Environment | The Guardian

As Hitachi and Toshiba abandon plans for new British nuclear reactors, Damian Carrington assesses the merits of the technology

Despite recent scrapping of three plants, experts still feel the energy has stake in future

As a Bitcoin maker who covered the oil industry as a journalist, I see parallels between the two that may haunt cryptocurrencyI make Bitcoin, and in a previous life, I covered the oil industry as a journalist. Increasingly, I’m realizing the two worlds are alike. Bitcoin is oil.And one day, Bitcoin will become big oil, and all who dabble in it will be reborn as enemies of the environmental movement, seen as plunderers of the planet and the bad guys in the fight against climate change – just like oil. Continue reading...

Japanese giant unable to agree deal with UK as fears grow for Anglesey atomic plant

The Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations back Sarah Hanson-Young’s claim that Menindee fish kill is just the latest example of mismanagementThe Greens will introduce legislation to establish a royal commission into the mismanagement of the Murray-Darling Basin when parliament returns in February, in the wake of the massive fish kill at Menindee last week.The Greens environment and water spokeswoman, Sarah Hanson-Young, said she would move to set up the inquiry, which will have power to compel testimony from bureaucrats and ministers. The call has been backed by the Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations (NBAN), which claims native title holders have been left out of important decision-making about the Darling River. Continue reading...

Paris agreement for the sea recommended as rates of plastic pollution to skyrocketA new global agreement to protect the seas should be a priority for the government to stop our seas becoming a “sewer”, according to a cross-party group of MPs.Plastic pollution is set to treble in the next decade, the environmental audit committee warned, while overfishing is denuding vital marine habitats of fish, and climate change is causing harmful warming of the oceans as well as deoxygenation and acidification. Continue reading...

‘Planetary health diet’ would prevent millions of deaths a year and avoid climate changeThe first science-based diet that tackles both the poor food eaten by billions of people and averts global environmental catastrophe has been devised. It requires huge cuts in red meat-eating in western countries and radical changes across the world.The “planetary health diet” was created by an international commission seeking to draw up guidelines that provide nutritious food to the world’s fast-growing population. At the same time, the diet addresses the major role of farming – especially livestock – in driving climate change, the destruction of wildlife and the pollution of rivers and oceans. Continue reading...

The former coal lobbyist took over the EPA when his predecessor Scott Pruitt resigned after months of controversyA former coal lobbyist Donald Trump has nominated to run the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday touted rolling back pollution standards and declined to identify climate change as a crisis requiring unprecedented action from the US.Andrew Wheeler, the deputy administrator who took over when his predecessor Scott Pruitt resigned after months of controversy, said in his confirmation hearing that he is carrying out the president’s “regulatory reform agenda”. Wheeler called the US the “gold standard for environmental progress”. Continue reading...

40% of power bought at a fixed price while 60% a market-based price that is renegotiated every two yearsMelbourne has become the first city in Australia to have all of its council-owned infrastructure powered by renewable energy.The City of Melbourne switched all its operations to renewable energy on 1 January. The power is supplied by the Crowlands windfarm near Ararat in western Victoria, which was funded through a power purchase agreement with the City of Melbourne and 13 other Melbourne councils and institutions. Continue reading...

Greenpeace sceptical about corporate polluters as alliance launched to reduce wasteThe scourge of plastic waste in the world’s oceans is the target of a new global alliance of businesses which says it will try to reduce the amount of plastic waste produced and improve recycling.The Alliance to End Plastic Waste, launched on Wednesday, includes companies producing consumer goods and plastic, as well as waste management and recycling firms. Among more than 25 companies joining the effort are household names such as Procter & Gamble, Shell, BASF and ExxonMobil. Continue reading...

Dan Little, a retired forest service worker, took matters into his own hands when the shutdown left his local wilderness a messThe longest ever government shutdown has left US national parks chronically understaffed, with grim consequences: messy toilets, broken Joshua trees, and unsupervised campers.Related: Keeping US national parks open during the shutdown is a terrible mistake | Jonathan B Jarvis Continue reading...

