Environment | The Guardian

The mining giant’s decision to abandon its Olympic Dam mine has raised questions about the government’s ‘opaque’ selection process for major projectsThe collapse of a government-declared priority project at the Olympic Dam mine in South Australia has prompted claims the Morrison government pursued an “opaque” process lacking evidence to select projects.Mining giant BHP abandoned a proposed multibillion-dollar expansion at the mine last week after deciding it did not make economic sense. It came four months after prime minister Scott Morrison declared it a major project of national economic significance that would be fast-tracked. Continue reading...

Using cork to clad an extension – inside and out – was a speedy, sustainable and affordable choice for this family homeWhen Dan Barber and Hat Margolies bought a two-bed Victorian terrace house in 2013, the entire building needed an overhaul. It had leaky pipes, asbestos and rattling windows; and it needed rewiring, new radiators and a new boiler. Wind whistled through the front room floorboards. “The light and proportions made it really special but there were no original features – the fireplaces had long gone,” says Margolies, a photographic agent with an eye for vintage furniture.But the couple saw it as a chance to make their new home, in south London, as eco-friendly as they could: to conserve energy, and recycle and reuse as much as possible. They lived with the house as it was for five years, during which time their second daughter was born, and then employed NimTim architects to transform it on a tight budget. Continue reading...

Barrett previously recused herself from cases because her father worked for Shell but has failed to commit to doing so in futureAmy Coney Barrett is poised to make critical rulings on whether oil and gas companies will be held accountable for the effects of the climate crisis once she is confirmed to the supreme court, even though she has acknowledged in the past that she has a conflict of interest in cases involving Royal Dutch Shell.Related: Trump and Barrett's threat to abortion and LGBTQ rights is simply un-American | Robert Reich Continue reading...

Experts warn of more encounters as animals forced into populated areas to find foodA spate of bear attacks in Japan has prompted calls to improve their natural habitat, as experts warned of more potentially dangerous encounters with the animals as they venture into populated areas in search of food.Japanese media have reported several incidents of “ursine terror” in recent weeks, including an attack in Ishikawa prefecture last weekend that left four people injured, including a man in his 90s and two hunters called to confront the bear. Continue reading...

Climate scientists warn that strong winds, coinciding with low humidity and record-dry vegetation, make for a dangerous mixResidents of northern California are bracing for another weekend of high wildfire risk, as fierce winds expected for Sunday afternoon increase the danger of fresh fires in the bone-dry region.Authorities issued a high wind watch starting Sunday evening until Monday morning for parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, the Santa Clara Valley and Santa Cruz county. The strong winds, coinciding with low humidity and record-dry vegetation, make for a dangerous mix, warned climate scientist Daniel Swain. Continue reading...

Fikile Ntshangase was involved in legal dispute over extension of coalmine in KwaZulu-NatalA South African environmental activist who opposed the extension of a coalmine near her home has been shot dead in her home.Fikile Ntshangase, 65, was involved in a legal dispute over the extension of an opencast mine operated by Tendele Coal near Somkhele, close to Hluhluwe–Imfolozi park, the oldest nature reserve in Africa. Continue reading...

Green groups say agreement will allow emissions to continue to rise in the next decadeGovernments have rejected calls for tougher regulation of international shipping, settling instead for new rules on reducing greenhouse gas emissions that campaigners say will imperil the Paris climate goals.The International Maritime Organization (IMO), the UN body that regulates international shipping, agreed on Friday after a week-long online meeting to make an existing target legally binding: to reduce the carbon intensity of shipping by 40% compared with 2008 levels in the next 10 years. Continue reading...

Conservatives say Biden’s comments likely to lose support from Democratic supporters in oil-producing areasJoe Biden’s promise to “transition” away from the oil industry during Thursday’s presidential debate has caused uproar among conservatives while being praised by environmentalists as being a candid acknowledgment of the scale of the climate crisis.Related: Mitch McConnell says he has no health concerns after photos show bruising Continue reading...

Meat-related words can be used to describe plant-based foods, decides European parliamentPlant-based products that do not contain meat can continue to be labelled “sausages” or “burgers”, European politicians have said, after they rejected a proposal backed by the meat industry to ban the terms.In votes on issues relating to agricultural products, the European parliament said that so-called veggie burgers, soy steaks and vegan sausages can continue to be sold as such in restaurants and shops across the union. Continue reading...

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'

Government issues exemption to alien species ban in attempt to control destructive plant

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Researchers say Black infants may be more at risk while about 80% of homes had detectable levels of lead in tap water

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...

In the past four years, Trump has shredded environmental protections for American lands, animals and people 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

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...

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...

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...

Wildlife celebrity missing for six days after decades of enchanting Dingle peninsula

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...