Prominent oceanographers and global leaders write to Australian prime minister and Queensland premierA group of prominent oceanographers and global leaders has written to Malcolm Turnbull urging him to reject the proposed Adani Carmichael coalmine, which it says will have a devastating impact on the Great Barrier Reef.The letter from the group Ocean Elders, which includes the renowned marine biologist Dr Sylvia Earle, argues that if it goes ahead the coalmine will damage international efforts to mitigate climate change by increasing global carbon emissions. Continue reading...

Climate change | Inflammatory language | Plagiarism | The cryptic crossword | North-south divideNormally I would write to complain about such a gendered phrase as “man-made” (Opinion, 17 June). In the case of “man-made climate change” however, I’m inclined to let it pass. On balance it seems likely that rather more men than women do bear responsibility for the changes which are leading our planet to fry. “Anthropogenic” is a much more elegant word though.

Analysis of world’s lenders reveals many claim green credentials while still financing fuels like tar sands, oil and coalSome of the world’s top banks are continuing to lend tens of billions for extracting the most carbon-intensive fossil fuels, according to a report of top lenders.Finance provided for these fossil fuels – tar sands and other unconventional oil and gas, as well as coal and liquefied natural gas – amounted to $87bn for the top 37 banks in 2016. That represented a slump of more than a fifth compared with the $111bn raised the previous year, and was also down on 2014’s total of $92bn. Continue reading...

Former US vice-president says green revolution is bigger than industrial revolution and happening at faster pace than digital revolutionThe fight against global warming is one of humanity’s great moral movements, alongside the abolition of slavery, the defeat of apartheid, votes for women and gay rights, according to the former US vice-president and climate campaigner, Al Gore.The battle to halt climate change can be won, he said, because the green revolution delivering clean energy is both bigger than the industrial revolution and happening faster than the digital revolution. Continue reading...

In echo of ‘defeat device’ scandals, one TV increased energy consumption by 47% when tested in real-world viewingTVs, dishwashers and fridge freezers have been found to guzzle up to twice as much energy as advertised on their energy labels, in a wide-ranging EU product survey.When tested under real-world conditions, the €400,000, 18-month investigation found widespread overshooting of the goods’ colour-coded A-G energy classes, due to the outmoded and selective test formats on which these have been based. Continue reading...

On behalf of students and alumni from all Ivy-Plus universities, we call on our institutions to join the “We Are Still In” coalition

Alan Finkel insists his review was independent and says building a new coal-fired power plant would not have long-term impacts on Australia’s electricity marketAustralia’s chief scientist, Alan Finkel, has defended his review into the electricity market against accusations its content was politically motivated.Speaking to the press club in Canberra on Wednesday, Finkel said also if the federal government incentivised a new coal-fired power plant to be built, it would not have long-term impacts on the electricity market. Continue reading...

Lethal risks of extreme weather are under-reported and government must stop cutting public awareness fundsHundreds of people across the UK are likely to be killed by a natural disaster this week, but their deaths will not be the subject of ministerial statements or newspaper reports, even though a failure of government policy is partly responsible.The heatwave conditions are causing preventable deaths partly because large swaths of the population wrongly believe that extremely hot days are becoming less common. Continue reading...

Firms including Penguin Random House and HarperCollins have spoken out about timber company’s ‘dangerous’ moves to quash campaigners’ claimsThe world’s biggest book publishers have been dragged into a bitter dispute between a US logging company and environmental campaigners Greenpeace. It follows legal action taken by the logging company, Resolute Forest Products, which campaigners and publishers fear has implications for freedom of speech.The dispute centres on claims by Greenpeace about the company’s logging practices in sections of Canada’s boreal forest, which are home to indigenous peoples as well as endangered wildlife. Greenpeace alleges that Resolute: “Is responsible for the destruction of vast areas of Canada’s magnificent boreal forest, damaging critical woodland caribou habitat and logging without the consent of impacted First Nations.” Continue reading...

