Orcas on the attack, bioluminescent mushrooms and a giant Australian cuttlefish are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world 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...

Scott Pruitt denies basic science that we’ve understood for over a century

The $2.6bn project in St Lucia has promised sorely needed jobs, but critics say it threatens the natural environment and local cultureConservationists have warned that a planned $2.6bn resort development in St Lucia which aims to attract Chinese investors could threaten vulnerable species and change the character of the island.The project, known as Pearl of the Caribbean, will feature a resort, marina, casino, racecourse, shopping mall, apartments, villas and a free trade zone over about 800 acres at the southern tip of the island near the town of Vieux Fort and the international airport. Continue reading...

Seen from a drone’s eye view, the enormous earthmoving trucks, buses and tractors criss-crossing this corner of Somerset look like toy town models. The vehicles are dwarfed by their surroundings at Hinkley Point, where new footage has revealed the full scale of the site being prepared for Britain’s first new nuclear power station in a generation.

Whaling fleet returns to port after slaughtering hundreds of minke whales, in defiance of moratorium on hunting and global criticismA Japanese whaling fleet returned to port on Friday after an annual Antarctic hunt that killed more than 300 of the mammals, as Tokyo pursues the programme in defiance of global criticism.

Shrill carder bee and chequered skipper butterfly are among 20 endangered bugs, bees, butterflies and plants to benefit from £4.6m in lottery fundingEfforts to save some of England’s rarest species, including the shrill carder bee and the chequered skipper butterfly, from extinction are being backed by £4.6m in lottery funding. Continue reading...

Researchers creating virtual maps of coral reefs to precisely model how structure altered by environmental changeScientists are using 3D printing technology to create prosthetic coral that could be used to help the Great Barrier Reef recover from bleaching and storms.Researchers at the University of Sydney are creating virtual 3D maps of coral reefs to precisely model how their structure is altering as a result of environmental change. Continue reading...

Airedale, West Yorkshire The chiffchaffs are already here with their chiming two-step jingle, now we wait for the blackcapsIt’s a time of year for waiting and listening. The chiffchaffs are already here; they turned up mid-March, tumbling in off the Africa-Yorkshire flyway and filling the leafless beech tops with their chiming two-step jingle.Now I’m waiting for the blackcaps. The bird writer Edward Grey wrote of being “ears a-tiptoe for the first note of a blackcap” in early spring. But it’s not time yet. The blackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla) that bred and sang and chacked here last year won’t be back from north Africa or the Med until the first weeks of April. Continue reading...

• SES says it could not respond to calls overnight

Mass migration of species to cooler climes has profound implications for society, pushing disease-carrying insects, crop pests and crucial pollinators into new areas, says international team of scientistsGlobal warming is reshuffling the ranges of animals and plants around the world with profound consequences for humanity, according to a major new analysis.Rising temperatures on land and sea are increasingly forcing species to migrate to cooler climes, pushing disease-carrying insects into new areas, moving the pests that attack crops and shifting the pollinators that fertilise many of them, an international team of scientists has said. Continue reading...

Switching from animal fat derivative may prove tricky as WWF issues caution over environmental impact of using palm oilThe Bank of England is considering plans to replace the animal fat in its polymer bank notes to assuage complaints from vegans and religious groups.The Bank, however, risks running straight into another row, because the most practical alternative to animal fat, it says, is palm oil – and that is likely to spark protests from environmentalists unless it can be sustainably sourced. Continue reading...

A journalist filming floods in the aftermath of the storm found a dead bull shark in the town of Ayr, prompting residents to draw connections to SharknadoAn Australian journalist covering flooding from Cyclone Debbie was shocked to come across a dead bull shark that was apparently swept up in the deluge.The WIN News reporter Philip Calder told News Corp that he was in the town of Ayr to shoot video of a flooded road and couldn’t believe it when he came across a shark in a puddle. He said the shark was “the talk of the town” and many local people had turned out to touch it. Continue reading...

Campaigners celebrate victory for ‘water over gold’ after country unaninmously ushers through historic bill to end all forms of metal miningEl Salvador has made history after becoming the first country in the world to ban metal mining.Lawmakers in the water-parched country passed the ban in a unanimous vote on Wednesday, declaring El Salvador a mining-free territory. Continue reading...

