Environment | The Guardian

Australian government to back 43 concepts in ambitious $150m research and development programBrightening clouds with salt crystals and deploying slicks of coral larvae to try and limit the impacts of global heating on the Great Barrier Reef are among more than 40 concepts being backed by the Australian government in an ambitious $150m research and development program.A two-year feasibility study released by the government on Thursday has reduced about 160 potential ideas to a list of 43 that will be funded for further investigation under the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP). Continue reading...

Charter flights organised after appeal fails to recruit enough British workers

Cultural nuance and wider view of supply chain ignored in debate following Covid-19 outbreak, say those proposing regulation over ban

Wildlife conservation efforts are essential to preventing outbreaks, scientists and advocates say

Queen guitarist and new vegan says ‘eating animals has brought us to our knees as a species’ despite source of pandemic still unclear

With numbers plummeting and food hard to find, African penguins face a bleak future – but a novel conservation plan is under wayIt’s amazing to see wild creatures in their natural homes,” says Gaja Rojec, as she sits next to a group of African penguins that don’t seem at all bothered by her presence. It is late January 2020, and the Slovenian film-maker is just one of about 800,000 people who have visited Boulders Beach on South Africa’s Cape Peninsula every year to get up close to these charismatic flightless birds.At Boulders, just over an hour’s drive south of central Cape Town, African penguins swim, loaf around and breed within a few metres of visitors, who can even get into the water with them. Penguins normally nest on offshore islands, but this small beach is surrounded by houses which form a barrier to land-based predators such as caracal lynxes and baboons, making it a “pseudo island” where the birds feel safe. They have bred here since the early 1980s, and it’s now part of the Table Mountain national park. Continue reading...

Along with up to 30 new marine species, scientists have found a 150-ft example of a siphonophore, a string-like deep-sea predatorScientists exploring the deep sea off Australia’s coast have discovered as many as 30 new marine species – and what may be the longest animal ever seen.The discoveries were the result of expeditions into Western Australia’s underwater canyons. One of the biggest discoveries was a siphonophore measuring an estimated 150 feet (46 metres). Siphonophores are deep-sea predators made up of many small clones that act together as one and spread out like a single long string in the water. Researchers think this particular siphonophore may be the longest yet found. Continue reading...

EPA chief Wheeler says current soot regulations are adequate despite research that shows stricter rules could save thousands of livesThe Trump administration has said it will not tighten rules for soot pollution, despite research showing that doing so could save thousands of lives each year.Related: Coronavirus US live: Cuomo says Trump cannot order New York to reopen Continue reading...

Global economy could lose out by $600tn by end of century on current emissions targetsEvery country in the world would be economically better off if all could agree to strengthen their commitments on the climate crisis through international cooperation, new research has found.But if countries go no further than their current CO pledges – which are too weak to meet the goals of the Paris agreement, and would lead to dangerous levels of global heating – then they face steep economic losses. Continue reading...

Scientists say the rapid change could have negative effects on fisheries and aquaculture, and impact coastal vegetationWater in estuaries along 1,100km of Australia’s south-east coast warmed by more than 2C between 2007 and 2019, a new study finds.The rapid change could have negative effects on fisheries and aquaculture, as well as impact coastal vegetation such as mangroves, scientists behind the study said. Continue reading...

Dame Jane Goodall also reveals Duke of Sussex is finding departure from UK ‘a bit challenging’The British primatologist Dame Jane Goodall believes the Duke of Sussex will give up hunting because of his wife’s dislike for the sport, and thinks he has been finding life “a bit challenging” since the couple moved to North America.Goodall, 86, a friend of the pair who has been a guest at their Frogmore Cottage home in Windsor, said in an interview with the Radio Times that Harry and his brother, the Duke of Cambridge, were champions of the natural world – “except they hunt and shoot”. Continue reading...

Witnesses accuse government of covering up severity of blaze near site of nuclear disasterWildfires in Ukraine have spread to just over a mile from the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant and a disposal site for radioactive waste, according to activists, as more than 300 firefighters work to contain the blaze.A video posted by a Chernobyl tour operator showed flames and a cloud of smoke rising within sight of the protective shelter over the carcass of Chernobyl’s Unit 4 nuclear reactor, the site of the worst nuclear disaster in history. Continue reading...

Italian, Spanish and Greek farmers set to lose billions unless drastic action is taken to combat bacterium that has killed millions of trees

More than $80bn of investment decisions are delayed due to a collapsed oil price and a geopolitical price war

Saudi Arabia and Russia reach truce after collapse in demand caused by coronavirusThe world’s largest oil producers have agreed a historic deal to cut global oil production by almost 10% to protect the market against the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.Members of the Opec oil cartel and its allies have agreed to withhold almost 10m barrels a day from next month after the outbreak of Covid-19 wiped out demand for fossil fuels and triggered a collapse in global oil prices. Continue reading...

