Environment | The Guardian

Ofgem outlines measures to ensure more drivers can use the electricity networkBritish electric car drivers face having to pay more to power their car if they refuse to shift their charging to off-peak times, in a move designed to lessen their burden on the electricity network.There are currently 160,000 plug-in cars on UK roads but rapid growth means their impact on the energy system must be managed carefully, said energy regulator Ofgem. Continue reading...

The coffee giant has announced that it is phasing out straws. But are the new lids it’s introducing actually any better?This month, Starbucks joined a growing movement to ban single-use plastic straws, announcing it would eliminate the items from its stores by 2020. In their place, the company will be introducing strawless lids, which have a sippable protrusion. It will also make alternative-material straws available.Starbucks already has strawless lids available in more than 8,000 of its North American stores. These were developed for its “Nitro” coffee beverages which have a creamy top and are best drunk without a straw. Now, however, the coffee chain will be making the Nitro lids standard for all cold beverages, most of which now come with straws. Cold beverages make up more than 50% of Starbucks’s beverage mix, an increase from 37% just five years ago. Continue reading...

International photographic competition, which runs in association with the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, London, awards special prize for the best close-up images Continue reading...

In the troposphere, scientists detected a human-caused signal in the seasonal cycle

Wildlife agency says ‘subsidiary activities’ in the dunes would scare off rare larkThe Belgian Naturism Federation has come to the defence of its burgeoning membership after the Flemish wildlife agency blocked an application for a second nudist beach in the country on the grounds that bathers’ “subsidiary activities” would pose a threat to a rare bird.Attempts to gain designated naturist status for a quiet spot near Westende, about 12 miles south of the popular seaside resort of Ostende, hit a snag after objections were raised that sexual activity in the dunes would scare off the locally treasured crested lark, or Galerida cristata. Continue reading...

Host of ABC sleeper hit of 2017 reflects achievements of season one, and what still needs to changeWho would have thought a show about garbage could be so compelling?The success of last year’s sleeper hit War on Waste was a happy surprise to its presenter, Craig Reucassel, and the team behind the ABC TV show – not least because of how responsive audiences were to many of its suggestions. Sales of reusable coffee cups shot up, worm farm suppliers struggled to keep up with demand and the #BantheBag campaign helped to spur supermarkets to get rid of single-use plastic bags. Continue reading...

The Banks Group mine is going ahead despite fears it will devastate the local environmentFrom the end of her garden June Davison can see and hear the heavy machinery stripping away the valley. Soon there will be explosions and dust to add to the 12 hour thrum of engines as the coal is stripped from below the earth.After 40 years of local opposition that has helped keep this area of the Derwent valley in County Durham untouched, open-cast mining has begun between the villages of Dipton, Leadgate and Medomsley, once home to a deeply entrenched mining community around what was South Medomsley colliery. Continue reading...

Study finds that while wealthy nations advocate renewables at home, 60% of aid to African energy projects went on fossil fuelsWealthy governments have been accused of promoting fossil fuel development in Africa at the expense of clean energy.Analysis showed 60% of public aid for energy projects was spent on fossil fuels, compared with just 18% on renewables. Continue reading...

Millions of tons of plastic sent abroad for recycling may be being dumped in landfillMillions of tons of waste plastic from British businesses and homes may be ending up in landfill sites across the world, the government’s spending watchdog has warned.Huge amounts of packaging waste is being sent overseas on the basis that it will be recycled and turned into new products. However, concerns have been raised that in reality much of it is being dumped in sites from Turkey to Malaysia. Continue reading...

Study says the date by which we consume a year’s worth of resources is arriving fasterHumanity is devouring our planet’s resources in increasingly destructive volumes, according to a new study that reveals we have consumed a year’s worth of carbon, food, water, fibre, land and timber in a record 212 days.As a result, the Earth Overshoot Day – which marks the point at which consumption exceeds the capacity of nature to regenerate – has moved forward two days to 1 August, the earliest date ever recorded. Continue reading...

