Two Belgian 19-year-olds have pleaded guilty to wildlife piracy - part of a growing trend of trafficking less conspicuous' creatures for sale as exotic petsPoaching busts are familiar territory for the officers of Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), an armed force tasked with protecting the country's iconic creatures. But what awaited guards when they descended in early April on a guesthouse in the west of the country was both larger and smaller in scale than the smuggling operations they typically encounter. There were more than 5,000 smuggled animals, caged in their own enclosures. Each one, however, was about the size of a little fingernail: 18-25mm.The cargo, which two Belgian teenagers had apparently intended to ship to exotic pet markets in Europe and Asia, was ants. Their enclosures were a mixture of test tubes and syringes containing cotton wool - environments that authorities say would keep the insects alive for weeks. Continue reading...

Government is setting up conversations' as companies arrive in London for clean energy summitThe UK is to woo global green investors, including those scared away from the US by the actions of Donald Trump, by offering cash and infrastructure improvements to encourage companies to set up manufacturing plants and supply chains.The government will bring forward 300m for offshore windfarms, an area in which the UK retains a lead, and has invited banks and major international companies to a 60-country summit in London this week. Continue reading...

Part of major highway closed as 3,000 people move to safety and officials say fire could become state's largest in 20 yearsA fast-moving wildfire burning in New Jersey forced thousands of people to temporarily evacuate on Tuesday, as officials warned the blaze could become the largest in the state in about 20 years.Flames from the Jones Road wildfire in Ocean county sparked several small blazes near a decommissioned Oyster Creek nuclear power plant, state officials said. Continue reading...

Fossil teeth show species of protemnodon that roamed Australia between 5m and 40,000 years ago lived and died near Queensland caves

Virtual meeting of leaders also hears UN's Antonio Guterres proclaim no group or government' can stop green revolutionChina will continue to push forward on the climate crisis, Xi Jinping has said while appearing to criticise the protectionism" of Donald Trump's tariff policies.The Chinese president was attending a closed-door virtual meeting with the UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and about a dozen other heads of state and government to discuss the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Researchers left at US climate agency say drastic cuts could leave air not breathable' and water not drinkable'The Trump administration has shunted one of the US federal government's top scientific agencies onto a non-science trajectory", workers warn, that threatens to derail decades of research and leave the US with air that's not breathable and water that's not drinkable".Workers and scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) are warning of the drastic impacts of cuts at the agency on science, research, and efforts to protect natural resources. Continue reading...

The Wildlife Trusts are in shock after acquiring 4,000 sheep in Rothbury estate deal as part of land restoration projectWoolly maggots, nature-destroyers - sheep are criticised by many conservationists for denuding Britain's uplands of rare plants and trees.So The Wildlife Trusts were shocked when they were compelled to buy 4,000 sheep as part of the biggest land restoration project in England. Continue reading...

These noisy, filthy, feral creatures make my life a misery. Is there really no way to get rid of them?Pigeons. Appalling things. I looked them up on the bird charity RSPB's website and snorted when I came across the Where to See section. The answer is, just so you know, everywhere. Perhaps not so much outside towns and cities but in urban areas you're never far from the sight and sound of the bloody things. If, unaccountably, you're not familiar with this species, do feel free to get in touch and come round to my place and observe them at your leisure.Truly they are the soundtrack of my life. For years they've been getting into a drainage channel on the roof. Morning, noon and night they scratch and coo and jump about. The racket is infernal. I lie in bed reflecting on the filth in that gully just above my head. I know it's filthy, because when there's heavy rain their revolting detritus washes down and blocks the downpipe. I have to pull their unspeakable waste out of the pipe before something bursts and floods. There are no words to describe the tangle of excrement, nesting materials, eggs, feathers and bones. Oh Lord, the bones. I'd be less repulsed rummaging through the bin outside a chicken shop on a Sunday morning. Continue reading...

Watchdog for England and Wales looking into claims refurbishment costs are breathtakingly high' compared with other countriesThe water regulator for England and Wales, Ofwat, is investigating claims water companies are spending many times more on refurbishment projects than operators in comparable countries, leading to much higher bills, in what campaigners have described as a rip-off".Experts have said privatisation of water companies has led to an overinflation of the costs of building infrastructure such as sewage works, as they are less incentivised than governments to find value for money for taxpayers. They are also allowed to borrow more money based on the valuation of their assets. Continue reading...

