An understaffed stretch of California coastline has new residents: nearly 100 elephant seals and their pupsDuring the US government shutdown, understaffed national parks were overrun by careless visitors. But at one spot in California, the absence of rangers meant a takeover by a horde of a different sort: a massive group of boisterous elephant seals.Related: 'That income is gone': shutdown pain lingers for unpaid contract workers Continue reading...

Footage shows torrent of mining waste, while ceremony pays tribute to 110 victimsA week after the deadly collapse of a mining dam in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, dozens paid tribute to the 110 victims killed and 238 who are still missing, while newly released video footage showed the moment that a powerful wave of waste began sweeping over everything in its path.A ceremony was held at the site of the disaster around 1pm local time on Friday, the hour at which the dam breached on 25 January, unleashing a destructive torrent of reddish-brown mining waste. Continue reading...

Exclusive: leaked emails show officials planning crisis centres to manage halt in waste exports to EUGovernment officials are preparing to deal with “putrefying stockpiles” of rubbish in the event of a no-deal Brexit, according to documents leaked to the Guardian.If the UK leaves the EU without a deal on 29 March, export licences for millions of tonnes of waste will become invalid overnight. Environment Agency (EA) officials said leaking stockpiles could cause pollution. Continue reading...

Macaques adapt to city life, Andean condors are released back into the wild, and a lion catches a seal in this week’s gallery Continue reading...

Introduction of minimum prices in supermarkets aims to increase farmers’ incomesFrance’s agriculture minister has sought to reassure households that food shopping bills would not jump dramatically after a rise in minimum food prices aimed at increasing farmers’ incomes came into effect.The measure introduced on Friday had been postponed by the government in December as France reeled from nationwide unrest and sometimes violent gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protests over high living costs and squeezed household budgets. Continue reading...

Hottest month ever shows temperatures rising faster than predicted, say climate expertsAustralia sweltered through the hottest month in its history in January, spurring mass deaths of fish, fire warnings and concerns among climate scientists that extreme heat is hitting faster and harder than anticipated.For the first time since records began, the country’s mean temperature in January exceeded 30C (86F), according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), which said daily extremes – in some places just short of 50C – were unprecedented. Continue reading...

After secret footage of animals raises health fears across Europe, reporter says tip-offs suggest scandal was not isolated incidentThe practice of smuggling sick cows into the meat chain is feared to be more widespread in Poland than previously believed, according to the investigative reporter who captured footage of ill cows being dragged to slaughter with a winch.After Patryk Szczepaniak’s undercover footage aired, the EU’s rapid alert system for food and feed was triggered, and it has since been confirmed that meat from this particular abattoir was exported to 12 other EU countries (not including the UK). Continue reading...

Many cruise ships use seawater to ‘wash’ dirty fuel to meet targets but dump washwater back in oceanA boom in cruise liner holidays is raising concerns over the widespread use of “emissions dodging” by global shipping to meet tough new dirty fuel rules next year.Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd revealed this week it had received record bookings for 2019, with the boom sparked in part by a rise in Chinese passengers. Continue reading...

Campaigners argue that the business case for the project was a ‘no-brainer’A scrapped “emerald necklace” cycleway up the spine of the country alongside HS2 would have delivered a return on investment of up to five times greater than the rail project itself, an FoI request has revealed – but neither the government nor HS2 Ltd will fund it.A 50-page report outlining the business case for the national cycleway, obtained by the Guardian, reveals health, congestion and economic benefits of between £3 and £8 per £1 spent. The return on investment of HS2 itself, meanwhile, is just £1.5-£1.7 per £1, according to the National Audit Office. Campaigners say completing the cycleway should have been a “no-brainer”. Continue reading...

Pressure from investors forces UK oil and gas firm to be more transparent on climate changeBP has bowed to pressure from investors, including the Church of England, by backing a plan to explain how its strategy and investments are consistent with the Paris climate agreement.The UK oil and gas company supported a resolution, put forward by a group of shareholders including the investment arms of HSBC, Legal & General and the C of E, forcing it to be more transparent on climate change. Continue reading...

