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...

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...

The bulbous-nosed reptiles were in critical decline until conservationists stepped in

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...

Elliott Cuciurean’s case is seen as important ruling about right to protestAn environmental protester who HS2 asked to be imprisoned has was given a suspended sentence in a landmark case about the right to protest.Elliott Cuciurean, who is described by fellow environmental activists as a “conscientious protector”, was accused by the high-speed rail company of repeatedly breaching an injunction not to trespass on an HS2 site at Crackley Woods in Warwickshire. Continue reading...

The best of the week’s wildlife pictures from around the world, including a silver pheasant and a golden monkey Continue reading...

Scientists searching for reasons fear breeding cycle will be disrupted for years to comeAn estimated 5,000 Cape fur seal foetuses have been found along the shores of Namibia, a large portion of the expected new pup arrivals.The bodies were spotted by Naude Dreyer of Ocean Conservation Namibia (OCN), who flew his drone over Walvis Bay’s Pelican Point seal colony on 5 October and counted hundreds of bodies. “This is tragic, as it makes up a large portion of the new pup arrivals expected in late November,” he tweeted. Continue reading...

Exclusive: report reveals far more microfibers than there are stars in the Milky Way – and they can easily enter oceans and waterwaysA study in California has laid bare the staggering scale of pollution from plastic microfibers in synthetic clothing – one of the most widespread, yet largely invisible, forms of plastic waste.The report, whose findings were revealed exclusively by the Guardian, found that in 2019 an estimated 4,000 metric tons – or 13.3 quadrillion fibers – were released into California’s natural environment. The plastic fibers, which are less than 5mm in length, are primarily shed when we wash our yoga pants, stretchy jeans and fleece jackets and can easily enter oceans and waterways. Continue reading...

As the election nears, young Americans are calling on US politicians to take action on climate, police brutality and immigrationIt was a Saturday night in September when 160 or so middle and high school students logged on to a Zoom call about how to confront American politicians using tactics inspired by young civil rights activists fighting for the abolition of slavery.The teenagers were online with the Sunrise Movement, a nationwide youth-led climate justice collective, to learn about organizing Wide Awake actions – noisy night-time protests – to force lawmakers accused of ignoring the climate emergency and racial injustice to listen to their demands. Continue reading...

US, Russian, Canadian and Chinese forces are taking an active role in the polar region but the real threat is the rapidly changing climateThis month Arctic sea ice reached its second lowest extent on record, and modeling shows it will completely melt in summer by 2035. But where many see a disaster, some global powers discern an opportunity to secure geopolitical and commercial interests – and military ones. Continue reading...

Soaring popularity of the birds, who have nested in the CBD for years, and their new family, has become a symbol of freedomExactly two weeks ago, the kids arrived. All three. Since then the Collins Street falcons, who live in a small nook above the now-empty CBD, have become Melbourne’s favourite family.Thousands of people tune in every day to a 24-hour webcam stream of the nest, located on the side of a skyscraper, hosted on YouTube and the building’s own special website. Continue reading...

Local media say release could begin in 2022 and would take decades to complete, but local fishermen say move will destroy their industryJapan’s government has reportedly decided to release more than 1m tonnes of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea, setting it on a collision course with local fishermen who say the move will destroy their industry.Media reports said work to release the water, which is being stored in more than 1,000 tanks, would begin in 2022 at the earliest and would take decades to complete. Continue reading...

Out of 24 indicators of ecological health, 14 show long-term decline, according to new reportThe UK is failing on its long-term biodiversity targets and seeing “relentless” declines in wildlife, according to government data that shows public sector investment in conservation falling in real terms by 33% in five years.Out of 24 biodiversity indicators, 14 showed long-term decline, including continued deterioration of UK habitats and species of European importance, as well as a decline in priority species, according to the 2020 UK biodiversity indicators report, which gives the most comprehensive overview of the action the government is taking on the most pressing wildlife issues. Continue reading...

Dr David Lowry on the risk of the radioactive gas radon being pumped into homesI was very interested to read your report (13 October) on recent research by Harvard University scientists on radiation risks from fracking.I have raised this concern in several letters to the Guardian over the past seven years. Indeed, seven years ago this month, Public Health England said in a review of potential risks that “there is … the potential for radon gas to be present in natural gas extracted from UK shale”. Continue reading...

