Environment | The Guardian

Plans for one million new homes by 2020 risk overwhelming drains, unless the government ends freeze on legal requirements for sustainable drainage

Solar power and clean cars are ‘gamechangers’ consistently underestimated by big energy, says Imperial College and Carbon Tracker reportFalling costs of electric vehicles and solar panels could halt worldwide growth in demand for oil and coal by 2020, a new report has suggested.A scenario that takes into account the latest cost reduction projections for the green technologies, and countries’ pledges to cut emissions, finds that solar power and electric vehicles are “gamechangers” that could leave fossil fuels stranded. Continue reading...

Sun Bank, Teesdale Snow has a magical effect when the shadows emphasise features of this post-glacial landscapeIf there was a league table for roadside laybys, ranked according to the grandeur of the landscape that they overlook, then this one, on the B6282 two miles east of Middleton-in-Teesdale, would be a strong contender.It’s perched on the edge of a steep escarpment, high above the river Tees. With the valleyblanketed in snow, the bare branches of birch, alder and ash below stood out in minute detail, as if drawn on a blank canvas. Continue reading...

Predictions that our oceans could contain more plastic than fish by 2050 have forced brands to rethink packagingThe wide array of plastic cartons, trays and films developed to keep products intact and food safe are often too complex to recycle – with grave environmental consequences.According to a recent report from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, “without fundamental redesign, about 30% of plastic packaging will never be reused or recycled.” And that means ever more plastic into landfill, and into our oceans. Continue reading...

Opponents of Pilliga state forest wells raise doubts about economic and environmental claims in fact sheetDoubts have been raised about claims made in the environmental impact statement for Santos’ controversial plans to drill 850 coal seam gas wells in and around the Pilliga state forest.The full statement has not been publicly released yet but questions are being raised about the economic and environmental claims in it, which are summarised in a “fact sheet” released by Santos. Continue reading...

South Australia’s energy minister, Tom Koutsantonis, responds to the federal government’s push for clean coal generation as an energy source for Australia’s future. He says ‘clean coal is a fairytale, clean coal doesn’t exist’, following calls by the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull and his deputy, Barnaby Joyce Continue reading...

North Dakota police arrested 76 people one day after federal officials suggested that the government could soon approve the final stage of pipeline constructionNorth Dakota police have arrested 76 people at Standing Rock one day after federal officials suggested that the government could soon approve the final stage of construction of the Dakota Access pipeline.Related: Dakota Access pipeline moves to final stage in army corps approval process Continue reading...

Myron Ebell, a key presidential aide, said climate education material could be ‘withdrawn’ and review of car fuel efficiency standards could be reopenedDonald Trump will work towards the abolition of the Environmental Protection Agency – and any employees cleaving to the Obama era should be “very worried” by the prospect of Scott Pruitt taking over the agency, a key aide of the president has told the Guardian.In an exclusive interview, Myron Ebell – who headed up Trump’s EPA transition team, said that agency’s environmental research, reports and data would not be removed from its website, but climate education material might be changed or “withdrawn”. Continue reading...

The Coalition could use the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to finance new coal power stations but it wouldn’t be cheaper than renewablesJust a few months ago, the idea that a new coal power station would ever be built in Australia seemed laughable. Banks, energy companies and even the Turnbull government seemed to accept the inevitable decline of the coal industry.But, since then, the Turnbull government has been furiously talking up the idea of “clean” coal. And while no bank is likely to finance the building of a new coal-fired power station here, Turnbull and his ministers have been indicating the government might themselves fund them. Continue reading...

Transport secretary Chris Grayling says plans send a signal that Britain will be open for business after BrexitPlans for the third runway at Heathrow are to be published on Thursday as the government begins a four-month public consultation on its decision to expand Britain’s biggest airport.The transport secretary, Chris Grayling, is expected to herald the launch as a sign that Britain will be open for business after Brexit and that the government is delivering the major infrastructure the nation will need. Continue reading...

