Environment | The Guardian

Europe and northern hemisphere are warming at faster pace than the global average and ‘multiple climatic hazards’ are expected, says studyEurope’s Atlantic-facing countries will suffer heavier rainfalls, greater flood risk, more severe storm damage and an increase in “multiple climatic hazards”, according to the most comprehensive study of Europe’s vulnerability to climate change yet.Temperatures in mountain ranges such as the Alps and the Pyrenees are predicted to soar to glacier-melting levels, while the Mediterranean faces a “drastic” increase in heat extremes, droughts, crop failure and forest fires. Continue reading...

Administration put de facto gag order on EPA and agriculture department staff, following similar guidance for USDA and Department of Transportation, reports say

Wenlock Edge The weather has carded the bits of sheep wool into swags and the mizzle fills them full of treasureWisps of sheep’s fleece snagged on barbed wire are full of pearls and crystal. The wool has lost its mattress-stuffing quality and, now wet, its lanolin makes the moisture from drizzle and damp stand out in droplets. These gleam with what little light is left, giving the fleece effulgence, as if it were a living substance like fungal threads or root hairs feeding on the fog.

Limited edition Head & Shoulders bottle to go on sale in France represents tiny proportion of global salesBeaches strewn with plastic waste have become a graphic illustration of just how much plastic we use in everything from food packaging to cosmetics, and how much of it gets thrown away.Consumer goods giant P&G has become the latest company to attempt to show it is tackling the problem, announcing plans for a limited run of Head & Shoulders shampoo in bottles made partly from plastic waste collected by volunteers on France’s beaches. Continue reading...

Company says it’s cheaper to pay the penalty, but the move is branded as ‘undermining of the objectives’ of the renewable energy targetThe Clean Energy Regulator has castigated a major electricity company for choosing to pay a $123m penalty rather than build or contract new wind or solar power.It said the move was “hugely disappointing” and customers would rightly be outraged to know the company wasn’t using money collected for investing in renewables in the proper way. Continue reading...

A female Nile hippo calf – born early and so underweight that it cannot feed by itself – receives critical care from staff at Cincinnati Zoo Continue reading...

Some birds have died and remaining animals at farm in Preston would be humanely culled after outbreaks of H5N8 strain, says DefraBird flu has been found in a flock of farmed pheasants in Lancashire, the UK’s chief veterinary officer has confirmed.Some of the birds at the farm in Preston had already died and the remaining live animals would be humanely culled after the discovery of the H5N8 strain, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said in a statement. Continue reading...

Donald Trump signed a number of executive orders Tuesday that will allow construction of the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines to move forward. Both projects had been blocked by Barack Obama due in part to environmental concerns, but Trump hailed the thousands of construction jobs that he said would be created. He also signed an order ensuring the pipes themselves would be made within the US

SNP unveils plan encouraging motorists, homeowners and businesses to use low- or zero-carbon sources for half their energyThe Scottish government has taken the first steps to heavily cutting the country’s reliance on North Sea oil and gas after calling for 50% of Scotland’s entire energy needs to come from renewables.In a subtle but significant shift of emphasis for the Scottish National party after decades championing North Sea production, ministers unveiled a new energy strategy intended to push motorists, homeowners and businesses into using low- or zero-carbon green energy sources for half their energy needs by 2030. Continue reading...

Both projects were opposed by grassroots groups, mired in court battles and produced high-profile clashes between environmentalists and energy interestsBoth the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipeline projects – revived by Donald Trump by executive order on Tuesday – ran up against grassroots opposition fortified by support from the Barack Obama administration. The Keystone XL project was rejected by the president himself in November 2015 after the state department concluded that the pipeline promised no major benefit for energy security or pricing.Related: Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines to be revived by Trump administration Continue reading...

Contrary to all evidence, the new US president will ignore climate change science and proceed with aggressive pro-oil and gas policies

Native American and climate change activists condemn president for ‘pledging allegiance to oil companies and Wall Street’ after signing of executive ordersDonald Trump was sharply criticised by Native Americans and climate change activists on Tuesday after he signed executive orders to allow construction of the Dakota Access and Keystone XL oil pipelines.Both pipe projects had been blocked by Barack Obama’s administration, partly because of environmental concerns. But Trump has questioned the science of climate change and campaigned on a promise to expand energy infrastructure and create jobs. Continue reading...

