Castor Hanglands, Cambridgeshire I listen for 30 minutes, imagining this delicate thing inhaling, exhaling, creating that soundIt’s odd going somewhere to listen. Usually you go somewhere to look. I’d never knowingly heard a nightingale. The word is so resonant. It’s maybe 1,000 years old, that name: nihtgale, “night songstress” – but now they know it’s the male that sings so distinctively by dark, to defend and attract. I’d always thought the name elegantly, evocatively, benignly crepuscular. Probably I’d heard it passively. But I’d never gone somewhere to find it.Knowing little of birds, I had to be told where and when to listen. “Dusk and into dark, and you’ll hear the nightingales. You’ll know it because nothing else will be singing.” Continue reading...

Several new species of peacock spider – just a few millimetres long and featuring extraordinary colours – have been discovered in Western Australia and South Australia. Sydney biologist Jürgen Otto, who discovered the seven new species, has compared their behaviour to that of cats and dogs Continue reading...

Every reference to the Great Barrier Reef was removed from a UN report on the impact of climate change on tourism and World Heritage sites after ‘intervention’ from the Australian government. What is going on?

Autumn figures are likely to be warmest on record, but Sydneysiders wake up to frosty morningSeveral sites in Sydney have experienced their coldest May morning in 20 years, even as the city looks set to record its warmest autumn.Less than two weeks after well above average temperatures were recorded across the eastern states, Sydneysiders awoke to record cold weather and frost on Monday. Continue reading...

As cities expand and trees are sacrificed for housing and infrastructure, the cost of losing green spaces grows

Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 2 June 1916Although we could not see them, shoals of small fish raced seaward on the falling tide, hastening through the shallowing water on the banks; the terns, however, could see them, and, following in a dense, screaming crowd, literally fell upon them. Out of the mass of noisy hovering birds a score or more at a time dived head-long, splashing up the water as they struck. Nearer shore, where the water runs in channels between the rocks and banks, the lesser terns were feeding in smaller numbers, and one amorous male carried his squirming captives to his mate upon the shore. A mob of pied oystercatchers lined the edge of the water, and now and then a whimbrel, with rippling call, flew down to join them.Where the sand was dry the ringed plovers fed, where still wet the dunlins ran, probing the mud, and wading till the water washed their breasts were a number of short-billed sanderlings. Turnstones, some gay in the black and orange dress of summer, tossed the seaweed strands with their slightly upturned and stout bills; they knew where to find the lurking crab and sand-hopper. Continue reading...

Leakage of natural gas from drilling and pipework means more methane is entering the atmosphereOne of the justifications for fracking is the use of natural gas as a bridging fuel between coal and a low-carbon future. However natural gas is mostly methane, which has strong global warming impacts in its own right. Natural gas therefore only provides climate benefits over coal if the leakage is no more than 2-3%.We cannot measure leaks from every pipe joint. One alternative is to measure the sum of lots of leaks from a distance. Flights over US shale gas fields reveal large methane sources, but these areas also have cattle farms that produce methane and the two sources need to be separated. Continue reading...

Extra cash for scientific monitoring and management promised by Bill Shorten to support one of party’s ‘highest priorities’Labor is promising to invest $500m to boost scientific monitoring and management of the Great Barrier Reef over five years as it unveils its biggest environmental policy of the election campaign so far.

Climate Institute says risk data held by regulators, state and local governments, insurers and banks, but homebuyers and developers do not have access to itThe risk that houses in some areas of Australia are likely to become uninsurable, dilapidated and uninhabitable due to climate change is kept hidden from those building and buying property along Australia’s coasts and in bushfire zones, a Climate Institute report says.The report says there is untapped and unshared data held by regulators, state and local governments, insurers and banks on the level of risk, but that most homebuyers and developers are not told about the data and do not have access to it. Continue reading...

As mass bleaching sweeps the world heritage site, scientists also find an average of 35% of coral dead or dying in the northern and central sections of the reefThe majority of coral is now dead on many reefs in the central section of the Great Barrier Reef, according to an underwater survey of 84 reefs, in the worst mass bleaching event to hit the world heritage site.An average of 35% of coral was now dead or dying in the northern and central sections, according to the surveys led by the Australian Research Council’s Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. Continue reading...

