Trend also reflects concerns over range and a lack of charging infrastructure affecting purely electric vehicles, experts say

As Americans worry about inflation and no planet B', some look to the trash for answersWhen Annemarie Cox drives around San Diego, she scans the urban landscape for one thing that the rest of the population likely ignores: dumpsters. Where other people see trash, she sees possibilities - quirky secondhand clothes, collectible antiques, even family heirlooms and photographs that have been casually discarded.On one recent Tuesday in southern California, the mid-morning sun already beating down, Cox's usual quest was under way. She paid a visit to one of her favorite local dumpsters, first resting her forearms comfortably on the sides and then reaching barehanded towards whatever was at the bottom. Other than a broken TV atop a huge stack of cardboard boxes, there wasn't much to find this time around. Continue reading...

Air conditioning isn't always enough to keep you safe - but people across the US have hacks to handle extreme heatAnother heatwave is sweeping much of the US this week, with millions under heat advisory. The blistering and potentially life-threatening temperatures come as much of the western US faces devastating wildfires and the north-east endures apocalyptic" floods.Scientists agree such conditions would be virtually impossible without the climate crisis. Last week saw the four hottest days ever recorded on the planet, and 2024 is expected to be the warmest year on record. Continue reading...

Campaigners say rare grassland on former firing range in Essex was mowed, killing the birds and their chicks that nest on the groundThe song of the skylark has filled poets' hearts for centuries, from Shelley's blithe spirit" to Wordsworth's ethereal minstrel". But there is little that is poetic about a row over the birds that has blown up in Colchester.Campaigners seeking to save Middlewick Ranges, a former Ministry of Defence firing range in Essex, are furious that some of the 76 hectares of rare grassland were mowed last month, an act that they believe has killed skylarks and their chicks, which nest on the ground. Continue reading...

Rescue body says dolphin spotted on Thursday may be further disoriented by human interferencePeople have been urged to stay away from a dolphin spotted in the River Thames.The common dolphin had been seen several times near Putney Bridge, south-west London, on Thursday, and had appeared to be struggling with the tide", but had not been seen since. Continue reading...

Centuries-old Montrose golf links falling into the sea and town at risk of flooding as coastal erosion acceleratesA beach in north-east Scotland is eroding rapidly owing to climate change, leaving a town at risk of flooding and its centuries-old golf links crumbling into the sea.The Dynamic Coast report in 2021 studied the rate of erosion at Montrose and predicted that 120 metres would be lost over 40 years, an average of 3 metres a year. Continue reading...

At least 23 sea lions with suspected domoic acid poisoning rescued from Santa Barbara and Ventura beachesSea lions are stranding themselves on a long stretch of the California coast in what experts say could be a sign of widespread poisoning by a harmful algae bloom this summer.The Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute (Cimwi) said that since 26 July, it had been inundated by daily reports of sick sea lions along the shoreline in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Continue reading...

Study has found that the lake, which has lost 73% of its water, released climate-warming emissionsFor years, scientists and environmental leaders have been raising alarm that the Great Salt Lake is headed toward a catastrophic decline.Now, new research points to the lake's desiccating shores also becoming an increasingly significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. Scientists have calculated that dried out portions of the lakebed released about 4.1m tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in 2020, based on samples collected over seven months that year. Continue reading...

Unexpected fledging is result of long-term restoration project to bring red-billed birds back to Kent coastlineThe chough, a charismatic cliff-dwelling corvid, has bred in Kent for the first time in two centuries.A young pair among eight birds released last year defied expectations to successfully breed this summer, making a nest on Dover Castle and rearing one chick, which fledged in June. Continue reading...

Environmentalists want DoJ to hold fossil fuel firms accountable and for presumptive nominee to lead chargeIf elected president, Kamala Harris should take on the fossil fuel industry for its history of spreading climate disinformation, environmentalists say.Forty US states and municipalities have sued big oil for allegedly spreading climate disinformation. For years, climate advocates and some lawmakers have said the Department of Justice should file a similar case. Continue reading...

The best of this week's wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...

So far this year officials warnings have been issued for 25 floods, and China is only halfway through its peak flood seasonHalfway through the peak flood season, China has already experienced the highest number of significant floods since record keeping began in 1998, and the hottest July since 1961, authorities said on Friday.This year so far it has recorded 25 numbered" events, which the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources defined as having water levels that prompt an official warning or are measured at a magnitude of a once in two to five years" event. Continue reading...

