Environment | The Guardian

The A’I Cofan in the Amazon fight back against small-scale gold-miners invading their land and new, large-scale concessions upriverThree A’I Cofan men were staring down at a pit of rocks, dead foliage and filthy water where two gold-panners were working. Beyond was a sluice and hoses running down to the rushing, green waters of the River Aguarico. To the right, there was mud, more rocks, more equipment, a makeshift tent and camp. Behind, to the left, a Hyundai excavator and a track running downriver.No more than two weeks before, no track had existed and all this had been primary forest. Now that was gone. Only an area about 110 x 50 metres, you might say, but this is how gold rushes start.

Official files show government expects 973,000 households to face increased daytime noiseMore than 2 million people would be exposed to additional aircraft noise if Heathrow builds a third runway, according to a government analysis.Ministers have argued that Britain’s biggest airport will affect fewer people with noise in future, due to quieter planes. But government calculations suggest a new runway would still have a negative impact on nearly a million households, or 2.2 million people. Continue reading...

Maryam Mombeini, whose husband died in custody in mysterious circumstances, must be allowed to join her family in Canada, son saysThe son of an Iranian-Canadian environmentalist who died in a Tehran prison under mysterious circumstances has called on Iran to allow his grieving mother to leave the country.Maryam Mombeini, 55, was stopped last month by the security guards at Tehran’s international airport just before boarding a flight to Canada with her two sons after the death in custody of her husband, Kavous Seyed-Emami.

Next stage of planning process for Anglesey site postponed as effect on tern colonies is assessedPlans for a nuclear power station on the Welsh island of Anglesey have been delayed by concerns over the plant’s impact on colonies of protected seabirds.

Report warns carbon footprint of heavy emitter cement companies must be reduced sharply in order to meet Paris climate goalsGreenhouse gas emissions from cement production must be reduced sharply if the world is to meet the climate change goals set out in the Paris agreement, a new report has suggested.Making cement and concrete, which is the most consumed product in the world after water, entails substantial emissions of carbon dioxide, from the chemical processes involved. While manufacturers have for years been seeking ways to reduce this or capture the carbon produced, and to make cement production more energy efficient, the results have failed to keep pace with the need to cut carbon emissions. Continue reading...

Illegal pigeon hunting across Samoa is risking the extinction of the country’s national bird: the little dodo or manumea. Will this little-known island pigeon suffer the same fate as its namesake?

A UK startup making water containers from seaweed is one of many businesses thinking of food-based answers to the global problem of plastic. Can they catch on?Who hasn’t occasionally considered whether you could just chomp on your water bottle once you have finished drinking from it? That is a reality with Ooho water pouches – from Skipping Rocks Lab, a UK-based “sustainable packaging” startup – made from seaweed for an esoteric post-beverage snack.Of course, eating them is not really the point – the reason they received the thumbs up from French president Emmanuel Macron in December is that they offer a glimpse of a plastic-free future. With the tide turning against plastics and everyone from David Attenborough to the Queen seeking bans, these containers could help save the oceans. Ooho pouches encase a serving of water in a thin membrane made from brown algae. They were developed in London by Pierre-Yves Paslier and Rodrigo García González, who claim seaweed is safe to eat and regrows quickly, too. Continue reading...

Airedale, West Yorkshire: Shy birds break cover in spring. What we call personality is really a calculation of risk and needThe little grebe jackknifes out of sight almost before I have time to register that it’s there: a flash of chestnut cheek, a plop, and a fading pattern of concentric ripples on the water. The bird books invariably characterise Tachybaptus ruficollis as “shy” or “secretive”, and it’s not hard to see why – but in reality, these things are as changeable as the seasons.

Water in Queensland’s Darling Downs was polluted so much it was unfit for stock, court hearsA failed Queensland energy company has been found guilty of causing serious environmental harm by polluting the Darling Downs with hazardous contaminants despite warnings from scientists.Linc Energy has been on trial for weeks at Brisbane district court, where the jury was told that toxic gas leaked from its operations between 2007 and 2013. Continue reading...

