Environment | The Guardian

Will the legacy of biofuel’s failure in Kenya prevent croton oil from transforming the industry?Tall, spindly and grey, croton trees grow everywhere in Kenya. Although they tend to be used for little more than firewood or shade, their nuts turn out to be an excellent source of biofuel. This overlooked plant could be the answer to Africa’s growing demand for cheap, low-carbon energy.At least that is what Eco Fuels Kenya hopes. Founded in 2012, this small company based in Nanyuki, in the foothills of Mount Kenya, is pioneering the use of croton oil as a replacement for diesel and hopes others will soon follow suit. The startup wants to use the tens of thousands of croton trees already growing wild across the nation to improve livelihoods and protect the environment.

Challenge by Western Downs Alliance prompts environment minister Josh Frydenberg to revamp approval of developmentLegal action by a Queensland community group has forced the federal government to stop Santos freely dumping coal seam gas waste water in Surat Basin rivers and streams.A federal court challenge by the Western Downs Alliance has prompted the minister for environment and energy, Josh Frydenberg, to revamp his approval of the Santos gasfield development, in what has been hailed as a victory in protecting the Dawson river. Continue reading...

Huge haul of 550,000 tonnes due to dry weather and ‘physiological conditions’ helping more blossoms hold on to treesTunisian farmers have warned that thousands of tonnes of oranges might have to be destroyed if more buyers cannot be found for the country’s bumper harvest.According to Mohamed Ali Jandoubi, who heads the Groupement Interprofessionel des Fruits (GIF), an association of citrus fruit growers, farmers have harvested 550,000 tonnes of oranges so far this year.

Waste and recycling advisory body says 4.4m tonnes of household food waste thrown away in 2015 could have been eatenUK households binned £13bn worth of food in 2015 that could have been eaten, according to new figures which suggest that progress in reducing the national food waste mountain has stalled.

New York City secured agreement with facility’s operator for shutdown in about four years, following radioactive leak that contaminated groundwater last yearThe Indian Point nuclear power plant in New York, which last year leaked radioactive material into groundwater near New York City, will close by April 2021, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Monday.Related: New York investigates radioactive leak in groundwater near city Continue reading...

As public health researchers we noted your article on fracking (Friends of the Earth ticked off over claims in anti-fracking leaflet, 4 January) and wish to highlight the following: fracking operations involve pumping millions of litres of water containing fracking fluids underground and a small percentage of wastewater contains returned fracking fluids. Estimates vary depending on geological conditions but recent research suggests typically 4-8%. It is well established in peer-reviewed studies and government reports that fracturing fluids and wastewater have contaminated ground and surface waters.An early peer-reviewed study on chemicals in fracking fluids found 25% could cause cancer and mutations, 37% could affect the endocrine system, 40-50% could affect the brain/nervous system, kidneys, immune system and cardiovascular systems. More recent studies support these findings, including a systematic evaluation that examined 240 fracking substances and found evidence suggesting 43% were linked to reproductive toxicity and 40% to developmental toxicity. Continue reading...

In the last six years, some 140 million people have been forced to move because of climate-related disasters (Mongolian herders fly steppe blighted by climate extremes and social change, 5 January). Climate change is driving long-term environmental damage and sudden catastrophes, presenting a global long-term threat to human security. According to the UN, by mid-century, one in 30 people could be displaced, many as a result of climate change. Existing global inequalities are exacerbated by the injustice of climate change which severely affects the poorest and most vulnerable, those who have contributed least to the climate crisis. Although climate change and enforced migration are increasingly linked, those displaced have no legal standing under existing international refugee and asylum law.Record-breaking increases in global temperature mask the unequal impact of planetary warming. Temperature increases in Mongolia have risen by more than double the global average over the past century. Elsewhere, in Somalia, Darfur, Syria and across sub-Saharan Africa, the chronic effects of drought, water scarcity and agricultural crises in rural areas no longer able to sustain their peoples have driven hundreds of thousands of migrants into cities and across borders. Safe haven is provided overwhelmingly by other poor countries, whilst richer countries respond by building walls and fences and a political debate that is toxic and often racist. Continue reading...

