Environment | The Guardian

Exclusive: Queensland government blocked report’s public release after granting gas companies new exploration rightsAn independent scientific panel commissioned by the Queensland government recommended a ban on fracking in the environmentally sensitive Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre basin, but the experts’ findings were made secret by the state and ultimately ignored.Guardian Australia has obtained a leaked copy of the panel’s report, which was blocked from public release and ruled subject to cabinet confidentiality by the Palaszczuk government last year. Continue reading...

Lockdown and oil price slump leave future of vast Argentinian shale project hanging in balanceWhether the post-pandemic world moves back to fossil fuels or forward to a clean economy will become clearer in the coming weeks as the International Monetary Fund and Argentina decide whether to continue support for the vast Vaca Muerta oil and gas fields in Patagonia.The development aims to tap the second biggest shale deposits on the planet (after the Permian basin in Texas), but its future has been thrown in doubt by the coronavirus lockdown, which has induced the steepest fall of the oil price in 30 years. Continue reading...

Analysis suggests current federal policies will lead to a price rise after 2030 but a more ambitious target would keep bills lowerAustralia could get 90% of its electricity from renewable energy by 2040 without an increase in power prices, according to an analysis by the energy and carbon consultancy RepuTex.Under current government policies, the country is on track to have 75% of its electricity generated by renewables within 20 years, but the analysis suggests a weak federal policy framework would lead to wholesale prices rising for a period after 2030. Continue reading...

Event’s 50th anniversary sees digital activism replace demos, due to coronavirus

While some species have declined by more than a third overall, where conservation measures are in place they have increased by 46%Populations of some Australian mammals declined by more than a third over two decades, but sites with clear conservation management saw improvements in their populations of 46%, according to new research.The figures are the first tranche of data in Australia’s Threatened Species Index for mammals, which combines data from monitoring programs across the country to track trends in threatened species populations. Continue reading...

Instead of bailing out big oil, let’s bail out ordinary people insteadOn the inaugural Earth Day, Americans flooded streets and college campuses to channel their fears, desire, hopes and longings into their vision for a better future. All these years later, we have failed to heed their call.This Monday, two days before Earth Day’s 50th anniversary, oil futures went negative for the first time in history. Buyers were so eager to offload oil commitments that they were willing to give their crude away at cost. This crash only emphasizes the inherent instability of the carbon economy and the need to create a more stable future. We need to disentangle our society from fossil fuels and let the industry die. Continue reading...

Research on events in Hawaii suggests climate crisis could increase eruptions around worldThe spectacular eruptions of the KÄ«lauea volcano in Hawaii in 2018 were triggered by extreme rainfall in the preceding months, research suggests.Scientists say the finding raises the possibility that climate breakdown, which is causing more extreme weather, could lead to an increase in eruptions around the world. Continue reading...

European carriers including Easy Jet and TUI secure loans free of binding environmental conditions, analysis reveals

We’ve learned that there is a bigger power than humanity. Now coronavirus has shown that to communities across the world

I worked for the EPA for 33 years. We can’t let this administration obliterate half a century of environmental progressOn the first Earth Day in 1970, millions of Americans took to the streets to demand clean air, water and land, and advocate for a healthier and more sustainable environment. By the end of the year, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was founded.Related: EPA faces court over backing of Monsanto's controversial crop system Continue reading...

Taking down the fossil fuel industry requires taking on the institutions that finance it. Even during a pandemic, this movement is gaining steam1970 was a simpler time. (February was a simpler time too, but for a moment let’s think outside the pandemic bubble.)Simpler because our environmental troubles could be easily seen. The air above our cities was filthy, and the water in our lakes and streams was gross. There was nothing subtle about it. In New York City, the environmental lawyer Albert Butzel described a permanently yellow horizon: “I not only saw the pollution, I wiped it off my windowsills.” Or consider the testimony of a city medical examiner: “The person who spent his life in the Adirondacks has nice pink lungs. The city dweller’s are black as coal.” You’ve probably heard of Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River catching fire, but here’s how the former New York governor Nelson Rockefeller described the Hudson south of Albany: “One great septic tank that has been rendered nearly useless for water supply, for swimming, or to support the rich fish life that once abounded there.” Everything that people say about the air and water in China and India right now was said of America’s cities then. Continue reading...

More than 11,000 cases of dead and sick birds reported in past fortnightThousands of blue tits have been found sick or dead in Germany, prompting an investigation by conservation groups and scientists.