There is a whole generation of women out here who were protesters at Greenham Common, Aldermaston, and the Newbury Bypass (Anti-Fracking groups plan protest camps, 26 May). Besides working with our partners to help our children carve out a life in a horribly hostile financial climate, we are volunteering on committees to help keep youth and children’s centres, libraries, and village halls open, because council budgets are totally inadequate. In our 50s, 60s and 70s, we are supporting the junior doctors, standing against welfare cuts, and for renewable energy. We want this government to publish the report, which they have been sitting on since the end of March, on the Environmental Impact of Shale Gas Technology, by the independent Climate Change Committee. Yes, I think there will be anti-fracking camps like Balcombe here in the north. I think there might be all sorts of imaginative social disobedience. We’ve been round the block already, and demographics show that our age group is growing. Even if we didn’t get to Greenham Common, there are quite a lot of us who might make up for it in Kirby Misperton, Preston New Road, or Roseacre Wood.

Opium of the masses | Christ’s resurrection | Land Registry | Breastmilk for adults | Kitty for Titty | Pork not a verbAll that Giles Fraser (The world is getting more religious, because the poor get God, 27 May) has managed to say in 700 words is that religion is indeed the opium of the masses and sadly, in an increasingly unequal world, people will turn to myth and superstition to comfort them in their impotence to do anything about it.

After North Yorkshire allows test drilling, villagers in Misson are determined to stop the same happening in former bomber pilot testing groundWhen councillors in North Yorkshire ignored widespread public opposition and granted planning permission for the fracking company Third Energy to carry out test drilling, there were groans around the Nottinghamshire village of Misson.For the last two years, tenacious locals in this quiet fenland hamlet have been fighting attempts by another energy firm to set up a shale gas exploration site in a nearby field. Continue reading...

Environmental protections on EDF’s troubled Somerset construction site are excellent, apparently. Very little else about the project isHave you heard about the terrific bat houses and hedgehog tunnels down at Hinkley Point in Somerset? Energy minister Andrea Leadsom has been to inspect them herself and raved about them last week to a select committee of MPs. They were evidence, she suggested, of the depth of commitment of French firm EDF to the £18bn nuclear power station due to be built on the site.Well, maybe. Talk of bats and hedgehogs at least provided some relief from the familiar crop of Hinkley news. French economy minister Emmanuel Macron said he was “fully behind” the project but EDF’s unions confirmed that they weren’t. Jean-Luc Magnaval, secretary of EDF’s workers’ committee, told the BBC that the unions “have reservations about several aspects of the project: organisation, supply chain, installation and procurement”. That’s a long list. Continue reading...

Fears about damage to the Great Barrier Reef were removed from UN report along with concern about a threat to the environment in two other heritage sitesA draft UN report on climate change, which was scrubbed of all reference to Australia over fears it could deter visitors to the Great Barrier Reef, also outlined possible threats to the Tasmania wilderness and Kakadu. Continue reading...

Discarded plastic six-pack rings trap and kill fish and other sea life. Could holders made from wheat and barley be an animal-friendly alternative?

In the first of a series, we visit the Hellisheiði plant, which provides 300MW of power – and Reykjavik’s hot waterThanks to its position on a volatile section of the Mid-Atlantic ridge, Iceland is a world leader in the the use of geothermal energy, and of the six geothermal power plants in Iceland, Hellisheiði (pronounced “het-li-shay-thee”) is the newest and largest. Fully operational since 2010, it sits on the mossy slopes of the Hengill volcano in the south-west of the country; a green and placid-looking landscape that belies the turbulent geological activity rumbling beneath it.To access the potential energy under the surface, wells are drilled thousands of metres into the ground, penetrating reservoirs of pressurised water. Heated by the Earth’s energy, this water can be more than 300C in temperature, and when released it boils up from the well, turning partly to steam on its way. At Hellisheiði, the steam is separated from the water to power some of the plant’s seven turbines, while the remaining water is further depressurised to create more steam, used to power other turbines. At its maximum output the station can produce 303MW of electricity, making it one of the three largest single geothermal power stations in the world. Continue reading...

Female opposition to drilling soars as mothers unite in desire to safeguard children’s future“We are ready for them,” said Tina Louise Rothery. “It has been a long battle but we have been ready for a confrontation for a long time.”Rothery is one of a growing group of women at the forefront of opposition to fracking. Of the 250 anti-fracking community groups that have sprung up in Britain in the past few years, very many are led, or strongly backed, by women, who say they have been outraged at plans to risk people’s health by exploiting the countryside for shale gas. Continue reading...

