Muir, who helped spawn the environmental movement, made derogatory comments about Black and Indigenous peopleThe Sierra Club has apologized for racist remarks its founder, naturalist John Muir, made more than a century ago as the influential environmental group grapples with a harmful history that perpetuated white supremacy.Michael Brune, the group’s executive director, said Wednesday it was “time to take down some of our own monuments” as statues of Confederate officers and colonists are toppled across the US amid a reckoning with the nation’s racist history following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Continue reading...

Current and planned waste-cutting efforts will reduce volume only by about 7%, say researchersPlastic waste flowing into the oceans is expected to nearly triple in volume in the next 20 years, while efforts to stem the tide have so far made barely a dent in the tsunami of waste, research shows.Governments could make drastic cuts to the flow of plastic reaching the oceans through measures such as restricting the sale and use of plastic materials, and mandating alternatives, but even if all the most likely measures are taken it would only cut the waste to little less than half of today’s levels, the analysis found. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Federal government gave proponent of coal-fired power plant a $4m grant despite having no energy sector experience

Meeting to consider federal bid to quickly overhaul conservation act and plans to contain localised coronavirus outbreaksLeaders will discuss a proposed overhaul of environmental approvals, and consider the latest on the Victorian outbreak of Covid-19 infections, when Scott Morrison meets premiers and chief ministers for Friday’s fortnightly national cabinet.The discussion about environmental regulation, characterised by federal officials as a status update, follows the release this week of a long-anticipated interim review of the national environmental framework that found Australia’s environment was in an unsustainable state of decline and laws set up to protect unique species and habitats were ineffective. Continue reading...

The fishery is buffeted by the climate crisis and other problems but the coronavirus pandemic has opened a new front“If I’m not fishing, I’m working on gear or my boat. Or meetings involving fishing. It’s what I eat, sleep and breathe,” lobsterwoman Julie Eaton tells me.Eaton lives on Deer Isle, and fishes Penobscot Bay – a deep blue inlet of the Gulf of Maine, dotted by working waterfronts, rocky islands, wooden schooners and lobster buoys. I ask her what it’s like to start lobster season. Continue reading...

Great American Outdoors Act allocates $9.5bn over the next five years for previously neglected park maintenanceThe US Congress has approved a sweeping, long-awaited bill to continuously fund national, state and local parks – a major boon to conservation and one of the few pieces of significant legislation the government has been able to agree on in a divisive election year.The Great American Outdoors Act, passed on Wednesday afternoon, allocates $9.5bn over the next five years for previously neglected park repairs. And it sets up $900m a year to acquire land for conservation and continue maintenance. Continue reading...

Almost 600 North Korean ‘ghost ships’ have washed up on the coast of Japan in the past five years, some containing the corpses of their crew

Worldwide study finds Australia among nations with highest shark numbers, but 34 out of 58 nations have half what was expectedDestructive and unsustainable fishing has caused a crash in shark numbers across many of the world’s coral reefs, upsetting the ecological balance of the critical marine ecosystems, a major study has found.A network of remote underwater cameras across 58 countries found sharks were “functionally extinct” at almost one in five of the 371 reefs studied over four years. Continue reading...

Scientific breakthrough could lead to phasing out of badger culling to tackle diseaseField trials of a cattle vaccine for bovine tuberculosis have been given the go-ahead as part of moves to phase out badger culling to tackle the disease.The trials are due to get under way in England and Wales to accelerate deployment of a cattle vaccine for TB by 2025, the government announced on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Shantytown residents awarded compensation over deaths and health effects from lead plant

Decades of research has made it clear that current setback distances – in states where they exist – are inadequate to protect public healthAshley Hernandez was in middle school when her family moved into its first house, in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Wilmington. For years, her undocumented parents had moved around in search of steady work, gone without meals, rented out too-small apartments. Finally they had a place of their own, with three bedrooms and even a yard.“My parents were really excited about that American dream that we’d always talked about,” Hernandez said. Continue reading...

No one had tested positive via nasal swabs, but researchers’ investigation tells a different storyYosemite national park officials suspect that hundreds of visitors this summer may have had Covid-19 thanks to an unorthodox approach – testing sewage.The San Francisco Chronicle reported last week that the county health department has been collecting untreated wastewater flowing from the idyllic Yosemite Valley for testing. Prior to this effort, according to the Chronicle, no one had tested positive for the virus through nasal swab testing at the park’s health clinic. Continue reading...

Microfibres from fishing lines and nets and materials from textiles discovered in 67% of seabed-dwelling sharksMicroplastics and synthetic microfibres from clothing have been found for the first time in the guts of sharks that live off the UK coast.Scientists examined the stomachs and intestines of 46 seabed-dwelling sharks that had been caught as bycatch by Penzance-based hake fishing trawlers. Continue reading...

