Investigation uncovers about a dozen intensive beef units, despite assurances that US-style practices would not happen hereThousands of British cattle reared for supermarket beef are being fattened in industrial-scale units where livestock have little or no access to pasture.
Met Office warns of power cuts and travel disruption in southern England and WalesThunderstorms will continue to strike the UK as hot weather brings the risk of flooding, travel disruption and power cuts, forecasters have warned.
Even though smart climate policies could save tens of trillions of dollarsLast week, the Washington Post obtained a White House internal memo that debated how the Trump administration should handle federal climate science reports.The memo presented three options without endorsing any of them: conducting a “red team/blue team†exercise to “highlight uncertainties in climate scienceâ€; more formally reviewing the science under the Administrative Procedure Act; or deciding to just “ignore, and not seek to characterize or question, the science being conducted by Federal agencies and outside entities.†Continue reading...
The whale was found entangled in netting off the Sydney beach on Tuesday afternoon. Passengers on a whale-watching cruise spent several hours trying to help, and succeeded in cutting some of the netting before the operation had to be abandoned at nightfall Continue reading...
Whale watchers attempt to disentangle mammal but darkness stops rescue efforts• Sign up to receive the top stories in Australia every day at noon A 10-metre humpback whale trapped off in netting off Bondi beach in Sydney may have to wait until Wednesday morning to be freed after darkness hampered rescue efforts.Whale watchers were able to free the mammal of some of the netting but a rescue team from National Parks New South Wales was unable to fully release the whale before night fell. Continue reading...
Minister rebuffs former PM’s call to bring plan back to Coalition party roomJosh Frydenberg has declined to bring his national energy guarantee back to the Coalition party room for a full discussion before a make-or-break meeting of energy ministers.
Barton-le-Willows, North Yorkshire: Just weeks ago we were sledging on these hills. Now the branches are laden again, this time with floral snowThe wedding invitation says no gifts. After so long together they wish for nothing but our company. But in 17 years of friendship with this couple, we’ve shared adventures and foolery, elation and loss; we’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve raised children. So the occasion merits a token, at least. I decide to forage for something.Our local hedgerows are peaking. As I select primroses, forget-me-nots, stitchwort and sprigs of blossom to adorn the wedding cake, the earworm I’ve hosted for days starts up again: Andy Williams singing It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Christmas bells and all. It’s weirdly apt in a year when the weather has played merry hell with seasonal succession. Just weeks ago we were sledging on these hills. Birdsong greeted blizzards, the first cuckoo called in icy drizzle, and our swallows bowled in over another boreal blast. Now the branches are laden again, this time with floral snow. Continue reading...
Out-of-place Queensland groper seen off New Zealand coast after water temperatures soaredRare tropical fish from Australia have been spotted in New Zealand waters after a record-breaking hot summer and warm ocean temperatures lured the creatures across the Tasman sea.The Queensland groper, also known as the giant grouper, is the aquatic emblem of the state and was spotted swimming around the wreck of the HMNZ Canterbury in the Bay of Islands on Sunday, more than 3,000 kilometres away from its usual cruising spots on the coral reefs and estuaries off the Queensland coast. Continue reading...
Judges ordered a 25% carbon emissions cut by 2020 in the first successful lawsuit against a government’s climate policyThe Dutch government has launched a bid to overturn a landmark climate ruling, arguing that judges in The Hague “sidelined democracy†when they ordered a 25% cut in carbon emissions by 2020.Government plans for a lesser 17% cut in CO2 pollution were deemed unlawful three years ago, in the first successful lawsuit against a government’s climate policy. Continue reading...
Our special landscapes are cultural constructs, says Tom Greeves. And public authorities need to think more about urban green spaces, says Ann SharrockMichael Gove needs to be careful in his choice of vocabulary about national parks (England may get more national parks after Gove announces review, 28 May). His review suggests that it is part of a process to enhance protection of “natural†landscapes and habitats. But our English national parks and all areas being considered for designation are equally cultural landscapes created by some 10,000 years of human presence, also needing protection. He should beware the fashionable concept of “natural capital†without balancing it with one of “cultural capitalâ€. And he should be aware that our existing parks are the least democratic part of the English local government system, having no directly elected members. New designations balancing nature and culture, and with direct elections, might be welcomed – otherwise our special landscapes will be no better off.
