As summers get more intense, people who work outdoors, those on a low income and the elderly face imminent perilTo live in Tucson is to be exposed. The Arizona city unfolds beneath four mountain ranges and a gaping sky, welcoming relentless sunlight. Anything here can be sun-bleached – billboards, garden hoses, family photos near windows, laundry left out to dry. Most of the year it’s a dry heat, and sweat evaporates off skin faster than it’s produced.Summertime is different. In monsoon season, heat and humidity steadily increase until a storm breaks. There is no other release. Heat cannot exit from the body, creating a claustrophobic feeling inside the skin. Sweat becomes a vital sign – its absence indicates heatstroke. Continue reading...

The children of Berta Cáceres want to subpoena bank records to a luxury house purchased by the alleged mastermind of the murderThe children of murdered Honduran activist Berta Cáceres have applied to a US federal court to subpoena bank records linked to a $1.4m luxury house in Texas purchased by the alleged mastermind of the crime just months after the killing.Cáceres, 44, a winner of the prestigious Goldman prize for environmental defenders, was shot dead at her home by a hired gunmen on 2 March 2016 after a long battle to stop construction of an internationally financed hydroelectric dam on the Gualcarque river, which the Lenca people consider sacred. Continue reading...

A record number of countries voted to restrict fishing of mako sharks in an effort to protect the endangered speciesA record number of countries have voted to protect the world’s fastest shark from extinction in a move welcomed by conservationists as a “wake up call” for fishing nations who have ignored the endangered species’ decline.In Geneva this week, governments voted under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to regulate the international trade in both species of mako shark – long and short fin – in addition to 16 vulnerable species of sharks and rays. Continue reading...

Second Hand September aims to raise awareness of fashion’s environmental impactSeptember occupies a mythical position in the fashion industry, when magazines are traditionally heavy with advertising and substantial winter purchases are made. This year, however, fashion’s most important shopping month will be disrupted by Second Hand September, a drive urging consumers not to buy new clothing for the entire 30 days.The Oxfam-organised campaign aims to raise awareness of fashion’s environmental impact. Nicola Tallett, the charity’s director of engagement, said: “We have seen on a daily basis the impact of the climate emergency on people living in poverty, whether through the droughts in east Africa or the earthquakes in Asia, and we wanted to do something about it.” Continue reading...

Asset managers, pension funds and companies halt deals and stop buying bondsFinancial pressure is growing on Brazil over fires in the Amazon and the far-right president’s belligerent response to them.Asset managers, pension funds and companies have issued warnings, halted deals and stopped purchases of government bonds. Continue reading...

Retailer’s glitter ban comes amid concern about microplastics polluting the environmentMarks & Spencer has joined the effort against microplastics by banning glitter from this year’s Christmas cards, wrapping paper, calendars and crackers.The retailer, which last year tested a biodegradable alternative to glitter on its fresh flowers and plants, said it is aiming to be 100% glitter-free by the end of next year. Continue reading...

Ian Duncan responds to letter on energy targets, Carol Blumenthal defends activists, Wendy Mulville recalls her experiences about air conditioning in Texas, Joseph Nicholas on the apocalypse, Michael Cook on forests, and world-class athletes step upThe letter on Wednesday (Clearer green energy targets are needed, 28 August) was quite right in recognising the UK’s lofty ambitions to become one of the cleanest and most innovative energy systems in the world on our path to becoming a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. But I take issue with the suggestion that our ambitions are not matched by our actions. We’re investing £274m to develop cheap, high-performance and durable batteries. We’re removing regulatory barriers to allow more storage facilities across the UK. We’re supporting small-scale localised energy generation through our smart export guarantee – continuing our world-leading support for the solar industry.As members of the EU, we were obliged to implement the VAT increase for solar technology and storage. Once we leave, it may be possible to review this. All of this is supported by upgrades to the country’s energy infrastructure through our smart meter rollout and smart systems and flexibility plan. This enables homeowners to save money by putting them in control of their energy use, such as by charging electric vehicles or storing energy in a battery when it is cheapest. Continue reading...