Decision on Fessenheim plant comes after pressure from Berlin and need to comply with legal cap on atomic energy generationEDF has voted to begin the process of closing France’s oldest nuclear power station after pressure from Germany and a law capping the country’s reliance on atomic power.The French energy firm’s board approved plans on Tuesday to close the 39-year old Fessenheim plant in north-east France, near the German border, allaying fears that the company, which is 85%-state owned, would drag its heels until President François Hollande left office later this year. Continue reading...

Scientists announce expedition to test theory that Nepalese earthquake took an inch off the world’s highest mountainAnyone who aspires to climb Mount Everest might already be one inch closer to their goal.

Motorists told to take extra care, flights are disrupted across south and air quality plunges in cities from London to BelfastThe ongoing cold, still weather is expected to send pollution levels soaring in London as freezing fog brings more disruption at airports and on the roads across the south of England.Related: How have you been affected by fog and frost in the UK? Continue reading...

At first glance the quiet town of Live Oak seems an unlikely venue for a stand against Big Energy. But in recent weeks it’s become a centre of oppositionA north Florida river that attracted the state’s first tourists a century before Walt Disney’s famous cartoon mouse is emerging at the centre of a fight against a contentious 515-mile natural gas pipeline that many are calling America’s next Standing Rock.One section of the so-called Sabal Trail pipeline is being laid beneath the crystal waters of the Suwannee river, whose pure mineral springs were once fabled to cure anything from marital strife to gout. Continue reading...

Campaigners threaten to stage biggest-ever protest over meadows development and urge UN heritage committee to intervenePlans for a major development on water meadows on the edge of Bath will ruin one of the city’s most historic and beloved landscapes and could put at risk its world heritage status, protesters claim.The city’s Conservative-led cabinet will meet on Wednesday to discuss a new park and ride scheme and is expected to back one of two sites on Bathampton Meadows to the east of the city. Continue reading...

In our current “post-truth” climate, inoculation may provide the key to making facts matter againIt’s fitting that as Donald Trump continues to flirt with anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, inoculation may provide the key to effectively debunking this sort of misinformation.That’s the finding of a new study published in Global Challenges by Sander van der Linden, Anthony Leiserowitz, Seth Rosenthal, and Edward Maibach. The paper tested what’s known as “inoculation theory,” explained in the video below by John Cook, who’s also published research on the subject. The video is a lecture from the Denial101x free online course, which itself is structured based on inoculation theory:

Writer and professor, Ashley Dawson, argues in his new book that capitalism is behind our current mass extinction crisis. But installing universal guaranteed income in biodiversity hotspots may be one remedy.

Climate change is not a controversial subject – the facts are established, whatever the Mail says. That’s why Charles helped write a Ladybird book about itLadybird books will this week publish a new title on climate change. Co-authored by the Prince of Wales, the polar scientist Emily Shuckburgh and myself, the book is intended as a plain English guide to the subject for an adult readership. Short, peer-reviewed text sits alongside beautiful new paintings by Ruth Palmer to illustrate the basic briefing.It has already been greeted in some quarters as another controversial intervention by our future king. But while it’s easy to fall behind that line of thinking, it is an increasingly mistaken one. For despite the impression created in some quarters, the truth is that climate change is not controversial. The basic facts are established and increasingly embedded in policy.

Tyne Green, Hexham: Through binoculars, it feels as if I’m watching a wildlife documentary in this country park, minutes from townThe sun comes out as I near Tyne Green, saturating everything in olive-gold light; the trees on the bank, the arches under Hexham Bridge, the billowing plumes of steam from the chipboard factory. As I slow down, I become aware of Sunday morning sounds. Bells are being rung in the abbey on the hill. A women’s eight slices upriver with a rhythmical dipping of oars. Chattering mallards are grouped hopefully by the waterside steps. A double note from a train, traffic on the dual carriageway, the muffled flow of the weir.Minutes from town, this linear park is busy with dog walkers, runners and golfers thwacking balls among undulating grassy tumps. On the river alongside, parallel lives are lived on the safety of the water or within its thick fringe of willows. A goosander scratches its cheek with an orange-red foot, before taking off, straight as an arrow to skim the surface. A cormorant holds its head up, watchful as a cobra. A shaggily white-chested heron stands motionless by a the calm of an inlet.

The proposition that new coal plants could be an effective solution to Australia’s energy needs should be treated with scepticismAre we going to renew Australia’s coal-fired electricity generators? It doesn’t seem likely. Here’s why.

