Northumberland coastline famed for Arctic terns and Atlantic puffins granted greater protection by Natural EnglandA stretch of coastline which is one of the most important sites in the UK for seabirds such as Arctic terns and Atlantic puffins has been given greater protection.The newly-designated Northumberland marine special protected area (SPA) stretches 12 miles from the coast into the North Sea, covering an area larger than 120,000 football pitches, government conservation body Natural England said. Continue reading...

It came without warning, and without equivalent. Now a flash drought is fueling fires and hurting the lives of those who work the landWhen Rick Kirn planted his 1,000 acres of spring wheat in May, there were no signs of a weather calamity on the horizon. Three months later, when he should have been harvesting and getting ready to sell his wheat, Kirn was staring out across vast cracked, gray, empty fields dotted with weeds and little patches of stunted wheat.

Bristol-based brand says Unilever will help it expand globally amid rising demand for upmarket organic brewsUnilever, owner of PG Tips and Liptons, is increasing its presence in the herbal tea market by acquiring Bristol-based Pukka Herbs.Sebastian Pole and Tim Westwell, founders of the brand known for its exotic flavours such as turmeric gold and mint matcha as well as cleansing and detox teas, have sold the business to Unilever for an undisclosed sum. The pair have agreed to stay on to help drive global expansion. Continue reading...

Government data reveals Tesco deducted administration costs from plastic bag sales, unlike other major supermarkets, angering senior MPsMillions of pounds in administration costs were deducted from the charitable donations made by Tesco using funds generated from the plastic bag tax, government data has revealed. No other major supermarket made any such deductions, leading senior MPs to urge Tesco to follow their lead.

What would the world be like if we weren’t dependent on oil? Photographer Richard Allenby-Pratt imagines a deserted Dubai in which the wealthy have fled, leaving giraffes and zebras to wander the alien landscapes Continue reading...

London-based designer Ryan Yasin used his background in aeronautical engineering to develop sustainable clothing to fit babies through to toddlersAn origami-inspired range of children’s clothing made from a durable pleated fabric that expands to fit growing babies and toddlers has won its 24-year-old designer a prestigious James Dyson award.Ryan Yasin devised the material using scientific principles he studied for his aeronautical engineering degree, after noting the lack of sustainability in the clothing industry and being frustrated by how quickly his baby niece and nephew outgrew garments he bought for them. Continue reading...

Federal funding for biodiversity conservation has dropped by 37% since 2013 and all MPs need to take greater actionAustralia is rapidly losing its world-famous biodiversity. More than 90 species have gone extinct since European colonisation (including three in just the past decade) and more than 1,700 species are now formally recognised as being in danger of extinction.Despite the pride many Australians feel in our unique natural heritage (and the billions of dollars made from nature-based tourism), the amount of federal funding for biodiversity conservation has dropped by 37% since 2013. Continue reading...

Destructive force of Irma and Harvey has Trump expressing awe, but those in power should focus on the environmental causes

The Azerbaijani regime wants to present a positive image in Europe because it needs support for its flagship project, write four campaigners. Plus Rebecca Gowland on British failure to crack down on those who exploit weaknesses in tax and governance lawsThe Guardian’s Azerbaijani Laundromat investigation (UK at heart of $3bn secret payments by Azerbaijan, 5 September) has uncovered thousands of covert payments as part of a European lobbying effort. But the article doesn’t mention the elephant in the room. Azerbaijan is particularly keen to present a positive image in Europe because it needs significant European support for its flagship project – the Southern Gas Corridor – despite the regime’s serial human rights abuses, systemic corruption and election rigging.The corridor, one of the biggest infrastructure projects undertaken by the fossil fuel industry with a total cost of about $45bn, will carry gas from Azerbaijan to Europe. Powerful interests from fossil fuel corporations to European governments are pushing through this unnecessary project against the will of communities and threatening human rights and a safe climate. Continue reading...

Gliders listed as threatened by both state and federal governments, but they are not protected by legislationLogging has begun in trees inhabited by the threatened greater gliders in a forest also inhabited by Victoria’s faunal emblem, the threatened Leadbeater’s possum.Protections for the remaining Leadbeater’s possum population – believed to be fewer than 2,500 breeding individuals left in the wild – mean logging will be halted within 200m of known colonies. But no such protection exists for the greater gliders, which have been listed as threatened by both state and federal governments. Continue reading...