Findings confirm 11 of the 12 warmest years in Europe occurred in past two decadesEurope had its hottest year on record last year, new data has confirmed, with periods of exceptional heat last February, June and July, and one of the wettest Novembers on record.Previous records were broken by only a small margin, but the findings confirmed that 11 out of the 12 warmest years in Europe have occurred in the past two decades, according to the European State of the Climate 2019 report, published on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Public invited to stare at series of dots for 10 seconds and consider each afterimage

Jeff Gibbs’ film, produced by Michael Moore, takes a pop at green, liberal A-listers such as Al Gore – but doesn’t dare criticise Greta ThunbergRecently, petrolhead pundit Jeremy Clarkson was thought to have disgraced himself by pointing out that the hi-tech sea yacht used by Greta Thunberg for her transatlantic crossing, for all its solar panels and underwater turbines, had an old-fashioned diesel engine aboard for emergencies. I thought about Clarkson’s jibe while watching this refreshingly contrarian eco-documentary from environmentalist Jeff Gibbs, which has been uploaded for free online viewing by its executive producer, Michael Moore.Gibbs has a cheeky habit of going backstage at music festivals that solemnly declare themselves to be using 100% renewable energy, only to find that the fancy array of solar panels behind the tent is enough to power a single bass guitar. The rest of the energy is provided by just plugging into the shameful old electricity grid, provided by fossil fuels. He sees it as symptomatic of the mainstream environmental movement, running on delusional piety. Continue reading...

Activists hold mass video calls and share hashtags, and three-day livestream planned for Earth DayThe large crowds and brightly coloured placards of the school climate strikes became some of the defining images of 2019.“There would be lots of chanting and the energy was always amazing,” says Dominique Palmer, a 20-year-old climate activist from London who has been involved with the strikes for more than a year. “Being there with everyone in that moment is truly an electrifying feeling. It’s very different now.” Continue reading...

Amphibians are at the forefront of a battle against extinction – but they’re not the only ones benefiting from ‘frozen zoos’Olaf grasps Diane Barber’s gloved hands with his sticky, four-fingered legs. His skin is bumpy and moist, the colour of pebbles at the bottom of a river when dappled sun hits them. Olaf’s eyes are deep amber. His body lifts and falls with each breath. “The males get really pretty,” says Barber, ectotherms curator at Fort Worth zoo in Texas. “Sometimes they’ll turn a solid yellow when they’re in breeding form.”In some ways, this toad shouldn’t exist at all. He is the progeny of an egg from a captive mother and sperm from a wild father – a hybrid from parents who were both dead. Olaf is not the first amphibian to be born via IVF – that has been happening for years – but he is the first to be born from sperm that was frozen and thawed. Continue reading...

The 50th annual call for environmental reform falls at a time when the health of people and nature has never been more urgentFifty years ago today, the first Earth Day was marked in the United States as a peaceful call for environmental reform, following a massive oil spill off the coast of California. Half a century later, this annual day unites millions across the globe, drawing attention to the huge challenges facing our planet.Now more than ever, Earth Day offers an opportunity for us all to reflect upon our relationship with the planet, amid the most powerful possible message that nature can surprise us at any moment, with devastating consequences for pretty much every individual. It is a time when the health of the planet and its people has never been so important. Continue reading...

Tearfund NGO says drinks makers not doing enough to tackle their plastic pollutionCoca-Cola and Pepsi are not doing enough to reduce their plastic waste footprint globally, according to a report.The charity Tearfund has compiled a league table of how the companies, and Unilever and Nestlé, are faring in their commitments set against a three-point plan. Continue reading...

Governments must act now to stop 265 million starving, warns World Food Programme boss

Efforts to protect the European eel, under threat from pollution and the damming of rivers, are having some successThis is the peak season for the arrival of what is hoped will be millions of glass eels swimming up Britain’s estuaries to reach fresh waters where they can grow into adults. The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is a curious creature with a complex lifestyle that is still barely understood.Eels are thought to begin life as eggs in the Sargasso Sea; drifting as larvae for about a year 4,000 miles north-east in the Gulf Stream before turning into tiny transparent eels. Their goal is to find a home in rivers, lakes and ponds while growing darker and larger for up to 10 years. When nearly a metre long they set off back across the Atlantic to breed. Continue reading...

