With dozens of events next week, many hope arrival of climate punks who’ve swept the UK will be a watershed moment

About 2,300 climate activists have already signed up to help obstruct busy roads next weekEnvironmental campaigners are hoping to mobilise thousands of people to block the streets of central London around the clock next week, in their latest attempt to raise public awareness and provoke action over the destruction of the biosphere.About 2,300 volunteers have signed up with Extinction Rebellion to obstruct some of the capital’s busiest roads for at least three days. Continue reading...

A study of coyote scat in LA found the animals are attracted to fruit in gardens, where they are also finding cats and dogsDoug McIntyre let his cat, Junior, out of the house on a sunny summer morning last June.As Junior walked down the path and into the world, he paid special attention. “I had a funny feeling … just an odd sensation that something was off,” McIntyre, a journalist and radio host, recalled in a column at the time. Continue reading...

Frogs’ legs, a bee on cowslips and a brown bear with its cub Continue reading...

Scientists say stream dubbed ‘most polluted in Europe’ is reminder of effects of intensive farmingWinding between green meadows in the west Flanders countryside, the Wulfdambeek stream is fondly remembered as a place local boys would fill up their water bottles before football games.But research from the University of Exeter has offered a sharp reminder of how intensive farming methods are changing the face of the northern European countryside in ways scientists claim are not being properly understood. Continue reading...

Young people demand action from politicians at synchronised rallies across BritainThousands of students and activists have taken to the streets of more than 50 British towns and cities demanding urgent action on climate change for the third time in as many months.The organisers of the Youth Strike 4 Climate movement said “sizeable events” took place in London, Sheffield, Manchester and Brighton, among other towns and cities. They mirrored events around the world, as protesters from cities as far apart as Helsinki and Delhi took to the streets. Continue reading...

Restoration of unnamed tributary of River Chew offers new habitat for rare wildlifeA lost river has returned to the Somerset countryside for the first time in 70 years, and with it a new habitat for several species of rare and threatened wildlife.The unnamed tributary of the River Chew from the Mendip Hills down to the River Avon was severed by a dam in 1956, when the valley was flooded to form the Chew Valley Lake reservoir that supplies Bristol and Bath. Continue reading...

Tens of thousands of young people in Britain and abroad are demonstrating for climate action in the latest wave of strikes3.57pm BSTWe’re going to close down this live blog now. Thanks for reading and commenting – here’s a summary of the afternoon’s events:3.46pm BSTOn 22 April, the Guardian is hosting an event with Greta Thunberg and Anna Taylor, from the UK Student Climate Network, with an introduction from Caroline Lucas MP, and chaired by the Guardian’s Zoe Williams.You can find out more about this event here. Continue reading...

Air quality assessment advises that occupants of Lewisham development should shut windowsA south London housing development has been approved in an area where air pollution is so high that residents will be advised to keep their windows closed.Nitrogen dioxide exceeds legal limits on the busy road where the development is planned, next to the A2 in Lewisham. An air quality assessment carried out on behalf of the developers found levels of 56.3 micrograms per cubic metre in the area – far above the legal limit of 40µg/m. Continue reading...

Rise of recycling firms has led to friction with the Zabaleen, the city’s informal garbage collectors“People do not just fight over garbage here, I have seen them fight to the death over garbage,” says Samaan Girgis. “There are no rules in this job.”Girgis is one of the Zabaleen (Arabic for “garbage people”), Cairo’s army of informal workers that collects refuse for conversion into valuable raw materials. Girgis lives with his family in the suburb of Manshiyet Nasr, nicknamed “Garbage City”, which is home to Egypt’s largest and most influential Zabaleen community. Continue reading...

Transition to electric vehicles to cut carbon emissions has dominated climate policy debate in the Australian election campaignOne in two Australians would support shifting all sales of new cars to electric vehicles by 2025, according to polling by the Australia Institute.The progressive thinktank surveyed a nationally representative sample 0f 1,536 Australians about their attitudes to electric vehicles. It found support was similar across all states and territories, including 52% in Victoria and Western Australia, 49% in Queensland and 48% in New South Wales. Continue reading...

