Environment | The Guardian

The 16-year-old climate change activist has galvanised young people to read more about saving the planetSome seek to convey the wonder of endangered animals while others give tips on how to tackle waste or tell tales of inspirational environmental activists.All are part of what children’s publishers are calling “the Greta Thunberg effect”: a boom in books aimed at empowering young people to save the planet. Continue reading...

Last week’s widespread disruption illuminated the brittle nature of our infrastructureNearly a million people without power; parts of the rail network crippled; Newcastle airport plunged into darkness; a hospital temporarily without power. Friday’s power cut caused chaos across much of Britain’s transport network, leaving people stranded at stations for hours and causing traffic light failures across parts of the country.The National Grid has pointed out that this was caused by a highly unusual event: two simultaneous power station failures, one at a gas-fired power station in Cambridgeshire, the other at an offshore wind farm in the North Sea. It also said the system operated “as planned” in reaction to the resulting fall in power frequency, by disconnecting “an isolated portion of electricity demand”, allowing power to be restored quickly. A cyber attack or wind power supply problems – which critics of renewable energy have been quick to try to pin the disruption on – have been ruled out. Continue reading...

NSW government wants to be ready to increase water supply if the drought worsensThe New South Wales government has begun preliminary planning to boost output at Sydney’s desalination plant, in a bid to secure the city’s water supply as dam levels continue to drop.The Kurnell plant, which can currently supply drinking water for up to 1.5 million people in Sydney, returned to operation in January for the second time since 2012. Continue reading...

Despite a successful breeding season, the endangered birds still face serious threatsA row has broken out between conservation groups over the wellbeing of one of Britain’s most critically endangered birds of prey: the hen harrier. The dispute reveals a basic divide between experts on how to save the birds from eradication in Britain.Natural England announces on Sunday that 2019 has been a record year for breeding success in England. A total of 15 nests had 12 successful breeding pairs and produced 47 chicks – improving on the previous high point of 46 set in 2006, news that was hailed “as a positive result” by the organisation. Continue reading...

Minister says the debate is different this time around, but critics say it’s best left to experts rather than ‘energy illiterate MPs’Political arguments about nuclear power in Australia are not new, but the energy minister, Angus Taylor, says this time is different.Announcing a parliamentary inquiry into what would be necessary to develop a nuclear energy industry, Taylor suggested people should no longer be thinking of the large-scale plants that had dominated the global industry since the 1950s. The future of nuclear, if it had one, was small. Continue reading...

Boris Johnson aide, a strident critic of Brussels, is accused of hypocrisy over paymentsBoris Johnson’s controversial enforcer, Dominic Cummings, an architect of Brexit and a fierce critic of Brussels, is co-owner of a farm that has received €250,000 (£235,000) in EU farming subsidies, the Observer can reveal.The revelation is a potential embarrassment for the mastermind behind Johnson’s push to leave the EU by 31 October. Since being appointed as Johnson’s chief adviser, Cummings has presented the battle to leave the EU as one between the people and the politicians. He positions himself as an outsider who wants to demolish elites, end the “absurd subsidies” paid out by the EU and liberate the UK from its arcane rules and regulations. Continue reading...

The felling of ancient woodland to make way for a giant coal mine brings together two linked battles for the activistGreta Thunberg started her long journey to climate summits in the Americas by joining a treetop protest in Germany’s Hambach forest, where environmentalists have been fighting for years to stop the ancient woodland being torn up for open-cast coal mining.The battle to save the last remaining oak and hornbeam trees reflects the young activist’s entwined fights to protect the natural world from human exploitation and to halt carbon emissions. Continue reading...

Animal ‘fled the scene’ after smashing hood and windshield, causing vehicle to roll onto its side and burst into flamesThey probably don’t train people for this at the sheriff’s academy.A patrol car was struck by a falling bear in northern California last weekend, causing the vehicle to crash and explode. Continue reading...

Environment Agency analysing Somerset stream but says there are no reports of dead wildlifeA mysterious substance that has turned a tributary of a river in the West Country bright blue is being investigated by the Environment Agency.Tests are being carried out on the River Frome in Somerset this weekend after the water turned a luminous colour. The Environment Agency said it was treating it as a suspected pollution incident but there were no reports of dead wildlife. Continue reading...