Scientists are putting dwarf chameleons through their paces in a series of speed and endurance challenges to study how the species is adaptingThe tension is palpable. The first athlete is placed on the starting line and the official timer, Dr Anthony Herrel, resets the stopwatch on his smartphone. Once given the go-ahead, Dr Krystal Tolley tickles the yellowy-green chameleon’s tail and the two-inch reptile springs into action. About 10 seconds later, after reaching the end of the 1-metre dowel in a season’s best time, it returns to the resting area and the next competitor is given a chance to strut its stuff.In the coming days, 120 Knysna dwarf chameleons (Bradypodion damaranum) – male and female, from forest habitats, gardens and parks – will be put through their paces in a series of speed and endurance challenges that the scientists refer to as the Chameleon Olympics. They will run on horizontal and vertical dowels of varying diameter; have the strength of their bite and gripping forces measured in newtons, and be tested on their ability to thermoregulate along a course that has a temperature gradient. Continue reading...

Industry group says Britain’s climate goals may be doomed without heating overhaulThe installation of new gas boilers must be banned from 2025 or the UK’s net-zero climate target will be “doomed”, according to a high-level commission convened by the CBI.The ban would apply to conventional gas boilers, but hybrid or hydrogen-ready boilers would be allowed under the business organisation’s recommendations, which were developed in collaboration with energy industry leaders. Continue reading...

Traditional owners were suing environment minister in the federal court over areas of significant Aboriginal culture heritage in the Liverpool PlainsThe Gomeroi people have lost their legal bid to protect significant areas of Aboriginal cultural heritage within the footprint of the Shenhua Watermark open-cut coalmine on the Liverpool Plains in north-west New South Wales, but said they will fight on a new front.Gomeroi custodian Dolly Talbott was suing the environment minister, Sussan Ley, in the federal court, alleging Ley made an error of law in deciding not to make a declaration to protect the Aboriginal heritage. Continue reading...

Authorities have warned of poor air quality in central and northern parts of the state due to Gold, Hog and Mineral firesWildfires burning in rural north-eastern California have prompted evacuations and injured two firefighters, fire officials in the state said.Two firefighters were injured Monday while battling the Gold fire, which erupted on Monday in Lassen county and has burned several hundred acres. Continue reading...

The Morrison government promises draft laws to change the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act next monthConservationists have criticised a Morrison government plan to rush through legislation implementing new environmental approval rules, warning they will be too vague and will not improve wildlife protection.The environment minister, Sussan Ley, has promised draft laws to change the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act will be introduced to parliament next month, before a review of the legislation has been concluded. Continue reading...

Plan B says government proposals unlawful in light of obligations to cut emissions

An analysis of 93m US homes found that the most energy intensive dwellings are found in Maine, Vermont and WisconsinThe homes of wealthy Americans are major engines of the climate crisis, research has found, with the United States’ most affluent suburbs generating as much as 15 times the greenhouse gas emissions as nearby, poorer districts.An analysis of 93m homes in the contiguous US found that the most energy intensive dwellings, per square foot, are found in Maine, Vermont and Wisconsin, while the least energy intensive are located in Florida, Arizona and California. Continue reading...

Critics say environmental protection system falls ‘shockingly short’The vast majority of complaints to a hotline designed for the public to report offences such as fly-tipping and pollution did not result in any sanction, it has been revealed.Data from a freedom of information request submitted by the Liberal Democrats shows just 3.6% of complaints about pollution, fly-tipping, oil spills, fish kills and other environmental damage last year resulted in penalties for those responsible. Continue reading...

Influential climate campaigner says Gulbenkian rights award gave her ‘more money than I can begin to imagine’Greta Thunberg has been awarded a Portuguese rights award and promptly pledged the €1m ($1.15m) prize to groups working to protect the environment and halt climate change.“That is more money than I can begin to imagine, but all the prize money will be donated, through my foundation, to different organisations and projects who are working to help people on the front line, affected by the climate crisis and ecological crisis,” the Swedish teenager said in a video posted online on Monday. Continue reading...

Jobs could be created in three years with a focus on 12 areas including large-scale renewable energy and electric vehicle networksNearly 80,000 jobs could be quickly created through a stimulus plan that aims to rebuild the Australian economy from recession while tackling the climate crisis, an analysis commissioned by the Climate Council says.The report by the consultants AlphaBeta says 76,000 positions could be created over three years through nearly $22bn of combined public and private investment. It focuses on 12 areas including creating large-scale renewable energy projects, restoring degraded ecosystems, better dealing with organic waste, retrofitting inefficient public buildings and expanding electric vehicle networks. Continue reading...

