Environment | The Guardian

Mining giant will clarify how its position on climate and energy policy differs from the industry bodies to which it belongsThe giant Anglo-Australian miner BHP has agreed to reconsider its membership of the Minerals Council of Australia, as well as other industry groups, and to clarify how BHP’s position on climate and energy policy differs from those bodies.The move comes as BHP faces a shareholder resolution urging the company to terminate membership of bodies that demonstrate a pattern of advocacy on policy issues at odds with the company’s positions since 2012. Continue reading...

Coal-fired power station’s general manager says plant should not be extended beyond 2022 and new coal power stations do not make senseKeeping the Liddell coal-fired power station open beyond 2022, as Malcolm Turnbull has urged, could cost more than $900m, AGL says, with representatives of the energy company saying the station should be shut.In a tour for journalists, in which AGL spoke about the problems facing the ageing power station, the company revealed an independent study conducted in 2013 estimated it would cost $900m to extend its life until 2032. Continue reading...

Former prime minister says change would leave Bill Shorten and Labor ‘on the side of green extremists’Tony Abbott says the Coalition should dump the clean energy target to create political opportunity at the next election to sharpen a point of partisan difference with Labor.

Claxton, Norfolk Though I admire – and fear – spiders, I love bumblebees. To see this one so enmeshed required an effort of will not to interveneI saw them as I went to the bin. In the web of a female garden cross spider, a worker common carder bee hung upside down. The two were plainly engaged in combat and I crouched to observe the drama more closely.Yet there were more emotions at play in this encounter than mere curiosity. For although I admire spiders, I absolutely love bumblebees. To see this insect so enmeshed and at risk of being eaten required an effort of my will not to intervene. In his gloriously funny 1950 book The Spider, John Crompton admitted that he freed bees from webs without further ado. Continue reading...

Doctor says respiratory and cardiovascular implications of coal should be top of Australia’s energy debate and warns Adani mine threatens health of millionsThe health implications of coal-fired power should be a main concern in Australia’s debate over energy generation, doctors have argued.Speaking on the ABC’s Q&A program, the chair of Doctors for the Environment New South Wales, Dr John Van Der Kallen, asked panellists why health was not a primary consideration in the discussion over the closure of coal-fired power stations such as the Liddell plant in the Hunter Valley “when we know that the pollution from these coal-fired power stations contributes to respiratory and cardiovascular illness, as well as premature death?” Continue reading...

The US interior secretary has identified a total of 10 national monuments to reshape or repurpose in order to allow for logging, mining and grazing

In leaked memo, Trump interior secretary recommends 10 protected areas be modified to allow for ‘traditional uses’ such as mining, logging and huntingThe Trump administration faces a fresh legal battle from environmental groups after the interior department recommended that 10 national monuments be resized or opened up to mining, logging and other industrial purposes.

‘Less of an opportunity to clear the mind,’ is the verdict from Bidyadanga, where winter highs of 33C were replaced by 36C as records tumbled across the countryIt’s always hot in Bidyadanga but a few degrees can make a big difference in the remote Aboriginal community, about 190km south of Broome in Western Australia.“It’s always hot – it’s the desert – but the difference between 33C and 36C can be quite oppressive,” said Shaun Burgess, a teacher in the community. Continue reading...

Agneta Rising of the World Nuclear Association and Dr Alexander Bannara reply to criticisms of the industryRe David Lowry’s criticisms of nuclear energy (Letters, 17 September), it is true that nuclear plants stop generating temporarily for maintenance and repair, but the same is true for most other forms of electricity generation. However, on average these outages represent a much smaller quantity of lost generation compared to the day-to-day intermittency of wind or solar. Nuclear plants spend a high proportion of the time generating at their maximum capacity.On emissions, some proponents of both nuclear and renewables do fall into the habit of referring to their technologies as “zero-carbon”, even though there are some greenhouse gas emissions produced with all forms of generation. But there is remarkable academic agreement that the emissions from nuclear, wind, solar and many other non-fossil generation sources are similarly low per unit of electricity generated and these emissions are tiny fractions of those associated with burning coal and gas. We desperately need to cut emissions in our electricity mix to as low as possible. Continue reading...

Adam Rutherford may have compromised BBC’s impartiality by criticising Labour MP Graham Stringer, a climate change sceptic, standards team saysThe BBC has reprimanded the presenter of Radio 4’s Inside Science after he called on his Twitter followers to write to their local MPs about the reappointment of Graham Stringer, a climate change sceptic, to a parliamentary committee.Adam Rutherford “potentially compromised the BBC’s impartiality” by publicly criticising the Labour MP’s return as a member of the Commons science and technology committee, the broadcaster’s editorial standards team said. Continue reading...

