A pioneering method from Africa that protects farms from forest herds is now paying off in India, with more profit and less conflictWatchtowers in trees, tripwire alarms, radio collars, chilli smoke and beehive fences: scientists and conservationists across Asia and Africa are coming up with safe and humane ways to keep elephants at bay and reduce conflict with humans.In early June, the agonising death of a pregnant wild elephant that ate an explosives-filled pineapple in India led to a global outcry, highlighting how far some farmers in India will go to protect their land from wild animals, which are increasingly encroaching on settlements. India is home to an estimated 27,000 elephants, more than half the global Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) population. Continue reading...

Expanded mine in north-west NSW predicted to generate extra 100 million tonnes of greenhouse gases once coal is burnedNew South Wales authorities have approved a Whitehaven Coal plan to develop an expanded new coalmine in the state’s north-west.The decision allows 168m tonnes to be extracted from the proposed Vickery coalmine, near Boggabri, over 30 years. Between 60% and 70% of it is expected to be metallurgical coal used in steel-making and the remainder thermal coal for electricity generation. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Walker Corporation says de-listing area of wetlands, which are a critical migratory bird habitat, was of ‘urgent national interest’Walker Corporation lobbied former federal environment minister Josh Frydenberg to remove an area from internationally listed wetlands for its Toondah Harbour apartment and retail development, government documents show.Documents obtained from the environment department by Guardian Australia under freedom of information laws show the company used a meeting with Frydenberg in August 2016 to stress the government had the power to remove part of the Moreton Bay Ramsar wetland as a matter of “urgent national interest”. Continue reading...

Starley network to provide vehicle-free routes or lanes separated from trafficCoventry is famous for its motor industry heritage but long before this, from the 1860s onwards, it was considered England’s bicycle city – and it gained an international reputation for quality engineering and fine craftsmanship.However, in the late 19th century, with the motoring industry snapping at its heels, this thriving industry, with 450 bicycle makers in the city, slowly began to decline. Continue reading...

A new study shows that US families consume cancer-linked glyphosate in their food. The good news: going organic rapidly reduces levels

I study the Arctic. The decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord is reprehensible – but we can’t give up hope

Animal stuck in shallow water at creek in Helford estuary is released back into the sea

Blood-sucking ticks can spread Lyme disease and are extending beyond their traditional north-eastern rangeGrowing up in north-eastern Ohio, Kimberly Byce spent much of her childhood running around in the woods, with the greatest threat being mosquito bites or sunburn. She can’t remember her parents ever uttering the word “tick”. And yet, in adulthood, disease-laden ticks now blight her family’s life.Byce’s husband Trent Beers has been struck down by Lyme disease twice in the past year, initially misdiagnosed after suffering back pain so bad he couldn’t emerge from bed, drenched from night sweats and his mind a fog of confusion. Their sons Arbor, four, and Abbott, seven, were struck down by raging fevers initially thought to be related to coronavirus, but subsequently confirmed to also be from Lyme disease. Continue reading...

Ebo forest is home to hundreds of rare species including Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzeesA Cameroonian government decree allowing logging in a forest that is home to some of the world’s most endangered species has sparked outrage among local communities and conservation groups.The richly biodiverse Ebo forest is one of the last intact forests in central Africa and home to hundreds of rare flora and animal species. Continue reading...

Company’s subsidiaries face up to $17m in fines for alleged breaches of exploration licences

Nev Power tells the Senate Covid-19 committee the commission has asked the government to underwrite gas pipelinesThe head of Scott Morrison’s Covid advisory commission says he has been approached by business leaders wanting the government to use the recovery from the pandemic to lock in low-emissions energy, but his organisation is not recommending “a green recovery per se”.Appearing before the Senate committee examining the government’s management of Covid-19 on Tuesday, Nev Power confirmed the commission had asked the government to underwrite new investment in gas pipelines as part of recommendations from a manufacturing taskforce. Continue reading...

