Environment | The Guardian

Photographs of rare species from unexplored area of Antarctic seabed highlight need to protect life in one of the most remote places on the planet

Bus driver raises cash via Twitter to give ‘magical’ poetry and picture book to all 2,681 schoolsA book created to celebrate the disappearing words of everyday nature, from acorn and wren to conker and dandelion, is fast becoming a cultural phenomenon with help from a crowdfunding campaign by a school bus driver.

Airedale, West Yorkshire: Neck held straight, upright and officer-like, the drake appears dressed in close-fitted tweeds, a fine houndstooth of tan and greyI don’t know a bird book that has much to say about the gadwall (Anas strepera). Generally this unobtrusive winter duck is compared with the more common mallard, and comes off worse: smaller (just), duller (much), either shriller (the duck) or coarser (the drake) in quack. But like many a winter bird – think of the intricate copper-trimmed scalloping of a starling’s non-breeding plumage – the gadwall repays a little close attention. Continue reading...

Environmentalists say car could have been powerful statement to promote electric cars in AustraliaThe new Holden Commodore – the first to be made overseas – is a “missed opportunity” to launch a high-profile electric or hybrid car in Australia, according to pro-renewables groups.The 2018 Commodore has been launched after the last operational Holden plant in Australia, in Elizabeth, South Australia, closed on 20 October last year. Continue reading...

Figures released by the EPA show that 115 crime cases were opened in 2017, down from a peak of nearly 400 in 2009The Environmental Protection Agency’s enforcement activity against polluters has fallen to its lowest level in a decade, with the first year of the Trump administration seeing a sharp drop in fines for companies that break environmental rules.Figures released by the EPA show that 115 environmental crime cases were opened in the 2017 financial year, down from a peak of nearly 400 in the 2009 financial year, which was largely under the Obama administration. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Brexit fears and falling pound left fruit and vegetable farms short of more than 4,000 workers, with senior MPs warning of a crisisFruit and vegetable farms across the UK were left short of thousands of migrant workers in 2017, leaving some produce to rot in the fields and farmers suffering big losses. Continue reading...

The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox Continue reading...

Galápagos marine iguanas, feeding penguins and a camouflaged owl are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world Continue reading...

Wilderness study areas are more wild and untouched than national parks. But a Republican proposal threatens this unique terrain, environmentalists say

Fears for spectators and competitors as temperatures forecast to plummet to -15C

Canadian government viewed Trump’s election as “positive news” for Keystone XL and energy industryThe Trudeau government treated Donald Trump’s election as “positive news” for Canada’s energy industry and welcomed the help of Canada’s main corporate oil group in lobbying the US administration, documents show.

Sinah Common, Hayling Island, Hampshire: Despite years of dedicated gorse-scanning this was the first time I’d seen one of these secretive little birds on my patchThe gorse thicket was ablaze with flower, but the heady coconut-suncream scent of the golden blossom was at odds with the biting wind and overcast sky. As a shower began to fall like a haze of iron filings, I decided to take shelter behind one of the well-preserved anti-aircraft gun emplacements – a relic from the second world war, when decoy fires were set on Hayling Island to draw the Luftwaffe away from the important military targets on nearby Portsea Island.

Only one quarter of the world’s governments have urban development policies and most are not enough to make cities sustainableNational governments around the world are neglecting the needs of their major cities with non-existent or inadequate development policies, a new report has found.National governments are key to making cities more sustainable, because cities are limited in the policy measures they can take for themselves, the report points out. However, only a quarter of the world’s governments have urban development policies at all, and most of those that do exist are not sufficient to make cities sustainable. Continue reading...

UK’s largest poultry group may close three factories putting 900 jobs at risk

CSIRO researchers use world-first genetic analysis to estimate population, but believe numbers could be as high as 12,800About 5,500 great white sharks are cruising in the waters off Australia’s east coast, new research has revealed.

Lock the Gate says previous decisions not factored in to recommendation allowing 250ha of endangered area to be clearedCoalmining companies were given approval to clear nearly 10% of what is now a critically endangered forest in the New South Wales Hunter Valley over the past decade, according to evidence before a government commission.

Museum of London opens putrid exhibit that ‘reflects the dark side of ourselves’Its aroma was once a mix of rotting meat and a toddler’s nappy that had been left out for months, but it has now, mercifully, calmed down.“At the moment it smells like dirty toilets,” said Sharon Robinson-Calver, who has led the conservation team at the Museum of London for one of its most challenging and unusual projects. Continue reading...