Up to 100 more homes face flooding after mayor orders high-risk plan to open floodgates on the Ross River damOne hundred homes could be flooded in Townsville after the city’s mayor sanctioned the high-risk release of dam water to save the area from more widespread inundation following more than 1.1 metres of rain.Announcing the emergency measure for the Ross River dam on Friday, the mayor Jenny Hill said there were no guarantees the plan would work. Between 90 and 100 homes downstream from the dam were being evacuated, she added. Continue reading...

Controversial climatologist John Christy, who once said scientists believed Earth was flat, to join advisory board at environment agency

Bureau of Meteorologist says global warming contributed to soaring temperaturesJanuary was Australia’s hottest month on record, with the country’s mean temperature exceeding 30C for the first time since records began in 1910.The Bureau of Meteorology released its climate summary for January on Friday and said the widespread heatwave conditions and daily extremes were “unprecedented”. Continue reading...

Humane Society will argue shark control measures conflict with authority’s responsibility to protect reefEnvironmentalists will on Wednesday launch a legal challenge aiming to stop the legal killing of sharks, including several protected species, in the world-heritage listed Great Barrier Reef marine park.The Queensland government runs a shark control program that uses drum lines – baited hooks to lure and kill sharks – near popular swimming spots along the state’s coast. Continue reading...

Scientists test new alerts that focus on helping people to prepare for bad air and avoid itThe UK measures the effects of daily air pollution, like sunburn risk, on a one to 10 index. As the air quality index increases, official advice tells vulnerable people to avoid outdoor exercise and reminds asthmatics to use their inhalers more often. This index is used in national forecasts and alert systems in southern England and Scotland and in the warnings that appear at London bus stops when high air pollution is forecast.Scientists at King’s College London tested different types of messages with volunteers who used the CityAir app. Rather than telling people to make changes only when air pollution was bad, the scientists focused on helping people to know how to prepare and protect themselves, and overcome perceived barriers stopping them from changing how they travel. For instance, a message targeting asthmatics encouraged them to take their preventative medication, rather than simply warning them to carry their inhalers. Other messages included pollution maps to help people to find clean places to exercise and to find routes away from the worst roads. Anticipating that people might be reluctant to change, the messages pointed out that low pollution routes need not make their journeys any longer. Continue reading...

State minister fears ‘big stick’ legislation will compel the sale of state-owned assetsThe Queensland state government has emerged as the latest thorn in the side of what is left of the government’s “big stick” energy legislation, warning it could lead to the unpopular privatisation of state-owned assets.Queensland’s energy minister, Anthony Lynham, has called on the federal government to bring its much vaunted energy market misconduct bill to the next state energy ministers meeting for discussion. Continue reading...

The polar vortex has broken into ‘two swirling blobs of cold air’, bringing the most frigid conditions in decades to the midwestAs its name suggests, the polar vortex is found around the north pole. It’s a band of strong winds, high up in the atmosphere that keeps bitterly cold air locked around the Arctic region. This circulation isn’t considered a single storm, or even a weather pattern as such. Continue reading...

Lottery award to go towards saving habitats and heritage of forts in Dorset and WiltshireA string of iron age hillforts that dot the landscape of the English West Country are to be rejuvenated as part of a lottery award worth almost £1m.Thirteen hillforts in Dorset and Wiltshire, which are important for their flora and fauna, especially their butterflies, as well as their rich history, will benefit from the money. The National Trust will use the funds to tackle erosion to paths and ramparts and improve fencing so that cattle can graze the areas in the summer and sheep during the winter. Continue reading...

Satellite data suggests protection measures are being ignored as huge fishing lines snare endangered seabirdsIndustrial fishing vessels that accidentally kill tens of thousands of albatrosses each year routinely ignore regulations designed to save the birds from extinction, according to research.Using satellite data, investigators found that vessels employing longline fishing techniques showed a “low level of compliance” with measures to reduce albatross deaths. Continue reading...

Stranded porpoises, dolphins and seals had average of 5.5 particles in their gutsMicroplastics are being widely ingested by Britain’s marine mammals, scientists say, with samples found in every animal examined in a study.The research on 50 stranded creatures including porpoises, dolphins, grey seals and a pygmy sperm whale is the most comprehensive analysis of microplastics in the digestive tracts of both wild cetaceans and seals. Continue reading...