Monash University’s Sustainable Development Institute aims to ensure water access for urban poorAn Australian project that aims to revolutionise water delivery and sanitation in urban slums has been awarded $27m in funding.Prof Rebekah Brown, the director of the Sustainable Development Institute at Melbourne’s Monash University, has been awarded a $14m research grant by the Wellcome Trust’s Our Planet Our Health awards in the UK. A further $13m from the Asian Development Bank would cover infrastructure and construction costs. Continue reading...

Environment minister says RET adds $63 a year to household power bills but is a ‘far cry from the 50% target Bill Shorten is proposing’The Turnbull government has “no plans” to change the Renewable Energy Target, environment minister Josh Frydenberg has said in response to reports conservative Coalition MPs want the target dropped.In an interview on Radio National Frydenberg said the RET was “balanced” but “not cost free” – warning it added $63 a year to household power bills and attacking Labor for its 50% target on renewables. Continue reading...

Incident raises questions about how Trump’s administration would the country’s largest Superfund site from leaking its poisonous mix into other watersAt least 3,000 geese were killed by a toxic stew formed by a former copper mine in Butte, Montana, this weekend, raising questions about how the new Trump administration will handle the largest Superfund site in the country.Over the weekend, a large flock of geese making a late migration over Montana was blown off course by a snowstorm, which sent the birds toward the abandoned copper mine. They splashed down into the 50bn-gallon pool, polluted heavily by acidic chemicals and metals, and died en masse. Continue reading...

PM pledges extra support for life sciences and other sectors but unions say plans could be ‘hobbled’ outside single marketTrade unions, MPs and business leaders have questioned whether the government’s new industrial strategy will succeed if Britain leaves the single market in Europe, despite Theresa May pledging that it will create a platform for businesses to grow after Brexit.The industrial strategy, unveiled in Warrington, Cheshire, shows the prime minister is prepared to take a more interventionist approach in British industry than previous governments. Continue reading...

Camden, City of London, and Westminster hit 10 out of 10 on index, while pollution levels across UK also peakedLondon has been put on “very high” alert as cold and still weather, traffic, and a peak in the use of wood-burning stoves combined to send air pollution soaring in the capital and across swaths of the UK.

We asked the world’s climate leaders for their messages to Trump ahead of his inauguration as the 45th US presidentTo fulfil his campaign slogan of “make America great again”, Donald Trump must back the boom in green technology – that was the message from the leading climate figures ahead of his inauguration as president on Friday.Unleashing US innovation on the trillion-dollar clean technology market will create good US jobs, stimulate its economy, maintain the US’s political leadership around the globe and, not least, make the world a safer place by tackling climate change, the experts told the Guardian. Continue reading...

Readers have asked how to get involved after the Guardian’s 24-hour digital event last week. Opportunites abound to make a difference, from setting up an online petition, to joining a local green group, to entering politicsThe planet is getting hotter, leaving people hungry and fuelling wars around the world and you want to do something about it. But with a green movement to cater for every age, location, and type of plastic recycling, how do you turn your enthusiasm into action?We talked to campaigners and politicians to glean their top tips for getting started as a climate activist. Continue reading...

Denial and “alternative facts” haven’t stopped the Earth from warming to record-shattering levelsAccording to Nasa, in 2016 the Earth’s surface temperature shattered the previous record for hottest year by 0.12°C. That record was set in 2015, which broke the previous record by 0.13°C. That record had been set in 2014, beating out 2010, which in turn had broken the previous record set in 2005.If you think that seems like a lot of record-breaking hot years, you’re right. The streak of three consecutive record hot years is unprecedented since measurements began in 1880. In the 35 years between 1945 and 1979, there were no record-breakers. In the 37 years since 1980, there have been 12. The video below illustrates all of the record-breaking years in the Nasa global surface temperature record since 1880. Continue reading...

St Bees Head, Cumbria The red sandstone cliffs are home to a reserve that claims to be the largest seabird colony in the north-westAt Cumbria’s most westerly point, I watch two fulmars glide stiff-winged on the wind over the unmanned lighthouse. Guillemots follow suit, as does a razorbill (inappropriately named, for, though similar, their beaks are blunter and thicker). The adjacent red sandstone cliffs, 300ft high, are home to an RSPB bird reserve that claims to be the largest seabird colony in north-west England.

Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 30 January 1917The biting east wind played on the swaying wires beside the road, striking notes now melancholy moans, now high-pitched screams; it swept across the mere, lashing white foam from the wavelets; it drove floating ice fragments into the rushes and reeds, scrunching and churning them against the ice-discs which clung to each stalwart stem. The western shore was caked with ice, each grass stem which had caught the splashing waters deep within a transparent icicle; a dead mallard was coated in an icy blanket, driving the hungry rats from the meal they had begun. To the south-east broad shafts, like beams from a searchlight, crossed the sullen clouds which hid the wintry sun, and, beyond, the snow-clad hills of the Derbyshire border faded into the misty horizon. The coots, weary of tossing, chilly waters, fed in a mob on the grass, where they were joined by fifty clonking Canada geese. The hungry redwings searched the frozen fields so unsuccessfully that one bird, separated from its companions, had only energy for an occasional flutter. One felt indeed thatWinter reigneth o’er the land,

Deputy prime minister criticises ‘romantic’ targets set by states as some Coalition MPs call to ditch RET if US pulls out of Paris climate dealBarnaby Joyce has refused to commit the government to maintain the Renewable Energy Target, after a report that conservative Coalition MPs want to ditch it if the United States pulls out of the Paris climate agreement.The deputy prime minister ruled out pulling out of the Paris agreement, but criticised “romantic” renewable targets set by states and said MPs were free to think and say what they like about the RET. Continue reading...

This tiny ball of fluff with an impossibly long tail, has almost doubled in numbers since the 1980sA brief, high-pitched “see-see-see” sound, followed by the appearance of half-a-dozen tiny balls of fluff, each attached to what looks like a protruding stick. Then, more calls, as these flying lollipops flit from one tree to the next, pause, grab an invisible insect, and then move rapidly on.Encountering a flock of long-tailed tits on a frosty January day is always a delight. Few other birds so immediately provoke a smile, for few other birds are quite so… well, adorable is the word that most readily to mind. When you discover that – as my friend and fellow nature writer Dominic Couzens puts it – the long-tailed tit is the only small bird that spends Christmas with its family, then their status in the pantheon of cuteness is confirmed. Continue reading...

New research into the cold weather killer suggests health authorities need to start taking action much earlier in the seasonEarlier this month the cold snap across Europe claimed more than 60 lives. In Poland temperatures fell to below -30°C in some regions and 10 people died of the cold on 8 January alone. Meanwhile in Greece and Turkey refugees and homeless people suffered greatly in the unseasonably heavy snow. The sad thing is that almost all of these deaths were preventable.

Highways England plans to introduce Britain’s first pollution-linked speed limits to help reduce smog over SheffieldA proposal to impose Britain’s first pollution-linked speed limits in order to help ease smog over Sheffield is being considered by Highways England.A 60mph speed limit at rush-hour when vehicle numbers are highest where the M1 runs close to schools and homes in the city could help address air quality concerns, a report commissioned by the agency found. Continue reading...

A weekend of creative events in central London aims to raise awareness of poor urban air qualityFeaturing a sturdy leather head-strap and mask, two large tubes and a transparent backpack containing a small potted plant, designer Chih Chiu’s response to crowded, polluted cities is stark.“My initial idea was to separate an individual from the public space,” he says. Continue reading...

The whale plays a crucial role in maintaining the health of the oceans, which means that these days it’s more a matter of the giant creatures saving usWhen the whalers of the mid-19th century harpooned the planet’s biggest marine mammals into near-oblivion, at least they took copious notes. These are now being used to better understand ocean science: if you enjoy a bit of historical ecology, you’ll find them at whaling.oldweather.org.I wish whaling was all historical, but right now the Japanese whaler Nisshin Maru is likely to be in hot pursuit of the Southern Ocean’s remaining whales. At least they face opposition from direct action charity Sea Shepherd, which recently launched Ocean Warrior, a new anti-whaling vessel. Continue reading...

Two-year project aims to learn why carcasses have washed up on Argentina’s coastResearchers are to launch an investigation into the unexplained deaths of hundreds of young southern right whales, one of the planet’s most vulnerable marine species.The £740,000 project – jointly funded by Defra, the UK environment department, and the EU – will involve researchers tagging whales and calves, tracking them by satellite and identifying individuals by taking DNA samples. The aim is find out why the carcasses of almost 500 young southern right whales have washed up on Argentina’s Valdés Peninsula, one of the species’ key calving areas, over the past decade. Continue reading...