Average of 0.7% of total second-quarter electricity generated came from most polluting power plantsThe share of coal in the UK’s electricity system has fallen to record lows in recent months, according to government data.The figures show electricity generated by the UK’s most polluting power plants made up an average of 0.7% of the total in the second quarter of this year. The amount of coal used to power the electricity grid fell by almost two-thirds compared with the same months last year. Continue reading...

Multigenerational building would also include care home for older peopleThe UK’s first car-free school is being planned in Leeds as part of a multi-generational building that includes a care home for older people.The developers hope many children will walk to the 420-place primary school, which will have no parking spaces for staff or visitors and will discourage drop-offs. Continue reading...

A rabbit in a buckwheat field and armadillos and snakes challenged by wildfires in Bolivia and the Amazon Continue reading...

Hundreds flock to St Ives in Cornwall to catch a glimpse of the yellow-footed seabirdHundreds of birders have flocked to Cornwall to seek what could be the first ever UK sighting of a brown booby.The large, yellow-footed seabird is usually found fishing in tropical waters on the far side of the Atlantic, around the Caribbean and Venezuela. Continue reading...

Biodiversity chief calls for countries to unite to halt rapid degradation of natureThe fires in the Amazon are “extraordinarily concerning” for the planet’s natural life support systems, the head of the UN’s top biodiversity body has said in a call for countries, companies and consumers to build a new relationship with nature.Related: Brazil: fears for isolated Amazon tribes as fires erupt on protected reserves Continue reading...

Activists protesting against climate emergency set up camp kitchen in busy DeansgateExtinction Rebellion protesters have begun blocking Manchester’s Deansgate in protest at the “huge contradictions” of a city region that has declared a climate emergency planning to massively expand its airport.A yellow boat bearing the words “Planet Before Profit” was parked at the John Dalton Street junction and a tipper truck arrived packed with straw bales. Soon, guerrilla gardeners had set up a nursery of plants on what is one of Manchester’s most polluted streets, and a camp kitchen began to be erected. Continue reading...

Great Barrier Reef report grades sugarcane sector ‘very poor’ with just 9.8% adopting proper management practicesLess than 10% of sugarcane growers in Great Barrier Reef catchments are using appropriate land management practices for reef health, according to a major report that underlines the need for new regulations proposed by the Queensland government.The federal and Queensland governments’ water quality report card for 2017-2018 says the condition of inshore reefs on the Great Barrier Reef has deteriorated to an overall grade of “D” – which means “poor”. Continue reading...

Victory for community concerned about the industry’s environmental costs strengthens calls for shakeup of rules along Chilean coastA growing wave of resistance to the expansion of salmon farms along the Chilean coast has led to an important victory in the fight to protect a pristine fjord in southern Patagonia, home to indigenous groups and an array of stunning wildlife.Dolphins, whales and colonies of penguins thrive in the 240km-long Beagle Channel, an area of outstanding natural beauty between Chile and Argentina which attracts tourists from all over the world. Continue reading...

Five-yearly report says climate change is escalating the threat and window of opportunity for action is nowThe outlook for the Great Barrier Reef has deteriorated from poor to very poor according to an exhaustive government report that warns the window of opportunity to improve the natural wonder’s future “is now”.

Landowners who store waste on behalf of the company will not receive any part of $10m assistance packageCompanies holding tens of thousands of tonnes of waste on behalf of recycling group SKM have been told they will not receive any assistance from a multimillion-dollar state government loan aimed at helping clean up SKM sites, and say the material they are holding may end up in landfill.This week, the Victorian government announced a $10m loan to receivers KordaMentha to “help clean up SKM sites and resume waste processing”. Continue reading...