People buying generic fish such as rock could in fact be eating a range of shark speciesFish and chip shops and fishmongers are selling endangered sharks to an unwitting public, according to researchers who used DNA barcoding to identify species on sale.Most chip shop fish sold under generic names such as huss, rock, flake and rock salmon turned out to be spiny dogfish, a shark species classified as endangered in Europe by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s red list. Continue reading...

Audit committee singles out firms who take no action to reduce impact on environmentMajor UK fashion retailers are failing to promote environmental sustainability or to protect their workers, a parliamentary committee has said.The six companies, which include Amazon UK, JD Sports, Sports Direct and TK Maxx, have not taken any action to reduce their carbon, water and waste footprint. None of them use organic or sustainable cotton and only two – Sports Direct and Boohoo – use recycled material in their products. Continue reading...

South Australian report also finds negligence and unlawful actions in drawing up multibillion-dollar deal to save river systemThe head of the royal commission into the Murray-Darling basin plan has recommended a complete overhaul of the scheme, including reallocating more water from irrigation to the environment.Releasing its report on Thursday, the South Australian Murray-Darling basin royal commission found the original plan ignored potentially “catastrophic” risks of climate change. Continue reading...

Pledges for 2019 plant-based campaign exceeded those in previous four years combinedA record 250,000 people worldwide signed up to the Veganuary movement this year by embracing plant-based diets this month, the campaign has revealed.As more consumers drop all meat and dairy products from their diet for health or ethical reasons, the charity behind the annual event said the record figures and strong global support had made 2019’s Veganuary the most popular since its launch in 2014. Many more people are thought to have taken part in the event without signing the official pledge. Continue reading...

Four fatalities recorded, with the US and Australia experiencing the most attacksThe number of shark attacks around the world fell by about one-quarter last year, with the US and Australia reporting the highest number of them.There were four fatalities worldwide, in line with the long-term average of six, according to the annual release of the Florida-based International Shark Attack File. Continue reading...

We still have time to avert the worst impacts of climate change, but heatwaves are now an inevitable part of Australia’s futureHeatwaves and blackouts have been the talk of the town as temperatures climbed over 40C in all states except Tasmania, and once again the commentariat have gone into a renewable-generated bluster. Chris Uhlmann and Alan Moran blamed the high prices on wind power, Pauline Hanson called for people to use more power and Judith Sloan called demand management a bribe.There were three notable things that happened with our energy system during what will become the new normal of extreme heat. Continue reading...

Monarch production will not be replicated next year, experts warn, as above average temperatures will cause problems

Over the border in NSW, the Barwon and Darling rivers are a series of muddy pools, and fish are dyingThese photos were taken by the Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick from a light plane over southern Queensland near Goondiwindi, on Wednesday.They show rivers such as the Condamine relatively full, and storages on cotton farms holding thousands of megalitres of water. Continue reading...

Virus outbreak among sea stars coincided with warm waters, researchers found after sixth graders held fundraiser for surveyFive years ago, a sixth grade class in land-locked Arkansas heard about a mass die-off of starfish on the west coast and felt compelled to help.Related: Mussels lose grip when exposed to microplastics – study Continue reading...

Investments not the only financial link between fossil fuels and elite universityCambridge University had been offered two new multimillion pound donations from global fossil fuel corporations as it considered calls made last year to divest its endowment fund from oil and gas companies.Documents seen by the Guardian show the university management was aware of a proposed £20m donation offered by BHP – subsequently withdrawn – and £2m from BP, as it considered whether to fully divest its fortune from fossil fuels. Continue reading...

Vermont’s Middlebury College has reversed its course on fossil fuel companies and is leading the way on renewable energyVermont’s Middlebury College announced on Wednesday that it was divesting its holdings in fossil fuel companies. Given that more than a thousand institutions with endowments totaling more than $8tn have made similar pledges, it might not seem so newsworthy – but Middlebury was one of the first to reverse course. Six years ago the college flatly rejected divestment, and the shift makes it clear why big oil’s purchase on our economy and our society is eroding.Much of the explanation, of course, stems from local factors, and since I’m employed there I’ve had a firsthand view. The college’s students never gave up, passing on the activist torch to each new entering freshman class – indeed, some of the students who pioneered the fight were on hand for today’s announcement. And along the way the college got a new president: religion scholar Laurie Patton proved an adept conciliator able to help her institution move. Continue reading...

