Environment | The Guardian

From beginner tips to pro maneuvers, and solo moves to community undertakings, these changes will help you cut down on food waste this yearNobody wants to be told what to eat when food connects us to culture, heritage, family and identity. But the numbers are hard to ignore: beef has a larger climate impact by far than any other commonly eaten food. If you're not ready to swear off burgers or galbi entirely, start small by swapping one serving of beef each week with one serving of chicken - you'll save 0.71 tons of CO a year per person. Continue reading...

Morgan Trowland and Marcus Decker received the longest sentences given to non-violent protesters in UKLast year, Morgan Trowland was one of two Just Stop Oil protesters sentenced to more than two and a half years in prison for scaling the Dartford crossing.The sentences handed down to Trowland and Marcus Decker are the longest sentences yet given to non-violent protesters in the UK. Now, after his release on licence last month, Trowland says the 13 months he spent behind bars hardly felt like punishment at all. Continue reading...

Cameras capture 120 tigers in year to April 2023, but extinction risk remains in neighbouring countriesThe number of tigers spotted by hidden cameras in the core of Thailand's biggest conservation area rose last year, while a rare sighting of a mother and her cubs has spread hope that the species is breeding in new areas.Camera traps in Thungyai-Huai Kha Khaeng wildlife sanctuaries captured 120 tigers during an exercise that concluded in April 2023, up from 100 the previous year. Continue reading...

Nicholas Boys Smith says we have fallen out of love with the future' and failed to build enough homesNot all of the green belt should be preserved in aspic for ever", the government's building design tsar has said, as he warned that with all but the highest earning young people priced out of buying, desperation ... to get more homes built is just going up".Nicholas Boys Smith, a former Tory adviser appointed by Michael Gove to run the Office for Place, which will advise on planning for new communities, said not all of the green belt of low or no agricultural or amenity quality" should be protected for ever. Continue reading...

BP, Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies to distribute more than $100bn despite public outrageThe world's five largest listed oil companies are expected to reward their investors with record payouts of more than $100bn (79bn) for 2023 against a backdrop of growing public outrage at fossil fuel profits.The five super-majors" - BP, Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies - showered shareholders with dividend payments and share buybacks worth $104bn in the 2022 calendar year, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). Continue reading...

Sea sparkles' appeared at Hobart's waterfront, the NSW mid-north coast and Sydney's Manly, with hundreds delighting in the natural phenomenonRevellers along the Hobart waterfront welcomed in the new year with the glow of fireworks in the sky - and bright, blue bioluminescence lighting up the ocean.With an easterly wind bringing the sea sparkle" to the east coast, onlookers were treated to a truly glowing end to 2023.Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Continue reading...

Poor state of critical assets in many parts of country leaves thousands of homes and businesses more vulnerable to stormsMinisters have been told they will be punished" by voters after analysis revealed the decline of vital flood defences across England.The proportion of critical assets in disrepair has almost trebled in the West Midlands and the east of England since 2018, leaving thousands of homes and businesses more vulnerable to storms. Continue reading...

The Department of Primary Industries is investigating after protected fish species allegedly killed in CronullaThe killing of a protected fish species by a spear fisher in Sydney over the weekend is being investigated.According to local reports, onlookers were left outraged after an endangered blue groper (Achoerodus viridis) was allegedly speared and killed at Oak Park in Cronulla on Saturday. Continue reading...

Pioneering initiative to consider children's addresses after coroner ruled air pollution a factor in death of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, nineDoctors at Great Ormond Street are being encouraged to consider air pollution levels at their patients' home addresses when assessing the causes of their illnesses, under an innovative pilot scheme.Data showing the average annual air pollution rates at patients' postcodes has been embedded in patients' electronic files, so that clinicians can help families understand whether their child has been exposed to elevated risk. Continue reading...

