Environment | The Guardian

Jamie Reed resigns to take job in nuclear industry, saying he will be able to achieve more for his community in CumbriaOne of Jeremy Corbyn’s most persistent critics quit as a Labour MP to take a job in the nuclear industry, triggering a three-way fight for his marginal northern seat with the Conservatives and Ukip.

Google, Microsoft, Dow Chemical and other big companies are buying five times more wind than solar electricity in the race to hit ambitious emissions targetsBusinesses are buying more wind and solar electricity than ever before to help lower their carbon footprint in offices, stores and factories. But the two sources of renewable energy are far from getting equal love from corporate America.Wind energy has long been the favorite. Businesses, not counting power companies, signed 2,000 megawatts of it in 2015, a jump from 100 megawatts in 2009, according to the American Wind Energy Association. Wind energy is enabling Google, the largest corporate buyer of renewable electricity in the world, to hit the 100% renewable energy goal, which it expects to achieve next year. The company has inked 2,548 megawatts of wind contracts and 141 megawatts of solar. Continue reading...

Trump has installed people in key environmental protection positions who seem to care more for profits than people. Now we fear for our safetyCorpus Christi, Texas, calls itself the “sparkling city by the sea”. But lately it doesn’t feel very sparkling. The city imposed a four-day ban on consuming any tap water last Wednesday. No one could drink the water, shower, bathe, do dishes, wash laundry, hands, faces or children with it. There were fears that a corrosive asphalt emulsifier Indulin AA86 had snuck all the way from the city’s industrial district into our homes due to a “back-flow incident”. There was water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink.On 1 December, the Corpus Christi city hall received the first report of dirty water from Refinery Row. On 7 December the city hall received their second, on 12 December their third. By then the water was shimmery, sudsy – just the kind of sheen we would soon fear creeping into our commodes. Continue reading...

The indigenous leader is the first to receive a vote for president in the US electoral college. This historic act of defiance offers hope for our collective futureOn Monday, electoral college delegates convened in capitols across the 50 states and the District of Columbia to cast their votes for the 45th president and vice-president of the United States. Some said that the future of a global superpower, and liberalism itself, hung in the balance. Reeling from reports of Russian hackers and confounded by a president-elect viewed by many as a fascist-in-making, desperate voices from both the left and right called on the electors to vote their conscience.Conservative defectors pleaded for delegates to select a more competent Republican like John Kasich. Liberals demanded that all electors align with the people and support Hillary Clinton, who pulled-in 2.8 million more votes than her rival. The electoral college, a system originally designed to bolster the power of slave states against the free, looked like the final fortress of progress. Continue reading...

Thousands head to pollution-free regions as haze descends on the country’s northern industrial heartlandTens of thousands of “smog refugees” have reportedly fled China’s pollution-stricken north after the country was hit by its latest “airpocalyse” forcing almost half a billion people to live under a blanket of toxic fumes.

Reducing wood-burning, gas-flaring and global diesel emissions would be ‘quick win’ in combating irreversible climate change, scientists sayWorld leaders should redouble efforts to cut soot emissions because it is the cheapest and fastest way to combat climate change, climate scientists and advocates have told the Guardian.Deposits of soot – unburned carbon particles – have stained parts of the Arctic black, changing the ice from a reflector of sunlight to an absorber of heat, and accelerating the melting of ice and snow, which itself is starting to alter global weather patterns.

Analysis says $1bn of commonwealth funding would amount to paying $683,000 for each job generatedAdani’s coal infrastructure should not be given money from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund since it does not meet at least two of the mandatory criteria, according to analysis by Greenpeace.In addition, despite the NAIF granting “conditional approval” for $1bn of commonwealth financing for a rail link between Adani’s Carmichael mine and its Abbot Point coal terminal and insisting it is “ready and able to make decisions” about funding, the NAIF has told Greenpeace it had not yet finalised its policies and guidelines for considering the funding criteria.

The US solar industry is a bigger employer than oil and gas extraction, but it fears disruption under a Trump presidencyThe solar industry is wary. US president-elect Donald Trump has picked climate sceptics and oil industry executives for key positions in his administration, promising to scrap President Obama’s clean power plan and withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.