Brussels proposes ban on plastic straws and cutlery and calls out Brexiter Michael GoveBrussels has challenged the UK’s environment secretary, Michael Gove, to try to outdo it in an environmental “race to the top†as it proposed a ban on plastic straws, cutlery, plates, cotton buds and balloon sticks.Frans Timmermans, the European commission’s first vice-president, directly addressed Gove, a fervent Brexiter, as he unveiled details of the planned prohibition, along with measures designed to reduce the use of plastic takeaway containers and drinking cups. Continue reading...
Charity FareShare is feeding three quarters of a million people a week with food that would otherwise go to waste – a 60% rise since last yearThe UK’s largest food redistribution charity is helping to feed a record 772,000 people a week – 60% more than the previous year – with food that would otherwise be wasted, new figures reveal.One in eight people in the UK go hungry every day – with the most needy increasingly dependent on food banks – yet perfectly good food is wasted every day through the food production supply chain. Continue reading...
Nation which produces 3% of the world’s milk will embark on the biggest cull in its historyNew Zealand will become the first country in the world to try to eradicate the cow disease Mycoplasma bovis, culling tens of thousands of cows in the largest mass animal slaughter in the country’s history.Government and farming sector leaders have agreed to cull 126,000 cows and spend more than NZ$800m ($560m) over 10 years in an attempt to save the national dairy herd and protect the long-term productivity of the farming sector, which is New Zealand’s second biggest export earner. Continue reading...
1 June 1918: It was a small field, hand-mown; swathes were heavy, deadening the sweep of scythes, but tall wild parsley, oat-grass spiked almost like cornSurrey
by Heather Gies in Azacualpa, Honduras on (#3R486)
Families face pressure to decide the fate of their relatives’ grave, dividing the community of Azacualpa where as many as 350 bodies have already been exhumedNothing is sacred in the path of gold miners in northwestern Honduras – not even the dead.
Flood waters and heavy rain has completely submerged the main street of the historic Ellicott City in Maryland. Authorities were assessing the damage after the flood waters swept away parked cars on Sunday. Continue reading...
Endangered species can thrive in habitats other than forests, paving way for their returnEighty years after they were hunted to extinction, the successful reintroduction of a herd of wild European bison on to the dunes of the Dutch coast is paving the way for their return across the continent.The largest land-living animal in Europe was last seen in the Netherlands centuries ago, and was wiped out on the continent by 1927. Despite successful efforts to breed the species again in the wilds of Poland in the 1950s, and renewed efforts in the last decade in western Europe, the European bison remains as endangered as the black rhino. Continue reading...
Case centres on state’s 2015 decision to hit company with bill for unpaid royalties and interestSign up to receive the top stories in Australia every day at noon
Manufacturers will act early on September 2020 ban as LED already the preferred option• Sign up to receive the top stories in Australia every day at noon
Michael Gove says move prompted by rising population and decline in certain habitatsA new wave of national parks could be created after the environment secretary, Michael Gove, announced plans for a review of protected areas.
Guardian readers respond to Michael Gove’s defence of what the government is doing to address air pollutionWe must cut through the smog of rhetoric if we are to have clean air. Through deft political sleight of hand, the environment secretary Michael Gove’s defence of what the government is doing to address air pollution (Letters, 24 May) diverts attention from the cause of dirty air in most of our cities: diesel-fuelled vehicles. This risks slowing down the action required to tackle air pollution at a moment when more and more people are becoming aware that it is a serious risk to health in places beyond London.As city leaders, we are keen to work with ministers to tackle the wider challenges of air pollution, but this requires a government strategy that has cleaner transport at its heart. We need a national framework so that residents and businesses can make the shift as quickly as possible to less polluting ways of moving around. Continue reading...
Warning by expert panel says up to 400,000 wildfowl a year may suffer lead poisoningSeveral rare bird species, including a breed of red-headed duck listed as “vulnerableâ€, are under threat from lead poisoning linked to shooting, a new report says.Numbers of common pochard, a duck species at risk of global extinction, have fallen substantially over the past 30 years, a decline partly attributed to the fact that they eat some of the 5,000 tonnes of lead pellets discarded in the countryside by people shooting game, according to the Lead Ammunition Group (LAG). Continue reading...
Government promises action on collisions to avoid slaughter on busy shipping routesIn an office up a steep hill in a seaside suburb of Athens, a tiny blue light flickers from a computer terminal. Dr Alexandros Frantzis, Greece’s foremost oceanographer, points it out. The light, he says, tracks marine traffic “in real timeâ€.It is key to saving one of the world’s most endangered whale populations. Continue reading...