Even with major efforts to reduce greenhouse gases, 80% of the trees’ habitat will be whittled away by the end of the centuryJoshua trees have dotted the Mojave desert for 2.5m years, but even if humans take urgent action to combat the climate crisis, their decimation is all but ensured by the end of this century, a study has found.Only .02% of the tree’s current habitat in Joshua Tree national park would remain viable amid unmitigated climate change, according to research published in the journal Ecosphere. Even in a best-case scenario, with major efforts to reduce greenhouse gases, 80% of the trees’ habitat will be whittled away. Continue reading...

Rosatom says five staff died in accident that caused radiation levels to spike in Arkhangelsk

Team of ex-firefighters given go-ahead to legally process crop for cannabidiol extractionJersey has become the first place in the British and Irish Isles to grant a licence for farmers to harvest hemp flowers for cannabis oil.A former Royal Marine commando and two former colleagues will be the pioneers who process hemp for cannabidiol (CBD) extraction. Continue reading...

This week, wild elephants, baby baboons and sharks that glow in the dark Continue reading...

Picking city as likely venue of COP26 may be seen as move to shore up pro-union sentimentA crucial climate change conference expected to be co-hosted by the UK would take place in Glasgow, the government has announced, in a move that will be seen as trying to dampen pro-independence sentiment in Scotland.The UK is bidding to host COP26, the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC), alongside Italy. Continue reading...

Peruvian government warned it must be consulted over plans to locate airport near world heritage sites that include the Inca citadel and Sacred ValleyUnesco has sent a letter to the Peruvian government demanding information about the construction of a new airport near Machu Picchu and what impact it could have on the Inca citadel, the country’s biggest tourist attraction and a world heritage site.The letter, which has not been made public, reminds Peru of its obligation to protect its world heritage sites and directly refers to Chinchero, the historic village in the Sacred Valley, near the town of Cusco, where the controversial new airport is being built – to the horror of archeologists. Continue reading...

In interview with the Guardian, Ricardo Galvão says if the far-right leader doesn’t change tack the Amazon will be ruinedIllegal loggers are ramping up a “brutal, fast” assault on the Brazilian Amazon with the blessing of the far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, the sacked head of the government agency tasked with monitoring deforestation has warned.Speaking to the Guardian five days after his dismissal, Ricardo Galvão said he was “praying to the heavens” the far-right leader would change tack before the Amazon – and Brazil’s international reputation as an environmental leader – were ruined. Continue reading...

State environment ministers will consult industry to develop a timeline to improve the recycling systemThe prime minister has vowed to do more to tackle plastic waste in the world’s oceans, saying the export of waste plastic, paper, glass and tyres will be banned.Scott Morrison said only about 12% of materials are properly recycled in Australia and he wanted that to change. With state and territory leaders, he has laid out a plan for environment ministers to improve the recycling system. Continue reading...

Giovanni Tamacas starved himself for 10 days in the US capital to protest about a ‘criminally complicit’ government’s inactionFood shortages, social disruption and riots. That’s the future 19-year-old Giovanni Tamacas envisioned during the 10 days he starved himself in the nation’s capital in a hunger strike protest at the lack of action to thwart the climate crisis.A student at the University of California in San Diego, Tamacas spent seven days baking in the sun in front of the White House and three more at an American Civil Liberties Union advocacy institute. He also staged a “die-in” in front of the US Capitol building. Continue reading...

Inexperienced hobbyists force bees to search often in vain for suitable habitats across the cityHumans are not the only ones in Berlin struggling to find accommodation. A beekeeping boom has led to swarms of bees forming novel new hives using anything from motorbikes to balconies in the German capital.Germany’s beekeeping association has been forced to dispatch a growing band of swarm-catchers – or schwarmfänger – reachable via telephone hotlines, to deal with a deluge of incidents in which thousands of bees cluster round objects while scout bees go in search of suitable homes, such as a tree hollow, more often than not in vain. Continue reading...

