The closing moments of the final presidential debate focused on climate change. Joe Biden stressed the need to expand sources of renewable energy while again disputing Donald Trump’s claim that he intended to ban fracking, which he does not. 'I know more about wind than you do,' Trump retorted, drawing an exasperated laugh from Biden. 'It’s extremely expensive. Kills all the birds'
Volunteers are reviving a legacy of fruit trees in the UK that stretches back to the Romans, hugely increasing biodiversity – and drinks productionEvery autumn, cider maker Hawkes asks Londoners to donate apples to its cidery under the railway arches in Bermondsey, just south of Tower Bridge. In normal times, people who drop off a box of russets or royals leave with a bottle of cider from last year’s crop. But 2020 has not been a normal year.Through a trial delivery scheme to continue the exchange during the pandemic, 12 tonnes of apples have arrived at Hawkes in the post. Continue reading...
Donald Trump presented a fantasy world in which fossil fuels are ‘very clean’ but realpolitik tempers Biden’s climate crisis stanceIn Donald Trump’s world – laid bare during Thursday night’s final presidential debate with his Democratic rival Joe Biden in Nashville – fossil fuels are “very clean”, the US has the best air and water despite his administration’s extensive regulatory rollbacks, and the country can fix climate change by planting trees.Related: Biden mauls Trump's record on coronavirus in final presidential debate Continue reading...
Environmental organisation says ‘dangerous’ levels of carbon-14 exist in water that could soon be released into Pacific oceanContaminated water that will reportedly be released into the sea from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant contains a radioactive substance that has the potential to damage human DNA, a Greenpeace investigation has said.The environmental group claims the 1.23m tonnes of water stored in more than 1,000 tanks at the plant contains “dangerous” levels of the radioactive isotope carbon-14, in addition to quantities of tritium that have already been widely reported. Continue reading...
Insurance Australia Group says ‘significant cultural heritage sites and important natural habitats’ could be damagedInsurance Australia Group no longer supports raising the height of Warragamba dam because of the “probable loss” of significant cultural heritage sites and natural habitats.IAG’s chair Elizabeth Bryan announced the decision to pull back from its initial support at the company’s annual general meeting on Friday. Continue reading...
As much as $321bn could be saved with complete switch to clean energy sources, Rewiring America analysis findsAn aggressive push towards 100% renewable energy would save Americans as much as $321bn in energy costs, while also slashing planet-heating emissions, according to a new report.Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, has vowed to eliminate greenhouse gases from the US power grid within 15 years and essentially zero out emissions by 2050, a plan assailed by Donald Trump as costly and detrimental to the American economy. Continue reading...
Tom Udall’s ‘30 by 30’ proposal seeks to align US with international goals to protect and preserve global ecosystemsA US senator has introduced a proposal to conserve 30% of the country’s lands and seas in the next 10 years, amid a surge of similar proposals. Continue reading...
YouGov poll found positive views on LTNs are three times higher than negative onesThey are not purely, or even mainly, about cycling, but the row about low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), – where some residential streets are closed to through motor traffic – epitomises broader attitudes in the UK towards safer, more human-friendly streets.And amid the daily froth of sometimes entirely false stories about LTNs closing roads, or slowing emergency service response times, one thing is often forgotten: these schemes tend to be very popular. Continue reading...
Some 300 out of just 1,449 mature plants removed, conservationists sayQueensland environment authorities say they are investigating the suspected illegal clearing of a “significant portion” of a critically endangered plant species in the state’s Granite Belt region.The plant, black grevillea, was listed as “critically endangered” by the Queensland government last year after a submission from a local conservation group. The known world population of the plant is 1,449 mature plants. Continue reading...
Wholesale prices fall 45% to 48% lower than last year in all eastern states except TasmaniaAustralians’ embrace of rooftop solar panels and the Covid-19 shutdown in Victoria have combined to reduce the amount of power being drawn from the national grid, with several states setting record lows for daily large-scale electricity consumption.The drop in electricity use contributed to wholesale electricity prices being 45% to 48% lower than at the same time last year in all eastern states and territories except Tasmania. Continue reading...
