Environment | The Guardian

The 33-year-old was bitten in Cid Harbour in the same waters where two tourists were mauled in SeptemberA man who was attacked by a shark in Cid Harbour in the Whitsundays has died in hospital.The 33-year-old Victorian had been on a charter boat with friends on Monday and had gone paddle boarding, police said, before he was bitten about 5.30pm. Continue reading...

Upper layer above northern hemisphere should be completely repaired in 2030sThe ozone layer is showing signs of continuing recovery from man-made damage and is likely to heal fully by 2060, new evidence shows.The measures taken to repair the damage will also have an important beneficial effect on climate change, as some of the gases that caused the ozone layer to thin and in places disappear also contribute to warming the atmosphere. Phasing them out could avoid as much as 0.5C (0.9F) of warming this century. Continue reading...

Rare sighting in the Canadian Arctic as a growing number of species expand their range into warming watersA rare sighting of sperm whales in the Canadian Arctic is the latest sign of a quickly changing ecosystem, say scientists, as a growing number of species expand their range into warming Arctic waters.Brandon Laforest, a marine biologist with the World Wildlife Fund, and guide Titus Allooloo were working on a project monitoring the effect of marine traffic on the region’s narwhal population when they spotted the pair of large whales just outside Pond Inlet, a community at the northern tip of Baffin Island in September. Continue reading...

Nine who died in Sicily may be latest of thousands of victims of unauthorised constructionThe villa in the Sicilian town of Casteldaccia where a family of nine died during floods last Saturday could have been demolished two years ago.The property was built too close to the Milicia River, in an area of high hydrological risk, but the owners appealed against a demolition order and it was never carried out. Continue reading...

New research reveals that cryptocurrencies require far more electricity per-dollar than it takes to mine most real metalsThe amount of energy required to “mine” one dollar’s worth of bitcoin is more than twice that required to mine the same value of copper, gold or platinum, according to a new paper, suggesting that the virtual work that underpins bitcoin, ethereum and similar projects is more similar to real mining than anyone intended.One dollar’s worth of bitcoin takes about 17 megajoules of energy to mine, according to researchers from the Oak Ridge Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio, compared with four, five and seven megajoules for copper, gold and platinum. Continue reading...

Four states across America are on the eve of introducing new cannabis legislation Continue reading...

Leaked memo shows managers were given 24 hours to name 75 staff to be redeployed to work on a no-deal scenarioThe environment department has been accused of “panic” over Brexit after a leaked document revealed the emergency redeployment of staff to prepare for a no-deal scenario.Managers at the Environment Agency (EA) were given just 24 hours to name 75 staff to be sent to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). In September, the National Audit Office said Michael Gove’s department will not be ready for a no-deal Brexit, with meat and dairy and chemicals exports especially threatened. Continue reading...

Fair trade retailer was facing closure after poor sales compounded by weaker poundPioneering fair trade retailer Traidcraft, which had warned it was facing closure, has launched a turnaround plan that involves targeting younger ethical consumers.The faith-based group has traditionally relied on thousands of volunteers selling its coffee and tea at church hall stalls and school fairs. But in September the company warned it would cease trading unless it could come up with a profitable model after poor sales were compounded by the Brexit shock to the pound. Continue reading...

Research suggests first year ‘critical window’ in which toxic air can increase weight gainEarly exposure to air pollution from vehicles increases the risk of children becoming obese, new research has found.High levels of nitrogen dioxide, which is emitted by diesel engines, in the first year of life led to significantly faster weight gain later, the scientists found. Other pollutants produced by road traffic have also been linked to obesity in children by recent studies. Continue reading...

Opponents say revised definition of fracking will allow energy firms to bypass planning rulesThe government is facing a fresh legal challenge to its proposals to fast-track new fracking sites by loosening planning regulations.Ministers said this summer they would drop the requirement for shale gas wells to obtain planning permission by designating fracking sites as national infrastructure projects. Continue reading...