Expected charges against Norman Farming likely to throw spotlight on poor federal and state administration of Murray-Darling fundsFraud charges are expected to be laid against one of Queensland’s biggest cotton irrigators, John Norman, within a matter of weeks.

The ‘custodian’ of the Alladale estate wants to turn it into a fenced-off wildlife reserveThe echoes of Scotland’s predator prince faded into silence three centuries ago. The wolf was once lord of these Sutherland slopes and the forest floors beneath and now a voice in the wilderness is calling him home.Paul Lister acquired the Alladale estate, 50 miles north of Inverness, in 2003 and immediately set about creating a wilderness reserve according to his perception of what these wild and beautiful places ought to look like. He can’t imagine them without the packs of wolves that once roamed free here. Continue reading...

Ruling paves way for creation of new genetically altered cropsResearchers in the US have been given the go-ahead to use gene-editing techniques to alter crops and plants. The decision opens the door for scientists to create a new generation of genetically altered crops without serious restriction and paves the way for approvals for similar work in Britain and the rest of Europe.The decision – by the US Department of Agriculture – has delighted scientists who had feared that limitations on the creation and growing of genetically modified crops would also be imposed on crops created using far simpler gene-editing techniques. Continue reading...

As Scott Pruitt fights criticism over luxury spending, questionable pay raises and a lobbyist-linked condo, staffers faced a brutal weekThe week at the Environmental Protection Agency has been a brutal low point in what many staff members refer to as the most difficult year in its near half-century history. An avalanche of allegations of ethical misconduct by the EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt, has heaped embarrassment upon a watchdog struggling to adapt to the industry obeisance demanded by the Trump administration.

Former PM unsuccessfully tried to reintroduce black-veined white in 1940s, but conditions may now allow species to prosper Continue reading...

Garsdale, Cumbria: In the water, the wings are both oars and hydrofoils, angled to harness the flow and surf the body downA few days ago I was asked if I was a birder and apparently I pulled an indecisive face. Now I’m proving the point. The air quivers with curlew music, but I am walking head down. In my defence, drizzle is gusting up the valley, and I’m looking for water vole feeding signs, hoping for evidence to match some promising burrows a little way downstream. There are plenty of clumps of rush, the stems trimmed at 45 degree angles, but droppings are elusive – washed away or disintegrated by the rain, I suppose.If I hadn’t been focusing down, I might not have seen the dipper, dead in the rushes. Worse, I might have trodden on it. Continue reading...

Bank of England governor says firms must acknowledge risks to avoid ‘catastrophic impact’The governor of the Bank of England has warned of the “catastrophic impact” climate change could have for the financial system unless firms do more to disclose their vulnerabilities.Telling banks and insurers they would need to provide more information about the risks they might face from climate change, Mark Carney said failure to do so would have damaging effects for financial stability.

Howard Hardman suggests dumping the big six to stop the drilling; Austen Lynch says Lancashire’s fracking wells won’t provide much of an energy dividend; Neil Anderson on France’s tidal power station successThe news from Lancashire (Fracking firm Cuadrilla finishes drilling UK’s first horizontal well, 4 April) came as a disappointment, particularly in the wake of the Observer business leader that suggested fracking companies were running into difficulties in the UK (Fracking industry blows hot and cold amid fuel shortages and false starts, 11 March).Perhaps the easiest method of thwarting them would be for millions of energy customers to switch their accounts away from the big six and other suppliers of shale gas, and towards the smaller, often local energy companies who only supply gas from renewable sources and unfracked gas. Continue reading...

The Indonesian port city of Balikpapan, on the island of Borneo, has declared a state of emergency after an oil spill spread along the coast, killing several people when it ignited. The leak, caused by a burst undersea pipe belonging to the state oil company Pertamina, has spread at least 16 miles (26km) and coated large swaths of the coast in thick black sludge Continue reading...

Whales, howler monkeys and signs of spring are among the pick of wildlife images from around the world Continue reading...

