Environment | The Guardian

Experts say construction delays and cost problems at two plants are due to lack of experience and absence of supply chainsThe roots of Toshiba’s admission this week that it has serious doubts over its “ability to continue as a going concern” can be found near two small US towns.It is the four reactors being built for nuclear power stations outside Waynesboro, in Georgia, and Jenkinsville, South Carolina, by the company’s US subsidiary Westinghouse that have left the Japanese corporation facing an annual loss of £7.37bn. Continue reading...

Federal authorities investigating prawn imports did not tell Biosecurity Queensland about breachesThe white spot virus outbreak that devastated prawn farms in south-east Queensland may have been avoided if federal authorities investigating quarantine failures had warned the state’s biosecurity agency, a review has found.The damning assessment is contained in the report of a marine biologist, Ben Diggles, who was contracted to investigate the white spot outbreak by the Fisheries Development and Research Centre – a body jointly funded by government and industry.

The Trundle, West Sussex Ramparts’ busy archaeologists send forth iron age pottery, shells and bones as they excavateAs we walked the perimeter of the ramparts, we noticed that the cropped turf-covered contours below were heavily tracked with molehills. We came across an area of fresh tumps, the newly excavated soil still damp and dark like coffee grounds.Related: Moles dig up buried treasure where human trowels are banned Continue reading...

Report says it will take 10 years to fix problems caused by the event, which ‘completely destroyed’ the riverbedA spiritual festival held along an Indian river last year, despite warnings by the country’s environmental watchdog, caused more than £5m of damage that could take 10 years to fix, according to a report.One of India’s most celebrated gurus, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, headlined the World Culture festival along Delhi’s Yamuna river in March last year, drawing more than 3 million visitors including the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi. Continue reading...

Anglers warned to avoid area as authorities and Qantas investigate leak of chemicals classified as an ‘emerging contaminant’A significant spill of firefighting foam at Brisbane airport has contaminated nearby waterways, killing fish and prompting warnings to recreational anglers.About 22,000 litres of the foam leaked in a Qantas hangar on Monday, the Queensland government confirmed. Continue reading...

EPA administrator declared an end to the government’s ‘war’ on coal in a speech to miners – an agenda that has been bitterly opposed by agency staff

Hopes that ministers will make special case for Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland after visit by business secretaryMinisters are believed to be on the verge of a U-turn on their manifesto pledge to halt the spread of subsidised onshore windfarms – on remote Scottish islands, at least.The business secretary, Greg Clark, visited the Isle of Lewis in the Western Isles on Monday to discuss the possibility of government support for turbines off the mainland. Continue reading...

The World Wildlife Fund released this footage filmed in March 2017 that shows the view from a camera attached to a whale in Antarctica. Scientists used suction cups to attach cameras to humpback and minke whales, revealing new feeding habits and their social lives. The data gathered will be used to protect whales and their ecosystems Continue reading...

Nearly every house in this rural 450-acre development of stargazers is equipped with its own domed observatory, and outdoor lights are strictly forbidden. Does it also hold answers for combatting America’s problem with light pollution?Take a nighttime drive into Arizona Sky Village, in a remote valley in south-east Arizona, and the only thing you can see clearly are the millions of stars twinkling overhead. Beyond the light show, the sky is a deep inky black, and the ground below is nothing but shadows. Dimmed car headlights might pick up spooked jackrabbits hopping through the desert brush, but the village’s unlit houses are all but invisible in the darkness.

Warnings remain in place for Bay of Plenty region as cyclone bypasses Auckland but is expected over South Island on FridayCyclone Cook has struck New Zealand with power outages, fallen trees and landslides reported around much of the central and eastern North Island, which bore the brunt of the storm.Cook, which forecasters feared could be the worst storm to strike New Zealand in decades, made landfall just after 6pm local time but by then many coastal villages were abandoned as five-metre swells combined with high tide and smashed against the deserted shoreline.

New tool maps the potential increase in bike journeys under different scenarios – from routes avoiding hills to adopting e-bikes – revealing health benefits and informing future investmentChances are you live in a place where less than one in 20 commuters regularly cycle to work. Sometimes people assume this is because England is too hilly, or that most home-to-work distances are too far to cycle. Hilliness and distance do matter. However, new research has found that this is only part of the story. With the right cycling conditions, cycling levels could be much higher than they are now. Continue reading...