Nathan Baring of Alaska is part of a group of young activists suing the US, which they say willfully ignored' dangers of fossil fuelsNathan Baring is a third-generation Alaskan and climate activist. He is also a plaintiff in Juliana v United States, a lawsuit brought by 21 young Americans who say the US government willfully ignored" the dangers of burning fossil fuels, which violated the plaintiffs' constitutional rights to life, liberty and property, and failed to protect public trust resources. If successful, the case could result in a declaration that the nation's pro-fossil fuel policies are unconstitutional, which the plaintiffs hope could lead to policy changes.The case, first filed in 2015, has faced numerous obstacles, including a dismissal in 2020 by a US court of appeals. The plaintiffs' lawyers amended their case, and in June a federal judge in Oregon ruled the lawsuit can finally proceed to trial. A date has not yet been set. Continue reading...

Warming seas and overfishing are taking their toll on the UK's favourites, so play your part in nursing populations back to healthIn a year of record-breaking temperatures and marine heatwaves threatening our already depleted seas, conservationists, supermarkets and even musicians, including Icelandic singer Bjork, have spoken out over dwindling wild fish populations.Oceana, a US-based NGO, reported that half of Britain's largest wild fish populations, including North Sea cod, are either overfished or in a critical state; supermarkets criticised the UK, Norway and EU for failure to reach agreement over sustainable mackerel fishing; and Blue Marine Foundation, another charity, is taking the UK government to court for illegally squandering" fish populations by ignoring scientific advice on those shared with the EU and Norway. Continue reading...

The infamous A30 summer holiday bottleneck will go when eight miles of dual carriageway opens in March. But for some, the cost is too highAs cars and lorries snail interminably along the A30 in Cornwall - the county's notorious trunk road - the words of the furious driver in John Betjeman's poem, Meditation On The A30, seem befitting: I can't go on crawling like this!"Such frustrations are especially acute in summertime when tourists compete with hauliers, tractors and local residents for space on the asphalt, many of them en route to the coastal hotspots of Perranporth and St Ives. But those days could soon be gone. Continue reading...

Protests, natural disasters and First Nations pride were among the memorable images from the past year taken by Australia's wire agency photographers

A group of 10 orcas has been seen leaping into the air to catch prey, delighting watchers and experts for the past two weeksExperts and whale watchers have been dazzled by a series of orca sightings off the southern California coast that are being described as extremely rare".A group of 10 whales - including a calf just a few months old - has been spotted for the past two weeks off the coast of southern California, between Oxnard and San Diego. Images from social media show the giant creatures leaping into the air to catch dolphins and coming within feet of boats full of eager viewers. Continue reading...

Fewer than 150 Malayan tigers remain in the wild. That's why 2,500 volunteers from 38 countries have joined a boots-on-the-ground initiative to protect themBraving bloodsucking leeches and the blazing Malaysian sun, four volunteers trudge along the heavily forested Marcus trail in Malaysia's Sungai Yu ecological corridor, which plays a crucial role in connecting the two largest forested landscapes in the country - the Titiwangsa mountains and the 130-million-year-old Taman Negara rainforest, the largest national park in the country.The trek is part of a boots-on-the-ground initiative called the Cat Walk, which engages volunteers in anti-poaching patrols and reforestation work for the conservation of the Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni), a sub-species found only in the forests of Peninsular Malaysia. Continue reading...

Cautious optimism among experts that emissions from energy use may have peaked as net zero mission intensifiesGlobal efforts to slow a runaway climate catastrophe may have reached a critical milestone in the last year with the peak of global carbon emissions from energy use, according to experts.A growing number of climate analysts believe that 2023 may be recorded as the year in which annual emissions reached a pinnacle before the global fossil fuel economy begins a terminal decline. Continue reading...

Disastrous events included flash flooding in Africa and wildfires in Europe and North AmericaThe hottest year in recorded history casts doubts on humanity's ability to deal with a climate crisis of its own making, senior scientists have said.As historically high temperatures continued to be registered in many parts of the world in late December, the former Nasa scientist James Hansen told the Guardian that 2023 would be remembered as the moment when failures became apparent. Continue reading...

Many homes in Jimboomba are still without power. Now temperatures are nearing 40C, and more storms are forecastInside an unassuming hall in Jimboomba, north-west of Queensland's Gold Coast, Sarah Weir is offering a reprieve from the heat, cool drinks and food, wifi, and even her shoulder to cry on.There's been some tears," she says. Continue reading...