Some councils confirm halt to recycling as lockdown puts pressure on disposal servicesCouncils are burning household recycling after being hit by a massive surge in domestic waste and coronavirus-related staff absences during the pandemic, the Guardian has learned.Councils in Cardiff, St Helens and Inverclyde confirmed they were temporarily incinerating recycling, while those in Oldham, Redbridge and West Dunbartonshire also said they had stepped down their recycling services for the time being. A further six authorities have stopped collecting glass or cardboard. Continue reading...

Lawyers argue that ministers have failed to account for UK’s climate crisis obligations

Scientists surprised by latest results but say carbon cuts remain vital to prevent ice loss becoming permanentThe loss of summer sea ice in the Arctic is now very likely before 2050, new research shows, even if the carbon emissions driving the climate crisis are cut rapidly.The result has alarmed scientists but they said slashing greenhouse gases remained vital as this would determine whether Arctic summer ice vanished permanently or could recover over time. If emissions remain very high, there is a risk the Arctic could be ice-free even in the dark, cold winter months, a possibility described as “catastrophic”. Continue reading...

From sea level rise to habitat loss, the effects of the climate crisis are on the verge of making south Florida uninhabitableFew places on the planet are more at risk from the climate crisis than south Florida, where more than 8 million residents are affected by the convergence of almost every modern environmental challenge – from rising seas to contaminated drinking water, more frequent and powerful hurricanes, coastal erosion, flooding and vanishing wildlife and habitat.If scientists are right, the lower third of the state will be underwater by the end of the century. Yet despite this grim outlook, scientists, politicians, environment groups and others are tackling the challenges head on. Continue reading...

Report from UN World Food Programme and others warns 265m people are facing acute risk

Coronavirus-hit Lombardy city will turn 35km of streets over to cyclists and pedestrians

Devastating 2019-20 fires estimated to have released 830m tonnes of carbon dioxide, more than all bar five countries in the worldAustralia’s devastating bushfire season is likely to have released 830m tonnes of carbon dioxide, far more than the country’s annual greenhouse gas pollution, according to a government estimate.If compared with international emissions, it suggests the Australian temperate forest bushfires between September and February would rank sixth on a list of polluting nations, behind only China, the US, India, Russia and Japan. Continue reading...

National Trust hopes there were more survivors from Marsden fire than was fearedShort-eared owls, curlews and mountain hares have returned to Yorkshire moorland that was devastated by fire a year ago, the National Trust has said.Rangers feared whole populations of rare animals were wiped out when about 700 hectares (1,730 acres) of peatland habitat on Marsden Moor in West Yorkshire were scorched in April 2019 in a blaze that was started by a disposable barbecue and took fire crews four days to put out. Continue reading...

C&A, Adidas/Reebok, Esprit and M&S round out top five as average scores increase year on year, but Max Mara, Pepe Jeans and Tom Ford fall flatThe H&M Group, C&A, Adidas/Reebok, Esprit, Marks & Spencer and Patagonia are the world’s most transparent major fashion brands, according to the 2020 fashion transparency index from the campaign group Fashion Revolution.The annual report, now in its fifth year, ranks the amount of information companies disclose about social and environmental policies, processes and effects within their operations and supply chains. Continue reading...

The danger of deepwater oil operations, combined with the loosening of Obama-era rules, mean the risk of a repeat disaster is highA massive deepwater oil spill is nearly as likely today as it was in 2010, experts warn, 10 years after the disastrous explosion of BP’s rig in the Gulf of Mexico that caused an environmental catastrophe.The blowout killed 11 workers and spewed 4m barrels of petroleum into the ocean for 87 days before it could be capped, devastating marine life and polluting 1,300 miles of shoreline. Thousands were put out of work in oil, fisheries and tourism. Continue reading...

Research shows almost 80% of deaths across four countries were in most polluted regions

Major pork plant closed after hundreds of workers contract coronavirus, while speeding up of poultry production lines raises concerns over standards

Speeding up investment could deliver huge gains to global GDP by 2050 while tackling climate emergency, says report

Developers are creating waterfront homes in Boston with innovative seawall defences but is this a model for other cities? Or a sign of climate gentrification?Boston has endured several tumultuous eras, from being the birthplace of the American revolution to its seesawing fortunes as power and influence was wrested away by other US cities.Now Boston faces its most existential threat yet – the rising seas. Continue reading...