Energy minister leaves all options open for taskforce studying Liddell closureAngus Taylor has announced a taskforce to study the expected closure of the Liddell power station, leaving all options on the table including extending the life of or replacing the ageing coal plant at taxpayer expense.The energy and “emissions reduction” minister who has presided over steadily increasing greenhouse gas emissions announced the review on Friday, a week after AGL revealed it would extend the life of Liddell from 2022 to April 2023. Continue reading...

The poison-filled, spring-loaded traps, called M-44s, are used by Wildlife Services for the benefit of farmers and ranchersThe Trump administration has reauthorized government officials to use controversial poison devices – dubbed “cyanide bombs” by critics – to kill coyotes, foxes and other animals across the US.The spring-loaded traps, called M-44s, are filled with sodium cyanide and are most frequently deployed by Wildlife Services, a federal agency in the US Department of Agriculture that kills vast numbers of wild animals each year, primarily for the benefit of private farmers and ranchers. Continue reading...

Alcohol is free of radioactivity and could help economic recovery in regionWhat do you call vodka produced from grain grown in the exclusion zone around Chernobyl, scene of the world’s worst nuclear disaster 33 years ago?Atomik, of course. Continue reading...

UN report finds ecosystems never before under such threat and restoration is urgent

Revolutionising the way we use land could cut emissions, provide sustainable food and reduce poverty

Half Australia’s increase in CO2 emissions has been linked to WA project’s failure to bury its greenhouse gas underwaterOil and gas company Chevron says a long-delayed carbon capture and storage project has begun operating at one of the country’s largest liquefied natural gas developments.The Gorgon LNG development in the Pilbara, promised as a landmark development in burying greenhouse gas to limit emissions from fossil fuels, was supposed to start along with gas production in 2016. But the project was repeatedly delayed, with the company blaming technical issues. Continue reading...

Emails show the latest example of environmental groups facing increased surveillance by law enforcement

Average temperature for month amid Arctic heatwave was 58.1F (14.5C), nearly 1F above previous high set in July 2004A heatwave pulsating through the Arctic helped push Alaska to its warmest month ever recorded in July, with the state’s vast coastline left completely barren of sea ice.Alaska’s average temperature in July was a record 58.1F (14.5C), nearly 1F above the previous monthly high set in July 2004, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Cities and towns across the vast US state, such as Anchorage, Utqiaġvik (formerly known as Barrow) and Kodiak all had their warmest month in 125 years of record-keeping. Continue reading...

Code bans residents from taking notes or recording any part of meetings without prior agreementResidents in small South Australian communities shortlisted for a proposed nuclear waste storage facility have been told if they want to attend community consultation meetings they have to sign a code of conduct that bans them from taking notes.The shortlist for the proposed dump has been narrowed down to Lyndhurst or Napandee, in the Kimba shire area on the Eyre Peninsula, and Wallerberdina Station, which is near Barndioota in the southern Flinders Ranges. Continue reading...

Staying within WHO pollution limits would prevent 11% of new diagnoses, study saysAlmost 67,000 new cases of asthma in children across 18 European countries could be prevented every year if levels of tiny particulates polluting the air are cut to recommended levels, research suggests.The study joins a growing body of research into the impact of air pollution on human health. A landmark study published in April estimated that 4m new asthma cases a year globally among those aged one to 18 were down to levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO) in the air. Continue reading...

Upcoming multimillion-dollar advertising campaign will aim to ‘invoke national pride’ in coalMining giant BHP is facing renewed pressure to abandon its membership of the Minerals Council of Australia after it was revealed the lobby group is directly involved in an upcoming multimillion-dollar pro-coal advertising blitz.Documents seen by the Guardian show Coal21 – an organisation created to research low-emissions technology and shares its chief executive with the Minerals Council – is planning a cross-media advertising campaign to enhance “the public standing and reputation of Australia’s coal industry”. Continue reading...

‘Beef is number one’ driver of deforestation crisis, spatial data analysis by The Wilderness Society showsMore than 90% of land clearing in Great Barrier Reef catchments over a five-year period was attributable to the beef industry, according to new analysis by The Wilderness Society.The environment group has used spatial data analysis to examine which sectors are driving deforestation in the state with the highest levels of land clearing in Australia. Continue reading...