Millennial Trump supporters are starting to bring scientific reality to their party, but how far are they willing to go?Donald Trump’s indifference, punctuated by bursts of mocking disdain, towards climate change has been indulged and even cheered by his supporters. The president has called climate science “bullshit”, donned a coalminer’s helmet at rallies and defenestrated federal rules designed to cut planet-warming emissions.It is becoming harder, however, for Trump to swat away the unfolding crises caused by global warming. American lives are increasingly ravaged by flooding and wildfires and Democrats have seized the initiative with the Green New Deal resolution, which proposes full-scale societal and economic change to eliminate carbon emissions while investing in education, health, transport and a federal jobs guarantee. Continue reading...

Dozens of demonstrations due on Friday as report shows UK set to miss emissions targetsA fresh wave of youth strikes for climate action will hit towns and cities across the UK on Friday, as a government report revealed that the nation is set to miss its emissions targets.More than 60 demonstrations involving tens of thousands of young people are expected from Parliament Square in London to sites in Leeds, Manchester and Brighton. They follow the global strike on 15 March, when more than 1 million young people across the world took action to demand rapid action to tackle the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Miner expects industry associations to argue against coal subsidiesRio Tinto has signalled it is prepared to quit its membership of industry associations, including the Minerals Council, if it makes public statements inconsistent with Australia’s Paris climate agreement commitment.The company published a global statement on Thursday night setting out its expectations of the industry bodies it belongs to about commentary they make on climate policy. Continue reading...

ACCC alleges price comparison website recommended retailers who paid it higher commissions, rather than the best valueThe consumer watchdog says price comparison website iSelect misled customers for two years by recommending energy retailers that paid it higher commissions.The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission alleged on Friday that since at least November 2016, iSelect claimed consumers using its website would benefit from iSelect comparing all energy plans available from its partner retailers in a specific location. Continue reading...

Senate voted 56-41 to approve David Bernhardt’s nomination as critics say he is a ‘walking conflict of interest’The Senate has voted to confirm David Bernhardt, a former a former oil and gas and water lobbyist, as secretary of the embattled interior department.Senators voted 56-41 to approve Bernhardt’s nomination to oversee more than 500m acres of public lands and other resources, including national parks, monuments and wildlife refuges. Continue reading...

David Attenborough uses IMF speech to warn of human consequences of inaction on climate changeEurope can expect even greater migratory pressure from Africa unless action is taken to prevent global warming, Sir David Attenborough has said in a strongly worded warning to policymakers that time is running out to save the natural world from extinction.Speaking at the spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC, the broadcaster and environmentalist said that on current trends parts of the world would soon become uninhabitable and populations would be be forced to move. Continue reading...

Domain of Bees’ Needs campaign now used by site offering ‘independent escorts’The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has inadvertently been sending members of the public looking for advice on encouraging pollinators to a website advertising escort services.The Bees’ Needs campaign, launched in 2014 by the then environment minister Lord de Mauley, called on the public to do more to help insect pollinators by growing more nectar-rich flowers, leaving patches of land to grow wild and cutting grass less often. Continue reading...

Federal opposition is building a case to review the approval of the mine’s groundwater management planLabor is building a case to review the approval of the Adani mine’s groundwater management plan, accusing the government of using the start of the election campaign to avoid scrutiny over whether environment minister Melissa Price’s decision was subject to interference.Scott Morrison’s decision to call the election on Thursday cut short Senate estimates, which was due to examine Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation witnesses about scientific advice given before the approval. Continue reading...

Scott Morrison says ‘Bill Shorten can’t explain what his policies mean to Australians’, but car manufacturers are all moving towards electric vehiclesHyundai Motor Group says it will sell every electric vehicle it brings to Australia and has “no fear” of the market changing in order to cut carbon pollution.The carmaker has responded to the political commentary of recent days, which included the prime minister Scott Morrison claiming Labor’s electric vehicle target was a threat to Australians who like to drive SUVs. Continue reading...

Grants of up to £100,000 available to increase number of drop-off points and cut wasteA £1m fund to help expand and improve paper cup recycling facilities across the UK will be launched on Thursday by the coffee giant Starbucks and environmental charity Hubbub.Local authorities, recycling companies and social enterprises will be invited to bid for grants of up to £100,000 on behalf of their communities to create at least 10 large-scale recycling programmes. Continue reading...

Many brands improve their rating in annual Ethical Fashion survey but some disappoint on human rights and welfareAustralian fashion brands are becoming more transparent about how they make their clothes, but there is still much more to be done on workers’ rights, living wage and environmental impact.That’s according to the findings in the latest Ethical Fashion report, published by Baptist World Aid, which surveyed more than 130 companies with 480 brands. Continue reading...