The victims were targeted by a criminal gang who wanted to use their lands to grow lucrative palm oil, according to local indigenous leaders

Developer TuNur has applied to build a 4.5GW plant in the Sahara and pipe enough electricity via submarine cables to power two million European homesAn enormous solar park in the Sahara could soon be exporting electricity to Europe if Tunisia’s government approves an energy company’s request to build it.

Many UK councils are planning to restrict parking and idling near school gates, with fines of up to £130 in some casesParents across the country face tough restrictions – and even fines – over driving their children to the school gates, in a push by councils on road safety and pollution.As the new academic year begins, a survey of councils shows many are enforcing laws preventing parking immediately outside the school gates, using CCTV cameras and mobile monitoring vehicles to crack down on parents flouting the rules. Continue reading...

Confectionery firm also launches M&Ms renewable energy campaign as part of a growing corporate backlash against the US’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate dealThe corporate backlash is growing against Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, with Mars launching a $1bn sustainability plan and an M&M’s campaign centred on renewable energy.It is the latest climate move by the family owned firm, which emerged as a vocal critic of the US president’s decision to pull out of the 2015 climate pact, saying it was “disappointed” with the withdrawal and stressing that corporations could not go it alone when it came to tackling climate change. Continue reading...

Planning application for 5,000 houses in Kent is withdrawn following a long campaign but wildlife site remains at risk from future developmentsOne of the best sites in England for endangered nightingales will not be covered in 5,000 new houses after a long campaign by environmental charities.The planning application to build on the former Ministry of Defence site of Lodge Hill, Kent, has been withdrawn ahead of a public inquiry into the controversial development. Continue reading...

New studies reveal that tiny plastic fibres are everywhere, not just in our oceans but on land too. Now we urgently need to find out how they enter our food, air and tap water and what the effects are on all of usSometimes a single revelation opens our eyes to a whole new view of the world. The contamination of tap water around the world with microplastics, exposed on Wednesday in the Guardian, unmasks Earth as a planet pervasively polluted with plastic.What that means for the seven billion people who live on it, no one yet knows. All the experts can agree on is that, given the warning signs being given by life in the oceans, the need to find out is urgent. Continue reading...

A strong-beaked bird named after Barack Obama, a fire-tailed titi monkey and a new pink river dolphin are among species recorded by the Living Amazon Initiative of the WWF Network Continue reading...

Government must incentivise households to make energy saving improvements to improve air quality and warm homesMore efficient use of energy in the UK would save as much power as could be generated by six new nuclear reactors and shave £7.5bn from energy costs, experts have calculated.But to achieve such savings would require substantial changes to government policy because there are few incentives for households to carry out the necessary measures, such as insulation, which can take 20 years to pay for themselves via bill savings. Continue reading...

Scientists have tracked the ruddy shelduck to 6,800 metres, making it the first duck known to fly at extreme high altitudesA high-flying species of duck reaches altitudes of up to 6,800 metres (22,000ft) to cross the Himalayas, research from a British university has revealed.Scientists from the University of Exeter used satellite tracking to find out how ruddy shelducks – which are a similar size to mallards – find their way through the mountain range. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Tests show billions of people globally are drinking water contaminated by plastic particles, with 83% of samples found to be polluted

We need our mob working arm-in-arm with non-Indigenous people across the Northern Territory to stand up against fracking. It’s not safe, not trusted and not wantedThere has been a lot of talk from both the Northern Territory and federal governments recently about the rivers of royalties, jobs and other benefits they claim will come from opening up the Territory to vast new shale fracking gas fields.This has seen 83% of the Territory’s landmass swallowed by shale gas exploration applications and permits from 2011 to the current day, under both Labor and Country Liberal governments. Continue reading...

State will also introduce new container refund scheme with most drinks containers attracting 10-cent refundSingle-use plastic bags will be banned in Queensland from July next year after the state parliament passed new legislation on Tuesday night.The state will also have a new container refund scheme, with most beverage containers to attract a 10-cent refund to stop them ending up in waterways and the sea. Continue reading...

