President said he will sign an executive order next week despite global plastics crisisDonald Trump has said that he will reverse Joe Biden's plan to phase out plastic straws across the US government, complaining that paper alternatives don't work and that a move is needed to go BACK TO PLASTIC!"Trump said in a Truth Social post that he will sign an executive order next week ending the ridiculous Biden push for Paper Straws, which don't work. BACK TO PLASTIC!" The US president added in a separate post that Biden's mandate" for paper straws was now dead: Enjoy your next drink without a straw that disgustingly dissolves in your mouth!!!" Continue reading...

Nine in ten traditional orchards in England have been lost since the second world war. Farmers and cider makers are now fighting for their survivalThey are a symbol of the bucolic English countryside and a staple of the West Country landscape, but since the second world war, 90% of traditional orchards have disappeared.Defined as a collection of five or more fruit trees planted in permanent grassland and managed in a non-intensive way, traditional orchards have suffered from neglect, been razed for development and converted to intensive bush orchards or alternative crops. Continue reading...

Developing countries urge biggest polluters to act as Trump's return to the White House heightens geopolitical turmoilThe vast majority of governments are likely to miss a looming deadline to file vital plans that will determine whether or not the world has a chance of avoiding the worst ravages of climate breakdown.Despite the urgency of the crisis, the UN is relatively relaxed at the prospect of the missed date. Officials are urging countries instead to take time to work harder on their targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions and divest from fossil fuels. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Analysis suggests development in flood regions result of Labour push for 1.5m new homes in five yearsMore than 100,000 new homes will be built on the highest-risk flood zones in England in the next five years as part of the government's push for 1.5m extra properties by the end of this parliament, Guardian analysis suggests.Building on areas with the highest risk of serious flooding is supposed to be discouraged. Experts say development should be avoided unless absolutely necessary because there is a significant chance of regular deluges, which will flood the properties, cause hundreds of millions of pounds of economic damage and make homes uninsurable. Continue reading...

Residents living near the Sarandi have long complained about pollution in the areaA small river in greater Buenos Aires was dyed a deep and worrying shade of red on Thursday after what is thought to have been a leak of dye from a nearby factory.The violent hue of the Sarandi, which runs through the municipality of Avellaneda, six miles (9.6km) south of the Argentinian capital, alarmed local residents, who have long complained about industrial pollution in the area. Continue reading...

Musk believes Tesla's rivals are more vulnerable to Trump's moves against electric vehiclesDonald Trump's attempts to slash incentives for electric cars would cause sales of the vehicles to plummet, with this effort cheered on by a seemingly confounding supporter - Elon Musk, the billionaire chief executive of Tesla and erstwhile champion for action on the climate crisis.Trump has said that he will revoke the electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto industry and keeping my sacred pledge to our great American auto workers". Continue reading...

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

We are the post-pandemic flaneurs: stepping out of social media silos to meet people and connect with the world around usWhen I moved back to London from Rome just before the second lockdown in 2020, I found a city that was hardly welcoming, with shops closed and an atmosphere of silent apprehension. Young, single people like me were only socialising online with existing friends, and opportunities to make fresh connections were rare.When I met Irenka from Poland at a literary festival, she looked as thirsty for new friends as I was. As we started complaining about the difficulties of mingling she introduced me to an app that allows people to find new pals on organised walks. I quickly downloaded it. Continue reading...

Billions of pounds from energy bill payers to run out in 2027 but could be extended as soon as MondayGreen campaigners fear ministers are poised to award billions of pounds in fresh subsidies to Drax power station, despite strong concerns that burning trees to produce electricity is bad for the environment.Drax burns wood to generate about 8% of the UK's green" power, and 4% of overall electricity. This is classed as low-carbon" because the harvested trees are replaced by others that take up carbon from the atmosphere as they grow. Continue reading...

Researchers have found a pattern indicating certain words' are used more often than others - but humans won't be speaking whale any time soon

Greenpeace says PM has swallowed industry spin whole' after plans unveiled to expand in England and WalesKeir Starmer has channelled his inner Donald Trump and promised to build, baby, build" in his push for more nuclear power stations, despite warnings from environmental groups about the industry's record for soaring costs and long delays.A day after the prime minister unveiled his plans to revamp planning rules to bring in a series of small modular reactors (SMRs) across England and Wales, Greenpeace said Starmer had swallowed the nuclear industry spin whole", and Friends of the Earth described the plans as overblown, costly hype". Continue reading...