55-year-old in stable condition after suffering significant abdominal injuries in attack east of Murray Island in the Torres StraitA Cairns man endured a three-hour boat ride to a medical facility after being mauled by a bull shark while free-diving near the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland’s far north.The 55-year-old man from Cairns was free-diving with a friend on a charter tour east of Murray Island in the Torres Strait on Saturday. Emergency services were notified of the attack around 12.40pm AEST. Continue reading...

Most political garbage gets taken out just before Christmas but new reports slipped through the net – and they deserve noticeWhen the news is bad, governments love distractions, and this week the Australian Open has been excellent for diverting voters’ attention from more examples of how badly this government is at governing.To be fair to Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic, it’s not all their doing. This government – like many others before – has purposefully used the summer holidays to avoid scrutiny. Continue reading...

If you go down to the woods today... you might find a school, a photographer’s studio, or a carpenter’s workshop. Britain’s forests are getting a new lease of lifeIn the stillness of autumn, the only sound on the old Saxon road is the gentle tapping of beech nuts falling on a carpet of terracotta-coloured leaves. “You must meet Robert Cunningham – he’s tremendous,” says Kathy Harris, pausing to touch the huge trunk of a venerable beech tree. Harris knows all the ancient trees in this 25-acre wood as individuals. There is also a decaying ash called Cecelia and a beech with two trunks: one has thrown out a limb to fuse with the other, like twins holding hands. There are badgers, rare bats, otters and water rails. A bonfire crackles with burning holly and, as dusk falls, a tawny owl hoots.Harris is one of a growing number of small woodland owners in Britain – a market for resellers, who buy big forests and subdivide them into “affordable” four- or five-acre plots. One, woodlands.co.uk, has sold more than 625 plots in the past four years. Prices range from £39,000 for six acres in Wales to £95,000 for a similar plot in Hampshire. The reasons for becoming a woodlander are varied and often idealistic, but the Mark Twain quote “Buy land – they’re not making it any more” usually lurks somewhere in the background. Large forests may be the preserve of tax-dodging multimillionaires (if a wood is managed commercially, harvesting timber, it is exempt from inheritance tax), but most woodlanders are a long way from being able to run a commercial operation. Continue reading...

Moixa trial at Oxspring to see if UK-made home batteries can store and use local solar power for longer, bypass National Grid and cut energy billsThe bungalows of Oxspring may look an unlikely testing ground for a new technology billed as a way to help renewable power, stymie energy price rises and aid the local power grid.But later this month, dozens of homes in this South Yorkshire village will have a home battery installed as part of a £250,000 trial to see if they can make solar power more valuable to homeowners and less painful for grid managers. Continue reading...

Climate change | Definite articles | So… | Weetabix concoctions | Playground rhymesChris Goodall’s list of 15 things you can do to help save the world (G2, 19 January) misses what is surely the most important thing: have fewer children. Without controlling population growth we have to run ever faster to stay in the same place as far as climate change is concerned.

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...

Pop star enters dispute over felling of roadside trees as it emerges council leader has not seen full version of Amey contractHe may be one of Sheffield’s best-known pop stars but Jarvis Cocker has become the unlikely frontman of a bid to secure the future of the city’s trees amid a long-running battle with council bosses.The former Pulp singer is fronting a competition to find the city’s greatest tree, as part of a campaign to save hundreds of roadside trees from being felled by council contractors. Continue reading...

Hugging deer, feeding green turtles and a Konik foal are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world Continue reading...

MPs and council leaders to face questions about their plans for local parks and green spaces amid concern about cutsThousands of people are expected to take part in a crowdsourced investigation to find out how many of England’s parks and green spaces are at risk.The campaign group 38 degrees is asking its members to contact local council leaders to ask about their plans for parks, and will help them send follow-up questions in freedom of information requests. Continue reading...

With climate change deniers moving into the White House, the Guardian is spending 24 hours focusing climate change happening now. After reporting from Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas, we’re now focusing on how warming temperatures will affect the Asia-Pacific region

New Hope project is still waiting on state permits and the outcome of a legal challenge in land courtA controversial $900m expansion of Queensland’s Acland open-cut coalmine has received federal government approval.The environment minister, Josh Frydenberg, made the announcement on Friday, but the New Hope project is still waiting on state permits and the outcome of a legal challenge in the land court. Continue reading...