The generation that has benefited most from fossil fuels must start paying the price, argues Daniel ScharfThe principle of restorative justice (Glasgow University to pay £20m in slavery reparations, 24 August) also applies to the issue of climate change. I am of a generation that has profited hugely (knowingly or not) from the careless use of fossil fuels. Reports on the Amazon fires just serve to emphasise the urgent need to take action to eliminate carbon emissions and absorb carbon already in the atmosphere.Reparations in this case are due to the younger and future generations and should start with us “silver rebels” sharply curtailing our emissions and joining with Extinction Rebellion in the collective (international) efforts to eliminate emissions in the next decade, through which many of us elderly hope to live. The “silver rebels” might have less to lose if arrested in the cause. The Guardian’s daily carbon counter will show us how we are all doing.

Orkney Distillery aims to be the first producer powered by hydrogen and renewable energyA craft distillery in Scotland could become the greenest gin and whisky producer in the world as part of the government’s plans to cut industrial climate emissions.The Orkney Distillery has secured a slice of the government’s £390m fund to help develop low-carbon technologies that could reduce carbon emissions from industry. It hopes to use the funds to become the first gin distillery in the world to run on hydrogen made from renewable energy rather than liquid petroleum gas. Continue reading...

EPA will reverse standards to install controls to curb leaks of methane, a potent pollutant contributing to the climate crisisThe Trump administration is rolling back requirements that oil and gas drillers correct leaks of methane – a potent heat-trapping pollutant contributing to the climate crisis.Related: Comey violated FBI policies by leaking Trump memos, justice department rules – live Continue reading...

Even in such a divided and troubled country, there is hope. Between us we can beat the climate destroyersDear Greta,Thank you for travelling across the Atlantic to north America to help us do the most important work in the world. There are those of us who welcome you and those who do not because you have landed in two places, a place being born and a place dying, noisily, violently, with as much damage as possible. Continue reading...

Young activists will pressure world leaders to address crisis, says 16-year-old Swedish activist in Guardian interviewUnprecedented pressure exerted by young activists will push world leaders to address the unfolding climate crisis, even with a recalcitrant US under Donald Trump, Greta Thunberg has told the Guardian.Related: Welcome to the US, Greta. With your help we can save the planet and ourselves | Rebecca Solnit Continue reading...

Up to 20 tonnes of the legume will be dried and packaged to go on sale in mid-SeptemberThe UK’s first commercial crop of chickpeas has been harvested in Norfolk this week.Up to 20 tonnes of the legume – grown by four farmers across the UK – will eventually be dried and packaged by the Suffolk-based pulse specialist Hodmedod’s and will go on sale in mid-September. Continue reading...

Expert who led 2006 review says ban on nuclear should be lifted, but much more overseas evidence is needed on small modular reactorsIt will be about a decade before it is clear whether small nuclear reactors are suitable for Australia and would take about 15 years to bring a plant online if a decision was made to build one, one of the country’s leading experts has said.But Ziggy Switkowski, who headed a 2006 review of nuclear power for the Howard government, said the technology had no chance of being introduced unless Australia had a coherent energy policy. Continue reading...

Under threat from fire, deforestation and Bolsonaro, Xikrin people take matters into own handsThreatened by fire, deforestation and invasion, the Xikrin people of the northern Amazon are fighting back.While the authorities stand idle and the Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, tries to undermine their territorial rights, the indigenous community have taken matters into their own hands by expelling the loggers and ranchers who illegally occupied their land and set fire to the forest. Continue reading...

Ibrahim Sedef discovers to his cost that they don’t just settle for the bear necessitiesA beekeeper in Turkey who was harassed by a particularly persistent group of bears has discovered a profound truth: the animals have very expensive tastes when it comes to honey.Ibrahim Sedef, an engineer from Trabzon, north-east of Ankara on the Turkey’s Black Sea coast, struggled to keep his bee hives out of the hands of local bears, despite building storage houses and metal cages. Continue reading...

True scale of persecution of birds of prey such as buzzards and owls is likely to be higherBirds of prey were shot, poisoned, trapped or illegally killed in 87 confirmed incidents in 2018 that led to just one successful conviction, according to the RSPB’s annual Birdcrime report.This persecution of raptors including peregrines, buzzards, red kites and owls is the tip of the iceberg, with many more birds vanishing in mysterious circumstances, according to data from satellite-tagged birds and other intelligence. Continue reading...