Science agency stands in contrast to Australia’s biggest polluter, AGL, which parted ways with MCA over climate changeThe Australian government’s science agency, the CSIRO, has paid tens of thousands of dollars to peak mining lobby group the Minerals Council of Australia, which fights against government action on climate change.The CSIRO has been listed as an “associate member” of the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) since at least 2004 and new documents obtained by the Australian Institute, under freedom of information laws, show that in 2017 the “annual subscription” for membership was just under $10,000. Continue reading...

Prymnesium parvum has wreaked calamitous damage on angling spots in Norfolk, making it an economic and environmental threatMany effects of global warming appear gradually but can cause sudden and devastating changes. A rise in sea levels is one; it makes estuaries and lagoons slightly more saline, which in the case of the Norfolk Broads, suddenly threatened a big attraction, angling.This is because tiny “golden” algae called Prymnesium parvum, which thrive in slightly saline or mineral rich water, can turn toxic, suffocating the fish by destroying their gills. Continue reading...

Add to the top council tax bands to boost effective use of our housing stock, writes David RenshawYour letter writers on the housing shortage (5 September) neglect a key point – under-occupation of the existing stock. I sympathise with the nimbys’ desire to keep the green belt from urban sprawl, but this can only be done if they are prepared to occupy less space when occasion demands (ie in later life). Only a reset of the council tax bands, punitively progressive at the top end to discourage oligarchs and investment buyers, will have the desired effect, along with stronger compulsory purchase order powers for councils.

Chancellor doubles funds set aside to improve air quality to avert court-enforced diesel ban and backlash from motoristsWith less than three weeks until the German elections, pressure is mounting on Angela Merkel to tackle the deadly smog in a large number of cities or face a court-enforced diesel ban and backlash from millions of motorists faced with plummeting resale values.More than 90 cities with excessive levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution could potentially outlaw diesel cars from their centres when the country’s federal administrative court rules early next year. Continue reading...

Exclusive: in America, the world’s richest country, hookworm, a parasitic disease found in areas of extreme poverty are rampant, the first study of its kind in modern times showsChildren playing feet away from open pools of raw sewage; drinking water pumped beside cracked pipes of untreated waste; human faeces flushed back into kitchen sinks and bathtubs whenever the rains come; people testing positive for hookworm, an intestinal parasite that thrives on extreme poverty.Related: Pittsburgh officials may have 'deflected' attention from lead-contaminated water Continue reading...

Australian Energy Market Operator advice is to hold a reverse auction, then pass costs on to consumers to help prevent blackoutsEnergy regulators want to create a new strategic reserve mechanism to ensure there is enough dispatchable power available for emergencies, like heatwaves and storms – and are proposing a reverse auction system to bring sufficient back-up power into the grid.The recommendations are contained in a new report from the Australian Energy Market Operator to the Turnbull government, which suggests that an additional gigawatt of incremental dispatchable power will be needed in the system when the ageing coal-fired Liddell power station closes in 2022. Continue reading...

The variables in the climate change formula are mitigation, adaptation, and suffering. Denying the problem loads up on the suffering.Human-caused climate change amplified the damages and suffering associated with Hurricane Harvey in several different ways. First, sea level rise caused by global warming increased the storm surge and therefore the coastal inundation and flooding from the storm. Second, the warmer atmosphere holds more water vapor, which intensifies extreme precipitation events like the record-shattering rainfall associated with Harvey. Third, warmer ocean waters essentially act as hurricane fuel, which may have made Harvey more intense than it would otherwise have been.There are other possible human factors at play about which we have less certainty. For example, it’s possible that Harvey stalled off the coast of Texas because of changes in atmospheric circulation patterns associated with human-caused global warming. As climate scientist Michael Mann notes, his research has shown that these sorts of stationary summer weather patterns tend to happen more often in a hotter world, but we can’t yet say if that happened in Harvey’s case. Continue reading...

German environment group says industry has not tried to cut pollution over the past year and reneged on a promise to install soot filtersThe world’s cruise ships have done virtually nothing to reduce their pollution over the past year, with some still emitting as much particulate matter as 1m cars a day, a report says.The annual survey of 63 ships, conducted by the German environment group Nabu, refused to recommend a single one for adequately reducing its environmental impact in 2017. Continue reading...