Conservation groups say policy would allow Doug Burgum to redraw boundaries of protected areas to boost fossil fuelsThe US interior department has raised fears among conservationist groups about how national monuments will be affected in its transformation to support the Trump administration's pro-fossil fuel agenda.A review from Trump's pick for interior secretary, Doug Burgum, released on his first full day in the position on Monday, instructs federal officials to reverse Biden-era regulations on oil and gas industries and boost drilling. Continue reading...

Middlewick Ranges in Colchester considered to be of national importance for nightingales and acid grasslandA council is proposing to remove the second-best place for nightingales in the UK from its local plan for 1,000 new homes, in a win for community campaigners and environmentalists.Middlewick Ranges, a former Ministry of Defence firing range on the southern edge of Colchester, is set to be dropped from the city council's allocated housing sites after councillors heeded a growing array of ecological evidence highlighting its national importance for nature. Continue reading...

On almost every level the chancellor's decision to expand the London airport looks naive, if not foolishFor 20 years, politicians, industry leaders and campaigners have fought in courts, parliament and public meetings over the idea of building a new runway for Heathrow. For some, a third runway would not only boost passenger numbers at the airport but would be a symbol of the country's determination to seek economic regeneration. For others, it would demonstrate, in vivid terms, our complete failure to understand the grim, global threat posed by further increasing carbon emissions.Last week, Rachel Reeves chose to enter the fray. Remarkably, for a supposed green chancellor, she elected to back the project and seek the expansion of Heathrow to raise its annual passenger capacity by 50% to about 140 million. A third runway at Heathrow would unlock further growth, boost investment, increase exports and make the UK more open and more connected," she claimed. It was a bold move. It is unlikely history will view it as a sensible or justifiable one, however. On almost every level - political, local or environmental - her decision looks naive, if not foolish. Continue reading...

New EPA administrator Lee Zeldin's pillars pledge to help auto industry and have no mention of the climate crisisA new and starkly different vision for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been outlined by the Trump administration - one that involves mass staff cuts, an influx of industry lobbyists and, unusually, the promotion of artificial intelligence as a key agency priority.A set of five pillars" issued by new EPA administrator, Lee Zeldin, to guide the agency, set up under President Richard Nixon in 1970 to protect US public health and the environment, does include one referencing clean land, air and water for every American". Continue reading...

Dylan Cooper and Cory Kerewaro from Reptile Relocation Sydney have removed 102 red-bellied black snakes from a single mulch pile on a property in western Sydney. Upon arrival they had expected to remove only four red-bellies which had been seen by the owner of the Horsley Park home. But during summer it can be common for some female snakes to congregate and share the same birthing site

Multimillion-dollar home perched at edge of Cape Cod Bay in Wellfleet affected by erosion accelerated by climate crisisThe waters of Cape Cod Bay are coming for the big brown house perched on the edge of a sandy bluff high above the beach. It's just a matter of when.Erosion has marched right up to the concrete footings of the multimillion-dollar Massachusetts home where it overlooks the bay. Massive sliding doors that used to open onto a wide deck, complete with a hot tub, are now barricaded by thin wooden slats that prevent anyone from stepping through and falling 25ft to the beach below. Continue reading...

State-owned Equinor becomes latest fossil fuel firm to backtrack on clean energy pledges with move to halve budget to $5bnThe Norwegian oil company fighting to open a giant new oilfield off Shetland has cut billions of pounds from its green spending plans in favour of producing more fossil fuels.Equinor set out plans on Wednesday to halve its investments in low-carbon energy while producing more oil and gas, becoming the latest in a line of fossil fuel firms to backtrack on its green promises. Continue reading...

Ian Wood wins Natural History Museum's people's choice award with photo taken in St Leonards-on-SeaA badger captured glancing up at a graffiti version of itself has won the Natural History Museum's people's choice award for wildlife photographer of the year.The image was taken by a British photographer, Ian Wood, on a quiet road in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex. Continue reading...

Freedom of information data reveals violations on intensive poultry and pig farmsIndustrial-scale livestock farms across East Anglia have breached environmental regulations more than 700 times in the past seven years, freedom of information (FoI) data has revealed.The farms across Norfolk and Suffolk are among the largest in the country. Pig and poultry farming is concentrated in the region and 28% of England's pig population was farmed in the area in 2023. Continue reading...

