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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Some tropical lows are stalling, dumping huge volumes of rain - and climate change is playing a role

First women working as fishing guides on Laxa River, featured in new film, call for action after farmed fish escapeFor seven generations, Andrea Osk Hermosdottir's family have been fishing on the Laxa River in Aaldalur. Iceland has a reputation as a world leader on feminism, but until recently women have not been able to work as guides to wild salmon fishing for visiting anglers - a job that has traditionally been the preserve of men.The 21-year-old engineering student, her sister Alexandra Osk, 16, and their friends Arndis Inga Arnadottir, 18, and her sister Aslaug Anna, 15, are now the first generation of female guides on their river in northern Iceland, and among the very first female fishing guides in the country. Continue reading...

On top of the added levels of noise and air pollution, there's the non-trivial matter of demolishing hundreds of homes, diverting several waterways and rerouting a long stretch of the M25Ladies and gentlemen, the captain has illuminated the fasten seat belts" sign. Not only have Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves run into severe turbulence over Heathrow, the flight deck deliberately steered the Labour plane into storm clouds. That's an interesting choice for a government that was already buffeted by serious unpopularity and it's a choice that a lot of their own party are struggling to explain to themselves. Anger about the chancellor's new commitment to back the expansion of the London airport and others is mingled with bewilderment. A lot of Labour people are scratching their heads trying to work out why she wants to burn political capital on a hugely contentious project that couldn't possibly be complete until long after she's done at the Treasury and Sir Keir is gone from Number10.It was her choice and his. She didn't have to make airport expansion the centrepiece of her keynote speech about growth. The prime minister, if his title means anything, could have stopped his chancellor had he wanted to. One consequence of the fury about the subjectis that it diverts attention from her more welcomethoughts about how to boost Britain's growth-starved economy. Continue reading...

Government scheme to penalise pollution from burning rubbish won't ensure more is recycled, consultants warnCouncils may be forced to send more rubbish to landfill or export it overseas because of a new pollution tax set to be imposed on the UK's network of waste incinerators.There are already more than 60 energy-from-waste incinerators across the UK and the Observer revealed in December that as many as 40 new plants are in the pipeline. Many local councils have supported the policy of burning waste, which is cheaper than sending it to landfill. Continue reading...

A West End play reveals the way in which powerful vested interests brought about the demise of the climate protocolIn his review of the play Kyoto (The Kyoto climate treaty is hailed on stage, but reality tells a different story", Focus), Robin McKie rightly points out that the world is failing dismally to effectively get a grip on the climate crisis.Richer countries that were part of the Kyoto bloc - mostly European nations - put in place extensive policies to implement the treaty's legally binding targets: the UK's 2008 Climate Change Act, widely emulated across the world, is one example. Climate laws multiplied after 1997. All countries with targets met them, renewables spread much more quickly than expected, and emissions in the Kyoto bloc fell by over 20%, at least partly because of these policies. Continue reading...

The chancellor is under fire after a study cited as evidence for expanding the terminal to boost the UK's economic growth was ordered by Heathrow itselfRachel Reeves was facing criticism on Saturday night as it was confirmed that a report she cited as evidence that a third runway at Heathrow would boost the UK economy was commissioned by the airport itself.Experts and green groups also challenged Reeves's view that advances in the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) had been a gamechanger" that would substantially limit the environmental damage of flying, saying the claims were overblown and did not stand up to scrutiny. Continue reading...

The horticultural charity's showpiece garden in Surrey is setting aside an space to test human waste fertiliserFor more than 200 years, gardeners at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) have been reaping the benefits of using compost and manure in their flowerbeds.But until now, they have never had the satisfaction of using compost created from their own human waste. Continue reading...

Minister says there was error when Manningtree station car park extension was approved under last governmentCampaigners have celebrated an important victory" in a closely watched case that will determine whether the government will enforce new legislation aimed at protecting national parks and landscapes in England.Dedham Vale is a designated national landscape" on the border of Essex and Suffolk, home to increasingly rare species including hazel dormice and hedgehogs. Within it is Manningtree station, where the train operator Greater Anglia built an extension to the car park to cope with increased traffic. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Chief climate adviser calls on Starmer to make strong, confident' case for green UK that public can buy intoEnsuring that the costs of decarbonisation are shared fairly across society must be a top priority for ministers or they risk losing public support for net zero, the UK's chief climate adviser has warned.Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves should be making a strong, confident" case for decarbonisation as an engine of economic growth, according to Emma Pinchbeck, the chief executive of the Climate Change Committee, the independent statutory adviser. Continue reading...

Forest service website among many sites affected as agencies scramble to comply with president's ordersOn Thursday, the Trump administration ordered the US agriculture department to to take down its websites documenting or referencing the climate crisis.By Friday, the landing pages on the United States Forest Service website for key resources, research and adaptation tools - including those that provide vital context and vulnerability assessments for wildfires - had gone dark, leaving behind an error message or just a single line: You are not authorized to access this page." Continue reading...

Sharp rise in population in 11 of 16 cities expected to continue as rising temperatures make it easier for the animals to breed, say researchersRat numbers are soaring in cities as global temperatures warm, research shows.Washington DC, San Francisco, Toronto, New York City and Amsterdam had the greatest increase in these rodents, according to the study, which looked at data from 16 cities globally. Eleven of the cities showed significant increasing trends in rat numbers", said the paper published in the journal Science Advances, and these trends were likely to continue. Continue reading...

Exclusive: MPs and ministers say they would oppose Starmer if he tries to approve Rosebank developmentSenior Labour figures are warning of a serious fight if Keir Starmer tries to give the go-ahead to a giant new oilfield off Shetland later this year.MPs and ministers have told the Guardian they are prepared to oppose the UK prime minister should he try and give final consent to the Rosebank development, which is Britain's biggest untapped oilfield. Continue reading...