Environment | The Guardian

A fifth of English farms have disappeared in the past 10 years. Farm size diversity is key to sustaining rural communities, writes Graeme WillisYour article (Clean, green New Zealand is a lie – and a warning for Britain’s countryside, 4 December) highlights the huge opportunity Brexit has presented us to create a new agriculture policy that will restore the natural environment, as well as help the farming industry to become more financially resilient and environmentally sustainable. The removal of “subsidies” following the New Zealand model is not the route to achieving this. Public funding is critical to farmers’ livelihoods – without it, roughly half of farming is uneconomic. Those likely to suffer the most are small- to medium-sized farms already struggling in very tough markets. A fifth of English farms have disappeared in the past 10 years, and the rate is fastest amongst the smallest. Almost a third of farms under 50 hectares vanished between 2005 and 2015. Farm size diversity is key to sustaining rural communities through jobs as well as protecting distinctive local character. It is also crucial to maintaining England’s world-renowned landscapes and diversity of food. We are presented with a once in a lifetime opportunity to create a farming policy framework and new funding model that will support all farmers, rural communities and economies if we are to create the diverse, thriving countryside most of us want to see.

Martin Parkinson says Abbott sacked him for following legally mandated directions of Rudd and Gillard governmentsThe head of Malcolm Turnbull’s department says he has no “personal animus” towards Tony Abbott, but he says the former prime minister damaged the public service when he sacked him for following the legally mandated directions of the Rudd and Gillard governments.Martin Parkinson was sacked by Abbott from the Treasury department after he came to power in 2013, alongside a handful of other departmental heads. He was brought back to the public service by Turnbull to be secretary of the department of prime minister and cabinet. Continue reading...

‘Wall to Wall’ project will see heritage experts from the UK and China work together to increase understanding of both sites and boost tourismOne is 13,171 miles long and, contrary to popular belief, cannot actually be seen from space. The other is 73 miles long and cannot be seen from Sunderland.But now the Great Wall of China is joining up with its much tinier British counterpart, Hadrian’s Wall, to encourage more tourism and increase the historical and cultural understanding of both great barriers. Continue reading...

Part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the largest US wilderness, risks being transferred to the hands of the fossil fuel industry. Join the fight against this• Trip Van Noppen is president of Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law organizationThe Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is one of the last intact wild landscapes on Earth – and the largest wilderness left in the US. The 19.6m-acre swath of mountains and tundra is publicly owned and ecologically unique. Now, thanks to the Republican tax bill making its way through Congress, a part of the refuge we’ve long fought to protect risks being transferred to the hands of the fossil fuel industry.History will judge the decision as an egregious error. Continue reading...

Antibiotics that has spilled from farms into the natural environment may be a bigger factor in spreading resistance to life-saving drugs than previously thought, report saysThe overuse of antibiotics in farming has been highlighted as one of the biggest emerging threats to human health, spreading resistance to vital drugs and endangering millions of lives.Antibiotics used on farms can spill over into the surrounding environment, for instance through water run-off and slurry, according to a report from the UN’s environment body, with the potential to create resistance to the drugs across a wide area. Continue reading...

Surfers Against Sewage charity lauds town after community beach cleans and businesses reduce single-use plasticsA Cornish town has become the first community in the UK to be awarded “plastic-free” status after dozens of residents and business people backed a grassroots scheme aimed at helping clean up oceans and beaches.As part of a campaign being run by the marine conservation charity Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), Penzance has been given “plastic-free coastlines approved” status. Continue reading...

Unsustainable farming, fishing and climate change has intensified the struggle for survival among vulnerable animals and crops, says IUCN at the release of its latest list of endangered speciesThousands of animal species are at critical risk of going extinct due to unsustainable farming and fishing methods and climate change, a conservation group has warned as it released the latest red list of endangered species.In a rare piece of good news, the International Union for Conservation of Nature [IUCN] praised New Zealand for its success in turning around the fortunes of two species of kiwi, prompting it to upgrade them from endangered to vulnerable. Continue reading...

Bowlers Suranga Lakmal and Lahiru Gamage are forced to take a break as harmful pollutants reach 12 times WHO safe limitA Sri Lankan player vomited on the field and was escorted off the ground as heavily polluted air continued to plague an international cricket test match in Delhi.The fast bowler Suranga Lakmal was seen doubled over and retching on Tuesday afternoon as levels of the most harmful pollutants hovered at about 300 micrograms per cubic metre in parts of the Indian capital – 12 times the World Health Organisation safe limit. Continue reading...

