Chemicals used to clean up spills have harmed marine wildlife, response workers and coastal residents. The EPA must act

Government announces generation projects that could win public support, and will examine need for a new coal plant in QueenslandScott Morrison has attempted to mollify rebel Queenslanders by promising to examine whether a new coal plant is needed in north Queensland, and by signing off on a shortlist for new power generation that includes “one very small” coal project in New South Wales proposed by coal baron and LNP donor, Trevor St Baker.Cabinet on Tuesday signed off on a shortlist of 12 generation projects that could attract taxpayer underwriting, and allocated $10m for a feasibility study that will examine whether it is desirable to revive the decommissioned coal plant at Collinsville, south of Townsville. Continue reading...

It could take up to four months to finish cleaning up the spill from the MV TraderOcean currents have carried oil leaking from a shipwreck on the Solomon Islands away from a nearby world heritage site as authorities continue a clean-up operation that is expected to take months.Cleaning up after the bulk carrier MV Solomon Trader, which ran aground on a coral reef in early February and released 80 tonnes of oil, is expected to take up to four months. Continue reading...

Younger coal-fired power plants in Asia account for increase, says energy agencyGreenhouse gas emissions from energy production rose strongly again last year, according to new data from the International Energy Agency, with a young fleet of coal-fired power plants in Asia accounting for a large proportion of the increase.Energy demand grew at its fastest pace this decade, with a 2.3% increase globally driving rises in fossil fuel consumption. Coal use in power stations was a third of the increase in energy consumption, and together gas and coal were responsible for nearly 70% of the growth in energy consumption, and while demand for solar and wind power also increased, it was by much less overall. Continue reading...

Current regime fails to halt the creeping loss of critical habitat, WWF Australia warnsKoala populations on the Australian east coast have diminished to the extent the species should now be considered “endangered”, environment groups have said, amid concern that existing protection measures have failed to halt the creeping loss of critical habitat.In south-east Queensland, once a stronghold for koala populations, habitat continues to be bulldozed through ineffective offset strategies, loopholes in development restrictions and poor planning for population growth, the groups said. Continue reading...

Around 75% of coal production is more expensive than renewables, with industry out-competed on cost by 2025

Government invades modern-day gold-rush town in Amazon in its biggest ever raid on illegal gold miningLocated along a jungle highway in the Amazon around 60 miles from the nearest city, La Pampa was a place you entered at your own risk. At night it was a riot of neon lights and pulsating cumbía music from “prostibar” brothels, frequented by roaming groups of men flush with cash. Neither authorities nor outsiders – and particularly not journalists – were welcome.This modern-day gold-rush town, home to about 25,000 people, was both a hub for organised crime and people trafficking and a gateway into a treeless, lunar landscape pocked with toxic pools created by illegal gold mining, stretching far into one of the Amazon’s most treasured reserves. Continue reading...

Should we become vegetarians? Is it OK to fly? The author of There Is No Planet B, A Handbook for the Make or Break Years, answers the big questionsOur food makes up something like a quarter of our greenhouse gas footprint, and at the same time as cutting this we need to feed a growing population better than we are doing now, while rescuing our haemorrhaging biodiversity and avoiding an antibiotics crisis. There is no escaping the clear evidence that humans need to reduce their meat – especially beef and lamb – as well as dairy consumption. When we feed a soya bean to a cow, we get back only about 10% of the nutrition in beef, and it comes with a hefty dose of methane (a powerful greenhouse gas) and very likely some deforestation. Continue reading...

NSW Coalition has the seats to form a majority as Michael Daley stands aside until new Labor leader vote held after the federal electionABC’s election analyst Antony Green has called the seat of Dubbo for the Nationals, giving New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian the 47th seat she needs to claim majority government of the state.And the opposition leader, Michael Daley, has stood aside in favour of his deputy Penny Sharpe, though he still intends to offer himself as leader in a rank-and-file ballot that will be held after the federal election. Continue reading...

Captive population of critically endangered bird doubles with the birth of nine chicksThe captive population of Australia’s most unique critically endangered bird has doubled with the birth of nine plains-wanderer chicks, helped out by a feather duster, a heat lamp and a lot of cotton wool.The chicks were born to two pairs and hatched within 24 hours of each other at Werribee open range zoo in Victoria last week. Continue reading...

