Environment | The Guardian

Boyce tells Climate and Energy Realists Queensland that opposition to renewables is growing and fellow MPs should adopt a do nothing strategy'

Researchers looked at more than 25,000 everyday items available at supermarkets like Aldi, Coles, Woolworths, Harris Farm and IGA

The White House has pulled federal webpages tracking climate and environmental justice dataGreen groups have sued the Trump administration over the removal of government webpages containing federal climate and environmental justice data that they described as tantamount to theft".In the first weeks of its second term, the Trump administration pulled federal websites tracking shifts in the climate, pollution and extreme weather impacts on low-income communities, and identifying pieces of infrastructure that are extremely vulnerable to climate disasters. Continue reading...

With extreme weather and Trump's looming trade war, US farmers are reeling and resigned to needing more cash helpFarmers across the United States say they could face financial ruin - unless there is a huge taxpayer-funded bailout to compensate for losses generated by Donald Trump's sweeping cuts and chaotic tariffs.Small- and medium-sized farms were already struggling amid worsening climate shocks and volatile commodities markets, on top of being squeezed by large corporations that dominate the supply chain. Continue reading...

As part of Trump's administrations efficiency' drive, staff running decades-old program for energy assistance laid offRobert F Kennedy Jr, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is facing new demands to release almost $400m allocated by Congress to help low-income US families keep the air conditioning on this summer.The funds are under threat after the staff running a decades-old program were fired - as part of the Trump administration's so-called efficiency" drive. Continue reading...

Bear Grylls-inspired vessel helps wardens on Coquet Island care for UK's only breeding colony of roseate ternsIt looks like something James Bond might drive - or, more accurately, Bear Grylls. But rather than enabling secret missions or carrying millionaires, this innovative amphibious boat is helping RSPB wardens look after Britain's only breeding colony of roseate terns.The endangered birds nest on Coquet Island off the Northumberland coast each spring but seasonal wardens who manage the tiny island struggle to get on and off it because there is no safe mooring point or harbour at low tide. This means boats can only take people and kit to the island at high tide - often at inconvenient times of day or night - making life for the wardens, who live in the island's lighthouse, a little complicated. Continue reading...

Dmitry Kalmykov is a Ukrainian scientist who has dedicated his life to investigating environmental disasters, first at Chornobyl and now in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan - formerly the Soviet Union's primary nuclear weapons testing site. He teaches schoolchildren about how bombs were tested, and how - more than 30 years after the site was decommissioned - the surrounding community is only beginning to comprehend radiation's lasting deadly effects. Against the backdrop of war in Ukraine and the long shadow of a nuclear conflict across the region, Dmitry debates Kazakhstan's nuclear future with its next generation Continue reading...

The country's average temperature has risen by 0.48C a decade from 2000. Last August, photographer Susan Schulman visited Baghdad and Amarah, to capture the impact of extreme weather on everyday lives Continue reading...

Britain's traditional retailers were in decline for years. Then the pandemic changed how we buy food and boosted the fishing industryThe seafood chef and restaurateur Mitch Tonks recalls the moment things for him changed dramatically. It was March 2020, the start of Covid, when a local fishing boat skipper called him in a panic. Nick was having a tough time; nobody was buying his catch, so I emailed our customer network," he says.Tonks asked people to bring cash and containers. The next morning, Nick landed his boat at Brixham, the south Devon port that is England's largest fish market by value of catch sold. About 150 people turned up to buy his fish. Many asked why can't we just buy fish straight off boats like this normally?'" Continue reading...

European State of the Climate report lays bare' impact of fossil fuels on continent during its hottest 12 months on recordThe home-wrecking storms and floods that swept Europe last year affected 413,000 people, a report has found, as fossil fuel pollution forced the continent to suffer through its hottest year on record.Dramatic scenes of cars piled up on inundated streets and bridges being ripped away by raging torrents were seen around the continent in 2024, with high" floods on 30% of the European river network and 12% crossing the severe" flood threshold, according to the European State of the Climate report. Continue reading...