We need to think hard about the kind of future our money is going to support through our investments, writes Mary Stevens of Friends of the Earth. Plus a letter from Margaret SquiresYour article on why women need to start investing to exercise more control over their futures (Why finance is a feminist issue, G2, 9 April) contains much sound advice. However, it neglects an important consideration. If, as Emilie Bellet explains, women are “looking more at where we want to be in 10, 20 or 30 years’ time”, then we also need to think hard about the kind of future our money is going to support. Many women – and men – would be horrified to think that the price for their own security is increased uncertainty and instability across the world, as many funds continue to rely heavily on the fossil fuel and extractive industries. Even so-called ethical funds are often only undertaking basic negative screening, for example ruling out pornography, weapons, tobacco and gambling, but with very little to say on climate risk. The real bottom line is that there is no money to be made on a dead planet.Happily, this can be a win-win situation. Increasingly, fund managers are recognising the risk of the “carbon bubble” and are starting to shift their own funds. And evidence is growing that over the long term, sustainable investments can outperform the broken business-as-usual market. But this shift won’t happen without ongoing consumer pressure on the financial sector. An influx of motivated women into this space presents an excellent opportunity. Continue reading...

Villagers say mine run by subsidiary of UK-based firm has caused illness and deathsTwo thousand Zambian villagers who say their lives have been ruined by toxic runoff from the world’s second-largest opencast mine have won the right to pursue a claim through the English courts.In a landmark judgment, the supreme court ruled that the mining conglomerate Vedanta Resources, which is based in London, and its Zambian subsidiary Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) can be held to account by English judges, despite the companies’ arguments that they should defend themselves in Zambia. Continue reading...

Senior officer in charge of review said he did not realise ‘the scale of work required’Police chiefs have been criticised after they have repeatedly delayed completing an official review of the way they handle UK anti-fracking protests.Senior officers promised to launch the review into tactics two years ago amid complaints that police had often used excessive force against campaigners who protested against fracking firms. Continue reading...

Agencies spent $175,000 on meals and wine in six months – but only $140 on sandwiches for Prince Albert of Monaco’s partyAustralia’s environment agencies spent $175,000 of taxpayers’ money on lavish meals and wine in a six-month period, including a $4,302 dinner to host energy industry representatives.New figures provided to a Senate committee reveal the details of roughly 45 catered functions billed to the taxpayer by the environment department, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, the Bureau of Meteorology, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Clean Energy Regulator. Continue reading...

The ads use Facebook functionality to target users with an interest in particular car brands, including Toyota Hilux utesToyota has said that it was not consulted on a Liberal party campaign that uses targeted Facebook ads to falsely claim Bill Shorten wants to tax popular car brands including the Toyota Hilux and other utility vehicles.“Toyota Australia were not consulted on the use of the HiLux in government materials.” Continue reading...

The Chernobyl disaster in 1986 forced the evacuation of nearby Pripyat, home to 45,000 people. David McMillan has journeyed there 21 times since to record abandoned homes and buildings as they are reclaimed by nature Continue reading...

Next generation must keep their own carbon levels at a fraction of their grandparents’ in order to prevent catastropheChildren born today will have to live their lives with drastically smaller carbon footprints than their grandparents if climate change is to be controlled.Fast, deep cuts in global emissions from energy, transport and food are needed to keep temperature rises in check and an analysis has shown this means the new generation will have lifetime carbon budgets almost 90% lower than someone born in 1950. Continue reading...

Parts of Okuma are open for business once again, but only a few hundred former residents have moved homeA town next to the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant partially reopened on Wednesday, eight years after a triple meltdown forced tens of thousands of people in the area to flee.About 40% of Okuma, which sits immediately west of the plant, was declared safe for residents to make a permanent return after decontamination efforts significantly reduced radiation levels. Continue reading...

Trump appointee David Malpass says climate change action plan remains a priorityDonald Trump’s choice to run the World Bank has moved swiftly to allay fears that his appointment will lead to a softening of the organisation’s approach to climate change.In his first day at the helm of the Washington-based institution, David Malpass said helping developing countries cope with global warming would remain central to the bank’s mission. Continue reading...