Campaigners demand that post-Brexit Britain matches the EU’s plan to tackle wasteThe EU is to ban plastic straws, stirrers, cutlery, cotton buds and balloon sticks in a bid to tackle the rising tide of plastic waste, a move that has prompted urgent calls for the environment secretary, Michael Gove, to guarantee that the UK will follow Brussels’ lead after Brexit.The restrictions on “single-use†plastic will be launched on Monday by the European commission as part of its plan to ensure that 55% of all plastic is recycled by 2030. About 80-85% of all litter in the oceans is plastic, and half of that is made up of throw-away items such as plastic straws. Continue reading...
Pests could cost the state in billions if the spread continues, Invasive Species Council warns• Sign up to receive the top stories in Australia every day at noon One of the world’s worst invasive pests, red fire ants, have been detected outside a containment zone in Queensland’s scenic rim.The ants, destroyers of crops and harbingers of doom for many forms of outdoor recreation, are considered a potential $45bn problem should they become widely established in Queensland. Continue reading...
In the hills on the border of Virginia and West Virginia protesters – mainly women – are defying police and energy companies in non-violent environmental activismWay out in the Appalachian hills, on the line between Virginia and West Virginia, after an hour-long backwoods hike up Peters Mountain, an orderly clutch of tents were surrounded by a plastic yellow ribbon that read, “police line do not crossâ€.Past that, a woman sat on top of a 50ft pole. Continue reading...
British microbiologists find that American technique at heart of Brexit trade row does not kill listeria and salmonellaThe chlorine washing of food, the controversial “cleaning†technique used by many US poultry producers who want access to the British market post-Brexit, does not remove contaminants, a new study has found.The investigation, by a team of microbiologists from Southampton University and published in the US journal mBio, found that bacilli such as listeria and salmonella remain completely active after chlorine washing. The process merely makes it impossible to culture them in the lab, giving the false impression that the chlorine washing has been effective. Continue reading...
Mike’s Wood, River Kent, Cumbria: There are dozens of black gates along the valley, marking the route of the Thirlmere to Manchester aqueductLike little beacons among the hazel trees, stitchwort flowers lead me onwards towards the enclosure. There is always a moment, before passing through the black gate into this woodland “roomâ€, of wondering about the motives for creating a separate space within the wood. The deeply mossed encircling wall strides over the crags and boulders of precipitous ground – a fine exemplar of the drystone-waller’s art. But why an enclosure here? Continue reading...
Newly released emails show senior officials from the Environmental Protection Agency worked closely with conservative thinktank the Heartland InstituteNewly released emails show senior Environmental Protection Agency officials working closely with a conservative group that dismisses climate change to rally like-minded people for public hearings on science and global warming, counter negative news coverage and tout Scott Pruitt’s stewardship of the agency.John Konkus, EPA’s deputy associate administrator for public affairs, repeatedly reached out to senior staffers at the Heartland Institute, according to the emails. Continue reading...
Scientists have discovered an opioid pain reliever in mussels and say its likely other marine life are also affectedScientists who track pollution have discovered traces of the pain reliever oxycodone in some mussels in Seattle’s Puget Sound.Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife obtained clean mussels from Penn Cove on Whidbey Island and put them in different areas to test for water contamination, KIRO-TV reported this week. Continue reading...
As the most popular national parks get more crowded, where do you go to escape? Send your tips to publiclands@theguardian.com and we’ll share them below
by Lyndsey Gilpin in Nicholasville, Kentucky on (#3QZEH)
The Trump administration is quietly seeking to create more African American monuments. For some, it’s been a long waitNearly two decades ago, Jim Hunn was wandering around a cemetery in Lincoln county, Kentucky, when a small headstone caught his eye. He stared at the name etched on it: Jordan Wallace. Hunn can’t explain exactly why, but he felt an instant attachment.
Church in Wales | Is there a God? | Friendly bus passengers | Cooking for one | Herring gullsIt is not only the Church of England that is forbidden in law to conduct same-sex marriages (Letters, 25 May). The same legislation applies to the Church in Wales, disestablished in 1920.
Japanese group believed to be demanding direct financial support with consumers making up the differenceBritain’s hopes for a number of new nuclear power stations could collapse if the government and the Japanese conglomerate Hitachi fail to make a breakthrough on talks for a plant in Wales, a top nuclear lobbyist has warned.Hiroaki Nakanishi, the firm’s chairman, met Theresa May earlier this month, to press the prime minister for financial support for two reactors at Wylfa on the island of Anglesey. Continue reading...
