Labor leader says project ‘all well and good’ if it clears regulatory hurdles after shadow minister casts doubt on viabilityThe Labor leader, Bill Shorten, is continuing to welcome the jobs that would be created if the controversial Adani coalmine proceeds, despite the shadow climate change minister, Mark Butler, saying over the weekend it would be a “miracle” if the project went ahead.Shorten told reporters on Monday that, if the Adani project cleared all the regulatory hurdles, “then all well and good”. Continue reading...

Otley, West Yorkshire It ran around the back of our house, connecting it to the fields via a conduit of green shadowsMid-run, I suddenly stop by the inconspicuous entrance. I have passed it many times, but the thought to revisit never occurred until now. As an adult, with my sense of scale expanded, perhaps it had acquired a sort of invisibility, vivid in the memory but overlooked in the present.You might refer to it as a ginnel. You might even, depending on where you grew up, know it as a gennel, a guinnel or a jennel; a yard, a 10-foot or a close; a chare, a chure or a chewar; a jitty, a jigger or an ennog. Continue reading...

Attack experts say probably involved a great white or seven-gill shark would have been life-threatening if immediate care had not been available, witness saysA shark attacked a woman wading in the ocean with friends, tearing away part of her upper thigh in the ocean off a popular southern California beach, authorities and witnesses said on Sunday.Related: Orca pod filmed hunting whale calf in 'unprecedented' California killing spree Continue reading...

Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 1 May 1917April 30

It’s one of the only incubators focused on solar companies – but Powerhouse is part of a larger movement to nurture new companies in the low-carbon futureIt started with a crowdfunding startup, an investment from Prince, and the idea to help new solar companies tackle business challenges that can be hard to overcome on their own.Now, four years later, the idea has morphed into a group called Powerhouse, and notably, in a world flush with tech startups, it’s one of the only incubators out there focused on launching and growing solar companies. Continue reading...

The oil cartel is maintaining price discipline for now. But a concatenation of global circumstances could destroy its power to control the marketWhen the major oil-producing countries meet in a month’s time at a Vienna hotel, they are expected to extend the production cap that has pushed up the price of oil in recent months.The agreement in December by Opec and Russia to curb production for the first half of 2017 has driven oil prices up near $55 a barrel, offering some respite for an industry hit by a slump in which prices fell as low as $27. Continue reading...

Hundreds of marches held around the US including in Washington DC, Seattle, Boston and San FranciscoThousands of people across the US have marched in rain, snow and sweltering heat to demand action on climate change mass protests that coincided with president Donald Trump’s 100th day in office and took aim at his agenda for rolling back environmental protections.A sea of protesters taking part in the People’s Climate March swarmed in front of the White House to demand Trump rethink plans to reverse the climate change policies. Continue reading...

End confusing ‘best before’ labels, says reportSupermarket “best before” labels could be phased out while shops should be forced to sell oddly shaped vegetables under proposals from MPs who have warned the government it needs to do more to tackle food waste.More than £10bn worth of food is thrown away by households each year, according to a damning report from the environment, food and rural affairs select committee. Continue reading...

Website ‘undergoing changes’ to reflect agency’s ‘new direction’, as tens of thousands protest inaction on climate in cities across the US

The US president gives his weekly address as he reaches 100 days in office, which he says have been the most successful in history. He refers to job creation in the automotive industry, the Dakota pipeline and the appointment of Neil Gorsuch as a supreme court judge as some of his most important achievements

Police officer Tom Harrison raises money for Gorilla Organisation after crawling 26-mile route on all foursA Metropolitan police officer who has been crawling the London Marathon in a gorilla costume since the race began on Sunday morning has completed the 26-mile route.Related: Don’t insult gorillas by comparing them to Donald Trump | Ros Coward Continue reading...

Bret Stephens’ first piece for the Times showed exactly why some climate realists are canceling their subscriptionsYesterday, New York Times subscribers were treated to an email alert announcing the first opinion column from Bret Stephens, who they hired away from the Wall Street Journal. Like all Journal opinion columnists who write about climate change, Stephens has said a lot of things on the subject that could charitably be described as ignorant and wrong. Thus many Times subscribers voiced bewilderment and concern about his hiring, to which the paper’s public editor issued a rather offensive response.Justifying the critics, here’s how the paper announced Stephens’ first opinion column in an email alert (usually reserved for important breaking news): Continue reading...

Ribblehead, Yorkshire Dales Willing helpers hold the week-old lambs until Rodney is ready to dock their tailsPliers and rubber rings, a tub of aquamarine dye, plastic ID ear tags … Rodney Beresford lays out the tools of his trade on a flat-topped boulder. It’s lambing time, and he is here in the sheepfold to dock tails and castrate the days-old males.

