Epping Forest Yellow rattle steals nutrients from grasses, releasing butterfly-friendly plants from the oppression of shadeThe poet John Clare crossed here 180 years ago seeking the “furze and clouds” of Buckhurst Hill, but I’m happy to linger on Whitehall Plain amid its dazzling drifts of buttercups. Natural grasslands are now rare in southern England – 98% of them were destroyed in the 50 years after 1945 – and too often seen as easily replicated green space. Not here in Epping Forest, though. Beneath its surface gloss of buttercups, this old pasture, which straddles London’s boundary with Essex, is complex and dynamic.

Former prime minister says Bill Shorten the favourite to win election and Coalition must not adopt a new tax on coalTony Abbott has declared the new clean energy target proposed by the chief scientist, Alan Finkel, sounds like a “magic pudding” and he says the Coalition must not adopt a new tax on coal.

Originally published in the Guardian on 17 June 1967DARTMOOR: The best way to see the country of the high moorland is, I am now convinced, from horseback. A docile eight-year-old mare carried me for three hours over Holne Moor and along the thickly wooded valley of the Dart and provided a morning of great delight. Early in the ride, descending from the moor to the river valley, we started a buzzard from the heather. The bird rose into the air and crossed the valley in gracious soaring and gliding. The silhouette of the buzzard is particularly appropriate to its function as a bird of prey – a menacing dark brown shape with broad wings upturned at the tips. Its loud mewing call which echoed in the confined valley was an eerie warning to small creatures on the ground.Related: Dilemma on the moor: The truth about pony slaughter on Dartmoor Continue reading...

Engineers call them nano-particles, and close to congested roads and busy airports, we inhale them in astonishing numbersIn 1996, the Scottish scientist Anthony Seaton put forward a new theory about the health problems from modern air pollution. Throughout our evolution, we have always lived with dusts, but Seaton suggested that the problems from modern air pollution were due to the sheer number of tiny pollution particles that we are now exposed to.Related: Time for the oil industry to snuff out its flares Continue reading...

The new environment secretary will need every bit of his famed intellect to come up with a post-Brexit replacement for the Common Agricultural PolicyIf Michael Gove brings the same zeal to bear in his new post as environment secretary as he exercised on schools and prisons, some of Britain’s farmers may be in for a shock.Even before he gatecrashed last year’s Tory leadership contest, knocking his supposed friend Boris Johnson out of the race, Gove was a deeply controversial figure. Continue reading...

Miner initially said it was selling Coal & Allied to Yancoal, which is majority controlled by China’s Yanzhou CoalA multibillion-dollar bidding war for most of Rio Tinto’s Australian coalmines has broken out between China-backed Yancoal and Glencore after the Swiss commodities company made an unexpected offer.Rio Tinto, the world’s second-largest miner, is exiting coalmining in Australia at a time of falling prices and market volatility. Continue reading...

The world’s biggest companies, from Starbucks to Victoria’s Secret, use prisoners to work on their products. Is it helpful work experience or sheer exploitation?We are all, at heart, ethical consumers. I’ve never met anyone actively looking for a dose of slave labour with their teabags, window frames or underwear.71% of companies surveyed in 2015 believed their supply chains might contain some form of slavery Continue reading...

Minister argues Alan Finkel’s recommendations won’t punish existing coal-fired power stations nor rule out new onesThe federal energy minister is working to convince all his Coalition colleagues of the merits of a proposed clean energy target as several publicly raise concerns about its impact on coal.Josh Frydenberg is at pains to point out the recommendations from chief scientist Alan Finkel’s review of electricity market security would neither punish existing coal-fired power stations nor rule out new ones. Continue reading...

Use of wrasse to combat parasite threatens natural stocks, say expertsSalmon farmers have been accused of playing dirty by using fish caught in the wild to clean lice from Scottish fish farms. Marine conservation experts say that shipping tonnes of English-caught wrasse a year – to tackle lice infestations in salmon pens north of the border – is endangering natural stocks. English anglers have also warned wrasse is becoming harder and harder to find in local waters.However, salmon farmers have rejected the charge. They say the use of wrasse as a “cleaner” fish is part of a long-term plan to replace chemicals – which are currently administered to pens to control lice infestations – with sustainable, biological controls. Continue reading...