Thinktank IPPR North warns of leaks, overuse and climate crisis making droughts more likelyDemand for water could outstrip supply by 2035 in parts of northern England, according to a report.Recent focus on near-future water shortages has been on dry south-east England, where London’s consumption of water already outstrips supply in dry years, and the water companies that serve the capital are located in areas classified as seriously water stressed. Continue reading...

Gas industry, main driver of rising emissions, welcomes policy as state’s Labor government backs “aspirational” target of zero emissions by 2050The Western Australian Labor government says it will back the federal government’s 2030 climate targets, rejecting attempts by the state’s Environmental Protection Authority to introduce tougher measures for new major projects.Proponents of major projects will be given the freedom to propose their own timelines for cutting carbon emissions as well as setting their own targets. Continue reading...

The native birds, including 76 wedge-tailed eagles, hawks and falcons, will be tested to determine the cause of deathAbout 120 native birds have been found dead after suspected poisoning in northeastern Victoria.Officers from the environment department found the birds, including 76 wedge-tailed eagles, hawks and falcons, during raids on a property near Violet Town this week. Continue reading...

The mining lobby wants downstream emissions to be irrelevant but their impact on farmers is already real and far-reachingTwelve years ago, in New South Wales, a landmark court case over a new coalmine called Anvil Hill found that downstream emissions – or “scope 3” – are relevant to the assessment of a mine’s environmental impact.So, when a state planning policy for mining was created six months later, these emissions were explicitly included in the matters to be considered when weighing up new coalmines. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Carmichael mine set to receive subsidies, favourable deals and tax concessions over 30 yearsAustralian governments will give $4.4bn in effective subsidies to Adani’s Carmichael coal project, which would otherwise be “unbankable and unviable”, a new analysis has found.The report, by the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, concluded that the project would benefit from several Australian taxpayer–funded arrangements – including subsidies, favourable deals and tax concessions – over its 30-year project life. Continue reading...

Sweden’s teenage environmental activist says she’s going to miss ‘sitting for hours and staring at the ocean, doing nothing’ after setting foot on dry land10.07pm BSTIf you want to hang with Greta Thunberg, make America Greta again, do your bit to protest inaction on the climate crisis, etc, etc, then midtown Manhattan is where you need to be this Friday.She’s going to be taking part in a general strike outside the United Nations headquarters.Related: Trump claims he did not promise pardons to aides despite reports – live news9.54pm BSTOMG do NOT ever try to condescend to Greta Thunberg! Listening in on a conversation she just had with some journalist or other (not the Guardian, I hasten to add, that comes later, keep an eye on the website for her interview!), dude asks her: “Don’t you just want to be a kid?”

Forestry expert warns annual burning season had yet to fully play out and calls for urgent steps to reduce potential damageThe fires raging in the Brazilian Amazon are likely to intensify over the coming weeks, a leading environmental expert has warned, despite government claims the situation had been controlled.Related: Amazon fires: what is happening and is there anything we can do? Continue reading...

Power baron Trevor St Baker warns the Coalition not to be a ‘government of inaction’ on energyThe outspoken power baron Trevor St Baker has urged the Coalition to avoid being a “government of inaction” on energy policy and called for the Liddell power station to be transformed into an “exclusive baseload power precinct”.It comes as companies that were shortlisted for taxpayer underwriting for energy generation projects before the May election continue to wait for information about how the program will work or whether they will receive government support. Continue reading...

Two government reports are expected to project a poor outlook for the reefThe federal government is pushing Unesco’s world heritage committee to resolve how it will deal with the impact of climate change on world heritage properties, including the Great Barrier Reef.It comes ahead of the release of two government reports that are expected to project a poor outlook for the reef, the status of which will be reassessed by Unesco next year after previously avoiding an in danger listing. Continue reading...

Long-tailed blues and eggs seen in large numbers but are unlikely to survive the winterA fast-flying migratory butterfly from the Mediterranean is appearing in large numbers across southern England this summer as a result of global heating, experts say.More than 50 long-tailed blues and hundreds of the butterfly’s eggs have been discovered in recent weeks, which is likely to result in an unprecedented emergence of the butterfly in Britain later this autumn. Continue reading...