Veteran broadcaster says Dynasties, his new BBC wildlife series, will be gripping, truthful and entertaining but not overtly campaigningSir David Attenborough, the world’s most famous wildlife storyteller, believes repeated warnings about human destruction of the natural world can be a “turn-off” for viewers – a comment that is likely to reignite the debate about whether the veteran broadcaster’s primary duty is to entertain or educate.Ahead of the launch of Dynasties, a new five-part BBC documentary series, the presenter of Blue Planet II and Planet Earth II said the impact of habitat loss, climate change and pollution were evident everywhere, but sounding the alarm too often could be counterproductive. Continue reading...

Tiger known to hunters as T1 and as Avni to wildlife lovers had killed more than a dozen in two yearsA man-eating tiger that claimed more than a dozen victims in two years has been shot dead in India, officials say.One of India’s most high-profile tiger hunts in decades ended on Friday night when the mother of two 10-month-old cubs – known to hunters as T1 but Avni to wildlife lovers – was shot dead in the jungles of Maharashtra state. Continue reading...

The Horseshoe crab outlived the dinosaurs but is no match for medicine’s hunger for its bloodFew people in the world are aware their wellbeing may one day depend on a blue-blooded crab that looks like a cross between the facehugger from Alien and a gigantic louse. Fewer still realise this ancient creature now faces its greatest threat in more than 450m years.The American horseshoe crab outlived the dinosaurs and has survived four previous mass extinctions, but is now menaced by the pharmaceutical industry, fishing communities, habitat loss, climate change and, most recently, choking tides of red algae off the east coast of the United States. Continue reading...

Introducing the Guardian’s new series The Age of Extinction, the renowned primatologist describes the dramatic vanishing of wildlife she has witnessed in her lifetime – and how we can all play a vital role in halting its destructionDuring my years studying chimpanzees in Gombe national park in Tanzania I experienced the magic of the rainforest. I learned how all life is interconnected, how each species, no matter how insignificant it may seem, has a role to play in the rich tapestry of life – known today as biodiversity. Even the loss of one thread can have a ripple effect and result in major damage to the whole.I left Gombe in 1986 when I realised how fast chimpanzee habitat was being destroyed and how their numbers were declining. I visited six chimpanzee range states and learned a great deal about the rate of deforestation as a result of foreign corporations (timber, oil and mining) and population growth in communities in and around chimpanzee habitat, so that more land was needed for expanding villages, agriculture and grazing livestock. Continue reading...

More than 10,000 Instagram fans followed Meenakshi Moorthy and Vishnu Viswanath’s travels. But their mysterious death raises concerns about selfie cultureFrom the Grand Canyon to the California coast, Meenakshi Moorthy and Vishnu Viswanath documented a life of travel and and natural beauty in their adopted homeland for more than 10,000 Instagram followers.The pair had immigrated to Silicon Valley from India. Moorthy described herself as the “high-spirited storyteller” who penned their social-media entries. Viswanath, she said, was the “head photographer of our most pretty pics”. Posting online was about more than just receiving “likes”, she often remarked. And she warned about the dangers of scaling high places just for photographs. Continue reading...

Exclusive: slimmed-down Carmichael plan calls into question eligibility to delay royalties payment

Environmental groups say Russia, China and Norway played part in rejecting planA plan to turn a huge tract of pristine Antarctic ocean into the world’s biggest sanctuary has been rejected, throwing the future of one of the Earth’s most important ecosystems into doubt.Environmental groups said Russia, China and Norway had played a part in blocking the proposal, with the other 22 members of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, the organisation set up to protect Antarctic waters, backing the proposal. Continue reading...

A Bengal tiger, oystercatchers and a new species of butterfly are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world Continue reading...

Karen people in Tanintharyi region fear project to protect 800,000-acre area will cut them off from ancestral landsA British conservation charity has become embroiled in a row with villagers displaced by civil war in Myanmar over plans to protect pristine forests housing wild Asian elephants, tigers and sun bears.Fauna and Flora International (FFI) is helping to finance the $21m (£15.8m) ridge to reef project, which is led by the UN’s development programme and aims to protect up to 800,000 acres of the country’s south-eastern Tanintharyi region from threats like poachers, loggers and palm oil companies. Continue reading...