The British billionaire investing in South Australia believes renewables are the future of energy, because it makes economic senseThe British billionaire who rescued the Whyalla steelworks from administration and is spending more than $2bn on clean energy and green steel developments in regional South Australia says most Australians are yet to grasp that solar power is now a cheaper option than new coal-fired electricity.

Cash will continue to be a universal form of payment, says Tim Halford, and Hilary Chivall warns against society being totally dependent on electricity for online transactionsCash is dying, contactless is king – we’ve heard it so many times. Voices in the payment industry and the media are quick to decry the end of cash payments. Talk of the cashless society (Brett Scott, 19 July) is ubiquitous. In their enthusiasm, many forget that a cashless future is far from certain.Your article argues that Washington DC’s move to make it illegal not to accept cash will protect the 10% of its citizens who remain unbanked. This issue isn’t US specific. The UK has 1.5 million unbanked citizens, who rely on cash payments to partake in society. Reports show that cash is still one of our favourite payment methods, with many using it as a budgeting tool. Moving towards cashless payments would devastate the livelihoods of our most vulnerable, and go against the preferences of UK consumers. Continue reading...

Brown bear’s fate could be worse still after he riles farmers with attacks on livestockAfter two years of roaming and a string of attacks on horses, sheep and goats, Goiat the brown bear could soon find himself declared ursus non gratus in the Pyrenees. Or worse.Goiat, who is thought to be between 12 and 14 years old, was brought to Catalonia from his native Slovenia in June 2016 as part of an EU project to consolidate the bear population in the mountains that straddle Spain and France. Continue reading...

Michael Gove’s plan does not oblige fishing industry to eliminate bycatch, where boats accidentally net sea speciesProtection for dolphins and seabirds will be weaker under government plans for Brexit than if Britain stayed in the EU, according to a new analysis by environmental groups.Under the EU’s Seabird Plan of Action, the fishing industry is obliged to eliminate “bycatch”, where boats accidentally catch seabirds, dolphins and other species. Under laws set out in environment secretary Michael Gove’s white paper on fisheries, they would need only to implement “practical and effective risk-based mitigation”. Continue reading...

As disease threatens the olive oil industry in Puglia, scientists hope to revive a traditional remedyCiccio Manelli, 81, who owns hundreds of ancient olive trees in the southern Italian province of Brindisi, burst into tears when contemplating the prospect of his precious trees being uprooted.“My life is being destroyed,” he said. “An infected olive tree was found on another farmer’s land and now they want to come and uproot mine, even if they’re not sick. I grew up among these fields. These trees are my family.” Continue reading...

Shorten and Burney vow to restore supplement under threat for new welfare recipientsLabor says it will reverse the Coalition’s plan to axe the clean energy supplement, which is worth hundreds of dollars a year, for those who went onto welfare after September 2016.While Labor has consistently opposed the as-yet unlegislated measure, on Sunday the opposition leader, Bill Shorten, and the shadow human services minister, Linda Burney, promised that if the supplement was cut, Labor would restore it. The payment is worth $365 a year for singles and $550 for couples. Continue reading...

We’d like to hear from people who’ve been affected by the drought in New South Wales and other states in east Australia. Share your experiencesA record dry spell has caused the worst drought in 100 years in parts of eastern Australia. Farmers with livestock in parts of New South Wales have been some of the most affected as low rainfall and a dry winter have depleted the grass needed to feed livestock.Farmers are having to buy expensive feed to keep animals alive and the extra costs are putting some livelihoods at risk. The NSW government recently approved an emergency drought relief package of $600m, at least $250m of which will cover low-interest loans to assist eligible farms. Though the package has been welcomed there are concerns among farmers that it’s not enough. Continue reading...

Jeremy Corbyn to announce policy that aims to raise rural workers’ living standards in areas of high inequalityLabour has pledged to improve the pay and conditions of rural workers in England by reinstating the Agricultural Wages Board, which was abolished five years ago.Jeremy Corbyn will announce the policy on Sunday at the annual Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival in Dorset, which commemorates the history of trade unionism and agricultural workers’ struggle for fair pay. Continue reading...