Chris Junior Anaekwe, a self-appointed ‘ambassador’ for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, drew praise on Twitter after he persuaded local teens to tackle rubbish in OnitshaA Nigerian man living in one of the world’s most polluted cities has been hailed for “leading by example” and cleaning up his community in the face of government inaction.Chris Junior Anaekwe, 28, drew the applause of the internet for leading a group of local teenagers in tackling rubbish in their neighbourhood in Onitsha, a port city in southern Nigeria. Continue reading...

A new study finds strong agreement that flood risks in central and western Europe are rising due to global warming.

UK insurer accused of undermining international efforts to fight climate changeUK insurer Aviva is the second-biggest investor in the Polish coal industry, the most polluting in Europe, according to a report that looks at insurance firms’ involvement in the sector.Aviva is among a number of major European insurers that are backing the expansion of Poland’s coal industry, undermining international efforts to battle climate change, according to research from Unfriend Coal, a global network of organisations including Greenpeace Switzerland, 350.org and the UK Tar Sands Network. Continue reading...

Sandy, Bedfordshire: It should have been hibernating, but there it was, bashing its head against a cold window. Something had to be doneIt is a curious fact that the most beautiful parts of a butterfly are also the least palatable. When I lifted a log from the woodpile, the eye of a peacock in an insect wing beneath looked back. It was a sail without a ship, a cover without a book. The wing was still fired with fresh colours, as lustrous as a birthday balloon and just as nutritious. The thick body that had been provisioned with sweetness to sit out the winter in darkness had gone.The day before, another peacock, inadvertently transported indoors in the log basket, was hours away from cremation when it woke into living room summer. I did not see it fly up to the sunlit window but heard a loud thrumming from behind the blind. There it was, improbably animated out of season, bashing its head incessantly against a cold window. How could it understand that the golden orb beyond was a false god, offering only frost and ice? Continue reading...

Concerns raised over weakened regulations on imports in potential post-Brexit trade dealsLivestock raised for food in the US are dosed with five times as much antibiotic medicine as farm animals in the UK, new data has shown, raising questions about rules on meat imports under post-Brexit trade deals.The difference in rates of dosage rises to at least nine times as much in the case of cattle raised for beef, and may be as high as 16 times the rate of dosage per cow in the UK. There is currently a ban on imports of American beef throughout Europe, owing mainly to the free use of growth hormones in the US. Continue reading...

Activist group surveys members about role they want it to play in Melbourne contestGetUp is yet to decide whether or not it will be active on the ground in the looming Batman byelection, and is waiting on a signal from Labor about its position on the controversial Adani project.

EPA administrator says ‘There are assumptions made that because the climate is warming that necessarily is a bad thing’Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, has suggested that global warming may be beneficial to humans, in his latest departure from mainstream climate science.Pruitt, who has previously erred by denying that carbon dioxide is a key driver of climate change, has again caused consternation among scientists by suggesting that warming temperatures could benefit civilization. Continue reading...

The most recent Countryside Survey revealed a loss of 91,000 miles of managed hedgerow between 1984 and 2007 in Britain, writes Emma MarringtonYour report (7 February) highlights the shocking decline in hedgehog populations – as high as 97% since the 1950s, particularly in rural areas. It can’t just be coincidence that our countryside hedgerows, the favourite bolthole of the discerning hedgehog, have seen a similar decline over that period.Aerial photographs from 1940 show an almost complete network of hedges across much of the country. But between 1950 and 1975, the loss of hedges became the most familiar and visible damage to the countryside. The most recent Countryside Survey revealed a loss of 91,000 miles of managed hedgerow between 1984 and 2007 in Britain. Continue reading...

Slash CEO income, bring more women on board and go low carbon, Church Investors Group tells companiesThe Church Investors Group has warned some of Britain’s biggest companies it intends to take a hard line over failings on executive pay, gender diversity and climate change in the forthcoming annual meeting season.The group, which represents church organisations with combined investment assets of about £17bn, has told companies listed on the FTSE 350 index it will refuse to re-elect directors at firms failing to make sufficient progress in key areas.

Beaches, wildlife, the Great Barrier Reef, unspoilt natural wilderness and national parks all considered threatenedTourism is Australia’s most vulnerable and least prepared industry to deal with climate change despite the fact it is already feeling its effects, according to an advocacy group report.The report by the Climate Council, based on 200 source documents and articles, says while tourism is growing at an extraordinary pace – an 8% jump in visitors last financial year – not enough is being done to prepare for damage to the country’s greatest drawcards. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Documents show Katrina Hodgkinson changed plan to allow irrigators to extract up to 32% more after lobbyingA water-sharing plan for the Barwon-Darling was altered by the former New South Wales minister for primary industries, Katrina Hodgkinson, even though public consultations on the draft plan had ended and her bureaucrats had already submitted a draft for her to sign.