Six years after the Fukushima disaster, local government is working with private firms in one Japanese city to rebuild its economyIt’s a cold January day in Iwaki City, 211km north of Tokyo. But here, in a balmy glasshouse, light and sunny, pop music is being piped in, and tonnes of tomatoes are ripening and being picked.They’re not in the ground; they’re being grown from waist-high pots of coconut matting. These are no ordinary tomatoes. They are growing on Wonder Farm, an “integrated agricultural theme park”, run by Tomato Land Iwaki, which is part-funded by the local city council and the Fukushima prefecture. Continue reading...

After reading your article (Weighing in to fight waste in the kitchen with a measuring spoon – and an app, 28 January) I felt so guilty I went and dug out from the compost bin two very brown soggy bananas I had thrown away earlier and made them into a banana loaf. Apart from the satisfaction of the loaf, I was also able to knock 252g/9oz off my somewhat nerdy tally of food wasted in January. I decided at new year to record how much food we wasted in an effort to reduce it – a paper version of the app in the article. It’s made us really conscious about not wasting food, because we hate to be the one who has to “put it in the book”. I thought the bananas were beyond hope – but I’ve just had a delicious slice and will live to tell the tale. Now for the sugar angst.

Congress begins effort to remove Obama-era protections, including measures to keep people safe when mountaintops are blown off to reach coalRepublicans have begun dismantling Obama-era environmental protections by targeting rules that restrict drilling in national parks, curb the release of methane and prevent people from being harmed when the tops of mountains are blown off to access coal.

This viral picture of VIP birds of prey en route to Saudi Arabia came as no surprise to Bryn Close, breeder to the sheikhsBryn Close was not surprised by the picture flying around the web this week showing 80 falcons on an airline flight to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. The birds of prey sit on boxes on the middle-row seats, apparently ignoring the safety talk. “To me that’s totally normal, we do it all the time,” he says from a Doncaster industrial estate, where he breeds the fastest birds in the world. “But when we do it they normally send a private jet over here to pick them up.”There is big money in falcons, nearly all of it circling around the deserts outside Middle Eastern cities. For centuries, tribesmen in the region used the birds to hunt. Today, as cities including Jeddah as well as Dubai and Abu Dhabi have exploded, falcons have become economic as well as cultural status symbols. Continue reading...

EU looks set to meet its 2020 goal of using 20% of energy from renewable sources but the UK is one of three member states to increase reliance on imported energyThe European Union is on track to meet its renewable energy targets but the UK is one of only three member states to become more dependent on imported energy in the last decade.A report from the European commission boasts of good progress towards the goal of using 20% of final energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020. Continue reading...

With grey winter skies still dominating the northern hemisphere and the southern still enjoying the summer heat, what sort of wildlife will you discover?The shortest month of the year is upon us and, while the fog and mist might be clearing slightly in the northern hemisphere, the southern hemisphere is still basking in the summer sunshine. So what sort of wildlife will we all discover on our doorsteps? We’d love to see your photos of the February wildlife near you.Share your photos and videos with us and we’ll feature our favourites on the Guardian site. Continue reading...

From elephant skins as a remedy for eczema, to otters’ sex organs as a natural aphrodisiac, a $20bn-a-year global wildlife trade operates under the shadow of Myanmar’s Golden Rock buddhist pilgrimage site Continue reading...

Students in St Louis propose to help millions of ‘food insecure’ people and reduce America’s mountain of food waste ... by piggybacking on the vehicles and shuttered offices of the United States Postal Service

Four-month consultation on possibility of fracking in Scotland runs until end of May with dedicated website at talkingfracking.scot, reports BusinessGreenThe Scottish government has launched a public consultation over whether to allow unconventional oil and gas extraction – including fracking – to take place in Scotland.The four-month consultation runs until the end of May and the Scottish government then plans to make a recommendation that will go before MSPs for a vote towards the end of the year. Continue reading...

Nationals leader says he would not oppose taxpayers subsiding the building of new coal-fired plantsThe deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, says it is “morally prudent” for Australia to build new coal-fired plants and he would have no problem if taxpayers provided support.

Wenlock Edge This sycamore isn’t native either, and neither are the people who planted them, or who look at them nowThe squirrels look as though they make everyday life into a game; they have the kind of mischievous intelligence once attributed by folklore to hidden, supernatural creatures such as fairies, elves, goblins and the like. These grey and ginger squirrels are tricky. To some people they are a delight to watch; to others they are an anathema, interlopers blamed for the demise of the native red squirrel.