Oliver Schmidt, Volkswagen’s former US head of compliance, would have been in charge of the company’s adherence to emissions regulations during the scandalA Volkswagen executive was charged on Monday with conspiracy to defraud the United States in the latest chapter of the long-running scandal over the company’s deliberate cheating on emissions tests.Oliver Schmidt, who was general manager in charge of VW’s environmental and engineering office in Michigan, did not enter a plea at an initial appearance in US district court in Miami on Monday and was ordered held pending a hearing on Thursday.

The US president has been writing for academic journals to pre-empt arguments Trump or Republicans are likely to use to roll back his key accomplishmentsBarack Obama called the adoption of clean energy in the US “irreversible” on Monday, putting pressure on his successor, Donald Trump, not to back away from a core strategy to fight climate change.Obama, penning an opinion article in the journal Science, sought to frame the argument in a way that might appeal to the president-elect: in economic terms. He said the fact that the cost and polluting power of energy had dropped at the same time proved that fighting climate change and spurring economic growth were not mutually exclusive. Continue reading...

US strategy offers no solution to address threat of greenhouse gases on decline of sea ice habitatThe US Fish and Wildlife Service has released its plan for the recovery of threatened polar bears, acknowledging it will take no direct action to address the primary threat of greenhouse gases on the decline of sea ice habitat.Related: This is the polar bear capital of the world, but the snow has gone Continue reading...

The flawed development model of dam-building has continued around the world. It’s time to give permanent protection to free-flowing rivers

Greenpeace and Which? welcome move by 10,000 Volkswagen owners for £3,000 in compensation as carmaker faces bill as high as £3.6bnThousands of British motorists have launched a lawsuit against Volkswagen over the “dieselgate” emissions scandal, in a claim that could end up costing the carmaker billions of pounds.The group of 10,000 VW owners has filed a class action lawsuit against the German car firm, seeking £30m, or £3,000 each. Continue reading...

Met Office issues severe weather warning for snow, wind and icy temperatures this week as a deep freeze grips EuropeTemperatures are expected to plummet to -10C (14F) in parts of Britain this week as an icy blast sweeps across the country, bringing snow showers, strong winds and frost.An Arctic maritime air mass from northern Canada will produce a sustained period of freezing weather, starting with a cold northerly wind, which will hit parts of the UK on Wednesday evening, including northern Scotland and the North Sea coast, as well as Northern Ireland, parts of Wales, Devon and Cornwall. Continue reading...

Freezing conditions cause multiple deaths and travel disruption, with temperatures plunging below -30C in some regionsA cold snap gripping Europe has killed 10 more people in Poland, stranded thousands in snow-covered Turkey and left vulnerable people like refugees and the homeless in dire circumstances.Double-digit sub-zero temperatures have claimed more than 30 lives over the past few days, many of them people found frozen to death. Continue reading...

The Two Rivers camp, protesting the Trans-Pecos pipeline, is the latest sign that the Standing Rock movement is inspiring indigenous-led activism across the USIndigenous activists have set up camps in the Texas desert to fight a pipeline project there, the latest sign that the Standing Rock “water protector” movement is inspiring Native American-led environmental protests across the US.The Two Rivers camp, located south of Marfa near the border, has attracted dozens of demonstrators in its first week to protest the Trans-Pecos pipeline, a 148-mile project on track to transport fracked natural gas through the Big Bend region to Mexico. Continue reading...