Treasurer says climate change is real and Scott Morrison’s government takes emissions reduction ‘very seriously’Josh Frydenberg has defended the Coalition’s record on climate change and says he will work hard to earn the trust of his constituents in the face of a challenge from long-time Liberal and now independent Oliver Yates.Yates, a former Macquarie banker and head of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, confirmed on Wednesday he would run in Kooyong at the coming federal election, declaring Frydenberg deserved to be challenged because of a lack of action on the environment. Continue reading...

Thai capital has been shrouded in murky haze for weeks, forcing residents to don masks and sparking criticism of governmentToxic smog forced Bangkok authorities to issue an unprecedented order to shut nearly 450 schools on Wednesday as authorities struggled to manage a pollution crisis that has stirred widespread concern.The Thai capital has been shrouded in murky haze for weeks, forcing residents to don masks and sparking social media criticism of the uneven response by the government. Continue reading...

Senate committee urges government to create policies to encourage use or risk missing out on a transport revolutionAustralia is “on the cusp” of a transport revolution but the country will miss out if it doesn’t end the policy vacuum that has so far kept the electric vehicle industry from growing, according to a Senate committee report released on Wednesday.“[Electric vehicle] uptake in Australia lags behind that of other comparable countries due to a relative absence of overarching policy direction from Australian governments,” the report said. Continue reading...

Supersonic aircraft would bring noise and greater CO2 emissions, report saysHeathrow airport could be hit by a sonic boom every five minutes as a new class of supersonic aircraft come into service, research suggests.It is predicted that by 2035 there could be demand for up to 2,000 supersonic passenger jets, which could knock hours off long-haul trips. Continue reading...

Paris agreement target will not be met without changes to policy and threatened species at risk unless funding increasedAustralia is not on track to meet its 2030 emissions targets under the Paris agreement and needs to bring its environment policies into line with the “scale of the challenge” the country is facing, one of the world’s pre-eminent economic institutions says.In a major report on Australia’s environmental performance, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development also finds the status of Australia’s biodiversity is “poor and worsening” and the government’s national threatened species strategy will fail unless it is expanded and funding increased. Continue reading...

Water resources are tapped with often reckless abandon and poor regulation. And it looks set to go on under new presidentThe Brazilian government has been urged to step up punishments for environmental crimes after the deadliest mining disaster in decades.The torrent of mud and iron ore tailings that engulfed the community of Brumadinho on Friday continues to inflict a toll on residents, river systems and freshwater species. Continue reading...

Of 775 projects overlapping bird’s habitat, government only refused one, study revealsEnvironmental laws that formally protect the endangered black-throated finch have also sanctioned the broadscale destruction of its natural habitat, leaving the species at risk of extinction, a new study says.The study, led by University of Queensland research fellow April Reside, and published on Wednesday in the journal Environmental Science and Policy, charts the exile of the black-throated finch from more than 80% of its former range. Continue reading...

Gas from Glengorm reservoir under North Sea could meet about 5% of annual demandA Chinese-led consortium has discovered the UK’s biggest gasfield in more than a decade, leading experts to say there is life yet in the country’s offshore sector.Drilling found the equivalent of about 250m barrels of oil could be recovered from the Glengorm reservoir in the central North Sea, about 5% of the UK’s annual gas demand. Continue reading...

The long-time Liberal party member wants to take on Josh Frydenberg to start a people power campaignOliver Yates, the son of a Liberal politician and long-time party member, wants to take on Josh Frydenberg in a seat once held by Robert Menzies to start a people power campaign not only in Australia, but around the world.The former Macquarie banker, and head of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, who will confirm his intention to run in Kooyong as an independent publicly on Wednesday, says the challenges of climate change are now so serious, so pressing, that citizens need to “take out” their environment ministers when they occupy the portfolio but fail to protect the environment and the climate. Continue reading...