American Lung Association's study says almost 156 million people live in areas with unhealthy levels of soot or smogAlmost half of Americans are breathing in dangerous levels of air pollutants, a new report shows, a rise compared with a year ago and likely to further increase in coming years thanks to the climate crisis and the Trump administration's sweeping environmental rollbacks.Just over 156 million people live in neighborhoods with unhealthy levels of soot or smog - a 16% rise compared with last year and the highest number in a decade, according to the American Lung Association (ALA) annual state of the air report. Continue reading...

About 89% of the public want their governments to do more to tackle the climate crisis - but don't know they're the majority

Wines produced after 2010 showed steep rise in contamination of trifluoroacetic acid, analysis findsLevels of a little-known forever chemical known as TFA in European wines have risen alarmingly" in recent decades, according to analysis, prompting fears that contamination will breach a planetary boundary.Researchers from Pesticide Action Network Europe tested 49 bottles of commercial wine to see how TFA contamination in food and drink had progressed. They found levels of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a breakdown product of long-lasting Pfas chemicals that carries possible fertility risks, far above those previously measured in water. Continue reading...

Take that Antony Greem

In early 2023, the planet's worst coral bleaching event began. More than two years later, 80% of the planet's reefs have been affected by successive marine heatwaves hitting ecosystems from the Great Barrier Reef to the Mesoamerican Reef Continue reading...

Chemical fingerprint' shows 46% of wood samples certified as sustainable did not come from labelled country of originNearly half of birch wood certified by leading sustainability schemes is misidentified and does not come from the labelled country of origin, according to new testing. The analysis raises fears that large quantities of sanctioned wood from Russia and Belarus are still illegally entering Britain.New research by World Forest ID, a consortium of research organisations that includes Kew Gardens and the World Resources Institute, scrutinised the accuracy of dozens of harvesting-origin claims on birch products, which had almost entirely been approved by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) sustainability schemes. Continue reading...

Labour must deliver the green transition voters want, leaving Reform and the Tories on the side of economic decline and dictatorsWhich former British prime minister described the climate emergency as a clock ticking to the furious rhythm of hundreds of billions of pistons and turbines and furnaces and engines ... quilting the Earth in an invisible and suffocating blanket of CO"?The florid style gives it away. You'd guess Boris Johnson even if you'd forgotten that the master of Brexit bombast also had a sideline in net zero evangelism. It wasn't the most memorable part of his repertoire and it didn't catch on as a Conservative catechism.Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

An ashen pallor and an eerie stillness all that remains where there should fluttering fish and vibrant colours in the reefscape, one conservationist saysThe world's coral reefs have been pushed into uncharted territory" by the worst global bleaching event on record that has now hit more than 80% of the planet's reefs, scientists have warned.Reefs in at least 82 countries and territories have been exposed to enough heat to turn corals white since the global event started in January 2023, the latest data from the US government's Coral Reef Watch shows. Continue reading...

Ocean-inspired artworks created using kelp-based pigment will be sold to raise funds for conservationLast year in early summer, Alex Glasgow could be seen hauling up a long string of orangey-black seaweed on to the barge of his water farm, located off the west coast of Scotland near Skye. Growing on the farm was what Glasgow described as perhaps the quickest-growing biomass on the planet": seaweed.The weed from Glasgow's farm, KelpCrofters, is used in everything from soil fertiliser to artisanal soaps to glass-making and is part of a burgeoning industry - not just in Scotland, but around the world. Continue reading...

Dozens of miniature horses and their human running mates have taken part in the Great Northern Gallop, an adventure race through dense forests and across rugged beaches in New Zealand's Far North. Participants run or walk 100km over four days for the event, which raises money for the welfare of miniature horses Continue reading...

Presenter believes decision was taken due to the technology's link with net zero after he was told he risked accusations of political biasThe BBC presenter Evan Davis has been told he can no longer host a podcast about heat pumps due to the corporation's concerns that discussing the technology risks treading on areas of public controversy".The presenter of BBC Radio 4's PM programme had hosted 20 episodes of the Happy Heat Pump Podcast, which launched in 2024. It has covered issues around installing the technology, the cost, noise levels and the alternatives for people replacing their gas boilers. Continue reading...

Former VP said the administration was creating its own preferred reality' and slammed it for green energy U-turnAl Gore said there were important lessons" to be learned from similarities between the early rise of Nazi Germany and the recent actions of the Trump administration, in scathing comments made Monday during remarks about climate change.During a speech at an event to mark the beginning of San Francisco's Climate Week, the former vice-president and established climate advocate, said that the Trump administration was trying to create their own preferred version of reality", akin to the Nazi party during the 1930s in Germany, Politico reported. Continue reading...