Energy Market Operator report comes as Coalition seeks to extend life of Australia’s oldest coal power plant, LiddellAustralia’s Energy Market Operator says the introduction of more renewable energy is helping secure Australia’s electricity grid but that “new approaches” will be needed to avoid blackouts in coming years.The report comes as the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, confirms the government is seeking to extend the life of Australia’s oldest coal power plant, Liddell, and is in talks with owners AGL. Continue reading...

Weather experts and rural fire services warn of elevated fire risk in areas of Queensland, NSW, Victoria and SAMost of the east coast and parts of South Australia are at high risk of bushfire after one of the warmest, driest winters on record, a national conference has warned.Populated areas of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia have been marked “red” in the 2017 Southern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook. Continue reading...

Government experts say adverse health effects are unlikely, but campaigners argue the primary school scheme should switch to organic as a precautionThe free fruit and vegetables provided by the government to millions of young schoolchildren usually contain the residues of multiple pesticides, according to official tests collated in a new report.In the last decade, residues of of 123 pesticides were found, while apples and bananas given out recently in schools contained more residues than those sold in supermarkets. Continue reading...

Abriachan, Highlands In places, the canopy of thistle, ling, scabious and soft rush was sunk in a near-weightless empire of silkAside from the slurry of S-sounds tipped out by a roadside burn, there was nothing at this spot but the early morning hush of the moor. Yet the silence seemed only to emphasise all the internal noise generated in me by an assault from midges. They started as a loose-meshed veil about my hands and face but soon thickened into a maddening private halo.They particularly wanted my wrists – I have 23 bites there as I type – and I could invert my binoculars to watch the 2mm beasts, with their pin-thin heads and barred bodies, at their work. How can something so easily turned to a smudge on a notebook page puncture human skin? Continue reading...

Under the programme, based on schemes in Scandinavia, customers would pay a surcharge that would be reimbursed when they return to the shopThe Scottish government is planning to introduce a deposit return scheme for bottles and cans.Customers would pay a surcharge when purchasing bottles or cans under the programme, which will be refunded when they return them to a shop. Continue reading...

The proposal to open up the Renca reserve in the Amazon for exploitation by large mining companies would be catastrophic for the earth’s climate, for biodiversity and for local indigenous communities, writes Molly Scott Cato MEPThe proposal to open up the Renca reserve in the Amazon for exploitation by large mining companies would be catastrophic for the earth’s climate, for biodiversity and for local indigenous communities. At the same time, the European Union is negotiating a new trade agreement with Mercosur, the Latin America regional trade bloc, of which Brazil currently holds the presidency. This is a vital opportunity for the EU to use our trade muscle to make clear that the Amazon is not for sale and that minerals extracted from a protected reserve will never find their way onto European markets.World Trade Organisation rules also make clear that trading parties have a legitimate right to ban imports if it is “necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health”. I have written to trade commissioner Malmström stating my clear view that the Renca reserve is necessary to protect human life and demanding that she excludes its products from the free trade deal. I will be urging my MEP colleagues to vote against the deal if it does not include this guarantee.

German chancellor pledges extra €500m in attempt to head off threat of ban on diesel vehicles following emissions scandalAngela Merkel has pledged a further €500m (£460m) to help German cities fight air pollution caused by diesel cars, as a scandal strangling the automobile industry threatened to engulf politicians at the height of an election campaign.

Displaced families say they are struggling to pay rent on damaged dwellings, as an acute housing crisis grips south-east Texas after Hurricane Harvey

To achieve Paris climate agreement’s limit of 2C rise, pricing will have to increase to more than $100 a tonne, claims SchrodersMore than $1.5tn (£1.2tn) in company profits worldwide could be erased by taxes required to meet the Paris climate agreement, according to analysis by Schroders.In a stark warning to investors to back more sustainable companies, the fund management group said total earnings of 12,500 global companies could fall by 20% were the world to limit itself to the 2C temperature rise target agreed in Paris through higher taxes. Schroders found prices in emissions trading would need to rise to “well over” $100 a tonne of CO2e from current levels, about $5, to encourage the move away from fossil fuels on the scale that was needed. Continue reading...