Time to help the creatures that, wrested from habitats where they swim thousands of miles, end up atrophying in tanksWe need to talk about Dory. As Pixar’s charming version of a tropical blue tang swims on to screens in Finding Dory next month, conservationists fear a wave of inappropriate fish buying.Finding Nemo, which triggered just such a global craze in 2003, posed less of a threat. Clownfish (Nemo’s ilk) are usually bred in captivity for the aquarium trade, but blue tangs are “harvested” from the wild for aquariums, with up to 80% dying during capture and transportation. There is intense pressure on wild populations, especially around coral reefs. Continue reading...

Deep sea scientists exploring the remote waters between Hawaii and Midway atoll find a gigantic sea sponge “about the size of a minivan” that could be the oldest animal on earth. A remote-operated submersible found the sponge about 2,100m (7,000ft) down, while exploring the depths of the Papahānaumokuākea marine park Continue reading...

Mega dam on Congo river to produce electricity equal to 20 large nuclear power stations, but critics say it will displace 60,000 people and wreck the ecosystemThe largest dam in the world is set to begin construction within months and could be generating electricity in under five years. But 35,000 people may have to be relocated and it could be built without any environmental or social impact surveys, say critics.The $14bn (£9.5bn) Inga 3 project, the first part of the mega-project, is being fast-tracked by the Democratic Republic of Congo government will span one channel of the vast river Congo at Inga Falls. It involves a large dam and a 4,800MW hydro-electric plant. Continue reading...

Strathnairn, Highlands In all the years we had lived here, we had never had a red squirrel in the garden. This has been the subject of much banter in the village shopOne of the main wildlife mysteries in the strath is the distribution of red squirrels in gardens in the adjoining villages of Farr and Inverarnie. Over many years we have advised people over putting out peanuts and feeders, and every one has succeeded in attracting them. However, one garden of an acre with mature trees and seemingly ideal has not succeeded, and it is ours! Continue reading...

High court judge dismisses claims by mining firm Vedanta Resources that water contamination case against them and subsidiary KCM should be heard in ZambiaEighteen hundred Zambian villagers claiming to have had their water supplies polluted and their health affected by a giant mining company’s subsidiary have won the right to have their case heard in the British courts rather than in Zambia.Vedanta, which is headquartered in London, had argued strongly in the high court that the villagers’ case against them and their subsidiary, KCM, should be heard in Zambia, where the alleged pollution took place near the town of Chingola and the giant Nchanga copper mine. Continue reading...

Leaders of the UK, US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the EU urge all countries to join them in eliminating support for coal, oil and gas in a decadeThe G7 nations have for the first time set a deadline for the ending most fossil fuel subsidies, saying government support for coal, oil and gas should end by 2025.The leaders of the UK, US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the European Union encouraged all countries to join them in eliminating “inefficient fossil fuel subsidies” within a decade. Continue reading...

Mountain goats, beavers and whooping cranes are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world Continue reading...

Donald Trump crosses threshold to claim Republican nomination; another Berkeley student details sexual harassment; antibiotic resistance gene discovered in womanBarack Obama visited Hiroshima on Friday, the first sitting US president to do so. “Seventy one years ago on a bright cloudless morning death fell from the sky and the world’s was changed,” he said, adding that the atomic bomb had “demonstrated that mankind held the means to destroy itself.” But Obama offered no apology for US use of the weapon, which is generally held to have brought about the end of the conflict in the Pacific. The president – who has campaigned for nuclear disarmament – laid a wreath at the stark concrete memorial arch in the Japanese city and said mankind’s “unmatched capacity for destruction” and its drive for “domination and conquest” came from the same source as its creativity and innovation. But the splitting of the atom also required a “moral revolution”, he said. “We can learn and choose, tell our children of a common humanity that makes war less likely.” Continue reading...

Still stonewalling, the oil giant banned the Guardian from its AGM this week. But even its shareholders are starting to hear the gale-force winds blowing outside

Reform to toxic chemical regulation is the first for 40 years. Unfortunately, it won’t do enough to eliminate harmful substances from our livesThe US is set for the first legislation to regulate toxic industrial chemicals in 40 years.You might think this would be cause for celebration. However, the bill updating the Toxic Substances Control Act continues to put the industry’s interests above those of the public. It does make some improvements, such as requiring new chemicals to be safe before being sold and giving the Environmental Protection Agency the power to demand safety data. But on balance, it does too little to protect Americans from chemicals that cause cancer and nervous system disorders, impaired fertility, immune system dysfunction and a host of other health problems. Continue reading...