Coalition worth $6.5tn challenge fast food chains over lack of low-carbon planMcDonald’s, KFC and Burger King have been urged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their supply chains by a coalition of global investors, with the animal agriculture industry criticised for being one of the world’s highest-emitting sectors without a low-carbon plan.Increasing concern that the industry is neglecting climate change and has failed to set emissions targets – unlike other sectors – prompted more than 80 investors representing $6.5tn (£4.94tn) to challenge fast food chain owners to put robust targets in place for their meat and dairy suppliers, in what could prove a landmark demand. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Natural England struggling to protect important sites after suffering budget cutsThousands of environmentally important sites across England are coming under threat as the government body charged with their care struggles with understaffing, slashed budgets and an increasing workload.Natural England has wide-ranging responsibilities protecting and monitoring sensitive sites, including sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) and nature reserves, and advising on the environmental impact of new homes and other developments in the planning stages. Its work includes overseeing national parks, paying farmers to protect biodiversity, and areas of huge public concern such as air quality and marine plastic waste. Continue reading...

By driving such extreme distances, Wiebe Wakker hopes to bust Australian anxieties about electric vehiclesA Dutch man who has driven 89,000km from Amsterdam to Adelaide in a small electric car says he is proving to Australians that electric vehicles are a viable alternative.Since March 2016, adventurer Wiebe Wakker has driven across 33 countries from Europe to the Middle East to south-east Asia and finally to Australia in a 2009 Volkswagen Golf, converted to electric. Continue reading...

Keep Britain Tidy workshops will demonstrate how to use leftover bread in cookingAn estimated 1.2bn edible bread crusts are binned each year, new research has revealed, as one in five consumers turn their noses up at the leftover ends of loaves.The scale of the waste – equivalent to 50m loaves of bread being thrown away in crusts alone every year – is revealed by a new campaign using chefs’ tips and recipes to show consumers how to use it to make tasty snacks and meals. Continue reading...

Niall Blair says deaths are like nothing ‘we’ve ever seen in the state before’ while touring Lower Darling River siteThe New South Wales primary industries minister, Niall Blair, has admitted that “we’ve seen nothing like this” while touring the site of another massive fish death in the Lower Darling River at Menindee.The mass death incident in the Lower Darling, the third in a month, has left stretches of the Lower Darling upstream from Menindee covered in a carpet of dead fish. Continue reading...

National park saw ‘irreparable’ damage including vandalism, ruined trails and trees cut down, says former superintendentThe former superintendent of Joshua Tree national park has said it could take hundreds of years to recover from damage caused by visitors during the longest-ever government shutdown.“What’s happened to our park in the last 34 days is irreparable for the next 200 to 300 years,” Curt Sauer said at a rally over the weekend, according to a report from the Desert Sun. Sauer retired in 2010 after running the park for seven years. Continue reading...

Store to sell pasta and granola bars made from ground buffalo worm and cricket flourPasta, protein bars and granola bars made from insect flour are to go on sale in Selfridges to highlight alternative proteins for inclusion in mainstream diets.Amid growing awareness of the environmental impact of livestock farming – and the benefits of reducing meat consumption – the British department store is the latest retailer to tap into the rising recognition of the benefits of eating insects on both nutritional and environmental grounds. Continue reading...

Commissioner to find $13bn plan to restore river took into account factors other than the environment’s needs when it set the amount of water needed to be bought back from irrigatorsThe Murray Darling Basin Plan is likely in breach of the commonwealth act that underpins it – the Water Act 2007, the South Australian royal commission into the plan is expected to find.The report of the royal commission into the Murray Darling Basin Plan is being handed to the state governor on Tuesday but it is up to the SA government when it is released. Continue reading...

Minas Gerais locals recall another dam collapse involving mining firm Vale as hunt continues for 292 people still missingThe dirt road which once led to the Nova Estância guesthouse and a handful of nearby farms now ends in a slew of sticky, acrid sludge that stretches as far as the eye can see, a deep red gash across the green of the rolling Brazilian countryside.The road, a small bridge it once crossed, the guesthouse and hundreds of people were all swallowed by mud when a tailings dam at the Córrego de Feijão mine collapsed on Friday, unleashing a torrent of liquid waste. Continue reading...

Three-year-old Casey Hathaway said a bear helped him survive two nights in the woods but animal experts say it would be a firstThe story of a three-year-old boy who said he survived two nights alone in the woods due to the assistance of a friendly bear should not encourage people to seek out their own relationships with bears, a leading ursine expert has warned.Related: Three-year-old boy missing in woods for two days says friendly bear kept him safe Continue reading...