Government admits process that allowed Pont Valley site to begin operating was flawedThe government is to review a decision to allow open-cast coal mining in a valley in County Durham.Lawyers for the government have written to campaigners to say their decision-making was flawed and agreed to look again. The mine in the Pont Valley, known as Bradley, began operating last year after four decades of opposition. Continue reading...

As part of London store trial greengrocers will also offer tips on how to prevent food wasteMarks & Spencer is to start selling more than 90 lines of loose fruit and vegetables free of all plastic packaging, in a trial that will put the traditional greengrocer back on the shop floor and revive the use of paper bags.As the retailer steps up its drive to reduce plastics, shoppers at its store in Tolworth, south-west London, will be able to pick their own loose produce displayed in two separate aisles. Continue reading...

Charities and government officials intervene at Ramsgate port in Kent to prevent animals’ journey time exceeding legal limitsAnimal welfare charities have backed calls by the RSPCA to substantially reduce journey times for live exports as the government considers a ban on the practice after Brexit.The RSPCA has appealed to the EU Commission after a lorry was stopped at a UK port by the charity along with other campaigners and government officials on 10 January. Continue reading...

Activists fight to stop construction of the Bayou Bridge pipeline, which endangers an ecosystem that is one of the most important bird habitats in the western hemisphereDeep within the humid green heart of the largest river swamp in North America, a battle is being waged over the future of the most precious resource of all: water.On one side of the conflict is a small band of rugged and ragtag activists led by Indigenous matriarchs. On the other side is the relentless machinery of the fossil fuel industry and all of its might. And at the center of the struggle is the Atchafalaya river, a 135 mile-long distributary of the Mississippi river that empties into the Gulf of Mexico. Continue reading...

After extreme weather-related events, there is ‘need for international cooperation’Growing tension between the world’s major powers is the most urgent global risk and makes it harder to mobilise collective action to tackle climate change, according to a report prepared for next week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.Related: Deadly weather: the human cost of 2018's climate disasters – visual guide Continue reading...

ANAO finds department decided Great Barrier Reef Foundation was the ‘obvious’ partner after just three daysAn official audit has criticised the Australian government and the environment department for applying “insufficient scrutiny” to numerous aspects of a controversial proposal to award $443.3m to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.In a report tabled on Wednesday, the Australian National Audit Office said the department was given just 11 business days by the government to find a private organisation to deliver the record grant, announced in April last year. Continue reading...

Quorn launches ‘fishless fillets’ made with protein derived from fungusFish and chips is the latest British favourite to get a vegan makeover, with Quorn launching both battered and breaded “fishless fillets”.The fillets will be made using protein derived from a fungus and the company promises to replicate the texture and flakiness of real fish. The launch follows the success of the Greggs vegan sausage roll, which has been selling out across the country. Continue reading...

Experts say the administration is blatantly dismantling proven programs, and the consequences could be dire

Administration’s alternative to clean power plan would let emissions ‘rebound’ via coal-fired power plants, researchers findThe Trump administration’s replacement for the linchpin Obama-era plan to combat climate change would increase greenhouse gas emissions in much of the US more than doing nothing at all, according to new research.Planet-warming emissions would “rebound” under the Trump policy, researchers found, as it delays the retirement of coal-fired power plants. Carbon dioxide emissions would be 8.7% higher in 18 states and Washington DC by 2030, compared with having no policy at all. Continue reading...

Confectioner to phase out all non-recyclable or hard-to-recycle plastic from productsThe food and drink multinational Nestlé has stepped up its effort to reduce its use of plastics, rolling out plastic-free packaging across several products and pledging to phase out plastic Smarties tube tops.Nestlé has pledged to phase out all plastics that are not recyclable or are hard to recycle for all its products worldwide between 2020 and 2025. In the UK, its focus will be on recycling and increasing recycled PET content. Continue reading...