Developing ocean-atmospheric phenomenon will influence our weather in the coming monthsThere is a phenomenon developing in the Pacific Ocean that will be the cause of many weather events over the coming months. Its name: La Niña.La Niña is an ocean-atmospheric coupled phenomenon occurring every few years where sea surface temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean are below normal. Stronger than normal trade winds across the central Pacific advect warmer sea surface temperatures into the far west Pacific towards Indonesia. This encourages strong upwelling of the typically colder waters along the west coast of South America, later extending into the central Pacific. Continue reading...
Analysis by UBS suggests shift away from fossil fuel vehicles may be imminentElectric cars will cost the same to make as conventional cars, with internal combustion engines, by 2024 and an acceleration in the shift away from fossil fuel vehicles may be imminent, according to new research.The extra cost of manufacturing battery electric cars versus their fossil fuel equivalents will diminish to just $1,900 (£1,470) per car by 2022, and disappear completely by 2024, according to research by the investment bank UBS. The research is based on detailed analysis of batteries from the seven largest manufacturers. Continue reading...
by Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent on (#59BJH)
Oil firm slumps to value of £40.5bn, well below that of offshore wind developer OrstedBP’s market value has fallen below 200p a share for the first time since 1994 with investor faith in the future of the oil industry shaken by the coronavirus pandemic.The 26-year share-price low means the oil company is worth little more than £40.5bn, well below the market value of the Danish offshore wind developer Orsted, which in less than two years has doubled its value on the Copenhagen stock exchange to more than £51bn. Continue reading...
Hinkley Point C building site waste due to be dumped in sea near CardiffThe builders of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station must be completely open about the potential environmental impact of dumping tens of thousands of tonnes of mud in the sea near Cardiff, politicians in Wales have said.EDF is proposing to deposit mud excavated as part of the huge construction project on the Somerset coast in the waters off the Welsh capital next year. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#59B1H)
Lawsuit claims mining firm failed to prevent pollution in Kabwe, affecting multiple generationsA class action lawsuit has been filed against the mining company Anglo American over its alleged failure to prevent widespread toxic lead pollution in the Zambian town of Kabwe. The town hosted one of the world’s biggest lead mines for many decades and scientists have reported “alarming” levels of lead in people’s blood.“The public environmental health disaster left behind by Anglo means there are more than 100,000 children and women of childbearing age in Kabwe who are likely to have suffered lead poisoning as a result of pollution caused by Anglo,” according to the filed legal documents. Continue reading...
London Resort planned for Swanscombe Peninsula despite site being home to rare species such as distinguished jumping spiderIt is the unlikeliest of planning battles: a fight between the distinguished jumping spider and a rollercoaster judged to be “nationally significant infrastructure”.Ambitious £3.5bn plans for the biggest theme park in Britain beside the Thames threaten what conservationists say is the best site in the country for rare invertebrates. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Political correspondent on (#59AMA)
Campaign group the Alliance of British Drivers wants higher speed limits and fewer cycle lanesMPs are to hear evidence on road safety from a campaign group that dismisses warnings about global heating and wants higher speed limits and fewer cycle lanes, prompting alarm from environmental and active travel organisations.The Commons transport committee will take oral evidence on Wednesday from the Alliance of British Drivers (ABD), which says it represents mainstream views but accepts its membership is “tiny” as a proportion of drivers. Continue reading...
Study measured financial impact of car emissions on deaths, health and lost working days in 432 urban areasThe health costs of air pollution from roads are higher in London than any other city in Europe, a study has found.Two other urban areas in the UK, Manchester and the West Midlands, have the 15th and 19th highest costs respectively among the 432 European cities analysed. Continue reading...
Electricity from $20bn farm on 10,000 sq km property in Newcastle Waters also planned to feed Northern Territory’s power gridA cattle station halfway between Alice Springs and Darwin is set to house the world’s largest solar farm, with energy generated from the project to ultimately power Singapore.Newcastle Waters, where casino mogul James Packer worked as a jackaroo for a year when his father, Kerry, owned the 10,000 sq km property, has been earmarked for the $20bn solar farm, according to the company responsible for the project, Sun Cable. Continue reading...