Hawaii hardest hit by loss of eight birds, with an Ohio catfish, a Pacific fruit bat and eight freshwater mussels also disappearingThe Kauai , a small black and yellow bird with glossy feathers and a haunting song, was the last surviving member of the Hawaiian honeyeaters. This year, it was officially declared extinct.The was one of 21 species that the US Fish and Wildlife Service removed from the endangered species list in 2023 because they had vanished from the wild. Gone is the little Mariana fruit bat - also known as the Guam flying fox - and the bridled white-eye, which was once one of the most common birds on that island. So too, are the Scioto madtom, a diminutive, whiskered catfish that lived in Ohio, and the Bachman's warbler, which summered in the US south and wintered in Cuba. Eight freshwater mussels in the south-east are officially extinct, as are eight Hawaiian birds. Continue reading...

Local government proposal to revive 1980s M-Bahn described as energy-hogging and vain fantasy projectPlans for a driverless magnetic train that would swoop through Berlin and carry passengers and goods are under way as part of the local government's attempts to boost the German capital's green credentials.The project, put forward by the city's new conservative-led government, is said to have sufficient political backing and, say its backers, would help Berlin achieve its goal to become net zero by 2045. Continue reading...

Conservationists say government strategy to recover England's degraded temperate rainforest is a good start but want a target to double the area by 2050Conservationists have praised the launch of a new government strategy to revive the remaining fragments of the vast temperate rainforests that were once one of the jewels of Britain's nature crown".Temperate rainforest, also known as Atlantic woodland or Celtic rainforest, once covered most of western Britain and Ireland. The archipelago's wet, mild conditions are ideal for lichens, mosses and liverworts. But centuries of destruction have meant that only small, isolated pockets remain. Continue reading...

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

Conservationists celebrated findings but warned that species and habitats are in overall decline in BritainSpectacular feeding frenzies of Atlantic bluefin tuna, surging numbers of glowworms, and a record-breaking breeding season for pied flycatchers are among the British wildlife highlights of 2023.But conservationists warned that overall wildlife continued to decline, with one in six species at risk of extinction - and that wildlife was being challenged in new ways by global heating, disease and other destructive human activities. Continue reading...

Khai Cowley, 15, was killed by a suspected great white shark off Ethel beach on the Yorke PeninsulaA teenage boy killed in a shark attack off the coast of South Australia has been remembered as a talented and dearly loved member of the surfing community.The 15-year-old, identified by friends and a family member as Khai Cowley, was mauled by a suspected great white while surfing off the remote Ethel beach on the Yorke Peninsula west of Adelaide about 1.30pm on Thursday. Continue reading...

Bella Nilsson's company NMT Think Pink accused of illegally dumping tens of thousands of tonnes of wasteEleven people have been charged by a Swedish court in what is being billed as potentially the country's worst environmental crime in half a century.NMT Think Pink - a previously celebrated waste management company known for its trademark pink rubbish bags - is accused of illegally burying and dumping tens of thousands of tonnes of waste at 21 sites across 15 municipalities around Sweden, in what prosecutors described as a very serious crime". Continue reading...

In a year of historic storms, drought and the aftermath of wildfires, a Guardian reporter hit the road to see how three popular routes are faringThe romance of the American road trip has lured travelers into their cars over the last century, offering a break from itineraries and access to wild landscapes across the west. These adventures also provide one of the only ways I can visit the far-flung places I love most.They are places that are rapidly changing. From the coast to the mountains, the forest to the desert, California's long drives offer a frontline view of the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Air quality improvements 2019-2022 from lowering vehicle emissions came even before scheme's expansion to whole of cityMore toxic air pollution has been averted by London's ultra-low emission zones than is produced by the capital's airports or its river and rail transport combined, according to a new analysis of the effects of the Ulez.The report showed that improvements in air quality between 2019 and 2022 from lowering motor vehicle pollution - even before the expansion of the Ulez throughout the capital since August - rivalled the potential savings from entirely cleaning up London's aviation or industrial and commercial heat and power generation. Continue reading...

