New federal government-funded study finds exposure to a key air pollutant is significantly influenced by race, far more than by income, age or educationPeople of color are still far more likely to suffer from harmful air pollution than white people across the US and this disparity has barely improved in recent years, despite overall improvements in air quality, a new federal government-funded study has found.Related: London’s black communities disproportionately exposed to air pollution – study Continue reading...

The case for new nuclear power stations is fatuous now offshore wind power has come down in cost so much, says Ian Hill. Yes, writes Will Taylor, but don’t forget the potential of tidal energy. Hold on a minute before rejecting nuclear, argue Tim Chittenden and Jim WatertonYour excellent editorial on the reducing cost of offshore wind power (13 September) is timely in identifying the increasingly futile case for new nuclear build. It does, however, repeat the fallacy that nuclear power “is a zero-carbon technology”. The carbon emissions involved in building such immense structures, in mining and transporting uranium, and in the transport, reprocessing and storage of waste, contribute to a considerable carbon burden. Estimates vary considerably, but studies suggest that the emissions from nuclear generation could be one-10th of those of fossil fuels, but twice those of wind power.Furthermore, the need for a continuous supply is of only limited use when consumption patterns become distorted by, for example, the increased need to charge electric vehicles overnight, as your leader identifies. What is needed now, alongside continued investment in the latest generation of renewable production, is increased investment into a wide range of storage technologies, and further research and investment into the production of renewable heat. Continue reading...

New inquiry will look into the viability of deposit schemes and taxes as ways to reduce impact of plastic waste on the environmentMPs are to mount a new inquiry into plastic bottles amid growing calls for a deposit scheme to reduce the impact of plastic waste in the ocean.The investigation will also examine whether charges or taxes should be put on single-use plastic bottles and takeaway coffee cups to reduce their contribution to litter. Continue reading...

Scary-looking fish found on a Texas beach after Hurricane Harvey is identified as a fangtooth snake-eel with the help of social mediaThe mystery of an eyeless fanged sea monster washed ashore by Hurricane Harvey has been solved by social media.

North American ash trees, that face extinction due to an invasive beetle, and African antelope join the latest IUCN list that includes 25,000 species at risk of extinction

Scientists warn once-common species are disappearing faster than they can be counted as North America’s ash trees join IUCN’s list of endangered species due to threat of an invasive beetle

Leak described as ecological disaster with authorities accused of failing to recognise scale of threat from sunken tankerAn emergency operation is under way to clean up an oil spill from a sunken tanker that has blackened popular beaches and bays in Athens’ Argo-Saronic gulf.

British athlete Mark Beaumont is expected to complete his world tour on Monday after 79 days in the saddle, smashing the previous record of 123 daysEndurance cyclist Mark Beaumont is expected to arrive in Paris on Monday 18 September, 79 days after setting off on his attempt to cycle around the world in 80 days.The Guardian joined Beaumont in Lisbon on Wednesday, where he arrived on an overnight flight from Halifax in Canada to start the final leg of his record-breaking challenge. Despite cycling an average of 240 miles over 16 hours every day since 2 July, he looked fresh and sounded upbeat as we ticked off more miles on our way to the Spanish border. Yet he admitted the ride has taken its toll on him, both mentally and physically. Continue reading...

The race is on to prove that CO2 can be taken from the air and recycled into profitable, carbon neutral fuels. But cost and investment obstacles remainIn an industrial greenhouse about 30km from Zurich, plump aubergines and juicy cherry tomatoes are ripening to perfection. Growing Mediterranean crops in Switzerland would traditionally be energy intensive but these vegetables are very nearly carbon-neutral. The greenhouse uses waste energy from a nearby refuse plant, and carbon dioxide from the world’s first commercial direct air capture plant.

Environmental activist group says it is detaining vessels for Timorese police after Chinese-owned fleet allegedly targeted sharksThe ocean activist group Sea Shepherd says it has delivered armed Timor-Leste police on to a Chinese-owned fishing vessel in a dawn raid and is detaining the vessels for the police after it was found targeting sharks.Following a two-week hunt for the Pingtan Marine Enterprises fleet, the Sea Shepherd boat M/Y Ocean Warrior found the vessels 150km south of Timor-Leste, allegedly fishing with gill nets anchored to the bottom of the sea, which would suggest they were targeting bottom-dwellers such as sharks. Continue reading...

