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...

‘SharkCam’ could shed light on sex lives of basking sharks in Sea of the HebridesBasking sharks off the coast of the UK are having their own Love Island moment: an underwater robot has been filming their interactions to shed light on everything from sex to group behaviour.Researchers say the autonomous “SharkCam”, which was deployed in July around the Inner Hebrides, has captured wide-angle high-definition video of sharks that have been tagged, with the team now wading through the footage. Continue reading...

Approval of the Wambo open-cut coalmine in the NSW Hunter Valley may be linked to the countries it exports toMining company Glencore could be forced to only sell coal from a new mine in New South Wales to signatories of the Paris climate agreement, under a proposal floated by the state’s independent planning commission.Opposed by Glencore and its joint-venture partner in the mine, Peabody, the condition would see approval of the Wambo open-cut coalmine in the state’s Hunter Valley linked to the countries it exports to. Continue reading...

20 people have refused to leave extended evacuation zone despite repeated warningsAn elderly married couple among the Whaley Bridge residents criticised by police for refusing to leave their homes at risk of catastrophic flooding have rejected claims they are needlessly putting emergency crews’ lives at risk.Malcolm Venton and Lorraine Ellis say they could not leave their two border collies, Meg and Amy. The couple were asked to leave on Saturday when the evacuation zone was extended, but decided to hunker down, despite the threat of a huge wave rushing out of the damaged Toddbrook reservoir. Continue reading...

Figures expected to confirm fall in GDP as Brexit hits automotive and service sectors

Death toll almost half that of US troops killed in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001, data showsKillings of environmental defenders have doubled over the past 15 years to reach levels usually associated with war zones, according to a study that reveals how murders of activists are concentrated in countries with the worst corruption and weakest laws.At least 1,558 people in 50 states were killed between 2002 and 2017 while trying to protect their land, water or local wildlife, says the analysis, which calculates the death toll is almost half that of US troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. Continue reading...

The fracking company will ask Lancashire council to change its licence, which ends in NovemberUK shale gas company Cuadrilla will ask for extra time to drill for shale gas at its Lancashire fracking site after its November deadline.Within the next month the fracking pioneer will ask Lancashire county council for permission to continue its drilling campaign until at least the spring of 2021. Continue reading...

Critically endangered Monaro and Werriwa grassy woodlands affected by new regulationThe New South Wales government has made it easier for landholders to clear critically endangered grassy woodlands for agriculture and forestry in the state’s south east.The environment minister, Matt Kean, and the agriculture minister, Adam Marshall, have introduced a regulation that covers two grassy woodlands newly listed as critically endangered under NSW laws: the Monaro grassy woodlands and the Werriwa grassy woodlands. Continue reading...

Friday Night Ride to the Coast has been spreading the joy of night riding for almost 15 yearsIf you missed this year’s Dunwich Dynamo, or feel that it’s a little too big, chaotic or (whisper it) competitive, you might trying catching the next Friday Night Ride to the Coast.This is a carefully organised event run by “the Fridays”, a club devoted to the singular cause of safely delivering you at a conversational pace from the Smoke to the sea. They do this every month from spring through autumn, requiring only third party insurance and an annual membership fee of £2. Continue reading...

Phoenix Environmental Group banned by EPA from accepting rubbish at its Coolaroo facilityAnother Melbourne recycling company has been banned from accepting rubbish, just days after a major recycling player went into liquidation.Phoenix Environmental Group has been told to stop accepting waste at its Coolaroo facility – the third time Victoria’s Environment Protection Authority has slapped a ban on the company. Continue reading...

Last summer, overall numbers of butterflies in England were up 110% on 2017 figuresThe common blue butterfly could be booming in the UK thanks to recent spells of hot weather, according to a conservation charity.Experts are predicting that the July heatwave and Met Office forecasts for above-average temperatures in August might mean that the common blue has its “best ever summer”, Butterfly Conservation said. Continue reading...

Derbyshire’s deputy chief constable said there are about 20 properties with residents refusing to leaveA police chief who has been at the forefront of a near disaster in a Derbyshire town has said some residents who refused to leave their homes had put lives at serious risk.About 400 mainly local people packed a school hall to discuss the damaged dam in Whaley Bridge which is still at risk of collapse. Continue reading...