Most tourists probably don't know anything about the crazy, wacky communities on the sea floor. It's an explosion of colour, it really looks like an art gallery down thereEverything down on the seafloor is amazing to me. When you think of Antarctica, you think of penguins, whales, sea and ice in a stark landscape. I love the charismatic megafauna but there are so many other interesting things in Antarctica - life on the seafloor rivals that of the Great Barrier Reef.The view above the surface is quite monochrome but underneath the organisms are oranges, yellows, pinks - there is a coral that is psychedelic purple! Most tourists that go to Antarctica probably don't know anything about the crazy, wacky communities on the sea floor - all of that intrigues me. It's an explosion of colour, it really looks like an art gallery down there. Continue reading...

Some households could go without electricity into the new year as state endures high temperatures following extreme weatherAreas of Queensland affected by unprecedented" storms now face the prospect of days without electricity amid extreme heat.Storms and flash flooding across south-east Queensland have claimed the lives of seven people since Christmas but households have now been warned to prepare for a heatwave. Continue reading...

In this special Age of Extinction mini-series from Science Weekly, which first aired in 2023, the Guardian's biodiversity reporter, Phoebe Weston, explores the illegal killing of birds of prey on grouse moors, and asks why it is so difficult to solve these crimes. In the third and final episode, Phoebe finds out more about the pressures that drive people to commit raptor persecution, discovers how the police investigation into the case of Susie's crushed chicks unfolded, and how Susie, the hen harrier, is doing now Continue reading...

Exclusive: Developers still unwilling to put forward schemes despite change to planning rules in SeptemberNo new plans for onshore wind have been accepted in England since the government claimed it had lifted" the de facto ban, new analysis reveals.Renewable energy organisations warned at the time that this was likely. Despite the levelling up secretary, Michael Gove, having changed planning rules introduced in 2015 by the then prime minister, David Cameron, to stop onshore wind projects being blocked by a single objection, they still face higher barriers than every other form of infrastructure, including waste incinerators. Continue reading...

Successive Australian governments have kicked the can down the road when it comes to the climate crisis - and colourful activism has followed them every step of the way Continue reading...

Activist Davi Kopenawa says miners are returning after eviction operations were scaled back, and others never leftThousands of illegal miners are resisting government attempts to evict them from Brazil's largest Indigenous territory, the renowned activist and shaman Davi Kopenawa has said, nearly a year after operations to displace them began.President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made expelling an estimated 20,000 illegal gold and tin ore miners from the Yanomami Indigenous territory one of his top tasks after taking power last January. Continue reading...

Forest Stewardship Council-certified packs will eliminate almost 35 tonnes of soft plastic waste a yearTesco is scrapping plastic packaging from its own-brand pocket tissues, in a move that the UK's largest supermarket says will eliminate almost 35 tonnes of new soft plastic waste each year.It is the first big supermarket to make the change, which will result in the individual packaging and the wrapping around multipacks of Tesco tissues in its gentle white and balm ranges being replaced with Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper packs. Continue reading...

Switzerland's KlimaSeniorinnen are taking the government to the European court of human rights for doing too little to tackle the climate crisisThe women, mostly in their 70s, strode up the mountain with dogged grace. Clacking their hiking poles against sun-cooked rocks, they set sure feet on shaky stones and held hands to cross slippery streams. They knew the heat and strain were a threat to their health - they were perhaps uniquely aware of the risks - but they did not plan to let it limit their lives.I'm a mountain climber," said 73-year-old Pia Hollenstein, brushing away the hand I offered to help her down a big rock. I can manage." Continue reading...

Highly transparent glass can lead to devastating collisions. But innovations in design are creating safer skylines - without sacrificing beautyChicago's 82-story Aqua Tower appears to flutter with the wind. Its unusual, undulating facade has made it one of the most unique features of Chicago's skyline, distinct from the many right-angled glass towers that surround it.In designing it, the architect Jeanne Gang thought not only about how humans would see it, dancing against the sky, but also how it would look to the birds who fly past. The irregularity of the building's face allows birds to see it more clearly and avoid fatal collisions. It's kind of designed to work for both humans and birds," she said. Continue reading...

