Environment | The Guardian

Plan passes with majority of 296 but foreign secretary was flying back from AfghanistanBoris Johnson has faced sharp criticism from fellow Conservative MPs over his decision to miss Monday night’s crunch vote on Heathrow expansion by flying out of the country on an official visit to Afghanistan.The foreign secretary claimed that resigning over his opposition to the £14bn project, which the Commons backed on Monday night by 415 votes to 119 – a majority of 296, would achieve “absolutely nothing” and that he would lobby against it privately instead. Continue reading...

Ministers say project is too expensive but decision sparks widespread criticismThe government has rejected plans for a £1.3bn tidal lagoon in Swansea Bay, dashing industry hopes of Britain leading development of a new source of renewable energy and sparking widespread criticism.Ministers said the project, which would have been subsidised through household energy bills for decades, was too expensive compared with alternatives such as offshore windfarms and nuclear power. Continue reading...

China’s limits on contamination levels have sparked a recycling industry crisis. What are local and state governments doing to solve the problem?“Did you put the recycling out?”

Josh Frydenberg sends the positive signal about coal before Tuesday’s internal government deliberationsEnergy minister Josh Frydenberg has declared he would welcome the construction of a new coal-fired power plant in Australia ahead of meetings on Tuesday where internal critics of his electricity plan are expected to voice their objections.Frydenberg used an interview with News Corp to send the positive signal about coal before Tuesday’s internal deliberations, with some Nationals still on the war path about the government either subsidising new coal plants or bankrolling the refurbishment of existing assets.

Disappearing butterflies | Patriarchy and religion | Protesting Trump | Getaways in a Morris Minor | IkeaI don’t know whether to be happy or sad. No cabbage white butterfly caterpillars chomping through my veg is great, but where have all the butterflies gone (Letters, passim)? Not only have I not seen a single cabbage white butterfly this year but no red admirals, no peacocks and no tortoiseshells. Very worrying.

A team of six scientists has descended on Rum, a small island in the Inner Hebrides on the west coast of Scotland, to catch red deer calves. During the month-long initiative, overseen by the Isle of Rum Red Deer Project, newborns will be tagged so data can be gathered on them over the course of their lifetimes. The island is home to hundreds of deer and about only 30 people, all of whom live in Kinloch village on the east coast Continue reading...

Production and disposal of paper bags has greater climate impact than plastic, says Environment AgencyExperts have criticised Morrisons’ decision to switch from plastic to paper bags for fruit and vegetables, branding it a retrograde step for efforts to tackle climate change.This week the supermarket ditched transparent plastic bags in favour of recyclable paper ones, in a move it said was prompted by customers’ worries over pollution. But the step is likely to have unintended consequences and trade one environmental challenge for another. Continue reading...

Transport secretary claims strong support across political spectrum for third runwayThe government is “cautiously optimistic” about winning a key parliamentary vote on the expansion of Heathrow airport, the transport secretary, Chris Grayling, has said, defending the controversial idea as being good for the whole of the UK.The Conservatives, who have a three-line whip in place for their MPs, are likely to get significant Labour support in the vote on Monday after Unite called for Labour MPs to back the third runway. Continue reading...

Indian city to fine or jail residents caught using single-use plasticsMumbai has the become the largest Indian city to ban single-use plastics, with residents caught using plastic bags, cups or bottles to face penalties of up to 25,000 rupees (£276) and three months in jail from Monday.

Koch paychecks seem to be strong motivators to lie30 years ago, James Hansen testified to Congress about the dangers of human-caused climate change. In his testimony, Hansen showed the results of his 1988 study using a climate model to project future global warming under three possible scenarios, ranging from ‘business as usual’ heavy pollution in his Scenario A to ‘draconian emissions cuts’ in Scenario C, with a moderate Scenario B in between.Changes in the human effects that influence Earth’s global energy imbalance (a.k.a. ‘anthropogenic radiative forcings’) have in reality been closest to Hansen’s Scenario B, but about 20–30% weaker thanks to the success of the Montreal Protocol in phasing out chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Hansen’s climate model projected that under Scenario B, global surface air temperatures would warm about 0.84°C between 1988 and 2017. But with a global energy imbalance 20–30% lower, it would have predicted a global surface warming closer to 0.6–0.7°C by this year. Continue reading...