The word climate does not appear once in the letter triggering the UK’s departure from Europe. But it’s not just in London that the issue seems to be slipping from the political stage

Elephant conservationists hopeful that demand for ivory in China is falling amid government clampdown on ivory sellers, but experts remain wary of poaching

Voters in the state elected Trump in hope he’d revive its core industry and inject more religion into American life – but many are unsure of whether he’ll deliverPastor Jerry Morrell was not playing to his audience. “I was asked if Donald Trump is a man of God,” the evangelical preacher told the congregation of The Way of Holiness church on the outskirts of Buckhannon, West Virginia. “I said: ‘No, I don’t see him as a man of God. Or, at this point, a godly man. I think he’s a man whose heart can be touched by God. I think he may be open to that’.”A silence fell. The cries of acclamation greeting much of the Pentecostal pastor’s sermon drained away. Continue reading...

System will include 3.4m solar panels and 1.1m batteries, with operations set to begin by end of 2017A huge $1bn solar farm and battery project will be built and ready to operate in South Australia’s Riverland region by the end of the year.Related: Elon Musk, meet Port Augusta: four renewable energy projects ready to go Continue reading...

Free reusables, 25p charge on disposables and green slogans in cafes could cut some of 2.5bn cups thrown away each year, finds studyIncentives such as a tax on disposable coffee cups or free reuseable replacements could help cut the number thrown away in the UK every year by between 50m and 300m, according to new research.An estimated 2.5bn throwaway coffee cups are used in the UK every year by consumers buying coffee from chains and cafes, creating approximately 25,000 tonnes of waste.

Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire Spring hasn’t ignited its neighbours but this red-barked giant is vibrant in the sunlightA banner of red falls amid ranks of anaemic grey: if sentient, this tree would have to be either mortified or cocksure, cutting such a bold dash in demure company. I shamble through ankle-snagging greenery and brownery as if through stubborn snow. My steps are crisp and disturb a sweet smell.I get to the tree. It’s magnificent: 40 metres at least. It seems all trunk, until odd, brief branches pop from its bark, lichen-greened serpents from a mythical head. Higher, and finally, the serpent branches thicken and burst with evergreen. Continue reading...

Video provided by Coalition Against Duck Shooting shows muddy pits full of dead birds they allege were shot and dumped by hunters who exceeded their bag limit on the opening weekend of Victoria’s duck hunting season Continue reading...

Women-owned suppliers make up just 2% of the retailer’s global purchases – but Walmart will join Coca-Cola, Pepsi and others in committing to buy more

British gardens also saw a ‘waxwing winter’ in this winter’s Big Garden Birdwatch, conservationists sayThe number of robins visiting gardens hit a 20-year high in this winter’s Big Garden Birdwatch, conservationists said.Average numbers of the robin seen in gardens were up to their highest levels since 1986, making it the seventh most commonly seen bird in the citizen science survey in January. Continue reading...

In the latest in our series on Australian green energy projects, we find out how the ACT is transitioning to 100% renewable energy, aided by the country’s largest community-owned solar farm• How the ‘nonna effect’ got Darebin’s pensioners signing up to solar

Helped by the country’s largest community-owned solar farm, Australia’s capital is making plans to provide all its energy from renewables. Wind turbines now being built around Canberra and the 1.2MW community-owned solar farm will ensure the ACT meets its 2020 goal. About 600 locals have a share in the scheme• Renewables roadshow: how Canberra took lead in renewable energy race

Mars Inc, Staples, The Gap and others speak out against Trump’s sweeping executive order that begins to dismantle Obama’s Clean Power PlanIn 2015, when Barack Obama signed the nation’s clean power plan, more than 300 companies came out in support, calling the guidelines “critical for moving our country toward a clean energy economy”. Now, as Donald Trump moves to strip those laws away, Mars Inc, Staples and The Gap are just a few of those US corporations who are challenging the new president’s reversal on climate policy.Related: Trump's order signals end of US dominance in climate change battle Continue reading...

Australian Conservation Foundation says Coalition and Labor failing workers and risking the country’s energy securityA major environment group has blasted Australia’s political parties for squabbling while energy security suffers after a Senate inquiry into the retirement of coal-fired power stations split three ways.The Senate’s environment and communications references committee has been inquiring into mechanisms for an orderly transition away from coal-fired power to lower emissions energy sources for several months. Continue reading...

Country Diarist who adopted the wilds of Scotland as his home and inspirationRay Collier, who has died aged 79, was devoted to the wildlife and landscape of Scotland, and used his years of experience, depth of knowledge and lively writing to kindle a similar love in others. A longstanding member of the Guardian’s band of Country Diarists, he also wrote for a sheaf of Highland newspapers, took eagerly to blogging when the world went online and was the author of two respected books.Born in Gloucestershire, he adopted the magnificent wilds of Scotland as his home and inspiration when his work for the Nature Conservancy took him north in the 1960s. When he retired in 2002, he was the chief warden for Scottish Natural Heritage, and so absorbed in his patch that he let his passport lapse and never renewed it. The scenery and wildlife on his doorstep were more than ample, especially as the doorstep extended from his porch in Strathnairn, near Inverness, to the Western Isles, Cape Wrath and the English border. Continue reading...