Ten stores will raise freezer temperatures by 3C to -15C amid pressure for move away from long-held industry standardMorrisons is testing out raising the temperature of its freezers by 3C in the first move by a UK supermarket to depart from a long-held industry standard, in order to save energy and money.The Bradford-based chain said it would increase the temperature on appliances in 10 of its stores to -15C from -18C, the industry standard set almost 100 years ago and left unchanged. Continue reading...

Paul Powlesland, the co-founder of Lawyers for Nature, says he considers the River Roding to be sacredWhen jurors are called to court, they are required to swear on a holy book or make a secular promise to tell the truth.So court officials were perplexed when the environmental activist and barrister Paul Powlesland was called for jury service and produced a vial of river water and asked to swear on the River Roding. Continue reading...

Reported temperatures on continent in midwinter reach 28C above expectations on some days in JulyGround temperatures across great swathes of the ice sheets of Antarctica have soared an average of 10C above normal over the past month, in what has been described as a near record heatwave.While temperatures remain below zero on the polar land mass, which is shrouded in darkness at this time of year, the depths of southern hemisphere winter, temperatures have reportedly reached 28C above expectations on some days. Continue reading...

Activists had admitted causing public nuisance for their part in four days of disruption on motorway in 2022Five supporters of the climate activist group Just Stop Oil have been jailed for climbing gantries over the M25 in an attempt to cause gridlock on the motorway.George Simonson and Theresa Higginson were sentenced to two years each, Paul Bell was sentenced to 22 months, and Gaie Delap and Paul Sousek were sentenced to 20 months for their part in the protests in November 2022. Continue reading...

DKNY, Tom Ford and Reebok among companies to score 0% in Fashion Revolution report ranking top 250 firmsAlmost a quarter of the world's biggest fashion brands, such as Reebok, Tom Ford and DKNY, do not have a public plan for decarbonisation, a report has found.The fashion industry can be highly polluting. In some casesforever chemicals have been found in the waters near factories. The industry is also a concerning source of waste, with fast fashion accused of encouraging overconsumption. Continue reading...

Protesters say recently approved tax-free datacentre will provide nothing except toxic waste and greenhouse gases'Google's plans to build a datacentre inUruguayhave angered environmentalists, who say the project will release thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide and hazardous waste.Uruguay's environmental authorities recently approved the datacentre, which will use air conditioning to cool its servers. The company initially proposed using millions of litres of fresh water to cool its infrastructure, but this caused an outcry in a country that suffered its worst drought since 1950 last year, causing its capital city to run short of drinking water. Continue reading...

UK lender has faced backlash for providing services to climate polluters and defence firms with alleged links to Gaza war

Biden's efforts to save mature trees are not getting enough Forest Service support, according to some conservationistsThey are the ancient giants of America - towering trunks of sequoias or beech or ash that started to sprout in some cases before the age of the Roman empire, with the few survivors of a frenzy of settler logging now appreciated as crucial allies in an era of climate and biodiversity crises.Joe Biden has vowed to protect these cherished" remnants of old growth forest, as well as the next generation of mature forests, directing his government to draw up new plans to conserve the ecological powerhouses that enable US forests to soak up about 10% of the country's carbon emissions, as well as provide a vital crucible for clean water and wildlife. Continue reading...

The annual coronation of a young girl symbolised a fishing community's hopes. Now, as the industry declines, it has evolved to reflect the powerful role of women and the change they bring about Photographs by Christopher ThomondThe sun is battling the clouds, but the forecast rain holds off as the flotilla enters the harbour. Lining the quayside, hundreds of local people and tourists cheer each boat as it appears, and the sound of a pipe band skirls on the breeze as families crane their necks. They are looking for WaveDancer, the final, most important vessel. Today it is carrying an honoured passenger: the Eyemouth Herring Queen.Fourteen-year-old Holly Blackie is the 80th Eyemouth Herring Queen (EHQ) and this year is particularly special as 50 former queens have travelled from all over the world to witness her coronation.Holly Blackie is crowned by the outgoing Herring Queen, Sophie Crowe Continue reading...