Humpback whales charge orcas in an ‘altruistic’ behavior that pushes the predators away from their favorite prey: seals, dolphins, sea lions and young whales. A pod of nine orcas have killed four grey whales in seven days in the bay Continue reading...

A group of killer whales in Monterey Bay killed four gray whales in a week, a phenomenon one researcher hasn’t seen in her 30-year careerIn an “unprecedented” rash of attacks, a pod of killer whales in Monterey Bay, California, has killed four gray whales in a week, including a calf whose killing was captured on video, according to one marine biologist.Related: An extraordinary battle between sperm whales and orcas – in pictures Continue reading...

Southern highlands landholders unite to battle proposal that would threaten the bore water they rely on• Support our independent journalism by giving a one-off or monthly contributionThe sun has not long disappeared below the rolling hills of the highlands when the locals begin to muster.There are angry mutterings and shaking of heads among the 50-odd filling the old village hall in Exeter, two hours south of Sydney. Continue reading...

Record heat may hit People’s Climate March; immigration will be a key focus for May Day strikes; Star Wars protesters prepare to greet Trump in New York

In Orlando, a group of pedal-powered volunteers are transforming lawns into organic gardens, to create ‘hyper-local’ food networks that will boost food securityThe future of the immaculate British lawn is under threat, claims a new report from the Royal Horticultural Society: rising temperatures will deliver a triple-threat of dryness, weeds and pests that gardeners will have to navigate if they want to maintain their manicured emerald rectangles. Some reports have even suggested we do away with lawns altogether and just substitute them with fake green turf (gasp!) to avoid the inevitable hassle.But will it be worth it? Let’s be honest, what do lawns really do, anyway—other than satisfy that odd part of the human ego that thrives off the sight of evenly-clipped grass? In fact, how about we really shake things up and just turn our lawns into vegetable patches, instead? Continue reading...

The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox Continue reading...

New rules to limit air pollutants such as nitrogen oxide and mercury could save more than 20,000 lives a year, say NGOsPower plants in the EU will have to cut the amount of toxic pollutants such as nitrogen oxides they emit under new rules approved by member states and widely applauded by environmental groups.Friday’s decision imposes stricter limits on emissions of pollutants such as nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide, mercury and particulate matter from large combustion plants in Europe. Continue reading...

A hellbender salamander, a red kite in flight and a hawksbill turtle are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world Continue reading...

President signed an executive order to review areas potentially rich in fossil fuels that were put out of reach of drilling by the Obama administrationCommunities along the east coast are steeling themselves for a fresh round of angst and protest over offshore drilling, with Donald Trump set to throw open vast swaths of the Atlantic seaboard to oil and gas companies.

Studies show that oxybenzone, a common chemical found particularly in spray-on sunscreens, contributes to coral bleaching and leaves reefs deformedFor years we’ve been told to slap on sunscreen to protect against the harmful effects of the sun’s UV rays. But eco-conscious beachgoers may want to take care with their sunscreen this summer, as studies show that many contemporary sunscreens pose a threat to the ocean environment.Oxybenzone is a common chemical found in all types of sunscreen, but particularly in the spray-on variety, that researchers have found harms coral, and is in high concentrations at some of the most world’s most popular reefs. Continue reading...

Big six energy firms say price regulation strips out competition, and urges taxation to help ‘fuel poor’Theresa May’s plan to cap gas and electricity bills could put billions of investment in the UK at risk by creating huge uncertainty over government intentions, according to the body representing the big six energy suppliers.Related: Energy bills: what's the difference between Tory cap and Miliband freeze? Continue reading...

On Saturday, Devi Lockwood will be at the People’s Climate march in Washington, DC, hoping to add to the 600 interviews she’s done in the US and beyond, about how people’s lives have been impacted by climate change and waterI’m 24 years old, and I believe that water and climate change are the defining issues of my generation. The way I see it, listening is a form of activism.This Saturday I will be in Washington DC for the People’s Climate March, and I will have my audio recorder with me as part of my mission to collect 1,001 audio interviews about how climate change and water have impacted their lives.

OzHarvest Market in Kensington offers donated or surplus grocery products that would otherwise be thrown outAustralia’s first rescued-food supermarket has opened in Sydney, providing donated or surplus produce to customers on a pay-what-they-can basis, in an effort to reduce the estimated $8bn to $10bn of food discarded each year.The OzHarvest Market provides food, from blemished apples to frozen sausage rolls, as well as other items such as sanitary products and toothpaste, which would otherwise be thrown out, sourced from the excess of major supermarket chains, caterers and cafes. Continue reading...