Five frogs found on Bolivian expedition funded through lonely hearts profileFor 10 years, Romeo, the last known Sehuencas water frog on the planet, led a solitary life in a conservation centre in Bolivia. Now scientists have found him a Juliet.The adult female was among five frogs found on an expedition into Bolivia’s cloud forest. The $25,000 search was funded by donations gathered after Romeo’s keepers posted a lonely hearts profile on the dating website Match.com on Valentine’s Day last year. Continue reading...

Tuna fishery gains first MSC gold standard after nation’s huge push to boost stocks, protect livelihoods and ban foreign vesselsIndonesia, the world’s largest tuna fishing nation, has pulled out all the stops in recent years to transform the health of an industry blighted by depleted stocks and illegal poaching.

Wearers of any brand of soft lens can now have them collected or drop them off at recycling binsThe UK’s first free national recycling scheme for plastic contact lenses – worn by an estimated 3.7 million people – is being rolled out this week.Wearers of any brand of soft lens will have the option of either having their discarded items and packaging collected or dropping them off at a network of recycling bins at Boots Opticians and selected independent stores. Continue reading...

Bird-watchers flock to Werribee treatment plant, near Melbourne, to see Eurasia nativeThe Werribee sewage ponds are one of the most popular bird-watching locations in Australia. On a good day, says Birdlife Australia’s Sean Dooley, you may see as many as five or six other cars there.That was before the tufted duck arrived. Continue reading...

Proposed revised rules include a change that would allow oil companies to select third party companies to evaluate the safety of their equipmentThe Trump administration is expected to give BP and other big oil companies more power to self-regulate their offshore drilling operations, years after investigators found that lax regulatory oversight was one of the leading culprits behind the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, the worst environmental catastrophe in US history.The move to relax new rules that were put in place by the Obama administration after the BP disaster, which killed 11 workers, spewed 4m barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, and cost BP $65bn, comes as the White House is seeking to open offshore oil and gas drilling to the vast majority of US coastal waters, including in the Arctic. Continue reading...

A new fish kill in the Murray River is not as severe as initially believed, as fears of more fish deaths increase amid soaring temperaturesThe New South Wales government will install aerators at various sites across the state amid fears of more fish kills as temperatures soar above 40C in the Murray-Darling Basin.A new fish kill event at Lake Hume was downgraded to 60 dead fish from 1,800 after authorities from the Department of Primary Industries arrived to investigate. Continue reading...

New government strategy aims to reduce ammonia emissions by changing farming methodsMuck-spreading, the agricultural practice of spraying fields with liquid manure, will effectively be banned under government plans to reduce air pollution.Animal manure is a key source of ammonia, a powerful pollutant that, combined with other chemicals in the air, form fine particles that can lodge deep in the lungs, harming human health. Continue reading...

Environmentalists attack rules that fail to ban funding oil projects linked to tar sandsEnvironmental activists have accused Barclays of being on the “wrong side of history” after publishing an “underwhelming” climate policy document that fails to rule out funding for tar sands projects.Barclays is the last major UK bank to publish rules for how it will conduct business with companies involved in carbon-heavy industries such as oil and coal. Other lenders including HSBC, RBS and Lloyds outlined their own commitments last year. Continue reading...

Sarah Hanson-Young says failure to release data about draining of Menindee Lakes ‘stinks of a cover-up’The Greens have accused the federal government of hiding critical information from the Senate on why the Menindee Lakes were drained twice in the last four years, as investigations get under way into what caused around 1 million fish to die.Further fish kill events are expected later this week as temperatures soar to 45C in western New South Wales. Continue reading...

Research also identifies pollinators’ favourite flowers, including brambles, buttercups, dandelions, lavender and borageAllotments, weedy corners and fancy gardens are all urban havens for bees and other pollinators, a study has found.The widespread decline of bees resulting from the loss of wild areas and pesticide use has caused great concern in recent years, but towns and cities have been suggested as potential sanctuaries. Continue reading...