Cornwall Wildlife Trust initiative aims to benefit creatures from upland marsh fritillaries to seahorses in St Austell BayA Cornish conservation charity has launched an ambitious rewilding project intended to benefit creatures from marsh fritillary butterflies living high on the moor to long-snouted seahorses in seagrass in a bay five miles away.The Tor to Shore project will stretch from Helman Tor, a reserve topped with a granite boulder summit near Bodmin, to St Austell Bay via the tumbling River Par, its idea to improve a landscape at scale. Continue reading...

Japanese government confirms it will allow whalers to catch and kill up to 59 fin whales, a species conservationists consider vulnerable

Opposition leader's argument is puzzling given Canadian provinces dominated by renewables pay less for electricity

Nearly 100 wildfires are burning, including massive blaze in California that has become fifth-largest in state historyA person has been killed in one of several wildfires threatening heavily populated areas of the Colorado foothills, authorities said on Wednesday.A body was discovered in a home about 1 mile (1.6km) north of Lyons, Colorado, according to Curtis Johnson, the Boulder county sheriff. He said that detectives were assisting the investigation into the death, but declined to provide further details. Continue reading...

Central General Staff militant group previously said Cop16 event scheduled for October in Cali would fail'A dissident rebel group has backed down from its threat to disrupt the UN biodiversity summit in Colombia later this year.The Central General Staff (EMC), a guerrilla faction that rejected the country's 2016 peace agreement, said on Wednesday it would order its militants not to target the Cop16 negotiations that are due to begin in Cali in October.Find more age of extinction coverage here, and follow the biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield on X for all the latest news and features. Continue reading...

Charity wants to know how climate crisis is affecting plants and what UK gardeners are doing to mitigate effectsMost gardeners love nothing more than the chance to chat about what has worked and what hasn't in their flowerbeds this year.So the latest callout from the Royal Horticultural Society will be music to their ears; the RHS is asking for information about what flowered for ages, what loved being waterlogged and how plants did on the occasional hot day, so that they can draw up a plan for how to keep gardening alive during the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Almost 200 people still missing after heavy rains and access problems hamper second day of rescue operationThe death toll from a series of landslides in Kerala has risen to 166 and almost 200 people are still missing as the southern Indian state reels from one of its worst disasters in years.Hundreds of homes were swept away and crushed by two huge consecutive landslides in the hilly district of Wayanad in the middle of the night on Tuesday. Continue reading...

An extract from Andrea Freeman's Ruin Their Crops on the Ground unpacks government cheese - from Steve Harvey jokes to Jay-Z lyrics and WahlburgersDuring the Depression, when milk supply exceeded demand, the US government bought milk to keep its price stable and support dairy farmers. Then, trying to find a way to store or get rid of the surplus, it started stockpiling cheese, which lasts longer than milk.The government bought so much cheese that it eventually filled every cold storage in the country. But there was still more excess milk. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) rented half an acre in a Kansas cave and filled it floor to ceiling with blocks of cheese. At its height, the US had 2lbs of stored cheese for every resident. Continue reading...

Scorching temperatures in Mediterranean countries and north Africa already causing increase in premature deathsThe heat dome" causing scorching temperatures across western Europe and north Africa, and boiling athletes and spectators at the Olympic Games in Paris, would have been impossible without human-caused global heating, a rapid analysis has found.Scientists said the fossil-fuelled climate crisis made temperatures 2.5C to 3.3C hotter. Such an event would not have happened in the world before global heating but is now expected about once a decade, they said. Continued emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide will make them even more frequent, the researchers warned. Continue reading...

Scientists are discovering just how toxic wildfire smoke is to the body - here's what to know and how to stay safeAs dozens of wildfires rage across the US and Canada, blackening the skies once again this summer, scientists are revealing even more about how dangerous wildfire smoke is for our health.Some of the worst fires - including the Durkee fire in Oregon, the Park fire in California and the Jasper fire in Alberta, Canada - have sent smoke billowing for hundreds of miles around them, blanketing cities like Boise and Calgary with poor-quality air. Continue reading...