Government must take urgent action to improve air quality around schools, report findsNearly two-thirds of teachers would support car-free roads outside schools during drop-off and pickup times, while more than half want the government to take urgent action to improve air quality outside schools, a survey suggests.The study, in which 840 people in teaching roles across the UK participated, found that 63% would support a ban on motor vehicles outside the school gates at the start and end of the day. Continue reading...

Only loose versions of 45 products will be sold in Extra stores in Watford and SwindonTesco is launching a trial to remove a selection of plastic-wrapped fruit and vegetable to cut down on packaging waste.Britain’s biggest retailer said it would run the month-long pilot from Monday at two of its Extra stores, in Watford and Swindon, removing plastic packaging from 45 foods where loose alternatives are available. The items include apples, onions, mushrooms, peppers, bananas and avocados. Continue reading...

Devastated areas of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi brace for the spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera and malariaCyclone Idai’s death toll has risen above 750 in the three southern African countries hit 10 days ago by the storm, as workers try to restore electricity and water and prevent an outbreak of cholera.In Mozambique the number of dead has risen to 446, with 259 dead in Zimbabwe and at least 56 dead in Malawi. Continue reading...

Action group Market Forces urges shareholders to divest holdings in 22 ‘uninvestables’New analysis shows 22 of Australia’s largest companies are actively working to undermine the Paris agreement targets, betting shareholders’ money on strategies that assume global climate change action fails.Investor action group Market Forces says those companies – worth a combined $121bn and representing 7% of the ASX300 – are “out of line and out of time” and has called on shareholders to divest their holdings. Continue reading...

Campaigners say Custo’s development will spoil Sa Guarda in CadaquésThe Barcelona-based fashion business Custo is under fire for plans to build a hotel on a beauty spot in Cadaqués, a picturesque Costa Brava town that has long attracted artists and writers.Campaigners led by two groups – Salvem l’Empordà (Save Emporda, the region Cadaqués is in) and SOS Costa Brava – protested on Friday outside a Custo shop in Barcelona, demanding that work be stopped on the project to build the 4,000 sq m Hotel Custo and 104 houses on land in Sa Guarda in Cadaqués. Continue reading...

Labour study comes as UK government faces pressure from courts and councilsThe government’s fracking proposals would release the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as almost 300 million new cars, fatally undermining ministers’ obligation to tackle the escalating climate crisis, according to new research.Analysis by the Labour party shows that the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere if the government’s plans go ahead would be the same as the lifetime emissions of 286 million cars – or 29 new coal-fired power plants. Continue reading...

As city air becomes more toxic, sales of a new type of product are boomingDemand for anti-pollution beauty products is soaring as Londoners wake up to the impact of toxic air on their complexions. Microscopic particles are second only to the sun in terms of their ageing effect, and there is a growing trend toward skincare designed to combat them.At the department store Liberty online searches for anti-pollution skincare are up 73% since this time last year. “We’re right next to Oxford Circus” – one of the most polluted places in London – “so our customers are very attuned to the topic and definitely associate pollution with skin ageing,” said the store’s beauty buyer, Emily Bell, who predicts that in the future anti-pollution products will be as commonplace as sun protection creams. Continue reading...

Bill Shorten has given a further indication that Labor will not use the ‘accounting trick’ as part of its emissions policyBill Shorten has signalled Labor is highly unlikely to use carryover credits from the Kyoto protocol as part of its climate change policy, which will be unveiled over the coming weeks.In his strongest comments to date, the Labor leader said over the weekend he recognised that other countries had resolved not to use the accounting system that allows countries to count credits from exceeding their targets under the soon-to-be-obsolete Kyoto protocol periods against their Paris emissions reduction commitments for 2030. Continue reading...

Big retailers must back customers’ wishes and phase out microplastics, campaigners say as petition is launchedIt is a familiar adornment of both Mother’s Day and Easter gifts, and brings dustings of sparkle to everything from children’s craft projects to greetings cards and even flowers and pot plants. But campaigners are calling for a ban on glitter, branding it an environmental scourge that contains damaging microplastics.“Glitter might look lovely but, because it’s plastic, it sticks around long after the sparkle has gone – often in the stomachs of fish and birds,” said David Innes, from the campaign group 38 Degrees, which has launched a petition calling on environment secretary Michael Gove to outlaw the product. Innes cites a recent study showing that up to a third of fish caught in the North Sea contained microplastic particles – including glitter. Continue reading...