US promised US$3bn towards fund, which was part of historic Paris agreement, but so far has transferred only $500mMore than 100 climate and development organisations, along with 70,000 people, have called on Barack Obama to help secure the future of the Paris agreement by transferring the remaining $2.5bn committed by the US.The Green Climate Fund was a key aspect of the historic Paris agreement signed in 2015, which aims to keep global warming “well below” 2C and aspires to keep warming to 1.5C. Continue reading...

Obama uses law that allows presidents to block sale of new offshore drilling and mining rights and makes it difficult for their successors to reverse decisionBarack Obama has permanently banned new oil and gas drilling in most US-owned waters in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, a last-ditch effort to lock in environmental protections before he hands over to Donald Trump.Obama used a 1953 law that allows presidents to block the sale of new offshore drilling and mining rights and makes it difficult for their successors to reverse the decision. Continue reading...

Quick-thinking paramedic heard about patient’s rapid decline and raced a dose of anti-venom to the house in CairnsAn elderly Cairns man is fighting for life after being bitten on the foot by a large taipan that slithered into his lounge room.The man, who is aged in his 70s, went into cardiac arrest after the highly venomous snake bit him at his Yorkeys Knob home about 8pm on Tuesday. Continue reading...

A NYC-based designer says he wants to make people pay more attention to the environment. But at these prices, is this more art than activism?Outdoor air pollution has grown by 8% around the world in the last five years, according to new data by the World Health Organization. Some of the world’s biggest cities have significantly high pollution levels.Take New York, for example. A recent NYU study looked at the health of 300,000 residents and concluded that individuals living in zipcodes with higher concentrations of pollution – as measured by the Environmental Protection Agency – had a 24% higher chance of having artery constriction.

Under Norway’s endangered predator laws, only 15 lone wolves proved to pose a threat to livestockThe Norwegian government has issued a last-minute reprieve for 32 of the 47 wolves that had been earmarked for a cull to protect sheep flocks.The plans to kill two-thirds of the country’s wolves caused outrage among conservationists at home and abroad when they were announced by local predator management boards in September, with warnings the cull would be disastrous for the species. Continue reading...

Officials have asked for more proof of microbead damage to marine life in move to extend cosmetics ban to all products washed down drainThe government is exploring whether its ban on tiny pieces of plastic in cosmetics should be extended to other household products, to protect fish and other marine life.Ministers promised earlier this year to ban microbeads in personal care products such as toothpaste and face scrubs by the end of 2017, but stopped short of pledging to ban them in other products.

A new report finds strong support for clean energy, international climate agreements, and cutting carbon pollution - across the political spectrum

Friends of the Earth and Frack Free Ryedale lose bid to stop fracking in village of Kirby MispertonFracking will go ahead at a North Yorkshire site after environmentalists lost a legal challenge they had brought on climate change grounds.On Tuesday, the high court ruled against Friends of the Earth and Frack Free Ryedale, who had argued that North Yorkshire county council had failed to properly consider the environmental impact of burning gas when it approved the fracking this year. Continue reading...

European parliament draft inquiry into dieselgate has found EC ignored evidence of emissions test cheatingA draft European parliament inquiry into the dieselgate scandal has found the European commission guilty of maladministration for failing to act quickly enough on evidence that defeat devices were being used to game emissions tests.The commission ignored evidence of emissions test cheating from its own science body, the Joint Research Centre (JRC), partly out of a desire to “avoid placing burdens on industry”, according to the draft report seen by the Guardian. Continue reading...

New research finds householders more likely to bin food over festive season due to lack of culinary knowhowOne in three UK consumers admit to binning turkey and sprouts for their Christmas dinner before it even reaches the table because of their lack of culinary knowhow, a new report has revealed.Official figures show that UK households throw away 7m tonnes of food every year, but the new research from supermarket chain Sainsbury’s shows householders are more likely to bin food over the festive season because they don’t know how to prepare and cook it. Continue reading...

Claxton, Norfolk I recall the circumstances of the cut, how it was stored and then the moment it was sectioned to fit the fireThe garden task that gives me greatest satisfaction is the cutting of our winter wood stack. I like to joke that our logburner consumes only hand-prepared organic “food”, and there is even a sense in which each piece is an individual.