Sir Jim Ratcliffe slates government restrictions as ‘archaic and unworkable’Sir Jim Ratcliffe, one of Britain’s richest men, has set his sights on the US shale gas industry as his fracking ambitions in the UK wane.The owner of petrochemicals giant Ineos is on the hunt for shale gas investments within the US fracking heartlands of the Permian Basin, according to sources. Continue reading...

XR says 750 people will occupy Deansgate in protest at city’s climate crisis contradictionsHundreds of climate protesters plan to occupy one of Manchester’s busiest streets for four days this weekend to expose the “huge contradictions” of a city region that has declared a climate emergency while planning to massively expand its airport.The Extinction Rebellion group says that from 10am on Friday at least 750 people have pledged to take over part of Deansgate, a popular area for shopping and entertainment that has illegal levels of air pollution. Continue reading...

Agriculture minister hopes ‘Noah’s ark’ plan will prevent severe fish kills, but critics accuse Nationals of tending to ‘self-inflicted wound’The New South Wales government says it is planning a $10m “Noah’s ark”-style plan to stave off a “potential fish Armageddon” facing the state this summer, but critics say the Coalition is sticking a Band-Aid on a gaping self-inflicted wound.The Berejiklian government’s plan aims to combine better research and increased breeding with fish rescue operations to save some of the state’s native fish from a forecast ecological disaster as the drought drags on. Continue reading...

Local groups join together for an event that seeks to shut down traffic on 23 September, during the UN Climate Action SummitClimate activists will escalate their protests next month in Washington DC, seeking to shut down traffic with blockades at key intersections to bring attention to the intensifying crisis.Several local groups are planning the action for 23 September, as youth leaders call for a global strike and a week of action. Hundreds of events are planned, with more than 100 of them in the US, organizers said. Continue reading...

Moscow aiming to win influence by wooing African states with nuclear energy

Conservation research shows humans are ‘loving the dolphins too much’ in Bay of Islands regionThe New Zealand government has banned tourists from swimming with bottlenose dolphins in an attempt to save the struggling species.According to the department of conservation [DoC] research has shown that humans were “loving the dolphins too much” and human interaction was “having a signifiant impact on the population’s resting and feeding behaviour”. Continue reading...

Correspondence shows NSW Natural Resources Commission anger at being criticised by water minister Melinda Pavey over Barwon-Darling findingsThe New South Wales Natural Resources Commission has warned the water minister she is “shooting the messenger” over their findings that water management in the Barwon-Darling river had brought on drought conditions in the Lower Darling three years early.The Sydney Morning Herald has obtained correspondence from the commission in which it strongly refutes the minister’s assertions that its report on management of NSW’s largest river was wrong or tarnished by a conflict of interest by its scientific expert, Professor Fran Sheldon. Continue reading...

Retailer’s target is part of aim to use 100% sustainable cotton in all product categoriesPrimark has announced plans to improve its sustainability credentials by training 160,000 cotton farmers in India, Pakistan and China in environmentally friendly farming methods by 2022.The target is part of the retailer’s sustainable cotton programme, launched in 2013, with the aim to use 100% sustainable cotton in all its product categories. Continue reading...

Japanese conglomerate backs solar utility BBOXX to expand service in south Asia and AfricaA British energy firm lighting up homes in Africa with pay-as-you-go solar power has secured £40m to extend its reach to Asia with the help of Japan’s Mitsubishi.The conglomerate has taken a stake in off-grid solar company BBOXX through the start-up’s latest funding round, which will power the Africa-focused company deeper into Asia. Continue reading...

Archbishop of Canterbury says fund managers are not doing enough to press for changeThe archbishop of Canterbury has criticised the investment industry for inaction over the climate crisis and called on fund managers to push companies to reduce their impact on the environment.Justin Welby said fund managers had “not sufficiently stepped up to the plate” to use their ownership of companies to press for change. He said investors should tell firms to help meet targets set by the Paris climate agreement. Continue reading...