For steak, click ‘synthetics’. For veg, click ‘cotton’. Meet the Israeli bringing a new dimension to boil in the bag cuisineA sprinkle of washing powder, a dash of fabric conditioner and a good slug of teriyaki sauce? Next time you load the washing machine, you might be adding some extra ingredients, if Israeli design student Iftach Gazit’s idea catches on. In response to our increasingly energy-conscious, time-poor existence, he has come up with a plan for boil-in-the-bag meals you can throw in with the laundry. Your dinner will come out steamed, pummelled and spun to a T.His project imagines a range of pre-packed foods, from steak with garlic and herbs to salmon in teriyaki sauce, that come in waterproof Tyvek bags complete with washing temperatures and nutritional information displayed in the style of clothing labels. “I was inspired by the craze of sous vide cooking, where food is vacuum-sealed and immersed in hot water for long periods of time,” says the 31-year-old from Tel Aviv. “But rather than cooking a piece of meat at 58C for two and a half hours, you could just set your washing machine to ‘synthetics’ for a long cycle. For vegetables, you could set it to a short hot ‘cotton’ programme.” Continue reading...

First WI report on food waste finds confusion persists over ‘best before’ and ‘sell by’ dates, with supermarkets potentially contributing to the problemThe Women’s Institute is urging supermarkets to do more to help consumers reduce their domestic food waste, after a survey of its own membership revealed widespread confusion about “best before” and “use by” labelling on packaging.Its new analysis of products on supermarket shelves found that “once-opened” instructions were often contradictory and often failed to make clear whether they were a guide to food safety or quality.

For 40 years I hunted elephants and other big game in the forests of Rwanda. This is how I became an ex-poacher

Sandy, Bedfordshire Climate change has boosted the songbirds’ advance northwards, and they seem to fill every copseIn the rising chorus over the past few weeks, one migratory bird has stood out as insistent, persistent, and more variable in its simple song than most books would have us believe.Chiffchaffs are on the up; climate change has warmed their advance northwards, and here in the south they seem to be filling every copse, every patch of scrubland. They are often heard, but far less frequently seen. Continue reading...

Reflecting the sun saves a building’s energy but it can also affect surrounding temperatures and offset carbon emissionsThere’s no shortage of measures that homeowners and businesses can take to lessen their environmental footprint – from better insulation and double glazing, to easing up on air-con usage and swapping in LED lights.

Raúl Grijalva of Arizona joins Center for Biological Diversity in call for environmental analysis that could delay any construction for several yearsA US congressman and environmental group have filed the first lawsuit targeting Donald Trump’s plan to build a 30ft wall on the US-Mexico border.The suit, brought by Congressman Raúl M Grijalva of Arizona and the Center for Biological Diversity in the US district court for Arizona, seeks to require the government to undertake a comprehensive environmental impact analysis before beginning construction. Continue reading...

Committee calls for deposit return scheme and free refill stations after finding capital hooked on bottled water but not recyclingThe amount of waste from single-use plastic bottles in London has risen out of control, according to a report from the London assembly environment committee.It calls on the mayor to consider introducing a deposit return scheme and to provide free tap water as an alternative. Continue reading...

The home of BHP and Mad Max can now take credit for kickstarting the large-scale solar industry in AustraliaBroken Hill is the birthplace of modern mining in Australia. It lends its initials “BH” to the mining giant BHP, and in January 2015 in an Australian first, the so-called Silver City was added to the National Heritage list in part due to its mining industry.The city is cut in half by a mine, with a giant pile of waste material rising from its centre. It can be seen from every street in town, like a monument to the stuff the city was built from.

It may be the spirtual home of Priscilla and Mad Max, but Australia’s first heritage-listed city is reimagining its future post mining and shifting its focus to renewable energy with large-scale wind and solar farms

Coal isn’t the future of the American economy – it’s renewable energy. The sooner Donald Trump realizes that, the betterIn the wake of President Trump’s latest executive orders to undo Obama’s efforts on climate and energy, it has become clear that climate science denial isn’t the only blind spot of this administration. It also suffers from what Australian commentator Waleed Aly calls “commercial denialism” – an attempt to fulfill the campaign promise to protect the dying coal industry all while ignoring the market forces that are leading to its demise.

The adder (Vipera berus) is Britain’s only venomous snake. An adder bite can be very painful and cause a nasty inflammation. The males emerge from hibernation as early as February but do little until early April when the females come out Continue reading...