A pair of giraffes with leucism, a condition that inhibits pigmentation in skin cells, have been filmed by conservationists for the first timeA pair of rare white giraffes have been spotted in Kenya, to the delight of local residents and conservationists.The reticulated giraffes, a mother and child, suffer from a genetic condition called leucism, which inhibits pigmentation in skin cells. Unlike albinism, animals with leucism continue to produce dark pigment in their soft tissue, which explains the white giraffes’ dark eyes and other colouring. Continue reading...

High mountains of Asia hold biggest store of frozen water outside the poles and feed many of the world’s great rivers, including the GangesAsia’s mountain glaciers will lose at least a third of their mass through global warming by the century’s end, with dire consequences for millions of people who rely on them for fresh water, researchers have said.

Electricity generated from whirling fans among the waves means that nuclear is rightly vanishing as the answer to meet our energy needs and our climate goalsThe precipitous drop in the price of electricity from offshore wind turbines should be a tipping point for green technology. In 2014 the current generated by a forest of giant whirling fans out at sea was priced at around £150 per megawatt hour. In the latest auction this week the comparable cost dropped as low as £57.50/MWh. Even when the cost of providing back-up capacity for still days is added, the cost of producing energy from offshore wind is little more than £70/MWh. Compared to the new Hinkley C nuclear plant which produces electricity at a cost of £92.50/MWh, one has to wonder whether as a nation we should persist with nuclear energy as an option to reduce our greenhouse gas output.Hinkley looks like a dinosaur even before it arrives on earth. It’s unclear whether the unproven design will ever get built. If it does, the cost of complying with safety and anti-terrorism standards may well be prohibitive. Hinkley was conceived when the conventional wisdom was that we would start to run out of hydrocarbons. Fears of a runaway price for oil and gas now look overheated. The government has however supported plans to install a nuclear power plant, backed by French and Chinese state operators, costing £18bn. Nuclear power has a trump card: it is a zero-carbon technology which delivers a continuous, uninterrupted supply. This may be a consideration in the years ahead if the UK banned petrol engines and only allowed electric cars. Imagine, say nuclear fans, the surge of demand when everyone got home and plugged in their motors. But we are not there yet. Continue reading...

Exclusive: new tests are intended to close loopholes but cars can still emit excess fumes in slow traffic, data showsNew “real world” emissions tests fail to prevent high levels of pollution from diesel cars during rush hour, according to new data.Diesel vehicles are the main cause of the UK’s widespread levels of illegal air pollution, with the VW cheating scandal exposing the fact that virtually all diesel cars emitted far more toxic fumes than in official laboratory based tests. Since 1 September, new models must now be tested on real roads, but the new data shows even this does not prevent high levels of fumes in slow traffic, when pollution is at its worst for drivers and other road users. Continue reading...

A ‘monster’ blockage has been discovered in London sewers and wet wipes are a major contributor. But from makeup removal to household cleaning, what should we be using instead?Images of melting icebergs have long proved inspirational to environmentalists and politicians seeking to mitigate the threat of man-made climate change. So why is it that images of giant fatbergs clogging our sewers can’t seem to stop people flushing wet wipes down the loo?These fatty underground tumours, comprised largely of wipes, nappies and cooking grease, have proliferated, backing up plumbing systems as far afield as New York City, San Francisco and Sydney. This month, a 130-tonne fatberg stretching the length of two football pitches was revealed during a routine inspection of the ageing sewage pipes beneath Whitechapel, in east London. Weighing about the same as a medium-sized jetliner, the fatberg is among the largest ever found and, left unchecked, could have sent a deluge of raw sewage on to the streets of London. Thames Water’s sewer chief Matt Rimmer described it as “a total monster” that would take three weeks to clear with shovels and high-powered water jets. Continue reading...