Hundreds of Beijing companies forced to stop production and hospitals prepare for surge in pollution-related illnessesThe number of cars on roads was limited and factories were temporarily shut in some northern Chinese cities on Monday to reduce pollution during a national smog red alert.More than 700 companies stopped production in Beijing and traffic police were restricting drivers by monitoring numberplates, state media reported. In choking conditions, dozens of cities closed schools and took other emergency measures after the alert was issued for much of northern China. Continue reading...

A few Australian businesses are exploiting the searing heat of summer to create purpose-designed solar cooling systems whose benefits extend far beyond electricity savings

Rearing animals for meat is bad for the planet. Insects, on the other hand, are both nutritious and environmentally friendlyIf you’re looking for a novelty Christmas dinner that will help curb greenhouse gases, why not try eating insects? Conventional meat farming produces massive amounts of greenhouse gases, especially from sheep and cattle belching methane – a gas roughly 20 times more powerful as a heat-trapping gas than carbon dioxide.Add to that other culprits, such as nitrogen oxides given off from fertilisers and carbon dioxide created in transport and refrigeration. All told, the livestock industry gives off 18% of all manmade greenhouse gases. Insects, though, give off far less greenhouse pollutants for the same weight of food. Continue reading...

Report warning of energy shortage widely discredited after just one MP backs it and it includes misleading claimsA report that warned of Christmas blackouts next year and purported to come from a group of MPs has been discredited after it emerged it was only backed by a single MP and included misleading claims.The British Infrastructure Group (BIG), chaired by Conservative MP Grant Shapps, published a report on Monday that said coal power station closures and a drive for renewable energy had left the UK facing “intermittent blackouts for the foreseeable future”. Continue reading...

While some blamed bad weather or predation for beaching at Marazion at St Michael’s Mount, the fish were in fact dumped by a trawler for safety reasonsThe mystery of why hundreds of thousands of fish were found washed up on a Cornish beach over the weekend has been solved: they were dumped by a trawler that caught too many sardines in shallow water.After a photographer happened on the huge shoal of dead fish on Marazion at St Michael’s Mount beach, various explanations were offered for her eerie discovery – just two weeks after a similar sighting on another Cornish beach. Bad weather out at sea and attempts by the fish to escape large predators were both suggested as explanations. Continue reading...

Arctic temperatures have been 20C above normal. The ice cap is shrinking. And Trump and Putin may see it as an advantageTemperatures in the Arctic in the last two months have hit more than 20C above normal for the time of year. Temperatures that unusual in the UK and Europe would produce 45C summers. As a result, sea ice has shrunk to levels that scientists describe as “off the scale”. Mapping the changes to the extent of sea ice over the last 40 years confirms that: on a graph, the lines are clustered together like threads in a hank of silk, warming and cooling in line with each other – until this year. This year’s line drops down like a thin thread dangling into the void.Related: Arctic ice melt 'already affecting weather patterns where you live right now' Continue reading...

Thanet council forced to close beaches for nine days due to ‘catastrophic’ leakage and public health concernsSouthern Water has been fined a record £2m for flooding beaches in Kent with raw sewage, leaving them closed to the public for nine days.The Environment Agency called the event “catastrophic”, while the judge at Maidstone crown court said on Monday that Southern Water’s repeat offending was “wholly unacceptable”. The company apologised unreservedly, as it did when fined £200,000 in 2013 for similar offences. Continue reading...

In a year almost certain to be history’s hottest, drastic environmental changes are taking a toll on food supply and even language in Arctic communitiesThe extreme warmth of 2016 has changed so much for the people of the Arctic that even their language is becoming unmoored from the conditions in which they now live.The Yupik, an indigenous people of western Alaska, have dozens of words for the vagaries of sea ice, which is not surprising given the crucial role it plays in subsistence hunting and transportation. But researchers have noted that some of these words, such as “tagneghneq” (thick, dark, weathered ice), are becoming obsolete. Continue reading...