Residents ‘dismayed’ after judges uphold decision to approve Cuadrilla shale gas operation in FyldeLancashire residents fighting to block a fracking site have said they are “truly dismayed” after losing a high court legal challenge.The Preston New Road Action Group and Gayzer Frackman, a professional clown, had applied for a judicial review of the government’s decision to approve Cuadrilla drilling for shale gas in Fylde. The group had argued five points of law had been breached. Continue reading...

The demise of Davie Bell memorial race has led to a fitting tribute to the legendary Scottish cyclistThe loss of a once popular road race from the UK cycling calendar is never a good thing, but a unique legacy has emerged from the ashes of one event in Scotland.The demise of the Davie Bell Memorial Race in 2015 – a National ‘A’ event which had been running since 1966 – prompted the organiser to look for other ways to promote cycling. Continue reading...

Adani says it released water into the Caley valley wetlands after Cyclone Debbie, but claims photos showing apparent contamination are ‘misleading’New footage reveals the scale of coal dust contamination of nationally significant wetlands after Cyclone Debbie hit Adani’s Queensland port, environmentalists claim.Helicopter and drone flyovers recorded footage showing a large part of the Caley Valley wetlands “smothered” by a “thick black sludge of coal”, together with lumps of coal scattered on a nearby beach where turtles nest, the Australian Conservation Foundation and Australian Marine Conservation Foundation said. Continue reading...

The Australian Conservation Foundation and Australian Marine Conservation Foundation say this footage shows the wetlands before and after the Abbot Point port water release, which caused visible coal dust contamination of Queensland wetland. After Cyclone Debbie, additional water was released from the Adani facility with government permission, but port manager Adani denies there has been visible contamination. The Queensland environment department is investigating Continue reading...

Mild winter, cold spring and late summer lead to fall in numbers as 40 of 57 species struggle to cope with fluctuating weatherButterflies in the UK have suffered one of their worst years on record, with 70% of all species experiencing a decline in numbers over the past year, according to conservationists.The annual UK butterfly monitoring scheme (UKBMS) found that 40 out of the 57 species studied saw numbers drop between 2015 and 2016, making 2016 the fourth worst year on record for the insects. Continue reading...

As the Pioneering Spirit prepares for a record-breaking lift for Shell, we look at its role in cleaning up the North SeaFestooned with cranes, oil pipelines and manned by a crew of several hundred, the Pioneering Spirit sits in the port of Rotterdam like a giant marine version of a forklift truck.Next month this vessel, one of the world’s largest ships, will arrive in the North Sea and attempt to remove the 24,500-tonne top of a Shell oil rig installed during the oil boom years of the 1970s. If successful it will be the heaviest ever single lift of a rig’s “topside”, and only the second by this purpose-built $3bn (£2.4bn) ship. Continue reading...

Croft Castle, Herefordshire The noble parasite is an actor in the uncanny drama of life feeding on lifeShe looks like a fly in a fur coat; her wings made of clear cellophane with black bat markings; her syringe proboscis not for piercing flesh but sipping nectar; she is either a blur of speed or a full stop. The bee-fly is a chimera of contradictions and as true a sprite of spring as any of the animals associated with the season.

Call for Palaszczuk government to allow crocodile-hunting safaris in far north Queensland follows string of recent attacksQueensland’s Katter Australian party MPs are threatening to block the upcoming state budget, unless the Palaszczuk government culls crocodiles.The Mount Isa MP, Robbie Katter, said he and fellow KAP MP Shane Knuth will block the budget unless the government supports their legislation to establish crocodile safaris in far north Queensland, along with other management strategies. Continue reading...

Company should not receive $900m loan for rail line because it claims project is viable without it, shadow minister for resources saysAdani should not receive a $900m concessional loan for a rail line from its proposed Carmichael mine because the company claims the project is commercially viable without taxpayer funds, Jason Clare has said.Speaking on Radio National on Wednesday, the shadow resources and northern Australia minister said it would be “terrific” if the project went ahead and created jobs but it should “stand on its own two feet”. Continue reading...

Loss of Great Barrier Reef alone could cost north Queensland 1m visitors a year, imperilling 10,000 jobs and draining $1bn from economyThe loss of coral reefs caused by rising sea temperatures could cost $1 trillion globally, a report from Australia’s Climate Council has projected, with the loss of Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef alone costing that region 1m visitors a year, imperilling 10,000 jobs and draining $1bn from the economy.The longest global coral bleaching event on record, which began in 2014 and has affected some reefs in consecutive years, has given reefs little chance to recover, and should be a “wake-up call” to act to save the natural and economic assets, the Climate Council’s Lesley Hughes said.