Windermere, Lake District The wood is coming back to life, aided by a man on a missionNot everyone’s idea of a retirement present, perhaps, but three years ago Hamish Ross bought himself a wood to the east of Windermere, roughly triangular and bordered by a dry-stone wall. “The first thing we did was fix the walls and put up a deer-proof fence,” he said, leading me through the new gate. “They’d been getting in for decades – eaten everything. The under-storey had completely disappeared. Now, we get excited about brambles.”As we walked along, he pointed out the line of 10 conifers he’d kept for shelter – all that remained of an acre of neglected Sitka spruce and larch. With the dense tangle gone, light could once more filter onto the ancient woodland floor, helping the 900 indigenous saplings that Hamish has planted over the past couple of years. Reaching to a couple of metres high, they were woven through the centre of the wood amid mature trees and fallen giants. An assortment of buds – elegant orange beech tips, the red bulbs of lime, fat nut-coloured horse chestnut and downy crab apple – adorned their branches. This winter, he will be planting 350 more. Continue reading...

Force will patrol streets looking for rules violations including open-air barbecues, rubbish burning and dusty roadsBeijing will create an environmental police force aimed at tackling deadly smog, after the Chinese capital spent the first week of 2017 mostly shrouded in a thick haze of pollution.

Neighbours agree to tear up the controversial treaty that divides future revenue from Greater Sunrise oil and gas reserve, potentially ending years of disputeAustralia and Timor-Leste have agreed to begin negotiations on a permanent maritime boundary between the two countries, potentially ending years of dispute over the lucrative oil-rich Timor Gap and closing a chapter of mistrust and enmity between the two neighbours.Canberra and Dili have agreed to tear up the controversial Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea (CMats) treaty that divides future revenue from the Greater Sunrise oil and gas reserve, where an estimated $40bn worth of oil and gas lies beneath the Timor Sea. Continue reading...

Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 9 January 1917Several correspondents in France have referred to the owls which find the trenches such profitable mouseries that they hunt by day. The latest note on the subject comes from one of our south coast camps, where a light brown owl – probably a barn owl – found daylight sport anything but peaceful. The lads who were watching it were not the trouble, but a number of gulls resented its presence, “and flew excitedly around it,” though apparently they did not venture to attack the unusual-looking bird. Then a rook, no doubt attracted by the calls of the gulls, came along, flying above the owl. It darted upon the mouse-hunter, striking it on the back with its beak, and down fell the owl. “We saw it no more,” writes my correspondent, but it does not follow that the owl was slain; a rook coming down with wings half-closed, “stooping” like a falcon, is certainly a formidable foe, but the feathers on an owl’s back are wonderfully thick and soft, and would act as an elastic cushion protecting the body.A small bird which “seems to fly in jumps” has puzzled the same correspondent; it is black and white with “a black boomerang band on its white throat” and white streaks – outer feathers – on its tail. Undoubtedly our friend the pied wagtail; many of these birds are now wintering on our southern shores. Continue reading...

Paris introduced free public transport; Madrid restricted cars; Londoners were advised to take less exerciseWinter smog returned to our cities in December. Modern smog is less visible than Victorian pea-soupers but a thin brown layer could be seen on the horizon as still weather trapped the air pollution.Paris had ten days of smog at the start of the month; the worst pollution for a decade. Emergency actions to reduce the health impacts included free public transport, reduced traffic speeds, lorry bans in the city centre, a ban on wood burning and four days of alternating bans on cars with odd or even number plates. Continue reading...

As the UK gets ready to build more nuclear plants, scientists are looking for new ways to tell our distant descendants where we’ve buried our sludge

Anne Hidalgo says she wants to cut the number of private cars in French capital by half as part of campaign to tackle pollutionThe mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, has unveiled plans to restrict traffic in the French capital and pedestrianise the city centre in an attempt to halve the number of private cars on the roads.The move comes as arguments continue over the closure of roads along the Seine last summer and other traffic reduction measures introduced after dangerous spikes in pollution led to a cloud of smog over the city. Continue reading...