A third unit at Drax’s coal power station will switch to burning wood pellets after commission’s state aid investigation approves financial supportThe share price of Britain’s biggest power station operator has jumped to a five-month high after the European commission approved subsidies for its conversion to burn wood pellets instead of coal.Drax was awarded a renewable energy subsidy contract by the government in 2014 to switch the third unit of its coal power station in North Yorkshire over to biomass. That prompted a state-aid investigation by the commission, which was concerned the estimates of the plant’s performance were too generous and Drax would be overcompensated. Continue reading...

What’s it like to live among elephants, to know that at any moment you might find yourself face to face with something so awe-inspiring – and so dangerous?My family and I have lived on the edge of the Mudumalai wildlife sanctuary in the Nilgiri mountains, south India, for over three decades now. The children grew up here. Yet the thrill of knowing there’s an elephant in the garden is a feeling we all still savour. We cherish our elephant memories and can’t ever seem to become blasé about them.Our elephant adventures began in 1984 when, with our one-year-old daughter, my husband and I crossed the jungle in a dilapidated jeep, sticking behind a lorry for comfort and company. The herds of elephants standing like sentinels on either side of the Bandipur-Mudumalai forest highway had us frantically praying for our safety. Mostly, one elephant, the matriarch, would trumpet loudly, warning us off, especially if there were young calves with the herd. Then she would angrily paw the ground as a prelude to charging. We would race away before she could carry out her threat. Continue reading...

Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 23 December 1916Surrey, December 21

$145 wildlife warning devices are designed to scare devils off road and have limited resale valueThieves in Tasmania are stealing electronic fence posts designed to save the lives of endangered Tasmanian devils.The thefts have bewildered the manufacturers, who say the $145 wildlife warning devices serve no purpose other than deterring wildlife and have limited resale value. Continue reading...

Greg Hunt suggested funds from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation could be used to build a new power station for the struggling plantA ministerial intervention aimed at using Clean Energy Finance Corporation funds to support a fossil-fuel electricity generator for the struggling Alcoa aluminium smelter could be unlawful, according to the Greens.Federal industry minister Greg Hunt and his Victorian counterpart, Wade Noonan, have left for New York to discuss with senior leaders of Alcoa how to support the struggling smelter in Portland, Victoria. Continue reading...

American scientists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Center unwittingly film the mysterious ghost shark for the first time, as they survey the depths of the ocean off the coast of California and Hawaii. Also known as chimaeras, the creatures are related to sharks and rays

Autonomous buses are likely to be better for passengers and the environment, but not everyone is excitedClunking, dreary and seemingly always late – the humble bus struggles to catch hold of the imagination in the way of the charming trundle of trams or the power and rhythm of the train, butthe latest smart technologies promise to rejuvenate this long-maligned form of transport.Gone will be the days of waiting an eternity at stops only for three buses to arrive at once, languishing in traffic as more agile cars cut out in front, and blaming overly-relaxed bus drivers for a late arrival to work. Continue reading...

Coal power station closures have put UK in danger of National Grid failing to meet demand over winter months, says reportBritain could be facing nationwide festive blackouts next winter unless radical changes are made to the UK’s electricity network, MPs have warned.A report called Electric Shock: Will The Christmas Lights Go Out Next Winter? has been published by the British Infrastructure Group (BIG) of MPs, chaired by Grant Shapps. Continue reading...

Encountering a peacock in the wild is a surreal experience. Just one of the sightings among a wealth of exotic and unfamiliar birds at the Uttar Pradesh Bird FestivalThere was a flash of the richest blue, as the bird emerged from the forest and strutted across the path in front of us. Instantly recognisable, yet at the same time oddly unfamiliar, it lifted its neck and flicked an enormously long tail, before melting into the vegetation, never to be seen again.Encountering a peacock in the wild, in its native India, is a surreal experience. I regularly see them in the grounds of Bath Spa University’s Corsham Court, where they strut around as if they own the place. Yet now I was watching them in the fields and forests of India’s most populous state, home to the second Uttar Pradesh Bird Festival. Continue reading...