Did you know molluscs protect the citizens of Poland from water pollution? It's true!

Members reportedly sought access to IT systems at agency that Project 2025 has called harmful to US prosperity'Staffers with Elon Musk's department of government efficiency" (Doge) reportedly entered the headquarters of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) in Silver Spring, Maryland, and the Department of Commerce in Washington DC today, inciting concerns of downsizing at the agency.They apparently just sort of walked past security and said: Get out of my way,' and they're looking for access for the IT systems, as they have in other agencies," said Andrew Rosenberg, a former Noaa official who is now a fellow at the University of New Hampshire. They will have access to the entire computer system, a lot of which is confidential information." Continue reading...

Labour pledges to protect 66,500 more properties, criticising previous Tory effortsMinisters are topping up flood defence investment in England to a record" 2.65bn, after accusing the previous government of putting lives at risk" by under-spending.An extra 250m is being pledged on top of the 2.4bn previously announced, to shore up defences and protect an extra 66,500 properties from flooding over a two-year period, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said. Continue reading...

Exclusive: cross-party backing likely for amendment to GB Energy bill aiming to block solar panels made by forced labourThe government is facing defeat next week over a move to guarantee that companies using forced labour do not drive the UK's green energy transition.The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have thrown their weight behind an amendment by the cross-bench peer David Alton to the Great British Energy bill, which is making its way through the House of Lords. Continue reading...

Prof James Hansen says pace of global heating has been significantly underestimated, though other scientists disagreeThe pace of global heating has been significantly underestimated, according to renowned climate scientist Prof James Hansen, who said the international 2C target is dead".A new analysis by Hansen and colleagues concludes that both the impact of recent cuts in sun-blocking shipping pollution, which has raised temperatures, and the sensitivity of the climate to increasing fossil fuels emissions are greater than thought. Continue reading...

Deprived of Rachel Reeves's affections, the energy secretary revelled in playing climate crisis hero to her villainHe lives!They seek him here! They seek him there! For the last 10 days or so, Ed Miliband has been the Invisible Man. A large number of the cabinet were in Oxfordshire for Rachel Reeves's growth speech last Wednesday. Ed was not. Continue reading...

Scientists say unusually mild temperatures linked to low-pressure system over Iceland directing strong flow of warm air towards north poleTemperatures at the north pole soared more than 20C above average on Sunday, crossing the threshold for ice to melt.Temperatures north of Svalbard in Norway had already risen to 18C hotter than the 1991-2020 average on Saturday, according to models from weather agencies in Europe and the US, with actual temperatures close to ice's melting point of 0C. By Sunday, the temperature anomaly had risen to more than 20C. Continue reading...

Just 9,119 were counted in 2024 - down 96% on previous year and second-lowest mark in nearly three decadesThe number of monarch butterflies spending the winter in the western United States has dropped to its second-lowest mark in nearly three decades as pesticides, diminishing habitat and the climate crisis take their toll on the beloved pollinator.The butterflies, known for their distinctive orange-and-black wings, are found across North America. Monarchs in the eastern US spend their winters in Mexico, while monarchs west of the Rocky Mountains typically overwinter along the California coast. Continue reading...

Italian politician said a video posted online showed Trump Jr with a ruddy shelduck while on hunting tripA politician from Italy's Veneto region says he has reported Donald Trump Jr to the authorities for allegedly killing a protected species of duck while hunting in Venice lagoon.Andrea Zanoni, the regional counsellor and environmentalist, said an online video from Field Ethos - published by Trump Jr and marketed as a premier lifestyle publication for the unapologetic man" - showed some people, including Donald Trump Jr, killing various ducks". Continue reading...

Mountaineers now scaling more peaks for first global study of nanoplastics, which can enter lungs and bloodstreamParticles from vehicle tyre wear are the biggest source of nanoplastic pollution in the high Alps, a pioneering project has revealed.Expert mountaineers teamed up with scientists to collect contamination-free samples and are now scaling peaks to produce the first global assessment of nanoplastics, which are easily carried around the world by winds. Continue reading...