• Prime minister boosts conservatives’ calls for U-turn on green energy plan

The biggest bank in Germany says all new investment will stop and existing exposure will be gradually reducedDeutsche Bank, the biggest bank in Germany, has said it will stop financing coal projects as part of its commitments under the Paris agreement to tackle global warming.

The acting secretary of the army has directed the army corps of engineers to grant the easement necessary to finish the billion-dollar projectThe Dakota Access pipeline is in the final process of getting approvals to complete construction across the Missouri river, according to North Dakota senator John Hoeven.Related: Trump orders revival of Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines Continue reading...

Last year thousands of valuable farm animals were poached from isolated farms to await slaughter in ‘abhorrent’ and illegal conditionsThe thick swarm of black flies hanging above the backyard of the rural property was the first tip-off. The metallic stench of weeks-old animal blood was another.“There were dead animals, offal and blood everywhere, spread out on an exposed concrete slab with people walking through it and birds flying through,” says Gary Orr. Continue reading...

The project is part of Elon Musk’s plan to help transform the power gridFrom the road, the close to 400 white industrial boxes packed into 1.5 acres of barren land in Ontario, California, a little more than 40 miles from downtown Los Angeles, look like standard electrical equipment. They’re surrounded by a metal fence, stand on concrete pads and sit under long electrical lines.Related: US advances on clean energy with first offshore wind farm Continue reading...

Oil and gas concession overlaps 1.3m hectare “protected area” inhabited by indigenous peoples in “isolation”One of the almost 100 resolutions adopted by the World Conservation Congress (WCC) held in Hawai’i in September 2016 was that “protected areas” such as national parks should be “no go” for mining, oil and gas operations, agriculture, dams, roads and pipelines. Another resolution was that indigenous peoples’ territories overlapped by “protected areas” should be recognised and respected, calling upon International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) members, non-member States and others to do so.While it might not seem particularly significant or startling to demand that “protected areas” should be, er, protected from such damaging activities as oil operations, and while WCC resolutions aren’t legally-binding on anyone, such calls do urgently need to be made. Take as an example Peru, the country that, according to the IUCN, established more “protected areas” than any other in 2016. Undoubtedly its most important conservation achievement in recent years has been the creation of the 1.3m hectare Sierra del Divisor National Park, although approximately 40% is included in an oil and gas concession ultimately controlled by a Canadian-headquartered company, Pacific Exploration and Production. Continue reading...

‘Silent pandemic’ of air pollution affects UK children and there is no indication protection against toxic waste will be retained after BrexitAir pollution is a crisis that “plagues” the UK, particularly children, according to the UN’s special rapporteur on hazardous substances and wastes.

After the murder of at least 123 activists since 2009 military coup, the Global Witness group points to involvement of politicians and business mogulsHigh-ranking politicians and business tycoons are implicated in a wave of violence against environmental activists in Honduras, according to an investigation by the anti-corruption group Global Witness, which says the country’s elites are using criminal methods to terrorize communities with impunity.

Long treated as a bottomless resource pit, over-exploitation of the ocean, pollution and rising sea levels are having a catastrophic impact on life in the bayThe Bay of Bengal’s basin contains some of the most populous regions of the earth. No less than a quarter of the world’s population is concentrated in the eight countries that border the bay. Approximately 200 million people live along the Bay of Bengal’s coasts and of these a major proportion are partially or wholly dependent on its fisheries.For the majority of those who depend on it, the Bay of Bengal can provide no more than a meagre living: 61% of India’s fisherfolk already live below the poverty line. Yet the numbers dependent on fisheries are only likely to grow in years to come, partly because of climate change. In southern India drought and water scarcity have already induced tens of thousands of farmers to join the fishing fleet. Rising sea levels are also likely to drive many displaced people into the fishing industry. Continue reading...