Most of city’s last flatland area along with 180,000 trees would be destroyed if project goes aheadLocals say anteaters, caimans, capybaras, and a 4-metre boa constrictor have all been seen near Rio de Janeiro’s Camboatá Forest recently. The 200-hectare (494-acre) forest is an island of wildlife in a city of 6.7 million people, and local prosecutors say it is home to 21 endangered species including black-backed tanager birds and the cloud-fish, a tiny orange creature whose eggs survive in dried-out water holes and hatch when the rains return.But most of Rio’s last flatland area of sub-tropical Atlantic Forest and its 180,000 trees will be demolished if plans go ahead to build a new Formula One racetrack over it. Continue reading...

Supreme court nominee accuses Democratic senator of soliciting an opinion ‘on a very contentious matter of public debate’

Exclusive: Environment Agency takes action against one site and looks into more than 50 othersThe UK environment watchdog is examining whether more than 50 sites that supply salad and vegetables to supermarkets and other businesses are discharging chemical pollution into rivers and streams.The action follows revelations that a salad producer supplying retailers including Waitrose was washing pesticides into a protected chalk stream in Hampshire. Continue reading...

Voluntary action of companies including Tesco and Princes aims to put pressure on regulatory body to tackle overfishingBritish supermarkets and brands, including Tesco, the Co-op and Princes, are stepping up action to cut yellowfin tuna catches in the Indian Ocean, amid warnings the stock is in a “critical” state.The effort, by companies reliant on healthy fish stocks, represents a counterintuitive effort to force regulators to act, rather than the other way around. Continue reading...

Claims of violent treatment and cows being passed off as organic have been presented to the Department of AgricultureEvidence of what appears to be aggressive animal abuse, practices leading to heightened disease risk and cows being passed off as organic at a Texan auctioneers has been presented to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) by undercover welfare investigators. A second, separate abuse investigation at a dairy farm is on its way to court in California.The allegations come at a time of upheaval for US dairy. The first half of 2020 was blighted by Covid-19-related milk dumping, 10-year price lows and a slump in demand from schools and restaurants.

Solastalgia means a feeling of homesickness without ever leaving home - and for Inuit in Canada’s north it describes the psychological impact of the climate crisisWith snow just beginning to dust the hills surrounding the city of Iqaluit, the hunters scramble off in boats. They’re hunting Canada geese, as they have always done, only now using rifles and motorboats instead of the spears and kayaks of their ancestors.Across Baffin Island, Inuit are harvesting before autumn begins to transition into winter. Later in the year, when the snows arrive in force and the fjords and harbours become thick with ice, the boats will be replaced by snowmobiles and the area will once again teem with human life. Continue reading...

All types of glitter affect life forms at base of food web, say researchers at CambridgeBiodegradable glitter causes the same ecological damage to rivers and lakes as the ordinary product, according to the first study of its kind on the impact of the microplastic on the environment.Tests on ordinary glitter and so-called biodegradable or eco glitter were carried out by Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in Cambridge. Continue reading...

Restoring degraded natural lands highly effective for carbon storage and avoiding species extinctionsRestoring natural landscapes damaged by human exploitation can be one of the most effective and cheapest ways to combat the climate crisis while also boosting dwindling wildlife populations, a scientific study finds.If a third of the planet’s most degraded areas were restored, and protection was thrown around areas still in good condition, that would store carbon equating to half of all human caused greenhouse gas emissions since the industrial revolution. Continue reading...

A group of European ministers and the EC’s commissioner for international partnerships call for measures to foster long-term resilience in the global economy and environmentThe world is facing an unprecedented crisis. In just a few months, the Covid-19 pandemic has swept across the world, bringing human tragedy and causing an economic shock of historic proportions. While it poses a tremendous challenge to our economies and societies, the Covid crisis also gives us an opportunity to work towards a future that is more fair, equal and green.This week, the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund are holding their annual meetings. We will discuss our efforts to fight poverty and hunger, support socioeconomic recovery and respond to the emerging debt crisis. “Business as usual” is not an option. It is imperative that the World Bank’s development financing of $160bn for the coming year is directed towards a sustainable and inclusive future. This is the time to strengthen our economies in line with the sustainable development goals and the Paris climate agreement. Continue reading...

Chairman Ken MacKenzie tells AGM that fossil fuels will be part of the energy mix for decadesBHP management has batted away shareholder criticism of the miner’s intention to continue investing in gas despite claiming it will dramatically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade.Speaking at BHP’s Australian annual meeting on Wednesday evening, chairman Ken MacKenzie also addressed the fallout from rival Rio Tinto’s decision to blow up 46,000-year-old rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara. Continue reading...