As temperatures rise and countries back off their decarbonization efforts, we must confront a reality central banks can't correctInflation is, at base, a tax on consumption - and it hits the poor the hardest, since they consume more of their incomes and the rich consume less.That's one reason for concern over Donald Trump's tariffs, which will disproportionately affect the poor. When the 90-day pause on the tariffs expires, it is reasonable to expect prices to rise, and by a lot.Mark Blyth is a political economist and professor at Brown University. Nicolo Fraccaroli is a visiting scholar at Brown University. The views expressed here are the writers' own and not their institutions' Continue reading...

The Guardian is joining forces with dozens of newsrooms around the world to launch a year-long exploration of the silent majority' of people who want to fight climate changeThe Guardian US is launching a year-long collaborative reporting project that seeks to explore a pivotal but little-known fact about the climate crisis: the overwhelming majority of the world's people want their governments to take stronger action.The 89 Percent Project is a partnership between the Guardian US, Covering Climate Now, Agence France-Presse and dozens of other newsrooms across the globe. The collaboration builds on a slate of recent scientific studies finding that between 80-89% of the world's population want stronger climate action. This overwhelming global majority, however, does not realize that they are a majority; most think their fellow citizens don't agree. Experts agree breaking this spiral of silence" could be pivotal to spurring critical climate action. Continue reading...

The tree, believed to be city's oldest, had already been damaged by the region's increasingly arid climateAn ancient English oak believed to be Berlin's oldest tree is suffering the effects of a prolonged dry spell in the German capital, local authorities have said, compounding already significant damage to its once lush canopy and branches.Dicke Marie" (Fat Marie), as Berliners affectionately call the tree located in the northern Tegel Forest, has been deprived of essential moisture in recent years as a result of extended periods of sparse rainfall blamed on the climate crisis, according to natural resource officials. Continue reading...

Energy giant to start production off Northern Territory coast at development projected to add more than 270m tonnes of CO2 to atmosphere

Potential danger to humans and wildlife from harmful pesticide discovered in fish at 10 times safety limitResidues of the insecticide DDT have been found to persist at alarming rates" in trout even after 70 years, potentially posing a significant danger to humans and wildlife that eat the fish, research has found.Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, known as DDT, was used on forested land in New Brunswick, Canada, from 1952 to 1968. The researchers found traces of it remained in brook trout in some lakes, often at levels 10 times higher than the recommended safety threshold for wildlife. Continue reading...

Island country deals with drought and hurricane damage as it pushes for reparations from countries that benefited from slaveryWhen category 4 Hurricane Beryl hit the Caribbean last June, the three-island nation of Grenada bore the brunt of its wrath. At the time, the country's prime minister, Dickon Mitchell, described the destruction as almost Armageddon-like". On the small island of Carriacou, it was estimated by officials that more than 90% of the buildings were damaged or destroyed. Agriculture and infrastructure for electricity and communication were almost completely wiped out.Nearly a year on, there are some signs of recovery and rebuilding, but hollowed-out buildings, roofless houses and charred, dying mangroves tell the story of a community that is still coming to grips with the devastation. Continue reading...

Organizers team up with pro-democracy groups for flurry of actions to demand right to free, healthy livesHundreds of marches, pickets and cleanup events are taking place across the US in the run-up to Earth Day on Tuesday, as environmental and climate groups step up resistance to the Trump administration's authoritarianism and its war on the planet".A fortnight after the Hands Off" mobilization brought millions to the streets, national and grassroots organizers are teaming up with pro-democracy groups for All Out on Earth Day" - a wave of actions to demand the right to live free, healthy lives. Continue reading...

Mari Luz Canaquiri Murayari led a successful legal battle to protect the Maranon River in the Peruvian Amazon

Seven winners of environmental prize include Amazonian river campaigner and Tunisian who fought against organised waste trafficking

Numbers have plummeted in recent years, but the problem is no one really knows why nesting pairs fail to rear youngReaching the vantage point is a tricky business.First, there's a hop across a fence into Scratch Arse quarry - the stone workers used to find it such a cramped space to work in that their backsides would bump into the rock face. Then, a tiptoe through the slopes of early spider orchids and wild cabbage before a dizzying scramble down to the edge of the cliff. Continue reading...