People must be told where the government’s badger culling programme will take place, say Jonathon Porritt, Mark Jones, Alick Simmons and Chris Cheeseman. Plus an alternative to shooting badgers suggested by David HurryThousands more badgers are to be killed in new and extended government-licensed control zones (Huge rise in badger culling will see up to 33,500 animals shot, 12 September).The government believes badger killing will eliminate bovine tuberculosis but won’t publish details of the zones, arguing public safety might be compromised. However, much of the killing takes place on land to which the citizen has some access. Disclosure would equip citizens to make informed judgments about their safety and that of their pets and about whether the shooting and trapping in their own backyard is legal or not. They could then engage in legitimate protest about the systematic killing of our native wildlife – in short, ensuring licence holders and the government can be held to account. Continue reading...

Mayor Sadiq Khan announces first 50 schools to undergo audits to help identify measures to minimise the impact of pollution on childrenThe most polluted schools in London are to be audited as part of the mayor’s drive to clean up toxic air across the capital.Earlier this year a Guardian investigation revealed that hundreds of thousands of children are being exposed to illegal levels of damaging air pollution from diesel vehicles at schools and nurseries. Continue reading...

Exclusive: As global demand for chocolate booms, ‘dirty’ beans from deforested national parks have entered big business supply chains

Head of ACCC shoots down talk AGL is breaching act, but says lack of energy competition is pushing up billsThe head of Australia’s competition watchdog has quashed accusations from government MPs that AGL is misusing its market power by refusing to sell the Liddell power station to a rival – but says a lack of competition in the energy sector is inflating power prices for consumers.

Ministers are thought to be planning to offer £3m for initiatives such as solar panels on social housingGreen energy projects run by cities and local authorities around the UK stand to receive millions of pounds of government support, providing another fillip for renewable power just a day after the subsidised price of windfarms hit a record low.The Guardian understands that ministers this autumn will offer more than £3m to help local leaders build low carbon initiatives, such as installing solar panels on social housing. Continue reading...

The Long Mynd, Shropshire There have been ponies here since the iron age hillfort was occupied, but few workers toil the fields at harvest timeTwo white ponies were grazing on the high slopes above Carding Mill Valley. A mare and colt, white in the soft light, which felt more autumnal than was usual for the turn, grazed on a hidden lawn surrounded by bracken and heather. Up there, they seemed still, absorbed in feeding, but whenever a dog barked in the distance, they became watchful.A pair of ravens flew across the valley and landed nearby. The ravens watched the ponies; the ponies watched the ravens. Continue reading...

Industry body warns over need for seasonal workers after Brexit as growers face 20% shortfall in supply of labourUK apple growers are in the grip of a 20% shortfall in the supply of seasonal labour, pushing them towards “a cliff edge” as Brexit nears, the industry has warned.At the start of the annual British apple harvesting season with more than 20 indigenous varieties going on sale in supermarkets, the main trade body for both apples and pears says worries about future labour availability are at the top of its lobbying agenda. Continue reading...

The state’s $90bn industry is taking a beating in the wake of the hurricane, and it’s small businesses that could be hardest hitBarely a month ago, Florida proudly announced a record-setting number of visitors to the Sunshine State – more than 60 million tourists coming to enjoy its theme parks, beaches and other attractions since January.Now, in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Irma, tourism is facing a major challenge. The devastation caused by one of history’s largest storms, especially in the popular Florida Keys, is a direct strike at the $90bn industry that fuels the state’s economic engine, with the harm caused incalculable, experts say, at least in the short term. Continue reading...

Lawyers for two anti-fracking campaigners argue in high court that injunction obtained by Ineos curtails protester rightsThe legality of a wide-ranging injunction obtained against anti-fracking protesters by a multinational firm is to be examined in a three-day court hearing.Two campaigners have launched a legal challenge against the injunction obtained by Ineos, the petrochemicals giant. Joe Corré, the son of the fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, and Joe Boyd, say it is draconian, oppressive and dramatically curtails protesters’ rights. Continue reading...

Fertile soil is being lost at rate of 24bn tonnes a year through intensive farming as demand for food increases, says UN-backed studyA third of the planet’s land is severely degraded and fertile soil is being lost at the rate of 24bn tonnes a year, according to a new United Nations-backed study that calls for a shift away from destructively intensive agriculture.The alarming decline, which is forecast to continue as demand for food and productive land increases, will add to the risks of conflicts such as those seen in Sudan and Chad unless remedial actions are implemented, warns the institution behind the report. Continue reading...