Campaign at leading universities such as Oxbridge and UCL warns lender it will miss out on top talent if it finances fossil fuelsHundreds of students from leading UK universities have launched a career boycott" of Barclays over its climate policies, warning that the bank will miss out on top talent unless it stops financing fossil fuel companies.More than 220 students from Barclays' top recruitment universities, including Oxford, Cambridge, and University College London, have sent a letter to the high street lender, saying they will not work for Barclays and raising the alarm over its funding for oil and gas firms including Shell, TotalEnergies, Exxon and BP. Continue reading...

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National Trust gave long list of species that have suffered in the past yearThe disappearance of reliable seasonal patterns is causing chaos for the flora and fauna of the UK, a long-running annual audit of the impact of weather on nature has found.Extreme weather events, from storms and pounding rain to searing heat and drought are putting huge pressure on animals, plants and the environment, the report from the National Trust says. Continue reading...

1.4bn deal to protect Donana national park will diversify local economy and stop farmers using aquifers to irrigate fruit cropsA landmark agreement to safeguard one of Europe's most important wetlands underscores the importance of harnessing public opinion to drive the green transition and help mitigate the effects of the climate emergency, the country's environment minister has said.The Donana in western Andalucia - whose marshes, forests and dunes extend across almost 130,000 hectares (320,000 acres) and include a Unesco-listed national park - has been at the centre of a furious national and international row over recent years. Continue reading...

Countries less able to rebuild or who have contributed least to climate crisis suffer worst, research revealsA list of the 20 costliest climate disasters of 2023 has revealed a global postcode lottery stacked against the poor", according to an analysis.The research by the charity Christian Aid found that devastating wildfires and floods are hitting those who can least afford to rebuild, and the countries that have contributed least to the climate crisis by burning far fewer fossil fuels than wealthy nations, which have faced fewer climate disasters. Continue reading...

What are the greatest secrets that remain about life on our planet - and how might they affect our future? We asked the experts to pick one burning questionFrom the depths of the Amazon rainforest to the deserts of Antarctica, huge questions remain unanswered about life on Earth. We asked leading scientists and conservationists: what is the one thing you would like to know about the planet that remains a mystery?*** Continue reading...

From carrot tops to potato peels, chefs share how to help reduce landfill by diverting scraps from the trash to your plateIf holiday meal prep leaves you with plates full of potato peels and cutting boards full of carrot tops, you're not alone. The US sees a 25% increase in waste during the holiday season - 21% of which comes from our kitchen tables. Just on Thanksgiving, Americans toss a whopping 305m pounds of food. And all these cheese rinds, apple cores, vegetable skins and crusty week-old leftovers that make their way to landfills are harming the planet by emitting methane, a potent greenhouse gas. According to one estimate by the UN Environment Program, if food waste was its own country, it would be the third-largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world.But it doesn't have to be that way. Much of this so-called food waste is perfectly edible.Recipe: roasted potato peelsRecipe: carrot top chimichurri Continue reading...

Climate Defiance, trying to make the climate crisis a top issue in 2024 election, isn't afraid to anger cowards' and criminals'A climate protest group backed by a cadre of Hollywood film-makers is preparing to take action against cowards" and criminals" of all political stripes as the 2024 election approaches.Climate Defiance, which disrupted events featuring a string of Biden administration officials this year, and targeted Darren Woods, CEO of ExxonMobil, in December, will consider protesting at events staged by both Democrats and Republicans on the campaign trail after concluding that its very disruptive" action was bearing fruit. Continue reading...

International Ski Federation urged to cut emissions, while activists warn of damage through heavy use of snowmakingAfter promising early dumps of snow in some areas of Europe this autumn, the pattern of recent years resumed and rain and sleet took over.In the ski resorts of Morzine and Les Gets in the French Alps, the heavy rainfall meant that full opening of resorts was delayed until two days before Christmas, leaving the industry and the millions of tourists planning trips to stare at the sky in hope. Continue reading...