An influx of visitors, eager for Instagram fodder, prompted Lake Elsinore’s mayor to shut down access to a flower-covered canyonThe town of Lake Elsinore sits at the edge of a canyon newly bursting with color. Fields of poppies, lupins and other wildflowers spill across hillsides – usually covered with brown, scrubby plants – as though poured from a bucket of paint.In the last few weeks, large swaths of southern California have been transformed into a colorful canvas of flowers. This type of “super bloom” has happened before, but this year is especially intense – an unusually wet winter following years of drought, combined with the aftermath of a brutal wildfire season, has set the stage for what many predicted would be the best bloom in years. Continue reading...

Film forms part of Our Planet Matters, a season that launches on Sunday and will highlight environmental damageNatural history programming is one of the oldest and most sustainable forms of TV life. It is 50 years since David Attenborough made his first major TV documentary series, The Miracle of Bali, its title capturing the eyes-wide wonder of the genre at the time.But the climate of the BBC Natural History Unit, for which Attenborough has made most of his shows, has changed radically – because of climate change. Continue reading...

A playful polar bear cub in Berlin, a hopaway wallaby in Texas and a roaming vicuna in Ecuador Continue reading...

Report looks at 16 conflict areas and calls for military to stop targeting water resourcesDiarrhoea and other diseases related to poor sanitation are bigger killers of children in areas of conflict than violence and war itself, a report has found, highlighting the need for improved infrastructure as a way of helping civilian populations afflicted by warfare.Children under five are more than 20 times more likely to die from diarrhoeal diseases than from direct violence, according to Unicef. Henrietta Fore, the organisation’s executive director, said: “The reality is there are more children who die from lack of access to safe water than by bullets.” Continue reading...

Failure to protect wildlife, cut pollution and increase funding have left nature in ‘deep crisis’The UK will miss almost all the 2020 nature targets it signed up to a decade ago, according to a report by the government’s official advisers.The nation is failing to protect threatened species; end the degradation of land; reduce agricultural pollution; and increase funding for green schemes, the assessment concludes. It also says the UK is not ending unsustainable fishing; stopping the arrival of invasive alien species; nor raising public awareness of the importance of biodiversity. Continue reading...

Grassroots group calls on party to commit to decarbonising UK economy within a decadeLabour members have launched a grassroots campaign to push the party to adopt a radical Green New Deal to transform the UK economy, tackle inequality and address the escalating climate crisis.The group, inspired by the success of the Sunrise Movement and the Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the US, is calling on Labour to commit to radical action to decarbonise the UK economy within a decade. Continue reading...

World Water Day study highlights lethal nature of unsafe sanitation and hygiene for children, especially under-fivesChildren under five who live in conflict zones are 20 times more likely to die from diarrhoeal diseases linked to unsafe water than from direct violence as a result of war, Unicef has found.Analysing mortality data from 16 countries beset by long-term conflict – including Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen – the UN children’s agency also found that unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene kills nearly three times more children under 15 than war. Continue reading...

Texas’s eco-tourism industry is seeing a drop in visitors in what should be a blockbuster year – and locals think the push for a border wall is to blameIn the Alamo Inn’s gift shop, a whiteboard lists recent bird sightings in the valley: Morelet’s seedeater; ferruginous hawk; crimson-collared grosbeak; golden-crowned warbler.“We didn’t see these birds at all last year,” said Keith Hackland, who with his wife co-owns the inn, in the small Texan town of Alamo, which caters to birders and other nature tourists. Continue reading...

Ad campaigns hide investment in a huge expansion of oil and gas extraction, says InfluenceMapThe largest five stock market listed oil and gas companies spend nearly $200m (£153m) a year lobbying to delay, control or block policies to tackle climate change, according to a new report.Chevron, BP and ExxonMobil were the main companies leading the field in direct lobbying to push against a climate policy to tackle global warming, the report said. Continue reading...

Hold-ups reach southern ports as analysts warn that trade could dry up amid China restructuring and diplomatic tensionThe number of Chinese ports restricting or delaying Australian coal imports has continued to rise, threatening to end the export bonanza that is bloating federal coffers and signalling possible painful long-term structural change to the economy.In an ominous development for Australia’s trade balance and federal budget, traders and buyers in China reported on Thursday that the hold-ups for Australian shipments that began in February have spread from the northern port of Dalian to Fuzhou in the south-eastern Fujian province and Rizhao in Qingdao. Continue reading...