Supermarket chains begins UK rollout of paper bags for loose fruit and vegetablesMorrisons is reviving traditional brown paper bags for loose fresh fruit and vegetables, in a move it says will prevent 150m small plastic bags from being used every year.The paper bags are being rolled out from Monday and will be in all of the supermarket chain’s 493 stores by the end of the summer. Made from 100% recyclable paper, they have a see-though paper strip to help shoppers and staff identify the produce inside. Continue reading...

Annual carbon emissions, excluding unreliable data, higher than ever, report saysAustralia’s emissions over the past year were again the highest on record when unreliable data from land use and forestry sectors are excluded, according to new data from NDEVR Environmental.If the country’s greenhouse gas emissions continue on their current trajectory, Australia will miss its Paris target by a billion tonnes of CO2, which is equal to about two years of Australia’s entire national emissions.

25 June 1918 Without apparent effort they dash with incredible speed to one side or the other, or even backwards or forwardsSlim-bodied, brilliantly blue dragonflies dart above the waterside vegetation, then suddenly stop themselves and cling to an upright stem, wings extended wide, long legs clasping with angled “elbows.” They do not dash themselves against the plant they aim for. Poised in the air as if suspended are the buzzing hover-flies, their wings moving so rapidly that we only see a blur. Without apparent effort they dash with incredible speed to one side or the other, or even backwards or forwards; we see a line flash across our field of vision, and there the insect is, hovering again five yards away, or maybe back in the same spot from which it suddenly vanished.Related: Photographing dragonflies is easier than you think | Mike Averill Continue reading...

Craig Kelly wants meeting for business leaders to be open to all MPs ahead of expected party-room protestsThe energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, is being lobbied to open a private meeting of the government’s backbench energy committee to all comers ahead of more protests about the national energy guarantee expected in the Coalition party room on Tuesday.Frydenberg has organised a delegation of business leaders to address a special meeting of the Coalition backbench committee on energy and the environment early Tuesday morning, ahead of the regular gathering of the Coalition party room, in an effort to keep a lid on the internal debate. Continue reading...

Initiative aims to reduce dumping of ‘waste’ and sell it at prices set by buyersIn a bright, airy Toronto market, the shelves are laden with everything from organic produce to pre-made meals and pet food. What shoppers won’t find, however, is price tags. In what is believed to be a North American first, everything in this grocery store is pay-what-you-can.The new store aims to tackle food insecurity and wastage by pitting the two issues against each other, said Jagger Gordon, the Toronto chef who launched the venture earlier this month. Continue reading...

Union boss and Corbyn ally urges all Labour MPs to back expansion ahead of third runway voteLen McCluskey has written to all Labour MPs urging them to back Heathrow expansion on Monday, a move that puts the head of the Unite union directly at odds with Jeremy Corbyn.He said they had “the opportunity to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs” by backing the government’s decision to build a third runway. Continue reading...

Decision comes as regulator prepares to impose price cap on energy billsA champion of price caps and a critic of suppliers’ behaviour has been chosen to lead the UK’s energy regulator, Ofgem.In an effort to toughen up the watchdog, which has been criticised for being soft on energy firms, regulatory economist Martin Cave has been selected as the regulator’s new chair just months before it is due to impose a price cap on energy bills. Continue reading...

‘There’s no room for any new long-term fossil fuel developments,’ climate scientists sayA gas boom in the Northern Territory would contribute as much as 6.6% to Australia’s annual emissions, according to data in a report from an inquiry examining the risks associated with fracking.The final report by the inquiry’s committee assessed the emissions from exploration, producing gas from the planned new gasfields and from burning that proportion of the gas destined for the domestic market. Continue reading...

The entire population of tadpoles in Peter Malpass’s pond has been eaten by dragon fly larvaeYour report (21 June) urging gardeners to be frog friendly is, of course, to be welcomed. However, cherishing amphibians raises a dilemma because one of the major threats to frog populations is predation by dragon fly larvae, rapacious creatures up to two inches long and said to be capable of eating anything not bigger than themselves. This year not a single froglet will emerge from my pond, despite the protection given to the frog spawn during the late snow and frost. The entire population of tadpoles has been eaten by dragon fly larvae. The fact that the adult dragon fly is a magnificent creature in its own right, and, like adult frogs and toads, eats creatures we might regard as garden pests, leaves me in a quandary: is it OK to kill dragon flies to protect frogs, or should I leave it to nature to sort itself out?