Hotter seas supercharge storms and destroy critical ecosystems such as kelp forests and coral reefsThe climate crisis has tripled the length of ocean heatwaves, a study has found, supercharging deadly storms and destroying critical ecosystems such as kelp forests and coral reefs.Half of the marine heatwaves since 2000 would not have happened without global heating, which is caused by burning fossil fuels. The heatwaves have not only become more frequent but also more intense: 1C warmer on average, but much hotter in some places, the scientists said. Continue reading...

Unite leader says partial deal on pay protection for a few' was overwhelmingly rejected in vote, as rubbish piles upBin workers have overwhelmingly" rejected a deal that would have ended the all-out strike in Birmingham that has caused bin bags to pile up in the streets and an influx of rats in the city.Negotiations between the council and Unite, which is representing the striking workers, have stalled for months, and refuse workers have been on indefinite strike since 11 March. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Brad Battin says he had a conversation with the federal opposition leader about the language' he would use about plans to build a nuclear reactor in eastern Victoria

Australian Conservation Foundation says opposition has failed every single test' while Labor passes with 54% and Greens achieve 98%

Often dismissed as summertime sniffles, the condition that affects a quarter of UK adults can lead to serious and life-limiting health problemsRead more: Pollen peril: how heat, thunder and smog are creating deadly hay fever seasonsSometimes the season starts as early as mid-April; other times it's slower to get going. But for Lisa Ventura, June is consistently the cruellest month. I might get lulled into a false sense of security: Oh, it's the end of May, it hasn't started yet'," she says in a heavy tone. Then, as if on cue, it's June the first - and bang."Ventura suffers from debilitating" hay fever. For about three months from early May, she cannot be outside for more than a few minutes before she starts sniffing and sneezing. When it's really bad, my eyes look like I've gone 10 rounds with a boxer - they are that swollen," says Ventura. Continue reading...

During an election campaign, the last thing you want is to catch a cold from someone - so that's on me,' environment minister says

The governing ideology of the far right has become a monstrous, supremacist survivalism. Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop themThe movement for corporate city states cannot believe its good luck. For years, it has been pushing the extreme notion that wealthy, tax-averse people should up and start their own high-tech fiefdoms, whether new countries on artificial islands in international waters (seasteading") or pro-business freedom cities" such as Prospera, a glorified gated community combined with a wild west med spa on a Honduran island.Yet despite backing from the heavy-hitter venture capitalists Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen, their extreme libertarian dreams kept bogging down: it turns out most self-respecting rich people don't actually want to live on floating oil rigs, even if it means lower taxes, and while Prospera might be nice for a holiday and some body upgrades", its extra-national status is currently being challenged in court. Continue reading...

Early reports have led experts to believe there could be a surge in the deadly invader, threatening native speciesThey have bright yellow legs, are about 25mm (almost 1in) long, and a single colony, if left unchecked, can butcher" 90,000 pollinating insects in just one season.Since the first UK sighting in 2016 of Vespa velutina - the Asian or yellow-legged hornet - beekeepers and scientists have waged a vigorous campaign to minimise the damage this invasive species can do to Britain's biodiversity and bee colonies. Continue reading...

Avadale's one police officer says damage is heartbreaking but locals are resilient - They'll get it done'

Spokesperson acknowledges supply of flyers, T-shirts and corflutes to dozens of community groups' seeking to defeat party's candidates

It's not as sensational as recreating long-dead species, but conserving modern-day fauna is far more pressingThe parable of the Mars mission: we'd rather spend trillions sending ourselves to a yet unlivable planet than look after the one we have. And swiftly on its heels, the parable of the dire wolf. We'd rather resurrect a 12,500-year-old species from the dead than save our existing wild animals. Of course we would. Recycling is boring; doing the very thing 90s science fiction movies warned us not to do is fun.We are not quite on the verge of bringing back ancient species. But last week the PR campaign for doing so began in earnest. Colossal Biosciences - a company known for trying to revive the dodo, the mammoth and the thylacine - has unveiled three large adorable white puppies, claiming it has created the world's first successfully de-extincted animal": the dire wolf, made famous by Game of Thrones. It invited author George RR Martin to look; he duly burst into tears. Continue reading...