Two-thirds of the lower 48 US states will have a heightened risk until May, Noaa forecast says, after severe flooding in the midwestThe severe flooding in the American midwest is set to only be a prelude to “unprecedented” levels of flooding across the US in the coming months that will imperil 200 million people, federal government scientists have warned.Related: Nebraska floods: private pilots fly in to help city walled off by water Continue reading...

Bodies previously entombed in ice have been made accessible due to global warmingMelting glaciers on Mount Everest are exposing the dead bodies of climbers previously entombed in ice, as global warming causes temperatures to rise.Almost 300 climbers have been killed attempting to climb the mountain since the first attempt to scale it in 1922. Continue reading...

Munich Re, world’s largest reinsurance firm, warns premium rises could become social issueInsurers have warned that climate change could make cover for ordinary people unaffordable after the world’s largest reinsurance firm blamed global warming for $24bn (£18bn) of losses in the Californian wildfires.Ernst Rauch, Munich Re’s chief climatologist, told the Guardian that the costs could soon be widely felt, with premium rises already under discussion with clients holding asset concentrations in vulnerable parts of the state. Continue reading...

Exclusive: body parts of endangered animals among those imported through legal loopholeLion bones, leopard skulls and an ottoman chair’s elephant leather were among the body parts of endangered animals imported into the UK by trophy hunters through a loophole in international law in 2018, the Guardian can reveal.The government is facing renewed calls to ban trophy hunting imports of endangered species after 74 rare animal body parts were legally brought into the country by hunters last year, including hippopotamus teeth, elephant ears and crocodile skins. Continue reading...

Tens of thousands still trapped by flood waters as rescuers in Mozambique race against clockNew satellite images of the Mozambican port city of Beira have revealed the vast scale of flooding, as rescuers race to reach tens of thousands of people trapped by flood waters from Cyclone Idai.European Space Agency images show a huge new inland “lake” measuring about 80 miles by 15 miles (125km by 25km). Continue reading...

Vain promises and empty slogans have got us nowhere. Fossil-fuel extraction must end before more lives are lostAs Africa climate week unfurls in Ghana, the countries of Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe count the costs of Cyclone Idai, which ripped through villages and towns, taking hundreds of lives and leaving a trail of destruction.For a continent already racked by the effects of the climate crisis, Idai is another chilling reminder of the destructive power of the kind of storms that will become more common as the world warms up. Continue reading...

In a rebuke of the Trump administration’s ‘energy-first’ agenda, a judge rules greenhouse gas emissions must be consideredIn the first significant check on the Trump administration’s “energy-first” agenda, a US judge has temporarily halted hundreds of drilling projects for failing to take climate change into account.

Workers appeal for more helicopters as flood waters keep rising after Cyclone Idai

Craig Bennett, CEO of Friends of the Earth, says rich countries must act to make disasters such as the cyclone that hit Mozambique less likely. Meteorologist Bernadette Woods Placky describes how Climate Matters is helping to end the ‘TV news desert’ around global warming. Plus letters from Caroline Evans and Daniel ScharfThe disaster to hit Mozambique is reported as one of the worst tropical cyclones to visit the southern hemisphere, with hundreds dead and hundreds of thousands more needing urgent assistance. I note the Guardian was the only major newspaper to lead with this story on Wednesday (Race to find survivors after deadly cyclone, 20 March).People suffering in Mozambique and neighbouring countries didn’t create the climate crisis, but they are dying from more intense weather events like Cyclone Idai. Continue reading...

Australia has highest rate of mammal extinction in the world but government admits it ‘does not have data’ on plansThe federal environment department has admitted it does not know whether recovery plans meant to prevent extinctions of threatened species are actually being implemented.Related: Wombats, sharks, possums, frogs: Australia's animals at risk of extinction – interactive Continue reading...

Protest’s organisers say bank invested more $30bn in 15 fossil fuel projects from 2012-17A UK-wide campaign is being launched to persuade one of the country’s biggest high street banks to stop investing billions of pounds in the fossil fuel industry.Activists from the Labour-supporting Momentum group will team up with the environmental group People and Planet to stage more than 40 “creative direct actions” at Barclays branches in town and cities across the UK later this month. Continue reading...