The Trump Administration keeps trying to go after scientists, and being forced to retreat

Controversial statements angered environmentalists who insist courts have an obligation to recognize the science about manmade climate changeA Washington state judge has sparked outrage for remarks questioning the existence of climate change and the role of humans in global warming.During the high-profile trial of Ken Ward, a climate activist facing 30 years in prison for shutting down an oil pipeline, Judge Michael E Rickert said: “I don’t know what everybody’s beliefs are on [climate change], but I know that there’s tremendous controversy over the fact whether it even exists. And even if people believe that it does or it doesn’t, the extent of what we’re doing to ourselves and our climate and our planet, there’s great controversy over that.” Continue reading...

The discovery of the 600 mile-long reef in 2016 stunned scientists but oil companies are planning to drill in the areaThe first images have been released of a unique coral reef that stunned scientists when discovered in 2016 at the mouth of the Amazon.

Redcastle, the Black Isle There are dozens of them waiting in the undergrowth to fly up, panic-stricken, as we passWhen we reach the turn for Gallowhill Wood the horses know we’re going home and pick up the pace. It has been a long day for them, these heavyset highlands – so low to the ground and dressed in such thick fur coats. But not so long they haven’t the energy to feign fright when we round a bend to find tripods lurking between the trees, with plastic bellies and wooden legs, short tails protruding from their underparts. They have an alien aspect, and the horses don’t like them at all. I agree.

Forest loss worst in North America and Australia, with 63% of sites under increased pressure from infrastructure, agriculture and settlementsMore than 100 of the world’s most precious natural assets are being severely damaged by encroaching human activities, according to a study examining direct human footprints and forest losses.Natural world heritage sites are are identified by Unesco and include 229 sites around the world that are considered to have “outstanding universal values” that transcend national boundaries. Continue reading...

The Prime Minister’s refugee-friendly branding has veiled Canada’s fortress policies that are in urgent need of overhaulIt was a tweet heard around the world: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s rejoinder to Donald Trump’s repugnant Muslim travel ban that has sparked outrage around the world. “To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith,” Trudeau tweeted on Saturday. “Diversity is our strength. #WelcometoCanada.”While Trump has immediately stoked reactionary chaos, Trudeau has always struck the progressive posture. With fuzzy memes and messaging and photo-ops of him hugging refugees – and his predictably popular latest tweet – Canada’s Liberal party has painted themselves as a welcoming government in a sea of rising intolerance. Praise from the international political and media class has flowed. Continue reading...

Money collected as an alternative to prosecutions will go to projects that help wildlife, says Environment AgencyMore than £1.5m will go to projects that help wildlife and the environment as companies pay for breaking green laws, the Environment Agency has said.Businesses are paying between £1,500 and £375,000 in “enforcement undertakings” as an alternative to prosecutions for breaking environmental laws by polluting rivers, breaching permit conditions or avoiding recycling. The money on the new list of enforcement undertakings from 26 companies – including six paying six-figure sums – totals £1,535,992. Continue reading...

More than half of Liberal voters also oppose plan to loan Indian company $1bn to build a rail line between proposed Carmichael coalmine and Abbot PointThree-quarters of Australians, including most Liberal voters, oppose the government giving a $1bn loan to Adani to build a rail line between its proposed Carmichael coalmine and the Abbot Point shipping terminal.The government’s Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund (Naif) granted Adani “conditional approval” for a $1bn loan in December last year. Continue reading...

Operator says it has seen what may be fuel debris beneath badly damaged No 2 reactor, destroyed six years ago in triple meltdownHopes have been raised for a breakthrough in the decommissioning of the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant after its operator said it may have discovered melted fuel beneath a reactor, almost six years after the plant suffered a triple meltdown.

Climate-change denier Myron Ebell says he expects Trump to withdraw the US from the global climate change agreementThe environmental movement is “the greatest threat to freedom and prosperity in the modern world”, according to an adviser to the US president Donald Trump’s administration.Myron Ebell, who has denied the dangers of climate change for many years and led Trump’s transition team for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) until the president’s recent inauguration, also said he fully expected Trump to keep his promise to withdraw the US from the global agreement to fight global warming. Continue reading...

Trafficking of endangered snakes as pets or for their skins is having a negative impact on breeding patterns and size of speciesKenya has banned the export of various snake species, including the African rock python, to zoos and pet shops around the world after reports of animal abuse and snakes being sold on the black market for their meat and skins.The trafficking of the endangered snakes by cartels is also having a negative impact on the environment, said authorities.