The huge national park in the Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the most dangerous conservation projects in the world. But thanks to the efforts of a committed force of rangers, populations of endangered species are recovering and locals say the park offers hope for the whole regionIt is dawn on the shores of Lake Edward and the sun is rising over the volcanoes on the eastern skyline. Mist lies over the still water. In the forest there are elephant, hippopotamus and buffalo. Guarding them are 26 rangers in a single fortified post.Then the silence is rudely broken. There are shouts, scattered shots, volleys from automatic weapons. Waves of attackers rush through the brush and trees. Some are close enough to hurl spears and fire arrows. Continue reading...

Official leading effort says city had 2,000 fewer visitors a day after attack, but is confident bookings will recover next yearThe official leading the recovery effort in Salisbury following the nerve agent attack has warned that the city will not be back to normal until next summer.Alistair Cunningham, the chair of the recovery coordination group, said experts were currently designing plans to decontaminate areas affected in the attack on the Skripals. He added that in the immediate aftermath the city had welcomed 2,000 fewer visitors each day. Continue reading...

Two Sustrans staff members explain how offering residents of a women’s hostel the freedom of cycling is helping to improve their mental wellbeing

Under company modelling major spill would pollute beaches and could disrupt southern right whale migrationUp to 750km of coastline was put at risk of contamination from possible oil spill by BP’s plan to drill in the Great Australian Bight, newly released documents show.Government documents released under freedom of information laws show a major oil spill in the sensitive seascape would pollute up to 750km of beaches and shoreline, according to BP’s own modelling. The company also thought drilling could disrupt migration of the endangered southern right whale. Continue reading...

Assynt, Sutherland, Highlands: The stromatolite fossils lie on the Eilean Dubh Formation, a geologic stratum often marked by coral and shell fossilsAs I climb up from the green-brown valley near Inchnadamph, the early spring countryside changes character. Snow patches appear and soon become abundant, then all seems white as the mountains’ snow-blanketed slopes merge into silver-grey clouds. On this blustery day, when sleet and rain slash across the landscape and wind snatches at all things, it’s hard to believe the Highlands were ever anything but a cold, damp, mountainous place. But the curious circular rocks embedded in the foothills are evidence that the earth beneath my feet once lay under shallow seas in a considerably warmer climate.Related: The natural wonder that holds the key to the origins of life – and warns of its destruction Continue reading...

Drones and fireworks deployed to disperse flocks that are stripping trees and annoying residents with squawking and droppingsThey come at dawn and dusk.At first they arrive by the tens, then the hundreds, some sticking to the treeline, others mustering on the oval. Continue reading...

Rivers will be lost, Indigenous communities and pastoral and tourism industries affected if not enough water is returned

‘It is not possible to short a market by giving seven years’ notice of closure,’ company says as dispute over Liddell power station flares upAGL Energy has categorically rejected arguments from the Turnbull government that it is abusing its market power, saying if it wanted to benefit commercially from the closure of the Liddell power plant it would have shuttered the facility with no warning.An AGL spokesman hit back at an accusation from the former deputy prime minister and Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce that it was “shorting” the market by hanging on to the ageing coal-fired power plant. “It is not possible to short a market by giving seven years’ notice of closure,” the spokesman said. Continue reading...

Emmanuel Macron | Butterfly Conservation | Country diary magic | Porton Down | Football fansWhy is Emmanuel Macron always described as a “centrist” in the Guardian (Strike chaos sets rail workers on collision course with Macron, 4 April)? He is hellbent on reducing employment rights and taking on the unions. He may be young and his party new on the political scene, but he is a conservative. Why not describe him as such?

Actor says he will appeal against sentence after being convicted of poaching blackbucks in 1998The Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has been sentenced to five years in jail for poaching a protected species of Indian antelope, in the latest twist to an off-screen life almost as dramatic as the epics he has starred in.A court in Rajasthan state on Thursday found Khan, one of the world’s best-paid actors, guilty of illegally hunting the two blackbucks from his car window while filming in Jodhpur in 1998. Continue reading...