For many young people, racial inequality and the climate emergency are inseparable issuesFor 14-year-old Eleanor Woolstencroft, it was last year’s school climate strikes that empowered her to throw herself into the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests in recent weeks.“[Without the climate strikes], I would have been a lot less confident, I wouldn’t have known how protests worked,” she said, adding that the strikes helped open her eyes to societal inequality. “There have been so many speakers at the climate strikes talking about racial injustice and how the climate emergency is going to affect immigrants and people in refugee camps first.” Continue reading...

Roads remain waterlogged and drivers warned to be careful as river levels fallHundreds of residents on the New South Wales south coast are waiting for the all-clear to return home as river levels fall and flooding eases after heavy rain and wild weather.After three days of damaging surf battering the state, a marine wind warning remains in place on Tuesday on the Byron, Coffs and Macquarie coasts in the north. Continue reading...

Stranded bulk carrier is breaking up, threatening even greater ecological devastationPeople living in Mauritius have described the devastation caused by an oil spill from a stranded vessel and called for urgent international help to stop the ecological and economic damage overwhelming the island nation.More than 1,000 tonnes of fuel has already seeped from the bulk carrier MV Wakashio into the sea off south-east Mauritius, polluting the coral reefs, white-sand beaches and pristine lagoons that attract tourists from around the world. Continue reading...

Indigenous leader Célia Xakriabá and Vagina Monologues author V discuss Brazil’s biodiversity crisis and why this is the century of the indigenous womanCélia Xakriabá is the voice of a new generation of female indigenous leaders who are leading the fight against the destruction of Brazil’s forests both in the Amazon and the lesser known Cerrado, a savannah that covers a fifth of the country. V, formerly Eve Ensler, is the award-winning author of the Vagina Monologues, an activist and founder of V-Day, a global movement to end violence against all women and girls and the Earth. The two recently held a conversation in which V asked Xakriabá about what is happening to Brazil’s biodiversity and indigenous peoples, and why women are the key to change.V: Many people, especially in the west, don’t really understand what’s happening to the Cerrado in Brazil. Can you tell us what’s happening to the forests?

The majestic fish inspired Ernest Hemingway but as numbers falter alternatives to landing the ocean giants are finding favour

Growing oil spill from MV Wakashio threatens ecological and economic disasterA ship that ran aground off Mauritius leaking tonnes of oil into the ocean is cracking up, the country’s prime minister has said, threatening an even greater ecological and economic disaster for the island nation.More than 1,000 tonnes of fuel has seeped from the bulk carrier MV Wakashio into the sea off south-east Mauritius, polluting the coral reefs, white-sand beaches and pristine lagoons that lure tourists from around the globe. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Taneti Maamau says Kiribati will seek support from China and other allies to elevate islands from the sea, partly through dredgingKiribati will raise its islands above the ocean as part of its fight against sea-level rise, seeking help from its new diplomatic partner China to secure the archipelagic nation’s future, the country’s newly re-elected president has said.In his first in-depth interview since his resounding election win in June, Taneti Maamau told the Guardian international co-operation would be on Kiribati’s terms: he said he would not accept large loans “from any country”, and would not allow China to build a base on Kiribati’s strategically significant Christmas Island, south of Hawaii. Continue reading...

Donations to support the president’s re-election have flooded in from a fossil fuel industry that has enjoyed three years of energy deregulation and tax cutsIn mid-June the oil pipeline billionaire Kelcy Warren hosted a fundraising bash at his palatial Dallas, Texas, home that drew the presence of Donald Trump and raised $10m for the US president’s campaign coffers.Warren’s fundraising gusher for Trump occurred after he and his wife had donated a hefty $1.7m since 2019 to Trump Victory, a fundraising vehicle for Trump’s re-election and the Republican National Committee, according to the non-partisan Open Secrets group. Continue reading...

Thousands turn to rivers and canals for exercise, fresh air and easy social distancingTo celebrate his 40th birthday last week, Adam Partington and his partner, Gemma Cann, took to the River Cam on new paddleboards with a goodies hamper strapped to the front.After gliding past Cambridge’s ancient colleges, the couple stopped at Grantchester Meadows at the edge of the city for a picnic and celebratory glass of bubbly before paddling back to their starting point. Continue reading...