Tidal Lagoon Power has to cut headcount after delays over decision on £1.3bn projectBritain’s energy minister will have to explain to MPs why no decision has been made on whether to support a tidal lagoon in Swansea – nearly 18 months after an independent government review backed the plan.Claire Perry will face the business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) committee on Monday afternoon to answer questions on the £1.3bn clean energy project, which has been left in limbo. Continue reading...

Backbenchers defy Jeremy Corbyn by working behind the scenes with Tory whipsLabour MPs who disagree with Jeremy Corbyn’s opposition to the expansion of Heathrow airport have been working closely with government ministers and Tory whips to ensure the plans win parliamentary approval on Monday, in an extraordinary show of defiance against their party leader.The extent of behind-the-scenes cooperation with the government on such an important policy issue is believed to be unprecedented and all but guarantees that the third runway plan will be passed, despite Corbyn, his shadow chancellor John McDonnell and the Labour front bench opposing the move. Continue reading...

Environmentalists fear loss of dunes wildlife and warn of ‘flimsy promises’ about jobsOn a stretch of Scotland’s north-east coast, two historic acts of Highland pillage, separated by ages, are linked across golden sands. The village of Embo in Sutherland lies in the shadow of the grander cathedral town of Dornoch but its beach is known globally for the unique ecosystem its dunes support.Now, a planning decision by Highland council has left many of the 1,200 animal and insect species to be found in this corner of Scotland facing an uncertain future. High on Ben Bhraggrie overlooking this place stands the 200ft statue of George Granville Leveson-Gower, the first Duke of Sutherland and the most ruthless perpetrator of the Highland clearances which harrowed this place two centuries ago. Some now fear another harrowing is imminent. Continue reading...

Community projects can slash household bills but the sector has ground to a halt in Britain – in contrast with schemes in EuropeThe number of people generating their own power has almost flatlined, with only one new group formed in the UK last year, according to the body representing grassroots energy organisations.Cuts to subsidies for homeowners to install solar panels and a “hostile planning approach” that has in effect banned new wind turbines are behind the “wholesale decline”, Community Energy England (CEE) said in its 2018 State of the Sector report. Continue reading...

Ukrainian villagers living in the shadow of Europe’s biggest chicken farm are fighting back – not just against the company but the development banks funding itThe locals call this area the Ryaba-land. That’s the name of the chicken brand Nasha Ryaba under which MHP – the largest poultry company in Ukraine and the owners of Vinnytsia farm - sells poultry meat in supermarkets. There are more chicken sheds than houses here. Even the village signs bear the MHP brand.There are, as is so often the case, tensions between the industrial farms and the villagers. But in this case, anger is focussed not just on the company, but on their funders – the big international development banks that hand out public money. Continue reading...

Renting out properties with bad insulation and heating has been prohibited since AprilAre some landlords and agents fiddling new rules that ban them from letting out properties that are poorly insulated and inefficiently heated?Since the start of April, landlords have been prohibited from renting out “sub-standard” houses and flats, which, in this context, means those that don’t meet minimum energy-efficiency requirements. Continue reading...

Kirkham Abbey, North Yorkshire: If the residents of these anthills object to me perching on their home like some mammal Godzilla, they don’t show itI wonder if they’re aware of the colossal creature approaching. Do they sense its lumbering footfalls? Do the walls tremble, or the avenues and galleries of their metropolis deform perceptibly under its weight? Can they sense its extravagant metabolic heat?The mounds that pimple this sloping pasture are silent. The sheep were taken off a week or two back, but there’s been virtually no rain, so the turf tops remain cropped and dry – they look like a crowd of skinheads frowning into the longer grass around, some with tiaras of speedwell. Each tump is tall enough to escape winter waterlogging and, coincidentally, the perfect height for sitting on. If the residents object to me perching on their home like some mammal Godzilla, they don’t show it. Continue reading...