Art Cullen of 3,000-circulation Storm Lake Times awarded global prize for editorials challenging powerful interests in IowaA number of important local stories were leading the website of the Storm Lake Times, circulation 3,000, on Tuesday morning. Second-grader Alejandra Gonzales found a four-leaf clover in the field behind her school. A local woman had bought and renovated a building to house 25 elderly cats.And in a modest announcement of just a sentence, another notable local happening: on Monday, Art Cullen, the paper’s owner and editor, was awarded a Pulitzer prize, the most prestigious award in global journalism, for his editorial writing. Fellow honorees for 2017 include the rather better read New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Miami Herald. Continue reading...

Crisis creates concern about future of UK’s Moorside nuclear plant, in which subsidiary Westinghouse is a key playerToshiba, one of the biggest names in consumer electronics, has warned it is facing annual losses of more than £7bn and the future of the company is in doubt as a result of financial turmoil at its nuclear power plant construction business.

Corey Arnold is a fine art photographer and a commercial fisherman, working the stormy waters of the Bering Sea by Alaska. His latest work documents life in this remote wilderness, both at sea and on the shore, capturing trawlers, foxes, eagles and the grandeur of the scenery. Aleutian Dreams can be seen at Charles A Hartman Fine Art in Portland, Oregon, until 27 May Continue reading...

Damage comes after many coral reefs in Whitsundays were pummelled and broken by storm

Prime minister also confirmed company would seek $1bn government loan to fund rail line for $16bn project, after meeting Gautam Adani in New DelhiMalcolm Turnbull has assured the Indian billionaire hoping to build Australia’s largest coal mine in Queensland, Gautam Adani, that native title issues will not stop the $16bn project.The prime minister, who is halfway through a four-day visit to India, also confirmed the Adani Group would seek a $1bn government loan to fund a rail line for the Carmichael mine project, but said Adani understood the request would be independently assessed. Continue reading...

Bert Van Manen opposes federal loan to Indian miner for Carmichael coalmine, saying government or rail company should build the link insteadA Coalition backbencher has broken ranks with senior colleagues by declaring Adani should not receive a $1bn federal loan to build a railway for its Carmichael coalmine.Bert Van Manen, MP for the south-east Queensland seat of Forde, said he supported opening up the Galilee coalfields but the government or a rail company should build and run the rail link to port, not the miner. Continue reading...

New arachnids found in Queensland include brush-footed trap-door spider, which looks like a funnel web and can walk up glass doorsMore than 50 new species of spider, including a peacock spider with a “wonderful courtship behaviour, like dancing”, have been discovered in Queensland Australia’s Cape York region, during a 10-day trip by scientists from the Queensland Museum.The new arachnids, which are now being formally classified, include a brush-footed trap-door spider, a large black creature that looks like a funnel web with the added power of being able to walk up glass doors; a new species of swift spider, with fuzzy black and white front legs; and several new species of ant spider. Continue reading...

Ebernoe Common, West Sussex Swedes call it ‘early cuckoo morning’ – the act of getting up just to enjoy the first birdsongThe sun is rising above the trees. I cross the meadow, passing gorse bushes bursting with yellow flowers, and enter the wood by the small gate. I walk up the narrow, winding footpath, and a couple of woodcock fly up from the ground, scattering the leaves where they were hiding. The two striped brown birds dart away through the trees in their panic, as if they’d been fired from a gun. I wait for the air to settle after the commotion, look up to the canopy and listen.

Acting prime minister calls $900m concessional loan a ‘tipping point issue’ as Malcolm Turnbull meets Adani founderThe Adani Carmichael coalmine needs $1bn of government funds for a rail line because it is “a tipping point issue” to get the mine going, Barnaby Joyce has said.The Nationals leader has given a full-throated defence of subsidising the mine, telling Radio National that Australians should support it because they are “citizens of the world” and warning those that oppose fossil fuels “if you live with the butterflies, you will die with the butterflies”. Continue reading...

Glut in Indian coal market, plans to phase out imports and lower than forecast energy demands cast doubt on future for exports from proposed Adani mineMalcolm Turnbull is adamant that Australian coal will play “a very big role” in powering India’s future despite a glut in the local market and clear signals from Delhi that it aims to eliminate imports of the fossil fuel as soon as possible.The prime minister touched down in New Delhi on Monday for his first official visit to the south Asian giant. Selling Australia as an attractive destination for Indian students and reviving negotiations over a free-trade agreement are high on the agenda as the government vies for a slice of the world’s fastest growing major economy. Continue reading...

