Environment | The Guardian

Glacier on the southern tip of Kebnekaise mountain shrinks due to record Arctic temperatures

Shasta Gateway mall outside Redding, California, is hosting about 463 animals and an army of 400 volunteersAt first glance, the Shasta Gateway mall outside Redding, California looks like any other American strip mall: a cracked, sun-beaten parking lot; a pizza place; a cell phone store. Except every time a door opens, the sound of yips and yelps leaks out.Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes as the Carr fire has swept across the far north of California, resulting in at least six deaths. While humans had designated places to go during the evacuation, many of their animals did not; several shelters did not accept pets. Continue reading...

State of the climate report found 2017 was the third warmest with a record high sea level and destructive coral bleachingLast year was the warmest ever recorded on Earth that didn’t feature an El Niño, a periodic climatic event that warms the Pacific Ocean, according to the annual state of the climate report by 500 climate scientists from around the world, overseen by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) and released by the American Meteorological Society.

Findings come as part of a pledge by the owners of Canary Wharf in London to become world’s first plastic-free commercial centreRetailers are likely to face a consumer backlash if they fail to take action to curb plastic use, according to a survey by the owners of Canary Wharf in London.The operators of Canary Wharf are pledging to become the world’s first plastic-free commercial centre, in partnership with the campaign group Surfers Against Sewage (SAS). Continue reading...

Environment secretary holds drought summit with farmers to address series issues of crop failure and lack of fodder for animals

Energy Security Board issues final advice in bid to convince states to endorse Turnbull’s policyThe Turnbull government’s national energy guarantee will drive a slight increase in the share of renewables in the electricity market compared to a scenario where the policy isn’t implemented.But emissions will also rise over the life of the scheme before pollution falls again towards the end of the decade to 2030. Continue reading...

Greenpeace say Coles decision to continue providing free reusable plastic bags is irresponsible

Cow waste is a global environmental issue. Jalila Essaïdi and Dutch farmers are tackling the problem by transforming manure into materialsWould you buy a shirt that has been through the back end of a cow? This could be a future fabric choice according to one Dutch startup, which is extracting cellulose from cowpats to make “manure couture”.Jalila Essaïdi believes that a non-vegan future will involve recycling cow manure into cellulose fibre, bioplastics, chemical concentrates and pure water – and being less squeamish about it, too. Continue reading...

Revealed: Great Barrier Reef Foundation founders had links to resources industryNo environment department officials were present at a meeting in which the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, and the environment minister, Josh Frydenberg, discussed a plan that led to a $443.8m grant to a small Great Barrier Reef charity.The charity, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, has also confirmed that its founders were wealthy businessmen and philanthropists with links to the resources industry, and one was a senior public servant in the Bjelke-Petersen government. Continue reading...

As Carr fire claims lives and homes in pro-Trump area, local residents reject science: ‘It’s bull’At a public meeting not far from the California town of Redding last year, the US congressman Doug LaMalfa said that he “didn’t buy” human-made climate change.“I think there’s a lot of bad science behind what people are calling global warming,” he said on another occasion. Continue reading...

UK’s driest start to summer and freeze-thaw after cold snap in February and March blamed for problemsWater companies have been urged to “raise the bar” on tackling leaks during talks with Michael Gove, the environment secretary, after once again failing to meet targets.The firms insisted they would do more and are planning “ambitious” new goals to reduce leakage by at least a further 15%. Continue reading...

Company says revamped plans would still allow Carmichael coalmine to go ahead but delay ‘significant capital expense’Adani has applied to increase the export capacity at its Abbot Point coal terminal, allowing it to expand the port relatively quickly without the “significant capital expense” of its long-term expansion plans.Plans lodged with the Queensland state development department on Tuesday show Adani wants to build a conveyor and transfer tower at Abbot Point “terminal one” to expand throughput by 10m tonnes a year. Continue reading...

The most populous region of the biggest polluter on Earth – China’s northern plain – will become uninhabitable in places if climate change is not curbedThe deadliest place on the planet for extreme future heatwaves will be the north China plain, one of the most densely populated regions in the world and the most important food-producing area in the huge nation.New scientific research shows that humid heatwaves that kill even healthy people within hours will strike the area repeatedly towards the end of the century thanks to climate change, unless there are heavy cuts in carbon emissions. Continue reading...