The smooth handfish is the first extinct marine bony fish of modern times. Scientists are now wondering how many more have disappeared unnoticedIn 1802, when French naturalist François Péron slipped a small, chunky Australian fish into a jar of preservative, little did he suspect that his unassuming prize would be the only member of its species ever known to science. The smooth handfish (Sympterichthys unipennis) was declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List earlier this year. This strange and spiny bottom-dweller made history with its passing. It became the first marine bony fish to be listed as extinct in modern times. Today, all that remains of the species is that discoloured specimen in the Natural History Museum in Paris.Scooped up off the coast of south-east Tasmania, Péron’s catch was one of the 14 handfish species living in southern Australian waters at the time. The relatives of the smooth handfish are a colourful family which crawl around the seafloor using adapted fins as “hands”. They look like grumpy ageing punks, each sporting a dorsal fin over its head like a mohawk, bulging eyes and a cantankerous expression. Continue reading...
To keep animals safe from rubbish discarded by tourists, a bag has been devised made from milk cartons and rice branThe famed deer that roam the city of Nara, in Japan, no longer face discomfort – or far worse – after local companies developed a safe alternative to the plastic packaging discarded by tourists that often ended up in the animals’ stomachs.Last year several of the 1,300 deer that wander around the ancient capital’s central park were found dead after swallowing plastic bags and food wrappers, prompting calls for tourists not to leave their rubbish behind. One of the dead animals had swallowed more than 4kg of rubbish. Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent on (#59AGB)
State of Global Air report says indoor air quality causing two-thirds of the deaths and affecting health in the wombAir pollution last year caused the premature death of nearly half a million babies in their first month of life, with most of the infants being in the developing world, data shows.Exposure to airborne pollutants is harmful also for babies in the womb. It can cause a premature birth or low birth weight. Both of these factors are associated with higher infant mortality. Continue reading...
Locals say loss of 250-year-old pear tree in Cubbington is ‘absolutely devastating’Residents have spoken of their “utter devastation” after a 250-year-old pear tree in Warwickshire, a famous local landmark and England’s tree of the year in 2015, was felled to make way for the HS2 rail line.The tree, thought to be the second-oldest wild pear tree in the country, had become a focal point in the protest against HS2, a high-speed rail line that will connect London and Birmingham, and which protesters say will cause huge environmental damage. Continue reading...
Some of the solutions sound fantastical – but their proponents argue that there are precious few other optionsTime is running out for the Arctic. The region continues to warm at two or three times the global rate and scientists now predict that we could see Arctic summer ice disappear as early as 2042. Continue reading...
Critics say move an example of ‘cosy relationship’ between industry and regulatorOne of the most senior executives at the Environment Agency is leaving to join a water company that is under criminal investigation by the watchdog.The departure of Dr Toby Willison, the director of operations for the EA, to take up a role at Southern Water has angered campaigners seeking to reduce pollution in rivers and coastal waters. Willison has previously been the acting chief executive of the environmental watchdog. Continue reading...
Authorities step up sandbagging amid drop of several metres from top of crumbling dunes down to the beach in NSW tourist townAustralia’s famous Byron Bay beach has been closed to swimmers and surfers as authorities carry out emergency sandbagging to prevent further damaging erosion.Escalating erosion at Main Beach and Clarkes Beach in the northern New South Wales town has left a drop of several metres from the top of crumbling dunes down to the beach. Continue reading...
Despite a grim outlook for American biodiversity, Trump has lifted protections for at-risk animals as part of his aggressive rollback of environmental rules
by Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent on (#598T0)
Countries that did least to cause crisis having to take loans to protect themselves, says charityBillions of dollars are being loaned on high-interest terms to poor countries seeking help to cope with the impacts of climate breakdown, according to an Oxfam report.The loan terms risk storing up debt burdens lasting far into the future, the charity says. Continue reading...
by Rebecca Smithers Consumer affairs correspondent on (#598T3)
Loose fruit and veg to cost no more than wrapped as part of move to cut down on single-use plasticsAsda is to unveil a strategy to help cut down on single-use plastics, pledging that “greener” products without packaging will not carry a hefty price tag, as it opens a sustainability trial store.To encourage customers to shop sustainably across all its stores, the UK’s third largest supermarket is launching Greener at Asda Price, a promise that loose and unwrapped fruit and vegetables will not cost more than their wrapped equivalents at any of it stores. It aims to tackle criticism that shoppers who want to avoid unnecessary plastic packaging are being punished by being charged more for loose produce. Continue reading...