Calstock, Tamar Valley In the woods, leaves obscure all but glimpses of the ebbing riverDogwoods, covered in flowers with cream bracts, shine from the prevailing green of Cotehele’s valley garden and in the woods leaves obscure all but glimpses of the ebbing river.Flag iris, water dropwort and reeds slow the flow of the Danescombe tributary into the Tamar and opposite this little delta, beyond the swirling current, two swans feed on the mud bank where “point stuff” – fallen leaves washed into the river – used to be shovelled into rowing boats for use as manure in the market gardens.

More than 1,000 people, spread across 300 boats, protested against the shallow-water fish farm at Okehampton BayA proposed $30m salmon farm development on Tasmania’s pristine east coast and legal challenges against Tassal’s other operations are creating a storm of opposition that has been compared to campaigns against the infamous Gunns pulp mill.More than 1,000 people, spread across 300 boats and Hobart’s Constitution Dock, staged a protest on Sunday opposing Tassal’s development of a new shallow-water fish farm at Okehampton Bay near Triabunna, about 90km from Hobart. Continue reading...

Rising temperatures and southerly winds expected to bring toxic air to large parts of England and Wales on WednesdayThe mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has triggered the capital’s emergency air quality alert as soaring temperatures combined with southerly winds are expected to bring dangerously toxic air to large parts of England and Wales on Wednesday.

Senate inquiry starts as report into political, military and humanitarian risks of climate change across Asia Pacific releasedAs the Senate launches an inquiry into the national security ramifications of climate change, a new report has warned global warming will cause increasingly regular and severe humanitarian crises across the Asia-Pacific.

Shuttering of Rough facility off Yorkshire coast by British Gas owner Centrica will increase dependence on imports, say criticsThe closure of the UK’s largest gas storage plant has prompted warnings that the country faces more volatile winter gas prices and is becoming too dependent on energy imports.British Gas’s owner, Centrica, said it was permanently closing the Rough facility off the Yorkshire coast because it had become unsafe and uneconomic to reopen the facility, which had been temporarily shut over safety fears. Continue reading...

Sadiq Khan wants to cut 3m car journeys a day and encourage cycling and walking in effort to reduce congestion and air pollutionLondon is to consider pay-per-mile road pricing and banning car parking in new developments under plans to cut 3m car journeys a day in the capital.

In the wake of Trump’s Paris withdrawal, California is taking the lead to fight emissions – and it’s rethinking how to get more out of its cap-and-trade programCalifornia has one of the world’s most sophisticated and ambitious cap-and-trade programs, which are designed to provide financial incentives to big polluters, such as electricity providers and oil refineries, to lower their greenhouse gas emissions.The complex program, which began only in 2013, is a signature component of California’s plan to cut emissions in the midst of a controversial makeover by state policymakers, after they passed a landmark bill last year that created one of the world’s most aggressive climate change goals: to lower carbon emissions to 40% below the 1990 levels by 2030. Continue reading...

Michel Temer replies to message from Brazilian supermodel to announce he will veto plans to cut conservation in the AmazonThe Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen appears to have succeeded where conservationists and scientists have failed: by persuading the president, Michel Temer, to veto legislation that would have slashed protected reserves in the Amazon.In a Twitter post last week, Bündchen urged Temer to block a bill that would have opened up 600,000 hectares (1.5m acres) of forest to development. The model – who has long been a supporter of WWF – tweeted: “It’s our job to protect our Mother Earth.”

Producing a few pounds of weed can have the same environmental toll as driving across America seven times – harming cities’ and states’ plans to curb emissionsAs he opens the steel door to the jumble of his office, located in a cloistered warehouse on the west side of Denver, Paul Isenbergh is barking down the phone about a duplicitous business rival. He’s wearing a shirt and rust-colored tie. Yards from his desk, rows of drying cannabis plants are strung up on two clothes lines.Isenbergh spent 30 years as a real estate broker in Florida. When he moved to Denver in 2011, he didn’t even know medicinal marijuana was legal in Colorado. Continue reading...