Miss Helen, a female grey horn shark, had been driven away from San Antonio aquarium in a pickup truckA shark abducted from a petting tank at a Texas aquarium and smuggled out in a pram has been found and returned.The female grey horn shark, known as Miss Helen, was grabbed from the open pool in San Antonio aquarium by two men and a woman, then wrapped in a wet blanket. Continue reading...

Scientists have identified a creature that they believe to be a hybrid of a melon-headed whale and a rough-toothed dolphinScientists are touting the first sighting of a hybrid between a melon-headed whale and a rough-toothed dolphin in the ocean off Hawaii. But don’t call it a “wholphin,” they say.The melon-headed whale is one of the various species that’s called a whale but is technically a dolphin. Continue reading...

The damage caused by our addiction to burning fossil fuels will be so widespread that nobody stands to gainThe year 2018 is on track to be the fourth warmest on record, beaten only by 2016, 2015 and 2017. In other words, we have had the warmest four-year run since we started measuring. According to data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), June 2018 is the 402nd consecutive month with temperatures above the 20th-century average. The UK’s Environmental Audit Committee has warned that we could see summer temperatures reaching 38C by the 2040s, leading to a potential 7,000 heat-related deaths a year.One hot summer does not a changing climate make, but the trend in the global data is now irrefutable. When Michael Mann published the “hockey stick” graph back in 1998, there was vociferous public pushback, yet the observed temperature rises match what Mann had predicted. Today’s hockey stick graph isn’t a forward projection but a historical record. The world has been getting hotter, and it will continue to do so. The only question now is how much hotter it gets. Continue reading...

The Tongass national forest is America’s premier temperate rainforest, but Sonny Perdue wants it open for business

Head of Great Barrier Reef Foundation tells Senate inquiry money was offered at meeting with Turnbull and Josh FrydenbergMalcolm Turnbull was at the meeting where $443.8m in funding was offered to a small not-for-profit foundation without a competitive tender process or any application for the money, an inquiry has heard.Anna Marsden, the managing director of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, told a Senate inquiry on Monday the organisation was offered the funding at a meeting in Sydney in April between Turnbull, environment and energy minister Josh Frydenberg, the foundation’s chair John Schubert and environment and energy department secretary Finn Pratt. Continue reading...

Average temperature in past decade is 0.8C hotter and ‘notably wetter’ than the 30 years leading up to 1990Last year was the fifth warmest on record for the UK, showing a clear warming trend above the long-term average, despite a wet summer last year and cold winter.The average temperature over the past decade, since 2008, was 0.8C above the 30 year average to 1990. Summers over that period have also been “notably wetter”, the Met Office said, in its fourth annual State of the UK Climate report on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Safest site should be chosen regardless of location, committee says – but opponents call idea ‘outrageous’Highly radioactive nuclear waste could be permanently buried under national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs), under government plans backed by a committee of MPs.Deep geological burial is seen as the only permanent solution for nuclear waste that will remain radioactive for many thousands of years and is currently stored at surface sites across the UK. Ministers’ attempts to choose a site in Cumbria for the £12bn facility were foiled in 2013 when the county council rejected the proposal. Continue reading...

Experts say the state’s increasingly ferocious wildfires are not an aberration – they are the new realityRoger Gray has lived in his suburban subdivision in a quiet California city for 30 years. On Thursday, it was struck by a jaw-dropping geophysical phenomenon.Gray had defied orders to evacuate Redding, in the far north of the state, which was threatened by the fast-growing Carr fire outside town. He and his neighbors wanted to defend their homes. A navy veteran, Gray worked 10 hours preparing his house and was already exhausted when he saw plumes of smoke in the distance. “Then they started to swirl together, and I’m going, ‘Oh, we’re in trouble,’” he said.

One third of all cetacean species are found in the waters off Timor-Leste, but measures are needed to protect themOlive Andrews believes Timor Leste could be one of the best destinations in the world for whale watching. The research scientist with a particular interest in cetaceans drew this conclusion when she joined a survey team assessing the coastal waters north of Timor-Leste in October 2016. “I’ve never seen such a biomass of cetaceans in such a small geography,” she says. “We encountered 2287 cetaceans from 11 species, including superpods of up to 600 individuals.”There are 90 distinct species of cetacean – and at least 30 of them occur in Timor-Leste. These include both local populations like melon-headed whales and spinner dolphins, and migratory species such as humpbacks and pygmy blue whales. Managed properly, whale tourism could generate significant income for Timor-Leste, one of the world’s youngest – and poorest – nations.