Rush to secure trade deals could lead to a lowering of standards and poorer quality food in supermarketsBrexit poses huge risks to food standards in the UK and will have “seismic implications” for its food and farming systems, according to a new report.Author Dan Crossley, executive director of the Food Ethics Council, said that the UK faced a stark choice between promoting a high quality, ethical and sustainable system and “a race to the bottom” driven by a desire to secure post-Brexit trade deals “at any cost”. Continue reading...

New migrants are arriving while rising temperatures drive others away, and egg laying is taking place earlier in the yearClimate change is radically reshuffling Britain’s birds, with some species disappearing while new migrants are settling. Timings are being reset too, with egg laying getting earlier in the year, while autumn departures for warmer climes are delayed by up to a month.The State of the UK’s Birds report for 2017, published on Tuesday, reveals the profound impact of global warming on Britain’s bird life, which is set to become even greater in the future. Continue reading...

An exclusive Guardian investigation into water fountains across Britain reveals a shocking lack of alternatives to plastic bottles – but could change be coming?Michael Gove has suggested water fountains to combat the tide of plastic produced in Britain. Sadiq Khan wants drinking points to dot the London landscape. Twice in the same week, two of the most powerful environmental decision-makers in the UK have offered the same antidote to the country’s plastic addiction: don’t re-buy, refill.It’s a timely idea. A million plastic bottles are bought worldwide every minute, and drinking fountains have the potential to dramatically cut the consumption of such single-use plastic. Continue reading...

Blue Planet 2 producers say final episode lays bare shocking damage humanity is wreaking in the seas, from climate change to plastic pollution to noiseThe world’s oceans are under the greatest threat in history, according to Sir David Attenborough. The seas are a vital part of the global ecosystem, leaving the future of all life on Earth dependent on humanity’s actions, he says.Attenborough will issue the warning in the final episode of the Blue Planet 2 series, which details the damage being wreaked in seas around the globe by climate change, plastic pollution, overfishing and even noise. Continue reading...

Rockland Broad, Norfolk The water rail’s distressed call tells you everything about its solitary life buried in deepest coverAs the light falls in my neighouring parish and the mercury drops, so the bird sounds acquire extra layers of intensity. I’m thinking of the hysterical chinking of blackbirds in the ivy and the disembodied sharp pitt notes of Cetti’s warblers. Most evocative of all, however, are the water rails.Related to the moorhen and coot, this arch introvert is long-legged and long-billed, with a curious laterally compressed body that enables it to thread tiny gaps between reed stems. It is common in our valley but I seldom see one. Tonight there are four, and the way they answer each other’s sounds at 100-metre intervals across the marsh tells you everything about their solitariness and oddity. Continue reading...

President signs two proclamations slashing protections for Utah monuments, representing a triumph for fossil fuel industries, ranchers and RepublicansDonald Trump was widely condemned on Monday for drastically shrinking two national monuments, representing the biggest elimination of public lands protection in US history.Related: 'We'll see the battle lines': Trump faced by Native American alliance over Bears Ears Continue reading...

Switch from coal to gas has left residents of towns around Beijing without heating after gas supply falters, reports Climate Home NewsWhile middle class Beijingers breathe the cleanest air in recent winters, in Zhuozhou, a small city 20 minutes by train from Beijing’s downtown, residents are shivering through cold nights without heating. The reason: a five-year anti-pollution drive has forced rural areas in northern China to switch from dirty coal to the cleaner alternative. The massive retrofitting campaign has sent gas prices soaring while many are left without heating systems at all.In two villages close to Zhuozhou’s high-speed railway station, on the city’s eastern edge, villagers estimate only about one third of homes have been connected with natural gas supply, while others say they are still anxiously waiting for the gas company to install furnaces. Their old-fashioned coal stoves were all demolished as the government intensified efforts to phase out coal use in rural homes. Continue reading...

If we want the US’s majestic national parks, clean air and water for future generations we must press leaders to address food’s environmental impactOur collective minds are stuck on this idea that talking about food’s environmental impact risks taking something very intimate away from us. In fact it’s just the opposite. Reconsidering how we eat offers us hope, and empowers us with choice over what our future planet will look like. And we can ask our local leaders – from city mayors to school district boards to hospital management – to help, by widening our food options.