Two prominent ‘lukewarmers’ take climate science denial to another level, offering tepid manifestos at bestIt is no longer credible to deny that the average temperature around the world is rising and that other phenomena, such as extreme weather events, are also shifting. People can now see with their own eyes that the climate is changing around them.Nor is it tenable to deny that the Earth’s warming is driven by increasing levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, resulting from human activities, such as the production and burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. Such denial is only now promoted by cranks and conspiracy theorists who also think, for instance, that the Covid-19 pandemic is linked to the development of the 5G network. Continue reading...

As the black stuff burnt in the UK plummets to a level not seen since the early steam age, we trace its long, deep history and the problems left in its wakeBritain achieved an unlikely status as a power provider last year. Its annual consumption of coal plunged to the lowest level in 250 years. According to figures released last week, a mere 8 million tonnes were incinerated in UK factories and power plants. That is roughly the same amount that was burned nationally in 1769, when James Watt was patenting his modified steam engine.That invention helped to spark the Industrial Revolution and triggered a massive rise in annual coal use in Britain, which soared to well over 200 million tonnes by the mid-20th century. Now levels have plummeted back to their original pre-revolution state. King coal – once the undisputed ruler of British industry – has finally been dethroned. Continue reading...

Review recommends ‘trailing liability’, where owners remain liable for decommissioning sites after selling themEnergy giant Woodside Petroleum is facing calls to pay more than $200m to clean up a moribund oil production site in the Timor Sea, after a government review recommended past owners of offshore facilities should be made liable for remediation costs.Woodside operated the Northern Endeavour oil production ship, permanently moored about 550 kilometres north-west of Darwin, from 1999 until 2016. It announced the site would close, but then paid the newly incorporated group Northern Oil and Gas Australia (Noga) $24m to take it over. Continue reading...

The information commissioner says release of material previously redacted by the scientific agency is a matter of public interest

President’s eldest son opposes controversial Pebble mine at headwaters of Bristol Bay, home to world’s largest wild salmon runA surprise intervention from Donald Trump Jr has breathed life into efforts to protect the biggest remaining wild salmon run on the planet.Earlier this week, Trump Jr expressed his opposition to the controversial Pebble mine at the headwaters of Alaska’s Bristol Bay. The move breaks with the Trump administration’s efforts to advance the mine’s development. Continue reading...

Narendra Modi’s dream of a ‘self-reliant India’ comes at a terrible price for its indigenous populationOver the past decade, Umeshwar Singh Amra has witnessed his homeland descend into a battleground. The war being waged in Hasdeo Arand, a rich and biodiverse Indian forest, has pitted indigenous people, ancient trees, elephants and sloths against the might of bulldozers, trucks and hydraulic jacks, fighting with a single purpose: the extraction of coal.Yet under a new “self-reliant India” plan by the prime minister, Narendra Modi, to boost the economy post-Covid-19 and reduce costly imports, 40 new coalfields in some of India’s most ecologically sensitive forests are to be opened up for commercial mining. Continue reading...

The Olive Ridley turtles are part of conservationists’ attempts to boost the population and promote environmental protectionMore than 10,000 baby turtles were released into the sea off the Indonesian island of Bali, as part of conservationists’ attempts to boost the population of a vulnerable species and promote environmental protection.Conservation groups carried crates each full of dozens of tiny turtles to the island’s Gianyar beach on Friday and encouraged local people and volunteers to line up on the sand and release the hatchlings together. Continue reading...

Alicia Ramsay was hit by humpback whale’s fin days after two others injured swimming at tourist hotspot Ningaloo reefA woman snorkelling on Ningaloo Reef, on the north-west coast of Western Australia, has become the third person to be injured by a humpback whale there in less than a week.The woman, Alicia Ramsay, 30, was flown to Royal Perth hospital with rib fractures on Thursday after being hit by the whale, which was swimming nearby with its calf. Continue reading...

Country’s prime minister has asked France for help in tackling the disasterThe Indian Ocean island of Mauritius has declared a “state of environmental emergency” after a Japanese-owned ship that ran aground offshore days ago began spilling tons of fuel.The prime minister, Pravind Jugnauth, made the announcement late on Friday as satellite images showed a dark slick spreading in the turquoise waters near environmental areas that the government called “very sensitive”. Continue reading...