‘Turnbull is trying to get us to sign something that hasn’t gone to his own party room – a place full of climate sceptics,’ says Victoria’s energy ministerVictoria is continuing to express “major” concerns about the federal government’s national energy guarantee before make-or-break discussions on the proposal in August.The state’s energy minister Lily D’Ambrosio argues it would be a leap of faith to sign up when the Coalition party room is yet to formally tick off on the emissions reduction component of the Neg, and when federal government MPs are acting like “coal ideologues”. Continue reading...

Independent panel warned state government there was insufficient data to support an approvalThe New South Wales government ignored warnings from its own independent panel that there was insufficient data to approve the expansion of the Dendrobium coalmine near Wollongong,The government is under fire for approving extra longwalls at the mine without waiting for the panel to complete a much broader study of the impact of mining under Sydney’s water catchment. Continue reading...

Police in Manchester say detail of who targeted boy altered in report on extremismThe authors of a report investigating extremism in Greater Manchester after the bombing at Manchester Arena falsely suggested that anti-fracking activists “groomed” a 14-year-old boy featured in a case study, the Guardian understands.The 124-page report by the Greater Manchester preventing hateful extremism and promoting social cohesion commission included the story of a teenager referred to Channel, part of the government’s anti-extremist Prevent programme. Continue reading...

Boy allegedly ‘groomed’ by anti-fracking activists on social media, who were eventually banned from contacting him• After this story was published, misleading claims in the anti-extremism report on which it was based came to light: read the updated news hereA 14-year-old A* student was referred to the UK government’s anti-extremism programme following concerns he was being “groomed” for environmental activism by anti-frackers.Campaigners said that the decision to refer him to the Prevent programme was “incredibly alarming” and “offensive”. Continue reading...

Crops are wilting in parched fields, lowering the yields of kitchen staples including meat, wheat, potatoes, onions and milkStaple foods from bread to potatoes, onions, milk and meat may be in shorter supply than usual this year and prices to consumers may have to rise, farmers have said, as they count the cost of the two-month drought and heatwave across the UK.There will be little respite from the hot weather in many areas of the country, even as thunderstorms and heavy rains spread from the east, as farmers have seen their crops wilt, their fields parched and livestock struggle in the extreme conditions. Continue reading...

While we need to leave fossil fuels in the ground, America is giving the fossil fuel industry billions to extract more

Gloucestershire-based League Two club powered by renewable energy and endorsed by Vegan SocietyA British professional football club that is powered by renewable energy and serves vegan food to players, staff and fans has received a prestigious United Nations certification.Forest Green Rovers, which plays in League Two, announced on Monday that it has become the world’s first UN certified carbon-neutral football club. Continue reading...

Which? says people often don’t understand various symbols found on packagingA confusing array of symbols on household packaging is leaving consumers in the dark about what can be recycled, research reveals.Nearly half of respondents to a survey carried out in the UK by consumer group Which? thought that products stamped with the so-called green dot (a circle of two intertwined arrows) were recyclable, when in fact it means only that a manufacturer has paid into a scheme that supports recyclable packaging and systems.

US president’s broken promises have ruined a fragile dune system in AberdeenshireThe spectacular dunes system picked by Donald Trump for his golf resort in Aberdeenshire has been “partially destroyed” as a result of the course’s construction, documents released under the Freedom of Information Act have revealed.Scottish Natural Heritage, which has been under pressure for years to speak out on the issue, now acknowledges that serious damage has been done to the site of special scientific interest (SSSI) at Foveran Links on the Menie estate, north of Aberdeen, since the course opened in 2012, the documents show. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Minister floats proposal to win states’ sign-off on Neg mechanism before a second meeting to discuss emissions targetsJosh Frydenberg has flagged a two-stage process with state and territory ministers in an attempt to maximise the government’s chances of achieving sign-off for the national energy guarantee in August.State sources have told Guardian Australia the commonwealth has floated a proposal where ministers would sign off on the detailed design of the Neg mechanism, including the emissions reduction components, at a meeting of the Council of Australian Governments energy council long scheduled for 10 August. Continue reading...