Green Finance Taskforce to assist UK’s shift to low-carbon economy and be led by investors and leading figures from CityA new group led by investors and leading figures from the City of London has been brought together by the government to draw up measures to encourage “green finance” in the UK.The Green Finance Taskforce will have six months to come up with proposals on how to increase investment in the low-carbon economy and will work with banks and other financial institutions. Chaired by Sir Roger Gifford, former lord mayor of London, the taskforce will look at measures to make the UK’s planned investments in infrastructure, for instance on energy and transport, more environmentally sustainable. Continue reading...

Narendra Modi hits out at ‘misinformation campaign’ as environmentalists warn that 40,000 families’ homes are at riskA mega-dam that became one of India’s greatest environmental controversies during the three decades it was under construction has been formally declared complete by the prime minister, Narendra Modi.Activists have warned that 40,000 families across hundreds of villages will lose their homes as a result of the construction of the final stage of the dam and are yet to be adequately compensated. Continue reading...

Gary Cohn confirmed the US intends to withdraw from the agreement without a renegotiation, but declined to provide detailsPresident Donald Trump’s top economic adviser said at the United Nations on Monday the US has not changed its plans to withdraw from the Paris climate pact without a renegotiation favorable to Washington, a step for which there is little appetite in the international community.

For centuries, humans have championed the democratic political system. But can it facilitate the radical change needed to stop the potentially annihilating effects of climate change?Although individual action to protect the environment – consuming less, recycling more, reducing one’s carbon footprint – might be a contribution if enough people did it, the battle to minimise human-induced climate change has to be a worldwide endeavour among cooperating states. The outcome of the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference was one of the most optimistic and encouraging steps hitherto achieved in that battle – that is, until Donald Trump said he intended to withdraw the US, the biggest climate polluter in history, from the agreement. The Paris agreement and President Trump’s decision illustrate the two ends of the spectrum of effort and concern. Our planet cannot be protected from a warming atmosphere – with melting ice caps, rising sea levels, droughts, floods, famines and migrations of desperate populations – without vigorous joint effort by the world’s states. Continue reading...

Climate models have an even better track record than the weather models that saved lives in Texas and Florida

Chief scientist says conflicting targets at different levels of government could strangle investment and worsen power supply problemsAlan Finkel has urged the Australian government to swiftly commit to the final recommendation of his energy review, warning the longer that commitment takes, the more likely states and territories are to set up conflicting emissions reduction schemes.Speaking at the Melbourne economic forum at Victoria university on Monday, Finkel, Australia’s chief scientist, said that a failure to establish a clean energy target would create more uncertainty for investors, who would have to navigate various state policies. Continue reading...

Survey finds 62% would not be happy living near the small modular reactors backed by government and industryMost Britons would not be happy living near the mini nuclear power stations that Rolls-Royce and several other international companies want to build in the UK, a survey has found.The government has promised the developers of small modular reactors a slice of a £250m funding pot in a race to position the UK as the place where the first generation of the power stations should be built. Continue reading...

The Sphinx is the closest Britain comes to having a glacier. It has disappeared just six times in the last 300 years, but this year it is almost gone. Murdo MacLeod joins snow expert Iain Cameron to study the state of Scotland’s permanent snow“It’s a very sorry sight,” says Iain Cameron. It is late August and we are standing in front of Scotland’s very own Sphinx. It never had claws, paws, nor a mysterious countenance, but if it once had they would have melted away, just as the rest is about to do. “Grim,” says Cameron with gravel in his tone. “It’s pretty much in its death throes.” Continue reading...

Secretary of state Rex Tillerson and national security adviser HR McMaster both indicated the US is open to negotiations on staying in the accordSenior Trump administration officials on Sunday signalled a further softening of America’s resolve to leave the Paris climate accord, amid signs that the issue will be discussed at the United Nations general assembly in New York this week.

As Hurricane Irma battered the Caribbean, trees aerodynamically adapted to strong winds stood firmWhen Storm Aileen ripped across the UK last week the worst of the winds brought down trees, snapped off branches and shredded leaves, made worse because the trees were in full leaf and caught the wind like a sail. Compare that with the palm trees that stood up to Hurricane Irma’s immensely stronger winds, which would have torn British trees to shreds. The palm trees simply bent over at crazy angles and then bounced back again.Related: Scaling up our response to super-hurricanes Continue reading...