Government accused of hypocrisy for backing scheme while claiming to be leading on climateThe UK government could face a legal battle after offering more than $1bn in financial support to help build a gas project in Mozambique despite its commitment to tackling the climate crisis.Under the deal, UK taxpayer funds will be used to help develop and export Mozambique’s gas reserves, in one of the largest single financing packages ever offered by a UK credit agency to a foreign fossil fuel project. Continue reading...

Habitat untouched by the fires, which were five times as large as those in the Amazon last year, is critical for their survival, report finds

Melting Arctic sea ice could cause starvation and reproductive failure for many as early as 2040, scientists warn

Divers and biologists trying to free whale caught in illegal netting near island of SalinaThe Italian coastguard is struggling to free a sperm whale caught up in illegal fishing netting off the coast of one of Sicily’s Aeolian islands.A team of divers and biologists have been working for more than 48 hours to help the whale close to the island of Salina. The whale’s huge size and agitated state has made the operation more challenging. Continue reading...

Biden rode a wave of establishment endorsements to the nomination this spring. But it’s progressive ideas that might carry him to the presidencyOn Tuesday, Joe Biden did something unprecedented for a Democratic candidate assured of nomination: he moved left. In a speech delivered from Wilmington in his home state of Delaware, Biden unveiled the most ambitious clean energy and environmental justice plans ever proposed by the nominee of a major American political party. The plans, which the Biden campaign described to reporters as “the legislation he goes up to [Capitol Hill] immediately to get done,” outline $2tn in investments in clean energy, jobs and infrastructure that would be carried out over the four years of his first term.Forty percent of these investments would be directed to communities of color living on the toxic edge of the fossil fuel economy – communities that have also been among the most devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. Biden proposes to pair these investments with new performance standards, most notably a clean electricity standard that would transition the United States to a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035. Continue reading...

Review of EPBC Act finds protection laws are ineffective and recommends sweeping changes, including developing legally enforceable national environmental standardsAustralia’s environment is in an unsustainable state of decline and laws set up to protect unique species and habitats are ineffective, a major review of the national environmental framework has found.The interim report from the review of Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act recommends sweeping changes, including the establishment of a set of legally enforceable national environmental standards that set clear rules for environmental protection while allowing for sustainable development. Continue reading...

Three decades after 13 were flown in by jet from Spain, there are nearly 2,000 breeding pairs of red kites across the countryIn July 1990, 13 red kites had to be flown by British Airways jet from Spain before they could grace the skies of the Chilterns.Thirty years on, nearly 2,000 breeding pairs of red kites display their distinctive forked tails as they soar over virtually every English county, in what has been hailed as one of the most successful reintroduction projects in the world. Continue reading...

Nigel Lawson’s thinktank is pushing dirty energy on the continent with the greatest capacity for creating clean fuelThe power of climate science denial in the UK, thankfully, has been in retreat over the past decade. Nigel Lawson’s Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) may still boast a prime Westminster address, but its influence has waned. In fact, its decline aptly mirrors the fortunes of the coal industry, including US titans such as Peabody Energy, which saw its share price plunge 99% between 2008 and 2016 before filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy.With countries rightly phasing coal out of their energy mix, the GWPF has turned its sights on Africa to peddle its misinformation about the merits of burning fossil fuels. It has published a new report, derisively titled Heart of Darkness: Why Electricity for Africa is a Security Issue, and launched a glossy website for “energy justice”, which uses the language of climate justice campaigners to try to undermine renewable energy. Continue reading...

Ou Hongyi, who took part in the #FridaysforFuture protest, says she has been told she cannot return to school unless she stops her activismTakes initiative. An independent thinker. Engages in study outside of the curriculum. Cares deeply about her community and the world around her. Stands up for her convictions and beliefs.These are all qualities that would appear to make Ou Hongyi a suitable candidate for studying at her dream institution of Harvard University. Continue reading...

Greenhouse gas emissions from energy and transport sectors climb as more people return to work

Exclusive: Minority ethnic patients twice as likely to live in deprived environments and to be admitted to intensive care

The UK has lost its lead in windpower and batteries, but there is one eco fuel that could transform its post-Covid fortunes…At the entrance to Saltend Chemicals Park, on the outskirts of Hull, there is a small blue heritage-style plaque, placed there four years ago by the Royal Society of Chemistry. It proudly commemorates: “100 years of innovation in supplying the UK with transportation fuels and important base chemicals.”A sense of pride in Saltend’s past is understandable: places like this helped drive Britain’s industrial age. But the biggest, most dramatic innovation of all may be yet to come. This month, the Norwegian energy company, Equinor, (formerly Statoil), unveiled proposals to install the biggest facility in the world for making hydrogen from natural gas, using capture and storage technology to extract and bury the resulting carbon under the North Sea. Continue reading...