Critics say bill is a fossil fuel wolf in clean energy clothing' that would gut environmental protectionsUS senators should reject an energy-permitting reform bill being brought to committee on Wednesday by senators Joe Manchin and John Barrasso because it's a wishlist for the fossil industry" of the kind envisioned by Project 2025, environmental groups say.Manchin, a senator from West Virginia and a former Democrat who registered as an independent in May, and Barrasso, a Republican from Wyoming, argue their bill will speed permitting of power transmission, mining and liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects. Their bill will be voted on by the Senate energy and natural resources committee, of which Manchin, a longtime proponent of the reforms, is the chair and Barrasso is the committee's top Republican. Continue reading...

Advocates say nets are killing marine life and do not prevent shark bites but government says it will not remove them completely

Land and Environment Court fines state agency $360,000 for logging eucalyptus trees after black summer bushfires

In today's newsletter: The government has spent 1.6bn improving the river, but an ancient sewage system and the climate are muddying the waters Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning.An ambitious project to clean up the River Seine has left French officials up to their eyes in it.Israel-Gaza war | Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, has been targeted and killed in Tehran, the group said in a statement early on Wednesday morning. Iran's Revolutionary Guard confirmed the assassination, which was reported on Iranian state TV early on Wednesday morning, with analysts also claiming Israel killed Haniyeh, the Associated Press said.UK news | Keir Starmer has said those who rioted in Southport on Tuesday night will feel the full force of the law" after police vehicles were set alight and missiles hurled at officers. It came after far-right protesters pelted police with glass bottles and bricks and attacked a mosque following a knife attack that killed three children and left five other children and two adults in critical condition.Conservatives | Kemi Badenoch, the frontrunner to be the next Conservative party leader, has been accused of creating an intimidating atmosphere in the government department she used to run, with some colleagues describing it as toxic, the Guardian can reveal.US election 2024 | Donald Trump has repeated his weekend remarks to Christian summit attendees that they would never need to vote again if he returns to the presidency in November.Health | The hidden cost of rising workplace sickness in the UK has increased to more than 100bn a year, largely caused by a loss of productivity amid staggering" levels of presenteeism, a report warns. Continue reading...

Storms result in caved-in roads and crushed cars nearly three weeks after flooding from Hurricane BerylThunderstorms and torrential rain brought another wave of violent floods Tuesday that caved in roads, crushed vehicles, pushed homes off their foundations and led to dramatic boat rescues in north-eastern Vermont, nearly three weeks after flooding from Hurricane Beryl.Flash flood warnings remained in effect through Tuesday afternoon hours after some areas got 6 to more than 8in (15 to more than 20cm) starting late the night before. Continue reading...

The new budget comes after the previous government failed to award a single new offshore wind contract in 2023The Labour government will make record amounts of funding available to clean energy developers after it increased the value of its summer subsidy auction by 50%, to 1.5bn.The addition, compared with figures previously announced, means the total budget is seven times the amount available at last year's auction, the government said. Continue reading...

Firm says it is now re-adjusting to a realistic end date and blames difficulties in procuring new planes and sustainable jet fuelAir New Zealand has become the first major airline to drop its 2030 goal to cut carbon emissions.The company has blamed difficulties in procuring new planes and sustainable jet fuel. Continue reading...

Heavy rainfall, difficult terrain, destroyed roads and collapsed bridge have hampered rescue efforts in KeralaAt least 108 people have died and dozens more are missing after heavy rain led to a series of landslides in the Indian state of Kerala, with rescue operations hampered by poor weather conditions and the destruction of roads and bridges.The Kerala chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, confirmed the bodies of 108 people had been uncovered so far and dozens more were missing, feared dead after three massive landslides surged down the hills of the Western Ghats in Wayanad in southern India. About 128 people were injured in the disaster and thousands were moved to camps for safety. Continue reading...

Audit of Environmental Improvement Plan finds it inadequate as government announces overhaul of goalsGoals to stop the decline of nature and clean up the air and water in England are slipping out of reach, a new report has warned.An audit of the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP), which is the mechanism by which the government's legally binding targets for improving nature should be met, has found that plans for thriving plants and wildlife and clean air are deteriorating. This plan was supposed to replace the EU-derived environmental regulations the UK used until the Environment Act was passed in 2021 after Brexit. Continue reading...