Substantial areas are being cleared under the guise of ‘thinning’, which does not require a permit. Landholders need to be rewarded for preserving native vegetationLand clearing is accelerating across eastern Australia, despite our new research providing a clear warning of its impacts on the Great Barrier Reef, regional and global climate, and threatened native wildlife.Policies in place to control land clearing have been wound back across all states, with major consequences for our natural environment. Continue reading...

Prime minister says he will restrict gas exports and ask Aemo for advice on ‘optimising affordability for consumers’The Turnbull government has moved to hose down intensifying internal concerns about rising power prices by confirming its intention to restrict gas exports, and by opening the way for an alternative to the clean energy target proposed by Australia’s chief scientist.

A new survey confirms the use of bicycles as mobility aids and the frustration felt when disabled cyclists are told to dismountLast week, my charity Wheels for Wellbeing published the results of a national survey of disabled cyclists which is, to our knowledge, the first of its kind. The results largely confirmed our suspicions, including that disabled cyclists – though part of our cycling culture – remain excluded from it in a number of ways. Continue reading...

US researchers believe worst event on record is ending but fear coral won’t recover in time before oceans warm againThe worst coral bleaching event in recorded history, which has hit every major coral region on Earth since 2014, appears to be coming to an end, with scientists now worrying how long reefs will have to recover before it happens again.After analysing satellite and model data, and finding bleaching in the Indian ocean no longer appeared widespread, the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) has announced the event is no longer occurring on a global scale, and appears to be coming to an end. Continue reading...

The elephants were killed in the Hwange national park by what has become a common means of poachingTen elephants, including a mother and her young calf, have been found poisoned in and around Zimbabwe’s premier game reserve, Hwange national park. Six of the animals died in the south of the park last week; some had their tusks hacked off. The others were found outside the northern sector of the park in state forestry land.Park rangers responded quickly. A bucket of poison was found near the gruesome scene in the north and three arrests were made over the weekend. One of those arrested was found in possession of ivory. Continue reading...

Aigas Field Centre, Beauly, Highlands I am struck by the way the willow expresses the richness entailed in a drawn-out deathJust 10 minutes down the valley from this outstanding educational institute is the largest goat willow in Britain. The veteran is tucked away at the roadside amid a line of alders and so sunk in a deep and almost subaquatic gloom that you could easily miss it. A visit also requires a minor girding of loins to brave the midge-laden atmosphere, although meeting the tree on intimate terms is worth any amount of insect nuisance.

Concerted effort to talk up the merits of coal wins over only 18% of voters, but renewables love fades if bills rise quicklyA concerted push by federal Nationals to build more coal-fired power plants as part of the Turnbull government’s energy policy overhaul has been given the thumbs down by voters, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll.Related: The Guardian Essential Report, 20 June results Continue reading...

Study shows risks have climbed steadily since 1980, and the number of people in danger will grow to 48% by 2100 even if emissions are drastically reduced

Rising temperatures are set to wipe out half of Ethiopia’s coffee-growing areas, with loss of certain locations likened to France losing a great wine regionGlobal warming is likely to wipe out half of the coffee growing area in Ethiopia, the birthplace of the bean, according to a groundbreaking new study. Rising temperatures have already damaged some special areas of origin, with these losses being likened to France losing one of its great wine regions.Ethiopia’s highlands also host a unique treasure trove of wild coffee varieties, meaning new flavour profiles and growing traits could be lost before having been discovered. However, the new research also reveals that if a massive programme of moving plantations up hillsides to cooler altitudes were feasible, coffee production could actually increase. Continue reading...

On Last Week Tonight, the host discussed the coal mining industry’s loss of jobs and Donald Trump’s promises to revive it during his presidential campaignJohn Oliver addressed the topic of coal mining on his show Sunday night, exploring the industry’s loss of jobs and the factors that have led to it.“Coal,” he began, “basically cocaine for Thomas the Tank Engine. We’ve heard a lot about coal this past year, particularly from President Trump. In fact, arguably the key reason that we have this cautionary Bible story in the White House was his ability to connect with mining communities during the campaign.” Continue reading...