Here’s the one minute of pure enjoyment that you didn’t know you needed to see. Keeper Jess Stockton gives Melbourne zoo’s Brazilian tapir a good raking over for World Tapir Day (27 April) Continue reading...

Merry’s Meadows, Leicestershire Ancient disturbance created ridges and troughs, letting a wide range of plants colonise the meadow grasslandThere is no better way to mark the land’s springtime rejuvenation than a sunny morning whiled away botanising in a floristically diverse meadow.Merry’s Meadows – there are three fairly large fields – huddle together surrounded by a sea of bright yellow oilseed rape. The shallow corrugation of ridges and furrows indicate that a good proportion of the nature reserve was ploughed and cropped in mediaeval times. Continue reading...

Coalition frontbencher calls for Queenslanders to boycott Australia’s second-largest bank after it says it will now only lend to mines in established coalfieldsAustralia’s big four banks have all ruled out funding or withdrawn from Adani’s Queensland coal project, after Westpac said it would not back opening up new coalmining regions, prompting a scathing attack from the resources minister, Matthew Canavan.Westpac, the country’s second-largest bank, released a new climate policy on Friday, saying it would limit lending for new thermal coal projects to “only existing coal producing basins”. Continue reading...

Malaysia-based IOI Group announces further moves to address deforestation and exploitation in its supply chainGreenpeace has suspended its campaign against one of the world’s largest palm oil traders in recognition of its “significant commitment” to address deforestation and exploitation in its supply chain.One year after its sustainability certificate was suspended, IOI Group announced further commitments to improve its environmental practice in a nine-month progress report released on Friday. Continue reading...

Court rules that immediate publication is essential and rejects Defra’s plea to delay until after the general electionThe government has been ordered to publish tough new plans to tackle air pollution after the high court rejected attempts by ministers to keep the policy under wraps until after the general election.In the latest defeat for ministers over their continued failure to tackle the UK’s air pollution crisis, which is believed to be responsible for 40,000 premature deaths a year,, Mr Justice Garnham said the secretary of state, Andrea Leadsom, was in breach of a court order to take action in the shortest possible time and that any further delays would constitute a further breach. Continue reading...

University stops short of fully divesting its $36bn endowment from coal, oil and gas but green groups welcome the breakthrough after a five-year campaignHarvard University is “pausing” investments in some fossil fuel interests following a five-year campaign by some students and environment groups to pressure the university to divest itself from coal, oil and gas. Continue reading...

A new paper finds no statistical evidence that global warming slowed down in recent years or that it’s sped up just yet

As despair intensifies over Trump’s agenda, the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus brings Democrats and Republicans together to break the deadlockThe failure of American politics to deal with, or even coherently discuss, climate change was perhaps best illustrated when James Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma, took to the floor of the US Senate in February 2015 with a Ziploc bag and a mischievous grin.Related: March against madness - denial has pushed scientists out into the streets | Dana Nuccitelli Continue reading...

Peter Walker takes in stunning views and steep climbs on one of an increasing number of UK cycling sportives that take place on routes shut to motor trafficIf there is one single activity most responsible for the recent mini-boom in Britons taking up road biking, it is arguably the sportive.These organised, entry-only mass cycling events have sprung up around the UK in ever-increasing numbers. For various legal and insurance reasons they are not races but instead challenge riders only against the clock. Continue reading...

Tourist survives, suffering only moderate injuries, after rare attack at Curio Bay in the South IslandA French tourist survived a rare shark attack in New Zealand on Thursday, suffering only moderate injuries, rescuers and locals said.

Sandy, Bedfordshire Two kingfishers, with daggers of beaks and undercarriages of deep orange, were engaged in a chaseIn the days before we gave names to storms, an anonymous blow laid low a riverside tree. Years later, leafless and lifeless, its branches bare of bark, the tree still lay across the water, an antlered jetty.That gale had heaved the tree over, root plate and all, taking a giant’s bite out of the riverbank. The tree’s sheared and weathered anchors stuck out like pirates’ bones from the caked soil at the base of the trunk. A long-ago flood had wrapped a silt-stained shred of black plastic around one of the protruding roots. Continue reading...

Locals told proposed mine in the southern highlands of NSW, part of Sydney’s water catchment, would damage water table in the region for as long as 73 yearsA controversial underground coalmine that will threaten the water supply of 71 landowners in NSW’s southern highlands will net the state government just $120m over two decades, locals have been told.A multinational steelmaker, Korea-based Posco, is seeking approval for an underground coalmine near Berrima in the southern highlands of New South Wales, part of Sydney’s drinking-water catchment. Continue reading...