A surging NDP can defeat Canada’s Trump – whose folksy act is a front for an assault on working people and the environmentA recent episode perfectly captures the appeal of Ontario Tory leader Doug Ford. Asked about a delayed mining plan in the province’s north, this is how he answered: “If I have to hop on a bulldozer myself, we’re going to start building roads..it will benefit local people but it is also going to benefit everyone in Ontario.†The statement quickly went viral.In a single gesture, witness the dizzying acrobatics of right-wing populism. There’s the posture of an unflinching maverick, spitting on his hands and getting the job done. There’s the plain-spoken concern for the common man and woman. And then there’s the actual result: a resource scheme that would enrich multinational corporations – who’d help themselves to a 10-year tax holiday – while trampling Indigenous rights and razing one of the last intact wild areas in Canada. Continue reading...
Minister accused of letting political lobbying interfere with listing a year after recommendation by independent committee• Sign up to receive the top stories in Australia every day at noonConservation groups have accused the environment and energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, of allowing political interference in the scientific assessment of threatened species listings.Frydenberg has delayed, for the third time, granting an endangered listing to woodlands eligible for protection under Australia’s national environment laws. Continue reading...
Park visitation is at a record high – good for tourism, not so good for peace and quiet. From Acadia to Zion, Bryce Canyon to Yosemite, leading writers and environmentalists share their alternatives to the most popular spots
by Gary Fuller with Yiqun Han, King’s College, Lond on (#3QYNY)
WHO database lowers Beijing’s particulate ranking from 40th worst in world to 187th, as coal plants flagged as key culpritBeijing is slowly shedding its image as the world’s most polluted city. In 2013, it ranked as the 40th worst city for the particulate PM2.5 in the World Health Organisation global database. Four years on, thanks in part to a crackdown on polluters, it stands in 187th place.Air pollution in the 62 Chinese cities tracked by the WHO dropped by an average of 30% between 2013 and 2016. China’s air pollution problems are often blamed on the country’s rapid industrial growth but the problems probably date back to the 1950s. Continue reading...
Michael Gove, the enviroment secretary, responds to a Guardian editorial on his clean air strategyYou write that “the main contributor to the air quality crisis … is road transport†(Editorial, 23 May). Road transport contributes 34% of nitrogen dioxide emissions and 12% of particulate matter emissions. The majority of air pollution comes from other sources. In particular, domestic burning contributes 38% of primary particulate matter – the most damaging pollutant to human health, according to the World Health Organisation.You write that our clean air strategy “purported to tackle a public health crisis by getting families to open their windows more often because ‘air pollution inside the home can often be higher than outside’.†Those 11 words are taken from almost 40,000 in the document, which sets out action on domestic fuel, farming, ports, aviation and in other areas. Continue reading...
Taxpayer’s right to healthcare | ‘Falling’ pregnant | Female film critics | Nancy Banks-Smith | Clothes mothsYou report (24 May) that Pauline Pennant, a UK citizen living overseas, pays UK taxes through her pension, earned after 30 years working with the NHS, yet is no longer entitled to free healthcare. If she is no longer entitled to this because she lives overseas, then why does she still pay UK tax on her pension and what, or who, is this deducted tax being used for?
Exclusive: study of schools in capital finds dangerous levels of fine particulate pollution within classrooms, putting children at riskChildren in London schools are being exposed to higher levels of damaging air pollution inside the classroom than outside, putting them at risk of lifelong health problems, a new study has revealed.Related: Clean-air campaigners call for ban on school run to cut pollution Continue reading...
Litigants from eight countries claim EU institutions are not protecting fundamental rightsLawyers acting for a group including a French lavender farmer and members of the indigenous Sami community in Sweden have launched legal action against the EU’s institutions for failing to adequately protect them against climate change.A case is being pursued in the Luxembourg-based general court, Europe’s second highest, against the European parliament and the council of the European Union for allowing overly high greenhouse gas emissions to continue until 2030. Continue reading...
by Libby Brooks Scotland correspondent on (#3QX8R)
Holyrood says ‘net-zero’ carbon emissions are ultimate aim but climate campaigners say target is disappointingNew targets will set Scotland on course to become one of the first countries in the world to achieve a 100% reduction in carbon emissions, the Scottish government has claimed, although it has stopped short of committing to becoming carbon-neutral by 2050.The draft climate change bill, published on Thursday morning, sets a target of a 90% reduction by 2050 – which the UK Committee on Climate Change states is currently “at the limit of feasibility†– with the aim of achieving 100% reduction, or “net-zeroâ€, as soon as possible.