PM will also seek support for Coalition’s deregulation program, along with vocational education reformsScott Morrison will seek agreement from the states to take more action on plastic recycling when premiers meet in Cairns on Friday for the first Coag meeting since the election.In a wide-ranging Council of Australian Governments meeting that will set the agenda for the next term of government, the prime minister will also seek support for the Coalition’s deregulation program across all tiers of government, along with vocational education reforms. Continue reading...

It is essential that Europe does not become the arena for a build-up of nuclear weapons, writes Catherine West MP. It is surely time to bury the Micawber principle, says Professor Neil HyattAs we mark the 74th anniversary of the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world is at a dangerous juncture (Editorial, 2 August). Abandonment of the INF treaty alongside President Trump’s reckless withdrawal of the US from the Iran nuclear deal only increases the likelihood of a devastating nuclear arms race. It suggests nothing has been learned from the horror of those attacks 74 years ago, the hundreds of thousands of lives lost and many more blighted.While nuclear bombs exist in our world there is always the risk of another Hiroshima or another Nagasaki. It is essential that Europe does not become the arena for a build-up of nuclear weapons and that the UK government refuses any requests from the US to host intermediate range missiles. Our goal must be a world free of nuclear weapons, not a dangerous and destructive escalation.

Data says 2,254 sq km cleared in July as president says Macron and Merkel ‘haven’t realized Brazil’s under new management’

1,100 evacuees can return to Derbyshire town, despite forecast of heavy rainAround 1,100 residents of a Derbyshire town have been allowed to return home almost a week after they were evacuated when a nearby dam threatened to collapse.Parts of Whaley Bridge were evacuated on Thursday last week after heavy rain damaged the dam at Toddbrook reservoir, which sits high above the town. Continue reading...

I crisscrossed a region – my own – that is mired in a culture of denial and delay. The conversation on the climate crisis has not changed fast enoughIt’s 96 degrees in downtown Beaufort, North Carolina, a place where I spent much of my childhood. The sidewalk is too hot for dogs to walk on. The iconic wild horses, visible on Shackleford Banks, wade in the marsh, munching cordgrass. I’ve been watching the horses since I was in elementary school, and now I’m sharing them with my elementary school-aged daughters on summer vacation.My girls love them, as I did. The legend is that the horses swam to safety from an old Spanish shipwreck. It’s moving to watch the small, strong horses grazing on the dunes. For now, they’ve survived the latest big hurricane, and they’re free. Continue reading...

The fossil-fuel lobby is threatened by public concern over the climate crisis. So it’s buying influence to get the results it wantsThe tragedy of our times is that the gathering collapse of our life support systems has coincided with the age of public disservice. Just as we need to rise above self-interest and short-termism, governments around the world now represent the meanest and dirtiest of special interests. In the United Kingdom, the US, Brazil, Australia and many other nations, pollutocrats rule.The Earth’s systems are breaking down at astonishing speed. Wildfires roar across Siberia and Alaska – biting, in many places, deep into peat soils, releasing plumes of carbon dioxide and methane that cause more global heating. In July alone, Arctic wildfires are reckoned to have released as much carbon into the atmosphere as Austria does in a year: already the vicious twister of climate feedbacks has begun to turn. Continue reading...

Tragedy in Encinitas comes as nearly 75% of state’s coastlines erode, endangering lives, homes, and infrastructureThree women were killed last week while sunning on a beach in Encinitas, California, when the bluff above them gave way.The sudden tragedy that befell Anne Clave; her mother, Julie Davis; and her aunt Elizabeth Cox, who had gathered at the resplendent coastline in the seaside community north of San Diego to celebrate Cox surviving cancer, made headlines around the world. But cliff erosion continues to imperil people and property around the state. California is falling into the sea piece by piece, and coastal conditions will only grow more dire with worsening climate crisis. Continue reading...

Australian Energy Regulator alleges operators failed to ensure continuity of supplyAustralia’s energy regulator has launched court action against four windfarm operators, alleging they failed to meet performance requirements during 2016’s statewide South Australian blackout.About 850,000 homes lost power on 28 September that year, when severe weather conditions led to significant damage to SA transmission lines, causing voltage disturbances. The event heightened a fractious national debate about energy policy. Continue reading...