South Uist The dominant hue will change gradually, as first one then another wildflower species comes to the fore on land left to lie fallowThe continuation of traditional crofting methods ensures that the island’s machair is still celebrated for the spectacular profusion of wildflowers that occurs in the summer. Yellows, whites, purples and blues are all present, though the dominant hue will change gradually, as first one then another species comes to the fore on the land left to lie fallow. But where, after their period of rest, different areas are put back under cultivation, there are other changes in colour.

Marine mammal experts make ‘really tough decision’ after rough sea conditions hinder rescue attempts• Australian volunteers help keep animal breathing – video

Brown bear protecting three cubs closes Poenari Castle used by Romania’s Vlad the Impaler in the 15th centuryWhile Dracula’s legend usually fails to scare tourists away from the blood-sucking vampire’s 15th century castle, a large, furry and protective mother bear has had more success.

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...

A stalking tiger, playful long-eared owl chicks and a rare dormouse are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world Continue reading...

A directeur sportif must juggle route navigation, team communication, tactics and technical backup – all while driving at high speed. Amy Sedghi hitches a ride on the women’s Tour de Yorkshire to see how it’s done“I need a bike change”. The urgent call comes after about 45km.Another rider has hit Audrey Cordon-Ragot’s rear wheel in women’s Tour de Yorkshire and the radio crackles with her call for a replacement to be brought forwards. The Wiggle High5 team’s directeur sportif, Donna Rae Szalinski, has her foot on the accelerator and a hand on the horn, beeping a warning at the other support cars as she zips up the right hand side at 70kmh to deliver a new bike. Continue reading...

The highly anticipated Finkel review on the future of the national electricity market was released on Friday. Its weak emissions target breaks Australia’s Paris commitments, but the review may well end the deadlock on carbon emissions that has plagued politics for over a decade Continue reading...

Voluntary initiative marks first time companies from Asia, Europe and US have joined together to stop overfishing, illegal catch and use of slave labourNine of the world’s biggest fishing companies have signed up to protect the world’s oceans, pledging to help stamp out illegal activities, including the use of slave labour, and prevent overfishing.The initiative will be announced on Friday, as part of the UN Ocean Conference this week in New York, the first conference of its kind at which member states are discussing how to meet the sustainable development goal on ocean health. Continue reading...

Helpers endure the rain and swell to look after a whale that became stuck on a beach in New South Wales, Australia. The group used guide ropes to keep the animal upright as the tide fell, enabling it to breathe. The animal, which is nine metres long and weighs about 18 tonnes, will remain beached at least until the high tide arrives in the evening, experts said. Continue reading...

Rescuers will try to refloat the 9m-long juvenile, which weighs up to 18 tonnes, at Sawtell on Saturday morningRescuers are working to save a young humpback whale that washed onto a beach on the New South Wales mid-north coast on Friday. The animal, which is nine metres long and weighs around 18 tonnes, would remain beached at least until the high tide arrives in the evening, experts said.Beachgoers spotted the whale in the surf at Sawtell Beach south of Coffs Harbour early on Friday and it washed closer to shore at about 7am. Continue reading...

Trump’s climate stance is blatant and extreme but just as damaging is the daily denial that goes unchallenged, from airport expansion to pub patio heaters. A first step to change is to call it out #DailyClimateDenialYou know things are bad when it takes Donald Trump pulling the US out of the Paris agreement for climate change to be discussed during the UK election. His climate denial is of the extreme and obvious variety: pages were removed from the Environmental Protection Agency website explaining its causes and consequences when he came into office.Equally if not more damaging, however, is the daily climate denial that passes mostly unremarked all around us. The Institute of Directors recently proposed not one, but two new airport runways for London in a report called Let’s push things forward. It made no mention of the effect on rising emissions and a better title might have been “Let’s push things over the edge”. The oil company BP’s irony free sponsorship of the British Museum’s Sunken Cities exhibition merely highlighted how removed climate now is from our everyday cultural imagination.