The president is expected to announce the shrinking of two national monuments on a visit to Utah but native tribes are uniting to oppose a ‘monumental mistake’

Meeting government walking and cycling targets would save 13,000 lives and almost £10bn, finds Sustrans studyIf the UK hits government targets for walking and cycling more than 13,000 lives and almost £10bn would be saved over the next decade, according to a new report.The study from the transport charity Sustrans has found that meeting government plans in England and Scotland for an increase in walking or cycling would reduce deaths from air pollution by more than 13,000 in the next 10 years. It would also save almost £9.31bn. Continue reading...

The GOP strategy on taxes and climate: reject evidence and expert opinion, lie, and wage culture wars

On Monday, we are expected to see the largest rollback of protections for public lands and waters in US history. This would be a grave mistake

Goods such as pasta, crisps and rice will be cut to 10p and sold for a further month at East of England Co-opA major retailer has become the first to start selling food that is past its “best before” date in a drive to reduce food waste.From this week, the East of England Co-op – the biggest independent retailer in East Anglia – will sell tinned goods and dried food such as pasta, crisps and rice for a nominal 10p once they reach their best-before date. The offer will not apply to fresh and perishable foods, however, which carry a “use by” date indicating when a product is safe to eat. Continue reading...

Proposals include new fountains and bottle-refill stations across the capital in parks and public squaresLondon’s mayor Sadiq Khan wants to roll out a new network of water fountains and bottle-refill stations across the capital to help reduce the use of single-use packaging, such as plastic water bottles, the Guardian has learned.The mayor also wants to experiment with getting businesses to make their tap water available to the public, building on a scheme launched two years ago in Bristol.

Comins Coch, Ceredigion A collection of old large-scale maps reveals how much the village has changed over the years – and how much remains unchangedThe package leaning against the front door was unexpected, and tightly wrapped against the pervasive drizzle. As the card inside explained, a friend clearing out an office had come across a set of long-unused maps and wondered if I had any use for them.Tired and frayed at the edges, these were Ordnance Survey maps of the village and the surrounding land at the impressive scale of 1:2500 (25 inches to the mile). The level of detail is astonishing, picking out the shape of gardens, how terraced houses were divided, and the precise location of springs and wells. Even better, the bundle contained two different editions, surveyed in 1885 and 1938, revealing subtle changes as the village slowly developed. Continue reading...

News could deal a blow to Carmichael coal project, which has so far been declined finance by 25 commercial banksAdani Group’s Carmichael coal project will not be financed by the China Construction Bank, according to a statement by a public relations firm that says it represents the bank.If true, the news could be a blow to Adani’s plans to build Australia’s largest coal mine. It has turned to China for finance, following difficulties in getting subsidies from the Australian government. Continue reading...

5 December 1967 CM Gadd was apparently the first person to realise how migrating birds are attracted to municipal sewage farmsCHESHIRE AND LANCASHIRE: I was sad to hear recently of the death of a Cheshire naturalist whose name is probably quite unknown to the great number of ornithologists who have profited from his energy and fieldcraft. I refer to the late CM Gadd who was apparently the first man to realise what a rich variety of migrating waders and other birds are attracted to municipal sewage-farms. It is from observations at these somewhat unpleasant places that much of our knowledge of overland migration has been derived. Gadd first visited the well-known Altrincham sewage-farm in 1916, found that it was attractive to birds and informed TA Coward. That famous ornithologist lived only four miles away from the farm but had never visited it, although subsequently, until his death in 1933, he went there repeatedly, as have innumerable bird-watchers after him.Related: Food and shelter at the sewage farm: Country diary 100 years ago Continue reading...

Chairman of the Countryside Commission who tried to bridge the gap between modern farming and conservationDerek Barber, Lord Barber of Tewkesbury, who has died aged 99, spent much of his long career in public life trying to bridge the gap between modern farming and the conservation of wildlife and landscape. He was chairman of the Countryside Commission from 1981 to 1991 and few people can claim to have left such an imprint on British rural life.His leadership was marked by numerous initiatives – Groundwork (now a national movement to encourage communities to improve their local environments), the National Forest (a new forested area in the Midlands), the reinvigoration of rights of way and the independent national parks – that have become established parts of the environmental scene in England and Wales. Continue reading...

Up to £100m expected to be announced in effort to make UK leader in technology and provide fresh source of clean powerMinisters are expected to back the first generation of small nuclear power stations in Britain with tens of millions of pounds this week, in an attempt to give the UK a competitive edge on the technology and provide a new source of clean power.Rolls-Royce and a host of US and Chinese companies have been lobbying and waiting for the support since George Osborne first promised them a share of £250m two years ago. Continue reading...