As the seasons begin to change in most places, we would like to see and hear about the wildlife you’ve discovered in your area

Ecclesall Wood, Sheffield A close-up look at these birds – which have evolved to be invisible in domains such as this – was proving elusiveA new noise stopped me dead in my tracks; a sort of pulse-quickening, primitive shriek, more banshee wail than bird call. Through the still-bare March treetops I saw the source of the sound barrel straight overhead – my first thrilling glimpse of sparrowhawk in this neck of Ecclesall Wood, near my home.In the long light of a clear May evening came a second sighting, not far from the first; a revelatory 10 minutes of spectacular aerobatics in the full view of Ecclesall Road South, the bird’s fluidity of movement spellbinding. Continue reading...

Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 4 September 1917September 3

Opposition told to be wary of doing a Finkel review deal with the Coalition that would prolong the life of coal plantsThe Greens are attempting to warn Labor off doing a deal with the Turnbull government on a new clean energy target, saying a Finkel handshake could trigger a “valley of death” for short-term investment in renewables, and lock in coal, rather than stranding it.With parliament due to resume on Monday, and with the Turnbull government inching closer to finally resolving and outlining its energy policy, the Greens climate change spokesman, Adam Bandt, will bring forward a bill to prolong and expand the existing renewable energy target scheme. Continue reading...

A Snares penguin from islands south of New Zealand is found wounded on a Tasmanian beach. Nine months’ nursing later, she tastes the open sea againJust before dawn on a still morning in autumn a crowd of people gathers on a beach in southern Tasmania. They watch in tense silence as a small animal shuffles across the sand. This animal, a penguin, has been the focus of nine months of care, liaison and cooperation to get to this moment – she is being released and sent back out into her world. I am privileged to be included in the farewell crew, and share the jubilation and anxiety of the people around me, all of us hoping that she will remember her path home.

Country wants to reclaim physical activity in age when young people are focused on computers, says government spokeswomanAir pollution levels have plunged in cities across Bolivia as the country marked a nationwide car-free day in which all non-emergency vehicles were banned from city streets.As Bolivia’s middle-class population has increased over the past 10 years so has the number of cars clogging city streets. The car-free event started 18 years ago in Cochabamba, one of Latin America’s five most polluted cities, and has gradually taken root across the country. By 2011, it had become so popular that Bolivia’s legislature declared a yearly “Day of the Pedestrian and Cyclist in Defence of Mother Earth”. Continue reading...

Plastic pollution in our seas is depressing – but there are imaginative moves afoot to address the problemI’ve been sceptical about the power of running shoes to affect global change. So naturally I had it in for UltraBoost Uncaged Parley, Adidas trainers that claim to make peace with the ocean. The shoe’s upper is created from plastic waste retrieved from a clean-up operation in the Maldives, and recycled polyester. But Adidas has committed to producing a million pairs of these ocean waste running shoes, and a swimwear line.Adidas has committed to producing a million pairs of ocean waste running shoes Continue reading...

Palaszczuk government and mining giant apparently at odds as Adani says ‘there are no ongoing negotiations’ on Carmichael schemeQueensland’s government says it is still negotiating with Adani over the details of its royalties agreement for its $16.5bn Carmichael mine, despite the deal being officially agreed months ago.Adani announced in May it had reached agreement with the government over royalty payments, after a more generous offer of concessions was scrapped amid internal pressure from within the state Labor cabinet and caucus. Continue reading...

Our seafood diet must adapt, say scientists, as climate change forces some favourites to colder waters and threatens othersBritain must prepare itself for invasions of growing numbers of foreign sea creatures attracted by our warming waters, a new report has warned. Some newcomers could have devastating effects, others could be beneficial, say the researchers.Examples provided by the team include slipper limpets that could destroy mussel and oyster beds. By contrast, new arrivals such as the American razor clam and Pacific oyster could become the bases of profitable industries for British fishermen. Continue reading...

Communities face surging toxic fumes and possible water contamination, as refineries and plants report more than 2,700 tons of extra pollutionHurricane Harvey has resulted in Houston’s petrochemical industry leaking thousands of tons of pollutants, with communities living near plants damaged by the storm exposed to soaring levels of toxic fumes and potential water contamination.Refineries and chemical plants have reported more than 2,700 tons, or 5.4m pounds, of extra air pollution due to direct damage from the hurricane as well as the preventive shutting down of facilities, which causes a spike in released toxins. Continue reading...

Guardian picture editor Eric Hilaire explains the success behind one of our most-loved galleries – the week in wildlife