The Greens asked officials to calculate the cost of shutting down the native forest timber industry immediately rather than 2030 as planned

Campaigners raise concerns over investor’s financial interests in fossil fuel companies

Reduction of 5% would represent biggest drop in demand for industry on record

Broadcaster says ‘resilience is key’ after high court rejected case last weekThe broadcaster Chris Packham has said he will continue his fight against the construction of HS2, which environmentalists say is leading to irreversible destruction of ancient habitats and woodlands.Last week Packham applied for an urgent injunction to halt construction work and argued for a judicial review of the government’s decision-making process in relation to the £106bn high-speed railway. Continue reading...

Delhi is one of many capitals enjoying improved air quality since restrictions were introduced due to the coronavirusThe screenshots began to circulate on Delhi WhatsApp groups last week, captioned with varying expressions of disbelief. Having checked the air quality index, something of a sadistic morning ritual among residents of India’s capital, most could not believe their eyes.Gone was the familiar menacing red banner, indicating how each intake of breath is really just a toxic blast on the lungs, replaced instead by a healthy, cheerful green. Could it really be that Delhi’s pollution levels now fell into the category of … “good”? “It’s positively alpine!” exclaimed one message. Continue reading...

From the final verdict on George Pell to devastating Great Barrier Reef bleaching, here’s our roundup of important storiesAs Australia’s coronavirus outbreak continues, a lot of important news has slipped under the radar.Here are the most important stories you may have missed over the past week. From the statement of George Pell’s accuser to the worst coral bleaching the Great Barrier Reef has ever seen. Continue reading...

The pick of the world’s best flora and fauna photos, including Indian monkeys and a Parisian duck

Crisis destroys foreign sales of shellfish and supermarkets close fish counters causing slump during traditional Easter boom period

Swallows and swifts on their annual flight from Africa to Europe have been found dead across GreeceThousands of swallows and swifts migrating from Africa to Europe have been left dead by high winds battering Greece, bird watchers say.The birds have been found in the streets of Athens, on apartment balconies in the capital, in the north, on Aegean islands and around a lake close to the seaport of Nauplia in the Peloponnese. Continue reading...

Study highlights importance of biodiversity as part of strategy to stop planet overheatingScientists have shown to be true what JRR Tolkien only imagined in the Lord of the Rings: giant, slow-reproducing trees play an outsized role in the growth and health of old forests.In the 1930s, the writer gave his towering trees the name Ents. Today, a paper in the journal Science says these “long-lived pioneers” contribute more than previously believed to carbon sequestration and biomass increase. Continue reading...

Exclusive: researchers found some areas outside the bounds of the Great Barrier Reef had 90% of their shallow water corals bleached this summerMore than half of the spectacular and remote coral reefs beyond the boundaries of the Great Barrier Reef suffered severe bleaching this summer, an underwater scientific expedition has found.Several reefs in the vast Coral Sea marine park known among divers for their arrays of corals, large fish and precipitous drop offs into the deep ocean suffered extreme bleaching. Continue reading...

Draft policy released by agriculture ministry cites concern over animal welfare and prevention of disease transmission as factors behind move

While carbon emissions fall as human activity decreases, in the end it will be about the politics

#BlossomWatch participants share photos of gardens, parks and streets in bloom

Populations could recover as verges are left uncut, setting what conservationists hope will be a long-term trend

Exclusive: multinationals write to G7 and G20 urging leaders to keep borders open to trade and avert global food crisis

Having not been in the saddle for 15 years, Toby Chasseaud overcomes his nerves to beat the travel shutdown

Cultural knowledge, passed from animal to animal, is key to how species adapt to change in the world around themSam Williams’ Macaw Recovery Network in Costa Rica rewilds captivity-hatched fledgling scarlet and great green macaws. But introducing young birds into a complex forest world – bereft of the cultural education normally provided by parents – is slow and risky.For 30 years or so scientists have referred to the diversity of life on Earth as “biological diversity”, or just “biodiversity”. They usually define biodiversity as operating at three levels: the diversity of genes within any particular species; the diversity of species in a given place; and the diversity of habitat types such as forests, coral reefs, and so on. But does that cover it? Not really. A fourth level has been almost entirely overlooked: cultural diversity. Continue reading...