Marbled crayfish have developed the ability to self-clone – and now a million-strong crustacean army exists in waters stretching from Europe to JapanName: Marbled crayfish. Marmorkrebs in German.Age: Potentially infinite. Continue reading...

Train operator also pledges to reduce food waste as part of new environmental targetsEurostar has unveiled a new 10-point plan to cut carbon emissions and reduce waste over the next three years, highlighting the reduced carbon footprint of high-speed rail for short-haul journeys.

Genome study finds the invasive clonal freshwater crayfish is descended from a single female and reproduces without malesA voracious pest that mutated in a German aquarium and is marching around the world without the need for sexual reproduction may sound like science fiction, but a genetic study has revealed that a rapidly spreading all-female army of crayfish is descended from a single female and reproduces without any males.The clonal freshwater crayfish is regarded as an invasive species which threatens endemic wild species, but its success may help scientists better understand how cancer spreads. Continue reading...

Indonesian authorities say male orangutan was found with 130 airgun pellets and machete wounds in the second known killing this yearThe body of a Borneo orangutan has been found riddled with some 130 airgun pellets, Indonesian authorities have said, the second known killing this year.

Uganda’s first ever Critical Mass is missing the air of protest normally found in Europe or the US. This may be for the best in a country where dissent is often quashed with rubber bullets and tear gas“Do you know what is going on here today?” I ask Annette, the banana seller I’m buying a quick breakfast from. She doesn’t, so I explain that people are gathering here to ride bicycles together. We’re standing on Luwum street in central Kampala, looking out at a completely alien scene. With the usual sea of cars, minibus taxis and boda bodas (the city’s famous motorbike taxis) absent, the whole road is visible and looks 10 times more spacious than usual. It has been adorned with colourful paintings – including green cycle lanes – and we can see people walking, talking and cycling, while children run around playing.

In a sixth year of consecutive growth, organic sales rose by 6% to a record £2.2bn, driven largely by independent outlets and home deliveriesSales of organic food and drink in the UK rose by 6% last year to a record £2.2bn, fuelled by strong growth through independent outlets and home delivery which outpaced sales in rival supermarkets.Almost 30% of all organic sales now take place online or on the high street, according to a new report from Soil Association, the trade body which licenses organic products and promotes organic farming. Continue reading...

Longterm decline is blamed on loss of hedgerows and insect prey but urban hedgehogs may offer a glimmer of hope, says a new reportThe number of hedgehogs living in the British countryside has plummeted by more than half since 2000, according to a new report.The popular but prickly character topped a vote in 2013 to nominate a national species for Britain, but it has suffered as hedgerows are lost and the invertebrates it feasts on diminish. However, the survey offers a glimmer of hope as losses in towns and cities appear to have slowed and the numbers patrolling nighttime gardens may be increasing. Continue reading...

Photographer Sean Gallagher has set up a new Instagram feed called Everyday Extinction. Featuring work from 25 wildlife photographers, photojournalists and scientists, the project aims to highlight species extinction and celebrate biodiversity

Wenlock Edge, Shropshire: Planted to enhance the landscape around a medieval monastery, this tree has been saved from natural disintegration through pruning and loppingThe big old horse chestnut at Wenlock Priory has been pruned. I expect it’s to do with reducing the great limbs of its crown to prevent the tree falling apart in gales. The amputations have an odd symmetry and, although the idea is for new growth to reshape the tree, it looks now like a ruin among the ruins of the medieval monastery. There may be five centuries between the destruction of the priory following its dissolution in 1540 and the pruning of the tree this winter but they seem so similar, as if made of the same strange fabric.Timber and masonry are, as Rose Macaulay said in Pleasure of Ruins (1953), “part of the ruin-drama staged perpetually in the human imagination”. It’s divided in two, she says: a desire to build them up and then knock them down. There is a sense that the lopped tree in the priory grounds now joins the remains of the past to be preserved as heritage. The horse chestnut was planted to enhance the landscape around the ruins, but it could not be allowed to disintegrate naturally through wind and rain and snowfall. A veneration of age extends to old trees: it behoves us to maintain it as a version of itself, if not its natural self. Continue reading...