Millions of tonnes sent to China, and from there to other countries as finished wood products, should be considered ‘high risk’Millions of tonnes of illegally logged timber, felled from forests across Papua New Guinea, are being exported to China and from there to the world as finished wood products, a new report from Global Witness has revealed.Global Witness’s investigation has found that the majority of logging operations in PNG are underpinned by government-issued permits, which are often illegally “extended” and which fail to enforce laws surrounding logging in prohibited and ecologically sensitive areas. Continue reading...

Jeffrey Henderson warns against Chinese state-owned firms playing a decisive part in one of our most strategically important industriesWhile we need to be concerned about China’s growing presence in Britain’s electricity generation (Nuclear power: China’s move into UK hints at scale of its wider ambitions, July 27), we should be asking searching questions of our government. They seem not to understand (or don’t care about) the nature of the companies they are dealing with.Chinese state-owned enterprises are not like EDF or the German, Dutch and French state-owned firms that run our railways. They are dramatically different because China is governed by a Leninist state. Consequently, Chinese state firms are ultimately controlled not by the State Council’s State Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, but by the Communist party. Continue reading...

Firm operating MS Bremen in Svalbard claims ‘self defence’ as critics online condemn killing and wildlife tourismA polar bear has been shot dead after injuring a guard working for cruise ship tourists visiting an Arctic archipelago in Norway.The bear was shot dead by another employee, the cruise company said after the incident on Saturday. Continue reading...

Delay in sale of consortium behind plant leads Toshiba to lay off 100 UK project staffDoubts have been raised over the fate of a new nuclear power station planned for Cumbria after it emerged that most of the project’s 100 UK staff had been laid off.Toshiba has been trying to sell the NuGeneration consortium behind the Moorside plant since it had to write off billions of dollars because of problems with its US nuclear business last year. Continue reading...

Britain won’t be unscathed by global warming. You can’t run from climate change and you can’t hideOver the course of Britain’s sweltering summer, the landlord of the building inhabited by the Observer periodically informs us that our air conditioning is undergoing an “automated controlled shutdown” because the weather has become so hot and humid that the system is at risk of damaging itself. So just when you really need cooling air, you can’t have it. One to be filed under: you couldn’t make it up.This is not uncommon. The offices, factories, homes, roads and railways of Britain were designed on the assumption that it is a country of blessedly temperate conditions, immune to extremes of heat and cold. When people say that Britain is not built to withstand a sizzling summer, this is more literally true than they may know. Continue reading...

As more of the world logs on, the company is nearing saturation: so now it is spending on rebuilding its reputationWhat’s bad for Facebook’s market cap might be good for society. That, at least, is what the company would like investors to take away from its disastrous second-quarter results, which triggered a fall in its stock-market valuation of almost $120bn (£92bn), the largest single loss of value in Wall Street history.At its core, the collapse is due to three negative trends: a stagnant user base, shrinking revenues and growing costs. The first, Facebook argues, has been visible for years; the second is a blip as advertisers get used to new formats; and the third is a reflection of the significant sums the company is spending to fix the problems that have plagued it in the press over the past year. Continue reading...

Oil company criticised for its findings on animals and plants at planned Narrabri coal seam gas projectConservationists have said the oil company Santos has not addressed questions about how its proposed 850-well Narrabri coal seam gas project in New South Wales would affect threatened species.Two new reports, including one by a former ecologist for the NSW environment and heritage office, say the company had not adequately responded to submissions which raise concerns about animal and plant surveys Santos conducted for its environmental impact statement.

Farmers’ representatives and government officials meet to tackle impact of the prolonged dry weatherFarmers are to meet with Whitehall officials this week for an emergency drought summit amid fears that the heatwave could have a serious impact on the UK’s food supply.What the National Farmers Union describes as “tinderbox conditions” have severely reduced grass growth and depleted yields for many crops, leading to concerns that there will be a shortage of feed for livestock and dairy farmers later in the year. Concerns about the fragility of the UK’s food chain come at a sensitive time after the Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, admitted last week that the government was taking steps to ensure that there were “adequate” supplies for Britain in the event of a no-deal departure from the European Union. The revelation led to speculation that the UK might be forced to start stockpiling food. Continue reading...