Severe winter weather postpones season by at least three weeks and yield could be 20% lowerThe jersey royal season is at least three weeks late after the “beast from the east” delayed the planting of the spring crop.The potato’s short season, usually from April to mid-July, has been affected by hard frosts and almost double the 30-year average of rainfall in December and January, which growers say left the ground saturated and “undesirable for planting”. Continue reading...

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Highly critical study warns projections used by the organisation tasked with leading the switch to clean energy remain skewed towards oil and gas and may break climate targets of Paris agreementThe global shift from fossil fuels to renewables is being undermined by the very organisation that ought to be leading the charge, according to a scathing new critique of the International Energy Agency (IEA).Governments across the world rely on IEA projections to set energy policies, but the agency’s figures – which are influenced by the oil industry – are pushing them off track to reach the targets of the Paris climate agreement, says the report. Continue reading...

The sperm whale may be one of the most successful animals in the ocean, boasting a global distribution that survived the toll of the 20th century, when whaling factory fleets took three million great whales from the seas. Now a newly identified population in the Indian Ocean is attracting the attention of scientists, conservationists – and soon, tourists, too. How will this whale weather the new storm of attention? Underwater photographer Andrew Sutton gained special access to the gentle giants that swim around the island of Sri Lanka. Words by author Philip HoareEvery March, vast numbers of sperm whales gather in the deep waters north-west of Sri Lanka. Andrew Sutton’s photographs are vivid evidence of a little-known population – all the more surprising since sperm whales are the largest active predators on the planet with males reaching nearly 20m (65ft) in length. As natural submarines, they shut down all their organs except for their heart and brain, and using their muscular tails are able to dive for up to a mile, spending up to two hours feeding on squid. Continue reading...

Scientists find an estimated 30% drop in plastic bags on the seabed in the same timeframe as charges were introduced in European countriesA big drop in plastic bags found in the seas around Britain has been credited to the introduction of charges for plastic bags across Europe.Ireland and Denmark were the first two countries to bring in levies for plastic bags from shops in 2003, followed by slew of other European countries. England was the last UK nation to introduce one, in 2015. Continue reading...

Documents show more than half a million pounds has been spent on failed court actions against clean air campaigners in less than 12 monthsThe UK government has spent more than half a million pounds on failed legal battles against clean air campaigners, according to newly released documents that underline the cost of weak action on pollution.The figures – obtained under a freedom of information request by the Labour party – show repeated court defeats are hurting taxpayers in addition to the growing health impact of air pollution, which kills as many as 40,000 people a year. Continue reading...

Wolsingham, Weardale: swelling buds signal the hydraulic forces that have been building inside trees

Five years after the implementation of the Murray-Darling basin plan, our great river system is under stress. Follow our 3000km journey along the rivers, travelling from inland Queensland to the Murray mouth, to understand where the plan has failed those who live and work on this land Continue reading...

The Coalition’s backbench group of coal fans have a history of attacking climate scienceThere seems to be three rules for membership of the Coalition’s new backbench Monash Forum that wants taxpayer subsidies for new coal fired power stations.Firstly, you have to really love the life-giving and not-really-all-that-deadly rock from the late Permian and Carboniferous which, if they made it into a snack bar, you would totally want to eat it and then rub the bits left sticking to the wrapper all over your naked form. Continue reading...

More than five years and $9bn since the basin plan began, the Murray-Darling river system is in crisis. In a series of in-depth features and articles this week, Guardian Australia will explore what’s gone wrong

Andy Stirling and Phil Johnstone reply to criticism of their analysis of the government’s infatuation with nuclear powerThanks to Mike Clancy (Letters, 2 April) for responding to our analysis that intense UK government attachments to civil nuclear power are (to a significant – but dangerously undiscussed – extent) aimed at supporting the national industrial base underpinning nuclear submarine capabilities. He accuses us of “speculation”, yet fails to address any of the strong evidence that we cite. We show at length that UK nuclear attachments do not reflect economic performance. A host of ways to manage intermittency are routinely priced at a small fraction of the growing cost advantage of renewable energy. As a member of the UK Nuclear Industry Council (itself with a dual civil/military remit), Mr Clancy could assist much-needed factual scrutiny by addressing the points we raise. As a union leader, he might help democratic debate by explaining why his own organisation – and UK unions more generally – are so much more supportive of jobs in the nuclear than in the renewable sector.