A world-leading system in Sydney’s Central Park precinct helps residents reuse up to 97% of their water. But a pricing change threatens future schemesIn the basement of a Sydney housing development is the world’s largest water recycling plant in a residential building.Normal apartments put more than 90% of the water they consume back into the sewer. But thanks to the recycling plant, units in Central Park, built on the site of the old Carlton brewery close to the CBD, return just 3%. Continue reading...

Burning more coal, knowing what we know, is a deliberate act of arson. We must urgently come to grips with this fact and reconnect with nature and our communitiesCoal kills people. This isn’t even slightly scientifically controversial.

David Blackburn says we need decentralised energy sources; David Lowry on nuclear not being zero-carbon technology; plus letters from David Hayes and Fred StarrI wholeheartedly agree with much of your editorial (14 September), as the economics of new nuclear is weaker than ever at a time when renewables are coming in cheaper year on year. You point out the crisis in the funding of renewables and we could not agree more. The UK desperately needs to reboot financial support for decentralised energy in order to maximise long-term benefits for all. Councils, in particular, are calling for the restoration of feed-in tariffs and other support that has been instrumental in the creation of innovative, local, low-carbon energy schemes, Passivhaus-accredited buildings, and energy efficiency programmes for dealing with the scourge of fuel poverty.While the dramatic cost reductions in offshore wind are to be welcomed, it has to be joined with renewed support for decentralised energy projects, approval for tidal energy schemes and the resumption of support for solar and onshore wind. The government must see that the energy landscape has changed dramatically. An energy review and reboot is urgently required.

Anna Jones says that, through selling its cocoa cheaply, Africa is exporting its wealth overseas; while Sue Banford claims that the soya moratorium in the Amazon has done nothing to halt deforestationOnly the final paragraph in your article on cocoa farming causing deforestation in Ivory Coast (Forests pay price for world’s taste for cocoa, 14 September) mentioned the most fundamental thing – the farmer’s livelihood, or lack of it. The low value of his (or more likely her) crop is undoubtedly the cause of this problem. But cocoa farming could also provide the solution.Recently, I was in Ivory Coast for the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) in Abidjan. It united many different parties – governments, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), private sector agribusiness like Syngenta, Bayer and OCP, Rabobank and the World Bank, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. They are united in one firm belief: that agriculture holds the key to unlocking Africa’s economic potential – 41 million smallholders on a fertile continent that grows every crop imaginable. Continue reading...

Mail on Sunday criticised by Ipso for article claiming global warming data had been exaggerated to win Paris climate change agreementClaims in the Mail on Sunday that global warming data had been exaggerated in order to secure the Paris climate change agreement have been criticised by the UK’s press regulator.The Independent Press Standards Organisation censured the newspaper for publishing a story in early February that was flawed in key aspects. The news story suggested that data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), one of the world’s gold-standard sources of weather and climate research, had been treated in such a way as to suggest greater warming than had really occurred. Continue reading...

Conservationist and champion of Afghanistan’s people and culture and promoter of literacy in rural communitiesNancy Hatch Dupree, who has died aged 89, was an American archivist, writer and champion of Afghanistan’s culture and its people, who defied communists, fundamentalists, warlords and foreign invaders over nearly five decades in Kabul.Her most important legacy is an archive documenting some of the darkest periods of Afghan history: turbulent years of civil war and Taliban rule that many would happily have let slide into obscurity. The documents are housed in the Afghanistan Centre at Kabul University, established in 2006 and one of the city’s most impressive post-Taliban buildings, inspired by traditional architecture and a reflection of Nancy and her husband Louis Dupree’s love of Afghan culture. Continue reading...

Cycling can make people healthy and live longer, and cut public health costs, so why can’t it be prescribed to the nation?Imagine if a team of scientists devised a drug which massively reduced people’s chances of developing cancer or heart disease, cutting their overall likelihood of dying early by 40%. This would be front page news worldwide, a Nobel prize as good as in the post.That drug is already here, albeit administered in a slightly different way: it’s called cycling to work. One of the more puzzling political questions is why it is so rarely prescribed on a population-wide level. Continue reading...