Campsites in popular areas are close to capacity, so holidaymakers pitch tents without permission on public or private land

Fears grow for coastal wildlife as ministerial supporters of ‘free ports’ seek to scrap vital safeguardsThe looming cranes of the Humber’s four ports are surrounded by wildlife, from bitterns and marsh harriers to grey seals, lounging on the mudflats and hunting for fish in the estuary waters. Despite the steady flow of cargo ships in and out of the ports, wildlife has thrived – testament to the success of decades of environment policies, according to green groups.Yet those groups are now increasingly alarmed that the government’s plans to turn ports like those in the Humber into free ports will have a “disastrous” effect on the seals and other wildlife across the UK. Continue reading...

Met Office weather radar picks up swarm over south-east coast of England

Whole town wants designated status for River Wharfe and Defra is stalling, say campaignersCampaigners seeking to make a river in Yorkshire the UK’s first to be designated a bathing area have accused environment ministers of blocking their application.In the spa town of Ilkley, river users and residents submitted a 65-page application to turn part of the River Wharfe in the town into a bathing water area last October. Continue reading...

Two houses partially collapse and 66 more believed to be at risk as police ask some residents to evacuateTwo houses in the New South Wales Central Coast suburb of Wamberal have partially collapsed after powerful surf caused massive erosion near beachfront homes.Structural engineers were assessing the area on Saturday morning after the partial collapses overnight. A NSW police spokeswoman said residents of up to 30 houses on Ocean View Drive had been advised to evacuate as a precaution. Continue reading...

As dry season starts campaigners sound alarm over ‘shocking’ scale of fires, as Bolsonaro doubles down on denials

UN and IEA call for stricter standards to improve energy efficiency and cut use of HFCsUp to eight years’ worth of global greenhouse gas emissions could be prevented over the next four decades by setting tougher standards for air conditioning, according to a study.It found that improving the energy efficiency of cooling systems by using climate-friendly refrigerants could remove emissions equivalent to between 210bn and 460bn tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2060. Continue reading...

Species is one of Europe’s largest and rarest raptors, last seen in England in 2016Birdwatchers have been flocking to the boggy and desolate moors of the Peak District to try to spot a bearded vulture, one of the rarest birds ever seen in the UK, which has set up home on a remote cliff in the national park.This is only the second sighting of a bearded vulture in the UK, one of the largest and rarest raptors in Europe, and which was last seen in England in 2016. Continue reading...

Ten-year-old was fishing with his father and two other men about 5km from shore when he was ‘grabbed from the boat’A boy who was grabbed by a shark from a boat off Tasmania’s north-west coast has suffered arm, head and chest injuries.The 10-year-old was taken to hospital on Friday afternoon following the attack near Stanley. Continue reading...

Samsung group company responds to protesters targeting electronics brand saying it will give no more financing to ‘any of Adani’s coal projects’A company in the Samsung group will not provide any further financial backing for Adani’s coal port in Queensland or any of the company’s coal projects just days after protests targeted the group’s electronics brand.In an email to campaigners, seen by Guardian Australia, Samsung Securities said it would not provide any further financing for the Adani Abbot Point Terminal or “any of Adani’s coal projects.” Continue reading...

Startup firm Britishvolt, serving energy storage and electric cars, plans 30GWh battery plant at Bro TathanA startup company with plans to build Britain’s first gigafactory to make batteries for electric cars has chosen a site in south Wales for the plant after discussions with the Welsh government.Britishvolt, which in May launched an ambitious effort to create a £1.2bn factory, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Welsh government ahead of signing a lease for a former Royal Air Force base at Bro Tathan business park, south Wales. Continue reading...

Several houses on Ocean View Drive now dangerously close to cliff edge as huge waves wash away beachesBeachfront homes along the New South Wales Central Coast have been left dangling over the ocean and in danger of collapse after powerful surf caused massive erosion.A powerful low across Australia’s east coast earlier in the week created large swells and high waves battering some coastal areas. Continue reading...

Saudi Aramco joins Oil and Gas Climate Initiative pledge but critics say targets are insufficientThe world’s biggest oil company, Saudi Aramco, has joined an alliance of oil companies to set the first industry-wide target to help tackle the climate crisis by setting carbon emissions goals.Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant has agreed to reduce the carbon intensity of its business as part of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) which includes Shell, BP and ExxonMobil. Continue reading...

‘Questions naturally arise’ about review’s independence, environmental group saysEnvironment groups are increasingly anxious and frustrated as they wait for the release of an interim report from a review of Australia’s national environmental laws.The review’s chair, the former competition watchdog head Graeme Samuel, handed his report to the environment minister, Sussan Ley, almost three weeks ago. Continue reading...