We asked, you answered – and there was no shortage of examples of excessive plastic packaging across Australia shared via Guardian Witness

On a planet of billions, nine represent the strong minority battling murder in the global corruption of land rightsIndividually, they are stories of courage and tragedy. Together, they tell a tale of a natural world under ever more violent assault.The portraits in this series are of nine people who are risking their lives to defend the land and environment in some of the planet’s most remote or conflict-riven regions. Continue reading...

Report by MPs and peers says predicted benefits of scheme ‘likely to be slashed further’Government predictions of the savings smart meters will generate for consumers are inflated, out of date and based on a number of questionable assumptions, a group of MPs and peers has said.They also said the rollout of smart meters risked going over budget, was past its deadline and must be reviewed immediately. Continue reading...

Birhan Erkutlu and Tuğba Günal wanted to ‘get away from it all’ but are now leading a campaign to protect rivers and trees from hydropower plantsBirhan Erkutlu and Tuğba Günal moved into the forests of Antalya to get away from it all. They wanted a natural, peaceful life free of capitalism, consumer culture, social media, the internet, even electricity. Fate had other plans.

Robert Chan risks his life to stop poachers and powerful developers destroying precious marine life in the PhilippinesConfiscated bottles of cyanide, fishing dynamite and more than 600 chainsaws decorate the office of Robert Chan , leader of arguably the world’s most effective direct-action eco-vigilante organisation.The Palawan NGO Network Incorporated risk their lives to protect reefs and coastal forests in the Coral Triangle, a global hotspot for marine biodiversity and violent environmental crime. Continue reading...

Fatima Babu’s decades-long campaign against a toxic copper smelter in Tamil Nadu says the cost of victory was too highFor 24 years, Fatima Babu struggled to galvanise the citizens of Tuticorin in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu against the toxic threat posed by the Sterlite Copper smelter. Often working thanklessly and sometimes alone, she filed lawsuits, organised workshops and gave interviews to raise awareness.The English professor-turned-activist hoped that people would eventually rally to the cause, but never in her wildest dreams did she imagine how quickly opinion could change or how violently the authorities would respond.

Ranger Samuel Loware’s life is under constant threat in his efforts to conserve wildlife from heavily armed guerillasThe bullet that pierced the shoulder of Ugandan ranger Samuel Loware had already taken one life and could easily have added his. The shell was fired by a Sudanese poacher trying to flee back over the border with contraband meat from the Kidepo Valley national park.

Nonhle Mbuthuma is battling for her community’s right to say no to the exploitation of their territory in a hangover of the apartheid eraAs a child, Nonhle Mbuthuma would wake up in her family’s thatched hut listening to the waves crashing on South Africa’s Wild Coast , then go and play on the sand dunes, head off to school or help her parents cultivate sweet potatoes and bananas on the family plot.

Villagers massacred amid conflict between indigenous community and coffee plantation

Nurse-turned activist Isela Gonzalez lives with bodyguards and constant threat in her fight against destructive economic interestsNot all land defenders fight in remote forests and coastlands. Some take the battle to the centres of power: to courtrooms, parliament buildings and corporate headquarters. The veneer of urban civility may be glossier here, but the struggle is no less dangerous. In some cases, it can be worse.Isela Gonzalez has been threatened more times than she can remember by university-educated men in suits, whose business interests – in logging, mining, agriculture and narcotics – are challenged by her work as director of Alianza Sierra Madre to protect indigenous land rights in Mexico’s western Sierra Madre. Continue reading...

In Brazil, Maria do Soccoro Silva is leading Amazonian forest people against alleged land-grabbing, corruption and pollutionA warning voice on the telephone, a home intrusion, a punch in the face, a pistol barrel prodded against the ear.The intimidation of Maria do Socorro Silva has come in many forms since she began defending her Amazonian home against the world’s biggest alumina refinery and its local government backers. Continue reading...