Largest number of nests of leatherbacks found in two decades as beaches emptied

The ninth circuit court of appeals is being asked to overturn the EPA’s approval of a Monsanto herbicide that is allegedly a threat to farm crops across the USThe US Environmental Protection Agency is due in federal court on Tuesday to answer allegations that it broke the law to support a Monsanto system that has triggered “widespread” crop damage over the last few summers and continues to threaten farms across the country.As farmers prepare to plant a new season of key American food crops, farmer and consumer groups are asking the ninth circuit court of appeals in San Francisco to review and overturn the EPA’s approval of a Monsanto herbicide made with a chemical called dicamba. Continue reading...

Researchers are seeing an increase in nests as restrictions keep humans and harmful waste off beachesMarine life researchers in Florida say that coronavirus restrictions keeping humans and harmful waste off beaches are having a beneficial effect on the numbers of endangered leatherback sea turtles in the state.With the summer nesting season barely two weeks old, staff from the Loggerhead MarineLife Center in Juno Beach have already found and marked 76 nests of the world’s largest species of sea turtle on the nine and half mile stretch they monitor, a “significant” increase from the same stage last year. Continue reading...

Ships able to carry 2m barrels chartered for $335,000 a day to store oil unwanted during the Covid-19 pandemicGiant oil tankers are being used to hold record amounts of crude at sea due to a global oversupply that threatens to overwhelm the world’s storage facilities.A record 160m barrels of oil has been stored in “supergiant” oil tankers outside the world’s largest shipping ports following the deepest fall in oil demand in 25 years because of the coronavirus pandemic. Continue reading...

As the 50th anniversary of Earth Day approaches, we’re partnering with newsrooms around the world to report on solutions to the climate crisis – and drive hopeEven as the coronavirus pandemic terrorizes the world, there’s another global emergency the media can’t afford to stop covering.Fifty years ago this week, the environmental movement staged the first Earth Day demonstration to call attention to environmental degradation and demand reform. In the half century since, climate change has emerged as an existential global threat. Continue reading...

When a bear starts feeding off garbage and loses its fear of humans it is quickly shot but an unlikely conservation partnership may be setting a different pathIn early April, a young grizzly bear swam through the chilly waters off the western coast of Canada in search of food.Related: Groggy grizzly bear caught emerging from hibernation in viral video Continue reading...

BP denied the oil reached Mexico, but fisherman and scientists knew it wasn’t true. Ten years on, Mexican communities haven’t received a cent in compensation

Miners with black lung struggle during the pandemic with layoffs, benefit cuts and the threat of a virus that would almost certainly kill them

The Deepwater Horizon devastated the ecology and economy from Texas to Florida but BP-funded recovery programs are ongoing and the sector is a big employerWhen the explosion ripped through the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, Leo Linder was standing in his living quarters in his underwear. He suddenly found himself facing a fellow rig worker in what had been a separate room because the force of the explosion had blown the walls away.Linder wasn’t to know it at the time but the blast was to trigger the worst environment disaster in US history, with the BP operation spewing more than 4.9m barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, fouling hundreds of miles of shoreline from Texas to Florida, decimating wildlife and crippling local fishing and tourism industries. Continue reading...

Chevron’s treatment of Steven Donziger branded ‘an exceptionally bad case of intimidation’Twenty-nine Nobel laureates have condemned alleged “judicial harassment” by Chevron and urged the release of a US environmental lawyer who was put under house arrest for pursuing oil-spill compensation claims on behalf of indigenous tribes in the Amazon.The open letter signed by scientists, authors, environmentalists and human rights activists said the treatment of lawyer Steven Donziger, whose movements have been restricted for more than 250 days, was one of the world’s most egregious cases of judicial harassment and defamation. Continue reading...

UK food producers find innovative ways to sell produce during lockdown

Sixty birds shot at England training facility in St George’s Park, Staffordshire, despite pledge to enrich local biodiversityAbout 60 greylag geese were shot and killed at the national training centre for England football teams from 2018 to 2019 to “preserve safety” because they were defecating on the pitches.The Football Association said the birds – which it shot after obtaining a licence to kill – also left large amounts of excrement in public areas, and this not only heightened the risk of people slipping over but also raised the possibility of harmful parasites spreading. Continue reading...

Amid lockdown, millions of internet users are tuning in to interactive data-crunching projects

With pest controllers in lockdown and a population surge last year, the vermin are free to wreak havoc in populated areas, and on native wildlife