Cuts to science, environmental and safety agencies are a rejection of hard-won knowledge gained from studying the disaster that occurred 15 years agoLast month, I joined nearly 500 former and current employees of National Geographic, where I was executive vice-president and chief science and exploration officer for 17 years, urging the institution to take a public stance against the Trump administration's reckless attacks on science. Our letter pointed out that the programs being dismantled are imperative for the success of our country's economy and are the foundation of our progress and wellbeing. They make us safer, stronger and more prosperous." We warned that gutting them is a recipe for disaster.In the face of this danger, none of us can remain silent.Terry Garcia was National Geographic's executive vice-president and chief science and exploration officer for 17 years. He also served as the assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and deputy administrator of Noaa, as well as its general counsel Continue reading...

Lack of investment and vision has dogged UK industry, while China has literally forged aheadThe fate of incoming Labour business and industry secretaries seems to be to launch emergency rescue packages for industries that would otherwise face imminent closure.Witness Jonathan Reynolds at last Saturday's extraordinary parliamentary recall arguing for the legal right to take over the running of British Steel from its Chinese owner, Jingye, in order to save up to 3,500 jobs and Britain's strategic capacity to make steel. And witness Tony Benn, in 1974, offering a financial lifeline to 3,000 workers forming a cooperative to save motorcycle manufacture at the failed BSA plant in Meriden, near Coventry. Continue reading...

The energy secretary has accused Reform UK's leader of peddling dangerous falsehoods about renewable power

If green policy is going to survive the culture wars, it needs a new pitch - cleaner air, cheaper bills and healthier citiesFor a decade, green activists in Britain have been congratulating themselves on their luck. Unlike in many countries in Europe, where motorists, farmers and rightwing groups have been driving anti-climate action, the UK has long enjoyed a comfortable political consensus on the subject. But conditions for a greenlash are assembling.Most Britons still say they support climate efforts, but the price of decarbonising may at last be about to hit our wallets. Meanwhile, the Conservative party has come a long way since it sported a little green oak tree as its logo. Last month, Kemi Badenoch declared a full culture war against net zero, which she said couldn't be achieved without a serious drop in our living standards or by bankrupting us".Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk Continue reading...

Native seed demand far outpaces supply for the state's ambitious conservation plan. This group combs the landscape to address the deficitDeep in California's agricultural heartland, Haleigh Holgate marched through the expansive wildflower-dotted plains of the San Luis national wildlife refuge complex in search of something precious.She surveyed the native grasses and flowering plants that painted the Central valley landscape in almost blinding swaths of yellow. Her objective on that sweltering spring day was to gather materials pivotal to California's ambitious environmental agenda - seeds. Continue reading...

Bases in Norfolk, Devon and Hampshire face MoD investigation over possible leaching of dangerous PFAS into environmentThree UK military bases have been marked for investigation over fears they may be leaking toxic forever chemicals" into drinking water sources and important environmental sites.The Ministry of Defence (MoD) will investigate RAF Marham in Norfolk, RM Chivenor in Devon and AAC Middle Wallop in Hampshire after concerns they may be leaching toxic PFAS chemicals into their surroundings. The sites were identified using a new PFAS risk screening tool developed by the Environment Agency (EA) designed to locate and prioritise pollution threats. Continue reading...

Peer-reviewed study's findings raises fresh question on the toxic substances' impact on fertilityMicroplastics have been found for the first time in human ovary follicular fluid, raising a new round of questions about the ubiquitous and toxic substances' potential impact on women's fertility.The new peer-reviewed research published in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety checked for microplastics in the follicular fluid of 18 women undergoing assisted reproductive treatment at a fertility clinic in Salerno, Italy, and detected them in 14. Continue reading...

Fears produce could be permanently devalued by price war, as it creates unrealistic expectations about costs'Supermarkets have been criticised for using vegetables as the latest weapon in their burgeoning price war, charging as little as 8p for a 2kg bag of potatoes in an attempt to lure shoppers over Easter.Growers said they feared the massive discounts, which are also deployed at Christmas, could permanently devalue their produce. Continue reading...

Questions arise over election proposal to axe penalties for high-emitting cars after revelations Toyota RAV4 model used in analysis has been discontinued

Wind power developer eyes legal remedies to order that blocks renewable energy projects and eliminates green job opportunitiesThis story was originally published by Inside Climate News and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.The buildout of renewable energy projects in downstate New York - the region that includes the Hudson valley and below - is often complicated. The space for these projects is limited, particularly in New York City, and they're often expensive. Continue reading...