Scepticism and safety concerns persist before vessel begins 4,000-mile Arctic journey

Emergency workers continue efforts to prevent dam collapse as further heavy rain expected

UK’s largest bird of prey set for release on Isle of Wight later this monthSea eagles have returned to the Isle of Wight 239 years after they were last seen there. Six chicks brought from Scotland were taken to the island last month as part of a programme to reintroduce the birds to England’s south coast.Also known as white-tailed eagles, the birds will be released into the wild in the next few weeks. Continue reading...

Bob Brown’s objection to a proposed windfarm draws attention to where renewable energy projects are being builtDo windfarms kill birds? Unarguably, they have and do.The damage turbines can inflict was infamously highlighted at California’s Altamont Pass, where early industry farms were built in a migratory path. One estimate suggested it killed as many as 1,300 birds of prey a year before changes were made to reduce death rates. Continue reading...

Scientists urge caution because infected ticks may also be spread by many other speciesBritain’s deer are being unfairly singled out as the chief culprits in spreading Lyme disease, experts claim. By contrast, they say the role played by other factors – and animals – should also be examined.Open season on deer commenced last week when the BMJ reported that UK cases of the disease, a bacterial infection passed to humans by an infected tick bite, may be three times higher than previously estimated. Continue reading...

The race is on to produce an eco-friendly version of the in-vogue accessorySequins, like dogs, are not just for Christmas. The essential element of festive dressing has jumped season this year to put the sparkle into summer. But not everyone is happy to see plastic making a comeback just as the fashion industry is trying to become more sustainable.“I love a sparkly dress, but covering a dress in plastic cannot be justified if its worn once and discarded,” says Natalie Fee, founder of City to Sea, which campaigns to stop plastic pollution. “It needs to be a wardrobe staple.” Continue reading...

Evacuated residents urged not to return home with damage to structure at ‘critical level’Emergency services will continue their efforts to prevent a damaged dam from collapsing in Derbyshire, as forecasters warn more bad weather could be on the way.Water levels at the Toddbrook reservoir in Whaley Bridge have been reduced by half a metre since Thursday but the damage to the 180-year-old structure remains at a critical level. Continue reading...

About half a million acres of land in the rural Yazoo backwater area in Mississippi is underwater, a devastating blow for a poor region where agriculture is the economy’s lifebloodDating back to late February, about 550,000 acres of land have been underwater in the rural Yazoo backwater area of the lower Mississippi delta. About half of the acreage is farmland, creating devastating effects in a region where agriculture is the lifeblood of the economy. While flooding in the region is common, this year’s floodwater has hung around longer than ever. Continue reading...

The change, taking effect 20 August, is part of SFO’s plan to become a zero ‘waste-to-landfill’ facility by 2021The days of picking up a plastic bottle of water to stay hydrated during a long flight will soon be over for people flying out of San Francisco’s international airport (SFO).The airport, which restricted the distribution of single-use plastic straws when the city law went into effect in July, is now banning convenience shops, restaurants and vending machines from selling plastic water bottles. Starting on 20 August, only water in glass, recycled aluminum, or certified compostable materials can be sold. Continue reading...

PM tells residents that Toddbrook reservoir looks ‘dodgy but stable’The prime minister has visited the Derbyshire town of Whaley Bridge, where at least a thousand residents were forced to flee their homes amid fears a dam could collapse, engulfing the community of 6,500 people.Boris Johnson met a number of families affected by the evacuation. He told them he had flown over the dam twice and it was “dodgy but stable”, but police warned there was still “a substantial threat to life” if the dam wall fails. Continue reading...

Far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro calls satellite data showing rise in deforestation ‘lies’The director of Brazil’s National Space Research Institute (INPE) has been sacked in the midst of a controversy over its satellite data showing a rise in Amazon deforestation, which the far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, has called “lies”.Ricardo Galvão, who had defended the institute and criticised Bolsonaro’s attack, was dismissed on Friday after a meeting with the science and technology minister, Marcos Pontes. Continue reading...

Six right whales were killed in June, and two in July – a potentially devastating blow to a population estimated to be no more than 400Canadian conservationists are sounding an alarm over the survival of the North Atlantic right whale, a once numerous species that live off the east coast of the US and Canada.This June, six right whales were killed, followed by two more in July – a potentially devastating blow to a population that is now estimated to be no more than 400 strong. Continue reading...

Government told it is not acting quickly enough to upgrade infrastructureThe Whaley Bridge dam scare is a warning of the potentially disastrous consequences of failing to build new infrastructure to cope with the climate emergency, experts have said.As the environment secretary, Theresa Villiers, chaired a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee on efforts to make the dam safe, the government was facing calls for an urgent overhaul of flood defences and water infrastructure. Continue reading...