Storms sweep away sand at Dooagh on Achill Island, after freak tide in 2017 restored itIt came, it enchanted and now it’s gone again: the beach that reappeared on the Irish coast in 2017 after a 34-year absence, garnering worldwide attention, has vanished again.Winter storms have swept away the sand at Dooagh, Achill Island, in County Mayo, leaving only rock and a reminder that what nature gives, it can take away. Continue reading...

Press on for what you believe in – a young woman’s election to Congress shows climate activism can have unforeseen results

Office initially named agricultural chemical red tape bill, then said Morrison was actually referring to ban on cosmetic testingScott Morrison has elevated an obscure bill to ban cosmetic testing on animals to one of the top two legislative priorities for the Coalition in 2019, according to his office.Speaking to ABC News Breakfast on Monday, the prime minister cited “environmental legislation … [that] is important for native species” as among the government’s priorities for the new year, second only to national security. Continue reading...

Plan called for 50-year commitment to restoring native fish numbers, but was canned after NSW pulled fundingThe Murray Darling Basin Authority shelved its native fish strategy six years ago and ended its sustainable rivers audit program after New South Wales pulled 60% of its funding from a basinwide program to monitor the health of fish in the river.For 10 years the MDBA made much of its fish strategy, releasing a glossy brochure that claimed the strategy required a “sustained commitment” of 50 years in order to rehabilitate native fish in the river. It announced a goal of “restoring native fish stocks to 60% of its pre-European levels.” Continue reading...

The variable nature of wind and solar power means storing energy is a huge part of the fight to mitigate climate changeIn a world increasingly anxious about climate change, the surge in the generation of renewable energy over the past 20 years offers a sliver of hope. But the variable nature of wind and solar power means that storing energy until consumers need it has become the next big challenge. And so, large-scale battery installations are springing up across electricity grids around the world, to make them more flexible. In 2017, more than 1GW of energy storage capacity was added around the world – a record, yes, but still a drop in the ocean of global energy demand. Continue reading...

Theresa May says any delay to article 50 will force companies out of Britain. But the alternative – a bad Brexit – is worseOne of Downing Street’s many arguments in favour of Theresa May’s Brexit deal is that further delay will persuade many of the UK’s biggest companies to stop procrastinating about their investment plans and move some or all of their activities abroad.Bosses have spent long enough watching and waiting to see what kind of Brexit unfolds. Another six months, while parliament moves in the direction of a general election or a referendum on the current deal with the European Union, would break their resolve, say May’s supporters. Continue reading...

Both the major parties have announced plans to revitalise the world heritage-listed national parkKakadu national park will get a boost worth more than $200m, with both the major parties committing to revitalise the world heritage-listed Northern Territory site.The prime minister, Scott Morrison, visited the town of Jabiru on Sunday to announce the Coalition’s $216m package. Continue reading...

Golden Plains approved by Andrews government and awaits federal consent to proceedThe managing director of a company that plans to construct Victoria’s largest windfarm says the project will supply enough power to replace up to a third of the generation of the decommissioned Hazelwood power station at less than $50/MWh.The Victorian government has granted a planning permit for WestWind Energy’s $1.5bn Golden Plains windfarm, which will become one of the largest windfarms in the southern hemisphere. Continue reading...

Interior department continues processing permits and moves forward with controversial plan to increase drilling in the ArcticThree weeks into the longest US government shutdown in history, many important government services have been paused – but the Trump administration has continued efforts to expand oil drilling.Despite the shutdown directive, which has seen national park staff furloughed and the parks suffering from neglect, the interior department has continued processing oil drilling permits and applications. It has also moved forward with a controversial plan to increase drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A). Continue reading...