Creatures, which can deliver a painful and occasionally fatal sting, have been blown in from the open ocean by strong windsAn “unprecedented” number of Portuguese men o’ war have washed up on the Cornish coastline in recent days, causing lifeguards to close a beach on Monday and issue safety advice.More than 140 of the floating tentacled organisms, which can deliver a painful sting that can be fatal in rare circumstances, have been spotted off the Cornish coast in the last three days, according to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust. They are reported to have been blown in by strong south-westerly winds. Continue reading...

CCTV footage from under Whitechapel in east London shows a fatberg that weighs as much as 11 double decker buses and is the length of two football pitches blocking the sewer. It is mostly made up of fat, wet wipes and nappies, and is expected to take three weeks to clear

Thames Water must break up congealed mass of fat, wet wipes and nappies to prevent raw sewage flooding streetsA fatberg weighing the same as 11 double decker buses and stretching the length of two football pitches is blocking a section of London’s ageing sewage network.The congealed mass of fat, wet wipes and nappies is one of the biggest ever found and would have risked raw sewage flooding on to the streets in Whitechapel, east London, had it not been discovered during a routine inspection earlier this month. Continue reading...

Eight to 10 members of a remote indigenous group were allegedly killed by men working for illegal prospectors in Javari ValleyBrazilian authorities are investigating reports of a massacre of up to 10 people from an isolated tribe in the Amazon by illegal gold miners.The killings, alleged to have taken place in Javari Valley, are claimed to have been carried out by men working for gold prospectors who dredge illegally in the region’s rivers. Continue reading...

Deputy PM tells Coalition party room AGL’s refusal to sell Liddell power station is about market behaviour but declines to repeat allegation on Sky NewsThe deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, has pulled back from a comment he made to the Coalition party room on Tuesday that AGL was “shorting” the market by refusing to sell the ageing Liddell coal-fired power plant to a competitor.

In the wake of hurricanes Irma and Harvey, the market has finally bought into the business case for renewable energy. The price of change is getting cheaperLike the debate over gun control, the public discussion in the US about whether to take action on the climate has often been characterised as a struggle between powerful lobbies and violent reality.After each campus shooting or hurricane disaster, there is a brief uptick of concern followed by a gradual return to entrenched positions as the National Rifle Association or the oil industry reassert their influence, inevitably raising the question: just how bad do things have to get to reach a tipping point? Continue reading...

Tasmanian government plans to cover midden sites in Tarkine with rubber mats to protect from damage caused by reopening off-road tracksIndigenous groups have criticised a Tasmanian government proposal to cover ancient midden sites with rubber mats to protect them from damage caused by reopening off-road vehicle tracks in the Tarkine, saying it is disrespectful and will cause further damage.The Hodgman government referred the proposal to federal environment minister Josh Frydenberg on Friday as part of a three-year-long attempt to reopen the tracks, which were closed by the former Labor government in an attempt to protect an extensive network of archeological and cultural sites. Continue reading...

Villagers near illegal burial site in Zhejiang had complained for years of a terrible stench around their homesStomach-churning symbols of the environmental calamity facing China have never been in short supply: exploding watermelons, toxic running tracks, rivers that flow the colour of blood.Now, the world’s number one polluter brings you: porcine mass graves.

A hungry arctic fox, mating sea angels and playful brown bears are among the creatures captured by photographers for this year’s competition. The exhibition opens on 20 October at the Natural History Museum Continue reading...

Pulborough Brooks, West Sussex One by one, the birds tip dramatically to one side, lowering one wing while raising the other, to lose heightThe sharp honking sounds of geese echo across the Brooks. The air is clearing, but the rain still hangs over the low-lying hills in the distance, spreading down the sky like dark ink on wetted paper. As I walk out onto the marshes and towards the river Arun, the sun is rising behind me, spearing through the grey cloud. Continue reading...