Opposition says Turnbull government must not fund new coal-fired power plants because they are not value for moneyLabor is calling on the Turnbull government to create a national framework for the “orderly exit” of ageing power stations, with a transition plan for thousands of workers who will lose their jobs from station closures in coming years.It also says the Turnbull government must stop funding new coal-fired power plants because commonwealth funding does not represent value for taxpayer dollars. Continue reading...

Australian prime minister confirms he will meet Gautam Adani but says mining company’s bid for government loan is independentMalcolm Turnbull has confirmed he will meet the founder of the Adani mining company, Gautam Adani, during his India visit, but would not be drawn on discussions about the company’s bid for almost $1bn in federal loans.Energy policy has dominated discussion before Turnbull’s visit, in which is due to meet the prime minister, Narendra Modi. Continue reading...

Expert says sensitive Caley Valley wetlands blackened by coal-laden water from Adani’s nearby port after rain from Cyclone DebbieCoal dust released from Adani’s Queensland coal port after Cyclone Debbie appears to have caused “massive contamination” of sensitive wetlands, an academic expert says.A vast swathe of the Caley Valley wetlands has been blackened by coal-laden water released from nearby Abbot Point port after Debbie’s torrential rains inundated its coal storage facilities last month. Continue reading...

Willaston, Cheshire Sorting through the bits and bobs, gathering leaf litter and twigs, they work in harmony like antsThere is a frisson of excitement, giggles and whispers, as the seven-year-olds file out of the school building, clutching bamboo canes and tiles, bits of corrugated cardboard and roofing felt, along with broken terracotta crocks.Today Year 2 are making a bug hotel. A great way of recycling and giving homes to all kinds of creepy crawlies, their teacher had explained earlier in the week before sending them home to raid garages and sheds. Continue reading...

Windfarm commissioner’s first report says complainants may fail to seek medical advice ‘due to the possibly incorrect assumption’ that nearby turbines are to blameThe office of the national windfarm commissioner is concerned people are not going to the doctor because they are incorrectly attributing symptoms of illness to windfarms.Commissioner Andrew Dyer published his first report to the Australian parliament on 31 March which revealed the office had received 90 complaint between November 2015 and 31 December 2016. Continue reading...

Back-to-back severe bleaching events, caused by warming oceans, have affected two-thirds of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, new aerial surveys have found. Climate change is not the only challenge – runoff-affected water quality, reef-killing crown of thorns starfish and the destruction of Cyclone Debbie also threaten the reef’s health. Scientists are warning that Australia has little time left to act on climate change and save the world’s largest living structure.

Car makers’ group SMMT claims latest vehicles are the ‘cleanest ever’ and vital in fight against climate changeCar manufacturers have hit back at the recent spate of negative comments about diesel vehicles, saying that the latest incarnations are “the cleanest in history” and “light years away from their older counterparts”.The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said diesel cars could play an important role in helping improve air quality in towns and cities and in tackling climate change. Continue reading...

Originally published in the Guardian on 13 April 1967NORTH DEVON: At the time of writing no oil from the Torrey Canyon has reached local beaches. On the other hand one has never had to look very far for oil waste in its coagulated state during recent years. It occurs in tiny pulverised fragments, indistinguishable from some of the constituents of shingle till it adheres to one’s foot, and in lumps up to the size of a football. The oiled carcass of a gannet or an auk is an only too familiar sight on the high water mark.The Atlantic drift which brings oil on to our coastline also carries less objectionable material: seeds, skeletons and bodies of sea creatures, shells, many of which have travelled a very long distance. Among these are seed cases and fruit from trees which are native to the banks of the Amazon; the flat, purple Entada scandens, the Sacoglottis amazonica, Mucuna the fruit of a climbing plant; objects which are of the size of a marble or golf ball. At the other end of the scale whales and sharks in addition to ships are sometimes cast up. What appeared to its discoverers to be the exceptionally well-preserved bones of “an extinct prehistoric reptile” turned out to be the skeleton of a whale buried by locals, as the simplest method of disposing of its bulk, earlier in the century. And when an expert hurried out to inspect an “Elizabethan canon” uncovered by the tide, he found it to be the rusted end-section of an old sewer! Continue reading...