Donation of animals by Zimbabwe wildlife conservancy to stock war-torn park could not have happened without big-spending hunters

Winter storms lashed this stretch of coastal California, rendering many parts inaccessible, but now wealthy tourists are helicoptering in to this exclusive idyllWhen winter storms hammered the 90-mile ribbon of coastal California known as Big Sur, the results were calamitous.A bridge collapsed in the north and landslides buried chunks of highway further south, cutting off segments totaling 35 miles in between. People fled, abandoning homes and businesses. Continue reading...

Moon Jae-in said he would lead country towards a ‘nuclear-free era’ following fears of a Fukushima-style meltdownSouth Korea’s new president, Moon Jae-in, has vowed to phase out the country’s dependence on nuclear power, warning of “unimaginable consequences” from a Fukushima-style meltdown.

Bedgebury Pinetum, Kent As if wanting us to appreciate more fully the weird loveliness of its song, the nightjar flew towards usWe found the nightjar on the edge of a young conifer plantation, just before 10pm. The weather rumbled ominously in the background as dusk settled around us, the trees soughing and shushing in the breeze. Willow warblers carolled in the canopy and a fat woodcock roded over.Luke lit a cigarette, I slapped at midges. We saw the nightjar before we heard him (which is unusual). Just enough light to see white wing patches, plumage like wave ripples on sand. He flew over, tentative, circling, standing on the handle of his tail and clapping his wings a few times, before arrowing off into the trees.

Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 21 June 1917Surrey

With its unusual name and even more unusual habits, the hoatzin is a clear frontrunner for the title of the world’s most bizarre birdWe left Romero Rainforest Lodge just before sunrise, heading down the Manú River and into the unknown. The sickly-sweet scent of uvos – a mango-like fruit – wafted across the murky waters, hanging heavy in the humid air.As dawn broke, birds started to appear out of nowhere. Flocks of sand-coloured nighthawks lived up to their name, hawking acrobatically over the surface of the water to seize unseen insects with their broad bills. As the sky began to lighten, they were joined by black skimmers: elegant, tern-like birds whose huge bill is longer at the bottom than the top, as we could see when one kept pace with our speedboat. Overhead, pairs of gaudy blue-and-yellow macaws flew high over the rainforest, as if in slow motion. Continue reading...

Sainsbury’s has launched a new ‘Fairly Traded’ tea range. Well and good, but the fear is they may seek to swerve Fairtrade’s tough regulationsWe know the drill. An appealing product gets listed by a major retailer, becomes well loved by consumers only for that retailer to replace it with an own-brand version.Sainsbury’s says its new system is up to date, focusing more on climate change Continue reading...

Rise in tourism and warmer climate bring house flies – and the growth of mosses in which they can liveAntarctica’s pristine ice-white environment is going green and facing an unexpected threat – from the common house fly. Scientists say that as temperatures soar in the polar region, invading plants and insects, including the fly, pose a major conservation threat.More and more of these invaders, in the form of larvae or seeds, are surviving in coastal areas around the south pole, where temperatures have risen by more than 3C over the past three decades. Glaciers have retreated, exposing more land which has been colonised by mosses that have been found to be growing more quickly and thickly than ever before – providing potential homes for invaders. The process is particularly noticeable in the Antarctic peninsula, which has been shown to be the region of the continent that is most vulnerable to global warming. Continue reading...

As renewables play a greater role in the British market, they are making the price of power increasingly unstableAs the sun shone on millions of solar panels and unseasonable gusts turned thousands of turbine blades last Sunday, something remarkable happened to Britain’s power grid.For a brief period, a record 70% of the electricity for the UK’s homes and businesses was low-carbon, as nuclear, solar and wind crowded out coal and even gas power stations. That afternoon was a glimpse into the future, of how energy provision will look in 13 years’ time because of binding carbon targets. Continue reading...