Weather is becoming more extreme, and meteorologists are taking notice

Minister keeps up attack on Labor’s ‘carbon tax’ to placate Coalition climate change sceptics, all the while ensuring the machinery is in place for his own ETSFor years Greg Hunt has been suggesting different things to different people about his climate policy. This week he was almost caught out.Most people who understand how it works – environmentalists, business leaders, analysts – know the Coalition’s Direct Action policy cannot meet Australia’s promised long-term greenhouse gas reductions exactly as it stands. For years Hunt has reassured them – don’t worry, the framework is there. Continue reading...

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump pledges to cancel the Paris climate agreement at an oil and natural gas conference in North Dakota on Thursday. It was Trump’s first speech detailing the energy policies he would advance from the White House

A new poll finds that only 20% of Britons have heard of ocean acidification – and even fewer know anything about it

Founder Tony Maloto may hold some controversial views, but GK’s 2,000 communities are helping alleviate poverty in a country in desperate needThe Sacred Heart of Jesus village, in the Philippines’ Nueva Ecija province, is home to 17 families who live in colourful houses, each one edged by plants potted in bottles and plastic bags. A woman pokes her head out of a lime green house. “This is Gawad Kalinga,” she says. “Welcome.”Gawad Kalinga (GK) – meaning “to give care” in Tagalog, the most common Filipino language – is a social movement that emerged from a Catholic youth camp in Manila’s slums more than 20 years ago. Galvanised by the destruction caused by typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 6,300 people in 2013, the movement has become a household name.

Turnbull shot Turner three times with a rifle after a long-running dispute with NSW environment department over illegal land clearingAn 81-year-old farmer farmer has been found guilty of the murder of a New South Wales environment officer he shot after a long-running dispute over land clearing.A jury found Ian Turnbull guilty in the NSW supreme court of murdering Office of Environment and Heritage compliance officer Glen Turner, 51, at his Croppa Creek property in the state’s north in July 2014. Continue reading...

Red Rocks Marsh, Wirral ‘I have front row seats for the natterjack toad, the loudest amphibian in Europe’There is one last highlighter-pink line in the sky when I take the path down through the red rocks that give this area its name. They are sandstone, worn smooth by time and tide. The sea is keeping its distance, the tide is out, but that familiar coastal tang is in the air mixing with the peppery scent of sundried grass from the dunes.Colour fades to monochrome as the light drains out of the day and my eyes become more attuned to movement. A small spring contracts and expands below to my left. It is a toad and I can just make out the pattern of black bumps speckling its back. This is one of the few places natterjack toads can be found in the UK but, while attractive, this is not one of them: it lacks the distinguishing yellow stripe along its spine. Continue reading...

Renewable power sources, low-energy products and supply chain emissions cuts help Swedish furniture giant boost sustainabilityAs December’s landmark climate change summit in Paris (COP21) approached, Ikea made a number of major announcements. It pledged to invest €600m (£471m) in renewable energy projects – in addition to an earlier €1.5bn (£1.2bn) cash injection – and a further €400m (£314m) to support communities vulnerable to climate change.The world’s biggest furniture retailer says it’s going “all in” to have a net positive impact on the climate through renewable energy investment, energy-efficiency measures, cutting supply chain emissions, and product changes designed to achieve behaviour change. It has already helped its suppliers become 18% more energy efficient over the past four years – through the introduction of a sustainability assessment tool and by bringing suppliers together to share sustainability best practice. Continue reading...

Wyke Farms saves £100,000 a year on energy bills thanks to green initiatives. And that’s just the start“My grandparents used to tell me that if you look after nature, then nature will look after you,” says Richard Clothier, managing director of Wyke Farms, which generates electricity, gas and heat from renewable sources. “It’s nice to go to work in the morning and know you are doing the right thing.”The dairy business in southwest England, which exports 14,000 tonnes of cheddar a year to more than 160 countries, has been building an energy generation and water recycling operation over the past five years to reduce its environmental impact and save money. According to Clothier, it’s been able to lower its energy bills by nearly £100,000 per month as a result. Continue reading...

As well as curbing emissions, the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation is believed to have added millions to the Scottish economyWhen Vijay Bhopal had an idea for a consultancy and research firm to support the growth of the community energy sector, he was a business novice. It was 2011 and he had little idea how he could take his idea forward.Five years later, as the founder of Scene Consulting, he heads a dynamic small business with a burgeoning client list and has been voted Scottish Renewables Entrepreneur of the Year. Continue reading...