Cutting single-use plastics can be surprisingly challenging but there are easy alternativesMy first Plastic Free July was in 2013. At the time most of my friends were signing up for Dry July, the month where participants go alcohol free and raise funds for cancer support organisations across Australia.Instead, I decided to participate in what was then a relatively unknown challenge to reduce my single-use plastics over a month after watching the eco-documentary The Clean Bin Project. Continue reading...

Readers respond to Patrick Barkham’s article about declining swift numbersReading Patrick Barkham’s piece (Can our swifts fill summer’s skies again? It’s up to us to help, 19 June) reminded me of an experience that made me marvel at the swift’s aeronautical prowess and makes me anticipate their screeching return each May.A few years ago I saw a small black bird fluttering on a roadside. I stopped and on closer inspection realised that the bird was a swift, which once grounded finds it hard to take to the air again. I cradled the bird in my hands and threw it upwards where it unfurled some six or eight feet above me, caught the air and shot away, out of sight in seconds. Continue reading...

Insects racing with flags of the two countries offer prediction for outcome of World Cup tieEngland have been backed to beat Panama on Sunday – by a colony of World Cup-predicting ants.Two of the insects raced along 36 metres of rope carrying Panama and England flags, with the red and white of St George making it back to the queen fastest. Continue reading...

The extraordinary Native American resistance effort may have faded from the headlines but the US government continues to prosecute activists, who say it is destroying livesStanding Rock saved Little Feather’s life. Then the US government took it from him.Little Feather was one of thousands of Native Americans who traveled to North Dakota in 2016 to fight the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline. The 45-year-old member of the Chumash Nation was battling drug addiction at the time, said his wife, Leoyla Cowboy. But the “water protector” movement gave him a sense of purpose, a renewed connection to indigenous elders, and sobriety. Continue reading...

Burkina Faso’s sacred crocodiles, a family of cheetahs and a humpback whale are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world Continue reading...

Greater than usual presence of Phalaris grasses this year could be behind the neurological damage in the animalsVeterinarians from the University of Melbourne are investigating whether kangaroos that appear to be “drunken” and “staggering” in central Victoria have suffered neurological damage because of a common pasture crop.Wildlife rescuers have reported a spike in the number of eastern grey kangaroos that appear to have Phalaris “staggers”, a condition commonly seen in ruminants such as sheep and cattle that have been grazing on the new shoots of Phalaris grasses, particularly Phalaris aquatica. Continue reading...

Inquiry will explore the carbon impact, resource use and water footprint of growing throwaway ‘fast fashion’ sectorMPs are to investigate the environmental impact of throwaway “fast fashion” in the UK amid growing concerns that the multi-billion pound industry is wasting valuable resources and contributing to climate change.

Hathersage, Derbyshire: Vibrant and restless, swifts are never anywhere for longI’m not sure why Coggers Lane is so named. A “cogger” in these parts is someone who wields a hammer, and by extension someone who hammers people: a fighter. Hathersage has its moments, but I’m guessing the name is more a fossil of the village’s industrial past. I do know it offers one of the prettiest views of the Derwent valley to the south, and to the east high above the gritstone cap of Higger Tor, richly coloured by the early evening sun. I stood drinking it in until the swarming midges drove me inside.When I emerged hours later the sky was deepening to black, on the threshold of night. Blinking in the gloom, I heard them first: an outburst of screaming that broke over my head. Looking up, half a dozen swifts were slicing and jinking through the thickening dark as they skimmed the roof, or else dived towards their young sheltering in the eaves. Then they were back out, blading through warm air still thick with those hateful midges. Their throats bulged with them, a ball of protein glued together with saliva to bring back to their brood. Continue reading...

Koko, the gorilla that mastered sign language, has died aged 46 in California. It was considered a pioneer in interspecies communication after being taught it by scientist Dr Francine Patterson. At one point Koko was estimated to able to understand about 2,000 words in English. Continue reading...

Vision Zero is a plan that rejects road accident deaths as ‘acceptable’. Is it time we called for zero tolerance of deaths from traffic pollution?The programme Vision Zero refuses to view the continued deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents as an acceptable fact. Like safety in the workplace, risks need to be designed out of road systems, it says. The initiative, which began in Sweden in 1994, founded by the government and industries, is gaining ground with cities in the UK and globally.Related: Millions of British children breathing toxic air, Unicef warns Continue reading...