Demand for the rest of the year and lower solar output will still keep energy firms in businessBritish summers could be entirely powered without fossil fuels by the middle of the century without breaking the economics of the energy market, according to a report.But while wind, solar and nuclear power would provide nearly 91% of the country’s electricity by then, up from about 50% today, gas power stations are still expected to be needed during winters. Continue reading...

From 2020, lotions containing any of 10 chemicals linked to coral bleaching will be outlawedThe tiny Pacific island nation of Palau will ban “reef-toxic” sunscreens from 2020 in what it claims is a world-first initiative to stop chemical pollution killing its famed corals.Palau, which lies in the north-west Pacific, east of the Philippines and directly north of Australia, is regarded as one of the world’s best diving destinations, but the government is concerned its popularity is coming at a cost. Continue reading...

Thirty Meter Telescope would be among the largest of its kind in the northern hemisphere, but natives say the land is sacredHawaiian campaigners who oppose a massive telescope on their sacred mountain say they’ll continue to fight the project despite approval by the supreme court this week.The fight over the 18-storey Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) has been going on for years, pitting scientists against Hawaiian conservationists. Continue reading...

Material that said humans were warming the planet was taken down last year for an ‘update’

Party wary of wading into tough political fight on environment even though Democrats could retake House in midterms

Lee Rowley says many colleagues have concerns as opposition builds to loosening of planning rulesA growing number of Tory MPs are turning against fracking, according to one MP with a drilling site in his constituency.Lee Rowley, who chairs the new all-party parliamentary group looking into the impact of shale gas, told the Guardian he was seeing increasing numbers of colleagues with worries about hydraulic fracturing. Continue reading...

Republican-drawn voting districts left Native Americans voiceless despite their majorities. This election could bring sweeping changeThe community gathering took place in the northern reaches of the Navajo Nation. Hundreds of people lined up in view of Monument Valley’s towering red mesas to enjoy traditional singing and dancing but also to register to vote – and end the legacy of racial gerrymandering that, for decades, has blocked Native Americans from power in this isolated corner of the American west.Here in southern Utah’s red rock country, as in other rural reaches of the US, Democrats are working hard to make the so-called blue wave a reality. But the history of disenfranchisement has cast a long shadow over the Navajo Nation, one they hope they can throw off in the election. Continue reading...

Protests and court cases have failed but the government’s rules on tremors could wreck shale gas economicsProtests, legal challenges and planning rejections have failed to stop the return of fracking in Britain, but the government’s regulations on earthquakes are fast emerging as the biggest threat to the nascent shale gas industry.The energy company Cuadrilla has been forced to stop work at its Preston New Road site in Lancashire twice in four days – on Friday last week and on Monday – due to minor earthquakes occurring while it was fracking. The tremors breached a seismic threshold imposed after fracking caused minor earthquakes at a nearby Cuadrilla site in 2011. Continue reading...

As a new road cycling pantheon is launched, we ask who should be honoured for their efforts to promote cycling for all. Add your suggestions in the comments and we’ll select some of the best in a future postThe world of mountain biking has had a hall of fame since 1988. Road cycling has a few of them, including a UK-centric one from British Cycling – and now a new international one from Rouleur magazine launching on Thursday. But, to the best of my knowledge, transportation cycling has never had one.Nature abhors a vacuum, so here’s our chance to start the Everyday Cycling Hall of Fame. I’ve taken the liberty of suggesting who I think ought to be the first 10 inductees. Who would you include? Continue reading...