The meat industry is facing mounting pressure to phase out antibiotic use. Here, we trace how a widespread use of those drugs can be bad for public health

All too often environmentalism is about stopping doing something, but maybe it’s time to be more active and start doing something instead?I wonder if Nike would loan me its famous brand slogan as a motto this year. After all, Just Do It is much more motivating than Just Don’t Do It – the traditional ethical living response…Until now. Who can fail to be cheered by the way the Divest movement has just done it? Starting only four years ago with a smattering of universities, the Divest-Invest network recently reported that the value of organisations committed to ditching their holdings in fossil fuels is now greater than the value of all listed oil and gas companies. Continue reading...

Military mobilised as nearly a million people are affected, with tourists caught up in unseasonal downpours, while emergency eases in neighbouring MalaysiaFlooding from heavy rains hammering Thailand’s south has left at least 18 people dead and thousands of villages partially submerged.

More sea trade has helped the economy in Southampton but fears are rising over the damage to air qualityFrom the upstairs windows in Colin MacQueen’s house there isn’t a view of the sea but he can clearly see the ships. Docked in the port, less than half a mile away, they tower over the roofs of flats and houses. “They are colossal,” he said. “These cruise liners are much bigger than the container ships. They use as much fuel as whole towns.”The view is pretty spectacular. But it’s what he cannot see that worries MacQueen. Like many cities across the UK, Southampton has such poor air quality it breaches international guidelines, and while the government and local authorities are looking to take action on cars, maritime fuel – the dirtiest and most polluting of all diesels – is on no one’s radar. Not only do the giant cruise liners churn out pollutants at sea, they also keep their engines running when they are docked in places like MacQueen’s home town. Continue reading...

Rising sea temperatures are pushing shoals hundreds of miles from native groundsScottish fishermen have uncovered an intriguing way to supplement their income: they have added squid to the menu of marine creatures they regularly pull from the sea. A species normally associated with the warmth of the Mediterranean, rather than the freezing north, may seem an odd addition to their usual catches of cod and haddock. Nevertheless, squid has become a nice little earner for fishing boats from Aberdeen and the Moray Firth in recent years.Related: What will be the big environment events in 2017? Continue reading...

The party can’t afford to lose the Cumbrian seat which has concerns over immigration and its power plantIn the port of Whitehaven, a homemade banner affixed to an industrial garage confronts those arriving by train: “Save services at West Cumberland Hospital. Do not arrive D.o.A at Carlisle.”The local hospital risks losing its major trauma and maternity units – with ambulances facing a 40-mile journey in unpredictable rural traffic. Just about every shop window in Whitehaven and beyond bears a poster urging action. Continue reading...

Conservationists urge Tories to resist antique dealers’ lobby and make good on manifesto promiseThe environment secretary Andrea Leadsom is under increasing pressure to make good on a Tory manifesto commitment to ban the UK ivory trade after China announced it would close down its domestic ivory market.Conservation organisations, including a charity championed by Prince William, say that by allowing the trade to continue the UK is fuelling the annual slaughter of thousands of rhinos and elephants. A recent study suggested that the UK is now the third-largest supplier of illegal ivory items to the US. Continue reading...

NGO Acción Ecológica responds to the government’s attempt to close the organization downMembers of one of Latin America’s most well-known environmental organisations, Acción Ecológica, are fighting for their survival against a controversial attempt by Ecuador’s government to shut them down.The move by the government came six days after violence between soldiers, police and indigenous Shuar people opposed to a Chinese-run copper development, Panantza-San Carlos, in the Cordillera del Condor region, and just two days after Acción Ecológica had called for a Truth Commission to be set up to investigate events there. The attempt to close the organisation has sparked severe criticism from UN human rights experts and outrage from numerous civil society organisations in Latin America and elsewhere. Continue reading...