As technology finds innovative ways to recycle, waste products are being used in an unlikely range of goods in high street storesFirst it was “bags for life”, chunky doormats and, more recently, clothing such as fleeces, swimwear and pack-away macs. Now towels made from recycled plastic bottles are to go on sale in the UK for the first time in August – the latest initiative in the war against single-use plastics and the result of a technological breakthrough that has produced a fabric deemed soft and fluffy enough to use on human skin.The new range of eco-friendly bath towels will go on sale online and at 18 branches of John Lewis in the last week of August, after nearly two years of extensive testing and work with suppliers. The polyester from the recycled plastic bottles accounts for 35% of their content, while the rest is regenerated cotton. Continue reading...

Killer whale is one of just 75 in an endangered group off the coast of Washington state and CanadaA grieving mother orca near Vancouver Island has been carrying her dead calf for four days, after refusing to leave her baby behind when the rest of her pod left.The mother killer whale, named J35 by researchers, gave birth Tuesday in what was initially a hopeful moment. Mother and female calf were seen swimming together that morning near Victoria, British Columbia, according to the Washington state-based Center for Whale Research. Continue reading...

At least three dead and thousands evacuated as officials worry potentially devastating fire season has only just begunAt least three people have died and thousands have been evacuated in California as eight active wildfires continue to burn across the state. More than 3,000 firefighters have been deployed to contain the flames, and the destruction is expected to worsen throughout the weekend as high temperatures and dry conditions inhibit efforts.The state governor, Jerry Brown, has declared a state of emergency in northern California’s Shasta county, and in southern California’s Riverside county, to help provide local fire crews with the resources they need to battle the blazes. Donald Trump has not yet commented on the fires. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Prof Michael Mann declares the impacts of global warming are now ‘playing out in real-time’• Heatwave made more than twice as likely by climate change, scientists findThe extreme heatwaves and wildfires wreaking havoc around the globe are “the face of climate change,” one of the world’s leading climate scientists has declared, with the impacts of global warming now “playing out in real time.”Climate change has long been predicted to increase extreme weather incidents, and scientists are now confident these predictions are coming true. Scientists say the global warming has contributed to the scorching temperatures that have baked the UK and northern Europe for weeks. Continue reading...

Concerns over health as sweltering heat set to continue despite storm forecasts

Warning of intolerable conditions as hospitals report rise in number of A&E visitsTrade unions have warned of intolerable working conditions for workers caused by extreme temperatures in Britain this summer, as some NHS hospitals report record numbers of people attending A&E because of the heat.The TUC said action was needed to protect workers from health risks posed by the abnormally high temperatures, as the mercury hit 34.1C in Norfolk on Friday, after Thursday’s year-high of 35C, recorded at Heathrow, west London. Continue reading...

A new species of spider, frolicking hares and migratory sea turtles are among this week’s pick of images from our overheated natural world Continue reading...

The government’s latest National Travel Survey reveals that more parents are using cars for school run amid mounting evidence of health harmsThe proportion of parents who drive their children to school rather than walk or cycle is on the rise despite growing concerns about the impact of air pollution on young people’s health.New figures from the government’s National Travel Survey show that the percentage of primary school children who walk or cycle in England fell from 53% to 51% in 2017. Continue reading...

Fingerprints of global warming clear, they say, after comparing northern Europe’s scorching summer with records and computer models

US interior secretary’s meeting with group in favor of Yosemite valley restoration met with puzzlement from expertsUS interior secretary Ryan Zinke has prompted puzzlement by meeting with a group that seeks to dismantle a dam providing San Francisco’s water, as experts wonder whether he is taking the fringe proposal seriously or trolling the city.Zinke’s Sunday discussion with Restore Hetch Hetchy concerned the dam at Hetch Hetchy reservoir in California’s Yosemite national park. Removing it would restore the valley, which was once so beautiful that the environmentalist John Muir called it “one of nature’s rarest and most precious mountain temples”, to its natural state - and force San Francisco to figure out where else to store 90% of its water supply. Continue reading...