Upgrade of capital’s power grids will enable energy companies to install 300 fast-charging stations by 2020Transport for London is spending £18m on upgrading the capital’s power grids to charge the first generation of battery-powered black cabs.From 1 January 2018, all new black cabs will have to be battery-powered electric models by law as part of TfL’s effort to reduce toxic pollution from diesel engines. Continue reading...

Wildflowers have erupted across California deserts in the past month in a phenomenon known as a ‘super bloom’. After heavy rainfall ended months of drought, the flowers carpeted such vast areas that the transformation was visible from space

Mount Etna, India’s ship graveyard and trees in Africa are among the images captured by European Space Agency and Nasa satellites last monthThe Mackenzie river system is Canada’s largest watershed, and the 10th largest water basin in the world. The river runs 4,200km (2,600 miles) from the Columbia icefield in the Canadian Rockies to the Arctic Ocean. If your vehicle weighs less than 22,000lb, you can drive the frozen river out to Reindeer Station. The bitterly cold ice road runs for 194km between the remote outposts of Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk. White, snow- and ice-covered waterways of the east channel of the Mackenzie river delta stand out amid green, pine-covered land. The low angle of the sunlight bathes the higher elevations in golden light. The pond- and lake-covered lands around the river are home to caribou, waterfowl, and a number of fish species. Several thousand reindeer travel through this area each year on the way to their calving grounds. Continue reading...

Animal rights activists criticise suspended sentence given to apprentice Owen Nichol who was filmed attacking cow and calvesAnimal rights activists have criticised a decision not to jail a farm apprentice who was secretly filmed hitting, stamping on and throwing newborn calves at a Somerset farm.Owen Nichol, 18, who attacked the calves and a cow and repeatedly swore at the animals, was given a suspended prison sentence. Continue reading...

The new cycling and walking investment strategy is the first legislation of its kind to legally bind the government to long-term funding for cycling and walking provisionUnless you’re an avid transport campaigner, it’s likely that among the rush of government announcements made last week, you will have missed one very important one: the publication of the cycling and walking investment strategy (CWIS),The government’s intention to launch a CWIS was first announced in January 2015. It took more than two years, but we now have the first legislation of its kind in England to bind the government with legal commitments to invest in cycling and walking provision. Continue reading...

Figsbury Ring, Wiltshire Sewn like gems into the sward, these little blue flowers take shelter in the lee of the earthwork ringsBluer than the sky, bluer than the sheen on rooks and the lustre of oil beetles, the milkwort flowers are sewn like gems into the sward. Polygala calcarea is the chalk milkwort, with a gentian-blue far brighter than the common milkwort flowers I’m used to seeing on Wenlock Edge. High on Salisbury Plain, open to the winds and shafts of sunlight through distant showers, the little blue flowers take shelter in the lee of earthwork rings, an archaeological monument within the largest remaining area of calcareous grassland in north-west Europe.

Scientists reveal unique, intimate form of communication between humpback mothers and calves as well as silent method to initiate suckling

In November, America’s beleaguered rural citizens voted against the status quo – but that’s exactly what Trump’s new agriculture secretary looks set to ensureDonald Trump owes his election in no small part to the support of farm country. But since entering office, almost all his actions and pronouncements have betrayed an abysmal understanding of farm and rural concerns. No surprise, then, that food and farm advocates have looked eagerly to Sonny Perdue, who was sworn in as agriculture secretary on Tuesday, to educate and temper the president on their issues.The new secretary has his work cut out for him. The president unveiled a budget blueprint last month that slashed funding for the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) by 21%. Continue reading...

Global index reveals 60% of asset owners are now taking some action, but warns there is still ‘enormous resistance’ to managing climate riskFor the first time a majority of global investor heavyweights recognise the financial risks of climate change, according to the results of a major global index rating how investors manage such risks.But despite the advances, the Asset Owner Disclosure Project chairman, John Hewson, has warned there is still an “enormous resistance” to managing climate risk. Continue reading...

Constitutional experts say government is on ‘very dodgy ground’ claiming election purdah forces it to postpone publishing pollution strategyThe government’s attempt to delay publishing its air pollution strategy because of the election is “dishonest” and leaves ministers on “very dodgy ground”, according to constitutional experts.The government had been under a court direction to produce tougher draft measures to tackle illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution, which is responsible for thousands of premature deaths each year, by 4pm on Monday. The original plans had been dismissed by judges as so poor as to be unlawful. Continue reading...