St Dominic, Tamar Valley: This year’s exceptional cherry harvest has seen our feathered friends gorge on maturing fruitAbundant fruit reflects the sun as we pick cherries in the cool of evening. The spreading trees in James and Mary’s orchard of traditional varieties provide oases of shade among dried-up grasses and help protect the shallow roots from drought; despite the hot weather, rustling leaves remain fresh and bright green.A few weeks ago, pigeons and jackdaws flocked here to gorge on maturing fruit, breaking off new shoots and littering the ground with wizened stones. Since these birds left for alternative venues and feasts of ripening grain, the remaining fruit has become plump and juicy, tasting sweet and slightly tart, as delicious as that of ancestor trees. These were common in the valley’s widespread orchards during the 18th and 19th centuries, with only a few surviving until the 1980s. Continue reading...

Wildlife officials say cub is gaining weight after receiving severe burns to her pawsAn orphaned bear cub burned by a Colorado wildfire is healing and gaining weight.Wildlife officials have said the bear no longer has to wear bandages on her feet, which were severely burned in a fire north of Durango in June. Continue reading...

The dry and hot summer of 1911 drove Londoners to paddle in the Serpentine while, in the north, mills closed for lack of powerThe long hot summer of 1911 is credited with changing fashions, with women shedding whalebone corsets and brassieres becoming the rage. Edwardian aristocrats are said to have taken up nude tennis at their country estates, although at the ever more crowded seaside resorts men and women still used bathing machines towed into the sea. The sexes were kept segregated in case any flesh was exposed. Continue reading...

There have been a number of bird attacks reported, including one man persecuted by seagulls each morning and another man who reacted violently to having his chips stolenName: Seagull rage.Prevalence: High in coastal areas. Continue reading...

Charity had argued the government was in breach of international obligations under the Paris agreementEnvironmental campaigners have lost their high court challenge against the government over its policy for tackling climate change.The charity Plan B Earth brought legal action against the government’s stance on the 2050 carbon target, set out under the Climate Change Act 2008. Continue reading...

Birds bred in captivity led on three-week migration south from Germany by human ‘foster parents’Leaning out of an ultralight aircraft, Corinna Esterer turns toward a flock of peculiar black birds soaring just a few metres away. “Come, come ibis,” she yells through her megaphone. Drawn by Esterer’s voice, the birds dart to the aircraft, and follow it to a field overlooking Lake Constance in southern Germany. Once on the ground, the ibis flock to Esterer. To the birds, the young woman is their parent.For more than 300 years, the northern bald ibis has been extinct in the wild in central Europe, with small populations surviving only in zoos. But recently, it has celebrated a slow but steady comeback thanks to human foster parents who have shown the birds how to migrate south by leading the way in ultralight aircraft.

As the world’s biggest butterfly count gets underway we’d like to see pictures of what you’ve seen where you are

A newly discovered bandy bandy snake species, jumping sweetfish and baby tarantulas in Derbyshire are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world Continue reading...

Abnormally hot temperatures continue to wreak devastation across northern and central parts of the continentFarmers across northern and central Europe are facing crop failure and bankruptcy as one of the most intense regional droughts in recent memory strengthens its grip.States of emergency have been declared in Latvia and Lithuania, while the sun continues to bake Swedish fields that have received only 12% of their normal rainfall. Continue reading...

United Utilities submits drought applications for Lake Ullswater, Lake Windermere and Ennerdale WaterA water company has asked for permission to take more water from some of the Lake District’s most famous lakes, as the UK experiences its driest summer for decades.United Utilities, which supplies water to north-west England, has submitted three drought applications to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to extract water from Ullswater, Windermere and Ennerdale Water. Continue reading...