Elephants will only be safe when decisive action is taken against the ivory traffickers who have been operating under the cover of the legal trade

Udale Bay, Cromarty, Highlands Rapid wings took the peregrine high, and it wheeled, looking for any movement belowThe tide was starting to ebb as I raised two of the windows in the RSPB hide. This meant I could not only see the mass of birds on the saltmarsh but also enjoy the music of their various calls. They seemed to be trying to decide just when to leave for the mudflats and the food that would be exposed for them by the departing tide.Curlews walked around looking superior on their long legs, drake wigeon whistled in their inimitable fashion, and the black and white plumage of the several shelduck stood out in contrast to the brown and grey camouflage of the waders.

China has ordered all its legal ivory carvers and traders to get of the business by the end of the year. But it will have to do more if it really wants to stop poachingChina’s ban on ivory trading and processing has been hailed as a monumental step on the path to saving elephants from extinction. But if China does not simultaneously tackle its much larger illegal trade in ivory, the ban could perversely make it more lucrative for the poaching gangs who massacre Africa’s elephants and ship their tusks to Asia.The number of legal businesses being shut down is relatively small. The plan, announced on 30 December by China’s central government, will close “a portion” (the Guardian understands it will be roughly half) of its 34 licensed carving factories and 130 retailers before the end of March 2017. The rest will be forced shut by the end of the year. Continue reading...

For years China’s ivory carvers and collectors have been blamed for elephant poaching. Now their government is banning the ivory trade. How do they see their future?In a tiny workshop at his home in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong, 84-year-old Au Yue-Shung shows me an ivory carving he has been working on for months. Measuring just 5x10 inches, Nine Sages in Mount Xiang depicts the 9th-century poet Bai Juyi and eight of his peers in full creative flow in Henan province, far from the imperial court that Bai once served. The point of the story is that the sages tried to maintain their integrity by staying close to nature and art, and away from the ugly politics of the time. This is a piece that Au created for himself rather than a client. It is his statement about life after going through many ups and downs.Born during the Japanese occupation of China in the 1930s, Au joined Guangzhou’s Daxin ivory carving factory at the age of 13 as an apprentice. With only one year’s formal education and with no one caring to teach him, he taught himself drawing and carving in his spare time. Unable to afford drawing paper, he drew on toilet paper. His gift was soon recognised and by the late 1960s he had become a key carving artist at Daxin. Later, at the height of the Cultural Revolution, he decided that he had had enough of the political and artistic repression. Continue reading...

We know diesel vehicles are the key culprit, but when it comes to both long-term solutions and emergency measures the govenment has been asleep at the wheelCutting toxic levels of city air pollution to safer levels is simple, but not easy – it requires resolve. Yet, despite the key culprit in the UK being well known – diesel vehicles – the government has been asleep at the wheel for years.

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...

Workers continue planned cull of 800,000 birds in south-west France to prevent spread of H5N8 virusWorkers wearing masks and protective clothes have gassed thousands of ducks in south-west France, in a massive cull that was ordered in an attempt to prevent a spread of the H5N8 bird flu virus.At one farm in the village of Latrille, in the heartland of duck and geese rearing country, 8,000 ducks were taken by hand and put in coloured metal containers where carbon dioxide was piped in to kill them, normally within seconds. Continue reading...

A swimming baby elephant, diving penguins and jumping impalas are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world Continue reading...

Pushback will be needed against an impending swarm of climate zombie myths

Brixton Road in Lambeth has already broken legal limits for toxic air for the entire year, with many other sites across the capital set to followLondon has breached its annual air pollution limits just five days into 2017, a “shameful reminder of the severity of London’s air pollution”, according to campaigners.

Green groups hail analysis showing collapse in coal due to power station closures and rising carbon taxesWindfarms across the UK generated more electricity in 2016 than coal power plants for the first time, according to an analyst’s estimates.Three major coal power stations closed last year, causing coal electricity generation to plummet to 9.2%, down from 22.6% in 2015. Wind power provided 11.5% of generation in 2016, slightly down from 12% in 2015. Continue reading...