Patrick Barkham is rightly worried about the impacts of urbanisation on our wildlife (Notebook, 13 December). London is home to more than 13,000 species of fauna, flora and fungi, but we are expected to accommodate a population increase equivalent to the size of Leeds by 2050, and building density can only go so far before our needs override those of others we share our city with. While flowering buddleia, dashing parakeets and curious foxes demonstrate adaptability to this brave new world, there are many more species that simply can’t cope – with higher density we’ll lose precious diversity. The London assembly is currently looking at how new housing can do more to conserve wildlife, and we’re encouraged by Mayor Khan’s talk of “good growth” as he sets out his early plans for the capital. We need real commitment to making room for nature and, importantly, room for London to breathe.

Motion censuring Arlene Foster over energy scheme allegations could force her to resign, triggering Stormont electionsA vote of no confidence will be held in the Northern Ireland assembly, which could force the region’s first minister to step down and trigger fresh elections to the devolved parliament in Belfast.The Social Democratic and Labour party (SDLP) has won cross-party support for its motion censuring Arlene Foster over allegations about a scandal that is estimated will cost taxpayers £400m. Continue reading...

There’s good news and bad, it’s a bit of an ethical pick and mixThis is a glorious time of year for confectionary lovers, and in a few days time I’ll embark on my annual mission to hoover up boxed chocolates with customary enthusiasm.

A station in Victoria’s south-west would reduce the smelter’s vulnerability to outages and could access Clean Energy Finance Corporation funds, Hunt saysA new power station for Victoria’s south-west are among offers being made to Alcoa in a bid to save jobs at the struggling Portland aluminium smelter.Federal and Victorian industry ministers Greg Hunt and Wade Noonan will fly to New York on Monday to meet with senior global leaders of Alcoa in a bid to secure a future for the struggling smelter. Continue reading...

Supermarkets prepare for 10 million people to spend £894m in a dayIt is being dubbed “frenzied Friday” and is set to be the busiest food shopping day of the year in the UK, with an estimated 10 million people expected to hit supermarket aisles on 23 December. Continue reading...

Actor and environmental activist tells UN awards ceremony that truth about climate change has spread like ‘wildfire’ despite prominent science deniersTackling climate change is the “biggest economic opportunity” in the history of the US no matter who holds political office, the Hollywood star and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio said on Friday.

Dispute over major tourist attraction and conservation area is tearing local communities apart“There’s, like, 50 people on the way up, so take your photos,” said a young American man, shirtless, his face daubed with paint, as he came striding through the forest towards the look-out. The view was spectacular: lush tropical foliage clinging to the sheer rock-face of a canyon plunging several 100 feet to a series of stunning turquoisey pools where tourists could be spotted swimming.This was Semuc Champey, a must-visit on the Central American backpacker circuit and increasingly one of Guatemala’s most well-known tourist destinations. “Hidden”, “unique” and “natural paradise” are all thrown around to describe it. Lonely Planet calls Semuc “arguably the loveliest spot in the country”, while CNN dubbed the River Cahabón, which flows under the pools, the world’s “third best river for travellers” after the Amazon and Zambezi.

关闭全球合法象牙交易市场对拯救大象具有重要意义，但要彻底根除偷猎大象和非法象牙消费，我们必须对非法象牙贸易宣战。 (翻译：金艳/chinadialogue)

Defra says H5N8 strain found at farm near Louth housing 5,000 birds, with protection zone now in place around facilityA bird flu outbreak has been confirmed at a turkey farm housing more than 5,000 birds in Lincolnshire.

Ministers claim soaring number is a success in effort to cut bovine TB in England but charities question cull’s effectivenessThe number of animals shot in England’s controversial badger cull soared to more than 10,000 this autumn, as part of the government’s attempt to cut tuberculosis (TB) in cattle.Ministers claimed the result as a success but a leading scientist said there was “no basis” for suggesting the cull was effective, while wildlife charities said badgers were being used as a scapegoat for failures in the intensive livestock industry. 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...

Feeding Bryde’s whales, fighting seals and a Harry Potter spider are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world Continue reading...

Patrick Muhayirwa was trapped in an ambush while patrolling to protect gorillas in Africa’s oldest national park

Improved light, ventilation and heat control can boost workers’ productivity by thousands of dollars a year and reduce instances of sick building syndromePeople working in green buildings think better in the office and sleep better when they get home, a new study has revealed.