More than 300 pesticides are permitted in conventional agriculture, and some may combine in a harmful cocktail effect. So for your sake and the planet’s, go organicLeeks, potatoes and onions are not vegetables you’d usually associate with a soup that could harm you. However, recent UK government data on pesticides and mainstream crops shows that they could create a very concerning cocktail effect. The number of different active pesticide ingredients used on these crops has increased between six and 18 times since the 1960s. Toxicologists refer to a cocktail effect because while safety certificates are issued to individual pesticides, their cumulative effect is not tested.Toxicologists refer to a cocktail effect because pesticides' cumulative effect is not tested Continue reading...

Wangan and Jagalingou native title claimants seek to prevent Carmichael Indigenous land deal being signed before court ruling over who has authorityTraditional owners opposed to the Adani Carmichael coalmine have filed an application for an injunction with the federal court to prevent the native title tribunal from signing off on an Indigenous land use agreement before the outcome of a court challenge.The application was filed following a meeting of the W&J traditional owners council in Brisbane on Saturday, where the 120 attendees voted against the Ilua for the fourth time since it was proposed in 2012. Continue reading...

Terns, spoonbills and visiting hoopoes will be given protectionLittle terns and black-throated divers are among the seabirds that have been given greater protection after a stretch of coastline in Cornwall was awarded special status to safeguard its wildlife. The newly designated marine special protected area (SPA), which stretches for 24 miles between Falmouth Bay and St Austell Bay, is home to more than 150,000 rare seabirds.Great northern divers and Eurasian spoonbills are also visitors along with sandwich terns and common terns. All are amber-listed by conservation groups because they have suffered significant losses of numbers and range in the recent past. Continue reading...

Only hope for world’s most endangered marine mammal now rests with bid to stop illegal fishingA last-ditch attempt to save the world’s most endangered marine mammal, the vaquita, by taking them into human care has been abandoned. The chances that this rare species of porpoise will become extinct are now extremely high, researchers have warned.They had hoped to catch a few of the planet’s last 30 vaquitas – which are only found in one small area of the Gulf of California – and protect them in a sanctuary where they could breed safely. But last month, the $4m (£3m) rescue plan by an international team of more than 60 scientists and divers ran into trouble after only a few days, when the first vaquita they caught had to be released when it began to display dangerous signs of stress. Continue reading...

Steady rainfall that has dumped more than 200mm in some catchments gradually begins to easeVictoria and parts of southern New South Wales have received more than their average December rainfall in two days but authorities say the worst of the weather has passed.Flood warnings have been downgraded across Victoria and evacuation warnings lifted from some north-east towns as the steady rainfall that has dumped more than 200mm in some catchments gradually begins to ease. Continue reading...

We are in the midst of a host of battles over the fate of the nation and the earth, and the outcome is in no small part up to us. We can win if we try

Dolbenmaen, Gwynedd This sett was, I think, first occupied in the early 1950s, its entrances concealed among dense rhododendron thicketsThis sett I’ve known for 50 years. I think it was first occupied in the early 1950s. Huge now, 200 metres long and 60 wide, with innumerable entrances concealed among dense rhododendron thickets, I called it Badgeropolis, and spent much time watching from the hillside above as the badgers made their moonlit excursions. These were an enchantment: the silvery bounce of their beautiful coats; the rough-and-tumble of cubs’ play; their curiosity and habituation to my still, nightly presence; the astonishing inflected vocabulary of squeal, purr, yelp and mew; their tenderness at mating; the affection between boar and sow, parents and cubs. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Pure electric cars cost less over four years than petrol or diesel cars in the UK, US and Japan, researchers say, but China is set to lead the marketElectric cars are already cheaper to own and run than petrol or diesel cars in the UK, US and Japan, new research shows.The lower cost is a key factor driving the rapid rise in electric car sales now underway, say the researchers. At the moment the cost is partly because of government support, but electric cars are expected to become the cheapest option without subsidies in a few years. Continue reading...

As we enter the final month of the year we’d like to see your photos of the wildlife you’ve discovered where you live

Lion cubs at play, the world’s oldest known giant tortoise and a mountain hare are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world Continue reading...

Protected cycle lanes are one of the best ways to reduce congestion in London, carrying up to five times as many people per hour as a main road, a new report showsCongestion isn’t exactly the most fashionable political topic of our times, but it is a problem that threatens London’s status as a well-functioning, competitive global city. Businesses need to be able to make and receive reliable deliveries, Londoners need to be able to get to work on time, and tourists – almost 20 million of them a year in London – need to get around quickly and easily too.