Highly contagious virus fatal to pigs found close to German border, as illness continues to spread in ChinaAn outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) was confirmed on Monday on a farm near the village of Więckowice near Poznań in western Poland, less than 150km (93 miles) from the border with Germany.

Bacterial enzyme originally found in compost can be used to make high-quality new bottlesA mutant bacterial enzyme that breaks down plastic bottles for recycling in hours has been created by scientists.The enzyme, originally discovered in a compost heap of leaves, reduced the bottles to chemical building blocks that were then used to make high-quality new bottles. Existing recycling technologies usually produce plastic only good enough for clothing and carpets. Continue reading...

Industry says it is not trying to dodge obligations but that it is a ‘matter of survival’

Harbour seals struggle to match volume of passing ships when trying to attract a mateCruise ships are drowning out the roars of seals that are important for bagging a mate, researchers have found in the latest study to reveal the consequences of human activity on wildlife.Ships are known to produce low-frequency sounds which can overlap with calls made by marine creatures. But now researchers studying harbour seals say such noise could be taking its toll. Continue reading...

Increased contact with animals likely cause of outbreaks such as Covid-19, say experts, as conservationists call for global ban on wildlife markets

On my daily walk I can enjoy hearing a bird whose song is the definitive sound of the countrysideOur world is cribbed, confined and bound in as never before. Yet amid all the fear and horror, there is one silver lining, as we reconnect with nature on our doorstep. My Somerset garden is awash with birdsong: chiffchaffs, wrens, robins and a new arrival, the blackcap, all competing to see who can shout the loudest as spring gathers pace. Overhead, buzzards soar and ravens tumble, as delighted as I am to herald the new season.Related: Wildflower planting on farms boosts birds, from skylarks to starlings Continue reading...

Plan for net-zero emissions combined with a new diplomatic effort is Australia’s best chance at saving reef for future generationsThe news is overwhelming and exhausting in a way it has rarely been in most of our lifetimes, but if you have five minutes of energy left this is worth your attention. That it hasn’t been reported in most of Australia’s major news outlets doesn’t make that any less the case.Across nine days last month, Prof Terry Hughes from James Cook University travelled the length of the Great Barrier Reef in a small plane to survey the health of more than 1,000 individual sites. He was joined by an observer from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, a government agency. Continue reading...

Dirty air increases risk of respiratory problems that can be fatal for coronavirus patients

Research offers ‘a sobering warning’ on the impact of today’s climate emergencyVolcanic eruptions played an important and direct role in triggering the extreme climate that killed off swathes of life at the end of the Triassic period 201m years ago, researchers have found.Experts say they have discovered bubbles of carbon dioxide trapped in volcanic rocks dating to the end of the Triassic, backing up the theory that such activity contributed to the greenhouse climate that is believed to have been behind the mass extinction. Continue reading...

More than half the National Park Service’s unit remain open but local police and health officials are urging people to stay away

Number of large-scale, intensive farms with upwards of 40,000 birds or 2,000 pigs is increasing, driven by demand for cheap meat

The 23-year-old man sustained injuries to his hand, leg and elbow in a ‘horrific’ attackA shark has killed a Queensland parks and wildlife officer during a work trip at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef.The premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, has paid tribute to the 23-year-old, who died in hospital on Monday night a few hours after he was mauled near North West Island. Continue reading...

There’s a kind of hush all over the world as the reduction in human activity stops the Earth buzzing so much

Most new electricity globally was green and coronavirus bailouts must boost this further, says agencyAlmost three-quarters of new electricity generation capacity built in 2019 uses renewable energy, representing an all-time record. New data from the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) shows solar, wind and other green technologies now provide more than one-third of the world’s power, marking another record.Fossil fuel power plants are in decline in Europe and the US, with more decommissioned than built in 2019. But the number of coal and gas plants grew in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. In the Middle East, which owns half the world’s oil reserves, just 26% of new electricity generation capacity built in 2019 was renewable. Continue reading...

Two-fifths of Americans rely on water utilities which have not suspended the policy of shutoffs for non-paymentMillions of Americans risk losing running water if they fall behind with bill payments in coming months, as mass layoffs triggered by the coronavirus pandemic force families to make impossible tradeoffs on paying household expenses.Around two-fifths of the country rely on water utilities which have not suspended the policy of shutoffs for non-payment, despite public health warnings that good hygiene – specifically frequent hand washing – is crucial to preventing spread of the highly contagious virus, according to data analysed by Food and Water Watch (FWW) and the Guardian. Continue reading...

Judge makes major ruling in mass ‘dieselgate’ litigation against VW in England and Wales

Warning comes as destruction of nature increasingly seen as key driver of zoonotic diseases