivers, scientists have for the first time linked the practice to microplastic pollution. Continue reading...

Move comes after campaign by New Forest national park authority in wake of fire in Wareham Forest last MayDisposable barbecues have been banned across a swath of open countryside in Hampshire and Dorset after a campaign led by the New Forest national park authority.The move to ban the sale of disposable barbecues began last May in the wake of a catastrophic fire in Wareham Forest, Dorset, which burned slow worms and lizards alive and damaged more than 200 hectares (500 acres) of the site of special scientific interest. The fire was thought to have been caused by a disposable barbecue or a campfire. Continue reading...

In states like Kansas, energy companies want to impose charges on people who produce their own power with rooftop arraysKevin Good is the president of a small solar power company in Kansas – a state that tends to be so sunny you’d think he’d have it made.“I got into solar at maybe the worst point to do so in the last 50 years,” said Good, who runs Good Energy Solutions in Lawrence, a town of about 100,000. Continue reading...

Undocumented immigrants are doing the backbreaking farm work that keeps the US food system running but struggle to feed their familiesPhotographs by Encarni PindadoIn the piercing midday heat of southern Texas, farmhand Linda Villarreal moves methodically to weed row after row of parsley, rising only occasionally to stretch her achy back and nibble on sugary biscuits she keeps in her pockets. In the distance, a green and white border patrol truck drives along the levee beside the towering steel border wall.For this backbreaking work, Villareal is paid $7.25 per hour, the federal minimum wage since 2009, with no benefits. She takes home between $300 and $400 a week depending on the amount of orders from the bodegas – packaging warehouses which supply the country’s supermarkets with fruits and vegetables harvested by crews of undocumented mostly Mexican farmworkers. Continue reading...

Indonesia’s capital Jakarta – plagued by pollution, flooding and heatwaves – tops risk assessment rankingOf the 100 cities worldwide most vulnerable to environmental hazards all but one are in Asia, and 80% are in India or China, according to a risk assessment.More than 400 large cities with a total population of 1.5 billion are at “high” or “extreme” risk because of a mix of life-shortening pollution, dwindling water supplies, deadly heatwaves, natural disasters and the climate emergency, the report found. Continue reading...

Officials on Vancouver Island say at least 100 trees have been illegally cut down, leaving one stump with a face carved into itTwo tree stumps signaled to Larry Pynn that something was wrong.Jutting from a mossy forest floor in western Canada, the fresh stumps were the final remnants of two western red cedars that had been chopped down by chainsaw. Nearby, a set of deep tire tracks ran for nearly a kilometer in the mud before terminating at the main road. Continue reading...

NSW government lodges emergency request to deploy powerful bait currently outlawed for use in fieldsLeading rodent experts say they “aren’t convinced” a new poison spruiked by the New South Wales government as “napalm” for mice will significantly impact the state’s plague, and warn it comes at a vastly higher risk of killing native and domestic animals.Rodents are still running rampant across large tracts of inland NSW and southern Queensland, costing some farmers more than $100,000 in destroyed crops and damage to stored hay and grain. Cases of leptospirosis – a potentially deadly disease that can transfer from mice to humans – have almost doubled in Queensland this year, with health authorities citing the increased rodent numbers as a possible cause. Continue reading...

Toxic chemicals known as PFAS found in all 50 samples tested at levels nearly 2,000 times what is considered safe in drinking waterA new study that checked American women’s breast milk for PFAS contamination detected the toxic chemical in all 50 samples tested, and at levels nearly 2,000 times higher than the level some public health advocates advise is safe for drinking water.The findings “are cause for concern” and highlight a potential threat to newborns’ health, the study’s authors say. Continue reading...

London Wetlands Centre to run courses focusing on wildlife beauty as therapy to help alleviate depression and anxietyHundreds of people experiencing poor mental health will be introduced to the natural beauty of wetlands under a “blue prescribing” scheme.There is increasing evidence of the benefits of nature for mental health and wellbeing. A recent pilot wetlands project showed that people diagnosed with anxiety or depression moved up a clinical mental health grade, from below average to average. Continue reading...

Coalition will spend $5.4m creating havens in area more than twice size of Great Barrier Reef marine parkAustralia is adding an area of the Indian Ocean bigger than France to its network of marine parks in an attempt to keep out international fishing boats and promote scientific discovery in two biodiversity hotspots.The Morrison government announced $5.4m would be spent to create two marine parks around Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands covering 740,000 sq km – a huge expanse of ocean almost as large as the state of New South Wales. Continue reading...

DuPont and Daikin, manufacturers of ‘short chain’ PFAS, did not inform regulator about the FDA negative results of tests on animalsChemical giants DuPont and Daikin knew the dangers of a PFAS compound widely used in food packaging since 2010, but hid them from the public and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), company studies obtained by the Guardian reveal.The chemicals, called 6:2 FTOH, are now linked to a range of serious health issues, and Americans are still being exposed to them in greaseproof pizza boxes, carryout containers, fast-food wrappers, and paperboard packaging. Continue reading...

Addressing the climate crisis will be the greatest undertaking in the history of humankind. We have to give it all we haveJoe Biden wants to cut US emissions in half from their 2005 levels. However, since emissions have been slowly declining since then, this amounts to only a 37% drop from 2020 levels.That, in a nutshell, is the issue. Our leaders are adhering to a template that doesn’t meet the urgency of the moment. The US is not even the world’s largest emitter any more, and China – the biggest polluter – seeks to build more coal-fired power plants, failing to reach carbon neutrality until 2060. Unfortunately, that is a perfect illustration of just how disconnected we are from the gravity of the situation. Continue reading...

Fed by myths, fairytales and Disney, America’s demonization of wolves has been going on for centuries, and continues full throttleNothing embodies wildness like wolves, our four-legged shadow, the dogs that long ago refused our campfire and today prefer freedom and risk over the soft sofa and short leash. The dogs that howl more than bark, add music to the land, and – if left alone to work their magic – make entire ecosystems healthy and whole.Related: Idaho bill seeks to kill more than 1,000 wolves Continue reading...

The New River Gorge in West Virginia offers stunning views, rock climbing and rafting but some worry it is unprepared for an influx of visitorsThe New River has spent millions of years carving a bucolic gorge in West Virginia. It is now home to one of the most biodiverse forests on the continent. And while humans have tracked prey along its jagged cliffs for thousands of years, now most people come to the gorge to find adventure.Related: How to plan your 2021 trip to a US national park Continue reading...

Licences given to arms firm Lockheed Martin said to go against government’s stance on exploiting seabedDeep-sea mining exploration licences granted by the British government are “riddled with inaccuracies”, and could even be unlawful, according to Greenpeace and Blue Marine Foundation, a conservation charity.The licences, granted a decade ago to UK Seabed Resources, a subsidiary of the US arms multinational Lockheed Martin, have only recently been disclosed by the company. Continue reading...

The Pacific footballfish, which was featured in Pixar’s Finding Nemo, was found in perfectly preserved conditionWith its mouth agape – revealing a set of pointy black teeth – and a large protruding appendage surrounded by a series of tentacles, the sea creature resembled something out of a horror film. But, the 18in-wide fish, which somehow found its way from the depths of the Pacific to the shores of Newport Beach last Friday, is very real. It’s just a rare find.One of the roughly 300 species of anglerfish found around the world (perhaps best known as the one with fangs and the lightbulb-like antennae dangling from its head that appeared in Pixar’s Finding Nemo) the Pacific footballfish was spotted at Crystal Cove state park by a beachgoer, Ben Estes. The specimen was all the more surprising because of its perfectly preserved condition. Continue reading...