Open-net farms to continue despite numbers of wild fish halving as minister looks for acceptable' pollution levelsNorway's environment minister has ruled out a ban on open-net fish farming at sea despite acknowledging that the wild North Atlantic salmon is under existential threat".With yearly exports of 1.2m tonnes, Norway is the largest producer of farmed salmon in the world. But its wild salmon population has fallen from more than a million in the early 1980s to about 500,000 today. Continue reading...

As commercial monocultures increase, ecologists are calling for the remaining splinters of native woodland to be identified, protected - and expanded

Liberty Energy executive, who has called climate change activists alarmist, confirmed in vote of 59-38The US Senate on Monday confirmed Chris Wright, a fracking executive, to be Donald Trump's energy secretary.The vote was 59-38. Continue reading...

Chair Jurgen Maier also refused to put a date on when the agency would bring down energy billsIt could take 20 years for GB Energy to meet its pledge to employ 1,000 people, its chair acknowledged on Monday.Jurgen Maier also refused to put a date on when it would bring down energy bills. Continue reading...

Labour MPs describe breaking point' in relations, calling for Keir Starmer to stand by party's manifesto commitmentsKeir Starmer is facing a growing internal backlash over the potential approval of a giant new oilfield, after Treasury sources indicated Rachel Reeves was likely to give it her backing.MPs described a breaking point" in relations and called for Starmer to reiterate his own commitments to no further oil and gas licences. The proposed Rosebank development was given the go-ahead in 2023 but was ruled unlawful by a court last week. Continue reading...

This country has a long history of taking its unique wildlife and landscapes for granted - but what has happened in this term of parliament is remarkable

US government would be prohibited from ever mandating lead pipe replacement or lowering lead limits in waterRepublicans in Congress and the Trump administration are attempting to repeal the Biden administration's groundbreaking rules that require all the country's lead pipes to be replaced over the next 13 years and lower the limit on lead in water.Environmentalists expressed alarm about the moves, which, if successful, would in effect prohibit the government from ever requiring lead line replacement in the future, or lowering lead limits. Continue reading...

Environmental disasters have plagued the water body for decades. Now the region is thrust in the global spotlightThe enormous semi-enclosed bay, its waters flanked by the Florida and Yucatan peninsulas and partially blockaded by Cuba, has been called the Golfo de Mexico for centuries, a name that first appeared on a world map in 1550. And for centuries the name bothered no one.Thomas Jefferson used the name without shame, even as he, Donald Trump-like, imagined dominating nearby nations. If the US could take Cuba, Jefferson wrote in 1823, it would control the Gulf of Mexico and the countries and isthmus bordering on it". Country music stars, no less than founding fathers, liked the romance of the place. Tracy Lawrence dreams of a Gulf of Mexico filled with whiskey. Johnny Cash wanted to dump his blues down in the Gulf. Continue reading...

Manatees don't have incisors or canines, only cheek teeth'. No hair, only whiskers. Algae growing on their backs. Everything is gentleA manatee looks like every animal I have ever tried to make with play-dough: roll a big piece into a sausage, flatten a bit on either side with your forefingers and a bit at the end with your thumb. Hey presto. A manatee also happens to be the grey of all play-dough colours mixed together.Imagine eating lettuce underwater: the crunch, the squelch. Reading about manatees, I finally give in and look up what the word prehensile" actually means, as in a giraffe's prehensile tongue, a monkey's prehensile tail, a manatee's prehensile lips. What could these things have in common, you wonder, for 25 years. Then it is time to find out. Continue reading...

Opposition leader claims a 44% cost reduction compared with Labor's plan would be passed onto Australian household bills, but not everyone agrees

They can be joyful and important social spaces, but a new generation of customers runs a mile from the shelves of plastic and chemicalsWhen I first heard that garden centres are facing a wave of closures, I immediately thought of the one around the corner from where I live. On a recent Wednesday afternoon, the car park was full and the cafe was bustling with people my parents' age and older, chatting over milky coffees and slices of cake. The retired ladies who talk to me in the gym changing room love to come here for a jacket potato after their aquafit class.Yet, as I stepped through the automatic doors, the plants weren't immediately visible. First, I had to pass a bright deli counter, an area filled with homeware and crockery, shelves of fragrant toiletries, and a section of children's toys before anything remotely connected to gardening came into view. I waded through gloves, power tools, pesticides and outdoor furniture, and then, finally, I found the annual bedding plants and potted shrubs. Here, all was quiet. The gardening section was quite unlike the busy cafe; I was alone but for one member of staff.Claire Ratinon is an organic food grower and writer Continue reading...