An animal's chance of survival after domoic acid poisoning is 50-50, and this year an outbreak has sickened hundredsIt was just after 8am on Tuesday, a thick morning fog still clinging to the California coastline, and SeaWorld's animal rescue team had already made their first save of the day: a hefty, sick-looking sea lion that had been waddling dangerously close to a four-lane highway in downtown San Diego.Now, in a private area of SeaWorld that few of the theme park's thousands of daily visitors ever get to see, the rescue team was in full triage" mode. Half a dozen staff members maneuvered the caged sea lion off the bed of a truck, and grabbed IV bags full of fluids and vitamins. Continue reading...

More than 600,000 people a year visit Birling Gap, part of Seven Sisters cliffs, which are vulnerable to coastal erosionThe National Trust has banned coaches from one of Britain's most popular beauty spots in an attempt to reduce the growing numbers of people visiting the site.Up to 600,000 people a year visit Birling Gap which is part of the Seven Sisters cliffs in East Sussex on England's south coast. Continue reading...

Critics say Nasa faces extinction-level event' with budget plan, with climate research funding also to be slashedDonald Trump shows no signs of easing his assault on climate science as plans of more sweeping cuts to key US research centers surfaced on Friday.The administration is planning to slash budgets at both the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (Noaa) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), according to internal budget documents, taking aim specifically at programs used to study impacts from the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Mexico's failure to keep up 81-year-old water-sharing treaty has sparked a diplomatic spat with the USMexico will make an immediate water delivery to Texas farmers to help make up its shortfall under a treaty that has strained US relations and prompted tariff threats by Donald Trump, said Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, on Friday.Mexico is looking for alternatives to comply with the 81-year-old water-sharing treaty with the US, Sheinbaum said in her regular news conference. A proposal had already been sent to US officials, she said. Continue reading...

Guardian Australia is highlighting the plight of our endangered native species during an election campaign that is ignoring broken environment laws and rapidly declining ecosystems

Maria Matthes, a lifelong koala conservationist,says loss of habitat and the climate crisis have threatened the endangered species in eastern New South Wales. Almost 2m hectares of forests suitable for koalas have been destroyed since 2011. They are one of more than 2,000 Australian species listed as under threat in what scientists are calling an extinction crisis Continue reading...

While the election is ignoring the issue of Australia's extinction crisis, volunteers and community groups all around the country are doing their best to save our endangered species. We want to hear about them

Compromise deal falls far short of carbon levy poor countries were hoping forShipping companies will have to pay for the carbon dioxide produced by their vessels for the first time under new rules agreed by the world's maritime watchdog.The regulations agreed on Friday fall far short of the levy on CO that poor countries were hoping for, which would have funded their efforts to combat the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Some farmers recovered from president's first-term trade war and a fresh one is estimated to cost the state $6bn a yearCalifornia's $59bn agricultural industry is bracing for disruption as Donald Trump's tariffs continue to spike tensions and trigger economic turmoil with China - one of the state's biggest buyers.California is the country's breadbasket, supplying roughly one-third of US vegetables and 75% of its fruits and nuts. But it also exports much of its produce - close to $24bn worth in 2022. This means farmers in the state could lose out significantly as China imposes retaliatory tariffs on US goods. Continue reading...

Five thousand new homes alongside a paradise for newts appears to fly in face of government's false wedge'Arriving at the Kidbrooke Village housing development in Greenwich on a morning in early spring, the first thing you notice is the sound of birdsong and the scent of blossom. Geese are gently honking in the distance.This was once the Ferrier estate, a postwar housing estate that was demolished in 2009 to regenerate the area. Continue reading...