Major parties must recognise ‘national firefighting assets’ are needed to fight worsening natural disasters, say fire expertsMore than 20 former fire and emergency chiefs from multiple states and territories say Australia is unprepared for worsening natural disasters from climate change and governments are putting lives at risk.In a statement issued before a federal election date is announced, 23 former emergency services leaders and senior personnel have called on both major parties to recognise the need for “national firefighting assets”, including large aircraft, to deal with the scale of the threat. Continue reading...

Labor’s 50% target for new car sales ‘is ‘very achievable’ and not ambitious, Australian tech billionaire saysMike Cannon-Brookes says the Coalition has tied itself in knots over Labor’s electric vehicles policy and that the 50% target for electric vehicle sales by 2030 is “very achievable” and not ambitious.The billionaire co-founder and chief executive of Australian software company Atlassian is announcing on Wednesday the company will become 100% renewable by 2025. Continue reading...

Slow progress on powering firm’s datacentres using renewables raises questionsAmazon has been accused of abandoning a much-publicised goal of running its datacentres on 100% renewable energy – instead focusing its attention on winning business from the oil and gas industry.According to a Greenpeace report released earlier this year, some of Amazon’s most important datacentres in the US state of Virginia, where the company has committed to building its second HQ, are powered by only 12% renewable energy. Across the company as a whole, Amazon reached 50% renewable usage in 2018, and has not issued any updates since. Continue reading...

Exclusive: trustees reconsidering rules of investments to take account of climate change riskParliament’s pension fund trustees are to reconsider the rules of their investments to take account of the risk of climate change, in a first for MPs’ finances.While stopping short of a promise to fully divest from fossil fuels, the pledge by the trustees marks an important first step towards assessing and reducing the effect of the pension fund’s investments – which are ultimately paid for by the taxpayer – on climate change. Continue reading...

The Instagram account Public Lands Hate You is part of a trend shaming irresponsible behavior on America’s public landsWhen California exploded in a “super bloom” of flowers this spring, Instagram exploded with it, as hordes of selfie-taking tourists descended on the delicate florae. Now an anonymous online vigilante is trying to shame influencers who are trampling the plants they claim to love.On an Instagram account called Public Lands Hate You, the author adds caustic commentary to images of destruction or carelessness, such as a recent shot of a woman presenting a bouquet of recently uprooted poppies. “Here’s a new low,” they wrote. ”Not just trampling. Not just picking flowers. But pulling the entire plant, roots and all, out of the ground! … Someone please make this stupidity stop.” The author noted that the poster was broadcasting the behavior to more than 13,000 followers. Continue reading...

Scientists believe longstanding condition set by state government has not been met for Carmichael mineScientific reviews of Adani’s groundwater plans appear to hand the Queensland government a trigger to block the Carmichael coalmine by suggesting the company has not been able to satisfy a longstanding state environmental condition.On Tuesday the federal government approved Adani’s groundwater dependent ecosystems management plan after receiving detailed reports from the CSIRO and Geoscience Australia. Continue reading...

CSIRO and Geoscience Australia advice could raise questions about decision to approve groundwater management planThe Morrison government has approved the groundwater management plan for the controversial Adani project, a decision that follows internal pressure from Queensland MPs to achieve sign-off before the prime minister calls the federal election.The environment minister, Melissa Price, confirmed on Tuesday she had made a positive decision after advice from the CSIRO and Geoscience Australia “confirmed the revised plans meet strict scientific requirements”. Continue reading...

The correlation of the feminine to nature, repressive for so long, can be a source of powerIn the past few months I have started putting down roots. It’s a cliche but it’s literally what I’m doing. I spend my weekends transforming the tired old lawn into garden beds, layering woodchips, straw and horse shit I’ve shovelled from the paddocks next door into rich soil to grow my lettuces and kale. I have always loved gardening but now, more than ever, working with the earth has taken on an element of the spiritual.As a teenager, like many suburban white girls, I got way into Wicca, that gentle, nature-centred neo-pagan religion beloved by would-be witches everywhere. Much later, in my early 20s, I revisited witchcraft, finding an unstructured feminine spirituality that helped me make sense of the world. Continue reading...

Researchers say eggs are often safe to eat long after packaging date passesBritons are throwing away 720m eggs every year – three times more than in 2008and at a cost of £139m – according to research.The scale of waste has been blamed on overcautious consumers relying on best-before dates to decide if eggs are fresh enough to eat, and the growing popularity of vegetarian and “flexitarian” diets has boosted overall sales. Continue reading...