A 30-metre layer of salt discovered beneath Dead Sea reveals drought worse than any in human history – and it could happen againFar below the Dead Sea, between Israel, Jordan and Palestinian territories, researchers have found evidence of a drought that has no precedent in human experience.From depths of 300 metres below the landlocked basin, drillers brought to the surface a core that contained 30 metres of thick, crystalline salt: evidence that 120,000 years ago, and again about 10,000 years ago, rainfall had been only about one fifth of modern levels. Continue reading...

Department of Agriculture survey of planting intentions hints at record acreage for soybeans as agricultural community worries over low crop pricesIs “king corn” finally dead? For decades, corn has been the US’s most profitable crop, but after three straight years of low prices its dominance is being challenged and, this week, could officially end.

Critically endangered Indochinese tigers are captured on sensor-triggered cameras throughout 2016, set up in Thailand’s Eastern Forest Complex by the Forest Department and wildlife NGOs Freeland and Panthera. Conservationists say it gives hope for the survival of an animal whose total population is estimated at 221, spread across Myanmar and Thailand

Recreational climbers and Sherpas asked to help remove hundreds of kilograms of litter after series of deadly quakes on world’s highest peakThe government of Nepal and Everest expedition organisers have launched a clean-up operation at 21,000ft to remove rubbish left on the world’s highest peak after a series of deadly avalanches.

Lower cull targets are easier to achieve but risk increasing instances of TB in cattle rather than reducing them, warns expertThe government’s killing targets for the controversial badger cull in England are “deliberately being biased down”, according to a leading animal population expert.The badger cull, now rolled out to seven counties in England, is part of efforts to reduce the scourge of tuberculosis in cattle but has been heavily criticised by scientists. Continue reading...

Models suggest solar geoengineering could reduce climate change and our independently assessed studies are vital to understanding its full potentialEven if the world were to cut emissions to zero tomorrow, global temperatures and sea levels would rise for decades. If our roll of the climate dice is unlucky, they could rise for centuries. It is in this context that some climate researchers have begun to reluctantly take seriously ideas first proposed in the 1960s: the possibility of using solar geoengineering to help restore the world’s climate, alongside aggressive actions to reduce greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions to zero and below.

EU membership has given Britain vital environmental laws. Any changes to legislation must be done with full public scrutiny to protect us from exploitationWhen Theresa May fires the Brexit starting gun by triggering article 50, she will start a process that could dramatically reshape almost every aspect of British life – from our economy, laws, and place in the world to our natural environment. The difficult choices our politicians make in just a few years could change the face of Britain for generations to come.Even before the tough bargaining with the EU and other countries start in earnest, another, more domestic negotiation process will get underway – the constitutional power struggle between parliament and government over who will have the final say on the momentous Brexit decisions. A lot will ride on the outcome of this tug of war, and that includes the fate of many vital environmental safeguards we take for granted.

Collapse of Toshiba unit, which has technology in about half world’s reactors, will deal blow to UK’s nuclear strategyWestinghouse Electric, the US nuclear power plant giant, has filed for bankruptcy protection, threatening a further blow to the UK’s atomic energy programme.

Critically endangered Indochinese tigers are captured on sensor-triggered cameras throughout 2016, set up in Thailand’s Eastern Forest Complex by the Forest Department and wildlife NGOs Freeland and Panthera. Conservationists say it gives hope for the survival of an animal whose total population is estimated at 221, spread across Myanmar and Thailand

Category-four storm has damaged thousands of north Queensland properties and communities face days without power• Police search for owners of cars found in floodwaters – as it happenedCyclone Debbie has damaged thousands of north Queensland properties, leaving some residents homeless in communities that face days without power after being cut off by floodwaters.The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, said the scale of Tuesday’s disaster was “significant” and it would take months for the communities worst hit by the category-four cyclone to recover. Continue reading...

Better infrastructure for transporting people by bike is great. But cycle freight could free up roads and transform cities and towns tooThe plastic bike basket I bought online was billed as “large”, but even so I was amazed when it arrived. This was a behemoth – a cavernous, black box into which you could as easily fit a decent-sized dog as a bag of shopping.Fitted to my new commuter bike, the initial effect was comical. But such worries were soon forgotten given how astonishingly useful it proved. Continue reading...