New Forest South Only on private land can we experience a sense of remoteness that was once commonplace hereSmall heath butterflies flirt among the delicate pink flowers of sea-spurrey. A solitary meadow brown flashes past, wind-driven and quickly lost against the muddy crust of dried-out estuarine pools.There’s bright blue sky overhead, but the spinnaker-ballooning yachts out in the Solent lean over on a choppy white-tipped sea. Oystercatchers hunker down in the gulleys above which three forest ponies graze. Their movement disturbs a group of shelduck sheltering in a dip that bob fleetingly into sight. Continue reading...

Museum Victoria collects gelatinous fish, spiny crabs, scarlet sea-spiders, nightmarish cookie cutter sharks and plenty of rubbish• Gallery: Deep sea discoveries: sea pigs, a dumbo octopus and glow-in-the-dark sharksThere’s no sunlight four kilometres below the waves but there is light.

Images of bizarre deep sea creatures found in May and June by the research ship Investigator as it travelled along the Australian coastline to the Coral Sea. The scientists aboard the ship mapped the sea floor to a depth of 4,000 metres and collected more than 1,000 different marine species, about a third of which were new to science and half of which showed some kind of bioluminescent quality• Voyage to the sea floor: expedition returns with fascinating finds Continue reading...

Interview with anthropologist José Proaño on dangers to indigenous peoples in “isolation” posed by timber tradeThree NGOs in Ecuador marked the UN’s World Environment Day last week by releasing a report alleging that illegal loggers are operating in the famous Yasuní National Park in the Amazon, one of the most biodiverse places in the world. The loggers are crossing the border from Peru and mainly extracting cedar from territories used by indigenous peoples living in “isolation”, according to the NGOs.The report focuses on a reconnaissance trip made in May which documented illegal logging in the park, as well as “massive” commercial hunting and the abandonment of premises supposedly run by the Environment Ministry and military. The trip was made, the report states, after several government visits to the region in recent years which confirmed that illegal loggers and hunters were operating, but led to almost no action being taken to stop them. On one occasion illegal wood was confiscated, but it was recovered by Peruvian loggers, it is claimed, in a “possible violent attack against [an Ecuadorian] military post.” Continue reading...

Too many of America’s workplaces are not representative of our communities. In a divided country, we have a duty to advance diversity and inclusionWe’re living in a country of growing division and tension, and it’s having an impact at work. But it’s often the case that when we walk into the office – where we spend the majority of our time – we don’t address these issues.And yet there’s so much to talk about – from growing societal inequality and America’s racial divide to single-digit minority representation in corporate America. (Just 1% of the nation’s Fortune 500 CEOs are black, only 4% are women, and even fewer are openly gay). Continue reading...

Rightwing papers have implicated energy-efficiency measures in the tragedy. But cold homes are dangerous and disproportionately affect poorer people’s healthAs the London Fire Brigade’s dogs and drones searched the ruins of Grenfell Tower in west London, Friday’s Daily Mail chose to lead its coverage with the question: “Were green targets to blame?” Reading out headlines on Radio 4’s Today Programme this morning, you could hear the scorn in John Humphrys’s voice as he quoted “green energy ticks” in the Sun. So was this disaster, as rightwing newspapers have been quick to suggest, the fault of what former prime minister David Cameron was once said to have termed “green crap” – some unnecessarily expensive, lefty lifestyle fad?Related: Grenfell shows just how Britain fails migrants | Nesrine Malik Continue reading...

The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox Continue reading...

Supermarket handed record fine for single incident of pollution after 23,500 litres of fuel escaped in HaslingdenTesco has been fined £8m fine after a massive fuel leak at one its petrol stations polluted a Lancashire river, killing fish and forcing those living nearby to leave their homes.It is the largest fine for a single incident of pollution and is second only to the £20m in fines and costs Thames Water was ordered to pay in March which related to multiple offences. Continue reading...

A great white pelican, a slow loris and wildebeest on migration in the Masai Mara are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world Continue reading...