Selective breeding gives the highest yield, but potentially at a price. It’s time to go back to our rootsIf you find the whole business of organic too tame, there’s always landrace crops, which are positively subversive. Landrace crop varieties (sometimes known as folk crops) are ancient versions of the standardised crops we rely on today. Genetically variable, these biodiverse cultivars are allowed to grow at will and to cross pollinate. Farmers collect the seeds from successful crops and these become the parents of next year’s varieties. Simple.If this sounds primitive (it is in fact Neolithic), it makes much more sense than modern agriculture, which is reliant on selective breeds that are addicted to fertilisers. The idea is that the selective breeds give the highest yield when conditions are good. This is a terrible strategy in an era of climate change when conditions are not ideal. Modern agriculture has wiped out almost all original genetic diversity. Ancient cultivars of wheat are used for straw or shoved into seed banks. Proponents of the Real Green Movement want them released into the soil. Continue reading...

Trump administration dismisses claim by EU official that US has offered to re-engage with the dealThe White House has denied reports that it planned to stay in the Paris climate agreement, saying its position on leaving was unchanged, and that it would only stay in if it got more “favourable” terms.The Trump administration was forced to make a statement on Saturday after reports emerged as ministers from more than 30 countries held talks in Montreal this weekend preparing for the upcoming United Nations climate summit in November. Continue reading...

Villagers in the Forest of Dean back plans to release a beaver family to protect their homes by damming waterwaysBeavers could be put to work building dams to stop a village from flooding in the Forest of Dean, in what would be the first such scheme on government land.The Forestry Commission has been an enthusiastic advocate for the release of a family of beavers into a large fenced area surrounding Greathough brook above the village of Lydbrook, on land owned by the commission. Continue reading...

Warning comes after koala found clinging to axle of vehicle in Australia and three kittens survive 311-mile trip from Netherlands to UK under car bonnetMotorists are being urged to be vigilant after two reports of animals becoming trapped under vehicles on opposite sides of the world.In Australia, a koala survived a 16km (10 mile) trip clinging to the axle of a four-wheel drive vehicle before the driver stopped and heard the cries of the traumatised animal. Continue reading...

The former cycling world champion and Manchester’s first walking and cycling commissioner on riding safely, favourite rides and why he won’t use StravaSo, you’re the first cycling and walking commissioner for Greater Manchester. How come?Because Andy Burnham [the mayor of Greater Manchester] phoned and asked me. I was quite taken aback, because do I have any qualifications? No. But I was taken with his enthusiasm. From the first few seconds it was pretty scary because I have been on the other side of the fence campaigning and lobbying [as British Cycling’s policy advisor] and saying what should be done, and then someone else says “go on, then” – you’re in a difficult position if you don’t want to be a hypocrite. Continue reading...

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Party raises concerns over nuclear costs as Vince Cable says record low wind power prices should lead to ‘radical reappraisal’New nuclear power stations may not be the best option for keeping Britain’s lights on and meeting the country’s carbon targets, the Liberal Democrats have said.The party said there were legitimate concerns over nuclear’s cost and the risks it would not be delivered on time, just days after windfarms secured state support far more cheaply than the Hinkley Point C atomic power station. Continue reading...

Unions warn effects of exposure to diesel pollution is ticking time bomb for business, likening situation to ‘early days of asbestos’Legal claims over exposure to diesel exhaust fumes at work are growing as unions warn toxic air in the workplace is a ticking time bomb on a par with asbestos.

Marbury Country Park, Cheshire A fold-out table is a hubbub of measurements, weights, wing patterns and ear shapesThe dog walkers regard us with suspicion. Perhaps they think we’re ravers, assembled in the car park just before sunset. While admittedly there is a van loaded with speakers and kit, the only stimulants you’ll find are coffee and cake. I’ve joined the South Lancashire Bat Group and friends who are monitoring rare Nathusius’ pipistrelles in Marbury Country Park.

Increasingly, cycle brands are speeding beyond traditional performance wear into clothes that look everyday but have technical tweaks for riding. Tops are sweat wicking, jeans have extra stretch and shorts are reinforced around the inner thigh, and they look good too• See our pick of men’s clothes and accessories Continue reading...

Virginia Tech researcher who has tested city’s water supply says people should continue using water filters – and ‘crisis of confidence’ in government remainsAn expert who has warned about dangerous lead levels in Flint, Michigan’s drinking water declared on Friday a qualified end to the crisis.Virginia Tech researcher Marc Edwards made the announcement at a news conference two years to the day after he stood in front of Flint’s city hall with residents and other researchers to highlight a serious lead contamination problem in the financially struggling industrial city’s water supply. Continue reading...