Carbon is being locked in young trees as a result of reforestation across the northern hemisphereWhen measures designed to curb climate change have a beneficial effect and result in a greener planet, it is cheering. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been on a relentless upward trend but things would be far worse if countries in the northern hemisphere were not planting forests and restoring natural habitats. Measurements taken over 60 years of the uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during the growing season show that, north of the equator, plants are absorbing more carbon than they used to.Related: Why the Guardian is putting global CO2 levels in the weather forecast Continue reading...

Wildlife and human health are threatened say scientists as Syngenta accepts ‘undeniable demand’ for changePesticides and antibiotics are polluting streams across Europe, a study has found. Scientists say the contamination is dangerous for wildlife and may increase the development of drug-resistant microbes.More than 100 pesticides and 21 drugs were detected in the 29 waterways analysed in 10 European nations, including the UK. A quarter of the chemicals identified are banned, while half of the streams analysed had at least one pesticide above permitted levels. Continue reading...

Survey reveals backing for emissions charging to tackle air pollution and congestionAlmost three-quarters of Londoners support charging drivers of dirty vehicles in an effort to tackle the capital’s air pollution crisis, according to a study.The survey, released on the day the mayor, Sadiq Khan, launches his ultra low emissions zone (ULEZ), found that 72% of adults in London support emissions charging to tackle both air pollution and congestion. Continue reading...

Decision coincides with visit to enclosure by French marine expert Jean-Michel CousteauRussian authorities have decided to free nearly 100 whales held in cages in the country’s far east, according to reports.Images of the whales, kept in cramped enclosures in a bay near the Sea of Japan port city of Nakhodka, first appeared last year, triggering a storm of criticism. Continue reading...

Federal investigation has taken more than two years after separate investigation dropped by NSWAn investigation into illegal land clearing against a company part-owned by the family of federal minister Angus Taylor was dropped by the New South Wales government, and a separate investigation under federal environmental laws has taken more than two years.Both actions relate to allegations of clearing of endangered native grassland in October 2016 near Delegate in southern NSW shortly after a company, Jam Land Pty Ltd, purchased the property. A NSW government briefing document alleged about 200 hectares were illegally cleared. Continue reading...

Revealed: federal support to research centers cut off as scientists fear years of successful work will go ‘down the drain’Scientists and officials around the US have told the Guardian that the Trump administration has withdrawn funding for a large, successful conservation program – in direct contradiction of instructions from Congress.Unique in scale and ambition, the program comprises 22 research centers that tackle big-picture issues affecting huge swaths of the US, such as climate change, flooding and species extinction. They are known as Landscape Conservation Cooperatives – or were, because 16 of them are now on indefinite hiatus or have dissolved. Continue reading...

Tom Wolf’s office has denied he ordered permits for the Mariner East 2 pipeline, which is under criminal investigation for pollution and property damage, to be acceleratedInternal government records obtained by the Guardian raise questions about the role of Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf in permitting construction of a controversial fossil fuel pipeline that now faces two criminal investigations stemming from widespread environmental and property damage.The 350-mile, $2.5bn Mariner East 2 natural gas liquids pipeline through southern Pennsylvania has sparked growing outrage. It has caused roughly 140 documented industrial waste spills into wetlands and waterways, destroying numerous residential water wells, and opening large sinkholes just steps from residents’ homes. Continue reading...

Hot summer of 2018 boosted large blue, and black hairstreak, but small tortoiseshell declinedThe golden summer of 2018 saw two of the UK’s rarest butterflies, the large blue and the black hairstreak, enjoy their best years since scientific monitoring began.More than two-thirds of British butterfly species were seen in higher numbers last year than in 2017, but despite the ideal butterfly weather, it was still only an average season – the 18th best in 43 years of recording. Continue reading...

Some Queensland MPs push for sign-off before the election, which is likely to amplify activist campaigns against the CoalitionScott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg have played down the significance of remaining approvals for the controversial Adani coalmine, characterising the outstanding determinations as “sub-approvals” and “minor” matters, and insisting the government will make decisions based on science.With some Queensland Liberals and Nationals escalating an internal campaign for the remaining Adani sign-offs to be done this week, before Morrison heads to the polls, Liberals in the southern states are now bracing themselves for the federal approvals to be granted some time this week, even though that timing is inconvenient because it will kickstart third-party activist campaigns against the Coalition. Continue reading...