India’s finance secretary has called for decision clearing company of allegations of siphoning huge sums into tax havens to be reviewedThe Adani Group is likely to again have to answer allegations it siphoned more than US$600m (£445m) into overseas tax havens after senior Indian finance authorities recommended an appeal of a judgment clearing the mining giant.The Indian finance secretary has confirmed to local media the August decision clearing the Adani Group had been reviewed by senior officials in November who ordered an appeal to be lodged by 14 December. Continue reading...

The British Ecological Society has announced the winners of its annual photography competition, Capturing Ecology. Taken by international ecologists and students, the winning images will be exhibited at the society’s joint annual meeting in Ghent in December Continue reading...

Italy’s biggest oil firm is accused of polluting an area where experts found more toxic substance than water in the seaEveryone in the Sicilian town of Gela knows someone who has been hit by the health crisis that has gripped the town for decades.Mortality rates are higher than elsewhere on the island, and the town has an unusually high rate of birth defects, including the highest rate in the world of a rare urethra disorder. Continue reading...

Jay Weatherill marks the official launch as Elon Musk delivers on his promise to complete project within 100 daysThe world’s largest lithium-ion battery has officially been turned on in South Australia promising to usher in a revolution in how electricity is produced and stored.Tesla boss Elon Musk has made good on his promise to build the 100-megawatt facility on deadline or provide it free after blackouts last year that critics of the state’s Labor government blamed on pro-renewable policies. Continue reading...

Australia is home to one in 10 of the world’s unique bird species – and most of the world’s birds can trace their lineage to the continent• Vote for the Australian bird of the yearIf you live in Australia, you may not realise how unique and special the birds around you are. Our continent was perhaps the most important for the evolution of modern birds, with a majority of the world’s species tracing their ancestry here.Related: Australian bird of the year 2017: vote for your favourite Continue reading...

The system works fine when there are two candidates in an election but is a poor option with multiple choices – and it can lead to some bad resultsThe results so far of the Guardian’s bird of the year poll have not been without controversy. The Australian white ibis, a bird that is disliked by many who encounter it, took an early lead and has maintained that lead for more than a week. While this seems like a strange result, it makes sense when you think about the options provided to the voters. With so many birds to choose from, the voting system used has a tendency to produce a winner who has a committed support base, even if that option also has a lot of opponents.

Modelling says there is a 92% chance mountain ash forests will not be able to support current ecosystem by 2067Decades of unsustainable logging has created an “extinction debt” in Victoria’s central highlands that will trigger an ecosystem-wide collapse within 50 years without urgent intervention from the state government, ecologists have warned.According to modelling produced by Australian National University researchers Dr Emma Burns and Prof David Lindenmayer, there is a 92% chance the mountain ash forests will not be able to support its current ecosystem of arboreal animals, like the critically endangered leadbeater’s possum, by 2067. Continue reading...

Decision to hear Saul Luciano Lliuya’s case against the energy giant is a ‘historic breakthrough with global relevance’, campaigners sayA German court has ruled that it will hear a Peruvian farmer’s case against energy giant RWE over climate change damage in the Andes, a decision labelled by campaigners as a “historic breakthrough”.Farmer Saul Luciano Lliuya’s case against RWE was “well-founded,” the court in the north-western city of Hamm said on Thursday. Continue reading...

The Africa Food Prize winner talks about her work with Kenya’s smallholder farmers, and how indigenous crops can be a tool in the battle against food insecurity and climate changeWhen Ruth Oniang’o was working as a nutrition researcher in 1980s Kenya, she noticed an ominous change in the country’s agricultural landscape: regions that had once provided a diversity of nutritious food crops were being turned over to cash crops like sugarcane. Grown mostly for export, these crops were usurping land and soil that was intended for feeding people.Spurred on by what she witnessed all those years ago, today Oniang’o--a professor of nutrition and a native Kenyan--leads the Rural Outreach Program, a nonprofit that champions the role of indigenous African crops and smallholder farmers in safeguarding food security. With the ROP, Oniang’o visits hundreds of farming communities in Kenya and helps them access, grow, and share seeds for indigenous crop varieties like sorghum, cassava, arrowroot, and jute mallow--foods that are not only nutritious, but also disease-resistant and climate-resilient. This year, these efforts got her recognised as the joint winner of the 2017 Africa Food Prize. Continue reading...