Energy company and RenewableUK argue it is ‘counterproductive’ to spend bill-payers’ money on dirty technologyMinisters should ban coal power stations from a scheme paying their owners subsidies to provide backup power, a leading energy company and green energy group have urged.Scottish Power and RenewableUK said it was an “obvious paradox” and “counterproductive” that the government had committed to closing all coal power stations by 2025 while continuing to support them through the capacity market, its system for ensuring power when supplies are low. Continue reading...

Juniper threatened by fungus-like disease is first species to be fully collected in Kew’s Royal Botanic Gardens tree seed projectThe future of gin is safe, according to horticultural experts who have collected juniper seeds from across the country to help conserve the declining tree species.Juniper berries, which take two years to mature slowly on the plant, help give gin its distinctive flavour, but the native UK species is in decline. Continue reading...

Offices, gyms, supermarkets – even your local bus shelter. We want to find out about the renewables projects in your citiesRenewable power is spreading across cities around the world. Whether motivated by energy security, cost or climate change, the result is a surge of projects from Rio de Janeiro to Melbourne.Now we want to see what your city is doing on renewables. Continue reading...

The research is clear – humans are responsible for all the global warming since 1950The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report – which summarizes the latest and greatest climate science research – was quite clear that humans are responsible for global warming:It is extremely likely [95 percent confidence] more than half of the observed increase in global average surface temperature from 1951 to 2010 was caused by the anthropogenic increase in greenhouse gas concentrations and other anthropogenic forcings together … The best estimate of the human-induced contribution to warming is similar to the observed warming over this period … The contribution from natural forcings is likely to be in the range of −0.1°C to 0.1°C, and from internal variability is likely to be in the range of −0.1°C to 0.1°C. Continue reading...

The Mormon church owns vast tracts of US land, and now envisages a huge new city on its Deseret Ranch – but at what cost?Everything about the Deseret cattle and citrus ranch, in central Florida, is massive. The property itself occupies 290,000 acres of land – more than nine times the size of San Francisco and almost 20 times the size of Manhattan. It is one of the largest ranches in the country, held by the one of the biggest landowners in the state: the Mormon church.On an overcast weekday afternoon, Mormon missionaries give tours of the vast estate. Fields, orange trees and grazing animals stretch as far as the eye can see. While central Florida may be best known for Disney World, the ranch – roughly an hour’s drive away – is nearly 10 times bigger. It is home to a jaw-dropping 40,000 cows and has grown oranges for millions of glasses of juice. Continue reading...

Roger Gower’s brother says he wants something good to come from tragedy after pilot was shot dead in TanzaniaThe family of a British pilot who was shot dead by elephant poachers in Tanzania have said they want to “make some good come from tragedy” as they spearhead an appeal to raise £1m to help tackle the African ivory trade.

Thorpe Wood, Peterborough This wood was here long before the city grew up around it. If it were lost its space would be instantly absorbedHere’s a strange little peace in a tightened noose of noise. If you stumbled on it by footbridge, housing estate passage or nondescript pull-in, it would be a surprising find: an ancient worked wood caught in an outer eddy of the city. Thorpe Wood was here long before Peterborough grew up around it, before the city began to squeeze, before what little was left was mercifully protected.

The Pixar animation screened at the White House on Sunday is a tale of environmental alarm and family reunion across continentsAs the chaos and protests at airports around the US gathered steam on Sunday after President Donald Trump’s startling travel ban on people coming to America from seven majority-Muslim countries, the White House had a lighter listing on its official schedule: a screening of Finding Dory at the White House family theater from 3pm.

Malcolm Turnbull says the Coalition’s position on the RET was settled 18 months ago under former prime minister’s leadershipMalcolm Turnbull has dismissed Tony Abbott’s latest criticism of the Coalition’s renewable energy target, reminding Abbott that the target was settled under his leadership just 18 months ago.Abbott warned at a Young Liberals conference at the weekend that power was getting more expensive and less reliable because the Turnbull government was making it “harder and harder” to use coal and gas through the renewable energy target. Continue reading...