Chief scientist’s report flies in the face of previous recommendations on reducing electricity emissionsLess than two weeks ago, Alan Finkel told the Senate his landmark report would help Australia meet the commitments it made in Paris to reduce its economy-wide emissions by 28% below 2005 levels by 2030.But his recommendations on the future of the National Electricity Market, released today, appear to fly in the face of those very commitments. Continue reading...

Langstone, Hampshire Bees scouting the hawthorn unrolled their tongues to mop up the sticky fluid excreted by the greenflySince mid May the hawthorn next to my kitchen window has been covered with greenfly. The leaves and stems are plastered with clusters of the sap-sucking insects and a dandruff of white cast skins, which the sub-adults moult as they mature.Reproducing asexually by parthenogenesis, these aphids give birth to live offspring born with the embryos of the next generation inside their bodies. Nymphs reach sexual maturity in as little as five days, and a reproductively active adult can produce up to 12 genetic copies of itself a day. Continue reading...

Report by the chief scientist, Alan Finkel, models a clean energy target that would reduce electricity emissions by 28% on 2005 levelsAustralia’s chief scientist says a new clean energy target will deliver lower power prices to consumers than the status quo, but his report also models a scheme with a low target for emissions reduction from the electricity sector.

Tony McAvoy says traditional owners are ‘proud and independent’ and are not being used by anti-mining activists to block the $16bn mineOne of Australia’s leading native title lawyers has spoken publicly for the first time as a traditional owner fighting to stop the Adani mine, a campaign he said was driven by “proud and independent people” who were among the best-informed Indigenous litigants in the country.Tony McAvoy SC, who became Australia’s first Indigenous silk in 2015, said the Wangan and Jagalingou people were keenly aware of how their priorities differed from environmentalist allies in a battle to preserve their Queensland country from one of the world’s largest proposed coalmines. Continue reading...

Nicaragua wants a tougher deal, writes Helen Yuill; and Dorothy Starr wants her president’s state visit to the UK called offWe welcome your excellent coverage of President Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement (Anger at US as Trump rejects climate accord, 2 June). However, there are references to the US joining Syria and Nicaragua in rejecting the agreement. Presented out of context, this comparison is flawed. Syria didn’t sign because of the catastrophic civil war. Nicaragua refused to sign because it believes the agreement is too weak to address the enormity of the consequences of climate change, particularly in vulnerable developing countries.Paul Oquist, Nicaraguan representative to the Paris talks, pointed out that the Paris carbon reduction targets are non-binding and even if fully met would lead to a catastrophic three-degree temperature rise. Oquist also highlighted the lack of political will and ambition on the part of the largest polluters, their failure to accept historical responsibility for global warming, and the lack of financial resources for technological transfer, adaptation, and compensation for losses and damages. He went on to say: “The Paris Agreement will not solve global warming problems but merely postpone them.” Continue reading...

EU’s new consensus sets out vision for European development policy, reinforcing the global goals, but critics say commitments do not go far enoughMajor European countries have pledged to keep the Paris climate agreement on track amid “wavering” world commitment in a new development consensus agreed between the EU’s member states and signed in Brussels on Wednesday.“These are challenging times,” said Neven Mimica, European commissioner for international cooperation and development. “The global commitment to the sustainable development goals – to climate action, to solidarity – this seems to be wavering globally. The significance of this new European consensus on development becomes much bigger than the sum of its parts because of this global questioning of climate action and even the sustainable development goals.” Continue reading...

Guarani-Kaiowá leader Ladio Veron is seeking international support to end violence against indigenous people and environmental destruction under the Temer administration, reports MongabayLadio Veron, leader of Brazil’s indigenous Guarani-Kaiowá people, is touring Europe and making a desperate international appeal to halt attacks and killings, land theft and environmental destruction that his people say have become a hallmark of Brazil’s Temer administration.The Guarani-Kaiowá is fighting for recognition of their indigenous land rights in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul in southwest Brazil, bordering Paraguay. After decades of violent territorial disputes with cattle ranchers, soy and sugar cane farmers, Veron hopes to galvanize support and build an international network of allies that will put pressure on Temer and the agribusiness lobby-dominated National Congress back home. Continue reading...