Friends of the Earth demands the oil firm move away from fossil fuels to comply with Paris dealThe global flurry of legal campaigns against “big oil” has widened, with Royal Dutch Shell being threatened with legal action unless it steps up efforts to comply with the Paris climate agreement.Friends of the Earth Netherlands on Wednesday demanded the Anglo-Dutch company revise plans to invest only 5% in sustainable energy and 95% in greenhouse-gas emitting oil and gas. Continue reading...

Photographer Francesco Bosso travelled to Greenland to capture images of the melting icebergs, which he describes as ‘gems of nature in danger of extinction’. The results are presented in his new book, Last Diamonds Continue reading...

City of Balikpapan is struggling to deal with toxic smoke from fire that killed four fishermanThe Indonesian port city of Balikpapan, on the island of Borneo, has declared a state of emergency after a devastating oil spill spread along the coast, killing four fisherman when it ignited.The oil spill, which occurred over the weekend, has now stretched to an area of around seven square miles (18 sq km), contaminating the sea and polluting the air with thick black smoke. One protected dugong has already washed up dead on the shore. Continue reading...

Lune Estuary, Lancaster: Some oystercatchers piped the first bars of their call and then, as if a signal that dawn had broken, a curlew summoned sunriseIt was becoming light, but not light yet. Water, salt marsh, sky: these were names for things that did not exist in the dark before dawn. Then the glim of something, maybe a moon-piece, as befits the Lune, made its way in to where it was possible to look but not go. There was the cold, face-wash quiet of the air and the slight rub of dry sedge trodden on the road. There was frost, if that smells of silver. A spectral breath returned inside after exhalation, setting the mind afloat. There was a slow opening in the east and then the nets of river fog filled with gold.As shoals of light swam through the air, the river and the land floated in banded layers of colour, none of which lasted longer than a few seconds. This was a weightless landscape, at liberty and so insubstantial that any ripple could disperse any or all parts of it to drift away in different directions. As the sky blued into being, a bow of geese flew northward and a jack snipe lifted from somewhere indefinable between marsh and water, jinking bat-like out of and back into the mist. Far off, some oystercatchers piped the first bars of their call and then, as if a signal that dawn had broken, a curlew summoned sunrise, its song a weir of keening but without grief. Continue reading...

Police officers in South Australia had a close encounter with a great white shark while they were out on a routine operation checking boat registrations over the Easter break

Shark nicknamed ‘Noah’ gets between officers and fishing boat selected for random breath testA great white shark swimming in one of Australia’s most renowned shark habitats interrupted a police operation on Saturday by serenely terrifying the officers.The shark, dubbed Noah by South Australia police, glided in between a police dinghy containing two life-jacketed police officers and their intended target, a recreational fishing boat selected for a random breath test. Continue reading...

West Midlands and Wiltshire are among worst affected, while Cam and Ouse are higher than usualFlood warnings are in place across the country after the wet Easter weather caused many rivers to overflow their banks.Wide parts of the UK were affected by rain and snow over the bank holiday weekend, sparking a rise in water levels. Continue reading...

Survey says airborne mercury pollution from stations in Victoria’s Latrobe valley increased 37% in just 12 monthsAirborne mercury pollution from coal-fired power stations in Victoria’s Latrobe valley increased 37% in just 12 months, according to an annual national survey of toxic emissions.The mercury output from Loy Yang B power station alone more than doubled to 831kg in 2016-2017, an increase of 123% over five years. Continue reading...

Public comment period saw more than 100,000 messages, many condemning proposal to raise fees as high as $70The Department of the Interior said on Tuesday that it planned to revise a controversial proposal to drastically increase entrance fees at some of the most popular national parks in the country.The interior department press secretary, Heather Swift, said the Trump administration decided to rethink its proposal after Americans flooded the National Park Service (NPS) with more than 100,000 comments, many of them sharply critical of the proposed surge pricing scheme. Continue reading...