Military crews were on standby with body bags for possible fatalities in the Keys while millions remain without power across FloridaThe horrific scale of Hurricane Irma’s trail of devastation across Florida has becoming evident as the remnants of the most powerful storm in Atlantic history limped north into Georgia, turned towards Alabama, and was downgraded to a tropical depression.

The National Park Service is looking at a reduction plan that would allow volunteers to shoot bison using non-lead ammunition

In Lealman, Florida, where Jessica Glenza grew up, Sunday was filled with foreboding – and the sense of scare didn’t let up until the rain didWhen we woke up, the house was still standing. The cars were still parked in the grass. The baby was still crying. None of those things had been guaranteed.Hurricane Irma delivered a “glancing blow” to Tampa Bay, in the words of Tampa mayor Bob Buckhorn. Not all of Florida was so lucky. Continue reading...

The UK should concentrate on wind- and gas-fired stations, and involve nuclear only if it can vaguely compete on priceHinkley Point C nuclear power station was conceived in the days when offshore wind cost £150 per megawatt hour and a few misguided souls, some of them government ministers, thought a barrel of oil was heading towards $200.Successive governments swallowed the line that Hinkley represented a plausible answer to the UK’s threefold energy conundrum – keeping the lights on, reducing carbon emissions and producing the juice at affordable prices for consumers and business. Continue reading...

Lib Dems and green groups say reduced price of state support should sound death knell for plants such as Hinkley Point CThe government is under pressure to reconsider its commitment to a new generation of nuclear power stations after the cost of offshore wind power reached a record low.Experts said green energy had reached a tipping point in the UK after two windfarms secured a state-backed price for their output that was nearly half the level awarded last year to Britain’s first new nuclear power site in a generation, Hinkley Point C.

Confusion reigns over whether the government will, or can, keep the ageing power station going. But there’s a much better way to ensure grid reliabilityCoal fails in the heat. And so it did on 10 February 2017, as the heatwave that sparked South Australia’s blackout rolled across into NSW and emergency load-shedding was required in Australia’s biggest state. The Liddell power station failed to perform and could only operate at below half-capacity. In fact, throughout 2016-17 the 45-year-old power station’s average capacity was only 54%. It almost never operates at peak performance.To increase grid reliability, the last thing you would want to do is rely upon an underperforming, old power station prone to failure during heatwaves. Continue reading...

Poll shows 81% support for more investment in renewables, as Labor remains ahead on a two-party preferred basis, at 54% to the Coalition’s 46%

On Marco Island, widespread destruction in Irma’s wake is not enough to make believers out of some climate change skeptics

Second-hand Vauxhall, Audi and BMW diesels have fallen most in price, according to research

Joe Boyd is appealing to public for donations to challenge petrochemicals giant over ‘anti-democratic’ injunctionA second campaigner is challenging a sweeping injunction obtained by a petrochemicals giant against anti-fracking activists that has been criticised for profoundly limiting protests.Joe Boyd, an anti-fracking campaigner, is going to the high court in London on Tuesday in an attempt to stop the injunction which has been secured by the multinational firm, Ineos. He is appealing to the public for donations as he could face a large bill if he loses. Continue reading...

A small great white shark was rescued after it was found floundering on a beach in Sydney, Australia, on Monday. The shark was found by beachgoers in shallow waters at Manly beach and was moved to a beach rockpool to be monitored by authorities

Stag deers in London’s Richmond Park, elks in east China, and Bactrian deer in central Asia are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world Continue reading...

Public pool closed to swimmers after injured marine predator transferred for observation by wildlife expertsA juvenile great white shark was rescued after washing up on a Sydney beach – and given a new temporary home in a nearby public swimming pool.The shark, which washed ashore on Manly beach in Sydney’s north about midday, appeared to be injured and onlookers alerted marine rescue and lifeguards. Continue reading...

Government backing for mines, which could potentially include the Adani Carmichael project, comes as banks under pressure from activist groupsThe Turnbull government has responded to the increasing unwillingness of Australia’s banks to fund major coal projects by overturning a ban on government-backed loans to domestic miners.Steve Ciobo, the minister for trade, says protesters and activist groups have so discouraged Australia’s retail banks from financing “otherwise viable exporters in the coal sector” that the government must to step in to fund a growing “market gap.” Continue reading...