Investigation alleges Lactalis breached environmental regulations at several plants and released milk derivatives that killed fishFrance’s largest dairy company has repeatedly polluted the country’s rivers over the past decade, according to a new report by French media organisation Disclose.During a year-long investigation into dairy giant Lactalis, Disclose found that 38 of the company’s production sites in France had breached environmental regulations. In many cases, according to the report, this involved the release into rivers of milk-related derivatives – which can be deadly to aquatic life in large volumes – or byproducts from wastewater treatment plants. The report contains evidence of several instances that it says resulted in the death of fish. Continue reading...
More than 100 so far reported dead or missing after two storms destroy homes and leave trail of destructionFloods and landslides in Vietnam are reported to have left at least 102 people dead or missing, while tens of thousands of people have lost their homes to rising water.Two storms that hit central Vietnam in the first two weeks of October, Storm Linfa and Storm Nangka, brought six times higher than average rainfall, flooding 136,000 houses and forcing 90,000 people to evacuate their homes. A third cyclone is expected to hit the coast in the coming days. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#598B9)
Exposure is far higher than previously thought and also affects plastic food containersBottle-fed babies are swallowing millions of microplastic particles a day, according to research described as a “milestone” in the understanding of human exposure to tiny plastics.Scientists found that the recommended high-temperature process for sterilising plastic bottles and preparing formula milk caused bottles to shed millions of microplastics and trillions of even smaller nanoplastics. Continue reading...
Tree that has survived bombing and search for firewood is voted country’s tree of the yearA chestnut tree that survived both the bombardment of Ypres in the first world war and a desperate hunt for firewood during the second has been named Belgium’s tree of the year in recognition of its survival in the face of adversity.The tree, the sole survivor of a chestnut avenue planted 160 years ago when the city’s medieval fortifications were turned into a public park, had been left as little more than a stump by the brutal warfare that raged around it between 1914 and 1918. Continue reading...
Greens senators say development is being prioritised over environmental protection, putting ‘mining first and the koala last’The federal environment department has not finalised a single recovery plan for threatened species in nearly 18 months despite 172 remaining outstanding.A Senate committee has heard the department last completed a recovery plan for a threatened species in June 2019 and has no timeframe for addressing the backlog, which includes critically endangered animals such as the Leadbeater’s possum. Continue reading...
The license will allow gas and oil exploration off the coastline between Sydney and NewcastleModerate Liberal MPs are leading calls for the Morrison government not to renew a license that would permit gas exploration off the coastline between Sydney and Newcastle.Labor and the Greens, who also oppose renewing the Petroleum Exploration Permit (Pep) 11, argue the motion tabled by Liberal MP Jason Falinski is an admission the federal government’s environmental protection laws are insufficient. Continue reading...
Technology is keeping patches of Alaska permafrost frozen to preserve energy infrastructure even as indigenous residents’ world is transformed by the climate crisisThe oil company ConocoPhillips had a problem. Continue reading...
Group urges UK regulators to impose measure on premium-listed companiesAn influential group of investors is urging UK regulators to make climate risk reporting mandatory for nearly 500 FTSE-listed firms.The Investment Association (IA), which represents 250 members with £8.5tn in assets, has thrown its weight behind calls for compulsory environmental disclosures, amid concerns that listed companies are not being transparent about how climate risks are influencing the way they invest and spend. Continue reading...