Prof Shane Ahyong discovered brutish' mantis shrimp so unusual it needed its own new genus

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

In an exclusive extract from Friederike Otto's new book, she says climate disasters result from inequality as well as fossil fuelMy research as a climate scientist is in attribution science. Together with my team, I analyse extreme weather events and answer the questions of whether, and to what extent, human-induced climate change has altered their frequency, intensity and duration.When I first began my research, most scientists claimed that these questions couldn't be answered. There were technical reasons for this: for a long time, researchers had no weather models capable of mapping all climate-related processes in sufficient detail. But there were other reasons that had less to do with the research itself. Continue reading...

Thousands go to hospital with respiratory problems after massive dust cloud blows in from Saudi ArabiaIraq was hit by its most severe sandstorm of 2025 this week, turning skies from blue to an orange haze. Visibility dropped to less than half a mile, causing travel disruptions, with two major airports halting flights, and streets in Basra, the largest city in southern Iraq, deserted. Respiratory problems sent thousands to hospital. The storm also affected Kuwait, where wind gusts exceeded 50mph, and visibility in some areas was diminished to zero.This massive dust cloud originated in Saudi Arabia before being blown into Iraq. While dust storms are common in Iraq, the climate crisis is expected to intensify them across the region in the future, fuelled by desertification in Saudi Arabia and Syria. Continue reading...

Online exhibition collects soundscapes from nature reserves and sites such as Machu Picchu and Taj MahalThe sounds of wind turbines, rare whales and the Amazonian dawn chorus are among the noises being preserved as part of an exhibition of soundscapes found in world heritage sites.The Sonic Heritage project is a collection of 270 sounds from 68 countries, including from famous Unesco-designated sites such as Machu Picchu and the Taj Mahal, as well as natural landscapes such as the monarch butterfly sanctuary in El Rosario, Mexico and the Colombian Amazon. Continue reading...

Environmentalists warn new proposal from US wildlife agencies could lead to habitat destruction and extinctionThe Trump administration is planning to narrow protections for endangered species, in a move that environmentalists say would accelerate extinction by opening up critical habitats for development, logging, mining and other uses.The proposal is the latest deregulatory effort by Donald Trump, who has made it a priority to dismantle endangered species protections as part of a broader quest to boost energy extraction and industrial access, even in the US's most sensitive and vulnerable natural areas. Continue reading...

Toby Carvery owner apologises over tree's felling as football club faces questions about whether it knew of decisionAn ancient London oak controversially felled earlier this month was assessed to be a fine specimen" last year by tree experts working for Tottenham Hotspur as part of the football club's plans to redevelop parkland next to the site.Mitchells & Butlers Retail (MBR), which owns the Toby Carvery in Whitewebbs Park, Enfield, apologised on Thursday for the upset" caused by the felling of the tree. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Henry Dimbleby joins farmers in voicing fears of lower standards and a poor deal for British food producersBritain's rural communities could be destroyed", the former government food tsar has said, if ministers sign a US trade deal that undercuts British farming standards.Ministers are working on a new trade deal with the US, after previous post-Brexit attempts stalled. Unpopular agreements signed at the time with Australia and New Zealand featured tariff-free access to beef and lamb and were accused of undercutting UK farmers, who are governed by higher welfare standards than their counterparts. Australia, in a trade deal signed by Liz Truss in late 2021 that came into effect in 2023, was given bespoke sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards aimed to not be more trade-restrictive than necessary to protect human life and health". Continue reading...

Liberals in the US make up about 15% of the prepping scene and their numbers are growing. Their fears differ from their better-known rightwing counterparts - as do their methodsOne afternoon in February, hoping to survive the apocalypse or at least avoid finding myself among its earliest victims, I logged on to an online course entitled Ruggedize Your Life: The Basics.Some of my classmates had activated their cameras. I scrolled through the little windows, noting the alarmed faces, downcast in cold laptop light. There were dozens of us on the call, including a geophysicist, an actor, a retired financial adviser and a civil engineer. We all looked worried, and rightly so. The issue formerly known as climate change was now a polycrisis called climate collapse. H1N1 was busily jumping from birds to cows to people. And with each passing day, as Donald Trump went about gleefully dismantling state capacity, the promise of a competent government response to the next hurricane, wildfire, flood, pandemic, drought, mudslide, heatwave, financial meltdown, hailstorm or other calamity receded further from view. Continue reading...