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In today's newsletter: The last 12 months will be remembered for record-breaking temperatures, but also for government-backed clampdowns on climate protesters Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning.Record after record has been broken this year. Antarctic sea ice hit mind blowing" lows; greenhouse gas levels and global temperatures hit record highs, as did ocean temperatures, and there has been unprecedented mass coral bleaching. Another alarming record was hit on 17 November when the Earth briefly hit 2C of warming above pre-industrial levels for the first time. Continue reading...

Temporary roadside barriers set up to channel tens of millions of crabs migrating to the coastlineThe welcome mat has been rolled out for scores of red crabs as they make their annual coastal dash on Christmas Island.Each year, the first substantial rain of the wet season triggers tens of millions of adult red crabs to leave their forest homes, in the interior of the island, and march towards the coast to mate and spawn. Continue reading...

Climate action in New Orleans has found support from faith leaders working across historic dividesIt has been another catastrophic climate year: record-breaking wildfires across Canada scorched an area the size North Dakota, unprecedented rainfall in Libya left thousands dead and displaced, while heat deaths surged in Arizona and severe drought in the Amazon is threatening Indigenous communities and ecosystems.The science is clear: we must phase out fossil fuels - fast. But time is running out, and as the climate crisis, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation worsen, there is mounting recognition that our political and industry leaders are failing us. Continue reading...

Horticulture charity says climate breakdown is influencing trends, based on inquiries from gardenersFruits that thrive in hot weather and can now be grown in the ever-hotter UK summers, and weeds such as cow parsley to decorate borders, are among the 2024 garden trends predicted by the Royal Horticultural Society.Climate breakdown has influenced most of the trends predicted by the horticulture charity, which seeks insights from its more than 600,000 members to forecast which plants may be in fashion in the coming year. While its trends list used to be based on simply which blooms were in vogue, now it highlights the quirks of gardening in a changing climate amid collapsing biodiversity.Greening grey spaces Creative ways to green up grey urban spaces has become a major new trend as city gardeners are growing successfully in pots, growing up instead of out and using innovative ways of colonising indoor space, including terrariums.Grow your own The RHS gardening advice service and website continues to see growth in grow your own". The most popular plants are tomatoes, followed by cucumbers, courgettes, chillies and runner beans.Purple power Purple vegetables have traditionally been difficult for the home gardener but now breeders have begun introducing purple varieties that are easier to grow than traditional ones and avoid previous drawbacks, such as non-fruiting and limited purple colour, especially after cooking. Gardeners and chefs can anticipate purple carrots, cauliflowers, broccoli, tomatoes, peas, radish, French beans and lettuces.Climate change fruits Recent hot dry summers are ideal for certain fruits, grape vines being an outstanding example - but others include figs, almonds, apricots, melons, peaches/nectarines and watermelons.Local seed provenances and survivalist gardens After the temporary hiccup to the vegetable supply chain last spring, some gardeners now favour growing with more independence, including where they source their seeds.Going wild Plants traditionally seen as unwanted weeds such as herb robert and plantain are becoming popular. Cow parsley is now a desirable border plant and dandelions are recognised as being key to providing food for bees early in springtime.Gardening with nature The move away from classical, formal layouts towards naturalistic landscapes will continue to grow, with gardens making people feel that they are in a wild place and providing benefits to wellbeing, wildlife and ease of maintenance.Planet-friendly gardening Gardeners will be increasingly in tune with nature: inquiries to the RHS about wildlife gardening increased by more than 28% in 2023.Houseplants reach the next level - Tropical-looking plants and orchids which create a jungle vibe" have become popular, as has growing up instead of out. Favourites will include epipremnum, sedum morganianum, and old favourites such as string of hearts and spider plants.Succulents Driven by houseplants and sourcing drought-resistant bedding, interest in succulents is increasing, with commercial landscapers introducing the hardier ones into landscapes. New cultivars are also being released, including aeonium, cotyledon and crassula. Continue reading...