Giant turbines operating from anchored rafts can harness strong offshore windsOffshore wind farm potential is enormous. They are no longer limited to shallow water but can operate from anchored rafts - and the size and output of the turbines keeps increasing.Less than a decade ago turbines of three megawatts (MW) were the new giants – now the industry is installing 10mMW machines, and designs for 15 to 20MW are ready. The newest turbines will be 150 metres high with a rotor diameter of 240 metres – that is the length of more than two football pitches. Continue reading...

The National Park Service has warned against sacrificing slower friends in a bear attack ‘even if the friendship has run its course’There are a few potential reactions to being attacked by a bear – stand your ground and attempt to scare it off, run away or perhaps curl up into the fetal position and hope for the best.The US government has now, however, officially advised against the most cowardly option: pushing over a slower friend to save yourself. Continue reading...

The pick of the world’s best flora and fauna photos, including a giant pangolin and a tiny hummingbird Continue reading...

Expert warns of health implications of climate emergency as Britons flock to beaches

Last fully intact ice shelf in the Canadian Arctic lost more than 40% of its areas in two days at the end of JulyThe last fully intact ice shelf in the Canadian Arctic has collapsed, losing more than 40% of its area in just two days at the end of July.The Milne Ice Shelf is at the fringe of Ellesmere Island, in the sparsely populated northern Canadian territory of Nunavut. Continue reading...

Plan is to turn stretch of River Wharfe in Ilkley into a swimming area where water quality is regularly monitoredThe creation of the first designated bathing water spot in a UK river has moved one step closer after the government published a consultation on the plans.A stretch of the River Wharfe in Ilkley, which is popular with swimmers and families, would be the only river in the country to be subjected to strict monitoring during May to October to ensure the water is of good quality. Continue reading...

Drop in emissions was a blip, say scientists, and a green recovery is vital to halt global heatingThe draconian coronavirus lockdowns across the world have led to sharp drops in carbon emissions, but this will have “negligible” impact on the climate crisis, with global heating cut by just 0.01C by 2030, a study has found.But the analysis also shows that putting the huge sums of post-Covid-19 government funding into a green recovery and shunning fossil fuels will give the world a good chance of keeping the rise in global temperatures below 1.5C. The scientists said we are now at a “make or break” moment in keeping under the limit – as compared with pre-industrial levels – agreed by the world’s governments to avoid the worst effects of global heating. Continue reading...

District councils want to protect beauty spots during coming warm and sunny weekend

MV Wakashio breaking up after running aground at Pointe d’Esny near marine parkThe Indian Ocean island of Mauritius is facing an environmental crisis after oil began leaking from a bulk carrier that ran aground in July and started to break up in rough seas.“We are in an environmental crisis situation,” said the environment minister, Kavy Ramano, while the fishing minister, Sudheer Maudhoo, said: “This is the first time that we are faced with a catastrophe of this kind and we are insufficiently equipped to handle this problem.” Continue reading...

German carmaker puts pressure on UK government over proposed ban on hybridsMore than 10,000 BMW plug-in hybrid cars on British roads will be able to automatically swap to battery power when entering low emissions zones in London or Birmingham city centres from Friday.Newer BMW cars will be able to switch automatically from burning fossil fuels in internal combustion engines to using battery power with zero exhaust emissions as soon as the car’s GPS navigation system detects that it has reached an emissions zone. Continue reading...

Residents call on the federal environment minister to rule out a development the NSW government wants fast-trackedResidents of the New South Wales town of Port Stephens are calling on the federal environment minister, Sussan Ley, to save 52 hectares of koala habitat set to be destroyed by the expansion of a quarry.The state’s independent planning commission recently approved the expansion of the Brandy Hill rock quarry in Port Stephens in the Hunter region, just two weeks after a parliamentary inquiry found koalas in the state would be extinct by 2050 without urgent government intervention. Continue reading...