Mark Lowcoft criticises ‘totally inadequate’ effort to help Sahel countries adapt to global heatingAfrica’s Sahel region is at the centre of accelerating climate change and “a canary in the coalmine of our warming planet”, the United Nation’s top humanitarian official has said.Mark Lowcock, the UN’s undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs, said the Sahel was facing tragedy after an “alarming deterioration” in recent years that had led to tens of millions of people being displaced, rising extremist violence, massive violations of human rights and growing political instability. Continue reading...
Scientists are warning of a link between rapid warming and landslides that could threaten towns and tourist attractionsIn Alaska and other high, cold places around the world, new research shows that mountains are collapsing as the permafrost that holds them together melts, threatening tsunamis if they fall into the sea.Scientists are warning that populated areas and major tourist attractions are at risk. Continue reading...
The man who freed two bags of eels at a Brooklyn park probably meant well but the effects on the ecosystem are unpredictableNew York state and city wildlife officials say it is too soon to know what effect a dump of exotic eels into a lake in a park in Brooklyn last month will have on local species – but it could become a major problem.“People like animals and they sometimes think they’re doing a good thing by letting them go,” said Jason Munshi-South, an urban ecologist at Fordham University. “Most will die. Some will become a problem, and then there’s no going back.” Continue reading...
With their miniature ramps, stairs and holes cut into fences and stone walls, the gardens of Kirtlington in Oxfordshire are a haven for wildlifeHedgehogs are lactose intolerant. This was the first lesson from my village safari around Kirtlington in Oxfordshire, home to the UK’s longest volunteer-run hedgehog highway. “Leaving out bread and milk is the worst thing you can do,” says resident Chris Powles, who created the highway. It passes through 60 properties in the village, all linked by CD-sized holes cut into fences and walls, some of which have been around since the 18th century.Hedgehogs need space to create territories, forage and find mates. The compartmentalisation of land into private gardens is one of the causes of their disappearance from our landscape – they have declined by 90% since the second world war. More than 12,000 hedgehog holes have been created as part of the UK’s hedgehog highway network, and Kirtlington has one of the most creative routes on the map. Miniature ramps and staircases thread between gardens in this higgledy-piggledy place, with its 13th-century church and notices about cake sales and “cricketers wanted”. Continue reading...
Tiny organisms nicknamed water bears offer clues about possible alien life but the changing climate means their habitat faces an uncertain futureAs we make our way across Greenland’s ice sheets, I look around. We’re surrounded by numerous tiny black holes, some only a few centimeters in diameter, others up to 4-8in (10-20cm) wide. As we advance, we notice that more and more holes are magically appearing, and their edges are increasingly distinct. They’re called cryoconite holes.Related: Greenland's ice melting faster than at any time in past 12,000 years Continue reading...
A third of councils have collected up to 50% more recycling since coronavirus lockdownThe amount of household recycling collected has nearly doubled in some areas during the pandemic, pushing up the costs of keeping services running, local councils have said.Eight in 10 English councils reported a rise in the volume of paper, cardboard, plastic and glass being collected since the national lockdown began, according to data from the Local Government Association (LGA). Continue reading...
Former archbishop says oil firm holdings not compatible with duty to next generationThe former archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has called on UK universities to follow the example of Cambridge and end their multimillion-pound investments in fossil fuels.Williams, the master of Magdalene college, Cambridge, said all universities had a duty to their students to create a “safer world”, and investing tens of millions of pounds in fossil fuel corporations was incompatible with this. Continue reading...
US policy has emboldened Scott Morrison to be less ambitious on climate, just when so much is at stakeAnyone in Australia who witnessed the Black Summer bushfires (as I did), and anyone in the US who experienced the thick smoke from our western wildfires (as I have), knows how much damage climate change is already doing. The stark reality is that worldwide efforts to avert ever-more catastrophic climate change impacts lie in the balance in the 2020 US election.Donald Trump will go down in history bearing substantial responsibility for the deaths of over 200,000 Americans due to his rejection of the advice of public health experts and his refusal to endorse policies such as social distancing and mask-wearing that could have saved many thousands of lives. But his rejection of the science of climate change sets the stage for a far greater toll. Far more human lives will be lost from the impacts of climate change if we fail to act. Continue reading...
Environment | The Guardian