Conservationists fear move will put short-term business interests ahead of the world’s biggest terrestrial carbon sink, indigenous communities and rich eco-systems

More than 30 CEOS invited to talks as Coalition intent on regulatory changesThe energy minister, Angus Taylor, will meet chief executives of Australia’s major power companies in Sydney next week as part of the Morrison government’s ongoing jawboning exercise to bring power prices down before voters go to the polls.More than 30 chief executives have been invited to attend the talks next Wednesday, with the government intent on regulatory changes such as introducing a default market offer for energy prices for households and small businesses by next July. Continue reading...

Fourteen states oppose EPA’s effort to replace Obama measure and encourage more efficient coal plants

Report says high prices have pushed global energy markets more quickly towards cheaper and cleaner alternativesThe Australian coal export industry has peaked and entered a “terminal long-term decline”, says a new report that argues high prices have pushed global energy markets more quickly towards cheaper and cleaner alternatives.

First map of Earth’s intact ecosystems shows just five nations are responsible for most of them – but it will require global action to protect themJust five countries hold 70% of the world’s remaining untouched wilderness areas and urgent international action is needed to protect them, according to new research.Researchers from the University of Queensland (UQ) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) have for the first time produced a global map that sets out which countries are responsible for nature that is devoid of heavy industrial activity. Continue reading...

Bill Shorten’s government would, if elected, create a national environment protection authority and a new environment actA Labor government would bring in new federal environment laws and strong independent agencies including a national environment protection authority (EPA) to enforce them, under a draft policy platform signed off by the ALP national executive.Developed by a 60-member policy forum chaired by the opposition leader, Bill Shorten, and the outgoing party president, Mark Butler, the platform is the basis for debate at Labor’s national conference in Adelaide next month. Continue reading...

Images from the Chinese capital show the city’s pollution levels rising in October 2018In 2012, more than 1 million people reportedly died from air pollution in China, according to the World Health Organization, with winter smog proving a particular problem in the country’s densely populated capital, Beijing. Continue reading...

Vishnu Viswanath and Meenakshi Moorthy of India apparently set up their camera near popular overlook with no railingAn Indian husband and wife who fell to their deaths from a popular overlook at Yosemite national park in California were apparently taking a selfie, the man’s brother said Tuesday.Park rangers recovered the bodies of Vishnu Viswanath, 29, and Meenakshi Moorthy, 30, on Thursday about 800ft (245 meters) below Taft Point, where visitors can walk to the edge of a vertigo-inducing granite ledge that doesn’t have a railing. Continue reading...

Secretary Ryan Zinke has been linked to real estate deals and questionable actions that benefit lawmakers, businesses and familyAn ethics watchdog has referred findings of misconduct by the US interior secretary to lawyers at the justice department who will decide whether to pursue a criminal investigation, according to the Washington Post and CNN.The watchdog – the interior department’s inspector general - has conducted several probes involving Secretary Ryan Zinke, and it’s not clear which the Justice Department could review. Continue reading...

Third day of storms bring widespread damage to towns as lagoon city baptistery is submerged by 90cm of waterViolent storms battered Italy for a third consecutive day on Tuesday, killing at least 11 people, and flooding much of Venice.Related: Venice flooded by high tide – in pictures Continue reading...

Barry Quirk says further tests should have been ordered after contamination came to lightThe chief executive of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has apologised to the communities affected by the Grenfell Tower fire and said the authorities should have ordered more sweeping tests for potential contamination in the surrounding area months ago.Barry Quirk said he wished the council (RBKC) had acted in February when it was told of concerns about toxins found in preliminary tests on soil and residue samples around the tower. Continue reading...

We’re now at a fork in the road: either we cut out fossil fuels completely, or we pass on a dying planet to our childrenThe world faces a near-impossible decision – one that is already determining the character and quality of the lives of the generations succeeding us.It is clear from the latest IPCC climate report that the first and only effective course, albeit a deeply unpopular one, would be to stop using any fossil fuels. The second would be to voluntarily minimise their use as much as climate scientists have calculated would deliver some prospect of success. Finally, we can carry on as we are by aiming to meet the growth in demand for activities dependent on fossil fuels, allowing market forces to mitigate the problems that such a course of action generates – and leave it to the next generation to set in train realistic solutions (if that is possible), that the present one has been unable to find. Continue reading...