It’s an improvement from 100% two years ago, but GOP climate denial is cracking too slowly

Veteran broadcaster encourages people to take part in Big Butterfly Count and highlights mental health benefits of wildlife

Langstone, Hampshire: Crab spiders are ambush predators rather than web-spinners, and bees can often be their unsuspecting victimsI was cutting a bunch of antirrhinums when I noticed a dark shadow inside one of the nose-like flower capsules. When I pinched open the lobed petals, I was surprised to discover an entombed common carder bee. Honeybees often struggle to enter and exit these snap-jawed blooms, as they don’t have enough heft to cause the flower lip to open, but portly bumblebees have no trouble thrusting their bodies into the gullet of the flower and wriggling out backwards, so this pollinator’s demise was something of a mystery. Continue reading...

Households as well as factories in the UK are pushing volatile chemicals into the air, helping to create those long-lasting hazesThe recent hot weather has allowed us to enjoy life outdoors – afternoons in the park, evenings in the garden – but it comes with a downside. Summer smog has enveloped the UK, with southern England the worst affected. In south-east England air pollution was moderate or high on the government’s information system for 17 consecutive days. This was the longest run of summer smog for seven years.Across Lancashire, Manchester and Merseyside, smoke from moorland fires added to the air pollution cocktail. Continue reading...

It was a coal town, predicted to be wiped out by the closure of two ageing power plants. Now Port Augusta has 13 renewable projects in trainThe largest solar farm in the southern hemisphere lies on arid land at the foot of the Flinders Ranges, more than 300km north of Adelaide. If that sounds remote, it doesn’t do justice to how removed local residents feel from what currently qualifies as debate in Canberra.As government MPs and national newspapers thundered over whether taxpayers should underwrite new coal-fired power, mauling advice from government agencies as they went, residents of South Australia’s Upper Spencer Gulf region have been left to ponder why decision-makers weren’t paying attention to what is happening in their backyard. Continue reading...

Man believed to be in his 50s seen swinging an axe to fell a tree in Brazilian forestRemarkable footage has been released of an uncontacted indigenous man who has lived alone in an Amazon forest for at least 22 years.Semi-naked and swinging an axe vigorously as he fells a tree, the man, believed to be in his 50s, has never been filmed so clearly before and appears to be in excellent health. Continue reading...

Renewable energy installations will no longer benefit from feed-in tariff, ministers confirmThe renewables industry and green groups have accused ministers of striking a major blow against household solar power after the government said a green energy subsidy scheme would end next year without a replacement.The closure of the feed-in tariff (FIT) to new applicants from next April marks the final chapter for the scheme, which has encouraged more than 800,000 households to install solar panels since it was launched in 2010. Continue reading...

Morrisons leads league table of supermarkets analysed for the proportion of their packaging that can be recycledAlmost a third of plastic packaging used by UK supermarkets is either non-recyclable through standard collection schemes or difficult to recycle, according to a new analysis by a consumer group.

Planning commission finds ‘uncertainty’ around the massive project’s emissionsA plan for a massive waste-to-energy incinerator in western Sydney has been blocked, after the New South Wales Independent Planning Commission ruled there was “uncertainty” over human health and environmental impacts.The plant – the largest planned in the southern hemisphere – would have burned 552,500 tonnes of waste every year, generating enough electricity to power 100,000 homes. Continue reading...

Stanhope, Weardale: A watchful heron awaits his moment as the fish introduced to this former industrial landscape gorge on a rich supply of damselfly nymphsIn the heat of yet another cloudless summer afternoon the still air in Ashes quarry wobbled in the heat haze. Blasting, hewing and hauling of limestone ended here 60 years ago. Since then nature has reclaimed this peaceful mile-long scar in the fellside; today the loudest sound came from chirruping grasshoppers.The prolonged drought is unlikely to dry up the flooded quarry floor, an olive-green oasis surrounded by parched, yellowing grasses growing in the thin veneer of soil on rock scree. Standing on the edge of the squelchy bog, among cotton grass shedding its gossamer seeds and head-tall reed mace, I listened to the croak of moorhens hidden in channels among the forests of water horsetail, and also heard a strange plopping sound. Continue reading...

Acting administrator says easing of Obama-era rules, which pushes back deadline to close ash dumps, saves $30m annually