The best of this week's wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...

The chickens aren't really happy about it either - whomst would be a chicken

Clean energy investors likely to pull back from US, but other countries may seize opportunity to speed transitionDonald Trump's upending of the global economy has raised fears that climate action could emerge as a casualty of the trade war.In the week that has followed liberation day", economic experts have warned that the swathe of tariffs could trigger a global economic recession, with far-reaching consequences for investors - including those behind the green energy projects needed to meet climate goals. Continue reading...

RSPB urges people to support threatened birds by cutting lawns less frequently and avoiding pesticidesFewer starlings than ever have been spotted by participants in the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch, raising fears for their numbers.The bird conservation charity is urging Britain's gardeners to keep their lawns wild by not cutting them too often, and to avoid the use of pesticides, which reduce the number of insects to eat and can poison birds. Continue reading...

The EU neither kissed ass' nor unleashed its most powerful trade weapon. Now it must provide the world with an alternative to US chaosMy condolences to everyone who spent days trying to play 5D chess with Donald Trump's market-exploding tariff mess. Where Trump is involved, there is a cloud of malevolent chaos, and there is grift amid the chaos. What grandmasters there are to be found are almost certainly grandmasters of grift.When markets dump $10tn in three days and then gain trillions back in a single afternoon on the erratic decisions of one deeply corrupt person, you can be sure that a small number of people have made immense sums of money out of that volatility. Were the people responsible for abnormal spikes of buying into the markets (including call options on various indexes and exchange-traded funds) on Wednesday morning - and again, 20 minutes before the tariff announcement went public - extraordinarily lucky? Were they in the right Signal group? Or were they just simply following Trump on Truth Social, where he posted: THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT" -just a few hours before dropping the news that he was kind of pulling back.Alexander Hurst is a Guardian Europe correspondent Continue reading...

There has been little talk about how Australia's economy will get to net zero. That's a terrible reflection on the state of our politicsThe Coalition has been forced to reassert its commitment to the Paris climate agreement after its energy spokesperson, Ted O'Brien, appeared to waver on the pledge on Thursday.O'Brien faced off against the climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, at a debate in Canberra, weeks out from a federal election in which energy policy is emerging as a hot-button issue.Labor, the Coalition, nobody in this country will be able to achieve the emission target set by Chris Bowen and Anthony Albanese. The difference between Peter Dutton and Anthony Albanese is that Peter Dutton has been honest and upfront about that.... go against the spirit, if not the letter, of the Paris Agreement, and - in some circumstances - could constitute a breach of those obligations.Tony Wood is the energy and climate change program director at the Grattan Institute. This article was originally published in the Conversation Continue reading...

Workers had spent weeks in limbo amid legal rollercoaster but letters confirm block on terminations no longer in effectLetters went out to hundreds of workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) on Thursday, informing them their jobs had been terminated - again.The probationary employees, many who performed important roles at the US's pre-eminent climate research agency, have spent weeks in limbo after being dismissed in late February, only to be rehired and put on administrative leave in mid-March following a federal court order. Continue reading...

White House claims university's work exposed students to climate anxiety' and exaggerated climate threats'

Flemming Hansen and Mette Helbaek reject criticism of how they abandoned resort and fled to GuatemalaA Danish couple who fled their forest resort" in Sweden for Guatemala and left behind a large tax debt and 158 barrels of human waste have hit back at criticism and claimed that their handling of the compost toilets was very normal".Flemming Hansen and Mette Helbaek, both chefs, abandoned their purportedly eco-friendly retreat, Stedsans, in Halland, southern Sweden, last year. They owed large sums to Swedish and Danish tax authorities. They have since set up a business in Guatemala. Continue reading...