John Podesta says negotiations to find a path forward' continue with urgent discussions planned for Cop29Trade frictions and increasing tension between the US and China won't affect climate negotiations between the two superpowers if he can help it, the US climate chief has pledged.John Podesta, a senior adviser to Joe Biden on international climate policy, said the relationship between the world's two biggest emitters and largest economies was critical to climate action, despite what appears to be a deepening gulf over trade policy. Continue reading...

Reusable' is now a selling point for products that should, inherently, be reusable to begin with - and we're buying itI used to keep a plastic bag of plastic bags under my kitchen sink. Like the water in the pipes above, around which they accumulated, it seemed I had bags in unlimited supply. A few years ago, when my city enacted a plastic bag ban, the collection started waning. Now, I treasure the once ubiquitous sacks, doling them out judiciously for use as diaper pail liners and stewards of wet bathing suits, while down the hall, at the back of my coat closet, another mass is metastasizing: totes upon totes upon totes.They're often referred to as reusable tote bags. And that sounds perfectly normal. But it shouldn't. Imagine saying reusable backpack" or reusable shoes". Most things were never intended to be used just once - not until several decades ago, when plastics ushered in an era in which everyday goods were designed, marketed and sold for exactly that: one, single use. Continue reading...

Oil and gas company to increase dividend and buy-backs as quarterly profit beats forecasts

State-owned SAIC, parent of the British brand MG, was responsible for biggest jump in sales in June

Harris, who had previously urged fracking ban, plans to highlight climate contrast between Democrats and TrumpKamala Harris will not seek to ban fracking if she becomes US president, campaign officials have confirmed, with the de facto Democratic nominee expected to focus instead on aggressively promoting the stark contrast on the climate crisis between Joe Biden's administration and Donald Trump.Harris had previously, as a candidate for the 2020 presidential nomination, vowed to ban fracking, as well as back a Green New Deal, a progressive resolution to shift the US to 100% renewable energy, and new government dietary guidelines to encourage people to reduce their meat eating. Continue reading...

Researchers call for immediate action to reduce methane emissions and avert dangerous escalation in climate crisisGlobal emissions of methane, a powerful planet-heating gas, are rising rapidly" at the fastest rate in decades, requiring immediate action to help avert a dangerous escalation in the climate crisis, a new study has warned.Methane emissions are responsible for half of the global heating already experienced, have been climbing significantly since around 2006 and will continue to grow throughout the rest of the 2020s unless new steps are taken to curb this pollution, concludes the new paper. The research is authored by more than a dozen scientists from around the world and published on Tuesday. Continue reading...

As blazes spew smoke across western US, research shows it may be worse for brain health than other types of pollutionA new US study has found that wildfire smoke may be worse for brain health than other types of air pollution and even increase the risk of dementia.The findings, reported on Monday at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Philadelphia, come as millions spent the weekend under air quality warnings from wildfires spewing smoke across the western US, including a huge wildfire in California that has grown to more than 360,000 acres. Continue reading...

Though 2,300 people in the US died from heat-related illness in 2023, workers await robust protection lawsOn 23 June, Shae Parker had to leave her shift early at a gas station in Columbia, South Carolina, to go to the emergency room due to heat exhaustion; she wasn't paid for missing the rest of her shift. The air conditioning at her work has been on the fritz for weeks, she said, and her station heats up easily as the sun beams through its large windows.I got nauseated, overheated, lightheaded," she said. We don't have free water, we don't have a water level on the soda machine, the ice machine is broken, so we have to buy water. The last few weeks it's been extremely hot. It's very hard to breathe when you're lightheaded and experiencing dizziness. The fatigue is like 10 times worse because your body is completely drained. I had to get two bags of fluid from being dehydrated even though I was drinking water." Continue reading...

Regulator for Great Britain also appoints Elexon to lead local flexibility markets

Corporations and politicians are pushing carbon capture despite big questions over its value as residents in the southern petrostate' fear the worstIt was a muggy morning in late April when a handful of local residents and grassroots organizers huddled in a church parking lot to strategize, before knocking on doors with information about the latest environmental threat facing St Rose, a predominantly Black community in Louisiana's Cancer Alley".It was not the first time Kimbrelle Eugene Kyereh had campaigned for better regulation of the choking sprawl of fossil fuel and petrochemical facilities that surround St Rose - and countless other communities up and down the Mississippi River. Continue reading...