It’s not the only big purchase he and other Trump administration figures have made

Exclusive: directors were paid cash for invalidated cultural assessments of Abbot PointA north Queensland Indigenous organisation kept secret more than $2m in payments by the Adani mining company, federal court documents show.Guardian Australia has obtained court documents that show the Kyburra Munda Yalga Aboriginal Corporation did not account for payments by Adani, then paid its own directors up to $1,000 a day cash-in-hand to conduct now-invalidated cultural heritage assessments for the Indian mining company. Continue reading...

Elm leaf-eating pest has gradually travelled across Europe from Japan, leaving mark reminiscent of that by Zorro’s sword

From plastic straws to almond milk, the season of cold brews is officially ruining the planetIt’s iced coffee season – and this year, the coolest accessory to beat the heat and consume your caffeine conscientiously may well be an eco-friendly stainless steel straw.The single-use plastic straw, you’ve probably noticed, has become increasingly socially unacceptable. A number of cities around the world have banned or are considering banning the straws, and more and more companies are starting to phase them out. McDonald’s, for example, announced that it will stop using using plastic straws in its British restaurants next year and Ikea also recently committed to removing all single-use plastic products from its stores and restaurants by 2020. When multinationals like McDonalds turn away from straws, you know the movement has gone mainstream. Continue reading...

Firms signing up to Lion’s Share fund will give 0.5% of money spent on ad campaigns featuring animals to conservation schemesSir David Attenborough has said large corporations should donate to wildlife protection schemes every time they feature animals in their adverts.The veteran wildlife presenter has called on the advertising industry to do more to help the environment as he launched a new voluntary scheme designed to boost the income of animal charities. Continue reading...

Campaigners hail court verdict, which bans trapping of several species of the birdMalta has broken EU law by allowing the hunting and trapping of several finch species, the European court has ruled.The Mediterranean island will face potentially substantial fines unless it ends a derogation it introduced in 2014 allowing the songbirds to be captured. Continue reading...

Swifts are one of the most recognisable birds of summer, returning to the UK to breed in early May each year. But in the last 20 years, the breeding population has halved, with a lack of nest sites and declining insects among the causes. This week marks the first UK Swift Awareness week, which aims to highlight the plight of swifts and the rescue efforts to save them

From Wall Street to the pope, many increasingly see fossil fuels as anything but a sure bet. That gives us reason to hopeIf you’re looking for good news on the climate front, don’t look to the Antarctic. Last week’s spate of studies documenting that its melt rates had tripled is precisely the kind of data that underscores the almost impossible urgency of the moment.And don’t look to Washington DC, where the unlikely survival of the EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt, continues to prove the political power of the fossil fuel industry. It’s as if he’s on a reality show where the premise is to see how much petty corruption one man can get away with. Continue reading...

Coalition of environmental groups put forward Charter for Parks as ‘crisis point’ declared following years of budget cutsA coalition of countryside groups and environmentalists are calling on the government to protect the UK’s parks and green spaces which are at “crisis point” following years of swingeing budget cuts.The group has today put forward a “Charter for Parks”which calls on ministers in England, Wales and Scotland to make it a legal requirement for all parks and green spaces to be maintained and managed to a “good standard.” Continue reading...

Exiled land rights defender calls for international help to investigate rights abuses under President Rodrigo DuterteA human rights activist branded a terrorist by the Philippine government has urged the international community to support an independent investigation into political killings in the country.

Sightings of toads have fallen by nearly a third and frogs by 17% since 2014, RSPB survey findsPeople with gardens are being urged to create simple ponds or areas of long grass because sightings of frogs and toads in gardens are drying up.Reports of toads in gardens have fallen by nearly a third since 2014, while sightings of frogs have dropped by 17% over the same period, according to the Big Garden Birdwatch, the RSPB’s wildlife survey. Continue reading...

More than 4.5m affected, says UN group, while tests suggest children’s shorter height increases exposure on busy roadsMore than 4.5 million children in the UK are growing up in areas with toxic levels of air pollution, the UN children’s organisation Unicef has warned.

Mickleton, Teesdale: Flowering grasses are an ethereal presence, graceful and constantly moving