Action plan to be drawn up as dry summers, storms and pests destroy swathes of woodlandA catastrophic combination of heat, drought, storms, forest fires, beetle plagues and a fungi blight have so far this year destroyed swathes of German forest equivalent to more than 200,000 football fields.Forests are one of the most efficient ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and in Germany alone they are able to absorb 62 million tonnes of CO – about 7% of the country’s emissions – every year. Continue reading...

Minister says archipelago in grave situation through no fault of its own as he unveils plan for net zero emissions and village relocationFiji will introduce one of the world’s most ambitious legislative programs to tackle the climate crisis, and has labelled the global community’s decision to set aside the call for global heating to be capped at 1.5C “grossly irresponsible and selfish”.In a speech to the Fijian parliament on Wednesday morning announcing the upcoming climate change act, Fiji’s attorney general and minister for economy and climate change, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, called global heating “a fight for our lives and our livelihoods”. Continue reading...

News comes as some evacuated residents are told they will be able to return homeIt could take years to reconstruct the damaged dam above the Derbyshire town of Whaley Bridge, residents have been told, as some of the 1,500 evacuated were promised that they would now be allowed to return to their homes.At a community meeting, Derbyshire police said that residents of one part of the town could begin to go back to the village after water levels in Toddbrook reservoir dropped rapidly. But some still face waiting until after a Wednesday inspection to be certain that their homes are absolutely safe. Continue reading...

Controversial tax hike could leave country lagging behind as continent powers aheadThe UK risks being left behind in Europe’s home battery boom because of a controversial tax hike on solar-battery systems, according to a report.The energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie has predicted that Europe’s home battery capacity could climb fivefold in the next five years as more households plug their rooftop solar panels into battery packs. Continue reading...

The company, which was wound up on Friday, stockpiled tens of thousands of tonnes of recycling at rented sitesLandowners across Victoria are facing a multimillion-dollar clean-up bill after the discovery of tens of thousands of tonnes of previously unknown recycling stockpiled at sites rented by failed company SKM.On Friday, creditors of SKM Corporate, which leased the sites and is at the centre of a recycling crisis gripping Victoria, obtained orders from the state’s supreme court liquidating the company. Continue reading...

New Mexico tops the list, followed by California, Arizona, Colorado and Nebraska as problem could intensify with global heatingA handful of US states – including New Mexico and California – are facing significant strains on their water supplies that will only intensify with global heating, according to new rankings.Related: Extreme water stress affects a quarter of the world's population, say experts Continue reading...

Footage shows the man tipping the fridge down ravine in Valle de AlmanzoraA man who was caught on film fly-tipping a fridge down a ravine in southern Spain has been fined and forced to drag it back up after being identified by police.The video went viral after the man, who works for a company that recycles domestic electronic equipment in Olula del Río in Almería was seen tipping the fridge in the Valle de Almanzora. In the video, the man and his companion who filmed the incident can be heard joking, “recycling, let’s go, let’s see how many flips it can do”. Continue reading...

Qatar, Israel and Lebanon top list of places with worst shortages, as climate crisis threatens more ‘day zeroes’A quarter of the world’s population across 17 countries are living in regions of extremely high water stress, a measure of the level of competition over water resources, a new report reveals.Experts at the World Resources Institute (WRI) warned that increasing water stress could lead to more “day zeroes” – a term that gained popularity in 2018 as Cape Town in South Africa came dangerously close to running out of water. Continue reading...

As Riyadh continues to build skyscrapers at a dizzying rate, an invisible emergency threatens the desert kingdom’s existenceBottles of water twirl on the conveyor belts of the Berain water factory in Riyadh, as a puddle of water collects on the concrete floor. In a second warehouse, tanks emit a low hum as water brought in from precious underground aquifers passes through a six-stage purification process before bottling.“In Saudi Arabia there are only two sources of water: the sea and deep wells,” says Ahmed Safar Al Asmari, who manages one of Berain’s two factories in Riyadh. “We’re in the central region, so there are only deep wells here.” Continue reading...