Addressing the Australian extinction crisis and the decline of our environment will be possible when political leaders embrace it

Guardian Australia is highlighting the plight of our endangered native species during an election campaign that is ignoring broken environment laws and rapidly declining ecosystems

Agapanthus are daggy, environmental pests. Can we stop and think before these unsightly shrubs take over?On my birthday I made time for my one true passion. Hating agapanthus.I was walking my kids to school, taking time from their precious blink-and-you'll-miss-it childhoods to seethe and take a picture of the revolting, saggy mess of agapanthus on the way. I have urgently supplied this picture to the Guardian and I'm ready and willing to speak out further.Emily Mulligan is a writer from Sydney

Global research reveals most of 400m tonnes produced using fossil fuels, predominantly coal or oilLess than 10% of the plastic produced around the world is made from recycled material, according to the first detailed global analysis of its life cycle.The research reveals that most plastic is made from fossil fuels, predominantly coal and oil, despite rhetoric by producers, supermarkets and drinks companies about plastic being recycled. Continue reading...

In December 2024, when unseasonable flooding threatened the breeding season of a critically endangered turtle, Marilyn Connell and other members of a Queensland community conservation group sprang into action. The Mary river turtle is one of 2,000 Australian species listed as under threat in what scientists are calling an extinction crisis

John Todd's eco-machine stunned experts by using natural organisms to remove toxic waste from a Cape Cod lagoon. Forty years on, he wants to build a fleet of them to clean up the oceansJohn Todd remembers the moment he knew he was really on to something: There was no question that it was at the Harwich dump in 1986," he recalls. This was in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, close to where Todd still lives. Hidden away from the picturesque beaches was the town landfill, including lagoons of toxic waste from septic tanks, which was being left to seep into the groundwater below. So Todd, then a 45-year-old biologist, decided to design a solution. What he was on to", he came to realise, was not just a natural way of removing pollution from water, it was a holistic approach to environmental restoration that was way ahead of its time, and possibly still is.An early eco-machine purifying toxic waste on Cape Cod in 1986. Photograph: John Todd Continue reading...

Camilla Hempleman-Adams, who says she is first woman to traverse Canada's Baffin Island solo, accused of privilege and ignorance'A British adventurer has apologised after her claims to be the first woman to traverse Canada's largest island solo were dismissed by members of the Inuit population who criticised her dangerous privilege and ignorance".Camilla Hempleman-Adams, 32, covered 150 miles (240km) on foot and by ski while pulling a sledge across Baffin Island, Nunavut, in temperatures as low as -40C and winds of 47mph during the two-week expedition last month. Continue reading...

After seeing the farmer mental health crisis up close, Kaila Anderson developed new treatment techniques based on growers' deep connection to the landKaila Anderson stands in front of some photos in the farmhouse where she grew up, near the tiny town of Sabetha, in the north-east corner of Kansas. Outside, frozen February fields of wheat, hay and corn stubble repeat across the rolling hills. This agrarian landscape inspired a breakthrough she made four years ago that now promises to help farmers struggling with their mental health.A licensed social worker, Anderson knows first-hand that farmers have a high propensity for depression and one of the highest rates of suicide of any occupation, often attributed to the demanding and precarious nature of the job. Yet she has found that crisis-line staffers, doctors and therapists in farm country often don't have the cultural training to recognize the signs of emotional stress unique to farmers. Continue reading...

A global trade-war rollercoaster was not enough to distract Donald Trump from fulfilling one of his longtime priorities on Wednesday: changing the federal definition of 'shower head', a move the White House claimed would end the Obama-Biden war on water pressure and restore 'shower freedom' Continue reading...

Climate denialism should not blind investors and governments to the very real opportunities to be found in financing solutionsAmong the many shocks currently facing the international development community is the new direction of the US administration on climate, and the implications worldwide for mitigation and adaptation efforts.This is not uncharted territory. While a withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement is undoubtedly a setback, it no longer carries the same level of disruption as it did. The global community has become more resilient and will continue to advance climate action. Continue reading...