Case brought by group from Hunter Valley town, which it says has been devastated by Peabody Energy’s Wilpinjong mineIn what is described as a landmark case, a New South Wales court will be asked to overturn a decision to extend the life of a coalmine on the grounds the state government failed to properly consider the impact on the climate.

Hoang Duc Binh had posted footage on Facebook of fishermen protesting following a huge chemical spill from a steel plantA court in central Vietnam has sentenced an activist to 14 years in jail for livestreaming fishermen marching to file a lawsuit against a Taiwan-owned steel plant’s spill of toxins into the ocean.Hoang Duc Binh, 34, was convicted of abusing democratic freedoms to infringe on the interests of the state, organisation and people, and opposing officers on duty, following a trial on Tuesday by the people’s court in Nghe An province, lawyer Ha Huy Son said. Continue reading...

Boss says his industry is changing but ‘the world is going to need oil and gas for decades’BP has declared it is looking to acquire more green energy firms, as the British oil giant pledged to set carbon targets for its operations.However, while the chief executive, Bob Dudley, said the industry was in a period of major change, he made clear that hydrocarbons would remain the core of BP’s business. Continue reading...

Move makes it the largest university fund in the UK to ditch all coal, oil and gas holdings, following a long student campaignThe University of Edinburgh is dumping all its fossil fuel investments, making it the largest UK university endowment fund to be completely free of all coal, oil and gas holdings.

A new paper shows that climate myths consistently fail critical thinking testsClimate myths are often contradictory – it’s not warming, though it’s warming because of the sun, and really it’s all just an ocean cycle – but they all seem to share one thing in common: logical fallacies and reasoning errors.John Cook, Peter Ellerton, and David Kinkead have just published a paper in Environmental Research Letters in which they examined 42 common climate myths and found that every single one demonstrates fallacious reasoning. For example, the authors made a video breaking down the logical flaws in the myth ‘climate changed naturally in the past so current climate change is natural.’

Capacity is growing fast and turbines getting bigger – some almost as large as the ShardBritain accounted for more than half of the new offshore wind power capacity built in Europe last year, as the sector broke installation records across the continent.The windfarms out in the North Sea and other shallow European waters are getting bigger in every sense. Soon turbines will almost be as large as the Shard, Europe’s tallest building. Continue reading...

Three men in their early 20s were trapped during the night by rising floodwatersThree English backpackers have been saved from rising floodwaters in Australia after their campervan was submerged in a crocodile warning area.

Helen Pidd was cycling through stationary traffic when a passenger opened his door into her pathAs soon as the van door hit me I thought: finally. After cycling regularly for 15 years it always seemed something of a miracle that I had never been knocked off.My second instinct was to feel sheepish. Was it my fault? Continue reading...

While the hole over Antarctica has been closing, the protective ozone is thinning at the lower latitudes, where the sunlight is stronger and billions of people liveThe ozone layer that protects people from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation is not recovering over most highly populated regions, scientists warned on Tuesday.The greatest losses in ozone occurred over Antarctica but the hole there has been closing since the chemicals causing the problem were banned by the Montreal protocol. But the ozone layer wraps the entire Earth and new research has revealed it is thinning in the lower stratosphere over the non-polar areas. Continue reading...

Public should be given a greater say on development plans, experts sayEnvironmental lawyers and academics have called for a comprehensive rethink on how Australia’s natural landscapes are protected, warning that short-term politics is infecting decision-making and suggesting that the public be given a greater say on development plans.The Australian Panel of Experts on Environmental Law has launched a blueprint for a new generation of environment laws and the creation of independent agencies with the power and authority to ensure they are enforced. The panel of 14 senior legal figures says this is motivated by the need to systematically address ecological challenges including falling biodiversity, the degradation of productive rural land, the intensification of coastal and city development and the threat of climate change. Continue reading...

Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility needs 100 shareholders to co-file resolution at AGMInvestors in the mining giant Rio Tinto are being recruited to demand the company quit the Minerals Council of Australia.The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) has urged shareholders to co-file a resolution at Rio Tinto’s upcoming annual general meeting. In 2017 the centre successfully filed a similar motion at BHP’s AGMs, leading the company to review its membership of trade associations. Continue reading...

Series of measures includes reducing plastic in its own-brand packaging by 10% – but does not go as far as cutting it out altogetherAsda has become the latest supermarket to join the war against plastic by pledging to reduce it “wherever” it can, including slashing the amount in its own-brand packaging by 10% in the next 12 months.