It now owns five of the world’s six largest solar-module manufacturing firms and the largest wind-turbine manufacturerChina is cementing its global dominance of renewable energy and supporting technologies, aggressively investing in them both at home and around the globe, leaving countries including the US, UK and Australia at risk of missing the growing market.A report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (Ieefa) found China’s dominance in renewables is rapidly spreading overseas, with the country accelerating its foreign investment in renewable energy and supporting technologies.

Residents of the new eco hamlet in Pembrokeshire can expect greatly reduced fuel bills and shared use of an electric carMost of the houses in the Welsh village of Glanrhyd are of traditional construction – walls made out of hefty local stone, roofs of grey slate. They can get chilly when the winter winds whistle through the gaps.The six houses that make up the “eco hamlet” of Pentre Solar look and feel very different. They are built using light, bright timber sourced from a nearby valley. The houses are carefully insulated, airtight and powered by solar panels. Continue reading...

A late list of new year resolutions include a return to mountain biking and a position in the commuting slow laneNew year resolutions are, of course, traditionally made before 1 January, not nearly a week into 2017. But I shall disregard convention – below are my cycling-related hopes for the current year.

Stricter EU emissions testing for large vehicles means modern diesel cars produce 10 times more NOx per litre of fuelModern diesel cars produce 10 times more toxic air pollution than heavy trucks and buses, new European data has revealed.The stark difference in emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) is due to the much stricter testing applied to large vehicles in the EU, according to the researchers behind a new report. They say the same strict measures must be applied to cars. Continue reading...

Stoke Abbott, Dorset Every limb is a puzzle, whether to remove or keep, how to split, where to interlaceThunk! The billhook bites deep and splits the hazel slantwise. With a heave and a twist on the trunk, the young tree shakes its embryonic catkins against the sky and swishes down to lie lengthwise with the others. Then begins the business of trimming the prone sapling and weaving it in so it becomes both hedge and living fence.Hedge laying is an ancient craft. Small tree trunks are sliced with a shallow, diagonal cut and then bent sideways. A thin bridge of wood remains to connect the laid tree to the live root. The horizontal trees, called pleaches or plashes, are interlaced and held in place with posts and crooks – pieces of forked stick driven into the ground. New side shoots grow outwards and upwards, regenerating the hedge from a thick, stock-proof, base. Continue reading...

Australian government sanctions a major importer after virus detected in Queensland, says Barnaby JoyceThe importation of green prawns into Australia will be suspended after an outbreak of white spot disease in Queensland, the federal agriculture minister, Barnaby Joyce, has announced.The federal government had taken action against a major prawn importer on Friday after the disease was detected in Queensland, Joyce said. The virus is highly contagious and lethal, killing prawns quickly. It has the potential to devastate the industry but does not pose a risk to humans. Continue reading...

Matt Horn bitten twice after he found 11-year-old Braeden, who has autism, playing with the reptileA Melbourne father and his 11-year-old autistic son have been bitten by a tiger snake that slithered into their suburban home.Matt Horn was bitten twice as he tried to protect his son, Braeden, who had been bitten while playing with the snake in the hallway of their Diamond Creek home. Continue reading...

Costa Rica produced 98% of its electricity last year without fossil fuels but the sustainable success story unravels with the rising demand for gasoline and carsUnless you’ve avoided social media for the last week, you probably know that last year, Costa Rica was able to produce 98% of its electricity without oil – a feat that most larger and wealthier countries have never accomplished.Over the past few days, reports of Costa Rica’s 271 days of fossil-fuel free electricity have made their way to almost every corner of the internet. Continue reading...

In unprecedented move, OECD will look into allegations that world’s largest conservation organisation facilitated abuse of Baka people of CameroonA human rights abuses complaint against WWF, the world’s largest conservation organisation, is to be examined by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation (OECD) in an unprecedented step.