Researchers say moderate reductions in CO2 emissions could halve their likelihoodExtreme droughts are likely to become much more frequent across central Europe, and if global greenhouse gas emissions rise strongly they could happen seven times more often, new research has shown.The area of crops likely to be affected by drought is also set to increase, and under sharply rising CO2 levels would nearly double in central Europe in the second half of this century, to more than 40m hectares (154,440 sq miles) of farmland. Continue reading...

Any improvements would be eclipsed by damage done to nature, green groups sayRadical changes to planning rules in England will damage nature, increase air pollution and leave local people with no say on protecting urban wildlife corridors, environmental charities say.Green organisations reacted angrily to the government’s plans to sweep away current planning restrictions and adopt what one NGO said was a “pervasively permissive” approach to development that would leave the environment unprotected. Continue reading...

India’s commercial capital grinds to a halt after heaviest August rainfall in 47 years causes widespread floodingThe heaviest monsoon downpour in nearly 50 years has brought Mumbai to a standstill, with stranded passengers at railway stations having to be rescued by dinghies from waist-high water.People who live in areas normally unaffected by the annual monsoon flooding looked out from their high-rise flats at new swirling rivers outside caused by the heaviest single day’s rain recorded in August in 47 years. Continue reading...

Roads near Courmayeur closed to tourists because of threat from falling Planpincieux iceHomes have been evacuated in Courmayeur in Italy’s Aosta valley, after a renewed warning that a huge portion of a Mont Blanc glacier is at risk of collapse.The measures were introduced on Wednesday morning after experts from the Fondazione Montagne Sicura (Safe Mountains Foundation) said 500,000 cubic metres of ice was in danger of sliding off the Planpincieux glacier on the Grandes Jorasses park. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Queensland Treasury Corporation told Palaszczuk government the under-investment was costing tourism sector up to $3.3bn a yearThe Queensland Treasury Corporation warned the state government that its ongoing under-investment in national parks and other protected areas was “not sustainable”, harmed conservation efforts and cost the tourism sector potential visitors worth up to $3.3bn each year.Guardian Australia has obtained a leaked report from the QTC – the state’s central financing authority – from 2018, calling for a “bold” government strategy and significantly increased funding for protected areas. Continue reading...

The tropical island edges out Madagascar as botanists estimate that 4,000 new species could be discovered in the next 50 yearsNew Guinea is home to more than 13,500 species of plant, two-thirds of which are endemic, according to a new study that suggests it has the greatest plant diversity of any island in the world – 19% more than Madagascar, which previously held the record.Ninety-nine botanists from 56 institutions in 19 countries trawled through samples, the earliest of which were collected by European travellers in the 1700s. Large swathes of the island remain unexplored and some historical collections have yet to be looked at. Researchers estimate that 4,000 more plant species could be found in the next 50 years, with discoveries showing “no sign of levelling off”, according to the paper published in Nature. Continue reading...

The former high court judge urges politicians to defend their institution rather than prioritise partisan self-interestDebates about climate change and the Indigenous voice to parliament have been hijacked by sloganeering and the “peddling of false and misleading ideas”, according to the former high court justice Kenneth Hayne, who has urged Australian politicians to defend their institution rather than prioritise partisan self-interest.Giving the annual Sir Zelman Cowen Centre oration on Wednesday, Hayne reflected on the decline of trust in institutions, characterising hyper-partisan debate as a “dialogue of the deaf” in which slogans substitute for facts, and protagonists decline to acknowledge doubt, nuance or alternative points of view. Continue reading...

Responding to Greenpeace campaign to cut links to Brazilian meat giant JBS, supermarket calls on government to ensure all UK food is deforestation-freeTesco has called on the UK government to order food companies to ensure all food sold in the UK is deforestation-free. The move comes in response to a new Greenpeace campaign calling on the supermarket to cut links to JBS, the world’s biggest meat company, over its alleged links to farms involved in Amazon deforestation.The supermarket says the UK should introduce due diligence across supply chains to monitor for deforestation. Germany is also weighing up a due diligence law on supply chains, reportedly supported by Angela Merkel. And more than half of Britons would consider rejecting meat products linked to deforestation, a YouGov poll for Greenpeace has found. Continue reading...