Allegations that animals not fit for consumption are entering food chain raise doubts over Netherlands’ inspection regimeAn investigation into the Dutch food safety authority has been ordered by the minister of agriculture, Carola Schouten, following repeated allegations that sick cows are being slaughtered in the north of the Netherlands.A number of cases have been brought against cattle traders and slaughterhouses for transporting and offering sick cattle for slaughter in recent years, with several consequent convictions. Now the government is to review the Dutch food safety authority (Nederlandse Voedsel en Waren Autoriteit, NVWA). The NVWA is responsible for monitoring the slaughterhouses, but questions have been raised about its effectiveness since it was established in 2012. Continue reading...

Commission set up by Scottish government recommends new powers to split monopoliesScottish land ownership rules must be radically reformed to reverse the concentration of the countryside in the hands of a small number of ultra-wealthy individuals and public bodies, a major review has warned.The study by the Scottish Land Commission, a government quango, says that in extreme cases where landowners abuse their power they could face compulsory purchase or community buyouts. Continue reading...

Latest incident raises concerns about Brazil’s nuclear security in a state struggling with violent crimeA convoy of trucks carrying nuclear fuel came under armed attack on a highway in Rio de Janeiro state on Tuesday as it drove past a community controlled by a drug gang. Gang members armed with rifles opened fire on the convoy, Rio’s O Globo newspaper said.Armed police escorting the convoy exchanged fire with armed gang members as the trucks carrying uranium continued to a nearby nuclear plant. The attack is the latest of several violent incidents in the area where Brazil has two nuclear reactors and has raised concerns about its nuclear security in a state struggling with high levels of violent crime. Continue reading...

Environmental campaigners say backing for Woodhouse colliery cannot be justifiedBritain’s first new deep coal mine in 30 years has been given the go-ahead by Cumbria county council, sparking protests from climate change campaigners that the decision would harm the UK’s efforts to reduce CO2 emissions.The £165m Woodhouse colliery was backed by Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors, who said it would bring vital jobs to the area. Copeland’s Conservative MP Trudy Harrison has “wholeheartedly” endorsed the proposed undersea mine, saying the investment it would bring to the area was crucial. Continue reading...

Destructive power of storms likely to increase in future as world warms upThe climate crisis that is driving sea level rises and more extreme rainfall is making deadly storms like the one that hit southern Africa more severe, according to experts.Cyclone Idai, the tropical storm that ravaged Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, has been described as the worst weather-related disaster to hit the southern hemisphere, and the UN says more than 2 million people have been affected. Storm-surge floods of up to six metres have caused widespread devastation. Continue reading...

Former South Australian premier says NSW Coalition is a barrier to getting action among the statesThe New South Wales Labor party has wheeled out the former South Australian premier, Jay Weatherill, to help bolster its credentials on climate change in key seats where the issue could be the decider.Climate change is the top issue in Coogee, currently held by the Liberals on a margin of 2.9%, and Balmain, which Labor hopes to reclaim from the Greens, which holds it by 4.7%. Continue reading...

Bird of prey 10 times more likely to die on English grouse moors than other habitatsHen harriers are 10 times more likely to die or disappear from or near to English grouse moors than any other habitat, according to a long-term study which reveals the scale of the illegal persecution of the endangered raptor.An analysis of hen harriers over a decade found 72% of 58 satellite-tagged birds were confirmed or considered “very likely” to have been illegally killed. Just 17% of juvenile hen harriers survived beyond their first year around grouse moors in northern England and southern Scotland, compared with 36% across the Scottish mainland, where persecution has also been recorded, and between 37% and 54% on Orkney, where there are no grouse moors. Continue reading...

Images show marine biologist removing 88lb worth of plastic bags from stomach of whale that died in Philippines of ‘gastric shock’

Recycling of 500,000 bags is small fraction of 11m made daily, campaigners say

Scientists say AP study consistent with peer-reviewed literature and shows clear sign of human-caused climate changeOver the past 20 years, Americans have been twice as likely to sweat through record-breaking heat rather than shiver through record-setting cold, a new Associated Press data analysis shows.The AP looked at 424 weather stations throughout the US lower 48 states that had consistent temperature records since 1920 and counted how many times daily hot temperature records were tied or broken and how many daily cold records were set. In a stable climate, the numbers should be roughly equal. Continue reading...