Largely relieved of pressure from deforestation and hunting, bears are increasingly coming into contact with peopleThe swift rebound of bear populations in the US is presenting a growing number of Americans with a major challenge – what to do about the enormous hirsute neighbors that are breaking into their homes, gorging on their food and guzzling their cans of soda?Black bears, largely relieved of pressure on their numbers from untrammeled deforestation and hunting, are increasingly coming into contact with people in places where the two species haven’t interacted in many decades. Continue reading...

Emergency plans for homes, roads and industry as country loses 40% of power supply

Glaciers in the Yukon territory are retreating even faster than expected in a warming climate, scientists warnScientists in Canada have warned that massive glaciers in the Yukon territory are shrinking even faster than would be expected from a warming climate – and bringing dramatic changes to the region.After a string of recent reports chronicling the demise of the ice fields, researchers hope that greater awareness will help the public better understand the rapid pace of climate change. Continue reading...

ACF aims to pour resources into three marginal seats to inflict electoral pain on major parties for policy failuresThe Australian Conservation Foundation will target three marginal seats in Victoria and Queensland in a bid to push “middle Australia” to demand more action on climate change, its chief executive has said.Kelly O’Shanassy made the comments at the National Press Club on Tuesday, unveiling the environmental group’s election action plan to break the political deadlock over climate change. Continue reading...

Researchers say amount of vegetation burnt by fires caused by lightning strikes rose dramatically this centuryThe amount of vegetation burnt by fires caused by lightning strikes in Tasmania’s world heritage area has increased dramatically this century, according to new research led by the University of Tasmania.The study, published this month in the academic journal Fire, warns the state’s heritage forests face rising threats because of the tendency toward drier summers and that the probability of “catastrophic” fires could increase as a result of more fuel igniting from lightning strikes. Continue reading...

While violence and poverty have been cited as the reasons for the exodus, experts say the big picture is that changing climate is forcing farmers off their land – and it’s likely to get worseThousands of Central American migrants trudging through Mexico towards the US have regularly been described as either fleeing gang violence or extreme poverty.But another crucial driving factor behind the migrant caravan has been harder to grasp: climate change. Continue reading...

Royal commission counsel also says officials tried to lean on CSIRO to reduce water recovered for the environmentThe Murray-Darling Basin Authority has been accused of maladministration, deliberately ignoring the best science on the river, leaning on the CSIRO to alter reports on the adequacy of the basin plan and ignoring the impact of climate change in its future planning.In a scathing assessment of the authority, counsel assisting the South Australian Murray-Darling royal commission, Richard Beasley SC, has painted a picture of an organisation cowed by its political masters and too afraid to present its own scientific data to the greater scientific community. Continue reading...

Solar will represent a very substantial part of our power supply, but we’re hardly at risk of generating too much. Here’s whyOver the last few weeks there have been a number of reports in the media that Australia is on the verge of hitting too much solar energy.This includes claims by some electricity generators that we are heading towards a “solar peak” – a point at which “there is no point in putting any more solar power into the system” because it will just be spilled and wasted. Continue reading...

Assessment underscores threat to koalas and other native species• Humanity has wiped out 60% of animals since 1970, major report findsAustralia’s east coast has been compared to the Amazon as a “deforestation front” in a new global report by the World Wide Fund for Nature that underscores the threat to populations of koalas and other native species.The Living Planet report, produced by WWF every second year for the past 20 years, says global populations of vertebrate species have declined 60% since 1970. But koala numbers have disappeared at a much faster rate – more than 20% a decade – to the extent they could disappear from the wild in New South Wales by 2050. Continue reading...

1.1-magnitude tremor second to have breached regulatory threshold in recent daysFracking has stopped again at a shale gas well near Blackpool after the area was struck by the most powerful earthquake since operations began.A total of 27 minor earthquakes have occurred near energy company Cuadrilla’s site since fracking started a fortnight ago. Continue reading...