The president’s ‘put a solar panel on it’ policy to fund the wall may be expensive, impossible to build – and it’s unclear what the energy would be used forThe president this week proposed a radical way to fund his proposed Mexican border wall: covering it in solar panels.The same Donald Trump who has spent years criticizing renewable energy as uneconomical and who has pulled the US out of the Paris climate agreement has now floated the idea of adding solar panels to his proposed barrier along the the US–Mexico border. Continue reading...

Local and international efforts might be enough to limit the damage Trump’s scorched Earth approachI was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not ParisSo said Donald Trump in a speech justifying his irrational, historically irresponsible decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris international climate treaty. Of course, 75% of Pittsburgh residents voted for Hillary Clinton, and many city residents have since written about the outdatedness and absurdity of Trump’s invocation of Pittsburgh, which aims to be 100% powered by renewable energy by 2035. In fact, Pittsburgh joined 210 other “climate cities” representing 54 million Americans (17% of the national population), pledging: Continue reading...

Rich Thomson was surfing off Bantham beach in south Devon when a metre-long shark bit his handIt won’t go down as a great tale of derring-do on the high seas and it is very unlikely that a film or book deal will follow. But a teacher from Devon has a salty story to tell after an episode in which a “small shark” drew blood while he was surfing in south-west England.Rich Thomson, 30, a chemistry teacher at Kingsbridge community college, was off Bantham beach in south Devon when he said he felt something grab him by the leg. Continue reading...

Sector will have to ensure around the clock supply as chief scientist also demands three years’ notice over station closuresNew security and reliability obligations will be imposed on power generators, and ageing plants will have to provide regulators with three years’ notice before they close, according to sweeping reforms proposed by Australia’s chief scientist.

Large-scale installations across Aarhus city depict nature, and man’s relationship with it, in three categories: the past, present and future – from a structure highlighting bee decline to a reflection on light pollution• ARoS Art Museum’s triennial The Garden – End of Times, Beginning of Times runs until 30 July; The Past section runs until 10 Sept Continue reading...

Plastic bags are an infamous problem in Nairobi. They clog its waterways and litter its streets. The Kenyan government is attempting to ban their use from August – with implications for businesses from supermarkets to recyclers. Continue reading...

Sandy Bedfordshire As the damsels flew upstream I began to wade with the fishes. It felt like a release, liberation evenWalking barefoot through a field of long grass, I poked into a molehill with my big toe. Its summit was like toasted breadcrumbs and the dislodged granules rolled down the slopes as loose scree.My rotating foot waggled deeper, finding darker, damp, earth that held firm. The moisture suggested that this molehill was an eruption from the night before; the toes told what the eyes could only surmise. Continue reading...

Safety and security concerns raised after equipment inspection at research facility just north of Tokyo goes wrongFive workers at a Japanese nuclear facility have been exposed to high levels of radiation after a bag containing plutonium apparently broke during an equipment inspection.Contamination was found inside the nostrils of three of the five men, a sign they had inhaled radioactive dust, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) said on Wednesday. All five also had radioactive material on their limbs after removing protective gear and taking a shower. Continue reading...

Exclusive: On the eve of the long-awaited Finkel review, analysis shows Australia’s emissions rose sharply in the first quarter of 2017Australia’s carbon emissions jumped at the start of 2017, the first time they have risen in the first few months of a year for more than a decade, according to projections produced exclusively for the Guardian.Emissions in the first three months of the year normally drop compared with the previous quarter, driven by seasonal factors and holidays. But in something not seen in since 2005, emissions rose in the first quarter of 2017 compared with the last quarter of 2016 by 1.54m tonnes of CO2, according to the study by consultants NDEVR Environmental. The rise was driven by increases in emissions from electricity generation. Continue reading...