The peer-reviewed study detected microplastics in 180 of 182 samples comprising five types of fish and pink shrimp

Critics say Trump is using every presidential power possible against clean power in sharp turn after Biden investments created jobsFor several years, Republicans accused Joe Biden of waging a war on energy" even as the Untied States drilled more oil and gas than at any time in its history. Now, a more tangible assault is gathering pace under Donald Trump - aimed squarely at wind, solar and other cleaner forms of power.In the first two weeks of his return as president, Trump has, like his first term, issued orders to open up more American land and waters for fossil fuel extraction and started the process to yank the US from the Paris climate agreement. We will drill, baby drill," said Trump, who has promised to cut energy and electricity prices in half within 18 months. Continue reading...

The cacophony around me seemed to drown out my daily worries until a writing retreat showed me there was a better wayI've lived in South Korea for more than a decade, but it's only recently that I discovered just how loud it is here. The bing-bong when someone presses the stop" button on the city bus, and the accompanying sing-songy announcements in Korean, the beeps of riders scanning their transit cards to board or depart; soju-drunk office workers loudly singing off-tune through neighbourhood alleyways; obnoxiously loud K-pop music blaring out of storefronts; and songs that seem to change key at record rates as delivery motorbikes speed out of range.In reality, I have relied on there being near-constant cacophony around me for the whole of my adult life. Without realising it, background noise became a kind of comfort to me, making me feel less alone. It started after university when I was barely scraping together a living, working jobs I didn't want to be doing. I would soothe my loneliness and isolation in the evenings by playing endless hours of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit just for the ambient sound - the comfort of Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler bringing criminals of the worst kind to justice.Krissi Driver is a writer based in South Korea Continue reading...

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Greenpeace co-director responds to report finding fewer than one in 20 working in sector identifies as non-whiteEnvironmental organisations are still very white, especially at the top", the co-director of Greenpeace has said as research showed little to no improvement in the ethnic diversity of their workforces.Areeba Hamid's comments came as the third annual racial action on the climate emergency (Race) report into diversity among environmental charities found fewer than one in 20 of those working in the sector identified as people of colour or as other racial or ethnic minority groups. Continue reading...

Authorities say there is 'more significant rain to come' in north Queensland, amid warnings to residents not to return to flooded homes. Dams and river catchments from Mackay to Cairns remain swollen from a week of heavy rain, which has dumped more than 1.2 metres at some locations. More than 400 people - mostly in Townsville, Ingham and Cardwell - are in evacuation shelters after being advised on Sunday to flee

An innovative mission on the Welsh border, funded by an anonymous private investor, has begun work to create a permanent human settlement' under the seaDown an easy-to-miss turnoff on the A48 just outside Chepstow on the Welsh border, the gentle rumble of trucks, cranes and people at work mixes with birdsong in what is an otherwise peaceful rural setting. It is a crisp and sunny winter morning when I visit and, at first glance, the site appears to be little more than prefab containers and a car park. Yet, behind the scenes a group of men and women with expertise in diving, marine biology, technology, finance, construction and manufacturing are building something extraordinary. They have come together with a single mission statement: to make humans aquatic.Their project is called Deep (not The Deep) and the site was chosen after a global search for the perfect location to build and test underwater accommodation, which the project founders say will enable them to establish a permanent human presence" under the sea from 2027.Phil Short, research diving and training lead at Deep, outside the full-scale replica of the subsea sentinel habitat under construction at a site on the Welsh border. Photograph: Mark Griffiths/the Observer Continue reading...

Across the globe, vast swathes of land are being left to be reclaimed by nature. To see what could be coming, look to Bulgaria. By Tess McClure. Read by Sara Lynam Continue reading...

Robert Keldoulis and his investment firm Keldoulis Investments poured $1.1m into the fundraising vehicle last yearA major Climate 200 backer has again topped the latest list of political donors, new figures reveal, as the Albanese government attempts to pass sweeping laws to curb big money in politics.Share trader Robert Keldoulis and his investment firm Keldoulis Investments Pty Limited donated a combined $1.1m to the fundraising vehicle in 2023-24, according to figures published by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) on Monday. Continue reading...