While observing sperm whales off the Sri Lankan coast, Philip Hoare came face to face with eight hunting orcas who had no fear of the 100-strong sperm whale pod Continue reading...

OceanWatch had expressed hope cyclone could have alleviated pressure the reef is under and prevented further bleachingThe cooling effect of Cyclone Debbie will not be enough to prevent further mass bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef, a leading marine scientist has said.The category-four tropical storm made landfall on the north Queensland coast on Tuesday, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Airlie Beach, Proserpine and Bowen were among the worst hit, though Hamilton, Hayman and Daydream islands were also affected. Continue reading...

St Dominic, Tamar Valley The hardier bulbs have naturalised and merged with bluebells, ferns, dog’s mercury and moschatel, shaded by scrub and treesLucifer, Sunrise, Croesus and Bernardino, narcissi with orange cups and creamy-white petals, should be at their best but hail and wind have battered these successors to the yellow-trumpeted daffodils. Bath’s Flame, on a taller stem with spreading lemon-yellow petals and scarlet-rimmed centre, is also spoilt, part-eaten by snails and little slugs.Here, on this historic market garden, about 20 old-fashioned varieties have been identified, still growing in their original patches and rows in woodland and, occasionally, cut grass; a tithe map from the 1840s shows the land as orchard, so the oldest sorts, Princeps and Van Sion, could date from then. Continue reading...

Hope for critically endangered cats as only 221 Indochinese tigers, which once ranged across much of Asia, are thought to remain in Thailand and MyanmarConservationists say they have evidence the critically endangered Indochinese tiger is breeding in a Thai jungle, giving hope for the survival of an animal whose total population may be only a little over 200.Thailand’s conservation authorities, along with two private organisations, have announced photographs of new tiger cubs in eastern Thailand, supporting a scientific survey that confirmed the existence of the world’s second breeding population. Continue reading...

Craig Kelly, who chairs backbench committee on environment and energy, says he thinks Paris agreement is ‘cactus’Australia will need to review its participation in the Paris agreement on climate change if Donald Trump follows through with his threat to withdraw from the treaty, according to the chair of the Turnbull government’s backbench committee on environment and energy.

Europe poised to take baton from US as leader in global efforts to fight climate change, with America’s commitment to Paris accords at riskThe European Union has led criticism of Donald Trump’s effort to unravel Barack Obama’s measures to combat climate change, suggesting that Europe will now take the lead in global efforts.

Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday to undo a slew of Obama-era climate change regulations that his administration says is hobbling oil drillers and coalminers, a move environmental groups have vowed to take to court. The decree’s main target is Barack Obama’s clean power plan that required states to slash carbon emissions from power plants – a critical element in helping the United States meet its commitments to a global climate change accord reached by nearly 200 countries in Paris in 2015

Environmentalists decry ‘embarrassing’ order to review Obama’s clean power plan and other regulations, as White House claims victory for coal industryDonald Trump launched an all-out assault on Barack Obama’s climate change legacy on Tuesday with a sweeping executive order that undermines America’s commitment to the Paris agreement.Watched by coalminers at a ceremony at the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, the president signed an order to trigger a review of the clean power plan, Obama’s flagship policy to curb carbon emissions, and rescind a moratorium on the sale of coalmining leases on federal lands. Continue reading...

Australian Medical Association says health impacts of unemployment and blackouts need to be considered when closing brown-coal power plantsThe head of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Michael Gannon, has said the health benefits of closing down brown-coal power plants need to be considered against the health impacts of unemployment and blackouts.The Hazelwood power station will permanently close on Friday, affecting 500 staff and 300 contractors who will lose their jobs. Hazelwood, in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, is Australia’s dirtiest power station and one of the most polluting power stations in the world. Continue reading...

Trump’s anti-science budget, anti-climate executive orders, and general disdain for scientific expertise come at a bad time

Toshiba’s US subsidiary, which has technology in about half world’s reactors, expected to file for bankruptcy protectionA financial crisis at a major nuclear energy business is threatening to deal a blow to the UK’s atomic energy programme.Toshiba’s US nuclear subsidiary Westinghouse Electric is believed to be on the brink of filing in the US for bankruptcy protection from creditors. A UK expert said the collapse would leave a considerable hole in Britain’s new nuclear ambitions as Toshiba is a key player behind plans for a new power station at Moorside in Cumbria. Continue reading...