Hundreds of volunteers gather to prepare soup and dance as part of global movement to inspire action against food wasteVisitors to a community food market and bar in south London on Friday were presented with an unusual combination of pleasures: a soup disco.Volunteers and customers at Mercato Metropolitano in Elephant and Castle gathered to chop vegetables and tear basil leaves while professional chefs directed them and DJs from the nightclub Ministry of Sound spun records in the background. Continue reading...

Environmental campaigners say rules now favour those who want to hold government to account – not the other way roundConservation and environmental groups have claimed an “important victory” in their high court challenge to new legal costs rules which they say make it much harder to bring cases to protect the environment.In February, the government scrapped fixed-cost caps that limited how much people and charities had to pay if they lost a case against a public body. Continue reading...

Campaign groups fear most vulnerable will be left without a voice and say act has chilling effect on freedom of speechCharities have condemned ministers for rejecting changes to the Lobbying Act which were made by a government-commissioned review body. Campaign groups say they will be left unable to speak out for vulnerable and marginalised people in society because the law has a chilling effect on freedom of speech.The Lobbying Act restricts what non-governmental organisations can say in the year before a general election. Continue reading...

Rescued Sumatran orangutans, a stranded manatee, and brown bears near Ljubljana, Slovenia, are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world Continue reading...

Defra welcomes European vote which aims to secure long-term sustainability of North Sea fish stocksThe European parliament has voted on a series of measures likely to reduce overfishing in the North Sea which will affect the UK’s fishing fleet until Brexit takes effect and potentially beyond.The vote ensures that there will be limits to fishing quotas so that they cannot exceed levels regarded as sustainable by scientists. The outcome had been in doubt as MEPs voted on Thursday, but several amendments aimed at watering down the proposals were rejected. Continue reading...

New report paints a bleak picture for wildlife in a country that is home to a quarter of the Earth’s wetlands, 8,500 rivers and more than 2m lakesA new analysis looking at the long-term trends of more than 900 species of wildlife in Canada has found that half of them have seen their populations decline, including several species already listed as threatened or endangered.The Living Planet Report Canada, released on Thursday by World Wildlife Fund Canada, paints a bleak picture for wildlife in a country that is home to a quarter of the earth’s wetlands, 8,500 rivers and more than 2m freshwater lakes. Continue reading...

Author and academic Nancy MacLean says cynicism about the motives of public servants, including government-backed climate scientists, can be traced to a group of neoliberals and their ‘toxic’ ideasYou’ll have heard that line of argument about cancer scientists, right?

Redmires, Sheffield Scored by wind and rain there is something square-jawed about the stone known as Stump JohnThe Head Stone stands, like a muted version of Easter Island’s moai, on grouse moors west of Sheffield, looking down on traffic hurrying along the A57. A fractured block of gritstone seamed and scored by wind and rain, there is something square-jawed about it, although it has other names: Stump John, for John Priestley of Overstones Farm, a place literally “over stones”, on the far side of Stanage; and Cock Crowing Stone, possibly for the male grouse that advertise their wares from its summit.Related: Farewell to an ancient landmark Continue reading...

Centennial Coal, whose licence was ruled invalid after its Springvale mine was found to be polluting Sydney’s water, wants matter resolved in two weeksThe miner that supplies Energy Australia’s Mount Piper coal power station with coal has sought an urgently expedited court hearing to establish how it can continue to operate without a valid licence.But Centennial Coal did so without making a formal application for an early hearing and without evidence supporting the need for it, leaving the judge appearing sceptical of the claim. Continue reading...

Exclusive: EU’s food safety watchdog recommended that glyphosate was safe but pages of report were identical to application from pesticide makerThe European food safety authority (Efsa) based a recommendation that a chemical linked to cancer was safe for public use on an EU report that copied and pasted analyses from a Monsanto study, the Guardian can reveal.Glyphosate is the core ingredient in Monsanto’s $4.75bn (£3.5bn) a year RoundUp weedkiller brand and a battle over its relicensing has split EU countries, with a final decision on its authorisation expected in early November. Continue reading...

A prequel to the blockbuster nature documentary series will feature (ocean) Bloom, an orchestral reworking of Radiohead’s song BloomRadiohead have teamed with Hans Zimmer, the Oscar-winning composer for The Dark Knight, The Lion King and Gladiator, on a new piece of music – called ocean (Bloom) – that will appear on a prequel to the BBC’s flagship nature documentary series Blue Planet II.Related: The must-watch TV of autumn 2017, from Blue Planet to Stranger Things Continue reading...