Team behind ‘world’s first’ compostable coffee pods may have to stop selling in the UKA British startup trying to counter the waste created by single-use coffee capsules says it will be strangled at birth by a no-deal Brexit.The founders of Moving Beans say Brexit is like a “bomb dropping” on their business, which started manufacturing in February. Continue reading...

Vegans are increasingly looking for ways to grow their fruit, vegetables and cereals without animal manure“An olive orchard cultivated in a conventional manner is a bloody wound in nature,” declares Johannes Eisenbach as he drives – fast – south along the gleaming new Greek motorways towards Kalamata. The olives are harvested, the branches are burned, and all these nutritional elements leave the olive grove and never return.Eisenbach is an ebullient German with a Bluetooth receiver in his ear, constantly switching between Greek, German and English as he takes calls from big German supermarkets including Lidl. He runs the Organic Marketing & Export Network, a group of 800 Greek and Cypriot organic farmers who sell to northern Europe. He’s also the accidental inventor of a new kind of compost that could kick-start vegan farming. Continue reading...

Footage of tiny colony of birds on the southern tip of New Zealand captivates millions around the globeMillions of amateur naturalists around the world have been tuning in to the secret lives of albatrosses as New Zealand rangers employ YouTube in a bid to save the mysterious giant sea birds.New Zealand conservation teams set up a 24-hour live-stream of an albatross nest at Taiaroa Head on the Otago peninsula in 2016. Three years on, the feed has become an unexpected global hit, with 2.3 million people from 190 countries tuning in to watch the endangered birds rear their chicks on a frigid peninsula at the bottom of the world. Continue reading...

Soaring temperatures bring tales of eight-legged invaders as huge numbers of communal species spin invisible webs in the skySummer in south-east Brazil has brought soaring temperatures and some disconcerting eight-legged visitors.Residents in a rural area of southern Minas Gerais state have reported skies “raining spiders”, a phenomenon which experts say is typical in the region during hot, humid weather. Continue reading...

The change aims to reduce plastic waste, following readers’ feedbackThe Guardian’s print edition will no longer be sold in plastic packaging, becoming the first national newspaper to switch to biodegradable wrapping.The Saturday edition of the paper contains a large number of supplements which are currently packaged in polythene to meet the demands of retailers and ensure they reach readers. Continue reading...

An adopted leopard cub, a preening moorhen and tiny turtles feature in this week’s gallery Continue reading...

Move by Japanese firm would be blow to UK plans to replace coal plants and ageing reactorsThe Japanese conglomerate Hitachi looks certain to cancel its plans for a £16bn nuclear power station in Wales, leaving Britain’s ambitions for a nuclear renaissance in tatters.An impasse in months-long talks between the company, London and Toyko on financing is expected to result in the flagship project being axed at a Hitachi board meeting next week, according to the Nikkei newspaper. Continue reading...

Charlie Ewart discovered the 64-metre lump and will be part of the team breaking it upCharlie Ewart, a 51-year-old father of two from Plymouth, has been battling blockages in the sewers of south-west England for 15 years.But even he was not prepared for the dreadful sight, and smell, of what he found lurking beneath the elegant seafront in the regency town of Sidmouth when he scrambled through a small manhole. Continue reading...

Attorney general quashes Ella Kissi-Debrah verdict, paving way for fresh hearingThe mother of a schoolgirl who died of an asthma attack linked to air pollution has won the right to seek a new inquest at the high court.The attorney general moved on Friday to quash the inquest into the death of Ella Kissi-Debrah at the age of nine, after new evidence linked it to air pollution spikes from traffic near her home in south London. Continue reading...

Mikołaj Golachowski describes plan as ‘evil’ and warns of environmental consequencesConservationists have branded plans by the Polish government to cull almost the entire wild boar population of the country as “pointless, counterproductive and evil”.In a move to tackle an epidemic of African swine fever, the Polish government has ordered a series of hunts, beginning this weekend, with the aim of killing the vast majority of the country’s population of around 200,000 wild boar. Continue reading...