Marcatus QED hopes its films will engage Indian farming communities and help empower womenIndia’s attitude towards women – exemplified by its handling of rape cases and the deeply rooted stigma attached to the victims – has provoked international outrage. It’s a country in which women struggle to be heard. But Marcatus QED, a global agri-food solutions company, has come up with a way of giving women a stronger voice.The company – which works with producers contracting 18,000 smallholder farmer families across its gherkin supply chain in south India – has teamed up with a range of organisations, including NGOs Oxfam and Digital Green and the Indian consultancy Centre for Knowledge Societies, to design a culturally appropriate training programme. Continue reading...

Under Bradley’s leadership B&Q has moved to 100% responsibly sourced timber and is working towards all products being peat-freeQuiet tenacity, impressive determination and outstanding leadership are just some of the qualities Rachel Bradley’s colleagues point to when asked why they nominated her to be the Guardian Sustainable Business Unsung Hero 2016.The reader-nominated award, the winner of which is chosen by public vote, recognises an employee who has gone beyond the call of duty to drive sustainable change in his or her organisation. In Bradley’s case, she has managed a number of significant projects in her 11 years at B&Q, including completing the transition to 100% responsibly sourced timber that began in 1991, working towards the company’s products becoming peat-free, and adopting the RHS Perfect for Pollinators label to help customers choose the best flowers for butterflies and bees. Continue reading...

Climate-KIC’s campaign saw 20 cities crowdsource ideas to make their cities greener, from cycling to food wasteHow to get people interested in climate change action when the problem seems so great and so removed from everyday reality? That’s the conundrum governments, activists, companies and the media have faced for decades.Occasionally a standout voice or campaign on climate change action grabs attention – Naomi Klein’s bestseller This Changes Everything, and Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project, for example. All too often, however, the science around climate change fails to resonate with people. Continue reading...

At UEA’s Enterprise Centre, local materials meet hi-tech carbon monitoring – all on a traditional budgetVisitors to The Enterprise Centre at the University of East Anglia’s campus can smell the wood as soon as they arrive, although they may not know it comes from nearby Thetford Forest. And though most admire the building’s beautiful design, they may not realise all new materials were sustainably sourced with a minimum carbon footprint.Related: Swedish city builds 'passive houses' as part of ambitious CO2 reduction targets Continue reading...

Winnow’s smart meters identify what foods are being thrown away to help restaurants track where most waste is producedClosing time approaches, waiting staff collect plates littered with leftovers and chefs sweep up spoiled ingredients. This routine, repeated in restaurants across the developed world, means $80bn (£56bn) of food is wasted annually.London-based startup Winnow is tackling the problem with its smart meter for food waste. Since opening in 2013, the business has saved its customers £2m and reduced carbon emissions from the hospitality sector by 34,000 tonnes. Continue reading...

Draft chapter warned reef was ‘poor and deteriorating’ but all references were excised following government intervention• Australia scrubbed from UN climate change report after government interventionThe lead author of a major UN report on climate change has expressed his shock that every reference to Australia was removed from the final version, following intervention from the Australian government.Guardian Australia on Friday revealed that chapters on the Great Barrier Reef and sections on Kakadu and Tasmanian forests were removed from the World Heritage and Tourism in a Changing Climate report, following the Australian Department of Environment’s objection that the information could harm tourism. Continue reading...

Trump told North Dakota oil executives that they were standing at the ‘forefront of a new energy revolution’ powered by deregulation and protectionismFor his first major energy policy remarks, Donald Trump would quote, almost verbatim at times, from an op-ed published in the Grand Forks Herald earlier that morning. But Trump was not the author.

Republican nominee took veiled shots at those who are concerned about global warming and endorsed drilling off the Atlantic coast in a speech on energy policyDonald Trump pledged to cancel the Paris climate agreement, endorsed drilling off the Atlantic coast and said he would allow the Keystone XL pipeline to be built in return for “a big piece of the profits” for the American people.

Exclusive: All mentions of Australia were removed from the final version of a Unesco report on climate change and world heritage sites after the Australian government objected on the grounds it could impact on tourismRevealed: Guardian Australia has obtained the Unesco report Australia didn’t want the world to see. Read it nowEvery reference to Australia was scrubbed from the final version of a major UN report on climate change after the Australian government intervened, objecting that the information could harm tourism.Guardian Australia can reveal the report “World Heritage and Tourism in a Changing Climate”, which Unesco jointly published with the United Nations environment program and the Union of Concerned Scientists on Friday, initially had a key chapter on the Great Barrier Reef, as well as small sections on Kakadu and the Tasmanian forests. Continue reading...