In a change of tone, Utah governor Gary Herbert has backpedaled and asked the federal government not to allow oil and gas drilling around the famous parkWhen Utah governor Gary Herbert changed his mind last week and decided oil and gas companies should not be allowed to drill near Zion national park, it seemed like a remarkable change of tone.The Republican has been a staunch advocate for rolling back public land protections and had earlier endorsed the idea of drilling near the 229 sq mile park. In February, he signed a resolution urging Donald Trump to rescind national monument status for the 1.3m acres known as Bears Ears in south-eastern Utah. Doing so would allow expansion of current leases for oil and gas development and grazing. Continue reading...

In just 31 hours, Guardian US exceeded its target to support a new series on the threat to America’s public lands. We’d like to thank you for your generosity

Nuclear, wind and solar power in UK generate more electricity than gas and coal combined for first time ever

The human-elephant conflict plays a huge role in the rapid decline elephant numbers. A panel of experts share ideas on how to mitigate this problemWe need conservation (not just fighting the illegal wildlife trade which has captured the limelight more recently) to be far higher up the political agenda. For example, we in the UK could be much more effectively linking overseas aid (budget of £12bn this year) to poverty relief, sustainable development and environmental protection, ecosystem services and conservation priorities. Will Travers, president, Born Free Foundation Continue reading...

China, US and Europe accounted for more than 90% of electric vehicle sales last year with decreasing costs driving demandThe number of electric cars in the world accelerated past the 2m barrier last year, as prices fell and manufacturers launched new models.Related: Business Today: sign up for a morning shot of financial news Continue reading...

Academic uses mining industry lecture to accuse ‘cashed-up green groups’ of harming native title ambitions in campaign to stop Carmichael mineProminent Indigenous academic Marcia Langton has blasted the campaign against the controversial Adani coalmine, saying the Greens and the “environmental industry” are treating Indigenous people as “collateral damage”.

Former PM says he is concerned by reports that Finkel review is aiming towards 70% renewables by 2030Tony Abbott has fired a public warning shot ahead of Friday’s release of the Finkel review, declaring it would be a “big mistake” for the government to adopt a low emissions target which knocked out new high-efficiency coal-fired power stations.

A growth in demand for elephant parts to be used in traditional medicine in Asia means the number of elephants being killed in Myanmar is rising

Mizen Head to Malin Head is a 510-mile trip that takes in the breathtaking Maumturk Mountains, the empty beaches of Cork and Kerry, and the wilderness of the BurrenSend anyone to the west coast of Ireland and they will fall in love with it at some point. For me it was at a junction in Maum, County Galway, where I had stopped to take a photo of a signpost but ended up having my breath taken away by the Maumturk Mountains in all their pastoral, sunlit glory. Continue reading...

Lowy Institute polling also finds 57% of people consider climate change to be a ‘critical threat’The vast majority of Australians want the government to focus on renewable energy, even if that means more money needs to be spent on making the system reliable, according to polling by the Lowy Institute.Of 1,200 adults polled in March, 81% agreed with the statement: “The government should focus on renewables, even if this means we may need to invest more in infrastructure to make the system more reliable.” Continue reading...

Guardian experts give their view on the main parties’ public service manifesto pledges. Here, our environment editor looks at energy, pollution and recycling

66% spike in captures as bumper wet season connects major river systems in Northern Territory, allowed deadly reptiles to move around more freelyThe number of crocodiles caught in the Top End has soared after Territorians endured the third wettest wet season on record.There’s been a 66% spike in crocodile captures around Darwin and Katherine in the past year, the NT Parks and Wildlife Commission says.

Wenlock Edge, Shropshire The stripy sun fly joins the summer swarm of insects to the opening of the festival of flowersThe sun fly alights on a bramble leaf and alters its position as if by the clockwise clicks of an invisible dial. Gold on black, black on gold, it radiates. The sun fly is one of the syrphid flies, a hoverfly of rough flowery places such as this verge of a long-abandoned railway line through the woods.It’s a chunky little fist of bling, folding up a cut-glass wingspan of 25mm. Its thorax is black with three vertical yellow stripes – which has earned it the nickname of the footballer or the common tiger hoverfly. It presents a regal, black-banded backside of an abdomen with crescentic yellow markings like the folded gold of Saxon hoards. Continue reading...